History of Ontario Co., New York, Part 47

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District No. 20 is an irregularly-shaped piece of land known as the "Bacon Tract," and embraced about sixteen hundred acres, purchased and held for specu- lation. Into this new, wild section a road was opened. Survey was made by Squire Chipman, and the lands thrown open to purchase. Among the earliest settlers upon it were Samuel Hudson, Ansen Walker, Mr. Tilton, and Shubel Marble,-all men having families and desirous of homes. H. Brooks resides upon the Marble place, and J. Purdy on that of Tilton. Amasa Squiers, James Owens, and Daniel Miller were settlers on that section lying to the southeast and now the property of T. McIntyre. The lands of this lately-formed and settled district are rich but shallow.

District No. 1 .- Augustine Sackett and his brother Theron came from Litch- field, Connecticut, in 1812. They joined means to purchase a farm of ninety- four acres, comprised in parts of lots 59 and 60, from Ebenezer Norton, then a lawyer in Canandaigua. There had been a settler upon No. 59 for many years. Twenty acres had been cleared, and an old log house stood on the place. The original settler was a man named Hull, who kept a kind of tavern in a double- log house. Gideon Ferry, the second owner, sold to Reuben Lamberton, who traded the property to Norton for a tavern stand in the village; and of Norton, as stated, Colonel Suckett made his purchase. Among those who fled from the vicinity of Buffalo during the memorable scenes of 1813 was a man named Elisha Doty, who, with his family, passed the winter in the old tavern.

A. Sackett occupied the old building in 1814; then, having built a new house, used the old ono as a stable, and finally burned it up. Upon this farm Mr. Sackett has been an inhabitant for sixty-two years, and is the oldest resident of the district. He has three sons well advanced in age,-two of them are living on the farm. From Colonel Sackett we obtain the following history. The settlers in the district beginning on the North Bloomfield road, just out from Canandaigua, are thus described : James Thomas, a Welshman and a house-builder, had just completed the house of Peter B. Porter, now occupied by Eldridge G. Lapham, present M. C., and with the means thus acquired bought a farm of one hun- dred sores. On the north side of the road he erected a log house, and thereon passed his life. The family, save a son and a daughter, has become extinct, and the place is now owned by John Maltman. Ira Wilder kept tavern on the south side of the road west from Thomas. The property was owned in 1814 by John Carpenter, who had built a log shanty, which was used by him and Wilder as a public house. His land being rented, Carpenter took a six-acre piece from the corner of lot 59, and thereon built a small frame house. He was known as the incumbent of various small offices ; sold out to Wilder within a few years, and moved away. Ira Wilder had come from Connecticut with Jonathan Wilder, his father, and lived in Bristol. He soon made a purchase of the rented farm from Carpenter, and also bought fifty acres additional. During the war of 1812 he had been captain of a company of cavalry ; served at Buffalo, and was upon the disastrous retreat from Black Rock. A brick house was built in 1829, on the west side of the road opposite the log tavern, and this new house became known as Wilder's tavern, and was known as the Wilder place down to about 1860. Wilder sold in 1864, and went to the village of Canandaigua to live with a daughter, and there died in 1868 at the age of eighty-six. Joseph Sexton was the purchaser of his place, whereon Mrs. Sexton has lived since his death. Upon 59 were several log huts untenanted. The property had been cleared, but the money could not be raised to meet payments and it had reverted to its previous owner, the State of Connecticut, from which Colonel Sackett made purchase in 1817. The price paid was twenty dollars an acre, with wheat worth two dollars, and potatoes one dollar a bushel. Farther to the northwest, on the land now owned by Converse McMillen, was Charles Woodruff, a settler since 1792, and then over sixty years

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PLATE XXX IV.

RES. OF F. A. SACKETT, CANANDAIGUA , N. Y.

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PLATE XXXV

NAO

RESIDENCE OF JOHN MALTMAN, ESQ , CANANDAIGUA, N. Y.

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of age. He was an original occupant of his farm, and had brought it into a fair state of cultivation and erected a comfortable frame house. Matteson was the occupant of a small frame house in the southwest corner of the Bacon tract. He was William Bacon's agent for the sale of the land, and at the same time kept an inn. The stand was used for a tavern for a period of between forty and fifty years.

On the road running southeast from Charles Woodruff's place we find a log house occupied by Elijah Rose, a mason by trade and well advanced in years. In the house with her father lived Triphena Evans, who died there in 1875, at the age of ninety-two years. Next, south, was the dwelling of Jesse Ackley, of Connecticut. He was living upon a tract taken up by his father. A Mrs. Walker, a daughter, resides in district No. 20. Beyond Ackley was his brother Aaron, on part of the same lot. A shoemaker by trade, he carried on work in his house, and gave time not thus required to his farm. Jarius Rose, a settler in 1792, as is shown by his appointment to the office of constable in the spring elec- tion of that year, had made his home where Albert B. Cooley now lives, and was the owner of five hundred acres. Benjamin Sheldon, of Sheffield, Massachusetts, came out in 1812, bought of Rose, and in 1814 was living in a good two-story house. The next lot below Sheldon was owned by Gideon Granger, and occupied by a tenant. Various lots were partially occupied by persons of small means, who dwelt in log cabins, and were not known outside of their immediate neigh- borhood. The first brick house in the district was built by Mr. Granger, on lot 57, in 1815. Frederick Cooley is the present inhabitant. On Sucker brook was a saw-mill built by Ira Wilder, about 1825, on the Callister farm. It was long in use, and finally let run to decay. The first blacksmith in the district was Clark Eldridge, who had several shops one of them on Wilder's premises. A man named Callon was another of his craft. The majority of the church people are Methodist, while other societies have a scattering membership. From a book whose first entry gives "John Carpenter, clerk of School District No. 1, June 9, 1813," we learn of a meeting held on June 4 preceding, at the house of Benja- min Sheldon, when Jesse Ackley, B. Sheldon, and James Thomas were chosen trustees, and Charles Woodruff collector. It was voted to build a school-house on the road from C. Woodruff's to Orimel Sheldon's, near the cross-roads. Various assemblies were had, and in one it was voted to build a brick house twenty-four by twenty-two feet. A regular meeting was ordered by John C. Spencer, com- mon school commissioner, for February 14, 1815. Angus Sackett was clerk. A vote passed to build a house twenty feet by twenty-four feet. A tax of three hundred and eighty dollars was levied to supply means, and the building was to be ready for occupancy by October, 1815. Each proprietor was ordered to supply a half-cord of two-and-a-half foot wood. The first teacher, during the summer of 1815, was Polly Brownell, and the first of the winter teachers was Augustine Sackett. A Mr. Saunders was one of the best school-masters in the early day, and Marshal Finley was a good teacher of a later period.

District No. 3 .- Lemuel Castle came here from Dutchess county in 1789, and soon after leased a place on lot 40, of Messrs. Phelps and Gorham. The place is now in possession of Hiram Case. The journey west was made with ox-teams, and goods and provisions came by water.

In 1792, Castle built a frame barn for the proprietors. Its dimensions are forty by sixty feet, and it is yet in service, having stood for eighty-four years. The old contract for building this pioneer barn is couched in the wordy language of the time, and is now in the possession of Francis J. Castle, a grandson of the pio- neer. Having remained on this lease for some time, Mr. Castle purchased lot No. 44, one hundred and seventeen acres, upon which himself and his son Dyer moved, and began the work of clearing a tract of its forest growth prelimi- nary to the transformation to a productive grain field. The grandson, resident of the farm, is now sixty-eight years of age, and the third generation has grown up on the old homestead. Elijah Hurd bought lot No. 40 when Mr. Castle moved from it, and this occurred some time in 1793. Where now stands the brick resi- dence of George Hickox, that early day saw the log cabin of Ebenezer Williams, a carriage-maker and wheelwright. This pioneer was kept constantly employed, and lived here many years. [Upon lot No. 45 came Colonel John Sutherland from the village, and bought out a man who had been there but a few months. In time Reuben Sutherland became the owner, and it has passed to the hands of his grandson, A. S. Sutherland. ] On the northeast corner of lot No. 74, north of the present school-house, lived the pioneer tavern-keeper, Seth Holcomb, who came out in 1792, was made the recipient of various offices, and became a public man. Nathan Briggs succeeded to the place, and there resided for some time. Among the early settlers of this locality, none stand out in the light of history more conspicuously than Captain George Hickox. He came to the town of Canandaigua on January 31, 1793. His first location was on lot No. 27, where Lorenzo Tillotson lives. In 1797, Mr. Hickox married Eunice Hol- comb, who had come on from Massachusetts and opened a school in the log

school-house which stood on No. 79. Miss Holcomb was one of the pioneer teachers, having begun in 1793, and taught continuously until the time of her marriage. One term was taught at the school-house near where Albert Smith now owns; the rest, at number No. 79. One of those who attended her school in that day became widely and favorably known as Joshua R. Giddings-an eminent and able legislator, and member of Congress from Ohio. When Captain Hickox came in, his only possessions were a yoke of oxen and an axe. His father took the oxen and a squaw stole his axe, and all that was left to him were a strong arm and a courageous mind not easily daunted. In 1793, Mr. Hickox helped Judge Stephen Bates to fell the timber for the court-house erected in 1794. The trees stood on Fort Hill and Gibson street. He was the first man to plow on that street for the initial crop there produced. He was captain of militia, and in December, 1813, during the burning of Buffalo, received an order at midnight to have his company in readiness to march, and at sunrise next morn- ing had them on the public square in Canandaigua. Orders to march were coun- termanded, and the company was disbanded. He engaged, for a time, in trans- porting goods by ox-teams from Albany, at a period when there were twenty-three taverns on the route. His death occurred May 27, 1845. His father, Levi Hickox, came to the village in the latter part of 1790, and located where Alex- ander McKechnie lives. Judge Phelps having been taken sick was attended by Mr. Hickox, who was recompensed by a deed for three hundred acres of land, including lot No. 91, on the Bristol road, where Wells Goodwin now owns. Here he came, and among his acts was the planting of an orchard, which is still in existence to attest his providence. George Hickox, Jr., son of Captain Hickox, and grandson of Levi, resides in the town. During a harvest season, among the hands was Brigham Young, the Mormon prophet, who was raking and binding wheat at a dollar per day when he quit work for Mr. Hickox. It was, in all proba- bility, the last honest day's labor he accomplished. About 1800, Joseph Van Orman located and built a house on lot No. 79, almost directly in front of the William Sutherland residence, now occupied by Thompson Sutherland. Near the house of Mr. Sutherland one Fleming had his home, and was engaged in carrying on a small distillery in the hollow just east of his house. In 1803, Daniel Case bought out Captain Hickox, and moved on to the place. He was made the incumbent of various town offices, and held that of justice of the peace for many years. Giles Mitchell was a pioneer settler upon lot No. 78 in 1794, but soon sold out, and Benjamin Wheeler was a later proprietor. On the south- east corner of lot No. 71 lived Mr. Giddings, father of the Ohio congressman above alluded to. Later, he removed to the State where the son became known to fame. Hugh Jameson came to this neighborhood among the earliest, and located where A. E. Smith resides, on lot No. 55. He was the builder of the brick house upon the place.

Centrefield District, No. 2 .- Abner Barlow and Colonel Thaddeus Remington came to the town in 1790. The latter came on and located near Christian Hill, now Centrefield, in 1793. Colonel Remington was a native of Vermont, and settled where John Clark owns, and there resided until his death. He was promi- nent among the pioneers, and, as indicated by his title, was a colonel during the last war with England. He had a family of eight children. Thaddeus, a son, was born here in 1794, and died where he had lived during January, 1876. Mrs. Sophia Fosket, a daughter, resident of the town, is in her seventy-seventh year. Soon after the Remington settlement came David Hawley, and located where A. McCready resides; and about the same time Jesse Miller came in from the Black river country, and took up his residence where Mr. Crum now occu- pies. Captain Noah Heacock was an early occupant of this locality, and built a brick tavern in Centrefield, which he kept for some years,-among the first in the place. Isaac Morse, familiarly known as " Papa" Morse, settled south of Chris- tian Hill, on lot 81. He was a man of large family, and an accomplished fiddler. He made lively music for young and old at the frequent festive gatherings de- lighted in by the early settlers. A grandson, E. H. Morse, is a present owner of the old farm. Enos and Henry Hawley were settlers prior to 1800, and re- mained upon their farms till their deaths, which were nearly at the same time. The first farm south of Remington's was that of Stephen Ward, a settler of 1799, and a man of varied experience, worthy a place in his county's history as illus- trative of the shifts and labors incident to the time. Charles and Oliver John- son were the pioneers upon the farm of O. E. Crittenden, and farther south lived Joseph and Joel Clark, who within a few years were attracted to Canada. Lyman Miller had a small building in Centreville on the site of the Williams' house. Harvey Steele lived on the south side of the road, a few rods west of the Haw- leys, upon the farm of Walter Blair.

Oliver Rose was the first storekeeper in Centrefield. He began the mercantile business in a small frame building in the village some time about 1810, and opened a market for grain. A former school-master, he now became proprietor of a dis- tillery which stood on the land of John Cooley about 1815. Justus Rose be-

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came a partner, and enlarged the field of operations. A store was started in Cheshire, cattle were bought, and a heavy trade upbuilt. The Roses sold to Sackett, Fosket & Carter, and later Asa Hawley became a member of the firm. They maintained the trade originated by their predecessors, and the village was a lively place. Centrefield then had a post-office, with John Fosket for the post- master,-an honor not now enjoyed. Mr. Fosket ran a shoe store in the place, and found it well patronized. When Heacock moved away, the tavern was bought, and let to Isaac Fosket, who became known as the second tavern-keeper of the place.

The need of medical attendance ignored sex, and the wife of Joseph Van Orman was the doctor in the days of which we write. She was invaluable in her services, was held in high repute, and rode from one point to another on horse- back. Dr. Benson, of Bristol, and physicians of the village of Canandaigua were available. It was a plain, simple fact that as many as a dozen persons were confined at a time in the first log jail in the shire village, as the penalty of debt. Some of these had got behind through sickness; and this was the way then taken for a poor man to liquidate his debt, by confining him in the county jail and making him board himself. The families in and about Centrefield were desirous of school and church privileges. A school-house was built between Ward's and Remington's, and later was moved westward a short distance for better aocom- modation. The first teacher here was Pruda Hawley. Charles Weller, a young man froin Massachusetts, taught the school in the winter of 1800-1. Traveling preachers came to this locality as a point on their rounds. Rev. Wicks was one of that faithful class known as circuit-riders, and Elder Goodell, then young, preached at various stations through the country. In religious affairs, until recently, Centrefield was connected with churches in adjacent places. In 1831 a general revival extended to this village, and paved the way for the organization of societies. On November 12, 1832, a congregational society was formed by Revs. Silas C. Brown, Robert W. Hill, and Edwin Branson. Thirty-five members were enrolled, of whom seventeen were received by letter, the rest on profession of faith in Christ. Of the former class, five were from East Bloomfield, five from North Bristol, and two from Canandaigua. This church was received under care of the Ontario presbytery January 15, 1833. Stated supplies took the place of a regular pastor. Among those early officiating in this capacity were S. S. Howe, Jonathan Leslie, Benjamin B. Smith, Joseph K. Ware, and Silas C. Brown. Aid was received from the American Home Missionary Society. A house of worship was erected, and preaching had at intervals. The Baptist society built a meeting-house about 1830, and Rev. Potter, the leading man in the work, became the first pastor. After a brief period, the house was sold to the Episcopal society for one thousand dollars. Rev. Reward Karney had served this latter society previous to the purchase in the school-house, and became the rector here at the organization of the church as Trinity parish, September 23,. 1832. The first communicants were George H. Wheeler, who died in 1837; Linus Gunn, Orlando Morse, James Blair and wife, Asa Hawley and wife, Ashbael Tuttle and wife, Samuel Shrope, Dr. Thomas Williams, and Thaddeus Remington,-the last two on August 11, 1833. Other rectors were Rev. William Hecox and Rev. Chipman. There has been no rector for many years. The building, though still Episcopalian property, is not now in use. It is told of the residents of Centrefield that a great excitement prevailed among them during 1813. They feared an invasion from British and Indians. Some dared not remove their clothing, but slept ready to rise and run. A wagon stood loaded with hay. The latter was thrown off, so as to hold the vehicle ready as a means of escape. One old man watched from his house all day, and finally became so panic-stricken as to get out a horse and ride into the wilderness in No. 9, looking back fearfully. A few days brought tidings of the British retreat, and the old routine was observed.

Joint District No. 12 lies south of Centrefield. In the year 1795, Rev. Zadoc Hunn came on with his family from Berkshire county, Massachusetts, and settled on the farm now owned by B. Durand, formerly known as the Sheldon tavern-stand. Rev. Hunn was known as an organiser of churches, and his name is associated with the early history of Congregationalism in Ontario County. His death occurred in May, 1801. A grandson, Nathan Hunn, is a resident in the district. A man named Rockwell married one of Rev. Hunn's daughters, and was known as the keeper of s tavern. Seba Case came in during 1794, and set- tled upon lot 14, now owned by Myron Parks. Upon this lot he passed his life. George Gooding settled upon the farm opposite Rev. Hunn, where Wells and Timothy Gooding now live. The parts of lots 90 and 94 in the north part of the district were known as the Hooper Lung farm. A man came upon this tract, made a clearing, and lived there some time, and ultimately abandoned it as being too rough. A Mr. Ingram next resided on the land, and built a turning machine on Shaffer creek. His manufactures were limited, and of the articles, any one of which would now be a relic, were wooden plates. The Parshall place was owned

by Levi Hickox, of whom we have spoken. His descendants still reside in the vicinity. No. 15 was taken up by Elijah Tillotson, who set out an orchard still in existence. The irregularity of roads had its origin with the convenience of the farmers. The school-house in this district is a frame building, standing near the Bristol line. But a score of minors between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one reside in the limits of the district. A male teacher in winter and a female in summer are employed, who board around. Fifteen children attended the school in 1875. The school property is valued at $600. The amount of moneys apportioned to the district in 1875 was $79.84, and $134 was raised by tax. The wages of teachers amounted to $266. Other expenses, $164.50. Total, $297.84. Making the cost of tuition per scholar nearly $20. The winter teacher received $44 per month ; the summer teacher $24.

School District No. 18, principally in No. 9, third range, had for its early settlers Mr. Spencer, on lot 28, Mr. Taylor, an old, childless man, and Joel Moore, a pleasant, enterprising settler. Settlers moved to this region rapidly, and a brief mention is all we can give them. Abraham Root was a pioneer of 1792. upon the place of O. Tillotson, and purchased quite a large tract of land. Esquire Roswell Root, a son, was a long time resident of the locality. James Castle was an early proprietor and occupant of lot 53, now owned by D. J. Baker. Ambrose Phelps, from Manchester, at an early period bought the lands lying west of the Remington tract. Mr. Phelps married Liddy Gillett, sister to the wife .of Mr. Root, in the time of settlement. Abner and Chester Bunnell were early car- penters and house-builders ; the latter was engaged upon the construction of the old court-house or "Star Building," erected in 1794, and as payment for his ser- vices, Judges Phelps and Gorham deeded to him the land now owned by C. B. Ward. Some flaw in the title gave trouble, which was settled by a new deed by Zachariah Seymour, agent for Connecticut, on a presentation of a proper voucher. From a family of six, three survive,-Charles Bunnell, of Iowa; a daughter, the wife of Moses Ward, Sr .; and a son, H. Bunnell, upon Academy Tract. Isaac Van Orman, a settler, about 1795, on lot 42, near the present home of W. Bee- man, was prominent as a business and as a religious man. He was later tho owner of a six-horse team, employed to transport grain to Albany and bring back merchandise. On the stagnation of trade, this effort, followed by others, was a great and permanent advantage to the farmers. An old man, named Eli Butler, squatted a farm in the woods and built him a small log cabin, which stood some- what to the east of A. M. Nott's house. Those who had business with him fol- lowed foot-paths which led to his abode. He traveled the country with spoon- moulds, and as he found dilapidated pewter plates transformed them to spoons, and so eked out a livelihood. E. S. Nott, father of A. M. Nott, married Eunice Case, . daughter of Seba Case. William Bacon, a land speculator, owned and sold to James Nethaway, where O. Outhouse lives. At Nethaway's death the property was sold by the heirs, and, passing through several changes, has come to present ownership of Mr. Outhouse. To the northeast part of lot 30 came Jonathan Mack, of Massachusetts, about 1799. He went upon the property and chopped a piece containing three or four acres; this was the beginning of his career as a good and reputable farmer. He married Eliza, daughter of Isaad Van Orman, and raised a large family. Upon the hill where stood Coxe chapel was raised a log school-house, the pioneer in that region of early settlement. When it was announced that a bee was to be had, all the old pioneers turned out with their axes and cattle for the work. Prominent of those present were Seba Case, Am- brose Phelps, Isaac Van Orman, Daniel and Dyer Castle, Elijah Hurd, and Jool Gillett. Logs were cut and put up, and No. 9 had = school-house, and a meeting-house as well. About 1810 the old log-house was demolished, and on the site a framed church was begun in 1811, and dedicated in 1815. Since 1865 the people began to attend church in Canandaigua, and about 1873 the building was taken away. The first Methodist church organization in the town was in this part of No. 9. The meetings were held at Roswell Root's house, and afterwards in . log house on the hill west of Durand's. The society on organization consisted of Roswell Root and wife, Sarah Moore, Ambrose Phelps and wife, Levi Rowley and wife, Talcott Reed and wife, Giles Hecox and wife, David Parshall and wife, Jesse Parshall and wife, Eliza Holcomb, Mrs. Murray, Aaron Spencer and wife, and Isaac and Jesse Van Orman. The date of formation was 1796. Unable to support a circuit preacher, local speakers were employed up to the removal of the building in 1873. The school-house on lot 55 was built about 1856. Re- peated divisions have resulted in small schools, enhancing expenses and withdraw- ing the stimulus of numbers.

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History of Ontario Co., New York, Part 47

Author: Publication date: Publisher: Number of Pages: 391

Author:
Publication date:
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 391