USA > New York > Ontario County > History of Ontario Co., New York > Part 82
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EAST BLOOMFIELD IN THE REBELLION.
Eighty-fifth Regiment, Company B .- Amos Brunson, lieutenant, enlisted August, 1861, for three years; died May 24, 1862, of disease, at Bottom's Bridge, Royster farm hospital, Va .; buried same place.
John Buell, sergeant, Sept., 1861; re-enlisted Jan., 1864; taken prisoner at Plymouth, N. C., April 20, 1864; died and was buried at Andersonville prison, Ga., Sept. 7, 1864.
Charles H. Munson, corporal, Sept., 1861 ; discharged for disability Sept., 1862; died at Canandaigua, Oct. 28, 1862; buried at East Bloomfield.
Linus Cone, Sept. 25, 1861 ; killed at Fair Oaks, Va., May 31, 1862. Benj. W. Peck, August, 1861; died in Douglas Hospital, Washington, D. C., June 8, 1862, of disease; buried in East Bloomfield.
Edgar H. Steele, Sept., 1861; died of disease in Libby prison, Richmond, Va., June 19, 1862.
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HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
Frank E. Wilcox, August, 1861 ; re-enlisted; died in Andersonville prison, Sept. 9, 1864.
Henry P. Seymour, Sept., 1861; died on board of transport to Washington, D. C., May 15, 1862 ; buried at East Bloomfield.
Oscar F. Sage, Sept. 25, 1861 ; died of disease Feb. 16, 1862, at Washington, D. C.
John E. Blake, died at Charleston, S. C., Sept. 12, 1864. Martin M. Mead, Sept. 25, 1861 ; discharged July 15, 1865.
Chester A. Gooding, Oct. 11, 1861 ; discharged June, 1863.
Spencer W. Martin, August, 1861, as sergeant; promoted first lieutenant ; dis- charged.
Edwin A. Knapp, Sept, 1861; wounded in face; discharged for disability Dec., 1863.
Amos Bennett, Sept. 25, 1861; re-enlisted Jan., 1864; taken prisoner at Plymouth, N. C., April 20, 1864; kept four and one-half months in Anderson- ville, Ga., and six months in Florence, S. C .; discharged July 26, 1865.
One Hundred and Twenty-sixth New York State Volunteers, Company F .- Henry N. Murrill, enlisted July 21, 1862; discharged Jan. 11, 1863.
Francis W. Haney, July 17, 1862; died of disease Sept. 18, 1864, at Alex- andria, Va.
James G. Camp, July 30, 1862; discharged August 11, 1865.
Company B .- Sylvester J. Oatman, July 12, 1862; discharged March, 1865. Edgar Oatman, July 12, 1862 ; discharged June, 1865.
Elmer G. Wilcox, August 6, 1862; discharged August, 1865.
Frederick A. Wilcox, August 6, 1862; died of disease at Florence, Ala., Sept., 1864.
Frank D. Spring, musician, July 30, 1862; discharged June 1, 1865.
George McOmber, August 6, 1862; discharged June, 1865.
George W. Smith, August, 1862; discharged June, 1865.
George S. Steele, July 25, 1862; wounded at the battle of the Wilderness, and died in Lincoln Hospital, D. C., July 28, 1864.
Edward A. Young, Aug. 7, 1862 ; wounded at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863 ; dis- charged from hospital June, 1865.
TenEyck Munson, captain, Aug., 1862; promoted from second lieutenant ; dis- charged June, 1865.
Jeremiah Toomey, July 31, 1862 ; leg broken, and discharged before mustered in.
Edward P. Adams, Aug. 8, 1862 ; signal officer ; taken prisoner at Harper's Ferry ; paroled ; was appointed signal officer of the 19th Army Corps, April 29, 1863; resigned July 6, 1865.
Myron Adams, Jr., Aug. 8, 1862 ; promoted corporal Aug. 28, 1862; to second lieutenant Signal Corps, U. S. A., March 3, 1863 ; taken prisoner at Harper's Ferry, and paroled Sept. 16, 1862; resigned July 15, 1865.
Matthew H. Barber, July 25, 1862; discharged April 16, 1863.
Scott Barber, Aug. 12, 1862 ; discharged June 10, 1865.
Jno. Sheehan, July 31, 1863; discharged July 5, 1865.
Fernando Beers, Co. D, July 28, 1862 ; discharged May 28, 1865.
Frank Davis, Aug. 5, 1862 ; deserted Oct., 1862.
Thomas Loney, Co. K, July 13, 1862; taken prisoner Sept. 16, 1862, at Har- per's Ferry ; discharged Nov. 24, 1865.
Frank Cummings, Aug., 1862; deserted before regiment left the State.
Morden Older, Co. K, Aug., 1862; discharged June, 1865.
Clinton Taylor, Co. F, Aug., 1862; discharged.
One Hundred and Forty-eighth .- George A. Beach, Co. K, Aug. 21, 1862; discharged May 15, 1865.
Albert Brines, March 14, 1864; discharged June, 1865.
Jeremiah Claflin, July, 1862 ; discharged June, 1865.
William Stewart, Co. K, Aug. 31, 1862; discharged July 1, 1865.
Abram R. Terry, Sept., 1862; killed at Petersburg, Va., July, 1864.
William Rice, August 22, 1862 ; promoted corporal ; discharged June 22, 1865.
Oscar M. Adams, Aug., 1862; wounded at Cold Harbor, June 3, 1864; was second lieutenant; died at Washington, D. C., June 19, 1864.
Charles S. Meadon, Sept. 11, 1862; died of disease Jan., 1863.
Aaron Coon, Co. K, Aug., 1862 ; killed at the battle of Cold Harbor, June 3, 1864.
Twenty-seventh Infantry .- Joseph B. Butler, April 28, 1861; wounded and taken prisoner at Bull Run, July 2, 1861 ; held prisoner at Richmond three months ; discharged from service Oct. 23, 1861.
Henry H. Herling, April 28, 1861; deserted at second battle of Bull Run ; retained under proclamation of President, April, 1863; discharged with the 27th Regiment, May 31, 1863 ; was in Co. L.
James H. Burlison, Co. G, April 29, 1861 ; promoted corporal; wounded in Seven Days' battle ; died at Savage Station, July 25, 1862.
Daniel Webster, Co. G, May 7, 1861; died at Judiciary Square, D. C., Feb. 18, 1863, of disease.
George A. Spring, April 25, 1861; promoted corporal; discharged at expiration of term, May 31, 1863.
David S. Willys, April 27, 1861 ; discharged May 31, 1863:
Eugene Rappall, April 27, 1861; wounded at battle of Malvern Hill, and died July, 1862, in Richmond prison.
Robert S. Frazee, April 29, 1861 ; discharged May 31, 1863.
Charles W. Frazee, April 29, 1861 ; discharged May 31, 1863.
William Maltman, April, 1861; wounded in Seven Days' fight; in hospital two months; discharged May 31, 1863.
Fiftieth Engineers .- Oscar E. Parker, Co. L, Feb. 8, 1863; discharged June 29, 1865.
William Nudd, Jan. 18, 1863; discharged June 29, 1865.
Charles Howes, Sept. 5, 1864; discharged June 13, 1865.
Nelson Martin, Oct. 2, 1862; discharged June 13, 1865.
Edward Munson, 1863, Co. L; discharged June 13, 1865. Alexander Finley, Sept. 1862; discharged June 29, 1865.
John H. Perry, Feb., 1863; discharged June 29, 1865.
Fifteenth Engineers .- Robt. Howes, Sept. 8, 1864 ; discharged June 13, 1865. Stewart L. Boom, Sept. 5, 1864, Co. K; discharged June 1, 1865.
First Engineers, Co. G .- Edwin T. Hatch, corporal, Oct. 12, 1861 ; discharged Jan. 5, 1863, for disability.
John A. Hutch, Oct. 12, 1861 ; discharged Nov. 28, 1864.
Isaac R. Ranney, Oct. 12, 1861.
Miscellaneous .- George B. Sage, 18th, Co. G, April 22, 1861 ; promoted ser- geant ; discharged Aug. 3, 1865, from Co. H, 2d Cavalry, when he re enlisted Sept. 6, 1864.
M. J. Winter, Co. G, 188th, Sept. 5, 1864.
James J. Randall, Co. G, 33d, April 28, 1861.
Otowell Cooper, Jan., 1864; transferred to 1st Mounted Rifles, Co. K.
John Sullivan, substitute, Aug. 26, 1864.
Thomas Howe, Co. K, 140th, Aug. 31, 1862; discharged June 3, 1865.
Eugene Ingraham, substitute, Aug. 19, 1864.
James Hollihan, Co. D, 188th, Sept. 5, 1864; discharged July 7, 1865.
Horace A. Gooding, Co. H, 140th, August 27, 1862; died of disease in Campbell Hospital, D. C., Jan. 4, 1863.
William D. Cudworth, Co. H, 140th, August 27, 1862 ; discharged July, 1865. Mortimer L. Bradley, Co. F, 26th, August 5, 1861 ; discharged July 1, 1863. Monroa Bradley, Co. K, 187th, Sept. 10, 1864; died at Stanton Hospital, D. C., Dec. 5, 1864.
James Dunn, Co. E, 160th, August 18, 1862; discharged Nov. 14, 1865.
Charles C. Murphy, assistant surgeon, 16th, August 7, 1862; promoted to surgeon 12th Regiment Dec. 31, 1862 ; mustered out July 1, 1863.
Buel Munson, Co. F, 126th, August 7, 1861; wounded at Fredericksburg, Dec. 13, 1862; died at Lincoln Hospital, Jan. 2, 1863.
Orsel T. Welton, Co. B, 10th Veteran Reserve Corps; discharged July 24, 1865.
Whitfield H. Peck, Co. D, 194th; discharged April, 1865.
Guy D. Graham, Co. G, 188th, Sept. 13, 1864; discharged June 28, 1865. Rufus J. Bush, Co. G, 188th, Sept. 13, 1864.
George Brink, Co. A, 97th, July 20, 1863; drafted ; deserted March, 1864. Benj. F. Wheeler, Co. H, 140th, August 27, 1862; discharged June 3, 1865. Timothy Driscol, Co. D, 194th, March 14, 1865; discharged May 6, 1865. Anson L. Munson, July, 1861 ; discharged July, 1863.
Timothy L. Toomey, Co. E, 160th, August 31, 1862; wounded at Winchester,
Va .; died in hospital there Sept. 26, 1864.
Samuel R. Chapman, Co. C, 108th, July 28, 1862; discharged July 1, 1865. William Ryan, Co. E, 160th, Sept. 1, 1862 ; taken prisoner and confined in Camp Ford, Texas, six months and a half; discharged Nov. 1, 1865.
James Loney, Co. E, 160th, August 27, 1862.
Bortle Jenks, Co. K, 140th, August 30, 1862; deserted May, 1863.
Bernard Lemon, Co. E, 160th, August, 1862; taken prisoner Oct. 19, 1864, and sent to Salisbury, N. C .; died of starvation Jan. 4, 1865.
Frank Rowley (roster unknown).
CAVALRY. Eighth, Company M .- George O. Dibble, August 26, 1862; died Sept. 16, 1863, in Lincoln Hospital, Washington, D. C., of disease.
Charles P. Murrill, August 30, 1862; discharged June 27, 1865.
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HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
Haskaline Hamlin, Sept., 1862 ; wounded at Stony Creek Station, June 29, 1864 ; supposed to be dead.
Henry S. Howes, Co. H, Sept. 8, 1862 ; discharged July 2, 1865.
Franklin S. Wilson, Co. M, August 30, 1862; promoted sergeant ; discharged June 27, 1865.
William Tulford, August 30, 1862.
Thomas Sweeney, August 31, 1862.
Albert Stiles, August 31, 1862 ; discharged March, 1863.
Allen K. Curtis, Co. H, August 28, 1862 ; discharged for disability Dec. 23, . 1862.
James Robinett, Co. H, Sept. 8, 1862; wounded at battle of Wilderness; died in hospital.
Sanford T. Carroll, Co. M, Dec. 19, 1863; discharged June 27, 1865. Allen M. Beebe, August 30, 1862; discharged March, 1863.
John H. N. M. Hicks, Sept. 1, 1862; taken prisoner Sept. 20, 1863, at Cat- lett's Station, Va. ; sent to Belle Island; removed to Andersonville Dec .; died June 20, 1864, of starvation.
First Veteran, Company E .- James W. Sage, Sept. 5, 1864; discharged June 5, 1865.
Charles Sweeney, Sept. 5, 1864.
Richard B. Rowley, Sept. 5, 1864; discharged June, 1865.
Ralph W. Hayes, Co. H, August, 1863; died at Washington, D. C., Jan. 22, 1864, of disease.
Third Veteran, Company H .- John Salter, Oct., 1862; deserted in spring of 1864.
Thomas Salter, August, 1861 ; killed near Newbern, N. C., Nov. 8, 1862.
James R. Sprague, corporal, Sept., 1861 ; killed on picket at Little Washing- ton, N. C., Oct. 6, 1862.
Lansing P. Munson, Co. H, Aug. 10, 1861, second lieutenant ; resigned Dec. 19, 1861.
Twenty-fourth Veteran. - James Johnson, Co. L, Jan 5, 1863; discharged August 6, 1865.
Jeremiah McCarty, Co. H, Dec. 30, 1863; discharged Jan. 1, 1865.
Israel G. Mason, Co. L, Jan. 12, 1864 ; discharged August 4, 1865.
Abner Adams, Sept. 30, 1862; promoted to second lieutenant ; military secre- tary to Governor Stanley, N. C .; re enlisted at Rochester, Sept. 17, 1864; dis- charged May 16, 1865.
Miscellaneous .- Patrick Nagle, Co. F, 1st, August 30, 1862; died of disease in New Orleans, June 4, 1865.
Charles E. Austin, 12th, Sept., 1864.
Silas J. Van Norman, Co. G, 21st, Sept. 11, 1863; died of disease March 7, 1864, Knoxville, Va.
Michael H. Murphy, Co. G, August 31, 1862; 2d U. S. Cavalry.
ARTILLERY.
Fourth Heavy, Company H .- Charles S. Haney, Dec. 26, 1863; discharged Oct. 5, 1865.
William H. Spring, Dec. 28, 1863; died of disease, Salisbury prison, N. C. Henry Fox, Co. D, August 19, 1862; discharged June, 1865.
William H. Cline, Co. H, Dec. 30, 1863; promoted corporal; discharged Oct., 1865.
Sylvester Simpson, Co. D, August 19, 1862; discharged June, 1865.
John Eastman, August, 1862 ; discharged June, 1865.
Sixteenth Heavy, Company F .- Daniel Neenan, Jan. 5, 1864; deserted April, 1864.
Cornelius O'Neill, Jan. 5, 1864; discharged August 27, 1865.
STATISTICS.
July 25, 1863, there were drafted and accepted by the examining surgeon eleven men, of whom five procured substitutes by paying $300 each, and six paid the commutation, $300 each.
September, 1864, twenty-eight men furnished substitutes, paying therefor from $1000 to $1500, making a total of $30,850 ; they were reimbursed by the county $1000 each, making $28,000. The substitutes having been put into the service at various points, Buffalo, Rochester, New York, Elmira, etc., and being strangers, a list of names even cannot be obtained. In addition to above, in 1864, the town furnished eighteen men at an expense to the town of $900; also, in 1865, seventeen men at an expense of $2300, which were voluntary contri- butions.
OLD HOMES OF BLOOMFIELD.
IN the year 1788, Samuel Miller, a native of Granby, Connecticut, a black- smith by trade, selected Canandaigua as a home, and in the following year re- moved his family to that place, and worked at his trade a couple of years, when he removed to the point ever since known as Miller's Corners. This family con- sisted of wife, two sons, and two daughters. He here set up his anvil on a stump in the open air, this being the only shop in all this region. It is related that a stranger, inquiring his way to Miller's blacksmith-shop, was answered that "he was in Miller's blacksmith-shop now, but that it was four miles to his anvil." He was killed by an accident in 1796. Samuel, the eldest of the sons, retained the home and farm, married, and was extensively engaged in farming, and boating on Lake Ontario, and dealing in salt. He was the father of twelve children, five sons and seven daughters. Mr. Silas Miller, the eldest of the twelve children, was born in 1803, and succeeded to the old home, where he still lives, in the en- joyment of good health and surrounded by a fine property. Mr. Silas Miller has been all his life engaged in farming, and to-day is a fine-looking old gentleman of seventy-three years, universally respected and esteemed for his sociability and lib- erality. In the course of his long life he has never sued a man at the law, or been sued. Mr. Silas Miller, at the age of twenty-six, married Almira Wilcox, of Mendon. He has had four sons, only one of whom survives. Samuel W., the youngest, was married to Miss E. M. Claflin, and until his death, which oc- curred in 1875, lived at home with the old gentleman. His widow still has her home with Mr. Miller. Carlton S. Miller is married to Miss Harriet L. Vary, of Michigan, and has one son. He and his family are all living at the old home with the old gentleman. We present in this work a very fine view of the home of the Millers as it is in the year 1876.
We present in the pages of this work a fine picture of the home and business of Mumford Hayes, of East Bloomfield. As early as 1799, Pliny Hayes, with his family, emigrated from Connecticut to Marcellus, and then successively to Prattsburg, in 1804, and to the town of Bristol, Ontario County, in 1809. He had a family of ten children, six sons and four daughters, of whom Mumford was the seventh child. He was born at Marcellus, in the year 1801. At the early age of ten he commenced to work in his father's carriage-shop, and at the age of sixteen he was a practical carriage-maker, and master of all branches per- taining to that trade. He enjoyed all the advantages of a good common-school education. He remained with his father and took charge of the business until he was twenty-seven, when he was married to Miss Abigail Wilcox, daughter of Dr. Ralph Wilcox, of East Bloomfield, with whom he lived about twenty years, when she died, leaving two children, a son and daughter. In the spring of 1851, Mr. Hayes married Miss Sarah Knowlton, by whom he had two daughters. His second wife died in 1867. In 1868 he was married, the third time, to Miss Alice Belding, a very fine-looking and accomplished lady, by whom he has no children. Mr. Hayes has carried on a very extensive business in the village of East Bloom- field for a period of over thirty-seven years, making in all sixty years as a practical carriage-maker in the county of Ontario, his sales during that time amounting to over six hundred thousand dollars. In politics, Republican; in religious faith, Protestant, having been vestryman in the Episcopal church over forty years. A healthy, robust old gentleman of seventy-five years, with a fair prospect of many years yet to come.
In the pages of this work may be seen a fine view of the residence of F. N. Toby, who is to-day living on the farm located by his father, Benjamin Toby, who emigrated from Massachusetts with his family, consisting of his wife and three children, one son and two daughters, in the year 1816. Mr. F. N. Toby was ten years of age when his father settled in East Bloomfield. He enjoyed the usual facilities of the common schools of that day until he was fifteen. He re- mained with his father and assisted on the farm, and at the age of twenty-three he was united in marriage with Miss Marana Steele. The old people lived with the younger as one family until their death. . . The death of Mr. Benjamin Toby occurred in the year 1851. Mr. F. N. Toby has no children, but he has adopted a son of his deceased sister, who lives with him, and conducts and takes charge of the farm. Mr. Toby is universally respected and honored by his friends and soquaintances, and now, at the age of seventy years, is in the full enjoyment of all his faculties, and in company with his estimable wife, is tranquilly reposing in the shade of a long and well-spent life.
Among the old homes of Ontario County, we notice that of Samuel R. Wheeler, a view of which may be seen in the pages of this work. Mr. Wheeler is to-day living in the same house erected by his grandfather in the year 1808. Mr. Ben- jamin Wheeler emigrated from Connecticut in 1800, located and built a log cabin
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PLATE LXXIX.
RES. OF H. L. HODGE, EAST BLOOMFIELD, ONTARIO CO, N. Y.
0
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PLATE LXXX.
RES. OF PHILO HAMLIN, EAST BLOOMFIELD, ONTARIO CO, N.Y.
Rcs. or F. N. TOBEY, EAST BLOOMFIELD, ONTARIO CO.N. Y.
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HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
at this point, erected the first grist-mill in this vicinity, now known as Poole's Mill, and was a soldier in the war for independence. He reared a family of ten children, six sons and four daughters, and died at seventy-five years of age. Benjamin D. Wheeler, who succeeded to the old home, was the father of the present S. R. Wheeler. He died, leaving two sons and three daughters, of which Simon R. was the youngest, being an infant at his father's death. He was reared by his uncle, Major Seth Lee. At the age of twenty-one he was married to Miss Betsy Bentley, of the town of Richmond, with whom he is still living a happy, peaceful life, in the same old home of his grandfather. Mr. Wheeler has had two children, a son, who died in infancy, and a daughter, who died at the age of nineteen. Mr. Wheeler has all his life been engaged in farming, occupying positions of trust in town and county. Ever since the age of twenty-six he has been in office, either as magistrate, assessor, or commissioner ; has been superintendent of the county almshouse for eighteen years. In politics, Republican ; in religious faith, a Pro- testant, with liberal and enlarged views. A man of fifty-seven years, he is to-day a true representative of the American gentleman.
PERSONAL SKETCH.
ELIJAH HAMLIN
was born February 8, 1767, at Alford, Berkshire county, Massachusetts. He was a descendant of James Hamlin, of Barnstable, Massachusetts, who emigrated to America about the year 1640. Elijah Hamlin, with his wife, Lydia Pope, and two children, settled in Bloomfield probably in the early part of the year 1792. He purchased the farm now occupied by Philo Hamlin, consisting of one hundred and fifty acres of land, of John Adams, on the 15th of February, 1792. Its purchase price was thirty pounds. Elijah Hamlin died in 1859, at Roches- ter, Michigan, at the age of ninety-two years.
Out of a family of eleven children, only three resided for any considerable por- tion of their lives in Ontario County. Philo Hamlin, above mentioned, who still lives in the old homestead, and Henry W. Hamlin, reside in East Bloomfield; Mary, the wife of Hon. John Dixon, died at West Bloomfield some years ago.
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TOWN OF WEST BLOOMFIELD.
No loveller landscape meets the traveler's eye. There Labor cows and reape his ware reward, And Peace and Plenty walk amid the glow And perfume of full garners .- T. BUCHANAN BRAD.
THE original proprietors of that portion of the old town of Bloomfield now known as West Bloomfield, and consisting of 16,183 acres, were Amos Hall, Robert Taft, Nathan and Ezra Marvin, and Ebenezer Curtis. All of these, ex- cept Ezra Marvin, became settlers by 1790, and with Jasper P. Sears, Samuel Miller, Peregrine Gardner, John Algur, and Sylvanus Thayer, were of the fore- most pioneers of the town. Among other prominent early settlers were Marvin Gates, Jacob Smith, Samuel Miller, Deacon Samuel Handy, Bayze Baker, Na- thaniel Eggleston, and the Pecks, Palmer, and Clark. The purchasers, and those who came with and after them, were from New England, and their character was . prevalent trait. A voluntary removal to this region presupposes enterprise and courage. It was a great work these men had undertaken, and bespoke high promise in coming years. The prise of comfort, and perhaps affluence, was to be won by toil, danger, privation, and suffering. As the Pilgrims boldly moored their bark on the wild New England shore, so their descendants embarked their all in the vast forests of the wild west.
To what region were their footsteps tending ? What appearance did it present ? The soldiers of Sullivan told of lovely scenery, rich soil, and healthful climate, and the appearance of the country to day vindicates their assertion. West Bloomfield lies upon the west border of the county, north of the centre. A long ridge, varying in height from two hundred to three hundred feet, extends across the northern side, and from this southward the lands trend downward, with a gently undulating surface. The soil, thickly covered with a forest of large trees, is a deep, rich, gravelly, clay-mixed loam. The imagination pictures . forbidding scene of savage solitude, broken by the howl of the wolf and the half-human scream of the lithe panther, but the reality was far otherwise. "There were no dead trees or dry branches to disfigure the green luxuriance of the fresh foliage, but all presented an aspect of verdure and thriftiness nearly allied in appearance to an exuberant growth of a bed of asparagus, and the forests were literally thronged with birds of all sizes, hues, and voices, that served to render a ramble in the forests on a morning in June not only delightful but enchanting." The deer ran in groups of three or four, bounding along with easy, graceful motion, and an occasional bear betook himself to the tallest tree, and from his lofty perch looked down upon the strange intruders.
In the spring of 1789 the first white settlement was made in the town by Peregrine Gardner, accompanied by his family. Toward the close of the same year, another family, that of Ebenezer Curtis, moved in. In the early part of 1790 a number of intended settlers came on from Lyme and Guilford, in Con- necticut, and from Granville, Massachusetts, and prepared homes for their fami- lies. Then the removal took place ; others joined them, and soon a settlement had its beginning, whose existence well deserves the expression, " Where once frowned a forest, a garden is smiling ;" for West Bloomfield is one of the finest neighborhoods to be found in western New York. It is due to the pioneers of the town that their names be handed down to other generations as benefactors, and so claim the grateful remembrance of posterity. We have noticed that Pere- grine Gardner is distinctly and fully recognized as the man who first ventured into the town, and awoke the slumbering echoes by the lusty axe-stroke. With no slight hardship, the other families had traversed the great distance from the old home, and boldly entered upon the formidable task of subduing the forest, and by gradual changes bringing it to that condition from which its present has been evolved by their descendants. It is well known that, while a wonderful return rewarded the crude tillage of that distant day, the influx of families and the distance from any supply caused several seasons of scarcity, and there was actual suffering for the necessaries of life. Potatoes, wheat, fish, and venison Were essentials of food. It was not common to leave work and go upon the hunt, but gladly the choppers heard the crack of the rifie in the woods, and cheerfully paid the hunter his price for his game. It cannot fail to interest those
whose clothing is washed in patented machines to know that their grandmothers used to congregate on Mondays at the soft-water pond near Sheppard's, taking the clothing upon horseback or ox-sled, and returning at the close of the day from the " picnic." The obviously needed improvements were attempted as soon as time and strength would permit. The history of settlement in districts upon lots shows a voluntary acceptance of distributed labor, and the simultaneous develop- ment from nature of productive fields. So rich was the soil, so heavy the yield resulting from rough tillage, that he whose land was paid for had little to appre- hend. The village store, mill, shop, school, and church were not at hand, but among those strictly farmers were mingled mechanics and tradesmen, and pri- marily in the log house with the family, then in the adjacent building, and eventually in the village, the natural tendency to group the manufacturing and industrial interests was observed.
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