History of Ontario Co., New York, Part 91

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He first saw the light on July 19, 1823, upon the farm whereon his years have been passed. The cultivation of the soil, ancient and honorable, has always been his occupation ; and in turning the furrow, or reaping the crop, his labor has been pleasurable, as it has been his chosen work.

His father was a native of Massachusetts, but so many had removed to Ontario County, and so general had been the expression of satisfaction of emigrants, that he, too, came out and settled in Bristol during the year 1814. The father was not only a farmer, but an intelligent and successful one, and up to the age of eighty-four found pleasure and profit in the tillage of his fields. As the father, so the son ; and in the lapse of years George has approved himself one of the most enterprising and progressive farmers of Richmond township. One does not increase his store honorably save by industry and frugality, and these excel- lencies may properly be accredited to Mr. Johnson. He who selfishly withdraws himself to the seclusion of his own home and thoughts cares little for society and its claims, and can never win the public regard. Such a person has no like- ness to Mr. Johnson, who has earned general esteem by identifying himself with

all the improvements of his township. . As an indication of acknowledged ability to adjudge value and set a fair estimate upon a real and personal property, it is stated that he is the present town's assessor, a position filled for six consecutive years with credit and ability. An acknowledgment of a superintending provi- dence and an attendance upon Divine worship are indicative of a reverential mind, and the way of such men is prospered. Nothing gives more satisfaction to reasonable intelligences than to see merit rewarded and a well-ordered life made happy. Mr. Johnson has long continued to be a regular attendant of the Meth- odist Episcopal church at Allen's Hill. In politics a Republican, and withal a stanch friend of the Union, he saw the approach of the war-clouds with sorrow, and when the blow was struck which went shivering to the hearts of the people he was aroused to a sense of individual exertion, and offered the best horse in his stables to the first man who would enlist. The animal was promptly given to Jerry Wilson, by whom the promise was speedily demanded to be fulfilled. Fifty-four years have already lost themselves in the past since Mr. Johnson began to be, and wow, surrounded by all the comforts of a pleasant home, he may reason- ably anticipate many coming years, fraught with an experience which, while blended with some bitter, may yet be known as enjoyable. The occupations of life are varied and extensive, requiring minds apt in a special direction, and to preserve a soil fertile, to supply food for the million, to sot an example of content, and to act well his part in the relation of the citizen and neighbor, is no small achievement, and such is the present life of Mr. Johnson.

PHILIP REED

came to the town of Richmond in February, 1795. With him came his son, John F. Reed, who was born in Paulet, Vermont, November 23, 1781. On the 7th of October, 1807, Colonel John F. Reed married Miss Autha Steel, a native of Hartford, Connecticut, born November 22, 1785. Their son, the principal subject of this brief sketch,-Wheeler Reed,-was born in Richmond June 21, 1811, and married, October 4, 1838, at Franklin, Michigan, to Miss Philia Wimple, whose native place was also the town of Richmond, where she was born, January 18, 1813. They have had eight children,-Emily W., Almeron, Walter W., Louisa A., Harmon F., Norman K., Amelia, and Adelia. The eldest six are still living. Colonel Reed lives upon a part of the original purchase made by his grandfather in 1794, nearly his entire life having been passed in this town ; has always been identified with it; is one of its most honored citizens, himself and family forming, as might be said, a chapter in the history of Richmond.

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TOWN OF BRISTOL.

THE history of a town is a recital of organization, development, prosperity, adversity, resource, enlargement, and possibility. Fully and rightfully written, it is invaluable. The history of one is that in the main of all. Space limited, demands a brevity which rather suggests than expresses individual plans, efforts, impulses, and experiences. The history of the town is especially of interest to its citizens-those native to its lands, and those now active in carrying forward the cultivation and improvement designed by pioneers, who from other towns and counties, or even States, have here made permanent location.

The natural features of Bristol make it a desirable home for lovers of hill and valley and diversified landscape. It is traversed by three parallel ridges, trending north and south, and varying in height from a gentle rise at the north to an eleva- tion at the southern limit of eight hundred feet, as found by actual measurement. These elevations are spurs from the Allegheny range, and from the northern limits of that system. Between the ranges lie pleasant, attractive valleys, traversed by the waters of Mud creek and Egypt brook, the former of which supplies power to run a grist- and a saw-mill. The cutting of timber has had its effect in reducing the volume of water-flow, and a heavy rain, once a supply requiring long time to find its way to the channel, now creates a torrent, which rushes along its course and leaves behind a shrunken stream. The soil of the valleys is a rich alluvial, amply rewarding the labors of the agriculturist, and approving the dis- creet choice of those who preferred this section to the more level northern towns. Upon the hills and declivities lies a surface of clay and gravel whose blending favors production. Although the hills attain such an altitude, they were so moulded in the cast of nature as to be in the main arable, and by no means sterile.

Diversity of surface determines industrial pursuit. The principal occupations of the present inhabitants are stock-raising and hop-culture. Not only has the adaptation of lands to grazing been appreciated and approved, but with great care many farmers have labored to secure the choicest breeds of sheep, horses, and cattle. Over two thousand acres of the twenty-three composing the town's area, are used at present in the culture of hops. The cereals are successfully culti- vated ; winter and spring wheat is raised; the numerous orchards supply many thousands of bushels of apples, while the products of the dairy-butter and cheese-are complimentary not only to the industry of the people, but the fer- tility of the fields.

The town had not only a wild and attractive natural scenery, but had been ren- dered historic, not alone in the recent but in the far-distant past, by its natural curiosities and supposed subterranean wealth. It has been noted that when La Salle visited the village of the Senecas to obtain a guide to the source of the Ohio, in 1679, his explorations during that period were extended " four leagues south" from Boughton Hill, in Victor, to see a famous spring long known to the Indians. From the manuscript relative to the visit, we learn of " water issuing from quite a high rock ; it runs a small brook; the water is very clear. I applied a torch, and immediately it took fire like brandy, and was not put out until it rained. There is no appearance of sulphur or saltpetre, or any other combustible material, and it has no taste." From the description it is evident that the spring on lot 32 is the one to which allusion is made. The igneous gases suggested deposits of rock-oil, and many futile attempts have been made to realize from here the oleaginous flow which, in the carboniferous regions of other States, have made men opulent. Other curiosities,are present in the shape of beautiful waterfulls located upon the small streams which flow from the hills into Mud creek. These seem like micro- scopic reminders of the grand scenes of the California Yosemite. These falls in Bristol are from fifty feet upwards. One tiny cataract in volume and notable in depth, having a perpendicular fall of eighty feet, has become a favorite resort for parties in search of pleasure; it is situated on lot 17, upon the premises of N. W. Randall.

The hills and valleys of all this region were crowned by a growth of timber whose partial preservation would have enriched the surviving purchasers or their descendants at this day. Upon the flats grew the maple and the elm, while on the hills predominated the oak and chestnut, intermingled with which were the pine, beech, hemlock, ash, basswood, hickory, poplar, whitewood, elm, butternut, buttonwood, wild cherry, and other varieties common to the clime.

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A small Indian village was at one time located on the rise of land northeast from Baptist Hill, on land now owned by George Andrews. The land through- out this country presented unmistakable evidences of having been frequently burned over by the Indians. The practice is still in vogue in the far west, and has been adopted by heavy stock-owners to provide a fresh growth of herbage. The aboriginals undoubtedly resorted to this method to retain the game in the vicinity of their homes. That the Indians had long dwelt here, and reluctantly yielded their tenacious hold, is well known to those living. There were two Indian camping-grounds on the lands now owned by Edwin Gooding and Norman W. Randall. These camps were often resorted to after the commencement of settle- ment, by roving bands of Indians, and these incursions of the primal owners were viewed with uneasiness and annoyance. The plow of the settler and of the farmer of subsequent years upturned many a relic of an early age, when pipe, hatchet, and other equipments of the Indian were fashioned with incredible patience from the hardest stone.

The march of Sullivan's army in his campaign of 1779 lay through the northern portion of this town. His column entered the town on lot No. 3, crossed Mud creek on lot No. 4, and followed the Indian trail to Honcoye (Haneyoh). It is said that there are still in existence relics and openings through the woods, that distinctly indicate the route along which, the army moved. It is known that the survey of the Genesee country was made by range lines, numbering from one to seven, and numbers as high as fourteen. Enormous tracts were early sold at ex- tremely low rates. On June 29, 1789, Prince Bryan, of Luzerne, Pennsylvania, conveyed to Gamaliel Wilder, of Hartford, Litchfield county, Connecticut, twenty- one thousand four hundred and ninety acres of land, for which the consideration was one thousand six hundred and fifty-seven pounds New York currency. This tract lay principally on the west side of the (Cahnanduhquah) Canandaigua lake, and was No. 9 in the third and fourth ranges. " The town of Bristol was formed by the Court of Sessions of Ontario County, in January, 1789. It was named by the early settlers after Bristol county, Massachusetts." The Bristol of that date included South Bristol, which was detached and organized in March, 1838. The present town includes only No. 9, in the fourth range, and was purchased for the Dighton company, at the rate of fifty cents an acre, by Rev. John Smith and Calvin Jacobs, in whose names the title was vested. The town was first surveyed and laid out in tiers of lots, north and south, commencing at the northeast corner, and numbering from one to sixty. Each lot was intended to contain four hundred acres, and to be one hundred and eight rods wide, but the survey gives a variance of from one hundred to one hundred and twelve rods.

EARLY SETTLERS.

The settlement of the town of Bristol commenced in 1788. In that year several brothers, named Gooding, came into the town, and cleared a few acres of land on lot No. 1, and sowed it to wheat. A turnip patch was put in, and rendered good service. At the approach of winter, all but Elnathan Gooding returned to Massachusetts. This solitary outpost, in company with an Indian named Jack Beary, passed the winter in the log cabin that had been erected by the party previous to their de- parture. They do not seem to have availed themselves of the fish which swarmed in shoals in the streams and in the lake, nor of the bear and deer, whose presence was daily observable in tracks or presence about their dwelling, since they are said to have "wintered upon turnips and milk.".

Elnathan Gooding was therefore the pioneer settler of Bristol. Unknown to him Daniel Wilder was sojourning at Seneca Point, and Aaron Spencer at Burbee Hollow, each waiting the approach of spring and the coming of relatives, and anticipating the steady work which was to give them a home.

In the following spring or summer William Gooding returned with his family, accompanied by his brothers. William settled on the farm now occupied by S. R. Wheeler, and Elnathan upon that of F. Cartwright, both farms being on lot No. 1. William had been a Revolutionary soldier, and was one of that class who believed in the future of his country, and expected the growth whose reality has been so surprising. The need of a blacksmith was apparent from the start, and as

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PLATE XCI

1. TIM GOODING. & FARMERS FAVORITE. 3. LOTTIE REED.

RESIDENCE @ ORESTES CASE, BRISTOL, ONTARIO CO., N. Y.

GIMLET.

5 ADDIC PACKARD.

€. MARK TWAIN.

PLATE XCII.

MRS BILLINGS T. CASE.

RES. OF BILLINGS T. CASE, BRISTOL, ONTARIO CO., N. Y.

BILLINGS TI. CASE.

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HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY, NEW YORK.

that was his trade, he soon erected a small shop on the corner, and engaged in re- pairs and the manufacture of farming tools. With the growth of settlement came increase of patronage, and his anvil was kept in steady use. At the first election of town officers, held in 1797, he was elected supervisor, and was held in esteem. He died in 1802, upon the farm, and Elnathan also died upon his place when well advanced in years. The attractive features of inter-lake climate and good lands, together with the spirit of unrest which scattered the early nations and peopled the earth, combined to influence the younger Goodings to sell their Bristol farms and remove to Michigan. A third settler upon No. 1 was Seth Simmons, who in 1798, or about that time, built himself a house upon his purchase. He was useful as a carpenter, as his neighbor Gooding was as a blacksmith, and wrought at the work of house-building until his death. Ten years had placed the settlers in better plight, and the saw-mills having been built and run, they began to discard the log house for the more pretentious frame structure, and some, who could not build anew, put up a frame addition to their log dwellings. Nathaniel Fisher came out from Dighton, and located at the corners east of Baptist Hill, and it was then known as Fisher's Corners. The sparseness of population is indicated from the fact that in 1797 several offices were given, at town meetings, to one man. Mr. Fisher was one of the first assessors, and was also elected one of the school commissioners at the meeting in 1797. Upon the farm whose fields his labor con- tributed to clear and make available, his grandson, A. G. Fisher, is an owner and resident.

Deacon George Codding and his five sons came out and took up their residence in town. Their location was in the neighborhood of what has been and still is known as Muttonville. George Codding, Jr., located on lot No. 3, where O. Case now lives. Young, enterprising, and with a broad field open before him, he lived to become a prominent and wealthy citizen. He lived not alone for himself, but devised of his property for the support of churches, schools, the poor, and other good and praiseworthy purposes. He died childless. George Codding, Sr., with his son George, came out in 1789, with Captain Peter Pitts, William Pitts, Cal- vin Jacobs, and John Smith, by way of the Susquehanna route, and it was his party which surveyed Bristol and Richmond, then comprised as the Dighton purchase. The selection of homes was left to chance, and the lottery gave the Coddings No. 3. A log house was built on the land now occupied by John Smith, and a blacksmith-shop was put up after a time. But he was not ignored by the settlers, who, after a few years, had gathered in. Himself and sons, with their families, became widely known, and the number is limited who have done more to clear the fields of Bristol, and give an impetus to the great and dominant in- terests of religion, education, and pure morality. He was the first justice of the peace in town, as Gamalicl Wilder was for South Bristol,-both having been appointed to that position at the same time. A daughter married Benjamin Gauss, of East Bloomfield, and this was the first wedding on the Dighton pur- chase. Mr. Codding died in town, an aged and highly-respected pioneer of its settlement. John Codding settled upon the family lot, in 1791, and raised a large family. He was active in public life, and thereby came into deserved prom- inence. At his death, or some time later, the family removed to Medina and Summit counties, Ohio. Daughters became the wives of John and Timothy Wilder and Isaac Van Fossen's one son. Robert F. Codding resides at Liberia, Ohio, and is an aged man. When a town has for its first settlers people relig- iously inclined, it may be regarded as a happy omen of future prosperity. Such was the case with the pioneers of Bristol. When few in number, they met fre- quently for religious worship. Stated preaching they did not have, but prayers and conference they could and did enjoy. James Gooding, who came to Bristol in 1789, and settled on lot 4, was one of those who desired to maintain in the west the observances of the east; and while we find him, in 1797, elected a commissioner of highways, indicating activity and fitness for the conduct of town affairs, we also see him, on May 26, 1803, chosen deacon in the Congregational church, and prominent in church matters. His life was spared for many years, and he lived to see the interests which he had led and fostered grown strong and powerful.

In the line of enterprise, Bristol has not been wanting. Among the early in- tercats suggested by a grazing country was that of a trade in cattle. Daniel Taylor, who settled on lot No. 4 as late as 1804, and lived upon land now known as the farm of L. T. Bissell, dealt largely in cattle in the early day. He gathered his drove and took them to Philadelphia. No estimate of his sales has been gained, but from general report a large and profitable business was conducted. Fuunce Codding was a third of the five brothers, and located or was located on lot No. 5, where now has been built the stone house. It is notable how quickly the tradesman moving into a forest, with only the earth and timber around and beneath him, has invariably made use of his skill in his calling to better his con- dition. At Dighton he had followed nail-making, and continuing his practice in Bristol, he manufactured nails for his barn, which was the first structure of the

kind erected in the town. The old dilapidated concern was torn down some time since, and a modern and commodious building has succeeded. Bears were numer- ous in the hills of Bristol, and sometimes troublesome. Upon one occasiou Faunce Codding was in a field engaged in splitting rails when a full-grown bear approached him, reared upon his hind legs, and extended his paws, as if daring Codding to try a back hold. This he had no intention of doing, but instead raised his axe and sunk its keen edge in the skull of the bear. So heavy was the blow that the weapon was jerked from his hands and the bear hastily disappeared in the adjacent woods. A number of years had gone by when some one strolling into a ravine one day, found a rusted axe and the bones of a bear scattered about it. Codding's blow had proved fatal. . In 1810, Mr. Codding died, in his fortieth year. His widow and a part of the family removed to Lockport, Illinois, while his sons Faunce and Stephen A. continued in town, where the latter still resides, at the age of seventy-two years. A settler prior to 1799, on lot No. 5, was named Marcius Marsh, who made his home upon the place now owned by James M. Case. He was a prominent citizen in the early day, and died about 1836. His children removed to the Territory of Wisconsin, and became pioneers of that State. While none can understand the trials and deprivations of the early settler who has not been experienced in them, yet it is seen that the children of Ontario pioneers, and often the pioneers themselves, have been quick to set forward and renew their parents' or their own experiences in a newer and remoter State. The life having become accustomed, wants have diminished, and a society notable for enterprise has carried progress to the west, so that New England's freshest descend- ants are found farthest towards the crests of the Rocky Mountains. At different periods the seasons became quite sickly, and the need of a competent physician at such times became urgent. It was fortunate for the Bristol settlers that they had in their midst an able and skillful man. Dr. Thomas Vincent in 1791 bought a portion of lot No. 6, which had been partially cleared, and contained a log house put up by Abijah Spencer, an original settler of 1789. Dr. Vincent was a native of Rhode Island; removed to Geneva in 1795, practiced there for two years, and came to Bristol. He was the first physician in town, and continued his practice until an old man, when he died, leaving the example of a useful life. He has a son, J. Wheelock Vincent, residing in town. Having reached the age of seventy- six years, he is known as one of the oldest native citizens of the organization. The pioneer patiently traversed with ox teams and on foot the intervening distance between Dighton and Bristol; he looked calmly forward a number of years to see the vast solitude reclaimed, and not a few died at an advanced age after seeing the tide fill up and run over to the westward. Hezekiah Hills was one of these. He settled in 1797 upon part of lot 6, where O. F. Sisson lives, and was known to the public as holder of a town office. A family grew up around him and con- tributed their part to improve the old farm. Burt Codding, a fourth brother, and John Whitmarsh were the pioneers upon lot 7. They arrived in 1791, and while the former moved upon the land where L. W. Totman lives, the other moved to the north half, and made the farm his home for life. Codding finally sold and removed to Ohio. Grandchildren of Whitmarsh own his former farm. Ephraim Wilder came out to Bristol soon after Gamaliel, and became a resident of the southern town. In 1793 he came to Bristol, and located on lot 14, where he built a small log cabin near the dwelling of N. M. Pack. His sojourn on this lot was limited to one summer, after which he settled on the farm now owned by James Mckinney, on lot No. 10. He was a mill-builder, or connected with their construction, and put up a saw-mill here in about 1810. He died in 1826, in town. Theophilus Short removed from South Bristol to lot 11, in 1796, and built a log house upon the farm now owned and occupied by Peleg Jones. He was a man of enterprise, shrewd, and a worker. As early as 1801 he started a brick-yard, and, judging by after-results, his kilns were not unprofitable invest- ments. In 1804 be removed to Manchester, near the southern border, and pur- chased five hundred acres of land upon Canandaigua outlet, paying for the same five dollars an acre; here he erected a mill. Here a village has sprung up bearing his name and growing in notice.

Eleazer Hill came to Bristol in 1794, and located on lot 13, where George Reed resides. When war was declared against Great Britain in 1812, he organized an independent company for volunteer service. Elected to town's offices, their ex- ercise made him well known and favorably so. Another original settler upon the same lot, but in 1797, was John Taylor, who built a log house and made the first clearing on the farm of James Reed. In the early distribution of town offices he was not ignored, and Bristol was his home till the day of his death. He has left a daughter, Mrs. Sutton, who is a resident of the town.

In many instances, families, living unostentatiously, have in their possession records which trace their origin from the noblest families. The history of the Mallory family dates back to the tenth century. In 1754 four brothers came to the United States, and their descendants have been scattered over the country, and some of them are yet residents of Ontario. One of these, Samuel Mallory,

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HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY, NEW YORK.

settled upon lot 14, where Augustus Reed is living, in the year 1795. He was elected to the office of school commissioner in the early day, and occupied a prominent place as a citizen till his death in the town. Lot No. 15 was early settled. John Crow located thereon in 1794, just south of Packard's place. Upon this place he remained through life. Abijah Warren came in about 1805, and from that time was a man of recognized prominence in Bristol, as shown in part by various offices held. His son Abijah was the first person to conduct tan- ning as a business in town. His building was erected near where the Congrega- tional church now stands. A third settler on this lot was named John Trafton, whose brief record furnishes an example of the uniform success which seems to have attended persistent efforts at acquiring homes. When families came out from the east young men were hired to drive out stock or a team, and in most instances they became themselves owners of farms, and constituted the most valu- able portion of the working population. John Trafton was one of these. He came out from Dighton in 1797, when about seventeen years of age, and worked for his brother-in-law, Daniel Burt, and for Burt Codding, till he paid for his farm on lot 15. He there took up a permanent residence for life. A grandson, Henry Trafton, now owns the place. Examples like these given show that some were content to remain upon the same farm for a life-time, but the great majority of settlers made frequent changes ; sometimes from one lot to another, and at others removing altogether. There are few residents of Bristol to-day who reside upon the farms owned by their ancestors.

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History of Ontario Co., New York, Part 91

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

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