USA > New York > Oneida County > History of Oneida County, New York, 1667-1878 > Part 161
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He has been an active and enterprising business man, and his integrity and solid traits of character have won for him a large share of the esteem and confidence of his fellow- citizens, who have intrusted him with various situations of responsibility, the duties of which he has faithfully dis- charged. A Democrat in politics, lie has ever been an earnest supporter of the principles of his party. He held the office of assessor of his town three years, having been elected in 1869, and in 1875 he was elected to the office of excise commissioner. In his religious belief he has been a Baptist, and always a liberal contributor to the cause of religion. His life has been one of constant effort and per- severance.
CHAPTER XLV.
WESTERN.
WESTERN lies north of the centre of the county, and includes an area of 33,055 acres. The original patentees of this town were Jellis Fonda, John Lansing, Jr., Ray & Lansing, John Taylor, Judge Oothoudt, Goldsbrow Banyer, Lush & Stringer, Stephen Lush, Thomas Machin, and Thomas and William Burling. Fonda's Patent, containing 40,000 acres, was purchased of the original patentee, Jellis Fonda, by John Lansing, Jr., George Clinton, William Floyd, and Stephen Lush, and this patent now constitutes portions of the towns of Western, Lee, Floyd, and Steuben, and the city of Rome.
The streams which water this town are the Mohawk River, Lansing Kill, Stringer's Creek, Big Brook, and others of less importance. Those mentioned furnish fine .power, and numerous mills have at different periods been erccted upon them. The soil in the valley of the Mohawk is deep and fertile in its alluvial nature, and spring evinces
its love for the locality by first unfolding the delicate petals of the flowers and breathing warmth over the meadows before any other part of the town is yet freed from the icy bonds of winter. It is said to be a remarkable fact that fogs are never known in the Mohawk Valley in this town, while the dews are always heavy, so that with but little rain-fall an abundant supply of grass and grain is produced. The remainder of the town is very hilly, but the soil is very good for grass and grain, though better for meadow and pasturage. Very good quarries of limestone are found, from which an excellent building-stone is taken.
The patentees of this town refused to convey a title to settlers upon their lands, the most common method being to give leases in perpetuity, or for three lives, and receive annual rents, and the evil effects of this system were made manifest here as well as in all other localities where the practice was adopted. For many years the inhabitants labored under its disadvantages. Roads were constructed early in the settlement of the town, and late in the fall of 1789 the few inhabitants built a bridge across the Mohawk River,-said to be the first to span that stream between its source and its mouth .* Not a plank nor stick of hewn timber was used in its construction, and yet it stood for a great many years, buffeting wind and storm, and withstand- ing the freshets so common in this stream.
ORGANIZATION, FIRST TOWN-MEETING, ETC.
The town of Western was formed from a part of Steuben, March 10, 1797. Lee was taken off in 1811, leaving it with its present boundaries. The first town-meeting was held at the house of Erckt Sheldon, on the 4th of April, 1797, when the following officers were elected : Supervisor, John Hall; Town Clerk, George Brayton ; Assessors, Asa Beckwith, Jr., Daniel Spinning, Charles Offord ; Collector, William Satchell; Poormasters, Joshua Wells, Nathan Bar- low ; Commissioners of Highways, John West, Daniel Reynolds, Daniel Eames; Constables, William Satchell, Richard Smith ; Fence-Viewers, Lemuel Beckwith, Ezekiel Cleaveland, Martin Miller; Poundmaster, Jonathan Swan ; Commissioners of Schools, Isaac Aldin, Edward S. Salis- bury, Jonathan Swan.
The Supervisors of this town since 1798 have been the following persons, viz .: 1798-99, John Hall; 1800-24, Henry Wager, Esq .; 1825-31, Benjamin Rudd; 1832- 33, Arnon Comstock ; 1834, Hervey Brayton ; 1835-39, David Utley ; 1840, Henry Wager, Jr. ; 1841-48, David Utley ; 1849-51, George Hawkins; 1852-54, Griffith W. Jones; 1855-57, John Hawkins; 1858-60, Squire Utley; 1861-62, Squire W. Hill; 1863-69, Nathaniel D. Bron- son ; 1870, Joseph French ; 1871, Nathaniel D. Bronson ; 1872-73, Joseph French ; 1874-75, Ephraim Dillenbeck ; 1876-77, Joseph French ; 1878, J. V. Gue. The remain- ing officers for 1878 are: Town Clerk, Robert II. Hews, M.D .; Justice of the Peace, George H. McMullen ; As- sessor, Samuel II. Austin ; Commissioner of Highways, Jolin Reinhuber; Overseer of the Poor, John Hawkins;
# It has been claimed that the first bridge over the Mohawk was erected at Old Fort Schuyler ( Utica), in 1792 : but if this was erected as stated, it takes precedenco.
1 Also given Ezekiel. The above is from the town records.
75
594
HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
Collector, Charles Carmichael ; Constables, John W. Hughes, William Rowe, John Thornton, and Hiram G. Bullock; Inspectors of Election, David French (2d), Jacob P. Mowers, and Isracl White; Town Auditors, Joseph French, William Furguson, and Harvey Paddock ; Excise Commissioner, Eliakim Hicks.
THE SETTLEMENT
of the town of Western was begun in 1789, by Asa Beek- with and his four sons, Asa, Jr., Reuben, Wolcott, and Lemuel. Henry Wager soon followed them, the same year. These were the earliest settlers in the county north of Fort Stanwix, and located upon the Mohawk River in this town, and at the fort were their nearest neighbors, eight or ten miles away. They were soon followed by others, and the settlement grew quite rapidly. The fertile lands along the Mohawk werc first taken up, and when the valley was filled the neighboring hills received attention. Whatever grain or potatoes werc necessary for seed had to be procured at the German Flats, to which place Henry Wager and Asa Beekwith went on foot, and returned with each a bushel of sced-potatoes upon his back. These were the first potatoes planted in town, and Mr. Wager's returns from his were seventy bushels in the fall.
The Black River Canal passes across this town, follow- ing the Lansing Kill and the Mohawk River, and entering from this the city of Rome.
General William Floyd, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and who was a large land-owner in this town, settled here in 1803, having purchased in 1784. The general was born at Mastic, on Long Island, Decem- ber 17, 1734. He was carly chosen an officer in the militia of Suffolk County, and eventually rose to the rank of major-general. He was soon after elected a member of the Provincial Assembly, and in 1774 was sent as a dele- gate from this provinee to the first Continental Congress. In 1777 he was elected a Senator, and September 9, of that year, took his seat in the first constitutional Legislature of this State. October 15, 1778, he was appointed a member of Congress by the Legislature, and was re-appointed Octo- ber 14, 1789, in conjunction with Ezra L'Hommedicu and Sloss Hobart. When the British took possession of Long Island his family fled for safety to Connecticut, and during their absence the property was greatly damaged by the in- vaders. The general remained an exile from his estates for nearly seven years. He is buried in the old cemetery at Westernville, where a stone to his memory bears the following inseription :
"In memory of General William Floyd, who died August 4, 1821, aged eighty-seven years. He was born at Mastie, on Long Island. He was an ardent supporter of his country's rights. He was honored in life for the sincerity of his patriotism, and the Declaration of Inde- pendenee will be to his memory an imperishable monument."
General Floyd labored faithfully for the welfare of the colonists, and his efforts in their behalf eauscd them to raise him to positions of distinetion. He was a person of great generosity, and many anecdotes are told of him during his residence in this town. When he removed here from Long Island he brought with him a considera- ble number of slaves of both sexes. They became free
when the abolition-law went into effect in this State. The stories of Long Tom and the measly pig, and several others, have been so often told that it is not necessary to repcat them here. Judge Jones has preserved them in his interesting annals of the county, and various other writers have incorporated them in their works.
William Floyd, a grandson of the general, now living at Westernville, removed to that village in 1816. He is a native of New York City. After taking up his residence here he attended to his grandfather's business until the death of the latter, in 1821, and at one time was engaged in the mercantile business at the village. He has become aged and feeble, and cannot, as in his younger days, per- sonally oversee the various portions of the estate, and in consequence it is somewhat dilapidated in appearance, while the tomb of the statesman is sadly neglected, and the memorial tablets have fallen from their plaecs. The large frame house which the general began to build in 1802, and finished and moved into in 1804, is yet stand- ing, apparently as sound and in as good condition as ever. It is now owned by his great-granddaughters,-the daugh- ters of William Floyd, above mentioned.
In the cemetery in the rear of the Presbyterian Church at Westernville are buried many of the early settlers of the town, and those who became prominent within it, as also many, not among the pioneers of the locality, who lived to a great age in this beautiful region in the sunny Mohawk vale. Of those whose remains repose here a few may be men- tioned :
William Martindale, of Petersham, Mass., came to Oneida County in 1817; died Feb. 12, 1870, aged 92.
Lydia, his wife, died Jan. 12, 1851, aged 74.
Henry Wager, died Aug. 9, 1840, aged 76.
"He was one of the first settlers of this county, having lived on the farm where he died over fifty years."-Inscription.
Letetia, his wife, died March 29, 1839, aged 74.
John Hawkins, died - 1810, aged 40.
Bridget, his wife, died Mareh 19, 1853, aged 71.
Joseph Halleek, Esq., died June 23, 1857, aged 73.
"The above Joseph Halleek, son of Jabez Halleek, and grandson of Major Peter Halleek, of Southold, Long Island, N. Y., was born at Southold, Oet. 16, 1784, and emigrated to Oneida County, with his father, in the fourteenth year of his age."-Inscription.
Catharine Wager, his wife, died Feb. 20, 1868, aged 73.
" This estimable Christian woman was the mother of Major-Gen- eral Halleek, and the eldest daughter of Henry Wager. From a child she lived in the beautiful Mohawk Valley, and within a mile of her birthplace. She was one of those quiet, gentle, unobtrusive women who gain their gentleness by their love for their Saviour." -Inscription.
Rev. John Arnold, died April 24, 1872, aged 91. Deacon Jabez Halleck, died Sept. 17, 1863, aged 103. Sarah, his wife, died Nov. 29, 1834, aged 72. Rebeeea, his wife, died April 10, 1861, aged 89. Jabez Halleck, Jr., died Aug. 20, 1873, aged 74. Achsa, his wife, died Feb. 21, 1841, aged 42. Joseph Parke, died Feb. 6, 1833, aged 87.
William Cleaveland, died July 24, 1833, aged 67. Elizabeth, his wife, died Nov. 8, 1832, aged 61. Ezra Clark, died Aug. 21, 1867, aged 84. Lydia Parke, his wife, died Feb. 21, 1862, aged 73. Jacob Wiggins, died Sept. 30, 1839, aged 79. Freelove, his wife, died June 8, 1827, aged 56. John Smith, died Sept. 14, 1873, aged 91. Mary, his wife, died Oct. 5, 1849, aged 62. David Hill, died July 11, 1856, aged 77.
RER
THOMAS McMULLIN.
The ancestors of this gentleman belonged to one of the old Irish families who, by their sterling worth and good character, have made that country renowned. His father, dissatisfied with the yoke of oppression that England foreed upon the inhabitants of that land, emigrated from the county of Antrim to this country about the year 1795. He came to Rome, Oneida County, where he resided a few years ; he then removed to Amsterdam, Montgomery County, where the subject of this sketch was born, Nov. 18, 1801, being the eldest son of Hugh and Ann McMullin. The year following his birthi his father removed to the town of Western, where he ended his days. At the age of twenty-one Thomas left his father's home to seek his live- lihood, and went to work by the month at farm labor. In 1824 he purchased a farm of one hundred and fifty acres in Western. Having a small eapital, he was obliged to go in debt for a part of it; but by industry, frugality, and economy he prospered, and is living to-day upon the same place, free of all incumbranees, and is also enjoying a com-
fortable competency. He was married, March 5, 1832, to Electa M., daughter of Jonathan R. Kenyon, she being born in 1813 in what is now the town of Ava, Oneida County. By this union he had seven children, five of whom arc living at the present time,-Jonathan R., Hannah C., Ann, Thomas, and Eleeta. His wife died March 24, 1846, mourned and respeeted by all who knew her. Politi- cally, he is a member of the Republican party, and is held in such high esteem by his fellow-eitizens that he has held many publie offiees, though the opposite party has a large majority in the town. He has been for forty years a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Westernville, and has given liberally of his means for its support. He has passed through life thus far without a syllable of re- proach or calumny. In all his business transactions it has been his aim to follow the golden rule, and " do to others as he would have others do to him." Temperate, generous, and conscientious, his last years are passing away in the sweet consciousness of having led an upright life.
595
HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
Laura, his wife, died Dec. 30, 1866, aged 78. Orange Hayden, died July 31, 1872, aged 79. Polly, his wife, died Aug. 31, 1849, aged 56. Ephraim Potter, died Aug. 16, 1832, aged 72. Elizabeth, his wife, died April 29, 1830, aged 66. John Paddock, died Dec. 28, 1866, aged 82. Polly, his wife, died April 21, 1840, aged 52. David Fanning, died June 17, 1826, aged 49. Elizabeth, his wife, died May 24, 1830, aged 58. James Boyd, died Sept. 2, 1870, aged 90. Mahetable, his wife, died March 21, 1833, aged 50. John Ely, native of New Jersey, died April 14, 1842, aged 66. George Brayton, died March 5, 1837, aged 65. Sarah, his wife, died May 8, 1841, aged 64. . John Swan, died June 12, 1849, aged 82. Mary, his wife, died Jan. 26, 1859, aged 86. John Harris, who was an elder in the Presbyterian Church from 1826, died August 10, 1860, aged 75. James Olney, died Feb. 22, 1862, aged 78. Lucy, his wife, died June 4, 1876, aged 86. William Olney, Esq., died Dec. 22, 1846, aged 90. Mary, his wife, died Dec. 13, 1818, aged 57. Aaron Ismond, died April 7, 1813, aged 51. Nathaniel Turner, died June 8, 1830, aged 84. Mary, his wife, died Sept. 23, 1826, aged 78. Seth Church, died Dec. 20, 1852, aged 73. Clarissa, his wife, died Dec. 28, 1850, aged 65. Ruth Park, died May 6, 1873, aged 93.
THE EARLY SCHOOLS
of this town were among the best for that day in the county. Probably the first was taught at what is now the village of Westernville. As early as 1805-6 school was kept by Amy Williams in a frame building, which stood about on the site of David Hall's present residence. The district was subsequently changed, and a school taught ncar Esquire Henry Wager's. All the early schools in this town were large and popular. Before these mentioned in the village a log school-house had been built in what is now the town of Lee, then belonging to Western, and this school was attended by pupils from both towns. It was the first in either. Those now in existence have a large attendance, and are in good condition.
RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES.
The first religious organization in this town was formed by the Baptists, in 1798, with about 60 members. It never had a regular pastor, but services were held by Elders Stephen Parsons, Jonathan Waldo, and others for many years. It finally was allowed to decline.
Subsequent to the decline of the Baptists a Methodist Society was formed, and have sinee maintained the prece- dent they then established, having at present a larger membership than any other denomination in town. Thicy have several churches. One north and one south of Big Brook Post-Office are in charge of Rev. Lemuel Clark, of Steuben Corners, and each has a small membership. The Methodist Episcopal Church at North Western was built about 1839, the society having been organized about the same time. David Brill, now of the village, aided in its construction. Its membership is fair, and its pastor, Rev. J. W. Roberts, holds services also at North Steuben and on Webster's Hill. At Westernville a Methodist Episco- pal Church was built about 1854-56, and is still in use by a society numbering about 65 members, also in charge of
Rev. J. W. Roberts. A large Sunday-school is sustained, with John French as Superintendent.
A new frame house of worship was built in the north- west corner of town in 1877, by a Welsh Methodist Epis- copal Society. The organization of this society was ef- fected some years before the church was built. Its mem- bership is small, and no regular pastor is employed.
A small society of Friends was formed in this town soon after the beginning of the present century, and the locality where they settled has received the name of Quaker Hill. Meetings are not at present kept up by them.
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, WESTERNVILLE.
The Presbyterian Society at this place was incorporated in 1818, having been organized Jan. 15 of that year. The present frame church was built as a " union church" in 1817, before the Presbyterians organized. A large debt cumbered it, and it was purchased by George Brayton, who decded it to the Presbyterian Society, together with the old cemetery immediately in the rear of the church, and form- ing a part of the present village cemetery. The council by whom this church was organized consisted of Rev. John Dunlap, a missionary ; Rev. Moses Gillett, of Rome ; Rev. Henry Smith, of Camden; and Phineas Tuttle, from the church in Camden. Fifteen persons constituted the original society. The following persons have preached here at different times, for greater or less periods : Revs. John Dunlap, Chester Long, George W. Gale, S. W. Bur- rett, D. B. Butts, Jason Allen, George S. Boardman, Charles G. Finney, Robert Everett, C. Lewis, Isaac Bray- ton, J. Donald, George I. King, I. P. Stryker, A. Corliss, E. C. Pritchett, C. Jones, A. Mandell, W. B. Parmelee. Those who have been installed over the church as regular pastors are Revs. D. B. Butts, George I. King, A. H. Corliss, E. C. Pritchett, A. Mandell, W. B. Parmelee, Wil- liam M. Robinson, William A. Rice, and the present pas- tor, Rev. George Craig, in charge since July, 1877. The membership in April, 1878, was 106. The Sabbath-school is managed by Edward Rees as Superintendent, and has about 75 members, and a library of 71 volumes, procured in 1877.
VILLAGE OF WESTERNVILLE,
About 1794, George Brayton and Jonathan Swan- brothers-in-law-settled at this place, and engaged in the mercantile business. Mr. Swan afterwards removed to Aurora, Cayuga Co., N. Y., and the Braytons conduetcd the business at the old stand for more than sixty years. The property yct belongs to them, although the store is managed by other parties. Messrs. Brayton & Swan were the first merehants in the town of Western, and their first store was but a small shanty. Mr. Brayton afterwards built three others in the place. His son, Milton Brayton, is a resident of the village, and one of a family of nine children, who all became prominent in the history of the town and county. The Braytons were stanch members of the Presbyterian Church at Westernville, and aided largely in its support ; and a great influence for good has always been exerted by the different members of the family in this part of the town. Milton Brayton lives opposite his father's old place, in the western part of the village
596
HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
Mr. Swan, the partner of George Brayton, was the father of Judge Joseph Swan, an eminent member of the legal profession at Columbus, Ohio. George Brayton was three times elected to the Assembly and twiee to the Senate.
Westernville was also the home of Major-General Hal- leck, of the United States Army, as commander-in-chief of which he suecceded General Winfield Seott. About the time of his birth his parents were living away from the village, but he was brought here, at any rate, by the time he was a year old. A farm on the north side of the Mo- hawk, northwest of the village, belongs to his heirs. His grandfather was Dcacon Jabez Halleck, who died at the age of one hundred and three years.
The Westernville post-office was established in the neighborhood of 1812, and George Brayton appointed the first postmaster. He continued in office for a long period ; his sons, Hervey and Milton Brayton, were also among the postmasters at this placc. The present incumbent is Danicl R. Howe, an old resident of the village.
The present hotel was converted to such uses about 1837-38 by John O. Dale ; it had previously been occu- pied as a private residence. The large frame building with columns in front, in the western part of the village, was crected for a hotel by George Hawkins, but at present is not licensed for hotel purposes, and is not regularly kept as such.
The Westernville Brass Band was organized April 1, 1877, with cleven members. It at present owns twelve instruments, and is under the leadership of William Floyd, Jr.
The village contained in the spring of 1878 two stores, two tin-shops, a wagon-shop, a millinery establishment, a post-office, two churches, a two-story frame school-house, three blaeksmitli-shops, two shoe-shops, a tannery, and a Lodge of Good Templars.
VILLAGE OF NORTH WESTERN.
This village is located about three miles above Western- ville, on the Mohawk, and contains three stores, two hotels, three blacksmith-shops, a mcat-market, a wagon-shop, a shop for repairing wagons, a harness-shop, three shoc- shops, a cheese-box factory, a saw- and planing-mill, built by Jerome V. Gue, a tannery, built early and now owned by Seymour Jones, a eheesc-factory, owned by Albert Meyers, a neat frame school-house, and one physician, Dr. Robert H. Hews.
The first permanent settler on the site of the village was David Utley, from Columbia Co., N. Y., who located here about 1794-95, and purchased two hundred acres of land. On the portion of this place now occupied by his son, 'Squire Utley, a man named John Clear had " squatted," built a small log house, and made a elearing. He had been here about a year when Mr. Utley arrived. The latter allowed him to keep fifty acres, but afterwards purchased it of him. Clear had no title in the first place, and Mr. Utley consented to his remaining in order that he might get a start in the world, and not have the work he had already done go for naught.
David Brill, now living in the village, purchased a farm in this town in 1830, and moved upon it in 1831. He kept the second checse-dairy in town, the first having been
owned by Robert Nesbit. After buying most of the farm formerly owned by David Utley, which included the pres- cnt village site, he moved upon it in March, 1844, laid out the first " side road" from the main highway, and platted the village, or that portion which lies west of the canal and north of the aqueduct.
When the Black River Canal was being constructed, a Mr. Bissell, of Rome, established a small store, in a cheap shanty, for the benefit of the Irish laborers. A blacksmith- shop was also erected, and the Methodist Episcopal Church was standing. The first store of importance in the village was built and opened by Mr. Brill, and carried on for many years by himself and his family. He also built the first hotel in the place, the present " Half-Way House," about 1850. The " Northern Hotel," still standing, was built later in the same year by Ira Waldo.
A grist-mill was erected on the Mohawk at this place about 1800, by Jonathan Waldo, who also built a saw-mill. The present grist-mill, which occupies the site of the old one, was constructed by Paul Macomber, about 1840. It contains two runs of stone, and does a good custom business.
School was taught herc about 1824-25, the old building having stood on the ground at present occupied by the store of Ephraim Dillenbeck. The name of the teacher could not be ascertained.
The post-office at North Western was established in 1845, and David Brill, who was the first postmaster, held the office fifteen years. The route had previously passed south of the village, from Rome to Floyd Corners, Stitt- ville, Holland Patent, Steuben, etc., but through the efforts of Mr. Brill it was changed, and an office established at North Western. The present postmaster is Reuben E. Meyers.
In the locality known as " Frenchville," between North Western and Westernville,-so called from families of that name residing there,-the first settlers were Joshua and Hezekiah Wells (father and son), who were here when David Utley moved to the town, and Captain - Don- nelly, who settled later, and afterwards commanded a company of militia. A man named Brown was also an early arrival in the same neighborhood, and owned a farm of 200 acres lying between Frenchville and the Utley place.
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