History of Tioga, Chemung, Tompkins and Schuyler counties, New York, Part 163

Author: Peirce, H. B. (Henry B.) cn; Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Ensign
Number of Pages: 1112

USA > New York > Chemung County > History of Tioga, Chemung, Tompkins and Schuyler counties, New York > Part 163
USA > New York > Schuyler County > History of Tioga, Chemung, Tompkins and Schuyler counties, New York > Part 163
USA > New York > Tioga County > History of Tioga, Chemung, Tompkins and Schuyler counties, New York > Part 163
USA > New York > Tompkins County > History of Tioga, Chemung, Tompkins and Schuyler counties, New York > Part 163

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

John F. Vandemark, 141st Regt.

David L. West, private, 3d Regt., Co. K; enl. April 25, 1861; disch. May 21, 1863.

DIilo West, private, 3d Regt., Co. K ; enl. Ang. 1861 ; disch. Ang. 1863; re-enl. James A. Youmans, private, 107th Regt., Co. H ; enl. July 29, 1862 ; disch. June 17, 1865.

IN NAVY FROM MONTOUR .*

Robert Ilunter, coal-passer on "Seneca"; disch. June 11, 1865. William Mallett, coal-passer on " Seneca"; disch. June 11, 1865. llenry Rightmire, coal-passer on "Seneca"; disch. June 11, 1865. Charles Slocum, coal-passer on " Honduras"; disch. June 11, 1865. Albert Simmons, coal-passer on "Seneca"; disch. June 11, 1865. Joel B. Smith, coal-passer on "Sencca"; disch. June 11, 1865.

IN NAVY FROM DIX.

Charles R. King, coal-passer on "Seneca"; disch. June 11, 1865. Wm. W. Vanderpool, coal-passer on "Seneca"; disch. June 11, 1865.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

G. W. PRATT.

This gentleman, now one of the most enterprising far- mners of the town of Catharine, was born at Seabrook, Conn., May 30, 1820. His chanees for the acquisition of knowl- edge were limited, and all of education he received was by a few years' attendance at the public schools. On the Fourth of July, 1840, he married Johanna Sherman, by whom he has oue surviving child, Jeannette, now the wife of Jay Tidd, of Minnesota. His first wife died in 1857, and on the 20th of December, 1858, he married his present wife, who was at that time Mrs. Olive Baldwin. This union has resulted in a family of four children, namely,-Frederick,

Johanna, Judd, and Cora Belle, all of whom reside at home with their parents.

In carly life Mr. Pratt learned the trade of a boat-builder, at which he worked ten years. He was afterwards made State superintendent of the Chemung Canal, and subse- quently for ten years superintendent of the department of contraets on the same canal. The last public work in which he was engaged was as chief of the department of contracts in the State Reformatory at Elmira. In 1874 he purchased the beautiful farm in Catharine upon which he now resides. Since coming into his possession he has improved it considerably, and added the fine barn and out- buildings which are shown in the illustration of his prem- ises elsewhere in this volume. His barn is considered the best constructed one in Schuyler County. He made the specifications from which it was built, and personally super- intended its erection. - His farm has been, by proper drain- age and careful cultivation, muade one of the most productive in the town, and in 1877 he raised an average of 45 bushels of wheat to the acre.

PHINEAS CATLIN.

The Catlin family is one that enjoys a venerable antiquity and a conspicuous place in the history of the Old World. From an ancient document belonging to the family we quote, " The family of Catlin has been seated at Newington, near Rochester, in the county of Kent, England, ever since the Norman Conquest. Reginald de Catlyne, who was one of the followers of William the Conqueror, is mentioned in ' Doomsday Book' as possessing two knight's fees of land at the time of his successor, in the county of Kent."

From the same genealogy of the family above referred to we subjoin the following from a long and interesting record, since the arrival of the first of the Catlins in Amer- ica, in 1643:'

Theodore Catlin, son of John, born Nov. 12, 1758; married Mary Goodwin. Issue-Phineas, born Oct. 22, 1760 ; settled in Tioga County. Israel, born Sept. 15, 1762; settled in Seneca County. Margaret, born Nov. 16, 1764 ; died young. Theodore, born Sept. 19, 1770. Abel, born March 2, 1776. Loi. Clarissa, born in 1778; mar- ried William Cunningham ; married, second time, George Coryell. Anna, married E. S. Hinman. Horace, died in Canada. Mary, married Gurdon Grannis.

Phineas Catlin, son of Theodore, born Oct. 22, 1760 ; married Sally Ross. Issue-Brant, born April 24, 1789; married Margaret Bennett ; died 1819. Phineas, born Jan. 30, 1795 ; married Hannah Lec ; married, second time, Deborah Kimble. Theodorus, born Dec. 12, 1796; mar- ried Nancy Haring; married, second time, Laura Haring. Sarah, born July 12, 1800; married Dr. Jones ; died in 1825. Mary (living), born Dec. 14, 1803 ; married John Crawford. Lucy (living), born Dec. 14, 1807; married Hiram W. Jackson.

Phineas Catlin, son of Phineas, born Jan. 30, 1795; quarried Hannah Lee; married, second time, Mrs. Deborah Kimble. Issue-Ralph Lec, born Jan. 7, 1815. Caroline S., born March 26, 1816; married John Mitchell, Jr. ; quarried, second time, Barnabas Miller. Ursula, born Feb.

# All enlisted Aug. 29, 1864.

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HISTORY OF TIOGA, CHEMUNG, TOMPKINS,

25, 1823 ; married A. G. Campbell. Cornelia B., born July 9, 1828; deceased. Lucy Louisa, born Feb. 26, 1833 ; married Thomas. B. Campbell. Frances M., born April 24, 1835 ; died young. Henry B., born Oct. 5, 1837 ; married Carrie C. Close,

Judge Phineas Catlin, the father of the gentleman whose name heads this biography, was one of the pioneers of the old town of Catharine, having settled in that part of the town now ineluded in Montour, in 1792. He was the first supervisor of Catharine, having been elected to that office at the first town-meeting, in 1798, and for eleven years consecutively thereafter. He was also several years clerk of the town, and for a long period one of its justices of the peace. Prior to the organization of Chemung County, he was elected first judge of old Tioga, and served in that, as in all other positions, with eminent suecess, and to the cn- tire satisfaction of all concerned. At the age of sixteen years he enlisted in the Revolutionary army, and served seven years. He died Jan. 30, 1827, in the sixty-seventh year of his age, and was very sincerely lamented as a useful citizen, a good neighbor, and a true friend.

As will be seen by reference to the genealogy of the family, as above given, Phineas Catlin, son of he whom we have just noticed, was born Jan. 30, 1795, and is con- sequently now in his eighty-third year. He was brought up amid the scenes incident to pioneer life, having been born on the old homestead in what is now Montour. He attended the district school taught by Anthony Brodrick, where he acquired all of book knowledge he possesses, to which he has added by a long and successsul business career. For several years he was town clerk of Catharine, and also for some time supervisor. In 1824 he moved to his present home at Odessa, and has since resided therc.

On the 3d of February, 1814, he married Hannah, daughter of Israel Lee, with whom he lived until her deatlı, March 2, 1867, a period of fifty-three years. They raised a very worthy family, who, like their progenitors for many generations back, by their lives and characters are doing honor to their exalted ancestry.

Prominent among the sons of Phineas Catlin is Henry B., now sheriff of this county, who, with his father, has the finest representation in this volume which it is pos- sible to have, and which they both richly merit. In the days of our trouble with Great Britain, in 1812-14, Mr. Catlin belonged to a regiment of horse in the State militia, raised at Elmira, and at the burning of Buffalo his regiment was called to arms. The enemy evacuated the city of the lake before the valiant Elmira regiment eould get farther than Danville.

November 17, 1875, Mr. Catlin-evidently realizing the truth of the Scriptural injunction, " It is not good for man to be alone"-married Deborah, widow of Henry Kimble, with whom he has since lived happily. Mrs. Kimble is the daughter of John Kimble, a pioneer and prominent citizen of the town of Catlin, in Chemung Co., whose vener- able portrait adorns the pages of the history of that town.

In a general summary of the character of Mr. Catlin, dispensing with all of an culogistic nature, we can say that he has done as much as any one living man for the material improvement of the town of which he is an hon-

ored citizen ; that in his life and labors he has evinced a desire to accomplish what he could for the general welfare of the community at large; that all of his dealings with his fellow-men have been honorable and just; that in his domestic relations he has been the fond and affectionate husband and parent; and in his public life an eminently successful and useful member of society.

HENRY B. CATLIN.

The public life of Mr. Catlin offers many interesting traits of character, and shows how a young man, by energy and enterprise, ean acquire a good reputation and achieve a responsible and prominent position. He has successively been clerk of his town, justice of the peace, and sheriff of his native county, which presents a record rarely secured by one of Mr. Catlin's age.

Henry B. Catlin, youngest son of Phineas Catlin, was born at Odessa, in the town of Catharine, Oct. 5, 1837. His education was acquired mainly at the public schools of his native town, including one term at a private educational establishment in Elmira, His business has been princi- pally confined to agricultural pursuits, and the necessary work of the offices to which he has been elected, and which he filled to the general satisfaction of his constituents and the people at large. He has been almost continuously in public offiee sinee he attained his majority, which speaks well for the faithful discharge of the duties incumbent upon him in the positions he has filled.

In 1877 he received the Republican nomination for the office of sheriff of Schuyler County, and was elected by a handsome majority. He succeeded H. L. Estabrook, who was appointed by Governor Tilden to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Sheriff John Wood.

On the 13th of June, 1860, Mr. Catlin married Miss Carrie C. Close, a native of Tioga Co., Pa.

In the above brief sketch we have endeavored to give an outline of the history of Mr. Catlin, so that those to whom he is not personally known may appreciate as thoroughly as those who know him best the sterling qualities of the man who, by enterprise and individual integrity, has won his present enviable position in public life.

IION. ABRAHAM LAWRENCE.

Prominently identified with the early settlement of the town of Catharine was the Lawrence family, of which the gentleman whose name heads this sketeh is a representative member. We find, by reference to our history of the town of Catharine, that in July, 1813, Samuel and Joseph Law- renee, who were sons of Jonathan Lawrence, one of the partners in the Watkins and Flint purchase, who had in- herited from their father the major part of the northeast section of township No. 3 in that purchase, constituting about one-half of the present town of Catharine, having determined to fix their residence on the west side of Cayuta Lake, contracted with the late Samuel Winton, of John- son's Settlement, to erect houses for them, to be completed

Henry B. Martin

ain In

(Abraham Lauria

603

AND SCHUYLER COUNTIES, NEW YORK.

the following year. Leaving New York early in October, 1814, they passed from Hoboken north to Montgomery, on the Newburg and Cochocton turnpike, following it west to the Delaware River, which they crossed at Cochocton, and went thence through the " Beech Woods" to Great Bend, on the Susquehanna, which they crossed, and followed its north bank to Owego, thence passing up the Owego, Cata- tunk, and Cayuta Creeks through the Dutch Settlement to Johnson's Settlement, the journey occupying about two weeks. Remaining at the latter place about two weeks (as neither of the houses at the lake had been yet fitted for oc- cupancy), they inoved into the house intended for the resi- dence of Joseph Lawrence, and both families occupied it until the following spring, when Samuel removed with his family to the house in which he continued to reside the remainder of his life, and which is still the home of those of his family residing in Schuyler County, namely, Abraham Lawrence and his sister, the widow of the late Adam G. Campbell, formerly quite a prominent merchant of Havana. During the following years, 1815-16, their houses and out- buildings were completed. Within the same period they employed Isaac Swartwood to erect a saw-mill on the east branch of Catlin's Mill Creek, just north of the present location of the Magee fish-ponds, for the purpose of fur- nishing lumber to complete their buildings, and to increase the building facilities for settlers in the northern part of their tract.

Abraham Lawrence, son of Samuel Lawrence, was born in the old homestead June 1, 1818. He received his ele- mentary education at the Ithaca Academy, and subsequently entered Geneva College (now Hobart College), from which institution he was graduated with honors. On the death of his father, Samuel Lawrence, in October, 1837, hc in- herited, in connection with his sister, Mrs. Jane G. Camp- bell, the homestead property, including a part of Cayuta Lake, which has remained in the family since the original purchase of the Lawrence tract. In 1857-58 he was elected supervisor of the town of Catharine, and also again in 1863-64, during which latter years he served as chairman of the board. His father held the office of supervisor for several years. From July, 1864, to July, 1868, he was president of the Second National Bank of Havana (now the Havana National Bank), during which time his brother- in-law, Adam G. Campbell, held the position of cashier of the same institution. In 1867 he was a member of the Constitutional Convention that met at Albany. In 1866 he Was a candidate for Congress before the Republican conven- tion, and again in 1870, at which time he would have re- ceived the nomination had it not been for political trickery. Hon. Milo Goodrich, of Dryden, was the successful nominee, and was elected. Mr. Lawrence has always been a stanch Republican, believing that the perpetuity of our institutions was best assured by that party. He was never married, but lives comfortably at his beautiful home on Cayuta Lake, where he dispenses hospitality with a generosity only equaled by the magnificent surroundings of his house. He is an intelligent gentleman of the old school, polite and affable in his address, courteous and polite in his manners, and neighborly in his disposition. A portrait of this gen- tlcman, as the only male representative of his family now

residing within the scope of our work, is inserted, as com- plying with the wishes of the numerous friends of himself and the family. An illustration of his home and grounds, with the lake in the background, also adorns our pages.

CHAPTER LXXXV.

CAYUTA.

THIS town is the smallest in area and population in the county. It is the southeast corner town, and has under- gone several changes in its legal formation. The surface is a hilly upland, soil a clayey and gravelly loam, better adapted to the cultivation of blackberries than to cereal productions, although some parts of it are rendered fertile by careful cultivation. Cayuta Creek flows southeasterly through the town in a narrow and deep valley, bordered by hill-sides, the summits of which are elevated from 300 feet to 600 feet above the level of the creek. The settlement of the town was about contemporary with that of other sections, though the oldest part of it has been detached and annexed to the town of Van Etten, in Chemung County. The pioneers were of the same hardy and industrious race, and underwent the same experiences as did those of the neighboring towns. The pioneer of the town was Captain Gabriel Ogden, who settled near the present site of Cayuta village (formerly West Cayuta) in 1798. He came with his family from Tioga Co., Pa., and located on the place now owned by Charles R. Swartwood. A daughter of his, Sarah, widow of Robert Lockerby, is his only remaining child, and she is now ninety-three years of age, and resides with her son Gabriel in the town of Catharine.

About the same time as that of Captain Ogden's arrival, came Rev. David Jaynes (or Janes), also from Tioga Co., l'a., who settled on the farm now occupied by his grandson, Ezra C. Jaynes, which has remained in the family these eighty years past. The family is quite numerous in and about the town. Elder Jaynes was the first preacher in the town, and among the first in what is now Schuyler County.

The same year (1799) Harmon White came in from Litchfield Co., Conn., and settled on the site of the village of Cayuta. He was accompanied by his son John. He had five sons and two daughters, namely : Harmon, John, Jesse D., Isaac, and Hiram, the latter the father of William B. White, who is the only surviving member of the family now residing in the town. He is quite a prominent citizen, having served as town clerk in 1858-59, and also from 1865 to 1868, inclusive. The daughters of Harmon White were Sarah, who married Simeon Paddleford, of Chenango County, and Catharine, who married Harmon Sawyer, and resided in Erin, Chemung Co.

Jonathan and Joseph Thomas came about the same time, but settled in that part of Cayuta now included in Chemung County, as did also Benjamin Chambers and Jeremiah Taylor. John Ennis, with his brothers Emanuel, Sannder, and Benjamin also arrived before the dawn of the present century (in December, 1799). They are dead. They set- tled in Jackson's Hollow, where several of their descendants still reside.

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HISTORY OF TIOGA, CHEMUNG, TOMPKINS,

Robert Lockerby came in 1801 or 1802, and settled on the farm now occupied by one of his descendants, near Alpine ; William and Gabriel are his two surviving sons.

Among other old settlers were Moses Brown, Langstaff Compton, the Reynolds', and the Smiths, descendants of whom still reside in the town.

Colonel John Wood, in 1875 elected sheriff of Schuyler County, was born in the town in 1823, and died Nov. 21, 1876. In partnership with his brother, Leroy Wood, es- tablished the mercantile business at Cayuta now conducted by his widow and son, Edward L. Wood.

The first marriage celebrated within the present limits of the town was that in which Ebenezer Edwards and Sarah Ogden were the interested parties, in 1804.

The first birth was that of Rosetta, daughter of Jona- than Thomas, in 1804.

The first death that of Joseph Thomas, in 1802.

The first tavern was kept by Captain Gabriel Ogden at Cayuta, in 1805.

The first saw-mill was erected by Jesse D. White, on the east branch of the Cayuta, in 1816, in what is now New- field, Tompkins Co. The first grist-mill was built by John Ennis, two miles below Cayuta, in 1817. It remained in the family for fifty years, and was then sold to the present proprietor, James Green.

The first religious services were held by Elder Jaynes at his house, in 1802.

The first school was taught by Robert Lockerby in a house belonging to Elder Jaynes, in the winter of 1805.

CIVIL ORGANIZATION.

Cayuta was originally organized March 24, 1824, from Spencer (Tioga County). At the time of the erection of Schuyler County, in 1854, considerable alterations werc made in the boundaries of the town, and a special town- meeting was ordered, so that a reorganization was in reality effected. We quote the fourth section of the act of 1854 as follows : " All that part of the towns of Erin and Catlin, in the county of Chemung, embracing the following terri- tory : Beginning in the centre of Cayuta Creek, on the southeast line of lot No. 29; thence along the north line of said lot to the southeast corner thereof; thence along the northwest line of lots Nos. 29, 30, and 31 to the south- east corner of lot No. 1; thence west along the south line of lots Nos. 1, 2, and 3 to the southwest corner of said lot No. 3; thence north along the west line of lot No. 3 to the section line ; thence west along the section line to the town of Veteran ; thence north along the town line to Veteran and the west line of lots Nos. 80, 86, 87, and 88,* 1, 50, and 51 to the town line of Newfield ; thence south along the town line between Newfield and Catharine to the town line of Cayuta, which territory shall, from and after the passage of this act, be annexed to and form a part of the town of Cayuta."

A special town-meeting was held on the 9th day of May, 1854, to fill the vacancies in the town officers occasioned by the reorganization of the town, at which the following were elected to fill the offices placed opposite their names,

respectively : Le Roy Wood, Supervisor ; William Brown, Town Clerk ; John White, Justice of the Peace, to serve with Samuel Roberts, Harmon Jaynes, and Charles J. Broas, of the old town board ; Emanuel Ennis, Assessor, to serve with Benjamin Decker and Fordyce Roper ; Salmon F. Chase, Superintendent of Schools; Peter Ennis, Com- missioner of Highways, with Isaac C. Bates and Walter Lockerby ; Jacob Linderman, Edward Lyon, Overseers of the Poor; John A. Banfield, Collector ; John E. Torry, William B. White, John A. Banfield, Jacob Van Kurin, Gabriel Lockerby, Constables ; Walter Archibald, Samuel Roberts, Inspectors of Election ; Alanson J. Cleveland, Sealer of Weights and Measures.

Supervisors from 1854 to 1878 (inclusive), Le Roy Wood (2 years), Samuel Roberts (2 years), John Wood (3 years), John G. Reynolds (2 years), Samuel S. Brown (2 years), Martin D. Hall (2 years), John Wood, Nicholas Barr (2 years), John G. Reynolds (4 years), Samuel S. Brown (2 years), John G. Reynolds (2 years), Benjamin L. Swartwood, present incumbent.

Town Clerks, William Brown, Hiram White, John Wood (2 years), William B. White (2 years), John G. Reynolds, Benjamin W. Brown (2 years), Le Roy Wood, Henry G. Smith, William B. White (4 years), A. T. Wood (4 years), William Hammond (3 years), A. T. Wood, William Ham- mond (2 years), present incumbent.

Justices of the Peace, John White (1 year), Benjamin Decker (2 years), Samuel Roberts (3 years), William Brown (4 years), Cyrus Lewis, James Ennis, Samuel Roberts, Harmon Jaynes, Cyrus Lewis, Emanuel Ennis, David R. Tunis, Samuel Roberts, Martin D. Hall, Joseph Woolever, Cyrus Lewis (vacancy), Daniel Tunis, Samuel Roberts, Cyrus Lewis, Charles Osborn (vacancy), Joseph Woolever, Harmon Jaynes, Samuel Roberts, Luther Ennis (vacancy), Thomas Harding, Jacob Fitzgerald, F. Marion Ennis, Samuel Roberts, E. C. Jaynes, Luther Ennis (vacancy), Albert B. Smith, F. Marion Ennis, John Decker (vacancy).

The present town officers, other than those contained in the above lists, are as follows, namely : Alexander Lawhead, Benjamin Decker, Myron Ennis, Assessors ; Isaac Botsford, Overseer of the Poor; John Ennis, Commissioner of Highways ; Jerome Reynolds, Abner G. Smith, William B. White, Town Auditors; Henry G. Smith, William Flanders, John G. McDuffee, Inspectors of Election ; A. D. Smith, Excise Commissioner ; John S. Richardson, Col- lector; B. L. Ennis, Henry Lambert, Avery Ennis, John S. Richards, Constables ; A. T. Wood, Game Constable.

CAYUTA

is located on the old Spencer and Catharine Turnpike, and was first settled by Captain Gabriel Ogden, Harmon White, John White, and others.

The first store was kept there by Jesse D. White as early as 1810, in a log house. The stock of goods was small at first, but afterwards the business developed into quite a mer- cantile enterprise.

The first tavern in the place was kept by Hiram White, father of William B. White, in 1817. He was familiarly known by the old settlers as " Mine Host," having kept a tavern on the old stand for many years. In 1849 he crected

* Lot 88 and others taken off and annexed to Catharine, in 1875.

John wood

605

AND SCHUYLER COUNTIES, NEW YORK.

the hotel building in which his son now resides, which was quite a resort before regular staging was discontinued. At present the house is used as a private dwelling. C. R. Swartwood keeps the hotel of the place, and neither man nor beast need go hungry by his door. A stage-route from Havana to Ithaea passes through Cayuta, and makes a stopping-place at "Swartwood's Hotel."

The post-office was established as early as 1815, and Jesse D. White was appointed the first postmaster ; at least such is the prevailing opinion among those we interviewed on the subject. The present incumbent is Benjamin R. Swart- wood.

The place now contains one general store, of which Mrs. Mary D. Wood & Son are the proprietors ; one blacksmithy, one wagon-shop, a good hotel, kept by C. R. Swartwood, one church building, used by all denominations, and ealled a " Free Church ;" one publie school, post-office, and about 75 inhabitants.

RELIGIOUS.

To the town of Cayuta is accredited the honor of having the first resident minister of the gospel in the county, in the person of Elder David Jaynes, who arrived in 1799, and soon thereafter inaugurated religious services in his humble dwelling. Here the few pioneers were wont to assemble to render thanks for the bounties of Providence, and for the protection vouchsafed them in the manifold dangers and vicissitudes to which they were constantly sub- jected in redeeming the wilderness and preparing the soil for cultivation. It was many years before any regular re- ligious organization was effected within the present limits of the town. Doubtless many of the old settlers used to have regular religious gatherings, but no church edifiee was ereeted in Cayuta, as now formed, prior to 1859, when the " Free Church" was built for the use of all people, irre- speetive of religious belief or doetrinal preferences. True, churches were long before this organized, and suitable houses of worship constructed, in the surrounding towns, notably the old Methodist house at Johnson's Settlement in 1809, and the Episcopal church soon afterwards.

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History of Tioga, Chemung, Tompkins and Schuyler counties, New York, Part 163

Author: Peirce, H. B. (Henry B.) cn; Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Ensign Number of Pages: 1112

Author: Peirce, H. B. (Henry B.) cn; Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Ensign
Number of Pages: 1112