USA > New York > Broome County > Gazetteer and business directory of Broome and Tioga Counties, N. Y. for 1872-3 > Part 25
USA > New York > Tioga County > Gazetteer and business directory of Broome and Tioga Counties, N. Y. for 1872-3 > Part 25
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On Guy Johnson's map of the Frontiers of the Northern Colonies, in 1768, it is spelled Owegy.
+ A description of the County buildings will be found on page 159.
¿The population included 4,174 natives and 582, foreigners; 4,594, whites and 162, colored.
§ The charter of incorporation of the Owego Academy bears date of April 17, 1828. The trustees of the academy were, James Pumpelly, Aaron Putnam, Joseph Castle, Anson Camp, Eleazer Dana, Charles Pumpelly, Joel S. Paige, Latham A. Burrows, Gurdon Hewitt, Jonathan Platt, B. Leonard, Jno. R. Drake and Amos Martin. Aug. 1, 1829, Thomas Far- rington was elected a trustee to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resigna- tion of Joseph Castle. Aug. 18, 1869, the academy was merged in the Union Schools of Owego, as the Academical Department of the Union School District of Owego.
| This business is conducted by L. N. Chamberlin and J. H. Clapp & Co. The former commenced about twenty years ago, and the latter in 1868. The business uses $37,000 capital, gives employment to forty-eight persons and produces 23,600 pairs of boots per annum-valued at about $100,000.
T The Bristol Iron Works (Hon. W. H. Bristol, Chas. F. Johnson Jr., Edwin Ellis and Geo. W. Bristol, proprietors,) were established in 1866. L2
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four large tanneries, three planing mills, the Southern Central R. R. shops, (now in process of erection ) three saw mills, two sash, door and blind factories, one foundry, one steam grist mill. one flouring mill, operated by water, two carriage factories,* Hay- wood & Toomb's marble factory, one silver ware manufactory, one soap and candle factory, one piano factory, one spoke fac- tory, a half-mile trotting course, four weekly newspapers, t ( Owego Gazette, Owego Times, Tioga County Record and Ahwaga Chief ) three banks,į (two National and one private) one express office (U. S.) and two telegraph offices, both of which belong to the Western Union Telegraph Co.§ The village is lighted by gas, but has no general water supply. Its streets are generally well shaded, paved and provided with clean and substantial walks. It is the commercial center of a large and productive agricul- tural region. Its eligible location and railroad facilities con- stitute it one of the most important villages in the southern tier of counties. It is an important station on the Erie and Southern Central railroads, and the southern terminus of the D. L. & W. R. R. Owego Creek is crossed by two bridges within the limits of the village, and the Susquehanna, by one. ||
All kinds of machinery and agricultural implements are manufactured, but a specialty is made of the "Champion Grain Drill," of which about 400 are made per annum. About six stationary steam engines are manu- factured in the same length of time. This company have the contract for manufacturing "Haywood & Tomb's Marble Derrick and Polisher," of which they make from 65 to 100 per annum. A capital of $60,000 is used in the business; and sixty-five men are employed.
* Moore & Ross commenced the manufacture of carriages and sleighs April 1, 1859. Hill & Barry commenced the same business, but confined principally to light work, Aug. 26, 1863. In May, 1866, Mr. Hill sold his interest to Scott Harris, when the firm became Harris & Barry. Jan. 1, 1868, Mr. Barry purchased Mr. Harris' interest, and since then has con- ducted the business alone.
The business uses a capital of $50,000, and gives employment to 38 men. The value of annual manufactures is about $40,000.
+ A history of the press appears on pages 160-2.
# The Tioga National Bank was organized in 1865. The officers are T. C. Platt, President; F. E. Platt, Cashier; E. W. Stone, Teller.
Platt & Jones' Bank (private,) was organized Sept. 1, 1868, as the Platt, Jones & Co. 's Bank. H. R. Wells retired from the firm July 1, 1872.
The First National Bank was organized in 1864. Capital $100,000. The officers are Lyman Truman, President; John B. Brush, Cashier; C. A. Thompson, Teller.
§ Messrs. Bayette Bros. of Richford, have purchased a three story brick building on Main street, in this village, and will soon remove their cigar manufactory there. They have hitherto employed 25 men, but, when established in their new quarters, will largely increase that number.
I The Owego Bridge Co. was incorporated in 1827 or '28. The first stock was issued May 7, 1828. The first bridge in the village, the one crossing the Susquehanna, was finished and opened to the public Jan. 1, 1828. It was carried away by floods, March 15, 1868, and was replaced by the present one, which was opened for use in November, 1868. The cost of the pres- ent bridge was $54,550.01. The superstructure is 920 feet long. The road
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Glen Mary, situated on Owego Creek, was for several years the residence of N. P. Willis. It was here that his matchless Rural Letters were written.
APALACHIN (p. v.) is situated on the left bank of the Susque- hanna, eight miles east of Owego and about one and one-half miles south of Campville station on the opposite side of the river. It contains two hotels, four general stores, one drug store, two shoe shops, two grist and two saw mills, one rake factory, two wagon shops, two blacksmith shops, three churches, (Presbyterian, Baptist and Wesleyan Methodist) one harness shop and one meat market. In 1870 it had a population of 300 .*
FLEMINGVILLE, (p. v.) situated in the north-west part, on the Southern Central R. R. and near the junction of the east and west branches of Owego Creek, is four and one-half miles north of Owego, and contains one church, (Methodist) two hotels, a cooper shop, a blacksmith shop, and in 1870, had a population of 91, all of whom were natives.t The village de- rives its name from David Fleming.
CAMPVILLE, (p. v.) situated on the right bank of the Susque- hanna, seven miles east of Owego, is a station on the Erie R. R. and contains one church, (Methodist) a hotel, store, grist mill, plaster mill, blacksmith shop, saw mill and about twenty houses. The village was named from Asa Camp.
GASKILL CORNERS,Į (p. o.) situated on Little Nanticoke Creek, about five miles north-east of Owego, a little north of the center of the town, contains one store, two saw mills, a cheese factory and creamery,§ two blacksmith shops, a wagon shop, a
bed is 32 feet above low water mark. It consists of nine spans. The offi- cers are Wm. Pumpelly, President; F. L. Jones, Secretary and Treasurer; and Wm. Pumpelly, Geo. J. Pumpelly, A. P. Storrs, Thomas C. Platt and F. L. Jones, Directors.
The following are the rates of toll :
One vehicle drawn by four animals 50 cents.
.6 66 66 66 two 20 .6 66 66 one animal 15
animal and rider 10
16
footman. 3 .6
Although the charter allows them to charge this fare both ways it is demanded only one way.
* Of this number 295 were natives and 5, foreigners; 299, white and 1, colored.
+ The number includes 87 white, and 4 colored persons.
¿ Named from Joseph Gaskill, who moved into the town from Rich- mond, Cheshire county, N. H., his native place, March 20, 1789, and to Gaskill Corners, about 1824. He was born in 1780, and died June 19, 1866.
§ The factory was built by a stock company at an expense of over $5,000. The milk from 300 to 500 cows is used.
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carpenter and turning shop (now being built) and about twenty houses.
SOUTH OWEGO (p. o.) is located on the Owego &. Montrose turnpike, near the Pennsylvania line, about seven and one-half miles south-east of Owego. The South Owego M. E. Church is located about one mile north of the postoffice.
GIBSON CORNERS is a hamlet in the west part, about four and three-fourths miles south of Owego, containing a school house, a blacksmith shop and half a dozen houses.
SOUTH APALACHIN is situated in the south-east part, on Apalachin Creek. Efforts are being made to establish a post- office here .*
The first settlements in the town, it is believed, were made on the site of Owego village, in 1786,t by Wm .. and Robert McMaster, Wm. Taylor, John Nealy and Wm. Wood, who came from the east by way of Otsego Lake and the Susquehanna, and made a clearing and sowed grain on an Indian improvement, embraced in the West Half-Township purchased a few years previous by James McMaster and John McQuigg, the original patentees. This purchase, says Wilkinson, was made previous to that of the Boston company and was embraced within its limits, but as it was conducted legally and had the advantage of priority that company relinquished any claim they might have been supposed to possess by reason of the provisions of their title, which extended their patent to the west branch of Owego Creek. In 1787 Amos Draper, an Indian agent and trader, moved his family to the site of Owego to a house built by him the previous year, while residing temporarily at Smithboro, to which place he came from the Wyoming country, in 1786. The house erected by him was the first one in the town. The fol- lowing year (1788) McMaster and McQuigg, the patentees of the West Half-Township, moved their families to the site of Owego. They came from New England. Other early settlers were - Yates, who came from Mass. in 1791, and settled at
* D. R. Garrison's steam saw mill, located on Apalachin Creek, about three-fourths of a mile from the Pennsylvania line, is capable of sawing about 7,000 feet of lumber per day.
The Owego Upper Leather Tannery (Samuel Archibald, prop.,) is lo- cated at the south end of the bridge crossing the Susquehanna in the vil- lage of Owego. It contains 75 vats and 3 leaches, gives employment to ten men, consumes annually about 1,000 cords of bark and is capable of tan- ning from 8,000 to 10,000 hides per year.
Sherwood, Cornell & Co.'s steam saw mill, located in the north-east part, was erected in 1871. It contains one circular saw four and one-half feet in diameter, and is capable of cutting 30,000 feet of lumber per day.
+ Wilkinson fixes this date in 1785, and Spafford in 1787 ; but French and Stephen Dexter, who was one of the oldest residents of the county, agree upon this mean.
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the mouth of Apalachin Creek ; Caleb and Simeon Nichols, Isaac Harris and Abel and John Bills, all of whom settled in 1792; Hicks Horton, who settled about the same time; Henry Billings, who came in 1798-9; Asa and Sylvester Camp, in 1800. The Nichols were from R. I., and settled near Apalachin. Both were Revolutionary soldiers. Wm. Nichols, son of Simeon, says when they came there were but two houses at Owego. There were two tribes of Indians living at the mouth of Owego Creek, one on each side of the creek. The nearest grist mill was at Wilkesbarre; and when they first came they constructed a canoe from a tree, and with it went to mill, the trip occupy- ing fourteen days. Hicks Horton was from R. I. and settled about two miles below Campville soon after the Messrs. Nichols came. Isaac Harris, also from R. I., located about one and one- half miles east of Apalachin. John Bills and his nephew, Abel Bills, came from New Lebanon, Columbia Co., and were the first settlers at Apalachin. Henry Billings settled at Apalachin, and kept the first tavern there. Asa Camp moved here from the town of Vestal, Broome county, about 1792, having moved into that town from Chatham, Columbia county, in 1787. He located first near Apalachin, on what is known as the "Catlin farm," and in 1800 he crossed the river and settled at Camp- ville, where he built the first hotel at that place, which was kept by his son Roswell Camp, who is still residing in the town, aged eighty-eight years. Campville was named from Asa Camp, who kept the first post office there. Col. David Pixley came, with his wife and three children (David, Amos and Mary) from Stockbridge, Mass., at an early day* and settled about one mile west of Owego, in the town of Tioga, on a beautiful plateau of 3,000 acres, which was known at an early day as " Campbell's Location." In 1802 he disposed of this property to Judge Noah and Eliakin Goodrich, and removed to Owego, where he con- tinued to reside until his death in 1807. Col. Pixley was one of the leading proprietors of the Boston Purchase and was one of the commissioners appointed by the Boston Company to treat with the Indians. He was a man of enterprise and estim- able repute, and did much to properly mold the character of his associates. Previous to his settlement he visited the country on one or more tours of exploration. He was an active parti- cipant in the Revolutionary struggle and early evinced his devo- tion to the cause of liberty by accepting a commission in the Colonial army, issued July 1, 1775, by order of the Congress of the United Colonies, and bearing the bold and characteristic signature of John Hancock, President. Col. Pixley familiar-
* C. P. Avery, in The Saint Nicholas, fixes the date as 1791.
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ized himself with the Indian language and became popular with and doubtless exercised a strong and salutary influence over the tribes who settled in and visited this locality. "Mrs. Pixley," says Wilkinson, " was eminently pious, and made her house a home for strangers, and especially for the missionaries and min- isters of that early day."
"The following inscription was copied from a monument in the [Owego] village grave yard.
" 'In memory of Col. David Pixley, who departed this life Aug 25, 1807, in the 67th year of his age .- He was an officer of the revolution at the siege of Quebec in 1775, under Gen. Montgomery, was the first settler of Owego in 1790, and continued its father and friend until his death.' "*
The date of Col. Pixley's settlement, if reference is made to the village of Owego, as seems quite apparent, and the assertion that he was the first settler in either the village or town, the latter of which, it will be remembered, at that date included the purchase on which he located, are palpably incorrect.
Reuben Holbrook and David Barney were early settlers in this town. The former was a Revolutionary soldier; the lat- ter built the first house upon Apalachin Creek. Capt. Elisha Ely, from Saybrook, Conn., another Revolutionary hero, settled at Owego in 1799. Many of his descendants still reside there. He died in 1801. Joseph Gaskill, to whom reference has pre- viously been made,t settled here in 1789. Daniel Ferguson, who died near Flemingville many years since, was an early settler in that locality. During the early progress of the Revo- Intionary war, in which, though quite a young man, he was a soldier, he was captured on the Delaware, by the Indians, and detained on the site of Owego village during the winter and for a large portion of the year. He was adopted into an Indian family who occupied a bark lodge near where Paige street in- tersects River street. Upon his settlement in the town he was able to designate its precise locality, from its proximity to the rounded Indian burial mound, upon or near the homestead premises of the late Eleazar Dana, which retained its peculiar shape long after the village was settled. Although he ad- mitted the considerate kindness of his captors, their mode of life possessed little charm for him ; and while on a hunting ex- pedition on the Delaware in company with the Indian by whom he was adopted, he escaped by an ingenions stratagem during the night, and made his way to Port Jervis, Orange county, where his friends resided previous to his capture.
Jesse McQuigg, one of the sons of the pioneer, John McQuigg, was accustomed to relate that the Iroquois, exclusive
* Barber's Historical Collections of New York, p. 551.
+ See page 196-E.
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of the Mohawks, who had removed to Canada, when on their way to attend the council held at Tioga Point, shortly previous to the defeat of Gen. St. Clair in the Miami country, in Sep- tember, 1791, to conciliate the Iroquois and dissuade them from participating against us in the war then threatening our exposed north-western frontier, and represented on the part of our government by the distinguished Indian negotiator, Thomas Pickering, and Robert Morris, son of the talented and able financier of the Revolutionary crisis, and on the part of the Indians, among others, by Farmer's Brother and the gifted orator, Red Jacket, disembarked near his father's house, and prepared and eat their breakfast upon the open plain. They extended, so numerous were they, from the house of his father to that of James McMaster. Several hundred natives of both sexes attended this council from the head waters of the Susque -. hanna and its tributaries. They presented an imposing display as they approached the site of the village of Owego, in bark canoes, arranged in compact order and moving with regularity and uniformity. "In stature they were above the medium size, and with their head-dresses, glittering broaches and flow- ing blankets, they presented a spectacle, not novel at that pe- riod, but after this lapse of time, invested. in its contempla- tion, with a romantic interest, like that which attaches to a legend rather than to actual history."
Emanuel Duel, a Revolutionary soldier, settled, with his family, in the north part of the village, in 1790 .* A family by the name of Talheimer, from the Mohawk, settled here at an early day, and was followed by several other families of Dutch and Irish extraction. Judge Stephen Mack became a resident of Owego village in 1799. As the pioneer printer in Tioga county, + his history, as well as that of Stephen B. Leonard, who early engaged in the same profession, is intimately connected with that of this town. Judge Mack held for many years the position of Justice of the Peace, and, at a later day that of First Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Broome County. "In
* At an early period in the settlement of Owego, when no flour could be obtained at any point less distant than Wilkesbarre, Mr. Duel started in his boat for that place to obtain a supply, leaving his family with but slender means of subsistence. The unexpected prolongation of his stay rendered their situation critical; but at this juncture the timely assist- ance of an Indian, called by the whites, Captain Cornelius, (who entered the house, and perceiving their situation, departed and returned in a few hours with a supply of venison,) relieved them from want for many days. He also shared with them his "corn flour" which had been prepared in the usual Indian mode, by the maize-pounder.
This Indian was shot down about the time of the holding of the council. The cause assigned is jealousy of his friendship for the whites. The name by which he was designated by his own people was Kanaukwis. + See pages 71 and 160.
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all his official positions," says C. P. Avery, he " brought to the discharge of his duties unimpeached integrity of character, and strong native powers of discrimination, improved by a good education." His social qualities evinced no less marked ex- cellence. Stephen B. Leonard came to Owego, when young, in company with his father, a Revolutionary soldier, and a native of Berkshire county, Mass., in 1806, having previously lived in New York, his place of birth, and began at the age of fourteen to learn the printing business, in the office of Judge Mack. At the expiration of his term of apprenticeship he visited New York and Albany and remained two years at the latter place to perfect himself in his business. He returned to Owego and in 1813 purchased The American Farmer from Judge Mack, and changed the name of the paper to The Owego Gazette, which he continued to publish for about twenty-two consecutive years, though during much of that time he was associated with J. B. Shurtleff, to whom he subsequently sold the paper .* He was a Representative in Congress from 1835 to 1837, and from 1839 to 1841. He performed the arduous duties devolving upon him in that capacity with fidelity and ability. He still, after a life of active usefulness, resides in Owego, having reached the ripe old age of eighty years.
In 1791 there were six families living on the site of Owego village, the number having doubled since 1788.
Wm. Williamson made the first settlement at Flemingville in 1820. He came from Scipio, Cayuga county, and has resided on the farm on which he located till the present time. He is 73 years of age. At the time of his settlement the country in his vicinity was a wilderness, and his nearest neighbor was three miles distant. John Giles, who came in 1832, was the first doc- tor that lived at Apalachin. He was drowned while crossing the river to visit a patient, by stepping into an air-hole in the ice.
The first white child born in the town was Electa Draper, daughter of Amos Draper, the pioneer and Indian agent. She became the wife of Stephen Williams Jr., and moved to Newark Valley, where she died. She was born June 19, 1788. The first school was taught by - Kelly, in 1792; the first store and hotel were kept by Wm. Bates, at Owego, on the lot where the Ahwaga now stands; the first post office was located on the bank of the river, above the Ahwaga House, and was kept by Stephen Mack, who was postmaster at different times for several years; the first grist mill was built by Col. Pixley on Owego Creek, in 1793, previous to which time and until the erection
* See page 160.
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of Fitch's mill, four miles above Binghamton, in 1790, the early settlers in this locality were obliged to go to Wilkesbarre, Penn., with their grain, by means of canoes on the Susquehanna, a journey which usually occupied about two weeks; the first saw mill was built by Amos Stafford ; the first tannery was started by Lemuel Brown.
Speaking of Owego in 1813, Spafford, in his Gazetteer of New York, says, "The lands are held in fee, and the inhabitants manufacture their own clothing in their own houses, from the growth of their own farms."
For many years the postoffice at Owego was one of the four distributing offices of the State. The growth of that village was greatly enhanced by the salt, plaster, lumber and wheat shipped for the Pennsylvania and Maryland markets. A very destructive fire occurred Sept. 7, 1849, in Owego, by which sev- enty-five dwellings were consumed.
The first religious services were conducted by Rev. S. Willis- ton, the pioneer preacher in the Susquehanna Valley.
The First Free Will Baptist Church of Owego, located at South Apalachin, was organized with fourteen members, in October, 1816, by Rev. John Gould, its first pastor. The first Church edifice was erected in 1844, and was burned in 1859 ; the present one, which will seat 200 persons, in 1865, at a cost of $1,500. Rev. Hiram S. Ball is the present pastor ; the number of mem- bers is fifty-five. The Church property is valued at $3,500 .*
The First Presbyterian Church, of Owego, was organized with eleven members, July. 24, 1817, by Revs. Hezekiah May, Jere- miah Osborne and William Wisner, the former being its first pastor. The first house of worship was erected in 1820; and the present one which will seat 700 persons, in 1854, at a cost of $13,000. The Society numbers about 400, and is under the pastoral care of Rev. Samuel T. Clarke. The Church property is valued at $25,000.
The First Baptist Church, of Owego, was organized with thirty members, (twelve males and eighteen females,) Aug. 2, 1831. The first house of worship was erected in 1835; the present one which will seat 700 persons, in 1858, at a cost of $4,000. It was greatly enlarged and improved in 1870. The first pastor was Rev. Samuel Ford ; the present one is Rev. W. H. King. There are 787 members. The value of Church property is $70,000.
St. Paul's Church (Protestant Episcopal,) was organized in 1834, and its house of worship was erected in 1839. It will seat
*The Church was originally organized at Little Meadows, in the town of Apalachin, Penn., (then the town of Choconut, Penn.,) the Society em- bracing two neighborhoods, one at Little Meadows and the other at South Apalachin, where meetings were held alternately.
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350 persons. The building is located on the south side of Main street, near McMaster street, in the village of Owego. Rev. John Bailey was the first pastor; Rev. J. H. Kidder is the present one. There are about 120 communicants connected with the Society.
St. Patrick's Church (Catholic) was organized with twelve members, in 1840. Their house of worship, located on Main street, in the village of Owego, was erected in 1840, at a cost of $1,200, and was enlarged in 1860. It will seat 500 persons. Rev. Father O'Riley was the first pastor ; Rev. J. Rogers is the pres- ent one. There are 2,000 members. The Church property is valued at $20,000. Connected with it are a free school and the Convent of the Sisters of Mercy.
The Congregational Church was organized with forty-six mem- bers, Feb. 19, 1850. Their house of worship is located on Park street in the village of Owego. It was finished Feb. 10, 1852, and cost $5,000. It will seat 500 persons. The first pastor was Rev. S. C. Wilcox ; the present one is Dwight W. Marsh. The number of members is 227. The value of Church property is $20,000. The church is out of debt.
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