USA > New York > Ontario County > A history of Ontario County, New York and its people, Volume I > Part 44
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476
HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY.
In 1796 Kaufman and family moved in from the east and settled above Tuttle. Kaufman lived but a short time after coming here and his widow attended the mill for some time. A son, William, or "Uncle Billy" as he was familiarly called, lived here many years. At the time of his death, he was the oldest person in the town.
Going north from Boswell's Corners, we come to what is called Burbee Hollow. The first settler from the corners north was Phineas Perkins, who moved in during 1796 and settled on the farm now owned and occupied by Isaiah F. King. After residing here many years, when quite old. he sold out and found a home else- where. Upon the same lot lived Deacon John Forbes. After his death the family sold out and moved to Kentucky. The next neighbor on the north was Richard Bishop, whose residence in this neighborhood was somewhat later than that of Forbes. As has been mentioned, Wilder had a distillery to utilize his apple crop and Bishop was engaged in its management for a time, but afterward removed to Kentucky.
The next place north was not of early settlement, it being 1812 when Abraham Roberts moved upon it. He resided there until his death some years later. Farther north was the place settled by Levi Austin and a man named Fay. The former put out an orchard here in 1796 on the farm which John C. Berry now owns.
It is observed that almost every early settler at once planted an apple orchard, and from 1812-14 large quantities of cider were made. A great incentive to the manufacture of cider was its ready sale at high prices. Government troops were stationed along the frontier from Sackett's Harbor to Buffalo and thousands of barrels of cider were hauled to the various camps, where a ready market was found. The Allens were heavily engaged in apple growing, and made hundreds of barrels of cider annually.
Prior to 1800, Nathan Hatch, Sr., moved in with a large family of boys and two or three girls. He bought out Austin and Fay and made a further purchase of Wilder. His sons were Nathan, George, John. Thomas, Charles. Lyman, and Luman. Nathan afterwards purchased the farm now owned by George H. Child. John located west of Bristol Center. George settled on the place now owned by Amos Simpkins, Lyman on lands now owned by Homer J. Alford. Thomas returned to Connecticut and Luman lived upon the home-
477
THE TOWN OF SOUTH BRISTOL.
stead until his death, which occurred in 1826. This place is owned and occupied by George Hewitt at the present time.
The F. A. Greenman farm was first settled by a man named Belknap, whose stay here was for but a short time. Aaron Spencer came to the settlement in 1790 and worked for Wilder for a time, then returned to Connecticut and brought out his family and settled in 1792 upon the part of lot No. 36 now occupied by James Masters. Here he cleared a few acres, remaining three years, when he sold to Nicholas Burbee, who had come here with Colonel John Green, of Pittstown. Soon after his purchase Burbee sold the north half to Captain Reuben Gilbert, and afterward Seevel Gilbert, brother of Reuben, came to live on the place now owned by Ira Barnes. Deacon Parmely bought Burbee out in 1812 and settled here on a large farm. A son, Colonel James Parmely, lived on the farm for many years. After the Civil war he sold out and removed to Louisiana, where he lived until his death some years since.
A family by the name of Reed were among the early settlers. One grandson, Schuyler Reed, and family still reside in the neigh- borhood.
Gamaliel Wilder first settled at the lake as before stated, after- ward removing to lot No. 18, known as the Brown Stand, now owned and occupied by William Saunders. His son, Daniel, remained at the point until his death. Gideon Beeman came here in 1809 from Connecticut and located near the lake on the place where Joseph Fox, Jr., now lives. Numerous descendants are still living in the town.
Covel Settlement derived its name from its leading early settler, James Covel, who in 1806 came from Woodstock, Vermont. and located east of the cemetery on a tract of two hundred acres, opposite where Henry G. Higley now owns. He later moved to Allegany. John Wood came to this neighborhood soon after Covel and took up his residence on one hundred and fifty acres, now the property of Mr. Higley. Here he died in advanced life. No descendant of his is left in town.
Ezra Wood moved in from Woodstock, Vermont, about 1810, and cleared the farm now owned by his grandson, Ezra F. Wood. One hundred acres comprised his possession. He died here in 1813, when fifty-one years of age. His son, Isaac, died here in February, 1876, aged 81 years. Gaius Randall came here with Wood and bought him a house on the north part of lot No. 9. While
478
HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY
he worked some portion of his time at his trade as carpenter, his main busmess was farming. He moved to the Wilder farm in 1814, after the death of Daniel Wilder, and from there to the place where Irwin Hicks now lives. He finally bought the Covel place, where at the age of seventy-three he died. Several of his descend- ants still live in the town.
Jonathan Forbes. a son of Deacon Forbes, was a farmer on lot No. 8 as early as 1808. The place is still known as the Old Josh lot. Next south, on what is known as the Van Denbergh farm, lived Jeremiah Spicer. He reared a family here and in his old age removed to a farm further south, where he died. Some of Ins descendants are living in the town of Naples.
Aaron Rice, who settled on a part of lot No. 9, now known as the Hemenway farm, was the only farrier then in the country. He was a good citizen and well liked in the neighborhood. Luke Coye came here about 1814 and settled near Naples, but afterward moved to lot No. 2, near what is called the Coye school-house. This farm has been occupied by some of the Coye family continu- ously since its first settlement, its present owner and occupant being Elmer N. Coye, grandson of Luke. There are two other grandsons, Edgar and Emmet, living in town. Luke Coye died at the advanced age of 94 years.
Flam Crane, of Durham, Connecticut, moved to the county in 1791, and settled on a farm in Hopewell. Mr. Crane has been mentioned as a teacher of repute. He reared a large family, twelve in number, six sons and six daughters. In 1826 he moved from near Cheshire to lot No. 9, South Bristol, where in November, 1850. he died in his 83rd year.
Among the earliest settlers on lot No. 2 was a man named Warburton. . But little is known of him at the present time. He was a Hessian, taken prisoner at the battle of Trenton. The date of his coming to this town. the length of his sojourn here, the time of his departure, and where he went from here, are unknown.
A family named Keth were among the first settlers on lots No. 2 and 9 and resided here for some years. A daughter married Isaac Wood, son of Ezra and father of E. F. Wood, who still resides in town. The Keths afterwards sold out and went west. In 1812, Ezra Parmely and Clark Worden purchased a tract of land from Wilder on the east hill, adjoining the Rice place on the east, and moved in. A year or two later, a man named Ward located next .
479
THE TOWN OF SOUTH BRISTOL.
south of Worden. These, with Rice, Spicer, and Forbes, constituted the inhabitants of this locality at that time. The lower road, through what is called the Coye neighborhood, was not opened then and years elapsed before the road from Covel Settlement to the hollow was changed to run on the line of lots.
A school was opened east of Covel Settlement in a log house, east of where Frank Wood now resides. The first schoolmaster was Frederick Winthrop Holcomb. He was the first settler on what is called Cook's point on the lake. He came from Windsor, Connecticut, in 1812, on foot, walking three hundred miles in nine days. He cleared about two acres and sowed it to wheat, returning late in the fall to winter at his old home. Again in March, 1813, he returned on foot, except when he could catch a ride, and setting to work he cleared several acres during the season and sowed the same to wheat. He married Keziah Wood and lived on the point for sixteen years, in a log house having a single room. In 1829 his father came here and he himself moved to the place now owned by John O'Neill. He lived to an advanced age. Many of his grand- children reside in the town at the present time.
Thomas Standish came from Vermont in 1811, and built a log house on the place where Mortimer Hotchkiss now resides. George T. Standish, now living at Bristol Springs, is a grandson of the pioneer, and many other of his descendants reside in the town at the present time. Lucius Lincoln came here about 1816 and settled on the property now occupied by Marshall Lincoln, his grandson. The father of Lucius resided in the town at an early date. William Gatis and brothers came here about 1818 and located on what is called the Hughson farm, now occupied and owned by John Helfer. They were from Ireland.
John Fox came in 1815 and settled on the farm now owned by Rhodes Trickey. A man named Sailor first located on the farm now owned by John A. Mansfield. The farm where Mrs. E. T. Middle- brook lives was settled at an early date by a man named Pitts Walker. The old Walker orchard is still in evidence. The hollow south of Boswell Corners was not settled very early. About 1813 Jeremiah Spicer moved from what is called Stid hill and built a log house opposite where Hiram C. Reed now lives and proceeded to clear up and improve a farm. About the same time William Kauf- man changed his residence to the farm now owned by Bradley W. Heard, near the south line of lot No. 29.
480
HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY.
In 1815 Eleazer Parker came from East Bloomfield and developed a farm from the wild lands on lot 23, the farm now owned and occupied by Edward F. Andrews. About 1818 his brother, David, joined him here. Both finished their days on their farms. William still resides on his father's homestead.
Frosttown and vicinity was occupied by Wilder. During the first or second year after his arrival, he cut a road through the wilderness from the point to the Brown Stand, Boswell Corners, and from there to Frosttown, where he built a saw mill on Mill creek. He later sold the mill to Jonathan and Jacob Frost, who had a mill on a lot adjoining. From them the locality derives its name of Frosttown.
Hazzard Wilcox, father of the late I. W. Wilcox, moved in soon after the Frosts and built a house on lot No. 48, near where Dana Wood now lives. He built a steam saw mill, the first in the neighborhood. Several others were built later, but have been abandoned, the supply of sawing timber being practically exhausted at the present time. South of Frosttown there was no early settlement between there and Hilltown.
In district No. 10 is the locality which bears the name of Hill- town. About the year 1818, Erastus Hill, accompanied by his son, Cyrus, moved from the settlement on Mud creek and built a saw mill on Mill creek. They were industrious, hard working men, respected by all. Cyrus Hill lived for many years on the farm now owned by Mrs. Mark Woodard. Rev. Stephen Trembly, a Metho- dist minister, lived for a short time on the farm now owned by Peter J. Sanders, just south of Bristol Springs, afterward moving to the saw mill place at the Springs. Isaac Trembly, a nephew of Stephen, lived on the farm for many years. He held many important positions. He and his numerous family were always identified with Sunday school and church work. Members of the family resided on the homestead for about seventy years.
In 1844 Shotwell Powell came here from Dutchess county and purchased a farm on what has since been called Powell hill. He became a successful farmer and in 1859 he was elected member of Assembly from this district. In 1860 he was reelected. Mr. Powell was a man of strong convictions and great moral courage, a strong anti-slavery man, an opponent to capital punishment, and a zealous advocate of temperance. His son, Israel M. Powell, owns and occupies the old homestead.
481
THE TOWN OF SOUTH BRISTOL.
The first grist mill in town was built by Gamaliel Wilder, 1791. He afterward removed the works to a new mill which he built on the site of the mill now owned by Henry Loos. The proprietors were Wilder and Allen, and Mrs. Kaufman, mother of William, was for sometime the miller. In 1805 Ephraim Brown built the present mill. It would be a hopeless task to try to enumerate the different owners and tenants on this property up to twenty or twenty-five years ago, when it came into the hands of its present owner, Henry Loos, who has added steam power, a saw mill and planer, and who is doing a fairly prosperous business.
In 1814 a church building was erected on the north line of Wilder's farm, west of the road. Wilder gave the land and mainly built the house. He left securities to the amount of $3,000 or $4,000, the income from which sum was to be used in support of regular religious services in the church. The principal sum in some manner afterward became lost, the society became extinct, and the building was abandoned and torn down. The cemetery west of the church was plowed up by the late Charles Brady, during the time that he owned and occupied the farm.
A Union church was built at Bristol Springs about 1880. Regular services are held there each Sunday. There are two other churches in the town, one at Hilltown and one between Boswell Corners and the Brown Stand.
William Lee, son of Rev. and Mrs. J. H. Lee, at his death, left a quantity of books and a small sum of money as a nucleus for a public library to be known as The Billy Lee Memorial Library. It has been growing steadily from the first. A branch has been started at Bristol Springs in charge of Mrs. H. B. Hovey and has proved a success.
The first frame house in town was built by Gamaliel Wilder. He kept tavern in it for years and it later became the property of Allen Brown and has since been known as the Brown tavern stand. The old house was burned some years ago, and a new one erected in its place, the present residence of William Saunders. In 1865, while a well was being sunk in hopes of finding oil, at a great depth a supply of water was struck that has been in continuous flow ever since. This well is on the east side of the road and nearly opposite where the church used to stand.
The first teacher in South Bristol was Joanna Forbes. The first school-house was built of hewn logs and was twenty feet square
482
HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY.
and stood near the site of the present one in district No. 7. Elisha Parrish taught winter schools for several years. Winthrop Holcomb taught the first school at Covel Settlement and afterward at the Standish settlement. There are now twelve school districts in the town. The wages of teachers have steadily increased until now they are receiving as many dollars per week as they did shillings in the earlier days.
The first town meeting of the old town of Bristol was held in 1797, and many of the pioneers of South Bristol were elected to office. An act was passed by the Legislature, March 8, 1838, to divide the town of Bristol, and the town of South Bristol was then organized. The first town meeting was held at Brown's tavern in April, 1838. Horace Pennell presided. Franklin Crooker was elected supervisor and Simri Collins, town clerk ; John Stetson, Philo Judson, and G. Hayes, justices; David Coye, Cyrus Hill, and Allen Brown, assessors; Peter Cameron, collector; Thomas Covel and M. Hayes, overseers of the poor ; Ephraim Randall, Silas Reynolds, and Joseph A. Allen, commissioners of highways; Joseph S. Penoyer, Horace Pennell, and Samuel P. Page, commissioners of common schools: Gaius Randall and David Parker, constables; A. A. Brown, Avery Brown, and Simri Collins, inspectors of common schools. The elections were held at the Brown Stand until 1867, when the present town house was erected. Fayette Ingraham, the present town clerk, has held the office nearly forty years. He resides on the place first occupied by Jared Tuttle, the pioneer who came here with Wilder in 1789.
The Civil War.
The following residents of the town were enlisted in the service during the Civil war; Ashley Alford, died in the service; Hiram P. Brown, 148th Inf., died in the service; William H. Barrett, 148th Inf. ; William T. Bird, 148th Inf., killed at Petersburg; Peter F. Bird, 15th Cav .; Asa Brown, 15th Cav .; Charles P. Baldwin, 102d Inf .; Goold R. Benedict, 4th H. A .; John Q. Barnum, 15th Cav .; Harrison Carr, Albert Daniels, Franklin Daniels, Lyman Dedrick, Jared W. Davis, 1st Dragoons; James Ensign, died in the service ; Henry Ensign, died in the service; Robert Gladle, 148th Inf .; William Giddings, David A. Hawkins, 4th H. A .; William H. Heard, 148th Inf. : Elisha Horton, 102d Inf .; Henry H. Hulse, 102d Inf .: John W. Heard, James H. Holcomb, 1st Dragoons; Horace Hawkins, Navy, died in the service; Mortimer Hotchkiss, Henry
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THE TOWN OF SOUTH BRISTOL.
Lown, 4th H. A .; Lewis Mosher, George Mosher, 102d Inf .; C. F. McCumber, 4th H. A. ; George W. McCumber, 126th Inf. ; Andrew J. McCumber, 148th Inf., died in the service ; John S. Perry, 4th H. A., died in the service ; Thomas J. Powell, 148th Inf .; Levi Parsons, 148th Inf. ; William Parker, 148th Inf .; Amos Place, 102d Inf., died in the service; Stanley Polley, 4th H. A .; Theodore Polley, died in the service; Homer Parker, Daniel Parsons, 1st Dragoons; A. A. Randall, 15th Cav. ; William Richards, 148th Inf. ; David Ross, 126th Inf. ; Ezra C. Richards, 4th H. A .; Smith Ross, John B. Roper, 18th Inf. ; Levi B. Sherman, 4th H. A., died of starvation; Charles F. Sanford, 4th H. A., died in the service; John Standish, 185th Inf. ; Jeremiah Smith, 126th Inf., died in the service; Elihu Standish, died in the service : Henry Stid, Ellet Stid, Isaac Seward, Robert Tozer, Isaac H. Trembly, 4th H. A., died in the service; Richard S. Treat, 148th Inf. : William Thurber, Amaziah Thurber, Jay A. Tuttle, Zouaves ; Lyman Warden, 4th H. A., died in the service ; Chauncey Warden, 4th H. A .; Squire Worden, 8th Cav .; Marvin Worden, 148th Inf .; Nathaniel R. Wood, 1st Dragoons; Wallace Wilder, 126th Inf. ; Simeon Wright, 126th Inf. ; Augustus T. Wilder, died in the service.
The following is a list of men elected to the Board of Super- visors from the town of South Bristol: Franklin Crooker, 1838-39; Cyrus Hill, 1840; Simri Collins, 1841-42; James Parmely. 1843; John Stetson, 1844; Joseph A. Allen, 1845-47; Franklin Crooker, 1848-49; James Parmely, 1850-51; Joseph A. Allen, 1852; James Parmely, 1853-54; David Coye, 1855-56; John Stetson, 1857; Charles H. Sheldon, 1858-60; Ephraim Randall, 1861-62; Edwin Brown, 1863; James Parmely, 1864-66; Joseph E. Fellows, 1867; Edwin Brown, 1868; Charles G. Hemenway, 1869; Edwin Brown, 1870; Charles G. Hemenway, 1871-74; Elias Allen, 1875; Charles G. Hemenway, 1876; George T. Standish, 1877; William Templar, 1878; George T. Standish, 1879-80; William Templar, 1881; John Ricketson, 1882-83: William Templar, 1884: Avery Ingraham, 1885-87; George B. Hemenway, 1888-89; Edward Smyth, 1890-92; Elmer N. Coye, 1893; Henry G. Higley, 1894-97; John Trembly, 1898; Edward Smyth, 1899-1900; Frederick B. Holcomb, 1901-05 ; Willis W. Holcomb, 1906-09; Elmer N. Coye, 1910-11.
HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY.
XXXVIII.
THE TOWN OF VICTOR.
Scene of the Only Battle between Armed Forces Ever Fought in What Is Now Ontario County-Era of the White Man-The Township Bought of Phelps and Gorham for Twenty Cents an Acre-The Purchasers Were Boughtons from Massachu- setts-First Settlement and Subsequent Development.
BY GEORGE SIMONDS.
When the Marquis Denonville, then Governor of New France, set out in the summer of 1687 to invade the Seneca country, his army, debarking at Irondequoit bay, marched down into what is now the heart of the town of Victor, and there, very nearly where the village of Victor is located, first encountered, at dear cost of blood, the Nun-da-wa-o-no, as the Keepers of the Western Door of the Iroquois "long house" called themselves. This was the only encounter between hostile armies that ever occurred on the territory now embraced in the county of Ontario. South of the battlefield, on Boughton hill, was the Indian capital of Gannagaro, and on the following day, July 14, this "Babylon of the Senecas," as the Abbe de Belmont called it, was burned by order of the French commander, as was also the smaller settlement known as Gannogarae, located on what is now the Beals farm about one mile and a half south of Boughton hill. At Gannagaro and Ganno- garae were located the two Jesuit missions of "St. James" and "St. Michaels," which had been the scene of the self-sacrificing labors of Father Fremin and his associates since about the year 1667. Following the destruction wrought by Denonville, these and other Seneca towns in the neighborhood were abandoned, and the red denizens of the forest moved to points further east.
The following sketch of the Era of the White Man in Victor was prepared by Mr. George Simonds for a town celebration sev-
485
THE TOWN OF VICTOR.
eral years ago, and is here published by permission of the author :
The White Man's Era in the town of Victor began in peace with no stains of blood upon its record and no strife between the new comers and the dusky natives of the soil. The land, the birth- right of the Indian, was obtained by honorable means, and the red man, quietly yielding to the inevitable, slowly made way for the oncoming march of civilization.
Among the large number of people who had gathered at Geneva in 1788 in anticipation of the opening of the Genesee country for settlement, were Jared Boughton and his brother, Enos, of Stockbridge, Massachusetts, the latter of whom accepted an appointment as secretary to William Walker, the agent of the Phelps and Gorham company. Enos purchased township eleven, fourth range, in the new tract, which is now the town of Victor, for twenty cents an acre. This purchase was made for Hezekiah Boughton, the father of Jared and Enos, and his family, of Stock- bridge, Massachusetts, who were desirous of leaving New England for a home in the wilderness of Western New York. In the spring of 1789, Jared and Enos Boughton and Horatio Jones, a brother- in-law, came to Schenectady in wagons and from there by boat on the Mohawk river, Wood creek, Oneida lake, Seneca river, and Canandaigua outlet to within six miles of Canandaigua, to which village they hired their goods drawn by an ox team. Following, the Indian trail they came to the extreme southern part of this town, where they built a log cabin by a small brook, on land now owned by Richard Barry. The first housekeeping in the town was done by these three men alone in the wilderness, living in true pioneer style and depending entirely upon themselves for every- thing. They roamed over the township surveying the land and laying it out into farms preparatory to selling what they did not desire for themselves. Win ..
Jacob Lobdell, a young man from Stockbridge destined 'to be- come one of the most prominent men of the future town, came with Hezekiah Boughton, Jr., to the settlement in June, with fourtesta head of cattle, including two yokes of oxen, with which they broke up the soil and prepared it for crops. They sowed buckwheat and planted potatoes, and in the fall sowed some wheat. The buck- wheat was a good crop but the potatoes were a failure. As winter approached the whole party, with the exception of Lobdell, returned to Massachusetts. Lobdell, who was left in charge of the
486
HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY.
cattle, boarded with a family named Rose who lived in Bloomfield, three miles south of the Boughton cabin, to which he returned each day to look after the stock.
In February, 1790, Jared Boughton and his family, consisting of his wife and two children, Sellick, aged two years, and Melania, who was only six months old, and Seymour Boughton, a younger brother of Jared, accompanied by the family of Colonel Seth Reed, who was at Geneva, bade goodbye to their friends and neighbors and ieft Stockbridge in a sleigh for their new home. It was an unfavor- able time of year for traveling, as the roads were in a horrible condition and the accommodations along the route were the worst possible. Creeks and rivers were swollen and very dangerous in crossing, and on one occasion the party were obliged to camp out doors under a hemlock tree. On their arrival at Geneva they were hospitably entertained by Colonel Reed, who gave them a warm welcome. Leaving Colonel Reed's, they pushed on and arrived at the cabin on March 7th, 1790, where they remained only a short time, as Mr. Boughton built a log house on land now owned by W. B. Osborne, near his present residence in Victor village. Prep- arations were immediately made to form a permanent home and prepare the way for their future friends and neighbors, who were already coming to settle the town and "make the wilderness to bud and blossom like the rose."
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