History of Jefferson County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 89

Author: Durant, Samuel W; Peirce, H. B. (Henry B.)
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 862

USA > New York > Jefferson County > History of Jefferson County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 89

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"At a meeting of the inhabitants of the county of Jefferson, in the State of New York, suddenly convened (by command of the civil authority) in the town of Ellisburg, to take into consideration the proper and legal mode to apprehend certain felons and robbers, who, in the town of Ellisburg in said county, being armed, and under the pretense of being in the servico of the United States, to enforce the embargo laws, did there, violently and forcibly, enter into the dwell- ing-house of Captain Fairfield, broke open locks, forced open doors, and robbed the said Captain Fairfield of his property, contrary to the laws; that they refused to submit to the civil authority of the county, and did then and there, by force and arms, seize, bind, and carry away to Oswego ten of our fellow-citizens, who were commanded to attend a civil officer in the execution of process on the said offenders, which citizens have been kept since in close confinement, in want of every comfort and convenience of life, without lawful authority, and constantly subject to insult of soldiery, who seem insensiblo of the rights, privileges, and liberties of Americans. Feeling the spirit of freemen, and viewing this and many other lato acts of violence as rapid strides towards despotism and martial law among us, the es- tablishment of which must occasion a total deprivation of the rights for which our fathers and many of us have fought and blod; there- fore,

" Resolved, That we consider it a duty incumbent on us, for our personal safety, for the security of our lives and property, and for the support of our civil law and authority, to unito in all lawful measures to apprehend the said felons.

" Resolved, That such of our fellow-citizens who have assembled in arms to aid our magistrates and civil officers in the execution of law- ful process against Lieut. Asa Wells and others, who stand charged under oath of felony, be requested to disperse until another trial be made by thom to apprehend the said Asa Wells.

" Resolved, That the magistrates and civil authorities of the neigh- boring counties be requested to aid us in apprehending and bringing to justice the said Lieut. Wells and divers other persons concerned in the said felony.

" Resolved, That we will support the laws and magistrates of the country, and our civil officers in the execution of lawful process.

" Resolved, That Augustus Sacket, Jesse Hopkins, and John Cowles, Esqs., magistrates of tho county, be appointed a committeo to eauso these resolutions to bo published for the information of our fellow- citizons.

" AUGUSTUS SACKET, JESSE HOPKINS, JOIN COWLES,

Comite.

During the war a company of Silver Grays, composed of old men and boys not liable to military duty, was formed in Wood's Settlement, but was not called to serve, except to guard the beach and mouth of Sandy creck.

In the spring of 1814 a complete victory was gained, with slight loss, by a detachment of troops guarding a quantity of military stores from Oswego, under Lieut. Woolsey, which had entered Sandy creck, and were at- tacked by a detachment from the British flcet. The details of this transaction will be given in our chapter on the war.

The aboriginal remains of Ellisburg have given occasion for the weak-minded to believe that they were in some way concerned with buried treasures, and this being confirmed by the supposed indications of the divining-rod, led in early times to explorations for them, despite of the guar- dianship of the spirits of the murdercd, who, according to the most approved demonologists, are ever placed sentries over concealed coffers. The projectors of these speeulations were in some instances charged with making money out of the credulous victims of superstition, by selling provisions, and, in several instanecs, the diggers were almost fright- ened out of their senses by ghosts and demons. Some got fleeced of substantial property in pursuit of imaginary wealth, and others lost the respect of sensible men by the favor with which they regarded these follies. Ou a certain occasion, in preparing the enchanted eircle for digging, a lamb was sacrificed to appease the guardian demons of the supposed treasure ; but this act was generally regarded as a sacrilege, and did much towards bringing discredit upon these heathenish orgics.

In 1828 there again occurred a sickness that was remark- able for its fatality, more especially in the vicinity of the lake, where scarcely a single person escaped an attack. It continued through the summer months, which were re- markable for their intense heat, with copious showers, alternating with clear sky and hot sun. The lake was very high, and the marshes were flowed. The disease assumed the type of a malignant typhoid fever, and was very gen- eral, extending along the entire frontier, being especially severe in the vicinity of marshes and standing water. In the western part of the State this year was distinguished by the prevalence of intermittent and other fevers.

The foregoing is mostly taken from the history of Jeffer- son County by Dr. F. B. Hough. What follows has been gathered from personal examination of town and village records, and from interviews with those whosc memory goes back to the time ante-dating the War of 1812, in fact, with nearly all who are authority upon the subjects treated.

Jonathan Dealing settled in the northeast part of town previous to the War of 1812, in which he served. After the war he removed to Rome, Oncida county, thence back to Ellisburg, and finally to Medina county, Ohio. He dicd at Cleveland, in the latter State. One son, G. K. Dealing, lives at present in Mannsville, at which place he is carrying on the lower grist-mill, the property of I .. J. Howc.

John Miner, from Schoharie Co., N. Y., settled near Ellis village, probably previous to the War of 1812. One son, Captain John Miner, began sailing between Ogdens- burgh and Chicago in 1830, and followed that occupation

"Ellisburg, Sept. 27, 1808."

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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, NEW YORK.

for forty-one years. He at present resides in Mannsville. Another son, Abram, is a resident of Ellis village.

Philip Martin, of Massachusetts, settled near the ecntre of the town in 1806, with his wife and one son, P. P. Martin, the latter now living in Mannsville, to which place he removed his family in 1836, after having taught school there for three years. Philip Martin's brother, Benjamin, located in town about 1804-5, and their cousins, Jesse, Levi, Amos, Joseph, and David, settled about the same time, all near each other, in the centre of town. They belonged to the militia, with the exception of Benjamin, who was exempt, owing to a defect in his eyes. They were called out once or twice for a short time during the War of 1812-15, the militia being held as " minute men," ready to go, at a moment's warning, to the scene of any hostile demonstration.

Daniel Rounds, of Cheshire, Berkshire Co., Massachu- setts, made a trip to Ellisburg in 1816, and bargained for land, after which he returned to Massachusetts and " took unto himself a wife." In the spring of 1817 he brought his wife back with him, and arrived at their future home on the 3d of April. The farm was on the old Sacket's Harbor road, then the only post-road in the town, about two miles west from Mannsville. Mr. Rounds purchased wild land, and made the first improvements upon it. In the winter of 1818-19 he taught district school, and after- ward taught several winter terms. The money thus earned he applied in improving his farm, paying for help to clear it. On this place he resided until after his fourteenth ehild was born. Sinee 1870 he has been a resident of Manns- villc.

John Wilds, a native of Norton, Massachusetts, thirty miles from Boston, settled a mile northeast of Ellis village in 1824. He was a shoemaker by trade, and worked at that business while living on his farm. He was accom- panied to the town by his wife and seven children. His son, Benjamin F., is a resident of Ellis village.

Pardon T. Whipple, a native of Rhode Island, and later a resident of Deerfield, Oneida Co., N. Y., located near the landing, on Sandy creek, in 1803. In 1806 he removed to the farm now owned by his son, George Whipple, a short distance southeast of Ellis village. When he settled, he was accompanied by his wife and one child, and a son was born upon the place he settled that year. After that, and previous to 1806, he moved back to Deerfield, in the vicinity of which place he remained a ycar, returning to Ellisburg in 1806. During the War of 1812-15, he be- longed to the militia of the town, and was at the battle of Sacket's Harbor, May 29, 1813. He died in 1814. One of his sisters was married to Marvel Ellis.

Mr. Whipple was a carpenter by trade, and came to Ellisburg to work on the grist- and saw-mills of Lyman Ellis. These mills stood above the present "Stone Mills," near where the dam now is.

Jonathan Matteson, a pensioner of the Revolution, and formerly from the State of Rhode Island, where four of his children were born, and afterwards a resident and early settler of Chenango Co., N. Y., came in 1823, with his wife and eight children, and located in the northwest part of the town of Ellisburg, where he lived until Sept. 25,

1846, when he died in the 85th year of his age. Some of his children emigrated to the western States. The elder two sons, Thomas and Jonathan, removed with their fami- lies in 1842 to Kane Co., Ill., and settled near the village of St. Charles. Jonathan died at that place during the War of the Rebellion, and Thomas died in Grinnell, Iowa, in August, 1873, having reached a greater age than did his father. One son, the youngest, Samuel Matteson, is now living near the Wardwell settlement.

Henry Green, a native of Stonington, Connecticut, came into Ellisburg in 1807, and in 1809 settled two and one- half miles west of Belleville. It is said there was then not a house between his place and Lake Ontario. Mr. Green was, after the War of 1812, colonel of a regiment of militia. During the war he served several times as a militiaman. His son, James E., is at present engaged in the mercantile business at Belleville.

Amaziah Fillmore settled in the town of Ellisburg about 1810-11. His brother, Ethni Fillmore, located afterward in March, 1815, with his family. Several of the descend- ants of these men are now living in town. A third brother, John Fillmore, died in Vermont. His son, Joseph Fillmore, is at present a resident of Henderson, but lived for many years in the northwest part of Ellisburg.

Willard Alverson, from Halifax, Windham Co., Vt., lo- cated in the town of Henderson in February, 1817, and the fall of the same year removed to Ellisburg, and made a permanent settlement on the farm where he now resides with his son, Wallace W. Alverson. For a short time after coming to this town he lived with his uncle, Knight D. Reed, who had settled in Henderson several years, pre- viously, and who removed to Ellisburg with Mr. Alverson. He was also from Windham Co., Vt. When Mr. Alverson came to his place in Ellisburg a log house and a log barn were standing upon it, having been built probably by John Haskins, who then occupied it, and had made a small clear- ing. Mr. Haskins and his brother Joseph settled here together, and lived close by the lake-shore, where the land was then dry and fertile. Owing to the drifting of the sands the waters of Stony creek were diverted from their channel, and finally overflowed to such an extent that the family was obliged to move to a greater distance from the lake. Some of the timbers of their old house, and part of the sweep used to draw water from their well, are yet stand- ing. The Haskins' nade quite a business of burning lime, quarrying the stone from the outcropping strata in the vicinity, and the remains of the old lime-kiln are yet to be seen. The IIaskins place was finally purchased by Samuel Matteson, now living near the Wardwell settlement, north of Pierrepont Manor. John Haskins' son Horace emigrated to Sycamore, De Kalb Co., Ill., where he now resides.

Salmon D., John, and Aaron Blanchard, with their father, located in the town of Henderson some time pre- vious to 1817, and afterwards removed to Ellisburg, where the elder Blanchard erected a blacksmith-shop, west of the present Alverson place. Two of the sons, Aaron and John, built a saw-mill on Big Stony creek, in Henderson, bclow Henderson village. The three sons afterwards went west, Aaron and John driving through to Illinois with their teams, and settling at St. Charles, Kane Co., and Salmon

RES. OF ANDREW A. WHEELER, MANNSVILLE, ELLISBURG, JEFFERSON CO., N. Y.

MAROUS JUDSON

was born in Monroe, Fair- field county, Connecticut, April 21, 1802. His fath- er was Stiles Judson, the son of Ezekiel Judson, of the same place.

Mr. Judson moved to Champion, Jefferson Coun- ty, N. Y., in 1820. He was married December 9, 1824, to Susan Coughlan. Two years thereafter, in the fall of 1826, he lost his father, mother, two sisters, and brother-in-law, all within nineteen days. He has one brother and two sisters still living.

In 1840, he moved from Champion to Lowville, Lewis

County, N. Y. In 1871 he moved to Mannsville, where he now resides. By trade, Mr. J. is a carpenter and joiner. In politics, up to the time of the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, he was a Democrat, since which time he has voted with the Repub- lican party. He has been a member of the church since 1832. He has retired from all active business, having, by a life of industry and strict economy, accumulated an ample competence. His resi- dence and grounds in Manns- ville, a sketch of which ap- pears below, are among the finest in the town of Ellis- burg.

MARCUS JUDSON .

RESIDENCE OF MARCUS JUDSON, MANNSVILLE, ELLISBURG, JEFFERSON COUNTY, N. Y.

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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, NEW YORK.

locating later in the State of Wiseonsin, where he now re- sides. Aaron is yet living at St. Charles, where John recently died. Aaron and John learned the blacksmithing trade, and both worked at it after going west. The former afterwards worked at the carpenters' trade.

Ellisburg has sent a number of her people to Illinois and Wisconsin, those in the former State all loeating near St. Charles, where they have aeeumulatcd considerable property, now of value owing to its proximity to the city of Chicago, and the quality and quantity of its agricultural produetions.

Rufus Richardson, one of General Washington's life- guards during the Revolution, setted in town very early. He died Sept. 16, 1841, aged 81, and was followed by his wife, who had reached the age of 90, on June 4, 1851. Their son Freeman, now also deceased, was a soldier of 1812. The old Richardson farm is in the northwest part of the town.

William W. Walker, another old settler of Ellisburg, died in 1832. Zephaniah Penney and George Reed (father of Knight D. Reed) were also early settlers of the town. Samuel Dean located in Mareh, 1810, on the farm now owned by Charles Eastman. He was from Chester, Wind- ham Co., Vt., and was accompanied by his wife, five sons, and two daughters. The place upon which he settled was originally taken up by Simeon Daggett, from Westmore- land, N. H., who had made some improvements. Mr. Dean's daughter, now Mrs. Amos E. Wood, eame out in February, 1812, after her mother's death, which occurred in December, 1810.

The Eastman, Mason, Hoisington, Wodell, Noble, and other families were among the early settlers, and some of the finest farms and best improvements in town are now owned by their descendants. Many whose names have bcen forgotten, and of whom no record has been kept, were at an early day residents of the town, and afterwards moved away.

EARLY ROADS.

The first road which is deseribed on the town-records was laid out Oet. 7, 1803, and is recorded as follows : " Be- ginning near the end of a road eut out on the Sixth Town from Levi Sehofield's to Hungry Bay, and where said road intersects a division-line of Great Lot 54 on said town ; thenee (by courses given in description) to the south line of the town of Adams, meeting a road laid out by the com- inissioners of said town to the said line."

Following is the survey of a road " laid out by the com- missioners of highways for the town of Ellisburg, in said town, Dee. 20, 1803. Beginning at the road near the house of Lyman Ellis, on the north line of lot No. 76, thenee north 81° west along said line 164 chains and 66 links, until it interseets the road laid out from Christopher Ed- munds' to the town of Adams."

A road was laid out May 12, 1804, surveyed by Lyman Ellis, " Beginning on the east line of lot No. 25 in said town, where the road that is laid out running from Jerc- miah Mason's to Joseph Holley's interscets said line ; thence north along said line 154 chains and 75 links, until it in- terscets the road leading from Asahel Hoisington's up to the south side of the north branch of the Great Sandy creek, to the town of Adams, laid out by actual surveys."

Another road, laid out Aug. 30, 1804, and also surveyed by Lyman Ellis, is described as follows : " Beginning at the south linc of the town of Adams, at the southeast cor- ner of William Thomas' land, at the south end of a road laid out on the town of Adams, at a ' Small Beech Saplin;' thence south 45° west, 5 ehains, to a maple-tree standing on the line of the road laid out by the commissioners of the town of Ellisburg in the year 1803."

A road laid out June 21, 1804, surveyed by Lyman Ellis, was as follows : " Beginning on the lot No. 76, at the mouth of Bear creek, so ealled, thenee (by bcarings given) to the west line of township No. 1, 5} milcs and 15 chains." Another road, laid at the same time, is recorded as " Be- ginning on the ridge, so called, where the road leading from the mouth of Bear creek, so called, to the west line of township No. 1, crosses said Ridge; thence (by bearings given) to the south branch of Big Sandy creek, and to the road by Mr. Isaae Burr's."

At a special town-meeting, held July 24, 1813, the fol- lowing-named persons were chosen as the first school com- missioners and inspectors for the town of Ellisburg: Com- missioners, Oliver Seott, Elijah Woodworth, William Case; Inspeetors, George Andrus, Lyman Ellis, George Jenkins. Oliver Seott was released from the position of school eom- missioner, and Asa Averill appointed in his place. In 1813 and 1814 the town was divided into seventeen school distriets, and publie sehool buildings were first erected during those years. Sehools had previously been taught by subscription, in houses built in the same way, or in any buildings which could be conveniently used. The first school-house is mentioned in " Constable's Journal," at the date August 9, 1805.

LAKE VIEW HOUSE.

In the spring of 1874, a neat and commodious frame hotel was built by Stephen Wood on the shore of North Pond, for the accommodation of people seeking a pleasant summer resort. The building eost about fifteen hundred dollars. The locality is a fine one for fishing and boating, and in the spring and fall for shooting wild-fowl. During these scasons hunters come to the place in considerable numbers. The present proprietor of the establishment is Mr. Wood's son, George M. Wood, who has made the place one of favorite resort to pleasure-seekers, and has a large eustom. A good view of Lake Ontario is here obtained, looking out across the pond.

DAIRYING INTERESTS.

Within the limits of town there are at present a dozen establishments for the manufacture of cheese, and the in- habitants realize from this branch of industry a constant and considerable profit. The following are among the more important factories now carried on :

Mannsville Cheese-Factory .- This institution was started by Messrs. Shepherd & Grenell in 1863, and operated by them for two or three years. The present proprietor is E. L .. Stone. During the months of September and October, 1877, the average daily receipt of milk was about 7000 pounds, but as high as 14,000 pounds were received daily earlier in the season. Eleven cheeses daily was the fall

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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, NEW YORK.

manufacture of this year, weighing sixty pounds each. The factory is run by steam, and contains four vats and thirty presses. Two hands employed besides the proprietor. Build- ing, frame.

Ellis Village Factory .- Frame building, erected in 1869, by James Rogers. Present proprietors, Tousley & Reynolds. Average daily receipt of milk for season of 1877 about 6000 pounds. In October of this year manufacturing eight 60-pound cheeses daily. Factory operated by steam.

Graves' Factory, northeast of Ellis village, on road to Pierreport Manor, built some twelve or fifteen years ago by Melvin Stearns. Present proprietor, Peleg Graves. Ten to twelve cheeses per day have been made at this factory, but only two being made daily in October, 1877. Build- ing, a small frame.

Belleville Factory .- The building now occupied by this establishment is a large frame structure originally erected by Matteson Freeman for a carriage- and wagon-storehouse and manufactory. The present proprietors (October, 1877) are J. W. Overton and O. and A. Ingraham. Average daily receipts for the season of 1877 about 7000 pounds. Largest number of cheeses made any day during the season 19. Making in October, seven daily. Products of this factory sold generally at the building to buyers from New York, and shipped to that city.

There is a large factory near the Wardwell settlement, and others of more or less importance throughout the town.

IMPROVED STOCK.

James Brodie, a native of Scotland, left her " banks and braes" in 1846 and emigrated to America. He brought with him the thorough knowledge, enterprise, and experi- enee of a successful, practical Seoteh farmer and stock- breeder, and was therefore prepared to embark in the enter- prise of introducing improved stock and developing it in his adopted country. Within a few years he entered into the business, and the following are the importations with which he has been connected : In 1851 the world-renowned Ayrshire bull, "Kelburn," and the cow, "Mary Gray," whose record at local, State, and National exhibitions stands unrivaled. In 1853 one pair of Yorkshire swine was im- ported, and during the same year Messrs. Brodie, Converse, and Hungerford imported seven short-horns, four Ayr- shires, and twenty-two Leicester sheep. In 1854, Messrs. Brodie and Hungerford imported four Ayrshire, three short- horns, and thirteen sheep. In 1856 ten Leicester sheep and one Yorkshire boar were brought out by the same gentlemen. In 1861, Messrs. Brodie and Campbell im- ported five Ayrshire cattle, together with sheep and swine, and in 1864 three Ayrshire bulls. In 1871, Messrs. Brodie and Converse made the most extensive importation of Ayr- shire cattle ever made in the State, embracing twenty-five head, carefully selected from the herds of ten of the most distinguished breeders in Scotland; also eight Shetland ponies from the Shetland Islands, and a Yorkshire boar from England.

Mr. Hugh Brodie has personally superintended the im- portation of nearly all the improved stoek brought into the country, having crossed the Atlantic nine times; and the skill and judgment evinced in his selections have been the

subjects of praiseworthy comment from the best judges on the continent. From the Yorkshire swine imported by Messrs. Brodie and Converse has sprung the " Improved Cheshire," or "Jefferson County Hog," so well known throughout the county and State, and in other portions of the Union.

Messrs. Brodie and Converse have, for about ten years, been engaged to some extent in breeding Clydesdale horses, and own one of the only two establishments in the State for breeding Shetland ponies, the other being near Buffalo, owned by the Widow Lord. The records of the various local exhibitions, from the time of the first importation to the present, bear gratifying testimony of success, and out- side of local and State shows, the herds of Messrs. Brodie and Converse have been successfully represented at the National show at Boston, at Chicago, Cincinnati, St. Louis, and in Canada. These include also the sheep and swine, and at Boston the short-horns.

There are at present (Oet., 1877) three herds of Ayr- shire cattle in town, bred from animals purchased of Messrs. Brodie and Converse, viz : The herd of N. Wood & Sons, numbering 22 head ; "Cool Spring Herd," of the Wm. H. H. Ellsworth estate, numbering 10; and the "Hill-side Herd," of Marlin Wood & Son, numbering 14. Messrs. James Brodie & Son own, in their " Maple Grove Herd," 60 head, and the " Riverside Herd," owned by James F. Converse, consists of 100 head. Beside these herds, there are numerous individual animals owned in town. The Leicester sheep at present owned by Messrs. Brodie & Son number 84, and by Mr. Converse 30. There are a few others in the town.

Prominent among the herds in other parts of the State, as well as in other States, are those of Hon. Samuel Camp- bell, which were founded by the purchase of eight short- horns,-which formed a part of the most remarkable selling herd in this country,-and also about twenty head of Ayr- shires,-the latter constituting the nucleus of a very prom- inent herd.

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History of Jefferson County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 89

Author: Durant, Samuel W; Peirce, H. B. (Henry B.) Publication date: 1878 Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts & Co. Number of Pages: 862

Author: Durant, Samuel W; Peirce, H. B. (Henry B.)
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 862