History of Chautauqua County, New York : from its first settlement to the present time : with numerous biographical and family sketches, Part 49

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 49

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).

Caroline Bloss, sister of William, was a spinster of unusual ability, often spinning two days' work, [4 run,] in a single day. She married a Colburn, and removed to Ohio.

Samuel French, with his wife and five sons, settled on lot 11, in 1825. The names of the boys were: Healy, Russel, Hiram, Prescott, and Franklin. On the afternoon of April 18, 1826, the two youngest, Prescott, aged 5, and Franklin, aged 3 years, started to go to Nathaniel Thompson's on the middle part of lot 3, by a path through the woods, distant about 11/2 miles. Coming to a clearing and seeing no house, they turned about, and strayed from the path, and were lost in the woods. Night came on, and they laid down by the roots of a large tree. In the meantime a search was commenced, the neighbors were rallied, and with torches and lanterns the hunt was continued until midnight, when the search was for the time abandoned. The hunters were themselves lost in the dense forest, and found themselves always returning to the point from which they started. The next morning the search was resumed with an additional number of the inhabitants, and continued until night without success. A cold rain had come on, and the howling of wolves was heard in the direction the children were supposed to have taken, their tracks having been seen in the ashes of a sugar camp near Mr. Thompson's clearing. On Sunday morning, about 200 persons having assembled, a captain and a lieutenant were chosen, whose orders the company agreed to obey, and a line was formed along the highway from Clymer west; the east end of the line to be on the town line, and the men to keep about 4 rods apart. They were to march north across the valley; then to move westward the length of the line, and march south to the road from which they started. Thus they were to march and scour the woods by course, and not to speak

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HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY.

a word nor fire a gun until the children were found. After crossing and recrossing the valley till they had reached the north side, on lot 20, a council was called ; and it was agreed, that, as the next time across would take them as far west as it was possible for the children to go, if they did not find them before reaching the other side, another council should be held. When they had gone about half way across the alder bottom, the man at the west end of the line, stooping to tie his shoe, looking backward under his right arm, saw the head of one of the boys, who stood trying to pull the bark from a moose-wood twig. He raised his head, and shouted : " I have found them !" The shout was carried along the whole line, and guns and horns announced to the anxious waiters the joyful tidings. The younger boy was lying, insen- sible, at the roots of a small pine which they had reached the night before. They had tasted nothing, except some leek leaves, which were too strong to be eaten. John Heath and Wm. Tyler now started to see which of them should first carry the news to the anxious mother. Heath reached the door a few steps ahead, crying : " Found them both alive !" and fell, exhausted, on the floor. The boys lived to become men.

In the south-east part of the town, Silas Terry settled on lot 2, bought in 1821, where he resided until 1855, when he removed to Clymer. [See sketch.] Wm. Thompson and his brother Nathaniel bought parts of lot 31, but soon removed to lot 3, where they settled permanently. William resided there until his death. Three sons are living : Elijah, on land adjoining the homestead ; William, in Minnesota ; George, in the south part of the town. He had 4 daughters ; two are living. John B. Tyler settled on lot 3, about 1848 ; and originally occupied by Thomas Bemus. His eldest son, Laverne, enlisted in the late war as a private; was promoted to lieutenant, and was killed in the Wilderness campaign, before he attained majority. Alton, another son, resides in town. Ira Gleason, from Sharon, Conn., removed to Madison Co., N. Y., in 1810; and thence to French Creek in 1831, and settled on lot 10, where he resided till he died in 1839, aged 68 years. His children were : Ira F., David L., and Esther J., wife of Horace Baker, and resides in French Creek. Ira F. removed to Clymer. [See history of Clymer.] Nehemiah Royce settled on lot 19, in 1825; the land originally purchased by Darius H. Rice, where he now resides. Mr. Royce was supervisor of the town 7 years. He has 3 sons : William L., who is married and lives near his father ; Dana F., and Willie B., both unmarried, and live at home.

In the south-west part of the town, Rensselaer W. Kennedy settled about twenty years ago, on lot 59, near French creek, where he now resides. He is a son of Dr. Thos. R. Kennedy, of Meadville, Pa., original owner of mills at Kennedy and Worksburg.

In the north part of the town, Roswell Coe settled on lot 39, bought in 1812, and died there. He had a large family. Two sons, Philonzo and Birdsall, reside near the old farm. Alfred White, from Minerva, Essex Co., settled on lot 22, bought in 1831, and died there. James B., the only one of the children living in town, is on lot 39.

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FRENCH CREEK.

Who was the earliest settler in French Creek, can not be affirmed with certainty. The State Gazetteer says Andy Noble, from Oswego Co., made the first settlement on lot 44, in r812 ; John Cleveland, on lot 31, in 1812 ; and Roswell Coe, on lot 39, and Nathaniel Thompson, on lot 9, both in 1813; and Paul Colburn, from Oneida Co., in 1814. The Chautauqua County Gazetteer and Directory names Andy Noble as the first settler, on lot 44, in 1811 ; John Cleveland, on lot 31, 1812 ; and it places Nathaniel Thompson on lot 9 ; Coe, on lot 39; Colburn, on lot 44-all three in 1813 ; and Amon Beebe and Gardner Cleveland, the same year. The authors of both these Gazetteers collected their statements from residents in the town ; yet they differ materially. This is another illustration of the unreliability of authors, who print the statements hastily collected by their canvassers. The writer of this history has not made this question a subject of particular inquiry, in this town. He would simply direct the reader to the list of origi- nal purchases, on another page. The dates of these purchases do not in all cases agree with the dates of settlement ; but it is presumed that, in most cases, the settlement is made in the year of the purchase. Nathaniel Thompson does not appear at all, from the Land Company's books, as having articled any part of lot 9. If he ever owned any part of it, he is not a first purchaser, unless he purchased for cash down, and took a deed. He may have purchased the article of another, in which case his own name would not appear. That Andy Noble settled as early as 1811, is not proba- ble. Nor is it probable that there is any settler living, who can decide the question of first settlement.

The first town-meeting was held in March, 1830, at the house of Wm. Hooker. The officers named below were elected :

Supervisor-Alexander Wilson. Town Clerk-Isaiah Golding. Assess- ors-John Gotham, Nathaniel Thompson, Silas W. Hatfield. Collector --- William Thompson. Overseers of Poor-Paul Colburn, Augustus Bolles. Com'rs of Highways-Parley Bloss, John Gotham, Royal Herrick. Com'rs of Schools-Wm. Hooker, S. O. Colburn, Eli Belknap. Inspectors of Schools -D. H. Peck, A. Noble, Ephraim Dean. Constables-Wm. Thompson, George Adams. Justice-Ephraim Dean.

Supervisors from 1830 to 1875.

Alexander Wilson, Jr., 1830 to '32. Nathaniel Thompson, 1833. Ira F. Gleason, 1834 to '37-4 years. Daniel Hooker, 1838. Philo S. Hawley, 1839 to '42, and 1852-5 years. David L. Gleason, 1843. Silas Terry, 1844, '45, '48. Nehemiah Royce, 1846, '47, '49, '5', '52, '54, '55-7 years. Thos. D. Jones, 1850. John Sliter, 1856. Marvin Hooker, 1857. Stephen W. Steward, 1858. Hibbard P. Fenton, 1859, '60. Reuben J. Beach, 1861, '62. Almond S. Park, 1863. Lawyer S. Terry, 1864, '65. Dana P. Hor- ton, 1866, '67. James A. Merry, 1868, '69. Dexter M. Hapgood, 1870. Henry R. Case, 1871, '72. John Jones, 1873. Holland R. Parsons, 1874. John Jones, 1875.

The first school in this town was taught by Polly Forbes, in 1817. The

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HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY.

first death was that of a child of J. Inglesby, in 1818, buried on lot 39, on land now owned by Philonzo Coe. The second death was that of Joseph Forbes, in 1818, who was about 30 years of age. He was buried on lot 39, the site of the present burying ground. The third death was that of William, son of Nathaniel Thompson, aged 3 years.

These statements differ from those in the State Gazetteer and the County Gazetteer and Directory ; the author of the latter having probably copied chiefly from the former. Their informants, however, may have been more nearly correct than our own.

According to the State Gazetteer, the first tavern was kept by Wm. Graves, who built the first grist-mill, both in 1822 ; and the first store was kept in one end of the grist-mill, by John Dodge.

The population of French Creek in 1870 was 973, which is less than that of any other town, except Kiantone. There are two post-offices : French Creek, in the north part of the town, and Marvin, in the south-west .part.

There is, in the north part of the town, a steam saw and shingle mill, which is said to give employment to six persons, and to turn out 2,000 feet of lum- ber, and 8,000 shingles, in ten hours.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL.

SAMUEL FRENCH, from Ontario Co. in 1825, settled on lot 11, where he resided until his death, March, 1861. He had 5 sons : Samuel H., removed to Wisconsin ; Hiram A., killed by falling into a well at the age of 16; William R., on the old place, with his brother Fredus ; Edward P., in Wis- consin ; Fredus Franklin, who owns and occupies the old farm. There were two daughters : Cornelia, who married Columbus Sessions ; removed to Wis- consin, where she died, leaving 3 sons ; he and his sons reside in Clymer ; Samantha, married, and lives in Wisconsin.

DAVID L. GLEASON and his brother Ira F., from Madison Co., settled on lot 10, previously located by their father, Ira Gleason. Deeds were taken by the sons, who were followed the next year by their parents, Ira Gleason and wife, in 1831. The father died in 1839, aged 68 years ; and his wife soon after. Ira F. Gleason removed, in 1837, to Clymer village. [See Cly- mer.] David L. Gleason died on the old farm. A son, Marcus B., resides'on a part of the farm. Aurelius Lawrence, his second son, is principal of a semi- nary, at Lansing, Mich. Ira M., another son, has a part of the homestead.

ISAIAH GOULDING, from Stafford, Genesee Co., in 1828, settled, with his family, on lot 45, on land now owned by his son Lorenzo. He had 6 chil- dren, 3 sons, Lorenzo, Isaiah, and Samuel, and 3 daughters. He was the first town clerk, and second postmaster, which office he held about 15 years. Lorenzo brought the nails, glass, butts and screws that were used in building their house, in a saddle-bag, on horseback, from Mayville. It then required two days to make the trip. Isaiah Goulding, Sr., died in 1830, aged 79. Lorenzo married Nancy Johnson, of Erie, and owns the homestead. Isaiah, Jr., married Amanda Maxwell, of Wattsburg, Penn., where they reside.

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FRENCH CREEK.

SILAS TERRY was born in Wells, Vt., Feb. 18, 1800, and removed with his father, in 1805, to Onondaga Co .; thence, in 1816, to Harmony, near Blockville, where, in 1821, he married Polly Powers, and removed to French Creek, lot 2, where he resided until 1855, when he removed to Clymer, where he now resides, in the village. While in French Creek, he held the office of justice of the peace for 16 years ; and was collector for 5 years- one year while Clymer contained the four townships of which it was origi- nally formed ; and the first four years, after Mina, including Sherman, had been taken off. The amount of tax collected by him the first year, in the four townships, was about $800. He was also supervisor of French Creek, 3 years-in 1844, '45, '48. And in 1849 he was a member of assembly. He had 9 children : 1. Marilla C., wife of Harry Sessions, who died in Iowa ; she resides with her father. 2. Lawyer S., who married, first, Laura Moses, who died in 1864 ; second, Nellie Durand, of Westfield ; they reside in French Creek. 3. Mary R., wife of Walter L. Sessions. 4. Katharine, wife of John C. Moses, now a bookseller in Clinton, Iowa. Both were graduates of the Normal School, Albany. 5. Naomi A., wife of Amasa C. Moses, school commissioner Ist district, in 1856 ; resides at Great Bend, Barton Co., Kansas. 6. Harvey P., who married Mary Frink, and resides in Fremont, Minn. 7. Donna Martha, wife of John M. Lycan, and resides at Toledo, O. 8. Seward H., captain company G, 49th regiment, killed in the late war, at Spottsylvania C. H. 9. Cassius M., married Emily Hitchcock, and is now pastor of a Congregational church in St. Paul.

CHURCHES.

The Baptist Church was formed in 1821, and was the first organized church in the town. Their first meetings were held in a log school-house on lot 54, near the present residence of John Jones. Among the first members were Roswell Coe, William Adams and wife, Nathaniel Thompson and wife,- Farnsworth and wife, A. M. Higgins and wife, Wm. Thompson and wife, and Amon Beebe. The ministers officiating at its organization were Elder Gillet and Elder Alford. In consequence of the removal from the town of a large portion of its members, the church was continued but a few years. Another Baptist church was formed in 1844 or 1845, which, after a brief existence, became extinct. A third was formed in 1856, which also has ceased to exist.

A Christian Church was organized in 1831, by Elder Jerry Knowles, with a membership of about 24, among whom were M. Bloss, Calvin Bloss, Mrs. Hubbard Bowles, and others. The ceremony of washing feet was literally observed in this church.

The Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in the north-west part of the town, in 1830, by Rev. J. K. Hallock and Rev. J. Chandler, who were the first two pastors. The first members were Isaiah and Betsey Golding, and William and Amy Adams. Moses Olds and wife, and Mrs. Bowles, also united at the same time, or soon after. Their first and only house of worship stands on lot 46. It was finished in 1867. The society received 50 acres

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HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY.

of land from the Holland Land Company. This land, like similar donations in other towns, was generally called "gospel land." It was a part of lot 30, and was sold by order of the county court, on a petition of the church ; and the proceeds were applied to the building of a house of worship.

GERRY.

GERRY was formed from Pomfret, June 1, 1812, and comprised townships 3 and 4, of the roth and rith ranges. Ellington, including Cherry Creek, was taken from Gerry in 1824, and Charlotte in 1829. Gerry comprises the 3d township of the 11th range. The surface is a hilly upland, the highest summits being 900 feet above Lake Erie. The soil is a clay loam on the uplands, and a sandy loam in the valleys. The principal stream is the Cas- sadaga creek, which runs south-easterly through the south-west quarter of the town. Mill creek, running south-westerly through the north-west corner, enters the Cassadaga near the west line of the town. There are several smaller tributaries to the Cassadaga within this town. There are in it also several sulphur springs.

The first settlement was made in 1810. Amos Atkins came to Chautauqua lake, near William Bemus', about 1808, probably from Vermont. Being con- nected with a surveying party, he selected two lots, one for himself, and one for his brother-in-law, Stephen Jones, early in the spring of 1810. Jones settled upon his land, on lot 47, which comprised the present farm of George S. and Benj. L. Harrison. He built a log house about a mile south of Sin- clairville, which was the first habitation erected in the town. The first birth occurred in the family of Mr. Jones. Atkins afterwards, the same year, built a log house upon his land, which was the farm subsequently owned by John Love. The house stood where the present dwelling on the Love farm stands. Atkins was, in 1814, supervisor of the original town of Gerry. In 1815, his wife Clarinda died ; this was the first death in the town. Atkins and Jones afterwards moved to the Far West. Later in the year 1810, William and James Gilmore, from Madison Co., took up land upon lot 56, and built a log house on the farm now owned by Fordyce Sylvester, near the Sinclairville railroad depot. Melzer Sylvester, brother-in-law of the Gilmores, and father of Fordyce and Henry Sylvester, came in 1811, and settled between Sin- clairville and the depot. Hugh B. Paterson, also a brother-in-law of Melzer Sylvester and the Gilmores, came to Fredonia in 1808, and in the spring of 1811 to Gerry, and took up 62 acres between Sinclairville and the dépôt, where he built a house which, in October, was burned to the ground, with all his household goods. The next day he and his neighbors erected another in its place. Hugh B. Paterson was born in Washington Co., in 1787, and was for many years supervisor of Gerry. During the early years of the settle- ment of the town, he was a leading and influential citizen. He afterwards removed to Wisconsin, where he recently died at an advanced age.

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GERRY.

During the year 1811, the old Chautauqua road, leading from Mayville to Ellicottville, was cut through the northern part of the town. In 1814 and 1815, bridges were built ; and the road was otherwise improved. It became the route by which, to some extent, settlers came in from the East, and by which communication was had with Genesee county. The present road that leads from Sinclairville, by the dépôt, to the Cassadaga creek, was also laid out about the same time, under the direction of Major Sinclear and Hugh B. Paterson. It was continued along the town line between Gerry and Ellery to Jamestown, and constituted the first means of direct communication that Jamestown had, by highway, with Sinclairville and the northern part of the county. Elijah Haswell, a son-in-law of Major Sinclear, settled on this road, and a little later, Cornelius DeLong, who built a house where James Mc- Alister now resides ; and who afterwards participated in the battle of Buffalo, in December, 1813, and was severely wounded in the head by a grape shot. He was assisted 8 or 10 miles up the lake by his comrades towards his home, when, unable to proceed further, he was taken in charge by his neighbor and fellow-soldier, Elisha Tower, of Ellery, and well cared for by him at the cabin of a settler. DeLong unexpectedly recovered, and returned to his house in Gerry. He afterwards moved to the West, received a captain's commission, and participated in the Black Hawk war in 1832.

Jesse Dexter early settled on the farm of John Almy, on this road, at the town line. Zaccheus Norton and David Cobb also settled early on this road. John Love, who had been living in the town of Ellery, purchased, about the year 1812, the land owned by Amos Atkins on the old Chantauqua road, and there kept an inn for many years. He was well known in his lifetime, and died on his farm. Ichabod Russell, Abner Comstock, and Seth Grover, were also early settlers on this road. Capt. Abner Dingley, in May or June, 1816, settled in the southern limits of Sinclairville, on lot 48.

Although several families had settled upon these lands, thus opened along the extreme western, and through the northern borders of the town, prior to 1815, no person had penetrated the dense wilderness that covered the rest of the town, to make a settlement. The central, eastern, and southern por- tions remained for several years an unbroken wilderness. A dense forest of beech and maple trees covered the hills, while pine, hemlock, and other evergreens, grew densely in the valleys and the high lands along their borders.

In the spring of 1812, Wm. Alverson journeyed on horseback all the way from his home in Columbus, Chenango Co., to the residence of Major Sin- clear. He selected the land which comprised the farm owned by Marvin Wilson at his decease, situated about one mile north from Vermont station. He made no purchase, but returned to his home, and in 1815 returned to Gerry, and purchased and settled upon the land he had so long before se- lected. He died June 11, 1828, aged 48 years. There came with him from Chenango Co. to Gerry, Hezekiah Myers and Hezekiah Catlin. Porter Phelps also came at the same time. They were all original Vermonters. Myers settled upon the farm now owned by Aaron Van Vleck ; Phelps upon

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HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY.

the farm now owned by Henry Gates; Dexter and Nathan Hatch, who came soon after, near where the saw-mill now is, east of the village of Vermont. These persons made the first settlement in this part of the town, which has since been widely known as "Vermont Settlement." A road was soon laid out from Sinclairville to that section.

A little later, Solomon and Reuben Fessenden came. John Matthews also came and settled about one mile south-east from Vermont. During the years following, the eastern, southern, and central portions of the town were rapidly settled, almost entirely by Vermonters, possessing the sturdy pecu- liarities of the people of that state. At the present time, much the larger portion of the population of the principal part of the town, are Vermonters and their descendants.

In the year 1816, Wm. Olney built a log house upon the little hill, a short distance south-east of the hotel, at Vermont. This was the commencement of a settlement of that place. In 1817, James Bucklin came in from Wind- han Co., Vermont, and bought 240 acres at Vermont, in Gerry, which included the house and claim of Olney. In 1820, he kept there the first inn. The settlement afterwards, for many years, bore the name of Bucklin's Corners, until it was changed to Vermont. The sons of James Bucklin, who came in with him, were Willard, James, and Lovel. Willard spent the greater part of his life in Gerry, prominently identified with its history. For thirty years previous to his death, he held, almost uninterruptedly, the office of justice of the peace; and he was eight years a supervisor of the town. He died Jan. I, 1869. James Bucklin also was prominently connected with the town ; was a supervisor and a justice, and now resides in the West. Lovel Bucklin is still living, and resides in the town. Betsey Bucklin, a daughter of Janies Bucklin, married Paul Stom, who was born April 1, 1797, in Guilford, and died in Gerry, Dec. 24, 1873. He came to Gerry in May, 1817. He chop- ped and cleared over 100 acres of land.

In 1817, Sylvanus Eaton, father of Walter, Lyman, Pearl, and Harry Eaton, settled a short distance north from Vermont. John McCullough, in the fall of 1817, settled in the north part of Gerry, near Sinclairville. Robert Lenox settled in the south-western part of the town, in 1817. He was born in the north of Ireland, and came to Gerry from Yates county. He was the father of Robert, John, and William Lenox, and died in 1839. Henry Shaw also settled in this part of the town, about the same time. He had previously resided on the town line road, between Ellery and Gerry. Calvin Cutting, in 1817, settled near the center of the town; he afterwards resided on the road leading from Sinclairville to Vermont, at the place known as the Cutting stand.

About 1818, John Hines and Wm. Newton settled in the south-western part of the town, and, in 1819, erected there the first saw-mill, and, in 1822, a grist-mill, on the Cassadaga creek. Gardner Salisbury came in, in 1818 or 1819, and settled near these mills, and was the first miller. Elder Jona- than Wilson, born in Colerain, Mass., settled at Vermont, in Gerry, in 1816.

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GERRY.

[See sketch on a subsequent page.] Wm. R. Wilson, his son, came with his father to Gerry, where he has since resided, for nearly 60 years, on the farm upon which he first settled. He has been a justice of the peace and super- visor of the town. Gilbert Strong, from Chenango Co., in 1818, bought the land upon which Hezekiah Myers had settled, and lived there until his decease, at the advanced age of 82 years, leaving many descendants. His sons Horace, Gilbert, David, Jason, and Onan, came with their father, and were well known citizens of the town. During the spring of this year, Alva Eaton was killed by the falling of a tree.

Wm. M. Waggoner, from Saratoga Co., in the spring of 1819, settled on the town line between Charlotte and Gerry, where he resided many years, and until he removed to Charlotte. He has been supervisor in both towns. John McAlister, from Amsterdam, N. Y., in 1819, settled upon the farm now owned by his son, James, on the street leading south-westerly from Sinclair- ville by the railroad dépôt, and lived there until his decease, at the advanced age of about 90. He owned, in his lifetime, a large real estate, and was the founder of the Baptist church at Sinclairville. His grandson, John M. Scho- field, was a conspicuous general of the U. S. army, and at one time secretary of war: he was born in Gerry, near the site of the Sinclairville railroad dépôt.

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