Genealogical and Family History of Western New York, Volume I, Part 39

Author: Cutter, William Richard, 1847-1918
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: New York : Lewis Historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 680

USA > New York > Genealogical and Family History of Western New York, Volume I > Part 39

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).

DALE The emigrant ancestor of the Dale family of Lockport, New York, was Thomas Dale, born at Crake, Yorkshire, England, September 22, 1810, the eldest of eleven children of Christopher and Mary Dale. He died in the town of Royal- ton, Niagara county, New York, December 29, 1888. He came to America in 1834, and set- tled on the Stayton road, town of Lockport, where he purchased the farm now known as the Pease Farm. He cultivated this property until 1842, when he sold and moved to St. Catherine's, Ontario, Canada, where he was associated with the Calvin, Phelps & Merritt Milling Company. After the death of his wife, in 1856, he returned to Niagara county, locat- ing near Lockport, where he passed his re- maining years. He married just before com- ing to the United States, March 29, 1834, Ruth,

198

NEW YORK.

born in 1813, died 1856, youngest daughter of John and Mary Ash, of Limington, Yorkshire, England. Children, the first three of whom were born in Royalton, Niagara county, New York, the last three in St. Catherine's, Canada : I. Elizabeth Jane, married Henry Pearson ; children : George H. and Dorothy A., living, and Albert, deceased. The children are living on the old Pearson homestead, on the Staten Settlement road. 2. Mary Ann, married Rob- ert T. Pearson, of the same place; he was one of the noted men of his neighborhood and active in politics; children: Robert H., of Lockport; Ruth A. and A. W., who are resid- ing on the home place, and Dr. A. L., who re- sides on the home farm and is a prominent dentist in Lockport. 3. John, died in Michi- gan in early life ; he married and had two sons, Alfred and Archer. 4. William Francis, men- tioned below. 5. Christopher, died young. 6. Ruth, living with her brother in the neigh- borhood where she was born.

(II) William Francis, son of Thomas and Ruth (Ash) Dale, was born at St. Catherine's, Ontario, Canada, July 4, 1842. He was edu- cated in the public and private schools of St. Catherine's and at the old Lockport high school. When a youth of fourteen years he jegan working in a grocery store in Lockport, ater in years he purchased a small farm of sixty-two and one-half acres, a part of the old Weaver homestead, where he still resides. He has been a successful farmer and has added to his original purchase until his estate now con- sists of one hundred and forty acres, eighty acres of which are in fruit, of which he has almost every variety known to the state. He is a man of exemplary habits in life and highly regarded in his community. He is a Democrat in politics, and a member of the Wesleyan Methodist Church. He married, May 28, 1869, at Hartland, Niagara county, New York, at the farm that he now owns, Lydia M. Weaver, born November 21, 1844, at Millville, Orleans county, New York, daughter of Elisha T. and Jane (Duell) Weaver. Children : I. Alice R., deceased. 2. Albert F., born July 1, 1872; married Sarah Decker, of Somerset. Child : Leon, born 1910. 3. Herbert W., of further mention. 4. Emma A., born August 3, 1876; married Morton D. Windsor, of Guilford, now living at Northville, New York. 5. Warren, born March 20, 1878; married Bessie Tyron, of Royalton. 6. Edith M., born January 2, 1880. 7. Jessie, born February 10, 1885; mar-

ried Professor F. F. Sherer, of Lockport. 8. Walter, born May 18, 1888.

(III) Herbert W., son of William Francis and Lydia M. (Weaver) Dale, was born at Hartland, Niagara county, New York, October 22, 1874. He was educated in the public schools of Hartland, Lockport high school and Lockport Business College. After completing his studies he returned to the farm as his father's assistant, remaining until 1903, when he located in Lockport, engaging in the whole- sale fruit and produce business, in which he is still successfully engaged. He is a Republican in politics, and a member of the First Baptist Church, which he served as treasurer for three years. He is a member of Niagara Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of Lockport. He married, at Machias, New York, December 6, 1905, Rosa M., born June 24, 1883, daughter of Hugh J. and Clara Kerr, at Machias, Catta- raugus county, New York. Children: Ruth Lydia, born November 18, 1906; Clara Esther. May 13, 1910.

This family is of ancient Scotch EWING origin. It is identical with Ewen and McEwen. The family seat was in Aberdeenshire and Edinburgshire from early times. The Ewing family of the north of Ireland, from which most of the older Ewing families of this country are descended trace their ancestry to Major Finlay Ewing, who received a grant of land for military serv- ice, three hundred acres, laid out August 20, 1696, at Ballymena, county Antrim, Ireland. Major Ewing came from Dumbartonshire with his . sons, John and Alexander (Calendar of State Papers of Ireland, vol. xxxvi, p. 127). The present representative of the ancient fam- ily in Dumbartonshire is Sir Frederick Orr Ewing, residing at Dumbartonshire and White Court, Edinburgh, Scotland. One of the first of the name in America was Richard Ewen, who settled in Maryland before 1659. Thomas, son of Findlay and Jane Ewing, was born in Londonderry, Ireland, in 1695, and emigrated to America in 1718. He first settled on Long Island, but soon removed to Greenwich, New Jersey, where he married Mary, daughter of Thomas Maskell; Ewing died February 28, 1748; his wife December 17, 1784. General Sherman, Hon. Thomas Ewing, and other prominent men of the middle west, are de- scended from this emigrant. There is a tra-

199

NEW YORK.

dition that four brothers-John, Alexander,' Henry and Samuel Ewing, brothers of Thomas Ewing-settled in Maryland, but the Maryland emigrants must have been of an earlier genera- tion. Descendants of the Maryland emigrant or emigrants are numerous in Pennsylvania, Tennessee and the middle west.

(I) Alexander Ewing, doubtless of this Scotch-Irish family, came to Massachusetts after 1718, but before 1740, with the Scotch- Irish. In 1741 he bought fifty acres of John Henderson, in the Elbow tract, now Palmer, Massachusetts. Later he drew one hundred acres in the first division of the common lands of Bernard McNight (McNitt or McNutt). The following were sons or nephews : 1. Joshua, was sergeant in the revolution, in Captain John Carpenter's company, Colonel Ezra Wood's regiment, 1778-79; also drummer in Captain Daniel Winchester's company, Colonel Ruggles Woodbridge's regiment, reinforcing the north- ern army, 1777. 2. James, lived in South Hadley and Sunderland; soldier in Captain Noadiah Leonard's company, Colonel Ruggles Woodbridge's regiment, 1775. In 1790 Alex- ander Ewing, was living at Portsmouth, and had two males over sixteen, two under sixteen, and seven females in his family. It is not known whether this is the same Alexander Ewing, but the evidence indicates that he was. In 1790 the family had left central Massachu- setts, and none of the name appear in the cen- sus of that year in that section. A branch of the family settled at North Yarmouth and Harpswell, Maine, before or during the revo- lution. John Ewing was a revolutionary sol- dier from Harpswell, Joseph from North Yar- mouth.

(III) William, doubtless grandson of Alex- ander Ewing, was born in central Massachu- setts, 1764, died June 16, 1846, at Middleport, New York. He was a soldier in the revolution, from Shutesbury, Massachusetts, at the age of sixteen. The records give his height as five feet, hair black. He was in Captain Seth Pierce's company, Colonel Seth Murray's regi- ment; in 1780 he was in the Sixth Hampshire County Regiment, and his height was given as five feet two. In 1781 he was again in service, in Colonel Benjamin Tupper's regiment, age seventeen, height five feet seven inches. He settled in Vermont where he married and later removed to Niagara county, New York, mak- ing the journey from Vermont on foot in 1815.

He purchased four hundred acres from the Holland Land Company, cleared a portion of it, which he planted, then returned to Ver- mont. In 1816 he returned with his family, making the journey in a wagon drawn by a pair of oxen. He completed the clearing of his tract, a portion of which was covered with fine black walnut trees, and erected a home. He cultivated his farm with the assistance of his sons until his death in 1846. In 1850 the property was divided among his heirs. He married, in Vermont, Mercy Stone. Children : Orphy, married Charles Drake, a farmer of Middleport, New York; Polly, married Olan- das Lyman, a farmer of Middleport; Eliza- beth, married D. Van Brocklin, of Middleport ; William (2), of further mention; Isaac, mar- ried Fidelia Freeman ; Harriet, married Almon Fellows, D. D. S., of Middleport.

(IV) William (2), son of William (1) and Mercy (Stone) Ewing, was born in Vermont, in 1818; died in Niagara county, New York, August 27, 1886. He assisted in the labor of establishing a home in the new region to which his father brought the family in 1816, which was ever afterward his home. When the prop- erty was divided in 1850 he had that portion on which the old homestead was built (part of it in 1816). He cultivated the farm successfully until his death, setting out orchards and mak- ing of it a very desirable estate. He was one of the founders of the Universalist church of Middleport and a liberal contributor to its sup- port. He was a man of steady, upright life. was well liked and much respected. His entire life was spent in this community, being but six months old when the family came from Ver- mont. He was a strong Republican and held several of the town offices.

He married, October 27, 1846, Emily Bar- bour, born April 27, 1825, at Royalton, Ni- agara county, New York, daughter of Amasa and Deborah (Peck) Barbour, of Connecticut. Amasa Barbour died at Marcellus, New York, 1827. Children : 1. Mary, born April 28, 1848; married Henry Dewey, of California ; children : Martin H., William, and Howard, deceased. 2. James A., born May 5, 1850; married Alice Carter, and has son, Charles F. 3. William S., born May 27, 1857; married Louise Weaver ; resides at 953 Amsterdam avenue, New York City. Mrs. Ewing survives her husband, a resident of Middleport. She is a woman of great force of character and highly respected.

200

NEW YORK.

ALLEN This is an old family name that as Alleyne, Allyn, Allan and Allen existed in England as far back as the thirteenth century. The earliest known an- cestor is Alanus De Buchenal, 1272-1307, who held the Lordship of Buchenal in Staffordshire. The Allen or Allyn families were very numer- ous in New England, even in the first years of the settlement of the colonies. They were of English blood for the most part. There were three Allen families in ancient Windsor, Con- necticut, one of Scotch ancestry and two of English, both spellings Allen and Allyn being in use. Thomas, Samuel and Matthew Allyn, all brothers, came to this country at the same time. Their parents seem to have come over also, but little is known of them. "Ould Mr. Allyn" died at Windsor, September 12, 1675. "Old Mrs. Allyn" died there August 5, 1649. One or both of these records doubtless pertain to the parents of the Allyns. The descendants of Deacon Thomas and Matthew spelled the name Allyn, while those of Samuel, herein traced, use the form Allen. They were sons of Samuel Allyn, of Branton, Devonshire, and of Chelmsford, Essex county, England.

(II) Samuel (2) Allen, son of Samuel (1) Allyn, was baptized in Chelmsford, county of Essex, England, in 1586. He came to Amer- ica with the original Braintree Company in 1632, as did doubtless the other brothers, and perhaps the parents. Prior to 1644 Samuel removed to Windsor, Connecticut, where he was buried April 28, 1648, aged sixty years. He lived for a time in Cambridge, Massachu- setts, and after his removal to Windsor held many public positions of trust. His widow re- moved to Northampton, Massachusetts, where she married (second) William Hurlburt, and died November 13, 1687. Samuel (2) Allen left a small estate consisting of house and home lot in East Windsor, meadow and farm land, and personal property, including a musket and sword, which would indicate military service. Children : 1. Samuel (3), born 1634; mar- ried, November 29, 1659, Hannah, daughter of Thomas and Mary (Blott) Woodford; was made freeman, 1683; had land grants in North- ampton, Massachusetts, 1657; died October 18, 1718-19. He was the ancestor, through his son Samuel, of Rev. William Allen, president of Bowdoin College, 1857, and author of the "American Biographical Dictionary." 2. Nehe- miah, married, 1664, Sarah Woodford (sister of Hannah, wife of his brother Samuel). He

'was the great-grandfather of General Ethan Allen, of revolutionary fame, through his son Samuel. 3. John, of further mention. 4. Re- becca. 5. Mary. 6. Obadiah.

(III) John, third son of Samuel (2) Allen, of Windsor, Connecticut, removed to Massa- chusetts probably with his widowed mother. He was killed by the Indians, September 18, 1675, at "Bloody Brook," Deerfield, Massa- chusetts. He married, December 8, 1669, Mary, daughter of William and Honor Hannum. Chil- dren: John (2), born September 30, 1670; Samuel, of further mention; Hannah, born May, 1675.

(IV) Samuel (3), son of John and Mary (Hannum) Allen, was born February 5, 1673; died at Enfield, Connecticut, 1735. He re- moved from Northampton, Massachusetts, dur- ing the Indian troubles and settled in Enfield, Connecticut, where he resided on what was later known as the Chauncey Allen place, on King street. He was a farmer. He mar- ried, in 1700, Hannah Burroughs, born 1675. Children: 1. Samuel, of further mention. 2. Joseph, born July 30, 1704, died June 11, 1777; settled at East Windsor, Connecticut, near the Enfield line ; he married, 1723, Mary Hewlett. 3. Hannah, born November 13, 1706. 4. John, 1712.

(V) Samuel (4), eldest son of Samuel (3) and Hannah (Burroughs) Allen, was born in 1702; died at East Windsor, Connecticut, De- cember 20, 1771. He was engaged with his brother Joseph in the manufacture of tar and pitch, also operating.a farm at East Windsor. His farm, later known as the "Landlord Allen" farm, was situated on the old stage road from Springfield to Hartford. He married, Janu- ary 27. 1728, Elizabeth, born August 19, 1705, died September 10, 1751, daughter of Zech- ariah and Mary (Harmon) Booth. Children, all born in East Windsor: I. Samuel, born June 13, 1729, died January 20, 1759. 2. Eliz- abeth, March 28, 1731. 3. Abel, March 4, 1733; married Elizabeth Chapin. 4. Tabitha, April 13, 1736, died April, 1790; married Ab- ner Chapin. 5. Love. 6. Peletiah. 7. Zech- ariah. 8. Sarah. 9. Amizi (Amasa).

(VI) Amizi (Amasa), youngest child of Samuel (4) and Elizabeth (Booth) Allen, was born in 1750. He was a soldier of the revolu- tion, enlisting in Colonel Parvin's regiment at Enfield, later was transferred to Colonel Van Schaich's New York regiment, serving until April 21, 1780, when he was honorably dis-

201

NEW YORK.

charged. In 1806 Amasa Allen removed from East Windsor, Connecticut, and settled in Che- nango county, New York, where he remained until 1812, then located at Pavilion, Genesee county. His wife died and was buried between these two places. He was in the battles of Princeton, Trenton, Monmouth and others. He married, 1780, Alice Lord, of East Windsor, Connecticut. Children : Samuel, born June 27, 1784, died March 24, 1816; Issacher, October 1, 1786, died July 18, 1859; Daniel, March 18, 1789, died April, 1830; Alice, July 15, 1794, died August 7, 1851, married Page Russell; Mary, November 8, 1796, died September 22, 1865, married a kinsman, Hopedale Allen; Horatio, of further mention; Louvisa, Febru- ary 28, 1803, died June 28, 1826.

(VII) Horatio, son of Amasa and Alice (Lord) Allen, was born in East Windsor, Con- necticut, May 13, 1799; died January 9, 1837. He was brought to New York by his parents in 1806, and lived in Genesee county until after his marriage in 1822. He then removed to Niagara county, where he bought a small farm of fifty acres from the Holland Company. He followed farming all his life. He served in the militia as drum major and was a Whig in politics. He married, March 22, 1822, Han- nah, daughter of Zamon and Betty (Shep- pard) Terrill, of Genesee county. Children : Albert Nelson, born April 1, 1824, died June 18, 1860; Henry T., of further mention ; Dan- iel B., November 20, 1828; Caroline M., March 4, 1831 ; Hannah, died in infancy.

(VIII) Henry Terrill, son of Horatio and Hannah (Terrill) Allen, was born August 30, 1826, near Lockport, Niagara county, New York. He was educated in the public schools of Cambria and Pekin. New York. After the death of his father he lived with an uncle near Leroy, New York, remaining there until 1849, when he settled at Niagara Falls. Here, in company with his brother, he engaged in the painting business for about eight years, then removed to Orleans county, where for two years he engaged in farming. At the end of that period he returned to Niagara Falls, where he purchased the land upon which the Allen block now stands. Here he conducted a book, stationery and wall paper store, conducting it until 1888, when he retired from mercantile life to engage actively in the real estate busi- ness. He is one of the largest private holders in the city, owning over fifty different parcels of real estate, mostly improved. He is still

active and vigorous notwithstanding his years, eighty-five. He is a Republican in politics, and an attendant of the Methodist church.

He married, March 12, 1854, Louisa D. Dutcher, born April 25, 1831, died May 21, 1888, daughter of Matthew Dutcher. Chil- dren: I. Iva Marie, born June 3, 1856, died April 2, 1858. 2. Arthur N., born February 29, 1860, educated in the public schools, en- gaged in the real estate business, having the management of his father's estate, also man- ager of the Allen block; member of the Busi- ness Men's Association of Niagara Falls; a Republican in politics ; married, November 18, 1896, Eva Taylor ; children : Elna Louisa, born November 9, 1899; Norma T., July 5, 1891 ; Henry T., March 20, 1904; Arthur N. Jr., April 9, 1907. 3. Matthew Victor, born May 6, 1863, attended the public schools of Niagara Falls and Cornell University, taking a three years' course in mechanical engineering, which line of work he is following; he is the inven- tor of the perfection stitching machine for book binding, which is sold throughout the world, and which has received first prize wherever exhibited; a Republican in politics. 4. Sadie Frances, born July 7, 1867; married, April 2, 1901, George Emery Russell, of Stam- ford, Ontario, who has a large fruit farm in Canada, about five miles from Niagara Falls. Mrs. Russell was educated in the public school and Loretto Convent, and has developed much taste for painting.

CORWIN Among the earliest settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the first of his name in America was Matthias Corwin (pronounced Currin). The "Commoner's Record" at Ips- wich, 1634, yet preserved, says, "Given and granted to Matthias Currin two acres of land lying unto his house, on the east end thereof, to him, his heirs and assigns, etc." The name in the records is also spelled Corwin. There are several families of the name Corwin, Cor- wine, or Curwen, in the United States, the majority of whom are no doubt of English descent, although one is said to be of remote Hungarian origin, though perhaps for a time naturalized in England. The name Corwin or Corwine is a corruption of Curwen, which form is itself a corruption of Cul-wen, a com- pound Celtic word, meaning "a white cowl or hood such as monks used to wear."

(I) Matthias Corwin it is said came from

202

NEW YORK. ,

Warwick, England. He was born in England in the decade between 1590 and 1600, died at Southold, Long Island, December 1-12, 1658. He was of Ipswich, Massachusetts, 1634, and in 1640 joined the company of Rev. John Youngs that settled on Long Island, New York, at Southold. He received a lot of land for a house directly opposite the present Con- gregational church in Southold, the new lec- ture room standing on the very spot occupied by his dwelling. Here he lived for eighteen years. On December 11, 1656, he was appoint- ed together with four others "to order town affairs." He owned several parcels of land aggregating a great many acres. In his will he names wife Margaret, children John, Martha, Theophilus. His wife Margaret is supposed · to have been Margaret Morton, but this is in doubt. She was named one of the executors of his will. There was considerable excite- ment in the Corwin family at the time of Kossuth's visit to the United States in 1848. A member of his suite brought the information that a Matthias Corwin ( Matthias Corwinus) and his eldest son emigrated to America, who were heirs to an estate of fifty millions. The line having become extinct in Hungary and no heirs appearing for fifty years the property and money went to the government. Of course all such claims are Utopian and unworthy of consideration.

(II) John, son of Matthias Corwin, of Southold, Long Island, was born about 1630, died at Southold, September 25, 1702. In 1661 he bought land and meadow at Oyster Pond and Aqueboge, admitted a freeman of Con- necticut for Southold, 1662; in 1675 he was assessed for twenty-one acres, sixteen cattle, nine horses, five swine, six sheep, two hundred and twenty-eight pounds, ten shillings. His name appears in census list, 1698, with names of all his children excepting Mary and Re- becca, who were married. He married, Feb- ruary 4, 1658, Mary, daughter of Charles Glover. She probably died before 1690. Chil- dren : John (2), Matthias, Samuel, Sarah, Re- becca, Abigail and Mary.

(III) John (2), son of John (1) Corwin, of Southold, Long Island, was born at Sotith- old, 1663, died there December 13, 1729. In 1692 he received of his father a lot of wood- land and from that time he seems to have bought many tracts, his name appearing on the records more frequently as a buyer than as a seller. He married, before 1698, Sarah

Children : Benjamin, John, David, Sarah, Eliz- abeth, Hester.

(IV) David, son of John (2) Corwin, of Southold, Long Island, was born there about 1708, died before 1782, and is buried at Mid- dletown. His name occurs as a freeholder of Southold in 1737; in 1776 his name is on the census list as having in his family one male over fifty and one female over sixteen. About this time he removed to Orange county, New York, where he died. He married Deborah Wells, born 1717, died November 24, 1798. Children: David (2), Joshua, Phineas, Eli, Annie, and perhaps other daughters. His name was often written Curwin.

(V) David (2), son of David (1) Corwin, of Southold and Orange county, New York, died 1794. In 1775 he signed an agreement to support congress ; in 1776 on census list (370) he is described as having in his family one male, two females over sixteen and four chil- dren. In 1770, in company with three others, he bought seven hundred and eighty-seven acres of land at Minisink, Orange county, New York. In this patent (now owned by the de- scendants of Nathan H. Corwin, of Newark, New Jersey) his name is spelled Curwin. He married (first), in 1750, Mary Wells, died 1761, one of the eleven children of Captain Daniel Wells. He married (second) Abigail Davis. Children : Daniel, David, Mary, Jesse. Eli, Abigail, William, Joseph, Mehitable, Elisha, Nebat, Phineas, Deborah and Naboth D.

(VI) Nebat, son of David (2) Corwin, of Orange county, New York, was born about 1783. He lived in Minisink, Orange county, until after his marriage. About 1820 he emi- grated to Niagara county, settling on the Hess road in the town of Newfane, where he and his son, DeWitt C., purchased a farm of one hundred acres near Appleton. Part of this was in timber which they cleared and brought under cultivation. After a few years they sold this tract and settled at Oakfield, Genesee county. Here his son and wife died. Nebat Corwin continued his residence there until his wife died, then made his home until death with his daughter. near Lockport, wife of Orlo Burch. He married, in Orange county, Mary Howell. Children: Adeline, married James Robinson ; Phineas H., of further mention ; De Witt C., died in Oakfield, New York; Mary Ann, married Orlo Burch; Loretta, married Thomas Mann ; William Van Rensselaer, mar- ried Celia Campbell ; Lewis, died in East Wil-

er.

NEW YORK.

203

son, New York; David, settled at Fort Leaven- worth, Kansas.

(VII) Phineas H., son of Nebat Corwin, of Orange and Niagara counties, New York, was born at Minisink, Orange county, Janu- ary II, 1807, died at Newfane, Niagara coun- ty, April 10, 1865. He was educated in Orange county and came to Niagara county with his father. He assisted on the farm for several years, then began boating on the Erie canal, becoming the owner of several boats. He disposed of his property of every kind in Niagara county and with the proceeds emi- grated to the wild and unsettled region of Michigan at Tecumseh. In 1834 he returned to Niagara county, settling in the town of Newfane, where he dealt in real estate, buying and selling farms. In 1850 he purchased one hundred and ten acres, a part of the Cooper farm, which he cultivated and made his home until death. This farm is now owned by his son, William V. Corwin. He was a Whig, later a Republican, and a member of the Bap- tist church. He married Elvira, daughter of Amos and Frances (Craig) Sawyer, of Goshen, Addison county, Vermont. Children : Will- iam V., of further mention; Phineas H. (2), of further mention; Orlando D., born March 17, 1837, died March 17, 1854; Mary F., born June 8, 1839, married D. Steele Brown; Ade- line R., born August 21, 1849, deceased.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Genealogical and Family History of Western New York, Volume I, Part 39

Author: Cutter, William Richard, 1847-1918 Publication date: 1912 Publisher: New York : Lewis Historical Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 680

Author: Cutter, William Richard, 1847-1918
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: New York : Lewis Historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 680