Gazetteer and biographical record of Genesee County, N.Y., 1788-1890, Part 49

Author: Beers, F. W. (Frederick W.), ed. 1n; Vose, J.W., and Co
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : J.W. Vose & Co.
Number of Pages: 920

USA > New York > Genesee County > Gazetteer and biographical record of Genesee County, N.Y., 1788-1890 > Part 49

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

William C., father of William H. Raymond, settled in Elba, in October, 1831, and at once engaged in the mercantile business on Main street. He had eight children, two of whom are in Elba, who succeeded their father in business. William Henry (352), born December 16, 1839, received a commercial education, and August 2, 1862, he enlisted for the

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defence of his country in Co. H, 129th N. Y. V. Inf., which was changed afterwards to the 8th N. Y. H. A. He was promoted to sergeant, Ist ser- geant, 2d lieutenant, and Ist lieutenant, and was honorably discharged at the close of the war. He was a prisoner of war for many months. September 1, 1878, he married Miss Waite, fourth daughter of Christo- pher and Rahama (Larkins), of Elba. Their children are George L., born July 14, 1879, and Winifred S., born June 14, 1887. Walter Hyde (353) was born July 25, 1845. He also received a commercial education, and July 18, 1872, married Flora A., daughter of John Wilder, of Elba. They have two children, Maude E., born July 19, 1874, and Grace, born December 28, 1887. Their father, William C. (177), died June 7, 1873. He had been in business in Elba for 42 years.

Elisha Reynolds was a soldier of the Revolution. His father, Jacob, was a soldier in the War of 1812. Martin Reynolds was born in Ver- mont, February 21, 1814. and received a good education. In 1840 or '41 he was a member of the State legislature from St. Lawrence County, N. Y., and also served as judge of the county. He married, first, in 1838, Lucia Hall, by whom he had children as follows: George M., Gerry W., and Sarah L. March 3, 1851, he married Videlia Hogan, of North Hill, Vt. They came from St Lawrence County to Elba in 1877, and now live on road 26.

Luther Shepard was born in Vermont, August 10, 1789, and came to. Augusta, Oneida County, when a lad, and thence to Hopewell, Ontario County, in 1814. He served in the War of 1812. He married Anna, oldest daughter of Stephen L. Maltby, formerly of Vermont, by whom he had seven children, of whom four grew to maturity, viz .: Nancy J., Sarah A., Stephen A., and Stilson A. Nancy J. died aged 23 years. Stephen A. Shepard was born in Hopewell, N. Y., October 11, 1824. He received a common school education, and at an early age had to earn his own living. He is a farmer. October 4, 1848, he married Jane, second daughter of Enos Cook, of Byron. She was born November 17, 1824. They have three children, viz .: Anna E., Emeline M., and' Clara J. Anna E. married Oscar E. Godfrey. Clara J. married Philo E. Noyes. Emeline M. married Charles Spencer, and they have a son, Stephen S., who is living with his grandparents in the village of Elba.

William E. Strouts, born in Essex County, Eng., May 3, 1845, came. to Le Roy in 1855 with his parents, and married Mary Bangs, of Ogden, N. Y., by whom he has five children, viz .: Edward J., Herbert W., Eveline M., Mabel L., and Byron D. Mr. and Mrs. Strouts came to. Elba in 1868, and located where they now reside, on road 12.

John A. Swartz was born near Hazelton, Pa., September 16, 1843. His opportunities for education were limited, and he had to work when he was seven years old. January 15, 1864,, he enlisted in Co. K, 3d N. Y. Cav., and was discharged April 26, 1865, on account of wounds. received in the battle of Cold Harbor, which necessitated an amputation of the leg six inches above the knee. April 12, 1868, he married, at

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Hazelton, Pa., Anna A. Fasnacht, of Neverell, Switzerland. They lived II years in Pennsylvania. They have had five children, of whom one, a son, died in infancy ; the others are Lizzie W., John, George, and Charles J. Mr. Swartz died from the effects of his wound June 8, 1887, beloved and respected by all of his friends and neighbors.

Sebastian Schurz, born in Germany, came to America and located in Genesee County in 1858. He married Miss Caslerine, of his native place, and they had one son, George F., who was born in Elba, October 3, 1860, and is a farmer by occupation. March 19, 1884, he married Eliza J., third daughter of Alexander Fowles, of Elba. Mr. Fowles was from County Down, Ireland ; his father was from Scotland. Mr. Schurz has lived in Elba for 53 years.

George W. Steele was born in Patterson, N. J. He received a liberal education, came to New York State when young, and was a machinist in early life, and afterwards a printer. October 20, 1859, he married Mary R., oldest daughter of John and Lois Fuller, by whom he had three children, viz : Emma R., born January 3, 1861 ; Herbert J., born August 22, 1862 ; and Mary R., born June 29, 1866. For his second wife Mr. Steele married Martha Barr, by whom he had three children, viz .: Edward (died young), George, and Mertie. Herbert J. Steele was educated in the district schools and at the academy, and is a farmer. January I, 1885. he married Lottie M. Joiner, of Barre, and they have two children, namely : Marvin F., born March 16, 1887, and Clarence F., born Novem- ber 29, 1888. Mr. and Mrs. Steele are living on road 8.

Ephraim Smith was born in Vermont in 1803. He married Abigail Hall, and they had 12 children, viz .: Hamilton H., Julius D., Mary J., Abigail H., Riley E , Gordon, Alonzo, Emily, Truman, Lawrence, Erwin, and one who died in infancy. About 1828 he came to Amboy, Oswego County. Alonzo Smith was born September 9, 1844. in Oswego County. His education was secured at the district school and the academy. September 10, 1861, he enlisted in Co. G, Ist Lt. Art, and reënlisted December 17, 1863. He served on the staff of Gen. Hassert, with the rank of 2d lieutenant. January 28, 1864, he married Nettie, youngest daughter of John Dunn, of his native county. They have three children, viz .: Herbert M., born November 24, 1868, who is a merchant in Corfu; Pearl, born September 6, 1876; and Mabel E., born February 8, 1881. Mr. Smith was discharged from the army, on account of wounds, March 17, 1865. He has been a minister of the Methodist Protestant Church.

Gilbert Shelley was born in Westchester County, December 23, 1804, and was a cattle driver for many years. He married, first, Catherine Braw, in 1829, by whom he had six children, viz .: William B., Phoebe J., Anna, Sarah, and two deceased. His wife died when his youngest child was seven months old, and for his second wife he married, in 1842, Mary Dove. Their children are Kate, Joseph, Frank, and Adelia. Kate married Zebulon Crosby, of this town. Mr. Shelley. has been a member of the Methodist Protestant Church 65 years, and a class-leader 45 years.

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William B. Shelley was born in Westchester County, March 24, 1832. His education was limited, being confined to the public schools. He is now a farmer. In April, 1860, he married Adelia Shelley, of Delaware County, N. Y., and they have five children, viz .: Margarette, born June 20, 1866; Ella F., born January 26, 1869; William H., born April 7, 1868 ; John, born January 28, 1871 ; and Myrta, born May 28, 1879. Mr. and Mrs. Shelley are living on road 20, in Elba.

Lyman Staples, a native of South Adams, Berkshire County, Mass., came to Elba in 1847, where he died at the age of 52 years. He was a farmer, and married Susan, daughter of Jacob Harkness. His children were George F., Nathan H., Ruth (deceased), Lyman D. (deceased), Henry M., Ruth H., and Job A. The latter came to Elba in 1847, and served as supervisor of the town two terms. Henry M. Staples was born in South Adams, Mass., September 24, 1862, and married Rachel A. Van Alstine, of Oakfield, by whom he has' two children, Carrie C. and Loren H., the latter a student at the Buffalo Medical College. Carrie C. mar- ried Walter Brockway.

Joseph Wilford, a native of Connecticut, was a soldier in the Revolu- tionary army. The British offered a bounty of 300 sovereigns for his body. He spent $40,000 of his private fortune to aid our government. He after- wards went to Vermont, and from there came to Batavia (now Oakfield). John C. Wilford, his son, was born in Rutland, Vt., in 1787, and came to Oakfield in 1811. His education was liberal, and he taught several terms. He was a soldier of 1812, was wounded in the battle preceding the burn- ing of Buffalo, and his wound was not dressed until he arrived at Batavia. January 1, 1823, he married Eunice McCrillus, of Oakfield, and their chil- dren were Josephine B., Eugene B., Janet C., Julia E., William C., John B., Joseph E., and Sarah E. Eugene B. was born in Oakfield, September 8, 1826. He is a farmer and speculator. January 3, 1861, he married Catharine Sutphin, of Sweden, N. Y., and their children are Joseph S. and Arthur C. One son died aged 19 years, and one child in infancy. The family resides on road 45.

James Watson, born in Fifeshire, Scotland, about 1793, was a ship car- penter. He married Helen Ross, of his native place, and they came to Herkimer County in 1839, and had six children. David Watson was born in Scotland, December 17, 1831, and is a farmer by occupation. He en- listed in Co. B, 3d N. Y. Art., and afterwards in Co. A, 80th N. Y. Inf., and was discharged as corporal at the close of the war. February 25, 1866, he married Elizabeth Zeiter, of his native place, and they have six children, viz : Lottie H., Hattie M., David J., Lizzie A., Helen G., and Maggie M.

Joseph Wheat, born in Concord, N. H., December 9, 1793, was cast upon his own resources at the age of nine years. His education was lim- ited, but he acquired much by keen observation and close application. When 12 years of age he came to Phelps, N. Y., with Benjamin, his brother, and a carpenter by trade. July 23, 1815, he married Caroline

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D. Andrews, of New Hampshire, and their children were Albert F., Elias A., Julia A., Lucinda A., Laura A., Benjamin A., Eliza J., and Car- oline A. Elias A. Wheat was born in Barre, N. Y., October 20, 1818, was raised on the farm, and was educated in Chautauqua County, but by association with men of learning and piety was fitted for the ministry, which vocation he entered in 1839 in the Methodist Protestant Church, continuing in its service 44 years. November 25, 1847, he married Han- nah M., oldest daughter of Josiah Rich (by his second marriage), of Ogden, N. Y. Of their five children two survive, viz .: Mary L., who married Albert E. Blood, of Elba, and Frank, who resides with his parents.

LE ROY.

E ROY .- The narrator of to-day labors under the disadvantage of being unable to derive materials from original sources of its first settlement, the actors in the scene having passed away, and from their descendants or tradition local facts are mainly to be derived. Historical societies, patient and industrious antiquarians, and county his- torians have indeed rescued many interesting events from oblivion, but much has perished and will from neglect now be lost. But from what has been preserved, particularly from the careful and industrious re- searches of the late Mr. Turner, a fair picture of the life of the pioneer settler upon the Holland Purchase may be obtained, which in all the salient features were throughout substantially the same. Western New York, it is seen, was peopled by a hardy race,-strong of limb and stout of heart, with that patience in toil, power of endurance, enterprise, thrift, and moral stamina which make men fit to found a State.

This is a centennial period, so far as to mark the beginning of emigra- tion and the settlement of this fair country of the Genesee. The first main cause history distinctly traces. It was to the campaign of Maj .- Gen. Sullivan against the Iroquois that we chiefly owe the open- ing to the world at large of this magnificent domain, and the com- plete subjugation of the war-like tribe that had here their home. Previous to the war of the Revolution white settlements did not advance beyond the lower Mohawk Valley. At its close and the declaration of peace in 1783 the spirit of emigration revived and became almost univer- sal. No field was more inviting than the rich, alluvial soil, broad plains, and picturesque scenes which had been revealed to the army of General Sullivan in the conquest of the Senecas. How complete this was, a brief extract from a dispatch of Sullivan's to General Washington will show, as well as furnish a glimpse of the fertility of the country, even under

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savage and barbarous rule. Under date of October 17, 1779, he writes, announcing his victory :

" Forty of their towns have been reduced to ashes, some of them large and commo- dious, that of Genesee alone containing 128 houses. Their crops have been entirely destroyed, which by estimation it was said would have produced 160.000 bushels of corn, besides large quantities of vegetables of several kinds. Their whole country has been overrun and laid waste, and they themselves were compelled to take precipitate flight to Niagara."

Suffice it to say that this subjugation of the Seneca- Iroquois was final, and was the last rising they ever made against the white man. But to us it was something more than a victory and punishment of the red man for his atrocities during the war of the Revolution. To the invading army it opened, as it were, a new world, and became at once an inspira- tion and revelation. In the tide of emigration which flowed thither, after peace was declared, it proved the truth that " peace has its victor- ies not less renowned than war." It was the beginning of that onward march and progress which has ever since continued. and in its grand re- sults the marvel of the age we live in. But to note this advance and change, which has developed into an empire of itself, is outside of our pres- ent purpose.

In this army of General Sullivan's was a soldier who, captivated with the beauty and fertility of the country through which the army passed, resolved as early as practicable to select from thence a spot for his future home. It was Capt John Ganson. He was born in Bennington, Vt., in 1750, and entered the army of the Revolution at the beginning of the war ; was wounded in the battle of Bunker Hill by the loss of a finger, which was shot off in that battle; received the commission of captain ; served honorably through the war, and retired at its close to his home in Bennington. It was only to make preparation for his final removal. In 1789 or '90 he started with two of his sons, James and John, of the re- spective ages of 12 and 14 years, on a prospecting tour to these western wilds. They continued their journey until they reached the Genesee River, late in the autumn, two miles below what is now the village of Avon, where he made a purchase for a future home, and returned to Bennington for the remainder of his family. Not wishing to expose his boys to the hardships of another journey he made an arrangement with a friendly Seneca to receive and take care of them in his absence, which he supposed would not be long delayed. In this he was disappointed. On his return to Bennington he found his wife prostrated by a serious illness, which, after lingering for several months, proved fatal, and it was late in the following spring before he, with his family and effects, was on his way westward, for his new possession. We have a pen and ink por- trait of a portion of the country as it then was. It purports to be from the pen of an English traveler, but presumably written by Colonel Will- iamson, the then agent for the "Pultney & Hornby tract"; but as it gives a glimpse of what this part of Western New York then was we ex- tract a passage. He had left New York on this route, and writes :

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"On the evening of the third day's journey from Whitestown (a village of a few straggling huts) we were agreeably surprised to find ourselves on the east side of Seneca Lake. We forded the outlet of the lake and arrived safe at Geneva -- only con- sisting of a few log houses. From Geneva to Canandaigua the road is only an Indian path, a little improved the first five miles over gentle swellings of land. interspersed with bottoms seemingly very rich. The remainder of the road to Canandaiqua, the county town, for six miles, was the greatest part of the distance through a rich, heavy timbered land. On this road there were only two families settled. Canandaigua consisted of only two small frame houses, and a few huts surrounded by thick woods.

From Canandaigua to the Genesee River, twenty-six miles, it is almost totally uninhab- ited, only few families residing on the road. The country is beautiful and very open. In many places the openings are free of any timber, appearing to contain 200 or 300 acres beautifully variegated with hill and dale. Enclosing any one of them with a propor- tionable quantity of timbered land an enclosure might be made not inferior to an Eng- lish park.

Such was the outlook of the face of the country when Captain Ganson passed over it, and on his arrival at the Genesee River (1790) there was scarce a white settler to greet him. As he stood before the door of the Indian's wigwam, in whose charge he had left his boys, what was his sur- prise to witness their perfect transformation. In everything but color they were veritable natives. In manners, language, unkempt locks,-not to omit vermin,-their pale-face origin was barely discernible. But their greeting with the returned parent, whom they had supposed lost, from his long absence, was not the less cordial, and they were quite content to abandon the Indian life, which they had expected to be permanent. This early experience of the Gansons with the Senecas was not without its future use in their intercourse with the tribe, who in large numbers still made this part their camping-ground and " council fires." They were always after on a friendly footing with the tribe, and from their knowledge of the language were often called upon as interpreters. The following from a daughter of Captain Ganson, who married, first, a Mr. Forsyth and afterwards a Mr. Warren, and settled and died on the Ridge road in the county of Niagara, contains a brief note of the early life of her father :

" After my father moved from Avon to the west side of the river (now Le Roy), and opened a public house, other settlers came in. The Indians were frequent visitors at my father's. I used to see them often ; the chiefs Red Jacket. Hot Bread, Jack Berry, and Little Beard. Sometimes the Indians were turbulent-they would become a terror to the new settlement. My father was a stout athletic man, and had great influence over them, and would quell them in their worst drunken frolics."

When settled upon the Genesee the Gansons put up the first grist-mill erected upon the river. It was made of logs, the stones of the native rock, and was mainly useful in grinding corn. It was a primitive struct- ure, and in but a limited way could supply the necessities of the settlers. It was quite a common practice to break the first crop of corn in a mor- tar. A cotemporary settler of the period (1790) speaks of his carrying his buckwheat (brought from Connecticut) 20 miles on horseback to Gan- son's mill. But this distance was comparatively small. " Going to mill" was the great family event, when days were consumed in the journey, and was like the fitting out of an expedition. Of the one erected at a

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later period, at the mill site in Mumford, John McKay, Esq., in speaking of it, says :

"I came to Caledonia in 1803. There was then but two houses at the springs. I purchased two hundred acres of land, including the Big spring and the mill site. Cap- tain Williamson had built a small grist-mill. with one run of stones. to accommodate the Scotch settlers about eighteen months before I came. My customers for some time were from the settled portions of the Holland Purchase; they came from as far as Buffalo when they could not cross the river to Canada on account of the ice. In fact, at times from all the region west of me."

The want of mills was a privation from which they were soon relieved by the above mill erected at Mumford and one by Stoddard & Platt, in 1803, at Le Roy, and soon after one by the Holland Land Co. at Bata- via. The primitive milling of the Gansons having soon been abandoned, they decided, in 1797, upon a removal on the west side of the river. Charles Wilbur had preceded them in 1793, and opened the first farm west of the Genesee and erected a small log dwelling for a tavern. This Captain Ganson purchased. It was the beginning of what was after- wards known as the "Ganson settlement," which was to develop and ex- pand into the present village of Le Roy. The farm purchased and occu- pied by the Gansons, ever since known by that name, is the same now owned and cultivated (but in somewhat shorn proportions) by Henry H. Olmsted, at the east boundary of the village. Hinds Chamberlin, about the same time, commenced his improvements upon what was subse- quently known as the Sheldon farm, which he later sold to Asher Bates, who came in from Canandaigua. Chamberlin then opened the farm east in the village, which is owned by the estate of Widow Osborn, and on which he lived until his decease. Of Deacon Chamberlin we would add a few particulars, as he was literally the first pioneer and an enterprising and useful settler, and prominent in all works of improvement. He opened the first road (previously nothing but.an Indian trail) from the river to Ganson's tavern, under Richard M. Stoddard as road commis- sioner, but made at the expense of the Holland Land Co. If not the first white man who saw, he was the first who bore record of, the Oatka, and the beauty and future promise of this locality. It was in midsummer of 1792 that with two companions he started on an exploring tour west- ward, and they made their first halting-place on the banks of the Oatka, at or about the site of the present Episcopal Church. It was a beautiful Indian camping-ground. The stream was clear ; full and flowing over a rapid of 60 feet in extent and a fall of II feet. The practical mind of the Deacon foresaw and did not forget its value and importance as a future water-power. Whether, in their bivonacking, "buttermilk " formed a part of the luxury of the haversack tradition does not affirm, but is not a construction improbable, for the name was attached to the falls from the earliest period, but of which it has since been ruthlessly robbed and applied to the " big fall " two miles below. As unromantic as this sob- riquet is it should at least historically be restored to where it belongs. The Seneca name for the falls was not quite so pronounceable-Te-car-

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no-wan-no, signifying " many rapids." There is, it may be remarked, everything in a name. It is to us a source of pride that to the beautiful Oatka has been given back its Indian name, which signifies " opening," from the " oak opening " at its junction with the Genesee in place of "Allan's" Creek. It took its name from Allan becoming the owner of a large tract upon the stream.

Ebenezer Allan was a noted character in his day, and one not uncom- mon in border life, and would in some particulars answer to that of "border ruffian." A brief digression may be pardoned in speaking of him, since his name in common parlance is still a prefix to our beautiful and more euphonious Oatka, and is now found upon our title records. He was a bold, bad man, of much energy and force of character, and at one time the owner of the Genesee Falls at Rochester, where he erected the first grist mill, with 100 acres embracing the heart of the city, and in other sections was a large property holder. He was familiarly called "Injun Allan," doubtless from the fact that he had married two squaws, -Millie and Lucy,-the first bearing six children and the latter two daughters. Mr. Mckay, before mentioned, of Caledonia, said of him :

" I knew Allan well. He was about 50 years of age when I first came to the Gene- see River. He was tall and straight, light complexion, genteel in appearance, and of good address."

He enlarged his domestic household by marrying at intervals two white women, probably to console himself for the earlier mesalliance; the one by captivating the daughter of a passing emigrant, the other a widow, whom it was said and believed he made such by " making way " with an inconvenient husband. How far this blending of domestic colors. tended to harmonize the picture is not left upon record.

A word, however, may be added of this à la Mormon household, the first of the kind upon the Genesee,-of the two half- breed daughters who were destined to a higher career. In 1791, from the law and custom of the Senecas in regard to the division of the avails of their land sales and. land, they deeded to Allan four square miles lying upon the Genesee and: covering the present village of Mt. Morris, on the condition in the deed of trust that out of the proceeds he should cause the girls to be instructed in reading, writing, and sewing, and other useful arts, according to the custom of the white people. Allan took pride in carrying out to more than the letter this trust. He placed his girls in Philadelphia in the best schools the city afforded, and took pains that they should be wanting in no accomplishment money could supply. On attaining womanhood they returned, it is said, highly educated, and in manners and refinement, as well as in beauty of person, commanded admiration from all with whom they came in contact. This may be inferred from the fact that, soon after their " coming out," Allan, having an offer of 3,000 acres from Gov- ernor Sinclair of the province, removed with them to Canada, where he died in 1814. He took with him but one wife, and that a white one, where his daughters shortly formed marriage alliances from the best soci

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Gazetteer and biographical record of Genesee County, N.Y., 1788-1890, Part 49

Author: Beers, F. W. (Frederick W.), ed. 1n; Vose, J.W., and Co Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : J.W. Vose & Co. Number of Pages: 920

Author: Beers, F. W. (Frederick W.), ed. 1n; Vose, J.W., and Co
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : J.W. Vose & Co.
Number of Pages: 920