History of Steuben county, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 42

Author: Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Philadelphia, Lewis, Peck & co.
Number of Pages: 826

USA > New York > Steuben County > History of Steuben county, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 42

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Their children are Bayard, Saralı, Charles O., and Eliza.

BATH.

PHYSICAL FEATURES.

BATH is the largest town of Steuben County. It con- tains an area of 57,212 acres, of which 38,620 acres are im- proved lands, and 17,892 acres unimproved. Of this latter 12,708 acres are timbered lands. The town is centrally located in the county, and is bounded by Avoca, Wheeler, and Urbana on the north, Bradford on the east, Campbell, Thurston, and Cameron on the south, and Howard on the west.

The surface of the town is broken and hilly. The Conhocton Valley, extending southeast through the centre, divides the town into two nearly equal parts. The south half is a hilly upland, and the north half consists of a series of wide valleys, broken by several steep and isolated hills. The streams are the Conhocton River and its tributaries, Five-Mile and Mud Creeks from the north, and Campbell's and Stockton's Creeks from the south. The Crooked or Keuka Lake Valley extends southeast, and opens into the Conhoeton Valley at Bath, three hundred and forty feet above the lake. The soil is chiefly a gravelly and clayey loam, with a deep alluvium in the valleys.

EARLY SETTLEMENT.

The first settlement in this town was made at Bath village, in 1793, by Capt. Charles Williamson, agent for the Pulteney estate, with fifteen families, mostly Scotch and Germans. On the 3d day of June, 1792, Capt. Williamson left the small settlement at the mouth of the Lycoming River, on the west branch of the Susquehanna, and entered the wilderness northward. In ten days he reached the Cowanesque Creck. Ile caused a road to be made aeross the country, over mountains and valleys hitherto deemed impassable, which excited the enriosity of the frontier in- habitants of Pennsylvania, and many were induced to ex- plore the unknown wilderness to the north. Many turned back disgusted, while others pressed forward, pleased with the prospects offered in the new country. It was thus that several settlements were begun in the south part of the county, the principal of which was on the Conhocton River.

The village of Bath was laid out in the midst of a wilder- ness of 900,000 acres. Early in the season of 1793 a saw- mill was built, and before the winter set in a grist-mill was finished. In the year 1794, several new settlements were made along the Conhocton, in Pleasant Valley and Bartles' Hollow. At the same time Bath increased in population. On the most convenient sites mills were built, and roads were opened, presenting throughout the country a scene of enterprise and industry. So great was the influx of popu- lation into the county, early in the year 1796, that Bath and a district of country eight miles round were found to contain over 800 inhabitants. There were also two schools, one grist-mill, and five saw-mills.

The following-named persons were some of the earliest settlers of Bath : Dugald and Charles Cameron, Thomas Metcalfe, Hector MeKenzie, Andrew Smith, George Mc- Clure, James McDonald, Henry McElwee, James Reese, Robert Campbell, William Dunn, William Kersey, John Wilson, George D. Cooper, Daniel Mckenzie, and Gus- tavus and Brown Gillespie. The first saw- and grist-mills were erected by Capt. Williamson in 1793, and the first tavern was opened the same year by John Metealfe. Charles Williamson Dunn, born in 1794, was the first white male child born in the town. The settlement was begun in 1793, and " before the end of the season," says Mr. Williamson, " not less than fifteen families were resi- dent in the village."

On New Year's day, 1794, Mr. Ilenry McElwee, a young man from the north of Ireland, arrived in Bath. He sub- sequently gave his impressions substantially as follows : " I found a few shanties standing in the wood. Williamson had his house where Will Woods has since lived, and the Metealfes kept a log tavern above the Presbyterian church. I went to the tavern and asked for supper and lodging. They said they could give me neither, for their house was full. I could get nothing to eat. An old Dutchman was sitting there, and he said to me, 'Young man, if you will go with me you shall have some mush and milk for your supper, and a deer-skin to lie on with your feet to the fire

OF BATH IN 1804.

STREE

H. BULL FARM

STEU BI

ST.

R. CAMPBELL, FARM

.70

POND

POLTENEY SQUARE

MORRIS

ET.

REFERENCES :

I LOG HOUSE, FORMERLY PRINTING OFFICEOFTHE BATH GAZETTE.

2 BULL'S TAVERN.

3 LOG HOUSE.

4 HELM'S RESIDENCE.

5 FRAMEHOUSE, AFTERWARDS OCCUPIED BY REV. J. NILES.

6 LOG HOUSE

7 H A TOWNSEND

& MCCLURE'S HOUSE AND STORE

9 GROCERY.

10 COURT HOUSE

TURNER'S HOUSE

72 JONATHAN T. HAIGHT, LAWYER

13 LOG HOUSE

PULTENEY LAND AGENTS RESIDENCE

15 LAND OFFICE

76 LIBERTY TREE ( BLOWN DOWN 1823.)

OLD COURT

HOUSE 1786

COURT HOUSE CLERKS OFFICE & JAIL 1878

COURT HOUSE 1826

IN PULTENEY SQUARE

VIEWS IN BATH, NEW YORK.

SOUTH

HILL.

REFERENCES :

17 BATH JAIL .

18 SCHOOL HOUSE.

19 D. CAMERON

20 METCALF'S TAVERN

21 BLACKSMITH'S SHOP

2 THEATER

23 HELM'S CRIST AND SAW MILLS

VILLAGE

FROM PERSONAL

LIBERTY 5 RECOLLECTION OF W.H.BULL.

CONHOCY

RIVER

161

TOWN OF BATH.

and another to cover yourself with.' I told him that I thanked him kindly, and would go along. We went up through the woods to where St. Patrick's Square now is, and there the Dutchman had a little log house. There was no floor to it. I made a supper of mush and milk, and laid down with my feet to the fire and slept soundly. The Dutchman was traveling through to the Genesec. but his children were taken sick and he stopped there till they got well."

In McMaster's " History of the Settlement of Steuben County" we find the following : " The trees had at this time been cut away only to admit of the erection of cabins for the accommodation of the few citizens, and to open a road through the forest. In the spring of 1794, Mr. MeElwee, under the direction of Capt. Williamson, made the first clearing, being the Pulteney Square and four acres behind the agent's house for a garden, for the cultivation of which he afterwards imported a gardener from England. The trees on the square were chopped carefully close to the ground. single pine was left standing in front of the agency-house for a liberty tree. It was trimmed so as to leave a tuft at the top, and stood nodding defiance at despotism for several years, when it was blown down in a storm."

Gen. George McClure was one of the early settlers of Bath. In 1850, while residing in Elgin, IH., he prepared, at the request of the publishers of McMaster's history, a narrative of his personal recollections of the early inen and times of this locality. From this narrative we shall make such extracts as are adapted to our purpose in the present chapter.

" Rev. James H. Hotchkin, in his ' History of the Pres- byterian Church in Western New York,' makes some severe strictures on the character of Capt. Williamson and his settlers. He says, 'They were principally from Europe or the States of Maryland and Virginia, with a sprinkling of Yankees, who came to make money. The state of society,' he remarks, ' was very dissolute. The Sabbath was disre- garded. Drinking, gambling, carousing, horse-racing, at- tending the theatre, with other concomitant vices, were very general, and numbers of those who moved in the high circle were exceedingly depraved.' I do not know from what source such information was obtained; but this I know, that the Sabbath was not desecrated in the village of Bath in the manner that he represents. We had but two public- houses in that village for many years. One was kept by the Metcalfe family, and the other by old Mr. Cruger, and after him by Mr. Bull. Neither of those houses suffered gambling or carousing on the Sabbath. Nor did I ever hear of a horse-race on the Sabbath in Bath, nor of theatrical amusements on that day. There were not more than four or five families from Maryland and Virginia that settled in Bath ;* the other part of the population were at least one- half Yankees, and the other half foreigners and Pennsyl- vanians. Now I would say that instead of a ' sprinkling of Yankees,' we had a heavy shower of them. I do not be- lieve, however, that they were a fair sample of the sons of

# Major Presley Thornton, who was the first occupant of the great Springfield. House, a mile and a half below Bath, and Capt. William Itelm, two Virginians, were the principal Southern men who located at Bath.

the Pilgrims, for a good many of them, to say the least, were no better than they should be. I trust that nothing in my remarks will be considered invidious. I do not intimate by any means that Rev. Mr. Hotchkin would knowingly state an untruth, but that he has not been correctly informed in relation to the character of a large proportion of the early settlers.

" Among the number of the most respectable Scotch emi- grants were Charles Cameron and Dugald, his brother. These two young men were first-rate specimens of the Scotch character for intelligence and integrity, as well as for other amiable qualities. Charles Cameron was a merchant, and the first to open a store in Bath. He was also the first postmaster by appointment of Capt. Williamson, who paid all the expenses of transporting the mail once a week to and from Northumberland .; Some fifteen or twenty years after he obtained the appointment of sub-agent of the Hornby estate, from John Greig, Esq., of Canandaigua, the chief agent, and removed to the village of Greene, Chenango Co. Few men possessed ·strouger intellectual powers than Dugald Cameron. He was highly respected by all classes of his neighbors aud acquaintances. Ile was a clerk in the land-office for some time, until he and Gen. Haight were appointed sub-agents by Col. Troup. He was a great favorite of the people of Steuben. In 1828 they elected him as their representative in the Legislature of the State, which office, with some reluctance, he accepted. While at Albany attending to the duties of his station, he was seized with a violent ailment, and after a short and painful struggle departed this life, leaving a wife and a numerous family of children, most of whom have since died. Ilis death was lamented by all his relations, friends, and acquaintances."

Andrew Smith, a trustworthy Scotchman, had the charge of the farming operations of Col. Williamson, such as the clearing of the land for cultivation, and other kinds of labor. He had generally from thirty to fifty men, and sometimes more, in his employ, while Gen. McClure had nearly as many in the house-building department. Muckle Andrew (as they called him, being a large man) and Gen. MeClure were great cronies. They were both single men, and kept bachelors' hall. They generally met on Saturday evenings, alternately, in each other's apartments. " We had in those days," says Gen. McClure, " plenty of the joyful, but we seldom carried matters so far as to get decently tipsy. We violated no pledge, for even ministers of the gospel and deacons, in those days, kept on their sideboards a full supply of the best Cognac, wine, and old whisky.

" The first topic of conversation was the business of the past week and what progress we had made in our respective vocations. The next business in order was a drink, then a story or a song. Andrew told the stories and I did the singing. My songs were generally the productions of Burns, such as Scots achu' ha' wi" Wallace bled, Whill be King but Charlie, and Auld Lang Syne. The last verse we always sung standing. My good friend Andrew had one favorite standing toast, which was as follows :

+ An old Frenchman lived at the " block-house" on Laurel Ridge, sixty-five miles distant from Bath. Thomas Corbitt, the mail-rider in 1794, went thither weekly for the Steuben County bag.

162

HISTORY OF STEUBEN COUNTY, NEW YORK.

"' Here's to mysel', eo' a' to mysel', Wi' a' my heart here's to me; Here's to mysel' co' a' to mysel'. And muekle guid may it do me.'

Andrew Smith, in 1798, removed to his farm, three miles below Bath, where his grandson, Seneea S. Smith, now resides. He had the following children : Charles A. Smith (deceased ) ; Maria, still living; John J. Smith, now residing on a portion of the old homestead; Andrew (deceased) ; Naney and Elizabeth, both living in the West. His grandchildren, sons and daughters of Charles A. Smith, are John L. Smith, Jane (Mrs. Hezekiah Decker), Jackson Smith, Naney ( Mrs. Julius Smith), William Smith, C. F. Smith (deceased), Seneca S. and Otis H. Smith.

John J. Smith's children are, as follows: Elizabeth (Mrs. C. Ellis), Mary A. (unmarried ), Margaret J. (Mrs. Philip Van Scoter, of Hornellsville), Alice (How a teacher in the State Normal School of New Jersey ), Fanny ( Mrs. Frank Brundage ), and Hattie A., wife of Dr. Ira P. Smith, of Bath.

There were a number of respectable young men, natives of Scotland, arrived in Bath in the years 1793 and 1794, among whom was Hector Mckenzie, said to be the son of a Scotch laird, who was employed as clerk in the land- offiec .*

Also, about this time, arrived Robert Campbell, father of Lieut .- Gov. Robert Campbell, Jr., and Daniel MeKenzie, both respectable mechanics. Mr. Campbell was an indus- trious and exemplary citizen, and a worthy member of the Presbyterian Church. There was also old Mr. Mullen- der, with a very interesting family, who settled on a farm of Capt. Williamson's, near Bath. They were from Scot- land, and removed afterwards to the old Indian Castle, near Geneva.

Henry MeElwee and William, his brother, Frank Seott, Charles McClure, Gustavus and Brown Gillespie, Samuel and John Metler, with their large families, were natives of the north of Ireland, whose ancestors were of Seotch descent. They are all dead and gone long sinee. Henry McElwee has a son Henry, now an old man, residing on his farm at Mud Creek.

William Dunn, a native of Pennsylvania, eame to Bath in the spring of 1793, and kept for a short time a house of entertainment. He was appointed sheriff of the county after its organization. He was a very gentlemanly man. Ile entered largely into land speculation without capital, and, like many others, his visionary prospects soon vanished. He moved to Newtown, where he shortly after died. Mr. Dunn had two brothers who came to Bath with him, or shortly after,-Robert and Joseph. The former was called Col. Dunn. This military title he obtained on his way from York Co., Pa., to Bath. He was one of a company of adventurers and speculators, who agreed that they should introduce each other by certain assumed titles : some judges, others generals, colonels, majors, but none below the grade of captain. This Col. Dunn would pass anywhere as a gentleman of the first rank in society.

# Mckenzie died in the West Indies.

Old Mr. Cruger moved from Newtown to Bath, and kept the house formerly occupied by William Dunn, on the southeast corner of the Pulteney Square. Mr. Cruger was a native of Denmark,-a very pleasant man, full of anecdote and mother wit. He was the father of Gen. Daniel Cruger, a sketch of whose life appears in the history of the Bench and Bar of this county.

General McClure gives the following autobiographieal notes :+

" I was born in Ireland in the year 1770. My aneestors emigrated from Scotland and settled not far from the eity of Londonderry. They belonged to a religions seet ealled Covenanters, who for conscience' sake had to fly from their country to a place of greater safety, and out of the reach of their eruel and bigoted persecutors. I was kept at school from the age of four years till fifteen. The character and qualifications of those Irish pedagogues, to whom the edu- cation of youth was then committed, is not generally under- stood in this country. They were cruel and tyrannical in the mode and manner of ehastising their pupils. Their savage mode of punishment for the least offense was dis- graceful.

" After leaving school I chose to learn the trade of a carpenter, and at the age of twenty I resolved to come to America. I therefore embarked on board the ship Mary, of Londonderry, for Baltimore. We made a quick and pleasant voyage of five weeks. I landed in Baltimore the first week in June, in good health and spirits. The whole of my property consisted of three suits of clothes, three dozen linen shirts, and a chest of tools. As soon as I landed I stepped into a new building, where a number of carpenters were at work, and inquired for the master-builder. I asked him if he wished to employ a journeyman. Ile said that he did, and inquired how much wages I asked. My answer was that I could not tell; that I knew nothing of the usages of the country, as I had but a few minutes before landed from the ship.

". Then,' said he, ' I presume you are an Englishman.'

"' Not exactly, sir,' I replied. 'Although I have been a subject of King George the Third, of England, my plaec of nativity was Ireland, but I am of Scoteh descent.'

"' Ah, well, no matter. Come to-morrow morning and try your hand.'

" I did so, and worked for him two months, when he paid me $75. Thinks I to myself, this is a good beginning, better than to have remained in Ireland and worked for two shillings and sixpence a day.

" I then determined to see more of the land of liberty ; for at this time I had never traveled beyond the limits of the eity. I had some relations near Chambersburg, Pa., and made preparations to visit them. In those days there were no stages, only from eity to eity on the seaboard. All the trade of the backwoods was carried on by paek-horses, and some few wagons where roads were suitable. I was advised to purchase and fit out a pack-horse, but as to do this would use up half my means, I concluded to be my

+ Gen. MeClure was eighty years old when this narrative was written. At the age of sixty-four he removed to Elgin, III., where he died in the summer of 1851.

JOHN L. SMITH.

MRS. JOHN L. SMITH.

JOHN L. SMITH.

The subject of this sketch is of Scotch origin of the third generation. His grandfather, Andrew, was born in Lockerby, Dumfrieshire, Scotland, in 1761, and came to America, and settled in the town of Bath, with Cap- tain Williamson, in 1793.

He married Elizabeth Lewis, a native of Orange Co., N. Y. He had a family of six children, viz .: Charles A., deceased ; Maria, widow of Dominick Quinn ; John J .; Andrew, deceased ; Nancy, wife of Andrew Smith, residing in Minnesota; and Elizabeth, wife of James Rutherford, also a resident of Minnesota.

Charles A., eldest son of Andrew Smith, was born in the town of Bath, in October, 1796, and married Azilla Morgan, of Bath, N. Y., by whom eight children were boru, viz .: John L .; Elizabeth, wife of H. Decker ; Andrew J .; Nancy, wife of J. J. Smith, resides at Indianapolis, Ind. ; Wm. M., deceased ; C. F., deceased; and S. S., who now lives on the old homestead in Bath.

Charles A. and his father were both farmers by oc- cupation, of whom mention is made in the town history. Charles A. died in March, 1865, and his wife in June, 1874.

John L. Smith, eldest son of Charles A. and Azilla Smith, was born in the town of Bath, Stenben Co., N. Y., Dec. 31, 1822. He received a common-school education, and spent one term in the select school at

Bath. He taught school for several winters. He was reared a farmer, and has continued to follow the same occupation successfully to the present time.

He married Miss Lois M., daughter of Samuel and Betsey (Dudley) Le Gro, of Bath, March 4, 1847. Mr. and Mrs. Le Gro were natives of Bangor, Me., and settled in Bath in 1814.

Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Smith three children have been born, namely : Charles L., Betsey D., and Azilla M. Mrs. Smith died March 26, 1877. Mr. Smith re- mained at home with his parents until 1853, when he · settled on the farm where he now resides, his father having purchased fifty acres of the same about 1847.

Mr. Smith has been the architect of his own fortune, and his success is a fair example of what can be accom- plished by industry and frugality. He has some two hundred and ten acres in his home farm, besides more than three hundred acres elsewhere.

In politics he affiliated with the Democratic party until the Kansas and Nebraska difficulties, when he be- came a strong supporter of the Republican party. He has held several town offices to the general satisfaction of his constituents. He was supervisor for two terms during the war, and was very energetic in getting the quota from his town filled. He has also been assessor and highway commissioner.

163

TOWN OF BATH.

own paek-horse, and set out on foot for the far West, leaving the heaviest part of my goods and chattels to be forwarded at the first opportunity. I made good headway the first day, but I had put on too much steam and became foot- sore. I stopped for the night at the house of a wealthy German farmer, who had a large family of children, males and feruales, most of them grown up. Mine host and his good-looking frau could not speak a word of English. He was very inquisitive, but he might as well have talked Hin- doo to me as German, as I could answer them only in their own way by a kind of grunt and shake of the head, which meant ' I can't understand.' So he called his son Jacob ( who had been at an English school) to act as interpreter. He told his son to ask me whence I came, and whether or not I was a forfloughter Irishman (that is, in plain English, a d-d Irishman). Thinks I, this is a poser, and I answered judiciously, and I think correctly, under all the circumstanees. I told him I was a Scotchman, as in Ire- land all Protestants go by the name of Scotch or English, as the case may be. My Dutch landsman appeared to be satisfied, and we had a very social ehat that evening to a late hour. The family were all collected, young and old, to hear of the manners and customs of the Scotch. They seemed to take a great liking to me, and it was well for me that I had become quite a favorite, for my feet were so blistered with traveling that I could not move. I remained several days till I got over my lameness. When I called for my bill I was told that all was free, and was invited to remain a few days longer. I set out on my journey re- freshed and encouraged by the hospitality and kindness of that amiable Dutch family.

" In three days thereafter I reached Chambersburg, which is one hundred miles west of Baltimore. I re- mained there until the spring following, when I discovered in the newspapers an advertisement, signed by Charles Wil- liamson, offering steady employment and high wages to meehanies and laborers who would agree to go with him to the Genesee country. Thinks I, 'This is a good chance, and I will embrace it.' I set out immediately for North- umberland, the headquarters of Mr. Williamson On my arrival there I was told that Capt. W. had started, with a numerous company of pioneers, to open a road through the wilderness to his place of destination,-one hundred and forty miles .*

" I had some relations and other particular friends and acquaintances in that country. An uncle of mine, by the name of Moore, who came with his family from Ireland in the year 1790, had settled near the village of Northumber- land. I made Unele Moore's my home until I heard of Capt. Williamson's arrival at Bath, when I again made my preparations to set out for the land of promise, accompa- nied by my Uncle Moore,-a man who had never traveled more than twenty miles from his old homestead in all his life, excepting on his voyage to America. I told him that if his object in coming to this country was to purchase land for himself and his sons, he ought, without delay, to go to the Genesee country, where he could purehase first- rate land for one dollar per acre. This was all true, though

I was somewhat selfish in making the proposition, as I did not like to travel alone through the wilderness, liable to be devoured by panthers, bears, and wolves; so I eventually persuaded the old gentleman to accompany me. The old lady, Aunt Moore, packed up provisions enough for at least a four weeks' journey .

" We mounted a pair of good horses and set out. We had only traveled twenty miles when we came to a large rapid stream or creek, which, from late heavy rains, was bank full. Uncle Moore coneluded to retrace his steps homeward. I told him I could not agree to that. " Why, we will be laughed at.'

"' Well,' said he, ' they may laugh if they please.' And would go no farther.

"' Very well,' said I, 'if that is your determination, I will remain here until the water falls; but I see a house close by and a large canoe (the first I had ever seen). Let us go and inquire whether it would be safe to swim our horses alongside of it.'

" We were told there was no danger, and two men ven- tured to set us over. Uncle Moore proposed that I should go over first with my horse, and if I made a safe voyage to send baek for him. We landed in safety. I got the old gentleman just where I wanted him. He must now go ahead, as his retreat was uow cut off. In the mean time I had learned that there were two other large streams ahead of us, the first called the Loyal Sock, within twelve miles, aud the Lycoming, eight miles beyond. There was no in- habitant near. What was to be done ? I told Unele Moore we must do one of two things, either swim our horses aeross or camp on the bank till the river falls ; but I thought there was no danger in swimming, as it was a deep stream and not rapid. I proposed to go over first, and if I arrived safely he must follow, if he thought proper. I gave him directions to hold his horse quartering up the stream, and seize with his right hand the horse's mane ; not look down in the water, but straight aeross to some object on the other side. I passed over without difficulty. The old gentleman hesitated for some time. At length he plunged in, and crossed with ease. We soon after arrived at the bank of the Lycoming Creek. That stream was high and outrageously rapid. We concluded to wait till it became fordable. We stopped at the house of one Thompson, remained there several days, overhauled our elothing and provisions, and made another fresh start, and entered the wilderness on Capt. Williamson's new road. There were no houses between Lycoming and Painted Post, a distance of ninety-five miles, except one in the wilderness, kept by a serui-barbarian, or, in other words, a half-civilized Frenchman, named Anthony Sun. He did not bear a very good character, but we were obliged to put up with him for the night or encamp in the woods. The next night we slept soundly on a bed of hemloek on the bank of the Tioga River. Next day, about twelve o'clock, we arrived at Ful- ler's tavern, Painted Post. We ordered dinner of the very best they could afford, which consisted of fried venison and hominy. After dinner we concluded to spend the afternoon in visiting the few inhabitants of the neighborhood. First we called upon Judge Knox, who entertained us with a de- scription of the country and his own adventures. We next

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History of Steuben county, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 42

Author: Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford) Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Philadelphia, Lewis, Peck & co. Number of Pages: 826

Author: Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Philadelphia, Lewis, Peck & co.
Number of Pages: 826