WH SAMSON. | Qass Book / o III CO Id Z Id CX CO z 5 5 o J a >• H z o z o H U) O z ■£=4 %=*-- p=» e* — ^ .■■vr* 1687 "V e?> V,^ sto ^j> -OF- urtnjptjnt (tentg, NEW YORK, (-S-,WITH EOtefrcttitfttf* mul ^lo^ra^lucal ^uelchc^ OF SOME OF ITS PROMINENT MEN AND PIONEERS. By JAMES H. SMITH. ASSISTED BY HUME H. CALE. Published by D. MASON & CO., p %,.<_ ^U. SYRACUSE, N. Y. l88l 1 ^=5 = A^L SYRACUSE, N. Y. : T R U A I R , SMITH & BRUCE, PRINTERS AND BINDERS. ■ 881. -> Contents. CHAPTER I.— Aborigines — Pre-Historic Period — face The Iroquois Confederacy — Its (Origin and Organization — Tribal Relations — Secret of Its Power — Its Superiority and Suprem- acy — Its Degeneracy !i CHAPTER II.— Indian Habits and Usages— Indian Dwellings— Indian Towns — Social Usages — Dress and Habits — Law of Marriages — Experimental Marriages — Family Disci- pline — Amusements— Dances and Feasts — The War Dance— Stated Annual Festi- vals — Medical Feasts — Dreams — "Wizards and Witches — Burials — Wampum — Hos- pitality 20 CHAPTER III.— Early Discoveries— European Com- petition in the Western Continent — Settle- ments and Conflicting Claims of the Dutch, French and English — The English Supercede the Dutch in New Netherlands — Iroquois and Early Colonists — Cham plain's Invasions of 1609 and 1615— Loca- tion of the Fort attacked by Cham plain in 1615 — Iroquois make Peace with French — Iroquois Conquests aud Supremacy 32 CHAPTER IV.— FreDch and English Rivalry— Ex- pedition of M. de Courcelles against the Mohawks — M. de Tracy's Expedition against the Mohawks — Peace of Breda — French and Iroquois at warin Ki6!i— Peace of 1673 — M. de la Barre's Expedition against the Seuecas — M. de Denonville's Expedition against the Senecas — French and English War of 1(589 — Attack on Mon- treal and Quebec — Frontenac Invades the Onondaga Country — Treaty of Ryswick — Treaty of Utrecht— Tuscaroras admitted to Iroquois Confederacy — French and English War of 1 744-1748— Treaty of Aix- la-Chappelle — War Renewed in 17.">."> — Treaty of Paris — Pontiac's Conspiracy — War of the Revolution — Present Status of Iroquois 39 CHAPTER V.— The Senecas— Their Origin and Sym- bols — Antiquity and Extent of their Coun- try — Their Status among the Iroquois — Their Early Town Sites— Greenhalgh's Journal — The Seuecas Visited by LaMotte, Hennepin and LaSalle — Mission of Sieur de Joncaire — Jesuit Missions — Jogue's Mission to the Mohawks -Le Moine's Mission at Onondaga — Chaumonot Estab- lishes the Missions of St. Joseph among the Cayugas ami of St. Michael among the Seuecas- -Missions of Fathers Fremin, Raffeix aud Gamier — Seneca Mission Resumed by Fathers Gamier aud CHAPTER V.- Continued.) page VaUlant— Fathers Bruyas and Fenelon — Episcopal Missions — New England Mis- sions — Rev. Sam'l Kh'kland — Missionary Societies of Massachusetts and New York. 59 CHAPTER VI.— Titles to the Soil— Extinguishment of Indian Titles— Line of Property— Con- flicting Claims of New York and Massa- chusetts — Preemption Line — New Y'ork aud Massachusetts Surrender Claims to Territory to Federal Government — Treaty and Cession of 1784— Phelps aud Gorham's Purchase- Treaty and Cession of 17S8— Pultney Estate— Holland Land Company — Holland Purchase — Connect i- cut Tract — Transit Line— Morris Reserve — Forty thousandacre Tract — Moms Hon- orary Creditor's Tract — Robert Moms' Litter to President Washington — Treaty and Cession of Big Tree in 1797 — Red Jacket's Insincerity — Difficulties Experi- enced in Determining the Extent and Boundaries of Reservations — Mary Jemi- son's Farm — Lessee Company — Effort made to Dismember the State — Reserva- tions made in 1797 — Treaty aud Cession of 1826 7n CHAPTER VII— Early Civil Divisions— Formation of Livingston Couuty— Original Towns in Livingston County — Subsequent Ter- ritorial Changes — Topography — Bounda- ries, Area and Geographical Situation — Improved Land in 1820 and 1875 — Char- acter of Surface — Genesee River — Falls at Portage — The Genesee made a Public Highway — Charlevoix's Description of the Genesee in 1712 — Indian Name of the Genesee — Its Principal Tributaries — Canaseraga Creek — Cashaqua Creek — Couesus aud Hemlock Lakes — Climate of Liviugston Couuty — Soil — Staple Produc- tions— Chief Industry— Comparative Anal- ysis of the Census of 1875— Livingston County Compared with other Counties in the State— Towns in Livingston Couuty Compared 77 CHAPTER VIII.— Geology— Succession of Under- lying Rocks iu the County — Water-lime of the Onondaga Salt Group — Onondaga Limestone— Coraiferous Limestone— Mar- cellus Shales- -Hamilton Group— Geue- see Slate — Portage Group -- Cashaqua Shale —Gardeau Shale aud Flagstones — Portage Sandstones— Diagonal Lamina- tion Rippie Marks — Casts of Shrinkage Cracks — Concretions or Septaria— Casts COM'] NTS. CHAPTER VIII. (Conttoi Of Flowing Mini. Etc. Indications of i loal Snlphurett< ,l ii\ drogeo Bprii Avon Springs Brii 3] Alluvial 1 1. posits Marl Chara Mastodon Re- mains 83 ill IPTER l\ i a ' & Itlements and Measures Leading Thereto Military Tract— Mill- iard Tract Census of 1790 First Set- tlements in Livingston County Commun- ication opened with the Si ttlements in Pennsylvania- Arks Charles William- son becomes Agent of the Pultnej Estate - Progress of Settlements under his En- ergetic Exertions The Village of Wil- liamsbnrgh Fonnded Settlements Ke- tarded by War with the Western Indians aad unfriendly Attitude of thi British in Canada " Simcoe War" Remarkable Progress of Settlements Scotch Colony at Caledonia Robert Monro's Descrip- tion of the Genesee Country in 1804 Set- tlements Interrupted by War of 1812— Population at Different Periods— Homes and Privations of the Early Settlers 91 CHAPTER X. Interna] Improvements - Indian Trails: Routes Indicated by Blazed Trees Improvements in Natural Water Chan- nels Western Inland Loci Navigation Company old Genesee Road Cayuga Bridge Seneca Turnpike Company — First Mail between Whitestown and the Genesee — Williamsburgh Rood First Vessel and Steamboat on Lake Erie- The i i i 'anal Earl] Speculations Regard- ing It First Survey Thereof Inst Hoard of Canal Commissioners first Contract on Erie Canal Construction Commi a — The Completion ( ielel irated — Erie Caual i.:i. i ment Navigation of thi < tenesee First Canal Boat and Steamboat thereon Genesee Valley Canal — Preliminary Measures Construction Luthorized — Its Completion Dansville and Rochester Railroad Geneseo and Pittsford Rail- road Attica and Hornellsville Railroad— Portage Bridge— Portage Riot Buffalo and Cohocton Valley Railroad Rochester and Genesee Valley Railroad- Genesee Valley Railroad— Avon, Geneseo and Mt. Morns Kailroad Dansville and (ienesee Valley Kailroad ( 'oinpany -Erie and Gen- esee Valley Railroad Silver Lake Kail- road i lanandaiguaand Niagara Falls Rail- Rochester, Nundaand Pennsylvania Railroad Rochi Bter and ( rem aei \ alley Canal Kailroad 106 ell \ri i.i; \i Soi I Medical Society of tin' County of Livingston — Its Organiza- tion and First Officers Succession of Presidents of the Society Names of Members from its Organization— Origin of Homeopathy -Its Introduction into Livingston County Homeopathic Med- ical Society of Livingston County Its Constituent Me n i he rs Succession of Pres- idents of the Society — Additional Mem- he rs The Livingston County Agricultu- ral Society First Officers Premiums Awarded Classification of Members iu ls.Vi Prominent Stock Kaisers and Hor- ticulturists iii County Succession of Pres- idents of the Agricultural Society Liv- ingston County Slock Association Liv- ingston County Historical Society Liv- ingston County Pioneer Association 110 CHAPTER XTL- The Press of Livingston County— fags Origin of the press The American Press — Its Mar\el,,us Growth Early Journal- ism in Livingston County The First Newspaper in Livingston County The Dnion and Constitution The Livingston Republican The Dansville Express — rhe Laws of Life and Journal of Health— - The Xunda News The Dansville Adver- I in Mi. Morris Enterpi iee Thi Livingston County Herald -The Union Citizen — The Caledouia Advertise, The Springwater Enterprise — Obsolete Pa- lais 121 CHAPTER Mil. I arly Courts County Seat Des- ignated First County Officers County Buildings First Court in Livingston County County Poor-House — Insane Asylum Livingston County Civil List Delegates to state Constitutional Conven- tions—State Senators .Members of As- s< ml dy First and County Judges — Surro- gates — District Attorneys — Sheriffs — County Clerks County Treasurers — County Superintendents of the Common Schools School Commissioners — Presi- dential Electors — Representatives in Con- gress 127 CHAPTER MV. War of the Rebellion— Its Dnder- lyingCanse Secession of South Carolina, Followed by Other States First Measures to Repr< ss Rebellion — Ready Response of the North —Additional Troops Called for — Prompt and Generous Response of Liv- ton County — Thirteenth Regiment — Twenty-Seventh Kcgirnent — Thirty-Third Regiment — Regimental Camp at Geneseo I lie Hundred and Fourth Regiment, or Wadsworth Guards— Calls of July 2, 1862, and August I, |m;:' — Military Districts Formed — The One Hundred and Thirtieth Regiment, or First Ni w York Dragoons — One Hundred and Thirty-Sixth Regiment — The Draft — Quotas Under Various Calls Subsequent Calls — County Bounty — Enormous Local Bounties- State Bounty - Local Bounties Abrogated Contribu- tions to the Support of the Indigent Fam- ilies of Volunteers — Quotas Under Last Three Calls 134 CHAPTER XV.— History of the Town of North Dansville 155 CHAPTER XVI— History of the Town of Ossian. ... 209 CHAPTER XVII— History of the Town of Spring- water 216 CHAPTER aWni.— History of the Town of Sparta. 224 CHAPTER XIX. - History of the Town of West Sparta 285 CHAPTER XX. History of the Town of Nunda... . 242 CHAPTER XXI History of tin- Town of Portage. L'i;l> til VPTF.K XXII. — History of the Town of Mount Morris 283 CHAPTER Will. History of the Town of Conesus 823 CH W'TF.K XXIV.- History of the Town of Leices- ter ill W'TKK XXV. History of the Town of Grove- land 348 CHAPTER XXVI. —History of the Town of Livonia 361 CHAPTER XXVII. -History of the Town of Gen- eseo 381 CHAPTER XXVm.- History of the Town of York. 110 CHAPTER XXIX. History of the Town of Avon... 426 X CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXX.— History of the Town of Cale- donia 447 CHAPTER XXXI.— History of the Town of Lima... 409 ILLUSTRATIONS. Alverson James Lawrence, LL. D. , Lima, portrait, (steel) facing 487 Atherton Oliver, Leicester, portraits self and wife, facing 343 Ayrault Allen, Geneseo, portrait facing 395 Allen, Samuel P., Geneseo, portrait facing 388 Barker S. S., Nunda, portraits self and wife. ..facing 200 Barney George W., Mt. Morris, portraits self and wife facing 310 Beardsley Jared, Portage, view of residence, .facing 270 Beebe James E., Leicester, portraits self and wife facing 338 Beecher John S., Livonia, portrait 381 Bennett Charles D., Portage, portrait facing 278 Bennett George Hosmer, Lima, portrait facing 48'J Bennett Joel C, Portage, portrait 277 Bennett Mrs. Walter, Portage, portrait 279 Bennett J. Yates, Portage, portrait 280 Bigelow Epaphroditus, Geneseo, portrait 407 Bingham Bros., Mt. Morris, bank block facing 303 Bissell Daniel H., M. D. , Geneseo, portrait... .facing 405 Blake Jesse, Livonia, portrait 380 Blakeslee Senator, York, portrait between 424-42". Brooks Gen Micah, Mt. Morris, portrait facing 310 Brown Merritt H., Dansville, portrait 201 Butler Frederick \V., Geneseo, portrait 400 Cameron Angus, Caledonia, portrait 40.". Cameron John, Caledonia, portraits self and wife, facing 4.-.1 Cameron Duncan A., Caledonia, portrait 4G."> Chamberlain Oscar L., West Sparta, portrait 239 Coe Nathaniel, Portage, portrait facing 278 Coe George F., Conesus, portrait facing 333 Colt Hon. Charles, Geneseo, portrait 409 Craig William, York, portrait facing 420 Crossett John, Geneseo, portrait, (steel) facing 404 Court House Frontispiece Donnau David, York, portrait between 424-42.". Dickinson E. O., Nunda, residence between 242-243 Driesbach Elias, Sparta, residence between 226-227 Driesbach Henry, Sr., Sparta, portraits self and wife. facing 220 Driesbach Henry, Jr., Sparta, portrait, (steel) between 234-235 Driesbach Elias, Sparta, portrait, (steel), between 234—235 Ebenriter Mary Biekel, Groveland, portrait facing 356 Faulkner Dr. .las., Dansville, portrait, (steel). .facing 197 Field Leonard B., Dansville, portrait 240 Flory John, Sparta, portrait facing 233 Foote Chester, Mt. Morris, portrait facing 278 Fowler N. Harmon, Livonia, portrait 378 Francis Franklin B. , Lima, portrait 489 Fraser William, York, portrait facing 410 Galbraith John, Sparta, portraits self and wife facing 228 Geiger Elias H., Ossiau, portraits self and wife, (steel) between 214-215 Geiger E. H., Ossian, view of residence, between 210-211 Gibbs Hon. Leinau, Livonia, portrait 379 Gilbert Charles S., Avon, portraits self and wife, between 442-443 Gilbert Charles S, Avon, view of residence, and mills between 442-44.". Gilbert Joel. Conesus, portrait 337 Gray Dr. Arnold, Springwater, portrait 224 Gray Thomas, Geneseo, portraits self and wife, facing 383 Gilman John, Groveland, portraits self and wife, facing 354 Grant Giles P., Caledonia, portrait, (steel) facing 404 Hartman Wm., Dansville, portraits self and wife, facing 188 Hamilton William, Caledonia, portrait, (steel), facing 402 PAGE Hamilton William, Caledonia, view of residence. warehouse and elevator facing 4.".0 Hampton Isaac, Ossian, portraits self and wife, facing 212 Hanby John, Geneseo, portraits self and wife, facing 385 Haynes Jonathan Hunter, Geneseo, portrait... facing Haynes John, Geneseo, portrait facing 384 Hedges Job C., Dansville, portrait facing 190 Hendershott Charles, Groveland, portraits self and wife facing 3 Hyde Cory don, Ossian, view of residence facing 21 t Hyland George, Dansville, portrait facing 190 Hyde Corydon, Ossian, portraits self and wife, facing 214 Jackman Mosts, Livonia, portraits self and wife, facing 373 Jacques Russel R., Livonia, portrait 360 Jackson Dr. J. O, Dansville, portrait, (steel)... facing 192 Johns Geo. H., Sparta, portraits self and wife. ..facing 229 Johnson Leicester, Avon, portraits self and wife, between 440-447 Johnson Seymour, Avon, portrait facing 447 Kiehle Benj. Sparta, portraits self and wife facing 231 Kysor Mrs. Julia A., West Sparta, residence ...facing 240 Kysor Benjamin F. , West Sparta, portraits self and wife facing 2 to McClintock Joseph, Geneseo, portrait to.". McLean Archibald H. , Caledonia, portrait, (steel) facing 40.". McLean Hector, Caledonia, portrait, (steel) facing 468 McPnerson Daniel, Caledonia, portrait 407 McPherson Donald, Avon, portrait, (steel) facing 440 Mann Wm. K., Groveland, portrait, (steel) facing 359 Martin A. H., Lima, view of residence facing 472 Martin A. D.. Lima, view of residence facing 472 Mai tin Alexander, Lima, portrait, (steel) facing 480 Mills Myron H., Mt. Morris, portrait, (steel). ..facing 318 Norton William H. , Springwater, view of residence, facing 216 Norton John B., Springwater, portrait 223 "Our Home Hygienic Institute," Dansville, view of between 176-177 Page Herman D., Nunda, portrait facing 244 Page Albert, Nunda, portrait facing 244 Paine Earl J., Nunda, portrait facing 260 Parker David Curtis, Lima, portrait facing 170 Passage Daniel, Nunda, view of Water Cure. ..facing 262 Pease Henry, Livonia, portrait 378 Perine James P., West Sparta, portrait facing 241 Perrin Andrew N., Conesus, portrait facing 336 Peirin Mrs. R. M., Conesus, view of residence. .facing 324 Pierson Frederick Bnshnell, Avon, portrait facing 44;". Pray Isaac, Groveland. portraits self and wife, facing 360 Pierson F. B.. Avon, view of residence. ..between 42-- 129 Pray Isaac, Groveland, view of residence faci Proctor Luciau B. , Dansville, portrait 205 Phillips Jonathan, Mt. Morns, portrait facing 278 Piffard David, York, portrait, (steel) facing 419 Ri ynale Wm. H., M. D., Dansville. portrait facing 194 Riley Richard Alsop, Geneseo, portrait facing 386 Root Capt. George W., York, portrait facing 423 Royce John Sears, Leicester, portrait, (steel). ..facing 3 1 7 Sanders C. K., Nunda, view of residence facing 240 Sackett Col. Orange, York, portrait, (steel)... .facing 421 Shutt John, Sparta, portraits self and wife facing 230 Sleeper Col. Reuben, Mt. Morris, portrait 322 Smith John, Mt. Morris, portrait facing 288. Smith Col. George. Livonia, portrait facing 362 Smith Willard H., Caledonia, portrait, (steel).. .facing 4.'.:'. Smith Joseph \\\, Dansville, portrait facing I'.M Smith Jesse. Sparta, portrait 233 Society of Christian Believers, Sonyea, view of the home between 358 359 Stevens Archelaus, Dansville, portrait 202 Stewart Niel, York, portrait, (steel) facing 122 Townsend John H., Nunda, portrait faci Vary William, Lima, portrait, (steel) faring '88 YauDoreu Wm., AVest Sparta, portraits self and wife, facing 241 CONTENTS. Weidman John, Springwater, portraits self and wife, facing u Samuel, York, portrait facing FerdinandDeW , Geneseo, portrait, facing Walker David, Caledonia, portrait Weidman John, Bpringwater, residence facing Harlow W., M. D., Caledonia, portrait, f : 1 1 • i 1 1 g v, -. Erastns, Livonia, portraits self and wife ..facing Matthew, Avon, portrait facing White Win . M., Ossian, portrait, steel facing John, Groveland. portrait Reuben, Dansville, portrait facing Whitmore Wm., Leicester, portraits Belf and wife, steel between 348 Whale; Charles E., Avon, portraits self and wife, between 136 Whale} Charles E., Avon, view of "Sanitarium," ' between 186 Wilhelm George, Conesus, portrait facing msCoL George, Portage, portrait \\ irnil Buell D., Livonia, portrait Zerfass G orge, Dansville, portraits self and wife 22 1 4 24 4ol 469 224 166 370 180 209 361 L93 849 437 137 335 281 379 204 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Allen Samuel r . Geneseo ' ! Atln rtou ( (liver, Leicester ■ facing ,.,, James Lawrence, 1.1- D., lama ■ aeseo facing Barki r Beth B . Nunda Barney George W., Mt. Morris facing t. Joel ('., Portage ;i Charles D., l'ortage Bennett Mrs. Walter, l'ortage Bennett J. JTateB, Portage i ■ ■ 1. . L ii ester... facing rJohn S., Livonia I '■ r, Lima I i i.i pi u-o, lit i is. Geneseo Bis8ell Daniel II., M. D., Geneseo fesse, Livonia Bias -I < Senator, York Brooks < o n. Micah, Mt. MoiTis facing : Merritt Holmes, Dansville .11 AD., Hansville Bunnell Major Mark J., Dansville | rick W., Geneseo ,ii John, Caledonia facing on Angus, Caledonia Cameron Duncan A., Caledonia i |, ,,,,1 . ■■!., in Oscar L., West Sparta i oe Hon. Nathaniel, Portage Coe George F., Conesus Colt Hon. Charles, (leueseo Crossetl John, < leneseo William, York ,n Believers, Society of, tin, Miami In. kiuson E. 0., Nunda : David, York Driesbach Henry, Sr., Sparta facing ,ach Elias, Sparta ich Henry. Jr., Sparta riter Mary liickel. Groveland facing Faiilku. r Dr. James, Dansville Field Leonard 15.. West Sparta i is Franklin B . Lima I Lorj John, Sparta facing ter, Mt Morris , S. Harmon, Livonia Franer William, York ' II . * is-iau i [ i Leman, Livonia ith John, Sparta facing ■ Irs s , Uon between 142 i Joel, Conesus n Phillip, Groveland facing Grilmnn John, Groveland facing 388 343 486 395 260 310 277 278 279 281 1 338 381 188 407 in;, 380 42S 316 201 203 203 Kir, 4..1 468 (65 239 278 883 108 mi 126 358 261 424 226 234 234 356 197 240 189 288 321 .".77 123 2 1 5 879 228 143 837 35 I 354 PAGE i. rant Giles P., Caledonia 464 Gray Dr. Arnold. Bpringwater 222. '. ■ ■. Mannas. Geneseo facing 383 Hampton Hon. Isaao, < tasian facing 212 Hamilton William, Caledonia 462 Hanby John, Geneseo facing .'is:. Hay lies Jonathan Hunter, Geneseo facta rshotl Charles, Groveland facing :;."..". Hartman William. Dansville facing 188 ' Col. Job Clark. Dansville facing 190 Haynes John, < leneseo facin Hyland George, Dansville 196 Hyde Corydon, < Issian 214 Jackson Dr. James ('.. Dansville li'2 Jack man Mi isr s, Livonia facing .;72, Jacques Russel R., Livonia 380 Jemison Mary. Mt. Morris 285 Johns George II . Sparta facing 229 Johnson Leicester. Avon 447 I apt. Horatio, (ieueseo 409 Kiehle Benjamin, Sparta facing 231 Kvsor Benjamin P., West Sparta l'41 Logan Edward, Groveland 860 Mann W. K.. Groveland 359 McLean Col. Archibald H . Caledonia 4H4 McLean Hector. Caledonia 4C7 McClintock Abraham, Geneseo 405 Martin Alexander. Lima 180 Mills Myrou II.. Mt. Morris 818 Mcl'herson Daniel, Caledonia 4ti" Mel'herson Donald, Avon 44H Norton John 11.. Bpringwater 228 B rman D. Xuuda facing I'll Paine Earl J , Nunda 261 Page Albert, Nunda facing 244 Parker David Curtis, Lima facing 47o Henry. Livonia 378 Periue James P., West Sparta 241 Perrin Andrew X., Conesus 386 Pierson Frederick Bushnell, Avon I4."> Phillips Jonathan. Mt. Morris 821 Pitlard David. York 421 Pray Isaac, Groveland 360 Proctor Lucian Brock, Dansville 205 BeynaleWm. 1L, M. D., Dansville- 194 Riley Richard Alsop, (leneseo facing 386 RootCapl Georgi w . York 42.". Royoe John Sears. Leicester :U7 Sackett Col. Orange, York 421 Shutt John, Sparta facing 280 Sleeper Col. Reuben, Mt Morris 822 Smith Joseph W., Dansville 195 Smith Jesse, Sputa 233 Smith John, Mt. Morris ... facing 288 Smith Col. George, Livonia facing 862 Smith Willard Huntington. Caledonia 465 ; Archelaus, Dansville 202 Stewart Niel, York- 422 Townsend John II.. Nunda 261 VanDoren William. West Sparta 241 Vary William, Lima 488 Ward Lev. Ferdinand DeW., Geneseo facing 4ui Water Cure and Mineral Springs, Nunda 262 Warren Samuel, York 124 hi John, Spring water 224 Walker David, Caledonia 4i;s West Erastns, Livonia facing :!7o W. lis Harlow Willard. M. D.. Caledonia 466 White John. Groveland 361 Whitmore William, Leicester 848 White Hon. William M.. Ossian 214 Whiteiiiali Reuben, Dansville 193 Williams Col. George, l'ortage 2SO Wilhelm George, Conesus 336 Woo, hutv Buell D . Livonia :(78 Wiard Matthew, Avon facing ISO Whale] Charles E., Avon between 436 137 Zerfass George, Dansville 204 Introduction IN THE preparation of the history of the county treated of in this volume the authors have endeavored to confine themselves to a concise and truthful statement of facts, leaving deductions and moralisms, except where such were necessary to a proper elucidation of the subject, to the individual reader; and in gleaning these facts they have laid under contribution every available source of information in the effort to arrive at correct data. This, however, has not always been possible, for much is given that rests for its authority entirely upon verbal statements, which, even among the best informed, are subject to the lapses of memory. When conflicting statements have been observed, as was to be expected there would be in so broad a field of inquiry, an honest effort has been made to reconcile them and make them con- form to the probable fact ; for while each individual expects the record of a fact to conform to his remembrance, it is notorious that all do not retain precisely the same recollection of it. To this end also, records have been consulted where such existed and were accessible, both to supplement and establish a verbal fact, and as an original source of information. These, however, were often fragment- ary, sometimes entirely wanting, and while their incompleteness was perplexing, their frequent indefmite- ness was even more so, so that it was often necessary to supplement them by verbal information. The materials for such a work were widely scattered. They laid mainly in the imperfect town, county, church, school, society and private records, and in the vague and faded memories of individuals. Much time, labor, diligent research and patient inquiry have been required to gather these materials and collate them into systematic order. Every town has been visited, and its records and well-informed citizens have been consulted. In addition to these, the files of local and other papers have been scrutinized, and the works of numerous authors laid under contribution ; but as the latter have generally been referred to in the text, especially when quoted, we do not deem it necessary to enumerate them here. A few local gleaners, of acknowledged ability, in this field of historic inquiry, had rescued from oblivion much that has served to embellish the annals of Livingston. The fruit of their labors was kindly placed at our disposal. Much more might have been given, enough to swell the volume to twice its present size, by the multiplication of details which some would regard with interest and others as unimportant ; much indeed was prepared and still more gathered, but it was found necessary to eliminate it to bring it within the scope of this work. In discarding matter we have aimed to retain that which seemed most important — most worthy of preservation. An earlier preparation of the work would have lessened the labor and produced more satisfactory results ; would have given access to the personal experience and relations of the very first settlers, with whom have died facts and incidents which are now beyond recall. But few of the first generation of those who settled and subdued this wilderness are now left with us, and fewer still of that sacred remnant 8 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. retain their faculties sufficiently to relate coherently and positively the interesting incidents of that early period ; but we still have their ••oft told tales " from the lips of their immediate descendants, and have thus been able to collect and chronicle, with a close approach to accuracy, the facts of early history. It must, therefore, be obvious that the time for the publication of this work had fully come, and that a longer delay would only have added to the obscurity of the facts and the difficulty of their acquisition. Happily the very full and scholarly "Relations" of the faithful Jesuits and other French mission- aries give us a minute and definite account of the manners and customs of the American Indians, the supposed aboriginal occupants of this country, with whom they mingled as early as the forepart of the last half of the seventeenth century, though they are chiefly concerned with the relation of their efforts to Christianize them, and to engraft upon their rude natures some of the arts and usages of civilization in their time. Numerous evidences of this intercourse have been disclosed by means of the plow and other agencies in this county, which for a considerable period was the home of several cantons of the most numerous and powerful of the tribes of the Si\ Nations, the Senecas. These consist of gaudy trinkets and other articles of use and adornment, which possessed an intensely magnified value in the eyes of the untutored savage, and were the means by which these zealous missionaries sought to ingratiate themselves with the natives and prepare the way for the successful accomplishment of their ulterior object. The mural remains, now mostly obliterated by the agency of the plow, and other economic and sacred relics which were familiar objects to the first white settlers in the Valley of the Genesee, bore abundant testimony to the fact that Livingston county was long the seat of a numerous Indian population. Though this county is not as rich in historical incidents fraught with tragic interest as the counties which bordered on the confines of civilization during the French and Indian wars, the sanguinary struggle of the Revolution, and the more recent but memorable war with the mother country, which etched in lines of blood the history of their eventful scenes, it witnessed one of the most pathetic and memorable incidents of the Revolutionary struggle, and the culmination of an event which was fraught with the most important results affecting the development of Central and Western New York. Its soil is hallowed by blood shed to establish those principles which, eighty-two years later, its sons so nobly fought to perpetuate. It has, too, a pacific history to which many will recur with interest — yea, with reverence. The authors take this opportunity to tender their grateful acknowledgments .to the many who, in various ways, have so kindly aided them in this laborious work, and to testify to the uniform courtesy which was extended to them, and the cordiality with which their labors were seconded by the hosts from whom it became their duty to solicit information. HISTORY OF Livingston County. CHAPTER I. Aborigines — Pre-Historic Period — The Iro- quois Confederacy — Its Origin and Organi- zation — Tribal Relations — Secret of Its Power — Its Superiority and Supremacy — Its Degeneracy. AT7HAT we usually term the beginning of VV history," says Humboldt's Cosmos, "is only the period when the later generations awoke to self- consciousness." The historic period for the region of country the history of which it is the purpose of this volume to give, may be said to date from the ad- vent of the Jesuit missionaries into Canada, as their Relations give us the first as well as the most exact and comprehensive account we have of the people who then inhabited it, and who are classed under the generic term Indians — a name which obtains from the fact that when this continent was discov- ered by Columbus and others who succeeded him in search of a western passage to the East Indies, it was supposed to be the eastern shore of the con- tinent of India.* Their history prior to their inti- mate association with civilized people is shrouded in obscurity and is transmitted to us in the form of vague and fragmentary legends. The Indians were a barbaric race and have left no written his- tory, except that we occasionally discover traces of their rude paintings, and still ruder engravings. But these are pronounced merely the totems of the * Indians ut" North America, I, 5. Indians by Catlin, who says, " I have been unable to find anything like a system of hieroglyphic writing amongst them."* This absence of a connected written history is, however, compensated in a meas- ure by the less enduring relics, consisting of the implements of husbandry, the chase and war, which the plow and other means of excavation have numerously disclosed. Their fortified villages and places of burial are rich also in suggestive incidents. Who were the aborigines of this country is a sub- ject of much learned inquiry. It is pretty gen- erally believed that the races who occupied it on the advent of the Europeans, were preceded by one more numerous and highly cultured, though the evidence that such is the fact, is meager and un- satisfactory. DeWitt Clinton points to the numer- ous mural remains which existed through the north- ern, central and western parts of this State, and to the more remarkable ones bordering the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and their branches as evi- dence of the fact ;f while more recent authors, reasoning from more exact data, ascribe the origin of the former works to a much more recent date, and to a different race of people than the latter.J The evidences referring to a pre-historic period within this State are rare ; though the celebrated • Catlin's North American Indians, II, 246. t Collections of the New I 'ork Historical Society for 1814, 89. t SaysE. A. Squier, M. A., "• • » none of the ancient works of this State, [New York,] of which traces remain displaying any con- siderable degree of regularity, can lay claim to high antiquity. All of them may be referred, with certainty, to the period succeeding the com- mencement of European intercourse." Antiquities of New York and tin- II at. 9. 10 HISTORY OF UYINC.STOX Col VI V. Pompey stone* and the argent relict of the Genesee Valley may be cited as instances of this character, while neither can be said to furnish ne- cessarily conclusive evidence. That the nations of the Eastern hemisphere had knowledge of the existence of the American con- tinent long before its discovery by Columbus, their ture gives abundant evidence; and that its i u iginal inhabitants were descended from eastern iples is generally conceded, though the theory i American antiquity ante-dates that of Asia, is without its advocates. [umboldt, from his observations of the remains the civilizations of Mexico and Central America, 5 convinced that communication had existed ween the Eastern and Western continents, evi- ,, e of which he found in the religious symbols, architecture, the hieroglyphics, and the social k.i ns made manifest by these ruins, and the ln : Brasseur de Bourbourg shows that the sym- bols of phallic worship, once so prevalent, and still, some extent, practiced in the East, were de- ibed by the Spanish writers at the time of the iquest. " These," says Baldwin, " with the ser- lt devices, the sun worship, and the remarkable iwledge of astronomy that existed in connection li them, show a system of religion," of which, h the social institutions it consecrated, " Asia," says the Abbe, "appears to have been the cradle." " The traditions of these countries," says the same author, " are still more explicit. Their uniform tes- timony is, that the ancient American civilization came originally from the East across the ocean." The native histories examined by the Abbe, de- scribe three classes of ancient inhabitants, first, the Chichimecs, " who," says Baldwin, " seem to have been the uncivilized aborigines of the country ;" second, the Colhuas, "who were the first civilizers, and by whom the Chichimecs were taught to culti- vate the earth, cook their food, and adopt the •This is a small boulder about thin long and twelveinches wide, bearing amosi remarkable inscription and figures, which, if genuine, and correc ! furnishes what is supposed i" be tbe earliest evidence of the presence of European in North America, Itdate tu a peri. id earlier than the discovery of New England, New York or Virginia, a hundred years earlier than the founding of Plymouth colony, and within twenty-three years "i the discovery of the newcontinet Cabot. It has been reasonably conjectured by the author of ' Onondaga, to be a sepulchral monument, erected possibly by a partj of Spaniards, who, stimulated by the love of adventure, allured I of gold, or driven by some rude blast of misfortune, may have visited that region and lost one of their number by death. t"On the flats of the * lenesee River, there was found on the lands of Mr Timothy Judd, a bit of silver, about the length of a man's i hammered to a point at .me end, while at the other it was smooth . mil square* on which wa engraved ii kral tires ' the year of our Lord 6oo.' " Ms. Address OH the Antiquity of the World, by Dr. M. H. Mills, ol Mi Morri usages of civilized life ;" and third, the Nahuas or Toltecs, " who came much later as peaceable im- migrants, but after a time united with the uncivil- ized Chichimecs, caused a civil war, and secured power." The Colhuas originated the oldest and finest monuments of the ancient civilization. De- sire Charnay, referring to the ruins of Mitla. " points out," says Baldwin, "that the most ancient archi- tecture, painting, mosaics, and artistic designs are in the highest style, and show 'marvelous work- manship,' while the later editions are in much lower style, and seem to be the work of a people less ad- vanced in culture and skill than the original found- ers of the city." The finest and most remarkable monuments of these countries seem to be the re- mains of that great and ancient kingdom of Xibalba. "It is said repeatedly that 'the Colhuas came from beyond the sea, and directly from the East ;' " and the Abbe" states that " there was a constant tradi- tion among the people who dwelt on the Pacific Ocean, that the people from distant nations beyond the Pacific formerly came to trade at the ports of Coatulco and Pechugui, which belonged to the kingdom of Tehuantepec' " The traditions of Peru toltl of a people who came to that country by sea, and landed on the Pacific coast ; referring doubtless to the Malays, a great and ancient mari- time empire, the dialects of whose language are scattered across the Pacific Ocean as far as Easter Island.* Many ingenious theories are advanced to ac- count for the origin of this ancient civilization. ( )ne, of which Adair ami Boudinot are noted advocates, ascribes it to the " Lost Tribes of Israel ;" this Catlin is inclined to sanction, f while Bancroft! seri- ously refutes it, Foster? discards it, Bradford II likewise refutes it, and Baldwin | regards it an ab- surdity; another, the " Malay theory," whii h Bald- win regards as " much less improbable, though not satisfactory;"** a third, the "Phoenician theory," which Baldwin discredits, while he admits that "the known enterprise of the Phoenicians," (who have been thought to be identical with the Colhuas,) and their "ancient knowledge of America, so vari- ously expressed, strongly encourage the hypothesis that the people called Phtenicians came to this continent, established colonies in the region where • Pre Historic iVatiotts, by John D. Baldwin, \ M., {92-395. t ( atlin's North American Indians, II, 131-1J5. % History o/the United States. 5 /•>•<• Historic Races 0/ the United States, by J W.I osier, I.I. D. Jll-Jli. * American Antiquities. 14 . rent A merica, 166. •'//>/./, 167 171 PRE-HISTORIC RACES. ruined cities are found, and filled it with civilized people,"* and a fourth, the "Atlantic theory," ad- vanced among others by Brasseur de Bourbourg, who has studied more thoroughly than any other man living, the monuments, writings and traditions of this civilization, which he avers is the first of man- kind — a theory which attributes it to the Atlantides, who occupied the " lost island of Atlantis," referred to by Plutarch, Solon, Plato andTheopompus, and supposes it originated on a portion of this conti- nent now submerged by the Atlantic Ocean, into which it extended in a long, irregular peninsula, was visited by a cataclysm which engulfed it, ex- cept some elevated portions, including the Canary, Maderia and Azores islands, and destroyed its in- habitants, except such as escaped in ships, or fled to the tops of high mountains, whence they made their way to Central America, f The origin of the barbarous Indians of North America is buried in even greater obscurity than that of the probable aborigines of this continent. Our information regarding them is wholly conject- ural. Efforts have been made to connect them with the Mound Builders as their progenitors, and there are able advocates of the theory which sup- poses the unity of the races; but, says Foster, J a broad chasm is to be spanned before we can link the two, who, he says, " were essentially dif- ferent in their form of government, their habits and their daily pursuits." The former, "since known to the white man, has spurned the restraints of a sedentary life, which attach to agriculture, and whose requirements, in his view, are ignoble. He was never known to erect structures which should * A nc ie nt A merica,\,\- 1 "4 t Ancient America-, 174-184; also Baldwins Pre-Historic Nations-, 396-400. The latter quote? from Diodorus Siculus, book V. , Chap 11, the following " important passage concerning America," which, it says, " is not mythical, and seems to be given as a historical fact rather than a tradition ; 'Over against Africa lies a great island in the vast ocean, many days' sail from Libya westward. The soil is very fruitful. It is diversi- fied with mountains and pleasant vales, and the towns are adorned with stately buildings.' After describing the gardens, orchards and fountains, he tells how this pleasant country was discovered. The Phoenicians, he says, having built Gades, sailed along the Atlantic coast of Africa. A Phoenician ship, voyaging along this coast, was, 'on a sudden, driven by a furious storm far into the main ocean ; and after they had lain under this tempest many days, they at length arrived at this inland.' " For further information upon this interesting subiect, the reader is referred to Pre-Historic Races of the United States ; Abbe Brasseur de Bour- bourg's translation of the Teo Amoxtli, which is the Toltecan mytho- logical history of the cataclysm of the Antilles ; The lifted and subsided Rocks 0/ A merica, by George Catlin ; Biography and History of the Indians of :\'orlh America ; American Antiquities and Researches into the Origin and History of the Red Race, by Alexander \V. Brad- ford, and others, which might be cited but which we have not the space to quote at length. Ancient America, 205, which quotes Bourhourg's Quatre Letires Source de V Historic J:i M \ Pre-Historic Races of the United States, 147. survive the lapse of a generation." " The Mound- builders," he adds, "cultivated the soil in a meth- odical manner, far different from the mode pre- sented by the present Indians," and cites as evi- dence " the vestiges of ancient garden-beds " left by them. Many other radical points of difference are cited by him. Baldwin says, referring to the sav- age tribes, or wild Indians, their barbarism was " original; " there was nothing to indicate that they or their ancestors, near or remote, had ever been civilized. " even to the extent of becoming capable of settled life or organized industry."* He adds, "the constant traditions of these Indians, support- ed by concurring circumstantial evidence, appears to warrant the belief that they came to this part of the continent originally from the west or north- west, at a period too late to connect them in this way with the Mound-builders." After referring to the skill of the Mound-builders in the ceramic and other arts, he asks, " who can imagine the Iroquois or the Algonquins, [the two great families who two hundred years ago occupied the VaHey of the Mississippi and the regions east of it] working the copper mines with such intelligence and skill, and such a combination of systematic and persist- ent industry ! They had no tradition of such a condition of life, no trace of it. It is absurd to suppose a relationship, or a connection of any kind, between the original barbarism of these In- dians and the civilization of the Mound-builders. The two peoples were entirely distinct and separate from each other. If they really belonged to the same race, which is extremely doubtful, we must go back through unnumbered ages to find their common origin and the date of their separation. "f The Iroquois, with whom the subject of this work is more intimately connected, are supposed by Lewis H. Morgan, who has discussed "Indian Migrations" in a series of interesting papers in the North American Review, to have "separated very early from the same original stem which produced the great Dakota family ; " and from their relative position in the East as compared with the Algon- quins, who were spread most widely over the coun- try when it was first visited by Europeans. Mr. Baldwin assumes that they preceded the latter there.! Livingston county is a part of the broad domain • A ncient A merica, 59. \lbia\ ,-9—61. % Jtid, 60. 12 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. of the Iroquois* Confederacy, which, in general terras, extended from the Hudson to the Genesee, and from the north to the south boundaries of the State. This confederacy was composed of the following nations, named in the order of their loca- tion from east to west: the Mohawks, (Ganea gaonos,^) on the river which bears their name ; the Oneidas, (Onayotekaonos,} Onondagas, (Onunda- gaonos,) and Cayugas, ( Gwengioehonos,) adjacent tse the first division. SECOND DIVISION. " The fifth tribe is that of the Deer, which they call Canendeshe. " The sixth is that of the Potatoe, which they call Schoneschioronon. - The seventh is that of the Great Plover, which they call Otinanchahe. '•The eighth is that of the Little Plover, which they call Asco, or Nicohes. " The ninth is that of the Kilion, [Eagle,*] which they call Ganonchahonrotwn. [It] derives its origin from a cabin that was in the interior (dans les terres) and composed of several tires ami establishments. In the middle of the cabin was a partition which divided fit] in two. '• Weary of knowing no one, and consequently unable to marry, they all married among them- selves ; which is the reason that their name signi- fies two cabins united together." Parkman, in speaking of the ninth tribe, which he denominates the Potatoe, says, if it existed it was very inconspicuous and of little importance. Other authors name only eight tribes. Ruttenber designates nine. Previous to the formation of the Iroquois Con- federacy, each of the five nations composing it was divided into the tribes. When their union was effected, each tribe transferred one-fifth of its numbers to every other nation, thus giving each nation nine tribes. Their tribal names weir as follows: Tortoise, or Turtle, Wolf, Bear, Beaver, Deer, Potatoe, Snipe, Heron and Hawk.f These tribes formed two divisions, the second subordinate to the fust, which was composed of the four first named. The members of each divi- sion were regarded as brothers to those in that division to which they belonged, while they were only cousins to those in the other divisions. Each tribe constituted a family, and while all its mem- bers were accounted brothers and sisters, the) were • Signifies a hawk in some of the Iroquois dialects. — Vol. Hist. IX., -> rhese are the more modem names as given bj Morgan, ihougli lie an d oil ! I ! nipe ami Heron with the Great ami Little Plover, and the Hawk, with the Eagle, ol the 1 in. h documents. also brothers and sisters of the members of all the other tribes bearing the same device. The indis- soluble bonds thus formed by the ties of consan- guinity were still further strengthened by the mar- riage relation. Originally marriage was interdicted between members of the same division, but in time the restriction was limited to those of the same tribe. It was held to be an abomination for two members of the same tribe to intermarry ; hence every individual family must contain members from at least two tribes. The child belonged to the clan of the mother, not the father, from whom it could not inherit anything. All rank, title and posessions passed through the female. The son of a chief could never be a chief by hereditary title, though he might become one through personal merit ; but a grandson, great-grandson or nephew might succeed him. The rule, though binding, was very elastic, and capable of stretching to the farthest limits of the tribe — each tribe being allowed to select its chief from among its own members. Almost invariably the chief was succeeded by a near relative, always on the female side; but if these were manifestly unlit, his successor was chosen at a council of the tribe from remoter kindred, in which case he was nominated by the matron of the late chief's house- hold.* In any event the choice was never adverse to the popular inclination.! The new chiet was inducted into office by a formal council of the sachems of the league ; and on assuming its duties he dropped his own name and substituted that which, since the formation of the league, had be- longed to his especial chieftainship.} The chief was required to be a skillful hunter, if not the best in his tribe, and liberal with his game. He must also be a good physician, and able to advise and assist the sick in every circumstance. It was his duty to take care of orphans, to harbor strangers, and to keep order in the town. But lie. like the sachem, had no power of compulsion ; anil like him, also, must keep up his reputation by a pru- dent, courteous and winning behavior.? The tribes were by no means equal in numbers, influence and honor, says Parkman. So marked were the distinctions among them that Colden and other early writers recognized only the three most prominent, — those of the Turtle, Bear and Wolf. They were eminently social in their habits; and without any law other than that of common usage, or means of enforcing justice, these rude, uncul- * l.alitau. t Parkman. t Ibid. WAR BETWEEN THE ADIRONDACKS AND IROQUOIS. i7 tured barbarians lived together in communities ag- gregating thousands, with a harmony civilization might envy. There was another council, says the same author, between which and that of the subordi- nate chiefs the line of demarkation seems not to have been very definite. In its character it was essentially popular, but popular in the best sense, and one which can find its application only in a small community. Any man took part in it whose age and experience qualified him to do so. It was merely the gathered wisdom of the nation. The Jesuit Lafitau, familiar with the Iroquois at the height of their prosperity, compares it with the Roman Senate, and defines it as the central and controlling power, so far, at least, as the separate nations were concerned. He thus describes it : — "It is a greasy assemblage, sitting stir leur derriere, crouched like apes, their knees as high as their ears, or lying, some on their bellies, some on their backs, each with a pipe in his mouth, discussing affairs of state with as much coolness and gravity as the Spanish Junta, or the Grand Council of Venice." The young warriors also had their councils; so too had the women; and the opinions and wishes of each were represented by means of deputies in this council of old men, as well as the grand con- federate council of the sachems. The government of this unique republic resided wholly in councils ; and by these all questions were settled, all regu- lations established — social, political, military and religious. The war-path, the chase, the council- fire, — in these was the life of the Iroquois ; and it is difficult to say to which he was most devoted. In this blending of individual, tribal, national and federal interests lies the secret of the immense power wielded by the Iroquois, — a power which successfully resisted for a century and a half the hostile efforts of the French ; which made them for nearly a century (from 1664 to 1763,) an im- movable wedge between the contending French and English colonies in ^America, alike feared and courted by both ; and enabled them to ex- terminate or effectually subdue neighboring tribes with whom they had long waged war with varying success. The Iroquois were not always the same fierce, rapacious and blood-thirsty people which they are now familiarly known to have been, but were once engrossed in the peaceful pursuits of the husband- man. Colden graphically relates the circumstances which lead them in a measure to forsake that occu- pation, and involved them in a war with the Adiron- dacks, in which they were engaged when the French first settled Canada. We quote : — "The Adirondacks formerly lived three hundred miles above Trots Rivieres, where now the Utawa- u'as are situated ; at that time they employed themselves wholly in hunting, and the Five Nations made planting of corn their business. By this means they became useful to each other, by ex- changing corn for venison. The Adirondacks, however, valued themselves as delighting in a more manly employment, and despised the Five Nations in following business which they thought only fit for women. But it once happened that the game failed the Adirondacks, which made them desire some of the young men of the Five Nations to assist them in hunting. These young men soon became much more expert in hunting, and able to endure fatigue, than the Adirondacks expected or desired; in short they became jealous of them, and, one night, murdered all the young men they had with them. The Five Nations complained to the chiefs of the Adirondacks of the inhumanit) of this action; but they contented themselves with blaming the murderers, and ordered them to make some small presents to the relatives of the mur- dered persons, without being apprehensive of the resentment of the Five Nations ; for they looked upon them as men not capable of taking any great revenge. " This, however, provoked the Five Nations to that degree, that they soon resolved by some means to be revenged ; and the Adirondacks, being in- formed of these designs, thought to prevent them by reducing them with force to their obedience. " The Five Nations then lived where Mont Real now stands ; they defended themselves at first but faintly against the vigorous attacks of the Adiron- dacks, and were forced to leave their own country and fly to the banks of the lakes, where they now live. As they were hitherto losers by the war, it obliged them to apply themselves to the exercise of arms, in which they became daily more and more expert. Their Sachems, in order to raise their people's spirits, turned them against the Satan as, a less war-like nation, who then lived on the banks of the lakes ; for they found it was diffi- cult to remove the dread their people had of the valor of the Adirondacks. The Eive Nations soon subdued the Satanas, and drove them out of their country; and their people's courage being thus elevated, they, from this time, not only defended themselves bravely against the whole force of the Adirondacks, but even carried the war into the heart of the Adirondacks' country, and, at last, forced them to leave it, and to fly into that part of the country where Quebec is now built."* While the Iroquois were waging war with the Adirondacks, the French, who early signalized their enmity for the former, had, by the establishment of their fur trade, drawn most of the neighboring nations to Quebec, and supplied them with fire- * History of the Five Indian Xiitions. i8 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. arms. These nations joined in the war against the Iroquois. The Adirondacks now resolved on the utter destruction of the Five Nations; but their young warriors, from their superiority in numbers and arms, became rash and insolent and restive under the disciplinary restraints of their chiefs. The Iroquois, who were thrown on the defensive by the rash impetuousness of their enemies, soon dis- covered the advantages they gained by this want of discipline, and became themselves more submis- sive to their chiefs and diligent in executing any enterprise. They opposed strategy, for which they were so conspicuously distinguished,* to the supe- riority in numbers and arms of the enemy, who were adroitly drawn into ambuscades and thereby suffered great losses. This warfare was continued until it culminated in the disastrous defeat and dis- persion of the Adirondacks and their allies, the Quatoghies, or Hurons, in a terrible battle foughl within sight of the French settlements at Quebec. They pursued these enemies to their place of refuge with a relentless persistency which only relaxed with their dispersion and almost utter extermina- tion. With the same terrible, deadly vehemence they pursued other enemies, prominent among whom were the Neutrals and Fries to the west and the Andastes to the south of them, their vengeance never satiated until they were wiped out of exis- tence as nations. Thus they eventually became the dictators" of the continent, their sway extending over a territory estimated to be twelve hundred miles long by eight hundred broad, embracing a large part of New England, and reaching thence to the Mississippi ; while the French occupants of Canada, and the Cherokees and Catawbas in the far south were humbled by their power. But they held in actual possession only the limited territory previously described. From the conquered nations they exacted tribute and drew conscripts for their armies. From the extent of their conquests, the number of their sub- ject nations, and the tribute and military aid ren- dered them by the latter, they have been called the "Romans of this Western World."f When we re- flect that of their own warriors they could bring into the held barely 2,000 braves, and with this number subjugated nations numerically more than twice as large, and spread terror and consternation among the French settlements in Canada, threat- • 1 he 1 ive Nations .ireso much delighted with stratagems in war, tli.it ... n| 11 tunity in their forces ever makes them neglect them. — ( . t />/,,.. , 470-476; £oldet?sFi\ tiom /, 4, 5 ', Collection* of the New York Historical Society, 1S14, 44. ening their utter extinction, the magnitude of their achievements may be faintly comprehended. They are thus emphasized by Street: — "By the far Mississippi the lllini shrank, When the trail of the Tortoise was seen at the bank. On the hills of New England the Pequot turned pale, When the howl <>i the WolJ swelled at night on the gale, And the Cherokee shook in his green smiling bowers, When the foot of the /utir stamped his carpet of flowers." Their great successes, however, are scarcely ref- erable to the perfection of their military organiza- tion, which, though unquestionably better than that of their neighbors, was wretchedly poor. Occa- sionally, though rarely, they acted in concert as a great confederacy ; but usually their wars were car- ried on by detached parties, small in numbers, or at best by individual nations, by whom their great conquests were mostly made. They were in a chronic state of warfare, and were easily diverted from other pursuits whenever an opportunity offered to avenge their enemies. The inveterate wars waged by them against their kins- men, as for instance the Hurons, Fries and Andastes, all mighty and valorous nations, is one of the un- explained passages in their history. Any of their warriors who was desirous of avenging a personal insult, rebuking a tribal or national affront, or am- bitious to distinguish himself by some deed of valor, might take the war-path with such following as he could get. He first communicated his design to two others of his most intimate friends and if they approved of it, an invitation was extended in their name to the warriors of the village to attend a feast of dogs' flesh, which was always used on such oc- casions.* His purpose was publicly proclaimed by the singing of war-songs, dancing the war-dance, and sticking his hatchet in the war-post. Any who chose joined him. After a night spent in alimen- tary debauchery they set out, dressed in their finest apparel, with faces hideously bedaubed with paint, to make them objects of terror to their enemies, usually with a little parched corn meal and maple sugar as their sole provision. ( )ften these viands were varied by the addition of a little smoked venison; and when the supply became scant, as it often did, the tightening of the waist-belt was made to supplement an insufficient meal. They were al- ways followed on such occasions by the women,who took with them their old clothes and brought back the • Colt/en's Five Indian Nations ; Col. Hut. IX., 360. MILITARY STATUS OF THE IROQUOIS. r 9 finery in which they marched from the castle. They always recorded these exploits by the aid of their mnemonic symbols, rudely sketched on the smooth side of a piece of bark, peeled for that purpose from a tree — usually an oak, as being most durable. These expeditions usually provoked retaliation, and the vengeance of the injured party was wreaked on any of the offending nation with whom they came in contact. Thus the history of Indian warfare is largely the history of the daring exploits of indi- viduals and small bands of warriors, who harrassed their enemies and kept them in perpetual fear of danger. This mode of warfare proved peculiarly distressing to the early settlements of the American colonies. Authors differ as to the military status of the Iroquois, and it would be difficult, perhaps, with our limited exact knowledge of the various Indian tribes with whom they came in contact, to award them their just meed. It would be manifiestly un- just to compare them with civilized nations, though in some respects this would not reflect disparag- ingly upon them. They had a discipline suited to' the dark and tangled forests where they fought. Here they were a terrible foe; but in an open country, against a trained European force, they were, despite their ferocious valor, less formidable. Their true superiority was a moral one. They were in one of those transports of pride, self-confidence and rage for ascendancy, which, in a savage peo- ple, marks an era of conquest.* They were proud, vindictive, arrogant, sagacious and subtle, and esteemed themselves by nature superior to the rest of mankind. They styled themselves Ongue- honwe, signifying "men surpassing all others."! Great care was taken to inculcate this opinion in their children, and to impress it upon other nations. The superiority of the Iroquois, as compared with others of their race in the whole western hemi- sphere, and even with the civilized races of Mexico and Peru, with a few doubtful exceptions, is clearly proved by the size of their brain. The average internal capacity of five Iroquois crania, as com- pared by Morton, was eighty-eight cubic inches, which is within two inches of the Caucasian mean, and four of the Teutonic.}: The difference in vol- ume is chiefly confined to the occipital and basal portions — the region of the animal propensities — and on this is predicated their ferocious, brutal and • Parkman's Jesuits. t Coldens Five Indian Nations. \ Crania Americana, 195. uncivilizable character.* In this remarkable family occur the fullest developments of Indian character, and the most conspicuous examples of Indian in- telligence. If not here, then nowhere are to be found those higher traits popularly ascribed to the race.f They unified and systematized the elements which, among other nations, were digressive and chaotic. The average internal capacity of the cra- nia of the North American Indians generally is eighty-four cubic inches ; greater than the mean of twenty-four crania of Mound builders, as examined by Prof. Jeffreys Wyman, Curator of Peabody Mu- seum of American Archreology.J The advent of the European nations to the American continent was the precursor alike of the downfall of the Iroquois Confederacy and the ulti- mate extinction of the American Indian. This was due, not so much to the organic defects of the confederacy itself, as to causes inherent in the struc- ture and mental incapacity of its authors. Stimu- lated at first by the attrition of rugged Saxon thought, they were destined ere long to be con- sumed by it. Though radically intractable, this race possessed in certain external respects a plastic mind; but while they felt and were, in a measure, influenced by this contact with a superior intellect, they lacked the ability to adapt themselves to the conditions essential to its evolvement. It intensi- fied their savage nature, rather than eradicated it; for, unhappily for them, they were brought more in contact with its vices than its virtues. It cannot be denied, however, that the efforts of early mis- sionaries had a softening tendency; and what might have been the result of their labors under more favorable conditions can only be conjectured. But the missionaries themselves gave ample evi- dence of the great difficulty attending their conver- sion, and it should not be overlooked that the in- stances which gave unmistakable evidence of gen- uine conversion were extremely rare. The large liberty allowed by their national compact was an element of great danger with a barbarous people, ffiven, as they were, to the gratification of many of the worst impulses of their nature ; for it held little or no restraint over them. The worst phases of our civilization — a polished barbarism rather — were engrafted on their natures, and served as a stimu- lus to appetites and passions already abnormally developed. * Admeasurements ef I rania of the Prim ipal Groups 0/ Indians in the United States. -J. S. Phillips, t Farianan s Jesuits. \ Fourth Annual Report, 1871. 20 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Advanced as the Iroquois were beyond other American tribes, there is no indication whatever of a tendency to overpass the confines of a wild hunter and warrior life. They were inveterately attached to it, impracticable conservatists of bar- barism, and in ferocity and cruelty they matched the worst of their race. That they were sagacious is past denying ; but it expended itself in a blind frenzy which impelled them to destroy those whom they might have made their allies in a common cause. Their prescience, apparently, could not comprehend the destiny of a people capable of emerging from barbarism into civilization. Their dec line may be said to have begun when their con- quests ended. They soon became a hopeless de- pendency, without the means, if they had the de- sign, which they probably did not, to stop the en- croachment of the whites upon their domain. As early as 1753. their dissolution was foreshadowed, though it did not take place till about a quarter of a century later.* CHAPTER II. Indian Habits and Usages — Indian Dwellings —Indian Towns — Social Usages — Dress and Habits — Law of Marriages — Experi- mental Marriages — Family Discipline — Amusements — Dances and Feasts — The War Dance — Religion and Superstition — Stated Annual Festivals — Medical Feasts — Dreams — Wizards and Witches— Burials — Wampum — Hospitality. WE purpose giving in this chapter some of the more prominent features of Indian domestic and social life, which furnish the best index to his true character. The Indian, viewed as a distinct branch of the human family, has some peculiar traits and institutions which ma) 1 be advantageous- ly studied. They furnish the key to those start- ling impulses which have so long made him an object of wonder to civilized communities, and re- veal him as the legitimate product of the condi- tions attending his birth, his forest education, and the wants, temptations and dangers which surround him. They show him also to be as patient and politic as he is ferocious. "America, when it became known to Europeans, t See an account of a conference between Col William Johnson and the Six Nations .11 Onondaga, Sepl \ r75?.— Doc. Hist. II., 'ijj. was, as it had long been, a scene of wide-spread revolution. North and South, tribe was giving place to tribe, language to language ; for the Indian, hopelessly unchanged in respect to indi- vidual and social development, was, as n - tribal relations and social haunts, mutable as the wind. In Canada and the northern section of the United States, the elements of change were especially active. The Indian population, which, in 1535, Cartier found at Montreal and Quebec, had disappeared at the opening of the next century, and another race had succeeded, in language and customs widely different ; while in the region now forming the State of New York, a power was rising to a ferocious vitality, which, but for the presence of Europeans, would probably have subjected, absorbed or exterminated every other Indian community east of the Mississippi and north of the Ohio." * Hence we shall see that Indian habitations were not characterized by that durability and perma- nency which is manifest in stable communities. This mutability was governed primarily by success or non-success in war, or the fear of ambitious neighbors, for not unfrequently whole nations, or fragments of nations, submitted to expatriation to save themselves from extermination ; and, second- arily, by the mode of Indian life. They subsisted generally by hunting and fishing. Their agriculture was usually of the most primitive character ; and when, in the course of years, the fertility of their small clearings became exhausted, not being con- versant with the art of refertilization, they removed to and cultivated new fields. The scarcity of game and fuel also necessitated their removal to localities where it was more abundant. Usually, however, they had large central villages, which exhibited in a more marked measure the ele- ments of permanency. Thus the Iroquois, though living at different times in various localities in this State, retained their central habitations in or near the localities where the whites first found them. Of the Iroquois, who subsisted mainly by the chase, the Senecas, who occupied the most fertile portion of the State, brought agriculture to the highest de- gree of perfection, and had the best houses. When Genera] Sullivan passed through their country with his army in 1779, thousands of acres had been cleared, old orchards of apples, pears, peaches and other fruits existed, and evidences of long cultiva- tion abounded. Corn, which was a staple produc- tion, grew to marvelous perfection, ears twenty-two inches in length being found by Sullivan's soldiers, who. it is said, took to New England from the (ien- esee Valley the first sweet corn ever seen there. • Parkman*s Jesuits, DWELLINGS, TOWNS AND FORTIFICATIONS OF THE [ROQUOIS. Their dwellings differed in shape and size, and, though rude, were generally built with considerable labor and care. They were generally about thirty feet square and of the same height. The sides were formed of hickory saplings set in two parallel rows and bent inward, thus forming an arch. Trans- verse poles were bound to the uprights anil over the arch. The whole was covered with bark, over- lapping like shingles, and held in place by smaller poles fastened to the frame with cords of linden bark. An open space about a foot wide extended the whole length of the ridge and served the double purpose of window and chimney. At each end was an enclosed space for the storage of supplies of In- dian corn, dried flesh, fish, &c., which were kept in bark vessels. Along each side were wide scaffolds, some four feet from the floor, which, when covered with skins, formed the summer sleeping places, while beneath was stored their firewood gathered and kept dry for use. In some cases these plat- forms were in sections of twelve to fourteen feet, with spaces for storage between them. Five or six feet above was another platform, often occupied by children. Overhead poles were suspended for var- ious uses, to make and dry their fish and flesh, and hold their weapons, skins, clothing, corn, &c. In cold weather the inmates slept on the floor, huddled about the fires, which ranged through the center of the house. In their large structures the sides usu- ally consisted of rows of upright posts, and the roof still arched, was formed of separate poles. The door consisted of a sheet of bark hung on wooden hinges, or suspended by cords from above. Gen- erally they were lined with a thick coating of soot by the large fires maintained for warmth and for cooking. So pungent was the smoke that it pro- duced inflammation of the eyes, attended in old age with frequent blindness. Their wolfish dogs were as regular occupants as the unbridled and unruly children. The Iroquois preserved this mode of building in all essential particulars till a recent period, and it was common and peculiar to all tribes of their lineage. The Indian towns were generally but an irreg- ular and confused aggregation of Indian houses, from five to fifty in number, clustered together with little regard to order, and covering from one to ten acres. As the Indian dug no wells, they were lo- cated adjacent to copious springs or to considerable streams. They were often fortified, and a situation favorable to defense was always chosen — the shore of a lake, the crown of a difficult hill, or a high point of land in the fork of confluent streams. These defenses were not often constructed with any mathematical regularity, but made to conform to the nature of the ground. Frequently a precipice or river sufficed for a partial defense, and the line or embankment occurred only on one or two sides. An embankment was constructed of the earth thrown up from a deep ditch encircling the town, and supported palisades of twenty to thirty feet in height, planted in one to four concentric rows, those of each row inclining towards those of the others till they intersected. These palisades were cut by the alternate process of burning and hack- ing the burnt part with stone hatchets * from trees felled in the same manner, and were often inter- laced with flexible branches, to prevent their de- struction by fire, a common effort of the enemy. They were lined to the height of a man with heavy sheets of bark ; and on the top, where they crossed, was a gallery of timbers for the defenders, together with wooden gutters, by which streams of water could be poured on fires kindled by the enemy. Magazines of stones, and rude ladders for mount- ing the ramparts, completed the provisions for de- fense. The forts of the Iroquois were stronger and more elaborate than those of other nations, and large districts in New York are marked with the remains of their ditches and embankments, many instances of which occur in Livingston county. After the advent of Europeans and the introduction of suitable implements for making excavations, the palisades were set in the ground to a sufficient depth to render the use of embank- ments unnecessary ; t and their later defensive structures evince other modifications in form, sug- gested, probably, by the example or instructions of their white neighbors. Unsatisfactory efforts have been made to estab- lish a connection between the ancient works in this vicinity and those ascribed to the Mound-builders, and refer them to the same origin. " The resem- blance which they bear to the defensive structures of other rude nations, in various parts of the world, are the results of natural causes, and cannot betaken to indicate either a close or remote connection or dependence.";; But the differences between the two in size, general conformation and mode of structure are too important to be overlooked and scarcely admit of the thought of a like origin. The *The Indian had no metallic ax capable of felling a tree prior to t49 : — Schoolcraft. t A notable instance of this kind came under the observation of the writer in the town of Locke, in Cayuga county. § Antiquities of New York ami the li'cst, 141. HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. former are much smaller and more numerous in a given extent of territory than the latter, which also conform in their structure to geometrical principles, while the former are conspicuous for their depart- ure from this rule.* The former also have the ditch outside the embankment, while in the latter it is invariably inside\ — a distinction too important and general to be merely accidental. Two of these remains which have come under our observation do not show by the relics found in them evidence of intercourse between their occupants and Euro- peans, showing that few had been abandoned prior to the advent of the white man — a fact which is at variance with the known mutability of the Indian ; furthermore, the forest growths covering these sites when the first settlers came into the country, and usually cited as an evidence of antiquity, with a few possible exceptions, did not indicate an anti- Columbian, if an anti-Jesuit, period. Squiersays: " I am driven to a conclusion little anticipated when 1 started upon my exploration of the monu- ments of the State, that the earth-works of Western New York were erected by the Iroquois or their western neighbors, and do not possess any anti- quity going very far back of the discovery.''^ Inci- dental resemblances in the character of the relics disclosed by them in isolated cases do not warrant the broad deductions sometimes made for them ; fur, if the connection is real, these resemblances should be of a general, not a special nature. Large quantities of timber were consumed in building these fortifications, and hence clearings of considerable extent were made and opened to their rude cultivation. In that work the squaws were employed, assisted by the children and superannua- ted warriors; not as a compulsory labor, but assumed by them as a just equivalent for the oner- ous and continuous labor of the other sex, in pro- viding meats and skins for clothing, by the chase, and in defending their villages against their enemies and in keeping intruders off their territory.;? The implement used for tilling the soil was a bone or wooden hoe, (pemidgeag akwout ;) and the chief crops, corn (mondamin,) beans, pumpkins, tobacco, sunflowers and hemp. There was no individual ownership of land, but each family had for the time exclusive right to as much as they saw fit to cultivate. The clearing process was a laborious one, and consisted in hacking off branches, piling them together with brushwood around the foot tiquities of Nevi York and the West, v t Pre-HistorU Races of the United States of A i/ieru .1 , 1-4 t A titiouities of New York.aitdtht West, 140. § Schoolcraft. of the standing trunks, and setting fire to the whole. With the Iroquois the staple article of food was corn, "cooked without salt in a variety of dif- ferent forms, each," says Parkman, "more odious than the last." This, cooked with beans of vari- ous colors, was highly esteemed by them, but was more of a dainty than daily dish. Their bread, which was of indifferent quality, kneaded in a bark tray with unwashed hands, but an article of daily consumption, was made of corn ; from which they also made a porridge, called by some Sapsis, by others Duundare, (boiled bread.*) Wild game was a common article of food, but venison (used specifically) was a luxury found only at feasts; dog's flesh was held in high esteem, and in some of the towns captive bears were fattened for festive occasions. Their food comprised many other arti- cles, some of which are far from being delectable to a refined taste. These stationary tribes were far less improvident than the roving Algonquins, and laid up stores of provision against a season of want. Their main stock of corn was buried in caches, or deep holes dug in the earth. In respect to the arts of life, also, they were in advance of the wandering hunters of the North. The women made a species of earthen pot for cooking, but these were supplanted by the copper kettle of the French traders. They wove rush mats with no little skill. They spun twine from the hemp by the primitive process of rolling it on their thighs ; and of this twine they made nets. They extracted oil from fish and from the seeds of the sunflower, the latter, apparently, only for the purposes of the toilet. They pounded their maize in huge mortars of wood, hollowed by alternate burnings and scrapings. "f To the woman belonged the drudgery of the household, as well as the field, though it may be questioned if the task was as on- erous as it is generally supposed to have been. J Among the Iroquois there were favorable features in her condition. She had often a considerable influence in the decisions of the councils. It was her prerogative during war to propose a cessation of hostilities, and this cou'.d be done without com- promising the warriors and chiefs. For this purpose a male functionary, who was a good speaker, was designated to perform an office which was deemed unsuitable to the female; and when this resolution was taken by the matrons of the nation or tribe, the message was delivered to this officer, who was 'Col. Hist., /.. i8f, \ ParkmasCs Jesuits. JSce School, raft's .Votes. INDIAN MODES OF DRESS. 23 bound to enforce it with all the powers of eloquence he possessed.* It was in this role that the talented, but anomalous Red Jacket, acquired so great a celebrity as an orator. To the men, in addition to the duties already enumerated, belonged that of making the implements of war and the chase, pipes, which were often skillfully and elaborately wrought, and canoes, which were of two kinds — "some of entire trees, excavated by fire, axes and adzes,"t and others made of bark. The canoes of the Hu- rons and other northern tribes were made of birch bark; while those of the Iroquois, in the absence of birch, were made of elm, which was greatly in- ferior, both in lightness and strength. The dress of both men and women consisted of skins of various kinds, dressed in the well-known Indian manner, and worn in the shape of kilts, or doublets thrown over the shoulders, the men often wearing it only over the left shoulder, so as to leave their right arm free. Formerly these coverings were made of turkey feathers, woven together with a thread of wild hemp ; j but latterly both these and the skins were superseded by a piece of duffels,% which they received in trade with the whites. The rich wore a piece of blue, red or black cloth about " two yards" long, fastened around the waist, the lower seam of which, in some cases, was decorated with ribbons, wampum or corals. The poor cov- ered themselves with a bear-skin, and even the rich did the same in cold weather, or in its stead, a pelisse of beaver or other fur, with the hair turned inward. They made stockings and shoes of deer- skins and elk-hides, which, says Loskiel, were " tan- ned with the brains of the deer," which made them very soft; and some even wore shoes made of corn husks, of which, also, they made sacks. The dress which peculiarly distinguished the women, was a petticoat, made of a piece of cloth about two yards long, fastened tight about the hips, and hanging down a little below the knees. This they wore day and night. A longer one would have impeded them in walking through the woods and working in the fields. Their holiday dress was either blue or red and sometimes black, hung all around, fre- quently from top to bottom, with red, blue and yellow ribbons. " Most women of rank," says Los- kiel, "wear a fine white linen shift with a red col- lar, reaching from their necks nearly to the knees. Others wear shifts of printed linen or cotton of va- rious colors, decorated at the breast with a great •Benton's Herkimer County and 'the Upper MoJiaivk VaHey-t "\ t Colonial History of -Ycui 1 orfc. X Loskiel ami Colonial History 0/ Hew ) ~ork. § A kind of coarse cloth resembling frieze. number of silver buckles, which are also worn by some as ornaments upon the petticoats." The men also frequently appeared in a white shirt with a red collar, worn over the rest of the clothes. The dress " of the women, according to the Jesuits," says Parkman, in speaking of the Hurons, " was more modest than that of our most pious ladies of France ! The young girls on festal occasions must be except- ed from this commendation, as they wore merely a kilt from the waist to the knee, besides the wam- pum decorations of the breast and arms. Their long black hair, gathered behind the neck, was decorated with disks of native copper, or gay pen- dants made in France, and now occasionally un- earthed in numbers from their graves. The men. in summer, were nearly naked, those of a kindred tribe wholly so, with the sole exception of their moccasins." All Indians were very much addicted to personal ornamentation, the women more so than the men. In these decorations consisted their wealth, and they were a means also of marking their rank among themselves.* The men paid particular at- tention to the dress and adornment of their wives, and thought it scandalous to appear better clothed than they, f Their robes of fur were often richly decorated on the inside with painted figures and de- vices, and elaborately embroidered, and were of great value. Much time and labor was bestowed in decorating their faces and bodies with paint and other devices. The latter was frequently covered entirely with black, in case of mourning, and was most singularly tatooed with representations of ser- pents, birds and other creatures. The entire body was thus sometimes covered, and though the oper- ation was severe and painful, at times resulting in death, not a murmur escaped the sufferer. From these decorations they sometimes acquired appel- lations by which their pride was exceedingly grati- fied ; thus an Iroquois chief, whose breast was cov- ered with black scarifications was called the Black Prince.J The face each day received a fresh ap- plication of paint, and this was an object of special care if they were going to a dance. Vermillion was their favorite color, and with it they frequent- ly painted the entire head. At other times half the face and head were painted red and the other half black. Near the river Muskingum was found a yellow ochre, which, when burnt, made a beautiful red color. This the Huron warriors chiefly used for paint, and did not think a journey of a hundred * Kip's Jesuits. t I oskiel. X Loskiel. 24 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON O >UNTY. miles too great a price to pay for it. Some pre- ferred blue, "because," says Loskiel, "it is the color of the sky. when calm and serene, and being considered an emblem of peace, it is frequently in- troduced as such in their public orations." White c lay, soot and the red juii e ol < ertain berries, were rig the agents employed in these fantastic decorations. Some wore a large pearl, or piece of silver, gold or wampum, suspended from a hole bored in the cartilage ofthenose. 1' mm their ears. which had previously been distended and length- ened as much as possible, depended pearls, rings, sparkling stones, feathers, flowers, corals, or silver crosses. A broad collar made of violet wampum was deemed a most precious ornament, and the rich even decorated their breasts with it. " It is always necessary," says Father Sebastian Rasles, " to add a small piece of porcelain, which hangs at the end of the collar."* The hair was worn in various and grotesque fash- ions, and decorated with silver and other trinkets of considerable weight. The women suffered it to grow without restraint, and thus it frequently reached below the hips. Nothing was thought more ignominious in women than to have it cut off, and this was only now and then resorted to as an act of punishment. They anointed it with bear's grease to make it shine. "The Delaware women," 1 Loskiel, "never plait their hair, but fold and tie it round with a piece of cloth. Some, tie it behind, then roll it up, and wrap a ribband or the skin ofa serpent around it. But the Iroquois, Shawanose and Huron women wear a queue, down to their hips, tied round with a piece of cloth, and hung with red ribband." The men did not allow their hair to grow long, and some even pulled so much of it out by the roots, that a little only re- mained round the crown of the head, forming a round crest of about two inches in diameter. This was divided into two parts, plaited, tied with rib- bon, and allowed to hang on either sick 1 of the head. The crown was frequently ornamented with a plume of feathers, placed either upright Or aslant ; and the hair, at feasts, with silver rings, corals, wam- pum, and even silver buckles. With some the hair was braided tight on one side and allowed to hang loose on the other; while with others it bristled in a ridge across the crown like the back ofa hyena. European writers, among them Voltaire, long contended that, par nature/, the North American Indians had no beards ; and \V. J. Snelling, who resided for some years among the Western Indians. •A"//'5 Jesuits. sa\s. it is not an error that the Indians have no beard. Brant, the celebrated Mohawk chief, ad- dressed the following letter to a Mr. Mc t'ausland. who. desiring to know the truth of the matter, pro- led the inquiry* thereon : — •■ Niagara, 19 April, 1783. tie men of the Si\ Nations have all beards by nature ; a> have likewise all other Indian nations of North America, which I have seen. Some Indians allow a part of the beard upon the chin and upper lip 10 grow, and a tew of the Mohawks shave with razors, in the same manner as Europeans; but the generality pluck out the hairs of the beard by the roots, as soon as they begin to appear jf and as ontinue this practice all their lives, they ap- pear to have no beard, or, at most, only a few strag- gling hairs, which they have neglected to pluck out. I am, however, ol opinion, that if the Indians were to shave, they would never have beards altogether so thick as the Europeans : and there are some to be met with who have actually very little beard. |os. Brant Tii \\ endanega." It was common for the Indians to rub their In idirs with the fat of bears or other animals, which was sometimes colored, to make their limbs supple, and to guard against the sting of mosqui- toes and other insects. The Iroquois studied dress and ornamentation more than any other Indian nation, and were allowed to dictate the fashion to the rest. The Iroquois married early in life, the men sometimes in their eighteenth, and the women in then fourteenth year. Both marriage and divorce were effected with equal facility, and were attended with very little ceremony. The marriage ceremony consisted in the aeeeptanc e of a gift from a suitor by the intended wife, and the return on her part of a dish of boiled maize and an armful of fuel. Divorces ensued at the pleasure of the parties for the most trivial causes, and without disgrace to either, unless it had been caused by some scandal- ous offense. The man signified his wish to marry by a present of blankets, cloth, linen, and perhaps a Ww belts of wampum, to the nearest relatives of the object of his desire. If they happened to be pleased with the present and suitor, they proposed the matter to the girl, who generally decided agree- ably to the wishes of the parents or relatives. If the proposal was declined the present was returned l>\ way ofa friendly negative. The woman or girl indicated this desire by sitting, with her face covered with a veil. If she attracted a suitor, negotiations were opened with parents or friends, rapky and History of the I ml tarn <»/ North Am. rica -Booh ■>z. t Sec Hollan a ■■.. Hist.o) V*w > «>k, I.. isi. SOCIAL CUSTOMS OF THE IROQUOIS. 25 presents given and the bride taken. Says Father Cholonce, missionary of the Society of Jesus, in 1 7 15, referring to the Iroquois: " Although these heathen extend their dissoluteness and licentious- ness to the greatest excess, there is vet no nation which in public guards so scrupulously the outward decorum, which is the attendant of perfect molesty. A young man would be forever dis- honored if he should stop to converse publicly with a young female. Whenever marriage is in agitation the business is to be settled by the parents, and the parties most interested are not even permitted to meet." * Taciturn, morose and cruel as the Indians were usually in their hunting and war-like expeditions, in their own cabins and communities they were very social, patient and forbearing ; in their festal seasons, when all were at leisure, they engaged in a round of continual feasting, gambling, smoking and dancing. In gambling they spent much of their leisure, and staked all they controlled on the chances of the game, — their food, ornaments, canoes, clothing, wives, and even the skins from their backs.! The game of bowl, in which two entire villages sometimes contended, had a pecu- liar fascination, and cases are related where some of the contestants lost their leggins and moccasins, and complacently returned home barefooted through the snow. Some of the Iroquois believed that they would play this game in the spirit land. \ Various devices were employed, — eight plum stones, pieces of wood, or small pebbles, (tioyaux) painted red or black on one side, and yellow or white on the other. These were put into a wooden bowl, which, being struck heavily upon the ground, caused them to bound upward, and the betting was upon the colored faces which were uppermost when they fell. So long as one threw seven or eight of the same color he gained and continued playing. j Ball (/a crosse,) was also a favorite game and engaged twenty or more contestants on each side. Entire villages were often pitted against each other. Two poles were set up and the game commenced in the center; one part}-, with bat. which is described "as a sort of little racket," pro- pelling the ball, (which was made of " very heavy wood, somewhat larger than the balls used at tennis,") from one side and the other from the op- posite, and whichever reached the goal won. * Early Jesuit Missions, — Kip, p. 86. t Biography of 'the Indians of North America -Book [1., Chap. II., 3'- J Parkmaifi Jesuits. %.Col. Hist. IX., ssx. [Paris Documents 1 Carvcr'i Travels, London Etl. Jot: Phila. Ed., 1796, ij-. When playing they were entirely naked, except a " breech cloth," and moccasins on their feet ; and their bodies were completely painted with all sorts of colors. They played "very deep (gros /at.) and often ; " and the bets sometimes amounted to "more than eight hundred livres."* These games occasionally provoked bitter feuds, resulting in deadly combat, and tradition ascribes the war be- tween the Neutral nation and the Iroquois to the defeat of the former in a series of games of ball.f Dancing was a common amusement and a sol- emn duty with all Indians, and not a night passed during these periods of leisure without a dance in one family or another to which the youth of both sexes resorted with eagerness. The common dance was held in a large house or in an open'field around a fire. A circle was formed and a leader chosen. The women danced with great decorum, even gravity, never speakingaword to the men, muchless joking with them, as that would injure their character. They neither jumped nor skipped, but moved one foot lightly backward and forward, till by gradual advances they reached a certain spot, when they retired in the same manner. They kept their bodies straight and their arms hung down close to their sides. The men shouted, leaped and stamped with great violence, their extreme agility and light- ness of foot being shown to great advantage. The sole music consisted of a single drum, made by stretching a thin deer skin over an old barrel or kettle, or the lower end of a hollow tree, and beat with one stick. Its sound was disagreeable, and served only to mark the time, which they kept with exactness, even when dancing in great numbers. The intervals between the rounds were enlivened with singing by the drummer. The dances com- monly lasted till midnight. The dance was a com- mon way of welcoming and entertaining strangers. Baron Lahonton says it was the custom of the Iroquois to dance "lorsque les etrangers passent dans leur pais, ou que leurs ennemis envoient des ambassadeurs pourfaire des propositions de peix."\ Another kind of dance was attended only by men. Each rose in his turn and danced with great agility and boldness, extolling the great deeds of himself or forefathers in a song, to which the whole company beat time, by a rough, monotonous note, sung with great vehemence at the commencement of each bar. 'Col Hist. IX . S87 t Biography and Hist Indians B II., Chap. 11., Ji. — Doty's History :■. ;; Othel authors ascribe to this cause the war between the Eries ami Iroq % Memoirs de L' Amerique, II. no. 26 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. < tther dances were held upon particular occa- sions, the chief of which was the dance of peace, called also the calumet, or pipe-dance, because the calumet, or pipe of peace, was handed about during the dance. The dancers joined hands and leaped in a ring for some time. Suddenly the leader let go the hand of one of his partners, keeping hold of the other. He then sprang forward, turned round several times, so that he was encircled by the rest of the company. They disengaged themselves as suddenly, keeping hold of each other's hands during all the evolutions and changes of the dance, which, as they explained it, represented the chain of friend- ship. A song, composed especially for this solem- nity, was sung by all.* The War Dance, held either before or after a campaign, was dreadful to behold. No one took part in it but the warriors themselves. They af- fected with such marvelous fidelity the fierce pas- sions which actuated them in their bloody deeds of valor, as to give to the shuddering spectator an exact pantomime representation of the scenes in which they had actually engaged — representations as horrible as life-like. It delineated the prepara- tions for the war, and all the common incidents at- tending it — -their arming, departure, arrival in the enemy's country, the encampment, the attack, the struggle, the victory, and lastly the torture of the captives. Prodigality was as much a characteristic of their feasts as their dances and other amusements, with which they were often associated, and like them are supposed to have had their origin in religion. f They were often participated in by whole villages, sometimes even by neighboring villages, and in this way a vain or ambitious host applied all his sub- stance to one entertainment. Brcbeuf relates an instance of this kind which occurred in the winter of 1635, at the village of Cantarrea. where thirty kettles were over the fires, anil twenty deer and four bears were served up.j The invitation was simple and consisted in the concise summons, "Come and eat." To refuse was a grave offense. Each guest took his dish and spoon and as he entered, greeted his host with the ejaculation, //,' ' He then ranged himself with the rest, squatted on the earthen tloor or on the platform along the sides of the house, around the steaming kettles. A long prelude of lugubrious singing preceded the feast. The host, who took no share in the feast, then pro- claimed in a loud voice the contents of each kettle t I.oskiel. * Charlevoix. \ I'arkman's Jesuits. and at each announcement the company responded in unison, Hoi The attendant squaws then filled the bowls of the guests, who interspersed their .•'east- ing with talking, laughing, jesting, singing and smoking, at times protracting the entertainment throughout the day. When the feast partook of a medical character it was indispensable that each guest should eat all that was served to him, however enormous the quantity, even if he should die. Should he fail, the host would be outraged, the community shocked, and the spirits roused to vengeance. Disaster would befall the nation ; death, perhaps, the individual. A vicarious alternative was provided, however, and when one found himself unable to conform to the ridiculous practice, he engaged, when he could, another of the company to eat what remained of his portion, generally rewarding his benefactor with a present. This was the only way of getting out of the dilemma. "In some cases the imagined efficacy of the feast was proportioned to the rapid- ity with which the viands were dispatched. Prizes of tobacco were offered to the most rapid feeder ; and the spectacle then became truly pon ine. "These feasts were much dreaded, but were never known to be declined. The War Feast of the Iroquois, as observed by- Father Dablon on the occasion of the contemplated war with the Eries, in January. 1656, and which, he says, "serves to stimulate their courage for the approaching conflict, " is thus described by him : — "First of all the war-kettle, as they call it, is hung over the fire as early as the preceding autumn, in order that each of the allies going to war may have the opportunity to throw in some precious morsel, to be kept cooking through the winter, by which act they are solemnly pledged to take part in the proposed enterprise. The kettle having been kept steadily boiling up to the month of February, a large number of warriors, Senecas as well as Cayugas, gathered to celebrate the war feast, which continued for several nights in succes- sion. They sang their war songs, danced and went through all possible contortions of body and ex- pressions of countenance, protesting the while that never should they retire from the combat, but fi"ht to the death, whatever tortures they might suffer, before they would yield an inch of ground. At the same time that they make this boast of their courage, they hurl at one another fire brands and hot ashes, strike each other heavy blows, and burn one an- other to show they do not fear the very worst the enemy can do. Indeed, one must remain firm and suffer himself to be bruised or burned by his nearest friends without flinching ; otherwise he is regarded as a miserable coward.*" •Relation, 1656, Chap. X. RELIGIOUS RELIEFS OF THE IROQUOIS. 27 The Indians had rude, though positive religious ideas, which were associated with — almost entirely embodied in — superstition, that natural concom- itant of ignorance. As observed by the early Jesu- its, before being contaminated by those of civilized nations, they were in strict accordance, as with other nations, civilized or barbarous, with their mental and moral development, and hence differed in different nations. They evinced, in perfect an- alogy with the Indians themselves, a greater fear of evil than of reverence for good; and hence their devotions consisted more in propitiating evil spirits than invoking the interposition of the good. In- deed, and here we realize the beauty of their sim- plicity, it was deemed superfluous to importune the source of goodness. The belief in immortality was almost universal, but. though rarely, there were those who denied it.* Even animals were en- dowed with it, and were deified and worshiped. t This veneration for the animal kingdom is reflected in the common practice of selecting from it the names by which the tribes were designated. Thev were tolerant towards others, and allowed as large a liberty upon the subject of religion among them- selves as in their social and civil arrangements. To use the trite expression of a Creek chief who accompanied an American to England in 1791, on being asked as to his religious belief, he replied that, upon a subject upon which there was no pos- sibility of people's agreeing, he thought " it was best that every one should paddle his own canoe his own way ! " t The Indians' Ood, whom the Iroquois called Hdwenniis, (meaning he rules, he is master^) was endowed with attributes akin to their own, but primitively not with that of moral goodness. The Indian language had no word expressive of our abstract idea of deity. The Iroquois had another God, with equal claims to supremacy. Him they called Areskoui, and his most prominent attribute was that of a god of war. He was often invoked and the flesh of animals and captive enemies was burned in his honor. They had also a third deity, called Terenyowagon, or Teharonhiwagon, whose place and character is not well defined. In some traditions he appears as the son of Jouskeha, the ruler of the world, and endowed with great influ- ence, for he it was who spoke to men in dreams. * Father Gnivier once said that a Peoria Indian once told him that there was no future life. — Parkmari 's Jesuits. f It is the settled belief among the northern Algonquins that animals will fare better in another world, in the precise ratio that their lives and enjoyments have been curtailed in this X\te.— Schoolcraft's Notes. XBiography and History oj the Indians oj North itnerica Book I., Chap. III., 20-21. Some writers identify him with Hiawatha, to whom the Iroquois ascribe their confederation ; while Van der Donck assumes that he is God, and Areskoui, the Devil. Besides these they had numerous objects, both animate and inanimate, which were endowed with supernatural powers and supplicated. These the Iroquois called Okies; the Algonquins and other tribes, Manitous. There were local manitous of streams, rocks, mountains, cataracts and forests, which, when they revealed themselves to mortal sight, bore the semblance of beasts, reptiles or birds, in unusual or distorted shapes, their conception betraying for the most part, a striking poverty of imagination. There were manitous without local habitations, some good, some evil, countless in number and indefinite in attributes. They filled the world and controlled the destinies of Indians, who were held to be under a spiritual rule distinct from that which gov- erns the white man. These were, for the most part, in the shape of animals. Sometimes they took the form of stones, and, though less frequent- ly, assumed human proportions. Each Indian had his guardian manitou, to whom he looked for counsel, guidance and protection. The points of the compass and the winds were also personified as manitous. There was a Sum- mer-Maker and Winter-Maker, and the latter was kept at bay by throwing fire-brands into the air. The hunter sought to propitiate the game he desired to kill, and was often known to address a wounded bear in a long apologetic harangue. This is also true of the fish, which, says Parkman, " were addressed every evening from the fishing- camp by one of the party chosen for that function, who exhorted them to take courage and be caught, assuring them that the utmost respect should be shown to their bones. The harangue, which took place after the evening meal, was made in solemn form ; and while it lasted, the whole party, except the speaker, were required to lie on their backs, silent and motionless, around the fire." The fish nets were no less objects of solicitude, and to in- duce them to do their work effectually, were mar- ried every year to two young girls, with a ceremony far more formal than that observed in human wed- lock. As it was indispensable that the brides should be virgins, mere children were chosen.* Though believing in the immortality of the soul, the Indian did not always accompany it with a be- lief in a state of future reward and punishment ; and when such belief did exist, the reward and * Parkman's Jesuits. 28 HISTORY OF I.IVINOSTON COUNTY. punishment were sensuous rather than moral. Some, though but few, believed in the transmigra- tion of the soul. They had religious teachers whose code of morals, says Loskiel, was as severe as their own non-observance of it was universal. To the poor they recommended vomiting, among other things, as the most expeditious mode of puri- fication from their sins. -'Some," says Loskiel, "who believed in these absurdities, vomited so often that their lives were endangered by it." He pertinently adds, " few indeed persevered in attend- ing to so severe a regimen." Others, he says, re- commended stripes as the most effectual means to that end, " and advised their hearers to surfer themselves to be beaten with twelve different sticks, from the soles of their feet to their necks, that their sins might pass from them through their throats." " Even these," he says, " had their wil- ling scholars, though it was apparent that the people became no better, but rather worse by these wretched doctrines." The Iroquois had five stated annual festivals, each conducted in a manner appropriate to the special event commemorated.* The first was held in the spring, after the close of the sugar-making season, in gratitude for the abundance of sap and quantity of sugar they had been permitted to make. The aged chiefs ad- monished the young men to rectitude and virtue as the way to merit a continuance of these favors. It was usually closed with dancing, singing and games. The second was held immediately after com- plaining; when thanks were rendered for a favor- able seed time, instructions given for the care and cultivation of the crops, and the great spirit in- voked to give it a healthy growth. The third, called the green-corn feast, was held when the corn was ready for use, and thanks were rendered for this valuable gift, which was prepared ami consumed in great quantity and in a variety of ways. Songs and dances entered largely into the ceremonies of the occasion, which were closed by the famous succotash dance. The pipe of peace was usually smoked on these festal days by the head men of the nation. The fourth was held after the close of the corn harvest, for which thanks were given, and was fol- lowed by the usual festivities. To the preceding festivals, which latterly occu- pied but one day each, three days each were form- erly allotted. * According to Morgan there were six, the third being the strawberry festival.— League of the Iroquois. The fifth, the last, and crowning festival of the year, the one to which the greatest importance was attached, was held late in January, or early in February, immediately after the return of the hunters from the chase, with their wealth of game and skins, and was celebrated with great pomp and ceremony. When every preparation had been made by the managers chosen for that purpose, runners were sent to every cabin in the nation, to give notice of the fact. The fire was extinguished in every cabin, each of which was then visited and purified by persons designated for that purpose, who scattered the ashes, swept the hearth, and re- kindled the fire. This occupied the first day. On the second, the managers, fantastically dressed, visited each house and received the gifts of the people, which consisted of various articles useful for food, incense or sacrifice. This was continued several days, according to the time allotted for the continuance of the festival, during which time the people assembled at the council-house were en- gaged in various sports. All must give something, or be saluted with a " rub " by the solicitors, which left a mark of disgrace not easily effaced, and be excluded from the sacrificial absolution. Preparations were made on the day preceding the last for the great sacrifice, which was to take place on the succeeding one. The offerings which had been collected were presented separately by the giver to the master of ceremonies, who, with the utmost gravity, uttered ashortejaculatory pray- er, to which those present made a hearty response. These gifts as they were returned were hung around the council room. The sins of the people, which were supposed to have been concentrated in the managers, were transferred by them to two individ- uals clad in white, who, in turn, transferred them to two white dogs, which had been previously fantas- tically painted with red figures, decorated with small belts of wampum, ribbons and feathers, and killed by strangulation. These were then taken to the council-house and laid upon a platform, the whole proceedings being characterized by the most devout solemnity. They were subsequently carried with formal ceremony to the fire, which had been kindled outside the house, and around which the multitude gathered. Each in turn was thrown upon the fire, the act being preceded by prayer and song. Baskets of herbs and tobacco were thrown upon the lire at intervals and the whole consumed.* * Clark's Owmdaga, in which may be found a more minute descrip- tion. THE IROQUOIS FAITH IN DREAMS. 29 An Indian community swarmed with sorcerers, medicine-men and diviners, whose functions were often united in one person. The former, by charms, magic songs and feasts, and the beating of drums, professed power over spirits and those occult influ- ences inherent in animals and inanimate things. The Indian mind, so prone to mysticisms, was largely influenced by these deceivers. The doctors knew how to cure wounds, and treated simple dis- eases successfully, but were not skilled in the prac- tice of medicines. The general health was due more to their habits than a knowledge of remedies. One method of treatment was the sweating bath, which was literally an earthen oven, around which heated stones were placed to raise the temperature. Into this the patient crawled, and after remaining under perspiration a certain length of time, was taken out and immersed suddenly in cold water, a process well calculated to " kill or cure." The oil obtained from beavers was used by them in many forms and for various purposes. It was a remedy to which the Dutch attached much value. But they relied far more on magic than natural remedies. Diseases, they believed, resulted from supernatural causes, and hence supernatural and extremely ludi- crous curative agencies were resorted to. They beat, shook, pinched and bit their patients, and sought to expel the evil spirits by deafening noises and various incantations. These, together with dances, feasts, dreams, an unearthly din in the cabin of the invalid, kept up for hours, and sufficient to make the well sick, strewing ashes about the hut, and rolling one of their number in skins, were the principal remedies. The diviners, or prophets, had various means of reading the secrets of futurity, and wielded an im- mense influence with the people, who, apparently, were incapable of abstract thought. For the spirit- ual and purely esthetical they cared nothing ; but directed their study chiefly to physical phenomena, with which they were so intimately associated, always referring their causes to a supernatural agen- cy. Hence their mind was a fruitful field for the mystic arts of divination. The sorcerers, medicine-men and diviners did not usually exercise the functions of priests, says Park- man. Each man sacrificed for himself to the pow- ers he wished to propitiate. The most common offering was tobacco, thrown into fire or water ; scraps of meat were sometimes burned to the manikins ; and on a few rare occasions of public solemnity, a white dog, the mystic animal of many tribes, was tied to the end of an upright pole, as a sacrifice to some superior spirit or to the sun, with which the superior spirits were constantly con- founded by the primitive Indian. Among the Iroquois, and, indeed, all the sta- tionary tribes, there was an incredible number of mystic ceremonies, extravagant, puerile, and often disgusting, designed for the cure of the sick or for the general weal of the community. Most of their observances seem originally to have been dictated by dreams, and transmitted as a sacred heritage from generation to generation. They consisted in an endless variety of dances, masqueradings, and nondescript orgies ; and a scrupulous adherence to all the traditional forms was held to be of the first moment, as the slightest failure in this respect might entail serious calamities. Dreams were the great Indian oracles, and were implicitly obeyed. They believed them to be direct emanations from the Great Spirit, and as such were immutable laws to them. From this source arose many of their evils and miseries. In them were revealed their destiny and duty ; war and peace, health and sickness, rain and drouth, were all re- vealed by a class of professional dreamers and dream interpreters. Sir William Johnson, before he was knighted, profited by his knowledge of this peculiarity of the Indian character. He was ac- costed at one time by Ring Hendrick, the cele- brated Mohawk chieftain, to whom Sir William was greatly attached. Ring Hendrick said he had dreamed, and on being invited by Sir William to state the nature of his dream, added, " I dream you give me one suit of clothes." Sir William replied, " Well, I suppose you must have it." But now it was the latter's turn. He not long after met Hen- drick and with a bland smile told him that he had dreamed. " Did you," said Hendrick, " what you dream ?" " I dreamed," said Sir William, "You gave me such a tract of land," the outlines of which he described. Ring Hendrick paused, and with a significant shake of his finger, said. " 1 suppose you must have it," but, he added, " You must not dream again."* This incident has also been credited to the illustrious Oneida chief Skanan- doah, through whose friendly and powerful interven- tion the arms of the Oneidas were bared in the interest of the colonists during the Revolutionary war. Honnonouaroria, The Dream Feast of the fra- quois, was one of their most noted festivals, and while it lasted was one scene of frenzy. It is thus described by Father Claude Dablon, who with * Benton's Herkimer County and tut, 2J. 3° HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Father Joseph Chaumonot, witnessed its observ- ance in 1656. the year of their embassy to Onon- daga to open the way for the missions in the several Iroquois cantons; premising that on such occa- sions license was given to any one who had dreamed of anything involving his welfare, to de- mand of others that they should tell him his dream and satisfy his desire as thus indicated: — •• It began with the 2 2(1 of February and lasted three days. Immediately upon the proclamation of the feast by the old men of the village, to whom this duty is entrusted, the whole population, men, women and children, rush from their cabins through the streets in the wildest confusion, but by no means after the fashion of an European masquer- ade. The larger part are nearly naked and seem almost insensible to the cold, which is almost in- tolerable to the warmly clad. Certain ones carry with them a plentiful supply of water, and it may be something more hurtful, to throw upon those who come in their way. Others s;ize lire-brands, live coals with ashes, which they thug about without regard to consequences. Others still occupy them- selves in smashing pots, plates and the small house- hold utensils they happen to encounter. A number are armed with swords, spears, knives, hatchets. clubs, which they make as though they would hurl at the first comer; and this is kept up until some one is able to interpret and execute the dream. " It sometimes occurs, however, that the skill of each and all fails him in divining their meaning, since instead of proposing the matter plainly, they rather conceal in enigma, chanting a jumble of ambiguous words or gesticulate in silence as in pantomime. Consequently they do not always find an CEdipus to solve the riddle. At the same time they obstinately persist in their demand that the dream shall be made known, and if the diviner is too slow, or shows an unwillingness to risk an interpretation, or makes the least mistake, they threaten to destroy and burn."* Wizards and witches were the great bane of the Iroquois, and objects of utter detestation. Murder might be condoned, but witchcraft was punishable with death in all cases. Any one might kill a witch on sight with impunity. They believe that witches could transform themselves at will into any one of the wild animals or birds, or even assume the shape of logs, trees, rocks, etc.. and in forms invisible, visit public assemblies or private houses, and inflict all manner of evils. The delusion was at one time so prevalent and their destruction so great as to seriously lessen the population. The Indians never destroyed rattlesnakes be- cause they believed them to be the offspring of the devil, who, they thought, would revenge the act by preventing their success in hunting. 1 i liap. I\.. -'■ -')■ Early Chapters of Cayuga History. Indian burials were attended with solemn cere- monies, and differed somewhat in the method of conducting them. The most ancient mode of burial among the Iroquois was first to place the corpse upon a scaffold, some eight feet high, and allow it to remain there till the flesh fell off, when the bones were interred.* How long this method prevailed is not known, but latterly, and from their first association with the whites, a more commendable one prevailed. The corpse was clad usually in the best attire of the deceased. The grave, usually about three feet deep, was lined with bark, into which the body was laid. There were deposited in the bark coffin a kettle of provisions, deer skin and the sinews of the deer, (to sew patches on the moccasins, which, it was believed, would wear out in the long journey to the spirit land.) bows and arrows, a tomahawk, knife and sometimes, if he was a distinguished person, a gun. These were deemed indispensable to a prosper- ous and happy journey to the Indian's land of shades. The final covering was then placed over the whole, and the grave filled with earth. This done, the Indian women kneeled down by the grave and wept. The men were silent for a time, but eventually set up a doleful cry, chanted the death dirge, and all silently retired to their homes. It was formerly customary for the friends to visit the grave before sunrise and after sunset for twelve- successive days, but this practice has been aban- doned. The practice of putting into the grave certain articles designed to promote the journey of the deceased to the great hunting grounds was com- mon to all Indian nations, and often very costly ornaments and trinkets belonging to the deceased were buried with them. The face and hair of the corpse were sometimes painted red to obscure the pallor of death and give it an animated appearance, and the obsequies were celebrated with all the pomp of savage splendor. With the Natchez it was customary for the mourning friend to name the degree of relationship he sustained toward the deceased, and the nearest relatives continued this ceremony for three months. Colden says the custom was to make a large round hole, in which the body was placed in a sit- ting posture. It was then covered with timber to support the earth, which was heaped up in a round hill.t Bradford cites several authorities with regard to the position of the corpse, among them * l. a Fart. A meriean Antiquities, Bradford, 195. t Gulden's Five Indian Xations. INDIAN MODE OF BURIAL — WAMPUM. 3i Charlevoix, who says : " The dead body, dressed in the finest robe, with the face painted, the arms and all that belonged to the deceased by his side, is exposed at the door of the cabin, in the posture it is to be laid in the tomb; and this posture is the same, in many places, as that of the child before its birth."* " At intervals of ten or twelve years," says Park- man, "the Hurons, the Neutrals, and other kin- dred tribes, were accustomed to collect the bones of their dead, and deposit them, with great cere- mony, in a common place of burial. The whole nation was sometimes assembled at this solemnity; and hundreds of corpses, brought from their tempo- rary resting places, were inhumed in one capacious pit. From this hour the immortality of the soul began. They took wing, as some affirmed, in the shape of pigeons ; while the greater number de- clared that they journeyed on foot, and in their own likeness, to the land of shades, bearing with them the ghosts of the wampum belts, beaver skins, bows, arrows, pipes, kettles, beads, and rings buried with them in the common grave. But as the spirits of the old and of the children are too feeble for the march, they are forced to stay behind, lingering near their earthly villages, where the living often hear the shutting of their invisible cabin-doors, and the weak bodies of the disembodied children driving birds from the corn-fields." Cleared areas were chosen for this sepulcher. The ceremonies attending the event lasted for days and were very imposing. The subsequent discov- ery of these immense deposits of bones have elici- ted much inquiry on the part of those not familiar with the facts. Father Bre'beuf saw and fully ex- plained one of these burials in 1636. Wampum, or Zewant, served the Indians as a cur- rency, as an ornament and as the public archives of the nation. It was, therefore, an important factor in all their civil, social, political and religious affairs. It was of two kinds, purple or black, and white, both being used as a measure of value, the black being estimated at twice the value of the white. The purple wampum was made from the interior portions of the common conch, (venus merceneria,) and the white from the pillar of the periwinkle. Each kind was fashioned into round or oval beads, about a quarter of an inch long, which were perforated and strung on a fibre of deer's sinew, but latterly on linen thread, after that was discovered. The article was highly prized as an ornament, and as such constituted an object of traffic between the sea-coast and interior tribes. It was worn in various ways, upon the clothing, and in the form of necklaces, bracelets, collars and belts ; and when these strings were united it formed * American Antiquities, 195-196. the broad wampum belts, by which solemn public transactions were confirmed. As a substitute for gold and silver coin, its price was fixed by law, though its value was subject to variations, accord- ing to time and place. Three purple beads, or six white ones, were equal to a stiver with the Dutch, or a penny with the English, each equal to two cents United States currency. The price of a string six feet long, denominated a fathom of wam- pum, ruled at five shillings in New England, and was known to reach as high as four guilders in New Netherland. Previous to the advent of the Europeans, wam- pum was made largely of small pieces of wood of equal size, stained black or white. Its manufac- ture from shells was very difficult, and although much time was spent in finishing it, it presented a very clumsy appearance, owing to the want of proper tools. The Dutch introduced the lathe in its manufacture, polished and perforated it with exactness, and by supplying an article far superior to that previously in use, soon had the monopoly of the trade, which they found very advantageous. The principal place of manufacture was Hacken- sack, N. J., and the principal deposit of sea shells, Long Island. Imitations in glass and porcelain soon became abundant. The most important uses to which wampum was applied, however, was in confirming compacts and treaties between nations, both Indian and Euro- pean, for which purpose it took the place of feathers, which had been previously employed. Every speech and principal part of a speech was made valid by a string or belt of wampum, the value of which was determined by the gravity of the subject under con- sideration. The color of the wampum was of no less importance than its other qualities, as it had an immediate reference to the things which it was meant to confirm ; thus a black belt implied a warning against evil, or an earnest reproof, and if it was marked with red and had the added figure of a hatchet of white wampum in the center, it signified war. Black or purple always signified something grave, if not of doubtful import; while white was the symbol of peace. It was necessary that the answer given to a speech be confirmed by strings and belts of the same size and number as those received. The Indian women dexterously wove these strings of wampum into belts, and skillfully wrought into them elaborate and significant devices, suggestive of the subject of the compact or speech, and designed as aids to memory. These strings and belts of wampum became the national records, 32 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. and one or more old men were charged with their safe keeping and interpretation. At certain sea- sons the Indians met to study their meaning, and as it was customary to admit to these assemblies the young men of the nation who were related to the chiefs, a knowledge of these documents was thus transmitted to posterity. The figures on wampum belts were for the most part, simply mnemonic, so also were those carved on wooden tablets, or painted on bark and skin, to preserve in memory the songs of war, hunting or magic. The Unions had, however, in common with other tribes, a system of rude pictures and arbitrary signs, by which they could convey to each other, with tolera- ble precision, information touching the ordinary subjects of Indian interest.* The Indian standards of value were the hand or fathom of wampum and the denotas or bags which they themselves made, for measuring and preserv- ing corn.f Hospitality among the Indians was proverbial, not only among their own race, but was extended also with the greatest freedom toward strangers. They regarded it as a sacred duty, from which no one was exempt. CHAPTER III. Maria Discoveries— European Competition in the Western Continent — Settlements and Conflicting Claims of the Dutch, French and English — The English Supersede the 1)i TCH in New Netherlands — Iroouois and Early Colonists — Champlain's Invasions of 1609 and 1615— Location of the Fori it- tacked l\ Champlain in 1615 — Iroquois make Peace WITH THE French — Iroquois Conquests and Supremacy. BEFORE proceeding to the consideration of the events immediately preceding the set- tlement of this portion of our country, it will be well to glance cursorily at the more salient of the earlier events which prepared the way for it. • Parkman's Jesuits ; Indian Tribes of 'Hudson 's River, Ruttenber, 26; A merican Antiquities, Bradford, 180, njo; Charlevoix's Voyage, I ' 180 — H.,174; Smith's History 0/ New York, I. t 74; History of the United Brethren among ttie Indian* in North America, 1 oskiel, 28: Biography and History of the Indians of North America, Book [II., Chap. \ll, 145; and Colonial History oj J ork. t Ruttenber, Col. Hist., I., 281. In the light of modern research and archaeolog- ical discovery it is difficult to speak with definite- ness upon thediscovery of America. It was known to ancient Arabian geographers ;* Chinese records give a circumstantial account of its discovery as early as the fifth century of our era, by the Chi- nese, who called it Fee-Sang, and described it as being distant 20,000 // (7,000 miles or more,t)from Ta-Han;\ and "there is an abundance of legends iiul traditions concerning the passage of the Irish into America, and their habitual communication with that continent many centuries before the time of Columbus."? The Basques, who were adventurous fishermen, and extensively engaged in the whale fishery, were accustomed to visit the north-east coast of America long before the time of Colum- bus, and probably " from time immemorial. "jj It was not, however, known to modern Europe until 861, when it was discovered by Nadodd, a Norse rover; and colonization was not begun until 875, in which year Ingolf, a Norwegian, established a colony in Iceland, where, owing to civil difficulties in Norway, he was soon joined by many of the most intelligent, wealthy and honorable of his country- men. This Icelandic colony, during the two suc- ceeding centuries, developed an intellectual culture, which made them eminent in Norse communities, far surpassing their countrymen in Norway; and to them we are indebted for the existing records of Scandinavian mythology. In 983,' they discovered and colonized Greenland ; and about the year 1000, in the course of many voyages, had explored the coast of North America as far south as the present State of Massachusetts. From the Appendix to Ancient America, we epito- mize an account of these discoveries. Thorvald. a nobleman, and his son Eirek, surnamed the Red, being obliged to Hee from Jadir, in Norway, in con- * (General Hussein Pasha, an Arab gentleman, in a work on America, entitled In Xesir-KI-Tayir, quotes from Djeldeki and other Wl show this. Historical Magazine, New Series, Vol. VI., No. III. £.20. \ ll'a-kan-san-tai-dzinye, the great Japanese I ncyclopsedia. t Abbede Bourbourg's Introduction to the Popol-i'nlt — Baldwin*}. Pre Historic Nations, 401 ; and Historical '■ Mew Series, Vol. VL, No. III., 121 (quoting the Gentleman s Magazine,) which says: — J. rlaulay, the Chinese interpreter in San Francisco, wrote an ess.iv on 1 In- subject, drawn from Chinese historians and geographers, from which ili. following statements are gathered: — u Fourteen hundred years ago even. America had been disi overed by the Chinese and described by them. They stated that land, to be about twenty thousand miles distant from China. About five hundred years alter the birth of Christ, Buddhist Priests repaired there, and brought back the news that they had brought back Buddhist idols and religious writings. in the country, already. Their descriptions in many respects, resemble those of the Spaniards, a thousand years after. They called the country ■ / usany,' aftei .1 nee which grew there, whose leavi resemble those of the Bamboo, whose bark the natives made I iothes anil papei "in .if, ami wiin 1 n int they ate." § Baldwin's Pre Historic Nations, 401. II Ibid. 11 /.ell. Baldwin fixes the date at 98Z. EARLY NORWEGIAN AND WELSH DISCOVERIES. 33 sequence of a homicide committed by them, went to Iceland, where Thorvald soon after died. Eirek, becoming involved in another feud resulting in homicide in Iceland, fled that country with a colony in search of the land, which Gunniborn had seen when driven by a storm into the Western Ocean. Sailing west from the west coast of Iceland, he at length discovered land, which he called Midjokul. He coasted along the shore in a southerly direction in search of a more suitable place for settlement, and spent the winter on a part of the coast he called "Eirek's Island," where his colony remained two years. On returning to Iceland he called the dis- covered country Greenland, saying to his confiden- tial friends, "A name so inviting will induce men to emigrate thither." He returned to Greenland with "twenty-five ships," filled with emigrants andstores, "fifteen winters," says the chronicle, (an Account of Eriek the Red and Greenland,} " before the Christian religion was introduced into Iceland." i. e. in 985. Biami, son of Heriulf, a chief man among these colonists, was absent in Norway when his father left Iceland. On returning he resolved to join the colony, and with others set sail, making "one of the most remarkable and fearful voyages on record." After three days' fair sailing he was driven for many days by a north-easterly wind, and on sailing west one day after the abatement of the storm, he discovered land which he concluded was not Greenland, as it " was not mountainous " — sup- posed to be Nantucket or Cape Cod. The ship was put about, and after sailing two days in a north- easterly direction, he discovered land " which was low and level" — supposed to be Cape Sable, Nova Scotia. He sailed three days more in the same direction and came to land, "mountainous and covered with ice" — supposed to be Newfoundland — around which he sailed. After sailing north four days he reached the southern coast of Greenland, near the new settlement. This was in 985, 507 years before the first voyage of Columbus. Four- teen years later, Leif, a son of Eirek, fitted out an expedition, comprising a ship, manned with thirty- five men, to go in search of the land seen by Biarni. The first land seen by Leif after sailing from Green- land, was the island around which Biarni sailed, which he called Helluland, " the land of broad stones." Sailing south he came to a low and level country covered with wood. This he named Mark- land — the land of woods. Still sailing toward the south, after two days he touched an island (Nan- tucket?) " which lay opposite the north-east part of the main land." He then " sailed through a bay between this island and a cape running north-east, and going westward, sailed past the Cape." At length he " passed up a river into a bay," proba- bly Mount Hope Bay— where he landed and spent the winter. This was about mid-autumn, and finding wild grapes, he called the country Vin- land. In the spring he loaded his vessel with tim- ber and returned to Greenland. The next year Leif's brother Thorvald went to Vinland with one ship and thirty men, and passed the winter. The next summer he explored the coast westward and southward, and seems to have gone as far south as the Carolinas. The next summer he coasted around Cape Cod, toward Boston Harbor. Here the chronicle first speaks of the natives, whom he calls " Skradlings," with whom they provoked a severe engagement, in which Thorvald was mor- tally wounded. His companions, after passing the third winter in Vinland, returned to Greenland. Thorfinn came to Greenland in 1006. He made a voyage to Vinland, taking with him three ships, one hundred and sixty men, live stock and all things necessary to the establishment of a colony, and passing up Buzzard's Bay, disembarked, and prepared to pass the winter, which proved a severe one and threatened famine to the little colony. The next spring he explored the coast farther west and south, and passed the second winter in Vin- land. He called the bay Hop ; the Indians called it Haup ; we call it Hope. During the next sea- son, in which he explored Massachusetts Bay, he saw many natives and had much intercourse with them, which finally led to hostilities, in which the latter were signally defeated. After spending a third winter in Vinland he returned to Greenland. A part of the colony remained, and a lucrative traffic was maintained between Vinland and Greenland, where the timber which abounded at the former place found a ready market. Old Welsh annals preserved in the abbeys of Conway and Strat Flur, and used by Humphrey Llwyd in his translation and continuation of Cara- doc's History of Wales, relate the particulars of Welsh emigration to America under Prince Madoc, Madog or Madawc, in 1 1 70.* About the year 1 168 or 1 169, Owen Gwynedd, ruling prince of North Wales, died, and among his sons there was a contest for the succession, which, becoming fierce and ♦This emigration, which Squier [Antiquities of New York and the West. IJ7.) regards as "apochryphal, " but I ofwhichauthors generally give credence, "is mentioned in the preserved works of several Welsh bards who lived before the time of Columbus ;" and ''by Hakluyt, who had his account of it from writings oi the bard Gutten Owen." An- cient America, Appendix, i&Si •*& 34 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. angry, produced a civil war. His son Madoc, who had " command of the fleet," took no part in this strife; but, in consequence thereof, he resolved to leave Wales. Accordingly, in the year 1170, he left with a few ships, going south of Ireland, and steer- ing westward, to explore the western lands and se- lect a place for a settlement, which he established in "a pleasant and fertile region," which Baldwin supposes to have been in the Carolinas,* and Cat- lin, " on the coast of Florida or about the mouth of the Mississippi. "t " Leaving one hundred and twen- ty persons, he returned to Wales, prepared ten ships, prevailed on a large company, some of whom were Irish, to join him, and sailed again to America. Nothing more was ever heard in Wales of the prince or his settlement. The locality and destiny of this Welsh settlement is a matter of conjecture, but, says Baldwin, it is supposed that, being " unsupported by new arrivals from Europe, and cut off from communication with that side of the ocean," it " became weak, and, af- ter being much reduced, was destroyed or absorbed by some powerful tribe of Indians." In our colonial times, and later, he adds, " there was no lack of re- ports that relics of Madoc's Welshmen, and even their language, had been discovered among the In- dians ; but generally they were entitled to no credit. The only report of this kind, he says, having any show of claim to respectful consideration, is that of Rev. Morgan Jones, a Welsh clergyman, made March 10, 1685, and published in the Gentlemen's Magazine in 1740, giving an account of his adven- tures among the Tuscaroras, by whom he was cap- tured in 1660. It states that he was promised im- munity from harm by an Indian who appeared to be a war captain, and conversed with him in the Welsh language; and that they (" the Doegs") en- tertained him "civilly and cordially" for four months, during which time he had opportunity to converse with them familiarly and preached to them three times a week in the Welsh language. In conclu- sion Baldwin says in regard to this report : " With- out meaning to doubt his veracity, one feels skepti- cal, and desires a more intelligent and complete ac- count of these 'travels.' "J Says Foster, in refer- ring to this matter, "he [the Rev. Mr. Jones,] may have been a very worthy man ; but we are disposed to question the truthfulness of a statement at this day, when the author deems it necessary to fortify " Ancient America, Appendix, 286. t Catlin's North American Indians, II., 259. XAncient America. Appendix, 285 — 2S7. Baldwin's Pre-Histori, Nations, page 403, says: "It will he recollected that, in the earl) coli a) times, the Tuscaroras were sometime called 'White Indians.'" it by a self-sought oath." Elsewhere, referring to the Northmen and Welshmen under Madoc, he says: "these peoples have left behind no memo- rials."* Catlin enters into an elaborate and plausible argument to show that Madoc's Welsh colony were the progenitors of the Mandans, who occupied and have left so many interesting memorials in the Missouri valley. He shows a remarkable analogy between the two languages — an analogy, appar- ently, too close to be accidental. He supposes that, having landed on the southern coast of the United States, they, or a part of them, made their way through the interior, to a position on the Ohio, where they cultivated fields and established a flour- ishing colony in one of the finest countries on earth, but were at length driven from thence by overpowering hordes, and were besieged, until it was necessary to erect the fortifications referred to for defense, where they held out against a confed- eracy of tribes, till their ammunition and provisions were exhausted, and eventually all perished, except such as may have formed an alliance by marriage with the Indians; that the half-breed offspring of the latter, despised, as he says, " all half-breeds of enemies are," gathered themselves into a band, severed themselves from their parent tribe, and in- creased in numbers and strength as they "ad- vanced up the Missouri river to the place where they have been known for many years past by the name of Mandans, a conception or abbreviation, perhaps, of " Madawgwys" the name applied by the Welsh to the followers of Madawc."f An earlier writer under the caption of " Welsh or White Indians," furnishes voluminous if not authentic, testimony confirmatory of Catlin's sup- positions; and cites, also, in a somewhat modified form, a case which, evidently, corresponds with that of Rev. Mr. Jones, before referred to. He does not, however, attach much importance to the several narratives, for he says, in conclusion : " I p on the whole we think it may be pretty safely said that the existence of a race of Welsh about the re- gions of the Missouri does not rest on so good authority as that which has been adduced to estab- lish the existence of the sea-serpent. "J Notwithstanding these discoveries of the Norse- men and Welsh, real, as they unquestionably were, America was not known to Southern Europe until the latter part of the fifteenth century, when it was *Prt Histori Races of the United States, 403. t Catlin's North American Indians, II., 259 — 265. i Biography and History 0/ the Indians of North America, Boole I, chapter III., 16—39. FIRST SPANISH, FRENCH AND ENGLISH DISCOVERIES. 35 accidentally discovered while in quest of a westerly route to India and China. In 1492, Columbus, a Genoese, set out on a voyage of discovery under the patronage of the Spanish Government, and in that and the two succeeding years made his tropi- cal discoveries. In 1497, John Cabot, a Venetian, in company with his son Sebastian, set out on a voyage of discovery under letters patent from Henry VII. of England. Sailing westward he dis- covered Newfoundland, and on the 24th of June of that year, struck the sterile coast of Labrador, taking possession of the same in the name of the King of England. The following year his son Sebastian, while in quest of a north-west passage to China, was compelled to turn from the frozen re- gions of the north, and sailing south he explored the coast from Newfoundland to Florida, of which he took possession for the English crown. In 1500, the coast of Labrador and the entrance to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, were explored by two Portuguese brothers named Cortereal. In 1508, the St. Lawrence was discovered by Aubert, and four years later, in 15 12, Ponce de Leon discovered Florida. Magellan, a Portuguese, passed through the straits which bear his name in 15 19, and was the first to circumnavigate the globe. In 1534, the St. Lawrence was explored by Jacques Cartier (Quartier) as far as Montreal. In 1539, Florida was explored by Ferdinand de Soto. Upper Cali- fornia was discovered in 1578, by an English navi- gator named Drake. These data will be of service in aiding to a proper understanding of the relative importance of the events which subsequently trans- pired. Thus we see that within a decade from the time that Columbus discovered America the different maritime powers of Europe were engaged in active competition for the prizes of the New World. Spain, actuated by the greed of gold and lust of conquest, conquered Mexico in 152 1, seized upon the rich treasures of the Montezumas, and in 1540, carried her conquest into Peru. Stimulated by these successes, she took possession of Florida and that portion of the Northern continent bordering on the Gulf of Mexico, and in 1565, seventy-three years after Columbus' discovery, and fifty-three years after that of Ponce de Leon, planted the first Spanish colony in North America, at St. Augustine, Florida. While the Spaniards were pushing their territo- rial acquisition in the South, the French, attracted by the rich prize of the Newfoundland fisheries, had gained a foot-hold in the northern part of the continent. As early as the beginning of the six- teenth century the French, Basques, Bretons and Normans fished for cod along the entire coasts of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and those in the vicinity, and traded for peltries. In 1518, Baron Livy set- tled there. In 1524, King Francis I. of France, sent thither Jean Verrazani, a distinguished Flor- entine mariner, on a voyage of exploration. He sailed along the coast twenty-one hundred miles in frail vessels, and returned safely to report his suc- cess to his sovereign. At about 41° north latitude he entered a bay — supposed to be the entrance to New York harbor — and remained there fifteen days. His crew are supposed to be the first Euro- peans who trod the soil of New York. Ten years later the same king sent thither Jacques Cartier, a pilot of St. Malo, who made two voyages, and ascended the St. Lawrence as far as Montreal, pre- viously called Hochelaga. As he sailed up the broad expanse of waters on St. Lawrence day, (August 10, 1534,) he applied to the river the name of the illustrious saint whose virtues that day commemorates. In 1540, Cartier was sent back with Jean Francis de Robarval, a gentleman of Picardy, whom King Francis I. appointed his Lieu- tenant-General over the new countries of Canada, Hochelaga and Saguenay. In 1543, Robarval came the second time from France, in company with the pilot Jean Alphonse of Saintogue, and they took possession of Great Breton. At this time the settlement of Quebec was commenced. In 1598 King Henry IV. of France conferred on the Marquis de la Roche, a Breton, the govern- ment of the territories of Canada and the adjacent countries; and in 1603, he conferred his commis- sion of Lieutenant-Colonel in the territories of New France, Acadia, (Nova Scotia,) Canada and other parts on Sieurde Mons, a gentleman of Saintogue, who, in 1608, built a fort at Quebec, the govern- ment whereof he let to Sieur Champlain, the first discoverer of the Iroquois. The year previous, 1607, the English colonists made the first permanent settlement at Jamestown, Virginia, under the immediate supervision of that Englishman of heroic spirit and indomitable energy, Capt. John Smith. In 1620, the English planted a second colony on this western continent at Ply- mouth Rock, which was destined to exert an im- portant influence in the affairs of this country. These two colonies were the successful rivals of all others of every nationality in that competition for empire, which has made their descendants the mas- ters of North America. 36 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Henry Hudson, an intrepid English navigator, having failed in two attempts todiscover a western passage to the East Indies in the interest of a com- pany of London merchants, sailed from Amsterdam on the 4th of April. 1609. in the employ of the Dutch East India Company, of Holland, formed the year previous for traffic and colonization. He arrived on the American coast near Portland, Maine, whence he proceeded south along the shore to the entrance of Chesapeake Hay. From thence he pro- ceeded northward, discovered and entered Delaware Bay, and on the 3rd ol September moored his vessel, the J/a/J Moon, a mere yacht, at Sandy Hook. Proceeding up the bay, he sent his boats to the Jer- sey shore and received on board the natives who came in great numbers to traffic, and by whom he was in turn entertained. ( >n the 1 2th he entered the river which bears his name, and ascended it to a point a little above the city of Hudson, having been frequently visited on the way by the Indians, who came to traffic, bringing maize, tobacco and other indigenous products. Deeming it unsafe to proceed further with his ship, he sent a boat with a part of his crew to explore the river higher up. They went, it is supposed, a little above Albany. On the 23d he commenced to descend the river; and a lit- tle below the Highlands became embroiled with the natives, to whom he had imparted a knowledge of the baneful effects of intoxicating liquors, shooting in the encounters ten or twelve of their number and losing one of his own men. He returned to Europe and imparted the information he had gained which soon led to the establishment of a colony by the Dutch, by the name of New Netherlands. The fol- lowing year Hudson voyaged in search of a north- west passage to India and discovered and entered the bay which bears his name ; but continuing his search too long he was compelled to spend the winter in a northern latitude. In the spring a part of his crew mutinied, and placing him, his son and seven others in a boat, left them to perish. ( in the foregoing discoveries three European na- tions based claims to a part of the territory embraced in the State of New York : England, by reason of the discovery of Cabot and his son Sebastian, claim- ing a territory eleven degrees in width and extend- ing westward indefinitely ; France, by reason of the discoveries of Verrazani, claiming a portion of the Atlantic coast; and Holland, by reason of the dis- covery of Hudson, claiming the country from Cape Cod to the southern shore of Delaware Bay. The Dutch became the actual possessors of the country. In 16 10, they sent out a vessel to engage in the fur trade on the banks of the river discovered by Hudson. In 1612, Hendrick Christiansen and Adrian Block fitted out two other vessels for the same purpose, and were soon followed by others. The fur trade proving successful, Christiansen was appointed to superintend it and Manhattan Island made the chief depot. In 16 14. he erected a small fort and a few rude buildings on the southern extremity of the Island, which he called New Am- sterdam. October 1 1 th of the same year the States General granted a charter to the merchants en- gaged in the traffic, conferring on them the exclusive right to trade for three years in the territory embraced between New France and Virginia, and giving the name of New Netherlands to the whole region. In the meantime explorations were being made in the surrounding country. Adrian Block had passed up the East River, Long Island Sound and Connecticut river, and into the bays and along the islands eastward to Cape Cod. Cornelissen Jacob- son May had explored the southern coast of Long Island and southward to Delaware Bay ; while Hen- drick Christiansen had ascended the Hudson to Castle Island, a few miles below Albany, where he established a trading post and, in 16 15, built a small fort, which, being damaged by the flood, was re- moved a little below to the Normans-Kill. Here, in 1623, a treaty of peace was formed between the Five Nations and the representatives of the New Netherlands. The Dutch establishment at New Amsterdam increased, and their fur trade became so profitable that at the expiration of their charter, the States General refused to renew it, giving instead a tem- porary license for its continuance. It had become sufficiently attractive to tempt the avarice of Eng- lish capitalists. In 1620, James I. granted all the territory between the 40th and 48th degrees of north latitude, extending from ocean to ocean, to Ferdinando Georges and his commercial associates, and in their interest Capt. Dermer appeared at Manhattan and laid claim to all the territory occu- pied by the Dutch. This claim was strengthened by instructions to the English ambassador at the Dutch capital to remonstrate against Dutch intru- sion. Notwithstanding this remonstrance, however, in 162 1, the States General granted to the Dutch West India Company, an armed mercantile asso- ciation formed that year, a charter, which gave them exclusive jurisdiction for a period of twenty years over the province of New Netherlands, with power to appoint governors, subject to the ap- proval of the State, to colonize the territory and CHAMPLAIN'S INVASION. 37 administer justice. By virtue of this charter the company took possession of New Amsterdam in 1622-3. The executive management was entrusted to a board of directors, distributed through five separate chambers in Holland. The charge of the province was devolved on the Amsterdam cham- ber, which, in 1623, sent out a vessel underthe direc- tion of Capt. Cornelissen Jacobson and Andriaen Jorissen Tien point, with thirty families for coloni- zation. A portion of these settled on the Connec- ticut river, and others on the Hudson, at Albany, where, in 1624, they built Fort Orange, and the same year Fort Nassau on the Delaware river, near Gloucester. The colonies thus commenced were soon after augmented by other accessions. In May, 1626, Peter Minuit arrived in New Nether- lands as Director-General or Governor of the Prov- ince, and in that year purchased Manhattan Island for trinkets valued at sixty guilders. For fifteen years the colonists lived on amicable terms with the Indians, carrying on a brisk and profitable trade in furs ; but the harshness and cruelty of William Kieft, who was commissioned Director-General in September, 1637, soon provoked the just resent- ment of the Indians, involving the colonists in a war with the latter, which continued, with slight in- terruptions, during the remainder of the Dutch occupancy, and jeopardized the very existence of the colony. On the 1 2th of March, 1664, Charles II., of England, conveyed by patent to his brother James, Duke of York, all the country from the River St. Croix to the Kennebec, in Maine, also Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, and Long Island, together with all the land from the west side of the Connecticut river to the east side of Delaware Bay. The Duke sent an English squadron, under Admiral Richard Nicolls, to secure the gift, and on the 8th of September following, Gov. Stuyvesant capitu- lated, and the territory till then held by the Dutch, passed into the hands of the English, who changed the name of New Amsterdam to New York. The victory was an easy one, for restricted in their rights and liberties, and desirous of enjoying the privileges accorded to the neighboring English colonists, the Dutch settlers refused to contest the supremacy, and Stuyvesant, unsupported, was obliged, though re- luctantly, to resign. When the French first assumed a military domi- nence in Canada, they found the Iroquois at war with the Adirondacks, who lived in the vicinity of Quebec. The French allied themselves with the Canadian and Western Indians, and maintained friendly relations with them during the period of their supremacy in Canada. They espoused the cause of the Adirondacks against the Iroquois, with whom they were at sword's-points during much of that period, and long after the Adirondacks had been exterminated by their inveterate enemies. Champlain, having raised the drooping spirits of the Adirondacks, by an exhibition of the wonderful effect produced by the French guns, armed them and joined them in an expedition against the Iro- quois in 1609, and thus commenced that horrible series of barbarities, which continued for more than a century and a half, and from which the European colonists both in Canada and New York, suffered beyond description. Champlain and his Indian allies met a party of two hundred Mohawks on the lake which bears his name, (and then first discovered by him. ) Both parties landed ; but the Mohawks, dismayed at the murderous effect of the strange weapons, retreated to their fastnesses in the wilderness, leaving the French to return to Canada, without, however, having accomplished the object of their mission, which was to force the Iroquois to easy terms of peace. This was the first meeting of the Iroquois with the whites, and the circumstances certainly were not such as to give a very favorable opinion of them, nor soften the savage nature so largely predominant in them.* Emboldened by this success, Champlain, with a few Frenchmen, and four hundred Huron allies, renewed the attack on the Iroquois in 1615, this time directing his efforts against the stronghold of the Onondagas. He arrived before the fort on the afternoon of the 10th of October. At the first fire the Indians fled into their fort, which inclosed their village, and which Champlain describes as consist- ing of "quadruple palisades of large timber, thirty feet high, interlocked the one with the other, with an interval of not more than one foot, with galleries in the form of parapets, defended with double pieces of timber, proof against our arque- buses, and on one side they had a pond with a never-failing supply of water, from which proceeded a number of gutters which they had laid along the intermediate space, throwing the water without, and rendering it effectual inside for the purpose of extinguishing fire." The next day Champlain con- • It is a most singular coincidence that while Champlain was acquaint- ing the Iroquois with that deadly enemy gunpowder, the very same week and year Henry Hudson was cautiously feeling his way. as he supposed, into the Northern ocean, through the channel ofthe river which bears his name, and regailing them with an equally deadly enemy— rwm. Lifeand Times of Red Jacket, 191. 3« HISTORY OK LIVINGSTON COIN I \. structed a movable tower of sufficient height to overlook the palisades, and moved it near the fort, placing thereon marksmen to fire over the palisades, while they themselves were protected from the stones and arrows of the enemy by boards forming a species of parapet. Attempts were made to burn the palisades, but as his forces consisted mostly of undisciplined Hurons who could not be controlled, they suffered severely from the arrows shot from the fort, without accomplishing their object. After a three hours' engagement, during which Cham- plain was twice severely wounded with arrows, like- wise many of his allies, who were sadly demoralized by the efficient resistance made by the enemy, they withdrew to a fort erected for defensive purposes, to await an expected re-enforcement of five hun dred Indians, who, however, did not come. They remained encamped until the 16th, during which time several skirmishes occurred ; but being unable to induce his allies to renew the attack which their rash impetuosity had made so ineffectual, Cham- plain, in pain and mortification, retreated to Canada, being carried upon the back of an Indian. The precise location of this fort has long been in controversy.* Champlain's narrative of this ex- pedition is accompanied by a diagram of the fort, which is in the form of a hexagon, situated on a slight elevation, in the angle of a stream, which is at once the inlet and outlet of a pond, which, with the stream, bounded three sides of the fort. The stream flowed into and out of the pond at points but a few rods apart. The situation is a peculiar one, and it is scarcely probable that another one could be found which so exactly corresponds with Champlain's description, as the site designated by ('■en. Clark, who locates it in the town of Fenner, in Madison County. While writers differ as to the exact location of the fort, nearly all agree that Cham- plain's last encampment before he attacked the fort was at or near the mouth of Chittenango Creek, for none other of the interior lakes in the State meet the requirements of his description as to the * E. B. O'Callaghan, M. D., the able editor of The Documentary His- tory ami Colonial History o/tlu State of New York, assigns to it the neighborhood of Canandaigua Lake ; while others locate it on the shon of Onondaga Lake. Geo. John S- Clark, of Auburn, a most excellent authority on Indian antiquity, made a recent and most critical examina- tion of a Locality which discloses physical and other features so precisely I diDgwith Champlain's description, as tomaki irresistible the conclusion that the site is on the farm of Rufus H. Nichols, about three miles cast of Perryvillfc, near the Mile Strip four corners, which was, .11 that time the home of the Onondagas. Oen. Clark says : '* That the east branch of the Limestone is the dividing line absolutely between the historic and prehistoric town sites oi the Onondagas ; and that Cham plain's narrative 1 ontains internal evidence, in stati menl ol fact, unques- tionably, that the fort was within a few miles at least, and south of Oneida Lake." presence of islands. Of the western lakes, Cayuga is the only one thus graced, and that has but a soli- tary one. Oneida iS the only lake upon which he could have encamped that has islands. The locality indicated by General Clark as the probable site of the fort has long been regarded an important one in connection with the Indian anti- quities of the State, and has yielded many rare and interesting relics which are now in the Government collections in the Smithsonian Institute. A large part of the area which bears evidence of having been inclosed within the well-defined outlines of the fortification, has been cultivated for years, but a part is covered by venerable forest trees of great size. The plow has disclosed man) bits of crockery and broken stone implements, which have enriched many private cabinets; but, singularly, none of those articles so clearly referable to the Jesuit missions, and generally found in great abundance elsewhere, reward the searcher for anti- quarian relics here. This fact is a strong confirm- ation of Gen. Clark's deductions, as it clearly proves the existence of the fortifications anterior to the advent of the Jesuits.* In the undisturbed ground may be plainly seen marks left by the de- cay of the deeply-set palisades, and indentations, apparently, where corn was cached. From the high points adjacent, the eye commands a wide range of country of unusual beauty, and an alarm-fire on these commanding heights would be seen from near Lake Ontario to the western peaks of the Adirondacks. A small pond, whose ancient water- mark was much higher than at present, is fed by a stream which enters and leaves it on the south, and a low, broad knoll lies between these streams. The coincidences are striking ones: but the ele- ments of correspondence are so peculiar as to make it scarcely possible that they are merely coin- cidences, t These unprovoked attacks of Champlain on the Iroquois provoked hostilities which ended only with the extirpation of the French domination in North America. Great must have been the chagrin of the proud ami boastful French Oeneral to be com- pelled to retreat thus ignominiously before a "sav- age" horde, whom he confidently expected toover- • The first Jesuit mission in Canada was established in 1625. I! learned, devout and faithful disciples of Loyola, the hero of Pampeluna, adopted as their own the rugged task ol christianizing New France, sup- planting the 1 ranciscans, [Pent Recollects,} who were commissioned by royal decree, in 161;, missionaries in Canada, and who celebrated Mass in Quebec that year. t We have been aided in thesi investigations by a contribution from the. pen "i Mr. I.. W. I.edyard, of Cazenovia, to the ( 'azent via Kepubli .in ..I March -■ , 1879. FRENCH AND ENGLISH RIVALRY. 39 awe into submission. But he was destined to still greater humiliation. The Iroquois, alarmed but not dismayed, now artfully sued for peace. The French gladly listened to these overtures from an enemy from whom, in their weak state, they had so much to apprehend, and consented to a truce, imposing as the only condition that they might be allowed to send mis- sionaries among them, hoping by this means to win them over to French allegiance. But the Iro- quois held the Jesuit priests thus sent to them as hostages, to compel the neutrality of the French, while they prepared to wage a deadly war against the Adirondacks* and Hurons, (Quatoghies.j) the hitter of whom they defeated in a dreadful battle fought within two leagues of Quebec. This defeat, within sight of the French settlements, and the terrible loss indicted on the Hurons, filled with terror the Indian allies of the French, who were then numerous, having been attracted to the local- ity of Quebec by reason of the profitable trade car- ried on with the French, who supplied them with many useful conveniences. Many of them fled, some to the northward, others to the south-west, beyond the reach, as they hoped and supposed, of their terrible enemies, but only to enjoy a tempo- rary respite, for they were sought out by the vin- dictive Iroquois and murdered in detail. The Adirondacks, however, remained, and on them the Iroquois planned another raid. They had been supplied with fire-arms by the Dutch traders of Albany, and in 1646 they sent word to the Governor of Canada, (whom the Iroquois called Onontio,) that they intended to pay him a friendly visit during the winter. They set out with a thousand warriors and readied the village of the Adirondacks at a time when the warriors of that nation were engaged in their annual hunt. They captured the women and children and a party of ten set out in search of the absent warriors. They fell in with Piskaret, a renowned Adirondack chief, who was returning alone. They knew his prowess from previous encounters with him and feared to openly attack him. They therefore approached him in the attitude of friends, Piskaret being igno- rant of the rupture of the treaty of peace con- cluded in 1645. After learning from him that the Adirondack warriors were divided into two bodies, and their whereabouts, one of the party treacherously ran him through with a sword, and returned with his head to their army. They then •This is the French name for the Algonquins, Col. Hist. V., 7>;'. In Iroquois the name signifies "tree eaters," Col, Hist. IV., 891;. tAlso called Wyandots. divided their own forces, surprised and fell upon the unsuspecting Adirondacks, whom they almost exterminated. Thus a once powerful people, whom Golden regarded as "the most warlike and polite" of all the Indian nations of North America, were almost wiped out of existence by an enemy they had once despised. CHAPTER IV. French and English Rivalry — Expedition of m. de courcelles against the mohawks — m. de Tracy's Expedition against the Mohawks- Peace of Breda — French and Iroijuois again at war in 1669 — Peace of 1673 — M. de la Barre's Expedition against the Senecas — M. de Denonvii.le's Expedition against the Senecas — French and English War of 1689 — ■ Attack on Montreal and Quebec — Fronte- nac Invades the Onondaga Country — Treaty of Ryswick — -Treaty of Utrecht — Tuscaro- ras Admitted to Iroquois Confederacy — French and English War of 1744 — 1748 — Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle — War Renewed IN 1755 — Treaty of Paris — Pontiac's Con- spiracy — War of the Revolution — Present Status of Iroquois. 1 A HE peaceful relations which existed between the Dutch colonists and the Iroquois were perpetu- ated by the English on their accession to the Dutch possessions in 1664, by a treaty held at Fort Al- bany, Sept. 24, 1664 ; and, with immaterial excep- tions, the Iroquois remained the firm allies or friends of the English till the domination of the latter was broken by the triumph of the colonists in the war of the Revolution. But from the time the English supplanted the Dutch, the jealousy and strife which characterized the English and French intercourse in Europe were extended to this portion of the Western Continent. A sharp rivalry was main- tained in the acquisition of territory, and in the effort to gain an acknowledged supremacy over the Iroquois, of whose country M. de Lauson, the Gov- ernor of New France, took formal possession in 1656, and Thomas Dongan, then Governor of New York, in 1684, by placing the arms of the Duke of York in each of the castles of the Five Nations, with their consent.* The French displayed the most enterprise in the extension of her dominions ; * Col- Hist., III., !'>j; /.,-?. 76. 4 o HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. while the English were most successful in gaining the allegiance of the Iroquois, though their dilatory movements in wars with the French often provoked sharp criticisms from their savage and impetuous allies.* The French sent out parties in various di- rections, to the west, north-west and south-west, to explore new sections of country and take possession, which they did by erecting the king's arms and drawing up proce'S-verbeaux to serve as titles. They thus gained a useful knowledge of the country and its savage occupants, and enlarged the scope of their fur trade, which, together with the zeal of pro- pagandism, were the vital forces operating in the colonization of New France. But the prosperity of the French colony was not commensurate with the zeal of the Jesuits or the enterprise of the fur traders, as compared with that of the English colonies. The reason is quite ob- vious. Those who composed the English colonies came with the intention of making this their home, and though immigration had virtually ceased, the natural increase had been great. The strong de- sire to escape persecution had given an impulse to Puritan colonization ; while, on the other hand, none but good Catholics, the favored class of France, were tolerated in Canada. These had no motive for exchanging the comforts of home and the smiles of fortune for a starving wilderness and the scalping-knives of the Iroquois. The Hugue- nots would have emigrated in swarms ; but they were rigidly forbidden. ( )f the feeble population of the French colon}', the best part were bound to perpetual chastity ; while the fur-traders, and those in their service, rarely brought their wives to the wilderness. The fur-trader, moreover, is always the worst of the colonists ; since the increase of population, by diminishing the number of the fur- bearing animals, is adverse to his interest. But be- hind all this, there was in the religious ideal of the rival colonies an influence which alone would have gone far to produce the contrast in material growth. f The Puritan looked for a substantial re- ward in this life ; while the Jesuits, lightly esteem- ing life themselves, and looking wholly for reward in a future life, endeavored to inculcate the same idea in those with whom they came in contact. The interests of the French king were of far less moment to them than those of their Heavenly King. Nor was the French king ignorant or un- mindful of this baneful tendency. His instructions to Count de Frontenac when the latter was ap- * \\w York Colonial ///*' t ParkmtuCs Jesititi. pointed Governor and Eieutenant-General of Can- ada, not only evince this fact, but that he had akeen perception of the great disparity in their estimate of the Jesuits between Frontenac and his predeces- sor M. de 1 >enonville. While the Iroquois were engaged in exterminat- ing their kindred nations they kept up a desultory warfare with the French, broken by brief intervals of peace, when their interests or necessities de- manded a cessation of hostilities. In 1650. they had brought the French colonists to such extremity, that the latter endeavored to gain the powerful support of New England. Massa- chusetts had expressed a desire for the establish- ment of a reciprocal trade between her own and the French colonists, and it was thought this con- cession might be made the condition of securing her military aid in subduing the Mohawks. It was urged that as the Abenaquis, an Algonquin people, living on the Kennebec, in the present State of Maine, were under the jurisdiction of the Plymouth colony, and had suffered from Mohawk inroads, it became the duty of that colony to protect them. Gabriel Druilletes, a Jesuit missionary, was deputed to make these representations to the Massachusetts Government, and proceeded to Boston for that pur- pose. Druillettes met with a cordial reception, but received no encouragement with regard to the ob- ject of his mission, as it was scarcely to be expected that the Puritans would see it for their interest to provoke a dangerous enemy in a people who had never molested them. The French Government now resolved to put an end to the ruinous incursions of the Iroquois. In June, 1665, M. de Tracy was appointed Viceroy of the French possessions in America, and brought with him to Quebec four regiments of infantry. March 23, 1665, Daniel de Runy, Knight, Lord de Courcelles, was appointed Governor of Canada, and in September of that year arrived with the regi- ment of Carignau Salieres, composed of a thousand men, " with all the arms and ammunition necessary to wage war against the Iroquois, and oblige them to sue for peace," together with several families, and everything necessary for the establishment of a colony. January 9, 1666. M. de Courcelles, with 500 men, set out on a most hazardous expedition to the country of the Mohawks. The journey was undertaken on snow-shoes. After a perilous march of thirty five days, during which many of his men were frozen, he arrived within twenty leagues of their villages, when he learned from prisoners taken that the greater part of the Mohawks and Oneidas M. DE TRACY'S EXPEDITION AGAINST THE MOHAWKS. 4i had gone to a distance to make war with the " Wam- pum Makers." Deeming it "useless to push further forward an expedition which had all the effect in- tended by the terror it spread among all the tribes," he retraced his steps, having '■ killed several sav- ages who from time to time made their appearance along the skirts of the forest for the purpose of skirmishing," and lost a few of his own men, who were killed by the enemy.* This expedition, so bootless in material results, had the effect to induce the Iroquois to sue for peace. May 22, 1666, the Senecas sent ambassa- dors to Quebec, who represented " that they had always been under the King's protection since the French had discovered their country," and de- manded for themselves and the Onontac nation, " that they be continued to be received in the num- ber of his Majesty's faithful subjects," requesting that some Frenchmen be sent to settle with them, and "blackgowns" to preach the gospel to them and make them understand the God of the French, promising not only to prepare cabins, but to work at the construction of forts for them. This having been granted, the treaty was concluded May 26, 1666. July 7, 1666, the Oneidas sent ten ambassa- dors to Quebec on a like mission for themselves and the Mohawks, and ratified the preceding treaty July 12, i666.| Pending these negotiations- the Mohawks com- mitted an outrage on a portion of the garrison of Fort St. Anne, and M. de Tracy concluded that to ensure the success of the treaty it was necessary to render the Mohawks more tractable by force of arms. Accordingly, in September, 1666, at the head of 600 troops and 700 Indians, he made an incursion into the country of the Mohawks, who, with their usual sagacity, being unable to cope with so powerful an army, fled to the forests on their ap- proach, and left them to exhaust themselves in a contest with privation and hardships in the wilder- ness. After destroying their villages, corn and other products, M. de Tracy returned. Following this expedition, Oct. 13, 1666, the Iro- quois ambassadors of the Onondaga, Cayuga, Sen- eca and Oneida nations repaired to Quebec to re- quest a confirmation of the continuance of his majesty's protection, which was granted by divers articles on several conditions, among others, that the Hurons and Algonquins inhabiting the north side of the River St. Lawrence, up from the Es- quimaux and Bertamites into the great lake of the • Relation ibh$— 66. Doc. Hist. New York. 1 .Yew York Colonial History. Hurons, and north of Lake Ontario, should not be disquieted by the four Iroquois nations on any pre- text whatsoever, his Majesty having taken them un- der his protection ; and that on the contrary, the said Iroquois should assist them in all their necessi- ties, whether in peace or war ; that agreeably to their urgent prayers, there should be granted to them two " blackgowns." one smith and a surgeon ; that the King, at their request allow some French fami- lies to settle in their country ; that two of the prin- cipal Iroquois families should be sent from each of these four nations to Montreal, Three Rivers and Quebec ; that all hostilities should cease till the re- turn of the ambassadors with the ratification of the present treaty ; that the Mohawks, ( Guagenigro- ncins,) having been informed of the establishment of the French on the River Richelieu, without send- ing ambassadors to demand peace, should be ex- cluded from the preceding treaty, his majesty re- serving unto himself the right to include them there- in, should he deem it fitting so to do, whenever they sent to sue for peace and his protection. The Mohawks acquiesced in the conditions of the treaty, but under circumstances which induced a belief in the lack of fidelity. The following year (July 31, 1667,) was con- cluded the Peace of Breda, between Holland, Eng- land and France. By it Acadia (Nova Scotia) was left to the French, and its boundary fixed, and the New Netherlands to the English. In 1668, a treaty of peace was signed between France and Spain, whereby Louis XIV. surrendered his claims to the Spanish Netherland, but was left in possession of much he had already conquered. A general peace now ensued ; but it was of short duration, for in 1669, the French and Iroquois were again at war. The harvests of New France could not be gathered in safety, and much suffering and the greatest con- sternation prevailed among the French colonists. Many prepared to return to France. Louis de Brande, Count de Frontenac, was appointed Gov- ernor and Lieutenant-General of Canada, April 6, 1672, and under his efficient management confi- dence was restored and a treaty of peace again rati- fied in 1673. In 1 6S4, another rupture occurred between the French and Iroquois, the latter of whom (the Sen- ecas) in that year pillaged seven hundred canoes belonging to Frenchmen, arrested the latter to the number of fourteen and detained them nine days, and attacked Fort St. Louis, which was successful- ly defended.* M. de la Barre, who was then Gov- • Memoir of M. dela Run, Paris Do. II . Dae. Hist. /., ioy. 4? HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. ernor of New France, that year lead an expedition against the Senecas to punish them for this out- rage. But before he reached the Seneca's country a rumor reached him that, in case of an attack, Col. Dongan, Governor of New York, had prom- ised the Senecas "a re-en forcernent of four hundred horse and four hundred foot." This so alarmed him that he decamped the next day. Sickness had made such inroads in his army "that it was with difficulty " he found a sufficient number " of per- sons in health t<> remove the sick to the canoes."* An expedition of such magnificent proportions, vet so barren of good results, brought censure upon M. de la Barre, and led to his supersedure the fol- lowing year by the Marquisde Denonville, who was instructed to observe a strict neutrality. Denonville thoroughly examined the situation, and, having reached a conclusion, he wrote his royal master that the reputation of the French among the Indians, whether friends or enemies, was absolutely destroyed by the ill-starred expe- dition of la Barre, and that nothing but a success- ful war could avert a general rebellion, the ruin of the fur trade, and the extirpation of the French. He adds, in speaking of the enemies of the French colonists, " the Iroquois are the most powerful by reason of the facility they possess of procuring arms from the English, and in consequence of the num- ber of prisoners (esclaves) they daily make among their neighbors, whose children they carry off at an early age and adopt. This is their only means of increase, for in consequence of their drunken de- baucheries which impel them into frightful disor- ders, the few children their wives bear could not assuredly sustain them alone. * * Their large purchases of arms and ammunition from the English, at a low rate, have given them hitherto all the advantages they possess over other tribes, who, in consequence of being disarmed, have been de- stroyed by the Iroquois. * Even the English in Virginia, have suffered and still daily suffer from them, but the gain of the merchants of ( (range and Manatte is paramount to every public interest, for were they not to sell the Iroquois pow- der, that Nation could be more easily conquered than any other. It consists of five principal tribes, [villages) each of which has other small dependen- i us. The lust calls itself Mohawk (.)///,) and can muster 200 men fit for service. The mm oml is Oneida,) Oneyoust,) who can muster 250 men. The third is Onontague : , * it can muster 500 men. The fourth is Cayuga, • M, nwiy 0/ M , 454, 4!S- 46 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. But this deplorable condition was destined to a favorable and most unexpected change, toward which the bitter animosities and divided counsels of the English colonies, growing out of the Revolu- tion in England at this time, which resulted in the accession of the Prince of Orange to the throne, contributed in no small measure. The Count de Frontenac, whose previous management of the col- ony had been eminently wise and satisfactory, was again appointed Governor, May 21, 1689, and though he had arrived at an age when most men pre- fer a retired life to the onerous burdens of State, he entered upon his duties with such energy and manifest wisdom as to revive the flagging spirits of the colonists, notwithstanding the impending dan- ger of a war with the English colonies which soon ensued. He arrived on the second of October 1689, and at once commenced an effort to nego- tiate a peace with the Iroquois, having learned by sad experience that they could not hope to gain by the continuance of war with them. He was the more anxious to effect a peace with them, as the French then had a war on their hands with the English, which was declared that year. P'ailing in this, he hoped to terrify them into neutrality, and for this purpose, and to lessen the influence with the English with them, he fitted out three expedi- tions that winter, one against New York, another against Connecticut, and a third against New Eng- land. It was a hazardous undertaking at that sea- son of the year, but the desperate condition of the French colonists demanded heroic treatment. The first expedition was directed against Sche- nectady, which was sacked and burned, on the night of February 9, 1690, only two houses being spared, that of Major Sander. ( < 'oudre, ) from whom the French had received good treatment on a for- mer occasion, and that of a widow, with six chil- dren, to which M. de Montigny, one of the leaders of the expedition, was carried when wounded. They spared the lives of some fifty to sixty old men, women and children, who escaped the first fury of the attack, and some twenty Mohawks, "in order to show them it was the English and not they against whom the grudge was entertained." The loss on this occasion in houses, cattle and grain, exceeded 400,000 livres.* There were up- wards of eighty well-built and well-furnished houses in the town." They returned witli thirty prisoners, loaded with plunder, and with fifty good horses, only sixteen of which reached Montreal, the vest having been killed on the road for food. They *A French , now superseded by the franc, equal to I8#. cents. lost one Indian and one Frenchman in the attack on the town, and nineteen on the return march.* This disaster at Schenectady so disheartened the people of Albany, that they resolved to abandon the place and retire to New York. Many were packing up for that purpose, when a delegation of Mohawks who had come to condole with them on the loss, on hearing of their design, reproached them and urged them to a courageous defense of their homes. This passage in our colonial history fills us with humiliating reflections, when we con- trast the supineness of the English colonists, arising from the bitter dissensions incident to the governmental changes which the recent revolution wrought, with the magnificent energies exerted by the French colonists under the energizing influence of the sagacious Frontenac. Our admiration is nol less challenged by the heroic conduct of the Iro- quois, who, notwithstanding French intrigues and Jesuitical influence, combined with an exasperat- ing English apathy, which appeared willing to sac- rifice these savage but noble allies, kept firmly to their early allegiance Count de Frontenac, encouraged by the answer made to his former message, renewed his efforts to bring about a peace with the Iroquois ; but they compelled his embassadors to run the gauntlet and then delivered them over as prisoners to the Eng- lish. Foiled in this, he endeavored to prevent the peace which the Iroquois were on the point of making with the Utawawas and Quatoghies. The Iroquois continued to harrass the French in small bodies and kept them in constant alarm. In the summer of 1691, New York and New England concerted an attack by a combined land and naval force. The former, under command of Major Peter Schuyler, was directed against Mon- treal ; and the latter, consisting of thirty sail, under command of Sir William Phips, against Quebec. Both failed of the ultimate object for which they set out ; though Schuyler inflicted a heavy loss upon the enemy, killing three hundred, which ex- ■ eeded his entire command,! having seventeen killed and eleven wounded of his own forces. But finding the enemy vastly more numerous than he expected he was obliged to retire. The naval attack was illy directed and proved an ignoble fail- ure. It was likewise attended with considerable loss, both in men and material, without inflicting much damage on the enemy, who, with ordinary • Paris Document IV. Doc. lint. I , 197. The English account places the number killed at 60^ and the number taken prisoners Z7, including several negroes. — Ibid. \Coldcrt. FRONTENAC'S INVASION. 47 promptness and prudence, might have been routed. The Iroquois, however, continued their stealthy- raids, which were more dreaded and really more destructive to the French interests than the more imposing efforts of their English allies. The French were prevented from tilling the ground, or of reaping the fruit of what they had sown or planted, and a famine ensued, " the poor inhabi- tants," says Colden, "being forced to feed the soldiers gratis, while their own children wanted bread." The French fur trade was also stopped by the Iroquois, who took posession of the passes between them and their allies, the western Indians, and intercepted the traders and others passing over these routes. Count de Frontenac was pierced to the heart by his inability to revenge these terrible incursions of the Five Nations. His desperation drove him to the commission of an act which must have been as revolting to him in his normal condition, as it was barbarous. He condemned two Iroquois prisoners to be burned publicly alive, and would not be dis- suaded from executing the sentence. One of them, however, killed himself with a knife which was thrown into his prison by "some charitable person." June 6, 1792, the Iroquois entered into a formal treaty of alliance and friendship with Major Rich- ard Ingoldsby, who assumed the Gubernatorial office of New York on the death of Colonel Henry Sloughter, July 23, 1691. The speech of Ckeda, an Oneida sachem, on that occasion, is a rare piece of pathetic eloquence. The French colonists having been obliged to re- main so long on the defensive, were becoming des- pondent, so that Count Frontenac felt it imperative to undertake some bold enterprise to restore con- fidence. He therefore planned an expedition against the Mohawks, and as it was necessary to surprise them, it was undertaken in the winter, when it would be least expected. Jan. 15, 1693, a force of six huudred to seven hundred French and Indians, under command of three captains of the regulars, started with snow-shoes from la Prairie tie Magdaleine, and after a long and perilous march through the forests, surprised and captured three of the Mohawks' castles, in only the latter and largest of which did they meet with any resistance. They returned with about three hundred prisoners, and though pursued by a party of Albany militia and Mohawks to the number of about five hun- dred, hastily gathered and commanded by Major Peter Schuyler, and reduced to such extremity for want of food that they eat their shoes, they escaped with the loss of eighty men killed and thirty-three wounded. This successful raid greatly alarmed the English settlers and dispirited the Iroquois, who saw that surprises could be made by their enemies as well as themselves. The latter were now more inclined to listen to the French proposals of peace, and having been the greater sufferers by the war, were quite anxious that it should cease. The years 1693-4 were spent in efforts to nego- tiate a peace between the French and Iroquois, which the English endeavored to prevent. The three intermediate nations, influenced by the Jesuit priests, were more inclined thereto, than the Sene- cas and Mohawks. The Senecas held the French in abhorrence, and were not so much influenced by the Jesuits; while the Mohawks were the near neighbors of the English, and much influenced by them in favor of continuing the war, although they had been the greatest sufferers from it. These negotiations failed and Governor de Fron- tenac now resolved to coerce them to submission, to that end made arrangements to attack the Mo- hawks with the whole force of Canada. But learn- ing that the Mohawks had been advised of his in- tention by an escaped prisoner, and the prepara- tions that had been made to repel him, he changed his plan, and instead sent three hundred men to the neck of land between lakes Erie and Cadara- qui, the usual hunting place of the Iroquois, hoping to surprise them while carelessly hunting, and at the same time to observe the condition of Fort Cadaraqui, which was found to be better than was expected. In the summer of 1695, he sent a strong force to repair and garrison the fort, which then took his name. This fort was of great advantage to the French from its proximity to the beaver hunting grounds of the Iroquois, thus enabling the garrison to make incursions on them when so en- gaged. It was also important to the French trade with the western Indians, as a place of deposit for supplies; and not less so as a place of refuge in time of war with the Iroquois. The French also succeeded in putting a stop to the peace negotia- tions then progressing between the Iroquois and Dionondadies ; but in order to accomplish that end perpetrated an act of cruelty, which, for fiend- ishness, parallels anything in the annals of Indian horrors. But notwithstanding the French oppo- sition a treaty was concluded covertly soon after. The treaty of Ryswick, while it established peace between the English and French, left unsettled a question with regard to the Iroquois. The French, 4« HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. while they insisted on including their own Indian allies in the terms, were unwilling to include the Iroquois, and made preparations to attack the lat- ter with the whole force of Canada; but the Eng- lish as strenuously insisted on extending the terms of the treaty to their allies, and Karl Bellraont notified Count de Frontenac that he would resist an attack on the Iroquois with the whole force of his government if necessary. This put an end to French threats, and the question of sovereignty over that nation was relegated to commissioners to be appointed pursuant to the treaty. But the ques- tion arose in another form, with regard to the ex- change of prisoners. The French insisted on ne- gotiating with the Iroquois ; but the Knglish refused to yield even by implication, the right of sover- eignty which they claimed, and demanded that the exchange be made through them. The Iroquois refused to negotiate independently of the F.nglish, and thus the French were obliged to yield the point* Peace, such as had not fallen upon the wilder- ness of the New World since the Europeans added their conflicting interests to the field of savage con- tests, pi evaded at the opening of the eighteenth century; for not only had the Europeans and their allies ceased to war, but the Indians themselves had buried the hatchet. It was of short duration, however ; for with the succession of Anne to the F.nglish throne, on the death of King William in March, 1702, the war of the Spanish succession, or Queen Anne's war, was inaugurated and con- tinued till the treaty of Utrecht, April 11, 1713. Although New England was ravaged with ruthless hand, New York scarcely knew its existence ; not- withstanding the Province was put in a condition for defense. Not until after the treaty of Utrecht did the set- tlements in New York make much progress, owing to the massacres that in King William's war were committed by the French and their Indian allies on the outskirts of the settlements. At its con- clusion, or soon after, settlements in the Mohawk were begun. By that treaty the French engaged not to attack the Five Nations, who were acknowl- edged to lie the subjects of Great Britain, and a free trade with them was guaranteed to both Eng- land and France. The Iroquois, being thus debarred from continu- ing their predatory raids on the northern and western Indians, extended their conquests in the South, • rbis question was not fully settled till the treat} ol I trecht, April n, t7M. by which the French surrendered .'11 claims to tlie Five Nations who were acl wli dged tobi iubjeel ol i in at B and chastised their old enemies, the Flatheads, liv- ing in Carolina. While on this expedition they adopted into their confederacy the Tuscaroras, of North Carolina, one of the most powerful Indian nations of the South, who, in resisting the encroach- ments of the proprietaries of Carolina, who assigned their lands to the German Palatines, were almost destroyed in their fort on the River Taw, Man h 26,1713, having lost eight hundred in prisoners, who were sold as slaves to the allies of the F.nglish. They became the sixth nation of the Iroquois con- federacy, which was afterwards denominated by the English, the Six Nations. They were assigned ter- ritory in the country of and in close proximity to the Oneidas. From 1774 to 1748, the French ami English were again at war, which was concluded by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, April .50th, 1748, which virtually renewed the treaty of Utrecht. The treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle was very imperfect, as it left unsettled many important questions which must sooner or later demand adjustment. The contest was renewed in 1755. The French, imme- diately after the cessation of hostilities, had entered upon the vigorous prosecution of a policy inaug- urated by them as early as 1731, of connecting the St. Lawrence with the Gulf of Mexico by a chain of forts, and by the end of 1753, had a connected line of forts from Montreal to French Creek in Pennsylvania. The completion of the fort on French Creek provoked the resentment of Virginia, and a force was sent out by that colony under Major George Washington, with instructions " to make prisoners, kill or destroy all who interrupted the English settlements" in the invaded territory. The success was only temporary, for Washington was soon compelled to capitulate within the feeble breastworks of Fort Necessity. The English colonies were wholly unprepared for the vigorous onslaught with which the French followed the overt act of Virginia; and being divi- ded in their counsels — lacking centralization — it required some time to collect themselves and to interpose an effectual resistance. Among the ear- liest measures concerted were four expeditions planned by General Edward Bullock, the first to effect the complete reduction of Nova Scotia, the second to recover the Ohio Valley, the third to expel the French from Fort Niagara and form a junction with the expedition to the Ohio, and the fourth to capture Crown Point. The latter was entrusted to Col. Johnson, who was to have the militia of New York, Massachusetts and Connec- ESTABLISHMENT OF THE "PROPERTY LINE. 49 ticut and the warriors of the Six Nations. He con- vened the latter in council at Mount Johnson on the 21st of June, 1754, hoping to induce them to join the expedition ; but with all the art he was master of, he could obtain little else than excuses. Hendrick and his Mohawks, with here and there a warrior from the other nations, to the number of fifty, left Albany with him on the eighth of August. At the "carrying place" some two hundred war- riors joined him, giving him, with the militia, a force of about thirty-five hundred men. The French, marching in about equal force to Oswego, were called back and sent, under Baron Dieskau, to the defense of Crown Point. Leaving the larger portion of his forces at that fort, Dieskau pushed on to attack Fort Edward, cut off Johnson's retreat, and annihilate his army. Misled by his guides, he found himself on the road to Lake George, and only four miles distant from Johnson's encamp- ment at Ticonderoga. Leaving his position, John- son detached one thousand men and two hundred Indians to bring on an engagement. The oppos- ing forces met on the Sth of September. Finding the French too powerful, the English fell back to Ticonderoga ; the French pursued and resumed the battle under the walls of Johnson's position. After a severe engagement of four hours the French re- treated. The losses on both sides were heavy, that of the English being one hundred and fifty- eight killed, including King Hendrick and thirty- eight of his warriors, ninety-two wounded and sixty- two missing ; while that of the French was between three and four hundred. Johnson was wounded slightly, and Dieskau mortally. The French retreat was unmolested ; Crown Point was not reduced.* For the most part the remainder of the war was a prolonged and sanguinary contest with the savage allies of the French, which brought the war to the doors of the colonists and gave them ample work to defend their homes. The border settlements of Pennsylvania were especially afflicted by this deso- lating scourge. The war, which for many years threatened dis- aster to the English, finally resulted in their favor, and was concluded between the English and French, by the treaty of Paris, in 1763, leaving England in possession of Canada and the territory west of the Mississippi. It was continued, however, with un- abated fury two years longer by the Indians under Pontiac, king of the Ottawas, who in the summer of 1762, formed a league to drive the English from the country. * Ruttenber. Following the cessation of hostilities, territorial disputes arose between the various Indian tribes and the colonies, to adjust which, Colonel John- son, in 1765, proposed the establishment of a line which should be recognized alike by the Indians and the English as a boundary beyond which neither should pass. To this the Indians assented : but its execution was delayed till the irritation of the Indians under the aggressions of European immi- gration, became threatening and alarming. The Senecas, smarting under these aggressions, and the humiliating treaty they had been forced to make, said by a large belt to the Lenapes and Shawanoes in 1768: "Brethren, these lands are yours as well as ours; God gave them to us to live upon, and be- fore the white people shall have them for nothing, we will sprinkle the leaves with blood, or die every man in the attempt." Finding that the matter could not longer be safely delayed, a conference was called at Fort Stanwix, and the treaty by which the boundary line was established was concluded Nov. 5, 1768. This line, which was long known as the " Property Line," is indicated on a map accompanying the treaty. This treaty was ratified by Sir William Johnson in July, 1770. But this action did not long suffice to preserve inviolate the Indian territory. The influx of new settlers and the avarice of traders led to encroach- ments which soon provoked complaints and gave rise to apprehension on account of the Senecas. At a Congress of the Six Nations at Johnson Hall, in June and July, 1774, a Seneca orator complained that the whites and traders encroached upon their territory, followed their people to their hunting grounds with goods and liquor, " when," he said, " they not only impose on us at pleasure, but by the means of carrying these articles to our scattered people, obstruct our endeavors to collect them." ■• We are sorry," he added, " to observe to you that your people are as ungovernable, or rather more so, than ours." The continued and alarming encroachments on the Indian domain prepared the way for the hostil- ity which characterized the action not only of the Iroquois, but also the western Indians, against the colonists during the wai of the Revolution, which soon followed. The Indians had adopted a settled and well-understood policy, involving resistance to further encroachments ; and the Iroquois, who had hitherto preserved a uniform friendship towards the colonists, now, with the exception of the Oneidas, Tuscaroras, and possibly a few others, opposed them. Eighteen hundred of their warriors allied 5° HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. themselves with the British,* and only two hundred and twenty, with the colonists. The atrocities of of the former under the leadership of the redoubt able Brant, will long be remembered by both New York and Pennsylvania. The long list of Indian and tory atrocities on the border settlements of New York and Pennsyl- vania, including the terrible massacres of Wyom- ing, Cherry Valley and Minnisink, determined the action of Congress in projecting the successful ex- pedition of General Sullivan in 1779 — an expedi- tion of paramount importance in its bearing on the subsequent settlements in Central and Western New York — and directed especially against the country of the Senecas, which the tories and their allies made a place of rendezvous, and from which issued forth many a band of stealthy, prowling sav- ages, and not less vindictive tories, to visit death and destruction upon the outlying settlements o( the colonies. Appeal after appeal went up from the exposed and desolated homes on the frontier, and though they reached the ears of Congress, that bodj was too deeply engrossed with other duties and its re- sources too heavily taxed to render the needed succor. They did not. however, tail to receive the attention and serious consideration of those guardi- ans of the nation's weal, though the censure with which some authors have visited them and the accusation cf culpable dilatoriness may not lie en- tirely unmerited. It is fair to presume that they, in common with the general public, were lulled into a partial sense of security by the anticipated aid from French alliance. Not so, however, with the ever vigilant Washington, who had busied himself with plans to put an end to this desolating warfare — plans which he lacked the means to execute. The general inactivity which, in 1779, supervened the unconsummated military projects, owing to the failure of expected French aid the previous season, seemed to offer a favorable opportunity to strike a decisive blow against these border depredators — a measure which was made more imperative by the horrible massacre of Wyoming the previous sum- mer, in which Queen Ksther, a Seneca half-breed, distinguished herself by the conspicuous part she- took in those frightful orgies.t Washington urged •Kuttenbet says there were not more than eight hundred engaged at any time. Clinton says there were ',580. tCatharin.- Montour, the Queen Esther ol the Senecas, was a half- breed, .1 native of Canada, ami a putative daugh i one ol tli' I i 'i.i 1 1 Governors, "probably," says Lo ing, "ol Frontenac" tin superioi mind gave her great ascendancy ovet tin Seneca , among whom she was indeed a Queen. At Wyoming I" "ass ed the office of executioner, and, using a maul ami tomahawk, passed around the ring ol pri oners, who had been arranged at tier bidding . delibl I ati K i hanted i In death and murdered her victims to_il cadencef in seculivi Drdei Lossing and Ruttenber, its importance on the attention of Congress, and on the 25th of February, 1779, was directed by that body to protect the inland frontier and chas- tise the Senecas, thus seconding the efforts which the New York governor had put forth. Having determined upon the expedition, Wash- ington tendered its command to General Gates, who dec lined the service "in a letter by no means creditable to himself or courteous to his superior."* It was finally entrusted to Major-General John Sullivan, who was instructed on the 31st of May to assemble the main body of his army at Wyom- ing, then recently devastated by Brant and Butler,f and proceeded thence to Tioga and onward into the heart of the Indian settlements. "The mode of fighting," says Hamilton, "was such as Wash- ington's early experience would suggest 'to make- rather than receive attacks, attended with as much impetuosity, shouting and noise as possible, and to make the troops act in as loose and dispersed a way as is consistent with a proper degree of gov- ernment, concert and mutual support. It shall be previously impressed upon the minds of the men, whenever they have an opportunity, to rush on with the war whoop and fixed bayonet. Nothing will disconcert and terrify the Indians more than this.' "J "The immediate objects of the expedition were set forth at large: they were, the total devas- tation and destruction of the settlements of the Six Nations, as well as of their adherents and asso- ciates, and the capture of as many prisoners as possible of every age and sex."?' The country was not merely to be over-run. but destroyed; and he was not to listen to any proposals of peace until this was thoroughly done. General Sullivan's army consisted of three divi- sions: one from New Jersey, under command of Brigadier-General William Maxwell; another from New England, under command of Brigadier-Gen- eral Edward Hand; and the third from New York, under command of Brigadier-General James Clin- ton. The New Jersey and New England divisions marched from Flizabeth, N. J., via Easton, to Wyoming, where General Sullivan awaited the re- ceipt of supplies for his army, which were not only poor in quality, but insufficient in quantity, so that, on his arrival at Wyoming, he was constrained to write, "of the salted meat on hand, there was • ,./, ''/'''.I. New Series, Sparks, lit. 127. I Hamilton's tiistor) "i tli L - Republic of the United States. I , s4t, S44. Col Win 1 Stone lays it is doubtful whether Brant was at anytime [ni pany with this expedition, and certain that when the battle 01 id lie iva many miles distant. — Life t>J 'Joseph Brant, I., jj8. XHamiltoiCi History of ike Republic oj 'ike United 'States,!., S4J, J44. rii in Biography, New Series, Sparks, III., 127. SULLIVAN'S EXPEDITION. Si not a single pound fit to be eaten." A delay of several weeks was occasioned, says Dr. Gordon, "through the villainy or carelessness of the commis- saries." Sullivan has been widely censured for his extravagant requisitions on the board of war, and the tardiness in supplying them provoked from him unequivocal complaints, which subjected him to the retaliatory strictures of that body, and, whether justly so or not, to a general feeling of dissatisfac- tion.* Washington became impatient, fearing the delay and the publicity it gave would imperil the success of the movement. He had repeatedly enjoined Sullivan to "move as light as possible, even from the first onset," adding, " should time be lost in transporting the troops and stores, the provisions will be consumed, and the whole enterprise may be defeated. Reject every article that can be dis- pensed with ; this is an extraordinary case, and re- quires extraordinary attention. "f While General Sullivan was wrestling with these embarrassments, Col. Van Schaick, with six hun- dred men from Fort Schuyler, on the 21st of April, 1779, surprised the Onondagas, destroyed their vil- lage, provisions and munitions of war, killing twelve and taking thirty or forty prisoners, and returned within three days without the loss of a man. Having at length completed his arrangements General Sullivan left Wyoming on the 31st of July, and moved his army, consisting of thirty-five hun- dred men, up the east side of the Susquehanna. In transporting the baggage and stores, one hun- dred and twenty boats and two thousand horses J were employed. The boats were propelled up the stream by soldiers with setting poles, and were guarded by troops. The provisions for the daily subsistence of the troops were carried by horses, which threaded the narrow path in single file, and formed a line about six miles in length. They ar- • Says Bancroft, who sharply criticises his conduct during the entire ex- pedition, he "made insatiable demands on the Government of Pennsyl- vania," and "while he was wasting time in finding fault, writing strange theological essays, the British and Indian partisans near Fort Schuyler surprised and captured 29 mowers. Savages under Macdonell laid waste the country on the west bank of the Susquehanna, till the Indians, by his own report, 'were glutted with plunder, prisoners and scalps.' Thirty miles of a closely settled country were burned. Brant and his crew con- sumed with fire all the settlement of Minnisink, one fort excepted. Over a party of a hundred and fifty men, by whom they were pursued, they gained the advantage, taking more than forty scalps and one prisoner." —History of tlie United States, X., JJC— 111. t Bancroft's History of the United States., X., 130—;;;. J Many of the horses furnished for the expedition were quite unservice- able, and some fifty were shot in the locality of Horseheads, being un- able to proceed further. The heads of these abandoned horses were after- wards gathered by the Indians and placed beside the route of the army— a circumstance from which the village of Horseheads derives its name. Many of the cattle furnished Sullivan were in even worse condition ; some, it is said, being unable to walk, while others could not even stand. rived at Tioga Point on the i ith of August. The Indians had collected in considerable numbers at Athens, but on the arrival of the army, awed and dismayed by its formidable appearance, they yield- ed their stronghold with only a few inconsiderable skirmishes. The following day a detachment was sent forward to Chemung, twelve miles distant, and after dispersing a body of Indians, with the loss of seven of their number, destroyed the village, and rejoined the army the next day. Here a fort was built and named in honor of the commander of the expedition, and here the army awaited the arrival of the forces under General Clinton. General Clinton collected his forces at Canajo- harie. He endeavored to induce the Oneidas and Tuscaroras to join the expedition ; and his efforts would doubtless have proved successful, as he at first supposed they were, but for an address, written in the Iroquois language, and sent them by Gen- eral Haldimand, then Governor of Canada, which discouraged all but a few Oneidas from sharing in it. Bateaux to the number of two hundred and twenty, which had been constructed the previous winter and spring at Schenectady, were taken up the Mo- hawk to the place of rendezvous, and from thence transported by land to Otsego Lake, a distance of twenty miles. Each bateau was of such size that in its transit from the river to the lake, four strong horses were required to draw it, and, when placed in the water, was capable of holding from ten to twelve soldiers. About the first of July, Clinton proceeded with his troops to the southern extremity of the lake, and there awaited orders from General Sullivan. He had previously scourged the Mohawk country and destroyed every village, with a single excep- tion,* which was spared at the solicitation of home- less frontier settlers, who begged that they might occupy it until they could procure other shelter. The villages of the Oneidas and Tuscaroras were also spared. In the meantime he constructed a dam across the outlet, in order to make the passage of the river feasible and rapid. He waited through the whole of July for orders from General Sullivan, who, immediately on his arrival at Athens, dis- patched a force of eight hundred men under Gen- eral Poor, to form a junction with Clinton and with him rejoin the main army at that place ; but not until the 9th of August was the dam torn away and the flotilla committed to the bosom of the river •The castle of "Praying Maquas," at the Schoharie Creek, consisting of four houses. 52 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. thus suddenly swelled, which afforded a current not onl) sufficiently deep to tloat the bateaux, but at ( rquaga and other places overflowed the river flats, and destroyed many fields of corn belonging to the Indians. At Oquaga, Clinton's forces were aug- mented by a detachment under Col. Pauling, and at the mouth of the Choconut, about thirty-five miles from Athens, they met the detachment of Sullivan's army under General Poor. On the 22nd of August they formed a junction with the forces under Sullivan, which then numbered some five thousand men. What emotions must have swelled the swarthy bosoms of the Iroquois at the sight of this formida- ble hostile array, which portended to them the de- struction of their loved homes and the breaking of the sceptre by which they had so long held the su- premacy of this vast territory ; and coming too, in a dry season, on the bosom of a river swelled much beyond its ordinary dimensions. So much was it invested in mystery that little resistance was offered to the advancing foe. The Indians fled from their homes and cultivated fields, in many of which, it was remembered by those who participated in the expedition, corn was growing in abundance and great perfection, and cautiously watched their progress from the neighboring hills. On the 26th of August, after the junction between Sullivan's and Clinton's forces was effected, the whole army proceeded up the Chemung River. In the vicinity of Newtown* (Elmira,) where the In- dians under their trusty leader, Brant, were con- centrated, a battle was fought on the 29th, and its issue hotly contested for two hours, when the enemy, to avoid being surrounded, fled from their works and retired before the victorious army. The battle-field was well selected by the Mohawk war- rior, and evinced the sagacity and military tact with which he is credited. The enemy numbered about one thousand, including three hundred or four hundred rangers under Walter liutler, who had chief command. Their loss is unknown ; but they left seventeen dead on the field. Sullivan sustained a loss of three killed and thirty wounded. t General Sullivan's army spent the night in New town, when- it remained encamped the next day, a part of which was occupied in burning the village and destroying the corn and other things from •Authors diffei astothe . ol this battle. Stone, in Ms Life of Brant* says il id al Ehnira Wilkins in his Atutali of Binghamton* fixes the locality al 1 distanced sixmiles below that place, nearly opposite Wellsburg, in which opinion he generally con- firmed by modern writers ; while othei i dc i mate .1 mile below -\ ewtown as the locality. t Diary of Dr. yaoea Campfieid, t Surgeon in Sullivan's army. which the enemy might hereafter draw subsistence. "The Indians shall see," said Sullivan, "that we have malice enough in our hearts to destroy every- thing that contributes to their support," and most 1 in 1 tually did he execute that purpose, leaving in his path a scene of desolation and woe. Here it was ascertained that the supply of pro- visions the army had was inadequate for its subsis- tence for a period sufficiently long to enable it to accomplish the objects of the expedition. Gen- eral Sullivan announced the fact in a public order, at the same time declaring that he had used every effort to obtain a sufficient supply, but without suc- cess.* He appealed to the patriotism of his army, and proposed as an expedient to shorten the allow- ance, to which both officers and men " almost unanimously" acceded, offering to subsist on a half pound each of flour and bread per day, "a striking instance of the virtue of the army."t < >n the night of the 30th, the wounded, together with four of the heaviest pieces of artillery and all wagons were sent back to Tioga, and on the 31st, the march was resumed. On the night of Sep- tember 1st, they arrived at Catharinestown, distant three miles from and near the southern extremity of Seneca Lake. The march during the latter part of this day was so difficult, says Dr. Campfield, as not to " admit of description, it being totally dark and through a thick swamp." Sullivan "arrived at the entrance of this swamp late in the afternoon and was strongly advised not to venture into it until the next morning ; but he persisted, and a mira- cle only prevented his obstinacy from bringing de- struction upon his men. Some of the defiles through which he had to pass, were so narrow and danger- ous that a score or two of Indians might have suc- cessfully disputed the passage against any number of men. The night was exceeding dark, the; men wearied, scattered and broken, and ready to die rather than move on ; but the Indian scouts who had been sent to watch them, having retreated as soon as it was dark under the full persuasion that no General in his senses would attempt such a road by night, the defiles were fortunately unguarded, and the General arrived with his wearied army about midnight at the town."! Sullivan's action in this instance has subjected him to adverse criti- cism, perhaps not unjustly; but while he was per- tinacious in pursuing a policy dictated by his judg- ment, he can scarcely be charged with obstinacy in • American Biography, Sp.n-ks, III, ny. I Diary of Dr. faba Campfield. I Allen, II , >78. SULLIVAN'S EXPEDITION. 53 the sense in which it is used in the quotation. It is fair to presume that he was not wholly ignorant of the dangers attending so difficult a passage, but that his guide, a Presbyterian minister, who was a resident missionary at Canidesego, was conversant with them ; and that, with his intimate knowledge of Indian character and warfare, he doubtless fore- saw that while it might be undisputed at such a time, its advantages as a means of defense would not be likely to escape observation by the vigilant Brant, who, without hazarding an engagement, had kept a close watch upon his advancing enemy, and might reasonably be expected to contest in the day time a passage, which, under the most favorable circumstances, could only be forced at a great sac- rifice of life. The undertaking was certainly a hazardous one — seldom warranted ; and while an error in judgment might have entailed irretrievable disaster, the sequel proved that what the enemy regarded an insuperable obstacle was a sure defense, if net the salvation of Sullivan's army. Sullivan was keenly alive to its perils ; for at its conclusion he is said to have remarked that he would not repeat it for the honor of a command. The rear guard, however, under Clinton, did not venture to cross until the following day. Catharinestown, with its thirty houses, some of them quite good, was laid in ashes and its orchards and growing crops of corn, beans and other vege- tables destroyed. On the way the small settle- ment of Knawahola was destroyed, together with the cornfields around it, and a detachment was sent forth to extend the circle of devastation. The march was resumed on the third, the army pro- ceeding north on the east side of Seneca Lake. On the 4th the little village of Apple Town was destroyed, and on the 5th a village variously named Kendia, Thendara and Canidesego was reached. It presented the appearance of an old village and contained " about twenty decent houses,"* " four or five small framed houses, "f and some of them painted, but "nasty beyond description. "% All were burned ; and the apple trees, which were large and of many years growth, destroyed. The corn and beans were gathered by the troops ; but the cornstalks and grass about the town was not suffi- cient for the horses and cattle, which strayed away, thus preventing a resumption of the march till the following afternoon. Colonel Gansevoort's ser- vants having missed their way took a path which led them to Cayuga Lake, where they burned a •Spark's American Biography, New Series, III., 140. \ Col. Hist., VIII , 78S-&. X Diary 0/ Dr. 'jai'ez CampJieiJ. deserted village. On the 7th, the army forded the mouth of Seneca Lake, destroyed a small village a little beyond it, and three miles further on entered the village of Kanadaseaga, the capital of the Sene- cas, located a mile and a half west of the village of Geneva, which the Indians had deserted but a short time previously, Kaingwanto, the chief of the village, having it is supposed, been killed at the battle of Newtown. This was a large and impor- tant town, surrounded by numerous apple and other fruit trees, and a few acres of cleared land covered with grass.* The cornfields, which were extensive, were situated some distance from the town. All these evidences of wealth and comfort were sub- mitted to the torch and the avenging hand of deso- lation, which spread with " dreary uniformity" over the entire country. Great quantities of corn, beans and other vegetables were found here. The apple trees at this place were twenty to thirty years old. A few old apple trees which have since grown up from the stumps of those cut down still mark the site of this once populous Indian village. Here the army found a little white boy " about two years old," in whom the officers took great interest. He was doubtless the sad remnant of a desolated frontier home. He was almost famished and had to be restrained from over eating. Though he could un- derstand English he could speak only Indian. He died of small pox a few months after the return of the expedition. On the 8th, while the army lay in camp, Colonel Smith was detached with two hun- dred men to destroy the village of Gothseunguean, called by some of the journalists Kashong, a name perpetuated in that of Kershong Creek. It was situated on the west side of Seneca Lake, seven miles south of Geneva, contained about fifteen houses, compact, and "tolerably well built," and a great quantity of "potatoes, apples, peaches, cucum- bers, watermelons, fowl, &c," besides corn. From Kanadaseaga, on the 9th, the invalids were sent back to Tioga under an escort of fifty men, commanded by Capt. Reid, who was ordered to forward supplies for the army on its return to Kanawaholla. The army resumed its westward march on the afternoon of this day and the next day reached Shannondaque or Kanandaigua, situ- ated about a mile west of the lake of the same name, whose outlet they forded. This village, which occupied the site of the west part of the vil- * Rev. David Craft, in a Historical Address delivered at the Centen- nial Celebration at Geneseo, Sept. 16, 1879, said this village contained fifty liMii^es. The Diary of Dr. Jatez Campfield, says there w< fifty . Sparks' American Biography, says there were about sixty. 54 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. lage of Canandaigua, consisted of twenty-three houses, elegant and mostly framed, some log houses, large and new. The rear guard of the enemy had so recently left that their fires were found burning. The torch was applied to the buildings and the army encamped about four o'clock in the after- noon among the cornfields about a mile further west. Fatigue parties were at once detailed to de- stroy the crops, which was pretty thoroughly accom- plished before dark. On the nth the army pro- ceeded to the Indian village of Angayea, (Hon- eoye,) situated at the foot of Honeoye Lake, on the east side of the outlet, near the site of the present village of Honeoye. This village consisted of eleven houses,* and about it were five cornfields, " affording abundant forage for the stock and food for the men." When Sullivan's riflemen entered it, a few Indians just made their escape, leaving their packs and blankets behind them and their potatoes roasting in the fire. On reaching Angayea, Sullivan estimated that he was within twenty-five miles of his destination, Chenussio, the great town of the Senecas. He issued four days' rations and extra ammunition to his men, and, with what baggage a few of the strongest horses could carry, pushed on by more rapid marches toward this objective point ; leaving the remainder of the stores, horses and cattle, and one piece of artillery t at Angayea, under the protec- tion of Capt. John N. Cumming, of the 2nd New Jersey regiment, and fifty good men, to whom were added all the invalids, or, as one journalist ex- presses it, says Mr. Craft, "the lame and lazy," to the number of two hundred and fifty. Capt. Cum- ming at once set about fortifying his position. He selected the largest and strongest log house in the town, pierced it with loop holes, and strengthened its walls with bags of flour and boxes of ammunition, while with the apple trees cut down he constructed about it a strong abatis. The little fortress thus improvised the men named Fort Cumming, in honor of its gallant commander. Sunday noon, Sept. 12th, the army left Angayea, an earlier advance having been prevented by a heavy thunderstorm, and after a journey of eleven miles " over a body of excellent land," even the hills being good, and bearing much chestnut tim- ber, the advance encamped about sunset "in the open wood a mile and a half or two miles from • Rev. Mr. Craft says, "about twenty."' The above is the number . u tied ill tile Journal of Major Janirs Non i .. .in officer in Sullivan's army. t Diary of Dr. Jaoez Campfield 'and Journal of Major James A'or- ris. Rev. Mr. Craft (O nlennial Historical Address) says two pieces of cannon were left here. Kanagksaws* (Conesus,) an Indian village con- sisting of eighteen houses, on the east side of Conesus Inlet, a short distance from the head of Conesus Lake, and about a mile north-west of Conesus Center, on the north and south road cross- ing the McMillan farm. The main part of the army, being impeded by the rain, encamped nearly two miles north, on the flats south-west of Foot's Corners.f The route of the army this day was acoss the outlet of Hemlock Lake and thence in a south-westerly direction to the head of Conesus Lake, entering the town of Conesus near the old residence of Charles Hitchcock, crossing the main road between South Livonia and Conesus Center near the residence of Mrs. Elizath Mc Vicar; thence to the flats below now owned by Hiram Boyd, J and following these to site of the residence of the late Nathaniel Cole.^ "George Grant says that a fine stream of water ran through the town, and that an enterprising negro called Captain Sunfish, who had acquired considerable wealth and influence, resided here." || It was also the home of a Seneca chief named Big Tree, who was a useful friend of the colonists during the Revolution, and a leading adviser in the treaties and councils of the Senecas ; but who finally yielded to the universal sentiment of his nation in their enmity to that cause. Presi- dent Dwight says, that while Big Tree, in company with other Indians, witnessed from a commanding height the destruction of his possessions by Sulli- van's army, one of his companions observed, " You see how the Americans treat their friends ! " He calmly replied, " What I see is only the common fortune of war. It cannot be supposed that the Americans can distinguish my property from yours, who are their enemies." After the war Big Tree lived in the town of that name on the west side of •This village is variously named Adjnton, {Craft's Historical Ad- dress.) Canneltsa-wes, {Diary of Dr. Jal'es Campricld,\ A'oneghsaws, [Shark's American Biography, which sa\s it contained twenty-five and Kaneysas or Yucksea, {Journal of Major James Xorris, which says it contained eighteen houses situated on an excellent inter- vale.) t "The local tradition that Hand took the road through Union Corners and encamped on the L. B. Richardson farm at the False Faces is not mentioned in any journal and is without doubt incorrect." Rev. David Craft's Centennial Historical Address. JUpon these fiats a few years ago a son of Mr. Boyd plowed up a < opptr plate in a good state of preservation, supposed to have been worn upon the hat of one of Sullivan's soldiers. It was in the form of a dia- mond, about five inches square ; in the center was a raised eagle, carrying in it talons a bunch of arrows, and at the top corner the inscription, "U. S. Riflemen." The lower corner was destroyed by the tinder before he knew what it was. — Pioneer Sketches of Conesus No. 2. — The Dansvitle Advertiser, February 10, 1876. § A few years since Mr. Cole found upon the tlats below his residence a pair of bullet molds, capable of molding twelve ounce balls at a time.— Pioneer Sketches of Conesus No. z.— The Dansville Advertiser, Feb- ruary to, 1876. II Craft's Centennial Historical A ddress. SULLIVAN'S EXPEDITION. 55 the river near the great bend. He died at his lodgings in Philadelphia, in 1792, after a few hours sickness resulting from over-eating, and was buried thereon the 22nd of April with something like public honors.* In this vicinity occurred the most tragic events connected with this eventful expedition, and as the further progress and operations of the army were mostly limited to territory now embraced in Liv- ingston county a detailed account of them seems warranted. We quote, therefore, from the admir- able address of Rev. David Craft, before referred to.t " When General Sullivan reached his encamp- ment near Kanaghsaws, he supposed that he was near the great Seneca town on the Genesee river and accordingly sent Lieutenant Boyd to recon- noitre it. This town, which some of the journals refer to, was generally known as Chenussio, though not in existence at the time of the cam- paign, yet bears such an important relation to it, and Sullivan's mistake in regard to its existence was attended with such serious consequences, that a few words of explanation are necessary. "As early as 1750 and as late as 1770, this great town was on the east site of the Genesee river, near its confluence with Canaseraga creek, on the site of ancient Williamsburg. It appears on the Guy Johnson map of 1771, as Chenussio, as Connecchio on the Ponchot map of 1758, in both cases at the point described. Camnierhoff and Zeisberger visited it in 1750, calling it Conness- chio, describing it as containing forty large huts. Mary Jemison, in her narrative, mentions the fact of its being on the east side of Genesee river and south of Fall Brook. * * * There is no men- tion in any journal of a town at this point in 1779, on the other hand, Col. Dearborn says expressly that the General expected to find the great Gene- see town a mile and a half from Gaghehegwalehale and on the east side of the river, but upon recon- noitering found it was five miles distant and on the other side of the river.j Keeping this fact in mind will enable us to understand the movements about to be related. All day on the 12th the In- dians had been so near that their tracks were fresh on the path and the water was roiled through which they had passed. Reaching Kanaghsaws a little after 7 o'clock in the morning it was discovered that the inlet ran through a soft miry bottom sev- eral rods in width over which one could go on foot, but where it would be impossible to take the pack horses and artillery, the enemy having destroyed * Craft's Centennial Historical Address* and Journal of Major James Norris : also Spark's American Biography* New Series, III., 1+^, Note. tThis address is published in full in The Livingston Republican o{ Sept. 18, 1879. X Major Norris' Journal corroborates this statement fully ; and Dr. Campfield's Diary says in referring to this village discovered by Boyd, and which Major calls Gaglu/iegwalclialc, " we expected this would be the end of our labor, but we are mistaken, we are again to march on." the bridge across the stream.* The General, therefore, detailed a part of the army to destroy the town and cornfields, and the other part to aid the pioneers in building a corduroy causeway across the marsh and in repairing the bridge. It was near noon when the large cornfields had been laid waste and the bridge completed, and the army ready to resume its march. In the meanwhile events of a most serious character had been tran- spiring in the front. * * * " * * Just west of the inlet and bounding the slough over which the army was compelled to make the road, is a ridge of considerable height, running north and south, whose eastern slope is so steep that one can climb straight up it with diffi- culty ; the path winding obliquely along its face, which is broken by several ravines. " After the battle of Newtown, Butler with the main part of his army retired to Canawaugus, the site of the present Avon, where he remained until the 1 2th of September, when learning by his scouts the approach of Sullivan to Kanaghsaws, and knowing the difficulty in crossing the morass, deter- mined if possible to surprise that portion of the army which should first cross the bridge and put them to flight before the remainder could come to their assistance. The place was admirably chosen and the plan skillfully made. For this purpose Butler and Brant with their forces left Canawau- gus early in the morning and posted themselves near the crest of the ridge, which was covered with open woods, but at a sufficient distance north of the path to escape the observation of Sullivan's advance guard. They were within musket-shot of the creek, and could observe every movement of our army, while they themselves were entirely con- cealed. It was at this place that the incident mentioned of Big Tree occurred. Here the enemy anxiously awaited the advance of our army. •• When General Sullivan ordered Boyd to recon- noiter the great Seneca town, he was directed to take five or six men with him, and report at headquarters as early as sunrise the next morning. He took however twelve riflemen, six musketmen of the 4th Pennsylvania Regt, and six volunteers, who, with himself, and Hanyerry, an Oneida Indian guide, and Capt. Jehoiakim, made twenty-seven men in all. The party left camp at eleven o'clock in the evening and set out on the trail leading to the great town. Owing to his misinformation. Sul- livan's directions had been confusing. It was found the principally traveled trail took a different direc- tion than the commander had expected. Boyd did not lose his way.t but instead of taking the unused path which would have led him to the abandoned Chenussio, took the one which led to an important town two miles farther up the Canaseraga. In the darkness he had passed Butler's right flank without * The inlet " then extended over the flats south of the main road that crosses the same. The exact location of the bridge is not known, but is supposed to be south of the highway and to have been nearly two thirds of a mile in length."— Pioneer sketches of" Contsus No 1 — lit, Dans- vdle Advertiser, February 10, 1876. \ Sparks' An -,-hy says " his guides, not fully acquainted with the country, mistook the route. 56 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. either party discovering the other. Boyd reached the town which had been left by the enemy, early in the morning without encountering any difficulty. Halting at the outskirts of the village, himself and one of his men carefully reconnoitered the place, when they rejoined the rest of the party which lay concealed in the woods near the town. He imme- diately sent back two of his men to report his dis- covery, while the rest awaited the light of the day whose morning was just breaking. In a short time four Indians were seen to enter the town on horse- back, and Boyd sent five or six of his party to take or kill them. They succeeded in killing one, wounding another, and taking one horse with its accoutrements. The wounded man with the others escaped. Boyd then sat out to return to camp. When he had gone four or five miles, thinking the army must be on its march toward him, he sat down to rest. After a short halt he dispatched two of his men to inform the General where he was, and of his intention to await the coming of the army. In a short time these two men came back to him with the information that they had discov- ered five Indians on the path. Boyd again resumed his march and had gone but a short distance when he discovered the same party and fired at them. They ran and Boyd, against the advise of Han- yerry, pursued them. The chase was kept up for some distance, they keeping far enough away to escape danger from the fire of the scout which they frequently succeeded in drawing, until they had beguiled him in the midst of the enemy. Butler, hearing the firing on his right, as his force was arranged facing Conesus, and fearing that he had been discovered, and that an attempt was being made to surprise his camp, hastened to the spot, when he discovered Boyd's party, and at once gave such orders that before the Lieutenant was aware of the presence of the enemy he was completely surrounded by them. Once and again he attempted to break the enemy's line but without success ; he then attempted to retreat, but he was encompassed on all sides by Butler's forces. Our men fought with desperate bravery against fearful odds, for there were about eight hundred of the enemy* to twenty- six Americans, and every moment expected relief from our army from whose lines they were not more than a mile distant. Covered by a clump of trees standing on a slight knoll they poured a mur- derous fire upon the enemy, of whom numbers wen- seen to fall. Here the greater part of Boyd's party were slain. At this point the body of Hanyerry was found literally cut to pieces. The story of the theatrical address of his brother and his tragic end, as related by Stone and followed by others, lacks both confirmation and probability; on the other hand he was found with the others who fell with him, which would not have been the case had he been captured before he was slain. Near the same spot, fifteen of Boyd's men were found killed. Boyd and his sergeant, Parker, were captured, and eight escaped ; among the latter was that noted scout, Timothy Murphy, an account of whose hair- • Major Norris says (he number ol Boyd a ailants was 300. breadth escapes and deeds of reckless daring would fill a volume ; others were Elerson, McDonald, Garret Putnam and Captain Jehoiakim. a Stock- bridge Indian.* Boyd and Parkerwere hastened to Little Eeard's town, where they were put to death with cruel tortures. It is said that Boyd approached Brant under the sign of a Free Mason, of which anci' .it fraternity both were members, that the chieftain recognized the bonds of brotherhood and promised his prisoner protection, but being unex- pectedly called away, the captives were handed over to Butler, (probably Walter N.,) who, exasperated at Boyd's refusal to give information concerning the numbers and disposition of Sullivan's army, handed the heroic Lieutenant over to the Indians to be put to death. How much of this story is true is diffi- cult to ascertain ; it is, however, extremely doubt- ful if any such transaction occurred. All that is known is that the bodies of Boyd and Parker were found by our troops the next day, horribly mutilated, and bearing marks of having been subject to un- speakable tortures. "Sullivan had established a line of sentries along the base of the hill next the morass, to guard the pioneers against surprise while repairing the bridge and causeway. Capt. Benjamin Lodge, who was the surveyor for the expedition, and with chain and compass had measured the entire route from Easton, about a half an hour after the skirmish with Boyd, had gone a short distance up the hill beyond the piquet line, where he was set upon by a party of Indians. " Thomas Grant, who was one of the surveying party, thus tells the story : — " 'Myself and four chain carriers, who were about one and [a] half miles in advance of the troops. were fired on by several Indians who lay in ambush ; a corporal by the name of Calhawn, who came vol- untarily with me, was mortally wounded and died the next day. The Indians pursued us a fourth of a mile, but without success — we being unarmed were obliged to run.' " Mr. Lodge was compelled to leave his compass and ran toward the nearest sentinel, who shot the Indian who was chasing him with uplifted toma- hawk and Mr. Lodge escaped. Campfield says they were the Indians who were pursuing Murphy and others.f These two affairs disclosed the posi- tion and force of Butler, and thwarted his plans to surprise the army. Gen. Sullivan ordered Hand's brigade to cross the morass, push up the hill and dislodge the enemy. Butler on returning to his position after the affair with Boyd found his force in confusion, who, seeing they were discovered, beat a hasty retreat, leaving their hats, packs, etc., behind them. Butler withdrew his force to Gaghe- hegwalchale. " Having destroyed Kanaghasaws, and com- pleted the bridge and causeway, Sullivan with the 'Di > ampfi< Id • iv "our !<".s in killed and taken was sixteen and tlie officer."' Sparks says Boyd was dangerously wounded before beinc; cap tured anil "was put to death with the most inhuman torture. 1 Dr. Campfield adds, one <>i [hj urvt ' ■ men was wounded and a]] his m ii nments taken. SULLIVAN'S EXPEDITION'. 57 main army, pushed forward on the trail taken by Boyd the night before, a distance of seven miles to Gaghehegwalchale or Gathsegwarhohare, Cassa- waughloughly. This was an Indian town of twenty- five houses,* mostly new, on the east side of the Canaseraga Creek, about two miles above its con- fluence with the Genesee. The site is now occu- pied by the house and surrounding grounds of the ' Hermitage,' the ancestral home of the Carrolls. The tribes residing here, called by Sullivan, Squat- chegas, by the Onondagas, Tchouera-gak, signify- ing wild cats ; and by others Kah-Kwas, were the same that afterward settled on Squakie Hill, to whom two miles square were reserved in the treaty of i 797. They were a remnant of one of the tribes of the historic Eries. * * * " As the advance of the army approached this town about dusk of Sept. 13th, they found them- selves confronted by a strong force of Indians and Rangers, drawn up in battle array, to dispute their farther progress. The General at once began to make the proper disposition of his troops to attack them, and pushed forward the flanking divisions to cut off their retreat, but before the troops were in position, the enemy retreated in a precipitate man- ner, and the army encamped in the town without opposition. There were extensive cornfields ad- jacent to the town, which it took two thousand men from six until twelve o'clock of the 14th to destroy, when they set out for the great town of the Gen- esee. At two and one-fourth miles they crossed the creek, then says Dr. Campfield, we 'advanced on to a plain, through a swamp of large trees. * This plain appeared to be about two miles in length and upwards of a mile wide, lying almost east and west. [Approaching it] on the east end, the view was obstructed by a hill, not very high, but when we approached the middle of the plain, we found it open to the right to an amazing extent. When we came nigh the hill mentioned before, our march was obstructed by the Genesee River, which takes its course through the hills, and at this place enters this extensive plain. * * * The grass on this plain is good, the wild horses are very fond of it, and it grows as high as a man's head in many places. Here we had a charming view of our army, which is the first, all moving in our original order of march. The army here crossed the river and ascended the hill — it continued its progress to Geneseo, over several sudden hills and swamps which were general [ly] miry, if not three rods across, at which place it arrived about sunset. * * The town is situated on a very fine plain, higher than the other large plain. Other journals speak of it as being in a bend of the river, t by which it was nearly encircled, and that a pretty brook of good water ran through it. The location of this great Seneca Castle was on the west side of the (lenesee River, on the flat immediately in front of Cuylerville in the town of Leicester, on the oppo- * Major Norris 1 yournal says it contained twen'.y-lwo 1 t See Major Norris' Journal; which, as well as the Diary ol Dr, Campfield, says it was much the largest town the army met with. The latter adds, "a pretty brook of water runs through it.*' site side of the valley from Geneseo. It appears on Evan's map as Chenandoanes ; in 1776, it was called Chenondoanah ; by Morgan is called De-o- nun-da-ga-a, as a more modern Seneca name, sig- nifying ' where the hill is near ;' and is often called Little Beard's town, from the name of the noted Seneca Chieftain. The Castle consisted of one hundred and twenty-eight houses, of which most were large and elegant, and was surrounded by about two hundred acres of cornfields, with every kind of vegetable. It was also the western door of the Long House, to which the Iroquois were ac- customed to liken their confederacy. Near this place were found the bodies of Lieut. Thomas Boyd and Sergeant Parker, horribly mutilated by the tortures to which they had been subjected in the presence of an officer of the British army. They were buried with the honors of war, that evening, near the spot where they were found, under a clump of wild plum-trees, standing near the junction of Boyd's and Parker's creeks, which form what is known as Beard's creek. A large mound by the road-side still marks their first burial place. Our army found the town deserted, but with every ap- pearance of being left in a hurry and confusion. This marked the extreme limit of the march of the army. " There was an Indian town, called Canawaugus, twelve miles from the Great Castle, near the site of Axon, which has been reported to have been destroyed by a detachment under Poor and Max- well, but this is a mistake. All the journals agree that Little Beard's town was the last town destroyed and make no mention whatever of Canawaugus. "At 6 o'clock on the morning of the 15th of September, the whole army was turned out to destroy the crops, orchards and houses of the place. The corn was piled up in the houses and burned with them, or thrown upon log heaps and consumed. It was estimated that more than 15,000 bushels were destroyed at this place.* It was the largest corn the troops had ever seen, some of the ears being twenty-two inches in length. It was about 2 o'clock when the fields had been overrun, the abundant harvest destroyed, the trees hewn down, and nought of the great town re- mained but smoking ruins, and blackened logs ; then came the joyful order to about face and re- turn. While the army was in this town Mrs. Lester with a child in her arms came to our troops. The autumn previous, (Nov. 7th,) her husband with others, was taken by the Indians to Nanticoke ; he was slain but his wife was carried into captivity. In their haste to leave the town her captors left her behind, when she escaped to our lines. Her child died in a few days. She subsequently became the wife of Captain Roswell Franklin, who was among the very first settlers at Aurora. N. Y. " The army set out on its return by the same path it came,' at 3 o'clock i>. m. [and] encamped that night on the flats near Canawagh- loughly. On Thursday, the 16th, the army were ' Mai .1 Norris estimates (lie quantity of corn destroyed at 20,000 bushels. 5» HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. early at work finishing cutting some corn which had been left, and resumed the march about ten o'clock. Captain Henderson with sixty men was detached to bury the dead who fell in the affair at Groveland. Fifteen bodies were found, which were buried in the presence of the army with the honors of war,* and the army preceded to Kanagh- saws, where it encamped. The next morning was cold with severe frost, but the troops were in mo- tion as early as sunrise and hastened to Haneyaya, which they reached at one o'clock, and found Capt. Cummings and party safe and sound, greatly to the relief of the General and their friends. Here the full ration was again issued, which, says one of the journals. ' came very welcome, as we can now sit down and eat a hearty meal of victuals with a clear conscience, and before, on our half allowance, we dare not.' "On the evening of the 19th the army reached Kanadaseaga, without any occurrence worthy of note, except that scattered dwellings and fields of corn which had been overlooked or purposely spared were completely destroyed, and a number of pack horses being unable to go farther were shot. At Kanadaseaga, Colonel Smith with a de- tachment was sent up on the west side of Seneca lake to lay waste more effectually the country about Kershong. Detachments under Colonel But- ler and Colonel Dearborn were sent on each side of Cayuga lake to complete the ruin of that region. On Friday, the 24th of September, the army reached Kanawalaholla, the site of Elmira, where it found Captain Reid with an abundant supply of provisions, and who received the approaching army with demonstrations of joy. The next day was spent in rejoicing, and the following days detach- ments underColonel Courtlandt and Captain Simon Spaulding were sent up the Tioga, who devastated the country as far as Painted Post. On the 30th of September the army returned to Fort Sullivan, and reached F.aston on the 15th of October." Efforts have been made to disparage the man- agement of this expedition and belittle its results; but it is remarked by the translator of .)/. Chastel leux's Travels, an Englishman then resident in the United States, that the instructions given by Gen- eral Sullivan to his officers, the order of march he prescribed to his troops, and the discipline he had the ability to maintain, would have done honor to the most experienced ancient or modern generals, f *In 1841, these remains, together with those of Lieutenant Bnvd and Sergt. Parker, at Cuylerville, were exhumed and removed to Revolution ary Hill, in the beautiful Mount Hope Cemetery of Rochester, a spot assigned by the authorities of that city for the interment of all Revolution- ary heroes in Western New York, and there reinterred with imposing ceremonies, which were participated in, besides the people of Livingston county, by the military and >ivi» authorities of Rochester. This action was in consonance with a decision Of a public meeting held at the court house in (ieneseoon the mil of August, 1X41, and under the supervision of a committee then designated, consistingoi Colvin II. Bryan, William T.Cuyler, Daniel H Bi&sell, Reuben Sleeper, John Henderson, Horatio Jones, John 1< Murray, jr., Allen Ayrault, Samuel Treat, jr., Edward R. Hammatt, William W. » ed, W m H Stanli j and Daniel F. Bissell. t Thatchers Military Journal. With a " loss of less than forty men, in killed, wounded and taken, and those who died natural deaths,"* it over-run and desolated the vast terri- tory of a vigilant, crafty and powerful enemy and inflicted a blow from which they never recovered ; burning forty Indian towns, destroying one hun- dred and sixty thousand bushels of corn in fields and granaries, cut down a vast number of the finest fruit trees, desolated luxuriant gardens, leaving not a ''single trace of vegetation upon the surface of the ground," and opened up to commerce and civilization a territory exceeding in extent one-third of the area of this great State, and that the most fertile and beautiful. The proud Iroquois, who had scarce felt the touch of the colonists except in kindness, were driven into the forests to starve and be hunted like wild beasts; their altars were over- turned, their graves trampled upon by strangers, and their beautiful countr) laid waste, t The terror- stricken Iroquois fled to Niagara, where they per- ished in large numbers from diseases caused by the absence of accustomed food, and insufficient pro- tection from the severity of the succeeding winter, which was one of unexampled rigor and was dis- tinguished as the hard winter.% The result of the expedition was highly satisfac- tory to Congress, which, on the 14th of October, 1779, passed the following resolutions: — Resolved, That the thanks of Congress be given to his Excellency, General Washington, for direct- ing, and to Major-General Sullivan and the brave officers and soldiers under his command, for effect- ually executing an important expedition against such of the Indian nations, as, encouraged by the counsels and conduct of the officers of His Britan- nic Majesty, had perfidiously waged an unpro- voked and cruel war against these United States, laid waste many of their defenseless towns, and with savage barbarity slaughtered the inhabitants thereof. Resolved, That it will be proper to set apart the second Thursday in December next, as a day of general thanksgiving in these United States, and that a committee be appointed to prepare a recom- mendation to the said States for this purpose. This retributive justice suggested by Washington and executed by Sullivan was indeed terrible in its consequences to the Iroquois, and has been re- garded with some degree of disapprobation by those whose amiable disposition leads them to con- demn, says Chief Justice Marshall, "whatever may have the appearance of tending to aggravate the miseries of war;" but it had the sanction of Con- • Diary of the American Revolution, Frank Moore. t Indian Trihes of Hudson s River, Ruttenber. \Spa <>>; Biography, New Series, III., 147. THE IROQUOIS AFTER THE WAR OF THE REVOLUTION. 59 gress, and, says Sparks, " was demanded as well as justified, by the deliberate sentiments of the best and wisest " of that day. It should not be over- looked either that it was directed not against an en- emy who regarded and respected the common usages of civilized warfare, but against one whose heteroclit- ical habits made him amenable to none of these, and, says Sparks, " against whose fury neither the helplessness of infancy, nor feeble age, nor the de- fenseless state of woman, could afford the least protection." Of the Iroquois, who, says Clark, "hung like the scythe of death in the rear of our settlements," and whose " deeds are inscribed with the scalping- knife and tomahawk in characters of blood," but few ever returned to their native lands ; and in the treaty of peace which put an end to this interne- ciary struggle, no stipulation whatever was made respecting them. Keenly sensible of the deadly scourge which had devastated her border settle- ments, the New York Legislature evinced a dispo- sition to expel them from her territory, but, through the influence of Washington and Schuyler, better and more humane counsels prevailed ; and, though according to common usage they, as conquered allies of the British, had forfeited all territorial rights, they still pressed claims, which both the State and Federal Governments generously recognized and respected by subsequent treaties. Ungenerously left without provision by the allies who so strenu- ously courted their assistance, many of them mi- grated to the West. Their descendants are now largely located at Forestville, Wisconsin, where they are said to number six thousand, of whom the Cayugas form the larger part. Two thousand of their number can read and write, and they have twenty-nine day, and two manual labor schools. They support themselves by agriculture and dis- play their superiority over the other tribes in the arts or civilization in as marked a degree as they did in the prowess of their savage warfare. They are not dying out. Their numbers rather increase than diminish. Not so unmindful of the Iroquois, however, was the Federal Government. At the conclusion of the Revolutionary war, Oliver Wolcott, Richard But- ler and Arthur Lee were appointed commissioners to amicably adjust their rights and claims, and at a council held at Fort Stanwix in 1784, reservations were assigned to each of the Six Nations, except the Mohawks, who after residing awhile on the American side of the Niagara river, in the vicinity of the old landing place above the fort, retired to the banks of the Onise or Grand river, about forty miles above Niagara Falls, on lands assigned them by the Canadian Government, under the protec- tion of Great Britain. January 9, 1789, St. Clair held treaties at Fort Harmer with the Iroquois (the Mohawks excepted,) and other Indians, which, while they recognized the boundary line established in 1784, modified that treaty so as to concede to the Indians the right to compensation for lands east of that line as far as the boundary established in 1768. Special legislation had been previously had with regard to the Oneidas and Tuscaroras. October 15, 1783, Congress passed a series of reso- lutions relating to the Iroquois, of which the sixth reads as follows : — " Whereas, The Oneida and Tuscarora tribes have adhered to the cause of America, and joined her armies in the course of the late war, and Con- gress has frequently assured them of peculiar marks of favor and friendship, the said Commissioners are therefore instructed to reassure the said tribes of the friendship of the United States, and that they may rely that the land which they claim as their inheritance will be reserved for their sole use and benefit, until they may think it for their advantage to dispose of the same." CHAPTER V. The Senegas — Their Origin and Symbols — An- tiquity anii Extent ok their Countrv — ■ Their Status among the Iroquois — Their Early Town Sues — Greenhalgh's Journal — The Senegas Visited by La Motte, Hennepin and La Salle — Mission of Sieur deJoncaire — Jesuit Missions — Jogues' Mission to the Mohawks — I.kMoine's Mission at Onondaga — Chaumonot Establishes the Mission of St. Joseph among the Cayugas and the Mission of St. Michael among the Senegas — Missions of Fathers Frlmin, Raffeix and Garnier — Seneca Mission Resumed by Fathers ( Iarxier and Vaillant — Fathers Bruyas and Fene- lon — Episcopal Missions — New England Missions — Rev. Samuel Kirkland — Mission- ary Societies of Massachusetts and New York. THE origin of the Senecas. like that of the con- federacy to which they belonged and the other nations composing it, is ascribed to supernatural agencies. It rests wholly on tradition reaching back to a dim ami misty past, which affirms that 6o HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. they sprang from the crest of a mountain near the head of Canandaigua Lake, which is still venerated by a remnant of the tribe as the place of their birth- This eminence they designated Geimandeivahgah, or Goananonda, (meaning great hill, ox big moun- tain;) and hence they were called the ^reat hill or big mountain people, and theii armorial device was a big mountain* This till a recent day and tradi- tionally from a long remote period, was the place where the councils of the nation were held. In their infancy, the base of this mountain, so tradition alleges, was encircled by a huge serpent whose head and t.ul met at the entrance to the pathway which led to and from its summit, and Ivw who essayed the passage escaped it-- voracious jaws. They were thus immured till fright and the deadly- feted odor of the poisonous monster made their condition insupportable ; and arming themselves with such weapons as were at hand, they attempted an eS( ape, bul were seized and devoured. All thus perished except two children, who were miraculous- ly preserved andas miraculously made the instru- ments of the destruction of this terrible enemy of their race. In obedient e to oracular instruction they fashioned from a particular kind of willow a bow and arrow, the barb of which was dipped in poison, and with this weapon shot the serpent, the arrow, by divine direction, entering its vitals beneath its scales. The serpent was instantly seized with violent convulsions, uncoiled itself from about the mountain, and in its agonized writhings and con- tortions disgorged the human heads, which rolled down the declivity to the lake, whose limpid waters petrified them and reveal them to this day in the shape of large round stones, which e\ist in great numbers, near the bank of the lake. The serpent in its descent to the lake destroyed in its death- throes all the timber in its course ; and the trav- eler as he passes through Canandaigua Lake, will observe as he approaches the great hill, a gully ex- tending from base to summit, which the Indians claim was the track left by the serpent in its de- scent to the lake. From the two orphans thus preserved sprang the present race ofSenecas.t The Senecas had no tradition of a people occu- pying their country prior to themselves, and whi< h was held in possession by them from a period " whereof the memory of man runneth not to the * Life am/ Times of Ke.l Jacket. III. Col. H I., VIII cob. Doc. Hist., I, ll. Il is also designated Sit Hist., IV., 905,) and Soueii.iaoiiaiiueii. [Cot. Hist.. III.. 1 2 5. } the former meaning -'the great hill" and ttie latter u the great monin t Life and Times of Red J a '. . "i '• Life if Mary Jem: contrary."* One of the first allusions to them by the Europeans occurs in a Jesuit Relation dated 1644-45, and is as follows : " Toward the termi- nation of the great lake called Ontario is located the most numerous of the Five Nations, named the Senecas. which contains full 1,200 men. in two or three villages of which it is composed." Their country, indeed, had been referred to incidentally a century earlier. Jacques Cartier was informed in 1535, by the Indians living upon the borders of the ( tulf of St. Lawrence, " that, after ascending many leagues among rapids and waterfalls, he would reach a lake one hundred and fifty leagues long and forty or fifty broad, at the western extremity of which the waters were wholesome and winters mild, and that a river emptied into it from the south, which had its source in the country of the Iroquois. "t In 1726, their country is described as extending from Canahogue Creek (Cuyahoga Creek, Ohio,) to Sodoms Creek (Little Sodus Creek.); the very gran- ary, not only of the confederacy, but of the western continent then inhabited by Europeans. As a member <>l the traditional Hodenosaunee, of which they, in conjunction with the Onondagas, were re- garded the fathers,? they were by far the most nu- merous and powerful (more than equaling the com- bined numbers of all the others composing it,) and wielded an influence proportionate to their com- manding strength and sagacity. Their great prowess was acknowledged by their confederates, and then vigilance and power extorted its admis- sion from their enemies. From their geographical position with regard to the other members of the league, they were the western door-keepers of their so-called long house ; while the Mohawks, being the easternmost of the Five Nations, guarded the eastern door at Scheneghtade. Thus the Senecas in- terposed a living barrier to the enemies of the Con- federacy from the west and south, anil the Mo- hawks, to those from the north and east, a duty which the) proudly fulfilled. " Whenever," savs Stone. " at either door of the long house, other na- tions, or their ambassadors, knocked upon business. the first duty of the nation keeping the door was to ascertain its character and importance. If not of great moment, the council of the separate nation attended to it. But whenever the subject matter presented from without was of interest to thewhole . onfederacy, or of sufficient weight to require the trtevoix ; ColdetCs Six Nations; Mention *s New York ami Times of I Marshal?* Niagara Frontier, t Col. Hist., K,8oo; r//. 4 ss. §CV. //;..'., Ill, |8l. Life GREENHALGH'S JOURNEY AMONG THE SENECAS. 61 consideration of the united council, the messengers charged with it were sent forward to the Onondaga Valley, where the grand council fire was kindled and it was discussed by the national congress."* The earliest location of the Senecas of which we have any authentic record is the one in which they were found by M. de Denonville in 1687 ; and though these were their principal villages, they had others quite remote from them. Father Hennepin, in 167S, refers to an Iroquois (Seneca) village,t named Tai-ai-a-gon, in the locality of Toronto, and to a small village of Senecas on the west bank and near the mouth of Niagara River.j: In 1677, ten years previous to M. de Denonville's invasion, this country was visited by Wentworth Greenhalgh, whose Journal of that journey is of peculiar interest in this connection. We quote: — " The Senecques have four towns, vizt. Cana- gora. Tiotohatton, Canoenada and Keint-he ; Ca- nagorah and Tiotohatton lye within 30 miles of ye lake ffrontenacque, and ye other two ly about four or five miles apiece to ye southward of these, they have aboundance of corne ; none of their towns are stockadoed. " Canagorah lyes on the top of a great hill, and in that as well as the bignesse much like Onondago, containing 150 houses; north-westward of Caiougo 72 miles. * * * " Tiotehatton lyes on the brink or edge of a hill, has nott much cleared ground, is neare the river Tiotehatton which signifies bending, ltt lyes to the westward of Canagorah about 30 miles, contains about 120 houses being ye largest of all ye houses wee saw, ye ordinary being about 50 or 60 foott long, with 13 or 14 fires in one house, they have a good store of corne growing about a mile to ye northward of the towne. "Being at this place the 17th of June, there came 50 prisoners from the South west-ward, * * *; this day of them was burnt two women and a man, and a child killed with a stone, att night we heard a greatt noyse, as if ye houses had all fallen butt itt was only ye Inhabitants driving away ye Ghosts of ye murthered. "The 1 8th, goeing to Canagaroh wee overtook ye prisoners, when ye souldiers saw us they stopped each his prisoner and made him sing, and cuttoff their fingers, and slasht their bodys with a knife, and when they had sung each man confessed how many men in his time hee had killed ; thatt day att Canagaroh there were most cruelly burned four men, four women and one boy, the cruelty lasted about seven hours, when they were almost dead, * Life and Times of Red Jacket, 107. tThis village is also known as Gandatsuigon, and was located where Whitby now stands, thirty miles north-east of Toronto. Early Chapters of Cayuga History. X Probably the village of Chenondoanah, which PowttalCs Ma/ of the Middle British Colo/ties locates on the west bank of the Genesee, about fifteen miles from its mouth. Col. Hist., VI,, 899. letting them loose to ye mercy of ye boys, and tak- ing the hearts of such as were dead to feast on. " Canoenada lyes about four miles to ye South- ward of Canagorah, conteyns about 30 houses, well furnished with Corne. " Keint-he lyes aboutt four or five miles to ye Southward of Tiotehatton, contayns about 24 houses well furnished with corne. " The Senecques are counted to bee in all aboutt 1,000 fighting men."* Canagorah was visited in the winter of 1678, by Sieur de la Motte, a lieutenant of the adventurous La Salle, and Father Louis Hennepin, a devoted attache of that celebrated and daring explorer. Af- ter a five days' weary journey by Indian trail through the frost-bound wilderness from Niagara, sleeping at night in the open air without other shel- ter than chance afforded, they arrived on the last day of December at the principal village of the Sene- cas — Tagarondies — which occupied the site of Boughton Hill, in Victor, Ontario county, where they found the Jesuit missionaries, Fathers Julien Gamier and Peter Raffeix. The object of their visit was to placate the Senecas and gain their ac- quiescence to the ambitious project of La Salle in extending his western explorations in which interest La Salle himself visited them the following year, having visited the same village in company with the Sulpitians, Dollier and Gollinee, ten years be- fore. La Salle succeeded in gaining what La Motte and Hennepin had failed to obtain — the full assent of the Senecas to the execution of his enterprises, notwithstanding they subsequently proved them- selves inimical thereto.! Three of the villages described by Greenhalgh are in the county of Ontario ; the fourth, Keint-he, corresponds with the village which Denonville calls Gannounata and was known in the Seneca dialect as Dyndoosot (pronounced De-o-dou-sote) and meaning " at the spring." It was situated near the modern village of East Avon, and the plow, which has nearly obliterated all trace of its existence, has from time to time disclosed many relics of its former occu- pants. The location of these villages corresponds with their designation on Clark's Map of the Iro- quois Fire Nations and Mission Silts, 1656- 1684: % and, though less specifically with that of a map pub- lished by the Jesuits in 1664. § A map of North America, drawn in 1688 by Jean Baptiste Louis Franquelin, Hydrographer to Louis XIV., and pre- served in the archives of the Ministere de la Ma- •Col. Hist. III.. I5i. -i! t The Building and Voyage of the Griffon, in 1&79. by O. H- Marshall. % Early Chapters of Cayuga History. § Kip's Jesuits. HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. rine, in Paris, represents two Seneca villages on the east bank of the Genesee, ( Toinnontchianagon,) apparently near the confluence of Honeoye out- let, and two others upon the west bank and near the head waters of a stream corresponding with Irondequoit creek, emptying into the bay of the same name ( Ganniatarontaquat.)* After the destruction of the Seneca villages by Denonville in 1687, several others sprang into ex- istence, some to the westward and others to the eastward of them. In 1720 they had two villages, which were distinguished as great and/////,- village; but their exact location is left to conjecture. In 1 7 18, the court of France ordered the establish- ment of a trade for the benefit of the king in the circuit of Lake Ontario and the building of maga- zines upon the north and south sides thereof. In 1 7 19, "in the beginning of harvest," the Sieur de Joncaire, lieutenant of a detachment of marines, witli an interpreter, was sent in obedience to this order by Marquis de Vaudreuil and Monsieur Begon, to try the minds of the Senecas and see if they could engage them to consent to the building of a house upon their land, and to maintain that settlement in case the English opposed it. This message was accompanied with some belts of wam- pum and other presents, consisting of powder, lead, brandy and "other small merchandizes." "Sieur de Joncaire wintered partly at the great, and partly at the little village of the Senecas, and departed thence at the breaking up of the ice for the fort of the Cataracouy, where he had orders to take pro- visions and merchandizes for the trade at Niagara in case he could dispose of the Senecas to his inter- est." He arrived at the fort about the beginning of May, 1720, and reported to a council of French and Indians that the Senecas had favorably re- ceived the message "and produced several of Pel- letrie by which the said Indians answered, Father Onontio, (M. de Vandreuel) and their uncle Son- onchiez (Sieur de Joncaire) were the masters of their land and that the Indians consented not only to the building of the house of Niagara but also engaged themselves to maintain it, and if the Eng- lish should undertake to demolish it they must first take up the hatchet against the Cabanes of the two villages of the Senecas." After ten or twelve days spent at Fort Cataracouy, Jon- caire returned to Niagara with Sieur de la Corne, son of Mons. de la Corne, Captain and Major of Montreal, and eight soldiers, with a canoe of mer- chandise. Sieur de la Corne was commissioned * Tht Building and Voyage of the Griff on^ in 1679. by M. Begon to winter at that post, and there Joncaire left him in July, after having "built in haste a kind of cabin of Bark, where they displayed the Ring's colors, and honored it with the name of Magazine Royal." Joncaire received orders to return to Niagara with the title of commandant, and about the middle of October, 1720, he left Montreal to winter at Niagara, taking with him two canoes laden with merchandise and twelve soldiers, six of whom he detached on his arrival at Catara- couy. He pursued his voyage, but was stopped by the ice thirty-five leagues from the mouth of the Niagara, and was obliged to put into the Gen- esee, ( Gasionchiagon or Gasconchiagon,) where he passed the winter.* Sieur de Joncaire was cap- tured and adopted at an early day by the Senecas, by whom he was greatly beloved. \ From his long residence with them he acquired a great influence over them and incidentally over the other Iroquois nations. He thus became a useful emissary of the French in winning over to that interest the gen- erally recalcitrant Iroquois, and much of his life was spent in this service as mediator, interpreter or conciliator. At the opening of the eighteenth cen- tury we find him officiating at a conference be- tween the French and Iroquois ;{ ami previous to 17 11, Governor Hunter testifies that he, in con- junction with M. de Longeuil had built a block- house and projected a fort in the chief village of the Senecas. <; About 1730, he obtained permis- sion of the Senecas to establish a trading post at Irondequoit. || His sons, Chabert de Joncaire, Jr., and Philip Thomas de Joncaire Clauzonne, were also active public servants and residents in the Seneca county. Sir Jeffrey Amherst's letter to Sir William John- son, September 30, 1763, refers to Kanadaseagy and Canadaraggo, (the former occupying the site of Geneva and the latter to the westward of it,) as two Seneca castles which were in the English interest and to be exempted from molestation in offensive operations which might be carried on against the Senecas. IF Sir William Johnson's Enumeration of Indians within tin- Northern De- partment, November 18, 1763, states the number of Senecas to be 1,050 men, who "have several villages beginning about fifty miles from Cayuga, •Col. Hisl \ . 5S9 I Co!. Hist., IX.. 747. iC.il. Hist., IX., 709. §Col. Hisl., V., z;j. II Col. Hist., V., 911. IT Col. Hist.. VII., 56S. See also Sir William Johnson's letter t»> Sir Jeffrey Amherst, Sept. 14, 1761, in which Kanadessegy ami Canada- ii'.vc' 1 •'"■ K't.rirtl t.. .is In in- in 1I1.' Knglisli interest and east of I 'hgnut sio* FIRST JESUIT MISSIONS. 63 and from thence to Chenussio, the largest, about seventy miles from Niagara, with others thence to Ohio."* In the Journal of Sir William Johnson 's Proceedings with the Indians, at Fort Johnson in 1757, Chinosia is referred to as the " farthest Sen- eca castle ;"f and from the Proceedings of Sir Wil- liam Johnson with the Indians, September 7, 1763, it appears that the Senecas had two castles at Che- nussio,% which is designated on Guy Johnson's map as Geneseo, (Cenosio.)% The Seneca villages of Kanuskago or Ganuskago, is located in the town of Dansville on Guy Johnson's Map of the Country of the Six Nations,^ and was also called "the door of the Six Nations," at a meeting of certain of the Six Nations and their allies at Fort John- son, February 18, 1756. "[ But it is not our pur- pose to pursue here a subject which will be more specifically treated in respect to this country in connection with the several towns ; for the county throughout almost its entire extent is dotted over with the sites of these ancient villages which ex- isted before the avenging hand of Sullivan's army laid waste the fair country of the Senecas, or which subsequently sprang into being. The principal of these, however, prior to that epoch, have been noticed in connection with that expedition. The advent of the Jesuit missionaries among the Iroquois was a marked event in the history of the latter, as from the Jesuit Rotations we obtain the earliest, most exact and most authentic informa- tion regarding them. The Jesuits were men of culture and intelligence, who forsook homes of luxury in Europe and submitted with a wonderful patience and heroism to the most menial offices, the utmost hardships and privations, and cheer- fully accepted missions attended with the most in- conceivable danger in the zealous pursuit of their calling. Whatever estimate we put upon them as men, we must admit their great devotion and self- sacrifice. The first Jesuit missionaries arrived in Canada in 1625, and from that period exerted a vast in- fluence upon the interests of the French colony in that province. The mission was interrupted during the English occupancy of Quebec, from 1629 to 1632, and was resumed the latter year. They were instrumental in securing and holding the friendly aid of the northern and western Indians to the French arms in Canada. Had their influence been the first directed towards the Iroquois, it is probable their friendship, possibly their aid, might § Ibid, VII, lu- ll Ibid, VII . S7. IF Ibid, VII, 57. •Col. Hist., VII., 5Sj. t [bid, VII, 164. t Ibid, VII, 554- have been secured, and then American coloniza- tion might have presented a vastly different phase. But while their beneficent policy attracted, that inaugurated by Champlain and pursued by his suc- cessors repelled them and provoked a deadly hatred. Failing in their efforts to coerce the Iroquois to terms which they presumed to dictate, the French colonists, chagrined and deeply humiliated, sought to gain their friendship by the aid of the mission- aries of a religion whose precepts they had so wan- tonly violated, and in 1646, Father Isaac Jogues was sent in the double capacity of ambassador and missionary to the Mohawks, who were the first of the Iroquois nations to be outraged by the French lust for dominance, and by whom, three years pre- viously, he had been captured, subjected to the most horrid torture, and threatened with death, which he escaped through the friendly interven- tion of the Dutch settlers at Albany, (Fort Orange. ) His mission, like his office, was of a double nature. He was commissioned by his Father Superior to establish on the scenes of his torture a mission which was given in advance the prophetic name, tho Mission of the Martyrs; and by Charles Huault de Montmagny, who succeeded Champlain as Governor of Canada, to use his influence with the Mohawks in perpetuating a peace which had been concluded the previous year, through the instrumentality of the Jesuit Guillaume Couture, who was captured by the Mohawks at the same time as Jogues, and adopted into one of their families in place of a dead relative. Jogues, suffering under a keen recollection of his recent tortures, apprehen- sive also of his reception, and having, as he wrote a friend, a presentiment of death, at first revolted at the thought ; but it was only a temporary weak- ness. Exchanging the uniform of Loyola for a civilian's suit, by advice of an Algonquin convert, he sat out on his mission about the middle of May. His appearance in that character created no little amazement in the Mohawk village ; but he was respectfully received, and he delivered the gifts and wampum belts, with the message of peace, of which he was the bearer from the Governor, his speech being "echoed by a unanimous grunt of applause from the attentive concourse," and eliciting con- firmations of peace in return. Two Algonquins accompanied him as deputies, but their overtures of peace were rejected. •• The business of the Embassy was scarcely fin- ished," says Parkman, "when the Mohawks coun- selled Jogues and his companions to go home with 64 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. all dispatch, saying, that, it' they waited longer, they might meet on the way warriors of the four upper nations, who would inevitably kill the two Algonquin deputies, if not the French also. Jogues, therefore, set out on his return, but not until, despite the advice of the Indian convert, he had made the round of the houses, confessed and instructed a few Christian prisoners still remaining there, and baptized several dying Mohawks." Jogues returned to his mission the following August, but only to meet his death, which occurred on the iSth of October following. Eight years later, the first successful mission among the Iroquois (.SV. Marie) was established at Onondaga, by Father Simon I.e Moine, who left Quebec on the second of July, 1654, and arrived at the principal Onondaga village on the fifth of August.* The Onondagas having " for a long time and earnestly demanded that some priests be sent to them, Father Joseph Chaumonot, an experienced Huron missionary, and Father Claude Dablon, then recently from France, embarked on the 19th of September, 1655, and arrived at Onnontague, November 5th of that year. They were teceived, like Le Moine, with distinguished honor, and wel- comed at a council of the nations held on the 15th, with the most profuse demonstrations of joy. Be- ing listened to with approbation and kindness, Dab- lon returned the following March to Quebec for additional help. In the latter part of August, 1656, Fathers Chau- monot and Menard left the Onondaga mission to extend their labors to the western Iroquois nations. Proceeding to the Cayugas, where they arrived after a journey of two days, they established the Mission of St. Joseph on the site of Goiogouen, which was situated three miles south of Union Springs, on the east shore of Cayuga Lake. Leaving Menard in charge of that mission, Father Chaumonot, after a brief sojourn, proceeded to the country of the Sen- ecas and established at the village of Gannogarre or Gandougarae, situated near the site of East Bloomfield, the Mission of St. Michael. On his arrival at the village a council was convened by the sachems, to whom he delivered his presents and communicated his designs, which met their appro- bation. He thus addressed them says Marshall : " I offer myself as a guarantee of the truths which 1 utter, and if my life is deemed insufficient, I offer you in addition, the lives of all the French I have left at Onondaga. Do you distrust these living presents? Will you be so simple as to believe that •"Relation. 1654, Chap. VI. we have left our native country, the finest in the world, to come so far, and to suffer so much in or- der to bring you a lie?" F'ather Chaumonot vis- ited the other Seneca villages, where he was equally well received, and converted Garonheaguerha, a distinguished Seneca chief and orator, then pros- trate with disease, but who, after his recovery, be- came a firm friend of the French and Jesuits. In 1657, "the harvest appearing plentiful in all the villages of the upper Iroquois, the common people listened to the words of the gospel with im- plicit)' and the chiefs with a well disguised dissim- ulation,"* Fathers Paul Ragueneau and Francois Du Peron, some Frenchmen and several Hurons came to the aid of the missions. These were the first missionary labors among the Senecas. La Carnon, an ambitious Franciscan priest, had, indeed, in 1616, passed through their country on his way to that of the Hurons, on the borders of the lake which bears their name, but did not attempt to acquaint them with the princi- ples of his faith. These first missions among the Iroquois were however of short duration. The apparent desire for peace on the part of the Iroquois immediately after M. de Tracy's expedi- tion in 1666, seemed to be a favorable opportunity to re-establish missions among them, and in that and the one or two succeeding years, missions were established in each of the Five Nations. The Senecas, (Isonnontouans,) says Bishop Kip, were the fourth of the Iroquois cantons to have the mission restored. f Father Jacques Fremin, who knew the language of the Iroquois, was assigned to this station. He is supposed to have arrived in Canada in 1655. He accompanied Dablon the year following to Onondaga, where he remained till 1658, after which his labors were confined to Canada until 1667, when he was sent as mission- ary to the Mohawks, where he was made Superior of the Iroquois missions. In October. 1668, he transferred his labors to the Senecas, with whom he remained till 1671. He revived the Mission of St. Michael at the village of Gannogarae, which was composed of refugees from the Neutral and Huron nations, and extended his ministrations to the other Seneca villages, in each of which a mis- sion was established.! His knowledge of medi- • Relation, 1657— S8, Doc. Hut., /., 4S- t Early Jesuit Missions, 85. 1 Early Chafieri of Cayuga History, 41. Note. The Seneca Mis- sions were St. Michael, at Gauocarae, near the site of fcast Bloomtield ; St !. unes at Gannagaro or Canagorah, "ii Boughton Hill, in the town M i Victor; La Conception, at Totiakion or Somwntouan, near the vil- lage of Honeoye Falls and St. John, at Ganwmnata or Gattdacair- agon, neat the site of East Avon. EARLY MISSIONS AMONG THE SENECAS. 65 cine — a knowledge possessed in common .by most of the Jesuits — made his services peculiarly accept- able to the afflicted Senecas, among whom, soon after his arrival among them, a contagious fever which proved very fatal, broke out. The skill he displayed in its treatment won for him the confi- dence and esteem of the savages; and the care and treatment demanded of him in the different villages engrossed much of his time during the earlier part of his mission. The simple life of the Jesuit mis- sionary is illustrated by Father Fremin, who says: "I neither see, nor hear, nor speak to any but the Indians. My food is very simple and light. I have never been able to conform my taste to the meal or the smoked fish of the savages, and my nourishment is only composed of corn which they pound, and of which I make each day a kind of hominy, which I boil in water." Father Fremin was soon joined by Father Pierre Raffeix, who was chaplain of the French expedition against the Mohawks in 1666. Father Raffeix continued his labors with the Senecas till 1701, when he supplied the Cayuga mission of St. Joseph, which Father Stephen de Carheil was obliged to relinquish on account of ill health. After a year's respite, during which he obtained relief from the nervous disorder which afflicted him, Father de Carheil resumed the Cayuga mission, and Father Raffeix, thus relieved, returned to his duties among the Senecas, which he continued until 1680. His brief stay in the coun- try of the Cayugas gave him a highly favorable opinion of it. In a letter dated June 24, 1672,* he writes: "Cayuga is the most beautiful country I have seen in America." He was familiar with all the Iroquois cantons. Agnie, (Mohawk,) he says, is a very contracted valley; for the most part stony, and always covered with fogs; the hills that enclose it appear to me very bad land. Oneida and Onon- daga, he adds, appear too rough and little adapted to the chase, as well as Seneca. In 1669, Father Julien Gamier, brother of the celebrated Benedictine, joined the Seneca mission, and was assigned to the Mission of St. John, at Gan- nounata, (East Avon,) while Fremin took charge of that of St. Michael.f In 1671, Fremin was called to take charge of the Indians at Laprairie.t * Relation, 1671-z, Chap. VI., Pari I. t Early Chapters of Cayuga History, 41, Note. O'Callaghan says Gamier was ordered to the Senecas in 1671, {Col. Hist. IX., 171.) Mar- shall says, "In 1669 he had charge of the Seneca Mission of St. Michael, and the following year that of St. James. In 1671 heconducted the three missions among that people." ( The Building and I Wage of the Grif- fon, 261, where he cites as authorities Jesuit Relations, mul-Ijcc ed. 1668, p. 17 : 1669, p. ti : 1670, pp. 69— 7S ; 1671, p. zo; 1660, p. <;.) t Charlevoix, I., 32;, I'fi; 4 CZ . 45*. This mission was removed to the Sait/t St. Louis in 1676, and in 1679, Father Fremin visited France to solicit aid for it.* He was again in Canada in 1682, and died in Quebec, July 2, 1691 .t Father Gamier was born at Connerai, in the dio- cese of Mans, about 1643. In 1662 he came to Canada, where he completed his studies, and re- ceived Holy Orders in April, 1666, being the first Jesuit ordained in that country. He was sent to Oneida in 1667, and in 1668, visited Onondaga and Cayuga. :f His Seneca mission was interrupted in 1673, by M. de la Barre's threatened invasion.? In July, 1672, in addressing Father Uablon, he says of the Senecas: " Their minds being ill-dis- posed, the devil uses every occasion to make them speak against the faith and those who preach it." Father Dablon, in a letter to the Provincial Father Pinette, in referring to Father de Carheil and the Cayuga mission, says : " This holy man is of an apostolic zeal which does not find that the Indians correspond to his care ; but I think that he asks from them too much virtue for beginnings. If he does not sanctify as many of them as he would, it is certain that he sanctifies himself in a good degree as do Fathers Gamier and Raffeix in the towns of Sonnontonans," [Senecas.] || In the Relation of 1676-7,"! printed by James Lenox, Esq., of New York, from the original manuscript, we find the following: "The upper Iroquois, that is to say those who are most remote from us, as the Son- nontonans and Oioguens, [Senecas and Cayugas] are the most haughty and the most insolent, run- ning after the missionaries with axe in hand, chas- ing and pelting them with stones, throwing down their chapels and their little cabins, and in a thou- sand other ways treating them with indignity. The Fathers suffer all and are ready for all, knowing well the apostles did not plant the faith in the world otherwise than by persecution and suffering. What consoles them in the pitiable state they are in, is to see the fruit which God derives for His glory and for the salvation of these very Indians by whom they are so maltreated. For within a year since these violences begun, they have bap- tized more than three hundred and fifty Iroquois, of whom, besides twenty-seven adults, there were * Fait/on; I'ie de S. liourgeoys, I. 156. , Col. Hist. IX., tio. tCol. Hist. XI., 171, The Buildingand Voyage of the Griff * z6l, J Col. HKt., IX.. 129. || Relation Inedites, II.. II. H Relation de ce qui s'est passe lies flue remarouaUe anx 11 del Peres dc la Compagnie de Jesus, en la ifouvelle France es annees 1676,.' 1677. 66 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. cine hundred and twenty children who died after baptism, which is a certain gain Tor heaven. I cannot extract anything else from Father de Car- heil, Pierron, Raffeix and Gamier who are among the upper Iroquois, because their greatest employ- ment is to suiter and. so t < > speak, die at every moment by the continual threats and insults which these Indians otter them, who, notwithstanding all this, fail not to wrest many souls from the devil. lather de Carheil writes from Oioguen that the spiritual gain of this year is thirty eight baptized, six of them adults and thirty-six dead, all children ex- cept three ;'" hence we may conclude that the re- mainder of those enumerated above are the fruit of the Seneca missions. In 1679. Father Louis Hennepin and Sieur la Motte de Lussiere visited Canagorah ( Tagarondies ) in the interest of La Salle's western project, and found Fathers Gamier and Raffeix residing in that village. "They were received by the Senecas," says Marshall. •• with marked consideration, and conducted to the cabin of their principal chief, where they became objects of curiosity to the women and children. The young men bathed their travel-worn feet, and anointed them with bear's oil. The next day, being the first of the year, Hen- nepin celebrated mass and preached the mysteries of his faith to the mixed assembly of French and Indians. * * After Hennepin had concluded his religious services, the grand council was con- vened. It was composed of forty-two of the elders among the Senecas. Their tall forms were com- pletely enveloped in robes made from the skin of the beaver, wolf and black squirrel. Withcalumet in mouth, these grave councilors took their seats on their mats, with all the stateliness and dignity of Venetian senators. At the opening of the coun- cil, La Motte, suspecting father Gamier of hos- tility to La Salle, objected to his presence. At the request of the Senecas he withdrew. Henne- pin, considering this an affront to his cloth, retired with him. La Salle was ever suspicious of the bsuits ; believing them to be opposed to his enter- prises, and inclined to influent ethe Indians against him. The council was informed, through Bras- sart, the interpreter, that the French had come to visit them on the part ofOnontio, their governor, and to smoke the calumet on their mats ; that the Sieur de la Salle was about to binldagre.it wooden canoe above the Falls, [Niagara, ] in which to bring merchandize from Europe by a more convenient route than the rapids of the St. Lawrence ; that by this means the French would be able to undersell the English of Boston, and the I Hitch ofNew York.* This speech was accompanied with four hundred pounds weight of presents, consisting of hatchets, knives, coats, and a large necklace of blue and white shells. Portions of these were handed over at the end of each proposition. This mode of treating with the Indians by bribing their chiefs, has. unfortunately, continued to the present day. Among other inducements, La Motte promised to furnish, for the convenience of their whole nation, a gunsmith and blacksmith, to reside at the mouth of the Niagara, for the purpose of mending then guns and hatchets. Several coats and pieces of fine cloth, iron, and European merchandise of great rarity among the Indians, and of the value of four hundred francs, were added, as weighty reasons, to influence them in favor of the French. 'The best arguments in the world,' says Hennepin, are not list- ened to by the natives, unless accompanied with presents.'! "On the next day, the Senecas answered the speech of La Motte. sentence by sentence, and re- sponded by presents. Asaids to the memory, they used small wooden sticks, which the speaker took up, one by one, as he replied seriatim, to the sev- eral points in the speech of the day previous. Belts of wampum, made of small shells strung on fine sinews, were presented after each speech, fol- lowed by the exclamation 'JVi-a-oua,' signifying ap- proval, from the whole assembly. This, however, proved an insincere response in the present in- stance, for La Motte, with his specious reasoning, made no impression on these shrewd children of the forest. They knew that the English and Dutch had greater facilities than the French for supply- ing them with merchandise, and could outbid the latter in trading for their furs. They received the offered presents with apparent acquiesence, and after the customary salutations the council broke up."* lather Gamier, in a letter dated July 10, 1673, says the Seneca nation consisted of three villages, " two composed of natives of the country, and the third of the remnant of the divers Huron nations destroyed by the Iroquois.;-' All together they may amount to eight hundred men capable of waging - Uluding to the plan ol La Salle to end merchandise to the Niagara by the way of the M ind the lakes. t ffinntfin, v " t The Building and Voyagt of the Griffon, 160— ;6j. §Greenhalgh, who visited tin- Seneca country in 1677, says they had four towns, though lie refers i" only two missions St. Jacques, at Can- gan>, (Canagorah,) and La Conception, at Tiotehaiton, iTotiakton.i han adds, [Re, ' -■ 70, 117,) the French had another 1 : dougarae, which thej called St. Mil hael. Col. Hist- III., IS', 252. EARLY EFFORTS TO CHRISTIANIZE THE INDIANS. 67 war." He adds, " the chiefs of each village have been deputed to go visit you at the place you indi- cated to them ; they are well disposed to receive your orders, and give you every satisfaction. They have made peace with all the nations against whom M. de Courcelles had forbad them waging war, the King having taken them under his protection. They have strictly enjoined on their young men not to turn their arms in that direction. They anxiously desire the French to settle in their country, especially those who are useful to them, such as smiths and armorers."* In 1683, Colonel Thomas Dongan, then Gov- ernor of New York, though himself a Catholic, had well nigh succeeded in destroying the French in- fluence over the Iroquois. He clearly saw the dan- gers which menaced the English Government under the stimulus of Jesuit influence and intrigue, and was too loyal to allow his religious convictions to cause him to swerve from political rectitude. He therefore directed all his efforts to expel the Cana- dian missionaries from among the Iroquois, and to conciliate the latter promised to send them Eng- lish ministers and build churches in their cantons. He had so far succeeded that as early as 1684 the greater part of the Jesuits had abandoned their missions, and in 1687, the last, Jean de Lamber- ville, had left his station at Onondaga, and gone to Niagara ; his brother, Jacques de Lamberville, left the same station the previous year. From this time, or a few years later, the Jesuit missions began sensibly to decline. Father Gamier acted as interpreter to the Hu- rons at the peace of 1 701, and is said to have returned to the Senecas in 1702,! accompanied by Father Francois Vaillant de Gueslis. Gamier was then old and infirm, and from this fact it was as- sumed that Jesuits were in great demand in the Iroquois missions.! He was the last missionary of that order among the Senecas.? Lafitau, who was his pupil, and learned from him all he knew of the Indians, says that he had spent more than sixty years on the mission, and that he was well ac- quainted with the Algonquin, Huron and Iroquois languages, but better with the latter two. || He died in Quebec in February, 1730.^ The distinguished Jesuit missionary, Jacques Bruyas, was among the Senecas in 1673; and the » Col. Hist., IX., 792. t Col. Hist., IX., 171, 737, 761. i Col. Hist.. IX., 75°. %Shea's Catholic Mission, £94, n. il Jesuit Relation, ed. 1666, p. 6. Parlcman's Jesuits, 54. The "Building and Voyage of 'the Griffin, 261. Col. Hist. IX., 171. H lite Building ami Voyage 0/ tile Grijfon, 26:. Sulpitian priest, Francois de Salignac de Fe'nelon, whose identity has been confounded with that of his half-brother, the celebrated archbishop of Cambray, though one of the first missionaries under the aus- pices of the Sulpitians among the Iroquois, was not stationed in that capacity among the Senecas south of Lake Ontario, as has been stated by a cotem- porary, but among a branch of that nation, who resided on the north shore of that lake at a village called Gandatsiagon, which was located on the site of Whitby, a port of entry and an excellent harbor on the north shore of the lake, thirty miles north- east of Toronto. The Dutch colonists did not give the matter of Christianizing the Indians much consideration ; and the Government of New York made no effort in this direction, further than to pay for some time, a small salary to the clergyman at Albany to at- tend to the wants of such Indians as might apply to him. The Rev. Mr. Freeman translated a part of the English liturgy, the morning and evening prayers, the litany, the Athanasian creed, with some passages of the Old and New Testament, into the Indian language; but those professing to be Christians in 1710, are represented as "so ignorant and scandalous that they can scarce be reputed Christians."* In 17 12, Rev. William Andrews was sent by the Society for Propagating the Gospel, as missionary to the Mohawks, succeeding in that capacity Rev. Thoroughgood Moor, and extending his labors occasionally to the Oneidas. But he abandoned his mission in 17 19, having had no greater success among the natives than his prede- cessor; f and as he was the first, so was he the last that resided among them for a great many years, the Society afterwards contenting themselves by imitating the policy of the government, and allow- ing a small stipend to their clergyman at Albany to act as a missionary among the Mohawks, in which capacity he did them but very little good.J Revs. Henry Barclay and John Ogilvie, who succeeded to the rectorship of St. Peter's Church, Albany, the former in 1737, and the latter in 1749. also extended their labors to the Oneidas. Mr. Barclay, who was a son of Rev. Thomas B. Bar- clay, the second rector of that church, was a native of Albany and was graduated from Yale College in 1734. In 1735, at [ ' ie recommendation of Rev. Mr. Milne, who preceded him in the rectorship of 'Doc. Hist. IV., 505. t "He became discouraged and asked to be recalled, saying 1 , 'there is no hope of making them better — heathen they are, and heathen they must still be.' " — Hammond's History of Madison County, 106. I Doc. Hist. IV.. 5°S- 68 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COt'M'V. St. Peter's, he was appointed catechist to the In- dians at Fort Hunter. He closed his rectorship at Albany in 1746, when he became rector of Trinity Church, New York, where he died in 1764. Mr. Ogilvie was a native of New York and a graduate of Yale. Being a Dutch scholar he was appoint- ed to this mission in 1748, and arrived at Albany in March, 1749. In 1760, he joined the expedi- tion against Niagara and continued attached to the army till the close of the French war. He succeeded Mr. Barclay as rector of Trinity Church, and died Nov. 26, 1774. In 1744, the New York Legislature made pro- vision for presents for the Indians, as well as for an interpreter and missionary to be sent among them.* In 1748, the people of New England turned their attention to this field of labor, and Revs. Messrs. Spencer, Timothy Woodbridge and Gideon Hawley visited successively the tribes on the Mohawk and Susquehanna rivers. The com- mencement of the French war soon aftei interrupt- ed all missionary efforts west of Albany, and they were not renewed till 1761, when Rev. Dr. Fleazer Wheelock directed his attention to this quarter, and endeavored, by introducing Indians as mis- sionaries and schoolmasters, to reclaim the natives from their savage life. In 1754, the Commissioners of Indian Affairs at Albany, adverted to the fact that the French had long been endeavoring to prevail on the Senecas to settle at Irondequoit, in order to have them nearer their settlements and the more easily to debauch them from British interest, and expressed the opinion that, as they (the Senecas) then lived " very re- mote from one another," it should be insisted upon that they make a general castle near the mouth of the Genesee (Senecas') River, where they had "already begun to build a new castle," (probably Ghenondoanah^) and farther that the most effectual method to retain and secure the Six Nations to the British interest, would be to build two forts, one at Onondaga, the other in the Senecas' country, and supply each fort with a proper missionary. They also deprecated the carrying and selling of rum in the castles of the Six Nations, as having the most pernicious influence on the British inter- est in general and this colon) in particular.! Speedy action was taken on the recommenda- tion of the Commissioners in respect to the erec- tion of forts,| hut none, apparently, in regard to • Col. Hist. VI., '4;. 1Col. Hist., VI.. 856, 857. %Col. Hist., VII., 177. supplying them with missionaries proper or im- proper, though its importance was frequently ad- verted to. Sir William Johnson, in a communi- cation to the Lords of Trade, November 13, 1763, writes thus disparagingly of the missions of that period. He says : — " Another matter extremelv essential, will be the choice of proper missionaries to reside amongst the Indians in their own villages; many of the present missions are established at settlements on the sea-side, where the nations formerly residing are become extinct, or reduced to an inconsidera- ble number, whilst other missionaries are allowed to double a cure, or live in our towns; so that two or three visits in a year, are all that the Indians get, and the missionaries, unable to speak their language, are obliged to have recourse to the very bad interpreters which the country affords j by which means the worthy design of the Society is in a great measure defeated. There have been other missionaries, who have toooften used their influence in obtaining grants of lands, which gives the In- dians the most unfavorable opinion of their worldly and interested views. The Mohawks lately told me that they apprehended the reason they had not clergy as formerly amongst them was because there was no more land to spare."* Rev. Samuel Kirkland was for many years a dis- tinguished missionary among the Oneidas, and for a shorter period, among the Senecas. He was born in Norwich, Conn., Dec. i, 1741, and educated at Dr. Wheelock's Indian school. In 1 761, he was sent to the Mohawks to learn their language. He entered Princeton college in 1762, and in 1764 returned to the Mohawk country to teach school and perfect himself in that language. Hereceived his collegiate degree in 1765, and in that and the following year was employed among the Senecas. In 1779, he was Brigade Chaplain in General Sul- livan's campaign against the Indians in Western New York, and at the close of the war remained with the Oneidas. He died after a life of much public usefulness, February 28, 1808. After the war of the Revolution. Washington lent his powerful influence to the furtherance of a project looking to the emancipation of the Iroquois and the American Indians generally from their savage barbarism through the medium of a benign civilization; and in the spring of 1792, a deputa- tion of fifty of the representative men of the red race were invited to Philadelphia, then the federal city, for the double purpose of discussing plans looking to this end and of attaching them more closely to the United States' interests. The same year the Federal government seconded these efforts •Col. Hist., VII., S7y, 58°. RED JACKET'S HOSTILITY TO PROTESTANT MISSIONS. by the following enactment: "The United States, in order to promote the happiness of the Five Na- tions of Indians, will cause to be expended annu- ally, the amount of one thousand five hundred dollars, in purchasing for them clothing, domestic animals, and implements of husbandry, and for encouraging useful artificers to reside in their vil- lages." But the Indians were not in a condition to be immediately benefited by these beneficent designs. The angry turmoils fomented and per- petuated by British emissaries in Canada, and the jealous apprehensions with which the Indians re- garded the encroachments of white settlers on their lands, measurably defeated these measures. Red Jacket, who was then in the height of his power and influence, at first gave a quasi endorsement of the plan, but afterwards proved its most implacable and obdurate enemy; and when, sub- sequently, efforts to christianize the Indians were made through missionary labors, he and the younger Cornplanter, (notwithstanding the latter's father had been converted to the christian faith,) became the leaders of the anti-christian party of the Senecas, while Captain Pollard, or Kaowndoo- wand, Gishkaka, commonly called Little Billy, and other distinguished Seneca chieftains, became the champions of the opposite party, which, gaining the ascendency, deposed Red Jacket from his sachemship in 1827.* He was, however, soon after restored.! After the adjustment of the great controversy between the Indians and the United States at Can- andaigua in 1794, the broad and beautiful domain of the Six Nations was curtailed to a few compar- atively small reservations, which were afterwards reduced by greedy and avaricious land cormorants.^ These reservations included several small tracts on and adjacent to the Genesee, the Indian title to the east of which in this county was extinguished in 1826; but the greater portion of the Senecas took up their residence on the Buffalo Reserva- tion. In 1796, several families of Friends settled on the Oneida Reservation and improved the condi- tion of that nation by instructing the men in the art of husbandry and some of the indispensable * Life and Times of Red Jacket^ 441. t Ibid, 447- + These reservations as affecting the Western tribes are as follows: — Tonawanda Reservation, near Niagara river, containing about I J, 000 acres. Buffalo Reservation, near the city of Buffalo, containing about 53,000 acres. Cattaraugus Reservation, near Cattaraugus creek, containing about zz,ooo acres. Alleghany Reservation, neat the Alleghany river, containing about JI,- 000 acres. Life and Times of lied Jaeket, 2S2, note. mechanic arts, and the women in household duties, spinning, sewing and knitting. In 1798, the Sen- ecas, observing the improvement of the Oneidas, requested the Friends to aid them in the same way, and accordingly three families established themselves in the canton of the Alleghany. In the summer of 1805, a young missionary named Cram was sent by the Evangelical Mission- ary Society of Massachusetts to establish a mis- sionary station among the Senecas; but he met with no encouragement, and was filled with discom- fort by the speech of the wary Red Jacket, which has been pronounced one of the best of the many attributed to him. He artfully confronted the dis- concerted missionary with the worst phases of a pseudo-christianity, such as too often presented themselves to the untutored savages, and dwelt upon the glaring injustice practiced upon the latter by professors of the religion sought to be incul- cated. In the spring of 181 1, the Rev. Mr. Alexander, the agent of the Missionary Society, accompanied the agent of a New York company holding the preemptive title to the reservations in the Holland Purchase, in an attempt to acquire the right to these, to renew the effort to establish a mission among the Senecas. This drew from Red Jacket an equally terse and laconic speech, in which, among other things, he said: — " Great numbers of black coats have been amongst the Indians, and with sweet voices and smiling faces, have offered to teach them the religion of the white people. Our brethren in the east listened to the black coats, turned from the religion of their fa- thers, and took up the religion of the white people. What good has it done them ? Are they more happy and more friendly one to another than we are? No, brother, they are a divided people — we are united ; they quarrel about religion — we live in love and friendship ; they drink strong water ; have learned how to cheat, and practice all the vices of the white men, which disgrace Indians, without imitating the virtues of the white men. Brother, if you are our well wisher, keep away and do not disturb us. * * * You wish us to change our religion for yours ; we like our religion and do not want another. Our friends* do us great good ; they counsel us in our troubles, and instruct us how to make ourselves comfortable. Our friends the Quakers do more than this ; they give us ploughs and show us how to use them. They tell us we are accountable beings, but do not say we must change our religion. We are satisfied with what they do." * Referring to Mr. Granger, the United States Agent of Indian Affairs, Mr. Parish, the Indian Interpreter, and Mr. Taylor, the Agent of the Society of Friends for improving the condition of the Indians, who were present at the Council. 70 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. These, however, were either not the sentiments of many of the Senecas, or they were not hekl as tenaciously by them ; for, notwithstanding the re- pulse of Mr. Alexander in 1811, the New York Missionary Society had succeeded in establishing several missionary stations, that among the Tuscaro- ras as early as 1805, in consequence of which there had been a rapid improvement in their moral and social condition. A missionary house had like- wise been opened at the Seneca village, (the home of Red Jacket, whose Indian name was Sagoye- watha, signifying, he keeps them awake, ) about five miles from Buffalo, and another upon the Cattarau- gus reservation. Such was the success of these efforts, that, previous to 1820, the Senecas were divided into two distinct parties, Christian and Pagan. Similar measures were instituted with the Indians living at Squakie Hill. In December. 1815, a secular school was established there under the auspices of the Presbyterian Synod of Geneva, with Jerediah Horsford as teacher. So grave had the encroachments of civilization become, in the eyes of the Pagan Senecas, and so uncompromising was their hostility to it, that in the winter of 1819-20, an appeal, embodied in a letter dictated by Red Jacket, who was then too feeble to enunciate the sentiments in council, was made to Governor Clinton, complaining of the of- fensive and destructive encroachments of the white settlers on their reservations, and invoking protec- tion against the "black coats," as the missionaries were called. A Mr. Hyde who had formerly been a schoolmaster among them, but had changed his vocation to that of a minister of religion, had made himself especially obnoxious, having threatened, the remonstrance said, that unless they listened to his preaching and became Christians, they would be turned off their lands. "If he has no right to say so," the letter says, " we think he ought to be turned off our lands, and not allowed to plague us any more. We shall never be at peace while he is among us." In consequence of this and similar representa- tions, the Legislature, in 1821, passed an act to more effectually prevent encroachments upon the lands of the Senecas. The secular provisions of the act were occasionally enforced; but in regard to the missionaries, says Stone, its energies were allowed to slumber for two or three years. In the meantime the New York Missionary Society had transferred its stations to the care of the American Board of Foreign Missions, by which the Seneca missions had been re-organi/.ed upon a more effi- cient basis. In 182 1, Rev. Thompson S. Harris, with an augmented mission family, was stationed at the Seneca village, and commissioned superin- tendent of the stations in the several cantons. A church was soon after formed and male and female schools opened. In 1822, Rev. Mr. Thayer, with his family and suitable teachers, were stationed at the Cattaraugus reservation. These labors were successful; and the Pagan party, mortified by the rapid increase of the Christian party at the ex- pense of their own, and alarmed at the disaffection of Capt. Strong, or Oquiyesou, a prominent Cat- taraugus chief, who had become converted to the Christian faith, aided by several "white Pagans" in Buffalo, secured the ejectment of the mission- aries and school teachers under the act of 1821. Efforts were immediately put forth, which, though at first unavailing, finally resulted in such a modi- fication of the law as enabled both missionaries and teachers to resume their labors.* Within the next half decade the Indians had disposed of their limited reservations in this county, and removed to others outside the county; and within the two suc- ceeding decades the Senecas had disposed of every vestige of their lands within the State. CHAPTER VI. Titles to the Soil — Extinguishment op Endian Titles — Link of Propertv — Conflicting Claims of New York and Massachusetts — Preemption Line — New York and Massachu- setts Surrender Claims to Territory ro Federal Government — Treaty and Cession of 1784 — Phelps and Gorham's Purchase — Treaty and Cession of 1788 — Pultne^ Ins- tate — Holland Land Company — Holland Purchase — Connecticut Tract — Transit Line — Morris Reskrvf. — Forty Thousand Acre Tract — Morris Honorary Creditor's Tract — k< ibert Morris' Letter to President Washington — Treaty and Cession of Big Tree in 1797 — Red Jacket's Insincerity — Difficulties Experienced in Determining ihk Extent and Boundaries of Reservations — M u<\ Jemison's Farm — Lessee Company — Effori Made to Dismember the State — Reservations made in 1797 — Treaty ami Ces- sion OF 1826. UNTIL after the close of the Revolutionary war in 1783, the territory embraced in the county of Livingston, and indeed, of the whole of Western *L iff and limes of Red Jacket, 3S7, 594. TREATY AND CESSION OF 1784. 7i New York, was included in the indefinite Indian domain, the east line of which, known as the Property Line, was established by a treaty held at Fort Stanwix, (Rome) November 5, 1768, and ex- tended so far as it relates to this State, from a point on Wood creek, near the mouth of Canada creek, thence to the head waters of the Unadilla, down that stream to its mouth, and thence south to the line of Pennsylvania. This tract was sub- sequently acquired from the Indians by treaty ; for, notwithstanding the treaty of peace between the English and Americans in 1783 contained no stipu- lations respecting the Iroquois, or that portion of them who had been the allies of the former, their right to the soil was generally recognized by both State and Federal governments. At the close of the war, claims were established by Massachusetts under Colonial patents to the right of soil of a large portion of Western New York, and were confirmed by a Commission ap- pointed by the two governments, which met at Hartford, Conn., December 16, 1786, and which, while it reserved to New York the right of sover- eignty, conceded to Massachusetts the right to pre- empt the soil from the native Indians of all that tract lying west of a line, known as the Pre-emption Line, extending north from the eighty-second mile- stone from the Delaware River at the north-east corner of Pennsylvania, or the south-east corner of Steuben county, through Geneva and Sodus Bay, on the meridian of Washington, (except a tract a mile wide along Niagara River,) and an ad- ditional tract east of that line, known as the Boston Ten Towns, lying in the counties of Broome, Cort- land and Tioga. This agreement was sanctioned by Congress in 1787.* Early in 1784, the State Legislature passed an act, appointing as Superintendents of Indian Af- fairs, a Board of Commissioners, of which Governor Clinton was a member. In June of that year, these commissioners met Brant, Cornplanter, Red Jacket and Farmer's Brother, representatives of the Six Nations, at Fort Stanwix, to negotiate a treaty for the extinguishment of their title to lands in Western New York. Nothing, however, was ac- complished at this meeting, as the Indians declined to negotiate with the State independent of the Federal government, which had also appointed commissioners for a similar purpose. The succeeding fall, Oliver Wolcott, Richard t The territory of both New York and Massachusetts extended indefi- nitely westward from ocean to ocean; but March I, 1781, New York relinquished to the United States its claims to territory west of the western boundary of the State. Massachusetts did the same in 17S5. Butler and Arthur Lee, commissioners of the Fed- eral government, met the Indians at Fort Stanwix, and on the 2 2d of October, 1784, concluded a treaty, by which peace was established between the United States and the Six Nations, who were re- ceived under the protection of the former and guaranteed undisturbed possession of the, lands they then occupied, including all that part of this State west of the-line established in 1768. Prisoners were exchanged, and a large tract of land ceded to this State, whose commissioners also attended the treaty. It was at this treaty that Red Jacket first dis- tinguished himself as an orator, displaying talents which challenged the admiration and elicited the commendation of that distinguished patriot, La- fayette. He inaugurated at this time a policy which characterized his subsequent life — that of determined opposition to disposing of their lands to the whites. It is believed that Brant, who was not present at this treaty, would have supported Red Jacket's opposition. His great opponent was Cornplanter, who, though an able orator, was more distinguished as a warrior, and had through his valorous achievements and past services, acquired a great influence with his people, who, however, afterwards made him feel the weight of their re- sentment of his great readiness to part with their lands, even threatening his life,* a fact to which he alluded in a pathetic appeal to Washington at Phila- delphia, in 1790, when he sought to effect a recon- sideration of the treaties and other proceedings with the Indians, and especially to obtain redress for alleged grievances connected with the purchase of Phelps and Gorham soon after, t "Father," he said, we will not conceal from you that the Great God, and not man, has preserved the Cornplanter from the hands of his own people." The journals of this treaty are lost; hence this speech of Red Jacket's, whose eloquence astonished his auditors, is not preserved.:}: Dr. M. H. Mills, of Mt. Morris, whose extensive and careful re- searches into aboriginal and pioneer history have enriched the annals of this county and vicinity, gives, in a contribution to the Dansville . Idvertiser, the substance of some of its more striking passages, as related by the Indians who heard it to his father, who, for many years, had an intimate acquaintance with the India ns in this locality. We quote :— • Drake's Book of the Indians. t Life ana" Tints oj Red Jacket, 1J2, >Ji. t General Erastus Root is said to have remarked, " that he considered John Randolph and Red Jacket the two most perfect orators whom he had ever heard." (Life and Times of Red Jacket, 119, note.) That his name should be coupled with that of Randolph in such connection is highly eulogistic. 72 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. "Red Jacket * * * said they would be lowered in the estimation of other tribes if they parted with their lands and disposed of their great rivers and hunting grounds, and would become a little people, whom the great spirit, as well as the great white father, (Washington,) would have little regard or respect for ; that the principle itself was in open hostility to the best interest of the Indian; that their occupation was hunting and fishing and following the war-path. 'Deprive the Indian oi these resources, and you bind his hands, and tie his feet, and then say to him joggs [run,] which is an impossibility, and will render the Indian a helpless object, and, perhaps, by and by, an object of charity,' which, he trusted, would never happen. If it did, he hoped the great spirit would not per- mit him to live, to behold his people so degraded. ' My eyes must never witness such a scene ; Red lacket's blood must all flow out of his body before this can happen. Brothers, we desire to live in peace with the white man ; we have had a great deal of war ; we have become wearied ; we have followed our well-beaten trails a long distance to this council fire. We want peace; but if that is to be obtained by the disposing of our lands, I am for war.' " April i, 1788, Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gor- ham purchased of Massachusetts, in the interest of an association of capitalists, its pre-emptive right to lands in this State, variously estimated to com- prise from 6,000,000 to 8,000,000 acres ; the con- sideration being 300,000^. to be paid in three annual installments, in the depreciated securities of that State, which were then worth about one-fifth of their par value. Failing to meet their obliga- tions, owing to the unexpected depreciation in these securities, Messrs. Phelps and Gorham surrend- ered all that part of this tract lying to the west, and a small portion lying to the east, of the Gene- see, or more than a half of the original purchase, which reverted to the State of Massachusetts in June, 1790. The eastern line of that portion retained was the old Pre-emption Line ; the western line commenced on the Pennsylvania line 44.78 miles west of this, and extended directly north, along the east line of the towns of Nunda and Mt. Morris, to the confluence of Canaseraga creek with the Genesee river, thence following that stream to a point two miles north of the Indian village of Cana- waugus, thence due west twelve miles, and thence north twenty-four degrees east to a point on Lake Ontario which would intersect the prolongation of the line from the point of beginning. The Indian title to this tract was extinguished at a treaty held at Buffalo Creek,* July 8, 1788, the Senecas re- »Li/t and limes of Red Jacket, IJ6; Pioneer History of Vlielfs and Gorham s Purc/iase, 141— Note, 'this treaty has commonly, but erroneously, been supposed to have been held at Canandaigua. ceiving in consideration from Phelps and Gorham the inconsiderable stun of five thousand dollars, one-half of which was paid in cash and the other half in goods, and a perpetual annuity of five hun- dred dollars. The amount paid therefor to Massa- chusetts was 31,000^. In 1789, Messrs. Phelps and Gorham opened a land office at Canandaigua and commenced the settlement of their lands. November 18, 1790, Phelps and Gorham sold to Robert Morris, of Philadelphia, the distinguished financier and patriot of the Revolution, 1,200,000 acres of their purchase, reserving what had been previously sold by them and two townships addi- tional. The next year Mr. Morris, through his agent in Europe, William Temple Franklin, a grandson of Dr. Benjamin Franklin, sold the whole tract at an advance of 4,000^ to a company of London capitalists, composed of Sir William Pult- ney, a capitalist and noted British statesman, John Hornby, a former governor of Bombay, In- dia, and Patrick Colquhoun, a wealthy Scotch phi- lanthropist, then high sheriff of Westminster, Eng- land, upon the latter of whom the duty of pro- moting its settlement mainly devolved— a duty he performed with great acceptability. This tract, which embraced the present counties of Ontario, Yates and Steuben, and large portions of Wayne, Monroe, Schuyler, Allegany, Chemung and Living- ston counties, has since been known as the Pultney Estate, and the details of its settlement have been successively managed by Colonel Charles William- son, a native of Scotland, to whom the land was originally conveyed, as attorney of the company, Robert Troup, W. W. McKay, Joseph Fellows and B. F. Young. The principal settlements were be- gun at Geneva. Canandaigua, Bath and Sodus Bay. May 12, 1 791, the reverted portion of Phelps and Gorham's Purchase was bought at one shilling per acre, by Samuel Ogden, for Robert Morris, in whom the Legislature confirmed the title May n, 1791. July 20, 1793, Mr. Morris sold the western portion of this tract, constituting about seven- eighths of the whole, to the Holland Land Company, an association of capitalists of Amsterdam, Hol- land, consisting of Wilhelm Willink, Jan Willink, Nicholas Van Stophorst, Jacob Van Stophorst, Nicholas Hubbard, Pieter Van Eeghen, Christian Van Eeghen, Isaac Ten Cate, Hendrick Vollen- hoven, Christian Coster, (widow,) Jan Stadnitski and Rutger J. Schenimelpennick, who, being aliens, made the purchase through residents in this country, the consideration being 55,000 £. This THE MORRIS RESERVE. 73 tract has since been known as the Holland Pur- chase, no portion of which lies within this county. Its east line commences on the Pennsylvania line twelve miles west of the west line of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase, on the line between Alma and Bolivar, Allegany county, and extends thence due north to near the center of the town of Staf- ford, Genesee county, to the south line of the Con- necticut Tract,* thence due west two miles and thence due north, on the west line of the Connec- ticut Tract to Lake Ontario.! Between the Phelps and Gorham Purchase and the Holland Purchase was a tract twelve miles in width, containing a half million acres, reserved by Mr. Morris at the time of his sale to the Holland Company, and hence known as the Morris Reserve. It embraced the towns of Nunda, Portage, Mt. Morris, Leicester and the south half of York in Livingston county, and was sold out in several large tracts to different purchasers. The Forty Thousand Acre Tract, sold by Morris to Wilhelm and Jan Willink, lies partially in this county and partially in Wyoming county ; and the Morris Honorary Creditors' Tract containing 58,570 acres, and joining this on the south, lies partly in Living- ston and partly in Allegany county. By the terms of the sale to the Holland Com- pany, Mr. Morris obligated himself to extinguish the Indian title to the tract thus sold, and 35,000^ of the purchase money was withheld till its consum- mation; but, owing to the threatening attitude of the Indians for a full decade succeeding the war of the Revolution, and until the signal victory of General Wayne over the Western Indians in 1794, he did not deem it prudent to make an effort in this direction. On the 25th of August, 1796, he addressed the following letter to President Washington : — "Sir: — In the year 1791, I purchased of the State of Massachusetts a tract of country lying within the boundaries of the State of New York, which had been ceded by the latter to the former state under the sanction and with the concurrence of the Congress of the United States. This tract of land is bounded on the east by the Genesee river, to the north by Lake Ontario, to the west partly by Lake Erie, and partly by the boundary line of the Pennsylvania Triangle, and to the south by the north boundary line of the State of Pennsyl- vania. * * * To perfect the title it is neces- # This tract comprises 100,000 acres, lying in the counties of Genesee and Orleans, and extending in a narrow strip to the lake. It was sold by Mr. Morris to Watson, Cragie & Greenleaf ; and in 1SS1, conveyed in un- divided halves to the State of Connecticut and Sir William Pultuev the former using part of her School Fund in the purchase. It was divided by alternate lots in 1S1 1. French's State Gaeetleer. t This line is known as the Transit Line, from having been run with a transit instrument, then first used in surveys. sary to purchase of the Seneca nation of Indians their native right ; which I should have done soon after the purchase was made, * * * but that I felt myself restrained from doing so by motives of public consideration. "The war between the Western Indian nations and the United States did not extend to the Six Nations, of which the Seneca nation is one; and as I apprehended that if this nation should sell its right during the existence of that war, they might the more readily be induced to join the enemies of our country, I was determined not to make the purchase while that war lasted. "When peace was made with the Indian nations I turned my thoughts towards the purchase, which is to me an object very interesting; but upon its being represented that a little longer patience, until the western posts should be delivered up by the British government, might still be public utility, I concluded to wait for that event also, which is now happily accomplished, and there seems no obstacle remaining to restrain me from making the purchase, especially as I have reason to believe the Indians are desirous to make the sale. " The delays which have already taken place and that arose solely from considerations above mentioned, have been extremely detrimental to my private affairs ; but still being desirous to comply with formalities prescribed by certain laws of the United States, although those laws do not probably reach my case, I now make application to the president of the United States, and request that he will nominate and appoint a commissioner to be present and preside at a treaty, which he will be pleased to authorize to be held with the Seneca nation, for the purpose of enabling me to make a purchase in conformity with the formalities required by law of the tract of country for which I have already paid a large sum of money. My right to the pre-emption is unequivocal, and the land has become so necessary to the growing population and surrounding settlements, that it is with difficulty that the white people can be restrained from squatting or settling down upon these lands, which, if they should do it, may probably bring on con- tentions with the Six Nations. "This will be prevented by a timely, fair and honorable purchase. " This proposed treaty ought to be held imme- diately before the hunting season, or another year will be lost, as the Indians cannot be collected during that season. The loss of another year under the payments thus made for these lands would be ruinous to my affairs; and as I have paid so great deference to public consideration whilst they did exist, I expect and hope that my request will be readily granted now, when there can be no cause of delay; especially if the Indians are willing to sell, which will be tested by the offer to buy. •■ With the most perfect esteem and respect, I am, sir, your most obedient and humble servant, ROBERT MORRIS. "George Washing ion, Esq . "President of the United States." 74 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. In the meantime Washington, who was disposed to further the wishes of Mr. Morris in any way con- sistent with the public interest, had been put in possession of documents, drawn at the instigation of Capt. Bruff, then commandant of the British gar- rison at Fort Niagara, expressing an aversion of the Senecas to parting with any more of their lands ; and he told Mr. Morris that he should feel con- strained to accompany his recommendation and nominations to the Senate with these documents, expressing doubt of the favorable action of that body. Isaac Smith, of New Jersey, was nominated by the President, and the Senate confirmed the nomination, stipulating, however, that no treaty should be held for this purpose until the Indians themselves requested it. Thomas Morris, a son of the purchaser of the tract, was deputized by his father to obtain the consent of the Indians and conduct the negotiations with them for the purchase of their lands, in both of which he was successful. At the time designated for the treaty, the atten- dance of Commissioner Smith was prevented by judicial duties, and Colonel Jeremiah Wadsworth of Connecticut, was appointed in his stead. Gen- eral William Shepard was designated to attend by Massachusetts; Captains Horatio Jones and Jasper Parish were selected as interpreters, and James Rees, of Geneva, as secretary. Captain Israel Chapin, then Superintendent of Indian Affairs, was present; also Charles Williamson, in behalf of the Pultney Estate, William Bayard, in behalf of the Holland Land Company, and two young gentle- men from Holland, named Van Stophorst, relatives of the proprietors of the name connected with the Holland Company. The treaty was held at Geneseo, and the log- house of the Wadsworth brothers, then unfinished, located between the site of the village of Geneseo and the river, was hired for the use of the Commis- sioners and officers in attendance. A large council house, covered with the branches of trees was pre- pared for the convenience of the negotiators ; and after a week spent in preliminary matters, the busi- ness of the council was commenced on the 28th of August, 1797, continuing till the 15th of Septem- ber, when a deed was executed by which the Sene- cas disposed of the remainder of their lands in Western New York, with the exception of certain reservations. The council was a stormy one, and was more than once threatened with utter failure, owing to the machinations of certain venal white persons, who stimulated a prevalent disinclination on the part of the Senecas to part with their lands for the purpose of defeating its object. Mr. Mor- ris had hoped that $75,000 would suffice to satisfy the demands of the Indians; but, in view of the accumulating difficulties, was constrained to offer them $100,000. Even this sum, however, was in- sufficient; and Red Jacket, who, in consonance with his former opposition to the disposition of their lands, opposed with his fiery eloquence the object of the treaty, responded to the offer that the Senecas did not want to sell their lands ; but as there were expenses attending the treaty, which they had re- luctantly consented to hold, he offered Mr. Morris a single township on the Pennsylvania border at one dollar per acre, which, he said would sell for a suffi- cient advance to cover the expenses. Mr. Morris, by the urgent advice of the commissioners, and Mr. Bayard, who had become impatient atthe dila- tory proceedings and desired to bring the parley to a close, but in opposition to his own judgment and wishes, affected to reject the offer with contempt ; whereupon Red Jacket, with great vehemence, retorted, "you have now arrived at a point to which I wished to bring you. You told us in your first address that even in the event of our not agreeing to sell our lands, we would part friends. Here, then, is my hand. I now cover up the council fire." This decision was received with great apparent satisfaction by the Indians, who gave expression to violent demonstrations, such says Stone, as " a person unaccustomed to their character and man- ners would have trembled for his scalp." Mr. Bayard, who had been particularly importunate to have Mr. Morris take the course pursued, hoping it would expedite a favorable adjustment, was deeply mortified with the result, and strenuously urged Mr. Morris to make an effort to re-open the negotiations, which the latter who was equally solicitous, promised to do, on condition that he be allowed to take his own course, without interference either by the agent or commissioners. ( )n the following day he observed to Farmer's Brother, who called on him in a fraternal spirit, that, in accordance with their established customs, it was the prerogative of the one who lighted a council- fire to extinguish it ; and since he had lighted the present one, Red Jacket, by putting it out, had usurped a right which belonged solely to him, to which Farmer's Brother assented. Several days intervened before a council could be convened, during which Mr. Morris industriously applied him- self to an effort to win the app:obation of the wo- men and warriors, as there seemed little probability BIG TREE" TREATY. 75 of being able to accomplish his purpose with the sachems. For this purpose he artfully pandered to their fondness for display and ornamentation, by distributing among the women such articles as were calculated to excite and gratify this passion — a plan which fully met his expectations; for he was soon able to convene a council of women and war- riors and bring the negotiations to a favorable ter- mination.* From the moment the women and warriors assumed the task of negotiations, Red Jacket withdrew and remained drunk during the rest of the proceedings. f Cornplanter, the princi- pal war chief, then became the main speaker, and opened the proceedings. He said the women and warriors regretted the misconduct of their sachems and censured the haste displayed by Mr. Morris, and expressed the hope that the renewed negotia- tions would be conducted with better temper on both sides. After the terms of the treaty were agreed upon, much difficulty was experienced in fixing the bound- aries and extent of the reservations. The Indians insisted that the former should be designated by natural rather than arbitrary lines, such as the courses of streams, etc.; but this was inadmissable, as it gave the Indians every advantage over the whites, who possessed little exact knowledge of the geography of the country.^ The chiefs were jeal- ous of each other, and, as their importance was measured by their following, which was determined by the extent of their lands, each was solicitous to * Indian polity vested the ultimate right to dispose of their lands in the women and warriors, because the former tilled, while the latter protected them. t Stone says Red Jacket's opposition to this treaty was insincere, and that his object in thus withdrawing was to throw the entire responsibility upon Cornplanter. He adds it is a fact "no less true than disgraceful, that after the negotiation had been completed, lie repaired to the lodge of Mr. Morris by night, and told him that he had in reality no objections to the sale of their lands, but yet he must seem to oppose the measure, or he should lose his popularity- That popularity had been acquired by op- posing every land sale that had been made, and he must at least affect to continue his opposition to the end. * * * In order to manifest his apparent opposition to the treaty, he refused in Council, after [he decision had been made, to sign it : and yet before any signature had been made to the document, he arranged with Mr. Morris to have a blank left for the insertion of his name afterwards — desiring that the space might be high up among the first, that when Washington saw the treaty he might know that Saggyewatha was yet a man of consequence among the chiefs of his people." Life and Times of Red Jacket^ 249. X Mr. Morris did in one instance depart fruu his fixed determination to have the boundaries of reservations established by survey. In his im- patience he yielded to the persistent importunities of Mary Jenuson, the white woman, for whom the chiefs were desirous of making provision. She objected to her reservation being designated by a definite number of acres, for the reason, as she said, that she had various improved places, one of which was a patch of corn, another of potatoes, another of beans, etc., she then named certain boundaries, to which Mr. Morris assented, supposing the tract would not exceed 150 acres; but when surveyed, Mary's farm, the Gardeau flats, proved to contain, according to the sur- vey of Augustus Porter, made in 179S, 17,929 acres and IJ7 rods of land of an excellent quality. increase his own allotment and diminish that of his rival. Difficulties were also experienced before the final consummation of the treaty, prominent among which was the arrival at the council of Young King, a youthful warrior, who, as a descendant of the famous chief Old Smoke, inherited the title of Chief Sachem of the Seneca nation, and an influ- ence to which his merit did not entitle him. As Chief Sachem of the nation his signature to the treaty was necessary to make it valid; and though he was at first averse to the sale, by dint of much persuasion his objections were finally overcome. Another obstacle was presented by the instructions of Washington to Col. Wadsworth, to withhold his assent from any treaty which did not provide for the investment of the purchase money in the stock of the United States Bank, in trust for the Seneca nation. It was only with great difficulty that the Indians could be made to comprehend the magni- tude of a hundred thousand dollars, the purchase price; while it was utterly impossible to make them understand the nature of an investment and why the dividend resulting therefrom varied in amount. As an aid to the former they were told how many casks of a given size would be required to hold the amount, and how many horses would be necessary to draw it ; while their idea of the latter was, that a bank was an extensive place in Philadelphia where money was planted and produced better crops some years than others. Frequently in after years they would inquire of Mr. Morris what kind of a crop they might expect in a season like that they were then experiencing. Pending the negotiations between New York and Massachusetts relative to their claims to the territory of Western New York, a project was set on foot by a company of Columbia county specu- lators to get possession of this entire country, with the ulterior motive of erecting it into a separate State.* In order to evade the law then existing in this State, which prohibited the purchase from the Indians of land within the State, by individuals or companies, without the sanction of the Legislature, in 1776, they negotiated a lease with the chiefs of the Six Nations of all the lands possessed by them, exclusive of certain reservations, for a term of 999 years, the consideration being $20,000 in hand and an annual rental of $2,000. Under these auspices sales were made to settlers, who took possession of various portions of the land. On the sale to Phelps and Gorham in 1788, a second lease was •This company consisted of John Livingston, Caleb Benton, Peter Ryckman, John Stephenson, Eiekial Gilbert and others. 7 6 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. executed for a like period for the residue of their lands, and a reduction of one-half made in the annual rental. The Legislature, however, regarded a lease of this character equivalent to a purchase and an infraction of the law; and in order to put the matter at rest, a law was passed in March, 1788, declaring the pre-emptive right to the lands to be vested in the State, and authorizing the strongest measures to be used to remove all in- truders from the lands.* Accordingly Governor George Clinton sent the sheriff of Herkimer county, which then embraced this territory, with a posse of sixty men to eject these intruders upon the Indian lands and burn their dwellings. Though baffled in these efforts the lessee company did not abandon their project, but in 1793 developed a plan to form a new state which was to embrace the whole of Western New York. It was, however, defeated by the energetic action of the better class of citizens, although serious alarm was occasioned among those settlers who were favorably disposed towards the constituted authorities. The formid- able character of the movement is indicated by the proceedings of a public opposition meeting, held at Canandaigua in November, 1793, and presided over by Judge Timothy Hosmer, from the minutes of which the following is an abstract : — "Whereas, Certain restless and turbulent char- acters from the eastern district of this State, evil disposed towards this country, have for some time past, endeavored to stir up sedition among the peaceable inhabitants thereof, and to excite them to acts both treasonable and improper; and, " Whereas, They have proposed to many indi- viduals of the county that the county of Ontario, in conjunction with that of Otsego, and part of Tioga and Herkimer, should immediately shake off all allegiance and dependence from the State of New York, and support their independence by force of arms, in case the state should be unwilling to ratify and confirm the same ; and, ''Whereas, The passions of the dishonest and disorderly, of the ambitious and the timid, have been flattered by the expectation of hav- ing laws passed for the screening of individuals from the payment of their just debts for six years, and they have been falsely told that all the Indian lands, as well as those belonging to the state of New York as those which the said State, together with Massachusetts, have guaranteed to individu- als, should become a prey to the rapacity of then- hungry followers, and have engaged to support these measures by a number of armed troops col- * " In order that not even the color of injustice towards the lessees might remain, the Legislature, live years afterwards, made a grant to them of a district of country ten miles square, in the northern part of the state, and subsequently they received grants of several large tracts in the Genesee country from Phelps and Gorham." — Life ttml Tune* <3 17,274 24,402 ^5 44 i7.'3° 20,096 ■34 17.347 18,7'I9 767 19. '34 22,415 392 69 25,056 28,425 469 64 3.578 4,252 1,296 I 2 I5>440 2i,8iS 594 Il6 14,772 25,094 22 10,868 15,138 106 s + 12,987 17,100 103 S 22,343 31,649 188 Si 14,238 ■9.599 5i 42 25'377 29,458 235 295.232 371,577 18,141 937 24,932 26,230 19.995 26,361 24,49' 20,230 19,566 22,876 28.958 5-56° ::,;:« 25,116 15,298 17.221 ji,9»8 1 9, 69 2 29,693 380,665 The surface of the county is diversified, and the soil variable and adapted to a wide range of crops. • Report of the Com utilization of the Board of Super- visors^ 1879. The Cent* f 18755a 1 tins r4, ! ^ s acri French's State Gazetteer, 41.;, 200 acres (6J5 square miles- > t The meridian of Washington corresponds with the seventy-seventh west of rreenwit h. finally named Freepori Name changed to Bowei le, March 26th, 1825; and to Conesus, April 1 5th, 1S25. § [ncluded in Dansville, Steube nty, in 1820. N..t given in 1820. • [ncluded in Sparta in '820. The surface has a general inclination toward the north, and consists of two terraces, separated by the broad, deep valley of the Genesee, and broken in a transverse direction by the streams which flow over them. West of the Genesee the country is level till we reach its ancient banks, which descend by a series of ledges from one to two miles in width. The eastern terrace rises similarly to a correspond- ing height, attaining its greatest altitude in the well- defined ridge which separates Conesus and Hem- lock lakes, the former of which is about six hundred feet above Lake Ontario, and about one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet above Canandaigua lake, to which the land descends. The slopes are generally smooth and arable, except along the banks of the streams, and nearly every acre of land in the country is arable. The Genesee Valley varies in width from two to four miles, and in the south part of the county, where the highest eleva- tions are ten to twelve hundred feet above the val- leys antl twenty to twenty-two hundred feet above tide,* its depth is more than four hundred feet. "In a comprehensive view it will be included in the great western plain, forming part of the great St. Lawrence basin, and probably once part of the bed of the lake which covered the wide spreading of Ontario and Erie when those inland seas had no distinctive existence."! Genesee river is the principal stream. It divides the county into two unequal portions, and in its upper course through it, forms a portion of the western boundary. It rises in Potter county, Penn., on the great western table-lands of that State, at an elevation of nearly two thousand feet,! and in- terlocks the head waters of the Allegheny, the west branch of the Susquehanna and French Creek. Its entire length is about one hundred and forty- five miles, one hundred and twenty-five miles of its course being in this State. It is a small stream in its upper course, and runs sluggishly through a rich country to its first series of falls in the town of Portage, where it is precipitated over four ledges, which are respectively eight, sixty-six, one hundred anil ten, and thirteen feet in height.: The entire • French's Slate Gazetter, i860. of New York, 1S16. X At Angelica its bed is 1291 feet above tide, according t.. the report of 1 railroad. At the head of the great rails at Portage 11 . 11 Gardeau Flats, 650 feet; at Squaleie Hill. ,74; at i 1, 500. Natural History of 'New York. § Gordon's Gazetteer of New York, SpafforoV* Gazetteer (18:4) ixtv ami ninetj it Disturnefi {Gazetteer of the State ofNew York, 1842,") mentions three, respectively sixty, hi hundred and ten feet, within the space of two miles, "eat It." he says, "differing iii charai 1,1 .in.! 1 .1. 1 1 having |.ri ul i.u beauties." He ail. Is. "although the cas- cades are highly admirable, they are almost disregarded in the wonder and fear caused >\ the stupendous perpendicular walls of the river," be tween which it flows, "in turns as short and graceful as if winding through the adow." THE GENESEE RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES. 79 fall within a distance of two miles, is two hundred and seventy-four feet. At the lower fall the bed of the stream is bounded on either side by dirt's three hundred feet high. Upon the left bank is a table rock which was formerly the river bed; and upon the right, is a small conical island of rock, between which and the table on the other side, the stream now flows. Within the memory of the ear- liest observers the river flowed almost wholly over this table rock, and the isolated mass was joined with the right bank of the river. This table rock is ninety-six feet above the level of the river below the falls, and was formerly continuous to the small conical island, which is separated from the main bank by a recent gorge, whose bed is about inter- mediate between that of the present narrow chan- nel and the table rock above, which is composed of a fine sandstone, less than two feet thick, resting on softer strata beneath.* The upper fall is a mile be- low Portageville, and is known as the horse-shoe fall, deriving its name from the curve in the face of the cliff over which the water flows. Below this is the middle fall, which pours an unbroken sheet one hundred and ten feet into a chasm bounded by perpendicular cliffs. In the west bank, near the foot of the falls, an excavation known as the devil's oven, has been worn in the rocks, large enough when the water is low to seat one hundred persons within it. Two or three miles below this point the hills approach the river closely, and are separated only by a deep chasm, with perpendicular banks of aluminous slate four hundred feet high, almost as regular as if a work of art, through which the river passes in a rapid winding course for a distance of three miles, after which it descends by a succession of steps nearly as regular as a stair-case, and emerg- ing from the narrow channel beneath the shelving rock, makes a perpendicular descent. The water strikes the base of high rocks and is hurled back at nearly right angles into a deep pool overhung with shelving rocks, the conical column of rock, or sugar- loaf as it. is called, receiving nearly the full force of the stream. Thence by a tortuous course of ninety miles it flows to Rochester, forming the western boundary of the town of Portage and the south half of Mt. Morris, and separating that town, the north-west corner of Groveland, Geneseo and Avon on the east, from Leicester, York and Cale- donia on the west. From the head of the falls at Portage the descent to Rochester is about seven hundred and thirty-six feet, nearly the whole of which is between Portage and Mt. Morris. At *GtolngyqfNevi }~ork. Part IV.. James Hall, 1843. Rochester another series of falls commences, over which by leaps of twelve, ninety-seven, twenty and one hundred and five feet, the river attains the level of the lake, which is two hundred and thirty- one feet above tide. From thence it is navigable for sloops and steamboats about five miles to its recipient. The Genesee is subject to an annual overflow, the water often covering the entire flats which bor- der upon it.* This frequently causes destruction of property; but it is a source of constant fertility to the soil. In its course through the county it has innumerable small curves, which embrace, sometimes on the east and others on the west side of the valley, fine tracts of alluvian, covered with deep, rich and inexhaustable soil. These flats rest upon quicksand, twenty feet below the surface, and are generally from one to two miles wide. The river frequently mingles its waters with the quick- sand, and occasionally cuts the base of the hills which skirt the valley. Its scenery is both beauti- ful and sublime. The views from its banks are everywhere beautiful and agreeable, and are fre- quently of unsurpassed beauty. By an Act of the Legislature passed April 18, 1828, the river from Rochester to the Pennsylvania line was declared a public highway, without preju- dice to mills and dams previously erected. Previ- ous to the construction of the Genesee Valley canal, it was navigated by boats between that city and Mt. Morris, and an extensive traffic, which was absorbed by that artificial commercial artery, was carried on by that means. Both have now- succumbed to a more expeditious method of trans- portation. The principle streams tributary to the Genesee, which are generally bordered by steep, and some- times precipitous, hillsides, are Canaseraga creek, Conesus and Honeoye outlets and Fall Brook on the east, the former of which receives as confluent near its junction with its recipient, Cashaqua creek ; while numerous small streams indent its western margin, the principal of which are Beard's and White creeks. Canaseraga creek rises in the town of Nunda and flows thence in a circuitous course, first south- east and then north-east, crossing the town of Os- sian into Steuben county. It again enters this county on the south line of North Dansville, receiv- ing near the west line of that town, Mill creek, a small but important mill stream. It thence flows * In March, 1865, the city of Rochester suffered from a flood, which did great damage to private properly, and to the streets, sewers, bridges and public works. 8o HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. in a north-westerly direction, through a rich inter- vale, averaging about one and one-half miles in width, and resembling in character the Genesee flats, crossing the western portion of North 1 >ans- ville, forming the boundary line between Sparta and West Sparta, and crossing diagonally the town of (Iroveland, unites with the Genesee near the north-east corner of the town of Mt. Morris. Its length exceeds thirty miles. Cashaqua, or Kisha- qua creek rises in drove, Allegany county, enters this county on the south line of Nunda, crosses the south-west part of that town into Portage, which, after making a short circuit in its eastern part, and furnishing a good water-power which is not as much utilized as formerly, it leaves a little north of the center of the east border; passing thence into the town of Nunda, through the pleasant and once thriving village of that name, it pursues a north- easterly direction through the north-west part of that town, the south-east part of Mt. Morris, giv- ing power to the little village of Tuscarora, whose business has been ruined by the closing of the Genesee Valley canal, and thence through the west border of Groveland, which it enters in the south-west corner, to its recipient, into which it empties near the line between that town and Mt. Morns, about a mile from its mouth. A canal three miles long in the latter town connects with it the waters of the Genesee, and affords to the vil- lage of Mt. Morris a valuable water-power. Its length is about twenty miles. Conesus* and Hemlock lakes are situated in the east part of the county, the latter forming a por- tion of the eastern boundary. Their outlets are good mill streams, and the outlet of Honeoye lake into which that of the latter discharges, forms the east boundary of the town of Lima, which is also the county line. They are the only considerable bodies of water in the county. Conesus lake is one of the most beautiful sheets of water in this region, and, indeed, in the State. Its banks slope gently to the water's edge, and are covered with a fine forest of oak, hickory, &c, except where the hand of industry has replaced them with cultivated fields and meadows. It is about nine miles long and one wide. Its depth does not exceed sixty feet, and for the greater part is much less.t Its •The Indian name of this lake was Ganeasost, signifying, "where the heavens rest upon the earth. '* Address of Dr. .11. II. Milts ,i! .'//, Second Annual Meeting of the Livingston County Pion August i, 1S77. From The Dansville Advertiser, Aug. 13, 1S77. t Natural History of New York, Part I V., Geology, James Hall, Thomas F. Gordon, (Gazelteet I ' •: i I Distumi of ike Stale oj 'New York,) and Matherand Brockett, {Geographical History 0/ New York,) all state that Conestu Lake iaid to exceed 300 feet in depth." waters are pure and cold. Its outlet is more valu- able for hydraulic purposes from its great fall and steadiness than its volume. The streams flowing into the lake have deep channels. The lake is much frequented during the summer months by pleasure seekers; and Long Point is hallowed by its association with the meetings of the Livingston County Pioneer Association. Hemlock lake, though smaller than Conesus, is said to surpass it in beaut), and has been pronounced "the most attractive of all the beautiful chain of lakes which adorn Western and Central New York. Its banks rise somewhat abruptly from the water's edge to the height of two to three hundred feet, and are covered with stately pines and hemlocks. Halfway up the slope a ridge of splendid chestnuts stretches away as far as the eye can reach. It is six miles long and one wide. Its depth is remarkable for its size, and is remarka- bly uniform, especially the middle and upper por- tions, where for several miles it has an easy average of eighty feet, occasionally reaching ninety feet ; in no part is it a hundred feet deep. For miles at the upper end the depth is as great fifteen rods from the shore as it is in the middle. At the foot of the lake, as at the extreme head, the water is shal- low, and abounds with weeds, as do all the coves, and the shores where they are not too bold. In the deep parts of the lake the water is remarkably cold. It is well stocked with black and rock bass, anil has become a popular summer resort in that region. Within a few years many cottages have been erected upon its shores, also places of public resort. The Jacques House, at the foot of the lake, was the pioneer of Livingston county pleasure resorts.* The climate of this section is characterized by uniformity. The mean temperature does not differ materially from that of the whole State; but the average annual range of the thermometer is only 96 , while that of the State is 104 . Yegetation in the spring is somewhat in advance of the State generally, corresponding with that of Albany. The prevalent local wind of this region is from the southwest. In the autumn it is violent throughout the whole section, and frequently attended with rain. The extreme heat of summer is very uni- form throughout the State ; only five places out of fifty-five show a difference of over ,3 from the average of the State, which is 92 . The average time throughout the whole State, from the bloom- ing of tin- apple tree, to the first killing frost in * Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, July, 1871; The Dansville , August 9, 1877. CLIMATE — SOIL — PRINCIPAL INDUSTRIES. 81 autumn, is 174 days. On the west end of Long Island it is 12^ days more; and in St. Lawrence county, 22 days less. These are the extremes. It has been ascertained by numerous observations made in this State and New England, that an ele- vation of surface of 350 feet produces a diminution of heat equal to the addition of a degree of lati- tude. Hence we see the influence of our moun- tain systems upon the climate of the State. In the eastern counties, consumption and other pulmonary diseases are the prevailing maladies ; while in the western counties bilious affections are more preva- lent.* Cutting away the forests has doubtless exerted some climatic influence and tended to shorten or modify the distinguishing characteristics of the spring and autumn seasons. The malarial diseases which were so fatally prevalent during the clearing process incident to the early settlement of the county as to make the death rate greater than in any other locality in this countryf have vastly diminished, though not entirely subsided; and at present there are only sixteen counties in the State which show a greater comparative healthfulness as indicated by the percentage of deaths — the rate in this county being 1.03, while the average for the State is 1.15. The maximum rate — -1.41 — is in Madison county — the minimum, .85 — in Clinton county.J The soil of the county is mainly derived from the disintegration of the underlying rocks. It con- sists of a sandy loam with clay sub-soil upon the oaklands which abound in the north, and a deep, rich alluvian on the flats bordering the Genesee and Canaseraga. Beech and maple was the pre- vailing timber on the west side of the river, where the soil is a deeper sandy loam. Elm grew on the flats and was also common on the uplands. In the southern portion, which is better adapted to spring crops and grazing, being supplied with an abun- dance of pure soft spring-water, the timber consists of oak, maple, elm, basswood, butternut, walnut, ash, hemlock and white pine. About two-thirds of the county is admirably adapted to the culture of grain, and wheat of excellent quality is raised in great abundance, the product in 1874 being one- fifteenth of that of the entire State, and the grain product, nearly one-thirty-second part. This great staple was raised in its greatest perfection in this * Gazetteer of A T ew York, Thomas F. Gordon; Geographical His- tory 0/ New York, J. H. Mather and L. P. lirockett, M. D. t Address of Dr. D. H. Bissell, of Geneseo, at tJie Second A tutuat Meeting of the Livingston County Pioneer Association. Dr. Bissell was one of the pioneer physicians and settlers in Livingston county, and is one of the few remaining representatives of that early period. % Census of 187s. section prior to the destructive ravages of the weevil in 1855, and the reputation of the Genesee wheat surpassed all others in the market. Subse- quent to that date its culture greatly diminished. In 1836, the surplus product of wheat in the coun- ty exceeded a million bushels annually,* while in 1874, the entire product was only 670,799 bush- els,! notwithstanding the increased area under cul- tivation by the acquisition of territory and other means. Joseph Harris, who was editor of the Genesee Fanner in 1859, pronounced Western New York "the best natural wheat-producing region in the world," and said "that the soil lacked none of the ingredients which were necessary for the produc- tion of wheat, but what could be easily supplied by proper manuring and cultivation." Grazing is receiving more attention than form- erly, especially in the southern part of the county ; and though the county does not take a high rank in the magnitude of its dairy products, these form an important industry and are increasing in value. Dairying is confined almost entirely to private fami- lies. Fruit of excellent quality grows readily. Bean culture is an important industry and has developed within the last six years on the east side of the river. It was previously carried on quite extensively in York and Caledonia, and, though to a less extent, in Leicester. In 1874, the county ranked fifth in the State in this product, which was nearly one-thir- teenth of the entire product. Monroe and Or- leans counties, however, produced alone nearly one-half; and Livingston about one-seventh of the remainder. Broom corn is raised quite extensive- ly on the flats, and is manufactured within the county. Sheep husbandry, in which, in 1855, Livingston county ranked second in the State, in- creased in magnitude during thesucceeding decade, but in the next one it rapidly diminished to nearly one-third its magnitude in T865, although in 1875, it still ranked second in the State, and its fleeces gave 4,244 pounds more wool than in 1 855. J Formerly pork and cattle were staple products. Large quantities of pork were cured for market by farmers and merchants ; and four or five droves of cattle of from 300 to 500 head each were annually * Gordon's Gazetteer of New York. t Census of 187s. X The following table shows the variations in this industry between the years 1855 and 187s: — No. of Fleeces 185; 1864 1S65 1*74 187; io6,8j9 ■78,637 181,991 80,986 68,8)Z Total Clip. Average Weight of Fleece. 577,689 !-5! 786, 2 S6 4.40 776,165 4.12 449, Ui S!S J8l,933 S.55 82 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. collected at Geneseo for the Philadelphia and New- York markets. Stock raising is still an important industry, but is more exclusively confined than formerly to improving the domestic herds than to fattening for the market. The industries of the county are almost exclu- sively agricultural, and the disparity between agri- cultural and mechanical pursuits is increasing. There were eighty-six more manufacturing estab- lishments in the county in 1870 than in 1875; and in the latter year there were only fifteen counties in the State having a less number of manufactur- ing establishments than Livingston county. The manufactures of the county are mostly confined to local needs. The soil and climate, aside from intelligent cul- tivation, determine the character and magnitude of the agricultural productions of the county; and since there is little material variation in climate, and, though some difference in the quality, but little in the character of the soil, we observe a great similarity in the staple productions. Hence, an analysis of the census with a view to arriving at comparative results, will be both interesting and instructive. In its great staple product — winter wheat — Liv- ingston county ranks sixth in the State in the quantity produced, (633,148 bushels,) but only thirty-fourth in the average yield per acre, which is 14.62, while the State average is 16.16. In the other cereals — corn, oats, rye, barley and buck- wheat — it ranks as follows : eighth in corn, yielding 38.63 bushels to the acre, the State average being 32.33, the maximum, (Yates county,) 47.82, and the minimum, (Albany county,) 168.78 ; twelfth in oats, yielding 32.67 bushels to the acre, the State average being 28.59, tne maximum, (Monroe coun- ty,) 36.97, and the minimum, (Rockland county,) 19.49; forty-third — next to the lowest — in rye, yielding 11.37 bushels to the acre, the State aver- age being n. 82, the maximum, (Herkimer county,) 21.63, and the minimum, (Warren county,) 8.34; twenty-fourth in barley, yielding 22.73 bushels per acre, the State average being 22.83, tne maximum, (Saratoga county,) 32.87, and theminimum, (Rich- mond county,) 10.00; and sixteenth in buckwheat, yielding 17.10 bushels to the acre, the State aver- age being 15.14; the maximum, (Steuben county,) 19.99, aml tlie minimum, (Albany county,) 9.78. In the product of hay it ranks twenty-sixth, yielding 1. 1 4 tons to the acre, the State average being 1.13, the maximum, (Herkimer county,) 1.35, and the minimum. (Warren county,). 75; in potatoes, twen- ty-sixth, yielding 109.34 bushels to the acre, the State average being 102.22, the maximum, (Kings county,) 153.64, and the minimum, (Rockland county,) 58.03. A somewhat different result is obtained by com- paring the results on farms of one hundred acres, which is, perhaps, a fairer test. By this we find that Livingston ranks seventh in winter wheat, tenth in barley, fifteenth in corn, twentieth in oats, thirty-fourth in rye, fifty-third in hay and forty-fifth in potatoes. This at least exhibits more fairly its status in its great staple product — winter wheat. The ratio of milch cows to the acreage of im- proved land, June 1, 1875, was 3.57, the State av- erage being 8.44. The maximum ratio, (in Herkimer county,) was 1 4. 89, and the minimum, (in Kings county,) 3.46. Livingston county ranked fifty-eighth — next to the lowest. It ranked twenty-seventh in the average yield per cow of dairy products in 1874, its average being 123, that of the State, 124, the maximum, (Orange county,) 172, and the min- imum, (Kings county,) 72.* In the production of hay, Springwater takes the lead, as compared with other towns in the county. Conesus, Geneseo, Groveland, Livonia, Mt. Morris and York, exceed the general average, which is 3, 7 42 tons per town. Lima takes the lead in barley, producing nearly one-sixth of the entire product of the county. Avon, Groveland, Leicester, Livonia, Mt. Morris, Sparta and York exceed the general average, which is 15,932 bushels per town. Spring- water takes the lead in buckwheat, producing nearly one-half the quantity raised in the county. Nunda, Ossian, Sparta and West Sparta are the only towns which exceed the general average which is 3,424 bushels per town. Avon takes the lead in indian corn. Caledonia, Geneseo, Leicester, Lima, Livonia, Mt. Morris and York exceed the general average, which is 38,488 bushels per town. Springwater produces nearly twice as many oats as any other town in the county, except Mt. Mor- ris, which produces less than three-fourths as many. Avon, Geneseo, Nunda and York are the only other towns which exceed the general average — 44,946 bushels per town. Springwater also takes the lead in rye, producing more than one-fourth of all that is raised in the county, and, with the excep- tion of North Dansville and Sparta, more than double the quantity of any other town in the county. Ossian is the only other town which ex- ceeds the general average — 935 bushels per town. • In this estimate two ami a half pounds of cheese, one pound of butter and three gallons of milk are considered equivalents. COMPARATIVE STATISTICS. Avon, Geneseo, Groveland, Lima and Livonia do not raise any. Nunda takes the lead in spring wheat, producing nearly one-fifth of all that is raised in the county. Mt. Morris, Ossian, Sparta, Springwater and West Sparta exceed the general average — 2,215 bushels per town, Springwater trebling it, and Ossian and West Sparta nearly so. Caledonia, Geneseo and Groveland did not pro- duce any; while Lima raised only 12 bushels, Avon 17 and York 99. The towns generally pro- duce liberally in winter wheat, Caledonia taking the lead with 77,406 bushels. The general aver- age is 37,244 bushels per town, and is exceeded by all the towns except Conesus, North Dansville, (which naturally produces the least quantity, only a little more than one-fourth of the average,) Nunda, Ossian, Portage, Sparta, Springwater and West Sparta. York takes the lead in beans, producing a little more than a fourth of the product of the county. North Dansville is the only town which did not produce any, and Ossian raised the least quantity, 46 bushels. The average per town — 4,692 bushels — -is exceeded only by Avon, Caledo- nia, Geneseo, Leicester and York. West Sparta takes the lead in hops, producing nearly a third of what is raised in the county— 163,561 pounds. Conesus, Leicester, Livonia and Nunda are the only other towns which exceeded the general aver- age — 9,033 pounds per town ; while Caledonia, North Dansville, Ossian, Sparta, Springwater and York did not produce any. Potatoes were a plen- tiful crop in all the towns. Lima taking the lead with 51,926 bushels. Avon, Caledonia, Geneseo, Livonia, Springwater and York are the only other towns which exceed the general average — 26,029 bushels per town. Avon was the only town which raised tobacco, producing 1,400 itis. Apples were produced bountifully in all the towns. The greatest quantity — 47,212 bushels — was raised in York. The number of horses on farms, two years old and over, June i, 1875, was proportionate to the natural requirements of the towns, Mt. Morris having the largest number and North Dansville the smallest. All, except North Dansville, closely approximate the average number — 689 — and all, except Conesus, Leicester, North Dansville, Nun- da, Ossian, Portage, Sparta and West Sparta, exceed it. The towns generally show a slight in- crease in the number of milch cows kept in 1875, as compared with 1874, the number in the county increasing from 10,259 in 1874 to 10,531 in 1875. Springwater had the largest number — 929 — and North Dansville the least — 148. Avon, Geneseo, Groveland, Lima, Livonia, Mt. Morris, Nunda, Sparta and York exceed the average number — 619 — while Caledonia, Conesus, Ossian and Portage closely approximate it. Milk was sent to factories from only 256 cows in 1874, and 383 in 1875. The number of pounds of butter made in families in 1874 was 1,198,134 pounds, (to which all the towns contributed generously, ) and of cheese, 43, 1 6 2 pounds. Springwater produced the largest quan- tity of butter — 128,224 pounds — and North Dans- ville the smallest— 18,965 pounds. Avon, Caledonia, Geneseo, Lima, Livonia, Mt. Morris and Nunda, exceed the average per town — 70,478 — but none of them very largely; while Conesus, Groveland, Ossian, Sparta, West Sparta and York closely ap- proximate it. Groveland produces the greatest quantity of cheese — -21,000 pounds — nearly half of the product of the county. The only other town which approached it was Ossian, which made 8,400 pounds. The product of the other towns ranged from 450 to 2,820 pounds, though the majority of them made less than a thousand pounds. All the towns are large pork producers, the entire product of the county in 1874 being 2,529,205 pounds, of which Avon produced the greatest quantity — 254,661 pounds, and North Dansville the least — 34,225. All the towns, except Conesus, Leicester, North Dansville, Nunda, Ossian, Portage, Sparta and West Sparta, exceed the average per town — 148,777 pounds. CHAPTER VIII.* Geology — Succession of Underlying Rocks in the County — -Water-lime of the Onondaga Salt Group — Onondaga Limestone — Cornif- erous Limestone — Marcellus Shales — Hamilton Group — Genesee Slate — Portage Group — Cashaqua Shale — Gardeau Shale and Flagstones — Portage Sandstones — Diagonal Lamination — Ripple Marks — Casts of Shrinkage Cracks — Concretions or Sep- taria — Casts of Flowing Mud, &c— Indica- tions of Coal — Sulphuretted Hydrogen Springs — Avon Springs — Brine Springs — Alluvial Deposits — Marl — Chara — Masto- don Remains — Speculations as to the Time when the Mastodon Existed. H^HE lowest rock in the county is the water-lime 1 of the Onondaga salt group. Above this, as we proceed south, appear in succession the Onondaga •In preparing this chapter we have relied mainly on the (/,. Ntw York, Part IV., by James Hall. »4 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. and corniferous limestones, the Marcellus shale, the Hamilton group, Genesee slate and Portage group, the latter occupying the high lands in the southern part of the county. The thick-bedded hydraulic limestone passes through Caledonia and Avon. In the former town it is quarried in several localities, chiefly for build- ings and enclosures. It underlies the village of Caledonia, extending thence south-easterly towards the Genesee, reappearing on the other side, and extending north-easterly to Mendon. In several instances where it has been burned for cement it has been found unfit for the purpose, either from improper composition or from the mode of burning. For a distance of two or three miles south-east of Caledonia village these Hat masses of the drab limestone are scattered over the surface, in many places in sufficient quantities for enclosures ; its out-cropping edges approach so near the surface as to be turned up by the plow. At the Wadsworth quarry, three and one-half miles south-east of Cal- edonia, it was quarried in large quantities for use on the Genesee Valley canal. It is easily quarried, splitting into masses of any dimension, and be- comes very hard and brittle on exposure. The upper seven feet of the mass is often in one course, though generally divided into two ; this portion and a course of two feet below, contain numerous ir- regular cavities, often filled with greenish clay, gyp- sum, and sulphate of strontian, blende, &c. In some of these cavities there are remains of some coralline fossils, the greater part having been expel- led, probably by the action of sulphuric acid, which formed, with the lime, gypsum, and with strontian, its sulphates. The same causes which here produced the small nodules of gypsum were in operation over a large extent, to form the immense quantity which occupies a place in the rocks beneath the drab limestone. Owing to this circumstance only, we find no fossils in the gypseous rocks ; for none could exist in a sea where sulphuric acid was a free in- gredient. The Onondaga limestone is but a thin mass in this county, scarcely appearing except in a few lo- calities. The principal of these is at Caledonia, where it is a thick compact mass, with a few thin layers separated by shale, and contains agreat num- ber of Cyathophylli Favosites and other fossils. It extends also for several miles north-west from the village, maintaining the same character, and the surface is strewed with fragments which contain its typical fossils. It abounds in its usual coralline fossils, but there are no places where it is sufficient- ly developed for quarrying. Its usual characteristic is a light-gray color, often approaching to white, more or less crystalline in structure. In many in- stances it is almost entirely composed of broken and comminuted fragments of crinoidea and corals, sometimes extremely attenuated, and at other times fragments of large size are presented. These frag- ments of crinoidal columns, with some of the other fossils are frequently of a pink or reddish color, and give a beautiful variegated appearance to the mass, particularly when polished. The Corniferous limestone scarcely extends into the town of Lima, but forms the substratum of the northern portion of Avon, and in the river valley extends as far south as the center of the town. It occupies a width of from two to four or five miles, dipping gradually to the south under the Marcellus shales. It is quarried in the outlet of Conesus lake, and on a small stream a short distance further east ; at these places only a few feet of the upper part of the mass are seen. It is easily quarried in blocks of large dimensions, and is nearly free from hornstone. It was wrought for use on the Genesee Valley canal. The fossils at this place consist chiefly of Stropho- mena negosa, Atrypa affinus, Delthyris, and some fragments of trilobites. The greater portion of this rock, on the east side of the river, is covered by a deep alluvium, which renders it difficult to trace its bearing and outcrop with extreme accuracy. On the west side of the river it first makes its appear- ance in the south-east corner of Caledonia, near the town line. Two miles south-east of Caledonia village a very extensive quarry has been opened on the west bank of a small stream, on the Christie place, from which large quantities of the gray por- tion of this limestone were taken for the construc- tion of locks, aqueducts, &c, for which purpose no better stone can be found. It is mostly free from seams and is easily quarried and dressed. The whole thickness exposed does not exceed ten feet, the courses varying from one to two and one-half feet, and being thicker than elsewhere in the State to the westward of Seneca Lake. None of the layers preserve a continuity of thickness. Some- times the courses are separated by a thin, irregular course of hornstone; at others this hornstone is in the center, or near the surface of the layer of lime- stone. From Christie's Quarry the limestone pursues a north-west direction, passing just to the south of Caledonia village ; it crosses the road a little west of that place, and pursues the same direction to the top of the terrace on the south side of Allen's GEOLOGICAL FEATURES. 85 creek. In the west and north-west part of Cale- donia large numbers of fossils are found in it, the lowest portion of the rock is thick-bedded and com- pact, while above it contains a large proportion of hornstone, and in some places is composed almost entirely of that substance. Being in irregular shaped masses, and surrounded by limestone, which de- composes on exposure, it is scattered over the sur- face in rough and shapeless forms. These fragments are crossed in every direction by innumerable fis- sures, which are expanded by freezing water, and the whole falls into small fragments which, in many places, literally cover the surface for many acres. Where the road crosses this part of the rock, it has the appearance of being made in a bed of flints. From the jagged and irregular appearance of the hornstone rock, as its occurs in detached masses, it has received the familiar and expressive name of " chawed rock" This rock is the best material for road making which Western New York affords. Where it approaches the surface the soil is rather barren, producing only a growth of dwarf oaks ; but where there is a tolerable proportion of finer materials, it produces a fertile soil. A large pro- portion of the native growth along this terrace con- sists of oaks. The Marcel lus shales possess their usual essen- tial characters ; the middle portions being quite compact and highly bituminous, becoming more slaty above and below. The compact part of the shale usually contains large septaria; these some- times consist of large silico-calcareous masses, with- out seams of crystalline matter. This rock follows the same course as the limestone. Commencing on the east near the north line of the county, it passes south-west to the Genesee; thence its course is north-west through Caledonia, passing into Gene- see county near the north line of this town. On the Conesus outlet, near the lower saw-mill at Avon, this shale may be seen resting on the lime- stone. About thirty-five feet from the bottom of the shale there is a stratum of limestone one foot thick, sometimes concretionary, and containing Orthoceras, fragments of trilobites, &c. For sev- eral feet below this the rock is black, slaty and very fragile. A few feet of the shale above this limestone is black and slaty; it abounds in fossils of Orthoceras, Orthis, Strophomeiia, Avicula, and a very small species of Orbicula. Above this the mass graduates into a grayish or bluish gray slaty shale, and contains few fossils. This shale is seen in the ravines and hillsides on the west-side of the Genesee, extending through the north-east corner of York, and thence through the south-west part of Caledonia. In the south part of this town two ex- cavations, one on each side of a small shallow val- ley originally worn in this shale, were made for coal. The indications which induced the under- taking were the black and highly bituminous char- acter of the shale, thin seams of coaly matter and petroleum. North of the valley on the McLean farm, the same shale was penetrated in digging a well. Some portions of the rock are so highly charged with bitumen as to burn when thrown into a hot fire. Numerous excavations for coal have been made in these shales as well as in the upper Genesee slate, and in each alike fruitless. The Hamilton group, consisting of several mem- bers, but the product of one period, is exposed in numerous localities in the county, and is every where highly fossiliferous. Its destruction has af- forded the highly fertile argillaceous soil which is everywhere so productive of wheat in this part of the State, and, perhaps, nowhere more so than in this county. It occupies a belt of country from five to eight miles wide covering nearly the whole of the towns of Avon and York, a part of Geneseo, Leicester and Caledonia. The deep valley of the Genesee, with numerous lateral ravines and water courses, renders this county one of the most de- sirable localities for examining its rocks. On Jack's Run the Ludlowville and Moscow shales can both be seen, separated by the thin mass of crinoidal limestone. The Moscow shale is known by its fossils, the Calymene and Cryph- eeits ; while the Atrypa concentrica and large num- bers of Cyathophylli and other corals characterize the Ludlowville shale. In some localities the Cyathophylli and smaller corallines occur in the Moscow shales, but are not characteristic of this mass. At York the Ludlowville shale is exposed on a small stream near the village ; but the fossils are chiefly Cyathophyllites and Favosites, both in great perfection and beauty. Among the former there is a specimen in the State collection, consist- ing of twenty-six individuals of the species turbina- tuiii (?) all closely grouped together. In the same ra- vine several hundred feet lower, and in several other localities may be seen a hard calcareous shale, or shaly limestone, which, though of interest elsewhere, possesses here but little economic importance. At Moscow, the locality which gives name to the upper number of this group of fossiliferous shales, they are exposed in great perfection and contain an abundance of the characteristic fossil. These are the Colymene bu/o, Cryphceus ea/lileles, Atrypa 86 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. affinis and two or three species of Delthyris. The principal locality is in the bed and banks of Beard's Creek, on the Jerediah Horsford place, where more than fifty species of fossils have been found. The rock at this place is a pure calcareous mudstone, of a blueish color on first exposure, but weathering to a whiteish ashen. Its decomposition is hastened by the diffusion of iron pyrites which sometimes replace the fossil bodies. The Mos- cow shale is exposed in a ravine and the bed of a small stream, near the residence of Hon. G. W, Patterson. These localities are in a deep valley of denudation, and much below the general eleva- tion of the surrounding country, the surface of which is occupied by the Genesee slate. It is also seen at the base of the fall on Fall Brook, south of Geneseo village, and near the Conesus outlet, along which the lower division of the group is ex- posed at several places. The Genesee slate extends through the coun- try in an irregular course. From the outlet of Conesus Lake its direction is south-west till it comes to the level of the Genesee Valley in Grove- land and Mt. Morris. From the west side of this valley its course is north-west to the south part of the town of York, whence it continues westward to Allen's creek. It appears in the ravines both east and west of Moscow; also in a hill crossed in going from Moscow toward the Genesee, and in the hillside ascending from the valley to Geneseo. The same shale is seen in Fall Brook, where the water leaps a hundred feet from the top of this rock. It underlies the village of Geneseo, and is seen in many places on the road east from that place, and in the ravines between it and Conesus lake. In this neighborhood the black shale is succeeded by a thin stratum of impure limestone which has been burned for lime near Moscow. At the bridge crossing the Genesee near Mt. Morris, and for a mile in the perpendicular cliffs forming the gorge in that river, the Genesee slate is well exposed, possessing all its essential characteristics, being bituminous, containing thin seams of coal, great numbers of septaria, sometimes irregularly scattered, at other times in regularly courses. Its greatest development in Western New York is at the opening of the gorge at Mt. Morris. The Portage group covers the remaining south half of the county. It presents an immense development of shale and flagstones, together with some thick-bedded sandstone towards its upper part. Like all the other mechanical depos- its of the system, as they appear in New York, it is extremely variable in character. From its superior development along the banks of the Genesee in the town of Portage, in the locality of the middle fall, it has received the name of the town to dis- tinguish it from the higher rocks, which possess some differences in lithological characters, but a more striking dissimilarity in organic remains. The group rises sometimes in a gentle slope, and at other times abruptly from the softer shales below. The enduring sandstones of the upper part have enabled it to withstand denuding action to a con- siderable degree, and these often extend far north- ward to the elevated grounds between the deep north and south valleys, presenting a gentle north slope to the shales of the Hamilton group ; while on the sides of the same hills the slope is abrupt, and the surface being but little covered with north- ern drift, the valleys on either side are bounded by steep hills. This character is well illustrated along the south part of the Genesee Valley towards Dansville. The change in the external appearance of the coun- try indicates the commencement of these rocks, although they are not seen. The valleys just spoken of, in their course through the shales of the Hamilton group, present gently sloping sides, and the country rarely rises far above the level of the valley bottom or bed of the stream. On approaching the north margin of the Portage group, the observer finds a gradually increasing elevation of the hills on either side, and an abruptness in their slope ; and in a short time he finds himself in a deep valley, bounded on either side by hills rising four hundred or five hundred feet, and in some instances even eight hundred feet above the bed of the stream. These elevations often extend several miles un- broken, except partially by the deep ravines which indent their sides. The higher sandstones of the group, and in many instances some of the inter- mediate ones, produce falls in the streams which pass over them, and some of the most beautiful cascades in the State are found among the rocks of this gronp. The highest perpendicular fall of water in the State is produced by the rocks of this group, and in none others do we meet with more grand and striking scenery. Conspicuous among these are the upper, middle and lower Portage falls. On the Genesee, which affords the best develop- ment in this district, the group admits of these subdivisions: i. Cashaqua shale; 2. Gardeau shale and flagstones ; 3. Portage sandstone. The Cashaqua Shale differs sufficiently in litho- logical and fossil characters from those above to be GEOLOGICAL FEATURES. 87 considered under a separate name, which was given it from its perfect development on Cashaqua creek. The mass at this place is a soft argillaceous rock of a green color, rapidly crumbling on expos- ure, and forming a tenaceous clay. From the in- fluence of atmospheric agency, it is very difficult to procure good specimens; and fossils not being abundant, they might be easily overlooked. It is, however, marked by certain species of shells which have not been seen in any other rock, and these have been found to hold the same position over an extent of a hundred and fifty miles. On Casha- qua creek, and in some other places in the same neighborhood, it contained some flattened concre- tions of impure limestone, and sometimes of sand- stone, but of these it presents no continuous layers. It is deeply excavated, presenting high and abruptly sloping banks, which project into the valley on one side and recede on the other, as the stream widens along its course below. In looking down the stream, the slopes of these cliffs are free from veg- etation, while on the opposite side they are entirely covered, often with large trees. This effect is produced by the action of the meandering stream, which flows in its channel from one side of the gorge to the other, continually undermining the rock, which crumbles down from above, thus constantly presenting a fresh surface. From one hundred and ten feet on the Genesee, the rock diminishes to thirty-three feet on Eighteen Mile creek. Along the Genesee, above the Cashaqua shale, the Gardeau shale and flagstones present a great development of green and black slaty and sandy shales, with thin layers of sandstone, which form beautiful and durable flagstones, and are quarried in many places between Stony Brook in Sparta and Dansville, where materials were obtained for locks, bridges, etc., on the Genesee Valley canal. The shale in the upper part of the ravine formed by Stony Brook has been ground and used as a plaster. The rocks in this part of the group form high, almost perpendicular banks on the Genesee, only indented by the incipient ravines caused by slides and the action of running water. From their great exposure on the Gardeau Reservation, that name was adopted to distinguish this part of the formation, in the lower part of which the shales consist of alternations of green slaty and sandy shales with black slaty shale, one or two thin courses of sandstone occurring in the space of four or five feet. As we ascend, the arenaceous matter increases in quantity, the layers are thicker and more numerous, and the shale forms distinct alter- nations of black and green, often many times in succession, within the space of fifty feet. Towards the upper part the courses of sandstone become too thick for flagstones, and the shale is in thicker masses than below. These characters, however, which are sufficiently obvious in the gorge of the Genesee, are not constant for any great distance in either direction. Toward the east the arenacious strata augment in a great degree to the exclusion of the shales ; while in a westerly direction the sandstones are constantly disappearing, and the proportion of shale con- stantly increasing. With the absence of sandy strata and the augmentation of shale, a kw fossils which were rather sparingly seen along the Gene- see and in the east part of the district, become more numerous, and form a distinguishing feature of the rock. The Portage sandstones are well exposed in the deep gorge below Portageville, where the perpen- dicular cliffs rise to the height of three hundred and fifty feet. The upper part consists of thick bedded sandstone, with little shale ; while below, the sandy layers become thinner with more fre- quent alternations of shale. The thick-bedded character of the sandstones, and the presence of fucoids passing vertically through the strata, in- duced the separation from the rocks below, where the characteristic species of the same genus lie horizontally upon the surface of the strata. The lithological character of the sandstone, and the presence of the vertical fucoid, hold uniform over a considerable extent ; and the presence of the latter alone is often sufficient to decide the posi- tion of the rock, when it is but slightly exposed. The higher mass of sandstone of the Portage group is very persistent and forms a line of demarkation between the almost non-fossiliferous shales and sandstones below, and the highly fossiliferous sand- stones and shales above. Canaseraga creek and its branches in the vicinity of Dansville, offer good exposures of the rocks of this group. The small streams flowing into the Genesee Valley between Dansville and Ml. Morris, on both sides, afford good opportunities for inves- tigation. Cashaqua creek is the best of these. The Genesee in its passage from Portage to Mt. Morris, exposes the whole series of rocks in five mural escarpments which rise from fifty to three hun- dred and fifty feet high. The examination of this gorge throughout its whole length will give a most perfect and connected view of all the subdivisions 88 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. of this group, the thickness of which on the Gene- see cannot be less than one thousand feet. Carbonaceous matter is disseminated through the black shales, and sometimes appears in seams of half an inch thick. Some fragments of large vege- table forms appear, and thin laminae of coal usu- ally accompany these. From the frequency of these small seams of coal, which are usually of no greater extent than the specimen procured, excavations and borings have been undertaken in search of larger beds. It is unnecessary to say, says Mr. Hall, that these always fail, as do all similar un- dertakings in rocks of this period. Traces of coal have been found in Conesus ; and as late as 1876, the community was considerably agitated by the discovery of a vein in the wall of a deep gully, known as the Purchase gully, near the center of the town, about thirty rods south of the foundation of the old Purchase grist-mill. "The vein is an inch in width and seems to widen and thicken as it extends into the rock. It is about ten feet above the water, which winds at the foot of rocks fifty feet in height at this place. Coal is seen in other places, but nowhere in sufficient quantities to pay for mining." Formerly it was found in the north-west part of the town on the Adam and Cyrus Trescott farms; also on Turkey Hill, in digging wells, slight veins were seen. More recently, in September, 1880, coal was discovered by workmen engaged in digging a well on the Mountain Dew premises, at the head of Liberty street in the vil- lage of Dansville. " In the search for water, much rock was encountered, necessitating drilling and blasting ; and at the depth of twenty-four feet below the surface of the earth a vein of superior soft coal was struck, of about four inches in thickness in either way, while coal slate was plentiful."* The country underlaid by the rocks of this group is well watered by never-failing springs. Except where the black slaty shale is thick, there is no dif- ficulty in procuring water. In such instances the vertical joints appeal to be more open, and to allow the percolation of water through the mass. There is here no remedy but to bore through the black to the green shales, which are less divided by joints, and usually impervious to water. In some parts of the country occupied by this group we first notice a deficiency in the calcareous matter in the soil. This change is indicated by a different growth of timber, and a corresponding changein the cultivated products of the soil. Wheat does not always produce a sure crop after the field * TheDansvilte Advcrti mbei ij, 1880. has been cultivated for some years. When first cleared the land produces good crops of all the grains. In this statement, however, must not be included the valleys and low northern slopes, which are deeply covered with northern drift and alluvium, containing a large proportion of calcareous matter. This on examination proves to be composed of the ruins of the limestone and calcareous shales before described, with a small admixture of sand. This kind of soil is but sparingly spread over the higher grounds, and in many of the highest places is not known at all. In consequence of its absence, the character and productions of the soil of the valleys and of the hills are quite different. The soil derived from the lower part of the group is a stiff clay, the soil being in too small proportions to produce much perceptible effect. As we ascend, the arenaceous matter increases, and the broken fragments of the sandy strata become intermixed with the finer ma- terials, giving it the character of a clayey gravel. The fragments, however, show little effect of attri- tion, and from being flat and irregular, the soil is known locally as "flat gravel," to distinguish it from that of the valleys, where the fragments are rounded into the form of pebbles. In the valleys and on the low northern slopes of this group, the soil produces wheat with the same facility and equal certainty as the formations north of it. As we ascend to the south, the wheat crops are less abundant and less certain, and this gives place to the coarser grains and to pasturage. For the latter object the soil is superior to that on the north of it, and the evidence is fully substantiated by the increasing number of cattle and the produce of the dairies. In the Cashaqua shale there are several species of shells which have not been seen in any other rock, and at the same time there are no fossils found with them which are known in other rocks beyond the group. The more common forms are the Avicula speciosa, I 'ngulina suborbiscularis, Bellerophon expansus, Orthoceras aviculum, Cly- menia ( f ) cotnplanata, Goniatites sinuosis, Pinnopsis acutirostra, and Pinnopsis ornatus, all of which are found on Cashaqua Creek, and the first also on the Genesee. The following fossils occur in the more central or higher part of the group, but, with the exception of the last, are unknown in the Cashaqua shale: Delthyris lavis, Cardium(?)vetustum, Or- tkis termistrata, Lucina ( ?)retusa, Nucula lineolata, Astarte- subtextilis, Bellerophon sfriatus(f), Goni- atites bicostatus, Goniatites sinuosis. The Cyatho- crinus omatissimus, among the most beautiful GEOLOGICAL FEATTRKS. 89 crinoideans in the system, occurs in this group, but only in a limited stratum, upon the shore of Lake Erie, in the town of Portland. The sculptured column and tentaculated arms and fingers place it among the most ornamental forms of this family of fossils. Sulphuretted hydrogen springs are numerous, and occur in almost every rock in the district, but those which are copious in water and highly charged with gas, are confined to a few situations. The most important ones are those issuing from the rocks of the upper part of the Onondaga salt group; these being almost the only ones resorted to for the medical properties of their waters. They con- tain, besides the gas, carbonate and sulphate of lime, which are deposited upon the stones and twigs over which the waters flow. At some there is a considerable formation of calcareous tufa, often covered with a yellow coating, which apparently consists of sulphur, and sulphate of lime. The water is usually perfectly limpid, though sometimes it has a whitish or chalky appearance when first flowing from the spring. Such are the springs which occur at Avon.* There are several unimportant brine springs in the higher rocks of the district. The most remark- able of these is at York, which, for some time after its discovery, yielded a large supply of water, but which has since diminished. It gives evidence of a large proportion of iodine on the application of the usual tests. It issues from the shale of the Hamilton group. A sulphur spring, evolving sul- phuretted hydrogen gas, issues from the upper part of the Onondaga salt group at Caledonia village ; another near Moscow, issuing from the Hamilton group, evolves the same gas. The superficial or alluvial deposits are extensive in the valley of the Genesee, and originated mainly at a time when that valley of ancient excavation formed the basin of an immense lake, extending from Dansville on the south to its northern extrem- ity, with original outlet at Irondequoit, and into which the detritus was poured through the valleys south of Dansville and that of Cashaqua creek, forming the deep beds of alluvian observed about Dansville and below the mouth of the Cashaqua, and spreading over the entire valley a fine sandy loam. An examination of this deep deposit on the Genesee flats shows conclusively that it was made in a lake such as described, with a current passing through it from south to north. The deposit was evidently carried forward in that direction, as indi- • See chapter Town of Avon. cated by the lines of lamination. The coarser materials, at the points mentioned, near the em- bouchures of the streams into this lake, are in con- siderable proportion of southern origin. As an illustration of this may be noticed the accumulation of gravel and sand resting on regularly stratified clay, at Squakie Hill, near Mt. Morris. The exca- vation of the Genesee Valley canal exposed a deep section at this place, showing the lower deposit of fine clay horizontally stratified, and succeeded by a stratum of coarse pebbles and gravel, and above this loose sand and gravel, the ruins of rocks on the south. This shows the inundation of these materials after the deposition of clay and loam forming the Genesee flats. In the vicinity of Portageville we find an immense deposit of coarse sand and gravel, piled upon an older deposit of sand and clay. The lower deposit is regularly stratified, and consists in part of materials of northern origin. This appears to have been partially excavated, and another deposit spread over it of materials from the south, consist- ing of flat masses of sandstone and scarcely worn pebbles, with loam and gravel. It is entirely dis- tinct from the formation below, and proceeded from a long subsequent operation. The excava- tion of the (ienesee Valley canal has given an opportunity of examining these deposits in a very satisfactory manner. In the broad indentation on the east side of the river, opposite the middle falls, the canal passes along the slope of the hill, which rises nearly two hundred feet higher. The lowest deposit excavated at this point consists of alternating clay and quick- sand, which, about one hundred feet lower, rest upon the rocks of the Portage group. This de- posit of clay and quicksand extends about one hundred feet above the level of the canal, when it is succeeded by sand and gravel. For more than two hundred feet from the bottom, the mass con- sists of alternating layers of sand from two to eighteen inches, with layers of clay of half an inch to two inches, each becoming thicker as we ap- proach the upper part, where the quicksand layers are fifteen to twenty feet. The upper layer of fif- teen feet thickness becomes perfectly saturated with water, and is termed liquid quicksand; and this is succeeded by the deposit of coarse sand and gravel, which is of subsequent origin, containing materials from the rocks of the south, mingled with some of the older drift deposits which have been broken up. Through this the water percolates, saturating the mass below, and giving it the char- 9° HISTORY OF LIYINCSTON COUNTY. acter of quicksand. Fragments of the trunks of trees have been found in this deposit, in a layer of clay about thirty-five feet below the gravel. The whole of the lower deposit, consisting of regularly alternating layers of clay and sand, was evidently deposited in a quiet lake, while the sub- sequent one of gravel and coarse sand was brought on by some powerful inundation from the south. The fragments of wood are doubtless such as were drifted from the higher grounds into this lake, and sinking to the bottom were covered by the subse- quent sediment. In several similar situations, bones of the mastodon have been found, and con- sequently referred to the drift period. These facts, however, offer no arguments in favor of such an hypothesis ; for in all instances which occur in Western New York, there is the strongest evidence of their having been transported from their origi- nal situation, and mingled with the more modern tluviatile or lake deposits. Another circumstance to be noticed in connec- tion with this section, is a superficial deposit of about ten feet in depth, covering the whole slope from the base of the gravel hill to the bank of the river. This surface deposit is composed of the ruins of the gravel hill, with the clay and sand be- low. From the constant oozing of water from the lower deposit, it undermines that above, which fall- ing, carries with it something of those below, the whole constituting a moving mass, saturated with water. Its nature only became fully understood upon the excavation of the canal, when all that part above commenced sliding down, completely destroying the work. Farther examination proved that the whole hillside, for ten feet in depth, was in motion towards the river, and of course no exca- vation or fixture could be made permanent on such a foundation. In proof of this, and that such for a long time has been its condition, we find that the oaks which grow upon the hill towards the top, have slidden down the rocky margin of the river, where they stand among the hemlocks and cedars, sometimes upright, but often leaning in various directions. The whole surface for half a mile, is saturated with water, and springs gush out at every step. In nearly all situations the muck swamps are underlaid by a deposit of calcareous marl. This is usually very finely pulverulent, and, though co- hering when wet. is very friable when dry. When this calcareous deposit is made upon the surface, or in situations exposed to the air, it becomes tufa or travatine, often preserving in a most beautiful manner, the impressions of twigs and leaves, etc., so perfectly that the species may be determined. This mail is derived from two sources, one being the limestone rocks themselves, and the other the calcareous particles distributed through the super- ficial detritus, the origin of which is still the lime- stone formations. The drift materials being com- posed, in a large portion, of the debris of the rocks of the district, calcareous matter is widely diffused. This is not only a constant fertilizing agent in the soil, but from the action of rains upon the surface, and the passage of water through these superficial deposits, the calcareous matter is dis- solved and carried forward into some lower situa- tion, where it accumulates in the bottom of the small lakes and marshes. Some of the most ex- tensive formations of this kind in the district are made upon the Onondaga salt group, and are de- posited from the copious springs which rise along its southern margin. These deposits of marl usually rest upon a bed of clay or sand, and are succeeded by muck. In the greater number of localities its formation has long since come to an end, but in others it is still in progress. In many of the springs issuing from the rocks, its daily deposition can be observed ; it incrusts all the vegetables growing in the stream, and, in favorable situations, forms deposits of con- siderable extent. The tufa is used for building- stone ; being soft, when first removed from its bed. it is easily cut, or hewn into blocks of convenient size. These, after drying, become comparatively hard, and form a durable material. There are, however, but few situations where there is a quan- tity sufficient to allow of its being used in this manner. Remains of the mastodon have been found within the county. In 1825, while a ditch was being opened to drain the swampy tract on which are located the springs which supply the village of Geneseo with water, a large number of bones, in- cluding several teeth of the mastodon maximus were found beneath a deposit from two to three feet deep, of muck intermingled with a sandy cal careous marl. The animal was young, as eight molar teeth were found — old ones having only one molar on either side of each jaw.* A molar tooth of this animal, the only known remaining specimen of this collection, t was in the possession of the late C. H. Bryan, of Geneseo, and is illustrated in the Geological Reports of this State. Ten years later * Silliman's Journal, First Sorie* -\7/., j8o, t Geological Rtporls. THE DANSVILLE MASTODON. 9i other mastodon remains were found in a swamp, about three feet below the surface, while men were engaged in straightening the road from Scottsburg to Conesus lake. Portions of this collection are now in the cabinet of the LeRoy Female Semi- nary. The most important discovery of this charac- ter was made in 1874, on the farm of Edward Whiteman, in the town of Wayland, about two miles from the south corporation line of Dansville village.* The first discovery was made accident- ally by Mr. Whiteman, while engaged in digging a ditch through a long swail on that farm early in the preceding December. Two teeth, a tusk, and fragments of ribs and vertebra of the mastodon giganteuswere then unearthed. The teeth weighed respectively five pounds and five pounds and three ounces. One was seven inches long and four and one-half inches wide, and, although an inch or two of the points of the roots had crumbled off, seven and one-half inches from top to bottom. The other was seven inches long and thick and four inches wide. In the spring of 1874 further ex- aminations were made under the direction of Dr. F. Perine, of Dansville, and partially in the presence of Prof. Jerome Allen, of the Geneseo Normal School. Additional portions of the ani- mal were discovered, consisting of a part of a tusk, a part of a lower leg bone, a nearly complete ver- tebra, three teeth, a part of a rib, the head of a femur and a portion of the humerus. The tusk measured nine feet two inches in length, and twenty-five inches in circumference. It is believed that it was not less than fourteen feet long before any portion of it was decayed. The piece of leg bone was thirty-five inches long, ten inches thick at the upper end and nine at the lower; it weighed twenty-eight pounds. The piece of rib bone was thirty-eight inches long and three and one-half inches wide. The vertebra, apart from its connec- tions, was four and one-half inches thick. The largest tooth weighed five pounds, ten ounces. All the teeth were very much worn, and indicated great age. The animal is the third one of its species exhumed in this country, and its remains were the largest hitherto found. t These relics are now in the possession of Dr. Perine, of Dansville. Prof. Allen says : — "At no very remote geological period, before the advent of man, the whole of Western New York * These remains, though found iust over the line, in Steuben county, are commonly denominated the "Dansville Mastodon." The accom- panying description of them is gleaned from The Dansville A dvertiser, of May 7 and 14, '?74- t The Mastodon and his Cotempotat-ies, Prof. Jerome Allen, from The Dansville Advertiser., of June II, 1874. was covered with a great number of lakes. We see the remains of them, not only in the blue waters of the Ontario and Erie, but in the beauti- ful Chautauqua, Silver, Conesus, Hemlock, Crooked and Canandaigua. At this period ["when the mastodon roamed through these ancient forests and on the shores of these old lakes,"] the whole of the Genesee Valley was filled, with a lake which could not have had an average depth of less than three hundred feet. Into this water flowed in beautiful cascades the Genesee river, the Canaser- aga and other creeks, with many smaller streams. The surface of the land on all sides was covered with dense forests, interspersed with deep and almost impassable swamps ; birch and willow grew in great abundance in the forests, the mastodon abounded, and in seeking for the rankest vegeta- tion, often sank, on account of his immense weight, when he ventured too far into the shady bogs. Such a swamp existed on the hill above Geneseo, and here a few years ago the remains of a huge monster were found. Another swamp was found near Dansville, on the road to Wayland, about six hundred feet above the bottom of this old lake. On the edge of this morass the Dansville mastodon died. ' No bones of this animal have ever been discovered in the place covered by the lakes of this alluvial period."* CHAPTER IX. First Settlements and Measures leading Thereto — Military Tract — Mill- Yard Tract — Census of 1790 — First Settle- ments in Livingston County — Communica- tion opened with the Settlements in Penn- sylvania — Arks — Charles Williamson — Be- comes Agent of the Pultney Estate — Pro- gress of Settlements under his Energetic Exertions -The Village of Williamsburgh Founded — Settlements Retarded by War with the Western Indians and Unfriendly Attitude of the British in Canada — "Simcoe War" — Remarkable Progress of Settle- ments — Scotch Colony at Caledonia — Rob- ert Munro's Description of the Genesee Country — 1804 — Settlements Interrupted by War of 181 2 — Population at Different- Periods — Homes and Privations of the Early Settlers. IN the events connected with the Colonial strug- gle for independence, especially that which wit- nessed the devastation of the Iroquois country by the invading army of General Sullivan in 1779, we trace the immediate agencies which opened up • Ibid. 9 2 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. to eastern and southern immigration the whole of Western New York, for until after the close of that struggle, as we have seen, the whole of that vast extent of country west of the Line of Property was a reserved Indian domain. Having thrown off the oppressive burdens imposed on them by the mother country, the mind of the colonists expanded with the new and invigorating thought of liberty, and they were stimulated to the development of new enterprises and new industries. It is fair to pre- sume that those who had been favored during the war with a view of the beauty and fertility of this country, as were the soldiers who accompanied Sul- livan's expedition, bridged with prophetic vision the interval which must elapse ere the return of peace should enable them to make this fair land their future home, which many of them did, and that the favorable reports given of it to their associates in arms and their neighbors at home, gave direction to the minds of many who subsequently took up their abode in this wilderness, which, however, then abounded in extensive tracts of cleared land which had been subjected to the rude cultivation of the Indians ; certain it is that the extinction of the Indian title and the immediate subsequent opening of these lands by survey and sale to settlement, was the signal for a vast hegira from the New England States, and a little later from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland, with a lib- eral representation from the more intelligent and industrious classes of the pauper-ridden countries of Europe. In 1789, the year after the extinguishment of the Indian title to the reserved tract known as Phelps and Gorham's Purchase, and extending from the Old Preemption Line, or in general terms from the Military Tract to the Genesee River, Messrs. Phelps and Gorham commenced a settlement and opened a land office on the tract at Canandaigua, and in 1789 had completed the survey of their purchase, including the Mill- Yard Tract,* into lots, generally six miles square and containing 23,040 acres. The tract was divided into seven ranges, •The Mill-Yard 'tract, lying on the Genesee River, mostly in Monroe county, extending from Lake Ontario into the north edge of Livingston county, and embracing a territory twelve by twenty-four miles iii extent, was given by the Seneca Indians to Phelps ami Gorham, pending tin- negotiations for the extinguishment of their title to the Phelps and Gor- ham Purchase, for the purposes of a mill-yard, for which, it was repre- sented, a trait as laige as this would be required. Messrs. Phelps and Gorham conveved one hundred aire- ol this tract — known as the "Hun- dred Acre Tract" — where the city of Rochester now standi:, for the erec- tion of a mill at the Genesee Palls, to Ebenezer Allen, .1 notorious char- acter in this vicinity and the pioneer settler of Ml Moms, who, in I"*';. erected a small mill. When the Indians saw the diminutive size of the mill, they were not alitlleastonislicdtli.il SO targe a tract should be needed for its accominoi numbered from east to west, and extending from the Pennsylvania line to Lake Ontario. These ranges were six miles wide, and were subdivided by parallels six miles apart. The squares thus formed were designated townships ami were num- bered in ranges from south to north. The portions of this tract embraced in the present limits of Liv- ingston county are townships 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 in range 7, (corresponding with the present towns of Ossian, West Sparta, Groveland, Geneseo and Avon,) townships 7, 8, 9 and 10 and the north- west quarter of 6 in range 6, (corresponding with Sparta, Conesus, Livonia, Lima and North Dans- ville,*) and 7 and the western part of 10 in range 5, (corresponding with the eastern parts of Spring- water and Lima.) The survey was made under contract by Col. Hugh Maxwell, who completed most of the northern portion of the purchase in 1788, and the remaining portion in 1789, with the assistance of Judge Porter. Settlements were speedily begun at various dif- ferent points in the tract, principally at Geneva, Sodus, Bath and the Friends' settlement at the outlet of Crooked lake, and in 1790 the popula- tion of the preemption lands, or Ontario county, which then embraced all the State west of the Old Preemption Line, had increased to 1,047, on l v 5' of whom were west of the west line of Phelps and Gorham's Purchase. This attempt at settlement, f however, says Charles Williamson, the first agent of the Pultney estate, referring to that at Canan- daigua, in a letter addressed to a friend in 1799, "was attended with great and almost insurmount- able difficulties. There was no access to the country but by Indian paths, and the nearest set- tlement was above one hundred miles distant ; the Allegheny Mountains, then never passed, lay on the south, and Lake Ontario to the north ; to the west was one boundless forest. It is not to be wondered at, that, under such circumstances, the country made little progress in population and improvement for some years."{ •The west part of Sparta is included in No. "of range 7; the western part ot Springwater, a tittle more than a third of that town, in No. 7 of range o ; and that part of Lima lying between Honeoye Outlet and a line in pn>' lougation of the east line of Liviona, was included in No. 10 of ranges. t This census was taken in December, 1790, by Gen. Amos Hall, and is ay in in tabulated form in Doc. HisL II., 1 114- It included, says Mr. Williamson, "all travelers and surveyors, with their attendants who happened it that time to be within the bounds of the country Hist. II., ii;. 1 1 It appears that township to, range ^ (pan of Lima.) then contained seven families, numbering twenty-six individuals : No. lo, range I Lima, I four families, numbering twenty three individual No. 6, range 7 (Ossian, J one family, numbering live individuals . No. 9, range iii families, numbering thirty-four individuals ; ami No. t . range 7 (Avon, then Hartford,) eight families, numbering fifty-nine lis Two additional settlements, on what were then Indian lands, existed within the present county of Livingston: one opposite No. 8 1 Irovi iiul, I iii the town of Mt Morris, and the other opposite No. g 1 1 in 1 0. 1 in the town of Leicester; which together with a settlement Opposite No. s" (Bums,' contained four families, numbering seventeen individuals, X Doe. Hist. II., njo. EARLY DESCRIPTIONS OF THE GENESEE COUNTRY. 93 Happily the pioneer settlers of the Genesee country were not perplexed by those distressing litigations which environed their contemporary set- tlers on the Military Tract, and the soil of the country possessed a fertility which was unknown to the lands further east. It responded generously to the moderate exertions of the husbandman ; and during the many years while his less fortunate neighbor could only by the most pinching industry coax from an almost sterile soil a scanty subsistence, he had acquired a title of undoubted validity to his property, and was enjoying the blessings which flow from a moderate competence. A writer in describing the country between Albany and Niagara in 1792, speaks in glowing terms of this country. He says : — " The famous Genesee flats lie on the borders of the Genesee river ; they are about twenty miles in length, and about four miles wide; the soil is remarkably rich, quite clear of trees, and producing grass near ten feet high. I estimate these flats to be well worth 200,000 ■£ as they now lie. They are mostly the property of the Indians. Taking a view of this country altogether, I do not know an extent of ground so good. Cultivation is easy, and the land is grateful. The progress of settle- ment is so rapid, that you and myself may very probably see the day when we can apply these lines to the Genesee country: — " ' Here happy millions their own lands possess, No tyrant awes them, nor no lords oppress.* " Many times did I break out in an enthusiastic frenzy anticipating the probable situation of this wil- derness twenty years hence. All that reason can ask may be obtained by the industrious hand ; the only danger to be feared is, that luxuries will flow too cheap." The same writer adds: — "From Canandaigua I traveled about twenty-six miles through a fine country, with many settle- ments forming ; this brought me to Genesee river. On this river a great many farms are laying out; sixty-five miles from its mouth is a town marked out by the name of Williamsburgh, and will in all probability be a place of much trade ; in the pres- ent situation of things it is remote, when consid- ered in a commercial point of view; but should the fort of Oswego be given up, and the lock navi- gation be completed, there will not be a carrying place between New York and Williamsburgh. * " After I had reached the Genesee river, curi- osity led me on to Niagara, ninety miles — not one house or white man the whole way. The only di- rection I had was an Indian path, which sometimes was doubtful. The first day I rode fifty miles, through swarms of mosquitos, gnats, etc., beyond all description."* The comparative advantages attending a settle- ment in the Genesee country were enumerated in * (Massachusetts Historical Collection I.) Col. Hist. II., 1105-1109. Imlafs Topographical Description of the Western Territory of North America. After some prelimi- nary references it says: — " But the peculiar advantages which distinguish these lands over most of the new settled countries of America, are these following: — i. The uncom- mon excellence and fertility of the soil. 2. The superior quality of the timber, and the advantages of easy cultivation, in consequence of being gen- erally free from underwood. 3. The abundance of grass for cattle in the woods, and on the extensive meadow grounds upon the lakes and rivers. 4. The vast quantities of the sugar maple-tree, in every part of the tract. 5. The great variety of other fine timber, such as oak, hickory, black walnut, chestnut, ash of different kinds, elm, butternut, basswood, poplar, pines and also thorn trees of a prodigious size. 6. The variety of fruit-trees, and also smaller fruits, such as apple and peach or- chards, in different places, which were planted by the Indians, plum and cherry trees, mulberries, grapes of different kinds, raspberries, huckle-ber- ries, black-berries, goose-berries, and strawberries in vast quantities ; also cranberries, blackhaws, etc. 7. The vast variety of wild animals and game which is to be found in this country, such as deer, moose deer, and elk of very large size, bea- vers, otters, martins, minks, rabbits, squirrels, rac- coons, bears, wildcats, etc., many of which furnish excellent furs and peltry. 8. The great variety of birds for game, such as wild turkeys, pheasants, partridges, pigeons, plover, heath-fowl, and Indian hen, together with a vast variety of water-fowl on the rivers and lakes, such as wild geese and ducks, of many different kinds, not known in Europe. 9. The uncommon abundance ot very fine fish, with which the lakes and rivers abound, among which are to be found excellent salmon of two dif- ferent kinds, salmon-trout of a very large size, white and yellow perch, sheep-heads > pike, suckers and eels of a very large size, with a va- riety of other fish in their different seasons. 10. The excellence of the climate in that region where these lands are situated, is less severe in winter, and not so warm in summer, as the same latitudes nearer the sea. The total exemption from all periodical disorders, particularly the fever and ague, which does not prevail in the Genesee country, on account of the rising grounds and fine situations, it. The vast advantages derived from navigable lakes, rivers and creeks, which intersect and run through every part of this tract of country, affording a water communication from the north- ern parts of the grant by the Genesee river one way, or by the Seneca river another way into the great lake Ontario, and from thence by Cataraqui to Quebec, or by the said Seneca river, the Oneida lake and Wood creek, to Schenectady on the Mo- hawk river, with only a short land carriage, and from thence to Albany, with a portage of sixteen miles ; affording also a water communication from almost every township of the southern part of the grant by means of the different branches of the 94 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Tioga river, which joining the Susquehanna, affords an outlet to produce, through an immense extent of country on every hand, to Northumberland, and all the towns upon the great branch of this river, down to Maryland and Virginia; and (with a port- age of twelve miles) even to Philadelphia with small boats ; and when the improvements are made in the Susquehanna, and the projected canal cut between 'he Schuylkill and that river, there will be an uninterrupted good water communication for boats of ten or fifteen tons from the interior parts of the Genesee country all the way to Philadelphia. 12. But above all, the uncommon benefits these lands derive from the vicinity to the thickly settled countries in New York and New England govern- ments on the one hand, and Northumberland coun- ty in Pennsylvania on the other, from all which quarters, from the great advantages which are held out, there must be an over-flow of emigrants every year, until these lands are fully settled, which ex- pectation is already completely evinced, from the rapid population that has taken place on the east boundaries of the grant upon the Tioga river, and between the Seneca and Cayuga lakes up to On- tario, where, in the course of three or four years, above eight hundred families have fixed themselves in this fertile country, most of whom having emi- grated from the Eastern States of New England, New York and Pennsylvania, have all the advan- tages which are to be derived from a perfect knowl- edge of the country, and from that kind of educa- tion and local resource, which soon renders the situation of a new settler comfortable and happy, enabling them, at the same time, to assist new comers, who may be less acquainted with the na- ture of the country." The same work adds : — " ' At present wheat can be sent from the Gene- see Settlement to Philadelphia, at one shilling sterling per bushel ; but if the water communica- tion be opened between the two rivers, the cost will not exceed fourpence.* •••Dry goods can now be sent to these new settlements at about eight shillings sterling per hundred weight, which will probably be reduced to three shillings when the navigation is completed. " ' No country in the world is better adapted for raising cattle than the (lenesee grant. One of the first settlers in that country asserts that he can every season cut wild grass on his own farm in the Genesee flats sufficient to maintain 2,000 head of cattle through the winter ; and that such hay, with rushes and vegetables which are found above the snow, generally keep the cattle fat without any ex- pense. Hogs can also be reared in the woods at little or no expense to the farmer. " • As the distance from Philadelphia (between which and the Genesee lands a road was to be com- pleted in 1 791) is somewhat less by land than two hundred miles, there can be no difficulty in driving fat cattle and hogs to that market for sale : as they can transport themselves at a very small expense, * This communication was begun in K'ji. and as the demand for provision increases every year, and a liberal price is given for beef and pork, there can be no doubt but the rearing of cattle and hogs, as well as horses, for sale in the low coun- tries, will soon become a great object of profit to the settlers, as the extensive ranges of meadow ground on the flats, and the blue grass,white clover and pea-vine in the woods, must enable the farmer to feed almost any number he can raise, or find capital to purchase. In many parts of the tract there is little or no underwood, and excellent pas- ture in the forests between the trees, inconsequence of their being in general of an enormous size, and of the considerable distance between them ; thereby affording even a wide range for cattle in the upland country, as well as in the flats and meadows,which have already been represented to be luxuriant be- yond description, in a species of coarse grass, very tit for hay. It is said that there are many wild horses upon the tract, which is an additional proof of there being winter food in the flat lands and in the forests. " ' The present settlers have already got a fine stock of cattle and hogs, and find that they thrive and increase very fast ; but as yet there are very few sheep, although, it is supposed, they would suc- ceed well on the hills, after the country is more fully peopled. Several genteel families are prepar- ing to settle on the tract this season, which will greatly facilitate the population of these lands. " ' The crops of wheat, Indian corn, and other small grains were very abundant last year ; so that the present settlers are in a situation to assist and supply the wants of new-comers. " ' The market for grain and provision raised in the Genesee country will be on the spot for some time to come, and the constant influx of settlers, who may be expected, until the whole of these lands are occupied, will, at least for a time, con- sume all the surplus produce ; afterwards the city of Philadelphia will probably be the best market ; and while the country is in progress of being set- fled, the hemp and flax raised by the C.enesee farmers, and also the ashes and sugar made upon these lands, and the skins and furs procured by hunting, must ultimately go to Philadelphia and New York ; but this will be the business of the merchant, who will receive all these articles from the farmer in return for dry goods, implements of husbandry, salt and rum, and such other articles as the settlers may want.' ***** •'Wheat is at present, 1791, one dollar per bushel (as.6d. sterling;) Indian corn, 2S.6d. ditto; salt from the Onondaga works, 60 miles east of the grant, is half a dollar a bushel."* The following extract from the journal of the journey of a gentleman into the Genesee country in February, 1792, gives additional glimpses of the * Doc. Hist. //., iiii-mii. WADSWORTH'S NOTICE TO NEW SETTLERS. 95 condition and prospects of the pioneer settlers of the Genesee country. We quote : — " From Canandaigua to the Genesee river, twenty-six miles, it is almost totally uninhabited, only four families residing on the road. The coun- try is beautifully diversified with hill and dale, and in many places, we found openings of two and three hundred acres, free from all timber and even bushes, which, on our examining, proved to be of a rich, deep soil. It seemed that, by only inclosing with one of these openings a proportionable quan- tity of timbered land, an inclosure might be made similar to the parks in England. "At the Genesee River I found a small Indian store and tavern ; the river was not then frozen over, but was low enough to be forded. As yet there are no settlements of any consequence in the Genesee country. That established by a society of Friends, on the west side of the Seneca lake, is the most considerable ; it consists of about forty families. But the number of Indians in the ad- joining country, when compared with the few in- habitants who venture to winter in the country, is so great, that I found them under serious appre- hensions for their safety. Even in this state of nature, the county of Ontario shows every sign of future respectability. No man has put the plough in the ground without being amply repaid ; and, through the mildness of the winter, the cattle brought into the country the year before are thriv- ing well on very slender provision for their subsist- ence. The clearing of land for spring crops is going on with spirit. I also found the settlers here abundantly supplied with venison.* We have indicated the small beginnings which had been previously made in this county ; but as the details of settlement will be more fully noted in connection with the various towns it is not our purpose to dwell upon these matters here. Of these settlements, however, that projected by the Wadsworths at Geneseo was the only one which continued to exert a permanent and controlling influence upon the subsequent development of the country. The following is a copy of a notice issued by James Wadsworth, relative to lands offered for sale by him, taken from the original in the possession of Dr. M. H. Mills, of Mt. Morris: — " Notice to New Settlers." " The subscriber offers for sale the following townships and tracts of land, in the counties of Ontario, Genesee, and Allegany, in the State of New York. "A tract containing upwards of 60,000 acres, situated within six miles of the landing in Fall- town, on the west side of the Genesee River — this tract is divided into lots of about 100 acres. In order to encourage and accommodate industrious and enterprising settlers, one-half of the land, con- * Doc. Hist. II., 1 1 j 1 —1 1 32. sisting of every other three hundred acres through- out the tract, will be sold for wheat, pork and neat cattle ; the wheat and pork to be delivered at Fall- town Landing. The very flourishing settlements of West Pultney, Braddock's Bay and Fairfield are within this tract. The inhabitants in these settle- ments have been remarkably healthy. Vessels of 200 tons sail from Lake Ontario up the Genesee River to the lower falls; this place is called Fall- town Landing, and is only six miles from the tract now offered for sale. A barrel of flour can now be sent from Falltown Landing to Montreal for one dollar, and a barrel of pot-ashes for one dollar and a half; these prices will be reduced as the busi- ness of transportation increases. Most articles of American produce command as high prices at Montreal as at New York. " The intervals and swails in this tract are tim- bered with elm, butternut, white and black ash, walnut, etc., the uplands with sugar maple, beech, basswood, hickory, wild cherry, white oak, black- oak, chestnut, etc. There are a number of groves of excellent white pine timber. There are no mountains or ledges, and scarcely one hundred acres of waste land in the tract. Some of the intervals or flats will produce, if well cultivated, 80 bushels of corn, 800 weight of hemp, or 2,000 weight of tobacco on an acre, and other crops in proportion. "Also, the Township of Troupton, situated eighteen miles south of the village of Geneseo, and adjoining the village of Dansville. This tract is within twelve miles of Ark Port, a landing place on the west branch of the Susquehannah river; a barrel of flour may be transported from Ark Port to Baltimore, for a dollar and a half, and other articles of produce in proportion ; the situation of this township is considered very healthy, the lands are fertile and well watered. " Also the town of Henrietta, being township No. 12, in the seventh range, on the west side of Gen- esee river ; this tract is within eight miles of Fall- town landing, and adjoins the flourishing towns of Hartford, (now Avon,) and Northfield ; the lands in Henrietta are excellent and the settlement very flourishing: the lots adjoining the Genesee river containing handsome portions of timbered flats, are put at five dollars per acre, the back lots at four dollars per acre. " Also a number of lots in a tract of land, usually known by the name of Allen's Flats, or the Mt. Morris tract, situated in the forks of the Genesee river, fifteen miles south of the great State Road to Niagara, and four miles from the village of Gene- seo. The tract contains about 10,000 acres, 3,000 acres of which are flats or interval. It has lately been surveyed into lots of convenient size ; the village lots contain from one to forty acres, and the farm lots about one hundred acres each. The village is situated on elevated ground timbered with white oak, and bids fair to be a very healthy situa- tion. The subscriber will sell the upland and lease the flats, or will sell both upland and flats, as applicants prefer. 9 6 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. "It is fully ascertained that the flats or intervals on the Genesee river are perfectly adapted to the cultivation of hemp. Mr. Stephen Colton, from Long Meadow, raised ten hundred weight of excel- lent hemp the last season, on one acre of flats in Geneseo. One hundred and six bushels of Indian corn have been raised on one acre in Allen's flats. " Hemp may be transported by water from the mouth of the Genesee river to Montreal; or it may be sent from Ark Port down the Susquehan- nah river, in arks to Baltimore, or it may be sent by land to Albany. •■ The price at which lots in the above tracts are put. is from two t«i five dollars per acre. The subscriber usually requires the purchase money to be paid in four equal installments to be made in two, three, four and fur years from the time of purchase, with one year free of interest; in some of the tracts he gives a credit of six and eight years. " Liberal encouragement will be given in different settlements to carpenters, blacksmiths, shoemakers, millwrights and other tradesmen. " The subscriber, in order to encourage the settlement of substantial New England farmers, will exchange a few lots for improved farms. " The tract of country in which the above de- scribed townships are situated, tho' north of New Jersey, resembles that state in the mildness of its "climate. Peaches, apricots and nectarines grow to great perfection on the Genesee river. " A valuable salt spring is discovered in Brad- dock's Bay township. Salt can now be afforded at this spring at one dollar per bushel ; when the works are extended salt will probably be afforded at fifty cents a bushel, the same price at which it is sold at the Onondaga salt works. "A turnpike road is completed from Albany to Canandaigua ; and from Canandaigua to Geneseo, and thence to the above mentioned settlements there are excellent wagon roads. " The subscriber has still for sale a number of reserved and other lots of land, in the midst of flourishing settlements, in the towns of Geneseo, Hartford, Bloomheld and 1'ittstown ; some of these lots contain handsome improvements. "JAMES WAltSWORTH. "Geneseo, (Ontario county.) March, 1809." The first settlement in the Genesee country was made in the county of Livingston as early as 1759, by that remarkable character, Mary Jemison, whose residence of seventy-eight years with the Indians, seventy-two of which were spent in the Genesee Valley, has made her a valuable contributor to the early history of this locality. The next while set- tler in the present county of Livingston was Eben- e/.er, or Indian. Allen — a character as notorious for his vice and savage brutality, as was that of Mary Jemison made conspicuous by its gentle vir- tues. Both these settlements were made in the present town of Mt. Morris ; the former on what subsequently became the fannus Gardeau reserva- tion, and the latter, in 1782, on the site of the village of Mt. Morris. The first important settle- ment made within the county after the extinguish- ment of the Indian title in 1788, from which the settlement of the county more properly dates, was that of John H., and George Jones, brothers to Horatio Jones, who, like Mar)' Jemison, had been held in captivity by the Indians. They located in 1789 in the present town of Leicester, where they were joined the following year by Horatio and his family, although that was then, and for eight wars thereafter, Indian territory. These characters, from their intimate connection with the history of this county, merit and will receive further notice. Hitherto the tide of emigration had been from the New England States, that from the south hav- ing been retarded by the inaccessibility of the country, owing to the lack of roads across the Al- leghanies, which formed a formidable barrier. In the summer of 1792, Charles Williamson, agent for the Pultney estate, visited the tract and put in execution a plan he had formed for its improve- ment, by opening communication with Philadel- phia and Baltimore by means of a road across the Alleghanies. Notwithstanding the difficulties which attended this enterprise, and which had been re- garded as insuperable, by the month of November of that year, thirty miles of the road were made sufficiently good for the passage of wagons ; and by the following August it was completed from the mouth of Lycoming creek to Williamsburgh, a dis- tance of one hundred and seventy miles. " It was only from this period, which opened to the Gene- see a communication with the settlements in Penn- sylvania," says Capt. Williamson, "that we can trace the beginning of that singularly rapid pro- gress in population and improvements, which has so eminently distinguished that country. The opening of this road from Pennsylvania over a chain of mountains before regarded impassable, excited the curiosity of the inhabitants of the ad- jacent country, and many were tempted to explore the Genesee lands, that, previous to this, had never given them a thought. The idea of the im- mense distance was at once destroyed. At this early period, however, it was only men of observa- tion that were pleased. Many returned disgusted with the inconvenience of traveling through a coun- try almost destitute of inhabitants, for the distance of one hundred and seventy miles, and particularly when they found the only settlement in that part FIRST PERMANENT SETTLEMENTS. 97 of the country depending on the Indians for sub- sistence."* As in all new countries, the first settlements were made on or adjacent to navigable streams, which, in the absence of suitable roads, were, for many years, the common means of communication and transportation, especially of the marketable productions. The streams were navigated by a species of boats called arks, which were invented and first used about 1793, by a Mr. Kryder. a farmer on the Juniata river. They were construct- ed of large timbers or planks, and after their cargo was discharged, were broken up and sold for lum- ber. They were capable of floating three hundred barrels of flour, which, as well as lumber and vari- ous other productions, were transported in them. Thev were afterwards improved and their capacity increased, and were for many years in common use.f In 1791, Capt. Charles Williamson became the agent of the Pultney estates and in 1792, inaugu- rated those improvements in the Genesee country, which, during the succeeding ten years, he contin- ued with such distinguished energy, and a success commensurate with the obstacles which opposed his efforts, if not with the expectations of the com- pany in whose interest he labored. Mr. Williamson visited the Genesee country first in February, 1792, and from observations made at that time, decided on locating a village at the mouth of Canaseraga Creek, which was then nav- igable for nearly twenty miles, to Dansville. The projection of this plan in 1792, and the ill-starred colony sent there to develop it form an interesting episode in the history of Livingston county ; for this was not only the first settlement in the county which aspired to the dignified title of village, but here, in 1793, was taught the first school in this county by Samuel Murphy, an Irishman, — here in 1797, was kept the first inn, by William Lemen, — here, in 1795 or '96, was kept the first store, by Alexander McDonald, a Scotchman, if we except the Indian " mart" kept by Indian Allen, on Allen's hill, (Mt. Morris,) "as early as 1784, if not in the fall of 1783," — here also, in 1797, was built, on lot 58, the first grist mill, by Col. Williamson, — and here too lived " the first preacher of the evangelical truths of the bible in the county" — Rev. Samuel J. Mills, a Presbyterian.^ But this embryo village has •Dae. Hist. II., HJ4- 1 Doc. His:. II., 1150, "61. % Address 0/ Dr. AT H. Mills before the Livingston County Pioneer Association, Aug. 3, J877. The same gentleman, in an address before the Livingston County Medical Society, Jan. 1 1, 1876, says the first inn was kept in 1 795- long since vanished together with the delusions of its founder.* Under the stimulus of Williamson's efficient en- deavors, seconded by the exertions of more local agencies, in the persons of those who had become land owners and interested in the progress of im- provements, accessions were rapidly made to the settlements in various parts of the county. They were, howeve! - , sensibly retarded by the unsettled state of things which existed during this period ; for, although the treaty of 1783 settled the terms of peace between England and the United States, the former government still retained possession of the fortifications at Oswego and Niagara, and other- wise menaced the young nation so recently one of its tributary dependencies, and then waging a war with the western Indians, which was terminated in its favor by the signal victory of General Wayne in 1794, in which year also the Jay treaty adjusted the hitherto unsettled question of jurisdiction over certain territory in the United States, including lands in Western New York. During this period, in 1794, an event transpired which threatened to precipitate hostilities between this and the Canadian government, which watched with a jealous regard the progress of settlement in Western New York. In that year, Capt. William- son had projected a settlement at Sodus, which proved the gravamen for a hostile demonstration on the part of the Canadian authorities, who were determined to resist it. Governor Simcoe sent Lieut., afterwards Major-General Sir Roger Hale Sheaffe of the British army, to demand that that settlement, as well as all others in Western New York, be abandoned. Capt. Williamson met the demand with an unqualified refusal, and, under the prevalent impression that the British government meditated war, active measures were instituted to put the frontier in a state of defense and to repel any invasion which might be made. Happily, how- ever, the war-cloud blew over, and the apprehen- sions of the anxious settlers were dispelled. From this period the work of colonization and improvement progressed rapidly; and "as early as the year 1796, the various settlements had begun to assume," says Capt. Williamson, "an appearance of respectability never before instanced in so new a country." In this year a Jersey settlement was made at the head of Canaseraga creek, which exhibited "instances of industry and enterprise, rare as uncommon;" printing offices were estab- • A detailed account of the founding of this village may be found in ction with the history of the town of Groveland, in the north-west corner ot" which it was located, 9 8 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. lished at Bath and Geneva, the former village- having been laid out in 179,?. in which year it con- tained fifteen families; and towards the close of the season a sloop of forty tons burden was launched at Geneva to run as a packet between that place and Catharine's Town, a small village at the head of Seneca lake. This was an event ''of sufficient importance to assemble several thousand people," and as none had previously "occurred to draw together the different settlements, the people com- posing them were not a little surprised to find themselves in a country containing so many inhabi- tants, and these so respectable. Natives of every State in the Union, and of every nation of Europe, were to be found in the assemblage, all ambitious of the same object, the aggrandizement of the (ienesee country."* "The only part of the Genesee country," adds Capt. Williamson, "that seemed, until now to have escaped the general improvement, was that contiguous to the Genesee River, below Hartford [Avon] or Canawagus ; a set of very good mills, however, have been built at the falls, and some settlers were to be found in that neighborhood, on the fertile plains by the side of the river ; but the idea of exposure to Indian depredations on a fron- tier is always sufficient to prevent the man of industry and property from settling. The luxuri- ance of the soil will not always tempt him. The moment, however, the western posts were given up to the United States, and this part of the country rendered safe, the industrious settlers turned their attention to the lands west of the river."f The emigration into this country in 1 797 exceeded that of former years, both as to numbers and respectability.! About this time a Scotch settle- ment was projected in the present town of Cale- donia, and during the succeeding few years it was joined by a considerable number of that nationality,? whose simple habits and sterling virtues were a weighty influence in the material growth and pros- perity of that region. At this time, however, the country for about twelve miles west of the Genesee to the Niagara still remained a wilderness ;|| but the extinguishment of the Indian title to the Hol- land Purchase this year gave an impulse to settle- ments in that direction. Robert Munro, in describ- ing the Genesee country in 1804, says: "From Canandarqua to Genesee River, * * the coun- * Williamson's Letter II., Doc. Hist. II., ■ ■ J7- t Doc. Hist. II., 1 141. I Williamson'* Letter III., Doc, Hist. II.. 1141. 5 Williamson's Letter 17, Doc. 11 1st. II., 1156. II Williamson's Letter I'll I.. Doc. Hist. II., 1165. try has the most flourishing appearance, that part being earliest settled, and abounds with very sub- stantial improvements, which are seldom equalled in the United States, in the pleasantness of their appearance."* At this time the price of the best unimproved lands on the east side of the Genesee was commonly from two to four dollars per acre; those on the west side sold for from one and one- half to two and one-half dollars per acre, on a credit of six to ten years. Lands which then sold for four dollars per acre, sold twelve years pre- viously for as many shillings.! Says the same author : — "A turnpike road is now completed from Albany to Canandarqua, at a great expense, which is dis- charged by tolls, and renders traveling and car- riage of produce to market much easier when the rivers are not navigable. Wagons now frequently carry loads of fourteen barrels to Albany, and return with an equal weight, and sometimes carry two tons, going and returning in fourteen days. A mail stage runs from Canandarqua to Albany in a week. " Trade is yet in its infancy and has much in- creased within a few years. Grain is sent in con- siderable quantities from Seneca lake and the Co- hocton, Canisteo, Canawisque and Tioga rivers, to markets on Susquehanna river ; and flour, potash and other produce to Albany ; and a considerable quantity of grain has for some years past been exported by sleighs in winter to the west of Albany. Whiskey is distilled in considerable quantities, and mostly consumed in the country, and is also ex- ported to Canada and to Susquehanna. The pro- duce of the country is received by the store-keepers in payment for goods, and with horses and cattle, is paid for land. Several thousand bushels of grain have been purchased in the winter beginning this year, 1804, for money at Newtown and at mills near Cayuga lake. Hemp is raised on Genesee river and carried to Albany. Droves of cattle and horses are sent to different markets, and a consid- erable number of cattle and other provisions, are used at the markets of Canandarqua and Geneva, at Niagara, and by settlers emigrating into the country. Cattle commonly sell for money at a good price, and as this country is very favorable for raising them, they will probably become the the principal articles for market ; many being of the opinion that the raising of stock is more pro- fitable as well as easier than any mode of farming. "The following is a list of prices of articles, and the rates of wages since January, 1801 : — "Wheat, from 62 cents to 1 dollar a bushel — corn from 37 to 50 cents a bushel — rye from 50 to 62 cents a bushel — hay from 6 to 1 2 dollars a ton — butter and cheese, 10 to i6centsapound — ayokeof oxen, 50 to 80 dollars — milk cows from 16 to 25 dollars — cattle for driving, 3 to 4 dollars a 100 lb., * Doc.'Hist, 11., H7», "73- t Doc. Hist. II., Il8i. POPULATION FROM 1810 TO 1S80. 99 a pair of good working horses, 100 to 125 dollars — sheep from 2 to 4 dollars — pork, fresh killed in winter, 4 to 6 dollars a hundred, and salted in spring, 8 to 10 dollars — whiskey from 50 to 75 cents a gallon — salt, 1 dollar a bushel weighing 56 pounds — field ashes, 4 to 9 cents a bushel — 600 bushels may be manufactured into a ton of pot or pearl ash, which has been sold at market at 1 25 to 150 dollars, and some persons by saving their ashes, or by manufacturing them, have nearly cleared the cost of improving the land. The wages of a laborer, 10 to 15 dollars a month, and board. A suit of clothes made at 4 or 5 dollars. A pair of shoes, 175 to 250 cents. Store goods are sold at very moderate juices, the expense of carriage from Al- bany to New York being about two dollars a hun- dred weight."* Settlements progressed rapidly till the opening of the war of 1812, which was " a complete damper to all sales of new land," and it was said "more set- tlers went out than came into the Genesee coun- try. "t The settlers responded promptly to the call for volunteers, and left the improvements many of them had so recently commenced to take up arms to repel a threatened invasion. Under the leader- ship of Gen. William Wadsworth, of Geneseo, who early tendered his services to the government, they participated in the brilliant but unfortunate engage- ment of Queenstown Heights, October 13, 1812, and were surrendered with their commander, to- gether with the fort captured in the early part of the engagement, to the British under General Sheaffe. To subsequent calls the sturdy pioneers of the Genesee Valley as promptly and generously responded, but owing to the incompetence or cow- ardice of their leader — General Smyth — their labors were mostly crowned with inconsequential results ; notwithstanding they sustained severe losses by sickness and battle. The settlements during this period were frequently troubled with serious alarms by the reported invasion of the British and Indians ; and especially was this true on the capture of Fort Niagara by the latter December 19, 1813, with the burning of Youngstown, Lewiston, Manchester, (Ni- agara Falls,) and the Indian village of Tuscarora, and the destruction of Black Rock and Buffalo in like manner on the 30th of the same month. " After the close of the war," says Hon. Augus- tus Frank, " the tide of emigration again set in for the Genesee country, and from that date until 1820 the increase of population was large, coming par- ticularly from the New England States. On the return of peace a surplus of labor, which the cur- rent prices of produce would not remunerate, "Doc. Hist., II., 11S4. nS(. t Address of Hon. Augustus Frank, "t Warsaw, Wyoming i I flooded the land. The heavy duties which had been imposed on imports for the support of the war had stimulated domestic manufactures. On the removal of these imports the country was flooded with foreign goods. Manufacturing indus- tries became stagnant, the country was depleted of specie, and the currency greatly depreciated. Un- der such circumstances it is not wonderful that * the early snows of winter showed the tracks of many naked little feet." From this period up to 1850 the population gradually increased; from 1850 to 1865 it de- clined; and since 1865 there has been a gradual increase, till at present, (1880) is has nearly reached the highest point attained, in 1850, and nearly double the population on the organization of the county. The subjoined table shows the population of the county at different periods: — 1810* 13.39° l8 5° 4°,S73 ' 82 ° t 21,305 1855 37. ,,43 1825 23,860 i860 39>546 l8 3° 27,729 1S65 37,555 l8 35 3',°9 2 l8 7° ••• --3S,3°9 i 8 4° SS' 1 * l8 75 3 S :5 lS 1S45 33,193 1 s80 39>26i The Genesee's beautiful valley attracted many sturdy and active emigrants from the comparative luxury of their eastern homes to grapple with the temporary hardships and privations incident to the settlement of a new country. A steady and healthy growth was maintained for many years ; and though Livingston cannot point to any gigantic commercial or manufacturing enterprise within her borders, she can, with just pride, refer the stranger to the no less gratifying evidences of wealth, pros- perity and contentment exhibited by the tillers of the soil, who have supplemented nature by im- proving an already beautiful country and trans- formed it from its pristine wilderness to the produc- tive and attractive farms which adorn its hillsides and gentle slopes. If we do not hear the busy hum of mechanical industry as it greets us in large and populous cities and villages, neither do we see and deplore the disparaging contrasts between affluence and poverty which the latter picture inva- riably presents. Here all are producers, and the wealth of the country is more uniformly distributed. * This is not exact, but a close approximation to exactness. It is de- signed to give the population at that period of the towns at preset posing Livingston county, asnearlyas that can be ascertained, It does not, however, include that of North Dansville, which then formed a part of Dansville, Steuben county, which then had a population of 666. t The figures for this year also embrat e the population of all the towns except North Dansville, then a part of Dansville, Steuben county, which had a populati i 1,565, HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. CHAPTER X. Internal Improvements— Routes vnd Means n which mi Pioneers reached 1 heir Wit di r ness Homes — Navigable Streams the pi bln Highways- Indian Trails Routes Indicat- ed r, Blazed Trees Improvements in the Naturai Water Ch vnnei s — Western Inland Lock Navigation Company Old Genesee Road Cayuga Bridge Seneca Turnpike Company — First Mail between Whites town and the Genesee— Williamsburgh Road — First VesselandSti vmboaton Lake Erie— The Erie Canal — Earus Spec\ lations Regarding It — Firm Survey Thereof — First Board of Can vl Commissioners — First Con- tact on Erie Canal — Construction Com- menced — The Completion Ci i ebrated — Erie Canal Enlargemeni Navigation of rai Genesee — First Canal-boat and Steamboat Thereon— Genesee Valley Canal — Prelimi- nary Measi res— Con itri i iton i\ lhorized — Its Completion — Dansville vnd Rochester Railroad — Geneseo vnd Pittsford Rail- road Attica vnd Hornellsville Railroad — l'ok i aol Bridge — Portage Riot — Buffalo and Cohocton Y m i fa Railway — Roches- ter and Genesee Valley Railroad — Gene- m \ M 1 1 \ Railroad — Avon, Geneseo and Ml. Morris Railroad — Dansville and Gen- esee Valley Railroad Compan\ — Erie and Genesei V \l I I A K VII road Sll ver I. Vkl Railroad— Canandaigua and Niagara Fai i - Railroad Rochester, Nunda and Pennsyl- \\m\ Rvii.road Rumii-mi' vnd Olnknlf Valley Canal Railroad WK turn From the fruitful and inviting subject of pioneer life to the consideration of the means by which the pioneer reached his home in the wilderness and the projects of internal improvement which subsequently engaged his attention. When the first settlers came in there was not a road in the county, nor one leading immediately to it. To the Wadsworths belong the honor oi opening the first road into its borders. There were two princi- pal routes by which the pioneers came, denomina- ted the north and south water routes — the former the Hudson, Mohawk and Seneca rivers, the latter the Susquehanna and its branches — and the navi- gable streams were the most frequented highways for some years after they arrived. Many, however, compassed the entire distance from the far New England States on foot, bringing nothing with them but an axe. Those who came with their families generally came with ox teams drawing sleds, sometimes wood shod, or covered wagons. often performing the entire journey in this manner, and frequently driving a few sheep, cattle and other animals before them. Many, however, re- sorted to this mode of conveyance only to and from the termini of the water routes ; while others, accommodating themselves to circumstances, left water routes at various points. The winter season was generally selected, as they could then reach points in the wilderness which were inaccessible to their rude conveyances at other seasons. Many, after leaving the main roads, threaded for long distances forests unbroken, except by the few scant, rude clearings made by the Indians. Blazed tiees were the forest guide boards, and by their aid the forests were traversed from one locality to another. Hut these human denizens could not prosper in their isolated settlements; they must needs open communication with each other and to points af fording a market for their surplus products, and to this end roads were indispensable and of the first importance. The pioneers first followed the Indian trails and from these branched nil into routes indicated by marked trees. The principal trail extended from the Hudson, at Albany, to Lake Erie, terminating on the site of Buffalo. It followed the Mohawk to a point about in the locality of I'tica. thence passing through Oneida and Syracuse, and near the foot of Skanealeles, Owasco, Cayuga, Seneca and Canandaigua lakes, crossing the Genesee at Avon. Its route was found to be so advantageous that subsequently the first great western turnpike was laid out mainly along its course. Two trails ex- tended along the Genesee, one on either side of the river, that on the west side following its tortu- ous windings through the Indian villages of Cana- waugus, near Avon, OAagi, a Tusearora village on the flats below Cuylerville, Big Tree, (Geneseo,) Beardstown, (Cuylerville,) Squakie Hill, near Mt. Morris, Gardeau, the home of Mary Jemison, and thence to Caneadea, in Allegany county, the last of the Seneca villages in the Genesee Valley. That on the east was intersected near Mt. Morris by trails extending up the Canaseraga to Dansville. Several other trails intersected these, connecting the numerous Indian villages within the county, and in many instances they have been perpetuated by local roads opened along their course. From an early period in English colonial history, EARLY ROADS AND NAVIGABLE WATER COURSES. 10! the subject of improving the internal water courses between the Hudson and the great lakes engaged the attention of the government. In 1724, Cad- wallader Colden, then Surveyor-General of New York, after mentioning the communication between the Oswego ( Onondaga) river and Lake Ontario, ( Cadaraqui,) intimates that Seneca river might give a more advantageous route to Lake Erie, and avoid the falls of Niagara, (Jagara,) by which the French were obliged to reach it.* This is doubt- less the first speculation in regard to an interior water communication between the Mohawk and Lake Erie ; and "was but the expression of a hope that a more safe, as well as convenient way might be found to the trade of the upper lakes than that frequented by the French, and made dangerous to the frail boats then employed in the fur trade by the storms of Lake Ontario."! In his report of that year, (1724,) Colden describes the portage be- tween the Mohawk and Wood Creek as being three miles long, except in very dry weather, when goods must be carried two miles further. This portage was obviated as early as 1766, for Carver, who tra- versed the lake country in that year, said the pas- sage between those streams was effected by means of sluices.! Li 1768, Sir Henry Moore, in a mes- sage to the Colonial Legislature, suggested as a remedy for the obstructions to navigation in the Mohawk between Schenectady and Rome, (Fort Stanwix,) sluices like those in the great Canal of Languedoc, France.* In 1784, and again in 1785, Cristopher Colles of New York city memorialized the Legislature and procured an appropriation of $125 to enable him to examine the Mohawk River, with a view to its improvement ; || and in 1786, Jeffrey Smith, a member of the Legislature, intro- duced a bill to effect this improvement, and for "extending the same, if practicable, to Lake Erie."1f Before and during the Revolutionary war, the Mohawk was navigated by bateaux of light draught and easy transport over the carrying place at the lesser falls.** In 1791, Gov. George Clinton urged upon the Legislature the necessity of improving the natural water channels, so as to facilitate communication with the frontier settlements, and in that year a law was passed to authorize the Commissioners of * Colden's Memoir-, z8. t Origin and History 0/ Erie Canal, by George Gedd X Colden's Memoir, 12. § Colden 's Memoir. II Clark's Onondaga If., !'• U Turner s Holland Purchase, 619. *• Benton's Herkimer county and Upper Mohawk Valley, "*. the Land Office to survey the portage at Rome and the Mohawk to the Hudson, for improvement by locks, and 100^ were appropriated for the ob- ject.* The survey was made by Abraham Harden- burgh, under the advice of William Weston, an English engineer.f The report of the commis- sioners was so favorable that March 30, 1792, the Legislature incorporated the ■'Western Inland Lock Navigation Company," with power to open lock navigation from the Hudson to Ontario ami Seneca lakes, to " encourage agriculture, promote commerce and facilitate intercourse between the citizens'' of the State.} The capital stock of the company was fixed at $25,000, and afterwards increased to $300,000. The improvement made consisted in the construction of locks and a canal around Little Falls, the removal of other obstruc- tions in the Mohawk, connecting that river with Wood creek by a canal from Rome, straightening Wood creek and shortening the distance over it nearly one-half, and the removal of obstructions in Oswego and Seneca rivers. These improvements, slight as they were, are said to have doubled the value of the contiguous lands, and greatly aided the settlemeat and development of the resources of. Central and Western New York. As early as 1 796, navigation was opened from Schenectady to Seneca lake for boats of sixteen tons burden, in favorable stages of water in the rivers ; but the locks, being constructed of wood and brick, soon failed, and had to be replaced by stone. In 1 8 1 3, the company had expended $480,000, towards which, in 1795, the State sub- scribed $10,000, and in 1796, loaned $37,500, taking a mortgage on the canal and locks at Little Falls..-' At a later day, a proposed canal to con- nect the waters of Mud creek with those of Tona- wanda creek, thus opening water communication between the Genesee above Rochester and the Niagara above the falls, formed a part of this scheme of internal improvements. In 1794 and '95 the State made appropriations for the improvement of the road which followed the trail between the Mohawk and Lake Erie, afterwards known as the "Ontario and Genesee turnpike," and subsequently as the "Genesee road" —the route by which the first settlers reached their homes in this 'county. The first improvements on • • ■/. i86j, 619. M mmi ionei i who had charge of the worl ' ■■•'• « " ■'■ ' rai Schuylei ... B u.yer. t Claris Onondaga 11., <'. t Benton, II*. § Ced 102 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. this road in its western course were made b\ the Wadsworths in 1790. The) pa ied over it with a cart drawn by oxen on their way to the Genesee country. West of Whitesboro they were obliged to cut away logs, build causeways, ford streams, and at Cayuga lake to construct a pontoon, using for that purpose two Indian canoes, which they lashed together and covered with poles. In 1792, the road was described as passable for wagons east from Whitestown; "but from that to the Genesee river it was little better than an Indian path, just sufficiently opened to allow a sled to pass, and the most impassable Streams bridged." "From Geneva to Canandaigua" it was "only the Indian path, a little improved the first live miles."* The Duke de Liancourt, a French nobleman, who vis- ited this country in 1795. paid it the questionable compliment of being "a good one tor this country," between Canawaugus and Canandaigua. He adds, "as usual it leads through the midst of woods. Within the space of twelve miles we saw but one habitation. " At Canawaugus. though there were but few inhabitants, he found "one of the best inns" he had "seen for some time past." It was kept by a "good civil man" named Gilbert R. Berry. March 22, 1794, three commissioners were appointed to lay out this road from old Fort Schuyler, ( Utica,) as nearly straight as possible, to the Cayuga ferry, and thence by Canandaigua to Canawaugus, on the Genesee, where the first bridge spanning that river was built in 1803 or iSoa.t In October, 1796, the consent of the Indians was gained to the opening of tins road to the Niag- ara; J and in 1797, the State authorized the rais- ing of $45,000 by lotteries, to be expended in improving various roads. Of that sum, $13.1)00 were appropriated to the improvement of this road from Fort Schuyler to Geneva.^ The inhabitants of the country through which the road passed made a voluntary offer of their services, to aid the State Commissioner, and subscribed four thousand days' work, which they performed with fidelity and cheer- fulness. By this generous and uncommon exer- tion, and by some other contributions, the State Commissioner was enabled to complete this road • Do, ■ Hut II.. no. "it \ ** On the first day of Novi G 1 A\ ; — ' Genesee bridge proposals will A hi'i S txton and Bei imin El Lt, for buiii :tween the towi I 1 1 \ m and Southampti i donia, ] in ill' com .mil 1 - in ee. 1 Canandaigi, v itory, February II, (875, ■ my Ga \ette, Ocl ' , . ' 06 § Hammond's Histor f Man Comity, iti. of near one hundred miles, opening it sixty-four feet wide, and paving with logs and gravel the moist parts of the low country through whit li it was carried. Hence, the road from Fort Schuyler * * * to Genesee, from being, in the month of June. 1797, a little better than an Indian path, was so tar improved, that a stage started from Ion Schuyler on the 30th of September, and arrived at the hotel in Geneva on the afternoon of the third day. with four passengers. Not less than fifty families settled on it in the spa four months after it was opened."* During the winter of 1798, two weekly stages, one of them a mail stage, ran between Canandaigua and Albany ;f and so great was the effect produced by the improvements made the preceding year, five hun- dred and seventy sleighs, with families, passed through Geneva within the space of five weeks.}: The Cayuga Bridge Company, consisting of John Harris, Thomas Morris, Wilhemas Mynders, Charles Williamson and Joseph Annin, was char- tered in 1797. and in 1799 commenced the con- struction of the celebrated Cayuga bridge, which was completed September 4, 1800, and speedily became the great highway of western emigration. It was for many years looked upon as one of the greatest public improvements in the State, and was considered the dividing line between the east and the west. It was about a mile long, twenty-two feet wide, and twenty-two feet between the trestles. Fighteen months were consumed and about $150.- 000 expended in its construction. It was destroyed in 1S0S, rebuilt in [812—13, and finally abandoned in 1857. Nothing is now left of it but the spiles and limbers, which are mostly hidden by the waters of the lake. The Seneca Turnpike Company was chartered in 1800, having for its object the improvement of this 101,1 The company was required to construct a road six rods wide from Utica to Canandaigua ; twenty-five feet of it. in the center, was to be cov- ered with gravel, or broken stone, to the depth of fifteen inches. They were permitted to place gates at intervals of ten miles, and exact twelve and one half cents toll for two horse teams, and twenty- five cents for four horses. The first United States mail over this road be- tween Whitestown and the Genesee was carried * // , Iter III., Due. His/., II.. II4Z, X Williamson's Letter I'., Doc. Hist. II., ir;i. § The capita] stock was Sn<\ax, in shares ol $50 each. Jcdediah Sanger, Benjamin Walker, Charles Williamson and israel Chapin were ommi THE GENESEE TURNPIKE. 103 on horseback in 1797 or '98, by a Mr. Langdon, who distributed papers and unsealed letters on the way, before intermediate offices were established. Mr. Lucas succeeded Mr. Langdon in transporting the mail, which, in 1800, had become so heavy as to require a wagon to carry it. Mr. Lucas estab- lished a sort of two-horse passenger hack and did a brisk and profitable business. The first four- horse mail coach was sent through once a week by Jason Parker, in 1803, and in 1804 commenced run- ning regularly twice a week from Utica to Canan- daigua, carrying mail and passengers. In 1804, an Act was passed, granting to Jason Parker and Levi Stephens, the exclusive right for seven years, of running a line of stages for the conveyance of passengers, at least twice a week, between Utica and Canandaigua. They were bound to furnish four good and substantial wagons or sleighs, and sufficient horses to run the same ; the fare, not to exceed five cents per mile for each passenger, with fourteen pounds of baggage. They were required by law to run through in forty-eight hours, acci- dents excepted, and not more than seven passen- gers were allowed in any one carriage, except by the unanimous consent of the passengers. If four in excess of that number applied for passage, they were bound to fit out and start an extra for their accommodation; or any number less than four could be accommodated by paying the fare of four. In 1808, a daily line was established, and afterwards several others, which were continued till the com- pletion of railroads along the line. * This road was opened to Col. Ganson's, within a mile of LeRoy, in 1798, and completed to New Amsterdam (Buffalo) as early as 1809; and in 1810, the first mail stage was run over it west of the Genesee, carrying passengers at six cents per mile. The road from the mouth of Lycoming Creek to Williamsburgh, at the mouth of Canaseraga Creek, before referred to, was the other important early highway affecting this county; and over it came the tide of emigration from the south-east, as did that from the New England States and the eastern part of this State over the one just des- cribed. This road pursued in the main the great Indian trail from the Genesee over the Alleghanies into Pennsylvania and the country of the Andas- tes, intersecting the Lake Erie and Susquehanna and Bath turnpikes, at Bath. It was located after a laborious exploration in the summer of 1792. by Captain Williamson and a party of Pennsylvania hunters, and opened in that and the succeeding •Hammond's History of Madison County, 118— Ijo. year, by " seven stout young Pennsylvanians, well skilled in the use of the ax and the rifle," under the immediate supervision of Benjamin Patterson, a notorious backwoods hunter and guide, assisted by a colony of German emigrants, numbering some two hundred, who were established at Williams- burgh under the auspices of the Pnltney Estate. ' A small portion of this road in its lower course through this county is perpetuated in the present road between Geneseo and Dansville. The rest of its course through the county was in a south- easterly direction through Groveland, across the south-west part of Conesus, the north-east part of Sparta, and through Springwater, crossing at the head of the Springwater valley. For some years after it was opened the streams were unbridged and the low marshy places unimproved. The enterprise which had the most marked effect upon the settlements of Central and Western New York was the completion of the Erie canal. It promoted the full development of agriculture, by opening up cheap and accessible markets for the surplus products of the agriculturalist. Lands ap- preciated and prices advanced. With the rapid increase in population came the demand for increased facilities for transportation. The old methods were inadequate, and for several years in the early part of the present century the minds of public men, statesmen, and those whose genius adorned the humbler walks of life, were agi- tated by this intensely absorbing topic, as the necessities of its proximate cause became more immediate and pressing. To Gouverneur Morris is due the credit of first broaching the subject of connecting the waters of Lake Erie with those of the Hudson, a thought which took form in his brain as early as 1777,! arR l found more tangible expres- sion in 1S00, in December of which year, he wrote his friend, Tohn Parish, then of Hamburgh, and in descanting on the glories of Lake Erie, which he visited in that year, he said : — " Here again the boundless waste of waters fills the mind with renewed astonishment ; and here, as in turning a point of wood the lake broke on my view. I saw riding at anchor nine vessels, the least of them 100 tons.J Can you bring your imagina- * See history Town of Groveland. t Hosaek's Memoir, z5°- tThe first vessel on Lake Erie— the Griffon— vt i by the adventurous Cavalier de la Salic in 1679, and leu her am nearthe foot of Squaw Island, in Niaga reached Washington Island, al a storm on the return . year, togelhei cargo, which, with the v v.-. 000 or 60,000 francs. The Building and Voyage of the Griffon, by O. H. M The tir^t steamboat on Lake Erie was the ll'alhin the Vafcr.which \*as launched at Black Rock. May 18. 1818, and wrecked near Buffalo on the night of Oct. it, "S2.I. D(X. Hist. III.. 1194. Buffalo Com tistr. Nov. - 1 104 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. tion to realize this scene ? Does it seem like magic ? Vet this magic is but the early effort of victorious industry. Hundreds of large ships will in no distant period bound on the billows of these inland seas. At this point commences a navigation of more than a thousand miles. Shall I lead your astonishment to the verge of incredulity? I will. Know then that one-tenth of the expenses borne by Britain in the last campaign would enable ships to sail from London through Hudson's River to Lake Erie."* In 1S03, in a conversation with Simeon DeWitt, who was then and had long been Surveyor-General of this State, Mr. Morris adverted to the long cher- ished " project of tapping Lake Erie and leading its waters, in an artificial river, directly across the country to Hudson's river ;" but DeWitt, with his intensely practical mind, regarded it as a chimeri- cal scheme, and related it on several occasions in a spirit of levity, among others to James Geddes, a surveyor, who, in 1794, moved from Pennsylvania with the facilities for manufacturing salt, and loca- ted near the Onondaga salt springs, from whence, in 1804, he was sent to the Legislature. Mr. Geddes was strongly impressed with the idea, and untiringly pursued his investigations in regard to the nature of the intervening country, thus acquir- ing data which not only made him an ardent advo- cate of the project, but enabled him to create a public sentiment in its favor, so that it was made a political issue, and in April, 1807, Judge Joshua Forman, of Onondaga county, was elected to the Assembly as the representative of its advocates and supporters, October 27, 1807, the first of a series of articles from the pen of Jesse Hawley appeared in the On- tario Messenger, over the signature of Hercules, strongly advocating the construction of the canal. March 21, 1S08, in consonance with a resolution previously introduced by Mr. Forman, the Assem- bly passed a bill instructing the Surveyor-General "to cause an accurate survey to be made of the rivers, streams and waters, (not already accurately surveyed,) in the usual route of communication between the Hudson river ami Lake Lrie. and such other contemplated route as he may deem proper, and cause the same to be delineated on charts or maps for that purpose accompanying the same, with the elevations of the route, and such explana- tory notes as may be necessary for all useful infor- mation in the premises." The Senate concurred April 6th, and on the nth of that month six hun- dred dollars were appropriated to carry out the pro- visions of the resolution. * Hosack'i Memoir, M7- Upon James Geddes was devolved the task of making these surveys; and January 20, 1809, he submitted his report to the Surveyor-General, who afterwards wrote that it marked out a route " almost precisely in the line which, after repeated, elaborate and expensive examinations, has been finally adop- ted," and thus was "the fact satisfactorily estab- lished, that a canal from Lake F.rie to Hudson's River was not only practicable, but practicable with uncommon felicity."* The favorable report of Judge Geddes silenced much local opposition, and induced the Legislature, March 15, 1810, to unanimously authorize the or- ganization of a Board of Commissioners consisting of Gouverneur Morris, Stephen YanRensselaer, De- Witt Clinton, Simeon De Witt, William North, Thomas Eddy and Peter B. Porter. May 8, 181 1, Robert R. Livingston and Robert Fulton were added to the commission, who were empowered to employ engineers to make further surveys, and to apply to the National and State governments for aid. I une 19, 1812, the commission was authorized to purchase all the right and interest of the West- ern Inland Lock Navigation Company, with cer- tain provisos, and to borrow five millions of dol- lars to be used in the construction of the canal ; but the ensuing war necessitated a suspension of operations, and April 15, 1814, the law authorizing this loan was repealed. The project was revived in the fall of 1815, and in March, 181 7, the new board of commissioners, con- sisting of Stephen Van Rensselaer, DeWitt Clinton, Samuel Young, Joseph Ellicott and Myron Holley, made an elaborate report, and from revised esti- mates placed the cost at $5,000,000. April 15, 18 1 7, the bill which established the canal policy of the State passed the Legislature, after a sharp and talented controversy. The Canal Commissioners were authorized by that law to commence constructing the canals from Lakes Erie and Champlain to the Hudson. The first contract for the Erie canal was made June 27, 1817, with John Richardson, of Cayuga county; and the first spadeful of earth was raised at Rome, with appropriate ceremonies, July 4, 1817. Ninety- four miles of canal, including the lateral branch to Salina, were completed in the autumn of 1820, on the middle section; and Oct. 26, 1825, it was fin- ished the entire length, a distance of three hundred and sixty-three miles, at a cost of $7,143,789.! * Canal Laws, [., 40, ■»■• . Engine, <- Report, 1878, p. 85. COMPLETION OF THE ERIE CANAL. I0 5 The final completion of the canal was a signal for an outburst of the wildest enthusiasm along its entire length, and the event was celebrated with imposing ceremonies at New York and other points on the 4th of November, 1825. As the first boat,* with Governor Clinton on board, entered the canal at Buffalo, on the morning of October 26th, the fact was signalled to New York by means of cannon previously stationed at intervals of a few miles along the entire length of the line and down the Hudson. Within the first decade after its completion the necessity for its enlargement was felt, and this work, which was ordered May n, 1835, was com- menced in August, 1836, and completed in Sep- tember, 1862, at a cost of $36,495,535. This improvement reduced its length from 363 miles to 350^ miles; changed the number of locks from 83, each go by 15 feet, to 72, each no by 18 feet; reduc- ing the number of feet of lockage from 675.5 to 654.8; increased the width at the top from 40 to 70 feet, and at the bottom from 28 to 56 feet, and the depth from 4 to 7 feet ; and increased the burden of boats from 75 to 220 tons. The difference in length was occasioned by a change in route in various places. The completion of the Erie canal exerted a marked influence on the industries of the counties bordering upon it, and measurably benefited those more remote from it. To Livingston county it was only the prelude to and precursor of a subsequent enterprise, which brought within the reach of its citizens the full fruition of its advantages. The tedious, toilsome and unreliable water route to that great artery was still, as formerly, its chief depend- ence. The Genesee was navigable for boats be- tween Mt. Morris and Rochester from an early day, but up to the time of the building of the Erie canal the regular commercial navigation between these points was not more frequent than once in two weeks. In May, 1824, the canal boat Hazard, the pioneer of its craft on the Genesee, and owned by Sanford Hunt, of Nunda, made the passage of the river, carrying a load of pine lumber, ashes. &c, from Nunda to Albany ; and in July of the same year, Captain Bottle, with the steamboat Erie Canal, first navigated the Genesee by steam, making the trip from Rochester to Geneseo. The event was suitably recognized by the citizens of * This was the fust after the completion of the canal. The first packet boat, the Oneida Chief, of which George Perry, a resident of Sullivan, Madison county, was captain, commenced running between Utica and Montezuma, in July, 1S10. Three" trips were made each week, each trip occupying two days. The fare, including board, was$+. The following year the canal was open to Schenectady. Geneseo and Avon, as it stopped at the latter place on its way up the river. The day following his arrival at Geneseo, Capt. Bottle acknowledged the compliment of the generous reception given him by taking a large company of ladies and gentlemen on an excursion up the river. Subsequently a stock company, in which citizens of this county were interested, attempted the navigation of the river between Rochester and Geneseo with the Genesee, a stern-wheel steamboat of small capacity, designed to carry passengers and tow river boats ; but the enterprise proved unsuccessful, and it was abandoned after two seasons, during the first of which the boat was commanded by Captain Wil- liam W. Weed, and the second, by Capt. John Dallson. Immediately on the completion of the Erie canal measures were taken by the residents of the Gene- see valley to improve the water communication with it ; and the idea of a canal as a substitute for river navigation early took definite shape. In the spring of 1825, a bill authorizing a survey for a canal in the Genesee valley was introduced in the Legislature, but failed to receive the sanction of that body. June 15, 1825, Phillip Church, Daniel H. Fitzhugh, William H. Spencer, Ira West, Jon- athan Child and Heman Norton issued through the columns of the Livingston Register, a call for a public meeting of those interested in the construc- tion of a canal along the Genesee and Canaseraga valleys, also from the Genesee to some point on the Alleghany. The movement thus auspiciously begun, notwithstanding the continued agitation and the many meetings subsequently held in various places in its interest, did not receive official encouragement until 1834, when surveys were authorized and made, and the cost of construction estimated by F. C. Mills, the chief engineer engaged in it, to be $2,002,285.* The construction of the Genesee Valley canal was authorized May 6, 1836,1 and the contracts awarded therefor during the three succeeding years. * The estimated cost at contract prices was $4,900, 122. Report of the Stale Engineer and Surveyor of the Canals oftlie State, 187?, p. 96. t It is proper to state that a respectable and influential minority advo- cated with much ability the improvement and use of a part of the river in connection with the canal, for the reason that, as they believed, it would effect a " saving of more than a quarter of million dollars to the State, and At the same time render greater facilities to trade at a period of inter- rupted navigation in the spring and fall, when a canal, sup] from the summit level of the Genesee Valley canal, would be locked with ice," A public meeting held in the court house at Geneseo, Dec. '' . 18 j6, was largely attended by citizens 1 \.>m, Geneseo and York, but from which those from the southern towns in the county were conspicu- ously absent, and Calvin H. Bryan, George Hosmer, Allen Ayrault, Charles Colt, Joseph B. Bloss and Elias Clark were appointed to present and urge these views on the attention of the Legislature. io6 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. It was completed to Dansville, November i, 1842; to Olean, in November, 1856; and to Mill Grove pond, connecting with the Alleghany, (to which point its extension was authorized in 1857,) in December, 1861. Its completion to the various points within the county was hailed with enthusi- astic demonstrations of joy. The entire length of the canal, with side cut, was 124J miles. The total cost of the canal and reservoirs was $6,433,842. It was 42 feet wide at the top and 26 feet at the bottom, with a depth of four feet, giving it a capac- ity for boats of 50 to 55 tons burden.* It had 1 1 2 locks, each 90 by 15 feet, with a total lift of 1,128,875 feet ; 28 were built of stone, at a cost of $10,000 each ; 73, of composite, at a cost of $8,000 each, and 11, of wood, at a cost of $5,000 each. Eight of these were on the I )ansville branch, eleven miles in length, with an aggregate lift of 82.6 feet. This canal extends from Rochester to Mill Grove pond, near the Pennsylvania line, and enters Livingston county in the northeast corner of the town of Caledonia. Thence it extends in a south- westerly direction on the west side of the river, which it crosses at Mt. Morris, thence following the Cashaqua valley to Nunda, where it deflects to the west till it again reaches the river, which it crosses on a wooden aqueduct, forty feet high, at Portage- ville, where it leaves the county. The Dansville branch intersects it at the Shaker settlement, in the south-west part of Groveland, and pursues a south- easterly direction to Dansville, crossing the Cana- seraga at Comminsville. The most difficult and expensive portions of the work were encountered between the Dansville branch junction and Portageville. The original plan included, besides deep cuttings, heavy rock excavations, the aqueduct across the Genesee and a tunnel through the high hills near Portageville ;f but such were the obstacles encountered in the latter undertaking that the project was abandoned after much expensive labor had been performed on it. The following description of the tunnel appears in Disturnelts Gazetteer of the State of New York, published in 1S42, while that work was in progress : — "The trunk of the tunnel is to be 27 feet wide. 20 feet high and ',180 feet in length; the entire excavation * * *, including the gallery, shafts and lateral drifts, will amount to more than 25,000 * Report of t/i£ Stale Engineer unit Surveyor on the Canals of tke State, 187s. p. r. Lauderdale, " by a number of the physicians of the county, upon consultation, that the interests of the profession and the community at large, requires a reorganization of the Society ; and an invitation was extended through the papers to the physicians of the county, to meet in Geneseo, on the 28th day of September, for the purpose of re- organization." In accordance with this call the following named physicians convened at the American Hotel, Gen- eseo, viz. : D. H. Bissell, T. Morse, J. B. Pur- chase, A. L. Gilbert, S. I.. Endress, W. E. Lauder- dale, William C. Dwight, W. H. Sellew, E. \Y. Patchen, B. L. Hovey, Z. H. Blake, A. W. Mercer, A. H. Hoff, L. J. Ames, B. F. Fowler. Dr. A. H. Hoff was chosen chairman, and B. F. Fowler, sec- retary. Committees were appointed to draft by- laws and medical ethics, officers were elected for the ensuing year, and a committee appointed to select suitable persons to prepare addresses on medical subjects to be read at subsequent meetings. The meetings of the Society continued to be held regularly until 1858. There is no record of a meeting from January 7, 1858, to January 7, 1864. At the latter meeting a new fee bill to correspond with the times was adopted. Two fee bills had been previously adopted, one in May, 1S57, and the other June 28, 1842. This meeting was attended by Drs. Bissell, who was called to the chair, Nesbitt, Wells, Ames, G. II. Bennett, William Sprague, Ellis, Vickery, and J. A. Bennett. The next meeting recorded was held July 24, 1867, and was attended by Drs. Blake, Patchen, Ferine, Purchase, Bennett, Ellis, Lauderdale and Chase. Dr. Lauderdale, as senior member, was called to the chair, and Dr. Chase appointed sec- retary. Drs. Perine, Purchase, Bennett and Blake, were appointed a committee to draft resolutions, and after a recess of fifteen minutes reported as follows : — Whereas, The Livingston County Medical Society has failed to meet for a term of years ; therefore, Resolved, That we request the secretary to call the members together for an annual meeting on the 18th of September, 1867." A new fee bill was adopted in January, 1868, and another in June, 1873. In 1874, the Legislature in a measure put up the barriers taken down in 1844, so far as to dis- criminate against quackery, but not against regular schools of medicine. Practitioners are required by the law of 1874 to have a license from a medical society or to be a graduate from a medical college. May 29, 1880, an Act was passed by the Legisla- ture requiring medical practitioners to register in the County Clerk's office, on or before October 1, 1880, their name, residence, place of birth and authority for practicing. Both these laws make illegal practice punishable by fine or imprisonment or both. The following gentlemen* have served the Society as president : — Charles Little 1821, 1835. Justin Smith 1822. Caleb Chapin 1823. Charles Bingham 1824, 1829. E. Hill 1825, 1828. Samuel Daniels 1826, 1827. Cyrus Wells, Jr 1 830. Andrew Sill 1831. Daniel H. Bissell 1832, 1837, 1S39. E. P. Metcalf 1S34, 1836. S. Salisbury, Jr 1835, 1840. Joseph To/.ier 1838. Gilbert Bogart 1841. William H. Reynale 1842, 1867. John S. Graham 1843. Ellis 1868. I :. ( ',. Chase 1869. \V. 11. Alley 1870. C. H. Richmond 1872. F. M. Perine 1873. R. J. Menzie 1874. B. J. Kneeland 187s. J. E. Crisfield 1880. Following is a list of the names of members who •This list may not be Complete, as llie records themselves are very incomplete. LIVINGSTON COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY. "3 have joined the society since its organization, as far as they can be ascertained from the records. The right hand column of dates represents the time when they joined the society ; the left hand column, the time they filed copies of their diplomas in the County Clerk's office at Geneseo : — Alley, Wm. B., Nunda, as early as 1870. Alvord, Ariel, l &33- Alvord, Milton, 1828. June 24, 1828. Ames, Loren J., Mt. Morris, 1843. June 27, 1843. Baker, Milan, Benedict, Avery, 1822. Bennett, Geo. H, Lima, Jan. 7, 1864. Bennett James A., Geneseo, . do. Bingham, Chas., Mt. Morris,. 182 1 Bishop, Eben H., June 30, 1829 Bissell, Danl. H., Moscow, .. 1823. 1822 Bissell, Danl. P., Moscow, ... 1828. Jan. 29, 1828 Blake, Geo. M., Dansville, . . . Blake, Z. H., Dansville, Sept. 28, 1853 Bogart. Gilbert, Mt. Morris,! .1831 June 30, 1829 Bosley, Geo. H., Geneseo,. . . Bowers, J. R., Mt. Morris, . . 1828. June 24, 1828 Briggs, Chas. A., Avon, 1877 Brockway, C. C, Avon, Brown, Goit, Butler, Wm., Lima, 1837. June 26, 1838. Butler, Wm. C, Avon, 1842. June 28, 1842. Byam, L. W., Geneseo, Camp, Abraham Campbell, A. C, Sparta, .... Campbell, Alex, Campbell, Duncan, Caledonia, Campbell, LA., Campbell, John, Livonia 1823 Campbell, Jno. A., Lima, .... 1829. Carman, Samuel, Livonia,. . .1828. June 24, 1S28. Caton, Peter T., Livonia, .... 1839. June 30, 1840. Caulkins, T. N., Chafee, C. C, Allegany Co., (hon'ry) June 28, 1842. Chapin, Caleb, 1822. 182 1. Chase, Enos G., Geneseo, ... July 24, 1867. Chikls, Ebenezer, Mt. Morris, June 30, 1840. Clark, Josiah, Caledonia,. . . . 1827, Jan. 29, 1828. Clarke, Joel W., Livonia,. . . . 1829, Jan. 26, 1830. Coe, Wm. H., Avon, Calvin, Jonathan, Cook, Lyman N., Sparta, .... 182 1. Craig, John, York 1841. June 30, 1840. Craig, John Reid, York, Jan. 25, 1842. Crandall, Amos, Jr., Livonia, . 1834. Jan. 31, 1832. Cressy, Alonzo, Lima, 1829. June 28, 1830. Ciisfield, J. E., Dansville,. . . . Culbertson, Isaac W., Grove- land, Currie, John, Caledonia, .... 1823. Jan. 26, 1830. Daniels, Samuel, Livonia, ... 182 1. May 29, 1821. Davis, Aaron, Mt. Morris,... June 28, 1842. Davis, Kendall, Moscow, .... Day, Asel, Sparta, 1824. Day, E.C., 1822. Dayton, David D., Hopewell, N. Y., 1844. June 25,1844. June 29, 1841. June 26, 1838. June 28, 1842. Jan. 31, 1832. DeCamp, William H., Denton, L. A., Moscow, 1877. Dewey, Horatio H, 1846. Dildine, C. T., Dansville, .... Drake, Israel, 1852. DuRelle, Geo. O. J., York, .. 1839. June 25, 1839. Dwight, Wm. C, Moscow, . . . 1824. June 30, 1829. Dyke, I. A. M., York, 1877. Ellis, S. G., Lima, Ellis, Samuel L., Jan. 7, 1864. Endress, Samuel L., Dans- ville, 1829. Jan. 27, 1829. Ensworth, Jared D., Avon,. . . 1821. May 29,1821. Fenn, Horatio N., 1823. Jan. 6, 1824. Ferris, Lewis G., Mt. Morris, June 30, 1840. Filkins, J. G., York, Findlay, Solomon B., 1823. Fitch, Graham N., Caledonia,i835. June 25, 1833. Foote, Henry K., Conesus, . ..1830. June 28, 1830. Fowler, B. F., Geneseo, Sept. 28, 1853. French, Elkanah, Livonia, ... 182 1. May 29, 1821. Gaillick, Thaddeus, Gallantine, Samuel, Mt. Mor- ris, 1842. June 27, 1843. Gates, H. S., 1835. June 28, 1836. Gibbs, Anson A., Livonia, . . . Gilbert, Augustus L., Mt. Morris, 1852. Sept. 28, 1852. Gilmore, John, Nunda, Graham, John S., York, 1829. June 28, 1830. Grant, Abraham, 1829. June 28, 1830. Graves, Geo. W., Gray, Arnold, Springwater, .. 1827. June 26, 1827. Gray, John W., Avon, Gray, Joel, Geneseo, June 29, 1841. Gray, Orlando S., Springwa- ter, 1835. Green, James, York, June 28, 1825. Green, Jay L., Livonia, Green, Wm. T., Livonia,. . . . 1827. Hale, Thara, 1822. Hanson, Benajah, York, .... 1829. June 24, 1828. Harris, Francis L., Geneseo,i829. June 26, 1832. Higgins, David C, 1825. Hill, Eli, Livonia, 1823. May 29, 1821. Hoff, Alexander H, Mt. Mor- ris Sept. 28, 1852. Holloway, Wm., York, 1823. 1822. Hovey, Bleeker L, Sparta, .. 1842. June 28, 1842. Hudnutt, Isaiah B. Jr., West Sparta, 1837. June 30, 1835. Hume, Julius M., Conesus,. . 1835. Jan. 28, 1834. Hunt, Hiram, Mt. Morris,. .. 1825. Jan. 30, 1827. Hunt, John S., Sparta, 1842. June 28, 1842. Huntington, T. R., Mt. Mor- ris, Hurd, Isaac W., Sparta, 1829. June 30, 1829. Jinks, James E., Avon, Jones, Geo. H, Fowlerville, . 1878. Joslyn, Z. H, Mt. Morris,. .. Kelsey, Robert, June 26, 1838. King, John M., , 1834. Kneeland, Benj. F., Nunda,. as early as 1875. Landon, J. C, Geneseo, 1825. June 28, 1825. H4 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Lauderdale, Edward, drove- land Lauderdale, Walter E.,Sparta,i828. Jan. 27, 1829. Lauderdale, Walter E., |r., Geneseo, Leonard, John W., York,. . ..1821. May 29, 1821. Little, Charles, Avon, 1821. May 29, 1821. Little, Geo. W., Lima, 1823. June 24, 1823. Long, Josiah, York, 1840. June 29, 1841. Losey, J. B., Conesus, Luce, Charles T., 1S23. 1 ,uke, Philip C, !833. Lyon, Lockwood, Groveland,i829. June 30, 1829. Manning, J., Mason, Truman E., •835, June 30, 1835. Mc Arthur, P. S., Mt. Morris, Mclntyre, A. F., York May, 1853. Mc Master, James, Livonia, ..1826. June 24, 1828. McMillen, David, Conesus, ..1823. 1822. Mcl'herson, Thomas, l &33- Meacham, E. H. G., Mt. Morris, June 27, 1843. Meacham, Wm. ('.., Geneseo, Menzie, R. J., Caledonia,. . . as early as 1874. Mercer, Alfred W., Syracuse, . Sept. 28, 1852. Merriam, Harvey R., 1840. Metcalf, Elias P., Geneseo, .. 1828. Jan. 27, 1829. Minard, Isaac, !837- June 25, ' s 39- Morey, George, Avon, Morgan, Charles F., Morse, T., Sept. 28, 1852. Moyer, Frank H., Moscow,.. Munson, Wra. Beers, Mt. Morris, June 28, 1830. Nesbitt, Win., Avon, Jan'y 7. i.Sdi. Northrop, James, Norton, John B., Springwater, 1827. Paine, Zina G., York, l8 3S. June 28, 1831. Palmer, Asa R., 1823. 1822. Patchen, Edward W., Livonia, June 30, 1840. Patchen, Robert A., Livonia, Patterson, J. C, Livonia,. . . Peck, Enoch, York, 1826. Jan'y 6, 1824. Peckham, P. B., Perine, F. M., Dansville, July 24, 1867. Perry, Abijah E., 1828. Jan. 29, 1828. Potter, E. A., Mt. Morris, . ..1830. Potter, Wm. W., Mt. Morris, Pratt, O. S., Dansville, Purchase, J. B., Conesus, Sept. 28, 1852. Purdy. Wm. S., Lima 1834. Jan. 28, 1834. Reynale, Wm. H., Dansville, 1826. June 26, 1827. Richmond, Chas. H., Livonia, as early as Jan., 1875. Rider, Ebenezer 1844. Robinson, J. H, Conesus,. .. 1827. Jan. 29, 1828. Rogers, S. C, Lakeville, . . . . Rowland, M. F., ( lenesco, . . Royce, Phineas 1823. Sabin, J. B., Nunda, Salisbury, Samuel, Jr., Axon, .1829. June 28, 1831. Seaman, Fzekiel 1834. Sellew, Wells H., Moscow... Sept. 28, 182S. Seymour, Levi Dwight, Lei- cester 1842. June 28, 1842. Sheldon, H. P., Livonia 1880. Shepard, Lester G., 1S23. 1822. Shull, D. L, York, Sill, Andrew. Livonia, 1826. Jan. 30, 1827. Smith, Athelstan W., Spring- water 1841. Jan. 26, 1841. Smith, Geo. M., Smith, Jacob K., Moscow,... Smith, Justin, Lima, 1S21. May 29, 1821. Southwick, Wm. W., Avon, .. Southworth, Samuel, Avon,. . Sprague, Wm., Jan'y 7, 1864. Sprague, Wm. B., York, Staley, Jacob G., York, Stickney, Frederick R.. York, June 29, 1841. Stickney, T. R., Fowlerville, . Sept. 9, 1878. Stillwell, Danl. C, Livonia, ..1S35. June 28, 1831. Thomas, Wm. H, Mt. Mor- ris, Jan. 26, 1 84 1. Townsend, Absalom, Cuyler- ville, 1843. June 27, 1843. Townsend, Wm. A., 1821. 1821. Tozier, Joseph, York, 1824. Jan. 27, 1829. Truesdale, Norman, Tyler, J an 'y 6, 1824. Tyler, Royal, York, 1S24. May 29, 1824. Upson, S., Nunda, Van Dike, J., York, 1877. Vickery, Wm. H, J an '}' 7, 1864. Wallace, Walter, 1838, June 30, 1840. Ward, David, Warner, Chas. P., Nunda,. . . Weeks, Joseph, Sparta, June 28, 1S42. Wells, Cyrus, Jr., Geneseo, .. 182 1. May 29, 1821. Wells, Harlow W., Caledonia, 1842. June 28, 1842. Whitbeck, J. F., Avon, 1835. June 30, 1 835. Whitney, Wm., Mt. Morris, ..1840. June 30, 1S40. Wynn, Wm. W., Yale, Asahel, Dansville, 1829. June — , 1824. The present officers of the society (Dec. 1, 1880,) are : — President — J. E. Crisfield, Dansville. Vice President — J. G. Filkins, York. Secretary — George H. Jones, Fowlerville. Treasurer — W. E. Lauderdale, Jr., Geneseo. Delegate to State Society — J. W. Gray, Avon. Delegates to National Association — D. H. Bis- sell and W. E. Lauderdale, Sr., of Geneseo, and /.. W. Joslyn, of Mt. Morris. Delegates to Central New York Society — J. E. Crisfield, W. K. Lauderdale, Jr., J. W. Gray, J. G. Filkins and George H. Jones. Censors — B. T. Kneeland, Z. W. Joslyn, W. E. Lauderdale, Jr., and B. J. Menzie. The Homeopathic Medical Society of Livingston Co. — The therapeutics of the homeopathic school of medicine is founded on the theory of sintilia similibus curantur. The principle was discovered by Samuel Hahnemann, who was born in Leipsic, in the Province of Saxony, April 10, 1755. He was an accomplished and skillful practitioner of the old school of medicine, and having proved certain HOMEOPATHIC MEDICAL SOCIETY. "S remedies upon himself and others, he abandoned a lucrative practice under government patronage, at Gommeon, near Magdeburg, on account of con- scientious scruples against administering drugs according to the vague formulas then in use, and in 1796, first enunciated the principles of home- opathy, the practice of which he commenced in his native place. He was soon driven from thence by the bitter opposition he encountered, to Paris, where he met with success and secured converts, among whom was Dr. Hans B. Gram, of Copen- hagen, an American by birth, who, having won the highest grade of merit in the Royal Academy of Surgery in that city, came to New York in 1825, and introduced the new practice into America, con- tinuing it in that city till his death in 1840, three years previous to that of his preceptor, Hahne- mann, who died in Paris in 1843. It spread rapid- ly, notwithstanding the prejudice and bitter oppo- sition against it, and was first introduced into Liv- ingston county in 1848, by Chauncy M. Dake, a celebrated physician, who located in Geneseo, where he practiced fourteen years. He went to Pittsburgh, Penn., and died in Springwater. Previous to 1857 homeopathic societies exist- ed as informal associations only, having no legal status. April 13, 1857, the Legislature authorized the formation of homeopathic county medical so- cieties, with equal privileges and immunities en- joyed by similar so-called allopathic associations. April 17, 1862, the Legislature passed an Act to in- corporate the Homeopathic Medical society of the State of New York. Under that act a reorgani- zation was effected whereby county societies then existing became auxiliary to the State society, and the following year it was formally inaugurated. The Homeopathic Medical Society of Livingston County was organized under the Act of 1857, at a meeting convened at the Court-house in Geneseo, on Tuesday, December 1, 1857, pursuant to no- tice issued by Drs. C. A. Dake, I. J. Mechem and C. M. Dake, November 18, 1857. Dr. I. J. Me- chem was appointed chairman pro tempore, and W. R. Wells, chosen secretary. After resolving to organize under the above name, for "the advance- ment of the science of medicine," the following named officers were chosen : — C. M. Dake, Gene- seo, President; I. J. Mechem, Nunda, Vice Presi- dent; W. R. Wells, Mt. Morris, Secretary; I. J. Mechem, Nunda, Treasurer. By-laws and regula- tions for the government of the Society were then adopted. These provide for an annual meeting to be held on the first day of December in each year, (except that day be Sunday, in which case it is to be held on the Saturday next preceding it,) and for extra meetings on the written application of a ma- jority of the officers or members. College gradu- ates and medical licentiates "acknowledging the Homeopathic Law of Cure, and by the Censors found qualified to practice Homeopathy," are eli- gible to membership on payment of an initiation fee of five dollars. Provision is made for the ap- pointment, at the annual meetings, of a committee, "whose duty it shall be to propose drugs for trial, and aid in the augmentation and improvement of the Materia Medica." A fine of five dollars is im- posed on members absenting themselves from meetings of the Society without satisfactory excuse; and it is made the duty of each member to write dissertations or cases in practice, and report the same at the annual meetings. Applicants for license are required to undergo an examination by the Censors, and present them with a written statement from one or more respectable practition- ers of medicine in this State, certifying to their good moral character, and to their having pursued the study of "physic and surgery" for the term required by law. Each applicant passing a satis- factory examination is entitled to a diploma ; but is required to pay ten dollars, to be divided equally among the Censors making the examination. The code of medical ethics adopted by the "Al- lopathic State Medical Society" in February, 1823, was, " with a few alterations," adopted by this So- ciety, after which the following additional officers were elected : — C. M. Dake, I. J. Mechem and W. R. Wells, censors ; A. A. Hendee, Geneseo, at- torney ; C. M. Dake, delegate to American Insti- tute of Homeopathy; I. J. Mechem, delegate to the Homeopathic Medical Society of the State of New York, which, though not incorporated until 1862, was organized in 1857. The following named persons were then elected "permanent and taxable members," C. M. Dake, M. D., Geneseo, I. J. Mechem, M. D., Dr. A. L. L. Potter, Nunda, and W. R. Wells, M. D., Mt. Morris ; " honorary member," Hon. Allen Ayrault, Geneseo; "corresponding members," Constantine Herring, M. D., Prof. W. Williamson, M. D., Philadelphia, Pa., D. M. Dake, M. D., and Prof. J. P. Dake, M. D., Pittsburgh, Pa., S. R. Kirby, M. D. The following named gentlemen have served the Society in the capacity of president : C. M. Dake, 1858, 1862 ; J. M. Blakesley, i864-'66 ; J. N. An- derson, 1S67-70; J. W. Dake, 187 1-3; James A. West, 1874,1876; Herbert M. Dayfoot, 1875; G. n6 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. R. Traver, 1877, '79/80; I. H. Dix, (now in Kan- sas,) 1878; WW. Russell, 1881. The society now hold annual meetings in June, at which the officers for the ensuing year are elected, and semi-annual meetings in December. Following is a list of the names of additional members who have joined the society, with the date of joining, the names of the present members being italicised: J. M. Blakesley, Dansville, and A. L. L. Potter, Geneseo, 1862 ; Milton H. Halsted, Geneseo, M. G. Davis, Perry, C. A. Dake and Jabez W. Dake, Warsaw, and F. C. Fitch, Castile, 1863 ; James . L West, Geneseo, O. D. Hamilton, Fowlerville, D. F. Dake, Mt. Morris, 1864; J. N. Anderson, Dansville, and A. A. West, Fowlerville. 1865; Herbert M. Dayfcot, Mt. Morris, 1867 ; / T. Bettis, Livonia, 1869 ; Isaac H. Dix and Henry A. Whitfield, Dansville, and T. P. Tisdale, Lima, 1870; W. H. Thomas, Mt. Morris, 1871; C. C. Curtis, Nunda, (now at Dunkirk,) and G. R. Tra- ver, Perry, June 23, 1874; Cyrus Allen, Avon, and C. D. Woodruff, Lima, June 20, 1876; F. J. M. Whiteomb, Nunda, June 19, 1 S 7 7 ; IV. IV. Russet/, Hemlock Lake, and C. W. BrownanA P. P. Andrews, Dansville, June 9, 1878; E. W. Southall, Geneseo, Dec. 9, 1879; G. T. Borden, Caledonia, and C. C. Gifford, Attica, June 8, 1880. The Livingston County Agricultural Society. — The Livingston County Agricultural Society was organized in 1841. On the 25th of May in that year, the following named farmers of York, "feel- ing a deep interest in the cause of Agriculture," and desirous of exerting themselves for its promotion ; and believing that if the plan suggested in the "Act to promote agriculture," passed Mays, '841, were carried into effect, it would " be attended with the most salutary consequences," requested the clerk of the county to cause notice to be given, in conformity to said Act, that a meeting of the inhab- itants of this county would be held in the court house at Geneseo, on the first day of July follow- ing, at 10 o'clock, A. M. This request was signed by John Holloway, David Piffard. James Doud, Holloway Long, Wm. Craig, Duncan Stewart, John Stewart, Archibald Mclntyre, Robert Vallance, John Donnan, Daniel McKercher, John Campbell, Erastus Lawrence, Geo. N. Russell, J. B. Harris, Roswell Stocking, Allen S. Wyman, Otis Presby, Miles Torrey, Erastus Harris, A. S. Martindale, James Gilman, Neil Stewart. Robert Wait, George Blake, J. B. Bloss, James Hamilton and John Hamilton. S. P. Allen, then county clerk, gave the required notice May 29, 1841, and in conforming with this action a meeting was held at the time and place designated. General Wm. A. Mills was chosen chairman and Colonel Samuel W. Smith, secretary. It was " resolved that it is expedient to form an agricultural society for the county of Livingston." General Micah Brooks, Colonel Holloway Long, Felix Tracy, C. H. Bryan and John Holloway were appointed to draft a constitution for the Society, which, after being debated and amended, was adopted at the same meeting. The constitution states the object of the Society to "be the promotion of agriculture, horticulture and household manufactures." The payment of one dollar on admission and one dollar annually thereafter during the continuance of membership, was and is the only requirement for membership; and by the payment of ten dollars on admission any person can become a life member. The officers were made to consist of a president, three vice-presidents, a recording secretary, a correspond- ing secretary, a treasurer and twelve managers, one from each town, who together constituted the execu- tive committee. They were elected annually and had power to till vacancies in their own body. The present by-laws state that "the object of the society is the advancement of agriculture, horticulture, mechanic arts and household industry." The present officers consist of a president, vice-presi- dent, secretary, treasurer and six directors, who are elected in the manner prescribed by section 5 of "an Act to facilitate the formation of agricul- tural and horticultural societies," passed April 13, 1855. They "constitute a board of managers for the general administration of the business of the society." In addition there are town committees, consisting of one from each town, elected or appointed at the annual meeting of the officers, who " superintend the affairs of the society in their respective towns, under direction of the board of managers." There may be appointed annually a geologist and librarian ; * also a registrar of stock, whose duty it is to register " the pedigrees of such thorough-bred animals as may be presented for entry." The following named officers were then chosen : Wm. A. Mills, president; Holloway Long, James S. Wadsworth and Daniel H. Fitzhugh, vice-presi- dents ; C. H. Bryan, recording secretary ; C. R. * We find no record of an election to either of these offices until Janu- ary 1. 1S60, when John V. Lauderdale was elected to both. This, we believe, is the only instance in which the former office has been filled, and the latter but one additional time. LIVINGSTON COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. "7 Bond, corresponding secretary ; Allen Ayrault, treasurer ; Micah Brooks, Mt. Morris, S. W. Smith, Sparta, C. H. Carroll, Groveland, W. H. Spencer, York, W. W. Wadsworth, Geneseo, W. W. Woos- ter, Leicester, Hector Hitchcock, Conesus, Edward A. LeRoy, Caledonia, Asahel Warner, Lima, H. S. Tyler, Springvvater, Leman Gibbs, Livonia, and John E. Tompkins, Avon, managers. The following named persons then paid each one dollar : — David Shepard, Chas. Shepard, Hollo- way Long, J. B. Harris, W. W. Wooster, J.Worth- ington, ]). Warner, Jr., P. E. Baker, J. W. Merrill, J. White, Jr., Samuel Vance, P. Goddard, C. H. Bryan, Robert Crossitt, O. D. Lake. R. L. Blake, S. P. Allen, M. Brooks, Wm. A. Mills, O. Skinner, Cornelius Shepard, Reuben Squier, S. W. Smith and John Holloway. At a meeting of the executive committee, (the first one recorded,) Aug. 3, 1S41, the following town committees were appointed : Geneseo, Cornelius Shepard, Jr., Reuben Squier, Chas. Colt; Mt. Morris, Alfred Hubbard, Wm. D. Morgan, Moses Barron; Sparta, Charles Shepard, Wm. Scott, Wm. Fullerton, Morgan Hammond; Groveland, W. W. McNair, John White, William Ewart ; Lima, Asahel H. Warner, Jasper Marvin, Samuel Stevens ; Livonia, James Campbell, John Adams, Ruel L. Blake ; Springwater, Parker H. Pierce, Horatio Dyer, Zenas Ashley; Conesus, John Henderson, Timothy DeGraw, Jotham Clark ; Lei- cester, W. T. Cuyler, Jerediah Horsford, Allen Smead; Caledonia, Ephraim Lacy, Th. H. New- bold, John McKay; Avon, John Kelsey, Asa Now- len, Ira Merrill ; York, John Holloway, James Dow, Wm. Craig, John Russ, Wm. Stewart, James B. Harris, Angus McBean. At this meeting it was resolved to hold the an- nual fair at Geneseo, October 2 2d, and to award forty-five specified premiums, ranging in value from two to fifteen dollars, and aggregating two hundred and forty-nine dollars, to the persons exhibiting the best specimen of each article or thing for which the premiums were offered. In addition, provision was made for " discretionary premiums," to be awarded to exhibitors of "articles not enumerated. and which for their excellence or peculiar qualities" might in the judgment of the committee be entitled thereto. For this object forty dollars were appro- priated. At the first annual meeting, Oct. 22, 1841, no less than five premiums were awarded to David Brooks of Avon, four to Reuben Squier of Gene- seo, and three to Chas. Colt of Geneseo. Several received two ; and of the entire number awarded, eight went to exhibitors from Avon ; two to Cale- donia ; thirteen to Yoik ; seven to Mt. Morris ; one to Groveland ; twenty-one to Geneseo ; four to Leicester; two each to Lima and Sparta ; and one to Jonathan Miller, for the best yearling colt, not designated. David M. Smith of Avon, received the highest premium — fifteen dollars — for the best bull, two years old and over. There were five pre- miums of ten dollars each ; of which David Brooks of Avon received one for the best cow, and another for the best stallion ; Roswell Root of York, one for the best pair of working oxen; Wm. A. Mills of Mt. Morris, one for the best pair of fat oxen ; and Wm. A. Mills, Jr., of Mt. Morris, one for the best pair of matched horses. Encouraged by the patronage of the Legislature and by the citizens of the county, the executive committee signified their intention "to offer pre- miums for the promotion of the objects of the institution, on the occasion of the second anniver- sary, to the utmost extent of their means." Noticeable among the premiums of that year is one of ten dollars (the highest paid that year) for the best cultivated farm of fifty acres or more, which was awarded to Angus McBean of Caledonia. At this meeting a plowing match was inaugurated, the object of which was "to exhibit for public benefit the comparative excellence of our best ploughs and ploughmen ; not to try the strength or speed of the teams, but to excite a laudable spirit of emulation and improvement in the construction and use of this most important agricultural imple- ment." This took place on the 5th of October, " in the presence of a large concourse of specta- tors." Premiums of five dollars were offered for the best work done by an ox team and the best by a horse team ; but none was awarded for the former. The latter was awarded to David McDonald. At the annual meeting of 1845, it was decided to hold the next cattle show and fair, which till then had been held in Geneseo, at Avon. The exhibition at this place — September 24, 1846 — was pronounced one of the most interesting of the kind ever held in the county. "The display of working cattle was very large and highly creditable to the farmers of the county." though the variety of farming utensils was not as large as had been ex- hibited on former occasions. "The ladies sus- tained their part of the exhibition with the greatest credit." This part of the fair was held in the Academy building, and the room in which it was n8 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. held was " elegantly decorated," and the articles for exhibition " skillfully arranged.'' There was a very large variety of domestic and fancy articles, fruits and flowers, Richard Johnson, of Groveland, exhibiting seventeen varieties of apples. At the meeting of 1848, which was held at Mt. Morris, a resolution was adopted, " expressing the sense of the society that its interests would be bet- ter promoted by the selection of a suitable place and making it a permanent location for the annual fair." In 1849,* the county seat was designated for this purpose; and in 1850, Mr. J. S. Wads- worth generously offered the society the use of eight acres, near the court house, for show grounds, free of rent for five years, upon condition that the society fence and put the ground in order. This offer was ac- cepted and measures taken to adapt it to the use of the society. A track for the trial of horses was constructed this year in the new grounds. August 18, 1855, Lyman Turner, Charles Jones, I Hezekiah Allen, David Skinner, Henry V. Colt and Wra. dishing were appointed to obtain ' grounds for holding the annual exhibitions of the society, and to ascertain the cost of fencing the same and erecting thereon suitable fixtures, includ- ing at least one permanent building, and in case they should find that the cost thereof would not ex- ceed $1,800, they were authorized and required to make and erect such fixtures and building without unnecessary delay. The committee procured a lease for twenty-one years of the grounds hitherto occupied by the society in Geneseo, together with lands adjacent thereto, north and east, containing in all about fourteen acres, mostly a grove, afford- ing shade for stock, at an annual cost of $30. During this year the land was inclosed with a fence, costing $676.63 ; an agricultural hall, 40 by 80 feet, with 16 feet posts, admirably fitted up for the ex- hibition of domestic manufactures, was erected at a cost of $1,393.53, and a trotting course for the trial of horses, one-third of a mile in length, which, in the opinion of the committee, the interests of the society demanded without delay, laid out at a cost of $316.17. although it was not strictly included in their trust. The whole was completed in time for the annual fair of that year. July 4, 1865, ahorse fair was held under the auspices of the Society, and at that time premiums were offered for the first time, we believe, for a * In this year the members ot" the society numbered 1JJ, as follows : — Avon, z6 ; Caledonia, 4 ; Com 13 neseo,8i; Groveland, 15; Leices- ter, zi ; Lima, 8; Livonia, 6; Mt Morris, 10; North Dansville. 4, Nunda, 1; Portage, 3 ; Sparta, ) ; Springwater, none; West SpartaSi York, 5} ; The number of membei . 141, test of speed for trotting and running matches. The highest premium in the trotting match — $150 — was awarded to D. Mahoney, of Geneseo; the second — $50 — to Geo. YV. Pond, of Roches- ter ; and the third — $25 — to O. C. Seymour, of the same city. C. W. Wadsworth, of Geneseo, was awarded the first premium — $50 — in the running match. Various other premiums, ranging in amount from $5 to $20, were also awarded. In 1880, the Society gave the Geneseo Driving Park Associa- tion permission to build a half-mile track on the fair grounds. This work is now in progress. The annual meetings of the Society have been held with interest and without a single omission, and since the grounds now in use were first leased, in Geneseo. The following named persons have been promi- nent as stock raisers in the county: — David Brooks, Jasper Barber, Aaron Barber, Aaron Bar- ber. Jr., C. Kelsey, F. B. Pierson, D. Hilliman & Son, Asa Nowlen, Wm. T. and Norman Chappell, D. B. Whaley, H. S. Sherman, Avon; Henry Simpson, A. Hollenbeck, Caledonia ; Solomon Hitchcock, Geo. F. Coe, S. L. Fuller, Conesus; Allen Ayrault, W. W, Wadsworth, Lyman Turner, Mrs. Elizabeth Wadsworth, Chas. Colt, Chas. Shep- ard, Jr., |. S. Wadsworth, C. W. Wadsworth, Gur- doii Nowlen, Geneseo; Wm. D. Fitzhugh, \V. T. Curtiss, Judge Chas. H. Carroll, Ozro Clark, Grove- land; W. Elliott, W. W. and W. B. Wooster, Lei- cester ; Richard Peck, T. Steele, Horace Warner, Z. Longyer, Lima; C. A. Jackman, A. C. Bennett, Livonia; James Conklin, (who in 1S50, exhibited a cow with triplet calves,) Wm. A. Mills, J. R. Murray, Jr., Mt. Morris; E. S. Ashley, Nunda; Geo. W. and Chester Root. Lyman Casey, C. Powell, Holloway Long, I.. Tryon, Israel Casey, James Gillmore, D. Piffard, Abram Stocking, A. M. Hardy, York ; and the following as Horticulturists: — Benjamin F. and Robert F. McMillen, Conesus; C. Golt, Mrs. W. W. Wadsworth, J. S. Wadsworth, Daniel Bigelow, Robert Clark, Geo. Mercer, Prof. R. A. Waterbury, Geneseo; C. H. Carroll, Groveland; Peter Patterson, Col. J. Horsford, John Sheldon, A. W. Wheelock, Chas. Jones, Geo. B. Francis, Leicester; Shepard P. Morgan, Lima; Geo. W. Battorf, Livonia; D. McKee, John Henner, (who was awarded eleven of the eighteen premiums for vegetables in 1853,) Geo. A. Green, Henner & Parker, Dr. R. W. Wells, Mt. Morris; Dr. F. M. Perine, North Dansville. Sa\s an author, unknown to the writer: — "To a deceased citizen of this village, [Geneseo] LIVINGSTON COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 119 we believe, belongs the credit of first conceiving the idea of a mowing machine. About the year 1835 or '36, the late Wm. W. Wadsworth conceived the idea of constructing a machine for mowing, and he had a machine constructed after his plan, but we believe it did not work well, though it was doubt- less the first attempt to construct a machine. The machine of Mr. Wadsworth embraced a square frame, underneath which was a circular revolving plate, to which was attached short knives, and when in motion the plate revolved, bringing the knives in contact with the grass. Above the plate was a grind-stone in such position that the knives sharpened themselves as they passed beneath it. The machine was tried several times, but we be- lieve was never made to work satisfactorily, and after a while was abandoned. This, doubtless, was the first attempt to cut grass with a machine, and was, so far as we know, the starting-point from which emanated the great variety of mowers and reapers that have since been perfected, and which have done so much to lighten the labors of the farmer." The following named gentleman have served the society in the capacity of president: — Wm. A. Mills, Mt. Morris, 1841; James S. Wadsworth, Geneseo, 1842, 1861 ; Holloway Long, York, 1843; Wm. H. Spencer, York, 1844, 1867-8; W. W. Wadsworth, Geneseo, 1845; Asa Nowlen, Avon, 1846; Allen Ayrault, Geneseo, 1847; John R. Murray, Jr.,* Mt. Morris, 1848; Jedediah Hors- ford, Leicester, 1849; Chas. H. Carroll, Grove- land, 1850, 1863, 1864; Chas. Colt, Geneseo, 1851; Robert Rome, Geneseo, 1852; Chauncey R. Bond, Geneseo, 1853-4; Aaron Barber, Jr., Avon, 1855; Chas. Jones, Leicester, 1856; G. W. Root, York, 1857; Richard Peck, Lima, 1858; Alonzo Bradner, Dansville, 1859-60; Jasper Bar- ber, Avon, 1862; Craig W. Wadsworth, Geneseo, 1865-6; Aaron Barber. Jr., Avon, 1869-70; James W. Wadsworth, Geneseo, 1871-2; R. F. McMillan, Conesus, 1873-4; Hugh Wilson McNair, Sparta, 1875-6; Wm. A. Wadsworth, Geneseo, 1877-8; Jotham Clark, Jr., Conesus, 1879-80. The Livingston County Stock Association. — Liv- ingston county early acquired a wide celebrity for its choice herds of blooded cattle and other stock. About 1836, the first important importation of Durham stock was made into the county, though the Messrs. Wadsworth had previously introduced a few head among their own herd. In that year Edward A. LeRoy and Thomas Newbold imported the bull "Cadmus" and the cow " Lady Morris," which were then considered very choice stock. In * Resigned. George T. Olyphanl, elected Feb. J, 1848, and resigned Feb. 8, 1S48. Both resignations were based on the assumption that the office should be filled by a practical agriculturist. Jedediah Jl was elected July 1, 1848. 1840, David Brooks, of Avon, introduced into the county about forty head of thoroughbred and grade Durhams, including the famous bulls " 1 >e- fiance "and "Red Jacket," and the cow "Betsey Blossom," portraits of which may now be seen in the office of the estate of W. \Y. Wadsworth, in Geneseo. About 1841 or '2, Mr. Brooks added to his stock the renowned bull "Splendor," and the cows "Moss Rose" and "Cleopatra." About the same time the late Gen. James S. Wadsworth bought the imported "Rockett" bull. The pro- geny of this stock are yet marked in the appear- ance of some of the present stock, and traced back to them. Soon after Mr. Sotham introduced a herd of Herefords.* From this time until 1853 nothing further seems to have been done to stimulate improvements in this direction. At the close of the fair of the Liv- ingston County Agricultural Society in 1853, "the formation of an association for the purpose of importing blooded cattle for the improvement of the stock in this county, was discussed at some length by a number of the largest and most suc- cessful stock raisers of the county, and resulted in the appointment of Messrs. James S. Wadsworth, Allen Ayrault and C. H. Carroll, as a committee to mature a plan and call a meeting of the farmers at this place at an early day. Those present seemed fully convinced of the necessity of such a move. All admitted that the stock of this county instead of improving had for the last three or four years remained stationary."! This action resulted in the formation of an asso- ciation for the above purpose, October 2 2d of that year, with a capital of $8,000. Any person was eligible to membership on the payment of fifty dol- lars, and thus secured the privilege of preference in the use of the stock imported, which was to be sold at public auction, the purchasers pledging themselves to retain it in the county for at least three years from the time of purchase. The asso- ciation made choice of the following named officers: James S. Wadsworth, President; Daniel H. Fitzhugh, Secretory ; Allen Ayrault, Treasurer ; Charles H. Carroll, Aaron Barber, Wm. A. Mills, Robert Rome, Geo. W. Root and Richard Peck, Directors. In furtherance of the object of the association, David Brooks, of Avon, and Samuel L. Fuller, of Conesus, repaired to England in January following » Short-Horns in the Genesee Valley— Their History in L :: Comity, by Wm. A. Brodie, of Geneseo, in American Rural Home, Vol. I , No. I. .Ian 7, 1871. Livingston Ret ' « tobei 6, <*U HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. for the purchase of stock. They carefully selected and purchased twenty-four head, which were shipped the following spring to America ; but unfortunately one-half the number were lost during a long and stormy passage. The remaining twelve were sold June 27, 1854, but at a figure which resulted in a small loss to the association. Many of the fine herds now owned in Livingston county are the progeny of this importation. Soon after this the celebrated bull " Governor " and two cows were sent to this country. " ' Gov- ernor ' and his stock are too well known by stock men in Western New York to require special men- tion." In 1857, Mr. Brooks again did good service in introducing the bull " John O'Gaunt" and cows "Lady Rose" and " Dairymaid." Richard Peck, of Lima, was largely instrumental about this time in improving this class of cattle by introducing, with J. W. Taylor, some very fine blooded animals from Kentucky. Aaron Barber, of Avon, also aided largely in the same direction, and in the same way. In 1864, General James S. Wads- worth purchased the bull " Reynolds," of Mr. Alex- ander, the celebrated Kentucky stock breeder, "and there is much good stock in Geneseo and adjoining towns which attest his worth as a stock getter." A Kentucky bred bull was introduced about this time by Aaron Barber, and is credited with much good stock, known as the "Red Duke," which has been exhibited at Livingston county fairs. Since then the late Craig W. Wadsworth and James W. Wadsworth, especially the latter, have been conspicuous in their efforts to improve the stock in Livingston county, and have succeeded, adds Mr. Brodie, "in placing her in the van as the producer and exhibitor of the very best grades of cattle. Twenty years ago, but few farmers pos- sessed an animal other than of the common kind, but to-day almost everyone has some choice stock." The Livingston County Historical Society. — The initiatory steps to organize the Livingston County Historical Society were taken by a few persons in Dansville in December, 1875. An adjourned meeting was held at Mt. Morris in Jan- uary, 1876, and attended by L. B. Proctor, of 1 ).msville, Norman Seymour and Dr. M. H. Mills, of Mt. Morris, Richard Peck, of Lima, George W. Root, of York, and E. P. Fuller, of Grand Rapids, Mich., formerly of this county. Dr. M. H. Mills was chosen chairman and Norman Seymour, secre- tary. The officers chosen for the year 1876 were, Dr. D. H. Fitzhugh, president ; Dr. James Faulk- ner, William Scott, Adolphus Watkins, Dr. D. H. Bissell and Deacon John McCall, vice-presidents ; Norman Seymour, secretary; Hon. B. F. Angel, Dr. M. H. Mills, Samuel P. Allen, L. B. Proctor, Richard Peck and George W. Root, executive committee. The secretary, in compliance with the request of the Centennial Commission, prepared a historical address, which was delivered July 4, 1876, at Geneseo. February 13, 1877, the society met at the rooms of the Hook and Ladder Com- pany in Mt. Morris, and perfected its organization by incorporating under the statute. A constitution and by-laws were adopted, and the following named officers chosen: Dr. D. H. Bissell, Geneseo, pres- ident ; Dr. M. H. Mills, vice-president ; Norman Seymour, secretary and treasurer ; L. B. Proctor, Dr. L. J. Ames, Dr. I). H. Fitzhugh, George W. Root, Samuel P. Allen, Hon. B. F. Angel, Richard Peck, John F. Barber, E. H. Davis, councilmen, or board of administration. The constitution declares that "the general ob- ject of the Society shall be to discover, procure and preserve whatever may relate to the history of Western New York in general, and Livingston county and its towns in particular, and to gather such statistics of education and population, growth and prosperity, and business of this region as may seem advisable or of public utility." Members are required to pay an admission fee of one dollar and an annual due of like amount, except resident clergymen, who are exempt from the payment of dues. The payment of ten dollars at any one time constitutes a life membership, ex- empt from all annual dues. The annual meetings of the Society are held the second Tuesday in January, at such place as the president may desig- nate, and at such hour as the secretary in the notice of such meeting may name. At the annual meeting in 1878, a place was ten- dered the Society in the Wadsworth Library build- ing in Geneseo, for depositing its books, maps, charts and relics. The annual meetings of the Society have been regularly held at Geneseo during the last three years, and have been made both interesting and instructive by addresses and other literary ex- ercises. The successive presidents are : Dr. D. H. Fitz- hugh, 1876; Dr. D. H. Bissell, 1877-8; Dr. M. H. Mills, 1S79; Hon. William M. White, 1880. Livingston County Pioneer Association. — This as- sociation was organized at Long Point, on Satur- day, September 9, 1876, having objects kindred to those of the Historical Society, and made choice THE PRESS OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. of the following named officers : Dr. D. H. Bissell of Geneseo, president ; H. Tilton of Leicester, and M. Willard of Avon, vice-presidents; S. P. Allen of Geneseo, recording secretary ; Oscar Woodruff of Geneseo, corresponding secretary. Committees of three from each town in the county were subse- quently appointed as follows: E. H. Davis, I. R. Newman and Fred Pierson, Avon ; Deacon J. Mc- Call, Peter Campbell and Alexander Ferguson, Caledonia ; S. Morris, H. Boyd and Jotham Clark, Conesus ; W. E. Lauderdale, Geo. W. Barney and John White, Geneseo ; Daniel H. Fitzhugh, Sam- uel Vance and Richard Johnson, Groveland ; James A. Bolton, E. W. Sears and W. B. Wooster, Lei- cester; W. A. Bristol, Richard Peck and A. T. Norton, Lima ; W. Wheeler, O. Remington and Henry Dixon, Livonia; Dr. Z. Joslyn, Jacob Chil- son and N. Foote, Mt. Morris ; H. McCartney, George Hyland and Geo. A. Sweet, North Dans- ville ; J. V. D. Coon, H. D. Page and E. O. Dick- inson, Nunda ; I. Hampton, W. M. White and L. C. Lemen, Ossian ; John Fitch, J. D. Lyon and J. D. Bennett, Portage ; John Shepard, Win. Wilbur and John Campbell, Sparta ; O. Walbridge, D. Norton and A. Snyder, Springwater ; L. B. Field, J. W. McNair and C. W. McNair, West Sparta ; G. W. Root, Neil Stewart and B. F. Dow, York. The meetings of the association are held annu- ally at Long Point and are always largely attended. The Livingston County Bible Society was organ- ized at the court house in Geneseo, January 28, 1824, as an auxiliary to the American Bible Soci- ety, and made choice of the following officers : James Wadsworth, president; Chas. H. Carroll and Jeremiah Riggs, vice-presidents ; Augustus A. Bennett, recording secretary; Rev. Norris Bull, cor- responding secretary ; Orlando Hastings, treasurer; George Hosmer, Avon, Willard H. Smith, Cale- donia, Samuel Chapin, Jr., F/ecporf, (Conesus,) Eben E. Buell, Geneseo, James Rosebrugh, Grove- land, Orrin Gilbert, Lima, Leman Gibbs, Livo- nia, Dr. Asa R. Palmer, Leicester, Jonathan Beach, Mt. Morris, William McCartney, Sparta, Alvah Southworth, Springwater, and William James, York, directors. The society, during its long and useful existence has distributed thousands of Bibles, the entire county having several times been canvassed for this purpose, and a copy left, often gratuitously, in every home where it was found wanting. Its annual meetings have been occasions of deep interest. At the last, recently held in Gen- eseo, the following named officers were chosen for 1881. A. J. Abbott, president ; Rev. J. E. Kitt- ridge, corresponding secretary ; L. R. Doty, record- ing secretary ; John Davidson, treasurer; Dr. Win. J. Milne, Col. John Rorbach, Dr. L. J. Ames, Dr. W. E. Lauderdale, Rev. O. S. Chamberlayne, exec- utive committee. Theo. E. Winans, Avon ; Rev. D. F. Bonner, Caledonia ; John Magee, Conesus ; E. F. Curtis, (leneseo ; Fort Benway, Groveland ; Rev. E. W. Sears, Leicester ; Rev. W. H. Milham, Livonia ; Rev. O. Gibson, Lima ; Rev. Mr. Wil- bur, Mt. Morris ; Rev. Mr. Hill, North Dansville ; Rev. A. Sutherland, Nunda ; Hon. William H. White, Ossian ; Chas. D. Bennett, Portage ; James Brownell, Sparta ; E. N. Curtice, Springwater ; Hugh T. McNair, West Sparta ; Hon. Arch. Ken- nedy, York, vice presidents. CHAPTER XII. The Press ok Livingston County — Origin of the Press — The American Press — Its Mar- velous Growth— Early Journalism in Living- ston County — The First Newspaper in Liv- ingston County — The Union and Constitu- tion — The Livingston Republican — The Dansville Express — The Laws of Life and Journal of Health — The Nunda News — The Dansville Advertiser — The Mount Morris Enterprise — The Livingston County Herald — The Union Citizen — The Caledonia Advertiser — The Springwater Enterprise — ( >bsolete Papers. IN this chapter we have to consider what has been very appropriately termed the " art of arts ;" " the art preservative." It is to be regretted, how- ever, that the art which has given us so fully the history of other enterprises is so deficient in that of its own. In view of the immense influence exerted by the press, whose power, says Douglas Jerrold, " is as boundless as that of society," it may not be inap- propriate to preface its history in this county with the following account of its origin : — "Among the millions who are in the habit of consulting the columns of a newspaper, doubtless there are few, comparatively, who are acquainted with its origin. According to D'Israeli, we are in- debted to the Italians for the idea; although in ancient Rome, reports of important events, and the doings of the senate, were frequently published, under the title of Acta Diurna. The periodical press proper, commenced at Vienna and Augs- burg, Germany, in 1524; these bulletins were, 122 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON' COUNTY. however, not printed. About the year 1563, at the suggestion of the father of the celebrated Mon- taigne, offices were first established in France, for the purpose of making the wants of individuals known to each other. The advertisements received were posted on the wall to attract attention ; as in the case of the Romans, this ultimately led to a systematic and periodical publication of advertise- ments in sheets. The epoch of the Spanish Arma- da, is also the epoch of the first orthodox newspa- per ; although we are told by Chalmers, and it is often repeated, to the wisdom of Elizabeth and the prudence of Burleigh, we are indebted for the first English newspaper, yet it is also claimed that the first English newspaper was the Liverpool Mercurie, begun May 28, 1576, forty-five years after the Gazetta at Venice. It is also said, on very good authority, that the copies of The English Mercurie in the British Museum are forgeries. The circum- stance of their being printed in the modern Roman character, instead of the black letter of that period, (1588,) awakens suspicion of their authenticity. During the reign of James I., newspapers in the quarto form were occasionally issued ; but during the thirty years' war, when the exploits of Gustavus Adolphus attracted the eyes of the civilized world, we find a regular weekly paper edited by Nathaniel Butler, and published under the title of 'The Cer- tain Newes of this Present II 'eric,' which may be regarded as the first regular weekly newspaper.* During the civil war in England in 1643, there was, however, a score of the ' Diurnals' and ' Mercuries' in circulation. So important an auxiliary was the press considered, indeed, that each of the rival armies carried a printer along with it. In the reign of Queen Anne, in 1702, there was but one daily paper published in London, the others being weekly issues. Steele introduced politics as an essential element of the press, and Addison sought to devote it to purely literary purposes ; the result has been the establishment of distinct vehicles for both.f The first journal having the character of a magazine or review, was the Journal ties Savants established in Paris in 1693 ; in England, the first monthly of this sort appeared in 1749. From these simple elements has grown up an engine whose potency and influence is now felt throughout all classes of the civilized world." \ The first printing press in America was set up in Mexico, in 1536; the second was at Lima, in 1586; and the third, and the first in the L-nited States, at Cambridge. Mass., in 1639. The first Ameri- can newspaper was issued at Boston, September 25, 1690. It was published by Benjamin Harris, and printed by Richard Pierce, and was intended to be published once a month, but was immediately suppressed by the authorities. The only copy •" The first regular series of weekly newspapers hitherto discovered was entitled, 'T/ir IVeekly Newes Jrotn Italy, Germanie, etc ,' " > 1612.) \edia. Article on Prints t "lite first literary paper, the Mercurius Itibrarius, was published in i68o"—/bid t Typographical Miscellany, 60. known to exist is in the State Paper office in Lon- don, and is headed " Publick Occurrences, both Foreign and Domestick." The " Boston News Letter," published by John Campbell, appeared April 24, 1704, and was continued weekly until 1776. October 16. 1725, William Bradford, who founded the ''American Weekly Mercurie" at Philadelphia, December 22, 17 19, commenced the "New York Gazette," the first newspaper in the city indicated by its name. Daily newspapers did not make their appearance until the eighteenth century. The first daily morning newspaper was the Daily Cot/rant, in 1709.* The press of this country has had a marvelous growth. In 1840, there were in the whole United States but sixteen hundred and thirty-one news- papers of all kinds; now we have over seven thou- sand. The circulation of all the newspapers in 1840 was one hundred and ninety-five million copies a year; but now it is over two thousand millions, more than ten times greater than in 1840, and an annual average increase in over forty years of about thirty per cent. But in the gain in the size of sheets now published, in the amount, quality and variety of matter, in the number of the illustrations, in the quality of the paper and the perfection of the letter press, the progress has been still greater. In the number of newspapers pub- lished, the United States are far in advance of any of the older nations. We issue more newspapers than the four principal nations of Europe, viz: — Great Britain, France, Germany and Italy, not- withstanding one of them exceeds us in population, and a second is inferior in this respect by only an inconsiderable amount, while the other two closely approximate us. This fact is important as show- ing the reading habits of our people as compared with those of Europe. The progress in this county is, in a measure, in- dicated by Samuel P. Allen, the veteran publisher of The Livingston Republican, who. in the retros- pect of the history of that paper on the completion of its fortieth year says: — "It was in the office of the Register^ in 1830, that we first saw a printing press and types, and gradually learned to use them. The old office was the building now occupied in part by the United States Express Company, which then stood in the rear of Deacon Gardiner's cabinet shop. The old 'Ramage' press had then been super- seded by Hoe's iron presses, upon which two pages of newspaper could be printed at a single * The A merican Cyclopedia. A rticlt on Printing. t'rin wa the name under which the Genesee Farmer, the first paper in Living I on its removal to Get THE PRESS OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. I2 3 'pull.' With the 'Ramage' it took two, and the papers were worked at the rate of 200 to 250 per hour by a fast pressman, but this was then re- markable speed. A cylinder press was scarcely known in the cities, while now steam power and steam presses are very common in country offices. There were only two papers in the county, the 'Register' and the 'Journal,' and the weekly edi- tions were distributed over the county by post- riders. * * * Instead of the post-rider, as formerly, who would be two or three days in pass- ing over his route, we send the ' Republican ' by railroad into nearly every town within a few hours after it leaves the press." There are now twelve papers, all weeklies, and one medical monthly, published in the county,* viz: The Livingston County Herald, by E. H. Davis, Avon ; the Caledonia Advertiser, by A. H. Collins, Caledonia ; The Livingston Republican, by Samuel P. Allen, and The Union Citizen, by Dr. Alonson L. Bailey, Geneseo ; the Lima Re- corder, by A. Tiffany Norton, Lima; The Livonia Gazette, by C. M. Alvord, Livonia ; The Union and Constitution, by William Harding, and The Mt. Morris Enterprise, by Geo. M. Shull, at Mt. Mor- ris; The Dansville Advertiser, by A. O. Bunnell, and The Dansville E.\press,hy Woodruff & Knapp, at Dansville; The Nunda News, by C. K. Sanders, Nunda ; The Springwater Enterprise, by H. S. Niles, Springwater, and The Laws of Life and Journal of Health, by Our Home Hygienic Insti- tute, at Dansville. The first newspaper in Livingston county was the Genesee Farmer, which was established and the first number issued February 6, 1817, by Hezekiah Ripley, at Moscow, which was then the most important village in the county. Franklin Cowdery soon after became associated with Mr. Ripley in its publication, at which time the paper was enlarged and its name changed to the Moscow Advertiser and Genesee Farmer. Within the year Mr. Ripley again became its sole publisher, and changed its name to the Afoscow Advertiser, under which title he continued it till January 8, 1824, when it passed into the hands of James Percival, who removed it to Geneseo, where the county seat had been located, and changed the name to The Liv- ingston Register, which, in an enlarged form, became the advocate af the Bucktail party. Inci- dent to the excitement produced by the abduction of Morgan in 1826, in the adjoining county of Genesee— an event which exerted a marked and wide political influence — it became an anti-masonic paper ; and subsequently it espoused the cause of * In addition to this a paper styled The Avonian is published at War- saw. the Whigs. In 1829 the paper became the prop- erty of Anson M. Weed and Allen Warner, who published it in company till the death of the former in 1831, when it again passed into the hands of Mr. Percival, who, in 1832, sold it to Elias Clark, from whom it was purchased in 1834 by Wm. H. Kelsey and Richard M. Miel, the latter of whom became the sole proprietor in 1S35. Mr. Miel, being dissatisfied with the support it received from the Whig party, converted it into a Democratic paper, but soon after sold it to D. S. Curtis, who discontinued it in 1837. It was soon after revived and published a short time by Hugh Harding, who was succeeded by John Kempshall, who published it till the close of the presidential campaign of 1840, when the material was sold and removed to Perry. This pioneer newspaper of Livingston county presented a marked contrast with those published within her borders to-day, the latter of which fur- nish some of the best specimens of country news- paper work in the State, and are creditable alike in their literary character and mechanical execution. It was a small four-column sheeet, printed on coarse paper in ungainly large type, and was prin- cipally filled with foreign and legislative news, official documents and promiscuous advertisements. Like all the papers of that period it contained little or no local news. The Livingston Journal, the second paper in Livingston county, was started in Geneseo, April 11, 1820, by Chauncey Morse, and became and was conducted as an opposition paper to its prede- cessor. Asahel Harvey was subsequently associ- ated with Mr. Morse in its publication. In 1829, Levi Hovey became the proprietor. He was suc- ceeded in 1831, by Benjamin C. Denison, who was previously connected with The Ullage Chron- icle, of Dansville; and in 1S32, by Evans & Wood- ruff. Denison changed the name to the Livingston Courier. In the fall of the latter year Henry F. Evans became sole proprietor. It was subse- quently published for a short time by Wm. J. Ticknor, and was suspended in 1834. The Village Chronicle was commenced in Dans- ville, in 1830, by David Mitchell and Benjamin C. Denison, who conducted it as an independent paper till April 12, 1S31, when Denison withdrew and assumed the control of the Journal, published at Geneseo. Mitchell converted it into an anti- masonic advocate, and soon after changed the name to The Village Record; but it was soon dis- continued. 124 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. The Mount Morris Spectator was established Jan i, 1834, by Hugh Harding, who came here from Dansville, where he had been employed in the office of the Chronicle. The office was located in a quaint wooden building, which occupied the site of Yeoman's drug store in the Empire Block. February 2, 1848, it was united with the Livings- ton County Whig, which was started in the same village in 1843, by Geo. B. Phelps, who published it about six months and sold it to James T.Norton, by whom it was continued until this consolidation was effected. At this time the name was changed to The Livingston Union and its publication was continued by Harding & Norton till 1849, when the latter removed to Geneseo and assumed the management of The Livingston Republican. In 1846, Mr. Norton, while publishing the Livingston County Whig, printed in connection with it a daily — The Mount Morris Daily Whig — which was discontinued after three months (from June to August) as an unprofitable venture. In February, 1862, Mr. Harding purchased the Constitution, published in Geneseo, and united the two papers under the name of The Union and Constitution, under which it has since been published at Mt. Morris. In 187 1, Mr. Harding sold the establish- ment to David Frysinger from Pennsylvania, who continued it eight months, and sold it to William Harding, a son of its founder, who issued his first number July 16, 1872, and has since continued its publication. The paper has been thrice enlarged. It is an eight-column paper — twenty-six by forty inches ; is published every Thursday ; and has a circulation of about one thousand. It was started as a neutral paper, but became a Whig organ when that party was formed. When the American party was in power here it was the advocate of its prin- ciples, and since the disbandment of that party has been allied with the Democracy. The Dansville Times was published in 1835, by D. C. Mitchell. The Livingston Democrat was started at Gen- eseo in the autumn of 1835, by David Mitchell and Wm, H. Kelsey, (who purchased the establishment of the Livingston Journal, then recently suspended,) and published in the interest of the Whig party. Mitchell soon withdrew ; and Kelsey continued its publication till the spring of 1837, when it suc- cumbed to adverse circumstances. The Livingston Republican was established at Geneseo, September 19, 1837, at the solic- itation, and under the auspices of, the Whig party in this county, by Samuel P. Allen, who pur- chased it in 1844. He continued its publication for nine years, when (in 1846) he sold the estab- lishment to John M. Campbell and became con- nected with the Rochester Democrat. September 10, 1847, Joseph Kershner, a lawyer in Geneseo, succeeded Mr. Campbell as its publisher, and July 5, 1848, he was succeeded by Charles E. Bronson, who terminated a three years' period of pecuniary losses by its sale on the 27th of December, 1849, to James T. Norton, who published it successfully till his death in 1865, when his son, A. Tiffany Norton, succeeded to its publication, which he continued until 1869. It was then purchased by Col. Lockwood L. Doty and James W. Clement, the former of whom retired after a few months on account of ill-health. Mr. Clement continued its publication till September, 1S74, when Samuel P. Allen, its founder, repurchased it, "with the pur- pose of continuing its publication as long as life and health are spared." Mr. Allen still publishes it. The Republican is, with one exception, the oldest paper in the county ; and it not only takes a leading position in the county, but is one of the ablest and best representatives of the country press of Western New York. During the proprietorship of Mr. Norton, it was for a short time the organ of the American party, but before his death was changed to the advocacy of Republican principles, a complexion it still retains. It is an eight-column paper — twenty-seven by forty inches; is published every Thursday; and has a circulation of 1,656. The Western New Yorker was commenced in Dansville, January 13, 1S41, by George W. Stevens, who soon after changed the name to The Dansville Whig, and in 1848, to The Dansville Courier. During this period Charles W. Dibble published it about one year. In 1849 •* passed into the hands of H. D. Smead, who changed it to The Dansville Democrat; and subsequently to those of George A. Sanders, who removed it to Geneseo in 1855, and changed it to The Geneseo Democrat, the first number of which was issued April 4, 1855. In October, 1857, it was returned to Dansville and published for a short time by H. C. Page, as The Livingston Sentinel. The Nunda Gazette, was started in 1841, by Ira G Wisner. After about a year it was removed to Mt. Morris and continued there till 1843, as The Genesee Valley Recorder. The Dansville Republican was published in 1842, by David Fairchild. The Geneseo Democrat was started in 1 843, by Gilbert F. Shankland. It was removed to Nunda THE PRESS OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. 125 in 1847, and to Ellicottville, Cattaraugus county, in 1843. The Livingston Express, was published semi- monthly in 1843, by J. G. Wisner, at Mt. Morris. The Cuylerville Telegraph was started in 1847, by Franklin Cowdery, at Cuylerville, which was then a thriving canal village. In 1848, it passed into the hands of Peter Lawrence, who soon after removed it. The Dansville Chronicle was started in June, 1848, by Richardson & Co., and was discontinued in 185 1. The Nunda Democrat was started in 1848, by Milo D. Chamberlain, but was soon discontinued. The Fountain, a monthly publication, was started at Dansville in 1849, by J. R. Trembly, and con- tinued about two years. The Dansville Herald was started in 1850, by E. C. Daugherty and J. G. Sprague, under the name of E. C. Daugherty & Co., as a Whig paper. Sprague retired in a few months, and in the fall of 1854, Daugherty was succeeded by H. L. & L. H. Rann. About the 1st of January, 1857, it passed into the hands of the Know-Nothing party, in whose interests it was managed by E. G. Richardson & Co. In April, 1857, H. C. Page took the paper ; and about the close of that year it was purchased by George A. Sanders and changed to an advocate of Republicanism. During this time it had under- gone various changes in form and size. August 1, 1865, it was sold to Frank J. Robbins and L. D. F. Poore, who changed its name to The Dansville Express, August 9, 1865, and enlarged it from a six to a seven-column paper. F. J. Robbins became the sole proprietor in October, 1870, and enlarged it to eight columns. He conducted it in the interest of Horace Greeley and at the close of that campaign continued it as a Democratic paper. June 1, 1877, Oscar Woodruff and A. H. Knapp purchased it of Mr. Robbins and still publish it. It is an able exponent of Democratic principles. Its circulation exceeds one thousand, and nearly all of its subscribers reside within ten miles of the office— a fact which sufficiently attests its worth. The Nunda Telegraph was started by Charles Atwood in 1850, and published about a year. The Nunda Times, was started in January, 1852, by N. T. Hackstaff. In July following the office was burned, and the paper discontinued. The Lima Weekly Visitor was started in 1853, by A. H. Tilton and M. C. Miller. It was subse- quently published by Raymond & Graham, and by S. M. Raymond, the latter of whom changed the name to the Genesee J 'alley Gazette. It was dis- continued in 1856. The New Era was commenced at Hunt's Hol- low, in the town of Portage, in 1854, by David B. & Merritt Galley, boys aged respectively fifteen and seventeen years. In 1855 it was removed to Nunda and its name changed to Young America. It was discontinued after about a year. The Laics of Life and Journal of Health was started in 1857, by Dr. James C. Jackson at Glen Haven, Cayuga county, and in 185S, was removed to Dansville, where it has since been published monthly, successively under the auspices of Our Home on the Hillside and Our Home Hygienic In- stitute. The Dansville Daily Times was commenced in May, 1859, by W. J. LaRue, and in June of the same year was changed to The Dansville Daily Register. It was discontinued in i860. The Nunda News was established October 1, 1859, by C. K. Sanders, who has published it continuously since, having been longer published continuously by the same person than any other paper in the county. The paper was printed for the first six weeks at Dansville. at the office of the Dansville Herald, which was then published by George A. Sanders, a brother of C. K. The first issue printed at Nunda bore date of Novem- ber 19, 1859. It was started as a five column paper and has been increased to eight columns — ■ twenty-six by forty inches. It has a circulation of twelve hundred, and has always been published on Saturday of each week. The success of the News is remarkable, in view of the many unprofitable newspaper ventures which had preceded it in Nunda; for, says E. W. Packard, who has ever been its firm friend and supporter, it " had not only to win its own favor, but was obliged to overcome prejudices engendered by the mistakes of its pre- decessors. To do this without capital, reputation or experience, required industry, perseverance, ability and pluck. For instance, when the first issue of the News came out, a large majority pre- dicted it would not last three months, and most of the subscribers only paid for that time. The out- look was not really very promising, and the public were not to be blamed for want of faith, for at that time the News had no press nor type, and its office was temporarily in my law office, and the paper printed in Dansville. But before the three months had expired, the News had its own home, with presses and type, ready for business. The people soon began to have faith in its ability to live, and 126 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. once established the News has never lost its hold upon the public" The Dansville Advertiser was established August 2, i860, by A. (). Bunnell, who has since published it. having been associated from 1866 to 186S with Joseph Jones, under the name of Bunnell & Jones. Mr. Bunnell has been its editor during the whole period of its publication. It was started as an in- dependent advertising medium, but on the opening of the war in 1S61, it espoused the cause of the Republican party. It has since been a staunch advocate of Republican principles, and has led the van in the cause of education. It is a model of neat typographical execution, and has won a high reputation for its literary character. It is an eight- column paper — twenty-six by forty inches ; is issued every Thursday, and has a circulation of about twelve hundred. Its columns have richly rewarded our researches for historical data — a feature in which it is exceptionally full and interesting. The Livingston Democrat was started at Nunda in January, 1868, by H. M. Dake, and succumbed to the hard times and an insufficient patronage November 4, 1876, the date of its last issue. Dur- ing the greater part of its existence it was published 1 1\ C. F. Peck ; but during the last nine months by Shepard & Holly, and C. I.. Shepard. The Genesee I alley Herald, an ephemeral pub- lication, was issued at Geneseo, in 1869, and pre- viously for about two years, by James \V. Clement, but was abandoned when he purchased an interest in the Livingston Republican, about the first of January, 1870. It was Republican in politics. The Avon Reporter was started about 1871, by C. F. Peck, of Nunda. It was continued two or three years under several different proprietors and failed, the presses and type being removed from the place. The Mount Morris Enterprise was established March 4, 1875, by Shull & Knapp, (George M. Shall and A. H. Knapp.) In May, 1877, Mr. Shull purchased Mr. Knapp's interest and has since published it alone. It is a staunch advocate of Democracy, and occupies a leading position in the county in its political affiliations. It is an eight-column paper— twenty-six by forty inches having been enlarged in March, 1878, from seven columns. It is published every Saturday; and has a circulation of eight hundred. The Lima Recorder was established October 1. 1869, by Elmer Houser. It was subsequently published by Houser & Dennis. Dennis & Dennis, and Deal .V Drake. January 1, 1875, it was sold to A. Tiffany Norton, the former publisher of the Republican, at Geneseo, and for the first time in its history was thus placed under the control of a journalist and printer of long experience and train- ing. Under Mr. Norton's management it has se- cured a leading position among the newspapers of the county and has enjoyed a prosperous career. From a neutral journal it was changed to a Re- publican paper, and advocates the principles of that party with force and earnestness, while it fear- lessly condemns all wrongs within as well as without the party. It is marked in its boldness, independ- ence and fearless criticism. Mr. Norton is the author, in connection with the late Col. L. L. Doty, of a valuable history of Livingston county, and in 1879, wrote a very interesting history of "Sullivan's Campaign Against the Iroquois," which met with a large sale. The Livonia Advertiser, a three-column month- ly, was established in the spring of 1869, by W. A. Champ, and was printed at the office of the Living- ston Republican, at Geneseo. The following sum- mer it was transferred to H. D. Kingsbury. It was published about twelve months. The Livonia Express was established in the spring of 187 1, by Henry Benjamin Newell, who brought to Livonia the first printing press ever used in that town, and opened an office in what was then the Baldwin House. Mr. Newell was an erratic genius and his paper reflected his peculiar- ities. A contemporary says : — ■ "No comic almanac ever made more sport for all classes and conditions of people than did the Livonia Express, with its numberless eccentricities, in the few months of its checkered existence." The Livonia Gazette, a twenty-eight column paper, was established by Lewis E. Chapin, who issued the first number on Tuesday, October 1, 1875, and continued its publication until July, 1877, when the establishment was purchased by Clarence M. Alvord, of Albion, Orleans county, who still continues it. The Gazette is Republican in poli- tics, and evinces the enterprise of its publisher in the collection of local news. It has a large circu- lation in eastern Livingston and western Ontario counties. The Livingston County Herald was established in Avon, May 11, 1876, by E. H. Davis, who still continues its publication, and receives deserved aid and encouragement from the business men of that pleasant, enterprising village. It is Republican in politics and is issued every Thursday. The Union Citizen was established in Livonia, LOCATION OF THE COUNTY SEAT AT GENESEO. 127 July 29, 1876, by Dr. Alonson L. Bailey, who re- moved it April i, 1879, to Geneseo, where he has since published it as a Democratic paper. Its size is six columns — twenty-two by thirty-two inches. It is published every Saturday, and has a circula- tion of 528. The Caledonia Advertiser, a six-column paper, was established May 7, 1878, by James Beattie and A. H. Collins, with a circulation of 290. The ven- ture proved successful, and the circulation steadily increased, till at present it is 690. February 1, 1880, Mr. Collins purchased Mr. Beattie's interest and has since had its entire management. It is published on Friday of each week. It is devoted to agriculture and matters of local interest, and in politics is Republican. It is the first and only paper ever published in Caledonia. The Springwater Enterprise was established in January, 1879, by H. S. Niles and C. B. Potter, who continued it until February, 1879, when Mr. Niles purchased Mr. Potter's interest and assumed the entire control. It is published every Thurs- day. CHAPTER XIII. Early Courts — County Seat Designated — First County Officers — County Buildings — First Court in Livingston County — County Poor-House — Insane Asylum — Livingston County Civil List — Delegates to State Constitutional Conventions — State Sena- tors — Members of Assembly — First and County Judges — Surrogates — District At- torneys — Sheriffs— County Clerks — County Treasurers — County Superintendents of Common Schools — School Commissioners — Presidential Electors — Representatives in Congress. PREVIOUS to the erection of Steuben and Genesee counties from Ontario, the territory now embraced in Livingston county occupied a central position in the latter county, but on the formation of Genesee county in 1802, it lay partly in the three counties of Ontario, Genesee and Steuben, but a small portion, however, being in the latter county. The line of division between Ontario and Genesee passed nearly centrally through this county, following the Genesee up to its confluence with the Canaseraga, and thence extending due south, being identical with the west line of Phelps and Gorham's purchase. Hence it lay on the confines of the two civil divisions, remote from the seat of justice of either. The county seat of Ontario county was at Canandaigua, and deeds were required to be filed in the clerk's office at that place by the act of April 3, 1798, many years be- fore the general act for the recording of deeds was passed. The first circuit court of that county was held at the inn of Ezra Patterson, in Geneva, June 9, 1793, and was presided over by John S. Hobart ; and the first court of common pleas at the house of Nathaniel Sanborn, in Canandaigua, Novem- ber 4, 1794. Timothy Hosmer and Charles Wil- liamson were the presiding judges. Oliver Phelps was appointed First Judge on the erection of that county in 1789. The county seat of Genesee county was fixed at Batavia. On the erection of Livingston county, Dr. Gama- liel H. Barstow, of Smithsboro, Tioga county, Archibald S. Clarke, of Ellicottville, and Nathaniel Garrow, of Auburn, were appointed commissioners to designate the county seat and fix the site for buildings, and were directed to meet at the tavern of James Ganson, in Avon, in the discharge of this duty, which was no sinecure, for a sharp rivalry existed for the honor of being the shire town, and the adjustment of the question developed acrimo- nious discussions, and gave rise to ungenerous reflections on the residents of the southern part of the county, which was then less developed and consequently less populous and wealthy. Avon, Williamsburgh, and the little hamlet of Lakeville, were the rival competitors of Geneseo, which was then the principal village and the commercial centre of the county, and was finally selected be- cause it was also nearer the geographical center of the county. The Act required that a suitable lot for the erec- tion of a court house and jail should be conveyed to the supervisors before the site therefor was de- termined, and appointed Gen. William Wads- worth, of Geneseo, Dr. Daniel H. Fitzhugh, of Groveland, and William Markham, of Avon, com- missioners to superintend their construction. Can- andaigua was designated for the confinement of prisoners until, in the opinion of the sheriff the jail was fitted for their reception. The former pro- vision was complied with July 14, 1 821, at which time William and James Wadsworth deeded 1.79 acres in the northern part of Geneseo village as a site for those buildings.* The first county officers were : — Moses Hayden, • The same deed conveyed z.47 acres for a public square or promenade. 128 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. First Judge; James Ganson, County Clerk : Gideon T. Jenkins, Sheriff; James Rosebrugh, Surrogate; and George Hosmer, District Attorn,). All, ex- cept Hayden, who was appointed March 28, 1821, were appointed February 26, 1821. The first Board of Supervisors consisted of: — Thomas Wiard, Avon, Robert McKay, Caledonia, Davenport Alger, Freeport, (Conesus,) Win. H. Spencer, Geneseo, Win. Fitzhugh, Groveland, Jellis Clute, Leicester, Mannasseh Leach, Lima, Ichabod A. Holden, Livonia, Win. A. Mills, Mt. Morris. Win. McCartney, Sparta, Alvah Southworth. Spring- water, and Titus Goodman, York. Wm. Fitzhugh was chosen chairman, and < >gden M. Willey, of Geneseo, clerk, a position he filled very acceptably for thirty years. Orlando Hastings, of Geneseo, was appointed county treasurer, an office then filled by the Boards of Supervisors of the various counties. The supervisors being required by the Act erect- ing the county to determine the proper amount to be raised for the erection of county buildings, at their first annual meeting in October, 1821, resolved to raise nine thousand dollars for that object. This amount being afterwards deemed insufficient, in December following the Board applied to the Leg- islature for permission to raise an additional two thousand dollars. Permission was granted and that further sum raised. The court house and jail were completed and ready for use in the spring of 1823. Both are still in use. The court house is a brick building and begins to show the ravages of time and the elements, but Judges from abroad pro- nounce it superior in all needful requirements to any on their circuit. It is beautifully situated in the north part of the village, facing the main street, which runs north and south. The jail is a wooden structure, standing a little north-west of the court- house, and in September, 1880, contained eight inmates. The county clerk's office is a one-story cobble-stone building, standing directly east of and adjacent to the court house. All are in the same inclosure, and all are common-place looking build- ings. The clerk's office was for several years kept in the court house. While the court house was in process of con- struction the courts were held in the upper story of the brick building which occupied the site of the present union school building on Center street, in Geneseo. It was the regular district school house, the lower part being used for that purpose, and the upper part to some extent as a private academical school. There the first court of record held in the county was convened on the last Tuesday in May, 1821, and after prayer by Rev. Mr. Bull, was opened by the usual proclamation. Moses Hay- den, First Judge, presided, and was assisted by Matthew Warner, Jeremiah Riggs and Leman Gibbs, Associate Judges. The grand jurors im- paneled on this occasion were : William Janes, foreman, Robert McKay, James Smith, Asa Now- len, Josiah Watrous, Francis Stevens, William War- ner, Ichabod A. Holden, Ruel Blake, Wm. A. Mills, Fbenezer Damon, P. P. Peck, Joseph A. Law- rence. William Crossett, William Carnahan, James McNair, John Culver, Erastus Wilcox, John Hunt, Daniel H. Fitzhugh, Thomas Sherwood, Fbe- nezer Rogers and Gad Chamberlin. The first case tried was that of Mary DeGraw. who was indicted for assault and battery with in- tent to kill. She was convicted of assault and bat- tery, but acquitted on the rest of the indictment. May Brown was sentenced at this time to the On- tario county jail for thirty days. This appears to have been the first commitment. The first term of the Court of Common Pleas was held the same day. James Richmond, LeRoy Buckley, Roger Wattles, T. H. Gilbert, Joseph White, Jehiel Kelsey, John Salmon, George Whit- more, David A. Miller, Riley Scoville, Andrew Stil- well, and Federal Blakesley composed the jury. The first court held in the court house was the May term of the Common Pleas Court in 1823, Charles H. Carroll, First Judge, presiding. The county poor house is pleasantly situated on a farm of one hundred and fifty-one acres in the town of Geneseo, about one and one-half miles east of Geneseo village. The farm, which originally contained about one hundred and thirty-six acres, was bought for the purpose in 1829, for $5,440, and a two-story addition forty-eight by thirty-six feet made to the dwelling house then on the premises. On the 10th of June, 1829, it was opened for the reception of paupers. It soon, however, ceased to meet the demands on it, and in 1849, the Super- visors appropriated $6,000 for the purpose of erect- ing a new building, and appointed Allen Ayrault, Wm. J. Hamilton and Russell Austin to superin- tend its construction and to dispose of the old one, which, with eighteen acres of land, was sold at auc- tion Dec. 13, 1850, to Dr. Daniel H. Bissell, of Geneseo, for $2,001. The old building is now owned and occupied as a residence by Joseph Truesdell Lamson. A new three-story brick building, 108 by 36 feet, with basement, and two lateral wings, each 53 feet deep, was erected in 1850, and completed ready COUNTY POOR HOUSE AND INSANE ASYLUM. 129 for occupancy early in the winter of that year, at a cost of $7,356.40, exclusive of furniture and heat- ing apparatus. It is situated on the opposite (north) side of the road, and adjacent to the old one. The central portion is occupied by the su- perintendent and his family ; the right wing by the male, and the left wing by the female paupers. The sexes are separated at night, and as far as practicable during the day. In 1868, when the late superintendent, George W. Barney, entered upon the discharge of the duties of that office, the only accommodations for the insane were "a few cells in the basement of the men's building, and the ordinary rooms in the building for women." The apartments were wholly unfit for their purposes, and the insane re- ceived no special attention. The building was heated by stoves, was imperfectly ventilated, and without proper bathing facilities.* In 1869, a small two-story brick building was erected for the accommodation of the insane paupers, and subse- quently another and larger building was erected for the same purpose, the two affording accommo- dations for about fifty patients. In 1879, a third building was erected for the use of the female in- sane, accommodating forty-four patients. Thirty- three acres have also been added to the poor-house farm. "The entire place," says Mr. Barney, in His Annual Report to the Board of Supervisors, Nov. 20, 1879, "has been put in the best of order, and above all, the condition of the buildings has been raised from a state of filthiness hardly to be de- scribed to a condition second to no building of the kind in the State, and the institution has now at- tained a reputation such as reflects the highest honor upon every taxpayer in the county." The county provides for such of its dependent children as cannot be secured situations in families, in or- phan asylums at Rochester. During the year end- ing Oct. 31, 1879, there was expended for the maintenance of such children $888.85. At that date there were eight in the Rochester Orphan Asylum and one in St. Mary's Boys' Orphan Asy- lum, in the same city. The farm, which is in a good state of cultivation, is tilled by the sanef and insane paupers, with the * Twelfth Annual Report of the State Board of Charities for 1878, /•73- t Says Mr. Barney in the report above referred to : " I have stren- uously endeavored to utilize the services of able-bodied paupers on the farm and have succeeded to a greater degree than ever before, but an ex- perience of twelve years with this class convinces me of the fact that the supervision necessary to get work done properly and in the proper time amounts to almost as much as the value of the services rendei that the inmates of the Insane Asylum, under a keeper, will perform more work in a given time, and in a better manner, than the same num- ber of paupers." aid of one assistant, and, strange as the fact may seem, the labor of the insane is far more efficient and satisfactory than that of the sane. The value of this pauper labor for the year 1879, is estimated at at least $2,300. The stock upon the farm con- sisted of two pair of working horses, two single horses and ten milch cows, the whole valued at $950, and the products of the farm for the year ending Oct. 31, 1879, of 1,000 bushels of corn, (in ear,) 445 bushels of barley, 508 bushels of oats, 40 tons of hay, 400 bushels of wheat, 60 bushels of beans, 600 bushels of potatoes; straw, valued at $75, milk from ten cows, valued at $300, 20 fat hogs, 30 store hogs, 50 bushels of apples, garden vegetables, valued at $20, and corn stalks, valued at $50, the total valuation being $2,435.80. The number of persons received and supported in the alms house and insane asylum during the year ending Oct. 31, 1879, was 335 ; the number remaining Nov. 1, 1879, was 158. Of the whole number, 228 were males, and 107, females; 206 were natives of the United States, 94, of Ireland, 14, of England, 16, of Germany, 2, of Canada, 2, of France, and 1, of Scotland. The expenses connected with the support of the poor during the year ending Oct. 31, 1879, are thus stated in the report of the superintendent : — Alms House Supplies, $11,086 17 Alms House Expenses, 5, 860 65 Temporary relief in the several towns, . 3,03 r 87 Transportation, 67 40 Total, $20,046 09 The number of deaths during the year was twenty-one. The average age of the deceased per- sons was 58,17-21 years. The number of insane persons received and sup- ported in the insane asylum during the year was 75. Of this number 7 males and 4 females were discharged cured ; 1 male was discharged unim- proved ; 1 male and 3 females died ; 1 female com- mitted suicide ; and 30 males and 28 females then remained. Mr. Barney, in referring in his report to this class of unfortunates, says : — " Under the advice of the Hon. Wm. P. Letch- worth, president of the State Board of Charities, I have given great attention to the food and diet of the insane. I feel the deepest gratification at the results of my efforts, and confidently invite com- parison of the proportion discharged cured from our own asylum with that of any other like institu tion in the State. The new building for female patients is now about finished and will accommo- date 44 persons. With this increased room it will be possible to classify patients much more com- pletely than heretofore and from the result of this i 3 o HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. classification I look for the most favorable results in the future." The present Superintendent of the Poor is James C. Wicker, who entered upon the discharge of his duties January i, 1880. Mr. Barney was preceded in the office by A. Howard, who filled that respon- sible position for twenty-three years. Livingston County Civil 1. is/. - - 1 ,ivingston county has produced many men of talent and emineni e in the various professions and occupies a distinguished position in the civil list. She has furnished a gov- ernor, in the person of John Young of Geneseo, who was elected in 1846, by a vote of 198,878, over three opponents, Silas Wright. Henry Bradley and Ogden Edwards, who received respectively 187,306 1 2,844 and 6,306 votes ;* a Private Secretary of the Executive chamber of New York, in the person of Lockwood I.. Doty of Geneseo, who was appointed in 1861 and held the office two years; a Chief of the Bureau of Military statistics, in the person of the latter gentleman, who was appointed on the creation of that office April 8, 1863, and was suc- ceeded September 10, 1866, by Augustus J. H. Duganne of New York, who subsequently became Mr. Doty's biographer ; a Judge-Advocate-General, in the person of Campbell H.Young of Geneseo, who was appointed January 1, 1867 ; two State Comp- trollers, in the persons of Philo C. Fuller of Geneseo, who was appointed Dec. 18, 1850, on the election of Washington Hunt to the gubernatorial chair, and held the office till the close of the term, and Jas.W. Wadsworth of Geneseo, elected Nov. 4,1879 ; a Ca- nal Commissioner, in the person of Daniel P. Bissell of Moscow, who was appointed February 8,1842, to fill vacancy, and again November 4, 1844, for the term of four years ; a Canal Appraiser, in the per- son of Calvin H. Bryan of Geneseo, who was ap- pointed April 4, 1846, and served one term of three years ; a Regent of the University of New York, (in addition to John Young, who, as Governor of the State, was an ex-officio member of the board,) in the person of James S. Wadsworth of Geneseo, who was appointed May 4, 1844, and held the office till his death, May 8, 1864; two Clerks of the Court of Appeals, in the persons of Benjamin F. Harwood and Russell F. Hicks, both of Dansville, the former of whom was elected November 8, 1853. and died in office at Albany, March 30, 1856, and the latter November 7, 1856, holding the office three years ; and a Diplomatic Officer in the person of Benja- min F. Angel of Geneseo, who was appointed Min- • James S. Wadsworth of Geneseo, wa thecandidati >t thi I can parti foH k>vernoi in rS6z, bul was di fi ated bj Horatio Si yinour, by a vote of 106,649 to £95,897. ister-Resident to Sweden and Norway July 17, 1S57- Delegates to State ('(institutional Conventions. — James Rosebrugh represented this county in the Convention of 1821 ; Allen Ayrault and William H. Spencer, both of Geneseo, in that of 1846; and Isaac L. Endress, of Dansville, in that of 1867. State Senators. — Previous to 182 1 the Senato- rial Districts were designated as Southern, Mid- dle, Eastern and Western. The latter originally comprised Albany and Tryon (afterwards Mont- gomery) counties, and Ontario which then em- braced the territory included in Livingston county, from Jan. 27, 1789. During the continuance of the First Constitution it comprised these counties and those subsequently erected from them. The representation, which at first was six members, was changed February 7, 1791, to five ; March 4, 1796, to eleven; in 1803, to nine; in 1808, to twelve; and April 17, 1815, to nine. Under the Second Constitution which was adop- ted the year in which this county was organized, (1821,) the State was divided into eight Senatorial Districts, which were designated by number. Liv- ingston county belonged to the Eighth District, which also embraced the counties of Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Monroe, Niagara and Steuben, until November 12, 1824. when Orleans was added. April 18, 1826, Steu- ben was transferred; and May 23d, 1836, Alle- gany, Cattaraugus and Livingston were transferred to the Sixth District, which then comprised addi- tionally the counties of Broome, Chenango, Tioga, Tompkins, Steuben and Chemung. This connec- tion it retained during the further continuance of the Second Constitution which entitled each dis- trict to four Senators, one of whom was elected annually for the term of four years. Under the third or present Constitution, the State is divided into thirty-two districts, in each of which one member is elected each odd year. Liv- ingston was associated with Ontario in forming the Twenty-ninth district. April 13, 1857, it was asso- ciated with Allegany and Wyoming counties in forming the Thirtieth district, and maintained this relation till April 23d, 1879, when it became asso- ciated with Genesee, Niagara and Wyoming coun- ties in forming the same district. Livingston county did not furnish a State Sena- tor previous to its organization as a separate county, nor during its connection with the Western district, which continued till 1823. The office was first LIVINGSTON COUNTY CIVIL LIST. L?i filled by a resident of Livingston county in 1827, by Charles H. Carroll, of Groveland, who served till his resignation in March, 1828. He has been succeeded by Moses Hayden, of York, who served in 1829 and until his death February 14, 1830; Philo C. Fuller, of Geneseo, who was elected on the death of Hayden and served in 1831 and '32; James Faulkner, of Dansville, in 1842, '3, '4 and 5 ; Allen Ayrault, of Geneseo, in 1848;* Charles Colt, of Geneseo, in 1849-51 ; Sidney Sweet, of Dans- ville, in 1856-7 ;f David H. Abell, of Mt. Morris, in 1860-61 ; James Wood, of Geneseo, 1870-73. Members of Assembly. — There has been little variation in Livingston county's representation in the Assembly, which has corresponded with that of the ratio of her population to that of the State, the extremes being one and two. She had one mem- ber at the time of her formation ; two, under the apportionments of April 12, 1822, April 18, 1826, May 23, 1836, March 8, 1846, and April 13, 1857 ; and one under the apportionments of April 16, 1866, and April 23, 1879, the latter of which re- mains in force. The Assemblymen from the territory now em- braced in Livingston county prior to its erection as such were : Gideon T. Jenkins, who represented Genesee county in 1808, and Hugh McNair, of Sparta, who represented Ontario county in 1808-9 ; William Markham, of Avon, who represented On- tario county in 1S10; Chauncey Loomis, who represented Genesee county, and Hugh McNair, Ontario county, in 181 1 ; James Ganson, of Gen- eseo, who represented Genesee, and Hugh McNair, Ontario, in 1812-14; James Rosebrugh, who represented Ontario, in 1814-15, 1816-17, 1818; James Ganson, who represented Genesee in 1816 and 1816-17; Elijah Spencer and Wm. McCart- ney, who represented Ontario in 1819; Gideon T. Jenkins and Robert McKay, who represented Genesee, and Matthew Warner, Ontario, in 1820; Wm. H. Spencer, who represented Genesee, in 1820-21. Since its formation Livingston county has been represented in the Assembly as follows : George Smith, 1822 ; William Janes and Matthew Warner, 1823; George Hosmer and George Smith, 1824; James Faulkner and Robert McKay, 1825; James Faulkner and Wm. H. Spencer, 1826 ; Wm. H. Spencer and Felix Tracy, 1827; Calvin H. Bryan and Wm. Janes, 1828 ; Philo C. Fuller and Titus Goodman, Jr., 1829-30 ; Jerediah Horsford and * Resigned June 2, 1848. t During this session Samuel P. Allen, of Geneseo, was clerk of the Senate. James Percival, 1831; George W. Patterson and John Young, 1S32; George W. Patterson and Samuel W. Smith, 1833; Salmon G. Grover and Tabor Ward, 1834; H. Hutchinson and George W. Patterson, 1835; Charles H. Carroll and George W. Patterson, 1836; George W.Patterson and William Scott, 1837-8; Elias Clark and George W. Patterson, 1839-40;* Augustus Gibbs and Reuben P. Wisner, 1841 ; Gardner Arnold and Chester Bradley, 1842; Daniel H. Fitzhugh and Daniel D. Spencer, 1843 ; Gardner Arnold and Daniel D. Spencer, 1844; Harlow W. Wells and John Young, 1845 ; William S. Fullerton and John Young, 1846; William S. Fullerton and An- drew Sill, 1847; Gurdon Nowlen and Nathaniel Coe, 1848; Archibald H. McLean and Philip Woodruff, 1849-50; Alvin Chamberlain and Orrin D. Lake, 1851-2; Amos A. Hendee and Abram Lozier, 1853; Leman Gibbs and Abram Lozier, 1854; Lyman Odell and McNeil Seymour, 1855; Lyman Odell and Alonzo Bradner, 1856; Lyman Hawes and Alfred Bell, 1857 ; John H. Jones and Alfred Bell, 1858; Samuel L. Fuller and John Wiley, 1859-60; Matthew Wiard and George Hyland, 1S61 ; Matthew Wiard and Samuel Skin- ner, 1862; Hamilton E. Smith and Samuel Skin- ner, 1863; Hamilton E. Smith and Jonathan B. Morey, 1864; Hugh D. McColl and Jonathan B. Morey, 1865 ; Hugh D. McColl and Samuel D. Faulkner, 1866; Jacob Mead, 1867; Lewis E. Smith, 1868-9; Richard Johnson. 1870-1 ; Arch- ibald Kennedy, 1872-3 ; Jonathan B. Morey, 1874 ; James Faulkner, Jr., 1875-6 ; Jonathan B. Morey, 1877; James W. Wadsworth, 1878-9; Archibald Kennedy, 1880; Kidder M. Scott, 1881. First and County Judges. — The Court of Com- mon Pleas was continued from the Colonial period. For most of the time under the First Constitution the number of Judges and Assistant Justices in the various counties differed, reaching, in some counties, as many as twelve of each. March 27, 1818, the office of Assistant Justice was abolished, and the number of Judges limited to five, including the First Judge. The Judges were appointed by the Governor and Senate for a period of five years. The constitution of 1846 provided for the election of a County Judge for each county, except the city and county of New York, and the new judiciary article extended the tenure of office from four to six years, upon the election of the successors of the present incumbents. * During these sessions— 1 8 89-40— George W. Patterson was Speaker ,t 1I1. Assembly. He is the only person from this count; cupied that position. i3 2 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. The First Judges of Livingston county were: — Moses Hayden, of York, appointed March 28, 1821; Charles H. Carroll, of Groveland, appointed February 1, 1823; Hezekiah I >. Mason, appointed April 8, 1829; Willard H. Smith, appointed March 24, 1S32. The County Judges, since the office was made elective, have been: — Scott Lord, of Geneseo, June, 1847; George Hastings, of Mt. Morris, November, 1855; Solomon Hubbard, No- vember, 1863; Samuel 1 >. Faulkner, of Dansville, November, 1S71; Daniel W. Noyes, appointed in place of Faulkner, deceased. August 30. 1878; Edwin A. Nash, of Avon, November, 1878.* Surrogates. — Previous to 1821, Surrogates were designated by the Council of Appointment ; from 182 1 to 1846, by the Governor and the Senate. The Constitution of 1846 abolished the office and devolved its duties on County Judges, except in counties having a population exceeding 40,000. This office has been held successively by James Rosebrugh, who was appointed February 26, 1821; Samuel W. Spencer, appointed March 20, 1832 ; Benjamin F. Angel, appointed March 23, 1836; William H. Kelsey, appointed April 22, 1840; Benjamin F. Angel, appointed March 3, 1844, and held the office until it was abolished. District Attorneys. — The original appellation of this office, which was created February t2, 1796, was that of Assistant Attorney-General, who was appointed by the Governor and Council. The of- fice of District Attorney was created April 4, 1S01. At first the State was divided into seven districts, but subsequently several new ones were formed. In April, 1818, each county was constituted a sep- arate district. The office was made elective by the Constitution of 18 (<>. The first person to hold this office in Livingston county was George Hosmer, who was appointed February 26, 1821. He was succeeded by Orlan- do Hastings, January 27, 1824; George Hosmer, May 29, 1824; Calvin H. Bryan, January 20, 1836; Augustus A. Bennett, May 30, 1836; George Hast- ings, May 27. 1839 ; Amos A. Hendee, June, 1847; William H. KLelsey, 1850^ James Wood, Jr., iS53;f Amos A. Hendee, 1X56 ;t Gershom Bulk- ley, 1859;! George J. Davis, 1862 ;t+ James B. Adams, 1866 ;f§ Edwin A.Nash, 1869;!, Daniel • John H. Jones, of M w d the ofl I I n J county, which then embraced thi irt of this county, from June 10,1812, to May ■;. 1^-1 i Elected in November. 1 : § Appointed January, 1865, vice Da elected Noc ber, 1866. \V. Noyes, 1875;*! Charles J. Bissell, August 30, 1878;}: John R. Strang, 1878^ the present incumbent. Sheriffs- — Under the first Constitution ( 1 777— 1S21) Sheriffs were appointed annually by the Coun- cil of Appointment, and no person could hold the office for more than four successive years. The Sheriff could not hold any other office, and must be a free-holder in the county to which he was ap- pointed. Under the second Constitution (1821 to (846) Sheriffs were elected for a term of three years, but were ineligible to election the next suc- ceeding year. These provisions are operative at the present time. The Sheriff was once an officer held in great re- spect. He arranged all the ceremonials of the court, and formally announced to the Judges the particular hour the court-room was in order for their reception. He was equipped with side arms, and kept his sword unsheathed on the desk in front of his seat. He, with his deputies, formally inducted the Judges from their lodgings to the court-room; the jurors closed the procession. He opened the court with solemn proclamation. In every respect the office of Sheriff" was once of more import in the public estimation than now.J The first Sheriff in Livingston county was Gid- eon T. Jenkins, who was appointed February 26, 1S21. His successors have been: — William Car- nahan, 1822 ; Martin Nash, 1825; Russell Austin, 1828; Augustus Gibbs, 1831 ; Josiah Wendell, 1834; Win. W. Weed, 1837 ; James Brewer, 1840; Wm. H. Scott, 1843; William Scott, 1846; Har- vey Hill, 1849; Norman Chapel, appointed De- cember 15, 185 1, vice Hill, deceased; William Scott, 1852; Hugh McCartney, 1855 ; John N. Hurlburt, 185S; Wm. B. Lemen, 1861; Thomas C. Chase, 1864; George Hyland, Jr., 1867 ; Henry L. Arnold, 1870; Elijah Youngs, 1873; Wm. B. Wooster, 1876: Martin F. Linsley, 1879. || County Clerks. — County Clerks, in addition to keeping the county records, were required by the Act of February 12, 1796, to act as clerk of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas, and of the ( (yei and Terminer. At present they are clerks of the Supreme Court in their respective counties, and their seals are declared to be the seals of the court. Their term of office, like that under the second constitution, is three years. * K< tsi t Elected in November. J Appointed vice Noyes, resigned, § Clark's History of Cluuango Comity. II All except tlideon T. Jenkins and Nonnan Chapel were elected in No- vember. LIVINGSTON COUNTY CIVIL LIST. l 33 Livingston county furnished one County Clerk for Ontario county while connected with it. in the person of Hugh McNair, who was appointed March 17, 1815, and was succeeded July 3, 181 9, by John Van Fossen. James Ganson, who was appointed February 26, 182 1, was the first person to hold that office in Livingston county. His successors, all of whom were elected in November, have been Syl- vester Brown, 1822; Levi Hovey, 1825 ; Chauncey R. Bond, 1828; Elias Clark, 1834; Wm. H. Stan- ley, 1837 : Samuel P. Allen, 1840; Wm. H. Whit- ing, 1843 ; Israel D. Root, 1849 ; James S. Orton, 1852 ; Charles Root, 1855 ; Harvey G. Baker, 1861 ; Augustus A. Curtiss, 1867 ; Nathaniel A. Gear- hart, 1871 ; Hurlburt E. Brown, 1874; Jerome B. Patterson, 1877 ; Mark J. Bunnell, 1880. County Treasurers. — County Treasurers are elected under the Constitution of 1846, for a term of three years. They were formerly appointed by the Boards of Supervisors in the several counties. Chauncey Metcalf was the first person elected to the office in Livingston county under the new re- gime — in 1848. He has been succeeded by: John White, Jr., 1851 ; Chauncey R. Bond, 1856 ; James T. Norton, i860; Chauncey Metcalf, 1863; Theo- dore F. Olmsted, 1871 ; John Shepard, 1874; and Win. A. Brodie, the present incumbent, in 1877. All were elected in November. County Superintendents of Common Schools. — April 17, 1843, tne Boards of Supervisors were di- rected to appoint Superintendents of Common Schools ; and Ira Patchin and Russell F. Hicks were accordingly so appointed in Livingston coun- ty. The office was abolished March 13, 1847. School Commissioners. — Prior to 1857, School Commissioners were appointed by the Boards of rvisors. In 1856 the office was made elective ; the first election under that act was held No- ber, 1859. The office has been held in Living- . county by the following named persons : — uncey Loomis, Levi P. Grover, Franklin B. ncis, S. Arnold Tozer, Franklin B. Francis, n W '. Byam, Lewis C. Partridge, Foster W. ilker, in the First District ; and Horace L. James .rvey Farley, Isaac C. Lusk, Thomas J. Thorp, bert W. Green and Ezra N. Curtice, in the :ond District. Foster W. Walker of Caledonia, (1 Ezra N. Curtice of Springwater, are the present incumbents. Presidential Electors. — The Federal Constitu- >n provides that the President and Vice-P resi- st of the United States shall be chosen by Elec- ts appointed in such manner as the Legislatures of the respective States shall direct, the number to be equal to their number of Senators and Repre- sentatives in Congress. In this State the Electors were originally appointed by the Legislature, pursu- ant to an Act passed April 12, 1792. March 15, 1825, the Legislature submitted to the people the question of choosing electors by districts, or on agen- eral ticket, and it was decided by a small majority in favor of the former. The system thus adopted, however, was in vogue at one election only ; for April 15, 1829, the Legislature adopted the gen- eral ticket system now in use. The Electors must be appointed within thirty-four days before the first Wednesday of December, in every fourth year ; and in this State, as, indeed, in all the States, they are now chosen on the Tuesday after the first Mon- day of November. In making up the general ticket, one person is selected from each Congressional District, and two to represent the State at large. The Electoral College is required to meet at the State capitol on the first Wednesday of December, cast their votes for President and Y'ice President, make a certified list thereof, and forward it under seal to the President of the United States Senate, who opens and announces the result in the pres- ence of the two houses of Congress. Livingston county has been represented in the Electoral College as follows : — Daniel H. Bissell, 1836; John Wheeler, 1840; Benjamin F. Harvvood, 1848; Isaac L. Endress and James S. Wadsworth, (the latter one of the Elec- tors at large,) 1856; James S. Wadsworth, i860; Kidder M. Scott, 1872. Daniel H. Bissell was the Messenger to Washington from the Electoral Col- lege of this State in 1836; and Isaac L. Endress, Secretary of the College in 1856. Representatives in Congress. — Livingston county has undergone various changes in its Congressional associations. On its formation, in 1821, in con- junction with Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Monroe, Niagara and Ontario coun- ties, it formed the Twenty-first District, which was entitled to two members. Under the Act of April 17, 1822, it was united with Monroe in forming the Twenty-seventh District; under that of June 29, 1832, this and Allegany county formed the Thir- tieth District; under that of Sept. 6, 1842, it was associated with Ontario county, and formed the Twenty-ninth District; under that of July 19, 185 1, in conjunction with Steuben county, it formed the Twenty-eighth District ; under that of April 23, 1862, it was united with Ontario and Yates in forming the Twenty-fifth District ; and under that '34 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. of June 18, 1873, the same counties were consti- tuted the Twenty-seventh District, and still retain that relation. Livingston county has not been represented in the United States Senate ; and had only one Rep- resentative prior to its organization. That was Samuel M. Hopkins, from the Twenty-first District, in 1813-'! 5. Micah Brooks, who subsequently lived and died in this county, was, indeed, while residing in Ontario county, a Representative in the succeeding Congress — 181 5-' 17 — but resigned the first session. The Representatives from this county since its organization have been : — Elijah Spencer, 182 [-'3 ; Moses Hayden, of York, 1823-27 ; Philo C. Fuller, of Geneseo, 1833-36;* John Young, of Geneseo, 1836-37, 1841-43 ; Charles H. Carroll, of Groveland Center, 1843-47; Jerediah Hors- ford, of Moscow, 1851-53; George Hastings, of Mt. Morris, 1853-55 ; William H. Kelsey, of Geneseo, i855-'5 9 , i867-'7i. CHAPTER XIV. War ofthe Rebellion — Its Underlying Cai si — Secession of South Carolina — Followed by Other States — First Measures to Repress Rebellion — Ready Response of the North — Additional Troops Called for — Prompt and Generous Response of Living- ston County — Thirteenth Regiment — Twf.nty-Sevf.nih Regiment — Thirty-Third Regiment — Regimental Camp at Geneseo — One Hundred and Fourth Regiment, or Wadsworth Guards — -Calls of July 2, 1862, and August 4, 1862 — Military Dis- tricts Formed — The One Hundred and Thirtieth Regiment, or First New York Dragoons— One Hundred and Thirty-Sixth Regiment — The Draft — Quotas Under Various Calls — Subsequent Calls — County Bounty — Enormous Local Bounties — State Bounty — Local Bounties Abrogated — Con- tributions 11 Support of the Indigent Families of Voi 1 nteers — Quotas Under Last Three Calls. I^HE war of the rebellion covers a period in the history of Livingston county to which the de- scendants of those who participated in it may re- cur with just pride. The causes which led to this sanguinary intemeciary struggle date back to the * Resi dawn of civilization on this continent. Coloniza- tion in New Fngland and Virginia commenced with radical social distinctions, which engendereil different habits, thoughts, aspirations and interests, and eventuated through the operation of climatic influence and diverse occupations in bitter section- alism. Variances which were at first regarded with zealous apprehension ripened into direct antag- onism, determined opposition and finally intense hatred. One was the champion of the broad catholic spirit of liberalism and progress ; the other was firmly wed to a debasing and enervating conservatism, on which it sought to build a slave- holding and slave-perpetuating aristocracy. Amity and fraternity cannot subsist between communities thus constituted ; and an open rupture could not be averted. It was only delayed by meeting the demands of the one with the concessions of the other. When further concession could not con- sistently be made, rupture was inevitable, and the issue thus delayed was the more bitterly contested when it came. The South, for obvious reasons, construed the Federal government to be a mere confederation of sovereign states, in contradistinction from a sovereign nation composed of subordinate states. This doctrine as expounded in the writings and speeches of Calhoun and subsequently of those of Stephens, its two great champions, implies not only the right of nullification, but also of secession. Whatever may be the just claims of this theory as an abstract proposition it is clearly inconsistent with the spirit which actuated the founders of our constitution, incompatible with the aspiration of the great free North, and not permissible when, as in this case, associated with the perpetuation of an evil so repugnant as that of human slavery. The struggle which culminated in the admission of Kansas into the Union as a free state, con- firmed a conviction which had long been matur- ing, that the territorial extension of slavery in this country had reached its limit under the provisions of the constitution, and marks the period when covert assaults gave place to the open and avowed purpose to disrupt the Union. As in 1832 an ob- jectionable protective tariff was made to justify nullification, so now the premonition that her peculiar institution was doomed, was made by the South to justify secession, South Carolina, in both cases, taking the initiative. On the election of Mr. Lincoln, the nominee of the Republican or anti-slavery party, to the presi- dency in 1S60, it was evident that further delay was WAR OF THE REBELLION. l 3S useless, and the leaders in secession labored assid- uously to create a sentiment in the South favorable to its immediate consummation. Dec. 17, i860, the people of South Carolina met in convention at Columbia, and adjourned thence by reason of the prevalence of small-pox to Charleston, where they repealed the Act of May 23, 178S, ratifying the Federal constitution and the amendments thereto, and declared "that the union now subsisting be- tween South Carolina and other states, under the name of the United States of America, is hereby dissolved." An address to the people of the other slave-holding states was issued, inviting them to join in " a great slave-holding Confederacy," and reciting that "we must be the most independent, as we are the most important of the nations of the world." This action was followed in a few days by Georgia, Florida, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana. "The Border States, foreseeing inev- itable war, and that the shock of the conflict would fall upon them, temporized. After all that had been done to pledge them to the movement, Virginia, North Carolina, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Maryland, though a reign of terror, political and social, was inaugurated in them, either took the step with great reluctance, or avoided taking it at all."* Preeminent among these, and indeed among the states composing the Confederacy, was Virginia, which did not pass the ordi- nance of secession until April 17, 1S61, and then only after exacting the foremost rank in the Confederacy and protection for her slave interests. Even then she did not carry the whole state with her; for the western portion maintained their de- termination to adhere to the Union, and was after- wards recognized as a separate state. Arkansas, North Carolina and Tennessee also passed ordi- nances of secession. February 4, 1861, the delegates of six of the seceding states (South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississipi, Louisiana and Florida,) met in conven- tion at Montgomery, Alabama, and formed a pro- visional government, denominated "The Confed- erate States of America," founded, as affirmed in the inaugural address of its president, on the prin- ciple of the inequality of men, and with human slavery as its corner stone. Jefferson Davis was elected President and Alexander H. Stephens, Vice President. They were soon after elected permanently for six years. The permanent consti- tution was modeled substantially from that of the United States. The following summer the seat of • Draper s History of the A meriean Civil U ~ar /., 517. government was removed to Richmond and their Congress opened its first session in that city, July 20, 1 86 1, the day previous to the battle of Bull Run. The people of the South, deluded with the as- sumption of their vast superiority over those of the North, did not believe that the latter would offer any great resistance to secession, much less attempt to coerce them ; and the people of the North weie equally deceived as to the real intent of the former, believing that secession was not meditated then, but only employed as a means to extort further con- cessions. Not, however, that they failed to per- ceive the ultimate issue of the threatening antago- nism of the times, but that it was hoped — believed, that an amicable adjustment would be reached. Wm. H. Seward, in referring to this subject in 1S58, said: "Shall I tell you what this conflict means ? They who think it accidental, unnecessary, the work of interested or fanatical agitators, and therefore ephemeral, mistake the case altogether. It is an irrepressible conflict between opposing and enduring forces." Notwithstanding, the South did not fail to make extensive preparation for a forced separation. In this they were aided by their long- continued control of the Federal government, both in its executive and legislative branches. When war became inevitable, and the North found it nec- essary to prepare for it, the Federal treasury was de- pleted ; the army — a large portion of it — was sta- tioned in the distant State of Texas, where it was surrendered with all its equipments to the Confed- erates ; the navy was dispersed to distant foreign stations, so that when the war broke out there was only one war vessel on the whole northern coast, and not a gun on the Mississippi and its great sys- tem of waters ; the material of war was distributed throughout various places in the South, where, as was contemplated, it was seized, together with mints, arsenals and fortifications, by the authorities of the seceded States, and appropriated to the uses of the Confederates. Many of the officers both in the army and navy treacherously deserted to the Confederacy; as likewise did the legislators of the seceded States, not, however, until they had done their utmost to embarrass the Federal authorities, and to procure legislation to the detriment of the Union and in the interest of their confederates, so that when the North awoke to the realities of war, they found their enemy abundantly supplied with the materials of war, and with an army already in a well-advanced state of discipline ; while they, though seriously crippled to furnish these, were ut- 136 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. terly destitute of both. Their efforts to supply these, as well as their early military movements, were long embarrassed by spies in the persons of government employees and the host of secession sympathizers who abode in Washington. The delay of Virginia saved to the Union the stronghold of Fortress Monroe, the most important of our southern coast defenses. During the night of December 26, i860, Major Robert Anderson, who was then in command of the insignificant government forces in Charleston, and stationed in Fort Moultrie, one of the weaker works in that harbor, after repeated entreaties for aid from the authorities at Washington, removed his force to Fort Sumter, which is built on an arti- ficial island, made of stone chips from the quarries of New England, and had cost the government a million of dollars. This act Major Anderson be- lieved to be warranted by his instructions from the President, which were to the effect that while he " must carefully avoid every act which might need- lessly provoke collision, if attacked, he must defend himself to the last extremity." He was also au- thorized, if attacked, or if he had tangible evidence of a design of that kind, to put his command into either of the forts he might think best. It never- theless greatly surprised the President, who had " carefully abstained from increasing the force in that harbor, or taking any measures which might add to the public excitement there," and filled the impetuous South Carolinans with indignation and rage. The latter immediately took possession of Castle Pinckney and Fort Moultrie, the guns of which had been spiked and carriages burned by Anderson before leaving it, and hoisted over these and the government buildings in that city the pal- metto flag. They also forcibly seized the government arsenal in Charleston, which through the careful providence of the traitor, Floyd, while Secretary of War, was well-supplied with the material of war, the munitions contained therein being estimated to be worth a half million of dollars. An attempt was made to rtenforce and provis- ion Fort Sumter, and on the 5th of January, the unarmed steamer Star of the West left New York for that purpose. The Confederate authorities at Charleston were apprised of her departure, (which it was designed should be kept secret,) by Mr. Thompson, of Mississippi, who was then Secretary of the Interior, and present at the Cabinet meet- ing which made provision therefor. She was fired upon from a battery on Morris Island and struck, and an attempt was made to cut her oft" by two steamers and a schooner. She returned to New York without having accomplished her object. South Carolina, immediately after passing the ordinance of secession, sent commissioners to Pres- ident Buchanan to negotiate for the transfer of the public property within her borders and establish amicable relations with the Government in her sovereign capacity. Compliance was, of course, promptly declined. So, likewise, were similar pro- positions made to President Lincoln, March 12, 1861, by representatives of the Confederate gov- ernment. Failing in this, South Carolina immediately com- menced a systematic organization of her troops and the construction of works for the reduction of Fort Sumter, which she continued for several months unmolested. By April, fourteen batteries with thirty heavy guns and seventeen mortars were completed ready for this object, and on the 10th of that month, Gen. Beauregard, who was placed in command of Charleston, was instructed to de- mand the immediate surrender of the Fort, and on refusal, to reduce it. He made the demand the fol- lowing day, and compliance being declined, he commenced the bombardment on the morning of the 1 2th. Fort Sumter made no reply for nearly three hours. The first shot in defense of the Union was fired at 7 o'clock, a. m., of that day, by Capt. Abner Doubleday. The Fort was sur- rendered on the 13th, and on the 14th, Anderson, without the loss of a man, marched out with his command, consisting of thirty-five artillerists, nine officers, thirty laborers, and fifteen musicians, and left on the steamer Isabel for New York. The ex- ample thus set by South Carolina was quickly fol- lowed by the other seceding States, until they had possessed themselves of nearly every one of the southern coast defenses. The firing upon Sumter put an end to the hope which largely prevailed in the North that the dif- ferences between it and the South could be ad- justed by peaceful arbitration. The Administra- tion, which had studiously abstained from any act which might prejudice an amicable settlement — a means which the South, though fully determined to apply force if necessary, would gladly have ac- cepted — were now convinced that the application of force was necessary. It was a relief to many who were clamorous that secession should be op- posed as promptly and vigorously as was nullifica- tion, and who chafed under the diplomatic restraints with which the Administration surrounded itself in the hope of promoting a peaceful solution of the WAR OF THE REBELLION. 137 difficulties. The London Times, which represent- ed, and in no small measure manufactured, public opinion, not only in Great Britain but also through- out Europe, in referring to this period, ungenerous- ly or unwittingly said : — " The secession of South Carolina is to them what the secession of Lancashire would be to us ; it is treason and should be put down. But the North is full of sophists, rhetoricians, logicians and lawyers ; it has not a man of action. Mr. Seward can tell us what will not save the Union, but not what will. He looks upon secession as ideal and impossible. While he is dreaming the Confede- racy is strengthening. The Union seems to be destined to fall without a struggle, without a lament, without an epitaph. Each individual State finds numberless citizens ready to lay down their lives for its preservation ; but for the Union, the mighty firmament in which those stars are set, and which, though dark itself, lends them their peculiar lustre, nothing is done." But how different is this from the real picture ! On the 15th of April, two days after the fall of Sumter, President Lincoln called on the several States for 75,000 men to suppress the uprising, which was then regarded, even by those in the best position to judge, as little more than an evanes- cent entente. The proclamation also called an ex- tra session of Congress to be convened on the 4th of July. On the 19th of April he established a blockade of the forts of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Tex- as; and on the 27th of that month extended it to those of Virginia and North Carolina. The people were ready and promptly responded to the call of the President. Had the prescience of the governmental authorities been equal to the readiness and willingness of the common people, in all probability we should have been spared much of the bitter fruitage which early lassitude com- pelled us to reap. "To an eye-witness," says Draper, in referring to the response of the North, " there was something very impressive in the action of the people. A foreign observer remarked, ' With them all is sacrifice, devotion, grandeur and purity of purpose — with the poor, if possible, even more than the rich.' In the large cities great meetings were held, in which men of all parties united. Party lines vanished. There was none of that frantic delirium which was manifested in the Slave States, but a solemn acceptance of what was clearly recognized to be a fearful but unavoidable duty — 'Faint not, falter not; the republic is in peril' "* The Livingston Union, of Mt. Morris, in referring to secession, in an editorial under date of * Draper's History of the A merican Civil IKir, J/., 7y. March 20, 1861, says: — "* * * it can no longer be treated as a brief malady whose virulence will subside under the influence of careful nursing and soothing mixtures. Its cure, if possible at all, will require the greatest wisdom — the most self- sacrificing patriotism." Such it proved. On the day after the proclamation was issued some Pennsylvania companies reported for duty in Washington, just in time to frustrate a plot for the seizure of that city.* Within four days Massachu- setts had despatched four regiments, and in less than a week her whole quota was far in advance towards Washington. The passage of the Sixth Massachusetts through Baltimore on the 19th of April was resisted by an infuriated mob, which assailed it with guns and revolvers, and with bricks, stones and pieces of iron thrown from the upper windows of the houses. The regiment sus- tained a loss of three killed and eight wounded, and killed eleven and wounded four of the assail- ants. Maryland and others of the border slave states endeavored to observe an "armed neutrality" between the North and South — a means by which they hoped to secure immunity from attack them- selves, while they would be able to aid the South by prohibiting the passage of Northern troops through their borders, and by giving her direct material succor under this guise. New York, instead of filling the requisition on her for seventeen regiments — between 13,000 and 14,000 men — for three months, for which the 75,000 were called, raised 30,000 men for two years and added a war loan of $3,000,000. Many other states acted in like manner ; Rhode Island not only instantly sent her quota and added a loan, but her governor, Sprague, went at the head of her troops. Within fifteen days 350,000 men had offered their services. The South, by years of anticipation and covert preparation, were in a better state of readiness than the North, and were thus able to precipitate events with astounding rapidity. The conviction of the extent of that preparation, the magnitude of the struggle, and the means necessary to oppose it, forced itself only gradually on the minds of the authorities at Washington, who repressed rather than stimulated a popular uprising. It soon became evident that the time of the 75,000 three months' men would expire before they could be fully armed and equipped. On the 3d of May, 1861, a call was issued for 42,034 vol- unteers for three years, and provision made to in- * Ibid 11, 7* 138 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. crease the regular army by 22,714 men and the navy by 18,000 men, for five years. On the 1st of July two hundred and eighty regiments had been accepted. Congress met July 4th and July 22, 1861, voted $500,000,000 and 400,000 more men, of which New York's quota was 25,000 men, who were called for on the 25th of July, four days after the disastrous battle of Hull Run, which was fought mi Sunday, July 21, 1861, mostly with three months' men, whose time was then expiring. July 29th the addition of 25,000 men to the regular army was authorized. Livingston county's contributions to the quotas under these early calls were both prompt and gen erous. Public meetings were held in various parts of the county and eloquently addressed by able speakers. Each village and hamlet became the (enter of an organized effort in this interest, and as these measures were mostly prosecuted by the several towns in their independent capacities, they will be noticed more in detail in connection with the several towns. Six hundred volunteers were raised in the county for the first thirty-eight two- years' regiments. In Dansville, seventy-seven men were recruited by Captain Carl Stephan, and be- came Co. B of the 13th regiment; for which a second company (G) was raised there by Captain Ralph T. Wood in the summer and fall of 1861. During the winter a third company was raised for this regiment in Dansville and Rochester, by Job C. Hedges and Albert S. Lema, of Dansville, and Lt. C. S. Benjamin, of Co. A in that regiment, who opened an office in Rochester. Enough men for another company were raised in Avon, Lima, Li- vonia, Geneseo and Caledonia, and were distributed through that regiment. Captain James Perkins recruited eighty-five men in Lima, and Captain Charles E. Martin, eighty-eight men in Mt. Mor- ris, for the 27th regiment, the former becoming Co. G and the latter Co. H. Captain Wilson B. War- ford recruited seventy-four men in Geneseo, and Captain James M. McNair, seventy-seven in N'unda, for the 33d regiment, the former becoming Co. E and the latter Co. F. Both these towns subse- quently sent forward recruits to fill the depleted ranks of their companies. A large number of young men of this county enlisted in various cavalry and artillery regiments — the 19th. 2 2d and 24th cavalry and 14th artillery. The 13th Regiment was raised in Rochester, by Col. Isaac F. Quimby, and in April, 1861, and on its organization in F.lmira, May 6, 1861, Captain Stephan, of the Dansville company, was chosen Lieutenant-Colonel, George Hyland, Jr., who was formerly First Lieutenant of his company, became its captain. The Dansville band joined this regi- ment in F.lmira. May 20th. It was the first regi- ment which passed through Baltimore after the Sixth Massachusetts was assaulted in the streets of that city by a mob. It served two years with marked distinction and was mustered out on the 14th of May, 1863. It participated in the follow- ing battles, as detailed in the Dansville Advertiser of February, 12. 1863: — Cub Run, July 18, 1861. Bull Run, " 21, 1861. N 1 irktown, April 5, 1 862. Siege of Yorktown till May 4, 1862. Hanover Court House, " 27, 1862. Mechanicsville, June 26, 1862. Gaines' Mill, June 27, 1862. Malvern Hill, July 1, 1862. Manassas, August 30, 1862. Shepardstown, Sept. 1 7, 1862. Antietam, " 19, 1862. Fredericksburgh, ... Dec. 13, 1862. The 27th Regiment was organized at F.lmira, May 21, 1 86 1. It was composed, besides the companies from this county, of Capt. Adams' com- pany from Lyons, Capt. Chambers' company from White Plains, the companies of Capts. Bartlett, Rodgers and Jay, from Binghamton, of Capt. Ar- chilles, from Albion, of Capt. Gardiner, from An- gelica, and Capt. Wanzer, from Rochester. Henry W. Slocum, of Syracuse, a graduate of West Point, and for eighteen years in the regular service, hav- ing participated in the Florida and Mexican wars, was chosen Colonel ; Joseph J. Chambers, of White Plains, Lieutenant-Colonel ; and Joseph J. Bartlett, of Binghamton, Major. As it was cus- tomary to give the early regiments names in addi- tion to their numeral designation, this was denomi- nated "Union Regiment." It was mustered at Elmira, for two years, July 5, 1861, ami the next day set out for Washington, where it arrived on the nth, and was assigned to the First brigade, (Col. Andrew Porter,) of the Second division, (Gen. Hunter.) It left Washing- ton on the 16th and on the 18th encamped near Centerville. At two o'clock on the morning of Sunday, July 21, 1 861, it marched to the field of Bull Run, where it first encountered the 27th Vir- ginia regiment, which fell back. It next met the 8th Georgia, which fell back till reenforced, when the 27th was repulsed and took refuge under a hill. It was soon ordered to charge a battery stationed on a knoll, which it did under a heavy fire which told fearfully on its ranks. Col. Slocum was WAR OF THE REBELLION. *39 wounded, the color guard reduced from nine to two. The movement was abandoned. It retired from the field in good order, but on reaching the road its ranks were broken and it participated in the confused retreat to Washington. August 14th it encamped near Alexandria, where Col. Slocum was promoted Brigadier-General, and Lieut.- Colonel Chambers resigned. Major Bartlett was made Colonel, Captain Adams, Lieut.-Colonel, and Capt. Gardiner, Major. Sept. 12th the regi- ment, having been assigned to Slocum's brigade, with the 1 6th New York and Franklin's division, commenced the construction of Fort Lyon, and on the 14th of October went into winter quarters four miles north of it. March 13, 1862, the Division with which it was connected was attached to Gen. McDowell's (1st) corps. April 16th the divisions of Generals Franklin and Smith were detached from Mc- Dowell's corps, and May 7 th, were organized as the 6th corps, under Gen. Franklin, Gen. Slocum succeeding Franklin in command of the Division. This arrangement was not subsequently changed during the term of service of the 27 th, although the officers in command were changed, Gen. Bartlett succeeding to the command of the brigade, Gen. Brooks, to that of the division, and Gen. Sedgwick, to that of the corps. April 12, 1862, the division to which the 27th belonged embarked on transports, and on the after- noon of the 23d sailed to Fortress Monroe. On the 24th it encamped on the Peninsula about seven miles from Yorktown, in the siege of which it par- ticipated. May 5th, the day succeeding the evacu- ation of Yorktown, it went with other forces to the head of navigation on York river and landed under cover of the gunboats, which dispersed the rebel cavalry and infantry skirmishing on the shore. The 27th were the first to land, and as the enemy was near, six companies were deployed as skirm- ishers, the others acting as a reserve. Picket firing was opened and continued during the night. The regiment lost several in killed and wounded, and captured a few prisoners. On the morning of the 7th the enemy surprised the Union troops while at breakfast, but were repulsed after a sharp engage- ment with the loss of one of their batteries. On Thursday, the 2 2d of May, a reconnoissance was made in which the 27th participated; and from this time until June 29th it was actively en- gaged, most of the time in skirmishing, in connec- tion with McClellan's peninsula campaign. On the afternoon of the 27th, the second of the Seven Days' Fight, it crossed the Chickahominy to the support of Gen. Porter, who was strongly pressed by an overwhelming rebel force, and took part in the desperate encounter of Gaines' Mill. The 27th went into action about 5 i». m., on the extreme right of Porter's corps, drove the enemy from his position by a bayonet charge, and captured a large number of prisoners. They held their position till dark, when Porter withdrew his forces and joined in the retreat towards Harrison's Landing. The regiment lost in this engagement 179 men in killed, wounded and missing. At Charles City Cross Roads, on the 30th of June, it skirmished and sup- ported batteries; and at Malvern Hill, July 1st, was early sent into action on the right of the army to prevent a flank movement. The regiment remained at Harrison's Landing till about the middle of August, when, McClellan having been ordered to withdraw his army to the support of Gen. Pope in repelling Lee's sortie through Maryland, it retraced its steps down the Peninsula, and embarked at Newport News for Alexandria. Thence it was sent to the support of Pope, and arrived at Centerville on the night of the 30th of August, in time to cover Pope's retreat from the second battle of Bull Run, but too late to affect the issue of that desperately fought contest. It followed the retreat and went into camp at Fort Lyon. The regiment was engaged in the battle of South Mountain, Sept. 14th, acting as skirmishers and routing a rebel battery; and in that of Antietam, with its horrible carnage, three days later, but, though supporting batteries and being under heavy fire all day, suffered no loss. It join ed in the pur- suit of Lee, and on the 13th of December, shared with the army under Burnside, who superseded Mc- Clellan in command Nov. 8th, in the terrible dis- aster at Fredericksburgh. The 27th was the first regiment to cross the Rappahannock in the left grand division of the army. Burnside withdrew his army from this memorable field on the 15th, and the 27th spent the winter in camp at White Oak church. In the latter part of April it was again engaged at Fredericksburgh, under Sedgwick ; and on the 3d of May, in the disastrous defeat at Chancellorsville, under Hooker. From this time it guarded Bank's Ford till the expiration of its term of service. May 13, 1863, General Sedgwick directed their muster out, which took place at Elmira, May 31, 1863. The order contained the following allusion to their services : — "The general commanding the corps congratu- ■4° HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. lates the officers and men of the 27th N. Y. Vols, upon their honorable return to civil life. They have enjoyed the respect and confidence of their commanders and companions. They have illustra- ted their term of service by gallant deeds and have won for themselves a reputation not surpassed in the Army of the Potomac, and have nobly earned the gratitude of the Republic." The 33d Regiment, composed, besides the companies from this county, of two companies from Seneca Falls and one each from Pal- myra, Waterloo, Geneva, Canandaigua, Penn Yan and Buffalo, was organized at Elmira, May 21, 1861, and Robert F. Taylor chosen Colonel. It left that rendezvous on the 8th of July, and like the 27th, with which its military career was nearly a parallel, shared the varying fortunes of the Army of the Po- tomac, participating in the battles of Yorktown, Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, Malvern Hill, Lee's Mill, Second Bull Run, Antietam and Fredericksburg]], besides other minor engagements, and at the expi- ration of its term of service, being connected with the command of Gen. Sedgwick, received from him the same complimentary notice as the 27th. The regiment was mustered out June 2, 1863. Livingston County raised 750 two years' volun- teers between June 1, 186 r, and July 1, 1862 ; and 1,500 three years' volunteers from July 1, 1862, to July 1, 1863, making a total of 2,850 up to the latter date. Some portion of these were connected with the 75th and 89th regiments. The second company of volunteers from Mt. Morris, which was raised by Capt. C. W. Burt, and left for Elmira September 13, 1861, was attached to the latter regiment which was commanded by Col. Fairchild and left Elmira for Washington, December 6, 1 86 1. It sailed with Burnside's Expedition, and was left at Fort Clark, Cape Hatteras, where the men were drilled. Sept. 24, 1861, a regimental camp was formed at Gcneseo, under Col. John Rorbach, for recruiting the 104th Regiment, or " Wadsworth Guards," a name it received in honor of General James S. Wadsworth, who was desirous that Livingston county should be represented in the service by a complete regiment, and first suggested its organiza- tion. Recruiting for it was general throughout most of this county and in a portion of Wyoming county. Sept. 30, 1861, Capt. Henry G. Tuthill, with sixty men, arrived in Geneseo, with the first company for this regiment. It afterwards became Co. A. The second company of about forty men reported three or four days after. These two com- panies were quartered in the hotels of the village until barracks for their accommodation were built soon after, on the old camp ground at the head of North street. To this rendezvous, which received the name of Camp Union, the men were sent as fast as they arrived. By the 24th of January, 1862, ten companies had been recruited to the minimum number and on that day were mustered into the United States service by Capt. E. G. Marshall. By the close of February the regiment had been re- cruited to 683 enlisted men and 20 commissioned officers; and on the 25th of that month it left Gen- eseo, "amid the cheers and tears of thousands, who had assembled to bid them ' God-speed,' " for Al- bany, where it was formed into seven companies, and consolidated with a skeleton regiment of about 300 men, under command of Col. John J. Viele, then in cam]) at Troy, which became Companies H, I and K of the 104th, the seven companies from Geneseo being lettered from A to G, inclus- ive. The regiment thus formed contained 1,040 men, and the following js a roster of the field, staff and commissioned officers, as taken from the order organizing the regiment, issued March 8 1862:— Colonel — John Rorbach. Lieut.-Colonel — R. Wells Kenyon. Major — Lewis C. Skinner. Adjutant — Frederick T. Vance. Quarter-Master — Henry V. Colt. Surgeon — Enos G. Chase. Asst- Surgeon — Douglas S. Landon. Chaplain — Daniel Russell. Company A — Captain, Henry G. Tuthill ; First Lieutenant, ; Second Lieutenant, Al- bert S. Haver. Company B — Captain, Lehman H. Day; First Lieutenant, Henry A. Wiley; Second Lieutenant, Homer M. Stull. Company C — Captain, Stephen L. Wing; First Lieutenant, Henry Runyan ; Second Lieutenant, Nelson J. Wing. Company D — -Captain, Zophar Simpson ; First Lieutenant, Jacob H. Stutt ; Second Lieutenant, George H. Starr. Company E — Captain, H. C. Lattimore; First Lieutenant, Wm. F. Lozier; Second Lieutenant, Wm. 1 .. Trembley. Company F — Captain, Gilbert G. Prey; First Lieutenant, Luman F. Dow; Second Lieutenant, W. J. Hemstreet. Company G — Captain, James A. Gault ; First Lieutenant, John P. Rudd ; Second Lieutenant, John R. Strang. Company H — Captain, James K. Selleck ; First Lieutenant, E. B. Wheeler ; Second Lieutenant, Thomas Johnston. Company I — Captain, John Kelley; First Lieu- tenant, J. J. McCarffey; Second Lieutenant, Chas. W. Fisher. WAR OF THE REBELLION. 141 Company K — Captain, John C. Thompson ; First Lieutenant, John H. Miller; Second Lieuten- ant, Wm. C. Wilson. The regiment left Albany on the 20th of March, and late in the evening of the 22d arrived in Wash- ington, where for the first time the men had the experience, so common in after years, of sleeping upon the open ground, or the still more filthy de- pot floor. The next day it went into camp at Kalorama Heights, three miles from the Capitol, , and there remained about three weeks, during which time arms (Enfield rifles) and accoutrements were issued to the men, and ceaseless drill went on. Early in April it was attached to Gen. Abram Duryee's brigade, which also contained the 97th and 105th New York and 107th Pennsylvania reg- iments. After a month spent at Alexandria in drill, in which the 104th excelled, it advanced to Catlett Station, Va., to be in position for the for- ward movement by McDowell from Fredericks- burgh. Here the regiment was presented with a magnificent stand of colors, gurdons, etc., by Mrs. Gen. James S. Wadsworth, in recognition of the compliment paid her gallant husband in naming the regiment the " Wadsworth Guards." On the 24th of May, the 104th was detached from its brigade and proceeded by rail to Thorough- fare Gap to join the command of Gen. Geary, who was then confronting Gen. Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley. It arrived in time to partici- pate in a hasty and toilsome retreat to Manassas, in which it lost its tents, stores and equipage which could not be carried on the person. On the 28th of May, it returned to Catlett Station, where it re- mained three weeks as an independent command, picketing all the adjacent country. About the middle of June, Gen. Duryee, who had withdrawn during the temporary absence of the regiment, re- turned with the rest of the brigade to Catlett Sta- tion. The camp of the 104th was removed to a low marsh, which resulted disastrously to the health of the regiment, diarrhea and a low type of mala- rial fever becoming very prevalent. Several lives were thus sacrificed and about one hundred were sent to general hospitals, many of whom never re- turned to duty with the regiment. July 5th the brigade moved to Warrenton, and on the 2 2d to Waterloo, where it was attached to Rickett's division of McDowell's corps. August 5th Gen. Pope, who was assigned to the consoli- dated commands of Fremont, Banks and McDow- ell, designated the Army of Virginia, June 26, 1862, commenced a diversion in favor of McClel- lan, who was operating on the Peninsula, which eventually brought on him the combined and over- whelming forces of Lee and Jackson, and forced his dispirited columns, shattered in the fierce con- flicts on the plains of Manassas, within the defenses of Washington. The first contest occurred at Cedar Mountain on the 9th of August. The T04th reached the field of battle on the evening of that day, but too late to take any special part in the en- gagement. It was for a time, (the first time,) under a sharp artillery fire, but sustained no loss. His communications being threatened, Jackson, though the victor in this encounter, retired across the Rapidan, whence Pope's retrograde movement commenced on the 18th. Pope took post behind the north fork of the Rappahannock on the 19th, where the 104th held a position near the railroad bridge crossing that stream, and was exposed to a sharp artillery fire, during a feigned attempt of the enemy to cross the river to facilitate Jackson's flank movement by Thoroughfare Gap, on the right of Pope's army. The regiment was detached with its division to intercept Jackson's retreat through Thoroughfare Gap, but met the enemy in such force as to compel a retreat to Manassas, where it arrived on the evening of the 29th, after an exhausting march of nearly thirty miles. The men slept on their arms, and at early dawn the next day relieved some troops who were holding a piece of woods through which ran an unused railroad embankment. The line was advanced across this embankment under a sharp musketry fire from the enemy concealed in the dense under- growth beyond. The regiment sustained a loss of several in killed and wounded, including one officer, Lieut. John P. Rudd. The line retired behind the embankment, which it held, notwithstanding a fierce attempt was made to dislodge it. About noon the brigade was removed to a new position, from which it was forced back about 4 p. m., by an overwhelming force of the enemy, retreating in haste and some confusion, in common with the rest of the army, to Centerville, which was reached during the night. The loss sustained by the 104th was five killed, forty-one wounded and forty-eight missing, most of the latter of whom were taken prisoners. During the succeeding night the retreat was con- tinued to Fairfax Court House, and on the after- noon of Sept. 1st, the 104th was hurried toward the field of Chantilly, where, during a terrible thunder storm, a second attempt to turn Pope's flank by Jackson was defeated by Gen. Kearney, I 4 2 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. who, together with Gen. Stevens, were killed in that action. Then followed the retreat to Washington, the retirement of Gen. Pope, the return of McClellan to the chief command, and various other changes, including the substitution of Hooker for Mel >owell as the corps commander of the 104th. After a halt of only four days in the vicinity of Washington, began the Maryland campaign, in which the first note-worthy event was the battle of South Mountain, which occurred on the 14th of September. While Reno's attack was progressing, Rickett's division pressed up the mountain about 5 p. m., and reached the crest in time to participate in the engagement. Duryee's brigade, of which the 104th led the advance, occupied the right of the line, and forced its way through fields and tangled underbrush, and over steep and ragged rocks, with great impetuosity. The 104th escaped with the loss of only one man wounded, the fire of the enemy passing over their heads owing to the steepness of the ascent. On the evening of the 16th, position was taken upon the field of Antietam. At early dawn of the following day, Hooker, who occupied the right of McClellan's line, made a furious attack, and drove Jackson's brigade, with severe loss, upon his reserves, who, after an infuriated struggle, checked Hooker's advance. Duryee's brigade, which had been designated as a reserve the night previous, now found itself upon the front, without any reserve. Advancing steadily in a position absolutely without shelter, they were met with a terrific storm of iron and lead, which at last rendered it beyond the power of mortal man to advance farther, and the men lay down for temporary shelter. Twice they were driven sullenly back, but rallying again, each time with desperate energy, they again ad- vanced, and held their line until the arrival of reinforcements about 10 a. m., when they were withdrawn. " The antagonists," says Draper, " fight- ing in a cloud of sulphury smoke, almost extermi- nated each other." The loss of the 104th in this engagement was nine killed and sixty-seven wounded. To this succeeded the inactivity of camp life at Mercersville, Md., till the 26th of October, when the army crossed into Virginia, and on the 7th of December the regiment was on the banks of the Rappahannock, a few miles below Fredericksburgh. During these marches Burnside had superseded McClellan in command of the army ; Maj.-Gen. John F. Reynolds was now the corps commander; Brig.-Gen. John Gibbon, in command of the division, and Col. A. R. Root, of the brigade; while Major Skinner succeeded Col. Prey in com- mand of the regiment. The 104th crossed the river on the 12th and on the 13'th went into action below Fredericksburgh, participating in the assault of Gen. Franklin on the left of the line, which broke through the enemy's line, and gained the heights, but being unsupported was forced back. The brigade with which the 104th was connected, having been in reserve, was ordered to drive the enemy from a sunken railroad track, which they did by a gallant bayonet charge, cap- turing about 200 prisoners and driving the enemy far into the woods beyond. The right, under Sumner, who was principally engaged, was the scene of a terrible carnage. The 104th lost in this ill-starred encounter 5 killed, 45 wounded, and 3 missing, of the latter of whom two were afterwards ascertained to have been killed. During the night of the 15th Burnside quietly withdrew his army to the north side of the river without loss, and the 104th went into winter quarters near Belle Plain, Va., where it remained till near the 1st of May following, the quiet of winter being only once inter- rupted by that episode known as "Burnside's Mud March." On the 28th of April the regiment left its winter camp and advanced first to Fredericksburgh, and thence to the field of Chancellorsville, but was not actively engaged in that disastrous conflict. It again went into camp at White Oak church, anil there remained until the middle of June, when it participated in those movements which culminated at Gettysburgh, the battle of the war, at which place the 104th arrived July 1st. On the morning of that day, Buford's cavalry met and engaged the enemy to the westward of Gettysburg, holding him in partial check till Reynolds reached the scene of action, with Wadsworth's division in advance. Al- most with the first dash of the infantry forces came the great disaster of the day — the death of Gen. Reynolds, who commanded the corps to which the 104th belonged. Our forces gained a temporary advantage, Wadsworth's division driving the ene- my some distance, and capturing numerous prison- ers, among them Gen. Archer. But, though How- ard had come to their support with the nth corps, the rapidly increasing disparity in their numbers compelled them to give way. With a persistence and tenacity worthy of all praise the 1st corps clung to the line of Seminary Ridge, prolonging the line of battle to the right by utilizing all the reserve, WAR OF THE REBELLION. 143 until at last the whole corps was in one. line of bat- tle, the 104th being upon the extreme right, and resting upon the Cashtown road, at some distance beyond which, with quite an interval between, were deployed two divisions of the nth corps. All along this line from 10 a. m., until about 3 p. m., waged a hotly contested battle. During the last hour of this time the loss of the 104th was very severe, as it was exposed to a mur- derous enfilading fire at short range. The arrival of Ewell's forces from York and Carlisle, forced back the divisions of the nth corps with confusion, and gave easy access to the flank and rear of the 1st corps, which fell back slowly and sullenly on the city, in the streets of which it became a broken and confused mass. They were closely fol- lowed by the enemy, who poured in their fire with deadly effect and secured a good many prisoners. They soon reached Cemetery Hill, where Gen. Howard, by a happy inspiration, had posted his third division, with three batteries of artillery, and behind these the shattered corps withdrew to re- form its ranks. Three officers and forty-three men of the 104th alone answered to the first roll-call. On the morning of the next day the number had increased to ninety. During the rest of the battle the first corps was held in reserve, brigades and regiments being de- tached to strengthen weak points hard pressed by the enemy. Thus it happened that the brigade to which the 104th was attached took part in the fierce struggle on the evening of the 2d of July, when Sickles' corps was almost overwhelmed ; and again on the 3d were called on to occupy succes- sively several distinct points where danger seemed to be great, finally taking part in the repulse of Pettigrew's division in the afternoon, and being in plain sight of the wonderful charge made by Pick- ett's division on that memorable day. The casualties in the 104th were 15 killed, 86 wounded, and 94 missing, (mostly taken prisoners,) at least nine-tenths of which occurred on the first day. Lee was feebly pursued into Virginia, and various counter movements ensued without, however, bringing on an engagement. During the succeed- ing fall about 250 recruits were infused into the shattered ranks of the regiment ; but as a large number of these were substitutes and men who had enlisted to make money by the operation, and took the first opportunity to desert, not much more than half that number was a real addition to its strength. The brigade to which the 104th belonged, then composed additionally of the 16th Maine, and the 13th and 39th Massachusetts, was removed about the 20th of December, 1863, to Mitchell's Station, in the immediate vicinity of the battlefield of Cedar Mountain, where it did out-post and picket duty, far in advance of the rest of the army, until the opening of the spring of 1864. During the winter 113 men of this regiment who had served two years, reenlisted for three years. They received a thirty-days' furlough, and were designated by gen- eral orders "veteran volunteers." During this time also a reorganization of the Army of the Po- tomac was effected. The 104th was attached to the 5th corps, to the command of which Major General G. K. Warren was assigned. On the 4th of May, 1864, the Army of the Po- tomac, now commanded by Gen. U. S. Grant, com- menced a vigorous advance movement, the 5th corps taking the lead. The enemy was encoun- tered on the 5th in the " Wilderness," and then com- menced a series of battles and movements, which, from the stupendous losses they inflicted on our army, were without a parallel in the history of the war. The 104th took an honorable part in the battles of the Wilderness, and the several engage- ments at Spottsylvania Court House, North Anna River and Bethesda Church. In the forty-three clays which elapsed between the crossing of the Rapidan and the James, there were but five in which the regiment was not under fire. The total losses during this period were 6 killed, 37 wounded and 3 missing. The regiment crossed the James on the 16th of June and were hurried forward to the front of Pe- tersburg, the heights to the south of which had been carried the previous day by Gen. \V. F. Smith. On the 18th, to the 104th New York and 1 2th Massachusetts was assigned the task of cap- turing the Petersburg and Norfolk railroad, which they did in splendid style, in the face of a heavy artillery fire at short range, "the charge of the 104th on that occasion," says Col. John R. Strang, to whose history of the regiment we are mainly in- debted for these facts, "being, in my opinion, the most brilliant achievement of their whole service. Not content with capturing the railroad, they pushed forward to a considerable distance beyond, and then deploying as skirmishers, drove the rebel skirmishers inside of their earthworks, and for a time, by picking off the exposed artillerymen, silenced the battery which had so annoyed them during the charge, enabling our line of battle to take possession of the railroad track without loss." M4 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. On the 26th of June it moved to the Jerusalem Plank Road, where the brigade constructed and garrisoned Fort Warren, afterwards officially desig- nated Fort Davis, and was constantly engaged in picket and skirmish duty until about the 18th of August. On the morning of that day it made a long detour to the southwest, struck the Weldon railroad a few miles north of Ream's Station, and took possession of it for several miles with but little opposition. Up to the commencement of this movement, from the time of crossing the James river, the casualties in the regiment were 6 killed, 32 wounded and 2 missing. It then numbered less than 300; but of these about 100 were recently arrived recruits, who were unarmed and did not accompany it. This movement on the Weldon railroad left a gap between Warren's corps, (the 5th,) which was engaged in it, and the troops on his right, and into this, on the 19th of August, Lee thrust Mahone's division, taking 2,000 prisoners, but being event- ually driven back into his lines. The division to which the 104th belonged, then commanded by Gen. S. W. Crawford, occupied the right of War- ren's line, and the brigade to which it belonged, the right of that division. Suspecting that such an attempt would be made, the 107th Pennsylvania was ordered to deploy as skirmishers to prevent surprise from that quarter ; but a vigorous attack now being made on their front that regiment was unable to execute the movement, and the 104th were ordered from their hastily constructed trenches for that purpose. After proceeding about one- fourth of a mile through a dense forest filled with underbrush, the regiment suddenly and unex- pectedly encountered Mahone's division, by which it was almost immediately surrounded. After a few minutes' sharp lighting, in which a few were wounded, every commissioned officer and nearly every enlisted man, were captured and sent into the rebel lines, where many of them died in rebel prisons, and most of the remainder were so en- feebled by exposure and starvation as to be wholly unfit for further service. Few ever returned to the regiment, which was thus left without a single field or line officer present for duty, and so remained during the entire fall and winter following. Its ranks were increased by recruits until it again num- bered about 250 enlisted men. Capt. Graham, of the 39th Massachusetts, was assigned to its com- mand, and it was ordered on duty at corps head- quarters, where it remained until after Lee's sur- render. Col. Strang, who was wounded and taken prisoner at the Weldon railroad, returned to the regiment April 5, 1865. About the last of April, 1865, the regiment was restored to its former brigade, and accompanied the army on its return to the vicinity of Washing- ton. It was mustered out at Flmira, July 17, 1865, and paid off and finally discharged on the 29th of that month. The following tabulated statement presents a general summary of the total number of officers and men who were ever connected with the regi- ment, and the disposition of them : — n rt a Q ■P. £ 1 E r. Z O .2 U 1 3 - 6 ■j 5 z O & o< S >■ — -3 u - z .= ■a -a - 1 from d from sing ii S /8 3 ri = g — « c u r B Si-S 1 -h M ^ 2 = = •0 c 3 1 1 19 3 a s 2 1 .. .— .- P.XZ :v'4 1 3 6 2 £ 2 £ ■i i ' nis'ned On S4 10 Non-conimis'ed Staff. 17 6 ... 7 •• ' i Company A .... ■ 5i 7 4 14 07 8 i 15 10 »s B l6q 8 • ■ 2 16 . 57 11 2 40 l| 10 " c ... . 154 5 5 ■; 78 12 J 10 9 ■7 '* 11 l?6 6 • 4 16 1 so 9 1 II 6 26 E 160 4 ; 11 .. 6o 10 2 ji IS 20 '• F 158 4 '4 S 72 6 J 17 16 2i " 1; .. . H»l 1 j 10 1 66 ■1 2 )2 5 M *■' ■68 4 5 .. 46 1 I 72 2 28 " I .. .... • >*, 4 S 8 2 S6 7 * 45 7 1! " K ■ SS 4 S 6 6 54.- 7 * 32 19 11 Tol lis. 1704 51 H« 15 "6 IJ647'»4 ! (> 10 it v.- 10 260 The serious losses sustained by the Federal armies in the early campaigns of 1862, inducec. the President on the 2d of July of that year, to call for an additional 300,000 men, to serve for three years or during the war ; and to facilitate and sys- tematize the labor of raising them, and equalize the burdens to be borne, military districts were formed, and committees appointed to represent the various counties embraced therein. Under this call, and the succeeding one on the 4th of August following for a like number, the 130th and 136th regiments were formed. July 7, 1862, the State was divided into military districts corresponding with the Senatorial districts. Geneseowas designated the recruiting rendezvous for the 30th district, which then comprised the counties of Livingston, Allegany and Wyoming, and the following named persons were constituted the military committee for the district: Hon. Clias. Colt, chairman, Amos A. Hendee, Walter F. Lau- derdale, Geneseo; W. S. Fullerton, Sparta; James Faulkner, Alonzo Bradner, Dansville; McNeil Sey- mour, Mt. Morris ; Alfred Bell, Nunda ; Martin Grover, Wilkes Angel, Angelica ; M. B. Champlin, Cuba ; John B. Halsted, Castile ; L. W. Thayer, H. L. Comstock, Warsaw ; John B. Skinner, 2d, WAR OF THE REBELLION. '45 Attica. Gen. W. S. Fullerton of Sparta, was se- lected as the Commandant of the military depot for this district, which, pursuant to the request of the committee was soon changed to Portage, and there barracks were erected for the accommodation of recruits who rapidly congregated there. With a view to stimulating enlistments, the follow- ing enactments were passed by the general gov- ernment : — " War Department. ) "Washington, D. C, June 21, 1862. )" "Pursuant to a joint resolution of Congress to encourage enlistments in the regular army and vol- unteer forces it is " Ordered, That a premium of two dollars shall be paid for each accepted recruit that volunteers for three years or during the war ; and every sol- dier who hereafter enlists, either in the regular army or the volunteers for three years, or during the war, may receive his first month's pay in advance upon the mustering of his company into the service of the United States, or after he shall have been mus- tered and joined a regiment already in the service. This order will be transmitted to the Governors of States and recruiting officers. " Edwin M. Stanton, " Secretary of War." " War Department, ) "Washington, D. C, July 2, 1862. j "Ordered, That out of the appropriation for collecting, organizing and drilling volunteers, there shall be paid in advance to each recruit for three years, or during the war, the sum of $25, being one -fourth of the amount of bounty allowed bylaw ; such payment to be made upon the mustering of the regiment to which such recruits belong into the service of the United States. " Edwin M. Stank in, " Secretary of War." In addition to the government bounty of $100, Governor Morgan offered a State bounty of $50, to be paid at once to each private soldier who should enlist thereafter into the United States' ser- vice. > Enlistments were stimulated by these induce- ments, and in various parts of the county meetings were held to promote that object. July 25, 1862, an order was granted for raising the 130th Regiment, and such was the energy displayed that its ranks were filled within five weeks. An enthusiastic meeting was held at Scottsburgh, in the town of Sparta, July 28th, under the auspices of A. T. Slaight, Supervisor of the town, who energetically put his shoulder to the wheel, issuing stirring ap- peals to the patriotic Spartans to rally to the call of country. The M. E. church of Scottsburgh was filled to repletion, and stirring speeches were made by Drs. Jackson and Hurd and Prof. Porter of the Dansville Water Cure, Dr. Jocelyn, Capt. Smith and Lt. Lancey of Mt. Morris, and A. T. Slaight, Wm. Scott and Col. McNair of Scottsburgh. A committee was appointed to raise funds for the sup- port of the families of those who enlisted. Another meeting was held at the same place on the first of August. These were but samples of the energetic efforts put forth throughout the county. Lockwood L. Doty, then Private Secretary to Governor Morgan, offered a premium of $100 to the first ten men recruited in Groveland, his native town, in which also a bounty of $50 was offered to the first com- pany recruited in the district to the maximum stan- dard. Generous bounties were also offered by the several towns. Prof. Smith of the Academy in Mt. Morris, took hold of the business of recruiting with a will, to raise a company of which he was to be Captain, and Rev. S. H. Lancey, (who had seen service in the army as chaplain,) Lieutenant. Springwater, which had already done more than any other town in the county of its size, held a mass meeting July 31st. In Geneseo, Sidney Ward of the firm of Ward, Abbott & Wilkinson, opened a recruiting office, and gave zealous and efficient aid to the great work. In Avon, Capt. Orange Sackett, Jr., a young man well and favorably known in Livingston county, raised a company for the regiment to be formed in the district. In Conesus a well-attended and spirited meeting was held in the hotel of John McVicar on Saturday, July 26th, and a bounty of $30 voted to each volunteer from the town. The quota under the call was thirteen. In Dansville a highly enthusiastic meeting was held on Wednes- day, July 30th, and enlisted the earnest efforts of many of its ablest citizens. The town sent one full company (K.) under Capt. Leach, and another for the 136th, under Lt.-Col. L. B. Faulkner. In West Sparta Prof. D. F. Brown was the soul of the movement, spending his whole time in dis- tributing circulars and haranguing the people. A meeting of the citizens of that town was held in the M. E. church one mile north of Byersville, Thursday, August 6th, for the purpose of enrolling the names of volunteers. L. B. Fields, Supervisor of the town, was also active. At Canaseraga Hall. in Dansville, Tuesday evening, August 5th, Capt. Leach's war meeting was held in conjunction with Russell's War Panorama, and great enthusiasm pre- vailed. The meeting was addressed by O. W. West. G. H. Read, B. T. Squires, S. N. PL 146 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. J. H. Jackson and F. W. Hurd of Dansville, and A. E. Crittenden, recruiting officer for the town of Burns. At Springwater Capt. Leach held a war meeting on Monday, August 4, 1862, which was addressed by Dr. James C. Jackson. J. W. Smith 1). W. Noyes and L. B. Proctor. A meeting was held the same evening at South Livonia and ad- dressed by Capt. S. Ward, 0. W. West, E. K. Scott, A. A. Hoyt and others. The meetings in Dansville were followed by others on the 8th and 1 1 th of August, and stirring addresses were made by D. W. Noyes and S. Hubbard. York and Cal- edonia paid each one of their recruits $100. Sat- urday, August 9, 1862, a war meeting was held at Read's Corners, and was addressed by Lieut. West, Charles S. Hall, G. H. Read, B. T. Squires and William Hamsher. It was the first meeting held there and a great deal of enthusiasm was mani- fested. Other portions of the county made equally noble and strenuous efforts to fill the quotas without re- course to a draft, which was ordered to take place to supply deficiencies on the 15th of August. The 1.30th was sent to the seat of war September 6th, 1, 044 strong; and beforeit was completed the 136th was under way. The latter left for Washington with 874 men under Col. James Wood, October 20th. For these two regiments Livingston county fur- nished about 1,200 men. Between August 11, 1862, and Dec. 31, 1862, there was raised by tax and paid by the county for bounties to volunteers, $76,929; and by subscription, in 1862, $4,000. The 130th Regiment, afterwards the 1st N. Y. Dragoons, was composed of men from the three counties comprising the district. Companies B and K were from Livingston county, G and I, from Livingston and Allegany counties, C and D from Wyoming county, E, F and H, from Allegany county, and A, from Allegany and Wyoming comities. The following constituted its organiza- tion : — Colonel — William S. Fullerton.* Lieut. -Colonel — Thomas J. Thorpe. Major — RufuS Scott. Adjutant — George R. Cowee. Quartermaster — A. B. Lawrence. Surgeon — B. F. Rneeland. Company A — Captain, J. F. Bills; 1st Lieu tenant, ]. P. Robinson ; 2d Lieutenant, C. L. Daily. • Resigned before die regiment left the comity ; and Sept. 6, 1862, was succeeded by Alfred Gibbs, who had had twentj pears' expel ience in the regular army, and at West Point was in the same class as McClellan, at whose suggestion he was appointed. Company B — Captain, Howard M. Smith ; ist Lieutenant, S. Herbert Lancey ; 2d Lieutenant, Saul C. Culbertson. Company C — Captain, R. P. Taylor; ist Lieu- tenant, O. R. Cook ; 2d Lieutenant, S. V. Waldo. Company D — Captain, Jacob W. Knapp; ist Lieutenant, Leonard Wilkins; 2d Lieutenant, Jared M. Bills. Company E — Captain, Wheeler Hakes; ist Lieutenant, S. F. Randolph ; 2d Lieutenant, Flias Horton, Jr. Company F — Captain, Jeremiah Hatch; ist Lieutenant, S. A. Farnam ; 2d Lieutenant, A. K. Thorp. Company G — Captain, Alanson B. Cornell; ist Lieutenant, C. L. Brundage; 2d Lieutenant, G. Wiley Wells. Company H — Captain, Joel Wakeman ; ist Lieutenant, Ira Sayles; 2d Lieutenant. E. S. Os- good. Company I — Captain, James Lemen ; ist Lieu- tenant, R. A. Britton ; 2d Lieutenant, F. S. Adams. Company K — Captain, Andrew J. Leach; ist Lieutenant, James O. Slayton ; 2d Lieutenant, Edmund Hartman. The regiment was mustered into the United States' service Sept. 3, 1862, and three days there- after left its quarters at Portage for the seat of war, followed by the well-wishes of a vast throng of spectators who had gathered from all parts of the district to witness its departure. On the 13th it arrived at Suffolk, Va., where it remained until the following summer, performing the duties of an advanced garrison, and suffering the inconvenience of a malarial district contiguous to the I Hsmal Swamp. While in this position it participated in an expe- dition which repulsed a force under Gen. Roger A. Pryor, who was advancing on Suffolk, losing in the engagement about thirty men killed and wounded. It left the camp at midnight of the 29th of January, with a force of 3,500 infantry, 12 pieces of artillery, and Spear's cavalry, the whole com- manded by Corcoran, and about 4 o'clock on the morning of the 30th, encountered a similar force of the enemy midway between Suffolk and Black- water. For two hours it lay in support of and immediately behind the artillery, exposed to a galling fire. Col. Gibbs ventured to remonstrate with Corcoran at this disposition, and suggested that the infantry be placed on the flanks of the artillery, but for his temerity he was placed under arrest and deprived of his sword. Corcoran's brigade, which was still farther to the rear, was soon thrown into confusion, and broke into pre- cipitate retreat. Corcoran was obliged to retire and join in the effort to rally them. The artillery WAR OF THE REBELLION. 147 withdrew, and the infantry supports lay in front of the enemy without direction. The cry to advance without orders was raised and passed quickly along the line. The three regiments composing the sup- port dashed forward and drove the enemy before them, until recalled by Corcoran, who, after re- forming his brigade, resumed the pursuit, but only succeeded in overtaking a small rear-guard. Col. Gibbs, though under arrest, and destitute of horse or sword, joined in this impetuous charge, and seizing the flag of the regiment, heroically led the advance. April 3, 1863, Gen. Longstreet invested their position in force, and on the 17th of that month, the 130th, with two other regiments, made a bril- liant sortie, for the purpose of developing the enemy's strength. They drove the enemy from his rifle pits and first line of works, compelling him to disclose the main body of his force, and could with difficulty be induced to retire. The loss of the 130th was only eight or ten killed and wounded. The siege was raised on the ist of May and the 130th joined in the pursuit. After participating in some minor operations on the Peninsula, the regiment was ordered to join the Army of the Potomac, which it did at Berlin on the 19th of July, and with it proceeded to Warrenton, Va., where, July 28, 1863, it was changed to a cavalry organization and designated the 1st New York Dragoons. At Manassas it was instructed in the cavalry drill, and in September was mounted. After a few days' mounted drill it resumed active duty, making a reconnoissance on the 1 2th of October through Thoroughfare Gap, to ascertain if the enemy were threatening the rear of the Union army, which was then being pressed back by Lee from the Rapidan. Having proceed- ed to Salem without finding the enemy, it returned and joined the army near Catlett's Station. From thence it guarded the approaches on the left flank of the retreating army to Centerville, whence it re-crossed Bull Run on the evening of the 16th, and engaged in a skirmish on its recent camp ground. On the evening of the 17th on the plains of Manassas, it charged a brigade of rebel cavalry and, single-handed, drove them to near Bristow Station, with considerable loss, continuing the pursuit until night, and resuming it the follow- ing day to the Rappahannock, but without further engagement. It was engaged in picket duty at Morrisville and Bealton till November 8th, when it made a rapid advance with the cavalry column, crossing the Rappahannock at Sulphur Spring, and attacked the enemy in flank as they were retreating through Culpepper on the 9th, inflicting severe punishment, but sustaining no loss. The following day the pursuit was continued to the Rapidan. The regi- ment soon after went into camp near Culpepper, whence, in several important reconnaissances, it engaged the enemy, on one occasion capturing a signal station on Slaughter Mountain, and on an- other developing the full strength of the enemy in its works at Rapidan Station. On the 23d of No- vember, in aid of the contemplated operations at Mine Run, in connection with other forces, it crossed the river at Ely's Ford, occupied the heights beyond, and raided the country to and beyond Chancellorsville, returning to Culpepper on the abandonment of the movement. The regiment soon after went into winter quarters near Mitchell's Station, and was occupied during the winter in picketing the Rapidan. May 4th, 1864, it was again in active service on the left of Grant's army. It was engaged in the Wilderness, and on the afternoon of May 7th, it attacked a greatly superior force of the enemy on a small run near Todd's Tavern, maintaining the unequal contest till far into the night, twice re- forming its line, broken by the desperate assaults of the enemy, who were each time compelled to relinquish their temporary advantage, and pressed far back into the woods towards Spottsylvania. The night was spent in burying the dead. In the morning, before it was yet light, the contest was renewed, and the enemy forced steadily back to their infantry lines, where it was relieved by the 5th Corps. The regiment sustained a loss of 104. After a day spent at Aldrich's Tavern, to replen- ish their supplies, they joined Sheridan's Cavalry in a raid on Lee's line of communication. At Beaver Dam Station, on the evening of the 9th, they burned Lee's supplies, captured several trains of cars, pierced the locomotives with cannon-balls, and destroyed the track. The following day they proceeded towards Richmond, and encamped at night beyond Squirrel Bridge. The ist Dragoons brought up the rear, which was twice attacked by Stuart's cavalry, who were repulsed each time with loss. At early dawn the next day an attack was made at the point where the ist Dragoons was encamped. Leaving every fourth man to saddle the horses, the rest of the regiment charged the assailants, who were slowly forced back; when, returning hastily to their horses, they mounted and filed out after the main column, just as the enemy 148 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. again got in range, and opened on them without effect. Major Scott was wounded in the thigh in this charge. In the afternoon the 1st I >ragoons, supported on either side by regular regiments, dislodged Stuart's cavalry, who had gained a threatening position to- wards the front, sustaining a loss of twenty men; and although it was near night when the action ended, the troops continued the advance towards Richmond, and got within its first line of defenses. Turning to the left they proceeded down the Chickahominy between the lines amid exploding torpedoes, and about dawn the advance was en- gaged with the second line of defenses. They es- sayed to recross the Chickahominy at Meadow Bridge, but the passage was disputed by Stuart's cavalry. The enemy had gathered in large force in their rear. While engaging these, a division was massed to force the passage of the river, which was accomplished after a hot dismounted fight. The bridge was repaired and the 1st Dra- goons crossed in advance of the mounted troops. They charged the enemy who tied in every direc- tion. The 1st Dragoons led in the advance to Me- chanicsville. During the noon bivouac pickets were thrown out in every direction. On resuming the march to Cold Harbor, the brigade to which the 1st was attached took the lead, but the regi- ment was delayed by drawing in its pickets. It pushed rapidly by the moving column to overtake the advance, which was already engaged with the enemy, and was met by an orderly who was sent to accelerate its movements. Proceeding at a gallop, the rest of the brigade was met flying in wild con- fusion before the closely pursuing and exultant foe. The battery, which stood in column, seemed doomed. As the head of the regiment came abreast of the battery, Col. Thorpe, who com- manded, shouted the order " forward into line ! Prepare to fight on foot !" Each man designated to fight on foot, as he reached the line, leaped from thesaddle and pressed forward, firing as he went. In ten minutes, without the loss of a man, the enemy was put in full Sight and fifty of their men were left prisoners in our hands. After various movements with Sheridan's com- mand, the Dragoons joined in the race with Lee to Richmond. On the morning of the 26th they dashed across the Pamunkey at Hanovertown and during that and the succeeding day drove the ene- my some distance beyond Hawes' Shop. On the 28th, the enemy in force attempted to dislodge this advance, and there ensued for several hours one of the most hotly contested battles of the war. The I ir.igoons led the advance in a flanking party to the right, and were met with a shower of grape and cannister from a battery posted beyond a deep and seemingly impassable gulf. They dismounted, and sending their horses to the rear, plunged into it out of harms way, for the guns of the enemy could not be depressed to reach them. Capt. Knapp led the charge up the opposite bank and the enemy were quickly put to flight. Turning to the left they at- tacked the remaining force, which tied precipitately, leaving their dead on the field. On the 30th, at Old Church, Custer's brigade and the 1st Dragoons drove the enemy back, with considerable loss, on Cold Harbor, before which the Union forces en- camped for the night. The next day the contest was renewed for the possession of that point, and an attempt was made to carry the formidable earthworks by direct assault. Tin." Dragoons charged through a shower of iron and lead over an open field, broken by swells, halt- ing in each successive depression for a fresh start. In the last of these, within five rods of the enemy's works, they paused to make preparation for the final assault, which they carried to within twenty feet of the enemy's line ; but the fierce fire which swept the field and rapidly thinned their ranks, was more than poor human nature could endure. They were forced back to their cover, where they opened a straggling fire. The bugle advance of Custer was heard on the left above the din of conflict. As his line swept up to the Dragoons they rose the crest together and charged. Another fierce but short conflict ensued, and the enemy were driven from their works with loss and confusion. The loss of the Dragoons was sixty men. The ground was held against repeated and desperate assaults till about noon, when they were relieved by the 6th corps and Smith's command from Butler's army. During the two succeeding days, while the further scenes in this bloody drama were being enacted, the Dragoons, with two divisions of cavalry under Sheridan, watched the lower crossing of the Chicka- hominy at Bottom's Bridge, and covered the base of supplies at the White House. On the 7th of June they accompanied Sheridan with the cavalry divisions of Torbert and Gregg, in an expedition against the Virginia Central Rail- road, which, it was expected, would facilitate ('.rant's passage of the Chickahominy and James, by withdrawing Stuart's cavalry from Lee's army, anil enable Sheridan to effect a junction with Hun- WAR OF THE REBELLION. 149 ter's forces and return with them to the Army of the Potomac. On the nth and 12th of June, at Trevillian Station, where Gregg encountered Hampton's cavalry division, the Dragoons were again hotly engaged and Col. Thorpe was wounded and taken prisoner. Returning they crossed the James with the main army on the 25th. On the afternoon of the 26th of July, having in the interval enjoyed a period of rest, the regiment with a large force of cavalry and the 2d corps were thrown across the James, and in conjunction with the force under Butler, the next day, after an all night's march, drove the enemy from his entrenched position at Darbytown. The next day, the enemy having been heavily reenforced, made an unsuc- cessful effort to recover the lost ground. In a charge made on the first day by a squadron of the 1 st Dragoons Gen. Wade Hampton and his staff barely escaped capture bythem; and on the second day the regiment maintained the only unbroken portion of the line, repelling repeated assaults. But the movement having failed in its object, which was the cutting of the enemy's railroad from near Richmond to the Anna River, and thus endan- gering Early's position in the Shenandoah Valley, the regiment recrossed the James on the evening of the 28th and returned to its old position in front of Petersburgh. On the 1st of August the regiment was ordered to the Shenandoah Valley, up which, on the 9th, it moved with other cavalry to aid in operations against Early by the Army of Virginia, to the com- mand of which Sheridan was appointed August 7th. On the 10th it took part in an encounter at White Post, where it drove a rebel force from be- hind a stone wall and with but little loss made im- portant captures. On the 1 ith, while on a recon- naissance to Newton, it met the enemy's infantry and cavalry a half mile from that place and five miles from the main body of Sheridan's army, maintaining a fierce and desperate contest unaided for an hour and a half, and holding its position till the arrival of the main force, though too late for the operations of that day. In this engagement the regiment suffered severely. The enemy with- drew in the night and the hospital records found in their abandoned camp contained the names of men wounded in that action from thirty-three different regiments. At Smithfield and Kearns- town on the 25th, 26th and 28th of August it was hotly engaged and lost heavily, brave Lieutenant Alfred being killed and many officers wounded. On the 19th of September, in the desperately fought battle of Opequan, the regiment bore a conspicuous part. It routed the enemy's cavalry and charged his infantry, capturing twice its num- ber of prisoners and three battle flags. Among its losses was the gallant Capt. Thorp, who was killed in the charge on the enemy's cavalry. The regi- ment joined in the pursuit of Early, who escaped in the night with the wreck of his army and tied to Fisher's Hill, from which he was driven on the 22d with the loss of 1,300 prisoners and 21 cannon. During the following night the regiment led in the further pursuit. On the 24th it drove the enemy's cavalry and by threatening his flank compelled him to abandon his position on the bluffs of Mt. Jack- son. On the 26th, being still in the advance, an unsuccessful attack was made between Port Re- public and Brown's Gap. October 9th, at Tom's Brook, it was engaged in turning Early's cavalry and capturing their trains and artillery. Sheridan posted his army in echelon behind the bold bluffs which form the north border of Cedar Creek, and proceeded to Washington to consult with the Secretary of War respecting the return of the 6th corps to that city. Early, whose original strength had been restored by the addition of Ker- shaw's division, crossed Cedar Creek on the night of October iSth, and early the next morning sur- prised and routed the 8th corps, which occupied the left of the Union line. In this battle the 1st Dragoons more than sustained its reputation. During the demoralization which prevailed in the early part of that day, its organization was kept in- tact, and by its coolness and courage aided to re- trieve those early misfortunes and secure the glorious victory which eventually crowned the Union arms, and put an end to rebel raids into the North through the Shenandoah Valley. In November the regiment participated in an expedition to Loudon Valley, which, by common consent, was styled the "bull raid," from the nature of the captures made; and in December it consti- tuted a part of the force which advanced from Winchester to Gordonsville, making a gallant charge at Liberty Mills on the night of the 2 2d, capturing two pieces of artillery and about thirty prisoners, but suffering greatly from the intense cold, many of the men having their feet frozen. February 24, 1865, Sheridan, with a force of 10,000 cavalry, including this regiment, left Win- chester and arrived at Staunton in four days. He defeated and captured the remnant of Early's forces at Waynesboro, crossed the Blue Ridge at Rock- fish Gap, turned and destroyed the Virginia Cen- *5° HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. tral railroad from Frederick's Hall to Beaver Dam, and won the memorable and decisive victory at Five Forks, April i, 1865. From this time until the surrender of Lee's army on the 9th of April, 1865, the cavalry were daily in action, inflict- ing on the rebel army the blows which so rapidly crippled it and brought on its final catastrophe. During its term of service the regiment cap- tured 1,533 prisoners, 19 pieces of artillery, 21 caissons, 240 artillery horses, 40 army wagons and ambulances, 160 animals of draught and 4 battle flags. It lost in killed 4 officers and 155 enlisted men ; and in wounded. 24 officers and 204 en- listed men. One officer and 80 enlisted men died of disease. The 136th regiment, like the 130th, was raised in the counties composing the 30th Senatorial Dis- trict, through the efforts of Col. James Wood, Jr., of Geneseo, aided by the patriotic endeavors of the community at large. Five companies, B, C, F, G and I, were recruited in Livingston county: two, A and K, in Allegany county ; and three, D, E and H, in Wyoming county. Capt. Augustus Harrington reported at Portage with the first com- pany for this regiment, August 29th, 1S62, having recruited his company in eleven days. Within a month from the date of its authorization the entire regiment was in camp at Portage. The regiment was organized September 8, 1862, and mustered September 25, 1862. The following is a roster of its officers: — Colonel — James Wood, Jr. Lieutenant-Colonel — Lester B. Faulkner. Major — David C. Hartshorn. Adjutant — Campbell H. Young. Quartermaster — John T. Wright. Surgeon — B. L. Hovey. First Assistant Surgeon — Edwin Amsden. Second Assistant Surgeon — Charles F. Warner. Quartermaster Sergeant — Richard W. Barney. Commissary Sergeant — J. S. Galentine. Chaplain — Alvin T. Cole. Company A — Captain, A. T. Cole; First Lieu- tenant, M. M. I.oyden ; Second Lieutenant, John M. Webster. Company B — Captain, Fdward H. Pratt ; First Lieutenant; John J. Bailey; Second Lieutenant, Nicholas Y. Mundy. Company C — Captain, A. A. Hoyt ; First Lieu- tenant, Wells Hendershott; Second Lieutenant, Emerson J. Hoyt. Company D — Captain, Augustus Harrington ; First Lieutenant, Myron E. Bartlett ; Second Lieutenant, Russell G. [ ludley. Company E — Captain, Henry B. Jenks; First Lieutenant, James G. Cameron; Second Lieuten- ant, Seth P. Buell. Company F — Captain, J. H. Burgess; First Lieutenant, John Galbraith ; Second Lieutenant, Charles H. Wisner. Company G — Captain, Sidney Ward; first Lieutenant, Orange Sackett, Jr.; Second Lieu- tenant. Kidder M. Scott. Company H — Captain. E. H. Jeff res; First Lieutenant, Fdward Madden; Second Lieutenant, Anson B. Hall. Company I — Captain. H. L. Arnold; First Lieutenant. Frank Collins; Second Lieutenant, George M. Reed. Company K — Captain, A. F. Davis; first Lieutenant, George H. Eldredge ; Second Lieu tenant, George Y. Boss. The regiment left Camp Williams at Portage on the 2d of October ; received arms and equipments at Flmira ; and on the 4th of that month proceeded to Camp Seward, on Arlington Heights, \ a. from thence, Sunday, Oct. 12, 1862, it went to Fairfax Court House, Ya., where it was attached to the 2d brigade (Yon Steinwehr's) of the nth corps, (Sigel's,) retaining this connection until April 14, 1864, when it became a part of the 3d brigade, 3d division, 20th corps. It left Fairfax Court House, Dec. 14th, and proceeded to Bank's Ford, where it was occupied in picket duty on the advanced line of the army, and suffered the hardships incident to the sudden change from civil to military life, its ranks being much depleted by sickness. Early in November, McClellan, by reason of his failure to reap the legitimate fruits of Lee's defeat .1! Antietam, and his subsequent dilatory move- ments, was superseded in the command of the Army of the Potomac by Burnside, who in the reorganization of the army which followed, gave Sigel the command of a grand division, which formed the reserve, and to which the 136th belonged. Dec. 1 oth, Burnside crossed the Rap- pahannock with his army to attack Fredericks- burgh, and the same day the 136th left its camp at (iermantown in aid of that movement. The regi- ment was reduced in numbers, but those who re- mained had become inured to the duties of a sol- dier. When the regiment reached Falmouth, the army, which had assaulted the enemy's works behind Fredericksburgh on the 13th and been repulsed with great disaster, was recrossing the river, and it went to Banks' Ford where it did picket duty in the face of the enemy. Burnside projected another advance movement the succeed- ing January, but the march was scarcely begun before it was arrested by a sleet-storm, which turned the roads into quagmires, and rendered movement impossible. The project was aban- WAR OF THK REBELLION. 151 doned, and the troops ordered back to their old camps. From Banks' Ford the regiment went into camp at Stafford Court House, Va., where it remained till the last of April, when it crossed the Rappa- hannock at Kellogg's Farm, and moved to the disastrous field of Chancellorsville. In the mean- time (Jan. 26, 1863,) Hooker had succeeded Burn- side in command of the army. The brigade to which the 136th belonged made a reconnaissance to the right of the nth corps under Gen. Francis C. Barlow, and captured nearly a thousand pris- oners, but while so engaged, the nth corps had been driven from the field, and the guards and camp equipage left behind by the regiment, fell into the enemy's hands. On its return, the brigade took position in rear of Gen. Sickles' command, and witnessed the fierce conflict between it and the Confederate force under Stuart, in which the position of the latter was taken and retaken repeat- edly. From the field of Chancellorsville the 136th returned to its old quarters at Stafford Court House, where it remained until, on the 3d of June, Lee commenced another sortie into the Northen States through the Shenandoah valley, which cul- minated in the disaster at Gettysburg. Hooker followed the numerically superior rebel army down the valley, interposing between it and Washington, till both had crossed the Potomac, Lee making the passage at Williamsport and Shepardstown on the 26th, and Hooker, at Edward's Ferry, the same day. On the 27th Hooker resigned the command of the army, and on the following day was succeeded by Meade. On the 30th of June the Union army extended from Manchester to Emmettsburgh, the nth corps forming a part of the left flank. The Con- federate army was at Chambersburg, where Lee tarried to consort with copperheads in the North. Meade purposed fighting on the defensive in a position he had selected on Pipe creek, about fifteen miles south-east of Gettysburg. The left, consisting of the 1st, nth and 3d corps, under Reynolds, was sent as a mask toward Gettysburg to screen this movement. At 5 p. m. on the 1st of July, the 136th, which had been detached a short time at Hagerstown, left that place for Gettysburg, thirty-eight miles distant, and arrived there at 1 1 a. m. on the 2d. The enemy had been met the previous day, first by Buford's cavalry, who encountered him on the Chambersburg road, two miles westward of Gettys- burg, and were forced back to Seminary Ridge, where they were supported by K eynolds, who was then in Gettysburg with the 1st corps, and was killed in the early part of the action. Howard arrived on the field with the nth corps at 11:30 a. m., and having forwarded two of his divisions to the support of the troops engaged, posted his third division, with three batteries of artillery on Cemetery Hill on the south side of the town. Heth's division of Hill's corps, which was the first engaged of the enemy's forces, was heavily reenforced, and the Union forces driven with loss and confusion through the streets of Gettysburg, took refuge at night behind Howard's position. Here the 136th was posted on its arrival the following day. Meade, who was at Taneytown, planning his de- fensive line on Pipe Creek, on hearing of the battle at 1 p. m., sent Hancock to take command. That officer, perceiving the advantages of the position, advised Meade to bring on the whole army, which he accordingly did, arriving himself soon after mid- night. All his corps, except that of Sedgwick, which was thirty-two miles distant, arrived during the night, and were posted on Cemetery Ridge, prolonging the line to the rear of Howard's posi- tion, along the crest of the ridge. Sedgwick's corps arrived at 2 p. m. on the 2d, and was posted on the left, at the terminus of the ridge, behind the Round Tops. Reynold's corps, commanded by Newton, was in reserve, and was within thirty minutes' march of any part of the line, which was compressed into an area of about three square miles. Lee's army — which, numerically, was about equal to that of Meade — each being then about 80,000 strong — was posted along Seminary Ridge, in the form of a huge crescent, five miles in length, its concavity facing his antagonist. Meade had the advantage of position and the further advantge of acting on the defensive. Thus was commenced the memor- able battle of Gettysburg. The Union losses during the three days' fight were 23,210, of whom 2,834 were killed, 13,733, wounded, 6,643, missing; those of the Confederates were 36,000, of whom 5,000 were killed, 23,000 wounded. Soon after this decisive victory, which sent Lee back into Virginia, the 136th was called to other not less trying duties. After his defeat at the battle of Chickamauga, Sept. 19, 1863, Rosecrans with- drew the army of the Cumberland to the defenses at Chattanooga, and was succeeded in the com- mand by General Thomas. Here Bragg followed [ 5 2 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. them and invested them so closely that they were threatened with starvation, or a disastrous defeat if the evacuation of the place was attempted. In this extremity General Grant was assigned to the com- mand of that army, which was reenforced by Sher- man with the Army of the Tennessee, and by Hooker, with the nth and 12th corps from the Army of the Potomac. In comformity with this arrangement the 136th left the latter army on the 23d of September, and in seven days was trans- ferred from the Rapidan to Stevenson, Alabama, a distance of 1,192 miles. I )n the 27th of October, Grant had restored the interrupted communication with Chattanooga ; but Bragg, who had lost control of the roads by a sur- prise, did not submit to the result without a strug- gle. He determined to recover what he had lost by a night attack. He observed from Signal Rock the situation of Geary's weak division encamped in the Lookout Valley near VVauhatchie and ordered Longstreet to assail it on the night of the 29th. After a three hours' conflict the enemy were repulsed with great loss. Gen. Howard, hearing the heavy firing, proceeded to the aid of Geary, but was in- terrupted by a force of the enemy posted on the heights west of Lookout Creek, who announced their presence by a sheet of fire from their crest. Though the slope was heavily wooded and the ground entirely unknown, the 136th, the 73d Ohio and 33d Massachusetts, charged the enemy and drove them from their entrenched position, but with heavy loss. The 136th now crossed the Chattanooga and joined the command of General Thomas, which occupied the center of Grant's line in the battle of Chattanooga, and with it participated in the assault on Bragg's position on the 25th of November, which terminated a three days' con- flict, and drove his army from Chattanooga back into Georgia. As soon as the battle of Chattanooga was won ('.rant detached Sherman with a portion of his army, including the 1 ith corps, to the relief of Burn- side, who was beleagured at Knoxville, Tenn.; but before they, arrived Longstreet raised the siege, having on the 29th of November twice attempted to carry the works by assault, being each time re- pulsed. The hardships endured on this march of eighty-four miles are indescribable. The weather was severe, and many of the men marched on frozen ground with feet nearly bare and with insuf- ficient clothing and food, having to subsist on the country. The regiment then returned to the Wau- hatchie Valley and went into comfortable winter quarters. In the spring a reorganization of the army was effected. ( Irant having been appointed Lieutenant- General and taken charge of the army of the Po- tomac, Sherman was assigned to the command of the Military Division of the Mississippi, comprising the armies of the Ohio, Tennessee, Cumberland and Arkansas. In this change, on the 14th of April, 1864, the 136th was attached to the 3d brigade, 3d division, 20th corps, the latter commanded by Hooker. April 20, 1864,' Col. James Wood, Jr., of the 136th was assigned to the command of the 3d brigade, which comprised in addition to the 136th, the 55th and 73d Ohio, 33d Mass., and 26th Wis. The command of the regiment thus devolved on Lieutenant-Colonel Faulkner. After turning the strong position of Dalton by a detour through Snake Creek Gap and compelling its evacuation on the 12th of May, Sherman di- rected his forces against Resaca. At 1 p. M. on the 1 4th an attempt was made to break the enemy's line and force him from an elevated position in the immediate front. Johnston retreated during the night of the 15th after a sharp struggle. This, to the 136th was the most destructive of all its engagements. The 3d brigade was a part of the storming party and was exposed to a murderous fire of musketry and artil- lery. The loss of the 136th was 82 in killed and wounded — 12 enlisted men killed, and 3 officers and 67 enlisted men wounded. Johnston was closely pursued, forced across the Etowah, and his position at Allatoona Pass turned by a circuit toward Dallas, Hooker having the ad- vance, and having some sharp encounters at New Hope Church, in which the 136th was again engaged. Sherman drove Johnston across the Chattehoo- chee and forced the passage of that stream with his army, which he posted in proximity to Atlanta on the general line of Peach Tree Creek and across the Augusta Railroad. Here, on the afternoon of the 20th, he was attacked in force by Hood, who had superseded Johnston in command of the Con- federate forces in Georgia. The blow was unex- pected and its weight fell mainly on Hooker's corps, which was unprotected by works, and fought in comparatively open ground. After a very severe battle it was repulsed. During this action, while the Union troops were moving to repel a charge, a rebel color-bearer advanced in front of his regi- ment and confronted the 136th whose color- WAR OF THE REBELLION. •53 bearer at once advanced to meet him, and the two stood defiant in view of the two armies. The bold rebel was immediately shot, and his colors captured and flaunted in the face of the foe. A com- rade avenged him by the death of his slayer and recovered the colors, but was himself slain while bearing away the trophy, which was retaken. This thrice captured flag now hangs among the war trophies in the Military Bureau in Albany. The 136th participated in the brilliant successes which followed: — the capture of Atlanta Sept. 1st, 1S64; the march from "Atlanta to the sea," Nov. 16 — Dec. 21, 1S64; and the terrible northern march through the Carolinas in mid-winter to Goldsboro which was reached March 21st, 1865, after a journey of five hundred miles of toil and suffering. On the 14th of April, 1865, Sherman received a letter from Johnston, inquiring the terms on which he might surrender. An interview was had, and terms such as were accorded to Lee on the 9th of that month offered, which he was constrained on the 26th of April to accept. This ended the military service of the 136th, which continued the march through Virginia to Washington, and was mustered out Jan. 13, 1865. October 15, 1862. the members of the District Senatorial Committee residing in Livingston county and the Board of Supervisors met at Geneseo to arrange the lists of volunteers, and make provision generally preparatory to the draft, which was ordered to take place November 10th. The Supervisors were called upon to furnish lists of the men who had volunteered since July 2d, and thereby the deficiency of the county for the 600,000 was arrived at. Below are the quotas and lists claimed by Supervisors : — Towns. Quota. No. Reported. Avon 90 52 Caledonia 62 62 Conesus 45 46 Geneseo 93 78 Groveland 48 49 Lima 86 85 Livonia* Si Leicester 62 64 Mt. Morris 122 140 North Dansville 116 122 Nunda 89 85 Ossian 39 35 Portage 46 36 Springwaler 75 66 Sparta 39 40 West Sparta 46 37 York 85 79 * No report ; said to be full. Hon. R. P. Wisner, of Mt. Morris, was em- powered by the Governor to superintend and aid enlistments, to fill up the quota with nine months' volunteers. March 3, 1863, Congress authorized the raising of additional troops to take the place of the two years' men whose terms were about to expire, and otherwise strengthen the army. President Lincoln issued a conscription proclamation on the 8th of May to carry that law into operation. The draft for the district comprising the comi- ties of Livingston, Ontario and Yates commenced at the Town Hall in Canandaigua, on Saturday, July 25, 1S63, and continued on the 28th, 29th, 30th and 31st. The following is a list of the num- ber in the several towns who were exempted and held to service. Most of the latter, however, paid the commutation of $300, in accordance with the provisions of the law: — Drafted. Exempted. Avon 85 70 Caledonia 54 42 Conesus 31 26 Geneseo 86 74 Groveland 42 32 Leicester 49 41 Lima 81 64 Livonia 78 61 Mt. Morris 107 89 North Dansville no 94 Nunda 54 41 Ossian 25 21 Portage 24 19 Sparta 37 34 Springwater 74 67 West Sparta 31 31 York .... 76 64 October 17, 1863, another call for 300,000 men was issued. The substitutes furnished and com- mutations paid were as follows : — Substitutes. Commutations. Avon 2 19 Caledonia o 22 Conesus o 13 Geneseo 6 23 Groveland o 10 Leicester o 17 Lima 2 1 1 Livonia 1 25 Mt. Morris 3 29 North Dansville 3 11 Nunda 1 n Ossian 1 5 Portage o 9 Sparta 1 12 Springwater 2 21 West Sparta 2 10 York 1 - 7 The quota undei this call in Livingston county was 537. iS4 HISTORY OF LIYINGSTON COUNTY. During the summer and fall of 1863, H. R. Cur- tis was recruiting for the 13th New York Artillery, the nucleus of which was composed of the remnant of the 13th New York Infantry, under command of Col. E. G. Marshall. Lieut. S. H. Draper was also recruiting for the Griswold Light Cavalry. Both were organized in Rochester. February 1, 1864, a call was issued for 200,000 men, and immediately thereafter recruiting agents were appointed in the respective Assembly Dis- tricts. February 11, 1864, the Supervisors ex- tended to the volunteers under this call the pro- visions of an Act passed by them December 11, 1 863, authorizing the Supervisors of the several towns to draw on the County Treasurer for $300 for each volunteer furnished by his town until its quota was filled. But the generous contributions thus far made by Livingston county were not the full comple- ment of what was required of her. Two further calls were issued — one July 18, 1864, for 500,000 men, and another December 19, 1864, for 300,000 men. In August, of that year, the Supervisors concluded to offer a bounty of $300 for three years' men; $200 for one year's men, and $25 premium for the expenses of each recruit. Persons furnishing substitutes were entitled to receive the bounty. Messrs. Beckwith. Hampton and Lau- derdale were appointed a committee to disburse the county fund. For the purpose of filling the county quota, John Hyland, of Dansville, and S. E. W. Johnson, of Avon, were sent South to recruit there. There, however, the competition was sharp, and high bounties were paid to recruits. A telegram from John Hyland, dated August 23, said they could do nothing, as other agents were offering $500 bounty for one year men. This foreign market for recruits produced a laxness in the efforts at home. Says The Livingston Repub- lican in August, 1864: — "So far as we can learn comparatively little is being done in the several towns toward filling the quota under the last call. There are various causes for this. The season of the year is un- propitious — for the last three years there has been a constant drain on the people, until laborers in every branch of industry are scarce and are in great demand at almost unheard of wages. The farmers also engage their help in the spring for the season and the time of these men does not expire before October or November, ami another cause in this county is the quite prevalent opinion that the quota of the county can be tilled up by the agents sent south. * * The finance committee of the Board of Supervisors held a meeting at this place [Ceneseo] on Tuesday and they report that there is no trouble in obtaining from the people of the several towns on county bonds all the money needed to pay bounty." Sept. 2, 1864, the Supervisors authorized each town in the county to increase its bounty to a sum not exceeding $1,000, and the County Treasurer was authorized to issue county bonds as each Supervisor might call for them. Most of the towns ol the county found it necessary to increase the bounties largely to fill the quotas in the hope of avoiding a draft. In the early part of 1865, an additional stimulus became necessary. The local bounty system had worked such gross injustice and been subjected to such outrageous abuses that the Legislature pro- vided for a State bounty of $300, $400 and $600, to one, two and three years' men, and prohibited payment of all local bounties. This was at least an approach to a healthier system, but its injustice differed only in degree. In addition to the large sums paid for bounties, considerable amounts were also generously paid for the support of the indigent families of soldiers. In 1861, not less than $16,000 was contributed by towns for this purpose; and to July 1, 1863, $33,000 was paid by the county for the same object. The troops raised in this county under the later calls were distributed through the various organiza- tions, generally but a few in each, whose history we have not the space even to epitomize. Many, however, went to fill the depleted ranks of old organizations. The quotas of the several towns under the last three calls are given below : — Call of Call of Feb. I, '64. July iS, '64. Dec. ■ '.. '4 " Avon 23 66 49 Caledonia iS 35 n Conesus 12 35 25 Geneseo 25 57 43 Groveland 13 29 16 Leicester 14 44 3 1 Lima 23 53 36 I ,ivonia 24 54 31 Mt. Morris 31 88 64 North Dansville. ..32 91 45 Nunda 18 58 45 I >ssian 6 30 7 Portage 9 24 23 Sparta 3 2 2 5 Springwater 22 6r 52 West Sparta 12 35 27 York 23 59 51 * These quotas are assessed with reference to all deficiencies or ex- cess undei pro 5 calls of years of service, reducing everythingto a threi years' basis,and representing the claim againsteach town Dec.19, 1864. NORTH DANSVILLE. 155 CHAPTER XV. History of the Town of North Dansville. NORTH DANSVILLE was formed from Sparta, Feb. 27, 1846, and like the town to which it originally belonged,* and the village of the same name, derives its name (Dansville ) from Daniel P. Faulkner, an early settler, who, for a few years, was conspicuously prominent in its affairs, and was re- ferred to by Capt. Williamson, the agent of the Pultney estate, as the head of the settlement in 1798. A part of Sparta was annexed in 1849. It lies upon the south border of the county, east of the center, and is bounded on the north by Sparta, on the east by Wayland, Steuben county, on the south by Dansville, Steuben county, and on the west by Ossian and West Sparta, in this county. It lies at the head of the Genesee Valley, or rather the flats so designated, which are terminated by the convergence of the east and west hills, whose summits rise to the height of six hundred to eight hundred feet above the valleys. These flats are continuous and mostly of uniform width from a point a few miles above Rochester to Mt. Morris, where they diverge from the Genesee, and gradually contracting, follow the course of Canase- raga creek to Dansville, where, after expanding and gradually rising in beautiful table lands, they are suddenly terminated by a succession of promon- tories overlooking the village, on one of which is located the beautiful Greenmount Cemetery, not unlike, in general appearance the equally beautiful Mt. Hope, at the northern terminus of the valley. They form in the immediate vicinity of the village a tract of some three thousand acres of choice lands, with a warm and productive soil. The hills, though steep, are generally tillable to their summits. Its streams are Canaseraga and Great and Little Mill creeks, which emerge through narrow gorges from the highlands in the south and east portions of the town. The latter two unite near the south- ern limits of the village, and discharge their united waters into the former near the west bounds of the village. They are small but rapid streams, making a descent of some sixty feet within a mile and a haif in the town, and furnish numerous mill seats and an abundant and constant water power, which is only partially utilized, though the manufacturing * It originally comprised the north-west quarter of township 6, range 6, of Phelps and Gotham's Purchase, and as such was set off from Dansville, Steuben county, and annexed to Sparta, Feb. i?, 1S22, its nat- ural affiliations with the inhabitants of Livingston county being greater than with those of Steuben county, from which it is in a measure barred by the conformation of the surface of the country. interests of the town equal, if they do not exceed, those of all other towns in the county combined. The Canaseraga enters the valley through a nar- row pass called " Pogue's Hole,"* through which, climbing along a steep aclivity, and then descend- ing to a level with the stream, passes the Hornells- ville road. On the opposite side from the road through the whole length of the pass, is a perpen- dicular ledge of rocks a hundred feet in height. Beyond this pass the valley widens out occasionally into small areas of intervale, but ranges of high- lands rise in near proximity on either hand. The town is wholly underlaid by the rocks of the Portage group. Quarries have been opened in both hills and valuable building and flagging stones obtained. A good quality of bituminous coal was recently discovered in the east hill, in a seam larger than is usual in tliislocality.f The soil in the valleys is mostly alluvion and superior bottom timbered lands, and these, with much of the hills,- where a mixture of clay and gravel prevails, produce excellent wheat. Fruit, especially grapes, thrives well upon the hill- sides. Upon the flats adjacent to the village, the nursery business has become an important indus- try, and engages the attention of various firms, among whom are E. H. Pratt, Sweet & Morey Bryant Bros., S. P. Williams, E. P. Clark, William Wilkinson, Uhl & Rhoner and Herndeen & Stone, besides several others who are less extensively en- gaged in it. The Erie and Genesee Valley railroad, extend- ing by its charter from Mt. Morris to Burns, ter- minates in this town at Dansville village; likewise the abandoned Dansville branch of the Genesee Valley canal. The canal, so far as State enter- prise was concerned, terminated at Faulkner's dam, a half mile from the business part of the vil- lage on Main street. To better accommodate the business of the village, in 1844 a branch canal, terminating within about thirty rods of Main street, was constructed by private enterprise, at a cost of about $6,000, though the project was attended with intense local excitement. The completion of the canal gave a great impetus to business, especially the lumber trade, which was immense for many years, the principal operators being Coleman, of Troy, William Hollister, H. Southwick, Peter Myers and B. R. Streety. The streets of the vil- * This name is variously spelled ; but we have adopted the 01 phy of James McCurdy, who says it derives its name from Benjamin Kenyon, who located at Dansville village in i afte: ward in this narrow valley. "He was a desperate character," and was nicknamed "Capt. Pogue, signifying the devil." Recollections of James McCurdy, in the Dansville Advertiser ol v t See Subject of Geology, Chapter VIII. i56 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. lage were thronged with lumber teams from Per- kinsville, Wayland, Loon Lake and Ossian. In 1836, there were sixty saw-mills within a circle of a tew miles of this place.* In 1S44 there were 10. 372 barrels of salt brought here, on each of which a dollar was saved in the item of transportation charges as compared with former rates, t During the four years from 1841 to 1844, it is said that 450 new buildings were erected in Dansville. + The citizens of Dansville were interested at an early day in the subject of railroads, for in 1S32 a charter was granted for the construction of a road from Rochester to Dansville ; § but for thirty-nine years they awaited the fruition of these early hopes. Ground was broken for the Erie and Genesee Val- ley railroad July 20, 1869, and the first passenger train rolled out of Dansville at 10:24 A - M - De- cember 12. 1 871. || The population of the town in 1880 was 4,181 ; the number of dwellings, 903 : and the number of families, 937. It is the most populous town in the county. In 1875 the population was 4,061 ; of whom 3,403 were natives. 658. foreigners; 4.054. white. 7. colored; 1,903, males, and 2.15S, fe- males. In area it is by far the smallest town in the county, and one of the smallest in the State. In 1S75 it contained 4.425 acres;" of which 3.578 were improved and 847 woodland. The cash value of farms was $406,100; of farm buildings other than dwellings, $46,300; of stock, $33,039; of tools and implements. $1 1.787. The amount of gross sales from farms in 1S74 was $32,898. There are six common school districts in the town. The number of children of school age re- siding in the districts Sept. 30, 1880, was 1.344. Daring the year nine teachers were employed at the same time; the number of children residing in the districts who attended school was 70S ; the average daily attendance during the year was 269 ; the number of volumes in district libraries was 232 ; • Gordons Gazetteer of Xevj York', In iS;c, the number had in- creased to ico within a circle of two miles. — The Dansville Advertiser of May 1, 1861. t History oj .' Vo. i, in The Journal of the Fair, to raise funds for the establishment of St. Patrick's School, Dansville, October J A O. Bunnell, in The Dansville A dvertiser of April 26, 1877. § It has been erroneously stated that this was "the second railroad charter ever granted in this State." There were seventeen railroads chartered previous to 1S3:. and twenty-four in that year, six of which were prior to the "Dansville and Rochester." — State Engineer s Report on Railroads. A O. Bunnell, in The Dansville Advertiser of April 16. 1877. ■ I he published Proceedings 0/ the Board of Su- pervisors of Livingston County in 1S70 state the number of acres to be 5,560, the equalized assessed value .of which was $1,167,173, ot per acre, far exceeding, notwithstanding its diminutive size, any other town in the county. the value of which was $191; the number of school houses in 1877 was six, five frame and one brick, which, with the sites, embracing seventy- nine rods, valued at $575. were valued at $7,775 ; the assessed value of taxable property in the dis- tricts in 1877 was $1,794,523, and in 1880, $1,428,993. In 1877 there were 11 private schools, attended by 147 pupils. This sufficiently indicates the character of the public schools, which in the vil- lage are lamentably poor. The Indian village of Kanuskago or Ganuskago occupied the site of the present village of Dans- ville. Though it had once been a village of con- siderable magnitude and importance, it was nearly deserted when the first white settlers came in, only- fifteen or twenty huts then remaining, though several Indian families lingered in the neighbor- hood for several years.* Their presence here was of incalculable advantage to the first settlers ; for, says one of them, "we could hardly have lived here the first year had it not been for the Indians, who were exceedingly friendly.''t This beautiful anil romantic portion of the famed Genesee valley was a favorite haunt of theirs, and was regularly visited by them from their settlements on the Genesee during their annual hunting excursions, for these hills abounded in deer and other game, which were taken in large quantities. A favorite camping ground, says one of the oldest living pioneers, was on the deep gulch on the creek, at the upper end of the village, at what is now called the California House, as the bank, under which they built their huts, protected them from the win We have no means of knowing at how eaily a period this Indian village was established, though it has been supposed by modern writers to be of modern origin. It may have existed at the time of M. de Denonville's invasion in 1687, though no specific mention is made of it. That Governor, in his report of this expedition, regretted that sickness, extreme fatigue and uneasiness of the savages, prevented his visiting other villages. When we reflect that that expedition was directed especially against the Senecas, it is fair to presume that the villages referred to were Seneca villages. There are other circumstances, however, which incline to the supposition that its origin was either subsequent to that event, or that the Indians • Recollections of Conrad We'ch. a son of the pioneer Jacob Welch, in Turner's Pioneer History of Phelps and Gorhains Purchase, J59- t Recollections of James McCurdy, in The Dattsvi/le Advertiser of August 9, i Dansville as I found it, by Dr. James Faulkner, at the Pioneers' gathering at Dansville, Jan. n, 187J. NORTH DANSVILLE — EARLY SETTLERS. '57 residing here, though it was denominated the "door of the Six Nations," in ''the most remote parts of the Senecas' country," did not hold important diplomatic relations with the English and French colonial governments. These Indians had an extensive burying ground, covering some two or three acres. The main street in Dansville village passes directly through it. Numerous remains and relics of this interest- ing people have been exhumed in making excava- tions in that part of the village adjacent to the public square. There is a tradition that before the Revolution a battle was fought on a hill a few miles distant from the village of Dansville between the Canisteo and Kanuskago Indians, in which a renowned chief of the latter tribe was killed. He was in- terred in this old burial place, near the site of the German Evangelical Lutheran church in Dansville village, which is said to occupy the site of an ancient Indian mound, and its pulpit to rest over the remains of a noted Indian chieftain. The spot where he fell was marked by a large excavation, made in the form of a man lying prostrate, with his arms extended, and was quite discernible when the first white settlers came here. It was near an Indian trail, and the depression was kept free from forest debris by the passing braves, who also reared to him a monument of loose stones, brought from a hill a mile distant, each as he passed casting upon the accumulating heap his tribute of affection, "after the manner of the ancient Caledonians." These stones are said to have remained in their monumental form until 1825, when they were used in the construction of the foundation walls of the edifice before referred to.* Local authorities do not entirely agree as to who was the first settler within the limits of the present town of North Dansville, and this is not surprising in view of the many territorial changes affecting it. It may not be possible at this day to definitely de- termine the fact ; yet, from inquiries made and a careful analysis of conflicting statements in reference to this matter, we see little reason to doubt that the credit rightly belongs to William McCartney, who was born in 1771, at Kirkcudbright, in the county and on the bay of the same name on the south coast of Scotland, whence he came to this country at the instance and as the clerk of Charles Williamson, on the latter's assuming the agency of * From Turner's Pioneer History of Phelps andGorham's Purchase* JS9> (note) which copies from the manuscript of W. H. C. Hosmer ; and contributions to the local press, especially fhe Dansville Advertiser of August 12, 1880. the Pultney estate. Reaching Philadelphia in 1791, early the following year he came to Bath, which Capt. Williamson made his home. Thence, after a few months, he came to Sparta, which then em- braced the present towns of Groveland, Spring- water, West Sparta and the major portion of Cone- sus, and subsequently North Dansville. In com- pany with Andrew Smith, who accompanied him from Scotland, he occupied a log-house erected by Capt. Williamson on the west bank of Canaseraga creek, on what is known as the McNair farm in West Sparta, three miles north of Dansville. Both McCartney and Smith were young single men, and there they kept bachelor's hall for about two years, when Smith, who was suffering from fever and ague, removed to and settled at Bath. McCartney moved further up the creek, and built on 209 acres purchased in 1793, on the flats in the locality of Comminsville, including that site, but lying mostly north-east of it, a log-house which stood about thirty rods east of the Canaseraga and about a hundred rods north of Comminsville. July 14, 1796, William McCartney married Mary McCurdy, (a step-daughter of Cornelius McCoy, the pioneer settler on the site of Dansville village,) who, says Dr. James Faulkner, is remembered as a girl and woman of great beauty. The ceremony, it is supposed, was performed by Rev. Samuel J. Mills, of Groveland, from whom the Millses of Mt. Morris are descended, who occasionally extended his labors in this direction at an early day. This was the first marriage contracted in the town. He continued to reside on his farm in this town till his death, February 9, 1831. He was one of the original members of the First Presbyterian Church of Sparta, three miles north of Dansville, and one of its ruling elders. He was the recipient of various official trusts, irrespective of party. He was for twenty- seven years Supervisor of the town of Sparta, and for several years, during anti-masonic times, was the candidate of both parties. For a number of years he went to Canandaigua to attend the meet- ings of the board. He was for several years a Jus- tice of the Peace. He represented Ontario county in the Assembly in 1819, and declined a re-nomi- nation. He served on the Niagara frontier during the war of 1812. He was one of the most promi- nent pioneer settlers in this section. His wife sur- vived him many years. She died Sept. 5, 1864. They had thirteen children, eleven of whom lived to maturity, and most of whom settled in this locality. Six are still living: — Maria, wife of Charles R. Kern, Hugh, Matthew and Sarah A., a iss HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COL'NTY. maiden lady, in I )ansville village ; David, in Ster- ling, 111.; and James F., in Dansville, Steuben count}-. It is generally conceded that Cornelius McCoy, familiarly called " Neal" MCoy, made the first set- tlement on the site of the village of Dansville, and it is also urged that he was the first settler in the town, which is probably true of the quarter section of three miles square which originally composed it. Cornelius McCoy was a native of the North of Ireland and married in county Antrim, Mary Mc- Curdy, whose first husband, John McCurdy, died in 1784. The McCurdys were natives of Scotland. In 1788, soon after his marriage, McCoy immi- grated to this country with his wife, two step-sons — David and James McCurdy — and a step-daughter, named Mary McCurdy, who contracted the first marriage in the town with William McCartney. They landed at Wilmington, Delaware, in the spring of that year, and proceeded to Buffalo Val- ley, Northumberland county, Penn., where they resided seven years. In June, 1795, they removed thence to this town, locating in the south-west part of the village of Dansville. Our route from Penn- sylvania, says, the late James McCurdy, " was through a wilderness most of the way until we reached Painted Post in this State. There we found a store and tavern. Mr. Thomas McBurney settled there about that time. Twelve miles from there we found Mr. Tolbert located at the mouth of Mud creek. At Bath the principal settlers were Capt. Charles Williamson, Andrew Smith, Dugald Cameron and Daniel Cruger, senior, tavern-keeper. Eight miles from there Mr. Thomas McWhorter had settled at a place now called Avoca ; at Liberty, Mr. Bevins; at Blood's Corners, Mr. Hooker. From there to Havens's through the Springwater valley there was no settlement. The object of our coming this roundabout way was, there was no wagon road by what is now the ordinary road to Bath."* The journey from Painted Post occupied five days. The first night they stayed at Bath ; the second they encamped in the woods near Liberty Corners, in the the town of Cohocton ; the third was also spent in the woods, near the Conesus Lake inlet ; the fourth at Darling Havens's, in the present town of Sparta ; and by the fifth they had reached their destination. There was then a small surveyor's hut where Conrad Welch after- wards resided, on Ossian street. "At this time there was no white inhabitant in what is now the * Reminiscences of James McCurdy, in the Dansville Advertiser of August 9, 1877. town of Dansville ; on the south, none nearer than Arkport." McCoy took up the half of a 300 acre lot, the first lot, says Dr. James Faulkner, surveyed in this locality. "The first summer," says Mr. McCurdy, " we or most of the family had the fever and ague, but in the fall of the first summer, my step-father, McCoy, and myself made out to chop logs enough to build a log-cabin 18 feet by 14, which we thought a very large house ; the next thing was in our opinion the hardest part of all about our log-cabin, that was to get it raised. But we found no trouble in that, as we gave notice of our raising day. We had hands enough and more than we wanted, for the hands came mostly the day before, and we got our build- ing up and shingled in one day with basswood bark which we had prepared in the summer."* This log-house stood near a fine spring a little north of the residence of the widow of David McNair, (a grand- daughter of McCoy's wife,) on land now owned by Mrs. Alexander Fdwards. A second log-house, clap-boarded, and standing nearer the road, was afterwards built and occupied by the family. It stood until about 1870, and was then taken down. Here McCoy resided till his death, which occurred May 8, 1809. at the age of 46 years. His wife survived him many years. She died in 1835, in her 93rd year. She had only one child by her second marriage — a daughter, who died in infancy. During the first winters they needed no hay as the cattle preferred rushes which were abundant along the Canaseraga, which gave it the name of Rushbottom. Of these rushes, Mr. McCurdy says, the cattle were extremely fond; they grew as much in one winter, he says, as in two summers; horses did well on them in the winter, but not in the spring. There was no grist-mill nearer than the outlet of Conesus lake. This family and others purchased meat of the Indians, at a settled price. The rate of exchange with this family was settled by Mrs. McCoy. * * The price of a good hind quarter of venison was two pumpions, six turnips, or two quarts of Indian meal. This was so perfectly understood, and so satisfactory to both parties, that there was no demurring: the Indian threw down his venison and took his pumpions or turnips without speaking, and all was right. The McCurdys — David and James — step-sons of McCoy, were young lads when they came here in 1795, being aged respectively sixteen and thirteen years. They took up the remaining half of the lot • Miniature of Dansville Village, J. W. Clark. NORTH DANSVILLE — EARLY SETTLERS. '59 on which McCoy settled. The latter, at his death, gave one-half of his farm to his nephew, James D. McCurdy, who, says Dr. James Faulkner, was called "Little Jimmy," to distinguish him from James McCurdy, McCoy's step-son, who, for a like reason, was called "Big Jimmy." The other half went to McCoy's wife. David McCurdy after- wards settled in Ossian, and about 1825-30 removed to Indiana, where he became very wealthy. He died there in the fall of 1859, aged eighty years. James McCurdy, his brother, who was born in the parish of Billy, county Antrim, Ireland, May 10, 1782, married May 3 ; 1808, Sarah Gray, a native of Lancaster, Penn., her father having been one of the pioneer settlers of Almond, Allegany county. He succeeded to the homestead farm, eventually acquiring the whole original 300 acres, and both he and his wife resided there till their death. They became one of the wealthiest and most respected families in the town. Mr. McCurdy was Super- visor for many years. He died November 16, 1864, and his wife, February 5, 1S64. They had nine children, seven of whom — four sons and three daughters — lived to maturity. They all settled in this locality, and all are now living in this town, viz: — William G., Mary Ann, wife of Samuel Stur- geon; Margaret, widow of David McNair; John; Hugh F.j Elizabeth G, wife of Alexander Edwards, and James. Several families moved into the town during this and the two succeeding years, among whom were Amariah Hammond, Alexander Fullerton, David Sholl, the Faulkners, the Porters, the Van De- Venters, Samuel Stillwell and Thomas Macklen. Amariah Hammond came here in 1795 on a prospecting tour, and "during his first visit to this place slept two nights under a pine tree, on premises which he afterwards purchased. ' I put a bell on my horse,' said he, ' that he might not stray beyond hearing;' but it was unnecessary, as the horse came as often as every hour to where he lay and dis- turbed his sleep ; the horse seemed sensible of his lonely situation, and fearful in view of it."* He took up land on the main road to Geneseo, about three-fourths of a mile from the center of the vil- lage, where Henry Hammond now resides, and during that season put up a log house, into which he removed his family from Bath the following April. His family consisted of his wife and infant child, who made the journey on horseback. Mr. Hammond afterwards acquired that portion of the Fullerton farm lying east of Main street. • Miniature of Dansville Village. He was the successful farmer of North Dansville, and though uneducated, was sagacious and made money and became influential. He was the first Supervisor of the town of Dansville, which was formed in March, 1 796. Mr. Hammond used to re- late as one of the embarrassing incidents of pioneer life, that when his first grass needed cutting he had to go to Tioga Point to get scythes. He pur- chased two, which, with the expenses of the jour- ney, cost him eleven dollars. He continued to reside where he first settled till his death. He was born June 24, 1773, and died November 5, 1850. He was twice married. His first wife, named Catherine, died May 3, 1798, aged twenty-two. His second wife, named Elsie, died April 26, 1842, aged sixty-seven. Mrs. Fannie Bradner, of Dans- ville, widow of Lester Bradner, is a daughter of his, and the only one of the children left here. Another daughter became the wife of the venerable Dr. James Faulkner, who is still living in Dans- ville, in his ninety-second year. Lazarus Hammond, a brother of Amariah Ham- mond, came here soon after him and lived in a log house below him till 1806, when he sold to Har- man H. Harttnan, who came here from Pennsyl- vania about that year. Lazarus Hammond was the first Clerk of the town of Dansville. Harttnan died here June 1, 181 1, aged 53. He left numer- ous descendants, principally in Dansville and its vicinity. Alexander Fullerton, who was born of Scotch parents in Chester county, Pennsylvania, removed thence to this town and located in the north part of the village, near the residence of Jonathan B. Morey. He also sold to Harman H. Hartman and removed to the town of Sparta, where he died. He was something of a military character in his native county, and was the father of Gen. \Vm. S. Fullerton, of Sparta, who represented Livingston county in the Assembly in 1846-7. David Sholl came here from Pennsylvania like many of the pioneer settlers. He was a mill- wright and was engaged in that capacity by Capt. Williamson. He built the first saw-mill and grist- mill in Dansville for the Pultney estate, the former in 1795 and the latter in 1796.* The saw-mill, says one authority, stood on the site of the plan- ing-mill belonging to the Jesse Angell estate, and operated by Geo. W. DeLong. It went to decay many years ago — about 1824-6. The grist-mill occupied the site of the Readshaw mill, on the corner of Gibson and Main streets. It was burned • French's Gazetteer of the State of Xe.v York. i6o HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. soon after, before it was entirely finished,* but was immediately rebuilt by Slioll. The frame of the second structure is a part of the present one, which was enlarged to its present size by Benj. F. Readshaw, the present proprietor. Sholl was living in 1797 in a pine plank house, opposite the Readshaw grist-mill, which he afterwards pur- chased. He was a man of moderate capacity, but industrious and careful. He disposed of the mill property to Nathaniel Rochester and afterwards removed to Mt. Morris, where he built the pioneer grist-mill of that town. He subsequently went to Michigan, where he died. Solomon Feustermacher was born at Northamp- ton, Perm., April 1, 1789, and came here from that State in 1805. Says a local writer: "He built 'Solomon's temple,' a large three-story building, the largest structure in Livingston county at that time, and so a great curiosity. Himself and his brother Isaac built a great part of early Dansville." He died Feb. 5, 185 1. There were three Faulkners f — brothers — Daniel P., Samuel and James. The former, if not the most worthy, seems to have been the most active and enterprising. Daniel P. and James Faulkner came here from Milton, Northumberland county, Pa., in 1795. The former, who brought with him $10,000, the proceeds of the sale of lands on the present site of Troupsburgh, Steuben county, pur- chased, in conjunction with three others, the west half of township No. 6, range 6, (including the original town of North Dansville,) and infused into the budding settlement an energy and enthusiasm characteristic of the man. Daniel P. Faulkner settled on the site of the First National Bank of Dansville, and there erect- ed a plank house. With his acquisitions of land in this neighborhood he also became the owner of a saw-mill, which stood on the site of the well-curb factory about a mile above the Readshaw grist mill. He was lavish of his money and not a prudent business man. He possessed a taste for military display, and organized and became captain of a grenadier company numbering thirty men, whom he gaily uniformed at his own expense,:}: and " so beautiful a company," says a contemporary of his, " I [have] never seen since." This was Dans- * Turner says : "'1 lie mill was burned clown soon after 1S00, after which, before rebuilding, the neighborhood had to go to Bosley's mills,'' at the foot of Conesus Lake. Pioneer History of Phelps &? Gotham s Purchase, _^s s . t For a more extended account of the Faulkner family, and esp i til) of Dr. James Faulkner, see biographical sketch of the latter at tin I lose of this . ha t Statement of liis nephew, Dr. James Faulkner of Dansville. ville's first military company, and was highly cred- itable to the infant settlement and the enterprise of its ambitious projector. Mr. Faulkner brought the first store goods to Dansville by sleigh from Albany. Hut his injudicious enterprise was terminated by his failure in 1798. He then returned to Pennsyl- vania. He came back, however, in 1802, ami died in the frame house erected on the site of his plank one by his brother Samuel, who came here from Washington county in 1797. This village and two towns perpetuate his name. James Faulkner was an educated man and a graduate of Rush College, and was the pioneer physician of Dansville. He was, says McMaster, " an eminent physician, and a public man of saga- city and eccentricity." He lived near the Roches- ter paper-mill, built in 1809-10, and erected there in the fall of 1796 what is supposed to have been the first frame house in town, though there is doubt about this, as the frame house built by Cristopher Van DeVenter was erected about the same time. Neither of these were immediately finished, how- ever, it appears. Robert S. Faulkner, proprietor of a feed store in Dansville is a son of his. Samuel Faulkner, who, as we have said, came here in 1797, bought several village lots of his brother Daniel P. Faulkner. He built for his resi- dence a two-story frame house which stood a little south of the Clinton house, near the vacant spot south of that house. It was the first frame house in the village that was finished. In this he com- menced keeping tavern in the fall of 1797. It has been erroneously stated that he was the pioneer tavern keeper of Dansville. He was preceded, though but a short time, by John Van De Venter, who kept tavern in a small one-story plank house with two rooms, which occupied the site of Grant's store, across the way from the National Bank. This house of Faulkner's was destroyed by fire in the winter of 1 79S, and nearly everything in it con- sumed. Mr. F'aulkner then removed to the Daniel 1'. Faulkner residence, on the site of the National Bank, where he also kept tavern till 1801, when he removed to Geneseo and there continued that vo- cation till his death May 3, 1805. He had only two children — Jonathan Dorr and James. The former was an officer in the Commissary Depart- ment during the war of 181 2, with the rank of captain, and died in LeRoy in 18 15, from disease contracted by exposure in the army. James was an early physician and a prominent business man in Dansville during nearly the whole period of its existence, and is still a resident of that village. NORTH DANSVILLE — EARLY SETTLERS. 161 Capt. Nathaniel and William Porter, brothers, came here from New Jersey, under the auspices of Daniel P. Faulkner, in 1796. Nathaniel died the following year in a log house known as the " Cas- tle." It stood a little west of the German Lutheran church in Dansville village, and is supposed to have been built by the surveyors. All the early settlers in the vicinity of the village occupied it tempora- rily. Capt. Porter's death, which occurred March 12, 1797, at the age of 54, is said to have been the first in the town. This is probably the fact, as it is the earliest date preserved by the monuments in the village cemeteries. At least three others died the same year.* Capt. Porter's wife — Char- ity — died March 19, 1813, aged 64. They had a large family — James, the pioneer blacksmith, Peter, John, Matthew, William, David C. and Richard were sons of theirs, and all were then young men. One of their daughters was the wife of Daniel P. Faulkner ; a second became the wife of her cousin, Richard Porter, son of William Porter; a third, the wife of Frederick Covert ; and a fourth, of James Koogan. Not one of them is living ; the last, David C, died in the fall of 1879, aged over 90. William Porter, brother to Nathaniel, settled where Matthias Kershner now lives, on the south line of the corporation of Dansville, and died there March 11, 18 16, aged 77. Ann, his wife, died in Novem- ber, 1798, aged 54. Christopher Van De Venter was another of the New Jersey settlers. He came in 1796, and settled in the village, where Charles Shepard now lives. He died of the Genesee fever, August 25, 1798, aged 67. He was the pioneer tanner, and built the first tannery on a small stream at the point where it crosses Perine street. His sons likewise were all tanners. They were John, Isaac and Christopher. John opened the first tavern in town, on the site of Timothy B. Grant's hardware store, opposite the National Bank, and kept it till his death,! which occurred Dec. 31, 1797, at the age of 27. Samuel Stillwell settled first in North Dansville, but afterwards removed to Sparta, where he was a Justice of the Peace for a number of years. Thomas Macklen, a Scotchman, who came from New Jersey, following the Faulkners, previous to 1797 — probably one of the New Jersey settlers of 1796. He was the first school teacher, and taught here as early as 1798. The pioneer school house •These were Ann, daughter of RichardW. Porter, Aug. jo, 1797, aged J; John Van De Venter, Dec, 31, 1797, aged 27; and Catharine, wife ot the latter, Sept. 12, 1797, aged is- t Statement of Dr. James Faulkner, who is unquestionably the best living authority, and who would not be likely to bestow upon another an honor which others have conferred on his father. stood on the road to Geneseo, about a mile north of the center of the village of Dansville, just below and on the opposite side of the residence of Henry Hartman. Mr. Macklen was Dr. James Faulkner's first school teacher. In the winter of 1798, says the latter gentleman, "he had ten or twelve schol- ars. Gaylord had ten or twelve scholars in 1799.'' Macklen bought a farm on the Canisteo road, about three miles from Dansville village, in the town of Dansville, Steuben county. He married into the McCurdy family, and taught school here for many years. He died April 22, 1822, aged 54. Alexander Rea, a surveyor, was an early teacher here, but for only a short period. He was then a young single man, and made his home at the tavern of Samuel Faulkner in Dansville. He married a sister of Horatio Jones, the distinguished Indian interpreter, and was for many years engaged in j surveying for the Holland Company. He was a Member of Assembly from the joint counties of Allegany, Geneseo and Ontario in 1807 ; a State ! Senator from the Western district in 1808-11 ; and Jan. 27, 1809, was appointed a member of the Council of Appointment. Other early settlers in North Dansville previous to 1800 were Jacob Welch, Jacob Martz, Geo. Shirey, Frederick Barnhart, Wm. and Jno. Phenix, James Logan, Jared Irwin and Wm. Perine, and among the first, but in what year they came we do not know, were Jonathan Rowley, John Haas, Thomas McWhorter, Samuel Shannon, James Harrison, Daniel Hamsher, Matthew Dorr, and Oliver Warren, a nephew of Dr. Warren, of Revo- lutionary memory. The Fronks were also early settlers. One, a son of the pioneer, is still living on the crest of the east hill, aged 97 years. William Perine, who served in the Pennsylvania line during the Revolution, came from Cambridge, Washington county, in 1797, and located at the ancient village of Williamsburgh. Two years after, in 1799, he removed to Dansville, and settled at the foot of the east hill, at the head of Perine street, which derives its name from him. He took up three sections and sold out at a small advance all but about 150 acres, which has since been known as the Perine tract. The house standing on Health street, facing Perine street, was the Perine homestead. It is now owned by the heirs of his grand-daughter, the late Mrs. Charles S. Hall, who died four years ago. Mr. Perine was a farmer by occupation, and continued to reside there till his death in 1847, at the advanced age of 93 years. He had ten children, only one of whom 162 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. is left — Peter Perine, of Dansville, wlio is 81 years old. He is a native of Dansville, and is believed to be the oldest native resident of the town. He is the father of Dr. Francis M. Perine, of Dansville. William I'erine's children mostly settled in this locality, but many of them subsequently scattered over the Western States. His sons William and Robert continued to reside in the vicinity till their death, the former for a time in I lansville, Steuben county, and the latter in West Sparta. Mrs. Rob- ert Thompson, of Dansville was a daughter of his. The family evinced remarkable longevity, all the children living to be from 75 to 85 years old, except one, who died of pneumonia at the age of 40. Jonathan Rowley was an early landlord in Dans- ville. He erected for a tavern the first brick house in the village,* and died here childless July 22, 1833, a g ed 6o - Col. Nathaniel Rochester, though not as early a settler as many, was a prominent character during the short period of his stay here and gave a great impulse to the commercial and manufacturing interests of the village. As early as 1800, he, in company with Charles Carroll and Col. William Fitzhugh, all of Hagerstown, Maryland, visited this country in quest of an eligible town site contiguous to a water power. Rochester took up his residence in Dansville in 1809, and purchased a large tract of land, embracing most of the water power within the village, including the mills built by Daniel Sholl for the Pultney estate. He added to the other mills a paper mill, which was the pioneer of its kind in Western New York. In 1S14 he disposed of his property in Dansville, in part to Rev. Chris- tian Endress, of Easton, I'enn.. and in part to Jacob Opp, from the same place. Mr. Endress resided in Dansville but a year, when he returned and resumed charge of a German Lutheran church at Easton ; but two of his sons, Judge Isaac L. and Dr. Samuel L. Endress, were for many years dis- tinguished residents of Dansville. He sold his Dansville property, a tract of land and the paper- mill, to Dr. James Faulkner. He died in Lan- caster, Penn., in 1827. Jacob Opp's purchase, which embraced the present Readshaw mill and site, was made in January, 1814, and in May of that year he moved his family here from Easton. He con- tinued his interest in the mill property till about 1840, and died in Dansville in 1847, aged 84 years. Henry B. Opp is the only one of his family left here. • Pioneer History vf riielps and GorhanCi Purchase, 3&o- This town was for some years the place of resi- dence of Major Moses Van Campen, a character whose eventful life, replete with daring enterprises and thrilling adventures, has made his name familiar in all this section of country, and associated him with such notorious frontiersmen as Daniel Boone, Simon Girty, Lew Wet/el, Kenton, Timothy or "Big Loot" Murphy anil others of that ilk. During his residence here he lived in the house now oc- cupied by [ohn Schubmehl, which was removed from the site of the Star blacksmith shop on Ossian street ; and here he buried his second wife, Mary, the widow of Jonathan Stout, who died March 8, 1845, aged 78. A narrative of the life of this remarkable man was published in 1842, and from it the following facts were mainly condensed. Moses Van Campen was the oldest of ten chil- dren, whose father was Cornelius Van Campen, a respectable farmer of Hunterdon county, N. J., where Moses was born Jan. 21, 1757. His mother, whose name was Depue, was descended from a family of French Protestants, who tied from re- ligious persecution at home to find refuge in the State of Pennsylvania, to which State his father moved soon after Moses' birth, to land purchased on the Delaware, a little above the famous Water Gap, whose charming scenery has since filled with admiration numberless travelers. He early be- came expert in the use of the rifle; and by his father's removal in 1773,10 atract of land on Fish- ing creek, eight miles above its mouth, he was brought in contact with the Indians, who came from the waters of the Genesee, and hunted for weeks at a time in this region, which abounded with deer, wild turkey and other game. He thus acquired a familiarity with Indian character, and an experience which fitted him lor the distinguished services rendered in the impending struggle of the Revolution. In 1776, Van Campen was appointed ensign in a regiment raised in Northumberland county, de- signed to join the Continental army under Wash- ington, who was then stationed in the vicinity of Boston, but he was prevailed on to resign his com- mission and remain on the frontier, where it was thought his services could be more advantageously used. He accordingly joined the regiment of Col. John Kelly, which was ordered up the river to Reid's Fort, opposite Big Island, from which point scouting parties were sent out to gain information of the movements of the Indians. In 1778 he was appointed Lieutenant of a company of six months' men raised for the protection of the frontier. With NORTH DANSVILLE— MOSES VAN CAMPEN. 163 twenty men he went up the north branch of the Susquehanna and erected a fort, to which the peo- ple might rly in case of danger; and scarcely was it finished before it was attacked, but the defense was so effectual that the Indians were compelled to retire. A month later, in May, the attack was re- newed. Van Campen shot the leader and the assailants retired in a panic. Various exciting events occurred during the year, among which was the capture of a band of lurking tories in a bar- ricaded log house, by Van Campen and five men. In 1779, Van Campen was assigned to the army under Gen. Sullivan, and during the preparations of that officer for the campaign which was so im- portant in its results in this section of country, he was arduously engaged in the capacity of Quarter- master in the collection and distribution of military stores. In 1780, Van Campen was taken prisoner by a party of Indians who invaded the vicinity of his old home on Fishing creek, and killed his father, a little brother, an uncle and cousin. He was bound, and by assuming an indifference he did not feel, caused the savages to desist tormenting him. He was soon after joined by another captive named Pike, whose wife and child was spared and reported the news at Wyoming on the 30th of March. On the journey they passed a spot where five Indians had been killed by two captives named Hammond and Bennett, the former of whom was an uncle of Amariah and Lazarus Hammond, early settlers in this town. They were afterwards joined by another captive named Peter Pence. Van Campen and his fellow-prisoners concerted a plan of escape, the origin and execution of which, mainly, were due to the former. It was arranged that Pike and Van Campen should use tomahawks, and Pence such guns as he was able to seize. About midnight, Van Campen cut the cords which bound himself and companions with a kniie drop- ped by one of the savages, and which he had dex- terously concealed with his foot. The guns and other weapons were removed. Just as they were ready to strike, two of the savages assigned to Pike to dispatch awoke, and were getting up. Pike proved a coward; but at this critical juncture Van Campen killed these two, and turning to the three assigned to him killed them before they were aroused. Just then Pence used the rifles with good effect, killing four. The only remaining one started up with a bound and went for a gun. Van Campen pursued and intercepted him, striking him in the back of the neck with a tomahawk, aimed at his head. The Indian fell, and Van Campen slipped and fell also. The two clinched and strug- gled for the mastery, till Van Campen, while under the Indian, succeeded in getting his toes in the latter's belt, and threw him off. They rose togeth- er, and the Indian escaped by taking to the woods. Years after Van Campen was visited by this same Indian, whose name was Mohawk, and who exhibited the scar from the ugly wound inflicted on his neck. In 1 78 1, Van Campen was again made a Lieu- tenant, and in the fall his company was sent in con- junction with other troops to guard prisoners at Reading. In the spring of 1782, he returned with his company to Northumberland, and from thence marched to Muncy, where he built a fort. While on a scout up the river with twenty men, he was surprised by a Tory, named Nellis, at the head of eighty-five Indians. A desperate fight ensued, in which nine of Van Campen's men were killed. Three escaped and the rest were made prisoners. These, Van Campen among the number, after a consultation among the Indians, in which it was decided that enough blood had been shed, were taken to Caneadea, on the Genesee, to the old council-house which now adorns the grounds of Hon. Wm. P. Letchworth, at Glen Iris, at the upper falls of the Genesee. Van Campen was deeply solicitous lest it should be discovered that he was the one who had killed so many when pre- viously captured. At Pigeon Woods, on the upper Genesee, he was for the first time accosted by Capt. Horatio Jones, who, himself a prisoner, quietly informed him that he and another, a Dutch- man named Housen, were the only ones who knew of his former exploit, and doubtless saved Van Campen's life by a timely admonition to Housen. At Caneadea, the captives were compelled to run the gauntlet, a common mode of Indian pun- ishment, and one which sealed the fate of many a weary captive. The distance to be run was forty yards : the goal of safety, the door of the council- house; but to reach it they had to pass between two lines of men, women and children, armed with knives, hatchets, sticks, stones, or any other con- venient offensive weapon, each of whom was at liberty to strike as often and severely as he or she pleased until the goal was reached, when all fur- ther demonstration ceased until the chiefs in coun- cil decided on the ultimate fate of the captive ; and so highly was personal valor and bravery esteemed in a foe by these untutored savages, that the man- ner in which the prisoner bore himself during this 164 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. ordeal often affected the final judgment as to his fate. Just before the word was given, Van Campen saw two young squaws with whips in their hands coming leisurely from the village to join in the sport. He was as active in mind as in body, and at once decided to make them the objects of his especial interest. When the word " joggo" was given he directed his course toward them, avoid- ing as best he could the blows aimed at him by the motley assailants. He passed swiftly over the in- tervening distance, though his hands were tied, and just before he reached the two who awaited with upraised whips, he gave a quick spring, and by two well-directed blows with his feet, sent them sprawling on the sod, himself falling with them. Regaining his feet, he again started for the goal, which he reached in safety. This piece of strategy, skillfully executed, so delighted the chiefs, that they rolled upon the ground convulsed with laughter ; it won for Van Campen a light judgment. In company with other captives he was taken to Fort Niagara, when he was adopted into the family of Col. Butler, to make good the loss of his son, who was killed on the Mohawk. The Indians soon after required intelligence from Mohawk himself of Van Campen's former exploit in the massacre of his captors, and sharply interrogated Capt. Jones, who had been long enough a prisoner to gain their confidence and esteem, as to his knowledge of the fact ; but he concealed his knowledge with evasive answers. They resolved however to punish Van Campen. They repaired to Niagara and demanded him of Col. Butler, promising fourteen other pris- oners in his stead. Col. Butler sent an adjutant to ascertain the facts, and after some hesitation Van Campen boldly related them ; but he at the same time claimed protection as a prisoner of war. Col. Butler proposed, as the price of his freedom, that he accept a commission in the British army, a proposition which was subsequently renewed by the wife of a British officer, who proved to be a former acquaintance and school-mate. But the brave Van Campen, though remembering the cruel fate of Lieut. Boyd on the Genesee flats, indignant- ly spurned the offer, saying, " No, sir, no ! Give me the stake, the tomahawk or the knife, sooner than a British commission." He was placed on board a vessel and sent to Montreal. After a few months imprisonment he was paroled, and returned to Northumberland in January, 1783. In the spring he was exchanged. He again entered the service and was sent to take charge of a fort at VVilkesbarre, where he remained for some time after peace was declared, to protect the fron- tier from the still hostile Indians. He received before leaving the service a Major's commission. S i after being relieved from military duty he married a daughter of James McClure, a wealthy farmer of Northumberland. In 1 795 he removed to Angelica, and being a surveyor, was for some years employed in that capacity by Capt. William- son and Philip Church. In 1807 he was appointed Judge of Allegany county. He was Treasurer of that county by appointment fifteen years ; and was Loan Commissioner till 183 1. when he removed to Dansville village. He participated in the cere- monies attending the removal of the remains of Lt. Boyd and his unfortunate comrades, who were cut down by the Indians in the ambuscade in Grove- land, Sept. 13, 1779, and in a few words surren- dered their honored remains for re-interment in Mount Hope Cemetery, Rochester. He returned to Angelica soon after the death of his wife, and died there Oct. 15, 1849, at the ripe age of 92 years and 9 months. Town Officers. — The first town meeting was held at the house of G. C. Taylor, on Tuesday, April 7, 1846, and the following officers elected : — Sidney Sweet, Supervisor ; Peter S. Lema, Clerk ; Thomas Roming, Joseph Enos and John Haas, Justices ; Aaron Brown, Ebenezer B. Brace and Thomas Roming, Assessors ; Cyrus Jones, John Hartman and Benjamin Stone, Commissioners of Highways; Bleeker L. Hovey, Superintendent of Common Schools ; John C. Williams, Solomon Hubbard and Geo. G. Wood, Inspectors of Flec- tion ; Jason H. Stone, and Jarvis T. Beach, Over- seers of the Poor ; Wm. Mc Vicar, Collector ; Wm. McVicar, Gabriel Shult, Harmon Howe, Consta- bles ; John Smith " of Lyons," Sealer ;* Joseph Kidd, Wm. Curtiss, Paul Knouse, Thomas Mc- Whorter, Merritt Brown, Henry Hartman, Mat- thew Porter, Jr., Isaac Dexter, Samuel Fisk, Wm. Kershner, J. T. Lewis, Seth Foster, Conrad Welch. David Shult, Wm. Foote and Cyrus B. Cook, Path- masters. The following have been the Supervisors and Clerks from 1S46 to 1880: — Supervisors. Clerks. 1846-7. Sidney Sweet. Peter S. Lema. 1848-9. " Charles A. Thompson. 1850. John Goundry. C. E. Lamport.! 1851. Henry Hartman. O. T. Crane. "Though this officer was elected in 184ft, not until 185 J was the Super- visor authorized to procure the proper standards of weights and mea lures 1 1 1. T. 1 Irane was appointed < llerk, Nov. 3, 1850, vice Lamport resigned. VILLAGE OF DANS VILLE — OFFICERS. 165 1852. 1853-4. 1855-8. 1859-61. 1862. 1863-4. 1865-6. 1867-9. 1S70. 1871-2. 1873- 1874-5- 1876-8. 1879. E. B. Brace.* O. T. Crane. Alonzo Bradner. " Matthew Porter, Jr., Timothy B. Grant. Joseph \V. Smith. " Lester B. Faulkner, t " Samuel D. Faulkner. " Joseph W. Smith. " John A. Vanderlip. " " Thomas E. Gallagher. Jas. Faulkner, Jr. James Krein. J. J. Bailey. Le Grand Snyder. Geo. L. B. A. Sweet. Faulkner. C. Joseph Wirth. Le Grand Snyder. Dansvili.e. Dansville is a handsome, thriving and enterpris- ing village of 3,632 inhabitants, beautifully situated at the head of the Genesee Valley, and deriving a valuable water power from the streams flowing through and adjacent to it. It is not only the most populous village in the county, but its com- merce and manufactures far exceed any other. It contains many fine business blocks and private residences, which add to the attractiveness of its handsomely shaded streets. It has a goodly sup- ply of churches, which are well supported ; but is sadly deficient in the matter of public schools, a defect, however, which is in a measure compen- sated for by excellent private schools. The main street runs parallel with and at the base of the east hill, which rises above it with a good deal of ab- ruptness to the height of over eight hundred feet, presenting a succession of cultivated fields and woodlands, which form a most picturesque land- scape. At the foot of the opposite hills winds the Canaseraga, which, with its affluents, control so many of the industries of the village. It is con- nected by rail with Mt. Morris, Geneseo, Avon and Rochester, being distant forty-five miles by high- way from the latter city, and eighteen miles from Geneseo, the county seat. It is also connected by daily stage with Burns on the Hornellsville di- vision, and Wayland on the Buffalo division of the Erie railroad. It contains eight churches.^ the Dansville Sem- inary, a district school, several private schools, two newspaper offices, ?' two banks, (one national and one private,) three hotels, a popular and thriving water cure, various manufacturing establishments, * Appointed, .is no choice was made by t Samuel D. Faulkner was appointed Supei 1 B. Faulknei resigned. t These are Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Episcopalian, I Lutheran, German Lutheran, German Catholic and Irish Catholic. § See Chap. XII. tor History of the Pn ' ion County. which will be enumerated under the head of manu- factures, nearly seventy stores of various kinds, and the various mechanics' shops incident to a village of its size. The village was incorporated May 7, 1S45. The first corporation meeting was held at the American Hotel, kept by G. C. Taylor, June 16, 1846, and the following officers were elected: Trustees, Sidney Sweet, Jason H. Stone, Samuel L. Endress, Chester Bradley, Win. Foote; As- sessors, Ebenezer B. Brace, Aaron Brown, YVm. Curtiss ; * Fire Wardens, Peter S. Lema, Philip Hasler, Russell H. Winans; Clerk, Barna J. Chapin ; Treasurer, Samuel W. Smith ; Collector, Harmon Howe. At the first meeting of the Board of Trustees, June 20, 1846, Chester Bradley was elected President. The following have been the Presidents and Clerks of the village from 1846 to 1880: — Presidents. Clerks. 846. Chester Bradley. Barna J. Chapin. 847. Sidney Sweet. 548. Harman Jones. 549. John Haas. 850. Ebenezer B. Brace. 851-2. M. H. Brown. 853. George Hyland. 854. Harman Jones. 855-6. Abram Lozier. 857. John Haas. 858. Mat. McCartney. Charles R. Kern. George H. Bidwell. Charles E. Lamport. "t Osman T. Crane. »59- 860. 861. 86 2. 863. 864. 865. 866. 867. J. F. Howarth. Frank Eschrich. Timothy B. Grant. George Hyland, Jr. Carl Stephan. Timothy B. Grant. Andrew J. Leach. Charles B. Mitchell. D. Cogswell. Hugh McCartney. " Charles R. Kern. " Oliver W. West. 9. John N. Lemen. Jesse B. Prussia. 870. J. B. Morey. John Hyland. 871. Hugh McCartney. Jesse B. Prussia. 872. W. J. La Rue. 873. Jos. C. Whitehead. William Kramer. 874-5. " Jesse B. Prussia. S76-7. Geo. A. Sweet. Le Grand Snyder. 878. John Wilkinson. Patrick O'Hara. 879. (ames Krein. Le Grand Snyder. 880. Jas. Faulkner, Jr. " The following Democratic ticket was elected Feb. 8, 1 88 1 : Trustees, James Faulkner. Jr., Resolved Wheaton, James Krein, Dennis Foley, James E. Crisfield ; Treasurer, Timothy B. Grant ; Clerk, LeGrand Snyder; Collector, Thomas * June z>, 1846, Matthew McCartney was appointed in place of Curtiss, who refused to act. t Nov. :^, 1850, 1 teWitt C Bryai E. Lamport, who resigned. 1 66 HISTORY OF LIYINGSToN COUNTY. O'Mera; Assessors, Thomas Earls, Joseph J. Welch, Frank Schubmehl. I >ansville developed slowly previous to the open- ing of the canal. Spafford Historical jr. James Faulkner succeeded to the ' dure, in McMaster*s History of Steuben COHHl office in 1S14 and held it till 1S41. Samuel Shan- non next held the office till his death, May 28, 1 8 i'i, and was succeeded by Merritt Brown, Charles Shepard, Charles Lamport, Merritt H. Brown, the latter of whom held it till July, 1858, when Judge fohn A. YanDerlip was appointed and held it till Sept. 2. 1861, when ( ). B. Maxwell was appointed. He was succeeded in 1865 by Edward H. Pratt. George Hyland was appointed under Gen. Grant's administration, and was succeeded in October, 1869, by Seth N. Hedges, who held the office till fan. 1, 1874, when John Hyland, the present in- cumbent, was appointed. Physicians. — The first physician to locate in Dansville was James Faulkner, to whom refereni e is made elsewhere. The second was Jonathan P. Sill, who came from Cambridge, Washington county, in 1797, but removed the same year to Williamsburgh, and the next year to Geneseo, where he practiced till his death in 1807. He was an estimable man, successful in his practice, and it was said of him by William Crossett, an Irish dis- tiller and a prominent man in this locality, that he was the only man whoever died without an enemy. He remained here but a short time. He married the youngest sister of Samuel, Daniel P. and James Faulkner. Philip Sholl, brother to David Sholl, the pioneer millwright, and a native of Moore town ship, Northampton county. Pa., came to Dansville in February, 1808, and fixed his habitation on the corner of Main and Exchange streets. He was not an educated physician, but he was a man of great ability and shrewdness, anil though an inebriate, had an extensive practice. No man in this county, says Dr. James Faulkner, had the popularity he acquired all through this section. Not under- standing the nature and uses of medicines, he re- sorted to simple remedies until the advent of Dr. F"aulkner as a practitioner in 181 2, when he in- judiciously administered from his stock, medicines of whose nature he was ignorant. He was not licensed, and hence formed a copartnership with Dr. Faulkner so as to enable him to collect his debts. He continued in practice here till his death, which occurred in 1S21 from apoplexy, while on a visit to his former home. Willis F. Clark, a native of New England, came here from ITtica about 1813 or '14, and practiced till his death, Oct. 5, 1858. Josiah Clark came here about 1820, and after practicing several years he removed to Livonia, where he was practicing in 1842. Wm. H. Reynale was born in Quaker- VILLAGE OF DANSVILLE — PHYSICIANS. 169 town, N. J., Feb. 27, 1794. He was a noted sur- geon in this section.* L. N. Cook was born in London, Mass., April 5, 1791, and removed with his parents to Livonia in this county. He studied medicine with Dr. Cyrus Chipman, of Pittstown, (afterwards Honeoye and now Richmond,) Ontario county. He prac- ticed in the towns of Livonia and Richmond till 1818, when he removed to Dansville, and in 1824, to Johnstown, Licking county, Ohio. In 1831, he returned to Dansville, where he lived and practiced till his death April 2, 1868, of heart disease. Samuel L. Endress, in 1828 removed to Dans- ville, and formed a co-partnership with Dr. Win. H. Reynale, which continued for many years. He continued in practice here till his death, from bilious pneumonia, Feb. 24, 1871. Edward William Patchen entered upon the prac- tice of his profession in Sparta, where he continued four years. He then removed to Livonia, and a year later, in 1843, to Dansville, where he prac- ticed till his death, Oct. 20, 1869. BleekerL. Hoveywas practicing here in 1842 and for some years thereafter. He is now a noted phy- sician in Rochester. Asahel Yale and Alonzo Cressy were practicing here in 1829; and O. S. Pratt, C. T. Dildine and George M. Blake, at a later day. A Dr. Davis and his nephew, named George Davis, were practicing here in 1846. The former was a Thompsonian physician and had an extensive practice all over this section of country ; the latter was an eclectic physician, and had agood professional reputation. Dr. Ripley succeeded George Davis and practiced two or three years. Louis Velder, a native of the town of Heibach, Austria, who had studied medicine in the best schools in Vienna, came to this country about 1850, and located at Dansville. He removed to Elmira about 1867. George H. Preston was born in Dansville, Sept. 1, 1819. In 1854 he located in Dansville, and in 1855 he removed to Rochester. From there he went to Brantford, Province of On- tario, from whence, in 1864, he returned to Dans- ville, where he practiced till his death, Nov. 1 4, 1872. Dr. Blakesley located in Dansville in 1859, but how long he remained here we are not advised. The present physicians are G. W. Shepherd, Zara H. Blake, Francis M. Perine, Wooster B. Preston, James E. Crisfield, Ben P. Andrews and Charles W. Brown. G. W. Shepherd was born in Albany, Sept. 28, 1816, and received an academic education at Al- • His biography and portrait appear at lliu close of tlie chapter. bany and Hamilton. He commenced the study of medicine in 1835, witn Dr. Guasque, in George- town, S. C, subsequently pursuing his medical studies with Dr. T. T. Everet, of Batavia, and Dr. Morgan Snyder, of Fort Plain. He attended medi- cal lectures at the South Carolina Medical College in Charleston, and was licensed by the Genesee County Medical Society, August 6, 1842. He com- menced practice in the fall of 1842 in New York, continuing there some six months, when he removed to Orleans, Ontario county, and thence, in 1S46, to Dansville. Zara H. Blake was born in Livonia in this county Oct. 23, 1821, and educated in the semi- naries at Dansville and Herkimer. He commenced the study of medicine in 1840, with Dr. S. L. En- dress, of Dansville, and attended medical lectures at the University of Buffalo, where he graduated in 1847, in which year he established himself in practice in Dansville. Francis M. Perine, a grandson of William Perine, one of the pioneer settlers of this town, was born in Dansville, March 27, 1831, and received an academic education in his native village. He com- menced the study of medicine in 185 1, with Dr. S. L. Endress, of Dansville, and graduated from the Buffalo Medical College in February, 1855. He entered upon the practice of his profession at Byersville, in West Sparta, in the spring of 1855, and removed there after six years to Dansville, where he has since practiced. Wooster B. Preston was born in Wellsboro, N. Y., March 3, 1845, and educated at the High and Grammar School of Brantford, Ontario, where his father, Dr. Geo. H. Preston, with whom he com- menced the study of medicine in 1863, was then practicing. He attended lectures at the Eclectic Medical College of Cincinnati, Ohio, where he graduated Feb. 12, 1867, in which year he engaged in practice in Dansville, in company with his father, till the death of the latter, Nov. 14, 187J. James E. Crisfield was born in Lodi, N. Y.. August 6, 1 85 1, and educated at Genesee College and Genesee Wesleyan Seminary at Lima. He studied medicine with Dr. John W. Cray, of Avon, and attended lectures at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, where he graduated in the spring of 1872. He practiced four months of that year in the town of York and then removed to Dansville, where he has since practiced. Ben P. Andrews was born in Preston, N. Y.. August 19, 1855, and commenced the study of medicine in 187; with Dr. R. E. Miller, of Oxford. 170 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. He attended a full course of lectures at the New- York Homeopathic Medical College, where he graduated in March, 1877. He established himself in practice at Dansville in August of that year. Charles W. Brown was born in Caton, N. Y., Sept. 5, 1848. He commenced the study of med- icine in 1870, with Dr. Seeley, of Elmira, and attended lectures at the Hahnemann Medical College of Chicago, where he graduated in 1873. He commenced to practice that year at Hornells- ville, removed to Hammondsport in 1875, and to Dansville in 1877. Lawyers. — The first lawyers to locate in Dans- ville of whom we have any information were James Smith and John Proudfit, who were practicing here prior to 1840. Both were regarded as good law- yers, but the latter was somewhat dissipated. lie was a man of considerable ability, and died in New York City. His father was a Presbyterian clergyman at Salem, Washington county. Ben- jamin C. Cook was practicing here in 1842, and continued some fifteen years. He devoted him- self more to other business than to his profession, in which he was not regarded very proficient. Isaac Lewis Endress, brother to Dr. Samuel L. Endress of this village, was born at Easton, Pa., Sept. 14, 1810, and a graduate of Dickinson Col- lege, at Carlisle, Pa. His father, who was a dis- tinguished Lutheran clergyman, designed him for the ministry ; but the bar presented superior attrac- tions, and in 1827 he entered the office of Judge Ewing at Trenton, N. J. In the fall of 1828 he removed to Rochester, where he pursued his legal studies with Daniel D. Barnard and Isaac Hill, of that city. He was admitted to the bar in October, 1 83 1, and in February, 1832, opened an office in Dansville, where he practiced till 1856, when he went South for the health of his wife, visiting Havana, Cuba and Key West. He returned in 1857. He was appointed Associate Judge of the Court of Common Pleas about 1839; was Presi- dential Elector and Secretary of the Electoral Col- lege in 1856; and a Delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1867. He died here Jan. 22, 1870. John A. Van Derlip was born in Jackson, Wash- ington county, N. Y., Jan. 27, 181 8, and was edu- cated at Washington Academy, in Salem, in that county, and at Union College, graduating at the latter institution in 1838, in which year he com- menced the study of law with Pearson & Davis, in Troy. He afterwards pursued his legal studies about six months in Cherry Valley with David H. Little, afterwards State Senator, and completed them in Rochester, with Judge Moses Chapin. He was admitted at Rochester in October, 1841, and the following January established himself in practice in I lansville, where he has since continued. In 1846, he was appointed Associate Judge of the Common Pleas Court by Silas Wright and per- formed the duties of that office till the Constitu- tion of that year took effect. Judge Van Derlip is an able lawyer, and stands to-day at the head of the Livingston County Bar. Benjamin F. Harwood was born in Hornby, Steuben county, N. Y.. August 10, 1819. He was admitted to practice in the State courts in July, 1839, and in the fall of that year located at Dans- ville, where he acquired some prominence, but more by his political affiliations than by his law practice, though he was not wanting in professional talent. In 1848 he was a Presidential Elector; and in 1855, was elected Clerk of the Court of Appeals. He died at Albany, March 30, 1856, while in discharge of the duties of that office. John R. Hickox was practicing here in 1842. He was a Justice, and did pretty much all the Justice's business during the four or five years he subsequently remained here. Endress Faulkner, son of Hon. James Faulkner, was born in Dansville, March 25, 1818. He (ire- pared for college at Canandaigua Academy, and in July, 1837, entered Yale, where he graduated in 1841. He immediately engaged in the study of law, was admitted to the bar in January, 1843, and in that year entered upon a brief but brilliant professional career in Dansville, associated for a time with the late Hon. Cyrus Sweet of Syracuse, and subsequently with Judge Solomon Hubbard, now of Geneseo. He died of consumption Nov. 12, 1852. He possessed a keen intellect and unusual forensic powers. Solomon Hubbard practiced herefrom 184410 1S64, when, having been elected County Judge the previous year, he removed to Geneseo, to perform the duties of that office.* John Wilkinson was born in Sparta, Nov. 24. 1808. His father, Gawen Wilkinson, emigrated from Shulthwaite, Cumberland county, England, to North Dansville, about 1800, and about 1804 removed to the present town of Sparta, where he resided till his death. John Wilkinson was admitted in 1834, and in that year entered upon a practice in Dansville which he has since continued. • For further mention "i Judge Hubbard, see the subject of lawyers in connection with Ihe villagi ol Geneseo VILLAGE OF DANSVILLE — LAWYERS. 171 Lucian B. Proctor* was born at Hanover, N. H., March 6, 1823, and removed with his parents when about ten years old to Auburn. He was ad- mitted to the bar of the Supreme Court in October, 1843. Joseph W. Smith f was born near Bath, Steuben county, in 1821. Adoniram J. Abbott practiced here ten years from 1848 to 1858, immediately after his admis- sion, when he removed to Geneseo, where he is now practicing, and in connection with which town further mention of him is made. Job C. Hedges:}: was born in New York city in June, 1835. Samuel Dorr Faulkner, son of Judge James Faulkner and brother of Endress Faulkner, was born in Dansville, November 14, 1835. He com- menced his classical education at home under the instruction of an accomplished private tutor, and completed his preparation for college at Berkshire, N. Y. He entered Yale in 1855 and was gradu- ated in the class of 1859 with distinguished honors. Soon after leaving college he entered the Albany- Law School, where he chiefly prepared for the bar, and was admitted to all the courts in the State in i860. He immediately commenced the practice of his profession in his native village, and his abilities soon won for him a place among the lead- ers of the Livingston county bar. In 1865, he was elected to the Assembly; "and was the first Democrat ever elected by his party in Livingston county to the Assembly." The following year he was tendered, but declined a re-nomination. In 187 1, he was elected County Judge, and re-elected at the expiration of his first term of six years. But he, like his brother, was stricken down with con- sumption soon after entering upon the second term of his Judgeship, a position he had filled with distinguished ability and acceptance. John G. Wilkinson, son of John Wilkinson, was born in Dansville, October 15, 1849, and educa- ted at Dansville Seminary. About 1870, he com- menced the study of law with his father, and was admitted in 1872, in which year he entered upon the practice of his profession in Dansville, contin- uing till his death, December 6, 1875. The other lawyers now practicing in Dansville, are D. W. Noyes, Seth N. Hedges, Charles J. Bissell, Byron T. Squires, John M. McNair, Lester B. Faulkner, Frederick W. Noyes, Charles H. Rowe, Andrew J. Shafer and Robt. G. Dorr. * For Mr. Proctor's biography and portrait see another portion of this chapter t For a memoir ami portrait of Mr. Smith see the close of this chapter. t For further mention of Mr. Hedges ei the cl ise ol [hit - hapter. D. W. Noyes was born in Winchendon, Mass., September 30, 1824, prepared for college at the academies of Amsterdam and Galway, and gradu- ated from Union College in 1847. He was ad- mitted at the General Term at Ballston Spa, in January, 1850, and on the 10th of June of that year commenced practice in Dansville, where he has since continued. He was elected District Attorney of Livingston county in 1875 and in August, 1878, on the death of Judge Samuel D. Faulkner, resigned that office to accept the office of County Judge tendered him by Governor Rob- inson. Seth N. Hedges was born in Dansville, March 7, 1839, and received an academic education at the seminaries at Dansville and Lima. In 1862, he entered the army as private in the 13th New York Volunteers; was afterwards transferred to the 140th Regiment, from which he was promoted to First Lieutenant in the 14th New York Heavy Artillery. He was afterwards promoted Captain, and subsequently Major in the same regiment, and was mustered out in September, 1865. In 1866, he entered the law office of D. W. Noyes, of Dans- ville, and was admitted to the bar in June, 1868. Mr. Hedges was postmaster of Dansville from October, 1869, to January 1, 1874. Charles J. Bissell was born in Penn Yan, Aug. 2 1 st, 1847, and educated in Temple Hill Acad- emy, Geneseo. He commenced the study of law while pursuing his literary studies, and in January, 1871, entered the office of Judge S. D. Faulkner, of Dansville. He was admitted in September of that year, and commenced practice in Dansville. Byron T. Squires was born in Dansville, August 19, 1836, and received an academic education in Dansville Seminary. In 1861, he entered the law office of Hubbard & Faulkner, of Dansville, as a stu- dent, and was admitted at Rochester, in Decem- ber, 1862. He commenced practice in 1863, at Livonia Station with Almond A. Hoyt. In 1865, he went to Pennsylvania to take charge of his fa- ther's lumber business. About 1874, after having been variously employed, he resumed practice in Dansville. John M. McNair was born in West Sparta, December 24, 184S, and received an academic ed ucation at Dansville Seminary. In 1S66, he com- menced the study of law with Judge S. D. Faulk- ner, of Dansville. He entered Cornell L T niversity in 1868, and graduated in 187 1. In 1872. he went to Minnesota, where he completed his legal Studies, and was admitted in 1873. He com- 172 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. menced practice at St. Cloud, Minn., and after practicing there a year and a half, removed to Cannon Falls, Minn., from whence, in 1876, he re- moved to I lansville. Lester 1!. Faulkner, brother of Judge S. D. Faulkner, graduated at Yale in 1S59, and entered the Albany Law School. Immediately after his admission, he entered the army, joining the 136th Regiment, and was mustered out at the close of the war as Lieut. -Colonel of that regiment. Janu- ary 1, 1879, he formed a law partnership with Charles J. Bissell, which still continues under the name of Faulkner & Bissell. Frederic W. Noyes, son of Hon. D. W. Noyes, is a native of Dansville, and read law with Messrs. Noyes & Hedges. He was admitted in 1S78, and formed a co-partnership with his father in the spring of 1S80. Charles W. Rowe was born in Springwater, in this county, May 17th, 1856, and received an aca- demic education at Dansville Seminary and Cook Academy at Havana, N. Y. In 1874, he entered the law office of Judge John A. VanDerlip, of Dansville, and subsequently pursued his legal studies with Messrs. Noyes & Hedges. He was admitted in January, 1879, and commenced prac- tice that year in Dansville. Andrew J. Shafer was born in Sparta, December 12, 1S55, and educated at Dansville Seminary. He read law in Dansville with John Wilkinson and Faulkner & Bissell, and was admitted in January, 1880. Robert G. Dorr was born in Dansville, March 21, 1856, and educated at Dansville Seminary. In January, 1877, he commenced the study of medi- cine with his father, Robert L. Dorr, who was born at White creek, Washington county, August 7, 1816, and admitted to the bar June 29, 1843; Robert G. Dorr was admitted April 10, 1880. Manufactures. — With the splendid and abun- dant hydraulic facilities which the streams uniting in and near this village afford, it is not surprising that manufacturing enterprises should be the pre- dominant element in its industries. The manu- facture of paper and paper stock is not only the most important, but among the earliest of these in- dustries, for the pure waters of these streams early invited this branch of manufactures. The pioneer paper-mill in Western New York was, as we have seen, built here in 1809-10, by Nathaniel Roches- ter, and the old building is still standing adjacent to the Faulkner grist-mill, though long since appro- priated to other uses. From this single enterprise the business increased, until in 1844 there were four large paper mills manufacturing over $100,000 worth of paper per annum.* There are at present four mills of this class, but, though adjacent to the village, only two are within the corporation limits. In 1820, Amos Bradley came here with his family from Hartford. Conn., and commenced the manufacture of writing and print paper on a large scale, renting for that purpose the "old Faulkner paper-mill," which he occupied until 1825, when he formed a copartnership with his two oldest sons, Javin and Chester, under the well-known name of A. Bradley & Sons, anil in the spring of that year erected a fine mill on the ground now occupied by the pulp-mill of the Woodruff Paper Co. In 1837, the company met their first great reverse by the destruction of their mill by fire. It was imme- diately rebuilt. Two years elapsed and then the fiery element again reduced their mill to ashes. They immediately erected what is known as the "lower paper-mill." Scarcely was this mill got in operation, when they commenced rebuilding the one destroyed by fire, which was superior in size, machinery anil facilities of all kinds to its pre- decessors and to the lower mill. In 1841. the upper mill was again destroyed by fire. Phoenix- like another soon raised from its ashes, to be in its turn destroyed four years later by the same ele- ment ; but again it was rebuilt. About this time the firm divided, Amos and his sons Javin and Lucius, who had also acquired an interest, remaining here, while Chester and Ben- jamin removed to Niagara Falls, and commenced the manufacture of paper there. For five years Lucius and Javin continued the business, prin- cipally at the upper mill, which, in 1854, was again destroyed by fire, and was never rebuilt by any of the Bradley family. In 1852, Chester and Benjamin separated, and the former returned to Dansville and erected the Livingston mill, which is still in active operation, but under a different management. Chester Brail- le), wlio was born July 18, 1802, died suddenly in New York city, Now 1, 1853, while transacting business connected with his paper mill. Few men stood higher in public estimation than he. In 1842, with the late Gardner Arnold, of Conesus, he represented this county in the Assembly. I, in ins Bradley, who is still engaged in the man- ufacture of paper in Dansville, is the only repre- sentative left of this family, to which Dansville owes so much of its prosperity. • Pioneer History of Phelps ami Gorham's PtmAtae, J61 (nttt.) VILLAGE OF DANSVILLE— MANUFACTURES. t?3 The Woodruff Paper Co., the present represen- tatives of the Bradleys' manufacturing interests in Dansville, was incorporated Nov. i, 1S66, with a capital of $40,000, and was composed of the fol- lowing well-known gentlemen : L. C. Woodruff, Alonzo Bradner, D. D. McNair and Thomas Brown, the latter of whom retired Dec. 7, 1869, his stock being purchased by the remaining part- ners. No other change has occurred in the stock- holders. There has been no change to the present time in the official management, which is as fol- lows: L. C. Woodruff, of Buffalo, President; Alonzo Bradner, of Dansville, Vice-President ; and D. D. McNair, of Dansville, Secretary and Treas- urer. The latter gentleman is also the efficient General Superintendent. This company was organized for the manufacture of pulp from straw, by the process patented and owned by the Hydrostatic Paper Co., the Woodruff Paper Co. having the exclusive right for this vicin- ity. In 1866 the company purchased the upper mill property of the Bradleys, located on upper Main street, near the junction of Big and Little Mill creeks, which had been unoccupied since the fire of 1854. The walls of 100 by 40 feet of the present mill were erected by the Bradleys, and have withstood at least three fires. The building, which was then a mere shell, was fitted up and enlarged by an addition of 40 by 40 feet, of brick and stone, the character of the original building, the whole being two stories high. The works were got in readiness and operations were begun January 1, 1868. The works give employment to about twenty persons, and consume annually about 1,200 tons of straw — rye straw being used almost exclusively — ■ about forty per cent, of which is converted into pulp. About one-fourth of this product is manu- factured into paper at the Livingston paper-mill, which is also the property of this company, and the remainder is shipped to the New England states, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Delaware. Straw alone is used in its production. The manufacture of print and book papers from straw is of comparatively recent origin, the use of that article having originally been confined to the manufacture of coarse wrapping paper. But the art of manipulating straw has been brought to such perfection that pulp is now produced perfectly white and with a texture almost as silken as bank note paper. This was the first straw pulp-mill in the United States, and is now the only one in this State. For ten years there was no competition in the country; and to-day there are only three others in this country, one each in Ohio, Michigan and California. The Livingston Paper Mill, which has been referred to as being the property of the Woodruff Paper Co., was built in 1852, by Chester, Javin, Lucius and Benjamin Bradley, brothers. It soon after passed into the hands of L. C. Woodruff, who sold it Dec. 30, 1862, to Isaac Butts, Joseph Cur- tis and John E. Morey, publishers of the Rochester Union and Advertiser. Oct. 3, 1872, Mr. Butts sold his interest to G. Cooper, Lorenzo Kelly and Wm. Purcell, and the name, which, from 1862, was Curtis, Butts & Co., was changed to Curtis, Morey & Co., and the business conducted under the name of the Daily Union and Advertiser Co., of Rochester. In February, 1874, it was sold by these parties to the Woodruff Paper Co. The mill gives employment to about twenty-five per- sons, about one-fourth of whom are females, in the manufacture of about a ton of printing and book paper per day. The Hollingsworth Paper Mill, situated a half mile south of Dansville, was built — the larger and rear portion of it — about eight years ago, by Capt. Henry Henry. About 1876, Capt. Henry's widow sold the building to Henry Hollingsworth, who, in the spring of 1880, built a front addition, raised the rear part one story, and put in machinery for the manufacture of paper. Mrs. Knovvlton owns a mill for the manufacture of brown wrapping paper, which is located about two miles southwest of Dansville. It was built some sixty to sixty-five years ago by Matthew Porter. O. B. Johnson's carding-mill was built about 1826, by Samuel and Jonathan Fisk. cousins, and operated by them until about 1S38, when Samuel acquired Jonathan's interest and continued the business till his death in 1841, when O. B. John- son purchased the machinery. In the spring of 1868, he in company with W. L. Stewart, bought a building which stood on the site of the Dansville Woolen Mills, and removed the machinery to that building, which was burned March 24, 186S. They rebuilt on the same site, within sixty days, the Dansville Woolen Mills, where they continued business till the spring of 1876, when Mr. Johnson sold his interest to John E. Phillips. Messrs. Stewart & Phillips did business two years, till 1S7S, when the latter sold his interest to Peter Craig, who. in company with Stewart, operated the mills till the fall of 1879, since which time the)' 174 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COU.NTV. have not been in operation. In 1876, Mr. John- son resumed the wool carding and cloth exchange business in the building originally erected by the Fisks, and has since continued it. I le has two sets of custom cards, operated by water from Little Mill creek, which has a fall of about twelve feet. The grist-mill owned by Benjamin F. Readshaw, on the corner of Gibson and Main streets, to which reference has been made in connection with the earl_\ settlement of the town, occupies the site of the grist-mill built in 1796 by David Sholl for the Pultney estate. It was soon after burned and rebuilt by Sholl, who eventually became its owner, and was succeeded in possession of the property by Col. Nathaniel Rochester, the founder of the city of Rochester. In January, 1814, Mr. Roch- ester sold it to Jacob Opp. who owned it till about 1840. The mill contains three runs of stones, which are propelled by water from Little Mill creek, with a fall of thirteen and a half feet. The Faulkner grist-mill, on South street, was built in 1830, by Dr. James Faulkner, who has since owned it. It occupies the site of the saw mill built by David Sholl for Nathaniel Rochester, which was torn down by Mr. Faulkner about the time the grist-mill was built. It contains four runs of stones, which are propelled by water from Mill creek, with a head and fall of twenty-nine feet. The mill has been rented for the last thirty odd years to John C. Williams, and is often called the Williams mill. The Stone Mills (grist) were built about 1844 by Elihu Stanley, and occupy the site of the old foundry operated by Curtis & Tousey about 1836. Stanley was succeeded in its ownership by Cady Richardson, of Rochester, and Jesse Angell, the latter of whom owned it till his death, since which time it has belonged to his heirs, who rent it to the present proprietor, W. II. Boyd. The mill con- tains three runs of stones, which are operated by water from Little Mill creek, which has a fall of fourteen feet. Lockling Bros.' Agricultural Works were estab- lished in 1836, b) Nathan Lockling, who conducted them till 1871, with exception of one year, about 1852, when John Gill owned them. In 1871, L. E. Lockling, son of Nathan, bought the establish- ment, and was succeeded in 1876 by his sons Louis N. and A. C. Lockling, who carried on the business under the name of Lockling Bros., till the death of A. C. Lockling. Feb. 23, 1879. Louis N. Lockling continues the business, which con- sists in the manufacture ol agricultural implements under the same name, and employs two persons besides himself. The Dansville pail factory was established about forty years ago by E. Shelley, who carried on the business some ten years, and sold to George Hy- land, who continued it till his death in the spring of 1880, since which time his son, John Hyland, has carried on the business, which gives employ- ment to six persons in the manufacture of pails, tubs and butter packages. The motive power is furnished by Big and Little Mill creeks, which unite at this dam, and give a fall of seventeen feet. The Ossian street foundry was established in 1842, by F. and M. Gilman, for conducting a gen- eral foundry business. Alter doing business some four years F. Gilman withdrew, and F. B. Gilman, another brother, became a member, at which time the name was changed to Gilman Bros., and re- mained such until 1875, when F. B. Gilman sold out to his brother, who continued the business two years. E. 1!. Gilman then purchased the establish- ment and associated with himself his brother, A. J. Gilman. The business has since been conducted under the name of E. B. & A. J. Gilman. In 1854. Mr. DeLong came to this place and formed a co-partnership with Richard Young, who was then engaged in the manufacture of sash, doors and blinds on this privilege, in a building which has since been torn down, and the timbers of which were used in the construction of the residence of Mr. Asa Bunnell. At the expiration of a year Mr. DeLong purchased the interest of his partner and has since carried on the business alone. The busi- ness gives employment to four persons. The steam planing-mill owned by Messrs. Fisk, Son & Co., was built in i86r, by J. C. I'isk, who carried on the business for twelve years, when his son, Henry E. Fisk, became his partner. Messrs. Fisk & Son conducted the business till 1876, when James Wood became a member of the firm, the name of which was changed to Fisk, Son & Co. The firm also do a machine repairing business, the machinery for which was put in in 1878, and manu- facture sash, doors and blinds. They employ two persons in addition to themselves. N. Klauck & Sons' tannery was started in 1865, by Nicholas Klauck and his son Joseph, in a build- ing which was formerly used as a blacksmith shop, and now forms the front portion of the present tan- nery, which is located on the upper part of Main street. The addition, 4S by 24 feet, was built in 1868. The tannery gives employment to five per- sons, contains twenty-two vats and three leaches: VILLAGE OF DANSVILLE — BANKS. '75 and tans annually 1,200 to 1,400 sides of upper leather, and about 500 kip and 600 calfskins. The Genesee Valley Wine Co., of which Dr. Francis M. Perine is sole proprietor, commenced the manufacture of wine from grapes in 1870. The Doctor has a fruit farm of 225 acres in this town, 25 acres of which are devoted to grape culture. He makes from 8,000 to 10,000 gallons of wine per year, principally Catawba ; though his stock in- cludes Delaware, Diana, Concord, Port and Sherry. The Dansville Plow Works were established in November, 1878, by Moses Gilman and C. H. Sanford, who bought the Jemison wagon shop and removed it to its present location. They do a gen- eral iron founding business, but make a specialty of F. Wiard's latest improved plow of 1878. This firm are just putting in a mill for the manufacture of sugar and syrup from the Minnesota sugar cane. They planted one acre the present year, (1880,) which yielded eighteen to twenty tons of cane. The enterprise thus far is merely tentative, as it is new to this locality, though the African sorghum was raised here twenty years ago. The manufacture of trunks now carried on by A. Lozier was commenced in 1874 by Carl Ste- phan & Co. Carl Stephan subsequently acquired the interest of his partner, Mr. Weeks, and in 1876, sold the establishment to A. and Frank Lozier, brothers, the latter of whom sold his interest to his brother, A. Lozier, in the spring of 1880. The business gives employment to two persons. Banks. — The Bank of Dansville was incorpor- ated June 10, 1839, under the general banking law of April 18, 1838. The first Directors were: — Lester Bradner, Justus Hall, James McNair, Joel W. Clark, John Hartman, John Gilman, Thomas C. Grover, James Faulkner, Josiah Wendell, Ben- jamin C. Cook, Isaac L. Endress, Richard W. Por- ter and Salmon Gates. The first officers were: — James Faulkner, President ; Justus Hall, Vice President; A. A. Bennett, Cashier; David D. McNair, Teller. The capital was $150,000, se- cured by bonds and mortgages, with no cash paid in. The bank commenced business under favor- able auspices. It procured $50,000 in stocks of the State of Michigan, and $25,000 of the State of Alabama, for which a premium was paid. These, with an equal amount of bonds and mortgages were deposited with the Bank Commissioners, and $150,000 of circulating notes procured. "Then commenced the discounting. Very soon the discounted debt was swelled to its utmost ca- pacity and the trouble began. Neither of the offi- cers understood the first rudiments of banking, and it required but a short period to get the bank into inextricable confusion. The stocks of the State of Michigan were repudiated ; Alabama's went down to sixty per cent. The cashier, Bennett, left the country for the country's good and was never heard from. The President resigned his position, and proclaimed to the Board that the bank must go by the board ! The Directors, more plucky than their head officer, feeling all the responsibility of their position, their own farms being mortgaged for the public security, declined to surrender without an effort."* They cast about, and, acting under the advice of Governor Hunt and Thomas H. Rochester, in- vited L. C. Woodruff to accept the cashiership, which he did. Mr. Woodruff arrived in Dansville on the 31st of December, 1839. An examination of the condition of the bank revealed the fact that within the four short months business had been conducted, $54,000 had been wasted or lost; but he applied the heroic remedy, and saved it from the ruin which seemed inevitable. Within seven years he made up the lost capital, built up a first rate credit, and for seventeen years thereafter gave the stockholders liberal dividends. In 1868, the bank surrendered its Charter, as authorized by Act of the Legislature, divided up its capital, and has since been conducted as a pri- vate institution under the same name. There were originally about fifty stockholders. Only two of them survive — Erhard Ran and James Faulkner. They are fast approaching their cen- tennial, and with their death the curtain falls upon the last of the corporators of the Bank of Dansville. Perhaps no bank in this State has encountered so many violent, malicious attacks from envious enemies, who were jealous of its success. It has withstood them all, defied them all, and has main- tained its credit and standing through a period of forty years with signal honor. It has survived its founders and bids fair to outlive another genera- tion. First National Bank of Dansville. — The bank- ing business of which this is the outgrowth was es- tablished in 1849, by Sidney Sweet and Endress Faulkner, who soon after associated with them- selves James Faulkner and B. S. Chapin, with change of the original name — S. Sweet & Co. En- dress Faulkner died November 12, 1852. "Sep- tember 23, i8(>3,"t it was organized as a National * Statement of I ' w Iruff, ol Buffalo, th< I Bank, Novembet to, 1880. t This is the date given by tlie Bank offit ials. It should probably be a year later, as tbe "Act to provide currency, secured by a pledge ol United States 1 ds, and to prot 1- not approved Until June j, 1S64. HIS TORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Bank, with the following stockholders: — James Faulkner, Sidney Sweet, James Faulkner, Jr.. B. S. Chapin and S. I ». Faulkner. The capital stock was $50,000, and still remains at that figure. It was one of the pioneer National banks, the first in this State west of Cayuga Bridge. It was No. in the State, and No. 75 in the United States. In- deed, the State had not yet recognized or sanc- tioned the authority of the United States to regu- late the conditions of banking within its borders, and the Bank Superintendent, jealous of the State's interests and privileges, forbade the mana- gers to organize and transact business as a Na- tional bank.* The first officers were: — Dr. James Faulkner, President, an office he has held to the present time; Sidney Sweet, Vice President, an office he still holds; B. S. Chapin, Cashier; James Faulk- ner, Jr., Teller. Chapin was succeeded in the office of cashier by James Faulkner, Jr., who still retains it. James Faulkner, Jr., was teller from the organization of the bank till his election as cashier, and was succeeded in the office of teller by Leonard Kuhn, who was appointed assistant cashier in January, 1875, an office he still holds. F. T. Brettle succeeded Mr. Kuhn as teller, and still holds the office. S. Sweet & Co., commenced business in the Ex- press Building block. The present building, on the corner of Main and Ossian streets, was erected for their accommodation in 186 1-2, and occupied April 1, 1862. Hotels. — The Hyland House occupies the site of the old American Hotel, a wooden building, which was purchased by George Hyland about 1S45, and burned in the spring of 1854. The south part of the present building was erected in 1859-60, and the remaining or main part, in 1873-74. It was opened in the spring of 1874. George Hy- land owned the property till his death, when he was succeeded by his son George, who has kept the hotel during the intervals when it was not rented. The present proprietor, Smith Newman, took possession July 1, 1SS0. The Allen House was built in 1871-72, by S. C. Allen, who rented it to George Swick, afterwards to M. Yorks, and subsequently kept it himself for three years, till January, 187S, when he rented it to I). B. Voorhees, the present proprietor. The Clinton House, originally known as the Dansville House, was built by Joseph Feuster- * January 17, 1865, the Legislature passed an Acl enabling thebank s ut tin- State to become assn, iations i"t tin-' purpose <>i banking, under the law .'I tlie United States, of June 3, 11*04. macher — the front part about forty years ago, the rear part earlier. It was first kept by Milton Morey. The present proprietor, Wendell Fngel, purchased it about 186S. It has been kept the past three years by Harris Wing. Our //owe Hygienic Institute was established in 1853-54, by Dr. Bingham, who erected in those years the south half of the present main building for a water-cure. Abram Pennell, of Honeoye Mats, soon after succeeded him in the proprietor- ship, and it was occupied by his son-in-law, Dr. Stevens, for whom it was purchased. But Dr. Stevens and his successor, Dr. Blackhall, occupied it but for a short time, not more than two or three years at most, for the building was never finished above the second floor until Dr. Jackson took possession, Oct. i, 1858. The building had then been vacant about a year, and was fast going to destruction. In 1858, Dr. James C.Jackson, in company with his son, Giles E. Jackson, Miss Harriet N. Austin and F. Wilson Hurd leased the building for one year for the insurance thereon. A copartnership was formed by F. Wilson Hurd, Giles E. Jackson and Miss Harriet N. Austin, under the style of F. Wilson Hurd & Co., and Dr. James C. Jackson was employed to take general supervision of the cure. Dr. Jackson came from the town of Sem- pronius, in Cayuga county, and was one of the founders of the Glen Haven Water Cure on the shore of the beautiful Skaneateles lake in that town. Miss Austin, who had been a member of the medi- cal corps of that institution, and Dr. F. Wilson Hurd were associated with Dr. Jackson in the med- ical supervision of this institution, which was first named "Our Home on the Hill Side," from its location on the side of the beautiful east hill in the village of Dansville. When Dr. Jackson landed at the foot of the hill with his family and effects from Capt. Henry'sstage. on the 1 st of October, 1858, there was no road to the building which a team could travel, and they were obliged to carry their trunks, etc., up the hill by hand. " For possession of the house during the first few days," says Dr. James H. Jackson, " we fought a battle with the wasps, bats, flies and rats, coming off victorious and establishing our right to place and property." From that period improve- ments began which have brought the buildings and grounds connected with them to their present status — making them a real gem in the fine rural land- scape of the village. The buildings consist of a main wooden, four-story structure, with chapel at- I — .#-,;. * *'±.-Jl jy « /' OUR HOME HYGIENIC INST i .'< ., .i rv.^«^..~v ,.,- " . - ' '-J-' . >,/.'£V- vm ,- ;,~»-. M~ ••& I PfTTii jr./,1|.'i[nuir 'trr-T.Tff i w ^1 isgiife »^ 4eS in m ni'iii )'; ^jmm J,:" ■ ■ Jg# 7*S :ft*V FE^Dansville, Livingston Co. N.Y. VILLAGE OF DANSVILLE — GAS LIGHT COMPANY. i77 tached, having a frontage of over 350 feet, and seven detached ornate cottages, some of them of quite large size. The chapel, which is 65 by 32 feet, and was erected in 1863-64, is connected with the third-story of the main building by means of a corridor. It is denominated Liberty Hall, and is used for public meetings, lectures, worship, and amusement. These buildings are located on the east side-hill, from 130 to 200 feet above the main street in the village. On the death of Giles E. Jackson, June 29, 1864, his mother Lucretia E. Jackson, and brother, James H. Jackson, became members of the co- partnership, and the following year the name of the firm was changed to Austin, Hurd & Co. In the fall of 1868, Dr. Hurd's interest was purchased by the remaining partners, and the name changed to Austin, Jackson & Co. In 1872, the institution was incorporated as a stock company under the name of Our Home Hygienic Institute of Dans- ville, N. Y., with Miss Harriet N. Austin as Presi. dent and James H. Jackson as Secretary. Dr. Jackson brought his reputation and patients from Glen Haven, the latter coming as fast as rooms could be fitted for their accommodation, in a few weeks numbering fifty or sixty. A steady increase in the number of patients was main- tained, and since i860 there has never been less than 100 patients, while as many as 300 have been treated at one time. At present (September,) 1880,) there are 250 patients, who represent every state and territory in the Union. They have had patients from South America. Canada and Nova Scotia, especially the Province of Ontario, have contributed largely in this respect. There are five physicians in attendance, viz : — Dr. James C. Jack- son, Physician-in-Chief ; Harriet N. Austin, M. D. ; James H. Jackson, who has been connected with the institution as superintendent and general busi- ness agent since 1861 ; Kate J. Jackson, M. D., wife of Dr. James H. Jackson, and Elisha D. Lef- fingwell, M. D. The Laws of Life and Journal of Health, a monthly medical publication, established at Glen Haven, by Dr. James C. Jackson, in 1857, has been published continuously at the " Home" to the present time. The water used at this Institution is supplied by a spring, issuing from a shaly seam in the rock which forms the hill on whose site it is located, about 420 feet above the valley, and discharging about 3,000 barrels per day. This spring, which is called "The All-Healing Spring," burst forth from its imprisoned cavity through the hill-side in the spring of 179S. This singular phenomenon was attended with great violence and rent a chasm eighteen inches to three feet in width, extending for a mile along the hill, and about 700 feet above the valley. About 200 to 300 feet above this spring is the entrance to the " devil's hole ;" while about twenty feet above and forty feet to the south of it, is an orifice from which in rainy seasons the water issues with great force, forming a stream some six inches in diameter. Dr. James Faulkner, in remarks made at an anniversary celebration of " Our Home," said, in referring to this '"freak of nature," it "occurred in the morning, and was preceded by a loud and rumbling noise distinguishable in the village and somewhat similar to heavy thunder. The noise greatly excited and alarmed the few inhabitants who then peopled Dansville. The force and vio- lence of the rushing waters were so great as to up- root large trees in its course and carry them far down the hill-side. For a few hours the flow of the water was both rapid and copious. It gradu- ally subsided and finally settled down to about its present dimensions, and has remained so for about eighty years. The little water course was, before it received its present name, called the Break- out. The water has always been singularly clear, pure and sparkling, when undisturbed by the ele- ments." The Dansville Gas Light Co. — As early as 1856, the project of lighting the village with gas was discussed, and on the 3d of April of that year the village trustees conferred certain rights and privileges on Messrs. Sabbatons & Co., of Albany, who had applied to them for permission to erect works and lay pipes for the purpose of lighting the village with gas. March 8, i860, this exclusive privilege was extended to a period of twenty-five years from March 1, i860, and the personal prop- erty of the company was exempted from village taxation for three years. The company were required to commence operations within one year from the granting of this privilege, and to have the works in operation within six months from tin.- time they were commenced. August 15, i860, these privileges were revoked, and conterred on George Gratton, of Syracuse, ami those who might be associated with him. ami he was required to have the works erected and in successful operation within that year. March 1, 1861, the time for com- pletion was extended lour months from Jan. i. 1861. . 7 8 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. The Dansville Gas Light Co. was organized in New York, May 18, 1861, with a capital of $25,000, and Mr. Schaner as President. George Gratton was sent from Syracuse to construct the works. About the time they were completed Schaner failed, and no election of directors was held for several years, though the manufacture of gas was continued by Nicholas Schu. George ( rratton became the Treasurer and Superintendent of the company, and October 4, 1861, submitted a proposition, to furnish gas for street lamps and public buildings for $3.50 per thousand feet, which offer was accepted by the village trustees Oct. 9, 1861. The affairs of the company had become very much disarranged and its stock was bought up by Sidney Sweet and Judge James Faulkner, who afterwards associated with themselves Timothy B. (Want, J. B. Morey, George A. Sweet, Laura J. Morey, M. O. Austin, George Hyland, Hugh McCartney, and O. B. Maxwell, who compose the present stockholders, Mr. Maxwell's interest, since his death, being represented by his estate. The present officers are J. B. Morey, President, and T. B. Grant, Secretary and Treasurer. In 1877, J. M. Lowe leased the works and soon after associated with himself William Humphrey, who subsequently acquired Lowe's interest in the lease. ( ras was first made from coal, next from naptha vapor, then from gasoline, subsequently from oil, and at present from naptha. Water Works. — Various efforts were made from time to time to secure an appropriation for effectually supplying the village with water for fire purposes, but not until 1873 was the question sat- isfactorily disposed of. August 20, 1873, the elec- tors resolved to issue bonds of the village in the sum of $25,000, for the construction of water works, payable, with interest annually at seven per cent, per annum, in installments of $2,000 per year. The water works were completed in the spring of 1874. The reservoir consists of a pond formed in Mill creek by the construction of a dam above the " California House," at an eleva- tion of about 1S2 feet above the lower end of Main street. The water is drawn from a stoned well sunk within the pond thus formed. May 22, 1875, George Hyland, Jr., was appointed Superintendent of Water Works, a position he still holds. I (ansville Fire 1 )epartment. — The first village charter authorized the appointment of one or more companies of firemen, of twenty members each, and one hook and ladder company of fifteen mem- bers, and designated one member of each as fore- man thereof. Section 24 provides that firemen, while they continue to be such, shall be exempt from military duty. The amended charter of May 9, 1846, limited the number of fire companies to one of thirty members for each lire engine procured by the village. At the first corporation meeting, June 16, 1846, it was resolved to raise by tax $800 to purchase a fire engine, the necessary hose and other apparatus therefor, hooks and ladders and the necessary apparatus for a hook and ladder company, to erect or hire a suitable place to keep such engine and apparatus, "to pay the expense ol procuring the same and other needful and proper expenses of the corporation," and "to dig public wells, sewers and drains and make aqueducts, cis terns and reservoirs in said village for the use of the inhabitants thereof, and procure pumps and other necessary fixtures for the same in such man- ner and at such places as the said trustees may in their discretion order or determine." August 5, 1846. Wm. C. Bryant, B. J. Chapin, C. R. Kern, Wm. G. Thompson, Samuel M. Welch, J. L. Boon, C. W Dibble, G. C. Wood, M. McCartney, L. P. Williams, John Nares, C. E. Lamport and H. Howe were appointed Engine Co. No. 1. September 9, 1846, the Board of Vil- lage Trustees approved the by-laws and officers of " Phoenix Engine Co. No. 1," and O. B. Maxwell, R. Williams, Wm. H. Southwick * and Wm. Hol- lister were appointed members of that company. James H. Parker, J. U. Pike, Charles Rumley, K. Miles, M. Halstead and L. H. Colborn* were added to the company November 10, 1846; and Elias Geiger, G. H. Rice, John (J. Wallis, Charles U. Heening, James M. Smith. J. V. Taft, J. H. Freeland and Charles McElvany, January 12, 1847. December 11, 1849, Julius A. Reynolds, J. H. Conrity, T. B. Goodrich, L. W. Reynolds, Wm. Brown, Jr., G. F. Shannon, J. G. Shepard, N. Schu, H. Brewer, Charles Heidacker, S. L. Barrett, J. W. Merriman, B. Lewis Brittan, Jonathan Doty, N. Bavenger, D. Shafer. H. O. Reynale, A. N. Barto, Charles Stephan and Joseph Hallaner were constituted Engine Co. No. 2. April 28, 1857, H. C. Payne and twenty others were, at their request, organized as Phoenix Fire Co. No. 1. June 21, 1858, Deforest Lozier and eighteen others were, at their request, constituted Hope Fire Co., No. 2, and DeForest Lozier was • Withdrew from (lie company and returned certificates January 12, iS47- VILLACxE OF DANSVILLE — THE SQUARE, THE SEMINARY. 179 appointed its foreman. December 15, 1858, H. Henry was appointed Chief Engineer of the Fire Department. May 4, 1863, thirty-four persons were consti- tuted " Engine Co. Canaseraga," and Nicholas Schu was appointed foreman ; twenty-five others were constituted " Engine Co. Phoenix," with James Faulkner, Jr., as foreman ; to take charge of the new engines then recently purchased by the village. August 3, 1864, "Genesee Fire Co. No. 3" was organized, composed of thirty-one members. This company and the hose company connected with it were disbanded July 25, 1866. April 27, 1867, J. H. Rumpff and others were constituted a hook and ladder company, with J. H. Rumpff as fore- man, and were authorized to increase the number to twenty-four. January 26, 1876, the following, on their peti- tion, were constituted a " Protective Fire Co." ; James Porter, Foreman; James Keenan, 1st Assist- ant-Foreman ; Charles V. Patchin, 2d Assistant- Foreman ; H. K. VanNuys, President ; Wm. H. Dick, Vice-President ; Geo. M. Blake, Secretary ; James F. Bryant, Treasurer; Ed. Moody, C. S. Snyder, F. T. Brettle, Joseph W. Burgess, C. B. Casterline, B. H. Oberdorf, W. J. Lee, Ed. Wood- ruff, Charles Rowe, Wm. Krein, W. C. Bryant, Jr., L. B. Grant, L. G. Tilden, A. A. Oaks, F. E. Kin- ney, F. S. Miller, Wm. C. Croll, C. C. Hartley, H. F. Beyers, A. W. Pease and A. B. Lindsay ; and the following, on petition, were constituted a hook and ladder company : James Hoover, President ; J. Kramer, Jr., Vice-President; Baldise Foot, Treas- urer ; F. Schubmehl, Jr., Secretary; A. C. Lock- ling, Assistant-Secretary; D. K.Price, Foreman; Martin LaForce, Assistant-Foreman ; Conrad Kramer, 2d Assistant-Foreman ; Adolph Huber, Steward ; Peter LaForce, H. Steinhardt, F. S. Schubmehl, M. C. Hirsch, Fred. Fridle, E. C. Klauck, A. Sourbeer, J. Storm, G. Fesley, Peter Geiger, Conrad Yochtim, S. Schwan, A. Lauter- bom, Wm. Thomas, Jr., F. Gregorious, Jacob Foot, T. Eschrich, J. Hubertus. B. Shafer and Peter J. Deitsch. May 3, 1876, the trustees con- sented to the incorporation of the Union Hose Co. of Dansville, pursuant to the Act of May 2, 1873 ; and August 9, 1876, to the incorporation of the Protectives, and March 28, 1877, to Fearless Hookand LadderCo., underthesame Act. These constitute the department as at present organized. The equipment consists of the apparatus of the Protective, hose, and hook and ladder companies, a Babcock fire extinguisher, and about 2,000 feet of hose, all serviceable. Since the completion of the village water works in 1874, they have amply supplied the water needed for fire purposes, with- out the use of fire engines. There are forty-five hydrants. The water pressure is ninety-five pounds to the square inch, and the force sufficient to throw a stream over the highest building in the village. H. Huver is foreman of the hook and ladder com- pany ; James McC. Edwards, of the hose com- pany ; and F. W. Krein, of the Protectives. The Square. — In 1810, Nathaniel Rochester deeded to the "Union Society" some four acres of land, known as the village square, which is now used for church and school purposes, and the old cemetery grounds adjacent to it. These grounds possess a historic interest from their asso- ciation with the Indian tribe who once dwelt here, and should be kept inviolate as public grounds. As the Society to which they were deeded never had a legal existence, no absolute conveyance was made. The question of title was submitted to that eminent lawyer, John C. Spencer, who decided that it never passed from Mr. Rochester, and that at his death it rested in his heirs. As the citizens were opposed to buying grounds for a school-house site, this square was used for that purpose. The old building is still standing, having been removed from its original location a little north of the Epis- copal church. This square was successively occupied by the Methodists, Presbyterians, Epis- copalians, Lutherans and Catholics, each of whom have built churches upon it, though the former is now abandoned, and lastly by the village for a lock-up, engine house and gun house.* The Dansville Seminary was incorporated by the Regents, Jan. 14, 1858, and opened in Septem- ber of that year, under the auspices of the East Genesee Conference of the Methodist Episcopal church, in a building rented for the purpose and now occupied by L. G. Ripley as a residence. The next year the school was removed to the second story of the large, unsightly brick building on the corner of Ossian and Spruce streets, which now forms the district school-house in the 2d school dis- trict. There it was continued until Jan. 1, i860, when the seminary building — the brick structure — charmingly situated on the east hill-side, was so far completed as to admit of its occupancy, and it was removed to it. The first principal was Rev. Schuyler Seager, a member of the East Genesee Conference. His •Statement of L. B. Proctor of Dansville futfrofAugust '-, 1SS0. tit! The Dansville Adver- i8o HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. successors have been Rev. John J. Brown, now a Professor in Syracuse I'niversity, Rev. Joseph Jones, Rev. Mr. Crumb, Henry Sanfonl, Albert Lewis, who was a graduate of McGill College. Montreal, and the last of the Conference ap- pointees, J. C. Foley, now practicing law in New York city, , Samuel H. Goodyear, who retired at the close of the academic year in June, 1880, and G. S. Miller, the present incum- bent. Since the conference withdrew its patronage, the Seminary has been conducted by individuals who in five the tuitions as their compensation, and until the close of the last year, the faculty have paid the interest on the Seminary indebtedness, which, as reported in 187 1, the latest report at hand, was $500. Notwithstanding the laxness which has prevailed in its management, the Semi- nary has been maintained on a highly creditable basis. Its patronage is drawn largely from the village and surrounding country, the neglected condition of the village public school making it an acceptable substitute. The present attendance (September, 1880,) is about 100, which is less than the average of former years by 30 to 50, and is only about one-half the attendance which has been reached. The school has always been under the visitation of the Regents. The boarding hall connected with the Seminary was built in 1S76. The corner-stone was laid June 22, 1876. It is a wooden structure, and will well accommodate 200 students. The original cost of the property was about $20,000. The prime movers in the projection of the Sem- inary were Dr. B. L. Hovey, Judge and Hon. S. Hubbard, Matthew McCartney, Charles Shepard, Hon. Isaac L. Endress, and Orville Tousey. The Livingston Circulating Library, of Dansville, is the result of a project which was set on foot in the fall of 1872. Dec. 7, 1872, the pre- liminary work having been done by a number of energetic and public spirited persons, principally ladies, a meeting was convened at the residence of Mrs. E. Youngs, on Elizabeth street, for the pur- pose of organizing the forces which should there muster for the establishment of a village library. Jan. 13, 1873, the library was incorporated under the above name, the incorporators being : D. W. Noyes, I. H. Dix, F. fielder. A. O. Bunnell, M. M. Durkee, J. C. Foley, H. F. Dyer, A. D. Beach, S. N. Hedges, Thomas F. Gallagher, Mrs. E. M. Knowlton, Mrs. D. W. Noyes, Mrs. S. N. Hedges, Mis. Sarah Baldwin, Mrs. H. F. Dyer, Miss 1). B. Bunnell, Eittic Bissell, Grace Hedges, Augustus Kern, Mary F. Bunnell. Ada H. Smith and Sallie McCurdy, who met at the residence of Daniel \V. Noyes, in Dansville. and organized under the A.i t ot June 17, 1853. Daniel W. Noyes, James H. Jackson, Frank fielder, George A. Sweet, I. H. Dix, A. O. Bunnell, Thomas E. Gallagher, H. F. Dyer and Samuel D. Faulkner were named in the charter as the trustees for the first year. The cap- ital stock was $25,000, divided into 5,000 shares. The library was opened on Saturday evening, July 18, 1874, with Miss A. P. Adams as Librarian, a position she efficiently and acceptably tilled some eighteen months. Her successor in that office is Mrs. M. L. Brayton, who was chosen January 1 2, 1876. The library now numbers 1,150 volumes of well selected literature. Churches. — Just when and by whom the first church in Dansville was organized is a matter which is made obscure and uncertain by the various and unauthentic statements concerning it. The only authentic statement relative to it is the in- definite one contained in the letter of James Mc- Curdy, published in Clark's Miniature of Dans- ville, which says : "The first established preacher and founder of a church among us, was the Rev. Andrew Gray." We are left to conjecture, or at best to subsidiary evidence, to determine the time and place. Rev. Geo. K. Ward, who prepared a history of the Presbyterian church of Dansville in 1876, concludes that the Rev. Mr. dray was settled here about 18 12. But there is nothing to indicate directly the extent and result of his labors. "The primitive settlers of Dansville," says Tur- ner, "were mostly Lutherans, or Dutch Reformed. The first meetings were held from house to house ; Frederick Barnhart or Adam Miller, usually taking the lead. The Rev. Mr. Markle, a Lutheran preacher from Geneva, occasionally visited the place, as did Elder Gray. The first located minis- ter was the Rev. Mr. Pratt. The Rev. Mr. Hub- bard, a son-in-law of Moses Van Campen, was an early settled minister."* "The early settlers of Dansville," says the Rev. Mr. Ward, before quoted, "were mainly of Presbyterian origin ; the McNairs, Perines, McCurdys, McCartneys, Faulkners, Brad- ners and Hammonds were all of this stock, and hence it was quite in the natural sequence of events that the first religious body of importance should have been of this denomination." Hotchkin, who does not mention an earlier one, says a Presby- terian church denominated Dansville and Sparta, • Piotui r History of Phtlp& and GorhanCi Purchase, 360. VILLAGE OF DANSVILLE — CHURCHES. rSi was organized in 1819, or the early part of 1820. It was afterwards called Sparta First church, and was received under the care of the Presbytery of Ontario, Feb. 8th, 1820."* This probably has reference to the church three miles north of Dans- ville, which undoubtedly accommodated the Pres- byterians in this vicinity, as the churches in the sparsely settled country at that early period drew their members from a wide extent of territory. This supposition is confirmed by the fact that a Presbyterian church was formed in this village in 1825, and strengthened by the additional testimony of Hotchkin. who, in referring elsewhere to this vil- lage and its immediate vicinity, says : " The settlers were Yankees, Pennsylvanians and Germans, be- tween whom there was very little affinity, and the institutions of religion were for a long time almost totally neglected, and irreligion prevailed." t The Presbyterian Church of Dansville was or- ganized March 25, 1825, by the following mem- bers of the Presbytery of Bath : Rev. James H. Hotchkin, Robert Hubbard and Stalham Clary, and was received under the care of that Presbytery August 30th of that year. The constituent mem- bers were eleven in number, nine of whom were members of the First church in Sparta, and two from the church in Buffalo. They were : — YVyllis F. Clark and Charity his wife, Samuel Shannon and Sarah his wife, Calvin E. Clark and Harriet his wife, Mrs. Mary Rowley, Mrs. Elizabeth Pickell, Nancy Pickell, Stephen Franklin and Sarah his wife. The church was placed under the care of Rev. Robert Hubbard, of Angelica, as stated supply. June 2, 1826, it was transferred by Act of the General Assembly to the Presbytery of Ontario. At that period it numbered thirty-two members. The society worshipped in an old school-house which stood on the west side of Main street, on the vacant lot south of the Dansville house, and was afterwards removed to the rear of the Catholic church on Dutch street. It was the place of wor- ship of the Catholic society before, their church edi- fice was erected, and was subsequently used by them as a parochial school, but is now converted to and used as a barn. The Presbyterians afterwards found a convenient place of meeting in the new school-house which occupied the site of the Epis- copal church, and occupied it for some time after. At this time Joshua Shepard generously donated td the society the lot now occupied in part by the post-office, and a thousand dollars toward erecting * Hotchkius History of U'estc, . 584. t Ibid. $84 a church thereon. A church was accordingly built on that site and completed at a cost of $3,500. It was dedicated in 1831. In 1834, Rev. Mr. Hubbard resigned his charge over this church and took charge of a church in Fowlerville. Rev. Elam H. Walker, in September, 1834, was ordained and installed pastor. In the early part of 1840, disaffection arose, and resulted in the formation of a separate church, which, by way of distinction, was denomi- nated the First church. The church was nearly equally divided, 56 remaining with Mr. Walker at the old church, and 66 separating and occupying what was termed the brick church, (an upper room in the Stevens block,) until they could build a new edifice, which was finished in 1842, at a cost of $4,000, and occupied until the reunion was effected Jan. 15, 1861, at the solicitation of the Presbytery, when the reunited church was given its former dis tinctive name " The Presbyterian Church of Dans- ville." Rev. I. N. Hubbard supplied for the first six months the pulpit of the church formed by the seceding members, and was succeeded by Rev. Leveret Hull, who continued his labors as stated supply about two years. In November, 1842, Rev. D. N. Merrit was installed pastor and continued his labors till April, 1844. Rev. Joel Wakeman next supplied the pulpit for a few months. In the fall of 1844, Rev. W. F. Curry was installed pastor, and continued in that relation till March, 1849, when he was succeeded by Rev. C. L. Hequem- bourg, who was installed pastor and occupied the pulpit until July, 1853, when Rev. I. N. Hubbard was invited to supply the pulpit and continued his labors for four years. Rev. S. M. Campbell suc- ceeded hirn and supplied the pulpit one year, to 1858, when Rev. Dr. Seager, then principal of Dansville Seminary, was invited to supply the pul- pit, which he did till the winter of 1S59, when Rev. Mr. Ford began his labors as stated supply and continued in that relation till i860. He was suc- ceeded by Rev. Samuel Jessup, who was installed pastor in 1861, and during whose labors the re- union was effected. Rev. Mr. Walker continued his labors with the other branch until his death, which occurred Jan- uary 11, 1849, at the age of 50 years. From the time of Mr. Walker's death until 1855, the pulpit was supplied by Revs. Powell, Parker, Ray and Hequembourg, each of whom labored about a year. March 31. 1854, their church edifice was destroyed by fire. Fora time they occupied Canaseraga Hall, 182 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. and continued to hold their meetings there and at the Lutheran church until 1855, when Mr. Hequem- bourg's services closed. From that time to 1861 they had no regular pastor or preaching. B\ thi reunion both branches were brought under the pas- toral care of Rev. Mr. Jessup, who continued his ministrations until the spring of 1872. Mr. Jessup's administration was marked by a large and gratify- ing degree of prosperity. In 1867 he was permit- ted to behold the consummation of a project for which he had labored with untiring zeal and en- ergy — lne building of a neat and commodious chapel for social, prayer and praise meetings, and the enlargement of the church edifice. During the autumn and winter of 187 1-2, Mr. Jessup laid aside his pastoral cares. In his absence the pulpit was very acceptably filled by Rev. Charles Ray, now publisher of the Moravia Citi- zen. Immediately after Mr. Jessup's resignation the pulpit was supplied for three months by Rev. Geo. K. Ward, who was succeeded by Rev. John Jones, D. D., of Geneseo, who labored as a supply for five months. Rev. John H. Brodt, formerly of Brooklyn, was then invited to fill the pulpit, which he did with universal acceptance for four months. The present pastor, Rev. Geo. K. Ward, entered upon his ministry the first Sabbath in May, 1873, and was ordained and installed June 4th of that year. The church numbers at present 317 mem- bers. In 1876, the church, which stands upon the square, was repaired at an expense of about $2,000 ; and in 1878, the chapel, which had before been de- tached from the church, was enlarged and brought into it, by an addition of about half its size, which, including furnishing, was completed at a cost of about $2,000. The Society are just arranging to purchase a parsonage, which the generosity of Mrs. Joseph W. Smith enables them to consummate. The old parsonage was sold many years ago. The Sabbath School was organized in June, 1820, and has been faithfully sustained to the present time. Dr. W. F. Clark was the first Superintendent, and served in that capacity for sixteen years.* The Methodist Episcopal Church of Dansville. — The early records of this church have not been preserved, and there is not one of the old members left whose memory can be trusted to give a con- nected history of it. A few fragmentary facts only can be given, and these, mainly, are only the rec- * This sketch is prepared mostly from Hptchkin's History of Western New York; Turner's Pioneer History of Phelps r. James Faulkner says there were Methodists in I >ansville as early as 181 1. The first Methodist meeting he knows of was held in the house where John Galbraith lives. Robert Parker preached occasionally in Peter Rutin's neighborhood as early as 1812, '13 and '14 ; though there were but few Methodists here then. The first great impulse to the growth of Methodism in Dansville seems to have been given by the family of Merritt Brown, who came here in the fall of 1818, and, says Dr. Faulkner, did more than al- most any body else for the church when it was first built. He pays a high tribute to the worth of Mr. Brown and his wife, and says of the latter, " if she is not happy in the other world I would not give much for any one's chances of happiness there." After Mr. Brown came here, he and others were active in getting up a subscription for a church. All denominations were very generous. But sev- eral years elapsed before their efforts were rewarded. Occasional meetings were held at Mr. Brown's house by Revs. Thomas Magee and Mr. Nash. I n 1 8 19 Rev. Micah Seager was preaching here. Commencing at Sparta, he preached every day in the week, his circuit of two weeks extending south- erly. Mr. Seager was the uncle of Rev. Dr. Schuyler Seager, the first principal of the Dansville Academy. He was assisted in his labors by Rev. Chester B. Adgate, who was afterwards the presid- ing elder of the district. They held meetings from time to time in the old log school house on Main street. " They would come," says Rev. Mr. Ward, " without a moment's warning, give notice of a meeting to be held a few hours later, and when the appointed hour arrived the house would be full of eager listeners." Mr. Adgate continued his labors two years and was followed on the circuit in 1821 by Rev. James Gilmore, who was succeeded by Rev. Mr. Prindle. In 1825, the Rev. Mr. House preached on this circuit, and in January of that year Rev. Gideon Stoddard held the first quarterly meeting in Dansville. Rev. Mr. Williams preached here in 1827. He was succeeded by Rev. Robert Parker, during whose labors $Soo were raised by subscription to build a church, which was com- menced in 1828, and finished and dedicated in 1829. The dedication sermon was preached by Wilbur Hoag. It was erected and still stands on the square,* but was abandoned by the Methodists * ''The old M, K- Church which has stood tor over fifty years on the publit square, was sold last week for Jjoo to Burns brothers of this place, who will move it from the present site to the lot adjoining Bradley and Pfunter's marble shop, and fit it up for .1 carriage manufactory." — Dam- ville Advertiser, March 24, [881. VILLAGE OF DANSVILLE — CHURCHES. 183 when their present fine house was finished in 1S77. It was built over once or twice. About this time the Society was incorporated. The first trustees were Merritt Brown, Wm. Curtice and Benjamin Pickett. Mr. Parker was succeeded to the pastor- ate by John Copeland, now insane, and in iSjr, by Thomas Carlton and Wm. D. Buck. During the pastorate of Rev. G. W. Coe, in 1876-7, the splendid brick edifice on Chestnut St., in which the Society now worship, was erected. The church was opened on Thursday, September 13, 1877. The cost aggregated $18,000, of which $8,000 was then unprovided for, but $6,000 of the amount was raised during the meetings of that day. To-day, the church numbers about two hundred and sixty members. The present pastor is Rev. J. T. Gracey, who has served them two years. Moses George, who is probably the oldest mem- ber of this church, is the last survivor of the war of 1S12, in Dansville. He entered the army at the age of eighteen and served three years. He was wounded, and carried on his body for about sixty-one years the bullet which inflicted the wound. The German Evangelical Lutheran Church. — We are not advised when this church was organ- ized, but it was among the earliest in the village, and was the first to erect a house of worship, the corner-stone of which was laid on the 4th of July, 1826. The ceremony attending it was participat- ed in by the Masonic fraternity of the village and surrounding towns, a military company and a large concourse of people. "Abraham Vrooman was the master builder, and in the eyes of the people," says the facetious historian of this church,* "a great, momentous undertaking was committed to him." Late in November, 1826, the church was dedi- cated, under the pastorate of Rev. Jacob Martin, a young man, whose talents, piety and energy joined to many amiable traits of character, ren- dered his ministry useful and profitable. After preaching several years he accepted a call from a German Lutheran Church at Harrisburgh, Pa., where he died. After the retirement of Mr. Martin, the church had no settled pastor for two or three years, but the pulpit was occupied most of the time by Rev. Dr. Wells and Rev. Mr. Barnhart. The next minister in charge of the church, of which there is any record, was the Rev. David Iester, a gentleman of ability and great activity in the sphere of his ministerial duties. Prominent among the clergymen who have had charge of this church, in addition to those mentioned, were Revs. * Lucian B. Proctor, Esq., of Dansville. Messrs. Strover, Selmser, Rev. Dr. Miller, Stern- berg, Lautz, Klein, Strobel, Borchard, Rumpff, Boyer and the present efficient and highly-respect- ed pastor, Rev. Paul L. Menzel, who commenced his labors in connection with this church Septem- ber 18, 1874. During the ministrations of the eloquent and de- voted Wm. T. Strobel, who was pastor of the church from March 12, 1859, to May 18, 1863, the church edifice passed into the hands of the present congregation, the right to transfer the same having been given by decree of the County Court, Septem- ber 16, 1861. December 2, 1861, a deed of the church property was given by John Shutt, George Zerfass, Benjamin Kidd, James Kiehle and R. Steffy, a majority of the trustees of the two con- gregations aforementioned, to William Schwendler, John G. Engert and Jacob Schwingle, trustees of this church, for the almost nominal sum of $800. A few years after the dedication of the church, a fine pipe-organ was placed in it. As it was the first of its kind ever brought to Dansville. it was an object of curiosity and admiration. There was then no regular organist in the village, and an ac- complished performer named Snyder, residing at Avon, was hired to take charge of it on the Sab- bath. He traveled from his place of residence to Dansville every week for a long time. When Mr. Selmser resigned his pastorate, he purchased the organ, which had become an object of contention in the troubles which beset the church, and re- moved it to Lockport. In 1876, the church underwent extensive repairs. It was re-dedicated August 6, 1876, service being conducted both in German and English, the former by the pastor, Rev. Paul L. Menzel, and the latter by the Rev. P. A. Strobel. The church now numbers one hundred and twenty members. It belongs to the United Ger- man Evangelical Synod of North America — the only one in the county belonging to that Synod — and is connected with the German Evangelical Lutheran Church of Perkinsville, Steuben county, of which Mr. Menzel is also pastor. The English Lutheran Church of Danszillc, an off-shoot from the German Lutheran Church of this village, was organized in 1S46. Their house of worship was built in 1847, and dedicated Decem- ber 25th of that year. Among the prominent members at the organization of the church were Dr. S. L. Endress, John Haas, S. Jones, Henry Hartman, Elias Geiger, Conrad Welch, Daniel Ingersoll, William Haas, Dr. C. H. Patchin, Wil- 184 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Ham Wildey, John Littles, John Haas, Jr., R Pickett and George C. Drehiner. The Building Committee were John Hass, William Wildey and Frederick House. The first officers, elected Jan- uary 11, 1848, were: — Daniel Ingersoll, Trustee; John Kohler, Elder; George C. Drehmer, Deacon; Shepard Jones, Clerk ; John Haas, Treasurer. The church now numbers about one hundred members. It is a somewhat remarkable fact that the church has never been in debt beyond its im- mediate ability to provide for. The following have been the succession of pas- tors : — Rev. John Selmser* 1845- 185 4. Rev. F. W. Brauris 1 854. Rev. C. H. Hersh 1855-1857. Rev. L. L. Bonnell 1858-1859. Rev. D. Swope 1859-1863. Rev. M. I. Stover 1864. Rev. Albert Waldron 1 865-1 867. Rev. John Selmser (2d term) 1S68-1873. Rev. E. H. Martin 1S73-1S75. Rev. P. A. Strobel 1875-1880. St. Mary's Church, (Catholic,) e/ Dansville. — German Catholics found their way to Dansville as early as the beginning of the present century, and it has been asserted that a Catholic was among the very first settlers. Later a few Irish Catholics came in with the needy surplus population which Europe poured into this country, but Catholicity did not have a visible existence here for more than a generation after the town was first settled. In 1836, the Catholic families residing in this neighborhood were visited by Rev. Father P. Prost, a redemptorist missionary from Rochester, and a German by birth, who was afterwards sent as a missionary to Ireland. He gathered the few Catholics then located here in divine worship, and administered the holy sacraments of the church. He was followed in 1S37, by Father Schackert. Two years later, in 1839, Rev. Father Sanderl began to come here semi-annually. He was suc- ceeded by Rev. Benedict Bayer. These labors were continued until 1844, when the Catholics purchased the school house in the west part of the village and converted it into a house of worship. From that period they were visited more regularly than hitherto, by Father Bernick. The church occupied the school house as a place of worship but a short time, for in 1845 the corner stone of the present church was laid by Father Ben- edict Bayer. When the congregation commenced to worship in the new church, the old school house •Mr. Selmser was pastor of the church before the division occurred, commencing his labors June Jo, 184;. was converted into a parochial school and used as such until the present fine school building was erected in 1876. Father Bernick was succeeded by Fathers P. Hobzer, P. Tappert, Alexander Cyait Koviz, A. Jenkins and Andrew M. Schweiger, redemptorist fathers, the latter of whom was the first resident pastor, in 1849. Rev. Aloysius Somoggi, D. D.. succeeded Father Schweiger in the pastorate as early as 1851, and continued till May, 1852. In 1852, Father John M. Steger was the pastor. Father Somoggi again served them until January, 1854. He then made a journey to Hungary, whence he came, and was absent eight months, during which time Father John M. Steger offici- ated. < )n his return, Father Somoggi again min- istered to them for four months, till January, 1855. Rev. N. Arnold, D. D., succeeded Somoggi and remained five months. After that there was no priest until October, 1855, when Father Steger again became the pastor, continuing as late as March, 1S57. Revs. John N. Koenig and Peter Seibold both officiated in 1857, Seibold continuing till 1859, when Rev. J. Rosswig became the pastor. He was succeeded in i860 by Rev. F. R. Marshall; in 1861, by Rev. Christopher Wagner; and in 1862, by Rev. Sergius de StchoulepuikofF, a Rus- sian priest, who finding the church too small to accommodate the parishioners, had an addition built to it. He also purchased the high altar and bell during his short pastorate of twenty lyionths. In 1864, Rev. Joseph Albinger came here and con- tinued his ministrations until 1S75, "'hen Rev. Henry F.gler assumed the pastorate. He was succeeded July 13, 1S79, by the present pastor, Rev. Frederick R. Rauber. During the pastorate of Mr. F.gler, in 1S76, the present parochial school connected with this church was erected. It was formally opened and dedicated on the 5th and 6th of June, 1876. The building for- merly used for that purpose, standing in the rear of the church, is now used as a barn. The parochial school, which is attended by about 150 pupils, is taught by the Sisters of St. Joseph, of Rochester, four in number. The church edifice is a wooden building, located on Franklin street, in the west part of the village.* The present number of mem- bers is about Soo. The church property is valued at $15,000. • History of St. Patrick's Church, in The Journal of the Fair, Oc- tober ■ unl November, 1S80, prepared by the pastor, Rev. Father Simon vhich, and a History of St. M I rch, prepared by ■ pa tor, and published in the same journal, and to the recordsol the latter church, ue are indebted for the history of Catholicism in Dansville. VILLAGE OF DANSVILLE — CHURCHES. 185 St. Patrick's Church, Dansville. — The history of this, so says our informant, " dates from twenty years after the settlement of the town of Dansville." The first priests who visited this locality ministered alike to the German and Irish Catholics. The first Irish priest who found his way hither, of whom there is any record, was Rev. Bernard O'Reilly, but when he came, how frequently he visited Dans- ville, and how long he continued to do so, is a mat- ter of uncertainty. From the time of Father O'Reilly, priests visited Dansville at regular inter- vals, and the number of Catholics increased to such a degree that larger accommodations were needed, and under Father O'Connor, the successor of Father O'Reilly, the people assembled at the town hall to assist at mass. In 1847 the western portion of this State was formed into a diocese by the late lamented pontiff, Pius the Ninth. Buffalo was made the episcopal seat and Rt. Rev. John Timon was the first bishop. Within a couple of decades of years dating from the first appearance of permanent Catholicity in Dansville, the number of Catholics had increased to such an extent as to warrant Bishop Timon in sending them a priest to reside amongst them. All the historical records agree as to the name of the first resident pastor, but none give the date of his arrival. His name was Rev. Edward O'Flaherty, and it was under his administration that the foun- dation of St. Patrick's church was laid, at the head of the public square, where the church now stands, at the corner of Liberty and Church streets. Some traditions which seem sufficiently reliable mention the names of Father McEvoy and Father Carroll, who paid occasional visits from Rochester to the Catholics in Dansville, but beyond the fact of their visiting as missionaries little seems to be known. Before the erection of any church in Dansville, the town-hall — the property of Charles Shepard — was used as the place of divine worship. Father O'Flaherty ministered to the wants of the German as well as Irish nationality, and according to one account, in the year 1849, according to another, in the year 1850, laid the foundation of St. Patrick's church. The church structure, which was com- pleted in 1851, at a cost of $1,500, was about half its present size. Father O'Flaherty was succeeded immediately by Rev. Charles Tierney, and one ac- count gives him the credit of having completed the church, the foundation merely being laid by Rev. Father O'Flaherty. We find Father Tierney recording a baptism in the church register as late as May, 1852, and Rev. John Donnelly recording his advent in June of the same year. Father Donnelly remained but a short time, for we find him succeeded by Rev. Joseph McKenna on the 1st of May, 1853. Father Mc- Kenna's stay was of even shorter duration than that of Father Donnelly, for his autograph does not ap- pear in the church registries later than August of the same year (1853). He was succeeded by Rev. Aloysius Somoggi, who, it would appear, took charge of both Catholic churches, St. Mary's and St. Patrick's, during his stay. His signature ap- pears upon the records for the first time on October 5th, 1853, and the last baptism recorded by him was administered in December of the same year. From that time until October, 1855, we find the names of Rev. Terence Kernan, Rev. Daniel Dolan and Rev. Michael Casey, in the order given. In the month of October, 1855, Rev. Michael Steger took charge of St. Patrick's congregation as well as St. Mary's. His latest signature is that of December 2d, i860. Rev. M. Steger was suc- ceeded immediately by Rev. J. A. Marshall, who remained only a few months, and was in turn suc- ceeded by Rev. Chrysostom Wagner in June, 1861. His stay seems to cover the time from June, 1861, to April, or May, 1862, when Rev. Sergius de Stchoulepuikoff, a Russian by birth and a Catholic by conversion, assumed the pastoral charge. There were few among the many priests who re- mained in Dansville for any length of time who made such a lasting impression on St. Patrick's congregation as S. de Stchoulepuikoff, and many a heartfelt and warm tribute is to-day paid to his zeal and energy. His name disappears from the records after January, 1864, when Rev. Joseph Albinger assumed the pastorate. Father Albinger took charge of both congregations from his arrival until the 5th of July, 1871. Rev. Michael Biggins succeeded him on the 5th of July, 187 1. Father Biggins labored amongst the Irish Cath- olics of Dansville for six years, and was transferred to the Catholic church at Clyde, in August, 1877. He was succeeded by the present pastor, Rev. S. Fitzsimons.* St. Peter's Church, Protestant Episcopal. — The parish of St. Peter's church, Dansville, was organ- ized April 13, 1831. At the meeting for organizing, the Rev. William W. Bostwick, "missionary of Bath, Steuben Co. and parts adjacent," presided, and the following gentlemen were elected wardens and vestrymen, viz : — * From the historical sketch by Rev. Father Fitzsimons before referred 1 86 HISTORY OF LIVlNCxSTON COUNTY. Wardens, William Welch, Amos Bradley ; Ves- trymen, Justus Hall, James Smith, Sedley Sill, Benj. C. Cook, Alonzo Bradner, George Hyland, David Mitchell, Horatio G. Taggart. It was, however, several years before a resident clergyman was secured, and divine service regularly celebrated every Sunday. For some twelve years the parish was either associated with St. Paul's church, Angelica, or left with only occasional mis- sionary services. But in 1842 several active young churchmen having removed to the growing village, vigorous measures were adopted to place the parish on a more permanent basis. At a special parish meeting, held on the 14th of November, in that year, the following officers were elected to serve until the ensuing Easter, viz : — Wardens, Benjamin Bradley, William Welch ; Vestrymen, John C. Williams, Ralph T. Wood, Edward O'Brien, Isaac L. Endress, John A. Van- Derlip, Lauren C. Woodruff, Peter S. Lema, Geo. G. Wood. Mr. Lauren C. Woodruff, was elected treasurer, and Mr. John A. Van Derlip, clerk of the vestry, ati office continuously held by him from that date till the present time. In April of the following year, the Rev. Nathan- iel F. Bruce, M. U., who had of late officiated oc- casionally in the parish, in connection with St. Paul's, Angelica, was elected rector and removed to Dansville. Measures for the erection of a church edifice were about this time adopted, and with L. C. Woodruff, Benj. Bradley and Isaac L. Endress, for a building committee, the work was vigorously prosecuted. In the autumn of 1846, the present neat church edifice of wood was completed, at a cost of some $3,000, and on the 25th of May, 1847, was conse- crated by Bishop DeLancey. Down to 1846 the congregation hud worshipped in "The School House on the Square," — a building now venerable for use and years, that once stood on the N. W. corner of the public park, but was moved to its present site, to give place to St. Peter's church. On the istof July, 1846, about the time the new church was completed, the Rev. Mr. Bruce resigned the care and was succeeded by the Rev. Mason Gallagher. In the summer of 1848, Mr. Gallagher in consequence of failing health, was granted a leave of absence by the vestry, and the Rev. T. F. Wardwell engaged as a supply. The following December Mr. Wardwell accepted an election to the care of Grace church, Lyons, and the services of the Rev. O. F. Starkey were temporarily secured. In the spring of 1849 the Rev. Mr. Gallagher's resignation was accepted, and in July following the Rev. O. R. Howard, now of St. Thomas' church, Bath, was elected rector. The rectorate of Rev. Dr. Howard continued until 1857, and covers the era of greatest prosperity both of the parish and the village. Since the resignation of Dr. Howard and his removal to Bath, the following clergymen have suc- cessively had ministerial charge of the parish, viz : The Rev. Thomas G. Meachem, the Rev. V. Spald- ing, the Rev. J. C. L. Jones, the Rev. Robert C. Wall, the Rev. L. D. Ferguson, the Rev. L. H. Strieker, the Rev. Joseph Hunter, the Rev. James B. Murray, D. D., and the present incumbent, the Rev. A. P. Brush, who has been rector since Nov. 1, 1878. In spite of these successive, and sometimes not desirable changes, the parish has grown from both numerical and financial weakness, to its present condition of comparative strength, including as it does some sixty families and about one hundred communicants. From 1831 to 1881, the changes have been many and marked. Of the original vestry none survive, while of the vestry of 1842, only three are living, and only one, the Hon. John A. Van Derlip con- nected with the parish. The present parish officers are : Rector, the Rev. A. P. Brush ; Wardens, Mr. A. T. Wood, Mr. Luther Grant ; Vestrymen, Hon. John A. YanDer- lip, Mr. Alonzo Bradner, Dr. Z. H. Blake, Mr. L. G. Ripley, Mr. James Lindsay, Maj. Edwards H. Pratt, Mr. Ceo. A. Sweet, Mr. A. Y. McNeil Sey- mour ; Clerk, Hon. J. A. Van Derlip ; Treasurer, Luther Grant.* The Dansville Baptist Church was organized Oct. 23, 1850, at the house of Barnett Brayton. The Rev. B. R. Swick, of Bath, was chairman of the meeting held for that purpose, and M. R. Mar- cell, secretary. The constituent members were : Aaron W. Beach and Mary Ann his wife, Barnett Brayton and Olive his wife, Martin R. Marcell and Emily his wife, Nancy Filer, Ann Brayton, Maria Bates, Joseph Palmer. Elijah Hill and Judith his wife. They were recognized by a council convened in the Lutheran church in Dansville November 6, 1 850, and composed of delegates from the churches in Mt. Morris, Bath, Wayne, Almond, South Dans- ville, Avoca, Burns. Barnett Brayton and Aaron 1 leach were chosen deacons November 8, 1850. * This skeu h was kindly furnished by the Rector, Rev. A. P. Brush. VILLAGE OF DANSVILLE — SOCIETIES. 187 At a meeting held at Dansville Academy, their usual place of worship, December 10, 1850, the following trustees were elected: Paulinus Cook, George Hovey, Barnett Brayton, Martin R. Mar- cell, Lemuel J. Swift and Charles L. Truman. January 12, 1851, it was resolved to call Howell Smith, of Perm Yan, to the pastorate, at a salary of $500. The call was accepted, and Mr. Smith commenced his labors the first Sunday in March following. June 24, 185 1, the church united with the Livingston Baptist Association. Mr. Smith closed his labors as pastor March 1, 1855. He was succeeded by Rev. O. I. Sprague, who commenced his labors May 5, 1855, and closed them April 1, 1858. Edwin S. Walker, of Roches- ter Theological Seminary, entered upon his labors as supply in April, 1858, and July 8, 1858, was called to the pastorate. He commenced his labors as such August 1, 1858, and was ordained Septem- ber 16, 1858. He closed his labors in the spring of i860, and was followed in November of that year by Rev. J. Wilson, who remained only about two months. Rev. I. W. Emory of Cana- seraga, supplied the pulpit from the spring of 186 1, and April 14, 1861, was given a call to the pastor- ate for one year from April 1, 1861. He was dis- missed April 4, 1S63. His successors have been, Rev. George W. Baptis from September 3, 1864, to June 24, 1865 ; Elder M. Barker from June 6, 1866, to ; Rev. E. L. Crane, from December, 1870, to September 24, 187 1; Rev. R. J. Reynolds, from September 3, 1873, to September 4, 1874; Rev. C. B. Read, from October 10, 1875, to ; Rev. L. Q. Galpin, the present pastor, who com- menced his labors January 9, 1S78. The present number of members is 112. The Advent Christian Chunk in Dansville was organized by William Brown, Sr., Daniel Cogswell and ten others, " believers in the speedy and per- sonal coming of the Lord Jesus Christ," who met at Dansville, December 23, i860, and adopted a church covenant and articles of association, drawn and presented by Elder Daniel T. Taylor. We have no further information respecting this church, but believe it is not now in existence. Societies. — Dansville Royal Arch Chapter No. 91 was chartered February 2, 1825. The charter officers were ; Merritt Brown, High Priest ; War- ren Patchin, King ; Paul C. Cook, Scribe. The Chapter was organized March 31, 1824, under a dispensation granted February 21, 1824, by the G. R. A. Chapter. The officers elected in addition to the three above named were : Timothy Atwood, R. A. C. ; Moses Conn, CofLL. ■ Wm. McPherson, P. S. ; James Conn, M. of $d. V. ; Anson Dela- mater, M. of 2d V. ; N. Boyden, M. of 1st V. ; Thomas M. Bowen, Secretary ; Samuel Stilwell, Treasurer ; Henry Burley, Guard. The mem- bers present at that meeting in addition to those named were Andrew Prindle and Jacob Thorn. The Chapter numbered 41, October 5, 1880 ; and meets in the Maxwell Block the 2d and 4th Tues- days of each month. Phoenix Lodge No. 115 F. 6- A. J/, was insti- tuted April 15, 1S46, and chartered August 18, 1846. The charter officers were : — Merritt Brown, Master ; John Culbertson, S. W. ; Javin Bradley, J. W. The lodge numbers about 95, and meets the 1st and 3d Tuesday evenings of each month in the same room as the chapter. Canaseraga Lodge No. 123 / O. O. P., was or- ganized Sept. 15, 1844, and chartered Nov. 4, 1844. For more than half the period of its existence it was the sole representative of Odd Fellowship in Living- ston district. The charter members were: — John A. VanDerlip, John B. Smith, Wm. (',. Thomson, P. S. Lema, L. C. Woodruff, H. Kingsbury and John C. Williams. The lodge numbers 83 mem- bers, and meets Friday evening of each week in the Maxwell Block. Dansi'ille Union Equitable Aid Union No. 24 was organized Oct. 29, 1879. The charter mem- bers and first officers were : — L. G. Ripley, Presi- dent ; J. M. Edwards, V. P. ; C. W. Brown, Sec- retary and Accountant ; M. W. Haviland,* Chan- cellor; Henry Feustermacher, Auxiliary; A. P. Burkhart, Advocate: H. P. Updike, Treasurer and Chaplain ; J. H. Campbell, Sentinel ; D. L. Sweet, Warden ; Henry Schwingle, Watchman ; Anton LaBoyteaux, E. J. Betts, H. A. Fairchild, L. Per- ham, H. P. Updike, D. L. Sweet, Henry Schwingle, W. C. Bryant, Jr., and Henry Feustermacher. The L T nion numbers 36 members, and meets the 2d and 4th Monday of each month in Odd Fellows Hall. COMMINSVILLE. Comminsvilleis a hamlet of 1 26 inhabitants, lying in the north-west part of the town, on Canaseraga creek, a little below the north bounds of Dansville village, and derives its importance from being the seat of the manufacturing establishment of Sweet, Faulkner & Co. It derives its name from Warren Commins, who, with his son Moses A. Commins, established there in 1839, a furnace anil machine •Haviland and the officers succeeding him were elected Nov. II, is-';, at which tune also E. II Readshaw was initiated- HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. shop on the site of the present works, in the old tannery building occupied by the McCartney Bros, from 183 1 to 1835. They continued the business till 1842, when Sidney Sweet purchased the interest of Warren Commins, and in company with the tat- ter's son continued it under the name of Sweet & Commins until 1845, when George Sweet and John Gill purchased the establishment. In 1869, after several intermediate changes the name was changed to and has since remained Sweet, Faulkner iV- Co. Previous to 1858, the business consisted of gen- eral machine work, principally the manufacture of steam engines and threshing machines. In that year the manufacture of mowers and reapers was begun and has been continued to the present time, having now become the exclusive business. The Royce Reaper and the Dansville Mower, an inven- tion of George Sweet's, are the articles manufac- tured. The works require a capital of about $35,000, and give employment to from twenty to thirty per- sons, the number at present employed being twenty-three. Stone's Falls. Stone's Falls is a hamlet located on Mill creek, in the south-east corner of the town, two miles south-east of I (ansville village. It derives its name from Rufus Stone, who came here with his family from Pompey, Onondaga county, June 3, 1816, having been here the previous year to prospect. He took up a tract of land in the locality of Stone's Falls, and was the first to utilize the water power here. He built in 1816, on the site of his son's wagon-shop, a saw-mill which was in operation till about 1840, and went to decay. In 1825, he built an oil-mill and made flaxseed-oil, operating it till within two or three years of his death, which occurred in Ohio, March 2, 1842. His son Ben- jamin succeeded him to the ownership of the oil- mill, and continued the business till his death, March 8, 1852, at the age of forty-two, when it was discontinued. Benjamin Stone built a saw-mill on the site of the original oil-mill, about 1842 or '43, having, about 1840, built a second oil-mill to take the place of the first. After the death of Benjamin Stone the mills were sold to Capt. Henry Henry, who took down the oil-mill, the timbers of which were used in the construction of the Brewster House in Dansville village. Capt. Henry owned the saw-mill till his death in 1872, when his widow sold it to John White, the present proprietor. I lur- ing Capt. I [enry's occupancy the mill burned down. It was rebuilt by him immediately after. He had occupied the upper story for a flax-mill. Broton S. Stone established his wagon manufac- tory at this point in 1S48, and has carried on the business since that time. He does a general wagon business, but makes a specialty of lumber and farm wagons. He employs on the average about six persons, and makes some fifty to sixty lumber wagons per year. The motive power is furnished by Mill creek, which has a fall at this place of about thirty feet. Dansville Grange, No. 178 P. of H., whose headquarters are at this place, was organized April 14, 1874, with the following members: — B. F. Kershner, Master; R. K. Stone, Secretary; Henry A. Kershner, Lecturer; B. S. Stone, Overseer; J. B. Lemen, Steward ; G. C. Stone, Assistant Steward ; James F. McCartney, Chaplain ; Fred Driesbach, Treasurer; Henry Driesbach, Gate- keeper ; E. M. Driesbach, Ceres ; Eliza L. Kersh- ner, Pomona; M. E. Stone, Flora; Emma J. Le- men, Lady Assistant Steward; B. S. Stone, Win. Hartman and B. F. Kershner, Executive Commit- tee ; L. A. Palmer, Honeoye Falls, J. H. McCart- ney, Henry Hartman, Wm. Hall, Ora R. Stone, Mrs. B. F. Kershner, Mrs. J. B. Lemen, Mrs. B. S. Stone, Mrs. Frederick Driesbach, Mrs. J. H. McCartney, Mrs. R. K. Stone, Mrs. J. F. McCart- ney, Mrs. G. C. Stone, Mrs. Henry Driesbach, Mrs. William Hall. It was chartered July 6, 1874. The organization was effected and the meetings for nearly four years were held in the upper part of B. S. Stone's wagon shop, the use of which was given by Mr. Stone free of expense. 1111878, the Grange built here a fine commodious hall, at an expense of about $2,000, and here the meetings have since been held. Gratuitous services were rendered thus greatly reducing the money cost of its construction. The land on which it stands — about three-fourths of an acre — was donated for the purpose by George C. Stone; so that with the amount actually expended, the land donated and the gratuitous services rendered, the Grange is put in possession of a hall worth about $3,000. The California House is a name applied to a locality a half mile south of Dansville village, where are located two hotels, the Hollingsworth paper-mill, a cooper shop and an unoccupied brewery. Kramer's Hotel, known also as the "California House," has been kept since 1S70 by John Kramer. It occupies the site of the old Mr. & Mrs. William Warjman. WILLIAM HARTMAN. William Hartnian was boru iu tlie town of Sparta, now North Dausville, Livingston county, N. Y., January 30th, 1820. He is a son of John and Mary (Longnecker) Hart- man. The former was a native of Northumberland county, Pa., was born in 1782 and died in North Dansville February 19th, 1845. The latter was born in Pennsyl- vania in 17!>2 and died on the same day that her husband died, and both were buried in the same grave. They died of a contagious disease known as malignant erysipelas that carried off many citizens of North Dansville during its prevalence. Harmon Hartman and his wife Susannah, the father and mother of John Hartman, were among the early settlers of the town of Sparta. They came iu and settled near where the village of Dansville is located, in 1807. John, the father-of our subject, was then twenty- five years of age. He was the eldest of a family of thir- teen children, eight by the first wife and five by the sec- ond. In the year 1815 he married Mary Longnecker, who was then residing here with a married sister. Her parents were living in Cayuga county, N. Y. John fol- lowed farming and kept tavern many years. They had nine children, viz : Angeliue. married J. W. Brown, of Dansville : Henry, now- residing on the old homestead ; William, our subject ; John, now living in Groveland, Livingston county, a farmer by occupation ; Endress, living at Clarksburg. W. Va.; George, living on a part of the old homestead farm: Jacob and Laban died iu infancy, and Samuel Frederick, now a resident of Lancaster, Erie county, N. Y.. and connected with the Buffalo Courier es- tablishment in Buffalo, N. Y. At the time of the death of the parents the children were all living at home except Angeline, who married Mr. Brown and was living in the village of Dansville, and they operated the farm until 1 848, when the estate, then con- taining ")79 acres, was divided. The share that fell to William was 09 acres. He then moved on to a five acre lot that he purchased of the heirs of Susannah Hartman, his grandmother, where he lived and carried on farming until 18.10. Iu that year, April 25th, he married Catha- rine Driesbach, the daughter of Henry and Lydia (Hart- man) Driesbach. She was born November 24, 1827. Mr. Hartman continued and has always followed farming and has been eminently successful. By his energy, econ- omy and enterprise he has acquired a large property and is ranked among the leading agriculturists of the county. His advantages for an education were such as were afforded by the commou schools of his town and the academy at Dansville. He has never been an office seeker nor an active politi- cian. He gave his allegiance to the Democratic party until 1800, when he voted for Abraham Lincoln, and voted for the candidates of the Republican party from 1 800 to 1 S72, when he voted for Horace Greeley. Since that time he has voted for whom he has considered the best man, re- gardless of party. Mr. Hartman has never united with any religions de- nomination, but attends, as does his family, the English Lutheran church at Dansville. There have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hartman three children, namely : William Henry, born Sept. 30th, 1851 ; Mary L., bom July 10th, 1853; and Emma C, bora Nov. 14th, 1856, all residing at home with their parents. WAR OF THE REBELLION. [89 "California House," and was built about twenty- four years ago, by Nicholas and Frank Schu. The Schus had also a small brewery, which is now used as a cooper shop by Adam Kramer. Kramer's brewery, located on the opposite side of the road, was built by John Kramer in 1870 for the manu- facture of lager beer. Brewing was discontinued in 1875. The Farmer's Hotel located here is kept and has been for several years by Michael Weynand. There are various other manufacturing enter- prises carried on in the town aside from those located in the village, but none of great magnitude. Among these are the Grove grist-mill, located on the west bank of Canaseraga creek, a mile west of Main street, in Dansville village, which was built in 1816-17, by Thomas McWhorter and his son John. Curtis & Tomkinson now operate it. The mill contains three runs of stones, operated by water from Canaseraga creek, with a fall of eight feet. In Pogue's Hole is a grist-mill, owned by John Hartman, and built by Porter. It is located on Canaseraga creek, about a mile south- west of Dansville village, and contains two runs of stones. The fall at this point is about twenty feet. The Morey grist-mill, owned by John Morey, and located on Canaseraga creek, about two miles northwest of Dansville, was built at an early day. It contains three runs of stones, and has a fall of seven feet. On Mill creek, about one and one- half miles above Dansville village, is a saw-mill owned by Mrs. Dr. Zara H. Blake. It was built at an early day by Mrs. Blake's father, Samuel G. Dorr, who also had a carding-mill. The saw-mill has been rebuilt two or three times. The property has always remained in the Dorr family. H. E. Hubbard is engaged in the manufacture of horse pokes, well-curbs, well buckets, leather straps for well-curbs, rubber buckets, pumps, etc., about a mile and a half above Dansville, on Mill creek, which furnishes the motive power, with a fall of eighteen feet. The business was established in 1862, by Henry Hubbard, father of the present proprietor, in George Fiske's planing-mill, at the foot of Washington street in Dansville, and was continued there fourteen years, when it was re- moved to Capt. Henry's building, now the Hol- lingsworth paper-mill. Dec. 5, 1876, Mr. Hub- bard sold the establishment to his son, H. E. Hubbard, who erected the building he now oc- cupies in the fall and winter of 1879, and occupied it for manufacturing purposes about March 1st, 1880. War ok the Rebellion. — -We cannot give as definitely as we would like the action of this town during this trying period, and for the reason that the records here, as in other towns in the county, have been only partially preserved, the most im- portant one giving a complete summary of the re- sult of this action, being among the lost. Enough, however, has been gleaned from the files of The Dansville Advertiser of that period to sufficiently indicate the generous nature of her response to the repeated calls made on her resources ; and that early and most interesting, because most spon- taneous action is there faithfully and fully re- corded. The first public meeting in North Dansville in- cident to the war was held at Canaseraga Hall, in Dansville, Saturday evening, April 20, 1861, and was then regarded the largest in-door meeting that had taken place in the village. The meeting was called to order by L. B. Proctor; the Hon. James Faulkner was chosen chairman, and Dr. F. Wilson Hurd, secretary. S. Hubbard, Dr. James C. Jackson, Sidney Sweet, G. Bulkley, John A. Van Derlip and M. H. Brown were appointed a com- mittee to draft resolutions. D. W. Noyes read, by request, the Governor's proclamation and the order of the Adjutant-General. Addresses were made by L. B. Proctor, L. B. Faulkner, S. D. Faulkner, Joseph W. Smith and Dr. Jackson. Subscriptions were then given to the amount of $1,972, to be distributed by a committee consist- ing of Charles Shepard, James Faulkner, Sidney Sweet, J. C. Jackson, I. L. Endress, A. Lozier and A. Bradner, " to assist the families of such persons of this village and vicinity as may desire it, who shall be received into active service in defense of the Stars and Stripes and the enforcement of the laws." The Dansiille Advertiser, of Thursday, April 25, 1 86 1, says: "Lieutenant Carl Stephan issued a call this week for volunteers under the $3,000,000 act, which is being heartily responded to. Yesterday there were 63 names on the rolls. Volunteers who come from abroad will be pro- vided for by the citizens of Dansville until they are called into the service of the State." "An election of officers was held at the armory yesterday and re- sulted " as follows : — Captain — Carl Stephan Dansville. First Lieutenant — George Hyland, Jr., " Ensign — Ralph T. Wood " First Sergeant — -Henry R. Curtis Second " — George W. Hasler ... . " Third " —Mark J. Bunnell Fourth " — Duane D. Stillwell 190 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. First Corporal* — George B. Dippy... Second " — George M. Morris.. Conesus. Third " — Wm. H. Drehmer. . Fourth " — A. J. Hartman Dansville. The following are the names of the enlisted men : — Adams, James, Wayland. Allen, Samuel, Dansville. Alverson, Edward C, Dansville. Arwin, Charles A., South Dansville. Ash, Jacob, " " Avery, Charles F., Wayland. Bean, Charles Y., ( Jroveland. Brownell, Hiram, Rogersville. Carpenter, A. \V., I )ansville. Conklin, Munroe, Conesus. (Onrad, Philip, Perkinsville. Cook, Daniel, Haskinville. Cook, Orrin H., Dansville. Corbin, A., Wayland. De Forrest, ( George, 1 )ansville. Deiter, John T., " Demerit, Charles, South Dansville. Dipple, C. W Dansville. 1 hiteher, C. Wellington, " Kasterbrook, Stephen, Wayland. Eldridge, John, Springvvater. Feustermacher, Endress, Dansville. Fitch, M. Harlo, " France, William, Ossian. Freed, Solomon, Sparta. Galbraith, Fat, Groveland. Goodwin, William, Dansville. Hatch, David ( 1 Conesus. Johnson, John, West Sparta. Jones, Edward, Dansville. Jones, John R., Sparta. Jones, Thomas, Dansville. Kemp, George < >., " Ketchum, George F., Rogersville. Ketchum, Richard, " Kinney. A., Sparta. Lauterborn, M., 1 )ansvil!e. Eerts, F. G., Groveland. Lookins, George, Dansville. Lozier, D. P., " Maginley, Henry, Sparta. Mitchell, N. A., Springvvater. Moose, Merritt, Sparta, Morris, Joseph, " Morris, Fester 1!., " Opp, Jacob, Dansville. Phelps, Fester, " Prentice, Charles, " Prentice, Warren, " Richardson, A., " Roberts, F. M., Roberts, Sidney E. Sparta. Root, Charles, South 1 lansville. Scott, Henry C, Dansville. Seyler, Charles, Jr., " " In a published list 0!" ihe members of this company May i, 1861, the name ol B. D. Richardson, of Dansville, appears as First, and that of M Morrison, of South Dansville, as Third Corporal. Shafer, Samuel, Dansville. Slate, John, Snyder, James F Springwater. Stanley, George B., I lansville. Steffy, Joseph, . Sparta. Steflfy, William Byersville. Stout. Charles I lansville. Tiffany, W. C, Toles, George C, " Wellington, E., South 1 lansville. Werth, J Springwater. Westerman, Louis, Wayland. Wilson, George, South Dansville. Wright, Miles" ()., Dansville. Wright, N., Ossian. Capt. Stephan's company left for Elmira on Fri- day, May 3, 1 86 1, going by wagons to Wayland, where they were transferred to the railroad. During the summer and fall of 1861, Capt. Ralph T. Wood recruited in Dansville a second company to fill the depleted ranks of the 13th regiment, of which this became Co. G. The company left Dansville. Oct. 29th, carrying with them a flag pre- sented by the ladies of the village. At this time enough scattering recruits had been raised to fill two additional companies. In November, 1861, the raising of a third com- pany for the 13th was begun by Job C. Hedges and Albert S. Lema, of 1 lansville, the former of whom had done yeoman service in the raising of Capt. Wood's company — services which were rec- ognized in the offer of a commission in the com- pany to be raised. The company was to be recruited in Rochester and Dansville, and Ft. C. S. Benjamin, of Co. A, 13th regiment, opened an office simultaneously in Rochester. Enlistments were not as rapid as formerly, but by Dec. 26, 1 86 1, the company was recruited to eighty men, and left for the seat of war Jan. 6, 1862. Owing to the disasters which attended our arms in the summer of 1862, the president was induced to call for an additional 300,000 men July 2d of that year, and on the 4th of August following for a like number of militia for nine months. Pursuant to the former call, on Wednesday, July 30th, a war meeting was held at Canaseraga Hall, in Dansville, at which Judge R A. Wilson presided. Lieu- tenant S. H. Lancey, of the Mt. Morris com- pany, stated briefly the object of the meet- ing, and was followed by stirring appeals from Dr. J. C. Jackson, Hon. R. F. Hicks, Dr. J. M. Blakesly, G. H. Read and Rev. I. W. Emery, after which a call was made for volunteers. There- upon Maj. J. T. Beach offered $10 for the first man, but before the offer was made three men PIiolo. by Betls, Dansville. Colonel Job Clark Hedges was born in the city of New York, June 12th, 1835. He was the son of John and Per- melia C. Hedges. His father was born at Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. His mother was a native of Springfield. N. J., and a descendant of Abraru Clark, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. His parents removed to Dansville in the year 1838, where they still reside ; and while they are not pioneers of that village, they are among its early residents, identified with its interests and substantial contributors to its growth and prosperity. The subject of this sketch was the oldest of a family of six children. Major Seth N. Hedges, his youngest brother, is also distinguished for his military service. He entered the ranks as a private soldier, in the 13th New York Volunteers, won his way to a Captaincy in the 14th Now York Artillery Volunteers, and was breveted Major for gallant and conspicuous service. He continued in the army uutil the close of the war, and is now engaged in the practice of law at Dansville, the place of his birth. Col. Hedges' wife nee Elizabeth Elmer, to whom he was married in 1SG0. still survives him. His only sou, Job Elmer Hedges, is a student at Princeton College, and gives ample evidence that he has inherited the talents and virtues of his heroic father. In his early youth, Ool. Hedges exhibited all those qualities of mind and heart which in after years won for him distinction in his profession and fame as a soldier. After a thorough preparation at the seminaries of Alfred and Lima, in this State, and in the private school of Mr. David H. Pierson, at Elizabeth N. J., he entered Prince- ton College, where his education was completed. Having adopted the legal profession, he entered the office of Hastings & Newton at Rochester, N. Y., and under the direction of these accomplished lawyers, prepared for the bar, and in October, 18.38, was admitted to practice as attorney and counsellor at law. Subsequently he was associated with Ferris, dishing & Squires, a prominent' law firm of New York city. Offei-s of co-partnership upon the most flattering terms were tendered him, but he preferred to practice his profession independently and alone. Yielding to the solicitations of friends, he returned to Dansville, opened an office, and there com- menced a professional career, which, but for the vicissi- tudes of war, would snrely have led to legal eminence. But in the midst of his bright professional prospects the civil war broke out. He immediately abandoned his pro- fession and entered the military service as First .Lieuten- ant of the 13th N. Y. V. He was soon promoted to Adju- tant, and in that position served the term of his regiment with distinction. A letter to his father dated Nov. 10, 1862, closes as fol- lows: "Good night, father and family. The camp fire burns brightly, and in its brightness I see visions of home and family, and wife and child ; but I am a soldier and my fate uncertain." Iu the official report of the 13th Regiment, referring to a critical period in the battle of Malvern Hill, July 1st, 1802, his commanding officer said : " Of the conduct of Adjutant Job C. Hedges at this time I cannot speak too highly. Fearlessly advancing under a destructive fire, he executed his orders with a cheerfulness and promptitude which fully entitle him to special mention." And again, referring to the battle at Fredericksburg, December 13th, 18(i2, the same report continues: "Ad- jutant Job C. Hedges, although suffering from a painful wound in his right arm, continued with his regiment, and rendered very efficient aid to General Barnes, com- manding the brigade, until taken to the rear by order of Lieutenant Colonel Schoeffel, too weak to walk without assistance." Iu the month of May, 1863, his regiment was honor- ably mustered out of service, and he returned with his weary comrades to receive the well-deserved honors of their fellow citizens. And here he might well have rested. The hero of seven hard fought battles and eighteen months of arduous service, who could say that COL. JOB CLARK HEDGES. be had not sen ed bis country well and enough ? But his country was --till in danger ; las military talents were de- manded, and he could not resist the appeal Scarcely In I the torn battle flag <>f the old I3tb been furled when its gallant commander, Col. E. G. Marshall, and his no llaul Adjutant were commissioned to organize the 11,1, x. v. II Artillery. T'|io:i the completion <>f that regiment, young Hedges was commissioned Major. In the spring of 1864 the command was ordered to the front, and joined the 9th army corps at Annapolis Junction. Oro lii the Rapi- l on the i'.th day of May, the regiment was constantly in the mosl active s rvice, and participated in all the Littles of the Army of the Potomac to the surrender of Lee at Appomattox. On the 3ddayof May, 1865, Major Sedges sent this parting salutation to Ins friends at I te: "My regi- ment is in the !lth Corps- Major General Burnside. I trust we will be successful ; one thing iscertain, whatever may be my part in the fight, I will try to do credit to you and niys If or stay here." In all the weary inarches and Moody battles which fol- lowed, he was conspicuous for his bravery and efficiency. l li.it he fully appreciated the desperate nature of the struggle in which tiny wen- engaged and the personal dangers to which he was exposed, appears in the follow- ing letter, dated -May 30th, 1864, the last one written to his parents. The presentiment as to his own fate adds lustre to Ins bnv. e acts. " Once moiv on the Peninsula. We crossed the Pa- muukey night before last. I am anxious to read the his- tory of this campaign. I am still more anxious to know the" rexulU. The army is ready to do all that mi n can do. The men sleep constantly with their muskets and our horses are rarely unsaddled. Night In ■fore last the march- ing was so severe that several men died along the road. several of them of our own regiment. * * * But we shall not complain if the results shall only equal the pri- vations we endure. God grant that we may succeed. I thought I had s. en something of the horrors of war. but 1 nad not J et seen our wounded left on the field without care and without food. For my part I do not wish to be wounded. To be killed at once would be preferable. * * * * * You may be certain if we ever take Rich- mond we must dig them out. ***** However, any way, I cave not * * * | little expect to survive this campaign. Every soldier must have a last battle. Everyday 1 bar of some old companion in arms who has drawn his last ration, but I am ready and willing to do anything for success, anything that will stop by force the suffering and pain that I see every day around me." On the 17th day of June. 1864, Major Hedges was instantly killed while leading his battalion in a charge upon the enemy's works. This was the famous charge of Ledlie's Division, and the last of that series of bloody contests commenced at the Wildi mess, and w hich demon- strated the correctness of young Hedges' judgment that, •• It we ever take Richmond we must dig them out." It is illustrative of the bravery and daring of the young Major that just before the charge he called the officers of his I,, iii iimn about him, and, pointing in the direction of the rebel line, said cheerfully.' "We are ordered to take those works. We can do it, but every man must do Ins dutv. Some of us may fall, but if it must be let us die bravely," and he gave minute directions as to the method i,i attack, the care of the colors, and t lie-disposition of his men. The circumstances attending his death are well de- scribed in a letter from an offi :er of that regiment, pub- lished shortly after in thi Rochester Daily Democrat. He said: "The I Ith Regiment New York Artillery is by no means the same Tegiment that left New York Harbor two months ago. Out of 1,800 strong and healthy men who then mad ■ up one of the finest regiments that has entcre 1 the held during the war only 600 are now reported for duty, and most of them are worn out and disable,! by fatigue and hardship. * * * In the met 'able charge of the 17th, the regiment suffered si vere loss in both officers and men. * * * In this charge Major Job C. Hedges, one of the most gallant and intrepid officers yet sacrificed on the altar of his country was killed. Un- daunted by the screeching of shells or the rattle of mus- ketry, he rushed forward with his men until the colors of his battalion were planted upon the works of the enemy. Just as the works were reached the Major fell pierced with grape shot. His death has cast a gloom not only over our regiment, but the whole brigade. Fearlessly brave and vigilant in the discharge of his duty, he was always at the head of his com man, I in the hour of danger. His name and memory will always be cherished by those with whom he shared the dangers and hardships of the field." General Marshall, then in command of the brigade, al- though himself suffering from a severe wound, immediately wrote the widow : " It is with a sad heart 1 address you. Your husband has fallen at the head of his battalion, while gallantly leading it in a charge upon the enemy. His virtues both as a citizen and soldier were well known to me. Both in the old 18th N. Y. V. and the 14th N. Y. H. Artillery, he was with me in many a battle and always performed his duty gallantly and intelligently. All were his friends." General Ledlie rode up to brigade headquarters, where the wounded Marshall lay, at d by the side of whose tent lay the dead soldier, and the voices of these officers choked with emotion as they spoke of the bravery and intelligence of the deceased. The remains were borne from the battle field by his brother, then Lieut. Hedges, who had shared with him the hardships and dangers of the campaign. At Eliza- beth. N J , a halt of a day occurred, to allow his friends and relatives there to pay him funereal honors. At Wayland Depot the dead hero was met and escorted to the village by a procession of the leading citizens of Dansville and the surrounding country. Places of busi- ness were closed, and the most solemn and grateful honors were paid the slain soldier, who had (,'oue out from among them in the pride and beauty of his young manhood to defend his imperilled country. Resolutions of respect were adopted by the Living-ton county bar, and eulogistic addresses were delivered by its leading members. The survivors of the gallant old 13th also adopted reso- lutions expressive of their love and admiration for their dead comrade. There stands to-day in Greenmonnt Cemetery a beauti- ful monument, perpetuating the name and deeds of the gallant hero. It is surmounted by the emblemshe loved : the flag of the Union, showing beneath its gracefully carved folds the sword and bell of the soldier, and, crowning all, the laurel wreath that fame had woven for his brow. Upon the shaft are inscribed the mimes of the nine- teen battles in which the brave soldier had participated, viz: — "Siege of Yorktown, April fith to May 4th, 1862 J Han- over Court House, May 27th, 1862; Mcchanicsville, June 26th, 1862 ; Gaines' Mills, June 27th, 1862; Turkey Bend, June 30th, 1862 ; Malvern Hill, July 1st, 1862; Fredericks- burgh, December i:;th. lsr.'j : Wilderness, May 5th and 8th, 1864; Spottsylvania, May 12th and 15th, 1864; North Anna River, May 24th, 1864 : Tolapotomoy Creek, June 1st, L864; Shady Grove. June I'd, 1864; Bethesda Church, June 3d and 4th, 1864 : Cold Harbor, June 5th and 12th, 1864 : Petersbnrgh, June 17th, 1864." He was breveted by the President "Lieutenant Colo- lei," I,, rank from June 5th, 1864, " for gallant and con- spicuous conduct at Cold Harbor." and "Colonel" "for gallantly leading his regiment in front of Petersburg!) on tie enemy's works, on the 17th of June, 1864, where he fell at the head of bis column." It is titling that his memory should be embalmed in the History of Livingston County. Both the regiments which he served largely represented the intelligence and patriotism of the county : he was the only lawyer of the county whose life was sacrificed for his country in battle in tin- war of 1861, and he was a brilliant example of the calling, career and valor of the citizen soldier. WAR OF THE REBELLION. 191 were on their way to the stand to enlist. As soon as they reached the stand Dr. Jackson offered $10 apiece to the other two men. Miss Dr. Austin then offered $ 1 o apiece to the next two men ; Miss Katie Johnson, $10 to the next; James H. Jack- son $10 to the next, and Dr. F. W. Hurd $10 to the next. H. Beyer offered $5 and H. Southwick $20, to be used as the committee saw fit. Dr. Blakesly offered to be one of twenty to give $25 apiece to the first twenty volunteers. The offer not being taken the Doctor proposed to give his share. The recruits enlisted were taken into Lt. Lancey's company. The war meeting of Saturday evening following was one of the most enthusiastic assemblages Can- aseraga Hall ever witnessed. At an early hour the house was crowded with the first citizens of Dansville, a goodly portion representing its pat- riotic women. Judge John A. VanDerlip was chosen President, Hon. James Faulkner and J. C. Jackson, M. D., Vice Presidents, and B. S. Chapin and O. B. Maxwell, Secretaries. Spirited and pat- riotic speeches were made by the President, A. Bradner, S. Hubbard, L. B. Proctor and others. It was resolved to raise by subscription a sum suf- ficient to pay a bounty of $25 to each volunteer from this town entering Capt. A. J. Leach's com- pany, and $5 to those volunteering under him out of town. L. B. Faulkner, George Sweet, Charles Shepard, Orville Tousey and M. McCartney were appointed a committee to solicit subscriptions and disburse funds. James Faulkner and A. Brad- ner, two members of the Senatorial Military Com- mittee, were appointed ex-officio members of that committee. The attorneys of the place were re- quested to aid Capt. Leach in recruiting. John O'Hara, S. W. Warren, Daniel Carpenter, Joseph Newton and John Dorman volunteered at this meet- ing and $587 were subscribed. At an adjourned meeting the following Tuesday evening the committee on subscriptions reported the total amount subscribed to be $1,030.50. Elo- quent speeches were made, but the key note was sounded by J. W. Smith, who thought the most effective eloquence which could be displayed on the subject of volunteering would be by the one who should enlist. The speech was loudly ap- plauded and the call for volunteers responded to by James O. Slayton, who was followed by William McNice, James M. Squires, Edmund Hartman, George R. Beach, Harrison E. Allen, Henry Wil- liams, Pat Welch and George Rouber, who were sworn in by Charles P. Jones, Esq. After stirring music by the band, Charles J. McGuire and Wm. R. Monroe promptly responded. Major Beach now offered $5 for the next man. Dr. Jackson, in behalf of Miss Dr. Austin, offered $100 if twenty men were sworn in during the evening. This gen- erous offer was followed by one of $50, on like conditions, from Major Beach. Miss Katie John- son offered $5 for the second man. Charles P. Squires now accepted Major Beach's offer. Wen- dell Lauterborn offered a pair of fine sewed boots to the next man. S. P. demons made alike offer. After the rendering of a patriotic poem by Rev. J. Pearsall, "the Bard of Canaseraga," Robert Cam- eron enrolled his name. Mrs. Dr. Blakesly, hav- ing no sons to send, added $5 to the pair of boots to the first man who should enlist, and $5 to the next pair of boots for the second man. Wm. P. Cook promptly responded to this offer. After an earnest and eloquent speech by S. D. Faulkner, which was vociferously applauded, Wendell Lau- terborn offered to be one of twenty-six to enlist under Gen. Sigel, and to deed his house and lot to be shared equally by those going with him. A call for six more men to make up the twenty was re- sponded to by John Hill and Nathan Hill. Griffith Goodrich offered $5 more for the next man. Another offer of $5 each was made for the next four men to complete the twenty by Samuel VV. Smith. S. P. Williams offered a pair of boots to the next man, and Patrick Finn accepted the offer. He also had $5 slipped into his hand by L. B. Faulk- ner, of which no announcement was made. Wm. H. Libby offered $5 additional bounty to the next man, and David Langee accepted the offer. Dr. P. B. Bristol offered $5 each to the remaining two needed to make up the twenty, which was re- sponded to by W. C. Dutcher and Patrick Rogan, $5 more being quietly slipped into the hand of the latter by L. B. Faulkner. This filled up Capt. Leach's company to 44 men. At a meeting held at Byersville, Monday night, August nth, and addressed by G. Bulkley, G. H. Read, O. W. West, I. C. Lusk, Charles S. Hall, D. Blanchard and others, several recruits were ob- tained for Capt. Leach's company, which departed on the packet May Fly, by canal, for the military depot at Portage, on Monday, August 18th, the departure being witnessed by a large concourse of people. Major Proctor, with the assistance of ef- ficient aids, gave them a parting salute with a six- pounder. August 14th, Adjutant Job C. Hedges, of the 13th regiment, arrived in Dansville to recruit a 192 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. company for that regiment. The first expression of response was given on the 19th at Canaseraga Hall. An eloquent speech was made by Lester B. Faulkner, who was to lead the new company in person. E. IT. Pratt, of the firm of O. B. Max- well iV Co., united with Mr. Faulkner in the effort to raise this company. A recruiting office was opened in the Stevens Block in Dansville; and such were the efforts put forth by Messrs. Faulk- ner, Pratt, Hedges and others in Dansville, that, under the stimulus of bounties offered and the fear nf the impending draft, this company was filled in eight days, ami was mustered August 30, 1862, as Co. B of the 136th regiment. August 22, 1862, Judge VanDerlip, in behalf of the ladies oi Dansville, presented Capt. Leach's company with a beautiful silk and satin flag, sur- mounted by a gilt eagle. His speech was pointed and eloquent. On Thursday. September nth, Capt. Faulkner's company, 1 10 strong, left Dansville for camp at Portage. Before leaving, the ladies, through Judge Yan- Derlip, presented the company with a most beau- tiful flag. In November, [863, Mark J. Bunnell was ap- pointed recruiting agent in Dansville, but, being subsequently appointed Captain in the Invalid Corps, S. G. Dorr, Jr., received the appointment of recruiting agent in his place, and enlistments progressed vigorously. In the early part of Feb- ruary the quota of Dansville was filled, and $300 town bounty was paid to each of twenty-seven men, the number enlisted after the bounty resolution was passed by the Supervisors, December 11, 1863. February 1, 1864, a call was made for 200,000 men. Immediately thereafter S. G. Dorr, Jr., and John Hyland, recruiting agents for this assembly district, opened offices, the former in Smith's Block, and the latter at G. Hyland's store, and en- ergetically commenced the business of recruiting. March 30, 1864, Supervisor S. I). Faulkner re- ported the following moneys received and dispersed for the relief of families of volunteers : — Cash borrowed of James Faulkner,.. .$125 Cash received from Town Collector... 125 — $250 Paid sundry persons as per receipt. . . 143 Balam e on hand to credit of fund March 29, 1864 $107 At a special town meeting held at the Dansville House. Thursday, September 15, 1864, after an animated discussion it was resolved to raise by tax and pay $600 to each volunteer or substitute, or to the family of each drafted man, to the number requisite to fill the quota of the town under the last call for 500,000 men. Daniel \V. Noyes, Charles S. Hall and Frank Fschrich were ap- pointed a committee to attend to the filling of the quota of the town. At a special town meeting held at the same place September 23, 1864, it was resolved to raise by tax and pay an additional sum, not to exceed $200, to ever) man who should volunteer or furnish a sub- stitute credited to the town till the quota was full. Several public meetings were held and about a dozen recruits obtained; while a committee abroad was working hard to fill the quota. Cp to the close of the second succeeding week over fifty men were mustered to the credit of the town, through the exertions of Charles S. Hall, S. D. Faulkner, D. W. Noyes and others ; and by the close of the third week more than enough men had been raised to fill the quota of the town. 77u- Dansville Advertiser of March 2, 1865, says: J. T. Beach, Charles S. Hall, T. Carpenter, L. B. Proctor, S. D. Faulkner and others are en- deavoring to fill our quota here without drafting. A number of meetings have been held and Lt. Wortman appointed recruiting officer. At a meet- ing held March 7, 1865, it was voted to raise $3,400 on Livingston bonds of $100 each, pay- able in one year with interest, and $2,000 were raised at that meeting. Notwithstanding these ex- ertions a draft took place almost at the same time that Lee surrendered, forty-eight being drafted in Dansville." This, in the absence of fuller data, will suffice to indicate how nobly the town performed its duty in the great drama of the rebellion. Those who survived the vicissitudes and dangers of the bivouac, the march, the battle field, and returned crowned with the honors of their arduous service, are the living monuments of its glorious achievements, and merit the undying gratitude of those at whose bid- ding they went forth to dare and if need be to die. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. DR. JAMES C. JACKSON. James Caleb Jackson was born in the village of Manlius, March 28, 1811. His father. Dr. James Jackson, was a native ot Tyringham, Mass., and his grandfather, Col. Giles Jackson, was a distin- guished field officer under Gen. Gates at the battle (I m* 6 &. y~ac/0 CQi Photo, by Betts, Dan Si IS If B S IN ~W H i T 3 1VI A £1 . DR. JAMES C. JACKSON, REUBEN WHITEMAN. 193 of Saratoga. When James was twelve years of age his father renounced the practice of medicine and adopted the calling of a farmer, hence the first years of young Jackson's life were mainly devoted, when out of school, to agricultural pursuits, and in all the vicissitudes of his life he has never lost his love for that noble occupation. When seventeen years of age he commenced preparing for college at Manlius Academy, but before completing his academic course his father died, leaving his mother and four children younger than himself, comparatively under his pro- tection. This threw a great responsibility upon him, but he discharged it with that ability and un- ceasing energy which have characterized him in all his relations in life. On attaining his twentieth year he was married to Lucretia E., daughter of Judge Elias Brewster of Mexico, Oswego Co., N.Y. This caused him to relinquish his plan of obtaining a collegiate education, but it did not deter him from following, with rigid determination, the noblest of all exertions, that of self-education. Under the instruction of a learned and accomplished clergy- man, Jackson became a fine latin scholar, and a finished, graceful master of the English language. Early desiring to adopt the profession of his father, he devoted much time to the study of medicine and surgery, and in time prepared himself for admission to the practice of his chosen profession. When merely a youth he entered ardently into the field of politics, giving his allegiance to the Democratic party. But not being able to understand why slavery was allowed to exist in this, a free nation, he soon became an admirer and associate of the great historic champions of Anti-Slavery. In the year 1838, at the suggestion of one of his early and devoted friends, Gerrit Smith, he removed to Peter- boro, N. Y., and soon became so distinguished in the Anti-Slavery movement that he was appointed agent of that society of Mass., and continued in that employment till the spring of 1840 when he was made Secretary of the American Anti-Slavery society. In the autumn of 1842 he became a polit- ical abolitionist and soon gained high rank among those illustrious reformers whose noble acts gave the name of Lincoln to immortality and struck the shackles from the limbs of four millions of human beings. In the same year he assumed the editor- ship of the Madison Comity Abolitionist, which he edited one year and then it was sold out by the publishers and removed to Utica where it was re- published under the name of the Liberty Press. Two years subsequent to this Dr. Jackson resigned his position as editor of that paper and purchased the Albany Patriot, then the leading Anti-Slavery journal, and in editing this fully exhibited his re- markable talents as a writer and editor. From his earliest days the Dr. has been distinguished as a political orator as well as writer, having a peculiar manner of enforcing his views and crystallizing his ideas so as to put his hearers in full possession of them. With him, words are truly the " vehicle of thought." Dr. Jackson edited the Albany Patriot until 1847, when his health gave way and he sold the paper and its good-will to \Vm. L. Chaplin — a distinguished early abolition lecturer and writer. He became a confirmed invalid and a patient of Dr. S. O. Gleason, then of Cuba, now of Elmira. This was in 1847 and he remained under the care of the Dr. four months and then entered into a co-partnership with Dr. Gleason and Miss Theo- dosia Gilbert, with whom he left Cuba and estab- lished a Hygienic Institute at the head of Skane- ateles lake, which is widely known as the " Glen Haven Water Cure," and remained with them till the winter of 1849-50, when Dr. Gleason sold his interest to the two remaining parties, who contin- ued to conduct the cure till the fall of 1S58, when Dr. Jackson left Glen Haven and removed to Dansville, where he opened the institution which has since become renowned as " Our Home Hy- gienic Institute." The elegant and commodious building— the cure proper, with its tasteful and classic chapel, its beautiful and artistic cottages, its cool and refreshing fountains and streams of water, looks down upon the beautiful village of Dansville and the rich and splendid valley of the Canaseraga, like a little city on a hill. Dr. Jackson was the father of two sons and one daughter. His eldest, Giles E. Jackson, and the daughter died many years ago, leaving only Dr. James H. Jackson who is now house physician at the Institute at Dansville. From boyhood, Dr. Jackson has exhibited a rev- erence for sacred things, and believes that religion is rational, tending to our best interests as a source of happiness, and widening our range of thought, feeling and sensibility. In the inner circle of his life are inexhaustible and exceptionally happy fam- ily relations, rendering him a steadfast friend, kind and indulgent parent, and an affectionate husband. He is more than a successful physician, and stands in the front rank of medical reformers, and has opened new fields in the great art of healing. REUBEN WHITEMAN. Like many of the earlier settlers of Dansville, Reuben Whiteman was born in Lehigh county, Penn., May 14, 1817. His parents, Jacob and Susannah Whiteman, were people possessed of those sterling qualities, which, instilled into the minds of their children, rendered them respectable and profitable members of society. Reuben was the second of a family of thirteen children, of whom all, except one, are living. In October, 1823, Jacob Whiteman removed with his family to Dansville, and found a temporary home on the lands of the late Amariah Hammond, now owned by Hon. J. B. Morey. The next spring he removed to Sparta, where he resided the re- mainder of his life, and amassed considerable prop- erty. Reuben continued with his father, actively engaged on the farm, for several years. Owing to the disadvantages by which he was surrounded, he could devote but little time to learning, even in t94 HISTORY OK I.IYINC.STON COUNTY. the school which was kept a part of the time in their neighborhood. But by applying himself to his books with assiduity, he acquired an education sufficient to enable him to fill his place in life, well and successfully. When seventeen years of age, he left his father and became an apprentice to a painter in Dansville, where he soon acquired suffi- cient knowledge of the trade to commence business for himself, in which he continued until he reached his twenty-ninth year. June 22, 1845, ' 1e was married to Rebecca F... daughter of Telemachus demons of Sparta, who was born at Sparta, April 17, 1824, and we do not hesitate to say that her prudence, industry, and ca- pacity and the confidence which her husband al- ways reposed in her judgment, advice and counsel, have contributed in no small degree to that success which has always crowned his exertions. By her humble but deep and true devotion to the service of her Saviour, by her efforts to bring the religion she professes, into the discharge of her duties to her family, her church, and to society, she has gained the respect and esteem of all who know her. Immediately after his marriage, Mr. Whiteman re- nounced his occupation as painter and commenced the life of a farmer, which occupation is pro- nounced the power, pride, and strong support of the nation. He took up a piece of wild, unculti- vated land containing one hundred and ten acres, situated in the town of Wayland, Steuben Co. After devoting, with considerable success, eight years to this life, increasing, by purchase from time to time, the extent of his acreage, in the year 1851 he removed to Dansville and commenced the oper- ation of a lumber dealer. This proved to be the business particularly adapted to be conducted by Mr. Whiteman and was soon extended beyond the village of Dansville into those magnificent pine for- ests that then covered a large portion of the state of Michigan. Some of his business relations were conducted in connection with the late Geo. Hy- land, whose keen sense of honor, never-failing integrity, love of justice, and acknowledged mental powers found in Mr. Whiteman a congeniality which soon resulted in a life-long and pleasing friendship, and in highly remunerative reciprocal business relations. In the mutability of business Mr. Whiteman met with heavy losses sufficient to make any other man poor, but which have not in the least depleted the contents of his coffers. For many years he has been a consistent, useful and devoted member of the Reformed Lutheran Church in Dansville, and sustained it conscientiously by his influence and means, while his wife has been a member of the M. E. Church of the same place, and the "love of God shed abroad in their hearts" has united them in bonds of His sacred commun- ion. Mr. Whiteman has always given his political allegiance to the democratic party, but has never sought office, and it is a noteworthy fact that near- ly all of his employees have been republicans, and many of them somewhat vehement in their politi cal faith. Mr. Whiteman's paternal ancestors were Prussians. His grandfather, Jacob Whiteman, came to America when he was four years old, and was a soldier in the war of the Revolution, serving during the whole of that great struggle for freedom. After the war he settled in Lehigh Co., Penn., where his son and grandson were both born. Mrs. R. Whiteman's maiden name was Susannah 1 Hit ton. The purity of Mr. Whiteman's private life has never been questioned. He is somewhat strong in his opinions, and if occasion requires, often en- ergetic in manifesting them, and is inclined t" pul faith in men as he finds them, but when a man de- ceives him, even in a small matter, he ceases all intercourse with him forever. He ranks among the strongest advocates of temperance, and in the dispensation of charities is generous though his hab- its of personal economy are proverbial. He has had three children, as follows: Frederick C, born April 9, 1846, was a young man of much promise and in whom were concentrated many fond hopes of his parents — hopes that all who knew him were united in saying, were justly indulged. He died August 24, 1859. Alon/.o J. was born June 19, i860, and Clara J. born May 14, 1S63. Alonzo is now a student in Hamilton College and is soon to be graduated. He occupies a high rank among the students, and his standing in his class and collegiate course betokens much success in the coming years. WM. H. REYNALE, M. 1>. Dr. Reynale was one of the earliest physicians and surgeons of Dansville. He was born at Qua- kertown, Hunterdon county, X. J., Feb. 27, 1794. Very early in life he lost his father. His mother died in 1835. Soon after his father's death he was adopted by Henry Bidleman, a maternal uncle, who was an accomplished scholar, an able and dis- tinguished agriculturist, and highly respected for his courtesy and all those qualities which constitute a Christian gentleman. Young Reynale found in his uncle all those tender affections, and all that parental solicitude, which he had lost in the death of his father. He was carefully and religiously reared and educated; and chose the medical pro- fession for his future occupation. After a severe and critical course of medical reading, he entered the University of Pennsylvania in January, 181 1, as a medical student, and was graduated from there April 9, 1814. Soon after this he went to Dans- ville, at the invitation of Jacob Opp, a connection of Dr. Reynale, who was at that time building the well-known flouring and grist-mill south of I >ans- ville, which is now, and has been for several years, owned by Benj. F. Readshaw. But the country being new and sparsely populated, it afforded but little business for the young physician, and after spending a year there he returned to F'aston, Pa., where he practiced three years and then removed to Hartland, Niagara county. After practicing there for some time he returned to Dansville, where he remained until tS;r, when he removed to Lock- WM. H. REYXALE, M. D., JOSEPH W. SMITH. J 95 port, where he devoted himself to his profession with unremitting energy, gaining a high reputation. In the winter of 1834 he again returned to Dans- ville, where he spent the remainder of his life and rose to the highest distinction, both as a physician and a surgeon. June 5, 1821, he married Miss Harriet Palmer, a lady of many attractive qualities, personal and mental. This marriage was the source of much happiness to Dr. Reynale; indeed he often said : "The sound advice and counsel, the judicious management of our household affairs, by my sensible, affectionate and practical wife, are a prominent source of my prosperity." She died in December, 1849, and in 1852 he married Mrs. House, widow of the late Frederick House, of Dansville. By his first wife Dr. Reynale had four children as follows: George, Mary, Henry and Joseph, all of whom are dead except Mary, now the widow of the late Joseph W. Smith. Dr. R. was a man of rare intellectual endowments, and as a practitioner was ready, careful, calm and thought- ful. In the sick room his manner and looks possessed a kind of panacea. In discharging his duties as a surgeon, the dissecting knife and scalpel were familiar instruments, used with a con- fidence and self-possession that seldom failed of success. Always adhering to what is known as the "Old School," if ever he indulged in bitter, aggres- sive language, it was in denouncing quacks and ignorant pretenders; these he never tolerated under any circumstances. He was of gentle, conciliatory, manners, and possessed a patient and persevering energy, which no amount of professional labor could fatigue or discourage. Though quick and hasty in his temperament and easily aroused to anger, compassion or sympathy, few men ever lived who had better control of their passions than Dr. Reynale, and possessing a native humor, and a light-hearted, sunny nature, he was ever a pleasing companion. In early life he united with the Pres- byterian church at Dansville, being one of its earliest members, and in his subsequent life, by a meek and reverential observance of the teachings of the gospel, became an exemplary member. He con- sulted conscience as reverently as an oracle of God, and in this way his failings were controlled and subjected to a singular extent. Greatly beloved by his family and friends, the fame he won in his profession was the honest reward of learning, ability, probity and honor. He died at Dansville, August 7, 1870. The universal sorrow that per- vaded the community on the announcement of his death revealed the high estimation in which he was held. JOSEPH W. SMITH. Joseph W. Smith was born near Bath, N. Y., in the year 1S21, hence at the time of his death was fifty-five years of age. His father was a respect- able farmer, who died when Joseph was yet quite young. He was reared principally under the guardianship of his brother-in-law, Jason Stone, Esq., now a highly respected citizen of Corn- ing. Too frail to endure the occupation of a farmer, he was early sent to the best schools in the country, attaining an excellent educa- tion. Often in his boyhood days he witnessed the stirring legal contests that took place at the court house in Bath. One of these was the first trial that the present Judge Rumsey, of the Su- preme Court, conducted as counsel. In this way his mind was directed to the legal profession, and his early aspirations were to become a lawyer. In this he was encouraged by his friends, particularly by his brother-in-law, Henry Goff, Esq., of Corn- ing, and another brother-in-law, Jason Stone, of Coming. In the year 1S42, on completing his education, he came to Dansville and entered the office of the late Benj. F. Harwood, then in the plenitude of his brilliant practice. He applied himself to his studies with great industry and per- severance. With a delicate constitution he suc- cessfully mastered the great elementary law writers. He delighted in studying the old metaphysical rules of special pleading. Bacon's Abridgments, with its antique phraseology, was an admirable instructor for him. He lingered with delight over the gracefully written commentaries of our own learned and illustrious Kent, a work that is still the text book of judges and lawyers in our own country, and it has called forth the eulogy and guided the labors of the learned in other climes. Mr. Smith always thoroughly and severely investi- gated the law applicable to causes submitted to him, and he made strong, exhaustive briefs. His preparatory course ended, we believe, in TS47, and he was immediately called to the bar. He commenced practice as the partner of Moses Stevens, who for a time was his fellow student in the office of Mr. Harwood. After a brief period this partnership was dissolved; Mr. Stevens re- moved to Wellsville, and Mr. Smith continued to practice alone at Dansville for a short time, then removed to Almond, Allegany Co., pursuing there his profession. About the time of his removal to Almond, in the year 1849, he was united in mar- riage to Miss Mary E. Reynale, an accomplished young lady, the only daughter of the late Dr. Wm, H. Reynale, and a favorite in society. She sur- vives her husband, and is the sole survivor of a large, happy and refined family circle. At Almond, Mr. Smith entered at once upon a lucrative and successful practice. But in the autumn of 1849, through the influence of his father-in-law, Dr. Rey- nale, and others, Mr. Smith was induced to return to Dansville and there resume his practice. Here professional success again awaited him. After practicing alone some time, the well remembered firm of Hubbard, Smith & Noyes was formed. With this combination of learning and talent, suc- cess was an inevitable result. But for some reason the firm was dissolved after the lapse of a year, and a new firm under the name of Smith & Noyes was immediately formed. This business relation con- tinued two or three years with considerable sue- I 06 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. cess, when it was dissolved, each of the parties continuing to practice alone. In the fall of 1859 the eminent firm of Van Derlip & Smith was formed. This relation continued through the long period of seventeen years, and was dissolved by the death of its junior member. Its successful career is too well known to the public to require any comment here. In the trial of a cause he detected with keen, quick observation, the weak points of his adversary, while, with an instinctive ingenuity and skill, he defended, disguised, or strengthened his own assailable points as occasion required. In the thrust and in the parry he was equally at home. When opposed by a sharp, pet- tifogging trickster — one who resorted to knavish shrewdness lor success, instead of the learning of his profession, or when a deep, shrewd, deceitful, lying witness came against him, then his sarcasm fell withering, heavy and effectual. With his brethren of the bar he was honorable, high-minded and courteous, and everywhere his word was his bond. At the bar and in the popular assembly Mr. Smith was a forcible, logical and persuasive speaker. As a politician he was bold, ardent and adroit, a Democrat, who never furled the banner of his party for the sake of policy, but always car- ried it aloft in triumph or defeat — like Bruce at Bannockburn, planting its standard on the hard rock. Mr. Smith represented his town in the Board of Supervisors several successive years. In the fall of 1859 he was a candidate for Member of Assembly. Although in his district there was an overwhelming Republican majority, he reduced the majority of his opponent, a very popular man, to barely thirty-five. He would have been elected but for some disaffection in one of the towns of the county. In 1872 he sustained an irreparable loss in the death of his only son — his only child. He was a young man of much intellectual promise. From this terrible blow Mr. Smith never recovered. Like a strong tree that has withstood the whirl- wind, though many of its green leaves have been swept away, among whose broken boughs the birds no longer warble, so he withstood this terrible stroke. To his friends it was plain that nothing could banish his lost boy from his thoughts, and in their confidential interviews with him, when his sad heart was laid open to them, as it often was, they felt that in his musings at his home or in his office, ' t frief filled lite room up of his absent 1 hi Id, Laid in his bed, walked up ami down with him ; Put 011 his well known looks, repeated all his words, Reminded him of all his gracious parts, Stuffed out his vacant garments with his 1 ' But his sorrow is at an end, the valley and the shadow are past, he sleeps well and peacefully by the side of him whose loss silenced the music of his life. In private life Mr. Smith was a valuable and influential citizen. Kindness was innate in his nature. As he possessed a fund of pleasing anec- dote, set off by lively wit and sparkling repartee he was a favorite in the social circle. "To those who loved him not he was lofty and sour." and to his enemies who crossed his path in hatred he was im- placable and agressive in his resentment. In the death of Mr. Smith. Dansville lost one of its best citizens, ami the bar of Livingston county one of its most gifted members. GEORGE HYLAND. It is always a subject of regret when the lives "I prominent and useful men are permitted to end in influence as in duration, at the entrance of the grave. A long career of useful labor is an object of contemplation far too fruitful and suggestive to be suffered to pass quickly out of memory. The restless waves of busy human life soon erase, in spite of us, the most cherished recollections unless gathered up and crystallized into some more per- manent and abiding form. It is for the purpose of arresting, and in a measure preserving, the mem- ory of those whose honorable and virtuous lives demand reverence : whose usefulness, gratitude — and whose faults are forgotten in that excellence which challenges the action of time, that this his- tory of Livingston county is given to the public. That the long, useful and interesting career of George Hyland fully entitles him to honorable mention in these pages, none will denv ; for he was one of those who aided in giving Livingston county the proud name she bears in the history of the Em- pire State. Mr. Hyland was born in the parish of Droma hair, county of Leitrim, Ireland, June 21st, 180,5. When he was fourteen years old he emigrated with his father's family to America, landing at Quebec ; from thence he went to York — now Toronto — where the family became permanent residents. Two years later Mr. Hyland lost his father, "leav- ing me," he said, "all America to get my living in, with nothing but my hands, my natural love of la- bor and a determination to succeed in the world with which to get that living." With a cheerful' submission to the lot which Providence had as- signed him, he entered upon the duties and re- sponsibilities before him. For several years he alternately worked on the farm and attended school. In this way he acquired a good practical edu- cation. In the year 1820, he commenced learning the trade of a hatter in Toronto. He was there en- gaged until the year 1824, industriously and per- severingly devoting himself to the acquisition of a thorough knowledge of the calling he had adopted for a livelihood. From Toronto, after going to Prescott. Mr. Hyland went to Ogdensburg. When he arrived there he had only twenty cents in his pocket, but he soon found employment, and with industry ami economy he accumulated quite a sum of money. After working some time at Ogdensburg, he went to Bethel, N. V., where he attended school nearly a year, working at his business morning and even- ing, and in that way earning enough to defray his expenses. Photo, by Betts, Dansville '//m*f hzutfjej ^ dy^M^ GEORGE HYLAND, DR. JAMES FAULKNER. 197 In the month of May, 1829, he became a resi- dent of Dansville, N. Y., for the remainder of his life. Here he opened a hat, fur and dry goods store, and commenced business for himself. As we have said in another place, his prompt, energetic, industrious business habits and his in- tegrity, brought an abundant reward and gave him a high position among the business men of Living- ston county. To his enterprise and public spirit Dansville is largely indebted for its prosperity and beauty. Among the monuments that perpetuate his memory and evince his public spirit is the fine, tasteful and very commodious hotel edifice which bears his name. He was a man of much more than ordinary intellectual strength. His intelli- gence and rapid perceptive powers were proverbi- ally practical and always at his command. Out- spoken, honest, direct, and yet courteous in his in- tercourse with his fellow-citizens, he always had their confidence and esteem, subject, of course, to the criticism which rivalry in business always en- genders, but which ends with the occasion. In the autumn of i860 he was elected Member of Assembly from Livingston county. In that dis- tinguished body his large fund of information, his ready and acceptable use of language and tact in debate, his uncompromising honor and sense of right, and his independence of character gave him a high position among his fellow legislators, ren- dering his public services of great value to his con- stituents. In his political faith he was at first a Whig, and then a Republican. He was a zealous, untiring partisan ; but his zeal was tempered by a moder- ation and sagacity which enlarged his influence and usefulness. The native eloquence which disting- uished him often exhibited itself during active cam- paigns in brief, pointed and stirring addresses from the political rostrum, to which he was often called by his fellow citizens. He was never known to ask for an office. It is true he once held the office of Postmaster for a brief period, but when Andrew Johnson, who was then president, entered upon his policy, Mr. Hyland openly denounced it, though he knew the consequences would be the loss of the office he held. When elected to the Assembly, the position was tendered him by an unexpected and nearly unanimous nomination. In his dealing with men he was exact, and prompt. Having once lost confidence in a person it required a long probation of good conduct to restore it. He had strong prejudices, but they were balanced by equally strong and generous sym- pathies. This brings us to say that he was a bitter, aggressive enemy, but a warm and liberal friend. There was a sort of humorous method in his likes and dislikes which exhibited the lights and shades of his character just as the angles of a diamond exhibit its brilliancy. He was not regarded as a close man in pecun- iary matters. We have known repeated instances of Mr. Hyland's lenity to persons indebted to him, amounting nearly to a discharge of the demand. We are quite sure that there are many who are indebted to his relieving hand, extended in the hour of dark adversity, for the prosperity and hap- piness which they and their families now enjoy. Indeed, we know of several in whose eyes moist jewels of gratitude will gather as they read these lines, for his acts of kindness : — "Which leave upon the silent shore Of memory, images and precious thoughts That shall not die, and cannot be destroyed." Mr. Hyland often exhibited the generous im- pulses of his nature. There are many who have been recipients of his bounty and yet ignorant of the hand that gave them. Modest and unassuming himself, he disliked all attempts at display in others. A modest, unpre- tending man in home-spun clothes would gain his respect, while a conceited, meritorious person though in a genteel dress, was sure to meet his contempt. On August 15th, 1833, Mr. Hyland was united in marriage to Sarah, daughter of Maj. Tom Lemen, the widow of Jacob Sholl. Mrs. Hyland possessed all those amiable traits of character which adorn her sex. In her relations to society she so deported herself as to gain the esteem of all who knew her. As a wife and mother she was affectionate, consid- erate and faithful. She was born February 28th, 1778, and died Sept. 1st, 1866. The death of few persons have been more sincerely lamented than Mrs. Hyland's, few persons have a stronger abiding place in the memory of surviving friends than she. It is therefore needless to add that Mr. Hyland's marriage was the source of much happiness to him. There were three children born to Mr. and Mrs. Hyland. One of these was a daughter who died very young. Col. George Hyland, a gallant officer in the recent war for the Union, and subsequently Sheriff of Livingston county — a leading and dis- tinguished citizen, — and John Hyland, Esq., the present Postmaster of Dansville — a citizen of the highest intelligence, generally esteemed for his high sense of honor, his geniality and enterprise — are sons of Mr. Hyland, who survive him. DR. JAMES FAULKNER. James Faulkner is nearly the sole survivor of that adventurous band, who, in the flush and ani- mation of youth penetrated the wilderness of Western New York — a pioneer, who made his home among the red men of the forest, who aided in erecting churches, school houses, stores and facto- ries where he had seen the council fires of the Indians light up the unbroken wilderness. Hence, through him one generation speaks its thoughts, feelings and appeals to another. The reminis- cences of his early days, lighted up by keen observa- tion and perpetuated by a remarkably retentive memory and an intelligent relation — his recollec- tion of the distinguished men who were his cotem- poraries, form a history as instructive as it is enter- taining. 198 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. His paternal grandfather emigrated from Ireland to America before the Revolutionary war and set- tled in New Jersey. In the year 1784 he removed from New Jersey to Cambridge, Washington county, where he purchased a large trad of land and became a leading farmer and business man of that county. He was the father of several sons. His third was Samuel, who was the father of the subject of this sketch. His eldest son was Daniel Faulkner, who. in the year 1796, laid out the village of Dansville and from whom it received its name. His second son was Judge James Faulkner, who re- ceived a liberal education, entered the medical pro- fession, becoming an eminent physician and sur- geon. Immediately after receiving his medical di- pl i he settled at Painted Post, Steuben county, N. Y. His fame as a physician and surgeon, his rare and versatile talents, his learning, and knowl- edge of men and the springs of human nature gave him a conspicuous place in public affairs. In January, 1803, he was appointed First Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Steuben county, by Gen. Ceorge Clinton, then Governor of the state of New York. Though not bred to the bar, In- possessed many accomplishments that qualified him for the high judii i.il position to which he was appointed. He presided over the Steuben county courts until February, 1 8 1 3 , — a period of ten years — when he resigned his office and retired to private life. Dr. James Faulkner was born at Cambridge, Washington count), January 21, 1790. He is a son of Samuel and Catharine Faulkner. His father w;is a farmer, a man of intelligence, possess- ing great energy, industry and probity of character, lb- married Catherine Phoenix, the daughter of a highly reputable citizen of Cambridge — a woman greatly beloved by all who knew her — a model wife and mother. When James was six years of age his lather removed with his family to Dansville, N. Y. As they were leaving for this, then distant region, at least two hundred miles to the westward— to them the far West — their friends bade them a tear- ful farewell, under the conviction that so distant was their place of destination, so fatiguing and dangerous their journey — most of the way through a dense wilderness — that they would never meet them again in life. What a change time has wrought in overcoming distance. Now Dansville is but a few hours' distant from Washington county, and a journey to tin' most distant parts of the con- tinent can lie made in much less time than thejour- ney of a few hundred miles undertaken by the lather of Dr. Faulkner in 1796. He was ten days on the road, reaching Dansville, January 8th, 1797. In the year [801, young Faulkner became a resi- dent — with his father — of Geneseo, N. Y. Here he resided until the year 1805. when the elder Faulkner died. fudge Faulkner, whom we have described, an uncle of James', pleased with his intelligence and promise, immediately adopted him as his son, educated him and prepared him to enter the pro- fession of medicine. In the year 1810, young Faulkner entered the college of Physicians and Surgeons of the city of New York, from whence he was graduated in March. 1812. Immediately after receiving his medical diploma he returned to Dans- ville and commenced the successful practice of his profession. In June, 1812, he was united by mar riage to Miss Minerva Hammond, a daughter of Am. 111, ih Hammond, a pioneer settler.au eminent, respected and wealthy citizen of Dansville. In the year 1815 Dr. Faulkner became the pur- chaser of an extensive paper-mill in Dansville. and about the same time, he purchased a large tract of land, a great part of which is now within the limits of the village. The consideration of these pur- chases amounted to a large sum of money, exceed- ing his means by at least $16,000. The prompt manner in which Dr. Faulkner paid off this large indebtedness, is an eloquent tribute to his energy, ability and enterprise. But the details of his large and increasing business made such importunate de- mands upon his time that he was compelled to abandon his profession ; though su< h was his reputation as a physician and surgeon, that, for many years, he was frequently called to counsel with the physicians in the village and in the sur- rounding country. The paper-mill to which we have alluded is still standing on the estate of I >r. Faulkner, in the western part of the village, a landmark of the past and a monument of the early enterprise of its owner. For many years it was one of the princi- pal paper manufactories of Western New York. There are many still living who remember the pic- ture of the old mill, which embellished the thous- ands of reams of paper that found their way into most of the wholesale and retail stores of the North- ern States. This mill was operated by Dr. Faulkner, with great pecuniary success, until the year 1839, when it was converted into a large tannery. Many years ago Dr. Faulkner erected the large flouring- mill, which has been conducted with such success by his son-in-law, John C. Williams, that the Hour he has manufactured in it has attained precedence over all other brands in Western New York. Dr. Faulkner's mental qualities were combined with and regulated by an intelligence so rarely at fault, as to place him at the head of the business men of the county, and enabled him to am;:ss .t large fortune. The times and the condition of the country demanded men like him, to develope its resources. Another remarkable mental feature in Dr. Faulkner is his iron will. This, joined to his svs tematic mind and well-poised prudence, preserved him from that redundancy of enterprise which so often embarrass and defeat the efforts of the brightest business intellects. It would be strange, indeed, if a mind consti- tuted like his should remain inactive in politics. By the very make of his nature, and by the •■tunes ol the times," he was forced into the political arena — though he was never a place seeker. As his powers of organization and combination DR. JAMES FAULKNER. 199 were unsurpassed, by common consent he was a field officer in the battle line of politics. He en- tered active life a few years after the great triumph of Jefferson and Democracy over the great aristo- cratic Federal party, and his political faith was founded on the principles of the great apostles of popular rights. In other words, he has always been a Jeffersonian Democrat. In his political career he was the friend and compeer of illustrious men of the past, whose names are embalmed in their country's history. Even now, at his ad- vanced age, his memory of those men and the stir- ring events which marked their career, is clear and distinct, and his description of them is pleasing, suggestive and instructive. Martin Van Buren was his counsel in an important law-suit in which he was interested, and which terminated in that great tribunal of last resort — the Court for the Correc- tion of Errors. Dr. Faulkner's description of Van Buren's person reminds one of Boswell's descrip- tion of Wilberforce when addressing the electors of his district from the hustings. " I saw," said he, "what seemed a mere shrimp mount the platform ; and I wondered what he could say ; but, as I lis- tened to him, such was his eloquence, that he grew and grew, until the shrimp became a whale." In the spring of 1815 James Faulkner was elected Supervisor of the town of Sparta, which then embraced the territory now included in the towns of Dansville, West Sparta and Sparta, all of which then belonged to the county of Steuben. By nearly continuous elections he continued to represent Sparta in the Board of Supervisors of Steuben county until the year 1821, when that town was annexed to Livingston county. After this he represented the town so many years, that to use his own language, " I have almost forgot their number." In the autumn of 1824 Dr. Faulkner was elected Member of Assembly from Livingston county, taking his seat in that body January 4th, 1825. In the fall of that year he was reelected and com- menced his second Legislative term on the 3d of January, 1826. The celebrated Samuel Young so conspicuous in the history of the State, was speaker of the house. Dr. Faulkner became a favorite and friend of Col. Young. The 1 >octor's description of him is so characteristic that we can not refrain from giving it a place in our history. " He was to most people like a crab apple, sour, bitter and tough, — as pure as the purest ; his intel- lect was as keen as he was crabbed and pure. To his friends, however, he was as sweet and as gentle as a woman." No description of Col. Young that has ever been written exceeds this in truth. In the Legislative session of 1825 Faulkner made the acquaintance of the illustrious statesman and orator, Silas Wright, who was then a member of the State Senate from the county of St. Law- rence. The friendship that there commenced between himself and Mr. Wright was never changed by any vicissitudes of time or of changes in others. In- deed it grew brighter with the lapse of years. Among the other distinguished men who are enrolled on Dr. Faulkner's list of early friends are Gen. Erastus Root, a historic character in the State and Nation, William L. Marcy, the first of American statesman, John C. Spencer, the illus- trious lawyer, legislator and adviser. In April, 1826, Dr. Faulkner retired from his legislative duties to private life, and from that time until 1842 he devoted himself exclusively to the details of his business. It is a truthful saying that it requires more real talent, more executive ability, to become a successful business man than it does to become eminent in any of the professions. In his career as a business man, as we have already said, Dr. Faulkner stood preeminent. With all his assiduous attention to business, Dr. Faulkner continued a moving and controlling power in the political field. Whenever the Demo- cratic forces mustered, obedient to the Slogan cry of their party, Dr. Faulkner was foremost in the marching column, always leading the charge — always confident of victory, and if defeated always ready for another charge. In the fall of 1842, he was nominated for the office of State Senator from the then Sixth Senato- rial District, which consisted of the counties of Chenango, Chemung, Tioga, Steuben, Livingston and Allegany. After a desperate political contest he was elected and commenced his Senatorial duties January 3d, 1843. He continued in the Senate until April 18th, 1846, when he retired from public life to the duties of business, never again to leave those duties. We should have stated that in February, 1835, Dr. Faulkner was appointed an Associate Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Livingston county, by his early friend William L. Marcy, who was then Governor of the State. William H. Smith, of Caledonia, was the First, or presiding Judge of that Court, and that honored citizen of Livingston county, Dr. David H. Bissell, of Geneseo, was one of Dr. Faulkner's associates on the Bench, he having been appointed to that position by Mr. Marcy. It is no affectation to say, that the Court of Common Pleas presided over by Smith, Faulk- ner and Bissell was a tribunal that gained the respect of the bar and the public to an almost un- precedented degree. When Dr. Faulkner was elected to the Senate, he resigned his Judicial position. Though Dr. Faulkner never in any sense aspired to the role of orator, he was one of those who could gain influence and usefulness without much speak- ing, and as a legislator he left upon Jhe records of the Senate and Assembly indubitable evidence of his ability and usefulness. We have omitted one recognition, James Faulk- ner's ability as a physician and surgeon, that should have a place in these memoirs. In the year 1813, during the war with England he was appointed on the staff of Gen. McClure, and with that officer moved to the seat of war on the northern frontier. His associates on that staff subsequently ranked among the most distinguished men of their times. HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Among them was William B. Rochester, John C. Spencer and David Cruger. Such is the outline history of the more public life of James Faulkner. He has always been a strong, often a bitter partisan. For this we com- mend him ; for the man who is not a strong par- tisan is without convictions, or if he has convic- tions, he is false to them and to his friends. 1 >r. Faulkner never knew how to be hypocritical; nor how to apostatize ; nor how to "keep the word of promise to the ear and break it to the hope," always acting his honest convictions without fear of consequences. He is, however, a systematic hater, and has always tendered his enemies a square battle. With him the contest always went on until defeat or victory terminated it, and he was ever ready to give and receive blows until the last. He was always for a clean victory or clean defeat. Dr. Faulkner has always been retiring and un- ostentatious in his life and in his manners, and he has never sought that general acquaintance and no- toriety in which persons differently constituted find delight; but those who do enjoy his confidence and esteem understand that though not demonstra- tive his friendship is strong and enduring, and by such he is beloved. There is something like coldness and reserve in his exterior; but those who are best acquainted with him see in this a contempt of meaningless professions, and beneath it a generous nature and a warm heart. Through life lie has been the dis- penser of charities, most of them known only to himself and their recipients. In his public career, though long and prominent, there was nothing that was impure — nothing that detracted from the strict- est morality. In the fierce battle of life he has been success- ful, and now at a ripe old age, with his work well done, in the sanctity of his domestic relations the sun of his life is descending with pleasing mem- ories and an abiding hope and confidence that when the day of life shall close forever, another will dawn in a world of happy immortality. In his domestic relations, Dr. Faulkner has every reason to congratulate himself, though death has taken his beloved and affectionate wife and four of his children out of the seven who have been born to him. Seldom has there been a fam- ily of children who have reflected more honor upon parents than those of Dr. and Mrs. Faulkner, as a plain, unvarnished reference to some of them will show. Endress, born in 1819, after graduating with distinction at Yale College, entered the legal pro- fession, and after winning high distinction at the bar, died at the early age of t,?,- Samuel Dorr Faulkner, born November 14th, 1835, like his brother Endress, was graduated at Yale College, in the class of 1859. Afterwards he prepared for the bar at the Albany Law School and was admit- ted to practice in January, i860. He arose rapidly in his profession, and attained high distinction as a legal and political orator. These attainments gave him a high rank among the leaders of the Democratic party of the State — the party to which he gave an intellectual and abiding allegiance. In the autumn of 1865, he was nominated by his party for Member of Assembly for the Second Assembly district of Livingston county. He was triumphantly elected over his opponent, though supported by a heavy majority. In the fall of 1S71 he was nominated by his party for the office of County Judge, and was elected over a Republi- can majority of at least twelve hundred. In the fall of 1877 he was reelected County Judge, but hardly had he closed the first year of his second Judicial term when death terminated his useful and brilliant career. James Faulkner, Jr., was also a graduate of Vale, in the class of 1859. Having no predelictions for any of the learned professions, like his father, he decided to adopt the avocation of a business man. choosing the occupation of a banker. Very soon after leaving college he accepted the position of cashier of the First National Bank of Dansville, which he still occupies. The manner in which he- has discharged his duties is attested by the high rank which his bank holds among the financial in- stitutions of the State. Generous, genial, kind and unassuming, he is a favorite with his fellow-citizens, so that we may say without extravagance that few young men have more friends than James Faulkner, Jr. He is an ardent and influential Democrat — a leader of his party, and yet never intruding his principles offensively upon his Republican oppo- nents. The manner in which his abilities have been recognized, is evidenced by the fact that he has repeatedly been elected supervisor of his town, and by the fact that in the autumn of 1874 he was • elected member of Assembly by the Democracy of Livingston county, a county where the Republicans have a large majority. He is the only democrat except his father and his brother, Hon. S. D. Faulk- ner, that ever was elected to the legislature from Livingston county. The next year he was again nominated and elected by his party. It is a singu- lar coincidence that he took his seat in the legisla- ture for the first time, January 4th, 1875 — j ust fifty years to a day after his father had taken his seat in the same body, and that he drew seat No. 99, the very seat drawn by his father, January 4th, 1825. During his first legislative term he was chairman of the Insurance Committee,— a member of the Com- mittee on Expenditures of the House, member of the Committee on Public Education. He was chairman also of the Assembly Committee ap- pointed to investigate the great Canal frauds. The next year the house was Republican, but Mr. Faulkner was honorably considered by the Speaker, Mr. Husted, by being placed on the Committee of Ways and Means, the Insurance Committee, and on the Committee on the Rules of the House. Gen. Lester />'. Faulkner is the youngest of Dr. Faulkner's children. Like his brothers, Endress, Samuel and James, he is a graduate of Yale Col- lege-class of 1859, a lawyer by profession, the senior member of the distinguished firm of Faulk- MEftfcfTT M. BROWN.- io\ net & iissglij of Bansvilig ; 6en ; Faulkner wen fflu§h distinction as an officer in the Union army; Hg was rapidly proitietgd frem a private t§ the rank of Captain and to that of Lieutenant-C'eienei: At the close of the Wat he returned to the duties of His profession. Like his father and brothers, he keeps the faith of the Democracy in undeviating belief and practice. Bold, ardent, ambitious, gifted and eiequent, he ha§ attained a Itate repu- tatien as politician. Indeed, though yet a young man: he i§ regarded a§ the leader of the Demo rratir party in the Itatg: Jn the fall ef iS^ahewas chosen chairman of the State Democratic Com- mittee. As a recognition of his ability as a political leader, he was re-elected to that high and responsi- ble position, a position which he now occupies. MERRITT HOLMES BROWN. Merritt Holmes Brown was born at Bennington, Vt., Oct. 20, 1806. He was a son of Merritt Brown. a native of Connect- icut, w h o, in early life, removed to Ben- nington, and subse- quently in the year 1 818, settled at Dans- ville, in this county. Here he spent the remainder of his life. He was a man of sterling integrity, and strong native good sense; a love of jus- tice and a high sense of honor were pre- vailing traits in his character. To these qualities may well be added that piety whose constant du- ties are enjoined by the dictates of con- science; he worship- ed and revered God in 110 noisy demon- Photo, by Belts, Dansville. strations but in the (merritt holmes brown.) fullness of moral excellence, in spiritual light and in true devotion, unassumingly and humbly exhibited. He was one of the early postmasters of the vil- lage. For many years he discharged, in an ac- ceptable manner, the duties of a magistrate of the town of Dansville. Though Mr. Brown bore a name so common in the nation, he was the only representative of his own family in this county, his ancestry having emigrated to America from Eng- land at an early period in the nation's history. Few man ever lived a more useful or a more blameless life in their sphere of action than Mer- ritt Brown. He lived at a very advanced age be- loved and respected by all who knew him. As he came to Livingston county three years before its present territory was formed into its present County organization, he was one of its honored pioneers — a race of enterprising men who laid the foundation of its present unexampled wealth and prosperity — whose toil, hardship, useful- ness and moral worth have passed into history. Mr. Brown died at Dansville. Merritt H. Brown, his son, to whose life these pages are de- voted, removed with his father to Dans- ville when in his 13th year. Here he re- ceived a good Eng- lish and business ed- ucation which ren- dered him fully qual- ified to enter suc- cessfully into the labor, competition and struggles of the business world, ami therefore his name is identified with that class of business men who gave to Dans- ville its high rank and prosperity. For upwards o f thirty-five years he was known as a lead- ing hardware merchant and manufacturer. In his more active life, Dansville was the most important business centre between Rochester and Northern Pennsylvania. Hence he drew customers and patrons, not only from the adjoining counties, but even from Pennsylvania. With such prudence, judgment, unflagging indus- try and success did he conduct his business that a handsome competency was his reward, every cent of which was honestly and honorably gained. Mr. Brown possessed qualities of head and heart that naturally made him many friends. His genial and sunny nature, his rare social qualities, acknowl- edged courtesy and never-failing good humor, will long be fondly remembered in Dansville. He had a kind word for all who approached him, espec- ially for those who, amid life's vicissitudes, were unfortunate. To this class he recommended him- self by those nameless acts of kindness and charity HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. unknown to the world, performed, as it were, by the right hand all unknown to the left. Like his father, Merritt H. Brown was a Demo- crat of the true Jeffersonian school — -whose creed is " the greatest good to the greatest numbers." These principles always found in him a zealous, but never a captious or troublesome advocate. Though strongly and ardently devoted to his party, he was never, in any sense, a place or office- seeker. His business interests were so important, so absorbing that he found no time to look after official position for himself. He felt that the life of a mere political office-seeker, even at the best, is dangerous, if not dishonorable; successful to-day — to-morrow disastrous and unfortunate. He was often solicited to accept nominations for official positions by his friends, but always respectfully and firmly declined. The only exceptions to this was when, at the request of his friends, and after much hesitation, he accepted the position of Postmaster of the vil- lage for two successive terms. In the year 1829 Mr. Brown was united by marriage to Miss Arvilla Danforth, a daughter of Jonathan Danforth of Saratoga, N. Y. Few mar- riage relations have proved happier than this. Mrs. Brown, who still survives him, unites in her char- acter those estimable qualities which in a wife and mother adorn the character of a true woman with such infinite grace and attraction. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Brown, six of whom are still living, and we assert fearless of contradiction, that a happier household than theirs was never vouchsafed to the married re- lation. It was a home where the love of the par- ents was reciprocally and tenderly blessed with those of the children. To Mr. Brown his home was his all. It was his empire, where was centered all his ambition, — all his hopes. That he should make that home as happy as the happiest, is a natural sequence of his nature and of his manner of life. As has well been said " he always wanted his children about his fireside." "( )ne vacant chair" there rendered him unhappy, even though he knew its occupant was only temporarily absent. Whatever tended to the educational, religious, or business advancement of the village, always found in Mr. Brown a liber- al advocate. Several years before his death he erected the large commodious brick store standing on the east side of Main street, occupying the north-east cor- ner of Main and Ossian streets, Dansville. Here for many years he was the senior partner in the well known and flourishing hardware house of Brown & Grant. In the year 1S47 Mr. Brown became one of the proprietors in the well known foundry and agricul- tural works of S. Sweet & Co., in Dansville. He retained his interest therein down to the time of his death in 1864. Merritt H.Brown died at Dansville on the 2 7 th day of June, 1864, in the 55th year of his age. To his family, — of which it is needless for us to add, he was the idol — his death was an almost over- whelming blow. To the village it was an irrepar- able loss, for it took from their business circles one of its prominent supporters. Alas .' how many of his friends, associates, and compeers in business, have followed him to that beautiful resting place where the fragrant flowers of spring, summer and early autumn, keep watch and ward, and whose pure breath is the incense which undying affection offers to their memory. .Mr. Brown's highly esteemed consort still pre- sides over the family mansion, where she enjoyed with him and her children, so many happy years, and where her loved husband left her and them for " that better land." On the whole we may say of Merritt H. Brown that his well spent, useful life, devoted as it was to the business interests of Livingston county, has appropriately prepared for him a place in its hon- ored historic record. ARCHELAUS STEYFNS. Pip ' So**" Photo, by Bctts, Dansville. (ARCHELAUS STEVENS.) James and Affa (Hoyt) Stevens, the parents of the subject of this brief memoir, were natives of New Hampshire. The former was of English ex- traction, born in 1757, and brought up a farmer. He served his country in the war of Independence, under the command of Gen. Gates. His eldest child, Mrs. Ruth Whitmore, of Boston, is yet living at the great age of ninety-eight years. Archelaus was born in Enfield, Grafton county, New Hampshire, May 1, 1790. Early designed for the profession of medicine, he took an Academ- ic course at Salsbury Academy, and then entered Dartmouth College. After leaving there he work- ed on his father's farm, until finding his physical condition unsuited for manual labor, he adopted ARCHELAUS STEVENS — A. O. BUNNELL. 2 03 the profession of teaching. His high testimonials for proficiency in mathematics and English litera- ture, enabling him, at the early age of eighteen years, to obtain the confidence of the people wherever he taught, who considered him an accom- plished educator. In 1814, he was married to Sally, eldest daugh- ter of Ben Gage, of Enfield, N. H., and in 181 7 emigrated to Pennsylvania. Remaining there four years, they removed to Ithaca, N. Y., where he followed farming and teaching for a few years, when the precarious condition of his health com- pelled him to choose some other occupation. In 1827, he was appointed by Governor Clinton, Pay- master of the 183d Regiment of Infantry, and in 1829, receiving an honorable discharge, he entered into partnership with a firm in Cortland, N. Y., for the manufacture of paper; but a prospect of fail- ure induced him to withdraw in time to save him- self from loss. In 1834 he undertook the intro- duction of Lyman Cobb's series of school-books in the vicinity of New York, and in 1836 moved to Dansville, where he opened a book printing and binding establishment, publishing Cobb's school books. In 1839, Mr. Stevens, in company with the late Dr. Reynale, erected the first three-story building ever built in Dansville, and in the second story of this, the Second Presbyterian church, of which Mr. Stevens and his family were members, held services for three years. In the fall of 1846, he built a second three-story building, south of the first one. He took an active part in all improve- ments of the village, and was earnest in advocat- ing such principles as would lead to the advance- ment of morality. In 1842, he published the Dansville Whig in company with his son, G. W. Stevens. Finally the publication passed into the hands of the latter, when it was changed to The Western New Yorker, and edited by Rev. John N. Hubbard. In 1850, Mr. Stevens moved to New York city and remained there eleven years, return- ing in 1 86 1, with his wife and youngest child to Dansville, where he passed the remainder of his life; and finally, January 8, 1876, with implicit trust in God, yielded up his spirit to his Maker. The revered wife and mother survived her hus- band ten years. She was an intelligent, energetic and prudent woman, possessing largely the Chris- tian graces, and contributed much hy her wise counsel to the success of her husband and children. Three of his children died in infancy, and his eld- est daughter, a teacher of high reputation and wife of Rev. James Bonsell, died in California. His second son, Dr. H. M. Stevens, after having attended three courses of medical lectures in differ- ent cities, with an ambition too great for his physi- cal organization, was stricken with disease when just entering on the practice of medicine, and after lingering several years, died in the city of New York, at the age of thirty-four. The two remaining sons emigrated to California in 1856. George settled in Oakland, for many years owned a large printing office in San Francis- co where he continued the business of printing I and publishing. William, the youngest son, settled in Nevada, where he laid out the town of Winne- mucca on the Pacific railroad. There he was elected to many town offices, and for several years was Chairman of the State Central Republican delegation. Through his influence the county seat of Humboldt county was removed to Winne- mucca, where he has accumulated a competency. Two of the daughters are still living in Dansville, with the only surviving grandchild of Archelaus Stevens, Eftie L. White. A. O. BUNNELL. A. O. Bunnell, of Dansville, N. Y., was born in Lima, Livingston county, N. Y., March 10th, 1836. His father, Dennis Bunnell, was the youngest of seven children of Jehiel Bunnell, of Cheshire, Con- necticut, one of an old and prominent family of that name. Jehiel Bunnell's wife was a Hotchkiss, also prominent in the early history of Connecticut. In 1819 Jehiel Bunnell came with his large family to Western New York, and four years later settled in Lima, where he died in 1844. Dennis, in his 75 th year, is the only surviving member of the family which left Connecticut in 1819. The mother of A. O. Bunnell was Mary Baker, who was the daughter of James Baker, a sturdy pioneer woodsman and hunter. James Baker's wife was Mary Parker, the elder sister of the three celebrated pioneer Methodist circuit preachers of Western New York, Revs. Robert, Samuel and John Parker, all of whom are now dead. A. O. Bunnell came to Dansville with his father's family, in 1850, and has since resided there with the exception of one year at Rockford, 111., where he set the first type for the Rockford Register. He received a limited education in the common schools. He was obliged to leave school at the early age of 15 years, and at once set about win- ning his way by entering the office of the Danszulle Herald, as an apprentice. In i860 he established the Dansville Advertiser, which he still publishes and edits. He has never sought nor held political place, preferring a printing office above all other offices. Since 1868 he has been secretary and treasurer of the New York Press Association, and this honor at the hands of his fellow journalists he esteems above all others. Major Mark J. Bunnell, a younger brother of A. O. Bunnell, was born in Lima, N. Y., Christ- mas day, 1837, and came to Dansville in 1850. He was one of the first to enlist as a private soldier in April, 186 1, as a member of the "Old Thir- teenth New York," and was rapidly promoted in that regiment for gallant conduct on the field. At the second battle of Bull Run, in 1862, he was shot through both lungs and received a bullet wound through his thigh and a shell wound on the foot. In this condition he lay in the hands of the enemy for nine days, his only mattress the green grass, and his only covering the branches of a 204 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. friendly tree. Remarkable as it may appear, he recovered, and to-day enjoys a fair degree of health and strength. His case attracted the at- tention of the most eminent army surgeons in Washington. After his recovery, Major Bunnell had charge of the provost guard of Washington, and was made personally responsible for vast millitary stores and for the safety of the Long Bridge over the Potomac. After the war, he spent his winters in Washington, first occupying a position in the Doorkeeper's department of the House, and afterwards as assistant to the Sergeant- at Arms in the Senate. The latter position he resigned in December, 1880, to assume the responsibilities of County Clerk of Livingston county, to which position he had been elected by a large Republican majority at the November election. GEORGE ZERFASS. (GEORGE ZERFASS.) George Zerfass, the subject of this sketch was born in Northampton county, Pa., the 28th of January, 1805. He was a son of Abraham and Hannah (Kanause) Zerfass. The former was born in Northampton county, Pa., the 27th of No- vember, 1772, and the latter was born in the same county January 23, 1783. The parents of Abra- ham were Adam and Elizabeth Zerfass. They came from German)- when they were quite young. The former was born in 1742, and the latter was born Feb. 11, 1746. Adam was a Captain in the Revolutionary army and was in the battle of Germantown and Brandywine, and after the close of the war of Independence he was engaged in fighting the Indians. Adam and Elizabeth died in Pennsylvania, in the early part of the present century. Abraham Zerfass and Hannah Kanause, were married the 19th of April, 1802, and came to Steu- ben county, now Livingston county, and located at Dansville in 1813. Here they followed farming until they died, the former Dec. 17, 1837, and the hater Feb. 4, 1845. They had twelve children — as follows : — Elizabeth, (dead,) George, our subject, Hannah, (dead,) Abraham, (dead,) Mary, living,) Saloma, (dead,) John, (living.) Vienna, (living.) Lydia, (dead,) Margaret, (living,) Henry, (living,) and Anna, (dead.) Six of these children are yet living and residing near Dansville, except Mary now residing in Wisconsin. The children all lived at home until they died or started out in life for themselves. Their education was such as could be obtained in the common schools of their town, and was very limited. George never left the parental roof, but remained at home assisting his father until the latter died, when he bought the old home farm and settled up with the rest of the heirs. He lived in the old house until 1858, at which time he moved into the handsome edifice he finished that year and which he occupies at the present time. Owing to (POLLY ZERFASS.) a paralytic shock received the 24th of April, 187S, he has been unable to manage his farm and since that time it has been operated by his brother Henry. The 1 2th of April, 1838, George was united in marriage with Polly Kanause, daughter of George and Elizabeth (Driesbach) Kanause of Dansville. She was born in Steuben county the 15th of Jan., 1819, and died February 23d, 1872. In the death of his wife Mr. Zerfass met with a loss almost un- bearable. She was a careful, economical helpmeet and loving wife, and was respected by all who knew her. Mr. Zerfass cheerfully concedes that to her he is greatly indebted for much of his success. They had no children that grew up. Mr. Zerfass has never been an aspirant for pub- lic trusts, but has been elected to the office of as- sessor for two years, and highway commissioner three years. He is a life-long Democrat, but in GEORGE ZERFASS — LUCIAN BROCK PROCTOR. 205 home affairs he gives his suffrage to the man or men he deems best qualified for the various offices. In religious sentiment he is a Lutheran and was a member of the German Lutheran Church of Dans- ville many years. He was a trustee of that church several years and Deacon of the same six years. Mr. Zerfass has passed with honor through all the vicissitudes of life, and, has lived to see the County of Livingston develop from almost a wil- derness into one of the finest agricultural districts in the State. He has been successful in life and is enjoying in his old age a competency, the result of a long life of industry, economy and honorable dealing. LUCIAN BROCK PROCTOR. L u c i a n Brock Proctor, extensively known as an author and lawyer, was born at Hanover, N. H., March 6, 1823. His parents were Jona- than and Ruth Proc- tor, both natives of the Granite State — the descendants of a long line of English ancestry. Some of their more direct an- cestors came to America as early as 1 602 and 1 6 1 o . Those on the pa- ternal side settled at Salem, Mass. ; those on the maternal at Concord, N. H. Mr. Proctor's mother was Ruth Carter, of Concord, a daughter of Jacob Carter, an eminent citizen of that place, and an officer in the Continental army phoio. by B c tts, Dansviiie. during the war of (LUCIAN brock proctor) the Revolution. She received, in her youth, every educational advantage of her times, was a woman of strong native intellect and the possessor of those admirable qualities that rendered her all that was requisite in a wife and mother. To her early in- struction, to the principles instilled into his young mind by her, to her as intellectual guide, Mr. Proctor is largely indebted for whatever mental strength he possesses. His father was a man of unassuming habits, with unsullied reputation, pos- sessing intelligence and cultivation which was modestly exhibited only to those who knew him best. Mr. Proctor's paternal grandfather and great- grandfather, also his maternal grandfather were in the battle of Bunker Hill, and at Bennington, where his great-grandfather was mortally wounded. One of Mr. Proctor's maternal uncles was the late Nathaniel H. Carter, for several years Professor of Greek and Latin in Dartmouth College. He sub- sequently removed to New York city, where he became an inti- mate friend of I le Witt Clinton. As Mr. Carter was a distinguished writer as well as scholar, he soon became editor- in-chief of the New York Standard and Statesman, then one of the leading jour- nals of the Nation. He was one of that brilliant literary co- terie to which Bryant, Morris, Percival and other distinguished personages belonged. He has left many valuable works, the productions of h i s pen, both in prose and poetry, among which is that justly admired poem, " The Burial at Sea." He- died at an early age at Venice, in Italy. When he was five years old young Proctor removed with his parents from New Hampshire to this State, and after a short residence in Oneida and Chenango counties settled at Auburn, N. Y., where, for several years, he conducted a large manufactory of edge tools. At a very early age young Proctor exhibited a love of study, making books his companions, when so young that he was apparently unable to compre- hend their contents. With these he would withdraw from his companions, spending hours in devouring their contents. It is related of him that when in his ninth year he persuaded his father to fit him up a room in his house for a study where he was often found at mid- night engaged with his books. About this time he commenced the study of Latin under the instruction of Rev. N. Gould a Presbyterian clergyman and a ripe scholar, and an apt teacher. Such was the progress of the boy that within a very short period, he mastered Virgil. Sal 206 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. lust, Cicero and Horace. It is said that nothing ever gave him so much intellectual pleasure, as the Catilmarian and Yerrine Orations of Cicero, which even at that early age, he read in the original with perfect ease and correctness. When twelve years uld lit- entered Auburn Academy, where lie prepared to enter the junior class in Hamilton College. Hut as he intended to make the legal profession his future occupation in life, he decided to enter at once upon his legal studies, determined to continue Ins ( lassical Studies at the same time. This he did with a never-failing determination and success. 1 'o him solitary study has always been perfectly natural and he has never neglected it. While Proctor was at the Auburn Academy. Rev. Samuel H. Cox, D. D., one of the most ac- complished clergymen of his day, was Professor of Sac red Rhetoric and Belles Lettres in the Auburn Theological Seminary. Through the influence of friends, young Proi tor was admitted to the Rhetor- ical lectures of I )r. Cox. For over two years he enjoyed this rare advantage with a profit that has always been of great value to him. In those days the young man, with the view of becoming a lawyer, used to spend much of his leisure time in the office of Hon. William H. Seward, who was then approaching that distinction as a lawyer, orator and politician, which, in after years, rendered his name so illustrious. Pleased with the industry, mental qualities ami genial nature of young Proctor, Mr. Seward en- couraged him in his studies. As Seward himself had been an accomplished classical teacher, he could not avoid taking an interest in the young man's education. Perhaps nothing so tended more directly to elicit the mental powers of Proctor than his early acquaintance with this great statesman. He used to see and admire Seward in his contests at the bar, with such men as B. Davis Noxon, 1 >aniel Cady, James R. Lawrence, Freeborn J. J en el t and other giants of the bar. In the autumn of 1838, young Proctor was sent by his preceptor to Angelica, N. Y., on business for him. It was on this occasion that he made the acquaintance of Martin drover, an acquaintance that continued until the splendid career of that eminent jurist closed in death. It is well-known that in his early career, and for many years, he dressed so regardless of good taste — we may say of respectability — that he was called the "ragged lawyer." So indifferent was he to his wardrobe, that on his appearance in courts where he was not known he would be taken for a poorly dressed in- truder, but the moment he began to address the court or jury, such was his eloquence that his dress was forgotten in the richness of his mental attain- ments. It is a singular fact that even in those days he was comparatively wealthy. The following ex- tract from Proctor's description of Grover, which has been extensively published in various maga- zines and journals, will give the reader a correct idea of the appearance of this singular man: — 11 Winn I lirs! s.iw Martin Grover," says Proctor, " he was engaged with his law partner, the late Judge u logel, in the trial of a very important criminal case. They were on the defense. In the bar. not far from Judge Angel, sat a poorly dressed young man, whom I took fol a tnend f her it may well be said : "All who know her love her." Two children were born of this marriage, — a son and daughter. The son is Dr. W. C. Proctor of Oowanda, N. Y., successfully established in the practice of his profession. The daughter is the wife of Rev. W. W. Cary of Almont, Mich. Immediately after his marriage, Mr. Proctor, attracted by his early associations with the Cayuga bar, removed to Port Byron and commenced the practice of his profession. His success was soon assured. He at once began to attract a large anil respectable clientage which rapidly increased in numbers and influence. After he had been at Port Byron five years he was attacked by the pre- vailing disease of that region, the ague and fever. So violently did the disease take hold of him that it seemed incurable, and he was advised by his physician, that a permanent cure could only be effected by removing from the infected district. Acting under this advice, in the autumn of 1849, he sold out all his interest in Port Byron, went to Dansville, intending to spend the winter there, and in the spring remove to Chicago and there continue the practice of law. He had been at Dansville but a few weeks when a wealthy Jew was robbed of watches and fine jewelry, valued at several thousand dollars. The robbery was committed by the porter at the hotel at which the Jew was a guest. After his arrest the porter confessed his guilt, implicating a young man of the name of Saxbury. Mr. l'roctor, though not then in practice was retained to defend Mr. Saxbury. This retainer changed all Proctor's plans for the future. The People in this highly important and interesting trial LUCIAN BROCK PROCTOR. 207 were represented by Hon. A. A. Hendee, District Attorney, assisted by Hon.' John. A. Van Derlip an eminent member of the Livingston bar. It was one of the most stubbornly contested cases ever tried in the county. After two exciting trials Saxbury was acquitted. This trial and its result brought Mr. Proctor very conspicuously before the public as a lawyer. Other important and profitable retainers followed, and he finally decided to abandon all thoughts of removing to Chicago, and to remain in Dansville. The records of the courts in Livingston and the adjoining counties bear ample testimony of Mr. Proctor's success as a lawyer. Though not making criminal law a specialty, he has been very success- ful in this department of practice. Many are the anecdotes that are related con- cerning his career at the bar, one of which is so singularly amusing that we cannot refrain from inserting it as we find it in a number of Harper s Weekly :— On one occasion, while attending a Circuit Court at Angelica, N. Y., where Judge Grover presided. Proctor was applied to by a young man under an indictment for grand larceny,— to defend him on his approaching trial. He was charged with stealing #250, in banknotes, from a fanner in his neighborhood. "I am afraid you are guilty," said Proctor, after listening to the story of the accused. " It's none of your business whether I am guilty or not. I didn't come to talk with you on that subject ; besides they say it don't make any differ- ence with you whether a man is guilty or not, that you always contrive to dig him out in some way. So don't talk anymore to me about guilt," said the fellow. " What about the pay?" asked the lawyer. u You just hold on until the trial is over, — until you earn your money, — give K (the complainant) hell on the cross-examination, and in sum- ming up, go for that cuss of a District Attorney, and you wont have any trouble about your pay." The trial commenced and proved to be both protracted and interesting. The prosecuting attorney, having no doubt of the man's guilt, made a strong and determined effort to convict him: He proved that the money stolen consisted of four fifty, two twenty, and two five dollar bank notes ; all of which was wrapped in a piece of oiled silk. After hearing the evidence, the arguments of the counsel and the charge of the judge, the jury retired and after an absence of several hours came into court with a verdict of not guilty. The accused greatly elated with the result of the trial and delighted with the efforts of his counsel, invited him into one of the vacant jury rooms. The moment they were alone, he slapped the lawyer on his shoulder, exclaiming : ' Free as water! ain't I ? What's the use of trying a man for stealing, or for anvthing else when you are around? Now, 1 suppose you want your pay." ^ I don't suppose you've got much to pav with," was the reply. " fust lend me your knife and we'll see about that " The lawyer startled at such a request, rather reluctantly complied. The fellow immediately commenced ripping and cutting away at the waistbands of his pantaloons. Soon producing the identical bills carefully rolled up in the piece of oiled silk described by the witnesses for the peo- ple, and throwing them on the table, said : — lk There, take your, pay out that little bundle 1 guess there is enough there to pay you tolerably well" " Why, you villain ! You stole that money after all 1 Do you expect me to take my pay out of that stolen money ?" said Proctor. 14 Stolen money ! Stolen money ! Why, what under heavens are you talking about ? Didn't them twelve honest men up stairs, after hearing the story on both sides and after talking the matter over, say I didn't steal it ? What's the use of your trying to raise a question of conscience after twelve of the best men in Allegany county have given their opinion on the subject. Take your pay, man ; and ask no questions. Lawyers have got to live, and you've been very useful to me. So, take your pay, I say- I got the money easy enough, but you have worked like the devil to earn it." It is not stated how much the lawyer took, but we presume the fellow didn't have much change left after our friend had satisfied his conscience out of " it." Among the important criminal trials in which Proctor appeared for the defense was the People vs. Joseph Rock, for arson in the ist degree in set- ting a large building in Dansville on fire in the night time, and therefore. — under the then existing statute, — if convicted, his punishment would be death. He was brought to trial at the October Livingston Circuit, for 1853. Hon. Wm. H. Kel- sey, District Attorney, with Benjamin F. Harwood associated, appeared for the prosecution. The trial occupied nearly a week eliciting circumstan- ces of the most exciting nature. It resulted in the conviction of Rock, and he was sentenced to be hanged. But Proctor removed the case on a writ of error to the General Term of the Supreme Court and obtained a new trial, reversing the conviction. Af- ter this, under the advice of his counsel, Rock plead guilty to arson in the 2d degree, and was sentenced to State Prison for life, where he ended his days. He was, it is said, a singular man, with a history, fully known only by his counsel — full of interesting and thrilling incidents. The next year the trial of James Weldon, indicted for arson in the ist degree, took place at Geneseo. Weldon was an intelligent, well educated mulatto, about thirty years of age. Having taken offense at the late Major J. T. Beach, of Dansville, it is alleged that he sought revenge by burning in the night, a building belonging to Beach, standing near the Exchange Hotel on the east side of Main street, Dansville. Not only was Beach's building burned but the Exchange Hotel and several other buildings were consumed. Seldom has there been a more singular case presented to a jury than this. Kelsey, District Attorney and Mr. Harwood ap- peared for the People, and Mr. Proctor for the de- fense. It is said that his effort in behalf of Wel- don would have done honor to any lawyer however eminent. But his client was convicted, and sen- tenced to die. An anecdote is related with this case, which is worthy of repetition here : — Some time after the trial Proctor called on Weldon— informed him that, as the crime of which he had been convicted was very aggravated, there was no hope for him and he must prepare to die. " I have done all 1 can for you, Weldon. Now let me send you a min- ister of the gospel who will aid you in seeking forgiveness of the great Judge above us. " " Do you think, Mr. Proctor, that there is no hope for me ?" asked the prisoner in a voice that indicated his intense mental agony. "No hope ! not the least, Mr. Proctor? Don't say that there is no hope, don't !" he continued. " 1 must say so, Weldon, for there is no hope at all for you," said Proctor. 14 Oh ! My God! My good God! Oh, God! Mr. Proctor," ex- claimed Weldon, between a shriek and a howl. "Oh! Lord! Oh! Lord 1 can never live through that hanging, if I try ! " This was too much for the lawyer, and notwithstanding the solemnity of the occasion, he could not control his laughter. Two weeks before the time appointed for Weldon's execution, Proctor applied to Hon. Horatio Seymour, then Governor of the State, for a commutation of the death sentence to imprisonment for life. In the course of Proctor's argument to the Governor he stated the circumstance that Weldon desired a commu- tation lor the reason that lie did not believe he should "live through the hanging." The Governor was greatly amused at the anecdote, and at the conclusion of the argument said, '^I will take the papers in the case and consider them carefully as I shall the arguments of to-day. Perhaps,'' he continued facetiously, "if the Executive of this State becomes fully sat- isfied that the man cannot live through the hanging, it will be his duty to interfere with a commutation." Whether it was this fear or some other reason that induced the Gov- ernor to commute the sentence we cannot say. Certain it is, that the sentence was changed to imprisonment in the State Prison for life. Some time after this, William Sutton was placed at the bar to undergo a trial for his life for setting fire — in the night time — to a building standing op- posite the ware-house of J. E. Titsworth, in Dans- ville. The circumstances of the case were most atrocious. So thoroughly was the public prosecutor of the county convinced of Sutton's guilt, that he made a most powerful effort to convict him. Mr. Proctor, the prisoner's counsel made an obstinate, ingenuous, and able defense, which resulted in Sut- ton's acquittal. ioS HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COCNTY. But tlie cases that most thoroughly tested the ability of Mr. Proctor, # were those of the People against Covert, and of the People against) Mrs. Mai \ M. Hess ; in both of which he was successful. In the first case, Mr. Proctor was assisted by Hon. Scott Lord. The People were represented by Hon. Daniel S. Dickinson — then Attorney-General ol the State, — assisted by Hon. J. A. Van Derlip. Co- vert had been indicted for the murder of his young and interesting wife by administering arsenic to her. Such was the suffering of the victim that if Covert did give her the arsenic, lie was a monster in hu- man form. He was twice tried. On the first trial the jury disagreed, standing ten for conviction and two for a verdict of not guilty. On the second trial he was acquitted, much to the disgust of the people, especially the residents of I lansville. who almost unanimously believed him guilty. It was said of Proctor that he went into the defense of Covert with the determination to succeed, even at the ex- pense of an unscrupulous defense. There are many persons in Dansville who will never forgive him for turning Covert free upon the community. Mrs. Hess was indicted for shooting and instantly killing Win. H. Lewis, of Waylaml. N. Y., and for mortally wounding with a pistol, one of her broth- ers. Mr. Proctor as her counsel interposed the defense of insanity and after an exciting trial suc- i ceded. This trial took place in March, 1871. Another absorbing capital case in which Proctor was engaged for the defense was that of Joseph Messner. In this case he was associated with Hon. H. (). Chesebro, of Canandaigua, ami Geo. E. Ripsom. of Rochester. Messrs. Proctor and Chesebro were retained to defend on December 8, 1S69. Messner had then been tried, convicted and sentenced to be hanged at a Court of Oyer and Terminer held at Rochester in May, 1869. Mr. Ripsom had appealed the case to the General Term of the Supreme Court for a new trial, which had been denied. He had applied to the Governor for a commutation of the sentence; but this was re- fused. What was still more embarrassing there were but two days before the execution was to take place. The only hope for Messner now, was the removal of his case to the Court of Appeals. Was there time for this? and would a Judge of that Court order a stay of the execution pending the proceedings in that Court? It would take one- day to prepare the papers, and there was no Judge nearer than Judge Hunt, at I'tica, and Judge Grover, at Angelica. It was decided to make the application to Judge Grover, at Angelica. Notice was accordingly given to the District Attorney that the application would be made on the 10th of December, at 7 o'clock in the evening of that day; Messner was to be executed on the 11th — the next day. At 1 1 o'clock of the forenoon of the 10th, the respective counsel left Rochester for An- gelica, which they did not reach until near 10 o'clock in the evening. But the motion was made, and after close arguments on both sides, the writ of error, with a stay of the execution was granted. By the time the writ was prepared it was after midnight, and the party must travel twenty-live miles overland to reach Canaseraga, from which place they were to take the cars for Rochester via Attica. Unless Canaseraga was reached by 6 o'clock the next morning the writ and stay of exe- cution would be useless; but by almost super- human efforts it was reached just ten minutes be- fore the arrival of the desired train: and by halt- past ten the lawyers arrived at Rochester. In the meantime the preparations for Messner's execution were completed. It was after 1 1 o'clock before the proper copies of the papers were ready to serve on the Sheriff. With these Proctor and Chesebro appeared at the jail a (c\\ moments before the pi" cession which was to move to the gallows was formed. They were duly served, and the execu- tion was stayed indefinitely. By this time the ex- citement in the city over the matter had become very absorbing. The friends of Messner were greatly delighted, and in the evening the lawyers were serenaded at their hotel — the Osborne House. After the expiration of a year the case was brought to argument before the Court of Appeals, which, in due time, rendered a judgment reversing Messner's conviction and granting him a new trial. Thus we have given a brief history of the capi- tal cases in which Mr. Proctor was the leading counsel. The cases where the punishment of the accused would be imprisonment in the State's prison for life, and of the important civil cases in which he has been counsel, are too numerous to be given here. His reputation as an eloquent, able and prominent lawyer has been well earned and fairly won as we have seen. But Mr. Proctor's most distinguished talents are those of a writer, particularly as a biographical writer. Most of the productions of his pen have been confined to the lives of eminent judges and lawyers of America. These are found in several works which have gained for their author an exalted position as a writer. In 187 1 he published " The Bench and Bar of New York," a work of 900 panes quarto. This work was so popular that the first edition was soon exhausted, and a revised edition was immediately published, and in 1874 a new or in fact a third edition was published. To use the language of The New York Tribune, "Biographi- cal works when properly written, reveal a man's character and the interior of his life with distinct- ness. The mere historic events are nothing — what we want is the man himself. And it is in this re- spect we find especial reason for admiring Mr. Proctor's work. The Bench and Bar of New York. William L. Marcy, John C. Spencer, Benjamin F. Butler, Martin VanBuren, Silas Wright, James T. Brady, Daniel S. Dickinson, John Young, Martin Grover, John B. Skinner, Luther C. Peck, and many other great lawyers of the past, appear in this work. Each character standing out distinct and plain, so well drawn that the mental portraits which the author presents are entirely true to nature." The press generally, with one or two exceptions, acknowledged in scholarly reviews, more or less ex- tended, the ability and literary beauty which the LUCIAN BROCK PROCTOR — OSSIAN. 209 work exhibits. Many of the biographies contained in this work have been republished in Europe. F. Erbinsteim & Co., extensive publishers in Berlin, Germany, have published in German, nearly the whole work. The Life of Brady and of Emmett have been republished in Dublin, Ireland. These are emphatic endorsements of the value of the work, exceedingly creditable to its author. In 1875 Mr. Proctor wrote "The Lives of The Chancellors of the State," which was exceedingly well received by the public. In 1877 he published "The Life and Times of Thomas Addiss Emmett," a work that added largely to the author's reputation. Mr. Proctor is a highly acceptable contributor to several leading journals and magazines. The remarkable frequency of the republication of these articles in all parts of the nation, is sufficient evi- dence of the ability of their author. One of his latest contributions to the press is his series of articles entitled " Is Aaron Burr Mis- judged?" These have found great favor with the reading public. His " Notes of the Bar," pub- lished in the Buffalo Sunday Courier, are very popular, especially with judges and lawyers. The Brooklyn Eagle, speaking of these articles, said " the writer of these sketches of the Bar writes them out of the abundance of his knowledge, with much economy of expression, and severe intellectual taste. His manner of portraying character with unerring truth, and with classical finish, is almost unequalled. This his readers all acknowledge." Though Mr. Proctor makes no pretension as a speaker, yet he occupies a respectable position among the orators of the day. If he can only have sufficient time to prepare a public address, he is always sure to interest and instruct an audience. Many of his public addresses have attracted marked attention for their strength and their beauty of diction. Among these are the eulogy on Daniel Webster, delivered in Canaseraga Hall, Dansville, Nov. 17th, 1852, and at Bath, Dec. 3d, 1852; eulogy on Abraham Lincoln, delivered at Dansville, May 6th, 1865; eulogy on Martin Grover, delivered at Belmont, N. Y., Sept. 8th, [875; address delivered at Geneseo, Jan. 10th, 1878, on presenting a portrait of Ex-Governor John Young to the Livingston County Historical Society ; and the annual address delivered before the same society, January 14th, 1879. His subject on this occasion was, The Judges and Lawyers of Liv- ingston County and Their Relation to the History of Western New York. This, perhaps, is one of the ablest of Mr. Proctor's productions. This is proved by the fact that large numbers of copies have been sought for by persons in every part of the United States and in Canada. It is a succinct, finely written history of the men of historic renown in Western New York — mental portraits of the men whose learning, influence, activity and enter- prise made that beautiful region — Western New York a great State in and of itself. In his manners, Mr. Proctor is unassuming, — even retiring. His conversation shows cultivation, refinement and knowledge of man and of the world. No man more readily acknowledges true merit and real ability wherever found, than he. He is, therefore, generous and liberal in his estimation of all men. With his friends he is genial, open- hearted, abounding in anecdotes and repartee. If need be, however, sarcasm, satire and irony can be called easily and effectually to his aid as has often been exemplified. He makes no efforts to conceal his faults. In- deed, whatever they are, they lie on the surface of his character rendering him easily assailable by his enemies. He is positive in his positions, plain and out-spoken in regard to them, and bold and fearless in maintaining them. In politics Mr. Proctor has always been a Republican. Though a man of un- doubted influence in his party, having strongly aided it with his pen and on the rostrum, he has never held any official position, from the fact that he has never been an aspirant for any office. He has, however, represented his Congressional Dis- trict in two or three National conventions. The severe mental labor to which he subjects himself, removes him from all the appliances by which office seekers gain their point, and from all desire for the ephemeral fame and uncertain remunera- tion of office holders. CHAPTER XVI. History of the Town of Ossian. THE town of Ossian lies in the extreme south- ern part of Livingston county. It is bounded northerly by West Sparta ; south- erly by Burns, (Allegany county,); on the east by North Dansville, and Dansville, (Steuben county,) ; and on the west by Nunda, and Grove, (Allegany county,). Originally a part of Angelica, Allegany county, it was taken from that town March n, 1808, and erected into the town of Ossian. For forty- nine years after, it belonged to Allegany county, when, in 1857, it was taken from that county and annexed to the county of Livingston. The township has an area of 25,086 acres, nearly one-third of which is timbered land. Its surface is hilly, nearly mountainous, some of the points ranging to a height of six or seven hundred feet above the level of the valleys. The soil on the hills is a sandy loam ; in the valleys a gravelly loam, well adapted to the culture of wheat, barley, corn and oats, which constitute the principal crops. At the date of its first settlement it was an un- broken wilderness, and it presents even now, with all its indications of modern improvements, the unmistakable signs of primeval wildness. HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COl'NTY. The town of Ossian was one of the sales of Phelps and Gorham to Jeremiah Wadsworth, who sold it to Robert Troup, in honor of whom, some thirty years ago, it derived and re- tained for years the name of Troupstown. The records relating to the earlier history of Ossian are quite meagre : the rugged lives and hardships of its first settlers, and even of their descendants, making the recording of historical data, if not distasteful, at least, impossible so far as concerned accuracy and method. But few now live who can remem- ber with any degree of certainty the dates of the incoming of many of its first residents, or the minor historical facts and reminiscences which it is the duty of the historian to record. The early days of the settlers were rugged and severe. Coming into what was then a new found land — a sort of El Dorado to the dwellers in the Eastern States was this far-off Genesee country — they were thrown absolutely upon their own resources for livelihood and homes. Those who now live on the well tilled farms in this picturesque town- ship, and who occupy, by right of inheritance, the comfortable dwellings built by the persevering industry of their forefathers, scarcely realize the difficulties which their brawn and brain had to meet and overcome to bring the wild forests of those days to the fertile farms of modern times. Coming from various parts of the country, over rough roads, and in rude conveyances, they had, first to build themselves homes, and then to hew from those forests a precarious sustenance for themselves and families. Their homes for years were uniformly of logs rudely cut into shape and roofed with shingles of their own make. Shingle making was at first the occupation which furnished the necessaries of life and such of the luxuries as they craved and could afford, and which were pro- cured by means of barter, money being a scarce commodity. It is related that the earliest settlers, presumably the squatters, were so reduced in means that they were obliged to cut a few bunches of shingles, haul them to the nearest market on sleds, and exchange them for codfish, meal, and molasses ; the bunches of shingles thus bartered were denominated " Ossian Bank Bills." So scanty were the means of the residents of those days, and so scarce in that region of woods the means of subsistence for even their meagre stock of cattle, that they were often compelled to fell the basswood trees which grew abundantly and let the cattle browse on the tender branches. As exhibiting the poor resources of the settlers a story is told of Abram Porter, the first white child born in the town. His parents had a logging bee one day to which the men of the neighborhood were invited, but having no flour in the house and Abram presenting too ragged an appearance to send for some, his mother wove from the piece in the loom cloth for a pair ol pants which she made, and sent him a mile and a quarter to mill for flour for the evening meal. In those days the loom was a power. The Indians were numerous in the days of the early settlement, but were well-disposed and kind to the settlers, rendering them many friendly acts. A tribe of Indians held their encampment one winter on the land of Jacob Clendennin, opposite the house where his son now lives. Among the names of these were " Tall Chief," " Laughing Molly" and " Yankee John ;" the latter a skillful hunter who used to share with the settlers the proceeds of the chase. Mr. Clendennin and family being out till late one night, were surprised on coming home to find that they could not open the door of their log cabin. Mrs. Clendennin, giving the door a push it flew open, and a heavy object fell on her giving her a severe fright. The object proved to be a quarter of venison which some one had placed above the door during their absence. She related the incident to "Yankee John" on the following day, telling him how frightened she was, which so amused him that he danced around in Indian fashion, throwing up his arms, and shout- ing between his peals of laughter, " Me ! Me !'' meaning it was he who had given her the surprise. Lumbering became from necessity the first lucra- tive business of the pioneers. Saw mills sprang up as if by magic, and the busy hum of saws betok- ened the advance of a civilization new to that region. Good pine lumber as it ran was drawn to Dansville, thirty years after the first settlement, and sold for three dollars per thousand feet in "truck," or barter from the stores. The first saw-mill was built by Nathaniel Porter in 1800. It has been established, with a certain degree of credibility, that the first settlers in the township were Richard YV. Porter and his brother James Porter, who came in 1804. They settled at what is now known as Ossian Centre, although the settlement at that point has been ascribed to Abram Porter in the year 1800. Among other early settlers were Isaac Burrell, James Haynes :\m\ lames Croghan, who located about 1806. ■'' ' '.-■■ ' - i " - ' ■ ' ' '" ;hc : Li:iw: SAW MILL 8c TENEMENT HOUSES- Residence of E.H.Geiger, : ian, Livingston, Co. N.Y. VIEW OF BARNS 225 FT. LONG. OSSIAN— FIRST SETTLERS. 211 Jacob Clendennin came in 1807 ; Heman Orton in 1S13. Nathaniel Porter died June 3, 1852, aged 73 years. Jacob Clendennin Nov. 4, 1859, aged 81, and James Haynes May 13, 1829, aged 68. Jacob Clendennin now living at Ossian Centre is a son of the Clendennin who settled in 1807. Mrs. Dutcher, of Dansville, is a daughter of Heman Orton. Mrs. Frederick Covert, of Ossian, is a descendant of the Porters. The first frame house was built in 1830, by Phineas Howard on the land of James Gregory, now owned by the Covert family. It was a story and a half house, 18 by 24, and was painted red. The first frame barn was built by Henry Bowman on land of Nathaniel Porter, now owned by Oscar Covert. The old barn is now standing. Abram Porter, who, as before mentioned, was the first white child born in the town, dates his birth from 1805. The first marriage was that of John Gilsan and Betsey Shay, in 1816. The first death of which any record as to name and date can be found, was that of John Turner, who was killed by the fall of a tree while chopping in 1807.* The first schoolmaster was named McCoy, although French claims Weston, who taught in 1813-14. The first hotel was kept by R. N. Porter in 181 7, who sold to Oliver Stacy soon after. The first merchant was Samuel Chapin, who dealt in general merchandise for five or six years, and then sold his store to Daniel Canfield, who kept it in 1824. Chapin moved to Michigan. The first grist-mill was built in 1826 by John Smith. The first postmaster was James Porter, but in what year, or when the postofrice was first estab- lished, could not be learned. The first doctor was named Hopkins;' a root and herb doctor, who carried his "pharmacy" in a saddle-bag. He practiced some eight or ten years. The first regular physician who began and retained any settled practice was Dr. Sholl, who practiced some ten years, but the date of whose coming or going is unknown. In the present business of Ossian lumbering still constitutes a by no means unimportant part. Numerous saw-mills are scattered over the town, and the remaining forests are being rapidly cleared up into improved farms. A few more years and those remains of the primitive condition of the town will have given place to fields of grain and corn, and the forests which stood wild and track- * Mrs. Frederick Covert, now living, tells of two deaths which occurred previously, — one while building a house, by the falling of a log, and the other by falling on a sharp stake on his ox-sled; but she could give no names or dates. less before the pioneers, will be remembered only in the pages of history. In 1875 there were in the township 9,218 acres of woodland, to 14,772 acres of improved land. The value of farm lands is estimated at $961,320; of farm buildings, $87,395 J °f stock, $109,962. In 1875 there were 4,156 acres plowed, 4,913 acres to pasture, and 3,280 mowed. The gross sales from farms were $48,448. The Supervisors and Town Clerks from 1 808, as near as can be ascertained, were as follows : — Supervisors. Town Clerks. 808. Richard W. Porter. James Horken. 809. 810. " " 811. " " 812. 8,3. 814. tt a Samuel Boylan. Nathaniel W. Porter. tt tt 815. Jacob Clendennin. tt tt 816. " " tt tt 817. ti ft tt tt 818. tt ft tt tt 819. tt a tt tt 820. tt tt tt tt 821. Merritt Brown. Richard W. Porter 822. it it tt tt 823. Nathaniel Porter. ft tt 824. Richard W. Porter. Allied Bailey. 825. " " tt tt 826. Samuel Chapin. Isaac H. Consalus 827. Richard W. Porter. Joel J. Knapp. 828. tt it tt * tt 829. a tt tt tt 830. William R. Bennett. tt tt 831. tt it Hiram Gorse. 832. 833- 834- Samuel Chapin. a it Joel J. Knapp. tt tt James D. McCurdy. tt ti 835- it it tt tt 836. Isaac H. Consalus. Samuel Porter. 837- tt tt tt tt 838. tt tt tt tt 839- tt tt Lewis A. Sprague. 840. Joshua Rathbone. Joel F. Knapp. 841. Isaac H. Consalus. Samuel Porter. 842. Israel Canfield, Jr., Caleb Haws. 843- tt tt Ira Canfield. 84 4. Joshua Rathbone. tt a 845- James Lemen. Corydon Hyde. S46. tt tt Ira Canfield. 847. A. T. Wood, James Wilkins. 848. tt ti Levi Walrath. 849. Israel Canfield. John N. Lemen. 850. William Gould. tt tt 851. Isaac Hampton. George Voorhees. 852. it John N. Lemen. 853- Israel Canfield. James Voorhees. 854- Isaac Hampton. tt tt S55- James Lemen. tt tt 856. Samuel Porter. William Stapleton 21 2 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. James Voorhees. fonathan N. Gould. J. J. Hubbard. Austin B. Dunn. John McCarthy. Nathan Fenton. R. B. Rathbun. a it < (scar Porter. Nathaniel Shay. A. B. Dunn. 1857. Samuel Porter. 1858. 1859. i860. William M. White. 1861. fames \ oorhees. 1862. 1863. Isaac Hampton. 1864. 1865. " " 1866. " 1867. 1868. " " 1869. 1870. 1871. " " i'872. 1873. Wilham M. White. 1874. " 1875. L. C. Lemen. 1876. N. I'. Covert. 1877. " " 1878. Isaac Hamilton. Charles E. Hyde. 1879. Andrew McCurdy. " ' : The officers for 1880 areas follows: — Andrew McCurdy, Supervisor. Isaac F. Hampton, Town Clerk. J. B. Prentice, Wm. R. Shay, John C. Scott, Justices of the Peace. Ambrose Shay, Commissioner of Highways. Stewart Milliman, Collector. Herman Chittenden, James Lockwood, Andrew Powell, Constables. Henry McCartney, J. B. Wilcox, Overseers of the Boor. A. Barney Clendenin, Ira J. Knapp, Boyd Run- yan, Inspectors of Election.* There are ten school districts in the town, con- taining comfortable frame buildings. The total number of children in the town of school age is 435. Non-residents, 22. The number who attend school some portion of the year is 348. The aver- age attendance is 131 ; average attendance of non- residents, 7. There are four acres of land devoted to school sites. The value of property and sites is $.;,974- The population in 1875 was 1,143, as against 884 in 1S65; of which 1,042 are native; 101 for- eign. Of this population 1,131 are white, 12 colored ; males, 580 ; females, 563 ; aliens, 7. Ossian Centre. The town contains but two settlements. Ossian Centre is situated on Sugar creek, the only stream of importance, flowing southwesterly through the center (if the town, and so named because of the plentitude of sugar maples in early days •F01 i)n- abovi lisl ol Supervisors and Town Clerks, as well .is 1,11 [ ne Pre ' nl town officers, we am indebted t.. Isaac I , Hampton, the present efficient Town Clerk. abounding along its banks. The settlement at an early date was called Sugar creek. It is situated in a remarkably fertile farming country. The val- ley at the centre expands into a broad plain, but northerly opens into a narrower valley of striking beauty. The settlement is scattering and consists of a town hall, built in 1880; a grocery and dry goods store owned by Crystal Fanning, who began busi- ness here some two years since ; two blacksmith shops, a wagon shop, a school house, two churches, a few saw-mills, and twenty or thirty houses. Aside from farming its business is lumbering. Three steam saw-mills are run by Isaac Hampton, who owns four thousand acres of land, and three other saw-mills by Flias Geiger, who owns two thousand and three hundred acres. The present Fostmaster is Isaac Hampton, who has held that office for twenty years, being appointed in Abra- ham Lincoln's first administration. Mr. Hampton lias also been Supervisor for a number of years. The town officers for 1880 are: — Supervisor, Andrew McCurdy ; Town Clerk, Fremont Hamil- ton ; Assessors, Freeman Covert, Charles Canfield, Richard Mitchell; Highway Commissioner, An- drew Shay ; Justices of the Beace, John Scott, Riley Shay, J. B. Prentiss, Blake I Hum. BlSBEE, Or Bisbeetown, as it is called by the inhabitants, is in the northwestern part of the town. It is a small settlement similar to Ossian Centre. It was first settled about the year 1816. Among the first settlers were Jesse Bagley and Heman Orton, the latter coming in 18 13. They engaged in farming and shingle making. Luther Bisbee, for whom the settlement was named, was a Revolutionary War pensioner. He came there in March, 1819, and built the first saw-mill. Bisbee consists now of two stores kept by David Clark and John S. Kriley; the former beginning four years since, the latter ten years ago; a saw and grist mill, run by Charles Porter; a saw-mill by Harvey Chittenden: two blacksmith shops by James Ingersoll and Washington Forrester, and a small collection of houses. The first school house was built of logs in 1820. The first frame school house was built in 1829, on land of Isaac H. Consalus. Stephen D. Murphy was the first schoolmaster, in what is now district No. 4. The first store was kept by Israel Canfield, in 1S40 or '42. The first meetings for religious Photo, by Belts, Dansville.) Mr. & Mrs. Isaac Hampton. HON. ISAAC HAMPTON. Hon. Isaac Hampton, son of Andrew and Mary Finch Hampton, was born in Canadice, Ontario county, N. Y., April 20, 1821. His father and mother were natives of Connecticut. The former was born April, 1780, and died June 2, 1845, aged 4 i .*> years. The latter was born November 30, 1707, and died September 9, 1872, aged 85 years. Andrew Hampton left his native State at an early day, locating in the town of Scipio, Cayuga county, buy- ing a farm and residing there for several years. About the year 1818 he went to the town of Canadice, buying a farm in what was then woods. He resided there for a time, but through sickness and other trouble lost his farm, and for the balance of his life remained poor. He had twelve children, two of whom died in youth. Mrs. Mary Hampton was of English origin, and it is rumored that a large estate in England remains to be divided, she being one of the heirs. In 1835, when young Isaac, who was the sixth child, was in his fifteenth year, they moved to Os- sian. The oldest son, John, with his father, bought anew farm of 125 acres, making a small payment, which John subsequently paid for, making a home for the family. Young Hampton attended the district school to a lim- ited extent, but in a short time he was enabled to teach a district school, and with such success that he was engaged for nine successive terms, and saved enough of his salary to enable him to attend the Nunda Academy two terms. Being then about 2+ years of age, he concluded to go west, going to Ottawa, 111., to teach school and study law, but being taken down with the fever prevailing there at that early day, he returned home in a few mouths, but suffering for over a year. The three years following he spent in alternately teachiug winters and laboring sum- mers. Having accumulated a small sum of money, he purchased a farm, paying two hundred dollars down, and buying a team on credit, also some timber laud in the southwestern part of the town with a saw mill upon it. This mill has been burnt three times and each time promptly rebuilt, and is now in full operation. He bought timber land from time to time and cleared it, making fine farms of the land, until he had some five thousand acres. He has recently sold one thousand acres to his son Isaac F. , leaving him four thous.iud acres. This land is well adapted to stock raising, into which he has entered largely, having now about two thousand sheep, and other stock in proportion. From 1867 to 1875 he was engaged largely in the wool trade, but was obliged to aban- don it on account of other business. In polities he was for- merly a Whig. By that party he was elected Justice of the Peace and Supervisor for several terms. He entered the Republican ranks in its infancy, attending as delegate from Ossiau, the first Republican convention held in Western New York, at Angelica. He has been Supervisor four- teen terms and Chairman of the Board several times ; was elected to tbe Legislature in 1855, and received the ap- pointment, from Abraham Lincoln during his first term, of postmaster at Ossiau, which office he still holds. Isaac Hampton married Mary Jane Fenton, December 8, 1840. They had nine children, as follows, in the order of their birth : Emma J.; Annie D. ; Isaac F. , who mar- ried Eva Welton, of Ossian; James B., who married Florence Olp. of Mt. Moms; Cora B., who married Win. L. Hyde, of Ossiau; Carrie_B.; Mary E ; Willie H., and Nellie M. Nathan Fenton, father of Mrs. Hampton, was one of the' early residents of the town of Leicester, her mother being Lucy Spellman of the same town, and both are now, at a ripe old age, living near their daughter in Ossian. In religion Mr. Hampton is a Presbyterian and his wife a Methodist, she having adopted the creed of her parents at an early day. He has long held the office of trustee in both of said churches, and for twenty-five years superintended the Sabbath school in one or both of said churches almost continually. He is in his sixtieth year. Time has left but few marks, and he promises a long and useful life to his family and many friends. OSSIAN — WAR RECORD, CHURCHES. 213 purposes were held in the log school house in 1820 by the Methodists, Elder Benton first presiding. In 1862 a singular phantasy seized upon some of the residents in and about this settlement, which led twenty-two persons to leave their homes and go to Utah to join the Mormons. Among those who went were Israel Canfield, his wife and three children ; Abram Porter and his wife Marcia, and his sons and daughters, Luther, Nahum, Henrietta, Mary and Ellen ; Henry Miller, and wife and one child ; Augustus Canfield and his daughter Lucy, who became the Mormon wife of John Young, by whom she had two children. He afterward re- pudiated her and married her cousin. From this vicinity there went to the war of the Rebellion a number of brave men. But very few, however, of those who enlisted from Ossian were ever recorded so that a complete list can be col- lected. The records which were made and filed have been lost, and the town records have been loosely cared for. The following are the only names* that could be obtained : — Wm. H. Decker, John D. H. Wright, Milton Seymour, Alexander Crocker, Lucius C. Fenton, Alexander Wilson, Zenas Denton, William Smith, George Cowen, Henry Bush, Charles E. Pennock, George DeForest, Robert Hughes, William Lindsey, George Prentice, Marshall Giddings, Bruce Rathbun, Isaac Smith. Hiram Foster, Hugh Kelly, Lafayette Woolworth, Ichabod Hubbell, John More, Egbert Gorse, Nelson Pennock, Eugene Marr, George Thompson, George Swingle, Solomon Tierney, Isaac Witheral, Hiram B. Wright, John McCarthy, Martin Hotaling, Wilfred Crocker, John Crocker, Lucius A. Bisbee, Edwin Luce, Allen Luce, Seymour Newton, Thomas Sanford, William Libby, Jackson Bush, Elijah Frasier, Perry DeForest, Bert Price, Joseph Price, Marvin J. Magee, William Price, Barney Clendennin, Darius Woolverton, Jerome Chesebro, William Hopkins, Oliver P. Pennock, Joseph Hillman, David Utter, Fairfield Snider, Daniel Wilkins, Isaac More, James Welton, Amos VanDerhoof, Augustus More, Wilber More, Walter Witheral, John Barrager, Daniel Shultz, Charles Bush, *This list was kindly fumished by Hon. Isaac Hampton, who was Supervisor from 1865 to 1872, and who is undoubtedly the best authority attainable. In sending this he says, " I have only my memory to guide me, as the record made and filed is lost." William Gilboy, William A. Luce, H. C. Roff, David Clark, Henry Runyan, John Runyan. The two latter enlisted in the Wadsworth Guards, formed at Geneseo. Henry, who ranked as Orderly Sergeant, diedjune22, 1864, from wounds received at the battle of Petersburg. John Runyan died June 22, 1863, from wounds received at the battle of Gettysburg. His mother went alone to Gettys- burg at a time when there was much danger, searched until she found his body, and brought it home to be buried in Ossian. William A. Luce enlisted in Co. I, First New York Dragoons, and died October 1st, 1864, in the service. H. C. Roff enlisted in the First New S'ork Dragoons, and was killed at the battle of the Wilderness, June 4, 1864. William Smith was a corporal in the First New York Dragoons, and died in the service, July 7, 1864. Charles Bush, Co. D, 104th Regiment, was killed at Antietam, Sept. 17, 1862. John Barrager was corporal in Co. I, First New York Dragoons, and died of wounds received in action June 2, 1864. David Clark enlisted at Portage in the 130th Regiment, after- wards mounted as the First New York Dragoons, under command of Capt. James Lemen. He came home wounded. It could not be ascertained in what regiments the others enlisted, or what became of them. Churches.— The Methodist Episcopal Church of Ossian was built about 1852. Revs. Robert Parker and ■ Piersall were the first pastors. The pres- ent pastor — 1880— is Rev. George Gibson, residing in Canaseraga, who has presided two years. The church records, unfortunately, have been lost, so that a fuller account could not be obtained. The church is situated at Ossian Centre. The Presbyterian Church of Ossian was formed in 1818 by Rev. Robert Hubbard, pastor of the church of Angelica, who attended by invitation. The names of the candidates for membership in the church when it was formed, were as follows : — James Haynes, Mary Haynes, Wm. Boyles, Esther Boyles, Sam'l McCray, Catherine W. Porter, Cather- ine N. Porter, Nancy Vorhees, John Shay, Jeremiah Flynn, Jonathan Haynes, John Haynes, Jane Haynes, Anna Conkright, John Perine, Polly Per- ine, Jacob Clendennin, Lucy Hurlbut, Rhoda Clen- dennin. The first ruling elders were chosen Nov. 21, 18 18. They were Jacob Clendennin and James Haynes. Jacob Clendennin was appointed clerk. The church was rebuilt and enlarged in 1878. The present elders are Jacob Clendennin and David 214 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. McCurdy. The church has a membership of about 80. The pastor for 1880 was Rev. J. L. Box, who has presided for three years. The build- ing is a large substantial structure located at Os- sian Centre. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. HON. WILLIAM M. WHITE. The White family is of Puritan origin and trace their descent from Elder John White, one of the first settlers of Cambridge, Mass., and of Hartford, Conn. He came in the ship Lyon, from England, in 1632, to the port of Boston. The genealogy of the family is as follows : — Captain Nathaniel White, son of Elder John, was born in England about 1629, and came over with his father in the ship Lyon, being about three years old. Ensign Daniel White, was the third son of Cap- tain Nathaniel, and was born at Hartford, Conn., February 23d, 1661. Hugh White, son of Ensign Daniel, was born at Hartford, February 15th, 1691. Hon. Hugh White, youngest son of Hugh, was born in Hartford, Conn., January 25th, 1733. He was the pioneer of Western New York, and settled at Whitestown, Oneida county, in May 1784 — with his four sons — Daniel Clark, Joseph, Hugh and Ansel. Whitestown was organized in 1788, and em- braced within its limits all that part of the State of New York, lying westward of -a line passing through Utica, and reaching from the southern boundary of the State to the St. Lawrence river. Hon. Hugh White was appointed Judge and also held that position in the new county of Oneida. Hugh White, Jr., son of Hon. Hugh, was born at Hartford, Conn., January 16th, 1763. He ac- companied his father to Whitestown. Hon. Hugh White, son of Hugh, Jr., was born in Whitestown, December 25th, 1798. He located in Saratoga county, and was a successful business man, and took an active interest in public affairs. He served in Congress from 1845 to 1851. He died October 6th, 1870. He was the father of William M. White, the subject of our present writing. His mother was Maria Mills, daughter of William P. Mansfield, a merchant in Kent, Litchfield county, Connecticut. Mr. White was born in Waterford, Saratoga county, N. Y., July 8th, 1833. He graduated at Hamilton College in 1854, and received the degree of Master of Arts in 1857. In April, 1852, he took up his residence on his present homestead, a delicacy of constitution making it impossible for him to follow a professional life ; he turned his at- tention to agriculture, and by farming and an out- door life sought health and vigor in the mountain atmosphere of our "Southern tier." When the rebellion broke out he made three at- tempts to enter the army, but was prevented by physical causes from taking the active part in the war that his patriotism prompted him to take. He has large business interests aside from farm- ing, but he regards the farm as the American home ; the best surroundings for a family and the real foundation of America's greatness and pros- perity. On the 22d of January, 1863, Mr. White married Anna M. Pierrepont, daughter of Hon. William C. Pierrepont, LL. D., of Pierrepont Manor, Jeffer- son county, New York. They have a family often children, five boys and five girls. Mr. White was the first Republican Supervisor of the town of Ossian, and in 1872 he was the candidate of the Liberals for Representative in Congress, but since then he has acted with the Re- publican party. The title of Honorable has been conceded to him for over twenty years, his right to it resting on " common consent," the highest authority known in America. Mr. White is a member of the Episcopal Church, has been and is a lay-reader and warden of Trinity Church, Canaseraga, a member of the Standing Committee of the Diocese, Trustee of the Episco- pate Fund, Trustee of the General Theological Seminary, Trustee of Hobart College, and twice elected delegate to the general convention of the church. In his social matters he is social, cordial, con- siderate and hospitable. In his mental characteristics he seems magnani- mous, free from spite or prejudice, seeking what is right, advisable or desirable, and so entirely ignoring self as to always seem ready to do a kindness, even when a detriment to himself. His neighbors re- gard him with love and affection, placing a confi- dence in his wisdom and judgment, and appeal to him in local matters and neighborhood disputes. He is an active, useful, honorable man. CORYDON HYDE. The subject of this sketch was born in Livonia, Aug. 26, 18 1 4. He was the only son of a family of two children. His sister, Caroline H., married Wm. B. Lemen, now of Dansville. She died Feb. 4, 18S0, aged about 59 years. Harry Hyde, the father of Corydon, was born in Connecticut in 1785. He left his native State at an early day for the then far west, Livingston county, settling in the town of Livonia, where he married Lucinda Bard. They came to the town of Ossian about 1835, purchasing a farm of 173 acres, Corydon being then in his twenty-first year, assisting his father in adding to rn co D m z o rn o -n o o D o z zc ■< D n o en CO < z o m z n n o ■n :|3 •z. o o z X CO TJ I ? cr < » Mr. Gi nedanswer thai ihi did no] like to have the saddle go out of the house, but that Mrs. Gaston was quite welcome to comi andrideonita longasshi In i Si 7 there stood in what is now Jacob Sny- der's door yard a log building which was the first school house, and in which the first school in the town was taught by James Blake, in 1813-14. It was in this house that the meeting was held for the organization of the town, in 181 7. At the tune of the organization every dwelling in the town was a log cabin in the woods, except that of Samuel Story. The meeting was held on Tuesday, April 9, 1817. Solomon Doud presided as the moderator. The town officers elected were as follows: — ■ Supervisor — Oliver Jennings. Town Clerk — Hugh Wilson. Assessors — Jonathan Lawrence, Solomon Doud, Alexander McCoullouch. Commissioners of Highways — Samuel Story, Solomon Doud, Josiah Fuller. School Commissioners — Samuel Story, Solomon Doud, John Culver. ( rverseers of the Poor — Henry Cole and Samuel Story. School Inspectors — Jno. W. Barnes, Ephraim Calkins, Thomas Grover. Constable and Collector — Jonathan Lawrence. Pound Masters — Joab Gillett and Lorin Cole- burn. About the year 1824 an effort was made to form a new county from the towns of Cohocton, Naples, and a part of Springwater. A special town meet- ing was held at the house of Jacob Cannon, in the town of Springwater, on the first day of January, 1825, for the purpose of opposing this attempt At that meeting the following resolution was passed : — " Resolved, That we deem it improper, im- politic, unjust, and altogether against our inter- est that any part of this town should be made a part of the new contemplated county." A resolution was offered at this same meeting re- questing that the members of the Legislature procure the passage of a law altering the name of the town from Springwater to that of Yeri. This was the proposition of Alvah Southworth, but it was voted down, the people concluding it was better to retain the name of Springwater. The Supervisors and Town Clerks from and including the year in which town was organized, are as follows : — Super. 1 01 I 1V1 11 Clerks. 1817. Oliver Jennings, Hugh Wilson. 1 81 8. Alvah Southworth, 1819-21. " " John W. Barnes. 1822. " " Isaac C. Howe. 1823. •' '• Martin Hopkins. 1824-26. " Joel Hudson. 1827. Zennos Ashley, " " 1S28. Alvah Southworth, " " SPRINGWATER — TOWN OFFICERS, MILITIA. 219 1829-30. John Culver, Martin D. Hopkins. 1831. Salmon G. Grover, " " 1832-33. " Thomas C. Grover. 1834-35. Thos. C. Grover, Horatio Dyer. 1836. Andrew Spafford, Salmon Waterbury. 1837-38. " " Thomas C. Grover. 1839. " " Rufus G. Clark. 1840. Horatio Dyer, " " 1841. Stephen Robinson, " " 1842. 1843. Thomas C. Grover, " " 1844-45. Andrew Spafford, " " 1846. " John Ray, 1847. Stephen Robinson, " " 1848-49. Horatio Dyer, Salmon G. Grover. 1850. George C. Marvin, " " 1851-52. " " Wm. A. Robinson. 1853. H. H. Foskett, Jerome B. Patterson. 1854. Stephen Robinson, N. Byron Hopkins. 1855. Moses A. Commins, " " 1 856—57. Arnold Gray, Salmon G. Grover. 1858-59. John S. Wiley, " " i860. " " Marcus (). Austin. 1 86 1. Orson Walbridge, " " 1862. " " James G. Morris. 1863. Thos. M. Fowler, Marcus O. Austin. 1864. " " " George A. Pierce. 1865. Orson Walbridge, " " " 1866-67. A. M. Withington, " •' " 1868-69. Robert H.Wiley. Edward S. Coats. 1870. ■' " " N. Byron Hopkins. 1871. Robert H. Wiley, A.M.Brown. 1872. " " Frank S. Grover. 1873-74. Harvey H. Marvin, " " 1875. E. A. Robinson, Rufus G. Clark. 1876. John S. Wiley, 1877. DeWitt C. Snyder, " 1878-80. " " George M. Wells. The other town officers for 1880 were: — As- sessors, John Wilheim, Nelson Willis, Jonathan Howe ; Highway Commissioner, N. T. Wibbing- ton; Justices, R. H. Wiley, L. R. Hopkins, Orson Walbridge, E. J. Page; Poormaster, Charles Lawrence ; Constable and Collector, E. C. Grover. After the town of Springwater was organized in 181 7, and the civil offices filled by election or ap- pointment by the Governor, it became necessary to organize a militia, and for that purpose the town was divided by the road and line of lots running east and west from the old Goff mill into two mili- tary departments, called the north and south de- partments. It has been the custom of the inhab- itants for a number of years to hold reunions of the survivors of these military companies, the last re- union occurring on the 6th of September, 1880. Captain Ebenezer Smith, now seventy-three years old, commanded the parade, and had prepared a brief history of the militia, which, on account of his weakness, was read by Mr. R. H. Wiley, as follows : — "It must be understood that this little history is almost from recollection down to a boy of ten years old. There has been no record kept that is available, and all the old rolls are lost or de- stroyed. "The first company of infantry in the south de- partment — being the one with which I am the most acquainted, and of which I shall have the most to say — was organized and had a parade and drill in 1818. Captain Daniel Herrick was in com- mand of the company, but at what time his com- mission was dated I am unable to say, or how long he commanded the company. He died March 22, 182 1, and as he was in feeble health for a year or more before his death it is presumable that he re- signed in 1820. Captain Daniel Herrick was a man of commanding aspect ; his height about five feet eleven inches, and in health would weigh 180 pounds. The next in command of the company was Captain William Roberts. He probably served under his commission three or four years. His successor was Captain Abijah Barnes. He died August 31, 1824. Captain Joab Grover succeeded Barnes, and, I think, had command of the com- pany about three years. Captain Ethan Grover was the next in command, and I think served a full term of four years. Captain George Farnsworth was next; David Parshall, First Lieutenant; and Solomon Grover, Jr., Second Lieutenant. They served a full term, and, without doubt, were hon- orably discharged. Captain William Grover took command of the company about 1836, and resigned his command in 1839. About 1836, the 260th Regiment was organized and the two companies consolidated, so that the whole town came under one command. My commission is dated April 24, 1839, and the first parade I took charge of was held on the first Monday in September, 1839. Sylvanus Young was First Lieutenant and John Frazer Second Lieutenant under my command, and Harvey Farley First Sergeant. From that time till I resigned I fulfilled the duties of my office to the best of my ability. I trained the company four years, and never had a word of difficulty with any man in or out of the ranks ; everything at all times was peaceable and orderly. Rufus G. Clark was my successor; Alonzo Snyder, First Lieutenant, and D. C. Snyder, Second Lieutenant. He held the office till the old law was repealed, and by that means he was discharged from the duties of the office." Mr. Smith then produced his Captain's commis- sion, which Mr. Wiley read. It was made and signed in the handwriting of William H. Seward, then Governor of New York State, at Albany, May 8th. 1839. His resignation and its acceptance was also read, which was dated May 30, 1843. Captain Ebenezer Smith was born in Freetown, Bristol county, Mass., in the year 1808. He HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. moved to the town of Springwater on the 24th day of March, 1816. Mr. Smith is respected as a man above the average in intelligence, and as an honest and industrious citizen. The next reunion was appointed for the first Monday in September, 18S1. < )n the first day of June, 1880, the population of Springwater was — White population 2,276 Colored population 1 Number of voters at date 663 Number of actual resident voters 650 The ages of the population range as follows : — ( >ver 90 and less than 100 1 " 80 " 90 13 " 70 " 80 63 60 " 70 131 " 50 60 204 " 4o 50 254 " 30 4° 2S9 " 20 " 30 402 " 10 " 20 440 " ? . " '° 44; Rorn within census year 38 Making a total of 2,277 Of the oldest of these, Jerusha Foster was ninety years old and upwards, and Joel Hudson was eighty-six. The above number of inhabitants are the members of 552 families, who reside in this town, in 514 dwellings. The town contains 378 farms, 4 churches, 18 school houses, 7 stores, 1 meat market, 8 saw mills, 3 grist-mills, 9 black- smith shops, 2 wagon shops, 3 cider mills, 2 cheese factories, one manufactory of agricultural imple- ments, three cooper shops, and two evaporating dry-houses for drying hops and fruits. The town has 18 school districts in which school houses are located, and 4 joint districts. In these districts there are 792 children over 5 and under 2 t years of age. During the year 1880, school was taught 537 3-5 weeks, employing 19 teachers, and with an average attendance of 357. The number of children of school age attending some portion of the year was 641. The amount paid in wages to teachers was $2,801.59. The number of children of school age living out of the town, but attending school in the town was 24. Of this number there was an average attendance of 1 1. The total value of the district libraries is $105, and the once valuable libraries of the town are rap- idly deteriorating. During the year no expendi- tures were made for either libraries or school ap- paratus. The total amount expended for school houses, sites, fences, repairs, and furniture was $138.28. Total incidental expenses for the year, $286.55. Fhe school houses and sites — the latter containing an area of seven acres — have a total valuation of $7,600. The total valuation of the districts is $9,915.33- The houses are all frame buildings, a number of them being quite superior to the usual run of common school houses. For these statistics relating to the schools of Springwater, we are indebted to Mr. Ezra N. Cur- tice, Commissioner of the Second District of the county,* who has held that position six years, and who has proven to be a most efficient officer. Mr. Curtice has taken a deep interest, not only in the schools within his jurisdiction, but in all matters pertaining to the education of the young. He has introduced into the schools in his charge improve- ments in the methods of teaching; and besides the originality of his views, and his intelligent per- ception of educational requirements, is possessed of an additional quality valuable in public instruc- tors—practical common sense. The residence of Mr. Curtice is in Springwater village. It would be an instructive lesson to notice care- fully the gradual elevation of these schools from the rude log-cabins of 1S1 7, and the succeeding years, with their lack of educational facilities, and the primitive methods of instruction, to the present comfortable buildings with their efficient corps of teachers, and all the facilities for a thorough edu- cation which exist to-day. The schools of those early days were the rudi- mentary departments in which were drawn the plans for the better system of education prevailing now, and the progress of those schools marked, surely and definitely, the progress of the town. The result of this growth and improvement in educa- tional methods and facilities is seen in the intelli- gent prosperity of the farming community, in the thoroughness, aptitude, and culture of the mechanics and business men, and in the air of refinement and comfort which pervades all localities thus favored with the facilities for learning. In the last census of the State, the town con- tained 22,343 acres of improved lands, 5,814 acres of woodland, and of other land, 4,422 acres. The cash value of these lands was $1,332,725 ; of farm buildings, aside from dwellings, $166,525 ; of tools and implements, $5 1,042 ; of stock, $183,688. The amount of gross sales from farms was $123,414. The area plowed was 8,561 acres. 5,131 acres were mown, producing 6,154 tons of hay; and * Wllich comprises the towns of Mt. Morris, >■ ' lie, Nund.l, Ossian, Portage, Sparta, Springwater and West Sparta, foi which lie relating to Schools. WEBSTER'S CROSSING — SPRINGWATER. 6,795 acres were devoted to pasture lands. It is noticeable that for fertilizers but $t,ii6 were ex- pended, which should speak well for the natural richness of the soil. Webster's Crossing. Webster's Crossing lies in the northwestern part of the town on the line of the Buffalo, New York and Erie Railroad. At this point there was no settlement of any kind until within the past ten years. The place derives its name from Elisha Webster, who had built there a saw-mill. It con- sists of one store kept by John Eoster, a black- smith shop, stave factory, E. Webster, proprietor, a barrel factory by Alonzo Webster, a cheese- fac- tory, and twenty or twenty-five houses. The post-office is kept by Harvey Humphrey. Springwater. On the line of the Erie road, and less than two miles west of the center of the town, is situated the beautiful village of Springwater. Nestling in the fertile Springwater Valley, with well cultivated farms crowning the slopes of the hills on either side and adding beauty to the pleasant low lands, and with an air of quiet comfort surrounding it, a more charming rural scene it would be difficult to find. The valley is five miles long from north to south, and at this point is half a mile wide. In the ear- lier history of the town this valley was known as Hemlock Valley. It was here, or in the immedi- ate vicinity, that the early settlers located, and the pioneer history of the village is naturally included in the history of the town. This place in 1880 had a population of 344, and is the chief business center of the town. It consists of several stores, mechanics' shops, one hotel, the post-office, and three churches. The post-master is George A. Pierce, who was appointed under Grant's administration in 1S73. The hotel is a well conducted public house kept by George Smith. The village has also a well printed newspaper, The Springwater Enterprise, established in 1879, in connection with which is a suitably appointed job printing office. The editor and proprietor is H. J. Niles. Merchants. — Allen & Whitlock, dealers in dry goods, groceries, and clothing, began business here eight years ago, and have a large trade. This firm is also interested in the hardware trade, under the name of Allen, Whitlock & Humphrey, in which they have been engaged one year. This branch of their business was previously conducted for some two years under the firm name of Allen, Whitlock & Miller. Morris & Grover began business in dry goods, clothing, and general merchandise under this firm name six years ago. The firm was originally Grover & Morris, and then Morris & Withing- ton. James G. Morris has been engaged in busi- ness in Springwater twenty-two years. G. M. Willis, dealer in groceries and provisions, has been in business here five years. H. H. Densmore, dealer in drugs, books, sta- tionery and jewelry, began business here in March, 1866. D. H. Grover & Son, dealers in groceries and boots and shoes, have been in business in Spring- water since 1858. Manufactories. — A considerable trade in man- ufactured goods is established here, consisting of agricultural implements from the manufactory of N. A. Kellogg ; sash, doors and blinds from the mill of S. Tyler ; pails and planed lumber from the factory of Frank Pursel; and Wiard chilled plows, and cultivators from the foundry of H. M. Rogers. Besides these are the carriage factory of H. E. Wilson, who has been engaged in that business here twelve years, and that of J. D. Hendershott, whose business has been established eight years. There is also a paint shop conducted by Hiram Conderman, a meat market by T. S. Wemoth, a bar- ber shop by F. E. DeLang, and a millinery estab- lishment by Mrs. J. D. Hendershott. Residing with Mrs. Hendershott is her mother, the widow of Hon. Salmon G. Grover, the first citizen of this town elected to the Legislature of the State. In 1822 Mrs. Grover saved the life of Hon. William H. Seward. He had driven into Owasco creek to wash his carriage, and turning his horse's head up instead of down the stream, which was then very high and running with a strong current, he was swept from the carriage and born onward with the water. Mr. Seward, being unable to swim, would have drowned had it not been for the presence of mind of Mrs. Grover, whose attention was called to the scene by a crowd of persons assembled on the banks of the creek, none of whom attempted to save the drowning man. Mrs. Grover ran out, seized a plank which was standing against a house near by, and running out on a log she extended it toward him as the current was sweeping him past, which he managed to reach and was rescued. As HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. a token of his gratitude for her noble service. Mr. Seward afterward presented Mrs. Grover with a set of silver spoons, now in the possession of her family, bearing on one side of each the name of the brave lady, and on the Other the initials of the afterwards American statesman, "W. H. S." PHYSICIANS. — The present physicians in the town and village are 1 >r. T. D. Cannor, who has been in practice here twenty years. Dr. Irwin Woodin, two years in the town. Dr. Mrs. Woodin, in practice here two years. Dr. H. A. Whitfield, in practice three years in the town. Dr. Boone, a graduate of Buffalo University, who began his medical practice ten years ago, and who has been a resident practitioner in the village four years. Churches. — If in the early days of the town's his- tory one had been passing over the Canadice hills, he might have met a tall, stout man with a bag of grain on his shoulder. This man was Elder John Cole, the first minister who resided in Springwater. It is said that he often carried grain from Rich- mond, a distance of twelve miles, over a hilly road. He presided over the Baptist church, which was organized in 181 6 or 'i 7, laboring through the week and preaching the gospel on the Sabbath, usually holding two services, and regaling himself during intermission on a piece of johnnycake which he carried from home. Elder Cole was a strong man physically, preached strong doctrine, and, according to the custom of those times, did not eschew what was then called a n asonable use of strong drink. The church over which he presided has long since ceased to exist, anil there are no records extant whereby we can definitely trace its origin or dissolution. At that time the Methodists had a society, of which Phineas Gilbert, who came to Springwater in 1810, was the first-class leader. The organiza- tion of this society was mostly due to the exertions of Jonathan Lawrence, who may justly be called the father of the Methodist Episcopal church of Spring- water. At that early date the society consisted of a half dozen persons. The Methodist circuit then embraced Bloomfield and Springwater, and was supplied by Rev. Elisha House anil an assistant. The first quarterly meeting was held by Rev. Abner Chase in 1820 or '21, in the barn of Jona- than Lawrence, who was then class leader. The present church was dedicated April 3, 1834. The pastor for 1880 was Rev. E. M. Buck. The church has a membership of titty. Presbyterian Church. — The Presbyterian church was organized February 10th, 182 1. It was at first formed as a Congregational church, and was com- posed of twelve members, as follows : Alpheus Phelps, Jotham Dyer. Alfred Phelps. Daniel Ward, Nathaniel Adams. I.ucinda Ford, Esther Flanders, Mercy Adams, Clarissa Phelps, Nancy Brown, Melinda Gott, Mary Whalen. Previous to this organization, and while the popu- lation was sparse, Rev. Lyman Barrett, pastor of the church of Naples, Ontario county, at times visited the place and preached. Under his minis- tration the church was organized, and on the 16th of January, 1827, was received under the care of the Presbytery of Ontario. In 1843 the church consisted of forty-six members, the greatest number ever belonging to it at one time. In 1S46 the membership was thirty-six. For about five years after the organization of the church Mr. Barrett occasionally preached, admin- istered the sacrament, and acted as moderator in the sessions. After his departure Rev. James Cahoon performed similar services for three years. Rev. Seymour Thompson was stated supply nearly three years. Rev. Daniel B. Woods was ordained and installed as pastor September 19. 1839, and was dismissed from his pastoral charge August 25, 1841. I le was sin reeded by Rev. ffni. Hunter in October of the same year, who was ordained and installed as pastor of the church, September 25, 1844. The most distinguished season of revival ever enjoyed by the church was in 1843, as the fruits of which twenty members were added to the church by profession. The church was dedicated December 31, 1840. In 1872 it was repaired at a cost of $1,600, and re-dedicated, the dedicatory sermon being delivered by Rev. Dr. Shaw of Rochester, N. Y. The church edifice is fifty feet in length by thirty- six broad, is conveniently located on the Main street, and has connected with it a pleasant parson- age. The present membership is forty, presided over by Rev. William Hunter, in the fortieth year of his pastorate. The First Advent Christian Church of Spring- water was organized in 1871, in which year the society erected a neat and substantial church. It has a membership of between fifty and sixty pre- sided over by Rev. Warren J. Hobbs. The Christian Church is located a mile or two from the village. The church building was erected in 1839. The society numbers about forty. The pastor in 1SS0 was Rev. George Hibbard. JOHN B. NORTON — DR. ARNOLD GRAY. 223 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. JOHN B. NORTON. Photo, by Betts, Dansville. (JOHN B. NORTON.) Among the pioneers of Springwater none have left a more honored memory than he whose name appears at the head of this sketch. Dr. John Boardman Norton was born April 21st, 1793, at Greenville, Greene county, N. Y. His father resided next at Aurelius, in Cayuga county, and John B. attended the seminary at Auburn some two years. In the war of 1812 he acted a con- spicuous part as First Sergeant under Capt. Daniel Eldridge, at Sachem's Head Harbor, on Long Island Sound, in preventing the British stealing our shipping. Afterwards, Major Umstead ordered his com- pany to Buffalo, under General Peter B. Porter, but it arrived too late to take a part in the military proceedings of that place. Fort Erie or Lundy's Lane. At the age of twenty-two he commenced the study of medicine with Dr. Clary at Troups- ville, where he stayed one year, when he went in with Dr. Joseph T. Pitney at Auburn, where he com- menced to ride and visit patients, and after a stay of two years, left the pleasant little village of Au- burn, and on the 18th day of February, 1820, started for Springwater, where he arrived on the 20th. At that time Springwater was almost wholly un- known, consisting only of a few log houses, and the embryotic M. D. was just the man for the position. Young, energetic, willing and anxious to assist in building up, and to be built up by the then active little hamlet where he had cast his lot. He first pitched his tent above the orchard on the present premises of Webster Tyler, where Hosea Grover started the first store ever kept in town. In 182 1 John B. associated himself with Harvey S. Tyler, in the mercantile business, but his health being rather delicate, dissolved partnership, or rather sold out to Tyler, July 25, 1825, and then en- tered wholly into medicine. In the same month Dr. Arnold Gray came into town, and in August following they entered into partnership, which lasted one year. On the 8th day of June, 1823, he mar- ried Jane C. Marvin, by whom he had eight children. One daughter, Mrs. Lovinia Andrus. of Livonia Station, and four sons, viz : John and Oscar M., of Allegany county, Asher B., of Ontario county, and Wm. H., now the owner of the farm on which his father died, survived him, all of whom are successful farmers and business men. S. G. Grover, John B. Norton and others, under the firm name of Grover, Norton & Co., bought of Timothy Ryder the land on which stands the present store of Allen & Whitlock, and built the old part of the said building in 1826. They dis- solved soon afterwards, and Norton took thirty- five acres of land where the hotel and other build- ings stand as his share of the gains and losses. At different times in life he has filled the offices of Commissioner or Inspector of Schools, Road Commissioner, and others, all of which were never sought for by him, but which were always filled in a. satisfactory manner. A few years since he sold out, retired from practice, and purchased the farm on which he died. In his old age he retained his memory remark- ably well, his step was firm and elastic, and as he was a noted Nimrod in his youth, he still clung con- siderably to some of his boyish proclivities — fishing being a pastime in which he, during the last season of his life, spent many a pleasant day on the bosom of Hemlock Lake. He was a liberal Christian; was a firm friend to the system of popu- lar education, in the belief that general education, by lessening crime and imparting skill to effort, is an ample return for the burdens of taxation. Abroad he was social; at home, cheerful and pleasant. He contemplated the past in general with satisfaction, and the future he awaited with a tranquil mind. Ever honorable, benevolent and kind, he won and retained the esteem of all, and passed away on the 29th of August, 1878, mourned by a large circle of friends and kindred. DR. ARNOLD GRAY. Dr. Arnold Gray was born in Lower Canada, March 20, 1798. He moved with his parents to Washington county, N. Y., when twelve years old. His mother, a strong-minded Christian woman, took great care in the moral and religious training of her large family. 224 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Photo, by Belts, Dansville. (DR. ARNOLD GRAY.) Dr. Gray received his medical education at Fair- field, Herkimer county, where he graduated in 1824, and the same year moved to Springwater. He worked at home on the farm until he was twenty-two years old, and then prepared himself for teaching school. During a few years of teach- ing he earned sufficient money to defray the ex- penses of his medical education. In 1828, he married Frances Ackley, of Gran- ville, Washington county, who died in i860. He was again married in 1862 to Fanny Armstrong, of I'enn Yan, N. Y. Nature had endowed the Dr. with a remarkable constitution which endured the hardships of a new, rough and hilly country sparsely settled. He loved the practice of medicine, and his marked individuality together with a long prac- tice, gave him a wide-spread notoriety. His aim was conservative, and though taking an active part in political life and serving as Supervisor in the town for several years, he was never an office-seek- er. Not readily receiving new ideas, he was more disposed to inquire for the old ways and walk in old paths. With a strong will, positive opinions and likes and dislikes which were lasting, his na- ture still possessed a great deal of sunshine, and his ready joke and hearty laugh were frequently a benediction to the sick. The Doctor for more than thirty years was a liberal supporter, and foi half that time a consistent member of the Presbyterian church. In response to a call of the late Mr. liaiiier on December 8, he became so exhausted with the hardships of the trip as to cause his death January 5, 1879. He was buried in "Evergreen Cemetery." Dr. Gray stood high in his profession, and his practice was extensive not only in Spring- water but in several of the adjoining towns. He was a true friend to the poor, often rendering them professional services without charge. JOHN WEIDMAN. John Weidroan, the sketch of whose place, with portrait of himself and estimable wife, appears in this work, was the son of Jacob Weidman, who moved from Northampton county, Penn., in 1823, and settled in Sparta, and whose father was a soldier in the Revolution, he himself having fought in the war of 1812. John, the subject of this sketch, in 1S49 was married to Mary Ann Hartman. They had ten children, six of whom are now living. In 1856 he moved on the place where he now lives, and occu- pied the log house (a sketch of which appears in the sky margin) until 1S72, when he built the fine residence which now attracts the attention of the passer-by. His farm, which is situated about three miles from Springwater and two from the Erie depot, is now in splendid condition, and no stronger evidence of the industry and energy of Mr. Weid- man than a walk over his large and productive fields, with good fences, and barns well stocked with every requisite of a first-class farm, will give. Through close application to his business, he has made for himself a magnificent home out of what was but a few years ago a wilderness. CHAPTER XVIII. History of the Town of Sparta. THE town of Sparta lies southeast of the center of Livingston county. It is bounded on the north by Conesus and Groveland, on the east by Springwater, on the west by West Sparta and on the south by North Dansville. The surface of the town is exceedingly hilly, some of the highest points rising one thousand feet above the level of the valleys. The soil is a mixture of gravelly loam on the high lands, and in the valleys an admixture of gravelly loam and clay. The town has an area of 16,625 acres, and a population of 1,133. The town of Sparta was formed in 1789, and originally embraced the towns of Groveland, West Sparta, and North Dansville, with also a small por- tion of Springwater. In 1816 a part of Spring- water was taken from Sparta. Groveland was formed in 181 2. In the year 1846 the town of Sparta was by legislative enactment divided, and from it was formed what is now known as the towns of Sparta, West Sparta and I (ansville. A portion of Groveland was annexed to Sparta in 1856. When Dansville was erected all the remain- ing portion of the town of Sparta lying east of SPARTA— EARLY SETTLERS. "5 Canaseraga creek was formed into a separate town and retained the original name of Sparta. The remaining part lying west of the creek was declared a separate township and named West Sparta. The settlement of the town began in 1794, near the present village of Scottsburgh. Jesse Collar is supposed to have been the first settler here in that year. He was a native of Pennsylvania, as were most of the early settlers. For a number of years Scottsburgh was called Collartown, in honor of Jesse Collar. Among other pioneers in this region of hills and forests were Darling Havens, John Niblack, Asa Simons, Robert Wilson, Thomas Hovey and Alex- ander Fullerton,* who came from Chester county, Pennsylvania. Darling Havens kept the first tavern in the town in the year 1800, at a place since known as Havens' Corners. He afterward kept hotel in Scottsburgh in the house built and occupied by William Scott, in 181 9. He had two sons, Isaac and Thomas, who inherited his property. They are now all dead. The first grist-mill was built by W. D. McNair in 18 10. The first religious society established for the worship of God was that of the Methodists, presided over by Rev. John B. Hudson, circuit preacher, in 1805. No records exist to throw any light whatever on this society. It probably became extinct, as no permanent society of that denomina- tion was organized in the town until thirty-five years later. The first school teacher was Thomas Maclem, about 1796. Among the first physicians was Dr. Scholl, who came from Northampton county, Pennsylvania. In 1795 James McCurdy came here and pur- chased a farm. The price of land then was three dollars per acre, which was considered very high, and was brought to that sum through the specula- tive spirit of the owners. The price for twenty years after ruled lower, from one dollar and fifty cents to two dollars and fifty cents per acre. The country then had a wild, yet attractive appearance, and the soil was very productive for the various kinds of grain and vegetables now extensively grown there. Mr. McCurdy for some years sold the most of his grain and stock to the new settlers, but occasion- ally going elsewhere for a market. The second year after his arrival he went to Bath with a load of oats, and as he could get no money was obliged to sell them to Dugald Cameron for thirty-seven * Father to General William S Fullerton. and one-half cents per bushel and take his pay in trade. In those days the settlers were obliged to go to the Onondaga saltworks with teams for sup- plies of salt. It usually cost them two dollars per barrel, and when transported to Sparta often sold for ten dollars per barrel. At Bath the principal settlers then were Captain Charles Williamson, Andrew Smith. Dugald Cam- eron and Daniel Cruger, Sen., who kept a tavern there. The Indians, whose encampments were located in that vicinity, or who roamed here and there through the forests, were exceedingly friendly and but for their rude friendship and kindly acts many of the pioneers could hardly have lived dur- ing the first few years of their settlement. One Indian named "Yankee John" frequently made his camp in this locality, and he and others of his tribe often stayed with the settlers during the night. This poor fellow was afterward made lame for life from wounds received in an encounter with a bear. The year in which Mr. McCurdy came, the town was in Ontario county; the next it was set off into Steuben, and again in 182 1 into Livingston county. In the year 1804, a man and woman on horse- back left the State of Pennsylvania, and after five days' ride reached the forests and scantily cleared lands of Sparta. Here, after making a satisfactory survey, they located a home on lands since owned by Peter Swick, and then departed as they came, returning to their home in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania. This man and woman were James Scott and his wife, whose family were destined to play an important part in the history of Sparta. James Scott was born in the county Antrim, Ire- land, of Scotch parents. His family came to America in October, 1773, and settled at Mount Bethel, Pennsylvania, where James continued to live until 1794. In that year he went to Northum- berland county where he lived until his removal to Sparta, as a permanent resident, in 1806. Coming to America at the time the colonies were trembling on the verge of a revolution, which three years later worked the beginning of the greatest epoch in the nation's history, he became imbued with the patriotic spirit of that age, and when the revolution broke out he joined the American forces under the command of Colonel Stroud, and with his regiment was sent to the fron- tier to protect the border inhabitants from the scalping knife of the Indians. James Scott brought to the new region of Sparta a family of ten children. The distance from Penn- 226 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. sylvania to Sparta was considered great in those days, and the journey was attended with severe labor, much of the distance being over rough roads or no roads at all, which in such cases necessitated the cutting of a thoroughfare through the forests. In the fall of the same year in which Mr. Scott and his wile made their prospective trip to Sparta, two of his sons came here and made a small clear- ing on the land which he had located, on which they built a log cabin, returning the next summer to Pennsylvania. In this cabin the family located in 1806, and commenced their new life in the Genesee country, with all the attendant labor and privations of pioneer existence. After a residence of thirty-four years in the town in which he was respected as an honest, energetic and useful citi- zen, James Scott died in 1840, aged eighty-four. His wife died in 1851. Upon William Scott fell the mantle of his fa- ther's usefulness and influence. For him the vil- lage of Scottsburgh was named, which for years was known as Collartown. William Scott was born July 18, 1790,* in Mount Bethel, Northamp- ton county, Pa., coming with his father to Sparta, as before stated, in 1806. The year after his ar- rival here, then sixteen years old, he entered the wool-carding and cloth-dressing establishment of Samuel Culbertson, in Dansville, where he re- mained nearly three years. At the expiration of his services with Mr. Culbertson, he went to Li- vonia where he engaged with Russell & Holden at the carding business for eighteen dollars per month. His engagement with the firm lasted until winter only, when he engaged his services to the Norton Mills, now Mendan, and at that time owned by Flder Weeks. In the spring of 1811, he went into partnership with Carson Rochester in the carding business at 1 lansville, in which connection he pursued the business three years until Mr. Rochester, selling his property here, severed the partnership. In 1 813 he was drafted, but hired a substitute, Peter Roberts, for fifty dollars. He also volunteered on three occasions of public alarm, one of which was the burning of Buffalo, when he marched under General Wadsworth as far as Batavia. In that same year he built a grist-mill in Scottsburgh in company with his brother. In 181 4, he became foreman in the cloth dress- ing establishment of Benjamin Hungerford, in what is now West Sparta, where he remained three ■From Mi nces "given at a meeting of piooeers of Livingston t < unity, in 187). years. At this place began his acquaintance with Millard Fillmore, afterward president of the United States, who had come here to learn the wool carding business. The friendship thus formed lasted through life, a regular correspondence being kept up between them, and Mr. Scott often visiting Mr. Fillmore at his private residence and at the White House. Mr. Scott, after his three years' ser- vice here, went to Arkport, Steuben county, where for one season he carried on the carding works of Judge Hurlburt, receiving as compensation thirty- five dollars per month and in the succeeding year tak- ing the business on shares. Remaining in Arkport two years, Mr. Scott returned to Sparta in the early part of 1 819, and built a house in Scottsburgh which, two years later, he opened as a hotel, continuing in that business until 1826. In 1835 he was elected justice of the peace, holding that office twelve years. In 1836 he was elected member of Assembly and again the succeeding year was returned to that office. He also held in 1847 the position of Justice of Sessions. His associate was John H. Jones of Leicester, Judge Lord occupying the bench as County Judge. In 1820 Mr. Scott married Phebe Woodruff of Livonia, the result of this union being one child, a son, who died in 1840 at Canandaigua while a student in the academy there. Mrs. Scott died in 1856. Mr. Scott's career of usefulness in this town and county extended over a period of seventy \ ears, and his energy, honesty and manliness formed a character that commanded the respect and esteem of all with whom he came in contact. His death which occurred in Rochester in the spring of 1876, was widely lamented. He died at St. Mary's hospital in that city, his remains being brought to Scotts- burgh for burial. Mr. Scott was eighty-six years old. His brother, Samuel Scott, a highly esteemed citizen, still resides in Sparta, a short distance east of Scottsburgh. Among other early settlers in Sparta were Hector McKay, Morgan Hammond, and among the set- tlers from the old country were Archibald McFet- ridge, Edward Logan, Robert Ross, William Carney, Squire Magee, Henry Havens and Hugh Magee. Morgan Hammond had six sons, two of whom are dead, and only one son, Lester, is now living in Sparta. Hector McKay was a great friend to the Indians of those early days, and by them was highly esteemed. Two of his sons, Robert and Mordecai, are living in the town ; another son, James, who used ■ ■ Mr, & Mrs. Menry Driesbach, Sr, HENRY DRIESBACH, SR. Hem-}* Driesbach, Sr. , was one of the pioneers aud one of the advance guard of I hose emigrants who, turning their backs to the home of their youth and the comforts and lux- uries of the older States, moved to a country covered with forests, to make it the home of civilization, and to dis- place the wigwam of the Indian for the school-house, the church, and the comfortable dwelling. They were con- querors, not by the sword and musket, but by proper and rugged tools moved by stalwart arms, strong native intelligence and by the immutable truths of the Bible and that religion which teaches an intelligent and heartfelt devotion to the God of their fathers. N o oue among their number is more worthy a place in this History of Living- ston county than Henry Driesbach, Sr. , for he was one whose strong arm, brave heart, and unwearied industry aided in making her foremost among the agricultural counties of the State. It is with peculiar pleasure that we record the name of such men on the pages of this History. He was born in Lehigh township, Northum- berland county, Pennsylvania, April 3, 1790. In the year 1806 he removed to Sparta with his father's family. When old enough he purchased a piece of land contain- ing seventy acres. One day a laud agent called at his father's and proposed to sell to Henry this piece of land. He replied that he had no money with which to purchase it. The agent informed him that he would trust him for it and give him all the time needed in which to pay, pro- vided he would pay the cost of making out the contracts which was $1,50. This was another poser to the young man for he saw no means by which to raise the required sum. But his mother came to the rescue and said, "Henry, if you really wish to take up that laud I'll pay for the contract." Accordingly she paid the agent the money, the papers were made out and Henry became the posses- sor of the seventy acres of land. At this time the laud was valued at ten shillings per acre, aud here was a debt of #87,50 for Henry to pay. Soon the sound of his ax began to resound through the forest. In a short time he made a small clearing and then commenced building him a house, working at it at odd times until he enclosed it and finished off one room. This done, like Jacob of old, he looked around for a wife, a companion who would share with him the comforts of his home. He soon found one in the person of Lydia, daughter of Harmon Hart- man, of Dansville, whom he married in 1819. She was iu every sense of the word worthy of her husband, and their life was a happy oue. The hnsbaud, after successfully fighting the battle of life for over seventy years, has gone to his final rest, but his widow still lives in the very bouse to which her hus- band took her when a bride. He used to relate in a pleasing manner how ardently he struggled to pay for his first seventy acres of laud. The land office from which he purchased was at Geneva, fifty or more miles distant from his home, and nothing but a foot path marked by blazed trees to guide him there. He says, " I remember on one occasion when there was ten dollars due the office, by the hardest kind of scraping I got the money together and with my gun on my shoulder, I started on foot for Geneva. In due time reaching there, I paid my money and started for home." ' 'In those days deer and bears were plenty in the country and often, too, a panther was to be seen prowling about. I saw but little game until nearly home and then espied a noble deer some rods from me. I raised my gun, fired, and the deer giving one jump dropped dead. "With my hunting knife I skinned it, cut out the hind quarters, strung them over my shoulders aud marched home with my venison." This took place very near what is now called Keeds Corners. Another time, when on his way home, as he reached a dense part of the forest, he heard a strange noise which came from a large tree. Looking up he saw a huge panther glaring down at him. Bringing his gun to bear on the frightful beast he fired. The bullet entered its throat just under its mouth, inflicting a fatal wound. The panther fell to the grouud, snapping his teeth at him in the most ferocious manner. He fired again and this time the ball entered his brain, causing instant death. Mr. D. sold the skiu of this large animal for eight dollars, thereby receiving nearly enough to pay the next install- ment on his contract. At length having paid for his seventy acres he gradu- ally took up land and paid for it till many years before his death he owned six hundred and sixty acres of land, the most valuable in the county. Mr. Driesbach was the father of eight children, four of whom died in childhood. Henry lived till forty-five years of age, and Elias is still living. Mrs. Hartmau, wife of Wm, Hartman of Dansville. aud Mrs. Galbraith, widow of John Galbraith, of Sparta, are children of his. Mr. Driesbach was successful as a mechanic as well as an excellent farmer. At an early age he united with the Lutheran Reformed Church at Dau6ville, and during the remainder of his life was a devoted and prayerful member of that church. He was always a Democrat but never troubled others with his politics. He died at the advanced age of eighty-two, honored and respected by all who knew him. et .*«. t&~ WU .^&«-JB &i Residence of Elias Driesba< , — : OLD DRlESiACH ftpME;§TEA£ BUILT 1815t,8EBU'it¥%^r,_ WSm ir :y- --Ml- SV Ji %" - .^5*^ - • Y ■ ' ' r / Sparta, Livingston Co.N.Y. SPARTA — TOWN OFFICERS. to act in the capacity of a lawyer, went West many years ago. Archibald McFetridge, father to Edward Mc- Fetridge, the supervisor of the town in 1S80, still lives in Sparta at the advanced age of ninety years. Edward Logan died several years ago. His sons, John, James and Andrew, are residents in Sparta ; the oldest son, Edward, lives inGroveland. Robert Ross died some six years ago ; only one son, Robert, survives him. William Carney, still living, has two sons, Hugh arid William, Jr. Squire Magee died ten years ago. None of his sons live here. Hugh Magee, his brother, still lives in the town. Henry Havens died two years ago. Four sons, William, Henry, Isaac and Willard survive him. Rev. Andrew Gray, the first settled minister in the town, had two sons, James and William, who are now dead. Mrs. Perrine is the only survivor of his family in Sparta. There has been no resident lawyer in Sparta in forty years. Col. Woodruff, now dead, William Scott, and James McKay used to act in that ca- pacity, but not as regular practitioners. Of the physicians who have practiced in Sparta, Doctor A. Campbell, who resided in Scottsburgh, and who was highly esteemed, moved to Mount Morris where he died some years ago. Doctor E. Patchin moved to Dansville where he died. Doctor Jocelyn removed to Mount Morris where he still lives. Doctor Coe left Sparta several years ago. The present physicians are Drs. J. B. Purchase, D. H. Foster,* and ■ Harrison, located at Scottsburgh. Town Officers. — The first town meeting held in Sparta, when it embraced its original territory, was held at the house of William Lemens in Williams- burgh, on the first Tuesday in April. 1796. The officers elected at that meeting were as fol- lows: Supervisor, William Harris; Town Clerk, William Lemens ; Assessors, John McNair, James Rosebrugh, Henry Magee ; Commissioners of Highways, Matthias Lemen, Alexander McDonald; Commissioners of Schools, Samuel Mills, James Henderson, Robert Erwin ; Pathmasters, William McCartney, Hector McKay; Pound Keeper, Asahel Simons ; Fence Viewers, Nathan Fowler, + Lives across the line in Groveiand. Jeremiah Gregory ; Constable and Collector, John Ewert. Thereafter, as near as can be learned from the records, the succession of Supervisors and Town Clerks was as follows : — Supervisors. Town Clerks. 1797. William Harris. William Lemens. 1798-99. " " William McCartney. 1800. James Henderson. William Lemens. 1 80 1. John Smith. Robert McKay. 1802. Hugh McNair. " " 1803-04. " " William McCartney. 1805 " " David McNair. 1806-10. William McCartney. " 1811-12. David McNair. James Rosebrugh. 1813-15. William McCartney.Benj. Wilcox. 1816. James Scott. Samuel Stillwell. 1S1 7. William McCartney. James Scott. 1818-19. " " Wm. D. McNair. 1820.) , 1821.J 1822-25. William McCartney. Phillip Woodruff. 1826. " " Samuel Shannon. 1827-29.! 1 8 30-3 4 1832.?' Isaac Wendell. 1833- 183. 1835- 1836. 1837- 1838. 1839. 1840. 1841. 1842. Isaac Wendell. Isaac L. Endress. H. T. Taggart. Isaac L. Endress. D. McNair. Isaac L. Endress. Samuel M. Welch. E. Faulkner. J. B. Smith. The first recorded vote for governors and repre- sentatives was in 1801. George Clinton received twenty-nine and Stephen Van Rensselaer ten votes on the gubernatorial ticket. For Lieutenant-Gov- ernor Jeremiah Van Rensselaer received twenty- seven, James Watson, ten, and William Harris, one. Lemuel Shipman, for Senator, received thirty-eight votes, Isaac Foote the same, and Judge Meyer, thir- ty-seven. In May, 1801, the first recorded license was granted by John Smith, H. W. McNair and Wil- liam Wadsworth, commissioners of excise, to Thomas Hammer, of Sparta, for tavern keeping and for the sale of spirituous liquors. The first town meeting after the division of the town was held on the first Tuesday in April, 1847, •There are no records of the Supervisors or Town Clerks for 1820-21 ; though it is supposed that McCartney was Supervisor and W. D. McNair Town Clerk. t From 1827101830 the Supervisor is believed to have been William McCartney. He filled that office twenty-six years in all. X No records as to either Supervisor or Town Clerk, but it would ap- pear that Shannon was Clerk, as his name is appended to road surveys, etc., in those years. § No records as to Supervisor. 228 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. at the house of Darling Havens. The chief offi- cers elected at that meeting, and the succession from then to 1880, are as follows : — Supervisors. Town Clerks. 1847-48. P. Woodruff, 1849-51. John Oilman, 1852. 1853- .854. iS55- Harvey G. Baker. John Shepard. Timothy Hopkins. F. P. Harrison. David D. McNair, John Shepard, Hugh McCartney, David I). McNair. I >a\ id D. McNair, Harvey G. Baker. " John Shepard. Harvey G. Baker, George Shafer, Harvey G. Baker, David I). McNair, Alonzo T. Slaight, " John Shepard, " " " Edwin E. Shutt. " " Jesse Smith. " " Freeman P. Harrison. Samuel L. Shutt. " " George Tillotson. Rockwell M. Lozier. D. H. Foster. James M. Newton. Edwin E. Shutt. John N. Foster. 1856. 1857 1858, i8 5 9 i860. 1861 1862 1863. 1864-65. 1866-67. 1868-70. " 1871. 1872. 1873-74. " 1 875. John Logan, 1876-77. John Galbraith, 1878. E. L. McFetridge, 1879-80. " " The following is a list of the names of the re- maining officers of the town of Sparta for the year 1880 :— Justices, Jesse Smith, James Newton, J. M. Campbell, Wm. W. Sutton ; Assessors, Jesse Roberts, Benjamin Kiehle, Wm. Driesbach ; High- way Commissioner, Philip Hilts ; Overseers of Poor, G. H. Johns, W. P. Barnes ; Inspectors of Election, Thomas Dodd, John Oilman, Rensselaer Cranmer; Collector, D. D. Dunn ; Constables, D. D. Dunn, Jotham McGregor, Wm. Henry, H. K. Needham, Harmon Gilman ; Game Constable, Samuel Roberts ; Fxcise Commissioners, Wm. H. Kiehle, Henry Thompson. The war record of Sparta is manifestly incom- plete, although the town furnished a considerable number of volunteers in the late rebellion. There has been kept no complete record of the enlist- ments either as to men or regiments, and what is here given is mostly from the personal recollections of soldiers who survived the vicissitudes of the war, and of citizens of the town. The town clerk's records contain but the actions of a special meeting of the citizens, called by the Supervisor for the 25th day of August, 1864, at which the following resolutions were passed : — Resolved, That the town of Sparta pa}- to volun- teers who shall be credited to the town, under the late call of the President for five hundred thousand men, a bounty of $800, in addition to the amount raised by the county for one year men ; the same amount to be paid to any person furnishing a sub- stitute under said call, who shall be credited to said town, up to the amount of our quota, and payable in five equal annual payments with interest thereon, and the same to be levied and collected from the taxable property of the town of Sparta. Resolved, That every drafted man from said town of Sparta receive the same amount as volun- teers, and Resolved, That each elector in said town of Sparta shall pay ten dollars per capita tax, to apply on the tax levied on said town to pay volunteers. The following number received a bounty of $300 : George E. McGregor, Charles E. McGregor, Peter S. Ort, Jacob Moose, George Krisher, Ezra Sturdevant, George A. Miller, James B. Cratser, 21st New York Cavalry; George W. Loveland, James Emo, Henry Bovee, Joseph Hersh, Joseph Doty, Solomon Freed, Jesse B. Lasey, Captain O. F. Wisner, 2 2d New York Cavalry; R. Alfred Allen, hospital steward, 22d New York Cavalry; Patrick McSheane, assistant surgeon, 2 2d New York Cavalry. The following received one thousand dollars bounty: Abram Swartz, Allen Conkling, William Stuffy, Edward Brennen and John Dexter (substi- tutes). In i 862 the following volunteers received a town bounty of $50 each: Andrew Conkling, 130th Regiment ; D. D. Dunn, 130th Regiment, wounded by explosion of shell ; Phillip Gilman, 130th Regiment, blind from effects of the war; Edson C. Marshall, 130th Regiment; Har- mon Gilman, 136th Regiment; Henry K. Need- ham, 136th Regiment; David Langley; John Young, died in army; William J. Hampshire, George Snyder, Andrew McWhorter, Archibald Simpson, Sidney E. Roberts, Laban Upthegrove. In 1863 the appended number received a bounty of $50 and $75 : Thomas Yan Scooter, Martin S. Hampshire, Henry C. Kiehle, George Swartz, Eli Gilman, Martin Sandey, William Pifer, John Kiehle, R. M. Lozier, Solomon Swartz, J. Deiter,* 136th Regiment; Milton Flory, Prosper A. Smith, Rensselaer Cranmer, Cady Smith, 130th Regiment; William A. Miller, Joseph Emo, 21st New York Cavalry ; Monroe Conkling, John Curtis, Abraham Kiehle, killed at the second battle of Bull Run, old 13th Regiment; Horace Curtis, 13th Regi- ment, wounded in the head, from the effects of which he died ; Mark Hall, wounded ; John Dunn, (ieorge Sutton, Harrison Clemens, James M. Kiehle, W. B. Strickland, David Wambole, George ♦ Shol through 1 1 n_- lun^s. ' h I Photo, by Belts, Dansville. M.R. & Mrs. John Galbe^aith. JOHN GALBRAITH. John Galbraith was born May 8, 1826. His father, Patrick Galbraith, came from the north of Ireland about the year 1820, and a few years later settled in Sparta, on the farm where Robert Ross now lives, and where John was born. He was the fifth of a family of ten children, six sons and four daughters, three of whom are now living, as fol- lows : — Jane, wife of James Gilman, of Groveland, Lizzie Galbraith, living in Mt. Morris, and Mary L., wife of P. G. Kelley, of the latter place. John remained with and assisted his father until twenty-one years of age, when he and his brother Samuel B., bought their father's farm and worked it together for a few years, when John sold his in- terest to Samuel. Soon after this he bought a farm in the town of Groveland, built there a new house, and February 9, 1854, was married to Lydia, daughter of Henry Dricsbach, Sr.,of Sparta. This farm he sold in 1857 or 58, and moved to Mt. Morris, where he engaged in business in a flouring mill, which he conducted till 1862, when he entered the army, having enlisted and been appointed First Lieutenant in company F, of the 136th Regiment. After his return from the army he engaged in farm- ing, his principal occupation until his death which occurred Feb. 23, 1880, at the age of fifty-three. In politics he was a Democrat, and held the office of highway commissioner a number of years, as also that of Supervisor of Sparta for several terms. In religious views he was a Presbyterian. John Galbraith, though a man of few words as well as modest and retiring, naturally won the esteem and confidence of all with whom he come in con- tact. In all his business transactions he was hon- orable, direct, and in every sense reliable, and throughout the whole history of his life there has nothing occurred that detracts in the least from a uniformly honorable record. He took a deep though unobtrusive interest in public matters. He was always proud of the high agricultural fame of Livingston county, inheriting from his Scottish ancestry that love of liberty, that devotion to free institutions, that independence which characterize the Scottish people wherever they may be. When the late rebellion broke out, his love of country was exhibited in his enlistment into her armies, where he faithfully served as First Lieutenant. He was generous to a fault, and his liberality was proverbial, and yet many of his most liberal acts were unknown to all but him and the recipients of his kindness. In every sense Mr. Galbraith was one whose life though unostenta- tious, was in every way worthy to be recorded in the history of Livingston county. Mrs. Galbraith has been a member of the Ger- man Reformed Church over seventeen years. The married life of Mr. and Mrs. Galbraith has been a happy one. They had nine children, three of whom died in their youth. Those who are living are Mary E., Lydia D., now Mrs. John A. Cul- bertson, of Sparta, Henry D., John, Jennie M., and Anna W. Mrs. Galbraith and Henry D., con- duct the large farm of three hundred acres, in a successful and creditable manner. GEORGE George H. Johns was born in Catawissa, Columbia county, Pa., May 23, 1818. His father, Abraham Johns, was born in the same town in 17S5 and died in 1830, aged 45 years. His mother, a native of the same town, was born in 1789 and died in 1871, aged 81 years. They had seven children, as follows: Lavina, (dead,) Angelina, living in Shamokin, Pa., Stacey, (dead,) Mary Ann, wife of Isaac Traxler, and living in Dansville, N. Y., George H., (our subject,) Hiram, (dead,) and Sarah J., living in Bloomsburg, Pa., the wife of Freas Brown. George lived at home till twenty-one years of age. Having bought out the remaining heirs after his father's death, he operated the home farm until he was twenty-five years old, when he came to Sparta, and May 23, 1843, married Susan R., daughter of Erhard and Susan (Kidd) Rau, who was born September 20, 1822. ■ He then returned to his home in Pennsylvania, and remaining there about ten eof^ge fi. Johns. H. JOHNS. months came to Sparta, locating where he now lives, on the farm he bought of George Cole. He held the office of Justice of the Peace twelve years, Assessor six years, In- spector of Election six years, and in 1S78 was appointed Notary Public, being re- appointed in 1880. In politics, "Squire" Johns is a Democrat, but formerly an old line Whig. He is a member of the Lutheran church in Sparta Centre, having united with it in 1845, and his wife has been a worthy member of the same since 1841. They have had four children, Saloma A., born October 26, 1844, wife of George Kercher, now living in Kalamazoo county, Mich.; Sabina Adelia, born May 28, 1846, married William Dries- bach, and now living in Sparta; Mary A., born September 15, 1848, wife of John Foster, now Town Clerk of Sparta ; and Heman H., born February 23, 1852, married Emma R. Shafer, of Sparta, and now living at home. SPARTA — CHURCHES. 229 Coon, William Sorg, Charles P. Hilts, George M. Reed, James W. Roberts. Churches. — Early in the history of this section of country the pioneers began to take measures to establish the worship of God. The first people to form a permanent society for religious observances were the Presbyterians. The origin of the church of this denomination is involved in considerable obscurity, owing to the loss by fire of all the papers that could have given authentic information on the subject. The beginning of its existence may be safely dated from the time when the first settlers entered the township, which, as before stated, then included what is now known as the towns of Sparta, West Sparta, Groveland and North Dansville. Tne first settlement in this region appears to have been at a place called Williamsburgh, now in the town of Groveland, where certain Presbyterian families made choice of a home, about the year !79S- These people were supplied with sermons occa- sionally by the Revs. Daniel Thatcher, John Lind- sley and others ; these ministers being missionaries under the care of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church. There is no record extant of any church having been organized at Williams- burgh, but the names of certain elders are given as having been connected with the church there, and the Lord's Supper must have been dispensed among the settlers who had previously been connected with the Presbyterian body as early as 1800. The settlement at Williamsburgh having been broken up, its component elements afterward constituted the churches of Groveland and Sparta. At about the time that Williamsburgh was occu- pied, a settlement was also formed near to the place where the Second Presbyterian Church of Sparta now stands. The settlers principally having been members of that church in Pennsylvania, from whence they emigrated ; and many of them being of Scotch or Irish origin, their first concern, after choosing their location, appears to have been to have the ministrations of religion dispensed among them. Various ministers are mentioned as having occasionally preached to them, but for many years they had no settled pastor. The Rev. Andrew Gray of the Dutch Reformed Church, who went to Alle- gany in 1795, took charge of the churches of Almond, Angelica and Dansville, all in connection with that denomination. This call was dated November, 1803. and was sustained by the Classis of New Brunswick in September of the following year. He continued his labors in this connection until the year 1807. At that time the church in question was known as the "United Congregation of Ontario and Steuben."* About the year 1804 or 1805, this society received valuable additions from the settlement at Williamsburgh, which had been discontinued. As a consequence of these acces- sions, the church appears to have formed a connec- tion with the Presbyterian denomination. This is supposed to have been in the year 1806, but no record of the exact date is preserved. In the year 1807, June 18, a call was presented to the Rev. Andrew Gray from the above society, which states that " they had changed their situation from under the direction of the Dutch Synod, and had cast themselves under the jurisdiction of the General Assembly of Divines, and had chosen themselves a body of trustees according to law." This call stipulates that Mr. Gray shall leave the Dutch Reformed Church and connect himself with that of the Presbyterians. Mr. Gray did not accept the call; but in December, 1807, he was appointed by the New York City Missionary Society to establish a mission among the Tuscarora Indians at Niagara, to which field he removed with his family in the fol- lowing spring. From this time the church appears to have depended for a number of years on mis- sionaries from the General Assembly, and on stated supplies, for the ordinances of religion. Public worship continued to be held occasionally in a small log school house a mile or so north of the village of Dansville, and also in a barn — still standing — belonging to William D. McNair in Sparta, the worshippers coming long distances in various prim- itive conveyances, or on foot. In the fall of T807 subscription papers were put in circulation to raise money for the erection of a church edifice. These papers are still preserved, and testify to the liberality of the pioneers and to their appreciation of religious privileges. These papers contain the names of all the residents of the neighborhood, with very few exceptions, and the subscriptions are in sums of from five to twenty dollars in cash, or "merchantable wheat or lumber." One of the conditions of the papers is that the site on which to build shall be chosen by lot. Subse- quently, a meeting having been called for that pur- pose, and the lots prepared, the drawing was made by a small boy present who was called upon by the chairman of the meeting to perform that duty. This boy was the late Charles Clayton.f of Sparta, * Livingston County had not then been formed, t Mr. Clayton died in 1879, at >h e a S e of eighty-six. 230 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. a grandson of John McNair. The two proposed sites were, one in the village of Dansville and the Other on land owned by David McNair, in Sparta. The latter site was chosen, and on it the year fol- lowing a church building was erected and en- closed, but the funds being insufficient it was not finished. This is believed to be the second church edifice erected in the State west of Cayuga Lake. A year or two later another effort was made to finish the building, which resulted in ceiling the in- terior with very knotty pine lumber, and in fitting it up with loose boards, resting on blocks, for seats, a small table for a pulpit, and a stove for warmth in cold weather. Thus furnished, it was thought to contain all the really necessary fixtures for a sanctuary, and was used for that purpose for sev- eral years. Among the papers of that time still pre- served is an earnest appeal, bearing date of May 20th, 1809, and addressed to the General Assem- bly of the Presbyterian church of the United States, setting forth the destitution of religious privileges, and asking that a missionary be sent by that body to labor in this region. The names appended to this paper are: Samuel Bauer and William Mc- Cartney, Elders; and John McNair, Sr., David McNair and others, Trustees. Whether in re- sponse to this request or not, Rev. T. Markle came in the following year and preached for a season. An old paper dated 181 1 is also preserved, bear- ing the names and subscriptions of all the promi- nent members of the Society for the support of the Rev. Mr. Glasgow. It is not known how long he ministered to the people. Rev. Silas Pratt was the next stated supply, but the date of his entering upon the work is unknown. He preached in the old church in connection with other places while residing in Dansville, and was thus engaged when, in 18 14, Rev. Andrew Gray, having been burned out by the British during the war, returned from the lines to his farm in Sparta. Some of Mr. Gray's friends and former parishioners were in favor of reinstating him in his old position as pastor; others declined and adhered to their support of Mr. Pratt. The consequence of the controversy which then sprang up was that the church became divided, and for some time both ministers held service at different hours in this same church ; and the difference soon resulted in the complete division of the Society, those favoring Mr. Pratt continuing to meet in this church, and in the village of Dansville, and those adhering to Mr. Gray holding services at Havens' Corners, where the First Presbyterian church of Sparta now stands, and in the "Gully School House" in the town of Groveland, near the burying ground. Here for several years Mr. Gray supplied the pul- pit until increasing age and infirmities led him to retire from the active duties of the ministry. In 1825 the village of Dansville increasing in population, the members of the church presided over by Mr. Pratt, residing in and about that vil- lage, decided to have a separate organization. This separate existence of the Dansville church appears to have interfered with the prosperity of the congregation of Sparta to such a degree that measures were taken to change the location to Havens' Corners and form a union with those wor- shipping there, and those who worshipped at the "Gully School House." A meeting to effect this object took place on the 28th day of April, 1827, at which meeting it was stated that "on account of the weakened state of the church by the departure of some of the members to Dansville, and consid- ering that it would be highly injurious to join the church there, they resolved in the future to meet at Havens' Corners." The organization, according to the law of the First Presbyterian church, occurred January 18, 1828. Its ecclesiastical origin, how- ever, must be assigned to a period prior to the date of the call to Rev. Andrew Gray, and proba- bly took place in 1S06, as before stated. Imme- diately after its legal organization, measures were taken to build the present house of worship, and a deed of the ground on which it stands was obtained bearing date February 19, 1829. A substantial and commodious edifice was erected in the course of the year. This measure resulted in the amal- gamation of the two parties known as the adher- ents of Mr. Gray and the adherents of Mr. Pratt, which was consummated at a meeting of the Pres- bytery of Ontario, held at Sparta, April 10, 1830. The Rev. Silas Pratt continued to sign the minutes of session until January 24, 1829. The Rev. S. Gaylord then became stated supply, and was suc- ceeded by Rev. Amos P. Brown, who signed the first minutes of session September 11, 1830. He was installed as pastor August 24, 1831, and dur- ing his ministry the church appears to have en- joyed a season of great awakening, many being added to the roll of communicants. On the 22d of January, 1S34, he was dismissed on account of ill-health, and was succeeded by the Rev. S. Hall. In 1S37, March 5, the Rev. H. Snyder became the stated supply for several months, and during his pastorate the church resolved to join the Old School General Assembly. Photo, by Bells, Dansville. Mr, & Mrs. John Shutt. JOHN SHUTT. John Shutt, a native of Moore township, Northamp- ton county, Pa., was born March 10, 170S. He lived at home until twenty-six years of age, assisting his father to work a small farm, aud occasionally helping in weaving the cloth used among the hardy pioneers. His father came to Livingston county to visit some friends, and thinking he could better his prospects in life, purchased the farm of 115 acr.es, where William J., a grandson, now lives. He died Deceinber24, 1833, aud the farm aud per- sonal property were willed to John, who came there with him, with this provision, that he should pay his brother $250, aud his sisters each >$150, also a claim in the land office, making the farm cost him eleven dollars per acre. In 1819 he married Christine Weldy, of Northamp- ton county, Pa. The result of this marriage was thirteen children, eleven of whom are now living. Mr. Shutt was a hard working, industrious man, but assisted his children so much with his money that at the time of his death, which occurred January 9, 1875, his large property was considerably reduced. He and his estimable wife were members of the Reformed church for nearly sixty years, always ready to aid thejchureh, aud at one time spending nearly eight hundred dollars in the good cause. In politics he was a Democrat, sustaining his party with his help and influence, but never accepting an office even when urged to do so. He left a will similar to his father's, his property going to his son, Wm. J., with the proviso that he pay the other heirs their portion men- tioned in the will. This he has done and now owns the old homestead where he was born. He is the seventh child of the family and was born March 10, 1832. April 3, 1862, he married Maggie McFetridge. They had five children, four of whom died in their youth : the only surviving one being Freddie E., who is now in his tenth year. At his father's death, Wm. J. found his estate re- duced to a mere nothing. He went to work with a will, determined to keep the old home, and to-day sees what perseverance and industry combined with the work of a wife who is able aud willing to assist his every effort, can effectually accomplish. He writes this as a memorial to his parents, whom he remembers as indulgent and loving to their family and steadfast in their regard for others. "««-" (Photo, by Betts, Dansville.) Mr, & Mrs, Benjamin Kiehle. BENJAMIN KIEHLE. Benjamin Kiehle was born in Lehigh county, Pa., Feb. 23, 1816, being the seventh child of a family of ten children. His father, Abraham Kiehle, was born in the same county in 1782, and in 181 7, with his wife, Elizabeth Hughes, left Pennsylvania, and after a long and tedious journey settled in Sparta, taking up the one hundred and eighteen acres where Benj. now resides, where he died Feb. 12, 1868. His wife survived him six years and died Sept. 24, 1874. Feb. 28, 1839, Benj. married Salome, daughter of Abraham and Hannah Zer- fass, of Sparta, by whom he had seven children as follows: Abraham I., James M., Hulda V., Fran- ces M., William H., Rosabella C, (dead,) and George M., the latter of whom lives on the farm near the old homestead. During the late war Abraham I. enlisted in the old 13th Regiment and was killed at the second battle of Bull Run, and lames enlisted in the 136th Regiment and died in Washington of typhoid fever contracted from ex- posure. Hulda is still living, but Frances died in April, 1871. Jan. 12, 187 1, Mrs. Kiehle died from paralysis. She was a devoted member of the Luth- eran church, a kind mother and a loving wife. Mr. Kiehle afterward married Vienna Zerfass, a sister of his first wife, and both are members of the Lutheran church of Sparta, having joined that organization a number of years ago. Benjamin, after the death of his father, bought out the re- maining heirs, and now owns and lives on the old homestead, and is probably surpassed by none in knowledge relating to a proper cultivation of the soil. Although his education was confined to the common schools of his early day, by the improve- ment of the opportunities afforded him by inter- course with others, he, to-day, ranks among the most intelligent farmers of his town. In politics he has always been a Democrat, and is now filling the office of Assessor for the fifth term. SPARTA — CHURCHES. 231 The name of Rev. Alfred White appears on the minutes of session as Moderator, February 18, 1838. He officiated as stated supply for about six months, when the congregation first invited Rev. George Morris, and then the Rev. Hugh Mair, D. D., to become their pastor, but neither of them accepted the invitations. Rev. Thomas Aitken * was extended an invita- tion April 23, 1839, and was installed pastor Au- gust 15, 1840, his installation having been deferred to this time on account of the Assembly's rules re- specting foreign ministers. The membership of the church is forty-nine, still presided over by Mr. Aitken. Second Presbyterian Church. — The building near the burying ground, which was abandoned by those who went to Havens' Corners to worship, having become much dilapidated, was in 1837, re- paired, fitted with permanent seats, platform, desk and circular table enclosing an area in front of the platform, and was used by debating and literary societies, singing schools, and for political and other meetings. On the 28th of December, 1847, a meeting was held there and preliminary steps taken to organize the Second Presbyterian Church of Sparta. The following Board of Trustees was elected : John Culbertson, Samuel Sturgeon, Hugh T. Mc- Nair, John W. McNair, Jacob Knappenburger, David McNair. In May following the organiza- tion was effected by a committee of the Presbytery of Steuben, and the following persons enrolled themselves as members : — Joseph Knappenburger, James McNair, Hugh T. McNair and wife, Samuel McNair and wife, Jacob Knappenburger, William D. McNair and wife, Mrs. Anne McNair, Mrs. Catharine Knap- penburger, John W. McNair, Mrs. Nancy Culbert- son, Frances McNair, Jane McNair, Mrs. Ann Shafer, James Sturgeon, Samuel Sturgeon and wife, Mrs. Margaret McNair. James McNair, William D. McNair and Samuel Sturgeon were chosen elders. Rev. Jesse Edwards was stated supply for two years. Rev. James E. Miller became pastor in 1850 and remained until 1854. In 1852 the church building was renovated and re-dedicated, the sermon being preached by Rev. Mr. Miller. A call to the Rev. Thomas Aitken, pastor of the First Presbyteiian Church of Sparta, was presented at the Presbytery in April, 1855, and was sustained. Since that time the two churches have been pre- *To this venerable pastor, and to Hugh T. McNair, Esq., we are in- debted for the facts in the history of this and the Second Presbyterian church of Sparta. sided over by Mr. Aitken. The church has a mem- bership of forty-five. German Lutheran and German Reformed Church. — This church is located in the eastern part of the town, and is vacant at present, the con- gregation scattered, and the society will probably soon be extinct. From such records as could be found it is learned that the congregation was or- ganized in 1837, and the church edifice erected in 1839. The trustees and principal members are, John Kiehle, Caleb Smail, Catilp Light, Conrad Clinetop. The present membership is about fifty. The pastors have been : Rev. A. Bayer, of German Reformed church, Rev. Abraham Berkey, of German Reformed church, Rev. Daniel Lautz, of German Reformed church, Rev. S. S. Klein, of Lutheran church, Rev. Edmund Erb, German Re- formed church. St. John's Lutheran Church is situated at nearly the center of the town. The congregation was or- ganized in 1837. The church edifice was erected in 1840. The principal members are: Erhardt Rau, Barnard Hamsher, Peter Trexler, Daniel Lichard, Charles Lorish, Jeremiah Kuhn, Isaac Trexler, S. G. Roberts, John Kohler, Peter Kuhn, Abraham Artman, Michael Klein, George H. Johns. Among the first officers chosen were: Peter Kuhn, Barnard Hamsher, Peter Trexler, Michael Klein, Erhardt Rau and John Kohler. The following have been pastors : — Revs. M. L. Stover, Levi Sternberg, D. D., John Selmser, F. W. Brauns, C. H. Hersh, L. L. Bau- nell, D. Swope, Albert Waldron, E. H. Martin and Rev. P. A. Strobel, the present pastor, from whom is derived the facts concerning this and the Ger- man Reformed church. Church of the Baptists and Evangelists. — This is a union church situated at what is known as Reed's Corners, a mere settlement containing this church, a school house, blacksmith shop, and some twelve or fifteen houses. No records are extant to throw definite light on its origin and history. It is learned that the Evangelists, in 1842, purchased of Erhardt Rau an old dwelling house which was moved on the present site and refitted for church uses. The first minis- ter of this society was Rev. John Sendlinger, who occupied their pulpit two years. Bishop Siberd also preached to them, but at what time we could not learn. In the summer of 1S57 this edifice was refrained and changed to the Union church of the 2^2 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Baptists and Evangelists. The first Baptist min- ister was Elder Kellogg. The succession of pastors in neither society can be given. The Baptists hold no meetings there at present. The Evangelical pastor in 1880 was Rev. William Wallace. First M. E. Church of Sparta. — This church is located a little south of the center of the town. The Society was organized in 1841. The church edifice was erected in 1862. Rev. James Duncan was the first pastor after the erection of the church, remaining three years. Rev. Stephen Brown sup- plied the pulpit two years. Rev. DeWitt Munger was then pastor for two years, succeeded by Rev. Henry Van Ben Schoten, who also remained two years. For several years after the ministry of the latter pastor the church was supplied by local preachers until the coming of Rev. John Parker who presided two years. His successor was the Rev. George Drytjr who officiated but one year. Rev. John Burchard preached two years, Rev. Joseph Wayne two years, and Rev. James Landreth two years, supplying the pulpit of the Methodist church at Scottsburgh also. He was succeeded by the Rev. W. W. Mandeville, who remained one year. The present pastor is Rev. D. C. Blakely, who resides in Scottsburgh. School Statistics. — The town of Sparta con- tains nine school districts. In these districts there are ,598 children over five and under twenty-one years of age. During the past year school was taught 276 2-5 weeks, employing nine teachers, and having an average attendance of 177 scholars. The number of children attending during some por- tion of the year was 302. The amount paid to teachers was $1,514.15. The district libraries contain 305 volumes valued at $175. There was paid out during the year for school apparatus $96. The total incidental expenditures for the year were $201.10. For school houses, fences, repairs, fur- niture, etc., there was paid out during the year $492.18. The school houses and sites are valued at $3,100. The total valuation of the districts is $6,975.64. The houses are all frame buildings, some quite comfortable, but many too poor for school purposes. Agricultural Statistics. — At the last census of the State, Sparta contained 12,987 acres of im- proved lands, 3,191 acres of woodland, and 447 acres of other lands unimproved. The valuation of farm lands was $1,042,080; of farm buildings, aside from residences, $149,075 ; of tools and agricultural implements, $40,915; and of stock, $124,684. The gross sales from these farms was $98,883, while the cost for fertilizers was but $730. The area plowed was 3,895 acres ; 2,439 acres were devoted to pastures, and 2,669 acres were seeded to hay, producing 1,694 bushels of seed, and 3,207 tons of hay. Statistics of Population. — According to the census of 1870, Sparta contained a population of 1,182, of which 1,080 were native, 102 foreign, and none of the colored race. In 1875, the total population was 1,133; native, 1,039, an( i foreign, 94 ; a decrease of 49 in the total population in those five years. Of the population at that cen- sus, 7S9 were born in the county of Livingston ; 72 in adjoining counties; and 46 in other counties of the State. The nativity of the remainder was : New Hampshire, 1 ; Vermont. 4 : Massachusetts, 1; Connecticut, 4 ; New Jersey, 7; Pennsylvania, 105, and 10 in other sections of the United States ; 18 were born in Canada, 13 in England, 3 in Scot- land, 36 in Ireland, and 24 in the German Empire. Scottsburgh. The pleasant little village of Scottsburgh lies in the northern part of the town, close to the line be- tween Sparta and Groveland. This is the only place of note or commercial im- portance in the town. The village has about two hundred and eighty inhabitants, and contains two stores, the postoffice, two churches, school house, one hotel, three blacksmith shops, and two manu- factories for wagons. The postmaster is J. E. Brownell, who was appointed to that position May 9, 1875. The merchants are, Brownell & Slaight, dealers in general merchandise, who began busi- ness here in April of 1857, and John Shepard, also dealer in general merchandise, who has been en- gaged in business here nearly thirty years. The business was established by Mr. Shepard. In 1854 the firm name was Shepard & Blake. The part- nership continued some five years, when Mr. Shepard bought Mr. Blake's interest and has since conducted the business alone. The hotel, the Scottsburgh House, is the one kept at a former time by William Scott, and built by him in 181 9. The present proprietor is W. H. Guy, who has been in the business one year. Of the blacksmiths and workers in iron, John McMillan has been in business here three years and Frank Craver one year. Rockwell M. Lozier, carriage and general painter, has been in that business here three years. J. B. Cratser, wagon maker, started in that busi- ill i mm Photo John Flo^y. David Flory was born in Lancaster county, Penn , and emigrated thence to Franklin county, N. Y., when quite a young man. From there he removed to Buffalo, where he remained till a short time after that city was burned by the British, when he removed to Sparta and settled on the farm where he lived till his death, and on which his son John was born. David Flory was the father of four children, of whom two are now living — John, the youngest of the family, and Jeremiah, who resides near his brother. John Flory, the subject of this sketch, remained at home assisting his father in his farm work, until twenty years of age, when he rented the same farm of one hundred and twenty-two acres which he afterwards pur- chased. To this he added from time to time till at the present date he is the owner of three hundred and eighty-six acres of land, situated in the town of Sparta. Nov. 1 8, 1834, Mr. Flory was married to Clorinda, daughter of Matthew and Annie Scott, of Scottsburgh. To them were born five children, as follows : —Elizabeth Ann, born Nov. 25, 1835, died May 10. 1862: Milton, born Sept. 1, 1839, joined the 136th Regiment, passed through all the battles of that regiment till their discharge at the close of the war, was wounded with a piece of shell at Gettysburg, and died Feb. 16, 1S75 ; Mary, born Aug. 17, 1841, died Nov. 14, 1863; John, born July 14, 1845, tne 0,1 '. v surviving child ; and Scott, born Sept. 27, 1849, died Nov. 22, 1863. Mr. Flory is a worthy member of the Presbyterian church of Sparta, having joined with that congregation many years ago, during which time he has been ever read;, to assist in all cases where he has seen the need of such assistance. In politics he is a Demo- crat, and although he has held the office of assessor six or seven years, he has never been a politician, but has preferred to have the office seek the man. Mr. Flory has resided on his present farm, or a portion of the same, during the last sixty- seven years, and it is entirely due to his energy and perseverance that the broad fields which greet the gaze of the passer-by, are in such a fine state of cultivation and so well provided with the many requisites of a well kept farm. SCOTTSBURGH— JESSE SMITH. 233 ness here in 1877. J. H. Shutt began the -manu- facture of wagons here twenty-two years ago. From this shop very fine work is turned out. The churches are the First Free Baptist and the Methodist Episcopal. The former was organized in 1840. The first pastor was Rev. Levi Kellogg.* The succession of pastors thereafter, as near as can be learned, was Elders McKay, Cobb, H. Esten, Joseph Wood, D. M. Stewart, D. I. Whitney, James L. Box, J. W. Brown. The present pastor is Rev. William Walker, who has presided three years. The membership at the last report was eighty-three. The church edifice is a neat and substantial building, with a comfortable parsonage attached, both clear of debt. The Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1840. In 1839 the first class was formed com- posed of some eight or ten members, among whom were James Collar and wife, Mr. Moore, James Haynes, S. P. Keep and Timothy Ffopkins. In the spring of 1840, Rev. Mr. Kellogg came to Scottsburgh, and under his ministration a series of extra meetings were held which resulted in the en- deavor to permanently establish a church of this denomination. This endeavor assumed definite form on the 29th of April, 1840, when a meeting of " the male members of full age of the M. E. congregation in Scottsburgh," was held in the school-house in the village for the purpose of forming a religious incorporation. Of this meeting Chandler Wheeler and Timothy Hopkins were appointed as chief officers, and five trustees were elected. These were, James Collar, Timo- thy Hopkins, James Carey, William Scott and Eli Holeman. It was resolved that the incorporation receive the name of the Third Society of the M. E. church in Sparta ; Timothy Hopkins was appointed to take charge of the records of that meeting. The voters who participated in the proceedings at that date were Timothy Hopkins, Chandler Wheeler, James Collar, Allen Simons, Orlo M. Hopkins, Eli Holeman, James Carey and James Fitzgerald. The only men now living in Scottsburgh, who belonged to the church in its early days are John Shepard and Samuel Scott. The erection of the church edifice was begun in 1841, and finished in 1842, under the pastorate of Rev. Mr. Doolittle. The succession of pastors, owing to the meagreness of the records, could not be learned. Since 1872 the following ministers have officiated : — Rev. James Wayne, 1872-75 ; Rev. James * Now living in Addison, N. Y. Landreth, 1875-77; Rev. W. W. Mandeville, 1878-79; Rev. D. C. Blakely, 1879-80. The present membership is seventy-seven. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, JESSE SMITH. Photo, by Betts, Dansville. (JESSE SMITH. I Jesse Smith, who was born in Northumberland county, Pa., Dec. 16, 1822, is a son of Adam and Elizabeth (Kline) Smith, who came from Pennsyl- vania, and settled in Sparta in 1825, where the father carried on the business of farming until within a few years of his death, which occurred Nov. 25, 1878. His wife died July 14, 1857. Jessewas three years of age when his father came to this county, and his education was only such as he could obtain at the district school winters, his summers being spent in working on the farm for his father and others. In his twenty-third year he decided to learn the business of blacksmithing, and settled in Mt. Morris for that purpose. Having served his apprenticeship he returned to Sparta and built a shop near his present residence, where he now carries on the business to a limited extent in con- nection with farming. Oct. 2, 1856, he married Catherine, daughter of Abraham and Elizabeth Kiehle, of Sparta. Of this marriage were born three children, Myron, William B. and Lizzie M. Mr. Smith has been a member of the M. E. Church twenty-one years, and his wife is a mem- ber of the German Lutheran Church of Sparta. In politics he is a Republican, having acted with \w HISTORY OF I.IYI\<;sT<>\ (Ol'NTV. that party since its formation. He has been Town Clerk and Justice of the Peace, and is now Justice of Sessions, having been reelected for the third term. Having always been a careful and industrious man, ami investing his money in land, he now owns a farn isisting of ')i acres, together with his other business. ELIAS DRIESBACH. Elias Driesbach, was a son of Henry and Lydia Driesbach, and we are sure that in saying he is a worthy son of his highly respected parents, we but utter a truth that is his due. Like his father he is a farmer and no better cultivator of the soil is found in the town of Sparta. Besides this he is one of the largest land owners in that town. His homestead farm where he resides < < insist > of one hundred and thirty-nine acres. It is beautifully situated on elevated land above the magnificent valley of the Canaseraga, which lies in all its beauty in full view of his homestead, stretching far away to the north, until lost in the valley of the Genesee. No finer view than this is found in Western New York. Elias D.,was born at Sparta, Feb. 17, 1822. In his youth he was subjected to the trials and hardships incident to a life in a new country, and therefore had few advantages for gaining an education. But he made the best use of those he did have, and obtained a competent common school education — all that was necessary to rank him among the intelligent, successful farmers around him. It is not saying too much that he possesses in alarge degree, native sagacity, judgment and discernment. He is a man of much practical ability, order and promptness. His honor and integrity have never been ques- tioned or doubted and his word has always been regarded as good as his bond — which is, beyond the shadow of a doubt, good. In his dealings with men he is upright and just, demanding what is his due, and giving to others their whole due to the last farthing. Until he was twenty-three years of age he lived with his father, and much of his lal» ir was devoted to assisting him on his farm. January 16, 1845, he married Susannah, daughter of Joseph Kidd, of Dansville. She. though now an invalid, is all that a wife and mother should be, kind, affectionate and exemplary. Thus far six children have been born to them, named as fol- lows, Susan Catharine, Lydia Ann. Mary. Rosy, Joseph and Emma. Mr. Driesbach settled on the farm where he now resides, soon after his marriage. He has been very fortunate in his business rela- tions. By successful negotiations and far-sighted enterprise, he has accumulated quite a large fortune. Among his property he owns five hun- dred and ninety-four acres of valuable land, one hundred and forty acres of which are situated in the town of Springwater and the remainder in Sparta, including the old homestead of seventy- acres, purchased by his father. Mr. Driesbach is a member of the Lutheran Reformed church, of Dansville, having united with that congregation many years ago. The old church, which still stands, was erected in 1826, and his father was very active in building it and sustaining the con- gregation. Mr. Driesbach has, since uniting with the church, been a consistent, influential, devoted, and exemplary member. In politics, like his father, he is a Democrat, strong in the faith of the fathers of that party. While firm in his principles, he still accords the same right to his political oppo- nents, believing in everyone's thinking for himself, and would not, if he could, control any person in his political or religious rights or belief. It is just to Mr. Driesbach to state that in his business re- lations, in his family and as a citizen, his life and career is certainly an honor to his town and county, and that the pages of this history could not prop- erly be filled without a fair, impartial, and just biography of him. HENRY DRIESBACH, JR. Henry Driesbach, Jr., was another son of Henry Driesbach, Sr., whose biography appears in the pages of this work. He was a farmer, and in the truest sense realized and appreciated the duties, trials and embarrassments of an agricultural life. It is said by those in the great book of human na- ture that all men are born with natural proclivities for certain business occupations or science. Hence, one man is a chemist, another an anatomist, an- other an astronomer, some are intuitively mechan- ics and some musicians. Conceding this to be true, then, we unhesitatingly say that Henry Dries- bach was intuitively a farmer. To him the farm was as natural as the native heath of the McGre- gors to Roderick Dim. One of the distinguishing features of Livingston county is the success of its farmers in raising stock. Into this Mr. Driesbach entered enthusiastically. His judgment in this department was second to no man's in the county, young as he was during the active period of his business life. He was born at Sparta, Livingston county, May 9, 1824. He lived with his father until he was twenty eight years old. Having attained that age he decided to commence business for himself. Be- ing of an independent, self-reliant turn of mind, and determined to be indebted to no one for whatever success awaited him. he declined to ask his father for any pecuniary assistance. Trusting to his own intelligence and business capacity, he purchased on his own account the farm just north of the vil- lage of Dansville called the "Shepard farm." Without a dollar in the world he entered into spec- ulation. His self-reliance gave him success, and within a comparatively brief period of time he stocked his farm, paid for it and brought it to a very high state of cultivation. As an evidence of his perseverance we relate the following: — // rsj '&/a&ft ->sf tTc f f&VM QXe^ ■ WEST SPARTA— EARLY SETTLERS. 235 A portion of his farm extended to the bottom land of the Canaseraga, and was accordingly so damp and boggy that it was a common thing to see cattle almost hopelessly mired in those bogs. Mr. Driesbach conceived the idea of draining those lands. He accordingly commenced a system of drainage by underground causeway with such suc- cess that he soon made the lands perfectly dry, fertile and productive. Henry Driesbach was a man of uncommon good sense, thoughtful, candid, honest and direct. He had no platitudes. One always knew exactly how to take him, and if he gave his word he carried it out to the letter, as to time, place and everything. He was a man of very few words, but when he spoke it was to the point. He was retiring but firm in his convictions, to an extent a little removed from stubbornness. In the midst of activity and usefulness he was seized by an incurable malady which ended his days while he was in the prime of manhood, and in the midst of his finan- cial success and usefulness. He died October 28, 1868, at the age of forty-five. His knowledge of the value of farming land was almost unequalled. In recognition of this knowledge he was elected an assessor of the town of Sparta for a considerable period of time. In politics he was a Democrat, honest and true to his convictions, but modest and unassuming in declaring them. He early united with the Lutheran Reformed Church at Dansville, and was in every sense a worthy, consistent, Chris- tian man, observant of all the duties and ordi- nances of the Church. Such was Henry Dries- bach, Jr.; in every sense a man who commanded the respect and esteem of all who knew him. CHAPTER XIX. History of the Town of West Sparta. THE town of West Sparta lies south of the center of the county. It is bounded on the north by Groveland, on the south by Ossian, on the east by Sparta and North Dansville, and on the west by Mt. Morris and Nunda. The surface of West Sparta is also quite hilly, though less mountainous than that of Sparta and Ossian. There is also more of an unsettled, un- cultivated appearance than is characteristic of the towns lying to the east or west. The soil is some- what heavier than that of the surrounding towns, especially in the northern part, where it is of a clay loam. In the southern part the soil inclines to a sandy loam. An extensive marsh, known as Can- aseraga swamp, in the northeastern part robs the town of much of its tillable soil. The only impor- tant streams are Canaseraga creek, which flows north along the eastern border, forming the boun- dary line between this town and Sparta, and Butler brook, a smaller stream in the southern part, in which is a perpendicular cascade of some sixty feet. The Dansville Railroad passes through the extreme eastern part of the town. This town was formed at the time of the division of the original town of Sparta, February 27, 1846. The first white person to break land and build a cabin in the present limits of the town were William McCartney and Andrew Smith, who came from Scotland in 1791, landing in Philadelphia and coming to West Sparta in 1792. William McCart- ney acted as clerk for Captain Williamson, a land agent. The cabin which was built under the directions of Williamson was situated on land afterwards owned by John McNair, later by Judge James McNair, and at present by Hugh T. McNair. The nearest white settlers at that time were at Arkport, Steuben county, some fourteen miles south, and at Williams- burgh, in Groveland, twelve miles north. McCartney and Smith, however, must be regarded only as temporary residents within these limits, for two years later the former purchased land near what is now known as Comminsville, within the present limits of North Dansville, where he moved and where he resided until his death in 183 1. Andrew Smith remained but one year, when, on account of fever and ague which was probably developed by the swampy nature of the soil in that section of the town, he removed to Bath, purchasing there a farm where he resided until his death, some time about 1840. The first permanent settler was Jeremiah Gregory, who located in 1795 in the southern part of the town. After him a short time came other settlers, among whom were William Stevens, in 1796. Abel Wilsey in 1797, Benjamin Wilcox in 1798, and still later, Sam- uel McNair in the year 1802 or '3. John McNair, in 1803, came on a prospective trip to this new country and purchased of John Wilson of Fred- ericksburgh, Maryland, a tract of land containing four hundred acres in the then town of Sparta three miles north of Dansville. He then returned to his home in what was known as " The Irish Set- tlement," Northampton county, Pennsylvania ; and in the early part of 1804, with his family of six sons and one daughter with her husband, set out for his new home in the Canaseraga Valley, joining there a son and daughter who a year or two before had preceded him. The journey was made in cov- ered wagons, containing besides the family the furniture and implements with which to begin their 236 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. pioneer life in this region of forests and hills. Arriving some time in the middle of June, the family found a temporary home in the log cabin which had been put up on the tract in 1792 by direction of Captain Williamson, and occupied bj William McCartney. A part of the farm was cleared of timber and had doubtless been at some time cultivated by the Indians. Here on this tract they at once built a comfort- able home of hewn logs, which is still standing in a good state of preservation on the farm which is now owned by Hugh T. McNair. The children of John McNair were William, Samuel, John, David, James, Andrew, Robert, Margaret and Christiana, all of whom are dead ; but many descendants are now living in the vicin- ity. Among other pioneers of the McNair family was Judge Hugh McNair, grandfather to Hugh T. Mc- Nair, now living in West Sparta, who for some years was Prothonotary of Ontario when it in- cluded the county of Livingston. All of his sons are dead but one who lives in Corning, Iowa. William W. McNair, whose widow lives here, was Hugh's oldest son. The early history of this region is but a repeti- tion of that of the surrounding towns. Lumbering and shingle making were for some years the prin- cipal occupations of the settlers. The privations incident to the new settlement were keenly felt; but it is not known that any of the pioneers suffer- ed from actual want. For some time the mar- ket for such produce as their farms yielded was confined to the settlers each year arriving, or oc- casionally they bartered their products for the wares and goods of the merchants at Bath and other as scantily inhabited settlements in Steuben county. It was not until 1823 that the first store in the town was opened by Jonathan Russell at what is now Union Corners. The nearest post-office was at Bath, thirty miles distant. These inconven- iences in procuring merchandise, and in keeping up an intercourse with the outside world, were, it may be imagined, among the chief hardships of their pioneer existence. It is to the fortitude with which these early fathers and mothers endured privations; to their hardy self-denial, and to their courage under the difficulties which beset them, that their descend- ants are indebted for whatever prosperity and comforts surround them to-day. Beyond the clearing of land into farms, and the lumbering traffic attendant upon such labors, the progress in other kinds of business was slow. The first grist-mill was built by Samuel Stoner in 1823. The first tavern kept in the town was by Ebenezer McMaster in 1820,* at what is now known as Kysorville. The first wool-carding and cloth-dressing mill was established by Benjamin Hungerford in the year 1814. In this establish- ment Millard Fillmore, President of the United States in 1850-53, was apprenticed to the trade of cloth-dressing, serving four months on trial. Hav- ing been set by Hungerford at menial labor that had no connection with the contemplated trade, when the four months had elapsed he gave up the busi- ness and returned to his home in Cayuga county to begin the career which made his name a house- hold word throughout the nation. The first town meeting after the division of the town in 1846, was held on April 7th of that same year in the school-house standing at that time near the property of John Muchler. At that meeting the following officers were elected: — Supervisor, Roswell Wilcox ; Town Clerk, Gid- eon D. Passage ; Superintendent of Schools, Sam'l G. Stoner; Assessors, Jacob Chapman, James F. McCartney, Alexander Henry ; Commissioners of Highways, David McNair, James Van Wagner, James Northrop; Inspectors of Flection, Peter VanNuys, William D. McNair, Jr., Levi Robin- son, Jr., appointed; Justices of the Peace, Hiram Jencks, short term, Stephen Stephenson, one year, Samuel Scribner, two years, H. G. Chamberlin, four years ; Overseers of the Poor, William Spin- ning, Aaron Cook ; Collector, B. F. Hyser ; Con- stables,Freeman Edwards, B. F. Hyser, A. J. Thomp- son, Nathaniel Hanna ; Town Sealer, John Sto- ner, Jr. Thereafter the succession of Supervisors and Town Clerks was as follows : — Supervisors. Town Clerks. 1847. Roswell Wilcox, David McNair. IS48. a CI 1849. a ft 1850. Hugh McCartney. Calvin B. Smith. 1851. Jas. F. McCartney Alvin W. Spears. 1852. u u Calvin B. Smith. 1S53. Alexander Kinney Alexander Rogers. iS54- 1 >avid McNair. If £< i855- Leonard B. Field. Peter C. Cuykendall ,856- 57- U It Alexander Rogers. 1S58- 63- u it Willis C. Rose. 1864-65. a ft Alexander Rogers. 1866. Peter VanNuys. 11 it 1867. Leonard B. Field. Stephen Stephenson •Some doubts exist as to the correctness of this, although it is n<>t pre- cisely known where or by whom the tir=t tavern was kept. WEST SPARTA — TOWN OFFICERS. 237 186S. Leonard B. Field. Isaac Van Hooser. 1869. Ogden March. John O. Kelley. 1870. Leonard B. Field. Isaac Van Hooser. 1871. 1872-74. William J. Slaight. " " 1875. " " Edward M. Gregory. 1876. Leonard B. Field. " 1877-78. " " Henry B. McNair. 1879. James B. Frazer. C. Fredk. McNair. 1880. James B. Frazer. Russell C. Stoner. The other officers for 1880 are: — Justices of the Peace, Merritt B. Dake, Henry B. McNair, Stephen Kemp, John Perine ; Highway Com- missioner, AVilliam Johnson ; Assessors, FYed Mil- ler, Andrew J. Kennedy, Augustus Hungerford ; Overseers of the Poor, John N. Kemp, Henry F. Muchler; Collector, Joseph McCay ; Constables, Joseph McCay, Nelson B. Willett, George Hunt, George Lester, Buell Gould : Inspectors of Elec- tion, Frederick Miller, James F. Muchler, A. C. Green ; Game Constable, Job Woodworth ; Excise Commissioners, Hugh T. McNair, William Van Doren. West Sparta furnished a large number of soldiers during the war of the Rebellion, but as no correct record of the enlistments was ever kept we cannot learn in what regiments they enlisted, nor what fate met the brave men who perilled their lives in the defense of their country. The following is as complete a list as could be obtained of the men who entered the service at different times during the progress of the war. The following enlisted from West Sparta pre- vious to July 2, 1862 : — Marshall Hungerford, Charles Burr, James Edwards, Alonzo Farnsworth, Horace Herrick, Edward Kenney, John Johnson, Jerome Harden- dorf, Robert Pierce, Stephen A. Kemp, Thomas Radigan, Michael Radigan, Edward Kiehle, Josiah Kiehle, Wm. Streffa, Archibald Van Ness, George Walters, Frank Swager, Jasper Wadsworth, John Wadsworth, Henry Vorhees, Melvin Walker. After that date, and previous to July 18, 1864, the town paid a bounty of $50 to each of the fol- lowing who enlisted: — Geo. W. Libby, Henry K. Price, Jas. Ullyett, Ogden Marsh, Solomon Wise, Roswell Master), Thomas Owens, Wm. A. Edwards, John Gorigan, Wm. H. Whetstone, James McKeown, Hamilton S. McMaster, Wm. A. McMaster, Shubal W. Farnsworth, Gilbert M. Van Velzer, John Kelly, Thomas Bonner, John F. Gill, John Aon, Ira B. Sherwood, Wm. A. Selover, Henry W. Spear, Jehiel Johnson, James A. Rogers, A. T. Blan- chard, Andrew J. McNair, Squire L. Herrick, John W. Wampole, Geo. R. Torrey, Daniel B. Wads- worth, William Servis, John M. Dennison, Charles C. Vorhees, Edwin Smith. In 1864, and previous to July iSth, the follow- ing number enlisted : — ■ Orlando Abby, Andrew J. Kennedy, John Kemp, Jr., Joseph Aeret, Henry V. Thompson, Joseph Doty, James Pendergast, John Johnson, Charles Gant, Wm. Brown, Sylvanus H. Cook, Calvin Shortliff, Wm. Patterson, Marshall Hungerford, John Aplin, Wm. C. Hague, Josephus H. Lawrey. Under the call of July 18, 1864, for five hundred thousand men, the appended number was en- listed: — George C. Brooks, James Simpson, David Simley, Henry Atwood, Wm. Butler, John Walker, Jesse Smith, Jr., Benjamin Wampole, David Blank, Roswell S. Clark, Alex. Duvall, James Colwell, Robert Kelly, John Cunningham, Geo. Froelig, Amasa W. Aber, John M. Harvey, Westley P. Gridley, Silas R. Rhodes, Thomas H. Rhodes, Duty S. Cram, Wm. M. Wolcott, Albert West, Charles Sawyer, Daniel Brace, Thomas Hennessey, George Judson, John Gallagher, Thomas Wilcox, Andrew Rush.* Statistics of Population. — In 1870, West Sparta had a population of 1,244, of which 1,144 were native, and 100 of foreign birth. In 1875 the population was 1,208, a decrease of 36. In this year the native population was but 1,097, a de- crease of 47 in those five years, while the foreign population had increased to 1 1 1 in the same length of time. Of these 1,208, only 6 belonged to the colored race, 610 were males, 598 females, and 32 aliens; and of this number but 12 who were twenty-one years of age, and upwards, were unable to read and write. Of the total population but 164 were owners of land; 238 were liable to military duty ; 349 were of voting age, of which number 297 were native, 34 naturalized, and 18 were aliens. Agricultural Statistics. — The census of that same year gave the town in improved land 14,238 acres; 3,261 acres of woodland, and of unim- proved land 1,708 acres. The value of farms was $911,718; of farm buildings, $95,061; of stock, $107,370; and of agricultural implements, $29,164. The sales from these farms were to the amount of $81,041. Fertilizers were used to the amount of $275- * The foregoing military record was kindly furnished by L. B. Field» the efficient Supervisor of this town during those trying years. *3* HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. S i Si. mis rus. — West Sparta has 12 school districts, containing 334 children of school age. During the past year school was taught 339 4-5 weeks, employing 12 teachers, and with an average attendance of 152. The number of children attend- ing some portion of the year was 284. The amount paid for teachers during the year was $1,520.88. The district libraries are very meager, being valued at $i 1. 00 only. There was expended during the year for school apparatus, $2.10 ; for fences, repairs, furniture, \< .. $55.28, while the total incidental expenses were $191.31. The value of school houses and sites is $4,460. The total valuation of the districts is $6,454.08. West Sparta contains no villages of note. K.YSORVILLE. Kysorville, a little hamlet in the northern part of the town, consists of a grocery store conducted by Frank Muchler, in business one year, a cider mill, (William Buell,) blacksmith shop, (James Jones, ) a school house, and a few dwellings. Woodville. Woodville, in the south-eastern part, contains a large flouring mill, owned by Morey & Goho, who have been engaged in the business here five years, a church, a school house, and a few dwelling houses. The place derived its name from John, Rufus, and Asa Wood, who located there at an early date. The Union Church of Woodville was built by the Evangelical Association of that place about the year 1850. It was first preached in by Rev. Thomas Aitken. No records exist lo show the origin of the society or its progress. The church is also used by the Free Methodist society, the pastor of which, in 1880, was Rev. Charles South worth. 1!\ ERSVILLE. Byersville, in the southern part of the town, some three miles west of Woodville, derived its name from Samuel livers. The first settlement was made here about 1823. It contains about sixty inhab- itants. The only store is devoted to general mer- chandise and is kept by Russell C. Stoner, who has been in business here two years. The present post- master is Elijah Kinney, who was appointed in February, 1880. The present physician is Dr. A. V. Watkins, a graduate from the Kclectic College of Philadelphia in March, 187 1, who has been located in Bvcrsville since that time. Cm ri 1 ins. — The Free Methodist Society of Byersville was organized in 1876. The class was formed September 9. 1877. The church was built soon afterward, and at the time of dedication the members were : D. L. Pickard and wife. I.. N. Tur- rcy and wife, Mr. Merrick Jencks and wife. Mi. and Mrs. R. C. Stoner, Georgians Powell, Libbie Powell and Clarence Pickard. The dedicatory sermon was preached by Rev. A. I . Curney, who presided two years. The second pastor was Rev. D. J. Santmier, who officiated one year. The Rev. Charles Southworth was in charge in 1SS0. The church edifice is quite a fine building for so small a place, and is clear of debt. The present mem- bership is thirty-five. I'mon Corners. Union Corners lies in the western part of the town about a mile north of the center, and close to the line dividing the town from Mount Morris. It contains but a school house, blacksmith shop, two churches, and a few dwelling-houses. The Union Corners Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1879 under the pastorate of Rev. B. A. Partridge. The church edifice was erected in 1880. and is a nicely situated and substantial building. The membership is thirty-six. The pastor in 1880 was Rev. F. M. Cole. The Presbyterian Church of Union Corners was organized by Rev. Elihu Mason, August 21, 1825, with the following members : — • Garrett YanWagnen, and Mary, his wife. Mrs. Catharine Bogart, Mrs. Catharine Thompson, Abraham Thompson, James O'Brien, and Nelly, his wife, James J. Amerman, and Jacob VanMid- dlesworth. The following were the officers chosen and ordained : — Garrett VanWagnen, First Elder ; lames |. Amerman. Second Flder; Jacob VanMid- dlesworth, Third Elder. There is no further record regarding the trans- actions of the society until August 6, 1828. At that date Rev. Norris Bull as moderator, received lo membership in the church Catherine Thompson, Archibald Ten Eyck and Fliza, his wife. Phillip Thompson and Hannah, his wife, and Hannah G. Thompson. September 17, 1828, the Rev. N. W. Fisher as moderator, Phillip Thompson and Archibald Ten Eyck were elected elders. April 19, 1832, the following elders were added: Obed Cravath, Calvin F. Crank, Jacob Bergen. and Samuel Comstock. On the 5th of March, 1834, the first trustees were chosen. These were OSCAR L. CHAMBERLAIN. 239 Jabez Hungerford, Stephen Trowbridge, first class; Samuel T. Comstock, Jacob Bergen, second class ; Abraham S. Thompson and Gilbert Bogart, third class. The following has been the succession of pas- tors : — Rev. Amos P. Brown 1829-1830. Re<\ L. Robbins 1831-1832. Rev. Leonard Rogers 1 835-1836. Rev. L. Hull 1837-1840. Rev. Samuel H. Rawson 1841-1842. Rev. Horatio Norton 1843 — ■ . Rev. William Bridgeman 1844-1845. Rev. William Fithian 1846-1853. Rev. M. Barton 1855-1856. Rev. T. Darling 1857-1859. Rev. R. W. McCormick 1865-1866. Rev. P. S. Van Nest 1867 . Rev. Willis C. Gaylord 1868-1869. Rev. William Jones 1870-1872. Rev. J. M. Horton 1874-1875. Rev. S. McKinney 1876- ■. Rev. B. A. Partridge (M. E. pastor) .. 1878-1879. Rev. J. Mitchell 1880 . The present house of worship was built in 1835, and was the first one built bv the societv. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. OSCAR L. CHAMBERLAIN. Oscar Lafayette Chamberlain was born in the old town of Sparta, (now West Sparta,) Feb. 7, 1825. His father, H. G. Chamberlain, with his wife, Anna, moved into Livingston county while the greater part of the country was a wilderness and settled on a farm about one mile south of Union Corners where they raised a family of six sons and five daughters. He was a man of strict morals, and upright in all of his dealings with man- kind. Four daughters and four sons survive him. The eldest, O. H., lives in Wisconsin. The fourth, A. O., in Darlington, Wisconsin. He was elected to the State Legislature in 1880. The fifth, A. B. Chamberlain of Auburn, N. Y., is a minister of the gospel of the Disciple Order, and is an able speaker. The youngest, H. G., resides in Mt. Morris. Oscar L. remained in the county till the spring of 1847, when he emigrated to the West, laboring in Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin, till the spring of 1850, when in company with two other young men he went the overland route to California, the jour- ney being accomplished with oxen. After about three months' time he reached his destination and soon began his career as miner. He diligently sought for riches, and after eight years was rewarded by an interest in the famous Amadore mine at Sut- ter Creek, Amadore county, California, where he accumulated a large fortune. In i860, he visited his native county, and Oct. 15, married Mary Z. Farrell and they together returned to California, where they remained a few years, when his health having failed they returned to this county, where he purchased a beautiful residence in Mt. Morris, now the residence of H. G. Chamberlain, where he (OSCAR L. CHAMBERLAIN. remained a little over two years. His health con- tinued to decline but he regarded himself able to go to California on business in the spring of 1870, but his strength proved unequal to the task and he died July 24th, at the Grand Hotel in San Francisco. Mr. C. was a man whose unchallenged integrity commanded the confidence and respect of all who knew him, and noted for those positive traits of character which made him outspoken and frank on all questions which claimed his attention. In pol- itics he was an ardent Republican and was once offered a nomination for State Senator in Califor- nia, when nomination would have been equivalent to an election. He declined the honor, preferring the place of a private worker for the principles of his party. He was beloved for his noble generosity, which prompted him to help all who needed assist- ance with princely benevolence. He left a wife and three children, who since his death have removed to California. His name is embalmed in the hearts of his brothers and sisters for his un- selfish and manly regard for their welfare, and in the hearts of many who were the objects of his solicitude. 240 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. LEONARD B. FIELD. Photo, by BettsrDansville. fl.KONAKD B. I I EI, I). 1 Leonard B. Field, a portrait of whom appears in connection with this sketch, is one of West Sparta's self-made men, and one who from his intimate as- sociation with the public affairs of the town is eminently deserving of the brief record of his life here given. He like many others of the worthy residents of Livingston county is a native of the old Green Mountain State ; the State from whence so much of the brain and brawn that developed the new set- tlements and made the " wilderness blossom as a rose" was derived. Mr. Field was born in New Fane, Vermont, the 30th of March, 182 1. In the spring of 1824, his parents, seized with the desire of change from the rugged hills of Vermont, to the famed valley of the Genesee, moved thence with their family consist- ing of Leonard B. and his two sisters, and settled in the town of Groveland. Here they made their home for some little time, afterwards moving to Geneseo and Dansville, and finally to West Sparta, then Sparta, in the spring of 1843. It was here that Mr. Field's father and mother died ; Reuben, his father, on the 23d of Novenber, 1865, and MaryG., his mother, on the 5th of October, 1869. Mr. Field's elementary education was obtained from the district schools of the neighborhood and he improved the time allotted to him there to the best possible advantage as has been fully shown by his later life. After leaving the district-school, he attended private schools of prominence at Lock- port, Temple Hill and Bath, the High school at Geneseo, and the Academy at Canandaigua, which latter institution he left in the spring of 1840. He then returned to his chosen vocation, that of a fanner, and has since devoted the best energies of his life to that most honorable calling, winning de- servedly the highest encomiums from his neigh- bors who have shown their appreciation of his merit by repeatedly electing him to various offices within their gift. In the spring of 1845, Mr. Fields was elected to the office of the Justice of the Peace of the town of Sparta, by the Whigs, and in 1849 and 1853 was reelected by the same party to that office in the town of West Sparta. Upon the disruption of the old Whig party into two factions, the "silver grays" and the "wooly heads," Mr. Field cast his lot with the former, be- lieving them the better of the two. Upon the for- mation of the American party, Mr. Field, from the positiveness of his nature and through the Protes- tant ideas and prejudices imbibed in his youth, naturally sided with it and was elected to the office of Supervisor in 1855 upon the American ticket. The American party at the time of its in- ception was popular with the masses and developed strength sufficient in the year 1854 and 185510 elect a sheriff of Livingston county, a senator of the district and nearly sufficient to elect a Gover- nor. The party being based upon National and religious antipathies, the native element against the foreign and the Protestant against the Catholic, was deservedly short-lived and soon sank to its political grave never to be resurrected. The "barnburner" or "soft-shell" wing of the Democratic party having united with the Whigs to form the Republican party, Mr. Field joined the " hunker" or " hard shell" faction of the Demo- cratic party. Since this time Mr. Field has served his town faithfully, having been elected to the re- sponsible and trying position of Supervisor in the years 1856, 1S57, 185S, 1859, i860, i86t, 1862, 1863, 1864, 1865, 1867, 1868, 1870, 1S71, 1876, 1877 and 1878. In the year 1846 Mr. Field was baptized by El- der Seneca Short, and became a member and com- municant of the Methodist Episcopal church, fully believing in the doctrines of the Atonement and of the Trinity as expounded in the teachings of that church. Mr. Field being a man of positive and forcible convictions, in the matter of religion as in all else, has in after years found good and sufficient reasons in his mind to doubt the truth of the doc- trines that are the foundation stones of the church and believing that these doctrines are pernicious, and tend to retard rather than assist the spiritual and moral development of the human race, takes every means within his power to advance his views, believing that he is thereby a help to erring hu- manity. In the fall of 1S77, Mr. Field while in Rochester witnessed some remarkable spiritualistic phenomena in the shape of direct or independent slate-writing which fully convinced him of the fact that disem- bodied human spirits can and do communicate freely with mortals, and he now holds firmly to the doctrine of Spiritualism. 33 ni CO o Pi z o m o ■») CO c_ c r > ? CO o H ■ m CO H Cfl "TJ > 1 2

2-3 was Assistant Revenue Assessor aud Collector. Mr. Page possessed those quali- ties that make the kind parentand influential citizen. He was a deacon in the Baptist church for a number of years. He died August 22. 1876. VILLAGE OF NUNDA. 2 45 Wescott, M. H. Wakeman; Assessors, John W. Banker, D. S. Paine, George Passage; Overseer of the Poor, Alfred Tabor ; Collector, Alfred W. Skinner; Constables, Alfred W. Skinner, Isaac Preston, Ezra W. Davis, Charles Dunn ; Game Constable, J. B. Satterlee, Jr. For twenty years, with but one exception, the town meetings were held in the Eagle Hotel. Nunda has enjoyed numerous improvements which have aided the business capacities of the town. Among these was the Genesee Valley ca- nal which traversed the northwestern corner of the town, and which for years was an important factor in the business of Nunda. This channel of com- merce opened up to transportation the vast lumber regions of Livingston and Allegany counties, and for the greater part of its course passed through some of the most rugged and beautiful scenery in the State. From this point to Portage it had a great elevation, which, with its deep cuts through embankments, its numerous locks, and the natural scenery through which it passed, made an exceed- ingly picturesque view. But now all this has changed. The forests have been cleared up, the great bulk of the lumber shipped, railroads thrust out their competitive branches, and the canal ceas- ing to be self-supporting was abandoned a few years ago. * It is no longer the busy commercial thoroughfare of yore ; the boats have ceased to run ; wild grasses grow in the bed of the stream ; the locks are moss covered and decaying ; and ruin reigns over what was once not only picturesque, but the pride of citizens and a spur to business activity. The Rochester, Nunda and Pennsylvania rail- road was another improvement which bid fair to be of the greatest importance to Nunda. The object of this enterprise was to open to the markets of the north the vast forests of timber and the bituminous coal basin of Pennsylvania, which the road was to have penetrated for some fifty miles, and to make a direct communication by rail between Rochester and Pittsburgh, and the cities lying southwest of the latter. The cash cost of the road was estimated at $6,732,000. Towards this sum the citizens of Nunda contributed liberally. The entire length of the road was located, extending from Rochester, its northern terminus, to a junction with Bennett's branch of the Allegany Valley railroad, its southern terminus, in Jefferson county, Pennsylvania, a dis- tance of two hundred miles. For that distance the * 1877. right of way was in great part secured, and a por- tion paid for. The grading, bridges and fencing were all under contract, the road was graded from Belvidere, Allegany county, to Sonyea, Mount Morris, and for some distance beyond toward Rochester, and the track was laid for some thirteen miles over which cars ran. Work on this road was extended over a space of three years, when the enterprise was abandoned for lack of funds with which to complete it. In 1875, Nunda had a population of 2,697, of which 2,477 were of native and 220 of foreign origin. The white population was 2,864, while of the colored race the town contained but 13 persons. The sex of the population was 1,397 males and 1,300 females. In the township there were but 19 aliens. The persons of school age, over five and un- der eighteen years of age, were, males, 329 ; females, 354; and in the town there were but three persons twenty-one years old and upwards unable to read and write. The number of males of voting age was 756 total; of which 650 were native, 97 naturalized, and 9 aliens. The area of improved land was 15,440 acres; of woodland, 3,747 acres, and of other unimproved land, 1,891 acres. The cash value of farm lands was $1,009,325 ; of farm buildings, exclusive of dwellings, $143,310; of farm stock, $129,737; of farming tools and im- plements, $42,038. Of this area of farming land, 4,949 acres were plowed ; 4,398 acres were devoted to pasture, and 3,213 acres were mown, producing 3,575 tons of hay; 407 acres were devoted to the culture of bar- ley, producing a yield of 5,561 bushels. Nunda. Nunda is situated in the north-western part of the town, and is a village closely bordering on the realm of the picturesque. Nestling in a valley some two miles wide ; surrounded on nearly all sides by highlands of unusual beauty, on whose slopes are some of the finest farms in the county ; with its wide and level streets, well paved and shaded walks ; with its stately churches and fine residences, and every evidence of business activity and thrift, — all combine to make it one of the pleasantest villages in the State. It is twenty miles from Angelica on the south; eighteen from Dansville on the east; eleven from Mount Morris on the north, and a mile and a half from the Erie railroad at Nunda Station, from which point it is accessible by stage. 24^' HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. The business part of the village faces on a broad square, and contains several groceries, two drug stores, millinery shops, clothing houses, dry goods, boot and shoe and hardware stores, harness shops, jewelry stores, marble factory, public hall, two banks, two hotels, and a newspaper and general printing office, all of which are kept up in good style and bear evidences of prosperity. A noticeable feature of the village is that the residences and business houses are uniformly good, many quite fine ; and there is a pleasing lack of squallid and dilapidated buildings soapt to be seen in villages half a century old. The Nunda House, \V. W. Church, proprietor, stands on the corner of State and Portage streets, and is a large roomy hotel, superior in many re- spects to public houses usual to villages of that size. The Eagle Hotel, on East street, C. Smith, pro- prietor, built in 1832 — as before mentioned — is a hotel of historic interest. For nearly half a century it has kept open doors for the accommo- dation of travelers and for the benefit of residents of the town, and is still as hospitable as in bygone days. A few years ago it was moved from the site it occupied, on the corner where the Livingston House now stands, to its present location. It is a long, low building, with a veranda across the entire front, and retains nearly the form in which it was built. The large building on the corner of State and East streets was erected a few years ago and was devoted to the uses of a hotel and named the "Livingston House." It was abandoned for such purposes, the ground rooms turned into various business places, and the upper floors changed into offices, and a hall for political and general public business. The Xuiicia News, the only newspaper in the town was established in 1859 by C. K. Sanders, who still continues as its editor and proprietor, and who is also the present postmaster, having held that office for a number of years. The village has several lodges in good working order, — Kishequa Lodge, No. 299, F. and A. M., organized in 185 1. Ancient Order United Workingmen, organized in 1879. The Foresters, a benefit order on the insurance plan, organized in 1879, and The Union, an order somewhat similar to the former, organized in 1880. The village is favored with a fine body of musi- cians, the Livingston Cornet Band, containing thirteen pieces, and organized in 1S79, under the leadership of W. H. Willard. Among its other attractions Nunda is favored with a mineral spring, whose medicinal properties are becoming quite celebrated. The spring is situated about half a mile from the village on the land of Daniel Passage. The spring was discovered in 1867 by Mr. Passage, while dig- ging for water for his stock. Noticing that the water had an unusually acrid and bitter taste he was induced to have it analyzed, the analysis show- ing that it contained in large quantities the sul- phates of magnesia ami lime, together witli the carbonates of lime and iron. A large and attractive building has been erected on a commanding portion of the land for the ac- commodation of visitors wishing to test the quali- ties of the water, and pass the summer days amidst the delightful scenery of this section of country. The first permanent settlers in the village were Deacon Rawson, Asa Heath, Samuel Swain, David Bassett and James M. Heath. The first frame house in the village was built in 1824 by Asa Heath, who came from Washington county, and settled in Nunda in 1820. A portion of the house he built is still standing. In 1824 the village was laid out with some degree of system, and in fifteen years after was incorporated, April 26, 1839. The first meet- ing held for the election of village officers was on Tuesday, the nth day of June, 1839, at the Eagle Hotel, at which meeting the following officers were elected : — Trustees, Benedict Bagley, Russell Barnes, Wal- ter Whitcomb, Calvin B. Lawrence, David Holmes. Assessors, Calvin B. Lawrence and Samuel Swain, Jr. At a meeting of the trustees held at the office of Benedict Bagley on the following Thursday, June 13, 1839, Nathaniel Coe was appointed Clerk, William D. Hammond, Collector, and Albert H. Prescott, Pound Master. The following were other appointments made by the trustees at that date : — Fire Wardens, Clifford Chaffee, li. P. Richmond, W. M. Chipman, Henry C. Jones. Members of Hook and Ladder Company, Addison M. Crane, Hiram C. Grover, Thomas Raines, Francis F. Gibbs, Joseph White, James Swain, Jehiel Reed, Henry Ashley, Doctor D. Morse, Henry Chalker. Lawvers. — Benedict Bagley, at whose office this meeting is mentioned as being held, was one of the most prominent men in the town for nearly a quar- ter of a century. lie came to Nunda in 1S32 and m CD m P CO 5 5 C3 CO o K VILLAGE OF NUNDA— PHYSICIANS, BANKS. 247 remained till 1855, when he went to Cincinnati, Ohio, and engaged in the banking business. He was a lawyer of no mean ability, and held a high place at the bar, but his interest in other business led him to gradually give up active prac- tice. When he came to Nunda it was a small ham- let, and he resided in a house where Grace church now stands. He took a prominent part in the local affairs of the town ; was one of the first trustees, and held the office of Justice for one term. He was a stockholder and one of the directors in the Cornell Telegraph line, laid through that region in 1850. He was also Attorney for and Vice-President of the Buffalo and New York City Railroad during its construction from Hornellsville to Buffalo, now the Buffalo Branch of the Erie Railroad. He also en- gaged in building railroads in the West. Previous to his removal to Cincinnati he was interested in a contract on the Chicago and Mississippi Railroad near Springfield, 111. He died in Dansville, Novem- ber 4, 1875, at the age of seventy-five. Among other lawyers of the past were A. C. Chipman and Luther C. Peck, the latter holding a prominent position at the bar. He represented in Congress the Thirtieth Congressional district, con- sisting of Livingston and Allegany counties, his Congressional career extending from 1837 to 1841. The present lawyers of Nunda are Peck & Wil- ley — the former a son of Luther C. Peck, and who has inherited much of his father's legal acumen — Osgoodby & Moot, Daggett & Norton, E. W. Pack- ard, D. S. Robinson, Frank Dake, E. C. Olney, W. S. Coffin, H. M. Dake. Physicians. — Among the past physicians of the town were, Dr. Wright, W. G. Blanchard in 1829; John Gilmore, who moved to Nebraska, but at what date is unknown. The present doctors are William B. Alley, who has been in Nunda seven- teen years. He graduated at the Berkshire Medi- cal College, Pittsfield, Mass., and has been in prac- tice thirty-one years. C. L. Harding, who located in Nunda in 1846, graduated at Cincinnati. Has been in practice thirty-four years. S. C. Upson, a licentiate of New York State, has resided in Nunda thirty-five years, and has been in practice sixty years. John B. Sabin graduated at Buffalo, N. Y., and has been in Nunda about ten years. Mrs. Doctor Whitcomb, (Homeopathic,) gradu- ated at Boston ; has been in practice four years. T. A. Hammond, graduated at Pulta Medical School, Cincinnati, (Homeopathic,) has been in practice one year. Banks. — The Nunda Bank was organized in May, 1873, as a private bank. The officers are Robert J. Baity, President; W. B. Whitcomb, Vice-President ; John E. Mills, Cashier. The office is situated on the corner of State and East streets, in the Livingston House building. The First National Bank of Nunda was organ- ized February 5, 1875, the articles of association being drawn and signed on that day. The directors were elected the 12th of February as follows:— John F. Barber, Michael Dowling, John M. Griffeth, James S. McMaster, Gordon L. Gilbert. President, John F. Barber ; Vice-Presi- dent, John M. Griffeth ; Cashier, James S. McMas- ter. The bank commenced business April 1st, 1875, succeeding the Bank of Nunda, a private bank established in 1868. The capital was $50,000 in $100.00 shares. The present directors and offi- cers are John F. Barber, Peter DePuy, William Y. Robinson, Gordon L. Gilbert, John M. Griffeth. President, John F. Barber ; Vice-President, John M. Griffeth ; Cashier, Peter DePuy. The Oakwood Cemetery Association. — This association was formed June 17, 1865, conformable to an Act passed April 27, 1847, authorizing the incorporation of Rural Cemetery associations. At that meeting the following trustees were elected : — Hon. Alfred Bell, Robert J. Baity, John Angier, Willard Wood, Cyrus Rose, E. O. Dickinson, L. B. Warner. The members of the society are the same as the officers given, with the following additions — Walter Whitcomb, Henry Lambert and Henry Martin. The Pioneer Association of Nunda and Por- tage. — The first meeting for the formation of this society was held August nth, 1877, at which meet- ing it was "Resolved to organize a Pioneer Association for the towns of Nunda and Portage, for the purpose of gleaning and preserving facts per- taining to the early and modern history of these localities." On Saturday. August 18th, 1877, the permanent organization was effected with the appended list of officers and members : — President, Utley Spencer ; Vice Presidents, Am- nion Smith, of Portage, and John Gilmore of Nunda ; Secretary and Treasurer, C. K. Sanders ; Historians, B. P. Richmond, Nunda, Charles D. Bennett, Portage ; Medical Statisticians, Dr. Wil- liam B. Alley, Nunda, B. F. Kneeland, Portage; Executive and Financial Committee, Joel C. Ben- 248 HISTORY OF I.IVLVGSTON COUNTY. nett, E. O. Dickinson. The object of this society is to procure and preserve whatever may be of His- torical interest to these towns, and to gather such statistics relating to education, population, the growth, general prosperity, and business of this lo- cality as may be of public utility. Such an asso- ciation must be of great benefit to any town if its object be to any great extent attained. A few years hence and its worth will be fully appreciated if not in the present decade. An important feature in the society is the keeping of a book of registry, in which all members are required to sign their own names, that their autographs may be pre- served. The meetings of the association are held annually. Educational Institutions. — Thirty years ago Nunda had an enviable reputation for the high character of its schools. In fact, there were few if any villages in the State whose facilities for educa- tional purposes were equal to hers. Various causes, not the most unimportant of which was the indif- ference of the people to educational matters, led to a decline in the high character of the schools ; and though not now behind the times in educational facilities, it must be confessed that up to 1876 its former glory had, to a great extent, departed. The Nunda Literary Institute was opened in 1843, and was for years a widely known and in- fluential school of learning. The first term began May 1st, 1843, with Rev. Amasa Buck, Principal; Mary S. Buck, Preceptress ; and Eliza Brown, Musical Teacher. It had a thorough course in English, French, Latin, Greek and Music, and was well attended by pupils from various parts of the country. Occupying so high a position it had a prosperous career till the building was destroyed by fire May 2, 1859, when the school was adjourned and never fully resumed. A few years after the burning of the Institute building a united effort was made by the people, and a new and commodious brick building was erected. In this building began the existence of the Nunda Academy which con- tinued till 1876. On the whole this was a success- ful school, and left its impress in the community ; but it suffered, like most of the Academies of the State, by a frequent change of principals. Becom- ing apparent to the people that as an Academy it ceased to accomplish the work which it was felt the community needed, a movement was started to consolidate the adjacent districts and form a Union graded School, which object which was accom- plished on Tuesday evening, August 15, 1876, when five districts were consolidated into one. On Saturday evening, August 12, 1876, pursuant to a resolution of a previous meeting, the election of a Board of Education took place. The trustees elected were as follows: — One year — Cyrus Rose, James McNair, Daniel Passage. Two years — John F. Olney, James Leraen, Samuel Swain. Three years — L. B. Warner, J. V. D. Coon, E. O. Dickinson. At this meeting W. S. Coffin, Esq., offered the following resolution, which was adopted: — '•Whereas, there exists within the limits of this Union Free School District an academy known as the Nunda Academy, and an academic institution is needed in said district, therefore " Resolved, That the Board of Fducation of this Union Free School District be, and they are hereby authorized and directed (by and with the consent of the trustees of the Nunda Academy,) to adopt said Nunda Academy as the academic de- partment of this Union Free School District." The trustees of the academy consented, and thus was formed the Nunda Academy and Union Free School. A meeting of the Board of Education was held on the succeeding Monday, and the following officers were chosen : — President, J. V. D. Coon ; Secretary, J. F. Olney ; Treasurer, L. B.Warner; Committee on Teachers, Samuel Swain, James Lemen, Dr. Coon ; Com- mittee on Repairs and Supplies, Cyrus Rose, Dan- iel Passage, E. O. Dickinson. In 1877 the school opened with the subjoined faculty : — M. T. Dana, Principal; Miss Frankie Hinds, Mrs. Nellie Ransom, Miss Mattie McNair. The Board of Education and Faculty for 1880-81 are as follows: — H. D. Page. President; J. F. Olney, Secretary; L. B. Warner, A. C. Dodge, E. W. Packard, James Lemen, Virgil Hungerford, Fidelia J. M. Whitcomb, S. Augusta Herrick. M. T. Dana, Principal; Carrie A. Van Ness, Academic Assistant ; Frankie Hinds, Preparatory Department ; Mrs. Nellie Ransom, Intermediate Department ; Mattie McNair, Primary Depart- ment; Mary N. Coffin, Primary Department. The school is free to all actual residents of the town, and although the attempt to consolidate the districts was earnestly opposed by many of the inhabitants as an unwise plan, their experience has demonstrated that it was both a wise and a bene- ficial movement. VILLAGE OF NUNDA — CHURCHES. 249 The number of districts having school houses in the town are twelve, employing eighteen teachers. There are in these districts 790 scholars over five and under twenty-one years of age; the num- ber of children attending school during the year being 639. During the past year school has been taught 355 weeks, with an average attendance of 385, and an expenditure of $4,382.82 for teachers for the year. There was paid for school apparatus during the year but $3.69, while for libraries there was ex- pended $39.35. The total value of the district libraries is $398. The total incidental expenses for the year were $431.18. There has been paid out for school houses, sites, fences, furniture, repairs, &c, the sum of $974.78. The school houses and sites are valued at $16,480; and the total valuation of districts is $1,213,949. The present officers of the village of Nunda are: — Chris. Smith, Mayor and Deputy Sheriff; F. P. Thomas, Trustee ; R. J. Baity, Trustee ; B. F. Rol- lah, Village Clerk ; John E. Mills, Treasurer. Churches. — Coming as many of the early set- tlers did from the New England States, where religious observances had for years been as much a part of their nature as the breath they drew, it was natural that the pioneers in this new region should still lovingly cling to those observances and endeavor to form as early as possible societies for the wor- ship of God. Hence we find that in the very first years of the settlement a movement was begun to incorporate into a society the people of religious antecedents. The first society thus formed was by the Baptists in 1819, under the efforts of Elder Samuel Messenger. Elder Messenger came from the town of Phelps, Ontario county, and located near the hamlet of Oakland on a farm, which the greater part of his time he was obliged to cultivate to derive subsistence for himself and family. He found in the valley several people who were mem- bers of Baptist churches in the places from whence they had come; and who anxious to be associated in one common body, with his advice and assist- ance drew up a list of articles of faith and cove- nant, to which twelve members subscribed. To this body of pioneer worshipers Elder Messenger extended the hand of fellowship as a regular, inde- pendent Baptist Church, at a meeting held for such organization at the house of Mr. Button in Hunt's Hollow,* May 21, 1819. * In Portage now, but which at that date was part of Nunda. The names of the twelve subscribing members were : — Russell Messenger, Schuyler Thompson, Elijah Bennett, Aaron Thompson, Aaron Thompson, Jr., Jacob Devoe, Wm. Greening, Susanna Greening, Huldah Root, Rhoda Ann Bennett, Sally Thompson. Elijah Bennett was chosen clerk, which office he held until October 5, 1820, when he resigned and Jas. H. Rawson was elected to fill his place. After the organization of the church, the first member who joined it was Willoughby Lowell, who presented his letter and was received to mem- bership at the first covenant meeting June 5, 1820, James H. Rawson was the first member received into the church by baptism. In October, 1820, Elijah Bennett, one of the first subscribing members, having by his ability and zeal shown himself adapted to ministerial work, was duly ordained as a minister by elders Bradley, Case and Messenger. In that year Schuyler Thompson, Elias Rawson and James H. Rawson were elected deacons. In 1820 this church was annexed to the Ontario Baptist Association, which connection was severed in 1824. when it united with the Holland Purchase Association. The organization of this church and society in a legal form occurred on the 8th of Oc- tober, 1827, when Daniel Ashley, Silas Warren and John Waite were chosen trustees. In the twelve succeeding years the trustees were annually elected according to the laws of the State; but at the an- nual meeting in April, 1840, it having become ne- cessary to be more explicit, in order to possess and hold real estate this body was regularly incorpor- ated pursuant to the statutes of the Legislature, and under such corporation Samuel Swain, Jr., Albert Page and Edward H. Brackett, were elected trustees. At this date the membership for the first time since the organization, numbered one hundred, which, in July of the following year, was reduced to eighty-two by the withdrawing of Curtis Coe, Thaddeus Bennett, John Gearhart and fifteen other members to form the Grove and Portage Church at Hunt's Hollow. In the infancy of the church its meetings were held in private houses, log school-houses and in barns. In 1827, at the annual church meeting in April, the following resolution was adopted: — " Voted, that we hold our meetings from the first Sabbath in May until the 1st of October in one place, and that shall be at Mr. Jones' barn. In June, 1827, this church was incorporated in the Genesee River Association formed at that J 5° HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. date, in which body it still retains a membership. The Society at this union with the above asso- ciation began to feel the need of a settled and central place of meeting, and soon after were al- lowed the use of a school-house in a central local- ity, and which the society enlarged at its own ex- pense. In this house their meetings were held for a short time, when it was found too small to ac- commodate the increasing congregation and a more suitable place was sought. Early in 1832, by a united effort, they com- menced the erection of a house of worship which was located on the corner of Mill and Church streets, and which in the following winter was com- pleted and dedicated. Long before its dedication it was needed for their use. Furnishing it with temporary seats their regular services were held on the Sabbath day, and the church at this time passed through one of its most important revivals, during which more than eighty united by baptism. At the succeeding meeting of the Association, the membership of this church was reported as two hundred and twenty-eight. The rapidly increas- ing congregation made it necessary in a few years to erect a larger place of worship, which, by an earnest and united effort, was partly accomplished in 184c, and completed and dedicated in 1842. This is the edifice now standing on the south- east corner of Church and East streets. The form- er building was sold and converted to the use of an academy for the Nunda Literary Institute, and was used by that society until May 2, 1859, when it was destroyed by the torch of an incendiary. The lives of the early pastors of this church and the pioneer ministers of this section of the country are full of interest in the exhibition of unselfishness and zeal with which they labored to foster and ex- tend the worship of God. Elder Messenger devoted a portion of his time for seven years to the upbuilding of this church, for which labor he received but little pecuniary compensation. His salary scarcely ever exceeded one hundred dollars per annum. In 1826, he resigned his pastorate and was suc- ceeded by Elder Elijah Bennett, whose ministerial labors extended to 1830, the last year being as- sisted a part of the time by Elder Harvey. He also preached in 1831-32. Elder Bennett died in Nunda, in 1835. In the latter part of 1832, the church came under the pastoral care of Elder Ezra W. Clark, who remained until 1836, when he re- signed on account of ill-health. He was succeeded by Elder Abram Ennis, who retained the pastorate till [840.* His salary was $400 for the first year, and $500 for each of the last three years. Elder J. W. Spoor, the next pastor, began his labors in October of 1840, and continued them until May, 1844. Under his pastorate about two hundred and thirty members were added to the church, while a reduction in the membership of two hun- dred and five left a total of a little over five hun- dred at the time of his resignation. In May, 1844, Elder Ichabod Clark assumed the ministerial duties. Elder Clark's pastorate ended in May, 1848. In June of that year the membership reported was three hundred and sev- enty-nine, which exceeds the membership reported in any subsequent years. Elder Jira D. Cole suc- ceeded Elder Clark, and remained with this people about two years, during which time the church passed through a season of very deep trial, occa- sioned chiefly by connections with secret societies, in violation of resolutions which had been passed in 1827.1 For some months after the expiration of Elder Cole's term the desk was supplied by a licentiate, when Elder P. B. Houghout was engaged but re- mained only a short time, resigning in July, 185 1, and Elder Spoor again assumed the pastorate in November, 1851, holding it till May, 1854. He was succeeded by Elder Whitman Metcalf, whose labors extended over a period of nine years. His advanced age and infirmities caused him to resign in May, 1863. He was succeeded by Elder J. J. Keyes, who labored here for nearly two years. He was succeeded by Elder J. B. Vroorman, who re- mained till April, 1870. Elder William Mudge came in May, 1870, re- maining until July, 1873, when he was succeeded by Elder C. B. Parsons, who continued from Oct., 1873, to April 1st, 1876. The present pastor is Rev. J. D. Tucker, who came in April, 1876. Several members of this church have entered the ministry. Elijah Bennett, before mentioned as being ordained in 1820. Peter Robinson was or- dained to the work of the ministry in 1836. Newell Boughton was licensed in 1836, and subsequently ordained. James Work, a native of the Orkney Islands, was licensed in Hamilton, Canada, and united with this church in 1855. He completed a course of education at Rochester, and was or- dained here February n, 1863, being about to re- turn to his native land to preach to his country- men. Lysander L. Wellman was licensed in 1861 * Klder Ennis died in Mendon, Monroe county, in 1845. I These resolutions were repealed in April, 1866. VILLAGE OF NUNDA — CHURCHES. 2 5i and afterward ordained. Alvin \V. Tousey was licensed in 1861, was subsequently ordained, and went to Illinois where he engaged in the ministerial work. The First Presbyterian Church of Nit 11 da* — This, in point of time, was the next church to or- ganize for the worship of God; for among the in- coming tide of new settlers was an increasing num- ber of Presbyterian antecedents and associations, and it was but natural that they should wish to en- joy the same ministrations as to doctrines and or- dinances as those under which they had received their early training. Accordingly, upon the sixth of October, 183 j, they were organized into a Presbyterian church. The meeting for the organization was held in a school house near Deacon Wisner's, two miles northeast of the present site of the church. So far as can now be ascertained it seemed to have been a spontaneous movement among those of like mind and faith. No record and no personal recollec- tion of the oldest residents remains, pointing to any particular one as a leader of others. The ministers present and assisting in the organization, were Revs. Robert Hubbard, Abel Caldwell, and Ludovicus Robbins. The Elders were Joseph Waldo and Silas Olmstead. Of these ministers, Mr. Hubbard had organized the Presbyterian church at Angelica in 181 1, and preached there a number of years. He assisted in organizing the Presbyterian church at Dansville in 1825, and was for a number of years its pastor. He was subse- quently pastor of the church at Fowlerville, at which place he died in 1S40. Mr. Caldwell was the minister at Hunt's Hollow, to which place he had come, it is believed, from Bloom field. The entire number uniting at this organization was fourteen. Ten of these were by letter, and four upon profession of faith. Their names were : John Chapin, Clarissa Chapin, James Patterson, Sarah Patterson, Zaddock Herrick, Betsey Her- rick, Eliza Guy, Mille Pierce, Celestia J. Hills, Abraham Van Sickle. Those uniting upon pro- fession of faith were Sillah Lee, Lucinda Booth, William R. Duryee, and Mrs. Lany Duryee. It has been said that the church was organized first as Congregational, and afterward changed to Presbyterian by a vote of the members ; but ac- cording to the records, and from the recollections of many of the older members, it would appear * To Rev. B. S. Foster, a former pastor of this church, now in Spring- ville, N. Y., we are greatly indebted for a full and accurate history of this Society ; he having during his pastorale taken especial pains to glean all that was of historical interest, and which he kindly placed at our disposal. that the organization was designed from its origin to be Presbyterian, although there was no election and ordination of Elders until May 21, 1835. The business seems to have been transacted by church meetings, and practically the church was carried for- ward according to Congregational usage. The first clerk of the society was James Patter- son, Nathaniel Chandler succeeding him in office. At a meeting of the church which is without date, but which must have been soon after August 25, 1833, David Shager and John Chapin were elected deacons. The former accepted, the latter declined. At a meeting held May 21, 1835, six ruling elders were elected as follows : — Samuel Swain and Rus- sell Barnes, for one year; Elihu Dickinson and Ephraim Smith, for two years; and John Chapin and Abraham Burgess for three years. At the same meeting it was voted to have four deacons — Guliel- mus Wing, one year ; David Thayer, two years ; Erastus Buck, three years; and Josiah Phelps, four years, all of whom accepted but Mr. Wing. This completed the organization as a church, which at this time was under the care of the Presbytery of Angelica, from which it was transferred to Ontario Presbytery, October 8, 1844. The first minister who assumed pastoral charge of this church was Rev. Ludovicus Robbins, who remained one year, and who preached to the con- gregation in the school house where the organiza- tion took place. Afterward the meetings were held in the Page school house, one-half mile east of the present church, and were held there for about a year. The best recollection concerning Mr. Robbins is that he formerly preached at Avon, Conn., but that he came from Union Corners to this place, and afterwards went to Michigan. Soon after this time, and up to 1844, the funds for church expenses were raised by assessment upon the property of the church and society. Those not consenting to that plan had a subscription taken up among them, and the amount thus raised was subtracted from the whole sum to be raised, and the remainder was raised by assessment. In April, 1844, that rule was abrogated, but sub- stantially the same rule was afterward resumed. It is not in force now, but there is no record of when the custom was abandoned. The name of the next pastor, Rev. William P. Kendrick, first appears on the record October 25, 1832. He remained till the close of 1833. It is be- lieved he came to this place from West Bloomfield. From here he went to Grove, Allegany county. 252 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. In January, 1834, the name of Rev. Asa John- son first appears, who, having preached three months on probation, was installed pastor of the church by the Presbytery of Angelica, Febru- ary 26, 1834. His pastorate extended to October, 1837. He was a graduate of Auburn Theological Seminary, and had preached in Richmond, Ontario county, from which place, it is believed, he came to Nunda. At the close of his pastorate here he went to Logansport, Indiana. Under his ministration occurred the first revival in this church in which he was assisted by Rev. Mr. Littlejohn, well known in those days as an Fvangelist. The name of the succeeding pastor, Rev. Wales Tileston, first appears November 5, 1837, as mod- erator. Although there exists no record of his in- stallation as pastor, or of the time when his labors with this society ceased, it is the recollection of those who remember that he was installed. He came to this place from Heath, Mass. Subse- quently he went to Illinois. He was followed by Rev. Fdwards Marsh, whose name first appears in the minutes of June 7, 1840, as moderator of the session. It seems probable, however, that he commenced his labors as stated supply in the spring of 1840. In this capacity he continued to labor until at a meeting of the congre- gation on the ninth of March, 1846, a formal call was made to him to become the settled pastor of the church, and he was so installed. In the following year he tendered his resignation which was accepted March 8, 1847. He came to this church from Avon, and on retir- ing went to Canton, Illinois. Rev. William Lusk became the next pastor, a call having been extended to him June 7, 1847. He remained till February 26, 1852, when he re- signed his pastorate. He had formerly preached in Washington county and in Cherry Valley, N. Y. He afterwards preached in Batavia. Soon after the resignation of Mr. Lusk his suc- cessor, Rev. Pliny F. Sanborne filled the desk as temporary supply, and was engaged as stated sup- ply for one year from December n, 1852. He was not installed, but continued as stated supply until the spring of 1857. He came to this place from Granby, Connecticut. He afterwards labored nine years at West Bloomfield, Ontario county. Rev. L. G. Marsh was his successor, beginning his labors in June, 1857. He was not installed, but labored with great acceptance as stated supply until September, i860. During his pastorate, according to the best recollection, was made the change in time of church service from afternoon to evening, there having formerly been two services each Sabbath, one in the morning and the other at one and a half o'clock p. M. Mr. Marsh had previously preached in Thomaston, Maine, from which place he came to this charge. In the fall of i860 Rev. I. O. DeLong began his labors, remaining as stated supply for about three years. After the retirement of Mr. De Long, Rev. L. G. Marsh returned and began his second pastorate February 9, 1864, which he retained until Decem- ber, 187 1, when he resigned and returned to Ban- gor, Maine. Rev. T. Dwight Hunt was the succeeding pastor, to whom a call was extended in February, 1872, and who was soon after installed. He remained until September, 1875, when his pastoral relation was dissolved. He had previously been a mission- ary to the Sandwich Islands; had also labored in San Francisco. He was succeeded by Rev. B. S. Foster, who was installed March 1st, 1876, and whose pastorate extended to the first of June, 1879. After the expiration of his pastorate, the church was unsupplied some eight or nine months, his successor, the present pastor, Rev. N. H. Bell, commencing his labors in February, 1880. He came from Arcade, Wyoming county. During the pastorates of the two latter ministers the church has suffered much from deaths. The succession of elders and deacons, after those elected in the first years of the organization, were Erastus Buck, 1838; William R. Duryee, May 21, 1839; C. W. King, June 23, 1840; Joseph Waldo, Dec. 31, 1841; Charles V. Craven, Stephen Bald- win, and Earl J. Paine, Jan. 10, 1846; Alfred Bell, John Gilmore and George H. Bayley, March 5,1864; Jacob Brinkerhoff, Charles T. Metcalf, Dec. 31, 1870; Adam Potts, George Arnold and J. M. Mc- Nair, July 6, 1872 ; John T. Van Ness, May 6, 1876. Deacons — William R. Duryee, July 2, 1836; Zaddock Herrick, Sept. 4, 1837 ; Chauncy Ladd, May 21, 1839; John Briggs, Dec. 31, 1841 ; Charles V. Craven and Erastus Buck, Jan. 10, 1846; George H. Bagley and Andrew B. Lock- wood, March 6, 1864; C. T. Metcalf, April 8, 1S71. The rapid increase in members and in attendance upon the services soon required a more commodi- ous place of meeting than the school house in which the meetings were held, and the society erected their first church edifice in 1833. It stood VILLAGE OF NUNDA — CHURCHES. 2 53 on the east part of the present church lot. No records can be found respecting its erection. It is learned, however, that Samuel Swain, Nathaniel Chandler and Gulielmus Wing were prominent in originating and furthering the enterprise. The cost of this building was about $2,200. Upon the completion of this place of worship there were two services regularly every Sabbath, the services pre- viously having been held every alternate Sabbath, the minister in charge having been obliged to de- vote half of his time to another field. After a lapse of thirteen years the still increasing membership and attendance made it necessary to build a larger church, and in 1S46 the erection of the present edifice was begun, and in June of 1847 was dedicated by Rev. Edwards Marsh, in the interval between his resignation and the arrival of Rev. William Lusk, his successor. To Mr. Alfred Bell is accredited an especial in- fluence in originating and aiding the work of con- structing this second and commodious house of worship. The trustees when the church was built were Alfred Bell, William M. Marsh, Nathaniel Chand- ler, Russell Barnes and A. H. Prescott. The cost of this building was about $6,000. The former house was sold to the Methodist Epis- copal society previous to the erection of this. The size of this church is 50 by 80 feet, with a seating capacity, including galleries, of 650. Early in the pastorate of Rev. Mr. Tileston — probably some time in 1838 — a session house was built on the present site of the parsonage, the cost of which was $800. It was divided into two stories, the upper one being for many years devoted to school purposes. In 1872 this session house was sold for $600 and re- moved. The proceeds of the sale were devoted to the erection of the parsonage which occupies the site where the session house stood. The par- sonage cost $3,000, less the amount received for the session house. The present membership is about 120, and the aggregate membership since the organization 854. The church property is situated on the north- west corner of Church and East streets, the par- sonage being on the former street. Methodist Episcopal Church of Nimda.— The next people to form into an organization for the worship of God were the Methodists, a considera- ble number of whom had become by this time located in the township. The first meeting for the organization of this society was held in the house of Samuel Record, in the village of Nunda, some time in the year 1837. No records of this or of meetings immediately fol- lowing can be discovered. According to the re- collection of Mr. Record, who still resides in the village, the only members present at that meeting were Jacob H. Osgoodby and wife, Mrs. Stivers, and Mr. Record and his wife, who constituted the original membership. The society was at first organized as Indepen- dent Methodist, but afterward, the society under that name becoming to a great extent inoperative, it was joined to the Methodist Episcopal Confer- ence, but in what year is not known. It would appear that the pastors who first labored with this society were Revs. Mr. Hard and Bran- son, about the year 1840. In its early days the church passed through many trials and vicissitudes, and the pioneers in this movement were obliged to struggle against much discouraging opposition. Their meetings for years were held in private houses, school houses, and in barns, but being composed of energetic and determined men and women, the society grew in strength, in zeal, and in means, and in 1846 succeeded in procuring a church of their own. The Presbyterian society in this year beginning the erection of a new church, the Methodists pur- chased of that society the edifice about to be va- cated, and removed it from the Presbyterian ground to its present location on the northeast corner of Church and East streets, repairing, improving, and dedicating it in 1849. The dedicatory sermon was preached by Rev. A. S. Baker, who was the pastor at that time. After the pastorates of Revs. Hard and Branson, it would seem that preaching had been conducted by Revs. Church and Wheeler, but in what order of succession, and at what dates, is unknown. The first trace that can be discovered of any settled pastor is in 1840, when Revs. Amos Hard and Ira Branson are mentioned in conjunction. In 1841 Rev. Mr. Doolittleis mentioned as having officiated. In 1842 and '43, the name of Rev. Carlos Gould is mentioned. Thereafter, the succession of pas- tors was as follows : — Rev. D. B. Lawton, 1844-46; Rev. Robert Par- ker, 1847-48; Rev. A. S. Baker and colleague, Rev. Thos. Tousey, i848*-4o; Rev. I.J. Mecham, Rev. J. L. Edson, 1850; Rev. Mr. Laman, 1851-52; Rev. Albert Plumley, 1852-54; Rev. Mr. Latimer, 185 5 ; Rev . We s ley C ochrane, 1855- •The Methodist Conference year began in October, and a pastor com- I ing. for instance, in October, 1848, would be put down for that year, though his first year would not occur till the next October. 2 54 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. 1856; Rev. R. Harrington, 1856-58; Rev. L. L, Rogers, 1859-60; Rev. Charles S. Fox, 1861-62 Rev. B. F.Bradford, 1863; Rev. F, P. Hunting ton, 1864-65; Rev. Elijah Wood, 1866; Rev. J L. Edson, 1S67; Rev. J. C. Hitchcock, 1868-69 Rev. L. 1). Chase, 1870-72; Rev. William Brad- ley, 1873-75; Rev. J. B. Countryman, 1876-78; Rev. A. Sotitherland, 1879-S0. The present membership in the church is one hundred and twenty-two. First i hiversa/ist Church of Nunda. — The first meeting for the organization of the Universa- lis! congregation was held in a district school-house in the village of Nunda, September 12th, 1840. The officers at that meeting were Elijah Horton, Moderator, and L. S. Church, Clerk. The deacons chosen were Granville Sherwood and Joseph Root. The names of the persons en- rolling themselves as members were: — Richard Church, Elijah Horton, Abram Merrick, Joseph H. Root, Charles Stillson, Granville Sher- wood, Joshua Fuller, George Townsend, Lawrence S. Church, Lyman Smith, Amman Smith, Leonard Church, Nathan Sherwood, Jonathan Hay, Sarah Horton, Elvira Starkweather, Malvina J. Church, Esther Merrick, Abigail Could, Harriet Horton, Mercy Fuller, Maria Sherwood. On the 23d of January, i84i,the Universalist society was formed, R. Church, presiding as chair- man, and Elijah Horton, as secretary of the meet- ing. The following trustees were elected — David Grover, Richard Church, David Babcock, Gran- ville Sherwood, Hiram Merrick, Elijah Horton, Joshua Fuller, William Huggins, Silas Grover. A committee on building was appointed at this meeting, and the church was built in that same year. In 187 1, the Church of the Redeemer was erected, a large and beautiful structure standing on East street. The first pastor mentioned in the records is Rev. A. Kelsev, who officiated four years. After his ministration the following is the succession of pas- tors as near as can be ascertained : — Rev. ( ). F. Brayton 1852. " A. J. Aspinwall 1 856-1 860. " C. C. Gordon 1861-1862. " E. Tomlinson 1863. " A. C. DeLong 1864-1865. " C. V. Craven 1866. " E. Reynolds 1866. " F. S. Bacon 1867-1869. " G. F. Jenks '870. " A. L. Rice 1870. " J. A. Dobson 1871-1873. Rev. Mr. McLean 1874. " Mr. Kelsey 1874. " H. Jewell 1875. " Mr. 'Shepherd 1876. " Mr. Snell 1876. " Mr. Aldrich 1876. " S. J. Aldrich 1877-1879. Since the first of April, 1879, there has been no settled pastor. Grace Church {Episcopal}. — Services were com- menced with a view to forming a parish in 1845, and were conducted by Rev. Gershom P. Waldo with as much frequency as a place for such services could be had and other circumstances would permit. The society was incorporated March 28, 1847, and the following officers were chosen : — Warden, C. Remington; Vestrymen, J. Y. Turner, R. H. Spencer, N. Chittenden, John Guittram. Samuel Swain, Sr., David T. Swain, Henry Chalker, R. Bennett. On the 7th day of April, 1847, the formation of the parish was accomplished. There being no resident rector, the services were conducted by Rev. Mason Gallagher, Rector of St. Peter's, Dansville. Services were afterward conducted at different periods by Rev. Gershom P. Waldo, Rev. Lucius Carter, and Rev. Asa Griswold. On the first of December, 1849, Rev. Andrew D. Benedict assumed the pastoral charge in con- nection with that of St. Mark's, at Hunt's Hollow, resigning the charge May 1st, 1852. The corner stone of Grace church was laid May 23, 1848, at which ceremony the Bev. Mason Gal- lagher and Rev. Gershom P. Waldo were present as clergy, the sermon being preached by Rev. Mr. Gallagher. During the pastorate of Rev. Mr. Benedict the church was in process of construc- tion, and nearly ready for consecration ; Trinity church in New York giving very generously four hundred dollars in aid of the project. On the fifth of May, 1853, the church was duly consecrated by Rt. Rev. Dr. William H. DeLan- cey. The clergy attending this ceremony were : Rev. Lucius Carter, Rev. Andrew D. Benedict, Rev. I. A. Robinson, Rev. Mr. Wilson, Rev. Mr. Howard, and Rev. H. W. Lee, of St. Luke's, Rochester, afterward Bishop of Iowa. In 1853, May 1st, Rev. James A.Robinson took the pastoral charge, resigning in the spring of 1854. He was succeeded by Rev. James O. Stokes, who was appointed missionary in charge, coming in 1854 and leaving in 1855. NUNDA STATION. 255 His successor was Rev. Gershom P. Waldo, who was appointed missionary to Nunda with full stipend July i, 1856, and who in April, 1857, resigned the stipend^, in favor of Rev. Henry Gardner, who then took this charge and that of St. Mark's, Hunt's Hollow, resigning in April of i860. In June, 1863, Rev. Fayette Royce took charge in connection with Brook's Grove Mission and Trinity church, Canaseraga, retaining the pastorate until February, 1866. After the departure of Rev. Mr. Royce, Rev. G. P. Waldo assumed temporary charge till the parish was supplied by the coming of Rev. Hiram Adams, whose pastorate dates from January 1st, 1867. Rev. Noble Palmer, M. A., succeeded him in November, 1868, having in charge the parishes of Nunda, Hunt's Hollow, and the Brook's Grove Mission, which he retained two years. In 1872, Rev. Charles Woodward assumed the pastoral charge after the parish had been without a settled clergyman for two years. He also officiated at St. Mark's, Hunt's Hollow. He resigned July 1, 1876. In 1877, Rev. Stephen H. Battin took charge for a limited period, he then being rector at Can- aseraga. Since that time the church has been without a settled rector, having had but occasional services from different clergymen. In the early period of this church's history and growth it was largely aided and encouraged by subscriptions and offerings from General Micah Brooks and members of his family, which in- cluded the rectory and a solid silver communion service. The means to build the church were in great part obtained through the persevering efforts of Miss Laura A. Brooks, who visited New York, Albany and Boston to procure aid in furtherance of the project. A beautiful Italian marble font was presented by a number of the parishioners; and a bell, an organ, and other necessary improvements were given by the united efforts of members of the con- gregation and early sustainers of the church. The church has suffered much in these years by the death and removal of valued and useful members. Among the deaths are included Gen. Brooks, Miss Catherine Brooks and Leonidas Nichols. The present membership is, families, 26, indi- viduals, 68, communicants, 41. The value of the church edifice is $2,500. The rectory is valued at $Soo. Nunda Station. Nunda Station (Dalton P. O.) lies in the south- western part of the town on the line of the New York, Lake Erie and Western Railway. It has a population of between four and five hundred, and is the prin- cipal shipping point of the town for all products. The first settler here was Maxam Smith who was owner of nearly all of the property in that vicinity. The first store was kept by Lyman Ayrault, who is still in business there. The post office was established in 1856, and the first postmaster was James Douglass, at which time Lyman Ayrault was deputy postmaster. Mr. Ayrault is the pres- ent postmaster, having held the office, with the exception of one year, since i860. The present physicians are Drs. J. C. Uurgan and Hugh Hill. W. S. Orcutt is the only lawyer residing there. The place has one school house, six stores devoted to dry goods and general mer- chandise, two harness shops, two drug stores and one hotel, the Parker House, built in 1873, and kept by Sanford Parker, who was one of the first settlers. The place has but one church, the Methodist Episcopal, built in 1858 or '59. The society was formed at the meeting of the M. E. Conference at Corning in 1858, from parts of Nunda and Granger charges. The church edifice is pleasantly situated in a commanding part of the village, and is a large and substantial building, free from all encumbrances. The society also owns a neat parsonage in connection with the church, which is also free from debt. The church is valued at $1,500 and the parsonage at $1,200. The church at its formation had a membership of forty-five. The first class leader was H. Mirethew. The present membership is 134, all of Nunda Station. The first pastor was Rev. Woodruff Post, who officiated one year followed by Rev. De Puy 1859-1860. Rev. John Spinks 1860-1862. Rev. John J. Turton 1862-1864. Rev. Elijah Wood presided for a short time when there was a vacancy till the pastorate of Rev. A. Maker who presided in 1867, when another vacancy occurred till the coming of Rev. C. G. Lowell in 1869, who was followed by Rev. T. W. Chandler 1870-1872, Rev. T. L. King 1872-1874. Rev. G. B. Richardson 1875-1877. Rev. C. Dillenbeck 1877-1878. Rev. E. T. Cook 1878-1881. 256 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. War Record. — No town was more patriotic, or evinced its patriotism in a more tangible way in the war of the Rebellion, than Nunda." 1 On the afternoon of Friday, April 19, 186 1, a telegram was received by Mr. G. M. Osgoodby asking if Nunda could furnish a company of men under the call of the President for 75,000 volunteers. A meeting was held that same evening, and so great was the enthusiasm, and so ready was the response, that twenty-eight men immediately stepped forward and entered their names on the enlistment roll. The citizens generously received volunteers into their homes and provided for them while perfect- ing themselves in drill. The enthusiasm extended even to the women of Nunda, who began immediately to manufacture various articles for the comfort of the soldiers dur- ing the career on which they were about to enter. There was also raised a fund for the relief and support of such families as this enlistment might leave dependent. On the 6th day of May, 1861, less than a month from the receipt of the telegram asking for such a company, this band of brave men was mustered, and James McNair elected Captain, George T. Hamilton, First Lieutenant, and Henry G. King, Second Lieutenant. The company numbered fifty-six men, and they entered the 33d Regiment of New York Volun- teers as Company F. Of this number and of those who afterward joined the company: — Morton Bardwell, who enlisted May 13, 1861, was killed at the battle of Fredricksburgh, May 4, 1863. Elias Smith was killed in battle at Antietam, September 17, 1862. Whitfield Whitney, died of fever at Yorktown, Va., June 1, 1862. Henry Swartz died of fever, May 10, 1862. William John Nolan was wounded and taken prisoner at Spottsylvania, May 10, 1864, and sup- posed to have died in the hands of the enemy. Lycurgus Twining died from wounds received in action, but at what date is unknown. Michael Clark, killed in the battle of the Wilder- ness, May 10, 1864. Howard B. Doty was transferred from the 33d to the 49th New York, and died October 20, 1864, from wounds received at battle of Cedar Creek. Gardner Bacon died Oct. 3, 1861, of sunstroke at Fort Ethan Allen. * To Dr. William B. Alley, who has manifested great interest in sta- tistics relating to the soldiers from Nunda, we .ire in great part indebted for the war record of this town. 11k majqi porti >! this account is from his in ords, i h inged only in the order of its original appearance to admit facts gleaned from other sources. John DeLong died at Hagerstown, Md., Dec. 4, 1862. Augustus L. Damon died Nov. 11, 1862, at the Soldiers' Home in Washington. Daniel Chilson died of fever at Alexandria, March, 1862. Jonathan Greenwood was taken prisoner in the latter part of June, 1862, during McClellan's re- treat from before Richmond, and died a prisoner at Bell Island. James Kiley, after two years' service, contracted lung disease, was honorably discharged, came home and died June 2, 1863. Ervin VanBrunt died at Fort Ethan Allen, Oct. 16, 1861. George H. Prentice died of typhoid fever at Camp Griffin, Va., Feb. 28, 1861 or 1862, and was buried in Nunda. Charles R. Lowe died on the :9th of April, 1862, of typhoid fever at Newport News, Va., and was buried at Nunda. Thaddeus Maynard died of fever at Philadel- phia, Aug. 6, 1862. William James Casnett was killed at Chancellors- ville May 3, 1863. A more extended notice of this patriotic man may not be out of place. Mr. Cas- nett was attending Hamilton College at the break- ing out of the war, preparing for the ministerial service. While spending the summer vacation of 1862 at his home he deemed it his duty to go to the defense of his flag, and so he enlisted in the 33d Regiment as a private in the ranks, leaving at home a sister and a widowed mother. He reached his regiment at Hagerstown, Md., soon after the desperate battle of Antietam, where he lay sick of fever at Clear Spring long after the army had crossed the Potomac. He joined his regiment, however, in time to be engaged in the first battle of Fredericksburg. During the four months while the army lay in winter quarters he improved his leisure moments in study and in defense of the religion which he professed. On the 28th day of April, 1863. the army broke camp and immediately moved upon the enemy's works. Casnett's regiment was compelled to lie flat on the ground for several hours in the midst of falling shot and shells. He seemed sin- gularly anxious for action, and was heard to say re- peatedly : " Why don't we charge ? The only way to take this fort is to march up there a.n& Jig/it .'" At last the assault came. In the tempest of fire and smoke, of shot and shell, he was lost sight of, nor was he seen again till the battle ended and NUNDA — WAR RECORD. 2 57 victory gained, he was found some yards in advance of his company, dead. His companions buried him on the heights of Fredericksburg. A history of his life, and a poem commemorating his bravery, were prepared by his college class by whom he was held in great esteem. In September, 1861, the town of Nunda fur- nished thirty-six more men who enlisted in Captain Tuthill's company, which constituted Company A of the Wadsworth Guards. Failing to procure men enough to form a complete regiment, they went to Albany and joined the 104th Regiment, and these men were afterward known as Company K. Of these thirty-six men : — Captain E. A. Tuthill died December 30, 1867. Corporal Daniel White died in prison, date un- known. James Macken, died in service Feb. 1,1864. Sergeant Lewis W. Shepard, Co. A, died from wounds received at Antietam, Sept. 17, 1862. George Flint, Co. A, died at home from disease contracted in the service. Frank Russell, Co. A, died at home from wounds received in the service; date unknown. Elijah White, died at home from disease con- tracted in the service ; date net known. Cicero C. Clark, died at Mount Pleasant Hospital, June 30, 1862. Corporal Lewis Sutton, died in prison Dec. 13, 1862. Charles Crawford, died from wounds received at Antietam, Sept. 17, 1862. Hiram Passage, died in prison; date unknown. George Britton, died in the service ; date un- known. Octavius Clark, killed at the battle of the Wild- erness, 1S64. Samuel Wright, died at the Soldier's Home, Bath, N. Y., 1879. Corporal John Gruber, Co. F, died in prison ; date unknown. Corporal Daniel Swinder, Co. F, died in prison ; date unknown. William Hooson, killed at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863. Sergeant Thomas J. Curtis, killed at Gettysburg, July 1, 1863. Lucien Carpenter, killed in service, 1864. Abr'am Carpenter, killed in battle of the Wilder- ness, 1864. Corydon Smith Thompson, was wounded at Fred- ricksburg, May 4, 1863, taken prisoner and sup- posed to have died soon after. James L. Thompson, was taken prisoner at Get- tysburg, July 1, 1863, and died at Richmond, Feb. 16, 1864. William George Chislett, was wounded at Fred- ericksburg, Dec. 13, 1862, and died at Washington, January 1, 1863. Sergeant John S. Satterlee, served his time in the 104th and reenlisted in the same regiment; died from wounds received at Spottsylvania, on the 13th of May, 1864, and was buried on the battleground. George Satterlee, served his time out, going through all the battles with his regiment, and reen- listed as a corporal, Jan. 4, 1864; was taken pris- oner, and died of starvation at Salisbury, N. C. ; place of burial unknown. William Davis, killed at Gettysburg, July 1, 1863. Perry Haynes, was taken prisoner at Gettysburg, July 1, 1863. Was afterward paroled ; came home and died from the effects of his starvation, Dec. 28, 1864. Richard B. Connett, died in hospital at Balti- more, Jan. 7, 1863. Mortimer Herrick, was wounded May 7, 1864, in battle of the Wilderness ; was taken to Wash- ington and died there from the effects of his wounds. William Woodruff, killed at Gettysburg, July 1, 1863. Corporal Stephen P. Havens, was taken prisoner at Gettysburg, on the first of July, 1863, and sup- posed to have died in Salisbury prison. Under the call of July and August, 1862, for three hundred thousand men in each month, the 130th Regiment was organized, and the town of Nunda sent out under Capt. James Lemen of Company I, forty-three men. By an order from the War Department and of the Governor of this State, dated July 28, 1863, the 130th was changed and designated the First Regiment of New York Dragoons. There was afterward added to this regiment twelve other men from Nunda as recruits, making fifty-five in all. Of the N. Y. Dragoons from Nunda : — Sergeant Seth H. Weed was killed at Todd's Tavern, May 1, 1864. Corporal Charles A. Kinney, died at Newberne, N. C, Sept. 25, 1864. Z. E. Barney, died at Suffolk, Va., January 4, 1864. James H. Foland, died in Andersonville prison, May 7, 1864. Josiah H. Flint, died in Andersonville prison ; date unknown. 2 5 8 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Nathaniel Marr, died June 3, 1865. Milan Parker, died September 10, 1864. George I. Philips, died in the service, Dec. 28, 1862. Corporal Hiram J. Woodard, died in Anderson- ville prison ; date unknown. Simeon Gelzer, died in Andersonville prison ; date not learned. Leonard Russell died from wounds received in action, May 22, 1864. Alexander Drake died from wounds received in battle, October 22, 1864. Levi C. Davis died Jan. 4, 1864, at Mitchell Station, and was buried at Culpepper, Ya. John Gothard was killed in battle at Newtown, Va., on the nth of August, 1864. James Christie was taken prisoner at Todd's Tavern, May 7, 1864, and died Oct. 15 of same year at Andersonville, Ga. William Black was killed at the battle of the Wilderness, May 7, 1864, and was buried near Todd's Tavern. Corydon C. Lovejoy was wounded and taken prisoner, and died in Andersonville Prison in Au- gust, 1864. Hiram O. Seeley, after more than two years' service, died at home of disease contracted in the army, Nov. 3, 1864. William J. Wright died at Suffolk, Va., Nov. 6, 1862, and was brought home and buried. John Callahan died Aug. 14, 1864. at Winches- ter, Va., from wounds received at Newtown, Ya., Aug. n, 1864. Isaac Johnson, after two years' service, was dis- charged on account of ill health, and returning home died in June, 1864, of consumption. In August and September of 1862, the 136th regiment was organized. The town of Nunda, as near as can be learned, furnished for this regiment about twelve men, who went out under Captain Arnold, of Conesus. Of this number : — David C. Wade died while home on a furlough at Nunda Station, Feb. 27, 1864. Rufus P. Wescott died from wounds received in action, May 24, 1864, and was buried near Resaca. David Close was killed May 15, 1864, at Resaca and was buried on the held. There were also several men from Nunda who, for different causes, joined various regiments of this and even of other States. Of this class from or representing some one of this town : — Corydon Crossett, supposed to be a recruit credited to Nunda, joined the 3d Michigan regi- ment, Jan. 20, 1864, and died in August of that year a prisoner at Andersonville. Alpheus C. Willett, of Nunda, joined the 8th Heavy Artillery, Jan. 4, 1864, and was killed in battle at Cold Harbor on the 3d of June, 1864. Alva J. White, credited to Nunda, entered the 97th New York Volunteers, July 26th, 1863; died May 28, 1864, from wounds received in battle. Orin Nickerson joined the 6th New York Cav- alry, Oct. 14, 1 86 1, and died at Point Lookout from sickness produced by hard service. George W. Fuller, of Nunda, joined the 126th Regiment of New York Volunteers, Aug. 6, 1862, and was killed in battle at Romeo Station, Nov. 25, 1864. Philander Maker enlisted in the 27th New York Volunteers in 1861, and died March, 1865, at Blackwell's Island, from disease acquired in the service. Gardner Milleman, credited to Nunda, joined the 22d New York Volunteers; supposed to have died of starvation at Andersonville, September 7, 1864. Philander McGee served his time out in the 27th New York Voluntears, was wounded in the hand at battle of Petersburgh ; reenlisted, and died of disease contracted in the service, at New York Har- bor, March, 1865. Charles Harris was drafted and then enlisted ; was sent South, lost his health, came home and died in the winter of 1864. George Fay, 188th New York, was killed in action, but at what date is unknown. L. E. Willey, 4th Heavy Artillery, died 1863. In the latter part of Aug., 1863, thirteen men from the town of Nunda joined the 1st New York Veteran Cavalry under Captain John J. Carter. Of this number : — Perrin Page was killed in battle of New Market, May 17, 1864, and is supposed to be buried near that place. Martin H. Myers died from wounds received in battle at New Market, May 17, 1864. Abram Burdick died about the same time from wounds received in battle of New Market. William A. Ecker was taken prisoner at New Market, May 17, 1864, and died while a prisoner at Florence, S. C, Sept. 30, 1864. Samuel S. Tallmadge entered the service Sept. 18, 1863, and served in the army till the spring of 1864, when, on account of ill health, he was sent to Martinsburg Hospital. While in that hospital he NUNDA — WAR RECORD. 2 59 was taken prisoner on the 3d of July, 1864, by a force under Breckenridge, was kept until the 5th and was placed in prison at Lynchburg on the 1 ith day of July. On the 20th he was marched to Dan- ville prison, and on the 2 2d he was again marched South, and on the 25th reached a prison in Au- gusta, Ga. On the 27th of July he was taken from there to Andersonville, where he remained until the 28th of September, when he was again moved and placed in prison at Savannah. At this place he remained till the 13th of October, when he was sent to Milan, and after a few days was re- turned to Savannah to be exchanged. He was finally paroled November 19, got back on his way home as far as Annapolis on the 25th of Novem- ber, but was too feeble and reduced in flesh to go any farther. He died at Annapolis, Dec. 8, 1864, of inanition, the result of systematized starvation. The following is a further list of those who en- tered the service for or from Nunda, but whose lo- cation, if living, or place of burial, if dead, we are unable to learn. 104/// Regiment N. Y. Volunteers. William Magee, Judson D. VanSlyke, James L. Toms, John A. Wright, Philetus Mayhew, Edwin Wilcox, Abram Foland, Lucius H. Barron, George H. Graham, Abram Youells, Christian Smith, Jos. Moyer, Jacob Lieb, Albert Bennett, Theodore Magee, William C. Cain, Geo. W. Snyder, William DeMocker, Patrick Gould, William Brown, Edgar J. Whipple, A. W. Skinner, W. H. Boyd, Michael Emo, Randall Haynes, William Barton, Joseph C. Dean, Lewis C. Skinner, DeLancy Smith, Michael Welch, David E. Taddler, Nelson Craft, Adelbert S. Haver, Edwin Hinman, John C. Haze, C. G. Lowell, Edgar M. Chipman, William E. Keen. 3377/ Regiment N. V. Volunteers. Aikin Aspinwall, John J. Carter, Volney O. Car- ter, Geo. W. Daggett, Clinton Guy, William J. Marshall, James Norris, Martin L. Porter, Francis W. Sargent, Irvin I. McDuffie, John F. Barker, Justus H. Cain, James Christie, Geo. W. Dennis, Gotlep Koeffie, Geo. D. Martin, Rufus H. Newell, Phillip Smith, Henry A. Hills, Charles R. Len. First N. Y. Dragoons. Sidney S. Morris, Charles F. Wilkins, David C. Lamb, Romeo St. Clair, James Lemen, C. S. Strickland, B. F. Town, W. C. Mayhew, H. H. Wheeler, F. M. Town, I. M. Barker, G. W. Piper, C. M. Havens, G. D. Waldo, O. F. Record, Geo. W. Durfee, John Provo, Chester C. Carter, Russell A. Britton, C. C. Bovven, N. H. Spicer, J. W. Rog- ers, Eli H. King, Havella D. Baker, W. E. Town, Gilbert Freer, Horace Howe, Milo Goldthwait, W. C. Hendershott, R. H. Greenfield, W. B. Wagor, Philo Mosier, H. O. Seeley, C. E. Lewis, F. S. Adams, N. H. Shute, N. S. Goldthwait, D. C. Town- send. A somewhat noteworthy fact in relation to these men is that in the above list the oldest man was but forty-three ; thirty-four of the number being considerably under thirty years of age, and ten being but eighteen years old at time of enlistment. The cemetery at Nunda contains the remains of the following soldiers : — Capt. E. A. Tuthill,* Company A, 104th Regi- ment. James Macken, Company A, 104th Regiment. Perry Haynes, Company A, 104th Regiment. Sergeant Lewis Shepard, Company A, 104th Regiment. George Flint, Company A, 104th Regiment. Frank Russell, Company A, 104th Regiment. Needham C. Knight, 104th Regiment, died Au- gust 13, 1870. Sergeant Prosper Swift, Company I, First N. Y. Dragoons. ElishaT. Ames, Company I, First N.Y. Dragoons. William J. Wright, Company I, First N. Y. Dragoons. Isaac Johnson, Company I, First N.Y. Dragoons. W. J. Nolan, 33d Regiment N. Y. Volunteers. Alfred H. Cain, 33d Regiment N. Y. Volunteers. Charles R. Lane, 33d Regiment N. Y. Volun- teers. Charles Harris, 157th Regiment. Schuyler Duryee, 136th Regiment N. Y. Vol- unteers, died in the service, date unknown. Samuel Tallmadge, First Veteran Cavalry, N. Y. Rufus Chandler, Fourth Heavy Artillery, died at the general hospital in Washington, D. C, Feb. 2, 1863. H. Smith, 33d New York and Veteran Cavalry, died in the service in 1863. Henry Fuller, 33d Regiment N. Y. Volunteers, died March, 1875. John B. Paine, 33d Regiment N. Y. Volunteers, died March, 1869. Captain John P. Wood, staff officer killed in the service. *Time and cause of death of those belonging to the 104th Regiment has been previously given ; also of those of other regimentj when not especially mentioned. 260 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Captain Wood entered the service from Ohio, and was promoted and appointed by the President Assistant Adjutant, and assigned a place on Gen- eral Gibbon's staff. He died on the 6th of March, 1864. and was brought to Nunda and buried, where his wife and children resided. The town of Nunda contributed liberally in money and material as well as in men, toward putting down the Rebellion. Early in the war the ladies of Nunda organized a society called " The I .adies' Hospital Relief Association." This society sent to the soldiers eleven large boxes containing clothing and hospital stores. Three boxes were sent to Suffolk ; one to Washington, two to Roch- ester, three to Buffalo, and two to the Howard Hospital. The freight and all charges being paid by the society. The entire cost was estimated at $750. This society also raised and paid out in cash $144.27, making in all $897.27. There was raised by subscription and paid to Nunda's men in the 130th Regiment, by and through Mr. B. F. King, the sum of $380. There was raised and paid out through Mr. Page $392. The town paid out in the year 1864 for the sup- port of soldiers' families $250, and in 1865, $142. There was raised on subscription $1,000 to pay the taxes of those women who had lost friends in the war, or whose husbands were still in the service. Under the President's call of July and August, 1862, for six hundred thousand men, the town raised $2,250 and paid as bounty to forty-five men. Under the call of July, 1863, for five hundred thous- and men there was raised and paid to forty-seven men the sum of $8,100. Under the call for two hundred thousand men of March 14, 1864, the town raised and paid $9,000 to eighteen men. Under the call of July 18, 1864, for five hundred thousand men, there was raised and paid to fifty- one men the sum of $44,050, besides the sum of $1,225 called "hand money ;" and under the call of December 19, 1864. for three hundred thousand men, the town paid $19,600 to twenty-eight men. The town also paid connected with the draft the sum of $817, making a total of $88,103.27, exclu- sive of the numerous boxes sent by individuals to their sons, brothers and friends in the army, and the large sums expended by relatives and friends in going to the camps and battle-fields and bringing home their sick, wounded and dead. Nunda also furnished one company of men who, in the fall of 1864, served three months at Elmira, guarding rebel prisoners. In all Nunda sent out and furnished for the war three hundred and twen- ty-three men. Of that number, as near as can be learned, two hundred and forty-five were actual residents of the town. Of those who were actual residents, with perhaps two or three exceptions, twenty-five were killed in battle, three were taken prisoners soon after being wounded and died in the hands of the enemy ; four are known to have died of starvation : seven have died in rebel prisons ; and twenty-two died from diseases contracted while in the service. This is a sad catalogue for relatives and friends, but on the scroll of honor are inscribed the names of these sixty-one young, strong and brave patriots who gave their lives that Nunda might continue to have the protection of a united government. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. SETH S. BARKER. The subject of this sketch was born near Oris- kany Falls, N. Y., August 30, 1801. His parents whose ancestors came from England in the seven- teenth century, and settled in New England, were from Connecticut. Feb. 8, 182 1, he married Sarah Durfee, who was born in Fall River, R. I., and whose mother was a descendant from the old warrior, Col. Church, of King Phillip's time. Soon after his marriage, Mr. Barker set out on foot with his knapsack on his back to seek a home in the West. In August, 1821, he came to Nunda and took an article for the farm on East Hill, where he now resides, selecting it on account of the large timber growing theieon. The place where the village now stands being then covered with pitch pine and scrub oaks, he considered it valueless. He then went for his wife and her mother, and re- turned in November with them to his forest home. The house to which they moved scarcely deserved the name, blankets being suspended instead of doors and windows. He was a person of few words, but deep thought, and though not appearing to be as vigilant as some was silently conquering troubles and overcoming difficulties little known to others. He has held several offices of trust, serving several terms as Assessor and Commissioner of Highways of the town. Being quite a mechanic, he manu- factured many of his tools, while most of his neigh- bors had to purchase theirs. He kept well in- formed as regards the news of the day, both in our own and foreign countries. Mrs. Barker, as a weaver and spinner, was un- excelled. She wove cloth for her neighbors, made cloths and exchanged them at the stores for her pur- chases ; also worked considerable at the tailor's trade. While her husband was working in the I timber, she nobly did her part working ather loom, J&R. 8f JArs. jS. £. •Packer, i pARL j], J^AINE. jIOHN ff. TOWNSEND. JOHN H. TOWNSEND— EARL J. PAINE — E. O. DICKINSON. 261 and to show her skill it is stated that when only 1 1 years of age she wove 1,100 yards of checked dress cloth for a factory in Fall River. Mr. and Mrs Barker have been married 60 years, and have had four children, three of whom are now living, as follows: Munson O., who married Adaline Raw- son; Orlando W., who married Mary E. Swain, and Justus L., who married Olive L., daughter of Richard Bowen, who moved to this county from Fall River, Mass., in 1825. Time has dealt gently with this pioneer couple, and the severe hardships and trials through which they have passed have left but few impressions. They have been members of the Baptist church for over fifty years. Surrounded by their sons, who are living on adjacent farms, their path of life is, in return for untiring energy and industry, being beautifully strewn with flowers of filial love and veneration. JOHN H. TOWNSEND. The subject of this memoir deserves especial mention from the pen of the historian as being one of the few hardy pioneers who lived to see the usher- ing in of the year 1880. John H. Townsend was the son of Gideon and Freelove (Haynes) Townsend, and was born in Putnam county, October 25th, 1793. November 22, 1818, he was married to Betsey Barnuni, and in 1822 moved to this county bringing all his worldly effects on one wagon drawn by an ox team, and settled on what is now the State road and of which he was one of the founders and builders. During the first winters he spent there he walked to Hunt's, a distance of four miles, and chopped wood at 2s. 6d. per cord, the cold being so severe at times that he was obliged to bury his dinner in the snow to prevent its freezing. He " articled" for 85 acres of land and made additions to it until he had 275 acres. In 1830 he overworked in the harvest-field, bringing upon himself a sickness from which he never recovered. He was an invalid for fifty years and though suffering great pain at times, his indomitable nerve and happy disposition showed itself in his greatest trials. He died September 4, 1880. After the death of his first wife he married Mary VanDeventer, November 7, 1824, by whom he had three children as follows : — John V., Peter H., and Gideon. She died March 4th, 1881, surviving her husband only six months. He served in the war of 181 2, and was drawing a pension at the time of his death. EARL J. PAINE. X The Paine family were among the first settlers of the State of Connecticut. James Paine, the father of the subject of this sketch, and the pro- genitor of the Paine family in this county, was born in Litchfield county, Conn., January 27th, 1783. Hemovedto Herkimer county, N. Y., about the year 1800, and married Polly Dana, the result of the union being five children, three of whom are now living, named Earl J., L. F. and J. A. A deceased daughter, Mary A., was the wife of Rev. Mr. Stilson, a celebrated Burmah missionary. Mr. Paine moved with his family to Nunda, March 15, 1817, and was one of the earliest pio- neers in this region. The limits of the town of Nunda at that time were so extensive that three days were consumed by him in attending town- meeting, being obliged to walk from his home to the voting place. He died April 8, 1866. Earl J., the subject of this brief sketch was born at Paine's Hollow, Herkimer county, March 24, 1807, and was ten years old at the time of his father's rettlement in this town. He was married to Catharine, daughter of Richard Grimes, of Nunda. Four children were born to them, two of whom are now living, Wells and Ann. Mr. Paine by his untiring industry has succeeded in carving a fine farm out of the wilderness that he settled in. He possesses a powerful constitution, which has succeeded in carrying him through several very severe trials during his life, and at present, (April, 1 881,) israpidly convalescing from a painful malady that has confined him to his room for more than a year. Although having lived more years than are usually allotted to man, his friends have hopes of his companionship for several years to come. His wife died Feb. 25th, 1879. He and his brother L. F. are the only ones left ot the early pioneers who were here at the time they moved in. Of his children, Ann married Mr. Buck, of Vincennes, Ind., and Wells is one of the most extensive and successful farmers in this sec- tion of the county, having over six hundred acres of land on " East Hill," conveniently located and under a fine state of cultivation. Mary Jemison, the celebrated " White Woman," was a frequent visitor at the early home of the family. E. O. DICKINSON. Emilus O. Dickinson, a sketch of whose residence appears in this book, was born in Oneida county, N. Y., August 30, 18 iS, and is the son of Wm. and Lois Dickinson. At the age of eighteen he com- menced droving, between Oneida county and Bos- ton, and for a few years has been shipping cattle from the West to New York. When twenty years of age he purchased a farm of So acres in Oneida county, at $25.00 per acre. In 1849 he went to Davenport, Iowa, and engaged in the lumber busi- ness, but remaining there only a short time, returned to New York State, and settled in Nunda. Novem- ber 10, 1850, he was married toLydia, daughter of Thomas and Elvira Starkweather of Nunda. Was elected Supervisor in 1861, returning the year fol- lowing, and also in 1874-5. On his farm, which 262 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. consists of 236 acres and is situated one-half mile east of Nunda, there is a mineral spring which issues from a rock and the water of which has been analyzed and found to possess great medii inal qualities. It has unusual alterative and eliminat- ing power, and one gallon of it is said to contain many more grains of valuable medical substances than the water of any other spring in the State of New York, and some even assert its superiority in that respect, over any otherspring in the United States. It is one of that class of springs whose water contains those natural combinations of med- icines that occasionally cure cases of some forms of disease which the most skilled among our profes- sional men cannot. No chemist can exactly imitate these natural compounds, and these waters do not operate alone by means of their predominant min- eral constituent. Mr. Dickinson was very instrumental in securing to Nunda its free Union School. He was a Repub- lican until after the death of Lincoln, and then not agreeing with the party became a Democrat. He has four children, as follows : Nellie M., Allie J., Mattie E. and Neva L. His place is one of the finest in the county, being almost unequalled as re- gards its handsome and commodious buildings. The land is very fertile and watered by several large springs, one of which has been analyzed by S. A. Lattimore, as follows : " One U. S. gallon contains 203. 58grains sulphate of magnesia, 184.41 sulphate of lime, 104.10 carbonate of lime, 6.82 chloride of sodium, 1.05 carbonate of iron, .12 sil- ica, and traces of alumnia." He also says this water belongs to the magnesia class of mineral waters, and will be a powerful agent if judiciously applied. THE WATER CURE AND MINERAL SPRINGS. These springs, which are becoming justly cele- brated for their curative properties, are situated about a half mile south of the beautiful village of Nunda. They are on a rise of ground, nearly one hundred feet higher than that on which the village stands, and are situated about fifteen minutes' drive from Dalton Station on the line of the Erie railroad. The cure, located on a rising elevation near the springs, is a large, commodious building, adjoining a grove of pines and maples, containing pleasant shaded walks and drives. The interior is fitted up for the accommodation of those who wish to avail themselves of the medicinal properties of the springs, and contains hot and cold baths sup- plied from the naturally medicated waters. The rooms are large, thoroughly ventilated, and supplied with all the modern improvements and the location is in all respects desirable, combining the best hy- gienic conditions, with a landscape view of excep- tional beauty. The first discovery of one of these springs was in 1878 while workmen were engaged in repairing the public highway adjoining the lands of Daniel Passage. As the earth was removed from the side of the beaten track a vein of water gushed from the rock beneath. Tubing was placed in the spring from which the water flowed, for the benefit of the traveling public. The medicinal properties of the water were discovered by use and led to an analysis of the water, which showed one U. S. gallon to con- tain 203.58 grains sulphate of magnesia, (Epsom salts,) 1S4.41 grains of sulphate of lime, 104.10 grains of carbonate of lime, 6.82 grains of chloride of sodium, 1.05 grains of carbonate of iron, .12 of silica and traces of alumnia. The two larger springs emanate from the rock about five feet beneath the surface of the earth and about twenty-five rods distant from the spring by the roadside, and are situated upon slightly more elevated ground appearing to be the fountain from which these mineral waters are supplied. These two springs furnish an abundance of water and from these springs water is drawn to supply the cure. These springs belong to the class of magnesia mineral waters and in a general sense their therapeu- tic effects are alterative, and it may well be called nature's sovereign remedy for all the ills that the human family is heir to. The springs are on the estate of Daniel Passage, who in 1879 began the erection of the cure. The first discovery of the curative properties of this water was in 1878. Since that time it has been confirmed by many .who have used it as a singular alterative for the cure of blood diseases, and is becoming quite generally used, large quantities being shipped each year to various parts of the country. It is being used more exten- sively each year. CHAPTER XXI. HlSTnRV OF THE TOW'N OF PORTAGE. ON the extreme south-western border of the county lies in some respects the most remark- able, and in nearly every respect the most pictur- esque town in Livingston county. ( originally a part of the town of Leicester in Genesee county, at its first formation, in 1805, Portage was set off as a part of Angelica, (Allegany county,) and in 1808 was again set off as a part of Nunda ; being formed from Nunda as the town of Portage, March 8, 1827. It was about six miles square, bounded on the east by the Piquot line, and on the west by the Transit line. In 1846 it was taken from Allegany and annexed to Livingston county. At the same time from about one-third of it, lying on the west side of the river, was formed the town of Genesee X n ? CD CO i r m 3D O C a CO O o PORTAGE — PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS. 26^ Falls, which was annexed to Wyoming county. The town is six and a quarter miles long, and four and three-quarters in width at its widest part. It is bounded on the north by Mount Morris, on the south by Granger, (Allegany county,) on the east by Nunda, and on the west by the Genesee River and Genesee Falls, (Wyoming county.) Within these limits Portage has been called " The Switzerland of the Empire State." With less of the general ruggedness characteristic of Ossian ; with but little, if any, of the quiet rural scenery of Springwater ; and to a great extent devoid of the enterprising appearance which characterizes Nunda, Portage surpasses all in presenting the most varied scenery bordering on the modern, the ancient, the beautiful and sublime. Near the line of the Erie road, which passes through from the western to the south-western part of the town, the surroundings approach to the modern and business appearance of to-day. Back from the railroad and the river the scene changes to rolling farm lands, and to a settled and ancient look, as though at some time the town had taken immense strides in advancement, and had sud- denly stopped afraid of its own progress, and never again having the courage to proceed had settled down contentedly and allowed age to cover it with quaintness and beauty. Here is seen the deserted channel of the Genesee Valley canal cut through high embankments, and spanned by old-fashioned and decaying bridges; with its oft recurring locks, now grass grown and crumbling, rising like giant stairs to higher levels ; passing through scenery now rural, now romantic, — a busy stream no longer, but picturesque even in its idleness and desertion. Near the Genesee river on the western border of the town, and extending nearly the entire length of that boundary, the scenery changes from cleared lands and thrifty farms dotted with comfortable buildings to wild and rocky ravines skirted with a dense growth of saplings and heavy timber, sprinkled with lumbering camps and saw-mills, and where is heard the ringing of axes and the crash of falling trees as in the days when the whole town was a forest, unbroken only by the ax of the sturdy pioneers. It is in this section that the town presents its most striking beauty. Through the winding ra- vine, whose shaley walls, straight and smooth, tower hundreds of feet, or break up into ragged masses of rocks crowned with the verdure of pine tree and shrub, flows the Genesee, calmly and sluggishly, or whirling with a dash and roar over the falls into the basins which its action for ages has channelled deep and smooth. Within a dis- tance of three miles are three falls varying in height and in scenery. At the lower falls the scenery approaches the sublime. Here the river lashed into a creamy foam thunders through a gorge worn narrow and deep by the eternal rush of its waters, and whose perpendicular walls hem- ming it in on either side rise to an elevation of four hundred feet above the level of the lower stream. Standing here in the silence, unbroken save by the roar of the falls and the ringing of the lumber- man's ax in the forest which crowns the summit, fancy reverts to the time when these waters floated the graceful canoe of the Indian, parted before the homely keel boat of the advancing pioneer, and bore upon their surface the freightage of the forests to the markets of the East. Then, as now, the water poured ceaselessly over the falls, but in wider and more eager torrents, while along its banks the river was dotted with the wigwams of the savage whose war song blended with the music of the cataract. But the scene has changed. The canoe, the wigwams, the Indians, have disappeared ; the keel boats have passed from existence, and the river long ago ceased to be navigable for the rafts of the hardy lumbermen. Above this point a few rods, is still seen the carrying road over which the lumber and other freight of early days was conveyed from the upper to below the lower falls, and from which " port- age," or carrying place, the town derived its name. Just below these falls there arises an island of rock, crowned by large flat stones, as though placed there by some human agency, on the sur- face of which grasses grow and in whose scant soil several pines and saplings have taken root, lending their verdure to that barren and shaley rock. At some time in the past this pyramidical island ha j been connected to the eastern bank, but it has been gradually separated therefrom by the crumb- ling of its surface into the river. It is called "The Haystack " by the inhabitants of the town, and is not unlike one in appearance, tapering, however, on all sides, somewhat like a pyramid, toward the top. The fall of water here at one time was nearly one hundred feet; but the stream, becoming shallower, changed its course, and cutting its way deeper into the narrow gorge has reduced the height, to sixty- 264 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. eight feet, and in live years the falls have receded fully one hundred feet. Midway between the lower and middle falls the barren, perpendicular walls on the western side take a graceful curve, in shape like an Indian bow, and rise to a height of three hundred feet above the stream below. On the eastern side the ascent is less abrupt, and is sprinkled with a growth of saplings, crowned on the summit with a parapet of huge fiat stones that formerly protected the towing path of the Genesee Valley canal, which began at this point its parallel course with the river. In the precipitous rocks which skirt the canal on its east- ern side is seen the side drift of the tunnel began by Elisha Johnson,* through which the canal was originally intended to run. The tunnel was begun at a point on the southern side of the gorge, and had a south-western termination near the Middle Falls. The spot is now covered up by the caving in of its walls, so that the terminus is not visible. Work was begun on the tunnel in 1839. It was eleven hundred and eighty feet long, and was at that time the greatest undertaking of that nature in this country. Owing to the treacherous nature of the earth forming this hill, the tunnel was not found practicable and was therefore abandoned. The canal was not completed to Olean until 1856.! At the Middle Falls the scenery is less grand, but still beautiful. The water falls in a broader sheet over the shelving rocks to a distance of one hun- dred and ten feet into an immense basin which its action has furrowed out, but the walls of the ravine below are not so high or imposing. On the east side is seen the wooden aqueduct of the canal now hastening to decay. ( )n the western side the summit is surmounted by a table-land thickly strewn with pine and oak, ami dotted with cottages, while on the bank of the river numerous places of observation have been built for the benefit of tourists. Between these and the upper falls the land on the eastern side slopes gradually up to the bed of the canal. On the western, it lies quite level for some distance back from the river, when it gradu- ally rises into hills covered with forests. At the upper falls the banks abruptly rise again to a height of two hundred and thirty-five feet, where stretches the Portage bridge, like a gossamer thread, across the chasm. The water at this point has a fall of seventy-three feet; the three cataracts having a total fall of two hundred and fifty-one feet. • At one time Mayor of Rochester, N. Y. I Seu page 106. The Portage bridge stands not only as one of the wonders of the State, but as a monument to the ingenuity of man, and to the rapidity with which his skill can surmount obstacles and over- come difficulties. This bridge was built for the Frie R. R., to replace the wooden one which was destroyed by fire May 6, 1875. The old bridge was built in 1852, at a cost of $175,000. It was 800 feet long, 234 feet high, and contained 1,602,- 000 feet of lumber, and 108,852 pounds of iron, and was the largest wooden railroad bridge in the world. In twelve weeks after its destruction by fire, the present bridge was tested and opened for traffic, July 31, 1875. It is 280 feet from bank to bank, 235 feet high from the bed of the river to top of railing, and contains 1,314,500 pounds of iron, besides track material. It was built by the Watson Manufac- turing Company, Paterson, N. J.* Seventy years ago where now this railroad stretches its iron course, was a dense forest and the whole township was an unbroken wilderness ; where now the shrill whistle of the flying locomotive breaks on the air as it sweeps past well-tilled farms the silence was undisturbed save by the howling of wolves, the chase of the savage, or the fur)- of the tempest. Jacob Shaver, Seth Sherwood and other pio- neers who first penetrated these wilds scarcely conceived that in the lapse of forty years, that engine of civilization, the locomotive, would become an established feature of the town, and that over the forest-skirted chasm of the Genesee would be constructed the largest railroad bridge in the world ; to be replaced in a few years by the grand piece of mechanism that spans the river to-day. To Jacob Shaver, who came in 1810, and Seth Sherwood, who came at about the same time or soon after, has been awarded the honor of the first settled residency in the town. This claim, how- ever, is doubtful. As pioneers they were undoubt- edly the first to wield the ax in making for them- selves small clearings, upon which they located as squatters, with no pretense to title or ownership. But here their labors toward the settlement of the town probably ended; for when in 1816 these lands were opened for sale, and the incoming of permanent settlers began, they moved onward to become pioneers in other unbroken regions. To Ephraim Kingsley is accorded the credit of being the first actual settler in the present limits of Portage. He came here from Vermont in 181 4, * See page 107. PORTAGE — EARLY SETTLERS. 265 and located on lot 169, since owned by Frederick B. Hunt. In 1816 Col. George Williams settled in the town as resident agent for the Cottinger Tract, which contained fifty thousand acres con- veyed to Gerrit Cottinger in 1791, and by him con- veyed to John Hornby, of Scotland, who sold the half of it in alternate lots to his agent, John Greig, of Canandaigua, for the sale of them. In 1 807 the tract was surveyed and subdivided by Elisha Johnson. The lots were three quarters of a mile long and about one-third of a mile wide, containing one hundred and sixty acres, the measures varying and generally over-running. The lands in the town have all been sold. There are one hundred and one lots and parts of lots, containing in all 16,580 acres, the town being situated about the middle of the east side of the entire tract. As agent for these lands Col. Williams continued for years, becoming himself an extensive land owner, and taking an important part in the settle- ment and improvement of the town. In his eighty- first year he was thrown from a buggy, sustaining in- juries which hastened his death. He died May 11, 1879. He had a son who now occupies the home- stead, and a daughter residing at Portage Bridge. These lands opened for sale, the settlement of the town was accelerated, and the next few years witnessed the influx of those whose labors convert- ed the forests into farms and laid the foundation for the future wealth and prosperity of the town. Among the settlers who came in these early days were Prosper Adams and his brother Abijah, Rus- sell Messenger, Nathaniel B. Nichols, Asahel Fitch, Elias Hill, Halliday, Stephen Spencer, Horace Miller, Elisha D. Moses, William Dake, Joseph Walter and Thomas Bennett. Of these pioneers and settlers, Nathaniel B. Nichols was the first Justice of the Peace, in about 1818.* Pros- per Adams built the first tavern in the town just south of what is now known as the Deep Cut,f on land now owned by A. J. Burroughs. This tavern was for many years the center of business for the town, and was kept by Adams for several years. He sold it to William Marks, his brother-in-law, who in his turn kept it about fifteen years. In 1835 or '36 Marks went to Kirtland, Ohio, with a society of Mormons who had held a branch church inJPortage, meeting principally at Marks' tavern. { * Magistrates have been the only legal representatives with which Por- tage has been honored. There has never been a lawyer's office in the town. t Where the Genesee Valley Canal was cut through the high land. t Afterwards, and for a number of years, this tavern was kept by Mr. Burroughs. William Dake, with his wife and two children, — - Jonathan and Charles — came from Saratoga coun- ty, in this State, in 1819, locating on Oak Hill. July 27, 1822, he purchased of John Horn- by, through his agent and attorney, John Greig, one hundred acres of land on lot 142. For this land, heavily timbered with oak, he paid four hun- dred and fifty-two dollars, and cleared it entirely with the labor of his own hands. Here, on Oak Hill, he lived fifty-four years, dying in May, 1873. His wife died in Rochester, N. Y., in 1878. Two of his children died, William J., in 1849, and Clarrissa E., in 1872. His descendants are J. M. Dake, a hardware merchant in Nunda ; Jabez W. Dake, M. D., now living in Rochester, N. Y.; Dr. Charles A. Dake, of Irondequoit, N. Y.; and Benja- min F. Dake, M. D., now in Pittsburgh, Pa. Elisha D. Moses was the first physician, coming from Connecticut in 1816, and beginning at once his practice which continued until 1837, when he removed to Rochester, N. Y., where he died in October of 1872. His father, Elisha Moses, came to Portage in the following year, 181 7. He was a native of Sims- bury, Conn., where he and his father before him were born. In 1826 he moved to Mt. Morris, pur- chasing a farm and living there until his death. He had a family of twelve: — Elisha D.; Amarila, the date of whose death is unknown ; Phcebe, who died in Portage in January, 1820; Timothy, in Indiana, September, 1823; Arden, in Michigan, April, 1847; Flavia, in 1858; Betsey, in [863; Edmond, in 1865; Ormenta, in March, 1825; Marcus, in Lockport, N. Y., December 9, 1880, and Amelia and Schuyler, the former now living in Mt. Morris, and the latter in Rochester, N. Y., at the advanced age of eighty-two. Thomas T. Bennett's family all went west but one daughter, the wife of William Tousey, who lives near Joel C. Bennett. The family of Joseph Bennett are also settlers in Western States, none remaining in Portage. Walter Bennett's widow, Mrs. Huldah Bennett, still lives in the town with one of the sons, J. Y. Bennett. The improvements made by Jacob Shaver, who, as we have remarked, was a squatter at will in this region, were purchased by Captain Richard Church in 1816. Near him soon after settled Abner Tut- hill and his sons, Henry and Lewis. Rev. Mr. Miller and sons, Allen, Horace and Orrin, with their families, came about the same time from Saratoga county. Allen Miller was ex- 266 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. tensively know as a drover, and Orrin Miller be- came distinguished as a Methodist minister of rare eloquence and power. Robert, George and Reuben Gifford, Elias Bowen, Benjamin Utter, Nathaniel Lewis, John M( Farline, a Scotchman, and others, early occu- pied every lot in the school district No. 1, called North Oak Hill. A few of these pioneers lie buried here, but a majority sought other homes. All are gone and their posterity are widely scattered. Alexander McFarline remains the sole representative of the only family that holds the paternal homestead. The northern part of the town was settled mainly by people from Saratoga county and were most of them related to each other. Most of those who settled about Marks' Tavern, the old town center, were from Windham, Yt. ; those who located at Hunt's Hollow were from Cayuga county, while in the district between that place and Oakland the settlers were from Coleraine, Massachusetts. George Wilner, another inhabitant of Connecti- cut, came to Portage in 1817 or '18, and married Betsey, daughter of Elisha Moses. His descend- ants are Malcolm, who resides in San Francisco ; Flavia. who lives in Michigan, and Marcus and Merriman, who still live in Portage. Solomon Williams and Capt. Elisha Smith, who came from Vermont, were early settlers ; the former coming in 1816 and locating just south-west of Hunt's Station, on the Short Track road and the latter locating near Adam's tavern south of the 1 )eep Cut. Russell Messenger built the first saw and grist mill in 181 7, at Messenger's Hollow, which was named for him, and now known as Oakland. Dur- ing the next few years fourteen saw mills were constructed on the Cashaqua Creek, which flows northerly through the eastern part of the town, and within the same time, nearly as many more were built on the Genesee River and smaller streams. Wherever a stream of sufficient force could be found a saw mill was built, for at that time and for many years afterward, the principal business was lumbering. Of all those mills built by the pioneers scarcely a vestige now remains. Soon after the building of the first grist mill by Russell Messenger, a second mill was built by Thomas Alcott near the head waters of Spring Brook, which was afterward moved to the mouth of the brook, and again removed about fifty rods down the stream to receive the water of the Cashaqua Creek, and was then enlarged to an extensive llour- ing mill by Hunt & Thompson. It afterward passed to the proprietorship of Smith & Mills, and was destroyed by fire on Christmas day, 1869. Among the most prominent and energetic of the pioneers in this new region of country was Sanford Hunt. He was a native of Connecticut ; born in Tolland county, in April, 1777, and came to Por- tage from Greene county in December, iSiS. with his wife and seven children. He located at Hunt's Hollow, which derived its name from him, and engaged in farming and mer- cantile business in a small way, opening the first store in 1S19, after ward building an ashery and saw-mill. He kept the post-office at this place from its first establishment and for many years afterward. When he came there were but few settlers, and the township was nearly a dense wilderness. On the evening of his arrival he met Dr. Flisha D. Moses, who was then School Inspector, and whose first residence in the town was at the forks of the Short Tract and Hunt's Hollow road, south of Mr. Bur- roughs'. He was then post-master, being the first postmaster and second Town Clerk of Old Nunda.* Rev. Orrin Miller was the first Town Clerk. ( )f the children of Sanford Hunt but one, Sam- uel, lives here at Hunt's Hollow. Another son, Horace, is living in Jackson, Michigan. The mail was then carried once a week, on foot or on horseback, through from Moscow to Angeli- ca. The post-office was established some time in 18 18, and was located on lot 169, near where Adams' tavern stood. Mr. Hunt had for some years a large trade with the Indians, whose encampments extended along the Genesee Valley, and who placed in him the fullest confidence. His goods were purchased mostly at Geneseo, twenty miles distant. The store continued in his hands until his death in 1S49, when the business passed into the manage- ment of his son Horace, who continued it some ten years longer. Sanford Hunt was the father of nine children: — Horace, Samuel R., John H., Sanford, Frederick B., Washington and three girls. The latter son, Washington, became Governor of this State in 1851-52. Studying in the common schools of Portage — which, in his day, were limited in both comfort and educational facilities — and laying the ground-work of his education there, Washington went to Geneseo and entered the Academy pay- • Portage, it will be borne in mind, was then part of Nunda; not being separated therefrom till nine years later. PORTAGE — EARLY SETTLERS, CHURCHES. 267 ing his way by manual labor. He afterward entered the store of Bissell & Olmstead in Gene- seo, and Mr. Bissell soon after removing to Lock - port, N. Y., Washington followed him, where he found a field that presented a wider scope for his faculties, and a surer reward for his efforts and his ambitions. Here he advanced rapidly in his pur- suits and in the opinions of the public, until he at- tained the highest position in the State within the gift of the people. Another prominent early settler in Portage was Col. Greenleaf Clark, who came from Tamworth, N. H., in early boyhood to the then wilds of West- ern New York. He also located in Hunt's Hollow in 1S24, and in 1S26 married Eliza, the eldest daughter of Sanford Hunt. Col. Clark began business there as a tanner and currier, succeeding William Alward, who had built the tannery in 1 818 or thereabout, and continuing the business until his death in 1875. He assisted at the organization of St. Mark's Church, of which he was a valued member ; and for many years held the office of Magistrate. The tannery is now con- ducted by his son, John H. Clark. Hunt's Hollow in its early days was believed to have before it a rapid growth in population and in business. In the ten years that succeeded the coming of Sanford Hunt, other stores were built; a cloth- dressing establishment, a tannery, two asheries, a hat shop and two churches were erected, in one of which — the Episcopal — Mr. Hunt was a leading member. Three taverns were also built, one of them being kept by John Slater* for many years. To the minds of the inhabitants, Hunt's Hollow appeared in the future as the center of business for that immediate region east of the river. But the hopes and aspirations of the people were doomed to disappointment. The birth of the Genesee Valley Canal drew from it the greater share of its traffic to Oakland, and the building of the Erie Railroad in 1852 robbed it of whatever remnants the canal had left, Nunda Station absorbing it. The lumber trade which had given employment to so many hands became exhausted; the Casha- qua creek, which had driven the wheels of its saw- mills, tanneries, clothing works and turning lathes, for several months in the year ran dry, and the place began to decline by perceptible degrees, and from being the largest village and principal place of business in that section of the country, has faded to a nearly deserted hamlet, which seems * He died somewhere about the year 1H70. likely in the lapse of a few years to be known only in the history of the past. It stands to-day a quaint old village, presenting the appearance of having come to an abrupt halt when young and forever after fearful of progress. There remains at present but the churches, a school- house, a tannery, a blacksmith shop, and the time- worn houses of the few remaining inhabitants. The mills have all disappeared, the business has fled, and a moss-grown age, touching and picturesque, has settled on what was once the pride and hope of the town. Churches. — Of the religious societies organized for the worship of God in the town of Portage, it appears that the Presbyterians were the first to form a permanent organization. The church was organ- ized and united with the Presbytery of Ontario, Jan. 18, 1820, but was transferred to the Presby- tery of Angelica, Feb. 24, 1829. No early records of this church can be found to establish the pre- cise date and particulars of its organization, but it is learned that its first minister at Hunt's Hollow, where the church was located, was Rev. Mr. Linds- ley. After him were Revs. Messrs. Phineas Smith, who was ordained and installed March 5, 1829, and who left Feb. 24, 1830. Abel Caldwell, who re- mained six years, Horatio Waldo, A. C. DuBois, Rogers, Lewis Hamilton, James B. Wilson, L. Rogers and John M. Bear. In 1825, the membership numbered eighty-three; in 1832, one hundred and eleven, and in 1846, one hundred and fourteen. Among the elders, were P^rastus Norton, Silas Olmstead, J. B. Hewitt, Edwin S. Olmstead, Joseph C. Burton, Arad French and Delos C. Wells. In October, 1848, it became consolidated with a second Presbyterian church which had been organ- ized in Nunda, under the name of the Oakland Presbyterian church, located in the village of Oak- land and being under the care of the Presbytery of Wyoming. Among its ministers at this latter place were Revs. Richard Kay, Isaac Oakes, William Hall, Henry B. Thayer, Pliny Twichell, E. W. Kellogg and R. W. McCormick. Its sessions included the following names : Gulielmus Wing, David H. Thayer, Silas Olmstead, Edwin S. Olmstead, John Preston and J. B. Hewitt. Here in 1850 a church building was erected, which on the 8th day of June, 1 871, was destroyed by fire, and the membership* uniting with the * The membership at that time was Jt. 2 68 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Nunda Presbyterian church, its after history was merged into the history of that society located in the village of Nunda. The Episcopal Church at Hunt's Hollow was or- ganized in 1826, as St. Mark's Church. Sanford Hunt and Walter Bennett were chosen as wardens. The Vestrymen were as follows : Joseph Bennett. Miner Cobb, Thomas T. Bennett, Henry Bagley, Roswell Bennett, Samuel R. Hunt, Greenleaf Clark and Lewis Peet. Of these officers but two, Samuel R. Hunt and Henry Bagley, are now liv- ing. The church edifice was erected by the society in 1828, and was dedicated by the Rt. Rev. John Henry Hobart on the first day of September, 1829. The first Rector was Rev. Richard Salmon, who was present as pastor at the organization of the society, but the length of whose pastorate could not be learned. It is probable, however, that he remained until 1831, or thereabouts, as the name of his successor, Rev. George Bridgeman, does not appear until 1832. After the ministration of this latter pastor, which lasted until 1833, the succession of pastors was as follows: — Rev. Thomas Meecham, 1833-1837. " Lucius Carter, fuly, 1 837-1840. " H. S. Atwater, .' 1841-1844. " Lucius Carter, 1845- 1847. " Asa Griswold, 1 847-1 849. " Andrew I). Benedict,* 1849-1852. " James O. Stokes,* 1854-1856. " Henry B. Gardner,* 185 7- 1860. " Lucius Carter, 1860-1866. " Noble Palmer,* 1868-1870. " Fayette Royce, 1871-1872. " Charles Woodward,* 187 2-1 876. " William Westover, 1877-1879. In 1 880 there was no settled pastor. The present membership is about twenty-five communi- cants. The church is gradually losing member- ship from deaths and removals. The older mem- bers are nearly all dead. Portage Baptist Church. — On the 21st day of May, 1 819, Elder Samuel Messenger and eleven other members of Baptist churches, met at the house of David Button, near Hunt's Hollow, and organized the Nunda f Baptist church. Their names were : Russell Messenger, Aaron Thompson, Aaron Thompson, Jr., Elijah Bennett, Jacob Devoe, Wm. Greening, Susannah Greening, Huldah Root, Rhoda Ann Bennett and Sally * Rectors thus marked presided over Grace Church, Nunda, having St. Mark's included in their charge. t Portage was then part of the town of Nunda. The history of this church is incorporated in the history of Nunda township, where hefore and since 1^17 it-, serviceshave been held. Thompson. Elijah Bennett was chosen clerk. Their public meetings were held at Hunt's Hollow and vicinity, many of them in private dwellings. Additions to its membership were numerous, but mostly from persons living further east and north. Consequently the places of meeting grad- ually changed to the eastward, and were mainly at or near Wilcox Comers,* on the State road, north of Daltonf for a length of time, and finally to the present site of the village of Nunda. But these changes in the place of meeting made it tjuite in- convenient for those members residing in Grove, and the south part of what is now the town of Portage, from five to eight miles away. This led to the appointment of a meeting to con- sider the propriety of organizing another church. The meeting was held on the 24th of May, 1828, at the house of John Messenger near the southeast corner of Portage. They soon concluded to take measures to this end, and appointed a committee, viz: Curtis Coe, David Baldwin and Israel Root, to prepare a form of church articles of belief and practice to be considered at the next meeting. They also sent a committee to gain the consent of the Nunda church, of which they were all mem- bers, and also to invite them to send delegates to assist in recognizing them as a church. To this the church in Nunda readily consented, and also voted letters of dismissal to all who wished to unite with this new church. On the 21st of June, 1828, the meeting re-con- vened to hear the reports of the committees, and adopted the articles of faith and covenant reported, to which the following eighteen members sub- scribed : Israel Root, Curtis Coe, David Bald- win, Thaddeus Bennett, John Gearhart, Samuel Carman, John Messenger, William Alward, John Boughton, Bethuel Bradley, Betsey Bennett, Cath- erine White, Huldah Smith, Rosannah Bradley, Sally Root, Almeda Carman, Hannah Coe, Mar- garet Peet. The meeting was presided over by Samuel Mes- senger. Israel Root was elected clerk of the church, and David Baldwin and Curtis Coe as leaders ; but no deacons were chosen until a few years after. The clerk failed to record any public recognition of the church, but the invitations of the Nunda church, the presence and official position of Elder Messenger, and other circum- * Frequently in the barn of Deacon Schuyler Thompson, Gideon Lowell and perhaps others. The ordination of Elder Elijah Bennett took place in the barn of G. Lowell, Oct. 20, 1820. t The name of Nunda Station has been changed to Dalton. PORTAGE — CHURCHES. 269 stances, indicate that they were regularly received into the fraternity of Baptist Churches. The society was thereafter known as the Grove and Portage Baptist Church until 1877, when the name becoming inappropriate, — there being for many years but one member residing in Grove, — was changed from that to the Portage Baptist Church. From the organization of the church in 1828 until September, 1842, its meetings were held at the school house near the corners of the towns of Grove and Portage. In that year the society ap- pointed a committee to procure a more suitable and convenient place of meeting, which resulted in obtaining the privilege of using half of the time, the Methodist chapel* at Hunt's Hollow. In this chapel their meetings were held for five years, until the house now occupied by the society was purchased of the Presbyterian Church in 1848. During the entire course of its history, long in- tervals have occurred between the departure of one pastor and the settlement of his successor ; but the society during such intervals has not neglected to hold services, conference, and prayer-meetings, and sometimes the reading of sermons taking the place of pastoral ministrations. In May, 1829, a year after its organization, the society received an invitation from a conference of neighboring churches to meet with them at the Portage and Castile church on the third Wednes- day in June following, to assist in organizing anew Association. To this invitation the society as- sented, and a delegation of its members were pres- ent at that meeting. Elder Messenger, their pas- tor, being made moderator. The abduction of William Morgan had then but recently taken place, causing a most intense excitement regarding the danger of secret societies, and of Masonry in particular. The churches rep- resented at that meeting recorded as their first declaration : "This Association shall be composed of such Baptist churches only as have no fellow- ship for Masonry." This feature of the Constitu- tion was particularly admired by the Grove and Portage church, to which principle they as a body remained steadfast, until the amendment passed in 1868 expunged that article from the Constitution. In October of 1829, when the Baptist churches * Of this society no records are extant and nothing to indicate either its origin, progress, or dissolution. There is now no church of that denom- ination in Portage. Mr. J. C. Bennett thinks that litis chapel was owned by a Methodist class whose membership was with the M. E. Church at Nunda, but the class lost its visibility soon after 1850. and Associations of the State held the famous Whitesboro Convention for the purpose of trying to organize a uniform system of defense against Masonry, they took measures to see that this As- sociation should be duly represented in that body. Elder Samuel Messenger had up to this time occupied the position of pastor, and the member- ship during these four years had increased to thir- ty-one. The society then obtained for half of the time, the services of Gilead Dodge, a licentiate living in Mt. Morris. He remained until Septem- ber, 1833, when at the instance of the church, a council was convened and he was set apart by or- dination to the work of the ministry, after which he immediately resigned. In the fall of 1834, Silas Morse bought a farm within the bounds of the church, on which he lo- cated, and was soon invited to preach. Accepting the invitation, he so rapidly gained the esteem of the church that in January, 1836, at the request of the society, a council was called for his ordination to the labors of the ministry. The society now began to feel the need of a house of worship for the better accommodation of the congregation, and several meetings were held to consult in regard to the erection of a suitable building. Elder Morse was appointed to solicit aid from neighboring churches, but he met with but little success. After appointing a committee to consult with a like committee from the Grove church* in relation to uniting with them in the erection of a building to accommodate both socie- ties, the decision was soon reached that this would be poor policy, and the idea of building was aban- doned. In the beginning of the year 1840, there were in this society but thirty members. In September of the same year, the resolution appointing leaders, which had been in force for twelve years, was re- scinded, and David Baldwin and John Gearhart, who had served as leaders, were elected deacons. Those since elected have been Alfred Taber in 1868; P. W. Hewitt and F. M. Nicholson in 1878. At the time of this first election of deacons, Israel Root was still clerk of the society, holding that office until 1842 — fourteen years. His suc- cessor was Record Taber, who held the office seven years, and who in 1849 was succeeded by Joel C. Bennett,! the present clerk. * Afterward the Granger Church. t To him we are indebted for the major portion of the history of this church ; he having compiled an epitome of its history from tSzS to 1S69, which he placed at our disposal, and which is changed only somewhat in phraseology and in the sequence of events. 270 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. In April, 1841, Elder Morse, who had occupied the desk as pastor most of the time from 1834, died after a long and painful illness, and the church secured the service of Elder Rufus Sabin.* In 1850, Elder J. H. Greene became pastor, to whose faithful preaching and exemplary Christian life the church owed much of its prosperity and strength. During the four years of his pastorate, seventeen were added to the church by baptism and fourteen by letter. In the latter part of 1854 Elder F. Glawville became pastor, remaining about a year and a half, but not becoming a member of the church. In 1856 Elder Sabin was again called to the pas- torate, which he retained for three years. Under his ministrations in the winter and spring of 1858, occurred an interesting revival which resulted in the addition, by baptism, of sixteen members to the church. In 1859, O. E. Mallory, then a student of the Institution at Hamilton, during his summer vaca- tion, preached to the church with much accept- ance, and his labors are still held in grateful re- membrance. In November of 1859, Elder Edward Teuney occupied the desk, sustaining the pastoral relation until April, i860. In the summer of that year he was succeeded by Elder J. Trowbridge, who, in the course of a few months, aroused the church to the necessity of repairing and remodeling their house of worship. This was completed in July, 1861, and again dedicated to divine worship. In a few months afterward Elder Trowbridge resigned, and was succeeded by Elder W. W. Beardslee, whose pastorate lasted two years. Elder William Brooks then assumed the pastoral care of the church, which he retained three years, closing his labors on the first of April, 1867. During the next seven months, the desk was sup- plied by Elders A. L. L. Potter and W. Metcalf, of Nunda. In November, 1867, Elder L. S. Stowell was called to the pastorate, and his work was greatly blessed. Within two years the membership was doubled. He remained eight years and then re- signed on account of ill health. During this time the church was unusually prosperous, seventy- seven being added to its membership by baptism. A year or two then elapsed without a settled pastor, until the coming of Elder J. A. Taylor, the t His pastorate continued nine years. The first six years he preached to this church hut half the time, the other half with the Baptist church in Granger. But in i s 4 ; tin latter was dishanded and this church enjoyed his full lahors. incumbent in 1880. The church is located at Hunt's Hollow, in a thinly settled farming country, and the membership. ind congregation have always been small. The present membership is about eighty. Statistics. — In i860 the population of Portage was 1,519, which in 1870 had decreased to 1,338, and in 1875 was but 1,170 total. In this latter year the town had a native population of 1,044, of foreign, 126 ; of white, 1,165, of colored, 5; a loss in those five years of 168 in the total pop- ulation ; of 143 in the native ; of 25 in the foreign ; of 169 in the white, and a gain of 1 in the colored population. The town in 1875 had 570 males, 600 females, and 7 aliens ; and of voting population a total of 329, of which 278 were native, 47 were naturalized, and 4 were aliens. The soil of Portage is a clay loam in the eastern and a sandy loam in the western part. The area of farm lands in 1875 was given as 10,868 acres of improved lands, 3,019 acres of woodland, and of other lands 1,323 acres. The cash value of farms was $964,185; of farm buildings, $111,860; of stock, 98,595; of tools and implements, $26,725 ; while the gross sales from farms in the preceding year were $72,899. A portion of the town records having been de- stroyed by fire on the night of December 24th, 1868. no accurate or reliable list could be obtained prior to 1869, although it is learned that Joel C. Bennett was Supervisor during the war, and John A. Lyon in 1866. We give here as extended a list as possible of the Supervisors and Town Clerks of Portage. Supervisors. Town Clerks. 1869. Benj. T. Kneeland. E. Selden Kellogg. 1870. Charles I). Bennett. " 187 1. Benj. T. Kneeland. Jno. M. Griffith. 1872-73. MerrimanJ. Wilner. C. S. Gilbert. 1874. Jno. Fitch. Chas. C.Adams. 1875. " C. S. Gilbert. 1876-78. " Jno. M. Griffith. 1879-80. Jno. M. Griffith. O. L. Crosier. The following officers were elected April 5, 1881: — Supervisor, John M.Griffith; TownClerk, Otis L. Crosier; Highway Commissioner, William Townsend ; Assessor, Lyman L. Edmonds; Over- seer of the Poor, Lorenzo D. Gi fiord ; Constables, John Stager, Cornelius J. Whipple, Willie E. Spencer, R. R. Parks; Game Constable, Philip M. Payne; Excise Commissioner, F. B. Hunt. Portage has eleven school districts in which there are school houses, and one joint district in OAKLAND — CHURCHES. 271 which there is no school house in the town. In these districts there are 429 children over five and under twenty-one years of age. During the past year school was taught 322 2-5 weeks, employing 1 1 teachers, and with an average attendance of 164, there being 341 children of school age attending school some portion of the year. The total amount paid to teachers during the year was $1,732.62. The total value of school houses and sites is $3,460 ; of district libraries, $183. There was paid during the year for school houses, sites, fences, repairs and furniture, the sum of $123.20; the total inciden- tal expenditure for the year was $153.55. The total valuation of the districts is $6,333.49. Dr. B. T. Kneeland who graduated at Geneva, N. Y., in 185 1, resides in the eastern part of the town. Oakland. Oakland is situated in the eastern part of the town. In its earlier history it was known as Mes- senger's Hollow, from Russell Messenger, who, as before mentioned, located there in 1817, build- ing there the first grist-mill erected in the town. It went by the name of Messenger's Hollow for years, until the post-office was moved from Col. George Williams' on Oak Hill to the Hollow, bearing the name of Oakland with it. This name grew in public favor slowly, especially among the older residents, but at last the hamlet came to be generally known by its present name. The mill erected by Russell Messenger was rebuilt and enlarged in 1832. It is the only grist-mill now in the town, and is a very large and substantial struc- ture. Here in Oakland, Russell Messenger died, and his son, Orlaton F. Messenger, succeeded him in the business of the mill and the warehouse which was built after the opening of the canal. Here, also, Asahel Fitch kept for many years a general dry -goods and grocery store. His son, John Fitch, manufacturer of carriages, is now living here. None of Russell Messenger's family are left here, but live at or near Rochester, Minn. When the Genesee Valley canal was completed Oakland had, besides the grist-mill, a tannery, a cloth dressing establishment, several saw-mills, a store and a tavern. The growth of Nunda Vil- lage, and the abandonment of the canal, detracted from the business of the place, and it contains at present but the mill, carriage shop, a blacksmith shop, school house, a manufactory for plows and other agricultural implements, and thirty or forty houses. Churches. — The place formerly contained two churches, Methodist Episcopal and Presbyterian. The former was built about 1830 or '32, and the society becoming extinct, the church was aban- doned somewhere about 1872, and was then con- verted into a hall for public use. Oakland Presbyterian Church. — On Sunday, the 5th day of December, 18 19, Rev. Elihu Mason, pastor of the church in Mt. Morris, organized the Presbyterian church of Portage, at Oak Hill, then in the town of Nunda, with the following mem- bers: — Arad French and Lucinda, his wife; Rich- ard W. Robinson and Charlotte, his wife; Mrs. Laura Strong, Wm. T. Totten, Enoch Miller, Mrs. Rosanna Marks, Mrs. Hannah Moses, Samuel Swain and Mrs. Elizabeth Tuthill. Arad French was chosen deacon, and Messrs. French, Robinson and Swain elders. Mr. French was also chosen clerk, and for more than twenty years kept a model record. In January, 1820, the church became a member of the Presbytery of Ontario. The next two years it remained under the care of Mr. Mason. In the spring of 1822, Rev. John Lindsley became pastor. He was a native of Connecticut, and though an old man, he was a missionary in Western New York, where his name is found in the history of most of the old churches. He settled at Oak Hill, where he died December 4th, 1838, aged eighty-seven years. He was a dee]) thinker and a very exemplary man. September, 1822, the church numbering seventy- five members, Isaac P. Atwood, Erastus Norton and Solomon Williams were chosen additional elders, and William T. Totten and William Town, deacons. Rev. Mr. Lindsley having become superannu- ated, Phineas Smith, a licentiate, became pastor in 1828, and was soon afterwards ordained. Though the church had one hundred members, it had no house or home. Its meetings were held in the school-houses and barns, mostly at Oak Hill or Hunt's Hollow. The parish extended from Pike Hollow to East Hill, in Nunda, and on the river from St. Helena to Wiscoy. Efforts were made to build a meeting-house, but in 1827 the church was organized in Portageville, within this parish. The pastor had not the wisdom of experience, and several of the leading members joined the Episcopal church. It was not till the summer of 1830 that they built their house in Hunt's Hollow. The church then became a mem- ber of the Presbytery of Angelica, and Rev. Abel Caldwell succeeded Mr. Smith, who became, soon 272 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. after, a missionary to Texas, then just entering the family of nations as a Republic. In 1 S3 1, a Presbyterian church was organized in Nuntla and another in Pike, both of which drew many of her members, but accessions were more numerous; for in 1S35 the membership is Stated at one hundred and thirty — the greatest number the church ever reported. Rev. Leonard Rogers succeeded Mr. Caldwell in 1837, and was followed by Rev. Abram C. DuBois in 1840; and James B. Hewitt, Edwin S. Olmstead, Delos Wells and Jos. C. Button were chosen elders. Abel Caldwell was again pastor in (841-42, Rev. Lewis Hamilton in 1S43-44 and Rev. John M. Bear in 1845-47. He was an ob- trusive pro-slavery man from Delaware, out of time and place. Several of the leading members left the church for political reasons and never joined it again. John Preston, John F. Woodruff and Nel- son C. Lockwood were chosen elders, and Tracy Lnsworth, deacon. The mania for going west which began in 1836 carried away many members, and the decline con- tinued till in 1848 Messrs. Caldwell and Leonard labored as supplies to a membership of about fifty. They sold the church and parsonage to the Baptist church for $800, joined the Presbytery of Wyoming, and uniting with the Old School church, of Nunda, formed the Church of Oakland, Richard Kay, pas- tor, Gulielmus Wing, David W. Thayer, Silas Olm- stead, E. S. Olmstead, J. Preston and J. B. Hewitt, elders, and Wm. T. Totten and Tracy Ellsworth, deacons. July 1st, 1848, the church and society were incorporated, G. Wing, Wm. Houghton, Jas. Camp, L. Tuthill and Asahel Fitch, trustees; Rev. Moses Miller, pastor. They built a commodious church and session room on the corner of lot 170 in Oakland, which was dedicated Oct. 3d, 1S50. The building com- mittee were G. Wing, E. H. Nash, A. Fitch, O. E. Messenger and Jas. Camp. N. C. Lockwood and Geo. Arnold were chosen additional elders. Richard Kay's pastorate closed in 1852, and Rev. Isaac Oakes was pastor till 1857. He was succeeded by Rev. Wm. Hall for one year. Rev. Henry B. Thayer followed for two years. In his pastorate many were added to the church. Rev. Pliny Twitchell was pastor from the fall of 1861 till his death in 1S64. His successor, E. W. Kellogg, continued till 1868, when Rev. R. W. McCormick was pastor for one year. Rev. L. G. Marsh fol- lowed him in 1870, and continued till the meeting house was burned June 8th, 1871. The schism between the old and the new school was healing and as many of the members had once been united with the Church of Nunda, so now she welcomed the Church of Oakland to her com- munion. During the fifty years the Church existed about 450 names were on her records. The first settlers of Portage were mainly from New England, and the Presbyterian faith had probably more adherents than all other creeds combined, perhaps they still outnumber any other, but their names are enrolled in Portage or Nunda.* Hunt's Stai ion. Hunt's Station, or Hunt's, as it is as frequently called, is situated at nearly the geographical center of the town, on the line of the Erie railroad. It contains two stores, a post-office, two blacksmith shops, one wagon shop, a warehouse, the depot, and eight or nine dwelling houses. One of the stores, devoted to dry-goods and doing a consider- able business, is kept by Williams & Averill. The other, devoted to groceries, is owned by Milo Eldridge, who came here in December, 1874, com- mencing business the following July. The post- orfice was moved to this place from Hunt's Hol- low in 1875, and ^ lr - Eldridge was appointed post- master, which position he has since held. Mr. Schwartz began business here as a black- smith in the spring of 1876. In 1S77 Frank Nickleson built here a wagon shop, devoting a portion of it to blacksmithing. The warehouse was built by J. L. Smith in the spring of 1S77, sell- ing in 1878 to J. B. Simmons, who as produce dealer, is now in business here. Hunt's Station is quite an extensive shipping point for farm produce, the only depot in the town of commercial importance. At this place is located the Portage Memorial Hall, a neat slate roofed brick building, twenty-six by fifty feet, containing within its interior three- large marble slabs inscribed with the names of the soldiers from Portage who died on the field of bat- tle, or in prisons, during the war of the Rebellion. The building was erected at an expense of two thousand dollars, and is also to be used as a town hall. This Hall was built through the efforts of an as- sociation of citizens under the title of "The Soldiers' Monument Association of the Town of Portage." The society was organized Saturday, June cj. 1866, in accordance with Chapter 237, * For this sketch we are indebted to C. D Bennett. PORTAGE — WAR RECORD. Laws of 1866 for the erection of a monument in said town in memory of her soldiers. The meeting for organization was held in the school-house at Hunt's Hollow, Horace Hunt pre- siding as chairman, and Hiram Smith, as secre- tary. In addition to the Supervisors and Justices made by the law ex-officio members of the Board of Trustees, eight more were elected, making the first Board of Trustees as follows : — John A. Lyon, Supervisor ; Greenleaf Clark, Latham Coffin, Chas. H. Randall and Hiram Smith, Justices ; John F. Barber, Alfred A. Cox, Horace Hunt, Charles D, Bennett, Orlaton F. Messenger, J. Bradley Clark, Enos H. Nash, Roderick P. Spencer. The certificate of organization was recorded in the Livingston County Clerk's office, June 13, 1866. On the 1 6th of June, the organization was perfected by the election of John F. Barber, Presi- dent ; Orlaton F. Messenger and J. B. Clark, Vice- Presidents; Charles D. Bennett, Treasurer; and Hiram Smith, Secretary. By means of Fourth of July celebrations, fairs, festivals, and various school exhibitions, a fund was accumulated with which to build a monument. Committees on locations, plans and specifica- tions were at various times appointed, but no location could be agreed upon. In 1872 or '73, a law was passed allowing a Memorial building to be erected in place of the monument con- templated by the Act under which this Association was organized. On the 30th of April, 1874, the Association resolved that the funds of the society should be expended in the erection of a Memorial Hall. The location selected was on the south side of the road at Hunt's Station, where in 1880 the building was erected. The committee on Building, were J. Beardsley, G. S. Hovey and Hiram Smith. The committee on Marble Tablets were Joel C. Bennett, Charles D. Bennett and L. B. Gallup. By the usual changes in town officers, and by deaths and removals, corresponding changes have been made in the Board of Trustees. At the time of the erection of the Memorial Hall, the follow- ing were the members of the Association : — John M. Griffith, Supervisor; G. S. Hovey, Charles H. Randall, Hiram Smith and L. B. Gallup, Justices; Amman Smith, President ; Charles D. Bennett, Treasurer; John S. Lyon, Vice-President; E. H. Nash, R. P. Spencer, Joel C. Bennett, Jared Beards- ley, A. M. McFarlane. The present Secretary is Hiram Smith. Portage Bridge. Portage Bridge has but a few scattering houses, the depot, and two hotels. The Emerald House, proprietor P. M. Brogun, was built fourteen years ago. Mr. Brogun has been its proprietor thirteen years. The Cascade House was built about 1853, after the burning of the old Laman House. Its present proprietor is J. G. Barr. This hotel is a large handsome building, finely located, and is quite a resort for tourists who come here to pass the sum- mer months amidst the beautiful scenery of the Genesee. War Record. — The history of Portage for years, was that of a tranquil farming country, and not until the war broke out in 1861, did anything occur to disturb its citizens in their pursuits. At the breaking out of the Rebellion, thirty-six men from the town of Portage, without bounty, and with no expectation of reward but their meager pay, entered the army to maintain as far as they could the integrity of the nation. During the year 1862, forty-five more of the citi- zens of Portage, whose lives had been passed in the quiet pursuits of husbandry or trade, threw down the implements of industry and, at the call of the President, went resolutely to the fields of strife, there to wield the implements of death in behalf of the same noble cause. In answer to the call of 1863, nineteen more men quietly and bravely left their homes and went forward to take the place of those who had fallen in battle, or dropped from the ranks from the blighting effects of toil, privation and disease. The town furnished in all, one hun- dred and fifty-two men. Of those who enlisted in 1861,* Wilbur Haver entered the 27th Regiment, and was killed at Fredericksburgh, Va., May 3, 1863. Fifteen men entered Company F, 33rd Regi- ment, under command of Captain McNair. David Bentley was disabled and discharged in April, 1862. He afterwards reenlisted in Co. F, 4th Heavy Artillery, was wounded June 23, before Petersburg!], and transferred to the Invalid Corps. George Benjamin deserted, but reenlisted in the 85th Regiment, and was taken prisoner at Ply- mouth, N. C, April 20, 1864, serving the remainder of his time in Andersonville prison. J. H. Delong died at Hagerstown, Md., Decem- ber 4, 1862. * For this record of the soldiers from Portage, we are indebted to Joel C. Bennett, who lias manifested much interest in matters pertaining to their history. 274 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Michael Driscoll served his two years, was then transferred to Company 1) of the same regiment, and on May 15, 1863, was attached to the 49th Regiment. James C. Gillett was discharged August 4, 1861, came home and died at Oakland. Robert S. Hall was discharged Aug. 15, 1861, afterward recnlisting. James Haver served two years, and was dis- charged with his Regiment, but reenlisted in the New Vork Dragoons and served to the end of the war. George M. Lockwood, Jan. 1, 1862, was de- tailed to duties in the Signal Corps, where he served to the end of his two years' term. Rufus Newell served his two years. Eben Patterson died at Nunda Station Dec. 30, 1862, of disease contracted in the service. Reuben W. Mayhew was discharged for dis- ability Aug. 4, 1861, but reenlisted in Company D, 4th Heavy Artillery, and was again discharged for disability. Henry Schwartz died of fever Aug. 10, 1862. Hosea F. Shaw was promoted to First Sergeant, and served his two years. Theodore Washburn was killed at Deserted House, Va., June 30, 1863. Delancy Smith * served two years and was trans- ferred to Company D of the same regiment, and attached to the 49th Regiment May 15th, 1863. Of those who joined the 85th Regiment f in 1 86 1 :— Charles Buckbee served his two years, reenlisted in the same regiment, was taken prisoner at Ply- mouth, N. C, and died in Andersonville. Julius C. French was discharged for his disabil- ity, but recovered and reenlisted in the First New York Veteran Cavalry and was again discharged for ill health. James Holbrook sickened and died in the service. Charles Hale died in the hospital in the winter of 1862. Jay J. Mills, at the end of his two years' service, reenlisted in the same regiment, was taken prisoner at Plymouth, N. C, and died at Andersonville. George W. Randall was discharged for disability. * Enlisted in 1862. t This entire regiment was captured at Plymouth, N. C, after perhaps the most gallant and obstinate resistance to superior numbers that took I'll'' iluim^ iln' v. u I h, Fense secured honorable terms of capitulation, and such was the respect entertained for them by their captors that, during their march to Andersonville, not a man v\ dercd, although tin* were well clothed and were in possession of several months' pa; Albert O. Taber died at Suffolk. Va., Oct. 28, 1862. He had been promoted to Lieutenant, but died before receiving his commission. Of Company A, 104th regiment, enlistment of 1861 :— George W. Brittan was discharged for disability, but reenlisted in the 9th Heavy Artillery. He died at Washington, March 1, 1865. Albert H. Cleveland was discharged July 1, 1862. William Davis was killed at Gettysburg, Pa., July 1, 1863. George Flint was discharged Sept. 3, 1862, and died soon after the war. George H. Graham was discharged Dec. 18, 1862, on account of ill health. Reenlisted in the Veteran Reserve Corps Sept. 12, 1864. Died at Boston Harbor Dec. 8, 1864. Nathaniel A. Gearhart was wounded at Gettys- burg, Pa., July 1, 1863, and was discharged Oct. 12, 1864. Edwin M. Hinman deserted from Camp Chase, Ohio. Alexander H. Hinman served his full three years. John C. Hays was taken prisoner at Gettysburg, and passed twenty-one months in Rebel prisons, before being exchanged. Albert S. Haver was promoted from Second Lieutenant to Captain, but was dismissed from the service for using disrespectful language to a superior officer. George W. Rowell was dismissed for disability Dec. 13, 1862, but reenlisted in the First New York Veteran Cavalry. George W. Snyder was discharged on account of ill health, Aug. 4, 1862. William Youngs was transferred to Invalid Corps Oct. 1, 1863. In the months of August and September of 1862 volunteers were organized into regi- ments as if by magic all over the Northern States. The camp-grounds for Allegany, Living- ston and Wyoming counties was in Portage. Here the 130th and 136th Regiments were organized with wonderful rapidity and sent to the front. The name of the 130th was afterwards changed to the First New York Dragoons. Eighteen men from Portage, enlisted in the companies of this regiment, receiving from the town a bounty of fifty dollars each, and in 1863 and 1864 twelve recruits from this town were added to the number. B. T. Kneeland was appointed Surgeon at the PORTAGE — WAR RECORD. 275 organization of the regiment, with the rank of Major, and remained until the close of the war. Jacob Alvord, Company I, was wounded near Malvern Hill, disabled, and discharged. Elisha T. Ames, Company I, lost a leg in the battle of the Wilderness, May 7, and died in Wash- ington June 26, 1864. Thomas W. Edmonds, Company I, was trans- ferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps. William C. Hendershott served to the close of the war, mostly as nurse in the hospital. John M. Hall, Company A, served to the end of the war. Geo. A. Gearhart, Company I, also served to the close of the war. Geo. M. Gearhart, Company A, killed at the battle of Cedar creek, Va., Oct. 19, 1864. John Kegan, Company A, was killed at Deserted House, Va., Jan. 30, 1863. Horace C. Orton, Company I, died in Ander- sonville prison, Ga. Phillip M. Payne, Company A, was transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps June 13, 1S64. Albert Smith, Company I, served three years. Horace Ward was tiansferred to Invalid Corps. John L. Snyder and A. J. White, of Company I, were transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps. H. E. Youells, Company I, sickened and died at Norfolk, Va., April 3, 1SC3. Sergeant Prosper Swift, after fighting through a great many severe skirmishes and battles, was killed in action at Cedar creek, Va., Oct. 19, 1864, and lies buried at Nunda. George Stockwether, Company F, was wounded and taken prisoner at Travilian Station, Va., but was exchanged and mustered out with his regi- ment. Myron H. Haver, Company F, served to the close of the war. Wm. J. Wright, Company I, died of fever, Nov. 6, 1862. George C. Abbott, Company B, enlisted in 1864, and served to the end of the war. Thomas Brick, Company B, enlisted in 1863, and was mustered out at the close of the war. David L. Randall, Company F, enlisted in 1863, sickened, came home on a furlough, and did not return to his company. James H. Haver, Company I, served through the war. Geo. W. Lowell, Company F, enlisted in 1864, and died of fever at Fort Schuyler, N. Y., July 27, 1864. Peter J. Quant, Company I, enlisted in 1864, and died in that year from exposure to frost while sick. Fletcher Walker enlisted in 1864 in Company F, was killed at Cedar creek, Va., Oct. 19, 1864. William Beach enlisted in 1863 and served to the end of the war. Lorenzo D. Lowell, Company F, enlisted in 1864. His heath failed and he was discharged. Emerson Rude, Company I, enlisted in the 130th Regiment, Aug. 13, 1862. Generally known by the citizens of both Portage and Nunda, the news of his death cast a gloom over the commun- ity. After landing at Suffolk, Va., his first battle was at Deserted House, Va., Jan. 29, 1863. He was in active camp duty until the dread seige of Suffolk in April, 1863, when he was under fire in the rifle-pits and forts every day for twenty-one days in succession. Again he was in another battle near Baltimore Cross Roads, the first of July. In November, 1863, he was in a severe skirmish at Manassas Junction, and also in another near Orange Court House in January, 1864. At the battle of the Wilderness, on Saturday, May 7, 1864, he was shot through the left arm and right thigh. He was carried back into the field, where he remained that night and until Sunday noon, receiving such care as a fighting and pursuing army could render. He was finally placed in an ambu- lance and started for Fredericksburgh ; carried about half way and obliged to lay out in the ambu- lance over night without a fire. On Monday fore- noon he reached Fredericksburgh and in two or three days thereafter died and was buried with the army's dead. Of those who in 1862 entered the 136th Regi- ment : — Thomas F. Carroll, Company H, was discharged at Fairfax Court House, Va., for disability. Otis L. Crosier served to the close of the war, and is now living at Oakland. Levi Guernsey was taken prisoner at Manassas Tunction, Va.,in August, 1863, and has never been heard from since. Norman A. Hamilton was discharged on account of failing health. William C. Hall was promoted to the office of First Lieutenant, was wounded at Resaca, Ga., May 15, and died of lock-jaw at Nashville, Tenn., June 27, 1864. Henry S. Lyon served through the war. George H. Mosier was wounded at Gettysburg, Pa., July 3, and died August 1, 1863. 276 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. John McDonald was discharged at Atlanta, da., for disability. Felix Managhan was mustered out at the close of the war. Patrick Ryan died at Stafford Court House, Ya., in March, 1863. Alterva Smith was wounded at Resaca, Ga., May 15, 1804, and died soon after. Jackson L. Wallace served until the war closed. H. W. Hand was promoted Captain of Com- pany I, 39th Regiment of colored troops and served till the close of the war. Of the 105th Regiment: — Lyman B. Gallup, when the regiment was con- solidated with the 94th, was placed in Company H, but was discharged for the purpose of reenlist- meiit as hospital steward, and finally, was dis- charged for disability July 6, 1865, and is now in Portage. John Quinn enlisted in 1862, was discharged for disability, reenlisted in the First Veteran Cavalry, and served through the war. John H. Parks died of disease contracted in the service, May 17, 1S64, at Washington. James B. Randall, Company F, 169th Regiment, was wounded at Cold Harbor, June 1, 1864, and died on the 4th of the same month. John Simpson, of Company D, iSSth Regi- ment, served to the close of the war. Of the 4th Regiment of Heavy Artillery: — Augustus Beardsley, Company F, served to the close of the war. George W. Bingham, of Company E, and Aaron Burroughs, of Company D, remained in the army until the close of the war. Rufus Chandler, Company E, died at Washing- ton, February 2, 1863. W. H. H. Havey, Company D, served till the end of the Rebellion. Matthew Lake, Company D, also served to the close of the war. Michael Loughlen entered the service in Janu- ary, 1864, was wounded at the battle of the Wilder. ness, disabled and discharged. Robert K. Parks, Company F, served to the end of the war. Rowland Ward, Company E, was wounded at Ream's Station and disabled, but was not dis- charged till the war closed. E. Adelbert Nash, Company F, enlisted in Feb- ruary, 1864, was taken prisoner at Ream's Station, was paroled, exchanged and served to the end of the war. Charles H. Rowell, Company F, entered the army at the same date, and was killed at Peters- burgh, Ya., June 23, 1S64. Michael Welch, Company F, enlisted in 1862, and served to the end of the Rebellion. William Riley entered the service January 1, 1864, and died in prison at Salisbury, N. C, date unknown. Marion W. Mosher, Company E, joined the regiment in 1864, and was lost in the battle near North Anna river, Ya.. in May. 1864. Isaac L. Holley and George F. Rogers entered the service in 1863, in Company F, 1st New York Veteran Cavalry, and remained until the war ended. A number of men, residents in Portage, enlisted for other towns. Among these were John Slater and James Moore, the former being wounded in the second battle of Bull Run and permanently disabled ; the latter remaining with the regiment until the close of its two years' service, when he re- enlisted in the 5th New York Cavalry and was sent with that regiment to Texas. Charles Calahan entered the 130th Regiment at its organization, and was severely wounded at Travilian Station; but after eight months' absence in the hospital he rejoined the regiment, was with it in its last campaign, and with it was mustered out at the close of the war. Twelve of the citizens of Portage, in 1863, were also claimed by the draft, two only responding to the call, viz . — Wm. D. Lake and Theodore Elliot. The former was placed in the 146th Regiment. He- was taken prisoner at the battle of the Wilderness, May 7, and died in Andersonville prison, Novem- ber 21, 1864. Theodore Elliot entered Company B, 76th Regi- ment, was also taken prisoner at the battle of the Wilderness, May 5, and died in Andersonville, Sept 16, 1864. The other ten men satisfied the demand of the government by the payment of three hundred dol- lars each in commutation for their services. These were Jason 1). Hunt, J. S. Hewett, Martin Dona- hue, Thomas N. Lock wood, Edwin Thompson, Justus G. Yule, Sylvenus H. Reece, Stephen (1. Scott, Lyman W. Phillips and Nelson Devoe. In addition to all regular quota, in 1864, the town furnished twenty-six men for four months' service in the 58th Regiment of New York State Militia to guard rebel prisoners at F.lmira. These were Major Geo. M. Lockwood, Captain Jason D. Hunt, Lieutenants H. F. Shaw and PORTAGE, WAR RECORD — JOEL C. BENNETT. 277 George Conklin, Edward L. Hunt, J. M. Hayne, John E. Spees, Samuel Russell, Chas. E. Gardner, Henry Allegar, Benjamin Brigham, Emmett Dick- ens, E. L. Hayne, Nelson Link, James Lyon, Joseph C. Russell, Robert Scutt, H. O. Sparks, Charles L. Williams ; — Franklin W. Payne, S A. Spencer, John Moffett, Elijah Dunn, Curtis S. French, A. W. Chase, S. G. Scott, George Fletcher, A. A. Smith, B. L. Brooking, J. B. Chase and Oscar F. Sharp, by substitute, and E. A. Lowell. Of the brave defenders of the Union who went from Portage, thirteen were killed or died from wounds received in battle, thirteen died from dis- eases contracted in the service, and nine drooped and died from starvation and exposure in the various prison pens of the South. The town also paid a large amount in bounties to the men who went forward to the fields of strife. In 1 86 1 thirty-six men entered the service without bounty. In 1862 seventeen men were paid $50 each, — $850; twenty-five were paid $75 each, — $ 1,875, and nine of the same men received by subscription $125 each, — $1,125; total for the year, $3,850. In 1863 eight men went without bounty, eleven were paid $300 each, — $3,300; ten paid commu- tation of $300 each, — $3,000; total for the year, $6,300. In 1864 eight men received $1,000 each, — $8,- 000; one man received $950; fifteen men were paid $900 each, — $13,500; and one substitute was paid by H. Smith $1,000; total for the year, $23,450. In 1865 one substitute was paid by A. Smith $1,100, one substitute for H. Dutton was paid $1,300, — $2,400; and fifteen men enlisted in Washington for the town were paid $750 each, — $11,250; total for the year $13,650, and a final total for the four years of $47,250. Previous to July, 1863, the various Ladies' Aid Societies in the town had sent to the armies through organized agencies of benevolence, hospi- tal stores and comforts to the amount of $239. Besides this a large number of boxes were sent by individuals and societies to particular friends and companies. In 1864 a festival was held on the Fourth of July, the net proceeds from which were $437.54. Two hundred dollars of this sum was sent to the Sanitary Commission and $200 to the Christian Commission. Collections were then made in the various school districts and in August $61.75 were sent to the same Commission. In October and February $61.25 were added to the contribution ; the Thanksgiving dinner, which resulted in the receipt of $77. 16, swelling the yearly contribution to the sum of $600.17. In addition to this cash and goods to the amount of $374.76 were forwarded to the freed- men of the South in March, 1864, making a grand total of $48,501.47 that Portage contributed toward the suppression of the Rebellion. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. JOEL C. BENNETT. (JOEL C. BENNETT.) Among the early settlers of Portage the Bennetts were somewhat conspicuous. They are of English origin, tracing the immediate family tie back to Ephraim Bennett, who was born in England about the year 1720, but the exact date of his birth, mi- gration to this country, marriage and death, are lost to this branch of his posterity. His death oc- curred about the year 1780. Thomas, one of his three sons, was born in Newtown, Conn., Nov. 17, 1752, and died in the same town, Feb. 7, 1836, at the age of eighty-four. He had a family of eight sons and three daughters, all reared in Newtown, all married and all living to raise families of chil- dren. As the sons successively came of age, they left their native town, and most of them settled in Scipio, Cayuga county, N. Y. But after a few years the wild Genesee country had attractions for them, and between 1817 and 1821, seven of the brothers bought lands and settled in the wilderness of Nunda, (now Portage.)* * Ebenezer Bennett, the oldest sun settled in Ovid, Seneca County N. V., (now Covert,) where many of his posterity now reside. 278 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Their names were Henry, David, Thomas T., Joseph, Walter, Philo and Rcswell Bennett. So numerous were their children that it was said there were seventy-seven Bennett cousins living near enough to attend church at Hunt's Hollow. The descendants of these seven brothers afford an illustration of the Yankee tendency to spread and "replenish the earth," as they are known to be settled in various parts of seventeen different States and also in Canada and Brazil, S. A. Very many of them are or have been teachers, thus nat- urally occupying positions of responsibility and influence. Only one of the old homesteads built by the fathers now remains in the hands of the chil- dren reared in them. This is the one established by David Bennett, now owned and occupied by his son, Charles D. Bennett. David Bennett was the third child in the above mentioned family of eleven and was born on the 7th of March, 1777. He was married to Polly Botsford, May 4, 1799, and soon afterward moved to Scipio, Cayuga county, N. V. Here his wife died in Oct., 1812, leaving a family of five children. April 10, 1 813, he was again married, his second wife being Mary, eldest daughter of Joel Coe one of the first settlers of the town of Scipio. In the spring of 1821 he removed to Portage, arriving on the 1 6th of May. He commenced at once his work upon the Springbrook farm, establishing a home where the social and family tie have ever been, and still remain strong and tender. Here he died Dec. 7, 1857. Six children resulting from his second marriage here grew to maturity, viz: — Joel C, Mary J., Charles D., Emily C, Curtis N. and Rachel A. Bennett. Joel C. Bennett, the oldest of these was born May 16, 181 5. He received a district school edu- cation and also taught school several terms, be- coming pretty well acquainted with the school sys- tem as it was administered in the early days. He was the first to introduce the use of blackboards in school in this part of the country, and it had to be done at his own expense. He, with thirty-five other teachers of Portage, helped to organize the first Teachers' Institute in Western New York, at Hume, under the auspices of R. H. Spencer, then County Superintendent for Allegany county, in rS4_i. For many years he discharged the duties of School Inspector, School Commissioner or Town Superintendent, but he has held office very little except in this connection. He was, however, Su- pervisor at the opening of the war in 1861, and held the office two years. He tried to keep pretty full statistics with regard to the soldiers enlisted, bounties paid, companies in which they served, casualties which happened to them, &C Most of the statistics on this subject for Portage have been compiled from memoranda kept by him. On November 10, 1850, he was married to Cor- nelia Botsford, youngest daughter of Ezra Bots- ford, Esq., long a resident of Granger, Allegany county. They have four children. Ada E., Nora M., Carl 1).. and Ezra W. Bennett. CHARLES D. BENNETT. Charles D, Bennett, the subject of this sketch was born in Scipio, Cayuga county, Feb. 15, 1819. Two years after this, his father moved to Nunda, now Portage, and cut for himself a farm out of the w Is, and as the forest was partly pine, he was obliged to combine lumbering with clearing. His edui ation began in the rude log school-house, but was afterwards continued in Henry Chalker's select school, the I.eRoy high school and Canandaigua academy, with teaching school between the terms, and lie also made good use of the Nunda Farmers' library. On reaching his majority he went to Louisiana and clerked for his brother Ezra for a year, then taught school a time on Bayou LaFourche, and returning home, spent four years in farming and teaching, and was for two years town superin- tendent of common schools. An attack of inflam- mation of the eyes then forced him to refrain from hard labor and he sought the dry climate of Texas, then recently annexed, and settled at Gonzales, on the south-western frontier, where he was chiefly en- gaged in teaching, and for several years was presi- dent of Gonzales college. About the year 1850, the temperance wave spread over Texas, and he joined the ranks of " Sons of Temperance" and was for several years Deputy Grand Worthy Patriarch of the order. In 1853, he visited the north and married Miss Huldah Olney, of Scipio, who after a lew years residence in Texas, desired to leave society controlled by slavery. The hard times of 1857 making the sale of property and collection of debts impracticable, Mr. Bennett converted his means into a herd of cattle and drove them to Chicago, a distance of 2,000 miles, about the be- ginning of a trade now amounting to millions. In 1858 he drove a herd of Texas oxen to Leaven- worth, and returning to Portage bought the old homestead where he has since followed the quiet and uneventful life of a farmer. In politics he has never sought preferment, but of the many minor offices which a man assumes voluntarily and fills at his own expense, he has held his full share. He is perhaps chiefly noted for his labors in improving the highways. HON. NATHANIEL COE. Hon. Nathaniel Coe was born in Morris county, N. J., September 6th, 178S. His paternal ancestry is given in the sketch of his sister, Mrs. Huldah Bennett. " The wish to cherish the remembrance of our ancestors is akin to the equally laudable desire to live in the memory of posterity, " I in though "in ancient but ignoble blood Has crept through scoun oce the flood." His mother, Huldah Horton, was born in Ches- ter. N. J., Jan. 14th. 1762. She was the daughter nt I >eacon Nathaniel Horton, of Southold, Long Island, who was the seventh in descent from Barnabas Horton of Mousely, in Leicestershire, ( PORTAGE. ) p- D. Bennett. m ( MT. MORRIS.) Jonathan Phillips. pHESTER FoOTE. HON. NATHANIEL COE — MRS. WALTER BENNETT. 279 England, whose ancestry and coat of arms were traced back several centuries. He was born in about 1600. About 1635, with his wife, Mary, and two children, he came to Hampton, Mass., in the ship Swallow, Capt! Jeremy Horton, master. In 1640, his family, with twelve others, formed a church in New Haven, Ct., Rev. John Youngs pastor, and together soon removed to the east end of Long Island, then a wilderness. They named their place Southold, from their old home in England. He built the first framed house there, and in strange contrast with the restless, moving habits of our population, it has continued to be the residence of his posterity in lineal descent, viz: Jonathan, Jonathan, Jr., Lawrence, Jonathan and Jonathan G. Horton, who died there July 3d, 1873. A similar instance of continued possession is found in Stratford, Ct. Robert Coe, from England, settled there about 1650. His premises have ever since been held by his descendants, viz : John, Robert, Ebenezer, Eben- ezer, Jr., John Ebenezer and John Henry Coe, born in 1842. N. Coe found himself in the woods of Scipio at seven years of age, where his father had a soldier's right of 640 acres, for which he paid a shilling per acre. Schools were few, and those not the best, but the youth was one of those who take to books and seem to learn by intuition. In 18 18 he came to Portage, tended saw-mills, practiced surveying, etc. In 1820, with his brother Joel and a schoolmate, Myron Strong, he went to Olean, where they procured a boat, in which they passed down the rivers to New Orleans. He remained about six years in various places at the South, generally teaching school or classes in penmanship. In his travels he became ac- quainted with the Lancasterian method of teach- ing, then quite famous as well as novel. He taught school several sessions. By the introduction of better text books and methods of teaching by him, and a few similar teachers, such as Hiram Olney and Stephen Fuller, the common schools of Portage attained the reputation of being the best in this region. He was a member of the school board as inspector or commissioner till these offices were abolished by law. In 1828 he and W. Z. Blanch- ard, partners, opened a store in Oakland. "No liquor sold to be drank here" was hung in a con- spicuous place, a novel and unpopular sign in that day, when liquor sellers were prominent church members. October 9th, 1828, he married Miss Mary White, of Auburn, a young lady of fine lit- erary taste and high moral sentiments. Her extra- ordinary social faculties enabled her to take a lead- ing place in society. Acting with earnestness and consistency, with a unity of object, few families have exerted a stronger influence, always for good, than they. In the countless instances in common life when public good or private want required the aid of a benevolent heart, a prudent head or skill- ful hand, he was the ready helper — " The Ajax and the Mentor, too, To sagely plan and stoutly do." He was several terms a Magistrate and often Supervisor. For rare discernment and integrity he had the confidence of all. He was elected to the Assembly from Allegany in 1843, '44 and '45, and from Livingston in 1847, and became one of the leading members of the legislature. Twice he had the misfortune to be reduced from comparative affluence to bankruptcy by the failure of others. In 185 1 he was appointed Mail Agent for Oregon. He selected a homestead at the mouth of Hood River on the Columbia. His sons, Lawrence \V. and Eugene F., were the first navigators of that river above the Dalles. As a successful fruit culturist he spent the evening of a useful life that had been a blessing to many, dying Oct. 17th, 1868. " Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams." MRS. WALTER BENNETT. (MRS. WALTER BENNETT.) Mrs. Walter Bennett nee Huldah Coe, was born in Morris county, N. J., July 15, 1793. The Coe family came to this country from Suftblkshire, England, where the family descendants had re- sided for many generations. The earliest mention of them which can now be found is in Fox's Book of Martyr's, which states that Robert Coe, (Coo it is there spelled) of Millford, SufTolkshire. was burned at the stake by Queen Mary, September, 1555, at Texford. A full account of his trial and defense is given by Fox in vol. 3, page 349. Robert and his sons John, Robert and Benjamin Coe, came to America from England in 1634. Robert, Jr., settled in Stratford, Conn. Robert was married in 1657, and died in 1659, leaving one son, John Coe, who was born May 10, 1658. This son was married to Mary Hawley, December 20th, 1682. The result of this marriage was a family of ten children. His second son Joseph, was married to 280 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Abigail Robinson in 170S. His son Joseph was born in 17 13. He was married in 1739 to Abigail Curtis, by whom he had ten children. Joel was the eighth child in this family. He married Hul- dah Horton in 1780. In 1795 ne moved with his family to Scipio, Cayuga county, which was then a wilderness, and settled ten miles south of the log grist-mill, on the site of what is now the city of Auburn. It took them a week to sail to Albany. From Albany they went to Schenectady by wagons, and from that place on a boat, propelled by oars and poles, to Fort Stanwix, now Rome. They hauled the boat on an ox wagon three miles, to Wood creek, thence on Oneida lake, Oswego and Seneca rivers, and Cayuga lake to Aurora. For nine miles they cut the greater portion of their way through the forest to their settlement one mile north of Scipio Center. Mary was the first born in Joel's family of eight children. She was the mother of Joel C. Bennett, whose portrait appears in another part of this work. Huldah ( )',-, whose name heads this sketch, was the sixth child in this family. Both Mary and Huldah were born in Morris county, N. J. Mary was born in September 8, 1782, and died Septem- ber 12, 1872. Huldah was born July 15, 1793, and was married to Walter Bennett September 20, 1809. They settled in Portage in 18 17, cutting their roadway much of the last twenty miles, and were one of the most influential families of that town, taking a leading part in all the earlier settle- ments and improvements. The Coe family are noted for their longevity, and the subject of this sketch will be eighty-eight years old in July, 1881, enjoying remarkable health for a woman of her age. Brightness of intellect, with uniform cheerfulness, blended with Christian graces, purity of heart and life, works of charity, and steadfast faith have been her eminent charac- teristics. The "dew of youth" is still fresh in her warm affections, and her children, friends and neighbors "arise and call her blessed." She resides with her son J. Yates Bennett, who is the subject of the following sketch. J. YATFS BFNNFTT. Walter Bennett, father of J. Yates, was born in Newtown, Conn., May 2, 1786. Came to this country in 1817, and settled in the town of Portage. He is the grand-son of Ephraim Bennett, who emi- grated from England to Connecticut about the year 1720, and son of Thomas Bennett, who was born November 17, 1752, and died February 7, 1836. Walter settled in Scipio, Cayuga county, in 1808. Married Huldah Coe, (a portrait and sketch of whom appears previously,) September 26, 1809. Eleven children were born to them, seven of whom are now living as follows: — Thomas F., a wealthy farmer, residing in Atchison county, Mo. ; Walter, an inventor, residing in Rhode Island; Flora, principal of the Peabody Institute at Summit. Mississippi ; J. H. Hubert, sewing machine dealer, residing in Springfield, III.: M. Louise, wife of f. W. [ohnson, and residing in Bal- timore ; Mary !•'.., residing with J. Yates Bennett. ( )n moving to Portage, Walter Bennett formed a CO-partnership with N. B. Nichols, and they built the first saw-mill erected in the town, in Hunt's Hollow, and there carried on the lumber business and farming for a number of years. In politics, he was a Democrat. Was Justice of the Peace a num- ber of years. He was elected warden of the Epis- copal church at its organization, which office he held till his death May 26, 1843. (J.YATES ISENNl II 1 J. Nates Bennett was born in Portage, Nov. 30, 1822. Moved to Louisiana in 1844, and resided there mostly for sixteen years, seven of which he spent in teaching school, five as postmaster and book dealer in Thibodeaux, La., and two in New Orleans. Returned to Portage, and in 1S62 mar- ried Marietta Galusha, of Arcadia, N. Y., who died Dec. 23, 1868. He then married Mrs. Elizabeth B. Smith, daughter of Dr. G. W. Branch, of Mt. Morris, May 2, 1872. Two children were born to them, one of whom, Arthur Yates, born July 28, 1873, is now living. Mrs. Bennett died May 27, 1877. In politics J. Yates is a Democrat and was elected Justice of the Peace in 1880. Is also war- den of the Episcopal church, and is engaged in the lumber business and farming. COL. GEORGE WILLIAMS. Col. George Williams was born in Hatfield, Mass., May 26th, 1793. He was educated at Can- andaigua Academy, his father, Dr. William Wil- liams, being a prominent pioneer on the Phelps COL. GEORGE WILLIAMS. 281 and Gorham purchase. At nineteen he enlisted as a volunteer and became a member of Gen. Peter B. Porter's staff. At the close of the war of 181 2 he commenced the study of law in the office of John Greig, Esq. Mr. Greig was the agent and afterwards the partner of Mr. Hornby, of Scot- land, in the survey and sale of the Cottinger tract of ^0,000 acres which included the town of Portage. (COL. GEORGE WILLIAMS.) In the spring of 18 16 he sent the student to act as resident agent for its sale and settlement. He established his land office at Oak Hill, a little south of the Deep Cut, and as it was a pleasant location, central among the settlements, it soon became the principal seat of town business, where trainings, elections and town meetings were usually held. He located his homestead a half mile north, where he opened a large farm. Its clearing and cultivation, his extensive milling and lumber operations, the business of the land agency and his various civil and military offices made his life a busy one. Of powerful frame and vigorous con- stitution, he shunned no exposure and feared no fatigue. He had a genial, social temperament, which made him the acknowledged leader in the festive scenes and athletic sports that enlivened the rough labors of the early settlers. As a land agent he was kind and indulgent to the buyers, few of whom were able to comply with their contracts, and none who labored faithfully to improve their premises were ever ejected for non- payment. In 1822 the Nunda post-office was re- moved from Oak Hill to Hunt's Hollow, and he obtained the establishment of the Oakland post- office at his residence, where he was about ten years postmaster. About the same time the militia brigade was constituted a regiment, and he was made its colonel. Mr. Williams had been Town Clerk and Super- visor, and in 1826 he was elected to the Legisla- ture as a Clintonian, but in Albany he went over to the opposite party. That was, among poli- ticians, the unpardonable sin. The principle of free toleration, though early preached, was slow in coming into practice, and party spirit, though less bitter than it had been in the last century, when Federalists and Republicans would not sometimes send their children to the same schools, was far more rancorous than now, and knock-down argu- ments were often used in political discussions. In the lonely road east of Portageville about that time, he chanced to meet Dr. A. A. Parmelee, when a discussion at once began. His artillery of logic well shotted with facts was in such a skirmish hardly a match for the Doctor's keen thrusts of wit and ready repartee surcharged with a sarcasm that was venomous. Tortured to madness, the Colonel's threat of harsher arguments was quickly met by the Doctor, whose physique was above the average, and if inferior to the Colonel in size of frame and power of muscle, he fully made up the deficiency in agility and skill at scuffling, for this was not a contest under the rules of the ring, but a common rough-and-tumble. Whether a thought of their former friendship, or from an idea of its ridiculousness, or from weariness they gave up the discussion as a draw game is not known, as there were neither spectators nor umpire, and the parties were never profuse in giving particulars. This incident is given as an illustration of the custom of the times, rather than of the character of the persons, for both were men of the first re- spectability; nor was it at all akin to the vengeful vendetta still so common at the south, for as they had before been fellow partisans, so they after- wards worked as warm Whigs together. Col. Williams was never again an aspirant for office. He was too impatient of the criticism and calumny heaped upon candidates, and he gradually with- drew from party politics, but he was always pro- nounced in his political principles. About the time he opened his agency, Hubbard, Mumford, McKay and Smith, a company of enter- prising men, undertook to develop the immense water-power at Portageville, but with indifferent success. They built mills and laid out the village, but weary of their work, they sold their interests at different times, till finally Col. Williams became sole proprietor. The purchase did not prove a wise one, for like the company, he failed to make it a paying investment. Besides it left him the im- putation of holding a valuable and useful property which he would neither improve himself, or allow others to develop. His naturally genial temper was soured by such accusations and the hostility of the villagers ; he became estranged from his fellow citizens and diverted his mind from social enjoy- ments to the cares of his family and the conduct of his extensive business. But his kindness of heart continued. The needy called often upon him and never in vain. His generous disposition made him very public spirited, but impulsive in his methods and im- 282 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. patient of dictation, he preferred to act by himself rather than be fretted and crossed by the co-opera- tion of others, even in the construction of costly highways, or the building of a river bridge. He took a leading part in causing the construc- tion of the Genesee Valley canal, and was a stockholder in the Attica and Hornellsville railroad, which was mainly built by subscribers along its line, but has since become a part of the great Erie Railway, whose insatiate maw has devoured the funds of successive series of stockholders. His health remained firm and vigorous till his eightieth birthday, when he was severely injured by being thrown from his buggy. When he had partially recovered, a similar injur)-, Septembei 22d, caused his death. May nth, 1874. If the great opportunity given him at that early day, in the possession of ample means for doing great good to others and gaining greater for himself, was not crowned with commensurate success.it was not lor want of the will, for he was frugal and industrious, liberal to lavishness, and he has left a character noted for strict integrity, as well as an ample fortune. August 30th, 1S43, he married Miss Alma De- voe, sister of Isaac, Henry and Col. Jacob Devoe, among the first settlers of the town. Their children are: George W"., who occupies the home- stead; Julia, the wife of Willis II. Fuller, of Por- tageville; Henry, who died in Montana, and Char- lotte, wile of Edwin Pattison, Esq., of Buffalo. Charles Williams, brother of Col. Williams, and for many years a noted teacher, lived near him. He married Miss Mary Hunt, daughter of San ford Hunt, and afterwards Miss Maria Taylor. He died September 24th, 1S71, aged sixty-eight years. His children were: Mary H. wife of Chapin C. Williams; Delia, wile of Morris Ayrault ; Charles I... who died December 15th, 1871 ; C. Anna, a distinguished teacher and elocutionist, and Flla Williams. OTHER EARLY SETTLERS. Among others of the early settlers worthy of an extended sketch may be mentioned the follow- ing :— George Wilner was born in Berkshire county, Massachusetts, in 1797 — of ( German origin. His father was one of the conscripts furnished by the Duke of Brunswick to George III. to help sub- due his rebellious colonies in America, and sailed from Plymouth, England, in 1776 with his regiment known as the Brunswickers, under the command of Baron Frederick Adolphus von Riedesel. In 1777, he was attached to Burgoyne's army for the invasion of New York. Under the com- mand of Lieutenant-Col. Baum, he with others were sent to take Bennington, \ t., where the}- were captured by the Americans under Gen. Stark. Young Wilner took the oath of allegiance rather than be held a prisoner for exchange, and after- wards married and settled in Berkshire county, Massachusetts. In 1S13 his sons George and I [enry joined a company then being raised by Capt Perkins for the war. Henry was killed at the bat- tle of Plattsburgh. In 1S16, George Wilner, in company with Capt. Perkins settled in Nunda, now Portage, each purchased a farm near the Genesee river above Portageville. George Wil- ner married Betsey Moses, asisterto Dr. Klisha 1). Moses, and with him moved to Indiana in 1822. He returned in 1824 and purchased a farm in the town of Portage, where he lived until his death, which occurred in 1864. He held several town offices and was an active business man. Two of his children reside in the town : Marcus \\ , who was born in 1825, and who has held the office of Assessor and Supervisor, and Merriman J., who was born in 1S27, and who has been Highway Commissioner. Assessor and Supervisor. Captain James Perkins better known here as Colonel Perkins sold his farm on the river about the year 1855, and moved to Lima, where he died m 18S0. Jonathan Bailey was born in Athens, Yt., April 1, 1 792. His lather dying when he was seven old, he was brought up by Asa Barry of Rockingham. He was a soldier on the Niagara frontier in the war of 1812. At the battle of Lundy's Lane he received a ball in his thigh. It was unsafe to remove it and it made him lame for life. He married Miss Bethany McCurdy, Febru- ary 26, 1818. She was a daughter of Samuel Mc- Curdy, and born in Surry. N. H, July 1, 1794. The)' settled in Burns, Allegany county, in 1818. In 1832, they removed to Pennacook, where he died August 12, 1869. He was a leading citizen, an exemplary Christian, and for several years the superintendent of the Sunday school in his school district. They had eight children, the fifth, Jas. Hinman Bailey, succeeds his father on the farm. Allen Paine was born in Peru, Berkshire county, Mass., February 19, 1792. He taught school sev- eral terms. December 26, 1814, he married Miss Lucy Meacham, who was born in Middlefield, Hampshire county, Mass. They moved to Leices- ter in 1818. In 1831 they settled in Pennacook, where she died April 22, 1845. He continued many years a popular singing-school teacher, was often elected to various town offices and was sev- eral terms a magistrate. He married Miss Mary Wilkinson, July 4, 1846. He died January 13,1876. His children are Lyman F., who removed to Ohio; Philip M., who was a soldier in the 130th Regi- ment : Cecelia, wife of N. Wilder; Adaline, wife of Samuel Star: Lucy, wife of Elisha Town ; Hannah wife of Monroe Griffin ; and by his last marriage, Franklin W., Nelson and Mary Belle. Deacon Richard Willis Robinson and Charlotte, his wife, of Rutland county. Yt., settled at Oak Hill, in October, 181S, after the usual two weeks' journey by horse team, which the distance re- quired. He was a farmer, a caipenter and a brick and stone mason. He was a pioneer in burning MOUNT MORRIS — PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS. 283 brick kilns. They were constituent members of the Presbyterian church at Oak Hill, in 18 19, and also of the Congregational church formed at Por- tageville, in 1827. She spun and wove the clothing for the family, and since his death, Nov. 23rd, 1839, she has continued to keep house for her son, R. F. Robinson, a farmer in Pennacook, and still does so, though in her 87th year. Their children were: — E. F., Huldah M., wife of R. P. Spencer, Richard W., Charlotte E. and Alba G., who went west, and Ann Z.. wife of Judson Stockwell, in the river valley. Nathaniel Wilder was born in Buckland, Frank- lin county, Mass., December 3d, 1815. Married Miss Cecelia Paine, of Pennacook, November 30th, 1848, where they settled in 1851. Their children are: — Charles N., a teacher; Lucy M. and Wm. P. Wilder. He is a successful farmer and like the Paines a Presbyterian. George Gearhart was born near the Schuylkill, Pa., in 1774. Soon afterwards his father removed to Scipio, Cayuga county, then a wilderness. There George Gearhart married and had twelve children. He moved to Portage in 1818, where he died in 1857. Deacon John Gearhart, his son, was born Jan. 3, 1804. He married Miss Elizabeth Guthrie in Nunda, June 19, 1828. She was born in New Jersey, August 8, 1804. She was a woman of un- common abilities with a will to use them for the good of others. Shedied July 13, 1879. Deacon Gearhart was one of the constituent members of the Portage Baptist Church. He was a lumber- man, built a saw-mill and became a farmer on the paternal homestead. They raised nine children : Chas. H, who mar- ried Louisa Taber; Anna Cordelia, wife of Deacon Alfred Taber; John G., who married Anna Van- slyke; Sarah A., wife of Rev. Lucius E. Palmer; Mary E., wife of Augustus Beardsley, of Portage- ville; Martha, wife of Menzo Lowell; William C, who married Nancy Orton ; Nath. A., who married Ella Gilbert, volunteered in the 104th Regiment, and was severely wounded in the battle of Gettys- burg, has been several terms the efficient County Clerk of this county, as chief or deputy; and George Adelbert, who enlisted in the 130th Regi- mant or First New York Dragoons, served through the war, was several years a merchant at Dalton, a public lecturer, and efficient Sunday school superintendent. He married Miss Elizabeth Wing, of Mt. Morris. George Gearhart, the youngest of the twelve children of George Gearhart, Sr., was born in 1816. He still occupies the paternal homestead, and is a successful farmer. He married Miss Sally Baldwin, whose father, Deacon David Bald- win, was one of the first settlers. Their children were : Armilla, wife of Albert Dunn ; G. Munroe, killed at the close of the battle when Gen. Sheri- dan destroyed the army of Jubal Early; Fayette, Esther, Mary, Merritt and Frank. Record Taber was born in Rhode Island, April 17th, 1798. The family soon after moved to Scipio, Cayuga county, N. Y. In 1820 he married Miss Sally Meeker, and in 1825 they settled in Portage and became noted as prosperous and public spirited citizens. He still resides on the old farm. They reared a large and intelligent family, of whom only two remain here, viz: Deacon Alfred Taber, of Dalton, and Clark W. Taber, who married Sarah, daughter of D. P. Lake, Esq. CHAPTER XXII. History of the Town of Mount Morris. MOUNT MORRIS was formed from Leicester April 17, 1818, and named* in honor of Robert Morris, a son of the distinguished financier of the Revolution of that name, whose large means greatly aided the straitened colonists in their struggle for independence. It lies upon the west border of the county, south of the center, and is bounded on the north by Leicester, from which it is separated by the Genesee, on the east by Grove- land and West Sparta, on the south by Nunda and Portage, and on the west by Leicester and Castile, Wyoming county. The surface presents a pleasing variety of roll- ing and hilly upland and rich valley lands. Gen- esee river forms the north and west border. Cashaqua creek, the only considerable stream in the town, enters it near the center of the south border, and flowing in a north-easterly direction across the south-east part, leaves the town near the center of the east border. It again enters the town for a short distance near its confluence with the Canaseraga. Numerous small streams flow into these from all directions. They generally rise in the central and southern portions of the town, which attain the altitude of several hundred feet above the broad alluvial flats which border the river and creek. The valley of the Genesee, " the terrestrial para- dise of the Seneca's," says a modern writer, f takes its name and signification, ("a pleasant open val- ley,") from the beautiful broad flats below Mt. Morris; and the Marquis de Talleyrand, the dis- tinguished French statesman and exile, as, in 1793, he stood on the bold terrace which skirts the flats in the vicinity of that village, on the spot now occu- pied by the residence of Dr. M. H. Mills, filled with admiration at the grand scenery which long fixed his gaze, exclaimed " it is the fairest land- * Pioneer History of Phelps and Gorhanes Purchase, 173. t From Sketches of the Caneadea Reservation and its Inhabitants, by John S. Minard, of Hume, Allegany county. 284 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. scape that the human eye ever looked upon." A writer of a nearly equally early period,* after refer- ring to the large, numerous and "singularly curious" openings in the Genesee country, giving signs of extensive cultivation, land which, from the ignor- ance of the early settlers as to its quality, was sup- posed to be barren, until necessity compelled them to attempt its cultivation, says: " It is difficult to account for these openings, or for the open Hats on the Genesee river, where ten thousand acres may be found in one body, not even encumbered with a bush, but covered with grass of such height that the largest bullocks, at thirty feet from the path, will be completely hid from view. Through all this country there are not only signs of extensive cultivation having been made at some early period, but there are found the remains of old forts where the ditches and gates are still visible. They ap- pear to be, in general, well chosen for defense." The town is wholly underlaid by the rocks of the Chemung and Portage groups, deeply covered in many places with alluvion and drift. The river flats comprise some of the most valuable land in the county. The best is assessed at $135 per acre, without buildings, or with only a barn,f while the average equalized assessed value throughout the county is only $62.03. Much of the high land is clay and some of it is very hard and unproduc- tive. It is a grain-growing town, with a majority of the farms adapted to wheat. The Avon, Geneseo and Mt. Morris Railroad enters the town in the north-east corner and ex- tends in a south-westerly direction to Mt. Morris village, thence it deflects to the south-east, leaving the town a little north of the center of the east border, and connecting with the Erie and Genesee Valley Railroad to Dansville. The projected Rochester. Nunda and Pennsylvania Railroad ex- tends through the town along the valley of Casha- qua creek. The rails are laid through the town, but the road has never been operated. The aban- doned Genesee Valley canal enters the town on the north border, at the village of Mt. Morris, where it crosses the river, and extends in a south- easterly direction of the Cashaqua Valley, entering and leaving the town with that stream, and skirting the first terrace which rises from the flats. The population of the town in 1880, was 3,943, being exceeded only by North Dansville. In 1875 it was 3,795. of whom 3,207 were native, 588 foreign, 3,776 white, [9 colored, 1,876 males and tntu>ns Letter 1 V., Documentary History of New York, 11: 047. t The assessments range from 80 to 100 per cent, offull value. 1,919 females. In area it ranks third in the count)-, being exceeded only by Springwater and York. In 1875 it contained 29,705 acres,* of which 25,050 were improved, 4,236 woodland, and 413 otherwise unimproved. The cash value of farms was $ 1.837,876, ranking fifth in the county ; of farm buildings other than dwellings, $135,522 ; of stock, $190,074, being fifth in rank in the county; of tools and implements $57,884, ranking fifth in the county. The amount of gross sales from farms in 1874 was $155,231, in which respect it ranked ninth in the county. In 1877, there were one union and eleven com- mon school districts in the town. The number of children of school age residing in the districts September 30, 1880, was 1,101. During the year ending that date, eighteen teachers were employed at one time for twenty eight weeks or more ; the number of children residing in the districts who attended school was 782, the average daily atten- dance during the year was 399, the value of the volumes in the district libraries was $1,195, tne number of school-houses was fourteen, eleven frame and three brick, which, with the sites, em- bracing 4 acres and 101 rods, valued at $1,390, were valued at $20,400, the assessed value of taxa- ble property in the districts was $1,783,530. Paid for teachers' wages, $4,357.60. Paid for school apparatus, $540. 1 2. Paid for school houses, sites, fences, out-houses, repairs, furniture, &c, $9,716.83. Paid for other incidental expenses, $736.07. Paid for school libraries, $400.00. The first white settler in Mt. Morris, and, indeed of the entire Genesee Valley, was Mary Jemison, com- monly known as the " White Woman," who resided with the Indians seventy-eight years, seventy-two of which were spent in the Genesee Valley and fifty-two on the Gardeau flats, which lie upon the Genesee, partly in this town and partly in Castile, Wyoming county. She was highly esteemed by the Indians, who named hqr Dehewaviis, signifying, "the woman with light hair." Her biography was published at her dictation in 1824, and re-published in 1877, by Hon. William P. Letchworth, of Glen Iris, Wyoming county. Her life is one of strange vicissitudes, and from its intimate connection with the history of this section merits an extended notice in this connection. * Census of 1875. The published Proceedings of the Board of Super- visors in 1879, state the number of acres to be 18,958, the equalized assessed value of which was £1, 711, it", or 559,09 per acre, hi this, however, it was less than the average per town— 5*12.0$ -which was ex- ceeded by only six towns in the county, though it exceeds tin > ragi value per acre in the county, which was £54.62, MOUNT MORRIS— EARLY SETTLERS. 285 Mary Jemison was born on the ocean in 1742 or '43, during the voyage of her parents, Thomas and Jane (nee Irwin) Jemison. from Ireland to Philadelphia. In the spring of 1755, while resid- ing on Marsh creek, then on the Pennsylvania frontier, a party of four Frenchmen and six Shaw- nee Indians surprised and captured the entire family, (except two of Mary's brothers, who were in the barn at the time, and escaped to their mother's family in Virginia,) consisting of her parents and three children, including herself, to- gether with the wife and three children of a soldier, who was visiting with them, and, having set out for a bag of grain, was killed the instant before by the same party. All were inhumanly murdered, except Mary and a boy — one of the soldier's chil- dren — who were taken to Fort Du Quesne, (Pitts- burgh,) where Mary was adopted by two Seneca women in place of a lost brother, and kindly treated by them. From her hopeful nature and buoyant spirits she rapidly acquired the habits of her rude captors, with whom she soon became a great favor- ite, and of whom she always spoke in terms of the highest praise. During a four years' residence on the Ohio she married a Delaware Indian named Sheninjee, by whom she had two children — a girl, who died in in- fancy, and a boy, whom she named after her father, Thomas Jemison. In the autumn of 1759, she accompanied her foster-sisters to the home of their mother, who lived at Beardstown, on the Genesee, near the site of Cuylerville, in Leicester. She made the long and toilsome journey of six hundred miles on foot, carrying upon her back her infant son, then nine months old. Here she expected to be joined the following spring by her husband, who was to spend the winter on the Ohio in hunting furs, but he sickened and died soon after her departure. After the close of the French and English war in 1763, the latter government offered a bounty for the surrender of prisoners captured during its con- tinuance, and Mary was offered her freedom; but she chose to continue her forest life, and actually concealed herself to avoid abduction by parties who were bent on securing the bounty. About that year she married a noted Seneca warrior named Hiokaioo, by whom she had two sons and four daughters, whom she named after her rela- tives — John, Jesse, Jane, Nancy, Betsey and Polly. All, except Jane, who died about 1795 or 1796, married and raised families, and many of their descendants still reside on the Indian reservations. During the Revolutionary war, her home, which was always a hospitable one, frequently harbored Brant and Col. John Butler, while planning their predatory incursions upon the frontiers of the col- onies, and when the Senecas fled before the ad- vance of Sullivan's army in 1779, sne accompanied them to Niagara. She was among the first to re- turn to the Genesee, and finding nothing but deso- lation at the once populous and thrifty Beardstown, she made her way up the river to Gardeau flats, which had escaped the desolating hand of Sullivan's army, and there engaged her services to two fugitive slaves to husk corn on shares. Her negro com- panions left the flats after two or three years ; but Mary continued to reside there until 1831, becom- ing rich in herds and flocks as well as in lands. The treaty at Fort Stanwix in 1784 provided for the restoration to freedom of all white persons held as prisoners by the Indians. Pursuant to this pro- vision Mary was again offered her freedom, but, notwithstanding the importunities of her son Thomas, who urged her to return to her white relatives, she persisted in her determination to pass the remainder of her life amidst the scenes of her womanhood. She feared that her friends, if found, would disdain to recognize her Indian children, and she preferred to pursue the quiet of her simple yet happy life rather than subject them to contumely. She would not throw aside her Indian costume, even after the white population had surrounded her residence, but adhered to the Indian habits and customs to the last. At the treaty at Big Tree in 1797, a tract of land of nearly 18,000 acres, comprising the Gardeau flats, was secured to her in perpetuity, notwith- standing the violent opposition of Red Jacket. This she let out on shares to white people and thus lived in comparative ease. A contemporary author* writes that he "remembers to have seen the old white woman at his father's house, when a boy, and to this day distinctly recollects how she looked and appeared; short in stature, under size, very round shouldered and bent forward, caused by toting luggage on her back, supported by a strap across her forehead. Her complexion, once white, was tawny; her feet small and toed in ; dressing in the ordinary costume of the Indian female, she resem- bled a squaw, except her hair and light-colored eyes. Her house was the stranger's home. None were turned away hungry from her table. In all her actions she showed so much simplicity, good- * Dr. M- H. Mills, of Mt Morris, who writes under Ihettom deplume of Corn Planter, and is a voluminous contributor to the local press. a86 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. ness of heart and sincerity, her admirers and friends increased as her acquaintance became ex- tended. She never was known to make trouble among the Indians, or among white people and Indians. She was always a peace maker, and minded strictly her own affairs." Hiokatoo, Mary Jemison's second husband, was born on the banks of the Susquehanna in i 708, and died of consumption in November, 1811. His mother was sister to the mother of the celebrated chief Farmer's Brother. He was a warrior, and from his youth to the close of the Revolution was engaged in all the wars of the Senecas, often lead- ing hostile expeditions. Though kind in his do- mestic relations, as a warrior he was capable of the most cruel atrocities attributed to a savage nature, and exulted over the many fiendish tortures inflict- ed on his captivf foes. Mary bears testimony to this complex nature, not, however, peculiar to the savage. She says : — "I have frequently heard him repeat the history of his life from his childhood, and when he came to that part which related to his actions, his brave- ry and war; when he spoke of the ambush, the combat, the spoiling of his enemies, and the sacri- iic 1 ■ oi his victims, ins nerves seemed strung with youthful ardor, the warmth of the able warrior seemed to animate his frame, and to produce the heated gestures which he had practiced in middle age. He was a man of tender feelings to his friends, ready and willing to assist them in distress; yet. as a warrior, his cruelties to his enemies were, perhaps, unparalleled, and will not admit of a word of palliation." from such a parent we might not unreasonably expect the transmission of those qualities to the offspring which embittered Mary's later life. Two of her sons, Thomas and Jesse, were the victims of the savage brutality of a third, John ; and the latter was in turn murdered by two Indians with whom he had quarreled. Thomas, who married the daughter of an Eng- lish fur-trader, trapper and hunter and a Seneca squaw named Sally — who afterwards became the wife of Ebenezer Allen — died at the age of fifty-two. He left a family, of whom one — Jacob Jemison — was in part educated at Dartmouth College. He afterwards passed through a regular course of med- ical studies, and became an Assistant Surgeon in the United States Navy. He died on board his ship in the Mediterranean squadron about 1850. Another son, Thomas, was a worthy representa- tive of his race, and an earnest advocate of the degree of civilization to which it is attainable. He was born at Squakie Hill, near Mt. Morris, in the latter part of December, 1796, and died on the Cattaraugus Reservation, September 7, 1878. Col. William Lyman, of Mt. Morris, formerly of Leices- ter, one of the oldest and worthiest representatives of the venerable but rapidly diminishing pioneer race, pays the following tribute to this man, whose word, said Governor Patterson, " was good as any white man's note in the valley." He says: — "As the list of our pioneers grows shorter, and worthy individuals drop from the stage of action, and we miss a friend, we are ambitious to add our testimony to their worth and spread before the living our impressions of their good deeds, their in- tegrity and usefulness. I am unwilling that the opportunity should pass without notice. The death of Tom Jemison * * * brings up recollec- tions of past interviews and transactions that are not easily effaced. I knew him intimately; he was an honest man, a good friend, and a promi- nent man in his connections. The house he built on Squakie Hill, where he lived in his youth, still stands as a monument of his enterprise, and almost the only mark of the aborigines who once covered that location and were a power. Although no writer, he swayed the judgment and actions of his tribe for good, and was the peer of Tall Chief, Sharp Shins, Blinkey, Keneda, Straight Back and Capt. Cook, and we can say, without fear of con- tradiction, that a good man has fallen." In 181 1, Dehewamis commenced negotiations with Jellis Clute and Micah Brooks for the sale of a part of her land. In 1817, a special Act of the Legislature invested her with the power to convey it; and in the winter of 1822-23, sne conveyed all, except a tract of two square miles on the west bank of the Genesee, and a lot for Thomas Clute, to Messrs. Gibson, Brooks and Clute, who, in con- sideration, bound themselves, among other things, to pay to her or her heirs or successors, $300 a year forever. In 1831, she sold her remaining lands in the Gardeau Tract, and removed with her daughters and their families to the Buffalo Reservation, where she died September 19, 1833. She was buried with Christian rites, in the cemetery near the Seneca mission church, and over her grave was placed a marble slab, which bore the following inscription : — " In memory of Mary Jemison, daughter of Thomas Jemison and Jane Irwin. Born on the ocean between Ireland and Philadelphia, in 1842 or '43; taken captive at Marsh creek, Pa., in 1755, at thirteen years of age ; carried down the Ohio; adopted into an Indian family. "In 1759, removed to Genesee river; was natur- alized in 1817. Removed to this place (Buffalo Reservation) in 1831, and having survived two husbands and five children, leaving three still alive, she died September 19, 1833, aged about ninety- MOUNT MORRIS — EARLY SETTLERS. 287 one years, having a few weeks before expressed a hope of pardon through Jesus Christ."* In less than two decades from the time of her burial every vestige of her grave had disappeared, and the ground which contained her remains brought under cultivation. Subsequently a street laid out through the cemetery passed over it, and the stone which marked it was much defaced by the vandalism of relic seekers. In March, 1874, her remains were disintered by Hon. YVm. P. Letchworth, under the immediate supervision of her descendants, and, together with other articles found in her grave, f placed in a tasteful black walnut coffin, and deposited in a marble sarcopha- gus, on Glen Iris, at Portage Falls, six miles from her former home at Gardeau. The spot selected for the final resting place of her remains is a high eminence on the left bank of the Genesee, overlooking the upper and middle falls and railroad bridge, and commanding the finest view of the picturesque scenery of that lo- cality. Near to and upon the same eminence is the ancient Seneca council house,! where she rest- ed after her long, fatiguing walk from the Ohio. It was brought down the canal from the Caneadea Reservation in 1872, by Mr. Letchworth, who has made varied and extensive contributions to Indian lore, and filled an adjoining artistically constructed Indian hut, fifteen feet square, with Indian curios- ities. The grave is curbed with stones once used as head-stones in the Indian cemetery at Gardeau, and afterward to construct a road culvert ; at its head stands what remains of the slab which mark- ed her grave at Buffalo, the original inscription on which has been transferred to a square block of mar- ble six feet in height, which stands near it, and is de- signed to form the pedestal to a statue of Mary Jem- ison, in Indian costume, and bearing on her back a babe, just as she made her advent into the Genesee Valley; at its foot is a black walnut tree, planted by * Mary Jemison was religiously instructed in her childhood ; and after her capture, her mother, judging from the fact that her shoes were ex- changed for moccasins that Mary was destined to escape the cruel death which awaited herself, enjoined her to remember these early instructions and her native tongue as long as she lived ; but, though at first she en- deavored to fulfill the promise then made, in the lapse of time botti were lost to memory, and she became a Pagan, continuing such till within a few weeks of her death. t Near the center of the grave was found a peculiarly shaped porcelain dish, containing what, when placed there, may have been articles of food, and a wooden spoon much decayed. i This council-house is constructed of hewed logs, and is IS by j6 feet. It has a door on either side, and seats of poles inside. The roof is made of large shingles, covered with poles. Each log as it was taken down was marked and replaced so as to present the same appearance as when orig- inally constructed. Upon one of its logs there still remains the sign of a cros-, precisely like those the early Jesuits are known to have used. her grandson, Thomas Jemison, and raised from seed borne by the tree that shaded her grave at Buffalo. The next white settler in this town was Ebene- zer or " Indian" Allen, a native of New Jersey, who came to this locality in 1782. He was a Tory and ally of the Indians, and fled from Penn- sylvania to evade the just punishment of his crimes. He made his home at the house of Mary Jemison, on the Gardeau flats, and worked her land till the close of the Revolution. He provoked the enmity of the Indians by taking a wampum belt and a tender of peace to an American out-post, thus treacherously misrepresenting a party of British and Indians who contemplated a renewal of border hostilities. The sacred pledge of the wampum belt was observed, but the Indians determined to pun- ish Allen for his perfidy, and tracked him like a wild beast, so that for weeks he was obliged to conceal himself to elude his pursuers, his physical wants being supplied by the kind-hearted Mary. He was, however, captured, and tried and acquit- ted in Canada. In 1785, he located on the site of the village of Mt. Morris, which received from him the designa- tion of Allen's Hill. He married a Seneca squaw named Sally, (the mother of the wife of Thomas Jemison, the eldest son of Mary Jemison,) who bore him two daughters, named Chloe and Polly. Allen procured a boat-load of goods in Philadel- phia and bartered them with the Indians for gin- seng and furs, being at the same time engaged in agricultural pursuits. The old Indian council tree, under which he exposed his first stock of goods, was blown down during the storm of Saturday, June 9, 1866. It measured twenty-three feet in circumference. After harvesting his crops he re- moved to the locality of Scottsville, near the mouth of Oatka or Allen's creek, which derived the latter name from him. He soon after removed to the falls of the Genesee, on the site of the city of Rochester, and built there, in 1789, a saw and grist-mill, receiving in consideration therefor from Messrs. Phelps and Gorham, what is known as the Hundred Acre Tract, including the mill site and apart of the site of Rochester. In 1792, he dis- posed of his interest in this property and returned to Mt. Morris. His long log cabin "which," says Rev. Darwin Chichester, " combined a store, a tavern and a harem," (for Allen had several wives of vari- ous colors,) stood near the site of the residence of the late Judge George Hastings. He also com- bined trading with agriculture. HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. "Ebenezer Allen," says the author just quoted, "was a bad man. He had courage, talent and energy ; was remarkable for accomplishing his ends ; knew how to please, and had great influence over the Indians; but he was guilty of many crimes. His hands were stained with the blood of the in- nocent." According to Mary Jemison, the history of whose life contains a chapter devoted to him, he was a monster of iniquity, capable of dragging an infant from the breast of its mother and dashing out its brains before her agonized eyes. In 1797, "as white settlements increased," says Mr. Chi- chester, "he fled from those whose vengeance he had provoked" to Canada, and died at Grand River in 181 4. In 1 791, at his solicitation, the Senecas deeded to Allen the Mt. Morris Tract,* for the reasons set forth in the instrument in the following lan- guage :— " Whereas, Kyendanent, our Seneca squaw, Sal- ly, has two daughters born of her body by our brother Jenushshio, named in English, Ebeneezer Allan. The names of said daughters being, in English, Mary Allan and Chloe Allan. The daugh- ters here mentioned are to be sent to school and instructed in reading, writing, sewing and other useful arts, according to the customs of white peo- ple. Sally, the mother, to have a comfortable maintenance during her natural life, or as long as she remains 1111 joined to any other many The deed is signed by the Sachems of the Sen- eca nation, and by Timothy Pickering, U. S. Com- missioner. It is witnessed by Horatio Jones, Jos. Parish, Oliver Phelps and Ebenezer Bowman. Within a reasonable time Allen commenced to execute his trust. He sent his daughters to school in Philadelphia, where they remained about two years. In 1793 Allen sold this tract, for a nominal sum paid in goods, to Robert Morris, whose ac- quaintance he made during his frequent visits to Philadelphia in marketing peltry. It has never been satisfactorily explained how Mr. Morris was induced to make the purchase with no better title than a trust deed, which reverted when the trust was broken, though it has been asserted that Allen by fraudulent practices procured a valid title. Be this as it may, there can be little doubt that Mr. Morris' title was confirmed by the Big Tree treaty, and effectually bars the numerous claims which have been made by persons claiming relationship to Allen, among them the two daughters, one of whom was living till within a few years in Canada. ♦This tract is nlso known as the "Indian Allen Tract." the " Four Miles Square Tract," and the "Ten Thousand Acre Tract.'" For the history here given of it we are indebted to the \ el -.itile pen of Corn Plant- er, (Dr. M 11 Mills, ol Ml Morris). Robert Morris dying insolvent in 1806, the Bank of North America, holding as collateral security an assignment of the title papers to this tract from Mr. Morris, for loans and advances made to him, caused it to be surveyed the same year, Stephen Rogers, a familiar name to the early settlers, as surveyor. In 1807 the Bank of- North America sold an eighth interest in the Mt. Morris Tract to each of the following persons, retaining an eighth interest itself: John R. Murray, (grandfather of John R. Murray, of Mt. Mortis,) merchant, of New York city, and Harriet, his wife, William Ogden, mer- chant, of New York city, and Susan, his wife. John Tremball, James Wadsworth and Naomi Wads worth, his wife. In 18 10 they made a partition of that part of the tract which lies south and east of the river, excepting the public square in Mt. Mor- ris village, which lies nearly in the geographical centre of the tract, and a certain lot and mill seat which were held in common, Peter J. Monroe, Esq., acting in behalf of the bank. It was laid out into lots numbered from 1 to 241 inclusive, and subdivided into eight parts for distribution. Mark Hopkins was the first land agent for the Mt. Morris Tract, acting for Messrs. Murray, Og- den and Rogers,* the latter having purchased an interest therein. He came to Mt. Morris in the summer of 1811, in company with his father, Sam- uel Hopkins, Oeacon Jesse Stanley and his two sons, Oliver and Leman. His father, who was born in Waterbury, Conn., in 1748, died March 19, 1818, aged 69, and was buried in the old cemetery in the village of Mt. Morris. " He was an honor- able, high-minded, worthy Christian man, and a gentleman of the olden school." His wife died in Ceneseo, Sept. 19, 181 1, aged 58. On her ar- rival in Geneseo her husband lay very sick in that village with the Genesee fever, but recovered. She contracted the same disease and perished through her efforts to save her husband. Mark Hopkins relinquished his land agency in 181 7, and removed to Strong Bridge, Huron county, Ohio. He subse- quently removed to Chillicothe in that State, where he died in 1831, aged 53 years, " honored and re- spected for his high sense of honor, strict integrity and social qualities." The next settler in Mt. Morris, (with the excep- tion of a dissolute mason named Clark Cleveland,) and the first permanent white settler, was William A. Mills, son of Re v. Samuel J. Mills, the pion eer •In 1810 Benjamin W. Rogers and Samuel Miles Hopkins both of New ifork city, purchased jointly the interest of the Bank of North America in the Mt. Morris Tract. John S MITH. John Smith, the subject of this sketch was born in Maryland, in the year 1794, and removed with his parents to Cayuga county about 1801. In the year 1823, he was married to Harriet, daughter of Othniel Allen, of Saratoga county. Being energetic, and having a strong constitution, he resolved to leave the fertile lands of Cayuga and seek a fortune elsewhere. To this end he removed westward, about eighty miles, to Mt. Morris, Livingston county, and there purchased an "article" of a hundred acres of almost wild land. Having used all of his money in the pur- chase, his situation here was not very flattering; but being strong of limb and possessing a brave heart, he very soon built for himself a comfortable home. Here he resided about fifty years, be- coming quite an extensive land holder. He died June 4, 1872. He was noted throughout life for his energy and perseverance in business, and for the strictest hon- esty and integrity in all of his dealings with man. The poor always found in him their friend, helper and advisor. He was a good husband and a kind, indulgent parent. He was the father of the following eight children: — Angeline B., Harrison W., Kate M., Sarah M., Susie A., Lida I., Frances Adelia and Emma Amelia, the last two of whom are twins. Only four of these children are now living, viz: — Harrison \V., a prominent attorney in the village of Castile, Wyoming county, and Susie, Lida and Emma, residing in Mt. Morris. Mrs. Smith, wife of John, died September 12, 1 85 1. She was a noble example of a Christian mother, beloved by all, and her death was lament- ed by all that knew her MOUNT MORRIS — EARLY SETTLERS. 289 preacher of the Genesee Valley, who came in 1793. Rev. Samuel J. Mills was a Baptist clergyman, and preached during the summer in a large barn erected by Col. Williamson, at Williamsburgh, and in the winter in private houses. He also conducted the first religious services held in Mt. Morris. His sons, Samuel, Jr., Alexander, Lewis, Philo and William A., all men grown, resided with him, and afterwards settled in this vicinity. William A. Mills was born at Patterson, Putnam county, N. Y., May 27, 1777, and in 1794, at the early age of seventeen, without means, he took up his abode at Mt. Morris, then known as Allen's Hill. He built and kept bachelor's hall in a small cabin which stood near the residence of the late David A. Miller, upon the sightly eminence over- looking the beautiful river valley and the noble flats, portions of which he rented on easy terms and cultivated in common with the Indians, whose language he soon acquired. He gradually won the respect and confidence of his dusky neigh- bors, whose counselor he afterwards became in their dealings with the white settlers, and an arbi- trator in controversies among themselves. They bestowed on him the name of Sanungewah, mean- ing "big kettle," and indicating the generous hos- pitality dispensed at his home, which they fre- quented in after years. In March, 1803, Wm. A. Mills married Susan- nah H., daughter of Jonathan and Lodema Harris, of Connecticut, and brought her on horseback from her home at Tioga Point, Pa. She was an estima- ble woman and endeared herself to the community by her excellent social qualities and great benevo- lence. She died April 26, 1840, aged fifty-eight years. Their youngest son, Dr. Myron H. Mills, who, after an absence of some years in the West, has returned to the parental homestead, is a worthy representative of this highly respected family. For a more extended mention of the Mills family we would refer to the close of this chapter. But very few additions were made to the settle- ments in Mt. Morris during the first ten or fifteen years after Gen. Mills located in the town. Many, indeed, came and located here, but were soon driven away by the fever and ague, which was then fearfully prevalent. Among the early settlers who located in the town prior to 18 10, were Benedict Satterlee, Isaac Bald- win, Squire Solomon, Grice Holland, Jonathan Harris, Chappel, Eaton, Wilson, Adam Holtslander, Ganon, Erwin, Manier, Simeon Kittle, William Haskell, Isaac Powell, Gifford Simmons, Col. Damon and the McNairs. William McNair came from Northumberland county, Pa., in 1798, and after stopping for a few months at Williamsburgh, removed thence to Son- yea, in this town. He drove from Pennsylvania thirty head of cattle, being assisted by his son, James H. McNair, who was born in Northumber- land county and was then ten years old. On arriving at Mt. Morris they found there Gen. Wm. A. Mills, Louis Mills, Jonathan Harris, David Marsh, Grice Holland, Adam Holtslander, and two others named Fuller and Sanford. In plowing on the farm in Sonyea they found gun barrels, hatchets and other articles. James H. McNair was in many respects a model man, a pattern of industry, and of incorruptible integrity. He was highly esteemed for his kindness of heart and generous impulses. He died Januarys, 1874. He was a brother to Robert and Andrew McNair, of Groveland, in company with whom, for many years, he carted wheat to Rochester with ox teams, frequently re- ceiving only thirty cents per bushel. Robert, who was born in Allentownship, Pa., May 28, 1793, died at Groveland, June 26, 1863. They were brothers to Mrs. McCurdy, of Dansville. Adam Holtslander, the famous rail-splitter, was born in Goshen, Orange county, in 1783, and re- moved to Mt. Morris in 1799. In 1808 he mar- ried Betsey Sash, who came to Mt. Morris with her father's family in 1802, at the age of fifteen years. They lived, until their removal to Michigan in 1849, m a '°S house which stood on the high ground a mile to the west of the village, and for many years isolated from other settlers. Mr. Holtslander was one of the few residents of this town who volunteered his services and went to the frontier in 181 2 ; but the threatened danger being over he returned to his home after an absence of only a few days. He was a tall man, standing six feet and four inches in his stocking feet, and very straight, with amuscular and bony frame, strikingly marked features, and a good constitution, rendered more hardy by pioneer life and the primitive man- ner of living in those early days. He furnished the rails to fence a large share of the original improve- ments in this locality. He helped to build the first dam across the Genesee to divert its waters to the village ; also the mill-race, which completed that enterprise. He raised a large family, most of whom reside in Michigan, and died in Mt. Morris in that State, (named by his and other families who re- moved there from this town,) February 27, 1872. 290 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. His wife died at the same place November 28, 1877, in her ninetieth year. Deacon Jesse Stanley, Oliver Stanley, Luman Stanley, Deacon Jonathan Beach, the father of nine sons and two daughters, Oliver Beach, Martin Beach, Elisha Parmelee, Dr. Abraham Camp, Rus- sell Sheldon, Isaac Seymour. Sterling Case and Mr. Coe, each the head of a family, came about 181 1, from Goshen, Conn., bringing with them the New England habits of thrift and religious worship. They gave an impulse to religious influences which culminated in 1814 in the formation of the Presby- terian church of Mt. Morris. They gave a tone to society, in a religious point of view, the influences of which are still felt in the community. There were other persons of a similar character from Ver- mont, such as Luther and Russel Parker, with their families, who came about the same period. Jesse Stanley, " than whom," says Rev. Mr. Par- sons, "there was perhaps no other one so influen- tial in laying the foundations of religious institu- tions in this place," came in 1811, and erected the first frame house in the village of Mt. Morris, and subsequently the present residence of Norman A. Seymour, in front of which it stood. This first house was removed and a part of it is now to be found on Murray street, just east of the residence of the late Philo Thompson. One of the principal streets in the village bears his name. He died [une 24, 1845, aged eighty-seven years. He had three wives — Eunice, who died January 26, 1813, aged 57; Sarah, who died September 22, 1821, aged 64; and Mary, who died January 14, 1840, aged 73. Luman and Oliver were sons of his. The former died Oct. 14, 1839, aged 60, and the latter, Oct. 24, 185 1, aged 74. Russell Sheldon died about 1850; and Sterling Case, April 4, 1846, aged 78. Between 181 1 and 1820 came the families of Enos Baldwin, Sr. and Jr., Daniel and Amos Bald- win, each of whom was the head of a family, Ben- jamin and William Begole, Joseph Cowding, Aaron Adams, Adam and David A. Miller, Adino Bailey, Riley Scoville, J. Miller, Sr. and Jr., Allen, Orrin and Horace Miller, each the head of a family, Samuel Learned, Chester Foote, David Sanger, Horatio Read, Phineas Lake, Samuel Rankins, James B. Mower, John Brown, John C. Jones, William I.emmon, Asa Woodford, David H. Pear- son, Richard \V. dates, Eli Lake, Dr. Charles Bingham, Joseph Thompson, Vincent Cothrell, the Whitings, Starkweathers, Pratts and others. " from 1820 to 1835," says Dr. Mills, in an ad- dress delivered at the farmers' picnic held in Begole's woods, Sept. 2, 1876, "came the list of farmers and their descendants, who to-day are the bone and sinew of the town of Mt. Morris, paying a large share of the burden of taxation and who are on this occasion assembled, under the guidance and direction of the officers of your association, and especially your venerable and esteemed Presi- dent, Mr. Jacob Chilson, who, commencing life as a farmer bare-handed in this town when a young man, nearly a half a century ago, has by industry, prudence, economy * * * an d upright deal- ing acquired a competency, and still retains through all these long years, the confidence and respect of his neighbors and all who know him." Mr. Chilson was a native of Cayuga county, and came to Mt. Morris in 1829, but disliking the ap- pearance of things, he returned to his former home. Two years later, however, he had overcome his re- pugnance, and in the spring of 1832 brought in his family, consisting of his wife and one child a few months old. " At that time the town presented the appearance of an unbroken wilderness, except the Genesee flats, there being but few pieces of the up- land cleared and cultivated." There was a cordu- roy wagon road from the Ridge to Brooks drove, but the land was heavily timbered, level and wet ; also one from the foot of the mill-hill well out on the flats. There was a warehouse on Canaseraga creek to receive grain and flour for shipment by boat down the creek into the river, and thence down to Rochester. Mr. Chilson, though a black- smith by trade, followed the business of farming. He died in 1879, aged 76 years. The first town meeting was held the first Tues- day in April, 1819, and the following named officers were elected : — William A. Mills, Super- visor ; Horatio Read, Clerk ; Allen Ayrault, Jesse Stanley, Aaron Adams, Assessors ; Allen Ayrault * and Oliver Stanley, Overseers of the Poor; Samuel Learned, Phineas Lake, Samuel Rankins, Com- missioners of Highways ; Horatio Read, Aaron Adams, James B. Mower, Commissioners of Com- mon Schools; John Brown, Constable and Col- lector ; Phineas Lake, - Amos Baldwin. Win. A. Mills, James H. McNair, Aaron Adams, John C. Jones, William Lemmon, Fence Viewers; Ebe- nezer Damon, Dist. No. 1, Asa Woodford, Hist. No. 2, John Sanford, Dist. No. 3, David H. Pear- son, Dist. No. 4, Sterling Case, Dist. No. 5, Road Masters ; Abraham Camp, James H. McNair, • James Coe was elected Overseer of the Poor, September IS, 1819, in place of Allen Ayrault removed. MOUNT MORRIS — TOWN OFFICERS. 291 Richard W. Gates, Eli Lake, Inspectors of Com- mon Schools; Enos Baldwin, Poundkeeper. Among the legislative enactments at that meet- ing, in addition to the imposition of certain re- strictions on the running at large of cattle, etc., was one which evinced the careful husbandry which has since characterized the farming opera- tions in that town. It provided that no person should knowingly suffer Canada thistles to go to seed on his premises under a penalty of five dollars. It was also voted to raise twenty-five dollars for the support of the poor;* and ''money sufficient to obtain the public school from the State." At the annual election held April 27, 28 and 29, 1 8 19, the following votes were cast, and serve to indicate the political character of the population t of the town at that time: — For Gideon Granger, for Senator 33 " Lyman Paine, " " 33 " Robert McKay, " Assemblyman 76 " Gideon T. Jenkins, " " 78 " Joseph Sibley, " " 7 " Fitch Chipman, " " 2 The following have been the Supervisors and Clerks of Mt. Morris, from 1819 to 1880: — Supervisors. Town Clerks. 1819. William A. Mills. Horatio Reed. 1820. do David A. Miller. 182 1. do Phineas Lake. 1822. do Eli Lake. 1823. David A. Miller. do 1824-6. William A. Mills. Reuben Sleeper. 1827. Othneil Allen. do 1828. Riley Scoville. do 1829. William A. Mills. do 1830-1. do Abner Dean. 1832-3. do George Hastings. 1834-6. Riley Scoville. James H. Rogers. 1837. Orrin D. Lake. Reuben P. Wisner. 1838. do James H. Rogers. 1839. do George H. Elliott. 1840-1. C. Hangerford. Lucius C. Bingham. 1842. Alfred Hubbard. do 1843. do Hugh Harding. 1844. Orrin D. Lake. do 1845. do Lucius C. Bingham. 1846. Geo. T. Olyphant. do 1847-8. do James T. Norton 1849. Jesse Peterson. do 1850-2. do Hugh Harding. * The number of paupers from Mt. Morris remaining in the county house, November i, 1879, was 2J, a larger number than from any other town in the county ; while the amount expended for the temporary relief of indigent persons in this town during the year ending October Ji, 1879, was$Hi.;s. t The population ol the town in 1811, three years after its formation, was "1002: 2C7 farmers, JS mechanics, I sfave ; taxable property, $212,754; 6 schools, 8 months in 12 ; $129-17; 104; J22; 151 electors, 2,S°o acres improved land, 882 cattle, 98 horses, 981 sheep ; 4,44; yards cloth ; 1 grist-mill, 1 fulling mill, 1 carding machine, s distilleries, 3 asheries ."— Spnffortts Gazetteer, 1S24. 1853-60. Jared P. Dodge. Hugh Harding. 1861-5. Abraham Wigg. do 1866-70. McNeil Seymour. do 187 1. John Simerson. do 1872-4. Thomas J. Gamble. do 1875-6. do Charles Harding. 1877. Orrin D. Lake. Carlos A. Miller. 1878. George W. Phelps. Hugh Harding. 1879-80. Hugh Harding.* do The following officers were elected April 5, 1881 : — Supervisor, Thomas J. Gamble; Town Clerk, Charles J. Perry; Justice of the Peace, James L. Skillman; Highway Commissioner, Amos O. Dalrymple ; Assessor, William Petrie ; Overseers of Poor, John Olp, Frederick Lehman; Collector, Paul R. Kingston ; Constables, Cor- nelius O'Leary, James Gamble, James Patten, Michael Powers, Richard Dunning; Game Con- stable, Nicholas Myers; Excise Commissioner, Archibald McCarthur ; Inspectors of Election, District No. 1, Clinton Sutphen, Thomas McNam- ara; District No. 2, John L. Gamble, Deloss Williams; District No. 3, Edward M. Petrie, Barkley Miller. The following census of Mt. Morris taken in July, 1835, by Levi L. Totten, is of interest, as showing the rapid increase in the population of the town and the development of its varied in- dustries : — Whole number of families in town 598 Males 1797 Females 1702 3,499 Persons subject to military duty 362 " qualified to vote at election .... 740 Aliens not naturalized 27 Persons of color not taxed 2 Married females under the age of 45 yrs. 485 Unmarried females between 16 and 45. . 259 " " under 16 830 Marriages occurring within the last year. 9 Births — Males 72, Females 71, Total. . . 143 Deaths — Males 22, Females 27, Total. . 49 Number of acres of improved land 16,179^ " of neat cattle 2,841 " of horses 1 . 1 00 " of sheep 5,833 " of hogs 3,548 " of yards of fulled cloth manuf'd. 5,862^- " of " flannel " 5,985 " of " linen, cotton, etc.," 4,428 Grist Mills, 2 value of raw material $ 4,878 manufactured articles 60, 1 15 Saw Mills 6 value of raw material 3,35° manufactured articles 6,800 • In 1879, Myron H. Mills and George W. Phelps each received 397 votes. The Board of Canvassers appointed Hugh Harding. 292 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Fulling Mills 3 value of raw material 9,000 manufactured articles 1 1,750 Carding Machines, 3 value of raw material 6,875 manufactured articles 7,867 I tistilleries 1 value of raw material 1,000 manufactured articles 1.400 Asheries, 3 value of raw material 1,050 manufactured articles 1,860 Tanneries 2 value of raw material 2,600 manufactured articles 4,700 Blind persons, 1 ; deaf and dumb persons, 1 ; idiots, 5 ; lunatics, 1 ; paupers, o. " On the bank of the river in this town an ancient mound or barrow was discovered and opened in 1845, in which were some human skele- tons in a very decayed state, with some stone arrowheads, stone knife and cleaver, and a copper skewer about the size of a pipe shank, flattened at one end and slightly twisted. The knife was of a fine, hard stone of the thickness of a quire of paper with sharpened edges. The cleaver was of slate. The articles were of the rudest workmanship."* These relics and others which have been met with in the town are doubtless referable to the Indians, who had a considerable town near the village of Mt. Morris, and resided in this vicinity for many years after the white settlers came in, and- in considerable numbers. Their principal chief was Tall Chief, a fine specimen of his race, physi- cally and otherwise. Mount Morris. Mount Morris, generally known to the Indians, even to the present day, as Sanungewage, from Sanungewah, a name given by them to Gen. Wil- liam A. Mills, is beautifully situated in the north part of the town, on the margin of the high terrace which overlooks the broad, fertile flats bordering the river and its confluent streams, and is the southern terminus of the Avon, Geneseo and Mt. Morris Railroad, the northern terminus of the Erie and Genesee Valley Railroad to Dansville, and on the line of the proposed Rochester, Nunda and Pennsylvania Railroad. The abandoned Gen- esee Valley canal extends through the northeast portion of the village, which, when in operation, connected with the Erie at Rochester, thirty-eight and one half miles distant. It is distant six miles southwest of Geneseo, the county seat. Its streets are regular, handsomely shaded, and lighted with oil, and being based on a sandy soil are generally • GauUar of Ntw Yeri, Thomas F.Gordon, i8j6. dry. The village is abundantly supplied with wholesome water from an elevation sufficient for fire purposes without the aid of mechanical force, though this is not wholly relied on. It has some fine churches and business blocks and many taste- ful residences. The village was first known to the white settlers as Allen's Hill, from Ebenezer Allen, its first settler, and subsequently as Richmond Hill, a name given it by Col. John Trumbull, an artist who delineated some of the most important scenes of the Revolution, and at one time contemplated making it his place of residence. He selected and purchased a site near the residence of the late Judge Hastings, planted an orchard, and made some preparations for building ; but the name was abandoned with the abandonment of his idea of settling here, and, like the town, received and has since retained the distinctive name of its dis- tinguished proprietor. It contains six churches, (Presbyterian, Episco- pal, Baptist, Methodist Episcopal, Free Methodist and Catholic,) a fine Union school, with academic department, two district schools, two newspapers,* (T/ie Union and Constitution, William Harding, publisher, and the Mount Morris Enterprise, George M. Shull, publisher,) two banks, (Genesee River National and Bingham Bros. — -private,) various important manufacturing establishments, twenty- one stores of various kinds, four hotels, (Dodge House, Scoville House, Wallace House and Burke House,) various mechanics' shops, including two harness shops, (Frank Austin and Thomas Conlon,) and four blacksmith shops, (O. C. Matteson, George Wooster, John Sleight and F. S. Dal- rymple,) and a population of 1,928. " No village," says Jessie Jasper, a local writer, "has sent out more professors, clergymen, mission- aries, painters, musicians, poets, writers, judges, congressmen, architects, and machinists than Mt. Morris." The village was incorporated May 2, 1836. The first corporation meeting was held at the house of Riley Scoville, June 9, 1835, Justice O. D. Lake presiding, and the following named officers were elected: Reuben Sleeper, James Conkey, Ichabod Thurston, Oliver Stanley and John Sloat, Trustees; and James H. Rogers. Adino Bailey and Stephen Summers, Assessors. George Hastings was clerk of the meeting. At a meeting of the Board held June 12, 1835, the following named officers were chosen: — Reu- • See Chapter XII. for History of the Press. VILLAGE OF MOUNT MORRIS — OFFICERS. 293 ben Sleeper, President; George Hastings, Clerk; Aylmer Keith, Treasurer; Walker M. Hinman, Asa Woodford, John P. Gayle, John N. Hurlbut. Fire Wardens; Reuben P. Wisner, Collector; Ezra Kinne, Pound Master. Following is a list of the Presidents and Clerks of the village from the date of incorporation: — Presidents. Village Clerks. Reuben Sleeper. Phineas Canfield. Stephen Summers. Geo. G. Williams. do David A. Miller. 1835-6 1837 1838 1839 1840. 1841 1842-3. 1844. 1845. 1846. 1847. 1848. 1849. 1850. 1851-3- 1854. 1855- 1856-8. 1859. i860. 1861. 1862-4. 1865-9. 1870. 1871. 1872. 1873- 1874. 1875- 1876. 1877. 1878. 1879. 1S80. Geo. Hastings.* Reuben P. Wisner. do do Wm. H. Houghton.t George H. Elliott. Geo. G. Williams. Geo. N. Williams. John Vernam. Elijah E. Thatcher. Hugh Harding. Reuben P. Wisner. Jesse Patterson. do Augustus Conkey. John Vernam. Abraham Wigg. do do do do do Henry I). Barto, Jr. do McNeil Seymour. do Henry K. Safford. C. B. Adams. do do McNeil Seymour. do do do§ Z. A. Colburn. do do do F. E. Brown. C. Sutphen. do J. M. Hastings. Carlos A. Miller. do James L. Skillin. H. H. Scoville, Presi- Abraham Wigg. Reuben Sleeper. Abraham Wigg. Reuben Sleeper. Hiram P. Mills. C. B. Adams.f A. F. French. Z. W. Joslyn. H. P. Mills. Hugh Harding. Z. W. Joslyn. H. P. Mills. Henry Scoville. F. E. Hastings. Geo. W. Phelps. H. W. Miller. Z. W. Joslyn. Village officers of 1881 :■ dent; Mathew Taylor, Peter Schermer, Morgan Hammond, Hugh Harding, Trustees; James L. Skillin, Clerk; H. M. Uayfoot, Health Officer; E. A. Mills, Treasurer ; Daniel Cassidy, Collector ; William Murray, H. S. Wigg, A. McCarthur, As- sessors; C. J. Perry, Chief Engineer, H. S. Wigg, Assistant Engineer Fire Department; Chas. Hard- ing, Treasurer Fire Department. Mt. Morris, though its inception dates back to the first settlement of the town, did not early de- * November 21, 1836, Reuben P. Wisner was appointed Clerk vice George Hastings removed. t January 2J, 1S41, George H. Elliott was appointed Clerk vice W. H. Houghton, deceased. t December 17, 1869, A. F. French was appointed President vice C. B. Adams, deceased, December V, 1869. § May 13, 1870, Z. A. Colburn was appointed Clerk vice McNeil Sey- mour, deceased. velop a commercial importance. The following description of it in 1813, which we extract from the discourse of Rev. Darwin Chichester, will be read with interest by the present generation. He says : — " We will enter on what is now the plank road across the flats. Ascending the hill, we pass what is now Beach's Temperance House. There stands the frame dwelling of widow Baldwin — on the cor- ner opposite, towards the north, is the frame dwell- ing of Capt. Baldwin — going a little farther, we are near the frame residence of deacon Jesse Stanley, now the site of the residence of James R. Bond, Esq. In reaching this point, we pass the school- house, a few rods to the left, that building which is so plainly pictured to the minds of some of this audience, around which so many associations of early days cluster. Its unpainted and mutilated seats and dingy walls, bring with them pleasing thoughts, for they are fresh, strong impressions of early days. This building is not seen from the road, for, though we stand in front of what is known as Dean's brick store, and look no farther than what was lately the law office of R. P. Wisner, Esq., yet the oak bushes and saplings completely conceal it from view. A little farther on, and we are oppo- site the site of this [Presbyterian] church building. On the other side of the road stands the old block- house, into which all the inhabitants fled on one occasion the year before, for fear of a coming army of British and Indians. A few rods farther, and on the north side of the road, is the frame dwelling of Mark Hopkins. Esq., on the site of the residence of the late David A. Miller, Esq. We ascend, and from Prospect Hill, look over the village, and we can count the four framed dwellings just mentioned, and no more. These, with twenty-two log-houses, constitute the Mt. Morris of 1813. The eye can rest upon two streets, the one we have passed over, coming from the valley, passing the site of this church edifice, turning to the left, and winding up the hill towards Nunda, and the other running through the place north and south, being what is now Main street. These two streets, or roads, the sides of which are well lined with oaks, shrubs and saplings, are the only streets of the village. Here is now and then a remaining tree of the forest, and plenty of undergrowth. On every side, except that of the valley, is a dark forest, the impressions upon which, by the woodman's ax, are, as yet, hardly perceptible. " Going towards Nunda, we pass through an un- broken forest for three-and-a-half miles, we then reach a solitary dwelling, that of Mr. Houselander, and for six miles beyond that (where now is a suc- cession of fine farms, with their neatly painted dwellings,) is an unbroken forest." In 1817, says Franklin Cowdery, in describing the condition of Western New York in that year> in the Cuylerville Telegraph of March 18, 1848, Mt. Morris had a tavern, a few mechanics' shops, and a small store kept by Allen Ayrault. " This," 294 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. says Mr. Chichester, in referring to the epidemics which have raged with great power in this vicinity, •• was a memorable year — one that brought sorrow into many a dwelling. Hardly a family in the ] ilai e escaped sickness — and one family, (a member of which told me of the ravages of the disease,) lost four of its members." Spafford, in his Gazetteer of 1S24, dismisses the subject of its description with a single sentence. He says, "the village of Mt. Morris, where the town meetings are now held, has the post-office, and a small collec- tion of houses." In his Gazetteer of 18*3 it is not even mentioned. In 1836, as described in Gor- don's Gazetteer of that year, the village contained three churches, (Presbyterian, Episcopal and Meth- odist,) three taverns, nine dry goods stores, three groceries, two hatters, one tannery, two shoe stores, three cabinetmakers, one chair factory, one bakery, one iron foundry, one hemp factory, one plow and wagon factory, two blacksmiths, one hardware store, tin factor)-, two saddlers, three tailors, two drug shops, one printing office, issuing a weekly paper. two lawyers, four physicians, one flouring mill, one carding and cloth-dressing mill, and had in the im- mediate vicinity three saw mills and more than a hundred dwellings. There were then four addi- tional post-offices in the town — at River Road, Krushville, River Road Forks and Brooks Grove. In 1 .840, says Disturnell, in his Gazetteer of 1842, it contained about 1,200 inhabitants, 200 dwell- ings, four churches, (Presbyterian, Episcopal, Bap- tist and Methodist,) three public houses, twenty stores and groceries, one furnace and a pottery, two flouring mills, two saw mills. The post-offices in the town, in addition to Mt. Morris, were, Brush- ville, Brooks Grove, Ridge River Road, and St. Helena. Mkri han 1 I'he first merchant in Mt. Morris, if such he may be called, was Ebenezeror " Indian" Allen, a native of New Jersey, who came here dur ing the Revolutionary war to escape the military enrollment. He did not continue in trade after the white settlers came in. He obtained his goods at Philadelphia and exchanged them with the Indians for peltries. The first regular merchant, it is believed, was Elisha Parmelee, who came here from Connecticut about 1811, and opened a store on State street, in a building which stood on the site of the residence of J. B. Bacon, on the north side of that street, and was removed about 1854 to its present loca- tion on Eagle street. It is now owned and occu- pied as a residence by Cornelius Cassidy. Parmelee removed to Warsaw in 1817, and was succeeded in the same store by Allen Ayrault, from Connec- ticut, who removed to Moscow in 1819, and two or three years later to Geneseo, where he became a prominent banker. There was no store from that period until 1823. when Abner Dean and Reuben Sleeper (Dean & Sleeper) came from Laurens, Otsego county, and occupied the same store. They dissolved partner- ship in 1828, and both continued to trade separately, Dean in a new store, adjacent to the old one, until 1841, when D. K. Moss, from Greene county, took the store and put in a new stock of goods, but alter trading about two years he sold out at auction and went away. Sleeper became a prominent mer- chant in the village, continuing at intervals till his death May n, 1S72, at the age of 74. He was associated from 1S47 to 1854, with Lucius C. Bingham, who then engaged in the hardware busi- ness. David A. Miller, from Orange county, was con- temporary with Ayrault and traded two or three years. He then engaged in farming and distilling, and some fourteen years later resumed mercantile business, which he continued successfully about ten years, from 1831 to 1841, when he sold to iiis sons Henry R. and David, who traded with some slight changes till about 1843, when Henry retired. David continued until 1854, when he sold to his brother Henry, who sold out about 1864, and died Sept. 23d, of the following year, aged 50. His father died August 6, 1853, aged 64. In 1824. William H. Stanley, who came here with his parents from Connecticut in 181 1, opened a store and traded till 1831, when James H. Rogers became his partner, continuing for three or four years, when Stanley retired. Rogers continued alone until 1842, when he failed. In 1829, Phineas Canfield, from Chenango county, commenced trading in company with Henry Gale, from Orange county, under the name of Gale & Canfield. After two years, David A. Miller took Gale's place and soon after acquired Canfield's interest, continuing till 1841. In 1833 N. L., George W. and Joseph Tottm. brothers, commenced business. They closed out in 1835. In 1848 N. L. Totten opened a grocery, continuing till i860, associated the first two years with R. C. Hill. In 1871 Mr. Totten resumed the grocery business, which he continues to the present time. In 1837 James R. Bond came from Geneseo and did an extensive business till about 1S43. VILLAGE OF MOUNT MORRIS — MERCHANTS. 295 In 1839 Higgins & King, (Henry I. Higgins and Charles W. King,) the latter from Cayuga county, established the first hardware store of any importance in the village. They sold out about 1 84 1 to Abram Vernam, from Saratoga county, who sold in 1850 to Harvey & Thatcher, (George C. Harvey and Elijah E. Thatcher,) who continued the business until 1854, when they sold to Bing- ham & Thatcher, (Lucius C. Bingham and Elijah E. Thatcher,) who continued till the death of Thatcher, Sept. 3, 1855, at the age of 47. Mr. Bingham continued the business alone until 1863, when he associated with himself William H. Coy, under the firm name of Bingham & Coy. In 1875 Mr. Bingham purchased Mr. Coy's interest, and in January, 1879, he admitted to partnership Henry Gale, with whom he is still doing business under the name of L. C. Bingham & Co. About 1840 Hugh Harding, who came from Dansville and in 1834 established the Mount Morris Spectator, the pioneer newspaper in Mt. Morris, which he was then publishing, opened a stock of books and stationery — a business he has continued to the present time. This was the first, and is now the only book store in the village, and with the exception of one started some years ago by J. W. Webb, but continued only about a year, it is the only one that has been established in the village. In 1841 Norman Seymour, a native of Herki- mer, came here from Geneva and commenced the dry-goods business, which he changed in 1S64 to hardware, continuing the latter to the present time under the name of Seymour & Co. In 1844 Sanford E. Hunt and George Talcott, the former from Portage and the latter from Hart- ford, Conn., commenced trading and were promi- nent merchants for about two years, dealing in merchandise and lumber. H. W. Miller, druggist, came here with his parents from Cayuga county about 1835. In 1850 he bought out R. J. Stanley, who had traded some four or five years, and subsequently he purchased the stock of George S. Whitney who had traded some fifteen or twenty years. Jacob O. Crevling, boot and shoe dealer, com- menced mercantile business in December, 1850. He was associated with Ezra Kinney in 1852, with John Marsh in 1862, and with Dennis Evans in 1863-4. Mr. Crevling is a native of New Jersey, and came with his parents to Mt. Morris in 1833. Wheeler Hinman, who was born in this county February 14, 1815, commenced trading here in 1856, and did a prosperous business here till his death, January 4, 1867. Numerous others of little prominence have traded here for short periods. The other merchants now engaged in business here are: — Timothy Hennessy, grocer and liquor dealer, who commenced business some twenty years ago; W. Richmond, jeweler, a native of Ba- tavia, who came here from Geneseo, where he had carried on the same business, and established him- self in trade March 16, 1863; H. Burt, general merchant, who, in 1865, in company with the late P. J. Runyan, purchased the grocery business of S. E. Brace, who had traded some seven years at differ- ent times, and quit mercantile business to engage in banking with the Messrs. Bingham ; (Mr. Burt resumed his present business in the fall of 1874. He is the present post-master, having been ap- pointed to that office in 1877 ;) Emma Burke, mil- liner, a native of Mt. Morris, who commenced business in 1867; M. J. Noonan, tobacconist and cigar manufacturer, a native of Mt. Morris, who commenced business in 1S68; M. Beggs, milliner and fancy goods dealer, who is a native of Mt. Morris, and commenced business about twelve years ago ; Alfred Harris, furniture dealer, and a native of Mt. Morris, commenced business some ten years ago — his father, E. S. Harris, who now carries on the undertaking business at the same place, came here from Warsaw about 1837, and engaged in the cabinet business ; Henry Wagner, grocer and liquor dealer, commenced business in January, 1874, at which time he bought out Timo- thy Hennessy, is a native of Germany, and had resided here several years previously; Norman A. Seymour, druggist, who commenced business in 1875, in company with William R. Hinds, whose interest he purchased at the expiration of two and one half years ; the business was established in 1850 by Thomas & Joslyn ; (Mr. Thomas of that firm sold to James Yeomans, who sold to Messrs. Seymour & Hinds ; the store has always been known as the Empire Drug Store ;) J. S. Mosman, general merchant, purchased the dry goods establishment of Eddy, Gregg & Co., who had traded here for three years, in August, 1875, and the following January added to his stock gro- ceries, boots and shoes and clothing; and in March, 1880, he admitted his son, William O. Mosman, to partnership ; A. Halstead, dealer in boots and shoes, commenced business October 25, 1875, under the name of Halsted & Co.; he bought out William H. Coy, whose father, Loren Coy, had 296 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. carried on business for many years ; Barney Beu- erlein iV Co., (Nicholas Johantgen,) clothiers, from Dansville, where Mr. Johantgen resides and car- ries on the same business, commenced business here in 1877 ; F. W. Woolever, furniture dealer and undertaker, commenced business some two years ago, having previously worked at the cabinet business in this town ; Thomas T. Gallagher, gro- cer, commenced business here April 1, 1879, — this is a branch of his store in Dansville, where he has traded since 1868, in company, until 1872, with Albert Sweet, under the name of Sweet & Gallag- her; and Allen & Pennington. (William 1'. Allen and J. W. Pennington,) flour and feed dealers, who commenced business in August, 1880. Postmasters. — The post-office at Mt. Morris was established in 181 8, and the mail was received once a week. It was carried on horseback, but often on foot, over the route between Moscow and Angelica. The first postmaster was David A. Miller, who held the office from 1818 to 1841. His successors have been Stephen Summers, Henry Swan, Augustus Conkey, Moses Clark, (who held the office eight years,) Philo Thomson, (appointed in the fall of 1861,) George W. Barney, Norman Seymour, Jacob A. Mead, Dr. Loren J. Ames and Hathorne Burt, who was appointed in 1877. Physicians. — The first physician to locate in Mt. Morris was probably Henry Gale, though it is doubtful if he ever practiced here. He was the father of Mrs. David A. Miller, whose husband was one of the first merchants here. He was blind for many years prior to his death, which occurred July 6, 1835, at the age of seventy-one. Abraham Camp, whom the Rev. Dr. Parsons says was the first regular practitioner in this village, and was highly esteemed both as a physician and a man, was born Norfolk, Conn., July 31, 1770, and there he spent his youth and early manhood. In October. 18 13, after a short residence in Vermont and in Greene county, in this State, at the solicita- tion of Deacon Jesse Stanley, he came to this place accompanied by his wife, four sons and two daughters. His first residence was on Main street, on the premises now owned and occupied by Ozro Clark. With the exception of three or four years spent with his son Cicero, in Ohio, he resided here till his death, August 10, 1850, aged eighty. Mary, his wife, died August 3, 1844, aged seventy-four. He was the father of Abraham C, and Moses Camp. He practiced here till about 1820, until Dr. Bingham came. Dr. Gales located in Mt. Morris in 1S17, but re- mained only a year or two. He then went to Al legany county. Charles Bingham was born in Bozrah, Conn., and studied medicine in that State. He was licensed by the State Medical Society of Connecti- cut in 1808, and in that year moved to Axon, where he practiced his profession until 1820. In that year he removed to Mt. Munis, where he pur- sued an extensive and successful practice until failing health compelled him to abandon it. He died at Mt. Morris December 3, 1842, aged 58. Mary, his wife, died here February 8, 1873, at the advanced age of 87. Messrs. Lucius C. and Charles L. Bingham, two of Mt. Morris' most prominent business men and influential and re- spected citizens, are sons of Dr. Bingham, and all that are left of the family. Hiram Hunt came here from Cayuga county about 1824. He studied medicine with Dr. Stephen Mosher, of Union Springs, in that county, and with the exception of two years spent in De- troit, Mich., practiced here till his death, which occurred Oct. 8, 1853, at the age of 51. Eben- ezer Childs came here from Massachusetts in 1834 and practiced till about 1849, when he went to North Carolina and died in the South. William H. Thomas came here from Allegany, his native county, in 1S37 and practiced here till his final sickness, dying here about 1S76. He was blinded in 1858 from accidental shooting. William Whit- ney, a son of Dr. Jonathan Whitney, one of the old pioneer physicians of Cayuga village, removed thence to Mt. Morris in 1839. About 1847 he removed to Chicago, where he died some time during the late war. John Sullivan Hunt, a brother to Dr. Hiram Hunt, whose parents were among the early settlers of Mt. Morris, studied with his brother Hiram and graduated about 1838. He practiced a few years at Union Corners, in this town, and at Mt. Morris about three or four years from 1845. He died here of consumption about 1850. Henry Maxwell came here about 1846, and after practicing some four years returned to Lockport, whence he came. Alexander H. Hoff, the son of a clergyman of the Dutch Reformed Church, came herefrom the Hudson river coun- try about 1847. and succeeded Dr. Whitney, con- tinuing his practice here till about 1863, when he went to Albany. During the war he became a surgeon in the regular army and died while serving in that capacity after the war. He was succeeded by T. Romeyn Huntington, son of Dr. Hunting- ton, of Perry, whence he came about 1854. He VILLAGE OF MOUNT MORRIS — PHYSICIANS. 297 graduated at Philadelphia. After practicing some two years he returned to Perry. Alexander C. Campbell, who was born April 30, 181 2, came here in 1857 from Lima, where, and in Nunda, he had previously practiced. With the exception of some two years spent in Avon he practiced here till his death, Oct. 30, 187 1. David L. Williams came here from Elbridge about 1845, ar >d practiced till his death, February 16, 1853, aged 34. He was the first homeopathic physician to locate here. W. T. R. Wells, who had formerly belonged to the regular school, came here from Covington, Wyoming county, about the time of Dr. Williams' death and practiced here a few years. He afterwards practiced electropathy and subsequently became a lecturer on that branch of medical science. He is now living in Roch- ester. W. W. Potter came here from Washington, D. C, in 1872, having served as a surgeon in the army, and at the close of the war established him- self in practice in that city. He left here in the summer of 1876 and went to Batavia, where he still resides. Augustus F. McKay came from the locality of Wilkesbarre, Pa., and succeeded Potter, continuing two years, during which time he became a convert to homeopathy. He returned to Penn- sylvania. Charles F. Morgan, a young man from Connecticut, came in 1870 and practiced a year or two with Dr. Joslyn. He went to Michigan. Dr. Spiegel, who had practiced some two years in Tus- carora in this town came here about 1877, and after practicing about a year returned to Utica, whence he originally came. Miss Mina A. Baker, a graduate of Ann Arbor, who was a native of Monroe county, but raised in Mt. Morris, practiced here about a year — 1876-7. She removed to Racine, Wisconsin, where she is now practicing very successfully. She was the first lady physician in Mt. Morris. Lewis G. Ferris, from Cayuga, settled about 1837 or '38 in the locality of Brooks Grove, and prac- ticed till his death about 1850. He was preceded there by Dr. William Munson, who was one of the earlier practitioners of the town. Drs. Hiram Hunt, E. Childs and Alexander Campbell were among the most prominent physi- cians. Dr. Hunt was a heroic practitioner. When he undertook a case he did it with a firm decided hand, gave thorough doses of medicine, and was regarded as successful. Dr. Campbell was a man of very decided ideas. He had a happy faculty of impressing his patients with them, and was re- markably successful in gaining their confidence. His fame extended throughout the county. Drs. Hoff and Potter were regarded and proved them- selves distinguished surgeons. They were more noted as such than as physicians. The present physicians are : — Loren J. Ames, Zara W. Joslyn, Herbert M. Dayfoot, Henry Povall and A. L. Cook. Loren J. Ames was born in Royalton, Vt, July 12, 1 815, and educated at the academy in his native town. He removed thence to Rochester in this State, and — in 1839 — to Geneseo, where, in 1840, he commenced the study of medicine with Drs. Bissell and Lauderdale. He attended lectures at Geneva Medical College and graduated there in 1843. He established himself in practice in March of that year at Mt. Morris, where he has since pur- sued his profession. He was coroner of this county for twelve years, and postmaster of Mt. Morris from March, 1873, to May, 1877. Zara W. Joslyn was born in Mentz, Cayuga county, November 6, 1815, and received an acade- mic education at Wyoming, N. Y. He com- menced the study of medicine in 1839, with Dr. C. C. Chaffee, of Nunda, and in the spring of 1841, entered the Castleton Medical College of Vermont, where he graduated in June, 1842. In November, 1853, he removed to Mt. Morris, where he has since practiced. Herbert M. Dayfoot was born in Georgetown, Canada, February 21, 1846. He received an academic education at Woodstock Institute in Canada, and Rochester University. In 1864, he commenced the study of medicine with Dr. Elias Vernon, of Hamilton, Canada. He attended lec- tures at the Buffalo Medical College and the Western Homeopathic College of Cleveland, grad- uating at the latter in 1867, in which year he com- menced practice in Mt. Morris, where he has since continued, with the exception of six months spent in Ithaca. Henry Povall was born in Bunbury, England, August 14, 1828. He was licensed in 1870 by the Eclectic Medical Association Examining Board of Liverpool, having previously read medicine with a private tutor for fifteen years, during ten of which he was engaged in practice. He emigrated to Mt. Morris in 1878. A. L. Cook was born in Stephentown, N. Y., September 4, 1.822, and received an academic edu- cation at Castile and Perry. At the age of twenty- one he commenced the study of medicine, but abandoned it after one season and engaged in other 2 9 S HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. business. In 1874 he resumed his medical si He commenced practice at Oil City, I'a.. and re- moved to Mt. Morris in the spring of 1878. Lawyers. — "Bill" Haskell, a pettifogger, was the first to undertake to expound law in Mt. Mor ris. He came hereabout 181 2. He was illiterate, but possessed a good deal of native talent. He was an odd, uncouth genius, largely engaged in Justices' courts at an early day. He left here for the Western country about 1835. Simeon Kittle was contemporary with Haskell, who removed to Michigan, and a similar character. Both receded from civilization. The first representative in Mt. Morris of that elegant diction for which the bar of Livingston county has been so ably conspicuous was George Hastings, who was born in Clinton, Oneida county, March 13, 1807,* and graduated from Hamilton college at the early age of nineteen. His father was Dr. Seth Hastings, of Clinton. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1830, in which year he entered upon the practice of his profession 111 Ml. Morris, where he resided till his death, August 29, 1866. He at once took a leading po- sition at the bar and had a large practice. He was appointed District-Attorney of Livingston county, May 27, 1839, and held the office till it was made elective in 1847. He was a Representative in Congress from this county from 1853 to 1855, and was County Judge from November, 1855 to 1863. He was a man, who, both in public and private life, evinced great purity and could not be tempted be- yond the line of rectitude. He was a prominent member of the Presbyterian church and noted in its councils. His widow, two sons and three daughters still reside here. Samuel H. Fitzhugh was born in Washington county, Maryland, in 1796, and graduated at Jef- ferson college in Pennsylvania. In 1S17 he re- moved to Canandaigua, where he prepared for the bar in the office of N. W. Howell. In 1820 he married a daughter of Judge Addison, of Wheeling, Va., where he practiced his profession until his re- moval to Mt. Morris in 1831. In 1840, he was appointed Associate Judge of the Court of Com- mon Pleas of Livingston county. Reuben P. Wisner, who was born in Springport, Cayuga county, January 4, 181 5, was the next to engage in the practice of law in Mt. Morris. His early scholastic advantages were restricted by the limited means of his parents, but by assiduously * LanmatCs Dictionary of Congress. 17S. Proctor makes the date March 10, 1807. devoting every leisure moment to the culture of his mind, he made considerable progress in the languages, in rhetoric, logic and history. When old enough he became a farm laborer, working by the month in summer, and in winter engaged at cabinet making. He subsequently became bar- tender and clerk in what was then the principal hotel in Auburn, and there his passion for forensic display was stimulated by the great luminaries who congregated at that political center. By invitation he entered the office of William H. Seward, and after receiving his license remained in that office two or three years as assistant. In 1837 he located in Mt. Morris and formed a co-partnership with Judge Samuel H. Fitzhugh. The practice of the firm soon became extensive and lucrative. Mr. Wisner was an able and successful lawyer and possessed great character — qualities which soon gave him a high position at the bars of this and ad- joining counties. Clark B. Adams, who had studied law in Nunda, removed thence about 1843 to Mt. Morris and entered the office of Reuben P. Wisner. He was admitted to the bar about 1846, and practiced here till his tragic death on the 9th of December, 1869. He was a man of fine abilities and good practice. McNeil Seymour was a native of Rome, Oneida county, and was educated at Oberlin College. He came to Mt. Morris in 1843, and entered the law office of George Hastings as a student. He was admitted to practice about 1847, and immediately after opened an office in Mt. Morris, where he practiced till his death in 1870. He represented this county in the Assembly in 1855. He was a man of superior ability, a sound lawyer, and was highly esteemed in the community, alike for his professional skill and probity, ami social qualities. In addition to his other accomplishments he pos- sessed a fine discriminating literary taste. He was a brother of the Hon. Norman Seymour, of Mt. Morris, the urbane and efficient secretary of the Livingston County Historical Society. Scott Lord came here from Buffalo in 1843. im- mediately after his admission, and practiced till his election as County Judge in 1S47, the first incum- bent of that office under the elective system. On his election as Judge he took up his residence in Oeneseo, where he practiced till about 1872, when he removed to Utica, where he formed a co-part- nership with Hon. Roscoe Conkling, and imme- diately took a leading position as a lawyer. He was a Representative in Congress from 1S75 to VILLAGE OF MOUNT MORRIS — PHYSICIANS, MANUFACTURERS. 299 1877, and at the expiration of his Congressional term, during which he distinguished himself as a parliamentary debater and tactician, he removed to New York, when his recognized legal ability secured for him a leading position among the mem- bers of the bar, and where he was more recently made conspicuous by his connection with the Van- derbilt will case. Charles L. Bingham, son of Dr. Charles Bingham, was born in Mt. Morris, April 25, 1827. He received an academic education in his native vil- lage, where, in 1848, he commenced the study of law with George N. Williams. He subsequently pursued and completed his studies with R. P. Wis- ner, of that village, where, immediately after his admission, in 1851, he entered upon the practice of his profession which he continued until August 17, 1869, when he engaged in the banking business, which he still continues in company with his brother, Lucius C. Bingham, who is also engaged in mer- cantile business. The present attorneys are Albert M. Bingham, Thomas J. Gamble, Ziba A. Colburn, William A. Sutherland, John M. Hastings, Alexander H. Mc- Kay and Frank M. Joslyn. Albert M. Bingham was born in Perry, N. Y., October 15, 1825, and received an academic edu- cation at the Perry Center Institute. He com- menced the study of law in Michigan, with Judge Leonard, of Mt. Clemens in that State, in 1846, and after pursuing his legal studies there two years, he returned East and resumed them with Scott Lord, of Geneseo. He was admitted in 1850, and commenced practice about 1852, in Moscow, whence he removed April 1, i860, to Mt. Morris, where he has since practiced, with the exception of a period spent in the army from October, 1861, to January, 1863, in the capacity of 1st Lieutenant of Company C, 89th N. Y. Vols. In the fall of 1879, he formed a co-partnership with Frank M. Joslyn, which still continues. Thomas J. Gamble was born in Groveland, in this county, Dec, 21, 1839, and educated at Tem- ple Hill Academy in Geneseo. He commenced the study of law April 3, 1859, with Wisner & Sey- mour, of Mt. Morris, and afterwards pursued his studies with R. P. Wisner, of that firm. He was admitted in December. 1865, and Jan. 1, 1866, formed a co-partnership with his preceptor, Mr. Wisner, which continued till July 7. 1872. Mr. Gamble has practiced here continuously since. He was Collector on the Genesee Valley Canal from 1876 till its abandonment in 1S78. Ziba A. Colburn was born in Westmoreland, N. H., Dec. 6, 1839. He studied law with McNeil Seymour in Mt. Morris, and was admitted in 1869. He entered upon the practice of his profession in this village in 1870. William A. Sutherland was born in Hopewell, Ontario county, May 30, 1849, an d educated at Genesee College in Lima. In 187 1, he became a student in the law office of Judge E. A. Nash, of Lima, (now of Avon.) He was admitted to prac- tice in 1874, at which time he formed a co-part- nership with his legal preceptor, which continued till Jan. 1, 1876, when he moved toMt. Morris. John M. Hastings was born in Mt. Morris, July 4, 1853, and was educated at the Union Free School and Academy of that village, and subse- quently at the College of the city of New York, where he commenced his legal studies, subsequently pursuing them with J. E. Lee, A. M. Bingham and Norton & Brown, all of Mt. Morris. He was admit- ted in January, 1875, and commenced practice in Mt. Morris in 1877. Alexander H. McKay was born in Sparta in this county March 2, 1853. He is a graduate of Fort Edward Collegiate Institute. He pursued his legal studies while acquiring his literary education, and completed them with John H. Martindale, of Rochester. He was admitted in 1877 and com- menced practice that year in Mt. Morris. Frank M. Joslyn was born in Mt. Morris, Aug. 22, 1854, and received an academic education at the Union Free School of Mt. Morris. He com- menced the study of law in 1874, with Norton & Brown, of Mt. Morris, and completed his studies with Turner, Dexter & VanDuzer, of Elmira. He was admitted at Rochester in October, 1877, and commenced practice at Mt. Morris in the spring of 1878. In November, 1879, he formed a co- partnership with Albert N. Bingham, which still continues. Manufacturers. — -Mt. Morris has for many years been the seat of important manufacturing interests, and to-day takes a high rank in this branch of industry. Previous to 1820, Col. Ebenezer Damon was engaged in carding and cloth-dressing on a small stream in the west part of the village, and contin- ued until about 1835. The local name of " Damons- ville," by which that part of the village, as well as the stream, is designated, perpetuates his memory. Fed by the same stream on the steep side-hill, just north-east of the present residence of Dr. M. H. Mills, was the pioneer grist-mill of Mt. Morris. It HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. was a large four-story structure, operated by an immense overshot wheel, and known as the Sholl mill, from its owner, David Sholl, by whom it was built in i8i4or'i5. At Damonsville the water was diverted from the brook of that name and brought in an open ditch along the south bank of the deep ravine near Dr. Mills' residence, gaining a fall of twenty feet at the mill. Around the bluff, down the dugway and under the road to the mill, the water was conveyed in a wooden trunk. It was torn down in 1827. The flats around the base of the hill were inundated to the extent of about one hundred acres. They were partially drained by a ditch extending south-east to Casha- <|ua creek, about one and one-half miles distant, but were never completely drained until the dam was built across the river and the tail race con- structed in 1827. Prior to the erection of the Sholl mill, hard wood stumps and iron mortars were used as a basin to bruise the corn and make samp. Subsequently Dr. Fitzhugh's mill on Cashaqua creek in Sonyea (the Shaker settlement) received the principal business of this village, and earlier the Wadsworth mill at the foot of Conesus lake did a good deal of the milling for this place, espe- cially for Gen. Mills' distillery. From 1820 to 1830 Riley Scoville raised a quan- tity of hemp on the flats adjacent to the village, and on the horse-shoe flats just west of it, which he water-rotted and dressed by hand. The early settlers generally were engaged in raising hemp on the rich bottom lands, for the reason that it was transported with greater facility and with less lia- bility to injury than grain or other commodities, and had also a readier and greater market value. It was marketed at Baltimore by the Susquehanna and its tributaries, the shipping point being Ark- port on the Canisteo. But the enterprise which gave Mt. Morris its importance as a manufacturing center, and also gave a great impetus to its growth, was the con- struction of a dam across the Genesee river and a canal connecting that stream with Canaseraga creek, a little below the mouth of Cashaqua creek, in 1827. This improvement was the work of John R. Murray and William B. Rogers, of New York, and their associates, General William A. Mills and Jesse Stanley, of Mt. Morris, and was designed to open water communication by the Canaseraga and ( lenesee between Mt. Morris and Rochester, but was never accomplished, though it has given Mt. Morris a valuable water power. At the intersec- tion of the canal with Canaseraga creek a guard- lock was built to lower boats to the level of the creek. The first dam was built of timber; the present one is a substantial stone structure, which also accommodated the canal while that was in operation, as it crossed the river at that point. Over this dam was built, in 1831, the first bridge over the Genesee between Mt. Morris and Leices- ter. In 1 83 1, John R. Murray built, in the interest of his maiden sisters — Mary and Hannah L. Mur- ray — a grist-mill, which was located adjacent to Humphrey's mill which was recently burned. It was rented to various persons; first to James Campbell and a younger brother. It was burned about 18C6. A second grist-mill was built about 1841, by William Gay, who sold it to the Totten Bros. It finally passed into the hands of the late Asel Galbraith and burned during his ownership, about 1864. It was located some twenty rods north of the first one. William P. Allen bought the property and immediately after, in 1864, erected a saw and planing mill on the site, which he still operates. The works contain one circular log saw, several smaller saws, and one Hopkins planer. In 1878 Mr. Allen added a cider-mill, containing two of Boomer & Boschart's cider-presses, and pur- poses the coming winter (1880) to put in a gener- ator for the manufacture of vinegar. Near the guard-lock, John Murray Ogden erect- ed a hemp factory about 1834. It was destroyed by fire in 1835, and never rebuilt. In 1824, John Runyan came from Livonia and manufactured bull-plows, with wooden mold-boards. In 1 83 1, in company with Charles W. King, he established a furnace on Eagle street, and manu- factured the Jethro Wood plow and other castings. About 1835, the establishment was sold to Albertus Child's, Runyan continuing to wood the plows dur- ing his life for Childs and his successors. He- died December 4, i860, aged seventy. Mr. Childs added to the business the manufacture of agricul- tural implements, including a smut machine of his own invention. About 1838, he sold to Gideon Henderson, who sold to James H. Rogers about 1843, when the establishment was removed to its present location on the race. It passed successive- ly into the hands of H. C. Brown about 1850, Dr. Hubbard Foster about 1853, and the Bodine Bros., (John and Joseph) about 1858. In November, 1S69, the Bodine Manufacturing Company of Mt. Morris was organized, with an authorized capital of $150,000, for the manufac- VILLAGE OF MOUNT MORRIS — MANUFACTURERS. 301 ture of the "Bodinejonval Turbine Water Wheel," which was invented by Truman A. Hill, of Mt. Morris, and patented by him and Col. J. H. Bo- dine, the former owner of these shops. C. Laflin was chosen President, and George S. Whitney, Secretary and Treasurer of the company. From the organization of the company till about 1875, extensive sales were made, about 2,000 wheels hav- ing been shipped to the various States and Terri- tories, besides many to foreign countries. Subse- quent to that time the sales were greatly dimin- ished by the great financial depression of that period. In the fall of 1877, on the death of their President, Mr. Laflin, who had retained the office up to this time, the company sold the entire busi- ness to S. L. Rockfellow, then of Rochester, N. Y. Mr. Rockfellow took possession January 1, 1878, and on the first of March following associated with himself Frank Sleeper, of Mt. Morris. They im- mediately recalled Mr. T. A. Hill, from Jefferson City, Mo., to take charge of the shops. Mr. Hill brought with him the patterns of a grain drill which he had patented under the name of the " Missouri." Messrs. Rockfellow & Sleeper, besides doing a gen- eral foundry business, commenced the manufacture of this drill in limited numbers, adding a phosphate attachment, testing its merits, etc. In the fall of 1879, they found it desirable to enlarge their busi- ness, and organized a stock company, which was incorporated under the name of the Genesee Val- ley Manufacturing Co., for the manufacture of the "Missouri Grain Drill," Fargo's V Tooth Harrow, the Bodine Jonval Turbine Water Wheel, Sad-irons, and to do a general foundry business. L. C. Bing- ham was elected President ; S. L. Rockfellow, Vice-President and Superintendent ; W. H. Coy, Secretary and Treasurer. The new company com- menced operations January 1, 1880, and are now turning out manufactured goods at the rate of 500 drills, 300 harrows, and 100 tons of sad-irons, etc., per annum. They employ from 75 to 100 men. In 1831, Albertusand Ebenezer Childs, brothers, and then young men, came here from Massachu- setts, and were the first to introduce the culture of broom corn in this vicinity and the manufacture of brooms with wire. The business has since been continued and has developed into very respectable proportions. There are now ten broom factories in the village of Mt. Morris, employing in the ag- gregate more than forty hands, viz : — Swett Bros., Jacob Remmell, Jacob Sickles, James Kellogg, George A. Miller, Bump & Pray, Hurlburt & Son, Sweeney & Son, Miller & Co., John Samerson. In 1841, John R. Murray, Jr., and George T. Olyphant erected glass works on the flats north of the village, which subsided about 1848. The nine houses built in that locality were and are still known as the "Nine Sisters," and the locality as " Mullingar." John R. Murray also had a saw and planing-mill near and a little east of the head of the race which was burned down about i860. About 1848, John R. Murray erected a paper-mill on the south end of the race. It was the last building on the race and stood directly south of the Exchange mills recently burned. Elijah Powers, from Mas- sachusetts, put in the machinery and operated it two or three years. In 1852, James Yeomans rented the mill and carried on the business until 1856, when he became associated with his brother- in-law, R. J.Stanley. In 1857 Mr. Yeomans with- drew. Mr. Stanley continued the business about a year. It was operated for a short time success- ively by Augustus Conkey and J. E. Robinson. Wm. F. Jones, an Englishman, then bought the property — -about 1863 — and about 1868, removed the machinery to LeRoy. The building was after- wards occupied by Begole & Olp, (Joseph Begole and Joseph Olp,) for the manufacture of spokes; and subsequently by Joseph Begole and J. C. Prout, for the manufacture of barrels. It was burned while so occupied, m 1874. Originally, and during its continuance as a paper-mill, it was used for the manufacture of wrapping and tea paper. A planing-mill and manufactory of sash, doors and blinds, was established in the building now oc- cupied by Mr. F. B. Seymour, by a man named Chamberlin. Spencer & Ferris succeeded him and carried on the business several years — until i860 — ■ when they were succeeded by the present proprie- tor, Mr. Seymour, who, on taking possession, added to the business the manufacture of moldings and broom handles, of the latter of which he makes about 100,000 per annum. He was associated for a short time with John Ferris, who soon enlisted. The manufacture of sash, doors and blinds was soon after discontinued. The Exchange Mills (flouring and grist) were built in 1852, at a cost of $18,000, by Harmon Bros., (A. and E. Harmon, of Wheatland,) who sold them in 1864, to Samuel B. and Azel D. Gal- braith, natives of Dansville, the former of whom was engaged in milling business at Oakland, in the town of Portage, from 1857 to 1865, in which latter year he disposed of his mill property at Oakland and took up his residence in Mt. Morris. The Galbraiths operated the mills till their death. They 302 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON' COUNTY. " did a large and prosperous business, and were sympathetic and liberal to the poor, always making advances to them from their mill of the staff of life, without security, and trusting the recipients of their bounty to pay." Samuel B. Galbraith died Dec. 7, 1876, aged 56, and Azel D., May 5, 1872, aged 43. Since their death the mills were owned by their heirs and were operated under the name of Galbraith & Hammond until they were burned on the morning of August 24, 1880. The Equity mills, (flouring and grist,) were built in 1866-7, by Humphrey & Braman, (W. H. Humphrey and C. F. Braman,) at a cost of $25,000. Mr. Humphrey bought his partner's interest in the property about 1874. and >till owns it. The build- ing was a wooden structure, with four stories besides attic and basement, and contained four runs of stones. Tt was located on the race on State street, directly opposite the Exchange mills, and was burned at the same time as the latter, which com- municated the fire to it. Mr. Humphrey has already rebuilt on the same site a mill of like ca- pacity and dimensions, 40 by 60 feet. The fall at this point, like that at the Exchange mills, is sev- enteen feet. A. B. Goff is doing a general machinist business, which he commenced June, 1876. His shop is located on the race which supplies the motive power. Pennington & Co., (J. \V. Pennington,) are en- gaged in the manufacture of the Little Tiger fan- ning-mill, which business they commenced April 1, 1880. Connected with the establishment is a saw and planing-mill. but used only for their work. The building they occupy was erected in 1876 by E. Winegar, who occupied a part of it for a plaster- mill, for which purpose it is still used in part by Winegar & Cornell. Pennington & Co. have also a feed run, which they put in about Sept. 1, 1880. 1. W. Pennington also deals in ready-made wagons and carriages, a business he established in June, 1880; and he and William Allen have leased the site of the old Farmers' mill, which it is their pur- pose to purchase, and erect thereon a flouring-mill. Mr. Pennington and George W. Barney are also dealers in phosphates, a business they commenced in the fall of 1880. Messrs. Winters & Prophet, (John C. Winters and John M. Prophet.) me extensively engaged in canning fruit and vegetables. The business was commenced in January, 1878, by Mr. Winters, who associated Mr. Prophet with himself as partner in in April, 1879. They employ from 75 to 100 hands, and sometimes as many as 125, the major portion of whom are women and girls. The busy season lasts from the middle of June to the middle of October. They have 105 acres under cultiva- tion, all planted to sugar corn. They also pur- chased and used the present season the crop from an additional twenty acres. They put up about a half a million cans, averaging two pounds each in weight. Corn is the principal article canned, but cherries, plums, pears, grapes, quinces, tomatoes, apples, strawberries and green peas are put up in their season. The "Empire" brand is labeled on all their goods. The business requires a capital of about $30,000. The works are located on the Mats in the north part of the village. In 1880, the firm opened a branch establishment at Medina, where from 50 to 75 hands are employed. The Genesee Valley Fruit Evaporating Co.. was organized May 1, 1880, for the purpose of drying fruit and vegetables by the evaporating process, and is composed of Morgan Hammond and G. W. Barney, Jr. They have an invested capital of $7,000, and employ forty persons, over two-thirds of whom are females. The works are in operation about eight months in the year. M. J. Noonan employs on an average thirteen persons in the manufacture of cigars, of which he makes 3.5,000 per month. He commenced busi- ness in 1868. The Schwartz Brewery, located on the berme bank of the canal, was established in i860, by David Schwartz, who carried on the manufacture of lager beer about fourteen years. In 1876, John E. White & Bro. acquired the property. It has not been operated as a brewery for about two years. The Mt. Morris Spring Brewery, located just oxer the south line of the village, was established in 1862, in which year also the building was erected by John E. White & Bro., the present proprietors. They make about a thousand barrels of ale per annum. Banks. — The Genesee River National Bank was organized as the Genes,;- River Bank, May 2, 1853, with a capital of $130,000. When the change was made to a National Bank, application for which was made May 31, 1865, the capital was reduced to $100,000; and February 6, 1877, it was still further reduced to $50,000, which it at present remains. The first Directors were John R. Murray, John Vernam,* Henry Swan, Hiram P. Mills, Reuben P. Wisner, Reuben Sleeper, Calvin Norton, Jesse Peterson, Lyman Turner, * Those whose names are in italics are dead. I. ■ — , d O 2 o o z > CO £ OS O o o k-l OQ Z < CD 'CO o as m < X © 2 c3 '. I ! VILLAGE OF MOUNT MORRIS — BANKS, HOTELS. 303 Calvin T. Chamberlain, David McDonald, Charles T. Flint, Samuel Skinner, Samuel J. Mills and Azariah Boody. The first officers were:— John Vernam, President; Calvin Norton, Vice-Presi- dent; E. C. Galusha, Cashier; H. W. Gregory, Teller. The bank opened for business Oct. 5. 1853, in the building now occupied by Thomas J. Gamble as a law office, which was fitted up for its accommo- dation. In 1866, it was removed to its present location, the Bank Block, on the corner of Main and State streets, which was built by a stock com- pany in 1865-6. Reuben Sleeper was elected President Dec. 13, 1859, succeeding John Vernam, and was succeeded Oct. 7, 1S61, by Hiram P. Mills, who has since held the office. Calvin Norton was Vice-President until Nov. 19, 1859, when Reuben Sleeper was elected. John F. Barber was elected to that office Dec. 31, 1859, and still holds it. E. C. Galusha was succeeded as Cashier Nov. 1, 1858, by William Mills, who held the office till April 6, 1 86 1 . Jonathan E. Robinson succeeded him. H. E. Brown was elected cashier Nov. 1, 1864, and has since held the office. The first private bank in Mt. Morris, was estab- lished by George S. Whitney, who did business from about 1853 or 4, till 1S70. Bingham Bras'. Bank, Mt. Morris, (private,) was established August 17, 1869, by Messrs. Bingham Bros. & Brace, (Lucius C. and Charles L. Bing- ham and Sears E. Brace, the latter now of Roches- ter.) In 1876, Mr. Brace retired from the firm, and the business has since been conducted by the remaining partners, Charles L. Bingham being the manager. The Messrs. Bingham do a general banking business, and an extensive one in respect to their local accommodations to the business com- munity. Their bank occupies one of the oldest business sites in the village, having been used for business purposes ever since Mr. Miller first estab- lished himself here. It is also the business center of the village. The building was erected about '835, by David A. Miller, one of the first mer- chants in Mt. Morris. It was purchased by the Bingham Bros., in 1869, and was remodeled, en- larged and adapted to their uses as bankers. The block is now designated the Bingham Bank Block. The Messrs. Bingham are both natives of Mt. Mor- ris. Their father, Dr. Charles Bingham, removed from Bozrah, Conn., to Avon, in 18 10, and from thence in 1820 to Mt. Morris. Hotels. — The Seoville House occupies the site of the old Eagle Tavern, which was built and kept by Enos Baldwin, who came from Litchfield, Conn., in 1813, and kept the tavern till his death, Oct. 3, 1817. His widow succeeded him and kept it till her death. May 25, 1844, the heirs transferred the property to Riley Seoville, who kept the house till his death, Feb. 6, 1852, aged 61. His widow and son Daniel A., each kept it a short period. In 1855, Henry H. Seoville, another son, took pos- session and bought the property of the heirs. He has kept it continuously since, having changed the name from the Eagle Tavern to the Eagle Hotel soon after taking possession, and again, in 1875, to the Seoville House, by which name it is now known. The front part of the house was built in 1834, by Riley Seoville, who also built the rear part in 1840. Enos Baldwin first located on the lot on which Woolever's cabinet shop now stands. His house stood a little north of that shop. Experiencing some difficulty in getting a title to that property he removed to the Seoville House corner, taking his house with him. The Dodge House likewise occupies an old tav- ern stand. The first tavern on its site was kept by Isaac Baldwin, who died about 1813. It was an unfinished house in 1818, when the widow Bailey came to this county. Baldwin's widow kept the tavern for a short time after his death, but was obliged to surrender it to her son-in-law, Joseph Thompson, who kept it several years, and until his death, April 30, 1829, at the age of 46. His widow kept it for some years after his death and finally exchanged it for property on Murray street. The present brick structure was erected in 1843, by Alvah Beach. There have been many occupants since, among them George P. Phelps, who called it the Phelps House, Dexter Dodge, the present pro- prietor, took possession of the house May 1, 1872. The Wallace House. — Phineas and Eli Lake came to this village with their families from Greene county, about 1816, and established themselves in the smithing business. The latter retired to his farm, now known as the "Anient farm," about t8i8, still pursuing his old vocation. Phineas continued the business in the village till about 1824, when he turned his house into a hotel, now known as the Wallace House, which was kept by him until 1826, and since then by Mr. Chase, Rial O. Moore, the Beaches, Wheelock, Delcampo, W. C. Green and others until 1864, when J. D. Wallace became the owner and proprietor and has so continued to the present year — 1880. 3°4 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. The Burke House, situated on the canal, was built in 1842, by Ketchum, who kept it some years. Richard Burke, the present proprietor, took possession of the property in i860, and has kept it continuously since. Mt. Morris Water Works. — The project of constructing water works and supplying the village of Mt. Morris with an abundance of pure and wholesome water for domestic use and for fire pro- tection, has been a question of frequent discussion among its citizens for the past twenty-five years. Abfjut fifteen years ago a company was organ- ized to construct works ; George W. Phelps, President. The works were undertaken and, al- though water was brought into the village, the at- tempt proved a failure and the enterprise was abandoned by this company. In 1873, Dr. M. H. Mills published an article in the Mt. Morris press, showing the practicability and importance to the village of constructing water works, and the manner of providing the necessary capital. On June 3, 1879, a public meeting of the citi- zens was held in Wallace Hall in said village to consider the subject of constructing water works. By special request of the trustees of the village Dr. Mills appeared and addressed the meeting and submitted a plan for the construction of the works, coupled with a proposal to build them. This meeting, without a dissenting voice, indorsed and approved of said plan and proposal. The "Mills Water Works Company" was organized, and entered into a contract with the trustees of said village to construct the works and to supply the corporation of said village with water for twen- ty-three fire hydrants at $45.00 each per annum, and to furnish water for two public water troughs with drinking fountains attached, without charge, for thirty years, with the proviso that additional fire hydrants should be furnished on the line of any water-pipes hereafter laid, on the same terms. Water rights, land damages and all preliminary matters being adjusted, the works were commenced August 20, 1879, and prosecuted with energy and dispatch, and were substantially completed the same year. The water supply is obtained from a number of quicksand springs. The water is quite soft and very pure.* The works are operated on the gravity system. In December following an exhibition of the capacity of the works for fire purposes was made. * May jo, 1871;, by measurement, there was (lowing from the 1 Henner spring, and from one of Fiddler's two springs, thirteen and half gallons in thirty seconds. A large concourse of citizens gathered to witness the display, which was under the direction of the Fire Company. Four streams at the same time were thrown upon and over the highest blocks of buildings on Main street, the streams reaching to the estimated perpendicular height of from seventy- five to eighty feet. The citizens express their satisfaction with the efficiency of the works, and their belief is that everything has been done in the best possible man- ner. The reputation of these works stand very high ; and, in fact, are not excelled by any of their capacity in the country. About seventy private families are now taking water and the number is increasing from year to year. No other so great an improvement for the fu- ture prosperity and health of the village could have been undertaken ; and there is little doubt but that it will eventually prove to have been a wise and sagacious investment for the father of the enter- prise. All the improvements in the construction of water works known to science have been adopted. Their cost was about $30,000. Dr. M. H. Mills is the sole owner and proprietor. "To him alone are the citizens of Mt. Morris indebted for having their beautiful village supplied with an abundance of pure and wholesome water and protected from the ravages of fire." Mt. Morris Fire Department. — Contempo- raneous with the incorporation of the village were the measures looking to the protection of the vil- lage property from the ravages of fire. The first village charter provided for the organization of fire companies to consist of not more than twenty-four individuals to every engine possessed by the village ; of one hook and ladder and company, to consist of not more than ten members, and the adoption of rules for their government, and to regulate the time and manner of their exercises. It authorized the village to provide engines and all necessary apparatus for the extinguishment of fires, and to require the inhabitants to provide and keep fire- buckets ; to compel them to aid in the extinguish- ment of fires, and to prescribe the mode of opera- tions and to protect property in case of fire. The amended charter of 1853 authorized the increase of the membership of fire companies to a number not to exceed forty each, and of the hook and ladder company not to exceed twenty. August 5, 1836, $500 were voted for the pur- chase of hooks and ladders, a fire-engine and hose, VILLAGE OF MOUNT MORRIS — FIRE DEPARTMENT, SCHOOLS. 3°5 " and in defraying the incidental expenses of the corporation." September 4, 1836, the President was authorized to order from the " American Hy- draulic Company," of Windsor, Vt., "a No. 3 Rota- tive Fire Engine, constructed for suction hose ; according to proposal, for the sum of $300." No- vember 21. 1839, Walker M. Hinman was appoint- ed Chief Engineer, and John N. Hurlburt, Assistant Engineer, and they were authorized to " enlist " twenty -four persons to form an engine company, and ten to form a hook and ladder company. July 28, 1849, the fire company was disbanded "for neglect of duty," and July 31, 1849, the hook and ladder company was disbanded for the same reason. The names of the officers and members of these companies are not given. On the dates respectively given, James G. Norton, Darius W. Stone, Robert R. Conkey, Norman Seymour, Jr., Frederick Davis, Jr., Joseph Garlinghouse, Jr., Rufus Hilliard, H. C. Brown, Jacob A. Mead, Samuel Rockfellow, Hugh Harding, F. L. Burfee, I. A. Burfee, A. T. G. Carroll, C. E. Martin, Wheeler Hinman, D. N. Bacon, Henry Root, A. N. Norton, Isaac Spees, B. P. Driggs, Noah North, Henry W. Maltbey, Levi Dalrymple were consti- tuted a new fire company, and George W. Branch, Hugh Harding, A. G. Miller, E. T. Baker, M. Goodwin, Norman Seymour, Jr., Maxwell Thorp, Charles C. Goodale, A. R. Fargo and Peter M. Murray were, on their petition, constituted a hook and ladder company. In 1852 a new engine was purchased of Thomas Snooks, of Rochester, for $750.00. January 18, i860, Reuben Sleeper was appointed "to consult with and attempt to reconcile the differences exist- ing between the fire companies of the village." At present the department comprises two fire companies, a hose company, a protective company, and a hook and ladder company. The equipment consists of two hand engines, two hose carts, a hook and ladder truck, and a protective cart. The water for fire purposes is supplied by the Water Works Company. Previous to the construction of the water works, cisterns, reservoirs and the canal were the dependence. Living Stream Fire Co. No. 1 was organized in 1852 and incorporated in 1375, under the Act of May 2, 1873. It consists of about twenty-six members. John Gorman is foreman. Neptune Fire Co. No. 2 was organized in i860, and incorporated in 1875 under the same Act. It contains sixteen members. F. G. Harding is fore- man. Active Hose Co. No. 3 was organized in 1875 and incorporated in that year under the Act of 1873. It has about twenty-five members. Charles J. Perry is foreman. Mt. Morris Hook and Ladder Co. No. 4 was or- ganized and incorporated in 1874 under the Act of 1873. It has fourteen members. James McNielly is foreman. The Protectives were organized in 1876. They consist of eighteen men. Frank Burlingame is foreman. The following have been the successive Chief Engineers of the Fire Department from the first appointment to the present time, except the years 1838, '63, '64 and '66, when they are not recorded : Walker M. Hinman, 1836-7; John N. Hurlburt, 1839-42, 1848-50; Jesse Peterson, 1843-7; Henry Swan, 1851, 1853-7; Loren Coy, 1852; Archibald McCarthur, 1858, 1868; C. E. Martin, 1859; Newton P. Lee, 1860-1 ; A. Veazie, 1862; Henry H. Scoville, 1865; John C. Vernam, 186; ; T. L. Swan, 1869; Henry Phillips, 1870-4; Hathorne Burt, i875-'8o. Schools. — The Mt. Morris Union School was organized in the fall and winter of 1S44, by the consolidation of the four district schools then ex- isting in the village ; and in 1845, tne brick school house which occupied the site of the Union school building, was erected at a cost of $3,500. That structure was torn down in 1879 to make way for the present one. H. G. Winslow, who came to Mt. Morris and opened a private school in the fall of 1843, divid- ing the patronage between four district schools and as many private ones, became the first principal of the Union School on the opening of school in the new building about the first of November, 1845. He was assisted by Miss Emily Bradley, Miss Ellen Fisk and Miss M. Jane Church, than whom, says Mr. Winslow, "no man in such a position, ever had a purer, truer, nobler, better corps of assist- ants." Mr. Winslow served as principal until the fall of 1848. E. D. Wellar was also a prominent teacher of the Union School. The beautiful elms which now adorn the grounds were planted in 1846. In the summer of 1857, at the suggestion of Lester Phelps, the only survivor of the trustees of that period, the question of reorganizing under the act of 1853 was discussed ; and August 18, 1857, at a special meeting held for the purpose at the dis- trict school house, it was decided, with but one dissenting'vote, "that a Union Free School be established within the limits of District No. 1, in 3° 6 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. the village and town of Mt. Morris," pursuant to the provisions of that act. The number of trustees was increased to nine, and they were constituted a Board of Education. The trustees then elected were, Norman Seymour, Jr., John Vernam, Loren J. Ames, Hiram P. Mills, Loren Coy, Clark B. Adams, Reuben Sleeper, Zara W. Joslyn, Thomas F. Wilcox. August 20, 1857, the Board met and elected Clark B. Adams, President; L. J. Ames, Clerk; E. C. Galusha, Treasurer; Moses Camp, Collector. The following have served as members of this Board, at different periods, since its organization : — W. H. Noble, C. L. Bingham, R. T. W. French, A. M. Bingham, A. F. French, Charles Woodman, S. L. Rockfellow, J. H. Hotline, A. B. Millard, W. A. Mills, Byron Swett, Win, Sickles, H. W. Mills, M. H. Mills, Warren Richmond, H. E. Brown, Philip Yeoman, F. F. Hastings, A. P. Dean, Hugh Harding, Archibald McArthur, E. A. Mills. H. S. Wigg. The gentlemen who have filled the office of prin- cipal since the organization of the Board, are: — Isaiah McMahon, G. S. Hastings, F. E. Pierce, H. M. Smith, H. M. Morey, W. M. Benson, A. J. Thomas, Richard Green, Z. A. Colburn, H. A. Balcom, Howard Allison, W. H. Allen, W. P. Hes- ton, I. O. Best, L. P. Bissell, Burr Lewis, E. C. Springer, J. F. Forbes, G. F. Slocum. The fol- lowing ladies have occupied the position of assist- ant in the academic department: — Ann Clark, Mary Green. Mary E. Joslyn, Jennie Chamberlain, Sarah A. Ford, Ann F. Kendrick, Sarah O. Peck, Kate Hinman, Ella Bacon, Sabry Phillips, Emma Darling. The new Union Free School building was erect- ed in 1879-80 at a cost of about $8,000, though it cost the contractors about $10,000. It is a noble brick structure — a credit to the enterprise of the village — and far surpasses any other public school building which has come under our observation in the county, except the Normal school in Geneseo. The funds with which it was built were raised on the bonds of the district, amounting to $8,000, and payable $1,000 each year from January 1, 1 881, with interest semi-annually at 6 per cent. The bonds were sold to the First National Bank, of Dundee, at a premium of $128.50. The build- ing is 68 by 78 feet, two stories high, with a cellar under the whole. It is provided with four exits from the first story; is heated with three furnaces, with the best modern appliances for ventilation, and newly furnished throughout with modern fur- niture. In addition to this, the school buildings in the north and south sub-districts, both formerly used as district schools, are used for school pur- poses. One is of brick, the other of wood; the latter in the north sub-district. Each contains only one room, presided over by one teacher. The present teachers are: — Winfield S. Smith, Principal, commenced in 1879; Miss Kate L. Hitchcock, Preceptress, in 1880; Miss Emma L. Joslyn has taught for nine or ten years; Miss Car- rie L. ('.amble, 1879; Mrs. Ada Briggs, 1879; Mrs. Julia Annin, in south sub-district, in 1878; Mis. L. M. Burlingame, in north sub-district, has taught for nine or ten years. We gather the following additional information from the report to the Regents for the Academic year, ending May 30, 1879: — The library contained 874 volumes, the original cost of which was $1,206.31, and the estimate value $850. The apparatus, which originally cost $546.46, was esti- mated at $330. The whole number of scholars taught during the year was 10 1, of whom 51 were males, and 50 females. Their average age was 14.7 years. The revenues and expenditures were: — From tuition collected or considered collectable $91-50 Apportionment from Literature Fund 20. 7S For the purchase ofbooks and apparatus 150.00 From local taxes i, - ''' 1 '; $1,014.41 For salaries of teachers 1,233.51 For repairs of property belonging to Academy ..... 200.00 For fuel and other incidental expenses 35 - 00 For the purchase of books and apparatus 110.90 For Librarian 30.00 $2,014.41 Churches.* — "Although the settlement of Mt. Morris was commenced about 1790," says-x Rev. Dr. Parsons, "we discover but little that is worthy of favorable notice in its religious character prior to 1814. * * * For the first twenty years after General Mills located here, there were very few re- ligious people who were attracted to this spot. The inhabitants generally paid no regard to the Sabbath, but both white people and Indians from the settlements around, were accustomed to con- gregate here on the Sabbath and spend the day in drinking, wrestling, shooting, horse racing and the like. We find it stated that in an early day the smoke of five distilleries might be seen ascending from this town. It was against such discourage- ments as these that the few Christians who gath- ered here in an early day and the preachers who visited the settlement were called to contend. "t • Promised data regarding the Free Methodist Church has not been furnished ; and owing i" tlit I.,., <>i the records >>: the Baptist Church we are unable to give its history. The church ediBce of the latter was buHl in 1S40. t From Historical Discourses, by Rev. Di I I past Presbyterian church, "t Mi Minis. July 9, .mil i'>. ifi-'\ from which we draw our materials tin the history of that church. VILLAGE OF MOUNT MORRIS — CHURCHES. 307 In 1810, after residing for a brief period in Ovid and Geneseo, Robert Chappel, of Colchester, Conn., with his wife, four sons and two daughters, selected this place as his home. He lived in a log house, not far from the site of the Wallace House; and it was there that the first services conducted in this town by a Presbyterian minister were held. That minister was Rev. Robert Hubbard, who, it is thought, then preached regularly at Dansville and Angelica. Mr. Chappel died in 181 1, aged 44. The Presbyterian Church of Mt. Morris was organized April 29, 181 4, in the new school house,* which was located on the west side of what was then an open square, not far from the site of the house of J. J. Ferris. The first or south half was built in the fall of 1813, and was about twenty-five feet square. About 181 5 it was lengthened by the addition of about twenty-five feet. A swing par- tition in the center was so adjusted that it could be closed when used for school purposes and opened when more room was required for religious servi- ces. Here the Church worshipped about eighteen years after its formation. The constituent mem- bers were Jesse Stanley, Jonathan Beach, Luther Parker, Enos Baldwin, Abraham Camp, Luman Stanley, Russell Sheldon, Almira Hopkins, Lucy Beach, Martha Parker, Sarah Baldwin, Mary Camp, Patty M. Stanley and Clarissa Sheldon. Soon afrer the organization Stephen M. Whee- lock, a licentiate, commenced his labors here and continued them two or three years. He was suc- ceeded by Rev. Silas Pratt, who, it is supposed, commenced his labors early in 181 7. The Church was received under the care of the Presbytery of Geneva, Feb. 12, 1817. May 7, 1817, Mr. Pratt was ordained and installed pastor, the services being held in the barn of Deacon Stanley. His pastoral relation was dissolved by the same body April 9, 1818. A period of nearly twenty years elapsed before another pastor was installed over the Church, and many were the changes in ministers during this in- terval. Rev. P^lihu Mason soon succeeded Mr. Pratt, commencing his labors about June, 1818, and remaining till near the close of 1820, supply- ing during the first year the Church at Perry Center half the time, and the second year alternating between this place and Portage. His widow still lives in this village, aged 94 years. Mr. Mason was succeeded by Rev. Bartholomew F. Pratt, brother of Silas Pratt, who commenced his labors * There was a log school house prior to this time on the site of the Wallace House. in the spring of 1821, while a student of theology. He was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Ontario, Jan. 16, 1822. Feb. 1, 1825, he was ordained as an Evangelist in this village. He con- tinued his labors till the close of 1825. During his stay, in 1822, the membership was increased from 79 to 153. The pulpit was next supplied by Rev. Wm. Lyman, D. D., who commenced his labors in the fall of 1825 and remained two years. Soon after he left, the pulpit was supplied for a short period by Rev. Abel B. Clary, after which it re- mained vacant about eight months. Rev. James W. McMaster commenced his labors in the fall of 1828 and continued them till the fall of 1830. Dec. 7, 1830, Wm. H. Stanley, Wm. A. Mills, Alfred Hubbard, Asa Woodford and Abner Dean, were appointed a committee to build a church. It was erected in 1831, was 64 by 44 feet, and was located a little southwest of the residence of Gen. Mills, upon the public square, facing south. It was dedicated in January, 1832, Rev. S. H. Grid- ley, of Perry, preaching the sermon. The pulpit was at the front end, between the doors, with the singers' gallery behind it and over the vestibule. This arrangement proving unsatisfactory, a plat- form some two or three feet higher than the floor of the Church, was provided for the accommoda- tion of the singers a few years afterwards, by an additional building in the rear. In 1833 the public square was sold to supply the means for rebuilding the dam, which had been washed away. It was divided into village lots, which soon began to be occupied; as a conse- quence the society found the location of the church to be inconvenient, and removed it about twenty rods to the south, upon State street, a little west of the present site of the Free Methodist Church. At this time the building was lengthened making it 84 by 44feet; a session house, 40 by 24 feet, erected just east of the church ; and sheds built in its rear. These improvements were completed in 1841, and the house was re-dedicated, the sermon being preached by Dr. Lord, then of Geneseo. This structure, with the session house and sheds, were all swept away by fire during the night of Sept. 29, 1852, this being the first very large fire that had occurred in the village. Before the fire was entirely extinguished measures were instituted for rebuilding, which resulted in the erection of the present edifice, located on the northwest corner of State and Stanley streets, on land donated by John R. Murray, Jr. It was dedicated Feb. 1, 1855, Rev. Darwin Chichester preaching the sermon. 3oS HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. The entire cost was about $10,000. For a time after the fire the congregation worshipped in the Methodist and Baptist churches. Temporary ac- commodations were soon provided however in a large room on the south side of Chapel street, where Mr. Barnhart's market is now located. This they occupied until the church was completed. The lecture room, located a few feet west of the church, was built in i860, and dedicated Nov. 14th of that year. It cost, including furniture, not far from $600. The organ now in use was purchased in June, 1864, at a cost of $1,100. The first bell was pur- chased in Albany in December. 1S34. It weighed 810 pounds and cost $324. It was placed in the tower of the old church before its removal to State street. This bell proving defective another weigh- 1,209^ pounds was substituted in its place about November. 1839, at an additional cost of $224. This also failing a third one, weighing 1,525 pounds, was procured in November, 1844, at an additional cost of $200. The latter was destroyed when the church was burned, together with the town clock which for a number of years had been attached to it. The present bell, weighing about 1,400 pounds, was purchased on the completion of the church. The Rev. Mr. McMaster was soon succeeded by Rev. Calvin Bushnell, of the Oneida Presbytery. He preached several months to the general accept- ance of the community and was called to the pas- torate, but for reasons which do not appear this relation was never consummated. His name last appears on the records Feb. 12, 183 1. Rev. James B. Wilcox commenced his labors within a few weeks after the above date and acted as stated supply for one year. He was followed by Rev. George W. Elliott, who supplied the pulpit for two years, till the spring of 1834. The next minister was Rev. Clark B. Goodrich, who commenced his labors August, 1, 1834, and continued them four years. He was installed Jan. 9, 1837. Rev. John Van Buren soon followed Mr. Goodrich, supplying the pulpit till the fall of 1S39. During the ten years terminating with this period 296 were added to the membership. Iu 1837 occurred the disruption of the Presby- terian General Assembly, which deeply agitated the churches in this section. This church, though many times among the breakers, was saved from actual division. Oct. 31, 1830, Moses Marvin and Ann his wife, Harriet Speas, Fanny Roland and Anna Sharp were dismissed in order to unite with others in the formation of the Second Presbyterian church of Ml. Morris. This church united with a school district in the erection of a house, which for a number of years was used for both church and school purposes. It was located on the west side of the State road, about five miles south of this village. The church was organized by a commit- tee of the Presbytery in 1830. and received under their care in January, 1831. It was disbanded about 1839, there having been a Dutch Reformed Church* established in the same locality about the same time with which a portion of the mem- bers connected themselves. Rev. Elam Walker was the first minister of the Second Church, and is remembered as a very forcible preacher. He was followed by Rev. Messrs. Hall, Ward and I.indley. The greatest membership was about fifty. Moses Marvin, Sylvester Roland and Clark Mather were elders and the two first named acted as deacons. The church maintained a prayer meeting ; also a Sunday school, of which S. Roland and J. McCrary were Superintendents. During the intense anti-slavery agitation between 1820 and 1830 an attempt was made to blow up the church in Mt. Morris with powder when the people were gathered in it to hear an abolition lec- turer named Storrs. A quantity of powder was placed under the building and the slow match lighted, when happily it was discoverer! and ex- tinguished. Rev. Cyrus Hudson, after supplying the desk for about a year, was, on the 10th of September, 1840, installed pastor of the church. He continued his labors till Jan. 5, 1847. Rev. C. H. A. Bulkley soon succeeded Mr. Hudson, and was installed pastor Oct. 21, 1847. He remained nearly four years, being dismissed at his own request, and contrary to the wishes of the congregation gener- ally, Jan. 7, 1851. He was succeeded in the spring of 1851 by Rev. Darwin Chichester, who remained as stated supply till the summer of 1*55- Levi Parsons commenced his labors as a licentiate of the Presbytery of Cayuga, the first Sabbath in February, 1856, and was ordained and installed pastor July 10, 1856. His pastorate continues to the present time, covering nearly a quarter of a century of the church's history. • H It is not often thatarel I mes dwindled down to one trustee and only on n member, and both of these in the same person. But such an instance hasoccurred in Mt. Morris Ja Van Wagner, the sole surviving trustee of tin- True Reformed Dutch I him h has applied for I dissolve ll 'i n and sell thi prop erty." [Nunda News.) Tkt Onion and Constitution, Mt. Morris, April 22, 1880. VILLAGE OF MOUNT MORRIS — CHURCHES. 309 The first ruling elders were Jesse Stanley, Abra- ham Camp and Jonathan Beach. Subsequently there have been added to the sessions : — James Coe and Luther Parker, 1818; Asa Woodford and Oliver Stanley, 1820; John Pratt and James Conkey, 1829; George Kemp, Jr., and George Hastings, 1831; Harry H. Evarts and James H. Rogers, 1834; Reuben Weeks, Reuben Sleeper and Charles W. King, 1836; Marsena Allen, 1842; Henry Sheldon, Charles Holmes and Levi God- dard, 1844; Samuel J. Mills, Loren J. Ames, Milo H. Maltbie and Stillwell Burroughs, 1853; Loren Coy and Pomeroy Sheldon, 1857; Jonathan E. Robinson, Samuel L. Rockfellow and Justine Smith, 1862; Elijah N. Bacon, Frederick E. Hast- ings, Ziba A. Colburn and Jay E. Lee, 1871; Reuben S. Weeks and Wilder Silver, 1875. In 1875 the church adopted the plan of limited elder- ship. Jesse Stanley and Jonathan Beach were the original deacons. Subsequently there were elected to this office : — Asa Woodford, ffm. Marvin and Abraham C. Camp, 183 1 ; James Conkey and Marsena Allen, 1834; Robert E. Weeks, 1861; Esek M. Winegar, 1862; James Beggs and Milo H. Maltbie, 1871 ; and Wilder Silver, 1879. In 1815, Mrs. Oliver Stanley first made an effort to establish a Sunday school, before there were any such schools in this section. She was assisted in her efforts by Emily, daughter of Luman Stanley. They met with many discouragements, and it was not until 181 7 that anything like a permanent or- ganization was effected. Of this there is no record, and no hint as to who was Superintendent. In 1 8 18, Allen Ayrault was the Superintendent. Deacon Woodford is thought to have succeeded him, and for many years he ably discharged the duties of the office. At an early period some In- dian girls were among the pupils. The present Superintendent is Joshua Weeks. Loren Coy- acted as chorister of this church from 1846 to 1879. The membership of the church April 1, 1880, was 273; the attendance at Sabbath school, 242. The Methodist Episcopal Church of Alt. Morris. The Methodists, if not the first, were among the first to cultivate this religious field, though the Presbyterians were the first to do so systematically. The first religious services in the town, however, were conducted by a Baptist, Rev. Samuel J. Mills, before referred to. The first Methodist preacher who visited this locality was, it is supposed, Rev. J. H. Hudson,_familiarly known as Father Hudson, who came here in 1S04 from Friendship, in Alle- gany county, guided by Indian trails and follow- ing the course of the Genesee to Gardeau having, he said, for the last thirty-five miles, " traveled over a country where not a white inhabitant had yet broken ground," where " all was forest, wilderness and river." He proceeded down the river to Squakie Hill, and thence to Allen's Hill. He found a few ''who called themselves Methodists" living on the flats and preached to them. From that time Mt. Morris became a stated appointment on the circuit whose head was at Canisteo, and ex- tended thence to the mouth of Genesee river, and thence east to Seneca lake. Rev. A. Owen, then presiding elder, sent Hudson a colleague in the person of Sela Paine, a young man, says Hudson, full of Holy Spirit and life. At the conference of 1805, Paine was taken away and Frederick Stiars and Timothy Lee sent as additional help. In 1806, J. B. Hudson, Gerard Morgan and John Richards were assigned to this extensive field. Hudson, speaking of the moral character of Mt. Morris at that time says : — " It was notorious for its whiskey and Sabbath desecration," " a charac- ter," adds Rev. T. Card us, from whose Historical Discourse we quote,* " which seems to have clung to the place during all the years of its existence." These pioneer preachers held services in the log school house which occupied the site of the Wallace House. A class, it is supposed, was formed among the few Methodists first met by Mr. Hudson on the flats, and " a constant attendant at this Methodist ordinance," says Mr. Cardus, " was the wife of Gen. Mills, her only path to and fro being an Indian trail." Mr. Hudson attended to the interests of the so- ciety here until 1814. In 1 815, Rev. Mr. Parker preached here. In 1816, a new circuit was formed, containing the following appointments : — Geneseo, Mt. Mor- ris, Nunda, Groveland, and parts of the towns of Livonia and Conesus. By request, Rev. Mr. Hud- son took its charge, receiving for his faithfully performed labors for the year, $100. In spite of all privations men of good ability found their way to this locality. Among these was Rev. Mr. Hoag, in 1820. In 1824, Louisa Kinney, Ebenezer Da- mon, Elizabeth Damon, Elizabeth Holtslander and Rebecca McNair were members. There were, doubtless, others, but none others are recorded. In 1827, Mt. Morris was still in the Geneseo circuit, of which Revs. B. Williams and M. Doud * History of the M. E. Church, Mt. Morris, by the pastor, Rev. T. Cardus, July 2, 1876. — Union and Constitution, Mt. Morris, July I}, 1876. 3io HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. were the preachers. They stayed, it is believed, two years. Two classes were then in existence, with forty members, Chester Grover and Benjamin F. Robinson being leaders, and the preaching was held in a frame school-house which stood near Father Arnold's. In 1829, Revs. Haywood and St. John became the preachers, and regular preach- ing was then held in the village, in a small school- house which stood on the corner of the lot where Mr. Moss now lives. In 1830, Mt. Morris was transferred from the Geneseo to the Angelica circuit. The preachers appointed were: — Revs. Jonathan Benson and Merrit Ferguson. "There was a revival all the year." The leaders were Ezra Kinney and Levi Keyes, the class of the former containing sixty members, and that of the latter, twenty-four. In 1 83 1, Rev. J. Lent became the preacher, and the place of meeting was changed from the white to the long school-house. During Mr. Lent's minis- try, steps were taken to secure a church edifice. A site was selected on the lot where Dr. Joslyn now resides, and March 5, 1832, the contract for building the church was let to Benjamin Dodge, of Castile, who, in presenting his bill of costs amount- ing to $1,622.16 said: — "The house has cost me the above bill, besides all chorin' and runnin' about, and without anny prophit except on the frame and chargin' day wages." It was finished in January, 1833, and dedicated on the 4th of that month, Dr. Lackey, of Lima, preaching the dedi- catory sermon. The first trustees, at the building of the church, were: — Fbenezer Damon, Ezra Kinney, Leonard Hoskins and George W. Barney. Rev. Mr. Lent was removed in 1832, and was succeeded by Revs. Asa Story, Daniel Anderson and Wm. Gage Anderson, who remained on the circuit two years. After the dedication of the church, Mt. Morris was severed from Angelica and became the head of a circuit, with Anderson as sole pastor. The members at that time, with pos- sibly a few omissions, were : — Ezra Kinney, who was for twenty-six years a class leader, Louisa Kinney, Aylmer Keith, Eliza Keith, Eleanor Begole, Chester Grover, Martha Aldrich, Ebenezer Damon, Elizabeth Damon, Henry Lake, Clarinda Lake, John Hartsock, Jacob Chilson, Jr., Lucy Ann Chilson, Jonas Bellows, Charles Seymour, Peggy Miller, Wm. S. Parsons, Mary Parsons, Diadama Parsons, Asahel Parsons, Esther Parsons, Sally- Parker, Gordon Williams, Hiram H. Gladding, Julia Daboll, (afterwards Mrs. Green,) Gilbert G. Townsend, Rachel Townsend, George Eaton, Josiah Eaton, Noah Chapman, Daniel Miller, Sally Washburn, Lucy Cooper, John T. Keith, Satterlee Holland, G. W. Barney, Mary Barney, Daniel Cothreil. At this time Mt. Morris was in the Rochester district. Mr. Anderson was succeeded in the pastorate in 1834 by Revs. Loren Grant and J. Robinson. J. H. Wallace was sent to this charge in 1835, and stayed two years. His colleague the first year was Rev. Mr. Benjamin, and the second, Mr. Atchison Wallace. Rev. S. W. Wooster was stationed here in 1837, but in a short time was removed to Perry. Rev. Mr. Hudson supplied the pulpit the remain- der of the year. Rev. Mr. Church was the pastor in 1836 and Rev. Mr. Hall in 1839-40. During Mr. Hall's pastorate, Rev. Mr. Farrell came on the circuit and labored a year and nine months. In 1842. Mt. Morris was placed in the Dansville district. Asa Abell was the preacher in charge. He stayed two years. In 1844 Rev. J. G. Gulick, a man of more than ordinary pulpit talent, became the pastor. The pulpit was supplied the succeeding year by Rev. S. Reed Cook. He was succeeded in 1846 by Rev. Alexander Farrell. Rev. John Parker was sent to this charge by the East Genesee conference in 1848 and remained two years. In 1850 Mt. Morris was placed on the Lima district and Rev. Zyna J. Buck stationed here. He stayed two years, adding during the first year, by means of a revival, 43 probationers. In 1852 Mt. Morris was in the West Rochester district and Rev. E. Latimer was the preacher in charge. He was succeeded by Rev. Ralph Clapp, who also re- mained a year. In 1854 Rev. Wesley Cochrane became the pastor. In February, 1855, it pur- chased the Episcopal church and the house which now forms the Methodist parsonage, giving in ex- change the old church and $500. This old church was sold to Geo. H. Summers in 1856, and removed from its location on Chapel street about 1865 to the south side of the Wallace House, on Main street. It is now known as Concert Hall, and is owned by the proprietor of the Wallace House. It was vacated by the Methodists in 1855, and the one received in exchange — the one now in use — occupied. Mr. Cochrane was succeeded after a year by Rev. Jonathan Benson, who had minis- tered to this people twenty-five years previously. In 1856 "the beloved Edson " became the pastor. He was succeeded in 1858 by Rev. H. T. Giles. Rev. R. Harrington took charge in 1859. In i860 Rev. O. Trowbridge took the field, and after an 1 Mai\y Barney. George W- )3af\ney. GEORGE W. BARNEY. George W. Barney was born in the town of Newport, Herkimer county, Sept. 18, 1808. He is a son of Reuben and Sarah (Pierce) Barney, natives of Rhode Island. The former was born March 28, 177-1, in the town of Swan- zey, and the latter in the same town in 1777. They were farmers by occupation and moved from Rhode Island to Herkimer county in 1801, and resided there until they died, the father March 31, 1855, and the mother May 25, 18-44. They had twelve children, eleven of whom grew up and married. Their names were as folows : Pardon, (dead,) Davelia Lorean, (dead.) Sarah, (dead,) Sophia, Mathilda, (dead,) Temperance, (dead,) George W., Angeline, Reuben, Louisa and Daniel. George W. lived at home, working on the farm and attending the district school until he was seventeen years of age. These were the only advantages he ever enjoyed for an education. On leaving home he was apprenticed to Wm. Talcott, of Little Falls, to learn the hatter's trade. Here he applied himself industriously and perseveringly to the acquisition of a thorough knowl- edge of the trade he had adopted for a livelihood. At the expiration of his term of service he went to Fairfield, N. Y., aud worked one winter. From thence he went to Albany. From" the last named place he went to Suffield and Hartford, Conn., and worked at his trade about six ■months. Thus life opened before him its ragged path and bade him rely upon his own energies in surmounting its obstacles and achieving success. In 1828 Mr. Barney removed to Mt. Morris, where he found a wider field for the exercise of his maturing judgement aud his untiriug energies. Here Mr. Barney commenced his long, useful, and hon- orable career. He was engaged by Mr. Peter Peterson, who was carrying on business quite extensively here at that time, in the manufacture of hats, and dealer in hats, caps, furs aud clothing. In 1830 Mr. Barney bought out Mr. Peter- son and carried on the business about thirty-two years. In 18G0 Mr. B. closed out his business and from that time for many years his energies and capacity wei-e devoted to the discharge of the duties of the various offices of trust and responsibility that had been bestowed upon him, either by election or appointment. He was poor- master seveu years. County Snpt. of the Poor from 1868 to January 1, 1880 ; was deputy sheriff of Livingston county six years. During the war of the rebellion he was U. S. detective four years aud now holds the office of deputy sheriff. During Abraham Lincoln's administra- tion he was post-master at Mt. Moms. July 12th, 1865, he was appointed to the same office by Andrew Johnson. President of the United States, and re-appointed by Johnson June 18, 18GG. Owing to his refusal to sup- port the policy of Johnson's administration Mr. Barney was soon thereafter removed and Norman Seymour, Esq., was appointed to succeed him. Iu politics Mr. Barney was formerly a Whig ; but upou the formation of the Republican party he united with that aud has always been an active aud zealous supporter of its principles and measures. In the cause of Christ Mr. Barney has, since 1832, (at which time he experienced religion, ) been an ardent and faithful laborer. In 1847, at the 38th session of Gene6ee Conference, he was ordained Deacon of the Methodist Episcopal church by Bishop Hamlin, at Geneva. N. Y. In 1873 he was ordained Elder iu the Free Methodist church by Superintendent Rev. B. T. Roberts, at Perry, N. Y. He traveled as a circuit preacher eight years, while carrying on his business iu Mt. Morris, Iu his support of the church he has always been liberal. He gave largely of his means iu aid of the construction of the first M. E. church and parsonage ever built in Mt. Morris — has always been ready and willing to give liber- ally when the demands of the church were made upou him. His house was the home of the circuit preachers for many years. Mr. B. remembers when as many as twelve were gathered under his roof at one time. In 1829, Jan- uary 29, Mr. B. was united iu marriage with Mary, daughter of Garret C. aud Rebecca (Babcock) Peterson, the former of whom was born iu New Jersey, Feb. 25, 1777, aud died Nov. 1, 1843. The latter was born Jauu- ary 25, 1782, and died March 8, 1840. They had eleven children, viz.: Jessie, born September 24, 1802: Sarah, born January 22, 1804, died January 22, 1838; Peter, born July 27. 180(1: William, born November 20, 1808; John, born January 26; 1810, died November 26, 1831 ; Mary, born February 28, 1813 : Jane, horn April 2(1, 1814 ; Rebecca, born July 20, 1817; Caroline, born Jan- uary 28, 1822; Gilbert, bom August 5, 1824, and Harriet, born May 10, 1827, all of whom are now living, except Sarah and John. There have been born to Mr. aud Mrs. Barney eight children, two of whom died in infancy. Their names are as follows : Sarah, (dead,) Richard W., Mary, (dead,! George W., Alice M., and Charles W. The latter, a graduate from the Normal school at Geneseo, N. Y., is now in the Custom Honse, New York. Richard W. was a member of the 136th New York Infantry during the late war, and George W. enlisted in the 27th New York Infantry, and afterwards in the 14th New York Heavy Artillery, aud in both organizations was a drummer. Mr. aud Mrs. Barney celebrated their golden wedding Jan. 211, 1870. Like many other men who were aud are now the bone and sinew of the country, he lives in his seven- ty-third year, oue of the few old living landmarks of our couutry's pioneers, having led a life of integrity and uprightness of character, honored by all who know him, and at the writing of this brief sketch bids fair for more years of usefulness to his friend-.. VILLAGE OF MOUNT MORRIS — CHURCHES. unhappy ministry of one year went to another sphere of labor. Mt. Morris was dissociated from the church at Ridge, with which it had been con- nected, and reported a reduced membership of 73. Rev. John Shaw next served a pastorate of one year. In 1862 Rev. J. L. Edson returned and remained three years. In 1865 Rev. A. N. Filmore came with his genial disposition. The church became too small and March 4, 1867, it was resolved that it should be remodeled and enlarged. This work was accomplished at a cost of about $4,500. Mr. Filmore remained two years till the fall of 1867, when Rev. C. M. Gardner entered upon a three years' ministry. The alterations to the church were finished during the first year of his pastorate, and it was re-dedicated by Dr. Mattison. In 1870 the Ridge was again annexed to Mt. Morris, under the charge of Rev. William Bradley, who continued his labors for three years, increasing the membership from 88 to 110. During the second year of his ministry Mt. Morris was con- nected with the Western New York conference and again returned to the Lima district. Rev. T. Cardus became the pastor in 1873 and added thirty-six to the membership during the first year of his labors here. The present pastor, Rev. James Hill, entered upon his labors in October, 1877. The present membership (September, 1SS0,) is 130; the average attendance at Sunday school, 100. The church is valued at $7,000; the parsonage at $3,000. The first Sunday school superintendent was FJzra Kinney, and Jennie Jas- per was the first teacher of the Bible class. The Ridge Methodist Episcopal Church, four miles south of Mt. Morris, has a membership of about fifteen. The church was built by the Bap- tists and bought of them many years ago. It is one of the oldest churches in this section of the country. St. John's Church, (Episcopal,) of Mt, Morris, was organized on Easter Wednesday, 1833. Rev. Thomas Meacham, rector, presided, and David A. Miller was secretary of the meeting at which the or- ganization was effected. Jellis Clute and Nehemiah Barlow were elected wardens and David A. Miller, John W. Montross, Walker M. Hinman, Phineas Canfield, Stephen Summers, Charles B. Stout, James S. F. Heald and Hiram Hunt, vestrymen. Hiram Hunt was elected clerk of the vestry. Ser- vices were previously held here occasionally by Rev. Mr. Croes, who was located at Geneseo, and were conducted in the school house on the west side of what was then the public square, which was bounded by Chapel, Main, Clinton and the second street north of Clinton, running parallel with it. In 1833, when Mr. Meacham commenced his labors, the services were transferred to a private school house belonging to David A. Miller, where they were continued until the church was built. Dec. 27, 1833, an invitation was extended to Mr. Meacham, who was then ministering to the church at Hunt's Hollow, to become the minister half the time at a salary of $250, including the missionary stipend — a salary like to that he had previously received. July 6, 1834, Charles B. Stout, Summers and Hiram Hunt were appointed a committee to draft a memorial to Trinity church, and David A. Mil- ler, Stephen Summers and Walker M. Hinman, to draft a plan for a church and procure a site for it. November 7, 1834, Hiram Hunt, David A. Miller and Walker M. Hinman were appointed a build- ing committee. At the next meeting, November 17, 1834, Stephen Summers was substituted on the latter committee for Mr. Hinman, who requested to be excused from such service. At this meeting also the vestry made binding the writing of the committee with Charles B. Stout for the purchase of a building lot. December 28, 1834, the plan of a church presented by the committee appointed for that purpose was accepted, and the building committee authorized to proceed to expend the amount of subscription, and no more, in building a church. March 30, 1835, it was resolved to ex- change lots with Charles B. Stout for one on the corner of Chapel and Stanley streets. The corner stone of the church was laid July 3, 1835, by Rev. Henry J. Whitehouse, D. D., assisted by the rector, Rev. Thomas Meacham, and Revs. Win. P. Page, Rarand Karney and Richmond. Wm. Ham- lin was the architect, Walker M. Hinman, the builder, and Isaac A. Kemball, the mason. May 1, 1837, a call was extended to Rev. Henry S. Atwater to take charge of the parish, at a salary of $500, the rent of a house, and a missionary stipend if it could be obtained. June 30, 1840, the salary was increased to $600. August 14, 1837, it was resolved to separate from the Sunday school library certain books suited only to adults and make them the nucleus of a parochial library for the use of the congregation. At that time also the church edifice was formally donated to Rt. Rev. Benjamin Tredwell Onderdonk, D. D., Bishop of the Diocese of New York, by whom it was consecrated August 19, 1837. The 312 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. church slips were sold at public auction September 23, 1837 ; Phineas Canfield was the auctioneer. June 29, 1843, Rev. Charles D. Cooper was called to the rectorship, and March 5, 1845, was granted a leave of absence for one year. His resignation was accepted Dec. 21, 1846, to take effect March 1, 1847. June 21, 1847, a call to the rectorship was given Rev. Maunsell Van Rensse- laer, of Albany, and accepted. March 17, 1853, he tendered his resignation, which was accepted March 21, 1853. October 3, 1853, a call was ex- tended to Rev. Thomas L. Franklin and ac- cepted. His rectorship continued till the summer of 1871. The demand for increased church accommoda- tions being felt, March 4, 1S54. J. R. Murray. G. H. Summers, Henry Swan, John Vernam and \V. M. Hinman were appointed a committee to ex- amine and report at an adjourned meeting a plan and estimate of the cost of enlarging the church at the south end, so as to give an additional window on each side, and also of an alteration at the north end by throwing the vestibule into the body of the church and the erection of a new tower. At the next meeting Mr. Murray offered to purchase the church and lot at $1,500 and give the society a lot on which to build a new edifice. W. M. Hinman, Geo. H. Summers and John Vernam were ap- pointed to confer with pew holders and obtain their consent. A majority of the pew holders con- curring, committees were appointed to procure plans for a church, with estimate of cost, and solicit subscriptions for its erection. April 6, 1854, Mr. Murray modified his former proposition by an offer to erect a new church on a site opposite the old one, and convey the same to the vestry, provided that body would sell and convey to him the church building and lot then in use and pay him $1,500, provided also the vestry would accept the plan for a new church which he might propose, his proposi- tion to remain open one week. The vestry then resolved to build a new church, provided the same could be done without incurring a heavy debt, and the subscription committee were instructed to use their utmost exertions to raise $1,500 for that pur- pose before the next meeting, which was held on the 13th of April following. At that meeting the vestry accepted Mr. Murray's proposition of April 6, 1854, the plan of a new church presented by him was adopted, and W. M. Hinman, Henry Swan and Jesse Peterson were appointed to enter into a contract with Mr. Murray in behalf of the vestry in accordance with his proposition. In 1856, an organ costing $1,000, (toward which the old organ was applied at $200,) and a bell weighing 1,930 pounds, were purchased for the new church, which was built at a cost of $25,000, and was consecrated September 18, 1856, by Wm. Heathcote De Lancey, I). D., LL. D., I). C. L., Bishop of the Diocese of Western New York. December 29, 1857, a deed from John R. Mur- ray and Mrs. Anna Vernon Murray, dated July 24, 1857, of parts of lots 19 and 20 in the village of Mt. Morris for a parsonage site, was accepted and the thanks of the vestry tendered to Mr. and Mrs. Murray for their liberality and kindness.* That the office of vestryman was not a sinecure may be inferred from the fact that June 8, 1858, a fine of fifty cents was imposed upon each vestry- man or church-warden who should be "more than thirty minutes behind time, or be absent from any vestry meeting without a reasonable excuse." September 20, i860, Judge Charles H. Carroll, in behalf and at the expressed wish of his deceased daughter, Miss A. V. R. Carroll, donated to the vestry $500, to be invested, and the annual income arising therefrom devoted to the Sunday school and parish libraries alternately. In 1871, Hon. J. A. and Mrs. Mead donated to the parish a new com- munion set to take the place of one donated by Mrs. David A. Miller and in use from the organi- zation of the church. Mr. Franklin, who resigned June 23, 1871, to accept a call to the parish of Christ church, in Madison, Ind., was succeeded in the rectorship by Rev. L. Van Bokkelen, D. D., to whom a call was extended August 14, 1871. Dr. Van Bokkelen's resignation was accepted August 31, 1874. Jan- uary 17, 1875, Rev. Francis B. Dunham was called to the rectorship. His resignation was received and accepted February 15, 1877. Rev. George S. Teller took charge of the parish April 1, 1877. His resignation was accepted August 27, 1879, to take effect November 1, 1879. A call was given Rev. J. A. Massey, D. D., of Mobile, Alabama, October 15, 1879. The following have been the wardens of this church: — Jellis Clute, 1833; Nehemiah Barlow, 1833-5; Stephen Summers, 1834-57;! David A. " VIrs. Annn Vernon Murray, wife of John R. Murray, died at Ca/r- novia, March 8, 1878. In accordance with her expressed wish she WM buried in the church yard, near tin* church which the generous bounty of herself and husband provided for this Parish, together with the lot on which the parsonage stands. The vestry granted Mr. Murray therigtal in perpetuity to use that part of the church yard he had designated as his family burial lot, and assumed the reverent care of the mortal remains: thus placed within theii grounds. t Died Aug. 5, 1*4-, aged 57". David A. Miller elected his successor Auj 15, '*■)-■ VILLAGE OF MOUNT MORRIS — CHURCHES, SOCIETIES. 3i3 Miller 1S37, 1840-52; Col. Wm. Fitzhugh, 1838- 39, (died in 1839;) Frederick A. Davis, 1847-51, 1853; George H. Summers, 1852; W. M. Hin- man, 1853-67; Charles H. Carroll, 1854-65;* Hiram P. Mills, 1866-78; C. B. Adams, 1868-9; Robert H. Brooks, 1870-80; J. R. Murray, 1879- 80. The following Vestry was elected March 29, 1880; Wardens, John R. Murray, R. H. Brooks; Vestrymen, M. H. Mills, James Yeomans, Arthur Sawyer, C. L. Bingham, N. A. Seymour, Ozro Clark, L. C. Bingham, Wm. Harding. St. John's Churchy (Catholic,) Mt. Morris.— The first Catholic services in this vicinity of which we have information were held during the building of the canal by Father McGuire from Rochester, and about the second year of the progress of that work a house of worship was erected at " Brushville,"t (Tuscarora,) on land, the use of which was do- nated by Judge Carroll, of Groveland. When operations on the canal ceased the services were discontinued and the building, which was an inex- pensive one, was subsequently burned down. Among the earliest to conduct services in the village was Father Edward O'Flaharty, who preached in the school-house, in the hall which oc- cupied the site of the Greens' Empire Flock, (the latter of which was built in 1874,) and in the resi- dence of John Toole, at Damonsville. Occasional services were held till about 1S51, about which time a house of worship was erected on the site of the present fine brick structure, which was built in 1869, and there they continued to worship until the present house was built, when the old one was torn down. At that time Father O'Brien was the pastor. The first priest stationed here was Father Riley, who had previously read mass here. He remained till his last sickness, his death occurring soon after at Buffalo. He was succeeded by Father McCool and numerous others. The pres- ent pastor, Rev. J. J. Donnelly, has labored here about six years. The Church has a large mem- bership, and a congregation exceeding in numbers that of any other church in the village. Mt. Morris Cemetery Association was incorpor- ated July 20, 1859. The incorporators were George W. Branch, Hiram H. Gladding, Justin Smith, Henry Swan, Reuben P. Wisner, Hiram P. Mills, George Hastings, Clark B. Adams, Reuben Sleeper, Norman Seymour, Jr., Abraham Wigg and •Died in 1865. Daniel H. Fitzhugh, M. D., elected his successor Sept. 1, 1865. t This name is pvohably due to the fact that the locality was character- ized by a growth of low brush and the absence of large trees. Walter H. Noble, who were trustees by the char- ter, and seven of whom are buried in the new cemetery. The trustees met July 23, 1859, and elected the following officers : — Reuben P. Wisner, President ; Hiram P. Mills, Vice-President ; W, H. Noble, Secretary ; Reuben Sleeper, Treasurer ; Henry Swan, Clark B. Adams and Norman Sey- mour, Jr., Executive Committee. Mr. Noble has held the office of Secretary since the organization of the Association. George Hastings succeeded Mr. Wisner as President in 1863, and was followed by Clark B. Adams in 1867, and by Hiram P. Mills in 1870. Mr. Mills still holds the office. The Association purchased 15.57 acres of land about three-fourths of a mile west of the center of the village of Hiram P. Mills and Abraham Wigg, for which they paid $100 per acre. The grounds were immediately laid out by H. B. Allen, a civil engineer of Arcade, at a cost of about $400. The Association have since expended $6,426 in the general care of the grounds, inclosing them with a fence, and in building a receiving vault, gateway, bridges, &c, all of which, together with the pur- chase price, the cost of laying out the grounds, and $1,510.47 now in the treasury, has been realized from the sale of lots ; while only about one-fourth of the plot has been sold. The grounds occupy a beautiful eminence overlooking the village. They present a pleasing diversified surface, are hand- somely laid out, and tastefully adorned with trees and shrubbery. The present officers, elected in June, 1880, are : Z. \V. Joslyn, Hathorne Burt, C. L. Bingham, \V. H. Noble, Hiram H. Gladding, H. E. Brown, L. J. Ames, Norman Seymour, H. P. Mills, Ozro Clark, Henry H. Scoville, Hugh Harding, Trus- tees ; Hiram P. Mills, President ; Norman Sey- mour, Vice President ; W. H. Noble, Secretary ; C. L. Bingham, Treasurer; H. E. Brown, Superin- tendent, a position he has held for the last fourteen years ; Porter Kellogg, Sexton ; Z. W. Joslyn, Hathorne Burt, Dr. L. J. Ames, Executive Com- mittee ; C. L. Bingham, H. E. Brown, H. H. Scoville, Investing Committee. Societies. — Mt. Morris Lodge No. 122 F. 6r* A. M. was instituted in 1847. The charter mem- bers were: Wm. D. Morgan, farmer; John Ver- nam, farmer ; Joseph Favor, merchant ; Eli Lake, blacksmith ; Alfred Dean, carpenter ; Henry Max- well, physician ; Ebenezer Damon, clothier ; Elias B. Driggs, tinsmith; Walker M. Hinman, mechanic; Prentice Pendleton, mechanic; George G. Wil- liams, mechanic; David A. Miller, merchant, and 314 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Samuel II. Fitzhugh, attorney, all residents of Mt. Morris. Win. 1 >. Morgan was the first Master. The present offii ers are: James Yeomans, Mas- ter; Henry G. Ames, S. W.; H. M. Dayfoot, J. \\'.; Hathorne Burt, Treasurer; John M. Hastings, Secretary; Win. J. l'ressey, S. D.; Dr. Frank II. Mover, J. I).; John W. Sickles, Tiler. Past Masters — Wm. D. Morgan, Henry Max- well, John N. Hurlburt, Elias I!. Driggs, Judson C. Goodrich, Henry Wells, Loren Coy, John Ver- nam, Charles L. Bingham, McNeil Seymour, George N. Williams, Archibald McCarthy, James Yeomans, T. T. Swan, Charles W. Stevens, Walter H. Humphrey. The lodge meets the first and third Mondays of each month in the Empire Block. It numbers about 85 members. Mt. Morris R. A. C. No. 37 was organized in ICS50 and warranted Feb. 5, 1S50. Moseley Stod- dard was the first High 1'riest, John N. Hurlburt the first King, Elias B. Driggs the first Scribe. Present officers — Loren Coy, H. P.; James Yeo- mans, K.; Wm. H. Swan, Scribe; Charles L. Bing- ham. Treasurer ; Hugh Harding, Secretary. The present membership is 29. The Chapter meets on Wednesday of each month on or preceding the full of the moon. Among those who have passed the chair are fohn N. Hurlburt, Moses Stoddard, Moses Camp, McNeil Seymour, James Yeomans and Loren Coy. Genesee Valley Lodge No. 129 A. O. U. IV. was organized Jan. 30, 1878. The charter members were: Morgan Hammond, P. W. M.; Dr. H. M. Dayfoot, M. W.; W. R. Hinds, Foreman; Henry H. Scoville, Overseer; Henry Wigg, Recorder; Wm. H. Swan, Financier; Adam Sech, Receiver; John White, Guide ; John Brown, Inside Watch- man ; George White, Outside Watchman, and Hathorne Burt, A. F. McKay, Henry Gale, L. A. |. Gage, Joseph Fraley, Charles H. Gladding, lames Yeomans, P. S. Moxon, N. A. Seymour, John C. Winters. The lodge meets every Thurs- day evening. The present membership is 39. Mt. Morris Lodge No. 111 /*.'. O. J/. A. was organized July 21, 1S79. The charter members were: Wm. A. Sutherland, I'. 1'.; Norman A. Sey- mour, I'.; Wm. ( ). Mosman, V. P.; Charles H. Scoville, Secretary; I'. P. Hastings, Treasurer ; W. H. Buell, Conductor; James Hill, Chaplain; Eugene Ferris, Inside Guard; John V. Sickles, Outside Guard; Herbert M. Dayfoot, Medical Examiner; C. F. Braman, William Sickles, W. Richmond, Trustees, and Hathorne Burt, W. II. Humphrey. Addison P. Wisner, H. S. Wigg, Charles J. Perry, John 1 ). Wallace. William Chap- pell, P. Durkin, James McNeilly. Janus M. Chil- son and James S. Mosman. The present number of members is 24, four having been admitted and four suspended since the organization. The lodge meets each alternate Friday evening. TUSCARORA. Tuscarora is a post village situated on Cashaqua creek in the south east part of the town, some six or seven miles south of Mt. Morris, on the line of the Genesee Valley canal and the Rochester, Nunda and Pennsylvania railroad. The business of the place has been ruined by the abandonment of the canal. It contains two churches, (Presbyterian and Free Methodist,) but only one church building, one hotel, kept by Samuel Lashell, two stores, a grist- mill, cheese factory, two wagon shops, (kept by L. J. Colburn and Harrison Hagadorn,) two blacksmith shops, (kept by Frederick Layman and William Naraganz,) one harness shop, (kepi by Squire Rumsey.j a saw-mill, and a population of 159. The settlement here, says Hotchkin. was commenced in 1822-23, by Messrs. Culver, Bab- cock and Caulkins. Prominent among the merchants who have done business in this place were Benjamin Irish, who occupied the building next south of Mr. North- way's store some sixty years ago, John and David LaRue, Elias Kinney, who was afterwards associ- ated with John Sherwood, William Townsend, Henry and Sidney Alden, Demorest «.V- Son. and William Petrie, from 1839 to 1873. The present merchants are Prank A. Northway and Edward R. Crevling. Mr. Northway commenced business August 24, 1872, and was successively associated with L. H. Barron, R. K. Bergen, C. Whiteneck, the latter of whom he bought out May 1, 1879. The business was established about forty years ago by Jared P. Dodge in the building next south of the store now occupied by Mr. Northway, and now used by him as a storehouse. Mr. Dodge removed some ten years later to Mr. Northway's present store and continued in trade till 1865, ex- cept at intervals, when his sons A. ami A. C. Dodge, and later A. C. Dodge ami E. Youngs, carried it on. In 1865 he sold to Hand & Post, (Wesley Hand and Jacob Post,) the former of whom sold toTallman T. Van Arsdale about 1867, and Van Arsdale to Lucius H. Barron about 1871. TUSCARORA. 315 Post sold to Mr. North way, the present proprietor, in 1872. Mr. Northway is the postmaster at this place, having received the appointment June 1, 1878. E. R. Crevling came here from Sparta, his native town, and commenced business May 1, 1874. He was associated one year, in 1879, with W. M. Crevling, under the name of E. R. & W. M. Crevling Dr. James S. Sharp and Orville L. Rowe, are the physicians at Tuscarora. Dr. Sharp located here in 1864, and Dr. Rowe in 1879. The grist-mill at Tuscarora was built in i860, by David LaRue, who operated it about eight years, when he was succeeded by the present proprie- tors — Garrett, Barckley and David Miller — broth- ers. It contains three runs of stones, and is pro- pelled by water from the Cashaqua creek, which has a fall of ten or twelve feet. The saw-mill is located on the same stream about half a mile above the grist-mill. It was built about i860 by Isaac Hall and David LaRue, who operated it till the death of Mr. LaRue, July 8, 1876, when Mr. Hall purchased the latter's interest, and still operates it. The mill contains one circular log saw. The creek at this point has a fall of about nine feet. A former saw and lath mill at this place, owned by J. P. Dodge, was swept off bodily and completely by the great flood of Sep- tember, 1 86 1, which nearly equalled that of 1835. The Tuscarora cheese factory was built in the spring of 1877, by a stock company, who still own it. It receives from 1,000 to 6.000 pounds ol milk per day. There are two other factories in the town ; the Johnson factory, a small one, located near the Shaker settlement; and the Genesee River cheese factory, which was built, and is still owned by a stock company, about 1874, and re- ceives somewhat more milk than the Tuscarora factory. The Tuscarora House was built in 1841, by John and David LaRue, who kept it until i860, since which time it has been kept by Samuel La- shell. The first tavern in the village, which forms the rear part of the present hotel, was built about fifty-five years ago, by Wm. Babcock. The First Presbyterian Chureh of Tuscarora was organized in 1839, by Rev. Israel Hammond, with eleven members of the Dutch Reformed order. January 20, 1844, it was incorporated as The First Protestant Reformed Dutch Chureh of Mt. Morris. At this time Israel Hammond was the pastor, and had been from the organization. Aaron Conover, Garret VanArsdale, Peter Van- Nest and William Howell were the elders; and John L. Tallman, Aaron Hall, Abraham S. Thomp- son and Stephen Birch, deacons. Says Hotchkin : "The church was organized as a Presbyterian church, and named the Second Presbyterian Church of Mt. Morris, February 26, 1846. The number of members in November of that year was thirty-six. The church was received under the care of the Presbytery of Ontario June 2, 1846. Rev. Israel Hammond was five years the pastor of the church while it was connected with the Re- formed Dutch denomination, and during this period the church was aided in the support of its pastor by the Synod's Board of Missions."* October 25, 1852, Stephen Birch, Wm. N. Hall, Aaron Conover, William Yules, Isaac VanDeven- ter, William VanDeventer, William Post and Rev. Thomas S. Dewing met for the purpose of re-incorporating. Rev. Thomas S. Dewing was then pastor. Stephen Birch and Wm. N. Hall were chosen to preside, and James Concklin, Wm. N. Hall and Isaac VanDeventer were elected trus- tees. The name was then changed to " The Pres- byterian congregation of Tuscarora." In 1870, the church united with the Presby- terian church at Union Corners, in the west edge of West Sparta, and January 2, 1871, the combined organization elected as first trus- tees; Hezekiah Johnson, L. J. Colburn, R. R. Concklin, from the Tuscarora congregation, and Wm. Slaight, Andrew Suydam and Peter D. Green, from the Union Corners congregation. Wm. E. Jones was then the pastor, and continued such till September, 1873. John Jones, then located at Geneseo, next supplied the pulpit for a few months and was followed by Rev. T. Dwight Hunt, then the pastor at Nunda, who supplied the pulpit for six months. This union between the two churches was dissolved in the spring of 1874. The church was built in 1844. The church now numbers ninety-eight members. The present pas- tor is Rev. John Mitchell, who has served them about a year. Mr. Mitchell is also the superin- tendent of the Sunday-school, the average attend- ance at which, as reported in January, 1880, was ninety-one. The Free Methodist Chureh of Tuscarora was organized in August, 1875, with about thirty mem- bers, by Rev. R. M. Snyder, the first pastor, who had held services from March previous, and sus- tained pastoral relations two years. He was suc- ceeded by Rev. Wm. Southworth, who remained •HoU/t&m's History of IVcsleni New York, //>. 58Z, 58). HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. till the fall of 1880. Services have been held in the school house since the organization. The present number of members is seventeen. Brooks Grove. Brooks Grove, an early post-village, is located in the south part of the town, on the main road from Mt. Morris to Nunda. Its derives its name from having been the place of residence of one of Mt. Morris' most substantial farmers and intelligent and trusted business men — Gen. Micah Brooks* — a son of David Brooks, A. M., of Cheshire, Conn., the latter of whom was a graduate of Yale College, a member of the Connecticut Legislature at the time of Burgoyne's surrender, and a delegate to the State Convention that adopted the United States Constitution at Hartford. In 1796, Micah Brooks, who was born in Cheshire, Conn., in 1775, and edu- cated by his father, visited the Genesee country on a tour of exploration, and again in the fall of 1797. In 1823, in connection with Jellis Clute and John B. Gibson, he purchased of Mary Jemison the major part of the Gardeau Tract, a fine por- tion of which he selected for a farm and residence in the locality which bears his name, where he died July 7, 1857. During his residence here he ex- erted a marked influence upon the agricultural and other interests of the town and vicinity — an in- fluence perpetuated by his sons Lorenzo H. Brooks, of Caneadea, and Micah VV. Brooks, the latter of whom resides on the homestead farm and is the present postmaster at Brooks Grove, an office to which he was appointed in January, 1862. The residence of the late Gen. Brooks was destroyed by fire in the summer of 1875. " The history of Micah Brooks," says Turner, " furnishes a remarkable instance of a man well edu- cated, and yet unschooled, for," he adds, "he never enjoyed in all, a twelve months of school tuition ! The small library of his father, a good native intellect, intercourse with the world, a lauda- ble ambition and self-reliance, supplied the rest." He was a "successful teacher," a "competent Justice and Judge," an able debater, and "the author of able essays upon internal improvements and other subjects." Even in his old age he was "a vigorous writer, and a frequent contributor to the public press."f Ridge. Ridge is a hamlet containing a Methodist church,}; •See portrait and biography of Gen. Micah Brooks on another page. 1 Pioneer History of 'Phelps 6* Gorham's Purchase, pp. 197,198 ; Tin t Inn. h is (.n the same charge as Mt. Morris, and has been noticed in connection with that Church. a blacksmith shop and a wagon shop. Jonathan Shank, who keeps the blacksmith shop, also keeps the post-office. It is about midway between Mt. Morris and Brooks' Grove, on the road from the former village to Nunda. War Rkcord. — The military record of Mt. Mor- ris is very incomplete ; while the record of the legislative action of the town in regard to the part taken by it in the war of the Rebellion is even more- so. The latter, with the exception of a single item, relates wholly to the provision made for the indi- gent families of volunteer soldiers from this town, and even in that respect it is evidently incomplete. But such facts as we have been able to glean from these sources, and additionally from the partially preserved columns of the local press of that period we give, regretting our inability to give more ample and exact information in regard to this important and interesting portion of the town's history. Hap- pily we are able to gather the earliest action of the town in this eventful period from the columns of The Livingston Union of April 22, 1861, and sub- sequent early action from later issues. The first war meeting in the town was held pur- suant to the following notice : — " We, the undersigned, citizens of Mt. Morris, for the purpose of responding to the call of our Gov- ernment, for the protection and defense of our Na- tional honor and prosperity, request that a public meeting be held on Monday evening, April 22(1, at Empire Hall. Let there be a prompt attendance." This was signed by the following prominent citizens of the place : — Z. W. Joslyn, A. Conkey, W. A. Mills, P. H. Hinman, J. A. Mead, McNeil Seymour, J. Conklin, J. Olp, C. B. Nash, G. VanHouten, H. Scoville, John H. Bodine, H. Ruggles, S. L. Rockfellow, N. Seymour, G. S. Whitney, H. Swan, L. C. Bingham, H. W. Miller, S. McNeilly, R. P. Wisner, H. Woodford, I. McNeilly, C. P. Winegar, G. W. Phelps, W. G. Thompson, J. Vernam, H. Bump, D. D. Strain, A. M. Bingham, H. Skillin. G. W. Branch, M. Clark, J. E. Robinson, L. Coy, R. T. W. French, H. M. Smith, H. G. Ames, E. L. Ament, C. T. Wygant, H. R. Miller, W. Humphrey, O. H. Phillips, J. S. Thompson, S. E. Brace, W. Hinman. " Pursuant to the above notice." says the report in the Union, "one of the most enthusiastic meet- GENERAL MICAH BROOKS. This brief record commemorates the life and services of one who lived in the most eventful period of human history, excepting only the years made memorable by the life and teachings of the Saviour of the world. Micah Brooks was born a subject of George III-, at the time the American colonies were resolving upon open revolt— he died eighty-two years later, having witnessed and taken part in the most remarkable changes that ever occurred in government, society, industry, science, and art. He was the son of David Brooks, who was the son of Enos, who was the son of Thomas, who was the son of Henry Brooks, who came from Cheshire, England, to Cheshire, Conn. He had fought under Oliver Cromwell, and the restoration of ("has. II , was offensive to him and caused him to remove to America- His son Thomas settled fourteen miles north from New Haven, and the (own to which he removed was called Cheshire, af- ter the place of his father's nativity, at least so read the family records. His grandson, David, the father of Micah, was born in Cheshire, Conn., in June. 174+. and married Elizabeth, daughter of Daniel Doolittle of Wallingford, Conn., who was a son of David, the son of Abram Doolittle who came from England. He wasgraduated at Yale College in 176?. and received the degree of Master of Arts. He also studied theology and was dulv ordained as a minister, but continued to conduct his farm at Cheshire, taking a prominent part in the discussions and agitations that preceded the Declaration of Independence Hewas appointed amember of the Vigilance Committee for the town of Cheshire, to prevent the con- sumption of tea and other artictes unjustly taxed by the British govern- ment, the inhabitants having voted not to use them. On the breaking out of hostilities he joined, as a private soldier, the first company organized in his town, but afterwards became Quartermaster of his regiment. When occasion required he served as chaplain and in emergencies, shouldered his musket. He was also a member of the State Legislature and a dele- gate to the state convention that adopted the U. S. Constitution at Hart- ford. Later in life he retired to his farm in Cheshire and died there in 1X02. Micah Brooks was born May 14, 1775, on his father's estate in Cheshire, Conn., where he spent the first years of his life, and acquired the studi- ous and diligent habits which distinguished him through life. Schools were few and poor duiing the Revolution, and the years that followed, but Micah belonged to a family that had the benefit of parental discipline and instruc- tion and where reading was enjoined and enjoyed. Thus he acquired habits of observation and research that made his mind a repository of useful knowl- edge He was ihe oldest of his father's familv, which consisted of Micah, David, Elizabeth, Benedict, Laura. Charity, Polly, Patty and David, all of whom lived to maturity except David, the second son, who died in his sixth year ; and all, excepting Patty, married. Micah Brooks gave from his own recollection, a very interesting account of the period imme- diately following the Revolutionary war, and it was published in Turner's, Phelps and Gorham's Purchase. In 1790 in common with many sons of New England, he explored the regions of the west, visited the Mnhawk, Susquehannah, Seneca, and the Genesee, and saw many pioneers in their lonely cabins, suffering privations, but full of hope. In the fall of 1T97 he visited the land of promise the second time remaining at East Bloom- field during the winter and keeping the district school there. Mr. James Sperry gives an account of this venture as follows : " In the fall of '97, a young man with a pack on his back, came into the neighborhood of Gunn, the Bronsnn's, &c and introduced himself as a rchon] teacher from the land of steady habits, proposing that they form a new district and he would keep their school. The proposition was accepted, all turned out and built a school-house, the young man assisting, and he kept school there that winter and the one following, and the house wasentirelyfilled- My father sent eight children to ;his school ; there we learned for the first time, that the earth is round — an old hat with a chalk line 'round it for the equator served as a globe to illustrate the revolution of the earth on its axis. Al- though the schoolmaster was a favorite with parents and pupils, they thought hewas tellmg something he knew nothing about, and still believed the earth was flat, and immovably fixed." In those days to be a good surveyor was a ereat accomplishment and a vast amount of surveying was to be done. Micah Brooks studied the art with Prof. Meigs, and held a certificate from the court of New Haven County, appointing him "surveyor within and for said county." In the fall of 1798 he madea tour, on foot, toNiagara Falls, following the Indian trails and stopping over night with Poudry and his Indian wife at Tona- wanda- In 1799 lie purchased a farm in East Bloomfield, paying six dol- lars per acre for it. The price of land soon declined, speculators having run the price up too high. In 1803-4 good lands on the Holland Pur- chase was bought for three dollars per acre. Mr. Brooks immediately commenced clearing his land, boarding with Deacon Bronson and giving two days' work for one week's board- In 1800 he was associate com- missioner with Hugh McNair and Matthew Warner, to layout a road from Canandaigua to Olean, and another from Hornellsville to the mouth of the Genesee river. Subsequently he found much use for his chain and com- pass in laying out roads and running lines on his wild lands in Livingston and Allegany counties. In 1801 he built a small frame house, then re- turned to Conn., and brought out two sisters to keep house for him, but as they soon married, he went back again to Conn., and December M, 1802, was there married to Mary, daughter of Deacon Abel Hall, of Lyme, Conn. Frugal, industrious, intelli- gent and public spirited, he became a prominent and useful citizen In the militia he rose through successive gradations to the rank of Major General. In 1S06 he was elected Justice of the Peace, in 180S assistant Justice of the County, the same year was elected to the Legislature from Ontario Co., and in the war of iSnserved in three campaigns as Lieut. - Col. He waselected to Congress in 1814, representing a very large terri- tory and serving on important committees. In 1821 he was elected to the New York state convention that revised the state constitution, and was a presidential elector in 1824 For twenty years he was a Judge of Ontario county courts. While a member of Congress he presented to that body a petition drawn by DeWitt Clinton, asking ihe national government to aid in the construction of the Erie canal. Some twenty years later he ad- dressed a large convention at Rochester, presided over by Judge Nathan Dayton, of Lockport, urging the "speedy enlargement" of the Erie canal— which was effected with manifest advantage to the state and nation. February 1,1839, delegates from several counties assembled at Cuba, Allegany County, to torward the completion of the New York and Erie Railroad, which had been chartered seven years before, but which, owing to the great commercial revulsion of 1837, and the magnitude of the un- dertaking, had not been completed. Gen. Brooks was chosen president of the convention, and addressed that btdy : his speech was pub- lished in the papers and widely circulated. In 182 j in connection with John B. Gibson and Jellis Clute, he purchased the lands of Mary Jemi- son. and soon after removed to them ; the place of his residence is known as H Brook's Grove." In 1833 he bought 6,iS2acres in Caneadea, Alle- gany Co, consideration $8,000. His wife having died, hewasagain, Sep- tember 2. j, i8jJi married to Eliza Chattin, who died in 1863, without issue. His sons were, Lorenzo H., of Caneadea, now deceased, and Micah Wooster, who is married and resides at the homestead. His daughters were, Marcia, wife of Henry O'Reillev, Clarissa, wife of Theodore F. Hall, of Kansas, Catharine, a mute, very intelligent and highly educated, now deceased, Laura, residing at Brook s Grove, and Cornelia, wife of Geo. Ellwanger, of the Mt- Hope Nurseries, at Rochester. In politics. Gen- Brooks was a firm supporter of the Whig party- He was master of him- self, temperate in his habits, uoright in his dealings, kind, compassionate and forbearing July 7, 1857, his life work being done, he leaned back in his chair and died, without a struggle. A public meeting of citizens testi fied to the respect in which he was held, and the "press "of the country announced that a true patriot and useful citizen had departed. MOUNT MORRIS — WAR RECORD. 117 ings that ever occurred in our village took place. At 7 p. m., our bells chimed most furiously, bring- ing crowds of our citizens into Main street. Our band was out playing spiritedly the Star Spangled Banner, Hail Columbia, Yankee Doodle, and other national airs. The stars and stripes were displayed from our hotels, churches and dwellings in great profusion. At an early hour Empire Hall was filled. Hon. John Vernam called the meeting to order, nominating R. P. Wisner to preside. Mr. Wisner, on taking the chair, made a stirring patriotic speech, eliciting rounds of ap- plause. * * The following gentlemen were selected as officers of the meeting : Vice-Presidents, John Vernam, H. Bump, Dr. Branch, H. Swan. H. P. Mills, Rev. T. S. Franklin, R. Sleeper, W. A. Mills, George S. Whitney ; Secretaries, Mc- Neil Seymour, L. C. Bingham, A. Conkey." Stirring and patriotic speeches were made by Messrs. Wisner, Vernam, Franklin, Ames, A. M. Bingham, Janes and Hastings ; after which a com- mittee consisting of Geo. S. Whitney, C. E. Mar- tin, McNeil Seymour, Reuben Sleeper and C. B. Adams were appointed to raise and distribute funds for the support of the families of volunteers. C. E. Martin was duly authorized to raise a com- pany, and half the requisite number signed the roll for volunteers before the meeting adjourned. It was then left at the American Hotel for additional signatures. Lucius Southwick, of the Shaker Society in Groveland, was present on the rostrum, and declared that his fraternity were ready to pay their quota for the support of the war. In referring to the meeting, the Union says : — " The love of country has obliterated party- lines — but one spirit and sentiment prevails — that insurrection and treason must be put down." On the 27 th of April a liberty pole was raised at Tuscarora and the stars and stripes flung to the breeze. It was saluted by martial music and thirty-four guns. The people were addressed by Dr. Joslyn, Capt. Martin, A. Hall and R. P. Wis- ner. "A large share of patriotic spirit was ex- hibited. Several names were added to the list of volunteers, and liberal contributions were made to the Patriotic Fund." The Livingston Union, of May 1, 1 86 1, says, "our volunteer company is nearly full, and will be prepared to leave for Elmira in a few days." The same paper says that up to April 27th, $1,678 had been contributed for the support of volunteers from this village and vicinity. Conspicuous among the subscribers is the name of John R. Murray, who subscribed $250 — the largest individual subscription. Seven others subscribed $100 each, viz: — George S. Whitney, R. P. Wis- ner, George W. Branch, R. Sleeper, Bump & Pray, Frederic Davis and C. B. Adams. Capt. Martin's company, with seventy-seven en- listed men and eleven commissioned and non- commissioned officers, left for Elmira, Thursday, May 16, 1 86 1, and was there designated Co. G of the 27 th Regiment. The following were its officers: — Captain, Charles E.Martin; Lieutenant, Joseph H. Bodine ; Ensign, Oscar H. Phillips ; 1st Sergeant, John J. Kellogg; 2d Sergeant, Ed- win C. Bennett ; 3d Sergeant, Edward Williams ; 4th Sergeant, Wm. M. Nimbs ; 1st Corporal, E. R. Parker; 2d Corporal, George W T . Bingham; 3d Corporal, William Biggs; 4th Corporal, George Bennett. The occasion of their leaving was made a grand ovation. The Livingston Union, of May 22, 1861, says: — " Thursday last, the day appointed for the de- parture of our volunteers to Elmira, was one never to be forgotten by the citizens of our village. About 2 o'clock p. m. the crowd began to gather in Main street, until it was one mass of men, women and children. The occasion was one of thrilling interest — its equal never before witnessed in our town. Our worthy volunteers were drawn up in line to receive the parting blessing of their fellow- citizens. The ceremonies were impressive and affecting — stout hearts gave way and tears flowed freely. Speakers as well as listeners were sensibly affected, and the moistened eyes of hundreds grate- fully expressed the deep solemnities of that interest- ing occasion." The ladies were indefatigable up to the last hour in providing garments, etc., for the comfort of the men. About 4 o'clock the procession started for the depot, followed by the entire crowd. " Here," says the Union, " the scene was really affecting, as the parting moment had come. Amid loud cheers, waving of handkerchiefs, falling tears, and aching hearts, the volunteers left for Elmira." With this much accomplished Mt. Morris did not relax her efforts. The good work so nobly begun was continued. On Saturday, May 18, 1 86 1, a pole 112 feet long, surmounted by a large gilt ball, was raised on thegrounds of the late Gen. Brooks, and stirring addresses were made by Rev. T. L. Franklin, R. P. Wisner, A. M. Bingham and Capt. Randall, of Portage, urging the people to rally to the defense of a suffering country. On Saturday, June 1, 186 1, a liberty pole was raised in the village amid impressive ceremonies, and ad- dresses were made by C. B. Adams, Revs. Story and Keyes, R. P. Wisner, Col. Sleeper, A. M. Bingham, Hon. Wm. Scott, N. Seymour, Drs. Joslyn and Ames and Prof. Smith. The second company of volunteers from Mt. Morris was raised by Capt. C. W. Burt, whose in- HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. defatigablc efforts enabled him to leave with his company for Elniira, September 13, 1861. The company was escorted to the depot by the band and a large number of citizens. Among its mem- bers was A. M. Bingham, a lawyer of this village, who had done much in the way of addressing meet- ings to encourage enlistments. The number neces- sary to fill it were obtained while at Elmira, a re- cruiting office being kept open in Mt. Morris for that purpose. It was attached to the 89th Regi- ment, commanded by Col. Fairchild, and left Elmira for Washington, December 6, 1861. During the war Mt. Morris furnished 285 men ; of whom 1 was a substitute, 8 reenlisted, 1 was drafted, 233 resided in the town, and 27 were na- tives of the town. They were distributed through various organizations as follows, as nearly as can be ascertained from the records : — 51 in the 136th, 40 in the 27th, 10 in the 130th, 6 in the 89th, 5 in the 104th, 2 each in the 24th, 58th and 133d, and 1 each in the nth, 15th, 33d, 140th and 147th in- fantry regiments ; 2 in the 4th New York artillery, 1 each in the 2d and 24th batteries, and 1 in the 5th Rhode Island artillery; 29 in the 24th New York cavalry : 2^ in the 1st dragoons, 3 in the 8th and 1 in the 3d cavalry regiments. This, like other details of the records is manifestly incom- plete; while in regard to bounties, it only shows that a town bounty of $100 was [laid to 60 indi- viduals, and of $300 to 31; a county bounty of $300 to 16, of $100 to 1 and of $75 to 1 ; and a State bounty of $75 to 1. We simply cite this to show how unreliable and unsatisfactory is the data from which to compile these local histories of the rebellion. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. MYRON H. MILLS. Myron H. Mills was born in Mt. Morris, Dec. 8, 1820. He is a son of Maj.-Gen. Wm. A. Mills and a grandson of Rev. Samuel^ Mills, one of the earliest evangelical preachers of the county of Living- ston, south of Avon. This distinguished clergyman was a graduate of Yale College : uniting many promi- nent mental qualities with a superior education, he was well qualified, in every respect, for the duties of his sacred profession. He was a native of Derby, Connecticut. Soon after completing his theological education, attracted by the glowing accounts of the beauties and promised wealth and greatness of the 1 renesee Valley, about the year 1792 he immigrated with his family to that part of Livingston county now known as C.roveland, and settled in Williams- burgh, then a mere hamlet. This was the first village in that county, and for a time was the successful rival of ( leneseo. But more powerful influences favoring the latter, it became the county seat, and the growth of the former was at an end, and the population gradually decreased, until at last then was left no trace of the once busy little town. The Rev. Samuel J. Mills preached the great truths ■ if the gospel t<> the pioneers in an acceptable and profitable manner, and he became an object of af- fection and love to the early settlers about him. A few old apple trees standing to the left of the road after crossing the Canaseraga bridge going to Geneseo, planted by his hands, mark or nearly so, the site of his ancient home. In the midst of his prosperity his house was consumed by fire. This, together with the unlucky turn of a land specula- tion, so g-eatly disheartened him that it superin- duced a disease known as the Genesee fever, which soon terminated his life. At the request of James Wadsworth, Sr., his remains were interred in the cemetery at Geneseo. After his death his family, with the exception of Wm., — afterwards General Mills, — returned to New England, and became resi- dents of New Bedford. William with that penetra- tion, comprehension and sagacity which were strong features in his character, had a clear conception of the destined wealth and greatness of the country about him, and he determined to remain in the country, and move on with it to success, prosperity and usefulness. As a conseqence his name is enrolled in the history of Western New York, among its lead ing pioneers, and he is spoken of asa chief artificer in the erection of that noble and distinguished civil edifice — Livingston county. When only seventeen years of age, he settled at Allen's Hill — now Mt. Morris — and with his own hands prepared the ma- terial for the log house which was for a long time his home. Among his many Indian neighbors there was only one white man, Clark Cleve land, a mason by trade. The myriads of dusky sons and daughters of the forest, became to young Mills his friends and he proved to be a great favorite with them, whose generous sentiment they recognized by giving him the name of "Sa-nun-ge- wa" — interpreted signifies a big kettle or generous man. To this day among the old Indians on the Allegany and Cattaraugus Creek reservations tin- village of Mt. Morris is called "Sa-nun-ge-wa-ge," in honor of his memory. He spoke the Indian language fluently, giving it the peculiar sound of the "red man's" vernacular. He witnessed the subduing of the wilderness, the increasing population and the changes of the country, until it developed into a region that lost little when compared with the Yale of Tempe and the gardens of the Ffesperides. He erected the first framed house in the village of Mt. Morris. It stood on State street nearly opposite the present residence of Mr. Moss. In the year 1803 he was united by marriage to Susannah H. Harris of Tioga l'oint, l'enn. Ten children were ^C^XZ^^^^C^^ MYRON H. MILLS. 3i9 born of this happy union, of whom nine grew to maturity and four are still living, viz: Samuel J. Mills and Mrs. Elizabeth M. Hamlin of Iowa, Mrs. Susan H. Branch and Dr. Myron H. Mills of Mt. Morris. Gen. Mills was not only a friend to the In- dians, but it is stated he never permitted a settler to lose his property for want of means to meet the payments due on his land. So notable did he be- come in this respect, that he was known and called by the original settlers, the "father of Mt. Morris." General Mills was the first Supervisor of the town of Mt. Morris, holding the office for nearly twenty years in succession. He saw his old and life-long friend, Moses Hayden, who had been ap- pointed March 28, 1821, First Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, take his seat for the first time on the bench of the new county. He was also the first President and prominent organizer of the Liv- ingston County Agricultural Society, and was di- rector in the old Livingston County Bank — the first banking institution opened in the county. He or- ganized the first militia company in what is now Livingston county. When the war of 181 2 broke out General Mills was among the first to respond to the call of his country, and served as a soldier on the frontiers. By rapid gradations, he rose to the rank of Major-General in the service of the State. His command embraced Livingston, Gen- esee, Ontario, Steuben, Monroe and Allegany counties. On occasions of public parade and drill of his command, which occurred in the fall of the year at the principal villages in the above counties, he, like the President of our times, says an old set- tler, " was the observed of all observers." Among the distinguished gentlemen who have served on his military staff were Col. Reuben Sleeper of Mt. Morris, Gen. Frank Granger of Canandaigua, Hon. Daniel D. Barnard and Hon. Charles J. Hill of Rochester. Col. Hill is one of the Ex-Mayors of Rochester, N. Y., and is still living in the 86lh year of his age, honored and re- spected for his many virtues, by the entire com- munity where he resides. Gen. Granger subse- quently became Postmaster-General and a member of the President's Cabinet, and Daniel D. Barnard a Member of Congress. Gen. Mills become a large landed proprietor, was influential and public spirited, but his useful and active life was suddenly terminated, while yet in the vigor of his manhood. After partaking of his dinner, April 6th, 1844, he retired to his room for his customary after-dinner nap, from which he never awoke in this world. He died from disease of the heart, at sixty-seven years of age, leaving an extensive landed property to his nine surviving children. Dr. Myron H. Mills, to whom we have already referred, is a citizen of Livingston county, whose interests are his interests, and whose prosperity and advancement are a source of unqualified gratifica- tion to him. After receiving an excellent English academic education, he entered upon the study of his chosen profession — medicine and surgery. I pon a thorough preparatory course in the office of Dr. Hiram Hunt his father's old friend and family physician, he entered Geneva Medical College, from which he was graduated in March, 1844. In June, 1845 he became a resident of the city of St. Louis, where he commenced the practice of his profession, and hardly had six months passed away, before the young physician had gained a remunera- tive practice, and was surrounded by strong and influential friends and holding the position of phy- sician to the City Hospital. In the spring of 1846, when the government had declared war with Mexico, Dr. Mills was ambitious to serve his country, resigned his office in the city hospital, volunteered as a private in Captain Hud- son's company, then being raised and organized in St. Louis for the war, but before being mustered into the United States service, he applied for the ap- pointment of Assistant Surgeon in the U. S. Army. His application to the proper authorities for the position he desired, being made at the suggestion of, and indorsed by influential friends. He went to Fort Leavenworth, five hundred miles from St. Louis, to present his papers in person toC.cn. Stephen VV. Kearney, who was to command the "Army of the West," and if possible to obtain his endorsement to his papers, before making applica- tion to the Secretary of War's office at Washington. In this his efforts were successful, and he received his appointment, and served through the entire war. He was wounded at the battle of Canada, New Mexico, but remained on the field until the close of the action — the ball striking the fleshy portion of the right leg below the knee. Lieut. Irwin, near the Doctor at the same moment, was severely wounded by a musket ball. Mr. Mills being fresh from the graduating schools of medicine and surgery, was the first to introduce the " flap operation" in amputations in the army of the west, the "circular" being the former in use from time immemorial. For this he was promoted by Surgeon DeCamp, of Baltimore, of the United States Army, to the head of the Medical and Sur- gical department of the army. After the close of the war while in Washington attending the court martial of Col. Fremont, Hon. Wm. L. Marcy then Secretary of War, tendered him a commission as Assistant Surgeon in the regular army, under the Act known as the ten regiment bill, to increase the standing army, which he declined. After an absence of nearly three years, he returned to Mt. Morris, and soon after at the request of a commit- tee of citizens, delivered an address on the " Mexi- can war and its incidents," which, by special requests from committees, was repeated in Nunda and Perry. In June, 1849, Dr. Mills was united in marriage to Mary E. Mills, only daughter of Hiram P. Mills, Esq., of Mt. Morris. She is a most estimable lady, possessing those admirable traits of character which make the domestic circle cheerful and happy. The marriage has been one of happiness and reciprocal affection, deepened and brightened by the flight of time. Six children were the fruits of this marriage, two of whom only sur- vived to maturity. 320 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. In the spring of 1850, the Dr. removed to Roch- ester, N. Y., where he opened a drag-store, and al- though the business proved remunerative, it was too small and contracted a business to suit his broad and comprehensive mind. He therefore embraced the first opportunity presenting itself to sell out his stock of goods, and engaged in the con- struction of public works for the State of New York. Here he found ample scope for his busi- ness qualifications, and was rewarded by a liberal compensation, which afforded him a competency for life and enabled him to retire from business in the fall of 1868. In 1863, he was appointed a delegate by the Mayor and Common Council of Rochester, to re- present that city in the National Ship Canal Con- vention, held at Chicago in June of that year. In November, 1870, he removed to Mt. Morris, his native village, and purchased the homestead grounds upon which he was born, but which had passed out of the family. He enlarged and taste- fully improved the mansion, constructing elaborate and costly outbuildings, embellishing the grounds which embrace nearly five acres of land with pleas- ing walks and shrubbery. This home is situated in the northern part of the village, at the extremity of Main street, and overlooks the broad valley of the Genesee for miles around. The imagination can hardly conceive of a more beautiful situation. The view of the surroundings and landscape scenery would inspire the muse of a poet, and imbue the imagination of the painter with all the beautiful inspirations of his creative art. Here the representative red-men of the forest used to come in bygone times to see " Sa-nun-ge-wa," (General Mills) their friend and counselor — not unfrequent- ly settling difficulties between the white settlers and the Indians, as well as other matters of more grave import. Here Mary Jemison, better known in history as the "Old White Woman," paid, it is said, her last visit in the Genesee Valley, the cherished home of her youth, before leaving for the Buffalo Creek Reservation, in 1830, to reside. Here upon these grounds, made historic by the white and red man. Doctor Mills ("Hod-a-gents- sa-nun-ge-wa," a title given him by the Seneca nation of Indians in honor of his father, which in- terpreted signifies in the Indian tongue " Doctor Big Kettle ;" in our language, Dr. Mills,) devotes a large share of his leisure time to literary pursuits. He was one of the founders of the Livingston County Historical Society, also of the Livingston County Pioneer Association. He has been presi- dent at different times of both societies, and has labored zealously for their success, which appears now established. He is known as an easy, flexible and forcible writer. Under the jionul, plume of " Corn-planter" is the author of a series of articles on Indian history. He also published an elaborate and the only com- plete history of the Mt. Morris tract. The Doctor has attained much reputation as a public speaker and lecturer. He delivered an address before the Wyoming Historical Pioneer Association at the dedication of their log-cabin at Silver Lake, in 1878, and was there greeted by an immense audience, 20,000 people having assembled at the lake on that occasion. His address before the State Associa- tion of Mexican War Veterans, at Detroit, Sept. 14, 1880, was another masterly effort. His review of the results and benefits of that war to the coun- try, and the claims of the veteran soldiers upon the government for a pension, are unanswerable. In February, 1878, he delivered a lecture on the Pre-Historic Races in America, by special invita- tion, at Dansville. His audience consisted of the clergy, lawyers, physicians, professors in the Semi- nary, and leading business men, and literary ladies and gentlemen of the place, who were unanimous in their approval. In August, 1877, he delivered an oration on the occasion of the annual meeting of the Livingston County Pioneer Association, at Long Point, Con- esus Lake, holding the vast audience, thickly inter- spersed with ladies, for more than an hour, during the last half of which a threatening thunder storm seemed rapidly gathering, with but limited shelter accomodations at hand, save that offered by the friendly and wide-spread branches of the stately forest trees. He has delivered at various times acceptable addresses upon agriculture and its kindred sub- jects before the Farmers' Association of his town, on the occasions of their annual gatherings after harvest. To him they look for counsel and advice in local affairs effecting their welfare. He is a fearless and bold advocate of the people's interest and is regarded by them as one of the few men in whom implicit confidence can be placed. He is President of the Board of Fducation of Mt. Morris, President of the " Mills Water Works Company," was appointed in December, 1880, by the Board of Supervisors of Livingston county on the commission to devise ways and means to sup- ply the Poor House, Insane Asylum and other buildings belonging to the county with an abundant supply of pure water for sanitary purposes, domestic use and for fire purposes. The commission was a success, and reported to the Board in April, '81, for their consideration, plans of the work with esti- mated cost, to supply upon the "gravity system" the two former requirements, also the latter. In politics Dr. Mills has always been a Demo- crat, firmly, but never obtrusively, sustaining his principles. He was never an office seeker, pre- ferring private life and its retirement and the good opinion of his fellow citizens to public office, although occasionally accepting positions of honor and public trust tendered him. He admires in men the distinction of moral worth, integrity, industry and virtue, and all men who possess these traits are equal in his estimation. Though retired from active business life, what- ever tends to promote the growth of his native vil- lage or beautify it, finds in him a zealous and efficient advocate. A son of a pioneer who was conspicuous for enterprise and upright dealings, JONATHAN PHILLIPS — CHESTER FOOTE. and valuable in doing those things which have so largely tended to make Mt. Morris reach its present advanced and progressive condition, it is not sur- prising the son should emulate the example of his father, and reflect his virtues in whatever pertains to the public interests and welfare of his native vil- lage. In 1873 he published an article exhibiting the feasibility and necessity of constructing water works to supply the village of Mt. Morris with water, and June 4th, 1879, at the request of the Trustees of the village, met the citizens in a public meeting to discuss the subject to which he had previously called their attention. His able and well matured plans for the construction of water works were accepted, and the works were con- structed the same year with that push and energy characteristic of the man, who furnished the entire capital himself. The expectation of the public in their construction were more than realized and a grand success was achieved. The health of the village has materially improved since the con- struction of these works, aside from the great con- venience of an abundant supply of pure and whole- some water for sanitary and domestic purposes brought to the doors of the citizens, as well as to protect their property from destruction by fire. For this enterprise, and the great blessings result- ing therefrom, the citizens are indebted wholly to Dr. Mills. Courteous, kindly disposed, self-reliant, clear- headed and gentlemanly in his demeanor, Dr. Mills never stops at trifles, but presses right on to the successful completion of whatever he undertakes. In his domestic relations he is peculiarly fortunate and happy. Two amiable and accomplished daugh- ters — Jennie and Isabell, and their estimable mother — adorn his household and contribute largely to his happiness. JONATHAN PHILLIPS. Jonathan Phillips was born in Romulus, (now Varick,) Seneca county, November 2, 1S10. His parents were Samuel and Sarah (Scoby) Phillips, natives of New Jersey. They settled in Cayuga county, about 1800, and soon thereafter in Seneca county. They came into this county in 1826, where the father died December 22, 1874, aged eighty-eight years, and the mother January 31, 1870, aged seventy-eight years. They had eleven children, only three of whom are now living, viz: — Calista, Isaac and Sophronia. Jonathan, the sec- ond of the family, when in his twenty-second year, left the home of his parents, (where he had lived up to that time, assisting his father oh the farm and attending the district school winters, the only advantages for an education he ever enjoyed,) and worked land on shares for about five years. Then he bought the farm on which he lived till lie died, and which is. now operated by his widow. He moved into a log house which was on the place and occupied that until he finished the pres- ent fine residence in 1853. He at first purchased only 50 acres, but added from time to time till he owned 360 acres in his home farm, and in other localities about 200 acres, making his estate con- sist of 560 acres. He was a most thorough and successful farmer, and for about sixteen years be- fore his death was very extensively engaged in buy- ing and selling live-stock; and it may safely be said that as a farmer and speculator he was to be ranked with the first in the town of Mt. Morris. In politics he was a Republican, but never an office-seeker. He took a lively interest in the suc- cess of his party, and sustained its measures and advocated its principles with a warmth that is al- ways characteristic of the earnest partisan. April 25, 1832, he married Violetta, daughter of Richard and Hannah (Keeler) Akers, natives of New Jersey, who came to Seneca county in 1823, and to this county in 1825. Her father died De- cember 22, 1866, aged about ninety years, and her mother, aged ninety-six years, is still living and residing in Michigan with her daughter Jane, wife of Samuel Klady. They had seven children, four of whom are now living, viz: — Violetta, Jane, John G., and Aaron. He died March 15, 1870, in the sixtieth year of his age. Mr. and Mrs. Phillips have had three children as follows : — Sarah Jane, born February 10, 1833, married Charles Moyer, of Mt. Morris and died February 5, 1875 ; Janette H., born June 23, 1839, and died January 16, 1842; Adella Z., born May 2, 1850, married L. DeWitt Smith, of Geneseo, and lives now with the mother on the old homestead. CHESTER FOOTE. Chester Foote is one of the oldest residents now living in the town of Mt. Morris. He was born in the town of Kingsboro, Montgomery county, N. Y., April 27, 1790. His parents were Joseph, Jr., and Beersheba (Burr) Foote, of Conn. Joseph, Jr., was born about 1755. He served his country during the Revolutionary war as cavalryman. He died in Kingsboro in 1790, aged about 35 years. His wife survived him many years, and died in Ohio at the great age of one hundred years. They had four children, Levi, Joseph, Beersheba and Chester, of whom Chester alone is living. The mother married for her second husband Isaac Flowers, by whom she had three children, Lucy, Sylvia and Livinia, all now dead. For her third husband she married Thomas Thompson, of Ohio. No children were born of this marriage. After the death of his father, which occurred when Chester was about two months old, Mrs. Foote kept her four children together as long as possible, but soon had to place them out among her rela- tives until they became old enough to support themselves. At the age of nine years Chester was taken into the family of his uncle Aaron, a brother of his father's and lived with him until his marriage with Fanny Hoofcoot, Feb. 25, 1812. She was born in 1792. 322 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Four years after this marriage Chester moved to Trenton, Oneida county, where he carried on farming about three years. In 1817 he moved with his family, consisting of wife and one child, and what few goods he had to Western New York, passing through Mt. Morris, which was then a small settlement, to his destination at Plum Creek, Allegany county. He found a small settlement at Nunda, also one at Solomon Williams' on the old short tract road, which was merely marked out through the woods. A short distance beyond -Mr. Williams' there was a very steep hill, on which the snow had been thawing quite rapidly, so that the horses' feet balled up, causing them to slip and stumble so badly that before reaching the top of the hill the horses were drawn back again by the weight of the sleigh to the foot of the hill. After several attempts they succeeded in gaining the summit and about dark reached a creek in which the melting snow had caused the water to rise so high that it carried off the log bridge which spanned it. Finding it impossible to cross with the sleigh, he unharnessed the horses and placing his wife on one rode the other himself and carried the child. After crossing the creek, while on their way, his wife, not being accustomed to riding on horseback, would occasionally fall from her elevated position, and he would spread a blanket on the snow and lay the child on it while he helped her to mount again. About twelve o'clock at night they reached their destination, and the next day he brought over the sleigh and goods. They brought provisions with them sufficient, as they thought, to last till they were started, but provisions were becoming so scarce among the settlers that when a new comer arrived they flocked in in such numbers to make acquaintance and get something to eat that in a few days the future began to look gloomy to Mr. Foote and his family. While meditating on the subject one evening, they fancied they heard a voice, saying: "Arise and get thee hence;" and obedient to the summons, they packed their goods the next day and returned to Mt. Morris where they settled about a mile south of the village, on land owned by the father of John R. Murray, the latter now a resident of Mt. Morris. Here Mr. Foote lived about three years, when he moved to West Sparta, where he resided till about 1832, when he purchased and moved to the farm in Mt. Morris where he now lives. Here his first wife died June 10, 1827, aged sixty-four years, ten months and three days. In 1863 he married Mary Bingham, and having rented his farm to his son Norman, moved to Nunda and resided there six years, when the death of his second wife occurred. He then re- turned to his farm. Since leaving Nunda he has lived at times with all of his children. In 1870 he sold his farm to his son Norman, with whom he spends half of his time and the re- mainder with his son Giles W. He is a remark- ably well preserved man, but the signs of old age are manifesting themselves in the loss of hearing and impaired eyesight. There have been born to him eight children, one of whom died in infancy. Those that reached maturity are named as follows : Maria, born Dec. 31, 1813, died Dec. 13, 1839; Eliza, born Nov. 8, 1816, died April 15, 1854; Ciles W., born July n, 1S1S; Chas., born Oct. 15, 1822; Norman, born Sept. 15, 1824; Mary, born Sept. 14, 1826, and Harriet, born Jan. 8, 1S34. COL. REUBEN SLEEPER. (COL. REUBEN SLEEPER.) Col. Reuben Sleeper was born in Laurens, Otsego county, February 22, 1798. He was of Quaker descent and enjoyed vigorous health, being of temperate habits. He early espoused the temperance reform and abandoned the sale of spirituous liquors, even at a sacrifice of business interests. With only a common school education he, at sixteen years of age, entered upon a clerk- ship in his native town in a " general dry goods and variety store." In 182 1, he, with his partner, Abner Dean, engaged in the mercantile business at Manlius, Onondaga county. In 1823, they re- moved to Mt. Morris, and for some time kept the only store in that town. For years their goods, bought in New York, were brought up the Cenesee river from Rochester, being, from Rochester, poled up, on flat boats, a distance of one hundred and thirty miles. Also goods were brought by teams from Albany in favorable weather. After occupy- ing a small wooden store for four years, they re- moved it, and erected the first brick building in the place. In 1828 the partnership was dissolved, the brick building being sold to the partner of Mr. S., and he opened in another building a store, continu- ing there till he built a store on a lot adjoining his residence. In April, 1827, he married Lucretia C. CONESUS — ORGANIZATION. 3*3 daughter of Rev. Dr. Lyman, of East Haddam, Conn., who survives him. On the incorporation of the village in June, 1835, he was chosen President of the Board of Trustees, and at the time of his death was the last survivor of the Board chosen at that time. He retained that position several years, the late Hon. George Hastings acting as clerk. After the death of the first president of the Genesee River Bank, he was chosen President, and served in that capacity for a long time. Col. Sleeper was widely known throughout the Genesee Valley and Western New York, as a successful business man and a man of strong and earnest convictions, of great industry and sterling integrity. On all public questions he was independent and acted without regard to self-interest or policy. Being early known as an Abolitionist, his house for years was the resting place of fugitives from slavery, fleeing to the Queen's Dominions, and his integrity of charac- ter and strict sense of justice led him to adopt and advocate principles that were not popular with the people. He was a man of culture and extensive reading and a courteous gentleman. During a residence of about fifty years he held many posi- tions of public trust with credit to his sagacity and integrity. He retired from active business in 1856, but at the time of his death, May it, 1872, was director of the Genesee River National Bank, hav- ing held that position since its organization, and being a public spirited man he took an active in- terest in all public improvements. CHAPTER XXIII. History ok the Town of Conesus. I^HE town of Conesus is situated on the eastern border of the county, and contains an area of six square miles. It is bounded on the north by Livonia, on the south by Sparta and Springwater; on the east by Canadice, (Ontario county ;) and on the west by Groveland. The town lies between the beautiful lakes of Conesus and Hemlock. Its surface is quite uneven, with a higher general elevation than any town of the eastern range. Several ranges of hills extend through the town, most of them small ; the largest being the "Mar- rowback Hills." in the eastern part, and what is known as "Turkey Hill," in the western part.* At points in the larger range the hills rise to an elevation of several hundred feet, in which vicinity * These names are of local derivation. The name " Marrowback,'' as applied to the largest range, was derived from this instance : Two men — inhabitants of the town — engaged in a personal conflict. One of them was from this legion of hills, and he getting the better of his adversary the bystanders exclaimed to the vanquished — ''He's got too much mar- row in his back for you, boy !" Turkey Hill was so named on account of the numerous fowls of that species stolen from the dwellers in the valley by pillaging families who lived on this hill. The name signifies " Many Stolen Turkeys." several fatal accidents have occurred, the most no- table being that of the death of a citizen named Hamilton who, in an attack of delerium tremens, leaped over the rocks and was dashed to pieces below. From near the center of the town begins the Calabogue valley* which extends into Springwater. The town derives its name from Conesus Lake, which was named for the celebrated Indian chief, Conesus. f The town was first organized in 1821 as Free- port. Before the year 1820 Conesus was divided into two parts, the eastern, belonging to the town of Livonia, and the west part to the town of Grove- land. At that tlate the two towns belonged to the county of Ontario, and all of the different articles of agreement for lands were dated in the above named towns and county before 1820. In 1820 the first attempt was made for the or- ganization of the town, but on account of certain irregularities the organization was not effected till 1821. The name Freeport was given to the town by the early squatters, who supposed the land to be free to all who came here to settle, and who as erroneously supposed that building a brush fence around their quasi claims was all that was neces- sary to secure to them the future ownership.}: When a few years after the actual owners came and claimed the land, some of the squatters, when they discovered the invalidity of their titles, left for parts unknown, while a number who had thus seized their land, supposing it to be without an owner, refused to yield their claims, causing no little disturbance and some important law suits which were in the courts of the State for several years, but which were finally decided in favor of the right- ful owners. For three years the town retained the name of Freeport, when, in 1824, through the influence of a man named Bugbee, it was changed to Bowers- *Or Calabogue Hollow, as it is sometimes called. The name signifies 11 The Headless Place." t The Indian name for Conesus Lake was Ga-ne-a-sois, or Gah-nyuh- sas, meaning— H Place of Nanny Perries," — a small mealy berry which al one time grew there in great profusion. X Doly's History says the name of Freeport was derived from the following circumstance : — " A squatter, who had been a sailor, settled on a particular lot neat the brow of the western hill. "After fencing it in and making si improvements, he was forcibl) driven oft by the owner. The ejection provoked the landless pioneer, who, at somepains, published his version of the story, urging that how ever ready other sections might be to welcome emigrants, this particular region was no ' free-port. 1 This, from the meaning of the term, " free-port," would seem to be the most probable version, though the other is given as correct. 3 2 4 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. ville, in honor of the Bowers family who then owned here a large tract of land. The inhabitants, however, soon became dissat- isfied with this name and petitioned the legislature to again change it. This petition was signed by a large number of inhabitants. At the same time a remonstrance was raised against the proposed change which did not prove successful, and after retaining the name of Bowersville one year it was in 1825 changed to Conesus, which name it lias since retained. Among the early purchasers of land in this town were Phelps and Gorham, a number of years before the first settlement of the town was made by white men. After they had retained possession of the land a certain length of time, they transferred their claims, in part, to Henry Bowers and Sir William Pulteney, and a small tract to what was then known as the Canandaigua Academy, situated at Canandaigua, N. Y. This tract consisted of five lots, which, a few years after, were numbered as lots Nos. 16, 54, 80, 89, no, a total or 814 acres. In 1 819 or '20, a few years after Bowers and Pulteney had obtained possession, they laid this tract of land out into lots, and numbered them from r to 139, including a tier of lots on the east side of Hemlock lake that formerly belonged to the town, which were numbered 10 and 20, and parts of lots 30, 39, 40, and 57, which have since been transferred yj the county of Ontario. They also laid out part of Hemlock lake into lots, as Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, which they reserved for those who wished to purchase water privileges. A few years after Mr. Bowers died, his prop- erty, consisting of seventy lots, was divided among his five children as follows: John Bowers, 13 lots ; Mary Campbell, 14 lots; Mary Ann Duane, 15 lots; Harriet Mumford, 14 lots; and Rebecca Scott, 14 lots. Soon after his death the heirs came to the town and sold their claims to those who desired to pur- chase at the extremely low price of from eight to ten dollars per acre. It was upon their arrival that the squatters departed, or refusing to yield their occupancy, caused the important but tedious suits at law. The Pulteney claims, which consisted of fifty- eight lots, have now almost ceased to be known. Their lands were sold to different purchasers, and those lands belonging to the Canandaigua Academy have also passed into other hands. The first settlement of the town was begun in the year 1793, although there are evidences that some one settled here prior to that date. Some of the settlers of 1800-05, pastured their cattle on what was known as the " Olcutt clearing," which was situated on what is now called Turkey Hill. This clearing had an area of some five acres, well covered with grass, and surrounded by a log fence, in the center of which stood a cabin where had lived the person when clearing the land. In 1806, this cabin was nearly gone to decay, and the indi- cations were that the tract had been cleared a num- ber of years, but by whom it was never known, as he was gone when the first settlers came, and no record of his life has ever been found. He must have settled here about 1793, if not before; but as the attempted location may have been made by some venturesome squatter, and as there exists no authentic record of it, the first permanent settle- ment must be ascribed to James Henderson who, in the year 1793, came from Pennsylvania, and located at the head of Conesus Lake, where he built a log house on lot 49, on land now owned by B. F. and R. F. McMillen. In 1 795, he was followed by Hector McKay, who located on lot 108, about three-quarters of a mile north of the site of Scottsburgh. Here he built a log house, in the construction of which he procured the assistance of friendly Indians from Allen and Squakie Hills. In the following spring he pur- chased the land on which he resided at the time of his death, the date of which is unknown. He was buried in the south part of the town in the old cemetery, known as McKay's burying-ground. The family of James Henderson * consisted of a wife and several children, who came here with him to mingle their fortunes in an unknown wilderness filled with varied trials and discomforts. Mr. Henderson was by occupation a mill-wright, and soon after his arrival here — probably about 1794 — built the first saw-mill near the site of Conesus Center. This was a great aid to the in- coming settlers, in preparing material for their houses, in raising which they obtained the aid of other settlers throughout the county. In iSi6 and '17 he built the old woolen and fulling mill that used to be situated in the gully at the head of Conesus lake. This mill has for many years been abandoned, and nothing now re- mains of that once famous factory but the stones that were used for its foundation. In this mill in 1818 or '19, William Scott, of * Better known throughout ilie town .is Squire Henderson. ™1#I» m 0) 5 pi z n m o ,» m m 71 CONESUS— EARLY SETTLERS. 325 Scottsburgh, carded the first yards of cloth ever carded in the town. In 1 80 1 Squire Henderson's family was pre- sented with a child, which lived but six months — the first white birth known to have occurred in this town. A son of Squire Henderson, James Henderson, Jr., was killed at the battle of Queenstown, Canada, October 13th, 1S12. At the time of his death he had reached the age of twenty-five, and held the office of Quartermaster in his regiment. Squire Henderson, the pioneer, quietly sleeps in the town of Richmond ; other members of the family have passed away, and the name of Hen- derson has become extinct, although there are de- scendants of the family still living who are among the most worthy citizens of the town. These de- scendants are: — Frank and R. F. McMillen, a brother, Charles McMillen, who is United States Minister to China, and William H., Nelson N. and Henry S. Gilbert, grand-children. After the advent of Henderson and McKay, the settlement of the town progressed quite rapidly. Among the settlers who immediately followed those hardy pioneers were Jacob Durham in 1795, and Jesse and Jacob Collar in 1796.* Jacob Collar was one of the most useful citizens of the town. He was born in Sussex county, New Jersey, February 25, 1770, and in the spring of 1 796, at the age of twenty-six, came with his father, Jesse Collar, to Conesus and located on lot No. 109, in the southwestern part of the town, about one-half mile north of Scottsburgh, where they built a log house. In coming here from the then far away State of New Jersey they were assisted by one horse and an ox team, and the condition of the route through the forests was such that they were twenty-eight days in making the journey. When they arrived at the Great Bend in the Susquehanna river they were obliged to cut their way through what was then called the beach woods, and for many days their journey did not average seven miles per day, while the teams had to subsist on the scant herb- age of the highway. When night came upon them they would build a large fire, cook their scanty meal, and then roll themselves in their blankets and sleep till another morning came with its tedious journey and attend- ant difficulties. In this way the journey was conducted to and through Dansville, their only guide from being lost * For whom Scottsburgh at au early day was called Collaitown- in the dense forests being the blazed trees along the route. Upon arriving in the town they procured the aid of Wigot Andrews, James and Samuel Culbertson of the town of Groveland, and Isaac and Darling Havens, of Sparta, to assist them in raising their house. The timber being so thick they had but to cut and peel the logs and roll them up to place. The first year their food, which they had to buy mostly of the Indians, consisted of corn — wheat could not be obtained at any price — for which they paid at the rate of six shillings per bushel. There being no grist-mill near, they ground the corn by burning a hole in a stump, pouring the corn in it, and then pounding it into meal, from the finest of which they made their bread. Jacob Collar died in the fall of 1S65, ending his useful life at the age of ninety-five. He was buried in the McKay burial ground. In 1802 there came to the town of Conesus a singular man known by the inhabitants as Maloy, the hermit. He located on lot 19, bordering on the shores of Hemlock lake, where he built him a log cabin quite remote from any civilization. Here he lived the life of a hermit, refusing to mingle with any white people who sought to become ac- quainted with him. He seemed desirous to retreat further into the forest to escape the encroachment of civilization, and when other settlers began to lo- cate around him he packed his effects and moved to the Ohio river, where his career became lost to the settlers in Conesus. We give here others of the prominent pioneers, and the lots by them settled : — John McNinch, lot 70, in 1803. Samuel McNinch, lot 78, in 1803. James McNinch, lot 91, in 1805. Jabez Lewis, lot 5, in the fall of 1805. John McMillen and Elias Chamberlin, about 1805, located on lot No. 6, each building there a log house. Joseph Richardson at about the same time settled on lot 13, and in 1808 Davenport Alger also located there and built a log house. Francis Richardson, in 1803, settled on lot 136, and a few years after committed suicide by hang- ing himself to a limb of a tree. Repeated incar- ceration in jail for debt, at which times his family suffered severely, caused him to become insane. Joseph Allen settled on lot No. 81, in 1806. John Richardson settled on lot No. 14, about 1806. Moses Adams, lot 133, in the spring of 1806. 326 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Samuel and Matthew McNineli. lot 101, in 1806. Elijah Richardson, lot No. 15, in 1807. Joseph Gilbert, lot No. 12, in 1808. Charles Thorp, lot 134, about 1808. John Robeson, (or Robinson,) lot 25, about 1808. William Johns, lot 18, in 1809. Joshua (rile, lot 22, in 1809. Eli Clark, lot 23, in 1810. Lot No. 24 was first settled by Harvey May, who built the first log house there in the spring of 1806. This tract was afterward divided into sev- eral village lots, and is now known as Foot's Cor- ners. Peter Bevins, lot 39, about 18 10. Hinman Janes, lot 60, about 1S10. Simeon Root, lot ^^, soon after joined by Joseph George, who erected a log house on the same land in 1 810. Lot 43 was first settled and the first log house built thereon by Abel Root, about 1807. This tract is now known as Union Corners, a small hamlet. Matthew McNinch, who settled lot 10 1, was born in Sussex county, N. J., March 3, 1784. In early infancy his parents moved to Northumber- land county, Pa., and in 1806, at the age of twen- ty-two, he moved with his father's family to Cone- sus. His father had come here about two years previously, leaving his family in Pennsylvania; then he returned to his home, and as the family were about to start on their journey to this town he was taken sick and died shortly after. Matthew Mc- Ninch died in :866, and was buried in the McKay burying ground. Jabez Lewis, who in the fall of 1805 settled on lot No. 5, was born in Vermont. In 1802 he moved to Lima, this county, where he remained one year, removing from there to Richmond, On- tario county. In the fall of 1805 he came to Con- esus and built a log house on lot No. 5, and sent a son and daughter there to live and clear up the land. In 1806 he moved the rest of his family here to live. He was one of the soldiers of the Revolution. ( >ne of the later and prominent settlers was Alexander Patterson, who came to the town in ]Si4, and in the following year built the first log house on lot No. 4, on which land he lived the remainder of his life. He was born in Vermont, and at an early age resolved to make Conesus his future home. Hav- ing but limited means — not more than sufficient to reach the town — he resolved to peddle his way through, and by so doing save what little he had earned to aid him when he had reached his new home. So, procuring a small traveling trunk and the necessary articles, he set out on foot, accom- panied by a companion who was also bound for Conesus. All the first day he tried to dispose of his goods but met with no success, which so dis- couraged him that on the second day he presented his companion, who was suffering from the cold, with a pair of mittens, and then threw his trunk across his shoulder and resolved to peddle no more. On his arrival at Conesus he took up his residence with the family of Jabez Lewis, who were then liv- ing on lot No. 5. A short time after, he married Lucy, one of Lewis' daughters, with whom he lived happily over fifty years. He died in 1866. Among other prominent early settlers were the parents of John Young, Governor of New York State in 1846. John Young was born in Bennington, Vt., in 1804, being but four years old when his parents came to this town. He attended the Academy at Lima, N. Y., from which school he was graduated, and at the age of sixteen taught school in Conesus, receiving nine dollars per month. About the year 1823, he began the study of law with A. A. Ben- nett, at East Avon, and in 1829 was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court and opened an office at Geneseo. In 1832, with Hon. George W. Patterson, he was elected member of Assembly from this county. From 1833 to 1837 he was representative in the Twenty-fourth Congress from this Congressional district, and also in the Twenty-seventh Congress from 1 84 1 to 1843. He was also member of As- sembly in 1845-6. As a Whig in 1S46, he was elected Governor of this State by about 11,000 majority over the Hon. Silas Wright. In July of 1849, he was appointed Assistant United States Treasurer, at New York, which position he held until his death. He was an able lawyer, occupying a front rank in his profession, and the dignified positions which he held and graced were a just return for his years of patient toil and" untiring energy. He died in New York, April 23, 1852, and lies buried at Tem- ple Hill, Geneseo. Nathaniel Cole was another prominent after settler. He was born in Rensselaer county, N. V., July 4, 1776, — the memorable day in the history of our nation. CONESUS— EARLY SETTLERS. '■7 At the age of eleven his father moved to within five miles of Ballston Springs, N. Y., where they remained a few years, moving from there, when he was twenty-two years old, to Aurelius, Cayuga county, N. Y., and from that town to Conesus, ar- riving here March 23, 1815. At that time most of the town was a wilderness. His first land was purchased of William Williams, lot No. 104, on which Mr. Williams had done but three days' work. Here he built a log house, and the first year cleared five acres, and the next, seven acres. In 1816, he aided in building the Wing saw-mill on lot 104, which for many years has ceased to be in use. Even in his early days here the nearest grist-mill was at Hemlock lake. Wheat was then worth fourteen and corn ten shillings per bushel ; while potatoes, brought from Livonia, commanded one dollar per bushel ; and even at those prices both grain and potatoes were scarce. The scarcity and high prices were due to a severe frost which oc- curred in 18 1 6, appearing in July and followed on the 10th of September by another equally as severe. This frost caused much hardship among the settlers, especially to those on the Marrowback hills, where there were some who did not have a mouthful of bread for three successive weeks. This brief famine caused some of the settlers to become insane on account of the suffering of their families. Among those thus seriously affected was Micah Spencer, who settled on lot 69, — a poor man of proud spirit — the suffering of whose family made such an impression on his mind as to make him demented. In 1817, Mr. Cole moved on lot No. 79, where he was obliged to plan every way to procure pro- visions. The most successful plan was in burning wood and selling the ashes therefrom, and with the proceeds purchasing the necessaries of life. Mr. Cole died in 1868, at the advanced age of ninety- two. Mrs. Jane McNinch,* wife of James McNinch, who came here in 1806, was born in Washington, Columbia county, Penn., April 24, 1788. At the age of seventeen, October, 1805, she was married to James McNinch. In February, 1806, in com- pany with Matthew, Annie and John Scott and Matthew McNinch, she moved from Columbia county to this town, arriving here about the 1st of March, and stopping at the house of James Hen- derson at the head of Conesus lake. Her hus- * Grandmother to Win. P. Boyd, Esq., of Conesus. band, who was a mill-wright, had remained to attend to his mill, but in a few months joined her here. One of his brothers, John McNinch, came to Conesus about 1804, and his father and others of his brothers came soon after, and rented a farm of Squire Henderson near the head of the lake, and early in the fall of 1804 the father returned and brought the rest of the family here to live. In the summer of 1806, James McNinch took up lot in in the south part of the town, where he cleared a small area and built a log house into which they moved in the fall of 1806. In that same year Mrs. McNinch and her husband moved to Dansville, where he had engaged to tend mill for Mr. Rochester. This mill, in the early part of the winter, was destroyed by fire. They then re- turned to Conesus, and in the spring they moved to Frost's Hollow, Ontario county, where for two years Mr. McNinch tended mill, when they again returned to Conesus where they lived two years. In the spring of 181 3, they went to Lakeville, town of Livonia, where for ten years Mr. Mc- Ninch tended mill for Mr. Bosley. At the expira- tion of that time they moved again to Dansville where they remained two years, and then returned to Conesus where they passed the rest of their life. When they first came to the town, all of their trading was done at Dansville. The merchants there would sell no person more than a quarter of a pound of tea and two pounds of coffee at a time, for which the purchaser paid from three to four shillings per pound for coffee, and from six to twelve shillings for tea. Sugar and molasses could scarcely be obtained at any price. Their grist was carried to Hemlock lake on horseback, as there was no road but a foot path through the forest. James McNinch died of consumption Novem- ber 8, 1839. Jane McNinch died March n, 1869, at the age of eighty-five, and was buried in the north part of the town in what is known as the Alger and Boyd burying ground. Mrs. McNinch resided several years among the Indians at the head of Lake Conesus, where, during the summer months, large numbers would encamp about the inlet for the purpose of hunting and fishing. Before the cold weather of fall set in, the most of them would depart for the south to pass the winter, re- turning when spring came. At times through the summer they would become quite troublesome, and often it was not safe for a white person to be seen near the inlet. These times were occasioned chiefly by their use of intoxicating liquors which 328 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON CoLNTY. the settlers sold to them. When not under the in- fluence of liquor they were friendly and docile. The settlers living near them generally endeavored to keep on friendly terms with the Indians, and whenever they wished to borrow pots and kettles in which to cook their food always managed, if possible, to accommodate them. These the In- dians were careful to return, cleaned in their own way, but not at all limes to the taste of the loaners. When the news of sickness among the settlers reached the Indians, the squaws would come with roots and herbs to doctor them. Of these herbs they made teas, and to assure the whites that they were not poisonous, they would taste of them first before offering to the patient. In most cases these simple remedies were sure to cure the diseases that were prevalent at that time, and especially the dis- eases incident to children. The habits and customs of the early settlers were nearly as primitive as those of the Indians. The houses of those early days were rude affairs, as compared with the dwellings of to-day. They were uniformly of logs, either round or hewn on two or more sides, and between the logs to keep out the wind and cold, the chinks were plastered with mud, or filled with strips of wood sharpened on one side and wedged firmly in. In rearing these primitive houses the pioneers held logging bees, to which the settlers far and near would come to assist in the erection of the home for the new comer. When the house was raised they would cut places for doors and windows, before the doorway hanging a blanket, and for the windows using sheets of greased paper or the hides of wild animals. The roof was covered with the bark peeled from the logs used in the construction of the cabin, and bound on by poles to keep it from blowing away. The floors were made of slabs of basswood hewed on one side and with the round side turned down. In one end of this rude building they constructed a fire-place on which they placed a back log from two to three feet thick, with one half the size for a forward log, and between these logs they would pile huge sticks of wood, before whose cheery blaze, surrounded with no comforts, and pinched by all the privations and trials of pioneer life, the)' passed their evenings as happily as do their descendants who live in costlier and more ( omfortable homes. But few of these relics of that pioneer age exist. In a few years not a vestige will remain of the log cabins under whose bark roofs those hardy men and women lived lives of heroic devotion and en- durance. In 1816, there were but four frame buildings in the town, three of which were barns. The house was burned a number of years ago. One of the barns belonged to Davenport Alger and one to a Mr. Younge. The rest of the buildings through- out the town were of logs. Early Merchants, Early Events. — The busi- ness interests of the town developed but slowly. The pioneer effort in that direction has been as- cribed to Squire Henderson who in 1794 — the next year after his arrival — built the first saw-mill. One of the earliest merchants was Harvey May, who, in 1S19 opened a small store at what is now known as Foot's Corners, and near the residence of Nathaniel Cole, Jr. He sold general merchan- dise to the settlers, taking his pay in ashes which he converted into potash. In 1820 or 21, he was succeeded by Martin Neal, who began business on a larger scale, which he continued a few years. Harvey May and Samuel Chapin in 1822 built here the first frame store in which merchandise was ever sold. In 1818 Andrew and Gardner Arnold opened a store at what is now Conesus Centre. The first grist-mill was built in 1824. The first school-house was built in 1810, in which year Polly Howe taught the first school. The first preacher was Rev. Mr. Goodale, who in 1795 preached in the southwest part of the town for the Free Will Baptists. Another early and noted minister was Rev. Baldwin Wright. The first Church built was the Methodist at Conesus Centre in 1836. The first marriage was that of Hugh Harrison and Elizabeth Collar in 1796. The first birth was that of a daughter, Jane, to Squire Henderson in 1S01. The first death was that of Elizabeth Collar * in 1801. The first resident minister was Rev. Mr. Ing- ham (or Ingraham) in 1808. The first Justice elected by the people was Samuel Robinson in 1829. One of the most noted early physicians was Doctor E. Campbell. The oldest person ever known to have died in the town was Lucy Bates, born in 1725, and dying in 1832, at the age of 107 years. * Probably wife to Hugh Harrison, whose marriage to an Elizabeth Collar, the reader has noticed. CONESUS-SOLDIERS OF THE REVOLUTION AND WAR OF 1812. 329 Near the head of Lake Conesus, occurred in the year 1779 a memorable battle between the Indians and a portion of General Sullivan's army. The army passed through the northwestern part of the town, entering nearly on lot No. 6, and pursued a direct course to the head of the lake. Gen. Hand's light corps encamped on land once owned by Doctor McMillen, while the main body of the army encamped about three-quarters of a mile southwest of what is now Conesus Centre. This spot was on part of the farm taken up after the war by Lemuel Richardson, who was a Revo- lutionary soldier and also a member of Sullivan's expedition. Since the settlement of the town the plow has unearthed many relics of that memorable cam- paign, among which is a brass or copper plate, worn on the hat, inscribed " U. S. Rifleman." In the center of this plate is an eagle with out- spread wings, holding in one claw an olive branch, and in the other a bow and bunch of arrows. This was found by Bennett R. Boyd while working for Hiram Boyd on lot 1 4. On land of Nathaniel Cole, Jr., a bullet mould was found capable of running twelve balls of the size of an old style horse pistol. Numerous mementos have been discovered of the Indians who formerly inhabited this region. Warren Wheeler, who came here from Vermont, in 1816, says that in the fall of that year an Indian mound, or burying ground, was discovered near the head of Conesus Lake, in which, in a sitting pos- ture, were found the remains of a number of In- dians, with the arms and trinkets with which they had been buried. The mound was about thirty feet in diameter thatched overhead with stones. Revolutionary Soldiers.— Conesus has the honor of once being the home of ten or more of the patriots of the Revolution who came here after the close of the war and resided until their death. The list of these soldiers as near as can be learned although there may have been others who made this town their home— is as follows :— Francis Horth, Aaron Hale, Lemuel Richardson, David Sopher, Jabez Lewis, Charles Chamberlin, Paul Sanborn, Theophilus Jackson, Thaddeus Gage, Isaiah Bacon. Five of these patriots lie buried in the cemetery at Conesus Centre, two in South Li- vonia, one in the McKay burial ground, one in Hart's and one in Springwater. In those graves which are honored by their presence they have slumbered many years, and no records exist con- cerning the majority of them. It is learned that Thaddeus Gage was born in the year 1750, and in 1776, when but twenty-six years of age, entered the Revolutionary army with which he served in five campaigns. Francis Horth was born in Rhode Island in i75 6 - At the age of nineteen he joined the army and served nearly five years, participating in the battle of Stillwater, and being present at Saratoga when Burgoyne surrendered his sword to General Gates. He died in 1844 at the age of 88. Aaron Hale was born near the city of Boston. At the age of twenty-one he entered the army and was present at the battles of Bunker Hill and Ben- nington. In 18 15 he came to Conesus where he lived until his death in 1821. He was buried in the town of Springwater. War of 181 2. — In this war, as the town was not thickly inhabited, there were but few who joined the American forces. Among those who entered the field at that time were James Hender- son, who was killed at the battle of Queenstown, Andrew Carter, Andrew Arnold, Tyranis Ripley, B. F. Fosdick, Asa Stevens, Benjamin Clapp. Elijah Webster, and Daniel and Samuel Monger. Erastus Lewis served as one of the minute men, and when the news of the British advance on Buf- falo reached the town he was called out to oppose the enemy. In an engagement between the Amer- can and British forces, on the enemy's side of the river, in which the British were aided by a large number of Indians, he took his position behind a log fence, and as the enemy advanced he began to fire upon them. After firing several shots he dis- covered that he was alone, his comrades having fallen back and deserted him. Under a heavy fire from the British he jumped up and ran after them, reaching his companions with only a bullet hole through his hat. Two brothers, Joseph and Jonathan Richardson, both cripples, participated in the battle of Chip- pewa, fought July 5, 1814, in which battle Joseph was killed by a ball passing through his heart, and Jonathan was taken prisoner by the British. He was taken to Montreal, and from there to Halifax, from which place, after some six months imprison- ment, he was released. Joseph Richardson, Jr., a son to Joseph who was killed, was also captured by the enemy, but in a few days escaped. The friends of Joseph Richardson visited the battle-field, where among the other dead gathered for burial they found his remains, which they brought home and buried at South Livonia. 33" HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Andrew Carter, whose name is given in the above list, entered the army when scarcely twenty years of age, and soon after becoming disheartened he deserted and returned home to suffer trials greater than those from which he had fled. He was soon missed, and an immediate search was made for him, which, had he been re-taken, would have resulted in his death for desertion. Learning that he was pursued he took refuge in what is known as Purchase Gull, where through one long winter he hid away among the pines and rocks, from whose recesses when the nights came he would cautiously emerge and seek food at the log cabin of James McNinch. Several times officers came from Buffalo and searched for him, ransacking this house, exploring the gulleys, and laying every plan for his capture, but through the aid of Mrs. McNinch he escaped. In the branches of a huge hemlock he built a nest, covering it with bark, in which through the winter storms he lay until spring, when the search was abandoned. He died a number of years ago in Scottsburgh, respected by all as a worthy and upright citizen. As a relic of this war Hiram Boyd, Esq., has in his possession a captain's commission given sixty- seven years ago to his father, Phillip Boyd. It is dated at Albany, March 2, 1814, and is signed by Daniel 1). Tompkins, Governor of the State, and by J. Kutsch Van Rensselaer, Secretary. Flood of 1835. — In the fall of 1835 the town of Conesus experienced the most disastrous flood known since its settlement by the pioneers. The flood was caused by a furious storm which swept over the southern portion of the town, and when it reached Calabogue Hollow the rain fell in torrents, filling the ravines with a rush of water which soon covered the flats below, carrying every- thing before it to destruction, until its fury was abated at Conesus lake. Trees and fences were whirled away like straws before the wind, and the residents on the flats flew to the hills for safety, some of them barely escaping with their lives. On the eastern bank of the gully stood the millwright shop of Bell & Hedges, which was swept away as the unfortunate owners were endeavoring to save their tools. The body of Bell was found next day a short distance from the ruins, but the body of Hedges was not found until the next July, when it was discovered buried beneath a pile of ilooilwood near the head of the lake. Town Officers.- — The first town meeting was held at the head of Conesus lake, April 4, 1820. This meeting proved to be illegal, as the legislative act to form a new township from parts of Grove- land and Livonia, which was passed in the early part of the preceding winter, contained a special clause that there should be no town meeting or election of officers until the spring of 1821. Soon after the passage of this act the inhabitants, un- aware of this clause, issued notices for the election of town officers on the day mentioned, when they nominated Davenport Alger for Supervisor and Phoenix Squibbs for Town Clerk. These nomina- tions not being satisfactory to a large number of the inhabitants, they determined to place in nom- ination two other candidates. In this determina- tion they experienced some difficulty, for at that time they were but little acquainted with each other's ability to hold office. They finally resolved to try Thomas Collar for Supervisor, although for a long time they were in doubt as to his ability ; but be- lieving that a man who kept up as good fences as Mr. Collar did would make a good Supervisor, they placed his name on the ticket and succeeded in electing him, together with Samuel Chapin, Jr.. as Town Clerk. The illegality of the election was soon discovered, and in 1821 was held the first legal town meeting, at which Davenport Alger was elected Supervisor, and Samuel Chapin, Jr., Town Clerk. The other officers elected at that time were as follows: — Assessors, Jesse McMillen, Alexander Patterson, Zenas Whilen ; Overseers of the Poor, Alexander Patterson, Thomas Collar ; Highway Commissioners, Jesse McMillen, Joel Gilbert; Constable and Collector, Peter Stiles ; School Commissioners, Jesse McMillen, Joel Gilbert, Erastus Wilcox; Inspectors of Schools, Andrew Arnold, Samuel Chapin, Jr.. Elias Clark. From that date to 1880 the succession of Su- pervisors and Town Clerks has been as follows : — Supervisors. Town Clerks. 1822. Samuel Chapin, Jr. Andrew Arnold. 1823. Andrew Arnold. Davenport Alger. 1824- 25. Peter Stiles. 1826. Alex. Patterson. H it 1827- 28. David C. Higgins. David Gilbert. 1829. Andrew Arnold. Joshua Huntington 1830. Samuel Robinsonji . B. F. Fosdick. 1831. Jotham Clark, Sen. tt tt 1832. Eli Barnes. .. If 1833- Jotham Clark. (C tt IS34- 35.Gardner Arnold. it it 1836. Harvey Purchase. tt tt IS37. Jotham Clark. tt a 1838. Hosea Gilbert. Joseph Wells. 1839. Robert Bayles. Charles Pixley. 1840. Gardner Arnold. tt tt CONESUS — TOWN OFFICERS, CHURCHES. 33 » 1841. Robert Bayles. Charles Pixley. 1842. Hector Hitchcock. Justus Allen. 1843. Luther Chapin. " " 1844. Hector Hitchcock. " " 1S45. Robert Bayles. Benoni F. Fosdick. 1846. Hector Hitchcock. " " 1847-48. Solomon Hitchcock. " " 1849. Robert Bayles. " " 1350. Davenport Alger. " " 1851-52. Lewis C. Kingsbury. " " 1853—56. George F. Coe. " " 1857-58. Henry L. Arnold. " " 1859-62. Ezra W. Clark. 1863-64. R. Fulton McMillen. " " 1S65. Ezra W. Clark. " " 1866. Henry C. Coe. " " 1867. Ezra W. Clark. 1868. Solomon Hitchcock.* " " 1869-72. Henry C. Coe. t " " 1873. Jotham Clark. " " 187+ " " William H. Mills. lS 7S-7 6 - Amos D. Coe. " " 1877-80. George F. Coe.J " " The following officers were elected April 5, 1 881: Supervisor, R. Fulton McMillen; Town Clerk, William H. Mills; Justice of the Peace, Floyd McNinch ; Highway Commissioner, William P. Whiteman ; Assessor, James C. McNinch ; Over- seer of Poor, David Coleman ; Collector, Andrew F. Kelleman; Constables, Andrew F. Kelleman, John C. Coe, George Jerome, Timothy Bailey, Sanford Allen ; Game Constable, Luman H. Bald- win ; Excise Commissioner, Patrick McNinch; Inspectors of Election, William A. Miller, Charles C. Gray. Churches. — For many years after the settle- ment of the town the pioneers were without regu- larly organized religious societies and were depend- ent on occasional preachers for the ministration of the gospel. At first their nearest place for wor- ship was at what was then known as Buell Hill, in Livonia, where the Presbyterians held service. About 1 8 10 the Methodists began to hold religious services in private houses throughout the town, followed soon after by the Baptists, who had as an occasional preacher a minister named Ingham.? A society of the Christian order was organized near May's (now Foot's) Corners in 1818, but it existed only a (ew years. Of this order Rev. Syl- vester Morris, who settled here in 18 18, was after- ward an honored pastor. Mr. Morris was born in the town of Paris, Oneida (now Clinton) county, * Appointed. t Died February 22, 1880. J Mr. Coe died and R. F. McMillen was appointed to fill the unex- pired term. § Or Ingraham, who settled in Conesus about 1808, and who was the first resident minister in the town. N. Y., Nov. 30, 1S01. In 1S15 he moved to East Henrietta, N. Y., and from there to Conesus in 1818. In 1847 he was ordained as a minister in the Central New York Christian Conference, which was formed in pioneer times by circuit riders. He died February 14, 1877. Rev. John Hudson became a resident here in 1815, and when in about 1816 the Methodists organized a society at Conesus Centre he became the pastor of that denomination. Of the Methodist Episcopal Society thus organ- ized there are no records until the erection of its church edifice in 1836. The church was dedicated January 28, 1837, by Rev. James Hemmingway, Presiding Elder. First Board of Trustees— Thomas Youngs, Jesse Gray, Justin Allen. The first preacher in charge was Rev. E. Thomas, followed by Revs. Jacob Scott in 1837, William Jones in 1838, Carlos Gould in 1839, Chandler Wheeler in 1840, Sheldon Doolittle in 1841, C. L. Brown in 1842, Wesley Cochrane in 1843, John Wiley in 1844, E. O. Hall in 1845, Geo. Wilkinson in 1846, Theodore McElhaney in 1847-9, Hiram Sanford in i85o,Veranus Brownell in 1851-2, Z. I. Buck in 1853, W. M. Haskell in 1854, Jonas Dodge in 1855, Samuel McGerald in 1856, Otis B. Weaver in 1857, Myron De Puy in 1858, Isaac McMahon in 1859-60, James Knapp in 1861, L. L. Rogers in 1861-3, E. Lattimer in 1864, Robert T. Hancock in 1865, John Parker in 1866-7, D. Hutchins and Mr. Blakeslee in 1865, T. J. O. Woodin in 1869-71, G. J. Du Bois in 187 1-2, J. Duncan in 1873, J. VY Blanchard in 1874, A. M. Bancroft in 1875, R. T. Hancock in 1876, J. D. Recqua, 1876-7, J. W. Barnett in 1877-8, Porter McKinstrey in 1878-9, A. E. Tan- ner in 1879-80. This church edifice was destroyed by fire Decem- ber 30, 1 87 1 , and the meetings were held in a school house for two years and then in the First Univer- salist Church until the fall of 1876, when a new church was erected. This church was built and furnished at a cost of $4,000, and was dedicated November 15, 1876, by Rev. B. I. Ives. Board of Trustees: David Coleman, Samuel Maring, William L. Perrin, Orville Chapin, Daniel Trescott, Secretary. The First Universalist Church. — This society was organized December 19, 1835. Among early members were Joshua Huntington, H. J. Hunt- ington, Gardner Arnold, Hosea Gilbert, Daven- 33* HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. port Alger, Alexander Patterson, Enoch Wilcox, Robert Bayles, Solomon Hitchcock, Lewis Clark, Timothy DeGraw, David Gilbert, Samuel Buckley. A. Stevens, Hiram Boyd, Darius Morris, J. T. Beach. The erection of a church edifice was begun in 1836 and was completed in 1837. The church was built at Union Corners, on land owned by Timothy DeGraw. Here the society worshipped until the erection in 1873 of a more commodious church in the village of Conesus Center. This church was dedicated by Rev. W. B. Randolph in March, 1874. Among the pastors who officiated in the early years of the society were: — Rev. (). Roberts, Rev. Mr. Tompkins, Rev. O. B. Clark, Rev. J. A. Dobson, Rev. W. B. Randolph. The first pastor after the erection of the new church was Rev. G. W. Montgomery, who remained three years. He was succeeded by Rev. Mr. Baker who presided one year. The next pastor was Rev. Nelson Snell, one year, succeeded by the present pastor, Rev. John Charles Mclnemey, who came in April of 1880. St. Williams Catholic Church. — The church edifice of this society was erected in 1876 by Rev. Father Seymour, the resident pastor of St. Mi- chael's church, Livonia, from which place Conesus was attended. Previous to this time there was no regular place of worship in the town, the people of that faith being obliged to attend the church at Livonia Centre, except when Father Seymour came and held service in the school-house kindly opened by the Trustees for that purpose. The church erected for the accommodation of the society is a very neat structure, and was completed and suita- bly furnished by Father Murphy, who succeeded Father Seymour, Nov. 7, 1877, and who attends this charge from Livonia Center, where he resides. Since the erection of the church the members have done remarkably well in reducing the indebtedness incurred, which at this date does not amount to one hundred dollars. The ground upon which the church was erected was purchased by William Egan, a member to whom much is due for his un- tiring zeal in procuring a place of worship. Among the many generous non-Catholics who contributed liberally toward the erection of the church were Amos D. Coe, F.zraW. Clark, Solomon Hitchcock, Jotham Clark, Fulton McMillen, George F. Coe, T. F. DeGraw, and W. H. Mills. The membership numbers about twenty families, prominent among whom are those of Patrick Ryan, C. McCinty, B. Lawn, John McGinty, William Dunne and Martin Berrigan. Services are held in the church every third Sun- day at nine o'clock, a. m. Population. — The population of Conesus in 1870 was 1,362; of which 1,262 were native. 100 foreign, 1,357 white, and 5 colored. In 1875 the total number of inhabitants was 1,371 : of which 1,263 were native ; foreign 108 ; and white 1,371. At the last census, 1880, the total population was 1,397; a gain of35 in ten years. School Statistics. — The first school districts in Conesus were organized in the year 1820, Jan. 21, under the direction of Jesse McMillen, Erastus Wilcox, School Commissioners. These are known as Districts 6 and 7. There are 9 districts in the town which, in 1880, employed ten teachers. During [880 school was taught 441 3-5 weeks, with an average attendance of 186. The number of children in these districts over five and under twenty-one is 443. Of that number 347 attend school during some portion of the year. The amount paid as wages to teachers during the yearwas $1,734.09. The district libra- ries were valued at $75.00, and the amount paid out on them in 1880 was $404. Total value of school houses and sites, $6,235. Total amount paid for school apparatus during the year, $2.1 1. Total amount expended on school houses, sites, repairs, furniture, &c, $174.30. Total incidental expenses for the year, $264.52. Total valuation of districts, $7,645.79. Printing Establishments. — The only enter- prise of this kind in the town is Boyd's Job Print- ing Establishment, situated in the northern part of the town at what is known as Conesus post-office. The business was established by the present pro- prietor, William P. Boyd, in 1875. The estab- lishment has every facility for job printing. Mr. Boyd is a practical mechanic. The press which he uses in his office was made by himself, and he also manufactures for the trade, his presses giving general satisfaction. Besides the labor attendant on his business, Mr. Boyd is a well known and interesting contributor to the press of the county and State. He and Hiram Boyd, his father, have made the history of Conesus an especial study, and it is to them that we are indebted for the material used in this history of the town, much of which appears in its original form. The subject of this brief memoir was the son of John C, and Anna (Dixon) Coe, who moved to Livonia at an early day, being among the pioneers of that town. He was born in Livonia in 1816, and moved to Conesus in 1843. He was twice married, first to Roxy Howe, of Livonia, who lived but a few years ; afterwards to Alta A. Stone, also of Livonia. To them were born three children, viz: — Annie C, John C, and G. F. J., all of whom survive him. At the time of his death, Mr. Coe was 64 years of age, and had been for many years a prominent citizen of his town, and well known throughout the county. That he greatly endeared himself to the people of his town, the many public offices he held tully testify. For eight years he represented the town of Conesus as Supervisor, having been elected to that office in 1853, reelected in 1854-5 and'56, and also in 1 877-78-79 and '80. The board of Supervisors, recognizing his particular fitnesss for the position, elected him chairman of that board in [880, which position he held at the time of his death. As a public officer, he was faithful, vigilant, and trustworthy, guarding carefully the interests of the county at large, as well as of his own imme- diate constituents. A favorite among his ac- quaintances, keen in perception, and full of the trv of wit. genial and pleasant to all, his pres- ence brought sunshine into every gathering in which he mingled. He was one whom nature fitted for the highest responsibilities of life, possessing clear and accurate judgment combined with broad and liberal views, and unbounded benevolence. He was a kind and generous friend to the poor. Being full of sympathy for all the distressed or unfortu- nate, he never allowed a suffering or needy appli- cant to be turned away empty-handed, thereby ex- emplifying in his daily life the distinguishing tenet of his religious faith, which was the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. He was socially honest, and what lie said to-day, he was ever will- ing to repeat to-morrow. In the community in which he lived, the foot-prints of his kindness and charity will remain long after the mould of time has gathered on the tablet erected to his memory. Mr. Coe was a member of the Masonic fraternity, hav- ing become so in 1858. His death which was a peculiar!) sad one, occurred November 9, 1880. Returning from a meeting of the Board of Super- visors, which he left in apparent health, when almost in sight of his home, he was attacked with heart disease, a difficulty which had troubled him occa- sionally for some years, and stricken down instantly, breathing out his precious spirit in solitude where no eye beheld him except the Eye that never sleep- etli. So true is it, that in the midst of life, we are in death. UNION CORNERS — FOOT'S CORNERS — CONESUS CENTRE. Hiram Boyd came to Conesus in 1821, at the age of sixteen, and is known as one of the most successful and intelligent farmers of the town. Union Corners. Union Corners is situated about half a mile north of Conesus Centre, on lot No. 43. It has some eighteen or twenty houses, and about fifty inhabitants. The first house was built here in 1807 by Abel Root. The only business place is a tailor shop conducted by John Magee. The first tailor shop was built here by a Mr. Bates in 1820. In 1837 he was succeeded by Gardner Arnold, who built the first frame tailor shop, in which for a few years he carried on a successful business when it was burned down. John Magee, the present merchant tailor, was born in Ireland in 182 r, and came to America when ten years old. He came from New York to Conesus as a permanent resident in 1846, and in 1850 built his store in which for thirty years he pursued his business until Sunday, March 6, i88r, when both his store and his dwelling house were destroyed by fire. Foot's Corners. Foot's Corners is a small hamlet about a mile south of the northern boundary of the town. In the early settlement of the town this place was called May's Corners, for a family of that name who made the first settlement here in 1806. The ham- let contains ten or fifteen houses and was once the chief place of the town. In earlier days it had a store, tavern, and blacksmith shop. The tavern was built about sixty years ago by Harvey May and Samuel Chapin. The store was built about the year 1835 by Foster Foot, from whom the place derived its pres- ent name. Both tavern and store have been abandoned for many years. This place at an early day was a noted resort for races, general trainings, and other amusements. Conesus Centre. Conesus Centre, the chief business place of the town, contains a population of about two hundred. It is situated nearly in the center of the town on the line of the New York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad. The first permanent settlement known to have been made here was by Jacob Durham, about the year 1800, who built the first log-house. The village contains three churches, one hotel, post-office, a harness shop, and three stores. The first store was opened here in 181 7 by Mr. Arnold and his nephew, Gardner Arnold. Their place of business was in a log building. The first hotel was built by Daniel Bump be- tween 1830 and '35, which was destroyed by fire a number of years ago. The post-office was estab- lished here in 1819 with Andrew Arnold as post- master, and B. F. Fosdick as post-rider. In 1823 a mail route was established between Conesus Cen- tre and Springwater, and Rev. Sylvester Morris was the first to perform the service of post-rider on that line. The present post-master is William H. Mills, who was appointed in 1874, succeeding B. M. Moulton who had held the office some four or five years.* The hotel is kept by Dr. G. K. Vincent, who is also extensively engaged in the manufacture of perfumery and flavoring extracts, and various med- ical compounds. This business was founded by G. K. Vincent in 1873, and is conducted by G. K. Vincent & Co. The medicine and extracts man- ufactured by this firm have met with great success and the business bids fair to live among the prom- inent manufactures of the county. William H. Mills, general merchandise, has been in business here ten years. He was born in Grove- land, February 24, 1845, and has been a resident of the town twenty-seven years. Lewis & Stark, (Gilbert L. Lewis, Arthur A. Stark,) general merchandise, have been in business as a firm since April 1, 1880. John Dodge, general hardware, has been in bus- iness here since 1876, coming here at that time from Liberty, Steuben county, in which place he was born July 15, 1847. Frank S. Gilmore, jeweler, has been in business two years, coming here from Springwater, N. Y. William A. Miller, harness-maker, has been en- gaged in that business "here seven years. He was born in Dansville in 185 1, and came to Conesus eight years ago. Dr. Jesse B. Losey is the only practicing physi- cian in the town. He was born in South Dans- ville, Steuben county, October 20, 1828, gradu- ated at Castleton, Vt, in 1857, and came to Cone- sus in i860. During the war of the Rebellion he served as Assistant Surgeon in the 2 2d New York Cavalry. * The town has also another office, known as Conesus post-office, in the northern part of the town. The post-master is Joseph H. Rowland. 334 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Soldiers ok the Rebellion. — When the war cloud of the Rebellion broke over the land the town of Conesus promptly and enthusiastically re- sponded to the call both in money and men. The town stood two drafts, and had the honor of being able to furnish the requisite quota of vol- unteers without compelling the drafted men to en- ter the service. Through the enthusiastic efforts of the inhabit- ants, who with fife and drum recruited on the Sabbath day as well as during the week, the de- sired number of men was obtained, and they marched from the town to carry the flag on the bloody fields of Bull Run, Fredericksburg, York- town and Richmond, and in Sherman's triumphant march to the sea. The total enlistment from the town, under the various calls was seventy-eight. The amount of money raised to procure enlistments was $3,100, and of that amount $1,900 was raised by a tax upon the town, the balance being procured by in- dividual subscription. Besides that amount $700 were raised as donations to hospitals and sanitary commissions. The following is the list of the volunteers and the regiments in which they enlisted : — One Hundred and TMrty-sixtk Regiment: — Henry L. Arnold, entered as Captain of Company I, was promoted to Colonel of the regiment, and was wounded in battle at Bentonville, N. C, March 19, 1865. He is now in Geneseo, N. V. Matthew Mead, Second Lieutenant, Company I, served through the war. Now in Rochester, N. V. Charles Bullard, First Lieutenant, Company not known, was wounded. William Lawn, Sergeant, Company I, killed at the battle of Resaca,* Ga., May 16, 1864; buried on the field. LaFayette McFarlin, Company I, enlisted in 1862. Died in hospital at Washington, in August of 1863. Watson Thomas, Company I, enlisted in 1862 ; taken sick, came home on a furlough, and died in November, 1863. John Duane Alger, Company I, enlisted in 1862 ; died at Camp Smoky Hollow, Va., in the fall of 1863. Jerome Henry, Company I, enlisted in 1862; died in the hospital at Washington, in the spring of ,863. James Conlen, Company I, enlisted in 1862 ; lost * Another record says lie was killed ai Chattanoog an arm at Gettysburg, July 3, 1863, but served till close of the war. Now living in Conesus. Charles Beadle, Company I, served till 1864, when he was discharged. Now in Wisconsin. Orville M. Chapin served through the war. Now in Conesus. Allen Timbrooks, Company I, served through the war. Now in Michigan. James McGlin, Company I, wounded and taken prisoner at Chancellorsville, May 3, 1863. Was taken to Libby Prison, and was afterwards released and returned to his regiment. Now in Livonia, N. Y. William Poland, Company I, discharged in 1863, at Stafford Court House for inability. Now in Conesus. Henry Compton, Company 1, was Company cook. Now in Illinois. James Compton, Company I, deserted in 1863, after the first day's battle at Gettysburg. Chester Gould, Company I, served till fall of 1863. Lost his voice and was honorably dis- charged. Now near Pontiac, Michigan. Joel Johnson, Company I, was discharged on account of inability. Now in Springwatcr, N. Y. Horace Wing, Company I, was discharged on account of sickness, in 1863. Now proprietor of the Clinton House, Dansville. Harrison Coleman, Sergeant, Company \, served through the war. Now in Saginaw, Michigan. Joseph Barnhardt, Company I, discharged at Washington in the fall of 1862. In 1863 he re- enlisted in the 14th Heavy Artillery. Was wound- ed at the battle of Cold Harbor, in 1864. Now in Canadice, Ontario county, N. Y. Abram Tittsworth, Company I, was discharged on account of inability in 1862. Now in Kalama- zoo, Michigan. Orlando O. Webster, Company I, deserted in 1863. Was drowned in Conesus lake in 1873. William Cole, Company I, deserted after the first day's battle of Gettysburg. Theodore Acker, Company I, enlisted in 1864, at Savanah, Ga. Now in Michigan. Robert F. Bullard, Company 1. was wounded at Mission Ridge, Tenn., in November of 1864. Now in Perry, Wyoming county, N. Y. Samuel Maring, Company I, died in the hospi- tal in 1863. Reuben Cole, Company I, deserted in 1863, af- ter the first day's battle at Gettysburg. Isaac Philhouse, Company I, enlisted in 1862. Was discharged in 1865. Now in Conesus. Geoi\ge Wilhelm. CONESUS— WAR RECORD. 335 John Gill, Company I, was wounded at Gettys- burg in July, 1863, and was honorably discharged. A. T. Thompson, (dead,) Samuel Compton, Henry Piatt, (dead,) John Tiemey, Christopher Sylvester, Wm. Burdick.* Of those who enlisted in other regiments in de- fense of the Union, G. Wiley Wells, at the break- ing out of the Rebellion was one of the first from this town to tender his services, entering the 27th Regiment New York Volunteers, and serving with credit to himself until the expiration of his term of enlistment. Upon his return he recruited for the 130th Regiment, afterward changed to the First New York Dragoons, and on reenlisting was commissioned as First Lieutenant. At the close of the war he removed to Mississippi, from which State he went as a Representative to Congress, and under President Grant's administration was U. S. Consul to China. Wilber Payn, enlisted in 1864 in Company K, 1 88th Regiment. Was wounded at battle of Five Forks, Va., April 1st, 1865. Now in Conesus. Daniel Sliker, Sergeant, Company D, 188th Regi- ment. Now in Ohio. Morgan Shafer, Sergeant, 188th Regiment. Now in Conesus. Peter Sawdey, First N. Y. Dragoons. Now in Springwater, N. Y. Daniel Hoose, enlisted in 1864 in Company K, 1 88th Regiment. Was honorably discharged at close of the war. Now a farmer in Sparta, N. Y. William Gray enlisted in 1861. Died in Michi- gan ; date unknown ; buried in Conesus. William Harrison enlisted in 1864 in U. S. Navy. Was discharged in 1865 on account of sickness. Now in Conesus. Theodore Redmond enlisted in 1863 in 14th Heavy Artillery. Served till 1865 ; was discharged and afterwards went to Michigan, where he died in 1872 or '73. Lucius Doud, Company G, First N. Y. Dragoons, was shot in battle at Todd's Tavern, Va., and is supposed to have died of lockjaw. William Sleiter, Company G, First N. Y. Dra- goons. Now in Livonia. Jesse B. Losey enlisted in 1864 in 22nd N. Y. Cavalry as assistant surgeon. Now practicing phy- sician in Conesus. William Egan, transferred to invalid corps in 1864. Now in Conesus. Henry Timbrooks enlisted in 1861 in Company •Of this list there are no records to show the date of death, or the present residence of the living. B, 104th Regiment. Reenlisted at Mitchell Sta- tion, Va., in 1864. Was wounded at second battle of Bull Run, and at Laurel Hill in 1864. Now mail carrier in Conesus. Joseph Orr, 93d N. Y. Volunteers. Now in Conesus. Joseph Harvey, Company K, 188th N. Y. Vol- unteers, was promoted to First Lieutenant. Now in Saginaw, Mich. Chauncey (or Charles) Wilder, Company B, 104th Regiment N. Y. Volunteers, died at Camp Rathbun, Albany, in 1862. John Piatt, Company B, 104th Regiment N. Y. Volunteers, was discharged in November of 1862 on account of inability. Died in Conesus in 1864. Albert Piatt, Company B, 104th Regiment N. Y. Volunteers, was wounded at Gettysburg, Pa., July 1, 1863. Died in Steuben county since the war. Truman Powell, Company B, 104th Regiment N. Y. Volunteers, discharged in 1862, on account of inability. Now in Kansas. William Henry Gould, Company B. 104th Regi- ment N. Y. Volunteers, discharged with his regi- ment in 1865. Now in Springwater. Jacob Gray, Company I, 188th Regiment N. Y. Volunteers, discharged at close of the war. Now a farmer in Conesus. George Northrop enlisted in March, 1864, in U. S. Navy. Was drowned at Tunica Island, La., in 1864. John Duane Scott * enlisted March 20, 1864, in U. S. Navy. Served faithfully through the period of his enlistment. Now in Conesus. Charles Bush, 104th Regiment N. Y. Volun- teers, was killed by a cannon ball in the first battle in which the regiment was engaged. Joseph Thomas, Company H. First Michigan Volunteers, killed by accidental discharge of a gun in the hands of a comrade. Jason Spencer, 13th Regiment. Killed. William Wilson, 188th Regiment. Manson Sanborn, 13th Regiment. William Spears, 130th Regiment. John Brown, 104th Regiment. William Brown, 22nd N. Y. Cavalry. Charles Ray, 130th Regiment. Moses Acker, captain's waiter, 130th Regiment. Moses Slater, 130th Regiment. Missing. George Patten, iSSth Regiment. * To whom, and to James Conlon and W. P. Boyd, we are indebted for this soldiers' record. 33 6 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Marcus Hutchin, 188th Regiment. Livingston Clark. 21st N. Y. Cavalry. Israel Wells, 21st N. Y. Cavalry. Ward More, 21st N. Y. Cavalry. Charles Holmes, 104th Regiment N. Y. Volun- teers. Alvin Beers, 188th Regiment. Marshall Morris, 13th Regiment. Dead. George Clarke, 13th Regiment. Wounded slightly. Arlington Sylvester,* Gilbert Lewis, John Mc- Ninch, John Swartout, James De Forster. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. GEORGE WILHELM. Among the early settlers of this county the Wil- helm family deserve special mention, and are of German origin. Three brothers came over from Germany about the year 1700, and settled one each in Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. John, the father of George and progenitor of this family, was born in New Jersey. He was the father of eight children — six sons and two daugh- ters. Jacob, the sole surviving member of the family, lives in Woodhull, Steuben county, N. Y. George, the subject of this brief memoir, was born September 2, 1 791, and December 25, 181 5, was married to Sarah Bailey, of Yates county, N. Y., by whom he had ten children, viz: Ursula, John, Jonathan, Benjamin F., William B., George, Elsie Ann, James G., Rhoda, and Phillip C. March 22, 1828, he moved to the town of Sparta, taking his goods on sleighs. Here he purchased one hundred and forty-three acres of land, on which only fifteen acres had been partly cleared, and built a frame barn. In 1835 he erected a frame building on the place previously oc- cupied by a rude log hut, and by his sturdy will and industry made a clearing on what is now a finely cultivated farm. He held the position of road commissioner several terms, and he never sought political preferment, but was satisfied to devote his energies to the task he had undertaken — that of clearing and making a comfortable home for his family out of the wilderness he had selected as a foundation. Three of his children are now living — John and William, who occupy farms in Conesus, and Jonathan, in Springwater. He died March 7, 1855, and his wife October 20, 187.S. As an individual member of this family, John is, perhaps, the most prominent and successful. He * Company and regiments of these are unknown. is the second child, was born September 14, 1818, and April 23, 1843, was married to Leora, daugh- ter of Ozias Humphrey, of Springwater. They had eight children, six of whom are now living, as follows: — Emily A., Sidney S., Elsie J., Solon H., Eugene B. and Martha V. His first business ven- ture was in a saw-mill, which he ran in connection with his father about four years. His first pur- chase of land was one hundred and eighteen acres, to which he has added at different times, until he is now the owner of about four hundred acres, in- cluding the old homestead. He deals extensively in cattle and sheep. On one of his trips through the Western States he stopped at the town of Mil ford, Oakland county, Michigan, where, there being no bank and the business needing one, he became one of the originators of an exchange bank. The increasing population, however, de- manded a national bank and they changed the Ex- change bank to the National bank of Milford, of which Mr. Wilhelm is vice-president. Two of his sons, Sidney S. and Solon H., seem to have in- herited their father's business qualifications and hold responsible positions. Sidney S. was elected Supervisor of Holly, Mich., in April, 1881, and is cashier of the Merchant's National bank there, to which position he was appointed at the early age of twenty-one years, and Solon H. is the cashier of the National bank of Milford. The two brothers are extensive dealers in lumber, their transactions amounting to millions of feet of the same each year. Of the family all are married, excepting Martha and Eugene who reside at home, the latter assist- ing in the management of the large farm which he occupies with his father, and which is a very pro- ductive one, the soil being a loam and clay sub- soil. In his domestic relations, Mr. Wilhelm is a kind and loving father, teaching his children by an up- right life the value and importance of virtue, and inspiring them with worthy ambitions to be true men and women in the loftiest sense of the word. His teachings are not forgotten, but are fully ex- emplified in the lives of his children. ANDREW N. PERRIN. Among the younger men who were natives of this county, few, if any, are more deserving of special mention than Andrew N. Perrin. His father, William Perrin, came here from Washington county, N. Y., about 1825, and pur- chased the farm situated about half a mile south of Conesus Center, and which is still in the family. December 27, 1833, he was married to Sybil Chamberlain. They had three sons, the eldest of whom is the subject of this sketch, and was born September 1, 1839. The others are, Win. L. and Lewis D. M^mnumw &, pshhib, ANDREW N. PERRIN— JOEL GILBERT. 337 Perrin ; also two daughters, Mary M. and Sybil S., who have died. Mrs. Perrin died July 26, 1847. Mr. Perrin married, as his second wife, Rhoda M., daughter of Titus Curtiss, of Groveland, by whom he had one child, Luna L. Mr. Perrin, Sr., became one of the leading citi- zens and farmers of the county, and was well- known in the State and beyond for his superior stock, especially in the line of merino sheep, and horses. He died December 8, 1853, truly respected and lamented, and was burred in the cemetery at South Livonia. A picture of the " good old home " is given in this volume. The father's death occurring when Andrew N. was fourteen, 'left him, with the widow, the main reliance of the other children. With a brave young heart, he entered upon the responsi- bilities of the situation, and by virtue of his work- ing on the farm in summer and teaching in winter, the following eleven years witnessed all the family well cared for, and each of the children with a good education ; Andrew N. having found time also to spend two years in Brockport Collegiate In- stitute. William L. married Sallie, daughter of S. K.. Foote, of Louisville, Ky. Lewis D. married Ger- trude, daughter of Patrick McEntee, of Perry, N. Y. Both these sons reside at Olean, N. Y., suc- cessfully engaged in the oil business. Andrew N. was married May 8, 1867, to Linda, daughter of C. G. Williams, of Waukesha, Wisconsin. They have five children : — William, Marion W., Sybil M., Linna and Charles W. In 1865 he engaged in the development of oil in Western Pennsylvania, and in 1868 located at Titusville, Pa. After passing through the vicissitudes incident to that business, he appears in the front rank of prominent men in position and character. He is part owner and a manager in the Tide Water Pipe Line Company, which transports, by pipe line, from the oil regions to the seaboard, two millions or more barrels of crude oil annually ; and has recently added refining on a large scale to its business of transportation. Under appointment of the Governor, he is a member of the Pennsylvania State Board of Agri- culture, where his early experience will be of great value. He is also under appointment, by the President, as a Commissioner from Pennsylvania to the World's Fair proposed to be held in New York in 1883. In 1880 he was elected Mayor of the city of Titusville, which position he still holds. As a public speaker he takes high rank in both matter and manner. In a word, by natural en- dowments and expanding personal character, he is one of those reliable, rising men, who are not only successful in private life, but are also needed by the community in the administration of its more important and public affairs. JOEL GILBERT. Joel Gilbert, the subject of this sketch, was born in Vermont, May 4th, 1792. He was the son of Moses Gilbert. He moved to Conesus about the year 18 10, and was married to Maiia Henderson, of Conesus, August 31st, 1819. She was the daughter of Samuel Henderson, who was one of the oldest settlers in the town. The result of his i«^ -.-=— (JOEL GILBERT.) marriage was four children viz :— Theodore H., Nelson N., Win. H. and Henry S. Nelson N. married Alta, daughter of John Coller, of Sparta. Her grandfather, Jacob, was among the first settlers of that town. Wm. H. married Julia A., daughter of Wm. Carnes and Phcebe Shay, a family noted for their longevity; in 1870, at a re-union of the family of Mrs. Carnes, there were five generations sitting at one table. William H. Gilbert's family consists of five children:— Estella M., Nettie E., Wm. Sherman, Henry N., Luella E. Wm. H. occupies the old homestead, which is pleasantly situated on the eastern shore of Conesus lake. Henry S. married Emeline. daughter of Riley Scott, of Conesus. Three children were born to them : — Helen M., Ermie E. and Henry S. Theo- dore lives in Oregon. The subject of this memoir was one of the oldest and a highly respected citizen of the town in which he lived. Although never seeking office, he held the position of Assessor for a number of years. He possessed the nerve and energy peculiar to the sturdy New England stock from which he sprang. In politics he was a Re- publican at the time of his death. Prior to the war he was an Andrew Jackson Democrat. He died February 7th, 1870. His wife died January }oth, i860. 33« HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. CHAPTER XXIV. Histor\ oi the Town oi Leicester. LEICESTER is the central town on the west border of Livingston county, and is bounded on the north by York, east by Geneseoand Grove- land, south by Mt. Morris, and west by Castile. Perry and Covington, Wyoming count)'. It was formed March 30, 1802, under the name of " Lester," in honor of Lester Phelps, son of Oliver Phelps, a partner of Nathaniel Gorham. This name was changed February 9, 1805, to the present one. Its surface is undulating, but grows more level as the Genesee river is neared, along the valley of which are extensive flats. The soil is mostly a sandy and clayey loam on the uplands and a rich alluvium on the flats. The principal streams are the Genesee river which forms its eastern and southern boundary, and Beard's and Sam's creeks which are tributary to it. Rice's Falls are located upon the former stream and have a tall of fifty feet. Beard's creek derives its name from the famous Indian chief, Little Beard, who was killed June 1st, 1806, at Stimson's tavern, by being pushed out of a door in a drunken quarrel between some Indians and whites. On the farm of Win, DeForest exists a very fine fossiliferous deposit which is full of interest to the geologist, so much so that the Moscow shale and fossils are widely known. At the time of its formation, Leicester embraced a territory quite large in area extending about sixty miles north and south, and twelve miles east and west, with the following original recorded boun- daries : — " Commencing on the eastern transit at the southwest corner of South Hampton, thence east to the Genesee river, thence south on that river to a point near the junction of Canaseraga creek and Genesee river, thence directly south to Steuben county, and on the west line of Steuben county to the Pennsylvania line, thence west on the Pennsylvania line to the east transit, thence north on the east transit to the place of beginning." At this time the eastern tier of townships of Alle- gany county were included within the bounds of Steuben county, but were annexed to Allegany county, March 11, 1808. Angelica was set off from Leicester, Feb. 25, 1805, and included all of the town south of the southern boundary of Mt. Morris. Perry, Wyoming county, which then in- cluded Castile and a part of Covington, was set oil March n, 1S14, and Mt. Morris, April 17, 1818. March 26, 1819, the north part of Leicester and the south part of Caledonia were united to form the town of York, leaving the town reduced to its present boundaries. There is more than usual historical interest at- tached to this town from the fact that within its borders was located three of the principal villages of the Senecas — Little Beard's town, Squakie Hill and Big Tree — and it was here, also, that the ob- jective point of General Sullivan's noted expedition against the Iroquois confederacy was located, anil from whence, August 17, 1779, he commenced the retracing of his footsteps, having accomplished the total destruction of all of the Iroquois towns. It was to Little Beard's town that Boyd and Parker were taken after their capture; and it was near the flouring mill, at Cuylerville, that they were so cruelly tortured and put to death by the Indians under the sanction of Col. Butler, Commander of the British Rangers. This town at the time of its destruction contained upwards of one hundred and fifty houses, and was surrounded by orchards and fertile fields of corn. It was here, also, that Mary Jemison lived for a number of years previous to its burning. After the commencement of the Revolutionary war white persons of both prisoners and allies were fre- quently seen at this place, as it was considered the headquarters of the Senecas. Among the prisoners was one Joseph Smith who was taken prisoner in 1776, by the Indians in Cherry Valley. He remained with them as prison- er until the close of the war in 1783, when he was released. The Indians afterwards made him, in conjunction with another prisoner, Capt. Horatio Jones, a present of a tract of land five miles square, bounded as follows : " Commencing at a point near the junction of Canaseraga creek and Genesee river, running west five miles, thence north five miles, thence east to the Genesee river, and thence south along said river to the place of beginning." At the treaty held at Geneseo in 1797, but part of this grant was confirmed, only three by five miles being allowed. Smith was rather eccentric in his habits, and through his open-hearted dispo- sition and willingness to assist his friends financial- ly, finally lost all of his property. He died at Moscow. Through some misrepresentation on the part of < (liver Phelps, he obtained control of a large por- tion of Horatio Jones' share, and upon Phelps' failure these lands were transferred to the State of Photo, by Merrell, Gsneseo- MR. \- MRS. JAMES K. BEEBE Russell Beebe, father of James E., was born in Canada, and came with his parents, when a mere child, to Whitehall, Washington county, N. Y., where he resided until nineteen years of age. He then concluded that the then far west in the Genesee Valley, was the place where a young man should commence to make for himself a home and a fortune. Selecting the Genesee flats he settled there and remained about two years, when he engaged to work by the year for William Wads- worth, with whom he remained about three years. From that time he worked by the month for different parties until the year 1814, when May 29, he was married to Orville, daughter of Joseph and Hannah Bell, of Leicester. He was then superintendent of the Rogers farm and continued in that capacity for the ten years following, when he bought a farm one mile north of Moscow, where he lived until he died March 14, 1864, his wife having died in May, 1862. Their family consisted of five children, three sons and two daughters, four of whom are now living. James E. is the eldest child and the only one residing in the town of Leicester. He resided with his parents until nearly twenty-three years of age, and his education was such as he could obtain at the district school, which he attended winters, working on his father's farm during the summer. December 25, 1839, he was married to Caroline F. Royce who was born March 31, 182 1, and was daughter of Samuel and Betsey (Reed) Royce, of Leicester. Mr. and Mrs. Beebe lived with his father one and a half years after their marriage, when they moved to where he now resides, and for five years lived in the log house which then stood where his present residence is now situated. He then erected the fine and com- modious farm house which he now occupies. They have had five daughters, four of whom are now living, and three of whom were born in the old log house. Emily M. is now Mrs. Charles Beck with, living in Bethany, Genesee county. Dora M.,wife of Edward J. Van Sickles, of Mt. Morris. Ruth A., now Mrs. Albert Filkins, of Bethany, Genesee county, and Sarah E. is now Mrs. Augustus Burt, of Perry, Wyoming county. Carrie L. died Sept. 22, 1880, at the age of twenty-two years. Mr. Beebe has filled several important offices of trust in town. He has been commissioner of highways and assessor for a number of terms and also auditor. He is a practical farmer and well deserves the success that has followed his efforts. LEICESTER — KARI.V SETTLERS. 339 Connecticut. This land was divided into lots and parcels about 1813. At the time of the donation to Smith and Jones the flats were valued at 75 cents and the uplands at 25 cents per acre. To Joseph Smith was bom, in Geneva, in No- vember, 1787, Mar)', said to have been the first white female child born west of Utica ; and to Horatio Jones, at Geneva, was born, December 17, 1786, William Whitemore, the first white male child born west of the same place. To Ebenezer Allen is ascribed the honor of mak- ing the first settlement soon after 1783, but did not remain but a short time, the first permanent settlers being Horatio and John H. Jones, in 1789, although John H. and George Jones had come in the year previous, for the purpose of cutting grass and stacking hay preparatory to the settlement the next year. They cut the grass from about nine acres a little east and south of the bridge over Beard's creek, on the road to Cuylerville, and after secur- ing the hay, left but returned in the fall and plowed and sowed to wheat the ground they had mowed over in the summer. This is believed to have been the first wheat sown west of the Genesee river. Captain Jones and his family, consisting of his wife and three sons, Win. W.. George and Hiram and a hired girl by the name of Sally Griffith, moved into the town in June, 1789, and located in a small hut located near the field of wheat sown the fall before. It was here that the first white birth occurred in the town, that of James Jones, who was born May 5, 1791. Jamesand his brother George were taken prisoners by the Indians near Lewiston in 1813 during the war with Great Britain. After their capture a difficulty arose between their captors as to the division of the prisoners, and dur- ing the quarrel they were both cruelly tomahawked. Sally Griffith who came in with Captain Jones' family afterwards married Benjamin Squires of Geneseo. The first death in the town was that of Mrs. Horatio Jones, in June, 1792. The first inn was kept by Leonard Stimson, who established in 1797 a tavern near the bank of the river, about a fourth of a mile north of Jones' bridge. In 1803 he built a frame building, and used it as a tavern. This was the first frame house built in the town and was afterwards bought by Charles Jones. It stood on the site of his residence, being incorpo- rated in the same. The first frame barn was built by Capt. Horatio Jones in 1796 and was the first frame building in the town. It was erected a little west of Jones' bridge. The facilities for the transportation of grain dur- ing the early history of the town were extremely limited and being debarred by the expense of trans- portation from sending the bulk of the grain raised away to market, they were perforce compelled to create a market for it at home, by converting it into something more easily carried, and it was not but a few years after the settlement of the town, before a distillery sprang up, built by John H. Jones on the old Fort farm where Col. W. W. Jones afterwards lived. Since that time there have been eight other distilleries in operation, although at present the business has entirely died out. A great deal of this liquor found a " home mar- ket " also, as is witnessed by the fact that no less than sixteen taverns have had existence in the town. Besides Stimson's tavern there was the Pine tavern, which at first was only a log shanty in the woods kept by Joseph Simonds, a tavern kept by Francis Richardson on the farm afterwards owned by Hiram Crosby, one kept by Pell Teed, one at the river on the road between Geneseo and Moscowkept by James Forbes, and one at the Jones Bridge kept by Mr. Whitmore, all of which were the earliest in the town. Dennison Foster kept tavern on the place afterwards owned by Geo. Lane, in a house which he erected for this purpose, and which was afterwards purchased by Wm. Robb, who moved it to Moscow in j8i6, where he fitted it up as a store and occupied it for a few years. 1 1 was after- wards occupied successively by Allen Ayrault, Ly- man Ayrault and Daniel Gates, and was finally incorporated in the tavern afterwards kept by a Mr. Pratt. Col. Joseph White was another early tavern keeper at Leicester. Elder John B. Hudson, an early Methodist preacher who settled in Geneseo in 1808, states in his "narative" that "Lester was at this time (1808) known as a thinly scattered settlement, certainly not noted for its morality, and still less so in regard to religion. Whiskey and Sabbath dese- cration were then and there notoriously prevalent." Another writer says : " For a number of years after the first settlement of the town the inhabi- tants were beyond the reach of the healthful influ- ence of civil authority. Intemperance was general and crime was of frequent occurrence." All this, however, has long since undergone a change, and Leicester, freed from the incubus of alcohol, has taken a front rank among the towns of the county for the industry, thrift and law abiding spirit of its inhabitants. Old Leicester village was laid out in 1800 about three-fourths of a mile east of Moscow by Augus- 34° HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. tus Porter. The first postmaster in Leicester was Nicholas Ayrault. The formation of roads received due attention from the early settlers, and some of the principal thoroughfares from Geneseo passed through this town. The first recorded roads in the county were one located in Geneseo in 1791 and one in Avon in 1797. In 1792 a gentleman from Boston jour- neying from Canawaugus to Fort Niagara says that " there was no path except an Indian trail which was sometimes very difficult to follow, and no white man lived on the route." Soon after this, as the settlements increased in number, temporary paths were opened through the forest, through which, by means of "blazed" trees the traveler could wend his way with a sense of safety against losing his way through the forest, even if the road was rough and primitive in its construction. One of the earliest roads in the town was from the set- tlement first known as Old Leicester to Batavia, and from thence to Lewiston ; another was opened from Leicester directly west twenty-five miles to the town of Sheldon, while a third road starting from the same point as the other two was laid off in a south-westerly ^direction to the Alleghany river. Eetween Beard's creek, at this time, and Leicester village was a swamp which though pass- able was during wet seasons mostly under water. The highway from Leicester to Mt. Morris was the continuation of the present road leading south from Leicester to its intersection with the present road a few rods south of the school house at Squakie Hill. From thence north to Moscow in 1 81 8 the present traveled road was opened and made passable for teams, mainly through the efforts of JellisClute, who with Thomas and VVm. Clute were prominent early settlers, coming from Schenectady. The old road from Leicester village to Rice's Falls came across Moscow green, thence by the northwest corner through the center of the ceme- tery and from there to the falls. In regard to the means of crossing the river we have only been able to glean the following items : Daniel Curtis, in 1804-5 kept a f err y across the river on the road leading from Geneseo to Leicester. The first bridge built south of Avon was called the Jones bridge, and was erected in 18 16. In 1831 this bridge was carried away by a large freshet, and was not rebuilt till 1832-3. The bridge at Mt. Morris was built in 1830, washed away in [832, and rebuilt two years later. The Cuylerville bridge was erected in 1852. Besides the early settlers already mentioned thai wielded a prominent influence in the early history of this town there were Jesse Wadhams, Joseph White, Joseph Edmunds, Gideon T. Jenkins, after- wards the first sheriff of the county, Festus Cone, Dr. Asa R. Palmer, Justin Dutton, Col. Jerediah Horsford, Samuel Miles Hopkins, Col. Win. Ly- man, Elijah Hunt, Alexander Ewing, Theodore Thompson, and others. Jedediah Richardson set- tled in Leicester in 18 16. His son Hiram \V. Richardson was born in 181 7. and is now living in the town. Col. Lyman's wife was a daughter of Capt. Horatio Jones, and was born in Leicester ; she died March 14, 1875, aged seventy-one. Cap- tain Horatio Jones, already mentioned, was born Dec. 17, 1703. in Penn. He enlisted in the Con- tinental army in 1780, and was captured by the Indians that same year and taken to their home. He lived with them till after the close of the war. He died in 1836 and is buried in Geneseo. The industrial interests of the town have been quite prominent in their time. Besides the nine distilleries already mentioned, there have been five grist-mills, the first of which was erected by Oliver L. Phelps, on the west branch of Beard's creek at Rice's Falls in 1797, and was burned in 1S17 and the second one by Noah Benton, near Mos- cow, in 1799. The one at Cuylerville was first built in 1844, by Col. Cuyler. There have been three fulling mills in the town, two of them as early as 1815, viz: one built by Peter Roberts and Samuel Crossman in the gully, north of the resi- dence occupied by Lewis Newman, and one built by Peter Palmer. Three tanneries have been in operation, conducted by Messrs. Ira Holmes, Cone & Ferry and Spencer. The first saw-mill was built by Ebenezer Allen, at Gibsonville, in 1792, Samuel M. Hopkins owned a brewery in 1820. The first upland farm cleared and cultivated was that ofjosiah Risdon's, and was situated a little north of Cuylerville. It was afterwards owned by- David Bailey. The first physician was Paul New- comb. In September, 1825, there was held at the Academy in Moscow an important treaty with the Seneca Indians. ( )n the part of the United States, Major Carroll, Judge Howell and Nathaniel Gor- ham acted as commissioners, Jasper Parish was Indian agent and Horatio Jones acted as inter- preter. This treaty was held mainly for the purpose of extinguishing the title of Mary Jemison to the Gardeau reservation by purchase by the whites. The land amounting to nearly 18,000 acres was LEICESTER — TOWN OFFICERS. 34i bought by Henry B. Gibson, Micah Brooks and Jellis Clute. The Indians soon after this sale was con- summated, moved away to their reservations west. In 1 S 1 5 the Synod of Geneva proposed opening a school at Squakie Hill for the instruction of the Indian children, provided a school house could be built for that purpose. Rev. Daniel S. Butrick engaged to have a suitable school house provided which was completed _in November, 1815. Soon after the completion of the house a school was opened for the Indian children under the care of Col. Jerediah Horsford, who was employed for the purpose by the above mentioned Synod. At the time of this school the number of Indians at the place, old and young, was about eighty. August 20, 1841, occurred a most notable event in the history of the town. On that day, in the presence of large delegations from Livingston and Monroe counties, the remains of those brave men who formed Lieut. Boyd's scouting party and who were so cruelly sacrificed, were, to- gether with the remains of Boyd and Parker, taken to Rochester and there interred in Mt. Hope ceme- tery. The remains of Boyd's unfortunate comrades were exhumed August 16, from the farm of James Boyd, in Groveland, having been buried " near where they so bravely fell. Boyd and Parker were buried near the bridge at Cuylerville. The two small streams that join near here were at this time (1841) named respectively Boyd's and Parker's creeks in their honor. The first town meeting was held March 1st, 1803, at the house of Joseph Smith, who then lived very near the spot that Col. Cuyler's farm house was located. This Joseph Smith was the one to whom, in company with Horatio Jones, the Indians granted a tract of land. At this meeting there were elected the following officers : — Supervisor, John H. Jones; Town Clerk, Geo. A. Wheeler; Assessors, Samuel Ewen, Alpheus Harris, Dennison Foster ; Collector and Constable, Peres Brown ; Poor Masters, Benjamin Gardner, Adam Wisner; Commissioners of Highways, George Gard- ner, Wm. Mills, Joel Harvey ; Fence Viewer, Daniel Curtis ; Pound Keepers, David Dickinson, James Dale, Joel Harvey; Path Masters, Abel Cleveland, Samuel Hascall. The following have been the successive Super- visors and Town Clerks : — Supervisors. Town Clerks. 1804-06. John H. Jones. 1807. Tom Lemen. Daniel Curtis. Jared Spalding. 808-09. Tom Lemen. John H. Jones. Wm. A. Mills. Jellis Clute. Abraham Camp. a a Joseph Butrick. Jellis Clute. Joseph White. Jellis Clute. ElihuScofield. Jellis Clute. Allen Ayrault. Felix Tracey. Geo. W. Patterson. Daniel H. Bissell. Horatio Jones, Jr. Daniel H. Bissell. sio. 811-13. 814. 815. 816. 817. 81S. 819. 820-21. 822. 823. 824-25. 826. 827. 828. 829. 830. 831. 832. 833-3+ 835-36. 837. 838. 839-40. 841. 842. 843-44- 845- 846. 847. 848-50. 851. 852. 853- 854. 855- 856. 8S7- 858. 859- 860. 861. 862. S63. 864-66. 867. A. M. Wooster. 868-70. John H. Jones. 871. A. M. Wooster. Wm. Jones. Justin Dutton. Jellis Clute. Justin Dutton. (C a John Baldwin. Joseph White. Hezekiah Ripley. John Baldwin. Jerome Curtis. Wm. Lyman. a (( Jerediah Horsford. n tt Daniel Gates. Wm. Lyman. H. A. Wilmerding. Ebenezer Walker. H. A. Wilmerding. Daniel C. Maxson. Ephraim Cone. M. N. Burchard. H. A. Wilmerding. Daniel P. Bissell. Geo. W. Patterson. H. N. Wheelock. Richard H. Wells. Wm. W. Wooster. Sylvanus L. Young. Wm. M. Older. Horatio Jones, 3d. Wm. M. Older. D. B. Noble. Henry Tilton. D. B. Noble. John H. Jones, Jr. Gideon Thompson. John Kennedy. Erastus Brooks. Wm. W. Wooster. Wm. W. Sears. Hiram D. Crosby. Wilbur H. Boies. John H. Jones. John Kennedy. Thos. J. Jones. W. W. Wooster. W. B. Wooster. W. B. Wooster. John H. Jones. A. M. Wooster. Wm. C. Dwight. James McCarter. Barney Van Vleet. Wm. C. Dwight. E. N. Bacon. N. E. Clute. A. E. Clute. Chas. O. Atherton. it a Dorus Thompson. P. A. Phillips. Austin S. Smith. Dorus Thompson. 872. 873- 874. 875- 876. S77. " Bingham Knapp. 878-79. Jas. C. Wicker. D. Thompson. 880. C. O. Atherton. " " The following officers were elected April 5th, 1881 : Dorus Thompson, Supervisor; Squire P. Utley, Town Clerk ; George W. Lane, Justice of the Peace ; William B. Wooster, Highway Com- missioner ; John Robinson, Assessor ; Martin S. Wheellock, Overseer of the Poor ; George W. 342 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Richardson, Collector; Oeorge W. Richardson. Harrison Harrington, Ira Green, Reuben G. Moses, Constables ; Daniel G. Ten Eyck, Came Constable; Henry H. Warner, (vacancy.) James Brophel, Excise Commissioners ; James E. Beebe, John W. Kellogg, Louis A. Allen, Inspectors of Election. At the first town meeting it was voted that $400 be raised for the expense of the town for the year, and also that a bounty of five dollars be offered for every wolf killed in the town. The following order appears on the town records : — Ontario County, ss : To Samuel Hascall, Poor master of the District of Leicester : — In the name of the people of the State of New York, you are hereby authorized and required to warn and see that each and every per- son hereafter named doth faithfully work the num- ber of days opposite their respective names on the road, beginning at the northeast corner of the square against the Indian town, thence from the southeast corner of said square to the river at "Squarker" Hill, thence east from the place of beginning to the top of the hill at Leonard Stim- son's, and make returns of your proceedings to the Commissioners of Highways according to law. Hereof fail not at your peril. Given under our hands this the 31st day of May, 1803. Ceo. Gardner, Joel Harvey, Wm. A. Mills, Com'n'rs of Highways. The following are the names appended : — John Redford, Stephen Hoyt, Warner Finton, Wm. Carter, John H. Jones, John Solomon, James and Stephen Dale, Joshua Quivey, John Griffith, Wm. White, James Blakesley, Martin Griffith, Willard Lewis, John Sample, Andrew Rose, Wm. Rose, John Lewis, Josiah Rirden, Ralph Brown, Elijah Hunt, Ceo. and Eli Cooper, John Shackleton, Peres Brown, Ransom Harmon, Ephraim Fosster, Denison Foster, Geo. Gardner, Joel Harvey, Major Nobles, Daniel Curtis, Benjamin Gardner, Benj. Gardner, Jr., Geo. A. Wheeler, Joseph Smith, Peter Myers, Adam Wisher, Josiah Jewett, Caleb Shaw, David and Joseph Pond, Josiah and John Hovey, David Philips, Moses Wilson, John Knuckle, Jacob Holden, Aaron Wheeler, Josiah Hovey, Jr., Simeon and Guerdon Hovey, John Bonard, Rich- ard Cramer, Teeple, Jonathan Jinner. The following names were appended to a similar order sent to Wm. A. Mills : Clark and Abel Cleve- land, Joseph Philips, Jared Spalding, Thos. Philips, Alpheus Harris, Isaac Powel, David Dickerson, Lewis Mills, Wm. A. Mills, Alexander Mills, Bela Elderkin, Samuel Patterson, Dorastus P. Snow. Zebulon Tubbs, Squire Haskin, Phineas Bates, Robert Wilson, Lauraby, Amos Solomon, fohn K.invon, Geo. Minigar and James Haskins. At an election held in this town April 26, 27, 28, 1803, there were forty-five votes cast. In 1810 there were fourteen votes cast for Governor. In the war of the rebellion Leicester contributed her full share and it is a matter for serious regret that a perfect record of those who so bravely vol- unteered from this town at the time of their coun- try's peril and who laid down their lives upon the altar of liberty, should never have been made. The following is a copy of all that appears on the town records essentially pertaining to its military record. April 5U1, 1864, the following resolution was passed : — "Resolved, That the Board of town auditors be authorized to pay such sums of money to the indi- gent families of the soldiers from this town now in the service of the United States or that may be called into such service during the present year as in their judgment shall from time to time be deemed necessary to make such families comfortable, and that the same be levied upon the taxable property of said town the same as other town expenses and not to exceed One Hundred and Fifty Dollars." August 15, 1864, it was "Resolved, That the town of Leicester pay for volunteers who may enlist under the last call of our President for five hundred thousand men dated July 18, 1864, in addition to all other bounties the sum of three hundred dollars for those who may enlist or be mustered in, to the credit of said town for one year, and six hundred dollars for those en- listing for three years until the quota is filled. " Resolved, That the town pay the sum of five hundred and twenty-five dollars to men that are drafted under the late call of the President for five hundred thousand volunteers and who furnish a substitute." September 12, 1864, the following resolution was passed : — " Resolved, That the Supervisor of the town of Leicester be and is duly authorized to pay for vol- unteers to fill the quota of said town under the call of July 18, 1864, for five hundred thousand men for the service of the United States, not to exceed the sum of one thousand dollars to each recruit." The following school statistics for the town of Leicester were taken from the last report filed with the county clerk, which bears date of October 1, 1877:- Number of licensed teachers employed at the same time for twenty-eight weeks or more, 12; 3F ipl Mr. & Mrs. Oliver Atherjon. OLIVER ATHERTON. Oliver Atherton, the subject of this sketch, was born in Chesterfield, Cheshire county, N. H., Dec. 5, 1806. He was the second son of a family of seven children, four sons and three daughters. He remained at home with his parents, assisting his father on the farm, until 19 years of age, when he went to Warsaw, now Wyoming county, and in partnership with a man named Marvin, bought the stage route running between LeRoy and Angelica. This proved to be a bad investment, for his part- ner was unreliable, and he then commenced working in a hotel for Col. Wm, Bingham, of Warsaw, with whom he remained two years. After this he drove the stage for Gen. McEl- wain, from Warsaw to Moscow, and in 1838 commenced the grocery and restaurant busi- ness in Moscow, where he continued till his death, which occurred Feb. 5,^865. Mr. Atherton was successful as a merchant, careful, prudent, and industrious. Feb. 27, (1839,) he was married to Maryette. daughter of William and Clarinda Knapp, of Perry, Wyoming county. They adopted a son who is as dear to Mrs. Atherton as though he were her own. He carries on the same business, begun by his father and occupied the same building until 1880, when he moved to the present large and commodious building near the old one. In politics, Mr. Atherton was a Republican, supporting his party by his vote only, never interfering with others in their political views. LEICESTER — VILLAGE OF MOSCOW. 343 number of children between five and twenty-one years of age residing in the town Sept. 30, 1877, 552 ; number of children attending school during the year, 428; average daily attendance, 229.950; whole number of days attendance through the year, 34,685 ; number of volumes in district library, 263; value, $140; 10 school houses, all frame; value of sites. $800; value of school houses, $4,355 ; size of sites, 2 acres 77 rods; assessed value of tax- able property in the district, $1,289,820. Statement of receipts and disbursements for the school year ending Sept. 30, 1877 : — RECEIPTS. Amount on hand Oct. I, 1876 $ S7.78 Amount apportioned to district I, J75-47 Amount raised by tax 1,717.2} Amount from teachers' board and other sources .... r6.oo -$3,116.48 DISBURSEMENTS. For teachers' wages .. $z, 5S1.19 For libraries ... S.41 For school apparatus 10.46 For school houses, sites, fences, out-houses, repairs, furniture, etc 1 19- 12 For all other incidental expenses JP-'o Amount on hand Oct. 1st, 1877 145. iz -$1,216.48 The following from this town have held distin- guished positions in various places : — John H. Jones was appointed one of the Judges of Genesee county at its organization in 1802 and continued on the bench of that county till Living- ston county was formed in 1821. He was after- wards Side Judge in Livingston county for a few years. Gideon T. Jenkins was the first Sheriff in the county, and also served in the State Legisla- ture in 1819. Samuel Miles Hopkins and Felix Tracy both served in the legislature. Col. Hors- ford was in the legislature in 1830, and Geo. W. Patterson in 1832-33-35-36-37-38-39-40, twice Speaker during that time. John H. Jones, Jr., in 1857, and Lyman Odell were elected to the assem- bly. In 1814 Samuel M. Hopkins was elected a member of Congress and served one tern. J. Horsford was elected to Congress in 1850. Geo. W. Patterson was elected Lieutenant Governor in 1848 on the Whig ticket. Prof. Eben Horsford, a chemist of note, is a native of this town. Moscow. In the year 181 1, Samuel Miles Hopkins came to Livingston county ; but it was not till 1S13 that he finally made a permanent location in Leicester. In 1814, he made arrangements with his brother- in-law, Jesse Wadhams, to erect a large hotel at Leicester village. Mr. Wadhams, therefore com- menced operations and collected part of the ma- terial for the new house when some difficulty arose between Mr. Hopkins and some of the villagers in which Mr. Hopkins felt himself much aggrieved, and, in consequence of which, he determined to do nothing towards the advancement of that settle- ment. Mr. Hopkins soon after had completed the plans of another village, and in accordance there- with the present village of Moscow was laid out, and the plot surveyed in August, 1814, John Smith, of Groveland, acting as surveyor. Samuel Miles Hopkins was an eminent lawyer, and a brother to Mark Hopkins. He graduated at Yale College in 1791, and in 1792 became the pioneer lawyer in the village of Oxford, Chenango county, which was then just budding into promise. In 1817, Mr. Hopkins was considered to be worth about $75,000, which, three years later, owing to a depreciated currency — the legacy of the war of 181 2-15 — was wholly absorbed in the payment of his debts. In 1822, he moved with his family from the Genesee Valley to Albany, and engaged in the practice of his profession. In 183 1, he removed to Geneva, N. Y., where he died October 8, 1837, aged sixty-five. He represented the 21st District in Congress in 1813-15; was a member of Assem- bly from Genesee county (which then embraced the town of Leicester,) in 1820-21; represented the Western District in the State Senate in 1822 ; and March 7, 1825, in conjunction with George Tibbits and Stephen Allen, was appointed a Commission to sell the State prison at Newgate (which was inadequate to accommodate the con- victs in the eastern section of the State.) and build a new one — at Sing Sing. He was much respect- ed as a philanthropist and a Christian. The land upon which Moscow is located, was, at the time it was surveyed, covered with a young growth of hickory and oak. When first laid out, the square was bounded about one rod south and three or four rods north of its present limits, and was donated to the town for a public square and the land sold by the original proprietor with that understanding. The roads running east and west from it were six rods wide, but encroachments have been made upon both, and afterwards held by occupants of adjoining lands. The first building of any kind built in Moscow was a barn erected by Jesse Wadhams. The first public house in the place was built and kept by Jesse Wadhams in 181 4. He was succeeded by Gideon T. Jenkins who kept it for some little time. The building was afterward used as a residence 344 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. by Horatio Jones. Homer Sherwood and Joseph White, from Leicester, each built a tavern in Mos- cow soon after and kept them for some time. Col. Jerediah Horsford succeeded Mr. Sherwood in business in 1848. Jerediah Horsford first opened a public house in Moscow in 1817 and kept it about twenty years. The Moscow Academy was built in 1 815—16 and was one of the first institu- tions of the character in Western New York. In the first few years of its existence it drew pupils from as great a distance as Canandaigua and Buf- falo. With the decadence of the village the acad- emy gradually lost its patronage, until it was finally closed. The building is now used as a black- smith shop. The first physician in Moscow was Asa R. Palmer, and John Baldwin, who came from East Bloomfield in 1 8 1 4, was the first lawyer. The first public school house built in Moscow was the one known as the " old brick school house," built in 1817. The first store was opened in 1815 by Nicholas Ayrault. A weekly mail, sometimes on foot and on horse- back, was established between Moscow and Angel- ica by the "short tract.'' Previous to 1817 settlers of Mt. Morris had to go to Moscow for mail. The first newspaper in the county was estab- lished in Moscow by Hezekiah Ripley in 181 7 under the name of the Moscow Advertiser am/ Genesee Farmer. In 1821 James Percival pur- chased the paper, and removing it to Geneseo continued it under the name of The Livingston Register. According to French's State Gazetteer Moscow village was incorporated in 1856, although no mention of this fact is found elsewhere. The following includes all of the present business of the village : — F. H. Mover, M. D., came to Moscow in June, 1876 ; was graduated from Buffalo Medical College in 1872. J. Denton, M. D., came to Moscow in 1879 anc l succeeded to the practice of T. A. Denton, who located here in 1876. He was graduated from Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York city, in 1879. D. Thompson, general store; business estab- lished in Moscow, January, 1856. C. O. Atherton, general store, drugs, etc.; com- menced business in 1864, and succeeded to the business established by his father, Oliver Atherton, in 1838 soon after his settlement here. Edmund W. Sears commenced the boot and shoe business in 1842, and has since carried it on in this village. He is the son of Franklin Sears, who came to Groveland in :8i6. Mr. Sears came to Moscow in 1828 ; he has been postmaster since May i, 1865, succeeding F.rastus Brooks. St. James Hotel was built by Henry Bush in 1836 and was opened as a temperance house, but was not financially successful. Catharine Rail now owns the property. E. P. Hill has been land- lord since February, 1880. There are three blacksmith shops, kept by John McMahon, Mathew Shirley and Wm. Grant; also two wagon shops, kept by Anthony Shaler and Wm. Grant. I.eander Rowley keeps a shoe shop. Churches — The Presbyterian Church of Mos- cow was organized in June, 1817, by Rev. Abra- ham Forman of Geneseo, with the following origi- nal members : — Asahel Munger, Eunice Munger, Asahel Munger, Jr., Lydia Munger, Hinman A. Boland, Amanda Munger, Asa R. Palmer, Abijah C. Warren and Bathsheba Warren. Asahel Mun- ger, Abijah C. Warren and Asa R. Palmer were chosen the first elders. Previous to the organiza- tion of this Church, Moscow had been favored for some time with opportunities for religious wor- ship though not regularly. Rev. Mr. Wheelock is recollected as being the first one to preach the " Word of God" in the village ; coming at inter- vals from Mt. Morris, where he then resided. The first resident pastor was Rev. Elihue Mason, who came in 1816, from Barkhampstead, Mass., and remained here two years. He came here under the patronage of the Congregational Missionary Society of Connecticut, an organization that did much to render the life of the hardy pioneers brighter and their physical burdens easier to bear from the religious teachings and associations of those early missionaries. Rev. Mr. Mason after- wards moved to Mt. Morris, where the last sixteen years of his life were spent. The first person added to the Church was Mrs. Polly Dutton, the daughter ofCapt. Joseph Smith, spoken of previously as the first white female child born west of Utica. She was married to Justin Dutton, who died in Mos- cow in 1S15. At the time of its organization the society wor- shipped in the chapel of the Moscow Academy, and continued to hold their meetings therein until their present church building was finished in 1832. This building was erected at a cost of $3,000, and was repaired in 1868. Rev. Elihue Mason was the first pastor after the organization of the society. Rev. S. T. Mills fol- lowed him in July 1820, though what interval in- tervened between him and Rev. Mr. Mason, is not VILLAGE OF MOSCOW — CHURCHES. .3-15 definitely known. He remained till 1826. Rev. Ames P. Brown filled the pulpit from May, 1827 till 1829 ; Rev. J. Walker, 1829-1833. After Rev. Mr. Walker, Rev. Mr. Schaffer filled the pulpit for a short time, and was succeeded by Rev. Samuel Porter from November, 1833 — 1835. The first settled pastor was Rev. John H. Redington, who remained from September, 1835, till his death Sept. 15, 1841. It was during his pastorate that a divi- sion of the church occurred between the old and new schools — so-called. The "new school" party retained possession of the church, and Mr. Red- ington with the " old school" faction were obliged to seek accommodations elsewhere. They ac- cordingly built a small church on the east of the the park. After Mr. Redington's death, Rev. J. W. McDonald succeeded to the pulpit Sept. 19, 1841. In the "New School" branch Rev. Mr. Gilbert officiated from 1838 to 1841, and Rev. E. H. Stratton from February, 1842, till 1845. It was in the latter year that Mr. Stratton succeeded in uniting the two branches into one harmonious church. After the consolidation, Rev. J. W. Mc- Donald officiated as pastor till 1848. From July, 1849, till July, 1856, Rev. L. Leonard served as stated supply. Rev. Walter V. Couch then sup- plied the pulpit for three months, and was followed by Rev. J. M. Harlow, January 25, 1857-64; Rev. F. DeW. Ward, D. D., two months ; Rev. G. R. Howell, March, 1864, to fall of 1865; Rev. W. D. McKinley, January, 1866, to April, 1873; and Rev. F. Gutelius, the present pastor, since July, 1874. The present membership of the church is ninety ; of the Sunday-school, one hundred and forty. M. H. Crosby is the superintendent of the Sunday-school. Rev. Herman N. Barnum, son of D. T. Barnum, and formerly of this church, has been a missionary at Harpoot, Turkey, for twenty-four years. Miss Sarah Dales, daughter of John B. Dales, D. D., went from this church, some years since, to Cairo, Egypt, where she is now located. Elam H. Walk- er, Wm. Wilder, Charles Ferry, John B. Dales, D. D., — who is now located in Philadelphia, and who is a prominent divine — and George Lane, have all been ordained ministers from members of this church. The Methodist Episcopal Church of Moscow. — The Methodists at an early day in this vicinity were sufficient in number to warrant the formation of a church organization and they were accordingly placed on a circuit though the date cannot be as- certained. In 1829 they built a church edifice. The succession of pastors since 1840 has been as follows : — Revs. Richard Wait, Selleck, and Richmond, in 1840; Fellows, Hood and Baker, in 1844; Asa A. Abel and G. W. Barney, in 1845 \ ]■ w - Hinds, 1846; J. B. Jenkins and Z. Hurd, 1847; C- D. Burlingham, 1848 ; G. Hines, 1849; H. May and G. W. Terry, 1850; J. J. Gridley, 1851; W. C. Kendall, J. A. Wells and J. H. Wallace, 1852-53 ; Wm. D. Buck and J. P. Rent, 1854-55 ; J. G. Mil- ler, 1856 ; A. W. Luce and D. Nichols, 1857 ; Geo. W. Terry, 1858; A. Newton, 1859; A. Kendall, 1860-61 : E. Thomas, 1862-63; J- Hager, 1864; J. H. Rogers, 1865; L. L. Rogers, 1866; H. F. Osborne, 1867; J. C. Whiteside, 1868: J. W. Vaughn, 1869; W. D. Buck, 1870; John Irons, 187 1 ; King, part of 1872; C. D. Rowley, 1873; E. C. Hermans, 1874; R. F. Kay, 1876; W. V. Cliff, 1878; B. F. Hitchcock, 1879; Isaac Harris, 1880. This church is one of three on the circuit sup- plied by Mr. Harris, the other two being Greigs- ville and Fowlerville, in the latter of which places Mr. Harris resides. The present membership of the church is about 35, with about the same number in the Sunday- school. E. W. Sears is the Superintendent of the Sunday-school. The church edifice was repaired in 1848, and again in 1872-73 ; the latter time at an expense of about $1,300. The First Baptist Church of Leicester was or- ganized in 1843, Elder O. D. Taylor officiating as the first pastor. Their house of worship was erect- ed the following year. This church has experi- enced various vicissitudes during its existence and has been quite irregularly supplied with pastors. As near as can be ascertained, the following have filled the pulpit at the times stated; although as the records are lost it is impossible to verify the dates : The first pastor, Mr. Taylor, was succeed- ed by Rev. Mr. Kneeland, and he by Rev. Mr. Wadsworth, who supplied them about two years. He was followed by Rev. Mr. Leggett, who only remained a short time, after whom there was no regular pastor for several years. In 1857, Rev. R. Marien took the charge as the next regular pastor and remained about two years. The pulpit was then vacant, except occasional preaching, until 1 86 1, when Rev. J. Coley came and remained two years. Rev. Bela Palmer came in 1864, and re- mained three years. Prof. Waterbury, of Gene- seo, supplied the pulpit from 1870 till 1872. Rev. Mr. Delano, who came soon after and remained 346 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. two years, was the last regular minister. Since then only occasional services have been held. The church membership has been largely merged with that of the Mt. Morris church. At its organiza- tion the membership was about twenty-five, and at one time was over ninety. The society still owns the building in Moscow. Mrs. Sarah Jenkins was one of the first settlers in the vicinity of Moscow, and was the wife of Gideon T. Jenkins, who moved from Auburn in 1807 to the Holland purchase, stopping over night on his way at Dennison Foster's, who then kept tavern in the house where Rev. George W. Lane now lives. In 1815, Mr. Jenkins kept hotel in the house where one of his daughters, Mrs. Clarinda Jones now lives. He was the first Sheriff of the county, and the first person from the village elect- ed to the State Legislature. Jerediah Horsford was born in Charlotte, Vt., 1791. He came to Moscow from Mt. Morris in 1817, and kept public house in the house at the foot of the square, now occupied by Mr. Austin Weaver. He was a member of Congress in 1856. He died in January, 1875. CUYLERVILLE. Cuylerville is situated on the old Genesee Valley canal, between Geneseo and Moscow, and owes its origin to the construction of the canal which stimulated business at this point. It derives its name from Col. Cuyler, who settled here about 1833, and who took a prominent part in laying out the village in 1840. The first ware-house at Cuylerville was built by Seymour Phelps in 1841, and now stands next to the canal bridge. Col. Cuyler built one very soon after. Col. Cuyler built the large distillery in 1851, and in 1S55 it was burned. He rebuilt it the same year, but failed in business soon after. His son, George Cuyler, and Stephen Slocum after- wards operated it about two years. It was then idle till about 1873, when George Cuyler again placed it in operation and continued it about two years, since which time it has been idle. Cuylerville reached the height of its prosperity in 1848, in which year it was incorporated as a vil- lage. At about this time there were four ware- houses located here, owned by Lyman Odell, A. Baker, Bowman & Burt and Col. W. T. Cuyler. H. Truesdell, A. Baker, Jos. Wheelock and Mr. Gordon were conducting mercantile business here at about that time. The old building just south of Mr. Wheelock's was built in 1846 by Mr. Fish as a storehouse and store. It was converted into a malt-house about 1858, and was operated as such by Thomas Copeland for a few years. It was last in operation in 1874 under a Mr. Curtis. The Cuylerville Mill, situated just east of Cuy- lerville, was built by Col. Cuyler in 1S44. Win, Marsh operated this mill as early as 1856, but since 1878 it has been run by his son, David Marsh. This mill was for some time idle on ac- count of the mill dam being torn down by the State. The dam was replaced in 1878. The present business consists of J. S. Wheelock, general merchant, commenced business in 1845, keeping then a canal grocery; M. S. Wheelock, general store, commenced in 1856, in 1858 relin- quished business till 1 868, when he resumed ; Sco- ville House, \V. B. Scoville proprietor, was built as the " National Exchange" in 1841 by Chas. Phin- ney, and opened by Truesdell Lamson, who kept it five years, operated since 1871 by Mr. Scoville; Farmer Hotel, John Black, proprietor ; Alanson Decker, blacksmith. J. S. Wheelock has been postmaster since 1863 and succeeded Melvin Dales. Cuylerville is located upon the site of Little Beard's town, the most prominent of the Seneca villages elsewhere spoken of. The United Presbyterian Chinch 0/ Cuylerville. — About 1840, at the time Cuylerville commenced springing up into existence, there were no facilities offered to the inhabitants for religious worship at this place, with the exception of occasional visits from Rev. A. Blakie, of the York Church. A par- tial church organization was effected soon after, and a supply furnished by the Synod. In the spring of 1844 efforts were made to erect a house of worship which was completed in 1846. At the same time application was made for a church organ- ization to the Presbytery of Caledonia. A committee met July 1st, 1845, for the pur- pose of organizing a church with the following named members : Hugh Sales, Margaret Sales, Eliza Sales, James Hutton, Henry Van Vecten, Ann Van Vecten, Andrew Rome, Jane Rome, James Niven, Clarissa Niven, John D. Fraser and Sarah Fraser. The church organization was not completed, however, till April 7, 1847, when the election of elders took place, John Kennedy, Matthew Crawford and Hugh Rippey being elected to that office. John Kennedy is still living. Rev. James B. Scouller was called November 4, LS46, and commenced his labors in January, 1847, GIBSON VILLE— JOHN SEARS ROYCE. 347 but was not installed till April 7, 1847. He left in April, 1852. Rev. W. C. Somers commenced June 1, 1853, and remained a little over three years. Rev. F. M. Proctor's name appears first upon the records March 7, 1859, and last October 28, 1865. Rev. John Rippey, the present pastor, commenced December 26, 1866. The present membership of the church is about 80, and of the Sunday school about 95. The Sun- day school superintendent is Wm. B. Wooster. The present elders are John Kennedy, now 90 years of age, and who has been elder since the or- ganization of the church, John McKercher, David Donnan, Joseph N. Rippey, Wm. B. Wooster and John F. McKercher. Gibsonvili.e. Gibsonville is a post village and lies in the south- ern portion of the town, south-west of Mt. Morris, and is situated on the outlet of Silver Lake. It was named in honor of Henry B. Gibson, ofCanan- daigua. Ebenezer Allen was the first settler here in 1792, and while here built the first saw-mill in the town. The Silver Lake Paper Mills are located here, and are operated by water power. Geo. H. West is the proprietor. The buildings cost four thousand dollars; capacity of mill, 3,000 pounds per day; ten men employed. They manufacture rag, hard- ware, manilla and tea papers. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. JOHN SEARS ROYCE. About the year 1815 a man who during his life was widely known as " Deacon Samuel Royce," in company with his good wife, Betsey Reed Royce, emigrated from the town of Lyme, New Lpndon county, Conn., to Leicester, Livingston county. There Mr. Royce purchased a tract of timbered land from John Gregg, and with the aid of his sons in due time converted it into a productive farm. Upon this same homestead which he had created, Deacon Royce died on July 12, 1850. He could look back upon a life well spent, adorned with Christian virtues, commanding the respect of many friends and the love of the family. He was a member of the close communion Baptist church, and the father of eleven children, ten of whom are now living. Among these children was one named John Sears Royce, the subject of this sketch, who was born in Leicester July 15, 1819. His boyhood and youth were passed on his father's farm, and although young Royce found much hard labor be- fore him, he battled manfully with it till eighteen years of age, when his father became convinced that his son was born with an inventive genius that would not contentedly brook the narrow restraints of farm life. Fortunately for John, his father desired the happiness and future welfare of his children as much as the immediate advancement of his own affairs, and cheerfully allowed his son to act at will, and bade him God-speed in the broad field of in- vention. The young inventor's first work was a threshing machine, the entire drafting and pattern making for which was done by himself, and the result was a better machine than any in existence at that time. When twenty-two years old, Mr. Royce in- vented and perfected a plow, which was a favorite with many farmers of that day, and was widely known as the Genesee Valley Plow. He then took out his first patent on a metallic spoke sus- pension wheel for carriages, which was followed by improvements in portable steam engines, and afterward by his great work on mowers and reapers. In the year 1849, when thirty years of age, Mr. Royce was married to Louisa M. Boom, of Litch- field, Herkimer county, N. Y., and in thus select- ing a life partner he was most fortunate, his wife proving a true helpmeet in all his labors. Mrs. Royce is spoken of as endowed with caution and prudence, combined with good business capacity, and prominent in the social circle in which she moves. She is looked up to and respected by a large circle of acquaintances and many valued friends. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Royce, (of whom six are now living) viz: Ida A., Samuel J., (deceased,) Cora I., Jennie L., J. Byron, Carrie M., and Eva D. This family have been nurtured to habits of industry and characters of respectability. In the year 1850, Mr. Royce took out a patent for a Rockaway carriage, which proved successful and in the manufacture cf which he was engaged for nearly ten years, when he began the work which was destined to become the crowning achievement of his life — the invention of the com- bined mower and reaper, known as the Empire Harvester. During that era this was a successful machine, and Mr. Royce continued its manufac- ture till the year 1870. These combined machines weighed from 1,200 to 1,500 pounds, and the practical-minded inventor readily perceived that farmers were injuring their horses in causing them to draw these great weights of moving machinery over the soft fields, and immediately employed his mind in constructing a plan for a machine which should require less power than the ones then in use and yet do the work so successfully ac- complished by a man with a slender "cradle." 34§ HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. The result was the machine known as the Royce Reaper, and the first one constructed weighed ,570 pounds. It was a perfect sure ess and possessed ample weight and power for cutting the heaviest grain. During the years 1871, '72, and '73, a few of these machines were made, well tested by farmers, some improvements made, and in the year 1874. Mr. Royce took out patents in the United States, and Canada, covering nine claims. This machine worked a revolution in that branch of business, and still continues in almost universal use. It was a proud triumph for Mr. Royce when his reaper secured, as it did, the first prize for simplicity, ease of draft, lightness and quality of the work done by it, at the great three days' trial of the Centennial exhibition. Since that time, the Royce Reaper has invariably been awarded first prize whenever exhibited in competition in the States and Canada, and it is not exaggera- tion to state that Mr. Royce has made more valuable improvements in reapers than any other inventor. Not satisfied with the success already achieved, in the year 1878, Mr. Royce invented and patent- ed two other reapers, differing widely from each other, as well as from the first. One is known as the Centennial reaper, and the other as the Little Joker, the patent for which covers thirty-two claims, and which has never been presented before the public, but will, we trust, in due time make itself favorably known. Mr. Royce's last work is the invention of a header, thresher, cleaner and bagger, which, pre- diction says, will work an entire revolution in har- vesting and reduce the cost of it to a nominal sum. It is expected that this machine will cut and prepare for market twenty acres of grain in a day, and its weight is not to exceed 800 pounds. For this great work all farmers will forever be grateful to the inventoi. In speaking of Mr. Royce's characteristics it should be noted that he combines with his inven- tive genius, great energy and executive ability; otherwise he never could have reached his present measure of success. He is a born inventor, has loved the solution of mechanical problems from boyhood, and his mechanical ideas always possess originality and simplicity — two great elements of success. The influence of his genius has left its impression upon many branches of industrial sci- ence. The light reaper that bears his name is the pride of his life, an honor to its inventor, and, like many others, the work of his life will live after him. Mr. Royce is radically temperate in all respects, and earnest and industrious in his habits. He possesses generous impulses, and has never turned a deaf ear to the wants of mankind. Being social in his nature, he is ever ready to promote the wel- fare and happiness of his family and those sur- rounding him. Now, while living, he is respected by all who know him, and when his work is done he will be mourned by many. WILLIAM WHITMORE. William Whitmore was born in 1802, and came to Livingston count) with his father, George Whit- more, who took up land at what is now known as Jones' Bridge, in the town of Leicester, and there kept the first hotel in that part of the county. He was the second son of a family of eight children, and lived at home until he was twenty-one years of age, working on the farm and attending school winters. He then bought a farm near what is now known as the "High Banks," forming' a nucleus for the large fortune he afterwards accumulated, owning, at the time of his death, eight hundred acres of land. About the time of his first purchase he was mar- ried to Nancy L., daughter of Jedediah and Tri- fosie Richardson, of Leicester, who came from Massachusetts at an early day; Mrs. Richardson being an aunt of the late Charles Sumner. This marriage proved a very happy one, and of the eleven children born to him, four are still living. Daniel W., is a farmer in Ashland, O., but has been honored to some of the most important offices in his county. Sally Ann was the wife of Samuel O. Roberson, of Geneseo. He was a mill- wright and farmer, and died in Leicester, where he came to reside a year before his death, which occurred February 4, 1865. His wife survived him fifteen years and died December 23, 1S80, leaving one son, William W. Roberson. Miss Emily Whitmore, who resides on the Col. White farm, is the only daughter living, and it is through her generosity that the portraits of her father and mother appear in this work. George W., was married to Sarah Jane Ostrom, of Leicester, by whom he had two children — Wm, 1L. who resides in Leicester, on the old Ostrom homestead, and Nancy I... who resides in Paris. France. John is married and resides in Jersey City, N. J. William, Jr., is married and resides in Farmer City, 111. He and John together own the old homestead on the " High Banks." In politics, Mr. Whitmore, Sr.. was a Democrat, but never thrust his views on others, and allowed every man to vote and think as he pleased. James M., the youngest son, when about twenty- one years of age, went to St. Louis, and at the close of the war was a book-keeper in Benton Bar- racks. Since that time his relatives have heard nothing from him, and mourn him as one who is dead. CHAPTER XXV. History ok 1111. Town of Groveland. GROVFLAND, the central town in Livingston county, is bounded on the north by Geneseo, on the east by Conesus, on the south by Sparta and West Sparta and on the west by Mt. Morris. m •09 Vfc ' GROVELAND — EARLY SETTLERS. 349 It was formed April 6, i8i3,from Sparta, and con- tained in 1875 a population of 1,366. In its physical characteristics it is one of the finest towns in the county, both as regards the fertility and value of its farming land, and the many picturesque views that greet the eye. Near- ly three fourths of the town consists of an elevated table-land that slopes gradually, as the boundaries of the town are neared, to the valley of the Cana- seraga on the south and east and to the inlet and head of Conesus lake, on the west. To Groveland belongs the honor of having had located within its borders the first village in the county — Williamsburgh — which was situated mid- way between Mt. Morris and Geneseo. Nothing so strongly illustrates the erroneous ideas in relation to the future of this section held by the early hold- ers of the large tracts of western lands, as they were then called, than the founding of this village, which, commencing under such influential patron- age, soon reached the zenith of its prosperity, and then, giving away to fhe march of events, gradually lost its prestige, so that now not a build- ing remains to testify to its original prosperity. The first purchasers of the Indian territory between the Genesee River and Seneca Lake had sold an immense estate to Robert Morris, of Philadelphia, who in turn offered his lands for sale in the principal cities of Europe. The repre- sentations of his agents gained much attention from men of capital, and three gentlemen of Lon- don, Sir William Pultney, John Hornby, and Patrick Colquhoun, purchased that noble estate which has since borne the name of the English baronet. Their agent, Captain Charles William- son, visited America, and excited by the reports transmitted by him, the associates indulged in brilliant dreams of the destiny of the wilderness which had fallen into their hands. Charles Williamson, the first agent of the Pult- ney estate, was a native of Scotland. He entered the British army in youth, and during the Revolu- tionary war held the commission of captain in the twenty-fifth regiment of foot. His regiment was ordered to America, but on the passage Captain Williamson was captured by a French privateer. He remained a prisoner at Boston till the close of the war. On his return to Europe, he made the acquaintance of the most distinguished public men of England, and was often consulted concerning American affairs. On the or- ganization of the association of Sir William Pultney and others, he was appointed its agent, and entered zealously into the schemes for colonizing the Genesee forest. Captain Williamson was a man of talent, hope, energy and versatility, generous and brave of spirit, swift and impetuous in action, of ques- tionable discretion in business, a lover of sport and excitement, and well calculated by his tempera- ment and genius to lead the proposed enterprise. His spirit was so tempered with imagination, that he went up to the wilderness, not with the dry and dogged resolution of one expecting a labor of a lifetime in subduing the savage soil, but in a kind of chivalrous dashing style, to head an onslaught amongst the pines, and to live a "Baron of the Backwoods'' in his Conhocton Castle, ruling over forests and rivers, after the manner of the old Norman nobles in England. Having landed in Baltimore in 1791, and taken the steps required by our naturalization laws, he received in his own name, from Robert Morris, a conveyance of the Pultney estate and began im- mediately his preparations for the colonization of the same. Of these preliminary movements there is but little to be said. It appears that he corresponded extensively with men whom he sought to engage in his enterprise, that he opened communication with many planters of Virginia and Maryland, proposing a transfer of themselves and their households from the worn-out planta- tions of the South, to the fresh woods of the Genesee ; that he traveled much through the country and made active exertions by personal application and by advertisement to induce farmers and emigrants of the better sort from Great Britain to settle upon his Northern lands. He established his centre of organization and cor- respondence at the village of Northumberland, Pa. In the winter after his arrival in America, Capt. Williamson made a visit to the Genesee by way of Albany and the Mohawk. In the upper valley of the Mohawk he passed the last of the old settle- ments. From these old German farms the road was but a lane, opened in the woods, passable only on horseback, or in a sledge. A few cabins, surrounded by scanty clearings, were the only in- dications of civilization which met his eye, till he stood amongst a group of cabins at the foot of Seneca Lake. The famed Genesee estate was before him. Surely few city builders of ancient or modern times have gazed upon districts which offered less encouragement to them than did the wild Iroquois forest to the hopeful Scot. A little settlement had been commenced at Canandaieua. .55° HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. The Wadsvvorths were at Big Tree. The disciples of Jemima Wilkinson, the prophetess, had estab- lished their new Jerusalem on the outlet of Crooked Lake, and, scattered through the, vast woods, a few hundred pioneers were driving their axes to the hearts of the tall trees, and waging war with the wolves and panthers. Beyond the meadows of the Genesee Flats, was a forest as yet unknown to the ax, which har- bored several tribes of savages wavering be- twixt war and peace. British garrisons, surly from discomfiture, occupied the forts at Oswego and Niagara ; colonies of Tories, including in their numbers, men of infamous renown, dwelt on the frontiers of Canada, on lands allotted to them by the Crown, and there were not wanting those amongst the military and political agents of the provincial government who incited the jealous barbarians to the general slaughter of the back- woodsmen. In the following summer Captain Williamson determined to open a high road from Northum- berland to the Genesee. The only road leading to the north from the mouth of the West Branch followed the valley of the Susquehanna, which at this point, to one going above, begins a long and unnecessary ramble to the east. A direct road to the Genesee would cross a ridge of the Alleganies. An Indian trail, often trod during the Revolution by parties from the fastnesses of the Six Nations, ran over the mountains ; but to open a road through the shattered wilderness, which would be passable for wagons, was deemed impossible. After a laborious exploration, however, by the agent and a party of Pennsylvania hunters, a road was located from " Ross Farm " (now Williams- port) to the mouth of Canaseraga Creek, on the Genesee, a distance of one hundred and fifty miles. This road was opened in the ensuing autumn by a party of German emigrants. The fortunes of this German colony formed quite a perplexing episode in Captain Williamson's history. The simplicity, the sufferings and the terrors of these Teutonic pioneers were sources of much amusement to the rough backwoodsmen, and their passage through the wilderness and over the wild Laurel Mountains was in early times an event so momentous that although the matter has strictly but little reference to the history of this county, it may nevertheless be permitted to recount their frights and tribulations. It seems that Mr. Colquhoun, who conducted the business affairs of the association, became ac- quainted in London with a certain Dr. Berezy, a German of education and address, who engaged to collect a colony of his countrymen, and conduct them to the Genesee lands under the auspices of the association. Capt. Williamson seems not to have favored the scheme, but while living at Northum- berland in 1782, the colony arrived, and it fell upon him to devise some plan of disposing of this very raw material to the best advantage. There were about two hundred of them, men, women and children. Though stout and healthy enough, they were an ignorant and inexperienced people, accus- tomed to dig with the spade in the little gardens of the Fatherland, and as unfit for forest work and the rough life of the frontiers as babes. It was determined to send them over the moun- tains to the Tioga, thence by the valleys of that river and of the Conhocton to Willianisburgh on the Genesee. It was necessary to give the emi- grants in charge to some reliable and energetic guide and Benjamin Patterson, the hunter, who was well acquainted with the German language, and in whose judgment and resolution Capt. Wil- liamson had entire confidence, was employed in this capacity. He was abundantly provided with money and means. Seven stout young Pennsyl- vanians, well skilled in the use of the ax and the rifle, were chosen by him as assistant woodsmen, and these and the Germans were to open the road, while the guide, in addition to his duties as com- mander of the column, undertook to supply the camp with game. It was in the month of September when the emi- grants appeared at the mouth of Lycoming creek, ready for the march to the northern paradise. A little way up the creek they commenced hewing the road. Here the Germans took their first les- sons in woodcraft. They were not ready appren- tices, and never carried the art to great perfection. We hear of them in after years sawing trees down.* Owing to their extreme ignorance of anything pertaining to woodcraft their march progressed slowly and with great suffering to all. They became mutinous. " I could compare my situation," said the guide, " to nothing but that of Moses with the children of Israel. I would march them along a few miles, and then they would rise up and rebel." Mutiny effected as little with the inflexible com- mander as grief. He cheered up the down-hearted and frightened the mutinous. They had fairly to * 4t An old gentleman who came over the road in an e.irly day says the trees looked as it they had been gnawed down by the beaver." Tit'/trr'* Phelps and Gorluim's Purchase^ GROYELAND— EARLY SETTLEMENT OF WILLIAMSBURGH. 35' be driven. Once, when some of the men were very clamorous, and even offered violence, Patter- son stood with his back to a tree and brandishing his tomahawk furiously said, " If you resist me I will kill you — every one of you." Thereupon discipline was restored. They worked along slowly enough. At favor- able places for encampment they built block- houses, or Plocks, as the Germans called them, and opened the road for some distance in advance before moving the families further. These block- houses stood for many years landmarks in the wil- derness. September and October passed and it was far in November before they completed the passage of the mountains. At the place now occupied by the village of Blossburgh they made a camp, which from their baker, who there built an oven, they called "Peter's Camp." Patterson, while hunting in this neigh- borhood, found a few pieces of coal which he cut from the ground with his tomahawk. The Ger- mans pronounced it to be of good quality. Pushing onward seven miles further they made the " Canoe Camp," a few miles below the present village of Mansfield. When they reached this place their supply of provisions was exhausted. The West Branch youths cleared two acres of ground ; Patterson killed an abundant supply of game, and went down with some of his young men to Painted Post, thirty miles or more below. He ordered provisions to be boated up to this place from Tioga Point, and returned to the camp with several canoes. He found his poor people in utter despair. They lay in their tents bewailing their misfortunes, and said that the Englishman had sent them there to die. He had sent a ship to Hamburgh, he had enticed them away from their home, he had brought them over the ocean on purpose that he might send them out in the wil- derness to starve. They refused to stir and begged Patterson to let them die. But he was even yet merciless. He blustered about without ceremony, cut down the tent poles with his tomahawk, roused the dying to life, and at length drove the whole colony to the river bank. When the Germans saw the slender canoes they screamed with terror, and loudly refused to entrust themselves to such shells. The woodsmen, however, put the women, the chil- dren and the sick, into the canoes almost by main force, and launched forth into the river while the men followed by land, thus making the journey to Painted Post. It was now December. They had be;n three months in the wilderness, and were not in a con- dition to move onward to the Genesee. Patter- son with thirty of the most hardy men, kept on, however, and opened the road up the Conhocton to Dansville and the place of destination. The others remained through the winter of 1793 at Painted Post. The whole colony was conducted to the Genesee in the spring. There was, at this time, a single settler in the valley of the Conhocton above the settlements near Painted Post. After manifold tribulations, the Germans were at last deposited at the Genesee, with the loss of but one man, who was killed in the mountains by a falling tree. The subsequent fortunes of this ill- starred colony can be told in few words.* At Williamsburgh they were abundantly pro- vided for. Each family received a house and fifty acres of land, with a stock of provisions for pres- ent use, and farming utensils. Cattle and sheep were distributed amongst them, and nothing re- mained for them to do but fall to work and culti- vate their farms. Hardly a settlement in Western New York had such a munificent endowment as the German settlement on the Genesee. But it soon became apparent that the leader of the colo- ny had failed to regard the instructions of Mr. Col- quhoun. Instead of recruiting his numbers from the sturdy and industrious Saxon population, as directed, he had collected an indiscriminate rabble from the streets of Hamburgh, not a few of whom were vagabonds of the worst kind. They were lazy, shiftless, and of the most appalling stupidity. Breeding cattle were barbacued. Seeds instead of being planted in their fields, vanished in their ket- tles ; and when provisions were exhausted, Captain Williamson was called upon to dispatch a file of pack-horses to their relief. The emigrants were greatly disappointed in the land which received them, and complained with bitterness of the treacherythat enticed them from the blessed gutters of Hamburgh, first to starve in frightful mountains, and then to toil in hungry forests. At length they broke out into open and outra- geous rebellion. Captain Williamson, who was on the ground was assailed by Berezy and the rabble, and as he himself says, " nothing could equal my situation but some of the Parisian scenes. For an hour and a half I was in this situation, (in a corner of a store between two writing desks,) every instant expecting to be torn to pieces." However with the •Turner's Hist, of Phelps & Gorham's Purchase. .?5 2 HISTORY OF UY!N<;ST()\ COUNTY. assistance of a few friends, he kept the mob at bay, till Berezy at length quelled the tumult. The col- onists then drove away or killed all the cattle on the premises, and held a grand carousal. The mutiny lasted several days, till the sheriff of On- tario mustered a posse of sufficient strength, and descended upon them by forced marches, and made prisoner the ringleader. Berezy, in the mean- time, had gone to the east, where he made arrange- ments for the removal of his colonists to Canada. This transfer was at last effected, greatly to the relief of the London Association and their agent, to whom the colony had been, from the beginning, nothing but a source of expense and vexation. Col. Williamson believed that this was to be a most important point in the future as the com- merce of the country developed, on account of its being located at the junction of two important water-courses, thus affording water communication through two sources to this point, and thence on to Lake Ontario. He little dreamed at that day that the future carrying business was to be done bj the railroads or even by the canal to the entire abandonment of the old water channels. Col. Wil- liamson entertained great expectations in regard to the future of this place believing that it was to be the great commercial centre of Western New York. In a letter to a friend he writes : — "On the Genesee river a great many farms are laying out ; sixty-five miles from its mouth, is a town marked out by the name of Williamsburgh, and will, in all probability be a place of much trade. In the present situation of things, it is remote, when considered in a commercial point of view but should the port of Oswego be given up and the lock navigation be completed, there will not be a carry- ing place between New York and Williamsburgh." The village of Williamsburgh contained at one time, a good hotel building, a dry-goods store, a distillery, blacksmith and grocery shops, a grain warehouse, and about forty dwellings. Services were occasionally held in a portion of the ware- house by the Rev. Samuel J. Mills, a Presbyterian minister. He was the pioneer minister in the valley south of Avon. He is the grand-father of M. H. Mills, Esq., of Mt. Morris. A more extended account of him can be found on pages 289 and 318. A post-office was established here in 1792, it being the terminus of a post-route then established ftom Whitestown to this place. In 1798 there were three frame buildings here besides several log- houses. M. H. Mills. M. I)., of Mt. Morris, in an address before the Livingston County Pioneer Association, in August, 1877, states as follows: — "The first school taught in the county was at Williamsburgh, in 1793, by Samuel Murphy. The first tavern was kept at this place by Wm. Lemon, in 1797. The first grist-mill was erected on lot 58. in 1797. The first store in the county was at Williamsburgh, and kept by Alexander McDonald, a Scotchman. The first race-course for running horses was made by Col. Williamson, in 1793, and was located on the Genesee flats at, or near, the continence of Canaseraga creek and Genesee river, at a short distance from Williamsburgh. Here sporting men came from New York, Albany, Phil- adelphia and Baltimore for several years, but the enterprise was abandoned." The Albany Gazette of July 15, 1793. contains an advertisement of the Williamsburgh Fair and Genesee Races, which states that an annual fair for the sale and purchase of cattle, horses and sheep would be held at Williamsburgh, at the great forks of the Genesee, commencing on Monday, the 23d of September, 1793. These fairs were continued for some years with quite marked suc- cess. Following the tract of Mr. Williamson when he broke in from Pennsylvania and made a com- mencement at Williamsburgh, settlers soon began to drop into the valley of the Canaseraga. In Groveland, other than at Williamsburgh, John Smith was the pioneer. He was from New Jersey, a surveyor in the employ of Mr. Williamson. He purchased a mile square, upon which he resided until his death in 1817. Benjamin Parker, a step-son of John Smith, John Harrison, William and Thomas Lemon, Wm. Kelley, and James Rosebrugh, were among the earliest. Smith in 1799 built a mill between Hor- nellsville and Arkport, and as early as 1800 took lumber from it to the Baltimore market. Michael Roup was an early pioneer upon the uplands in Groveland, with his son, Christian Roup. He died during the war of 181 2. Michael Roup, of Groveland, is his son. The early minister that visited the neighborhood was the Rev. Mr. Gray. Other early settlers were: — Samuel Niblack, (Niblack's Hill,) William Martin, Samuel Stillwell, John Yance, Doty, Ewart. Wm. Magee, Win. Mo- Nair, Samuel Magee and Darling Havens. Wm. Magee settled in 1796 where John Hart- man now lives, on the valley road, and came from Sussex county, N. J. He was one of three broth- ers who came from Ireland. William married in New Jersey, and had eight children, — four boys I m # (Photo, by Eetls, Dar.sville. ) Mr, & Mrs. Charles Hendef^shott. CHARLES HENDERSHOTT. Among the pioneer families of Groveland, may be mentioned the antecedents of our subject, (Jhas. Hendersliott. He was the son of Jacob and Mary (Thomas) Hendersliott, and was born in Columbia county, Pa. Oct. 10, 1805, the eleventh child of a family of twelve of whom four are still living. When four years of age he came into this county with his parents who remained in Avon over a year, and settled in Groveland in 1814, purchasing 137 acres of land at twenty shillings per acre. He lived at home assisting his father in improving that land whii li is now one of the finest farms in Groveland, and at his father's death, which occurred in 1847, at the advanced age of 84 years, this farm was willed to him with a codicil to the effect that he pay the other heirs a consideration. His mother, Mary Hendersliott. died in 1834, aged 72 years. Charles Hendersliott is second to none in his town, as a practical farmer, and not only owns the old homestead, with a hundred acres adjoining, but also a farm in Allegany county. He is now in his seventy-third year, but personally attends to his farm and its interest and does not appear more than fifty years of age. December 21, 1848, he was married to Lois P., daughter of Andrew and Wealthy 1 >. (Hughes) Metcalf. of Cooperstown, Otsego county, N. Y., who was horn in Harpersfield, Delaware county, July 29, 1820, and moved to Otsego county, with her parents when four years of age. The result of this union was four sons, of whom three are still living, viz: Chas. A., born September 11, 1850, is married to Agnes M. Creg, of Belmont, Alle- gany county, and resides near the old homestead in Groveland. Frank M.. horn Feb. 27, 1852, is married to Hattie E. Buckland, and resides in Buffalo. Chester A. was born Jan. 5, 1854, and resides at home. Edward F,., born Feb. 3, 1859, and died Aug. to, 1862. Mrs. Hendershott is an exemplary and con- scientious member of the Groveland Presbyterian Church, having united herself with it more than twenty years ago. In sickness or distress she has ever been ready to assist, and is always kind to the poor and needy. Her ancestors are an old family and Mrs. H. is able to trace them back as far as the landing of the Mayflower. Her grandfather and his three brothers and two cousins 1 ame from Connecticut to Cooperstown in or about the year 1795, an( ' settled on what is now known as " Met- calf Hill." Mrs. Hendersliott says she has heard her father say he has attended school when thirty of the scholars' names were Metcalf. Andrew Met- calf, the father of Mrs. H, was a son of Roger Metcalf, one of the pioneers of Otsego count}-, and was the oldest of six children. He died September 2d, 1880, at the advanced age of 85 years, having out-lived all his brothers and sisters. In politics Mr. Hendershott was formerly a Whig. but is now a Republican, having acted with that party since tS56. GROVELAND — EARLY SETTLERS. 353 and four girls — six of whom were born after his arrival in Groveland. His children born in Grove- land are: — Hugh, now in Conesus; Elizabeth, who married Samuel Ewart, (now dead,) of Geneseo, and who is now living in that place ; Charles, who died in Groveland, January 9, 1850; Rebecca, who died in Groveland, April 9, 1857; Julia Ann, who married Darling Havens, (both dead); and John, born July 18, 1812, now living on the old home- stead, which was first occupied by his father about 1806. William McNair settled at Williamsburgh in 1798. Darling Havens was an early settler, coming pre- vious to 1795, but soon after located where the Havens' now live in Sparta. The Zehner Mills, located on Canaseraga creek were built by Isaac Havens, a son of Darling Havens. Darling Havens remained but a short time when he removed to Sparta. Jacob and Mary Hendershott were early set- tlers, coming into the town in 181 4. They were formerly from Columbia county, Pa., where Charles Hendershott, who now lives upon the old home- stead, was born. Jacob Hendershott died in 1847 and his wife in 1834. Michael Johnson emigrated from Ireland and came in 1804 to Geneseo, from whence in 1806, he removed to Groveland. He died in 1835 on the homestead. He had five children : Nancy, married Samuel Culbertson ; Margaret, married V. P. Whitbeck,of Avon, (dead); John, born 1810. died 1827; Matilda, married Michael Kelly, of Groveland ; and Richard, born Nov. 25, 1815, married Matilda Ebenriter, of Groveland, was Member of Assembly 1870-71. Upon the pages of the town record are the names of Daniel Ross, Levy Dunn, Hugh Mc- Nair, William Harris and William Kelly, in 1797 ; Elias Harrison, William McNair, John Rosebrugh and John Hampton, in 1798; and Thomas Bailey and David Crook, in 1S05. Among the most prominent of the settlers from i8io-'2o may be mentioned William Fitzhugh and Judge Charles Carroll. William Fitzhugh was of a family, the name and service of which are intimately blended with the history of the stirring events of the Revolution in the colony of Maryland. His father, Col. William Fitzhugh, held the commission of colonel in the British army, retired upon half pay, when the troubles between the colonies and the mother country commenced, and whose son, Col. Peregrine Fitzhugh, was first commissioned in a corps of light horse, but in a later period of the war was enrolled in the military family of Washington. William, another son, served as a colonel in a division of cavalry, and after the war was a member of the Maryland Legislature. Previous to 1800, Col. Peregrine Fitzhugh had made the acquaintance of Mr. Williamson, and had visited the Genesee country. When Col. William Fitz- hugh first visited the country in 1800 in company with Col. Nathaniel Rochester, Major Charles Carroll, and several others, he brought a letter of introduction to Mr. Williamson from his brother, for himself and Col. Rochester ; Major Carroll as would seem from the reading of the letter, having previously known him. During this visit, in addition to a third interest in the " 100 acre tract " at the Falls of the Genesee, purchased in company with Messrs. Rochester and Carroll, he jointly, with Mr. Carroll, purchased on the Can- aseraga, in Groveland and Sparta, 12,000 acres of Mr. Williamson, paying $2.09 per acre. Their tract embraced the old site of Williamsburgh, Mr. Williamson having abandoned his enterprise of forming a town there after the failure with his German colony. Leaving their property in the care of an agent, Messrs. Fitzhugh and Carroll did not emigrate with their families until 1816, when a division of the joint purchase was made. Col. Fitzhugh died in 1830, aged 78 years ; his wife, who was the daughter of Col. Daniel Hughes, of Washington county, Md., died in 1829, aged 56 years. Dr. Daniel H. Fitzhugh, a son of Col. William Fitzhugh, was a very prominent citizen of Grove- land. He was born in Maryland in 1794, and came to Groveland in 181 6 to superintend the erection of their new home. He died April 23, 1 88 1. He was the last male representative of his father's family. He left a family of four sons and six daughters. Dr. Fitzhugh has always been prominently iden- tified with the best interests of Livingston county. He was member of Assembly in 1843 ; was for many years President of the Genesee Valley Na- tional Bank, of Geneseo, and was President of the Livingston County Historical Society for the first two years of its organization. He was a man of delightful social accomplish- ments and highly appreciative of humor. He was not a greattalker ; indeed, rather the reverse. Hos- pitable in the extreme, a full house was his delight. Of close business habits, he was never deceived by the same person twice. He attended in the 354 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. minutest details to the care of his estate up to the very last day of his life. He was a true fiiend, a valued neighbor, and a courteous gentleman, em- phatically of the old school in habits, manners and appearance. Charles Carroll's connection with Messrs. Roch- ester and Fitzhugh. and his advent to this region with them in 1800 has been noticed. He had pre- viously, in the year 1798, with a brother, Daniel Carroll, been here upon a tour of exploration. They came via the Susquehanna route with pack mules, made a general survey of the country, were pleased with it, but made no investments until 1S00. Their residence in Maryland was at Belle- vue, near Hagerstown ; the earlier home of the family had been upon the site of the city of Wash- ington. The capital of the United States now occupies a portion of the estate of their father, Charles Carroll, who was a cousin of " Charles Carroll, of Carrollton." Major Carroll died at his residence in Groveland in 1837, aged 60 years. Among his sons were Charles Carroll, who was a representative in Congress of the Livingston and Ontario dis- trict and a State Senator, and William T. Car- roll, a clerk of the Supreme Court of the United States. His daughters became the wives of Henry Fitzhugh, of Oswego; Moses Tabbs, of Washing- to, D. C.j Dr. Hardage Lane, of St. Louis. The eldest son was the private secretary of Mr. Clay at Ghent, becoming soon after the clerk of his father, who held the office of receiver at Franklin, Mis- souri. He was killed in an affray which occurred in that town. The institution of slavery at one time had a foothold in Groveland, as is witnessed by the fol- lowing extracts from the town records: — "June 6, 181 7. "I hereby certify that on or about the 7th day of December, 1816, last past, I brought with me the following slaves, to-wit: Nancy, born the 20th day of May, 181 ij Barbary, born in December, 1810, and Nelly, about twelve years of age, all of whom I have held for many years previous to my removal into the State of New York. R. A. Fitzhugh." "I, Wm. Fitzhugh, late a citizen and former resi- dent of the State of Maryland, having on the 19th day of November, in the year of our Lord 181 7, arrived in the town of Groveland, Ontario county, State of New York, with the intention of perma- nently residing therein, do make oath on the Holy Evangelist of Almighty God that the slaves here- inafter mentioned are my property and belong to me, and that I removed them with me into the aforesaid town of Groveland on the said 1 gth day of November, 18 17, and that to the best of my knowledge and belief their sexes and ages are as follows, to-wit: Males — George, born July 17, 1801 ; James, born July 7, 181 1: Adam, born April 14, 1 S 1 5 ; Henry, born March 25, 1816; Samuel Harrison, born December 26, 1806. Fe- males — Ann Harrison, born July 17, 1805; Agness, born December 20, 1808." "November 13, 1815. " 1 hereby certify that on or about the 15th day of June past I brought with me the following slaves, to wit : David, about fifteen years in April, 1816; Nany, thirteen years in June, 1 816 j Milly, eleven years in March, 181 6; Sarah, nine years old in February, 18 16 ; Nan, seven years old in Novem- ber, 1815, all of whom I held for some years pre- vious to my removal to the State of New York. Ch. Carroll, of Bellevue." Among the early physicians of the town were Dr. Warren A. Cowdery, Lockwood Lyon, Edward Lauderdale and Walter E. Lauderdale. Dr. Lyon was here as early as 1820, and was a very promi- nent man in town affairs. Walter E. Lauderdale is now located in Geneseo, where a more extended account of him may be found. At the annual election of the town of Groveland, held at the house of Wm. Doty, inn-keeper, the first Tuesday of April, 1813, the following persons were elected : — Samuel Niblack, Supervisor : James Rosebrugh, Town Clerk ; Hugh McNair, John Jones and Chris- tian Roup, Assessors ; Daniel Ross, John Slaight and Samuel Begole, Commissioners of Highways ; Abraham Harrison and Aaron Norcross, Overseers of the Poor ; Wm. Doty, Constable and Collector ; Davenport Alger, Constable ; John Hampton, Samuel M. Mann and Enoch Squibb, Fence View- ers ; Wm. Doty, Nathan Ogden, John Oman, Ira Travis, David Crooks, John Vance, Wm. R. F'e- gole, Philo Mills, Ebenezer McMasters, Benj. Price, Samuel Henderson, Eli Clark and Thomas Young, Overseers of Highways. At an election held at Wm. Doty's on April 2, 1816, the following persons were elected and privi- leges granted: — Samuel Niblack, Supervisor ; David Coursen, Town Clerk ; James Rosebrugh, James Henderson and )ohn Smith, Commissioners of Common Schools; Enoch Squibb, Wait Arnold, John Jones, David Coursen, Samuel Niblack and John Vance, Inspectors of Common Schools; Wm. Doty and Daniel Ross. Overseers of the Poor; Simeon Root. Constable ; Wm. P. Begole and Elijah Holmes, Fence Viewers; Robert Burns, Thomas Philips. Elias Harrison, Stephen Bonker, Jacob Hender- shott, John Scott, Samuel Ward, David Schull, .>*•& ■ Mr. &• Mrs. John Gilman. PHILLIP OILMAN. Previous to the war of the Revolution, the parents of Phillip Gilman emigrated from Hanover, Germany, to Pennsylvania, where he was born in 1 756. In the early part of the Revolutionary war he enlisted in the Conti- nental army and adhered to its fortunes to the end of the struggle, participating in the battles of Brandywine, Germantown and others of that eventful period. While in the battle of Germantowu he was shot in the left breast by a musket ball, the ball passing through his lungs and being extracted two days after from under the left shoul- der blade. After he was wounded he broke his musket over a stump to prevent it from being of use to the Brit- ish, who then occupied the battle ground, and concealed himself under some hay in a barn, where a party of Brit- ish dragoons fed their horses and departed before day- light, without seeing him. At sunrise, wishing a drink of water, he made his way to a well near by, and there met a woman who directed him in the way to reach the American army and avoid the British. After remaining a short time in the hospital, he, notwithstanding the urgent protest of the surgeon, again joined the army, and by a strong will and vigorous constitution, was safely carried through. In 1779 he served under General Sulli- van in his contest with the Iroquois Indians. Little is known of his individual experience in that campaign although he was so greatly pleased with the beauty of the " Canaseraga country," as he called it, that its praise was constantly on his lips until he became one of its residents. He was married to Maria Clara Haasler, daughter of a, merchant then in Reading, Pa. In 1791 when Captain Williamson, on his way from Europe to the Genesee country, came up the Susquehanna with a company of emigrants he engaged to work for the Captain in his mills at Bath, where he remained till the spring of 1800, when he removed with his family of five sons and five daughters to Sparta, and there cleared a home in the forest. Always retaining a hearty dislike to the British, he, during the war of 1812, encouraged his sons to take an active part in their country's service, and the four who were old enough relieved each other in guarding the lines at Buffalo. John Gilman, son of Phillip, was born in Bath, Steuben county, in the year 17!H, and removed with his father's family to Sparta, where his youthful days were spent in assisting to subdue the forest and im- prove the farm on which he spent the remainder of his life. When eighteen years of age he was drafted for three months' service in defending the lines against the British at Buffalo. In 181'J he was married to Jennie, daughter of James Scott, Esq., who had removed to Sparta from Northumberland county, Pa., in the year 180G. For fifty-two years they passed a happy married life and raised a family of three sons and three daugh- ters, of whom only one survived them. John Gilman died April 27, 1871. His wife survived him nearly six years and died April 10, 1877. GROVELAND — TOWN OFFICERS, WAR RECORD. 355 Charles Carroll, Andrew McNair, Hector W. Hey, James Henderson, Davenport Alger, Alexandria Patterson, Thomas Young, Joseph George, Moses Gilbert, Samuel Culbertson, Michael Johnson, John Hyland, Stephen Cole, Nathan Thorp and Peter Murren, Overseers of Highways. Privileges granted : — " Win. Doty is to have the privilege of selling and retailing spirituous liquors on days of town business, when done at his house." " Wm. Willson is to have the privilege to sell spirituous liquors on days of town business by pay- ing one dollar for the time already sold." " Also that James Henderson shall have the priv- ilege of selling spirituous liquors on the first day of election, April 16, 1816." The following has been the succession of pervisors and Town Clerks. Su- Supervisors. Town Clerks. 1813-14. Jas. Rosebrugh. Samuel Niblack. 1815. Samuel Niblack. Christian Roup. 1816. (< k David Coursen. 1817. Chas. Carroll. David Coursen. 1818. EC ,. Warren A. Cowdery. 1819-20. Wm. Fitzhugh. David Coursen. 1821. CC cc Wm. Learning. 1822. Chas. H. Carroll. • C cc 1823-26. David Gamble. John Jones. 1827. Daniel Kelly. cc cc 1828-29. tt cc Wm. Aten. 1830-32. Daniel H. Fitzhugh. Lockwood Lyon. 1833- tt tt John Morrow. 1834. L. C. Lyon. 1835. Daniel Fitzhugh. CC CC 1836-37. W. E. Lauderdale. Chas. Goheen. 1838. Reuben Field. cc cc 1839. Chas. H. Carroll. Josiah Fisher. 1840. cc cc Chas. Goheen. 1841. Daniel H. Fitzhugh. " 1842-43. Daniel Kelly. CC CC 1844. cc cc John Benway, Jr. 1845 David Gamble. CC cc 1846 tt tt Chas. Goheen. 1847 Wm. Ewart. Hugh C. Lattimore. 1848 Chas. H. Carroll, John Aten. 1849 Wm. Ewart. tt H 1850 CC (C Phineas Barber. 1851 Edward P. Fuller. John Benway, Jr. '852-53- Edward Logan. Hugh C. Lattimore. l8 54-55- Harvey Ewart. it ti 1856. Augustus Palmer. John Benway. 1857- Nathaniel B. Mann. Thos. Gamble. 1858. cc CI John Benway. '859- Edward P. Fuller. u a i860. tt cc Chas. Goheen. 1861. tt cc John Aten. 1862. a cc Chas. Goheen. 1863. John Hartman. John Aten. 1864-65. John Hartman. a a 1S66. Orimel Bigelow. tt a 1867-68. John Hartman. tt a 1869 -72. Geo. S. Ewart. (< tt 1873. Hugh W. McNair. John Aten. 1874. Geo. S. Ewart. I: 1875. Hugh McNair. " 1876. Jerome A. Lake. " " 1877. Geo. W. Kelly. " " 1878. Jerome A. Lake. Geo. G. Fox. 1879-80. John W. Sickly. John Aten. The following officers were elected April 5, 1881 : Supervisor, John W. Sickly ; Town Clerk, James B. Harrison ; Justice of the Peace, Frank S. Lee ; Richard J. Kelly, (vacancy ;) Highway Commis- sioner, John P. Titsworth ; Assessor, B. F. Cul- bertson ; Overseers of the Poor, H. W. Ogden, Andrew Boyd ; Collector, John Lee ; Constables, John Lee, Andrew Gray, Patrick Wall, Richard E. White ; Game Constable, Richard Johnson ; Ex- cise Commissioners, William Aten, David Gray; Inspectors of Election, George S. Ewart, John K. Slack. At an election held in the town of Groveland, which commenced April 30, 1816, at the house of James Henderson, and closed May 2, at the house of William Willson, there were cast for Daniel D. Tompkins, for Governor, forty-three votes, and for Rufus King for Governor, fourteen votes. The report of the School Commissioners to the County Clerk of Ontario county, made May 20, 1816, reports that there were six full districts and one part of one, the amount. of moneys received was $79.99, the number of children taught in the district were 280, and the total number of children between the ages of live and fifteen years were 366. War Record. — The record of the part that Groveland took in the war of the Rebellion is very meagre. The following is all that is recorded in relation to the subject : — September 19, 1863, a resolution was passed to raise $100 that same fall "for the relief of the wives and children of the volunteers and those or- dered into the service of the United States, accord- ing to an Act passed by our State Legislature on the 17th day of May, 1863." September 23, 1864, at a town meeting held for the purpose of filling the quota of said town under the last call, it was voted by a majority of the votes cast that said town raise a sum not exceeding one thousand dollars for each, for the purpose of filling the quota of said town, and that the amount be assessed and collected from the taxable inhabitants of said town at the two next annual collections. At a special town meeting held in and for the town of Groveland at the house of Richard Mate, in said town, on the 3d day of February, 1865, for the purpose of voting upon a proposition to .55'' HISTORY OF LIYINGST< i.N I i lUNTY. raise money upon the credit of said town for pay- ing bounties to volunteers into the military and naval service of the United States, it was voted by a majority of the electors present that the board of town auditors of said town issue the bonds of said town to the amount of $400 to each volunteer to fill the quota of said town under the last call oi the President for three hundred thousand men. At a special town meeting held the 4th of March. 1865, it was voted that the sum of $300 be ex- pended by the board of town auditors in cases of actual necessity for the relief of the families in said town whose natural supporters are in the military and naval service of the United States, or who have died in said service. Groveland Corners. The principal hamlet in the town is Groveland Corners. The present business consists of a black- smith shop kept by Wm. Mate, a shoe shop kept by S. Pease, and one general store kept by Geo. Fox. Millard Sickly formerly kept store here, succeeded by John Magee from 1878 till the fall of 1880. Abraham Harrison kept tavern at the corners about 1825 and remained till as late as 1830 in the house across from the store. The Presbyterian parsonage was built about 1840 as a hotel by John Morrow, who had then a store here. The present postmaster is L. M. Bradley, who was appointed in the latter part of 1SS0. His immediate prede- cessors were John C. Magee, M. F. Sickly, Geo. G. Fox, Harris Harvey and John Aten. The Presbyterian Church of Gnm-land was or- ganized in 1809,* by Rev. John Lindsley, and consisted of sixteen members and three elders. The early Minutes of Session being carried to the General Assembly by Rev. Mr. Lindsley were un- happily lost. In the year 18 18, the congregation obtained the services of Rev. Silas Pratt, who ministered to them each third Sabbath for one year. On Janu- ary 10, 1819, the church was taken under the care of the Presbytery of Ontario. In the Minutes from 1818 to 1824, the names of Samuel Culbertson, Thomas Ward, John Jones and Abraham Harrison appear as ruling elders ; and January 1, 1824, Michael Johnson and Wm. Learning were installed as their associates in offii e. » This date is given on the authority "i Rev. Mr. Lindsley, although Rev. Silas Pratt states that the church 01 anized in 1795, by the General Assembly through the efforts of their missionary, Rev. Mr. Thatcher. Their present house of worship was erected in 1829 — the builder being Henry Yroman ; and the trustees were Messrs. G. W. Merrill, Daniel Kelly, John Harrison, A. Harrison, Michael Johnson and (ieorge Bennett. One of the articles of agree- ment between the builder and trustees read as fol- lows : — "The said party of the second part (viz: trus- tees,) agree to deliver all the material on the spot where the said building is to stand; to ask the hands and furnish the //r for raising of the building and be at the expense of the same." The congregation had previously worshipped in a school-house that stood opposite to the Gully school-house. From the departure of Rev. Pratt, in 1828, regu- lar services were intermitted, but Rev. Mr. Mas- ter and Rev. Mr. (Dr.) Bull, of Geneseo, occasion- ally administered the sacrament. On the roth of March, 1831, Rev. Isaac Crabb was installed as the first pastor, on a salary of $300 per annum, payable in semi-annual installments, but was obliged to close his labors May 12, 1833. Rev. George E. Sill was employed as stated supply for one year from August 28, 1833, and Rev. George Freeman, of the Presbytery of Geneva, occupied a like position for about three years. February 7, 1836-, Messrs. John Yance, Samuel C. Culbertson, John J. Groesbeck and Daniel Kelly were added by ordination to the eldership. From April, 1836, to May, 1841, Rev. Orrin Brown, of Champlain Presbytery, was stated supply: and July 30, 1S40, Rev. Silas Pratt again assumed charge, continuing for three years. February 27, 1842, the Session took preliminary steps toward transferring the church to the Presbytery of Caledonia, and the change was made March 20, 1842. A minority protested and organized under the Presbytery of Ontario; but this division was but temporary, and in the autumn of 1842. the church placed itself under the care of the Presbytery of Steuben. From the fall of 1843 to 1845, Rev. Lewis Cheese- man presided. He was followed by Rev. Richard Kay, who remained three years, and from February 5, 1849, to April 5, 1850, Rev. John C. Vanl.iew presided. In the fall of 1850, Rev. S. Smith Stur- ges commenced his services as stated supply, con- tinuing till the summer of 1853. Rev. John J. Carroll took charge of the pulpit January 1, 1854, and presided there ten years, and upon his retire- ment Rev. F. DeW. Ward, of Geneseo, filled his place, but remained only two months, and was fol- lowed, after a brief interval, by Rev. Robert L. Conant, who acted as stated supply a few Sabbaths, Mar^y Bickel Eeenf^iter. Mary Bickel Ebenriter was born in Lehigh county, Pa., Nov. 15,1792. Her father, Henry Bickel, was a native of Switzerland, born May 24, 1748, and died April 5, 1826. Her mother was born in Pennsylvania, near Bethlehem, July 16, 1759, and died Oct. 19, 1830. Peter Ebenriter, was born in Northampton county. Pennsylvania, June 21, 1790. His grandfather was a native of Germany, and came here and took part in the Revolutionary war with England. When Peter was four years of age, the family moved to Lehigh county, near Allentown, where, when old enough, he worked with his father till the death of the latter in 1825. As Peter continued to work the farm until 1833, his education was necessarily limi- ted to the district school of that day, but he was a man of good judgment and discernment, and was one of a company of volunteers who went to Philadelphia to defend the flag of his coun- try against the attack of the English in 1812. Sept. II, 18 1 2, he was married to Mary Bickel, and they lived on his father's farm until 1833, when they moved to the town of Groveland. They had one son and seven daughters, three of whom are now living. George Ebenriter occupies the old homestead, and it is due to his liberality that his mother's portrait appears herewith, (his father never having had one taken). Mr. and Mrs. Peter Ebenriter were both members of the Groveland Presbyterian Church, having joined that organization about the year 1834, Mr. Ebenriter by a letter from the Church at his home in Pennsylvania. Both lived the life of exemplary christians, and all of the family became members of the same Church. Mr. Ebenriter died Feb. 12, 1873, and his wife Feb. 13, 1874, mourned by all who knew them. Mrs. Ebenriter had doubly endeared herself to all and was ever ready to assist a neighbor when in trouble or sickness. EAST GROVELAND — NORTH SPARTA. 357 and in April, 1863, was succeeded by Rev. Stuart Mitchell. Rev. Henry L. Doolittle then followed, and remained three years. Rev. John Jones, D. D., supplied the pulpit for a short time when Rev. Thomas Dobbin became pastor, resigning August 15- '875. August 1, 1876, the superintendent of the Sun- day-school was Orimel Bigelow, and the trustees were David Gray, William Aten and Samuel Cul- bertson. The church membership reported May 1, of that year was 143. August, 1876, Rev. David Conway came and remained one year. Rev. Chester Murray served the church from January, 1878, till April, 1879, followed in May by Rev. Andrew J. Hardie, who remained till September, 1880, since which date there has been no pastor. The present acting elders are David Drake, Foit Benway and Orimel Bigelow. Present membership about 128. East Groveland. East Groveland, formerly known as Hunt's Corners, is located in the northern portion of the town and contains a post-office, store and Metho- dist Episcopal church. The present store was built in 1870 by J. DuBois. The present propri- etor is Geo. G. Fox. The post-office has been kept by Elijah Hunt, James Van Antwerp, James Ward, Hugh Kelly and J. L. Whitney. The First M. E. Church of Groveland is located at East Groveland, formerly known as Hunt's Cor- ners. The following is the certificate of its incor- poration : — " We, the subscribers, do certify that at a meet- ing held at the school house near John Hunt's, in the town of Groveland, in the county of Living- ston, it being the place where the members and friends of the M. E. Church statedly attend divine worship, on the 14th of March, 1826, of the male persons of full age being members and friends of the M. E. Church, held in pursuance of public notice given two successive Sabbaths or meeting days, and at least fifteen days before the time of meeting, for the purpose of reorganizing themselves according to the act entitled ' An act to provide for the incorporation of religious societies ' passed April 5, 1813. That John Arnold and John Hill, two of the members of said society were duly chosen to preside at the said meeting and election of trustees, and we do further certify that at the said meeting Wm. Doty, Jonathan Doty, Lemuel B. Ginnings, John White and John Salmon were elected to serve as trustees of said church, and we do further certify that at the said meeting, that the said society to be reincorporated should be called and known by the name and title of the ' First Society of the M. E. Church in Groveland,' which elective resolutions and proceedings we do certify were had in our presence. Given under our hands and seals the 14th day of March, 1826. " |ohn Arnold, "John Hill." The deed for the church lot was given March 7, 1825, by Daniel and Mary Ross to the trustees of the church, and the church was built about the year 1828. The first records attainable bear date January 18, 1834, at which date Rev. Abner Chase was presiding elder and Rev. Joseph McCrary was pas- tor. In 1835 John Parker was the pastor, and from that year to January, 1843, tne minutes are missing, but in 1843 Rev. J. G. Gulick and Rev. I )a\ id Ferris were preachers, and in October of the same year Rev. Robert Parker took the place of Rev. David Ferris. From that year the various ministers filled the position in the following order: — Revs. C. L. Bowne in 1845, S. W. Alden in Oct., 1846, E. B. Fuller in 1848, Alex. Farrill in Aug., 1848, Leveret Richmond in Sept., 1849, Wesley Cochran in Sept., 1850, J. Chapman in 1852, J. L. S. Grandenin 1854, S.Brown in 1855,0 L. Bowne in 1857, Wm. Mattison in i860, Geo. W. Wilkin- son in 1862, Geo. VanAlstyne in 1863, B. Mande- ville in 1864, W. W. Mandeville in 1865, B. F. Hitchcock in 1866, L. D. Chase in 1867, Jas. S. Lemon in 1869, F. D. Blakeslee in 1872, J. B. Countryman in 1874, T. J. O. Woodin in 1877, J. E. Tiffany in 1879, P. R. Stover in 1880. The membership numbers 66 and the Sunday school 100, with Daniel Morris as Superintendent. Among the prominent members may be mentioned Daniel Morris, Frank Barber, Harvey Ewart. Ed- ward Parks and Elijah Hunt. John White was a member for about sixty-three years and died June 27, 1880, in the ninety-second year of his age. The parsonage was built about 1848. The circuit preacher is Thomas Carlton. North Sparta. North Sparta is a postofiice situated in the southeast portion of the town, a short distance north of McNair Station on the Dansville branch of the New York, Lake Erie and Western railroad. The postofnee was moved from Sparta in 187^ since February of which year, Samuel Wambold has been postmaster. Wm. Johnson kept a store at this place since about 1847, and continued the same till his death 353 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. in September, 1872; during the latter portion of his life carrying on business in a store located across the road from the present one. C. E. Warabold is the present merchant, and has been in business since 1878. Xehner's mills (grist) located here, were built in 1826 by Isaac Havens, a son of Darling Havens, of Sparta, and were purchased by Abram Zehner, who run them till 1865, when Stephen Wambold took charge and has since continued. A saw mill was added about 1842. There are about seven feet fall at this place. The mill contains two runs of stones and one upright saw. Son ma. The Society of Christian Believers. — In the year 182 1 there began a religious awakening in Wayne county, N. Y., which continued with an increase for several years. The people of that section having learned something of the doctrines of Be- lievers, applied to the society at Mt. Lebanon for aid in establishing a society in Western New York. Brethren from Mt. Lebanon visited the people in the year 1826. Finding them to be thoroughly in earnest, a site was selected and purchased for the location of their society. The tract of land decided upon contained about 1,296 acres; situ- ated partly in the town of Sodus and partly in the town of Huron. It was purchased of Robert C. Nicholas, Feb. 23d, 1826, and the Believers took formal possession of their property March 1st of the same year. In the month of May following, there were sent from the churches at Mt. Lebanon and Niskayuna, four missionaries, viz. : Flders Jeremiah Talcott and John Lockwood, and El- dresses Esther Bennet and Lucy Brown. These were to be the leaders of the newly-formed society at Sodus. Under their ministration the society continued to increase in numbers and prosperity at that place for several years. They erected some buildings and lived very comfortably. In the year 1836, when the Sodus Canal Com- pany was formed, with the intention of building a ship canal from Clyde to Great Sodus Bay, the projected course of the canal lay through the land which the Believers had purchased. The Canal Company offered to buy the property, and the people, not wishing to be subjected to the incon- convenience and associations which a canal would bring, accepted the terms of the company, and the sale was effected on the 21st day of November, 1836. Having thus disposed of their home, it now became necessary for the Society to secure a future abiding place. After much inquiry and due deliberation, they finally purchased the property where they are now located, consisting of 1,670 acres of land in the town of Groveland, Livingston county. N. Y. This was bought of Dr. Daniel H. Fitzhugh in January, 1837 ; and afterward additional land was pur- chased, making in all about 1,800 acres. The Society at that time numbered 145 members or thereabouts ; who, soon after the bargain was con- cluded, commenced moving to their new home in Groveland. This move was accomplished during the years 1837-38, and in the month of April. 1838, the Sodus property passed into the hands of the Canal Company. There was necessarily much privation suffered by the people in beginning anew to establish a home; but they immediately set about cultivating the soil, erecting buildings, and striving to provide themselves with accommodations and comforts as fast as possible. In the year 1S39, the office was built, and soon afterward the church, then the mills, a flouring mill, (since destroyed by fire) and a saw mill. The foundation for the present dwelling was laid in 1858. Previous to that time and during the time of building, a part of the Society occupied the house formerly used as a dwelling by Dr. Daniel H. Fitzhugh and his family. The remainder of the people lived in other smaller buildings which were on the place when they bought it, until better accommodations could be provided. This Society has met with many losses ; some by several fires which have occurred here, ami others by the dishonesty and unfaithfulness of trustees, who, betraying the confidence reposed in them, have left the Society, taking with them much of the property which had been consecrated for the benefit of all the members. In spite of all obstacles, however, those who have remained true to their faith have continued making improvements, erecting commodious build- ings, and by constant toil have steadily risen from a state in which they were barely supplied with the necessaries of life, to a condition of com- parative comfort, though not of ease, for it is one of the principles of their faith that all should engage in manual labor to provide for the susten- ance of the body. It is now more than forty years since the removal of the Believers from Sodus, and more improvements have been made in their property and belongings since the year 1S61 than in all the previous years. The ministers or leaders lb lagzh 9 3 3 3 3 :>i. . Eta» iA •■/■'■■ ■^'V-V'/^; The Sewinc House. i office 2 horse barn 3 MEETINGHOUSE 4 DWELLING HOUSE 5 SEWING HOUSE 6 DINING ROOM 8^ DAIRY The Home or the Socie VULGARLY CABLED SHAKERS. ' '■■ ¥ " \ ^1 7j f ^ T ^ i? j|r M^sk ^_^_>_ E. tH E IfiMR'"^ , ., - . . y Fruit House and Laundry. christian Believers K Livingston, Go, N.Y. 7 FRUIT HOUSE 8t LAUNDRY 8 STOCK BARN 9 WOOD 8( CARRIAGE HOUSE 10 BOILER HOUSE I I JOINER SHOP IS BROOM SHOP 13 SCHOOL HOUSE WILLIAM K. MANN. 359 who first came to Sodus, have long since died ; but their places have been filled by worthy successors, who have striven to maintain the doc- trines that were established in the first days of their church. There have been many seceders from the faith causing a declension in numbers, but the fundamental principles, as taught and practiced by the founders of the Church, have ever been preserved in their purity by the faithful, and to-day the Believers claim to have a faith, which has stood the test of more than a hundred years. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. WILLIAM K. MANN. Samuel Mitchell Mann, son of Samuel Mann and Margaret Keith Mann, grandson of John and Mary Mann, was born on the 25th day of August, 1781, in the township of Horsham, Montgomery county, Pa., where the family still reside in the fourth and fifth generations, in the same substan- tial stone house, and on the same farm originally bought by the founder of the family from the Penns. Samuel M. Mann came to Western New York in 1805, with his brother-in-law, Samuel McNair, and located in what was then the town of Sparta, Ontario county, now Groveland, on a farm of 240 acres in the wilderness, and upon which there had not been cut a stick of timber He returned the following year to Pennsylvania, and in September, 1806, married Susan, daughter of General John Borrows, of Northumberland county, Pa. Susan was a native of Philadelphia county. They removed to their farm in Groveland, where they died after raising a family of nine children, seven of whom are still surviving, and six of them in this county. Dr. Josiah Stockton Mann, son of Samuel and Susan Mann, has been a practicing physician in Posey county, in the State of Indiana, for more than forty years. Samuel Mann and wife lived to be four score years of age. The subject of this sketch, William Keith Mann, was born in the town of Groveland, on the 15th day of September, 181 r, and was the third son of Samuel M., and Susan B. Mann, and now resides within one-half mile of the place of his birth. He has always been a farmer, and has sometimes dealt in produce. Mr. Mann cannot boast of the ex- aggerated advantages of modern schools, but may claim to be a graduate of the district school, the school of the people, whose advantages were made use of by him to its fullest extent. He was married on the 28th of March, 1837, to Sarah D. McNair, by whom he had eight children, five of whom are living ; one in Indiana, one in Pennsylvania, one in Colorado, and two in Grove- land. In 1863 he was married to Mrs. Fanny M. Wheelock, by whom he has one daughter. Mr. Mann well remembers when it was quite as common to see an Indian as a white man ; and when bears and deer were often seen, and rattle- snakes were killed by children singly, or hunted by men and killed by the score. Mr. Mann has always had laudable ambitions, probably induced somewhat by pride of ancestry, as he can trace the blood of the Stocktons, Hub- bards and Manns of New Jersey ; and of the Keiths, Borrows, Torberts, Andersons and Mitchells of Pennsylvania, in his veins. Both of his grandfathers and one of his great-grandfathers were Revolutionary patriots and servedin the war of Independence. His great-grandfather, John Borrows, enlisted in the war with five sons, and two step-sons by the name of Wood, and out of the eight in the family but three returned — the father, Nathaniel and John Jr. One perished in a prison-ship in New York harbor, one was blown up on a vessel in the same harbor, when every soul perished, and a third fell at the battle of Camden, in South Carolina. John Jr., was promoted and remembered by his government, and subsequently was appointed a General in the war of 181 2, and raised a brigade and was ready to march to.the lines when peace was proclaimed. He was State Senator and Prothonotary of the county of Lycoming several years, and otherwise honored and respected. William K.'s aspirations for learning led him to spend a few months at school in Geneva after he was 21 years of age, on his own responsibility, when his board, tuition and stationery did not cost him over fifty cents per week, and when he wrought on Wednesday afternoons and Saturdays to pay for his fuel by chopping and sawing wood, cleaning and digging ditches, and other jobs that were hon- est that he could get to do. He returned to his father's in the spring and continued to work for him as if a minor till in his 23d year, when he en- gaged in teaching school for several winter terms, still working on the farm in summer. Subsequent to his marriage, for a series of years, he worked lands on shares by the halves, and at times had contracts on the public works, when he bought the farm on which he now resides and has continued to add to it until he is now in possession of 840 acres, but his misfortunes have compelled its incumbrance. Being a man of decided opinions, one whose convictions were clear and conclusive, and believ- ing that "no man has a right to say he will do as he has a mind to unless he has a mind to do right," he has always been a total stranger to policy, born without fear. If he thought a certain course right he was sure to say so if all the world beside him said otherwise, and if he thought it wrong it was sure to meet with his most emphatic condemna- tion. His views on temperance were adopted early, amidst persecution, and never regretted, ami he can now say truthfully that he never bought, 3 6 ° HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. offered, or received a glass of intoxicating liquor at any public bar or elsewhere, since his views were formed, which was when he was 13 years of age. Politically he was born an Anti-Mason about the time William Morgan was abducted and murdered. He thinks the whole society of Masons responsible for the crime by trying to prevent the punishment of the perpetrators by encouraging their witnesses to treat the case with contempt, and treating them as if they had been martyrs in some righteous cause after they had served or paid the penalty of the law. He voted with the Anti-Masonic party until they united with the Whigs. His sympathies were with the Democrats, and his first vote for President was cast for that noble Democrat, Andrew Jackson. He continued to vote with that party until it seemed to him the only principles left it were the loaves and fishes and slavery. He abandoned the party in disgust and went in with the Republicans, voted for John C. Fremont, twice for Abraham Lincoln, twice for Gen. Grant, for R. B. Hayes, and lastly for Jas. B. Garfield. He prides himself on being called a Republican and in belonging to the party that carried us through the war and saved the country; proud of the glori- ous company of such men as William H. Seward, A. Lincoln, D. S. Dickinson, J. A. Dix, E. Morgan, Stanton, Sherman, (Irant, Sumner and hosts of others that were originally Democrats. Mr. Mann is decidedly of the notion that the Methodist minister was right when he said that "the man who sells seven feet of wood for a cord is no Christian," and he envys not the man's morals that thinks he can pay a just debt by bank- rupt or assignment laws. His earliest recollections of the pioneers of this town which dates back to the close of the last war with Great Britain, embraces the McNairs, Robertsons. Yances, Baileys, Rosebrughs, Cul- bertsons, Lattimores, Brans, Stillwells, Kellys, Barbers, Hendershotts, Roups, Hylands, Magees, Berrys, Thompsons, Harrisons, Dotys, Gambles, Carrolls, Fitzhughs, Scholls, Mills, Ewarts ; nearly- all from New Jersey or Pennsylvania. Most of them are dead, many removed, some have not even left one to transmit their names. The first clergy- man he heard in this town was Rev. Lindsley. We can find descendants of men of this town in almost every State and Territory west of this, and not a few in the South. The changes are al- most incredible in other respects from hard labor to machinery, from the Indian paths, to railroads and telegraphs, and the rise in the value of land from $2,00 per acre to $100. We might search long for a race of men more distinguished for lon- gevity than these pioneers. and Jennie (Boyd) Logan, natives of the same county, who came to this country in 1820, and settled permanently in the town of Sparta, near Scottsburgh, where they remained till they died, the mother in 1861, and the father a lew years later. They had seven children, viz: — Jennie. II waul. Sarah, James, Mary, John and Andrew, all now living in this county, except Sarah, who re- sides in Tecumseh, Michigan. Edward lived at home with his parents until 1846, when he settled where he now lives in the town of Groveland. March 13. 1S50, he was married to Adeline, daughter of John W., and Sarah (Magee) Latimer, of Groveland. She was born June 18, 1824. Her father came with his parents from Pennsylvania when very young. Mrs. Logan's paternal ancestry were English. Her mother was born in the State of New Jersey, of Irish parents, of whom the father died February 22, 1865, and the mother July 27, 1834. They had six children: — William McNair. James, Hugh C, Caroline and Adeline, (twins,) and Elizabeth. Mr. and Mrs. Logan had three children, all of whom died in infancy. Mr. Logan has been flat- teringly recognized by his townsmen by election to various offices of his town. He was elected Super- visor in 1852, and again in 1853. and has been Road Commissioner. In politics he is a Republi- can, and firm in the support of his party's meas- ures and principles. He is a member of no reli- gious denomination but attends the Presbyterian church at Groveland Centre, of which his wife is a worthy member. EDWARD LOGAN. Edward Logan was born in county Antrim, Ire- land, in July, 1813. His parents were Edward ISAAC PRAY. Isaac Pray was born in Winfield, Herkimer county, N. Y., April 22, 1812. His grandfather, John Pray, left his native State, Nov. 1. 1794. and with his family, settled in Litchfield, where he engaged in farming. Soon discouraged in this he went to Ballston, Saratoga county. His son James, father of our subject, was born in Poster. R. I., in 1782, and was about twenty-one years of age when his father went to Ballston. July 28, 1805, he was married to Cornelia Patterson, of Winlield, who died Nov. 10, 1856. Before his marriage he engaged in the manufacture of pot- ash, that being one of the leading industries of that early day, and disposed of his potash to parties in Albany. This was a good business venture and gave him a fine start in life. With Mr. Sim- mons as a partner, he built a saw and grist mill on one of the head branches of the Unadilla river, near a small hamlet which is not now remembered. A (nw years after he disposed of his interest there and engaged in the distilling business. He soon, however, became dissatisfied with this and en- gaged in farming ever after. In May, 1S32, he came to Groveland and bought the farm where Isaac now resides, and where he lived till his death, which occurred Nov. 16, 1873, aged 91 m 2 5 pi z n pi o CO n 'O < r > z D Z o (0 -4 Z ^n o c z H JOHN WHITE — LIVONIA 3 6] years and 6 months. Isaac Pray resided with his parents till 19 years of age, and enjoyed only the limited advantages of the district school of those early days for an education. He afterwards went to Ohio where he engaged in farming for five or six years, and in 1837 went to visit his parents in Groveland, when his father prevailed upon him to remain at home and assist him on the farm which he bought in 1864, and which consisted of nS£ acres of land. February 6, 1836, he was married to Jane, daughter of Frederick Lewis Mills, of Mt. by whom he had two daughters, Harriet Frances I., the latter of whom married Wyant, of Oroveland. a Republican, at all times working in the interests of his party, but never wishing to hold any office. In religion Mr. Pray and his family are Baptists, Mrs. Pray having been a member of that church for more than forty years. In politics Mr. Morris, M. and William Pray is Photo, by Merrell, Geneseo. JOHN WHITE. John White was born in the town of Pi qua, Northumber- land county, Penn., December 25, 1788. In 1794, his parents with their family em- igrated to the town of Lima, where they lived for four years, then purchased and remov- ed to a farm, (long know as the Ram- beau farm,) one and a half miles southeast of the village of Geneseo. In these boyhood days Indians were often his com- panions in the games of wrestling and ball playing. In 1 805 while yet but a youth he started out for himself and began the battle of life in earnest. In company with a brother and a friend he followed the Indian trail westward to the " Holland Pur- chase" where each purchased a farm in the unbroken forest, but all living together for a year in a rude log-cabin doing their own house-work, and furnish- ing their cabin in the style of those days. Split bass-wood logs fastened on standards of different heights serving for tables and chairs, and maple wood dishes were their only supply. He cleared a portion of his farm and built a house and on Jan. 6th, 1807, was united in mar- riage with Miss Anna Griffith of Geneseo. In 1808 he united with the M. E. Church and from that time forward his religious faith and principles con- trolled him in all the duties and relations of life. In 18 1 3 he returned to this vicinity and bought the farm in Groveland, on which he resided for 62 years. Thus did he become identified with the early settlement and material prosperity of the town where so great a portion of his life was spent. He held for many years the various offices within the gift of his townsmen, truly the gift for he never solicited a vote nor even voted for himself, and in the discharge of these duties his record is of one who did his work well and honorably. In 1826, he assisted in the organization of the M. E. Church at East Groveland, was elected trustee and class-leader, which offices he held until his death. In the same year he with Lemuel B. Jennings donated a lot of five acres to be occupied as a parson- age ground, and it is still used for that pur- pose. He was the first farmer in Grove- land to break away from the then prevail- ing custom of provid- ing ardent spirits for his laborers, while to protect the pioneer temperance lecturer in his work he has even interposed his own powerful physical frame as a barrier in the door against the enemies of the tem- perance cause. Firmness of purpose and perseverance in duty characterized him in every position he was called to oc- '• cupy. He died in Geneseo at his home with his only remain- (JOHN WHITE.) ing chM Josq?h ,,. White, June 27th, 1880, in the 92d year of his age. I^Hl of CHAPTER XXVI. History ok the Town of Livonia. 1 E town of Livonia lies on the eastern border of the county. It was formed February 1 2, 1808, from Richmond, Ontario county, which, at that date, was known as Pittstown. A portion of its territory was taken off in 1819, and, with other territory of Ontario county, formed into the town of Conesus. The town is bounded on the north by Lima and Avon ; on the south by Conesus and Canadice 362 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. (Ontario county,) on the east by Richmond, (On- tario county,) and on the west by Geneseo. It contains an area of 22,81 1 acres, the soil of which, in the low lands, is a clayey loam, and on the higher lands an admixture of sandy and gravelly loam. In the southern part the surface is somewhat hilly ; in the northern part, gently undulating. The name, Livonia, was derived from a Russian province, and was proposed by Col. George Smith at the time when the Legislature was petitioned for the formation of the town. The township contains five villages — Livonia, Livonia Center, Hemlock Lake, South Livonia, and Lakeville. Gullburgh, in the southeastern part, is a name given to a small settlement of a few scatter- ing houses ; and Hamilton Station, in the northern part, is a small station on the line of the Erie rail- road. The only streams of importance are the outlets of Hemlock, Conesus, and Canadice lakes — the two former lying partly within the eastern and wes- tern borders of the town — and Kinney's creek, a small stream which rises in the southern part, flows northerly and southerly and empties into the mill- pond at the village of Hemlock Lake. The first settlement of Livonia was begun by Solomon Woodruff in 1789.* He came from Litchfield, Conn., and located on lot 32, just south of Livonia Centre, and a little east of the present residence of Buel D. Woodruff. Here he made a clearing, on which he built a log house, and then returned to Connecticut and brought his wife and son Austin, then three years old, together with his household effects, in an ox sled, to Livonia. On that lone winter's journey, their second born little boy sickened under exposure and hardships. When they reached Bristol, Ontario county, he died in his mother's arms, and there on the sum- mit of one of those bleak hills the father dug a rude grave by the way-side, in which they laid their little one, and then with saddened hearts pursued their journey. Arriving in Livonia, Mr. Woodruff found that the log-house which he had so patiently constructed had been burned down by the Indians during his absence, and that his wife and surviving child were homeless in this region of wilderness. He immediately began the erection of another house, and while it was in the course of construc- tion his wife and child stayed with the family of »- * On the tombstone over his grave the date of his incoming is placed at 1790 ; but that was a mistake made at the time of its erection. Fn > 1 gives the date as 1 7y2, which is also incorrect. Oideon Pitts, the nearest neighbors, at the foot of Honeoye lake. In this log cabin, when completed, Solomon \\'i» j«1i uft' and his resolute wife Susannah began their pioneer life. — the initial movement toward the settlement and civilization of the town. For a number of years the nearest mill was seven miles east of Canandaigua, at a place now known as Shortsville, where Mr. Woodruff carried his grist on his back, or on an ox yoke, there being no ac- cessible wagon road through the forest. The Indians then in this locality were often troublesome. Soon after their arrival here, when Mr. Woodruff was absent from home one day, his son Austin was stolen by a passing band of Indians. When the father returned and discovered his loss he immediately started in pursuit, overtaking the Indians on the shore of Hemlock lake, and single handed contended with them and rescued his child. At another time while at work alone he was sur- prised by a company of Indians, his first intimation of their presence being the savage war-whoop. Looking up he found himself confronted by their levelled guns. Bareing his. breast he stood erect before them, without a quiver of a muscle ; whereupon, struck by his coolness, they lowered their weapons, saying such a brave man should not die. In 1794, February 19, a second son. Phillip Woodruff", was born, being the first white child born in the town. He was in after years a lawyer of considerable repute in the County courts, and a noted patron of education in the common schools of the county. He was a member of Assembly two terms in 1849 and 1850. In that same year, 1794, Solomon Woodruff kept the first tavern in the town in his log-house- Beneath that humble roof the discrowned and exiled Louis Phillipe, King of France, who, with the Duke de Liancourt, wandered in these western wilds, received a night's lodging and the hospitable care of Solomon and Susannah Woodruff. Their cabin also sheltered for a time a lad who was afterwards known as the celebrated Presby- terian divine, Rev. Dr. Joel Parker, who in 1858, at a meeting of the general assembly in Rochester, saitl to a daughter of his benefactors, " Whatever under God 1 am or have done in my life I owe to Mrs. Susannah Woodruff." Solomon Woodruff died January 18, 181 1. Su- sannah, his wife, died in 1828. The only direct descendant now living of those -0^ ^cr^p^^CyJ^T The subject of this biography was born in Dorset, Vt., March J, i779 ? while his parents were moving from Scituate, Rhode Island, to Claren- s don, Rutland county, Vt. His ancestors on both sides were of English descent, and were noted for their strong native talents. Joseph Smith came from Northumberland county, England, to North Carolina. His descendants moved to Rhode Island. Of these, John Smith, of Scituate, Rhode Island, was the grandfather of George Smith, and was connected by inter-marriage and common ancestry with the Hopkinses, Wilkinsons, Harrises, and other prominent families there. His wife, and the grandmother of George Smith, was Miss Hopkins, a near relative of Stephen Hopkins, the signer of the Declaration of Inde- pendence. They had six sons, viz: — Richard, Joseph, Jonathan, Oziel, Thomas, and Hope, all of whom served in the Revolutionary Armv, either as commissioned officers or common soldiers. Thomas was killed in one of its battles. Their fourth son was the father of Col. George Smith. Oziel Smith was born in Scituate, where he married Margaret Wahon, the mother of George Smith. They moved to Clarendon, Vt., where she died June 10, 170.J, aged 39 years. Oziel Smith afterwards moved to Livonia, N- Y-, where he died September, 1S18, aged 7S years. Some of Margaret Walton's relatives held office under the British government at the breaking out of the Revolution, and adhered to its cause. The majority of the relatives— some of whom were Quakers- sided with the colonies. George Smith's school opportunities, owing to pecuniary losses of his father, and the limited resources of a new and sparsely settled country, were limited to three months in a common school at ten years of age, and about ten weeks at the age of fourteen. While working at the carpenter and joiners' trade he studied evenings by getting a pile of shavings which he could reach with one hand and throw on the fire for a light while he held his book in the other. Thus availing himself of every opportunity, he improved till he taught a common school in the winter. He afterwaid studied surveying, which. in connection with farming, he made a principal business during the lat- ter portion of his life. In the winter of 1798, he came from Vermont to Lima (then Charles- town, ) X. V , in the employ of Joel Roberts, driving a team of two yoke of oxen and a horse, loaded with agricultural implements, making the journey in twenty-two days, and arriving in February. He remained in Lima until the spring of 1801, when he moved to Livonia, then Pittstown, to work with John Woolcot at the carpenter and joiners' trade and mill- wright business. In the winter of 1803, he worked on the Court House at Batavia, and in the fall of that year erected a saw-mill for the Holland Land Company at Oak Orchard Falls, now Medina, N. Y. Though not a professed politician, he early took an active interest in the political questions of the day. In 1S00 he took the only Republican news- paper taken in his neighborhood, which was published at Hartford, Conn- He became prominent in promulgating its doctrines, and gave his iirst vote in that year for Thomas Jefferson for President; and voted at every succeeding Presidential election, including Grant's second term, and also at the fall election of iS7j, about five weeks before his death. He married Sally Woodruff in January, 1807, and they settled on the "Col. Smith Homestead Farm" in Livonia, where she died February *7, tSj?, aged 51 years. She was a daughter of Nathan Woodruff, who moved with his family from Litchfield, Conn , in iSoi. She rode on horseback all the way, carrying a weaver's reed on her lap to use in the new country. She was tall, of fair complexion, with dark brown hair and blue eyes ; of cheerful and benevolent disposition, and ever ready with sympathy and relief for the suffering of others. She had a strong consti- tution and good health until bitten by a rattle-snake, when crossing a field in Livonia, at the age of nineteen. The poison rankled in her sys- tem ever after, filling her remaining years with suffering, which only ended with her death. She was the mother of seven sons, only three of whom survived her, —Lewis Edwin, born November Z5, tSiz; George Woolcot, born May 16, 1S15, and Daniels Oziel, born February 20, 1S19. COLONEL GEORGE SMITH. Lewis E., who after some common school and academic educational advantages, studied law. He attended the Cambridge University Law School under Judge Story and Simon Greenleaf. He practiced the pro- i held some lown offices,— including Super- four years in succession— represented the county of Livingston in the Legislature in 1868 and 1869, and moved with his family to Rochester, X Y . April, 1871, where he now n George Woolcot, who, after graduating at Hamilton College, N. V., taught an academic school .it Livonia, then studied medicine, and finally settled in Xiu York City, where he now resides, practicing his profes successfully by the sole use of animal magnetism. Daniels O., became blind when thirteen years of age, and attended the school for the blind in New York City, devoted his time mostly to music, and died in October, iS54i aged H years. Lewis E., married Lucy Boardman, of Trumansburg, I county, N- Y, the daughter of Allyn and Phebe Boardman, January u, 18*4. They have one son, George Herbert Smith, born December 11, 1857. The two sons, Lewis E., and Giorge W., and the grandson George Herbert, are the only suiviving descendants of George Smith. Col. George Smith was married again December it, 184J, to Widow Helena H. Slout. of lit Bloomfield, < Intario county, N. Y. She died March (\ 1S4S, aged ?i yeai George Smith was five feet eleven and one-half inches in heighr, of strong constitution and muscular frame, and weighed one hundred and seventy pounds. He bad dark complexion, black hair and eyes, and great physical strength ; was of a cheerful and social disposition, loved to tell and bear a good story, and won many firm and lasting friends. After holding the office of Ensign and Captain of a company in a regi nu-nt commanded by Lieut. -Col. William Wadsworth, he was commis- sioned by Gov. Tomkkins, in May, 1811, "first Major" of the regiment commanded by Lieut. -Col. Joseph W. Lawrence. When the war of 1812 commenced, he volunteered his services and was accepted. His regiment not being called for, he was assigned to the regiment of Col. Peter Allen, and marched to the Niagara frontier. When the order came to attack Queenstown he was detached, and ordered to take charge of the boats and transportation across the river. As the main part of our forces reached the other side. Gen. Wad iworth with a small force took boats for the purpose of supporting the movement, and taking command of the at- tacking party. He directed Major Smith to raise the flag of his regi- ment; he promptly stepped into the boat and unfurled the colors, and they all passed safely over though under the constant fire of the British artillery. He had the honor of planting this flag on the British battery when captured. When this service was performed, he was sent out under Col. Winfield Scott of the regular army to drive away the Indians who were firing at our troops from a piece of woods, which was promptly ac- complished. These duties performed, he picked up the musket of a dead soldier and joined the ranks for further service. After the Heights were retaken by the British, he was made prisoner at the general surren- der, and taken to Fort George, and at the end of a week was rele.i parole and returned home. In May, i8l6t he was commissioned by Gov. Tompkins, Lieut. Col. of the 94th Regt. of Infantry, and in Sept. 1S17, commissioned by Gov. Clinton, Colonel of the same regiment. He served two or Jiree years and then resigned. He was appointed Justice of the Peace by the Governor in 1819, and held the office about eight years. lie had a strong practical intellect, abhorred all shams and acts of dis- simulation, and had little respect for lawyers who would talk on either 1 pay. One- day during his official term as justice, as he was get- ting in hay under a threatening sky, he was reminded of a suit to be tried. He left the field, heard the testimony, and immediately declared judge- ment for the plaintiff; when the defendant's lawyer, with an expression of surprise on his face, said, "Your Honor, I was about to offer some remarks on the testimony and law in the case. " He replied, " Never mind now, when I have more leisure we'll attend to that if you wish. " He was largely instrumental in getting Livingston County set off, and 1, its organization in 1811 elected its first representative, and sat in the Legislature of 1 Si;, where he wore a suit of clothes made of wool ;. his own sheep, anil spun and wove by his wife. He v 1 ted in 1823, with Hon. George Hosmer, of Avon, and sat in tin. several sessions of [824. In 1S20 he waselected supervisor of Livonia, the name of which town was selected by him in 1808. He held lhat and other town offices from time to time, sometimes being elected the minority. He early embraced the doctrine of the ultimate salvation of the whole human for years a member of the Universalist Church, and died happily a firm believer in its doctrines, retaining his mental faculties to the last. He believed with the poet that *'an honest man is the noblest work of God." and showed his faith by his works through a long and somewhat eventful life. He was ever the victim of his benevo- lence in indorsing and becoming surety for others. He would scold about the delinquents, then pay his losses cheerfully, and work on, earn- ing more money by his labor than any man of his time in Western New York. He always commanded the highest wages for planning and ei mg public buildings, mills, mill dams, and bridges, and works of difficult mechanical construction. He was always industrious and despised idle- ness ; unlike "of the present day, who look on with gloved hands, he would direct and oversee his twenty men, and at the same time do as much, if not more work than anyone of them. This habit lasted him through life. When in his ninety-fifth year he said his eyesight was so poor he could not read over fifty pages a day, and he wanted some- tlving to do, and did plan, "set out, '* and, with the aid of a common laborer, frame and erect a small barn for his son in Rochi Though not a visionary, he had for years before his death occasional l * visions, " as he called them, and of which he spoke as they occurred. The tred in the form of a scroll unfold- ing before him, on which was written, in large plain letters, not always in the same words, but always to the same import.— -and which night or day, with eyes open or closed, he could read,— that an era was approaching when the civilized nations of the world would adopt substan- t '.ill v a Republican form of government, and that the religious sects would all come to a like uniformity in belief and practice, and that this would occur in Dec, 1892. IK resided in Livonia until April. 1871, when lie moved with his son to Rochester, N- Y., where he died December 9, iS7j, aged 94 yi months and 6 days. He bet ame a member of the Masonic order early in life, was with prominent and responsible positions therein, and was buried near his early homestead in Livonia with the customary services of that fraternity LIVONIA — EARLY SETTLERS. 3 6 3 two hardy pioneers is Morris Woodruff, who lives in the town of Geneseo. A grandson, Buell D. Woodruff, son to Austin, now lives on the farm originally located and cleared by Solomon Woodruff. Other early settlers here were Daniel Lindsley, about 1793; Higby and Peter Briggs in 1794, David Benton and Jesse Blake in 1798, Nathan Woodruff", Ruel Blake and Thomas Grant in 1801, and Smith Henry previous to the year 1800. The most of those settlers were from Con- necticut. The first death was that of a child of Mr. Higby in 1797. Dorias Peck taught the first school in 1798-9. The first school house stood on the land of Sol- omon Woodruff", in what is now the garden of Buell D. Woodruff. Isaac Bishop kept the first store in 1803-4. Mr. Higby built in 1795 the first saw-mill on the outlet of Hemlock lake, and the first grist-mill was built on the same outlet in 1799 by Seth Simonds, of Bristol, for Thomas Morris, of Canandaigua. About the year 1800 John Bosley built near Lakeville the mill widely known as " the Bosley mill." This mill was afterwards burned down, and in 1822 Edmund Bosley erected another mill on this site, which was also burned. In 1835 Lucius F. Olmstead & Co. again re- built it, and the mill is now owned by Clark & Sons. The first frame house was built for David Ben- ton in 1 80 1, and the builders were Col. George Smith and John Woolcot. A son to John Woolcot, Harry B., aged seventy- seven years, now lives here. Col. George Smith * was one of the most promi- nent and influential men of this town. He was born in Dorset, Vt., March 3, 1779, and came to the Genesee country in 1798, locating in Lima, where he lived till 1801, when he removed to Li- vonia and began life here as a millwright, carpen- ter and joiner in company with John Woolcot. In the war of 181 2 he bore a prominent part. In 18 19 he was appointed justice of the peace, which office he held eight years. At the organiza- tion of the county in 1821 he was elected Member of Assembly, and again in 1823, and sat in the four sessions of 1824. He died in Rochester, N. Y.,at the home of his son, Lewis E. Smith, December 9, 1873. His wife, Sally Woodruff Smith, died Feb- ruary 17, 1835. * See biography and portrait on another page. The only living descendants of George Smith are Lewis E., George Woolcot, and a grandson George Herbert Smith, son to Lewis E. George W. is a practicing physician in New York. Hon. Lewis E. Smith, son of George Smith, was also a man of note in the town of Livonia. He was born November 25, 1812, and laid the founda- tion of his education in the common schools of the town. He afterward attended the Canandaigua academy and the academy at Wyoming, Wyoming county, N. Y. Resolving to enter the legal pro- fession, he studied law with Amos Dann, of Avon, in 1835, then with Judge John B. Skinner, of Wy- oming, N. Y., and in 1838 entered the office of Samuel Northrop, Esq., at Livonia Centre. He also took a course of study in the law school of Cambridge University, Mass., in 1844-5, under Judge Storey and Simon Greenleaf as professors of law. In July of 1842, he was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court, State Court of Chancer)' and Circuit and District Courts of the United States, and in that year formed a co-partnership with Sam- uel Northrop at Livonia Centre. This relation existed until about 1848, when Mr. Northrop re- moved to Hemlock lake and Mr. Smith remained in practice at Livonia Centre until 1850, when, on account of ill health, he retired from business. In 1867 he was elected Member of Assembly and was reelected in 1868. In 1871 he removed from Livonia to Rochester, N. Y., where he now re- sides. Oliver Woodruff, brother to Solomon, the pio- neer, was born in Litchfield, Conn., in 1755, and with his wife and family of six children moved to Livonia in the latter part of 1803. He had been to this town twice before, coming once to bring a load of goods to the elder Wadsworth. Oliver and Nathan Woodruff located a tract of land and divided it, Oliver's lot being the one that lies just south of the Presbyterian church at Livonia Centre. When he arrived in the town he found quite a settlement, among the people being Solo- mon Woodruff and others of that name, the Gibbs, the Pitts, Turners, Goulds, and many others. Up to the time of his incoming there had never been a meeting held in this locality, and in the early part of 1804 he began to hold meetings in the log school house, he reading and explaining the scriptures. This was the beginning of the re- ligious movement that resulted in the formation of the Presbyterian church at Livonia Centre, of which Oliver Woodruff was a deacon until his his death in 1845. .? 6 4 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. At the breaking out of the Revolutionary war, Oliver was preparing to enter Yale College, but abandoned his plans for a higher education and devoted himself to the service of his country. He enlisted for six months as a private in a company commanded by Captain Baziliel Beebe, in Col. Wooster's regiment, and marched to Ticonderoga. He returned home in December of 1775, and in February, 1776, again enlisted for nine months in Capt. Beebe's company, in the regiment com- manded by Col. Philip B. Bradley. After the battle on Long Island, at which he was present, the regiment was marched to Bergen, opposite New York city, where they remained till the British gained possession of New York, and then ascended the Hudson river fourteen miles where they built Fort Lee. During the winter, part of the regiment in which he was included was or- dered over to Fort Washington. That fort was captured by the British Nov. 16, 1776, and twenty-six hundred patriots laid down their arms, to be sent into British prisons. Fight hundred and seventeen, among whom was Oliver Woodruff, were sent to New Bridewell, where for three months they suffered from cold and starva- tion. Of the thirty-three belonging to Capt. Beebe's company only Mr. Woodruff and two others sur- vived. At length an exchange of prisoners was effected, and, sick and emaciated, Mr. Woodruff returned home and many months passed before he regained his health. He died in Livonia in 1S45. His descendants now living are Washington Woodruff, Mrs. Stacy, and Mrs. Sedgwick, of Dansville, and Oscar Woodruff, a grandson, editor of the Dansville Express. Orange Woodruff was another early settler here, and a brother to Solomon Woodruff. Of his descendants, a son, Cyrus, now lives in Canan- daigua, and another son, Dr. Landon Woodruff, is a resident of LeRoy. Matthew Armstrong, Elias Chamberlain, Leman Gibbs, Capt. Robert Dixson, and Darius Jacques, were also early settlers and men of no inconsider- able prominence. Matthew Armstrong, with his sons John and William, and his daughter Mar- garet, came to Livonia in 1805 from Lycoming county, Penn., and settled on the farm now owned by John Armstrong. Matthew Armstrong was one of the first as- sessors of the town. He died in 1829. John, when a lad of four or live years playing before his cabin door, was severely bitten by a mad woff, and still bears the scars of the wound. The wolf was killed by the pursuing neighbors, but not until it had bitten numerous animals that afterward died from the poisonous effects of its fangs. Flias Chamberlain came to Livonia in 1805, locating in the south part of the town, near what was known as Holdens, and afterwards Jackson- ville. Here he remained one summer, then moved to Conesus, where he built a log house, in which he lived about two years. During this time his wife died, and he removed to near South Livonia. He died about 1835. A son, Samuel G. Cham- berlain, now lives just south of Livonia Centre. Capt. Robert Dixson, a man of much note in the town, was born in Groton, Conn., April 1st, 1791. In 1793 he removed with his parents to Paris, Oneida county, N. Y. September, 21. 1813, he was married to Miss Rhoda Wilkinson, and on the 18th of February, 1814, they came to Livonia to commence their married life in this new country. Here Robert Dixson lived sixty-seven years — always honorable, always devoted to the cause of education, morality and religion. Although in no sense an office seeker, so much did he possess the esteem and confidence of his fellow citizens that he was elected to the office of Supervisor ten times — nine terms in succession — from 1826 to 1834, and again in 1854. His hand struck the first blow towards the erection of the first church in the town — the Presbyterian church at Livonia Centre. He died February 8, .1881, in his ninetieth year. His wife died in October, 1879. Darius Jacques, in 1813, settled in Richmond, Ontario county, N. Y., where he purchased a small farm. In 1815, he married the widow of Levi VanFossen, of Hemlock Lake, and in 1 8 1 6 moved with his family, consisting of a son and daughter — Russell R., and Caroline — to the mills at Hemlock Lake. His only descendant is Russell R. Jacques,* proprietor of the Jacques House, a quite noted summer resort on the shore of Hemlock lake. Leman Gibbs, whose name is also quite promi- nent in the history of this town, was born in Litch- field, Conn., August 15, 1788, and came with his parents, Eldad and Fsther Riggs Gibbs, to Livonia in the latter part of the winter of 1801, locating about a mile north of Livonia Centre. His edu- cation was obtained chiefly under the tutorage of * See biography upon another page. LIVONIA — TOWN OFFICERS— LIVONIA CENTRE. 365 Rev. Dr. Hotchkiss in Bloomfield, N. Y. At the age of eighteen he began to teach school, pursu- ing that occupation several winters. A man of integrity and strong common-sense, he naturally became the recipient of public trust. His first office in the town was that of constable, and he was afterwards appointed deputy sheriff. For nearly thir- ty-five years he held the office of Justice of the Peace. From 1841 to 1845 he held the office of Supervisor, and was again elected to that office in 1852. When the county of Livingston was formed he was appointed Side Judge, which office he filled till, under the present Constitution, the office of Ses- sions Justice was substituted, when he was imme- diately chosen for that office. In 1854 he was elected to the Assembly of the State. Town Officers. — The first Town meeting was held at the house of Solomon Woodruff, but at what date is unknown, as the town books were burned in January of 1878, destroying all records prior to 1827. It was probably held in 1808 or 1809. The first Supervisor was Lyman Cook, elected at this meeting; Theodore Hinman, Town Clerk; and George Smith, John Warner and Matthew Armstrong, Assessors. Col. George Smith was Supervisor in 1820. From 1821 to 1S23 that office was held by Icha- bod A. Holden. Ruel Blake was chosen Supervisor in 1824-25, and Robert Dixson began a nine years' term in 1826. From 1827 to 1881 the Supervisors and Town Clerks were as follows : — Town Clerks. Henry Pierce. Charles P. Pierce. Shepard Pierce. Charles P. Pierce. Supervisors. 1827-31. Robert Dixson. I832-34- t 1835. Augustus Gibbs. 1836-37. George Smith. 1838. Augustus Gibbs. 1839. 1840. Charles P. Pierce. Samuel Hough. 1 84 1. Leman Gibbs. Charles P. Pierce. 1842. " Joseph Wells. 1843. " Charles P. Pierce. 1844. " George F. Pratt. 1845. " Thomas A. Royce. 1846. George Smith. Charles P. Pierce. 1847. Wm. S. Gilbert. Gates Clark. 1848. " Eli Holeman. 1849. Austin Woodruff. Irving Parmelee. 1850. C. L. Shepard. G. A. Mosher. 1851. Henry Dixson. Wm. McCoy. 1852. Leman Gibbs. " 1853. Sam'l H. Northrop. Manson F. Gibbs. 1854. Robert Dixson. " 1855. Joel Stone. " 1856. Wm. B. Lemen. Geo. F. Ramsdell. 1857-58. Lewis E. Smith. 1859-60. " Jerome B. Patterson. 1S61-65. Bradner J. Blake. " 1866-67. Willard W.Wheeler. Willard S. Chapin. 1868-69. David Gray. 1870-71. John B. Thurston. " 1872. Jerome B. Patterson. " 1873. " Henry A. Barton. 1874-75. " James A. Mosher. 1876. ' Sol. G. Woodruff. 1877. Chas.H. Richmond. Albert Swan. 1878. Sol. G. Woodruff. 1879. Chas.H. Richmond. " 1880. The officers elected April 5, 1881, were: — Super- visor, Buell D. Woodruff; Town Clerk, Albert Swan ; Justice of the Peace, Lovette P. West ; As- sessor, Daniel B. Bosley : Collector, Marvin W. Lindsley ; Commissioner of Highways, Abram W. McClintock ; Overseers of the Poor, Nixson Mc- Crossen, Stephen Wheaton ; Constables, James VanNess, Thomas Welch, Willian Ganung, Wm. J. Carnes, Walter Westbrook ; Game Constable, Wm. J. Carnes ; Inspectors of Election, First Dis- trict, Lemuel C. Short, Grove W. Mathur; In- spectors of Election, Second District, C. Arthur Patchin, Jesse Blake. School Statistics.- — The town has 13 school districts, in which, during 1880, school was taught 406 4-5 weeks, employing 18 teachers at a total cost for wages of $4,504.92. Number of children in districts over five and under twenty-one years of a S e ; 839. Number of children attending school some portion of the year, 685. Average attend- ance, 397. The libraries of these districts are valued at $45, on which during the year there was nothing expended. The amount expended for school apparatus during the year was $78.45 ; for school houses, sites, fences, repairs, furniture, etc., $323.25. Total incidental expenses for the year, $720.13. Total valuation of districts, $1,701,424. Population. — The population of Livonia in 1870 was 2,705, of which number 2,402 were native, 303 foreign, 2,693 white, and 12 colored. In 1875 the town contained 2,889 inhabitants; 2,567 being native, 322 foreign, 2,885 white, and 4 colored. At the last census of 1880, the total population was 3,204, an increase in ten years of 499. Livonia Centre. Livonia Centre, situated near the center of the town, contains two churches, one store, post-office, • Lewis E. Smith resigned, and at a special meeting held November, i860, Bradner J. Blake was elected to till the vacancy. 366 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. school-house, blacksmith shop and some two hun- dred inhabitants.* This is the oldest settlement in the town. In this vicinity most of the pioneers located, and for many years it was the business center of the town- ship. A little south of this place is where Solo- mon Woodruff, the first settler, located in 1789. Among those who came here at an early day were George Pratt, in 1808, Eldad and Esther Riggs Gibbs, in 1801, Benjamin and Rhoda Gibbs, in 1812, and Captain Rolert Dixson in 1814. George Pratt started the first tannery in the town near Livonia Center, where he continued the business until 1836. In that year he removed the tannery to the head of Hemlock lake where the business was conducted till 1850 when the tannery was destroyed by fire. A son, George F. Pratt, born in 1816, now lives here. Benjamin and Rhoda Gibbs located the farm now owned by Norton Gibbs. Their children were Norton, now living here, Catherine, Mary Ann, Charlotte P. and Susan. Six children of the family died, — Charles, Maria Susan, Maria, Charles, Samuel and Miranda. Benjamin Gibbs died in 1828. His wife diedin May, 1880. The descendants of Fldad Gibbs are Mrs. Eme- line Clark, Adna S. Gibbs, Major Backus S. Gibbs, Leman and Manson F. Gibbs. About the first merchant here was Lester -Kings- bury ; William R. Waldron, came afterwards and continued in business here some years when he failed and moved to Michigan. Henry Pierce & Co., carried on a general retail business at the old stand where Solomon Wood- ruff now lives. Other merchants here were Mar- tin & Hinman, who conducted for a time a store opposite the old hotel when they dissolved partner- ship, and Hinman went to Hemlock Lake. After the fire here in 1S32, Bradley Martin rebuilt the store, which is the stone building now occupied by the present merchant, Thomas W. Millham. Mr. Millham has been in business here nine years. He was born in Saratoga county, N. Y., in 1843, and came here nine years ago, from Schenectady, N. Y. Mr. Millham is also postmaster, having held that office seven years. Churches. — Presbyterian Church. — The first ministerial services here, of which there is any record, were conducted by Rev. John Rolph, who resided in this place in 1803-4, and who preached "The census of 1S70, gives a population of 19 j. to the people who were disposed to attend on his ministrations. In the winter of 1804-5, ^ ev - ^* r - Lane, who had been a licensed Methodist preacher in Eng- land, but who had no ecclesiastical connection in this country, used to preach here, but how long he continued his labors cannot be learned. The nu- cleus of a church was formed in 1806. Oil the 29th of December of that year seventeen people assem- bled in the second framed house in town, situated on what is now known as the Blackmer farm- then owned and occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Ben- ton — where, with the assistance of Rev. Aaron C. Collins, they organized a church. It was named The Second Congregational church of Pittstown, and was received under the charge of the Ontario Association, January 14, 1807. The original members were: — -Jeremiah Riggs, Aaron Childs, Selah Stedman, Thankful Parsons, Lucy Childs, Dameras Blake, Mary Stedman, Irene Clark, Benjamin Cook, Oliver Woodruff, Rachel Gibbs, Nancy Benton, Lydia Gibbs, Anna Wood- ruff, Sally Farrand, Sally and Rebecca Blake. For a long time this society had no house of worship, and were destitute of the means to build one. Their meetings were held in log-cabins, barns, and school-houses, but principally in the school-house on what is known as " Buell Hill," * situated near what is now the garden of Buell Woodruff. Here a portion of the time Mr. Collins preached to them, also supplying the church at Richmond, and when he did not officiate they met for prayer and conference. The Ontario Association, with which this church was connected, was dissolved May 25, 1813, and this society assumed the name of " The First Pres- byterian Church of Livonia, under which name it is now known. The first church edifice was erected May 30, 1814. This was the first church built in the town, and stood a little west of where the present house of worship now stands. It was nearly as large as the present building, and cost over $3,000. At this time the church numbered about thirty members. The Rev. Mr. Collins continued to preach as a supply for eight or nine years. Then for some time the church was supplied by various neighbor- ing ministers. The next stated supply was Rev. Ebenezer Everett, who was ordained to the gospel ministry in this church, February 4, 181 8. In 1819 he was succeeded by Rev. Ezekiel J. •The first school-house huik in the town- LIVONIA CENTRE, CHURCHES. 367 Chapman, who officiated as pastor some eight years. The Rev. Jeremiah Stow was the next pastor, installed Apiil 30, 1828. His pastorate continued nearly four years, when it was terminated by his death, November 15, 1832, at the age of thirty- four. On the night of December 19, 1832, the church edifice was burned, and, at the same time, the store owned by Bradley Martin, which stood on the corner where the stone store now stands, was destroyed by the fire. In 1834 the present house of worship was erected, and dedicated free of debt, and with money in the treasury. The dedicatory sermon was delivered by Rev. Theron Steele, of East Bloomfield, February 13, 1834. While the church was yet unfinished the Rev. Samuel Allen officiated as stated supply for about a year and a half. In November, 1833, Rev. Jus- tin S. Hough succeeded him, although he was not installed as pastor until Feb. 13, 1834. In April, 1840, he resigned on account of ill health, and was never able to resume the active work of the ministry. He died Dec. 20, 1872, aged 87. The Rev. Lorin Brewster was then engaged as stated supply, remaining for two and a half years. He was succeeded by Rev. B. G. Riley, who was installed March 23, 1843. He remained twelve and a half years, giving general satisfaction, and then resigned on account of ill health. The succeeding pastor was Rev. A. H. Parma- lee, who was installed January 9, 1856. He re- mained here thirteen years, resigning the last Sabbath in March, 1869. For two years after the departure of Mr. Parmalee there was kept up the unprofitable, but sometimes unavoidable custom of candidating for a minister. When the pulpit was not so occupied it was filled by Prof. W. P. Coddington, of Genesee College, Lima, N. Y. During this period the church edifice was entirely remodeled and refurnished, at an expense of about $5,000. In July, 1 87 1, Rev. William H. Millham,* from Galway, N. Y., began his labors here, being in- stalled October 5, 1871. The installation sermon was preached by Rev. P. Barbour, his father-in-law. During his pastor- ate several extensive revivals have occurred, which have resulted in numerous accessions to the church. Since the organization of this church, seventy- years ago, there have been added to it in all, as •To whom we are indebted lor this history of the church. near as can be ascertained, six hundred and ninety- four members, an average of nearly ten each year. Of those who have been connected with the church or Sabbath school, ten have entered the ministry. The present deacons are Benjamin Coy and Adna S. Gibbs. Trustees, — Joel Stone, Adna S. Gibbs, Theodore Patterson. The present mem- bership is 170. The church property is clear of debt, and is valued at $6,000. The parsonage, a fine building erected in 1874, is valued at $3,500. St. Michael's Church, (Roman Catholic). — In 1848, John Whalen, B. Calligan, John Meagher M. Martin, John McGinty and Daniel Whalen came to Livonia as the pioneer Catholic families. They attended mass which was celebrated by Rev. Father O'Connor, in a cooper-shop of John Bren- nan's, in Lima. In the latter part of that year the priest made Livonia a charge, paying it regular visits, and saying mass in the dwelling house of John Whalen. In 185 1, Father O'Connor was succeeded by Rev. Father Kenney, who in 1852 was followed by Father Welch, after whom Father Tierney assumed charge, remaining two years. In 1855 Father Quigley, Sen., performed the duties of the then extensive charge connected with Lima and Livonia. The parish about this time was increased by a few such earnest Catholics as John B. Kavanaugh, William Ryan, William and John Higgins, Robert Hoare, John Kavanaugh, T. Quigley and James Kerrivan. Rev. Father McGuire assumed charge of the parish in 1857. In September of that year, after mass one Sunday, a few of the heads of families assembled in the store of William Ryan, where after a brief deliberation over one hundred and fifty dollars were subscribed and paid toward the erection of a church. With the result of this sub- scription, which in the hands of John Meagher soon amounted to a considerable sum, Fathei McGuire purchased a lot, on which a neat edifice 35 by 40 feet was erected. In 1858 Father McGuire was called to Buffalo and Father O'Brien was sent to take his place. He died shortly after in Lima, and in 1859 the per- formance of the mission obligations devolved upon Father Quigley. He remained with the charge four years and in 1863 was succeeded by Father Clark, who officiated about a year, and then Father Gregg was given the pastoral charge. On the 27th of June, 1871, Rt. Rev. Bishop McQuaid appointed Rev. N. Byrne to the pastor- 3 68 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. ate over Livonia, Honeoye and Conesus. He took up his residence at Livonia. July 26th, 1875, Rev. William Seymour was transferred from Nunda and appointed pastor of the mission at Livonia. During his pastorate the present church edifice was constructed. November 6th, 1877, Father Seymour was re- moved to Auburn and Rev. T. C. Murphy,* the present incumbent, assumed the pastoral charge of Livonia and Conesus. Father Murphy has prosecuted with zealousness the undertakings begun under the ministration of Father Seymour. He has refitted the house, purchased an excel- lent lot for a cemetery and cancelled the entire in- debtedness therefor. The present membership is 500, a unit in har- mony and devotion. South Livonia. South Livonia lies in the extreme southern part of the town on the line of the Erie railroad. It contains one church, a store, postoffice, black- smith shop, (George P. Kennedy,) school house, and thirty or forty dwellings. This place was settled largely by people from Vermont and for many years went by the name of Vermont street. The first merchants here were Backus and Chamberlain, in about 1827. Orrin Hastings was another merchant here about 1S38. He kept a general store on land now owned by Michael Car- roll,t and was also the first postmaster at this place. The present postmaster is George L. McDon- ald. The present merchant is Shelby Baker, who has been in business here twelve years. He was born in the town in 1827. The South Livonia Baptist 'Church. — This church was organized August 29, 1816, as the Second Baptist Church of Livonia. It consisted of forty- nine members, and was under the charge of the Ontario association. The first trustees were Benjamin Howe, Seth Godfrey and Timothy Howe, Jr. The first deacon was Samuel Chapin. The first pastor was Rev. Jehiel Wisner. In 1833 a house of worship was erected and the name of the church changed to the First Baptist Church of Livonia. • To this gentlemanly pastor we acknowledge thanks for the histoi J of this i Imrch and of that at Con t Or Lewis Chamberlain. In 1867 twenty-one members were dismissed by letter to join the Baptist church at Livonia Sta- tion. The church is now known as the South Livonia Baptist church, and is under the charge of the Liv- ingston Baptist Association. The church now numbers forty-five members. The present pastor is Rev. Ransom Marean, who has supplied the pul- pit for twenty years. The following is a list of the pastors who have presided over the church: Revs. Jehiel Wisner, John R. Seaver, P. S. Slocum, Ira Justin, Isaac I. Brown, Joel W. Clark, Thomas B. Beebe, Eli Stone, Daniel B. Purinton, S. W. Obey, E. Mosher, Samuel T. Livermore, Frederick Glan- ville, Henry F. Hill, Ransom Marean. Hemlock Fake. Hemlock Lake, a somewhat picturesque little village, is situated in the south-eastern part of the town of Livonia, about a mile from the foot of Hemlock lake. It contains two churches,* four stores, one hotel, two harness shops, a school house and a population of about three hundred. t This place was for a long time known as " Slab City," a nickname derived, presumably, from the lumber traffic of its earlier days. About a mile north of this place, at an early date, was situated a thriving little village known as Jacksonville. It contained a distillery, cloth dressing works, grist-mill, a store and a considerable number of dwellings. The place was laid out into lots duly numbered and the indications were that in time it would become a village of no mean proportions. Its existence, however, was comparatively brief; the village lots have long since been transformed into farming lands, and nothing now remains of its past pros- perity. The first house in this place was built by Squire Short. The first merchant here was Dorastus Hinman. The Metropolitan Hotel was built by Aaron Doolitlle in 1856. The post-office was established here under the official care of Levi VanFossen, but at what date is not known. The VanFossen family were among the most prominent early families of the town. The mill first erected here was rebuilt by Levi VanFossen • The Baptist and Methodist. Of this latter church there are no rec- ords extant t" show either its origin or progress. It is learned that the church edifice was erected about 1SS7- The society has a membership ol ..I I one hundred, presided over by Rev. A. H. MaryotL I The census of 1870 gives a population of 257- HEMLOCK LAKE. 3 6 9 previous to 1811, and also after a period of time another mill was built by him about i8ri. These were the mills to which came the early settlers of the surrounding towns, and which possess some considerable historic interest. At about the time of the erection of the second mill — about iSn — -Levi VanFossen died, and the property passed into the hands of his heirs — Isaac, John, William, Thomas and Sarah VanFossen, the only one of whom now living in this State is Thomas, a resident of Lima, N. Y. The present postmaster of Hemlock Lake is Eli S. Norton, who, in 1869, succeeded Gilbert D. Morgan. The merchants are:— Alanson H. Kinney, deal- er in dry goods, groceries, etc., who has been in business here since 1867. Charles D. Morton, general merchandise, who began business in 1879, succeeding William M. McCrossen. Mr. Morton was born in this village in 1859. Hoppough & Short, (Horace P. Hoppough, Peter A. Short,) general merchandise, in business as a firm nearly five years. Mr. Hoppough was born in Canadice, Ontario county, 1825, and has lived in this town since 1866. Mr. Short was born in Richmond, Ontario county, in 1845, and came to this place in 1876. Fox Brothers, (Richard H., and James F. Fox,) general hardware, in business as a firm since Feb- ruary 10, 1 88 1. The business for three years pre- vious to that date had been conducted by Rich- ard H. Fox. Julien Tousat, harness-maker, and Chas. M. Swarthout, harness-maker, in business here four years. The physicians are: — Dr. Wm. W. Russell, who has been engaged in practice here since 1877. He graduated from Pulte Medical College, Ohio, in 1876; born in Chester county, Pa., in 1832. Dr. Jay L. Greene, born in North Cohocton, Steuben county, N. Y., in 1838; graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, in 1866, and in that year came to Hemlock Lake. Among the professional men of the town, and now a resident of this place, is Samuel Northrop, Esq., a lawyer of forty-three years' practice and ex- perience. He was born in New Hartford, Oneida county, N. Y., November 21, 1S12, and came to this town in 1838, locating at Livonia Centre. In that year he was admitted to the bar. In 1842 he formed a co-partnership with Lewis E. Smith, who had previously been his student, which relation was sustained until 1848, when, in the spring of that year, Mr. Northrop moved to Hemlock Lake, and the partnership was dissolved. Mr. Northrop still resides at Hemlock Lake. Baptist Church of Hemlock Lake.— In 1834 Elias Archer, originally from New Hampshire, came to Hemlock Lake, and soon began to hold prayer meetings in his kitchen, which were attended by people of the Baptist denomination. This place of meeting was in a short time changed to a school house near by, and Elder Briggs, from Richmond, an earnest Baptist minister, began to preach the gospel to the increasing congregation. In January of 1838, Abijah Archer, his wife Selina, and his brother, Benjamin Archer, and others of the Bap- tist church at South Livonia, requested letters of dismission, for the purpose of forming a church of like denomination at Hemlock Lake. At their request a council was called to take into consid- eration the propriety of such a step. The council met July 3, 1838. Elias, Abijah, Benjamin, and Selina Archer, John Bedell, Thaddeus Hampton, Francis D. Owen, Lucinda Bedell, and Patty Owen, presented them- selves before the council. After due deliberation the council resolved to fellowship them as a church. Elder S. Wood preached the sermon. Rev. T. B. Beebe, of South Livonia, volunteered to take the young church under his pastoral care, and finally united with it July 29, 1838. The pastor of the church being unable to attend to his duties on account of sickness, Rev. Hull Taylor, united with the church and became their pastor November 30, 1839. Elder Taylor continued with the church as pas- tor until March 14, 1840, when he resigned. In April, 1840, the church extended to Rev. Ira Justin, of Lakeville and Richmond, a unanimous call to become their pastor, which he accepted and which relation he sustained for about twenty-three years. Up to this time the society had no house of worship, and the members began to take steps for the erection of a church. For this purpose a site was purchased, April 15, 1843, of Samuel Wright, for which they paid one hundred dollars. The trus- tees of the society contracted with Samuel Wright to erect a substantial building 32 by 42, at a cost of $1,500, which was furnished and dedicated August 26, 1844. The first trustees were : O. Hanchett, B. Archer, and F. D. Owens. 37° HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Elder Ira Justin, on account of ill health, resigned his position as pastor March 14, 1863. His successor was Rev. L. S. Stowell, who remained with the church until October 20,1866, when he resigned, and was immediately succeeded by Rev. lames Mallory, November 17, 1866. El- der Mallory sustained the relation of pastor until November of 1868, when he tendered his resig- nation. The church was then without a pastor until April, 1869, when Rev. A. VanPuttkamer was ex- tended an invitation to become their pastor which he accepted. At that date the membership num- bered seventy-four. Elder VanPuttkamer remained until 1870. He was succeeded by Rev. George M. Slaysman, the present incumbent, who came here in 1874, and under whose pastorate, in 1877, the church was thoroughly repaired. The present membership is sixty-two. Lakeville. Lakeville is situated in the northwestern part of Livonia, at the foot of LakeConesus. It contains two churches, one hotel, one store, post-office, school-house, two blacksmith shops, (John Mooney, \Y. H. Bryant,) and a population of about two hundred. The village lies on a broad plain con- tiguous to the lake, and looks, though on a smaller scale, not unlike some old and battered sea board town. Conesus lake, like Hemlock lake, is quite a summer resort for various pleasure parties. The lake is nine miles long, with an average width of about a mile, bordered by gently undulating farm lands dotted here and there with beautiful groves. The time is not far distant when this picturesque lake, and the quaint little village nestling at its foot, will be a much frequented resort for those who would escape from the confusion and summer's heat of over-crowded cities. The first house in this village was built by James Bosley. It stood near the present site of the Lake- ville House. Other early settlers here were Jacob Fullmer and Michael, his son, George Hanna, Robert Ames, William Bryant, who lived in a log- house west of the Conesus outlet, DeLaVergne, Jacob Hall, who lived where the Presbyterian church now stands, YVeldon, just east of the hotel, on what is now the Rowland Place, and Erastus West father to L. P. West, the merchant, who now lives here. Erastus West was a man of considerable energy and prominence. He held for many years the office of postmaster, and for a number of years was one of the magistrates of the town. He was a wheel-wright by trade, and in the early days of his settlement here, did a considerable busi- ness in the manufacture of spinning wheels. He was born May 24, 1794, and came to this place from Susquehanna, (now Elkdale) county, Penn., in 1 81 5, with his wife and three children. His wife, Sophronia Bucklin, died a few years afterwards, and he then married Lucy M. Burns, of Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, Oct. 29, 1820, by whom he had twelve children, five of whom are now living, L. P. West being one of this num- ber. Erastus West died in 1865. His wife now lives here. Robert Ames, one of the pioneers, came at an early day, and settled about a mile north of Lake- ville. His descendants here are Mrs. Zebediah Rathbun, a daughter, aged 89, and a grandson, Giles R. Ames, who lives in the village. In 1814 an attempt was made to form the vil- lage into some system of regularity. A plot was laid out in lots and streets, and a public square containing four acres, situated on the south side of the main street. At that time there was a log tavern kept by Mr. De La Vergne, a small store by Jeffrey Chipman, a grist mill in process of con- struction by Jacob Hall, and a few log dwellings. Mr. Chipman and a Mr. Brifogle purchased the most of the village lots and mortgaged them to obtain a loan of money, thus preventing their ability to give a clear title to purchasers, and at the close of the war of 181 2 the enterprise was abandoned. Again in 1822, just after the county of Livingston had been formed, another attempt was made to create a regular village, and efforts were put forth to make this place the county seat. Hon. Frank Granger, Dr. Eli Hill, and other prominent men, exerted their influence to induce the Commissioners to decide on Lakeville as the place to locate the public buildings of the county, and another plan for a village was drawn up. with a public square of fourteen acres situated on Avon street, and again the inhabitants were disap- pointed. Beyond a spasmodic effort to establish the Erie railroad though this vicinity in 1852,* no other at- tempt to increase its importance was ever made, and the village sank into a dreamy slumber by the shore of the beautiful lake. * This road was surveyed through here, and citizens contributed liber- ally towards the enterprise, but for some financial consideration the mute was changed to its present course through Hamilton Station and Livonia ., 1. ased expense in cost and distance. Erastus West was born near Hartford, Conn., May 24, 1794. He was the son of Hezekiah and Experience West and was the third of nine children, seven sons and two daughters. When Erastus was ten years of age his father was killed by the falling of a branch from a tree Four years later Erastus was bound out to a cousin in the northern part of Pennsylvania, who was engaged in the manufacture of spinning-wheels, spindles, etc , to learn the trade of a wheel-wright. His advantages for gaining an education were very lim- ited, but his desire for learning was so great that he secured at his own expense the privileges of an evening school. There he laid the founda- tion of that work which, owing to his remarkably retentive and correct memory, continued through life till he became highly respected in society as a well informed citizen. Early in his term of apprenticeship he developed a genuine talent for ingenuity and inventive genius, and while his hand was employed in the manufacure of the spindle his mind sought to devise some means by which the labor attendant upon the hand manufacture of cloth from wool might be lessened, and in imagination he constructed a carding machine for preparing the wool for the spindle. Soon after this, death deprived Erastus of his cousin and employer, and at the age of eighteen years he rented the shop and privileges of his late employer from his widow and continued the business, to which he added a carding machine of his own construction, which proved so successful that in a short time he added a second one. In September, iSij, he was married to Sophronia Bucklin, by whom he had three children, viz: Perry, De Forest and Experience. In the spring of 1810 he moved with his family into the State of New York, bringing his equipments of trade and household effects by wagons. The roads at this time were in such bad condition that some days they only traveled a distance of ten miles. He settled on land which is now in- cluded in Lakeville, and there found the country literally a forest and scantily settled, with a few families about the foot of the beautiful lake Conesus, some of whom were Indians who lived on land which he after- ward purchased. The nearest post-office was at Livonia Centre. In the fall following his settling here his wife died leaving him to con- tend with the hardships of a life in a new country and the maintenance of three small children, the youngest of whom was less than a year old. About this time came the depreciation of Continental currency and Mr. West, having incurred a debt of some two hundred dollars in fitting up his carding machines, was obliged to sacrifice all of his goods and per- sonal property, previously valued at more than two thousand dollars, in order to maintain his sterling integrity. Having indomitable courage, latent ingenuity and his trade, he started life anew, seeking by close ap- plication to the work fortune cast before him to gain an honest and respect- able livelihood, in which endeavor he succeeded. After living a widower for about two years he was married to Lucy M. Burns, of Clifford, Susquehanna county, Pa. She was born May 16, 1800, and now lives on the same farm selected by her husband many years ago. To them were born the following children : Ziba H., Manila, Covel G., Lucy M., Elisha, Jonathan Burns", Francis G., Thomas H., Lovette P.'and Erastus N. Of all the children born to Mr- West six are now living, viz : Pern,' West, residing in Dansville ; Lucy N. Baird in Holly, Oakland county, Mich,; Elisha West, in Lockport, N. Y.; Jonathan B. in Rochester, NY.; Franklin G. in Avon, and Lovette P. residing on the homestead in Lakeville, where the varied fortunes and hardships of the father were experienced for nearly half a century. When this family became nf sufficient age to assist him Mr. West con- structed mills for the manufacture of linseed oil and also for lumber, and th?n introduced the first steam power used in this section of country. When these had been in operation less than two years they were con- sumed by fire, and he then built tlouring mills and lumber mills, which were also propelled by steam. He was also first to introduce the reaper in this vicinity, which is now so common. Mr. West aided in establishing the post-office here, and was tor a long time the post-master. He was appointed Justice of the Peace by the Governor, and in 1S10 was elected to that office, being one of the first who were thus honored by the town of Livonia. He was a temperate, Lucy M. W EST. exemplar,' and respected citizen, a devoted Christian, and one of the founders of the Baptist church, of which he was a principal supporter. He died January 21, 1865, leaving many friends and relatives, who have greatly mourned his loss. His earnest and noble partner, Lucy M., who is represented above, was a native of Saratoga, this State, though moving with her parents when quite young to Pennsylvania, where she is first mentioned in this sketch. Her parents, Jonathan and Annar Burns, were of English and Irish de- scent, stalwart and hardy. She was one of nine children all of whom lived to old age, and four of whom are still living. She performed faith- fully her part in the pioneer life, spinning and weaving for the family she adopted, as well as those whom were her own children, cared for and reared nearly ail ot them to man and womanhood, and saw them com- fortably established in families of their own. Of these Pern- West has followed for a livelihood principally artisan work, painting and marble work, and raised an estimable family, one son and two daughters. The son was a youthful volunteer in the war of the Rebellion, and rose to the rank of Captain. After the war he entered the profession of attorney-at- law. and is now a noted and successful practitioner in New York City- Ziba H., the eldest of the second family, followed painting, and exhib- ited no ordinary talent for portrait painting. Lucy M. B., the daughter, has found time, in addition tn her house- hold duties, to carry on for a long time the milliner and dress-making business, and has raised a promising son and daughter. The latter is now a noted musician and portrait and ornamental painter in the City of Chicago. Elisha chose mechanical manufacturing business and carries on a ma- chine shop in the city of Lockport. N. Y., at which place his inventive genius has made for him an enviable reputation. To Jonathan B.the inheritance of real Yankee inventive genius seemed to fall in an unusual degree- He constructed in his eighth year his first "perpetual motion," which ran as well as any since invented, and now the Patent Office shows over a dozen patents to his credit. The first an automatic turning lathe, next a machine for cutting rasp for clover mills, and in 1870 a tire-setter, which he exhibited at the American Institute Fair in New York, and a medal of honor awarded. In 1S7?, accompa- nied by his wife, he visited Europe and exhibited at the World s Fair at Vienna the tire-setter, and received a Medal of Progress, and while there made an extensive tour of all the principal cities. Since then he has ob- tained patents on a machine for dressing granite, another tire-setter, the lightning screw-driver and a water metre which is extensively patented in foreign countries. This called the inventorto Paris, France, in 1880 to establish a factory for manufacturing it. Two patents for machines for regulating the pressure of water in service pipes and an air compressor have been granted him. He will soon make application for patents on a machine for embroidering Hamburg edging, etc., which is now being con - structed in his works at Rochester, N. Y. He is also a skillful musician. Francis G. spent several years at mechanical business, but having re- ceived an injury to his eyesight, turned his attention to agriculture, and has been successful. His two sons, however, have inherited a talent for mechanism, and are classed as unusually ingenious. Lovette P. possessed the family talent for ingenuity, but during his boyhood had poorer health and devoted more to acquiring an education. When that was finished he engaged to a manufacturing firm to travel and introduce machinery and conduct a general agency for them. That en- gagement over, a greater inducement offered to take charge of a manufac- turing establishment on the Ohio river at Louisville, Ky., at which he continued three years. Meantime the death of the father made it neces- sary to settle up the estate, and Lovette had bought out the heirs to keep the homestead intact for the comfort ot his mother. So he then returned to his native town, and has since engaged in the mercantile business. His town selected him for Justice of the Peace, and has lately chosen him for the fourth term. Erastus N., the vounger, was also a mechanic, a true "chip of the old block " for ingenuity, inventive faculties and pleasant, jovial ways, in- vented many new and useful implements and machines, but did not live to bring them before the public. LAKEVILLE. 371 The Old Universalist church, now standing in ruins here, was built in 1838-39, and was dedi- cated in 1840 ; Elder Roberts was its first pastor. It was abandoned as a church some thirty years ago. A Baptist church was also built here some forty- five years ago, the frame of which was moved to this place from Avon. Its pastor was the Rev. Ira Justin. For a number of years it had a pros- perous career, but frequent withdrawals to other churches weakened the society, the church was abandoned about six years ago, and the members became scattered. The church building was sold to James Martin Gilbert, who converted it into a barn. The postoffice was established here between 1814 and 1820. The present postmaster is Lovette P. West, appointed under Grant in 1870. The Lakeville House is the only hotel here. It is a neat, commodious, well arranged house, com- manding a fine view of the lake, and is kept by Milton Hinsdale. West & Company (L. P. West, Francis M. Acker) are the only merchants here. The busi- ness was founded by Mr. West in 1S70. Mr. West was born in Lakeville in 1841. Mr. Acker was born in Groveland in 1847 ar >d has resided here twenty-nine years. The Christian Church of Lakeville. — During the year 1817, Joseph Badger, John Blodget, and David Millard, then prominent young ministers in the Christian denomination, held religious meet- ings in South Lima and the vicinity of Lakeville, mostly in barns and private dwellings. In the winter and spring of 18 18 quite a revival interest was manifested, numbers becoming converted. In June of that year, under the labors of Joseph Badger, ten of these converts, all, or nearly all of them young unmarried people, were organized into a church. The organization was effected in South Lima, but the regular meetings were soon after established in Lakeville, and hence the society took the name of the Christian Church of Lakeville. Joseph Badger was their first pastor, and Revs. William True, James Westcott, Gideon Hendrick, William Hance, Amasa Staunton, Geo. H. Hebbard,* David Millard, Jefferson D. Childs, and Oliver W. Powers, have also sustained pas- toral relation to the church. At no period in its history has this church been very large in its membership, or embodied any great amount of wealth. Six of its members have •To whom we are indebted for this historical sketch. gone forth as ministers, some of whom became men of especially marked ability and influence. One of its members was also selected and em- ployed by the American Missionary Association as teacher among the Freed People of the South, and is now (1881) a prominent educator in one of its institutions of learning in that section of the country. Few country churches have sustained a more continuous pastoral labor, or larger congregations than has this church during its history. The present membership is between sixty and sixty-five, presided over by Rev. Oliver W. Powers, who has been their pastor three years. The First Presbyterian Church of Geneseo* — This church was organized with twelve members in the Presbyterian form in 1795, by Rev. Daniel Thatcher, a missionary of the General Assembly, and was, therefore, the earliest of all the churches in this part of the country. Its title was "The First Presbyterian Church of Geneseo," by which name it is still known. The church originally extended over the entire town of Geneseo, and the principal place of wor- ship was in a building that stood on what is now known as Temple hill, above the village of Gene- seo. The first members of this church were nearly all Presbyterians. Afterwards a number of mem- bers of the Congregational order came here from the Eastern States. They were attached to the order in which they had been educated, and that they might coalesce in one society and unite in the support of one minister, the elders of the church here resigned their offices. The plan of union adopted by the General Assembly of the Presby- terian Church and the General Association of the State of Connecticut was accepted by the church, and a standing committee, composed of an equal number of members from both parties, was chosen to transact the discipline of the church. This measure, however, was not attended with success. The parties did not harmonize, and the Congrega- tionalists asked and obtained letters of dismission and organized another church, which, after several changes in now known as " The First Presbyterian Church of Geneseo Village." The Presbyterian element then removed their place of worship to the eastern part of the town. For several years they had no church edifice, and were accustomed to meet in a school house in the winter. During the summer they frequently * From a historical discourse by Rev. John Mitchell in 1S76, and with but slight alteration in language. 372 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. held their meetings in a barn belonging to Benja- min Wynn. In 1S24 the first house of worship was erected. The old building has since been converted to other uses. The progress of the church for the first thirty years was slow, for the number on the roll of com- municants was only thirty-two in 1825. The church enjoyed only occasional ministerial labor until about the beginning of 1806. January 29, 1806, the Rev. John Lindsley was installed pastor, which relation he sustained between eleven and twelve years. 1 1 was during his pastorate that the schism above mentioned took place. For some considerable time after Mr. Lindsley left, the church "seems to have been destitute of stated preaching. For about two years and a half from the spring of 1824 Rev. Silas Pratt preached to this people one-fourth of the time. From the spring of 1827 Rev. Horace Galpin was stated sup- ply for a little more than four years. After Mr. Galpin's dismissal the church was supplied one year by Rev. Elijah Woolage. He was succeeded in the fall of 1S33 by Rev. Merrit Harmon, who remained ten years. During his ministrations ninety members were added to the church. He was immediately succeeded by Rev. Sidney S. Brown, who continued between two and three years. Rev. Charles Richards was installed pastor over the congregation in May, 1847. Previous to his installation he had labored two years as a licentiate under the care of the Presbytery. Thereafter the succession of pastors was as follows : — Revs. E. M. Tool", 1849-53; Charles Living- ston, six months of 1853; LaFayette Dudley, 1853-54 ; Wm. Reed, three months of 1854; Ed- win Moore, 1855-60; George W. Mackie, 1860- 61 : Dwight Scovel, 1861-67; Alvin Baker, 1S67- 71; John Jones, D. D., 1871-72: John Mitchell, 1872. The latter pastor remained some five or six years, and was succeeded, after the lapse of a year, by the present incumbent, Rev. Newton J. Conkling. The present house of worship was erected in 1855. The congregation gradually extending east- ward, the church was built for convenience of ac- cess, just over the town line in the village of Lake- ville. In convenience, comfort and general effect it is one of the best country churches in Western New York. Livonia. The village of Livonia, or Livonia Station, as it is also called, lies in the western part of the town, a little north of the center, on the line of the Erie railroad. This is the chief business center of the town, and contains a population of six hundred and seventy-six.* The existence and growth of this village is due to the birth of the Erie railroad. In 1853, when that road was built through here, there were but seventy-one inhabitants f in what is now considered the limits of the village. The first depot here was an ordinary shanty, which in 1854 gave place to a better structure, 96 by 44, at a cost of $1,160, built by A. C. Keyes. The first business place in the village was a restaurant, built of rough boards and kept by Pyram B. Ripley, of Livonia Centre. It stood on the depot grounds in front of where C. Y. An- druss' store now stands.., The first hotel was built here in the fall and winter of 1855-6. This was the Church Hotel, and was built by Henry Smith, and by him was opened as a public house in the spring of 1856. Previous to the erection of this house, travelers were obliged to go to Livonia Centre for hotel ac- commodations. The Baldwin House was the next hotel erected in the village. It was built by Wm. W. Baldwin in 1862, and at that time was the largest hotel in the county. It was a four-story structure, 36 by 76. Mr. Baldwin opened the house and run it until Hall Aldrich leased it in 1863. The present pro- prietor is Geo. W. Swan, who purchased the proper- ty of Moses & Johnson two years ago. This hotel is extensively patronized by the traveling public, and is one of the best appointed hotels in the county. The first manufacturing business here was the making of grain cradles by George Van Ness who, in 1843, moved from South Avon to this town and started a cradle factory near where once stood Munson & Summers' cabinet shop. At that time there had never been a reaper or mower in Livingston county. He did an exten- sive business for a number of years, until in 1855, when reapers came into general use, the business began to decline, and in a few years ceased en- tirely. The cabinet-shop above mentioned was pur- chased in 1854 by R. W. Tompkins, who moved it from that site to the corner of the railroad and the road running east and west, where the oldest brick block now stands. This was the first build- * In 1870 ihc population was J9>;, an increase of 177 in llie ten years- I $4 mslts, tyfema 1 ■ Jf, <5-1 OV I 6* \C^ yr ^ iASV^ '. ^^ ^4 Wi^ifrf^- MOSES JACKMAN. The subject of this memoir was the son of Moses Jackman and Martha Moss, of New Hampshire. He was one of a family of seven children, was born January 14, 1776, and in the year 1804 was united in marriage with Rhoda Collins, of Ver- mont. In 1S11 they moved to Mendon, N. Y. They had four children, viz : Orlen C, Flora, Cyrus and Alzina, of whom Alzina married Her- man Doyle and lives in California, and Flora mar- ried Hollis Daggett and resides in the town of Brighton, Monroe county, N. Y. Mr. Jackman's wife died October 8, 18:1, and for his second wife he married Betsey Beecher, whose portrait appears herewith, January 4, 1813, by whom he had eight children, four of whom are now living. Their names are Emeritt E., Moses L., Matilda A., Rachel B., Hezekiah R., Charles A. and George W. One child died in infancy. Matilda and Rachel reside at Livonia Centre, Charles A. at Lima and George W. on the old homestead situated about two miles north-east of Livonia Station. The latter, at whose instance this sketch was written, was married to Jane E., daughter of Benjamin Covvles, of Brighton, N. Y. She is the oldest of a family of six children, four of whom are now living and is the mother of the fol- lowing children: Jessiettie E., George W., Jr., Lizzie M., Rillie E. and Lyman Ward B. Moses Jackman moved to Livonia in the year 1828 and located on forty acres of land now occu- pied by his son George W, who has added to it at different times, until the farm now contains one hundred and fifty acres. Mr. Jackman relates an incident in which his paternal grandfather was taken by the Indians when a mere boy, and re- turned after a lapse of seven years. Betsey Beecher was a daughter of Hezekiah Beecher, of Connecticut, who moved into this county in 1801 and took up a tract of land a mile square, lacking 150 acres. He was brother to the father of Henry Ward Beecher. The original pur- chase has been sub-divided into small farms which are now in a high state of cultivation. In politics Mr. Jackman was an Andrew Jack- son Democrat until the Anti-Masonic crusade, when he became a Whig, and in i860 espoused the cause of the Republican party. He died in the year 1861, and it may be mentioned as a remark- able coincidence in connection with his history that he was born in the year of the Declaration of Independence and died in the year in which Fort Sumter was fired upon. He was a member of the Baptist Church up to the time of his removal into Livingston county, but never joined with any re- ligious society after his settlement in Livonia. He was a man of strong convictions, and when decided that he was right no power that could be made to act upon him could change his decision or cause him to deviate from the fulfillment of his purpose. He left a family who are intelligent, in- lluential citizens of the communities in which they reside, and of whom George W. deserves special mention. He has greatly improved the old home, and to-day is one of the most successful farmers in Livonia. He is now in the prime of life and sur- rounded by all the comforts of a happy home LIVONIA, MERCHANTS AND MANUFACTURERS. 373 ing here that aspired to a frame, and shingled roof. Mr. Tompkins sold it soon after to John Locke, Sr., who finished the upper part of it for a dwelling and the lower part for a grocery store. On the 28th of January, 1878, occurred a de- structive fire which destroyed the postoffice and other of the business places. The postoffice was the oldest wooden building, and was built by John Locke, Sr., in 1856. The postoffice had been es- tablished here the year previous, 1855, and Jchn Locke was the first postmaster. Carleton Bowen succeeded him in 1857, continuing four years. Jerome B. Patterson was the next official, appoint- ed under Lincoln, and his successor was Carleton Bowen who again assumed the duties, continu- ing two years and a half. The present postmaster is Willard S. Chapin, who was appointed under Grant in 1869. Mr. Chapin was born in Venice, Cayuga county, in 1826, and came to Livonia, in 1 861. Merchants. — Jerome B. Patterson, one of the oldest merchants in the town, came to Livonia in 1834, beginning business in that year at Hemlock Lake. In 1858 he moved to Livonia, where he remained until 1865, when he removed to Lock- port, N. Y., returning to Livonia in 1868, where he has since continued business in general mer- chandise. In 1877 he was elected County Clerk. He was born in the town of Springport, Cayuga county, in 1828. E. C. Long, dealer in boots, shoes and clothing, has been in business here sixteen years. He was born in Livonia in 1840. Eugene W. Stowell, general hardware ; in busi- ness here six years. He was born in Huntington, Addison county, Vt.,in 1843, and came to Livonia from Michigan six years ago. Elbert Long, dry goods and groceries, has been in business one year. He was born in Livonia in 1852. Wheeler Brothers, (Charles and William,) gro- ceries and crockery ; in business here one year. Came here in April of 1880 from Nunda, where both were born, Charles in 1859 and William in 1862. Trescott & Long, (Charles Trescott, Abraham Long,) furniture and undertaking; in business as a firm nearly two years. Previously for some eight years the firm was Trescott & Davis. Both are natives of the town, Mr. Long being born here in 1828, and having pursued the occupation of farm- ing until his engagement in this business. Henry A. Barton, groceries, drugs and medi- cines ; in business here seventeen years. He was born in Poughkeepsie, N. Y., in 1829, and came to Livonia in 1864. Clark & Rogers, (Edmund P. Clark, James E. Rogers,) dry goods, groceries, boots and shoes; in business here some four years. Mr. Clark was born in Rensselaerville, Albany county, in 1839. Mr. Rogers was born in Coventry, Chenango county, N. Y., in 1844, and came to Livonia in 1877. Densmore Brothers, (Luther and David H.,) general hardware, paints and oils.. In business here five years. Both were born in New Balti- more, Greene county, N. V., Luther in 1832, David in 1828, and came to this town in 1836. Fred. S. Day, drugs, medicines and fancy goods; in business here nearly three years. He was born in Macon, Ga., in 1852, and came to Livonia in 1862. Brown & Hulbert, (Sarah C. Brown, Laura J. Hulbert,) milliners. In business here eight years, purchasing in April of 1873 the millinery business of Mrs. Mary E. Hoyt. S. C. Brown was born in Dansville in 1837, and came to Livonia in 1873. L. C. Hulbert was born in Burns, Allegany coun- ty, in 1843, and came here eight years ago. Joshua D. Howell, watches and jewelry. In business here three years, coming at that time from Nunda, where he was born in 1850. Swan & Gaming, (Albert Swan, William Ga- nung,) produce merchants. In business as a firm since 1876. Previously for one year the business was conducted by Mr. Swan. Albert Swan was born in Canadice, Ontario county, in 1847, and came to Livonia as a resident thirteen years ago. William Gaming was born in Canadice in 1847, and came here in 1876. John H. Prettejohn, produce merchant. In business here twelve years. Manufacturers. — Perry & Gardner, (E. Harvey Perry / John Gardner,) millers, have been in business here over two years. Their grist mill was built in 1879. Mr. Perry was born in Oneida county, N. Y. Mr. Gardner was born in Hopewell, Ontario county, N. Y., in 1854, and came here as a resident in December of 1879. George Ritzenthaler, barrel manufacturer. In business here twelve years. He came here in 1873 from Hemlock Lake, where he had conduct- ed the same business for eight years, during which time he had also carried on the present manufac- tory in Livonia. Mr. Ritzenthaler was born in 374 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Baden, Germany, in 1830, and came to America in 1835. Lawyers.— John Wesley Byam, who came to Livonia in 1866, to begin the practice of law, was born in Warsaw. Wyoming county, N. V., in 1837. At the age of seventeen he attended the seminary at Lima, where he studied several years, and in April of 1864, entered the Albany Law School from which institution he graduated in the spring of 1865. William F. Gelston, a graduate of the University of Michigan, was born in Rushville, Yates county, N. Y.,in 1855. He studied law for two years with Lincoln & Conley of Naples, N. Y., and was one year with George Ripsom in Rochester. He was admitted to the bar in 1876, and came to Livonia in 1878. Physicians. — Dr. Charles Herbert Richmond graduated from Buffalo Medical University in i860, and in December of that year came to Livonia to begin the practice of medicine. During the war of the Rebellion he was Surgeon of the 104th N.Y. Volunteers from August, 1862, to July of 1865. He was born in Churchville, Monroe county, N. V., July 15, 1840. Doctor Herbert P. Sheldon, a partner with Dr. Richmond, graduated at Buffalo Medical College in 1879, and came to Livonia in September of the same year. He was born in Perry, Wyoming Co., N. Y., in 1856. Doctor J. TenEyck Bettis was born in Albion, Orleans county, in 1846. Graduated from Ham- ilton College, Cleveland, in 1870, and came to Li- vonia in 187 1. In connection with his practice he has also a drug store. Doctor Silas Fayette Staggs, was born in Pan- ton, Vt , July 19, 1847. He graduated at How- ard Medical College, Washington, in 1878, and in October of that year, went to Lakeviile, removing from there to Livonia, in September of 1879. Dr. E. A. Clapp, dentist, began business here two years ago. He was born in Groveland, Liv- ingston county, in 1857. Banks. — The pioneer banker here was Daniel Stanley, who opened a bank in the north room of the Baldwin House, in the winter of i868-'9. The banking house of Solomon Woodruff and Irving Parmelee was opened in 1869. The next year Mr. Parmelee bought Mr. Woodruff's interest and conducted the business alone until his health failed, when he sold the business to Niel Stewart, October 1st, 1871. In 1872, Stewart and Co. removed to a fine suite of rooms built by them for banking purposes, where their bank is now located, and in the rooms which this firm vacated, Solomon G. Woodruff opened a private banking establishment, making the second bank in Livonia. Societies. — Livonia Lodge, F. &* ,1 .1/.— This lodge was organized in 1876. The charter officers were : — Francis S. Stevens, W M., Clark Meacher, S. W., J. T. Bettis, J. W. The present officers are Willard S. Chapin, M. W., Eli Burr, S. W., J. A. Piatt, J. W. The only newspaper here is the Livonia Gazette, of which for four years Clarence M. Alvord lias been editor and proprietor. Under his judicious management it has become one of the leading and most interesting papers in the county, Churches. — The First Methodist Society was formed in the town of Livonia, somewhere about the year 181 7. The exact date is not known, as none of the original members of the class are now living, and none of the earlier records have been preserved. The class when first formed contained about twenty members. Abijah Wright, Isaac Van Fossen, Amos Richmond, and Ruel and Jesse Blake, were members at an early day, and possibly some of them joined when the class was formed. For a number of years Livonia was part of the Bloomfield circuit, and the meetings were held first at Hemlock Lake, and afterwards in the barn and cider mill of Ruel and Jesse Blake. In 1831 a meeting house was built on the farm of Ruel Plake, and the first society of the M. E. Church in Livo- nia was duly organized. The society continued to worship in the Blake meeting house until about i860, when a church was erected at Livonia Station, and the society removed to that place. At that time there were about forty members, among whom were such leading men as G. Price, S. Francis, S. Ditts, J. Sanger, and G. Nottingham. Rev. William H. Goodwin was the presiding El- der, and Rev. H. T. Hancock the preacher in charge. The following named pastors have been appointed to this charge in the order in which they are named : — Revs. R. T. Hancock, George Wilkinson, Josiah Arnold, William Manderville, T. J. O. Woodin, C. E. Hermans, J. C. Hitchcock, L. D. Chase, D. Leisinring, and K. D. Nettleton,* the present pas- tor, who has been here two years. During the pastorate of Rev. T. J. O. Woodin. in 1866, the church was repaired and enlarged, at • To whom we are indebted for the history of this Church. LIVONIA — WAR RECORD. 375 an expense of about $2,000, and during the pas- toral service of Rev. J. C. Hitchcock, in 187 1, a good parsonage was built at a cost of about $3,600. The church is in a flourishing condition, and has a present membership of one hundred and ten. Livonia Baptist Church. — This Church was or- ganized November 7, 1867, with the following list of members : — Robert Neel, Sr., Mrs. Lucinda Neel, Robert Neel, Jr., Mrs. Laura M. Neel, Mrs. Margaret Neel, Miss Lucinda Neel, John Neel, Mr. and Mrs. A.L.Thompson, Hattie Thompson, Alice Thompson, Mr. and Mrs. John Locke, Chas. Locke, Mrs. Laura Locke, Mrs. Henry Smith, Mrs. Lucy Briggs, Mrs. M. Wilkins, Evangeline Norton, Mrs. Pemberton, James McCrossen, Mrs. fames McCrossen, Mrs. Elsie Sharp, Rev. E. Sav- age, Miss Naomi Eddy, James Wells, Mrs. James Wells, Mrs. A. W. Gordon, Mrs. Anna Shepard, Mrs. Mary Howe, Mrs. Venus Scott, Louisa Eddy, Franklin Stone, Mrs. Betsey Stone, Mrs. Lyman Smith, Mrs. Theodosia Hart, Mrs. Savage, and Mrs. Brewster. During the winter of 1867-8 Rev. Mr. Savage officiated as pastor of this new church. On the 29th of April, 1868, the regular organization of the society was formed and A. R. Pemberton, J. R. Hopkins and Robert Neel, Sr., were elected as the first trustees. The church was recognized May 13, 1868, by the sending of delegates from the churches of Avon, Dansville, South Livonia, Lima, Mt. Mor- ris and Hunt's Hollow. On the 9th of June, 1869, the church was received into membership with the Livingston Baptist Association. Rev. Mr. Savage, on account of ill health, closed his labors with the church May 31, 1868, and dur- ing the summer of that year the pulpit was supplied by Rev. Mr. Marean, of South Livonia, and occa- sional supplies in the winter, and the prayer meet- ings were held from house to house until March, 1870. On the 1 2th of that month Rev. Jacob Gray be- came their pastor, remaining until December 29, 1870. During his brief pastorate the church edi- fice was erected at a cost of some $3,400. On January 7th, 1871, a call was extended to the Rev. D. B. Purinton to become their pastor, which he accepted and began his labors in Febru- ary, which he continued until September, 1873. In November of 1873 Rev. J. R. Smith entered upon the work of the ministry here and remained till April 1 st, 1877. His successor was Rev. A. M. Duboc, the present incumbent, who began his labors here in June of 1877. The present mem- bership is one hundred and thirty-three. Soldiers of the Rebellion. — Livonia during the late war contributed largely in money and men toward crushing the Rebellion. But very meagre records, however, have been preserved concerning those brave men to whom the town owes so much of gratitude. What is here given has been gleaned chiefly from officers and privates who entered the different regiments, and is therefore fragmentary, but in the main correct. Commissioned Officers. — Edwin S. Gilbert, Lieu- tenant Colonel, 25th N. Y. Volunteers ; dead. Edward E. Sill, Brevet Lieutenant Colonel, 136th Regiment N.Y. Volunteers. Now in Rochester, N.Y. Henry F. Sill, Captain, 27th Iowa Infantry. George W. Sill, Brevet First Lieutenant, First N. Y. Light Artillery. Justus F. McCoy, Captain, First N. Y. Dra- goons. Charles H. Richmond, Surgeon, 104th N. Y. Volunteers. Now practicing physician in Livonia. John Rudd, First Lieutenant, 104th N. Y. Vol- unteers. Killed at battle of Bull Run. Adam Dixson, Captain, 104th N. Y. Volun- teers. Oscar Adams, First Lieutenant, 126th N. Y. Volunteers. Killed at battle of Cold Harbor. Willard S. Chapin, Captain, 136th N. Y. Vol- unteers. Now postmaster at Livonia, N. Y. Almon A. Hoyt, First Lieutenant, 136th N. Y. Volunteers. Charles P. Woodruff, Captain, . Illinois Vol- unteers. Shelby Baker, First Lieutenant, 136th N. Y. Volunteers. Charles L. Peck, Captain, 136th N. Y. Volun- teers. Hubbard G. Cary, First Lieutenant, 136th N. Y. Volunteers. John Jack, Lieutenant, 136th N. Y. Volunteers. Company C, 136/// Regiment N. V. Volunteers. — Willard S. Chapin enlisted as a private in 1862, was mustered in as First Sergeant, and was pro- moted to Second Lieutenant in February, 1863, and again promoted to Captain, September 25, 1863. Served to the close of the war. Is now post-master at Livonia, N. Y. Almon A. Hoyt, First Lieutenant, was discharged on surgeon's certificate of disability in June, 1864. Died August 7, 1867. Shelby Baker, Sergeant, promoted to First Lieu tenant. Now in South Livonia. .^T 6 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Thomas Boyle, enlisted in 1862. Was won 11 (led at Gettysburg, July 3, 1863. Now in Lima. N. Y. George F. Briggs, transferred to invalid corps November 15, 1863; whereabouts unknown. Jonathan E. Britton, enlisted in 1862. Was wounded at Resaca, (la. Now at Livonia Cen- tre. Hubbard G. Gary, Corporal, promoted to First Lieutenant in November, 1864. Now in Livonia. Orlando F. Davis, Sergeant. Now in Land Office of Interior Department at Washington, 1). C. James M. Decker, wounded at battle of Kene- saw Mountain, June 21, 1864. Monroe H. Annis, Corporal, wounded at battle of Gettysburg, July 3, 1863; transferred to invalid corps November 15, 1863. Now in Michigan. William E. Dubois was wounded in action at Gettysburg, July 3, 1863; transferred to invalid corps. Now in Geneseo, N. Y. Peter E. Holt, Sergeant, was wounded March 16, 1865, near Averysboro, N. C. Now at Livonia, N. Y. John Hammond was taken sick and was dis- charged from hospital in 1863. Dead. James Henry, whereabouts unknown. Charles W. Hanna was wounded at Resaca, ( '• a. , May 15, 1864. Died in Michigan in 1879. John Jack. Sergeant, promoted to Lieutenant. Now in Richmond, Ontario count)'. N. Y. Walter C. Masten, Sergeant and Adjutant's clerk from 1863 to 1865, when the regiment was mustered out. Now in Kansas. David H. Martin, now in Michigan. Thomas McGorman, precise whereabouts un- known. Thomas Mooney was wounded at Resaca, Ga., May 15, 1864; transferred to invalid corps March 27, 1S65. Now in Lima, N. Y. George P. Morey, now a druggist in Indianapolis, Ind. Wells G. Nash was wounded at Gettysburg in July, 1863; discharged March 3, 1864, from L T . S. hospital. Now in Livonia. Ammi Perkins was wounded at Resaca, Ga., May 15, 1864, died May 16, and was buried on the field. Edward Phelps, now in the West. Daniel L. Richardson, now in Michigan. Cornelius Runyan, Corporal. Now in Livonia. Martin N. Runyan, dead. John B. Ray was wounded at Gettysburg, July 3, 1863. Now in York, Nebraska. Allied C. Summers, Corporal, promoted to (Quartermaster Sergeant. Died in Peoria, Wyom- ing county. .V Y.; date unknown. Rocklin Shaw. Corporal; precise whereabouts unknown. George H. Sanger, Corporal, promoted to Ser- geant. Was wounded at Resaca, May 15, 1864, and died of his wounds July 1, 18O4. Lovette Sherwood, Corporal, wounded at Gettys- burg, July 3, 1863. Now in Nebraska. Orman O. Sherwood, was wounded at Resaca, ('.a., May 15, 1864. Now in Conesus. N. Y. liilla F. Smith, now in Boyne Falls, Charlevoix county, Mich. Burr Summers, was wounded near Atlanta. Ga.; July 20, 1864. Now in Livonia, N. Y. James Spees, was wounded in battle at Chat- tanooga, November 23, 1S63. Whereabouts now unknown. Ephraim E. Tiffany was transferred to Invalid Corps sometime in 1863. Now in Wisconsin. John M. Turrill, Corporal, went through all the battles with his regiment. Now in Livonia. William H. Ward, Corporal, was wounded at battle of Kenesaw Mountain, June 28, 1864, and died of his wounds in general hospital at Jefferson- ville, Ind., August 6, 1864. William D. Walker. Now in California. Leman B. Withy, was wounded at Resaca. Ga., had an eye shot out. Was murdered in Avon in 1876, by William Pierson, who gave him poison. Charles L. Peck, Sergeant, promoted to First Lieutenant, and afterward to Captain. Now in Ohio. Norman A. Hamilton, whereabouts now un- known. Irving D. Lindsley, supposed to have deserted from Chancellorsville in May, 1863. Richard Youells, killed at battle of Gettysburg, July 3, 1863. John G. Sanger, discharged for disability in November, 1862. Now in Iowa. Alonzo A. Eddy, discharged for disability, Dec. 29, 1862. Now in Lakeville, Livonia. Sylvester S. Summers, discharged for disability. January 12, 1863. Now in Michigan. Chester Gould, discharged for disability, Janu- ary 1 'i, 1863. Now in Conesus. N. Y. James (or John) Van Yalkenburg, discharged for inability, February 2, 1863. Martin Brennan, discharged for disability, Feb- ruary 25, 1863. Now in Livonia. LIVONIA — N. HARMON FOWLER. 377 Allen C. Wallace, discharged for disability, March 28, 1863. Now in New Mexico. Harvey S. Gibbs, drum major, discharged under an order from War Department, January 19, 1863. Now in Michigan. Myron W. Stoddard, died November 28, 1862, at Fairfax Court House, Va. ; buried in Livonia. Norman J. Smith, died December 4, 1862, at Fairfax Court House, Va. ; buried at same place. James C. Van Sickle, died and buried Decem- ber 17, 1862, at Fairfax Court House, Va. William Grills, died and buried December 27, 1862, at Fairfax Court House, Va. Homer Britton, deserted from regiment at Por- tage Bridge, N. Y., September 28, 1862. James W. Barnhart, deserted October 2, 1862. Charles McGary, deserted at Portage Bridge, N. Y., September 28, 1862. Walter Jack, served to close of the war. Edward O'Brien, now at Hamilton Station, Livonia. This company was organized August 29, 1862, at Geneseo, and was mustered into the United States service at Portage Bridge, September 25, 1862. Miscellaneous. — The following is a list of those who enlisted in this war at various times and in various regiments. Nelson Peabody, 104th Regiment, New York Volunteers. Died in rebel prison. Stephen Summers, 104th Regiment, New York Volunteers. Now in Pennsylvania. William Jackson, 97th Regiment, New York Volunteers ; killed. George Gibbs, 6th New York Cavalry. Sup- posed to have deserted. William Gibbs, 6th New York Cavalry. Sup- posed to have deserted. Martin Murphy, 2 2d Cavalry. Now at Livonia Centre. Erastus E. Bailey, 2 2d Cavalry. William Martin, 13th New York Volunteers. George Burdick, 13th New York Volunteers. Donald McLeod, 104th New York Volunteers. Marvin W. Lindsley, First New York Dragoons. William Meagher, 27th New York Volunteers. John Meagher, 27th New York Volunteers. George Gilbert, 13th Regiment, New York Volunteers. Harvey S. Stedman, 2 2d New York Cavalry. Addison Masten, 2 2d New York Cavalry. Charles Risdon, 13th Regiment, New York Volunteers. Caleb Purdy, 140th New York Volunteers. Killed. Samuel B. Coy, 2 2d New York Cavalry. Reuben E. Coy, First Mounted Rifles. Elam Masten, 6th New York Cavalry. George A. W r oodruff, 8th Illinois Cavalry. Patrick Noonan, 140th Regiment, New York Volunteers. Dead. Orra Gilbert, 13th Regiment, New York Volun- teers. Charles E. Murray, 13th Regiment, New York Volunteers. Now in Michigan. John Peck, 13th Regiment, New York Volun- teers. Dead. John Phalan, 13th Regiment, New York Volun- teers, wounded at first battle of Bull Run. Adonijah Fellows, 13th Regiment, New York Volunteers. Killed. John Salsich, 13th Regiment, N, V Volunteers. William Runyan, 13th Regiment, New York Volunteers, afterward veteran in 14th Heavy Ar- tillery. Isaac Mabury, 104th Regiment, New York Volunteers. Patrick O'Brien, First New York Dragoons, killed before Richmond. Peter Ransom, 14th Heavy Artillery. Paris Rathbun, 2 2d New York Cavalry. Dennis Carty, 2 2d New York Cavalry. Dead. Isaac Clark, H. J. Trimmer, C. Stow, Jacob Gray, A. Gray, Samuel Affalter, John Peel, Geo. F. King, J. J. White, William White. Edward White, George Davis, Joseph A. Steele, George H. Brown, Michael Rourke, John Conlon, Allen R. Herrington, Patrick Collins, A. G. Milliman, Edward Bloomer, John N. Gilbert, Benjamin Gordon, Charles Hall, Isaiah Stilwell, Caleb L. Chadwick, William D. Hendershott, James Webb, Samuel C. Adams, Michael Calligan, James H. Clark, Edgar F. Thomas, William Compton, Jacob Jackson, Oscar B. Guerin, Edward VanRiper, W. W. Dennis, John B. Stilwell, Charles M. Easterly, Benjamin S. Wilkinson, J. Henry Wemmett, Geo. S. Gregg, James Steele. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. N. HARMON FOWLER. The subject of this sketch is the son of Stephen and Altic (Harmon) Fowler, who in 1800 came on 378 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. to the farm now occupied by their two sons N. Harmon and Stephen B. He was married Dec. 10, 1801, in Richmond, (then Pittstown,) and had a family of five sons and four daughters. It was a wilderness 1 ountry then, and he cleared up ami brought under subjection to his sturdy will, a large farm on which he lived until his death, May 10, 1846, his wife having died March 9, 1840. (N. HARMON FOWLER.) N. Harmon was married to Clarissa P. Dixon, May 6, 1847. Stephen H. married for his first wife Fidelia Stedman, October 7, 1842, who died Dec. 6, 1850, having borne him two daughters. He was again married May 20, 1 85 1, to Esther A. Stedman, by whom he had seven children, four of whom are now living. These two brothers occupy the fine tract of land that was settled by their father. N. Harmon has no children and his residence occupies a pleasant site about two miles from Hemlock Lake. He inherited the creditable characteristics of his father, and the beautiful sur- roundings of his home testify to the good taste and industry displayed by himself and estimable wife. HENRY PEASE. Henry Pease, the subject of this biography, was ' a descendant of Robert Pease, who was born in England, in 16,50. The first account we find of him is in the court records of Salem, in the settle- ment of his father's estate, August 27, 1644. We next find historic record of the family in the Revo- lutionary war, in which John Pease bore an active part. In that war the family saw active service, and also in the war of 1812. The parents of Henry, our subject, were Henry and Huldah Tilden Pease, who were married in the year 1793, at Sansfield, Mass., where he was born. He moved with his father to Livonia in 1805, being then eleven years old. On the 19th of March, 1817. he was married to Polly Gould, by whom he had eight children, four of whom are now living. She died, and he was again married, in 1838, to Rowena Spaftord. i^w^y Henry C, his third son, was born August 11, 1828, married Hannah B. Hoag, October 14, 1 861, and died October 19, 1874. Henry Pease was a conscientious member of the Methodist church for over fifty years. He was a farmer, carpenter, and known as a kind, generous-hearted man, who never turned his back on the poor, but always took great pains to find out their actual need and attend to their wants. He was a man of noble qualities, honored and re- spected by all who knew him ; and at his death many mourned the loss to their community. BUELL D. WOODRUFF. Buell D. Woodruff is a grandson of Solomon Woodruff, who was the first white settler in the town of Livonia The family is of English origin, and the first record we find of it is in Litchfield, Conn., in 1640. Solomon Woodruff in 1789, with his rifle and knapsack on his back, came alone and on foot to Livonia, where he located on lot No. 32. Here he made a clearing and built a log house, and re- turned for his wife and son Austin, who was then BUELL D. WOODRUFF— HON. LEMAN GIBBS. 379 three years old. With this small family and house- hold effects in an ox wagon he started for his new home in the Genesee country, the journey occupy- ing six weeks. His nearest neighbors were seven miles distant, at the foot of Honeoye lake. He was the father of five children who reached matur- ity, viz : Austin, Phillip, Jeremiah, Morris and Marina. They all married and settled in the ^ W Photo, by Merrell, Geneseo. (BUELL D. WOODRUFF.) county. Austin, the father of the subject of this sketch, retained a part of the old farm settled by Solomon Woodruff, on which Buell D. now lives, and which from various purchases made by the latter now amounts to two hundred and thirty acres. Austin married Julia Smith, of New En- gland, by whom he had ten children, seven of whom are yet living, Buell D. being the youngest son. On the 15th of June, 1855, Buell D. was married to Hortensia V. Harding, of Burns, Steu- ben county, by whom he had three children : Her- bert S., Edward B. and Frank H. His wife died January 19, 1869, and February 26, 1873, he was married to Elizabeth A. Coe. Herbert, the eldest son of Mr. Woodruff, was married to Lizzie Durkee January 18, 1879. Ed- ward B. was married to Georgie Quackenbush March 10, 18S0, by whom he had one child, Em- ma, who is the fifth generation that has resided on this farm within ninety years. Buell D. Woodruff still resides on the old farm originally settled by Solomon Woodruff, and is a man widely known and respected for his sterling qualities of head and heart. He was elected Jus- tice of the Peace by the Republican party in April, 1875, an <-l Supervisor by the same party April 5, 1881, by 230 majority, it being the largest major- ity given to any Supervisor up to the present time. HON. LEMAN GIBBS. Leman Gibbs was born in Litchfield, Conn., Aug. 15, 1788. He was the son of Eldad Gibbs and Esther Riggs, who moved to what is now Li- vonia, in the year 1S01. December 16, 1810, he was married to Juliana Stedman, and she having died, he was again married, May 20, 1847. to Bet- (HON. LEMAN GIBBS.) sey Stanley. By his first wife he had six children, five of whom are living, as follows — Emeline P., Adna S., Backus S., Leman A., and Manson F. Mr. Gibbs was present at the burning of Buffalo in 1813, and his military career was a highly hon- orable one, he having entered the army as a fifer and coming out a Brigadier-general. He held nearly all the offices in the gift of the people of his county, from constable to Member of Assembly, having held the position of constable and deputy sheriff before Livingston county was set off, and was the first Side-judge appointed by the Governor. In the year 1854, he was elected to represent the county in the Legislature, and after serving one term was appointed Commissioner to examine pub- lic accounts. The duties of all these offices he performed in an intelligent and perfectly satisfac- tory manner and in his own town stood as a sort of common peace-maker and arbitrator. Beine en- dowed with a strong mind and great good judg- ment, his aid and counsel were ever ready for those who were in need of them, and few men are com- petent to fill the position, so long, so honorably, and so honestly filled by Judge Gibbs. He had been a firm, consistent christian for many years, and let his light shine, not only by precept but by example and practice. He died in 1858 at the age of sev- enty years, and it may well be said, that in his death an honest man has left us. 3 8o HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. JESSK BLAKE. Jesse Blake was the son of Richard Blake, of Litchfield count). Conn., who served as a soldier during the Revolutionary war. The subject of this sketch was horn in Litchfield, Conn., August 31, 17 73, and was married to Sallie I.uddington about 1796, whose father acted as one of Washington's body guard, by whom he had fourteen children, five of whom are now living. In 1798 he "arti- cled" for a portion of lot No. 41 in the town of (JESSE BLAKE.) Livonia, then known as Pittstown. He was among the first settlers in the town, coming with his family and household effects on an ox sled in the year 1800. Mr. Blake possessed great powers of endurance, was industrious to a remarkable de- gree, and was eminently fitted for the life of toil and hardships which he had undertaken. At the time of his death he owned four hundred acres of fine improved land. Of the five children now liv- ing, Bradner J. and Richard reside in Livonia, the former being prominent in the political affairs of the town and county. Mr. Blake was a member of the Methodist church, and was also much inter- ested in Masonry. He died Sept. 17th, 1859, his wife having preceded him July 14th, 1841. RUSSEL R. JACQUES. Russel R. Jacques, the subject of this biography, was born in the State of Vermont, February 11, 1807. His mother dying in his infancy, his father, Darius Jacques, entrusted him and his sister Caro- line — the only surviving children — to the care of an aunt, Mrs. Williams, in Chenango county, N. Y. In 1813, he removed with them to the town of Richmond. ( )ntario county, where he purchased a small farm. In 1 S 1 5, Darius Jacques married the widow of Levi YanFossen, and in the following year moved with his family to what was known as the Van- Fossen Mills. Russel R., was then nine years old. His father, though a man of collegiate education, gave his son but the educational advantages of the common schools, the higher schools of those days being re- mote and expensive. Being naturally inclined to Study he availed himself of the opportunities of the common schools, and at the age of thirteen went Photo, by Merrell, Gent 1 RUSSEL R. JACQUES.) to Canandaigua to secure the better educational advantages there presented. In that place he re- mained some five years, and then went to Geneseo where he attended school some two years. While at this place his father lost his eyesight, and he being the only child, was called home to take care of the afflicted parent, at the sacrifice of any am- bition he might have had in other directions. Here, at the foot of Hemlock lake, he began the life of a farmer, in which pursuit, and in the same place, he has continued to the present time. In 1834. he was married to Miss Harriet Fran- cis, daughter of Elihu Francis, who then owned the farm now owned by Mr. Lindsey. In 1841, he was elected magistrate of the town, serving four years, at the close of the term declin- ing reelection. In 185 1, he built a large farm-house, which in 1 86 1 was devoted to the accommodation of sum- mer tourists to the beautiful region of Hemlock Lake. During the years which followed, the place became a popular resort, and his accommodations being insufficient he was, in 1873, induced to en- large his house to a capacity affording accommo- dations to seventy-five persons, giving to it the name of the Jacques House. To this place, in the summer months, come tourists from various parts of the country, who make this house their TOHN S. BEECHER — GENESEO. 38' home, or who occupy the cottages built on leased or purchased lots from his farm. Of the pioneer of this delightful summer resort, it may be said that he is a man of genial, social nature, ardent and appreciative in his friendships, a staunch advocate of the right, responsive to the call of the poor and unfortunate, a lover of his country and an admirer of the beautiful in nature ; and now, in the yellow leaf of life, believing that, though unknown here, when God conies in His kingdom He will perhaps remember him as well as the philosophers, statesmen and heroes who have won the plaudits of the world. JOHN S. BEECHER. (JOHN S. BEECHER.) Hezekiah Beecher, Sr., grandfather of John S., was born in Litchfield, Conn., in 1752. He mar- ried Dorcas Strong of the same place, and in 1801 moved to Livingston county with his wife and eight children, viz : Enaeus. Sally, Nathaniel, Betsey, Hezekiah, Jr., Alfred, Anna, and Maria. Enaeus married Hannah Cook, and at an early day moved to Union county, Ohio, where he died; Sally died at home : Nathaniel married Matilda Cook, and also, at an early day removed to Ohio ; Betsey married Moses Jackman, and spent the re- mainder of her life in Rush and in this town ; Al- fred married Sarah Leavenworth and became one of the pioneers of Oberlin, Ohio ; Moses married E. S. Rust, and also settled in Oberlin ; Anna mar- ried D. B. Clark, and spent her days on part of the original purchase of her father. Hezekiah, Jr., was born in 1793, and at the age of eight years, moved with his father to this town in 1801. In the fall of 1818, he was married to Nancy, daughter of Oziel' Smith, and sister of Col. George Smith, and settled on a part of the original purchase of his father, situated one and one-half miles north cf Livonia Center. He had four children, viz : — Esther M., born Sept. 22, 1819, married to George B. Gibbs, of Livonia; Mary A., born Oct. 7, 1822, now of New York city ; John S , born April 7, 1826 ; and George C. now of Canandaigua, N. V., born Oct. 7, 1831. John S. the subject of this sketch, was married Sept. 26, i860, to Sarah J. daughter of Oliver Wil- son, of Clarendon, Vermont, by whom he had two children, both now living : Lewis H., born Jan. 29, 1862; and Martha A., born Jan. 3, 1S36. Mr. Beecher now occupies the old homestead, and is one of the pioneers in the breeding of Spanish Merino sheep in this county, which business he still follows. He is pleasantly situated, his ances- tors having displayed sound judgment in the selec- tion of a home for the family. CHAPTER XXVII. History of the Town of Geneseo. GENESEO was formed by the Court of General Sessions of Ontario county, in January, 1789. Its name is of Indian origin and singularly appro- priate, signifying " Pleasant Valley." It is an in- terior town, lying north of the center of the county, and is bounded on the north by Avon, on the east by Livonia and Conesus, on the south by Grove- land and on the west by York and Leicester, from which it is separated by Genesee river. The sur- face is a rolling upland, with abrupt declivities to the east and west, the highest acclivities being two hundred to three hundred feet above the river valley, which is of exceeding beauty and fertility. Conesus lake forms the southerly portion of the east border. Its outlet crosses the north-east corner of the town, and again enters the town for a short distance near the center of the north border. Numerous small streams tributary to it indent the eastern declivity of the town. The principal streams flow west to the Genesee. They are Fall Brook in the southern, and Jaycox creek in the northern part of the town, both of which rise by several affluents in the central elevation of the town. The former, near the highway to Mt. Morris, a little south of Geneseo village, gives rise to a pretty perpendicular cascade of nearly ninety feet, which, however, for the greater part of the year, consists of only a slender thread of water. The locality is invested with a romantic interest, but the legend is based on traditions so vague as to be unworthy of credence or repetition. 382 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. The northern part of the town is underlaid by the rocks of the Hamilton group, and the southern part by those of the Chemung and Portage groups; but neither develops any great commercial import- ance in the town. There is little or no waste land in the town. There is considerable clay soil in some sections which requires thorough cultivation to make it productive. The high lands are generally level, and are well adapted to the growth of winter wheat and other cereals. The river Hats, which have an average width of half a mile, are very productive, and are largely used for pasture. At an early day, flax, which was first raised here in 1S01, was ex- tensively cultivated on these flats for many years. The Avon, Genesee & Mt. Morris railroad traverses the west border of the town. I he population of the town in 1880 was 3,248. In 1875, it was 3,229, of whom 2,598 were native, 631 foreign; 3,188 white, 41 colored ; 1,588 males, and 1,641 females. Its area was 25,648 acres,* of which 21,590 were improved, 3,607 woodland and and 451 otherwise unimproved. In size it ranks fourth in the county. The cash value of the farms was $1,991,648, exceeding, with the exception of Avon, that of any other town in the county; of farm buildings other than dwellings, $175,015 ; of stock, (in which it ranked third,) $251,459; of tools and implements, $56,265. The amount of gross sales from farms in 1874 was $190,608. In this respect it ranked second — ne\t to Avon. Geneseo, though not as rich in this respect as some of the towns in the county, contains one of those interesting monumental relics which serve to connect the present with the long ago past ; to es- tablish the fact and indicate the character of the people who once occupied this country long ante- rior to the advent of those whose descendants now possess it ; but whether it is the work of a race who still retain a feeble hold on their once vast territorial possessions, or of a people who ante- date these is still a matter of conjecture, though the weight of evidence, as we have elsewhere shown, inclines to the former supposition. It consists of a small inclosure of about two acres, located south- west of Geneseo, on the Brimmer farm, in the south west angle of the highway leading from Gen- eseo to Mt. Morris and that crossing the river at Jones' bridge. The settlement of the town is about coeval with * Census of 187;. The published Proceeding* 0/ the Hoard of Su~ on in 1879 slate the number of acres to be £0,361, the equalized 1 1 sed value of which wa 01 $75.' I pel acre. In this it ceeded only by Avon and North Dan its civil organization. The first settlers were of two classes, those who came from Connecticut, and those who came from Pennsylvania, all, or nearly all, of the Presbyterian persuasion. The pioneer was Lemuel P. Jennings, from Connecticut, who, then a young man, came here in the winter of 1788-9, in the employ of Oliver Phelps to herd cattle on the river flats, west of the village of Geneseo, which then bore a luxuriant growth of coarse grass. Jennings had squatted and built a small hut on the lower table-land near the river, in the locality where the Wadsworths first settled. He afterwards took up a farm of some four hundred acres a mile and a half south- east of the village, which he brought into a good state of cultivation, and there raised a large family. He married here a sister of John White, who died in this town recently at the advanced age of ninety- two years, having spent most of his life in the town of Groveland. Jennings' farm is now owned and occupied by Russell Kneeland. He divided a portion of it into fifty-acre lots among certain of his children, reserving about 150 acres, which he finally deeded to his son-in-law, named Runyan, under contract to support him during the remain- der of his natural life. But Runyan was profligate and soon ran through the property, when he went to Michigan, Jennings accompanying him and dying there at an advanced age. Jennings was a peaceable and upright citizen, and acquired a good property by his industry, but died in poverty in Michigan. He was a man of large stature and great physical strength ; capable, it was said, of laying up a log house alone. In this respect his eight sons resembled him, but not in his pacific disposition. Capt. Elisha Noble, also from Connecticut, came about the same time as Jennings, and like him settled near the village. He probably did not re- main here long as little is known of him by the present generation. His brother Russell, who was also an early settler, was one of the institutions of his time. "'He was the pioneer fiddler; he and his old violin mark the advent of music on the Holland Purchase." He was widely known throughout the sparsely settled country, for he "had no competition," and his services were in requisition on all festive occasions, though an at- tempt has been made to tarnish his reputation by the intimation that he had "no more 'regard for time than he had for eternity' " * But the settlement which had the most marked ' * Turner's History of ' the Holland Purchase, 4$&. M.R. & Mrs. Thomas Gf^ay. THOMAS GRAY. Duncan Gray and Hannah McBride, the parents of the subject of this sketch, were natives of Ireland. The lat- ter came to America with her parents, who settled in Pennsylvania when she was very young, and the former came over about 1 780, and their marriage occurred about 1787. They came to Livingston county in 1806, and lo- cated in the town of Geneseo. Duncan Gray enlisted in the service of the United States, marched to the front, took part in the battle of Chippewa in the war of 1812, and was lost in that en- gagement: but in what manner he was killed is not known, as he has never been heard of since. His widow died July 14, 1847, aged eighty-one years. They had eight children, viz: — Hugh, Daniel. James, Mary, Thom- as. William and Jane, none of whom are now living except Thomas, who was born August 18, 1798, and lived at home with his mother until two years after his marriage, assisting his mother in the management of her small farm, and occasionally attending school winters. His advantages for obtaining even a common school edu- cation were extremely limited, as all of his time and best energies were required to secure a scanty living for his mother, two younger children and himself. On the 21st of April, 1825, he was united in marriage with Mary, daughter of Benjamin and Isabell (Hunter) Wvnn, the latter of whom was the widow of James Haynes, one of the first settlers in the town of Geneseo. She was born Feb. 10, 1805. Thomas Gray is one of that band of resolute spirits who helped to clear away the forests, lay out roads, build bridges, and erect school houses and churches. Beginning life a poor boy, with no advantages, and nothing but his native energy, per- severance, and unswerving integrity of purpose, he has attained a fair success in life. He settled on the farm on which he is still living in 1827, occupying a board shanty. until he finished a small house, having chopped away a place in the woods for that purpose. He then commenced clearing off the original forest from his laud which, after many trials and privations, he accomplished. Now at the advanced age of eighty -three years, his step is firm and he is in the possession of his faculties to a remarkable degree. Much of his success in life is due to the assist- ance rendered him by his faithful wife who has ever been ready with good, kindly advice and wise counsel. She has toiled early and late in her husband's interests, and in assisting and teaching her children. Home has been her province, and love her scepter. Mr. Gray has never been a member of any church, but has attended the Presby- terian church at Lakeville. of which his wife has been a member forty-six years. He has been a member of the Republican parly since its organization, giving a hearty support to its principles, but has never been an office- seeker. In all business transactions he has endeavored to be strictly just, and has passed through life without a stain resting upon his character. There have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Gray six children, as follows: — Cather- ine, born Sept. 21, 1826, died Dec. 21, 1866; Daniel Harvey, born Sept. 7, 1829, unmarried; Lydia Maria, born May 13. 1884, married to Lorenzo P. Roe, of Gen- eseo, and residing in that town : Josepha, born July B, 1886, married to Wm. Davis, of Geneseo, and residing in the town of Avon : Leonora Elizabeth, born July 20, 1844, married to Thomas Jefferson Wynn, of Geneseo, and Edgar Lotharin, born Feb. 20, 1849, married to Mar- tha Diefenbacher, of Geneseo, by whom he has one BOB, Clyde D., born Dee. 30, L876. Lydia united with the Presbyterian church, of Lake- ville, in the spring of 1853, Josepha at the same timi and Leonora in the spring of 1865. GENESEO — EARLY SETTLERS. 583 effect upon this town, and, indeed, upon the coun- ty and adjacent country, was that of the Wads- worth brothers, William and James, in 1790. They were natives of Durham, Conn. William was born in 1766; and James, April 20, 1768. James Wadsworth graduated at Yale College in 1787, and spent the winter of 1787-8 in Montreal, employed in school teaching. In the spring of 1790, while undecided whether to seek his fortune in the Southern States or to make the study and practice of law in New England his life work, he was approached with a proposition to undertake the sale of lands in the Genesee country, from his uncle, Col. Jeremiah Wadsworth, of Hartford, Conn., a gentleman of distinction, who had pur- chased, as an investment, a part of the reserved portion of Phelps and Gorham's Purchase, em- bracing township 6, range 9, a part of township 1 1, range 7, and one-twelfth of Big Tree* After consultation with his brother William, who consented to accompany him to the Genesee country, he acceded to the proposition, and in that year they bought in their joint interest two thousand acres of the Big Tree tract, at the original cost — eight cents per acre — the terms ac- corded to their uncle, as co-proprietor, engaging to undertake the care and sale of the remaining lands. Immediate preparations for the journey to, and * It has been generally supposed, and is so stated by various authors, that this name, which is applied to the village of Geneseo, is derived from an immense oak tree (which has, however, been erroneously denominated an elm) which stood upon the bank of the liver, into which it finally fell by the continual undermining action of the current. A section of this tree, about seven feet in height and diameter, cut near the point where it emerged from the ground, is preserved under a rustic arbor on the James Wadsworth estate, and another section on the grounds of Hon Wm. P. Letchworth, at Glen Iris. But the Hon. Benj. F. Angel, of Geneseo, a gentleman of rare culture and critical research, says, on the authority of Cap! Jones, who was for a longtime a captive with the Senecas, (in an Address delivered before the Livingston County Historical Society in 1878,) that " this is an error," and that "the name is derived from an Indian chief of that name, whose village * * * was something over a third ot a mile west of what is now the most populous part of the present village of Geneseo, and it was near there where the log house of General Wadsworth stood, which was hired for the use of the commissioners, pend- ing the negotiations which resulted in the treaty of 1707 "—known as the Big Tree Treaty. The statement of Mr. Angel is corroborated by Staf- ford's Gazetteer of 181 j, confirmed by that of 1824, which says: "About 1,100 acres, situated in the bend of the river is usually called Big-tree or the Big-tree bend tract, from an Indian chief of the name of Big-tree, Who, with his little tribe, cultivated the fiats in this bend when first settled by the Euglish in t7'j°. Here are now the Wadsworth' s Farms, cele- brated for their fertility, products and slock." Gordon's Gazetteer, of 1816 bears like testimony. The Journal of Major James Norris, an officer connected with Sullivan's Expedition of 177.;. says, referring to Aaneysas, (Conesus,) "at this town live a very Great noted Warrier Calld the Great tree." It is quite probable that after the destruction of the Indian town at Conesus and the return of a portion of .the Senecas lrom Niagara, Big Tree located with the remnant of his tribe on the river flats at Geneseo. His name, says Mr. Angel is signed to the Big Tree treaty, and is also appended with those of Corn Planter and Half Town, to a communication to Genera] Washington in 171/3. life in the far off wilderness, the Genesee being then practically the limit of western settlement in New York. ' : Amid the farewells of kindred and friends, in which," says Turner, " were mingled sad forebodings of the dangers and vicissitudes the bold adventurers were about to encounter, they commenced their journey." William, who, so far as manual labor was concerned, was the prac- tical workman of the two, started overland with an ox team and cart, two or three hired men, and a favorite family female slave named Jenny, who, for a long time, was almost the only one of her race in this region, and was, says Turner, an object of curiosity with the younger portion of back- woodsmen. James went to New York to procure provisions and a quantity of household furniture with which he proceeded up the Hudson to Al- bany, where he joined his brother. From Albany they proceeded by team to Schenectady, whence their goods were conveyed by boat up the Mohawk. William proceeded overland with the team, carrying the goods over the portages at Little Falls and from the Mohawk to Wood Creek. From that point he left the water party and proceeded overland to Canan- daigua with the oxen and cart, and a small herd of cattle purchased upon the Mohawk, making slow progress over the poor roads, which were but little better than Indian trails. At Canandaigua the parties reunited, James having proceeded by the usual water route to that point. Thence they followed the Indian trail and the route of Sullivan's army. They arrived on the 10th of June, 1790, at their destination. Their first log house stood on the first table lands, adjacent to the river south of the road lead- ing to their boarding house on the fiats. A large blockhouse was built in the same locality in 1794, and there they planted locust and apple nurseries, from the latter of which trees were obtained to set out on their extensive farms. About 1804 a more commodious house was built on the present William Wadsworth estate. It was constructed of three-inch white oak plank, which were sawed at the mill on the outlet of Silver Lake, about a mile west of the Genesee, which was then the nearest saw-mill,* and thence rafted down the river to the Genesee flats. From that house was constructed * This, with the exception of one al Niagara Falls, was thefirst saw-mill west of the Genesee, and supplied the first boards used in the upper valley of the Genesee. It was built in 1792 by Ebene/er Allen, and was raised by the help of Indians, for the want of sufficient white men in the coun- try. The Wadsworths afterwards built mills on the outlet of Conesus lake on lands purchased there. 5 8 4 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. the present modernized palatial residence which adorns the beautiful and spacious grounds which form the homestead of the William Wadsworth estate. It was removed a few years since from its original location — seven or eight rods southwest of the office on those premises — to its present site. These houses were occupied jointly by the two brothers, both of whom were then young, single men. William never married, but continued to make his home with his brother James, who, in 1X04, married Naomi Wolcott, of East Windsor. Conn., an amiable woman, of fine esthetic cul- ture, who died March 1, 1831, aged 54. In September following William and all his hired help had the fever and ague, the negro woman, Jenny, being the only well one among them. Disheartened by disease, the hired men returned to Connecticut, when they were soon followed by James, William and Jenny being left to winter in the shanty and take care of the stock.* James returned to Big Tree the following June. The Wadsworths steadily extended their farm- ing operations, sedulously investing their surplus in new lands, until they owned and cultivated thous- ands of acres in addition to a vast territory which they leased to settlers. They were extensive stock- raisers, the coarse herbage which grew in great luxu- riance upon the flats enabling them to increase their herds to any desired extent. Much attention was given to the introduction of improved breeds of cattle and sheep, and their intelligent efforts in this direction contributed in a most important de- gree to the high reputation Livingston county has borne for the superior excellence of the flocks and herds which, for years, have roamed its hills and vales. They had at one period an extensive dairy; and during the first few years of the present cen- tury they extensively cultivated hemp, much of which they manufactured into ropes, for which they found a ready market in Albany and New York. They, in common with others, engaged in the cul- tivation of tobacco, the leaves of which were manu- factured into plugs by Major Spencer, an early merchant in Geneseo, who, for several years, sup- * In August, 1790, Oliver Phelps, who was then in the Genes try, wrote to Nathaniel Gorham, at Boston, giving a somewhat discoui aging aconnt of the almost universal tnevalet.ee of disease among the new settlers. He saj s: "We have suffered much for the want ol a physician : Atwater [referring to Dr. Moses A I water, who settled m Canandaigna early in 1791] has not yet arrived ; we have now a gentleman from Pennsyl- vania attending "ii tin- suk wlio serins I iderstand his business. The two Wadsworths, who came from Durham, have heen very skk, are now recovering, hut are I0V1 spirited . they like the country, hut their sickness has discouraged them," Pioneer History of P/ui/s and Gorham'i Purchase, 143. plied most of the small dealers west of Seneca lake; but this business eventually fell pretty much into the hands of a company, from Long Meadow, in Connecticut, who rented of them the Hats, and for a few years cultivated largely. In later years they engaged in sheep raising and wool growing to an extent, says Turner, " never exceeded in the United States." In some observations of Prof. Renwick, in reference to the magnitude of their operations, he adds, they were ranked with Gen. Wade Hampton, of South Carolina, at the " head of agricultural pursuits in the United States." James Wadsworth's agency responsibilities were also greatly augmented, and the large income real- ized from this source enabled them to immensely increase their vast landed estate. It was no small compliment that he was selected by such men as Robert, Thomas and Gouverneur Morris, Aaron Burr, Charles Williamson, DeWitt Clinton, Robert Troup, Oliver Phelps, Nicholson & Greenleaf, Col. Jeremiah Wadsworth, and other prominent men of New England and Pennsylvania, to represent their interests in conjunction with his own, in Europe. He sailed for Europe in February, 1796, after the reaction which succeeded the wild land specula- tions of that period had set in, and remained abroad until November, 1798, visiting and residing tem- porarily in London, Paris and Amsterdam. While abroad he effected large sales, and to his mission is to be attributed many of the foreign proprietor- ships in this region, as well as in other portions of the United States. In London he was also en- trusted with other important land agencies, includ- ing the Mill Tract, embracing a considerable por- tion of Monroe county. These duties, combined with the management of the Wadsworth estate, threw upon his hands an amount of business sel- dom devolving upon one individual, and requiring all his time and energies. It_was not prosecuted without peculiar embarrassments, pecuniary and otherwise. In a letter to a friend, written after he had had an experience of fifteen years, he says : — " It is slow realizing from new lands. I will never advise another friend to invest in them. Men gen- erally have not the requisite patience for speculat- ing in them." The financial depression succeed- ing the war bore heavily upon this locality. It was not until the war of 1812 made a good market for his produce that he began to be relieved from em- barrassment. That was followed by a few years of depression, and then came the great measure of deliverance, and source of prosperity to all this region — the Erie canal. Jonathan Hunter Waynes. J. H. Haynes was born in the town of Geneseo, ( let. 27, 1809. His parents were John and Eliza- beth (Teeple) Haynes, both of whom were born in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, the former August 17, 1787, and the latter March 12, 1788. John Haynes came into the town of Geneseo, in 1792, with his parents, James and Isabel Haynes. The former died soon after settling here and the latter married for her second husband, Benjamin Wynn, and died April 24, 1S53, aged eighty-four years. For several years after his father's death, John remained at home, working forhis step-father on the farm and by the day for neighboring farmers. January 26, 1809, he was married to Elizabeth Teeple, and commenced house-keeping on the Wynn farm in a tenant-house, and here Jonathan H. was born. He remained here but a short time, having purchased eighty acres of what is now known as the Haynes estate, where he built a log-house and moved his family into it in 1812 or '13. He lived there thirty-five or forty years, when he bought another farm about one mile and a half north of his old home and removed to that and lived there about twenty years. Becoming aged and infirm. a home with his son Jonathan was offered him and alter a residence of about two years with him, he died June 10, 1873. He was for about sixty years a ruling elder in the First Presbyterian Church of Geneseo, and took an active part in the erection of the first church edifice in the eastern part of the 1 own. About fifty years before he died, and during his whole life, he had been an active, earnest and devoted Christian. He was a volunteer in the war of 1812, and marched to the Niagara frontier where he took part in the battle of Lundy's Lane. In i luii. ter he was honest and industrious, and lived uprightly that his death was mourned as a pub- lic loss. His wife was also a member of the Pres- byterian church many years, and died Sept. 1. John Waynes, 1868. They had six children, viz : — Jonathan H. born as before stated, Anna born June 23, 181 1, died Feb. 22, 1863 ; James born May 2, 1813, died March, 13, 1856; Margaret born July 3, 181 5, died in August, 1868; Harriet, born March 23, 1823, married to Abraham H. Williams, of Li- vonia, and is now residing in Dakota ; Sally W. Haynes, born Sept. 1 t, 1817, now living with her sister in Dakota. Jonathan H. lived at home with his parents until he was twenty-five years of age, working on the farm and attending the dis- trict school in the winter. January 26, 1834, he was married to Mary, daughter of Arthur and Agnes (Sinclair) Price of Livonia, who was born Dec. 4, 1812, and died April 12, 1866. By her he had three children named as follows : — Elizabeth M., born Jan 2, 1839, and married to Templeton R. Sinclair, of Geneseo; Emma R., born Oct. 6, 1842, and mar- ried to Dr. M. C. Rowland, of Geneseo, and Luella A. V. N., born Dec. 4, 1858, and residing at home. January 20, 1870, Mr. Haynes married for his second wife, Margaret S., daughter of James and Elizabeth Finney, of Northumberland count), l'a. She was born August 29, 1831. Mr. Haynes has been a member of the Presbyterian church at Lakeville, for nearly forty years, and has been a deacon in the same fifteen years. In politics he is a Republican, uniting with that party when it was formed. He has been a hard working and perse- vering man. The training he received during his minority on his father's farm, and his natural en- ergy and determination admirably fitted him to fight the battle of life, and being more suo than many he has become one of the prominent agriculturists of his town. Through all the vicis- situdes of a long and busy life, he has maintained a character for honesty and integrity of purpose that every one who knows him admires. GENESEO— EARLY SETTLERS. 384 William Wadsworth, who, as we have said, early interested himself in military affairs, early rose to the rank of Major-General of militia, a title which at that time conferred on its possessor no little dis- tinction. He held the first training in the Gene- see country at Pitt's Flats, which was for many years a training ground. He promptly tendered his services during the war of 181 2; and at the battle of Queenstown, after the wounding of Gen. Solomon Van Rensselaer, the immediate command devolved upon him. " He acquitted himself with honor," says Turner, " and won even something of laurels, upon a badly selected and generally un- fortunate battle-field, where they were scarce and hard to acquire." He died March 8, 1833, aged sixty-seven, having willed his interest in the estate to the children of his brother James, upon whom its management then solely devolved. William Wadsworth was for twenty-one years the Supervisor of Geneseo. James Wadsworth died at his residence in Gene- seo, June 7, 1844, leaving two sons and two daugh- ters: — James Samuel, Wm Wolcott, Harriet, (who became the wife of Martin Brimmer, of Boston, at one time Mayor of that city,) and Elizabeth, who married in Scotland, Charles Augustus Murray, sec- ond son of the Earl of Dunmore, and nephew of the Duke of Hamilton. William, who was born July 7, 1810, died with clouded intellect July 21, 1852, leaving three sons, one of whom — Austin — resides on the homestead farm in Geneseo. James S. Wadsworth was born in Geneseo, Octo- ber 30, 1807. His early education was received in the common schools of his native village. He was for a short time at Hamilton College; after- wards at Harvard, and subsequently a law student at Vale. He was for awhile in the law office of Daniel Webster, at Boston, and afterward in that of McKeon & Deniston, at Albany. He was ad- mitted to the bar in 1833, but never engaged in the practice of his profession, as the management of the family estate afforded him sufficient occupa- tion, and after the death of his father, three-fourths of the estate— that portion belonging to himself and sisters — devolved wholly on him, the other fourth being owned and managed by his younger brother. In 1834, he married Mary Craig Whar- ton, daughter of John Wharton, of Philadelphia; and after a tour in Europe, made his residence at the paternal estate, and erected in the summer of 1836 the fine mansion now occupied by his young- est son— James — a little north of the village of Geneseo. He soon distinguished himself by his devotion to agriculture, supplementing the efficient labors of his father and uncle. "Probably no agricultural property in the country, so extensive in domain," says Hon. Lewis F. Allen, "had been arranged into a better division of individual farms, and their husbandry directed with more systematic economy on the part of the landlords than those of the Wadsworths. The soils were applied to those crops most congenial to their natures, and which yielded the most profit on their outlay."* He earnestly cooperated with every effort to improve the condition of agriculture, both in this vicini'ty and the State at large, and was active in the circu- lation of agricultural literature. The State Agricultural Society having been re- organized in 1841, in January, 1842, he was unan- imously chosen its President, an office to which he was elected the following year. He also took an active interest in his own county society, and vigor- ously aided its efforts to improve the husbandry of this vicinity. He imported from abroad choice breeds of farm stock, and encouraged the intro- duction of new and economical inventions in labor- saving implements. His influence, always active, was persistent and beneficial throughout. The State recognized his position and services by his appointment May 4, 1844, as Regent of the Uni- versity. In 1856 he was Presidential Elector at Large, and in i860, he was again elected a mem- ber of the Electoral College. In 1862 he was the Republican nominee for Governor of this State, an honor he had declined in 1848 and i860. Mr. Wadsworth was appointed by the Legisla- ture a member of the fruitless Peace Congress which met in Washington in February, 1861, and while he earnestly sought to avert a resort to arms, he firmly opposed all truckling compromises. When the first rush of the conflict came, he was foremost in support of the National cause. At the very out- set, when, in April, Washington was separated from communication with the east by the insurrec- tionary movements in Maryland, seeing the straight- ened condition of a small band of Union troops sent to Annapolis, in default of Government sup- plies, he hastened thither by water in charge of two ships, which he had loaded with provisions in New York City at his own expense, f He early tendered his services to the govern- ment, and in June, 1861, became a volunteer aid * Memorial of tlie late Gen. James S. U'aJswitrtk, delivered before the New York Slate Agricultural Society at the close of its Annual Exhi- bition at Rochester, Sept. ij, 1864. 1 National Portrait Gallery, 554. 38S HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. on the staff of Gen. McDowell, who highly com- mended his conduct in the memorable battle of Bull Run on the 21st of July following, in which he had a horse shot under him. By his courage and energy he retrieved much of the disaster of that ill-starred engagement. August 9, 1861, he was commissioned a Brigadier-General and as- signed to a command in McClellan's army. In March, 1862, he was appointed Military Governor of Washington, and for nine months performed the arduous duties of that responsible position. In December, at his own request, he was called into active service, and assigned to the command of the 1st division, 1st corps, then commanded by Gen. Reynolds, with which he participated in the battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, in the latter of which the command of Gen. Reynolds sustained the severest part of the conflict the first day. Reynolds was killed in the early part of the action, and his command devolved upon Gen. Wadsworth. The decimation of the army in these engagements necessitated a reduc- tion in the officers, and Gen. Wadsworth, at his own request was relieved from command. He was then sent on a tour of inspection on the Mis- sissippi to report on the condition of the camps of the freedmen and other matters regarding the liberated slaves. Before entering upon these duties, in a conversation with the paymaster who had referred him to a paymaster in New Orleans, who, he said, would make him any required dis- bursements, Gen. Wadsworth said, " I wish my account with the government to be kept by one paymaster only, for it is my purpose at the close of the war, to call on you for an accurate state- ment of all the money I have received from the United States. The amount, whatever it is, I shall give to some permanent institution founded for the relief of disabled soldiers. This is the least invidious way in which I can refuse pay for fighting for my country in her hour of danger."* Returning to Washington, early in 1864, he was appointed Commissioner for the exchange of prisoners, but was soon after assigned to the com- mand of the 4th division (including the remnant of his old division in Reynolds' corps,) of Warren's corps. He was mortally wounded in the'desper- ately fought battle of the Wilderness on the 6th of May, 1864, and died two days afterward in the hands of the enemy, aged 56. His remains were temporarily interred in his family burying ground, by Patrick McCracken, a resident in that vicinity, • Rtbillitm Record. VIII., l«. and soon after transferred to their present resting place in the family plot in the Temple Hill Cem- etery in Geneseo. He had three sons and three daughters : Charles, a prominent farmer, now living on the west bank of the Genesee, in York ; Craig Wharton, who died January 1, 1872, aged 31 ; James, the present State Comptroller; Harriet, now Mrs Adair, living in Ireland; Nancy, now Mrs. Post, living in New York, and Elizabeth, now Mrs. Rogers, also living in New York. Charles and Craig were in the army during the late war. Charles was attached to the Department of the Gulf, served as Captain under Gen. Banks, and participated in the attack on Port Hudson. After a year of active service, at the call of imperative duties at home, he resigned his com- mand. Craig was for a time attached to General Wadsworth's staff, and afterwards held responsible and hazardous positions with other general officers in various departments till May, 1864, when im- portant domestic duties called him home. He rose to the rank of Brevet Brigadier General of Yolunteers. Besides the VVadsworths the following named persons, heads of families, had settled in the town at the close of f 790 : Phineas Bates, Daniel Ross, Henry Brown, Enoch Noble, Nicholas Rosecrantz, 1 )avid Robb and Nahum Fairbanks. Other early settlers were Benjamin Squier, Joseph W. Law- rence, Deacon Daniel Kelley, Benjamin Winn, William Crossett, Rodman Clark, William, David and Samuel Finley and Horatio Jones. Benjamin Squier was among the first to come in after the Wadsworths. He was born in Cornwall, Conn., in 1769, and removed to Geneseo in Oc- tober, 1793. He settled on a farm of 400 acres adjoining that of Lemuel B. Jennings on the south, which is now owned in part by the heirs of the late John White and in part by the Wadsworths. He raised a large family and died on that farm Janu- ary 23, 1846, aged 77. Sarah, his wife, was born in Duchess county in 1778, and died in Geneseo village, July 19, 1862, at the advanced age of 84 years. William Crossett, from Pennsylvania, settled a little south of Geneseo village, on the farm now occupied by his son John. He acquired 400 acres, which at his death he deeded to his sons William and John, children by his last wife. The elder Crossett died November 27, 1S29, aged 66, and Sarah, his wife, June 9, 1823, aged a- He was a native of Ireland, and embarked to this country soon after the close of the Revolution. Photo, by Merrell, Geneseo. Mr. & Mrs. John Wanby, JOHN HANBY. Johu Hanby was born in the town of Geneseo, March 15, 1805. He is the only son of William and Mary (McNeill) Hanby, the former of whom was bom in England, and the latter in the county of Northumberland, Penn. Her parents were natives of comity Antrim, Ireland ; their names were Robert and Jane McNeill. They were among the first settlers in the town, and bought their farm from Benj. Squires, who got his title from the Wadsworths. The parents of John were married about 1804. His father returned to England a short time after his marriage and died there, and Mrs. Hanby soon there- after married Isaac Hall, of Geneseo, by whom she had six children, three sons and three daughters, viz : Eliza- beth, now the wife of Chaa. Hazleton, and residing at Lawrence, Mich.: Robert, also in Lawrence, Mich.: Dorothy, who married Walter Smith, of Geneseo, and died about 1850; James Thompson, who died in the spring of 1880; Eli, now living at Kalamazoo. Mich., and Mary Ward, married to Samuel Perkins, of Perkinsville, Steuben county, and now living on the old homestead in Geneseo. The mother died in 1859, aged 78 years. She was a member of the First Presbyterian Church, of Gen- eseo, nearly fifty years. Before she was married she used to attend church in the town of Grovelaud. at a locality then and now known as Havens' Tavern, eleven miles distant from where she lived, walking the entire distance both ways. John lived at home with his mother until he was of age, working on the farm and teaming when the latter employment could be found, and attending the district school winters. He worked the farm from the time he was twenty -one until he was married in 1880, and two years thereafter. He married Margaret M. , a daughter of Samuel and Hannah (Scholl) Begole, of Geneseo. Her father was born August 2L\ 1 783, and died July 1L', 1861, and her mother was born Dec. 25, 1795, and died Nov. 6, 1873. They had four children : Margaret M., born Nov. '.'4. 1812; Mary Ann. born Sept. 10, 1 n 1 ", , married to Dwight Webb and now residing in Pnnxsutawuey, Jefferson county, Penn.; Joshua R, horn Nov. 19, 1817, residing in Niagara county, and Samuel, bora Feb. 12, 18-jn. and living in Geneseo. At the time of his marriage Mr. Hanby moved on the farm on which he still lives, which then contained fifty acres, ( having purchased the same before he was married, ) and occupied a log house fifteen years, until he built and moved into his present comfortable and substantial resi- dence. Having added by purchase from time to time, he now ownsfonr hundred and sixty-five acres, all in one body. He has made life a success mainly by steady application to the performance of his duties. In all business rela- tions he is honorable and upright. Sociable, hospitable, benevolent and possessed of ennobling Christian virtues, he has won friends and admirers among all classes. In politics Mr. Hanby was formerly a Whig, but since the formation of the Republican party has given a consistent support to the measures and principles of that party. He has maintained a membership of high standing in the First Presbyterian Church of Geneseo for more than forty-five years. His wife is also a member of the same church, having joined it forty-six years ago. Mr. H. helped to build the brick church in the village of Geue- eseo, giving liberally of his means for that object. He is one of that class of self-made men that we may well desire long to keep with us, and whoso worth cannot be over-estimated. The supreme words to be written over his life are sterling fideUty. There have been bom to Mr. and Mrs. Haubj seven children who grew to maturity, as follows: William Henry, born Nov. 15, 1882, married Eliza McComb, ami was drowned in Conesns lake Nov. 13, ls74 : Nancy Caro- line, born Jan. 2ii. 1887, is unmarried ami resides in the home of her uncle, the late J. Thompson Hall, of Geneseo; Johu R., born March 9, 1839, married Augusta Boyden and residing in the town of Geneseo. Hannah ('., born July 11, 1840, married Bela Richmond and residing in Lansing, Midi.: Mary S., born April 17, 1842, married George Forsythe and residing at home with her parents : Margaret C. bom April 1(1. 1 844, is unmarried and re- sides at home: Helen L, born Jan. 28, 1848, married to George Williams, of Geneseo. and is now residing in Auburn, N. Y. GENESEO — EARLY SETTLERS. 385 Captain Horatio Jones, the noted Indian cap- tive and interpreter, whose history will be given at the close of this chapter, was an early settler in this town. He located on the east bank of the Gene- see, about two and one-half miles south of Geneseo, on the road leading from that village to Leicester. He raised a large family, of whom only one is left, Charles Jones, now residing in Geneseo village. He died in this town August 18, 1836, aged 72, and Elizabeth, his wife, March 4, 1844, aged 66. His brother, Judge John Jones, settled in Leicester. John P. Ryers purchased 6,000 acres of land in detached lots in this town at an early day, but becoming financially involved he was put upon the limits in New York. There he sent for James Wadsworth, to whom he sold one-half the lands, thus enabling him to acquire the title to the re- maining 3,000 acres, for the sale of which James Wadsworth was made the agent. Mr. Ryers never settled on his lands himself, but cleared up a farm of 200 acres in the east part of the town for his son John, who is now living in Geneseo. The farm, which is known as the Mt. Pleasant farm, is now owned by Aaron Griswold. He erected the pres- ent buildings on that farm. In the primitive division of Ontario county into districts, Geneseo, the second district, embraced all west of the east line of Pittsford, Mendon and Richmond, a line corresponding very nearly with a line in prolongation of the east line of Spring- water. The first . town meeting for that district recorded was held at " Cawnawagus," April 5, 1 791, and the following named officers were chosen : — John Ganson, Supervisor ; David Bullen, Clerk ; Nathan Perry, Gad Wadsworth, Amos Hall, Israel Stone and William Wadsworth, Assessors ; Edward Carney, a surveyor, Collector ; Hill Carney and Jno. Ball, Poormasters ; Isaiah Thompson, Benja- min Gardner, John Lusk, Commissioners of High- ways ; Jasper Marvin and Norris Humphrey, Con- stables ; William Rice, Jno. Oelman, Elijah Mor- gan, Philemon Hall and Phineas Bates, Fence Viewers; Darling Haven, Nicholas Miller, and Henry Brown, Pound Keepers ; Gilbert R. Berry, Clark Peck, Gideon Pitts, Lemuel Jennings, Joseph Morgan, Chauncey Hyde, Aaron Beach and Abner Mighells, Pathmasters. Dr. Moses Atwater, of Canandaigua, was then the Justice. The following list of male persons who were obliged by law to work on the highways in Gene- seo in 1798, gives us a clue to others of the early settlers in this town, and approximately their loca- tion : — East District — John Barsley, James Barsley, Arthur Price, Shadrach Barsley, James Haynes, Richard Steel, Samuel Winn, David Haynes, Sam- uel Ewart, Abraham Divenbaugher. Dan'l Kelley, Benjamin Winn, Jonathan Winn. Middle District — Wm. Wadsworth, Enos Haw- ley, Sylvester Smith, Joseph Whaley, John Bartlett, Judah Benjamin, Joseph Norton, Abel Mansfield, Benjamin Tibbits, William Crossett, Geo. McNam- ara, Joseph William Lawrence. South-east District — John Ewart, Phineas Bates, Benjamin Squire, James Irwin, Squire Haskins, Bela Elderkin, Thomas White, Thomas Austin, Charles White, Jonathan Jennings, Lemuel Jen- nings. South District — Andress Parker, Wm. Griffith, Elijah Hunt, Daniel Curtis, William Curtis, Black William, Warren, Gideon Dunham, David Fuller, Thomas McMakin, ■ Poorman, Alex- ander Ewing, Alexander Ewing, Jr., Samuel Ewing, Barnabus Parker, Horatio Jones, George Jones, Leonard Stimpson, Eli Griffith. North District — Enoch Nobles, Elisha Nobles, Elisha Dunham, John Jason, Mark Grounda, Wm. Barrow, John Rhoades, John Rhoades, Jr., John Moody, Benjamin Gardner, Geo. Gardner, Eben- ezer Utter, David Beverly, William Mooney, John Day, Andrew Wortman, Samuel Utter, Samuel Utter, Jr., John M. Miner, Calvin Newton, Pantry J. Moor, Cyprian Collins, Elias Rogers, M. de Buoy, Daniel Peck, Matthias Leman, Edward Bentley, Joseph Newton, E. Morse, Nathan Win- ton, John Babcock, Eli Utter. The following is a return of the persons in Gen- eseo qualified and liable to serve as jurors May 8, 1806, with the occupation of each: — Wm. Crossett, merchant ; William Camahan, tailor ; Joseph W. Lawrence and Thomas Wiard, blacksmiths ; John Pierce, hatter ; B. Bishop, Joseph Bigelow, Rod- man Clark, Josiah Carrier, Samuel Finley, Samuel Finley, Jr., David Finley, William Finley, Moses Gibson, Lemuel B. Jennings, Giles Hubbard, Seth Hall, Stephen Heth, Ezra Hall, Horatio Jones, David Kneeland, David Nash, Roger Orton, John Rhoades, Benjamin Squire, David Warner, Benja- min Winn, Wm. and James Wadsworth, farmers. The following have been the Supervisors and Clerks of Geneseo from 1791 to 18S0: — Supervisors. 1791. John Ganson. 1792. Thomas Lee. 1793-94. Amos Hall. Town Clerks. David Bullen. do Theodore Shephard. 3 86 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Supei Town 1 1795- Amos Hall, James Davis. 1796. Solomon Hovey. Nathaniel N'aramor. 1797-180 i.Wm. Wadsworth. John M. Miner. 1802-04. do Ezra Hall. 1805. James Sherer. do* 1806. Wm. Wadsworth. dot 1807-10. do John Pierce. 1811. do William Fay. 1812. Jos. W. Lawrence. do 1813-14. Wm. Wadsworth. do 1815-19. do Wm. Carnahan. 1820/22. Wm. Finley. do 1821. Wm. H. Spencer. do 1823. Wm. Finley. Philo C. Fuller. 1824-26. do i Igden W. Wilk-y. 1827. Wm. 1 1. Spencer. do 1828-30. Eben N. Buell. do 1831. John Young. do 1832-33. Russell Austin. do >834-35- Chauncey Metcalf. do i«36-37- Charles Colt. do 1838. (iurdon Nowlen. do 1839. Fred'k W. Butler. Wm. f. Hamilton. 1 840. do ( igden M. Willey. 1841-42. Allen Ayrault. Amos A. Hendee. iS43-44- A. Worthington. do 1845. CliaunceyR. Bond. do 1846. do Nelson Janes. 1847. Dan'l H. Bissell. Isaac Newton. 1848:52. do James H. Vail. 1849-51. Charles R. Vance do 1853-54- Chauncey R. Bond do 1855. do Isaac Newton. 1856. James T. Hall. do I857-S9- W. 1''.. Lauderdale. Walter Smith. 1860-64. do Chas. R. Vance. 1865-66. Amos A. Hendee. do 1867. C. W. Wadsworth do 1868. do Samuel P. Birge. 1869. Nelson Janes. Charles R. Vance. 1870. Andrew J. Willard Gardner D. Mercer 1871-72. Charles F. Doty. Thos. D. Beckwith. 1873- Jas. W. Wadsworth. do 1874. do Wm. W. Bishop. 1875. do Abram McClintock. 1876-77 John R. Strang. Myron N. Foster. 1878. Russell A. Kneeland. do 1879-80 Andrew J. Willard do The following officers were elected April 5, 1881 : Supervisor, William Austin Wadsworth; Town Clerk, Myron N. Foster; Justice of Peace, Archie II. Ayres; Highway Commissioner, Edward Haw- ley; Assessor, Joseph D. Lewis; Overseer of Poor, Robert B. Robinson ; Collector, Franklin Stevens ; Constables, John Hanby, Richard Rudd, David O'Toole, Elisha H. Shepard, George W. Bloodgood : Game Constable, John Hanby, Jr. ; • Thomas Wiard was chosen clerk April l 1, 1805. t John Pierce was chosen clerk November 1, 1806, on tin deatrj "t Hall. Excise Commissioners. Andrew J. Willard, (long term) Charles R. Shepard, (short term); Inspec- tors of Election, District No. i, Myron N. Foster, Charles A. Young, District, No. 2, James C. G. I faynes, Theodore S. Riley. We have not the space at our command to give anything like a detailed and satisfactory account of the part taken by this town in the war of the Rebellion, neither have we the data which would admit of a complete and comprehensive statement in brief of the substantial results of that action ; for, unfortunately, the military record of Geneseo, (if such ever existed, of which, from inquiries made, we have reason to doubt,) has either not been preserved, or has been so effectually secreted that it cannot be found ; and the town records, it is evident, give only a very meager and compara- tively unimportant part of the legislation of the town bearing upon this subject. That Geneseo nobly did her duty in that trying emergency there can be, there is, no doubt ; but mere adulation is not what the occasion demands ; it is but a mock- ery of that merited praise which the materials for a full and truthful history would reflect, and but a thin veil of gauze to conceal the want of that material. Hence we are constrained to leave the subject to one of more leisure, who may yet be able to rescue from the files of the local press. from the participators in those events, and from other fugitive sources, much that will be valuable in this connection. Geneseo. Geneseo, the only village in the town, is situated mostly on the third table land rising above the river, and overlooks a valley as peerless in its beauty as in its marvelous fertility. Main street, the principal street, is a broad, handsome thoroughfare, about half a mile in length, extending through the central part of the village from north to south, being terminated on the north by the square containing the county buildings, and on the south by the Wadsworth homestead grounds, which remind one of the handsome parks of the English nobility. Center street, extending east at right angles with Main street, which it intersects at a central point, is the next principal street, and, like Main street, which, however, contains the business blocks, presents many very attractive residences, which are also to be found in other parts of the village, and evince in a high degree the esthetic culture of its inhabitants. These, together with the other streets in the village, are /^ ™ Photo, by Cliamp, Geneseo. Richaf^p Alsop Riley. Richard Alsop Riley was born in the city of New York October 111, 1 799. His father, Isaac Riley, was born Nov. 29, 1770, and his mother, Hannah Alsop, was born Feb. 2, 1774, and died about 1859, aged eighty-five years. They had twelve children, viz : Emeline, Mathilda, Mary Wright, Richard Alsop, Henry Augustus, Julia Ann, Adelaide, Theodore William, Charles, Caroline Augusta, Louisa Sophia, Charles Frederick and Clara Pomeroy, all now dead except Caroline A., now the widow of Isaac Abbott, and residing in New York city Isaac Riley was a book-seller iu Middletownaud afterwards in New York. Richard lived at home and attended school in the last named place, and was afterwards placed iu a Roman Catholic school in Germantown, Pa., where he remained till sixteen years of age, when he went to sea in a mer- chant sailing vessel, and followed that life until he was twenty years old. At that time his father purchased a farm for him in New Jersey and he followed the occupa- tion of a farmer till in 1826, when he came to Lima, N. Y. While living in New Jersey he was married to Emily Golpiu, of Lausiugburgh, N. Y., by whom he had no children. She was born December 5, 1792, and died January 27, 1S44. December 24, 1844, Mr. Riley was united iu marriage with Auua Haynes, daughter of John and Elizabeth Haynes, of Geneseo. She was born June 2::, 1811, and died February 22, 1863. They had three children, as follows :— Lewis Adams, born June 22, 1846, aud died September 4, 184G ; Richard Alsop, born August 19, 1848, and married Lizzie 0. King, of Rath, Steuben county; aud Theodore H., born July 18, 1851. The lat- ter married Auua Birgs, of Geneseo, N. Y. For his third wife Richard married Sarah Ann, daughter of John aud Elizabeth (Rowe) Harris, of Harrisburgh, Pa. She was born in Bath, N. Y., November 10, 1810. On settling iu Lima, he entered into a co-partnership with Mr. Warner and carried ou the business of tanning and currying. This proved a disastrous venture, for he lost all of his money aud was obliged to go out to work by the day. He moved into a small house in the town of Livonia and worked at anything he could find, till he saved enough to make a small payment on a piece of laud he had pur- chased in the town of Geneseo. This he kept a short time, then sold it to J. Hunter Haynes aud purchased the farm on which he lived until he died, December 9, 1874. The old homestead is now owned and occupied by his son, Richard A. Theodore H. is residing ou a farm a short distance from the old homestead, purchased by his father but a short time before his death. Mr. Riley in politics was a Republican, having voted that ticket since the formation of that party, but was no office-seeker. He united with the First Presbyterian church of Geneseo, in 1832 ; in 1831! was ordained aud iustalled a ruling elder of that church, aud held that position until he died. He was a man of sound sense and sterling integrity. The church was ever dear to him, and where duty called or opportunity offered, he was ready to '"spend aud be spent" in the service of his Master. A pure, noble aud honest man, he ever elevated the true Christian character, aud led a life which we may all delight to follow. Thus passed away one whose death cannot be regarded with- out feelings of profound regret at the loss which, not only his family, but the entire community and church to which he was so ardently attached has sustained, iu his removal. GENESEO VILLAGE — FIRST OFFICERS. ?»7 handsomely shaded, generally lighted with gas and oil, and supplied with substantial walks, in which oak, the prevailing timber in this section, plays a prominent part. Tne village is located near the center of the west border, and is a station on the Avon, Gen- eseo and Mt. Morris railroad, which extends along the west border. It is nearly equi-distant between the two termini of that road. It contains five churches, (Presbyterian, Episcopal, Methodist, Baptist and Catholic,) the Geneseo Normal and Training School, a union school, the Wadsworth Library, two newspaper offices, (T/ie Livingston Republican, Samuel P. Allen, publisher, and The Union Citizen, Dr. Alonson L. Bailey, publisher,*) a national bank, three hotels, a grist-mill, saw- mill, planing-mill, cooper shop, an establishment for the manufacture of the machine-cut clover rasps, twenty-four stores of various kinds, a coal and lumber yard, three meat markets, (Toole & Ryan, Costello & Willard and Charles Davis,) two blacksmith shops, (Frederick Mates and George Averill,) two carriage and blacksmith shops, (Har- ry Harrison and Elias Goldsmith,) a tin-shop, (H. H. Sunderlin,) two harness shops, (R. P. Goodsell and J. O.Vanderbelt) two dentists, (F. E. Howard and J. A. Chase,) and a population of about 1,800. It is supplied with water from two springs located in the east part of the village, in the locality where the mastodon remains were exhumed in 1825. They are elevated 104 feet above Main street, and are owned by the village. They are never-failing, but have lowered some within the last few years in consequence of the clearing up of the land, the south one so much so, that on the 1st of August, 1880, the village put in one of Mast, Foos & Co.'s (Springfield, Ohio,) mills, to raise the water by pumping. The water as it comes from the springs is stored in a reservoir, 100 by 80 feet, nine feet deep, which was built in 186S. There are 11,500 feet of mains laid ; and water is supplied to fifty- five families, besides hotels, stores, livery stables, and other establishments. The supply is ample for fire purposes and for six public watering troughs located on all the roads leading into the village. The water from these springs was first appropri- ated for village purposes in 1845, an d ^ a y 5, 1846, the village trustees accepted a deed, executed by James S. Wadsworth, May 1, 1846, conveying certain water works and rights to water. One- fourth of the water from the springs was and is • See Chapter XII. for a history of the Press of Livingston county. still reserved to the James S. Wadsworth estate. Wooden pipes were first laid, but these were re- placed with iron in 1868. There have been various legislative enactments from time to time with reference to supplying the village with water. August 4, 1868, a lot 90 by 140 feet on Temple Hill street, was bought of Col. Lockwood L. Doty for $400, for the purpose of constructing a reser- voir for the water-works. December 19, 1868, Samuel H. Blyth's bill for constructing water- works was audited at $6,427.90. December 21, 1868, the trustees were authorized to raise upon bonds of the village, not to exceed $1,500, to ex- tend the water pipes into North street, and finish the present water works. Geneseo was incorporated April 21, 1832, and the first village meeting was held at the house of Amos Adams in said village, June 4, 1832. Allen Ayrault was chosen chairman and Ogden M. Wil- ley, secretary. The following named officers were elected: — Allen Ayrault, Wm. H. Spencer,* Calvin H. Bryan, Charles Colt and Owen P. Olmsted, Trustees ; Samuel F. Butler, Gurdon Nowlen, Chauncey Metcalf, Assessors ; Truman Hastings, Clerk ; Wm. H. Stanley, Treasurer ; Joseph W. Lawrence, Collector; Horace Aplin, Joseph W. Lawrence, Jr., Russel Austin, Elias P. Metcalf, John F. Wyman, Fire Wardens. At a meeting of the trustees at the house of Comfort Hamilton, July 7, 1832, Owen P. Olmsted was chosen Presi- dent ; Philo C. Fuller, Calvin H. Bryan and Tru- man Hastings, a Board of Health ; Dr. Eli Hill, Health Officer; Truman Hastings, Attorney. The following have been the Presidents and Clerks of the village from 1832 to 1880. Presidents. Clerks. 1832-34. Owen P. Olmsted. Truman Hastings. i835- 1836. Charles Colt, do 1837. do 1S3S-39. do 1 840-4 1. 1 Russell Austin. 1842. Allen Ayrault. 1843-44. Charles Colt. W. W. Wadsworth. Elias P. Metcalf. 1845. 1S46. 1847. 1848. 1849. 1850. 1851. Truman Hastings. James H. Vail. A. A. Hendee. William J. Hamilton. Dwight Webb. Wm. J. Hamilton. do do do Allen Ayrault. H. H. Guiteau. Chauncey Metcalf. Joseph Kershner. Calvin H. Bryan. Edward W. Tracy. Benjamin F. Angel. James H. Vail. Amos A. Hendee. do * Wm. H. Spencer neglected to file notice of acceptance, and July 1 1, 1852, the trustees elected Cyrus Wells, Jr.. in his stead. Wells declined to serve, and July iz, 1832, Dr. Elias P. Metcalf was elected to that office. t No election was held in 1841, owing to informality in notice of meeting. 388 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Presidents. Clerks. 1852. Daniel H. Bissell. James H. Vail. 1853. Scott Lord. do 1854. Henry P. North. John O. Doty. 1855. do James H. Vail. 1856. Lyman Turner. Isaac Newton. 1857. George I. Davis. James B. Adams. 1858. John Rorback. Sidney Ward. 1859. Elias P. Metcalf. T. Wilber Havens. i860. George Mercer. Adoniram J. Abbott. 186 1. Win. H. Whiting. B. Franklin Spencer. 1862. Ephraim Cone. Joseph Kershner. 1863. W. E. Lauderdale. Charles M. Morgan. 1864. Ephraim Cone. Win. A. Brodie. 1865. Daniel H. Bissell. do 1866. Sidney Ward. do 1867. John F. Bishop. do 1868. Charles F. Doty. do 1869. Nelson Janes. A. Tiffany Norton. 1870-71. Adoniram J. Abbott. John R. Strang. 1872. Amos A. Hendee. do 1873. John R. Strang. Nelson Janes. 1874-75. Nelson Janes. ( >. M. Hopkins. 1876. ' do William W. Bishop. 1877. N. A. Gearhart. do 1878. do A. R. Scott. 1879-80. M. A. Foster. E. B. Rebban. List of officers 1881. President, Myron N. Foster ; Trustees, A. A. Cox, Geo. S. Whitney, Wm. A. Stevens, Fred W. Mate, Chas. A. Youngs; Police Justice, Otto Kel- sey ; Assessors, H. G. Baker, Joseph D. Lewis, Ephraim Curtiss ; Collector. H. B. Shackelton ; Treasurer, Nelson Janes; Clerk, O. M. Hopkins; Village Attorney, Jno. R. Strang ; Street Commis- sioner, Wm. C. Palmer; Police Constables, Rich- ard Rudd, IraC. Smyth ; Examiner of Weights and Measures, Wm. A. Stevens; Fire Wardens, H. B. Shackelton, Daniel P. Alvord, R. B. Robison ; Board of Health. VV. F. Lauderdale, (Health Phy- sician) George Mercer, Jerome Allen ; Chief En- gineer Fire Department, Gardner D. Mercer ; First Assistant, Frank Churchill; Second Assist- ant, Matt. Corbett. The settlement of the Wadsworths at Geneseo made that the nucleus of a considerable neighbor- hood, though for many years, says Turner, there was but a small cluster of dwellings. In 1805 there were but about a dozen dwellings. There were two public houses, one kept by Faulkner, the other by Bishop. In 18 10 the population of the town was 894 — 148 families — and contained a meeting house and six school houses, but the village had not developed sufficient im- portance to merit distinctive notice in Spaf- ford's Gazetteer of 1813. It was the market town for this section of country, and in 1S15, says James H. Vail, of Leicester, formerly of Geneseo, William Wadsworth and Wm. H. Spencer kept a store on the square. Hon. Allen Ayrault was their clerk. In 1817, he adds, "roads and bridges were not much between Geneseo and Moscow. The ice in winter and a rope in summer were the only ways to cross the Gensee river." In 1824 Spaf- ford describes it as being the largest village in the county, containing "the post-office, county build- ings, and a handsome collection of houses, stores, etc." In 1820 the population of the town was 1598 — "351 farmers. 11 traders, 70 mechanics, 3 foreigners, 8 free blacks." The taxable property amounted to $244,550. The number of school districts had doubled within the decade. There were 6,286 acres of improved land, 1,508 cattle, 367 horses, 3,083 sheep, i-saw mill. 1 fulling-mill, 4 distilleries and 2 asheries. The number of yards of cloth made in families was reduced from 11,273 yards in 1S10 to 9,700 in 1821. In 1830, says Mr. Vail, "the village of Geneseo contained a population of 500. There were 96 buildings, public and private, 6 dry-goods stores, 1 drug store, 1 large grocery store, 2 saloons, 2 harness shops, 2 hat shops, 2 shoe shops. 1 jewelry store, 2 book stores, 2 printing offices,* 1 hard- ware store, 2 millinery stores, 2 cabinet shops, 3 tailor shops, 1 wagon shop, 1 chair factory, 1 bank, 4 blacksmith shops, 4 hotels, 1 livery stable, 1 meat market, 3 churches,t 1 district school." It "was the market place for this county and portions of Allegany and Genesee counties. Upwards of 300,000 bushels of wheat and other grains were purchased here [annually] and 500 barrels of pork and 100,000 pounds of wool. The buyers were Charles Colt and Andrew Stewart. The only means of transit was by wagons and by Hat-bottomed boats down the Genesee river to Rochester, dis- tance down the river 90 miles, time of down trip 2^ days, up trip 3 days. Several large storehouses were located at the river." The space from where A. W. Butterway's cabinet shop stands to the line fence of the late Ephraim Cone's residence, on the east side of Main street, was a deep gully, and a wooden bridge extended through that portion of Main street for teams and footmen. Merchants. — The early merchants at Geneseo were Minor & Hall. In 1805 one of the firm, •These were The Livmgston Register, anti-masonic, published by lames Percival, and The Livingston Journal, Democratic, published by Levi Hovey. Connected with the printing were two book stores, in one of which was a circulating library let out at six cents i>er volume. t Presbyterian, Methodist and Episcopal. Photo, by Merrell, Geneseo. The earliest known ancestor of Samuel Percival Allen is Edward Allen, who, according to tradition in the family, was a soldier under Cromwell, and came to this country upon the Restoration. He was of Ipswich, Mass., 1670, and died Nov. 22, 1696. The subject of this notice is of the seventh generation, and is the grandson of Apollos Allen, who came from Gill, Mass., to Smyrna, N. Y., in 1797. His father, Marsena Allen, was then but eight years old, and died in Mt. Morris, June 18, 1 86 1. His mother was Hannah G. Percival, sis- ter of James Percival, a newspaper editor in Mos- cow and Geneseo, from 1821 until 1832. Her father served in the Revolutionary war from Lee, Massachusetts. Samuel P. Allen was born in Smyrna, October 21, 1814, and came to Geneseo in 1830, where he became an apprentice at the printing busi- ness in the office of the " Livingston Register." Between 1832 and 1836 he went to school, worked upon a farm and in a printing office, and in Sep- tember, 1837, commenced the publication of the " Livingston Republican." Disposing of it in 1846, he purchased an interest in the " Rochester Daily Democrat" and as assistant and chief editor continued until 1864. In 1870 and for four years thereafter, he was half owner of the " Chenango Telegraph." Returning to Geneseo in 1874, he repurchased the " Livingston Republican," with which he is still (1881) connected. Mr. Allen was elected Clerk of Livingston county in 1840; Clerk of the State Senate in 1856, and reelected in 1858 ; was appointed Collector of Internal Revenue for Monroe and Orleans counties in 1863, by Presi- dent Lincoln, and continued in that office six years; was appointed Assistant Clerk of the Assembly for seven years, ending with the session of 1879, and many times served upon the Whig and Republican State Committees and as a delegate to State Con- ventions. Mr. Allen was married in 1838 to Harriet C. Stanley, daughter of Luman Stanley, of Mt. Mor- ris, an early pioneer of that town. Three of their six children are living ; a daughter who was teach- ing in Detroit, died in 1872, and two others who were teaching in the Normal School at Geneseo, died in 1S76. Mr. Allen and his wife visited California in 1878, passing several weeks at Salt Lake City, San Fran- cisco, Big Trees, Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, etc. GENESEO VILLAGE— MERCHANTS. 389 Hall, died at Oneida Castle, on his way to New York to purchase goods.* The first prominent merchant was Major Wil- liam H. Spencer, a native of East Haddam, Conn., who came to this country in 1803, and was the pioneer settler of Spencerport, in Monroe county, which place derives its name from him. In a little over a year he cleared fifty acres there and erected a saw-mill, the irons for which he brought with an ox team from Connecticut. Mr. Wadsworth, in 1805, induced him to take an interest with him in a mercantile establishment in Geneseo. Starting with a large stock of goods for that period, his business extended as settlement advanced, and for many years his trade embraced a wide region. His goods came by the water route from Schenectady to the foot of Cayuga lake, and from thence on wheels to Geneseo ; the transportation usually costing about $3 per cwt. Doing principally a barter trade, his furs, tobacco, hemp, grain, pork, and maple sugar were, in the earliest years, mar- keted at Baltimore, by wagons to Arkport on the Canisteo, and from thence by water. The first produce shipped at Arkport was from Dansville; the second shipments were by Spencer & Co. from Geneseo. This was the avenue to market for all the southern portion of Phelps and Gorham's Pur- chase until the Jefferson embargo ; then it changed to Lake Ontario, by wagon roads to the mouth of Genesee river, until bateaux were introduced upon the river. These ran from the rapids above Roch- ester as high up as Geneseo, and Durham boats ascended to Mt. Morris. J His store was originally located on the square, in the south part of the vil- lage, but in 1820 he was trading in a building which stood on the site of Conron's oyster saloon. About 1837 he discontinued trade and purchased a large, noble farm on the flats on the west bank of the river, in York, the farm now owned by Chas. Wadsworth. This he cultivated till his death, January n, 185 1, becoming one of the most ex- tensive graziers and wool and wheat producers in the valley of the Genesee. Andrew Stewart, from Canandaigua, came here about 1817, and opened a store on the site of the brick building owned by Joseph Cone, near the square, which was built by Stewart. He continued in trade till about the time of his death. Charles Colt, who was born in Pittsfield, Mass.. Jan. 23, 1793, was a prominent merchant on the site of the old bank in 1817, and for some years before and * Pioneer History of Phelps & Gorhatri s Purchase, 3+7. t Ibid. afterwards. He died at Geneseo, Jnly 27, 1866. He was State Senator from the 29th district in 1848-51. Soon after the death of Stewart, Bis- sell & Olmsted, (Edward Bissell and Owen P. Olm- sted, brothers-in-law,) came from Connecticut and traded till about 1835. Bissell went to Toledo. and Olmsted returned to Connecticut, where he engaged in banking, and still resides there. Olm- sted was the first village President. Charles R. Vance came hereabout the same time as Bissell & Olmsted, from New Jersey, and was a prominent man for a great many years. He was a popular man, jovial, and full of good stories. He con- tinued his residence here till his death of heart dis- ease in the winter of 1779-80. His family still reside here. In addition to Stewart, Vance & Olmsted, Chauncey Metcalf, E. N. Buell, R. Van- Rensselaer and Henry P. North were engaged in mercantile business here in 1830. Dr. Eli Hill was the druggist, and John T.Wyman the grocer of that period. The present merchants are : Patterson & Co., (R. J. & J. F. Patterson and J. E. Lauderdale,) clothiers, a business established about 1845, by R. J. Patterson ; A. W. Butterway, furniture dealer, who came from Philadelphia to Rochester in 1847, and from thence to Geneseo, where he commenced his present business in July, 1848; S. P. Birge, dry goods dealer, one of Geneseo's most substan- tial merchants, is a native of Geneseo, and com- menced business in 1849 in company with his his brother, H. F. Birge, who had traded here some years previously; N. W. Rose, dealer in clothing, gents' furnishing goods, hats and caps, who removed from Ontario to York in 1844, and in 184710 Geneseo, where he commenced business in 1851 ; John Richmond, jeweler, who commenced busi- ness in 1853, in company with his uncle, Rev. Lev- eritt Richmond, and H. C. Hill ; C. O. Beach & Co., general merchants, who are conducting a busi- ness established some twenty-five years ago by C. O. Beach, a native of Fowlerville ; Miss M. A. Hardy, milliner and fancy goods dealer, who is a native of England, emigrated to Pavillion, Genesee county, in 1853, removed thence to Geneseo in 1854, and commenced business in 1856; John Davidson, jeweler, who came here from Rochester and commenced business in 1857 ; George Goode, merchant tailor, who commenced business about eighteen years ago in company with George Mer- cer, whose interest he bought in August, 1875, Mr. Mercer had previously done business some seven- teen years; Jeremiah C. Cullinan, grocer and 39° HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. crockery dealer, who is a native of Ireland, and came here from Groveland in 1861, in which year he commenced business ; Bernard McBride, grocer, ssor to his father, Bernard McBride, who came here in the fall of 1866, bought out John McGuire, and traded till his death, Nov. 9, 1876; Lauderdale & McBride, (Robert Lauderdale and Wm. J. Mc- Bride, both natives of Geneseo,) dealers in boots and shoes, who, in the spring of 1869, bought out Robert Robinson, who had traded some twenty years; L. W. Crossett, druggist and stationer, a native of Geneseo, who is conducting a business established about 1852 or '53, by J. Oakley Doty ;* John Conroy, grocer, who commenced business in May, 1872; Reuben A. Rose, who, in the spring of 1876, established himself in the sale of agricul- tural implements, to which business he added hard- ware in 1878 ; Charles A. Youngs, dealer in hard- ware, purchased the interest of his father and brother, in the business which was established in 1 86 1, by Samuel P. Rose; O. F. Sherwood, dealer in drugs, stationery, books and groceries, came here from Skaneateles, in 1873 and formed a copartner- ship with L. W. Crossett, which continued till April 1, 1880, when they dissolved, both continu- ing business to the present time ; W. E. Booth, dealer in boots and shoes, succeeds to a business established by Frank Miller; E. A. Pickard, grocer, a native of England, who came here from New York in 1S64, and established himself in business in 1875 ; M. Leiser, clothier, who commenced busi- ness in the spring of 1878, in company with his brother (1. Leiser, whose interest he bought during that year ; E. E. Doty, dealer in hardware and stoves, who succeeds to a business established about fifty years ago, by H. P. North ; Hersey & Co., (W. A. Hersey,) druggists, who came here from Vermont in 1878, and in August of that year, purchased of W. W. Killip a business established some fifty years ago by Dr. Bissell ; and A. T. Gan- non, merchant tailor, who commenced business in August, 1879. Postmasters. — The postal facilities of this re- gion were very meager for many years after the first settlements were made; and it was not until 1806 that the postoffice at Geneseo was estab- lished. Mail facilities of an unsatisfactory charac- ter had indeed been established by private enter- prise as early as 1792, on the old Genesee road, accommodating this vicinity, in some measure, from Avon, ( Hartford, ) which was on the line of that road. ' ] '.. d Sepl 13, 1 In 1806, the road from Avon through Geneseo, Williamsburgh and Dansville to Bath was declared a post-road, with a mail once in two weeks, which was then considered an ample service. It was not until 1825 that Geneseo enjoyed a daily mail. The first postmaster at Geneseo was Major Wm. H. Spencer, who was succeeded about 1829, by Dr. Eli Hill, who held it till 1837, when the office passed into the hands of Dr. Daniel H. Bis- sell, who held it several years, by two appoint- ments, preceding and succeeding Chauncey Met- calf, who held it but a short time — under Harri- son's administration. Dr. Bissell was succeeded by Wallace R. Walker, who held the office until 1853, when Dr. Walter E. Lauderdale was appoint- ed and held it until June, 1861, when Aianson A. I .apham succeeded him. Henry V. Colt received the appointment in 1865, but Mr. Lapham was soon reappointed. He was succeeded by Harvey (1. Baker and Wm. W. Killip, who together held the office eight years, until the appointment of John F. Bishop, the present incumbent, February 2, 1880. Physicians. — The pioneer physician in Gene- seo was John P. Sill, who removed from Cam- bridge. N. Y., to Dansville in 1797, thence, the same year, to Williamsburgh, and the following year to Geneseo, where he practiced till his death, in 1807. He was the father of Dr. Andrew Sill, of Livonia. He was succeeded by Augustus \\ ol cott, an acquaintance of the Wadsworths, who came here from Connecticut soon after them ami opened an office in his house, which stood on the north-east corner of Main and Center streets, where the Youngs' Block now stands. He was an educated and talented physician and had an exten- sive practice in this and adjoining towns. He sold out to Cyrus Wells, from Richmond, Ontario county, and removed to Ohio about 1821 or '22. Dr. Wells occupied the same house as Dr. Wolcott for a few years, and afterwards built the brick house now occupied by the widow of David Shep- ard, on Center street, nearly opposite the Union school. He practiced here till about 1835 or '36. Elias P. Metcalf came here from Otsego county soon after Dr. Hill, with whom he was associated in practice for a few years. He continued to prac- tice here till within a short time of his death, which occurred ten or twelve years ago. fames McMaster, who had practiced at an early day in York, came here about 1S36, and practiced several years. Daniel H. Bissell was born in Randolph, Yt., GENESEO VILLAGE— PHYSICIANS, LAWYERS. 39i September 21, 1794, and was educated in the academies of his native town and Bloomfield, On- tario county.* He now lives in Geneseo, and is remarkably well preserved, both mentally and physically, exhibiting as much vigor as many men of only half his years. We are indebted to the Doctor's well-stored mind for much valuable in- formation regarding this town and county. Chauncey M. Dake, a celebrated homeopathist, came here in 1848. He was the first of his school of medicine to locate in Geneseo — probably the first in the county. He practiced here fourteen years and removed to Pittsburgh, Pa. He died in Springwater. During the time he was here, T. C. Schell, a Canadian, and a very prominent physician of the same school, practiced here two or three years. He went to the Sandwich Islands where he remained three years, and afterwards located for a short time at Lockport. Milton Halsted prac- ticed here one year, in 1861. With the exception of Drs. West and Southall, the present practition- ers, these are the only homeopathists who have located in Geneseo. The present physicians are : Walter E. Lauder- dale, James A. West, John Craig, Walter E. Lau- derdale, Jr., Marvin C. Rowland and Edward W. Southall. Walter E. Lauderdale was bom in Cambridge, N. Y., April 16, 1806, and graduated at Union College- in 1824. He commenced the study of medicine in the summer of that year, with Dr. Matthew Stevenson, of Cambridge, and attended lectures at Fairfield Medical College. He re- moved to and established himself in practice in Sparta in August, 1828, and was licensed by the Livingston County Medical Society in that year. The University of Buffalo afterwards conferred on him the honorary title of M. 1). In 1837, he removed to Geneseo, where he has since practiced. James A. West was born in I'tica, N. Y., April 20, 1835, an d graduated at the Hahnemann Medi- cal College of Philadelphia in 1858. He studied medicine in Rochester with Dr. M. M. Matthews, and commenced practice in Geneseo in 1862, having previously practiced till then in Rochester. John Craig was born in Carnmore, Ireland, June 11, 1810, and received an academic educa- tion in his native country. He emigrated to Sparta in this county in 1831. About 1835 or '6, he commenced the study of medicine with Dr. Samuel L. Endress, and after some eighteen months pursued his studies in Rochester with Drs. •See portrait and biography on anoth Henry and DeForest. In 1838 he entered Yale College, and after examination by the professors of that institution, was licensed by the Censors of the Connecticut State Medical Society, Jan. 24, 1840. In March, 1840, he establishd himself in practice in York, whence he removed in 1865 to Geneseo, where he has since practiced, but not as regularly as formerly since the spring of 1878. Walter E. Lauderdale, Jr., was born in Geneseo March 19, 1850, and educated at the Geneseo Academy. He commenced the study of medicine in Geneseo with his father in 1870, and attended one course of lectures at the University of Buffalo and three courses at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York city, where he graduated in March, 1874. He commenced practice with his father in Geneseo in 1875, and though young is fast taking the lead in surgical practice. Marvin C. Rowland was born in Hartford, N. Y., June 4, 1826. He was educated at Lima Academy and the University of Vermont, at Bur- lington. He studied medicine at Salem and Greenwich in his native county, and graduated in medicine at the University of New York, in March, 1862, in which year he entered upon the practice of his profession in Argyle in the same county. In September, 1862, he entered the army as Assistant-Surgeon of the 61st N. Y. Volunteers. He was promoted to Surgeon of the same regiment April 14, 1864, and was mustered out with the regiment in the summer of 1865. On leaving the army he established himself in practice at Lake- ville in this county, and removed thence to Gen- eseo in March, 1877. Edward W. Southall was born in Dudley, Eng- land, March 5, 185 1, and educated by his father, who was for thirty years a school teacher in Eng- land. He emigrated to Buffalo in 1869, and studied medicine in that city with Dr. Rowland Gregg nine months, and Drs. Foster and Brayton four years. During this time he attended lectures, one course each at the New York Homeopathic Medical College, the University of Buffalo, and the Cleveland Homeopathic College, graduating at the latter March 5, 1879. He commenced practice in Buffalo as the electrician of his pre- ceptors, Drs. Foster and Brayton, while pursuing his studies, and June 15, 1879, established himself in practice at Geneseo. Lawyers. —The first person to practice law in Geneseo was James Wadsworth, who, though not a regular practitioner, was admitted to practice as attorney and counsellor in 1791, by Oliver Phelps, 39 2 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. then First Judge of Ontario county, "to enable persons to sue out writs and bring actions, which, at the present, for want of attorneys, it is im- possible to do."* We are not advised as to who was the first regular practitioner, but think it probable that it was Philo C. Fuller, who came here in 1815, at the instance and as confidential clerk of James Wadsworth. Mr. Fuller was born in New Marl- borough, Mass., August 13, 1787. He was elected to the Assembly in 1829-30. On the death of Moses Hayden, February 14, 1830, he was elected State Senator, and served in 1 831-2. In the fall of 1830, he was elected to Congress from the 30th district, and served till his resignation, Sept. 2, 1836, when he removed to Adrian, Mich., to take charge of a bank there. In 1840, he was elected to the lower house of the Michigan Legisla- ture, and chosen speaker of that body. In 1S41, he accepted the appointment tendered him by Postmas- ter-General Francis Granger, as Assistant Post- master-General, but dissenting from the policy of President Tyler, he resigned at the expiration of a year. The following year he retired to his farm in Conesus in this county ; but on the election of Washington as Governor, he was appointed the successor of that gentleman as Comptroller, Dec. 18, 1850. At the expiration of the term he returned to his farm in Conesus, where he died August 16, i s 55, a g ed 68. In 1821, when the county was formed, Orlando Hastings, Calvin H. Bryan, Ogden M. Willey and Ambrose Bennett were practicing in Geneseo. John Young was born in Chelsea, Vermont, in 1804, and in 1808, removed with his parents, who were in humble circumstances, to Freeport (now Conesus.) He received an academic education at Lima, and in 1820 entered upon the vocation of a teacher. By private study and untiring industry he mastered the best classic authors. When about twenty years old he entered the office of Augustus A. Bennett, of Fast Avon, as a law student, and completed his studies with Ambrose Bennett, of Geneseo, supporting himself while pursuing his studies by teaching and occasional practice in Jus- tices' couits. He was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court, in October, 1829. He entered upon the practice of his profession in Geneseo, and was soon conceded a front rank in it. He repre- sented this county in the Assembly in 1832, as the candidate of the anti-masonic party. On the re- signation of Philo C. Fuller, Sept. 2, 1836, he was Pioneer History of Plulps &> Gor/iam's Purchase, Jjl. elected in his place as a Representative in Con- gress, serving the unexpired term till 1837. He was sent to the lower house of Congress in 1841-3, and was regarded one of the ablest members of that body. In 1843 and '46 he was again sent to the Assembly by the Whig party, and there dis- tinguished himself by his advocacy of the Constitu- tional Convention, and laid the foundation of that popularity which carried him to the Gubernatorial chair in 1846. In July, 1849, after the expiration of his gubernatorial term, he was appointed Assist- ant Treasurer of the United States, in New York city, and died while performing the duties of that responsible office, April 23, 1852, at the age of 48 years. Hezekiah I). Mason came here from Moscow previous to 1829. On the 8th of April of that year he was appointed First Judge of Livingston county. Felix Tracy came from Leicester, about the same time as Mason, and practiced here many years, until his death. He was a Member of As- sembly in 1827 while a resident of Moscow, where he had previously practiced. Flias Clark, a native of Conesus, read law with Mr. Bryan while the lat- ter was practicing in Geneseo, and was admitted about 1833. He was Clerk of this county from 1S34 to 1837, and represented it in the Assembly in 1839-40. Benjamin F. Angel was born in Burlington, N. Y., Nov. 28, 1815, and received his early educa- tion in his native town. At the age of ten years he was placed under the tutorship of Rev. Mr. Nash, then rector of the Fpiscopal Church in Fxe- ter. In 1830 he was sent by his parents to the Livingston County High School, in Geneseo, which was then under the management of Seth Swetzer, Cornelius C. Felton and Henry R. Cleve- land. Here he prepared for college, but owing to an attack of opthalmy, did not enter. In 1834 he entered the office of Edmonds & Monell, of Hudson, where he completed his legal studies. He was ad- mitted in 1837, and immediately after formed a law partnership in Geneseo with Calvin H. Bryan, which continued at intervals for twelve years. March 23, 1836, he was appointed by Gov. Marcy Surrogate of Livingston county, holding the office till April 22, 1S49, when he was succeeded by Wil- liam H. Kelsey. He was reappointed March 3, 1S44, succeeding Mr. Kelsey, and performed the duties of the office until, by the Constitution of 1846, they were merged with those of County Judge. In 184S he was appointed Supreme Court Com- missioner, then an office of great importance, as GENESEO VILLAGE — LAWYERS. 393 the incumbent performed all the duties of a Judge of the Supreme Court at Chambers. This office he held until 1S53, when he was appointed by President Pierce, Consul at Honolulu, which was then one of the most lucrative offices in the gift of the government. After eighteen months he was sent by President Pierce as Special Envoy and Com- missioner to China, to settle a difficulty growing out of a refusal of the United States merchants to pay export duties in consequence of the neglect of the Chinese government to protect them against pirates. In these negotiations he was successful. He returned to the United States by way of the East Indies and Europe, making an extended tour of the latter, also of Egypt. In 1857, Mr. Angel was appointed by President Buchanan, Minister Resident to Sweden and Nor- way, his appointment, and that of Henry C. Mur- phy to the Hague, being the first made by Bu- chanan. He returned in 1862, and has since been interested in agricultural pursuits, carrying on a large farm in Geneseo. He was President of the State Agricultural Society in 1873, having for sev- eral years previously and subsequently till 1878, been a member of the society. Amos Alonzo Hendee,* the youngest son of Eph- raim Hendee, who came to Avon from Hubbards- town, Vt, in 1S10, was born in Avon, June 15, 1815. Wm. H. Kelsey, who was born in Smyrna, N. Y., Oct. 2, 18 1 2, abandoned the publication of the Livingston Register at Geneseo about 1S40, and engaged in the practice of law, which he continued here till his death in 1879, though he was more of a politician than a lawyer. He was appointed Sur- rogate of Livingston county April 22, 1840, and was succeeded in that office by B. F. Angel, March 3, 1844. In 1850 he was elected District Attor- ney and held the office one term. He was a Rep- resentative in Congress from the 28th district in 1855-59, and again from the 25th district in 1869- '7i- The present attorneys are : — James Wood, James B. Adams, Adoniram J. Abbott, Solomon Hub- bard, Kidder M. Scott, John R. Strang, Otto M. Hopkins, Henry T. Braman, Walter T. Howard, and Lockwood R. Doty. James Wood was born in Alstead, N. H., April 1, 1820, and educated at Lima Seminary and Union College, graduating at the latter in July, 1832. The following year he entered the office of John Young, at Geneseo, as a law student, and • See History Town of Avon. was admitted to the Supreme Court at Utica in July, 1844. He was District Attorney of this county from 1854 to 1857 ; was elected State Sen- ator in 1869, and again in 187 1. He entered the army in 1862 as Colonel of the 136th N. Y. Vol- unteers, raised in the military district embracing this county. He relinquished that command in January, 1864, and assumed command of the 3d Brigade, (to which the 136th belonged,) 3d Divis- ion, 20th Corps. Later that year he was brevetted Brigadier General. He continued that command till the close of the war, and was mustered out in June, 1865. Since the war he has been brevetted Major-General of Volunteers. James B. Adams was born in Richmond, On- tario county, June 17, 1830, and educated at Gen- esee and Williams Colleges, graduating at the lat- ter in 1854. He was admitted in December, 1S54. January 1, 1857, he entered upon practice in Geneseo, forming a co-partnership with Hon. Amos A. Hendee, which continued till April, 1864. He was appointed District Attorney of this county in January, 1865, on the resignation of George J. Davis, and was elected in November, 1866, serv- ing one term. Adoniram J. Abbott was born in Moscow, in this county, October 28, 181 9, and educated in the common schools of Leicester, the Moscow Academy, the Middlebury Academy in Wyoming county, and the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, at Lima. In 1843, while attending the latter insti- tution, he entered the law office of Martin S. New- ton, of Lima. He subsequently pursued his leal studies with Messrs. Young & Wood, of Geneseo - Verplanck & Martindale, of Batavia; and com- pleted them with Judge E. C. Dibble, of the latter village. He was admitted at Lockport in Septem- ber, 1848, and commenced practice that year at Dansville, where he continued ten years, when he removed to Geneseo. Solomon Hubbard was born in Broome, Scho- harie county, October 22, 1817, and educated at the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, at Lima. He commenced the study of law in 1838, with Horatio Shumway, of Buffalo, and was admitted in June 1844, in which year he opened an office in Dans- ville, where he remained until 1864, when he re- moved to Geneseo. He was elected County Tudge in 1863, and held the office two successive terms. In June, 1879, he formed a law partnership with Walter S. Howard, which still continues. Kidder M. Scott was born in Geneseo, May 13 1840, and received an academic education in this 394 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. village. He pursued his legal studies with Gen. James Wood, of New York, in portions of 1858-9, and subsequently in Geneseo, after the removal of that gentleman to this village. He was admitted in December, 1861, and the following year entered the army as 2d Lieutenant in the 136th New York Volunteers. He was discharged in 1863, as Cap- tain in the same regiment. January 1, 1866, he formed a law partnership with his legal preceptor, which still continues. He was a Presidential Elec- tor on the Republican ticket in 1872. John R. Strang was born in Gait, Canada, Jan- uary 8, 1840. He entered the Albany Law School in 1S5S, and in the summer of 1859 entered the law office of Scott Lord, of Geneseo. In Febru- ary, 1862, he joined the army as 2d Lieutenant in the 104th New York Volunteers, which was formed in Geneseo, and after filling all the intermediate grades, except that of Captain, was discharged as Colonel of that regiment in Aug., 1865. On leaving the army, he again entered the Albany Law School, where he graduated in December, 1S65. He en- tered upon the practice of his profession in August, 1866. He was elected District Attorney of this county in 1878, and is the present incumbent of that office. Otto M. Hopkins was bom in Springwater, in this county, January 8, 1853. In the latter part of 1872, he entered the law office of Adams iS: Strang, of Geneseo, and was admitted at Roches- ter in October, 1875. April 1, 1876, he formed a law partnership with John R. Strang, which con- tinued under the name of Strang & Hopkins till May, 1878, when he went to Toledo, O. Return- ing to Geneseo, he formed a co-partnership, Oct. 1, 1879, with James B. Adams, which still continues. Henry T. Braman was born in Exeter, R. I., May 27, 1S45. He read law in Kingston, R. I., where, after his admission, in August, 1868, he was engaged in practice until April, 1877, when he removed to Livonia, and thence, in October, 1878, to Geneseo, at which time he formed a law partnership with John R. Strang, which still con- tinues. He was for three years — 1875-7 — Clerk of the House of Representatives of Rhode Island. Walter T. Howard was born in Geneseo, May 1 r, 1852, and educated in Genesee College at Lima. In 1872 he entered the law office of Solomon Hubbard as student, and was admitted to the bar in 1875. He was Clerk of the Surro- gate's Court from 1872 to 1S79, and a few months later formed a law partnership with his preceptor, which still continues. Lockwood R. Doty was born in Albany, Dec. 2, 1858, and educated at the Normal School in Geneseo. He afterwards attended the law de- partment of Columbia College, where he graduated in May, 1880. He was formally admitted at Buffalo in June of that year, and commenced practice in Geneseo shortly after his admission. Mr. Doty is the son of Lockwood L. Doty, the accomplished historian of Livingston county, who was himself an educated lawyer. Lockwood L. Doty was born in Groveland, in this county. May 15, 1827, and died at Jersey City, Jan. 18, 1873, leaving unfinished the work which had been the labor of his later years. Though he read law in the office of John Young in Geneseo, most of his life was spent in clerical duties of a varied and arduous nature. Conspicuous among these was his connection, as Chief, with the Bureau of Mili- tary Statistics, an office to which he was appointed on the creation of the Bureau April 8, 1863, and held till 1866. Through his indefatigable efforts much valuable material for the military history of this State has been rescued from oblivion. In 1S47, he followed his legal preceptor— Governor Young — to Albany, to fill an appointment in the office of Canal Appraiser. He was soon after made Deputy State Treasurer under Alvah Hunt, and held that position successively under Elbridge G. Spaulding and Stephen Clark. When the latter became President of the LaCrosse and Mil- waukee Railroad Co., Mr. Doty was chosen Secre- tary and Treasurer of that company. During Governor Morgan's first gubernatorial term Mr. Doty was appointed Chief Clerk in the Executive Department, and in 1861, Private Secretary of the Executive Chamber. In December, 1862, he was tendered the appointment of Consul to Nas- sau, N. P., then an important station, because frequented by confederate cruisers, but declined it. Then succeeded his appointment to the Bureau of Military Statistics. He was afterwards, for short periods, Deputy Collector of Customs in New York city, Private Secretary to ex-Gov. Morgan, then U. S. Senator, and Assessor of Internal Revenue for the Sixth District of New York city. Hut his health gradually and alarmingly failing under the excessive labor to which for years he had been subjected, admonished him to seek the retire- ment of his home in Geneseo, where he soon after, but only for a short period, engaged in newspaper and other literary work. In April, 1871, he was appointed Pension Agent in New York city, and died while discharging the duties of that office. Allen Ayf\au LT. Allen Ayrault was born in Sandisfield, Berkshire county, Mass.. October :',(>, 17'.i;S. Hi- passed the early yi his life at Inline assisting his parents on the farm and at- tending the district schools. He taught school a number of terms, and when twenty-one years of age left home and came to Geneseo, where heat once fonud employ- ment in Siieneer & Co.'s store, the '-Co." being Gen. James Wadsworth and William Wadsworth. He remained with Spencer & Co. but a short time, go- ing to lit. Morris, where he started business for himself in general merchandising, but continued it for a short time only, having been appointed agent for the lands of Rogers & Murray. He remained in Mt. Morris until 1819, when he removed to Moscow, still retaining this agency. Here he engaged in the purchase and sale of cattle, pasturing th>m on the lands for which he was agent, and tin profits from these transactions gave him a start in life. He carried on a large and lucrative business in Moscow until 1830, when he removed to Gen- eseo, having been elected President of the Livingston County Bank, which was organized in that year, and of which he remained President until the expiration of its charter and close of its business, June 30, 1855. His management of this hank was characterized by prudence, untiring vigilauo and a watchfulness that nothing could escape. He made it his sole thought and care, aud gave it twenty live ,.f lie best years of his life, and during that entire period, though tin- hoard of direc- tors was composed of many of the best men of Geneseo and vicinity, no occasion was ever found to criticise his official or personal conduct. Mr. \\ null belonged to that class of citizens who give Stability to the tinaneialslalus.il' our country and char- acter to SOCiety. He was a safe counsellor aud a judicious manager of his own affairs. His influence in all depart- ments! and in all associations for business, was terized by modi ';■ and diffidence, for his judg- m .'ii expressed without pretense and generally upon olicil ition was generally based upon reasons which de- manded and secured concurrence. Mr. Ayrault was a plain, unpretentious man, never a seeker for public office or 1 rs. He affiliated with the Whig party, and strove iu a consistent manner to euhauce its interests, and was in turn honored, on several occasions, by nominations from his fellow- citizens for important offices. In 18+] he was a candidate for State Senator iu the old Sixth District, including Allegany aud Livingston coun- ties on the west and running east on the southern tier and including Broome aud Chenango counties on the cast, [n this contest he was defeated by lames Faulk- ner, of Dansville, the Democratic candidate. He was electi I as delegate to the Constitutional Convention winch convened April 22d of that Mar and adjourned on the ninth of Ojtober following, serving upon several im- port ril committees. In 1*17 he was elected to the State Senate from the Twenty-ninth District (Ont irio and Liv- ingston counties i hut resigned after serving one i Mr. Ayrault was President of the County Bible Society fourteen years — always manifesting a deep interest in its ■ : and gmid work 111 religious sentiment he was an Episcopalian, and a member of St. Michael's church in Geneseo, aud gave liberally from bis means for the support of church interests and any enterprise looking to the advaucem int of education among the rising genera- tion aud the establishment of good society. September9, L822, Mr. Ayrault was united in marriage toBethiah, daughterof Rev. Wm. Lyman. She was born July 12, 1792, at East Haddam, Conn. Her father was born in 1765 and died June 5, 1883. Her mother WM born in 1767 and died dun ■ 22, 1858 at the great age of one years, and tlcir remains lie buried at Arcade, Wyoming county. They had eleven children, si whom are yel living, the youngest at the age of seventy- trs and the oldest ninety. Mrs. Ayrault is still li\ nig, now in her eighty-ninth year, id possession of her ■ i i i, ,1 jree. Allen Ayrault died at Geneseo, N V.. February I. 1861. They have had no child) GENESEO VILLAGE — MANUFACTURERS, BANKS. 395 Manufacturers. — Geneseo has never been an important center of manufacturing interests. The river at this point affords a limited water-power, and the fall is meager. In 1837 the Geneseo Hydraulic Company was incorporated for the pur- pose of creating a vast water power on the Gen- esee at this point ; but the great expectations awakened by its organization were never realized. The Geneseo Planing Mills were built in 1877, by Josiah Curtis, the present proprietor, who also deals in coal, lumber, lime and cement. The mills are located near the depot. They are oper- ated by steam. The saw-mill in Geneseo, owned by E. W. Hud- nutt, occupies the building near the foot of Main street, known as the : 'Big Tree Iron Works," which was erected in 1855 for a machine shop, by E. W. Hudnutt and Elias P. and Chauncey Met- calf. In November, 1862, James J. Cone, Hurl- burt L. Johnson and Scott Lord, formed a co- partnership, for the manufacture of the Brincker- hoff mowers and reapers. They rented the " Big Tree Iron Works." The Geneseo Manufacturing and Croquet Co. was organized and merged with the American Cro- quet Co., composed of Judge Scott Lord, Samuel Finley, J. J. Jones, John Rorback, Harvey G. Baker and Charles Jones, which commenced operations in 1861. The consolidated company did business about a year, until 1865, when they removed the machinery to South Bend, Ind. In 1875, Mr. Hudnutt again took possession, put in a circular saw, and has since been engaged in the manufacture of lumber. In the spring of 1871, Baker &: Barclay (Har- vey G. Baker and George P. Barclay) rented of Finley & Co. a portion of the building for the manufacture of the machine-cut clover rasp, which is used for threshing out clover seed. In 1877, Harvey G. Baker sold his interest to his son, Merritt H. Baker, and the business is still con- ducted under the same firm name. It requires a capital of about $2,000, and usually the employ- ment of two additional hands a part of the year. Messrs. Kendall & Shattuck have a branch cooper shop at the depot in Geneseo. Their principal business, which is quite extensive, is conducted at Piffard, in the town of York. They employ two men in the shop at Geneseo and from eight to fifteen at Piffard. The Big Tree Mills, (flouring and grist,) situated on the east bank of Genesee River, just north- west of the village limits, were built about forty years ago by Mr. Bailey. Thomas Gilmore is the present proprietor. The mills comprise four runs of stones, which are operated by water from the Genesee, which has a fall of five feet. Mr. North, during his ownership, built a saw-mill on the opposite end of the dam. It was torn down by the present proprietor four or five years ago. Clark's Mills, named from Leman Clark, their present proprietor, are located in the north-east corner of the town, on the outlet of Conesus Lake, a mile below Lakeville. They occupy the site of the old Bosley mills, which were erected in the latter part of the last century, by John Bosley, who came to this country in 1792 or '3. The present mills were erected in 1836, by Lucius F. Olmsted, who bought the property of Mr. Bosley in 1835. The mill is a wooden structure, and connected with it is a saw-mill, which was built by- Mr. Olmsted the same year on the site of a former one, which was built at an early day at the foot of the pond forming the outlet of the lake. The grist-mill contains four runs of stones. This locality is an interesting one from its proximity to the remains of a fortified Indian village. The excavations made both by Mr. Bosley and Mr. Olmsted disclosed numerous and varied relics, in- cluding human remains. Metal implements were found in sufficient quantity, it is said, to iron the first mill. Messrs. Ayrault & Co., (Lyman Ayrault and A. A. Cox,) who are located at the depot, do a gen- eral storage and produce business. The business was established some ten or eleven years ago, by L. Ayrault, who, six months later, associated with himself A. A. Cox. These gentlemen were the first of importance of a modern period, to buy grain for storage and shipment. Banks. — The first bank of issue in the county was the Livingston County Bank in Geneseo, which was incorporated under the Safety Fund Act, April 7, 1 830, with a capital stock of $100,000. Various pre- vious efforts had been made, both in this town and others in the county, to secure a charter for a bank — in Geneseo soon after the erection of the county— but all were alike fruitless. The subscription books were opened in Geneseo on the 31st of May, and within three days from that time the entire capital stock was subscribed. The organization was per- fected on the 25th of June by the election of the following named directors: — John Greig, H. B. Gibson, Nathaniel W. Howell, Abraham M. Scher- merhom, James K. Guernsey, Charles H. Carroll, 39 6 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Hezekiah D. Mason, Felix Tracy, Owen P. Olm- sted, Eli Hill, William Lyman, Wm, H. Stanley anil Allen Ayrault. The latter gentleman, who was an able financier, and the principal stock-holder during the existence of the bank, was chosen Presi- dent, and held that office during the continuance of its charter. Watts Sherman, afterwards a mem- ber of the well known banking house of Duncan, Sherman & Co., of New York, was chosen cashier. An office was opened in the upper story of the building on the east side of Main street, now oc- cupied by A. W. Butterway as a cabinet shop. The following winter the bank took up its quarters in the brick building erected for its accommodation, located on the west side of Main street, opposite the American Hotel. It is now vacant, except in the upper story, which is occupied as a law office by James B. Adams. The charter of the bank ex- pired July i, 1855. Scott Lord and Allen Ayrault became trustees, by virtue of the statute, for closing up its business. The bank was very ably managed and highly prosperous, returning to its stockholders at the expiration of its charter an unimpaired capi- tal, besides having paid an average annual dividend of a little more than fifteen per cent, on the capital stock. The Genesee I 'alley National Bank was organ- ized as the Genesee Valley Bank, April 21, 1851, with a capital of $120,000, in shares of $100 each. The capital was increased Feb. 20, 1855, to $150,- 000. The first Directors were : — James S. Wadsworth, A. Cone, D. H. Abell, C. Colt, W. Cushing, D. H. Bissell, H. Chamberlin, D. H. Fitzhugh and Peter Miller, [ames S. Wadsworth was elected Presi- dent ; W. H. Whiting, cashier; Daniel H. Fitz- hugh, Jr.. teller. The present officers are : — President, James W. Wadsworth ; Cashier, James S. Orton ; Teller, Theodore F. Olmsted. The bank commenced business May 1, 1S51, on the first floor, the north room, under Concert Hall, which was left when the building now occu- pied was erected in 1865-6. March 14, 1S65, it was changed from a State to a National bank, and authorized to commence business as such at that time. At the latter date the surplus of the bank was $25,114.27; and a semi-annual dividend, varying from 3^ to 6 per cent, had been paid- One year during the war a 14 per cent, dividend was paid. Since it became a National bank $266,- 250 have been paid in dividends, which is an aver- age annual dividend of nearly 12 per cent. In addition to this, the surplus has been increased to $59,087.64. This statement sufficiently reflects its efficient management. On the expiration of the charter of the Living- ston County Bank, Allen Ayrault, who then held nearly all its stock, conducted a private bank in the same building till his death, February 4, 1861, aged sixty-seven. Mr. Ayrault was born in Sandis- field, Mass., October 30, 1793,31111 removed to the Genesee Valley in 181 2. He was one of the most prominent, influential and highly cultured of Geneseo's citizens during nearly the whole period of its commercial importance. He was a brother to Nicholas Ayrault, the early merchant in Mos- cow. His widow still resides in Geneseo. Eph- raim Cone, who had been for many years Mr. Ayrault's cashier, continued the bank in his own name till his death, April 27, 1868, aged sixty-two years. James J. Cone succeeded to his father's business and continued the bank till his failure, November 1, 1878, having been associated with W. H. Olmsted from 1S68 till December, 1870. In 1856, Orton & Walker (James S. Orton and William Walker,) established a private bank in the upper part of a building which stood directly north of the present bank. When Mr. Orton became cashier in the Genesee Valley Bank, December 1 2, 1857, he sold his interest to Charles Colt, Jr., who died April 9, i860, leaving Mr. Walker to continue the business alone, which he did till his death, February 9, 187 1. January 6, 1864, the building was destroyed by fire, and Mr. Walker removed to the store next south of John Rorback's hardware store, which was recently occupied as a jewelry store, but is now vacant. Mr. Walker was asso- ciated for a short time with Wm. H. Whiting. Af- ter Mr. Walker's death, (\. 1). Mercer continued the business till within about two years, when la- failed, being involved in the failure of Duncan, Sherman & Company, of New York. John White opened a private bank in the build- ing afterwards occupied by Orton & Walker about 1852 or '3, but soon failed. The Geneseo Gas Li<;ht Company was organ- ized in 1859, with a capital of $9,000, in shares of $100 each, which was reduced March 1 1, 1864, to $4,500, the present capital. The works were built in 1S59. About one and one-half miles of mains are laid, extending entirely through Main, Second, Center, Wadsworth and Bank streets. There are 26 gas street lamps. Gas is furnished at $2.50 per thousand feet. Hotels. — The American Hotel, which has been GENESEO VILLAGE— HOTELS, WADSWORTH LIBRARY. 397 kept since October, 1879, by Clarence S. Youngs, occupies the site of the old Pierce tavern, which was built prior to 1809, by Col. John Pierce, a Southern man, who kept the stand for many years, and acquired no little notoriety for the excellent ac- commodations furnished his guests. It was a one- story frame building, made conspicuous at an early day by a coat of yellow paint, and now forms the front sitting room to the right of the main entrance of the American Hotel, and the room in rear of it, but has nearly lost its identity in the subsequent additions made to it. Deacon Frederick W. Butler says it was twice enlarged before 181 7; and that the third addition, which put it in its present exterior form, except the piazzas, which were added three or four years ago, was made by him in 1825. The Wallace House, kept by Wallace & Son, who took possession May 30, 1880, was built by Col. William Frost, about 1822 or '3, on the site of the old Colt tavern, which, Dr. Bissell says, was in a dilapidated condition in 1809. The Wallace House was formerly known as the Robinson House. The third hotel, the Globe Hotel, has been kept some eight years by Isaac J. Stratton. The Wadsworth Library was established as the Atheneum Library through the munificence of J as. Wadsworth, who in 1843, erected for its accom- modation a one-story brick building, which now forms the wing to the Methodist parsonage, and the same year deeded in trust for its maintenance to James S. Wadsworth, William W. Wadsworth and Elizabeth Wadsworth, of Geneseo, and Martin Brimmer, of Boston, Mass., seven different tracts of land, to be leased, with the exception of two of the village lots, and the proceeds arising therefrom to be annually applied, in such proportions as they should deem fit and proper, " to the follow- ing and no other purposes whatever, viz. : to the payment of the necessary expenses of executing the trust hereby created, to the procuring of periodical or occasional lectures to be delivered in the Livingston County High School, and in the village of Geneseo * * *, to the purchase of useful books, philosophical apparatus and speci- mens of minerals to be deposited in said Atheneum building, for the use of the public — such books to constitute a library to be denominated the Ath- eneum Library — to the purchase of books, philo- sophical apparatus and specimens of minerals for the said High School, and to the repairing of the buildings, fences, and enclosures on the premises hereby granted, but not to the erection of any new buildings. The books of the said Atheneum Library shall be open and free for the gratuitous use as well of the teachers and scholars of the said High School as of the inhabitants of the county of Livingston." Five of these tracts are village lots. The first denominated the Atheneum lot, was designated as the site of the Atheneum building ; the second, de- nominated the Temple Hill Grove Lot, was to be forever held and occupied " as a public ground," and appropriated " to the use of the public for purposes of ornament, exercise and recreation ;" the third, denominated the North Temple Hill Lot, and the fourth, denominated the South Temple Hill Lot, each contain about two acres ; the fifth is the lot on the corner of Center and Second streets. The sixth tract is denominated the Kneeland farm, and the seventh, the "Yellow House" farm, the for- mer containing 152.51 the latter 114.78 acres.* The library was continued under an informal management till the last of the legal trustees (James S. Wadsworth) died in 1864, and some years later under informal appointments, till, having lapsed and reverted, the heirs of the Wadsworth estate consented to and Jan. 16, 1869, deeded the prop- erty to new trustees, who became incorporated un- der the name of " The Wadsworth Library" April 21, 1869. Martin Brimmer, Charles F. Wads- worth, Craig W. Wadsworth, Wm. A. Fitzhugh, Charles P. Bowditch, James Wood, John Rorback, James S. Orton and James W. Wadsworth were the incorporators. The present library building is an ornate one- story brick structure, situated on the corner of Center and Second streets. It was erected in 1 867, by the Wadsworth heirs, at a cost of about $12,000. The present trustees are :— Charles F. Wads- worth, James W. Wadsworth, Martin Erimmer, A- J. Abbott, James Wood, John Rorback, Wm. J. Milne and James S. Orton, the latter of whom has performed the duties of Secretary and Treasurer since the incorporation. March 25, 1880, Mrs. E. H. Shepard was elected Librarian in place of Mrs. Olmsted, deceased. The income of the Library for the year ending Dec. 31, 1879, was $1,386.55, and the expenses, * Feb. 7, 1S76, the trustees sold to the Methodist Society who had previously leased it, the land on which the church and parsonage stand for %\, 400. March H> 1876, the farm of 114.78 acres was sold to Geo. W. Heth at $65 per acre ; and April 1, 1S70, the farm of 151.51 acres was sold to Jacob Clapper for $10, 140. In part payment of the former they tuck the house and lot on South street lately occupied by J. C. Merrell as a residence at $1,000. Nov. 15, 1S73, three acres of the Temple Hill Grove lot were conveyed by direction of the legislature to the Temple Hill Cem- etery Association for $800. 39§ HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. including the cost of 221 new books added during the year, $295.97, were $1,045.25. The Genesee Reading Rooms were established in 1866, by Mrs. William Wadsworth, who fitted up rooms in the Rorback Block, and contributes $200 annually towards their maintenance. Her son, Wm, Austin Wadsworth, contributes alike amount. An- nual subscriptions are also solicited for the same object. The Livingston County High School, afterwards the Geneseo Academy. — On the 1st of June, 1826, several gentlemen residing in this county associated themselves "for the purpose of establishing in the village of Geneseo, upon a lot of two acres of land to be given for that purpose by Messrs. William and James Wadsworth, a Collegiate Institution on the Monitorial System," which was incorporated by the Legislature as the Livingston County High School," March 10, 1827, and by the Regents, Feb. 7, 1829. The incorporators were William and James Wadsworth, William and Daniel H. Fitzhugh, John H. Jones, Charles H. Carroll, Geo. Hosmer, James Faulkner, William H. Spencer, Philo C. Fuller, John Colt, Henry P. North, Leman Gibbs, Orlando Hastings, Augustus A. Bennett, William Finley, Moses Hayden and Jeremiah Riggs, of whom Henry P. North is the only one now living. Soon after the incorporation a site was selected on "Temple Hill," and two commodious brick buildings erected by subscriptions, the walls of which remain the same, though the internal arrange- ments are different, and the buildings themselves are debased to mere tenements. The name of the school was changed to the Geneseo Academy, May 13, 1846, and early in 1849 went under the care of the Synod of Buffalo. It was conducted under the auspices of the Pres- byterians of Western New York, until the over- shadowing influence of the State Normal School in Oeneseo sapped its vitality. The academy is still the property of the Synod of Western New York, (Presbyterian.) The Geneseo Normal and Training School was established in 1867, as The Wadsworth Normal and Training School, and its name changed by Act of the Legislature, March 15, 1871. Soon after the passage of the Act (April 9, 1866,) authorizing the establishment of five additional Normal Schools in the State, Geneseo exerted herself to secure one of them. August 13, 1866, the village trustees were requested to inform the Commissioners charged with the duty of locating them, that Geneseo would raise the necessary funds, not to exceed $45,000, exclusive of the site, which they would also furnish, to secure one of them. Col. Craig W. Wadsworth, Hon. Scott Lord, A. J. Abbot, Esq., and Col. John Rorback were appointed a committee to confer with the trustees and assist them in their correspondence with the Commissioners. August 14, 1866, the trustees directed the Clerk to forward to the Com- missioners a communication embodying the above proposition. Sept. 10, 1866, Col. Craig W. Wads- worth, was delegated to proceed to Albany and lay before Commissioners the claims of the village in this particular. Nov. 16, 1866, that gentleman, in conjunction with Lockwood L. Doty, Hons. Wm. H. Kelsey and Jacob A. Mead, and Gen. James Wood, Jr., were charged with a like mission and authorized to increase the offer previously made by $10,000 if necessary. But notwithstand- ing these vigorous exertions, the school, which at one time seemed likely to be established in Gen- eseo was located at Brockport, owing, it is alleged, to the bad faith of a certain official. This adverse decision created much dissatisfaction, so that, out of respect for the distinguished services of Gen. James S. Wadsworth and the generous spirit manifested by the family in aid of such a school, in 1867, the Legislature passed a special Act authorizing the establishment of one in Geneseo, to bear the famHy name of the Wadsworths. John Rorback, Lockwood L. Doty* and Craig \Y. Wadsworth were appointed a commission to pro- cure the ground and erect the building. Sept. 24, 1867, a special town meeting was held, and by a vote of 321 to 176, $45,000 were appro- priated to aid in erecting and furnishing a normal and training school. At a special village meeting held June 8, 1868, it was resolved by a vote of 72 to 5, to raise by assessment on the real and per- sonal property of the village, in fifteen equal an- nual installments from March 1, 1868, $15,000 in aid of the same object. This action was taken pursuant to an Act of authorization passed by the Legislature May 5, 1868. The site selected for the school contains 6.73 acres, for which the Commissioners paid $2,019. The building was erected in 1S69; but the $60,000 thus far contributed was not sufficient to complete it. In 1870, the Wadsworth heirs con- tributed $10,000 in furtherance of this object. The amount was still inadequate for the com- • Mr. Doty resigned July 15, iSnS, and James S. Oiton was I hoS< D hi hi 1 essor. GENESEO VILLAGE — SCHOOLS, CHURCHES. 399 pletion of the building; and March 7, 1S71, the electors of the town passed a resolution requesting the Senator from this District and Member of As- sembly from this County, " to procure the passage of a law by the Legislature, changing the name of 'The Wadsworth Normal and Training School' at Geneseo, to that of ' The Geneseo Normal and Training School ;' " and to request an appropria- tion of $20,000 for the purpose of completing the building. March 15, 1 871, the desired change in name was made, and $18,000 which had been appropriated in 1870 for the maintenance of the school, was authorized to be applied to the com- pletion of the building and grading of the grounds and putting them in the condition required by law to be accepted by the State. The school was first opened Sept. 13, 187 1, with Win, J. Milne as Principal and Professor of Moral Philosophy and Didactics. In 1876-7 an addition, known as the As- sembly Room, was made on the north end of the original building at a cost of $25,000. Over the cloak rooms in front of the Assembly Room is a room which is used for instruction in drawing and painting. The basement of this addition is used for instruction in calisthenics. The buildings are three stories high, besides basement and attic. They are constructed of brick, heated with steam and lighted with gas. The buildings and grounds present a very ornate appearance. They occupy a lower terrace than the main part of the village, and lie between it and the river, whose beautiful valley presents a charming landscape from their rear. The grounds and buildings are valued at $106,000 ; the furniture, at $5,500 ; the library and apparatus, at $7,750. The receipts of the school for the year ending Sept. 30, 1879 were: — State appropriation, $ 18,- 400.87; tuitions, $1,402.60; total, $19,803.47. The disbursements were $19,801.35. The atten- dance during the year was: — Normal Department, 312; Academic Department, 108; Intermediate Department, 156 ; Primary Department, 185; total, 761. The primary and intermediate departments are composed of village pupils, who receive instruc- tion from pupils practicing the principles of teach- ing. The number of graduates in 1879 was 29; the number from the organization of the school, 180. Union Free School District No. 5, of Geneseo was organized Feb. 19, 1867, and the trustees — A. J. Abbott, Win. A. Brodie, E. N. Bacon, James S. Orton, E. F. Curtiss, John O. Vanderbelt, John Rorback and David O. Toole, met at the office of Col. John Rorback, Feb. 27, 1867, and organized as a Board of Education, by the election of A. J. Abbott, President, and Wm. A. Brodie, clerk. Win. Walker was appointed treasurer and Alanson Ran- ger, collector. J. B. Gorham was employed as Principal. The number of children of school age residing in the district Sept. 30, 1879, was 636, of whom 142 attended district school some portion of the year. The average daily attendance was 67 48-1 S9. The number of volumes in the district library was about 624, the estimated value of which was $300. The school-house and site were each valued at $1,500. The assessed valuation of the taxable property in the districtwas $1,312,795. The num- ber of children between eight and fourteen years of age, residing in the district was 244. Churches. — The pioneer settlers of the Gene- see country, though attracted hither by material considerations, brought with them a religious cul- ture and a love of the sacred institutions of religion which had shadowed with benign influence their eastern homes. Happily those who took up their abode east of the Genesee river were early brought under an influence which fostered these conditions, and reservations of land for church and school pur- poses were often made — a practice sedulously ad- hered to in regard to the lands which came under the agency of Mr. Wadsworth when it was in his power to conform to it. Not so west of the Gene- see, on the lands of the Holland Company, for, although promises of land were made for the first regularly incorporated religious society in a town- ship, they were not, except in " a very few instan- ces," fulfilled. Joseph Ellicott, the principal agent of the Holland Company, though an eminently worthy and able man, " disregarded the Sabbath, and was hostile to religious institutions. His in- fluence had an unfavorable effect upon the religious state of the Holland Purchase ; and for a period after the settlement .of that part of the Genesee country commenced, it was a common observation that Sabbath-day did not extend westward beyond the Genesee river."* Exception was made how- ever to the Scotch settlement at Caledonia, where, March 4, 1805, was organized the first Presbyterian church west of the Genesee river, by Rev. Jede- diah Chapman, a missionary of the General Assem- bly of the Presbyterian church. f The first religious services in this town, it is * Hotchkm's History of Western New York. 78. t Ibid, 78-9- 400 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. believed, were conducted by missionaries sent out by the Missionary Society of Connecticut, the first of whom Rev. Aaron Kinne, penetrated the wil- derness of Western New York as far as the Gene- see river in 1794, and preached to the scattered settlements in the valley. The first settlers in the eastern part of the town were personsof Scotch-Irish descent from Pennsylvania, with strong Calvinistic sentiments, and warmly attached to the Presbyte- rian form of government. Among these princi- pally, though its members were drawn from the entire town, was organized in the fall of 1795, by Rev. Samuel* Thatcher, a missionary in the em- ployment of the General Assembly of the Presby- terian church, The First Presbyterian Church in Geneseo, which was, with the exception of the one organized by the same agency the same year at Charlestown, (Lima,) the first in this county. The organization was effected at the house of John Kwait, who, in conjunction with Daniel Kelly and James Haynes, all from the same neighborhood in Pennsylvania, were the first elders. The Church first met in private houses, at Mr. F. wart's, at a house near Bosley's mills, and at what was afterwards known as the Field's Farm, on the lower road to Dansville. " To these widely sep- arated places would those settlers walk, men, women and children, through the woods and along Indian trails, for the privilege of meeting their neighbors in the worship of God."f After the "town house" was erected — in 1797 — they wor- shipped occasionally in it. The Church, says Hotchkin, " was for a number of years in a low state, and for most of the time destitute of the preaching of the gospel and living in the neglect of stated public worship ; but it af- terwards revived, and its circumstances were more prosperous."}: Its first pastor, Rev. John Lindsley, was installed by the Presbytery of Geneva, Jan. 29, 1806. Soon after its organization other settlers, who were Congregationalists, mostly from New England, came in, and though they worshipped with the Presbyterians for a few years, they could not harmonize, and a separation took place in 1810. The Presbyterians then removed their place of wor- ship to the east part of the town, meeting in the school-house in winter, and frequently in summer •Ivtv. John Mitchell in A Centennial Discourse, containing the His- tory ofthe In. 1 Presbyterian church ot Geneseo during its (irsteighty- one years, and Rev> I leo. ' I l olsom, in a Historical Discount on the fiftieth anniversary of the dedication of the 2d Presbyterian church of Geneseo, make this name Samuel Thatcher; while Hotchkin and othei authorities consulted give the name Daniel Thatcher. t Histot ■ u 'Discourse, bj Rei G P. Folsom, ' ;. t ffotchiin's HistoryoJ Western New York, io-jo. in Benjamin Winn's barn. In 1843, their first house of worship was erected, and the old building is still standing opposite its former site, though converted to other uses. In 1855, the present church edifice was undertaken, and for convenience of access, was located just over the town line, in the village of Lakeville. During the first thirty years the progress of the Church was slow, for in 1825 the number of communicants on the roll was only 32 ; in 1836 the number had increased to 155, anil in 1846, to 180. In 1864 the number was 140. Since that time the number has somewhat de- creased through deaths and removals, yet there have been some members added to the church every year.* The Church still retains its original name, notwithstanding its removal to the town of Livonia. The Presbyterian Church of Geneseo Village was organized May 5, 1810, by Rev. Daniel Oliver, a missionary from Massachusetts, and was composed of twenty-one persons, who being Congregation- alists, severed their connection with the First Presbyterian Church in Geneseo, because they could not affiliate with them, viz : — Elizabeth Reed, Mary Rew, David Skinner, Jerusha Skinner, David Kneeland, Mercy Kneeland, Cephas Beach, Dolly R. Beach, Delight Finley, Samuel Finley, Louise Chappell, Abigail Case, Alice Skinner, Betsey Finley, Candice Beach, Sylvia Kneeland, Annis Alvord, Russell Lord, Nabby G. Kneeland and Sibyl Lawrence. David Skinner was chosen Mod- erator; Samuel Finley, Clerk ; and David Skinner and Cephas Beach, deacons. Without any settled pastor they enjoyed, for several years, the services of transient ministers and missionaries, among whom were Messrs. Daniel Oliver, John Lindsley, Aaron C. Collins, Robert Hubbard, Wheelock, Pratt, Millis and Butrick ; and in the absence of these listened to sermons read by Deacon Beach. In 1814, they adopted the Presbyterian confession of faith and united with the Geneva Presbytery. The town house, which had been moved to "Temple Hill," came under the control of the church, and was arranged with pews and a gallery, the former of which were taxed for the support of the church. In 181 1, a novel method of providing for the support of the gospel was inaugurated. It consisted of a fund — denominated the "sheep- fund" — to which a certain number of sheep were contributed, the increase and wool of which were * A Centennial Discourse, by Rev. John Mitchell, 1876. For a more extended account of this Church, see History ot Livonia. 4*g m ^ 4?rftr7Vcvrc(- Rev. Ferdinand DeWilton Ward, D. I)., son of Levi (M. D.) and Mehetabel (Hand) Ward, was born in Bergen, Genesee county, N. Y., July 9, 1812. His parents moved from Killingworth, Conn., in 1807, to the "Genesee country," where his father held many public positions of honor and responsibility, being for sixty years agent of the State of Connecticut in the sale of their extensive land tract in Western New York. The family removed to Rochester in 1 Si 7. Rev. Dr. Ward was graduated from Union Col- ege, New York, (Dr. Nott, President,) and the Theological Seminary at Princetown, N. Y. He spent ten years in India, as a foreign missionary, accompanied by his wife, (Miss Jane Shaw, of New York city). He was also pastor of the Pres- byterian church in Geneseo for twenty years ; Chaplain in the 104th New York Volunteers dur- ing the late war; and District Secretary of the American Bible Society for three years. He was an extensive tourist through Great Britain, the Con- tinent. Naples, and many other places, and was the author of many volumes in English and Hindu languages. Among these are "India and the Hindus," (re-issued in London and Edinburgh) ; " Christian Gift ;" " Ecclesiastical History of Roch- ester ;" " Summer Vacation and Abroad ;" and " Expositions of the Parables," (in Tamil). Dr. Ward's public life commenced at twenty years of age, and has been long, laborious, and eventful. Of his three children, Sarah resides in Philadelphia, Pa., wife of John Brinton, M. D. ; William S., is Superintendent of extensive gold and silver mines in Colorado; and Ferdinand makes his home in Brooklyn, having an office of large business in mines, stocks, etc., in Broadway, New York city. A son and daughter were buried in India. Connected with Dr. Ward's family are Hon. L. A. Ward, ex- Mayor of Rochester; the late Hon. Moses Chapin, Judge of Monroe count)-; the late Hon. Samuel L. Selden, Judge of the Court of Appeals; Hon. Freeman Clarke, Member of Con- gress and Comptroller of the Currency; Hon. Ed. Smith, ex- Mayor of Rochester and American Con- sul at Baden, Switzerland : and H. A. Ward, Pro- fessor in Rochester University. GENESEO VILLAGE — CHURCHES. 401 to be applied to that object. The flock began with 48 sheep, to which the Wadsworths donated 20, W. H. Spencer, 3, Mr. Kneeland, 3, and oth- ers 2 and 1 each. In 181 7 it had increased to 324 sheep and lambs. In 1820 the proceeds of the sheep as sold began to be invested in landed security, and in 1826 amounted to about $300, which was finally used in building the session-room first occu- pied by the Church. Sept. 11, 1815, the Society connected with this church was incorporated as the Geneseo Gospel Society, and Joseph W. Lawrence, Samuel Finley, Isaac Smith, Wm, H. Spencer, Samuel Loomis and Timothy P. Kneeland were elected trustees. In 1816, the subject of erecting a meeting house was agitated. The foundation was laid early in the spring of 1817, and the house raised in June, 181 7, but was not finished till some time after. It was dedicated Jan. 1, 1S18, the sermon being preached by Rev. Mr. Axtell, of Geneva. The site was given by William and James Wadsworth. Sept. 3, 1 834, the Church, which during the pastor- ate of Dr. Bull had followed the Congregational form of government, formally adopted the Presbyterian form of government, and elected the following Board of Elders : — Charles Colt, Cyrus Wells, Jr., Jacob B. Hall, Samuel A. Hubbard, Chauncey Parsons, Levi Goddard, Truman Hastings, Wm. H. Stanley and Owen P. Olmsted. Oct. 21, 1858, during the pastorate of Rev. Dr. Ward, a division occurred on the question of "old" and "new school," and a large membership separated from this church to form the Central Presbyterian Church of Geneseo, (O. S.) The last report made to the Presbytery before the division showed a membership of 234; after the division it had on its roll 130 resident members. April 1, 1880, after a separate existence of nearly twenty-two years, the Churches reunited, and as- sumed the name of The Presbyterian Church of Geneseo Village. The united membership is about 450. Immediately after the reunion a subscription was commenced to raise funds to build an addition to the house of the Central Church, the latter of which was to form the Sabbath School room and church parlors of the enlarged building. Work was commenced on the new structure in Septem- ber, 18S0. It was to be built from plans furnished by the New York architect, Mr. Valk. In addition to the two churches, a session room and parsonage connected with the house of the Second Church, and two first-class organs, the Socie- ty also own a farm of 1 00 acres in the central part of the town, which was deeded to them as a gift by William and James Wadsworth, April 13, 1816. The Sabbath School was organized about 1820. Jacob B. Hall, Orlando Hastings, Mr. Fairchild, Miss Harriet Wadsworth and Miss Mary Law- rence were the first teachers. The present Super- intendent of the school is Col. John R. Strang. Mr. Wm. A. Brodie is Assistant Superintendent. The attendance at school is about 270. The following have been the successive pastors and stated supplies of the church : — Pastors — Rev. Abraham Foreman, installed July 12, 1817, dismissed Nov. 17, 1819, and died at Geneseo, August 20, 1850. Rev. Norris Bull, D. D., installed June 19, 1822, dismissed July 3,1832, and died at Lewiston, Dec. 8, 1847. Rev. John C. Lord, D. D., installed July 31, 1834, dismissed Oct. 28, 1835. Rev. John N. Lewis, D. D., in- stalled Oct. 3, 1838, dismissed April 5, 1S41, died at New York, Oct. 5, 1861. Rev. Benjamin B. Stockton, installed Nov. 8, 1843, dismissed Sept. 25, 1848, died at Williamsburg, June 10, 1861. Rev. F. DeW. Ward, D. D., installed Sept. 25, 1850, dismissed June 22, 1857, but continued to supply the pulpit until Oct. 31, 1858, now residing in Geneseo. Rev. George P. Folsom, installed Feb. 2, 1859, dismissed October, 1868. Rev. Isaac N. Sprague, D. D., installed in February, 1869, dismissed in April, 1877. Rev. Josiah E. Kittridge, the present pastor, who was installed April 18, 1877. Stated Supplies — Rev. T. Spencer, in 1836; Rev. Elam H. Walker, in 1836 ; Rev. Mr. Snyder, in 1S37-8; Rev. Charles Morgan, in 1842-3. The Central Presbyterian Church of Geneseo, as we have seen, was formed by the division of the Second Church, and was organized by a commis- sion from the Genesee River Presbytery at Gen- eseo, Oct. 21, 1858. Rev. F. DeW. Ward, D.D., who severed his connection as pastor with the Second Church, Oct. 31, 1858,* was called to the pastorate of this Church Nov. 7, 1858, and sus- tained that relation ten years. A large and com- modious house was at once erected on the corner of Second and Center streets, and was dedicated Jan. 3d, i860. Succeeding the cessation of Dr. Ward's labors, Rev. Henry Neil, D. D., supplied the pulpit for about three years. Rev. C. R. Durfee then assumed the pastorate and continued his labors till the reunion took place. * His resignation was tendered Sept. 1 1, 1S5S, and its withdrawal urged, but refused. 402 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Si. Michael's Church, Geneseo, (Episcopal) was organized at the residence of Ebenezer Belden, in Geneseo, May 17, 1823. Col. Wm. Fitzhugh presided at the meeting, and he and David War- ner were chosen Wardens, and Samuel W. Spen- cer, C. H. Bryan, Eli Hill, David Shepard, Daniel H. Fitzhugh, David A. Miller, Chauncey Morse and Marinus Willet, Vestrymen. The congregation worshipped in the Court-house until their church was erected in 1828. It was consecrated on Thursday, Jan. 28, 1829, by Rt. Rev. Bishop Hobart, who on that occasion also confirmed fourteen persons. The services were conducted by Rev. Richard Salmon, who was chosen rector in December, 1824, and resigned in May, 1827. The parish was vacant till Sept. 8, 1827, when Rev. L. P. Bayard was chosen rector. He continued his labors till June 29, 1830, when he resigned. A vacancy existed till March 10, 183 1, when Rev. Robert B. Croes was chosen rector. He entered upon his duties on Sunday, May 1, 1831, and resigned the rectorship July 12, 1833. He also extended his labors to Moscow, Dansville, Avon, anil Mt. Morris, discontinuing his visits to Dans- ville when Rev. George Bridgman took charge of that parish, in October, 1831, and resuming them after Mr. Bridgman left, in the spring of 1832. On Wednesday, April 17, 1833, St. John's Church, at Mt. Morris, was organized, its constituent mem- bers comprising several of the communicants of tins Church. During Mr. Croes' ministry a difficulty existed between him and the vestry which became more aggravated, until finally the services were neces- sarily suspended and the church locked up. Bishop Onderdonk instituted a trial of Mr. Croes at the presentment of the vestry some time in the early part of 1853, and though he was found guilty of imprudence, nothing affecting his moral or religious character was elicited. This had a lamentable effect upon the parish, which was broken up as to any practical existence and much divided and distracted. A vacancy now followed till March, 1S34, when Rev. W. P. Page was chosen rector. He resigned in April, 1838. In Decem- ber, 1838, Rev. Lloyd Windsor succeeded to the rectorship, and resigned in January, 1842. In the fall of 1841, the church edifice and grounds were thoroughly and handsomely repaired and put in order at considerable expense, under the direction of Allen Ayrault and H. P. North, a committee of the vestry for that purpose. After the departure of Mr. Windsor there oc- curred a vacancy of some months, until August, 1842, when Rev. Edward Ingersoll took charge of the parish. He resigned in March, 1844. His successor was Rev. Henry B. Barlow, who assumed the rectorship in September, 1844, but shortly re- linquished it on account of ill health. Rev. Wm. J. Bakewell was rector from November, 1845, to September, 1849. To him succeeded Rev. Thos. Mallaby, who resigned in November, 1852. After an interval of seven months Rev. John W. Birch- more, of Massachusetts, became the rector, con- tinuing his services till April, 1859. Mr. Birchmore was succeeded in the rectorship by Rev. Rollo O. Page, who resigned in Septem- ber, 1862. Rev. Wm. Norman Irish was called to the charge of the parish July 1, 1863, and resigned it Jan. 1, 1868. During Mr. Irish's rectorship the present church edifice was erected in 1866, on the site of the old one, in which the last services were held Sunday, Dec. 31, 1865. The corner stone was laid in August, 1866, by the Rt. Rev. A. Cleveland Coxe, 1). D., Bishop of the Diocese, and the church was consecrated by the same prelate Sept. 7, 1867. This beautiful brick structure, with the iron fence, which has since been taken down, cost over $33,000, $25,000 or more, being the generous gift of the Wadsworth family. Rev. George S. Teller succeeded to the pas- torate in May, 1868, and left the parish April 10, 1 87 1, in December of which year, Rev. Charles DeL. Allen took charge. He resigned in the spring of 1875. Rev. W. A. Coale, the present pastor, entered upon his labors as such July 25, 1875, coming from the diocese of Maryland. The number of communicants in September, 1880, was 176; the number of families, 90; the number of individuals, 450. The church is valued at $30,000 ; the rectory, at $4,000 ; and the organ at $3,000. The Methodist Episcopal Church of Geneseo was incorporated February 19, 1825, "at the brick academy in the village of Geneseo, * * where the M. E. Church statedly attend divine worship," and adopted the name of The First Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the town of Geneseo. Stephen Hoyt, Henry P. North and other members met for the purpose of elect- ing trustees. Stephen Hoyt and Medad Curtis were chosen to preside ; and Medad Curtis, Stephen Hoyt and Henry P. North, " being discreet per- GENESEO VILLAGE — CHURCHES, SOCIETIES. 4°3 sons of said congregation," were elected to serve as trustees. When the church was organized is not known, as no record of the fact has been preserved. But very early Geneseo was a preaching station of the Genesee Conference, formed in 18 10. In 1807, Father Hudson came here to reside. The Church continued to worship in the " brick academy" until 1826, when their house of worship, a small brick structure, was erected. A new church seems to have been built in 1851, in which year and in 1852, Rev. Robert Hogaboom was the preacher in charge, for in the minutes of the trus- tees' meetings it is recorded that the annual meet- ing of 1852 was held " at the session-house of the new Methodist church," Feb. 13th of that year, and adjourned to the house of the pastor. Pre- viously the meetings were held in the "brick chapel." At the annual meeting of the trustees in February, 1867, the "St. James (M. E.) Church of Geneseo," is first mentioned. The records are very meager, and do not admit of a connected history of the Church. It is doubt- ful if there are any records other than those kept by the trustees. The present pastor, O. S. Chamberlayne, com- menced his labors with this church in the fall of 1878. The number of members in October, 1879, was 185 ; the attendance at Sabbath-school — offi- cers and teachers 24, scholars 180 — 204. The value of the church was $7,500, and parsonage $4,500. The benevolent contributions for theyear were $219.65. M. L. Perkins is Superintendent of the Sunday-school. St. Mary's Church of Geneseo, (Catholic.) was organized in 1854, in which year also that church edifice was built. It is a wooden structure, uncome- ly in appearance, and was built through the exer- tions of Rev. Father Michael McGuire, who preached here some three years previous to and during the building of the church. Regular monthly services were held for several years previously in Concert Hall and the Court House, by non-resident priests. Various priests have officiated here, but none have resided here. The present pastor is Rev. John J. Donnelly, who also officiates at Mt. Morris and Nunda, at the former of which places he resides. The membership at first was very small, but has increased until now the congrega- tion exceeds five hundred. Several years ago the Church purchased of the heirs of James Wads- worth two acres of land for a cemetery, paying therefor $300. The ground on which the church stands was donated for the purpose by James Wadsworth. The First Baptist Church of Geneseo, was or- ganized Dec. 31, 1872, at a meeting held in the ves- try room of the Methodist church in the village of Geneseo. Rev. Walter Holt was chosen chairman and H. G. Baker, clerk. Rev. Reuben A. Water- bury, a Professor in the Geneseo Normal School, visited those in the vicinity who held to Baptist doctrines, and awakened a desire among them for the formation of such a church. At the meeting in question, Prof. Waterbury read the New Hamp- shire Confession of Faith, to which the following persons subscribed and became the constituent members of the Church : — R. A. Waterbury, H. G. Baker, Alanson Ranger, (died March 23, 1878,) N. A. Gearhait, Asahel Norton, (now dead,) Niles L. Norton, Levi Jones, Horace Kelsey, Daniel Young, Fanny Ranger, Mary VanMiddlesworth, Mary E. Norton, Philena Young, Mary Young, Phebe Dean, Clara L. Curtiss, (died March 27, 1873,) Eunice L. Jones, Amy H. Baker, Rhodilla Kelsey, Sylvia J. Berry and F. A. Waterbury. From its organization until Dec. 1, 1875, the church enjoyed the ministrations of Prof. Water- bury, who still performed his professional duties in the Normal School. He was succeeded at the lat- ter date by Rev. J. J. White, who continued his labors until April, 1877. He was succeeded by Rev. S. W. Culver, who commenced his labors the same month and year and still continues them. The Church first worshipped for a few weeks in Concert Hall. Rorback's Hall was soon after secured for that purpose, and the Church has since worshipped there, having now the exclusive con- trol of it by rental. February 2, 1878, the Church and Society per- fected a legal organization by the election of N. A. Gearhart, G. I. Dean and H. G. Baker, trustees. The Sabbath-school was organized April 6, 1873, N. A. Gearhart was chosen Superintendent, a posi- tion he has since held ; Rev. R. A. Waterbury, Assistant Superintendent ; and Miss Vira Skiff, Secretary and Treasurer. The attendance at Sab- bath-school is 9 teachers and 96 scholars. Societies. — Geneseo Lodge No. 214, F. &--A.M., was warranted March 14, 1851. The constituent members were: — Edward R. Hammatt, Master; Jacob B. Hall, S. W. ; Walter Smith, J. W. ; James W. Wood, Jr., Henry Chamberlin, Elijah H. Per- kins, Daniel H. Bissell and David Wattles. The present officers are: — Wm. A. Brodie, M. ; Samuel Cully, S. W. ; E. Fish, J. W. ; George Mercer, 404 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COl'NTV. Treasurer; A. R. Scott, Secretary; Josiah Curtis, S. D. ; A. L. Tournor, J. I). ; Josiah Warren and Alvin Hurlburt, M. of C. ; Samuel H. Blyth. Tiler. The present number of members is 6S. The 1 ,odge meets the ist, 3d and 5th Thursdays of each month in Masonic Hall, in the Rorback Block. A lodge of masons existed here many years pre- viously, but little is now known concerning it. It was known as Comet Lodge of Geneseo, and went down during the anti-masonic times. Geneseo Lodge No. 138, A. O. U. W., was or- ganized March 13, 187S. The first officers were : — Allison R. Scott, P. M. W. ; Frank N. Burt, M. W., Walter T.Howard, G. F. ; Samuel H. Blyth, Over- seer; Clayton B. Potter, Recorder; Flisha B. Rebban, Financier; Henry L. Arnold, Receiver; C. H. Rnowles, I. W. ; Charles A. Youngs, Guide ; (leorge S. Williams, O. W. In September, 1880, the lodge numbered ^^. It meets the ist and 3d Mondays of each month in Masonic Hall. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. JOHN CROSSKTT. William Crossett, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in the County Antrim, Ire- land, in 1763. The date of his arrival in America is not known, but after a short residence in Phila- delphia he came to Livingston county, about 1794, and settled about a mile south of where the village of Geneseo is now situated. Here he pur- chased four hundred and seventy acres of land and carried on farming until he died. His first wife was a Miss Rice of Livonia. By her he had ten children, all of whom are now dead except Lydia, now Mrs. Jasper Parish, living in Branch count}', Mich. His second wife was Sally Pond, of the town of Geneseo. They were married about 1814, and the result of the union was five children, as follows : — Harriet, who married Edmund Bosley, and is now residing in the town of Mt. Morris ; William, who died in 1850 ; John, born Feb. 13, 181 7, now residing on the old homestead; Eliza, living in St. Clair county, Mich., and Julia. The latter married John Hamilton, and after his death married a Mr. Wright, and is now living in Branch county, Mich. Wm. Crossett, the pioneer, at the time of his death, which occurred Nov. 29, 1829, was the owner of twelve hundred acres of land. For many years he kept a store on his farm and supplied the Indians and white settlers with neces- saries. From the Indians in exchange for goods he obtained large quantities of valuable furs, upon which he realized large profits. When lie came here and commenced his labors in clearing his land of the giant growth of timber that covered it. there was no communication with Canandaigua except by Indian trail, but in a i'^w years the roads were much improved, and he used to run a seven horse team to Albany, carrying such articles as he had taken in payment for his supplies, and bring- ing back large loads of goods for his store. He was a man of great physical strength and endur- ance, and was able to bear the hardships and trials incident to an early, and consequently laborious life in the dense wilderness. In his intercom se with the Indians he was fortunate. He learned to speak their language and mingled freely with them, thereby securing their friendship. He fre- quently accompanied them in their hunting ex- cursions in which they would be absent in some instances three and four weeks. Mr. Crossett kept a distillery, and sometimes they were very importunate in their demands for liquor when he thought they ought not to have it, and they would threaten to take his life, wildly flourishing their hunting knives and tomahawks, with a view to frightening him into giving them themuch coveted fire-water. Mr. Crossett was a man of quick apprehensions and strong convictions, frank and fearless in their expression and energetic in carrying them out. He possessed strong common sense, and uncom- mon sagacity in business, and was admirably fitted by the possession of these qualities to fight the bat- tles of a pioneer life. His second wife died about 1823. After the death of Mr. Crossett, his estate was managed by Middleton Crossett, a son by his first wife, for about two years. Then it was man- aged by John, our subject, and his brother Wil- liam, under the supervision of their guardian, James Crossett, a brother of their father, until they be- came of age, when it was divided, William taking one-half and John the other half, which included the old homestead where he always resided. November 11, 1839, John married Jane, daughter of William and Mary (Cole) Leonard, of Sparta. She was born Sept. 30, 1817, and died March 19, 1875. By her he had three children viz : — Selenda K. born Oct. 26, 1S42, died Sept. 8, 1876; Lloyd W. born Oct. 5, 1845, now living and carrying on the drug business in Geneseo; and Emma J., born Nov. 30, 185 1, married James Fitzhugh of Ken- tucky, and died March 14, 1879. Mr. Crossett has carried on farming since he came into posses- sion of his share of his father's estate, is still operat- ing his farm of 240 acres, and has been highly successful. The appearance of his farm and premi- ses indicate that the mind that directs and controls his affairs is intelligent, and the ability and skill brought into action is of a high order. Mr. Crossett has never had any desire for public affairs but has performed the duties of the office of Assessor two terms, an office forced upon him. In politics he is a life long Democrat, sustaining in a consistent and earnest manner the measures of his party. Mr. Crossett has been a member of the Presbyterian Church of Geneseo, about eleven years. ■ irt/ ' /&/nKL6j/?y^ --: / / tP'-o^^ £ ABRAHAM McCLINTOCK — DANIEL H. BISSELL, M. D. 4°5 ABRAHAM McCLINTOCK. Abraham McClintock, one of the pioneers of Geneseo, was born in Northumberland county, Pa., March 12, 1775, and in 1807 came here and took up seventy-four acres in lot in. He was the son of Joseph and Margaret (McQueen) McClintock, who had six children, five sons and one daughter. JOSEPH McCLINTOCK. Abraham who was the second child, remained at home after the death of his father and assisted in the care of his mother and the younger children, until he was married, when he came to this county and settled as we have already stated. He cleared the land he had taken up and lived in a rude log- cabin on the same. April 28, 1807, he was mar- ried to Mary Clark of his native county, by whom he had five sons and one daughter that grew to maturity, as follows : Joseph, whose portrait heads this sketch, was born in 1808, and is now resid- ing in the town of Hamilton, VanBuren county, Mich., where he is carrying on farming, having settled there about 1845 ; William C, born in 1810 and died in 1S4S; Robert, born in 181 2 ; Margaret, born in 18 16, married Thomas B. Erwin and is now living in Paw Paw, Mich.; John, born in 1818, and Charles, born in 1823. Robert, John and Charles are now living on the old homestead farm, operating the same in partnership. Abraham was universally esteemed for qualities of a high order. He was a good husband, kind father, and an ac- commodating neighbor, and in 1820 was elected a ruling elder in the First Presbyterian Church of Geneseo, holding that office many years. His childhood of indigence, his early manhood of weari- some toil, served as the crucibles wherein sterling qualities were refined and tested preparatory for the faithful performance of responsible duties in later years. Owing to his well known integrity and honesty of purpose, coupled with an excellent ability, he was called upon many times to settle the affairs of deceased persons and in all business and social relations he was upright and honorable. He was a valuable citizen in the highest sense and con- tributed largely to the welfare and social improve- ment of his neighborhood. In politics he was at first a Democrat and then a Whig. His death oc- curred March 16, 1849. His wife who was a mem- ber of the Presbyterian Church at Lakeville, sur- vived him about one year. Their grandchildren are only three in number viz: — Frank, daughter of Margaret, Mary Margaret, daughter of William, and Tracy son of John. Charles McClintock has been assessor of the town of Geneseo, six terms. DANIEL H. BISSELL, M. D. In attempting to trace the career of Daniel H. Bissell, honorable as it is in itself, we are reminded at the very outset of the intimate relations it sus- tained to the development of an unoccupied re- gion of country into a mighty and prosperous com- monwealth. It comprehends almost the entire period of American constitutional history, he hav- ing lived under every Presidential administration. His father, a heroic soldier of the Revolution, was sent from Connecticut by Gen. Washington to the city of New York (when that city was in the possession of the British army) as a spy and, was rewarded for his valuable services with a badge of merit by the Government. After the close of the war he was married to Theoda Hurlburd and moved to the State of Vermont, where eight chil- dren were born to them — six sons and two daugh- ters. The sons were all named Daniel. In 1809, he removed to Richmond, Ontario county, N. Y., where he died in 1823, aged seventy years. Daniel H. Bissell was born at Randolph, Vt., September 21, 1794, and removed with his parents to Ontario county, and when the war of 181 2 broke out he enlisted in the service of his country and served under Generals Brown, Scott and Porter in Captain Claudius Y. Boughton's company of Por- ter's Volunteer Dragoons. He was with the army in Canada in 18 14, and was in the celebrated bat- tle of Lundy's Lane ; in the sortie on Fort Erie in August, and in the sortie of the American army upon the enemy's works around Fort Erie in Sep- tember of that year. In the month of April, 1817, Mr. Bissell went on foot to Olean, N. Y., from thence in a skiff down the Allegany and Ohio rivers to Cincinnati, O., a distance of 800 miles, a voyage as hazardous as it must have been exciting. After a tour of five months in the States of Ohio, Indiana and Ken- tucky, he returned to Lima, N. Y. His future in- terests now demanding a permanent decision on his part as to what should be his occupation in life; his predilictions for a profession won the day; and acting upon the belief that as a physician his field would be one in accordance with his tastes and in which he could be of the most service to his fellowmen, he adopted the medical profession 406 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. and soon after entered the office of Dr. Justin Smith, of Lima, where lie remained two years. In 1819-20 he attended the medical lectures of Vale College, graduating there with the highest honors. In 1820 he located at Moscow where he resided and practiced until 1837, when he removed to Oeneseo, where he has since resided. The general estimation of his probity and wisdom is abundantly proved by the number of offices of trust and re- sponsibility bestowed upon him, both by election :iinl appointment. He was elected President of the village of Oeneseo, and has held the office of Under Sheriff, Justice of the Peace, Supervisor of the town of Oeneseo many terms, and Judge of the County, U. S. Loan Commissioner, Physician of Marine Hospital, Staten Island, and Deputy Health Officer of the Port of New York, was U. S. Postmaster at Oeneseo under the administrations of VanBuren and Tyler. He was the Republican candidate for Canal Commissioner on the first ticket put in the field by that party in 1856. In 1836, lie was Presidential Elector and had the honor, as Messenger, of conveying the vote of the State of New York, which had been cast for Mr. Tyler, and placing it in the hands of the defeated candidate, Mr. VanBuren who was then Vice-President. In 1857 the Regents of the University of New York conferred upon him the honorary degree of medicine. Greatly interested in the security and preserva- tion of the records of the early history of Living- ston county, he has been most active and earnest in the organization of the Pioneer and Historical Societies, and has been President of both these or- ganizations. The duties of all these public posi- tions have been performed with that honesty of purpose that has characterized his whole life. Dr. Bissell commencing and continuing the practice of his profession in a quiet and secluded village, has won by honest hard work and a skill- ful and honorable practice a preeminent place in his profession. Success and honor thus won are not accidents, they come of an abiding purpose, and therefore is it that they are more valuable as examples for those who are struggling for excel- lence, not only in this profession, but in any wor- thy business calling. His virtues, his integrity, his goodness, his usefulness and example as a citizen and a public officer should be emulated by all who desire the esteem and the welfare of the people among whom they live. The life of Dr. Bissell presents a most valuable example in these latter days, when the temptation to tread forbidden paths and to use. to say the least, doubtful expedi- ents in the headlong scramble for riches and honors, has left so many human wrecks along the pathway of the generation. Dr. Bissell was married at Lima, N. Y., in June, 1823, to Lucy Orosvenor, of Mansfield, Conn. She died at Geneseo, N. Y., September 1st, 1868. Win, H. Bissell, of Wilmington, III, and Albert G. Bissell, of Detroit, Mich., are his sons, and Mrs. Helen M. Arnold and Laura E. Olmstead, of Gen eseo, are his daughters. FREDERICK W. BUTLER. The subject of this sketch was born in the town of Hudson, Columbia county. Jan. 26, 1795. He is the son of Ezekiel and I.vdia (Frisbie) Butler. The former was born in the town of Brantford, New Haven, Conn., about 1761. At the age of sixteen he enlisted in the service of his country, and served faithfully in the war for Independence (FREDERICK. W. BUTLER.) five years. Soon after the close of the war he settled in Columbia county and followed the car- penter's trade and farming, and died there in 1831. His wife survived him about twenty five years. They had ten children only two of whom are now living, Frederick and William. The latter was born in 1804 and is now living in the old home- stead in Columbia county. Frederick W. lived at home working on the farm until he was twenty years of age. His early years were filled with the many hardships and privations incident to the life of a poor farmer's son. What education he gained was literally picked up in the district schools of a new and not prosperous country. He partially learned the carpenter's trade of his father, and on leaving home he went to the town of Kinderhool and followed that occupation one season. From thence he went to Albany in January, 1815, and worked at his trade by the day about two years. On the last day of March, 1 8 1 7 , he started for the then, far west, and arrived in Oeneseo April 10, following, having walked the entire distance. On determining to remain in Oeneseo, he engaged to work for the Wadsworths, the great men of this section at that time. He followed his trade until 1840, having built many of the fine residences that now beautify the village of Geneseo. When the present Court House was built in Geneseo, he was employed by the building committee, consisting of Gen. Wm. Wadsworth, Col. Markham and Daniel FREDERICK W. BUTLER— EPAPHRODITUS BIGELOW. 407 H. Fitzhugh to superintend its construction. In 1823 Mr. Butler purchased ninety acres of the farm on which he now resides, and in 1S24 moved into the house he is yet occupying. Since 1840 his life has been exclusively that of a farmer. During the war of 181 2 he was called into the ser- vice of the United States, and now draws a pension of $8.00 a month. In politics Mr. Butler was an old line Whig, but on the formation of the Repub- lican party he united with it, and has always given an intelligent and faithful support to its policy and measures. His townsmen honored him by elect- ing him to the office of Supervisor two terms. In religious sentiment Mr. Butler is a Presby- terian and has been a member of that church in Geneseo since March, 1833. He was made an elder the fol- lowing summer, and has held that position in the church since that time, and has been trustee of the society since 1831. Mr. Butler has been an earnest worker in the cause of religion, and has been liberal of his means in support of the Gospel and in building and repairing their pres- ent church edifice. In all that tends to the good and well-being of society he has been an able and powerful worker. His life has been of that character to secure the respect and confidence of all that have the good fortune ' (EPAPHRODITUS BIGELOW.) He was a lineal descendant of John Bigelow, who emigrated from VVrentham, county of Suffolk, England, to New England, and settled at Water- town, Mass., where he died July 14, 1703. He was the son of Daniel Bigelow by his second wife, Sarah F. Ingham, of Saybrook, Conn., he hav- ing married for his first wife. Mary Brainard, of Westchester, Conn. By each of his wives there were born unto him seven children, eight sons and six daughters, ten of whom lived to mature years. One only of this large family survives, Mrs. Bet- sey Bigelow Hempstead, who has attained to the ripe age of 97 years, and is the oldest person now living in the town of Geneseo. Mr. Bigelow, the sub- ject of this sketch was the fourth child by the second wife. His father was a farmer by occupa- tion, he, therefore, re- ceived his early train- ing at home and upon the farm in summer, and attended the com- mon schools of his na- tive town in the winter. His early advantages were limited, but he fully improved what he en- joyed, and when of age he became a common school teacher of quite large experience, having taught eleven winter terms in the schools of his native State, and in Geneseo after his re- moval thereto. In the month of July, 1 813, he enlisted as a soldier in the war of to know him. In 1824, the 12th day of August, Mr. Butler was joined in marriage with Eunice, daughter of Joseph and Rosanna (Gardiner) Barton, of Columbia county, N. Y. She was born Jan. 12, 1803, and is still living. To Mr. and Mrs. Butler have been born four children that grew to maturi- ty, viz. : — Edward, now living in the town of Gen- eseo. Mary, married to Abram Magee, and now living in Columbia county, N. Y., and Martha and Cornelia, living at home. Mrs. Butler has been a member of the Presbyterian church fifty years. EPAPHRODITUS BIGELOW. Epaphroditus Bigelow was born February 4, 1 786, at Marlborough, Hartford county, Conn., and died April 7, 1874, at his home in Geneseo, N. Y., aged 88 years and two months. 181 2. He was enrolled as a private in the "First Regiment Connecticut State Troops " under Capt. Enos H. Buel, his being the first name upon the company's roll. He served three months, the period for which he enlisted, at New London, Ct., and was honorably discharged in the month of September following. Under the Act of February 14, 187 1, granting pensions to the survivors of the war of 181 2, he became entitled to a pension, which he received up to the time of his decease. He was married at Marlborough, Conn., Nov. 7, 1816, by the Rev. David B. Ripley to Sarah Phelps, eldest daughter of Oliver Phelps and Mary Hills. In the spring of the year 181 8, he removed with his family, consisting of his wife and a son nine months old,'to Geneseo, N. Y. This son, Orimel, is yet living and a resident of the adjoining town of Groveland. The journey was undertaken in a canvass cov- ered lumber wagon, the style in those days, drawn 408 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. by a yoke of oxen and one horse in advance, and the distance, 330 miles, occupied a period of eighteen days. He settled upon a farm in the eastern part of the town which he had previously bought of David Haynes, a native of Pennsylvania, and purchased by him of the Messrs. Wadsworth in September, 1792, when the surrounding country was an un- broken wilderness. Here he entered zealously upon the work of his life, continuing to dwell upon this chosen spot to the end of his days, a period of fifty-six years. In those days before canal or railroad had pen- etrated the Genesee valley the profits of farming were not large and markets were not near. Roch- ester, distant twenty-five miles, was the principal one, and here he sold his crops of wheat at times at three shillings per bushel, and other farm products in proportion. By industry and economy he in time secured a competency and raised and educated a large family of children. During the active period of his life he took a lively interest in public affairs, and was often honored by his fellow citizens with places of public trust. Among the town offices held by him were Justice of the Peace, Commissioner of Schools and Assessor. In politics he was a Whig up to the time of the dissolution of that party, and afterward acted with the Republicans. He cast his first vote for President in the fall of 1808 for James Mad- ison, and in all cast his vote seventeen times for the electors of President and Vice President of these United States. Mr. Bigelow was of Puritan ancestry, and was early taught the truth of divine revelations and made familiar with that gospel which for so many years he adorned by a godly life and conversation. On May 22, 1838, under the pastorate of Rev. Horace Galpin, he united with the First Presby- terian Church of Geneseo, and was elected and oid lined as a ruling elder September 2, 1836, in which office he continued until his death. He was not a great man as some count great- ness, but rather might be called one of those standard, reliable men to be found in every town, who seek to be useful in their day and generation, filling his place creditably and honestly and accord- ing to an enlightened judgment. He was a man of stern integrity and of firm convictions. Opinions once formed were tena- ciously held. He was benevolent and generously contributed of his means for the good of his fellow men, and those enterprises organized for the pur- pose of advancing and improving the world had his support. He has acted his part upon the stage and has passed away, and the testimony is that his life's work was well done. His wife united with the church at the same time as her husband whom she survived nearly four years. She was a worthy helpmeet, exemplary and faithful in all the duties relating to her home, to the church and to her God. She was born Oct. 23, 1795, and died March 21, 1878, aged 82 years. His children were nine in number, all sons. Their names in the order of their ages were Orimel, Revilo, Daniel, Harvey, Cyrus Phelps, Alonzo, Martin Luther, Merit Harmon, and Edward. Of these Cyrus Phelps, Alonzo and Martin Luther died in childhood. Merit Harmon a young man of more than ordinary promise, died December 10, 1858, aged 24 years. Each one of those who lived to reach their ma- jority, received an academic education at Geneseo Academy, Geneseo, N. X . Orimel married Jane Williams, is a farmer by occupation, and resides at Groveland N. Y. They have two children, a son and daughter. Revilo lives at the village of Geneseo, and has married twice. His first wife was Sarah Alice Wilbur by whom he had two daughters. For his second wife he married Mrs. Nancy S. Haynes, by whom he also has two daughters. Daniel dwells upon the homestead of his late father, deceased, and married Helen A. Whitney, of Avon, N. Y. They have a son and daughter. Harvey lives at Rush, N. Y., and is a wagon and carriage maker. He married Maria VanBuskirk, and they have five children, two sons and three daughters. Edward lives at Austin, Minn., and is a mer- chant in the drug and stationery business. He served his country for three years in the late Re- bellion, and held a captain's commission, and has been the Principal of several higher institutions of learning in the West. Hemarried Lucy A. Brown, by whom he has three children, two sons and a daughter. HON. CHARLFS COLT. The subject of this notice was born January 23, 1793, in the town of Pittsfield, Berkshire county, Mass. He was the youngest son of a large family of children. His early life was like that of New Eng- land farmer's boys of that period — plenty of work, with limited educational advantages. At sixteen he was apprenticed to a merchant, to learn the busi- ness, where he remained till he reached his majority. Meanwhile his father died. During the summer of 18 14, he made a trip on horseback to the Genesee country — the Far West of that day. His object was to find a location where he could in that new country, with his little patrimony set up business on his own account. Spending some time near Rochester where an older brother had settled, he pushed on as far as Buffalo. On his return he diverged somewhat from the main traveled route to look over a tract of land on the west side of the Genesee river, in the present town of York, inherited from the paternal estate by still another brother. Captivated by the beauty and promise of the Genesee Valley, the prospector determined to settle in this locality. This deter initiation he carried into effect the spring of the following year, 1815. In copartnership with his CHARLES COLT— CAPTAIN HORATIO JONES. 409 brother he commenced business as a merchant in Geneseo — under the firm name of Solomon and Charles Colt. This partnership was terminated by the death of the senior member in 1823. Charles continued the business till about 1830. Mercantile business of that day was principally barter, and in that way Mr. Colt naturally became a produce dealer, and eventually devoted all his time and energies to that business. For many years he was the principal buyer of farmers' pro- duce in all this region. In that connection he was interested in a line of flat-boats navigating the Genesee river be- tween Rochester and Geneseo. The opening of the Genesee Valley Canal in 1841 put an end to that primitive mode of water transit. The early education and natural taste of Mr. Colt attracted him to agricultural pursuits, and from 1830 to 1837 he was interested with Campbell Harris in grazing the tract of land known as the " Brinton Flats " on the west side of the ri\ er ; the property now owned by Charles F. Wadsworth. With the late Gurdon Nowlen, Mr. Colt in- troduced into this county and manufac- tured what was then regarded a great im- provement — the fam- ous iron mold-board wood plow. It was a " Senator," having been elected to fill a vacancy in 1848 and for a full term in 1849. He was an active member of the County War Committee during the late Rebellion — giving to it his full quota of energy and ripe judgment. In his religious life Mr. Colt was no less active and conspicuous. For more than forty years he was identified actively with the Presbyterian church of Geneseo — during all that time being both trus- tee and elder. He left behind him a name honored for integrity and business enterprise. Two children, a daughter and son survive him. (HON. CHARLES COLT.) rude instrument compared with implements of the present time of the same character; but fifty years have wrought a great change. It will thus be seen that the pioneer of 1815 was an energetic, pushing, active business man, of ro- bust frame. He continued to be a leader in his line till about the year 1853, when he retired and devoted the remainder of his life to the care and management of a farm located near the village of Geneseo, where he continued to reside till his de- cease which occurred July 27, 1866. It would almost necessarily follow that such a man as we have briefly outlined would take a large interest in the public affairs and politics of his lo- cality. Mr. Colt was no office-seeker, but it is safe to say that he had much to do in the adminis- tration of public affairs in his county for many years. As Anti-Mason and Whig, and afterwards Re- publican he was universally regarded as a " leader." The only State office he ever held was that of CAPTAIN HORATIO JONES. Among the distin- guished patriots and adventurous pioneers who have left an im- press upon Western New York, none were more noble and con- spicuous than Horatio Jones. Born in Ches- ter county, Penn., on the 7th of February, 1763, at an early age he removed with his family to Bedford county in the same State, and being fond of field sports, became an adept in the use of the rifle before he was fourteen. At the age of sixteen he entered the military service of his country as a mem- ber of the " Bedford Rangers," a rifle company which embraced thirty-two young men, the flower and chivalry of Bedford county. This com- pany had gained great renown for their valuable services in repelling the incursions of the hostile Iroquois, who "hung like the scythe of death upon the frontier settlements, inscribing their deeds with the tomahawk and scalping knife in characters of blood." In the early spring of 1779 the command was most unfortunately drawn into an ambush by a large party of Seneca Indians — and fully a third of the Rangers were killed at the first fire — about a third escaped and the balance were made prisoners. Young Jones would have got away, as he was a very fleet runner, but one of the strings of his moccasins became loosened and wound around a staddle in the underbrush, which caused him to fall, and as his rifle had been discharged he had no means of defense, and witli several of his comrades was taken and securely bound by the savages. 4io HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. After scalping those who had been killed, the band and their captives were hurried away through the wilderness to the Indian country. They suf- fered great hardship in the march from fatigue and starvation, but finally reached the village at Nunda, in this county. From there they were taken to Caneadea, and forced to " run the gauntlet,"— a ceremony common to captives previous to their being slain or adopted into families, to supply the places of those who had died or been killed in battle. The prisoners were required to run forty or fifty rods from the starting place to the Council House. The old men, boys and squaws of the tribe being armed with tomahawks, knives, hatch- ets, clubs and sticks, were allowed to strike the captives before they reached the goal. This ordeal was for the amusement of the tribe, but the warriors scorned to engage in the pastime. Jones was the first to run and he safely dodged or jumped over those in his way and reached the goal without a sctatch, his fearlessness and activity being equal to the occasion. His companions were less for- tunate, and one was killed outright, and according to the Indian usage his head was severed and placed upon the war-post. Subsequent to this, Jones was adopted into a family and given an Indian name. On two occasions he attempted to escape, but with nearly two hundred miles of a trackless wilderness in his front, without compass or trail, the effort proved impracticable. He finally accepted the situation — learned the Indian language — entered heartily into their sports, and soon became a great favorite, as he could out-run and out-jump their most athletic young men. During the continuance of the war he was of invaluable aid in saving the lives of other prisoners as was notable in the case of Major Moses Van Campen, who on one occasion had when a prisoner, killed several Indians who were guarding him and made good his escape. He was subsequently taken again and brought to the Indian country, but by the sagacity and address of Jones, was delivered to the British for exchange before the Indians learned who he was. In September, 1779, when Gen. Sullivan made his famous campaign against the Senecas to destroy their crops and burn their villages, Jones, with the whole tribe, except the warriors, was kept at a secure distance. At the close of the war he was appointed by Gen. Washington, Agent and Interpreter for the Six Nations — an office he held through successive administrations for a period of over forty years. He rendered the language with singular accuracy. His style was terse and graphic, and his manner pleasing and impressive. It is said that the great orator, Red Jacket, would not allow any one but Jones to interpret his speeches. His services as interpreter at the celebrated treaty at Big Tree, (now Geneseo,) in 1797, were of the greatest pos- sible advantage to the Council. As early as 1785 Capt. Jones married a lady of Schenectady, and established a trading post at Schanyes, (now Waterloo,) in the county of Seneca, and the next year he was connected with John Jacob Astor, in the fur trade at Geneva. Here his eldest son was born — the first white child born west of Utica. This son, Col. Win. W. Jones, died at his residence in the town of Leices- ter, in this county in 1870, at the advanced age of eighty-four. In 1789 Capt. Jones returned to the (lenesee Valley and settled on the border of the river in Geneseo, being the first white settler in the now county of Livingston. He was twice married, and some of his descendants, and others con- nected with his family, are still among the most prominent and honored residents of Western New York. As has been most justly said by Rev. Dr. Gridley, in his eloquent eulogy before the Seneca County Historical Society, from which valuable contribution to our early history we are indebted for many facts and dates : " Few men have passed a more charmed and eventful life than Capt. Horatio Jones — made a prisoner by a savage tribe of hostile Indians while in his country's ser- vice — exposed to the caprices of his captors — now dodging the uplifted war club, and the deadly aim of the rirle and tomahawk — now sick with pes- tilence — rising from the condition of the captive to that of a son by adoption into the family and a favorite of the tribe — honored by the authorities of his country — he passed the span of more than an ordinary life-time in benefitting a disappointed and waning race ; and by his enterprise, intelli- . gence and public spirit, founding a social state of his own people, which in culture, tone, and lofti- ness of aim, has proved worthy of the ph] beauty and wealth of the 'Garden of New York.' " Capt. Jones died at his residence, known as Sweet Brier, on the banks of the Genesee river, in the town of Geneseo, in August, 1836, at the age of seventy-three years and six months,— " full of years and full of honors." CHAPTER XXVIII. History of the Town of York. THF town of York lies on the northwestern border of the county of Livingston. It has an area of 29,689 acres, and ranks among the largest towns in the county. It is bounded on the north by Caledonia and a portion of Pavillion, (Genesee county,) on the south by Leicester, on the east by Avon and Geneseo, and on the west by Pavillion and Covington, (Genesee and Wyoming counties.) The Genesee river forms the boundary line between York and Geneseo and Avon. The surface of the town is gently undulating, with a general inclination to the east. The soil in the southern and central portion of the town is of YORK — EARLY SETTLERS. 411 a clay loam ; in the northern portion, a sandy and gravelly loam. The only streams of any importance are Brown and Calder creeks which flow eastward through the central and northern part and empty into the Gen- see river. The town contains five villages, York Centre, Fowierville, Piffard, and North and South Greigs- ville, the two former being the largest and most im- portant places. York was formed from Caledonia and Leicester March 26, 1 819. A part of Covington was an- nexed in 1823. Thenameof the town was derived from Hon. Joseph York, Member of Assembly from St. Lawrence county, who. as chairman of the committee, had favorably reported the bill for the formation of the town. At the time of the first settlement here the ter- ritory now known as York was embraced in the town of Caledonia, and the settlers, chiefly from Scotland, located first at " Big Springs," now the village of Caledonia, in 1799 and 1800, and from thence branched out into the section of wilder- ness then called " South Woods," and now known as the town of York. Among the hardy Scotch pioneers who thus came here about the year 1804, were John and Al- exander Fraser, John McCall, Archibald Gillis ; Donald McDonald, James Calder,* and William Mackenzie in 1806, Capt. Angus McBean, in the fall of 1804, Alexander Stewart about 1805, and William Dorris, in 1807, from Avon, where he had resided several years. He settled on land after- ward owned by Wells Fowler. These families were mostly from Inverness and Argylesbires, Scotland. Among those who constituted the pioneers of this region was Donald D. McKenzie who set- tled in York in 1804. Mr. McKenzie was for over fifty years a prominent farmer of the town, and one who devoted much attention to the earliest history of this and the surrounding towns. He was born in Inverness, Scotland, January 8, 1792, anddiedin York, Jan. 6, 1854, aged 63. His descendants in York are two sons and two daughters — Donald, William, and Margaret McKenzie, and Mrs. Mary F. Clunas. From his graphic and interesting writings con- cerning the early settlement of the Genesee coun- try, it is learned that there started for America from Inverness, about the middle of July 1803, the following named people: — • Died in 1816. Donald McKenzie and family of five children, three sons and two daughters, William, Donald, John, Margaret and Helen ; Simon Fraser and his son Donald and daughter Mary ; John Clunas and his young wife, Flora, also daughter to Simon Fraser ; John McKenzie* and his two sons, Don- ald and Alexander, John Fraser and three sons, Donald and John and (Capt.) Simon Fraser; John McDonald and William Fraser. " We were," says Mr. McKenzie's narrative, '■' one week on the road between the cities of In- verness and Glasgow, where we stayed one week, and five weeks in Greenock, waiting for an Ameri- can ship, then in port, to get ready. There were but few vessels then trading between that country and this. The British government was claiming and exercising the right to search all vessels, which was indignantly remonstrated against by the Ameri- can government, and which ended in the war of 181 2. The ship in which we sailed was the Trap- per, of New York, William Taylor, captain. On the morning of September 8th, 1803, she spread forth her wings to the breezes that wafted us on our journey to our destined home. The passage rates were very dear, ten guineas each, even for a child not more than four months old. Donald McKenzie paid about $400 for himself and family. "The sickness of my mother during most of the voyage made our condition more uncomfortable than it otherwise would have been, but whatever were the feelings of others for my own part I felt buoyant and cheerful. " After a voyage of about six weeks we landed in New York, and we felt how unlike the great cities we had left behind us ! The golden dreams of some began to vanish when they saw the dilapi- dated condition of many of the buildings near the wharves, and the number of deserted houses and desolated streets caused by the ravages of the yellow fever, which that season had carried off great numbers of the inhabitants, and causing all who could to flee from the plague. "Our sojourn in New York was brief, only two days. The party agreed with the owner of a sloop to carry us to Albany, for one dollar each, big and little, without any provisions or accom- modations of any kind. We were over a week on the journey, and I suffered more from hunger on that inland voyage than at any other time before or since. After much exposure and fatigue we ar- rived in Albany, where, for the first time, the different families separated. The next place of •Died June ij, 1840, aged 7J years. 412 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. rendezvous was to be in Johnstown, Montgomery county, where all arrived safe in a few days. We now began to breathe the free air of a free coun- trv, the smell of which was like the perfume of a field which the Lord had blessed. Although we were far from being in comfortable circumstances, there was no murmuring. The winter was very severe, different from any we had ever seen before, and we were thankful for being in a safe haven. The men were learning to chop, some threshed, and at times all explored tracts of land which were offered for sale in that section, but which did not suit the new comers. The Genesee country was talked of, but there was no one who could give us correct information concerning it. There was a current report among the people there that the Genesee country was very sickly, which was partly true. "They also gave an alarming account of the con- duct of the Indians, in whose neighborhood we should have to settle, and by whom all Western New York was thickly inhabited. The picture looked anything but encouraging. They called it the ; far west,' and so it was then, even on the confines of civilization." Notwithstanding these discouraging reports a number of the Scotch emigrants began to make preparation for moving to the Genesee country. Mr. McKenzie, the elder, bought a yoke of oxen and a sled on which his family and goods were conve>ed to the place where they have ever since resided, the journey occupying two weeks. "When we arrived here there were perhaps a dozen families in Hartford, now Avon, as many in Caledonia, and about equal numbers in each Batavia and Buffalo. All the rest of this large territory did not contain many inhabitants, except the Indians. There were several families in Gan- son Settlement, and also a few in Leicester; all the rest west of the Genesee river was an unbroken wilderness. "When the snow had melted in the spring, ex- plorations were begun. There was a large tract of land lying west of a parallel line between Le Roy and Brockport, then newly offered for sale, called the ' Triangle Tract.' Richard Stoddard, its agent, was anxious to get a part of it settled by Scotchmen. The party spent some time in ex- ploring it, but although the agent made them liberal offers, on their return they brought rather an unfavorable report, and the idea of settlement in that locality was abandoned. " There was then on every side of them any quantity of unoccupied land, which has since proved to be exceedingly fertile, but which had then a very sterile appearance owing to its having been burned over by fire so often. " They would not take them as a gift, and be obliged to till them, some of the now best farms in this section. When the ground dried, which it did early in April of that spring, the emigrants con- cluded to make a part of the ' Forty Thousand Acre Tract ' their future home, although at that time it had not been surveyed. "In company with Donald McKenzie and Wm. Fraser, I came that spring to what was to be my future home. " We stayed two days and one night clearing away the underbrush and felling some large trees. When night came we kindled a large fire to keep us warm, and to frighten away any wild beasts that might be prowling in the wilderness, and after refreshing ourselves with food we sang for a long time a number of the old psalm tunes which we were wont to sing of yore on the hill-sides of Scotland." The writer of the above, for the greater part of the time until his death, slept within six rods of that, to him, sacred spot, which he had enclosed in his garden. All of the party left Johnstown at about the same time, but the others having hired horse teams arrived at the " Big Springs," (Caledonia,) a few days before Mr. McKenzie and his family, and found good quarters in the house of a kind man named John McVean, who owned then the farm afterwards for a long time owned by Col. Robert McKay and sons, some two miles west from Caledonia village. They arrived there in the latter part of Febru- ary, 1804, where some of them became residents, and others, as previously stated, branched out to settle the now town of York. In April, 1S04. the families of Donald McKenzie, Elder John Mc- Kenzie, his brother John Clunas, Simon Fraser and Donald, his son, took up their residence in the north-east part of the town of York, where most of them made it their home until they died. This portion of the town was originally known as Inverness, so called in memory of their native city, and embraced all the territory north of Fow- lerville creek, as far west as Deacon Gillis' east line, and north to the north line of the first section of land in Caledonia. Among other after settlers were Archibald Ken- nedy and family, from Scotland, in the spring of YORK — TOWN OFFICERS. 4i3 181 1; Duncan Grant, from Inverness, Scotland, in 1808; William Fraser, 1810; and Dudley New- ton, in 181 7. Capt. Aaron Russ settled near Fowlerville in 1810. He was a man of considerable note in the town. For nearly twenty years he was Overseer of the Poor, and was Supervisor from 1850 to 1853. Col. Holloway Long came in 1816. He was a man prominent in military matters and politics. His title was derived from his commandment of an artillery company celebrated in early days as the " York Artillery." During his lifetime Mr. Long filled acceptably most of the offices within the gift of the town. A son, Moses Long, for some years conducted the stove and plow making business at York Centre. Among the descendants of those early settlers are Francis McBean, son to Angus McBean, who now lives on the old homestead. Donald McDonald,* Isabel McBean, and Mar- garet McDonald, now living near Fowlerville, are children of Donald McDonald, who settled here in 1806. Moses N. Ferrin, now living in Fowler- ville, is a ion to William Ferrin, who came here in 1S11. A daughter, Mrs. Louisa B. Whitcomb, also lives near the same place. Archibald Ken- nedy, a descendant of Archibald Kennedy who came here in 181 1, is a prominent citizen of the town. He held the office of Supervisor from 1869 to 1872, and again from 1874 to 1881. Among the early physicians of the town were Dr. Durelle, Dr. Long, brother to Col. Holloway Long, and Dr. Frederick R. Stickney who, in 1841, was a successful practitioner here. Elder Josiah Goddard was an early minister here of the Baptist denomination. He was born May 11, 1768, in Petersham, Mass., and came to this town as early as 1812 or 1813. He preached at what is now Fowlerville, and in other places. He died in York, February 19, 1836. The first child born in the town was a son to Donald Clunas.f The second child born here was Angus McKenzie, son to Donald McKenzie, born March 26, 1S05. The first saw-mill, known as the Morely Mill, was built in 1807 by Ezekiel Morely and Joseph, his son. The first grist-mill was built by Wells Fow- ler and William Taylor, between 1815 and 1820. * Born in i8ij. t French says the first child born here was Angus McKenzie. A con- siderable portion of this history' of York is derived from the writings of Donald D. McKenzie, one of the pioneer settlers, who gave much at- tention to the early history of this region, and whose statements the his- torian has been inclined to accept in nearly all cases of disputation. Town Officers.— The first town meeting was held on the first Tuesday in April, 181 9, at the inn of Nathan Russ. This place of meeting was designated by the Special Act of Legislature for the formation of the town. The officers chosen by the people at that meet- ing were: — William Janes, Supervisor; Peres P. Peck, Town Clerk; John Darling, John Dodge, Henry Janes, Assessors ; Joseph R. Ramsdell, Collector ; Moses Allen, Thomas Blake, Overseers of the Poor; John Russ, William Taylor, Newcomb Mead, Commis- sioners of Highways ; Jonathan Tainter, Joseph R. Ramsdell, Constables; Wells Fowler, Philander Sexton, N. Sacket, Commissioners of Schools. From the succeeding year — 1820 — to 1881, the succession of Supervisors and Town Clerks has been as follows : — Supervisors. Town Clerks. 1820. William Janes. P. P. Peck. 1821-22. Titus Goodman, Jr. Rufus Cook. 1823. do do do 1824-25. Holloway Long. do 1826. Titus Goodman, Jr. do 1827. do do P. P. Peck. 1828. Holloway Long. Rufus Cook. 1829. John Holloway. Joseph Tozier.* 1830. Asa Arnold. Rufus Cook. 1 S3 1. do do Israel D. Root. 1832. Holloway Long. Cyrus Hawley. Israel D. Root. 1833-36. Donald Fraser. 1837-i- 1839-40. 1841-43. 1844. 1845. 1846 1847. 1848, 1849. 1850-52. i853- 1854. 1S55. 1856-58. Holloway Long, John Holloway Wm. H. Spencer. William Stewart. Edward R. Dean. do do David McDonald. Israel D. Root. do doj Aaron Russ. do do do do do do do do do do Niel Stewart. do do Charles Stewart. f William A. Collins. Moses Long. Daniel McPherson. Charles Stewart. David H. Abell. do do Hamilton E. Smith, do do Niel Stewart. 1859-60. Allen W. Smith. 1861-62. George W. Root. do do do do do do do do 1863. 1864-65. 1866. 1867-68. 1869-70. 1871. 1872-73. 1874-80. Alexander Ried. do do John S. McKercher. James Mclntyre. J. W. McArthur. James Mclntyre. Theodore F. Baldwin. Archibald Kennedy. James A. Forrest, do do Jas. W. McArthur. Benjamin F. Dow. Jas. W. McArthur. Archibald Kennedy, do do » Or Tosier. t Appointed. X Aaron Russ was chosen to fill vacancy for balance of that term. 414 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. The following officers were elected April 5, 1881 : Supervisor, Aurora I). Newton; Town Clerk, James W. McArthur; Justices of the Peace, James .Spittal. (long term) John Torry, (vacancy ;) As- sessor, Duncan McKenzie ; ( herseers of the Poor, Robert Wallace, George Slack ; Collector, Thos. F. Kennedy; Constables, William Mann, Jr., Wil- son J. Rogers, Charles H. Whitney, Hugh Spittal, Thomas F. Kennedy; Game Constable, John S. Gibson ; Excise Commissioner, Gerret S. Casey. Population. — In 1870 York had a population of 2,564. Of this number 1,986 were native, 578 foreign; 2,546 white, and 18 colored. In 1875 the total population was 2,475, a decrease of 89 ; the native population was 1,886 a decrease of 100, while the foreign population was 589, an increase of 11. The colored inhabitants in those five years had increased from 18 to 49, a gain of 31. In that year the town contained 303 aliens, a greater num- ber by 131 than in any other town in the county. At the last census of 1880 the total population was 2,479- School Statistics. — The town contains four- teen school districts, employing during the past year (1880) 15 teachers, at a total amount in wages of $3,431.07. The number of children in these districts over five and under twenty-one years of age was 791. During the year, school was taught 409 2-5 weeks, with an average attendance of 358- The number of children of school age attending school some portion of theyear was 633. The district libraries are valued at $140. The total amount paid for school apparatus during the year was $684 ; for school-houses, sites, fences, furniture and repairs, $25,103; total incidental expenses for the year, $332.72; total valuation of school' property, $16,626.01. York Centre. The village of York Centre is situated at nearly the geographical center of the town. It contains three churches, five stores, one hotel, post-office, cooper shop (Ephraim Dinsmore,) wagon shop, (Peter Anderson,) three blacksmith shops, (Wil- liam FitzSimmons, Joseph Trimbel, John McDou- gall,) a furnace, and a population of some three hundred. Early settlers here were Nathan Russ, Timothy Rice, 181 1 ; Ralph Brown, who owned the land on which the village stands, 1S0S; Captain John Russ, 1808; John Darling, in the fall of 1809. Nathan Russ, brother to Capt. John Russ, built the first frame house in York Centre, in which for a num- ber of years he kept tavern. Timothy Rice, soon after his arrival in 181 1, built a frame house and also kept it as an inn. The first merchant in the town was Peres 1\ Peck, who traded for a time on a small scale on land owned by Alanson Gilmore, and afterwards in York Cen- tre. David McDonald was a merchant here in 1S23, beginning business at that time, and continuing a number of years. He was born in Sutherland- shire, Scotland, about 1790, and came to America in 1819. The present post-master here is Chester Sey- mour, who has held that position some twelve years. The hotel is kept by the widow of Ray Hitt, who had been its proprietor for some thirty-live years, and who died January 26, 1881. The present merchants are : — Mckean and Forrest, (Alexander F. McKean, James A. Forrest,) general merchants. In business as a firm some fourteen years, beginning in 1866. Mr. McKean was born in 1833, in county Armagh, Ireland, and came to America in 185 1, and directly to York in that year. Mr. Forrest was born in Scotland, May 16, 1837. Came to America in 1 841, and to York in 1847. Caldwell and Stewart (Edward E. Caldwell, Charles N. Stewart,) general merchandise. In business as a firm since July, 1S76. Mr. Caldwell was born in New Market, Canada, in 1S3S. He came to York in June, 1876. Mr. Stewart was born in York in 1855. James W. McArthur, general merchandise. In business ten years. He was born in York in 1838. .Mrs. E. M. Ried, millinery and ladies' furnish- ing goods. In business since 1847, coming from Fowlerville to York Centre in that year. Fred. C. Rautz, hardware and tin shop. In business two years. William J. Ryan & Co., (William C. Luce,) harnesses and horse -furnishing goods. In busi- ness as a firm one year. The business had been conducted previously by Mr. Ryan some twenty- five years. He was born in Dansville, N. Y., in 1824, and came to York as a resident in 1840. About the year 1826 a young man named David Stewart came to this place and began with a small capital the manufacture of plows, on which he made some important improvements. About 184201 13, he built here a large furnace and suitable shops, where for a number of years he carried on exten- YORK CENTRE— CHURCHES. 4i5 sively the manufacture of plows and other agricul- tural implements. In 1853 he sold to Hugh Spit- tal, who in 1869 was succeeded by Duncan Hag- gart, the present proprietor, who now conducts the business. Mr. Haggart was born in Canada, June 19, 1823, and came to York in 1844. The physicians here are Dr. Ishmael G. Filkins and Dr. Isaac A. M. Dike. Dr. Filkins, a graduate in 1861 of the Medical Department, University of New York city, was born in the town of Grawville, Washington coun- ty, N. Y., in 1833, and came to York in 1872. Dr. Dike was born in Belmont, Allegany coun- ty, N. Y., in 1852. He graduated from the Buf- falo Medical University in 1876, and came to York Centre in April of that year. Churches. — In the spring of 181 1, seven fam- ilies of Scottish descent came from Johnstown, Montgomery (now Fulton) county, N. Y., hoping to secure for themselves a more advantageous location in the valley of the Genesee. These, together with four families recently from Scotland, and two from Ireland, settled in the south part of Caledonia, then in Genesee county, in the neighborhood called " Coille Mohr,"* or " Big Woods," known to-day as York. As there was already established an Associate Reformed Church in the north part of the town, now the town of Caledonia, these people attended the meetings there whenever there was preaching. At this time that church was preparing to call Mr. John Campbell, a licentiate of the Presbytery of Saratoga, which then embraced within its limits all the territory now occupied by the Presbytery of Caledonia. Those in the " Big Woods " being desirous of uniting with them in this important movement, met and chose John McKercher, Jr. and James P. Stewart their commissioners to treat with the Society in Caledonia for a portion of Mr. Camp- bell's services. This movement was unanimous, and although but a minority of them had been previously con- nected with the Associate Reformed Church, all heartily concurred in the petition. The brethren of Caledonia generously granted the petitioners one-fourth of Mr. Campbell's time for two years, while it was required of them to furnish only $100 of the $500 promised as salary. Mr. Campbell assented to this division of his labors, and although of delicate constitution, was abundant in minister- *Or "Coille Mor," from the Gaelic, meaning "Big Woods;" or " Coille an airde deas," meaning ' l South Woods." ial labors. During the year 18 13, Donald Fraser, Daniel McNab, and Robert McGlashan, were chosen trustees. The only place of meeting yet was a small log-house, or in a barn, which was preferred when the weather permitted. In 1 814 the first meeting-house was erected. The ground on which it stood was granted by John McDonald, one of the members of the Society. The dimensions of this pioneer church were 28 by 32 feet, built of logs. . The seats were slabs split from logs of basswood. During this year Alexander Harvey was chosen ruling elder, to act for this part of Mr. Campbell's charge with the session of Caledonia. In the early part of 181 7, Rev. John Campbell died, greatly lamented ; and in the same spring Elder Harvey removed to Caneadea. In the autumn of this year, Rev. George Mairs, of Argyle, Wash- ington county, N. Y., was sent to look after the church in this section. In the summer of 18 18, the elders chosen the fall previous were ordained and installed. The names of those who constituted the first session of this church were: — Donald G. Fraser, James McKerlie and Hugh Innis. The Rev. Robert Proudfit, D. D., presided at their ordination. Thus, although there was a society and a church before this, the regular organization was not effect- ed until 1 818. During the month of February of this year, Rev. John White, of Seneca, as first supply, preached in York. In the fall of 182 1, Rev. Joseph Pinney preached here, and his person and preaching so pleased the congregation and community that a call was ex- tended to him for his continued services, but which he declined. In the fall of 1822 the church was supplied by Henry S. Wilkin, a licentiate of the Associate Reformed Presbytery of New York, who, some three months later, was ordained, and in March, 1823, was installed as pastor of the Society. In 1822 the church was incorporated as the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church of York. In 1825 a more commodious house of worship was erected and enclosed at a cost of about $1,000. Up to this time the most perfect harmony had prevailed in the Society, but in November of this year the Session passed a resolution making the observance of the Fast Day previous to the Communion, a term of communion or church fellowship. This action caused dissension in the Society and resulted in the resignation of all the 416 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. elders, except Donald G. Fraser, and the with- drawal of ten families who placed themselves un- der the care of the Associate Presbytery of Albany, and were organized as the Associate Presbyterian Church of York and Covington. This defection crippled the Society for a time, but a subsequent increase in membership again placed the church on a stable basis. In 1 83 1 the church edifice was completed at an additional expense of $1,000. On the 18th of January, 1834, Rev. S. Wilkin resigned his pastorate, and the church was without a settled pastor until the installation of Rev. Alexander Blakie, February 1st. 1836. During the next year, 1837, it was resolved to add twelve feet to the length of the meeting- house, together with a steeple, which was done at a cost of about $1,240. In 1844 Rev. Mr. Blakie resigned his charge, and the Society was again without a settled pastor until the coming of Rev. J. M. Heron in the early part of 1848. He was installed as pastor May 17, 1848. In 1844 eight families withdrew from the Society and, with others, formed the Associate Reformed Congregation of Cuylerville. In December of 1852, Rev. Mr. Heron resigned, and in September, 1853, his successor, Rev. J. Van Eaton, began his labors with the Society, which he continued to September, 1879. He died in York Centre, March 5, 1880. Some time in 1852, the property occupied as a parsonage was purchased at a cost of $Coo. In the summer of 1854, the main part of the parsonage was rebuilt at an expense of about $1,500. In 1S66 the church edifice was repaired at an expense of some $1,600. This, together with the parsonage and previous alterations and repairs, sums up a total of some $12,000 expended on the church property in a little more than fifty years. The Society is strong in membership and faith, but is at present — March, 1881 — without a pastor, owing to the recent death of Rev. Mr. Van Eaton. First Reformed Presbyterian Church. — This Church was organized in 1832. The first Elders were James Milroy, James Cullings, James Guthrie, Jr. Trustees — Robert J. Guthrie, David McMillan, James Kennedy. Members — John Donnan, David Morrow, John Morrow, Andrew Morrow, Daniel Christie, Andrew Donnan, Angus McLeod, Mrs. Milroy, Mrs. Cul- lings, Mrs. James Guthrie, Mrs. Robert J. Guth- rie, Mrs. David Morrow. Mrs. Christie, Mrs. An- gus McLeod, Mrs. John Donnan. Mrs. Andrew Donnan, Mrs. Daniel McMillan, Mrs. Castly. Miss Jane Guthrie. The only surviving ones of the first members are Mrs. James Cullings, Mrs. D. McMillan. An- drew Donnan,* Daniel McMillan and Mrs. James Guthrie. The first pastor was Rev. John Fisher, whose pastorate lasted some fifteen years. The next pastor was Rev. Samuel Bowden, who was installed in 1847, and who continued with the Society until his resignation in October, 1876. The first church was built in 1833 or 1835, and was abandoned in 187 1 for a more com- modious edifice erected in that year. The old church building is now occupied as a dwelling by John Patterson. The church has a membership of about 160, and is at present (March, 1881,) without a pastor. The church property is valued at $10,000. /l.iftisf Church of York.^ — The present Baptist Church of York was formed in 1832 by the union of two churches called the First and Second Bap- tist Churches of York. There exists no definite information of the First Church previous to 1819, only that it was known as the Church of Caledonia and Leicester ; its members being scattered over a large area of ter- ritory, and holding their meetings in different localities. At this time the town of York was formed from the towns of Caledonia and Leicester. The church was then called the First Baptist Church of York, numbering fifty members. The two follow- ing years were of marked interest in the history of this church, and are known as the great revival period. Many additions to the Society were made through the labors of Rev. John Blain and others. The church belonged to the Genesee Baptist As- sociation, which met for the first time with the church in York in 1827, holding its meetings in the barn of Allen Smith, now owned by his son, A. \V. Smith. The names of the ministers who, in the following order, preached from 18 19 to 1832, were Revs. Josiah Butler, John Blain, Jesse Bramin, — Miner, Solomon Dimock, and O. H. Reed. Among the earliest members were Jothani Forbes and wife, James Rice, Olive Rice, Amos Baker, Gershom Waite, Allen Smith, Patience * Now in Campbell, Michigan. t For this brief yet comprehensive history we are indebted to the kindness of Mr. and Mrs. Ir.i G. Lyon, of York. Photo, by Merrell, Geneseo. f t^*± WfrJ^? FOWLERVILLE. 4i7 Smith, Timothy Tryo'n, Harrison Church, Marens Carter and wife, Enoch Weller, Rhoda Weller. W. D. Powers, Elizabeth Powers, Abigail Powers, Cyrus Lyon, Polly Lyon, Nathan and Eunice Clapp. The Second Baptist Church of York was organ- ized in 1822 at York Centre, numbering twenty members, and holding their first meetings in the hall of a public building, and afterwards in the school-house. This Church also belonged to the Genesee Bap- tist Association, and was presided over by Rev. Josiah Goddard until the two churches were united. Among the earliest members of this church were : Spencer and Cynthia Pomeroy, Nathaniel and Amos Goddard, Elisha Goddard, Sarah Goddard, Jesse Skinner, Joseph Gould, G. T. Roberts, Anna Roberts, Augustus Weller, Rhoda Weller, Ira Grant, Maria Grant, B. W. Willard and Clarissa Ferrin. These two churches united in 1832, forming the present Baptist Church of York. The number of members at that time was fifty-nine. The first pastor was Rev. Eliada Blakeslee. The early records show this to have been a period of con- tinued prosperity, both temporal and spiritual. The present church building was erected and dedicated in 1833. The present number of mem- bers is 126. The following have been the pastors from 1832 to 188 1, with the date of their coming: — Revs. Eliada Blakeslee, 1832; Ira Bennett, Dec, 1834; William Arthur,* Dec. 2, 1837 ; Eleazer Savage, June 6, 1840; David Taylor, Dec. 3, 1842; S. A. Estee, Jan. 4, 1S45 ; S. M. Bainbridge, June 25, 1848; B. R. Swick, Nov. 30, 1S51 ; John Nisbet, Nov. 30, 1856 ; A. L. Farr, Oct. 15, 1859; E. Packwood, Oct, 24, 1861 ; C. Monjeau, Nov. 7, 1867; Walter Holt, June 1, 1869; A. V. Eddy, the present pastor, May 1, 1876. FOWLERVILLE. The village of Fowlerville lies in the north-eastern part of the town. It contains two churches, two stores, post-office, one hotel, a harness, blacksmith and wagon shop, agricultural works, and a popula- tion of 375 or 400, including transient boarders. t Fowlerville was first permanently settled by Wells Fowler and William Taylor, in 1816, and William and Henry Janes, Ira Torrey, and Eliakim Weller at or about the same time, all of whom came from and near Pittsfield, Mass. • Father of the present Vice-President of the United States, t The employees in the agricultural works. The village derived its name from Wells Fowler, and was chosen by the unanimous resolution of the inhabitants who resided there. Wells Fowler was one of the most prominent men of the town, and contributed very essentially toward the upbuilding of this active little village. He was also influential in making roads, bridges, and other beneficial improvements, in establishing schools, and in sustaining the educational and re- ligious interests of the village and town. When the post-office was established here, about T827, at which time the place was named for him,* he was appointed postmaster, the duties of which office he continued to discharge through all the political changes that occurred for fourteen years, or until the defection of President Tyler in 184 1. In the early part of 181 7 Mr. Fowler and Pliny Weller built a saw-mill on the stream near the vil- lage, which was of much benefit, not only to the people there but to all the inhabitants for miles around. The first merchant here was Clark $. Capron, who began business in 1823. He was afterward in company with Nathaniel Goodman, and still later, with Joseph Ramsdell. Alonzo Fowler, eld- est son of Wells Fowler, was also for a long time a successful merchant here. Walter Whitcombt was another early merchant, and for two years was in company with Alonzo Fowler. Torrey & Weller for a number of years carried on successfully together the business of tanning and shoe making, Mr. Weller being a shoe-maker there over forty years. The present postmaster is Benjamin F. Dow, who was appointed in the spring of 1869. The Howell House, the only hotel here, is kept by William Howell who has been the proprietor three years. The hotel had formerly been kept by Alexander McHardy, some thirteen years, and previously by Caleb White, who assumed the pro- prietorship in 1843. The merchants are: — Benjamin F. Dow & Co., (L. F. Dow, John W. Howe,) who have been en- gaged in business as a firm twelve years. The firm was previously Dow & Fowler. William Fraser,J dry goods and groceries, in business here since 1839. Mr. Fraser was born in Johnstown, N. Y., June n, 1808, and came here with his father, William Fraser, in 1810. * The village for a number of years was known as Inverness post-office. t Now a merchant in Nunda. t See Biography and Portrait, on another page. , 4i8 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Aaron Mount, harnesses, and horse-furnishing goods. In business here seventeen years. He was born in Stark, Herkimer county, N. Y., in 1828, and came to York in 1863. The only physician here is Dr. George H. Jones. Mr. Jones was born in Manchester, N. Y., in 1853. He graduated from Michigan University in 1877, and came to Fowlerville in that year. Robert Wallace, blacksmith and machinist, lo- cated at York Centre in 185 1. Isaac McPherson, wagon maker, began business in August, 1878, in Scottsville, N. Y., and came to Fowlerville in 1880. The Livingston .Agricultural Works was estab- lished here by Hamilton E. Smith, who came to Fowlerville about 1835 and with a small capital, began the manufacture of agricultural implements. He did an extensive business here until November 16, 1S54, when Dow & Fowler succeeded him in the enterprise. The firm of B. F. Dow & Co., succeeded Dow & Fowler in 1868. On the 12th of May, 1879, the manufactory was burned down, with a total loss of tools and machinery, and was rebuilt in the same year. From that time until 1 88 1 the firm did a large business in the manufac- ture of portable steam engines, threshers, separa- tors, and other farming machinery, and employed, on the average, seventy-five men in the different departments of the works. In April, 1881, the firm abandoned this manu- factory here, and removed to Peru, Indiana, the people of Peru giving them, as an inducement to locate there, a cash endowment of $10,000. Churches. — Methodist Episcopal. — Of the two Churches here, the Methodist Episcopal began its organization by the formation of the first class in the spring of 1844, of which Dudley Newton was leader. For some ten years the meetings of the Society were held in private families and school houses. The church edifice was erected in 1854 at a cost of $2,200. The following have been pastors since the or- ganization of the church : — Revs. C. D. Burlingame, G. Benedict, Hiram May, J. J. Gridley, Father Kent, \Y. P. Buck, S. G. Miller, G. Nickle, Alonzo Newton, A. YV. Abell, R. E. Thomas, C. E. Van Sickle, P. King, S. H. Rogers, John C. Whiteside, W. Vaughn, W. W. Manderville, P. E. Hermans, R. F. Kay, William B. Cliff, B. F. Hitchcock. The present pastor is Rev. Isaac Harris. Under the pastorate of Mr. Hermans a fine parsonage was built at an expense of some $1,600. Mr. Harris has succeeded in paying oft" the debt 1 of $400 on this parsonage, and the Church is now in a prosperous condition, clear of debt, and with . good prospects for the future. Presbyterian Church of Fowlerville. — In the autumn of 1826, at their own request, the follow- ' ing persons were set off from the Presbyterian Church of York : — Amos Skinner, Olive Skinner, Fzekiel Morely, Sally fowler, Joseph Tosier, Nancy Weller, Alfred Collins, Elizabeth Mc Knight, Clarissa Janes, Mary Eastman, Lavinia Roberts, Mary S. Eastman. The organization of a Society was effected by these people November 16, 1826. Rev. John Eastman acted as moderator, and became the first pastor. The church was under the charge of the Presbytery according to the "accommodation plan." Mr. Alfred Collins, one of the original members, is still living in Fowlerville. The following were ministers while the church was in the Congregational form : — ■ Revs. John Eastman, Walker, John Hub- bard, Powell, Burbank, Lyman, Slie, Chapin, Bridgeman, Laird, Snyder, Darling, Wadsworth, Moses, Powell, Yeomans and Modesit. During Mr. Wadsworth's ministry the church withdrew from the care of the Presbytery, becom- ing purely a Congregational Church. About this time large numbers began to move away, and the membership greatly diminished until the present organization. In the spring of 1878, steps were taken to change the organization of the Church from Con- gregational to Presbyterian. This was accom- plished in due form April 22, 1878. Rev. S. M. Campbell, D. D., of Rochester, N. Y., acted as Advisor before the consummation, and as Modera- tor of the Commission of Rochester Presbytery which constituted the new Church. Rev. E. G. Cheeseman became at once the pastor of the new church, and continued in that relation about a year when he resigned on ac- count of ill health, and was speedily succeeded by Rev. Frederick D. Seward,* the present pastor. The membership of this church has increased from fifty-two at its organization April 22, 1878, to one hundred and fourteen at the date of this writing, March, 1881. • To this gentlemanly pastor we are indebted for this history, which appears in nearly it-- original form as written by him. &. GREIGSVILLE— PIFFARD. 419 The Elders in the Church are William Fraser, L. F. Dow, and G. S. Casey. The church property is valued at $1,000. Greigsville. The two places of this name, North and South Greigsville, about a mile apart, are situated in the southern part of the town. These are small ham- lets and together contain two churches, the Methodist Episcopal and Free Methodist, post- office, one store, two blacksmith shops, (William Mann, Jr., Ranold Grant,) and a saw-mill owned by Doremus & Hodgson. Elisha Williams, the only merchant here, began business in October, 1880. The present postmaster is Francis Rice, who has held the office over twenty years. A hotel was kept here by Samuel Dorris about 1857- Of the two churches, the class of the Methodist Episcopal was formed in 181 7. Among the early members were Urania Tuttle, Elmira Orvis, Dian- tha Orvis, Saloma Orvis, and E. Slocum and wife. The church edifice was built in 1 833. The mem- bership is small, and is presided over by Rev. Isaac Harris, pastor of the M. E. Church of Fow- lerville ; the pastors of the latter church having for years supplied the pulpit at Greigsville. The Free Methodist Church was organized about nineteen years ago. Among the earliest members were George Slack and wife, James Jones, Sylvia Tuttle, Sally Lynn, Mrs. Delana Slocum, William McBurney and wife. The church edifice was erected in 1873, under the pastorate of Rev. An- thony More. The first pastors were Revs. Asa Abell, Arnold Green and Thomas Cotton, who preached alternately. The present membership is twenty, presided over by Rev. George Coleman, who has preached here two years. The following have been pastors of this church : Revs. John A. Wilson, George Coleman, John Reddy, (dead,) Melvin Burritt, Wm. Cusick, O. O. Bacon, John Robinson, Anthony More, Nathaniel Brown, A. A. Burgess, I. C. White, John Robin- son, George Coleman, (1879-81). Piffard. The hamlet of Piffard* lies in the southeastern part of the town of York. It contains one church, * This place is often called Piffardinia, an unwarranted corruption <>! its proper name. one store, postoffice, one hotel, blacksmith and wagon shop, (Reuben Mann,) a saw-mill, stave and barrel factory combined, and a population of about one hundred and fifty. The hamlet derives its name from David Pif- fard, who located here in 1824. The first house here was built about 1820 by Campbell Harris, who was then agent for John Brinton of Philadelphia, an extensive land owner in this vicinity. David Piffard,* who was born August 9, 1794, in the village of Pentonville, parish of Clerkenwell without, Middlesex county, England, came to America in December, 1822; remained a short time in New York city, and in 1824 came to this part of the Genesee Valley and purchased of John Brinton a tract of land of about six hundred acres, a portion of which is now the site of the hamlet bearing his name. The remaining portion of the Brinton estate was purchased by William H. Spencer, and was by him converted into one of the largest and best farms in the town of York. He died in 1850. The growth of this hamlet was due to the open- ing of the Genesee Valley canal, and to the public spirit of Mr. Piffard, who, in his eighty-seventh year, still resides here. The postoffice was established here some thirty- one or two years ago. The first postmaster was McPherson. The present postmaster is John R. Bangs, who was appointed in August, 1880. William H. VanValkenburg, the only merchant in this place, began business here in 1880. He was born in Geneseo, in February, 1836. The saw-mill, stave and barrel factory, is con- ducted by Kendall & Shattuck. The saw-mill was established here in i860, and the additional business of stave and barrel making was begun some six years ago. The erection of the hotel was commenced in 1835, and was completed in 1840 by D. Thomp- son, by whom it was kept as a tavern for a num- ber of years. It was afterwards kept by his sons, Ellis and Edward, then by Ray Russ in 1865, by Raymond and Rich in 1866, and then by Butler Brothers five years. The present proprietor is Harvey Butler, who eight years ago succeeded But- ler Brothers, and whose name the hotel bears. The church edifice here was built in the year 1845- The Church was then under the care of the Al- bany Synod of the Dutch Reformed Church. The * See Biography and Portrait on another page. 420 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. first pastor was the Rev. John VanLiew, and lie was succeeded by the Rev. Mr. Corapton. About the year 1853, the church was removed from the care of the Albany Synod, and placed un- der the care of the Board of Missions of the Gen- eral Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Wes- tern New York, and the Rev. Charles Ray was ap- pointed missionary in charge, remaining three years. From the time of Mr. Ray's resignation until May, 1S81, the Rev. Mr. Ward, of Geneseo, has had the care of the parish, holding service every alternate week (with the exception of the time that he served as chaplain to the 104th Regi- ment during the Rebellion,) and he is held ingreat esteem by the people here for his faithful, constant, and earnest devotion to his missionary work in this place. Soldiers of the Rebellion. — The town of York furnished during the war of the Rebellion a large number of soldiers, but, like many other towns in the county, the war record required by the law of 1865 was never kept, and for the ap- pended list of those who fought in that war the historian has been compelled to depend on the memory of the citizens, and the surviving soldiers who enlisted from this town. The record, there- fore, is necessarily meagre. It is better to have recorded on the pages of history the few accessible names of those gallant defenders, than to permit all of them to pass into oblivion ; and so we give the following few but patriotic names, leaving it for the future to add others to this list of the heroes of Gettysburg, of the Wilderness, of Vicksburg and Bell Plain. Sf/i N. Y. Cavalry. — Harry Robinson, enlisted in 1 86 1 in Company B. Reenlisted on the field in 1863 in same company and regiment, and served until close of the war. Now in Fowlerville. Henry Averill, Company B. ; died at Arlington Heights in August, 1861, and was buried there. Myron Averill, Company B, was discharged for inability in the spring of 1862. Now in Geneseo, N. V. Thomas J. Robinson, Company B, reenlisted in 1863, was wounded at Black and While Station in 1864, and sent to headquarters in Washington where he remained until the close of the war. Now in Schoolcraft, Kalamazoo county, Mich. George Brown, Company M, served three years. Now in town of York. Hugh O'Hara, Company M, discharged for ina- bility at Bell Plain Landing in 1864. Now in York. Joseph McPherson,* Company M, killed at bat- tle of Raccoon Ford, Va., in 1863. Body brought home for interment. George Scott, Company M, was wounded at the battle of Beverly Ford, June 9, 1863 ; died of lock jaw soon after. Is buried in York. Daniel Calder, Company M, died at Bell Plain Landing in 1863. Is buried in York. William Patterson, Company M, served his period of enlistment. Now in Rochester, N. Y. 1 hiane Powell, Company M, died at Bell Plain Landing in 1863. Is buried in York. Clark White, Company F, was captured by the rebelsand imprisoned in Andersonville. Was pa- roled and died on his way home in 1864, at Fort- ress Monroe, where he was buried. Robert Orr, Company M, killed near Fairfax Court House in 1863, and was buried on the field. John Hardin, Company M, enlisted in 1862, and served three years. Now in Iona, Mich. Jonathan Macomber, Company M, killed on skirmish line in Western Virginia, in 1863. Andrew Scott, Company M. Now in Michigan. Phillip Wood, Company F. Served until close of the war. Now in Fowlerville. Roswell Root, Company M. Now in York. / Other Regiments. — John E. Roberts, Sergeant, enlisted in 1861, in Company G, 104th Regiment N. Y. Volunteers. Was wounded at Gettysburg July 2, 1863, died twelve days thereafter, and lies buried in the National Cemetery at Gettysburg. Captain James Gault, Company G, 104th Regi- ment, N. Y. Volunteers, enlisted in 1861, served through the war, and was afterwards provost-mar- shal in Buffalo. William Francis Gibbons, corporal, enlisted in 1865, in Company D, 169th N. Y. State Volun- teers, and was discharged with regiment at the close of the war. Now in Fowlerville. Frank Hawley, corporal of the colors, Company E, 169th N. Y. State Volunteers. Now in Greigs- ville. Amos Hill, Company D, 169th N. Y State Vol- unteers, was discharged for inability in 1865. Dead. John Foster, drummer 104th Regiment. 1 >ied in Fowlerville three years ago. O. M. Bush, entered the naval service in 1862, aboard the gunboat Chillicothe. Was in the Red River Expedition in 1863. Died in 1874, and is buried in the town of York. lames Rockie, entered U. S. Navy in 1862, and served his time of enlistment. Now in the West / Brother to Senator McPherson, of New Jersey. / ' -0?- ' COLONEL ORANGE SACKETT — DAVID PIFFARD. 421 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. COLONEL ORANGE SACKETT. Homer Sackett, father of Orange, was born in Warren, Litchfield county, Conn., Aug. 6, 1765. In 1787 he was married to Sarah Carter, by whom he had twelve children, eleven of whom grew to maturity. Col. Orange Sackett, who was the sixth child of this family, was born in Warren, Conn., April 2:, 1796. Before reaching his majority, he went to Orange county, N. Y., where he taught school. From thence in 1816 he went to Canandaigua, Ontario county, continuing his labors as teacher, and there Dec. 5, 1822, married Amanda Minerva Sheldon, who still survives him. Soon after this they removed to Mendon, Monroe county, where Mr. Sackett embarked in the mercantile trade, and where their first child was born. They re- mained there but a short time, removing to Riga, in the same county, where he continued his busi- ness as a merchant for eight or nine years, and from thence in the year 1835, he removed his family to the farm purchased two years previously, and which they have occupied since, in the town of York, Livingston county. After an illness of only three weeks, Col Sackett died at his residence March 10, 1877. He was full of energy and activity up to the date of his last sickness, overseeing and managing the affairs of his large farm of eight hundred acres. He was in many respects a remarkable man, and his success was as marked and signal as have been the triumphs of other noted men in wider fields of industry. Justly entitled to be classed with the pioneers of Western New York, he partook largely of the energy and industry characteristic of those early settlers, but to these were joined higher and nobler traits than are commonly found upon the border. He was the same warm-hearted, be- nevolent, urbane, christian gentleman, whether in the fields pursuing his daily vocations, or in the social circle. He never sought political honors. He was an active, influential and devout member of the First Congregational Church at Fowlerville, and leaves a bright and stainless record behind him. Although nearly eighty-one years of age it cannot be said that he had outlived his usefulness, for up to the time of his last sickness, there seemed to be little or no diminution either in his physical or mental activity and energy. Mr. Sackett left eight children ; there are also seventeen grand-children, and four great grand- children, and this four-fold family relationship was broken for the first time by the removal of its honored and venerable head. Mrs. Orange Sackett died October 17, 1880, after an illness of three weeks. DAVID PIFFARD. David Pififard was born Aug. 9, 1794, in the vil- lage of Pentonville, parish of Clerkenwell without, Middlesex Co., England, and was the son of David Piffard, who was the son of an old French Hugue- not family ; the elder David Piffard was born in 1768, and died in 1823. He was a wealthy banker on the Royal Exchange, and of him Rothschild said, " that Piffard was thegreatest man on change." The mother of David Piffard, Jr., was Sarah Eyre, a lineal descendant of Joseph Eyre, an officer in the army of William the Conqueror at the time of the conquest. She was born in 177S and died in 1815. David was the eldest son and second child of seven children, named as fol- lows : — Sarah, David, Anne, Charles, Louisa, Elizabeth, and Guerard. In 1802, he went to France where he resided until 18 13, when he returned to London with his parents. He received his education at Versailles and Paris, studying in connection with the usual course of study, the profession of architecture, and afterwards in Lon- don perfected himself in that profession. In December, 1822, he came to America with letters of introduction to LeRoy, Bayard & Co., with whom he remained one summer. In 1824 he came to the Genesee valley and there bought of John Brinton, of Philadelphia, a tract of land con- sisting of about six hundred acres, and part of which is now the site of the village bearing his name. In 1825 he married Ann Matilda, daughter of David L. Haight, of New York. Five children were the result of this union, all of whom are now living as follows : — David Haight, Sarah Eyre, Ann Matilda, Chas. Carroll, and Henry G. David Haight was married to Constance Theall, by whom he had four children, David Halsey, Nina Haight, Charlotte Ogilvie, and Emma Matilda. Henry G. now a noted physician of New York city, married Helen Hart, daughter of Gen. Wm. K. Strong, of that city. They also had four children, as follows : — -Henry Haight, Helen Strong, Charles Halsey Haight, and Susan Far- nam. Since his settlement, Mr. Piffard has chiefly devoted himself to the care of his home farm and five thousand acres near Flint, Genesee county, Mich. In politics he was an old line Whig, and joined the Republican party at its formation in 1856, since when he has been a vigorous sup- porter of his party's measures, but has never looked for an office or allowed his name to be used in connection with one. He was a member of the first vestry of St. Michael's Parish, Gen- eseo, and was on the building committee for the first edifice of that parish. He was a man of rare intellectual attainments, and was thoroughly con- versant on almost any known subject. As a scholar and a scientist his knowledge of arts and the sciences was deep and far-reaching. He was among the first to accept the vibratory theory of sound and light. When it was advanced many years the men were born who were to accept it, 422 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. and which every school boy learns. Horticulture was a passion with him, and his garden was one of the finest in the county, and was always a source of great pride and pleasure with him. His probity of character was a proverb, and it was always said nf him, in more honorable words than those of knighthood, that his word was always as good as his bond. His well-known hospitality was a distinguishing trait and every year found his house filled to overflowing with welcome guests. His wife was a woman of superior intelligence and culture, and one has truthfully said of her " that in those elements which con- stitute noble womanhood, she had no superior." Refined taste, Christian devotion, purity of pur- pose, and fidelity to life's duties were marked and characteristic traits. She ever regarded the poor, by whom she was surrounded, as having a claim upon her as, " the poor whom ye have always with you." During the late civil war her heart beat in sympathy with the volunteers in the North- ern army. Many a wounded and sick soldier, in cam]) or hospital, enjoyed those comforts pre- pared by her hands or purchased by her ever open purse, who never knew that he was indebted to a noble-hearted lady for this kindness. She died Oct. 14, 1878, leaving to her friends a history fragrant with precious memories. Mr. Piffard's memory is faithful to the many and varied ex- periences of his earlier life, and he delights in re- ferring to those younger histories which would fill volumes, of how he was in Paris during the siege of Montmartre, when the allies entered, and much more. He has been in France during three governments — the Consulate, the Empire, and Louis XVIII., and in England during the reigns of George III., and the Regency of the Prince of Wales, and afterdwards the reign of George IV., and in America under twelve elected Presidents, three of them holding two terms — and three Vice- Presidents who took the chair to complete the term of deceased Presidents. N I EL STEWART. Alexander Stewart, father of the subject of this sketch, was born on the Highlands of Scotland in the year 1778. When about thirty years of age he was married to Margaret McDougal of the same neighborhood in Scotland. About two years sub- sequently they emigrated to the United States, and in the year 1810 settled in the town of York (then Caledonia). There he commenced life anew, and by perseverance and manual labor made for him- self and family a home from the lands which at the time of his purchase was covered with a forest. He raised to maturity a family of six children — four sons and two daughters, all of whom, excepting the oldest son, are now living. Mr. Stewart died in February, 1845, and his wife survived him about sixteen years. Niel Stewart, the subject of this sketch, was born in the town of York, July 12, 181 1. He was brought up on a farm and early learned those prin- ciples which constitute success — economy and in- dustry — and which are always to be found in every successful person's life. During the early part of his life Mr. Stewart lived at home, assisting on the farm, and attending the common school where he received a moderately good education, and after- wards attending for a time a select school at Cale- donia, preparatory to teaching school, which he af- terward did with great satisfaction to the district and credit to himself. When about twenty-three years of age he engaged with J. H. and E. S. Beach, millers at Rochester ami Auburn, and such were his business qualifica- tions, that he was given full charge of their large warehouse and boats at York landing, on the Gene- see river, and continued as manager for six years, receiving five hundred dollars as salary the last year. He then located at the village of York and during three years following bought grain and wool on commission. He also engaged in the dry goods business with James McPherson. Severing that connection he afterwards engaged in a similar enterprise with ¥,. Brown and Charles Stewart, he himself being postmaster at that time. Mr. Stew- art then commenced buying grain and wool on his own account, investing from time to time in real estate. Soon after this he severed all connection with the mercantile business, giving his full atten- tion to his grain and wool dealings, and looking af- ter his large farms containing some twelve hundred acres in the town of York. His business is not all confined to that town, for at Livonia Station he is sole owner of the Bank of Livonia, the bank building, a large wool warehouse, a large grain warehouse, and lumber yard, all under the man- agement of his son, Alexander N. Stewart. Mr. Stewart is without doubt the largest wool and grain dealer in the county. He has in his extensive business career met with several severe losses, hav- ing at one time lost over thirty thousand dollars, but no man ever lost a dollar through Niel Stewart. In politics Mr. Stewart was formerly a Whig but upon the organization of the Republican party joined it and has ever since adhered to its princi- ples with unswerving fidelity. He has held all the important offices of his town, having been town clerk, assessor, justice of the peace, and supervisor of his town three terms. March 12, 1840, Mr. Stewart was married to Jane, daughter of William and Jane Nichol, of York, by whom he had ten children, all of whom are now living as follows: — Maggie, married to Ho- mer McVean, of York ; Jennie, married to Geo. K. Whitney, of York; Eliza, married to John Sinclair, of Caledonia ; Ella, married to Edward C. Caldwell, of York ; Aggie H. wife of Geo. 1 >. Smith, now of Rochester; Mary K. living at home; Alexander N. living at Livonia Station ; Chas. N. merchant at York ; William N. living at home assisting on the farm, and Niel N. now attending the Normal school at Geneseo. lafT. esoasi w, hoot. NIEL STEWART — WILLIAM FRASER — CAPT. GEORGE W. ROOT. 423 Mr. and Mrs. Stewart are members of the United Presbyterian church of York. Providence has granted Mr. Stewart the prayer of Agur in the Book of Proverbs, that he should have " neither great poverty or riches." He has had given to him a competence, a pleasant home, a faithful wife possessed of fine literary talents, duti- ful children, " troops of friends," and a contented spirit. His story illustrates the truth that God's blessing attends the path of uprightness, prudence and industry. His leading characteristics are great activity, strict integrity and a desire to be useful. He is of the better class of self-made men. Such men are pillars of society, and salt against the world's corruption. We may well desire long to keep them with us, and cannot easily over-esti- mate their worth. It is better to show them regard and reverence now, then to wait till they have been taken from our midst, and we have only their memories to honor. The supreme words to be written over this man's life, through all its social, religious and business relations are sterling fidelity. WILLIAM FRASER. William Fraser, the father of our subject, emi- grated from Badenach, Invernesshire, Scotland, in the fall of 1S07. He went directly to Johns- town, Montgomery county, (now Fulton county,) about fifty miles west of Albany, where he re- mained three years, then came to the Genesee country, and in the year 1810, settled in the town of York (then Caledonia,) where he bought a farm, which he cleared and upon which he lived till his death, in February, 1828. William Fraser, Jr., was born in Johnstown, Fulton county, June 11, 1808, and when about two years old moved with his parents to York where, when old enough, he assisted his father in clearing his land. He attended the schools of that early day until at the age of nineteen years, having a taste for other pursuits in life, he in 1827 entered the general merchandise store of David McDonald, of York. During these years, by strict economy, he was enabled to become a partner in the business with Mr. McDonald, the partnership continuing for two years when it was dissolved by mutual consent. In 1839, Mr. Fraser found an opening for a general merchandise store in the village of Fowlerville, and in the spring of the same year opened with a stock of dry goods. He has occupied the same store continuously since that time, having been the leading merchant of that village, and is now, without doubt, the oldest living merchant in the county, as he has conducted the mercantile business for more than half a cen- tury. He began his business career in a modest way, determined to succeed if energy, indomitable per- severance, and true business habits would win suc- cess. He now owns a most desirable farm about one mile from the village, and the fine building fronting on the two principal streets of the village, erected for his residence in 1849, and rebuilt, as it now appears in 1874, is one of the finest in the town. Mr. Fraser is a plain, unassuming man, having the full confidence of his fellow men, and now at the age of seventy-three years, retains an active mind and business ability apparently unim- paired. In religion he is a Presbyterian, and was a member of the church of Caledonia for over twenty-seven years. He joined the First Presby- terian Church of Fowlerville at its organization in 1878, and soon after was elected Elder of the same. In politics Mr. Fraser has always been a Demo- crat, his first vote for President being cast in 1828, for that ever memorable and great captain of in- dependence, Andrew Jackson. He was Post- master at Fowlerville for sixteen years, and in 1835 was appointed census taker. In December, 1839, Mr. Fraser married for his first wife, Isabelle, daughter of Donald G. and Margaret (Ferguson) Fraser, of York, by whom he had three children : — Helen Mar, Donald A., and Win. Wallace. Mrs. Fraser died February 21, 1846. For his second wife Mr. Fraser was married to Ann, daughter of Elder Donald and Mary (Christie) Fraser, of Inverness, May 18, 1848. They had two children, viz. : — Simon W. and Mary Belle, the wife of Dr. G. H. Jones, of Medina, Orleans county, N. Y. The death of Mrs. Fraser occurred September 1, 1873. CAPTAIN GEORGE W. ROOT. George W. Root was a son of Roswell and Pa- melia (Dickinson) Root, the former of whom was born in Pittsfield, Berkshire county, Mass., Nov. 29, 1759, and the latter Aug. 7, 1766. They were married April 21, 1785, and in the year 1822, Mr. Root with his family emigrated from his native State to the town of York, Livingston county, where he purchased a farm and located about a mile south of the village of York, and remained there till his death which occurred Jan. 27, 1827, at the age of sixty-seven years. His wife survived him ten years and died March 22, 1837, aged seventy years. George W. Root was the youngest of a family of seven sons and two daughters, and was born in Pittsfield, Mass., June 8, 1808. He always lived at home with his parents, and with three of his bachelor brothers worked the farm, till at the death of one of the four, that one's share was divided between the remaining three, and so on till George W. being the last of the four brothers, paid off the other heirs and retained the land originally pur- chased by his father. To this he has added from time to time till at his death he was the possessor of about seven hundred acres. March 21, 1833, he married Eugenia Hurlburt, 424 HISTORY OF LIVINC.STON COUNTY. daughter of Dr. Ulysses and Lucina Hurlburt, of York, formerly of Stockbridge, Mass. They had five children: — Mary 1)., who died when eleven years of age; Daniel W., living at home ; Martha, at home; Mary E., wife of Clarence Hodgman, of Lyons, Ionia county, Mich. ; and Julia A., wife of Moses Cowan, of York, Livingston county, N. Y. Although he was a far-seeing man, Mr. Root's investments did not at all times meet his ex- pectations. He had always been a public-spirited man, entering into public improvements for the supposed good of his town or county, and often with pecuniary losses to himself. He was a man of strong common sense, sanguine in his tempera- ment and hopeful that many of his early projects would yet succeed. He was president of the agri- cultural society of the county one year, and direc- tor since its organization. In politics Mr. Root was originally a Whig, but at the organization of the Republican party he be- came one of its members and ardent supporters. He was elected Supervisor by his party eight con- secutive terms, and chairman six of those terms, and often the votes of the opposing party were cast in his favor. March 28, 1881, while attending to his duties at home he received a paralytic shock, and it was soon apparent to those who gathered at his bedside that his lamp of life was flickering, and as colors melt away into shades and tints and finally disappear, so his life passed away at the age of nearly seventy- three years. He was a kind husband, an indulgent father, a good neighbor and a warm friend. His life was one of unusual activity, and thoroughly identified with the history and business interests of his town and county. SAMUEL WARREN. Samuel Warren, was born in Litchfield, Herki- mer county, N. Y. Oct. 28, 1797. His father died when Samuel was but ten years old and he remained at home with his mother until he was nineteen years of age, when he concluded to try and better his condition in life by entering a new country. To this end he came to the Genesee Valley in 1816, and there engaged for one year in working on the farm for Mr. Asa Davis. The following winter he brought his mother there to live with him in the log- house he had erected on his farm of thirty-three acres purchased from his employer. He continued in the employ of Mr. Davis, grafting fruit trees in the surrounding county, and on his own land planted a vineyard from which he sold vines to different parties and within a few years raised large quanti- ties of grapes from which he manufactured pure native wine. He made the first of that kind ever made in the county in 1832, in that year manu- facturing about twenty gallons, and in the year 1853 made over fifty-eight casks full. Previous to this in 1822, Mr. Warren built a saw mill, the first in the town, near where the feed and flour mill, known as Warren's mills, is now operated by his son H. P. Warren. Nov. 30, 1826, he was married to Sarah, daugh- ter of Kleazer and Elizabeth Flagg of Conway, Franklin county, Massachusetts. Five children were born to them, three sons, and two daughters, of whom three are still living, viz: — Josiah, now residing in Geneseo ; H. P. occupying the old homestead in York ; and Mary Jane, now Mrs. Alfred Burt, of Campbell, Ionia county, Mich. Fidelia, who died P'eb. 5, 1851, had reached her twenty-fourth year, and was a young lady of very brilliant mind and highly educated. She had studied medicine in Syracuse and Rochester in the Eclectic Medical College. After eleven years of intense suffering Mr. War- , ren died Sept. 14, 1862, in the sixty-fifth year of his age. He had long been deacon in the Con- gregational church at York, and a most exem- plary man, and efficient laborer in the Sunday School, in which he was particularly interested. Being a true christian, during the long period of his ill health, his friends or family never heard one 1 repining word. In politics he was a Republican. A man of good taste, nice discrimination, sound judgment and extensive reading, he became deeply interested in the questions of the day and earnestly hoped that ours might become a free nation. He became so engaged in that noble desire that he willingly bade his son whom he loved, go fight for his coun- try, and the few days that he lived after the de- parture of his son, perfect resignation was manifest upon his brow. Just before he breathed his last, when asked by his eldest son if he had any fear, he replied, " O, no ; my trust is in Jesus." Thus fearlessly and peacefully, on a quiet Sabbath afternoon, sur- rounded by all of his family, save one, the aged christian passed away from toil to triumph. Mrs. Warren who still survives her husband, is now in her eightieth year, and retains her mental powers to a remarkable degree. It is through the liberality of the sons, Josiah and H. P. Warren, that this portrait and sketch of their father are inserted in the pages of this work, a tribute to his memory. DAVID DONNAN. David Donnan, one of the representative farmers of Livingston county during more than half a century, was born in Amsterdam, Montgomery county, N. Y., Dec. 3, 1809. His father, Alexan- der Donnan, was a native of Galowayshire, Scot- land, and came to America the year after the in- dependence of our nation was declared. He set- tled in Amsterdam and there bought the farm on which the remainder of his days were spent. David remained at home with his parents until twenty-one years of age, assisting his father in the SAMigiEk WAaaaji-. Photo by Merrell, Gene ieo 3 3S B A T O S8, 3 t> A !K. 3 Z 2U jg S Photo I j Mn ell I ieneseo. n &.K a u 'do m ih a sj . DAVID DONNAN— SENATOR BLAKESLEE. 425 arduous duties of farming and acquiring such an education as he could obtain from the district schools of that day. Wishing to engage in business for himself, and having what seemed to him great wealth, he determined to visit the then famous Genesee country. Being pleased with the prospect which there presented itself, he purchased a farm of one hun- dred and twelve acres, and settled in the town of Leicester. Here he began to build for himself that high reputation as a farmer which he now holds, and from that time onward, has ever shown him- self competent to secure the end he had in view, and worthy the praise accorded him. He has added to his first purchase from time to time until now he is the owner of six hundred acres of the finest farming land in Leicester or York, which lies in part of both towns and is all in one body. Mr. Donnan was married to Jane Milroy, daugh- ter of James and Mary Milroy, who were natives of Galowayshire, Scotland, and who settled in York at an early day. To Mr. and Mrs. Donnan have been born two children: — John A., who married Agnes Shannon, of York, now living at home; and Mary E., wife of Alexander McPher- son, of LeRoy, Genesee county, N. Y. Mr. Don- nan and his family are all conscientious adherents to the Presbyterian faith. In politics Mr. Donnan is a Republican, having joined that party at its formation, and he has always been an ardent supporter of that party's prin- ciples, but has never allowed his name to be used in connection with any office, preferring to let his large farming interests occupy his time. Mrs. Donnan was, like her husband, an ardent and consistent Christian, and was beloved by all who knew her for her true Christian virtues and kindness of heart. She died June 13, 1857. The husband who was thus deprived of his faithful as- sistant, is still living, in the seventy-second year of his age, and is able to conduct his business affairs with great promptness for one that has passed the alloted time, and he can say, what very few can, that in all of his business transactions through life he has never found it necessary or expedient to sue any person. SENATOR BLAKESLEE. Senator Blakeslee was born in Wallingford, New Haven county, Conn., March 25, 1799. His father, Joseph Blakeslee, was a native of Connecticut. He could trace his lineage back to two brothers of English origin, who came to this country in that old "nest-egg of freedom," the Mayflower. His wife, Mary Andrews, was also a native of Connecti- cut. They had six children of whom Senator, the subject of this sketch, was the fourth. His early life was spent on his father's farm, and he received more of an education than the average farmer's sons of those days, having attended a select school and an academy. When about twenty- one years of age he taught the school in his native town and district for two terms, receiving a remu- neration of ten dollars per month, and the last term the school consisted of one hundred scholars of whom he had the entire charge, there being no assistant. For six years he was a member of the Wallingford horse artillery of New Haven county, serving as a commissioned officer. Mr. Blakeslee remained at home, saving from his earnings about one hundred dollars each year, till twenty-six years of age, when he purchased a farm in Litchfield, Conn., and then married Sally Morse of Litchfield. They had six children, four of whom are now living r— Merancy, Lyman, and Joseph, are residing in Kalamazoo, Mich., and Sarah, now Mrs. Dodge of Oswego county, N. Y. Mrs. Blakeslee died after being married about fifteen years. Mr. Blakeslee continued to work his farm for eleven years, when he sold out and following in the footsteps of many before him, sought a farm in the West, but after spending quite a length of time in looking around he became somewhat discouraged, and decided to return east. He stopped at Chicago, which was then a mere hamlet, five days waiting for a boat and during that time was privileged in hearing the great orator, Daniel Webster, in one of the forts near there. This was in 1837, and on his way to Connecti- cut he called on some of his acquaintances who used every available means to persuade him to locate in Livingston county, but all in vain. He returned to Wallingford and in the fall of the same year came to York where he purchased a farm of one hundred and fifty acres, and commenced busi- ness on the principle, that a good farm like good stock must be well fed in order to meet the expec- tation of the owner. In a few years he added twenty-five acres to his first purchase, and then five more, making a total of one hundred and eighty acres, all in one body. In 1840, he was married to Lucy Hull, of Wal- lingford, Conn., by whom he had four children, three of whom are now living, viz : — Lucy, now Mrs. J. L. Dodge of Moscow ; Marietta, now Mrs. Geo. Green of Alder creek, Oneida county, and Henry K. married to Minnie Kellogg, of New Hartford, Oneida county, and residing on the homestead farm, and occupying the same house in which he was born. Mrs. Blakeslee died in 1865, and March nth, 1866, Mr. Blakeslee was again married to Lucy Kendall his present wife. Mr. Blakeslee built a beautiful residence with all the modern improvements, opposite the one he occupied so many years. He and his wife are both members of the Baptist Church, Mr. Blakes- lee having united with the same over sixty years ago. He has been director of the Genesee River bank, the Mt. Morris bank, and is now one of the direc- tors of the Genesee Valley National bank. He is also a life member of the Livingston County Agri- 426 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. cultural Society, having united with that body at its organization. Mr. Blakeslee, now at the advanced age of eighty- two years is a genial, kind-hearted man, with many friends and respected by all who know him. WILLIAM CRAIG. William Craig was born in Dumfriesshire, parish of Hollywood, Scotland, in 1797. His parents were James and Agnes (Reed) Craig. They had eight children, of whom William was the second son. When nine years of age he began working dur- ing the summer months for the farmers of his native heath, and remaining at home winters and attend- ing the district school. His parents took his earnings till he was nineteen years of age, when he emigrated to this country where he had an uncle in Amsterdam, Montgomery county, N. Y. Having a great taste for mechanical work he concluded to become a carpenter and joiner, and engaged his services as an apprentice to Ezra Loomis. In 1821, about the time that he finished his trade, a brother of Mr. Loomis' residing in Roch- ester, engaged him to come there and assist him in erecting the Monroe county jail and a house for the sheriff. Feb. 14, 1822, Mr. Craig was united in marriage with Jane Stewart, of Amsterdam, and in 1823 came to the town of York and bought the fifty acres of land where he now lives. Here he re- sumed work at his trade, and such was his repu- tation as a builder that he sometimes had fourteen carpenters working at one time under his direc- tions. He continued this business until 1S38, and adding to his fifty acres, till now he is the owner of three hundred and six acres of as good land as the county contains. He has four children, as follows: — James W., born Nov. 8, 1825, married Sarah J. Butterfield, is now a physician in Churchville, Monroe county, N. Y. ; Elizabeth, born Sept. 9, 1827, married William Wilson, of York, and died July 24, 1868 ; Agnes Reid, born in July, 1829, is the wife of John McMartin, of York; and Duncan Stewart, born June 14, 1831, married Elizabeth Walker, of York. Mr. Craig is a member of the United Presby- terian church of York. In politics he is a Republican, having joined that party at its formation, and has been Assessor for his town and Highway Commissioner several years. He is now about eighty-four years of age, and can look back upon a life of toil and pleasure intermingled, and feel that though many years have passed he does not regret them, but placing entire confidence in the Ruler of the Universe, looks cheerfully forward to the future. It is the wish of his many friends and acquaintances that he may yet be spared to them many years to come. CHAPTER XXIX. History of the Town of Avon. AVON the central town upon the north border of the county is bounded upon the north by the town of Rush (Monroe county,) upon the east by Lima, upon the south by Livonia and Geneseo, and upon the west by York and Caledonia. It has an area of 24,891 acres, and contained a popula- tion in 1875 of 3,325. The surface of the town consists mostly of rolling uplands while a small portion lies on the flats of the Genesee. The soil of the uplands consists mostly of a gravelly loam intermixed in places with clay making valuable wheat land. The assessed value of farm lands in this town is the highest of any in the county, thus sufficiently attesting not only the fertility of the soil but the high state of cultivation that it has been brought under. The principal streams of the town are the Gene- see river which forms its western boundary and the Conesus outlet which flows through the south- western portions of the town furnishing valuable water power at several places in its course before it loses itself in the Genesee. Avon was organized under an Act dated Jan. 27, 1789, by the name of Hartford, which was changed to Avon, in 1808. The name of Hartford was derived from that of Hartford, Conn., and the present one was taken from that of a town in Hart- ford county, Conn. It originally comprised the town of Rush, Monroe county, but the latter town was set oft" in 181 8. Gilbert R. Berry was the first permanent settler, coming in the spring of 1789. Dr. Timothy Hos- mer and Isaiah Thompson were the next settlers, and came in 1790, and were followed very soon by John Ganson, Benjamin, John, Jesse, Joseph and " David Pierson, brothers, Josiah Waters, John Beach, Stephen Rogers, Gad. Wadsworth, Pantry J. Moore, Joseph Rathbone and Gideon Dunham, and later by the Wiards, Bensons. Johnsons, Chap- pells, Chapels, Bonds, Riggs, Hendees, Millers, Demings, Littles, Todds, Pecks, Beckwiths and others mostly from Connecticut.* The first permanent settler in the town was Gilbert R. Berry, who came in the spring of 1789. He was a prominent character in the town up to the time of his death which occurred in 1797. He was from Albany, and married the daughter of the early Indian trader, Wemple. * From Address of Hon. A. A. Hendee, of Avon, before the Livingston Count)' Pioneer Association Aug. 15, 1878. Photo- by Merrell, i leneseo. W 1 JU la I A M 'G H ATS, AVON — EARLY SETTLERS. 427 William Rice was at Avon in the same year, and must have settled there soon after Mr. Berry. Morgan and William Desha were upon the "Desha Flats," as early as 1789, claiming under an Indian grant ; but the title failing, they re- moved to Canada. There were there in that year, besides, several heads of families, who are supposed not to have been permanent settlers. The son of the Wm. Rice named above, was the first born upon the Phelps and Gcrham Pur- chase. He was named " Oliver Phelps Rice." Judge Phelps gave him an 100 acres of land in Livonia, which he occupied when he became of age. Gilbert R. Berry being engaged in the Indian trade, located first at Geneva, and in 17S9, re- moved to the Genesee river, erected a log-house on the west side of the river, near the present bridge, opened a trade with the Indian village of Canawangus, established a ferry, and entertained the few travelers that passed through on the old Niagara trail. He died in 1796 or 1797, and was succeeded by his widow. The Holland Purchase being opened for settlement soon afterwards, the " Widow Berry's " tavern was widely known in all early years west of the river ; and beside furnish- ing a comfortable resting place for early pioneers in her primitive tavern, some of the best wives and mothers of the Genesee country were reared and fitted for the duties of life. Her daughters be- came the wives of George Hosmer, Esq., of Avon, E. Clark Hickox, the early merchant of Batavia and Buffalo, John Mastick, Esq., the pioneer lawyer of Rochester, and George A. Tiffany, whose father was one of the early printers of Can- andaigua. In 1795 the Duke de Liancourt, a French noble- man who visited this county in that year says: "At Canawangus, though there were but few in- habitants, I found one of the best inns I have seen for some time past. It was kept by a good civil man named Gilbert R. Berry. Capt. John Ganson was the pioneer settler fol- lowing Mr. Berry. Holding a commission in the Revolutionary war, he had accompanied the ex- pedition of Gen. Sullivan. Before the treaty was concluded in 1788, he revisited the country, and selected a fine tract of land on the river, about two miles below Avon. His sons, John and James, passed the winter of 1788-89 in a cabin upon the premises ; and the father and family came on in the fall of 1789. During the following winter they erected a rude " tub-mill " on the small stream that runs into the river on the Markham farm. It was a small log building ; no boards could be had ; the curb was made of hewed plank; the spindle was made by straightening out a section of a cart tire ; the stones were roughly carved out of native rock. There was no bolt, the substitute being hand sieves, made of splints. It was a rude, primitive concern ; but it would mash the corn a little better than a wooden mortar and pestle, and was quite an acquisition to the country. It pre- ceded the Allen mill a few months, and if we shall call it a mill, it was the first in the Genesee Valley. Capt. Ganson had claimed title either under the Indian grant, or under the lessees, which failed, and Col. Wm. Markham became his successor. He resided for several years afterwards four miles east of Avon, on the main road. As early as 1788, about the period of the commencement of surveys upon the Holland Purchase, Capt. Ganson had pushed on to the west side of the river, and purchased the pioneer tavern stand of Charles Wilbur, on the then verge of civilization, one mile east of the present village of LeRoy. In this location he was widely known in early years. His house was the home of early land agents, surveyors, explorers and pioneer settlers. He was both loved and feared by the Indians; they came to him for counsel and advice ; when they became turbulent in their drunken frolics and threatened outrage, he would quell them by his determined will, or with his strong arm. Township 10, Range 7, (Avon,) was sold by Mr. Phelps to Wadsworth, Lewis & Co. Those inter- ested in the purchase were : — William Wadsworth, of Farmington, Conn., (a cousin of James and William,) Wells, of Hartford, Isaiah Thomp- son, Timothy Hosmer, and Lewis. The price paid was is 6d., New England currency per acre ; a high price at the period, in consequence of the large amount of open fiats. Dr. Hosmer and Thompson were the only ones of the proprie- tors who became residents. Major Thompson, who had not brought his family, died the first sea- son, of bilious fever. His son Charles afterwards became a resident, and died in Avon many years since. Dr. Timothy Hosmer was a native of West Hartford, Conn. With a little more than an ordi- nary academical education, he became a student of medicine with Dr. Dickinson, of Middleton. But recently settled in practice in Farmington, at the breaking out of the Revolution, he entered the service of the colonies as a surgeon, in the Con- 428 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. necticut line. Serving in that capacity through the eventful crisis, he retired happy in the recollection of its glorious result, but like most of those who had helped to achieve it. he was poor and penni- less, with a growing family dependent on his pro- fessional services for support. In the army he had acquired a high reputation in his profession, es- pecially for his successful treatment of the small- pox at Danbury, where an army hospital had been established for patients. The discovery of Tenner, having been but recently promulgated in Europe, its efficacy was a mooted question ; with a profes- sional boldness which was characteristic of the man, he espoused the new discovery, and used it with great success. Personally acquainted with Mr. Phelps, and hearing of his purchase in the Genesee country, partly from a love of adventure and new enterprise, and partly to escape from a large practice, that was requiring too much of constant toil, in 1790, he visited this region in company with Maj. Thomp- son, with whom, for themselves and associates, he made the purchase of a township, spending the summer of 1790 in Avon and erecting a log house, (the first dwelling on the present site of Avon,) where Mr. Merrill's house afterwards stood. His whole family joined him in 1792. Coming into the wilderness, with other objects in view, he was forced by necessity — by the absence of others of his profession, to engage in practice, which he con- tinued until relieved by others. The Indians early learned to appreciate his pro- fessional skill and personal good offices. They named him "At-ta-gus," the healer of disease. In a period of doubt as to their relations with the new settlers, he helped to reconcile them and avert a threatened danger. When Ontario was organized he became one of its judges, and succeeded Mr. Phelps as First Judge, which office he held until he was sixty years of age, the constitutional limitation. He possessed nat- urally a fine literary taste; and his well selected library was an anomaly in the backwoods. In his correspondence with Messrs. Wadsworth and Wil- liamson, there are indications of the scholar, the poet, and always of ardent, enlightened patriotism. He died in November, 1815, aged 70 years. Among his sons, most of whom came to the country as junior pioneers, may be mentioned William T.. and George, of Avon, who in early years occupied a conspicuous position at the bar of Western New York, and who was the father of Win. H. C. Hos- mer, the author of " Vonnondio," "Themes of Song," and other poems; who is justly entitled to the position that has been awarded him in the front rank of American scholars and poets. Geo. Hosmer pursued his early studies under the tuition of the Rev. Ebenezer Johnson, of Lima ; in 1799 entered the law office of Hon. Nathaniel W. Howell, as a student; and in 1S02 was admit- ted to practice, opening his office in Avon, then the only lawyer west of Canandaigua. In the war of 181 2 he was upon the frontier as the aid of Gen. Hall. He died in Chicago in March, 1861. Timothy, the early and widely known landlord at Avon, afterward resided at the Four Mile creek, near Fort Niagara; Sylvester, in Caledonia; Albert in Hartland, Niagara county. Frederick Hosmer, deceased, was a son of Judge Hosmer. He was the first merchant at Avon. Colonel William Markham, who had first settled at Bloomfield, moved to Avon in 1790. In Rloom- field he had purchased a hundred acres of land, and paid for it with the proceeds of one acre of potatoes. With the proceeds of that land, he pur- chased and paid for the fine farm on the river, af- terwards owned by his son, Guy Markham, which has rented for $1,000 per year. He died in 1827 or 1828. Gad Wadsworth was a distant connection of James and William, and came in with them in their primitive advent in 1790, in care, personally, of the stock. James and William having become, by purchase from first hands, land proprietors in Avon, he settled there in 1792, his farm being what was afterward the farms of his son, Henry Wads- worth, and Asa Nowlen, upon which are the Avon springs. He died soon after 1S20, aged nearly 80 years. Another son of his, Richard, inhabited that part of the farm upon which the springs are situated, and sold to Mr. Nowlen. He emigrated to Sandusky. Major Isaac Smith was the early and widely known landlord, four miles west of the river, com- mencing there as early as 1800. Under his roof, a large proportion of the pioneers west of the river, have found rest and refreshment. 'The next landlord at Avon, after Gilbert R. Berry, was Nathan Perry. He built a framed house, north side of the square, on the site OCCU pied by the dwelling of Mr. Curtiss Hawley. Perry emigrated to the Connecticut Reserve, and was succeeded by Sidney Hosmer, who made additions to the house. In 1806 James Wadsworth built the hotel on the corner, and soon after sold it to Sid- ney and W. T. Hosmer, after which it was long Residence and Stock Faf\m of F. j3. R^SON, yWoN, j_^IVINGSTON PoUNTY, N. Y. AVON — EARLY SETTLERS. 429 known as the Hosmer Stand. During the war of 181 2, and for many years after, it was kept by Timothy Hosmer. The first school-house was a log one, erected a little north of the Episcopal church. Judge Hos- mer and the Wadsworths built saw mills on the Conesus as early as 1796. The first meetings were held in the log school-house, — -Judge Hosmer usu- ally reading the Episcopal service. Mr. Crane, an Episcopal clergyman, and Rev. Samuel J. Mills, were early itinerant ministers. Jehiel Kelsey was another of the early pioneers of Avon. In 1798 he brought the first cargo of salt that came from Onondaga by water, and around the portage at Genesee Falls. He paid for each bushel of salt a pound of pork, and sold his salt at $10 per barrel. In 1805, a library was established at Avon. The trustees were : — A. Sidney Hosmer, Job Pierce, Joshua Lovejoy, Jehiel Kelsey, Elkanah Whitney, James Lawrence, William Markham, George Hos- mer, Stephen Rodgers. In 1810 ''a number of persons being stated hearers of Rev. John F. Bliss, of Avon," met and organized the "Avon Religious Society." Samuel Bliss and Asa Clark presided. Trustees: — John Pierson, George Hosmer, Nathaniel Bancroft, John Brown, Ezekiel Mosely, William Markham. James Hosmer was a prominent citizen of Avon. He was born in Montville, now New London, Conn., Sept. 13, 1799, and came to Avon with his parents, Graves and Amy Hosmer, in 1801. He resided in the town of Avon continuously from that time until his death, which took place May n, 1880. His .father, Graves Hosmer, enlisted on board of the Continental frigate Trumbull as midshipman, in 1779, when it was lying in the port of New Lon- don. In the spring of 1780, the frigate sailed, and in the month of June fell in with the British ship Wasp. In the conflict that ensued, Mr. Hosmer was in command of eight men in the main-top all of whom were either killed or wounded, with the exception of himself. He only served one year. He was a native of Middletown, Conn. Charles Kellogg came from Colchester, Conn., in 1 810 and settled in the town of Geneseo. His family consisted of nine children, all born in Con- necticut. His daughter Mary was born in Octo- ber, 1800, and in i8i8she moved to the farm just north of the cemetery at South Avon, where she still resides. Benjamin Deming was an important addition to the early pioneers. He located in the neighbor- hood of South Avon about 1806. Major Scott was another early settler in this section of the town and bought a large farm. None of his descend- ants are now here. Hermann Ladd settled a short distance west of East Avon, as early as 1806, and died there. War- ren Ladd is a son of his. Pantry J. Moore settled upon the hill just east of Avon, previous to 1802. Chandler Pearson was one of the first settlers at East Avon, and was an early merchant there. Job Pierce came to Avon village as early as 1801. Josiah Waters lived about one mile south of Avon, and settled there as early as 1805. He had located previous to this on a lot three-fourths of a mile east of East Avon, but not liking the land moved in 1805. Mrs. John Hall is a daughter of his. Among his children were Truman and Ed- ward, both dead. Edward Waters his brother, set- tled about one and three-fourths miles east of East Avon, as early as 1805, and died upon the same place. He had a large family all of whom are gone. John P. Whaley is another of the early pioneers whose name has been made historical through its connection with the records of the past. One of the progenitors of this family, Edward Whalley, was born in 16 15, in Northamptonshire, England. When the contest between Charles II. and his Parliament arose he sided with the latter, and was one of the fifty-nine who signed the King's death warrant. At the Restoration he was obliged to flee for the safety of his life, and came to New England, where he arrived July 27, 1660. Edward A. was a son of John P. Whaley, and was born Jan. 17, 1786, in Berkshire county, Mass. Charles E. who now resides in Avon, is a son of Edward and was born in this town Nov. 14, 1825. John P. settled in Avon in 1805. A Mr. Barrows settled about three-fourths of a mile north-east of Avon, about 1800. Captain James Austin married one of his daughters. Ephraim Hendee moved to the town of Avon, in October, 1810. His children were Hannah P., af- terwaids Mrs. Jonas Howe ; Amy Lovisa, who mar- ried Hiram Pierson ; Worthy L., who moved to Michigan ; Ruby Orvilla, who married a Mr. Ran- som, (now dead;) Churchill, born Jan. 15, 1812, in Michigan, and the Honorable A. A., now dead. John Barnard located near the old ferry on the old State road as early as 1 S06. The Pierson — or Pearson as some of the mem- bers spell it— family consisting of Benjamin, John, Jesse, Joseph and David, brothers, settled a little 43° HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. cast of East Avon, on the State road as early as 1797. Hiram Pearson is a son of Jesse Pearson, anil was born September 21, 1805. His father set- tled upon lot 68. Ira Pearson was born in 1793, and was brought to this town with his parents who settled upon lot 113. He died in Feb. 9, 1850. S. li. Pearson is a son of Iia's, anil was born Octo- ber 22, 1 8 1 5. Joseph Pierson was born in Ellington, Conn., April 15, 1767. At the age of twenty-one he emigrated to Schenectady county, where he was married to Sarah Watrous. July, 1797, he re- moved with his family to Avon. Of his nine children only four are living: — Catherine, Wealthy, Frederick I!, and Bradley M. Mr. Pierson died Dec. 10, 1843, and his wife. Sept. 17, 1S10. Frederick B. has acquired no little notoriety for the excellence of his stock farm and for his efforts to improve the quality of the live stock of the county. Horses reared upon his farm have not been regarded unfit gifts for two Presidents of the United States. There came to the Genesee country with Messrs. Fitzhugh, Rochester and Carroll, or at about the same time, Col. Jonas Hogmire, of Washington county, Md., and William Beal and John Wilson, of Frederick county, Md. Col. Hogmire purchased of Mr. VVadsworth, on the river, in Avon, 1,500 acres of land, upon which his sons, Conrad and Samuel Hogmire, afterwards re- sided. The father never emigrated. Austin Hog- mire, who resides near South Avon, is a son of Conrad's, and was born in Avon, April 11, 1820. ' Thomas Wiard came in 1802 from Waterbury, Conn., and settled in Geneseo. He had purchased his farm of the Wadsworths before coming, and was to have the privilege of selecting his land from among any of their vast possessions in the Cenesee country, which at that time comprised nearly all of this section. Owing to a subsequent difficulty arising from political discussions, he experienced considerable trouble in locating his land, but finally located in 1805 upon the tract occupied the year before by Josiah Waters, and upon which the latter had built a log-house. Four of his children : — William, Seth, Margaretany, and Rachel E., were born in Connecticut, and came in with him. Henry, George, Thomas, Matthew, Caroline and Mary Ann, were born after his settlement here. Upon his removal to Avon he carried on farming, backsmithing, and the manufacture of plows. He was the first Supervisor of the town of Avon, holding that office in 1821, 1822, 1829, 1830 and 1835. He died in 1837. Of his children : — Seth, Thomas, Matthew and Henry in East Avon, and Mary Ann, in Michigan, are the only ones living. Seth married Acsah Dayton ; Thomas married Almira E. Alder- man ; Matthew is unmarried and Henry married Caroline Palmer. Matthew was born Sept. 8, 1813. From 1852 till 1870, he was largely engaged in the manufacture of the Wiard Plow. He was Supervisor in 1858, 1859, i860, and 1876, and was Member of Assembly in 1861 and 1862. Deacon Hinds Chamberlain came to Avon in 1790. He afterward moved to LeRoy, Genesee county. Col. Abner Morgan, athough not one of the first settlers, on account of his prominence, is worthy of mention. His collegiate education was obtained at Harvard College, from where he was graduated in 1763. He left his home in Brimfield, Mass., where he was engaged in the practice of law, in 1775, and accepted, at Cambridgeport, Mass., the commission of Major and Adjutant in the first regiment of Continental troops raised in the war of the Revolution. Nehemiah Porter was the colonel. This regiment formed part of the force with which General Arnold joined Montgomery before Que- bec. When Montgomery was killed, Arnold took his place, and upon his being disabled, Major Morgan assumed command of the "forlorn hope" and led the last and final attack the morning of Jan. 1st, 1776, which was repulsed by overwhelm- ing numbers.* Colonel Morgan came to Avon in 1828, and died there in December, 1837, at the extraordinary age of 100. Mrs. Salisbury, the widow of Dr. Samuel Salisbury, of Avon, now residing in Rochester, is a daughter of his. At a census of Avon, taken by General Amos Hall, in 1790, the town contained a population of ten families, sixty-six persons. The first bridge was built across the Genesee at Avon, in 1803 or 1804. The earliest records attainable bear date of April 7, 1797, at which time Ebenezer Merry was Super- visor, Wm. Hosmer, Town Clerk, and Timothy Hosmer and (lad Wadsworth Commissioners of Highways. In 1798 the following names appear upon the records : Ebenezer Merry, Supervisor ; Wm. Hosmer, Town Clerk; John Beach, John Hinman, John Pearson, Assessors; Stephen Rog- ers, Josiah Wadsworth, John Markham, Commis- • Irvine's "Washington" vol. xxiv page 14S inadvertently confounds Major Morgan with Captain afterward < renera] Daniel Morgan. 0Uct^%*L(^A /h-ctsrzZ Matthew Wiard, the subject of this sketch, was borniu the town of Avon, Livingston county, Sept. 8, 1813. He is the fourth son of Thomas Wiard, who came from Waterbury, Conn., about the year 1802,. and located at Geneseo, where he commenced farming and afterwards carried on blacksmithing in the village. After remaining there two years he purchased a farm in the town of Avon, to which he removed, and carried on farming, black- smithing and the manufacture of plows. He was tin- first Supervisor of the town of Avon, performing the duties of that office in the years 1821, '22, ':.".», '30 and ';',.">, and was also Justice of the Peace for many years. His first wife was Susan Hall, a native of Waterbury, Conn., by whom he had ten children, as follows: Wil- liam, (deceased,) Mai-garetany, (deceased,; Seth, Rachel E., (deceased,) Thomas, Mary Ann, Caroline, (deceased,) Matthew, Henry and George, (deceased.) His second wife was Nancy Gansen, of Genesee county, by whom he had three children, viz.: Nancy J., Louisa, (deceased,) and Elizabeth. He died in 1837, at the age of 07 years. Matthew lived at home, working on the farm and at- tending the district school — the only advantage for an education he ever enjoyed — until about twenty-two years of age, when he and his elder brother, Thomas, took the hotel at East Avon, which had been kejit for many years previously by William T. Hosmer, one of the early set- tlers in the town. He continued there until about the yearl 852, when he sold the house — having purchased it after his father's death— and engaged iu the manufacture of plows, then and now known as the "Wiard Plow," and which obtained a world-wide fame for its superior excel- lence. The plow now manufactured in Syracuse, and known as the "Syracuse Chilled Plow," is an outgrowth of the Wiard Plow, and was first made from a set of pat- terns sold by Matthew Wiard to John S. Robinson, of Cauandaigua. Mr. Wiard sold out his interest in 1870, and about 1876 the manufactory was removed to Batavia, N. Y. Mr. Wiard has since followed farming iu a small way and speculating in real estate, but considers himself as retired from active business. He has been elected to many of the offices iu the gift of the people of his town and county. He was Supervisor in 1858, '59, '60 and '70. In 1801 and '02 he represented his county iu the State Legislature, has beeu Justice of the Peace nearly twenty years, holding that office at the present time, and has been Notary Public about ten years. Iu politics Mr. Wiard was an old line Whig until the Republican party was formed, with which he united and has giveu au in- telligent aud firm support to its principles and measures. During the late war he was one of the first enrolling officers appointed for the town of Avon by the Governor, He is a staunch and true friend to those who prove them- selves worthy. By a life of industry and honest dealiug he has secured a competence, and it is agreed by all who know him that iu their social aud business relations with hini they have ever found him a man of Stirling fidelity. AVON — TOWN OFFICERS. 43i sioners of Highways ; John Pearson, Wm. Mark- ham, Overseers of Poor, and John Mack, Constable. At the "Anniversary" election held April 30, 1 80 1, Stephen Van Rensselaer received forty-one votes for Governor, and James Watson fifty-six votes for Lieut.-Governor; Ebenezer Merry, Job Pierce, John Himnan, John Beach and Ransom Smith were Inspectors of Election. The following persons have held the office of Supervisor and Town Clerk since 1802 : — Supervisors. Town Clerks. 802. Ebenezer Merry. Wm. Hosmer. 803-7 d° do Chas. Little. 808-9.* Wm - Markham. do do 810. Chas. Little. Bradley Martin. 811. Thomas Wiard. Matthew Hanna. 812. Wm. Markham. Bradley Martin. 813. Asa Nowlen. do do 814. Wm. Markham. Asa Nowlen. Si 5. Thomas Wiard. do do 816-17. fWm. Markham. do do 818. Asa Bishop. do do 819-20. do do Augustus A. Bennett. 821. Thomas Wiard. Asa Nowlen. 822. do do A. A. Bennett. 823. Asa Nowlen. Hervey Brown. 824. do do Emanuel Case. 825-26. do do David Firman. 827-28. Wm. J. Hosmer. do do 829. Thomas Wiard. do do 830. do do Matthew P. Thomas. 831. David Firman. do do 832. Tabor Ward. C. D. W. Gibson. 833. do do M. P. Thomas. 834. Wm. T. Hosmer. do do 835. Thomas Wiard. do do 836-37. Curtiss Hawley. L. W. Beecher. 838-40. M. P. Thomas. do do 841. Richard Torrence. do do 842. Thomas Wiard. Peyton R. Morgan. 843. Lewis Chandler. Clark K. Estes. 844. do do M. P. Thomas. 845. Thomas Wiard. Isaac Wells. 846. Aaron Barber. Hugh Cameron. 847. Amos Dann. Wm. A. Firman. 848. Wm. C. Hawley. do do 849. Norman Chappell. H. S. Firman. 850. do do V. P. Whitbeck. 851. Curtiss Hawley. Chas. A. Simonds. 852. Chas. L. Shepard. Volkert P. Whitbeck. 853-54. N. Chappell. Calvin Knowles. 855. do do Stephen Hosmer. 856. W. C. Hawley. do do 857. C. L. Shepard. John Watkins. 858. Matthew Wiard. do do 859-60. do do Wilson D. Palmer. 861. Hiram B. Smith. do do 862. do do John Sabin. 863. Russell Beckwith. Solon Watkins. 864. do do Francis J. Hedenberg * Avon erected from Hartford, t Rush set off in April 1817. H. H. Isham. Samuel Churchill. Elias H. Davis, do do H. E. VanZandt. do do do do do do do do 1865. James Hosmer. 1866-68. Geo. W. Swan. 1869-70. C. H. Marsh. 1871. Homer Sackett. 1872-74. Geo. D. Dooer. 1875. do do 1876. Matthew Wiard. 1877. Geo. D. Dooer. 1878. Aaron Barber. i879*-8o.W. S. Newman. The following is the present list of officers : — Supervisor, Joseph A. Dana ; Town Clerk, Henry E. VanZandt; Justice of the Peace, Calvin Knowles, full term ; Justice of the Peace, Samuel L. Harned vacancy ; Highway Commissioner, E. H. Clark Assessors, Charles E. Whaley, W. P. Low, C. Lan don ; Overseer of the Poor, William B. Calvert Collector, H. McKinney ; Constables, Edward B Reed, Jason B. Benedict, A. O'Neill, Benjamin G Nixon, William Pierce ; Game Constable, Milton C. Smedley ; Excise Commissioners, J. E. Jenks, Wm. Clendening, John Klett ; Inspectors of Elec- tion, Dist. No. 1, Underhill D. Torrance, Henry Wiard ; Dist. No. 2, Charles P. Quick, W. W. Hodgmire. The following miscellaneous items are taken from the town records : — In 1802 Zephania Beach, Josiah Rathbone, Gid- eon Dunham and Wm. Poor were Pathmasters. The town expenses for the year 1802 were $8.00. In 1 81 4 the first appropriation was made for a common school fund. In 1820 there were fourteen school districts and six hundred and fifty-four scholars. The amount of public school moneys distributed was $269.22. In 1833 12^ cents bounty was paid for each crow killed in the town, which bounty was increased to 25 cents in 1835. The total number of votes cast November 2, 3 and 4, 1840, was for the Whig candidate 394, and for the Van Buren candidate 199. In 1841, Robert McLaughlin and Stephen S. Briggs were the only persons voting the Abolition ticket. Certificate of Freedom: — -This may certify that it hath been made to appear to my satisfac- tion that Oliver Payne, a black man, is free ac- cording to the laws of the State of New York ; that said Oliver is of the age of forty-one years ; that the place of his birth is the town of Grafton, State of Massachusetts ; that he became free by virtue of an Act of the Legislature of said State for abolish- ing slavery in said State, passed more than twenty years ago ; and that said Oliver is about six feet in height, slender built. Witness my hand this 27th day of April, 181 5. Mathew Warner. One of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas for Ontario County. * Elected for two years. 432 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Slave Certificate :— I hereby certify that Dion, a black woman, is aged about 33 years, her son Henry was born Oct., 181 5, her son Robert was born July 28, 1817. All of the above names are slaves of mine till their times diall severally ex- pire agreeable to the laws of this State. Avon, 8 Nov., 1817. Jeremiah Riggs. War Record:— The part that Avon took in the great interneciary struggle that was precipitated upon the country in 1861, will in all probability never be fully told, as no records were ever kept to portray in living colors the noble services of her sons upon the field, or their sufferings within the prison-pens of the enemy. The following is all that appears in the records of the town, and is but a brief epitome of the support given by those at home to their brave townsmen who had gone or who were to go to the defense of their country. The first resolution appearing in the town records relative to the war bears date of Aug. 1 8, 1863, and is as follows : — " Resolved, That the sum of Two Dollars per week be appropriated to the indigent wife of any volunteer or drafted man, who is now or may be hereafter called into the service of the United States from this town with the additional sum of fifty cents per week, for each child of such family who has not arrived to an age sufficient for its own support." Three hundred dollars were voted to be raised for this, and Nov. 5, 1863, it was resolved that one thousand dollars be raised for the same purpose. April 5, 1864, it was "Resolved, That $1,221 be assessed upon the taxable property of the town of Avon for the pur- pose of paying the extra bounty pledged to volun- teers, and other expenses pertaining thereto." At a special town meeting held at the house of I. R. Newman, East Avon, Aug. 20, 1864, of which John L. Burleigh, was chairman, the fol- lowing resolution drawn by Matthew Wiard, Rus- sell Beckwith, Wm. E. Hall, James Hosmer and Josiah Brooks, was adopted: — " Resolved, That the clerk of this town be authorized to issue the bonds of this town, bearing annual interest of seven per cent., borrowing money thereon to pay each volunteer who shall be mustered into the U. S. service for three years and credited to this town, four hundred dollars in ad- dition to all other bounties, and two hundred dol- lars for one year, »»**** sa j ( ] bonds to be payable in five years, in five annual instal- ments." Sept. 8, 1864, the following resolution was adopted unanimously : — " Resolved, That the Supervisor of the town of Avon is hereby authorized to pay in cash or bonds of Livingston county, one thousand dollars to each recruit or person who has furnished and caused to be mustered into the military service of the United States, a substitute under the last call of the President for five hundred thousand men, provided that such recruits or substitutes are credited upon the quota of Avon." February 14, 1865, the following resolution was adopted : — "Resolved, That there be assessed and collected upon the taxable property of the town of Avon, a sum of money sufficient to pay to each and every volunteer, who shall enlist on the quota of the town, for one year's men, three hundred dollars ; two years' men, four hundred dollars ; three years' men, six hundred dollars, * * *." " Resolved, That the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars be paid to each man who may be drafted from the town of Avon and mustered in the service of the United States." March 2, 1875, it was resolved that one thou- sand two hundred and eighty-four dollars be raised to build a soldiers' monument. E. H. Davis, J. A. Dana, Orange Sackett, Jr., Matthew Wiard and Hugh Tighe were appointed a committee to purchase and superintend the erection of the same. March 7, 1876, it was resolved to raise three thousand dollars for a soldiers' monument. Feb. 17, 1877, it was resolved that the soldiers' monument be accepted, and it now stands a beau- tiful granite structure, forty-five feet high. On the south side of the monument are in- scribed the following names : — George Blackall, 11 6th Regiment, N. Y. S. V. I )enis Bulkley, " " Charles Barnard, " " Houghton Gerry, " " J. T. Morrison, " " D. E. Sunderlin, 1 >avid Rich, " " Edwin Winans, " " F. E. Whaley, Wm. Hover, Samuel Whitmore, " " Patrick Brennigan, 104th " " Edward Roberts, 104th " " Patrick Conner, 140th " " Simon Deal, 108th On the east side those of: — Edgar Nobles, G. E. Slater, A. B. Milliman, A. K. Damon, Wm. Hall, Wilbur Waterous, Peter Zimmer. H. N. Stowell, 14th H. Artillery. it (C Engineer. AVON VILLAGE. 433 On the north side those of : — Wm. Fisher, 13th Regiment, N. Y. S. V. Joseph Shadlow, 33d " " Gilbert Fuller, 27th " " Chas. Hosmer, 27th " " H. C. Cutler, B. Cav. John Canfield, James Halligan, " " George Hosmer, Jr. " " John McGraw, J. J. Peck, 22d J. K. Snyder, 1st " " James Chase, 26th Battery, Jeremiah VonKleeck, " " Homer Hilburn, 8th H. Art. " Milo Moran, On the west side is inscribed : — Erected by the Town of Avon, in memory to her deceased and fallen Soldiers whose names are inscribed hereon. At the bottom is inscribed — " Rest Here for the Night." Around the shaft are the names — Fredericksburgh, Gettysburgh, Wilderness, Atlanta. The monument is surmounted by a fine marble statute of an infantry soldier and stands in the center of the park at the top of the hill on the street leading from the depot. It is an ornament to the town and an honor to the townsmen of these fallen heroes, that they should thus perpetuate their memory upon the enduring stone. Avon Village. The village of Avon or West Avon as it was formerly called, lies in the northwest portion of the town upon the line of the New York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad, it being the junction of the branch from Corning to Buffalo, with the one run- ning from Rochester to Dansville. It is a thriving village containing in 18S0, 1,620 inhabitants and derives considerable notoriety from the sulphur springs that are located here and which have been found decidedly efficacious in curing many diseases. Even among the Indians the water from these springs was regarded as a good reme- dial agent. The village is charmingly situated upon the edge of the highlands bordering the Genesee flats, thus giving a magnificent view across the intervening lowlands to the highlands upon the other side of the valley. The springs are the principal point of attraction for summer tourists, yet the inducements for pleas- ure seekers will be greatly enhanced this summer by a line of stages which is to be run to Conesus Lake, thus making that beautiful place easy of access. The village contains two newspaper offices, the Livingston County Herald, E. H. Davis, editor and proprietor, and the Avonian, which is printed in Warsaw. Timothy Hosmer was one of the first settlers in the present village, occupying a log house on the hill. This log house was used as the first hotel here, and during the war of 181 2 was made very lively with the companies of soldiers that often camped here, this being on the principal route to the Niagara frontier. Captain Asa Nowlen came from Connecticut in 1812, and bought a farm between Avon and East Avon, known as the John Hillman farm. He was a prominent character of his day. After locating on this farm he came to the village and on the south- west corner of Main and Genesee streets, erected what with alterations was afterwards known as " Comstock's" and still later, was known under the more pretentious title of United States Hotel. The incorporation of the village took place May 17, 1853. At an election held at the hotel of Samuel Davis, June n, 1853, relative to ac- cepting the charter, fifty-three votes were cast, forty-nine of which were in the affirmative. George Hosmer, Orville Comstock and David Brooks were the inspectors of this election. On the 5th of July, 1853, the first election was held, at which the following officers were elected : George Hosmer, Orville Comstock, James Hosmer, David Brooks and Benjamin P. Ward, Trustees ; Joseph F. Miller, Orin H. Coe, and Curtiss Haw- ley, Assessors ; Thomas C. Chase, Collector ; John Sabin, Treasurer; Charles A. Hosmer, Clerk; Ed- win M. Price, Darius M. Gilbert, and Wm. W. Jones, Fire Wardens, and Wm. E. Pattee, Pound Master. The following persons have held the office of President and Clerk at the date designated: — President. Clerk. 1854. Curtiss Hawley. C. A. Hosmer. 1S55. James Hosmer. 1856. Jesse H. Loomis. 1857. O. Comstock. 1858. * * No election. do do do do 434 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. 1859. Charles L. Shepard C. A. Hosmer. i860. J. H. Bennett. Wilson I). Palmer 1861. James Hosmer. Flias H. Davis. 1862. T. E. Winans. do 1863. James Hosmer. T. E. Winans. 1864. Hiram B. Smith. G. H. Nowlen. 1865. T. E. Winans. do 1866. W. E. Hall. Daniel Lacy. 1867. Geo. W. Swan. do 1868. James Hosmer. S. G. Fay. 1869. Sylvester G. Fay. S. Hosmer. 1870. J. R. Marsh. do 1871. '(',. W. Swan. Daniel Lacy. 1872. Stephen Hosmer. M. H. Bronson. 1873. H. H. Haile. F. N. Isham. 1874. do Geo. W. Swan. l8 75- Geo. W. Sherman M. U. Bronson. 1876. T. E. Winans. W. S. Newman. 1877. W. S. Newman. J. R. Fryer. 1878. |. C. Davenport. Patrick Gleason. 1S79. E. J. Whiting. do 1880. do W. B. Bassett. The present (1881) officers of Avon Village are :— Trustees, E. J. Whiting, George D. Dooer, John S. Peters, J. L. Falkner, W. B. Bassett ; As- sessors, Samuel Armstrong, Michael Dowdall ; Police Justice, Wm. Carter; Treasurer, C. F. Whiting; President, E. J. Whiting; Clerk, W. B. Bassett. Avon Springs. — Through the kindness of Mrs. Samuel Salisbury, we are able to give the follow- ing valuable extracts in relation to these celebrated springs from a pamphlet published by her husband, the late Dr. Samuel Salisbury, in 1838, entitled "Avon Mineral Waters, etc." "The Avon Mineral Springs were long known to the Indians who resorted to them for the cure of diseases of the skin. A portion of the Seneca tribe inhabited a village on the opposite branch of the river which they called Canawangus. Captain Parish informed me that the name signified lively water, and was applied to this settlement in conse- quence of the great nember of clear and limpid fountains of water in the vicinity. The far-famed chief Red Jacket as Dr. Francis informs us in the U. S. Medical & Surgical Journal enumerated them among his remedial measures for the cure of diseases of the skin ; and wasting disorders, as they were termed, were supposed capable of being removed by their use even when applied ex- ternally." "Great numbers of deer were in the habit of re- sorting to these springs, thus making the vicinity a desirable hunting ground for the aborigines. The outlet of the Conesus, a creek which empties into the Genesee river near the lower spring is a spot distinguished for the abundance of excellent fish which are caught there ; and even to this day, we occasionally find some of these sons of the forest encamped along the bank of the river and busily engaged in taking fish for which they find a ready sale to the inhabitants of the neighboring village." In the year 1792 one of the inhabitants used the waters with perfect success in the cure of a disease of the skin consequent upon intermittent fever. In 1795 a case of rheumatism of long standing which had resisted the treatment of a number of intelli- gent physicians, was speedily and entirely cured by their use. The first improvement was made at the springs by the proprietor, Mr. Richard Wadsworth, in 1821, when a small building was erected at the lower spring that contained a showering box. This building was enlarged and a bathing house erected in 1823, and some effort was made to sup- ply visitors with accommodations necessary for the external use of the waters. In 1828 there was erected a large building at the upper spring. In 1828-29, three houses were erected in their imme- diate vicinity, one by Nehemiah Houghton, one by D. Knickerbacker, and one by a Mr. Cartright. About a mile southwest of the lower spring upon what is called the Black creek, there is a spring at which Paul Knowles, its proprietor, in 1834 erected a very large house for boarding with accommoda- tions for bathing. In 1836, A. Nowlen purchased of Richard Wadsworth one hundred acres of land which em- braced the two springs most highly prized. " The Lotver Spring in its original state formed a large pool of perhaps fifty feet in diameter, and was the one first made use of. It rises from a fissure in the rock, thirty-six feet below the surface of the ground, about one hundred rods from the Genesee river and about thirty rods from Conesus creek. The volume of water discharged from this spring is the same at all seasons of the year, and does not appear to depend in the least upon atmospheric influence. As near as can be ascer- tained, the discharge per minute amounts to fifty- four gallons. The temperature of the water is from 415 to 47 degrees Fahr., and the specific gravity is 10.018. Its taste resembles that ot a solution of hydro-sulphuric acid, but it is more bitter and saline ; it has the strong odor of this acid. As it issues from the fountain it is limpid, transparent and somewhat sparkling." The following is an analysis of Lower Spring by the late Dr. Samuel Salisbury : — AVON VILLAGE — THE SPRINGS. 435 In a wine gallon, gaseous contents. Sulphuretted Hydrogen 10.02 cubic inches. Nitrogen 5.42 •' " Carbonic Acid 3.92 " Oxygen 56 " Solid contents. Carbonate of Lime 2 9-33 grains. Chloride of Calcium 8.41 " Sulphate of Lime 57-42 " Sulphate of Magnesia 49.61 " Sulphate of Soda J 3-73 " Total 158.52 The Upper Spring has been in use since 1827. It has been proved by the cures which have been effected by its use to possess similar medicinal properties to the Lower Spring, and is by some even more highly prized. In sensible properties it bears a close resemblance to it, but there is a peculiar sweetness of taste which distinguishes it. The deposit around it is mostly of a dark blue color, while that around the Lower Spring is white. This spring rises about sixty rods east of the other, and is at an elevation considerably above it. The bed of sand through which this water oozes is about twenty feet, and the rock about thirty feet below the surface of the ground. Analysis of the Upper Spring by Professor Had- ley : — In a wine gallon, gaseous contents. Sulphuretted Hydrogen 12. cubic inches. Carbonic Acid 5.6 " " Solid contents. Sulphate of Magnesia 10. grains. Sulphate of Lime 84. " Sulphate of Soda 16. " Carbonate of Lime 8. " Muriate of Soda 18.4 " Total 136.4 " The Well or New Bath Spring was first discov- ered by its proprietor, R. K. Hickox, in 1835, while digging for pure water. The soil through which the excavation was made is hard blue clay, having a strong sulphurous odor. The tempera- ture of this water is 46 degrees Fahr. The follow- ing analysis is by Dr. L. C. Beck : — In a wine gallon, gaseous contents. Sulphuretted Hydrogen, 31.28 cubic inches. Solid contents. Sulphate of Magnesia 8.08 grains. Sulphate of Lime 3.52 " Sulphate of Soda 38.72 " Chloride of Sodium 5.6S " Carbonate of Lime 26.96 " Total 82.96 " "Long's Spring, which has been in use since 1833, is the property of Paul Knowles. It rises from the surface of an alluvial deposit through the cen- tre of which passes what is termed Black creek, a small stream having its rise some miles to the south. It is about a mile southwesterly from the upper spring. The following analysis is by Dr. J. R. Chilton :"— In a wine gallon, gaseous contents. Sulphuretted Hydrogen 43. 5 84 cubic inches. Carbonic Acid 5.871 " Solid contents. Sulphate of Lime 109.05 grains. Sulphate of Magnesia 13.10 " Sulphate of Soda 3.27 " Chloride of Calcium 19.3 1 " Chloride of Sodium 57.89 " Chloride of Magnesium 27.09 " Iodide of Sodium a trace Hydrosulphuret of Sodium 2.45 " Organic Matter 81 " Total 228.97 " The following is taken from a pamphlet pub- lished by Dr. O. D. Phelps, proprietor of Congress Hall, a few years since : — Congress and Magnesia Springs, though not so generally used as the others, have their especial merits, which entitle them to the consideration of invalids. Congress Spring is in close proximity to Congress Hall ; the water flows up in a fountain in front of Congress Bath House, in which it is used for bathing purposes in connection with the water of the Upper Spring. The spring is the most re- cently developed one. In taste the water of the spring is similar to the Upper Spring, but consid- erably stronger, consequently less can be drank of it. The water was analyzed by Prof. H. M. Baker with the following result : — Solid contents in one gallon of 231 cubic inches. Sulphate of Magnesia i9-°7 grains. Sulphate of Lime 27.61 " Sulphate of Soda 2 1.02 " Chloride of Sodium 29. 1 1 " Carbonate of Lime 9.25 " Sulphurets of Magnesium, "i " Sodium. - 99.55 " " " Calcium, ) Total 205.61 Gaseous contents in one gallon of 231 cubic inches. Free Sulphuretted Hydrogen. .27.63 cubic inches. Free Carbonic Acid 22.04 " " Nitrogen 3.88 " " Oxygen 97 " " Cubic inches per gallon 54-52 43 6 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. The Magnesia spring is located on the bank of Conesus Creek, about 80 rods west of the Lower Spring. It bubbles up through the sand, clear, cold, and sparkling. In taste, this water is far more pleasant and palatable than the other water. Of late years the water has attained a remarkable popularity, owing no doubt, in a great measure to the highly beneficent results obtained by its use in dyspepsia, a disease which has yielded to this water, after other springs and medicines "have failed to produce any favorable effects. The chemical con- stituents of the water are supposed to be similar to those of the Lower Spring, with a greater propor- tion of the Sulphate of Magnesia. In the " Mineral Springs of United States and Canada," the following article appears in regard to the Avon Springs : — "Analysis of the Lower Springs. One pint con- tains — Carbonate of Lime 3.666 grains. Chloride of Sodium 1. 157 " Chloride of Calcium 1.051 " Sulphate of Soda 1.7 16 " Sulphate of Magnesia 6.201 " Sulphate of Lime 7.180 " Iodide of Sodium trace. 20.971 Carbonic Acid Gas 1.49 Sulphuretted Hydrogen . ..2.25 "It will be seen by analysis that these are valuable sulphur waters, resembling in many respects the celebrated Spa of Neudorf, in Hesse, Germany. The flow is larger from the Lower Spring, being 54 gallons per minute. * * The location of these springs in one of the most beautiful loca- tions of Western New York, together with the efficacy of the waters, conspire to make this a most attractive resort." The benefits to be derived by invalids from a proper use of the mineral waters of these springs, combined with the natural attractiveness of the village and the surrounding scenery have long conspired to make this a popular summer resort, yet this like all other watering places has seen its seasons of prosperity and depression. Hotels. — It was at this point that the old State road crossed the Genesee Flats, and as was often the case when the river overflowed its banks travel was almost en- tirely stopped until it resumed its natural courses. Captain Asa Nowlen, an early settler from Connecticut, had charge of the transfer of the mails across the flats at this point, and in compliance with the demand for better hotel accommodations from the traveling public, erected on the southwest corner of Main and Genesee streets, the building which was afterwards with alterations, known as "Comstock's," and still later as the "United States" hotel. At this time this hotel was a most fashionable resort and was thronged the entire season. In the winter of 1873-4 the building was consumed by fire. Captain Nowlen disposed of his property interest by degrees to Orville Comstock, who owned it several years. It afterwards passed through several hands, and at the time of burning was owned by Simonds' Bros. The Livingston House, Dr. William Nisbet, proprietor, was completed in its present shape in 1879, but was first thrown open to the public in 1878. It is only open through the summer months. The Newman House was built as the St George Hotel by C. H. Armstead and was kept by him until December 25, 1875, when it was burned. It was rebuilt by Mr. Armstead, and finished in June, 1876, when it was leased to Smith Newman, under its present name. In 1880, Mr. Armstead assumed control. The Sanitarium (Cyrus Allen, M. D., and James D. Carson, lessees and managers,) is conducted as a health resort for invalids, and is open the entire year. It has been under its present management since 1871. The property upon which the Sanita- rium is located was purchased by Charles E. Wha- ley in 1866 and the present large and commodious building erected. Mr. Whaley conducted it suc- cessfully until 187 1 under the name of the "Avon Cure." The grounds comprise about twelve acres. The building is a four story frame structure of pleasing appearance capable of accommodating one hundred guests. There are two sulphur springs upon the grounds that supply the bath rooms of the institution. Messrs. Allen & Carson are also the proprietors of a private bank that was established in 1876 shortly after the failure of the Bank of Avon. The Pattee House, Wm. E. Pattee, proprietor, was built in 1876 on the site of the hotel burned in Dec, 1875. The building that was destroyed was also called the Pattee House. It was built in 1873 and was similar in general style and charac- ter to the present building. Mr. Pattee settled in Lima, May 1, 1840, and moved to Avon in 1847. Knickerbocker Hall, L. G. Smedley, M. D., proprietor, is a resort for the invalids who visit the springs and is open the entire year. Dr. Smedley purchased the property of Orange Sackett, in 1868. The hotel will accommodate eighty guests. * ,/h^. \ I'hoto l>y Merrell, Geneseo Charles Edward Whaley is a son of Edward A Whaley, and grandson of John P. Whaley, who in 1805, with his family, consisting of his wife, eight children, and an aged mother, emigrated from Massachusetts, and settled on a farm in the eastern part of the town of Avon. This farm has always been retained in the family name, and apple trees are still standing which he raised from the seed. John P. Whaley was a ship carpenter by trade, and many of the frames of old buildings now standing were shaped by his mallet and chisel. Of the eight children, four were sons, all of whom married and raised families. Robert settled in Castile, Wyoming county. John studied medicine and practiced that profession through life, while the younger brothers set- tled on farms in Avon, which they cleared, and both were identified with the war of 1812. Ed- ward A. was drafted but furnished a substitute. Caleb J. enlisted and served his time, receiving a wound from which he suffered for fifteen years, and which finally caused his death. Of the ancestors of the Whaley family, Ed- ward Whaley* was born in Northampton- shire, England, in the year 161 5. Arriving at maturity he was married to Elizabeth Middle- ton, and when the war broke out between King Charles and Parliament, he espoused the Parliamentary cause, and served under his cousin, Oliver Cromwell, until 1649.! By Cromwell, he was advanced to the rank of Major-General, and was entrusted with the government of five counties. He was after- ward appointed Commissary-General for Scot- land, and was called into the upper house, where he sat as " Edward, Lord Whalley." • In history this name is spelled Whalley. t He was one of the lift) nine who signed the warrant for the execu- tion of King Charles, and was present at the beheading of that unhappy monarch- yVlr\s. C. E. Whaley. After the death of Cromwell, Whaley was the main-stay of that dynasty until the Restora- tion was accomplished. W 7 hen England was no longer a place of safety for those immedi- ately concerned in the execution of King Charles, Whaley, together with his son-in- law, Goffe, who had played an important part in the same cause, embarked in a swift sailing vessel to America, arriving in New England July 27, 1660. They remained in various places of concealment, and in 1664, removed to Hadley, Mass., where Mr. Russell, the min- ister of the place, had previously consented to receive them* Edward A., father to Chas. E. was born Jan. 17, 1786, in Berkshire county, Mass. April 30, 1809, he was married to Isabella, daughter of Gardner Scott of Conn. They had eight children, the youngest of whom, Chas. E.,was born in Avon, Nov. 14, 1825. In July, 1867, he was married to Ella P., daugh- ter of Thomas St. John, of London, England. He has devoted his life to agricultural pur- suits. In 1866 he purchased the property in Avon, now owned by him, and erected the commodious building known as the "Sanita- rium." Upon this property he also developed and made available, two sulphur springs. The place is largely patronized by patients from all sections of the country. In politics Mr. Wha- ley is a Republican, and was drafted to serve in the war of the Rebellion, but furnished a substitute whom he trusts, rendered as effectual service as he himself could have done. In religious belief he is a Spiritualist. • This minister had caused his house to be fitted up with secret pas- sages foi then concealment, and here they remained for fifteen years in voluntary seclusion. About the year ioSi Whaley went to Maryland, where he pun h I < d a tract of land containing twenty-two hundred acres, under the assumed name of Edward Middleton. After the Revolution in gnglandin 1688 he had this land patented in hisrightful name. He died in '" |S at the advanced age of one hundred and three year-. -ft X > r m < o Z z o 2 H 2 S s AVON VILLAGE— MERCHANTS, MANUFACTURERS, PHYSICIANS 437 Congress Hall, O. D. Phelps, M. D., proprietor, is only open during the summer months. Dr. Phelps purchased the property in 1876 of Charles M. Titus of Ithaca, who had bought it the year before of Geo. H. Novvlen, Esq. Merchants. — The following are the present merchants of Avon: — Dr. C. A. Briggs, druggist and dealer in books and stationery, bought out Dr. G. P. Moreyin 1879, who had been in business three or four years; Dr. Wm. Nisbet, druggist, has been in business since about i860; Mrs. E. M. Price, millinery and fancy goods, business es- tablished in 1856; O. C. Jones, jeweler, com- menced business in 1851, and still continues; Henry E. Van Zandt, general store, commenced business in 1874, having bought out the business of Andrew Dunakin, who had carried on the busi- ness for some twenty years previously, and until his death in 1873 ; Mrs. D. W. McLaughlin, millinery and fancy goods, established in 1872; P. C. Gleason, groceries, flour and feed, has been in business since Jan. 1, 1878, business was estab- lished in 1870 as McLaughlin & Gleason; F. Col- vin. groceries, established in 1873; W. P. Haskins, flour, feed and groceries; E. M. Price, furniture dealer, business was established in 1850; Mary Dockery, meat market, established in May, 1879; W. W. Barnhart, dry goods and groceries, business established in 1878; J. G. Calvert, fruits, confectionery and bakery, business established in 1872; C. T. Hedenberg, dealer in news, station- ery, cigars and confectionery, established in 1S78 ; C. A. Bowman, dealer in hardware, successor in 1878 to C. M. Church, who had previously done business a few months ; H. H. Hilborn, harness maker, established in 1880, bought out C. H. Armstead ; Wallace & Clark, (J. C. Wallace and E. H. Clark,) dealers in hardware, Oct. 1, 1880, bought the business of E. D. Rowley, who had previously continued the business for several years; Reed Bros., (E. B. and W. J.,) general merchan- dise, established in 1877; James Hill, meat mar- ket, established in 1874; G. D. Dooer, meat mar- ket, established in 1867 ; J. E. Hall, flour and feed store, established in 1S73; Joseph Brown, boot and shoe store, established in January, 1879; John Loftus, tailor, came in April, 1880; F. E. Welch, baker and confectioner, established in 187G; F. G. Bixby, jeweler, established in April, 1880; C. F. Whiting & Co., (C. J. Whiting,) boot and shoe store, established in 1879 ; C. S. Gilbert, general store, established in 1S74; J. C. Peuss, merchant tailor and clothing, established in 1879, and Michael Dowdall, harness maker, established in 1872. Manufacturers. — The manufacturing interests of Avon are not extensive, the only water power available being that obtained from the Conesus. The following are all that are at present located in or adjacent to the village ; E. L. Armstrong & Co. operate a planing mill in which they employ four men; established in 1877. Long & Watkins are contractors and builders and have been in busi- ness here since 1876. R. G. Waldo, carriage manufacturer and blacksmith, succeeded his father, Reuben Waldo, in business in 1861. His father came from New Hampshire in 181 5, and that year commenced blacksmithing here. He died in 1861- The Avon mills are located on the Conesus outlet, about one and one-fourth miles from Avon. W. P. Haskins is the present proprietor. He purchased them in 1869 of Arch. Christie, who had previously operated them some eight or ten years. The mills contain three runs of stones and are run by water power derived from the Conesus, which has here a fall of twenty feet. The saw and cider mill situated on the same stream just above the railroad bridge has been owned by Mr. Haskins since 1871. It was previously owned by the Wadsworths, of Gen- eseo. The malt house and elevator at Avon, is owned by Stephen Hosmer & Co. (John Kletl.) The building was erected in the fall of 1880. Its malting capacity is 50,000 bushels per season and the capacity of the elevator is 25,000 bushels. The malt-house near the depot is owned by Andrew Y. Marsh of Buffalo ; capacity about 30,000 bushels. The Avon Brick and Tile manufactory was estab- lished in 1862 as a joint stock company with Fran- cis Lyth as manager. It is at present owned by John Lyth. The machine used in manufacturing is operated by horse power and was invented by Francis Lyth. Physicians. — The first physician here was Col. Timothy Hosmer, elsewhere spoken of. Dr. Samuel Salisbury was undoubtedly one of the best of the early practitioners here. He pos- sessed a fine literary taste and was a deep scholar. He was the author of a work upon the Springs of Avon and their medical properties, a work which is quoted extensively. His brilliant career was cut short by his untimely death. He was born in Boston in 1806, and was educated at Harvard College, Cambridge, whence he was graduated, and afterwards was graduated in medicine at Boston. After remaining there some little time, he came to Rochester in 1S32, and in the summer of that 43« HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. year went to Avon, where he became interested in the curative qualities of the water of that place to such an extent that he took some of the water to Roxbury, for analysis. He returned to Avon in 1833, and September 12th of that year, was united in marriage with Marie A., daughter of Major .Mi- ner Morgan, of Avon. It was during the winter of 1833-34 that Dr. Salisbury wrote his work on the springs to which reference is made in another portion of this work. He died in Avon, April 19, 1850, much regretted by all. He was fitted for college at the age of thirteen, and entered as soon thereafter as his age made it admissible. He was thoroughly con- versant with the French, Spanish and German languages. In 1849 among the physicians in the town were Drs. Ensworth, John Whitbeck, Wm. Butler and Hutchinson, at Fast Avon ; Drs. Van Kleek, who died in the army while in New Orleans, and South- worth, at the springs ; and Dr. Parsons at Little- ville. Dr. Andrew Sill, an early physician of this town, was born in the village of Geneseo, December 1st, 1804. His father, Dr. Jonathan P. Sill, was the pioneer physician of this section, locating first at Williamsburg in 1797, and subsequently removing to Geneseo village, where he died in September, 1806. Dr. Andrew Sill received an academic education at Cambridge Academy, Washington county, N. Y. After studying medicine with Dr. Townsend, of Caledonia, he attended courses of lectures at both Fairfield and Pittsfield Medical Colleges, graduat- ing from the latter institution in 1825. He first opened an office in the village of West Avon, where he remained until 1829, when he located at Livonia Centre, where he remained for fifty years. He died October 1st, 1879. Charles Bingham was born in Bozrah, Conn., and studied medicine in that State. He was licensed by the State Medical Society of Connecti- cut in 180S, and in that year moved to Avon, where he practiced his profession until 1820. In that year he removed to Mt. Morris, where he pur- sued an extensive and successful practice until fail- ing health compelled him to abandon it. He died at Mt. Morris, December 3, 1842, aged 58. Messrs. Lucius C. and Charles L. Bingham, two of Mt. Morris' most prominent business men and influ- ential and respected citizens, are sons of Dr. Bingham, and are all that are left of the family. The present physicians are Drs. William Nisbet, C. A. Briggs, Cyrus Allen, John W. Gray, and J. C. Hulbert. William Nisbet, M. D., settled here in 1849, and is a native of Scotland. He studied three years in Edinburgh, and was graduated from Wurtzberg University, Bavaria. He came to America in 1849. C. A. Briggs, M. D., was born in Williamstown, Orange county, Vermont, and received his educa- tion at the Montpelier Conference Seminary. He entered Ann Arbor Medical College in 1874, and completed his medical studies at Long Island Col- lege Hospital, where he was graduated in 1S76, since which date he has been in practice in Avon. Cyrus Allen, M. D., was born in Ontario coun- ty, N. Y., and received his college education at the University of Michigan, located at Ann Arbor. He was graduated from the Homeopathic College of the State of New York, New York city, in 1864, and from the Berkshire Medical College of Massa- chusetts in November, 1864. He commenced practice in Palmyra, Wayne county, from thence to Clifton, and removed to Avon in May, 1871, taking charge of the Sanitarium. John W. Gray, M. D., was born in 1833. He read medicine with James R. Wood, M. I)., of New York city, and afterwards with A. C. Camp- bell of this county. He attended lectures and was graduated from the University of New York. He came to Avon in 1856. Joel C. Hulbert, M. D, was born in Fort Ann, Washington county, N. V., Nov. 12, 1815. He studied medicine at the Pennsylvania University, where he was graduated in 1866. He settled in Livonia in 1849, and in Avon in 1877. Lawyers. — George Hosmer was one of the earliest if not the first practicing lawyer in the village. He came here with his father, Dr. Timothy Hosmer, when twelve years of age, having been born in Farmington, Conn. His early studies were pursued under the tu- ition of Rev. Ebenezer Johnson, of Lima. In 1799 he entered upon the study of his chosen pro- fession, the law, in the office of Hon. Nathaniel W. Howell. He was admitted to the bar in 1802, and opened an office in Avon. In the war of 181 2 he was appointed aide-de-camp upon the staff of General Amos Hall, and served upon the Niagara frontier. His associate upon the General's staff and intimate friend was William Howe Cuyler, who was killed at Black Rock by a ball from the British guns at Fort Erie. His son Wm. H. C. Hosmer, was named from him. Georire Hosmer was a large holder of real estate AVON VILLAGE — LAWYERS. 439 and a lawyer of prominence. He was appointed District Attorney upon the organization of the county, which office he continued to hold till 1824. He was elected a Member of Assembly in 1824. He died in Chicago in March, 1861, in the eight- ieth year of his age. William Henry Cuyler Hosmer was born in Avon, May 25, 1S14. His earlier education was obtained at Temple Hill Academy, Geneseo, and at the Academy in Geneva, N. Y. He was gradu- ated from the University of Vermont in 1S41. After his graduation he followed in the footsteps of his father, and, step by step, climbed the ladder to fame in the legal profession, where he stood for many years without a peer. To his genius and ability the science of law is much indebted, many decisions being rendered in accordance with his eloquent pleadings at the bar. He practiced law till 1854, when he received a government position in the Custom House at New York. At the breaking out of the Rebellion he entered the army. His son also enlisted and was killed at the battle of Chancellorsville. After his return from the war he devoted the re- mainder of his life to literature and lecturing, and, notwithstanding his success at the bar, his fame rests chiefly on his literary work. Such was the reputation which he had acquired by his juvenile poems that he received the honor- ary degree of A. M., both from Hamilton College and the University of Vermont before he obtained it from his own. He was a poet born, not made. His principal works are " Yonnondio,"* " The Fall of Tecum- seh : a Drama," " Warriors of the Genesee." " Indian Traditions and Songs," " The Months," "Bird Notes," and "Legends of the Senecas." In his younger days he learned much from the Indians who lived in this community, becoming familiar with their language, and receiving an in- spiration from their romances and traditions. Much of his writing remains in manuscript form, which, if published, would be an acquisition to literature. He merited the title of " The Bard of Avon," and has received the congratulations of eminent writers for being " The first English writer who sunk a shaft into Indian Tradition." He died in Avon, May 23, 1877. Among the other early lawyers here were the following : — A. A. Bennett studied law with Geo. Hosmer, and commenced practice about 1S20. * Based on the Indian traditions of the Genesee Valley. T. R. Morgan, son of Col. Abner Morgan, prac- ticed law here from about 1835 till 1850. Hugh Cameron, from Caledonia, practiced here about 1845. He afterwards moved to LaCrosse, Wis. Amos Dann studied law with Geo. Hosmer, and was in practice here as early as 1828. With the exception of three years spent in New York city, he remained in practice in Avon all of his life up to the time he became insane. He died in the Utica Insane Asylum in 1866. Geo. B. Benedict was practicing law in Avon in 1861. Hon. Amos Alonzo Hendee* was a prominent member of the Livingston county bar. He was born in Avon, June 15, 181 5. He was the young- est of a family of six children, all of whom were reared upon the farm which their own industry and that of their parents reclaimed from a com- parative wilderness. His primary education was attained in the common schools of his native town and in the Academy at Avon. From this latter institution he went to the Seminary at Lima, where he completed his education. Returning to the homestead he soon became convinced that the life of a farmer was unsuited to his tastes, and he resolved to enter upon the more congenial profession of the law. Accordingly before he had attained his majority he entered as a student the law office of John Young, in Gen- eseo, and on the 26th of September, 1837, was admitted to the bar. Soon after his admission he removed to Perry, Wyoming county, where he resided for a time, and then returned to Geneseo, where he formed a law partnership with Elias Clark, afterwards with H. H. Guiteau, and finally with James B. Adams, with whom he remained from 1857 to 1863. In June, 1847, at the first election held under the new constitution, he was elected District At- torney. In 1852 he was elected Member of Assembly from the First Assembly district of Livingston county, and in the succeeding year again ran for that office but was defeated by Judge Gibbs. In 1856 he was again elected to the office of District Attorney, during which term occurred the cele- brated Wood trial, in the management of which Mr. Hendee evinced superior skill as a prosecuting officer, conducting the case successfully on the part of the people. In 1865 and '66, he was a member of the Board of Supervisors from Geneseo, and in 1867 was presi- •Fot the above sketch we are indebted to the able tribute of Mr.E. H. Davis i" his memory, delivered before the Livingston County Historical Society, at their fifth annual meeting. 440 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. dent of that village. In [868, he retired from Geneseo to the old homestead, and the remainder of his life was passed in the improvement of his farm and among the books in his ample library. The last public act in his life was the delivery in 1878 of the annual address before the Livingston County Pioneer So< iety, of which he was an inter- ested and efficient member. For three or four years prior to his death he passed his winters in the vil- lage of Avon, where, at the house of Win. E. l'attee, he suddenly died on the morning of February 13, 1880. The present attorneys of Avon are Judge E. A. Nash, YVm. Carter, Calvin Knowles and \V. S. Newman. E. A. Nash was educated at the Genesee Wes- leyan Seminary and was admitted to the bar in i860. He was located at Lima until 1878, since which time he has resided in Avon. He has been District Attorney two terms and was elected to the office of County Judge in 1S78, an office he still holds. W'm. Carter was educated in Lima at the Gene- see Wesleyan Seminary, and was admitted to the bar at Utica in January, 1879, since when he has been located at Avon. Calvin Knowles was born at Littleville, and received his education at the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, Lima. He commenced his legal studies with Amos Dann, of Avon, and afterward with Chamberlain & Wood, of Geneseo. He was ad- mitted to the bar in 1856 and has since been en- gaged in practice in Avon the greater portion of his time. He was in the army from 1861 to 1863, in the 13th Regiment, New York State Volunteers. Winlicld S. Newman, was born in Lima, N. Y., on the 22<1 day of December, 1847. 1° 1S5 1 he removed with his parents to the town of Avon, where his father, Isaac R. Newman, is still living. His mother died in August, 1873. He received his education at the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, located at Lima, N. Y.. and upon leaving that in- stitution entered upon the study of the law in the office of H. J. Ward of that place, a lawyer of large experience and talents of a high order. In this office Mr. Newman remained until his admis- sion to the bar June 10, 1S69. After his admission he immediately formed a co- partnership with II. Decker, and remained in Lima practicing his profession till the fall of 1873, when he removed to Avon, where he has since resided and practiced. In the spring of 1879 he was elected Supervisor for the town of Avon, which position he has held for two years. Upon the organization of the Board he was chosen chairman. In August, 1879, he was elected President of the Firemen's Asso- ciation of the State of New York. Cihkchf.s — Central Presbyterian Church of Avon was organized May 9, 1876, with forty-three members. Edwin I. Stevens and Benjamin Long were elected elders. Rev. H. P. V. Rogue accept- ed the pastorate in June, 1876, and still remains with them. The church and society have at pres- ent ninety-eight members. The first meetings were held in Nisbet Hall, and afterwards in Opera Hall. The church edifice was erected in 1877, and dedicated October 1, 1878, Rev. J. B. Shaw, D. D., preaching the dedicatory sermon. The church, which cost between thirteen and fourteen thousand dollars, is a very handsome structure, and is an honor to the society and an ornament to the village. The society also owns the parsonage adjoining. The Sunday school con- sists at present of one hundred and fifty members, and G. G. Westfall is its Superintendent. The First M. K. Church of Avon was organized in 1835, with the following persons among the original members : Mrs. Laura Fuller, Mrs. Wright, Mrs. Dunakin, Smith Bryan and wife, Mr. Gleason, and Win. Maguire and wife. ( )f these only Wm. Maguire, Mrs. Laura Fuller, Mrs. Wright, and Mrs. Dunakin are living. Owing to the absence of all records we are un- able to give a more extended account of the history of this church. The society was visited by circuit preachers until 1839, when Calvin Coates became its pastor. In 1840 Fleazer .Thomas officiated as pastor, and in 1843 Jamts M. Fuller, who left in 1844. In 1866 Luther Northway assumed the charge, and was succeeded in 186S by David Nutton, who was followed in 1871 by Win. Wolgemuth. In 1872, George Coe was pastor of the church ; 1S74, Stephen Brown; 1875, J. D. Requa ; 1876-79, L. D. Chase; and in 1879, John Copeland, who is the present pastor, assumed the charge. The old church edifice was finished in 1839 at a cost of about $2,000. The present church was commenced in August, 1879, an( l dedicated Aug. 11, 1880, D. W. C. Huntington preaching the ser- mon. The church cost $9,000. The present membership is one hundred. The Sunday school ((insists of one hundred and fifty members, and Alva Carpenter is its Superintendent. /.ion's Church at Avon. — The first steps for AVON VILLAGE — CHURCHES. 44 c the organization of this church and society were taken by the inhabitants of the village of West Avon in a school house in that place on Monday, Oct. 8, 1827. At this meeting a building commit- tee was appointed to attend to the erection of a church edifice "at or near the Public Square." This committee consisted of the following members : Edward A. Le Roy, Curtiss Hawley, and Asa Nowlen. The committee next met according to adjourn- ment at the house of Timothy Hosmer, Friday eve- ning, October 12, 1827. At this meeting two more were added to the building committee, namely, Jehiel Kelsey and Woodruff Matthews. The so- ciety was legally incorporated October 24, 1828, and the following officers chosen : Wardens, Eli- jah Woolage, John Newberry ; Vestrymen, George Hosmer, Reuben K. Hickox, Nehemiah Hough- ton, Woodruff Matthews, Elkanah Whitney, Ed- ward A. Le Roy, Curtiss Hawley and Lewis W. Beecher. At a trustees' meeting held December 13, 1828, Curtiss Hawley was chosen treasurer of the society. The church building was completed in this same year, and was consecrated as Zion's Church by the Rt. Rev. John Henry Hobart, Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church of New York. The first regularly installed rector was Rev. E. G. Gear.* Among the pioneer members of this church were Andrew Sill, George A. Tiffany, James Austin, Amos Dann, John E. Tompkins, Moses L. George, Orville Comstock, William Scott, William Morris- on, R. S. Williams, S. S. Briggs, Samuel Salisbury, Henry Wadsworth, Merritt W. Riggs. In 1830 a bell was donated to the church by James Wadsworth. In 1836 the parsonage was built. The second rector was Rev. R. Kearney, whose pastorate ended in November, 1836. Some two years then elapsed without any settled rector until 1839, when Rev. Beardsley Northrop was engaged for three months. In July, 1839, he was succeeded by Rev. Thaddeus M. Leavingworth, who was engaged for one year ending in July, 1840. In that same month a call was extended to Rev. Mr. Bailey, who accepted and remained six months. In December of that year he was succeeded by Rev. Samuel G. Appleton whose ministerial services extended to August, 1844. * The major portion of the church records having been destroyed by fire, the precise dates of the incoming and departure of the rectors can not be obtained. The Rev. P. P. Kidder came next in 1845 for six months, and at the expiraton of that term was reengaged for one year. The next rector was Dr. Bethel Judd, who remained some two years, fol- lowed by Rev. George B. Eastman. In 1850 and '51 the pulpit was vacant as to a regular sup- ply, and in October of 1851, Rev. Fortune C. Brown assumed the pastoral relations which he retained until October, 1870. After him came Rev. Henry M. Brown, remaining one year. Then Rev. Francis Gilliat. who remained until 187s. The succeeding pastor was Rev. James A. Brown who remained till March 1st, 1881. The present membership is, families, 60 ; individuals, not thus included, 40. Total of individuals, 260. The church property is valued at $5,000 ; the rectory at $3,000. St. Agnes Church (Roman Catholic,) of Avon. — About thirty years ago the Catholic population of the village desiring some permanent dwellings to worship in, purchased the old Baptist church through the instrumentality of Father Maguire. This church, in order to meet the needs of the growing denomination, was afterwards enlarged to nearly twice its original size. Until 1853 they had no resident pastor, but in that year Father Maguire came, followed in 1856 by Father O'Brien, in 1857 by Father Quigley, in 1863 by Father Bradley, and in 1869 by Father O'Keefe. The present edifice, a very fine brick structure, was built in 1869 under Father O'Keefe's pastor- ate, at a cost of about thirty-five thousand dollars. Father O'Keefe was followed by Father M. J. Hen- dricks, June 20th, 1874. The present membership of the church is about two hundred and fifty. St. Agnes school was founded in 1876 and is under the charge of this church. There are four teachers — Sisters of St. Joseph's order. The school occupies the old church building, and has an aver- age attendance of two hundred pupils. Avon Free School. — A call was made Sept. 10, 1867, for a meeting to be held October 8, 1867, to determine whether a Union Free school should be established in the district. Of this meeting James Hosmer was chosen chairman and O. C. Jones, clerk. The meeting was adjourned till October 17, when by a vote of 78 to 27, it was resolved to re- organize with the following Trustees: — John Z. Reed and Martin Kelly, for one year ; William E. Hall, and Henry Albert, for two years; and Daniel Lacy and Roger Carroll for three years. The school building was erected as early as 1 836, 442 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. as the Avon Academy, and W. H. Curtis was one of the early teachers. This building was used by the Union Free School district, and with repairs and the- addition added thereto in 1873, cost them about $5,000.00. The report of receipts and disbursements of this district for the year ending September 30, 1880, is as follows : — Receipts. Balance on hand October 1, 1S79 $ 275 10 Amount of public school moneys both for teachers' wages and library, appor- tioned to the district from State funds 815 49 Amount raised by tax on property for all school purposes within school year. . . 1,116 27 Amount received from all other sources. S3 75 $2,260 61 Disbursements. For teachers' wages $1,617 9° For repairing and insuring school houses 93 47 For fuel 12066 For janitor 165 00 For other expenses n 50 Amount on hand 252 08 $2,260 61 The number of teachers employed in teaching at the same time for twenty-eight weeks or more dur- ing the school year was four. Number of children residing in the district over five and under twenty- one years of age was 629. The number of chil- dren who attended school some portion of the school year was 228. The average daily attend- ance was 143.294, and the whole number of days' attendance, 27,941. The assessed valuation of all taxable property in the district was $826,576.00. The site is valued at $1,000.00 and the building $4,000. Postmasters. — The postal facilities of the region round about Avon were very meager for many years after the first settlements were made. Mail facilities of an unsatisfactory character were estab- lished by private enterprise as early as 1792 on the old Genesee road by which Avon, (then Hartford) was accommodated. In 1805 Timothy Hosmer was the postmaster at Hartford. E. H. Davis is the present postmaster succeed- ing in Jan., 1872, T. E. Winans. Wm. Maguire was postmaster from 1861 to 1870, succeeding Geo. I losmer. Fire Department. — Avon in years past has suffered quite largely from the ravages of fire, owing in a measure to the inefficiency of the means pro- vided for extinguishing the same. At present there is not a village of its size in the State better provided with facilities for quelling the flames nor a more thoroughly organized department. The water supply is furnished by gravity pressure and with sufficient force to reach the tops of the high- est buildings. The department as at present organized consists of one Babcock Chemical engine, of 80 gallons capacity, one hand engine, one hook and ladder truck, one hose cart, four hundred feet of rubber hose and two hundred feet of linen hose. There are seven hydrants and two cisterns from which water is obtained. The companies comprise one hun- dred volunteers. E. H. Davis was the first chief and was succeeded Jan. 1st, 1878, by W. B. Bas- sett, who still holds that office. The first company of the present department to be organized was the Hook and Ladder com- pany, Feb. 8, 1876. W. S. Newman is the presi- dent of the company, and Orange Sackett, Jr., foreman. Within a short time after this a chemi- cal engine company and a fire engine company were organized. J. B. Benedict has been foreman, and Alva Carpenter, president of the fire engine company since its organization. The present fore- man of the chemical company is Patrick Tigheand president, D. W. C. Pruner. These companies have a very fine brick engine house erected in 1877 at a cost of about $3,000. The lower floor is used for the storage of the ap- paratus while the upper floor is divided off into as- sembly rooms, that are very finely furnished. The building is both an ornament and honor to the en- terprise of the village. The Avon Water Co. was organized in 1857, and the upper reservoir finished in 1858. It is fed entirely by springs. In 1870 the lower or receiv- ing reservoir was built. The capital stock of the company is $15,000. The present officers are Wm. Nisbet, President ; Theo. F. Olmsted, T. J. Thorpe and Stephen Hosmer, Directors. Societies. — Equitable Aid Union Diamond Lodge, No. 157, was organized in October, 1S80, and has about twenty-five members. R. J. Wal- lace is President. .Iron Springs Lodge No. 570, A. F. &> A. M., was organized by dispensation, Jan. 26, 1S65, with the following members: — S. E. W. Johnson, W. M. ; R. S. Taintor, S. W. ; A. E. Moore, J. W. ; H. H. Haile, S. D. ; J. L. Hayden, J. D. ; J. L. Burleigh, Sec'y ; S. Taintor, Tiler ; Wm. Van Zandt, H. S. Hale, J. Miller, J. H. Perkins, Wm. G. Markham, R. G. Wilbur, Jasper Barber, Ben B. Wilcox and A. E. Moore. Mr, & M.RS. PhAF^LES j3. piLBERJ. CHARLES SEWELL GILBERT. Charles Sewell Gilbert, tin- subject of this sketch, was born at Mutford Hall, Suffolk county, England, January .'., 1S17. He is the son of Charles and Hannah (Bom II Gilbert. The former was a fanner by occupation, and died at his home in London, December 12, 1857 I sixty-four years. His wife also died there March I. 1875, I i ighty-five years. They had eleven children, eight of whom are now living and all residing in England, with . ption el Charles S.. who came to America in the spring of is;',;. While at home he enjoyed moderate ad- vantages for an education, and at the age of fifteen years was apprenticed to a miller and remained with him four After landing at New York he proceeded to Eochester and stopped during one month with Mr. Beers, of Pitts- ford, receiving ten dollars for his services. He then ei nence I working for Mr. John Agate, a son-in-law of Mr, I leers, who promised hiin ten dollars per month, but was so well pleased with him that he increased his wages to oni dollar per day. With Mr. Agate he lived one month, lie next i ngaged himself as second miller in the mill belonging to Andrew Lincoln, of Penfield, with whom he remained eighteen years. After being with him about a year and a half, Mr. Lincoln placed him in fall charge of the mill, where he served as master miller to the satisfaction of all concerned, until he severed his connection with Mr. Lincoln. He often speaks of Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln as his "American parents," who ever took a parental interest in his welfare, such kindly inter- est and friendship being one of the pleasant memories and green spots of his life. January 80, Is: 1 ,'.', he was married to Mary, daughter of John and Hannah (Goodrich) Clark, of Suffolk county, England. She was bom January L".i. 1817, and in com- pany with her brother and one sister, came to America in 1837, on tin- same ship with the voyager who proved to be her future husband. They were married at Pen- field, while Mr. Gilbert was in the service of Mr. Lincoln, and during their residence with him revisited England. Iu 1855, they settled in the town of Avon, where they now reside. He purchased 8 mill property which he has improved by adding steam power, so it can now be run at all seasons. When on his way to occupy his present home he was informed by curious and inquisitive persons whom he in it. that he surely would starve if he relied upon getting a living there ; but such a fate was not in stun- for him. and he is now om of the prominent business men of the town, and has run the mills successfully for nearly twenty-five years. There have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Gilberl children, two of whom died in infancy. Those livingare named as follows: John W., horn January 5, 1840; Harriet E., born March 11, 1845; Martha A., born March 28, 1851 : Charles Horrett. born December 1, 1858; Ar- thur Sewell, horn July I'll. l.Sad, and Alfred Clark, born January 10, 1858. The two eldest sons are in company engaged in the mercantile business at West Avon, or "Avon Springs ." Iu religious sentiment Mr. Gilbert and his wif. are Episcopalians, but in politics Mr. Gilbert takes no interest, having never voted during his residence in Ami rica.* ♦ Mr. Gilbert speaks with affectionate anil loving pride of tlie unremit- ting and valuable assistance he lias always received item Ins faithful com- panion of forty-two years. In bis hours of discouragement and doubt, it was tier love, her wise counsel and advice that bore him up, and enabled him to meet bravely the barriers common to all who are struggling with rough fortune. To his children, whose love for tier and for him is per- fect, she has been a kind and noble mother : and now as they are declin- ing into the vale of years, they are comforted by a consciousness of having performed their duties to their family and society faithfully and well. EAST AVON. 443 Meetings were first held in rooms over Johnson & Hayden's store. They now occupy rooms in the Carpenter block, on Genesee street, their former rooms having been destroyed by fire. The present officers are : — A. W. Dewitt, W. M. ; Orange Sackett, S. W. ; Bert Van Tuyl, J. W. ; Frank YVeisert, S. D. ; Frank H. Wiggins, J. D. ; Cyrus Allen, Treas. ; Wm. Carter, Sec'y ; and John H. Chase, Tiler. The present member- ship is seventy-three. Avon Lodge, No. 455, / O. of O. F., was or- ganized Jan. 4, 1877, with H. L. Strough, N. G. ; H. H. Sunderlin, V. G. ; Geo. W. Bennett, Rec. Sec'y; J. M. Fletcher, Treas. ; John Son, Warden; H. H. Butcher. O. G. ; and M. D. Davis, I. G. The present membership is thirty, with the fol- lowing officers: — A. H. Owens, N. G. ; J. M. Fletcher, V. G. ; H. J. Clark, Rec. Sec. ; John Son, Treas. ; Geo. W. Bennett, Per. Sec'y; Geo. W. Strouse, Warden ; J. W. Boorman, O. G. ; H. H. Dutcher, I. G. ; and Walter S. Buck, P. G. Meetings are held every Wednesday evening on the third floor of Isham & Whiting's block. A. O. U. IV. Valley Lodge, No. 26, was organ- ized May 31, 1876. The first officers were, W. B. Bassett, P. M. W. ; A. W. Dewitt, M. W. ; F. R. Torrance, G. F. ; J. E. Hall, O. ; H. McKinney, Rec. ; Wm. E. Hall, Jr., Fin. ; M. G. Swan, Re- ceiver ; I. B. Potter, Guide ; Charles Sackett, I. W. ; and M. V. Swan, O. W. The number of members has increased from nineteen at its organization to fifty-three at the present time, with the following persons officers: — Geo. A. Graves, M. W. ; E. L. Armstrong, G. F. ; E. Hawley, O. ; Wm. Carter, Recorder ; C. F. Whiting, Financier; H. McKinney, Receiver; J. D. Carson, F. F. Woodruff and Benjamin Long, Trustees ; Geo. W. Bennett, G. ; Charles H. Sack- ett, I. W. ; and Nelson Brown, O. W. East Avon. East Avon is a small village of about three hun- dred inhabitants, situated one and one-half miles east of Avon, on the old State road. It dates its main growth from about 181 2 although there was a small settlement there a few years previously. The present business consists of a general store, pump manufactory, file cutting works, one hotel, harness shop, one carriage shop and two blacksmith shops. G. T. Palmer is the merchant here. The store in which he is located was erected as early as 1840. Among the merchants who have done business in the past were David Firman, Jeremiah Whitbeck, Peleg White, Truman Waters and Chandler Pierson. D. M. Pelton commenced the manufacture of wooden pumps here in October, 1879. The busi- ness gives employment to six men. Mr. Pelton occupies the old Wiard plow works. Perry & Co. commenced the manufacture of files here in November, 1880. They give employ- ment to about eight men. The Newman House, I. R. Newman, pro- prietor, was built about 181 5 by John Pierson, and was first kept by a daughter of his. Mr. Newman has had control since 1854. He was born in Lima, June 24, 1816, and was a son of Joel and Jerusha Newman, who were early pioneers. Solomon Taintor, M. D., came to East Avon in 1857, and commenced the practice of medicine in 1859. He only continued in practice about two years when he devoted his attention to other business. He received his diploma from the Col- lege of Physicians and Surgeons, New York city. James E. Jenks, M. D., now practicing here, was born in East Avon, August n, 1832. He received his diploma from the University of the State of New York, from the New York Opthal- mic School, and from the New York Medical In- stitute in 1856, since which date he has practiced at East Avon. The Gilbert flouring mills, Charles S. Gilbert, proprietor, are located about two and one half miles north-east of East Avon, and are operated by both water and steam power. The mills were built as early as 1808, and were operated for a long time by Thomas Hanna. Mr. Gilbert was born at Mutford Hall, Suffolk county, England, Jan. 5, 181 7, and emigrated to this country in 1837. He has resided at his present home since 1855- Charles B. Dusinberre is the proprietor of the steam saw and cider mills located about one and one-half miles east of East Avon. Mr. Dusinberre was born in Ulster county in 1828. The most prominent industry of East Avon in times past was the Wiard Plow Works, which were established by Thomas Wiard, Sr., about r83o, for the manufacture of cast iron plows from patterns made and invented by Thomas Wiard, Jr. These works were in operation here until 1877 under dif- ferent proprietors, when the business was removed to Batavia. At the time of removal there were about twenty-five men employed. 444 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY A. A. Bennett was a prominent lawyer here in 1823. John Young, who held the position of Governor of this State in 1846, first commenced the study of law with him. Churches. — The First Baptist Church of .Iron is located at East Avon. In the latter part of 1806, a few of the inhabitants of the then town of Hartford, united themselves in " covenant," forming the Second Baptist Church of Hartford, and called Elder William Firman to be their pastor. In the fall of 1807 they were admitted to the Ontario Association, hav- ing a membership of twenty-three. In 180S the name of the church was changed to the Baptist Church of Avon, on account of the change in the name of the town, and their place of meet- ing from this time to 1830, was about one mile east of East Avon. Just when Elder Firman ceased his labors, can- not be ascertained but he was followed by John R. Seaver as early as 1816. He was succeeded by Reuben Winchell in 1823 ; Rev. David Tenant in 1825; Philander Kelsey in 1827; S. Goodall in 1832; Elder J. G. Stearns, in 1834; Elder E. Stone, in 1838, who remained, however, only six months; Rev. J. VV. McDonald, in 1838; Elder A. H. Stowell, in 1841 ; Elder E. Stone, in 1843 ; Elder S. M. Bainbridge, March 1, 1844; Elder Win. Curtis, in 1848; S. F. Campbell, Nov. 9, 1852. From 1852 till May 1S56, the church was supplied by students from the Rochester Theologi- cal Seminary. May 31, 1855, E. Nisbet commenced a pastor- ate that lasted three years. During 1859, Thomas Kmlgers supplied the pulpit and was followed in i860 by H. G. Nott, who left in August, 1864. Oct. 9, 1864, S. J. Lusk, accepted a call and was ordained in March, 1865, but remained only one year. Rev. B. F. Mace began Feb. 4, 1866, but remained only eight months. The pulpit since then has been supplied with students from the Rochester Theo- logical Seminary. One hundred and seventeen persons have been baptized within the last thirty years. July 18, 1827, the name was again changed to the First Baptist Church of Avon. In 1828 ar- rangements were made to build a new church at East Avon. The church was not dedicated till 1830. In 1832 the Livingston County Baptist As- sociation was formed and held their first meetings in this church.* • The above is compiled from the Livingston County Herald of Oct. 7, 1880. East Avon Presbyterian Church. — The follow- ing is an extract from the discourse delivered by Rev. F. DeW. Ward, D. 1)., of Geneseo, in the East Avon Presbyterian church, Thursday, Sept. 1 6, 1880, upon the occasion of the dedication of a new chapel connected with the church. It will be found interesting as giving the history of one of the oldest churches in Avon. We are able to give it by courtesy of the Livingston Republican. From 1790 to 1810 (a period of 20 years) no worship under a congregational minister of the Gospel, was held in the town of Avon. On the 9th of Nov., 18 10, there was a gathering at the brick school-house in South Avon, of a few religious people, having for its object the organization of a Christian church. There were present Rev. Mr. Parmelee, of Bloomfield, Rev. E. J. Chapman, of Lima, Rev. A. Hollister, of Riga, and J. F. Bliss. A series of Articles of Faith were drawn up, which, with an appended Covenant, were signed by the following twenty persons :— Samuel Federal, Phebe Blakeslee, Asa and Jemima Clark, Herman and Mary Ladd, George Crouse, Martha and Lucy C. Tilden, Elizabeth Strunck, Maria and Catherine Berry, Thankful Bancroft, Lucinda Burfee, Chris- tiana Bishop, Rebecca Scott, Mary Brown and Catherine Miller. Thus was constituted the first congregational organization in the town of Avon. The first deacons were Samuel Blakeslee and Asa C. Clark. John F. Bliss, a Licentiate, was after ordination installed as the first pastor. After a faithful and fruitful ministry of seven years and a half (18 12 to 1819) he resigned. Then followed, as stated sup- plies, Rev. Chauncey Cook, Rev. Mr. Hyde, Rev. Mr. Knapan, Rev. Mr. Robins and Rev. Mr. Bird. On the 15th of January, 1822, the Avon church, thus far Congregational, by their own request, be- came a constituent part of the Presbytery of On- tario. Rev. John Whittlesey was installed as pas- tor, June 16, 1822. Rev. Jacob Hart was stated supply from May 1, 1831, to May 1, 1S34. Rev. William C. Wisner, D. D., of the Third Presby- terian church in Rochester, was next in charge for the period of 18 months. Rev. Alfred White took charge of the parish on or about October 27, 1838, and remained one year. Rev. Edward Marsh between March, 1839, and July, 1840. — Rev. J. Hubbard during one year. Rev. P. C. Hastings about as long. Rev. E. W. Kellogg the same. Rev. Samuel Miles Hopkins, D. D., came in September, 1844, and left in the spring of 1846. Rev. Edward B. Wadsworth, D. D., was pastor i?2R2s©23j&ac2& @» ipisjasori. LITTLEVILLE — SOUTH AVON — FREDERICK B. PIERSON. 445 from 1846 to 1852. Rev. Charles W. Higgins succeeded Dr. Wadsworth in the spring of 1853 and left in 1855. Rev. J. W. Ray began his min- istry in August, 1855, and closed March 1, 1857. Rev. Nathaniel Elmer, now at Middletown, Conn.. was in charge from the spring of 1858 to the spring of 1862. Rev. Archibald M. Shaw, now at Clifton, N. Y., was in charge for one year from January, 1864. Rev. Edwin R. Davis, now at Chicago, 111., came and remained until the end of 1865. Rev. Joseph R. Page, D. D., for many years pastor of the Presbyterian church of Perry, N. Y., commenced his ministry at the East Avon church May 1, 1868, and removed to Rochester in Novem- ber, 1872. Dr. Page was stated supply for four months in 1873 and four months in 1874. Rev. H. P. V. Bogue took charge of the parish August 16, 1874, holding the same till the first Sabbath in June, 1876, when he re- signed. Rev. W. L. Parsons, D. D., since de- ceased, member of the Ingham Institute, LeRoy, supplied the pulpit during a summer. Rev. F. DeW. Ward, D. D., an ex-foreign missionary, and for many years pastor at Geneseo, took charge as stated supply October, 1876, and continued till February 8, 1880. Following Dr. Ward was Rev. James F. Calkins. We find that between 1812 and 1880 the East Avon church has been in charge of 21 ministers, with interims of assistance rendered by at least ten neighboring pastors. With a church edifice central to the parish, ample in size and commodious in all its arrange- ments; with a chapel just completed, and all that is required in such a room ; with a Sabbath school containing youth from all the families in the con- gregation, and teachers from among the best qualified for this post in the parish, and an ever renewed library of instructing and interesting books ; with an eldership of hearty devotion to the cause of Christ and souls, there is no reason why this church should not take its place in the fore- most ranks of religion. LlTTLEVILLE. Littleville is a small hamlet situated upon the Conesus outlet a short distance south of Avon. At an early day it was quite prominent, its business interests rivaling those of Avon. It derives its name from Norman Little, a son of Dr. Little of East Avon, who settled here as early as 1830. The place contains a flouring-mill, a blacksmith shop, a saw mill and a population of about two hundred. The present flouring mill (custom,) was built in the fall of 1879 upon the site of one burned in 1878. E. Light is the proprietor. It contains two runs of stones. A former mill on this site was erected about 18 10. The saw mill is owned by W. P. Haskins. The stone bridge across the outlet was built in 1850. Paul Knowles, a clothier by trade, came from Berkshire county, Mass., and settled in Lima in 1808, and in 18 10 removed to Littleville, where he erected a carding and fulling mill on Conesus out- let between the flouring mill and the bridge. He continued to operate this mill till 1834. He died in 1845. He had a family of eight children viz : — William, Ann Eliza, Caroline, Betsey, Paul, Calvin, George and James, all of whom are living except Paul and Betsey. At this point on the Conesus, there was erected by Jeremiah Riggs previous to 1810, a distillery which was in operation for several years. The last proprietor was Norman Little. South Avon. South Avon is a postoffice situated three miles south of Avon. H. W. Chadwick is the post- master, which position he has held for six years. Josiah Chadwick was postmaster previous to him, and held the office a great many years. He also kept the hotel here as early as 1830. There used to be a store at this place, but both store and ho- tel are closed. A blacksmith shop is located here. Near South Avon, on the Conesus, is located a strawboard mill, owned by Josiah Curtis of Gen- eseo, and leased by S. L. Harned, who has opera- ted it since May, 1879. The capacity of the mill is four hundred tons per annum. It gives employ- ment to eight men. The building was built about fifteen years ago by Josiah Curtis, on the site of the Wadsworth flouring mills, which were totally destroyed by fire, Saturday night, Oct. 1, 1864. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. FREDERICK BUSHNELL PIERSON. F. B. Pierson is the second son of Joseph Pier- son, who was born in Ellington, Conn., April 15, 1767, and who, when about twenty-one years of age emigrated to Schenectady county, where he 446 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. married Sarah Watrous. July, 1797, he removed with liis family to Avon (then Hartford.) They had nine children, only four of whom are now living, as follows:— Catherine, Wealthy, Frederick B., and Bradley M. The names of those who died were Clarcnda. Mary, Nancy, Maria, and George. On settling in Avon, Mr. Pierson purchased lands and became extensively engaged in agriculture, and also kept a hotel at Fast Avon for ten or twelve years. He died December 10, 1843, and his wife September 17, 18 10. Frederick Bushnell Pierson was born on the old homestead in Avon, November 22, 1806, and was brought up on the farm, receiving his education at the district school and at the academy at East Henrietta. He has continued to follow the avoca- tion of farming, and his farm is considered one of the model farms of Livingston county. On May 8, 1828, he was married to Frances Janette, the daughter of Kasson and Sabrina (Redington) Gib- son, of East Avon, who was born on the 9th ot July, 1S10, in Cobleskill. They have had four children, viz: — Sarah A., married to Rev. Dr. E. 15. Walsworth, and residing at Albion, Orleans county, Joseph Kasson (deceased), Frances Janette, married to Jacob H. Brumagim, and residing on Staten Island, and Sabrina Eliza (deceased). Mr. Pierson has formerly taken a great interest in mili- tary affairs, and was Captain of the Independent Ride Company of Avon. He is a strong Demo- crat, and has been several times elected Assessor of his town. In religious sentiment he is a Pres- byterian, and is a plain, unassuming man of ster- ling integrity. He justly deserves the esteem and respect in which he is held by all who know him. To him largely the county is indebted for the in- troduction of the best blooded stock of various kinds into the Livingston County Agricultural So- ciety's Fairs. He was one of the first to introduce the Spanish Merino sheep into Western New York, about the year 1835, and sheep from his flocks have been sought for and are found in many parts of the Union. Horses reared upon his farm have not been regarded unfit gifts for two Presidents of the United States. He has taken premiums on his farm, cattle, horses and sheep several times. It seems not too much to say that as a farmer he is justly entitled to credit for having done his share in elevating the standard of agriculture in Livings- ton county. He has been a man of deeds, not words, and has been, like the man of whom one of the world's greatest living historians speaks, — " Too busy to write history, but himself busied in mak- ing it." DONALD McPHERSON. The subject of this sketch is the son of James and Margaret (Kennedy) McPherson, who came from Culloden, Scotland, in iSor, and first settled near 1 >elhi, 1 Delaware county, N. Y., where in 1803, Donald was born. In July, 1816, the family, com- prising his father and mother, brother James, now at Lyons, Iowa, and Henrietta, who afterwards was married to Duncan Stuart, of York, moved up to the Genesee Valley. This was on the 3d of July, 1816, and they encountered a furious snow storm while crossing the Chenango river. The family settled upon the homestead about three miles southwest of Canawaugus, and the Indians living at that place were constant visitors at the house, and Donald spent many days in their company hunting, and often remaining nights with them at their village of Canawaugus. His educational advantages were only those of the common district schools. In 1828 he was married to Jean Calder, by whom he has had five children, as follows : — James, John, Daniel, Joseph and Jennie. Mr. McPherson has always followed the occupation of farming, has served his town acceptably many terms as Supervisor, and eight years as a com- missioned officer in the State Militia. He was formerly a Whig, but of late years has affiliated with the Democratic party. In religious belief he is a Presbyterian. Nearly five years ago he moved to Avon Springs, where with his wife and son, Col. James A. McPherson, he now resides. His father and mother died in 1828, the former aged 62 years and the latter 60 years. Mrs. Jean (Calder) McPherson is a daughter of James and Elizabeth Calder, of Sterlingshire, Scotland, and was born at Greenfield, Conn., in 1806. Her parents came from Scotland about the year 1800, and after a residence of a few years in Massachusetts and Connecticut moved to the "Genesee country," where, in 1808 they settled on what is known as the Casey farm, near Fowlerville. The creek passing through the place is known as " Calder Creek," from the family name. All this part of the town was then Cale- donia, and when the Calder's moved here there was only one white settler — Ralph Brown — between their home and the Indian settlement at " Genesee Castle " or " Big Tree." Mrs. McPherson is, we think, the oldest living pioneer of this section, and she remembers well when the first tree was cut and the first house erected in the place now known as Fowlerville. The Indians were not at all backward in making known their wants. One time several squaws came to the house and demanded "quisquis" (pork). On being told there was " none to spare," one of them went to the pork barrel and taking out a piece held it up exclaiming " Bad Yankee ! " Mrs. McPherson is the only survivor of a large family. Her father died in 1817, aged 55 years, and her mother in 182 1, aged 56 years. Col. James A. McPherson, the eldest son of Donald, was born in 1830, and spent much of his early life in manufacturing interests in the South, until the breaking out of the Civil war in which he early enlisted. He was Second and First Lieutenant in the 26th New York Independent Battery, and accompanied it to New Orleans, taking part in the occupation of the city, acting as Assistant Quartermaster in the " Department of the ! ; Photo, bj Merrill, Geneseo. y EICESTER John SON, Photo- by Merrell, Geneseo. Julia A. M. Johnson. 1 by Merrell, Geneseo. Seymour Johnson. DONALD McPHERSON — LEICESTER JOHNSON — CALEDONIA. 447 Gulf" until after the occupation of Port Hudson by the United States forces. Desiring a more active service he left New Orleans, and entering the 1 6th New York Cavalry, shared in the brilliant achievement of that arm of the service in the valley of Virginia, during the closing scenes of the war. He now resides at Avon Springs with his aged parents. He is by profession a mechanical engineer, and in politics is a Democrat. Hon. John R. McPherson the second son of Donald was born on the old homestead in the town of York, in May, 1832. He was graduated at Temple Hill academy in Geneseo, and on leaving school gave his attention to farming and stock raising until 1859, when he moved to Hudson city, N. J., where he engaged in dealing in live stock. He was the projector, architect, and superinten- dent of the construction of the stock-yard and abattoir in Jersey city, and is now president of the Central Stock-yard and Transit Co., and lessee of the National stock-yards on the Erie R. R. at Buf- falo, Deposit, Oak Cliff and New York. He is also one of the principal proprietors at West Phila- delphia, of the abattoir and stock yard. He was one of the originators, and the first president of the People's Gas-light company of Hudson city, and for six consecutive years was a member of the Board of Aldermen, three years acting as president of that body. In 187 1 he was elected State Sena- tor and served one term. He took a decided stand against the Camden and Amboy R. R. m jnopolies and it was mainly owing to his efforts that the present liberal railway law was passed and placed among the statutes of N. J. On the 24th of January, 1877, he was elected United States Senator for the long term to succeed Mr. Freling- huysen. He is a model business man, prompt, energetic and trustworthy. In 1868 he was mar- ried to Edla J. Gregory of Buffalo, by whom he has two children, Gregory and Edla. Daniel McPherson, the third son of Donald, was born in 1834, and until after the close of the late war had never left home, except when attend- ing school. He was graduated at Fairfield acade- my, Herkimer county, and in 1865 took up his resi- dence in the State of New Jersey, where in 1870, he married Miss Wood, of Woodville. They have one child — Anna Wood, and their present residence is in New York city. In politics Mr. McPherson is a Republican, and though a fine business man, he prefers to be known simply, as a plain unassuming farmer. Joseph H. McPherson. was born on the home- stead in 1839. Early in the civil war he joined the 8th N. Y. Cavalry, Company H, shared in all its hard fought battles, and was in sixteen engage- ments. On the 1 2th of October, while his regi- ment was engaged with the enemy at Stevensburgh, Va., he was severely wounded, and was removed to the hospital in Washington, where he survived but a few hours. A fine monument marks his grave in the cemetery at Avon, and that of his twin sister Jennie beside him, who died in Avon, October 3, 1S77. LEICESTER JOHNSON. Leicester Johnson was the second son of David Johnson, who came from Hartford, Conn., some- where about the year 1808, and purchased a small tract of land in the town of Avon, then Hartford, where he followed the occupation of farming, which was attended with more or less trials and hardships incident to pioneer life in the Genesee Valley. During the year known as the "cold season" he would walk seven miles and put in a full day's work for a peck of corn, which he would carry home up- on his back at night for the use of his family. He was the youngest of seven sons. The other six all served their country in the Revolutionary war. One of the brothers, Ebenezer, was about the first Mayor of the city of Buffalo. David Johnson married Rachel Chappel, of Con- necticut, by whom he had nine children, four sons and five daughters. By his honesty and persever- ing industry and economy he acquired a competen- cy. He died in 1814. Leicester Johnson, whose name heads this brief memoir, was born in Hartford, Conn., in 1805, and came with his father to Livingston county, then Ontario. He was brought up on his father's farm, receiving such an education as could be acquired at the common district schools. After attaining to the age of 18 years, he taught school winters and worked upon the farm during the summer. In 183 1 he married Julia A. M., daughter of Calvin Bicknell, Esq., of Geneseo, who bore him six chil- dren, four of whom are now living, namely: Sey- mour, Leicester, Julia A. M., and Julius. The latter is living in Geneseo. The others died in in- fancy. Mr. Johnson was an "old-line Whig," but became identified with the Republican party. In his younger days he took an active interest in the political affairs of the country, though never seek- ing office. He was for many years Town Superin- tendent of Schools, and filled many other local of- fices at different times. Upon his beautiful farm, where at an earlier period he had seen the wild deer and the bear roam in apparent security, he has for years heard the shrill whistle of the locomotive and seen the trains of heavily freighted cars passing and re-passing at almost all hours. He died in 1875, honored and lamented by all who knew him. Seymour is the eldest of the family, and is living upon the old homestead of his father, now con- sisting of 350 acres of as good land as there is in the Genesee Valley, a finely improved farm 3^ miles south of the village of Avon. CHAPTER XXX. History of the Town of Caledonia. THE town of Caledonia lies on the extreme north-western border of the county. It con- tains an area of 26,199 acres ; anc ' ' s bounded on the north by Wheatland, (Monroe county) ; on 448 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. the south by York and Avon ; on the east by Rush (Monroe county,) and Avon; and on the west by LeRoy and I'avillion, (Genesee county). The Genesee river forms the eastern boundary between Rush and Avon. The Erie railroad passes through the town from north-west to south-east, and the Canan- daigua and Niagara railroad crosses from east to west through the northern part. The only im- portant streams are White creek, which rises in the northern part and Hows south-easterly into the Genesee river, and the Caledonia Springs, in the northern part, which cover an area of some six acres, the outlet of which forms an excellent water power for milling and manufacturing purposes. The soil is a clay loam with a sub-stratum of lime- stone. The town has been, and is now to some extent, noted for its extensive and valuable quarries of building stone and gypsum. Great quantities of lime were manufactured in the western part of the town, and "Caledonia plaster" for years bore an excellent reputation. Caledonia and Canavvaugus are the only settle- ments in the town. The former, a quite populous and enterprising village, lies in the northwestern part. Canawaugus, a small hamlet, lies in the south-eastern part of the town, on the line of the Erie railroad. This, at an early day, was an In- dian village of some prominence, and is supposed to have been the birthplace of the famous chief, Red Jacket. It was here that he and such other chieftains as Capt. Hot Bread, Capt. Jack, Henry O'Beal and Blue Sky, ruled supreme. When the persons who were the original owners of Avon came to settle and to make improvements, among the preliminary steps taken for the purpose of getting the good will of the Indians they made a feast and invited the Indians to partake. This feast was held at Canawaugus. In the days of the Genesee Valley Canal a con- siderable shipping business was done here, and large lumber yards were owned by Mr. Hamilton and others. A grocery store was kept here by a Mr. Penigree for the custom afforded by the canal. The place contains now but a few scattering houses, and one store kept by John Hollenbeck, who has also been postmaster there about seven years. In 1797 all the territory west of the Genesee river, included in the State of New York, was con- stituted a town of Ontario county and named Northampton. By the pioneers it was familiarly called " The Town of Two Rivers," from the fact of its being bounded on the east by the Genesee, and on the west by Niagara river. Its northern boundary was Lake Ontario, and its southern, the Pennsylvania line. The first town meeting of this extensive territory was held at the " Big Springs," now Caledonia, and was presided over by Gad Wadsworth, Esq., of Avon. In 1802 the county of Genesee was set off from Ontario county, and comprised within its limits all of the Sate of New York west of Genesee river. On the 30th of March of that year the towns of Leicester, Batavia and Southampton were erected from Northampton. Caledonia, which then com- prised the towns of Wheatland, LeRoy, and a portion of York was included in the town of Southampton, which name it bore until changed to Caledonia. April 4th, 1806. In 1812 a new town was erected from Caledonia and named Bellona, and in the following year took its present name of LeRoy. In 18 19 that portion of York, then known as Medford, belonging to Caledonia, was set off, and with some of the territory of Leicester, wasetected into a separate township, and in 1821 Wheatland, then known as Inverness, was set off into the new county of Monroe. In 1795 there was built at the "Big Springs," now Caledonia, a house " by two Englishmen of the name of Kane and Moffatt."* This was the first house built here, and those squatters were probably the first to locate within the present limits of the town. In this house Kane and Moffatt kept tavern for some time, but being suspected of robbery and murder they were driven away by the settlers at Avon. They were succeeded by two men named L. Petersonf and David Fuller, about 1798, who in this house, and in log-houses built by themselves, entertained travelers, and afforded a temporary shelter to the Scotch emigrants who soon after came as the pioneer settlers of the town. In the year 17984 a number of families and young persons emigrated from Broadalbin, Perth- shire, Scotland, to America, to seek a home where they could be free from the exactions of land * For much of the early history of this town we are indebted to the writings of Donald McKenzie, of Caledonia and Donald I ». McKenzie, of York, who have devoted much time in collecting data relating to the early years of this section of country. The facts relating to Kane and Moffatt appeared in the LeRoy Gazelle of June 9, 1858, and, with other matter, were gleaned from the notes of Donald McKenzie, of Cale- t Peterson's successor was a man of the name of Brooks: he was suc- ceeded by Job Pierce, who sold to John Cameron and moved to Avon in 1806, where for many years he was a successful merchant t From notes of Donald D. McKenzie, changed only somewhat in language. CALEDONIA — EARLY SETTLERS. 449 owners and the danger of impressment in the army of the British government, then waging war against France. In the beginning of March, they took shipping at Greenock, and arrived in New York before the first of May, and from thence proceeded without delay to Johnstown, Montgomery (now Fulton) county, N. Y., where a number of their friends and acquaintances had been settled for many years. Here they remained for nearly a year, undeter- mined as to their future location. Vague reports came to them of lands open for settlement in the Genesee country, but no one could give them au- thentic information concerning that then far away region. Col. Williamson, agent for the Pultney estate, hearing of their arrival in Johnstown, and being de- sirous of securing Scottish emigration to this portion of the Genesee country, journeyed there to see them, and held out tempting inducements for them to settle on his company's land near the "Big Springs." He offered them land at three dollars per acre, payable in wheat at six shillings per bushel, and agreed to provide them with necessary pro- visions until they were able to provide for them- selves. As they had expended all their money for the passage to America, and were consequently too poor to purchase land in Johnstown, Col. William- son's alluring offers were deemed worthy of accept- ance. But with the habitual shrewdness of their race, before they gave him a decided answer they resolved to send five of their number to explore the Genesee country and report the result of their investigations. The names of the persons selected to visit that then distant region were Donald McPherson, Malcolm McLaren, Hugh McDermid, James McLaren, and John D. Mc- Vean. These young men traveled on foot the distance of two hundred miles, and arrived at a place called the " Big Springs," so named " on account of large springs of water that rise from the ground there."* The investigation was quite satisfactory to the ex- plorers, and they started on their return journey to Johnstown to entreat their companions to prepare immediately for settlement in this new and prom- ising country. On the return journey they met Col. Williamson on the road between Geneva and Canandaigua, and there on the highway the writings were drawn and the bargain closed that secured to them the occu- pancy of this fertile region. " On our return to * These springs are now in the village of Caledonia. Geneva,* Col. Williamson treated us to peaches and other new fruit of the Genesee country. He showed us his English stock cattle which we all admired, but much more so the man, Col. Wil- liamson. After we arrived in Caledonia again, with our families, we must all acknowledge that we found Col. Williamson more noble and generous than he agreed or promised." Upon receiving the report of the five explorers, emigrants in Johnstown made immediate prepara- tion for their journey to the Genesee country. The number of men, women, and children did not exceed twenty persons — as some of the company remained in Johnstown until the next spring — and included Peter Campbell and wife, Malcolm Mc- Laren and wife, John McNaughton and wife, Don- ald McVean, Hugh McDermid, John McPherson, and, in the succeeding fall, Donald McPherson, Donald Anderson, and Alexander Thompson. These are the settlers who found temporary relief and shelter beneath the thatched roofs of Peterson and Fuller, and who constituted the pioneer set- tlers of the town of Caledonia. Arriving here in March of the year 1799, and being satisfied with the appearance of the soil, they agreed to purchase three thousand acres on the previously arranged plan of three dollars per acre, to be paid in wheat at six shillings per bushel. On account of so extensive a purchase Charles Williamson agreed to grant to them two hundred acres as a donation for the support of a minister, together with two acres on the State road on which to build a church and school house.t The pioneers then began in earnest to build houses and to cultivate the ground. Accessions were made yearly to this small colony by their countrymen from Scotland and Johnstown. Those who came soon after were John and Daniel Anderson, John Christie and family, John McLaren, Major Isaac Smith, Finley McKercher and his sons, Peter and John, who came in September, 1800; John McKay, his mother and sister, Jeannette, Alexander McDonald and his wife and son Donald and two daughters, Jeannette and Catharine, Robert Whaley, Wil- liam Armstrong, all of whom came previous to 1804 ; and Angus Cameron and three sons — Dun- can A., Donald and John, who came about the year 1804. These settlers were reduced to nearly * From notes of Donald McPherson included in the writings of Donald McKenzie. t In l8oz at the formation of the "Caledonia Presbyterian Keligious Society,* 1 William Pultney, through his agent, Charles Williamson, made over a deed of 150 acres of land for church lands, 1 acres on which to build a manse, and 50 acres for school purposes, which was duly re- corded in the County Clerk's office of Ontario in 1802. 45° HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. the conditions and surroundings of the most primi- tive age. To those who had been born and bred in Scotland, and whose ancestors had for genera- tions inhabited the highlands and lowlands of that staid and long settled country, everything in this region was both new and strange. They found themselves at once introduced to a new world and a new government, to new scenes, new manners and customs. The system of government even, at that early period, was yet both new and problem- atical. The sudden transition from a monarchial to a republican government was attended by no little mental embarrassment, but they soon became im- bued with the spirit of republican principles, and clung with the true Scottish love to the land of their adoption. Coming here poor and with scarcely the means for subsistence, Col. Williamson furnished them with provisions and the necessary facilities for the cultivation of the soil. Wheat was obtained at Dansville, and for some time was ground at the Wadsworth mills in Conesus. In the summer of 1801 Mr. Williamson began the erection of the first grist mill on the outlet of the Springs,* which was completed in 1802. The work was superin- tended by Jonathan Baker. Finley McPherson was employed by Mr. Baker to dig for the foundation at six shillings per day and board himself, and was obliged to go for his pay to the Pultney Company's store in Hermit- age,! some twenty miles distant. This was a small mill, having but one run of stones, and was the first mill, except Allen's, west of the Genesee river. In 1803, this mill and two hundred acres of land, which included the Springs, the outlet, and the site of Mumford, were purchased for two thousand dollars by an enterprising pioneer, John McKay. Mr. McKay came to the Genesee coun- try in 1793, when but sixteen years of age, and worked for several years as carpenter and joiner, coming to Caledonia in 1803. In 1804 he erected there a saw mill, in the construction of which he was assisted by William % Whaley, who soon after- wards married his sister Jeannette. John McKay died in 1850, aged seventy-three years. The next grist mill erected in Caledonia was built in 1814 by Moses Gibson and Col. Robert McKay,? on a • Turner says this mill was begun in 1799, but the notes of I lonald McKenzie and others of the fit place the date al i Williamsburgh. Alexander McDonald was the company's sub- agent and clerk at that place. t In another place this name is given -i' A' : * ' Whaley. § Brother to John McKay, and an early school teacher in tin < - ni I country. stream near the line of York. With the erection of these convenient mills the progress in farming and building was more rapid, and the settlers were soon making considerable headway, though still in straitened circumstances and struggling against the numerous adversities and privations of pioneer life. In the fall and winter of 1803 and 1804, a large number of Scotch people came in from Inverness- shire and Argyleshire, and other places in Scot- land, and at that time came also some of those who had remained in Johnstown since 1798. Among these settlers may be mentioned the names of Duncan McColl and his son, Donald, Lachlan, Daniel, James and Niel McLean, brothers, Archibald Gillis, Archibald McLachlin, William Orr, Angus Haggart, and Niel, his brother, Collin Gillis and John McKenzie, the most of whom brought families with them. Among the many intelligent and prominent early settlers was Donald McKenzie,* who came to America in 1805. He arrived in New York in July, where he remained two months working as a clerk in a store. From there he went to Con- necticut, where he stayed until fall, when he came to Caledonia. He worked for a short time in a cloth dressing and carding shop on Honeoye creek in Lima, and in the fall of 1S06 he built on the present site of Mumford a small log building, in which he began the business of cloth dressing, becoming in that business the pioneer in all the Genesee country west of the river. He had for his early customers all the people of a territory now included in the ten counties. In 1S09 he added to his business a carding machine, which was the second in all the territory west of the Genesee river, the first having been erected by William H. Bush, near Batavia. Not long after this small beginning he built a large framed shop, in which for some time he did a profitable business until it was destroyed by fire. During this time he had purchased of the English Company in Geneva some three or four hundred acres of land, on a part of which he soon built a large stone factory and commenced again not only the former business, but the additional branches of spinning and manufacturing of all kinds of cloth. He also built a large grist-mill on Allen's creek, a short distance east of Mumford, from which for some years he derived considerable profit, but which he lost through some business misfortune. He # To \\i as before mentioned, we are indebted tor many ..i the Mr, & Mrs. John Cameron. JOHN CAMERON. John Cameron was a native of Inverness, Scot- land. His father, Angus Cameron, was also a na- tive of the same place. In 1804, he was married to Catharine, daughter of Alexander Cameron, of Argyleshire, Scotland, and soon after, in com- pany with his wife, came to America, landing in the city of New York, and proceeded from there to Geneva, where he engaged in the mercantile business in company with Colonel Grieves. After remaining there nearly a year he sold out his interest to his partner, and through the solici- tations of the Scotch settlers in Caledonia, or " Big Springs," as it was then called, came here in 1805 and opened a store containing general merchandise. He was the first merchant who engaged in busi- ness in this town, and continued in it till about 1815 or '16, soon after the close of the war of 181 2. He died August 7th, 1820, and his wife June S, :S49. They left eight children as fol- lows: — Angus, born July 10, 1805 ; Margaret, born March 4, 1S08; Mary Ann, born March 21, 18 10; Alexander, born December 10, 1811; John Greig, born July 31, 18 13; Caroline, born May 13, 1815; Jean, born March 25, 1817; and Charles, born August 5, 1820. Only three of the family are now living, viz: — Margaret, Mary Ann. who married Peter Forbes and resides in Burlington, Racine county, Michigan, and Jean, who married Robert Brown, of Mumford, Monroe county, N. V. CALEDONIA— EARLY SETTLERS. 45i also lost a large section of his land, and the stone factory had not been many years in operation when that, too, was burned down, incurring a loss of many thousand dollars in buildings and ma- chinery. He then built on the Spring creek, near his house, a large saw-mill, in which for a number of years he did a paying business. He married in t8oo a daughter of William Hencher, the "prince of pioneers," who settled near the mouth of the Genesee river in 1792. She had been inured to the hardships and discomforts incident to pioneer life, and it is not known that in all the reverses of fortune which came upon the family that she ever gave utterance to one perverse murmur. She died Sept. 14, 1877, aged 92. Donald McKenzie died Sept. 13, 1861, aged 77. His children were Janet McNaughton, of Mum- ford, N. Y. ; William W. McKenzie, of Oakland, Cal. ; Daniel R. McKenzie, of Liberty, Ind. ; Mary McLean, of Rochester, N. Y. ; and Elizabeth, now on the homestead, — all living ; and Mehitable Lusk died July 15, 1S43; Sarah died in 1832; Joseph died in Kansas, September 25, 1857 ; John J. died July 3, 1878; and Simon D. died June 10, 1879. Alexander McDonald, Col. Williamson's clerk and sub-agent, was another prominent early settler. He sailed from Scotland in July, 1775, in the ship " Glasgow," Captain Townsend, with five hun- dred passengers. On arriving in New York they were all taken as prisoners by the British ship of war, Asia, and sent to Boston, and then to Hali- fax. Alexander was then enlisted in the 84th Regiment, in which he served five years. He af- terward owned half of the schooner "Mary," 105 f " Henry G.J Rochester.do co i860. Hugh D. McColl. John M. Dean. 1861-62 do do Stephen Loucks. 1863-64. David Walker. do do 1865. do • In this year Inverness- Wheatland— was set off into the new county ol Monroe, t Mr. Simpson cam :„ 1816, and followed the business of brewing beer and farming. He died in 1852. J Or Henry K. ? William S. Curtis ) do and Win. Hamilton. ) do do 1866-67. Alex. Ferguson. do do 1868-70. do do John McNaughton. 1 87 1. do do Charles U. Ferrin. 1872. Hugh D. McColl. William H. Walker. 1873. Alex. Furguson. Robert Wilson. 1874. do do James Beattie. 1875-80. William Hamilton. William H. Walker. The following officers were elected April 5, 1881 : — Supervisor, James Fraser; Town Clerk. William H. Walker; Justices of Peace, William S. McKenzie, (long term,) James J. Guthrie, (short term ;) Highway Commissioners, Donald McKenzie, James A. Maxwell ; Assessor, Peter W. McNaugh- ton ; Overseer of Poor, Peter P. Campbell ; Col- lector, James Beattie ; Constables, Thomas H. Bundy, Peter P. Campbell, Jr., William H. Ryan, Nathaniel Mosier ; Game Constable, George Mc- Kay ; Fxcise Commissioners, Charles W. Black- man, James R. Espie; Inspectors of Election, Duncan D. McColl, Arch. K. Fowler. Population. — In 1870 the population of Cale- donia was 1,813, of which number 1,294 were na- tive, and 519 foreign, 1,811 white, and 2 colored. In 1875 the total population of the town was 1,975; native, 1,483, foreign, 492; white, 1,959, colored, 16 ; an increase of 189 in the native, and a decrease of 27 in the foreign population. At the last census returns of 1880 the total pop- ulation was 2,068, an increase in the ten years of 255 in the total population. School Statistics. — The town contains ten school districts, in which, during the past year, (1880) school was taught 241 3-5 weeks, employ- ing nine teachers at a total amount in wages of $2,781.77, and with an average attendance of 205 pupils. The number of children in these districts over five and under twenty-one years of age is 617. The number attending school some portion of the past year was 425. The district libraries are valued at $95, on which was expended during the year the sum of $10.37. The amount paid out for school houses, sites, fences, furniture and repairs was $492.51. Total incidental expenses for the year, $304.51. Total valuation of school houses and sites, $142.25. Total valuation of districts, $i,749.9 1 9- Caledonia. The village of Caledonia is beautifully situated in the north-western part of the town, on the lines * This was a tie vote, and the Justices appointed Alexander Ferguson Supervisor for that year. CALEDONIA — EARLY SETTLERS. 455 of the Erie and Canandaigua & Niagara railroads. This is the village known in early days as " Big Springs," on the old State road from Albany to Buffalo. The Springs from which this place derived its primitive name are now devoted to the breeding of fish, the waters of these ponds being the finest in America for the propagation of trout. Here are located the "State Hatching Grounds," under the supervision of the eminent pisciculturist, Seth Green, who established the hatchery here as a private enterprise in June, 1864. Mr. Green con- ducted the business four years, and then sold to Alfred S. Collins for the sum of $14,000, under whose management it remained seven years, when he, for a similar consideration, sold it to the State of New York in 1875. Seth Green was chosen as Superintendent of the Hatchery ; and an appro- priation of $1,000 was made in the interest of the enterprise, which in 1880 was increased to $15,000. The trout propagated here are sent to stock the public waters of the State, over a million of eggs being annually shipped from these grounds. An extensive business in fish culture is also being carried on here by James Annin, Jr., pro- prietor of the Caledonia Trout Ponds, whose waters adjoin those of the State Hatchery. Mr. Annin engaged in this business in 1872, succeed- ing Annin & Campbell, and J. Annin & Co. A specialty is made of Brook Trout, although other species are propagated, and from these ponds yearly are sent to different parts of this country and to Europe extensive shipments of eggs, frys, and yearlings. Mr. Annin also engages to some considerable extent in the manufacture and sale of fishing tackle, supplying to the disciples of Izaak Walton rods, leaders, flys, spoons, and other accoutrements of the piscatory science. The scenery about these ponds is remarkably fine and picturesque. Con- nected with the grounds is a beautiful grove, a quite celebrated resort in summer for pleasure parties from various parts of the State. The present postmaster in Caledonia is James Beattie, who was appointed in 1873. Previously for some years, the officials had been Robert Wil- son, and then Miss E. A. Blakeslee, whom Mr. Beattie succeeded. The village has but one newspaper, the Cale- donia Advertiser, a weekly, which was established in May, 1878, by James Beattie and Alfred H. Collins. The present editor and proprietor is Alfred H. Collins, who purchased Mr. Beattie's in- terest in 1880. Among the early inn-keepers here was Major Isaac Smith, a widely known landlord west of the river, who began here in that capacity as early as 1800. Others who kept tavern here at different times were John Cameron in 1 808, Alexander Mc- Donald in and before 1809, Orange Dean, who came here in 181 1, and occupied for some years the McDonald stand, and Peter Bowen, who was the first proprietor of the hotel now known as the Moss House. This hotel was built in 181 6 by Robert McKay. Other proprietors after Peter Bowen were Augustus Hotchkiss, who kept it a number of years, P. P. Foote, the present pro- prietor of the Caledonia House, who was landlord of the Moss House some eight years, and J. W. Moss, of whom the present proprietor, P. Coffee, purchased five years ago. The erection of the Caledonia House was begun in 1 83 1, by James Shaw, and was by him com- pleted in 1833. The first proprietor was Mar- cenus Haxton, who kept it a year or two, and afterward went to Ohio, where he died. James Shaw was the next proprietor, and was succeeded by his son, John Shaw. Wells Hosmer was the landlord in 1844. Other landlords were J. W. Moss, from 1866 to 1867 ; Algeroy Smith, one year ; and Theodore F. Wilkinson one year. The present proprietor, P. P. Foote, purchased the property in 1873. The village contains an excellent public library, which is under the management of the Caledonia Library Association. This Association was or- ganized March n, 1873, through the influence and exertions of the following ladies : — Mrs. G. P. Grant, Mrs. John McNab, Mrs. D. F. Bonner, Mrs. John H. McNaughton, Mrs. Daniel Mc- Naughton, Mrs. Donald McPherson, Mrs. Thomas Brodie, Mrs. Dugald E. Cameron, Mrs. William Hamilton, Mrs. W. Walker, Mrs. David Menzie, Mrs. R. J. Menzie, Misses Helen Hosmer, Libbie McKenzie, Kittie Walker, Ella McVean, Christine Cameron, and Mrs. E. Burgess. Each of these ladies contributed the sum of five dollars, and pledged her interest and labor for the establishment and maintenance of a public library. The officers appointed at this meeting were : — Mrs. Thomas Brodie, President; Miss Helen Hos- mer, Vice-President ; Mrs. Elwood Burgess, Treasurer; Mrs. R. J. Menzie, Secretary; and Miss Christine Cameron, Librarian. The Library was opened to the public May 17, 45 6 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. 1873. Tne nrst vear closed with 163 volumes purchased by the Association. December 31, 1877, the library contained 471 volumes. In that year the Society procured a charter, which placed it on a legal and business foundation. In 1880 the library contained 655 volumes. The books, for the most part, are the productions of standard authors, comprising the works of Herbert Spencer, Taine, James Anthony Froude, and others as noted philosophical and historical writers. In February, 1881, the Association had in the bank $180.00, and about $100.00 in the hands of the treasurer. The present officers are : — Mrs. Daniel McPherson, President; W. H. Walker, Vice-President; Mrs. Dr. Borden, Secretary ; Miss Mary McCall Simpson, Treasurer ; James Beattie, Librarian ; Mrs. Dr. Wells, Mrs. John McNab and Mrs. Sarah Clark, Trustees. The A. O. U. IV., the early secret society here, was organized May 27, 1880. The officers then elected, and who are now the presiding officers in the Order, were David Menzie, P. YV.;A. K. Fowler, M. W.; D. W. Chamberlain, G. F.; F. P. Brownell, O.; Daniel F. Burgess, Recorder; R. J. Menzie, F. S.; George Outterson, R. S.; George McKay, Guide; George Barron, J. W.; Jno. Monroe, O.W. Merchants. — The first merchant here was John Cameron, who came to Caledonia in the fall of 1805. The next was Robert McKay, who came to the Genesee country in 1797, locating at Wil- liamsburgh, where, and in the surrounding section, he taught school for a number of years. In 1803 he entered the employment of Miner & Hall, early merchants in (Geneseo,) and on the death of both members of the firm he closed up their busi- ness affairs and in 1808 moved to Caledonia where he began the mercantile business. Other early merchants were Alexander McDonald, Sylvester Brown,* 1813, John McKenley, about 1817, and Thomas and Robert Brown, who came here in 1827, purchased McKenley's store and carried on business together until about 1851, when they sold to Klwood Burgess, who still continues in the busi- ness here. Mr. Burgess was born near Philadel- phia, Pa., in 1824, and came to Caledonia in 1847. The other merchants here are: — William H. Walker, who came to Caledonia in 1848. — After receiving his education he taught school a number of years, and engaged in his present business as general merchant ten years ago. He was born in Naperville, DuPage county, 111., in 1839; — Robert * County Clerk of Livingston county in l8xj, and the second to fill that office. M. Place, dealer in drugs and fancy goods, who came to Caledonia in 1837, and began his present business nine years ago ; Alexander Watson, mer- chant tailor, who began business here eight years ago; Cameron & Fraser (Dugald F. Cameron, Andrew Fraser,) hardware merchants, who have been in business as a firm nearly two years, suc- ceeding Cameron & Menzie — Mr. Cameron was born in Caledonia, March 19, 1831 ; — Mr. Fraser, in the town of York, in 1850 ; — Archibald K. Fow- ler, druggist, who has been in that business here four years, and who was born in York in 1852 ; Robert Wilson, general merchant, who came from Scotland in 1835, where he was born May 30, 1817, and who began his present business in May, 1879; Peter Gallagher, grocer, who has been in business one year ; James Callan, a native of Mumford, gen- eral merchant, who has been in business fouryears; James Smith, grocer, in business four years; Wil- liam Hamilton, produce merchant, who was born in LeRoy, in 1852, and who came to Caledonia in January, 1859. Mr. Hamilton is one of the most prominent citizens of the town. Besides dealing in grain and produce he is also a large owner of farming lands, and is extensively engaged in malt- ing, which business he began here in 1S67. He has held the office of Supervisor six years, from 1875 to 1880.* Physicians. — -The first physicians to locate in Caledonia, were Drs. Peter McPherson and Wil- liam H. Terry, who were here as early as 181 2. They were succeeded by Dr. Stockton in about 1S12, and Dr. William A. Townsend, from Con- necticut, in about 181 5, who built a house where the residence of Mrs. Dr. Wells now stands. Dr. Campbell was a physician here about 1853. Dr. Harlow Wells, of whom previous mention has been made, was a successful physician here for forty years, f The present physicians are : — Dr. Robert J. Menzie, who was born in Riga, May 21, 1833, graduated at Buffalo Medical University in 1866, and practiced a short time in Bergen, Genesee Co., then came to Caledonia in the fall of 1866, where he has since resided. Dr. George T. Borden, was .born in Mattapoiset, Mass., October 1st, 1833. He graduated from Hahnemann Medical College, Philadelphia, in 1876, and at once came to Caledonia, to begin his prac- tice. Lawyers. — The sole lawyer of the town is Wil- • See Biography on another page. t See close of chapter. CALEDONIA VILLAGE — MANUFACTURERS, CHURCHES. 457 liam Jesse Byam, son of Rev. George T. Byam, of Melville, Ont, Canada, in which place he was born Jan. 21, 1847. At the age of fifteen he was em- ployed as assistant Master of Mathematics in the Pictou High School, of which institution he became the Principal at the age of nineteen, having in the meantime taken a two years' course of instruction at Upper Canada College. At the age of twenty- one he graduated from the University of Toronto, receiving first class honors in Mathematics, and at the age of twenty-three graduated from the Cana- dian Military Academy at Toronto, taking a first place in the Artillery and Cavalry Departments, and a second place in the Department of Infantry. In 1872 he began the study of law with Charles Francis of Trenton, Ont., with whom he remained some four months, and then entered the office of Hon. John Hilliard Cameron, of Toronto, where he studied a little more than a year. In June, 1874, he entered the office of William F. Cogs- well, in Rochester, N. Y., and was admitted to practice in October, 1877. He came to Caledonia in 1878, where he has since practiced law with much success. Manufacturers. — The parties engaged in manu- facturing in Caledonia are: — Miller & Son, (Alex- ander and Fred,) manufacturers of agricultural im- plements, who have been in business a year, suc- ceeding A. D. & D. H. McColl, who had con- ducted the business some twelve years. Charles W. Blackmail, manufacturer of grain cradles, has been engaged in that business here since 1867, in which year he became the partnerof Henry G. Hatch, who for thirty years had con- ducted the business. In 1876 Mr. Blackman suc- ceeded Mr. Hatch, and has since been the sole proprietor of the manufactory. The Caledonia Manufacturing Company (VV. S., Nelson C. and C. H. Redfield,) manufacturers of hand rakes, broom and hoe-handles, barrel-head- ing, etc. In business here two years. Charles F. Curtiss, manufacturer of the "Wild- er" plow, began that business here in 1881. Archibald McLaughlin, a native of Caledonia, manufacturer of grass seed sowers, began here in 1855 the manufacture of agricultural implements. George W. McKay, proprietor of a saw and grist mill, was born in Caledonia in 1859. He is grand- son to John McKay, who purchased near the site of these mills in 1803 the old grist mill built by Colonel Williamson for the Pultney Land Com- pany. Churches. — The early settlers of Caledonia were Christian people, and among the first objects of their care was the provision for religious services. In consequence of their poverty they were unable at first to secure the labors of an ordained minister, but religious observances were not neglected. So- cial religious worship was held every Sabbath, but accustomed as they had been to regular adminis- tration of the Word and ordinances, they were not satisfied with this. Accordingly a meeting was held at the house of Peter Campbell, November 10, 1802, for the purpose of organizing a religious so- ciety, to be incorporated under the laws of the State. At this meeting they selected for their name "The Presbyterian Religious Society of Caledonia." They chose as trustees Thomas Irv- ine, Duncan McPherson, Peter Campbell, John Christie, and Peter Anderson. The next year a log school house was erected on the creek road, about a quarter of a mile west of what is now known as Mission Corners, in Wheatland. Here, every Sabbath, the pioneers met for religious wor- ship, and in the absence of ministers the services were conducted by themselves. This state of things continued until 1805. Having had up to this time but a civil religious organization, and being now strengthened by accessions of settlers from Invernesshire, Scotland, who had come in 1804, they determined to form an ecclesiastical organization. Accordingly at a meeting held in the school house, March 3, 1805, an organization was effected by Rev. Jedediah Chapman, of the Presbytery of Geneva. Donald McKenzie, Dun- can McPherson, and Donald Anderson were elect- ed Elders. Soon after a log church, 30 by 40 feet in size, was erected in the western part of the pres- ent village of Caledonia, on the two acres granted by Col. Williamson. This church stood on the site now occupied by the residence of Peter McNaughton. In February, 1806, there came into the colony from Scotland a young man of the name of Alex- ander Denoon, who had been in the old country a tutor to gentlemen's sons. He was licensed by the Presbytery of Geneva, June 26, 1806, and was appointed as the supply of this congrega- tion, in which capacity he continued to act until August 17, 1808, when he was ordained and form- ally installed pastor of the church. To this step there was very considerable opposition, on the part chiefly of the first settlers, which led soon to the disruption of the congregation, and to a final sep- aration. Both congregations reorganized, that of Mr. Denoon's in September, 1808, and the Asso- 45« HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. ciate Reformed Church in November, 1810. The church edifice was the joint property of both par- ties and was used by both, but in a few years after the church property was equally divided between them. On the organization of the Presbytery of Ontario Mr. Denoon's church, known as the First Presbyterian Church of Caledonia, was assigned to that body, and from that transferred to the Presbytery of Genesee when that was instituted. After the exscinding act of 1837, and the divis- ion of the Presbyterian Church, this society and its pastor connected themselves with the Presbytery of Susquehanna, of which they gave notice to the Presbytery of Genesee, and the connection was severed February 15, 1838. The church was af- terward received under the care of the Presbytery of Wyoming. The first edifice erected by this church was built in the year 1814, on land owned by Deacon Archibald Gillis. It was abandoned in a few years and was pulled down in 1850. In 1827 a stone church was erected at a cost of over $2,000, and was built on an acre of land which Alexander McDonald donated to the society for that purpose. This gave way in 1855 to the present fine edifice. Among the early members were : — Duncan McPher- son, Donald McKenzie, Simon Fraser, Archibald (lillis, Catherine Gillis, Peter and Catherine Camp- bell, John McPherson, Kitty (McBean) McKenzie, John Campbell, Margaret Campbell, Mary (Mc- Laughlin) Orr, Donald Anderson, John McKenzie, and Mary (McArthur) McKenzie. Rev. Alex- ander Denoon continued as pastor of this church until his death June 16, 1850 — a pastorate of over forty-four years. He was a man of eminent piety, exerted a marked influence for good in the town, and is spoken of reverently by the descendants of his parishoners. The succeeding pastors have been : — Rev. John W. Major, 1854, dismissed 1856 Rev. Wm. Evan Jones, 1857, " 1859 Rev. Malcolm N. McLaren, 1859, " 1871 Rev. John Kennedy Fowler, 1874, " 1877 Rev. Thomas Stephenson, 1878, who is the pres- ent pastor. The membership is 200. The church property is valued at $6,000, and the parsonage at $3,000. Those who withdrew from this church were chiefly people from Perthshire, Scotland, re- solved to look to the Associate Reformed Presbyterians for preaching. They according- ly applied to the Presbytery of Saratoga, and, after various delays, were by it organized into a congregation, Nov. 3, 18 10, John McVean, Wm. Armstrong, and Peter Farquherson being elected elders. The number of members was about 25. They were variously supplied until the fall of 1812, when they extended a call to Rev. John Campbell. In this call they were joined by a number of per- sons living on the Forty Thousand Acre Tract, now York, who had there a log church in what is now York Centre. Mr. Campbell was to receive a salary of $500 per annum, of which the people in York were to pay one-fifth, and receive one-fourth of the pas- tor's time. In November, 1813, Mr. Campbell entered upon his labors, which he continued successfully until his death, May 1, 1 S 1 7. During his ministry 109 persons were added to the church. With his death the connection with York was severed, and that people were organized into a separate congre- gation in 1818. His successor was the Rev. Wm. Boyce. Concerning this pastor there are very meager records. He was called in 1820 and was released at the request of the congregation, about 1824. In the interval between these pastorates the congregation erected a house of worship at a cost of $6,000. It was finished in the spring of 18 19. The next pastor was Rev. Donald C. Mc- Laren, at the time pastor of the Associate Re- formed Church of Cambridge, Washington county, N. Y. The congregation had now become quite strong. It embraced 117 families. In these there were 142 children over, and 310 under sixteen years of age. The number of communicants was 174. The relations between the two congregations were also more amicable than they had ever been since the disruption. Besides the opposition to the settle- ment of Mr. Denoon, differences had arisen between the two parties respecting the property donated by Col. Williamson, and which, ever since the disruption in 1808, had continued to be a bone of contention. In 1823, however, the matter was settled by the equitable division of the property. The Associate Reformed congregation received the east half of each tract, and the Presbyterians the west half of each; together with the log church on the village lot. In December, 1824, the con- gregation made a settlement of the business of their church building, when it was found that they were indebted to Robert McKay in the sum of $2,227.69. In order to indemnify him for this sum, which he had advanced to complete the church, the Society agreed to lease to him all the land falling to its share, on the condition that the lease was to be of a durable nature, and that the CALEDONIA — WAR RECORD. 459 lease-holder was to pay a rental of one barley corn yearly on the call of the trustees. The lease thus ordered was duly executed Feb. 23, 1826, and the lands virtually passed out of the hands of the Society. The pastorate of Mr. McLaren was a very successful one, lasting until July 14, 1852. On the evening of Sunday, Feb. 24, 1833, the church building was destroyed by fire. The con- gregation immediately began the erection of an- other, which was completed on the 30th of the following November, and is the fine stone church which now stands in the village. Its cost was about $4,000. At the sale of seats on the third of December, this amount was more than realized, and the congregation entered the new house free from debt. Near the close of Mr. McLaren's pastorate a new organization was formed in the northwest part of the congregation. Into this society 27 persons were received. The organization was effected Feb. 24, 1852; and the circumstances attending it being so favorable — the society start- ing with a good building free from debt — it was christened Beulah. After a brief vacancy the con- gregation called the Rev. William S. McLaren, the eldest son of the former pastor. He began his labors Dec. 19, 1852, and was installed April 19, 1853. He resigned on account of ill health and was released Sept. 8, 1869, and removed to Santa Barbara, Cal., where he died July 12, 1874. During his pastorate a parsonage was erected at a cost of about $3,300. A change also occurred in the congregation's ecclesiastical relationship in 1858. In that year a union was effected between the Associate and As- sociate Reformed Presbyterian churches in this country, resulting in the formation of what is now known as the United Presbyterian Church of North America, into which union this congregation entered.* On the the 13th of May, 1869, a new congregation was formed in the village of Mum- ford, about one mile north of Caledonia, and into that organization went from this church 27 mem- bers. In December, 1870, the congregation in Caledonia called the present pastor, Rev. D. F. Bonner, f He began his labors the first Sabbath in January, 1871, and was formally installed Feb. 28, 1 87 1. Various changes have taken place during his pastorate, among which was the re- modeling of the church building in 1875. This * The title of the church is now the United Presbyterian Church of Caledonia. tTo this kind pastor we are indebted for the most of this church his- tory, having drawn for some facts on the writings of Donald McKenzie. was effected at an expense, including furnishing, of $5,225. The congregation is in a flourishing condition and numbers to-day 160 communicants. War Record OF1812 andof the Rebellion. — When the war of 1812 broke out, the Scotch set- tlers in Caledonia had for the first time an oppor- tunity to show how strong was their love for the land of their adoption. Malicious reports were in circulation soon after the beginning of the war to the effect that the Scotch residents would prove treacherous, and lend their assistance to the British invaders. Little did the calumniators know of Scottish character who could thus charge them with treachery. Treason finds no lodgment in the head or heart of a Scotchman. Such of those resi- dents as had not yet become naturalized, on hear- ing this report, at once made application for citi- zenship, and so gave ample proof of their loyalty and honesty of purpose. They did more. A com- pany was formed among them, with Robert McKay as Captain, and Thomas Duer as Lieutenant. These Scotch Highlanders marched at once to Lewiston, where they remained until relieved by the regular troops. Capt. McKay was promoted to the rank of Colonel in 18 13, and in 1814 he and others of this company marched to defend Buffalo from the British who had crossed the Niagara, had taken the fort of that name, and burned Youngstown and Lewiston. On arriving in Buffalo they were en- rolled under the command of Major General Amos Hall and Col. Blakeslee, and at the battle of Black Rock, Col. McKay and several others were taken prisoners and carried to Montreal where they were confined until regularly exchanged the next year. In the war of the Rebellion, Caledonia sent to the defense of the Union two hundred and seven men,* besides contributing liberally in other ways to the Federal cause. The town furnished in August, 1862, 62 men, with a bounty of $100 each; in July, 1863, 22 commuted; in October, 1863, 28 men, with a bounty of $423 each; in February, 1864, 9 men, three at $300 each, and six at $320 each ; in July, 1864, 33 men at about $900 each; in December, 1864, 25 men at $600 each, and $100 hand money; also 28 men who enlisted at various times from this town, without bounty and with bounty to the credit of other towns. The War record of the town was quite carefully kept, and from it is given here the names of those who enlisted from the town of Caledonia. * This number includes those who enlisted from other places to fill the quota of Caledonia. 4t. 4, 1836. Served on picket duty only, was taken sick about April 20, 1863, and died at Carver Hospital, Washington, I). C, May 2, 1863. His body was brought home to Caledonia for interment. John William McNaughton, Sergeant, Co. K, enlisted Aug. 14; born in Caledonia, March 23, 1S40. Was in engagements at Beverly Ford, Mid- dleburgh, and Gettysburg, and was stationed at Alexandria, Ya., at the date of the surrender of General Lee, was discharged about June 16, 1865. Now living in Caledonia, N. Y. Enos Sullivan, Corporal, Co. K, enlisted Aug. 21, was slightly wounded at the battle of Gettys- burg. Now in Flint, Mich. Thomas Bradburn, Co. B, enlisted in August, was killed in a skirmish at Shepardstown, August 25, 1S64. William Tygart, Co. K, enlisted Aug. 19. Now in Caledonia, N. Y. John Bradburn, Co. H, enlisted Aug. 28. Pro- moted to Corporal in May, 1865, was captured by the Rebels at Lacy Springs in Jan., 1865, but escaped in a few hours. Was wounded on the shoulder by a sabre cut from which he recovered. Now in Caledonia, N. Y. Thomas Tygart, Co. K, enlisted Aug. 28, was wounded in the right knee, at Gettysburg. Now in the west. David R. Stewart, Co. M, enlisted Aug. 18. Promoted to Corporal Jan. 1, 1865. Now in Caledonia, N. Y. Jeremiah Casey, Co. K, enlisted Aug. 21. Pro- moted to Corporal in Jan., 1864; was taken pris- oner about June, 1864. and confined the most of the time in Andersonville prison, where he died Nov. 26, 1864. Almond Duane Robinson, Co. K, enlisted Aug. 18, was disabled by the fall of his horse at the bat- tle of the Wilderness, and discharged May 18, 1865. Died in 1880. Daniel Donohue, Co. K, enlisted Aug. 20. Pro- moted to rank of Sergeant, Jan. 6, 1S64. Was in sixty-two engagements up to June 24, 1864, at which time he was taken prisoner and was confined the most of the time in Andersonville prison ; died at Florana, S. C, Nov. 1, 1864. William Ball, Co. K, enlisted Aug. 19; was taken prisoner March 4, 1863, and confined for sixteen days in Libby prison, was then exchanged, rejoined his regiment, and was at the surrender of General Lee. He returned in Co. F, of the same regi- ment. Now living in Caledonia, N. Y. William A. Lynn, Corporal, Co. K, enlisted Aug. 20, was wounded in the head at Gettysburg, nearly recovered, and was taken prisoner March 9, 1863, and confined in Libby prison twenty-three days. James K. Polk Walker, Co. K, enlisted in Aug.; born in Caledonia, N. Y., Feb. 3, 1845, was in the several battles of the regiment, and was taken pris- oner at the battle of the Wilderness and confined the most of the time in Andersonville prison, where he died Oct 3, 1864. Wilson Caruthers, Co. M, enlisted in August ; wounded at Beverly Ford, June 9, 1863, and was discharged Jan. 21, 1864. Now in Caledonia, N.Y. Robert Robertson Orr, Co. K, enlisted August 14; born in Caledonia, March 10, 184 1 . Pro- moted to Q. M. Sergeant Jan. 1, 1875. Was in thirty-five engagements, including the battles of Upperville, Gettysburg, Boonsboro, Brandy Plains, and Stephensburg, at which place he was wounded in the right side, and confined to the hospital some three months. Was taken prisoner March 5, 1S63. Fxchanged in June, 1863, rejoined his regiment, and was discharged in June, 1S65. Now in Indiana. Robert M. Place, was discharged before expira- tion of his time. Now a druggist in Caledonia, N. Y. William Bradbury, Jr., Co. K, supposed to have deserted some time in September, 1862, frem the encampment in Rochester, N. Y. Alexander M. Caruthers, Corporal, Co. M, en- listed August 25. Died in rebel prison. Samuel Burgett, Co. K, enlisted in August, sup- posed to have deserted in September, from the en- campment in Rochester, N. Y. George A. Hickey, enlisted in this regiment and was afterwards transferred to the Second Battalion Veteran Reserve Corps ; was discharged about June, 1865. Now somewhere in Southern New York. Daniel J. McVean, died in the service. Andrew McKeiizie, Co. K, enlisted in August. Shot dead on picket duty near Dumfries, Va., March 5, 1863. Body brought home and buried in Caledonia, N. Y. John Caragher, Co. L, enlisted Aug. 30. Taken prisoner May 5, 1S64, and died in Andersonville prison in October, 1864. Andrew Kennedy, enlisted in August. Killed in the service. CALEDONIA — WAR RECORD. 461 Daniel Calder, died in the service. Body brought home for burial. Daniel McMartin, Jr., Co. I. Discharged in June, 1865. William Brown, Co. K, enlisted Aug. 14, was in service until June, 1865. Now in Scottsville, N. V. Lewis Yorks, enlisted in August. Deserted from encampment in Rochester, N. Y. C. C. Rockafellovv, Co. K, enlisted in August. Died in rebel prison. Lewis J. Cox, enlisted in August. Died in rebel prison. William Solomon, Co. K, enlisted in August. Died in Union Hospital. Harvey Murell, enlisted in August. Deserted from Camp in Rochester, N. Y.. in Sept. 1862. Jacob Hemluk, enlisted in August. Deserted from camp in Rochester, N. Y., in Sept. 1862. Frederick Simmimur, Peter Farley, Jeremiah Kelley, Benjamin Aldridge, Co. K, Jacob Guen- ter, Co. M, George W. Moore. Enlistments in other Companies and Regiments. — John D. Campbell, enlisted August 29, 1862, in a company of sharp-shooters. At the battle of the Wilderness he was wounded in the thigh. Died since close of the war. Peter William McNaughton, N. Y. Sharp-shoot- ers, enlisted August 27, 1862. Born in Caledo- nia, N. Y., October 14, 1834. Promoted to Cor- poral March 4, 1864. Was in the siege of Suffolk, Baltimore Cross Roads, Rappahannock Station, and Weldon R. R. Now in Caledonia, N. Y. Duncan D. Cameron, Co. K, 9th U. S. Colored Troops. Enlisted August 26, 1862. Born in Cale- donia, N. Y., January 18, 1839. Promoted to Lieutenant, November 29, 1863. Was in the siege of Suffolk, Deep Bottom, at John's Island, S. C, and in front of Petersburgh. After being in ser- vice thirty-one months he resigned March 9, 1865, and his resignation was accepted. Now in Cale- donia, N. Y. Andrew Beattie, Corporal, Co. C, 4th N. Y. Heavy Art. Enlisted August 5, 1862. Promoted to Corporal August 25, 1864. Now in LeRoy, N. Y. Archibald Walker, Co. C, 4th N. Y. Heavy Art. Enlisted as private, October r, 1862. Born in Broadalbin, N. Y., May 31, 1833. Was pro- moted October 1, 1863, to Captain of Co. I, 7th U. S. Colored Troops. Killed before Petersburg, September 6th, 1864. Body was brought home and buried in Caledonia, N. Y. Newton Thompson, Co. E, 27th N. Y. Infantry. Enlisted in April, 1861. Promoted to Sergeant in June, 1862. Now in Caledonia, N. Y. Sylvester Clark, Co. C, 4th N. Y. Heavy Art. Enlisted August 5, 1862. Was taken prisoner August 25, 1864, at Ream's Station and sent to Libby Prison, then to Belle Isle, and from there to Salisbury, N. C, where he was exchanged in Feb- ruary, 1865. Now in La Crosse, Wis. Gaylord Henry Hatch, 6th Ind. Co. N. Y. S. Sharp-shooters. Enlisted September 30, 1862. Promoted to Corporal in February, 1863. Was wounded in the left side at Gravel Run, March 30, 1865. Now living in Rochester, N. Y. Alexander Robert Fraser, Co. B, 1st District of Columbia Cavalry. Born in York, Livingston county, January 5, 1842. Enlisted July 27, 1863. Promoted in May or June, 1864, to Corporal. Was company clerk from time of enlistment to the time of his death. Was wounded at Ream's Sta- tion on the Weldon R. R., August 23, 1864, and died from the effects of his wounds in the field hos- pital, August 24, 1864, and was buried on the Je- rusalem Plank Road about four miles north of Petersburg. John Elliboat, Co. B, 15th N. Y. Cavalry. Promoted to Corporal July 1st, 1865. Now in Rochester, N. Y. Edward McEnrae, Co. G, 136th N. Y. Infant- ry. Went from Caledonia to the credit of the town of Leicester. Now in Caledonia, N. Y. Alexander W. Carmichael, 6th Ind. Co. N. Y. S. Sharp-shooters. Was discharged about June 1, 1865. Now in the West. John Campbell, Co. C, 4th N. Y. Heavy Art. Enlisted August 5, 1862. Was wounded in right arm. Discharged in June, 1865. Now in the West. Albert Crawford, Co. C, 4th N. Y. Heavy Art. Enlisted August 5, 1862. Promoted to Sergeant July, 1864. Commissioned Second Lieutenant in April, 1865, and was promoted to First Lieuten- ant in May of that year. Died in 1866. James Walker, First Lieut. Co. C, 4th N. Y. Heavy Art. Born in York, Livingston county, July 18, 1835. Enlisted November 15, 1861. Was shot dead at the Battle of the Wilderness, May 6, 1864. His body was left on the field and was probably buried with the army's dead. Hugh Brady, Co. C, 4th N. Y. Heavy Artillery. Enlisted Aug. 4, 1862. Was discharged from the service in January, 1863. Now in Caledonia, N. Y. Alexander William Ross, 6th Ind. Co., N. Y. S. 462 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Sharp-shooters. Enlisted in September, 1S62. Was in the service three or four months and was discharged, on account of disability. Now in Dansville, N. Y. James E. Cameron, enlisted in 1S62 in 26th N. Y. Battery. Was discharged about August, 1865. Now in Caledonia, N. Y. William Moreland, enlisted in August, 1862, in 6th Ind. Co., N. Y. S. Sharp-shooters. Present whereabouts unknown. James Ryan, enlisted in August, 1862, in First N. Y. Light Artillery ; whereabouts unknown. Samuel Whitmore, enlisted in August, 1862, in 146th N. Y. Vol. Infantry. Present location un- known. William G. Coon, enlisted in August, 1862, in 4th N. Y. Heavy Artillery. Dead. Sylvester Coon, enlisted in August, 1862, in 4th N. Y. Heavy Artillery. Present location not known. John Whitmore, enlisted in August, 1862, in 146th N. Y. Vol. Infantry. Whereabouts un- known. Oscar Smith, enlisted in 1864, in 14th N. Y. Heavy Artillery. Whereabouts unknown. Francis Loving, enlisted in January, 1864, in 14th N. Y. Heavy Artillery. Was taken prisoner June 1, 1864, and died in Andersonville prison Nov. 2, 1864. John Buncombe, enlisted January 4, 1864, in Co. C, 4th N. V. Vol. Artillery. Whereabouts not known. Lemen B. Granger, enlisted Jan. 4, 1S64, in Co. C, 4th N. Y. Vol. Artillery. Whereabouts unknown. William Henry Gibbs, Co. L, First N. Y. Light Artillery. Enlisted Sept. 27, 1861. Amos Gibbs, Co. L, First N. Y. Light Artillery. Enlisted Sept. 27, 1S61. Was wounded in the wrist at Chancellorsvilie, Va., May 2, 1863, and in the shoulder at Gettysburg, July 1, 1863; was in the hospital about six months ; was discharged at expiration term of service, Oct. 24, 1864. John McPhail, Co. B, 100th N. Y. Infantry. Enlisted Sept. 20, 1861. Was discharged from the service Jan. 30, 1865. Now in Riga, N. Y. John M. Campbell, enlisted in 1S61, in 100th N. Y. Infantry. Dead. Lyman Taylor, enlisted in 1S61, in 100th N. Y. Infantry. Dead. John Davis, enlisted in 1861, in 100th N. Y. Infantry. Whereabouts unknown. Donald Mclntyre, Co. B, 100th N. Y. Infantry. William Reed, Sergeant, Co. G, 6th U. S. Reg. Enlisted Aug. 10. 1861. Was six months in prison on Belle Isle. Was exchanged and re- joined his regiment about August 1, 1864, and was discharged Aug. 10, 1864. Now in Texas. Alfred Melancton Hotchkin, enlisted in 1S61, in 13th N. Y. Infantry. Now in Meadville, I'a. John J. McColl, enlisted in 1861, in 100th N. Y. Infantry. Dead. Albert Augustus Hotchkin, enlisted in 1861, in 13th N. Y. Infantry. Now in Rochester, N. Y. Joseph E. Stewart, Co. L, 4th Michigan Caval- ry. Enlisted Aug. 8, 1862. Now in Caledonia. N. Y. Norman Meldrum, enlisted in 1861, in rooth N. V Yolunteer Infantry. Now Secretary of the State of Colorado, of which State he was also a Senator since the war. Charles Englart, Co. B, mth N. Y. Infantry. Enlisted Aug. 15, 1864. Was discharged in June, 1865. W. S. Bogart, Lieutenant in 100th N. Y. In- fantry. Enlisted in 1861. John Adams, Co. D, First N. Y. Veteran Cav- alry. Enlisted Aug. 20, 1862. Was taken prisoner at Newmarket, Va., June 15, 1864, ex- changed Feb. 18, 1865, and was discharged Aug. 20, 1865. David F. Sinclair, Co. G, 136th N. Y. Infantry. Enlisted Sept. 7, 1864. Born in Caledonia, N. Y., May 24, 1839. Was discharged June 22, 1865. Now in Wisconsin. John Council, 136th N. Y. Infantry. Enlisted Sept. 7, 1864, to the credit of Leicester, N. Y. James Sullivan, 11 6th N. Y. Infantry. Enlisted April 13, 1864. Was in 12th I". S. Regulars three months ; was also in Co, F, 26th N. V. Infantry. Was shot dead before Petersburg, July 1, 1864. George Wright, enlisted in 6th U. S. Regiment. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, WILLIAM HAMILTON. William Hamilton is the eldest son of James Hamilton, who was born in Lanarkshire, Scotland, June, 1808, and who was son of William Hamil- ton, a farmer of the same place. James remained upon the homestead with his parents till twenty- three years of age, when, in March, 1S32, he mar- ried ('.race Naron, and soon after immigrated. to America. In 1833 he settled in Livingston coun- fete. Ill Lst/U^z^L^ WILLIAM HAMILTON — ANGUS CAMERON. 463 ty, where he followed the occupation of farming, and died in February, 1878. His wite died in De- cember, 1873. They had eight children, as fol- lows : William, James who died in infancy, James 2d, now residing in Ohio, Jeannette, Alexander, who died in Nevada from injuries received in the mines, John B., Grace Ann, and Margaret. William Hamilton was born in LeRoy, Genesee county, December 25, 1832. His early life was spent on a farm, and his education was such as the common schools afforded. In 1853 he taught school in Michigan, and in 1856 went to Minne- sota, returning in 1857. In 1859 he was mar- ried to Jane, daughter of Robert Vallance, Esq., of York, and settled in Caledonia, where he now resides, and is one of the lead- ing business men of the place. It is to his invincible energy and active business ability thai Caledonia is in- debted for many im- provements. Mr. Ham- ilton is a fanner, grain dealer and maltster. In politics he is a Demo- crat, and although al- ways taking a lively in- terest in important puh- lic questions, has never aspired to political posi- tion. He has been Highway Commissioner for nine years, and town Supervisor six years, holding the latter office at the present time. In religious sentiment he is a Presbyterian, and is now acting as Secretary and Treasurer of the First Presbyterian church of Caledonia. Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton have had five children, four of whom are now living, viz. : William Val- lance, who is now at Cornell University, Nellie Jane, Mary Elizabeth, and James Alexander. Mr. Hamilton has ever been ready, not only to lend a helping hand and render assistance to all feasible movements towards furthering the indus- trial interests, growth and public improvements of his town, but has always taken a great interest in the agricultural pursuits of the county, and has given the most hearty support to all efforts and measures tending to the advancement of the agri- cultural interests of Western New York. Mr. Hamilton is a man of unusual enterprise and ac- tivity. He early learned to rely upon self-efforts for advancement in the world, and by business habits, persevering industry, integrity of purpose, and honorable dealing, has won a deserved success. He is eminently a self-made man and one of the representative business men of Livingston county. (ANGUS CAMERON.) ANGUS CAMERON. Angus Cameron was of Scotch descent, his parents John and Catharine Cameron, having emi- grated to this country in 1804, the former from Inverness, and the latter from Argyleshire, Scotland. He was born at Geneva, N. Y., July 10, 1805, and the following Oc- tober removed with his father to Caledonia, where, after attaining a suitable age, he attend- ed the district school of the town, and the select school at LeRoy, N. Y. When about twenty- one years old he en- gaged himself as a clerk in the general store of Mr. Butterfield, of Cal- edonia, and after re- maining there several years he accepted a similar position with Donald McDonald of the same village. He was also, for a short time, salesman in a store in Canandaigua, whence he removed to Caledonia and opened a general store for him- self. This he conducted for five or six months only, when he sold out to Mr. Collen Mc- Vean. He then purchased several farms, in the town of Caledonia, which he rented, and the residue of his life spent the most of his time in speculating in real estate, collecting his rents, and loaning money. He was a man possessing unusual shrewdness, business tact and ability, having in an eminent degree those sterling Scottish characteristics, thrift and industry. In politics he was a strong and true Democrat, and his first ballot cast was for General Andrew Jackson. He died at Caledonia on the 20th of October, 1866, at the age of sixty-one years, and though never having married, he was a man, who through his geniality and kindness to others made many and lasting friends and at his death it was felt by all that though absent he would not be for- gotten. Having left no will, the large fortune which he had amassed was inherited by his brothers and sisters. 464 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. GILES PHELPS GRANT. Giles Phelps Grant, the subject of this memoir, was born in Norfolk, Litchfield county, Conn., May 26, 1801. His father was a farmer and until Giles became of age his history was similar to that of other New England farmer's sons — working on the farm and attending the district schools. This occupation not suiting the inclinations and temperament of young Grant, he decided to strike out for himself, and in 1822, at the age of twenty- one, he left home and went to Hartford, where he leased a store and immediately entered into the mercantile business. Having but little money, his beginning was necessarily small, though in self- reliance, enterprise, and energy he possessed an ample fortune, and his sagacious business tact soon developed a large and rapidly increasing trade. In 1825 he was married to Laura Crittenden, of Hartford, where he remained till about 1835, and then removed to the " Empire State," locating at Rochester, where he at first opened a retail boot and shoe store on the corner of Main and St. Paul streets. This proved to be the most successful establishment of the kind in Rochester, and gradu- ally developed into a wholesale trade. His first wife having died, Mr. Grant was again married, Sept. 8, 1863, to Margaret, daughter of Hector McLean, Esq., of Caledonia. In 1865 he opened an exclusively wholesale busi- ness on Exchange street, which he conducted till about 1874, when he retired from active business, having amassed a large fortune. His trade had increased from $1,000 the first year, to $500,000, the last year. He was the founder of the house now known as L. P. Ross' — the largest in Roches- ter. The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle of Jan. 22, 1877, says of Mr. Grant: — "The death of such a man as G. P. Grant deserves more than a passing notice in our columns, as he was in many respects a remarkable man. " Through his long course of over fifty years as a merchant inactive business, he maintained an un- blemished reputation and credit, conducting his business through the two greatest commercial panics ever known in this country — -in [837 and 1857 — always paying every debt in full that he contracted, and never even asking an extension. * * * Mr. Grant was the first person in Rochester to in- troduce the practice of selling goods on the road by samples, which is now so generally adopted by all kinds of trade. " He was a man of remarkable memory, retain- ing his recollection of events which transpired dur- ing his business life with remarkable accuracy. " His genial and pleasant manner of relating his reminiscences, made him a very agreeable and en- tertaining companion. He leaves many friends who will sincerely mourn his loss, and wish the country had more such upright, active business men as was G. P. Grant." Mr. Grant was eminently a self-made man, the sole architect of his own fortune. He was method- ic, prompt and reliable in all his transactions. As an example of his promptness, the following is stated : — " 1 luring the last fourteen years of his life he resided in Caledonia, going by rail to his business in Rochester every morning, and returning to his home in the evening, and during the whole of which time he was never known to miss his train." He was a liberal, benevolent, and unostenta- tious man, ever ready to lend a helping hand to those who in his opinion, were deserving of his as- sistance. In politics he was a strong Republican, and though seeking no political preferment, he quietly wielded a very strong influence. During the life of Mr. Grant's first wife, they adopted a daughter, Mary A. Grant, whom they loved as dearly as though she were their own. She was married to Charles, son of Nathan Wild, Esq., of Valatie, Columbia county, N. Y., where they now reside. They have six children, of whom the sons, in connection with their father, are extensive- ly engaged in the manufacture of cotton. Mr. Grant died at Caledonia, Jan. 18, 1877, at the age of seventy-six years. Mrs. Grant is left with an ample competence and still resides in Caledonia, the pleasant village of her nativity, with her sister, Miss Catherine McLean. Col. A. H. McLean, Mrs. Grant's brother, and their much loved aunt, Mrs. John McLean, comprise at present (1881) the entire family. In 1838 she became a member of the United Presbyterian church of Caledonia, and has ever remained an ac- tive and devoted member of that congregation. COL. ARCHIBALD HECTOR McLEAN. Col. Archibald Hector McLean is the only son of Hector McLean, and was born in Caledonia, July 20, 1820. He was brought upon a farm, and received his education at the district schools, with the exception of two terms — in 1839 and '40 — spent at the " Wesleyan Genesee" academy at Lima. In 1843 he engaged in wool trading, at the same time carrying on business on his father's farm in Caledonia. About 1853 he purchased a farm of two hundred and eighty acres adjoining that of his father's, comprising with the first about six hun- dred acres, which he continued to manage, in con- nection with his wool business, till the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion, when he expe- rienced a reverse of fortune, having on hand at the time a large quantity of wool, which suddenly de- clined in value and had to be disposed of at a sac- rifice. Having previously invested in real estate in De- troit, he removed there in 1861 and became a real estate agent. Desiring a larger field of operation he removed to Chicago, immediately after the large fire there, and opened a real estate office, in which he continued till the great crash or panic of 1873. All movement in real estate being then blocked, he COL. A. H. McLEAN — DUNCAN A. CAMERON — WILL ARD H. SMITH. 4 6 S commenced operating in grain, still attending to whatever business was offered in the office. He remained in Chicago till 1877, when he was called to Caledonia to assist his sister, Mrs. Grant, in the settlement of her deceased husband's estate. Colonel McLean has ever taken a great interest in military affairs. When only fifteen years of age, he accepted a position on Col. Gordon's staff, and passed through the different gradations, from Lieu- tenant to Colonel, in the 77th Regiment of the N. Y. State militia, of which he had command for six years. On the breaking out of the war of the Re- bellion, Jas. S. Wads- worth offered him any position on his staff he might choose, but the Colonel's financial mat- ters were such as to re- quire his personal at- tention, and he could not accept. In 1 848 Colonel Mc- Lean was elected to the New York State Assembly of 1848 and '49, and being reelect- ed served in the ses- sions of 1849 and '50. In the latter year he had charge of the bill for the establishment of the Genesee college in connection with the seminary at Lima, which is conducted under the patronage of the Methodists. '1 he Colonel who, ten years previously was a stu- dent at the old sem- inary, took a deep in- terest in its success, and it was doubtless mainly due to his in- fluence, that the bill was passed. In 1852 the Colonel assisted in organizing and constructing the Canandaigua & Niagara Falls Rail Road and was for six years an active director in that company. In politics Colonel McLean is a Republican, and has always taken an active part in the interests of that party. In religious sentiment he is a United Presby- terian, and is a genial and social gentleman. DUNCAN A. CAMERON. Duncan A. Cameron was born in Invernesshire, Scotland, on Christmas day, 1783. He was the third son of Angus and Catherine (McPherson) Cameron. They first located at Johnstown, Mont- gomery county, N. Y., and after remaining there about a year, removed to Caledonia, where, in 1805, Mr. Cameron purchased a tract of land which he cleared and afterward cultivated till near the time of his death, which occurred in 1823. His widow survived him till 1839. Duncan A. spent the early years of his life on his father's farm, and on the 23d of March, 1813, he was married to Sarah McColl, of Argyleshire, Scot- land, by whom he had eleven children, as follows: Angus (died in infancy) ; Hugh, an attorney, in LaCrosse, Wis. ; Dun- can, a farmer, residing in Wisconsin ; Mary and Catherine, resid- ing on the old home- stead ; Margaret E. Wilson, residing in Cal- edonia; Daniel (dead); Angus, U. S. Senator from Wisconsin, resid- ing at LaCrosse ; Du- gald (dead) ; Charles, a farmer, now living in York ; and Alexander (dead). In politics Mr. Cam- eron was a Whig till the organization of the Republican party, when he joined that party, and took an active in- terest in all political matters. In religion he was a strict Presbyteri- an, and rigidly opposed to any innovations of the tenets of that sect. The happiness of Mr. Cameron's married life was suddenly changed to sadness, when Jan. 14, 1863, the loving wife who had passed with him through many years of trials, was called away from his side and the society of many dear friends. He was not, however, left many years to walk the paths of life alone, but Dec. 3, 1868, quietly passed away to the other world. He was one of the leading repre- sentative farmers of the county, and at the time of his death, his farm, which is situated about three and a half miles southwest of the village of Cale- donia, fully illustrated that labor and perseverance will accomplish much if only properly applied. WILLARD HUNTINGTON SMITH. Willard Huntington Smith was born in Chester- field, Mass., Sept. 30, 1785, and died Dec. 25, 1856. He was the fourth son of Joseph and Ann (Stuart) Smith. At the age of six years his parents 4 66 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. removed to Bernardston, Mass., where he remained engaged in agricultural pursuits until eighteen \ c.irs of age when, feeling that this mode of life was entirely unsuited to his tastes or inclinations, he resolved to adopt a different one. Having a good common school education, and unaided by his father who had a large family of children, he left home and entered the academy at Salem, Mass. Upon leaving that institution, he placed himself under the tutorship of Rev. Orville Dewey. By teaching at intervals he earned sufficient to enable him to finish his preparatory course, and entered the junior class of 1808 in Williams College, from which, he was graduated in the class of 18 10. From thence he went to Albany, where he com- menced the study of law in the office of Bleeker & Sedgwick. He read during the day, and devoted his evenings to the instruction of a class of young gentlemen who were fitting themselves for college, and was thus enabled to pay his board and other expenses. He remained in Albany till after his marriage on Nov. 24th, 181 1, to Mary, youngest daughter of Col. Caleb Johnson, of Hampstead, N. H. In August, 1812, he went to Waterford, N. Y.. and entered the office of Samuel M. Huntington, where he completed his law studies. October 17, 1813, he was admitted to the bar by Hon. James Kent, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, and in December of the same year came to Caledonia (then Genesee county). It being impossible for him to obtain a boarding place lor himself and wife, he rented the rear part of the "red store" owned by Col. Robert McKay. at the west end of the village, where they com- menced housekeeping and remained two years. In the meantime he had purchased a village lot, consisting of half an acre of land, of McKay L. Mumford — that being all any one individual could, at that time, obtain for building purposes — and succeeded in procuring from another party a deed of a half-acre lot adjoining his, upon which he built the house in which he resided till his death. For about two years he used a portion of this house for an office, and then built one upon the same lot near his home. March 2, 1814, he received the appointment of Master in Chancery, under Daniel D. Tompkins, Governor, "to have and to hold said office during our good pleasure." In 1823 he was reappointed to the same office under Gov. Joseph C. Yates, and was again appointed under Gov. Wm. L. Mar- cy, holding that office till the Court of Chancery was abolished. March 1 7, 1826, he was appointed County Judge, under Governor DeWitt Clinton, and March 4, 183 1, was reappointed to the same office. March 24, 1832, he received the appointment of First Judge of Livingston county, under Gov. Fnos T. Throop, which office he continued to hold till June, t8 47 . His wile died March 26, 1844, aged filty-nine years, and on May 1, 1845, he married for his second wife Charlotte, widow of Colonel Thomas Johnson of Syracuse, N. Y., youngest daughter of Moses Johnson, a former merchant of Canandaigua. She survived him three years, and is buried by the side of his first wife in the cemetery at Mumford, where also his mortal remains repose. He had seven children, four of whom are now living as follows: — Lloyd K. in Rochester; Fran- ces Connor, widow of the late Dr. Harlow YV. Wells, now residing in Caledonia ; Mary Ann Stew- art, wife of Thomas Frothingham of Rochester. N. Y. ; and Sarah Lovejoy, wife of Hon. Wm. N. Em- erson, also of Rochester. The legal attainments of Judge Smith, were of a high order. He was a man of sterling integrity, irreproachable moral character, and ever a genial and instructive companion. These characteristics combined with fine literary tastes, and a highly cultivated intellect, endeared him to a large circle of friends. When upon the Bench, his clear and comprehensive mind enabled him to dispatch busi- ness with great rapidity. His is a fragrant memory and no eulogium can add to it one jot or iota in the estimation of those who remember him. His was a progressive mind, and to the latest moment of his life, his intellect remained perfectly clear, and his last hours were peaceful and serene. Perfectly resigned to the will of his Father, and with an unfaltering trust in his Redeemer, he passed away, cheered by the hope of a blessed immortality beyond the grave. DR. HARLOW WILLARD WELLS. Dr. Harlow Willard Wells was born in Leyden, Mass., April 15, 1809, and died Oct. 13, 1877, aged fifty-eight years. He was the fifth in descent from Thomas Wells, who in company with his two brothers, emigrated from Colchester, England, in 1636, to Hartford, Conn., and from there to Hadley, Mass., in 1639. Simeon Wells, father of Dr. H. W., removed from Leyden to New Haven, Oswego county, N. Y., in 1816. In 1826, at the opening of the Van Rensselaer Academy in the adjoining town of Mexico, Dr. Wells was enrolled as a student of that institution. After completing his course of studies there, he entered the office of Dr. Patrick G. Hard, as a student of medicine, and after taking three courses of lectures in the "Fairfield Medical College," of Fairfield, Herkimer county, N. Y., was in 1834 graduated as doctor of medi- cine. Among his classmates were Drs. Jewett and Simmons, of Canandaigua; Dr. McCollum, of Lockport ; Prof. James P. White, of Buffalo ; and the late Dr. John B. Witbeck, cf Rochester, N. Y. In April, 1834, he came to Caledonia, and at the age of twenty-five commenced the practice of his profession, in which he continued to labor suc- cessfully during forty-three years. In the fall of 1845, he was chosen to represent his county in the State Legislature, as Assembly- HARLOW W. WELLS, M. D.— DANIEL McPHERSON— HECTOR McLEAN. 467 man, but served only one term. His colleague was the late Gov. John Young. In 1852 he was elected Supervisor and held that office two years. During the last forty years of his life he was part of the time engaged in agricultural pursuits. He was a man of strict integrity, and untiring energy, and was eminently kind and generous to those around him. He was emphatically the poor man's friend, and in his professional capacity the needy and suffering ever found in him a kind and ready helper. The noble qualities of heart which he possessed endeared him to a large circle of friends, and commanded the confidence and respect of the entire community in which lie had spent the greater portion of his life. He was married June 26th. 1837, to Frances Connor, eld- est daughter of Hon. Willard H. Smith, of Caledonia, N. Y. Mrs. Wells has been left in possession of an am- ple competence, and is a lady of refinement and culture, possess- ' ing much force of character. She is a consistent member of the Presbyterian church, taking great interest in all benev- olent movements tend- ing toward the ameli- oration of society and advancing the cause of religion. land, April 9, 1828. He was brought up on his father's farm and received his education at the dis- trict school and the academy at Riga, Monroe county. At the age of twenty-one he purchased a farm in Wheatland, which he disposed of, after working it a few years, and in 1854 bought his present home in Caledonia. Jan. 14, 1857, he was united in marriage with Hattie M., daughter of Geo. B. Chace, Esq., of Cas- tile, Wyoming county, N. Y. They have one son, Frank Chace, who is living with them on the home- stead, and who married Miss Franc, daughter of Rev. B. R. Swick, of Lima. Mr. McPherson has followed the vocation of a farmer combined with that of the in- ventor, until within the last ten years, during which time he has leased his farm and devoted his whole time to invention. He has now seven differ- ent patents on grain- binders, and Cyrus H. McCormick, of Chi- cago is manufacturing them. At first Mr. Mc- Pherson met with dif- ficulties and reverses, but such has been the history of many of our principal inventors, and he is now begin- ning to reap the re- ward of his labor. (DANIEL McPHERSON.) DANIEL McPHERSON. Duncan W. McPherson, the father of Daniel, was born in Perthshire, Scotland, in 1793, and came with his family to this country in 1798. He first settled in Johnstown, Montgomery county, where he remained till 1801 and then removed to the Genesee country, and there purchased and cleared a tract of land upon which the residue of his life was spent. In 1807 he was married to Catharine McArthur, who was born in Perthshire, Scotland, in 1798, and emigrated to America in 1801. They had ten children, five of whom are now living. In religious sentiment Mr. McPher- son was a Presbyterian. He died in 186S, and his wife who still survives him is a lady of superior in- tellect and resides in Wheatland, Monroe county N. Y. Daniel was the fourth child and second son of Duncan W. McPherson, and was born in Wheat- HECTOR McLEAN. The subject of this sketch was born in Argyle- shire, Scotland, in 1776. He was the oldest of seven children, and emigrated to New York city in 1805. Small events sometimes decide the fate of nations, as well as individuals and families, and the destiny of the McLean family was probably de- cided by a difficulty that occurred between the father of Hector, and the factor of the landlord on whose estate the family resided. They had an altercation at the public house in the little town where they lived, and the factor received a severe drubbing. During the absence of the landlord for several years on the Continent, the aggrieved fac- tor taking advantage of his master's absence, re- fused to renew the lease of the farm. Hector had contemplated coming to America, but received strong opposition from his parents and other members of his family. When his father lost the farm which had been under the control of 468 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. his ancestry from time immemorial, he was so sorely grieved that he decided at once to ac- company his son to America, binding him under the solemn obligation, that whatever their destiny might be in the " New World " while living, in death their bones should repose in adjacent graves. By occupation, Hector was a seafaring man, carrying on commercial transactions between Greenock, Glasgow, and the numerous Islands oft" the coast of the West Highlands, and his father was a well-to-do farmer. They disposed of their interests in Scotland, and with all their worldly effects embarked from Greenock for the New World in October, 1805. After a tempestuous passage of over nine weeks, a distant view of land was obtained off Sandy Hook. Just then a British man-of-war hove in sight and fired a shot across their bow, as a signal for them to stop. A "press- gang" came on board and claimed Hector and his two brothers as "lawful subjects of His Majesty," who were endeavoring to escape from the kingdom of Great Britain. Resistance was worse than useless, for the " French war " was then raging, and the King wanted soldiers and sailors. The poor captives showed their clearance from the port of Greenock for America, but all in vain. No time was allowed for parleying, and the peremptory order "get ready and go aboard the boat," sent a thrill of horror to the hearts of the stricken captives. The tears of their aged parents were unavailing, but finally money, offered as a ransom, softened the obdurate heart of the British officer, and he consented to their release on the conditions that three of the vessel's crew should be substituted, and that they should hand over to him all their money and valuables. Through the efforts of McLean and his brothers working beforethe mast, the vessel was brought to port, but when the family landed in New York they had not the means to purchase a night's lodging, and only their sturdy hands and resolute hearts, to brave the terrors of a rigorous winter. A temporary lodging was procured, and the follow- ing morning Hector and his brother Charles found work as stevedores on the dock, and soon earned a sufficiency to make their parents and family comfortable. Hector subsequently obtained work in the Brook- lyn navy yard, where he earned the money to pur- chase a farm in the (lenesee valley. In the meantime the family removed to Stamford, Delaware county, N.Y., where Hector soon found his wife, in the per- son of Annie Mclntyre, of Harpersfield. In the winter of 1813, Hector and his wife started in a temporary sleigh drawn by one horse, for their new home in the west, and on the route received the news from an escaped soldier, of the burning of Buffalo, and the ravages of the Indians on the white settlements. Hector was half inclined to turn back, but his wife, who was a woman of great courage, combin- ing substantial good sense, insisted on their pro- ceeding on their journey, as a runaway from camp never brought good news. They arrived at their new home in mid-winter, and commenced clearing the forest, preparatory to making a home for themselves and family. They received a "High- land Welcome " from the Scottish settlers at Cale- donia, and great kindness and encouragement from all their neighbors. When Commodore Yoe came with his Meet to the mouth of the Genesee river, and threatened to destroy the village of Carthage, McLean and his neighbors volunteered and marched for the protec- tion of the town. After the close of the War of 181 2, the early settlers experienced great difficulty in obtaining a market for their products, but after the construction of the Frie canal, remunerative prices were obtained, land advanced in value, and general prosperity prevailed. Although experiencing many hardships, Mr. McLean found himself, after a few years of indus- try and frugality, the possessor of a comfortable home. He attributed his success in life, in no small degree, to the sound judgment and wise counsel of his wife who possessed fine literary tastes ami a seemingly intuitive knowledge of the world which was truly remarkable. Long before leaving Scotland, Mr. McLean united with the Scottish Presbyterian Church, and finding a similar organization in Caledonia he and his wife united themselves with, and remained active and consistent members of the United Pres- byterian Church of that place. In politics, he was a Whig and Republican and held many important trusts in Church and State. His sound judgment and kind heart made him the trusted counselor, the valued friend, and the frequent peace-maker. He was generous to a fault, and his benign sympathy for humanity might have led him to give to the undeserving. He was in- tolerant to all that was base or false, asking noth- ing he considered unjust, and submitting to noth- ing he considered to be wrong. He died at Caledonia, surrounded by his family and numerous friends, in 1869, at the advanced age of ninety-three years, surviving his wife, who died in 1853. He was buried by the side of his father in the cemetery at Caledonia, thus fulfilling the solemn promise made to him before leaving the land of his birth. Mr. McLean was a strong, muscularly built man, capable of enduring great mental and physical labor. His children who survive him are : — Mrs. G. P. Grant, Miss Catherine McLean, and Col. A. H. McLean, all of whom now (1881) reside in Caledonia. DAVID WALKER. David Walker is the eldest son of William Walker, who was born in Broadalbin, Montgomery county, (now Fulton county,) in the year 1779. He (David) was born at Johnstown, Montgomery county, May 21. 1806, was brought up on the homestead at Broadalbin, and educated at the dis- trict school of the town. In 1829, at the age of DAVID WALKER — LIMA. 469 twenty-three years, he left the old home and took up his residence in Caledonia. He followed the occupation of farming till within the last twenty years, during which time he has retired from active business life. On the 18th of March, 1835, he was married to Isabelle Robertson of Broadalbin, N. Y. She was born July 8, 1806. Mr. Walker is a member of the United Presby- terian church, and has officiated as deacon of a church for nearly forty years. In politics he is a Republican, and, though never having sought of- fice, has been elected several times in his town. He was town Supervisor in 1864 and 1865, and has been Justice of the Peace for several years. Mr. and Mrs. Walker have passed the "three score years and ten " of their lives and still appear ex- ceptionally well preserved. By an upright life of industry and integrity they have secured a compe- tency for a comfortable support during their de- clining years, and have justly gained the respect in which they are held by all who know them. CHAPTER XXXI. History of the Town of Lima. THE town of Lima lies on the extreme north- eastern border of the county. It is bounded on the north by Mendon, (Monroe county) ; on the south by Livonia and Richmond, (Ontario county) ; on the east by West Bloomfield, (On- tario county) ; and on the west by Avon. The only stream of importance is Stony brook, which rises in Livonia and flows north through the center of the town. Honeoye creek, on the east- ern border, divides the town from West Bloomfield in Ontario county. The town has but three Mi- lages, Lima, the principal point, near the center of the town, North Bloomfield, in the extreme north- eastern part, and Hamilton Station, or South Lima, in the extreme south-western part. The town of Lima was originally known as " Mighle's Gore." The name was derived from a man who owned here a considerable tract of land so cut up by the division of towns on the north, east and west as to present the shape of a "gore." Lima was formed as Charleston, then in Ontario county. Jan. 27, 1789. Its name was changed April 6, 1808. Its surface is undulating and hilly. The soil is a clay and clay loam, and in the north- west sandy and gravelly loam. The first settlement of the town is accredited to Paul Davidson and Jonathan Gould, who it is be- lieved came from Pennsylvania, and who located here in 17S8. These pioneers are believed to be the first permanent settlers west of the Adams' Settlement in Bloomfield.* Soon after these pathmakers cameAbner Miles, from Massachusetts, in 1789; John Miner and Asahel Burchard, in the following year, and Steven Tinker and Solomon Hovey, from Massachusetts, in 1791. In this year came also Zebulon Moses, with his wife and son, Luther, settling near the present site of Lima village. Here he lived two years, and then removed about four miles south- east to what was then an unbroken wilderness, where he purchased a tract of land. Luther Moses, the son, was born in Rutland, Vt., in 1787. He died in 1876, having been a resident of Lima eighty-four years. Miles Bristol came to the town of Lima about 1785, locating a farm near what is now Lima village. His son, William Bristol, now retains the homestead. On this farm have been found many interesting relics of the savage race who had been the primitive occupants, comprising rude axes, arrows of flint, pipes, tomahawks, kettles of clay, and skeletons of those early aborigines. In 1877, Mr. Bristol discovered the perfect remains of a human being, whose fleshless arms were decorated with iron armlets strung with varied colored beads. Among other early settlers who came here previous to 1795, were Reuben and Gideon Thayer, Col. Thomas Lee, Col. David Morgan, Willard and Amasa Humphrey, and Asahel, William and Daniel H. Warner. The famil) oi • Turner's Phelps and Gorham's Purchase- 47° HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Warner were among the most prominent and in- fluential of the pioneers in Lima.* In 1797, the greater part of what is now the village of Lima, was owned by Matthew Warner and his brother. The ancestor of this family, William Warner, came from England in 1637 and settled at Ips- wich, Mass. He had two sons, Daniel and John, who in 1672 settled in New Canaan, in this State. One of these brothers had a son named William, who married there and had a family of thirteen children. William Warner was the oldest of this family. He was born in 17 1 7. In 1740 he was married to a Miss Hawley, of English descent, by whom he had seven children, Asahel, Matthew, William, Daniel, Elizabeth, Hannah and Sally. His wife dying in 1775 or 1776, he was again married to Elizabeth Norton, by whom he also had seven children, three sons and four daughters. The sons were John N., Linus and Samuel. William Warner participated in the war of the Revolution, in which he ruined his health, and as his property was in continental money it became worthless, and at the close of the war he was imprisoned for debt in Albany jail, where, in poor health and despondent spirits, he remained some time. In 1794 two of his sons, Asahel and William, came to Lima, where they remained dur- ing one summer. Here Asahel purchased a tract of land on which was a log house, and then the brothers returned to their former home, where in the following winter they were married. The next year, 1795, they again started for Lima, arriving there on the 22(1 of March, after a journey of twenty-two days. They found the country here almost an unbroken wilderness, with bears, wolves, and deer in large numbers, and nearly the sole ownership of the land vested in the red men. William Warner, who at this time came with his sons, died in the following August, and was buried in Bloomfield. Asahel Warner was a man of great energy and perseverance, and was greatly instrumental in de- veloping the business interests of Lima. In 181 2- '13, he was elected member of Assembly. He died in 1847, aged 83 years. Matthew Warner was also quite a prominent man in the early history of this town. He came to Lima in 1797, where he soon after built a log house f in which he lived until his death July 9, 1841. He was at one time Justice of the Peace, # It mi^ht also be said the most numerous. It is related that in those early days strangers were told, " I f you see a man in the street and don't know his name e.ill him Warner. You are Certain ti> nil it every time." t Near the brick house in which Ml. Tli.iui has since lived. and one of the Judges of the County court of On- tario, and in 1818-19 served his district in the As- sembly. William Warner, who came herewith his brother Asahel in 1795, died February 16, 1850, aged 78 years. Among other early settlers were Col. George Smith, who came in March, 1798, and James Ster- ling, Nathaniel Munger, Samuel Carr, Jedediah Commins, Joel Roberts, Phineas Burchard, Chris- topher Lee, Jonah Moses, and John and David B. Morgan, all of whom came previous to the arrival of Col. Smith. In 1799 Adolphus Watkins came to this town from Ashford, Winford county, Conn. When he came, where Lima now stands were a few scatter- ing log houses, and what is now known as Roches- ter street, was a muddy thoroughfare, over which the pioneers traveled with their grist to a mill in Honeoye. This is now one of the finest streets in the town, the principal street in the village, and the log cabins have given place to fine residences and costly churches. The town was then known as Charleston, rough and unbroken, with the land heavily timbered with black walnut, white and black oak, elm, cherry, and basswood. The first marriage in this new country was that of Simeon Gray and Patty Alger, in 1793. The first death that of Mrs. Abbot, mother to Mrs. Paul Davidson, in 1791.* This was the first death in the Genesee country. The first child born was a daughter to Mrs. Paul Davidson. The first school was taught in 1792-3, by John Sabin. Reuben Thayer kept the first tavern in 1793, and in the year following Tryon & Adams opened the first store. Reuben Thayer built the first saw mill in 1796, and Zebulon Norton the first grist mill in 1794. The growth of the town, and the development of its business interests, was gradual and attended by many hardships. As late as 1820, some of the best land between here and Avon lay to commons, and was offered for sale at ten dollars per acre. Lima then comprised all the territory west of Honeoye creek, — including what was then known as Abram's Plains — to the town line of Rush, nearly to Hallock's Corners, on the East Rush road. There was then no building north of the Pres- byterian Church in Lima Village for nearly a mile. At that time the village had but a few stores, the principal one being that of Atwell & Grout. * Doty says 1790. David Cuf^tis Paf^k er, David Curtis Parker was a son of William and Sarah (Curtis) Parker, the latter of whose father, Mr. Curtis, of Connecticut, was a surveyor and one of a company sent by the government to survey the lands of the Holland Purchase. William Parker was born iu Connecticut in 17H7. He moved to Lima at a very early day and settled on the farm now occupied by his son Charles L. He died in 1842, his wife in 18">3. To Mr. and Mrs. Parker were born the following children: — Khoda, born in 1800; Bet- sy, in 180.". ; William B., about 1807 ; David Curtis, May 2, 1810, died May 14, 1870: Edmund J., born iu 1812; Sarah Ann, in 1817 ; and Charles L., in 1819; of whom Charles L., and William B. are the only ones living, and both reside in Lima. David C. remained at home till twenty-three years of age, being most of the time engaged in working the home farm, and assisting his father whenever an occasiou offered itself. His education was necessarily limited as he could only attend the common school of the town in which he resided. February 15, 1833, he was married to Eliza, daughter of George and Eliza Wiggins. She was born in New Jer- sey December 1, 1810, and moved with her parents to West Bloomlield, where her mother died iu 1816, leaving four children. Her father married for his second wife Polly Fay, a sister of his deceased wife. By her hi bad ten children. Those left him by his first wife were: Jonathan, bom in New Jersey in 1808, (deceased); Eliza, as already mentioned; David Sargeaut, born in 1812, died in 1867; and James Baldwin, now living at Wesl Avon After his marriage, David C. lived one year with his parents and then purchased the farm on which he resided till his death. Here the best years of his life and most noble efforts were devoted to improving and developing his property, and he ranked among the best and most scientific agriculturists in the county. He was never an office-seeker, but was a plain unpre- tentious man, whose reputation was without a stain. His character was never questioned and he was highly respected for that fact. Iu politics he was a Republican, and took a lively interest in the success of his party, al- ways sustaining its measures consistently. He attended the Universalist church at North Bloomfield, but was never a member of any congregation. Having no children of his own, he adopted his wife's nephew, Curtis P. Wiggins, when he was eight years old. and lavished upon him the tenderest care of a kind parent, which the young man fully appreciated, and he inserts this portrait and sketch from pure affection and iu rever- ence for his memory. Curtis Parker Wiggins was born August 26, 1838, and was married to Phebe A., daughter of Robert and Fanny Huntington, of West Bloomfield, Ontario county, X. Y. She was born August 21. 1839. Two children have been born to them ; Fannie E., and Ida M, Mr. Wiggins lives on lln' farm It II him by bis adopted father, which is beautifully located about three miles northeast of Lima. The plan is kept in the hi state of cultivation and Mr. Wiggins is surrounded with all the comforts of a happy borne and Sreside. LIMA — EARLY SETTLERS. 47i Wheat sold then for 37 £ cts. per bushel. Goods were paid for in wheat, which was ground into flour, drawn to the mouth of the Genesee river, and from there was taken by sloops to Ogdensburgh and down the St. Lawrence on rafts to Montreal. Be- tween the Honeoye creek and the Avon line there were then seven taverns, which, nearly every night, were full of teamsters and travelers. One of these taverns, a little west of the village of Lima, was kept by John Morgan. The order of things has been somewhat reversed since that time. Then there were seven taverns and one church ; now over that same line are five churches and but one tavern. Of those pioneers who laid the foundations for the future growth and prosperity of Lima, none are living, and but few have descendants in the town. Asahel Warner has none in Lima. Judge Mat- thew Warner has one son, Andrew J. Warner, now living near Lima village, a farmer, and a music teacher of some celebrity. Mrs. C. J. Ingersoll, also living near the village, is a daughter of Mat- thew Warner. A son, Spencer, lives in Michigan, and another daughter, Huldah, (Mrs. Clement Turner,) lives in Iowa. William Warner has no immediate descendants. A grandson, Charles H. Warner, a farmer, whose father was Henry Warner, now lives here. Daniel Warner has one son, Edwin Warner, a farmer, living here. Asahel Burchard, who died in 1853, aged 91, has no descendants in the town. Stephen Arthur, has none in the town. His children married and settled in the West. Thomas Peck, has one son, Richard, a farmer, now living here. He was Supervisor a number of years, and is quite a prominent man. A daughter, Mrs. Dann, also resides in the town. Another family quite prominent in the history of this town was that of the Leech brothers, Man- asseh, who came here in 1797, and died in March, 1828, and Clement, Ebenezer and Paine, who probably came here at about the same time. Josiah G. Leech, a son to Manasseh, was born April 22, 1803, and in his day was one of the lead- ing men of Lima. He held town offices seventeen consecutive years, ending in 1847 with three suc- cessive terms as Supervisor. He died in 1872. A daughter to Manasseh Leech, Mrs. Nelson Lloyd, who lives in Lima village, is the only direct descendant in the town now living. A grandson, Manasseh Cummings, lives here. Clement Leech has no descendants here. A son, Robert T., lives in West Bloomfield, and a daughter, Mrs. Parmilee, also in West Bloomfield. A son, Clement, moved to the West and died. Ebenezer Leech has no descendants here. All are dead. Solomon Hovey has one son, Guernsey, now in the town. Adolphus Watkins, who died in 1876, has one daughter, Mrs. Roxie Gordon, living here, and a son, Solon Watkins, who was President of Lima village in 1877-78. Town Officers. — From some stray records, of whose authenticity nothing is positively known, it is learned that the first town meeting was held in 1793, when what is now Lima was known as "Mighle's Gore,"* and that at this meeting Amos Hall was chosen Supervisor, and that during this year most of the roads were laid out. The only records known to be authentic, place the first meeting on April 4th, 1797. This was held at the Inn of Reuben Thayer, and the officers then elected were as follows : — Supervisor, Solomon Hovey ; Town Clerk, James Davis ; Assessors, Joseph Arthur, Willard Humphrey, Justus Miner ; Commissioners of Highways, Elijah Morgan, Na- thaniel Munger, Jonathan Gould ; Poormasters, Joseph Arthur, William Williams ; Constable and Collector, John Miner; School Commissioners, Joel Roberts, William Williams, Col. David Mor- gan ; Path-Masters, Jonathan Gould, Phillip Sparl- ing, Joseph Arthur, Willard Humphrey ; Fence Viewers, William Webber, William Williams, James Davis; Pound Keeper, Reuben Thayer. The town was then known as Charleston, and that name was changed to Lima in 1808 or 1 809.1 The first town meeting held in the town of Lima, so named, was in the "Brick School House" in what is now Lima village, on the 4th day of April, 1809. The town was still in Ontario county. At this meeting the following officers were elected : — Supervisor, Abel Bristol ; Town Clerk, Manas- seh Leech; Assessors, Justin Smith, William Bacon, William Williams ; Constable and Collector, John Morgan ; Commissioners of Highways, Jacob Stevens, Gurdon W. Cook; Overseers of the Poor, Ezra Norton, Jedediah Commins ; Sealer of Weights and Measures, Gurdon W. •This name is variously spelled Mighle's, Mile's, Migell's ; the former is said hy Franklin Carter, Esq., to be the correct form. t Both French and Doty state that the name was changed in 1808, the former placing the date at April '\ but the town meeting whit b wa in April of that year is dated Charleston, and no records show that tin- change was made at that date. The name of Lima first appears "11 the records January 1 1, iSc*;. 472 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Cook ; Fence Viewers, Asa Porter, Clement Leech, Enos Frost ; Pound-keeper, Asa Porter. Asum of $25 was voted to build thepound, which was to be located on the northwest corner of the Porter farm. From that date the Supervisors and Town Clerks have been as here appended :— Supervisors. Town Clerks. 1810 Asahel Warner. Matthew Warner. i8ii William Williams. " " 181 2 Matthew Warner. James K. Guernsey. 1813-14 Jacob Stevens. " " 1 81 5 " " Matthew Warner. 1816 Matthew Warner. Manasseh Leech. 18 1 7 Asahel Warner. " il 1818-19 Manasseh Leech. Matthew Warner. 1820-22 " " (leorge W. Atwell. 1823 Asahel Warner. Edmund Root. 1824 I.eviHovey. M.W.Brown. 1825 Manasseh Leech. " " 1826-27 " " George W. Little. 1828-31 Smith Parmelee. 1832 H. Hutchinson. " " 1833 John Cutler. Erastus Clark. 1834-35 " " Charles Ingersoll. 1836 Alexander Martin. " " 1837 " " J. Franklin Peck. 1838 John Cutler. " " 1839-41 " " Franklin Carter. 1842 Jarvis Raymond. " " 1843 Alexander Martin. " " 1844 Israel Nicklesson. " " 1845-46 Josiah G. Leech. " " 1847 " " J. Franklin Peck. [848 Alexander Martin. Franklin Carter. 1849 Alvin Chamberlin. Jarvis Raymond. 1850 " " Albert L. Stevens. 1 85 1 " " Henry M. Barnard. 1852 Daniel Day. " 1853 Ezekiel Hyde. " 1854 Henry Warner. " " 1855 Samuel T. Vary. Edward Salmon. 1856 Lyman Hawes. " " 1857-58 Daniel Day. " " 1859-60 David H. Alberston. " " 1861-66 Shepard P. Morgan. " 1867-69 Richard Peck. " 1870-72 Win. R. McNair. 1873—77 Anson L. Angle. Patrick Guinan. 1878 Albert Heath. " " 1879-80 James T. Gordon. The following officers were elected April 5, 1 88 1 : — Supervisor, James T. Gordon; Town Clerk, Patrick Guinan ; Justice of Peace, Fgerton Watts ; Highway Commissioner, David B. Mor- gan ; Assessor, Lewis Moses ; Overseer of Poor, David H. King; Collector, James E. Eockington ; Constables, James E. Lockington, James Van Val- kenbergh, Henry F. Stevens, James Egan, George Ford ; Game Constable, Charles D. Goodrich. Population. — In 1870, the town of Lima had a population of 2,912, of whom 2,355 were native, 557 foreign; 2,896 white, 16 colored. In 1845 the total population was 2,915, of which number 2,346 were native, 569 foreign; 2,895 white, 20 colored. At the census of 1880, the total population was 2.700, a decrease of 212 in the ten years. School Statistics. — The town of Lima has nine school districts, in which, during the past year (1880,) school was taught 303 weeks, employing 13 teachers, and with a total amount in wages of $3,238.75. Number of children in districts over five and under twenty-one years of age, 895 ; average attendance during the year, 312; the number attend- ing some portion of the year, 614. Total value of district libraries, $190.00, the amount expended on libraries during the year, $12.14. Total value of school houses and sites, $8,200. Total amount expended for school houses, sites, fences, furniture and repairs during the year, $3,- 700.20; for school apparatus, $21.44; total inciden- tal expenses for the year, $339.85. Lima. The village of Lima is situated near the center of the town, and is one of the oldest and most beautiful villages in the county. In its early days this place was known as the " Brick School house Corner." It was situated on the State road, which now forms its main street, over which flowed the pioneer traffic and emigra- tion, and was looked upon as likely to become the most populous village in the Genesee country. But the development and growth of railroad inter- ests in other directions put an end to such antici- pations, and Lima was left an inland village, charm- ing even in its isolation ; and, as if in remunera- tion for its loss of railroad facilities, Lima became noted as the seat of learning for Livingston county. The village contains four fine churches, one hotel, post-office, twelve or thirteen stores, the noble buildings of the Seminary and College, and a population of 1,125.* Lima was incorporated by legislative enactment April 25, 1867. The first election for village officers was held in the stage office of Joel Dailey on the second Tuesday in May, 1867. The officers elected at that meeting were : — President, Joel Dailey ; Trustees, First Class, Alexander McCune, Daniel Stanley, Timo- thy Holden ; Trustees, Second Class, John R. French, Alfred Kendall, Samuel G. Ellis ; Asses- * Lima had in 1870 a population of 1,157, which shows a decrease of 13Z in those Ic j RESIDENCE OF ft. fl . ,M.A^TIN, J-IMA, J^IVINGSTON PoUNTY, JY. y. Residence of ft. p. Martin, Pima, Pivingston Pounty, ff. y. LIMA VILLAGE, OFFICERS — GENESEE WESLEYAN SEMINARY. 473 sor, James W. Chappell; Treasurer, William D. Mitchell. On the 1 6th of May, 1867, pursuant to a call issued by the president of the village, the officers elect met at the office of Henry Decker, Jr., where the act of incorporation was read by Prof. French, and the oath of office was administered to them by William Arnold, Justice of the Peace. On the 17th of May, the board met and elected James W. Chappell as Clerk of the village, and William Whittlesey as Street Commissioner. On the iSth of May, the board elected William Excell, as Police Constable. The village ordinances were adopted May 24, 1867. taking effect twenty days thereafter. The following has been the succession of presidents and clerks of the village from 1868 to 1881 : — Presidents. Clerks. 1868. Joseph Chambers. Jas. W. Chappell. 1869. Alfred Kendall. Franklin Carter. 1870. Samuel G. Ellis. Elmer Houser. 187 1. William Vary. do do 1872. William Arnold. John Dennis, Jr. 1873-74. Hiram Gilbert. Win. A. Sutherland. 1875. Joel Dailey. do do* 1876. John Watkins. Charles A. Goheen. 1877. Solon Watkins. do do 1878. do do H. H. Thompson. 1879. Samuel G. Ellis. do do 1S80. James T. Gordon. do do The present officers of Lima are: — President, Levi P. Grover ; Trustees, Benjamin Ollerenshaw, John Hogan, William Excell, James T. Gordon, A. Tiffany Norton, James E. Lockington ; Assessor, Jacob S. Galentine ; Treasurer, Patrick Guinan ; Collector, E. J. Hewitt ; Street Commissioner, Ambrose Hyde ; Clerk, Hosmer H. Thompson. Genesee Wesleyan Seminary.! — In 1823, the Genesee Conference of the M. E. Church estab- lished the first literary institution ever under its patronage and control, at Cazenovia, N. Y. In July, 1828, at its session in Ithaca, it divided its territory on a line running from north to south across the State, on the same parallel with Cayuga Lake. Out of the portion thus separated, and lying east of this line, it constituted what was known for many years as the Oneida Conference. By this act it surrendered, geographically, this in- stitution, known as the Seminary of the Genesee Conference, to this new Conference, and the Legislature was memorialized to change its name to the Seminary of the Genesee and Oneida Con- ferences. The first session of the Genesee Con- * To Jan. 3, 1876, when he was succeeded by George W. Atwell. t The facts relating to this Seminary are gathered, in part, from the proceedings of the Semi-Centennial Auniversary of June, 1880. ference after this division, was held in Perry, N. Y., in July, 1829. At that conference, Glezen Fillmore and Loring Grant moved a resolution that a committee be appointed to obtain information and report to the conference at its next session, preparatory measures for the erection of a Seminary within the bounds and under the direction of this confer- ence. The proposition was adopted, and a com- mittee of five, consisting of Glezen Fillmore, Abner Chase, Loring Grant, Asa Abel and John Copeland were elected for this important work. The committee at once canvassed the entire ter- ritory, and received propositions from towns and villages solicitous of securing the local advantages of such an institution. At the next conference, held in Rochester in the summer of 1830, the committee made its report, and presented the names of the several places competing for the possession of the proposed institution. These were five in number, and they severally presented the following inducements : — Perry offered a sub- scription list of 380 names, aggregating in amount $10,463, besides giving an eligible site of 25 acres of land ; Henrietta, a bond to deliver the Monroe Academy, with all its appurtenances, the same that remains standing in that village to-day, and $3,600 ; Le Roy, a subscription of $8,500 ; Brockport, the sum of $16,820, also stone at the quarry for the construction of buildings ; and Lima, a subscription list of 170 names, the sub- scriptions amounting to $10,808, with the privilege of buying the present site, including ten acres, at $50 per acre, and the whole farm at $30 per acre. The ballot showed a vote of 4 for Henrietta, 4 for Le Roy, 15 for Perry, and 26 for Lima. Lima having received a majority of the votes was declared to be the choice of the conference. Revs. Abner Chase, Glezen Fillmore, Richard Wright, Loring Grant, Micah Seager, Francis Smith, and Messrs. Augustus A. Bennett, Erastus Clark and Ruel Blake, were elected the first board of trustees ; and thus, by these successive acts and appointments, was founded, in the summer of 1830, "The Genesee Wesleyan Seminary." The first building was erected in 1832, at a cost of about $17,000. No record remains of the lay- ing of the corner stone or the completion of this building. It was opened for pupils the first Wednesday in May, 1832. The first faculty of the institution was: — Rev. Samuel Luckey, Prin- cipal; Thomas J. Rugar, A. B., Professor of Mathematics; John Hutton. A. I:.. Professor of 474 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Languages ; D. B. Wakefield, English Teacher ; Lord Sterling, Assistant English Teacher ; Miss Eliza Rogers, Teacher in Female Department. The salaries of these teachers ranged from $120 to $700. The attendance the first year was 341 — 230 gentlemen and in ladies. This first building was destroyed by fire May 26, 1842. The teachers and students escaped un- harmed, and some of the furnishing of the building and nearly all of the apparatus and library was saved. The loss was estimated at $25,000, on which there was an insurance of $12,000. The Town Hall was at once secured for recitations, the boarders in the institution transferred their quarters to the homes of the citizens, and the school continued without interruption. In sixty days from the conflagration, the corner stone of the new building was laid. To the erection of this building the citizens of Lima subscribed $5,000. January 12th, 1843, the new building was opened, the school was transferred from its temporary surroundings and accommodations to these new and permanent ones, where it has since dwelt in prosperity and safety. The building is of brick, four stories in height, with a front of 136 feet to the south, with wings east and west, giving a frontage of 96 feet. The cost of erection was $24,000. In 1849 Genesee College was founded, and the large building of College Hall was built. This for some years was a flourishing college, but after a time was abandoned, and the Syracuse University was founded. An effort was at that time made to remove the Genesee College, but an injunction was granted by Judge Johnson, of the Supreme Court, restraining such removal; that injunction was never dissolved. The college lapsed, its func- tions ceased, and the Legislature enacted a law by which all the material possessions of that cor- poration were conveyed to the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, that institution assuming the obligations and responsibilities of Genesee College. The college property, consisting of buildings, a farm of nearly seventy acres, a cash endowment of $54,000, together with the libraries and philo- sophical apparatus, was thus transferred to the Seminary, placing it on a sound financial basis. From this Seminary, founded in days of com- parative poverty, when the inhabitants of the town had not yet fully emerged from the stern realities of the settler's life, have gone forth more than twenty thousand students to impress their influence and power upon the civilization of the nineteenth cen- tury. They have filled prominent positions in every profession and honorable avocation in life, — - in the ministry, in the professions of law, of medi- cine, in journalism, in State legislatures, in the Executive chair, in Congress, and in the Senate of the United States. Through their reputation and influence, the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary is known and honored in every land of Christian civilization. The buildings, with all their furnishings, are val- ued at seventy thousand dollars, and are in excel- lent condition. The farm has sixty-seven acres, and for state of cultivation and productiveness it is not excelled by any other in this section of the country. The present number of students is 225. The Department of Instruction is provided with every facility for thorough and successful work. It is organized with the following able and experienced officers and teachers : — Rev. George H. Bridg- man, A. M., D. D., Principal. Anna E. Rice, Pre- ceptress ; Adam C. Works, A. M., Natural Scien- ces and Mathematics ; William E. Thompson, A. M., Ancient Languages and French ; Emma C. Terry, Higher English; Abby Barry, Principal of Grammar School ; Samuel C. Moore, Director of Musical Institute; Ida Yorks, Piano and Organ ; Maria C. Wales, Drawing and Painting ; Albert C. Aldridge, Principal of Business College ; Adam C. Works, A. M., Librarian; Rev. J. O. Wilsea, Steward. Among the prominent men who received instruc- tion in this Seminary was Henry J. Raymond, the founder of the New York Times, who was born in Lima about 1820. He went from here to Middle- bury College, Vt., where he graduated in 1840, re- turning to his father's (Jarvis Raymond) home in Lima that same year. He began immediately to take a prominent part in politics, and in the winter of 1840-41, having attracted the attention of Hor- ace Greeley, became attached to the Tribune staff, afterward establishing the Times. He was Lieut. - Governor of New York State, with Governor Myron H. Clark, in 1855. Postmasters. — The present postmaster at Lima is O. S. Gilbert, who was appointed under Presi- dent Grant in 1874. Banks. — The Bank of Lima was established in 1876, under the control of George and George W. Thayer, who succeeded the banking firm of Cham- bers & Watkins. Hotels. — Lima has but one hotel, the Ameri- can Hotel, which was built in 1861-2 by John LIMA VILLAGE— SOCIETIES, MERCHANTS. 475 Mosher. This occupies the site of the old Ameri- can Hotel, which was burned in 1855. S. Farns- worth was proprietor here a number of years, when he was succeeded by his son, L. J. Farnsworth, who has conducted it some six years. The first hotel on this site was in a wooden building, built by Jedediah Commins about sixty-five years ago, and which was burned about a year previous to the erection of the old American Hotel. Pre- vious to that the site was occupied by a black- smith shop, the proprietor of which, at one time, was a man named Abel Parkhurst. Societies. — The Union Lodge, F. and A. M., was organized as No. 261 in December, 181 6, Governor DeWitt Clinton, signing the charter as Grand Master. The present number of the lodge is 45, which was changed in 1848, during the Mor- gan anti-mason excitement.* The present officers are:— J. T. Gordon, W. M.; W. D. Heath, S. W.; Benjamin Ollerenshaw, J. W.; James Heath, S. D.; E. R. Bronson, J. D.; J. S. Galentine, Sec; Am- brose Hyde, Treas.; G. S. Bauter, S. M. C.j E. A. Boehme, J. M. C; Samuel Mitchell, Tiler. A. O. U. W. — This lodge was organized in March, 1879, under the ministrations of U. L. Up- son, of Buffalo, D. D. G. M. W. The charter offi- cers were : — A. T. Norton, M. W.; George W. Syl- vester, P. M. W.; E. R. Bronson, G. R; William A. Ferris, Overseer ; C. J. Mills, Recorder ; Geo. H. Bennett, Financier ; Stanley Coventry, Re- ceiver ; C. B. Bristol, Guide ; Charles L. Sterling, I. W.j W. H. Beale, O. W.; Medical Examiner, George H. Bennett, M. D. The present officers are : — George VV. Sylvester, P. M. W.j A. Tiffany Norton, M. W.; H. A. Met- calf, G. F.j J. T. Gordon, Overseer ; Frank W. Scott, Financier; Stanley Coventry, Receiver; Edgar Bronson, Recorder ; L. B. Holmes, Guide ; Henry Beale, I. W.; L. J. Farnsworth, O. W.; Medical Examiner, G. H. Bennett, M. D. Fire Department. — The first meeting to or- ganize the Lima Fire Department was held on Sat- urday, January 29, 1876. At that meeting it was resolved to raise for such purpose from the taxable property of the village the sum of $2,000, which was finally placed at $1,600. The organization was named The Centennial Fire Company. The constituent officers and members were: — J. S. Galentine, President ; A. T. Norton, V. P.; G. V. Hanna, Sec'y and Treas.; J. T. Gordon, Chief * Two miles east from the village is situated the house— where now resides Richard Peck— in which was written by William Morgan the famous u Expose " of Masonry. Engineer; Charles Goheen, Foreman H. and L.; Henry Markham, Assistant ; William Excell, Fore- man Babcock Extinguisher; Thomas Martin, Assis- tant; John Harvey, Foreman Village Engine; Lloyd Crandall, Assistant ; L. B. Tinkham, U. A. Yorks, George W. Challis, Henry Beale, A. E. Beale, R. P. Dartt, Frank Olmsted,* B. C. Yorks, Patrick Guinan, Edgar Bronson, J. E. Lockington, L. J. Farnsworth, C. B. Bristol, H. H. Thompson, Frank Carter. The house now occupied by the de- partment was purchased of E. A. Boehme two years ago, and remodeled into a large and commo- dious building. The Babcock Extinguisher cost $800. The truck, made by J. T. Gordon, of Lima, cost $2,250. The officers for 1880 are :— President, J. S. Gal- entine; Vice-President, J. T. Gordon; Sec, L. P. Grover ; Treas., Patrick Guinan ; Chaplain, Rev. James Robertson ; Janitor, Albert Parker ; Fore- man Babcock Ex., H. G. Gilbert; Assistant, Wil- liam Excell ; Foreman of Engine, C. J. Mills ; As- sistant, R. P. Dartt. Fire Police, James VanVal- kenbergh, H. F. Stevens, Henry Markham, J. T. Gordon, A. T. Norton. Merchants. — One of the earliest merchants in Lima was James Guernsey, who kept in 1808, a large general store. In 1817 or 1818, the firm was known as Guernsey & Clark. Waite Martin was an early merchant here in 1809-10. Guernsey & Clark carried on business here until about 1823, when Guernsey removed to Pittsford, N. Y. Erastus Clark then associated with him his brother- in-law, William Dean, which connection existed until Clark retired from the business in 1830. In 1836 Mr. Dean sold to Godfrey and Cargill who con- tinued the business until Cargill removed to the west in about 1850. The business was then con- ducted by Godfrey until about i860 when he failed. From 1861 to 1874 he was postmaster here, with the exception of one year during John- son's administration. He died about 1878. Atwell & Root began business here as general merchants in 1817, being succeeded in 1S18 by Atwell & Grout.f This firm continued in busi- ness until 1827, when Atwell retired to a farm, and Grout took as partner his brother-in-law, E. A. Sumjier. This partnership existed until 1834, when Sumner retired from the firm and Grout conducted the business alone until 1836. In that year he associated witli him in the business his * Dead. I' George W. Atwell and Henry Grout, 476 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. former clerk, Franklin Carter, who had come to Lima in 1820. In the spring of 1847, Franklin Carter and N. C. Parmelee purchased the store and continued in partnership until 1853 when Par- melee retired to his farm and Carter con- tinued the business until the spring of 186S, when he sold to George V. Hanna. Mr. Carter was born in November, 1795, in Peter- borough, N. H. He served Lima as town clerk a number of years ; was postmaster here four years under Taylor's administration, and one year under that of Andrew Johnson. In 1820 he was chosen secretary in Union Lodge, No. 45, F. and A. M., which office he held forty years. He is still living in Lima, in his 86th year. Henry Grout, his former partner, died in 1849. George W. Atwell died in 1852. N. C. Parmelee died in 1856. Another merchant here was J. Franklin Peck, who began business about 1833. He was burned out in 1835, rebuilt and continued his business until about 1840, when he sold to H. D. Clark and John Draper, and in a few years moved to Springfield, Mass., where he is now engaged in banking. Clark and Draper continued as partners a number of years, when Clark bought Draper's interest and conducted the business until his death in i860. The merchants now in business are: — S. H. Olmsted, who began business here as clothier in 1856; Hendrick & Guinan, general merchants, who have been engaged in that business here ten years; A. L. Stevens, grocer, in business here since 1845 ; J. P. Thompson, flour and feed, who came from West Bloomfield in 1872, and began business in 1874; James R. Wilson, hardware, in business since November, 1880, succeeding G. S. Banter who had conducted the business some six years ; Walter W. Scott, general merchant, in business two years, succeeding W. D. Mitchell; N. A. Soggs, jeweller, who began that business here Nov. 20, 1880; Beadle Brothers, (Thomas T., William W., and George B.,) dry and fancy goods, who be- gan business in 1879; Edward Salmon, drugs and medicines, who came here in 185 1 from Livonia, and engaged with Dr. D. D. Dayton in the drug business. Three years later he bought out Dayton and has since conducted the business alone; W.B. Baker, jeweler, in business eight years, succeeding S. Coventry ; Joanna Dalton, millinery and fancy goods, in business two years, succeeding Miss Ella Egan, who had conducted the business some ten years ; Stanley Coventry, drugs and groceries, in business four years, succeeding John G. Scott, and Henry Livingston, harnesses and horse fur- nishing goods, who began business in Watts' block in 1877. Manufacturers. — Andrew Hart, manufacturer of monuments and head-stones, established that business here twenty-five years ago, commencing on the corner of Main and Rochester streets, where the Presbyterian church now stands. L. D. Clark, furniture and manufacturing un- dertaker, began business in June, 1865. Benjamin Ollerenshaw, monuments and head- stones, began business in 1871, succeeding Hart & Ollerenshaw. He is a native of England, com- ing to America in May, 1858. Hugh Regan, also manufacturer of monuments and tomb-stones, has been in that business here three years. John Murphy, furniture and undertaking, came from Ireland in 1849, and in 1877 engaged for himself in the above named business. Physicians. — Dr. Justin Smith was one of the earliest physicians in Lima. He came here from Vermont previous to 1805, and practiced until he became insane and died in about 1838. Another early physician was Dr. Stevens. The physicians practicing here now are: — Dr. S. G. Ellis, who came to Lima in 1856, having previously graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons. He was born in Fairfield, Her- kimer county, N. Y. Dr. George Hosmer Bennett graduated from the Buffalo Medical College in 1848, and came at once to the town of Lima, where he has since had an extensive practice. Dr. H. K. Brasted, a graduate in 1880, of the University of Michigan, came here in that year from Canisteo, N. Y., and began the practice of his profession. Lawyers — The present lawyers here are Hosmer H. Thompson, John Horr, Geo. Atwell and Nelson W. Clark. Churches. — The Presbyterian Chureh of Lima was organized by Rev. Daniel Thatcher, October 1st, 1795. Among the early members were Wil- liam Williams and wife, Miles Bristol and wife, Joseph M. Gilbert and wife, Huldah, wife of Judge Warner, Mary, wife of Abel Bristol, Elijah Gilford and wife, Charles Rice, Mrs. Daniel Warner, Mrs. Clark Brockway and Guernsey W. Cook and wife. The organization of the society is of later date than that of the church. The meeting for organization was held at the house of Asahel Warner, Jan. 5, 1802. The Society in November LIMA VILLAGE — CHURCHES. 477 of that year, elected as trustees, Abel Bristol, Asahel Warner, William Williams, Willard Humph- rey, Manasseh Leech, and David Morgan. At a meeting of the society held March 29, 1803, Asahel Warner and Willard Humphrey were appointed trustees to build a school-house. The site selected was that on which the school-house now stands, but the old building was nearer Main street. At a meeting of the society held in the brick school- house the first Monday in November, 1804, it was voted to engage the Rev. Ezekiel I. Chapman for six months. The society agreed to pay to Mr. Chapman a salary of two hundred and sixty dollars, one hundred dollars in cash, and the remainder in produce. The salary was raised by tax based upon the grand list. In 1806, Mr. Chapman having left, the salary was fixed at $200 ; one-half in cash, and the other half in wheat, rye, or pork. During this year the Rev. Mr. Leavenworth was engaged for six months, receiving for his services five dollars a Sabbath. The society again engaged the services of Rev. Ezekiel Chapman, and he was installed the first pastor of this church, and continued in that rela- tion until 1 814. He was succeeded in that year by Rev. John Brown who remained a short time, and in the following year Rev. Mr. Cook was in- vited to preach. The contract for the erection of the first church was made in 1815, and the build- ing was completed in 1816, at a cost of $7,000. On December 28, 1818, the society extended a call to Rev. John Barnard to become their pastor, at a salary of $700 a year. Mr. Barnard accepted this call, and was installed pastor Feb. 3, 1819, sustaining that relation to July, 1856. The name of the church was changed in 1851 from " The Charleston Congregational" to " The Lima Presbyterian Society." In 1853 the church edifice was enlarged at a cost of about $2,000. Feb. 24, 1857, the society called the Rev. Robert R. Kellogg to be their pastor. He was installed by the Presbytery of Ontario, June 22, 1857. In two years this relation was dissolved. In i860, Rev. A. L. Benton accepted a call to the pastorate of this church, and was installed by the Presbytery of Ontario, March 6, 186 1. During his pastorate the church edifice was re-roofed and remodeled. In September, 1870, Mr. Benton retired from the pastorate, and in October of that year the society called Rev. A. H. Corliss from the Presbytery of Utica, which call he accepted, and was installed as pastor Dec. 27, 1879. During his pastorate occurred the erection of thepresent beau- tiful church edifice, the corner stone of which was laid with impressive ceremonies, Tuesday, Aug. 12. 1873. Rev. Albert H. Corliss continued as pastor until 1875, when he was succeeded by Rev. Henry Payne, who remained till 1878. He was followed by the present pastor, Rev. James Robertson. The present membership in this church is 213. Mehodist Episcopal Church of Lima* — Method- ism was introduced into this town about eighty years ago. In the year 1800 a member of the M. E. Church, Jonah Davis, came from Delaware and settled on a farm three miles south of the present site of Lima village. He was a licensed exhorter, and began at once to hold religious meetings as opportunity offered. His house soon became the home and preaching place of the pioneer itinerants who first preached the gospel and proclaimed the peculiar doctrines of Method- ism in this then wilderness. Davis was a man of marked character, a representative of the moral heroism of early Methodism. He filled the office of exhorter and class-leader for many years. Preaching was continued in his house and in a school-house near by, for more than twenty-five years. Many of the prominent pioneers of Method- ism preached here, among whom was Father Howe, who was an earnest and devoted itinerant for more than half a century. He preached in Davis' house as early as 1801. George Densmore, Gideon Draper, and other worthy compeers, officiated in the same place in the early days. During the year 1827, Rev. Micah Seager, then preacher in charge on the Bloomfield circuit, preached here occasionally, for at that time Methodism had not assumed organized form in this locality. In the autumn of 1827, Rev. John Parker, then stationed at Norton's Mills, (now Honeoye Falls,) was invited to hold regular services on Sunday evenings in the Town Hall at Lima. Under his ministry a powerful revival was enjoyed, the influence of which thoroughly per- meated the community and resulted in the organ- ization of the Methodist church at " Lima Corners." The society was organized by Rev. John Parker in March, 1828, and the class south of the village was transferred to the new organiza- tion. Among the original members of the society were : — Jonah and Phebe Davis, William Corey, Jane Corey, Joel Ross, Frederick House, Betsey Fowler. Mary Gager, Jane Porter, Eunice Humph- rey, and others. The membership rapidly in- hered from the Ctaurd i 478 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. creased, the town-house soon became too small to accommodate the congregation, and the erection of a church edifice was soon begun and completed in a few months. This humble edifice was long the crowning glory of the hill-side, on the street leading west toward Avon. At the session of the Genesee Conference in the summer of 1828, the society in Lima was included in the Bloomfield circuit, and Revs. Goodwin Stoddard and Samuel Parker were appointed to that charge, remaining but one year. In June, 1829, Revs. Benajah Williams and Asahel Hayward were appointed, and in 1830 were succeeded by Revs. Gideon Lanning, Wilbur Hoag and Philo E. Brown. In 1 83 1 Lima was detached from the Bloomfield circuit and constituted an independent station, and Rev. Richard Wright was appointed to the pas- toral charge. This arrangement proved unsatis- factory, and at the conference session of 1S32 an- other change was made in the organic form of this charge, and Lima was connected with Livonia, and Revs. Jonathan Benson and Jacob Scott were appointed to the united charge. One remarkable feature in the early history of Methodism in Lima was the frequent changes which occurred in the form of the charge. In 1833 Lima was detached from Livonia, and or- ganized into a separate and independent charge, and Rev. Seth Matthison, then one of the strongest men of the old Genesee Conference, was appointed to the pastoral charge. He remained but one year, and in 1834 was succeeded by Rev. John Copeland. Soon after, the large M. E. church in Rochester was burned, and Mr. Copeland was re- moved from this pastorate to the work of collect- ing funds with which to rebuild it. In the middle of the year, Dr. Bartlett, formerly from Nan- tucket, Mass., was appointed to the vacant pas- torate. This temporary supply was acceptable to the society, and was peculiarly fortunate in its ultimate results, in that it secured the permanent membership of Dr. Bartlett and his devoted wife with the society in Lima until their death many years after. In 1835 Lima was united with West Mendon, Rush, Livonia and Geneseo, and Revs. Micah Seager, Levi B. Castile, and Samuel Parker were appointed to the charge. At the end of one year this union was dissolved, and Lima was again con- signed to its "lone star" destiny. Rev. Allen Steele, one of the most eloquent men of his time, was appointed pastor over the charge. He remained but one year, and was succeeded in 1837 by Rev. Benj. Shipman, who, in turn, at the end of his first year, gave place to Rev. Gideon D. Perry. In 1839 Rev. Philo Woodworth was ap- pointed to the pastoral charge of Lima, and was re- appointed in 1840, the first instance in the history of the church in 1 ,iina of the appointment of any minis- ter to the pastoral charge for two consecutive years. In 1843, under the supervision of Rev. Thomas Carlton, the old church edifice was removed from its former site and reconstructed upon the lot now occupied by the present house of worship. At the session of the Conference in Geneva in 1847, a resolution was passed requesting the General Con- ference to divide the former body. This request was complied with, and the division was consum- mated at the session of the General Conference held in Pittsburgh in 1848. An arrangement was mutually entered into before the division that the Lima charge should alternate between the two con- ferences, four years in the one, and four years in the other in succession. This arrangement was never satisfactory to the church or citizens of Lima, and was extremely difficult to adjust, and was ultimately abandoned by mutual consent of the Conference. The charge then remained per- manently in the East Genesee Conference. The enterprise which resulted in the erection of the present church edifice was inaugurated in 1855, and was designed to accommodate the College and Seminary as well as the village congregation. Consequently provision was made to appropriate a sufficient number of pews for the free occupancy of the students of these institutions, and, as a con- sideration for such privilege, the Conference pro- posed to raise $300 to aid in building the church. The building committee was composed of the fol- lowing persons : — Rev. Joseph Cummings, D. D., Rev. Woodruff Post, James L. Alverson, LL.D., Ira Godfrey, Esq., and William L. Gaylord. The corner stone of the church edifice was laid with in- teresting ceremonies in the autumn of 1855. The building was completed early in the following sum- mer, and was dedicated June 22, 1856. The dedi- catory sermon was preached by Rev. Allen Steele. The entire cost of this building, including the fur- nishing, was less than $16,000. In i860 the Lima charge again passed into the Genesee Conference, and in 1864 was again transferred to the East Gen- esee Conference, from which it was never again re- moved until the annihilation of that body by the General Conference in 1872. The following has been the further succession of pastors in this church since 1842. LIMA VILLAGE — NORTH BLOOMFIELD. 479 Revs. Thomas Carlton, from 1842 to 1844 ; F. G. Hibbard, from 1844 to 1845 ; Moses Crow, from 1845101846; D. D. Bush, from 1846101847; F. G. Hibbard, from 1847 to 1848; Wesley Cochrane, from 1848 to 1849; John Copeland, from 1849 to 1850; John Raines, from 1850 to 1852 ; William C. Fuller,* from 1852 to 1853; R. L. Waite, in 1853; Charles Adams, from 1853101854; Philo Wood- worth, from 1854 to 1856; Jonas Dodge.f from 185610 1857 ; John Dennis, from 1858 to i860; Joseph H. Knowles, from i860 to 1862; King David Nettleton, from 1862 to 1864 ; Israel H. Kel- logg, from 1864 to 1865 ; A. Sutherland, from 1865 to 1867 ; William Benham, from 1867 to 1870; I. T. Brownell, from 1870 to 187 1; John Dennis, from 1 87 1 toiS74; G. W. Paddock, from 1S74 to 1875; L. F. Congdon, from 1875 to 187S; O. L. Gib- son, from 1878 to 1881. During the pastorate of Rev. John Dennis — 1871-1874 — the church edifice was thoroughly re- paired and remodeled, and the entire indebtedness, amounting in all, including repairs, to the sum of $4,000, was provided for and paid. The church has now a large membership, and is in a most flourishing condition. The Lima Baptist Church, located on Main street, was organized August 26th, 1854, at the residence of J. H. Miller. The number of original members was fifteen, among whom were G. W. Glass, Eunice Glass, J. P. Briggs, M. J. Briggs, E. W. Briggs, I. Briggs. The church edifice was built in 1855-56, and dedicated May 1, 1856. The cost of building, including the lot, was $10,000. The first pastor was Rev. B. R. Swick, whose pastorate lasted nearly seven years. He was suc- ceeded by Rev. J. T. Seeley, who remained nearly eight years. His successor was the Rev. S. S. Bid well, who remained three years, and was fol- lowed by Rev. W. H. Shields, who also officiated three years. The present pastor, A. H. Emmons, commenced his labors September 4, 1S75. The present membership is 139. St. Rose's Church (Catholic.) — The first Catho- lic who settled in Lima was Thomas Martin, who came in the fall of 1834. Three years later came James Egan, and they were joined in 1839 by Michael Corneen and John Brennan. These four formed the nucleus of the present congre- gation of St. Rose's. These were sturdy specimens of the faith that dwells in the hearts of Irishmen. * Died Feb. II, iSsj, and Rev. R. L. Waite filled the vacancy until the close of the Conference year. t Reappointed in 1857, but was transferred to the Kansas Conference before the dose of the Conference year, the vacancy being supplied by Rev. Allen Steele until the end of the year. For some years they were obliged to go to Roch- ester to hear mass, or to baptize the children that were born to them, walking there, and then patient- ly trudging home after the services. The first mass ever celebrated in Lima was in 1842, in the house of John Brennan. The priest was Father Murphy. The second mass was said by Father Tierney. After them Father French and Father Carroll came occasionally to celebrate mass, and to give encouragement to the Catholics here. The first attempt at a church was made by Father O'Connor. A portion of the present school house attests the small beginning of the present large and prosperous parish. Other priests here were : — Fathers Kenny, Quigley, Walsh, McGuire, O'Brien, and Gregg. The first church edifice was erected in 1849, w hen there were but eight or nine Catho- lic families in the town. The burial ground was bought in 1857. Michael Corneen was one of the first buried in this cemetery. The present fine church edifice was begun in 1870, on land given by Tone Yorks, for the nominal sum of $35. The present number of families in the parish is about 175, presided over by Rev. Father Edward Mc- Cartney. North Bloomfield. North Bloomfield is a small hamlet in the ex- treme north-eastern part of the town, bordering on the counties of Monroe and Ontario, a portion of the place lying in the latter county. It contains a grist-mill, (Lewis Johnson,) saw-mill, (James Still- man,) one church, and eighteen or twenty houses. The Universalist church was organized March 12, 1825, under the title of "The First Univer- salist Society of Lima." Among the original members were : Ezra Davis, David Baxter, Daniel Buzzell, Eliphalet Huntington, John Case, Elias D. Wight. Daniel Day, Jr., Derick Knickerbocker, Seth Potter, Zebulon Townsend, Thomas Leland, Ezra Davis, Jr., John Seins, Benjamin Northrop, Benjamin Case, Jeremiah Townsend, Stewart Porter, Solomon Arthur. The earliest ministers here were Revs. John S. Thompson and Liscomb Knapp, who preached some time before the organ- ization of the Society. The first settled pastor was Rev. Henry Roberts,* who came in 1825 and remained one year. The erection of a church was begun in 1827, and was dedicated June 17, 1829. The dedicatory sermon was preached by Rev. Stephen R. Smith, of Clinton, Oneida county, N. Y. » Died in 184S. 480 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. The present church edifice was erected in 1872 at a cost of $5,000. It was dedicated by Rev. Asa Saxe, of Rochester, N. Y., Nov. 13, 1872. The present membership is 87, presided over by Rev. W. W. Hand. The following, as correctly as can be ascertained, has been the succession of pastors in this church from its organization : — Revs. Henry Roberts, from 1825 to 1826; Wil- liam I. Reese, from 1826 to 1830; Savillian Ful- ler,* from 1830 to 1831 ; William I. Reese,| from 1831 to 1834; William Andrews, in 1834; Elijah SmithJ, in 1835 ; Jacob Chase, from 1836 to 1839 ; Thomas J. Smith,? from 1840 to 1844; S. W. Remington, half the time for two years ; Mr. Spaulding, half the time for one year ; Charles Herman Dutton, || from 1847 to 1849; Orrin Roberts; 0. F. Brayton, died in 1876; U. M. Fisk ; G. W. Gage, from 1853 to 1855; James W. Bailey, from 1857 to 1862; J. R. Sage, 1864 and 1866 ; W. W. Dean ; Murray Bailey; W. B. Randolph; J. Arthur Dobson ; Lewis C. Browne, from 1871 to 1872; Hamilton Squires, from 1872 to 1878 ; W. W. Hand, from 1879 to 1881. War Record. — At the breaking out of the Rebellion the town of Lima patriotically responded with money and volunteers, sending forth many brave men to contend for the perpetuity of the Union on the bloody battle-fields of the South. In 1S61 the following men enlisted, receiving little or no bounty : — 21th Regiment N. Y. Volunteers, Co. G. — Gar- diner William Agard enlisted May 21. Now living in Naples, N. Y. Jonathan B. Atchinson enlisted May 21, as musician ; was afterward mustered in as private by Col. J. J. Bartlett. Now in town of Alabama, Genesee county, N. Y. William Newton Baker enlisted May 5 ; re- enlisted in August of 1 863, in First N. Y. Veteran Cavalry. Now in Trenton, N. J. Robert Brabow was with his regiment all through its service, and was honorably discharged. Reenlisted in 15th N. Y. Engineers under the call in 1864. His whereabouts not known. Alexander Boyd enlisted June 28 ; was dis- charged with his company, and has not been heard from since. John R. Briggs enlisted May 1 ; was Second Lieutenant. Now in Naples, N. Y. • Died in 1840. t Died in Buffalo, Sept. (>, 18J4, during the cholera plague. t Died in i8j6. § Died in 1856. II Died in 1879. Elwood H. Brady, born in Ireland in 1841 , enlisted in May; was Second Lieutenant. Now in West Bloomfield, N. Y. Tyler J. Briggs enlisted in May ; was Corporal. Now in Naples, N. Y. Joseph B. Butler enlisted in June ; was dis- charged Nov. 8, 1 861, on account of wounds re- ceived at Bull Run on July 21, 1861. In 1865-6, was living in East Bloomfield, N. Y. Charles E. Bartlett enlisted December 17 ; discharged Feb. 4, 1863, on Surgeon's certificate for disability. In 1865 was in West Bloomfield, N. Y. Charles W. Burr enlisted May 7 ; was dis- charged Sept. 11, 1862, for wounds received at Gaines' Mills, June 27, 1862. In 1865 was in Government employ at Norfolk, Ya. Edwin E. Bond, born in Farmersville, Cattar- augus county, N. Y., July 15, 1837 ; enlisted May 7 ; was discharged July 16, 1862, for wounds received at the battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1 86 1. Now living near North Bloomfield, N.Y. George Henry Chappell, born in Avon in 1838 ; enlisted May 7. Served faithfully all through the time his regiment was in service, and was dis- charged with his company; returned to Avon and died there in 1866 or 1867. William Halsey Clark, born in Morristown, N. J., August 18, 1 84 1 ; enlisted September 21. Present location unknown. John Alden Copeland enlisted May 7, 1861 ; promoted to Corporal September 1st, 1862. Michael Cavanaugh enlisted May 7, 1861 ; promoted to Corporal February 18, 1863. Jerome H. Burlison, Corporal, enlisted May 7, 1861 ; was killed at Gaines' Mills, Va., June 27, 1862. William Henry Buxton enlisted July S, 1861; was killed at Gaines' Mills June 27, 1862. Frederick Bender, Corporal, enlisted May 7, 1 86 1 ; was transferred to non-commissioned staff May 29, 1861. Present whereabouts unknown. John Hudson Carter enlisted May 7, 1861 ; discharged for disability January 20, 1862. Died in 1867. William Henry Coe enlisted May 7, 1861 ; was discharged on surgeon's certificate of disabili- ty November 22, 1862 ; again entered the army and was promoted to Assistant Surgeon. Now in Auburn, N. Y. George Cook, Musician, enlisted May 7, 1862; was transferred to non-commissioned staff May 29, 1861. LIMA— WAR RECORD. 481 Benjamin Shepard Coffin, Corporal, enlisted May 7, 1 86 1 ; promoted to non-commissioned staff as Q. M. Sergeant May 1st, 1862. Now in Nunda, N. Y. Thomas Challis enlisted August 31, 1862; desested from camp near White Oak Church, Va., January 1, 1863; returned to England. Rollin Page Dartt enlisted May 7, 1861; was wounded at the battle of Gaines' Mills, June 27, 1862, and on that account was discharged August 12, 1862. Now in Lima, N. Y. Amenzo E. Davis enlisted July 5, 1861; was discharged July 31, 1S61, on account of heart dis- ease. Now in Geneva, N. Y. Hiram Davis enlisted July 8, 1861; was killed at battle of Bull Run, Virginia, July 21, 1861, and was buried on the field. James A. Dunn enlisted December 17, 1861 ; died in hospital at Hagarstown, Md., December 29, 1862, and was buried in hospital cemetery. John N. Dunn enlisted December 17, 1861 ; died in hospital at Craney Island, August 27, 1862, and was buried in hospital burying ground. Andrew Jackson Darron enlisted May 7, 1861 ; died of epilepsy in Brigade hospital, near Alexan- dria, Va., December 20, 1861 ; lies buried in hos- pital cemetery. John Dutcher enlisted May 7, 1861 ; deserted near Sharpsburgh, Md., September 17, 1862. Charles Dutcher enlisted May 7, 1861, and de- serted at same time and place. Seymour Emmons enlisted September 1, 1861 ; was taken prisoner at Savage Station ; dropped in accordance with General Order No. 162; was af- terward sick for some time in hospital. Now in Naples, N. Y. Robert S. Frazee enlisted May 7, 1861. Now in Washington, D. C. Charles W. Frazee enlisted May 7, 1861. Now in Washington, D. C. Benson Simon Fleming enlisted August 29, 1862. George Fladding enlisted August 29, 1862 ; whereabouts not known. William George enlisted May 21, 1861 ; died of epilepsy in Brigade hospital, near Alexandria, Va., December 20, 1861. Henry M. Gould enlisted May 21, 1861 ; killed at battle of Gaines' Mills, Va., June 27, 1862, and was buried on the field. H. Seymour Hall enlisted May 21. 1861 ; mus- tered as Second Lieutenant; was promoted to Captain April 24, 1862; lost right arm before Petersburgh ; was afterward Lieutenant-Colonel of colored regiment. Arthur Hanson Hunt enlisted May 21, 1861; was discharged June 4, 1862, on surgeon's certifi- cate of disability. Mills Davis Hamilton enlisted May 21, 1861 ; was discharged on account of disability February 11, 1862. William Hall enlisted May 21, 1861 ; was dis- charged for disability, by order of General Wads- worth, May 11, 1862. Oscar Headley enlisted December 1st, 1862; died of typhoid fever in Mansion House hospital, Alexandria, Va., April 15, 1862, and was buried in hospital grounds. William Frederick Lindsley, born in Lima April 14, 1840, enlisted May 7, 1861 ; died of typhoid fever in camp at Harrison's Landing, Va., August 2, 1862 ; lies buried in Lima, N. Y. Henry Markham enlisted May 7, 1861; was Orderly to General Bartlett. Now in Lima, N. Y. William Marra enlisted May 7, 1861 ; served with the regiment during its term of service, and was discharged with his company ; reenlisted in 1863 in First Veteran Cavalry, and served until the close of the war. Now in New York city. William Mileham enlisted May 7, 1861 ; was wounded in leg at first battle of Bull Run ; was taken prisoner and afterward exchanged ; returned to his regiment, served the remainder of his term, and was discharged with the company. Alexander Miles enlisted May 7, 1861 ; was killed at battle of Gaines' Mills, June 27, 1862. Stephen Peak enlisted May 7, 1861; was de- tailed as butcher for the company, and was dis- charged at the expiration of his term of service ; supposed to be dead. James Perkins, Captain, enlisted May 2, 1861 ; was at first battle of Bull Run ; resigned Novem- ber 7, 1861. in consequence of failing health; died October 29, 1879. Joseph Herbert Perkins, Sergeant, enlisted Sep- tember 21, 1861. Now in Michigan. Seymour Pierce enlisted May 7, 1861 ; was en- rolled as First Sergeant at that date, and was pro- moted to First Lieutenant November 7, 1861; transferred by promotion to Co. K, as Captain, June 9,1862; was on detached service in signal corps, from November 7, 1861. Now in Honeoye Falls, N. Y. Van Rensselaer Pratt enlisted May 7, 1861; was promoted to Corporal, December 1, 1861; pro- moted to Sergeant November 1, 1862 ; reenlisted July 27, 1863 in First N. Y. Veteran Cavalry; was wounded at the battle of Winchester, July 24, 1 8<5 \. 482 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. and returned to his regiment in one month. Now in I ,ima, N. Y. John M. Roberts enlisted May 7, 1861 ; died at Point Lookout, Md., October 13, 1862, and was buried there. Eugene Peppel enlisted May 7, 1861 ; was killed at the battle of Gaines' Mills, June 27, 1862, and was buried on the field. Silas Atwell Sylvester enlisted May 7, 1861 ; was promoted to Corporal November 7, 1861 ; pro- moted to Sergeant February 18, 1863 ; reenlisted April 1st, 1864, in First N. Y. Veteran Cavalry; was killed in a skirmish at Martinsburgh, Va., and was buried in a grove near the town. Francis M. Stone enlisted May 7, 1861; served two years in this regiment, and reenlisted March 26, 1863; was in First New York Veteran Cav- alry. Now in Chicago. Henry Horace Stone enlisted May 7, 1861 ; reenlisted July 27, 1863, in First New York Vet- eran Cavalry ; was taken prisoner July 2, 1864, at Berryville, W. Va., and was exchanged April 6, 1865. Now in Conesus, N. Y. John Barnard Smith enlisted September'8, 1862 ; was transferred to the 121st New York Infantry, Company E, May 12, 1863, and was detailed as clerk in the quartermaster's department. Now in Maine. James E. Sewell enlisted May 7, 1861 ; was dis- charged October 29, 1862, on account of wounds received at the battle of Gaines' Mill, June 27, 1862. Theodore Stone enlisted May 7, 1861; was discharged December 2, 1862, on surgeon's cer- tificate of disability. Henry Grout Wells enlisted May 7, 1861 ; reen- listed August 10, 1864, in First New York Veteran Cavalry. Nicholas R. Wood enlisted December 14, 1861 ; died in regiment hospital near Alexandria, Va., February 18, 1862. Frederick Thurber Wright enlisted September 21, 1 86 1 ; died in brigade hospital, near Alexan- dria, Va., December 27, 1861, and brought to Lima for burial. Charles Franklin Wells enlisted April 23, 1S61 ; was promoted to Corporal November 1, 1S62. Myron Cassina Watkins enlisted May 7, 1861; was enrolled as Corporal and promoted to Ser- geant April 24, 1862. Now in Avon, N. Y. Philo B. Woodward enlisted August 31, 1862; whereabouts not known. Perry Gardner, Charles A. Grover, Ovid G. Harrington, Henry Hibbard and Artemas Jenkins enlisted May 21, 1861 ; present whereabouts un- known. Frank Young enlisted August 31, 1862 ; present location not known. Enlistments at Other Times and in Other Regi- ments.- — John Henry Buxton, 136th Infantry, en- listed September 8, 1862. Is still living in Lima, but is blind from the effects of the war ; receives a government pension of $900 per year. Harvey Johnson Benson, 8th Heavy Artillery ; was killed at the battle of Cold Harbor June 3, 1864, and was buried on the field. Martin Guinan, Second D. C. Infantry ; died in hospital from wounds received in the campaign of 1864. Samuel G. Hamilton, 108th Infantry, born in Lima October 17, 1841; was wounded in hand at battle of Antietam, and was afterward discharged. Died since the war. Galen Sheldon Hicks enlisted in Company M, Sth Heavy Artillery, January 4, 1864; was pro- moted to Corporal June 10, 1864, and to Sergeant November 25, 1864; was one of the five who res- cued the body of Col. Peter A. Porter from under the guns of the enemy at Cold Harbor, for which act he received a gold medal from Col. Porter's family. George Washington Tabor, First New York Dragoons; promoted to Corporal April 17, 1863; was at the siege of Suffolk and in the battles of Chancellorsville and Spottsylvania. William Hooker Day, born in Lima, January 17, 1845, enlisted January 19, 1864, in Company M, 8th Heavy Artillery ; was severely wounded in the battle of Cold Harbor, June 3, 1864, and was dis- charged from the service November 29, 1864. Now in Lima. Henry Francis Clark, Company K, 15th Engi- neers, enlisted September 5, 1864; served faith- fully with his regiment until close of the war, and was discharged with the company. Now in Lima. Nathaniel Joel Clark, Company E, 13th Infantry, enlisted July 31, 1862; served in the "Old 13th" until the expiration of its term of service, and was then transferred to the 140th New York Zouaves. Now in Michigan. William Parker Wiggins, born in Lima, Novem- ber 4, 1842; enlisted August 12, 1862, in Com- pany G, First New York Dragoons ; died of typhoid fever in hospital at City Point, Va., August 30, 1864, and his body was brought home and buried in North Bloomfield. LIMA — WAR RECORD. 483 Daniel Henry Weller, Company M, 8th Heavy Artillery, enlisted January 1, 1864; was killed at the battle of Cold Harbor, June 3, 1864, and was subsequently buried on the battle-field. His widow and daughter reside in Lima. Phillip Jarvis Stevens, born in Lima, June 20, 1829, enlisted in August, 1863, in Company C, 145th Infantry ; was killed on skirmish line in front of Petersburgh, Va., June 20, 1864. Charles Henry Johnson enlisted August 3, 1863, in Co. D, 14th Heavy Artilery ; was Quarter- master's Sergeant. Is now in the regular service. Daniel William Shay, enlisted September 7, 1864, in Co. C, First New York Veteran Cavalry; served as blacksmith to the regiment while in the service. Died in 1867. Michael O'Niel, Co. K, Second N. Y. Cavalry, enlisted September 4, 1864. Present Location not known. Lawrence Warren Pender. Co. G, First N. Y. Dragoons, enlisted in August, 1S62 ; was wounded in the leg at battle of Trevilian Station, Va., June 11, 1863. Now in Lima. Jefferson Griffin Wiggins, Co. D, 108th Infantry, enlisted July 28, 1862 ; was severely wounded in the battle of Chancellorsville, and in consequence of his wounds was discharged January 15, 1864. Now in Auburn, N. Y. Harry Day Holmes, Co. K, 148th Infantry, en- listed in August, 1862 ; was severely wounded in arm at the battle of Cold Harbor, June 3, 1864, and was discharged by general order. Now in Honeoye Falls, N. Y. Lucius Benjamin Holmes enlisted August 31, 1862, in Co. K, 148th Infantry; served until the close of the war. Now in Lima. Theodore Lorenzo Holmes enlisted September 3, 1864, in Co. B, First N. Y. Dragoons. Now in the west. John Lockington enlisted August j6, 1863, in Co. L, First N. Y. Veteran Cavalry. Now in Lima. Samuel Tracy Smedley, Corporal Co. C, First N. Y. Sharp-shooters, enlisted September 16, 1862. Present location not known. Samuel Mitchell, Co. I, 15th Engineers, enlisted September 3, 1864. Now in Lima. John Emberry Copeland, Co. C, 108th Infantry, enlisted in June, 1862; was badly wounded at battle of Chancellorsville ; was afterward dis- charged in consequence; reenlistedin the Veteran Reserve Corps ; came home on furlough and died of typhoid fever, September 16, 1864. Michael O'Daly, Co. E, First Veteran Cavalry, enlisted July 31, 1863. Died about 1875. Martin Pierce, Lieutenant, enlisted in August, 1862, in 126th Infantry; was wounded at the battle of Bristoe Station, Va., in October, 1863. Now in Corry, Pa. Francis Marion Pierce, Sergeant, 188th In- fantry; enlisted in September, 1864. Served until the close of the war as Quartermaster-Ser- geant. Now in Honeoye Falls, N. Y. George Ransom Hutchinson enlisted Nov. 4, 1864, in Co. M, 8th Heavy Artillery. Was wounded at the battle of Spottsylvania C. H., Va., May 20, 1864; transferred to 2d Battalion Invalid Corps, Feb. 22, 1865. Marcus H. Warner enlisted Aug. n, 1862. in Co. G, 130th Infantry. Was transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps, Aug. 3, 1863. Arthur Barnes Warner enlisted July 19, 1862, in Co. G, 130th Infantry. Died of typhoid fever in camp at Suffolk, Va., Nov. 22, 1862. Remains sent home for burial. William Ayling, Co. E, 136th Infantry; en- listed Sept. 3, 1862. Now in Lima. Thomas Martin enlisted in September, 1864. Now in Lima. Israel Parsons Marvin enlisted Jan. 5, 1864, in Co. M, 8th Heavy Artillery. Now in Lima. James Polk Short, Co. M, 8th Heavy Artillery; enlisted Jan. 4, 1864. Was severely wounded in the hand at the battle of Deep Bottom, Aug. 14, 1864. Now in Kansas. Frederick Parker, Corporal, Co. A, 108th In- fantry, enlisted July 16, 1862, was taken prisoner at one of the battles of the Wilderness, and was starved to death at Andersonville prison. Thomas Paine Wright ; born in Lima, October 2, 1838; enlisted July 31, 1863, in Co. H, 147th Infantry. Was wounded and taken prisoner at the battle of the Wilderness, May 5, 1864; died in the hospital at Florence, S. C, Sept. 23, 1864, and was buried in that place. Charles Willard Rice, Co. G, First New York Dragoons, enlisted August 13, 1862. Present location not known. James William Fowler, 26th Battery, enlisted December 18, 1863. Present location unknown. James Quigley, Co. L, 15th Engineers, enlisted September 3, 1864. Now in Rochester, N. Y. Edwin Warner went out with the 130th In- fantry in September, 1862; was transferred to the First N. V. Dragoons in September, 1863. Now in Lima. 4 8 4 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Edward Logan Bonner; born in Sparta, N. Y., October 28, 1840. Enlisted August 12, 1862, in Co. G, First N. Y. Dragoons. Was killed at the battle of Trevilian Station, Ya., June 12, 1864, and his body was buried about two miles from the held. William Henry Harrison Pratt, Sergeant, Co. E, First Veteran Cavalry ; enlisted March 26, 1863. Was in the Shenandoah Valley campaign during his term of service. Dead, date not known. Benjamin Ollerenshaw Beale; born in Man- chester, England, September 16, 1842. Enlisted January 4, 1864, in Co. M, 8th Heavy Artillery. Killed at the battle of Cold Harbor, Va., June 3, 1864, and was buried on the field. William Augustus Ferris enlisted July 19, 1862, in Co. G, First N. Y. Dragoons. Now living in Lima. Thomas Theodore Beadle, Co. B, First N. Y. Dragoons, enlisted September 13, 1864. Now in Lima. Francis Dighton Kent enlisted July 19, 1861. Was promoted to Captain in Co. F, Second Colored Cavalry, in December, 1863, being the first man in the United States to enlist a full colored company for the war. Present location not known. Lloyd Starkey Crandall, Co. K, First N. Y. Dragoons, enlisted Sept. 3, 1864. Now in Lima. John Todd McMahon, Sergeant, Co. E, 136th Infantry, enlisted August 11, 1862. Present loca- tion unknown. William H. McMahon, Co. K, 27th Infantry, enlisted April 7, 1861. Was promoted to Second Lieutenant Sept. 11, 1862. In 1865 was in the Custom-house in New York. David B. Page enlisted September 5, 1864, in Co. K, 15th Engineers. Present location unknown. William Whisker, Co. K, 15th Engineers, en- listed September 5, 1864. Died of typhoid fever in the hospital at City Point, Va., Nov. 7, 1864. George Hosmer Bennett, Surgeon, enlisted Oct. 1, 1862, in 70th Infantry. Was at the battle of Fredericksburg, December 13th and 14th; was discharged March 4, 1863. Now in Lima. John Leslie Chapman enlisted in August, 1862, in Co. E, 136th Infantry. Died of typhoid fever at Fairfax Court House, Va., Dec. 14, 1862, and remains buried there. John Welda, Co. G, 130th Infantry, enlisted July 29, 1862 ; was transferred to First New York Dragoons, August 14, 1863; dead, date unknown. Henry Chase, 91st Infantry, enlisted August 8, 1862; was transferred to this regiment in July, 1865. Now in Avon, N. Y. Bishop Hamlin True, Lieutenant, enlisted Aug. n, 1862, in Co. E, 136th Infantry. Promoted to Sergeant, Sept. 20, 1862 ; promoted to Lieutenant March 1st, 1863; dead, date not known. Jacob Stull Galentine, enlisted August 22, 1862, in 136th Infantry. Was Quartermaster of the regiment. Now living in Lima. Thomas Mooney, Co. C, 136th Infantry, en- listed Aug. 11, 1862. Now in Lima. Marvin Peck, Co. B, First N. Y. Dragoons, enlisted March 16, 1865. Now in Lima. Jerome Brown enlisted in 1862 in Company C, New York State Sharp-shooters ; was mortally wounded at the battle of the Wilderness May 5, 1864, and died May 25, and was buried in Locust Grove, some three miles from the field. James Lavery, Company E, 136th Infantry enlisted in July, 1862 ; was wounded at Gettysburg, losing the sight of his right eye; was transferred to Invalid Corps March 18, 1863; died about 1874. Ledian Brown, 26th Battery, enlisted December 18,1863; died at Mellican's Bend, on the Mississippi river, August 15, 1864; remains buried there. Richard McMahon, Company E, 136th Infantry, enlisted September 20, 1862 ; died of typhoid fever at Fairfax Court House, Va., November 26, 1862, and lies buried there. Amos F. Blair, Corporal, Company E, 136th Infantry; served until the close of the war. Now in Townsend, Ohio. Thomas O'Hara, Company F, 140th Infantry, enlisted in 1863. Present location unknown. Lucien Gibbs, Company C, 147th Infantry, en- listed July 30, 1862 ; came home on furlough Jan- uary 11, 1863, and died on the 2d of the following month. Albiron More, Company E, 136th Infantry, en- listed July 20, 1862. Now in North Plains, Mich. Solomon Wood, Sergeant, enlisted in 1861 in the 27th Infantry and served two years; was wounded and taken prisoner at the first battle of Bull Run ; was exchanged January 3, 1862, and returned to the regiment; reenlisted September 5, 1864, in Company K, 15th Engineers. Dead, date not known. Harvey James Wood, Company K, 15th Engi- neers, enlisted September 5, 1864. Present loca- tion unknown. Edward Timmons, Company E, 136th Infantry, enlisted August 15, 1862. Now in Lima. LIMA — WAR RECORD. 48S Patrick Welch, Company M, 8th Heavy Artil- lery, enlisted January 5, 1864; was transferred to the 10th New York Infantry in June, 1865 ; was wounded at the battle of Deep Bottom, August 15, 1864. Now in Lima. Winslow Salter, 13th Infantry, enlisted in Aug- ust, 1862; was wounded at the second battle of Bull Run in 1862; taken prisoner and paroled, and was afterward discharged on account of dis- ability. Now in Battle Creek, Mich. Robert Sweaton Whisker enlisted July 27, 1861, in the io2d Infantry ; was badly wounded at the battle of Chancellorsville, and was in the hospital eight months ; returned to his regiment and was with it during its term of service ; reenlisted March 16, 1865, in First New York Dragoons. Now in Lima. John O'Day, Corporal, Company E, 140th In- fantry, enlisted August 23, 1862; was slightly wounded at the battle of Fredericksburg, Decem- ber 13, 1862 ; remained with the regiment during its term of service. Now in Lima. Isaac White, Company A, 146th Infantry, en- listed July 30, 1863 ; was wounded at the battle of the Wilderness, absent from regiment some four months, returned and was taken prisoner before Petersburg, held three days with nothing to eat, and was then paroled. Now in Michigan. John Jefferson Hanna, Company K, 148th In- fantry, enlisted August 25, 1862; was taken sick shortly after entering the service and was in hos- pital nearly a year ; returned to the regiment and was discharged at the close of the war. Now in West Bloomfield, N. Y. Edgar Gardiner Plimpton, Company G, 104th Infantry, enlisted February 23, 1862; was taken prisoner on the Weldon railroad, confined at Salis- bury, N. C, seven months; was paroled and re- turned to Elmira, N. Y., where he died of typhoid fever April 2, 1864. Remains buried there. James Murray Bailey, Company M, 8th Heavy Artillery, enlisted January 3, 1864; was severely wounded at the battle of Cold Harbor, June 3, 1864, and was afterward discharged on account of disability. Is now a prominent Universalist minis- ter in Pennsylvania. Henry Franklin Bushnell, Company G, First New York Dragoons, date of enlistment not known ; died in hospital at Chappel Point, Ya., May 23, 1865, and was buried there. Seth Parker Buell was mustered September 5, 1862, as Second Lieutenant in 136th Infantry; was promoted to Captain shortly after entering the service; health failed and he was obliged to resign. Now in Pittsburg, Pa. David O. Bushnell, Company G, First New York Dragoons, enlisted August 13, 1S62; was mortally wounded at the battle of Newton, Va., September 1, 1864, and was buried at Winchester, Va. Isaac Beebe, Corporal, Co. G, First N. Y. Dra- goons, enlisted July 28, 1862. Present location unknown. Florintine Brown, Co. M, 8th Heavy Artillery, enlisted January 19, 1864. Now in Lima. James Tubbs, Co. M, 8th Heavy Artillery, en- listed Jan. 19, 1864. Present location unknown. George Overt, Corporal Co. E, 136th Infantry, enlisted April 20, 1862. Present location not known. Caleb Clow, Co. K, iSSth Infantry, enlisted October 6, 1864. Now in Lima. Charles Edwin Hyde, Co. D, First N. Y. Dra- goons, enlisted July 19, 1862. Samuel A. Salter, Co. K, 15th Engineers, en- listed Sept. 4, 1864, and served until the close of the war. Franklin Levi Fifield, Co. K, 15th Engineers, enlisted Sept. 4, 1S64. Was with his regiment un- til the close of the war. Now in Honeoye Falls, N. Y. William Henry Salter, Co. K, 13th Infantry, en- listed in August, 1862. Henry Walter White, Co. B, 76th Infantry, en- listed July 31, 1863. Was discharged for dis- ability January 1st, 1864. Now in Michigan. Hiram Harrison Reynolds, Co. K, 148th In- fantry, enlisted Aug. 18th, 1862. Was detailed in October, 1863, as hospital steward. Horace Chambers, Co. K, 15th Engineers, en- listed Sept. 3, 1864, and served with his regiment until the close of the war ; dead, date unknown. Horatio E. Chapin, Sergeant Co. K, 15 th En- gineers, enlisted Sept. 3, 1864. Served with regi- ment until end of Rebellion. Henry Merritt Talman, Corporal Co. M. 2 2d Cavalry, enlisted March 25, 1865. Now in St. Louis, Mo. Owen Carragher, First N. Y. Dragoons, en- listed in August, 1862. Served faithfully during the war and was honorably discharged with the regiment. Martin Quigley, Corporal; date of enlistment unknown; was a veteran of the Crimean war; killed near Columbus, Ohio, Sept. 28, 1863, by falling from the cars as his regiment was being 4 86 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. transferred from the army of the Potomac to the army of the Cumberland. James A. Hamilton, Quartermaster, 27th Regi- ment, died in Geneseo in 1877. Samuel Hamilton, 113th Regiment, died about 1876. J. T. Baccus, died in Lima in 1879. Barney Kusick, died about 1874. Patrick Noonan, died since close of war. Michael Boyle, First Veteran Cavalry ; dead, buried in Lima. James O'Brian, 136th N. Y. Volunteers ; dead, buried in Lima. Marion Campbell ; dead, buried in Lima. Lizzie Campbell, an heroic hospital stewardess, died in Lima, date unknown. Alexander Mias, Andrew J. Darrow, left dead on battle field. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. ALEXANDER MARTIN. Alexander Martin was born January 10, 1800, and was a son of Stephen and Bethiah Martin. Stephen Martin was born January 26, 1761 and died December 19, 1834. He was a soldier in the war of the Revolution, and at the time of his death was drawing a pension from the government for services rendered his country in her struggle for independence. His wife, Bethiah (Barrows) Mar- tin, was born May 4, 1764, and died March 13, 1 841. They had eleven children, of whom Alex- ander was the ninth, and all are now dead. Alexander came to North Bloomfield over sixty years ago, where his father had a small foundry, and when he became of age, he assumed the busi- ness. Alexander took the care of his father and mother until their death, and continued the business for a number of years. At that time there was no competition in that line anywhere near, and his customers came from a longdistance, exchanging grain and barter of all kinds for his goods. By that means he acquired an extensive acquaintance and a reputation for fair dealing and honesty throughout the country. March 26, 1823, he was married to Ruth, daugh- ter of Simon and Ruth (Hall) Harwood. Her father was born August 23, 1766, and died March 3, 1 8 16, and her mother died October 18, 1838. In 1826 Mr. Martin purchased and moved into the house in which he lived till his death. He and his loving wife spent over fifty years together amid the comforts of a pleasant home, and surrounded with a large family of children and grand-children. Their golden wedding was celebrated in 1873, when five of the ten children that had been born to them were present. In July, 1875, his wife died and in the same year his son, B. Franklin, also died. His surviving children are Amasa H. and A. Dwight, of Lima, Mrs. T. H. Holden, of Honeoye Falls, and Mrs. J. W. Davis, of Livonia Station. In October, 1876, Mr. Martin married the widow of Amos Hitchcock, and daughter of Eleazer Har- wood. She was a cousin of his first wife, was born January 29, 1814, and is still living. In 1822, Mr. Martin united with the Masons at Allen's Hill, and was one of the last two surviving mem- bers of Union Lodge, No. 50, of Lima, who re- mained true to the trusts of Free Masonry through the Morgan excitement. He was Masterof Union Lodge at one time, and also was a member of Morning Star Chapter of Lima. In politics he was a Democrat until 1848, when he entered into the Free Soil movement and upon the formation of the Republican party became one of its members, ever supporting its measures and policy with earnestness and consistency. He rep- resented the town of Lima in the Board of Super- visors several terms, and enjoyed the respect and confidence of a large circle of friends and acquain- tances in his own and neighboring counties. He had not been in active business for several years preceding his death. His was one of the few examples we have in these days of one who had accumulated a competency by close applica- tion to business in early life, industry and frugality, without deception or fraud of any kind ; one of whom no one could say that he had wronged them, and in whom the poor and needy ever found a friend and benefactor. He died August 8, 1877, from neuralgia of the heart and without a mo- ment's warning. His funeral services were attend- ed on the Friday following, from the Universalist church of North Bloomfield, where he had been a constant attendant and one of its chief and earnest supporters for many years. JAMES LAWRENCE ALVERSON, LL. D. James Lawrence Alverson LL. D., was born in the town of Seneca, Ontario county, N. Y., Oct. 6, 1815. His father, Stephen Alverson, was the son of Uriah Alverson, who died in Cazenovia, N. Y., at the age of one hundred and two years, having lived an honored and useful life. Stephen Alverson married Amy Smith, the daugh- ter of David Smith, and to them were born ten children. After their marriage, they lived awhile in Utica, N. Y., where their eldest child, Richard, was born. They then removed to the residence of Mr. Smith in Seneca Falls, near Geneva, where their other children were born. In 1818, Stephen Alverson removed to Perry, N. Y., which was then in the midst of a dense forest, and connected with neighboring places only by an Indian trail. Mr. Alverson was a pioneer, both at Seneca Falls and Perry. He and his family were ,fcy^ ■^-a^y^y^ee^ -^o^j (^^ ■ of! &L6v-C*-> 0~**J JAMES LAWRENCE ALVERSON, LL. D. 4S7 hardy and knew how to endure privation and toil. He and his wife were consistent Christians. She was distinguished for superior natural abilities, great discernment and practical wisdom. Dr. Alverson was fortunate in having such par- ents, from whom he inherited a fine constitution, and under their training and example he was pre- pared for the noble and successful career he pur- sued. He remained with his parents on the farm in Perry till his eighteenth year when he became a student in Genesee Wesleyan Seminary. From his early childhood he manifested great love for study, and devoted all the time he could command, to reading. He was thoughtful and earnest in his inquiries, and his conduct was in every way be- coming and exemplary. At the early age of eleven he became a member of the church. This course was then much more unusual than now. His mother regarded him as a Christian from the age of five years. After completing his preparatory studies in the Seminary, he entered the Wesleyan University, at Middletown, Conn., from which he graduated with honor in 1S38. On the sixth of the following September he mar- ried Emily Bennett, the daughter of Jeremiah and Mary Bennett. She was descended from a hardy, pioneer family. Her grandfather, James Bennett, emigrated from Vermont to Genesee county when it was a wilderness, driving nine horses and a yoke of oxen the entire distance, over roads almost im- passable. He was a good and influential man, and though a layman he established and conducted religious services in the community where he re- sided till the services of a clergyman could be obtained willing to share their hardships. Her parents were worthy people, highly respected and esteemed. Her father lived a life of strict integ- rity and usefulness, and her mother gave a noble example of cheerfulness, equanimity and self-denial. After his graduation, Dr. Alverson became the principal of an academy in Elmira, N. Y., and in 1 841 a teacher in the Oneida Conference Seminary, now the Central New York Conference Seminary, located in Cazenovia, N. Y. In 1844 he became a teacher in Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, of which he became principal in 1847. From 1849, till his death, he was the Professor of Mathematics in Genesee College. In i860 he received from his Alma Mater, Wesleyan University, the degree of LL. D., and at different times, from other sources, testimonials of the high respect in which he was held. He labored faithfully and earnestly in the discharge of his duties, and with increasing influence and fame. He held a high rank among the scholars and educators of the country. Having naturally a good constitution, his habits being regular, tem- perate and in every respect exemplary, he gave promise of a long life. Unfortunately he was led to make unusual exertions under unfavorable cir- cumstances, and as a consequence he was violently seized by disease, and after a brief but very painful illness, he died, Sept. 12, 1864. His premature death caused a profound sensation, and cast a dark shadow of gloom over the literary institutions of Lima and the whole community. A large con- course of people, many coming from a distance gathered at his funeral to show for him their respect and esteem. The sermon was preached by his intimate friend, Rev. Joseph Cummings, D. D., LL. D., President of the Wesleyan Univer- sity, who as a former President of Genesee College, had been associated with him in his work in that institution and also in other difficult and very im- portant works. He died with a full and joyful assurance of the favor of the Redeemer, to whose service he had consecrated his life. His Christian death was a fitting close to an honorable, useful, devoted life. Of him we may well say " Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, from henceforth : Yea ! saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors ; and their works do follow them." Dr. Alverson was a man of marked and varied abilities. His personal appearance was fine and indicative of true dignity and esthetic tastes. His habits and demeanor, even in minute things, were faultless. Whoever met him recognized him as a gentleman of refinement and culture. He had a lofty scorn of all that is low, mean and degrading. He was usually calm and had great self-control. Like all men of delicate feelings, he was retiring and reserved to all but intimate friends, hence he was often misunderstood, and termed cold and unfeeling ; but when he was aroused by real distress and calamity to others, his flowing tears and strong emotions indicated a warm and noble heart. For years, with more than a woman's tenderness and care, he cherished one bound to him by closest ties, who as an invalid was often helpless and en- dured much suffering, striving by personal atten- tion to lessen her pain, disappointment and sor- row. He did not repine or become discouraged in adversity, but with cheerfulness used the good in the present and hoped for better fortune in the future. He was cautious in forming his opinions but tenacious in retaining and firm in upholding them. He had great power over others, and great skill and tact in retaining his influence. As a citizen he favored all measures that were calculated to promote good order and improve the best interests of society. His personal efforts were untiring to secure these objects. His life work was given to his profession as a teacher. For this he was well qualified by natural endowments and acquirements ; and considering his methods and the results of his work he had few superiors. His mental powers were harmoniously developed and their action was controlled by a sound judg- ment and the dictates of conscience. His life, passed in the quiet of scholarly and professional pursuits, piesents no wonderful or startling inci- dents. Most well ordered and useful lives are of this character. They may not exhibit the brillian- cy that attracts, but they are free from the errors 4 88 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. and indiscretions too often associated with genius. If there are no striking deeds that excite the ad- miration of friends, there are none that cause to them humiliation and shame while they give glad- ness and triumph to foes. Dr. Alverson was not one of the multitude swayed by the will of the ambitious and selfish. He was an independent thinker and naturally a leader, exerting a powerful influence over others. His work is not ended ; his life is renewed in its transforming power over the lives of others. Though dead, he still speaks, and when his name shall no more be mentioned on earth it shall be re- membered in Heaven. WILLIAM VARY. William Vary was born in the town of Berlin, Rensselaer county, N. Y., July 2, 1807. He was the son of Samuel and Esther (Thomas) Vary, the former of whom was born in Duchess county Sep- tember 24, 1764, and died in Columbia county, having settled there from Rensselaer county Octo- ber y, 1833. The mother was born in Providence, R. I., April 29, 1769. They were the parents of ten children, four boys and six girls, only three of whom are now living, namely : — Mehitable, Abial T., now living in Marshall, Mich., and Deborah, the widow of the late Daniel Smith, of Wayne county, N. Y. Mr. Vary was a mill-wright by trade, but also carried on a small farm, and reared his boys in the latter occupation. They received their education at the district schools of the town in which they lived. In 1836 the widow of Samuel Vary moved with her five children, one of the number being William, to Lima, where she resided till she was eighty-three years of age, when she made her home with her daughter in Wayne coun- ty, where she died July 12, i860. Her remains lie buried in Oak Ridge cemetery in Lima. Calvin, William and Abial carried on the farm they had previously purchased, and which is now occupied by Burton A. Vary. They all lived together four years, and then Calvin, Hannah, Me- hitable and the mother moved on to the farm now occupied by William L. Vary. After the division of the family, Calvin, William and Abial carried on farming together several years, till the latter bought a farm in Caledonia and moved there. In the spring of 1861 he moved to Michigan, where he now resides. William contin- ued to work his farm until December 12, 1865, when he moved to the village of Lima. October 12, 1833, he was married to Sarah A., daughter of Peleg and Freelove (Arnold) Thomas, of Greenbush, N. Y. She was born December 21, 1810. They had two children, viz : — Mary Jane, born December 26, 1838, and died April it, 1867, and Burton A., born November 3, 1841, now re- siding on the old homestead. Mrs. Vary died January 26, 1849. December 20, 1849, Mr. Vary married for his second wife, Mary E. Thomas, a sister of his first wife, and she died November 28, 1854. November 5, 1857, Mr. Vary married Sarah A. Kinear, of Lima, by whom he had one son — Wil- liam L., born May 12, i860. Mr. Vary was the architect of his own fortune. Without the aid of inherited wealth or social prestige, he made his way from poverty to affluence, and to a high position as one of the prominent agricultuiists of his town. His greatest pride and enjoyment was in his well-ordered farm and the associations and comforts of his delightful home and the society of his many friends. He died September 14, 1873. GEORGE HOSMER BENNETT. George H. Bennett was born in Avon, June 1 9, 1820. He is the son of Augustus A. and Maria (Pierson) Bennett. The father was born in Con- necticut, July 27, 1789, and the mother was born May 30, 1 799. Augustus A. was the fifth of a fami- ly of sixteen children. His father was a mason by trade, and was also a local Methodist preacher, who, not being blessed with an abundance of this world's goods, was unable to give his children anything but a limited education. Augustus attended school only about six months. He learned the mason's trade and worked with his father at that business till he was twenty-one years af age, his parents, in the meantime, having moved from Vermont, where they had lived since he was an infant. When Augustus became of age, he located at Livonia, N. Y., where he worked at his trade, em- ploying his leisure hours in the study of Blackstone, and was afterward engaged in teaching school, during which employment he spent every spare moment in perfecting himself for the pursuit of his chosen pro- fession — law. He studied with Judge Timothy Hosmer, then First Judge of Ontario county, and was admitted to the bar in 1816, after which time he formed a co-partnership with George Hosmer, son of the Judge already spoken of. March 10, 1818, he was married, and followed the practice of his profession in Avon the sixteen years following, during twelve of which he was alone, having, after four years' practice, dissolved with his partner. In 1833, he located in Lima, where he remained until 1839, when he mysteriously disappeared and has never been heard of since. He was a man of magnificent presence, of large legal attainments, and ranked among the foremost lawyers of Western New York. His wife died May 4, 1879. Six chil- dren were born to them, viz : — Sarah A. wife of Jeremiah Whitbeck, of Rochester ; George H. ; Mary W. wife of Leander Mix, of Batavia, now of Wheeling, West Virginia ; Charles J. a resident of Australia, for the past thirty years ; Jane E. wife James L. Page, of Rochester ; and James A. who married Rowena Warfield, of Ontario county, and Phot., by Metre!!. < ^W70£44t, GEORGE HOSMER BENNETT — FRANKLIN B. FRANCIS. 489 is now residing in Prattsburgh, Steuben county, N. Y. George H. lived at home till he became seven- teen years of age, and attended the Genesee Wes- leyan Seminary at Lima. He then went west to Lima, Ind., where he remained one year, then returned to Lima, N. Y., where he worked on a farm during the following year. He again went west and located at Austinburg, O., where he spent two years attending the acad- emy, and then again returned to New York State and located in Avon, where he immediately com- menced preparing him- self for a physician. In 1844, he was enrolled as a student with Dr. John F. Whitbeck, then of Lima, with whom h e remained four years. He then attended one course of lectures at the Geneva Medical College, and one course of lectures in the medical depart- ment of the University at Buffalo, whence he was graduated in 1 848. Immediately following , this he settled in Lima, where he his since fol- | lowed his profession | with great diligence. Oct. 25, 1848, Mr. Bennett was united in marriage with Eliza C, daughter of Ernest A. and Mary (Johnson) Dunlap, of Ovid, Sen- eca county, N. Y. She was born August 5 th, 1825. Her father died in 1827, aged about thirty-seven years. He was a farmer and surveyor, and was clerk and sur- rogate of Seneca county two terms, and died while still in office. Her mother died in 1848 aged forty-eight years. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Dunlap, viz : — Mary Jane, who died at the age of twenty ; Eliza C, and Ernest Augustus, who died in infancy. To Dr. and Mrs. Bennett have been born eleven children, as follows: — Mary Jay, wife of W. W. Pierce, of Des Moines, Iowa; Charles A., who died at the age of twenty-six ; Sarah M., who died in infancy ; Emma M., wife of Sidney T. Palmer, of Wayne county, N. Y. ; George D., now a prac- ticing physician at Honeoye Falls, N. Y. ; John W., a medical student in the University of Penn- sylvania, at Philadelphia ; Eliza P., Helen E., Jason J., Ernest W., and Amanda J. The doctor united with the Presbyterian church twelve years ago, and his wife has been a member of the same for twenty-five years. In politics Dr. Bennett is a Democrat. Person- ally he has never indulged in any desire for politi- cal preferment, though at all times deeply inter- ested in the general welfare of his party. He has kept pace with the advancements of the age, pos- sessing strong powers of application and a well balanced mind. He is best known in the com- munity as a physician, though always looked up to as a man of ideas. His cheerful countenance and disposition make his presence in the sick room, in no ordinary way a source of consolation to his patients, and the high regard in which he is held by all classes, clearly shows that he not only enjoys but is eminently entitled to the name of friend. ii! "'"""' 'm%\w™ ■ ;: ""' FRANKLIN B. FRANCIS. Franklin B. Francis was born in Spring- port, Cayuga county, Dec. 4, 1826. He is a son of Sylvester and Love (West) Francis, of Cayuga county. His father was born July 9, 1804, and his mother March 24, 1804. The former was a native of Wallingford, Ct., and son of Elihu and Lydia Francis, also natives of Connecticut. The mother of our subject, Love West, was a native of Vermont and a daughter of John and Phebe West. Sylvester Francis moved with his family to Livonia in 1831, from his former home in Cayuga county. He settled about two miles south of Livonia Centre, where he lived until he became incapacitated by being thrown from a mo' machine. About 1867 he removed to Livonia Station, where he still resides. Mrs. Love Francis, died May 7. l8 37, leaving the following five children :— Franklin B. ; Andrew J., born June 26, 1828, now residing at Austin, Nevada; Charles L., born May 10, 1831, died in Calforniain i860; John W., born Aug. 12, 1833, died in Minnesota in 1864; and Jay, born Nov. 20, 1836, now residing in Portland, Oregon. Sylvester Francis married for his second wife, Eliza Coe. by whom he has had two children, viz. :— Lydia, now the wife of George B. Dunlap, of Pittsburgh, Pa. ; and Emma, who died in 1862, aged twenty-two years. Franklin B. was brought up on his father's farm. 49° HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. and attended the common schools of his town until he was thirteen years of age, when he was placed in the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary at Lima, where he remained about five years, attending the spring, summer and fall terms, and teaching a district school during the winter months. In 1850, he left Lima, and from that time till 1850 he taught school in the different towns, when at the latter date he was appointed professor of mathematics and natural science in Temple Hill Academy at Geneseo. His health failing, he was obliged to leave Geneseo, and accordingly located on a farm in the town of Lima, where he has lived since. April 28, 1853, he was united in marriage with Mariette E., only daughter of Isaiah and Delina (Kinney) Terry, of Lima. She was born Aug. 16, 1834. Her father who was born in Colebrook, N. H., Nov. 6, 1797, has been a resident of the same street in Lima, since 1808. His wife was born in South Manchester, Conn., July 5, 1803, and mar- ried in 1829. Previous to her marriage, she lo- cated in Lima (in 1821) and was a resident of that place till her death April 3, 1878. She was a lady of unusual vigor, both mentally and physically and was a fitting type of that sturdy pioneer race of whom but here and there one remains as a re- minder of a past heroic age. Sept. 23, 1879, Mr. Terry was married to Eliza- beth A. Griswold. of Avon. Isaiah Terry, learned the trade of a carpenter and joiner, and followed that occupation up to the year i860, having built some of the most substantial and handsome resi- dences in the town of Lima and vicinity. He is still hale and hearty and in the possession of his faculties to a remarkable degree. Franklin B. our subject, has for the past thirty years followed engineering and surveying. In i860 he was elected school commissioner for the north- ern district of the county and served three years,was reelected in 1866 and served another three years. In politics he is a staunch Republican. In 1870 and '71, he was corresponding agent at Buffalo for the publishing house of Harper & Bros. In reli- gious sentiment he is a Presbyterian, and with his wife has been a member of that church in Lima about fifteen years. There have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Francis seven children as follows : — George C. born Feb. 23, 1854, died Feb. 18, 1876; Frank Terry, born April 14, 1856, died Aug. 14, i860; Delia Delina, born April 10, i860, died Sept 23, 1864; Alta Love, born May 29, 1867, died Jan. 23, 1868; Etta Delina, born Aug. 11, 1869; Stella H. born Dec. 8, 1872; and Delbert Isaiah born Aprill 11, 1878. By adoption May 29, 1867, they also have one daughter, Minnie Gage who was born Dec. 26, 1863. Names of Citizens WHO ASSISTED AND CONTRIBUTED TOWARDS THE PUBLICATION OF THE BISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY, WITH PERSONAL STATISTICS. AVON. Abbey John, p o South Avon, grain farmer and stock dealer, 140 acres, has been highway commissioner; parents Ly- man and Hannah Abbey, who came from Massachu- setts, settled 1814. Arnold William N.. p o Livonia Centre, teacher, born Providence, R. L, August 3, 1856; parents George and Abby Arnold, settled 1872; wife Nellie Gilbert, born Conesus. Beckwith Jeremiah, p o East Avon, grain and stock farmer. 260 acres: father Seth Beckwith, was born Connecticut, and an early settler, mother Thanklul Seymour. Bronson Emily, p o East Avon, grain and stock dealer, 157 acres, born Sherburne, Chenango county, settled 1858 bu band Philander K. Bronson, born April 27, 1825, mar- ried December 10, 1860. died March 18, 1868, on the steamer "Magnolia," Ohio river; children one, May. Bryan L. H , p o East Avon, grain farmer, 152 acres, born Avon February 17, 1840; father Amasa Bryan; wife Nora Anderson born Chenango county, married 1870; chil- dren three, Allen A., "William M., Amasa. Beckwith Dwight M., p o Avon, dairy farmer, 138 acres, born Avon 1852: father Russell Beckwith, was supervisor 1863-4, was active in raising troops for the late war, died October 25. 1864: grandfather Seth Beckwith. Bristol Albert G., p o East Avon, grain farmer and stock dealer, 128 acres, born Canaan. Columbia county, 1812, settled 1836, has been assessor six rears; parenrs Elipbalet and Lucy Bristol; wife Miranda Lockwood, born Ca- naan, married 1835: children five. Brown Joseph, p o Avon, manufacturer and dealer in boots and shoes, born June 28, 1838, settled 187!»; parents William and Lovina Brown; wife Angeline Gallagher, married January 7, 1864; children two. Ellsworth. Edwin J. Bronson John Henry, p o Avon, proprietor railroad eating house, boru Livonia October \.'7, 1842, has been village treasurer; parents Chauncy and Permelia Bronson; grandfather Elnathan Bronson ; wife Margaret E Had ley, boru Rochester, married 1872. Cole George H., p o Avon, farmer and ice dealer, 30 acres, boru 1824, settled 1856; father Timothy Cole; wife Susan Gillett* children three, Julius, Clara A., Kittle. Chapel Richard R., p o East Avon, dealer in agricultural imple- ments, born September 7. 1814; father Richard Chapel, an early settler; wife Marietta Thompson : father Da- vid Thompson; agent for the Syraru.sc Chilled Plow Company, South Bend. Indiana, Iron Works, and for Walter A. Wood's mower, re ape] and Belf-binder. Clendeuing William, p o Avon, grain and stock farmer, 452 acres, born Canada 1835, settled 1850, is present excise commissioner; father .Alex. Clendening; wife Sophia Hall, born Bronson Hill; children two, Frank, Kugene. Chappell Harlow, p o East Avon, farmer and dealer in eggs and poultry, 12 acres, born Avon 1832, was state enumera- tor 1875; father Harvey Chapel of Connecticut; wife Harriet Mead, born Michigan; children three. Chappell W. T., p o South Lima, stock and grain farmer, 237 acres, born on lot 1U8 Avon, August 32, 1810, bas been assessor and highway commissioner; parents Enosand Olive Chappell of Sangerfield, Mass.; wife Julia A, Ransom, born Plainville. Ohio. Collins Martin, p o South Lima, farmer, grain and > ■ 1- dealer, 44 acres, born Livonia, 1855; wife Elizabeth Dalton, married I s !' 1 Carter William, p oAvon, attorney and counsellor bom Eng laud July 28, isis, settled 1872, has been justice of the peace, read law with Judge Morgan of Rochester was r» -i admitted 1879; wife Emma Andrews; children Dailey Ihomas, p o Avon, farmer, 60 acres, born Rush Monroe county, June!*, 1806, settled 1869, has been justice of the peace, highway commissioner and overseer of the poor; parents Thomas an. I Margaret Dailey, who set- tled in town of Rush 1800; wife Lovina L. fthi children four, Euphemia, George W„ Hiram David Lois Adelaide. Dusinberre Charles B., po East Avon, saw and cider mills 16 acres, born Ulster county 1838, settled 1837; parents Samuel and Elenora Dusinberre; wife Martha Gilletl born Lima, married May, 1868; children 1, Mary (i Davis James, p o Avon, farmer. 3 acres, born Otsego county 1802, settled 18:;0; father Robert Davis, an earli tier; wife Sophia Herrington; children six. Davis E. H., p o Avon, publisher "Livingston County Herald" and postmaster. Fist Frederick B., p o Avon, cotton broker, did business in Memphis. Tenn . born 1819. diedOctObei 28, 1868; fath- er Ebenezer Fisk; wife Lory Fisk, born .Memphis Tenn.: children three, Frederics B Jr Walter, Sarah, Gray Dr. John W.. p o Avon, physician and surgeon, born New York 1833, settled loan", read medloine with Dr. James H. Wood of New York city, and A C. Campbell Of Liv- ingston oouuty. attended lectures and was gradu from the university of New York city; fii gusta E, Cole, born Bennington. Vt . second wlfi I beth W. Fowler, born Batavla, N. Y. Gilbert Charles 8., p o Easl Avon custom and merchant miller, bornEngland 1817, settled I85fi; parental Hannah Gilbert : wife Mary Clark; children aix. John Harriet, Maitha. (hiiiles. Arthur, Alfred. Hulbert Joel C, p o Avon, physician and surgeon, bom Fori Ann N. Y , Novemtiet 12, 181S If) Btudied n I Abner Davis, attended lectures and was graduated from the Eclectic Medloal College of Pennsylva wife Jennie Trimmer, born Ontario OOUnty. Henty Horace, p o Avon, earrings manufacturer, born England 1848, settled 1871, builds carriages, rows, lumber wagons and cutters, all work promptly done: parents Horace and Karj Henty t wife Harriet F. Orman, born England 1850 marrit I 181 Ave; parents William and Eliza Orti Harris William J., p o East Avon, far □ ■ n Duch- .i f O .<■ two terms; parents Joseph va ., and k.h be! Har- i is; wife Mary Wilbur childr C. Edward J., Eh raim Wilbur, Hogmire Austin, p o South Avon, fanner. 153 ai \\on April 1 1, 1881*, ha,-- been I Hoh mire; grandlatber Jonas Bogmire wbo purchase 000 acres of land Id \\ m and sent his two so make the first settlements: wile .Margaret Vai children two. Frank A . Emrn I Hue&tis Frank, p o Fast Avon, fai b Avon May ii. 1854; parents James C., and Charlotte Huestis, Hauehett Erastus, p born Bone- t.. 8th New ', ! iiv Hanoh Kred- die, Daniel HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Ilovey Marvin, p o East Avon, farmer. 170 acres, born Lima Oc- tober 5, 1811: wife Ptaebe Brown, born New Jersey; children seven, Henry M . Celeetia E., Millard P., Ed- ward J., George R., Hah ina T Karshfleld P. Hillman Silas, p o East Avon, farmer, 220 acres, bom Lowville, Lewis county, N resettled 1838; parents David and Lucinda Hillman. who settled on this farm in 1883. Huston Alexander, p o Genesee, farm) I 390 acres, born Ireland 1820, settled May 15, ]846; father David Huston, who died 186? aged 85 years; mother Jane Huston, who died 18 8 aged 71 years; wife Sarah Madell, max ricd 1870; children five", Alexander. Jane, Nancy, Jem- ima, Sarah. Hillman John Y , p oAvon, farmer. 122 a sres, born Lewis coun- ty November Hi, 1816, settled 1838; father David Ilill- man, born Martha's Vineyard; mother Lucinda Cole, born Vermont. Hillman S., p o East Avon, farmer. Johnson Leicester, p o Avon, farmer, 96 acres, bom on lot 203, Avon 1834, is present assessor; father Leicester John- son, who settled with Ins father David Johnson 1800; wife Ann Jennette Hart, born Mt Morris, married 1881. Jenks Dr. James E., p o East Avon, physician and surgeon, born East Avon August 11, 1832, settled 1856. studied medi- cine with G. W. Hanna of East Mendon, N. Y . attend- ed lectures and was graduated from New York city medical college 1856. Johnson Seymour, p o Avon, farmer, 351 acres, born on this farm 1832; father Leicester Johnson, who came here with his father 1805; mother Julia A. Blcknell; broth- er E. Johnson, mayor of Buffalo ; wife Anna B. W Jenks Mary L., p o East Avon, farmer. 120 acres, born Ogden, Monroe county; parents Aaron and Lois Barber; chil- dren two, William Aaron, Louisa Al. Knowles Calvin, p o Avon, lawyer, has been justice of the peace and town clerk. Knowles Paul, settled 1808; wife Betsey Knowles, settled 1806, married 1811, settled on present homestead 1815. Kellogg Francis, p o South Avon, farmer. 183 acres, born Cale- donia May H, 1S01, is justice of the peace, has held office 12 years; wife Helen M. Hogmire, married 1853; children five; father John Kellogg, was born at Col- cheater, Conn., 1792, settled 1811, came on foot and drove an ox team. Kennard W. W., p o Avon, printer, born Canada December 2. 1856, settled 1878; wife Ida E. Brundage, born New York, married July 8, 1879; parent ■ Richard and Jane Kennard, born England, and are residents of Wayne county. Knowles Miss A E., p o Avon, farmer. Light E p o Avon, proprietor of Glen Avon mills, born Lower Canada 1K47, settled 1875, father Charles Light, cue torn and merchant miller, dealer in Hour, feed and grain; wife Adaline Caswell, born Rochester. Landon Cortez, p o East Avon, farmer, 180 acres, horn on this farm November 6, 1830, is present assessor; parents Egbert and Manila Dorman Landon: wife Sarah Warner, born Lima; children four, Louise, Mabel, Walter and an infant. Landon Egbert, po East Avon, retired fatmer, 80 acres, born Stockbridge. Mass.. 1810, settled 1812; parents Luther and Rachel Landon; 1st wife M aril la Dorman, 2d. Harriet Davidson; children four, Helen, Cortez, Giles, Low William P., p o South Avon, farmer 136 acres, born Ovid, Seneca county, October 15. 1823, settled 183.', hasbeen excise commissioner, census enumerator 1875 and is present assessor; father Garret. Low, born New Jer- sey ; wife Prudence A. Fuller, married 1815. Lacy Ephraim, p o Scottsville, farmer, 300 acres, born Orange county March 17, 1788, setted 1810, died February S3, 1866, has been highway commissioner and assessor: wife Mary Dickinson, born Vermont, married I8l9; children four, Yolney. Mary Ann, Daniel, Charlotte, who died 1841. Lacy L. A., p o Avon, grain, hop and stock farmer, 38 acres, born Perry, Wyoming county, January 12, 1844, settled is; [ ; parents David and Lucy Lacy who settled 1834; wife Imogene Eggleston, married October 37, 1869; children three, Charles E , Willie E., George E. Lyth Christopher, p o Avon, brick and tile manufacturer, born England, settled 1862; parents Francis and Ann Lyth. Millimau J. N., p o East Avon, blacksmith, l'_ acres, born Ohio [825, settled 1833: father Hiram Milliman an early set- tler; first wife Adaline Case; children three; second wife Margaret Barlow; children one. McPherson Daniel, p o Avon, retired fanner, 190 acres, born Delhi, Delaware county August 17, 1808. settled 1815, has been captain of militia, supervisor, highway com inissioner and assessor ; wife Jane Caldor. born I Ion not: tic ut, settled 1810, married 1828: children four. James A., John R.. Daniel, Jane E , who died October 8, i*7 ; McPherson Joseph lb, born York 1840, was sergeant and 2d Lieutenant 8th New York Cavalry, was wounded at Stevensburgh, Va., October 1868 and died in Washing- ton a few days afterwards, was in sixteen battles with st l j x. Y Cavalry, is buried iii the cemetery at Avon. McPherson J. R.. p o and residence Washington. D. C, born York, has been state seuator of New Jersey, and is now U. S. senator of New Jersey and chairman naval senate committee; wife Miss Gregory, born Buffalo; children two. McPherson J. A.,' p o Avon, superintendent rial ional stock yards at depot New York city, was in 86th New York inde- pendent Battery, and quartermaster at New Orleans, captain New York < 'avalry, was commissioned colonel, was assistant provost marshal of general defenses south of the Potomac, and was wounded in battle of < Farter's farm. Ya Newman I. R.. p Last Avon, proprietor East Avon Hotel, born Lima June 'J I, 1816; parents Joel and Jerusba New man who settled 18&0; wife Catharine Covert, born near Hud on, died August 23, 1878; children three, Smith H., W. S„ fsadore L. Newman W. S., p o Avon, attorney and counsellor at law. born Lima, was chairman of board Of supervisors, read law with H. J. Wood, commenced practice 1ST!. Nowlen G. H., p o Avon, farmer. 30 acres, born Avon 1825, has been assessor and village trustee; father Asa Nowlen who settled 1812; wife Helen Fowler, born Steuben county, married December 20, 1854; children two. 11. L , George F. Nott Henry A . p o East Avon, retired, born England 1816, set- tled 1840, has been justice of sessions and justice of the peace sixteen years; wife Mary Ashley, born Gen- esee county; children one, H W. A. Nash Edwin A., p o Avon, lawyer, born Lower Canada, settled 1842, was district attorney of Livingston county ISTO 70. and was elected county judge 1878; wife Frances A. Morgan, born Lima, married 1663; children one. Pierson F. B., p o East Avon, farmer and stock raiser. 250 acres born Avon Novembei 22, 1806; father Joseph Pierson. born Connecticut, settled 1797 on lot ti8 died Decem- ber H', 1843; mother Sarah Pierson. died September 17, 1810 : wife Frances Janette Gibson, born Cobles- kill. N. Y.; children two, ;-arah A., Frances Janette; parents Kasson and Sabrina Gibson, who died, the former August 6, 1850, and the latter August 84, 1861, Pearson Hiram, p o Avon, farmer, 100 acres, born Avon Septem- ber 21. 1805; parents Jesse and Lydia Pearson, horn Vermont, settled on lot 68 and died, the former Janu- ary 10, 1837, and the latter January 12, 1849, in her eighty-eighth year; wife Lovisa Hendee, born Sud- bury. Yt., married October 3, 1827; children two, An- nette, Amaryllis; parents Ephriam and Lovisa Hendee who settled 1810. Pearson S. B., p o East Avon, farmer, 70 acres, born Avon Octo- ber 22, 1815, has been assessor seven years and high- way commissioner two years; father ira Pearson was born 1793, settled on lot 113, 1. '.'.'>. died February 1 *, 1850; wife Emily Chapel, born Avon 18 5, married 1843; children four; rather John Chapel. I'.ittcr Ira B., p o Avon, engineer, born Avon 1889, father 0. D. Potter: wife M. Clende'-dng. married (857; children Emma L. Pat tee William E.. p o Avon, proprietor Pattee House, born New Hampshire 1812, settled May 1, ink), has been superintendent of schools and justice of the peace; father Savony Pattee: wife Irena L. Brown, born Lima; children two, Lydia Alice, Albertina Louisa. Palmer G. T. , p o East Avon, farmer, merchant, postmaster and dealer in stock, 100 acres, born Connecticut, settled 1828; fath.-r David H. Palmer; grandfather David Palmer who was killed at Fort Griswold, Conn., 1782. Primer D. W. C, p o Avon. Rogers George B., p o Avon, farmer, 78 acres, born Avon 1840. father John Rogers, born Colchester, Conn., settled 1828; wife Ellen E. McKenzie. born Caledonia; chil- dren four, Willie L.. George B., Ella E., Charles W. Rose H. M., p o Fowlerville, farmer born Geneseo, l&JS; parents Conklin and Eliza Rose, settled 1830: wife Clarissa A. Griswold, born Conesus, married 1809; children one, Frederick H. Ryan Michael, p o East Avon, farmer 6>J acres, born November 11, 1S07. settled 1851; parents Michael and Catharine Ryan; wife Hannah Clancey; children five, Catharine, Mary, Michael, Jr.. Bridget, Ellen, Stevens Edwin I., p o Avon Springs, farmer, 225 acres, born Or- leans county March .">. 1834, settled 1668, is present as- sessor; father David Stevens, born Vermont 1798, died November 2, 1865: mother Maria P. Stevens, born 1802, dud November 13, 187H; wife Julia B. Deming, married 1868, died June 22, 1875; children two, Andrus D., John D. Smedley Dr. L. G . p <> Avon Springs, magnetic physician, 2.'} acres, born West BloOmfielH, settled 1869; wife Emily J. Culver, married October 25, [855; children live. Smith Thomas, p o South Avou, farmer, 128 acres, born England April !i, 1806, settled 1850; parents Edward and Betsey Smith: wife Lucy Fridd, born England; children live, .Anna, Betsey, Mary, John. Geo Sherman Hiram S., p o East Avon, farmer, 190 acres, born Duchess county J8;iii, settled January 6, 1880, has been sor and collector in Duchess county; father Hiram Sherman who died 1875; greatgrandfather built the quaker meeting house on Quaker Hill 120 years ago; wife Martha E. Denton, born Duchess county, married 1 s">ti ; children 0. Sherman Howlaud. p o East Avon, farmer, 105 acres, born Paw- ling, Duchess county. April 17, 1822, settled 1852; fa- ther Henry Sherman; grandfather Abial Sherman; greatgrandfather Benj. Sherman who settled 1764 and bad three sons in the Revolutionary war; wife Mary Price, Lorn Monroe county, 1824, married 1847; chil- dren three. PERSONAL STATISTICS. Stapley Seaman, p o Avon, farmer. 100 acres, born county of Kent, England, 1880, settled 1810; parents Charles and Jane Stapley; wife Catharine Durey: children three Torrance M. D., p o East Avon, farmer, 130 acres born Yates county 1817. settled 1837; parents Elchard and Eliza- beth Torrance; wife Eliza J. Bryan, born Avon- chil- dren three, Floyd R.. Belle A., Edith D Thompson L. W., p o East. Avon, farmer, 30 acres, born Cherry Valley 1832, settled 185S; parents Philo and Rachel Thompson, has been assistant revenue assessor two years, notary public two terms and justice of the peace eight years; wife Sarah E. Chappell, married 1860; children three. Vaness Moses A., p o Avon, retired. » 4 acre, born Canada East March 3, 1811, was in the Florida war, company D 1th regiment of Infantry; wife Sarah Jane Darrow- chil- dren four. Moses A., Mary, Frederick, William. ' Webb James C, p c Avon, farmer, born Rochester September 3, 1826, settled April, 1813; parents Charles and Mahala Webb; wife Elizabeth Mann; children one, Maud Wiard Henry, p o East Avon, farmer, 117 acres, born Avon 1815, has been commissioner of highways fifteen years; parents Thomas and Susan Wiard who settled 1807* first wife Caroline Palmer; second wife Amanda Lan- don; children two, Julia, Frederick. Wiard Hon. Mathew, p o East Avon, farmer, 65 acres, has been commissioner of highways, justice of the peace, mem- ber of Legislature two terms, 1861-63. and supervisor- parents Thomas and Susan Wiard who settled 1801. Whaley D. B., p o East Avon, farmer. 68 acres, born Avon on lot 111, 1810; father Daniel B. Whaley; wife Louisa M Calvert, married 1863; children two, Catharine L John B. Wright Norman, p o Avon, farmer 64 acres, born on this farm 1831; father Jasper Wright, settled 1887; wife Harriet Covert, born Lima 1836; children three. Wright Herman, p o East Avon, farmer. 143 acres, born on lot 89, 1844; parents Jasper and Clarissa Wright who set- tled on lot 103; wife Ida M.Cook; children two. Carl C. and Jasper H. Wright Elwyn R.. p o Avon, undertaker, born Webster. Monroe county, settled February 1,880; father Charles S Wright; wife Alice Willard, born Webster, Monroe county; children one, Charlie. Whiting E. J., p o Avon, boot and sho3 dealer, is President of the village, born Guilford. Chenango county, Septem- ber 18, 1838; parents John and Roxanna Whiting; wife Eliza E. Mahar; children one, Charles F. Wadsworth Asahel W., p o Avon, farmer, 36 acres, born Avon 1815, has been highway commissioner and overseer of the poor; father Ezekiel Wadsworth ; grandfather Gad Wadsworth who took up 500 acres of land on which the springs are located; wife Mary Ann Chase, born Avon; children four. Waldo Reuben G., p o Avon, manufacturer of all kinds of car- riages, lumber wagons, democrat wagons, etc.; father Reuben Waldo who settled 1815; wife Mary E. Avery, born Avon, married 1864; children four, Frank, Minnie, Mabel, Charles. CONESUS, Armstrong Francis, p o Seottsburgh, farmer, 200 acres, born New London county, Conn., August 39, 1793, settled February 17, 1817, has beeu commissioner of highways, is the only surviving member of a family of fifteen children; wife Susan Rudd, bora Ireland 1817, settled 1831, married April 5, 1WU. Allen Gilbert, p o Webster's crossing, farmer, grain and stock dealer, 225 acres, born Washington county January 7, 1815, settled 1818; 1st wife Angelina Allen, died 1852; children Electa Ann, born October 18, 1847, Mary J., born February 15, 1844, Sanford B., born July 30, 1849, Jannette, born March 33, 1854; 3d wife Laura W. Tall- man, born Cayuga county, married April 4, 1854; chil- dren one. Winter O., born November 9, 1861. Clark Jotham, p o Conesus. farmer, 150 acres, born Milton, Sara- toga county, March 8th, 1794, settled April 13, 1817, has been supervisor four terms, highway commissioner and poor master thirteen years; wife Mary Ann Ad- ams, born Vermont August 22, 1794, married April '■ 1817; children nine, Harriet, born January 3, 1818, died December 4, 1844. Ozra, born March S3, 1823, Wealthy, born February 18, 1820, died April :io, 1846, Ezra W., born February 20, 1824, John Adams, bum July II, 1826, died July 28, 1858, Mnry Ann. born October 5, 1828, DeVVitt Clinton, born May 30, 1881, Jotham. Jr., born September 15, 1833. Matilda W.. burn May 10, 1841. Clark Jotham, Jr., p o Conesus. farmer, 180 acres, born Conesua September 15, 1833, has been assessor three terms and supervisor two terms; 1st wife Celia A. Hart, married November 12, 1862, died September '., l s '>*; children one, Alice L , born September 24, 1863; 3d wife Eliza- beth J. Hart, born Coresus, married June .' I Clark Ezra W., p o Conesus Centre, farmer, 400 acres, bori esus February 20. 1824, has been ass and supervisor five terms; wife America J, Alien, born July 4,184", married January I. 1866; children three, John Adams, born January 27, 1867, tfarj A . born May 24, 1872, America M., born July l, ChapmOmlleM.i i Conesus 5m ra mth regiment years; wife Lucia M Woodruff, born Livonia July 36 K SaE v d Sep t emb %£ ,85fl obildrentwo, \ bom I860, A erna, born 1870 Coleman David, po Conesus Centre, farmer. 58 acres bom New • l,,r -- - 15, 1H2. settled ]v.- ( . has been high- W W ''';"""' ■ >ver thirty rears: wire Elsie Gray, born New Jersey April 3* 1816 mar' Safi^l^T 18 ? 5 children twelve torn rane, died km*. KllzabetnJ., born January 28, 1836 .M.ml.ln born July-. 1842 Wealthy A., born September 15, 1844 . i.,.-i, February 8, 1847, Delighl A .bornJamia 850, dud June ID, 1851, Adel, Lor., .March -.'. 1852 1858. David M . born Marcb.27, 1854, Elsie L„ born An ,-., , r 5°, ■ „ 6 ' Lew l8 P-, born January 25, Clark Daniel, p o Conesus Centre, (aimer, u .,, \Vr mom May,'. 1810, settled 1832; Isl wife Lovlno U l.v '"'"••• l ""' 11 "'in \ li.lv l.i. 1814 man ii d January 19, 1884, died No Charles F, born February 12, George H, born January 23, i- ,. James F born January 12, 1839, Ban V. . born March B, 1842 November 11. 1866, Edwin A . born June 2, 1858 died October 14, 1857; 2d wife Alvira a born Way land. Steuben county, December 18 1858 married August 1. 1879. Cue George F . p o Conesus Centre, farmer and supervisor Cole B. F., p o Scoltsburgh. fanner. Durkee G. W., p o Conesus Centre, farmer, 71 acres, horn Cona- sus September 6, 1835, I ... wife Harriet E. Payne, born C sua Hay 12 l84v, married Decemlier 25, 1861; children ten '.Mice E born February 27, 1864. Seward Ii. born April 19 1886 John E.. born January 19, 1867, Lena L.. born I Ictober 1, i v '< s . Ham- E . born November 12, 1870. Arlington born February ■Ji. 1872. Charles W., born February 28, 1674, Daisy L , born Ootober 18.1875, Frank I., born February as. 1877, Willard P., born September 25 1878 Degraw T.. p o Conesus c.-ntre. farmer, 150 acres bornl Novenil,. r 15, 1883; wife s»rah X. Monroe, born Pen- field, Monroe county. March II, 1 8411, married Septem- ber 15, lMtiti; children two. Minnie F., Verna E, French Sireno, p o South Livonia, retired insurance agent and farmer. '.12 acres, born Onondaga county Aligns! 12 1S10, settled IS.",; : wife Jane Eli/.abi I b Wliilin | . I , , . r i . Richmond. Ontario county, January 8, 1818, mai i led May 14, 1835; children three, Julia Amelia, born Ann! 17. 183S, Hyron N., born October 17, 1837, .Minerva E . born June 2, 1842, Gray William T., p o Conesus Centre, farmer ?80 acres born New Jersey January 21, 1828. settled 1885; 1st wll lome Luce, born June .->, 1812. married 11. 1851, died .May 15, I860; children tour. Helen March."). Is53. died August I- rles C, born April 14, 1855, Emma P ji. is,:. Mary s . born November 18, 1859: 2d wife .Mary A.Clark, born Octobera. 1828, married November 23, 1871. Gould W. T.. p o Conesus Centre, farmer 15 acres, born .Murray, Orleans county, August 20, 1823, Bottled April wife Susan Neff, born Livonia March. 27, 1829, married Ootober 13, 1869. Gilbert William H.. p o Conesus Centre, farmer. 105 acres, born Richmond, Ontario county, October 28, 1828, settled 1834, wife; Julia A. Carnes, born Scotteburgb, Oc- tober 3, 1838, ma I 10,1855; children live. Estella BL, born July 9, 1856, Nettie i; . born Jsi 28, 1864, William Sherman born August .. 1868, Henry Nelson, born January 17, 1871, l.uella 1 b 'in January 27,1879. Gray Rancehaun, p o Conesus Centre, farmel 15' a< res, born Conesus May 5, 1831; wife Sarah M Bavcna Conesus August 10. 1883, married July 7, 1858; children eleven. Ida V . born Ootober It, 1854, James II . lean April 28, 1856, Nellie M . born Hay 21 1858, Frai born July 18, 1860, Mary I., born September 9, 1862, Susie E, born] mber 9. 1864. Nettie A.. I D cember -.';, 1866, Delia A . born January 27, 1869, E G.. born February 15, 1871, Jesse h' i "V 21. is;.-;. Joseph 3 boi n tfaj 1 1, Gilbert Nelson, p o Scol tsl iui gb, farmer 200 acres, bi October 21. 1S22. lias I, ecu assessor: wife Alta I born Sparta Api arrled March 14, 1851. Hitchcock Solomon, p o Conesus Centre, fanner. 100 Amenia. IMicbess county. November 9, Isn't, settled i Ictober, 1831, Ins I d visor; wife Laura ■ Ida county. April 10, 1814, married NovemberSO, 1841; children one. S. Edward, hom December -\ 1858. Jones William, n o Conesus Centre, farmer, 115 acres, horn Au- burn. X. Y . April is. 1815, settled 1817, has been con- stable, town collector and highway commissfi wife Betsey D Webstei Engton counts V . i Ictober 3. 1820. married April 17, 1844; children four. Natalia M.. born April J i. 1st:,. Wmlield S . burn Novem ber 20, 1846, Luna J., born Mai Innie, born Oct i--':. 1859. Kuder Andrew, p o South Livonia, farmer, i, rove la ml November II, 1838; wife Marj I. Hlti ■ is, married three. Hal) D 'H. born November 17, 1874, Katn- .v. bora &L HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. McMillan David, farmer ami physician. 5-5 acres born Albany count; February 30, 1794, died August 29, 1837, settled 1818; wife Alta Henderson, born Ontario county mar- ried lv: children seven, Charles, John H., B. P., K. F-. James, now in the regular army, Charlotte, Luna A. McMillan li. F. \ r F , p o Conesus Centre, farmers, 640 acre?, born Conesus October 8, 1829; B, F. has been supervis- or two terras. Morris William C. p o Scottsburgh, farmer. 1*5 acres, born Conesns AngUSl 28, I s .';. has been assessor three years; wife Sarah Washburn, born Naples, Ontario county, August 26, 1828, married April 28. 1853; children six. Heman w., born March 3, 1854, Addle, born March 12, 1858, Jessie P., burn .June 85, 1881, Lillian G., born September 9, 1866, Mabel, bom May 15, 1869, Vivian, born December 18. 1871. McNinch J. C, p o Scottsburgh, farmer. 180 acres, born Cone- sus Nuvt'iiiluT .';i.i, 1*1'.', has been assessor nine years; wife Elizabeth A. Gray, born New Jersey June 25, 1825, married June 7, 1849; children one, Floyd L., born April 17, 1850, Clark M. Gray was adopted in the family 1861. McNinch Mathew, born Northumberland county, Pa., 1781. set- tled 1808, was one of the earliest settlers, died l*, 1870; children Rhoda A,, born January 5, i860, Sarah U„ born August 31 1851, died June 22, 1856, Ella C, born October 2 Mary A., burn February 17, 1856, died April 17. 1857, George W., born January 80, 1858, died April 8, i v, >>; 2d wife Mary N Thompson, born Groveland August 17, 1831. married April o, 1875. Webster L. J., p o Conesus t vntre, CALEDONIA. Ayres Mrs. Cornelia, p o Caledonia. Blackman C. W., p o Caledonia, manufacturer of grain cradles. Borden G. T., p o Caledonia, physician and surgeon. Browneli F. P., p Caledonia, farmer. Byan W. J., p o Caledonia, attorney and counselor. Cameron D. E., p o Caledonia, hardware dealer. Cameron Maigaret, p o Caledonia Cameron Margaret J., p o Caledonia. Campbell M. M., p o Caledonia, farmer. Campbell Peter P., p o * laledonia, farmei Clunas John, p o Fowlerville, farmer. Collins A. H., p Caledonia, publisher. Cox Darius, po Caledonia, farmer. Espie J. R., p o Caledonia, farmer. Fspie Robert B., p o Caledonia, farmer. Fellows John, p o Canawangns, farmer and justice of peace. Foote P. P., p o Caledonia, prop., Caledonia House. Fraser James, p o Caledonia, justice of peace and farmer. Gordon A. T.. p o Caledonia, farmer. Hamilton William, p o Caledonia, farmer, produce dealer and supervisor. Hollenbeck A., p o Avon, farmer. Hosraer John E., p o Caledonia, farmer. McLean A. H.. p Caledonia, grain and real estate dealer. McColl D. D.. p o Caledonia, produce dealer. McKay George, p o Caledonia, miller. MeKensie Miss Elizabeth, )> o Caledonia. McNaughton John, p o Caledonia, retired. McNaughton Peter W., p o Caledonia, builder and assessor. HcBae Duncan, p o Caledonia, farmer and butcher. Malloch James C, p o Caledonia, farmer. Maxwell J. A . p o S. ottsville, farmer. Maxwell William, p o Canawangus. farmer. Menzie R J., p o Caledonia, physician and surgeon. Mi Nab John, p o Caledouia. farmer. Menzie David, p o Caledonia, auctioneer. McVean W. J., p o Caledonia, farmer. Miller Alex. & Son, p o CaledODia, agricultural works. Mastorton William E.. n Caledonia, retired. HoLaohlen D., p o Caledonia, farmer. Orr Collin, i> o Caledonia, retired. Place R. M., p o Caledonia, druggist. Redtield N. C, po Caledonia, manufacturer of rakes. Renwick A., p o Caledonia, farmer. Rutherford Walter, p o Scottsville, farmer. Shaw Peter, p o Caledonia, farmer, justice of the peace and assessor. Sinclair Peter J., p o Caledonia, farmer and assessor. Swan C. H., p o Caledonia, maltster. Thompson It , \< o Caledonia, farmer. Walker W. 11.. p o Caledonia, dealer in general merchandise. Walker J. W.. p o Caledonia, retired and ex-judge. Walker David, p o Caledonia, farmer. Walker Foster W.. p o Caledonia, school commissioner. Weeks I^aac, p o Caledonia, farmer. Weeks James A., p o Caledonia, farmer. Wells Mrs. Frances C, p o Caledonia. DANSVILLE, Andrews B. P., p o Dansvillc, physician and surgeon, born Che- nango county 1856, settled 1877, is a member of county medical society. Allen S. C, p o Dansville. one of proprietors of Allen House. Brown Merrit II.. merchant and paper manufacturer, born Ver- mont ISO i, settled 181S, has been postmaster, died 1864; wife Arvilla Danfoith, born Saratoga, married 1829; children six. Burkhart A. Pereival, p o Dansville. dentist, born Cleveland, O., May 17, 1852, settled 1873; wife Kate S. Quigley, born Kushford, N. Y., married October 1, 1874; chil- dren one. Burns Brothers, 1) W., M. J., and J. E., p o Dansville, carriage making and trimming, all born New York, business established two years ago corner of Main and Frauk- lin streets. Brown Charles W , p o Dansville, physician and surgeon, born Steuben county September 5. is^s, settled 1877, was graduated from Hahnemann Medical College, Chicago, III., 187:1 is member of Livingston county home medi- cal suciety; wife Sara S. Butler, brn Tioga county, Pa., married December 31, !*•:'.. Bradley I. W., p o Dansville, carriage manufactory, born Skan- eateles. N. Y., 1888, settled 1836; wife Frances Wool- ever, daughter of William Woolever, born Dansville, married 1872; children three. Bunnell A. O.. p o Dansville, editor of the "Dansville Express." Delis E. J., p o Dansville, photographer. Bailey, J. J., p o Dansville, hardware dealer. Cogswell William, p o Dansville, lumber merchant, born Dans- ville 1850; father David Cogswell; wife Mehitable Owen, born Schuyler county. Crisfield J. E.. p o Dansville, physician and surgeon. (lark David VV., p o Ossian, grocer. Dorr Robert G., p o Dansville, attorney and counselor, born 18.™ ; father Robert Dorr. Dyer Daniel E., p o Dansville, retired, born Vermont 1817, set- tled 18,11; wife Cordelia H. Day, born Sullivan county. Davis M. L., p o Dansville. real estate dealer. Etidress Christian, clergyman, born Philadelphia 1775, settled 1814, died I8t*7. Edwards Alex , p o Dansville, farmer, born Bath October 13, 1828, settled September 1, 1847; wife Elizabeth Mc- Curdy. born Dansville. Earls Thomas, p o Dansville. grocer. Endress Sarah A., p o Dansville. Foley 1 irimi- i' (i Dansville, grocery 179 Main street, born Roch- ester 18J8, settled 18 in, has been village trustee, is a member of Catholic church; wife Celia Farney, born Livingstou county, married 1868. Faulkner Dr. James, p o Dansville, physician and surgeon, born Washington county 1790, settled 1797. studied in Bath and was graduated from College of Physicians and Surgeons 1810. is President of First National Bank of Dansville No. 75, organized 1863. Fielder Alfred W.. p o Dansville, carriage manufacturer, born Brighton. England. 1S.J7, emigrated 1847, settled 1868; wife Mary H. West, born New York. Faulkner K. S , p o Dansville, produce dealer, born Bath, Steu- ben county 1809, settled 1843; father is First Judge of Steuben county; wile E. S. Todd, born Schoharie county, married 1832. Fitzsimons S., p Dansville. clergyman. Gallagher Thomas E.. p o Dansville. groceries and crockery, born Dansville July 31, 1848, has been town clerk aud village trustee; wife Sarah A. McCurdy, born April 2 1871; children two. \ PERSONAL STATISTICS. Gilman E. B.. p o Dansville. foundry and machine shop born Oneida county 1*27, settled i s ;it Gilman A. J. p o Dansville, n.achine shop and foundry, bom 1850; wife Ann Purdy, born Steuben count; Hartman Henry, po Dansville, farmer, 160 acres born Dans- ville 1817, has been justice of the peace and town superintendent; father John Hartman; wife Eliza House of Otsego couuiy, N. Y.. married 1844; children three. Hartman Wm., p o Dansville. farmer. 330 acres, born Dansville 1820; father John Hartman; wife Catharine Driesbach; children three. Banne Daniel, p o Dansville. retired farmer. 60 acn Pennsylvania 18*20, settled 1863; father christian Hanne; wife Margaret Smith, boru New Jersey. Hullingsworth Henry, po Dansville, California paper mills, born Englmd 1828, settled 1877. manufactures Nos 1 and 2 manilla paper, first settled in Patterson 1852, was formerly in Livingston mills for some time; wife Eliza- beth Best, born Connecticut, married I8b7: children five. Hyland John, p o Dansville. postmaster. Hedges Seth N.po Dansville. attorney and counselor at law. Hubbell & Goodyear, p o Dansville, Dausville Seminary. Hodgmire James L., p o Dansville, druggist and telegraph oper- ator. Hartman John, p o Groveland. farmer. Johnson Samuel, B., p o Dansville, retail and jobbing trade. 281 acres, settled J 84(1, is aeent for National steamship line company, is a member of Presbyterian church; wife Elizabeth A. Dake, burn Allegany county, mar- ried February 14, 1859; children five. Johnson Oliver B., p o Dansville. woolen mills, established thir- ty years, born Richmond, Ontario coonty. N, Y., 1812, settled 1836, has been constable, collector and asses- sor; wife Lodema Jennings, daughter of Joseph Jen- nings, married October 18, 18 38. Jackson James H , p o Dansville. proprietor of water cure. Kern Charles R., p o Dansville, justice of the peace, has been postmaster in Pennsylvania, born Pennsylvania 1805, settled 1839; first wife born Pennsylvania; second wife Maria McCartney, born Dansville. Knappenberser J., p o Dansville, retired. Kennedy John J., p o Dansville. Lockling Louis N., p o Dansville, agricultural works and foundry. LaBoyteaus A. L., p o Dansville, dentist McCurdy C. B., p o Dansville, grain dealer, born Dansville May 4, 1852; father James at. McCurdy; wife Maria L. Bent- ley; children two. Morey Hon. Jonathan B., p o Dansville, farmer and nursery- man, 335 acres, born Dansville 1836, has been member of assembly four terms aud president and trustee of village; wife Laura J. Smelt, born Battle Creek, Mich., married 1861; children four. McCurdy Hugh F., p o Dansville, farmer. 500 acres, born 1823, has been assessor three terms; wife Elizabeth A. Fen- stermacher, born Dansville. married )854; children three. McNair David D., p o Dansville, paper manufacturer, born Sparta 1814. has been supervisor and town clerk. M cNair John. M.. p o Dansville, attorney and counselor at law. McCartney Hugh, p o Dansville, sheriff of county. McCartney H. S., p o Dansville, grain dealer. Newman S. H., p o Dansville. Pratt Edward H., p o Dansville. nurseryman, 200 acres, born Auburn, Mass.. 1837, settled 1859, was captain I 16th New York Volunteers; wife Sarah L. VanDerlin, mar- ried 1878 Proctor L. B.. po Dansville, attorney and author. Perrine, F. M., p o Dansville, physician and surgeon. Readshaw B. F.. p o Dansville. proprietor of Forest mills, mer- chant miller, born Dansville 1846. Rauch N. & Sons, p o Dansville. tanners and dealers in le Stout M. T., p o Dansville, carriage trimming, etc . bom i I Seneca county, N Y . 1815, sen led 1836; wife Clara C. Conkling. born New York, married 1839; children four, one son killed in 136th regiment. Sturgeon Samuel, p o Dansville, farmer, born Livingston coun- ty 1809, has been assessor; wife Mary Ann McCurdy, born Dansville. married 1836; children five. Sweet George A., p o Dansville, nurseryman, born Dansville 1844, has been supervisor; wife C ara Maxwell Sweet, born Dansville, married 1867; children I Stone B. S., p o Dansville, wagon manufacturer, 80 acres, com- menced business 1848, born Dansville 1825; wife Nancy Driesbach, daughter of Michael Driesbach, married 1871; children four. Stevens Archelaus, publisher of Cobb's spelling book, i field, N. H.. 17'tO, settled i s :'>. died 1867; wife Sally Gage, born Enfield. N. H., died 1877; children three. St-\ ens Anna M . p o Dansville. Smith Mary Et., p o Dansville. Steiuhardt H . p Dansville. Tompkinsou Capt. S. D., p o Dansville, prop! ie»or Grove mills, 12 acres, horn Liverpool, England, February 1 1 settled January 15, i860; wile Sarah M. Aldridge, born Wayne county, married I8i5. Mr T\, was oi tl forty years and rhirr. a commander, was twenty-five years on the lakes. Thomas M. H . p o Dansville. livery aud sale stal VanNuys Peter, farmer, born V been magistrate, su] ' f« Harriel Kern, born New York City [80S bildren five. VanDerlip M. H., p o Dansville, attorney Voorhees D. B p o Dansville, pi Welch ."r^' V rlan church. J V ' ! e,StationAg «eicn.j. J., po Dansville Whiteman Franklin AL, farmei \\\ e 1810 has been supervisor, superintended poor and assessor wasin i mbly 1854; wife .Mary Stewart, marrii dren two. Whiteman Reuben p o Di Pennsyl. vania 1817, Bettled 1823. J Woodruff B. w po Uan Mil- retired print.-,, bun, Livonia -* ■)> 26 i-'". wife Sally A, lu.se. married .JuH children nine. Williams S. P., p o Dansville, nui eryman I s y 1818, settled 1844; wife Sophia J. Si Dai ville, married s, , Williams 3 i & Son, p o Dansi [He milling Whitehead Joseph! pi Dansville bool bo furniehinra leather, etc born X-v. i , ,. ,, ,-|.. g£J been postmaster and exi i - eoromi Elizabeth Putnan , on< j Wlle 1I:M i iette ' utting; two sons, bank Dansville, and oi Wood Anthony T. p .. Dansville, coal dealer, b< N. \ .. 1830, s< ttled 1827, bag been su] ■ n '■ ■ was clerk of Court of appeals from lv ' ! to ! '" ■■". has been in r-antil- trad-, was admit ted to the bar In 1856. Zerfass George, p o Dansville rarmer 195 acres, born Pennsyl vama July 25, 180 - has been highway commissioner; father Abraham Zerfaas; wit.. Polly Kanause. born New Vurk. married 1888, died 1 s i .' . GENESEO. Allen Samuel P.,p o Geneseo. editor and publisher, bum Smyr- na, Chenango county, settled 1890, was county clerk from 1841 to 1843 clerk of senate 1856 to I860, collector of internal revenue 28th districl 1863 to IE clerk of the assembly 1872 to 1875 and 1876 to 1879. Ayrault Allen, p o Geneseo, banker and merchant, bori sachusetts i ."■■ i1 I led 181 1 died (861, was president of Livingston county bank from 1830 lo 1855; wife Be- thiah Lyman, boru East Haddam, Conn.. 1791, married 1822. Austin Charles R., p o Geneseo. farmer, 18J n Liv- ingston county is it; wife Frances M. Vloai con sin 184 T". married 186' children one, J. El. Jr., born 1878. Father,!. R Austin, settled 18 5, died 1880, wife Agnes Elizabeth Wilbaskey, born Russia, married 1839. Abbott A. J., p o Geneseo, attorney and com cow. Livingston > wile Mary Jane Beach, born Pompey Hill, married September 20, hildren one. Ayres A. 11.. p o lieneseo. Blaisdell & Jones, p o Geneseo. marble and granite works. Beach Charles O., r general merchandise Dansville 1823, settled and commenced business I860, wife Cornelia S. Beach, born Livingston county 1834, married IS D three, -Mary Ella, Nealle and Lulu. Bigelow Daniel, p o Lakeville, farmer, merchant and teacher, 122 acres, bora Livingston county, I a town commissioner, superlnti or; wife Helen A Whitney, horn Livingston county 1828, married 1856: children two 9a and Edward E. Father Epaphmditus Bigelow, born Hartford, Conn ,1786 etl led 1818, died i i P born Conned U n1 I (95 mat rled 1816, died 1878; chil- dren nine. Bosley B R., p o Lakeville county 1884; wifi Feni D . born Living county 1841, married 1868; children ird It.. Louis D.. Kit t [e M Bosley Daniel, \, Lakeville. general m-reliant. born Lll i i ! ried 1832; children six, Daniel i; . William B., Lucia M May, Ella, George H. Bosley .John, born Maryland, settled 17°2, died 1795, wasfarmer and miller, built first grist mill in town. Bosley Edmund, born Maryland Bixby Emery P.,po Geneseo. fan ter and joini s. born on h Rixby Ezra, burn Peons; rania vav AW,; furniture di nolsti May B. John soi lldren three, E 1 irard l. . ■ ora i .. Ha Bishop J. P.. l Crosselt John Father Wil Liam ! oral farmer and merchant, tl ■ VI HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Cox A. A,, (Ayrault & < !ox, poG oe dealer, [Quaeres, born England 1827, settled 1870; wife Esther Shaw, boro Perry, Wyoming county 1838, married 1S54, children oni business in I ID, has a building In course of erection 36 feel high and 20x50 feet, e Feet, also an- ■ building 16x26 leet, two stories high, with office and storage roon hundred and fifty thousand i u i kin are handled yearly, [de plaster, ,. i vet seed. Dieffenbacher John, p o Lakeville, rarm< r, 325 sort s, b< rn Liv- ingston county I s !".'; was town •■■ mmiasioner ; wife -Maitha C. Knight, born Livn. by 1821, mar- ried 1845 : i bildi en Ave, Slay \. . Martha C. J. Prank, OlieA.. Edward L Father, Abraham Dieffenbacher, horn Pennsylvania 1770, was a mill wright, died 1840, Dieffenbacher Leone farmer, 46 acres, born Liv- ingston county 1816 ; wife Maria Darling, boi d Living- county 1816, married 1841 ; children four, Florus P., Ploretta F., (twins' born January 35, 1842, Amos D . born 1844, Alfred D.. born 1849. Kwart Samuel, p o Geneseo, farmer, 100 acres, lorn Northum- berland county, Pa., 1778, settled 1796, died 1848, was in war <»f 1812; wife Elizabeth Magee, born New Jer- sey L796, married 1811 ; children three. May A., who married Edward Patchin, Hannah, Elizabeth. Foster M. N.,pol Fridil William, p o I Jenoseo. farmer, "-.".ii 1 acres, born England 1820, settled 1841, has b< ■ years; wife Sarah Bridgland, born England 1880, married 1848; children five, Alfred W., boro 1850. Celina, bon Mary A., bom 1854 Sarah A ,born 185§, lsab< I, born 1869, Gray Thomas, p o Lakeville, farmer. i rn Pennsylva- nia 17H8, settled i s <><>: wi'e Maj Wynn, born Livingston county 1805, married 1825; children six, Daniel H.^ bors I8i9, Lydia M., born 1834, Josepha, born 1836, Le nora E . born 1846, Edgar L . bi rn lb 19, Catharine, born 1826, died 1866. Father. Duncan Gray, born Ireland, settled 1806, died in an engagement in war of 1812, un- drr (.ienei al Seott. Goode George, p a Geneseo, merchant tailor. Haynes J. C. G.. p o Geneseo. grocer, (iu acres, born Geneseo 1856. Haynes Henry S.. p o Geneseo, farmer, 153 acres, born Living- ston county 1851: Wife Ella Boyd. bornl854, married 1878. Haynes J. ! I , p o Geneseo, farmer, sheep and stock grower, 150 acres* born Geneseo 1 Oil. he ieen i sor and road oer; 1st wife tfarj Price born 1812, married 1834, died 1666; children three; 2d wife .Margaret Phin- ny, born Northumberland county, Pa., 1831, married January 20. 1870 Haynes John, horn Pennsylvania 1787, < ttled 1792, di--d 1873; wife Elizabeth Haynes, married 1809, died September, 1868 Hawlcy James, p o Geneseo, farmer, born l> laware county 1805, settled 1818, has been road commissioner and as- i r: 1st wife Mary Ruthven, born Scotland 1812, married 1834, died 1851; children nine; ad wife Maria Ellis, born 1826, married 1854; children one. Willard I)., born 1858. Ilawley Edward, p o Geneseo, farmei and justice of the peace. ted 1878, born Livingston county 1640; wifp Sara Mathier, born Livingston county 1846, married lbti!»; children one. Edward C, born Hersey & Co. ,p o Geneseo, drugs paints, oils and stationery. W. H. Hersey horn I B settled 1878; wife Julia Moore, married ['>>'•: children three. Willie A., .Mary l ' . I.oii tse. Jones R, n.. ji o Geneseo, general marble and granite works, born Vermonl 1845, sel ; teiia A. < !or- bett,boru 1853, married 1874; children two. Winnie and Nellie. 3 ones Richard M„ p o G ier, 550 acres, born Sparta 1886, enlisted Jnlj 3d New York cavalry; wife Amande pingston coun- ty 1888, married 1865; children two, Emily C, born 1867, Richard M., born 1889. Jones Charles, p o Gem Knight Samuel N., p o Lakeville, bi res, horn Wyom- ing county 1*\M. settled , Mary B. Busbnell, i Livingston count] ried 1858: children ■ Chailes B., horn 1859, George N.. born 1864, Effa E,bornl866; father Nor settled 1816, 1847, was a very prominent man in the Pi terian church; Jonathan Bill settled 1817, died 1849, aged 80 yea rs, wai b fan Knight Jam.- C, p Lakeville, jewelet born Get it, born 1840, mar r ied January e, Willie B., horn 1871. Linsley Martin F., p o Geneseo, farmer and sheriff, 230 acres, horn Livingston county 1840; wife Fannie Pt born Cayuga county 1889, married 1866; children three. Blaj ' i dell. Lewis Joseph D., poGei commis- sion bu I - ' '■■ Wife Mar- garet Donna n. born Fork, Livingston county. 1833, married 1864. MoClintock Charles, p o Lakeville, farmer and assessor, 179 acres. I torn Livingston count] HoClintock, Abraham, i settled I s "- . f.n iui'1 118 acre children eighl .. died i s i''- Millimau Norman M.. p o Lakeville. farmer, 50 acres, born Liv- ingston county 1834; wife Lizzie Barlow, born I county 1846, married 1868; children two, Jennie May. Roy llarlow. Millimnn Bryant, horn Livingston county 1806, farn wife Lorena < urtis, born Cortland county 1 NIS . mar- ried 1828, died July 12 1879. Milliman John, born Rhode Island 1776, settled 1802, died 1848, Mather John C., pot 120 acres, horn Saratoga county April '.'. 1807, died December 1, 1877; wife Eliza- beth Kellogg, born 1811, married 1831; children seven, Mary A., Eliza A., and Julia a., twins, Amos K.. Nor- man W., Sarah A ., Fannie ■). Milne Win. J., p o I 1 Normal School. Morris Garry, poGi ! mpton, Washing! on count v ItOi, farnu-r. 50 acres, settled 1811 : wife Dehoruh IlutT- man, born Pennsylvania, 1801, married 1825; children three. T Carlton, bora 1829, William, horn 1880, J. R., . S38 Morris William, p o G | mer, 150 acres, horn 1830, wife ■ rains, I^Pfti 1853, married !*;'.». i C pO Gi i tesi 0; Wife Margaret Remington, married 1852. Morris K. J., p Geneseo; wife Rebecca Hardy, born England, married i Mate Fred W., p o Geneseo, general blacksmithing and carriage repairing, Lorn England l > ii, settled 1848, enlisted In Mli New York cavalry 1862 for three years; wife Uelina Fridd. horn Livingston county, married I860; children two, Hattie W.. Sutie W. Merrell J. C, p o Geneseo. photographer, NctT Abram, po Geneseo, farmer, :>-'. acres, born Pennsylva- nia 1805, settled 1881; wife Magdaline Martin, horn Mon- cuntj 1809, married 1836; children six, Theodore C. born 1840, Angeline M. horn 1842, Newton W., born 1818, Catbaiine E . horn 1815, Julia E., born isi:. (has. D.. horn (849. NctT Christopher, p o Geneseo, farmer and carpenter, born Pennsylvania 1809. settled 1810, 80 acres, was commis- sioned .captain 1845-49; wile Alrnha Woodruff, born Livingston county 1812, married 1837J children seven, ■a . Sarah B., Fannie J.. Henry 1 1.. Lucy A . 3&* ob, Ella, Henry enlisted in the 186th New York Volu i was taken prisoner and died 1864, his wife died 1669 aged twenty-four years. Orton James S . p o Geneseo, hanker, born Woodbury. Conn.. Novembei 86, 1816, settled December 1844, has been ii i of National bank of Genesee Valley; wife Emily Stanley, born Bit. Morris, N. Y., mat ried Maj 3 l 1843 Patterson J. B., p o Geneseo, merchant, has beeen county clerk. Riley Richard A., p Geneseo, farmer. 133 acres, horn Living- ston COUUtV 1848, was elected justice Of the peace 1878 wife Liszie King bornSeneca county 1847, mar- ried 1869; children two, Maud E„ Theo. A. Riley Richard A , horn New York City, settled 1826, died \<. \\ Wife Anna llayn.'s. hurn Livingston county 1811, mar- ried 1844, died February 32, I8i 3; children two. Rose R. A . p o Gi neseo, general tin, hara and shelf ware and stoves, born Avon, Livingston county, 1840. Rose Conklin, born Green county 1797, settled 1832, died 1867; wife E. A Hyde horn' (802, married 1832, died I860; children live Stratton I. J , p a Geneseo, proprietor Globe Hotel, horn Che- nango .'. settled [872, enlisted 1862 company K. IDthNew Fork cavalry, was mustered out at close of war; wife Margaret Stratton. horn Chenango coun- ty 1837, married 1858. Stevens William A., p o Geneseo, hardware, stoves and . house furnishing goods, born Livingston county 1844; wife Helen A. Doty, horn Livingston county 185*, mar ried 1870; children three. Sophia, Florence Helen. Allen t 'OKI! Scott John L., p O Geneseo, ( ( HI more & Scottj general milling busim i oi in i m i d busini ss 1865, the buildings are 40x70 and 10x60 feel containing four runs of stones and lias an unlimited water i- SleggS William J., p o Lakeville, 153 acres, horn England 1817, settled 1851 , died is;-,'; wife Elizabeth Wright, born mi 1880, married 1848; children seven. Eliza, Mary J . John \\\, George T., Elizabeth ll . Charles A., Wlnneford A. Southall Elward W . p o Geneseo, physician, born Staffordshire. England. March G 1851, settled Juiu 15, i^;'.t; wife Su- sannah Southall. born England, married May 7, 1878; children two Fames A., p o Geneseo, physician and surgeon, born Utica April 20. 1835, settled 1862; wife Fanny B. West, horn Ohio, married 1868 at Rochester. N. Y.: children three, .h QUie A . Mary L . Nannie. ,i C . p Geneseo, county superintendent alms house, insane asylum, and farmer, 825 acres, horn Rutland county, v't . 1823, settled 1841; wife Josephine i/andeo, born Oxford, Conn., 1840, married 1869. Wicker Jona, born Massachusetts, Battled in "i. died 1874, aged ninety-four years. White John, p o G*»ni ■ cres, born Pennsylva- nia 1788, Bottled 1794, was elect I'd justice of the peace 1820 and served twelve years, was assessor several years and held other important offices; wife Anna Griffith born Delaware 1786, married 1801 . died Sep- tember 10. 1849; children eleven. PERSONAL STATISTICS. White Joseph E., born Livingston county 1826; wife Julia H Magee, born Groveland 1838, married 1861; children two. Hester Paret, born 1MU, John Magee born 1869 \\ arner Lucius, p o Groveland, farm, r, 270 acres, born Genes'eo 1810, has been assessor and commissioner; wife White, born Wyoming county 1816, married 1839 died August4,1858; second wife charlotte F, Whit., born 1821, married February in, ls.iii. died December 20 [878- children two. Lucius W., Anna W. Warner David, born Connecticut August 17, 1774 settled isi t died August 10, 1818; children seven, living five Warner David, p o East. Groveland. farmer. 130 acres, born Liv- ingston county March 28, 1816, died December 27 1879' wife Phylancy H. Snetb.-n. burn 1*21. married l*ll : children Ave, Wm. W.. Marv E., Harriet & James II ' David S.; adopted Katy A. Hall, burn 1865 Weller A J, p o Geneseo, 25 acres, born Mt Morris 1829; wife May J. McComb, born Ireland 1839. married ISO! •' chil- dren three. Peter Rush, born 1862, Edward, burn 1866 Weller Peter Rush, born New Jersey 1785, settled 1820, died. May 18, lSrjO, was a farmer, tanner and currier. Willard A. J . p o Geneseo. fa.unlMfcii.nd stock grower, 135 acres bom Wyoming county 1623, settled 1842, was elected' supervisor 1*79, has a hired farm of 2,300 acres; wife Ophelia Bush, burn Albion 833,married 1857; children three. Willie, Clara, Frederick. Warren J., p o Geneseo, merchant tailor. Wattles Mason, p o Geneseo. Wadswurth W. A., p o GeDeseo. Wadsworth J. W.. p o Geneseo. Waterbury R. A., p o Geneseo. Youugs Clarence S., p o Geneseo, GROVELAND. Aten Wm., p o Groveland, farmer, 85 acres, born Groveland August 5th, 1832: has been constable and excise com- missioner; wife Elizabeth Head, born Steuben county May 3, 18:34. married March 11, 1856; children two, El- mer, born July 28, 1861, Libbie, born Feb. 7. 1869. Arner Enos, p o Groveland, farmer, 290 acres, born Northamp- ton county. Pa.. July It. 1*1 u. settle.] l*.'l. has i ,,.,.,, ,. x cise commissioner; wife Amanda M. Heudershott. born Nov. 14, 1*19, married March 4, 1841; children three, Charles F , born May 38, 1844. Alonzo B.. born March 3, 1848, Mary L., born Nov. is. 1853, died June 10, 1875. Aitken Thomas, p o Norlh Sparta, minister. Barber Frank, p o East Groveland, farmer. 120 acres, born Groveland Jan. 8, 1838; wile Elizabeth R. Heath, born Liv. county reb. 18, 1836, married Dec. 13, 18li4; grand- father Wm. Barber was one of the first settlers. Boyd Andrew, p o East Groveland, farmer, 140 acres, born Ire- land Nov. 1. 1813, settled 1818. has been assessor 15 years; wife Mary Park, born Geneseo April 21. 1827, married April 2, 1844; children five, John P., born April 20, 1845; Andrew J , born Sept. 27. 1847; M. Kate, born July 2, 1851, Jennie F. E., born June 20, 1854. Leonora C.j born Oct. S6. 1859. Bigelow Oriniel. p o Groveland. farmer. 136 , acres, born Hart- lord county. Conn.. June 3, 1818. has been supervisor one term and assessor four terms; wife M. Jane Wil- liams, born Green county. X. Y.. June 15, 1824; married March 25, 1847; children two, Sarah, born Aug. 36 Clermont, born July 1*. 1849. Bean H M., p o North Sparta, farmer. Barber Isaac, p o Groveland. farmer. Bigelow Clermont, po Groveland, farmer: ErmaM. Gamble, wife of Clermont Bigelow; Dorra 31. Bigelow, daughter of Clermont and Lrm Bigelow. born March '.*. 1879. Barber Jesse, p o Groveland, farmer. 917 acres, born in Warren county. N. J.. July 2. 1798, settled in county in 1811; wife Elizabeth BusUirk, born in Sussex county, N I . Feb. 2, 1800, married March 1. 1881; eight children. Culbertson Samuel, p o East Groveland, farmer, 135 acres, burn Groveland August 30, Is:;;; wile Sarah K. II Johnson, born Ohio March 17. 18H, married Jan. ... 1866; chil- dren four, Margaret Bell, born June 9. 18117, Robert M., born o.t. 8, 1870, died Nov. 28, 1873, Samuel Craig, born May 8, 1875, James J., born N..\ 29 Carrell Mrs. Elizabeth A., p o East Groveland, fai • Denniston Irus, p o Groveland, farmer. IwT acres, born Living- ston county April li. 1840; wife Victorine Mate, born Oct. 15; 1846, married Dee. 6, 1870; children two Laverne, born Jan. 23. 1873, Stella II . born Si 181 i. Davis Wm., p o Groveland. blacksmith, horn Steuben county, died sept. -.':. 1856; wife Rosannab ('nine born Grove- land Nov. 18. 1827, married June 2n. 1854; child n Win. J., born Aug. 3. 1855. Dean G. J., p o East Groveland. Farmer Ebenriter Geo, po Groveland. fanner born Pennsyl- vania Feb. 25, 1815, settled April 21 Fox John, po Bast Groveland. farmer, born Connecticut May 13. 1803. settled 1*54. died Jan. 11, 1870; wife ADua Hill man, born Lewis couutv Jan. 16, i- B, married children ten. Cornelia W Delia D., born Feb 20 1832, i I urn July 27. 1- ,i. Cj rus i .. born S< | Wm. F . boi 1, 1839, Sophia Z . born Sept 5, 1811, Madison v., born Nov I s 1843, George G., born June 23, 1846, Amy A., born June 23. 1*1*. otto B., bun Jan. 20 . ii, 1869. Fitzhugh Wm D.. p ., Mt Morris, farmer. Fitzhugh Daniel II , p ,, Mt Morris, farmer Gilman James S.po Ml MorriMarra born Sparta Nov.*. 1*21. has) ,,, the peace ten fears and assessor nne R i, ;ll |, ,.,,,, , ■,„,,.„ Sparta Dec. 13. 1822, married Jan j:: 1853; children seven. Frank P., burn Deo . ■ („„.„ May ... 1*.,.,. Elizabeth, born Jan. I, 1857, Jobn born Sept.i. 1859. Samuel B., born July 12, 1862, Jamee - born March 80, 1865, Anna G . born Aug 22 i- Uray Sylvester, p ., Groveland farraei . ,w Jer- sey Out 13, 1*11 settled 1834; wife I -in, , \ Mi. Iii, a„ born Lewis county Oct. 31, 1820, married Dec 1 I 1855- children four. Harriett, born Sept 21 1856 died Nov' 6. 1863, Mary E . born J Wm. Hillman, born Dec. 13, 1859, Nel rn July 8. 1865, died Aug. 7, 1865 Gray W. H, p o Groveland, rarmer. Goodwin James, p o Sonyea, member of Society of Christian Believers. Hendershott Charles. ,, ,, Groveland, farmei i . bom Columbia county. Pa.. Oct 10, 1808, settled 1814; wire Lois P. Metcalf, horn Delaware county July 29 1820 married Dec 21. 1*1* children four, Charles A born Sept. 11. 1850, Frank M., bom i born Jan. 5, 1854, Edward E., born Feb. 8 1859 died Aug. Hi, (862. Hartman John p o North Sparta, farmer 660 acres. l„,ru in Dansville Nov. 17. 1*23. has I ... en supervisor fun r terms: wile Mary J. Hayes, burn in Genes i, n 1828, married Nov 1, 1859; two children, Lester II born Aug 12. I860, Kate, burn May i Johnsou Richard, p o East Groveland, farmer. Kelly Geo. W., p o East Groveland. farmer. Illu acres, born Groveland March 10, 1819, has been aupei i Isor and as- sessor; wife Lucetta Kimbark, burn Cayuga county August 24, 1827 married Feb. *. 1*1*; children three. George B Jr.. burn Nov. 1,1852, Flor •■• U, born Dec 2. 1849, died March 20, 1850, Daniel A., born March 8. 1859. Kelly Cassiusjtf., p o East Groveland, farmer, born Groveland .March ii. isis, bas been constable; wife FranoesSax- ton. born Avon Jan. 4, 1851, married April 22, 1874; children four, George Lewis, born May 13, 1*71. Charles Leslie, born Sept. 25, 1875, Lucy Fern, born Sept. 10, 1877, Mary Cornelia, born April 22, 1879 Kelly Michael R., p o Groveland, fanner and lumberman, 146 acres, born Groveland, May 27, 1818; wife Matilda Johnsun, born Groveland Aug. 2. 1812, married March 26. 1835, children seven. .Michael .1 . born .March 30 1836, died March 28, 1862, ttarj h . born Nov. I», 1838, Daniel, born March 19, 1841, Richard, born Feb. hi. 1815, Geo. W., born Dec. 19, 1847, James C, born July 14, 1850, Frederick, born June B Lake Orrin D.. p o Mt. Morris, farmer. ISO acres, born Delaware county Nov. 11. 1805, settled April I. 1880 has member of assembly twu years and supervisor Of Mt. Morris: first wife Sarah P. Guun. married March 3, 1831, deceased; second wife Martha B '.mm. married Dec. 19, i*i'i deceased; children two. Jerome A.. i„,rn Oct. J. 1832, Sarah P., burn Jan. 15, 1*11. Logan Edward, p o East Groveland, fanner, ITS a.res. born [re land July 15, 1813, settled 1*1*. has been road c mis sioner and supervisnr; wife Adeline Laitlmore, bum Groveland June 18, 1824, married .March 11. 1*."iO. Lee David R.. p ,» East Groveland. farmer. 95 acres, burn Yates county Jan. 27, 1816, settled 1850; wife Elizabeth N. Wells, born Washington county I 1 narried June ii. 1849; children fm.r. Bradner Wells, born May i. 1850, I bar! Bedell, born Nov. 7, 1854. died Jan. II. 1862, Franklin Scott, born Feb. 2, 1*52, .lames Avery, born July 31, 1860. Long P. H., p o Sonyea, member of Society of Christian Be- lievers. Lee Franklin S., p o East Groveland. farmer. M. .iris Daniel, p o East Groveland, farmer, 210aereB, bum Ire- land Aug 25, 1* :i, settle,! |852 Mary Grey, bom New Jersey Jan !",. 1830, married Jan. 21, 1869; children two Mary Jane, born Jul 1871. John Grey, burn Nov. 20, 1", Magee John, p ,, Groveland, fane -. hum Groveland July 1*. 1*12; wife Marietta I'at.hin. burn Sleul.cn county 1*27. married Jul hildren nine. Fran cis A., born April 29, 1849, C. Luella, I, ..in Sept 21. i*:,i Charles M, born D nhn C, born July Jam ' born March 1. 1859, died Match 26, 1878, Walter W . burn Mav 21, 1861, Edward U Jan. i*. i*oi. Evangia, born Sept. 17, 1885, Mary, horn June 30, 1868, died 1 Mann Wm K . p o North Sparta, fanner B40 acres, bi rn I land Sept. 15. 1*11. has been BOhOOl inspector several -: first wife Sarah McNalr. I '"ii, Sparta July 3, 1*11. married March 86 Fanny M. Dodge, born children nine, Wm. Henry, born a died Maj 10. 1*1*. Francis A .burn March 2 : M ,born Noi . 26, 1841. ■ ■ Uargaretta, bum born July 20, 1852, w iih. -Mini.!, ioi : neresa rn June 10, 1*19. HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Mann Nathaniel B., p o North Sparta, farmer, 210 acres, born Groveland Feb. 89, 18*8, baa been supervisor two terms; wife Helen M. Ludlniig, born Monroe comity March 27, 1885, married June 26, 186] children four, Marietta B., burn May 19, 1662, Helen B„ born Oct. 1, 1866, Marguerita B., born Hay 19, 1865, Clara G. F. G., born May ], 1S73 Mann Samuel A , p o North Sparta, farmer, 200 acre?, born Grovelaoa Aug. is, 1807, has been school commissioner, school Inspector and assessor; wife Margaret A. Heyl- mun, born March 8, 1SI1. married Dec. IS, 1845; chil- dren five. Edward W., born March 2, 1848. Charles H , born March 2, 1S)S, died May 6, 1873 Susan B , bom Oct. 12, 1849, Sarah H., born Feb. 22, 1851, Margaret E.. born July 16, is:,:! Ogden Jennings, farmer, born Groveland June 19, 1811, died August 28, 1*77; wife Nancy Snyder, born Grovel and November 11. 1811, married February 88, 1833; children four. Mary L., born March 13, 1884, Harriet N ., born Aug. 6, 1835, Hamilton W., born March 4. is:is, Lucius M.. born Sept. 2, 1840. Ogden Hamilton W., p o East Groveland, farmer, 80 acres, born Groveland .March l. ls.'is, has been overseer of poor; wife Margaret Kelly, born Groveland Feb. 24, IMS, married Feb. 25, 1S71; children four, Minnie Edith, born July 26, 1872, Alice Gertrude, born Nov. 27, 1874, died Aug. 18, 1875. Ogden Lucius M., po East Groveland, farmer. Pray Inaae, p o Mt. Morris, farmer, lis acres, born Herkimer county April 22, 1S12, settled 1837; wife Jane Mills born Mt. Morris April 83, 1*1 1. married Feb !6, 1839; children two, Harriet M., born Dec. 13, 1839, Francis J , born April 25. 1842. Palmer Augustus, p o Geneseo. farmer, 21H acres, born Duch- ess county March 2, 1813, settled 1842, has been super- visor, assessor and highway commissioner; wife Anna S. Lathrop, born Massachusetts Oct. 22, 1811. married Aug. 20, 1886; children five, Charles S., born March 26, 1843, died Nov. 12,1864, Mary L., born Nov. 10. 1845, Cynthia O., born Aug. 20, 1819, Fred, born April Is, 1852. Addie. born May 5, 1854. Young Daniel, p o Mt. Morris, farmer, 111^ acres, born North- umberland county. Pa , June 4, 1803, settled in 1806, was assessor in 1840; wife Lucy Norton, born Susque- hanna county, Pa.. Aug. 3, 1806, married Dec. 7, 1826; children seven, Sarah Ann. born Jan 6, 1829. Isaac S., born May 4, 1831. died July lit, 1839, Asahel N., born Aug. 14, 1833, Philena P., born Dec. 16, 1837, Caroline A., born April 6, 1S40, died Feb. 28, 1843. Mary M , born Feb. 22. 1S43, Clara A., born Aug. 23. 185*. Sickly K. W., p o East Groveland, farmer. Slack John K., p o Groveland, farmer. Wise Wm. W. t p o Groveland, farmer, 163 acres, born Groveland Aug. 2, 1841, has been commissioner of highways and justice of the peace; wife Francis Magee, born Grove- land April 2'J, 1849, married Jan. 19, i860; children four, Blanche, born Oct. 16, 1871, Edward R., born Sept. 4, 1873, John M., born August in, 1876, Charles W., born Jan. 25. 1879. Wambold Samuel, p o North Sparta, miller, born Chester county, Pa., Sept 5, 1817, settled 1S23, has been justice of the peace eight years and postmaster; wife Catha- rine Zenner, born Schuylkill county, Pa., Oct. 22. 1818, married Oct. 27, 1840; children five. William W., born Aug. 17, 1841, Maty E., born July 18, ISjri died 1864, Abram Z., born Oct. 4, 1845, died June 3, 1849, Francis Ida, born Juno 20, 1857, Edward E., born July 7, 1859. LIMA. Atwell George W, p o Lima, retired farmer, 145 acres, born Lima 1622, has been assessor twelve years; wife Mary A. Gillen, born New Jersey 1827, married 1S47. died 1876; children two, Geo. W , born 1852, Silas John, born Is.Mi; second wife Maty 11. Doolittle, born 1830, mar- ried 1878. Atwell George W , born Massachusetts 1789, settled 1816. was one of the first merchants of Lima, retired 1827; wife Martha Howard, born Massachusetts, married 1818, died 1863; children two, G. W., and Silas C. Bonner Benjamin, po Lima, retired farmer, 16 acres, born Sparta 1807; wife Jennie Logan, born Ireland 1811, married 1835; children three. Samuel. Rosa J., and Ed- ward L.. who enlisted isti*.», company G. 130th New fork Volunteers, died in Virginia. Banter G. S.. p o Lima, dealer in hardware, stoves, tinware and agricultural implements, born Steuben county ISI!», settled 1865; father Adam Banter, born Herkimer Co., 1816, settled 1865, retired farmer. Bonner Samuel, po Lima, farmer, grain and stock dealer, born Livingston county 1886; tlr^t wife Cornelia J. Good- rich, born 1845, married 1865, died 1875; children three. Edward L., Frank C, Willie S.; second wife M. Eliza- beth Peck, born 1846. Bond Winslow. p o North Bloomfield. retired tarmer. home- stead and 6 acres, born Rutland county. Vt.. 1S12, set- tled 1850; wife Eli/.a Mullican, born Vermont 1812, mar- ried 1884; children two, Edwin E . born 1888, Mary M. bomisin. Bennett G. H., p o Lima, farmer, physician and surgeon. 86 acres, born Avon 1820, was surgeon iu 70th New York Regiment one year; wife Eliza Dnnlap, born Seneca county 1825, manied 1848: children ten, .Mary. Charles, Emma, George, John, Eliza, Helen. Jason. Earnest. Amanda. Briggs E. W , p o Lima, farmer and capitalist. 205 aires, born Bloomfield i v iv wife Sarah Bowles, born Livingston county 1818, married 1814. Briggs Humphrey, born Maasaobnsetta 1787, settled 1819. died 1874; wife Pbebe Phillips, born Massachusetts l*i90, married 1809, died 1857; children four. Btiggs Innocent, boru Bloomfield 1814, settled 1819. Briggs J. P., p Lima, retired farmer. 185 acres, born Ontario county 1816, settled 1819, has been justice of the peace, town inspector, commissioner of highways and asses, sor; wife Mary J. Hopkins, born Ontario county 1819, married 1840; children four, Augusta J., born 1*42; Laura E , born 1817, M. H., born 1849, C. E., bom 1653; died 1878 Briggs Geo. D., p o Lima, farmer. 120 acres, born Orleans coun- ty I860, settled 1868; wife Ella Rickey, born Huron county, 0., 1S52. married 1874; children one. Hoy E. Commins M. L., p o Lima, farmer and dealer in reapei 140 acres, born Lima December 22. 1822; wife Lucy A. Commins, born 1830, married 1848; children four, Jen- nie. Emma L.. Mary L., Frank C. Crouse George G., po Lima, fanner and capitalist. 1> acres, born Avon October 1. isi)5: wife Mary X. Hove 7, born Lima 1812, married 1832, died October 16, 1869; children four, James H . born February 9, 1884, Sarah .1 . born February 8, 1886, Ann A., born June 12, 1838, Henry, born October 15, 1841, died 1845 Grouse George, born 1T/19, settled 17:15, died 1853, Gary Wilkinson, born 1885; wife A E. Crouse. born Lima, mar- tied November 27, 1857; children two. Chappell Harvey, p o Lima, farmer and tailor by trade, born Massachusetts 1802, settled 1805; wife Charlotte H. Stillman, born Connecticut I8il, married 1825, died 1810; children three, Robert, born 1829, Harlow, born 1884. Martin, born 1839, Chappell Martin, p Lima; wife Catharine Gallagher, born 1847, married 1866; children three, Harvey, born 1865, Flora A., born 1871, Thomas, born 1879. Clow Caleb, p o Lima, general blacksmith, 3>; acres, shop and homestead, born Canada 1837. settled I860; wife Lucy A. Atkins, born Connecticut 1888, married 1855; chil- dren nine. Clark Wm. S., p o Lima, retired teacher and farmer, 30 acres, born New London, Conn., 1808. settled 1868, has been assistant assessor of the 25th district of the United States four years; wife Caroline Way. born Livingston county July I, ISO), married 1881; children three, Mary C, born 1841, Sarah A., born 1844, Thomas R., born 1850. Carter Franklin, p Lima, retired merchant, born New Hamp- shire 1795, settled 1820, has been postmaster seven years, is one of the oldest masons in Western New York, uniting with the order in Boston 1818, has been secretary of lodge in Lima forty ye trs, is a man much respected by all who know him; wife Catharine Whit- beck, born Herkimer county 1814, married 1849; chil- dren one, Fraukliu \\\, burn 1858, Croft Edwin, p o North Bloomfield, farmer. Douglass William, p o North Bloomfield. farmer. 95 acres, born Livingston county 1885; wife Cordelia M. Gates, born Monroe county 1824, married 1849; children one, Ada C, born 1850 Douglass Caleb, born Oneida county 1770, died 1839. Dalton John, p o Lima, farmer, 70 acres, born Ireland January 1, 18-j7, settled June 13, 1851; wife Catharine Haurahan, bom Ireland 1832, married I860; children six, Eliza- beth, born 1861, William, born 1862. John, born 1868, Margaret, born 1866, Catharine, born 1868. Dalton Edward, p Lima, farmer and drug goods dealer, 72 acres, born Ireland 1821, settled .847; wife Ellen Tobiti. born Ireland 1827, married 1850; children seven. Wil- liam, Eliza, Joanna. Edward, Matthew, Richard. Ellen. Day Levi C p Lima, retired farmer, born Otsego county 1808, settled 1837; wife May Hooker, born Oneida county 1S14, married 1885. Day William H., p o Lima, farmer, 165 acres, enlisted company M. New York Volunteers 1864; wife Ella Morley, born Ontario county 1848, married 1871; children two, Jen- nie May, born 1874, Charles M., born 1876. Day Dan'l, born Otsego county 1805, settled 1888, dit»d 1877; wife Julia Day, born 1804, married 1828. Emmons Rev. A. H.po Lima, born Freehold, N. J.. December 25, 1843, settled September!, 1875; wife Rosa A. Em- mons, born Bordentown, N. J., married April 7, I860; children two. Ford A. G., p o Lima, farmer and produce dealer. 50 acres, born Herkimer county 1813, settled 1868, has been excise commisioner; wife Angeline Benchley, born Herkimer county 1819, married 1840; children four, Julia C, born 1844, George I'., boru 1 853, Roscoe. born ]S57, Frede- rick, born January 8. 1842, enlisted 1862 in company C, 121st Regiment New York Volunteers, under command of Colonel Franchaw, and was killed in a skirmish the day after the battle of Chancellorsville. PERSONAL STATISTICS. Francis F. B., p o Lima, surveyor, engineer and loan agent 80 acres, born Cayuga county Dec-ember 4, 1826, settled February, 1831, bas been school commissioner and held other town offices; wife Marietta E. Terry born Lima 1834, married April, 1854; children three, Minnie G., Ettie D , Stella H., and Delbert I, adopted; father Isaiah Terry, born New Hampshire. 1797, settled 1808- wife Delina Kinney, born Connecticut July, 1803, mar- ried 1829. died 1878. Gilbert O. S.. p o Lima, is postmaster, appointed 1874, born Liv- ingston county 1826; wife Harriet H. Wes'.ern, born Cayuga county 1826, married 1855; children three. Grover Levi P., p o Lima, letired farmer, born Ontario county 1825, settled 1838, has been superintendent of schools and held other town offices; wife Elvira M. Sprague born Ontario county 1829, married 1819; children three' Adele, born 1850, Minnie, born 1,863, Allie, born 1870 Goodrich Erastus C, p o Lima, farmer, ISO acres, born Lima 1816; wife Sarah Lord Clark, born Lima 1818, married 1839; children four, Ann S., born 1850, MarainaS.. born 1853, Mary C ., born 1856; Chauncy C, born I860. Goodrich Cbauncy. born Connecticut 17-1, settled 1793, died 1850: father Samuel Goodrich, born Connecticut 1762 settled 1793. died 182S. Goodrich J. S.. p o Lima, farmer and dealer in fine sheep. 154 acres born Lima 1818, has been assessor fifteen years; Jane M. Chamberlin. born 1841, married 1*4'-'" died January 14, 1880; children two, Sarah E., bun Charles D.. born 1852. Gilmore James, p o Lima, farmer, 94 acres, born Washington county November 6, 1824, settled 1830; wite Sarah Rickey, born New Jersey 1833, married March 15, 1860; children five, Clarence A., Johnnie M., Bertha A., John A., George T. Guinan Patrick, p o Lima, (firm of Hendricks & Guinan, I gener- al merchant, born Ireland 1812. settled 1869; wife Mar- garet Guinan, born 1845, married 187S; children one, Martin J. Gilbert H. L., p o Lima, farmer. Hendrick Patrick, (firm of Hendrick & Guinan,! p o Lima, gen- eral merchant, born Ireland 1847. settled 1866; wife Ellen Hendrick, born 1848, married 1879. Hill George, born England 1798, settled 1817, died 1805; wife Su- san Hill, born 1798, married 1820, died 1875; children twenty, living four. Hill Levi, born England 1842, settled 1817; wife Charlotte M. Halsey. born Putnam county 1845, married 1867, died 188C; children two, George, born 186- 1 , Ida May, born 1872. Hart Andrew, p o Lima, dealer in monuments, marble and gran- ite, born Germany, January, 1826. settled 1840; wife Catharine Harris, born 1835, married 1855, children nine. Heath Albert, p o Lima, retired farmer, wagon maker and black- smith, born Livingston county 1822, bas been super- visor, elected 1S78; wife Roxanna Sacket, born Mon- roe county 1823. married 1840; children three, William D., born 1848, James M., born 1853, Edwin Newton, bom 1859. Heath William, bore Genesee county 1795. died 1820. Howard Nathaniel, p o North Bloonifield. miller, born England 1834, settled 1875; wife F. L. Hyde, born Livingston county, married 1803; children two, Charles E , burn 1854, Jessie It., born 1809. Hardy F. P., p o Lima, retired farmer, 50 acres, born Vermont 1815, settled 1826. has been inspector and superintend- ent of schools; wile Prudence Periue. born New Jer- sey 1817, settled 1825, married 1843. Ideson John, p o North Bloonifield, Ontario county, farmer, painter and paper straw board mill, 55 acres, born Yorkshire, England, lsis, settled 1844, has been inspec tor of election and road commissioner: wife Sarah Moon, born Yorkshire, England, 1819. married 1844; children three. Harriet. Helen. Jennie V. Ideson Robert, p o Lima, assessor and decorator, 24 acres, born Yorkshire, England. 1626, settled 1864; wife Elizabeth Gilbanks. born England, married 1S47; children five, John J., Walter G.. Mary E.. Anna, Rooert J. Jackman Charles A., po Lima, farmer and sheep dealer. 185 acres, born Monroe county 1824. settled 1827, bas been assessor three years; wife Mary A. Green, born Sene- ca county 1829, married 1852: children two, Frank L., Imogene J. Kinney C. R., p o Lima, farmer, born Livingston count] 1857; wife Eliza J. Clow, born Canada 1857, married 1879. Lougyor Solomon, p o Lima, farmer, 75 acres, born Ontario county 1821, settled 1871; wife Emily Jane Reed, born 1821, married 1850; children one, Sarah E., born 1854, is an artist in oil colors. Longyor Joel S, p o Lima, farmer and stock dealer 158 acres, born Ontario county 1823, settled 1849; wife Mary Beebe. born Livingston countv 18:>4, married 1861; « - U i 1- dren two, Nellie D . burn 1868, Hattie B . bom 1870. Landon Henry, p o Lima, faimer, 242 acres, born M September 10, 1811, settled 1810, has been assessor and commissioner uf highways ten years: wife Mary A. child, born 1809, married January l. 1836, died 8 her, 1865; children 3, Perry L., born 1839, tie." born 18)2. Sarah A., burn 18-18 died L878 Martin A D., p o North Bloomfleld rarmei 11, 1814; wife Harriet E. Huntington, married Oi 29, 1864; children four, Mattie A.. Louise M., Iri Clarence D. Martin A. Sp o North Bloonifield. farmer. 135 acres, settled I82i : wife Julia A. Garfield, burn Warren rami' I ned .May 16, 1854; children three. Miller Willis, p o Honeoye Falls, farmer, 165 acres born Men- 'Jon. M i,i mtj 1840, settled 181 BioK le. born Canadice, ' Intario i i istt8; children one, Adam: father Solomon '.Miller with bis father were the first settlers in Western New Fork built the first saw mill and raised the Aral wheat ui Munrue county about 1798. Morgan David li.. p o Lima, farmer 190 acres, born Lima April 1,1840 Is highway commissioner; wife tfell a Angel burn Monroe county 1848 married 1868; childn u four E . born 1868, Anson A., burn 1871, J 1876, Melissa, born 1880 McNairWm. ft., po Lima, larmer, grain and stock dealt acres, born Groveland 1823, i pervisor and held other town offices: wife Mary W Maun bore Livingston county 182."), married 1850; children four Henry 11. born September, 1851, Charles w . born 1856, Anna L , burn 1858, Clara A., bum I860. Moses Lewis, p o Lima, farmer a of ittli* 280 acres, born Lima 1819; Brst wife Caroline U H born Ontario county 1842, married 181 chil dren two. Lewis H , born 1816, Irving ttosi second wife Celia A. Green, born -Munrue count * dren three, Edward O.. Frank, Luther, Moses Luther, born Vermont 1787, settled 1791, died 1876; wife Sally Phillips, born 179'i. married 1811, died 1861 Moses Lewis H.. p o Lima, farmer, 8ti acres, born Lima 1846; wife Alice B. Harden, born 1816, married 1869; children two. Cary E . Fred I. Norton A. Tiffany, p o Lima, publisher " Lima Iter. Mt. Morris. September 5, 1844; wifeTillie E. Whitbeck, born Groveland, married 1870. Nash Adolphus, p o Lima, dealer in coal and phosphate, born Vermont 1813. settled 1849, bas been deputy sheriff six years; wife Harriet s Smith, born Canada September, 181 :. married January 1. 1836; children two. Edwin A . born Canada October 26, 1886, settled 1649, was elect- ed county judge ill 1878, Mary A., born Canada Janu- ary 1, 1839. Newman Aaron, p o Lima, fanner. 70 acres, born Delaware county 179S. settled 1817; father Abner Newman, was born Duchess county 1748, settled 1817, died 182(1 Mercy Dodge, born Duchess county V 1754. married 1774, died October 1," 1813; children twelve, living two, Aaron and Sarah. Newman Thomas, p o Lima, born Livingston county 1808; wife Abigail Hortou, burn Wayne county 1819, m 1842; childien two, Lewis W., born 181.", Ira K. burn 1863 Newman Sarah, p o Lima, owner of a farm. Parker Charles L., p o North Bloomfield. farmer. 153 acres, burn Ontario county 1819, settled 182!; wife Ann L, D-'Moyne, born Seneca county 1816, married 1840, died is:;; chil- dren three, living one, Celestia, born 1845, marrit I win Croft, born Monroe county 1810, married 1842, children two. Peck Richard, po Lima, farmer, grain ami st.uk deal acres, born West Bloonifield 1*11, settled 18 supervisor and assessor: wife Elizabeth I Lima 1818, married 1833, died 1845; children two. Jas. B., born 1836, Aeahei B.. born 1837 and married Rebec- ca Jeffords 1845; children one, May K. burn 1846. Plimpton Edwin, p i I red farmer, bum Ontario coun ty 1815, settled 1817; wite Maria Bliss, burn 1 married 1858; children three. Lillie E.. Ida A.. George E. Peck Asahel B., p o Lima, farmer. 89 acres, burn Llvll countv 1837; wife Helen M. Steel, born 1813. married 1875; children two, Ida M., Mertie A, Parker David C. farmer, born Livingston ecu 1 [879; wife Eliza Wiggins, born New Jersey 1810, married Ripley Rev. II. M . p o Lima, retired olergyman, burn Livlt couuty 1812, homestead and 12 acres wife Mary M. Reynolds born Wyoming county 1817, man children uuc. Ellen K Stanley II. Augustus, born 1848, settled 1861; wife Eli Valentine, burn Munrue county 18 I I s . s : children one. Ralph R. Stanley Hiram, p o Honeoye Falls, burn Ontario county 1807 settled 1838; wlfeLuclnda Markhall. born 1817, n 1844: children three. MaryL., Lucy K. lb - Smith .1. J . p I. una, carriage manufacturer, repairing and blacks, mil,, born Waj i untj If employment to seven men; wife Mary Flynu. buru Roche'stcr . : children three. Shuart Theodore 1. . po Lima, farmer, burn Monroe county is-.,,, settled 1867; wite Elizabeth D born DlBter county I82i luldren four. Frank ry E„ John K.. Elner D. Smith Mrs 111, "1 a Warner. pO Lima, representative uf the Warner estate. Terry Charles A . p " Lima, fanner. 90 aer, I 1*11: father Henry T.-rrv. boi 1801 and ma Sarah Williams, I ton county, mai B ,,il ■ -,.rii w yomlng county - 1825; chil, I, '. Alvin. Sylvester, l.uvl, .1,,:. I HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Thayer George, p o Lima, retired merchant, farmer ami banker, b 01 n Massachusetts 1807, settled 1844; wife Phebe L. Wood, born I biondaga county 18)3, married 1837. died \x'-i; children three, Samuel II.. horn 1 8:18, Elizabeth ff . born 1842, George W.. born 1818, Vary Wm. L., p o Lima, farmer. 160 acre?, born in Livingston Count; I s ''"; wife Katie L. Warner, born New Orleans 1861, married 1880. Vary Win , born Rensselaer county, settled Livingston county, died 1873. Vary B. A., p o Lima, farmer. 219 acres, born Livingston county 1841; wife Pbilinda Payne, born Livingston county 1839; married 1861, children ton. Vary Wm., born Columbia county 1807, settled 1836, died 1847. Watts J onathan J ., p o Lima, retired clergyman and farmer, 34 acres, born England 1816, settled 1859, wife Agnes McEwen, br.rn Canada 1822, married 1886, children two, Margaret A., Edgerton. Winana Seth W., p o Lima, farmer, 50 acres, born Seneca county 1821, settled 1883: first wife Lucretia Norton, born 1824, married 1850, died 1879; children two. Sarah N., born 1858, Jennie M ., born i860; second wife Julia Rathbun, born 1834, married 1880, Winans Elnathan, born Greene county 1790. settled 1833, died I860, was in rifle company in war of 1812. Warner Albert, p o Lima, farmer, 135 acres, born Lima 1809, wife Ann Harvey, born Connecticut 1810, married 1832, children two, Frank, George B. Father William War- ner, born Connecticut 1770, settled 1795, has been as- sessor and farmer and captain in warof 1*12. died 1855, Warner Wm. B , farmer, born Livingston county 1795, died 1S;0; wife Electa Bennett, born Massachusetts 1798. married 1822, died 1880; adopted daughter Kboda Smith, born 1824, Lucinda I. Stone, born Columbus county 1833, settled 18 16 Wbaley Robert, p o Lima, farmer and stock dealer, 130 acres, born Avon 1818, father Caleb J. Whalev. born Rhode Island 1787, settled 1800, died 1810; wire Emily Barnum born Livingston county 1*21, married 1841; children two, Robert F., born 1842, Julia A., born 1814. Wiggins Curtis P. . p o Lima, born West Bloomfield, Ontario county 1888; wife Phebe A. Huntington, born 1839, married 1861; children 2, Fannie E., born 1862, Ida M., born 1872. LEICESTER. Alfred N. R., p o Moscow. Allen John, p o Cuylervillo, farmer. Atherton Maryette, p o Moscow. Bottsford Eli, p o Moscow, farmer. 140 acres, born Castile, Wy- oming county, in 1820, settled in county in 1851, has been assessor six years; wife Malvina A. Bolton, born Scipio. N. Y ., in 1824, married April 9, 1844; six chil- dren. Helen M., Ada A . Mary, Edith A. Chas. Leslie, and Inez V. ; father Eliakim Bottsford, settled in Wy- oming county in 1818. served in war of 1812. Barret John, p o Cuylerville, farmer. Beebe James E., p o Moscow, farmer 190 acres, born Leicester August 12, 1818, has been assessor, highway commis- sioner, and other minor offices; wife Caroline F. Royce, born Leicester March 31, 1821, married December 25, 1839; live children. Emily M.. born August 31, 1842, Dora M. born October 28, 1844, Kuth A. born October 5, lHlfi, Sara E. born February 1, 1860, and Carrie L. born February 9, 1858. Father's name Russell Beebe. Black John, p o Cuylerville, hotel proprietor. Brown Frank L,, p o Mt. Morris, farmer, 175 iicres, born Leices- ter December 9, 1845; wife Mary J. Cornwall, born Perry, Wyoming county, mairied Dec. 12, 1870; three children, Frederick C, Franklin D,, Jessie A. Brown Milton, p o Mt. Morris, farmer. Brown Dudley, farmer, 102 acres, born North Stonington July 19, 1802, died Sept jo. 1878; first wife Rebecca Cleve- land, born Somers, Conn., married February 27. 1828, died Juno 12, 1888; second wife Susan Blivin, born Westerly, It. I., married November G, 18-34, died April 17,1877; children by first wife Charles D., George M. and an infant; by second wife Rebecca C, Susan E , William II,, Rhoda A., Lawrence F., Marion M , Frark- lin L., Clarissa J. and Jeremiah M. Bolton James H.. p o Moscow, farmer. 336 acres, born Berne, Albany county. November :{ii, isn v >, settled in county in 1824, has been assessor seven years; wife Alvirah Warren, born Deorflold, Mass.. Mav 10, 1*05, died Aug- ust 21. 1849, married February 20, 1823; ten children, Malvina A., Jasper N., Amanda M , Helen C. Alvira and Almira (twins), Adehiid E., Cornelia A., Elizabeth A. and Alice V. Bush Henry, carpenter, joiner and farmer. 600 acres, born Berne, Albany county, 17*7. died April 19, 1868, settled in county in 1828, has been ooromisslonerof highways; wives Amy Willis, died in 1846, Nancy Stone, died* in 1S57 and Ellen Swan; children, Thomas, Hannah, Hen- ry. Sally, Ann A., John G. and, George R. Cone B. S., p o Moscow, farmer. Crosby H. D., p o Moscow, farmer. 137 acres, boru Ilartland, Litchfield county. Conn.. February 27, 1811, settled in county in fall of 1816: has been supervisor one term and assessor; wife Rachel Underwood, born York June 15, 1813, married February s , }BS7: four children. Mar- eia F .. born November 29, 1888, Newton H . born Feb- ruary in. 1841, Helen E., born in 185", and Edward B.. bora September 5, 1~ : ; lather Jeduthan (rnsby, settled in Leicester in 1810, died there in 184*, aged 72 years. Cooley Alonzo B.. p o Moscow, retired farmer, 100 acres, born Covington, Wyoming county, August 28, 1821, settled in county in I8l*5, has been supervisor one term and notary public; first wife Hannah Beebe, born Leices- ter married March 22, 1865, died July 13. 1871; second wife Emeline White, born Moscow, married August 22, 1874; children, Helen (deceased), Russell B., William J. and Mabel. Father Jonathan Cooley settled in Greigsville in 1809, and afterwards removed to Cov- ington, Wyoming county. Don nan David, po Moscow, farmer, 0O0 acres, born Montgom- ery county December 3, 1809, settled April 17, 1849. Father Alexander Donnan, who came from Scotland in 1777,settled in Montgomery county, married J e net te DAcKerlie, died aged 85 years. Wife Jane Milroy. born Scotland 1816, married 1*42. died 1858; children two, Mary E., who married Alexander McPherson. and John A. DeForest Wm., p o Moscow. Elliott Wm., p o Moscow, farmer and hop grower, 126 acres, born Clougb. County Antrim, Ireland. August 11. 1799, has been highwav commissioner, came from Ireland In 1828, settled in Geneseo. removed to Nunda in 1832, thence to Groveland in 1836, thence to Geneseo in 1842, thence to Leicester in 1853 on homestead of Gov. George W Patterson; wife Jano McLain, born cldu^li, Ireland. Septmber 25. 179*. married January 28, 1822, died October 6, 1870; children eight. James, Thomas, Jane, William, John, Maria. Adam, Sarah A. Hull John D , p <> Gibson ville, Farmer, 158 acres, born Manches- ter, N. Y., March 8, 181)7. died August 59, 1858, settled in county in I8l8: first wife Eliza Chamberlain, born Cayuga county March 4, 1810, married January 88, 1880, died July 10, 1840; second wife Sarah ( Wilson I Lord, born Vermont July 8, 1811, married October 26, 1841; six children. Homer D.. Alphonso R., Mary A. and Jedediah by first wife. William and John K*. by second wife, Father Moses Hull. Jacobs Samuel II., p o Mt. Morris, farmer, 100 acres, born Barn- stead, N. H.. December 20, 1839, settled April 10, isii7. was in 15th New Hampshire infantry, was wounded in the siege before Port Hudson, was discharged at the expiration of his term of service; wife Sally Nichols, born Leicester September, 1815, married March 80, 1871; children four, Charles H., Bert, Elmer, Ella. Jones James W., p o Moscow, farmer, 258 acres, born Leicester December 2, 1881, has been member of auditing board ; wi'e Elizabeth L. Jones, born Leicester May 7. 1886, married November 20, 1861. Father of James was Hiram W. Jones. Parents of Elizabeth were John H. and Julia .Tones, who were both born in Leicester. Jones G. W., p o Moscow. Kennedy John, p o Cuylerville, farmer. 125 acres, born Schenec- tady .Inly II. 1801, settled 1811, has been supervisor, assessor and highway commissioner. Father Archi- bald Kennedy, who came from county of Perth. Scot- land, and served in the war of 1812. "Wife Katharine MeKercher, born 1HIH1, married 182s, died April. 1862. McKercher John, farmer, 197 acres, born BroadalbiD, Ful- ton county, April 2. 1790, settled 1811. has been highway commissioner and school commissioner: wife Margaret McMartiti. born Qlenlyon, Scotland. July 10, 1791. married March 21. 1811, died October 18, 1861; Children 10, Katharine, Daniel. Jane. Duncun. who was in the war of the Rebellion, was prisoner seventeen months, was promoted from captain to major, then to colonel. Anna. Tinsley. Margaret. John. Martin, David. Moyer Frank II.. p o Moscow. Marsh David, p o Cuylerville, miller. McNeilly J, S . p o Mt, Morris, livery proprietor. Pelton L. C., po Cuylerville, farmer. Parker Calvin E„ p o Gibsonville. farmer. 75 acres, born Leices- ter in 1*11; wife Mattie Jaynes. born in New York, matried in 1869: two children. Fannie and Walter. Father. Calvin S. Parker. Piffard A. M.. p o PitTard. Piffard S. E.. p o Piffard. Richardson George W.. p o Gibsonville. farmer. 180 acres, born Leicester November 20. 1853: wife Victoria E. Tyring- ham. born in Massachusetts March 32, 1857, married November 12, 1876; one child, Edith Belle. Richardson H. W.. p o Gihsonvillo. farmer. loo acres, born Lei- cester January 12. 1817, died May 11. 1877, was justice of peace ten years; wife Jane Tabor, born in Duanes- burg, N. V. February 19, 1624, married September 10, lM'i: ten children, Nancy J.. Mary A.. Win. H. (died May 21. 1665). Emaline, George W., Charles W .. Ida M.. Nafiie A. Edith M. and Fred H. Father Jedediah Richardson settled in Leicester in 1816, Reed I. N , p Cuylerville. Robinson Wm.. p o Moscow, farmer. PERSONAL STATISTICS. Teumke John, p o Moscow, farmer, 12 aires, born Duchess county October 16. 1799, settled 1827, has been highway commissioner: wife HiiiiniIi t',,d\ I, inn liuehos's county May 1. 1779, married July 28, 1830; children Bye Jacob H.. born November 17. 1822. Daniel (• liorn No- vember 17, 1882, Mary E.. born Ootober I, 1825 Alfred born October'.'. 1829, Emery, born July I lt-84 Welton Amos B . p o Mt. Morris, farmer. 220 acres born Shel- don, Wyoming county, Septembei is. 1832, settled 1845 has been highway commissioner, wife Druzzella Stevens, born West Sparta April 20, 1840, married July 4. 1858; children two. Charles, bora September 23 1860, Freddie, born January 19, 1885. Wheelock A. W., p o Moscow, farmer. Woostcr Wm. B., p o Cuylerville, farmer. 340 aires, born Sche- nectady county December 25, 1S2.S, settled in county in 1833, has been supervisor six years and sheriff one term; wife Margaret J Gifford, born Schenectady county, married in 1856; four children, J:ine A. George B., Wm. G , Beatty. Father. William W. Woosterset- tled in county in 1833 and held office of supervisor sev- eral vears. Wheelock M. S., p o Cuylerville, merchant. Welch Uichard, p o Cuylerville. farmer. Warner D. L., p o Moscow, cooper, 30 acres, born Ashfleld, Mass.. March 10, 1801, settled 1832, wife Betsey Wilder born Buck-laud, Mass.. March 9, 1804, married Febru- ary 26, 1826. died April 22. 187!); children three, Eliza- beth, born March 5, 1828, Thomas, born January ;8 1831. Henry, born May 23, 1836 Wheelock, I. T., p o Moscow, farmer and gardener, 120 acres, born Leicester September 29, 1832, has been assessor one term and U. S. guager; wife Marcia Crosby, born Leicester November 2i). 1839, married August 22, Is.Mi; two children, Arthur, born April B, 1866, Gertrude, born January 1. 1869. Father, Harry Wheelock. born in Massachusetts, came from West Broomfield to Leicester in 1822, served in war of 1812 as private. White. Eli. p o Mt. Morris, farmer and hop grower, 448 acres, born Nelson, Madison county. October 27, 1842. settled in county January 15, 1867; wife Eunice E. MadisoD, born Nelson January 26, is:;,, married December 8, 1863; eight children, Laura E , born January 23, 1865; Cornelius B., born July 23. 1866. Carrie L., born March 20, 1868, I. Newton, born February 7, 1870, Willie, born October 13, 1871. Francis, born July 17. 1*74. Mason F , born February 27, 1876, and Milton E., born October9, 1878. Welton Amos, p o Mt. Morris. White Mrs. Jennette C, p o Moscow. West George W., p o Gibsonville, paper manufacturer, born Rickmondsworth, Eng., Sept. 19, 1822, settled in county November, 1871, 80 acres aud mill property, has been justice of the peace two years and postmaster; first wife Laura Smith, born Middle Haddam, Conn., mar- ried in 1816, died in 1817; second wife Pauline C. Baker, born Chesterfield, Mass., June 12, 1822, married No- vember, 1849. died July 3. 1876; children. Charles S . George E. (deceased). Hettie Paulina. Fanny Belle (deceased), Victoria Eliza, Jennie B.. George Thomas. Whitmore Emily, p o Moscow. Yale T. II., p o Perry, Wyoming county, farmer. 111 acres, born Norwich. Conn., July 30, 1821, settled in county in 182 I; wife Helen C. Bolton, born Leicester September 4, 1830, married December 21, 1850; one child, Eliza- beth. who was married to Samuel It. Sharpsteen < Icto- ber 23, 1872; three children. Earle J., born November !, lsi':J, died March 26. 1874. John M. aud Karl V. LIVONIA. Alvord L. M., p o Livonia Station, publisher. Adams Oscar, p o Livonia, farmer. AnustrougThomas. p o Lakeville, farmer. 180 aerts, born Livo- nia January 20, 1820; wife Eliza J. Northrop, born Li- vonia September IT. 1829, died September 1 1. 1873, ma i ried May 10. 1*60. three children living, Mary, born May 7. 1863. Charles, born September 18. 1866, Ida, born April 111, 186! Acnis Edgar S., po Livonia Station, farmer and stork grown. 8 i acres, born Huneoye Falls. Monroe county, settled in April. 1861; wife Harriet E. Hand, born firoveland. married March 22. 1876; four children, .Mabel, born February 5, is;;. Maud, born September 1, 1878, Lulu, born Januarys.), lSSU ; Irving, born April 8, 1868 bj first wife. Aunis Augustus, p o Livonia Station, farmer, si aore8, l'"i C I. vonia June 5. 1824, died May 31, I s .:: wife M Pease, born Livonia June 6, 1885, married -May 13, 1857; one child, Myron H. I'. Annis. born N 1861. Armstoug John, p oLivonia station, farmer 50 acres, born Penn sylvania April 18, 1801, settled 1805; wifi Maran] Ud rich, born Livonia, is dead, married February ... 1834; three children, Roxaona, born February born July 21, 1842, Charles, born November 18, 1854; father, Matthew, born Bucks county, Penn., - this county in 1805, took up the farm John now owns, and lived till his death in this year, Barton H. A., po Livonia Station, drugg Oc ill;'; ,: " bornUvoBl. snr,"f I, , V" 1 "' sot \ wife Elizabeth Smith, i nelda no, He 1824, married Februarj 26 1847; oi o i bild Jesse I '■ S'blrein'fsOO .' ty ' n1798 B Branson Chauncey, ,, ., South Lima, fanner. 100 acres, bora Lima February ,„„„ Vermont January 5, 1805 i I Deci ml , . 1876 mar- ried October 12, 1829; Bii children, Bradley M ' born September 16. |s .,, n , ,. g n John H , October 27, 1841, Emma E* October21 1844 ln, ; i l " '"' seventy six wars; father Klllath' "" " ■ ''■"" , from Connecticul to I. una ism ,,, |8G2 came to Uhauncey's farm and re Idi d there till his death in 1828, born 1767 Barber Rev. Wm. A . p o Livonia Station, farmer and sup,,,-,,,,,,, "*';-y,- M - E- minister, born Kingston, Canada, October 8.1821, settled in oountj 1851 ;, i .,, re wife 8arah A Welton. born Livonia July 12, i.vj ; ,|,,.,| -,. ber 24, 18,8, inarried August io, 1848; bild, Mary B.. born July 8, 1849 Backus Andrew J., po South Livonia, farm,.,-, 190 acres, bora fort Ann. Washington county, Fehruarj II tied April, 1830; wife Ann Patterson, bora Conesus A l"'ii '"■ 1816, mar May 25, 1881 ; two children lit lng, Alexander, born s ( pt,,,,i,,i s i- m ,;,.,„„„ |„„.„ July 6, 1818. Baker S.. p o South Livonia, merchant, born Livonia November 81, 1826, was in 136th New York Stat listed in company C as private lugust 1862, promoted to fourth sergeant September 25. 1862, Io Bergeanl \., gust 15, 1863. promoted to firs) lieutenant company F A P nl iM S.Sharp, bora Livonia, married January 11. 1857, he was deputy pos'masti Beman Edward, p o Lima, farmer I5U acrei born Berkshire county. Massachusetts, June], 1806, settled 1810 , in tain of militia; wife Abigail Phillips, bora Lima 180? married January 10 is;,, died June 14, 1865; Ave chil dren, four living. Marion,., born Dec 19 1888 Inn li.. January 25,1840, died, .March ll 1870 Ellen II June 17, 1842, Jennie A., March 9 [844 John E August 17, 1817; Trial, father of. E . 01 In 1810, took up land but died in 181 1 from bite of mad dog. Bears A. D„ p o Hemlock Lake, farmer am] bop grower bora Livonia April 25, 1834, 70 acres, wife Sarah \ Jei i born Geneseo, married December 81 1857, died 1878 two children, Annie L. born .bum u i |859 U lie. July 18, 1863, John Bears bora in Cayuga county 1808, came heie 1815, died 1872. Bissell Charles A., farmer, in: , Bristol, t)i county, August .12. 1817. died May 7, 1877 settled 1864; wife Jane Salsich, born Livonia August 20,1834 mar ried May S3, 1869; two children, Era, . Feb- ruary 9, 1872. Laura G October 12. 1875. died Septem ber:!, is;7; Joseph, rather of -lane Salsich came from Cumberland county. I'a . June is.',;, settled at I.) Centre, died September 9 1876 Beman Isaac N., po Lima, 1 III acres, born Berkshire • Mass. 1) tuber -.-;, 1797, died January 9, 1878, settled 1797; first wife Eunice Bennett, born Bern Ingtt a V\ .March 13, 1800, died 1836, married lanuarv 8, Is-." \i,drew ,i . born February i :. I wifo Malinda Sbuart. bora Mendon, .Monroe county, July 26, 1807, died July ', 1879; one child, Angie E„ bora October 22, 1841 Chapin W. s.. p o Livonia Station, owns hoi . b,, r „ Yenice. Cayuga county. December .11. 1826, settled 1861, enlisted in 186tfa regimen, promoted times to captaincy, town clerk six yeai master; wite Catharine E. Bart, bora fJroti n Tomp- kins county. February I is",; : three children, Fred K born December?, I860, Wii- lard H., September 1. 1862. Grace I i 90 1868. Chapin C. C. p o Livonia Station, farm. . foiplo Cayug inty,June5 1811 wife Kb. ..la A. Lewis, born Livonia. April I, 1888, nun i ary 1 1. 1844; two children, Floyd A., born I i 185 I, Lewis E . Man b I IS B Clark L. ,v Sons, i o Lakeville, grist lime and plaster ml I, Clark born Qeneseo June 14 1888: wife Mat garet Stewart, bora Sootland Octobers, 1884, married May 22, 1845: three children, living. Hiram I., born October 23, 1849, Alexander s Februarj II Frank II April 88. 1864. Chamberlin s. N . p o Livonia station, farmei of the peace twenty years, |ustli - term: wife i Cook, born Livonia September .'7. married April B, 1852; three cblldl \ bora April 13. 1854, Marquis n - i. Oct, Coe Horace K . p o South Livonia, fa] lather Lewis Coo. came from Paris, tine,.: took up UOacrt Mrs t'oe's maiden nam.. \, ,,. !. in, born In Connecticut . d sixty-six. orgs I. !» ■» Livonia v i at Ion, fuinitui - •! un- dertaker. Davis J. W.. p Livonia Station, farmer. HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Densmore Capt. r> , p o Livonia, farmer, 102 acres, born New Baltimore August 23, 1818, Bettled 1887, captain of old militia of this town ; wife Eleanor Price, horn Livonia January 4. 1816, married March 2. 1887; father David, born in Connecticut Mai ell 28, 1767, came to this coun- ty in 1837, died here August, 18, 1861 Davis N. J., p o Livonia Station, farmer and milk dealer, 04 acres, Lorn Tioga county. Pa. .lulv 4, ls-'i-l. settled 1886; wife Cordelia Powell, horn Livonia April 21. 1829, married February 21, 1857; four children, Estella Z., horn January 18, 1868, Luther M., June 15, 1859, Kl vin N., June 4, 1864, Grant s. December 14, 1868. Dihhell Charles, p o Livonia, farmer. 168 acres, born Vermont April 12, 1810, settled 1880: first wife Rebecca E. Young, born Livonia Sep* em her 7, 1815, married i s l": two chfl dren living, Elizabeth A. Welch and Louisa J.; second marriage November 28, 1853, Charles E.. horn [•ebruary W. 1855; Daniel Young came from New Jersey about 1805. died February 15, Dibbell Danforth C. p o Livonia. 'II acres, born Randolph. Vt , May»l, 1807, died May 87, 1865. settled 1627. was in the shoe business: wife Jlaria Foot, born Washington county May 18. 1815, married September JrfS, 1888; three children. F'rank M . horn December 14, 1 S;i9, Cnicv M . June 16. 1843, died April 21, 1868, charlotte E., born March 24, 1860 Fowler N. H , p o Livonia, farmer i lillett M. Mb, p o Livonia Station, farmer. Gove N., p Livonia Station, farmer. (•ray David, farmer, 150 acres, born Livonia July 22, 1812. died July 27, 1874, justice Of the peace for twenty year^; wife Chloe A. Williams, born June 19, 1820, died in Gen- eseo i860, married 1840. three children, Emma C, born April 6, 1^12. Lizzie L . born August 16, 1845, James D., born September 15, 1848. Gibbs Augustus, p o Livonia, 60 acres, born Litchfield, Conn., December 16, 1794, died January 2-1. 1814, settled in 1800, small sheriff of county, member of Assembly in 1841; wife Caroline Finley. born Geneseo August 10, 1818, married February 13, 1851; one child, Carrie F., born June 24, 1856. Gray William, p o Lakeville, farmer, 11 acres, born Livonia 18]K, is dead; wife Mary llillman, born Lakeville 1821, mar- ried 1847; two children, Addie M., born September 11, 1840, Emma R„ born November I. 1851. Gibbs Adney S., p o Livonia, farmer, born Livonia May 30, 181 1, be'eu txcise commissioner and poormaster; first wife Margaret Read, born Ontario county, died June 6, 1851; second wife Agues Qriewold, born Geneseo April 6, 1818, married February 12, 1852; five children. Laura Ann, born January 8, 1840, Ella Margaret, born May kH, 1854, Mary Fiancis, born February 20, 1H5U, Agms, born June 12, 1857, Leinan, born June 28, 1859; Lemau Gibbs born in Litchfield, Conn.. 1788, came to Livonia in 1803. was elected constable, and in the Legislature, supervisor four years, also appointed justice of sts- sims of Livingston county, died 1858. Hamilton Augustus, p o Livonia Station, farmer. 657 acres, born Marion county. O., March 20. 1829: wife Caroline Van- Nuys, born West Sparta June 4, 1834, married Septem- ber I, 1868; three children, Hugh F., born April 30, 1867, Hattie A . born October 21, 1800, Emma M., born Octo- ber IS. 1872 Hillman Geo., p o South Limn, farmer, 70 acres, born Lowville, Lewis county, December 81, 1828, settled October 1839, town assessor; wife Anita M. Squires, born Ledyard, Cayuga county, January 10, 1885, married December 1, 1859: William, father of George, born Martha's Vine- yard July 14, 1777, came here October 1830, died Sep- tember 2. 1865. Hitchcock Charles M., p o South Livonia, farmer 180 acres, born Coneaus March 17, 1888, assessor; second wife Leonora Stedman, born Livonia, married March 21, 1871: by first wife Belle B . born May 1, 1*00. Harder George W., p o Hemlock Lake, farmer. 140 acres, born Livonia May 25, (848, collector of school money; wife Mary Adeline Turner, born Livonia August 25, 1850, married October 25, 1871 ; children, Flora. Mabel, born January 5, 1872, llattio Lois, born March 10, 1875, Lulu Annie, born April 15, 1877; father William came from Saratoga county about 1830, died March 7, 1877. Jerome W. S., p o Livonia, farmer. 10U acres, horn Ontario county December 10, 1828, settled 1836; wife Alta 9. Patterson, born Couesus October 1, 1 *■.'■'-;, married March 8, 1849; children. Mary J., burn March 27, 1858, Clara A., born September 9, i860, Julia, born April o, 1866, W. B. Jr., born March 21, 1868. Jackman Geo. W., p o Livonia Station, farmer, 150 acres, born Mendon, Monroe county, February 19, 1826, settled 1828, school trustee; wife Jane E. Cowles, born Brigh- ton, Monroe county, July 10, 1881, married November 25, 1S58; children, George Washington, Jr., born Sep- tember 21, 1863, Lizzie M., born June 26, 1866, Uillie E., born July 11, 1870, L. Ward B„ burn September 7, 1871. Jerome Myron D., p o Hemlock Lake, farmer, 98 acres, born Richmond, Oniario county, February 10, 1812, settled 1886: wife Sarah Davis, born Covington, Wyoming county, married June 8, 1847; children, Myron Davis, horn April 10, l s '8, John Wiber, born October 22, 1840, Henry Hobert, bum April 6, 1852, Susie Louisa, born November 10, 1854, Sarah Jam-, born October 0, 1856, Edward, born December ■ ■. 1859, died December 22. 1862, Jerome Henry N„ po Hemlock Lake, farmer, 100 acres, born Ontario county November 2, 1880, settled 1886, wile Anna C. Harder, born Livonia February 7. 1840, mar- ried March 0, 1804 : children, John F . (by first wife.) born February i8, 1857. Willie G., horn December 4, is.,;, Jacques K. R.. po Hemlock Lake, farmer. £60 acres, born Ver- mont February 11, 1807, settled 1811, has been justice of the peace, division judge advocate (rank as Con m< 1 1 received commission Governor Many; wife Harriet Francis, born Connecticut August 10, 1810, married September 11,. 1834. Long Christopher, p o South Livonia, farmer. 96 acres, born Geneseo June 6, 1811, has been minister of the Mention- ite society; wife Catharine Bean, born Harrisburgb, Pa.. 1807, mairied May 7. 1845; died Novembei 28, IW I, three children living, Ann M., Kllen H., Elmer K.. born August 181H: his father. Christian Long, came from Centre county. Pa., 1811, Lindsley Freeman, p o South Livonia, farmer. 7") acres, born Livonia March 12, 1825: wife Sarah Bearss, born Cone- sus January 10. 1825: four children, Marvin W., born June 27. 1814, Sarah Jane, born February 27. 1846, Ida May. born December 25. 1*56. Ella D.. born February >. 18t,u. Lewis J. M., p o Livonia Station, liveryman. Long Jacob, p o Live nia Station, farmer, 45 acres, born Gene- seo September 10. 1813: wife Nancy S. Snyder, born Clinton county. Pa., June 14, 18is. married February 4, 1H41. Lewis Rockwell J., p o Livonia, farmer, 124 acres, born Livonia February 24. 182U; wife Emily P. Cluik. born Livonia. died September 2, 1866, married 1848; Erastus Lewis father of K. J . came from Conn. MeClintoek Abraham, po Livonia Station, farmer, 128 acres, born Livonia March 3, 1825; wire Mary a. Williams, born Livonia December 20. 1881, married January 20. 1852, one child. Herbert A., born November II, i8o4; \Vm. MeClintoek; father of Abraham, born Heading. Pa. February 2u. 1783, came here 1812, was in war of that year, died January 25, 1868. Millham T. W., p o Livonia, general merchant, born Charlton. Saratoga county, December II, 1M2. settled April 1872, has been postmaster since 1874; wife Anna E. Barnard, born Saratoga county, married June 18, 1867, seven children. Nettleton K. D., p o Livonia Station, clergymen, Owen 1). D . p o South Lima, farmer. 07 acres, born Richmond. Ontario county. November 19, 1830, settled Itfltt; wife Lucy Clark, born Geneseo October It. 1887, married February 14, 1861, D. D., was in thelaterebeliiun three years and four months, enlisted in Ohio 7th as private, was promoted to first lieutenant and acted as com- missary till his discharge. Patterson. J. B., po Livonia fetation, merchant, born Cayuga county April 4, 1828, settled 1884, has been town clerk, supervisor four terms, and was elected to his present ofliee of county clerk in 1K77; wife Orselia M. Lewis, burn Orleans county November 2b. 1884, married Sep- tember28, 1858; children. L. J,, born September 15. 1855. W. G.. born October 1. 1857, Carrie L . born March 8. i860, Emma, born April 5, 1862, J. H. Jr . burn May 1, 1864, Mary O., born May 18. 1666, Inn B., born July 28, 1816. Perry E. H., p o Livonia Station, runs a grist mill, born Otsego county May 22, 1848, came from Ontario county Sep- tembers, 1879: wife Lydia J. Trembley, born Ontario county February 14. 1848, married September 80, 1868; three children, Nellie J , born October 20, 1869, Emma J. , born October 22, 1875, Ralph II.. born June 80, 1879. Price A. L., p o Livonia Station, farmer. 160 acres, born Livonia January 21, 1850; father Garrett S., born Northumber- land county. Pa., October 15, 1805, came to this coun- ty with bis father, Noah, in 1807, Pease Henry Cpo Livonia Station, born Livonia August.28. 1828, died October 10, 1874, owned 1 Id acres: wile Han- nah P. Hoag. born Greene county May 26, 1886, mar- ried October 14, 1800; one child, Harry Pease, born November 18, 1871. Patterson Theodore, p o Livonia, farmer. Purdy Ebenezer. po South Livonia, farmer, W0 acres, born North Salem. Westchester county. August 3, 1823. set- tled 1835, has been highway commissioner: wife Fran- ces E. Harrison, born Groveland April 7, 1834, married December 4, 1860; one child, Wm. Harrison, born February 15, 1864. Purdy Cole, p o South Livonia, farmer. WO acres, born North Salem, Weschester county, November 20, is:i2. settled 1835. Rider S. W., p o Livonia Station, farmer. 10 acres, born Ohio August 11, 1838, settled 1858; wife Achsa A. Amsden, born Livonia July 28, 1887, married February 15, 1879; one child, Lee F. Richardson, (by first husband.) born July 7, 1871. Remington Mary A., p o Lakeville. farmer. Ressequie Jerome, p o Livonia Station, fanner. Swan Albert, p o Livonia Station, dealer in produce and coal. born Canadice, Ontario county. July 2, 1847, settled April 1. 1800, has been foreman of Livonia hook and ladder company, town clerk and treasurer of agricul- tural society: wife L. Adell Hart, born Conesus July 18, 1817. married September 0. HJT1. Swan George W.. p o Livonia Station, hotel proprietor. PERSONAL STATISTICS. Short Josiah C, p o Hemlock Lake, farmer and merino sheen breeder, 230 acres; wife Esther E Weller born Livo- nia May 12, 1825, married March 11. 1852; three children Amelia A . born May I. 1653, Wellec .1 . born August 2; 1854, Mary A born April 28, 1857; Henry Weller. father of -Mrs. S., born in Plttsfleld, Mass. 1762, came here 1809. died September 24. 1848, his U1 i,. born Westfleld Mass . July 31, 1782, died January 11. 1856. Smith Lewis E,po Oakland street. Rochester. Stone Joel, p o Livonia, farmer. Swan E. Darwin, horn Milton. Saratoga county, March 10, 1813 died July 10, 1*7$, settled in county 1846; wife Aman- da M. Hillman. born Lowville. Lewis county. August 21, 1832, married March 30, 187U; one child, Nellie, born May 21, 1873. Thurston J. B., p o Livonia, cashier banking house of S. T. Woodruff, born Livonia September '-'li. 1835, owns Hi acres, has been supervisor two terms; wife Martha McPherson born York, married September 20, 1858; one child, Wm. B., born March 20, 1870. Tefft Frank E.. p o Hemlock Lake, does boating on Hemlock lake. Thurston George A., p o Hemlock Lake, fanner, 97 acres, boru Livonia September 4, 1838; wife Ella A. Austin, born Perry, Wyoming county, married May 3, 1871: four children. Thomas G.. bom June 17,1673, KittieS , born November 7, 1874, Frank A., born June 15, 1876, Bessie, horn February 5. 1879; father Silas It. born Otsego county, came here 1837, died 1872, Turner Sidney P.. was a farmer, born Cayuga county, 1822, set tied JSTIJ. died October 6, 1879; wife Amanda Weller, born Livonia June 33, I*'-Jt>. married February 27, 1858. VanZandt I. 31., p o Livonia Station, farmer, 90 acres, born Potter, Yates county, February 7. 1818, settled April 6,1870; wife Estclla A Wheeler, born Quinoy, Branch county. Mich., August 8, 1S.V2, married Febru- ary 18, 1875; one child, Ida May, born September 04, 1878. VauZandt Samuel, p o Livonia Station, farmer. 127 acres, born Potter, Yates county. November 1. 1810, settled 1870: wife Charity Simmons, born Benton October 11. i*.'J, married November 8, 1840, one child 1. M , born Feb- ruary 7, 18-18. Woodruff S. G., p o Livonia, farmer and banker, 060 acres, born Livonia March 8, 1827, has been supervisor two terms, sou of Jeremiah, and grandson of Solomon Woodruff who came to this town 1790, formerly from Connecti- cut and first settler in town. Weat Lovette P.. p o Lakeville, merchant and farmer, 102 acres, born Livonia December 21, 1841, has been justice or the peace for three years, postmaster for the last ten years; wife Hattie M. Dimmick, born Union Pale, Pa., June £2, 1842. married September 30, 1869: Cour chil- dren, Harry F., born December 21, 187'J, Brasilia L., born September 19, 1875, Charles S. born Fcbiuary 5, 1878, Florence L , born August 30, 1879. Wilkin David, p oLivonia Station, farmer, 56 acres, born Livo- nia September 23. 1825; wife Marilla O. Norton, born Livonia November 12. 1830. married October 17, 185U; one child; Charles L , born April 11. 1855; Lemuel Nor- ton, father of Mrs. W,. born in Saratoga county 1782, came to this town in 1813, died in 1846. MT. MORRIS. Anient Edward L . horn Schenectady December IS, 1795, settled in 1811. 135 acres of land: wife Mary Bamhart, born Dansville. married January 16, 1881; six children. E. L. Anient died November 1, I s :; Bills N. D., p o Jit. Morris, farmer. 1'"- acres, 1" rn Qroton, Tompkins county. September 39 1814, settled in 1838; wife Nancy M Begole, born March 83, 1818 married Jlay i7, 1840; five chil Iren, Charles A . born September 11, 1848, died May 18, I s , :. Benjamin !'• born Septem- ber 10th, 1844. died October 85th, 184ft, Lillie, born July B, 1854; dii'd July I3th, 1876, Margaret E . born June 88, 1858, Mary A . born May 18, 1851. Brown H. E., p o Mt. Morris, casbier Genesee Bivei Bank. Biughani Bros., p o Mt. Morris, bankers. Beuerline Barney, p o Mt. Morris, dealer in gents' furnishing goods. Barron M. M..p o Tuscarora, fan'' •es, born Mt. .Morns November 1st. 1858, has been justice oi the peace, elected 188J; wife Alida A. Hall, born .Ml Munis Benway Isaac, p o Brooks Grove, farm irn Rens- selaer county February 4. 1*17, settled 1838; wife Mary Bowen, born Scipio, Cayuga county, married Si berStt, 1818; five children. Anne A., Janette, Henry A. ad), Llew-llya. Sal- Brooks Mieah W. p o Brooks Grove, farmer, 380 acres, born East Bloomfield, Ontario county, March 80, 188 tied in 1838; wife Phoebe E Van Dusen born Mt Mor- ris, married February s. 1866: two children, Roscoe W., born in March, 1868, Mary L.. born in September, 1870. Barney G. W , p o .Mt. Morris, local preacher. Barney George W. Jr., p <> -Mt. U lerlin H. G., p o Mt, Morris, farmer. Clark Ozro, p o Mt. Morris, farmer. Creveling Samuel, p o Tuscarora. fan , born Mans- flel" inly. N. J . August Itled in Miller, born Mansfield N J married Januarj u/m M Francis w . Floyd J. Francis \s died April 6th is, Crevliug Edward R, p o lealer in dry goods and groceries, owns bouse and lot, boi tend, ei- :>. 1858; wife Ci married February 85, is; i ; thr hlldren born April I. 1875, Julia A., b ward \\ . iiiiin Di i~7s Coffin B. S., p <■ Nunda, farmer and mam,; i aores born Mt Morri - Septem | Ice ,,f the peace for eleven \ Kate Smith, born Canandaigua N. Y . n 20, 1863; two children, sum.- Bell 1m.hi a, George D , born October 15, 1874 Peleg I of B., came from Saratoga i I860, moved I Morris in 1884, died in 1871. Case W. H., p o BrooksGrove. farmer, 158 aores, born Fleming uga r mnty, April S6 , - been school trustee thn-e years: wife I.i, l worth, boru Bergen, Genesee oount] lldren, Sylva li , Kims T., Anna B„ all living in tin, oountj and married. Covey Howdin. p o Brooks Grove, far r, 78 acres, born Parma N- \ . Oi i I settled in 1887; wife Laura Jones, born Allegany county, N Y., married June 89, 185 ' Case Sterling Jr., p o Mi Morris, farmer 35 acres, born Hart- ford, Conn., settled in June, 1818. Sterllni i came from < lonnecticut in 1818 Dowling M , p o Mr. Morris, owns 100 acres, settled In 1835, wife H. L. Barron, married Sept. s 181 illreu, Mabel H. and Cora I Dalrymple A. O., p o Mt. Minis, farmer, in:, acres, born Mt. Morris September 6, 1831, has been bighwa sioner, assessor six yc: i Darling. born in Nunda, married June 88, 1854; two children; father died in Mt Morris. Dunning W. C. p o Brooks Grove, farmi d Malta. Saratoga county, November 33 1805, settled In 18:7; wife Adelim Downs b rn Shaft v, married October 85, 1833; thr, hildreu, Sophia, born I ' berSl. 1834, Clarissa, born March 84, Is-iT. Richard W . bora February 8, I860. Chester Foote. born In 1790, moved to Mt Morris in 1817, and lived there nearly all the time sum B Downs Martin E., p o Nunda, farmer and proi er, born Shaftsbury, Vt . March ■-';. 1888, Bettled In county No- vember 1. 1837, has been trus-,-e seven years; «: rah Hamilton, born Mt, Morris, married November, 1848, three children, < harles, born January 15, 1850, Eli. born September :;,. 1*17, Mary, born September 15, Dal, oil Jane, p o Mt. Morris. Donnelly John J , p o Mt Morris, clergyman. DeCamp Charles E . p o Tuscarora. farmer, I :i acres, born in Mt Morris July 16, 1888, has b tee ten years and collector: wife Kli/.a N. Nortbway, born Mt. Morris, married I It Essie I... born July 11, 1664 Frank N born October 8, 1866, small N . i,i,ni Deoember i. i s ,.s John a . born January 30, 1878, William II born 3eptember36, l — 7 1 David Howell moved here May 19, 1831, died in Saline. Mich . August 1- 186 !, DeCamp John C., born Railway. N. J . settled iu count] 84. 1884, in,.- been school trustee: wife Sarah Miller, i e mi i - j uga county, married Januarj 6, 1884; five children, Wm. II.. Martha M . Margaret S., Charles E., I-ydia J. Frost W. A., p o Mi ioklyn, Windham county. Vt . settled in 1*11, has been wife S, A. Miller, born In New Jersey, married in is-:.,; one ohild Fred W k b i is 90 years old. Foote Giles w. p ,1 Mi , ,,,], rn Mt. Morris July II. 1818, has I, ecu | assessor Ly on, I icticut, mai tides. -n Jul] I B luly is. 1814, Asa E., born September 1. 1816, 1 bl born July :i. 1863, Fannie -I.. George John w p o Ml Morris, farm. I ta March 16, ter. four children. Green George A., p was formerly a tailor, owns 18 inty June 1. 1809, settled h wit,- Julia Daboll on., married ber 30, 1883; three children, two Richard HuggiDG W W p o Nunda. In, in in Auburn Decern ■ i b a . n ii '.<■ as L Louisa E , Doi who died aged 47 years, Aaron w died aged seven weeks. Hagadorn William, p o Brooks Grove, farmer, 55 Hires, born Sempronlus mow Nilesj Jnlj 12, 1820, settled in the Winter of 18**, lias been trustee three terms: flrsl wife Melissa A. Allen, born Wyoming county; three children, Sarah N . Adelman, who died in 1868 and Allen: second wife Lenora Parks, born Scipio, Cayuga county; three children, Elizabeth a., died September 3, 1849, Frank and Fred J. Johnson Andrew, po Tuscarora, farmer, 123 acres, horn Sena pronius (now Niles) June 28, 1814, settled in April. 1830, has been assessor six years and highway commis- sioner; wife Elizabeth Whiteneck, born Groton, Tomp- kins I'niiniy. married January 24, 1839, Johnson Hezekiah, p o Tut carora, farmer. 160 acres, born Sem- pronius, Cayuga county. November 1. 1825, settled in county April. 1830; wile Caroline M. Elwood, born Aurelius. Cayuga county, married September 20th, IM!i Joslyn J, W., p o Bit. Morris, physician and surgeon, president of village. Knibloe John P.. p o brooks Grove, farmer, 1-10 acres, born in Sharon, Conn.. January 30, 1808, settled in No- vember. 1345, has been highway commissioner three years, just Ice of t lie peace two terms; wife Catherine Winegsr, born Arnenia. married December ; , is",-; ; seven children, Elijah E . Susan L., Mariette E . Gilbert W . Kate L., John P . Effie A. LaUue Frank A., p o Brooks (hove, burner 75 acres, born Mt. Morris March i5, 1852; wife Annie Clarkson. born Mt. Morris, married April 22, JST:i. Mills M. lb. ii Mt. Morris. Miller Bartley. p o Tuscarora. miller. LOO ueres. born Mt. Mor- ris February 14, 1628; wife Mary H. McDuffy, born in Seneca county. N. V.. married November 4, 1869; three children, Lav erne, born April 2i, 1871, Carl, born Feb- ruary ;, 1879, one without a name bom May 29, 1879, Mosher Samuel, p o Nunda, turner. 149 acres, born Mt. Morris May "J. 1833: wile Caroline Seeley, bom Livonia, mar ried October 12, !B55; three children, Charles .1 . born January s. 1801. Adelbert, born April 20, lHtiti. Lilhe, born January 26, 1872, MeNeilly A: Gamble, p o Mt. Morris, livery owners. Miller P., p n Tuscaroia. miller Noonau M. J., p oMt. Morris, cigar manufacturer. Omans Mrs Margaret, p o Brooks Grove, farmer. Olp Joseph P., p o Mt. Morns, farmer, 806 aires, born Wnrren county. N. J . January V-K 18*5, settled in county 1828, has been assessor; wife Harriet M Warren, born Lei- cester, married March 13, 1853; two children. Henry W. and Flora E. Father moved here from New Jersey in 1827, died March, is;,:, Olp John, p o Mt. Morris farmer and insurance agent. 200 acres, born Mansfield. N J , August 2, 1823, settled in county April, 1831, has been highway commissioner six years. also school truster; Hrst wife Eliza A. Roekalellow, born Flemiiigron county, N. J . married November 26, 1845; four children, Deb 1 rah s. born September 19, 1846, died May 6, IKT8, Lambert L., bom April 15, 1848, Charles P . b : rn February 18, 1850, Eva J., born Nunda April 14, 185 : second wife born County Antrim, Ire- land, married November 14, 1865: two children. Frank J., born Mt. Morris October 10. 1871, Albert, born Aug- ust 31, 1 S7(>. Daniel Olp, father of John, born in War- ren county. N. J . May li. 1791 married Elizabeth Bow man December II, 1819, died in Livingston county May (i. 186*, also hie wife April 17, 1880. Phillips Mrs. J.,p Brooks Grove, farmer, 180 acres, born Haw- ley, Orleans county, March 3, 1824, settled in county is'i'; Mr. Baron died December Vi, is;s; she married again April 12. I860; was first married February 17. )M': four children. Harriet L., A. Clifton, Thornton M., Kate A. Phillips Mrs. J., p o Ridge, farmer, born Hoiewell. N. J., De- cember 16, ISiHl, settled in county October 27. 1824, Jonathan P., husband of Mrs P. bora November 2 1810, died March 15, 1870, married April 25, 1835; three children. Sarah J., now deceased. Janet H. and Adelle Z. Pennington .lames W., p o Mt. Morris, manufacturer. i7'ti\, acres, born Newark August 19, 1838, settled in county 1870; wife Sue A. Smith, born Mt Morris, married May 5, 1869; one child : Susie !■',, Imtii August 11. 1*71. Mrs. P.'s father settled here in 1 823. Petrie Peter, p o Tuscarora, fanner. 916 aeres. born in Scipio August »i. 1819, settled in eounty 1828, has been school trustee, highway commissioner threeyeqrs. poor mas- ter five years and excise commissioner; first wife Har- riet Am merman, born Nile>,. married September 15, 1842; seven children: - 1 ■ i • . ■ i n 1 wife Louisa J. Elwood, born Aurelius, N, V . married February 27, tb79. Jacob P.. father of Peter, born in Little Falls, moved to this county in 1823; bad Bve children, William, Peter, Jo- seph. Jacob, and Abigail who died in Ilion in 1878. Ja- cob Petrxe died in 1865. Perriue W. II , p o Tuscarora, fanner, 2)3 acres, born February 19, 1886; wife Josephine Millhollen. born West Sparta, married January 22, 1863; eight children. Parsons Levi, p o Mt Moi ris, clergyman. Poval Henry, p o Mt Morris, eclectfc physician and surgeon. Phelps Qeorgu A . p o Mt. Morris, resident. Price .lames, p o.Nunda, tanner, 123 acres, born County "f Slit.*". Ire and, August 26 1^7. settled in this eounty 1840, has been Justice of peace foui years; wife Hannah N. Pli il I ips.b.un eounty Leitrim, Ireland, married Augusl 26, I s ii ; one child living, John H. Price, born June '». 1851. Sedan Daniel P . p o Tuscarora, farmer, 163 acres, born Somer- set county, N. J., August 22, 1798, settled in county May 1.. 1823; wife Cynthia Bergen, born Middlesex county, N. -1 . married in 1822; six children, Sallie, Jane, wno died May 5, 1876, Mary, Andrew. Jacob U and Amanda. One of the oldest inhabitants of the town. Sheldon Pomeroy. p Mt. Morris, farmer. 15 aeres. born Perry, Wyoming county, April lb. 1821. settled in comity April, 1840; first wife Sarah S. Sheldon, born in Massa- chusetts, died May 19. 1858, married October. 1816; four children. Oren Sheldon, father of Pomeroy, bom in New Marlboro, Mass.. 1788, moved to Wyoming county in 1 s ] l hail nine children, moved to Mt. Morris in I> 10. Second wife Mrs. Mary P. Robie. born April :(, 1827; children Cora E., born December 0. 1849, Orvn T.. born December^. 1851, Sarah A., born June 11, I s '*', Joseph P.. born December 22, 1857, died April 11. 1868. Scoville H. II.. p o Mt. Morris, proprietor of Scovllle House. Shu 11 George Ml, p Mt Morris, editor and publisher of paper. Secb Adam, p Mt Morris, proprietor of saloon. Shank John, p o Kidge, farmer, born February 9, 1808, owns GO acres, settled in county April, 1830; first wife Mary .1 ■ Sharp, married December 24, lffi9; second wife Free love Thorpe, married September lit. 1866; four ohil- ■ J i*'ii by lirst wife, Ephraim. Henry S.. Franklin and l.aban who died at Andersonville. Tallman Jacob, p o Mt. Morris, farmer, born Skaneateles, April 1;'. 1818, came in county with his fatherwho had seven children in 1889, has been assessor five years. Thorp Edward, p o Mt. Morris, farmer, born Mt. Morris August *, 1856: wife Ada Case, born Seneca county. N V., married November 5, 1873; one child. Mabel, born Jan- uary 29. 1879. Weeks Robert lv. p o Mt Morris, fanner. So acres, born Qene- seo November 9, 1816: wife Ruth G. Allen, born Che- nango county, married January 26 1812: two children, Willard A., born September 22, 1847, Fiank G., born March 18, 1857. Winters John C, p o Mt. Morris, proprietor of canning fac- tory Wigg Henry s.. p o Mt. Morris, lumber dealer. Woolever F. W., p o Mt. Morris, undertaker ami dealer in fur- niture. Wagner Henry, p o Mt. Morris, grocer and dealer in wines. NUNDA, Ayrault Lyman, p o Nunda Station, general merchant, hns'four different warehouses, born Allegany county 1829, set- tled lt-54; wife Miss Baldwin, born Allegany county 1827. married is is. died 1851; children two, Allen, boru is III, Nellie, bom 18"»1 : second wife. Mehetabel A San born, born Allegany county 1837, married 1858; chil- dren four, Belle B., Fannie" A , .May E., Charles L. Atkins D. S , p o Xuuda, stock dealer and butcher, born Onon- daga county, wife A. E. Brooks, born Allegany county; children two. Katie B.. Gertrude. Barton Francis, p o Nunda. general custom flouring mill and shipping to the trade, he purchased interest in mill October -ill. 1879, it has three runs of stone and is fed from creek in north part of town, born Owego. Tioga county. 1842, settled !S7o: wife Maty Whitehead, born Livingston county 1858, married April. 1877. Bennett Liberty, p o Nunda. retired farmer. 30 acres, born Ver- mont 1818, settled 1835; wife Ann Bennett, born Alle- gany county 1827, married 1862; children two, Emily C. John L. * Barker Setn S, p Nunda, farmer, 106 acres, born Oneida county 1801, settled iR21, has been assessor 12 years and highway commissioner three years: wife Sarah Durfee, born Khode Island J 802, married 1821; chil- dren three, Munsou O.. born 1822, Orlando W., born 1826, Justus L, born 1834. Barker Justus, born Livingston county 1834, has been assessor nine years; wife Olive L. Boweu, born Livingston county 1887, married 1857; children three. Mertie B., Fred L., Earnest D. Barker Amos, p o Nunda, farmer, carpenter and joiner. loo acres, born Augusta, Oneida county. August, 1801), set- tled 1827, was assessor 1885: wife Sophia Tracy, born Connecticut February 7, 1796, married 1827, died 187E; children seven, Gustavus. born 1828, Edwin W., born 1829, John F„ born 1831, James S., born 1883, Man C, born 1885, Joseph M , born 1837, Julia S . born is ;s. ,\. 11. Tyler, born 1835, settled 1837; wife Mary C. Barker, married 1878. PERSONAL STATISTICS. Bakor Alonzo D , p o Nunda Station, farmer, drover and stock- dealer, 225 acres, horn Livingston county 1839: wife Mary E. Word, born Allegany county 1840, married 1857; children tnree, Dorr A, born 1859, L Eai born in 1881, Plyn \V.. born 1875 Brace L. H., p o Nunda; general carriage and blacksmithine business,born Canada 1841,settled I860; wife Mari Wa- ger, horn Nunda 1845, married 1865; children three Louie Z., Leo D. , Eva Dott. Barker O. W,. p o N'unda, farmer and bee dealer, lis acres born Livingston county 1826; wife Mary E Swan, horn Liv ingston county 1835, married ]8fn; children three Sarah I„ born 1880. Ethel May, born 1866 s c born 1878, Willie, adopted. Barker Munson O.. p o Nunda. farmer and surveyor, SO acres born Livingston county 1821; wife Adaline B. Rawson' born Nunda 1828, married 1851; children four. Flora,!., born 1855, Lillie A , born 1858, Herbert S., born 1863, Lavillo S , horn 1853, died 1854. James H. Rawson was born in Springfield, Otsego county, 1798, settled 1819, was a farmer and carpenter, has been justice of peace and supervisor, died 1879; wife Marian Lowell, boru Madison county 1800, married 1819, died 1879. Brewer C. R., p o Nunda. boot and shoe dealer, born Wyoming county 1859. H W. Brewer, born 1825; wife Maria B. Gifford, born Saratoga county 1836, married 1851); chil- dren one, C. R. Barrett Gsorge W.. p o Nunda, farmer 205 acres, born Franklin county, Vt.., 1815, settled 1851; first wife Sabrah Hiker. born Elford, Maine. 1811. married 1st."., died 1866; chil- dren three, Harriet A. Willett, Sabrah J.. Georgianna, born Quincy, Mass , September 3, 1850; second wife Huldih Prime, born Mt. Moiris 1830, married Febru- ary 15, 1880. Ezekiel P. Greenleaf, born Boston, Mass . May 11. 1790, settled ISS3. Batty R. J., p o Nunda. banker and farmer, 50 acres, born Avon September 1. 1S14. Banker John W-, p o Nuuda. farmer aud blacksmith, tiO acres, born Cayuga county January 27, 1826, settled 18 the present assessor; wife Elizabeth Horton, born * Gr- ange county 1831. married 1851. Benson William, p o Nunda, 50 acres, boru York, Livingston county, 1815; wife Susan Squires, born Livingston county 1818, married is: j ,s; children two, William M., born 1839, Henry F . born 1842. Stephen Benson was born Verjiont 1767, settled 1790. died 1843, married Lucia Mathews, born 178'.i, married 1800, died 1864. Bailey Voluey. p o Nunda, farmer, 100 acres, born Livingston county 1850; wife Alida Newville, born Allegany county 1853, married 1876; children one. M. Belle. Beach Lauren R., p o Nunda, farmer and school teacher, 110 acres, born Livingston county June 12, 1832; wife Bridget , born County Connaught, Ireland, 183-J. married May 10, 1852; children three, Eva Maria, Ida May, Jessie C. Allen Beach was born in Massa- chusetts 1800. settled 1828, died 1851. Allen J. Beacb, born 1829. Bagley Henry, p o Nuuda, retired 1873, born Greene county 1794, settled 1823 and was one of the early settlers of the town, commenced the lumber business in 1822 and con- tinued it live years, then commenced to do building and jobbing, and has taken an active part in the build ing up of the town; first wife Lucy Hoadley, born Bradford, Conn., 1792, married 1817, died 1832; children four, living one, Mary, born lS-JS; second wife, Eliza A* Brown, boru Heath, Mass , 18(10, married 1834; children one, Gifford H.. bora 1-11 Bailey William, p o Nunda, farmer, HO acres, born Allegany county 1821, settled 1850: wife Susan Amelia Teeple, born Livingston county 1824. married 1840; children two, Volney T , Wesley, born 1802. Alexander Bailey was born in Vermont Chambers James p o Nunda. farmer and hop grower. 52\. acres, born St. Lawrence county 1829. settled 1840; wife Amanda L. Batterson, born Livingston county 1835, married 1860; children seven. Chidsey George, p o Nunda, was retired men bant and farmer, 71 acres, born Avon, Conn,. 1810, Bettled 1839, died Feb- ruary 21, 1880, was post-master at Mt. Morris six , wife Mary M. Woodford, born Avon. Conn . 1816, mar- ried 1838; children four. Lucia M , born Will. Martha, born 1840, Alice M.. born 1841, George S., born 1842, wife M. J. Brewer, born Allegany county 1- is. married [869, children two. Allie M , born 1870, Charles, born Craig John J.\ p o Nunda, farmer, 8,1 acres born Livingston county 1843. Father. James Craig ad 1816, settled is n, died 1859; mother Elizabeth Carney, born Livingston county 1820, married 1831 children twelve, William. James, Mari. John J . Robert, Elizabeth A.. Sarah Albert, Edward, Alfred J., Victor T., Sani- uelJ. Colton \\ II . p o N'unda Station, farmer. 60 acres, boi county. I'a . 1.839, settled 1855; wife Bosnia Pa , r S ton county 1844, man I ildren two, Walter boi u I874,Hattie Bi lie, bora 1878 i ,i w.. p o Nunda fai raer, I county 1839, settled 1861 ; wife Abbie \ Prescott, born Nunda 1842, mai i i860; children six, Walti born I860, Blanche E . hi '* ■ born 1869, Ruth \ born 1873, Susan J . born " u . 'pril a 1877. Albert II Presi i! Sew Hampshire 1801. settled 1835, died 1812; wife Eliza Brown born in New Hampshire 180S i H illiam, p o N'unda, fat n i meat, in 1862, served through war until 1865, In 1868 was wounded In an engagement in Georgia under Hen. Sherman; wile I at liarine leo i horn I ayugn 1 1 1 1 Dai Id I... born 1867, Katie u . born 1872 1 : I Pennsylvania 1801 -. ttled 1881 Bi I n re Bel > Vau Dj i.e. born Eagle, » i i Septal r 28 1888; children nine, Sarah a Mary E , Wl I i Hand. „i, killed in b . B L, Harriet who died May li. 1862, Ruby; second wife A Hynee Lli ingstoi inty 1812, 111,11 ried Closer Michael II. ,po Nunda Station, horn Allegany ntv 1828, settle! 1874; wife Sophia Campbell, born Hanover Germany 1826, married July II, 1- „ live] Adelia. born IS.".."., Celestia .M . horn I 1859, John I., horn 1861, Lizzie born 1864. Cole James M . p o Nunda, farmer, in acres, born Livingston county 1828; wife Julia M DeWItt, born Wyoming county April 25. 1828, married 1854; children two, Frank M., born 1856, Mary F , born 1! I pb Cole, horn Saratoga county 1796, i ttled 1318, died 15,1871; wife Rhoda Gifford Cole, born Washington county 1800, settled 1818, married 182 Cooper Samuel, p o N'unda, farmer, 140 a bora Ha setts 1808, settled 1840; wife Hannah Coates. born .Mas- sachusetts 1815, married March 18, 1840; childrei John M., horn [842, Nancy E . horn 1845, Cooper John M,, p o Nunda Station, fanner, l mi Liv- ingston county 1842; wifeOcte orn .Massa- chusetts 1842, married 1866; childten two, Clayton horn 1867, Helen horn is; ; Duryee William R,, i< o Nunda, farmer. 160 acres born Schenec- tady 1796, set : led 1830; first wife L. Conk 1 in. horn Cay- uga county 1800, married 1820, died ]-; twelve, living Helen .\i , Jane a , Gertrudes . Delia . George Monroe. C. Caroline. .1. Conklin, Frances N.. Harriet N , second wife Melinda Rathborn, horn Sara toga county 1802, married 1845, children one. James Harvey Shears, born 1821. DeGraff Abraham, po Nunda, farmer, 280 acre igi Co. 1810, settled 1830; first wife Sarah Dui ayuga county 1811. married 1882 died 1888; children tl second wife Sarah Perry, bora Schoharie counts married 1839, died 1879; children. Eliza A., horn is.r>. Marga rn 1848, Willie, Myron P.. born 1845, Ennia J., born 1848, Herbert L., boru 1850, Marlon w., born 1853 Dickinson E, O p o Nunda. farmer and stock dealer. 286 acres, born Oneida county 1818, settled 1850, has been si visor four years from 1861 ; wife Alida starkweather, h.m Cayuga county 1829, married 1849; children four. Nellie. Allied . Mattie E , Neva. Douahue Martin, p o Nunda, farmer and blacksmith. II*.' i horn Ireland 1SI5, wifo Mrs Mart 1 horn Inland 1831, married July 10, 1878. John L. w. was born Oneida county, settled Livingston county, died December 18, 1869; wife Martha Miller, horn 1881, married November 11, 1862; children DeWitt t I horn 1863, Nora, born 1867, Lillie, born Novemb 1869. Drew Libey, p o Nunda, farmer. 57 acres, bom Vermont 1806, settled 1847, wife Susan BoWell, horn New Hampshire married 1888; children one. Mary 1. . bora 1887. Dayton K i; ,p o N la, general job shop and pump manufac- turer, born Michigan 1881, settled 1849; wife Laura J. Gear, born Mon :ounti 1832, married is"*: . i | , , Peter, p o Nunda. cashier FlrSl National Hank. Eldridge Mllo.l . p o Nunda Station, general merchant. B i nga, medicines paints and oil! ing back a the station in the drug trade, born Ontario i v j , i- i l li i v; ; ' settled 1856 Brst wife Eliza Remington, horn is.,, married 1858 died l 52; childl n tv, i. Myrtle M born 1851 Elsie E son. horn Livingston count] D i i. , l 188 I children one. Warren S., 1866. Fuller William C . p Nunda, farmer. 54 a.,, setts 1819, has been postmaster nine years an i il from Im.I to 1870; wife Louisa C Guy, bora I ayuga count] married 1842; children Bevi a May I. born 1852, George C born 1855, Martha born ' i born 1865 Joshua Fuller was born Maaaachu- wifc Polly , m Massachusetts 1778, married 1799, died i i-.aehlisctts married 1801 .lied 1869 ohlldi a I Grimes John D..p o Nunda farmer horn Livingston county 1829 in A. . horn Br le county 1885, married 1852, • l.il- dr I |; |- i , rn Greene 1801, w died ' county 1808 i ' -'■ died 1877. p .Nunda .hahr 111 Wat.. lllvej act plated war. i " l "' 1 i s Bennett, horn i untj 1830 n XVI HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Hamsber John M . p Nunda. fanner, s .' acres, boru Livingston county 18*2; wife Ellen Egan, born Livingston county 1846, married 1868; children one, Frank M., born 1871. John Hamsher n as born in Pennsylvania 1805, settled 1805 died 1872; w Ife Sophia C. Hamsber, born Pennsyl- ■■ died 1878. Jones J. C, p o Nunda, farmer. ] 15 acres, born Allegany county l- K, settled 1849, died April 8, 1875; wire Frances Hue- gins, born Livingston county 1836, married 1851; chil- dren seven, Lorette, born 1856, Barley, bore 1857, Jas. W . born 1860, George B., born 1865, Alice L., born 1867, Mattie L., born 1871, Henry H., bom 1874. Elmer E, Batterson, born Chenango county 1852, settled 1858; wife Lorette Jones, born 1876; children two. Kiehle C. M.. p o Nunda, farmer. 164 acres, burn Livingston county 1*17. Father. Ruben Kiehle, born Pennsylvania 1808, settled 1835, farmer; wife Maria Hamsher, born Pennsylvania 1814, married 1835, children eight, Eliza- beth, Edward, Reuben, Hannah, Franklin, Charles M., Sarah, Daniel O. Lake F. D„ p o Nunda, dealer in hardware, nails, iron, tinware, stoves, paints, oils, rope, sash, glass, doors, blinds, etc., commenced business IKbtj, 185 acres, born Mt. Morris, Livingston county, April 3, 1832; wire Emily A. Pitch, born Wayne county, married January -I. 1855. Lemon, James, p o Nunda, retired farmer and merchant, born Livingston county I8l5, was captain in Company I, 1st N. Y. Dragoons in 1862 and served to the close of the war, was wounded in right hand, has been post master two years; first wife Janette Wood, born Ontario county 1816, married 1885, died IMS; second wife Mary A. Donelson, born lMii. married 1852, Mud 1857, third wifeE. H. Olney. married lHfi;}, died 1869, fourth wife, Laura Lovejoy. born Livingston county 1844, married 1875; children. Catharine Jane, Margaret A., Virginia T., Frank J. Miller Jonathan, p o Nunda, farmer. 5ft acres, born Livingston county 1829; wife Pbcsbe K Miller, born Nunda, mar- ried 1853; children three. Estella E , Mary L.. Myta P. Mc Naif James M . p o Nunda, farmer. 50 acres, born Livingston county l s: *'i, enlisted 1861, was captain of company F, 33d regiment, served two years, was quartermast. r at Washington six years; wire Emily Gilmore, burn Alle- gany county 1841, married 18(35; children four, Emma L., born IHtift, Charles Frauk, born 1871, May A., born 1875, Emily, born 1878. John C. McNairwas born Penn- sylvania 1794, settled 1796, died 1869. Hugh McNair was born Pennsylvania 1765, Settled 1796, died Decem- ber ^7, 1845, he was a judge for many years in the court of common pleas, and member of legislature, was also county clerk. Myers Peter, p o Nunda, farmer, 75 acres, born Livingston coun- ty 18-1'J. Father Peter Myers, born New Jersey 1790, BOltled 1825, died 1874; mother Betsey S. Myers born Seneca county 1815, married 1840, McCullough L.K ,p o Nunda, tailor and cutter, bornMiddletown, t ..nil., 1818, settled I8jj9; wife Qfandana Dayton, born in Canada 1833, married 1854; children four, Delia A., Viola J., Eva L., Minnie, Myers Monroe, rj o Nunda, planing mill and general job work, born Livingston county 1833; wife Eliza Tripp, burn 1835, married 1856; children two, Melviu M., born 1859 Peed J., boi a 1878, Murray Patrick, p Nunda, farmer, 85 acres, boru Ireland 1823, settled 1852; wife Catharine Boylbone, boru Ireland 1832, married 1852; children seven, Mary A., Rosa B., John, Daniel, Catharine, Margaret, Bridget. Merrick D. S,, p Nunda, farmer, lumber dealer and black- smith. 51 '., acres, burn Herkimer county 1*17, settled 1818; wife Almira Chase, burn Maine 1819, married 1843; children 3, Julia, Clarissa, Mary. George W. Merrick was born Connecticut 1793, settled 1818, died 1880, was n pi ineiii man and held the offices Of justice of t lie peaee and supervisor; wife Sophia Paine, burn Herki jii.i- county 1796, married 1*1 ti, died March 6, 1861; chil- dren two. Norris James W., p o Nunda, farmer, B3^ acres, born Phelps, Ontario county 1804, settled l*t!»; first wife L. Marlett, born Monroe county 1810, married 1829, died 18-4fi; sec- ond wife Mrs Adeline Pierce Brcwnson, born Cayuga Co. married IN IT. died May 28, 1>7>; third wile Mrs, (lar- inda Batterson Hayward, born Livingston county 18^5, married October 1, 1876; children seven, living nve. Parker M. Sanford, hotel, livery and farming, the Parker House was erecte>, 1827; children two, Ann M.. born .June 80, 1828, WellB, born Aj.nl 15, 1880. (irst wire Emily B. Phillips, boru Wyoming county 1882, married 1851, died 1870; children two; second wife Celia M. Doolittle. born Otsego county 18(4, married 1871; children two. Earl D.. r red E., Carrie A . Mary ('. Petteys E. S., p o Nunda, farmer. !'l acres, bum Cayuga county 1836, settled 1858; wife May N. Day, born Allegany COUnty 1888, married 1858; children two. Cora A., born 1859, William E . burn 1862. Jacob Petteys. was born Cayuga county I&03, settled 1886, deceased; wife Hep sibah Satterlee, born I81j5, married 1821. Passage George E.. p o Nunda Station, carpenter and joiner and builder, seven seres born Livingston county 1848, was elected assessor 1879; wife Charlotte Lyon, born Con- nect nut 1841, married 1870; children threo, Louis, born 1875, Plyn L , born 1877. Neil L., born October. 1879. Peter Passage, p o Nunda Station, tanner, born Her- kimer county 1812, settled 1841; wife Harriet Ward, born Herkimer county 1817, married 1842. Paine Carlos Grant, po Nunda. farmer and lumberman 10963 acres, bum Herkimer county February 20, l s 1 I, Si 1832; (irst wife Jerusba Swilt, born 18 1 1, married 1885, died 1853; children four. Delos S,. bum 1840, Fannie A., born 1838, Harriet u.. burn 1836, Nathan A., burn 1861; second wife Nancy Sweet Burdick, born Delaware Co. 1S17, married IS51. Ezra Burdick. born 1*45, Mary .lane Burdick, born 1841, settled 1851, Abraham Burdick was born 180 1 and died 1850; wire Nancy Sweet, mar- ried 1836. Passage Daniel, p o Nunda, farmer and mineral springs,150 acres, born Herkimer county 1817, settled istiii, has been com- missioner of highways four years; wife Nancy White, born AllegaDV county ltWO, married 1840: children five. Charlotte, born 1842, Martha D., born 1843, Frank W . born 1854, Waiter s . bom 1868, Luella, bum 1862. Hi- ram A., born 1845, was in the late war. was taken pris- oner and died in Andersonville prison 1864. Robinson William V.. p o Nunda. druggist, born West Sparta 1843, has oeen supervisor, wite Charity Smith, boiu Nunda, married 1865; children two. Richmond B. P., p o Nunda. retired merchant and farmer, 218 acres, born Massachusetts 1812, settled 1886; children, Georgia \V.. born 1840, Anna E , born 1842, Charles D., born 1856 Sanders C. K., p o Nunda, editor and publisher of Nunda News, paper established 1859, was appointed postmaster 186i by President Lincoln, and again in INtftby Hayes; wife Harriet E Tousey, boru Dausville. married March, 1861 ; children one. Seager Jacob, p o Nunda. farmer and preacher, 88 acres, born Ulster county 1804, settled 1850; wife Aseuath Tobias; children six! Henrietta, Sally. Catherine, Asenatb, Susan, Ellis P. Swain Samuel, p o Nunda. retired merchant, farmer and rail- road director, 110 acres, born North wood, N. !l , 1809, settled 1818: first wife Cynthia Jeffries, born Cayuga county 1810. married 1884, dud 1850; second wife Clara J. Jeffries, born 1822, married 1854; children live. Sam- uel J., Charles J , Julius C, Emma. Katie. JTowne Arba, p o Nimda Station retired tamer 100 acres, be bought his land of Mr. Norton of the land company, and through fraud was compi 111 d '0 pay for it the sec- ond time, he was born in Massachusetts 1804, settled IMS; wife Mary Ecker, boru Herkimer county 1191, married 1825. died 1873 W. II. Pierce was bum Liv- ingston county 1842, and married Irena Towne, who was born 1841, married October 29, lt67: children two, Bertha, born 1872, Matilda, born 1880. Thompson Luther, p o Nunda Station, farmer, carpenter and joiner. 01 acres, boru Massachusetts is ■'.>, settled 1837, has been pat h master; wire Mart ha Holland, born Mas- sachusetts 1810, married 1837; children four, Joseph A., Henry A., Jonathan T., Dirext V, J. Luther Thomp son was born Livingston county 1888, enlisted in 1881 in Company A, 104th Regiment, under Col. Korback. was taken prisoner, sent to Belle Island prison, died by starvation February 16, 1864. Cordino s. Thomp- son, born Livingston county 1811, enlisted in Company A, I04tb Regiment, was wounded In first battle of Fredericksburg 1862, taken prisoner and never after heard of. Townseml John H . p o Nunda, farmer 280 acres, born Hunter, Greene county 1793, settled 1822, was in war of 1812, is a pensioner; wife Mary Van le\ 'enter, born New Jer- sey 1795, married 1824; children five, living three, John B., Peter, Gideon. Tracy John, p o Nunda, farmer. 210 acres, born Ireland 1828, settled 1852; wife Bridget treed, burn 1883, married 1858; children eight, Margaret. Thomas, Michael, Mary, Catharine, James. William, Patrick Margaret Donahue, born Ireland 1*01, married Michael Tracy 1824, settled is;,7. Van Bnskirk John, p o Nunda Station, farmer. 92 acres, bom in Qreene county 1821, settled 1851; wife Eliza Gt, Willis. born Steuben county is.i-'i, married 1851: children, Charles Henry, born June •,*.">. 1853, Lydia Jane, born October 80, 1857, James Andie, born June 26, 1870, died Julj 9, 1871, Charlotte A., born is; I. PERSONAL STATISTICS. xvii Warren Noah, p o Nunda, retired farmer, born New Hampshire 1793. settled 1818; wife Ursula Cole, born Otsego coun- ty 1791. married 1816, died 1870; children sis living four. Porter, born ISIS, Esther, born 1825, Gorbam N. , bom 1832, Lyman, born 1835; wife Sarah Greenwood born England 1836, married 1860; children five, Emma and Eva. twins, born 1862. Jessie, born 1863, Harry L born 1867, Frank, born 1875. Willey Joseph D , p o Nunda, farmer, 9 acres and homestead, born Canada 1S17, settled 1839, died 1862: wife Catha- rine Smith, born Saratoga county 1818. married 1840; children six, Paul E . born 1841, Emma, horn 1843,Celia, born 1851, Florence, born 1853, Luuis F., born 1855, "Wilford E., born 1857. Wakeman Miles H, p o Nunda Station, born Fairfield, Conn., 1825, settled 1850, las been ju>tice of the peace; wife Electa Newton, born Portage 1824, married 1852; chil- dren four, Willie N., Frank E., Miles E , Nellie S. Woodworth J. R., p o Nunda, foundry and blacksmithiug, born Madison county 1825. settled 1846; wife Aurelia Hay, bi rn Livingston county 1827, married 1848; children two, Mary E. Nellie I. Commenced the foundry busi- ness 1878, buildings, 36x60 and 42x22, employing five men; wagon making, repairing, and the manufacture of the combination (steel) field, garden and potatoe hoe and hook specialties. Willard H.. p o Nunda, born Livingston county 1855, general furniture dealer and undertaker; his factory was built in 1850 by Mr. Tuttle, later owned by Mr. Barkley and bought by present propiietor January, 18S0, he em- ploys from seven to ten men and keeps constantly on hand a general assortment of the best quality of fur- niture and carpets. Whitenacl: Cornelius p o Nunda. farmer, 115 acres, born Cayuga county 1811, settled 1836; wife Lucinda Duryee, born Cayuga county 1813, married 1835; children four, Bell, Arminda, Elizabeth, Charles. Whipple Jacob, p o Nunda, farmer, 100 acres, born Livingston county 1830; wife Joanna Faulkner, born Bath, Steu- ben county 1843. married 1862; children three, Carrie born 1866, Kate F., born 1869, Freddie R., born 1871. Elisha Whipple was born 1804, settled 1855, died May 29, 1863; wife Maria Post, born Cayuga county 1803, died 1819; children nice. George Whipple, born Liv- ingston county 1829, farmer, 95 acres, wife Helen M. Herriek, born Castile 1834, married 1853; children two, William, born 1866, Charles Seldon, born 1872. Whipple Henry, p o Nunda, farmer. 12 acres, born Livingston coumy 1833; wife Elizabeth Smith, born Livingston county 1858, married 1876. OSSIAN. Ackley W. J-, proprietor St. Jamos Hotel. Bonner Samuel C, p o Ossian, farmer. 202 acres, born Ossian June 20, 1825; wife Mary M. Scott, horn Ossian. mar- ried 1857; children two, Fred C, Nellie. Benson Edward, p o Dansville, farmer, 50 acres, born June 4, 1808, settled 1864; wife W. Finn, married 1863; children Mary, Thomas, Jane. Ellen. 'Bush Henry, p o Ossian. farmer, 100 acres, born 1836. Box James L„ p o Ossian. Clendenin Jacob, p o Ossian. farmer, 52 acres, born Ossi has been justice of the peace: wife Mary Ann Kemp born Cayuga county, married October 20, 184 ; children John. A. B.. Jacob. Catharine. Joel, Charles, Rhoda. Canfleld Charles, p o Dansville. farmer, 380 acres, born Monroe county 1813, settled 1827; has been assessor: wife A. M. Smith, born Onondaga county, married 1837; chil- dren five. Covert F. F., p o Dansville. Geiger E. H., p o Dansville. Hol'dridge George G., p o Canaseraga. farmer, 370 ceres, horn Wayne county December 29, 1803, settled I school commissioner, captain and assessor's clerk; ehildr n seven, Ella, Emma, George, Nannie, Miner. Blanche, John. Heath William, p o Ossian. farmer. 118 acres, born Monroe county April 88. 1810, settled 1846; wife Khoda Scott, mairied 1850; children. John W . Ella A . Matilda J. Hyde Corydon, p o Dansville, farmer, 571 acres, born Livonia. August 26, 1814, has been town clerk and town super- intendent; wife Ann Lemen. married October 1 1 children four, Henry C, William L., Charles E., Jen- nie L. lla-adoru James, p o Ossian. carriage maker, bom Ln county 1824; wife Esther Crumb, married 184 dren four. Hampton Isaac, p o Ossian. . I , in. n L C. p o Dansville. farmer, lib acres, born Ossian Sep- tember 2, 1833, has been supervisor and juste, Catharine E. Boyes. born Ossian. married November 16, 1859; children one, Virginia II. Linzy Daniel, p Dansville, farmer. 50 acres, born 1 ^prilii 1806, settled 1849, has been poormaeter: wire Edith Wells, married 1873; children nine. John Catha- rine Elizabeth, William, Julia, .lames. Alee. Matilda, R. ('. McCurdy A., po Dansville, farmer, ■.•in acres, born Livingston county January 31, 1826, has 1IM | „. sessor; « < : rune .'i is'.:, chll- „ ,.. , <}*•" ,iv *'- EI1 |f. Fred >' : M ■' Jona I. . \ mc\ men « iiliain. p ,, Dansville. farmei and teach has i '• '812; w-ii [,| i liirri in ingat on „ „ ty. married October I, i-li . children four. McCurdy David, p o Dansville. farmer, 'Jo.", acres, horn Sparta 1816, lias bl children eleven. Price Israel, p o Ossian, termer and lumberman, 6 acres horn Pike county Pa 1809 has been ci sioner of highways: wife .Ian,. Covert, married Ocioi.er i i-iv . hildrcn. Mary Ann - * Israi I ir II.: i i) Price Lemuel rarmei an born berS, 182(1. has bi conin.. county, man., . I March 8, 1850 children foui i H . i. M . i a. u.esl \ mo,., Blanche. Roberts Daniel, p o Ossian, farmer and meel , Penn- sylvania September 15, 1800, settled 1849; wife Martha Roberts, married 1819; i bildren six, Khoda. I Hi n, Dan iei. Mary Ann, M<> Robinson M, p ii D ■ mberman and farm born IMS. settled 1846, has be ways and overseer of poor: wife Harriet P Knspp born Ossian, married May 29, 1852: children two, vli ginia Alice. Samuel Albert. Scott Samuel, p o Scottsburgh. White S. D., p o Dansville, farmer, born New Hampshire Ocl 1, 1*10, settled 1814, has I n constable; wife Russ, born Petersburgb, M. Y., married 1830 el six, Martin. Solomon, Bveret, Mary, Hattie, Lot White Win. M . p o Canaseraga, farmi - u eiiiiieiii G ' • p o Da nsville. PORTAGE. THE following article, furnished by the kindness of Mr CD. Bennett, was received ton late for insertion XXI; 1. nt as it is worth} of pn we insert it in this connection Portage was in Albany county from its organization, Novem- ber 1. 1683, Boon after the colony of Ne* Yoik was taken by the English from the Duttii. It was in Tryon county from March I ■ .'. till that name was changed to Montgomery, April 2, 1784. It became a part of Ontario county January :'. 1788, and was embraced in the town of Northampton, which included the Morris reserve, in K'.C. .Muni, came a pari cester. Gene-' and was included in the town of An- ■■'. 1805. It went to Allegany county at its formation, April .. 1806, and was included in Nunda at its or ganization, March 11. 1808. It was erected as a town and named Portage, from the carrying place round the Genesee Falls 1827. April I. 1846, ii was annexed to Livingston ty, about one fourth its area, lying west of the river, being with a part of Pike constituted the town of Genesee Falls, and set to Wyoming county al [me. it was a part of the Morris e, and is wholly within thi by Hubert Morris to Gerritt Cottringer, and which lies t the Transit and the Picket line Lake to Granger rent re. ii waa boob aitei wards bought by John Hornby, of Scotland, ade John Greig, of < at for its sale and settlement. He employed Klisha Johnson to survey and sub-dh Ide ii mi 1807. The lotsare oblong, about three-fourths of a mile long and da wide, containing aboul 160 acres and number from l to , i i . ... , wii of Pori ■ I i On every lot Mr. Johnson noted the quality of the soil, and the kind and quail. . cial reference to the amount of pine. On every pine lot hi be amount of pine timber as equivalent to a certain number of acres thickly set with good pines. Nearly one-fourth of the town in the northern part was main* tred with oak. chestnut, hickory, etc , with too little pine .t was estimated al ti on i a lot. ! bile the total of to In the towi very m pes. XV111 HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Probably no measurement was ever made of the quantity of lumber cut from a given acre of land; but. on some acres it was estimated as high as "5,000 feet of pine. Some trees were of gigantic size, measuring over 200 feet in height, and some over 7 feet in diameter; a log 12 feet long making 2,000 feet of lumber one inch thick. There was a large quantity of splendid oak, some that would saw 5,1)00 feet of lumber to the tree. Along the streams stood a large growth of maple, cucumber, etc. The timber us it stood would be worth more at present prices than the real estate aDd personal property now in town. The soil is mostly a sandy and gravel] loam, dry and warm. suitable for the growth of corn and winter wheat. Though at about the same altitude with the towns west of the river, the snow fall is much less than there and compara- tively free from drifts, while the spring comes on a week or more earlier. Though her acreage is less than half the average of the other towns in the county, the number of her freeholders is 130, while their average is little over 31 The upper valley of the Genesee river is 1,100 feet above tide water, and more than 500 feet higher than the lower valley at Mt. Morris. The intervening distance the river runs through deep gorges or cations, in a direct course about 12 miles. The Erie railroad is about 350 feet higher than the river val- ley, while the surface of the south part of the town rises as much higher, or 1,600 feet above tide water. Through Portage lay the shortest and easiest route between the Squakie Hill and Caneadea reservations, and here the trail of Ihe Indian had been traveled tor centuries. Here was con- structed the Genesee Valley canal. The easiest grade across the river, till far north, is through this town, and here the Erie railroad was laid The ever-increasing stream of migration westward that gel iu after the Revolution and the destruction of the Indians' power, seemed to stop with the century, at the Genesee river. It followed two principal channels: one up the Susquehannah and iis branches into Allegany; the other over the level land north of the hike country. The new century gave vigor and volume to the west-bound rush. The Holland Company was laying roads to lure it on. Connecticut was leading it to her reserve iu Ohio. Southern Livingston was between the streams. The various 1 1 acts it comprised were not in the market. It was thickly set- tled by squattersof that rough and restless class who like to live on the verge of civilization and prefer the liberty that is not limited by law In lSUi, George Williams, sent by Mr. Gre.'g to act as resident agent, opened a land office on Oak Hill, near the deep cut. Set- tlers came in rapidly, so that in a few years nearly every lot was sold at from $3.50 to $4.50 per acre. Though strong induce- ments were offered to incline some of the scores of squatters to buy and remain. Ephraim Kingsley. a noted hunter from Ver- mont, was, perhaps, the only one who bought and settled. They sold their "betterments" for what they could get and went west. Where the old Allegany road crosses the East Coy and West, Coy creeks, settlers began to stop in 18C5-6. March 11. 1808, tbey procured the erection of the town of Nuuda, 1*2 miles by •Jl now constituting the towns of Centerville, Eagle, Genesee Falls. Granger, Grove, llum<\ Nunda, Pike and Portage. For several years Mr. Ivingsley. who lived a mile below Nunda village, was the only town officer elected east of the river; but with the rapid settlement of the Cottringer trait, it was evi- dent that tin- center of population would soon fall east of the Transit line. The founders of Nunda, at their own request, were consti- tuted a new town named Pike, aftei General Albert Pike, and Unk Hill became the business center of Nu:: da, then twelve miles square. March oth. 1818. The Tuscarora tract and other lands comprised in the present town of Nunda soon after were offered for salo and settlement. The town was inconveniently large and several plans for its division were proposed at suc- cessive town meetings till March Bth, 1827. Portage was set olT six miles square, containing most of the population t hat had con stituted Nunda. On the erection of a new town ti generally takes the new name, as when Angelica was formed from Leicester and Nunda from Angelica but Smith's Mills ■ Portage- ville) was ambitious to become a town center, and effected a division of the town, by consequence taking the new name, while Nunda was again moved easl « aid into tin' recent wilder less, retaining tin- booksand Mies of papers made by the Doles, the Grangers. Griffiths, Newcombs, Skiffs and .Mills, common names iu Pike, but foreign to modern Nunda. The business relatione of Portage and Nunda were mostly with the dealers in Livingston county, and a large majority of the people preferred that their political connections should go with them. At the town meeting held in Portageville in 1846 the voters preseut from the east side of the river almost unan- imously voted toil,-,! ii m Allegany county into Livingston, while those from the west side voted in favor of being set into \\\ oming county. Probably no other town was settled with a population so uni- formly of Yankee origin. The north part, called North Oak Hill, was settled by the hakes. Millers. Moshers, Giffords, and many others originally from New England. A few years later it was said that there were seventy tive blood relations in their school district. Messenger's Hollow, now called Oakland, was settled by the Fitches, Hills. UcNairs, Messengers, Swains and others, mos'ly related. On Oak Hill carno the Adamses, Frenches, Markses. Robin- sons. Smites. Spencers, Strangs, etc., relatives from Pawlet, Vt. Eastof them settled the Newtons, Pattersons, Thompsons, relatives, from Coleraine, Mass. Around Hunt's Hollow were the Aliens, Bennetts, ('larks. Cobbs, Hunts, Devoes. Nashes, Parmelees, Slaters, Roots, Wil- liamses, etc., mainly from Connecticut. Pennycook (so named by Mr, Rosebrook at his raising of the first log house there i was settled later by people from various places. The town was long distinguished for the excellence of its common schools and for the number of teachers it sent forth. It has always been a temperance town, perhaps because it has but little village population. In the Morgan excitement it was strongly Anti-Masonic. It became as decidedly Whig, and is now as much so Republican. Of the more thau twenty saw-mills built on the banks of the river and Cashaqua creek the last one failed nearly twenty years ago. The vast quantity of pine lumber cut by them was run iu rafts to Rochester, there assorted by the buyers into three qualities and sold at an average of 15, £:, and $10 per M, the poorer quality outmeasuring both the others. The risks and labor of rafting ceased when the Genesee Val- ley Canal was completed to Mt. Morris in 1840, for it was better to haul lumber the sixteen miles than to raft it, but Portage had sold most of her lumber before that time. or. rather, she had given the lumber, and got small pay for the cost and labor of handling it. One saw-mill of ■-',<>' K I I, et per day capacity succeeds the score of former years, lumber and shingles come to us from Michigan and Canada, and even climb the hills to Allegany. Nor are tho families of the pioneers more permanent than their works, bli- the descendauts of only seven of them, viz: of David Bennett, George Gearhart, John McFarlane, Naih. Olney, Robert W. Thompson, George Williams and Solomon Williams now hold any part of the premises originally taken by them from the land office. Thomas Tousoy Bennett was one of tbe seven brothers who assisted in clearing tbe wilderness and developing the water power at Hunt's Hollow. His mill for fulling, coloring and dressing the home made cloth of the early settlers was erected about l*.'l or 1828, and was for a long time a prominent feature in the business of the place. Of the twelve saw-mills on the Cashaqua creek in the town of Portage the one built by him and Deacon Samuel Swain was one of the best. He died in 1849, leal in; four boys and three girl;, all of whom settled in western states, except Sarah, the youngest daughter. She married William Tousey in.'1845, and. soon occupied the Tousey homestead. They have there reared a family of four children, viz: Lucy Cornelia, Emma Jane, Carrie A. and Lucius C. Tousey. PERSONAL STATISTICS. \i\ el C , ]) o Hunts, farmer, Inn acres, born Scipio Cay- ;a county, May 16, 1815, settled .May 16, 1821 was ipervisor 1868-63; wite Cornelia Botslbrd. bora Sen- Bennett Joel C uga supeiviBor looa-oa; who uornelia Botslord, born Sen nett, Cayuga county, married November 1" 1850: ohil dren four. Ada E . born December is, 1851 Nora M born August 80, 1857, C'ari D., born January 28, 1860 E' Warner, born April 30, 1860. Bennett Charles D., ]i o Hunts, farmer and surveyor, 250 acres born Cayugi county February 1."), 1819, settled 182l' lias been supervisor and highway commissioner: wite Huldah Olney, born Cayuga county August 88, 18ifl married December 15, 18'i3; children three, Carrie M. born Texas June 15. 1855 Ellura, born Texas. Decem- ber 88. 1856, Charles B , born Portage May 5, I860. Beardsley George B., p o Hunts, farmer. 11)1) acres, born Cay- uga county April 81, 1888, settled 1851; wife Catharine Sutherland, born Portage January 5, 1841, married October 17, 1861; children two, Hattie M . born Octo- ber 31, 1863, Willie G ., born December 7, 1867. Beardsley Jared, p o Hunts, farmer and stock dealer, 163 acres born Oakland county, Mich., May 80, 18311, settled ] sr. I ' has been assessot ; wife Mary T'Brauch, born Cayuga county, married April 8, ISHS; children four, Alice C born July 9, 1870. Maiy T.. born December 15, 1871, Lotta S., born July 5, 1814, J. Ray, born June 35, 1876. Bailey James H., p o Hunts, farmer, 87 acres, born Steuben county February 19,1830, settled 1818, hns been school trustee; wife Mary Hanford, born Saratoga county, married October 8, 1851; children four. Bennett Nathaniel H., poOakland. farmer, HOacres, born Port- age 1827, has been assessor and school trustee; wife Elizabeth Wright, born Saratoga county; children four. Bennett J. Yates, p o Hunts, lumbering, 30 acres, born Portage November 30, 1838, has been notary public, has a saw- mill on Spring brook— the only nue in Portage; first wife Mariette Galusha, married 1862; second wife Elizabeth Branch, married 1878; children one, Arthur Yates Bennett, born 1873. Bennett C. F., p o Portageville. Brogar. P. M..po Portageville. Brooks Laura A., p o Brooks Grove. Carrick Robert, p o Oakland, farmer, 650 acres, born Perthshire, Scotland. July 12, 179S. settled 1834, has been commis- sioner of highways sixteen years; wife Margaret Ann McKill, born Glasgow, Scotland, October 1. lsis, set- tled 1887, married December 3, 1838; children eight, Mary Jane, born March 4, 1841, Clarissa C, born Janu- ary 26, 1843, Robert B., born April li, 1846, John W., born July 31. 1850, William W., born May 25, 1853, Flor- ence E., born January 8, 1855, Charles 1., born March 7, 1859. Margaret Ann, born September 6, 1849. Cofliu Latham, po Nunda, farmer, lilt acres, born Mt. Morris October:,]. 1825, has been assessor six years and jus- tice of the peace twelve years; wife Jennett E. Burr, born Haddam, Conn , married 1803; children four, Peleg Coffin was one of the first settlers in Mt. Mor- ris. Clarke I. B , p o Nunda. farmer, 50 acres, born Livingston coun- ty November::. ]S8ii; wife Elizabeth Lake, born Liv- ingston couuty December 88. 1827, married April 7, 1853; children two, Ada E.. born Conesus August 28, 1855. George B., born Conesus February 28, 1858. Clark Amos R., p o Hunts, farmer. 100 acres, born Allegany county February 20. 1831, settled in county 1S67; wife Mary Oleott, born Portage ls35. married August 19, 1856; three children. Henry W.. Rosa E.. Wither T., born February 8. 1S63; all born in Allegany county. Dickens Charles H . p o Nunda Station, farmer, 35 acres, born Tompkins county December VS.1817, settled 1854; wife Sarah Ann Thompson, born Portage October 34, 1822, married May 25. I sit; children four. David Edgar, born April 9. 1816, Robert Emmet, born October 8, 1848, Frank Oliver, born November 13, 1851, MahlonC, born March SO. 1856. Gearhart John, p o Nunda Station, farmer, 160 acres, born Cay- uga couuty January 3. 1801, settled 1816; wile Eliza- beth C. Guthrie, born New Jersey August 13. 1SII8, mar- ried June 38. 1838; children ten. living seven. Charles H , born May 8, 1839, Hannah C, born December 39, 1830, John, born November 14, 1838, Sarah A., born February 3, 1834, Mary E., bora -May 16, 1836, Martha A., born February 14. 1S:;9, William C , born February 25, 1841, Nathaniel A., born September 8.'.. 1843, George A., born September 15, 1845. G6arhart George, p o Nunda Station, Farmer, 140 acres, born Cayuga county November 11, IS!,'., settled I-!., has been highway commissioner and assessor; wife Surah Baldwin, born Tompkins county July 3 1817; married culyl 1837; children nine, George M.. born June !. 1838 died October 19, 18114, F. F., born October 33. 1889, Altn'elia. horn July 11. 1811. Edwin D., born January 27 1843 died May 6, 1843, Esther A., born July 3, 1847, Meriitt 11 , born August '-'I, 1848, .Mary P., horn July -.';.. 185'. Frank A , bom September 20, 1859 Bertha I. , born September 16. 1857, died August 29, 1864, Gilpatrick t'henes c, p o Nunda stutioD, farmei acri born V' rk county, Maine, January 6, 1817. settled 1850; wife H.-stcr A Scott, born Ellsburgh. Jefferson coun tv N V .March 23. 18 is. married Jul] 11 • ■ Bar na'h Gilpatrick. born January 81. lis;, died February 33. 1808, Children Delia V. Dean, born Bums, Allegany county, April 8, 1867. Griffith John M OhO M , po Oakland, millet ale! I,,,,,!,,, s „, , , ,.. , Steuben i mntj 1824, tattled 1844 ba i bei n hi ' " ™i wife Caroline M vanScoter, born Sparta married 1849; children two II Hewitt Peleg W„ p o Hunts, farmer, 145 aores born county. N V , February 81. 1822, settled Februarj a 18.,,, has been poormaster. highway comlsslouer and excise commissioner; wife Nancj Thompson born Franklin county Ma July 15, 18l8, married U her i\ |8|.,; children live. Wilson s . born Po October 31. 1816, Cornelia, horn February u isfd Alice v.. born March 17, 1850. Edwin C , born July 28' 18.>t, Mary J., burn August 81, isili Hinkluy Owen E., p o Hunts, farmer, 97 aores. bom Vermont May 21st. 1886, settled 1888, was in the nth N.-„ York. Heavy artillery twentj uve months, was discharged by ordei ol war department as a paroled prisoner' wife Cornelia a. llinmaii born Greene i oty n v married September 24, is i, , children I hree Kneeland li, F. p Nun. la Station, physician and BUI born Onondaga county June .!, isj:, sealed 1851 has been supervisor tuo in,,,., wife Harriet Nil, s born June 1 1. 1852, Lockwood Thorn. is i; . p ,, Hunts, farmer, 03 acres, horn Con- | lieut January 17, 1810, settled 1889, has i, over seer Of the poor thirteen years; wile l.ucv C Smith born Onondaga oounty; children four, George M hoekw 1 was in the 83d New Fork Volunteers during the late war; was chief clerk of the interior under Schurz, Lyon J. S., p o Nunda Station, farmer. Morse Chauncey, p o Nunda Station, farmer. '.it acres, born Port- age May 10, 1837; wife Jane K Gilpatrick, horn Allega- ny inly. N v.. Ma) , isn. married December 11) 1862; children one. Fred It., born December 88, ls,;s Morse Marvin, settled 1836, died Juueti, 187i; Morse George, p o Nunda Station, farmer. 98 aores, born Rens- seia r county. N. Y., December 26, 1882, settled Octo- ber 1835; wife Orpha L. Smith, horn Allegany county May I. 1838, married April 7, 1KHI ; children three', Charles Raymond, born April r. 1868, Frank Edwin, born January 2, 1873, Orpha Belle, born January 12 1878 Merithew Hiram, p o Nunda Station, farmer, 56 acres, born Washington county. N. Y., March 19. 1798, settled 1867; wife Laura Bailey, born Allegany county December 25, 1819, married May 8, 1858; children two, Seneca s , born Nunda March 31. 1854, Willis A., born September 1, 185.-,. McFarline Alexander, p o Nunda. farmer, 93 acres, horn Portage, has been assessor and highway commissioner; wife Cynthia Spencer, born Portage, married 1850; chil- dren one; father John McFarline, settled 182U, and cleared the present homestead. Nash Enos A., p o Hunts, farmer, 711 acres, born Wilton, I February 13. lsir. settled 1885, has been assessor and town clerk; wife Elenora B. Stockwell. born Vermont, married October 80. 1811; children three, living two. Adelbert who was in the 1th New fork Heavy artillery was wounded in the hand and was also in Libby Pri- son. Parmelee C. L., p o Hunts, station agent. Robinson E. F . p o Hunts, farmor and lumberman. SO acres, born Portage January 19, 1819. Robinson Charlotte, torn Fulton county. N. V. January 18, 1795, settled 1818, married November28, !M7; children eight; she is the oldest settler now living in the town. Randall Charles H., poOakland. farmer, horn Whitehall. W, , ington county. N. Y., 1817. settled 1- iper- visor and justice of the peace twelve years, and sion justice three terms; wife I born Whitehall, N. Y . married July !.. 1M-: children eight, living four, James B., was in I69tfa regiment, and was killed at the battle of t 'oi, i Harbor June Itl David L., was a volunteer in the 180th New York lira- goons. Sexton Nelson, p o Hunts, farmer and ' sores, horn lister county. N. X"., October 16, I s '.';. settled 1851 ha been : I trustee and collector: wife 1 nab Lane, born Wyoming county, N. Y , November II, 1827, married January 20 1858; children fou C, born July 18, 1 Q u., born January 18, 1861, Nelson Jr., horn April 28, 1863, Hattie I., bom Sep- tember I 1868 Smith Lyman born Daiibury, Fairfield county. I ODD.. January 88. 1808, settled 1882, died June 6, I8i i ■ with Anil Smith wife Mary Sheppard. I, "in Newtown. Fairfield county. Conn., November i\ 1809, married November 80, 1880; children three. Smith Amnion, p o Hunts, farmer. 260 111 airy. Fairfield oounty, > loon . March 20, 1810, - DaB he< -'l 11 ! assessor nine J wife .Inoa hi Nash, horn Newtown, Conn,, married lldren oi \ andaliii. po Hunts, farmer. 800 acres, horn Portage May 80, 1829; wife Betsej Hurry. Smith Hiram. p Hunts, f I Januarj i 1819, settled 1850, has been )u ei and II Com ti.ot, married May 18, 1846; children all, living four HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Towsey William, p o Hunts, farmer, 100 acres, born Genesee county, N. Y., July 16, 1816; wife Sarah Bennett, born Portage October 29, 1820. married October 30, 1846, children six, L. Cornelia, born October 3, 1*47, Emma J., born August 80, 1849, Carrie A , born February 17. 1851, Cbarlea B , born June 86, 1868, died November 27, 1857, William C. born July 22, 1866, died November 1, 1857, Lucius C . born July 16, i860. Trailer Robert P.. p o Portageville. farmer. Mil acres, born Liv- ingston county June s - 1881; wife Delia Allen, born Saratoga county, married December 28, 1872; children one William Allen, bom Saratoga county July 13, 1800; Clara Deuel, born in Saratoga county, July 13, 1795. Thompson Kobert W., p o Oakland, farmer, 172 acres, born Colerain. Mass., July 26, 1822, .settled 1823, has been highway commissioner and assessor; first wife Sarah E. VanSlyke, born Wyoming county June 20, is. 1 :}, died June 25, 1858; children two. Klletta B., born June 27, 1849, Annette E., born July 20, 1858; second wife Cyn- thia Andrus, horn Hartford county, Conn , September 25, 1829, mairled May 23. 18 9; children live. Chester W.. born June 23, 1862, Sarah E., born November 22, 1st,;, Lincoln A . born October 31. 1866, Luther R , born August 31, 1869, May, born May 1, 1872, died August 6, 1872. Tabor Clark W., p o Nunda Station, farmer, 130 acres, born Port- age August 8, 1884, has been town clerk; wife Sarah A. Lake, born Allegany county November 20, 1839, married April 10, 1862; children four. Cora L.. born April 22, 18*13, AlbertO., born September 7, 1805, May L., born April 26, 1868, Harry C. born December 15, 1 869. Townsend William, p Hunts, farmer, carpenter and joiner, 60 aeres. born Allegany county April :;n, 1832, settled 18ti7. has been commissioner of highways; wife Laura White, born Allegany county June 18, 1830, married February 1, 1857; children three. Julia, born Nunda March 26, lr59, (J race B., born Allegany county Sep- tember 12, 1807, Willie R., born Portage July 22. (869. Wilder Nathaniel, p o Hunts, farmer. 118jtf aires, born Buck- land, Franklin county. Mass., December 3, 1813, set- tled 1820; wife Cecelia Paine, born Livingston county May 29, 1821, married November 30, 1848; children four; father Allen Paine, settled 1818, on me from Leicester with two yoke of oxen when this country wasa wilder- ness. Wilner Marcus W., p o Portageville, farmer, 195 acres, born Portage January 4, 1825, has been supervisor two terms and assessor two terms; wife Susan A. Adams, born Ohio, married 1850; children four, Wilner Merriman J., p o Portageville, farmer, 114 acres, born Portage December 12, 1828, has been supervisor two terms and highway commissioner] wife Sarah M. San- ford, born Connecticut, married December 1856; chil- dren two; George Wilner was in war of 1812, settled soon after. Williams George, p o Portageville, farmer, 2,000 acres, born Massachusetts May 20, 1798, settled 1813, was member of Legislature about 182)1, agent, for Cottinger's tract, and first postmaster: wife Alma Devoe, born Cayuga county, married August 18, 1815; children six, living three. Williams J. J., p o Hunts, merchant. SPARTA. Buskirk Samuel, p o Scottsburgh, retired farmer, 131 acres, born December 12, 1806; wife R. Allen, born Washington county, married 1831, Blakely Rev. D C, p o Scottsburgh, clergyman. Baisel J. E., p o Scottsburgh. Culbertson John A . p o Dansvillo, farmer 8.". acres, born Sparta June 8, 1843, settled 1843, has been assessor eight years, was in late war in 54th N. Y. N. G., company E, father was a pioneer in town ; wife Lillie D. Galbraith, born Groveland November 13, 1857, married Jueo Otb, 1877; children one, Johnie G. Driesbach Elias, p o Dansville, farmer, 180 acres, born Sparta February 17, 1822; wife Susannah Kidd, born Mauch Chunk, Pa., December 1 8, 1828, married January 10, 1846; children six, Susan C., born November 2, 1845, Lydia A., born September 28, 1848, Mary Olivia, born October 7, 1851, Rosa Joan, born August 7, 1857, Joseph Henry, born June 3, 1859, Emma Alice, born May 10, 1864. Driesbach Henry, born Mauch Chunk. Pa., April 3, 1700, settled 1808, farmer and left 7 < M » acres to be divided between three heirs, died March 1, 1872: wife Lydia Hartman, born Mauch Chunk 1799, settled 18'.*, married 1821; children six, living three. Foster Samuel, p o Scottsburgh, farmer. 73 acres, born Pennsyl- vania September 17, 1840, settled 1805, lias been high- way commissioner; wife, Arville P. Brown, born Erie, Pa., married Hares 19, 1861; children six, Elliot 01., Lucy E., G. B., David, Henry L., Blanche E. Flory John, p o Scottsburgh, farmer. 27<> acres, born Franklin county. Pa., April 12. I8i 9, settled 1813, lias been asses- sor; wife Clarinda (J. Scott, born Sparta, married No- vember is, 1885; children live, living one, John, born July 11, 1847. Gillman Mrs. H., p o Scottsburgh, farmer, 150 acres. bornGrove- land March 25, 1833, married October 31, 1834; children three, one living Jennie Scott, born Sept. 3. 1882, Galbraith .Mrs. Lydia, p I'ansville. farmer, 306 acres, Oorn Sparta 1833, married February 9, 1854; children sir, Mary K . Lydia 1) . Henry I) .John, Jennie M .Anna. Bamsber Mrs Etebeoc », p o Dansville, farmer, loo acres, born Northumberland Octobers, 1803, settled 1813. married Januarj \ 1824; children four, Caroline E., Susan B. Blur tin S., Jonas S. who married Cornelia Woodruff and has two children, Bennard W., Sophia C. Hammond L. B;, p Dansville. farmer, 348 acres, born Sparta October 10, 1832; father Morgan Hammond, born Uans- ville 1794, settled 1816, died 1847, was a pioneer and prosperous farmer, owning several latins; wife Catb erine E. Driesbach, born Sparta, married October, ISO!); children two, Kittie. William. Havens Willuid (.'., p o Scottsburgh. farmer, 110 acres, born Groveland July 11, 1836; wife Sarah Polen, born Grove- laud 1815, married January 27. 1870; children two, Lil- lio M., Freddie Q Hamsher Henry, p o Dansville, farmer, 82 acres, born North- ampton county, Pa , February 19, 1812. settled 1823, has been commissioner of highways; wife Rebecca Artman, born Pennsylvania, married February 8, 1836; children six, Sarah, William, Clara. John Wesley, Emma. Theo. Hughes Martin, p o Dansville, farmer, 90 acres, born Sparta January 27, 1857; wiie Rosa Juan Driesbach. married January 37, 1880. Hammond John S., p o Dansville, farmer. Jennings John, p o Scottsburgh, merchant and farmer; 55 acres. born Ontario county 1812, settled 1833, has been over- seer of the poor; wib Mary Frost, born Washington county, married 18-30; children four. Amanda. Mary M . Emma K . Charles. J ohns G. H., p o Dansville. farmer, 250 acres, born in Columbia county, Pa.. May 23, 1818, settled 1844. has been asses- sor and justice of the peace; wife Susannah Rau, born Pennsylvania, married May S3, 1843; children four. Sa Lom a A,, Sabina A.. Mary A . Hemau H. Kuhn Ceo., p o Dansville, farmer,"02 acres, born Sparta Nov. 20. is;;*'; wile Clementine Artman, born Dansville, mar- ried December 21. 1867; children two, Blanche May. born October 0, 1873, Julia Bertha, born June SO, 1878, Kiehle Benjamin, p o Dansville, farmer. 1 63 acres, born Lehigh county. Pa., February 2-3, 1810, settled 1817, has been assessor; children three, V\ illiam H., George M., Hul dab V. ; wife Vienna Zerfass, born Sparta, married No- vember, is;;;. Lee E. W., p o Scottsburgh, acres, born Ontario county No- vember 1 :, 1817. -ettled ]S|S; wife Lucy Johnson, born Groveland. married 1856; children live. Charles W., Frank H , ira J . C. Elmer. Mattie M. Logan John, p o Scottsburgh, farmer, 105 acres, born Sparta May 35, 1838, has been supervisor, collector and inspec- tor of election; wife Jane McFetridge, born Sparta, married 1863; children seven, Archie F., J. C. Jesse C, Edward Bl., .Mary A , Edith B . Bessie K. MeBurney James, p o Dansville, farmer. 150 acres, born Osh- kosb. Wis., settled April 1. 187;r, wife Mary Sorton, born Corning. N. Y., married January 15, 1870; children two, Grace. Thomas. McFetridge Edward L.. p Scottsburgh, farmer, 210 acres, born Livingston county October, ism. has been snpen is< ir; Wife Mary M. Eieble, born Sparta, married November 87, 1872; children two, A. C , born November 10, 1873, Nellie May. born May 10, 1877. Moose Seymour E., p Dansville, farmer, minister and advent- ist, 120 acres, born Sparta August 20, 1850; wife Mary- ett Merritte, born Pittsburgh, Steuben county, mar- ried September 9, 1874: children two, Sarah Helena, born September 1, 1876, Charles Seymour, born June •27, 1878. Magee Mrs. Km ma, p o Scottsburgh. Oberdorf Lester, p o Scottsburgh, farmer and stock raiser, 114 acres, born Sparta Sept. 11, 1830; wife Mandana S Need- ham, born Sparta, married February 20, 1800; children four, Jennie N., Claude, C. Mabel, Caroline. Parker Augustus 1... p Dansville, farmer, 180 acres, born in Sparta April o. 1826; wife Elizabeth McCartney, born Sparta 1883, married May 20, 1865; children seven, Susie M., born March 27, 1850, Annie M., born Febru- ary 6, 1858, Elizabeth, born April 18, 1862, Alice M„ born May 22, 1*03, Francis M., born June ?, 1864, Sarah C, born June 25. 1S07, Nellie, born March 5, 1868. Rau Erhard, p o Dansville, farmer, 200 acres, born Northampton county. Pa.. September 8, 1787, settled 1820, has been assessor; wife Susannah Kidd horn Northampton county, Pa., June 27. 1798, married 1810* died March 81, 1871 ; children sixteen, living thirteen. Roberts Jesse, p o Scottsburgh, farmer. 152 acres, born Sparta June 28, 1884, school trustee and assessor, wife Mary M. Wither, born Sparta 184', married January 6, 1863; children one. William Welton, born July 10, 1864. Roberts Benjamin F., p o Scottsburgh, farmer, 152 aeres, born Sparta February 20. 1881; wife Sarah J. Wilher, born Sparta February 0, 1844, married March 27. 1800; chil- dren two, John Bl., bom May 7, 1870, Denj. P., born August 0, 1874, Roberts S,, p o Scottsburgh, mechanic and farmer, seven acres, born Livingston county. PERSONAL STATISTICS. wi Ross Robert H„ p o Dansville, farmer and stock raiser, 180 acres, born Sparta January 8, 1846, has been town clerk and town meeting inspector; wife Mary E. Art- man, born January 22, 1*1*, married December 31, 1874; children one, Edward J., born October 89, [876. Slaight Jacob, p o Scottsbureh. farmer, 115 acres, born Livings- ton county March 8, 1820. Shepard John, p o Scottsburgb. merchant, born Allegany coun- ty Oetohei 8, 1821, settled October 10, 1835, has been town clerk, supervisor and county treasurer; wife Mi- nerva F. Shepard,born Sparta, married October 20, 1859; children two, M. M., born October 81. 1860, John H., born October 27. 1870. Shutt William J., p o Dansville, farmer. 126 acres, born Sparta March 10, 1832, has been collector two terms, assessor two terms and justice of the peace; wife Mag-i.- \i. Fetridge. born Canada, married April ■';. 1863; i hildren five, living one, Freddie E,, born July 81, 1870. Smith Jesse, p o Dansville, fanner and blacksmith, 91 acres, born Northumberland county, Pa., December [6 settled April, 1825, has been town clerk, is justice of the peace and justice of sessions; wife Catharine Kiehle, born Sparta April 12, 1824, married October 2, 1856; children three, Myron, born July 32, 1857, Willie B . born August 23, I86U. Lizzie M., born September 15, 1861. Sutton Mrs. Sarah, p o Dansville. farmer, 50 acres, born Penn- sylvania February 2">. 1816, settled 182."), husband .John Sutton, married 183d, died March 22, 1879; children three. Mary C, Anna L., Francis E. Shafer John, p o Dansville, farmer, 258 acres, has been asses- sor: wife Hannah Hamsher, born Sparta, married January 21, 1850; children three, James Alfred, Martha S., Franklin Muuroe. Shafer Andrew, p o Dansville, farmer, 73 acres, has been inspec- tor of election ; wile Elizabeth .1. Kubn, born Sparta, married December 25, 18,jii; children live. Emma R., Dollie E.. Hattie M., George E.. Baby. Sterner Samuel F.. p o Dansville, farmer. 81 acres, born Dans- ville April 13, 1851 ; wife Mary K. Caton, born Septem- tember it, 1861, married May 29, 1879 Shafor James A., p o Dansville. farmer. 108 acres, born Sparta December 21, 1850; wife Rosa E. Carney, born Febru- ary II, 1850, married October 22, 1874, Tenney Silas W, p o Dansville. farmer and stock rai acres, born New Hampshire 1839, settled 1*74; wife Net- tie C. Smith, born Erie county, Pa., 1849, married June 1. 1x7t">; children three. Emma, Elizabeth, Baby. Von Waldegg Augustus H., p o Scottsburgh, physician and sur- geon, born Germany, settled 1818; wife Armed a Rob- erts, born Couesus, married September 2:1, L869, WEST SPARTA. Berger Samuel, p o Tuscarora, farmer 160 acres, born Mt. Mor- ris .May 10, 1830; first wife Harriet J. Robinson, born West Sparta October '-'I. 1828, married December 'ih 1851, died June 5. 1861; children three, Cora El., bora November 9, 1853. Julia D.. born April 30, 1854, died March 31, 1874, John R.. born August li, 185S; wife Marietta Bosley. born Genesee county Augustus, 1838, married February 20, 18(52; children two. Lucia II.. born December 15, 1866, Minnie M., born May 28, 1869 Chasey John S.. p o Byersville, farmer, 300 acres, born in Mon- mouth county, N. J.. September 15, 1823, settled 1842; wife Eliza A. Bush, born Tompkins county I» imber 24 1 sxJSS, married March 28, 1849; children eight, Chas. W . born March 2, 1850, LaMartine W.. born December \ 1851, Andrew R., born October 5. 1853, Ida M., born July 25, 1857, George A., born July 5, 1859, Willie A., born September 81, 1863. Mary F., born June 26, 1864, Floyd, born July 12, 1876. ('reveling John, p o Tuscarora, farmer. 263 acres, born Warren county, N. J.. September 15, 1825, settled 1834. has been justice of peace two terms: wife Elizabeth Bit- tenbouse, born Cayuga county April :'.. 1847, married November 17, 1S5L<; children four, Edward R.. born September!!, 1851, Wilson M., born December 19, 1858, John E., born June 85, 1K68. Mary A., born May 9, 1864. nison Robert, p o Byersville, farmer, 130 acres, born North- ampton, N. Y., Jauuary 1. 1198, settled 1818; wife Har garel Crafford. born West Sparta May 10. 1805, married February 16, 18-10; children nine, Sophia A . born I '• toberSS, 1826, Minerva C, born December 26, 1828, dud October 16, 181 I. Eliza M . born July 8. 183 born October 16, 18:j:i. Joanna, born OctO died December 20, 18-'I6, Annis M., born September : 1839 John M., bom December 9, 1843, died November 2,1864 Nicholas K., born September 7, 1846, M i born August 30. 1849, Fenstermacher John, p o Dansville, farmer, II 13 i born in Dansville August 8. 1813, died July 19, 1868, has been constable; wife Beersheba Hart, born Genesee count; May s, 1823, married July 19, 1843; children 1, JohnH., born February r.i. 1845, died September 20 1850, clar- ence W born May 20, 1847, He < " December 10, 1849. died F< bruary S8, 1851, George Franklin I Novembei BO, 1852. Field L. B., p o Dansville, farmer. De Frazer James B , p o Dansville, farmer. 180 acres, born Spring- water February 26, 1849. has I n supervisor and col lector; wife Sarah M Van Middlesworth. born West Sparta August 17, 1848, married tugusl 30 1874 chll dim three, Nellie boi " So i mbi > ' ■ Uai iiibei i:,. is;ii. Ji.lia, born January I- Green Abrum s . p o Byersville, farmer I53acre bom Ubany county Novembei 8. 1811. settled 1868; « Smith, bom Greene count v Uarch 80, 1812, m i ictober 19, 1884; obildn rose P., bon (ember In 1885 died .bine I! l-i,| . |„,,- n May 26, 18 18 li Maj 81, 1841, Emllj I... bornJa 27, 1846, Theo. S . born Augnsl i i born September 25, 1852, Egbert K , born September Green William A., p Byersville, farmer. 100 acres born West Sparta October 26, 1887; Wife Ma IV J. Vamlurcu. bom Nunda July 29, 1842 married October 26 1861 children three, William II.. born Align bom May 22, 1865, Hon V , born Novembi Green Pbiletus W . p o Byersville, farmer and thrasher on acres, born West Sparta January 81. 1842; wife Km bom Penfleld, X V . May 1, 1846, married Novembei 21j 1866; children four, Marj I born January 16 1868, Kittie Rose, born July 15, 1870, Chat " Sep- beml Clifford J born Ma] 27, 1875. Green Calvin, po Tuscaroni. fanner .'Hi acres, born Montgoni oity March 1, 1812, settled It sor one term; wife Lydia M, Rob. us. born Sparta February IS, 1818; children six. Wilbcr W . burn March 16, is;;. Phcebe Emaline, born December t 1879. I'hi- letus \\ .. born January 81, 184 tember 28, 1844, best,',- B.,boro April 22, l-is Char- lotte Ella, born November 13, 1856. Hungerfonl CI Dansville, farmer, 70 ncres. born West Sparta Sept.15, 1833, has been a - — n ir,wifi Haggle Pol ter. born Livingston Co. April 17, 1848; children eight, Edna A., bum December 18, 1656, ' narlea E I i Ian uary 26, 1859, Lula. born April I 1866 Seba born June 11, IS'.- Pen ie, born September 1. 1870, Hattie. born July ;il. 1878, Allie, born April 1. 1876, Jessie I tober-j. is;:i Hungerford Eleazer M., p o Byersville, farmer. isn acres, born West sparta August '.'i. 1816, has been commissioner of highways and assessor; wife Cassandra l born West Sparta February I. 1821. married N vein- be! 23, 1843: children t hree, Marshall, born 1844, died .March 28, 1864, Victor i: born August 81, 1846, Edwin, bom Februarj 28, 1849. Harttimn Hiram, p o Dansville. farmer, 140 acres, born West Sparta April II. 1814; wife Lucinda Ken Nunda July 25, 1825, married November ii 1844, chil- dren two. Abbey .lane, born (Ictober 10, 1845, I'.eb la Lucinda. bom July 21, 1852, Johnson William S . p o I i.ui-vi be. fanner, carpenter and 80 acres born Tompkins county January I 1822 tied November 13, 1837, has been assessor one term: wife Maria Johnson, born Cayugacounty I married Octobei li. 1848; children seven, Lewis 1'. born \pnl '.''.. 1845, d : ed September 28, 1846, Tn bi Fune 26, 1847, died September 18 1851 John lb December 8'.'. 1849, died September 17, 1851, CharlesF., born June 28, 1852, Edwin A. born August 14, 1854, Leandei b , born August 23, 1866. Nelly A.. born Sep! embei I Kenney Jeremiah, n o Byersville, farmer, born Weal Sparta April is. 1843; wife Melissa Walker, born Nunda ber 8, 1840, married April 86, 1868; children four Nelly. born .lune 28 : Coin November 8 1872, Clifton, born Nov 8, 1872, Adda, born Aug 15, If Kemp Stephen A . p o Dansville, tan 50 acres, bom West Sparta December ■"•. 1831, has been justice or | wife Catharine L. Weston, tnar ric.l August I. I Si, I; chil- dren Stephen A., born March 8.'. ]-i.5, Herbert w. born Mare! irence E;, born October 14. 1868. Charles, born September 24, 181 kugust 1' ;-, 1. Henrietta, born August 29, 1878, Baby, bom Novel I ! Kennedy Thomas, J> o Byersville, farmer, 211 acres, born West Sparta May 12, 1826; wife .Minerva Frazer, born Feb- ruary 15, i ' 856; children four. I o.i don Ilelu in, I I . 186i, died March .. I860 Grace/ November 22 1865 Willie i. . bom Deoember 11 Kvsor B o Tuscarora, farmei Sparta April 17. 1-8.'. died August -. 1878; wife Julia A- Cbamberlln, bi rn Weal S] a iD ried ' ictobei 28 1846; ohlldi en twelve, H born lugusl I 1818 ' ' »C. born I let. lb, in., v . bom June 10 1853 Bele ■_•;, [854 ii. : d September ■-'.. If born November 29, 1858, Herbei - January ", » born .Inn- I inklln V., born rn April 80, 1870. , , lansvllle, fan ■ son county, Mr b i.. ; : wlf« Mm v !•'. Rovvo, born Spi mar- I, lien four. Nora I ie Noven Sarah I. . born V 'urn Febru- Hiv 15, 1878. XXII HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Knappenberger Henry, p o Tuscarora, farmer 869 j acres, born Lehigh county. Pa., March 19, 1808, settled 1810, bus been School trustee; wife Elizabeth M. Slaigbt, born Groveland March -.v 1818, married Jane 11, [83s, died August 3, 1873 : children nine, Mary <".. boi ni 1836 died October 21, 1864, Elizabeth, born March 38, is.;;, Sarah .1.. bora September IS, 1888, William S., born October io. 1840, served in late war, Jacob, born March 25, 1848, Frances (J. born June i. 1845 died August i, 1815, John ll . born August 22, i s it. Harriet burn January 17, 1852, died November 18, 1862, McNairHugh T.. p o Dansville, farmer, 500 acres, born West Sparta November 1. 18122, has been assessor several terms; wife P. J. Hatmaker, born fates county Oc- tober 12, 1824, married November 19, 1845; children ten, living Bve. Perrine .lames B . p o Tuscarora, farmer, ■-' acres, born Ca- yuga county January 29, 18^6, has been town auditor: wife Elizabeth Chapman, born West Sparta November i't. 1826, married .Ian nary 12, 1858; children seven, Cora K, burn April \!\ 1*5), Chailes H , Lorn Septem- ber ■-!). 1855, Mary A . horn August 5, 1857, Nettie L, born October 18. Ie59, .lessie P , 1> irn May a, 1862, Min- nie 11 , born September "JO, I8(i5, Hattie S., born De- cember 15, i*t>9. Perrino Juhn. p o Tuscarora .farmer, 150 aires, born Cayuga county July 14, 1820, settled 1826, has been assessor, justice of peace and pun- mister; wife Harriet E. .M Byersville, farmer, ISO acres, born West Sparta May 9, 1882; wife Jane Green, born Nunda Feb- ruary 6, 1884; children seven, Leona S., born July 31, is .'.♦. Robert E . bom April 6, l s 'i'.'. died June 10, 1877, Katie 1 . born August it. 1864, Richard I... born August 19, 1866, Jennie K , born March 8, 1871, Elmer, horn De- cember SB, 1875, Alice, born March 28, 1878. VanMiddlesworth, p o Byersville, farmer, 240 acres, born Ca- yuga county November 9, 181 1, settled 1828; wife Julia Aim Shaw. "bm-n West Sparta May 11, 1821. married February 5, 1846; children three, Andrew, born No- vember 9, 1847, dieil Septembi c 18, 1848, Sarah M , born August 17, 1848, Harrison C, born September . "J, 1855. VauDoren, William, p Byersville, farmer. 865 acres, born On- ondaga county '.May I. 1817, settled 1881, has been assessor six years; wifeJano E. Walker, horn Mt. Mor- ris December 9, 1817, married February 11, 1841; chil- dren two. Mary J., born July 29, 1842, Jennie M., born January-. 1850 VanNuys Peter, p o Byersville, farmer. 500 acres, born Millstone, N J., February ., INiiK, settled 1828, died January 2, 1875, has been supervisor and justice of peace; wife Harriet Kerr, born Cayuga county April 18, 1809, mar- ried November [9. IBitf; children seven, Caroline M., born June 1. l*!:j. Isaac N., born November 20, I Vinton, burn June s. 1840, Ella 1,., born November 22, 1842, died July 22, 1843, Harriet K. born January 9, 1814, died August. 9, l-il. Webster B., burn February 8 1847, Herbert K . born April 22, 1852. Wat kins A. V.,p o Byersi tile, physician t, acres, born Allegany county July 8, 1844, settled .May;:. 1871; wife Fredonia Elenora Dake, born Allegany county April 7, 1847, mar- ried August -1 Woodworth P. P ., p Dansville, farmer and lumberman, 92 acres, born Madison oouutj February 18, 1819, settled 1821, has been poor master and constable: wife Phila Hungerford, born West Sparta < ictober 26, 1827, mar- ried September 6, 1815; children eight, Uriuthia E., burn May 10, 1847, Everett M., born June 14, 1848, Frank, burn February I, 1850, died April 7, 1850, Agnes K , born March 12, 1851 Carrie A , born June 28, 1855, Grace A., bum August 27, 1857, Burt F., born November 16, 1865, Walter W., born November r.', 1868. SPRINGWATER. Curtice Ezra N.. p Springwater, school teacher and farmer, SO acres, burn Webster, Monroe county April 2, l*;i'i. set- tled 1886, is school commissioner from ]■-•;■"> to 1881; father Jacob Curtice, burn Berkshire, N. EL, October 11, 1804; wife Mary James, bom Potter, Yates county, married June 20th, 1855; Children three. Mina G., Kit- tie F., Leonard E. Capron Wesley II.. p o Springwater, farmer, l in acres, bum Springwater November 5, 1847; father Sylvester Cap- ron: wife Mary E.Lewis, born North Cohoc ton, Steuben county April 1", 1851, married July I. I860; children three. Willie L., burn March 22, 1870, Rosa M., born February 7, 1873, Nellie L> . burn January I, 1B7G. t Slapp Henry, j' Wayland, farmer and stock grower, 900 acres. boru Wethersfield, Conn.. November 18th, 1817, settled father Norman Clapp, served in war of 1812; grandfathers were Revolutionary soldiers; wife Han- nah J Herrick, born Springwater August 1 1, 1824, mar- ried December 24. 1878; children one, Edwin A., step- son Scott A. Farley. Father David Herrick. settled 181 1 with his father and three brothers. Carpenter William, p o Wayland. farmer, carpenter and joiner, ires, born Bristol, Ontario county. April. 1821, led l s i'-' wife Martha Jones, born Auburn. N. Y.. October 12, 1817. married November 28, I s ll ; children six, Edward, born August 28. 1842, died In infancy. Mar v. born November It. 1844, died November 8K, 1844, Phila A., born 1846. Robert, born 1850, died 1851, Wil- liam a , born i s "'i. Phoebe, born 1858. Father Joshua Jones, with wife and nine children settled 1843. Dietzel Charles, farmer, 109 acres, born Germany February 6, 1819, settled 1885, died November 8, 1874, had been highway commissioner and school trustee, came to A rica 1846, settled Ilrst In Rochester, next South Wayland. next Wayland and last En Springwater; wife Caroline Miller, born Germany 1821, married 184T; chil- dren four. QenrgP, Jacob, Carrie, Willie. Krwiu William J . po Springwater, farmer and sheep grower, ISO -acres, born Springwater 1845; wife Rebecca Wood, born Penli'ld, Monroe county, married February 22, 1 866; children four, Eloise K.. Willie G., Hruce Roe, Helen O. Father Jared Erwin, settled Mt. Morris 1887, is a clothier and cloth dresser, removed to Spring- water 1842, Mother Laura Arnold, born Connecticut. Eugel Peter, p o Wayland. farmer and stock grower. 1 15 acres. bOIll Sandwendel, Germany January 7, 1819. settled April 1. 1868, has been school trustee and collector, served three years in German army, came to America 1810, worked first near Philadelphia, moved thence to Steuben county 18-lK; wife Barbara Mark, born Sand- wendel. Germany. May 1, 1824, married January 2, 1852; children eight, Catharine, Mary, John P, Frank and Elizabeth, twins, Alexander, Barbara. Jacob. Ford Chris* opher, p Springwater. farmer, 105 acres, born Bos- ton, Washington county, October 31, 1794. settled IK."-', has been poor-master, kept a store for the soldiers of 1812, attended the first museum in Albany and trav- eled three years with an exhibition from ihere; wife Laura Willis, born Northumberland county, married 18l(i, died March 1819. aged 85; children seven, living six, Avery, Lucinda, Salina. Phoebe A., Eunice, John. Fuller Richard, p o Wayland, farmer. 188 acres, born near Bath. Steuben county, January '-'9. iSJu, settled 1805, served in Rebellion, was in 107th N, Y. Infantry, Company I, was discharged at close of war; wife Minerva J. Ware- ing, born Cohocton, Steuben county, November 28, 1885, married October 14, 1851; children two, Sylvester, born November 34tb, 1855, married Cora A. Glover June. 1*79, Minnie E , burn January 16, 1870. Hudson Joel, p Springwater, farmer, 108 acres, born Chatham, Columbia county, October 10, 1794, settled 1820, has been justice of the peace 42 years, school commis- sioner a"d town clerk, served in war of 1812 and is now a pensioner, has been prominently identified with the Christian church of Springwater 40 years; wife Sarah Hover, boru Washington county, married No- vember hi, 1817; children three, Mrs. Lydia A. Bryant, Luther B , James M. Hunter William, p o Springwater. pastor of Presbyterian church. .'! aires, born County Antrim. Ireland, Febru- ary '-', 1818, settled 1841, From which time he has been pastor of said church, has been school superintendent three years and town collector one year; wife Mary E. Morris, born Auburn. N. Y., married May 18. 1842; children four, Charles R., Frank W., Samuel M., Hat- tie M. Howe Samuel A., p o Springwater, farmer, 140 acres, born Bos- ton, Mass., July 1. 1807, settled 1839; lather. Samuel Howe, served in war of 1 S l *J ; wife Emalino C. Nichols born Middlebury, Vt., April 20. 1810. married January •J'i, 1886; children six, living three, Mrs. Harriet E. Purdy, born March 2(i, 1887, Jonathan, born December 4, 1845, Mis. Martha L. Knowles. born Nov 9. 1862. Lawrence Loren, p Wayland. farmer, 105 acres, born Sparta October .'JO, l*"-"-', li;is been sehuul trustee; lather John Lawrence; wife Rhodlna Kuhn. born Sparta, married 1862; children three. Nellie. Grant, Willie; father Jacob Kuhn, one Of the pioneers of Sparta. Lawrence Ira, p <> Wayland, farmer, 150 acres, born Sparta 1827; father John Lawrence; wile Julia A. Lewis, boru Springwater, married l*'"> ; i: children six. Ida. (lata. Lewis, Edward, Katie, Franklin I. Father Jacob Lewis. Lamout William, p o Bloods Station, farmer and dealer in stock, 75 acres, has b?en constable one year, parents Smith and Mary Larnont; grandfather Ashbel Lamont settled from Vermont 1815, on farm now owned by H. Lamont; had brother in 104th Regiment N. Y. Infantry; was killed in second Bull Run; wife Sarah A. Doty, burn Springwater January 9. 1841, married October 2, 1867; children one, Alta. born January 31. 1869. [ each \ ti nd. p*o Springwater, farmer, 580 acres, born Cortland Co Inly II, 1885, settled ]s.:;; father Alexander Leach settled 1887 and had two suns in Rebellion. Silas, who vas killed in battle, and Lark, who died in prison ; wife Henrictte K Wustfall, born 1841, married March 17, 1869; children one, Myron J., bum August ■-",*. 1871, PERSONAL STATISTICS. Marvin Franklin D.. p o Spriugwater, farmer. 100 acres, burn Spriugwater October 20. 1836; father Curtis Warner Marvin who settled in 1818 and bad one son. Harvey, in the Rebellion, died August 26, 1810; wife Angelina Croswell, born Springwater November I. 1840. married May '4. 1857; children four, Emma, boro April 11. 1859, Edgar G.. born March 29, 1864, Curtis, born June 12, 1869, died April 4, 1873, Frank, born Septeml 1871 : father Harmon Croswell, who settled at an earlv day. and died November 9, J8o9. Mead Daniel, p o Springwater. farmer, 155 acres, born Limer- ick county, Ireland. 1818, settled 1846, came to Amer- ica in 1839, had one English shilling on lauding, and is now ownerof 155 acres by hard labor, has been school trustee; wife Catharine Horrigan, born Clare county, Ireland, married 1850; children four. Micbae), Johu, Ellen. .Mary, .Michael and Ellen are school teachers. Stepson Bartholomew Catou. served in Rebellion. Morris J. G.,p o Springwater. Niles James L., p o Springwater. farmer and sheep grower, 200 acres, born Springwater November •.'■„'. 1826; faher Henry J. Niles. settled 1*17; wife Emaline Marvin, burn "Springwater. married March 10. 1852; children three. Harry J.. Jennie E.. Edward. Northrup William M.. p o Wayland. farmer. 169 acres, born Charlton. Saratoga county. January 11, 1800, settled 1815; father Jabez Northrup. settled in Ontario county and with the help of his family cleared -liHi acres, grandfather Daniel Northrup was a Revolutionary soldier; wife Sabriua Tucker, born Livonia June '■i'.i. I8«i0, married June 20, 1834; children six, living two, William, Wealthy A. Norton Wni. H. H.. p o Springwater, farmer, grain speculator and breeder of tine sheep. 220 acres, born Springwater August 15, 1840; father John B. Norton, settled 1841; wife Alice Woodin, born Fishkill, Duchess couniy, married August 21. 1870; children two. Millie M., Oak- ley W. Ostrauder Evert, p o Naples, Ontario county, farmer. 176 acres, bora Columbia county October 17. 1834, settled wife Eliza Johnson, born Naples September 86, 1810, married September 25, 1858; children three, Wm. S., born April 24, 1861, died Octobers, I s '' 1 '. Helen, born July 2, 1805, W T m. E.. born May 7, 1871. Pursel William, farmer and manufacturer, 100 acres, born Flemington, N. J.. 1807, settled l s: ; s . has been highway commissioner; wife Jane Crossen, born Richmond. « >n- tario county, married 1832; children five; had three s in the Rebellion, all in First N. Y. Dragoons, De Witt, who married Charlotte Atwood, James 31., who married Eunice Grover. Benjamin F., who married Caroline E. Pemberton. Peabody Alvah. p o Springwater, farmer. 108 acres, born Mnn- lius. Onondaga coun ! y, Febiuary 18, led 1H1J, has been inspector of election; wife H. Jane Quick, born near West Point September 20. 1813, married Sep tember 15, 1834; children nine Nelson, bora 1835, who served in the Rebellion in the Wadsworth Guards and died in prison, Albert H . born 1838 and served in Re- bellion in Wadsworth Guards Helen, born 1840, Lu- cinda, born 1842, Mansou, born 1814, Maggie, born is to, Alfred, bom 1851, Frank, born lS5t>, George, born 1S5S. Robinson Edmond A., p o Springwater. farmer, 385 acres, born Springwater June 21, 1831, has been supervisor one term, was elected by 175 majority on Democratic ticket; wife Mary E. Monk, born Spriugwater, mar- ried January 15, 1852; children five. Frank, deceased. Carrie E.. Estella, James M.. Minnie. Father Joseph Robinson, born April 10, 1803, settled 1822, died 1846; mother Katharine Spangler. married 1825, died children, twelve sons and two daughters Rix Sylvester, p o Springwater, farmer, 137 acres, born Verona. Oneida county. February 28, 1812, settled 1816; father Rufus Rix, who served iu the Revolutionary wbj tied 1810 with wife and seven children on land now owned by Hiram Becker; had three sons. Edmond, who was a captain, Samuel and James, in war of 1812. Rau Benjamin, p o Dansville. carpenter and joiner and farmer, 87 acres, born Lehigh. Pa.. February 27. 1811, settled 1820; father Erhard Rau. a pioneer of Sparta: wife Mar- garet Cranmer,boru Sparta IMS. married 1834; children fifteen, living ten, John W., Mariette, Erhard S., who served through the late war. Harriet S Martha, ( oi delia. David J. and Elizabeth, twins. Sidney S., Carrie A.. Benj. F.. killed in battle before Richmond. David Cranmer was one of the pioneers of Sparta and served in war of 1812. Root James M., p o Springwater. farmer, 125 acres, bom - water May 2, 1828; father Amos Root, settled 1825; wife Adelaide J. Hopkins, born Springwater August 10,1834. married December 25. 18T0: children three, Charles M., born February 25, 1872, Norman H., born December 14, 1873 Zella, born May li. 1875. Richards Moses, p o Wayland, farmerand blacksmith, Hi i born Sussex county, N. J., April 12. 1805, settl. with wife and three children, mare and colt, cow and heifer, hog, a dozen hens end ?ISU in nion aline Howell, born Sussex county. N. J ., July 5, [809; married January 28, 1830, children three, Dunning. Julia A., Caroline. shaver Stephen, p o Wayland, farmer, blacksmith and cider 111:111111 . i.om Wayland Iprll 20 1877 pel tied Jai u born Way- ber 10, 1827, marrh d March 1". 1849; chil- dren ten, Lorenzo, Wm, M . Enoch H I Martha, El i ■ ■ . , rj Smith David (i . p o Springwati r, land, Pa., August 30, 1818, Bottled 1884 three years from 1851 to 1854; rather Jacob Smith tind in Groveland P i. lV ; wife BUi Barber, born S] i .". married .March :>. i*|i ; father Erastus I ■ ttled 18J i. and bad one son, Wm. hV., In « ■ Rebellion. Snyder Nelson K . p o Springwater, mehanic and farmer, si untv. September 8. 1*1*'. settled 1817; first wife Polly C Ingle si bom Wash- ington COunty March 12, 1821, married January 1 1810, died M d l wife Fani born Townsend. < thio, So\ eml ,i De- cember31st, 1857; children eight. James P. was killed oond battle of Bull Bun August 30, 1862, \ ibery A. was iu wa '' B was in n .. Rebellion, Charlie H . deceased, Charlie H Lima k. Father Benjamin Snyder. Snyder Alonzo, p o Springwater, carpenter and joiner proprietor and farmer, GO acres, born Solon. Cortland county, November 24, 1614, settled March 20, 1817, has been deputy sheriff eighteen years, collector and coo- stable; first wife Mary J. St rut ton. married S( ptl 7, is-'o : second wife Minerva G. Putnam, married Jan, uary-20, 18*9: children ten, Susan B died January- 1868, George L. enlisted as private In 1861, was pruV in Libbj . in I and i >ani Hie twenty two months, was promoted to captain and died June, from disease contracted in prison. Isabel i. Jane A . Prank A.. Manly s. Marj ■' • Mag 111 G., Judson P., Helen A. Father Benj. Snyder. Sharpsteen Doctor, p o Wayland, farmer ami stock buyer. 7." V. acres, born Richmond. Onl n i, \ ■■ \i i led April I -■'■< , has been constal eer of the poor in Richmond; first wife Abigail Law > born October 31, I ond wife Maggie smith, born ■■ - n. married ■ children, • February '. 1852, Gilbert, born Augu Sep- tember 17, 1859, Bertha v., born November 8, Charles J . born Januai born July 7, 1868, Jennie E., born June 2, 1870, George W .. June !W 181 I. Skeels Isaac, farmer. 100 acres, born Sand gate, Vt April ii, ;. ttled 1828, has been highway i c and be peace, was in war ol 1812, di 10 . . . wife Anne Eggleston, born Sbaneateles July 22, 1794, in.iii; rj October 28, 1812; children eight, Spencer s.. Thaddeus H . Ruth, Mary A . James, Harru I ighl and Dorr, who was in the Rebellion. Schwab Charles, p o Wayland, farmei West 9 settled 1840; wife Ella Fitz Water, bom Canton, Pa. married Ju chil- dren three Q April 26, 1871 Jr., born December vi. Father George Schwab, born B rmany. and came to an Hr?t -settled m Pennsylvania, i Ontario county, thence to Springwater, died Litchfield, Mich., - Snyder DeWitt C . p o Springwater, farmer and specula! wool and stork. 169 acres, I orn July •-."., 1820 supervisor three terms: first wife Mary A. Smith, born Livonia, married June 19, 1847, died May 12; 1".".;. sec- ond wife Calista Crosv a Springwater, married June 5, 1859; children six, livln ott W., who a soldier in the Rebellion, George II.. Louise. ier Benj. Snyder, settled March 2ft 1817; mother Darnida Cole, daughter fame. Swarts Levi, p o Dansville. farmer. 179 acres, born Sparta June 30, 1828, Betted April 12, 1858; wife B born span b bruary 26, Ifi i two, Jacob O.. born January 21, IS60, .Mary !■;. Father Jin Uled In Sj Smith Ebenezer. po Springwater. carpenter, farmer and saw- flier, 10 acn 8, settled March 24, I81fi captain of State militia; father Abner Smith, ship penter. settled 1816; wife ! a . 10, 1834; children one, father Harvey Moi rife and six children, Wiley John, p o Springwater, farmer and Method Is Tut) acres, born Daltoi tied 1813, served In war o( 1812, has been memberof Southworth, ■-, 1 1 nine. Sarah. Eliza, Join - li . w b ol 104 lllon in army of Potomac, and mustered oal y. ifi & XXIV HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY. Willis Caleb W., p o Springwater. farmer, 120 acres, born Galen. Cayuga county August 7, 1816, Mettled 1816, has been collector two years, constable eight years and high- way commissioner two terms; father Archibald Willis who settled 1816; wife Malinda Robinson, born Wol- cott, Wayne ounty. March 21, 1818, married June 80, 1839; children seven. Mephen A., died November 11, 1878. Alvn-a, died July 27, 1844, Fayette H., Frank, Malinda, died September 6, 1865, Ada, Storey. Walker Ezra, larmer, 150 acres, born Savoy, Berkshire county, Massachusetts. February 2, 1799, fettled 1820, died January 87, 1850; wife Harriet Stewart, bom Brattle- boro, Vt.. December 11, 1799, married February 1820; children nine, William P., deceased. Mary H.. Lucy N., Nancy J.. Charles H.. John L.. Harriet S., Lucinda C, Ellen A., deceased; father John Stewart, served in war of Revolution. Wiley John Southworth, p o Springwater, farmer, 7."> acres, born Springwater April 1st, 1825, has been collector, constable, supervisor and inspector of election: father John Wiley: wife N. J. Capron, born Springwater February 23. W-l, married June i, 1856; children three, Frank S.. horn December 24, 1H.")H. Charles C, born September 20, 1854, Minnie E., born September 22, 1871. Wetmore Ira L.. p o Wayland, farmer and stock dealer. £00 acres, horn Springwater February 28, 1842; father Elijah Wetmore. settled is-,*?; wife Lucy H. Parshall, born Springwater June 10. 1888, married September 28, 1866: children four, Z P., born December 2, 1869, Emma B.. born July 14, 1S72, Wirt E , born August 23, 1871, Arch G.. born Decembers, 1*7;. Whitlock Ira, p o Springwater. farmer and surveyor. 30 acres, born Granville, Washington county, 1804, settled 1H37, has been assessor twenty years, justice of the peace twelve years and highway commissioner: wife Amelia Shuartz, born Mendon 1818, married 1837; children one, Samuel L. X'l-Veidman John, p o Springwater, farmer and stock grower, 815 acres, born Sparta November Ifi. 1827. settled 1S.V2, has been inspector of election; father Jacob Weidman, who was in the war of 1812, and grandfathers served in the Revolutionary war: wife Mary A. Hartmon, born Sparta February 5, 1827, married 1850; children six, Andrew H.. Joel H., Mary V.. John A., Jay K., Mark H. Father Henry Hartman settled at an early day. YORK. Blakeslee Senator, p o Greigsville, farmer, born in Wallingford, Conn., March 25, 1799, settled in county in Nov.. 1837: wife Lucy Hobson, horn in Washington county, N. Y., married in March i**»'>: seven children living, Lucy and Henry K. living in county. Bowden S., p o York, retired. Bow Lysander, p o York, farmer. Boyd M. H., p o York, farmer. Chinas Mary F., p o Fowlerville, farmer. Craig William, p o York, farmer, 112 acres, born in Scotland Feb. 8, 1797, settled in county in 1823, has been high- way commissioner and assessor; wife Jane Stewart, born Amsterdam; four children. Craig Duncan S., p o York, farmer. 86 acres, born York June 14, KM ; wife Elizabeth Walker, born in Canada, married March 17, 1857. Cooley Orson, p o York, farmer, 130 acres, born York May 13, 1820; first wife Harriet Russ, born in York, married Dec. 26, 1844; second wife born in Paris, N. Y., mar- ried June 7, 1877; one child living, Hattie A. Dow B. P., p o Fowlervi'ie, manufacturer. Dike I. A. M., p o YoV ; '', physician. Fraser Wm., p o Fowlerville, merchant. Ferren M. N . p o Fowlerville. hardware dealer. Fraser J. A., po Fowlerville, farmer. Gilmore Thomas, p o York, farmer. Gilmore G. E.,p o Fowlerville. Gray F. S . . p o xork, farmer. Gray James M., p o Greigsville, farmer, 15 acres, born in Her- kimer county April 3. 1809, Bet tied in county Nov. 2(i, 1858, has been justice of peace three terms and notary public, third term, and loan commissioner live years: wife D. C. L. Fox, born in Hartford. Conn., married Jan. 18, 1835; two children, James M., Jr., and Lou- isa A. Howe John W , p o Fowlerville, merchant. Howell William, p o Fowlerville, proprietor of hotel. Iunis Duncan, p o York, born in Delaware county