USA > New York > Livingston County > History of Livingston County, New York, from its earliest traditions to the present together with early town sketches > Part 79
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The following interesting sketch of two notable early residents of the town of Mt. Morris was prepared by the late Dr. Ames and read before the Livingston County Historical Society in 1884:
There are in the village of Mt. Morris two streets, crossing each other at right angles, which from the names they bear, have a his- torical value and significance, viz: Stanley and Hopkins. One was given in honor of Deacon Jesse Stanley, the other of Samuel Hopkins, Esq .- two men, intimately associated by the ties of citizenship of the same town of New England, whence they came to Mt. Morris, and by the religious principles that governed them. They were led to act up to that standard of christian patriotism which builds for the good of coming generations. They were prompted to leave the better organized community of Connecticut, then a land of schools and churches, for the purpose of laying the foundations of society upon a like basis, in this the then far west. They were also bound together by family ties, which renders the association of their names in history a necessity as well as a matter of eminent propriety. They both came to Mt. Morris from Goshen, Conn., a town of which it could be said, over eighty years ago, "In that town of 1,200 people there was no such thing as a poor dependent family, no tenant, no rich man except a single merchant. Every farmer tilled his 100 or 200 acres of land, chiefly with the labor of his own, or his son's hand."
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Where it was at that time rare to find a person that could not both read and write ; where a library association existed, as was common in other towns; where men read not only the Bible but history, and the writings of Addison, Pope, Blair, Hume and Johnson; where a town election was held with order and decorum not much less than that of divine service. Such were the conditions and customs of society where these two men were born and reared. By occupation they were farmers, and men of intelligence.
They located in what is now the village of Mt. Morris, then known as "Allen's Hill," in the township of Leicester, Deacon Stanley on the north of the village and Mr. Hopkins on the south of it. Mr. Hop- kins lived only about nine years after locating in Mt. Morris, coming here with his son Mark Hopkins in 1809, while Deacon Stanley lived there thirty-five years, long enough to impress the savor of his life upon the community and to leave a name that can be recalled only with veneration and respect, and of whom it is said, "He never had an enemy."
Deacon Stanley came to "Allen's Hill" in 1810, and purchased seven acres of land within the present limits of the village, which included the sites of the present residences of N. A. Seymour, L. C. Bingham, and other residences and the Presbyterian church. He with his son-in-law, Mark Hopkins, built the first two framed houses (the priority of which is a little doubtful) in the town. They both were erected on what is now State street. A part of the original Stanley house is still standing on Murray street, between the residences of J. G. Frost and Mrs. Philo Thomson. He purchased ninety-eight acres of land on the flats for twenty dollars per acre. The canning factory and the station of the D. L. and W. railroad are upon that land. It was known for many years as the Stanley flats. It was afterward owned by the late Gen. Wm. A. Mills. Deacon Stanley also purchased a farm' south of the village of 160 acres, now owned and occupied by the heirs of the late James H. McNair, and still farther south a wood lot of 150 acres, which was the residence of his son, Luman Stanley, for many years, the same farm now being occupied by James Bevier. He did much for the material in- terest of Mt. Morris. He caused the public square to be grubbed and cleared up. He was largely instrumental in the construction of the mill race, which has afforded such an excellent and safe water power
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to Mt. Morris and is today a monument to his foresight and enterprise.
But the chief glory and crown upon the head of Jesse Stanley, which dims not with the passing years, was his religious character, which enabled him to say not long before he passed away, that in the review of his life, he could testify that the prominent and prevailing reason that induced him to leave his eastern home, was that he might aid in building up society and promote the cause of his Redeemer in Western New York, where, at that time, such a man with such principles, actuated by such motives, was greatly needed. His name stands at the head of the list of those who organized the Presbyterian church at Mt. Morris, April 29, 1814. He was chosen an elder and was ever active in church work. For many years he led the choir in singing. He was born in Goshen, Conn., December 23, 1757, and died at Mt.
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WESTERN VIEW OF MT. MORRIS VILLAGE.
Morris, N. Y., June 24, 1845, aged eighty-seven and one-half years- like a shock of corn fully ripe. He was thrice married-all three of the wives preceded him to the better land.
Samuel Hopkins, Esq., was born in Waterbury, Conn., November 10, 1748. He married Molly Miles, June 22, 1771, and removed to Goshen, Conn., May, 1774. After residing there over thirty years,
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he came to Mt. Morris about the same time as his son Mark, (who was a son-in-law of Deacon Jesse Stanley), then an agent for the eastern proprietors of the Mt. Morris Tract, in 1809. He settled upon a farm of fifty acres in the southern part of the present village through which Hopkins street now runs. His first wife, who was the mother of his children, died in Geneseo at the house of their son, the late Hon. Samuel Miles Hopkins, Sept. 18, 1811. He afterwards married a Miss Pratt, who survived him over twenty years.
The house in which he lived so long is still standing on Hopkins street. His farm was left to his widow during her lifetime, and was not divided into village lots until after her death. It was then divided among the heirs of Mr. Hopkins and brought into the market, and now constitutes a compactly settled part of our village. Mr. Hopkins died at Mt. Morris, March 19, 1818, aged sixty-nine and one- third years. He was the first person buried in what is now called the old cemetery. He was a man of sterling worth, of great benevolence and kindness both to man and brute creation, and of more than ordi- nary intelligence. He belonged to a family of no little importance in Connecticut history. He was near of kin to Samuel Hopkins the great theologian, and brother of Dr. Lemuel Hopkins of Hartford, an eminent physician and poet, an associate of Trumbull, Humphries, Wolcott and Theodore Dwight in a literary club immediately succeed- ing the war of the Revolution, whose writings had an important influence upon the questions that agitated the people at that forming state of the nation.
Though Mr. Hopkins was engaged in the laborious occupation of a farmer, "he found time to read nearly all of value that had been written on mental philosophy. He read Locke, Hume and Edwards and could repeat Pope's Essay on Man without having purposed to commit to memory." He was ingenious and had great mechanical skill and inventive mind. It is said of him, that he was the inventor of the whole tire of a carriage wheel, as he had never heard of such a thing till introduced by himself about 1800. Before that time the method was to put the iron on the wheel in pieces and spike them on. Several other inventions are credited to him.
Mr. Hopkins and Deacon Stanley could both claim an excellent ancestry and the names of both are honored in their descendants. Worthy men and women have been the children and descendants of
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each, to the third and fourth generation, noted for their intelligence, as well as for their moral worth and religious characters. Some of them have held civil positions of honor and trust. One of these men is represented by a grandson who is a clergyman and professor in Auburn Theological seminary, both by a great grandson each, as college professor at Hamilton. Two clergymen in the city of Rochester hold the relation, each of them, of great grandson to both Deacon Stanley and Mr. Hopkins. One is the president of a theological seminary, the other the pastor of an important and flourishing church. So it seems conclusive that the good that these men did, did not die with them.
THE CHURCHES OF MOUNT MORRIS.
The First Presbyterian Church of Mount Morris was organized April 29th, 1814, with fourteen members. The first minister was Mr. Stephen M. Wheelock, a licentiate, who continued here for three years after the organization. His successor was the Rev. Silas Pratt, who came in 1817 to be followed by the Rev. Elihu Mason in 1818, and the Rev. Bartholomew F. Pratt in 1821, the Rev. Wil- liam Lyman, D. D. in 1825, the Rev. Abel B. Clary in 1827, the Rev. James McMaster in 1828, the Rev. Calvin Bushnell in 1830, the Rev. James Wilcox in 1831, the Rev. George W. Elliott in 1832, the Rev. Clark H. Goodrich in 1834, the Rev. John VanBuren in 1838, the Rev. Cyrus Hudson in 1839, the Rev. C. H. A. Bulkley in 1847, the Rev. Darwin Chichester in 1851, the Rev. Levi Parsons in 1856, who died May 30th, 1901, after a pastorate of forty-five years. His suc- cessor was the Rev. Walter M. Swann who came in 1902 and remained but one year.
There was a Sabbath school connected with this church as early as 1814 which was permanently organized in 1817. It was the result of the labors of Mrs. Oliver Stanley, and Emily, the daughter of Luman Stanley. Allen Ayrault was superintendent in 1818. From 1831 to 1866 this office was filled, with slight exceptions, by Harry Evarts and Hon. George Hastings. Among the first pupils were a number of Indian children. The service of Judge Hastings as superintendent was for twenty-five years and lasted until his death.
Prior to the organization of this church, and for eighteen years after,
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the services were held in the school house which was on the west side of what was then an open square. The first church was dedicated in January, 1832, and stood on the north side of that square. In 1841 this building was moved about twenty rods to the south and enlarged. It was destroyed by fire in 1852. The present brick church was erected in 1854.
The first Methodist minister in Mount Morris was the Rev. J. B. Hudson. He came from Allegany county to Allen's Hill in 1804 and wrote that he "saw no signs of civilization by the way." He had seen only a few scattered houses. These were tenants of the "White Woman," Mary Jemison. When he arrived he found a few Methodists and Mount Morris was made a preaching place on the circuit. The society was organized in 1822. There were then thirteen members. For years it worshiped in various school houses. But the leaders and the preachers were strong men. The early pastors were such men as the Revs. Wilbur Hoag, Merrit Ferguson, and Jonathan Bensom. In 1831 the contract for a church was let and in 1833 it was com- pleted. A revival started when it was dedicated and the community was stirred to its depths. The pastor was the Rev. J. Lent. In 1856 the Episcopal church edifice was obtained and the adjacent lot on which was a dwelling which was suitable for a parsonage. Ten years later $4,500 were expended on the church for repairs and a few years later Mr. and Mrs. George Green made a generous gift to the In 1878 a church of a new, commodious and beautiful parsonage.
noted evangelist, the Rev. E. E. Davidson visited this town and conducted a series of meetings. From this there was a great in- crease in the membership of this and every other church in Mount Morris. A fine pipe organ costing $2,200 was placed in the church when it was under the pastoral care of the Rev. W. B. Waggoner. The church is in flourishing condition and its Sunday school and Epworth League are active and doing efficient work.
One of the handsomest edifices in the diocese of Western New York of the Episcopal Church is St. John's Church in Mount Morris. Its proportions, its tall and graceful spire and its situation command attention from every passer-by. The meeting for the purpose of in- corporating as a church was held on Easter Wednesday in the year 1833. The Rev. Thomas Meacham, at that time in charge of St. Mark's Church, Hunt's Hollow, had been holding occasional services
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in the village school house, where this vestry meeting was called. He was then invited to become the first resident clergyman of the proposed St. John's Church then constituted, but so far without any designated place of meeting under that title. Mr. Meacham ac- cepted the call and became the first rector of Mount Morris, March 3rd, 1834. Their first church was erected on the southeast corner of Chapel and Stanley streets, the corner stone being laid by the Rev. Dr. Henry J. Whitehouse for the Right Reverend Benjamin Onderdonk, Bishop of New York. The Rev. Henry S. Atwater be- came their next rector in 1837 and the Rev. Charles Cooper in 1843. Mr. John R. Murray's name first appears upon the records as an officer of the church in April, 1844. In 1847 the Rev. M. Van Rensselaer, D. D., LL.D., took charge of the church.
In 1854 it was necessary to enlarge the church to accommodate the growing congregation. Mr. Murray at first offered $1,500 for the church and lot and proposed to give another lot on which the vestry might build another church. He then made another offer. For the church and $1,500 he agreed to build the church upon another lot, the plans to be decided by him. This offer was accepted. The beautiful new church was consecrated by Bishop DeLancey, of Western New York, on the 18th of September, 1856. In 1857 Mrs. Murray offered the church a lot for a rectory and $1,500. The offer was accepted. Upon the death of Mrs. Murray her husband informed the vestry of her wish to be buried in the churchyard. Arrangements were then made for conveying to Mr. Murray in perpetuity a burial plot there. In this now repose the original donors of the greater part of the present church property Mr. and Mrs. John R. Murray. The spot is marked and kept sacred by a handsome granite stone. Memorial win- dows have been placed in the church to the memories of the Mur- rays, Judge Carroll and the son of Mrs. Howell. The church is prosperous with a devoted membership.
The early records of the Baptist Church of Mount Morris are lost. Previous to its organization there existed a small Baptist church at Groveland, occupying as a place of worship what is known as the Norton school house. It did not exist for many years and on March 1st, 1839, its members united with the Baptists of Mount Morris to found the Baptist church of that village. The present church edifice was erected about the year 1842 by Edwin Stilson, of the Ridge,
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and the dedicatory sermon was preached by the Rev. Elon Galusha, then pastor of the Baptist Church of Perry, and a son of a former Governor of Vermont. In a few years it became necessary to put an addition on the south end of the church, and in the year 1873 the present lecture room and organ loft were built, and an organ placed therein at an expense of $2,300, all of which was promptly paid. Extensive revivals have characterized the history of the church, especially in the year 1848. At that time fifty persons were added to its membership. This remains at the number maintained for over fifty years, from one hundred and fifty to one hundred and seventy-five. The records having disappeared the history of the Sun- day school cannot be given, but is believed that the school has been continued without interruption during all the existence of the church. The late Hon. R. P. Wisner became its superintendent in 1850 in which he remained for twenty years. After his death in 1872 Doctor Z. W. Joslyn was elected and continued as such until his death in 1889.
The first Baptist church of the town was organized at the Ridge on the twenty-first of June, 1823. Their meetings were held in school houses and private dwellings until 1827 when they built a log church at the Ridge where the present church stands. It was comfortable at all seasons and was well furnished with seats and stoves, and was the first house built in the town expressly for religious worship. In August, 1832, a revival added seventy-six to the membership of the church. Others followed until the church numbered in 1833 one hundred and sixty members. The church continued to prosper, and maintained public worship until about 1849, when, by the removal of many, and the uniting of others with the village church it was deemed best to abandon the organization. This was done and the building was sold to the Methodist Episcopal Church, who now occupy it as a place of worship.
The Second Presbyterian Church of Mount Morris was organized in 1830. The Rev. Elam Walker was the first minister and the church prospered. He was followed by the Rev. Messrs. Hall, Ward and Lindley. The society numbered about fifty members but never had a church edifice. It united with a school district in building a school house, which was used for both religious services and school purposes. It was situated five miles south of Mount Morris village on the west
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side of the State road. In 1841 a church of the Reformed Church in America (Dutch Reformed) was organized in that neighborhood and this church was abandoned.
The (Dutch) Reformed Church of Mount Morris was organized in 1841 by about twenty descendants of the old Holland stock who settled in this state and New Jersey almost three hundred years ago. These settlers came from the Mohawk valley and New Jersey, to Mount Morris. In 1847 they built a church about a mile north of Tuscarora. During that year the Rev. James G. Brinkerhoof, who came from New Jersey, became their pastor. He remained until 1860. There being no element from which the church might grow proportionately in this town the church remained closed from this time for any but occasional services until it was sold by the only surviving member, Jacob Van Wagner, to the Methodists of Union Corners in 1880. The building was removed there.
The Presbyterian Church of Tuscarora was incorporated in 1844 as a Reformed Church, by the Rev. Isaac Hammond. This had its origin in a settlement of the same descendants of the old settlers from the Netherlands. The early ministers were of the same stock and after its re-organization as a Presbyterian church in 1846 its pastor, the Rev. Peter S. Van Nest, remained with the congregation until October, 1851. Although its members have been much depleted by removals and other causes the church retains a considerable measure of prosperity.
The Free Methodist Church of Tuscarora was organized in August, 1875, with about seventy members, by the Rev. R. M. Snyder who became the first pastor and remained two years. He was succeeded by the Rev. William Southworth, who remained until the fall of 1880. The services were held in the school house. As no reg- ular pastor succeeded Mr. Southworth the organization gradually dwindled, and has not existed for many years.
Catholicism in Mount Morris had its beginning when in 1838 a Father Maguire came to the village and first administered to the spiritual wants of the originators of St. Patrick's Church. Later other priests came from time to time from Buffalo, Rochester, Lima, Portageville and Dansville. On these occasions services were held in private houses, among them John Toole's in Damonsville, Thomas Sloan's on Conkey street, Keron Ryan's on Hopkins' street, and
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James Hart's on the flats. As work in the construction of the Genesee Valley canal, which brought most of them here, moved in the direction of Tuscarora, then known as Brushville, a small church was erected there, on ground the use of which was donated by Judge Carroll, of Groveland. When operations on the canal ceased, services there were discontinued, as the members came back to Mount Morris in 1842, and the little church was subsequently torn down. Being poor and few in numbers, they did not rebuild until 1851. During those nine years services were again held in private houses, in the old school house and in Green's Hall. Among the priests who came occasionally to say mass and preach for them were the Rev. Bernard O'Reilly, of Rochester, who afterwards became Bishop of Hartford, and perished at sea on his return from Europe, in 1856, Fathers O'Connor of Buffalo, Maguire of Lima, Edward O'Flaherty and Charles Tierney of Dansville, McEvoy, Barker, D. D., and Carroll of Rochester, Dolan and Moore of Portage, and Fathers McKenna, Murphy and Shehan of either Buffalo or Rochester.
Under the Rev. Father Maguire, the first church was built on the site now occupied by the parsonage, and facing Chapel street. It was a very small structure, but was subsequently enlarged two or three times to meet the demands of increasing membership. Rev. James Ryan, who came here in 1857, was the first resident priest in Mount Morris. Owing to poor health and an extensive mission, which included several of the neighboring towns, the Rev. J. Z. Kunz assisted him for a short time. Father Ryan remained only a year and was succeeded by the Rev. Bernard McCool, who also had an assist- ant at one time in the person of the Rev. John Vahey, at another, in the person of the Rev. R. Stack.
The Rev. Richard J. Story, now pastor of the Catholic church at Brockport, N. Y., succeeded Father McCool, the length of whose pastorate was less than a year. Father Story remained in charge four years. Accordingly, in 1862, a new pastor came in the person of the Rev. Daniel Moore, who was no stranger to the people of Mount Morris, as he had attended them formerly while resident at Portage. Father Moore remained until March, 1866, when the Rev. Edward McGowan was appointed his successor. Father McGowan held the charge until 1869, when Rev. David O'Brien succeeded him. Under Father O'Brien the house and lot on the corner of Chapel and Stanley
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streets, owned by James Conkey, and joining the lot on which the church stood, were purchased. The old church was moved back and made into a barn and is used for that purpose now. The house, which stood on the corner, was moved and placed on the site of the old church and enlarged. The new church was then built on this corner lot, is a brick structure, of Gothic architecture, forty by one hundred feet long and cost $30,000. Its tower is 138 feet high, surmounted by a gilded cross six feet high. The roof and tower are slated. In the sanctuary against the wall is a Gothic arch, thirty-six by eighteen feet and two side arches corresponding. Sixteen immense braces and brackets support the roof. Its walls are of hard finish with richly ornamented cornices. The church is lighted by sixteen memorial stained glass windows. The corner stone was laid on Thursday, Oc- tober, 1869, and the Church dedicated on Thursday, December 18, 1873, by Rt. Rev. B. J. McQuaid. Father O'Brien left about the first of March, 1874, and was succeeded by the Rev. M. M. Meagher, who remained in charge a little over a year. His successor was the Rev. J. J. Donnelly, now pastor of the Catholic church at Victor, N. Y. Father Donnelly was appointed pastor of the churches at Mount Morris, Geneseo and Nunda on August 1st, 1875, and continued in charge until the summer of 1882. Rev. James H. Day was appointed pastor May 1, 1893 and is still in charge. From July 1898 to November 1899, Rev. E. A. Rawlinson resided with Father Day in the capacity of assistant pastor. The congre- gation own a beautiful cemetery of nearly eighteen acres, pur- chased in 1885, at a cost of $4,379.61. The membership of the church is about two hundred families.
NORTH DANSVILLE.
North Dansville was formed from Sparta in 1846. In 1849 an additional part of Sparta was transferred to its territory, making it about three miles square. It is one of the extreme southern towns of Livingston county, and is its smallest in area and largest in popula- tion. Area 5,343 acres, and population in 1900 was 3961, of which the village population was 3633. It is bounded north by Sparta, east by Wayland (Steuben County), south by Dansville (Steuben county), and west by West Sparta and Ossian. It is mostly on the flats of Canaseraga creek, between the high east and west hills of the upper valley, which rise on the east about 800 feet and in places are al- most precipitous. The flats here, as elsewhere in the Genesee Valley -of which the Canaseraga valley is a continuation-are very rich, and upon them fruit trees are productive and extensive nurseries and fine annual crops of corn, wheat, beans and vegetables are grown. The soil of the hillside is a gravely and clayey loam which feeds vineyards of choice grapes. Canaseraga creek, which rises a few miles southward, runs through the town, and three or four other streams center here, uniting to increase the flow of Canaseraga. This and Mill creek furnish a great deal of good water power from the flow of their descent of sixty feet within the limits of the town.
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