USA > New York > Yates County > History of Yates County, N.Y. : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of the prominent men and pioneers > Part 34
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357
TOWN OF BENTON.
George Wheeler was a settler in Benton in 1791. He was an exten- sive land owner, and as such possessed all now of Penn Yan village lying north of the outlet and west of Benham street with its continua- tion, Sheppard street. The wife of George Wheeler was Catherine Lyon, by whom he had eight children : Ephriam and Samuel, both of whom died in childhood, and were buried where the cemetery now is, east of the Center; Eleanor, George, jr., Nathan, Susan, Margaret, and Zachariah. George Wheeler, the pioneer, died in 1824, and his wife in 1827.
Philip Riggs, widower, with a family of children settled near the center, on lot 116, in 1795. The children were David, Benjamin, Reuben, John, Mary, Hannah, Anna, Betsey, and Susan. It is under- stood that the surname Riggs has no representative in Benton at this time.
In the south part of Benton, and in the extreme northern part of the present village of Penn Yan, Robert Chissom was the pioneer settler. The. lands on which he located were a part of the purchase of George Wheeler, whose daughter Mr. Chissom had married. His log house stood about where is now the Ayers residence, and was opened by him as a hotel. Mr. Chissom died in 1806. His children were Catharine, Peter, Ephraim, Hannah, and George.
Moses Chissom, brother of Robert, located in Benton in 1794. He married Mary, daughter of Philemon Baldwin, by whom he had eleven children.
Philemon Baldwin was one of the odd yet valuable characters of the town during the days of its infancy. His occupation was that of a far- ·mer and miller. It is said that Philemon Baldwin suggested the name by which the county seat should be called and known-Pang Yang,- changed by common consent to Penn Yan. Mr. Baldwin's immediate descendants were Asa, Philemon H., Amos, Caleb, Rune, George, Mary, Sally Ann, Elizabeth, and Esther.
Elisha Woodworth became a settler in Benton in 1798, on lot 41, the premises now in part owned by John Merrifield. In Mr. Woodworth's family were these children: Erastus B., Elisha, Polly, Sally, Abner, Amy, Ariel, Anna and Amelia. Polly Woodworth married Dr. Calvin Fargo, an early physician of Benton, to whom there were born these
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HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.
children : Hiram S., Russell R., Julia, Elizabeth, Abigail R., John C., and Elisha W. Abigail Reed Fargo, one of these children, married Will- iam Hoyt Gage, son of Reuben Gage.
Moses Gage, his wife Sarah, and his children, Mariam, Buckbee, Reuben, Aaron and Isaac D., came from Dutchess County and settled in this town in the year 1801. Here Moses died in 1812, and his wife in 1813. William Hoyt Gage, now residing on Flat street, is the son of Reuben Gage by his marriage with Azuba Hoyt. The other chil- dren of that union were Jesse, Horace, Martha, Aaron, and Reuben P. William H.was the youngest child but one. The surname Gage, repre- sentatives and descendants of pioneer Moses Gage, are numerous in Ben- ton at this time, and are among the most enterprising and public spirited residents thereof.
In 1792 Samuel Jayne came to the Genesee Country, and in 1797 be- came the owner of a farm on lot 8, where his son Samuel now resides, 1891. His wife was Eleanor VanZile, by whom he had three children, Samuel, Henry and William.
John Coleman was born August 30, 1770. His wife, Christiana Rhine, whom he married May 24, 1795, was born August 18, 1771. In 1798 John Coleman bought fifty acres of land at Bellona, and brought his family to the place the next year. The wife and children journeyed down Seneca Lake on a raft, landing at Earls, while the husband came overland with his cattle and other stock. The children of John and Christiana Coleman were John, born March 4, 1796; Margaret, born May 24, 1797, married William Taylor and died in Benton ; Henry R., born October 15, 1800, died May 3, 1880; Elizabeth, born November 4, 1803, married William Bamborough ; Daniel, born May 27, 1806, - killed by accident while on wedding tour; Sally, born October 14, 1808 ; Charles, born April 30, 1811, and lived and died in Benton, December 23, 1883. Charles Coleman, the youngest son of John, married Mary Ann Seely. Their children were George C, who died from wounds re- ceived in the army ; Charles Edward, now in Nebraska ; and William Henry, who owns and occupies the old home farm of his father, about a mile west from Bellona. Charles Coleman was six times elected jus- tice of the peace in Benton.
Truman Spencer was the third pioneer settler in Benton. He came
359
TOWN OF BENTON.
during the year 1788, and made a purchase from Levi Benton of land on lot 8, in the locality afterward known as Spencer's Corners. In 1789 James Pattison and his wife, and their daughter Lois (Pattison) Spencer, wife of our pioneer, came to the location and occupied the cabin which Truman Spencer had previously built. James Pattison died in 1792 and his wife in 1821. David Spencer was the first child born to Truman and Lois Spencer, and his birth, September 8, 1790, was the first event of the kind in the town. The other children born to them were Nancy, David P., Laura, Olive and James. By reason of his services in the militia organizations, Mr. Spencer became known as captain. As the civil list will show, Capt. Spencer was one of the presidential electors in 1832. His wife died in 1830, after which he married Martha, widow of George Wheeler. Truman Spencer died in April, 1840. From this old pioneer has descended a good number of active, energetic citizens of Yates County.
Captain Lawrence Townsend, a soldier of the Revolution, made a pur- chase of land in Benton in 1790, and moved to the locality during the winter following. His place, which was a tavern, and he its landlord, was on the continuation of Head street east of and not far from the resi- dence of Thomas Gristock. The children of Lawrence Townsend were John, Anna, Henry, Phebe, Jarius and Abraham.
Aaron Remer was the son of John Remer, a pioneer of what is now Torrey, having settled there in 1800. Aaron was born in New Jersey, and on coming to Torrey located at or near Lawrence's Mills on the outlet, in which he became interested. Leaving there he settled where Thomas Gristock now lives. His wife, to whom he was married in 1804, was Phebe Townsend. He died in 1841, and his wife died in 1867. Their children were Lawrence T., Ann, Phebe, Mary, Jane, William T., and Sarah. Aaron Remer was known as captain, from the fact that he organized a cavalry company in Benton during the war of 1812-'15. The company was in active service for about three months. Captain Remer was in all respects the representative and worthy citizen. He was one of the members of Assembly from Ontario at the time of the erection of Yates County, and was an active agent in bringing about its separation from the mother county. He was the first member of Assembly from Yates, in 1823. In 1831 and 1832 he again represented this county.
360
HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.
Stephen Whitaker was the first settler in the locality of lot No. 20 in Torrey, he having come to the town in 1799, and there he resided until his death in 1827. He came to the Genesee Country from New Jer- sey. Stephen Whitaker was a man highly respected in Benton ; he was one of the founders, and the chief one, too, of the first Presbyterian church and society in the town, and was one of its most devoted, conscientious and worthy members. In town affairs he was frequently called upon to fill offices of trust. Mr. Whitaker was married four times ; first in 1772, to Susannah White, by whom he had one child ; second, in 1779, to Ruth Conklin, who bore him eight children; third, to Mary Cross, in 1793 ; and fourth to Agnes, the widow of Daniel Potter. The children of Stephen Whitaker by his second marriage were Jonathan, Mary, De- borah, Stephen, Ruth, Isaac, Phebe, and Ann. Jonathan, eldest child of Stephen, was born in 1780; married in 1806, Mary Bailey. Their children were Squier B., Stephen M., Alexander F., William H., Eph- raim M., Ruth Ann, Marietta, and George W. Squier B. Whitaker was thrice married ; first to Mercy Amsbury, second to Lydia C. Amsbury, and third to Mary L. Olmsted. James S. Whitaker, of Penn Yan, is the son of Squier B. Whitaker by his marriage with Lydia C. Amsbury. William Harlow Whitaker was born August 16, 1813, and died July 29, 1881 ; married Ann Eliza McDowell, November 30, 1837. Their children were William H., Jonathan, Augustus, Marietta, Frank, Aurelia, Kate L. and Charles F.
Enos Tubbs, an old revolutionary soldier, settled on lot 31 in 1788 or 1789. He was twice married, having no children by his first wife, and eight by his second.
The name Havens stands for pioneership in Benton, the representa- tives coming to the town in 1810 and the years following. The family is numerous in the town to-day.
Benjamin Dean came to the county in 1798, locating first near Seneca Lake, but in 1804 settling in Benton, on lot 74. He had several sons who preceded him to this region.
Perley Dean was a pioneer on what became known as Flat street, on lot 39. He came here in 1793.
Elisha, Daniel and Martin Brown, natives of Connecticut, but directly from Vermont, located on lot 31 during the year 1793. Later on lot 78, just west of Benton Center.
361
TOWN OF BENTON.
David and Experience (Pierce) Peckins were natives of Massachusetts and came to Jerusalem in 1810. Their children were Hannah, Elipha, David, Lydia, James, Alexander, Sabra, Elisha, Martha, George, and Samuel. Elisha Peckins remained in this county and lived for many years in Benton. His wife was Martha Raymond, by whom he had four children : Myron, Arabella, Charles R., and Jane. Myron Peckins married Sarah J. Taylor, daughter of Alva Taylor of Benton, and now resides in Penn Yan. Charles R. Peckins married Eleanor Briggs, daughter of Seth B. Briggs, an old and respected resident of Benton. Further mention of Myron and Charles Peckins will be found elsewhere in this volume.
One of the most prominent families in the southwest part of Benton was that of which James Taylor was the highly respected head. Their settlement was made in 1821, on lot 112. They were not pioneers, but were a family worthy of at least passing mention in this chapter. On the same lot Briggs Belknap settled in 1819. In the same general local- ity, on lot 87, Noah Davis settled in 1813, and his brother, Thomas Davis, in 1814. They were pioneers in that locality.
James Smith and family, from Orange County, settled south of Ben- ton Center in 1812. Their children were Job, Julia Ann, Mary, Sophia H., Emily T., and Susan T. Sophia H. Smith became the wife of Eli Sheldon.
The Guthrie family, many representatives of which still reside in the county, settled in Benton in 1819.
The Crozier family, of which Adam Crozier was the head, settled in the town in 1821.
But the families whose names and lives have been recorded on the preceding pages did not constitute the entire contingent of persons en- titled to mention in connection with the early history of Benten. The families named were perhaps the leading ones, possible the most prolific, and more closely identified with the history of the town, past and pres- ent, than were others of whom briefer mention was made. In a town like Benton, where settlement commenced in 1788 and concluded only when all its lands were taken up and improved, it is difficult to deter- mine just where pioneership actually ceases. But that the record may be made as complete and reliable as possible, it is proposed to devote
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362
HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.
some further space to a mention of the names of some others of early settlers in the town, but of whom there cannot be made any extended record.
The Angus family, of whom Walter Angus was the pioneer head, settled in the town in 1800. A large number of his descendants are still residents in Benton, living mainly on the shores of Seneca Lake.
In the north part of the town there were resident prior to 1804, either as individuals or heads of families, Joseph Corey, Joseph Ritchie, Dyer, Rilish and Artemas Woodworth, Lyman and Enos Tubbs, Tim- othy Goff, Elisha Smith, Elihu White, Silas H. Mapes, James Spring- sted, Jesse Lamoreaux, Abram Florence, Stephen Wilcox, Joseph Smith, Richard Wood, Isaac Horton, James Davison, and others, per- haps, whose names at this time cannot be recalled.
Dr. John L. Cleveland, a former resident of the county, and a medical practitioner of some importance, became a citizen of Benton, living at the Center in 1818.
Russell Youngs and his wife, Anna (Buell) Youngs, settled in Benton in 1801. Their children were Alma, Polly, Maria, Milan, Oliver and Fanny. The youngest child, Fanny, became the wife of Samuel H. Chapman. He is remembered as having been a school-teacher of long experience, and court crier for more than thirty years. In politics Mr. Chapman was a Whig, then a Republican, but during his later life he was interested in the cause of prohibition. The children of Samuel H. and Fanny Chapman were Charles E., who died in hospital during the war; Mary Jane, now at home; Henry O., who died in 1849; Alson, who died in 1889; Russel, who is a prominent wagon-maker at the Cen - ter; Eugene, who lives in Torrey, and Fred, who manages the home farm. Samuel H. Chapman died April 16, 1885.
William Hilton settled on lot 56 in 1794. His wife, Ruth, died in 1826, and he in 1828; Robert Patterson settled on lot 43 in 1798 or 1799 ; the Weed family, who are still numerous in the county, settled on Flat street in 1808; Ephraim Kidder located in the town in 1800; the wife of John McMaster, the progenitor of a large family, many of whose descendants still live in the town, located in Benton in 1810; the McFarrens came to the county in 1806; Jared Patchen settled on lot 70 in 1807 ; John Powell, a former blacksmith in Penn Yan, made his
363
TOWN OF BENTON.
settlement in 1816; the Lamport family came to Benton in 1812; Abel Peek's family settled in 1813; the Randall family came in 1812; the Ketchum family were early settlers in Flat street; the children of Ebe- nezer Boyd, Robert, Lewis, and Phebe, settled in Benton in 1814; Ja- cob Winants was a settler in Benton in 1800, and left a large family, five of them being residents of the town at an early day.
The western part of Benton was originally heavily timbered, and was known as the West Woods. In this locality settlement did not com- mence as early as in the eastern sections, and it was not until 1816 or thereabouts that improvements were made here. Among the more prominent of the first families in this region of the town were the Rec- tors, Cranks, Wheelers, Simmonses, Fingers, Hooses, Carrolls, Moons, Millers, and others, perhaps, whose names are lost by time.
Many of the families whose names have been mentioned on preced- ing pages have descendants still numbered among the families of the town to-day, while there were others, pioneers perhaps, who lived here for a time and then moved to some other locality. Looking over the lists of residents of Benton at the present time the fact will appear that many families who were not pioneers have substantial descendants now in the town, and they, too, among the most thrifty and forehanded of its people. Elsewhere in this work will be found some brief mention of persons and families who have been identified with the development and prosperity of Benton during the last fifty and less of years.
It has been the custom of all past historical writers to furnish at least a partial list of town officers in connection with town chapters; and it appears to be conceded generally that the office of supervisor is as rep- resentative a position as can be selected from among township officers of which to furnish a succession. Benton was brought into existence in 1803, but the records of the town during the first seven years of its history, whether under the names of Vernon, Snell, or Benton, do not appear to be in existence. From all that can be learned Samuel Law- rence was supervisor during 1808 and 1809, and was succeeded by Elijah Spencer in 1810. Of course the reader will understand that names of persons may be found in the following succession of supervis ors of Benton who were residents of township 7, or Milo; but none such will appear after 1818. The same may also be said of Torrey, which was not made a separate town until 1851.
364
HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.
Supervisors of Benton .- Samuel Lawrence, 1808-09; Elijah Spencer, 1810-14, 1817-19; Joshua Lee, 1815-16; Meridith Mallory, 1820; Abner Woodworth, 1820-21, 1831-32; Jonathan Whitaker, 1823, 1825, 1829; John L. Cleveland, 1824; Elijah Spencer, 1826-28; Aaron Re- mer, 1830; Anthony Gage, 1833; Samuel G. Gage, 1834-35, 1838-42; Heman Chapman, 1836-37; Abner Woodworth, 1843; Aaron Ed- monds, 1844; Hatley N. Dox, 1845-47; James Simmons, 1848; Alfred Baldwin, 1849; William S. Hudson, 1850; Edward R. Briggs, 1851; Henry Hicks, 1852; William Taylor, 1853; Isaac N. Gage, 1854; George W. Spencer, 1855; William T. Remer, 1856; George A. Shep- · pard, 1857; John Merrifield, 1858-59, 1865-67 ; Samuel Allen, 1860; Homer Mariner, 1861-62; Caleb Hazen, 1863-64; Samuel Jayne, 1868; Henry C. Collin, 1869-70; Wemple H. Crane, 1871 ; Samuel B. Gage, 1872-73; Mason L. Baldwin, 1874-75; George W. Taylor, 1876- 77; Myron Peckins, 1878-79; Ebenezer Scofield, 1880-81 ; Bradley T. Mallory, 1882-83 ; Horace Underwood, 1884-85; James M. Lown, 1886-87 ; Frank Coe, 1888-89; James B. McAlpine, 1890-91.
Justices of the Peace .- Under an amendment to the constitution of 1821, passed in 1826, justices became elective and not appointive offi- ces ; but in Benton there appears no record showing the election of any justice prior to 1830. From that time the justices, with date of election of each, has been as follows: Abner Woodworth, 1830-34; Samuel C. Lyon, 1831, 1835 ; John A. McLean, 1832, 1836, 1847 ; Jesse T. Gage, 1833, 1837, 1841, 1853; Edward Young, 1838; Samuel G. Gage, 1839, 1847, 1851 ; Robert P. Buell, 1842, 1846, 1850; Levi Patchen, 1843; James Young, 1843; Alpheus Veasie, 1844; Josiah S. Carr, 1848; Charles Coleman, 1849, 1857, 1861, 1865, 1869, 1873 ; George B. Stan- ton, 1852 ; William Comstock, 1854, 1858, 1862; William S. Hudson, 1855 ; James Durham, 1856, 1860; Martin Brown, jr., 1859, 1863; Ed- win Lamport, 1862, 1864; Thomas H. Locke, 1866, 1870, 1874, 1878 ; Henry R. Taylor, 1867, 1871; Daniel Millspaugh, 1872, 1876; Myron Peckins, 1876; William Best, 1879; Walter W. Becker, 1880, 1884; Rowland S. Manley, 1881; Charles R. Peckins, 1882, 1886, 1890; George B. Barden, 1883, 1887; William H. Coleman, 1885 ; Emmet C. Payne, 1888; Ashley W. Barden, 1889.
Villages and Hamlets .- That part of the incorporated village of Penn
365
TOWN OF BENTON.
Yan which lies north of Head street forms a part of the town of Benton ; and the electors therein have a voice and ballot in the election of town officers of Benton, and village officers of Penn Yan. But the voters of Benton outside the village have no voice in the election of municipal officers ; therefore any extended reference to the village as a part of the township is not appropriate to this chapter.
Outside of Penn Yan the principal central point for trade and busi- ness in Benton is the little hamlet called Bellona, situate on Cashong Creek, in the northeast part of the town. From the time of the found- ing of the village about 1810, until the present time, the population has at no time exceeded 300 souls ; but, in a way, Bellona has been and is an important point. Its business interests have been comprised in the saw and grist-mills, the indispensible tavern, and two or three stores. Bellona was made a mail station in 1813, with Martin Gage as post- master. He held office until 1839, and was then succeeded by Dr. Anthony Gage. The stone mill at Bellona was built about or soon after 1835.
Benton Center is the name of a little village having no corporate or- ganization, situate very near the middle of township No. 8 as originally laid out and surveyed. It is distant from the county seat about three and one-half miles, on the main thoroughfare of travel north from Penn Yan, and at the intersection of the road just mentioned with the only east and west road that leads directly and entirely across the town. The proximity of the Center to Penn Yan precludes the possibility of its ever becoming a trading point of importance. Having no natural water-power, it is not of value as a manufacturing locality. The first settlement in Benton was made east of and near the Center by Levi Benton, while the lots Nos. 113, 114, 115, and 116, that contribute lands to the hamlet proper, were themselves occupied at an early day. Still the village had no postoffice until 1825, when Joel Ross was ap- pointed postmaster. David Buell succeeded him, since whose time John A. Haight, Isaac N. Gage, Asahel Savage, Myron Cole, Edwin Lamport, and Oliver C. Guthrie have held the same office. Benton Center has two churches and church societies, each of which is men- tioned on succeeding pages of this chapter.
Ferguson's Corners is the lesser in importance of the three hamlets
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HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY.
of the town. Its situation is in the extreme northwestern section of Benton, and its size is scarcely greater than the average of corners or cross roads. A postoffice was established here in 1842, but discon - tinued in 1865.
Church History of Benton -It has been said, and with much show of truth, that Benton is the mother of churches in Yates County. The only locality that had a church prior to Benton was that occupied by the Friends, and theirs was but a primitive log building. Moreover, the Friends were a sect that colonized in the region, worshiping in peculiar form and manner, not recognized by the established churches or relig - ious denominations then extant, and one that proved not to be founded upon substantial basis and without perpetuity.
The Methodist Church in Benton had its inception in the missionary preachings held as early as the year 1792 in Levi Benton's barn, at which time and period Ezra Cole was a local preacher and organizer. In 1793 he organized a Methodist class, among the members of which were himself and his wife, Matthew Cole, Lois Cole, Delila Cole, Elipha - let Hull and wife, George Wheeler, jr., and wife, and Mrs. Sarah Buell. Eliphalet Hull was the first class leader; George Wheeler the second. At that time Benton was in the Seneca Lake circuit, and so remained until 1806. A Genesee conference was formed in 1809, and a Crooked Lake circuit in 1814. The first meeting-house of the society was erected in 1807, on the farm now of M. L. Baldwin, about a mile south of Benton Center. Except that of the Friends, this was the first meet- ing-house erected in what is Yates County. George Wheeler, jr., fur- nished the land for the building.
The first twenty years witnessed increasing strength in the class and society, but misfortunes and some secessions worked injuriously until about 1826, when a revival re-established its strength. In 1828 the Benton circuit was formed, including the several classes in the town, with result in the erection of a house of worship west of the Center at Havens Corners. Five years later a parsonage was built near the church. The Center did not become a station until 1841, and for all prior time such services as were held were conducted either by local preach- ers or circuit riders. The church at the Center was built in 1855, and substantially remodeled and repaired in 1859.
367
TOWN OF BENTON.
The Methodist Church at Bellona is but a branch or offshoot from the mother society of the town. The first services were held in 1805 in the log school house, and in 1809 such interest had come to be shown that a regular place for preaching was established. The class at Bellona was formed the same year, among its members being Benjamin Bid- lack, Henry Oxtoby and wife, Jacob Wood and wife, and John Davis and wife. In 1810 a meeting-house was commenced and enclosed during the first year, but it was not until 1820 that it was fully com- pleted. It stood on the hill just north of the village.
In 1841, under the direction of H. R. Coleman, Summers Banks, J. W. Wood, George Waite, and Charles Coleman, as building com- mittee, the new centrally located church edifice, 36 x 56 feet in size, with steeple and bell was erected. Two years later, in 1843, Bellona was made a separate charge, and Seth Mattison was its first preacher. In 1866 extensive repairs were made to the church edifice, making it when completed an attractive and commodious house of worship. The committee in charge of the work were Charles Coleman, Summers Banks, George H. Banks, J. H. Huie, C. Lazenby and George Brooks.
The Baptist Church and society of Benton Center, and in fact of the town, had their origin in the meetings and services that are said to have begun as early as 1797, although there exists no tangible proof to show that any organization took place prior to 1800, when Elder John Goft was appointed and ordained to the charge of the society. David South- erland and Moses Finch were elected deacons. At that time it was known as the Vernon Church. Elder Goff was pastor of the church for thirty- six years, and is remembered particularly on account of the great length of his discourses at regular church meetings, funerals and wed- ding celebrations. In 1836 he emigrated to Michigan.
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