History of Cayuga County, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 82

Author: Storke, Elliot G., 1811-1879. cn
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 762

USA > New York > Cayuga County > History of Cayuga County, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 82

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MERCIIANTS. - Prominent among the early merchants at Levanna were Samuel Allen, (who afterwards removed to Canandaigua, where he was also engaged in mercantile business,) Eras- tus Spalding, George Rathbun, Gardner Chides- ter, (who commenced about 1836 and sold in 1838 to Benjamin Wade,) Samuel Ayres, Garret VanSickle, (who sold to Seth Swift,) and John L. Howe, most of whom remained but a short time.

The present merchants are Otis Howe and L. B. Bowen, the latter of whom, a native of the town, commenced April Ist, 1878. Otis Howe, who came in from Scipio, has carried on mercan- tile business here since 1841, with the exception of five years spent in California.

POSTMASTERS .- The post-office at Levanna was established in the winter of 1834, with Gard- ner Chidester as postmaster. He held the office until 1838, when Seneca Boyce was appointed. He was succeeded by Otis Howe, who held it several years, when Seneca Boyce was again ap- pointed. John L. Howe next held the office and was succeeded, first by his father Otis Howe, and afterwards by John Ellis, who still holds the office.

LEDYARD.

Ledyard is situated in the south-east part of the town, on the line between Ledyard and Ven- ice, and lies partly within the two towns. It is distant two miles north of Northville. It con- tains one church, (M. E.) a district school, a store, two blacksmith shops, (kept by James H. Brightman and Albert Mason,) a carriage shop, (kept by Henry Purdy,) and a population of six- ty-two. This place was originally called Capins Corners, and later, Talcotts Corners from early

merchants named Capin and Talcott. It is still known by the latter name.

MERCHANTS .- The first merchant at Ledyard was Philip, or Aaron Capin, father-in-law of Benjamin Avery, Jr., who opened a store about, or soon after, 1800. He was succeeded by Rich- ard Talcott, who commenced shortly before the war of 1812, and did business here a good many years. Lewis Seymour and Isaac Jacobs did business a few years ; also Mosher & Divine, previous to 1831, about which time they sold to Alfred Avery, son of Benjamin Avery, Jr., who carried on mercantile business here a great many years, till about 1865. Abner Chapman, from Boston, did business two or three years previ- ous to Mosher & Divine. Jonathan Proud and Sidney Mosher commenced business about 1867, and continued till 1870, when Thomas P. Peck- ham bought Proud's interest. In April, 1876, Peckham & Mosher sold to L. E. Hinckley and Wm. H. Avery, who continued till April, 1878, when Thomas P. Peckham bought Avery's in- terest. The business is now conducted under the firm name of Peckham & Hinckley.

POSTMASTERS .- The first postmaster at Led- yard was probably Thomas Mosher or Charles Divine, who held the office but a few years, and was succeeded by George Meacham, father of Dr. Isaac J. Meacham. Alfred Avery next held the office till 1866, April Ist of which year, Chas, D. Avery, the present incumbent, was appointed.

PHYSICIANS .-- The first physician at Ledyard was Dr. Consider King, a native of Rochester, Mass., who practiced here from 1805 to 1837. In 1846 he removed to Wisconsin, and died there August 19th, 1848. He was a surgeon of some notoriety and was called on to perform nearly all the difficult operations in this section of country. Isaac J. Meacham practiced one year, in 1843, and removed to Nunda.

CHURCHES .- Meetings were held by members of the Methodist denomination as early as 1820, and continued till 1833, when the First M. E. Church of Ledyard was organized. W. Cameron is the first pastor whose name appears on the records, in 1835. He was succeeded in the pas- torate by John Watson, in 1836-'38 ; Sylvester Minier, in 1838 ; S. Minier and S. C. Phinney, 1839-'40; Wm. W. Rundal and P. G. Bridgman, 1840; Wm. W. Rundal and A. Hamilton, 1841; Hiram E. Luther, 1842-'3 ; Jonathan Worthing,

* This paper was denominated the " Levanna Gazette ; or Onon- daga Advertiser." An early copy is preserved in the archives of the Cayuga County Historical Society. The earliest which has come un- der our observation is No. 23 of Vol. I., and is dated Wednesday, Nov. 21st, 1798.

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TOWN OF LEDYARD.

1844; Sylvester H. Brown, 1845-'6; Benajah Mason, 1847; Lewis G. Weaver, 1848-'9; Be- najah Mason, 1850; Alonzo Wood, 1851 '2 ; J. W. Pratt, 1853; Doctor Lamkin, 1854-'5 ; Wm. N. Cobb, 1856-'7 ; Sylvester Minier, 1858-'9; Thomas D. Wire, 1860-'1; Albert Ensign, 1862-'3 ; Samuel T. Tackabury, 1864; Reuben C. Fox, 1865-'7 ; Ellis D. Thurston, 1868-'9 ; Elias Hoxie, 1870-'71 ; Phineas H. Wiles, 1872-'3 ; Richard H. Clark, 1875-'7. The pres- ent pastor is Francis M. Warner, who commenced his labors with this church in October, 1877. This charge includes the church at Bell Corners or West Genoa.

The present number of members is 141. The number attending Sabbath School is 100; the average attendance being fifty.

The first church edifice erected by this society is now occupied as a carriage and blacksmith shop ; the second was burned February 8th, 1873; the present one was built and dedicated in 1875. The church is valued at $7,000; and the parson- age at $2,000.

BLACK ROCK.

About one and one-half miles from the south line of the town, and midway between its east and west bounds, is a place known as Black Rock, which derives its name from the color of the shale rock, over which the waters of Paines Creek are poured, with a perpendicular fall of nearly eighty feet, into the gorge below. About 1800, a Mr. Anway built in the gorge below the falls, a grist-mill, small in dimensions, but suffi- cient at the time for the demands upon it. Soon, however, with the rapid increase of settlers, it proved inadequate, and the mill now in use, standing upon the east side, near the brink of the falls, was built and a dam raised above the falls. He also built a saw-mill upon the west bank of the stream. This after a few years ser- vice, together with the dam and the highway bridge were carried over the falls by a freshet, demolishing and carrying with them the little mill below. The saw-mill, dam and bridge were rebuilt, and about 1816, a small furnace was erected and put in operation by Jedediah Mor- gan and John Harris. About the same time or soon after, Anthony Squires opened a store, but how long he continued the business we are un- able to state. Other parties since his time have carried on the business at different periods.

Seth Swift erected the first frame dwelling, which is still standing and doing service as such. He also built a blacksmith shop, which has its repre- sentative at the present time. A man named Hall had a chair factory there, but it, like its owner, fulfilled its mission and passed away.

The mill and the blacksmith shop are the sole representatives of the various branches of busi- ness carried on there when Black Rock was in its glory. Mr. Anway sold the mill property to the late Eleazer Carter, who, after using it sev- eral years, sold it to David Thomas, who to ac- commodate the increasing business, built anoth- er mill about ten rods north, and a little lower down the bank of the gorge, using the water from the first mill. He also built and operated a dis- tillery some twelve or fifteen rods south-east of the mill now standing. He subsequently resold the property to Mr. Carter, who, after a time, in consequence of mills having been built at Genoa. Union Springs, and other places, and his increas- ing age and infirmities, which rendered it undesira- ble to keep the whole establishment in running order, removed the north mill, or one last erected, to the shore of the lake, where it has since been used as a warehouse. For the same reason the distillery was either removed or suffered to go down. He finally sold the remaining grist and saw-mill to Reuben Smith, in March, 1849. In August, 1854, Mr. Smith sold the property to Joseph R. Swift, who, in March, 1855, sold it to Nelson King. King sold it to Reuben Smith, April Ist, 1859, and ten years from that date Smith sold it to James Glanister,who held it till his death in 1874. In 1875, it was sold on foreclos- ure of mortgage to Elijah Anthony, E. T. Brown and James B. Smith. Before the mill was put in operation Messrs. Brown and Smith sold their interest to Mr. Anthony, who afterward sold an interest to Slocum Howland. The foreclosure sale was the beginning of a new era for the old mill. When repairs on it were commenced, it was found to be so completely dilapidated that no portion of it could be utilized, except those old French burr stones, which made the Black Rock mills so famous long years ago, and everything has been made anew and modernized. A new ten inch Little Giant turbine wheel, with a head of from seventy-five to eighty feet, drives the machinery.

Messrs. Howland & Anthony have found it necessary to build a twenty feet addition to the

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TOWN OF SCIPIO.

south end for storage for custom work. They contemplate the erection of a new and strong dam, a saw-mill adjoining the grist-mill, and the addition of an engine to be relied on when the water fails in summer time .*

WAR OF THE REBELLION. -- Ledyard's share in the war of the Rebellion is one of which she may justly feel proud. She poured out her blood and treasure with lavish hand upon the altar of Liberty-in aid of her stricken country, and the names of her fallen heroes are beautifully and appropriately enshrined on a copper tablet upon the walls of the Presbyterian church of Aurora. The tablet was designed by Russell Stergis, of New York, and the gift of Colonel E. B. Morgan. It was dedicated September 6th, 1872. It bears this inscription :

" In Memory of Soldiers of Ledyard, who died in Battle or in Hospital during the War for the Union, A. D. 1861 -A. D. 1865, that their Fatherland might live.

" Daniel Abbott, Edward Peto,

David A. Baker,

Peter Quackenbush,

Wm. H. Barnes,

Peter Quackenbush, Jr.,

Patrick Barry,

Martin Roe,

James Benedict,

George Runnel.

Sylvester Brightman,

Ansel Basset Smith,

Andrew J. Carey,

Chas. Frederick Smith,

Wilson E. Cowan,

Horace Walworth Smith,

Seward Dean,

Wm. Henry Fowler,

Wm. Nelson Smith, Cornelius Sullivan, Richard Tierney, Jonathan Van Derip,

Samuel J. Halstead,

Abraham Vreeland,

John L. Jones,

George Webster, -

Dier Moreland, 1 George West,

Rufus Myers,

·James West,

Charles F. Nye,

John Shurer Winters,

Wm. Henry Patchin."

CHAPTER XLVI.

TOWN OF SCIPIO.

S CIPIO was one of the old townships of the Military Tract and was formed March 5th, 1794, deriving its name from a Roman General. It originally embraced Sempronius, which was taken off March 9th, 1799 ; a part of Marcellus,

Onondaga county, set off in 1804 ; and the towns of Ledyard, Venice and a part of Springport, which were set off January 30th, 1823. It lies south of the center of the County, upon the west shore of Owasco Lake, which forms its eastern boundary. It is bounded on the north by Fleming, on the south by Venice, and on the west by Springport and Ledyard.

The surface is rolling, its highest elevations being 500 feet above the lake. A steep bluff twenty to fifty feet high borders the lake, and the land slopes gradually upward from its summit for about a mile. Its waters are the headwaters of numerous small streams, the principal of which are Salmon Creek, flowing to the south, Crain Creek to the north, Great Gully Brook to the west, and Yawger Creek to the north-west. Numerous little rivulets course down the castern slope to the lake, some of them cutting deep gullies in the shaly rocks and forming beautiful cascades. These streams furnish numerous mill sites in their course, but they are inconstant in their supply, being subject to the influence of drouths.

The soil is a highly productive sandy and gravelly loam, intermixed with clay. It is un- derlaid by limestone, which crops out north of Scipio Center, but is nowhere quarried in the town, we believe, except on the, farm of Jacob Post, about three-fourths of a mile north of the center, from which stone for the railroad culverts was obtained. The ledge extends about a mile north and south. Slate and some limestone are exposed in the railroad cutting on the shore of Owasco Lake. It is an excellent agricultural town.

The population of the town in 1875 was 1,917 ; of whom 1,594 were native ; 323 foreign ; 1,911 white ; and 6 colored. Its area is 22,503 acres; of which 20,206 are improved, and 2,279 woodland.

The Utica, Ithaca and Elmira Railroad, now operated as a branch of the Midland Railroad, enters the town from the south, and, following the line of the old Auburn & New York survey, terminates at Scipio Summit, about a half milc north of Bolts Corners. The Southern Central extends through the east border of the town, along the shore of the lake.

The settlement of the town by the whites was begun in 1790, probably by Henry Watkins, who

* We are indebted to an author unknown to us for the facts given in the sketch of Black Rock.

David Abbott Gifford,

Henry Nelson Gifford, James Gray,

James Redman,

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TOWN OF SCIPIO.

left Granville, Washington county, in the fall of that year, with knapsack on his back, and after a journey of ten days arrived at Cayuga Lake, when he proceeded to lot 27, in this town, border- , ing on the east line of the Cayuga Reservation, near Scipioville, arriving there September 10th, 1790. He erected a log house, the first built in this section, and returned east, stopping on the way at Albany to enter his lot in the land office. He returned here the latter part of the following March with his family, all of whom are now dead. One son and two daughters lie in the grave-yard west of Scipioville ; the other two sons sleep on the prairies of Illinois, where they settled with their families forty-five year ago. Mr. Watkins subsequently deeded to his son-in-law, Wm. Allen, the 150 acres now owned by Samuel Sear- ing ; to his son Henry, Jr., the 150 acres now owned by the family of Charles Searing ; and to Peter Watkins, the 150 acres owned by Benj. Gould, Jr. He retained possession of the rest of the lot till his death, at the age of eighty-four, when it passed into the hands of Samuel Wat- kins, who died January 28th, 1855, aged seventy- five, and is now occupied by L. W. and R. B. Watkins.

Near where he built his log house was a clear- ing of four or five acres, surrounded by wild plum, crab annla ard' other apple trees, one of which measured twelve feet in circumference and stood till within a few years, when it was blown down. This clearing, which was a little north- west of L. W. Watkins' buildings, is supposed, from the human bones and numerous Indian relics found there, to have been an Indian bury- ing ground. These relics consist of beads, bot- tles, brass kettles and crosses and guns. About sixty years ago, over 700 beads, composed of glass, stone, pearl and amber, and of various forms and sizes, were disclosed by the plow, and are now in the possession of Jared E. Watkins. Mr. G. L. Watkins, a merchant of Scipioville, and grandson of Henry Watkins, has in his pos- session a brass Latin cross found in this locality forty years ago. It is three inches long and two inches between the extremities of the arms, and was evidently worn suspended from the neck or waist, as the upper end is perforated as if designed to receive a cord or chain. Upon one side of the upright portion of the cross is a figure of the Virgin Mary with a child in her arms ; diagon-

ally across this also, and above the arms, are the letters I. N. R. I. Upon the left arm is the in- scription B. VIR. SIN., and below it, ORIGINI .; and upon the right one, PECATA., and below that the word CONCEP. On the reverse side of the upright portion is a figure of Christ cruci- fied ; over his head is the image of a dove, and under the feet the representation of a skull and cross-bones. This field has been plowed the en- tire eighty-seven years, with the exception of two, when it was seeded.

Gideon Allen, and possibly Ebenezer Witter, the latter of whom accompanied Roswell Frank- lin in his settlement at Aurora, came in the same year. Gideon Allen was a cousin of Ethan Al- len, and came from Washington county. He settled a little south-west of Scipioville, where his grandson, Lemuel Allen, now lives. He af- terwards bought the farm in Springport now oc- cupied by Ethan Allen, another grandson, where he died, aged 97. Justus Allen, his son, was a prominent man in the town. In 1806, he bought the tannery built by Israel Busby, a very early settler, in 1797, and carried on the tanning and currying business a number of years. He was supervisor of the town two years. He died April 8th, 1845, aged 69, and was succeeded in the tanning business by his son Lemuel, who still continues it at the age of seventy, in the same old building. Betsey, wife of Jacob Post, is the only other grandchild living in the town. Martha Ann, wife of Lebeus Barton, living at Union Springs, is another grandchild. Busby was doubtless the first tanner in this section of country. He died March 4th, 1811, aged 51. He left two daughters, Jerusha, wife of Truman Van Tassel, of Syracuse, and Maria, who died young and single.

Ebenezer Witter* settled a half mile east of Scipio Center, near where John Akin now lives. He was a Revolutionary soldier, and took up a soldier's claim. None of his family are living. The last one, the youngest daughter, who mar- ried a man named Ames, died a few years since in Moravia.

Elisha Durkee, who also accompanied Franklin in his settlement at Aurora, came to Scipio in 1791, and settled a quarter of a mile north of

* One authority consulted says he settled a mile west of Scipio Center, where Jeremiah Simons now lives, and was succeeded on the same place by his son Ebenezer, who died there.

MOUNT PLEASANT." RES. OF ELONDO GREENFIELD. MORAVIA, CAYUGA Co N.Y.

MỘT

RESIDENCE OF ISAAC JUMP. TOWN OF SCIPIO CAYUGA CO. N.Y.

419

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

Bolts Corners. The old house in which he lived and died is still standing. He died at an early day, about 1816. His family consisted of Betsey, who was born a little south of Levanna, in Led- yard, December 5th, 1790, and was the first white child born in the town, and probably the first in the county, and who married a man named Sweetland, with whom she removed from the town ; Armarilla, afterwards wife of Joseph Jack- son ; Cynthia, afterwards wife of Roswell Ben- nett ; Amanda, afterwards wife of Cyrus Allen ; Lucinda, afterwards wife of Reuben Weed ; and Welthy, Anna, Sarah, Gore and Augustus, the latter of whom is the only one living-in · Michigan.

Samuel Phelps, from Connecticut, came in soon after Watkins and settled at Sherwood. His log house stood a little in the rear of the house now occupied by S. W. Green. He afterwards built the north end of Green's house, and died there. His children were Samuel, Erastus, Seth, Orpha, widow of Joshua Hill, who is the only one liv- ing, aged about ninety, and another daughter who married Joel Shemar.

Squire Gilbert and Captain Alanson Tracy, cousins, came in from Pittsfield, Mass., in 1793. Gilbert settled first near Scipioville, and after- wards at Bolts Corners, which was for some time known as Tracy's Corners from him, but it sub- sequently acquired the former name from a fam- ily named Bolt, who settled there between 1815 and '20, and kept tavern there several years. One of the family, Augustus Bolt, is living a half mile north of Daniels Corners. Gilbert subse- quently removed to Venice, where he died about 1842. Philander Tracy, a son of Gilbert's, went to Grand Rapids when young, and died there a few years ago. Seneca, another son, also moved west. Two of his children are living, viz: Kes- ter, in Chautauqua county, and Ezra, in Ohio. Alanson settled a half mile east of Sherwood, where his son Calvin, who was born here in 1810, now lives. Clinton, a son of Alanson's, moved to Ohio. Alanson was a man of great prowess, energy and perseverance. It is related of him that once while upon a bear hunt, seeing a companion in imminent danger of being em- braced by a bear, he jumped astride the back of the bear, which was standing erect upon his hind feet, and seizing him by the ears, rode him until his bearship was clubbed to death. He died in

1852, aged 81. In this year, (1793) on the 25th of June, the first marriage in the town took place. The contracting parties were Wm. Allen and Betsey Watkins.

An important acquisition was made to the lit- tle settlement in 1794, in the person of Elder David Irish, who it is said, preached that year the first Evangelical gospel sermon known to have been preached in the County .* Elder Irish was born in Paulington, Dutchess county, December 2Ist, 1757. At the age of seventeen he became converted, was baptized and united with the Church. He subsequently made some prepara- tion for the ministry, and preached his first ser- mon December 21st, 1787, the day he was thirty years old. He was ordained in 1789, and after laboring three years in Eastern New York, re- moved with his family to Scipio in 1794, at which time there was neither church nor minister of any denomination, not only within the limits of this County, but that vast fertile section of the State, now so populous and thrifty, west of the counties of Oneida and Chenango. Wondrous has been the transformation within the brief period of eighty-four years, a period covered by the lives of many who are now living. Elder Irish came immediately from Stillwater, and set- tled at Scipio Center, on the west half of lot 23. His house stood directly opposite the present Baptist church in that village, on whose site he was the first settler, but was joined in the spring of 1795 by Major Josiah Buck, who took up the east half of that lot. He commenced at once the practice of his vocation, holding religious services in the houses of that sparsely settled neighbor- hood, and later in the log school-house, the first one in the original town of Scipio, which stood on the site of the widow Perkins' house, a mile north of Scipio Center, on the lot which Joel Coe took up in 1795. In 1801, he exchanged farms with his brother-in-law, Nathaniel Olney who came from Stillwater about that time and settled three miles south of Auburn, in the town of Fleming. Irish, who served the First Church

* History of the Cayuga Baptist Association, 1851. Though we are not prepared to deny the accuracy of this statement, there is good reason to question it. It is seen that Elder Irish did not come to this County until 1794. There is documentary evidence to show that Aaron Kinne, a missionary, who was the first to preach at the settlements in Genoa, performed a marriage ceremony in November, 1793, near the Northville settlements, and although we are not able to assert positively that he preached there at that time, it is highly probable that he did.

71-2

420

TOWN OF SCIPIO.

in Scipio as pastor from 1794 to 1800, having received a call from the first Church in Aurelius, now Fleming, removed to Fleming and continued his pastorate of that Church till his death Sep- tember 13th, 1815.

Olney moved on the farm vacated by Elder Irish, but removed west with his family a great many years ago. His children were Benjamin, Nathan, Hiram, Nathaniel and Elizabeth, after- wards wife of Eliakim Brown, none of whom are living. John O'Hara came from Saratoga coun- ty in 1794, and settled where his grandson, John, now lives.

Judge Seth Sherwood, from Vermont, settled about 1794 or '5, at the corners which perpetuate his name. He bought 200 acres and erected a log house. He soon after built a frame house, which stood on the site of S. W. Green's tailor shop, which was afterwards used as a tavern, and in the upper part of which, in 1804, the jail was established and the courts held one year.

Sherwood seems to have shared in common with other localities the ambition to be the Coun- ty seat, and succeeded in its rival claims to the extent of being selected as such in 1804, by John Tillottson, Augustus Chidsey and John Grover, Jr., who were appointed commissioners to locate the County seat. But this distinction was of short duration. The other contestants could not accept this even as a compromise dis- position of the matter ; and Sherwood was shorn of its glory March 16th, 1805, when the law by which it was established was revoked, and Hon. Edward Savage of Washington county, Hon. James Burt of Orange county, both then State Senators, and Hon. James Hildreth of Mont- gomery county, were appointed to select a new location. The jail was established in the east room ; and the bars placed across its two win- dows, which faced the east, remained there till 1845, when the building was torn down. The bars were subsequently worked up into horse- shoes.

Judge Sherwood's family consisted of his wife, (second, who was a sister of Dr. Bennett at the Half Acre,) and three children, Samuel, Seth and Mary, afterwards wife of Dr. Perley Kinney, who came in from Connecticut as early as 1797, and settled near Sherwood. His children by his second wife were, Belvia, afterwards wife of

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History of Cayuga County, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 82

Author: Storke, Elliot G., 1811-1879. cn Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason Number of Pages: 762

Author: Storke, Elliot G., 1811-1879. cn
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 762