History of Chautauqua County, New York : from its first settlement to the present time : with numerous biographical and family sketches, Part 31

Author: Young, Andrew W. (Andrew White), 1802-1877; Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation. fmo; Huntington Free Library. fmo
Publication date: 1875
Publisher: Buffalo, N.Y. : Printing House of Matthews & Warren
Number of Pages: 948

USA > New York > Chautauqua County > History of Chautauqua County, New York : from its first settlement to the present time : with numerous biographical and family sketches > Part 31

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).

Jacob Adams, from Massachusetts, about 1845, settled on lot 42. His wife was a sister of Luther Forbish. Their sons were : Hiram and Joseph, who live in town; Cyrus, who died in the late war ; and Ira, who died a few years ago in Carroll.

In the north part of the town, Moses Taft, from New England, settled in Carroll on Case creek, and was one of a company owning a mill, the lowest erected on that stream. He afterwards removed to Michigan. Case creek derived its name from - Case, a pioneer on the east side of the Conne-

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HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY.

wango, and a brother of Laban Case. He built a shanty, and made a small improvement on the shore of the Connewango; but the agent of the Holland Company refused to sell him the land ; and he was compelled to abandon it.

Hiram Thayer, from Hampshire Co., Mass., came to Jamestown in 1819, and to this town in 1820. In 1829 he bought a part of lot 39, where he has resided till the present time. He married Mary Eames, and has had 9 children : John M., who was married to Margaret Cowen, and resides in Nebraska ; Isaac W., to Lucy Cowen ; Mary Ann, to Wm. Mahan, and lives in Penn. ; Lois Eliza, who died at 21, unmarried ; Hiram E., who was mar- ried to Mary Lawson, and lives in town ; Sibyl B., to Wm. H. H. Fenton, Jr. ; Ellen M., to Emery Davenport, Poland ; Orris E., to Emma Markham; and Frank E.

Veron Eaton, from Vermont, about 1823, settled 172 miles north-east from Frewsburgh, where he now resides, at the age of 77. His children were : Judson, who died at about 29; Pauline; Elizabeth, wife of Edwin Curtis, both deceased ; Martha, wife of Ebenezer Thornton ; Mary ; and Sarah, killed by lightning, at the age of 24.

Dutee Herrington settled early on lot 32, and has long owned a saw-mill on Case's run. Orsino Comstock settled on lot 31, and died there, leaving two sons : Butler, who has removed to Minn .; and Philo, who lives in Frewsburgh. Another son, Asa, *

* Goodin Staples settled early in the north-east part of the town, on lot 8. His sons, Goodin and Elisha, reside there. John Bragg settled in that part of the town where his sons Joshua, Joseph, Isaac, and James reside. Richard Hiller settled on lot 30. His sons were : Jedediah, John, Alexander, and Nicholas. Jedediah resides in Pennsylvania ; the others, in town.

John Townsend settled near the center of the town, and bought the saw- mill previously built by Reuben and John Thayer. He subsequently rebuilt the mill, which is now owned by his son Samuel. Another son, William, lives with his mother in the neighborhood. The father is not living.

Christopher Whitman, a member of the Society of Friends, settled where his son Arthur now resides, near the center of the town. Another son, Dexter, resides in Frewsburgh.

The first town meeting was held at the house of Wm. Sears, March 6, 1826, [now in Kiantone,] and the following named officers were elected:

Supervisor-James Hall. Town Clerk-John Frew. Assessors-James Parker, Levi Davis, James Frew. Commissioners of Highways-E. Kidder, Geo. W. Fenton, Simeon C. Davis. Overseers of Poor-E. Kidder, Geo. W. Jones. Collector-Asa Moore. Constables-Asa Moore, Hiram Dickerson. Commissioners of Schools-John Frew, James Hall, James Parker. In- spectors of Schools-Wm. Sears, Simeon Covell, Levi Davis. Pound-keepers- Geo. W. Fenton, Wm. Sears.

Supervisors from 1826 to 1875.

James Hall, 1826 to '33, and 1839-9 years. James Parker, 1834 to '37,

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and 1856, '57-6 years. Esbai Kidder, 1838. Phineas Spencer, 1840. Judiah E. Budlong, 1841. Gordon Swift, 1842, '43, '44. John Frew, 1845. Reuben E. Fenton, 1846 to '52-7 years. Edwin Eaton, 1853, '73. Wm. H. H. Fenton, 1854, 1865 to '71-8 years. Charles L. Norton, 1855, 1858 to '64-8 years. Lucius M. Robertson, 1872. Wm. Sheldon, '74. Albert Fox, 1875.

Perhaps no other township in the county has had so many saw-mills in operation at the same time, as that which constitutes the town of Carroll. We find on the county may of 1854, the names of five proprietors of mills on the small stream which rises in the south-east part of the town, and enters the Connewango creek near Fentonville. Within about a mile above Fenton- ville were the mills of L. Forbush, D. Wiltsie, J. Brokaw, another the owner of which is not named, and S. Smith's mill near the head of the stream. On Frew's run was Frew's saw-mill, near the Connewango. Above this were James Wheeler's, Otis Moore's, Job Toby's, John Myers, Jr.'s, John Town- send's, Henry Bennett's, James Frew's, N. Gavit's, Cowen's, and one or two others. Also Hugh A. Frew's flouring-mill, at Frewsburgh. On Case run, in the north and north-east part of the town, were the mills of Smith Cass, D. Harrington, G. W. Fenton, Jr., J. & C. Pope, Charles Pope; and on branches of the stream, the mills of A. Comstock and L. Cowen. There was also, in the north-east corner of the town, a steam saw-mill owned by Franklin Baker-the whole number being between twenty and twenty-five. Probably all were not running so late as twenty years ago. And by the diminution of water and timber, the number has been greatly diminished ; the number at present in operation has not been ascertained.

Jefferson Frew started a steam saw-mill at Frewsburgh about 2 years ago, which is now in operation. About 750,000 feet of lumber are made in a year at this mill, and run down the river.

Edward Hayward and Edwin Moore established, in 1872, a hand-sled fac- tory, and made, in two years, about 18,000 sleds, and then converted it into a stave-mill-the staves to be used for butter packages and kegs, for shipping to the eastern market. They have made about 800,000 the past year. This factory was begun by Moore, Spink & Co. Edwin Eaton bought it in the spring of 1874; and Edward W. Scowden stocks the mill, and hires the pro- prietors to manufacture the staves, and will probably keep up the amount manufactured.

Wood & White established a stave-factory about 1868 or 1869; ran it a few years ; then [1872] rented it to Scowden, who ran it about 2 years, [to the fall of '74], making about 600,000 staves the first year, and 700,000 the next. April 14, 1875, it was destroyed by fire.

A firkin-stave factory was started in 1864 or '65, by Edward Hayward. In 1871, it was bought by John, Jr., and Henry Myers, and converted into a manufactory for barrel staves, and is now in operation.

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HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL.

GEORGE W. FENTON was born in Hanover, N. H., Dec. 20, 1873. In 1804, he left Broadalbin, N. Y., where his father had settled, and traveled to Pittsburgh, then a small village, and thence down the Ohio on an exploring tour to Louisville, Ky. He returned to Pittsburgh, and commenced trading in goods and provisions, in a canoe, up the Allegany river and French creek, which business he followed two or three years. In the winter of 1805-6, he taught a school at Warren, Pa., the first ever taught there. He there married Elsie Owen, who was born in Lunenburg, N. Y., July 8, 1790. He is said to have removed to his new log cabin on the south side of the outlet of Chautauqua lake, in the spring of 1807, where the only settlers on the outlet were William Wilson and James Culbertson, who were on the north side. In 1809, he sold his farm, and removed to lot 52, on the east side of the Connewango. [The date of the purchase of this land was March, 1810.] Mr. Fenton died March 3, 1860. His widow died Feb. 26, 1875. Their children were : 1. Roswell O., who married Lenora Akin, and had 4 sons and 4 daughters ; Mr. Fenton deceased. 2. George W., Jr., who married Mitta Howard, and has 2 sons and 4 daughters. 3. William H. H., who married Catherine Edmonds, and has a son, William H. H., Jr., and had 4 daughters, of whom one died in infancy. 4. John F., who married Maria Woodward, and is deceased ; he had 3 sons and 5 daughters ; one of the sons died in infancy. 5. Reuben E., [see sketch, Hist. of Jamestown.]

HUGH FREW was born in Killyleagh, county of Down, Ireland, about 1758, and was married to Mary Russell, in the same place, in 1787. They sailed from Belfast, Ireland, in May, 1794, and arrived at Wilmington, Ches- ter Co., Pa., in June. Mr. Frew was very poor when he landed. He worked at ditching the first six months, at $4 a month ; and his wife supported the family by spinning flax on the little wheel. With the money received for the six months' wages, he bought a cow, which died before he had taken from her a single mess of milk. He removed to Dansville, North Branch of Susquehanna, Pa. Being a miller, as the Frews had been by occupation for generations, he obtained a situation in a grist-mill with three run of stones, at $8 a month. In 1800, the family emigrated through the wilderness, up the Sinemahoning creek to the head of the Allegany, and down the Allegany to Warren, and up the Connewango to Beech Woods, now Farmington, Pa., where they located and endured great hardships. There was not then a white settler in Chautauqua county. Hugh Frew and his wife and sons, after their arrival in August, cleared 5 acres of land and sowed it with wheat the first fall, by working day and night. The father and sons, John and James, cleared up a farm, built a grist-mill, and were in comfortable circumstances. David, the only other, and the youngest son, died soon after landing at Wil- mington. John and James subsequently settled in Carroll. The family finally sold the farm in Pennsylvania, and all removed to Frewsburgh. Hugh Frew died there in December, 1831, aged 73. [See Russell Family.]

JOHN FREW, son of Hugh, was born in Killyleagh, Ireland, Aug. 2, 1789,

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and emigrated with his father to America, and to Farmington, Pa. [See sketch of Hugh Frew.] In 1809, John Frew bought an interest in lands on the east side of the Connewango, in the present town of Carroll, at Frews- burgh, where he erected mills with Thomas Russell. His brother James purchased the interest of Thomas Russell. They built mills, cleared farms, and prospered. John Frew helped Edward Work build his saw-mill on the outlet of Chautauqua lake. He said he commenced sawing for Work on his mill, May 8, 1809, and worked through the summer. From the plank he sawed, 12 salt-boats were made to take salt down the outlet and the Allegany to Pittsburgh. Much salt was taken down in the fall of 1809. John and James Frew and Thomas Russell erected their saw-mill at the mouth of Frew's run, on the east side of the Connewango, in 1811. In or about the year 1814, Russell sold his interest to the Frews, who erected near the saw-mill a grist-mill from the remains of the old grist-mill in Pennsyl- vania, in 1817; their father being concerned with them. It was an overshot mill and did much grinding, and was tended by their father. John and James Frew had all their property in common; and no jealousy ever ap- peared to exist between them. They were, however, advised to divide their property to prevent difficulty in their families in case of the death of either of them. This was amicably done not long before the death of James, who was killed at the raising of a building. In 1816, John Frew was elected supervisor of the town of Ellicott, [then embracing Carroll,] and was con- tinued in that office by reelection until 1822, inclusive, after which he de- clined a reelection. He was appointed a judge and justice in 1820, which offices he declined. He is said to have been a man of sound judgment and strict integrity, and a friend and liberal patron of the early improvements of the county. Having lived to see the wilderness become a well cultivated country, and the site of his residence in Carroll a prosperous village bearing his own name, he closed his life in September, 1865, aged 76 years.

JAMES FREW, second son of Hugh, was born in Killyleagh, Ireland, about 1791, and was married to Rebecca, daughter of Josiah H. Wheeler, of Frewsburgh. Mr. Frew resided in Frewsburgh until his death. He was killed in assisting to raise a building, by the falling of a bent, which struck him on the back of the neck. He died August 24, 1834, aged 43 years. While in partnership with John, he seemed to choose managing business at home, and having his brother attend to business out of town. He was disinclined to hold any public office, though he was once prevailed on to accept the office of assessor. He was out in one campaign with Gen. Harrison's army in the war of 1812, and endured great hardships and privations at Maumee, River Raisin, etc. He was known as a superior marksman with a rifle. He had 5 sons: John H., Miles, Josiah, Jefferson, and David.

RUFUS GREENE, born in Amherst, Mass., removed from Vermont to what is now Kiantone, in 1827 ; thence, after three years, to this town, on lot 51, near the Connewango, on the farm owned by the late Roswell O. Fenton. Mr. Greene was for many years a justice of the peace. He had 6 children :

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HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY.

Eunice N., wife of Horatio N. Thornton; Mary, wife of Albert M. Thornton ; Sarah, who married Wm. Corkins, and is deceased; Lutheria, who married Perrin Sampson, and lives at Springville, Erie Co., N. Y., with whom her mother now resides; Emily, wife of Henry W. Sampson, South Valley, Catt. Co .; Rufus, Jr., who married Kate L. Gould, and removed, in 1871, to Newell, Buena Vista Co., Iowa. Rufus Greene died Jan., 1868.

JOSEPH WAITE, the eldest son of Silas Waite, was born in Wardsborough, Vt., July 4, 1787, and was married, Oct. 17, 1811, to Olive Davis, who was born in the same town, Sept. 16, 1786. She was related to the Davises in Kiantone and Busti. Mr. Waite was a thorough "Green Mountaineer," over six feet high, and weighed about 250 pounds. The town was rough and mountainous, and his parents were poor. His advantages for education were very limited. He learned to write on birch bark. He learned at school simply to read, write, and cypher. He learned the trade of saddle and har- ness-making, and carried it on for a brief period. He was appointed a deputy sheriff in his native county; and, by attending courts, he acquired a taste for the law business. In 1816, he came with his wife, two children, and his worldly goods, in a two-horse wagon, to the south part of Chautauqua county, the journey occupying six weeks. He purchased the " betterments" on a small farm in Carroll, where he passed through the usual experiences of early pioneer life. He went into the lumbering business, in which he was very unsuccessful. The landing on the Connewango where he drew, with ox-teams, his logs and shingles, is still called "Waite's Landing." Being unfitted for manual labor, by reason of a rupture, he turned to the profession of law. He moved to Jamestown in 1821, and commenced the study in his 35th year, and practiced his profession there about 30 years. He attained a respectable standing at the bar, and served in the offices of justice, district- attorney, examiner in chancery, supreme court commissioner, and county superintendent of the poor, and performed the duties of these offices with general acceptance. In 1854, he emigrated to Fond du Lac, Wis., to live with his children ; and on the 8th of January, 1855, he died of apoplexy, after a sickness of 26 hours. In 1870, his remains were removed to the new cemetery at Jamestown, and deposited by the side of those of his wife, who died Feb. 27, 1851. They had two children, besides one that died in child- hood: Franklin H., who resides in Mankato, Minn .; and Davis H., editor and publisher of the Jamestown Journal.

JOSIAH H. WHEELER was born in Concord, Mass., in 1762, and married Mary Miles, who was born Feb. 10, 1765. They came with a large family from Wardsborough, Vt., to Ellicott, [now Carroll,] and purchased the land and saw-mill on Frew's run, belonging to Matthew Turner, lot 53, tp. I, r. 10. Wheeler and his sons stocked and ran the mill with their own labor, and soon cleared up a good farm. He had 5 sons : James, Josiah, Francis, Miles, and Daniel. The sons, or most of them, as they came of age, were helped to land on which to start in life. The daughters were : Rebecca, wife of James Frew ; Polly, wife of John Rose, of Frewsburgh ; and Anna.

Strobridge & Co. Lith.Cin 0.

South Nuit.

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CHARLOTTE.

Josiah H. Wheeler died, [date not ascertained.] His wife died in 1857, aged about 92 years. She well remembered, till her death, the time when the report was spread that the British were coming to Concord to destroy the military stores collected there by the colonists, and when, at the age of ten years, she fled with her mother into the adjacent forests, where most of the women and children were concealed, until the British returned to Boston. James, the eldest son of Josiah H. and Mary Wheeler, married Nancy Rose, of Frewsburgh, then recently from England. Josiah, another son, married a daughter of James Parker, of Carroll, and after her death, married a cousin of his first wife-a daughter of David Eaton, of Portland.

The Frewsburgh Baptist Church was formed Jan. 1, 1858, and was com- posed of about 60 members of a church then existing, but now extinct, known as the " First Baptist Church of Carroll." It was first called the " Second Baptist Church of Carroll," and took its present name Sept. 20, 1842. It was recognized by an ecclesiastical council, Feb. 14, 1838. March 10, 1838, John G. Curtis and Phineas Annis were chosen deacons. Until 1842, the church had no regular pastor, but was supplied a part of the time by Revs. Arza Stone, Benj. Oviatt, and J. Wilson. It was received into the Harmony Baptist Association in 1838; and in 1842, joined with the First Church in sustaining Rev. M. Colby as pastor for about one year. The church was then again without a pastor until 1845. Its subsequent pastors were Frederick Glanville, A. Frink, Elisha B. Sparks, W. H. Randall, Emer- son Mills, Lucien L. Gage, Judson H. Miller, Wm. Entwistle, J. S. Blandin, A. D. Bush, and Abner Morrill. Present deacons are Phineas Annis, John C. Martin, George L. Foster, and John D. Bain. The first church clerk was Abida Dean ; the present clerk, John D. Bain. The Baptist Society, under the general law of the state, was formed Jan. 14, 1850. The first trustees were Phineas Annis, Elias Howard, George W. Fenton, John Myers, Jr., and Jacob Persell. Present trustees-Geo. W. Fenton, John Myers, Jr., Parker E. Miller, John C. Martin, John D. Bain, George L. Foster, and Ray W. Porter. Parker E. Miller is clerk and treasurer.

CHARLOTTE.

CHARLOTTE was formed from Gerry, April 18, 1829, and comprises the 4th township in the 11th range, according to the Holland Land Company's sur- veys. Mill creek, the principal stream, passes through the geographical center of the town, in a south-westerly direction, crossing the south line 11/2 miles east of the south-west corner, near Sinclairville, and flowing into the Cassadaga creek in Gerry, near its west line, on lot 63. Luce Hill and Lake Hill, the highest points, are about 1,000 feet above Lake Erie. The land is moderately hilly ; and the soil is chiefly a clay loam. The town of Charlotte was surveyed into lots in the year 1808, by John Lamberton, for

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HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY.

the Holland Land Company, and first settled in 1809. At a meeting of the citizens held at the house of David Randall at the Center, at the suggestion of Mrs. Randall, the town was named from a town having that name on Lake Champlain, in Vermont.

Original Purchases in Township 4, Range II.

1809. April, Arva O. Austin, 63. John N. Gregg, 62. John Picket, 62. Abel Prior, 62. Barnabas Cole, 36. May, Nathaniel Holdridge, 45. Robert W. Seaver and Barney Edson, 37. Wm. Devine, 29. Joseph Arnold, 61. November, Samuel Sinclear, 41. Seth Richardson, 54.

1810. January, Joel Burnell, 46.

18II. May, Samuel Vaughan, 31.

I813. March, John Cleland, Jr., 53.

1816. February, Jacob Flanders, 57, 58, 59. March, Samuel Sinclear, 41. April, S. Austin, 56. . June, Abraham Winsor, 33.

1817. November, John Howard, I.

1818. June, Samuel Camp, 17.

1819. March, Samuel Hurley, 25. April, Justus Torrey, 18. May, Ezra Richmond, 33. July, Abraham Reynolds, 26.

I82I. June, Nathan Lake, 20. Calvin Lake, 20.

1823. April, Walker Lewis, 39. Martin Cleland, 55.

1824. July, Caleb Clark, 55. September, Daniel B. Lake, 21. Decem- ber, Samuel Cleland, 30.

1825. October, Charles Lyman, 40. Crocker Richardson, 59. Wm. Spinkernagle, 32.

1826. January, Isaac Phippin, 20. February, Hiram Straight, 30. May, David Randall, 13. September, Arba P. Straight, 23. Robert Robertson, I. October, Alanson C. Straight, 24. November, Bela Tracy, 57.

The north-western portion of the town was explored in March, 1809, by a party of young men, who, about the first of April, settled upon lots 62 and 63, in that part known as the Picket district. John Picket settled upon the farm where he now resides. He constructed upon the bank of Picket brook a log house, the first built in the town. Daniel Picket with his family settled upon the farm now owned by the heirs of Eliab Barnum; and Arva O. Austin and wife upon the farm now owned by the heirs of Van Rensselaer Fisher. These were the only persons who passed the winter of 1809-10 in Charlotte. January 25th, 1810, the first white child was born, Phebe, daughter of Arva O. Austin. She afterwards became the wife of Adin Wait. John Cleland, Jr., came in, in March, 1810, and took up land on lot 54. In September, Mrs. Arnold, wife of Joseph Arnold, then residing in the Picket settlement, died; and on the day following, Jerusha Barras, her sister. They were buried in one grave, near the road side, on the farm of Chauncey Pierpont. These were the first deaths in the town.

A remarkable incident occurred at an early period in the history of this town, in which one of the Pickets was the subject. The account is taken from a long and interesting sketch of early times, published in a Fredonia paper, and communicated by one of the Cleland brothers, of Charlotte :

" A remarkable surgical operation was performed in Charlotte. about fifty

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years ago, Ira Picket and myself were at work on a mill-dam, in January. We were raising the dam with gravel. A thaw came and loosened the em- bankment, when the bank suddenly gave way. I escaped, but Picket was caught by the falling mass. Being in a stooping posture, the frozen mass struck him on his back, and passed toward his head, stripping off his cloth- ing, tearing his scalp from his head, so that it fell over one side of his face, and crushing one eye so that it lay on his cheek. His head, one foot, and a hand, were caught under the earth. In my fright, I lifted and held the piece of earth that fell on his foot, and that would have taken several men ordina- rily to lift. I held it till his father and brother came from the mill, six rods away, for, had I let it fall, it would have crushed his whole body. They suc- ceeded in freeing his foot. I took his crushed head in my lap, and laid his scalp back, when I saw dirt and gravel under it. I had to take it off again, when I saw the scull was badly crushed. We got him home and sent for a physician, who was three hours in performing the operation. He took thirty- two pieces of bone from his head, the patient being perfectly conscious all the time. [Chloroform was not given in those days.] At the patient's request, I held his hands during the whole operation. They seemed the longest three hours I had ever known. Strange to say, Picket recovered entirely, even to his eye-sight, and was present at the Old Settlers' Reunion at Fredonia. It seemed marvelous that I should clasp the hands that I held those three heart-rending hours fifty years ago. The physician was Dr. Ezra Williams, of Dunkirk, father of the Hon. J. T. Williams, who also is a physician."

In March, 1811, Nathan and Oliver Cleland, brothers of John Cleland, Jr., and in the fall, Samuel, another brother, with their father, John Cleland, came and settled upon lot 54. The Cleland brothers are living, aged as follows: Samuel J., 87 years; John, 83; Oliver, 81; and Nathan, 80. Many of their descendants reside in the town. In the fall of 1811, Moses Cleland was married to Sally Anderson, by Rev. John Spencer ; this was the first marriage celebrated. Joel Burnell, in 1811, settled upon the farm where he died. He was at one time an associate judge of this county. Madison Burnell, his son, was born there in 1812. He afterwards became one of the distinguished lawyers of Western New York. Ransom Burnell, another son, was also born there ; he is a lawyer and resides in California, and has been the speaker of the assembly in that state. Among other early settlers in this part, who have left descendants residing in the town, were. Freeman Ellis, Edward Dalrymple, Eliakim Barnum, Jacob Hall, James Cross, David Ames, and Caleb Clark. Orton, the son of the last, was surrogate of the county from 1848 to 1852, inclusive-4 years. John B. Cardot came in from France, and settled in this part of the town. He was followed in later years by many other respectable families from that country.

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