A Centennial Memorial History of Allegany county, New York, Part 111

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 111

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Abram J. Lyon, son of Ebenezer P. and grandson of Abraham J. and Mary (Pratt) Lyon, was born in Rushford Feb. 10, 1841. Abraham J. Lyon was born in Walling, Conn., in 1789, one of II children. His wife was born in New Haven, Conn., in 1792. They came to Rush- ford in 1810. Children, Ebenezer P., Eliza A., Emeline (Mrs. John N. Kingsbury) and Merritt, all born in Rushford. Judge Lyon was the first lawyer in town, was justice of the peace over 30 years, was of the session justices of the county court, was supervisor in 1845-6, and was noted for his generosity and public spirit. He died in 1862. Ebenezer P. his eldest son was born May 17, 1812, was raised a farmer and married in 1832, Lucy, daughter of Daniel Kings- bury. Children, Martin, Mary A. (Mrs. R. D. Charles), Laura and Abram J. who was born Feb. 10, 1841. He was raised a farmer, attended common schools and Rushford Academy, and in 1862 enlisted in Co. D, 64th N. Y., serving as drum major, was in most of the great battles, Fredericksburg, Spottsylvania, Gettysburg, the Wilderness and was present when Lee surren- dered. Returning home he married in 1866 Rebecca, daughter of William Swift of New Hud- son. In 1889 he married for his second wife Velma Richardson of Cazenovia, Madison Co., daughter of Nelson Richardson. They have one adopted son, John. Mr. Lyon's farm of 120 acres is the old homestead his grandfather settled on which his father was born and passed his life. He was highway commissioner and in 1856 supervisor of Rushford.

Frank E. McCall is the grandson of Judge James McCall, who came with Levi Benjamin in 1814, was the first storekeeper, bought and ran the Warren grist and sawmill built in 1813, built East Rushford gristmill in 1818, filled many town and county offices, represented Allegany in the state legislature in 1818, 1819 and 1823, and was the most prominent citizen of Rushford for many years. The children of James and Elizabeth (Dey) McCall were : Sophia, born Sept. 27, 1800 ; Milton, born Sept. 22, 1801 ; Matilda, April 16, 1803 ; Emily, May 2, 1805 ; Seneca, Oct. 30, 1807 ; Nelson, March 25, 1810 ; Maria, Feb. 20, 1812 ; Ansel, March 1, 1814; Naomi, Oct. 5, 1815 ; Eliza, Jan. 25, 1819 ; James, July 23, 1820; Ira Newell, Aug. 3, 1821 ; Catharine, Oct. 10, 1822, and Jacob R., April 12, 1824. Judge McCall is remembered as a man of broad views, and charitable deeds, reflected in a long unselfish life. Ira N. McCall became a

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farmer and lumberman. He was an expert judge of standing timber. He passed 15 years locating pine lands, 100,000 acres of which he selected for O. T. Higgins and Hon. Alfred Bell. He married Jerusha, daughter of Wilson Gordon ; children : James W., Ella and Dell, twins, Frank E. and Corvie E. Mr. McCall removed to Rochester in 1861, where he died in 1892, and his widow in 1895. Frank E. was born fn Rushford in 1858, and attended school in Rochester. His present farm of 258 acres is the old homestead of his grandfather Gordon. He married a daughter of John Ryecraft of Rushford ; children : Newell, Jesseviene, Erwin, Ethel and Gordon.

Lyman B. Metcalf is the son of Rev. Elijah Metcalf who was born in New Hampshire in 1777, married Hannah Blaksley and settled in Herkimer Co., N. Y. Children : Lyman B. born in 1814, Levi. Zephi and Elijah. Lyman B. was brought up a farmer and came to Rushford in 1832. He married, in 1835. Eliza, daughter of Cyrus Porter. Children : Elijah, a soldier, Hannah, Juliaette (Mrs. Wm. Stone. children, Alfred and DeWitt), Rachel L. and Fred, married Ette Elmer, children, Lyman and Orlando. Rev. Elijah Metcalf was a pioneer Methodist preacher on the Holland Purchase. He formed the first class in Rushford, and was an active minister till his death in 1861. Lyman B. enlisted in the 64th N. Y. Regiment in 1861, and served under Gen. McClellan, was in battle of Malvern Hill. His health failed and he was discharged and told he could not recover, but he did and re-enlisted in the 2d Mounted Rifles and served till close of the war. Mr. Metcalf receives a pension of $14 per month.

William S. Mulliken is son of Edwin E. Mulliken, who was born in Ovid, N. Y., in 1805, where his father, Samuel, had settled from Vermont. The children of Edwin E. and Lucebe (Bond) Mulliken who came to Farmersville were : William S. (born in 1843), Lucebe (Mrs. Henry Thomas of Farmersville) and Lorenzo, dec. William S. was "raised " a f farmer and came to Rushford in 1867. In 1880 he bought of the estate of William T. Galpin the furniture and undertaking business and conducted it till 1894. He married in 1883 Blanche, daughter of Joseph E. Bixby, whose father, Joseph, settled in Rushford about 1816. Joseph E. was born in Rushford in 1820, and has been a wagon maker since 1840. Mr. and Mrs. Mulliken have two children, Erna and Ely. Mr. Mulliken has served a term each as justice of the peace, and as assessor, and 9 years on the school board, of which his father was also a member many years.

Cornelius Kimber Benham Smith, son of Alfred, son of Elihu Smith from Connecticut, was born in Windham, N. Y., April 13, 1824. His father, Alfred, born in 1799, married Polly Brandow and came in 1828 to Rushford and bought 100 acres of wild land of the Holland Pur- chase Co., at $2.50 per acre, to which he added other purchases and became a large land holder. He died in 1874, and his wife in 1880. C. K. B. Smith, their only child has always been a farmer, is now the owner of 950 acres, 360 of which are the old homestead his father settled. When a young man he taught 5 terms of common school in Rushford. In 1849 he married Maria, daughter of Kingsbury Howe. Their children have been, Henry, married Cora Tarbell, children : Alfred, George, Clarence and Ida. Children by his second wife, Betsey Carpenter, were Lawrence K., married Ida Chapin, children, Charles, Kimber and Allen ; Eliza. (Mrs. Daniel Lewis, children : Lillie, Maggie, Bertha, Verna, Marie, Frank and Archie) ; Arlouine, (Mrs. Frank Kingsbury, children, Harry and Willie) ; Grant, married Elizabeth Peet, children, Millard and Margaret ; Irene (Mrs. Emerson Kendall, children, Marie, Dallas and Zoe).

Dr. Orrin T. Stacy, now of Rochester, N. Y., was born in Centreville in 1835, son of Dr. William A. Stacy, who was born in Rochester, Vt., where his father, Ebenezer Stacy, of English extraction, lived. William A. took his medical degree at Castleton, Vt., married in that state Nancy, only child of Nathan Bingham, whose parents accompanied the young couple to western New York and Allegany county. They settled first in Boston, Erie county, coming from thence at an early day to Centreville. The children of Dr. W. A. Stacy were : Thomas, Minerva (Mrs. Samuel Blodgett), Jerome E., Nathan, who died at the age of 25 in Iowa, where Thomas and Jerome now live, John, died in Centreville in 1864, Orrin T., Ellen (Mrs. Charles Brown), Jane (Mrs. William E. Kyes), William and Warren who died in infancy. Orrin T. attended school at Rushford, where his father removed in 1856 and practiced till his death. He taught school 9 terms, read medicine in his father's office, graduated from the Buffalo medi- cal college in 1860, and settled in Rushford, where he practiced medicine for 25 years. He served two terms in the state legislature (1875 and 1876), elected on the Republican ticket. He married, in 1862, M. Antoinette, daughter of Emerson Kendall of Rushford. They have 3 children : Minnie, Marie A. and W. Allen. In 1885 Dr. Stacy removed to Rochester where he settled as a physician at 284 Alexander street, quitting practice however in 1893.

Miles M. Tarbell, proprietor of the Tarbell House in Rushford village, is the son of Abel and Julia (Mills) Tarbell, whose children were Nelson, Mary (Mrs. Hosea B. Persons), Eme- line (Mrs. William Babbitt), Amelia (Mrs. Igel Peck), Lewis, Myra (Mrs. Quincy Chamberlain, two sons, Joel C. and George B), and Miles M., all born in Rushford. Abel and his brother

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HISTORY OF ALLEGANY COUNTY, N. Y.

James, natives of New Hampshire, came in 1820 from Vermont with ox teams and settled on lot 52. Their cash capital was twelve and a half cents, an old fashioned shilling. Miles M. was born March 18, 1840, attended the old Rushford Academy, and became a farmer. In 1863 he married Elsie, daughter of Alonzo and Electa (Gary) Farwell. They had one child Clayton M. married Jessie Cook. Children : Berton and Elsie. His second wife was Jennette, daughter of John W. Hill. Children : Jennie (Mrs. Stephen Wilmot, one child Jennie), Abel M., and John. His third wife was Julia, daughter of Emory Bosworth of Belmont. They have one child, Car- rie M. While on the old homestead which he still owns, Mr. Tarbell was proprietor of the meat market in Rushford village for one year, 1875. In 1881 he bought his present hotel, and from 1890 to 1894 he was a partner with Clark T. Rice in the stage route from Rushford to Caneadea.

Edwin H. Taylor is the son of Zebina, son of Silas Taylor, who lived in Granby, Mass., and married Lydia Townsend. Ten children were born to them : Ozial, Justice, Allen, Zebina, Roland, George, Clarissa, Roxa, Alzina and Marilla. Mr. Taylor moved to Vermont where his son, Zebina was born in 1808, and married Melintha Taylor in 1828, and came the same year to Rushford, settling on Taylor Hill, which has born the family name ever since. Their children were Philo, Silas, Lydia M. (Mrs. Marshall Nye), Martin and Edwin H. The childhood and youth of Edwin H. were passed on the farm and in the common schools. In 1867 he married Cordelia, daughter of William G. Lafferty. Their children are : Verner A., born Feb. 6, 1870, married Jennie Thomas; Elmer S., born April 12, 1872; Edna L., born July 25, 1875, now a school teacher ; Bret H., born Nov. 11, 1876, died June 14, 1894, Elvie C., born Aug. 7, 1878; Erwin F., born July 3, 1880 ; and Eric L., born Oct. 16, 1892, died March 17, 1893. Mr. Taylor has passed his entire life in the vicinity in which he was born, Nov. 25, 1839 His farm com- prises 152 acres.

John J. Thomas is grandson of John Thomas of Wales, whose son William G., born in 1789 married Phebe Reese. Children : Mary, David W., Benjamin, Elizabeth, Ann, John J., Margaret (Mrs. John D. Charles), and Phebe. William G. left Wales for America in 1848 and settled in Rome, N. Y., till 1852 when he brought his family to Rushford, and, in 1854, bought 251 acres of land and 30 cows. He sold his cheese as high as 22 cents a pound, and dressed pork for $16 per 100 pounds. He died in 1879, his widow in 1880. John J. Thomas was born in Wales in 1842 and has always been a farmer. He married in 1868, Margaret Roberts of Freedom, also a native of Wales. Children : William, married Emma Washburn ; Carrie (Mrs. Charles Thompson, one child Milton E.) ; Mary ; a school teacher ; John ; Minnie ; Homer. Mr. Thomas has been overseer of the poor, also assessor. Through his efforts largely the total assessment of Rushford was reduced $50,000 in 1895 to correspond with the general shrinkage in values. It is a curious fact that a discrepancy of 400 acres exists between the actual number of acres in town, and the sum total of acres assessed.

William W. Thomas, postmaster at Rushford, is son of George P. Thomas who was born in Wales, Eng., in 1819, and came in 1851 to Rome, N. Y., where he married Mary Thomas from Wales whose father had settled in Centerville. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas lived a year at Cleveland, Ohio, and 7 years in Cuba, N. Y., before coming to Rushford in 1860. Mr. Thomas after some changes bought in 1863 the old Eneas Gary farm which the family still own (the home of the pioneer settler on which he opened the first tavern, the most historic farm in Rushford). The children of George P. and Mary Thomas were : William W., John P., David G., Benjamin F., George H., Luther J., and Edward R. Mr. Thomas died in 1891. William W. was born in Centerville in 1853 and was raised a farmer, attending the Rushford Union school, and the school of Telegraphy in Oberlin, Ohio. He was a merchant in Farmersville in 1881, and in 1893 with his brother Luther J., established in Rushford the present gents' furnishing and clothing firm of Thomas Bros. The W. U. telegraph office is in their store (of which William W., has been manager since 1891), also the telephone office. He has been a member of the Rushford brass band six years. He married in 1870, Luella, daughter of Alvin S. Hovey of Holland, Ohio. Children : Clarence H. and Bessie. Luther J. Thomas married, in 1884, Flora, daughter of Elijah and Salona (Gordon) Metcalf. Mr. Metcalf's father, Rev. Elijah Metcalf, came from Herkimer Co., N. Y., to Rushford in 1832, and was a noted Methodist divine. The father of Mrs. Thomas, a prosperous farmer, was killed by falling from a load of hay in 1894. His wife died in 1893.

William F. Wells, M. D., of Rushford village, is son of Charles Wells, who was born in Goshen, Orange Co., N. Y., in 1819, and went to Oswayo, Potter Co., Pa., where he married a Miss Rathbun and had one child, Rathbun A., late a merchant in Wellsville. His second wife was Harriet A. Downs of Horseheads, N. Y. Children are William F., Charles E. (hardware mer- chant at Hume), Sarah S. and George F. Charles Wells brought his family to Wellsville in 1862 after the loss of his sawmill and lumber by a flood at Oswayo. William F. was born in Oswayo, Dec. 14, 1856, learned the carpenter's trade and came to Rushford in 1877, following

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his trade till 1879, when he read medicine with Dr. O. T. Stacy, clerking in Dr. Stacy's drug store. He graduated from the Buffalo Medical University in 1883, since which time he has been a practicing physician in Rushford, and belonging to the Allegany County Medical Society. Dr. Wells married in 1881, Catherine, daughter of Samuel A. and Ann (Williams) Hardy of Rush- ford. Their children have been William A., Winona (dec.), and Herbert E. Dr. Wells has a large library of professional and metaphysical books, is a wide reader and a constant student.

Deacon Cyrus Westcott is on the 9th generation from Stukely Westcott, who, born in Eng- land in 1592, settled in Rhode Island as a member of Roger Williams' Baptist church, that was so bitterly persecuted by the Puritans for its stand for religious freedom. The line is Stukely I, Jeremiah 2. Benjamin 3, Benjamin 4 (born 1684), Samuel 5 (born 1719), Daniel 6 (born 1751), Samuel 7 (born 1781), Urian D. 8, Cyrus 9. The last three were Baptist deacons. Urian D. one of 8 children came to Rushford, Allegany county, in 1834. and bought 7 acres of land. He married in 1840, Melinda, daughter of Frederick Farrington of Farmersville. Children, Cyn- thia (Mrs. A. D. Dennison) of Arcade and Cyrus who was born in 1843. He attended Rush- ford Academy 2 terms under Prof. Buck, and became a farmer, now owning 167 acres and keeping 20 cows. He married in 1877, Jennie, daughter of Thomas Gibby of Centerville, a Welchman, who brought his family to America in 1852 Urian D. Westcott died in 1881, his wife in 1877. Cyrus Westcott enlisted in 1864, in Co. E, Ist N. Y. Dragoons, and served in the Shenandoah Valley under Gen. Sheridan. At the battle of Five Forks he was wounded in his hand. Mr. and Mrs. Westcott are active members of the Baptist church in Rushford village.

Leonard Williams, son of Solomon, son of Solomon, was born in Essex Co., N. Y., in 1818. Solomon, his father, married Aurilla Handy from Vermont. Children, Angelina, Leonard, Martin and Franklin. He moved from Granville, Washington Co., N. Y., to Centerville in 1836. Leonard, always a farmer, married in 1840, Sarepta, daughter of Daniel Ely, whose ancestor came in the Mayflower. His wife was Mrs. Mary (Goss) Carrier. Her children by Mr. Car- rier were, Julia A. and Parmelia; by Mr. Ely, Caroline, Betsey, Christopher C., DeWitt C., Sarepta born in 1820 and Cordelia. Mr. Ely settled on the present Metcalf farm, on which an oil well was drilled in 1865. Near this well on Eneas Gary's farm was a sulphur spring that Sarepta used to drink from after removing a scum of oil half an inch thick. People came and boarded at her father's to drink this water about 1826 to 1830. Mr. and Mrs. Williams settled in Farmersville where they lived till 1867. They had two children, Wilbur E. and Julia. Julia attended Rushford Union School and married George Straight of New Hudson, where they now live. They have two children, Arthur and Edith. Mr. Williams served as assessor in Farmersville, removed to New Hudson in 1867, and to Rushford village in 1885.

Thomas R. Williams was born in Wales, England, county of Pembrokeshire, in 1836. His father, William J. Williams, married Sarah Rowe, and brought his family in 1849 in ship Ply- mouth Rock, to New York, being 38 days on the ocean. William J. settled in Freedom, and in 1851 moved to Farmersville. In 1854 he came to Centreville, where he died in 1885. His children were Eliza, Thomas R., James, Ann, Mary and Samuel. Thomas R. was raised a farmer, came to Rushford in 1859, and married, in 1860, Sylvia E., daughter of Oliver D. Ben- jamin. Children were Benj. B., married Gusta Netcher, children: Gearld, Oleo ; Addie J., married Euen H. Morris, one child, Sylvia ; Harriet R., married Newell W. White, children : Allice and baby ; Bertha A., married W. W. Dorman, one child, Bernice; Daniel H. Mr. and Mrs. Williams have 147 acres of land. Mr. Williams carefully kept a daily diary for the past 35 years. He is a successful farmer.

Lester Wilmarth is the grandson of Gersham Wilmarth, a Revolutionary soldier, a native of Rhode Island, who married Sarah L. Stanton and settled in Victor, N. Y., then called Boughtontown, bears were so thick they stole pigs from his hogpen. He was a comb maker, sawed the wood or ivory teeth by hand, Lester still has some of the saws. His children were : Amanda, Mark, a soldier in the war of 1812, Sally, Gersham, Roswell, Lewis and Lydia. Ros- weil was a shoemaker, and married Catharine Lane, their children were Adoram, Christiann, Lester, Sarah L., Mary J., Orson, Roswell S. and Thomas R., twins. Both were soldiers, Thomas R. was shot at Chancellorsville ; Roswell lost his right arm at Fredericksburg, was promoted and served through the war. Mrs. Roswell Wilmarth had 2 brothers who served in the War of 1812.

William Wilmot is the son of John and Mary (King) Wilmot, of Northamptonshire, Eng- land, whose children were John, William, Thomas, Mark, Ann, James, Mary, Fannie, Sarah, Charles, Fannie and Mark. William came to America in 1839, worked in Mt. Morris and vicin- ity 3 years, returned home, coming again in 1855, in ship Harvest Queen, bringing his wife Maria Keeton (whom he married in 1850), also his brother Charles and sisters Ann and Sarah. Sarah and his wife both died on the ocean with cholera. He settled in Rushford and in 1857 married his second wife, Jane Spires, who came from Lincolnshire, England, the same year.

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HISTORY OF ALLEGANY COUNTY, N. Y

They have two children, Obed and Stephen (twins) born Jan. 8, 1859. Obed in 1887 married Frona, daughter of Hiram Gilbert of Rushford. Stephen married in 1889 Jennie, daughter of Miles M. Tarbell of Rushford. They had one child, Jennie S. Mrs. Wilmot died in 1891. The sons and their families live with their parents on the old homestead of 240 acres, that their father worked on shares 12 years, and then, in 1867, bought of John Keeton. They built in 1893 the largest and most complete barns in Rushford, at a cost of $2,000.

Milton M. Woods is son of Daniel Woods, born in Windsor, Vt., in 1792, came to Rush- ford in 1801 and settled in Podonque. He married Laura Wilson. Children : Lucia, Myra A., Leaveret, Rebecca, Sarah, Lucy, Daniel C., Milton M., Cornelia and Mary J. Milton M. Woods was born in Rushford in 1831. He married in 1853 Emily, daughter of Laartis Fuller from Massachusetts. Children : Will D. (married Ida White. Children : Fred, Robert, Marena and Harland), Fred, Elbert (married Lizzie Myers ; one child, Leland), Newman M. (married Min- nie Sarsfield, one child, born in the same room as her father). Mrs. Emily Woods died in 1894. Mr. Woods' farm of 167 acres is the old Judge McCall farm. He has spent his life as a farmer, all in Rushford except 10 years in Mount Morris. He has always given attention to music, teaching singing schools over 40 years, was for many years a member of the Rushford brass band, and has been chorister of the M. E. church in Rushford village most of the time since 1850.

William R. Woods is the son of Riley Woods, whose brothers, Daniel, Ely, William and Albert, were early settlers of Rushford, from Chester, Windsor Co., Vt. Daniel came in 1810 and bought 100 acres in Podunk, where Ely and Riley also settled on adjoining lands. Riley married Abigail Heald, also a native of Vermont. Their children were Daniel, Albert, Wil- liam R., Fanny, Mary, John, Edwin, Ann and George. William R. was born on the Podunk farm in 1827, where he became and still is a farmer. He married, in 1855, Mary Champlin ; children, Elizabeth, died 18 months old, and Ellsworth who died at the age of 6 years. He bought in war times the H. K. Stebbins farm of 202 acres on which he cleaned in one year, with a dairy of 30 cows, $1,742. In 1876 he traded his Podunk farm, for his present farm of 72 acres on the Hardy's Corners' road, with his brother Daniel.

Mrs. Cynthia C. Woodworth, daughter of Chapman Brooks, was born in Rushford, May 2, 1830. With a faculty for school teaching, at the age of 14 she adopted her father's profession and taught her first school in district No. 5 on the Buffalo road, donning long skirts for the first time, that she might command more respect from her pupils in consequence of older and more dignified apparel, and for that first term the received 8712 cents per week. This of course in- cluded board. Average number of pupils 25. The next year she taught in district No. 17 in the village and having had a successful experience she was paid $1.50 per week and she was more than satisfied, and the year following this, in consideration of increased average attendance (which was 75) her wages were advanced and she was paid $2 per week, the highest figure then paid, or demanded by a woman for teaching a summer school. Each term commenced in March and continued six months without vacation, save the usual half day on Saturday of each week. She remembers the subject of a two weeks' vacation in midsummer was once broached, but the voice of many mothers went up in protest, announcing their belief that no school at all would be as satisfactory as one with a two weeks' break right in the middle. Of course at the wages named, it was always expected the teacher would forage among the patrons of the school and this was assumed to be-not the bugaboo teachers of the present time are wont to consider it -- but comfortable and enjoyable all around, for if desirable to leave a place, that was the recognized order and nothing said, and if a place was particularly desirable and pleasant you were urged to lengthen your stay without limit. She continued teaching summers and winters until her mar- riage in October, 1850, to Charles W. Woodworth. whose grandfather Luther Woodworth set- tled on lot 28 in 1813. A few brush heaps only then marked the site of the present village. Luther Woodworth, son of Luther L. was a farmer who lived east of the village. His son Charles W. Woodworth, born in 1822, was educated at Springville Academy and read law with A. P. Laning, was admitted to the bar in 1856, and became a member of the law firm of Stewart & Woodworth. In 1860 Mr. Stewart went to New York and Mr. Woodworth was alone till 1880, when he made Ralph B. Laning a member of the firm of Woodworth & Laning, which con- tinued till Mr. Woodworth's death in 1891. (See page 278.) Mr. Woodworth was a Republi can in politics, was postmaster here from 1860 to 1885 was supervisor for many years and justice of the peace from 1852 till his decease. He was one of Rushford's ablest and most rep- resentative citizens, and from his many and rare qualities of head and heart won and retained the esteem of his townsmen and of a large range of acquaintance.

813

CUBA.

BY JOHN S. MINARD.

CHAPTER LXIV.

C UBA WAS created by an act of the legislature of February 4, 1822, and originally embraced Clarksville and Genesee .* It lies in the west- ern range of townships, and is the first town south of the center (north and south) of the county, and is distinguished as "Township 3, Range 2" of the Holland Purchase. Its surface is rough and mountainous, di- vided into ridges by Oil creek and its tributaries, whose deep and nar- row valleys are bordered by steep hills, some reaching an altitude of 800 feet above the W. N. Y. & P. Railroad which is here 1,485 feet above tide water. It is claimed that in this town is found the highest altitude in the county, on the farm of Wm. McClaughlin in the southeast part. Its soil is mostly a gravelly loam, in some parts clayey, and generally better adapted to grazing than grain-raising. The principal drainage is by Oil creek, which finds the Allegany at Olean, though some of the head waters of White, Black and Van Campen creeks, which discharge into the Genesee, are found in the north and east parts. In this town was the summit level of the old Genesee Valley canal, and the next to the highest summit on the line of the Erie rail- road, Tiptop summit in Alfred being 1,783 feet above sea level, and Cuba summit 1,699. The oil spring reservation of one mile square lies on its western border, partly in Cattaraugus county. The oil spring which this reservation covers was visited by curious and enterprising whites in 1627. (See page 40.)+

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A Centennial Memorial History of Allegany county, New York, Part 111

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