USA > New York > Livingston County> A history of Livingston County, New York : from its earliest traditions, to its part in the war for our Union : with an account of the Seneca nation of Indians, and biographical sketches of earliest settlers and prominent public men > Part 37
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Colonel-John Rorbach. Lieutenant Colonel-R. Wells Kenyon. Major-Lewis C. Skinner. Adjutant-Fred. T. Vance. Quarter Master-Henry V. Colt. Surgeon-Enos G. Chase. Assistant Surgeon-Douglas S. Landon. Chaplain-Daniel Russell.
478
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
CAPTAINS. Henry G. Tuthill. Luhman H. Day.
Stephen L. Wing. Zopher Simpson.
Jas. H. Selleck.
I
John Kelly. John C. Thompson.
IST LIEUTENANTS.
Albert S. Haver. Henry A. Wiley.
Henry Runyan. Jacob H. Stull.
William T. Lozier. Luman F. Dow. John P. Rudd. E. B. Wheeler. William R. Cross. John H. Miller.
2D LIEUTENANTS. Reuben R. Weed. Homer Stull.
Nelson J. Wing.
George H. Starr.
Wm. L. Trembly.
Wm. J. Hemstreet.
John R. Strang.
Thos. Johnston.
Chas. W. Fisher.
William C. Wilson ;
Co. A B C D Hugh C. Lattimore. Gilbert G. Pray. Jas. A. Gault.
K
The first seven companies named were recruited principally in this county ; the others were those added at Albany. The regiment was soon engaged in active service, and under the successive commands of Colonels Rorbach, Lewis C. Skinner, Gilbert G. Pray and John R. Strang, it participated in some of the hardest fought battles of the war. It seemed to be its fate, from the start, to be in the thickest of every fight and to suffer terrible losses. At the battle of the sec- ond Bull Run the regiment lost 94 officers and enlist- ed men ; at Antietam 76; at Fredericksburgh 53; at Gettysburg 219; and had only 315 men on its rolls Jan. 1st, 1864, out of 917 originally mustered into the service. It also participated in the battles of Cedar Mountain, Rappahannock Station, Thorough- fare Gap, South Mountain, Chancellorsville, Mine Run, The Wilderness, Chantilly, North Anna, Spottsylva- nia, Bethesda Church, Weldon Railroad and Peters- burgh. In July, 1862, F. DeW. Ward, D. D., of Geneseo, joined the regiment as Chaplain, and served in this capacity until November 25th, 1863, a period of one and one-fourth years. The regiment was mus- tered out in 1865, having served its term of three years, won a proud record for bravery and faithful- ness to duty, and nobly asserted its right to bear the name of that brave patriot, James S. Wadsworth.
In the summer of 1862, a call having been made for 300,000 more troops, the State government made each Senatorial district a regimental district, with a mili-
479
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
tary camp in each one, at some designated point.
The counties of Livingston, Wyoming and Alle- gany, composing the 30th district, were thus made a regimental district, with the camp at Geneseo. On the meeting of the Senatorial committee, however, a resolution was adopted requesting the Governor to change the location of the camp to Portage. This was accordingly done, and persons having been authorized to enlist recruits, the work of filling the district's quota commenced. So rapidly did this proceed that recruits came flocking into the Portage camp before the barracks were erected for their accommodation, and early in August a sufficient number of men had enrolled themselves in the three counties, to form a full regiment, and the 130th Regiment, N. Y. V. I., was organized and mustered into service Sept. 3d, 1862. It was composed of four companies from Liv- ingston, three from Wyoming and three from Alle- gany. The organization was completed by the elec- tion of the following officers :
Colonel- William S. Fullerton.
Lieutenant-Colonel-Thomas J. Thorp.
Major-Rufus Scott.
Adjutant-George R. Cowee.
Quarter-Master-A. B. Lawrence.
Surgeon-B. T. Kneeland.
Co. A B
CAPTAINS.
IST LIEUTENANTS.
J. P. Robinson.
C. L. Daily. Saul C. Culbertson.
C
R. P. Taylor.
Leonard Wilkins.
Jared M. Bills.
D E F G H
Wheeler Hakes. Jeremiah Hatch. Alanson B. Cornell. Joel Wakeman. James Lemen.
S. A. Farman. C. L. Brundage. Ira Sayles.
G. Wiley Wells. E. S. Osgood.
I
F. S. Adams.
K
Andrew J. Leach.
R. A. Britton. Jas. O. Slayton.
2D LIEUTENANTS.
J. E. Bills.
Howard M. Smith.
S. Herbert Lancey. O. R. Cook.
S. V. Waldo.
Jacob W. Knapp.
S. F. Randolph.
Elias Harton, Jr.
A. K. Thorp.
Edmund Hartman.
The regiment was ordered to Fortress Monroe, and formed a part of the Seventh Army Corps. It was changed to the 19th N. Y. Cavalry, Aug. 11th, 1863,
480
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
and from the 10th of September, 1863, was known as the First New York Dragoons. The regiment was commanded successively by Colonels Fullerton, * Alfred Gibbs and Thomas J. Thorp, and participated in the battles of Deserted House, Blackwater, Siege of Suffolk, Manassas Plains, Culpepper, Todd's Tav- ern, Yellow Tavern, Meadow Bridge, Old Church, Hawe's Shop, Coal Harbor, Darbytown, Kearneyville, Trevillian Station, Newtown, Cedar Creek, Smithfield, and several other engagements. It was mustered out in 1865, having done service for the Union that has won for its members the highest honor, and the endur- ing gratitude of the people.
Just here let it be recorded that Livingston was the first county to furnish its quota for this regiment, having responded with alacrity and cheerfulness to the call for help which came from an imperilled gov- ernment, and it was said on this occasion with just pride that "the patriotic fervor of her sons continues unabated, and their response to the call for men is still answered by hundreds who unreluctantly sacri- fice the comfort, happiness and allurements of home, for the stern experience of the camp." When the 130th Regiment was organized, two or three hundred more men had been enlisted than were required to fill it to the maximum number. The Senatorial commit- tee immediately authorized Colonel James Wood, Jr., of Geneseo, to recruit and organize another regiment, and enlistments continued with unabated zeal. War meetings were held throughout the county, patriotic citizens made substantial additions to the national and State bounties, and towns vied with each other in friendly rivalry, in filling their quotas. It was a time of intense feeling ; of earnest devoted patriotism. Col-
* Resigned before the regiment left the State.
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
onel Wood's authority was granted in August. In one month all the men for the regiment were in camp at Portage, and there was a surplus of nearly four hun- dred recruits in the district. The regiment was mus- tered into the service September 26th, 1862, as the 136th Regiment, N. Y. V. I., with the following officers :
Colonel-James Wood, Jr.
Lieutenant Colonel-Lester B. Faulkner.
Major-David C. Hartshorn.
Adjutant-Campbell H. Young.
Quarter-Master-John T. Wright.
Surgeon-B. L. Hovey.
1st Asst. Surgeon-E. Amsden.
2d Assistant Surgeon-C. F. Warner.
Quarter-Master Sergeant-Richard W. Barney.
Commissary Sergeant-J. S. Galentine.
Co.
CAPTAINS.
IST LIEUTENANTS. M. M. Loyden. John J. Bailey.
2D LIEUTENANTS. John W. Webster. Nicholas V. Mundy.
Emerson J. Hoyt.
A. Harrington.
Myron E. Bartlette.
Russell G. Dudley.
H. B. Jenks.
Seth P. Buell. Chas. H. Wisner.
F J. H. Burgess. Sidney Ward.
Kidder M. Scott.
G H
E. H. Jeffres.
Edward Madden. Frank Collins.
Geo. M. Reed.
K
A. F. Davis.
Geo. H. Eldredge.
Geo. Y. Boss.
A B C D E
A. T. Cole.
Edward H. Pratt.
A. A. Hoyt.
Wells Hendershott.
Jas. G. Cameron. John Galbraith. Orange Sackett, Jr.
Anson B. Hall.
I H. L. Arnold.
The regiment was composed of five companies from Livingston, three from Wyoming, and two from Alle- gany. It left Camp Williams (Portage) October 2d, 1862, and proceeding directly to Washington, was soon after seeing actual service in the field. It was assigned to the Eleventh Corps under General Sigel, where it remained until April 14th, 1864, when it be- came a part of the 3d Brigade, 3d Division, Twentieth Corps. The regiment was successively under the command of Colonels Wood,* Lieutenant-Colonel
* Promoted to the rank of Brigadier General in 1864, and to the rank of Major General in 1865.
482
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
L. B. Faulkner and Lieutenant-Colonel H. L. Arnold, and took an important part in the battles of Chancel- lorsville, Gettysburg, Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga, Missionary Ridge, Knoxville, Buzzard's Roost Gap, Resaca, Cassville, Dallas, Gilgal Church, Kulp's Farm, Kenesaw Mountain, Peach Tree Creek, Turner's Ferry, Atlanta, Milledgeville, Savannah, Charleston, Averysburgh, Bentonville, Goldsboro and Raleigh. The Regiment was mustered out June 13th, 1865, hav- ing won the commendation of commanders, an endur- ing fame, and the deepest gratitude of the people. Throughout the struggle its members had been brave, unflinching soldiers, and in every battle had entered the thickest of the fight with a gallant bravery that earned them great distinction.
Besides those in these organizations, many recruits were furnished by the county for other regiments. Among these were the 14th Heavy Artillery, the 24th Artillery (of which Lee's Battery was a part) Harris' Cavalry, and regiments from other States. Others, again, entered the Navy, and won enviable records there. The total number who entered the Union ser- vice in other regiments other than those raised in the county is unknown, but it was certainly several hun- dred.
Such, in brief is the war record of Livingston, and imperfect and incomplete as it is, it yet reveals a spirit of the truest loyalty in the people of the county, and presents an example of labor and sacrifice, of bravery and patriotism, which the nation well may emulate. The people gave freely of men and money, and in the darkest hours of the struggle they never faltered. Even when their loved sons fell like forest leaves before the rude blast, they did not waver, but closing up the fearful breach with others as dearly beloved, they watched with aching but brave hearts, for the final
483
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
issue of the strife. And when it came, they deemed the victory a glorious one, though it had cost thou- sands of lives and millions of treasure ; though there was scarcely a home that was not mourning the loss of father, brother or lover, and tears and sorrow attested the horrible havoc of war.
TOWN SKETCHES.
AVON.
Area, 24,891 acres ; population in 1875, 3,325 ; Boundaries : North by Monroe county ; east by Lima ; south by Livonia and Geneseo ; west by the Genesee river, which separates it from York and Caledonia.
In area and productive wealth Avon ranks among the leading towns of the county. It was formed from the original District of Geneseo in January, 1789, and embraced townships ten and eleven of the seventh range, under the name of Hartford. This designation was derived from the city of the same name in Con- necticut, and was suggested by Dr. Timothy Hosmer, one of the first proprietors of the township and a native of that State. In 1808 its name was changed to Avon, from a town in Connecticut in the vicinity of the city of Hartford. In 1818 the town of Rush was set off from Avon.
About one thousand acres of the territory of the town consist of river flats ; the remainder is upland, comprising a series of terraced hills, generally run- ning in the direction of the river, with intervals of broad sweeps of undulating ground. Deming hill, in the southern part of the town, rises to the height of about 150 feet above the alluvial meadows skirting the
486
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
river. The soil of the flats is unsurpassed in fertility ; that of the uplands is a substratum of sand intermixed with gravel, and in some parts with clay, and is especially adapted to the growth of wheat. The farms are under a high state of cultivation, and are princi- pally owned by their occupants. The forests have generally been cut away, but selected shade trees in profusion have been spared by the axe, adding great beauty both to the farming lands and the several hamlets.
The Genesee river flows along the whole western border of the town; and the outlet of Conesus lake traverses its south-western corner. The Little Conesus, a considerable stream which drains a large swamp in the town of Lima, crosses the southerly portion of the town and empties into Conesus outlet below Little- ville.
The first permanent settlement in the town was made by Gilbert R. Berry in the spring of 1789. He located less than a rifle-shot south of the old red bridge, where he opened a log tavern. In that day there were few white men within a day's ride. Berry had brought together the material for his rude log house, when a lucky circumstance enabled him to raise it without calling the Indians to his assistance. The late Judge Hopkins of Niagara county happened to be returning from a hunting expedition to Canada with several companions, and stopped at Canawaugus for a few hours' rest. Here they found the pioneer just as he was about sending out for his dusky neigh- bors. They saw Berry's strait and fell to and aided in lifting the remaining heavy logs to their places, thus securing him a domicil. Berry was of Irish ex- traction. He came hither from Albany, where he had been bred to mercantile pursuits. "His wife," says Colonel Hosmer, " was a grand-daughter of the Hen-
487
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
drick Wemple, historically known as the interpreter of General Herkimer in his interview with Brant at Unadilla previous to the mournful meeting at Oris- kany. Berry resided for a time at Geneva, but push- ing westward to near Canawaugus, he not only opened a tavern and store there, but established trading-posts at Big Tree, and at the mouth of the river, carrying on a brisk business with trappers and hunters; and his pack-horses, laden with furs, were often seen threading the main trail to and from Albany. He acted as General Chapin's local Indian agent, corres- ponding with his principal and with the post at Buf- falo, not by telegraph, but by means of old Sharp Shins, the Indian Runner. At his death, which oc- curred in 1797, while he was yet a young man, his widow assumed charge of the tavern, which became the favorite stopping-place of land agents, surveyors, explorers, Scotch emigrants and pioneer settlers." The rope ferry across the river at Canawaugus, early established by her husband, also fell under her charge. The more notable Indians were partial to " Widow Berry's tavern," and Te-neh'-anah (which Seneca name expresses her reluctance to sell spirits to the Indians in the absence of her husband) was greatly esteemed by them. Turner says : "Widely known in early days was the comfortable resting-place that she provided for man and beast ; and in her primitive tavern some of the best wives and mothers of the Genesee country were reared."
In 1790 Dr. Timothy Hosmer and Major Isaiah Thompson, of Farmington, Connecticut, visited the Genesee country and purchased the township on behalf of five Connecticut men, of whom they were two. "The price paid," says Colonel Hosmer, "was eighteen pence, New England currency, per acre, then a high rate in consequence of the open flats.
4SS
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
Of the five grantees only Major Thompson and Dr. Hosmer became residents here. The latter had been surgeon of the Sixth Connecticut regiment and served through the war of the Revolution. His diploma of membership in the Society of the Cincinnati, signed by Washington as its President, and General Knox as Secretary, is an eloquent attestation of his long term of service."* "Partly from love of adventure, partly to escape professional practice requiring constant toil, he emigrated from his pleasant New England home to this realm of unbounded forest. He passed the sum- mer of 1790 in exploring the country, returned home in the fall, and in the following year, accompanied by his sons Frederick and Algernon Sydney, began the work of settlement by erecting a log dwelling near the present residence of his nephew, James Hosmer. In 1792 his family joined him, and being the only phy- sician within call of the datched settlements, he re- lieved the sick, prompted by a spirit of benevolence rather than professional gain. His good humor and encouraging words cheered the desponding settlers wrestling with disease and the fearful privations of the wilderness. The red man appreciated his skill and named him At-ta-gus, or "healer of diseases."
"When Ontario county was organized Dr. Hosmer became one of its judges and succeeded Oliver Phelps as First Judge. The latter office he held until sixty years of age, the constitutional limitation. He pos- sessed a fine literary taste, and his well-selected libra- ry of medical and miscellaneous works was an anom- aly in the backwoods. His correspondence reveals
* " His dress-sword, a sharp blade, inclosed in a silver-mounted black leathern sheath, is now in possession of a grandson, at Meadville, Pa. On Dr. Hosmer devolved the duty of laying finger on Andre's pulse after the execution of that noted British spy, and reporting him dead to the officers of the Court martial."
489
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
varied reading and mental culture. He had acquired high professional reputation in the army, and at one time was transferred from the Connecticut line to the staff of the Commander-in-chief.
"He was a gentleman of the old school, scrupulous- ly clean and neat in his attire, with a portly frame and erect military carriage. His hair was ribbon- tied, and carefully powdered by his black body-ser- vant 'Boston.' His breeches of soft and nicely dressed deerskin, were fastened at the knees by silver buckles. He was courtly in his manners to all, but especially marked for chivalric courtesy to women. When passing a lady acquaintance in the street, he would bow with uncovered head though rain were falling, and the poorest, the most unfortunate of the sex ever found in him a ready champion and defender. He died in November, 1815, aged 70 years." He sleeps in the village cemetery, where a plain and sub- stantial headstone marks the spot.
" Major Thompson was a cavalry officer of merit during the Revolutionary struggle. His intrepid conduct in battle commanded the respect of his supe- riors." "He died the first season after his arrival in the Genesee country, of bilious fever. His grave, with its enclosure of pickets, arrested the attention of passers-by in my boyhood, situated not far from two oaks, survivors of forests, that grace the grounds of ' Rose Lawn,' a bow-shot from the railroad depot." No trace now remains, however, of the resting place of this veteran of the first great national struggle.
" The next settler of consequence in Avon was Cap- tain John Ganson, an officer of Sullivan's expedition. Under his supervision a 'tub-mill' was built on the beautiful stream that, following its natural channel, emptied into the river on the Markham farm, and is
490
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
now lost in the reedy embrace of Horse-Shoe pond .* To this tub-mill no doubt was attached a hand seive of splinters being substituted therefor. It was a busy place in the olden time, and grists to be ground were brought through heavily timbered woods from Bough- ton's hill and other sequestered clearings many a mile distant. The stones of this primitive mill were taken from native quarries near by, and ingeniously fash- ioned on the spot. No trace of this curious structure now remains. "
"A second growth of forest conceales the old track that led to its mossy door-way, and with diminished volume flows on the singing waters of a stream which turned this first mill that made flour in the valley of the Genesee." "The title of Captain Ganson proving defective to the fine tract here selected by him, he purchased the famous tavern stand so long associ- ated with his name near Le Roy."
Another name occurring frequently in early remi- niscences of Avon is that of Colonel William Mark- ham. Colonel Hosmer says of him: He was one of old Ontario's first representatives in the Assembly. He came into the Genesee country with Captain John Smith of Hermitage, and explored the wilderness in 1788, accompanied by chain-bearers and surveyors ; surveyed the first line run from Canandaigua to the Genesee river ; and years afterward was one of the commissioners designated to locate the county seat. I knew him in my tender years, and no portrait in memory's hall is painted in more vivid lines than his patriarchial face and silvery hair. Hospitable to strangers, kind to the poor, public spirited as a citi-
* The tub-mill stood on a stream that crosses the road south of the Sack- ett place, on the Rochester road, and distant from the highway about 25 rods in an easterly direction
491
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
zen, he is ever mentioned in terms of commendation by surviving pioneers."
"A mile or more south of this old worthy's home- stead was the residence of Jehiel Kelsey,-an honest man. A son of the Green Mountain State, and trained in a rugged school, he was a leading spirit in the march of improvement."
Thomas Wiard was a native of Wolcott, Connecti- cut. In 1804 he emigrated with his family to the Gen- esee country and settled in the village of Geneseo, occupying a little log house which he built on the spot until recently occupied by the two small brown houses on Main Street, opposite the Genesee Valley Bank. In 1805 he removed to a farm half a mile from the village of East Avon, where he continued to re- side up to the time of his death. He took an active part in public affairs, was prominent in local politics and especially active in the memorable contest that terminated in the elevation of the younger Adams to the Presidency. He held the office of Justice of the Peace for many years, and was nine times elected Supervisor of the town. He was a man of very pos- itive character, and of the strictest integrity in all relations, public and private.
One family name among the pioneers of Avon, that of the Whalley brothers, calls up an eventful page of English history. In the latter part of the tumultuous reign of king Charles I, Richard Whalley appears among the notable actors in public affairs, sustaining, with his great leader, Cromwell, the cause of the com- monwealth against that of the recreant King and his vain-glorious cavaliers. Whalley's was one of the five regiments selected to guard the city of London. A few months later Whalley sat as one of the judges of that historic body, the High Court of Justice, to try the King. The trial was a speedy one, the King
492
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
was beheaded, and Cromwell was not long in reaching the great office of Lord Protector for which nature had so perfectly fitted him.
When Charles II came to the throne the vindictive cavaliers clamored for the death of the judges, or reg- icides as they were then called. Some gave them- selves up, only to fall victims, suffering the penalty of death after the mockery of a trial ; others, know- ing too well the rancor of those surrounding the King, hid themselves or fled beyond the sea and were finally outlawed. Whalley and Goff came to America, where they remained in voluntary seclusion to the end of their days. Descendants of this man Richard Whal- ley were among the pioneers of Avon, and did much to reclaim the waste places.
The first school-house in the town was built of un- hewn logs a few rods north of Zion church. There, on Sabbath days, Judge Hosmer read the beautiful and impressive service of the Episcopal church to a body of devout listeners. These were the first relig- ious services held in the town.
The first saw-mill in Avon was erected by Judge Hosmer on Conesus outlet at Littleville in 1796. It was situated directly opposite the Glen Avon mill, on the south side.
In 1813 the town contained 5 saw-mills, one grist- mill, 6 distilleries and one carding and cloth dressing establishment. There were 76 looms in families, the yearly product of which was 21,325 yards of woolen, linen and cotton cloths.
" The famous Hosmer stand," says Colonel Hosmer, "was built by James Wadsworth and was first occupied by Nathan Perry as lessee. Soon after Finley and Lovejoy became proprietors. At the death of one of the partners, the brothers Algernon Sydney and Wil- liam T. Hosmer, purchased the property. The host
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
and hostess who gave the place its enviable reputation, however, were Timothy Hosmer and lady. 'Jo-win- sta-ga,' 'Big Fire,' was the apt name by which my beloved uncle was known to the Senecas, referring to the capacious hearth, with its immense back-log and formidable fore-stick, on which were high piled the flaming faggots in winter. The roar of the chimney, ' the wind-pipe of grateful hospitality,' was sweeter than the music of summer birds to the chilled Indian and belated traveler. Generals Jacob Brown, Scott, Ripley, Hall and their military found rest and refresh- ment under its ample roof, and Joseph Bonaparte, ex-King of Spain, Louis Phillipe, Commodore Perry, the exiled hero of Hohenlinden, General Moreau, and Marshal Grouchy, the marplot of the Waterloo cam- paign, were among the distinguished names inscribed on its moth-eaten register."
"The first town election for Avon was held at the house of Peter Shaefer. The vote was taken by Gad Wadsworth." At the election for Governor in April, 1800, George Clinton received 25 votes and his oppo- nent, Stephen Van Rensselaer, received 41 votes. In 1803 the board of excise of the town granted licenses to Polly Berry, Joseph Pearson, John Pearson and Benjamin Pearson.
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