History of Onondaga County, New York, Part 60

Author: Clayton, W.W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., D. Mason & Co.
Number of Pages: 840

USA > New York > Onondaga County > History of Onondaga County, New York > Part 60

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).

dren were born, both of whom are living. She died December 10, 1875, having been for ten years a devoted wife and mother. Mr. Field married, for his third wife, December 2, 1877, Mrs. Almeda Williams, widow of Mr. James Williams, with whom he is still living.

Mr. Field, being the only son, continued to live with his parents till their death. Ile inherited sixty-three acres of land, which, by frugality and industry, he has increased to nearly two hundred acres. In politics he was at first a Whig, and afterwards a Republican. Has held some town offices.

In religion, though not a member of any church, he is an ad- vocate of Christianity. Has always been interested in having good seliools.

One son, Charles Henry, was a soldier of the rebellion, and served faithfully three years. Mr. Field has one of the best farms in South Onondaga, covered with fine buildings of his own crection. He is now in his sixty-first year, hale and hearty, and has before him probably many years of vigorous health and comfort.

JEREMIAHI EVERRINGU.AM.

MRS. SOPITIA EVERRINGHAM.

MIS. O. EVERRINGHAM.

Jeremiah Everringham, son of John and Naney Everring- ham, was born in t'azenovia, N. Y., Aug. 2, 1797. His parents were natives of New Jersey. They reared ten children, five sons and five daughters, all of whom lived to adult age, and each one the head of a family. John Everringham built the first grist- mill at Cazenovia ; he settled in Lafayette, this county, in May, 1501. Jeremiah came with his parents, and after he became of age worked by the month for fifteen dollars per month in summer, and twenty dollars per month for self and team in the winter, and continued to do so for seven years. Jereminh pur- chased the " Old Home" of fifty acres of one of his brothers for six hundred dollars, and paid for it by working out by the month. In 150 be settled in this town, buying some one hundred and thirty two seres, having previously traded his land in Lafayette for a farm of one hundred aeres in Fabius, paying a diference to his first purchase in this town ; he has kept add- ing until he owns some three hundred acres of excellent land. He took care of his aged parents until their death ; his father died in his eighty-eighth year, and his mother at the age of sixty- three. His house was also the home of his five sisters till they were married.

Mr. Everringham's advantages for an education were very limited, indeed, but by reading and reflection he has acquired a good practical business education. He is a man of strong will, great energy of body and mind, blessed with a keen perception and good judgment, and has been able to accomplish what few

men over do under similar circumstances. He has been one of the most successful men of the county as a farmer, having given to each of his six children more than four thousand dollars, and having sufficient left to make comfortable his do- clining years.

Ile married Miss Sophia French, of Vernon, Oneida Co., N. Y., Feb. 15, 1521. Her parents were of New England origin. Mrs. Everringham had seven children, six of whom are now living. She was a worthy member of the Methodlist Episcopal church. She passed away in November, 1565, and her remains rest in the cemetery at Lafayette ; she was a faithful wife and a kind, affectionate mother, and to-day her memory is cherished by all who knew her.

Mr. Everringham married Miss Olive Ney, of Vernon, Oneida Co., N. Y., Feb. 22, 1865, a cousin to his first wife. Her parents were from New England. Mrs. Everringham is a Universalist, and Mr. Everringham, while he does not belong to any church, cherishes the faith of the I'niversalist.

In politics, Mr. Everringham was a Jackson Democrat until the organization of the Republican party, when he joined it. He is now an old gentleman of eighty years, hale and hearty. with all his faculties still unimpaired. His widowed daughter, Mrs. Abner Chapman, is now living with him and his present intelligent wife. This simple story of a successful life will be read many a time long after he has passed to his reward. Would that we had more such men.

273

HISTORY OF ONONDAGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

gentleman at the same time, or can do two things at once. When the Military Tract was surveyed, he was selected to render assistance, and surveyed one of the townships. He subsequently surveyed the Cayuga Reservation.

In all the important improvements of the country he bore a conspicuous part, freely devoting his time and means for the promotion of these objects. He was early selected on account of his sterling worth to fill the highest offices of trust. He was appointed a Justice of the Peace for the town of Manlius in 1794 ; the same year he was appointed Coroner of the County, with Gilbert Tracy. In 1797, he was appointed Sheriff of the County of Onondaga, and after Cayuga was set off, in 1799, he was appointed Clerk of Onondaga, and held the office till 1802. He was the first Supervisor of the town of Manlius in 1794, and represented Onondaga County in the Legislature in 1798 and 1799. Mr. Tyler was always active and ardent for opening roads, improv- ing streams, establishing schools and erecting churches.

The connection of Mr. Tyler with the so-called conspiracy of Aaron Burr, greatly impaired his private fortune, and such was the popular prejudice against the participants in that unfortunate and un- successful enterprise, that it forever destroyed his prospects as a public man.

In ISII, Colonel Tyler removed with his family to Montezuma, where he took a deep interest in the Cayuga Manufacturing Company, which had been formed for the purpose of making salt.

During the war of 1812 he served in the capacity of Assistant Commissary-General, with the rank of Colonel, to the close of the war. After the war the canal policy engaged his most earnest attention. From the beginning he was among the foremost of the advocates of the work.

He died at his residence in Montezuma, on the 5th of August, 1827, sincerely lamented by a large circle of personal friends and deeply mourned by numerous relatives .*

GEN. ASA DANFORTH, who came to the county at the same time as Col. Tyler, and was among its most prominent early citizens, was born in Wor- cester, Massachusetts, July 6, 1746. At the com- mencement of the Revolution he joined the regi- ment of Col. Danforth Keys, and was engaged in the battle of Lexington. He entered the service at the instance of General Putnam, and served through the war with the rank and commission of Major. He located in the town of Mayfield, Mont- gomery county, where he spent a few years, and

where he had his first interview with Mr. Webster. The account of his meeting with Mr. Webster and of his settlement in Onondaga is as follows :

In the month of February, 1788, Mr. Webster, in company with two Indians, proceeded on a hunt- ing excursion into the lower part of Montgomery county. Late one afternoon they came to a small clearing in the town of Mayfield, where they met a man whose residence was convenient, of whom they asked a night's lodging in his barn. He refused, but insisted that they should spend the night with him in his own house by the fire. During the evening conversation, Webster remarked that he lived at Onondaga, a much more fruitful and invit- ing country than the one his host was then occupy- ing, and finally, so much was said in favor of On- ondaga, that it was agreed that Webster should so- licit permission from the Indians to let him settle there, and if successful, was to return or send an Indian to inform him of the fact. The host was Major Asa Danforth, who became the pioneer of Onondaga County.

Mr. Danforth settled a little south of Onondaga Hollow, May 22, 1788 ; and in December, Mrs. Danforth proposed to visit her friends east. Ac- cordingly, Mr. and Mrs. Danforth, with their baby, set out on a sled, with an ax-man before them to clear the way. The first night they slept " on board," at Chittenango ; the next with Sken-an-do-a, at Oneida Castle; the third with Judge White, their nearest white neighbor, at Sadaquate ( Whites- boro). After a short delay, they proceeded to Brookfield, the home of their early days, in Massa- chusetts. In the middle of March they returned, after an absence of about three months.

Early in 1789, Tyler and Danforth, Jr., thought they would follow the example of Mr. and Mrs. Danforth, and visit the home of their childhood, not only to see their old playmates, but to find for themselves wives, and as Mr. Clark remarks, after the wording of the Declaration of Independence, "in the course of human events," Mr. and Mrs. Asa Danforth, Jr., became the father and mother of the first white child born in Onondaga county- the late Mrs. Amanda Phillips, wife of the late Colonel Phillips, of Syracuse, and mother of Mrs. Outwater. She was born on the 14th of October, 1789.

In 1791, Mr. Danforth had become possessor of lot No. SI, township of Manlius, (now DeWitt,) and had moved there temporarily. In the spring of 1792, he erected the first saw mill in the county, on Butternut Creek, about a mile north of James- ville-(now Dunlop's Mills). The mill was first

* Clark's Onondaga,

38*

274

IIISTORY OF ONONDAGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

covered with bark. No boards were used in the county until they were sawed in this mill, and Major Danforth carried the sare on his shoulder all the way from old Fort Schuyler (now Rome). In 1793. he erected his grist mill near his saw mill. In the erection of these mills Mr. Danforth was assisted by all the able bodied men in the settle- ment for twenty miles around, so anxious were the people to have the means of grinding their corn, and the advantages of converting their timber into boards. It was at the raising of these mills, in the absence of sugar or articles used for sweetening, that the first drink mixed with Indian corn was introduced.º

For a number of years he was Judge of the Court of Common Pleas ; was one term Senator for the Western District ; Superintendent of the Onondaga Salt Springs ; and held numerous other offices of less importance, in all of which he exhibit- ed a high degree of capacity and manly bearing. For many years, from the first organization of the militia, he was the highest military officer of the county, ascending through all the several grades from Major to Major General, at a period, too, when a military commission implied worth and conferred distinction He died at his residence in Onondaga Hollow, September 2, 1818, in the 73d year of his age.

GENERAL THADDEUS M. WOOD .- The Bar of Onondaga County is honorably headed with General Thaddeus M. Wood, the first attorney who settled and practiced in the county. Born at Lenox, Mass., in 1772, he graduated at Dartmouth in the class of 1790, finished his law studies with Joseph Kirkland, Esq., of Utica, and opened a law office in Onondaga Hollow in 1794. Hle soon became distinguished for his legal capacity and during his life exercised a prominent influence throughout the county.

As a military man he became widely known, was Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant in 1809, in which capacity he was extremely active and useful during the war of 1812: was elevated to the rank of Brigadier-General in 1818, and to the rank of Major-General in 1820.

General Wond was celebrated throughout the State for the pungency of his wit and the quick- ness and severity of his retort. He was never at a loss for a reply, either at the bar or in private con- versation.

General Wood died at his residence at Onondaga Hollow, January 10, 1836, aged 64 years.

OTHER PIONEERS -Samuel, John and Willam Tyler came to Onondaga between the years 1700

and 1,05. Samuel and William settled in' Mar- cellus, and died in 1825, within one week of each other. Job Tyler first settled in the town of Bridgewater, Oneida county, in 1794, and removed to Onondaga county in 1804 He resided in the county of Onondaga, except four or five years, dur- ing the latter part of his life, which were spent at Montezuma. He died at Onondaga in March, 1836. They were all active, industrious men, and it may, without ostentation, be claimed for them that they deserved and left behind them the reputa- tion of valuable citizens and upright, honorable men.

EARLY SHITLERS.

Following General Danforth and Comfort Tyler, the next settlers in Onondaga were the Brown family, the Pattisons, Job Tyler, Peter Tenbroeck, General Lewis, Cornelius Longstreet, Peter Young, Joseph Forman, John Adams, George Kibbie, Drs. William and Gordon Needham, Nicholas Mickles, Wilham HI. Sabin, Jasper Hopper, Aaron Bel- lows, George Hall, Joseph Swan, and others, who settled in the Hollow, or what is now known as Onondaga Valley.

George Hall, Esq., opened a law office at Onon- daga Hollow in 1802. Hon. Joshua Forman and William H. Sabin commenced the practice of law in partnership in 1803. Medad Curtis was a law student with Thaddeus M. Wood and Daniel Mosely with Forman & Sabin. Dr. William Need- ham located at the Hollow as a physician, in 1793, and his brother, Gurdon Needham, in 1795. He kept the first school at the Hollow in 1796.

Rev. Samuel Kirkland is believed to have been the first Protestant minister who ever preached in the county of Onondaga. He frequently officiated at Onondaga Hollow, to the white people and to the Indians. For more than twelve years Mrs. Asa Danforth was the only communicant in the county. She was afterwards joined by the wife of General Lewis and others. Rev. Daniel Nash and Rev. Davenport Phelps. (Episcopalians, , were the next ministers who officiated here. Others, of the Presbyterian denomination soon succeeded. Rev. Messrs. Wallace and Woodruff were missionaries who preached occasionally.

Among the early settlers of the town were the following :

Moses Fowler, (from Conn., ) 1797, died 1868; John P. Robinson, (Mass .. ) 1800, died 18;0 ; J. Hunt, (Conn .. ) 1801 ; John Henderson, 1802 ; Chester Fellows, (Pa., 1804, died 1865 : George Hull. 1805: Volney King, 1805; Lewis Amidon, 1805, died 1876 ; John F. Clark ( Mass ), 1804 : Ralph Chafee,

" Clark's On ndag 1

Photos. by W. V. Ranger, Syracuse.

Ho. Hitching

Elvira It Hitchings

Among the earliest settlers in the south part of the town of Onondaga were John Hitchings and wife, who cleared and cul- tivated one of our best hill farms, and there reared and educated a large family of healthy and very intelligent children. Of these, Horace was the most studions and scholarly. Teaching in winter, farming in summer, and loving the old home, he ultimately assumed the care of his parents, and became the owner of the homestead. Here he worked and studied many years. The mysteries of nature, as unfolded by chemistry, geology, and other natural sciences, were his delight, and to become proficient in these he needed no other teachers than books. The deeper, the more abstruse the mystery, the more he determined to master it, until rock and soil and vegetable growth, and the subtler workings of electricity, magnetism, and mind itself, were familiar subjects of thought, and when he could find an intelligent listener he was always ready with his theories and proofs.

But this same student could also excel in practical affairs. He framed some of his buildings, planted hedges, laid over ten miles of underdrains, aud led his neighbors in the amount of his crops. He married Miss Elvira M. Rich, Jan. 1, 1855. She was born June 1, 1829. When he found his home cheered and blessed with four lovely children, and himself placed at the remotest point of a sparsely-settled school district, he resolved, for their sakes, to leave the old homestead and give his children better educational privileges. Buying in another district nearer school, probably the best farm in this part of the county, he gave a bonus, besides his taxes, to have the new school-house built nearer his home. His barns were remodeled and enlarged, and this season his venerable Seeley mansion was modernized, enlarged, and changed to a beautiful and convenient home. Christmas the whole family went to visit grandparents and

relatives, and their own house was nearly ready for a reunion of neighbors and friends, when death stepped in to mar, for this world, this picture of prosperity and happiness. A cold, that was thought by himself and his physician to be easily under con- trol, suddenly seated itself upon that active brain, and in a few hours consciousness and then life itself had gone. Those stately rooms, where the family reasonably anticipated years of unbroken social enjoyment, were occupied for the first time by the inani- mate body of husband and father. His widow and orphans and the whole community felt that they had suffered an ir- reparable loss. From neighboring towns and the city loving friends came to his funeral. He died Jan. 8, 1870.

As supervisor of the town, president of the agricultural society, foreman of several grand juries, referee in settling claims, speaker of several town fairs, he more than met the responsi- bilities of such trusts. But love of home and the cares of business compelled him to decline many offices of honor offered by his fellow-citizens. ITis equanimity of temper was remark- able. No amount of care or loss could disturb him. Said one of his employees, " I have lived in his family a year, and have never heard an unkind word to his wife or children, or hired help." His parents and the nearest neighbors of his youth were well-read Universalists, and, while he assisted in support- ing other churches, the love of God and the paternal character of our Heavenly Father had more charms for him than the sterner attributes of Deity. He was a very obliging neighbor, liberal to the poor, public-spirited, sociable, beloved by his nearest friends, and respected by all. He was an Onondaga farmer whose worth and abilities we must admire, whose memory we will lovingly cherish, whose history is a bright example of useful success. Ilis good name and worthy life are better legacies to his children than all his worldly estate.

MOSES FOWLER

ELIZABETH FOWLER.

MOSES FOWLER.

Among the pioneer families of Onondaga County may be mentioned the Fowler family. Moses Fowler, son of Thomas and Thankful Fowler, was born in Dutchess Co., N. Y., July 29, 1793; he was one of a family of six. The Fowler family is of Scotch origin, having emigrated to America during its early history, and settled in the New England States. Moses came into this town and country with his parents when but four years of age (1797). His father died in this town when about forty years of age, ant mother when she was about eighty years of age. Moses was reared on the farm, and continued to follow it through life, owning about eighty nere when he died. He married Miss Elizabeth Pierce, daughter of Elisha and Amelia Pierce, of Brattleborough, St., about 1921. Mrs. Fowler was born March 3, 1501, in Brattleborongh, Vt. They reared to maturity four children, namely : Maxwell T. Samantha ('., Gideon 1., and Moses, and Aun Fussler, an adopted daughter. The subject of this sketch was a soldier in the War of 1812, and was stationed at Sachet's Harbor, & Y .. for which he drew a land-warrant for one hundred and sixty neres. In polities he was first a Whig and then a Republican.

Mrs. Fowler was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and was an earnest and consistent Christian. They

had one son, Gideon D., who was a soldier of the War of the Rebellion, enlisting Nov. 29, 1861, in the 75th Regiment of New York Volunteers. He was a non-commissioned officer, and was in several hard-fought battles; but, though he stood the battle, he fell a victim to the strong hand of fell disease, at Baton Rouge, July 30, 1563. His remains were brought home, and now lie by the side of those of his parents, in the cemetery at South Onondaga, where a fine marble monument marks their resting-place, created by a brother and son, Max- well T., in memory of those he holds most dear. Maxwell T.

and Moses, fooling a deep interest in the welfare of their country during the rebellion, paid out more than sixteen hundred dollars, besides their regular tax. They were ever found willing to respond to all the calls of their town and county.

Moses die Jan. 10, 1865, and his wife died Dec. 7, 1572. The alue portraits are inserted by Maxwell T., with whom Mr. and Mrs. Moses Fowler lived after 1813. Maxwell T. and his sister, Samantha (', are unmarried, and are living on the same place where their parents died.

Moses, Jr , lins three children, namely : Gideon M., Maxwell T., and Kitty. Maxwell T. was named after his uncle Maxwell T .. and Gideon was named after his uncle Gideon.

Photos. by W. V. Ranger, Syracuse.

THEOPHILUS HALL.

HELEN HALL.

THEOPHILUS HALL.

Theophilus Hall, son of Oren and Betsey Hall, was born at Navarino, Onondaga County, New York, July 31, 1825. His father and grandfather were natives of Ashford, Windham county, Connecticut. His father was born September 14, 1786, and married Miss Betsey Briggs, of this town and county, January 6, 1808. She was born February 18, 1787, in Sara- toga county, New York.

Azariah Hall, father of Oren and grandfather of Theophilus, was of English origin, his forefathers being among the early settlers of New England. Azariah emigrated to Onondaga County and settled at Navarino, formerly known as Hall's Corners, in 1799. He brought with him his wife and a large family, and among them was Oren. IIe was a farmer, and reared nearly all of his children to be farmers also. He died about 1832, and his wife, Hannah, outlived him several years, being in her eighty-ninth year when she died.

Oren was a farmer. He was a soldier in the War of 1812, and was commissioned captain. He reared a family of ten children, all of whom lived to be grown men and women. In politics he was a life-long Democrat. He was postmaster several years under General Jackson and other Democratic administra- tions. He taught school several years.

His wife was a Baptist, and he was of the Universalist faith. He died April 25, 1869, and his wife died August 23, 1874, and were buried in the " Pine Grove Cemetery."

Theophilus was reared on the farm, and received only a com- mon-school education. Ile married Miss Helen Lyman, of this town, November 21, 1850. She was born in Otisco, Feb- ruary 11, 1827, and settled in this town in 1837. Her father, Thomas Lyman, was born at Southampton, Massachusetts, in August, 1786. His father, John, was of Irish descent and an early settler in New England. He lived to be about ninety years old.

Thomas Lyman married Miss Betsey Clapp, a native of Southampton, Massachusetts, December 1, 1813, by whom twelve children were born; they all lived to be married, and nine are still living. Mrs. Thomas Lyman was born March 2, 1793, and died January 12, 1876.

Thomas Lyman settled in Otisco, Onondaga County, about 1822. Was a farmer, a Whig and Republican in politics, and both he and his wife were members of the Presbyterian church. He died October 24, 1850.

Theophilus Hall has always followed the occupation of farm- ing, and now owns a fine farm at Hall's Corners, or Navarino. In politics he is a Democrat. He has served as postmaster at Navarino.

His wife is a member of the Presbyterian church at Mar- cellus. She taught school for several years.

Mr. Hall is one of the substantial men and farmers of South Onondaga.

I'Is loe. by W. V. Ranger, Syracuse.

ELIAS B. BRADLEY.

PERCEBE BRADLEY.

ELIAS B. BRADLEY.

Elias B. Bradley was born in Connectiont. Dec. 11, 1791. While a farmer-boy he worked by the month in the summer, and chopped wood by the card in winter. When about twenty- five years old he bought a peddler's covered wagon and a hora, and traveled south, spending several years in the State of Georgia selling gods, always sleeping in his covered four- wheeled honse. Thus seenring a competency, he purchased n one hundred arre farm in the town of Onondaga, where he married Phoebe Holmes, May 15, 1831, and died without issue, Feb. 8, 1558, respected by all as a thrifty, upright citizen.

His wife was born Aug. 25, 1795, about one mile west of Saratoga Springs, N. Y., from whence she often visited the then three springs called High Rock, Flat Rock, and the Congress. Her mother bleached the home-made linen cloth for the bed. sheets of the first boarding house at the Springs, in 1902.

In 1911, Mrs. Bradley moved with her widowed mother and

threw brothers to Aurora, Erie county. in the Holland Purchase; but the burning of Buffalo, fifteen miles away, in the winter of 1513, by the British and Indians, so frightened them that the funily fled the same day towards the interior of the State. In ISES she became a member of the Methodist Episcopal church in South Onondaga, in which she has been a zealous and con- rientions worker over sixty years. A remarkable sweetness of character, good business judgment and habits, a conscien- tions desire to live the Christian life she professed, great liber- ality to the por, the unfortunate, the deserving, and to the church, have made her pet name, " Aunt Phobe," a synonym of benevolence, and of every saintly virtue. She gave, unaided, to the church their parsonage, and also liberally to the Syra- euse university, so that only the smaller moiety of her estate remains for her own support. Her long life has been an orna- ment to the church, and a benefaction to society.

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.

History of Onondaga County, New York, Part 60

Author: Clayton, W.W. (W. Woodford) Publication date: 1878 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., D. Mason & Co. Number of Pages: 840

Author: Clayton, W.W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., D. Mason & Co.
Number of Pages: 840