USA > New York > Cayuga County > History of Cayuga County, New York > Part 33
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Joseph Davis came in from Washington County in 1799, and settled two and one-half miles northwest of Aurelius. He died in the town in 1804.
In this year (1799), the County Court House was erected and the Court of Common Pleas was held at Cayuga. In 1804, the court was removed to Aurora, and in 1809 to Auburn, where in that year the Court House which was authorized March 26, 1805 was completed.
David Hulin the pioneer blacksmith was among the first settlers. He located on the shore of the lake just west of where the Titus House now stands. He made a latch for the first frame school- house, built in 1804, and stamped his name and date of its erection.
Hezekiah Goodwin of Connecticut settled soon after 1800, about four miles west of Cayuga. He took up about four hundred acres, and carried on an extensive business buying and selling cattle.
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distilling and making black salts. He sold out about 1833 to the Hunts and removed to Seneca Falls, where he died about 1840. William Guy moved in from Scipio in 1801, and bought the west half of lot 34. In 1823, he sold seventy-five acres to Ralph De Camp, and subsequently removed to Livingston County. De Camp came in from New Jersey in 1816, and settled at Auburn, where he was engaged in the construction of the prison which was begun the following year.
Loring and Emory Willard, brothers, came from Chenango County about 1801, and settled at Cayuga; Loring was commissary for the army during the war of 1812-14. He died here in 1845. Both he and Emory were young single men when they came here but married and had families. About 1807, they built a distillery which they sold after about a year to Daniel McIntosh who soon after converted it into a tannery and ran it as such a good many years.
During the War of 1812, Loring Willard was engaged in pur- chasing supplies for the army and forwarding them to Oswego, and other points where wanted, and when an attack upon Kingston was in contemplation, under orders he purchased all the boats that could be obtained for transportation, took them to Oswego, and then under cover of night sailed out of Oswego, and delivered them, some forty or fifty in number, to Commodore Chauncey, at Sacketts Harbor. They were "Durham boats" and would carry thirty to fifty tons; but the expedition was abandoned, and the boats never used.
Jeremiah Hallock came from Long Island about this time and settled one and a half miles east of Cayuga where he died in the 40's.
The first settlement at Fosterville was made about 1803, by Captain Abner Wheaton and Jacob Saunders, where they lived and died at a good old age.
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A man named Perry came in about 1806 and kept tavern, opposite to and to the north of where the Titus House now stands He died about 1812.
David Dodge came in from Vermont about 1808 and settled at Cayuga. He taught school several years. He died in Montezuma in 1857. Ossian G. Dodge the noted mimic and comic singer was a son of his. Charles Lalliette a highly accomplished French gentle- man came in from Brooklyn in 1810. This was his summer resi- dence, his winters being spent abroad teaching dancing school. He died in 1836.
John Moffitt, a Scotchman, started a brewery in 1813. He removed to Ohio in 1839 and died there in 1862.
BRUTUS.
Brutus was formed from Aurelius, March 30, 1802, and Sennett was taken off in 1827. Its location is on the east border of the county, north of the center, and its surface is level on the north and west with an average elevation of about ten feet above the level of Seneca River, which forms its northern boundary. The parts lying along the river are quite marshy. Isolated drift hills, from fifty to seventy-five feet above the general level render the surface in the southeast broken and rolling. Bread Creek and Cold Spring Brook, both of which are tributary to Seneca River, are the principal streams. The former is a canal feeder, and along its course are deposits of limestone and plaster, which are quarried to considerable extent. The soil is a fine quality of sandy and gravelly loam, intermixed with clay and alluvia.
Weedsport village was incorporated April 26, 1831, and is on the Erie Canal and the direct line of the New York Central Railroad It is eight miles north of Auburn, twenty-one miles west of Syracuse and sixty miles east of Rochester.
The first settlement in the present town of Brutus was made by William Stevens, from Massachusetts in 1800, on the south bounds
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of the village. The settlement was called "Masidonia." and went by that name till after the Erie Canal was finished in 1821, when the subsequent growth of the village was along the banks of that great commericial highway. In 1816, this section of the canal was com- menced and made navigable as far as Utica in the year 1821. Previous to that, communication east and west was had by means of the public roads which were very bad, until the building of the Montezuma turnpike by which travel was somewhat facilitated. Elihu and Edward Weed, sons of Smith Weed a wealthy Albany merchant, settled in the village and built a "basin," on the south bank of the canal, large enough for the mooring and turning of boats. They also put up a storehouse and the place became known as Weed's Basin. In 1822, the Weeds advertised their storage and forwarding business at Weeds' Basin adding by way of post- script: "A post-office has lately been established at this place by the name of Weedsport Post Office, of which Elihu Weed is Post- Master. "
After the canal was finished, Weedsport became the canal land- ing for Auburn, which created a large amount of business for the place in the way of shipping and teaming. Warehouses sprung up and the little village assumed a thrifty and prosperous appearance. But on the building of the Auburn & Syracuse Railroad in 1840, nearly all of this storage, carrying and forwarding business was diverted from the little town, which, having depended on this for its existence, seemed destined to go into decay. The storehouses once filled to their utmost capacity stood desolate and empty and the place looked ruinous and forlorn. It then fell back on its resources as the natural depot for the produce of the surrounding country, and the place for its exchange for merchandise and mechan- ical work. Thus left to its natural growth it was many years before the empty buildings were re-occupied and new ones erected to accommodate the increasing business of the place. Surrounded by a rich agricultural section, its growth was increased, although near
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villages were formidable competitors for the country trade, so that in 1846 it had about regained all that was lost by the diversion of the Auburn trade in 1840. Since that time it has grown steadily though not rapidly, and is now one of the best market towns in that section of the state.
Its extensive storehouses, large dry goods establishments, manu- factories, elevators along the canal, two newspaper offices, bankers, are conclusive proof of its prosperity.
The Weedsport Union School was established about 1846 by the consolidation of the several districts. The school building is a substantial brick building. The course of instruction is ample and the attendance full. The location is healthy and the climate salubrious.
As before mentioned the first settlement in the town of Brutus was made by William Stevens, from Massachusetts in 1800, and among other early settlers, were Caleb, Nathan and Jonah Rood and a Mr. Powers from Saratoga County, who located at and near Weedsport; John Hamilton, from Washington County, who settled on lot 64 in March, 1802. Edward Horton, Peter Douglass and Samuel Moore from New Jersey on lot 86; Adam Helmer from Herkimer County on lot 67 in 1804, and a Mr. Van Dyck and Daniel Miller from New Jersey on lot 76 in 1805. The first birth was that of Barnett Stevens, November 13, 1801. The first marriage that of Peter Douglass and Polly Hamilton, January 12, 1804; and the first death that of an infant child of Sunderlind Sweet in 1800. Harriet Phelps taught the first school in 1806. Walter and Elihu Ward kept the first store, and Lewis Putnam built the first sawmill and grist mill on Bread Creek. Nothwithstanding its being a canal town it is a village of churches, which are well supported. In the order of their organization they are:
The First Methodist Episcopal Church was organized by the Reverend Samuel Bibbens in 1816; in 1863 it erected its second and present commodious brick house of worship at a cost of $18,000,
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and in 1874 improved it by the addition of galleries and an alcove in the south end at a cost of $3,000.
The First Presbyterian Church was organized from members mostly from the Congregational Church of Brutus, now Sennett.
This house of worship which was built in the south part of the village, was consumed by fire in 1855, and rebuilt the same year at a cost of $12,000. In 1872 it was repaired and newly furnished at a cost of $8,000.
The First Baptist Church was organized in 1837. Their first pastor was Reverend S. Adsit Jr. In 1840, they opened their new and attractive chapel. In 1870, the church was practically rebuilt at a cost of $10,000.
The first priest known to have held divine service for the Catho- lics of Weedsport was the Rev. Thomas O'Brien, who came here from Clyde. This was in 1852, and subsequently the Rev. Michael Walsh, also of Clyde, ministered to the Catholics of this locality. About this time St. Alphonsus' Church of Auburn received its first resident pastor in the person of Rev. Zacharias Koons and he was also charged with the Catholics of this vicinity. As the Weeds- port section of the Erie Canal was then being enlarged, Irish emi- grants began to locate here in large numbers, and Father Koons suggested the advisability of erecting a church as services had here- tofore been held in private houses. In accordance with this sug- gestion a lot on the south side of Green street, near Willow, was leased from Elihu Weed, and a small rough-boarded structure was put up in the spring of 1854. The exterior was never painted and the interior was unfinished and scantily furnished, and in conse- quence it became known as the "Shanty Church." Although Bishop Timon of Buffalo administered the sacrament of confirma- tion in this church, there is no record of his having dedicated it; and the little house of God was perhaps blessed by its founder and named "St. Joseph's Church" in honor of the foster-father of our Lord.
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Among the Catholic pioneers who lived here at that time and contributed to the erection of this church are the following: James Bell, Nicholas Bucher, Michael Burke, John Cloonon, Joseph Cogan, Patrick Daly, John Fitzpatrick, John Fitzsimmons, John Griffin, Patrick Hines, James Hoar, John McInerney, Mrs. Bridget Kearns, Margaret Kruse, Robert Moriarty, John and Richard O'Connor, John O'Donnell and Patrick O'Neil.
The Rev. Michael O'Loughlin followed Father Koons in '55 and was succeeded by Revs. Dominic Geimer and Patrick J. Byrne in 56 and '57 respectively. By 1858 the little church on Green street had grown too small and the necessity of a larger structure was felt. St. Alphonsus' Church was then without a regular pastor and the Rev. Michael Creedon of the Church of the Holy Family, Auburn, was selected to build a new church. The Presbyterian church had burned down in 1855, whereupon that society decided to rebuild in a more central part of the village and abandon the old site. This site at the corner of Seneca and Hamilton streets was purchased in June of 1858 and the new church put under roof the same year. Father Creedon's ministry ceased the following January as the church he was erecting in Auburn demanded his continued presence there. He was succeeded by Rev. Michael Purcell and Rev. John Constant of Clyde, the latter of whom completed the new church which was dedicated by Bishop Timon of Buffalo in the summer of 1859. At the same time the sacrament of confirmation was admin- istered to a large class of children. On this occasion the bishop was entertained in the house at present occupied by Patrick O'Neil.
The Rev. Daniel Moore was appointed to Weedsport in the early part of 1862, and was the first resident pastor. His successor was the Rev. Joseph Albinger who arrived in June of the following year and purchased a house at the corner of Bell and Horton streets which served as the first parsonage.
Father Albinger, or Father Joseph as he was familiarly known, was the first priest to say mass within the limits of the present
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parish of Cato. This was said in the house of Jeremias Conley, about one-half a mile north of the village of Meridian. Father Albinger later went to Dansville and then to Mount Vernon, this state, where he died as pastor of the Church of Our Lady of Victory. Rev. James H. Leddy assumed charge in the fall of '63 and was followed by Rev. C. Wensierski, C.SS.R., who remained about eight months. Rev. N. Byrnes was pastor for about a year and a half when Father Purcell came for the second time and remained in charge until the autumn of '68. Rev. James O'Connor was then appointed and lived here for about a year. This priest encouraged the Catholics of Cato to build a church of their own, and he pur- chased the lot on which St. Patrick's Church, Cato, now stands and also an old church in Ira village which he intended to move to Cato in the spring. Before he could carry out his plans the bishop appointed him to Ovid: later he was sent to Rochester and is now pastor of Seneca Falls. Rev. Anthony Cassessi came in November of '69 and he was stationed here about three years; he was succeeded by Rev. John C. Kenny who remained about the same length of time. During the latter's pastorate the transept, vestry and vesti- bule were added to the church, the interior was improved with a choir-loft and the parsonage put in good repair. He also extended his activity to Cato and as he found it too expensive to transport the old church purchased by Father O'Connor, he sold it, and began the erection of a new church in '74 and completed it the following year. Father Kenny left in September of '75 and his place was temporarily filled by Rev J. A. Connelly until the advent of Rev. Charles H. Horan in November. The latter's ministrations lasted until May, 1881, when the Rev. David M. O'Donohoe took charge. This reverend gentleman found the situation far from pleasant; there was a debt of about $2,200 and the credit of the congregation was greatly impaired Endowed, however, with a resolute will he set about paying off the debt and cancelled a large portion of it in a short time.
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In October, 1883, an elevated plot of ground was purchased on the Oakland road for a consideration of $1,200. This land has been devoted to cemetery purposes and is under the control of the St. Joseph's Cemetery Association which was incorporated with the following original trustees: Rt. Rev. B. J. McQuaid, D.D., presi- dent; Rev. David M. O'Donohoe, vice-president; Hugh Riley, secretary ; James D. Kanaley, treasurer; James Bell, John Hickey, Patrick Hickey, John Lawler, Michael Grace.
In 1884, the contract for a new parsonage in the rear of the church was let to Michael Grace for $1,800, a modest sum for even those days. In 1898 the Morehouse dwelling and lot adjoining the church on the north were acquired, thus rounding off the church property to a harmonious whole on all sides. On November 5, 1905, the mortgage that had been held against the congregation for so long a time was publicly burned before the church doors and proved to be an event of great rejoicing to all concerned. Many other improvements were made during the administration of Father O'Donohoe, and when he died February 9, 1907, the church was not only in an excellent state of repair but was entirely free from any incumbrance whatever.
The pastorate of this reverend gentleman is also remarkable for its length of time, as it extended over a period of twenty-six years. He was a man of magnificent presence and an orator of singular ability and power, and his death was mourned by the entire village regardless of denomination. He is buried on the beautiful crest of St. Joseph's Cemetery among his people of Weedsport, whom he loved so well and whom he served so long and faithfully. After his demise the congregation was attended from Rochester until his successor assumed active charge, June 11, 1907.
Prominent among those who were actively connected with the church and who have likewise passed away are: Hugh Riley, John Lawlor and Michael Mccarthy.
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On January 1, 1908, the church had a membership of three hundred and fifty-seven : one hundred and twenty-nine women and one hundred and forty women and eighty-eight children.
Weedsport also has the rare distinction of being the birthplace of two priests active in the service of the church: Rev. James A. Hickey of Rochester and Rev. Francis Kanaley of Buffalo. It is an interesting coincidence that the present pastor is a classmate of the former and was the preacher at the first mass of the latter.
The present officers of the church are: Rev. Joseph J. Ruby, pastor; Messrs. James L. Kanaley and George D. Cusic, trustees; Messrs. John Connors and Edward Graney, ushers.
The cemetery officers are: Rt. Rev. B. J. McQuaid, D.D., presi- dent; Mr. James D. Kanaley, treasurer; Mr. John E. Lawler, secretary.
St. John's Episcopal Church was organized in 1866. Their house of worship was erected in 1868.
As a newspaper town Weedsport ranks well. Competition shun this staid old town for it knows that the printers here are "here to stay."
The Cayuga Chief was started June 16, 1867, by H. D. Brown & Co. Dr. Ira D. Brown one of the proprietors, who was editor-in- chief of the Oswego Daily Times for eight years, was editor until his death a decade ago. The paper still continues to be published.
The Weedsport Sentinel was started in 1867. George R. Nash became the publisher and proprietor in 1872. It is still published under the firm name of George Nash & Co.
While some of the other towns of Cayuga County enjoy the dis- tinction of having been the home of some of the great men of na- tional reputation, Weedsport enjoys the distinction of having been the home, in their younger days, of two of the smallest women of world wide reputation-Mrs. General "Tom Thumb" and Mrs. "Commodore Nutt," two midget sisters.
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We are informed by Mr. A. D. Putnam, son of the late Lewis Putnam of Brutus, a descendant of the original Putnam who took up a tract of six hundred and forty acres a mile square in the original town of Brutus, that these little midgets were members of the family of John Wood, who made Weedsport his home when not on the road with his midgets or his panorama of Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. Wood was the promotor of the "Cardiff Giant" humbug, also owner of Wood's Museum of Philadelphia. His remains lie here in our cemetery-were brought here from California some years ago.
CATO.
Cato was formed from Aurelius March 30, 1802; Sterling was taken off in 1812, and Conquest, Ira and Victory in 1821 ; a part of Ira was annexed in 1834. It lies on the east border of the county, north of the center and its surface it level in the south, and rolling in the north. The ridges run north and south, and rise about fifty feet down the valleys and one hundred and fifty to two hundred above Lake Ontario; Seneca River forms the south boundary. Cross Lake on the east border is a shallow sheet of water of about five miles long-Seneca River flows through it; Otter Lake and Parker's Pond in the north part discharge their waters into Seneca River. The soil is a sandy and gravelly loam, mixed with clay.
Meridian village, formerly "Cato Four Corners" in the north part, was incorporated October 17, 1854. It is situated near the north line and is two miles on the Southern Central Railroad, and eight miles north of Weedsport. It is a quiet, attractive and thrifty village of eight hundred inhabitants, with nicely shaded streets and good walks. It contains three churches, a district school, two hotels, machine shop and foundry, printing office, and a variety of mercantile establishments
Cato, an enterprising village of about six hundred inhabitants, is situated in the northwest part lying partly in this town and
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partly in Ira. It is on the Southern Central Railroad and is the natural center of fertile country, abounding in fruit, grain and other products. It has many elements of an attractive village. It contains three churches, a union school, several stores and manufactories.
CONQUEST.
Conquest was formed from Cato, March 16, - $21, and took its name in commemoration of the victory achiev by those favoring
a division of the town of Cato over those opposed it. It is situated on the west border of the cou; y rth of the center. The surface is rolling with north and ati Seneca River in the south part the land 1.
ridge ;. Along the arshy, and along the small stream that flows through Mud Pond is a swamp a quarter of a mile wide extending north and south. Duck Pond in the northwest is about a mile in diameter. Howland's Island in Seneca River contains 2,700 acre.,, one third of which is swampy and sub- merged during high water. The soil consists of a sandy loam intermixed with clay with underlying red shale.
George Snyder from Schoharie County, and Israel Wolverton from Tompkins County, were the first settle.s. Both settled in the year 1800. The former on lot 37, the latter on lot 4; other early settlers were James Perkins, from Onondaga County, on lot 3, Ephriam Witherill, from Tompkins County, on lot 4; Theophilis Emerson, on lot 27, and Clement B. Emerson, on lot 15, in 1802; Digar Wilcox from Saratoga County, on lot 74; William McCollum and John Crowell, from Newburgh, on lot 76 in 1805, and William Crowell, on lot 77, in 1807.
The first child born was Amos Wolverton in 1803; the first marriage that of Gilbert Perkins and Betsy Snyder, and the first death that of a traveller and stranger at Mosquito Point. The first school was taught by John Perkins at Conquest Centre, in 1807; A Mr. Twitchell erected the first sawmill, in 1808; and Abram
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Cherry the first grist mill in 1810. Ephraim Witherill kept the first inn, in 1803; Jonathan Davis the first store at Conquest Centre, in 1827. Cherry's grist mill was long known as the "Pepper Mill" from the fact that the first store was kept in it.
The settlers joined forces and made a large canoe capable of holding sixty bushels of grain and in this the entire grists of the neighborhood were carried to Springport by way of Seneca River there to be ground. It took four days to make the journey. In 1813, John Filkins took a load of wheat to Albany and was obliged to sell the wheat and one horse to get home. In 1804, John Filkins built the first house, sawing out all the lumber with a whip saw. The first church 'Protestant Methodist) was formed at Conquest Centre, in I. £ Reverend Joshua Beebe being the first settled pastor. Conquest intre, a small village, contains two churches and about forty d' ellings.
Spring Lake, formerly 1 own as Pineville, is an attractive little village of about two hundred inhabitants. It is pleasantly situated on Duck Lake Outlet who: is however of lit': . hydraulic im- portance.
Howland's Isl. . . , in So - River derive its name frot . Hum- phrey Howland who ach irec . : by buying soldiers' cosip and took possession of it about 1823. Revious to Howland's connection with it it was known as Walnut or Hickory " land, and was occupied and improved by families of "squaters named Stone, Spiller, Hyde, Butterfield, Campbell, Herrick, Woodward, Chaddock, Harris and Springstead, there being two families of the latter name. They had established themselves as a colony and built houses and a school supposing that no one owned the island. They were forced to yield to Howiand's superior claims, and, though each was paid something for the improvements made by him, they relinquished with reluctance the possessions which years of priva- tion and toil had secured, and which they had fondly hoped to leave as a heritage to their families. Harris, who was a minister, preached,
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taught school, did the cobbling and made himself a useful man of the island. On the death of Mr. Howland, his son Penn came into possession of the island and that, with hundreds of thousands of dollars besides, was soon squandered by improvidence and mis- management.
The property was sold on a mortgage in the spring of 1855 to Penn Howland's bondsman, Hiram Sibley of Rochester, who leased it for a term of years to S. B. Tyler, who at once began a thorough system of improvements. He took down over twenty miles of old and brokendown fences, removed old hedges, and dilapidated foundations; cleared, burned, ploughed and planted waste lands which were overgrown with bushes, and weeds; cut ditches over seven miles in length through the lowlands; built eight miles of new fence; and set maple trees on each side of the highway- adding six hundred acres more tillable land than when he com- menced work on the island. The temperature of the island from its insular position is some degrees higher and vegetation some days earlier than in the surrounding towns. Exactly in the center of the island is a circular basin covering an area of about fifty acres and lying about six feet above the river bottom, remarkable for the prolificness of its soil.
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