USA > New York > Oswego County > Orwell > History of the town of Orwell, New York, from 1806 to 1887 > Part 1
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Gc 974.702 Or9m 1139026
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01150 3429
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/historyoftownofo00murr
1
HISTORY
OF THE
TOWN OF ORWELL,
NEW YORK FROM
1-
1806 to 1887.
2.
COMPILED BY
HUGH F. MURRAY.
PULASKI, N. Y. L. R. MUZZY, PUBLISHER. 1887
has
111 Que
1
Bankers to Set
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1139026 PREFACE.
The grandest inheritance of any people is that peo- ple's history. All that forms the national character of a people, their tone of thought, their devotion, their love, their sympathies, their antipathies, their language -all this is found in their history, as the effect is found in the cause, as the autumn speaks of the spring ; and the philosopher who wishes to analyze a people's charac- ter and to account for the natural desires, hopes and aspirations, for the strong sympathies or antipathies that sway a people, must go back to the deep recesses of their history; and there, in ages long gone by, he will find the seeds that produced the fruit that he attempts to account for. And he will find that the nation of to- day is but the child and offspring of the nation of by- gone ages ; for it is written truly, that "the child is the 1 father of the man." When, therefore, we come to con- sider the desire of nations, we find that every people is most strongly desirous to preserve its history, even as every man is anxious to preserve the record of his life; for history is the record of a people's life. Hence it is that,
iv
PREFACE.
in the libraries of the more ancient nations, we find the earliest histories of the primeval race of mankind, writ- ten upon the durable vellum, the imperishable asbestos, or sometimes deeply carved, in mystic and forgotten characters, on the granite or pictured rocks, showing the desire of people to preserve their history, which is to preserve the memory of them just as the old man, dying, said : "Lord, keep my memory green."
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
History of the Town of Orwell. Early Settlers. Balch Family. Hollis Family. Gilbert Family.
CHAPTER II.
1. Church Records. 2. Business Men of Orwell in 1830. 3. A List of the Leading Business Men from 1807 to 1887. Cas- ualties, etc.
CHAPTER III.
1. Biographies. Silas West, who settled in the Town in 1810, Beadle Family, 1817, Wymans, Stowells, Potters, Hiltons, Cogswells, Bonners, Drs. Davis and Nelson, and many others, all of which are interesting.
CHAPTER IV.
Number and Names of School Districts in the Town. A complete Military Record.
. CHAPTER V.
1. Civil Government and History. 2. America, the discovery of. 3. Population of United States and Territories. 4. Electoral votes of each State. 5. Mode of choosing the President and Vice-President, their duties, etc. 6. Congress in general House of Representatives, etc.
vi
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VI.
1. New York State in 1609. General History condensed. Situa- tion at the Present Time. 2. Population by Counties. 3. New York State government, David B. Hill, governor. 4. Senators, number of. 5. Twenty-first Senatorial District composed of Oswego and Jefferson counties, and by whom represented. 6. Assembly, number of members, by whom represented, etc.
CHAPTER VII.
1. History of Oswego county. 2. Populations by Towns. 3. Towns composing the first and second assembly districts. 4. Towns composing the three commissioners' school districts in Oswego county. 5. Towns in third commissioner's district.
HISTORY OF ORWELL.
CHAPTER I.
History of the town of Orwell. Early Settlers. Balch Family. Hollis Family. Gilbert Family.
The present township of Orwell was part of the "Con- stable purchase of one hundred thousand acres bought at eight pence an acre.
The first deeds were given by Hezekiah B. Pierrepont, who married Constable's daughter, and the later ones by his son, the late William Constable Pierrepont. Hard- wood lands were sold at $1.50 per acre and pine lands at $1.00, as it was then supposed that such could never be cleared. Lands at every mile-point were sold at fifty cents per acre, in order to open up the country more rapidly. Commencing at the town line on the north, Joshua Hollis occupied the first of these mile farms, and Allen Gilbert the second on the hill. Timothy Balch was at the Corners, John Reynolds on the Beadle farm, Nathaniel Bennett at Pekin, and Elliott Eastman a mile below.
One Moses Coffin paid taxes in Orwell in 1798. Cap- tain George Noyes was living north of the site of Orwell Corners on what was known as the "old Beaman place,"
8
HISTORY OF ORWELL.
in 1805, when Joshua Hollis passed through the town. In 1811 Millan Aiken built the first sawmill in town, on the site of Cross' mill near Stillwater. Not long after, James Hughes built a triphammer on the Pekin creek, and Joseph Watson built the first sawmill in the north- ern part of the town on the site of the Castor mill. Previous to 1809 he removed to Orwell. Part of his children had already married and settled in Sharon. He located on the hill nearly a mile north of the village, in company with his son Allen. In 1810, Allen set off about an acre from the southwest portion of the farm for a cemetery.
Orwell was formed from Richland, February 28th, 1817, and Boylston was taken off in 1828. A part of Richland was annexed, March 27th, 1844. It lays northeast of the centre of the county. The surface has a southwest inclination, its eastern border being elevated 300 to 500 feet above its western and 700 to 1000 feet above Lake. Ontario. It is moderately hilly and is con- siderably broken in places by the deep ravines of the
streams. Upon Salmon river is a fall worthy of note. The stream flows over a rocky bed in a series of rapids for two miles and then falls over a precipice one hun- dred and eight feet perpendicularly. The banks of the stream below the falls are two hundred feet high. The soil is generally loam.
Among the early settlers were Benjamin Reynolds, Joshua Hollis, Allen Gilbert and Timothy Balch. The first marriage was that of Silas Clark and a daughter of Nathaniel Bennett, sen., in 1807, and the first death that of the mother of Timothy Balch in 1810. The first school was taught by Jessie Aikin in 1810. Joseph Watson built the first sawmill in 1810, and Jonah Thompson the first gristmill in 1816.
9
SUPERVISORS OF ORWELL.
The following is a list of supervisors from 1817 to 1887 :
1817 to 1824, John Reynolds,
1825, John Wart,
1826 to 1830, John Reynolds,
1831 and '32, Jabez Gilbert,
1833, John Reynolds,
1834, Alben Strong,
1835 and 1836, Jabez H. Gilbert,
1837, Alben Strong,
1838 and '39, Mason Salisbury,
1840, John Beadle,
1841, Henry Tillinghast,
1842, Alben Strong,
1843, John Bennett,
1844, Orimel B. Olmstead,
1845, Nathan Simons,
1846, Wm. Beecher, Jr.,
1847 and '48, Nathan Simons,
1849, Flavel Crocker,
1850, Edward Allen, 1851, Wm. Strong,
1852, Edward Allen,
1853, Daniel Pruyn, 1854, Orin Beadle,
1855, Lloyd W. Aldrich,
1856, Orimel B. Olmstead,
1857 to 1859, Hoyt N. Weed,
1860, Wm. Strong, 1861, Hoyt N. Weed,
1862 and 1863, Orimel B. Olmstead,
1864 to 1873, Alexander Potter,
1874 and 1875, H. H. Potter, 1876 to 1879, Norman Hall,
10
HISTORY OF ORWELL.
1880 and 1881, H. H. Finster,
1882 to 1884, A. S. Barker,
1885 and 1886, E. S. Beecher,
1887, A. E. Olmstead.
In 1820 Jonas Thompson built a saw and grist mill near the stone quarry.
Before 1825 there was a woollen mill built on the north bank of Salmon River near Knight's bridge by one Corey. It was afterwards run by Ingham On the south bank was a store kept by Isham Simons.
Soon after 1825 Elijah Stowell settled on the Boyls- ton road about a mile from the corner. He was the first settler on that road, and William Groat, who lived on the C. Stowell place, was the second.
George Greenfield was the first settler on the Vorea road (about 1830) and Sidney Crocker the next.
Orrin West was the first settler on the Chateaugay road about one-fourth of a mile from Orwell Corners.
About 1830 a potash factory was started on the east side of the road and just south of the creek running by John Balch's. It was run until about 1850.
BALCH FAMILY.
Early in the century Timothy Balch, the pioneer of the Balch family in Orwell, set out from Keene, N. H , upon his journey westward. He tarried awhile in the valley of the Mohawk, but, though the land was rich, the water was poor, and he went on in search of a coun- try of hills and springs like his native New Hampshire. He remained two or three years in Sandy Creek and then, attracted by the beautiful springs flowing from the "Orwell hills," he moved thither. In 1809 he built what was known as the Balch tavern, on the corner where the fountain now stands, and the creek running
11
BALCH FAMILY.
through the town just north of the "Corners" became known as the Balch creek.
In 1810 his sister, Ruth Balch, wife of Ebenezer Rob- bins, moved into town, bringing with her their aged mother. Not long after, the old lady died, and this be- ing the first death in town, they found themselves in the unpleasant dilemma-as one of the family afterwards expressed it-of "having a corpse on their hands and not knowing what to do with it." Allen Gilbert came to the rescue and gave for a burying ground a plot of land on what was known as the Gilbert (now Finster) hill. Joshua Hollis cut down trees enough to make a road in, and also cleared a spot for burial in the centre of the ground. Thus the "old, old fashion of death," came into the newly colonized town and went no more out.
CHILDREN OF TIMOTHY BALCH.
I. Timothy, jr .; married Hannah Randall, of Jeffer- son county. Children: 1. Ezra, 2. John, 3. Hiram, 4. Nancy, 5. Lura, 6. Lucinda.
II. John; married Eunice Stowell, daughter of Orrin Stowell. Children: 1. Lucinda, 2. Susannah, 3. Wal- stein, 4. William, 5. Orrin, 6. Ira, 7. Harriet, 8. Lorette, 9. Laura, 10. John.
III. Anna; married Edward Gilbert. Children: 1. Polly, 2. Hannah, 3. Nathaniel, 6. Charlotte, 7. Lucy, 8. Hall, 9. Timothy.
IV. Polly; married Daniel Damon. Children: 1. Joseph, 2. Marilla, 3. Mary, 4. Ruth.
Ruth Balch, sister of Timothy Balch, sen., married Ebenezer ยท Robbins and settled on the hill south of the village, on the place now occupied by Dr. J. F. Davis.
Children: 1. Sylvia; married Samuel Dunlap.
II. John; married Polly Furguson; had two sons,
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HISTORY OF ORWELL.
Ebenezer and William, and four daughters. He finally moved west.
III. Pede; married Dea. Clark W. Wilder.
IV. Suky; married Dea. Asa Carpenter. Child, Ebenezer.
V. Nancy; never married.
Daniel Balch, nephew of Timothy Balch, sen., settled near the old stone quarry in which he worked ; children, Artemisia and Calista, who married Caswell from Wil- liamstown. Perhaps others.
HOLLIS FAMILY.
In every undertaking there must needs be a pioneer to lead the way and take the first steps. We are wont to heap honor in full measure upon those who thus march in the vanguard of progress. Such were the Pil- grim Fathers, whom the spirit of liberty sent across the broad Atlantic to make a home in the wilderness. As the first traveller through an hitherto unexplored forest, carries his axe upon his shoulder and leaves be- hind him a line of marked trees to show his pathway, so the sturdy oaken keel of the Mayflower ploughed the ocean and left behind it a shining wake to illumine its path and make it shortly a highway for all lovers of liberty the great world over. But in our admiration for the leaders, we are in danger of forgetting that many followed them who came with an equally sincere pur- pose to find a home of freedom and equal courage to face the hardships and perils their course involved.
Among those who thus followed the lead of the Pil- grim Fathers were the ancestors of Joshua Hollis, who came to Orwell in 1807.
It is not known when the first who bore the name of Hollis landed upon the American shore, but it was in
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HOLLIS FAMILY.
time to give their name to one of the oldest towns in Massachusetts. The immediate ancestors of the family settled in historic Plymouth, and the father of Joshua Hollis, whose name was Samuel, served seven years in the Revolutionary war. His children were Samuel, Joshua, Bathsheba and Ruth, and two daughters whose names are not known.
At the age of 18 his son, Joshua, went to the town of Colerain in Massachusetts, not far from Shelburne Falls. There he married Batsey Adams in 1799. In September, 1805, they, with their two children, David and Lucy, set out for New York, coming by way of the State road through Redfield. They came with one ox team; after about five days' travel they reached Redfield and staid over night at Johnston's tavern. The next day they turned off from the travelled high- way and followed the rude woods-road westward. The wild forest was all around them. Here and there, fallen trees lay across their path, and must be cut away before the patient oxen could resume their plodding course.
For many years it was unsafe to set out over the rough roads, even for a few miles' journey, without carrying an axe for possible emergencies. At nightfall they had only reached what is now called Stillwater. There they halted and spent the night in a deserted woodsman's shanty. They had brought fire with them from Redfield in an iron tea kettle. In those days luci- fer matches were not, and fire was guarded as sacredly as in the ancient temples. So they had warmth and a cheerful blaze in the old cabin, and after supper, spread- ing their blankets, they laid down and slept as only the weary can. It was a wild, eerie place for slumber-no other human beings within many miles, the strange forest creatures around them, and the thick curtain of
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HISTORY OF ORWELL.
darkness over all; but many such experiences fell to the lot of the early settlers in the woods of Oswego. The next morning they hopefully resumed their journey, and slowly proceeded westward by way of the old stone quarry, coming out on the present road close by where Ira Platt now lives, in the precincts of the village. The grading of the old highway is still visible upon the hill back of his house.
A little ways back they passed a house then occupied by Capt. George Noyes, and remembered by many of the present inhabitants as the old "Beaman house." Pass- ing through the Finster farm and crossing the creek just south of the Castor Mill site, they drove slowly on by the present Parish place, until they struck the Ridge Road. They spent that night with one John Darling, who lived on what was afterwards known as the "Baker place." The next day they reached the end of their wanderings, at the foot of Wheat Hill, in what is now known as Sandy Creek. That farm adjoins the one now owned by their son John. They remained there two years and in 1807 removed to Orwell and settled upon the farm now occupied by his son William.
Joshua Hollis died May 2, 1858, in the 84th year of his age, and his wife died Apr. 13, 1843. He was a man of sincere and deep piety. He was a member of the M. E. church, and whenever there was a meeting within a radius of six or eight miles, he was sure to be found among the worshippers. His chief aim for himself and his children seemed to be to "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness." His children were :
I. David ; born in Colerain, Mass., Sept. 12, 1801. He married Laura Williams, of Massachusetts. They had two children-Ce- lestia, who married Hezekiah Mattison, of Albion, and John H., who married Martha Gale and removed to Winsted, Missouri. David's wife, Laura, died Aug. 5, 1863. His second wife was Mrs.
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HOLLIS FAMILY.
Bartlett ; they are now living on the Vorea and Smartville road, near the Orwell line.
II. Lucy ; born in 1803. She never married. Like her father, she found her chief joy in Christian fellowship. The power of her exemplary Christian life over others is illustrated in the tribute paid her by one of her nephews: "Even when I was a little boy," said he, "I used to think the first person I should see when I got to heaven would be my Aunt Lucy; and," he added, "when the inconsistencies of many professing christians seemed to cast dis- credit upon all religion, her consistent christian life was a testi- mony to the truth of her faith, which could not be gainsaid." So, "being dead, she yet speaketh."
III. Asenath ; born July 20, 1806. She married Matthew Pres- ler in December, 1830. His grandfather, Joseph Presler, lived in Hoosac, Mass. His father, Matthew Presler, lived in Charlton, Saratoga Co., N. Y .; his mother was Abi, daughter of John Tifft. Matthew Presler, No. 2, removed from Saratoga to Ellisburgh, Jefferson Co., N. Y., with his parents, when about ten years of age, in 1819. After his marriage with Asenath Hollis in 1830, he removed to Orwell. He has been for many years a minister in the Wesleyan church. His wife died April 16, 1887. Following are the children of Matthew and Asenath Hollis Presler: 1. William H .; married Theodosia Cogswell, and had two children, Flora and Fred. After her death, about 1865, he married Ellen Halsey, of Mexico, N. Y. Children: Clara, Arthur and Mary. He is a farm- er and lives near the Orwell and Boylston line. 2. Leander C. When a young man he spent some time studying in Oberlin, Ohio. Finding Oberlin in every way congenial, he returned home to make preparations for a permanent residence. In 1862 he married Er- mina Presler, and soon after removed to Oberlin and continued his studies in the college, also managing the farm of President Finney. He has been deacon in the First Congregational church there, and has for many years conducted a weekly meeting for the promotion of holiness. He is also an earnest worker in the tem- perance cause and in every enterprise which has for its object moral and intellectual growth. Children: Charles Finney, Clara, Angie, Nellie and Lucy. 3. Margaret Ann, who is dead. 4. Lydia, who died in 1885. 5. Mary; married Charles Paddock and resides in Boylston.
IV. John; born in 1809 ; married Ann Tuttle ; children: Wil- liam, John J., Carroll and Gilbert. He. resided in Orwell until about 1876, when he removed to Sandy Creek.
1
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HISTORY OF ORWELL.
V. Samuel; born in 1812; married Lucy Ann Crocker ; chil- dren: Gardner, Delano, Monroe, Mary, Robert and Albert.
VI. William. [See his biography.]
VII. Gilbert ; born about 1818 ; died in 1848.
William Hollis was born in Orwell, Oct. 17, 1815. His father, Joshua Hollis, was born in Plymouth, Mass., about 1773, and in 1799 married Betsey Adams, of Onondaga Co., N. Y. In 1807 he moved to Orwell and located on the farm now owned by his son William. Children: David, Lucy, Asenath, John, Samuel, Wil- liam and Gilbert. William Hollis, who was next to the youngest son, married Margaret M. Rima, March 2, 1839. They had ten children: Esther, Malcolm, Harriet, Henry, Theron, Sarah, Jay, Sylvia, Howard and Jennie. All are living but Harriet, Sylvia and Howard. Mrs. Hollis died in September, 1863. Dec. 22, 1865, Mr. Hollis married Mrs. Johanna Stowell. His farm is on the Sandy Creek road, one and one-half miles from Orwell.
GILBERT FAMILY.
Allen Gilbert, one of the pioneers in Orwell township, was born in Middletown, Conn., April 23, 1756. His fa- ther was a Commissioner of the Crown prior to the Rev- olution, and received a grant of land in New York State. At the beginning of the Revolutionary war, Allen Gilbert enlisted in Webb's regiment of Connecticut Light Horse, which formed part of Shelden's Brigade. His regiment went directly to New York and was posted near Harlem river, where it did good service in covering the retreat of the American army from Long Island. Part of the time the regiment was posted on both sides of the Hudson river doing picket duty, and watching the enemy. He was stationed at West Point at the time Arnold's treachery came to light. The following autumn he was taken prisoner near White Plains in a skirmish with British Cavalry pickets. In the struggle he received a sabre slash which cut off some of his hair, and, passing through his stock buckle, severed some of the cords in his neck in such a manner that he could not hold his
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GILBERT FAMILY.
head back straight. His person also bore the scars of four other sabre cuts, three on his limbs above the knee and one extending from the left shoulder toward the breast. At the time he was wounded in the neck and captured, he was unable to ride, so the troopers threw him across a horse and so brought him into camp. He was imprisoned in the old Sugar house in New York, being one of the last captives sent there. That was what old soldiers used to call the "cold winter." The prisoners had no fire and suffered much from hunger and cold, while their comrades in the army were little better off in winter quarters at Morristown. In the spring, a colonel whose regiment was on Long Island, took Mr. Gilbert and another young man over to his place, on Brooklyn Heights, as servants for his wife. Mr. G., who acted as general servant, found a bayonet, and his companion, who was coachman, an old cutlass. These they hid until a dark night afforded them a chance to escape. Then one night they confiscated a log dugout belonging to an old negro woman who lived opposite Governor's Island, and set out for the Jersey shore. They let the canoe drift silently past the British ship- ping moored near Governor's Island, and came near be- ing carried out to sea, but by hard work succeeded in landing on Staten Island. Crossing the island, they each took a fence rail in lieu of a boat, and swam across to the Jersey mainland, reaching it just after daylight. Soon after they were enabled to rejoin their regiments. Allen Gilbert was discharged in May, 1782, having serv- ed eight years and one month. June 25, 1782, he mar - ried Mary Hall. Three or four years later he removed to Canajoharie, N. Y., and, after residing there three years, to Sharon, N. Y. Previous to 1809 he removed to Orwell. Part of his children had already married
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HISTORY OF ORWELL.
and settled in Sharon. He located on the hill nearly a mile north of the village. In 1810 he set off about an acre of land from the southwest corner of the farm for a cemetery. He died Dec. 13, 1814, his wife having passed away July 14th of the same year.
Children of Allen and Mary Hall Gilbert.
I. Hannah; born Oct. 5, 1783; married an Olmstead and resided in Sharon.
II. Betsey; born Feb. 15, 1785; married Asa Crocker; died March 15, 1848.
III. Lucy; born Feb. 10, 1787; married James D. Wood and resided in Orwell.
IV. Dolly; born Sept. 10, 1788; died April 28, 1838.
V. Richard; born Jan. 1, 1791; settled in Sharon.
VI. Esther; born Aug. 28, 1792; married Stark Tracy; settled in Sandy Creek; died Sept. 19, 1831.
VII. Edward; born May 3, 1795; married Anna Balch; resided in Orwell.
VIII. Allen; born Aug. 1, 1797; died Aug. 11, 1824.
IX. Jabez H .; born Sept. 30, 1799.
Shortly after his brother Allen's death in 1824, Jabez, who had been in the employ of his uncle Jabez Hall, of Hartford, removed to Orwell, and occupied the home farm. The year following he commenced lumbaring operations and built a saw mill on the creek running through his farm. One had previously been built on the same site by Joseph Watson, but, being defective in construction, it had been washed away by spring freshets. He also worked the stone quarry for some years. At that time the quarrying of grindstones for eastern mar- kets was quite an industry there. The little settlement boasted two boarding houses and a grist mill, besides several dwellings. He also handled large quantities of lumber, hauling it in the winter to New London, and then shipping it by canal to the east. Soon after 1830, he built a store at Orwell Corners and John L. Dickin-
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GILBERT FAMILY.
son came from Pulaski to run it. At this time he was shipping large quantities of butter and cheese, and was also engaged with Nathan Salisbury, of Sandy Creek, in driving cattle and sheep to eastern markets. It will be seen from the foregoing that Jabez H. Gilbert had no inconsiderable share in developing the business interests of Orwell. While still in the place he was elected County Sheriff. This was in 1837, and later in 1846 served as County Clerk. In the spring of 1841 he removed to Pulaski for greater convenience in transact- ing business. He then bought the steamer George Clin- ton, and with her did the first towing of canal boats from Oswego to Port Ontario. Capt. E. Chapman sail- ed the Clinton for a long time, and never lost a boat he had in tow. Mr. Gilbert also purchased another steam- er, the President. When the R. & W. railroad was built he went to Rome and opened a lumber yard there. He procured lumber from Canada, towing it to Cape Vincent, transporting it by the R. & W. RR. to Rome, and thence shipping by canal. He carried on an exten- sive business for many years. Died in 1883.
Children of Jabez H. and. Polly Salisbury Gilbert.
I. Allen G .; was one of those who sailed around Cape Horn on the way to California in 1849. He is now located at Waukesha, Wisconsin.
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