History of Livingston County, New York, from its earliest traditions to the present together with early town sketches, Part 92

Author: Doty, Lockwood R., 1858- [from old catalog] ed; Van Deusen, W. J., pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: Jackson, Mich., W. J. Van Deusen
Number of Pages: 1422

USA > New York > Livingston County > History of Livingston County, New York, from its earliest traditions to the present together with early town sketches > Part 92

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When Alonzo Fowler was overtaken by embarrassment in the pro- dluce business about the year 1858, his warehouse fell into the hands of John P. Casey, who pursued the same line of business for a term of years, when his building along with that of J. H. Bow, went up in flames. During all these years the amount of produce and manufac- tures shipped from here by canal was large, and the receipts of mer- chandise were correspondingly extensive. James Mc Pherson had en- gaged in a general mercantile business, Samuel R. Mccullough in tailoring, Benjamin Dayton in cabinet making, Van Ness in wagon making, O'Meara, Mahar and others in black-smithing, and David Tyler in cooperage. It was here that Daniel D. Spencer was the first superintendent of the canal, established his headquarters and subse- quently resided. Many other families generally in the employment of the state, also resided here, among which might be mentioned Owen O'Brien, James Brady, Eugene Sullivan, John Donnelly, Ambrose Snyder and others.

In the winter of 1841 and '42 Mrs. A. J. Abbott taught a select school in the house of John Spencer, and the same year Rev. George Fridd, a local preacher from Sugarberry, occasionally held service in Amos Fowler's assembly room, or upon the river bridge, and Gen. A. P. Riley of Rochester, delivered one of his characteristic temperance addresses from the canal bridge. Spencerport never was without some reputation as a sporting place, and here alcoholic stimulants ever found an active market. It would perhaps be no exaggeration to say, that the quantity here sold and consumed, would easily have floated the largest craft that plied the Genesee Valley Canal in its most palmy days. The most tragic occurrence here was the murder at the hands of Eugene Sullivan, of his wife Betty, in the winter of 1855, for which he served the state fifteen years at Auburn.

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The canal being abandoned in 1878, and upon the completion of the Rochester & Genesee Valley Canal Railroad, by a company incor- porated the following year, Messrs. Vallance and Lloyd erected a large warehouse upon a side track almost exactly where those of Bow and Casey had formerly stood, and in which they transacted a lucrative business until the winter of 1887 and 'S8, when it, also along with valuable contents was destroyed by fire, and at the same time, the old and unoccupied one built by John Spencer in 1841 shared the same fate-the first business place erected and the last to go down- and thus the last landmark of this once busy little mart was wiped out and all that remain to mark the place to-day are three most modest dwellings and a still more modest passenger depot to the Western New York & Pennsylvania railroad, and the point is designated as Fowlerville Station.

GENESEO.

Geneseo is third in extent of the towns of Livingston county. It is squarish, but of irregular outline, and the four sides face the four car- dinal points of the compass. It is bounded north by Avon, east by Livonia and Conesus lake, south by Groveland and west by York and Leicester, the western dividing line being the Genesee river. The area is 29,937 acres and the population in 1900 was 3613.

The Genesee flats, half a mile wide, are the rich western belt of the town, along which the eastern bluffs slope high in terraces. On the east along Conesus lake some of the hills rise almost abruptly several hundred feet and others slope gradually. Between these eastern and western elevations the surface is generally rolling but furrowed by creeks and valleys. Conesus outlet flows toward the river through the extreme northeastern corner then bending westerly re-enters the town describes a half circle and flows northward again and across the boundary. Fall Brook rises in the southeastern part of the town, runs westerly and empties into the Genesee near Cuylerville bridge. On this stream near the highway between Geneseo village and Mt. Mor- ris is a perpendicular fall of nearly ninety feet. Jaycox creek rises in the northern part, flows westerly, and also empties into the Genesee. There are several smaller streams running into river and lake.

The only village in the town is Geneseo, which in 1900 had a popu- lation of 2400. It is located high up on the tableland of the eastern side of the Genesee valley, and commands an extensive view of the wide valley and hills beyond-a landscape of great beauty. The vil- lage has a thrifty look along both the business and resident streets, and there are abundant indications of much wealth and refinement. It is the county seat, and the principal county building is a court house nearly new. It is the location of one of the largest of the state nor- mal schools, whose spacious buildings are impressive and suggestive. There are five churches, attractive residences, a union school build- ing, a building for the Wadsworth library, and the palatial mansions of the Wadsworths. The station of the Erie railroad is at the

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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY

foot of the bluffs, half a mile below the center of the village. The site of the village and adjoining lands was called Big Tree by the early landholders, and the traditional big oak, near which councils were held and the Seneca chiefs signed away nearly all their lands by the historic Morris treaty, was close by the present corporation limits.

Two miles northwest of Geneseo was a little settlement, consisting of ten or fifteen families, at the time the county was formed. called the Seven Nations. They came there from Lewiston and Buffalo when those places were burned by the British in the war of 1812. The lo- cality retains the old name.

In 1788-9 Lemuel B. Jennings crossed the wide stretch of country be- tween Connecticut and the Genesee Valley, and ended his journey on the flats west of the present village of Geneseo, there to herd and look after cattle for Oliver Phelps. He built a small hut on the lower table land, lived there a while and then went a mile and a half down the river and occupied a large farm. He was the first settler.

Captain Elisha Noble came from the same state about the same time and settled near Jennings. He was respected and industrious, and this is nearly all that is now known about him. His brother came later, and fiddled himself into the good graces of the settlers for many miles around. He is known as "the pioneer fiddler." The fa- mous interpreter, Captain Horatio Jones, settled in the town on the border of the river in 1789, and built a log house.

Jennings and the Nobles made no significant marks in the wilderness, but the next two notable pioneers were instrumental in transforming and civilizing it beyond almost all others that settled in the Genesee Valley before the close of the eighteenth century. They were brothers named James and William Wadsworth, and journeyed thither from Durham, Conn., in 1790, arriving June 10. Their uncle, Col. Jere- miah Wadsworth of Hartford, Conn., had visited the valley two years before and invested in a part of the reserved Phelps and Gorham pur- chase, namely, township six, range nine; part of township eleven, range seven, and one-tenth of the tract known as Big Tree. The two young nephews, William being twenty-four and James twenty-two, were to act as their uncle's agents in disposing of and caring for his lands. After they arrived, and before the year 1790 closed, they bought jointly 2000 acres of the Big Tree tract at the original cost of eight cents an acre, the terms accorded to their uncle Jeremiah as co-

Oid Picture of Geneseo Village, Looking North on Main St. Court House in Distance, Wadsworth Homestead In Foreground.

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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY

proprietor, they engaging to undertake the care and sale of the re- maining lands.

Their first log house stood on the first table lands below the present Geneseo village. In 1794 they built a large block house there, and started apple and locust nurseries. Two or three hired men had come with them, and a slave girl named Jenny, and with their help they had brought from the Mohawk flats a small herd of cattle, which was the start of the great business in live stock and improvement of breeds that has been carried on by the Wadsworths ever since. In 1804 a more commodious house was built on the hill. This was of white oak plank, which was sawed on the outlet of Silver lake, now in Wyoming county, where then was the nearest saw mill. The plank were rafted down the river, and have done good service enough to pay for all the difficulties of getting them. The house was moved many years ago, and incorporated in the homestead of the William Wadsworth estate, where it is now a part of the splendid mansion and grounds.

Besides the Wadsworths as settlers in 1890 the following heads of families bad settled in town before the close of the year: Phineas Bates, Daniel Ross, Henry Brown, Enoch Noble, Nicholas Rosecranz, David Robb and Nathan Fairbanks. Others who came soon after- ward were Benjamin Squier, Joseph W. Lawrence, Daniel Kelley, Benjamin Wynn, William Crossett, Rodman Clark, Horatio Jones, William, David and Samuel Finley. Nearly all of these men quickly constructed log houses.

A notable early building was the town house on the village square, for which the town meeting of 1797 ordered $200 to be collected and paid. The building committee were William Wadsworth, Horatio Ewing, John Bosley and John M. Miner. In 1798 the town meeting voted that "we are well satisfied" with the town house and the doings of the building committee. In 1805 this town house was moved upon the hill and repaired by voluntary subscriptions for a Presbyterian meeting house.

John Bosley, who came to the Genesee valley in 1792 and located in the northeast corner of the town, on the Conesus outlet, built there the first grist mill and saw mill. The former had four runs of stones.

To go back to the early settlers who have been named, Lemuel B. Jennings purchased a farm of about 400 acres a short distance down the river, married, raised a large family and finally divided his farm

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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY

among his children. He was a quiet, industrious man of herculean frame and strength-was so strong, it was said, that he could put up a log house alone.

Captain Horatio Jones was famous as a runner, scout and inter- preter. He was born in Pennsylvania in 1763, and in that state was taken prisoner by the Senecas in 1779, and suffered great hardships. They took him to Nunda, and thence to Caneadea, where he was requir- ed to run the gauntlet. Twice he tried to escape and failed, and finally at their solicitation adopted their customs, entered into their sports, and learned their language. But they kept him in the background in their raids against the whites, and he was left behind by their warriors when Sullivan's army came to the valley. At the close of the Revo- lution General Washington appointed him agent and interpreter for the Six Nations, and he was the able interpreter of the speeches and remarks at the council and treaty of Big Tree. He returned to the valley in 1789, and settled on the border of the river in Geneseo, where he died in 1836.

Benjamin Squier, who came to Geneseo in 1793, settled on a farm of 400 acres next to that of Lemuel B. Jennings, and like him, raised a large family.

The pioneer Wadsworths, James and William, whose initial doings have been indicated, did not have an easy journey from Connecticut. James first went to New York to buy furniture and provisions, and William and his men went overland with ox team and cart. The brothers met in Albany, James having had his purchases transported on the river, and proceeded together to Schenectady, when James took to the water again-the crooked Mohawk-with the food and furni- ture, and William plodded, with his oxen and Mohawk cattle which he procured, over the rough forest roads. They met again in Canan- daigua, and soon finished their journey. In the fall, after their log house was built, and a good start had been made in clearing and culti- vating, all except Jenny became sufferers from fever and ague. This disheartened the hired men so much that they went back to Connecti- cut, and James followed them for a winter's stay, while William and the slave girl remained to take care of things. Afterward there was no abatement of energy, and the brothers prospered. Their block house gave them better quarters, the fruit trees transplanted from their nursery began to bear, farming operations were annually ex-

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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY

tended, their crops and herds increased, and each year they made new and large purchases of lands. Many of these were leased to incoming settlers. They were far-sighted and broad-minded men, and their enterprise and energy kept pace with their ideas. They improved the breeds of their cattle and sheep and varied their crops to accord with local and other market conditions. For a time they kept up a large dairy. They cultivated hemp, had it made into ropes, and found a market for the ropes in the eastern cities. They raised large crops of tobacco, and it was made into plugs in Geneseo, and sold to most of the dealers west of Seneca lake.

In February, 1796, James Wadsworth went to Europe as the repre- sentative of prominent men and agencies who desired to sell lands, and effected large sales, which brought some wealthy Englishmen to America as landholders. But serious financial depressions followed the Revolutionary War, which interfered with his success, and for a time he was considerably embarrassed, as he was again after the war of 1812. But at last he worked clear of his difficulties, 'and continued to prosper until he died in 1844. In 1804, he had married Naomi Wolcott of East Wolcott, Conn., a refined and lovely woman, and two sons and two daughters were fruits of the marriage. He died in 1844, and his wife in 1831. William remained a bachelor, and became interested in military affairs. He started the first drills and trainings in the Genesee valley and rose to the rank of major general of militia. He offered his services in the battle of Queenstown after General Van Rensselaer was wounded, and "acquitted himself with honour," says Turner. He probably held the office of supervisor longer than anyone else in the country-twenty-one years. He died in 1833.

E. K. Walsworth has written of William and James Wadsworth : "They prospered far beyond their wildest expectations, and in a few years they were owners of thousands of acres of the best land in the state. It was said that at one time they could drive from Geneseo to Rochester, a distance of thirty miles, on their own land. Their es- tate was at that time the largest and finest in the United States. They introduced the best breeds of stock and raised the finest vari- eties of fruit and grain, and were probably the largest sheep and wool growers in the country, ranking with Gen. Wade Hampton as the heads of the agricultural pursuits of this country."

After James Wadsworth died, his two sons, James S. and William,

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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY

lived on and managed the estate. James S., the older, became the most distinguished of the Wadsworth family, and his noble career in peace and war are familiar to his neighbors and admirers in the Gen- esce valley, and has become a not insignificant part of the history of the state and nation. He was born October 30, 1807, and was edu- cated in the schools of Geneseo and eastern colleges, being awhile in Harvard and subsequently a law student in Vale. He was for some time in the law office of Daniel Webster iu Boston. He was admitted to the bar in 1833, but the exacting labor of managing his great estate prevented his engaging in legal practice, three-fourths of his father's estate, or the part belonging to himself and his sisters, devolving wholly upon himself. In 1834 he married Mary Craig Wharton of Philadelphia, and in 1836 erected the mansion now occupied by his son James. He became a progressive agriculturist, looking after the farms of his far-reaching lands with laborions and intelligent circum- spection, and availing himself of every practical means available to improve their stock, crops and methods of cultivation, and at the same time benefit his tenants. He was made the first president of the New York State Agricultural Society after its re-organization in 1842. He imported choice breeds of stock. He sent a shipload of corn to the starving people of Ireland in 1847. He was appointed regent of the University in 1844. He was twice a presidential elector in 1856 and 1860. He was the republican candidate for governor against Horatio Seymour in 1862. The legislature appointed him a member of the peace congress which met in Washington in February, 1861, and he opposed the compromises with the South, then advo- cated. He was one of the first to offer his services to the government when the Rebellion broke out, and furnished two ships with cargoes of military supplies, and sent them to Annapolis for the soldiers who had been called there to defend Washington. He was appointed aide to General McDowell, and took part in the first battle of Bull Run, where he had a horse shot under him. In August, 1861, he was com- missioned a brigadier general, and assigned to a command in the army of the Potomac. In 1862 he was appointed military governor of Washington, and was in command there nine months, when, at his re- quest, he was called to active service in the field, and assigned to the first division of the first corps, commanded by General Reynolds. with which he participated in the battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellors-

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ville and Gettysburg, and in the last took command of that famous fighting corps after General Reynolds was killed. Soon afterward he was sent on an important tour of inspection to the Mississippi. In 1864 he was appointed commissioner for the exchange of prisoners, but was soon afterward assigned to the command of the fourth divi- sion of Warren's corps in the battle of the Wilderness, and in that de- structive fighting was mortally wounded on May 6th and taken pris- oner, dying two days afterward in a rebel hospital. There were few more distinguished soldiers in the Union army than General Wads- worth, and none who performed his duties more intelligently, faith- fully and bravely. and from higher motives of patriotism.

Captain Craig W. Wadsworth, who was present in a part of the action in which General Wadsworth was wounded, gives the following ac- count of his father's death :

"My father and his men crossed the Rapidan on the 4th of May. On the evening of the 5th his command was engaged for several hours and lost heavily. On the morning of the 6th he was ordered to report to General Hancock and by him ordered into another position on the right of that corps. My father made several charges with his division and finally carried quite an important position, but was unable to hold it, the enemy coming down in superior numbers.

"This was about 8 o'clock in the morning, fighting having com- menced at daylight. About this time General Hancock sent for my father and told him that he had ordered three brigades to report to him, and he wished if possible with the six brigades under his charge to carry a certain position. Three or four onsets were made but with- out success, the fighting being terrific. My father had two horses killed from under him. General Hancock then sent word not to make any further attempt to dislodge the enemy at present. This was about 11 o'clock a. m. The enemy did not show any further disposi- tion to attack. It was HIll's Corps which my father had been fight- ing. Everything remained quiet until about 12 o'clock, when Long- street precipitated his corps on my father's left and hurled back Wood's brigade at that point in some confusion. My father seeing this, im- mediately threw the second line, composed of his own division. for- ward, and formed it on the plank road at right angle to the original line, the ditch at the side of the road affording his men some protec- tion. It was in trying to hold this line with his own gallant division,

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then reduced to about 1,600 men, that he fell. His third horse was killed that morning about the time he was wounded. The enemy was charging at the time and got possession of the ground before my father could be removed. He was carried back to one of the rebel hospitals. That was on Friday afternoon, and on Sunday morning he died."

During the last two days of the brave general's life, while a pris- oner. he received all the kindness and attention that could be bestowed upon him at the hands of the enemy. When he died, a Confederate (to whom he had shown kindness while Military Governor of Washing- ton) obtained his body, purchased a coffin and had him buried with all his clothing just as he fell on the battle field, in his own burial lot near New Hope Meeting House, twenty miles from Fredericksburg. Thus alone, far from home and kindred, and in the power of that enemy he had sought to subdue, perished one of the bravest of men.

Sergeant John March carried the flag of truce into the enemy's lines and negotiated with Colonel Mosby for the recovery of the body of General Wadsworth. Dr. DeWitt Crum, March's companion and tent mate, gives the following interesting account of the incident :

"On the third following day, the 9th, Captain Benjamin Bennett with about twenty men were detached from the regiment and with an officer from the 57th New York Volunteers and a scout, with an ambu- lance, were sent by a circuitous route back towards the Rapidan. After a forced march of several hours we found ourselves on the road to the battlefield of the 6th inst., when the whistle of a minie re- minded us that we were in the presence of the enemy.

"The little command quickly halted and Sergeant John March volun- teered to proceed up the road and across the open field with a flag of truce. The picket (perhaps color blind) did not recognize the flag of peace but fired away at the sergeant as he advanced towards them, until an officer (evidently alarmed by the firing) came up and at once ordered the firing to cease and the Sergeant to halt. Then it was found that we were confronted by the world-renowned "Mosby" and his command. The officer who first met Mr. March was not inclined to receive his mission kindly and even threatened to fire upon the little squad. Fortunately, at that juncture General Mosby himself rode up and the irate Confederate officer retired. Mr. March was re- ceived with great kindness and upon making his mission known it was readily granted. We were allowed to remain within the enemy's lines

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while the ambulance proceeded up the road on its errand of mercy. Our mission was successful, as on the following day the ambulance re- turned and, as it passed, both friend and foe bowed their heads and raised their caps in respect, knowing that within the curtained ambu- lance reposed the lifeless body of one of America's noblest and brav- est generals, James S. Wadsworth. In connection with the above, we received a call on Thursday of last week from Captain B. W. Topping, of Elmira, who at the battle of the Wilderness was captain of Company H of the famous Bucktail regiment ot Pennsylvania. He says they had charged several times and been driven back by the raking fire from two Confederate batteries, between which the enemy would retreat. While resting from one of these repulses, an officer rode up to the rear and asked what regiment it was. Upon being informed, he spurred his horse through the ranks to the front and shouted, "Bucktails of Pennsylvania follow me." Captain Topping says he had ridden but a few rods in advance when he was shot from his horse and was left in possession of the enemy. The officer was General James S. Wads- worth."

General Wadsworth had three sons and three daughters-Charles, Craig and James, Harriet, Nancy and Elizabeth. All of the sons did service in the war of the Rebellion, and James, the youngest, has since mnade a distinguished record in public life, first as assemblyman, then as state comptroller, and lastly as representative in Congress, to which he has been elected for several successive terms.

Major William H. Spencer, who came to the Genesee country in 1803, was induced by James Wadsworth to open a store in Geneseo in 1805. He was the first merchant there of any prominence, carried a large stock of goods, and was patronized by the pioneers of a large terri- tory, doing a barter trade mostly. In the earliest years the products he received for goods, such as furs, hemp, tobacco, pork, grain and maple sugar, were marketed in Baltimore, being taken in wagons to Arkport on the Canisteo and thence by water. He did not discon- tinue trade till 1837; then he purchased a fine farm in York on the flats, and lived on it till his death in 1851. He was the first post- master of Geneseo. Another early merchant, commencing trade in Geneseo in 1817, was Charles Colt. He was state senator in 1848-51.

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History of Livingston County, New York, from its earliest traditions to the present together with early town sketches, Part 92

Author: Doty, Lockwood R., 1858- [from old catalog] ed; Van Deusen, W. J., pub. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1905 Publisher: Jackson, Mich., W. J. Van Deusen Number of Pages: 1422

Author: Doty, Lockwood R., 1858- [from old catalog] ed; Van Deusen, W. J., pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: Jackson, Mich., W. J. Van Deusen
Number of Pages: 1422