A Centennial Memorial History of Allegany county, New York, Part 106

Author: Minard, John Stearns, 1834-1920; Merrill, Georgia Drew
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: Alfred, N.Y., W. A. Fergusson & co.
Number of Pages: 1102

USA > New York > Allegany County > A Centennial Memorial History of Allegany county, New York > Part 106

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Adoniram J. Stockwell is the son of Joel Stockwell who was born in Dummerston, Vt., in 1796, where his father, whose name was also Joel, was an old resident. Before leaving his father's farm one afternoon Joel overworked in pitching hay, from the effects of which he never recovered. In 1818 he came to Hume and bought and cleared the land still the home of his son Adoniram, paying about $4 per acre. In 1823 he returned to Vermont and married Mary Bailey who was born in Brattleboro, Vt., in 1794. Their children were : Mary T., Olive M., Adoniram and Laura A. Mr. Stockwell died in 1841, his widow in 1883. Adoniram J. Stock- well, born on the old homestead in Hume, May 7, 1833, has from boyhood been a farmer. In 1887 he married Ann, daughter of Deacon Richard Robinson, who came from Vermont to Portage in the " twenties," and spent the rest of his life there. They have one child, Joel W., born in 1869, now railroad agent and telegraph operator at Rossburg. Joel W. Stockwell married, in 1892, Helene M., daughter of Dennis Torpey of Hume.

Dennis S. Torpey is the son of Thomas Torpey, who came about 1834 from Cork, Ireland, to Duro, Canada, and in 1839 to Caledonia, N. Y., where he married Julia Doyle, and in 1840 came to Fillmore. Children : John, Dennis. Catherine (Mrs. John Powers), Nancy (Mrs. John Mahoney) and Margaret. He was a butcher and farmer, and returned in 1859 to Canada, where he died in 1891. Dennis S. Torpey was born in Fillmore in 1841 and brought up a farmer. When 22 years old worked for Dunn & Kingley, canal contractors. At the age of 23 he bought boat " Bee Harrower " for $150, paid for it in one year and had $900 left. He sold this boat for $300, and bought boat " Lake Erie " for $575, run it five years and then sold it, he boated lumber from Belfast to Fairport, N. Y. He then bought the W. E. Hammond of Oramel, and bought and sold in Rochester, wood, stave-bolts, lumber, bolts, bark, etc., and boated them to market as long as the canal lasted. May 20, 1870, he married Mary Elizabeth Hodnett. Children : Julia Kathrine, a teacher ; John Otto, a telegraph operator ; Ella Marga- ret (Mrs. J. W. Stockwell of Rossburg) Rose May, a teacher ; Dennis Patrick and Clara Marie in school. In 1879 Mr. Torpey bought a farm in Granger where he lived three years and then came to Fillmore and had charge of men and teams for Dunn, Butterfield & Neher in railroad constructions. Mr. Torpey has been for several years a dealer in real estate, a contractor and builder, and a member of the school-board of Fillmore village and a trustee of St. Patrick's church.

Elias Tiffany is the son of Lemuel Tiffany, whose father's name was also Lemuel, and lived in Douglas, Worcester Co., Mass., where Lemuel Jr., married Betsey Barnes. Their chil- dren were : Permelia, Elias, Lydia, David, George, Adeline, Elmira and Betsey. Elias was born Oct. 6, 1820, in Douglas, and was raised on a farm. At the age of 17 he went to work by the month. In 1840 he came to Allegany county and began buying and selling cattle and hogs, following the business of a drover for 9 years, traveling over a large part of the state, buying stock wherever he went, which he drove to Albany and Boston markets. In 1850 Mr. Tiffany married Mary Rawson in Northbridge, Mass., and in 1853 bought and settled on his present farm of 200 acres between Wiscoy and Mills Mills, paying $18 per acre. For the next 35 years he was a large butter dealer, buying largely in the eastern counties, but found Allegany butter the best quality. During war times he bought $5,000 worth in 2 days, paying 50 cents a pound. He has also bought and sold sheep and cattle ever since living in Hume. He has served as commissioner of highways 2 years. Mr. and Mrs. Tiffany had 2 children, Laura, who died in 1888, and Eva, married Fred Gleason of Portage, who is now the farmer on the old homestead. Mr. Tiffany lives with them ; his mother died in 1833, his father in 1875, and his wife in 1889.

Horace W. Webster is the son of Waite Webster, who were born in 1793, whose father, Elizer Webster, a descendant of Gov. John Webster of Hartford, Conn., went from Connecti- cut to Poultney, Vt. Waite Webster married Anna Wheat, and settled in Hampton, N. Y. Their children were Henry, Lucy and Asenath. He married second, Hannah, the sister of his first wife. Children : Anna M., Emily L., Isabel, Horace W. and Hiram. Waite Webster died in 1849, Mrs. Hannah Webster in 1872. Elizer, a brother of Waite, was the pioneer, in 1803, of Warsaw, N. Y., the first supervisor in 1808, an associate judge of Genesee in 1813, assem-

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HISTORY OF ALLEGANY COUNTY, N. Y.

blyman in 1816 and 1817, and member of the constitutional convention of 1821. He was born in 1767 and died in 1854. Horace W. Webster was born in Hampton in 1820 and became a farmer. He sold the old homestead and bought his present farm in Hume in 1860.

Henry C. and Nathaniel M. Wells, " Wells Bros," merchants at Hume, are sons of Nathan- iel M. Wells, who came from Otsego county (where his father Joshua Wells also lived), to Pike about 1825. In 1850 he settled on the present Theodore Mather farm in Hume. His first wife was Polly Wright. Children : Ann J., Miles W., George W., Joshua, Mary A., William H., Arminia L., Henry C .. Nathaniel M., Julia L. and Lydia. Miles W., George W., and William H., were soldiers in the Civil War. Miles served three years and came out uninjured. George was a prisoner in Libby prison, and William H., died in Andersonville prison. Their mother died in 1860. Henry C. Wells was born in 1850 in Pike. He was a farmer till 1876, when he and his brother Nathaniel M., built the first cheese factory in Hume village. They ran it suc- cessfully for ten years, and sold it to John D. Fuller. In 1886 they bought Forrest Minard's store, and conducted merchandising in Hume village. Henry C., married Louisa C., daughter of John Fuller of Pike in 1872. Children : Roscoe F., Edna, Nathaniel M. Nathaniel M. Wells was born in Hume in 1852. At the age of 18 he learned the carpenter's trade, and was a con- tracter and builder for the next 16 years. In 1873 he married Otelia, daughter of Onson Beards- ley of Hume. Mr. Wells, always a Republican, was commissioner of highways from 1878 to 1881, and supervisor of Hume from 1885 to 1888.

Charles E. Wells, hardware dealer at Hume village, was born in Oswayo, Pa., in 1858. His father, Charles Wells from Orange county, N. Y., married Harriet Downs, children : Dr. W. F. Wells of Rushford, Charles E., George F., Rathbone and Sarah. Mr. Wells brought his family to Wellsville where Charles E. attended the Riverside school and in 1876 became a clerk in M. E. Davis' drygoods store at Belmont, then went into the hardware store of W. H. Somers to learn the tinsmith's trade. In 1878 he came to Hume and worked ten years in S. L. Doud's hardware store which he bought in 1888. In 1893 he sold the business to Fred Seeley and re- moved to Wellsville where he became a partner in the hardware firm of Lewis & Wells. In the fall of 1894 Mr. Wells re-purchased the business of Mr. Seeley and returned to Hume. He married in 1891, Mrs. Viola (Sweet) Manchester, of Hume. Mrs. Wells has one child, Louis, by her first husband, James P. Manchester.

William H. Wilday, proprietor of the planing and feed mills at Fillmore, is the son of Sylvester and Roxana (Lee) Wilday, who settled in Hume from Schoharie Co., N. Y. Their children were : William H., Diadama, Franklin M., Martin D., and Leonard D. Mrs. Wilday was the daughter of Andrew Lee from Vermont. Mr. Wilday enlisted in the 104th regiment and went to the front, was taken sick and died in the hospital at Baltimore in 1865. William H. was born in 1851, bought a farm when but 15 years old and remained a farmer till he bought in 1889 of Wilson Tarbell the planingmill property in Fillmore village to which he has added a feedmill and lumber yard. Mr. Wilday worked in the lumberwoods in Portage from 1886 to 1889. Mr. Wilday married in 1876 Sarah E. Frazier. Children : Grace B. Elenor A., Roy E., Lloyd R., Forest S., Harold F., Ward A., Olive C. and Burdette O.

Linus E. Wiles, dentist at Fillmore, is the son of George W., son of Daniel Wiles of Ger- man extraction, who removed to Perry from the Mohawk valley. George W. Wiles married Mary, daughter of Jonathan Wing, an early settler in Eagle from New Hampshire. Their children were Linus E., and Drusilla, who married C. K. Farnsworth of Hume, In 1851 Mr. Wiles moved to Hume, where he died in 1887. Linus E. was born in Pike, May 19, 1850. He attended common schools and the Chamberlain Institute in Randolph, where he studied dent- istry with Dr. Joel Danforth. From 1875 to 1880 he practiced his profession in Andover, coming in 1880 to Fillmore, and being the first settled dentist in Hume. He married in 1876, Mary, daughter of Stephen Robinson of Andover. Children, Lena, Charles H., Arthur, Reita and Lynn. Dr. Wiles has been excise commissioner, and is superintendent of the Wesleyan Methodist Sabbath school.

Mrs. Mary Willey is daughter of Absalom, son of Aaron and Ann (Handisides) Agar, of Yorkshire, England, whose children were, Isabella. Jane, Absalom, Aaron, Mary and Ann. Absalom, born in 1811, came to Hume in 1832, and paid $150 for the first half of his present farm of 200 acres. He married Mary Mattson. Children, John, who married Mary Ingersoll, children, William, Elmer and Milton, who went west and died in Colorado. In 1850 Mr. Agar married his second wife, Celia Fitch. Their children were Joseph and Mary, who was born in 1857, attended the common schools and Pike Seminary, and taught school ten terms, in Hume village in 1876, Fillmore 1877, and Centerville in 1878. She married Wilson Willey in 1882, who died in 1885 leaving one child, Chester. Mrs. Willey and her brother Joseph live on the old farm with their father. Their mother died in 1894.

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HUME.

Byron E. Woods is son of Wilbur F., and grandson of Ely Woods, who came in 1816 from Windsor, Vt., to Rushford, and married Nancy, daughter of Enos Gary, the pioneer settler. Nancy Gary, born in 1800, was said to have been the first white female who slept in Rushford. Daniel, William, Riley, Clarissa, Lucy, Laura, Maila and Louisa Woods, brothers and sisters of Ely, came soon after. His children were William W., Caroline, Maila, P., Esther, Wilber F., Catharine and Frank. Wilbur F. Woods, a hardware merchant in Macedon, born in 1833. in Rushford, was a farmer and justice of the peace. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Benja- min Claus from Herkimer Co. in 1857. Their children were Rose (Mrs. Winfield Persons), Byron E., Carlton, Grover and Mabel. Byron E., born in Rushford in 1861, attended Rushford Academy, married in 1883, Florence E., daughter of F. R. Palmer of Centerville, where they settled on a farm. Mr. Woods was elected constable in Centerville in 1894 and the same year was appointed deputy sheriff and moved to Fillmore.

Wilson L. Young, son of Richard G. Young of Belfast, was born in 1856. When 18 years old he began making cheese and has since followed this occupation. He came to Fillmore in 1886 and bought the Sisson cheese factory. His father married Harriet Warford. Children : Myron G., LeRoy, and Wilson L., who married, in 1892, Emma Meineka of Belfast. They live in the village of Fillmore and have 2 children, Hollis and Beulah.

Winthrop G. Young, junior member of the firm of Young & Young of Fillmore, cheese and cheese-box manufacturers, is son of William P. Young of Rushford, whose father, Josephus Young, was a native of New England. William P. married Sindonia, daughter of Joseph Wright of Rushford. Their children were : Monroe, Hattie, Everett, Carrie and Winthrop G., who was born in 1855, and was brought up on a farm. In 1880 he began making cheese, working in Sheldon, afterward in Java. Since coming to Fillmore in 1883, he has been manager of the cheese factories of Young & Young. In 1874 he married Attie, daughter of John F. Gordon of Rushford. Cora, their only child, married, in 1894, John Bagney of Fillmore.

Stephen H. Draper of Granger is a son of John, and grandson of Jonas Draper, from the Black River country, N. Y., a late descendant from one of three Drapers, brothers, and first of that name from Scotland to the United States. Jonas Draper was one of the early settlers of Gainesville, Wyoming county, where John Draper was born, and was a school teacher, carpenter and joiner. He married Susan, daughter of Ste- phen Ralph of St. Helena, N. Y. Stephen H. was born at Gainesville Feb. 22, 1836. His father died Dec. 16, 1836. Stephen H. left Gainesville when 6 years old, traveled by wagon through Short Tract, in Granger, to Carpenter's in Birdsall, N. Y., with his mother and uncle, in April, 1841 ; in November, same year, was adopted into the family of Ellery Gifford, who lived on farm now owned by Mr. Newton, and moved to Springwater, N. Y., February, 1844. While living in Birdsall Stephen saw many deer, grey wolves, one black bear, and one panther, all wild and in the woods. April 17, 1861, at Springwater, N. Y., he attended a war meeting, and was the first of 7 to enlist from the town in the war of the Rebellion, in Co. B, 13th N. Y. Inf., which was the first regiment to pass through Baltimore after the assault there on the 6th Mass. He was in most of the engagements for the first two years of the army of the Potomac ; was a scout, sharpshooter and army guide, and is the scout mentioned in the history of the first battle of Bull Run as bringing in a colored man and giving General W. T. Sherman important information. He was hit seven times in the second Bull Run, one bullet struck him in the forehead and he was reported killed, which news reached his home, and he has now his funeral sermon prepared by Rev. Mr. Hunter among his valued keepsakes. Afterwards the same Rev. Wm. Hunter officiated at the marriage of Stephen H. Draper to Ellen Burk March 26, 1867. Frank Draper, only son of S. H. and Ellen B. Draper, is a telegrapher, stenographer and typewriter for the N. Y. & N. E. Railroad Company at Stamford, Conn. Mr. Draper was honorably discharged with the regiment at Rochester, May 7, 1863. June 25, 1863, he received authority to recruit for the 21st New York Cavalry, William B. Tibbets, commanding; enlisted over 300 men, having offices at Rochester, Troy, Dansville, Livonia, Conesus and Springwater. Accepted second lieutenant commission in K Co. in Nov., 1863, and was honorably discharged May 17, 1865, having served as ordnance officer, quartermaster and commissary, and lastly as special inspector under P. H. Sheridan from December 9, 1864, to the close of the war, in the Middle Military Division, at Winchester, Va. He was severely wounded at White Post, Va., March 22d, and having his horse shot from under him was captured. He escaped, liber- ating five others, at Lacy Springs, 65 miles distant, and returned to Winchester March 27, 1865. He received the famous Col. Mosby for Gen. Chapman, April 18, 1865, with 17 of his command under flag of truce, at Mil- wood, Va .; was at the grand review at final close of war, was honorably discharged at Washington, D. C., May 27, 1865, Major General P. H. Sheridan walking to the Adjt. General's office with him and recommend- ing the discharge. He is now living near Rossburg, assisting the state historian, Hugh Hastings, in writing up the services of the New York troops; is a member of Burnside Post, 237, G. A. R., and County Inspector of Allegany Co., Department of New York. He is totally disabled for performing manual labor by reason of army disabilities, has lately been granted a pension of $12 per month, and is a pension attorney in good standing before the Pension Bureau. He has been justice of the peace until declining to serve longer, prefer- ring the office of notary public, which he holds for Allegany and Livingston counties. Always voted the Republican ticket, commencing with John C. Fremont. He is a practical steam engineer and ran two loco- motives out from the enemy's lines during the late war.

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HISTORY OF ALLEGANY COUNTY, N. Y.

CENTREVILLE. *

BY JOHN S. MINARD.

CHAPTER LXII.

THE TOWN of Centreville was created by an act of the legislature passed Jan. 15, 1819, out of territory which from March 6, 1818, had been in- cluded in Pike; Pike having been taken from Nunda at that date, and origin- ally including beside present Pike, Hume, Centreville and Eagle. Nunda was formed from Angelica, March 11, 1808; and Angelica from Leicester, which was formed March 30, 1802. Previous to 1802 Leicester had for a short period formed a part of Northampton, a town which included all the Holland Purchase and considerable territory east of it. So Centreville has formed a part in succession of Northampton, Leicester, Angelica, Nunda and Pike. Centreville was designated on the map of the Holland Purchase as township six, range two, and although the deeds refer to the survey as having been made by Joseph Ellicott, William Rumsey subdivided the town- ship into lots in July and August, 1807.

Centreville, the northwestern town in the county, lies on the summit of the ridge dividing the waters of the Genesee river and Cattaraugus creek. Its surface is moderately hilly upland, and the soil mostly a clayey loam. It is drained by the Sixth Town creek (improperly called Six Town) which has two principal tributaries, one having its source in the northwest part of the town; the other, starting from the southwest part, contributes more largely to its configuration than any other stream; Houghton creek, whose source is in the southeast part, and by a small and very sluggish stream in the northwest part, which is a branch of Cattaraugus creek. The first set- tlement was made directly at the "Centre" several years before the town was formed, and Centreville seemed the proper name for the new town.

The first who "articled," or " took up " land were Joseph Maxson, Rus- sell Trall, Thomas Clute, Strong Warner, David Gelatt and Samuel Webster in 1808. Settlement was made by Joseph Maxson in April, and, as Turner, in his "History of the Holland Purchase," well says, " his advent into this primitive wilderness is worthy of notice." He was only 18, and came from Otsego Co. Two cents and a few articles of provisions and clothing con- stituted his wealth. At Pike he took from his feet a pair of new shoes, bar- tered them for an axe, and pushed on into the wilderness, and in the center of the township near a small stream erected the rudest kind of a hut. For a bed he peeled basswood bark, used some pieces as a floor and others for covering. Not long after he came snow fell six inches deep. He persevered

* The name as incorporated was Centreville. Usage and custom now frequently spell it Centerville. - Editor.

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in his labors and passed eight months alone. In the books of the land office an entry made July 22, 1808, shows that he had five acres cleared, which probably meant nothing more than felling the trees and burning the brush. He raised a few bushels of corn and some potatoes the first year, and had two acres prepared and put into wheat that fall. Success attended the young pioneer. He became an early tavern keeper and the owner of a large and well-improved farm. After the country was considerably cleared up he became restive, sold out in the forties, went to Wisconsin, and engaged in building mills. "He preserved for years one of the cents before men- tioned, one kernel of the seed corn of 1808, and an old wooden fan with which he cleaned the first wheat raised in town."

Before 1810 James Ward had erected a framed barn, the first it is said in town. He is also credited with planting the first orchard. Soon after this, settlement was made a little north of the center by Zacheus Spencer, Thomas and Strong Warner and Perkins B. Woodward from Ashford, Conn. Strong Warner afterwards kept a public house about 13 miles northeast of the "Centre," on the Allegany road. He was a stiring, resolute, enterpris- ing man and often called to positions of responsibility by his townsmen. He removed to Michigan where he died. Woodward located about half a mile north of the village, where he ever after lived. He was the first to manu- facture brick in town. The business was abandoned some 40 years ago. Sargent Morrell, from Vermont, located in 1810 in the south part. Benja- min Blanchard, also from Vermont, came in 1811 settling on lot 25. He died 20 years ago. He had four brothers who located here, Mark, Lewis, Abel and Barnes, all had large families. But one only of the name is left in town. Luther Houghton located in 1811, but soon removed to Caneadea. In 1812 John and Samuel Leach settled on lot 26. Other early settlers were William Foy, Mr. Perry, Mr. Carpenter, Eber Hotchkiss, Mr. Thatcher, Russell Higgins, Russell Trall, Dr. Calvin Cass and Packard Bruce. Trall took "articles " for land in 1808, and became a resident during the war of 1812. His location was on the "John H. Davis," or " Morris farm," where he died 50 years ago. Mrs. Russell Higgins was a daughter of Russell Trall, as was also Mrs. Timothy Higgins. One of his sons, Marvin Trall was once town clerk of Centerville, afterward a prominent lawyer of Wyoming county, and county judge and surrogate of that county. Russell T. Trall, another son, is the well-known physician, lecturer and medical author of New York City.

Calvin Couch was among the new comers in 1820. He came from Pike, where his father settled ten years earlier. He died in 1829, leaving a widow and sons Jonathan and William B. Jonathan was supervisor for several years, and held other town offices. He died ten years ago, and William re- moved to the west. Hugh Gillis from Ontario county. located in 1825 about 100 rods from where he died a few years since. He was justice of the peace many years. Morris Stickle from Monroe county located in 1822 on the farm now owned by Erwin Stickle, there passing the remainder of his days.

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HISTORY OF ALLEGANY COUNTY, N. Y

Myron Stickle for years supervisor and justice, and side judge in the county is the only representative left in town of the immediate family of Morris Stickle.

The first inn was kept by one Thatcher at the Centre in 1810, and the first store by Sparrow Smith in 1820. The first physician was Calvin Cass. The first one born and the first to die was Calvin P. Perry. The first marriage was that of William Foy and Ruth Merrill in 1811. The first school was taught in the winter of 1813-14 by Perkins B. Woodward. The first framed house was built by a Mr. Carpenter. The first sawmill was erected on Sixth Town creek, by Mark Blanchard and Eber Hotchkiss in 1813, and it was indeed a notable event, as any boards, or sawed stuff used before that date had to be brought from Mills' Mills. This sawmill stood on the farm now owned by Arthur B, Chase the noted violinist.

In 1817 Russell Higgins and Packard Bruce erected the pioneer grist- mill on Sixth Town creek. It was a rude affair, but its noisy clatter made music which gladdened the ears and hearts of the early settlers, for it saved them weary journeys through the woods to Mills' Mills. This mill fixed the name "Higgins' Mill " on the little hamlet in the hollow. A gristmill was built at the "Centre " by John Thompson, Charles Tarry and others just before the Civil War, but it ran only two or three years. Thos. Symes has a feed mill in his shop at the "Centre."

Russell Higgins' two danghters and a son still occupy the old home- stead; one of the daughters, Ellen, attained considerable eminence as a phy- sician, and practiced several years in the city of New York. Mr. Bruce did not remain long in town. His son, Edward S., was once sheriff of Alle- gany, and a daughter married Hon. Henry M. Teller.

Centerville was not so heavily timbered with pine as were some of the other towns near by, but still there was enough of this valuable wood to attract attention, beech, maple, cherry, ash, cucumber, oak and elm were found in their perfection. Ashes were a great article of commerce, helping largely to defray the expenses of clearing the land and paying for provision and clothing. Sparrow Smith manufactured pearlash here from 1825 to 1844, an ashery was almost invariably connected with a store, and the ash- gatherer, with his big team and capacious wagon or sleigh box, was a very familiar sight. He carried a trunk or box containing pins, needles, hooks and eyes, tape, calico, tea, coffee, spice, etc., to pay for the ashes. A store and ashery was conducted at Higgins' Mills for some years. Cook, Hale & Co. were for years the town's leading men in the ashery business. By the state census of 1855 only two asheries were reported in the county, both were in this town.

When Porter Hanks came from Plainfield, Otsego Co., in 1831 a Mr. Cook was running a store here for Mr. Hale of Rochester, Joseph Maxson was keeping one public house and Russell Trall another at the Centre. Mr. Hanks opened another store with Bradley Higgins as a silent partner, and was succeeded by M. D. Higgins. The main part of the residence of D. A.

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A Centennial Memorial History of Allegany county, New York, Part 106

Author: Minard, John Stearns, 1834-1920; Merrill, Georgia Drew Publication date: 1896 Publisher: Alfred, N.Y., W. A. Fergusson & co. Number of Pages: 1102

Author: Minard, John Stearns, 1834-1920; Merrill, Georgia Drew
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: Alfred, N.Y., W. A. Fergusson & co.
Number of Pages: 1102