USA > New York > Livingston County > History of Livingston County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 51
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111
John VanDoren died March 21, 1856, and his wife September 23. 1868. They were buried in the Kysorville cemetery.
William Van Doren was born in the town of Skaneateles, Onondaga county, May 1, 1817 and in 1831 moved with his father's family to West Sparta, where he worked for him till twenty-two years of age, and then for Deacon Ammerman of Mt. Morris for twelve dollars per month. After working for him two years he married Jane E., daughter of Ephraim Walker, of Mt. Morris, Feb- ruary 11, 1841. He then took land to work on shares until 1850 when he bought twenty-five acres, running in debt for it, the total amount of his pos- sessions at that time being five hundred dollars. The venture proved a profitable one, and after working a little over three years, he purchased fifty acres more and moved there with his family. With- in the next two years he bought twenty-seven acres of woodland which proved to be the most profita- ble of his investments. He then bought the Hun- gerford farm of seventy-six acres and moved there, where he lived six years, and then sold one hun- dred and two acres and purchased the farm, on which he now resides, containing one hundred acres. He is now the possessor of two hundred and sev- enty-six acres of land in the town of West Sparta. The pleasant home where he now resides, is situated about six miles from Dansville. He has two daughters, both of whom are married and settled within three miles of their old home, Mary J., having married Wm. A. Green and Jennie M., having married Edwin G. Stoner, both of West Sparta.
In politics Mr. VanDoren is a Democrat, has held the office of Assessor six years, and in 1880 was elected Supervisor by a large majority. He possesses, in a marked degree, those qualities which characterize the useful citizen, the good neighbor, the filial son and the kind and indulgent parent.
The life of Mr. Van Doren, although containing no thrilling episodes, may well be regarded with attention by the young ; commencing life but a poor boy, with his unaided arm he has conquered a place in the world that stands as an example to all.
Mr. and Mrs. VanDoren are now in the autumn of life, enjoying the comforts of a happy home and fireside, and are members of the Methodist church, esteemed and beloved by family and friends.
The paternal grandfather of Mrs. VanDoren came from Holland ; fought in the Revolution and was taken to Halifax a prisoner of war by the British. Her father was a soldier in the war of 1812, and was drawing a pension up to the time of his death. She was the second child in a fam- ily of nine by his first wife, whose maiden name was Mary Lake, born in the town of Hoosick, Rensselear county, a woman of eminent piety, and half-sister to ten children by his second wife.
CHAPTER XX.
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF NUNDA.
N TUNDA lies in the south-western part of Living-
ston county, being the last town but one on the south-western border. It is bounded on the north by Mount Morris ; on the south by Grove, (Allegany county ;) easterly by West Sparta and Ossian, and westerly by the town of Portage. It has an area of 22,291 acres. The soil in some parts is a sandy loam ; in other parts a gravelly loam with an inter- mixture of clay. The soil is adapted to the cul- ture of cereals, of which, especially of wheat, the town was at one time a prolific producer.
The Cashaqua Creek, the only stream of im- portance, rises in Grove, Allegany county, flows through the north-western part of the town and empties into the Canaseraga Creek between Dans- ville and Mount Morris, and thence into the Gene- see river, affording the chief motor power for the saw and grist mills scattered along its banks.
The name Nunda is an Indian word said to sig- nify " the meeting of the hills ;" the popular signifi- cation being " Potatoe Ground," applied because of the richness of the soil, which favored the culture of that tuber. Tradition says there was in early times an Indian village called Nunda[ah,] but it was abandoned at the beginning of the Revolution- ary war, and its exact location is now unknown.
Nunda was originally twelve by twenty-four miles, embracing the towns of Portage, Pike, Grove, Granger, Centreville, Eagle, Hume, and Genesee Falls. It has now a territory of about six miles square. The town of Nunda was formed from Angelica, Allegany county, March 11th, 1808. At an early day its people desired to be annexed to Livingston county, and soon after this county was organized began to take steps to secure that end. In 1846 they succeeded, and Nunda was taken from Allegany and annexed to Livingston county.
The early settlers came chiefly from New Eng- land, New Jersey, and from Cayuga county, N. Y. A few were from Pennsylvania, and from Oneida county, in this State. The settlers came to this new country with oxen and sleds, and some with horse teams. Those who came from a dis- tance journeyed by the Erie canal to Rochester, and from thence traveled overland to this valley. Their scanty stock of goods was drawn by teams from Rochester and Albany, and Catskill, while others shipped their goods on keel boats from Rochester to Geneseo, and from there conveyed
VIEW OF BARNS.
-11
RESIDENCE AND GROUNDS OF E. O. 1
NSON, NUNDA, LIVINGSTON, CO. N. Y.
2.43
NUNDA-EARLY SETTLERS.
them by team to this town. For years there were but few to fell the forests, and cultivate the land which their hardy hands had rescued from its primi- tive wilderness ; while for many years there were, in all this surrounding region, but few schools in log-houses, with but few pupils, and but few of the comforts and conveniences of society and religion with which the town is now so abundantly favored.
The honor of the first residency in the town has been ascribed to Phineas Bates and Bela Elderkin, who located near the present village of Nunda in 1806. A closer investigation shows that they were not what was termed settlers, but "squatters," who occupied land in that locality before it had entered the market for public sales; and who, upon the in- coming of purchasing residents, moved onward to newer and unlocated lands.
The lands in this vicinity were put into the mar- ket by - McSweeny, agent for Luke Tiernan, of Baltimore, owner of the Tuscarora Tract, which embraced fully one-half of the township. After these lands were opened for sale by McSweeny as resident agent, the first actual settlers in the pres- ent limits of Nunda, as near as can be learned, were the families of James A. Paine, Reuben Bates, and George W. Merrick, who came in the spring of 1817, James A. Paine coming March 15th, 1817.
It is known that in the previous year-1816- there came to Nunda, John and Jacob Passage, Schuyler Thompson, Henry Root, John White, and Abraham Acker; but it is not known that they settled within the present limits of Nunda, for at that time the township contained a much larger area than at present.
George W. Merrick built the first frame house ever erected in the town. When he came to Nunda in 1817 he bought some land, and a log-house partly finished, for forty dollars in gold. He raised the roof and shingled it with shingles of his own make without the use of a nail ; laying on a course of shingles and then putting on a pole to weight them down, and so on till the roof was completed. Mr. Merrick was one of the township's most ener- getic and prominent residents. He held the office of Supervisor six terms, and was Justice of the Peace for sixteen years.
Noah Warren was among the first settlers in Nunda, coming in 1816 from Cherry Valley, Otsego county. Remaining but a short time he went from here to Massachusetts, and returned in April 1819. The first night of his stay in this locality he passed with George Patterson, who lived at Oakland in a
little log-cabin in which he could hardly stand up- right.
Mr. Warren settled at first near what was known as "the Corners." He located one hundred acres on the tract then known as the Norton Tract, cleared about fifty acres, and lived there until 1823, when he moved to the Tuscarora Tract, where he purchased sixty acres.
At that time the land where the village now stands could have been bought for seven dollars per acre. There was a log house occupying the ground where the Livingston House now stands, and whortleberries could be picked on what are now the main streets.
Other settlers located rapidly after the opening of these lands for sale. Among the earlier of these was James H. Rawson, who came to Nunda in 1819, and settled near the south line of the town. He lived to see thrifty farms take the place of forests, an enterprising and beautiful village spring up on the site of unkept and unsalable lowlands, and to witness all of the improvements which have added to the wealth and industry of the town. Mr. Rawson held for a number of years the office of Supervisor, Justice of the Peace and Town Clerk. He died August 7th, 1879, in his eighty-third year. Adaline R. Barker, now in Nunda, is his daughter.
Other early settlers were Reuben and Peleg Sweet, Abner Tuttle, David Corey and brother ; John H. Townser ; Willoughby Lowell, who came in 1818, and in that year built the first saw-mill; Alanson Hubbell, who came in 1819, and who kept in 1820, the first hotel in Nunda, which stood where the Nunda House now stands; William P. Wilcox, in 1820, and who built a residence be- tween Nunda village and Nunda station, at what was called " Wilcox Corners," probably so named in his honor; Henry C. Jones, in 1820, and Nathaniel Clough, who came in 1821 or 1822.
James A. Paine, William P. Wilcox and George WV. Merrick assisted in laying out and building the State road in 1821. Earl J. Paine and L. F. Paine, now living in Nunda, are sons to James A. Paine, and are about the only survivors of the early settlers. Earl J. Paine was ten years old when his father located in the town in 1817. L. F. Paine is still a hale and rugged man, with a powerful memory, and one who has played a by no means unimportant part in the upbuilding of the town. From him we learn that the early settlers lived a life of roughness and severity compared to the lives of their descendants.
Living in houses built from logs hewed from the
244
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
forests which surrounded them ; subsisting on what they could cultivate from the meager patches of land hurriedly cleared, or on the scant produce procured miles away in the more settled towns ; toiling early and toiling late, and dressing in home- spun from their own looms; theirs was a rugged life and demanded more than ordinary persever- ance and self-denial, to procure a living for them- selves and families.
Shingle making and lumbering was at first the only important business, the former being made there for fifty cents per thousand, and the best lumber selling for two dollars per thousand feet. In those days deer were abundant. There were also some bears and elk, but not in large numbers. Wolves were so plentiful that the settlers could keep but few sheep, and a reward was paid by the town for the killing of each wolf. Wheat drawn to Rochester, then a three days' journey, sold for three and sixpence per bushel, which was consid- ered a good price. It cost them twelve dollars per year to get delivered in Nunda a small paper published at Geneseo.
In 1820 the Hon. Charles Carroll superintended the sale of lands in this locality. He afterwards purchased the land on which the village of Nunda now stands, which he laid out in the year 1824.
The first grist mill was built by Samuel Swain and Lindsley Joslyn in 1828. William Alward, or C. C. Ashley, built the first tannery. William P. Wilcox kept the first store near the Centre in 1820. M. F. Blanchard and John Gilmore were the first doctors. The first death was that of Cornelius Bulson, who was killed by the falling of a tree in 1820. He was buried on the farm since owned by Mr. Partridge. There was no clergyman in the town at that time to conduct the services; a neighbor read a chapter from the Bible, prayer was offered, and the service ended. In 1832 the Eagle Hotel was built by James Heath, who kept it for two or three years. It was for years the largest hotel in this section of country, and was con- sidered one of the sights of the town. It occupied the ground where the Livingston House now stands.
Under Andrew Jackson's administration-1832 -- the first postoffice was established in what is now Nunda village, and Lindsley Joslyn was appointed postmaster. The office stood on the corner of Mill and State streets, where the store of W. B. Whitcomb now stands.
After the town of Portage was set off in 1827, George W. Merrick was the first Supervisor of
Nunda; J. H. Rawson, the first Town Clerk, and William Richardson the first Justice of the Peace.
The first town meeting held in Nunda when it embraced its original territory, and in the year when it was erected into a township from Angelica, Allegany county, was in the house of Peter Gran- ger, April 4, 1809. Eli Griffith was elected Su- pervisor, and Asahel Trowbridge, Town Clerk.
The first town meeting after Nunda attained its present limits, and had been annexed to Livingston county, was held at the Eagle Hotel, kept at that time by F. S. Cooley, in the village of Nunda, March 3d, 1846.
At that meeting the following town officers were elected : Edward Swain, Supervisor ; Charles E. Crary, Town Clerk; Earl J. Paine, Highway Commissioner.
The following have been the Supervisors and Clerks succeeding that date to the present time :-
Supervisors.
Town Clerks.
1847. Edward Swain.
1848. Samuel Skinner.
1849-50.
Edgar M. Brown. *
1851. 1852. Elisha Whipple. +
1854. Samuel Skinner. Peter Carter. #
Bradford P. Richmond.
1855.
1856. Lewis B. Warner.
Hiram C. Grover.
858-59.
Isaac Bronson.
1861.
C. H. Herrick.
1862.
E. O. Dickinson.
Benj. F. Rollah.
186.4.
Alfred Bell.
Whitman Metcalf.
1865. Herman D. Page.
1866-67.
1868.
66
Geo. W. Daggett.
1869.
66
Milo S. Goldthwait. 66
1871, Jared P. Dodge.
1872. Elijah Youngs.
Benj. F. Rollah.
1873. Jared P. Dodge.
1874-75. E. O. Dickinson. 66
1876-77. Plin. D. Lyon.
1878. William M. Hunt. Adelbert Moot.
1879. Wm. Y. Robinson. Wilford F. Willey.
18So. Benj. F. Rollah.
The following were the additional town officers for the year 1880 :-
Highway Commissioner, J. A. Paine ; Justices of the Peace, John F. Olney, W. S. Orcott, Moses
* Edgar M. Brown was appointed by the Justices of the Peace as Clerk for that year, no Clerk having been elected.
t No Supervisor was elected that year : Samuel Skinner and Alfred Bell each received 146 votes ; and there is no record showing that any one was appointed.
# Charles L. Spencer was soon after appointed Clerk vice Peter Carter resigned. Carter removiog from the town.
James H. Camp. 66
1853.
David D. Tuttle.
1857. L. B. Warner.
Lewis C. Skinner.
1 860. Samuel Skinner. 66
60
1863. 66
Edmond Daggett.
1870.
Charles E. Crary.
R 1_17-
LITTLE
Photo. by Lynd, Nunda.
HERMAN P. PAGE.
Herman D. Page was born December 10, 1828, and Oct. 22, 1852, married Margaret Consales, who died May 20, 1855. By her he had one child, Carrie M., who is now wife of Hector Sinclair, of Janiestown. October 27, 1867, he was agaiu married to M. O. Warner, by whom he had three children as follows :- George W., Roy A., and Albert H.
Mr Page has filled several offices in the town, being, in 1865, elected Supervisor and reelected five consecutive terms. He occupies the old homestead, which is beauti- fully situated about one mile east of the center of the village of Nunda. There are two fine dwellings on his farm-which contains 285 acres-one of which is occu- pied by his tenant. Aside from the fine crops yearly produced, Mr. Page carries ou quite an extensive dairy, having from twenty-five to thirty cows. He takes great interest in keeping up his stock, the farm being particu- larly adapted to this branch of work, as it contains sey- . eral very fine springs which are never dry.
After the death of his father, he purchased the interest of the heirs and to-day is sole owner of the homestead. In politics Mr. Page is a Republican, but liberal in his views, believing that all men should worship and vote as their conscience dictates.
ALBERT PAGE.
The ancestors of our subject were of English origin and moved into this country as early as the eighteenth cen- tury, participating in the Revolutionary war and the war of 1812. Albert Page, son of Eli Page, of Bradford, Conn., was born in Paris, Oneida county, in 1800. He moved into Nunda at the age of twenty-three, and cleared from an unbroken forest the foundation of what is now one of the finest farms in the town. After making a clearing he erected a log house and returned to his native place, where he married Jerusha C. Tyler. Returning, he added 100 acres to his original purchase of fifty, after- wards adding thirty-five and fifty acres. He was married three times and is the father of nine children, six of whom are now living as follows :- O. A., in Ionia county, Mich .; H. D., in Nunda, on the old homestead: Ava E., at Pleasant Gap, Mo .: Edward E., and John E., at Apple- ton, Mo., and Mary L., wife of Charles Giddings of Nunda.
The second wife of Mr. Page was Abigail Hanford, and his third, Eliza Weeks, still lives to mourn his loss. He was a Whig and afterwards a Republican. He filled the position of Assessor and Highway Commission- er for several years, and in 1862-3 was Assistant Revenue Assessor and Collector. Mr. Page possessed those quali- ties that make the kind parent and influential citizen. He was a deacon in the Baptist church for a number of years He died August 22, 1876.
245
VILLAGE OF NUNDA.
Wescott, M. H. Wakeman ; Assessors, John W. Banker, I). S. Paine, George l'assage; Overseer of the Poor, Alfred Tabor ; Collector, Alfred W. Skinner ; Constables, Alfred W. Skinner, Isaac Preston, Ezra W. Davis, Charles Dunn ; Game Constable, J. B. Satterlee, Jr.
For twenty years, with but one exception, the town meetings were held in the Eagle Hotel.
Nunda has enjoyed numerous improvements which have aided the business capacities of the town. Among these was the Genesee Valley ca- nal which traversed the northwestern corner of the town, and which for years was an important factor in the business of Nunda. This channel of com- merce opened up to transportation the vast lumber regions of Livingston and Allegany counties, and for the greater part of its course passed through some of the most rugged and beautiful scenery in the State. From this point to Portage it had a great elevation, which, with its deep cuts through embankments, its numerous locks, and the natural scenery through which it passed, made an exceed- ingly picturesque view. But now all this has changed. The forests have been cleared up, the great bulk of the lumber shipped, railroads thrust out their competitive branches, and the canal ceas- ing to be self-supporting was abandoned a few years ago. * It is no longer the busy commercial thoroughfare of yore ; the boats have ceased to run ; wild grasses grow in the bed of the stream; the locks are moss covered and decaying ; and ruin reigns over what was once not only picturesque, but the pride of citizens and a spur to business activity.
The Rochester, Nunda and Pennsylvania rail- road was another improvement which bid fair to be of the greatest importance to Nunda. The object of this enterprise was to open to the markets of the north the vast forests of timber and the bituminous coal basin of Pennsylvania, which the road was to have penetrated for some fifty miles, and to make a direct communication by rail between Rochester and Pittsburgh, and the cities lying southwest of the latter.
The cash cost of the road was estimated at $6,732,000. Towards this sum the citizens of Nunda contributed liberally. The entire length of the road was located, extending from Rochester, its northern terminus, to a junction with Bennett's branch of the Allegany Valley railroad, its southern terminus, in Jefferson county, Pennsylvania, a dis- tance of two hundred miles. For that distance the
right of way was in great part secured, and a por- tion paid for. The grading, bridges and fencing were all under contract, the road was graded from Belvidere, Allegany county, to Sonyea, Mount Morris, and for some distance beyond toward Rochester, and the track was laid for some thirteen miles over which cars ran. Work on this road was extended over a space of three years, when the enterprise was abandoned for lack of funds with which to complete it.
In 1875, Nunda had a population of 2,697, of which 2,477 were of native and 220 of foreign origin. The white population was 2,864, while of the colored race the town contained but 13 persons.
The sex of the population was 1,397 males and 1,300 females. In the township there were but 19 aliens. The persons of school age, over five and un- der eighteen years of age, were, males, 329 ; females, 354; and in the town there were but three persons twenty-one years old and upwards unable to read and write. The number of males of voting age was 756 total; of which 650 were native, 97 naturalized, and 9 aliens.
The area of improved land was 15,440 acres ; of woodland, 3,747 acres, and of other unimproved land, 1,891 acres.
The cash value of farm lands was $1,009,325 ; of farm buildings, exclusive of dwellings, $143,310 ; of farm stock, $129,737 ; of farming tools and im- plements, $42,038.
Of this area of farming land, 4,949 acres were plowed ; 4,398 acres were devoted to pasture, and 3,213 acres were mown, producing 3,575 tons of hay; 407 acres were devoted to the culture of bar- ley, producing a yield of 5,561 bushels.
NUNDA.
Nunda is situated in the north-western part of the town, and is a village closely bordering on the realm of the picturesque. Nestling in a valley some two miles wide ; surrounded on nearly all sides by highlands of unusual beauty, on whose slopes are some of the finest farms in the county; with its wide and level streets, well paved and shaded walks ; with its stately churches and fine residences, and every evidence of business activity and thrift,-all combine to make it one of the pleasantest villages in the State. It is twenty miles from Angelica on the south; eighteen from Dansville on the east ; eleven from Mount Morris on the north, and a mile and a half from the Erie railroad at Nunda Station, from which point it is accessible by stage.
* 1877.
2.46
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
The business part of the village faces on a broad square, and contains several groceries, two drug stores, millinery shops, clothing houses, dry goods, boot and shoe and hardware stores, harness shops, jewelry stores, marble factory, public hall, two banks, two hotels, and a newspaper and general printing office, all of which are kept up in good style and bear evidences of prosperity.
A noticeable feature of the village is that the residences and business houses are uniformly good, many quite fine : and there is a pleasing lack of squallid and dilapidated buildings so apt to be seen in villages half a century old.
.
The Nunda House, W. W. Church, proprietor, stands on the corner of State and Portage streets, and is a large roomy hotel, superior in many re- spects to public houses usual to villages of that size.
The Eagle Hotel, on East street, C. Smith, pro- prietor, built in 1832-as before mentioned-is a hotel of historic interest. For nearly half a century it has kept open doors for the accommo- dation of travelers and for the benefit of residents of the town, and is still as hospitable as in bygone days. A few years ago it was moved from the site it occupied, on the corner where the Livingston House now stands, to its present location. It is a long, low building, with a veranda across the entire front, and retains nearly the form in which it was built. The large building on the corner of State and East streets was erected a few years ago and was devoted to the uses of a hotel and named the "Livingston House." It was abandoned for such purposes, the ground rooms turned into various business places, and the upper floors changed into offices, and a hall for political and general public business.
The Nunda News, the only newspaper in the town was established in 1859 by C. K. Sanders, who still continues as its editor and proprietor, and who is also the present postmaster, having held that office for a number of years.
The village has several lodges in good working order,-Kishequa Lodge, No. 299, F. and A. M., organized in 1851.
Ancient Order United Workingmen, organized in 1879.
The Foresters, a benefit order on the insurance plan, organized in 1879, and
The Union, an order somewhat similar to the former, organized in 1880.
The village is favored with a fine body of musi- cians, the Livingston Cornet Band, containing
thirteen pieces, and organized in 1879, under the leadership of W. H. Willard.
Among its other attractions Nunda is favored with a mineral spring, whose medicinal properties are becoming quite celebrated.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.