USA > New York > Allegany County > Gazetteer and business directory of Allegany County, N. Y. for 1875 > Part 6
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Judge Philip Church was born in affluent circumstances, April 14, 1778. His father was John B. Church of New York, who acted as Commissary to the French army during the American Revolution under the assumed name of Carter, and his mother, Angelica, eldest daughter of Gen. Philip Schuyler. In 1781, while his mother was visiting at the residence of Gen. Schuyler, near Albany, an attempt was made by a detachment of British soldiers to capture that distinguished officer. Yonng Philip was sleeping in the cradle, and as his mother seized him and bore him away in her arms a wound was inflicted on his forehead, the scar of which he often exhibited in after life as the first and only wound he received in the wars. In 1:83 his father repaired to Paris to adjust some unsettled accounts in connection with the Commissary Department, and remained there with his family eighteen months, after which he took up his residence in England, where, in 1787 he represented the borough of Wendover in the House of Commons. Young Philip entered Eaton school, where he remained six consecutive years and associated with the nobility and gentry of that day. Being the eldest son of his father he also enjoyed the rare privilege of listening to the Parliamentary debates, which were participated in by such distinguished orators as Fox, Burke, Sheridan and the younger Pitt. After leaving Eaton he entered the Middle Temple and commenced the study of law. In 1797 he returned with his father to America, the latter resuming his residence in New York. He resumed his law studies in the office of Nathaniel Pendleton, and later in that of his uncle, Gen. Alex. Hamilton. On the appointment of the latter to the office of Major General and Inspector General of the Provisional Army organized in 1798 young Church became his private secretary. Jan. 10, 1799, he was commissioned a captain in the 12th Infantry, and two days later he received the appointment from General Hamilton as his aid-de-camp. But the impending difficulties with France, which prompted the organization of an army, being happily adjusted, he saw but little service. This latter year he visited Canandaigua in the interest of his father, to attend the sale under foreclosure of a piece of land
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subsequently known as the Church Tract, to which previous alsion has been made. He bid the property in and took a deed in his own name, dated May 6, 1800, though his father was jointly interested with him. From that time his energies were directed to the settlement and improvement of the lands embraced in his purchase. In July, 1801, he headed an expe- d'tion which met by previous appointment at the settlement in Almond, and which was organized for the purpose of exploring his lands. The next year he sent his agent and surveyor, Evert Van Wickle, to select the site of a village, and begin improvements. A spot near the center of the tract was designated as the site of a village, which was named
Angelica, after his mother. This year also he visited the country and selected his farm and future residence on the bank of the Genesee, at Belvidere. Several months of each of the two following years were spent by Mr. Church in the per- sonal supervision of improvements upon his lands ; and on the 14th of July of the latter year (1804) he was admitted to the bar, though he practiced his profession only a short time. February 4, 1805, Mr. Church married Anna Matilda, eldest danghter of Gen. Walter Stewart of Philadelphia, an officer of some prominence during the Revolutionary War, and the fol- lowing June the pair started for the home-the " white-house" -prepared for them in the wilderness. They came by way of Albany, Geneva, Bath and Hornellsville, from the latter place on horseback, most of the way by a bridle path through the woods, accompanied by Thomas Morris. They lived in the " white house" till the completion of their stone mansion in 1810. Mr. Church busied himself in the meantime principally with the management of his landed estate. In 1805 he pur- chased and had drove to Belvidere twenty-four sheep. Arriving late at night they were folded close by the house. In the moru- ing he invited his brother-in-law, from New York, who was then his guest, to see them, when he discovered that the wolves had killed nineteen of the number during the night.
In 1811 Mr. Church visited England, one of the objects of his visit being to learn from personal observation the system of English agriculture. He collected several works on that sub- ject, which he carefully studied on his return in 1813; bnt, owing to the many differences existing between the two coun- tries, it is questionable whether much practical good resulted therefrom. He, however, conferred a lasting benefit upon the country by the introduction of a very superior stock of im- ported cattle. The greatest advantage derived from this visit is found in the light he obtained and the impulse given to his mind on the subject of internal improvements, especially the
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railroad system then just beginning to occupy speculative minds. He is accredited with originating and pushing to com- pletion the Genesee Valley Canal and the Erie R. R., though he preferred and advocated the construction of a railroad in place of the canal. While in England he procured and for- warded to New York drawings of the sewers of London, together with explanatory documents on that subject ; for which, on his return, he received a letter of thanks from the Common Council of that city.
" The remainder of his active life after 1813," says a writer in the Angelica Reporter for Jan. 22, 1861, to which and to Turner's Pioncer His- tory of Phelps and Gorham's Purchase we are largely indebted for the fore- going facts relative to Judge Church, "was mostly occupied in the settle. ment of his lands, where he pursued an enlightened, liberal and lenient policy, and with the co-ordinate subject of Internal Improvements. On this latter subject he bestowed all the energies of his mind, and he wrought out results, which, had they been commended to the public as proceeding from prominent official station, would have given him an extended and enduring fame. He worked, as it were, in private, behind the scenes ; patiently and laboriously preparing materials, combating prejudices, con- ciliating adverse interest, stirring up and stimulating enterprise; till the conceptions of his mind became at length vivified creations, and the drama was successfully cast and presented to the public, heralded by the liorn of the boatmen along the valley of the Genesee, and by the whistle of the locomotive from 'New York to Erie.'"
Mr. Church did not seek political preferment. The only office he held was that of First Judge of the County, holding the appointment from 1807 to 1821. In politics he was a Fed- eralist. He died at his residence of herpes, in January, 1861, at the advanced age of eighty-three years.
Harry Davis, from Oneida Co., but originally from Hamp- shire Co., Mass., settled near Philipsville in 1805 and remained there till his death. Settlements were made by Wm. Dayton, who came from Dutchess Co. about 1818, and settled in the sonth-west part of the town, about three miles west of the river, where he remained till his death in 1842; by Wm. Noble, who came from Whitehall, Washington Co., in 1824, and resided here till his death in 1868; and Henry J. Hoggland and his son Hiram, who came from Dryden, Tompkins Co., in 1826, and the latter of whom still lives near the old homestead. The first birth was that of Hannah Hyde, Nov. 4, 1804; the first marriage, that of Laomi Asthley and Rachel Baker, in 1807; and the first death, that of Harvey Manning, in 1806. The first school was taught in 1810, by Polly Baker. The first inn was kept in 1809, at Belvidere, by Ebenezer Hyde. The first store was kept at Philipsville, by Alvin E. Parker, in 1830. The first saw mill was built on Genesee River, in 1806, and the first grist mill, in 1808, both by Philip Church.
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The first religious meeting was held at the house of Samuel Van Can- pen, by Rev. Robert Hubbard, a Presbyterian, in 1814; and the first Church was formed by Rev Jonathan Post, a Baptist, in 1816.
The Free Methodist Church was organized with five members in 1860, by Rev. J. W. Reddy, the first pastor, and the church edifice, which will seat 150 persons, was erected in 1861, at a cost of $700. The Society, numbering thirty-eight, is under the pastoral care of Rev R. S. Phillips, our informant, and its property is valued at $2,000.
ANDOVER was formed from Independence, Jan. 28, 1824. A part was re-annexed to Independence the same year, and a part of Wellsville was taken off Nov. 22, 1855. The first town meeting was held at the house of Luther Strong, March 2, 1824, and the following named officers were elected :- Thaddeus Baker, Supervisor; Amherst Kingsbury, Town Clerk; Caleb Kingsbury, Hazard P. Clark and Luther Strong, Asses- sors; Joel Norton, Ichabod Babcock and Horace Mallory, Com- missioners of Highways; Joseph Clark and Caleb Kinsbury, Overseers of the Poor; Luther Strong, Barnabas Reid and Asa S. Allen, Commissioners of Common Schools; Asa S. Allen, Bar- nabas Reid and John S. Baker, Inspectors of Common Schools; Roswell Adams, Collector; Roswell Adams and Jacob Clark, Constables.
The town lies upon the east border of the county, south of the center, and contains 23,756 acres. The surface is very hilly and still retains some of the original pine forests. Dykes Creek flows west through the central part, receiving several small tributaries, the principal of which is Elin Creek. The soil is chiefly a heavy loam, resting on hard pan, and is best adapted to grazing. The manufacture of pine lumber was for many years the leading pursuit, but that has vastly diminished. Dairying is the chief branch of agriculture.
The Erie R. R. enters the town near the center of the north line, and runs south to Andover village, where it deflects to the west, and leaves it near the center of the west line.
The population of the town in 1870 was 1873, all of whom were white, 1618, native and 255, foreign.
ANDOVER (p. v.) is centrally located, on Dykes Creek and on the Erie R. R., and is nicely laid out, the streets crossing each other at right angles. It contains five churches, a graded school, which employs four teachers and has about 200 scholars in attendance, twenty stores of various kinds, three hotels, a printing office (the Andover Advertiser, a Republican journal, established in 1868, and published weekly by E. S. Barnard,) a grist mill, tannery, cabinet shop, planing and turning mill, three wagon shops, one foundry, five blacksmith shops, a livery stable, cheese factory, woolen mill and about 850 inhabitants.
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I'm. Richardson & Co.'s tannery, located in Andover village, gives employment to about eighteen persons and tans about 500 pieces per week.
ELM VALLEY (formerly known as Shoemakers Corners) is a hamlet situated on Dykes Creek and the Erie R. R., near the west line of the town, and contains a wagon shop, paint shop, blacksmith shop and some six houses.
Settlement was commenced in 1796 by Stephen Cole, who came from Tioga Co .. Pa., and located at Elm Valley. He took up a farm and lived on it the rest of his life. Daniel Cole, his son, who was born Feb. 18. 1797. was the first white child born in the town and the first white male child born in the county. He remained upon the farm on which he was born till his death at the age of a little over seventy-three years. James Dyke, from Tioga Point, Pa., settled in the same locality and about the same time that Cole did, indeed their settlement was so nearly contemporaneous that doubts are expressed as to which came first. Benjamin Brookings and John T. Hyde, from Vermont, settled near the same place soon after. Fami- lies by the name of Holliday, Henderson and Converse were also early settlers. Alpheus Baker came with his family from Granville, Washington Co., in July, 1807, and stopped tempora- rily two miles west of Andover village. He built a log house on the site of Andover village, which was the first erected there, and the following March he moved into it. He was the first settler in that village. Thaddeus Baker, from the town of Poultney, Vt., came to the site of Andover village June 20, 1807, having previously been employed by the Poultney estate to survey the towns of Almond and Andover. While surveying Andover he took np 400 acres of land on the site of the village. Having finished the survey he returned to Ver- mont, sold out, and moved here, coming the entire distance with an ox team and lumber wagon. He first moved into a log honse abont two miles west of the village, and in the sum- mer of 1808 he removed to a new log honse he had built on his lands in the village. He lived upon this farm the rest of his life. He was the first justice of the peace and the first post- master in the town. Seth Baker, his brother, came with him from Vermont and settled two miles west of the village. Joseph Baker and his wife and seven children and Joseph Woodruff and his wife and three children settled in the town Oct. 15, 1810; and Reuben Castle and wife, in 1812. Robert Boyd moved in from Canandaigua in 1819, and settled in the western part, on Jot 40. When he came in the nearest store was at Hornellsville, and there was only one there. Hazard P. Clark came from Brookfield, Madison Co., in 1820, and took up a
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farm in the south part, where he remained till his death. John S. Baker moved in from Genoa, Caynga Co., in 1823, and took up a farm in the north-east part, where he still lives. John Swink, from Northumberland Co., Pa., settled in the eastern part in February of the same year. James Adams settled in the northern part, July 11, 1824. He came from Rutland Co., Vt., with an ox team and lumber wagon, bringing with him his wife and two small children, the journey occupying twenty- four days. He took up a farm of 123 acres, on which he is still living at the advanced age of 85 years. He still retains much of his physical vigor. Though the date of his settlement is comparatively recent the country at that time was quite new, but few improvements having been made. Andover vil- lage, he says, then contained but one frame and three log honses. One authority says that Nathaniel Dyke built the first framed house and barn in the town at Elm Valley ; and another that the former was built by Stephen Cole about 1817 or '18, and the latter by Willard Adams, in 1818, both at Elm Valley. Asa S. Allen built the first framed house in the village. The first school was taught by Lois Strong, in her father's house, about 1819. The first school house-a log structure-was erected at the village about 1822 or '3. Luther Strong built the first saw and grist mill about three-fourths of a mile east of the village, in 1819; and kept the first hotel in 1820. The first store was kept at the village by Asa S. Allen, in 1823. Isaac Dyke and Pamelia Gilson contracted the first marriage in 1802. The oldest burying ground in the town is at Elm Valley. The first white person who died in the town is buried there. The oldest graves are those of Zeriah Dyke, who died Jan. 21, 1798, aged 10 months and 5 days ; Lydia Dyke, who died Ang. 2, 1801, aged 2 years, 5 months and 2 days; and Lecttey, or Leottey, Dyke, who died March 6, 1803, aged 6 months and 6 days. They are all daughters of James and Phebe Dyke. The tombstones, which are common flat stones and were prob- ably obtained in the immediate vicinity, are still standing, and the inscriptions, though dim, are still legible. The latter are distinct, but probably were not executed by a hand skilled in the art. The remains of Daniel Cole, the first white child born in the town, are interred there.
The first religious services were held at the house of Mr. Dyke, by Rev. Silas Hubbard, in 1808; and the first Church (Congregational) was formed by Rev. Robert Hubbard, July 14th, 1824.
The First Baptist Church of Andover was organized with twelve mem- bers, Dec. 31, 1829, by Phil. Wardner, Samuel Rush, Ambrose Coats and others. The church edifice, which will seat 200 persons, was erected in 1853, at a cost of about $3,000, the present value of Church property.
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The first pastor was Elder V. Bemus; the present one is Rev. F. F. Shearer, The number of members is about ninety-eight. [Information furnished by Mr. Daniel S. Bradley.
The First M E Church of Andoter was organized with eleven members, by Rev. Samuel Nichols, the first pastor, in 1840, in which year their first house of worship was erceted. The Society has built two houses and have sold both of them. They are now building a new one, which is designed to seat 200 persons and cost $10,000. The present pastor is Rev. - Cook. UInformation furnished by Mr. Jason Hunt.
St. John's Catholic Church, at Andover, was organized with about 300 members, by Rev John Tohey, the first pastor, in 1856, in which year their church edifice, which will seat about 350 persons, was erected, at a cost of about $800. The present number of members is about 600, and the present pastor is Rev. Philip Kensella. The Church property is valued nt $2,000. [ Information furnished by Mr. James O' Leary.
The First Seventh Day Baptist Church of Andover was organized with 43 members, by Hev. A. H. Lewis, the first pastor, in 1870. Their house of worship will seat 300 persons It was bought of the Methodists in 1471, for $3,000, the present value of Church property. The pastor is Rev. T. W. Williams The number of members is the same as at its organization. [Information furnished by Mr. Wm. B. Clark.
ANGELICA was formed from Leicester, Livingston Co., Feb. 25, 1805, and was named by Philip Church in honor of his mother, the eldest daughter of Gen. Philip Schuyler. Alfred and Caneadea were taken off March 11, 1808 ; Allen and Scia, Jan. 31, 1823 ; a part of Amity, Feb. 22. 1830 ; and a part of West Almond, April 15, 1833. Another part was annexed to Alfred in 1816. The first town meeting was held at the house of Joseph Taylor the first Tuesday in April, 1805, and the following named officers were elected :- Benjamin Riggs, Supervisor ; Joseph S. Hall, Town Clerk ; Luke Goodspeed, Syl- vanus Russell aud Elijah Church, Assessors ; John T. IIyde, Wm. Barney and Jacob S. Holt, Commissioners of Highways ; John T. Hlvde, Collector ; David Church, Constable ; Wm. Barney and Evert Van Wickle, Overseers of the Poor ; Stephen Waterman, Thomas Cole, John Bennett, Ezra Bacon and George Otto, Overseers of Highways ; Joseph Taylor, Abisha Cole and Win. S. Heydon, Fence Viewers.
The town lies a little north of the center of the county, and contains 22,740 acres. The surface is a hilly npland, broken by the deep ravines of the streams. Genesee River flows across the south-west corner, and its tributary, Angelica Creek, through the center. The soil is a clayey loam upon the up- lands, and a gravelly loam in the valleys.
The line of the proposed Rochester, Nonda & Pennsylvania R. R. passes through the central part of the town.
The population in 1870 was 1643; of whom 1431 was native, 212, foreign, 1612, white and 31, colored.
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ANGELICA, (p. v.) the county seat, is situated near the center of the town, on Angelica Creek. It was incorporated as a vil- lage May 2, 1835. It contains the court house, jail, five churches, the Angelica Academy, one bank ( First National Bank of Angelica, organized in November, 1864, with a capital of $100,000,) a newspaper office, (the Angelica Republican established in 1835, and published weekly by P. S. Norris,) three hotels, several stores of varions kinds, and various mechanic shops and manufacturing establishments. The population in 1870 was 991 .
Blair & Franklin's flouring mill, situated one mile west of Angelica, is four stories high and contains four ruus of stones which annually grind 15,000 to 20,000 bushels of wheat, 30,000 to 40,000 bushels of corn, and 20,000 to 25,000 bushels of oats. The machinery is propelled by a water-wheel twenty-four feet in diameter.
The Joncy Paper Mill, situated on Angelica Creek, one mile west of the village, was erected and used a number of years as a paper mill. In 1853 it was converted into a paper mill by Albert Brown, who made the first paper manufactured in Alle- gany county, and who continued the manufacture till his death in 1873, when he was succeeded by his son Charles Brown. The building is five stories high. Both steam and water are used as motors. Straw and rags are used in the manufacture. Twenty- seven persons are employed, and 300 tons of paper annually made. In connection with the paper mill is a steam saw-mill, where lumber, shingles and lath are made.
The county poor house is located about two miles east of Angelica.
Settlement was commenced in 1801 under the auspices of Judge Philip Church, a grand-son of Gen. Philip Schuyler, who in that year headed an exploring party to the Church Tract, owned jointly by himself and father, John B. Church of New York. Judge Church spent much of his time during the early years of settlement at Angelica in supervising improvements he projected, but he fixed his residence at Belvi- dere, in the town of Amity, in connection with the early settle- ments of which town a more extended notice of him is given. Settlements were made in this year (1801) by John Gibson, Abram Post, and possibly by Arad Rice. Gibson moved in from Geneva, having emigrated from Scotland about 1796. He accompanied Mr. Church in his explorations of 1801, and kept the store opened by the latter in 1802. He was the first sheriff in the county. He continued his residence in the vicinity of Angelica to a ripe old age. Abram Post came from New Jersey and settled west of Angelica, where he remained about thirty
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Years. He was at one time overseer of Philip Church's farm. Ilis son Peter was born in 1807, and is still living at Belvidere. Arad Rice was from Vermont. He located on George Simons' farm and remained there till his death in 1848. Evert Van Wickle and John Lewis, both of whom accompanied Mr. Church on his tour of exploration, came to Angelica in 1802. Mr. Van Wickle was surveyor and local agent for Mr. Church, and under his immediate supervision the first substantial im- provements were made. The site of Angelica had previously been designated by Mr. Church for the building np of a village, and there Van Wickle's operations were directed. The erection of a saw and grist mill, the latter designed for one run of stones, was commenced. The saw mill was completed and got in operation in 1802 and the grist mill in 1803. A road was cut the same year (1802) from the west line of Steuben to Angelica, by Silas Ferry and John Ayers, the latter of whom continued his residence to a late day near the transit bridge. A frame dwell- ing for Mr. Van Wickle, a small log land office and a few shan- ties for dwellings were also erected that year. Joseph Taylor opened a tavern in 1802; and Judge Church, a small store, which, as previously stated, was managed by the late John Gibson. These were the first improvements of their kind in the town. Mr. Hedding and a Mr. Chamberlain settled at Angelica in 1803; and in that year a road was opened from Angelica to Belvidere. In 1805 Major Moses Van Campen, who first settled at Almond, removed to Angelica. Henry Mapes and his son Abraham Mapes, (the latter of whom is now living in the town of Belfast,) from Penn Yan, Yates Co., and Alex. Dautremont, from Chenango Co., settled in the town in 1806. At an early day the nearest post office to Angelica was Bath, and about this time, or a little earlier, the citizens clubbed together and contracted with Wm. Barney to make the trip, carrying letters and papers, once a month. ' A son of Mr. Barney's, who was blind, made the trips till he was killed by a fall from his horse. Hyde de Neuville-an exile during the government of the Empire, and minister to the U. S. upon the restoration of the French monarchy, from 1816 to 1822- resided at Angelica in 1807-8 ; and Victor Dupont, also a dis- tinguished French exile, was an early settler at Angelica. John Hooker, from Athens, Vt., and Vial Thomas, from the town of Scituate, R. I., settled in the town in 1809. At this time there were only a few shanties where the village now is. John Common, from Northumberlandshire, England, came in 1818. Edmund Coats, a native of Connecticut, moved in from Brookfield, Madison Co., in 1819. In 1822 he was united in marriage to Miss Catharine Burns, (who removed to this town
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with her father Christian Burns, from Montgomery Co. in May, 1814, at the age of thirteen years,) and in 1823 he removed to the town of Independence, where his wife has since resided. settling on lot 48. About 1850 he went west, where he now lives. Russell Burlingame settled in the town in 1820. The first birth in town, says French, was that of Catherine S. Mul- lender. Mrs. Moses V. Chamberlain of Belfast says that her husband, who was born in Angelica March 31, 1804, was the first white male child born in town. French also says that the first marriage was that of Sylvanus Russell and Esther Van Wiekle, in 1805 : while we are otherwise advised that the mar- riage of John Palmer and Catharine Mullinder was the first. The first death was that of Ira Stephens, Sep. 20, 1803. The first school was taught in 1804-05 by Widow S. Smith.
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