USA > New York > Livingston County > A history of Livingston County, New York: > Part 51
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Settlement was commenced in the south part of the town in 1795 by Jeremiah Gregory. Other early set- tlers were William Stevens, who came in 1796, Abel Wilsey in 1797, Benjamin Wilcox in 1798, and Sam- uel McNair in 1804.
Ebenezer McMaster opened the first tavern kept in the town in 1820, at Kysorville. Three years later the first store was started by Jonathan Russell at Union Corners. Samuel Stoner built the first grist- mill in 1823.
In 1814 Benjamin Hungerford established the first wool-carding and cloth-dressing mill in West Sparta. Mr. Hungerford had removed to Sparta from Cayuga county. Returning homeward in the fall of 1814 from his usual fall visit to the east for the purchase of dye- stuffs, he called upon an old neighbor, Nathaniel Fill-
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more, a small farmer living near Skaneateles lake. While there he expressed a wish that Mr. Fillmore's son, Millard Fillmore," then a lad of fourteen, should return to Sparta with him, and learn the cloth-dress- ing trade. The war then in progress had stirred the patriotism of the youth of the country, as well as those of maturer years, and young Fillmore had been urgent to go as a substitute for some drafted man. Quite likely with a view to directing his son's atten- tion from a project so unsuitable in one so young, the father had inspired Mr. Hungerford to make the re- quest. At all events the proposition was received so favorably that the son was constrained to assent. This required some resolution, as he had never before been out of sight of home. The distance was a hundred weary miles through woods and new settlements. Mr. Hungerford had a poor team and a large load, and the road was much of the way very bad. Asa conse- quence young Fillmore walked a greater part of the journey, suffering not a little from sore feet and stiff- ened limbs. As he neared his new home nothing struck him with so much surprise as the contrast be- tween the vegetation in Cayuga and the exhuberant vegetation of the Canaseraga valley. The change seemed extraordinary to him.
"I met young Fillmore," says William Scott, "the morning after his arrival for the first, and at once took a liking to him. He was dressed in a suit of home- spun sheep's gray coat and trousers, wool hat and stout cowhide boots, but his appearance was very tidy. His light hair was long, his face was round and chubby, and his demeanor was that of a bright, intelligent, good-natured lad, quite sedate, rather
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* Millard Fillmore was born in Locke, now Summer Hill, Cayuga county, in 1800.
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slow in his motions, with an air of thoughtfulness that gained my respect. I may safely say, for I have it from his own lips, that he then had no expectation of anything beyond the acquirement of a good trade and pursuing it through life." He came with the under- standing that he was to remain four months, and then, if both employed and employer were satisfied, further arrangements were to be made. Perhaps he expected too much here. At any rate the treatment he re- ceived was very galling to his feelings. His experi- ence during the few months he spent in Sparta im- planted "' 'a deep sympathy,' as he himself remarks, ' for the youngest apprentice in every establishment, 'even to the printer's devil.'" Instead of being set to work at his trade, he was required to chop wood and to do all manner of chores, and on manifesting sur- prise, was met with the answer "that such was the usage of the trade." He bore it all until coming into the shop a little before dark one evening, after chop- ping in the woods, he was ordered by Mr. Hunger- ford to go up on the hill and cut some wood for the shop fire. As he quit the door he let drop the re- mark that "he had not come there expecting to give his time to such work." He went up the hill, mounted a log and began chopping. In a few minutes Mr. Hungerford appeared, his face flushed and manner excited. As he came up he said, "Do you think yourself abused because you have to chop wood ?' "Yes, I do," was the reply, 'for I could learn to use the axe at home. I came here to learn a trade. I am not satisfied and don't think my father will be." He was angry, and perhaps was not quite respectful in his language. At all events, he was charged with impudence and threatened with chastisement. Upon this he raised his axe and told Mr. Hungerford if he attempted to punish him he would knock him down.
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The latter stood a moment, then turned and walked off. This brought matters to a crisis, so the next day he was asked if he wished to go home. He replied : "I came on trial for four months, and if I can be em- ployed in learning the trade I am willing to stay. If not I wish to go home." He remained, and from that time the duties assigned him were made more satis- factory. The fare provided by the household was somewhat simpler in character than either young Fillmore or the other hands had been accustomed to, but having resolved to stay his full time of four months, unless driven off by ill-usage, he made small complaint on that score.
Mr. Fillmore says, "I met here in the person of the foreman, William Scott, a man who seemed born for another destiny. In him I found a friend and also a congenial companion, so far as such a boy could be a companion of a man ten years his senior. I then formed for him a friendship which I still cherish with grateful recollections. His was the only society I en- joyed. I scarcely visited a neighbor, indeed only one or two were near enough to be accessible to me. I neither saw book or newspaper to my recollection. I attended no church, and think there was none in that vicinity then."
Young Fillmore had one holiday while here. The carding works were stopped on New Year's day, and all hands went down to a log house occupied by Rob- ert Duncan, on Duncan's now Bradner's creek, where they saw the usual rough sports of early days. Raffling, turkey-shooting, wrestling, jumping and other athletic displays, and a good deal of whiskey drinking occupied the time. He recollects being ushered into a room almost stifling with its fumes of alcohol and tobacco-smoke. In one corner, on a table, stood a live turkey, surrounded by a compact
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crowd of men highly excited over a raffle for the fowl, whose nominal value was fixed at four shillings. Twelve cents were placed in a hat, and each person taking a risk gave it a shake and then emptied the contents out on the table three times, and he who turned up the most heads in the three throws won the turkey. Instead, however, of taking the turkey, the lucky one pocketed the four shillings and the raffle proceeded, game following game through the whole evening. Fillmore was urged to take a chance. He did so once, and won the turkey, received its value, and has never gambled a cent since. The weather of that New Year's day was most unseasonably warm, the afternoon was showery, and the evening set in with violent rain, thunder and lightning. The party remained at Duncan's until midnight and then started homeward. The path led them a mile through a dense pine forest, running in many places near the precipitous bank of the little stream on which the cloth-dressing works were located. The underbrush had been partly cleared away, and the larger trees on the route were blazed as a guide. The men had no lantern, but carried, instead, a pine-knot torch. They had notgone far when the torch became extinguished, and Fillmore, being the youngest, was sent back to relight it. Being detained a little, he found when he got back that his companions had gone on. Starting forward, he was soon overtaken by a sudden deluge of rain, accompanied by peal upon peal of the most deafening thunder, and lightning so vivid that he was completely blinded. His light went out, and he was left in utter darkness. He could hear the roar of the little stream just beneath him, and after a few mo- ments could occasionally catch a glimpse of the edge of the precipitous bank. This was a dangerous pre- dicament for the future President. The dark pine
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forest absorbed any chance ray of light, and holding his hand before him, he could not perceive the faintest shadow of it. He was too near the edge of the stream to venture forward. The pelting rain had drenched him to the skin, and he did not fancy staying out all night, so lifting up his voice to its loudest pitch, he had the great good fortune, after many efforts, to make his companions hear, just as they turned into the yard at home. .
Soon after this incident young Fillmore was sent on foot to Dansville for some medicine. The two or three inches of snow on the ground entirely obscured the path, and losing his way he reached the village by a circuitous route. By the time his purchases were made the sun was nearly down, and he was advised to return by a more direct though less frequented path than that usually traveled, through the scrubby pine lands. On striking the path he followed the steps of some one who had preceeded him until just after dark, when, to his surprise, he came to the Canaseraga creek, which was full of floating ice and snow, and could not be crossed. There had once been a bridge at this spot, " but all had disappeared except the cob- ble-stone abutments on either side of the stream, and a single string-piece, connecting the two. Wolves, at this time, were very plentiful, and as he stood debat- ing how best to effect a crossing, he heard the howl- ing of a pack of these animals behind him, and, as he readily fancied, on his track. The waters of the creek, already swollen, were rising fast, as he ob- served by the crackling of the ice. He saw but one mode of placing the Canaseraga between himself and the wolves, so mounting the stone abutment he
* This bridge was built by Captain Williamson, at what is now Commons- ville. Between that point and Hungerford's there was then but one house, that of James Duncan.
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climbed to the string-piece, and getting astride, hitched himself across, just as two or three of the wolves put in an appearance at the spot where he had so lately been anxiously studying the situation. As he had no means of defense, and the wolves seemed hungry, he lost no time in setting out for his employ- er's house, still nearly two miles distant.
At the conclusion of the cloth-dressing season, his four months' probation being ended, Filmore con- cluded to return to his father's ; and about the mid- dle of January, 1815, shouldering a small knapsack, afoot and alone, he left Sparta West Hill for his home in Cayuga county, there to enter upon a career which has become a part of our national history. It was not until the fall of 1860 that Mr. Fillmore was enabled to revisit the spot, although he had often expressed a desire to do so. In the latter year, in company with William Scott, he went to the site of the old mill and spent several hours about the spot. The structure was gone, and the site was overgrown with bushes. The place recalled many recollections of his early and humble occupation.
YORK.
Area : 29,689 acres ; population in 1875, 2,483. Boundaries : on the north by Caledonia ; east by Avon and Geneseo ; south by Leicester ; west by Pavillion and Covington.
York, which ranks among the larger towns, lies up- on the western border of the county. It was formed by special act of the Legislature, on the 26th of March,
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1819, from Caledonia and Leicester. In 1823, a small portion of Covington was annexed to York in order to straighten the town lines. The act erecting the town directed "that the first town-meeting should be held at the house of Nathan Russ, inn-keeper." This election, which was well attended "brought together" says one who was present, "a goodly number of sub- stantial and intelligent young men who had never be- fore taken part in public affairs. William Jones was chosen supervisor. The name of the town was selected at a meeting of citizens, called to urge the passage of the bill for the erection of the town, then before the Legislature, and was designed as a compli- ment to Joseph York, Member of Assembly from St. Lawrence county, who had favorably reported the bill from the committee of which he was chairman. The following incident is related of this meeting. Several persons had favored the name of Philadelphia. A physician who was present, referring to the sparse population said, "to call the proposed town by so big a name is like calling Trip, Bose-a large name for a small dog. I had rather call it 'Yate,' after Long's spaniel," alluding to a dog of that name which had been given to Colonel Long by a New York gentleman, and which just then put in an appearance. Some op- position was manifested to the formation of the new town, but Judge Hayden, who was sent to Albany by the meeting, was able to successfully meet the objec- tions that had been raised and to procure prompt and favorable action upon the subject. The surface of the town rises gradually from the river for a mile or more, when it becomes comparatively level, though diversi- fied by gentle undulations whose general inclination is to the east. Brown's creek flows eastward through the central part of the town, and Calder Creek, some- what smaller than the former, runs through the north-
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ern portion. Both streams empty into the Genesee river. The soil in the southern and central parts of the town is a clay loam ; that of the northeastern por- tion is a sandy and gravelly loam, the whole being es- pecially adapted to the culture of winter wheat, of which staple an enormous quantity is annually raised, as is also hay and orchard fruits. Greigsville in the south part of the town, contains one church and twenty-two houses. Piffardinia, in the south-east part of the town derived its name from David Piffard, a prominent citizen of this hamlet. It is situated on the Genesee Valley Canal and contained one church, twenty-three houses, a steam saw-mill, warehouses, stores, etc.
York Centre is situated near the geographical cen- tre of the town. There are four churches in the village, several stores, a hotel, formerly a furnace, and was once a very busy and thriving village.
Fowlerville, in the north-east part of the town, was named for Wells Fowler, the first settler. It contains two churches, several stores, a hotel, and is a neatly kept little village. An extensive machine shop for the manufacture of agricultural implements gives an employment to a large number of hands, and turns out many thousand dollars' worth of work annually.
There are in town nine churches, designated as fol- lows : Two Presbyterian, two Methodist, one Bap- tist, one Congregationalist, one Associated Pres- byterian, one Associated Reform Presbyterian, and one reform Presbyterian. In 1830 The York Sci- entific and Literary Institute was opened at York Centre, under the charge of Professor Pendleton. The attendance of students at the opening was from forty to fifty. The course of study embraced the languages, mathematics and the English branch- es, It was not properly sustained and was dis.
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continued after a year. Settlement was begun in the town in 1800, by several Scotch families, among whom were Donald and John Mckenzie, Angus McBean, John and Alexander Frazer, Archibald Gillis and John McCall. These families formed a part of the colony of settlers that emigrated from Scotland and located in Caledonia, the same year. John Clunas and John and David Mart were early settlers. The latter in later years kept a public house at the Centre. Ralph Brown, who located here in 1808, purchased and owned the land where the village of York now stands. He built a small log house, and before it was fully completed, he opened it for the accommodation of the traveling public. John Russ and his cousin, John Darling, both from Vermont, settled here in September, 1809. They went to work and raised the body of a log house. The structure was speedily completed with the exception of a door. As there were no boards to be had, they concluded to postpone its occupancy that fall, especially as the prospect of opening a bachelor's hall was agreeable to neither of them, and returned to the east for the winter. While erecting the house these two young men boarded a couple of months with Ralph Brown, then the only white man at the Centre. Mr. Brown had opened his house as a pioneer tavern. A single fact will show the primitive character of the establishment. Mr. Russ says that Mr. Brown had but two knives and two forks in his house. When these happened to be in use, a guest or boarder would draw out a pocket knife, if he had one, or be supplied with a hickory stick. Mr. Russ and his cousin John Darling each brought a sister from Vermont when they returned in the spring, the journey occupying three weeks. The ox-cart, their only conveyance, was freighted with household goods and farming implements. Mr. Russ
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was Justice of the Peace in York for many years, and held several commissions in the militia. In 1809 James Calder came and located in the north part of the town. The following year Oliver Stone settled a mile from the Centre. He brought the first wagon that had appeared in the settlement. Dr. Ben- jamin Wood of Vermont, who came in 1811, was the first physician who settled in the town. The first birth that occurred in town was that of Angus Mc- Kenzie, who, as has been claimed, was the first white child born in the Genesee country west of the river. In 1817 Nathan Russ opened an inn at the Centre. The year before Chandler Pierson had opened a store there, and a year or two later, Peck & Goodman opened another in a log house at the Centre. Ralph Brown built the first grist-mill and was ready for busi- ness in 1818. It stood on the creek within the limits of the village. Roswell Stocking had erected a black- smith shop about this time. Another early settler was Holloway Long, who came to York in 1818, from Shel- burn, Franklin county, his birth-place. His wife ac- companied him. Their goods were brought by a team consisting of a yoke of oxen and a span of horses. The family started in a cutter in which they made a part of their journey. The snow then failed them and wheels were substituted. The little group were protected from the inclement weather by a piece of tow-cloth, that had been spun and woven by Mrs. Long. The cutter contained their provisions and cooking utensils, for which they found frequent use on the route. The family were nine days on the road, the team with the goods being twenty-eight days making the journey. Temporary shelter was provi- ded for the family on their arrival, and Mr. Long went to work at once to erect a log house. In a few days it was up and occupied, though not very com.
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fortable until the opening of spring enabled him to chink it. Mr. Long settled on the "Forty Thousand Acre Tract," and on his arrival found four or five families occupying temporary quarters on the tract. The locality was then called "Caledonia South Woods." The Indians roamed over the town, and in a day's walk more red men than whites were to be met with. The Indians were peaceably disposed. Mr. Long took up the farm at $14 an acre, on which he continued to reside until his death.
He gives an account of the organization of the York Artillery, a company of great local celebrity in its day. Accidentally discovering one day that he was familiar with military tactics his neighbors met in the evening, a militia company was organized, and Mr. Long was elected Captain of the " York Artillery." A cannon was promptly furnished by the State authori- ties, and a small armory was erected. The company continued in existence for several years, and afforded much social enjoyment as well as an opportunity for instruction in the manual of arms. On the breaking out of the war of 1812, the company was ordered to the frontier where they remained a couple of weeks. On several other occasions during the progress of hos- tilities the company was ordered out. It also stood the draft twice. In 1814, when the attack on Fort Erie was imminent the company was called upon again to proceed to the. Niagara River. A detatch- ment of the company crossed the river and took part in the siege. Elder Josiah Goddard a native of Con- way, Massachusetts, was in York in 1818. His meet- ings were the only one held for many years. He sometimes preached in Col. Long's house. At a later period service was occasionally held by Rev. Mr. Denoon from Caledonia, half the day in Gaelic and half the day in English. In 1812 or a year later the
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Associated Reform Presbyterian Church at York Cen- ter, "The Log Church " as it was called, was the first building used for worship.
N.A.ETH. D 743 h A history of Livingston County, New Tozzer Library AWX8112 3 2044 043 276 294
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