USA > New York > Ontario County > A history of Ontario County, New York and its people, Volume I > Part 38
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The well earned peace and tranquility of the community were again soon to be disturbed by the cry of war. The paths of these early settlers had been strewn with many and various hardships. The long and great Revolutionary struggle was still fresh in their minds, but they were destined to endure, in addition to the hard- ships of home-making in a wilderness, the anxieties and losses incident to another war, that of 1812.
The defense of the Niagara frontier and the protection of the American shores of lake Ontario were of vital importance to these new settlements, for to them the war threatened the desolation of their newly made homes, and with the call for volunteers they freely yielded of their best. It is not strange to find that among the first to enlist was Nathan Pierce, Jr., son of the captain of Revolutionary fame. He served under General Wadsworth, familiarly known by his men as "Black Bill." At the close of the war of 1812, Nathan Pierce was given command of a company of militia.
Another Manchester boy deserves mention. Gilbert Howland, eldest son of the pioneer, Nicholas Howland, was captain of a company of militia at the breaking out of this war, and on May 28th, 1812, he was commissioned, by Daniel D. Tompkins, then Governor of New York, as captain "of a company in the regiment of infantry, in the County of Ontario, whereof Thaddeus Remington, Esq., is Lieutenant Colonel Commandant." His patriotism was not to be proven, for he yielded his desires to the wishes of his father and mother who belonged to the Society of Friends. On account of his failure to take command, it devolved upon the first lieutenant, Peter Mitchell. Mitchell was a young man of much promise. His later career gives proof of this, for his name stands forth as that of one of the foremost men of those early days, when the good and faithful
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HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY.
gave of their best to sow and plant for the generations that were to be reapers of their labors. Even at this early period this youth's clerical abilities were recognized and for some months during his active service he was detailed to act as adjutant of his regiment.
Herman J. Redfield received a brevet commission during this war and his two brothers, Harley and Manning, were also volun- teers. From Short's Mills went Joshua Stevens and John Wyatt, and Moses and Jacob Eddy, father and son. They were in the artillery company stationed at Black Rock. Timothy Bigelow, Asel Throop, and John Robinson also served from Manchester.
Many are the tales handed down to us of these exciting times, when the boys from home lived on hard tack and horse flesh, and when at great risk loads of provisions were conveyed to the front, the mothers never forgetting the doughnuts and the fathers always including several casks of cider.
About the year 1806 the militia system was enforced in Ontario county, and every able bodied man was enrolled for military duty, each one being obliged to furnish his own firearms. Without uni- formity in arms or clothing, they presented anything but a military appearance. They met yearly in each town for company drilling and inspection, also meeting once a year for regimental training and inspection at the county seat. For company training they met in various parts of the town, and one of the favorite spots for these meetings was at the old Poplar tavern, situated on the road between Manchester and Clifton Springs.
It is a well known fact that these company trainings were generally under the eaves of some inn, when whiskey at three cents per glass, with hard boiled eggs and gingerbread, known in those days as general training cake, were always in evidence and quite as much the order of the day as the training. A fine was imposed upon every able bodied man who failed to appear at the general training. The Quakers, believing in peace and in adherence to their faith, as a rule would refuse to go. It was then the duty of the collector to call upon them and insist that they pay the fine. This often proved a problem hard to solve, and to settle the dispute almost anything would be accepted in canceling the debt, even to sheep, chickens, ducks, pigs, etc.
The very earliest records give the death of Thomas Sawyer, March 12th, 1793, as being the first death to occur in this town. It was he who built the first frame house in the southeast part of the
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THE TOWN OF MANCHESTER.
town. The first birth recorded is that of Dorris Booth, on March 25th, 1795.
With the opening of the twentieth century came the first merchant, Nathan Barlow, and the first physician was James Stewart. The training of the youthful minds fell to Elam Crane and with gratitude to his memory we place his name on record as that of the first schoolmaster of the town. Achilles Bottsford ranks as the pioneer cobbler. The first printer from this town was Lewis H. Redfield, who became a "printer's devil" in Canandaigua, under James D. Bemis.
Religion was a feature of the pioneer life. Rev. David Irish preached in Manchester on January, 1797, and in February follow- ing the Baptist society was founded. The legal organization of the society was perfected in 1804. Ebenezer Pratt, Joseph Wells, and Jeremiah Dewey were the first trustees, and the first Baptist church, known as the "old stone church," was built in 1816. It stood on the east side of Main street in the village of Manchester, just a few rods above where now the Lehigh Valley railroad crosses.
The next Baptist church of the town of Manchester was founded at Plainsville in 1803. Its first pastor was Elder Wisner. The Methodists had a society as early as 1800 and held their meetings in private houses.
St. John's church, Episcopal, was organized by Rev. Davenport Phelps in 1807 at Sulphur Springs, now known as Clifton Springs. John and Samuel Shekels were the wardens. In succeeding years other religious bodies have come and made their homes among us.
At an early date our forefathers realized the necessity of educating and preparing the young for the future responsibilities that would naturally confront them. The outcome proves the timber was well worth the pruning. As early as the year 1813, the first school meeting was called and held at the home of Ebenezer Pratt. A record taken from a book containing the minutes of the meetings relates that after much argument and adjournment of said meeting, it was "voted that a school house shall be 26 ft. long and 20 ft. wide and 9 ft. high. To be a framed building, unless other- wise agreed hereafter. Voted that a tax of $250 be levied on this district for the purpose of erecting school building." In later years other school districts were set off, but it has been impossible to ascertain the correct dates.
The pioneers' thirst for knowledge did not end with a district
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HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY.
school. This was only a slight expression of their desire to advance and make good for the future generations. The following year, 1814, a town library, in the village of Manchester, was founded and the amount was raised by issuing a thousand shares of stock at two dollars per share. This money was expended in buying standard books. The preamble reads: "Whereas, we the subscribers for mental improvement and for the extension and diffusion of literary information and knowledge generally amongst each other, having formed ourselves into a society to be known by the name of the Farmington Library Society, do constitute and establish the fol- lowing rules or articles to govern us in our social capacity."
The library contained over six hundred volumes of biographies, histories, and scientific, moral, political, religious, and educational works. On its shelves could be found such books as these: "Rol- lin's History," "Franklin's Works," "Josephus," "Montague's Works," "Locke's Understanding," "Goldsmith's Works," "Biog- raphy of Pious Persons," "Dying Thoughts of a Christian," "Elements of Morality," "Young's Night Thoughts," "Dick's Philosophy of a Future State," "Cook's Travels," etc. The selec- tion of these books shows that the minds of these valiant pioneers were fully as vigorous as their physical endurance had been in hewing a forest home.
This library was always kept in the home of John Pratt, who acted as librarian from 1818 to the time of his death, a period of about fifty years. The remaining well-worn books show the pleas- ure they gave to a by-gone generation. Many of them are still in the possession of John R. Pratt, M. D.
In 1815, a Masonic lodge was founded at the tavern of Reuben Buck. The records show that there were only fourteen members. The membership soon increased to over a hundred. It was known as Manchester lodge, No. 269. Dr. Philip N. Draper was the last member of this lodge to be buried by Masonic orders, in the year 1827. The Anti-Masonic excitement was the cause of the disband- ing of the lodge and the last annual meeting was held on December 17th, 1828.
Suiting things to their needs and by utilizing the waters of the Canandaigua outlet, the first industry in the town took the shape of a flouring and saw mill, erected in 1804 by Theophilus Short at the place now known as Shortsville. A little below this, on the same stream, in 1811, William Grimes built a carding mill. In the
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THE TOWN OF MANCHESTER.
same year the Ontario Manufacturing Company was organized and bought the water power at Manchester village and manufactured woolen cloths. It is said that at this time there were only two other factories of the kind in the State. In 1824 a grist mill was built by Valentine Coon, at Coonsville.
Case, Abbey, & Co. erected in 1817 a paper mill on the present site of the Jones paper mill in Shortsville, for making writing paper, and it is an item of interest that in this mill was made the paper on which the first Book of Mormon was printed.
The Birth of Mormonism.
Mormonism, which has become one of our greatest national evils, originated in this town, and in turn, it has given to Manches- ter a national renown. Joseph Smith, Jr., the first Mormon prophet and founder of Mormonism and the Church of Latter Day Saints, was born in Sharon, Windsor county, Vermont, December 13th, 1805. He came at an early age with his father to Palmyra, where they ran a small "cake and beer" shop. In 1818 they squatted on a piece of land on Stafford street in the northwestern corner of this town, but they vacated this land in 1830 and the property for many years has been in the possession of the Chapman family, and was sold by William Chapman in 1907 to Apostle George A. Smith, of Salt Lake City, a grandson of the prophet Smith.
By their neighbors the Smiths were regarded as a shiftless and most untrustworthy family. They were visionary and superstitious and were always digging for hidden treasures. So that Oliver Cowdery, a schoolmaster on Stafford street, had little trouble in enthusing them into the mysteries that could be unearthed.
Their favorite digging place came to be on the hill since known as the. "Hill of Camorah," which being interpreted signifies "Mormon Hill," often called Gold Bible hill. This hill is located two and one-half miles north of Manchester village, on the old stage road between Canandaigua and Palmyra.
Joe Smith, Jr., possessed even less than ordinary intellect, and among the boys he was always a butt for their jokes, which have become local history. The reputation these people held among their neighbors is well summed up in the following statement given with their signatures :
Manchester, Ontario Co., N. Y., Nov. 3, 1833.
We, the undersigned, being personally acquainted with the family of Joseph Smith, Sen., with whom the Gold Bible, so-called, originated, state that they were not only a lazy, indolent set of men, but also intemperate, and their word
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HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY.
was not to be depended upon, and that we are truly glad to dispense with their society.
Pardon Butts, Joseph Fish, Moses C. Smith,
Hiram Smith, Warren A. Reed,
Horace N. Barnes,
James Gee,
Alfred Stafford,
Sylvester Worden.
A. H. Wentworth, Abel Chase,
Also the affidavit of Parley Chase throws much the same light on this Smith family :
Manchester, New York, December 2, 1833. I was acquainted with family of Joseph Smith, Sr., both before and since they become Mormons and feel free to state that not one of the male members of the Smith family were entitled to any credit whatsoever. They were lazy, intemperate, and worthless men, very much addicted to lying. In this they frequently wasted their skill. Digging for money was their principal employment. In regard to their Gold Bible speculation, they scarcely ever told two stories alike. The Mormon Bible is said to be a revelation from God through Joseph Smith, Jr., His prophet, and this same Joseph Smith, Jr., to my knowledge, bore the reputation among his neighbors of being a liar.
It was the mother who exercised the larger influence on her son's life, and the Smiths' interest and belief in a hidden treasure seems to have been part of their early training.
In 1819, while the Smiths were digging a well near Palmyra. on the farm of Mr. Clark Chase, a stone of peculiar shape was unearthed. It resembled in form a child's foot, and was white, glossy, and opaque in appearance. Joe kept the stone and by its aid he claimed to see wonderful things. In a short time his reputa- tion grew and with the stone to his eyes he claimed to be able to reveal "both things existing and things to come." This stone came to be known as the famous Peek stone and is truly called the "Acorn of the Mormon oak."
Several years later, in 1827, Rev. Sidney Rigdon heard of the Smiths and their c'aim to find hidden treasure through the mirac- ulous Peek stone, and all facts lead to the belief that Rigdon was the founder of the Mormon faith.
When Smith's attention was directed from the discovery of buried money to that of a buried bible, remains one of the unex- plained points in his history. The account accepted by the Mormons is the revelation of the book by an angel to Joe Smith, and in this vision he was directed to dig on Mormon hill, and, much against his will, to be the interpreter of the sacred document and give it to the world. The description of the buried volume was changed from time to time. In this way strength was given to the theory that Rigdon was attracted to Smith by the rumor of his
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THE TOWN OF MANCHESTER.
discovery and afterwards gave it shape. Joe did not claim for the plates any new revelation or religious significance, but simply that they were a historical record of an ancient people. This would indicate that he had possession of the Spaulding manuscript before it received any theological additions. At the time Mr. Spaulding offered "The Manuscript Found" for publication, Sidney Rigdon was employed in the same printing office, and it is supposed on good authority that he made a copy of it and that Rigdon made good use of Joe's money-digging proclivities and that from their co-partnership was produced the Book of Mormon.
The financial aid for carrying out this scheme came from a farmer by the name of Harris. It is an accepted fact that the man who had more to do with the founding of the Mormon church than Joseph Smith, Jr., and who is little known to most persons to whom the name of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young are so familiar, was Sidney Rigdon, truly called by some writers, "the compiling genius of Mormonism."
They claim to have dug the plates on September 21, 1827, and the "bible" was printed in Palmyra in 1830.
The title page of the first edition of the "Book of Mormon" is as follows :
The Book of Mormon.
An account written by the hand of Mormon, upon plates taken from the plates of Nephi.
Wherefore it is an abridgment of the Record of the people of Nephi, and also of the Lamanites, written to the Lamanites, which are a remnant of the House of Israel, and also to Jew and Gentile, written by way of commandment, and also by the spirit of Prophecy and of Revelation. Written and sealed up and hid unto the Lord, that they might not be destroyed, to come forth by the gift and power of God into the interpretation thereof; sealed by the hand of Moroni, and hid up unto the Lord, to come forth in due time by the way of Gentile; the interpretation thereof by the gift of God: an abridgement taken from the Book of Ether.
Also. which is a Record of the People of Jared, which were scattered at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people when they were building a tower to get to Heaven, which is to show unto the remnant of the House of Israel how great things the Lord hath done for their fathers, and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off for- ever, and also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the External God, manifesting Himself unto all nations. And now if there be fault, it be the mistake of men, wherefore condemn not the things of God, that ye may be found spotless at the judgment seat of Christ.
By Joseph Smith, Junior, Author and Proprietor, Palmyra.
Printed by E. B. Grandin, for the Author.
1830.
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HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY.
In the revised editions this is corrected and Joseph is designated as "Translator" only.
About the year 1830, Joe Smith and his followers left the town of Manchester with their unsold bibles and removed to Kirtland, Ohio, where Rigdon had already established a church. Their wanderings from place to place have become well known history. From Kirtland they went on to Nauvoo, and after a brief stay in Missouri on to Utah, where they found a permanent resting place.
Crooked brook. of Mormon fame, runs through the northwest part of the town, and it was in the waters of this stream that the Mormons baptized their early saints. Dr. Stafford, an old resident of the village of Manchester, was present at the first baptism.
The roads of the township were supposed to have been laid on the line of lots. As the settlers moved in, roads came to mean shorter cuts from one settlement to another, and from farm to farm. Often an old Indian trail through the forest was utilized to advan- tage. Otherwise a visit to a neighbor would have necessitated many weary hours of travel, and in those days hospitality meant more than a cup of tea ; every one was made welcome. The door stood open and willing hands gave the best from their little.
Road improvement seems to have been of more recent date. The first and only plank road in this town was built from Palmyra to Canandaigua in 1849, by a stock company, and it was a toll road. The toll-gates in this town were located, one at Crane's cor- ners just west of the village of Shortsville, and the other at the north edge of the village of Manchester, the house being south of where the present school-house stands. The old house is still there and has been remodeled into a dwelling. There were two other toll-gates. One, in the town of Canandaigua, was situated a little east of the Hanna farm. The other was in Wayne county, about a quarter of a mile from the north line of Ontario county, near Palmyra. The toll-gates in the town of Manchester were removed in the early sixties, and the others were in use for some years later until the company surrendered its charter.
Previous to the planking of this road it had been the stage and mail route for many years from Canandaigua to Palmyra, and also for the village of Manchester, which was the half-way stop between these towns for all stage coaches and travelers. The mail was brought by stage from Albany to Buffalo, and Canandaigua
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THE TOWN OF MANCHESTER.
was a distributing place for other mail routes in this county, via stages and horseback.
The dawn of the first real modern advancement came with the opening of the Auburn and Rochester railroad in 1844. This brought more rapid settlement and faster growth to this section and the surrounding country. In its wake has come greater development and progress, which is more and more being fulfilled. At the Shortsville station there was a wood yard for replenishing the wood-burning engines of the early railroading period. That to-day would be a novel sight, yet it is less than seventy years in which the power of steam and electricity has not alone perfected our manner of travel but lightened our labors and changed our mode of simple living.
Loyalty and love for country was as dear to the men of the sixties, as it had been to their forefathers. When the cry of the Civil war rang over the land, the noble response they made gave full proof of their patriotism On the roil of volunteers appear the names of nearly one hundred residents of Manchester, showing that the town furnished its full quota of men for the Union armies. In 1881 the Herendeen Post, G. A. R., was organized. At present there are twenty-nine members in good standing. The Post is named after Captain Orin Herendeen, who enlisted from Farming- ton.
The town of Manchester has a population of 4,889, it being the third in number of inhabitants in the county, with a total assessed valuation of about $2,800,000. It is interesting to recall that it was the first township sold from the Phelps and Gorham purchase, known then as the district of Farmington.
When the Indians sold this land to Phelps and Gorham, they reserved the right to fish and hunt upon it for eight years. As it happened, this proved of immense value to the settlers, through the fact that the red men killed the wolves that were so prevalent in the pioneer days in order to save the deer for themselves. In doing this they also served the white man.
Clifton Springs.
The town of Manchester has several stirring and beautifully located villages and hamlets.
The largest village is Clifton Springs, formerly called Sulphur Springs on account of its noted mineral water. It is a place of
-
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HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY.
about sixteen hundred inhabitants. The first white man to pene- trate these lands came about the year 1790, according to Turner in his "Pioneer Settlement of Phelps and Gorham Purchase." He tells of a Highlander. Donald Stewart, of "Achnaun by Appin, in Argyleshire," who had organized a colony to come over to America. They were to settle in Cumberland, N. C., but after the emigrants had set sail and it was too late to change their course, another proposition was offered their leader, Stewart, by Patrick Colquhoun, an Englishman, to bring the colony into the land in which the latter was interested, the Genesee country. On his arrival in America, Mr. Stewart decided to explore the country for him- self, and he and a Mr. Williamson, a Lowlander, who was prospect- ing for a suitable location for a German colony that he had organ- ized, set out together on horseback.
Mr. Turner says: "A good anecdote came of it however, which it is said had something to do with his dislike of the country. Threading the forest on horseback, Mr. Williamson and his com- panion were attracted by the noise of falling water. Approaching it, the water gushing from a rock, and falling over a precipice, the bed of the stream, the rocks and banks covered with sulphur, riveted their attention. It was a feast for the eyes, but not exactly agreeable to their smell. After gazing for a few minutes, Mr. Williamson broke the silence by observing that they had found just the place for a Highland colony. The reader will observe, as the keenly sensitive Highlander did, that the harmless joke had reference to a certain cutaneous infirmity. It came, too, from a Lowlander, and touched a tender cord; called up reminiscences of ancient feuds in their native land ; was resented ; and is said to be one of the reasons why a large Highland colony was not early introduced into this region. The reader will have surmised that the party were viewing Clifton Springs."
It was ten years after the above incident occurred that the first settlement was made in Clifton Springs, in the year 1800, by John Shekels. He built his log house on "east hill," where now stands a comfortable frame dwelling, known as Miss Balcom's boarding house.
John Shekels brought three slaves with him from Maryland. This was the first introduction of slavery into the township. To his credit be it said. after a short residence here, he liberated them.
Out of necessity, the most of these early homes, in primitive
THE TOWN OF MANCHESTER. 421
days, were converted into taverns to accommodate other immi- grants, and the Shekels' double log house was no exception to the rule. It did duty as a tavern for many years.
When and why the name was changed from Sulphur Springs to Clifton Springs is a question, possibly the odor in the town was not a pleasant reminder; but the fact remains that these Sulphur Springs have made Clifton a great resort for invalids seeking health and quiet, while the natural beauty of the village and its surrounding country draws hither as well the tourist and the pleasure seeker. It is worthy of note, that in 1806, a hotel was erected here as a dispensary.
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