History of Chautauqua County, New York, and its people, Volume I, Part 36

Author: Downs, John Phillips, 1853- ed. [from old catalog]; Hedley, Fenwick, Y., joint ed. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Boston, New York [etc.] American historical society, inc.
Number of Pages: 649

USA > New York > Chautauqua County > History of Chautauqua County, New York, and its people, Volume I > Part 36

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).

In 1823 Daniel C. Green settled on lot 24 and Moses Wheeler on lot 43. In 1824 Orrin Fairbanks, lot 3; Enos Preston, lot 60; Oran Kingsley, Jr., (father of the late Calvin Kings- ley, Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church), lot 34; Otis Page, lot 34; Charles Crowfoot, lot 49; Ransom Williams, lot 18; Nathan Brown and David Ransom, lot 37; Julius Dewey, lot 38. In 1825 Friend L. Fisk, lot 44 ; Nathaniel Fuller, lot 54; Isaac Harmon, lot 36: Joseph B. Eddy, lot 52; Nathaniel Dun- ham, lot 60; James Tracy, lot 35; Elijah Green, lot 20: Veranus Page, lot 12; Isaac Holland, lot 35. In 1826 Israel Carpenter, lot 46; Rich- ard G. Farman and Jason Bumpus, lot 57. In 1827 George Anderson, lot 20; Abram Holland, lot 25. 1828, Ira Day, lot 13. 1829, Dr. Wil-

liam Ware, lot 5. 1830, Jonathan Slater, lot 36, and Levi Warner, lot 32. 1832, Isaiah Nes- sel and Joseph B. Nessel, his brother, lot 38; Isaac Helmick, lot 51, and Lewis Rice, lot 21. 1833, John N. White, lot 27. 1834, Salmon T. Case, and the following year his father Elipha- let Case, lot 63, and Andrew P. White, lot 42. 1835, Allen Bagg and Franzier Luce, lot 28; Henry Altenburg, lot 63. 1836, Chauncey Fox, lot 54; Hiram Bagg, lot 27; John Shaw, lot 46, and Henry Wheeler, lot 38.

The foregoing comprise a few of the names of the early settlers, most of whom were origi- nal purchasers from the Holland Land Com- pany, but the list must necessarily be brief; enough, however, has been given to show that the forest-covered hills, in those early days, presented to the settler, in pursuit of a home, attractions equal to the more fertile valleys and low lands. Possibly the rock-ribbed hills of their former New England homes, as con- trasted with the more moderately sloping hill- sides of their new found possessions, made the latter seem to them a pleasing heritage fraught with greater possibilities. Certain it was that the majestic pine and the oak that dotted in such profusion the uplands, must have been to them a convincing argument that their giant forms indicated a soil of untold wealth and richness beneath their spreading branches.

Among the early industries established in the town, outside the village, we note the fol- lowing :

Simon Lawrence, in 1820, built the first saw- mill, which was located on Clear Creek on lot 29, on land bought by Frederick Love. Some of the remains of the old mill can be seen to'! this day, near the iron bridge crossing the lat- ter stream on the Clapp Hill road. Other saw- mills were built in town by different individuals and about in the order named. John Stafford, on Clear Creek, lot 20; Ira Day, on the same stream about one-fourth of a mile east on lot 12; Silas Rider, on lot 29, northeast of William Clapp's residence ; Jonathan Slater on Twenty- eight Creek, on land now owned by Gust. W. Engdahl; Oliver Carpenter in the Rice neigh- borhood; the Avery Porter mill about three- fourths of a mile west of Slater's; the McCul- lough mill on lot 62, west of Henry Harris's Henry Wheeler's mill adjoining his gristmill near Simon Lawrence, and the Gardner Gil- bert mill on the farm lately owned by David White. All of these mills have either been de. stroyed by flood, torn down, or burned up.

The first gristmill was built by Ward King in 1820, in the northeast part of the town, or lot 16. He fashioned the stones obtained from

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a neighboring quarry, using for the bolt bleached cotton cloth, bringing the water to his mill through hollow logs and using an overshot wheel. Such mills were called in those days 'corn-crackers."

The first tannery in town was established by Elijah and Elliot Mason, near Clear Creek, in [828. They sold the property to Philip M. Smith, who continued the business for many ears. About two years later Lockwood & Hough started a wool-carding and cloth-dress- ng establishment on Clear Creek, on land purchased by them of Simon Lawrence. In 832. Isaiah and Joseph B. Nessel, two broth- 'rs from Onondaga county, N. Y., moved into own and bought the farm adjoining Law- ence's to the west, together with the property nd business of Lockwood & Hough. They ngaged in the enterprise until 1836, when they old their building and water privilege to Henry Wheeler, from Madison county, New Tork, who moved the building up near the oad and converted it into a dwelling and built pon its former site a large flouring mill and awmill. Mr. Wheeler continued in the mill- ig business at that place until 1851, when he old out to William W. and Richard Gates, ut three years later bought the property back nd remained in business there until he pur- hased and built over the Vaill mill in the vil- ige. After the Nessel brothers sold out to Ir. Wheeler, Joseph formed a co-partnership rith Alvah Bates, and they moved their wool- arding and cloth-dressing business to the vil- ige and built what is now known as the old Jobbin cabinet shop, and followed the busi- ess for many years.

The first store in town was started at Olds' orners by Camp, Colville & Holbrook; fol- wing them was Ruggles & Ingersoll, at Clear reek.

James Bates, who in 1815, settled on lot 48, n what was later known as the George L. Vade place, kept at that point the first tavern i town. Later Alamanson Hadley and Henry [cConnell kept tavern at the same place. Ben- min Follet kept another in a log house about mile east from Bates' on the old Chautauqua ad, he was succeeded by Lucretia French in 322, at the same place. A little later Joshua entley erected a frame building and kept otel in it at Olds' Corners. About 1826 Ste- hen Nichols kept tavern in a frame building ected by him at Clear Creek.

The first post office was established in the orth part of the town, in the house of Benja- in Follet, on the old Chautauqua road, about ₹16 or 1817. It is generally understood that

Follet was the first postmaster, and that he served in that capacity until about 1822 or 1823, when he sold his purchase from the Hol- land Land Company to Lucretia French, a widow, who is said to have come here from Canada about that time and who succeeded to the office of postmaster, which she held until 1829. when the office was moved to the Bates Settlement and Vinal Bates was appointed in her place. The Follet house was about the third or fourth log house built in town, and Mrs. French, like her predecessor, used it for hotel purposes, and for several years it was the place for the holding of all the public gather- ings of the town. The mail route was from Ellicottville to Mayville via Little Valley, and Sampson Crooker and Robert Guy were the first mail carriers ; the former was the father of the late Hon. George A. S. Crooker, of Cone- wango. It is said they carried it through on foot, suspended from a pole resting on their shoulders. Later Samuel McConnell carried the mail through on horseback, once a week each way. Deacon Otis Paige was also one of the early mail carriers. The post office re- mained at the Bates Settlement until 1832, when it was removed to the village and Wil- liam T. Norris was appointed postmaster. The mail route was changed and extended from Sil- ver Creek to Ellington, taking in intermediate points, and for many years a stage carrying mail and passengers ran back and forth on each alternate day. After the building of the At- lantic & Great Western railroad the route was changed, running from Ellington to Kennedy, and after the completion of the Buffalo & Southwestern railroad from Ellington to Cone- wango Valley.

The earliest transportation facilities were on the backs of the settlers, and in that way flour and family supplies had to be brought through from Fredonia, where was then located the nearest mill and market. The process was tedious and attended with hardships, but the early settlers readily adapted themselves to existing conditions. Later as the roads were cut through and made passable, the oxen and the cart made the labor more tolerable ; and until the advent of the railroad all goods, mer- chandise and family supplies for this locality had to be hauled from Fredonia, Barcelona, Dunkirk or Silver Creek. The only articles of exchange for family necessities, which the early settler could transport on his outgoing trip, was black salts, pearl ash, or pine shingles -nature's product-the making of which pre- pared the way for the open fields in the heart of the forest.

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It is related of James Bates, Jr., son of the pioneer, James Bates, who settled on lot 48, then a young man, while returning home from Wyman Bugbee's through the woods in com- pany with his little brother he met what he supposed to be a large dog. He called to it but without effect. He then tried to frighten it away, but this he failed to do, and as it mani- fested no disposition to turn out for him he procured a stout club and cautiously approach- ing the animal dealt it a severe blow on the head, and with a second blow apparently broke its back. Alarmed at the supposition that he had killed a neighbor's dog, he requested his brother not to mention the circumstance, but he himself related it to Mr. Bugbee, who passed his father's house that night, and who from the description given of the animal readily recognized it to be a wolf. The lad Bates, in company with his father and Mr. Bugbee re- turned to the scene of the encounter, and the suspicion of the nature of the animal was veri- fied. The wolf was still alive, but was soon dis- patched and skinned and the bounty, which was forty dollars, was in due time obtained by the young man.

Apropos to the foregoing is another little his- torical incident in which Mr. Bugbee took quite a prominent part, but with more serious results than happened to young Bates. Mr. Bugbee's home was a log house situated on the east bank of one of the south branches of Clear creek that runs through the northwest corner of lot 29 and empties into the latter stream about forty rods to the north of his dwelling. The streams in those days were full of beautiful speckled trout, as were the forests of wild game, and by means of the gun and the rod the early settler never lacked for fish, fowl or venison. About one-fourth of a mile west of Bugbee's lived Simon Lawrence with his three boys, Alva, Simon, Jr., and John, who were a family of hunters.

Bugbee while hunting one day, in company with two of his neighbors, his dog started a bear about one-half mile north of Lawrence's across Clear creek, at which he fired his last shot. The bear, though hit, was not disabled, and after running a few rods climbed a tree. Bugbee called to his companions who came to his assistance. Alva Lawrence shot the bear in the head, but did not kill it and it began to descend. The party (which now consisted, be- sides the two already mentioned, of Simon Lawrence, Z. Davenport, George McConnell and Joseph Bates, the two former being armed with axes which they had been grinding) sur- rounded the tree and with axes and clubs

awaited the bear's descent. When about ten feet from the ground it dropped and McCon- nell dealt it several blows with his club, but without apparent effect. The bear started to run, and Bugbee's dog followed in close pur- suit. Being greatly annoyed by the dog the bear turned upon it and gave it a terrible hug. The cries of the dog brought Bugbee to its assistance. He got behind the bear and tried to force it to loosen its hold on the dog, but the animal sprang back and Bugbee fell to the ground. The bear seized Bugbee by the leg, when a terrible struggle ensued, during which time the bear bit Bugbee several times. The position of the combatants so frequently changed that Bugbee's companions found it difficult to afford him any substantial assist- ance without imperiling his life. Finally a blow from the axe of Simon Lawrence caused the bear to loose its hold on Bugbee's leg, and turning upon Lawrence with a blow from his paw sent the axe flying from his hands, where- upon Lawrence, seizing Davenport's axe, re- newed the battle and finally buried the blade of the weapon in bruin's head, thus putting an end to the combat. Bugbee was so exhausted and faint that his companions were obliged to carry him home and his injuries confined him to his house for about six months.

Ebenezer Green, Jr., who for many years was called Captain Green, from the fact that he held during the "General Training" period a captain's commission in the 218th Regiment of State Militia, was the first settler within the present bounds of the village. In the winter of 1819 he made maple sugar on the site of the present village park. In the following year the first public religious service ever held in the! valley was conducted by Rev. A. Williams, a Methodist minister, at his house.

It is related of Mr. Green that one evening while searching in the woods for some lost stock, he was chased to his home by a pack of wolves.

The journeys of the early settlers with their families from the eastern states to the tree-cov- ered hills of Chautauqua, presented to a certain extent a sameness. There was the customary ox team and cart with its varying load, accord- ing to the size of the family and the amount of household goods ; but sometimes a new feature was introduced to meet the fancied needs of the (' prospective home in the forest. This was the case with Rolli Rublee, who journeyed through from Pittsfield, Massachusetts, in 1822. Be- side the wife and children and the household articles usually brought, he utilized his four- legged table by nailing slats around it and

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fastening to the legs a temporary bottom, in which he placed a pig. To complete the outfit he tied his only cow to the hind end of the cart, the milk from which was shared by the family with the pig, on the journey.

Julius Dewey, who came from Massachu- setts in 1824 and settled on the west side of lot 38, which he articled from the Holland Land Company, was a man who was proverbially prompt to pay his financial obligations ; indeed the writer can remember when a boy of hear- ing him often remark that 'twas "always con- venient to have a little grease money," suppos- ing, of course, that he meant that to have money to promptly pay one's debts made busi- ness matters run smooth. But in the early days there came a time when the modest in- come from his pioneer farm failed to equal the amount due at the Land Office on his purchase. With a spirit commendable for its earnestness ie determined there should be no default, and accordingly one morning he gathered up into modest bundle a few articles of personal necessities and started on foot for his old home mong the Berkshire Mountains to raise the necessary funds. He accomplished the jour- ley and in due time returned on foot in time o make the payment when it fell due at the and Office.

The first white male child born in town was simon Lawrence, Jr., in 1817. The first white emale child was born to Benjamin Follet and vife about a year earlier. The first marriage vas celebrated between Rufus Hitchcock and lanah Hadley in 1817, and about six weeks fter the event Mr. Hitchcock met his death by alling from a building which he was erecting the neighboring town of Cherry Creek.

It is claimed the first public religious serv- :es ever held in town was at the house of bner Bates in 1817, conducted by the Rev. Daniel Hadley ; others claim, however, that the rst sermon was preached by Rev. John Spen- er, a Presbyterian clergyman.

James Thacher, who by the way was the rst supervisor of the town of Ellington, set- ed on lot 64, December 9, 1820. It was the ractice in those days to turn the cattle out to rowse and, indeed, it was their only means f subsistence, with no cleared fields and little ative grass. On one occasion Mr. Thacher issed one of his cows, which remained absent r a period of twenty-seven days, when he appened to be straying through a neighbor- ig slashing and found the animal with its head o caught between a couple of trees that it was nable to extricate itself. It was alive when )und, having all that time been without food

or water; but it was still able to be driven home, and by careful treatment its life was saved.

There originally existed in this town, as evi- dence of a pre-historic race, four circular mounds. One on lot 47, on what is known as the Boyd farm ; one in Clear Creek Valley on lot 29, on the farm now occupied by Clarence Baldwin ; one on lot 4, on the old Doctor Ware farm, south of Clear Creek, and one on the crest of the hill north of the village; which has always been known as "The Old Indian Fort."

There has been from time to time many relics of much interest and historic value taken from these mounds, particularly from the one last named; beside the latter has for many years been the meeting place for pleasure par- ties and curiosity seekers, and is still in a fair state of preservation.

On September 8th, 1865, the village of Elling- ton, and, indeed, the whole town, suffered from an unprecedented flood, destroying most of the bridges throughout the town, and in the vil- lage several buildings. "Twenty-eight Creek," which runs through the southern part of the village, and which in ordinary times is a small rivulet suddenly became a raging torrent, spreading out through Main street, covering almost the entire village. The valley was transformed into a river, bearing upon its waters huge logs, trees and floating wreckage. All the buildings on the south side of the park, including dwellings, stores, the hotel and Bap- tist church, were either undermined, destroyed, wrecked or washed away.

The dwelling of Abel Mattocks, on the south side of Main street, wherein were his wife and family, was carried away and wrecked and four of the children drowned. The mother was car- ried a distance of several rods under water and lodged on a pile of driftwood and rescued by the citizens. The body of one of the children, a four-year-old boy, was never found. Jere- miah Torrey, an old resident of the village, was carried by the water into the park, where he caught on a tree, but the floating wreckage swept him away and he was rescued by the people on the east side of the park. The "Wal- den Block," which occupied the same place of the Frisbee and DeVoe Block, and in which were stores and shops and living rooms above, was completely destroyed, and but for the large quantity of flood-wood and hay that had lodged near it, upon which the occupants took refuge, many more lives would have been lost. The hotel, then kept by W. V. Welch, in which were many citizens and guests, became under- mined and partly destroyed, the occupants

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taking refuge in the upper story; expecting momentarily to be precipitated into the raging flood. Many of the imprisoned inhabitants within the doomed buildings became panic- stricken and performed many foolish and amus- ing acts in the face of the impending danger. It was indeed an event long to be remembered by some, and has ever since come to be spoken of as "The Flood," and it was many years be- fore the evidences of the destruction wrought entirely disappeared. It was generally sup- posed that the occasion of it was a partial cloud-burst in the western part of the town, which caused the breaking of some dams west of the village, and the choking up of the nar- row channel of the stream, thereby flooding the valley with the great downpour of rain from the hills.

The first town meeting for the election of town officers, after Ellington and Cherry Creek had been set off from the town of Gerry, was held at the house of Lucretia French, where the first post office had been established, on March 1, 1825, at which time the following ticket was elected: Supervisor, James Thach- er ; town clerk, Cornelius N. Nicholson ; asses- sors, Robert James, Jr., John Leach and Charles Thacher ; collector, Alamanson Hadley ; overseers of the poor, Reuben Penhollow and Ward King; highway commissioners, Robert James, Ira Gates and Henry McConnel ; con- stables, Alamanson Hadley, Benjamin Liver- more and George H. Frost; commissioners of common schools, David C. Spear, C. H. Nich- olson and Parley Eaton ; school inspectors, C. H. Nicholson, David C. Spear and Parley Eaton ; sealer of weights and measures, John P. Hadley ; poundkeepers, Benjamin Ellsworth, Montgomery Evans and Nathan Brown ; fence- viewers, Daniel C. Green, Nathan Brown and Reuben Penhollow.

The following is a list of the supervisors of the town who have been elected and served from 1825 to the present time: James Thacher, 1825; Cornelius H. Nicholson, 1826-27; James Carr, 1828-29; Gideon Evans, 1830; John Woodward, Jr., 1831-34-38-40; Benj. Barnard, 1835-37; Geo. J. Phipany, 1841-43-47 ; Jarvis B. Rice, 1844-46 ; John F. Farman, 1848-53-60 ; Ma- son D. Hatch, 1855; Charles B. Green, 1856- 57-61 : John Farnham, 1862-63 ; Samuel Griffith, 1864-65-72-73; George Waith, 1866-67; Philip M. Smith, 1868-69; Carey Briggs, 1870-71 ; Theodore A. Case, 1874-75-84-86-87-88-95-96- 97-98-99-1900-01-02-03-04-05-06-07; Olivin Put- nam, 1876-77-78-79-80-81 ; Austin H. Stafford, 1882-83; Ernest F. Rowley, 1889-00; Sardins Frisbee, 1891-92-93-94; Charles J. Main, 1908-

09-10-II ; Charles H. White, 1912-13-14-15-16- 17 ; James B. Anderson, 1918-19-20.

John Woodward, Jr., was elected Assembly- man for the Second Chautauqua Assembly District in the year 1835; David H. Treadway in 1848; Dr. Jeremiah Ellsworth in 1852-53; Charles B. Green in 1858, and Theodore A. Case in 1876-77. Andrew P. White was elected school commissioner in 1860, Byron Ellsworth, county treasurer in 1863, and Austin H. Staf- ford, county clerk in 1885.

In the line of the medical profession, Dr. Sands M. Crumb is said to have been the first practitioner through this section, living near Clear Creek, Cattaraugus county. The first resident physician was Dr. William Ware, who moved into a log house between Ellington and Clear Creek, on lot 5, on the 18th day of June, 1829, coming from Hartford county, Connecti- cut. He practiced his profession here until his death. Dr. Benjamin Potwin settled in town in 1832 on lot 37, west of the village on the farm now occupied by his grandson, G. R. Potwin. He died about 1853. Dr. Jeremiah Ellsworth settled in town in 1846, coming from Silver Creek. In 1854 he sold out to Dr. W. B. Schemerhorn and moved to Gerry. Dr. Schem- erhorn practiced a few years in town and moved to Kennedy. Doctors Elijah DeVoe and his brother, Daniel DeVoe, were also resi- dent physicians at this place for many years. Both are now dead. Dr. Newton F. Marsh was a lifelong practitioner at this place, coming here a young man he enjoyed a large and lucra- tive practice until his death, which occurred in 1900. Dr. James Brooks practiced in Elling- ton from 1851 until his death and was suc- ceeded by Dr. Osborne and he by the present (1920) physician, Dr. Spencer A. Drake.

The village of Ellington is situate in the Clear Creek Valley upon parts of lots number: 20, 21, 28 and 29, and its main street runs eas and west on the dividing line between lots 20 and 21, 28 and 29. The purchasers of the land from the Holland Land Company on lot 29 where the village was built, with the date o each purchase, as disclosed by the records, ar as follows: On July 15, 1829, James Brigg took title to 67 acres on the east side of th lot. In July, 1833, Benjamin Vaill purchase 67 acres next west of and adjoining that c Briggs. On March 24, 1834, Vaill also pui chased 75 acres west of and adjoining his othe purchase. On July 15, 1816, Frederick Lov purchased 50 acres west of Vaill's 75 acre and on May 15, 1815, Wyman Bugbee pu chased the tract lying west of Love's and con prising the balance of the lot.

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On the west side of lot 20, Ebenezer Green, Jr., had settled and built a log house as early as 1819, where Albert Clapp now lives. About three years later his father, Ebenezer Green, arrived from Pittsfield, Mass., from which place his son had preceded him, and purchased the son's interest, the latter moving over on lot 21, where he bought land and built a log house on the site of the dwelling lately owned y William L. Rhoades, where he resided for many years. The house first constructed by Mr. Green was the first one built within the present bounds of the village.

Jeremiah Baldwin, from Bethany, Genesee county, N. Y., in the year 1824, articled 99 icres lying on the east side of lot 28, taking feed of same November 14, 1836. On May 3, 828, Horace Wells purchased 60 acres lying lext west of Baldwin's. On November 27, 835, Silas Wheeler purchased 80 acres lying text west of Wells', and on May 29, 1835, Wheeler also purchased 1161/2 acres lying west f his 80, which included the balance of the lot. The two latter purchases by Mr. Wheeler em- raced tracts articled by Jacob Vader and George Altenburg, respectively, of the Holland and Company several years prior to Wheel- r's deed. Vader and Altenburg, who were rothers-in-law, came from Onondaga county, J. Y., quite early, cleared up these tracts, set ut fruit trees and built themselves log houses ; ut finally disposed of their interests to Mr. Wheeler and settled in other parts of the town. a most instances the date of actual settlement nte-dates the deed by several years. Mr. Vaill whose name has heretofore been erroneously belled Vail) was accredited to Genesee county, ut his home appears to have been in New Cork City and he is said to have been a man E considerable wealth : at all events, to him is rgely due the success attending the early ettlement of the village.

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History of Chautauqua County, New York, and its people, Volume I, Part 36

Author: Downs, John Phillips, 1853- ed. [from old catalog]; Hedley, Fenwick, Y., joint ed. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1921 Publisher: Boston, New York [etc.] American historical society, inc. Number of Pages: 649

Author: Downs, John Phillips, 1853- ed. [from old catalog]; Hedley, Fenwick, Y., joint ed. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Boston, New York [etc.] American historical society, inc.
Number of Pages: 649