USA > New York > Lewis County > History of Lewis County, New York; with...biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 71
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Jonathan Collins was a descendant of Lewis Collins, who emigrated to America in 1630, and was born at Wal- lingford, Ct., May 3, 1755. He enlisted December 10, 1775, in Captain John Crouch's company, Colonel Wads- worth's regiment, and went to Dorches- ter, where he helped to build the fort there. He was discharged in 1776, went to New York, in Captain John Hough's company, Colonel Baldwin's regiment, and enlisted again to go on the lines at Horse Neck, April 1, 1778. He married Sarah Crouch, January 10, 1775, and emigrated from Meriden to this town in 1797. He arrived in March, and had great difficulty in crossing Sugar river then swollen by the spring flood. The goods were got across on a tree, the horses were made to swim the stream, and the sleigh was drawn over by a rope attached to the neap. He selected a valuable tract for a farm, (lots 49, 50, 70 and 98, for which he received deeds January 3, 1799), and having consider- able means, he was enabled to begin set- tlement to advantage, and to maintain through life an independence in prop- erty, which was surpassed by but a few in the county. He was early selected as a magistrate and Judge, and from 1809 to 1815 he served as the First Judge of the county court. In 1820 he was chosen a Presidential Elector. Few citizens have enjoyed to a greater degree
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HISTORY OF LEWIS COUNTY.
the confidence of the public, and in the various trusts reposed in him by the town and county, he uniformly evinced strict integrity, sound judgment, and a scrupulous regard for the public wel- fare. He died April 6, 1845, aged 90 years. His brother, General Oliver Collins, of Oneida county, was in ser- vice on the frontier in the War of 1812- '15. His sons were :-
Levi, born February 24, 1778, long a merchant at Collinsville, and a mem- ber of Assembly in 1813. He died March 31, 1819.
Selden, born May 22, 1780. Died at Ogdensburgh, June 13, 1857. His son Bryan R. Collins, died in the army at Harrison's Landing, Va., June 15, 1862, aged 61 years. The latter mar- ried Elizabeth Inman, daughter of William Inman, and died March 13, 1865, aged 43 years.
Homer, born May 15, 1788 ; member of Assembly in 1858; resided at Collins- ville until old age. He lived for a time in Whitestown, but died in Ley- den, October 22, 1870, aged 82 years. He was generally known as " Homer Collins, of Collinsville." He held for some years the office of County Judge, and was a member of Assembly in 1858. Anthony Wayne, born February 10, 1797; resided at Turin village, where he died May 17, 1870, aged 70 years.
Jonathan C., born January 30, 1804; Presidential elector in 1852, and mem- ber of Assembly in 1854; resides at Talcottville.
The daughters of Jonathan Collins were :-
Keturah, born December 24, 1775, married Oliver Allis, and died April 1, 1839.
Lament, born October 6, 1783, married David Waters, of Martinsburgh.
Deuel, born April 22, 1785, married Dr. Walter Dewey, of Collinsville.
Sarah, born August 5, 1792, died March 30, 1794.
Sally, born March 31, 1795, married Martin Hart, of Turin.
Mrs. Sarah Collins, wife of Jonathan Collins, died March 22, 1840, aged 83 years.
Seth Miller was from Canaan, Conn., and the son of Benjamin Miller. He settled a short distance west of Con- stableville, and died February 20, 1855, aged 75 years. His sons were :-
Dr. Sylvester Miller, who settled at Lowville, and whose death is men- tioned in our account of that town. Dr. James Miller, settled at Johns- town, N. Y.
Timothy Miller, first merchant at Con- stableville.
Benjamin Miller, who removed West and died there.
Seth Miller, long a' prominent mer- chant in Constableville, and elsewhere noticed.
Colvin Miller, who resided on the homestead.
Mr. Seth Miller, the settler, had four daughters.
Reuben Scovil, died July 9, 1846, aged 77 years.
Aaron Parsons, was the eldest son of the Rev. Stephen Parsons, a pioneer Baptist minister, noticed in our account of Denmark, and died August 26, 1854, aged 84 years. His son Aaron Parsons, Jr., was elected sheriff in November, 1849, and was in Assembly in 1855. Elder Stephen Parsons, above men- tioned, was thrice married, and had eleven children, six of whom removed to the Black River country, before he removed himself from Whitestown. Of these Aaron has been mentioned as one of the first settlers. A daughter Eleanor, married Elisha Cone, and died in this town in August, 1853, aged 82 years. Stephen Parsons, a son, died in Den- mark, in 1832, aged 56 years. Ichabod Parsons, lived in Denmark, was several years a County Judge, and died Sep- tember 9, 1867, aged 91 years. Elihu Parsons, halt brother to the above, died in Pompey, N. Y., in 1842. Betsey, a sister of the last named, married Elijah Clark, of Denmark, and died in 1833, aged 53 years. Comfort Parsons, a son of elder Stephen Parsons, by a third
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF WEST TURIN.
marriage, settled at Wales Centre, N. Y. Dr. Jonathan Parsons, served in the army in the War of 1812-'15, and was taken prisoner. He died in Florida, July 30, 1820. His sister Sally Parsons, married Johnson Foster, of Turin. Grace Parsons, another sister, married Isaac Foster, and died in California, in 1859. Ann Parsons, the youngest of the family, married a Mr. Crane, of Denmark.
Elisha Crofoot, the ancestor of the families of this name in Turin and West Turin, was a native of Berlin, Conn. He removed from Middletown April 25, 1797, having spent the summer previous in this town, and died here March 29, 1813, in his sixtieth year. His wife, Rachael, died March 16, 1813. Their children were: Mary and John Cro- foot, who never moved into the county ; Isaac, formerly a County Judge, and afterwards removed to Fond du Lac, Wis .; Rachael, who died March II, 1813; James, who died February 7, 1866, aged 74 years; Anson, who died July 23, 1825, and David, who died Sep- tember 2, 1814.
Of the family of James Crofoot, Sim- eon B. died August 7, 1846, aged 19; James, Jr., died February 19, 1854, aged 33; Benjamin P., died May 30, 1863, aged 40; George, died March 30, 1864; Levi, died May 12, 1877, aged 59; and William, died April 13, 1879, aged 64. John Cro- foot is a citizen of Constableville, and has been several years a supervisor of the town of West Turin. Elisha Cro- foot is a citizen of Turin, of which town he was supervisor for several years. He has also held the office of sheriff one term.
James T. Ward, noticed a little fur- ther on as a sub-agent of Mr. Shaler, did not remain long in town. The following anecdote is related of him by 'Mr. Alson Clark, in a series of historical articles published by him relating to the early settlement of the county :-
" As Mr. Ward was coming in from Fort Stanwix, he met at the foot of the long hill, now Lee Corners, two suspic- ions looking men, who went on before while he stopped at the inn. Two or three miles beyond he overtook them, when one of the men challenged him to wrestle, as Ward thought to try his strength. and if able, to rob him. He accepted the proposal, and having slight- ly fastened his horse a short distance beyond, took from his portmanteau a bottle of spirits to treat them with, be- fore beginning the contest. He found some other occasion to return to his horse, when springing upon its back he soon disappeared, leaving the bottle in their possession."
Captain Ward returned to Middle- field, where his habits reduced him to poverty. A pleasing incident occurred near the close of his life. One of his settlers, who in paying for land had given several twenty dollar notes, found the relation of debtor unpleasant, and re- solved to take them up. They were all written upon one piece of paper. They were thus written because the law required them to be written upon " stamped paper," and were not collect- able unless so written. Ward opened the paper, computed the sum due, and stated the amount at less than what was expected. Upon being told of this, he carefully revised his figures, assured the purchaser that it was all right, and gave them up with a receipt in full. The lat- ter on going home discovered that one of the notes had not been unfolded. He had previously lost more money than this through Ward, and finally conclud- ed to let the error offset the previous transaction, and kept the secret. About thirty years after, as he felt death ap- proaching from a slow but incurable heart disease, this act came up before him, troubling his sleep, and haunting his waking hours with the chidings of a burdened consience. He at length sought the advice of his family, and for the first time related the circumstances
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HISTORY OF LEWIS COUNTY.
of the case. They at once agreed upon the only course that should be taken. Compound interest was reckoned upon the note, and nearly sixty-five dollars was placed in the hands of Mr. Nathaniel Moore, of Turin, who was about to make a journey to Middletown, and who was engaged to deliver this money in person to the owner, with an explanatory letter. The agent found Mr. Ward, enfeebled by age, but forced to earn a scanty sup- port by day labor among the farmers. He had never detected the error, and read the statement with surprise and gratitude. This transaction, of itself, possessed no merit, for it was simply paying an honest debt; but it has too few parallels in the business dealings of mankind. It produced a still more marked effect upon the mind of the in- valid, whose conscience was thus re- lieved. His widow, in relating to us the circumstance many years ago, informed us, that from that moment, there was a serene and settled peace of mind, sur- passing anything she had ever observed before,, and thus he passed away.
Philemon Hoadley, son of Jacob Hoad- ley wasfrom Westfield, Mass., and settled on the old French road, where it crossed the East road, south of Collinsville. He kept an inn there several years, and died January 8, 1811, aged 57 years. His father died aged 84 years. A son, Philemon Hoadley, Jr., was a settler in Martinsburgh. Lyman Hoadley, another son, died on the homestead near Collins- ville, February 4, 1861, aged 79 years.
William Daniels died January 12, 1849, aged 88 years.
Ebenezer Wadsworth died in Vienna, N. Y.
Elijah Wadsworth died October 17, 1836, aged 72 years.
Seth Miller, Sr., and Willard Allen married sisters of these brothers.
Aaron Foster settled near the State road in this town in 1799, and died in
Martinsburgh, April 3, 1858, aged 87 years. He was the father of Ansel Fos- ter, and of the late Alburn Foster, of Lowville.
Ebenezer Baldwin settled between the villages of Turin and Collinsville, and died November 3, 1834, aged 68 years. His son, Edmund Baldwin, resided there till his death, May 3, 1861, aged 57 years. He was at that time Member of Assem- bly from Lewis county.
Cephas Clark was from Granby, Conn., and settled in 1801. He died December 1, 1854, aged 91 years, leav- ing several descendants, who settled on the road between Turin and Constable- ville. Homer Clark, one of these sons, died April 7, 1862, aged 70 years. His son, Alson Clark, a young man of much promise, died February 5, 1857, aged 36 years.
Rev. James Miller was a Methodist preacher, and died March 31, 1843, aged 67 years.
Rev. Levi Miller, brother of the pre- ceding, was also a Methodist preacher, and removed some years after to Louis- ville, St. Lawrence county, where he died January 26, 1853, aged 73 years. A son of his name was a Member of Assembly from St. Lawrence county in 1854 and 1855.
Elisha Cone settled in 1798 and was the first tanner in Turin. He died June 28, 1828, aged 61 years.
Dr. Horatio G. Hough settled in 1798, and removed to Martinsburgh in 1805, where he died September 3, 1830, as further noticed in our account of that town.
Roswell Woodruff was from Berlin, Conn., and settled near Collinsville. In 1804 he exchanged his place with Rich- ard Coxe, agent of the Castorland com- pany, for 400 acres in Jefferson county, and removed to Jefferson county. Late in life he removed to New Hartford and died there. He was the father of Norris
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF WEST TURIN.
M. Woodruff, a conspicuous citizen of Watertown, who built the "Woodruff House " at that place. He resided in this town in early life, before settling in business at Watertown.
Richard Coxe belonged to an old and respectable family, on the Delaware, in New Jersey, and his sister Grace mar- ried James D. Le Ray. He came in 1800 to supersede Tillier in the agency of Castorland, and continued for some time to carry on the store which the French had established under Oboussier. He was appointed first County Clerk, and traded several years on the hill, a little west of Collinsville, where he built a stylish curb-roofed house and store that stood till recent years. He went off about 1816, and was afterwards many years a clerk in the Post Office Depart- ment at Washington. Charles C. Coxe, his brother, was several years consul at Tunis. Tench Coxe, another brother, was an early officer in the U. S. Treas- ury Department. Richard Coxe mar- ried a Miss Cunningham, a lady of supe- rior education, who became insane. Some of the first county records are in her handwriting.
William Coleman [or Coolman] was an Alsacian, and settled on the Rees place near the High Falls. He removed some years after to Ohio and died at an advanced age at Ravenna, Portage county. His son of the same name be- came quite prominent in public life at that place.
Josiah P. Raymond, came with Coxe in 1800, as clerk in the French store at the High Falls, and afterwards settled on the road between Collinsville and Leyden, where he died at an advanced age. He was the father of Leicester J. Raymond, of Copenhagen.
After thus briefly noticing some of the first settlers we will resume our account of the settlement.
Mr. Shaler built a house near the
present St. Paul's chapel in the village of Constableville, and was accustomed to spend several weeks of each summer in town but never came to reside here. He employed James T. Ward, a man of plausible address and considerable means, to induce people to emigrate to this town ; whether the result be due to Ward or Shaler, it will be conceded that a better class of citizens seldom em- igrated to a new country than those who began improvements in this town, They were mostly in easy circumstances, and early acquired clear titles to their farms. Excepting the first year or two, the set- tlers did not suffer those hardships which are often incident to a new country, as the earth yielded its fruits kindly, and the principal difficulties arose from the poorness of the roads, and the difficulty of reaching markets. As an instance of the expense attending the transporta- tion of provisions we may notice that Jonathan Collins, upon coming to town, in March, 1797, offered to furnish a cart and one yoke of oxen, to any one who would furnish another yoke, and bring in a lot of flour and pork from Whitestown for half, and much of his first year's provisions were brought upon these terms. Game and fish formed an im- portant element in the line of provisions, and of the latter, salmon from Fish creek were taken in great numbers. A long stretch of deep, still water in that stream still bears the name of "Shaler's Hole," from its being an important fishing ground for his people. Deer, wolves and bears were numerous, and two men coming through from Redfield to Shal- er's, once killed an enormous panther over seven feet long, and dragged him out to the settlement.
ARMED EXPEDITION TO BROWNVILLE.
During the winter of 1799 and 1800, three deserters from the British fort at Kingston, escaped to this State, and
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HISTORY OF LEWIS COUNTY.
were making their way up the Black River valley, when they were pursued and arrested by Samuel Brown, father of General Jacob Brown, of Brown- ville, shut up in a smoke-house over night, and the next day taken back to the garrison, for the bounty offered by the British government. Brown's assist- ants in this speculation were two white men named Luddenten and Willigy, and a negro. The price they won was $8 per head, and the punishment received by the deserters was 500 lashes each. The facts spread quickly through the settlements, losing nothing in passing from mouth to mouth, until in reaching this town, they had gained many de- tails of cruelty. It was reported that the fugitives had lost their shoes and were barefooted, marking their trail with their blood. Other incidents were brought in until the story had become one well calculated to excite indigna- tion. With an impulse prompted by virtue, Major John Ives, a prominent citizen of Constableville, seized his gun, declaring that the statutes against kid- naping should be enforced against the sordid villain who had sold the freedom of men for a few pieces of silver. He called upon his neighbors to arm and follow, and the expedition gaining a recruit at every cabin, amounted to about forty armed men by the time it reached Champion. A warrant was taken out from Justice Mix, and de- livered to a constable, with whom they proceeded to their destination, notwith- standing word was sent, that the offend- ing party had employed Indians to aid in defending him and that resistance would be made. The warrant was served and the party was escorted up to Champion, where he was bound over to the next term of the Oneida court, and the avengers quietly returned home. The trial resulted in the heav- iest fine which could be imposed,
amounting with expenses, it is said, to about $800, and a stigma was attached to the culprit, which half a century of virtuous life could not outlive. This incident was related to us in 1852, by Mr. Ichabod Parsons, of Denmark, who had borne arms upon that expedition. In returning with their prisoner to Champion, they were followed by his son, Jacob Brown, through whose man- agement the case, bail was given for trial as here stated. No violence was offered to the prisoner, although some insulting things may have been said upon the occasion. The incident at least shows the strength of the law in the new set- tlements, and the willingness of the in- habitants to abide by its decisions. Samuel Brown, Sr., died in 1813.
AGENCY OF MR. SAMUEL HALL.
The first local agent after Ward, was Samuel Hall, who resided here but a few years. Mr. Hall returned to Mid- dletown, where he died about 1855-'56. He owned extensive brown freestone quarries, which have supplied building material to an immense extent, in New York and elsewhere. His estate was valued $160,000 at the time of his death.
The state of the colony in 1803, at a time when Mr. Hall was the agent, is thus described by James Constable in his diary :-
" Remained at Rome till Monday, September 12, when I left at 9 A. M. for Shaler's settlement, in company with B. Wright. Traveled though a middling good country, but well settled, though the lands are principally held under lease from Governor Clinton and Chancellor Lansing. This tenure is, I am told, very objectionable in the country, and it must be given up when the lease expires. Came to Clark's tavern, six miles from Rome, in the town of Western. This town the Governor is considerably in- terested in, but except near Clark's the settlers are few and the soil not inviting.
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF WEST TURIN.
Some places appear to have been occul- pied, but are now deserted. We saw people going near a mile for water. This is, however, the dryest season ever re- membered through the country, and such a circumstance may not happen again. If it does the people will aban- don this part.
" Passed through Leyden,* which ap- pears very indifferent, and the settlers were, of course, few, most of them in- deed had not been long there. Arrived at Jones', fifteen miles from Rome, and expected to find it a tavern to dine at, but they had left off that business as they told us was the case with their neighbors four miles further, and that there was no public house nearer than Shaler's settlement, so we baited our horses and proceeded through Adgate's purchase and Inman's Triangle, both of which are and appear very rough and bad, though of the latter Wright tells me the part to the eastward is very good.
" We do not find a settler in several miles, and the road, bad as it is, is the only sign of improvement. Pass the two main branches of the Mohawk, now nearly dry, though very formidable streams generally. The Triangle im- proves in quality somewhat, and after some distance we entered Shaler's No. 4, where we immediately saw settlers, good buildings, and crops of corn. His house and other buildings being not far from the south line, we soon arrived there, being 5 o'clock, so that we were eight hours going twenty-six miles, which in a new road is pretty good speed. While dinner was getting ready we looked at the buildings. The house is a good, large, frame house, well finished and grand for that part of the country. The barn, stable and other places for cattle also good.
" The mill is a common country mill with one run of stone and well finished. The saw mill, like others of the country, but not covered in, though the boards cannot be wanting. Neither of these mills had run for some time for want of water. The dam seems firm and good though it has been twice here-
tofore carried away .* There is also a house for potash work which is equal to what I have seen in this country ; but knowing that upwards of $10,000 were expended in these buildings, I was as- tonished to see that so much could have been laid out on them ; but of this more hereafter.
" After our view it was near dark ; we got our dinner, sat an hour or two and went to bed. Everything was well pro- vided for us, and plenty of good liquor from Mr. Shaler's stock. Looking from the house, about 150 acres appear to be well cleared, which is called the homestead, and there are also some very fine farms covered with good buildings, but there is a street (as they call it) about a mile west from the house and of that length, of good farms in high culti- vation, which the lateness of the hour and my other route did not permit me to see.
" I had to go to Martin's, twelve miles north of us, next morning, Tuesday, September 13, and accordingly set off after breakfast, traveling over a road which the settlers by laying out judi- ciously and using have made infinitely superior to that between this place and Rome.
"Our course from Shaler's to Martin's is N. W. through No. 4, and part of No. 3. This No. 4 Wright considers superior to any land belonging to the estate. It is indeed very fine, and being more settled and cultivated than Ellis- burgh appears to greater advantage, but the soil so far as I am a judge is not superior. There is however an advan- tage it possesses over the other in being so remarkably well watered throughout, while Ellisburgh depends upon the two branches of Sandy creek in the dry sea- son. The buildings are all framed and well finished, including barns, &c. We seldom see log houses. On our route we met two men who were desirous of
* Leyden then included the towns of Boonville and Ava.
* The summer of"1803 was the dryest upon record in the Black River country. On one occasion a party of seventeen men, working for Shaler, rather than to go withont flour, mounted the water wheel by turns, tread- mill fashion, and ground out sufficient grain for present use. Several of the early settlers went to Whitestown to mill, and one Wm. Barnes backed home two bushels of corn meal from that place. The first dam at Con- stableville was built like a log honse, and stood less than a year. The house above mentioned was afterwards burned,
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HISTORY OF LEWIS COUNTY.
buying lands on the other No. 4,* which they had been to view, and which they said contained land good enough for any man. I told them the executors + had not yet determined about opening that town for sale but soon would, and make it known. This account of No. 4 was pleasing, as I had formed a very different opinion of it, and Wright says they must have been on the N. E. corner, as the remainder is bad. Crossed from Shaler's No. 4 to No. 3, which seems somewhat inferior, though very little. It has few settlers, his whole force having been hitherto applied to the other, but his object now is to settle No. 3, and he is raising the price of the other to $6 and $7 which the people will not. at present give, but go to the other at half the price. Passed to Captain [Ezra] Clapp's tavern 8 miles from Shaler's [about a mile south of House- ville.] The landlord is a very active, industrious and intelligent man, the buildings and farm about him in excel- lent order, the work of two years. He told me when he set down there, there was not a neighbor northward of him as far as Lowville, and now there are about forty families in a distance of a few miles. I found from the conversa- tion of him and Wright, that he knows every spot of the country ; he informed us that he had been running a line for a road through the whole length of No. 3 and found the soil and ground good. This he did by order of Mr. Shaler, and when the road is cut the town will set- tle immediately."
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