USA > New York > Oswego County > History of Oswego County, New York, with illustrations and Biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 87
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The village formerly called Gay Head is the principal place of business, and pleasantly situated near the centre of the town.
Cheever's Mills, in the north part, is a place of some im- portance, and is widely known. Gridley's Mills (now Daggett's), three-fourths of a mile northwest of the village, has a saw-mill and cider-mill. At an early day a wool- carding and cloth-dressing mill was run there, but several years since it disappeared.
Half a mile west of the village, on Catfish creek, is the locality called the " Hollow," where there is a grist-mill. The neighborhood formerly boasted of a saw-mill and tan- nery, but both have gone to decay. There has been a grist-mill in operation at this point since a very carly period.
Cummings' Mills, in the south part of the town, also on the Catfish, is a well-known locality. At this place is a saw-
mill and cider-mill. There is a grist-mill and saw-mill at Cheever's, and a saw-mill on Spring brook, in the north- west part of the town.
EARLY SETTLERS.
The first permanent settler of the town was Solomon Smith, who located on lot 47, and built the first log house in town, near where David Russell now resides. Ile also put up, in 1812, the first frame building, which is Mr. Russell's house, or a part of it. Soon after the house was inclosed a dance was held in it, called a " house-warming," when a grand time was had, Colonel Sherman Hosmer, now ninety years old, living in Mexico, being one of the party. Mr. Smith died in the town of which he was the first resident, November 28, 1824, aged seventy-five. He had several sons, one of whom, John R., was killed at the raising of Orris Hart's ashery, just east of the village, in October, 1823.
This ashery was a framed one; another had been built of logs some time before. Another son of Mr. Smith was Jesse, who lived a long time in town, and died but a few years since, over eighty years of age.
The next settlers after Mr. Smith were Gardner Wyman and Eleazer Snow, who came from Eaton, Madison county, in 1804. Mr. Wyman was captain of the militia in the war of 1812, being the first man in town who commanded a military company. Meres Wyman, now living in town, at the age of eighty-seven, was a son of the captain. Young Wyman, about 1810, thought he would like to attend a dance at Mexico Point (then Vera Cruz), and looked around for a horse to take his girl. He finally heard of an unengaged one at what is now Colosse, about nine miles distant. Thither he went on foot, obtained the horse, mounted him, and rode back to Joseph Boynton's, in New Haven. Ile took one of that gentleman's girls on the horse behind him, as was the custom then, and pro- ceeded to the party at Vera Cruz. The dance having been duly participated in, the young man took the girl in the same manner back to her father's, then rode the horse to its owner's, at Colosse, and then walked home. By the time he had made his round trip he had traveled over fifty miles.
Mr. Wyman, Sr., built the second log house in town, on lot 57, at the east end of the present Barker farm. Mr. Snow located on the north side of the Catfish, on the road from the depot to Solomon White's. Mr. S. had at least three sons, by the names of Charles, Lebbens, and Daniel. The last named was but two years old when they came to town, which was by the way of Oswego to the mouth of the Catfish creck. Meres Wyman, then a boy of fourteen, met
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HISTORY OF OSWEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
them at the landing and carried the child in his arms to the shanty prepared for the family.
That baby boy is now living in town, at the age of seventy-five, and he and his faithful young bearer are the two oldest residents.
Soon after the close of the war of 1812, Charles Snow and his brother Lebbeus both commanded vessels running on the lake between Oswego and Lewiston. During one of the down trips a terrible storm came up, the vessel which Charles Snow commanded was wrecked, and none of those on board (about thirty in number) were ever heard of. The vessel came ashore near Sodus, was repaired, and after- wards did good service. The other one, commanded by Lebbens Snow, was driven into the mouth of Genesee river and saved.
Chauncey Drake settled near Cheever's Mills in 1804, and worked in the first mill which was built there. In 1805, Joseph Bailey, James Jerrett, Ira Hoat, David Easton, and Andrew Place came into town. Mr. Bailey was from Ver- non, Oneida county, and located on the present farm of Andrew Coe. He held many offices of trust, and was the first postmaster. He was an carly justice of the peace, and in 1814 had the privilege of performing the marriage cere- mony for Colonel Ephraim Van Valkenburgh, the first white child born in the present town of Volney.
Mr. Jerrett was from Paris, Oneida county, and located opposite to Mr. Bailey. The two were in middle life at the time, as they were soldiers in the British army, and de- serted from Burgoyne about the time of the battle of Saratoga. Mrs. Polly Coe, now living in town, at the age of ninety-two, was the daughter of Mr. Jerrett.
Mr. Hoat was from Kirkland, Oneida county, and settled at Cheever's Mills. He built the first saw-mill in town there in 1805, and as men were very scarce at that time, they had to have a great deal of whisky. To get it two men were obliged to go to Rome, their means of conveyance being nothing else than the crotched limb of a tree with a yoke of cattle attached. They obtained one barrel in this way, it is said, and drank it up before raising the mill, so they had to get another before anything could be done in the way of putting up the building.
David Easton located on the present Willis Johnson farm, in the east part of the town. He was one of the early great men, and held many offices of trust. He was appointed a justice of the peace for the town of Mexico as early as 1807, and was elected supervisor of the same town in 1809. He was an associate judge of the common pleas in 1816, and supervisor of New Haven at the time of his death, in 1823.
Andrew Place was also quite a prominent man in many respects. He would go all lengths to befriend a person, using time and money to accomplish the object, and at another time exert himself as much to punish some one else. He was often heard to remark that he could treat a person as well as any one, and, if need be, could abuse him as bad as any one. He at first located on the Ira D. Smith farm, and afterwards at May's Corner, about two miles east of the village, where he kept a hotel at an early day. Hle lived at the village in 1819, and at another time kept a hotel where his son, A. G. Place, now lives. During the
last years of his life he resided at the village, and dropped dead in his wagon November 15, 1852, at the age of sixty- five.
In 1806 we find as new-comers Roswell Harman, Daniel Hewett, and Joseph Boynton. Mr. Harman was from Vernon, Oneida county, and located about three-fourths of a mile west of the present village. His son George was born there in 1812, and has always lived in town. Mr. Hewett was a grandfather of E. G. Hewett, and settled southeast of the village. Mr. Boynton settled on the present T. S. Doud farm, and kept a hotel there soon after coming into town. Boynton hill, in the western part of the town, was named after this early landlord.
In 1807-8, Ezra May, Jonathan Wing, Warner and Anson Drake, Waldo Brayton, and Daniel Hall became residents of the town. Mr. May settled at the present vil- lage, and in 1810 opened the first hotel in town, just east of the brick house, which was also built by him for a hotel in 1824, and which is still standing. During the war of 1812, Mr. May was at one time in Commodore Chauncey's fleet, on Lake Ontario, as a pilot. While on this service one day, he saw that a terrible storm was about to burst upon them, and went to request the captain of the vessel on which he was to lash the guns. This officer happened to be drunk in his berth at the time, and roughly told Mr. May " to attend to his own business, and he would to his." Mr. M. let down a small boat, and two or three sailors jumped into it, but before he could get in it himself the squall struck them and sunk the vessel. Mr. May jumped into the lake, went down several times, and had given up all hope of being rescued, but was finally picked up by the men in the boat. They reached another vessel, but this was soon after captured by the British, and May with the rest was carried a prisoner to Kingston.
Here a guard was placed over them. When night came on a bed was drawn up in front of the door of the room in which the prisoners were confined, and after getting " mellow" on whisky, the guard lay down to sleep. Mr. May and one or two others bribed the sentinel at the door, carefully pulled away the bed on which lay the drunken guard, and escaped. May, finally, after a great deal of difficulty, reached Sackett's Harbor in safety, and was paid fifty dollars by Commodore Chauncey, on account of his courage and shrewdness.
Mr. Wing settled in the eastern part of the town, near Mr. Easton's, and, like him, was one of the early magnates of New Haven. He was appointed a justice of the peace as early as 1811, and in 1813 was elected the first town clerk of the new town. Mr. Warner Drake located near where his son, Butler S., now resides. Anson Drake settled at the village, and opened the first store there, in 1809. Mr. Brayton settled at Cheever's Mills, and put up the first grist-mill in town there, in 1809.
Mr. Hall located near where A. B. Tuller now resides. He was one of the first officers of the town, and a promi- nent man of the early days.
In 1810, Nathaniel Marvin, William Taylor, Almon Lindsley, Herman Hitchcock, and Peleg Davis became residents of the town. Mr. Marvin settled on the present T. H. Austin farm, and afterwards at the " Hollow," where
SETH SEVERANCE.
SETH SEVERANCE was one of the earliest inhabitants of New Haven township, having assisted in its organization. Nearly three-fourths of a century ago he came to this region, then an almost unbroken forest. Like all pioneers, he struggled with the inconveniences and trials incident to the settlement of a new country. But he lived to see cultivated fields drive the forest to swamps and rock-crested hills; to see the beautiful farm-house, with its modern conveniences, dot every hill and valley around him; and to see villages, one on either side of him, with their stores, mills, churches, schools, and comfortable residences.
Mr. Severance maintained a character for unsullied integ- rity in his intercourse with his fellow-men. He enjoyed the implicit confidence of his neighbors, and for many years occupied, by their suffrages, the responsible offices of the township. He represented them in the board of super- visors of this county twenty-two years. He took a deep interest in the temporal welfare of this entire region. Him- self a model farmer, he sought by example and precept to induce thrift, good taste, and the highest success in that department of human action. In this respect his death (he died March 8, 1856) was a public loss, extending far beyond his own neighborhood.
Mr. Severance was a reformer,-a friend of the drunkard, -a hater of intemperauce, of oppression, and political cor- ruption. He longed to see his country free from those two
gigantic sins, intemperance and slavery. He was a strict observer of the Sabbath, a regular attendant at the house of God, a supporter of the gospel and of gospel institutions, a lover of the great benevolent operations of the American church, and testified his feelings in regard to the latter by bequeathing a handsome sum to their support.
Mr. Severance was twice married, first to Abigail S. Wells, who died September 16, 1821, in her twenty-ninth year. This union was blessed with four children, of whom two survive : Decatur resides in Michigan, and Mrs. A. L. Green, the generous donator of this tribute to her parents' memories, now lives in sight of the old homestead. His second wife was Fanny Wells, sister to his first spouse, who survived her beloved husband some five years, and died full of years and honors September 22, 1861, aged seventy-one years and three months. The result of this marriage was three children, but one of whom, the wife of German Reynolds, of Granby township, survives.
The disease which closed the earthly existence of the subject of this sketch came upon him without warning, prostrating him instantly. He was aware of his situation, but, sustained by a long-cherished hope in the Saviour, he contemplated the approach of death with calmness and Christian resignation. He left a large circle of friends, besides his relatives, to cherish his memory and mourn his loss.
A.W. SEVERANCE.
HON. AVERY W. SEVERANCE, son of Seth and Abigail S. Severance, was born in New Haven township, near the place where he died, February 23, 1819. He departed this life on the evening of February 15, 1874, and at his decease, consequently, was nearly fifty-five years of age. For nearly half a century he was accustomed to walk the streets of his township, and mingle with its people, socially and in business relations, and never did malice or suspicion whisper aught against his integrity. He was emphatically an honest man, and the vacuum made by his loss cannot be filled by another.
Possessing rare intelligence, capacity for and knowledge of business, he was accustomed for many years to be the arbitrator to adjust differences, the counsellor to advise in trouble, and the trustee for the orphan and the widow in all cases within the circuit of his acquaintance. It is re- lated of him by his intimate friend, Mr. L. W. Tanner, of Oswego, that at one time he has known him to be the guard- ian of twenty-five minor children, and at the time of his death held that relation to at least fifteen, involving some twenty thousand dollars. Such was his business ability that the settlement of all these estates, after his death, did not cost any of them a dollar, and was eminently satisfac- tory to all parties concerned.
During nearly his entire business life he was intrusted with various offices in the municipal government of his township, either in its material or educational interests. He was many years its supervisor, and for a long time a prominent member of the Oswego County board of super- visors, frequently its chairman, and in all positions his judgment was accepted and respected as superior to that
of others, and his honesty was above suspicion. For many successive years he held the position of president of the Oswego County agricultural society. Himself a good practical farmer and model cultivator, he took a deep in- terest in all things pertaining to the advancement of agri- culture and the betterment of stock, and rarely failed to secure a premium on any products of the farm which he deigned to exhibit.
In 1865 he represented the third district of Oswego County in the State legislature, and was faithful in the discharge of the duties of that position, and occupied in all matters an influential place.
In public and private life he was modest and unassuming in his manners, courteous and gentlemanly in his demeanor, sympathetic and benevolent to the distressed, and warmly attached to his friends. lle was firm and unflinching in the discharge of his duty ; energetic and indignant against all appearance of chicancry or fraud. Honest himself, he could endure no deception in others.
In his death his family lost a kind and tender husband, a loving and indulgent father, and the entire county one of its most prominent and honored citizens, whose life and influence were inseparably connected with every prominent event in the history of Oswego County during the last quarter of a century, and whose memory will be cherished and respected more largely than that of almost any one who survives him.
His widow resides in the village of Mexico, and, like her lamented husband, enjoys a warm place in the hearts of many whom her benevolence has befriended or her Christian influence reached.
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HISTORY OF OSWEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
he located permanently, at the present residence of his son, Orton O. He was one of the first officers of the town, and held many positions of trust.
In 1837 or '38, Mr. Marvin's little son, Rozelle, aged eight years, was drowned under the following circumstances : He and a son of Mr. George W. Allen were crossing the creek one afternoon, on a log above the pond, early in the spring, when the boy, Rozelle, fell off, and went under the ice. A crowd of the neighbors soon assembled, but the boy could not be found that day. The next morning the search was renewed, by cutting away the ice at the dam and letting it float down the stream. As they were at work in this way in the afternoon, the drowned boy suddenly shot up half his length between the eakes on which some men were standing, and was caught by one of the men before he sank again.
Mr. Taylor located on the hill just west of the " Ilollow," where S. O. Wilmarth now resides. He was a prominent man, and one of the first officers of the town.
Mr. Lindsley settled in the east part of the town, and was a near neighbor of Mr. Wing, joining him on the north. He was one of the first set of town officers of New Haven.
Mr. Ilitcheock settled about one and a half miles south of the village, near the Kibby farm, and Mr. Davis about two miles east, on the State road.
Reuben Halliday settled in the east part of the town about 1810. He was the first Methodist elass-leader in town, and for a great many years was a minister of the gospel.
Henry Hawley came to town in 1811, and settled about one and a quarter miles south of the village. He was killed at the raising of Robert Jerrett's barn, in 1815, by the falling of a plate.
Among others who came into town prior to 1813 were Seth Severance, Mitchel Crandall, Ezra Bromley, Ansel Snow, William Griffin, Eliphalet Colt, Elias May, John Wolcott, Daniel and Lyman Hatch, Philip Delano, Samuel Cherry, Lyman Blakesley, and Israel Ransom. The last three, with Mr. Wing, were the first justices appointed for the town of New Haven after its formation.
Mr. Severance came from Leyden, Mass., and settled just east of Butterfly, where he resided until his death. Ile was another leading man of the town, and held the office of supervisor longer than any other man, as will appear by the list of officers.
Mr. Crandall settled at first just north of Butterfly, but several years ago located just east of the village, where he now resides. Mr. Snow made his home at the village, as did also Mr. Cherry. Mr. Blakesley settled one and a quarter miles southwest of the village, and Mr. Ransom at Cheever's Mills. Thus far, New Haven should be under- stood as belonging to the old town of Mexico, but as we are now brought down to the formation of the new town, it will be proper to speak of the first town-meeting.
This was held at the house of Ansel Snow (near where the store of Rowe & Snew now stands), April 19, 1814. There were sixty-six votes cast, and the following persons were elected: Supervisor, David Easton; Clerk, Jonathan Wing; Assessors, David Easton, William Taylor, and Nathaniel
Marvin ; Overseers of the Poor, Joseph Bailey and Daniel Hall ; Commissioners of Highways, Joseph Bailey, Jr., Joseph Boynton, and Anson Drake; School Commissioners, Jonathan Wing, Joseph Bailey, and Nathaniel Marvin ; Collector, George C. Bailey ; Constables, George C. Bailey and Crandall Kenyon ; Fence-viewers, Nathaniel Marvin and Daniel Hall; Pound-masters, Almon Lindsley and Eleazer Snow ; Inspectors of Schools, David Easton, Eli- phalet Colt, and Anson Drake; Path-masters, Elias May, Chauncey Drake, Jesse Smith, Robert Jerrett, William Taylor, Henry Hawley, Eliphalet Colt, Lyman Ilatch, Daniel Hatch, Philip Delano, Crandall Kenyon, and John Woleott.
New Haven has had only thirteen supervisors in the sixty-four years since its formation. Their names and years of service are as follows : David Easton, 1814-16, 1821- 23; Orris Hart, 1817-20, 1831; Seth Severance, 1824- 29, 1832-38, 1841-46, 1851; William Bullen, 1830; Norman Rowe, 1839-40, 1847-58; Hosea Cornish, 1843 -45; Lorenzo W. Tanner, 1848, 1850, 1857, 1859; Charles Nichols, 1849 ; Abram W. Ilewett, 1852; John C. Gil- lespie, 1853-54; Avery W. Severance, 1855-56, 1860- 71; Henry J. Daggett, 1872-76; Sehuyler M. Barker, 1877.
There have been seventeen town elerks, viz. : Jonathan Wing, 1814-16; William Taylor, 1817-18; Hezekiah Nichols, 1819-24; Isaac Whipple, 1825-29; Levi Rowe, 1830-31; Chester R. Wells, 1832, 1838, 1849, 1853 ; Stephen Luce, 1833; John J. Ayer, 1834-35 ; Samuel J. Merriam, 1836-37 ; George S. Thrall, 1838-42, 1845-47 ; Edmund E. Wells, 1843-44; Robert S. Kelsey, 1850-51 ; 1857-58; Solomon White, Jr., 1852; William II. Merriam, 1854-56; Ralph A. Eason, 1859; Norman Rowe, 1860- 61, 1866-77; Charles M. Adams, 1862-65.
The justices of the peace who have lived in the present town of New Haven before and after its formation, with the years in which they were appointed or elected, are as follows. Before 1813 they were, of course, appointed for Mexico: David Easton, 1807, 1809, 1811, 1814, 1820, and 1823; Bailey, 1810, 1814, and 1816; Jonathan Wing, 1811, 1814, 1816, 1823, and 1827.
After the formation of the town the first four justices appointed were Jonathan Wing, Samuel Cherry, Lyman Blakesley, and Israel Ransom.
Then came Orris HIart, 1817, '31 ; John Parsons, 1819; Hezekiah Nichols, 1819-21 ; Seth Severance, 1820-28; William Taylor, 1820; Stephen II. Kinne, 1821-23; Pahner Ilewett, 1821 ; Theodore Gridley, 1823, '27, '28, '32, '36; Norman Rowe, 1827, '29, '33, '38,'44,'48,'53,'57,'61, '65, '69, '73, '77, making forty years' serviee December 31, 1877. William Bullen, 1827, '30; Geo. W. Allen, 1831, '34, '56 ; Stanton P. Weeden, 1835, '47; S. G. Merriam, 1837 ; Chester R. Wells, 1839, '50 ; Alexander II. Barton, 1840, '57; Avery W. Severance, 1841 ; James II. Wright, 1841, '49 ; John C. Gillespie, 1842; Geo. W. McConnell, 1843; A. M. Andrews, 1845; Nicholas Chesebro, 1846; Charles A. Tanner, 1847 ; James Talmadge, 1848, '49, '54; Ilenry Daggett, 1851 ; Naaman Goodsell, 1852 ; Lorenzo W. Tanner, 1855, '63; Warren J. Johnson. 1858; Abram W. Ilewett, 1859; Albert J. Doud, 1860, '64; Ashbel B.
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HISTORY OF OSWEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
Hall, 1862; Jonathan E. Robinson, 1864, '67 ; Schuyler M. Barker, 1865, '68, '72; Jesse Halliday, 1866; Joseph Barton, 1867 ; Orla Severance, 1868 ; Geo. L. Lyon, 1870, '74; Chauncey L. Gridley, 1871, '75 ; David L. Nichols, 1876. Of the above, Merriam, Wells, Halliday, and Joseph Barton did not qualify.
After the war of 1812 the population of New Haven increased faster than before,-the new-comers being mostly from Oneida county. About 1815 the prominent men who came into town were Hezekiah Nichols, Orris Hart, Stephen H. Kinne, Luman Cummings, Calvin Eason, Peter Kelsey, John Parsons, and Harvey Tuller. Mr. Hart was one of the leaders in business and politics. He was appointed associate judge of the common pleas in 1817, and again in 1819; was appointed a surrogate in 1819, and again in 1845 ; appointed sheriff in 1821, and elected to the same office in 1822.
Dr. S. H. Kinne was the second physician of the town, and a very prominent man. Mr. Cummings settled just northeast of the village at first, but in 1818 located at Cummings' Mill, in the south part of the town, where he died in 1876 at the age of eighty years. Eason, Kelsey, and Parsons settled near Butterfly. Norman Rowe came in from Paris, Oneida county, and settled just northwest of the village in February, 1817. About 1836 he moved to the village, where he has resided ever since. If he should live until January 1, 1878, he will have served forty years as a justice of the peace. He has also served two terms as sheriff of the county, besides holding many other civil and military offices.
Samuel G. Merriam should be mentioned as one of the leading men. He came to the village in 1832, and the next year was appointed a commissioner of deeds. He held the responsible position of postmaster for thirty-two years, and was for forty years a prominent merchant at the village, where he now resides.
BUSINESS.
The making of potash was entered into quite exten- sively at an early date, and that was about the only article that brought ready cash. It was shipped to Montreal, and its transportation formed quite an important branch of business.
The first ashery was a log one, built by Orris Hart, just cast of the village, in 1816, and was succeeded by a frame one in 1823. The second one was built at the " Hollow," about 1818, by Mr. Hutchins. Still another, for making pearl-ash, was run by Mr. Bromley about the same time, some two and a half miles southwest of the village. The making of whisky was another branch of business; but that was more particularly for home consumption. At a later date the raising of fruit, especially apples, was quite extensively carried on. Later still, the raising of cattle and making of butter and cheese took the lead. Recently, the cultivation of berries is the most important branch of business. New Haven is an enterprising town, and the people are always going into something that will pay.
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