USA > New York > Genesee County > History of the Genesee country (western New York) comprising the counties of Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Chemung, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Ontario, Orleans, Schuyler, Steuben, Wayne, Wyoming and Yates, Volume II > Part 59
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The county is in the Eighth Judicial District and the Fourth Judicial Department, or Appellate Division, of the Supreme Court. Chautauqua County has been represented on the supreme bench by seven justices. Richard P. Marvin was admitted to the bar in 1829, and ten years later, on motion of Daniel Webster, was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of the United States. In 1847 he was elected to the State Supreme Court and remained on the bench for twenty-four years. James Mullett was elected in 1851. Benjamin F. Green was elected in 1867. George Barker, elected in 1867, had previously served as district attorney, and was reelected in 1875. John S. Lambert served as county judge from 1882 to 1889 and in 1890 was elevated to the Supreme Court. John Woodward was appointed to fill a vacancy in 1896, and the same year was elected for the full term of fourteen years. He had previously served as district attorney. Soon after his election he was appointed by the governor to the appellate division of the second department. Warren B. Hooker represented the district in congress from 1891 to 1899, and was then elected to the Supreme Court.
In 1810 Anselm Potter, the first resident lawyer, opened his office in Mayville. He was soon followed by Dennis Brackett. He built a small office, which was destroyed by a falling tree. At the first trial in the county in the court of common pleas, for the No- vember term in 1811, he appeared for the plaintiff and won his case. Soon after the fall term in 1813 he entered the army and was killed on the retreat from Black Rock.
Jacob Houghton came to Mayville in 1811. Emory F. Warren practiced for about ten years in Jamestown and then entered the newspaper field, becoming the editor of the Jamestown Journal. In 1846 he published a history of Chautauqua County. Other prominent attorneys were: Madison Burnell, who studied with Judge Richard P. Marvin and became one of the leading criminal lawyers of the state; Abram Dixon, Westfield's first lawyer ; Obed Edson, who for nearly fifty years was one of the commanding figures in the courts; James I. Fowler, first associated with Ed- ward R. Bootey and then with James L. Weeks; Clark R. Lock- wood, of Jamestown, engaged in practice for nearly fifty years; Lorenzo Morris, of Fredonia, one of the Democratic leaders of the county and at one time state senator; Walter L. Sessions, who
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served several terms as a representative in congress; Austin Smith, of Westfield, for years principal of the Fredonia Academy before entering upon the practice of law.
Mention has already been made of Alexander McIntyre, the "Indian" doctor who located at Mayville, in 1804. Dr. Thomas Kennedy, who founded the village of Kennedy in 1805, was the son of Samuel Kennedy, surgeon-general in the colonial army in the Revolution, and both father and son were physicians of abil- ity. Dr. Thomas Kennedy was more interested, however, in build- ing sawmills than in the practice of his profession in Chautauqua County. Dr. Squire White located at Fredonia in 1809, and was the first regularly licensed physician in the county. He also taught school, and, when the county was organized in 1811, he was elected as its first surrogate. For many years he practiced at Fredonia.
During court week in June, 1818, a number of physicians met in Mayville and organized the Chautauqua County Medical So- ciety. Dr. Elial T. Foote was elected president. After a few years this society ceased to exist. In 1844 the Reform Medical Society was organized at Fredonia, with Dr. J. R. Bush as presi- dent. The last meeting of this society was held in Jamestown in September, 1850. The Eclectic Medical Association of Chau- tauqua County was organized in 1856, with Dr. O. C. Payne, president. It continued for some fifteen or twenty years.
When congress declared war against Great Britain on June 18, 1812, many of the settlers abandoned their homes and took their families to the older settlements farther east, for safety. The county then had a militia regiment numbering about four hundred and twenty men, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel John McMahan. Within ten days after the news reached Chautauqua. that war had been declared, a full company of 113 men, com- manded by Captain Jehiel Moore, was ready for service. This company was ordered to Lewiston, where it arrived on the 9th of July, and was assigned to the regiment commanded by Colonel Hugh W. Dobbins, of Geneva. It was first engaged at the battle of Queenstown on the 18th of October and was the first company to scale the heights. In this action the company lost three men killed-Nathaniel Owen, Daniel Spencer and Ira Stevens.
In December, 1813, a call was made on the county for the
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entire regiment of 400 men, but only about one-half responded. Under Lieutenant-Colonel McMahan the regiment reached Buf- falo on the 30th, but not in time to take part in the battle of Black Rock that day. The next day the British attacked in force, defeated the militia and burned the village of Buffalo.
A company was organized by Captain John Silsby in June, 1814, for one month's service in Canada. As part of the brigade commanded by General Peter B. Porter it took part in the capture of Fort Erie and the battles of Chippewa and Lundy's Lane. In July of this year two companies, under Lieutenant-Colonel Mc- Mahan, were stationed at Black Rock and one company was taken across the river to assist in the defenses of Fort Erie, in case of an attack by the British.
Several Chautauqua County men were with Commodore Perry's fleet on Lake Erie and took part in the naval battle of September 10, 1813. Among these were Abner Williams, who was killed on board the Lawrence; Samuel Perry, a cousin of the commander, who died of his wounds some months later; James Bird, who was complimented by Commodore Perry for his gal- lantry during the action; and a young man named Goodrich, in the employ of Samuel Sinclear. It is stated that Chautauqua furnished a greater number of volunteers in proportion to popu- lation than any other county in western New York, and Young says: "The number of men from this county killed in the war was large in proportion to the number sent forward and con- sidering the length of the conflict-two years, six months and five days."
Under President Lincoln's call for 75,000 volunteers on April 15, 1861, Chautauqua county raised Companies B, D, E, G and a large part of Company H for the Sixty-eighth Infantry. Company B was organized at Jamestown, with James M. Brown, captain; Darwin Willard, first lieutenant; Alfred S. Mason, sec- ond lieutenant.
Company D came from Dunkirk; William O. Stevens, cap- tain; Casper K. Abell, first lieutenant; Hugh C. Hinman, second lieutenant.
Company E, also a Dunkirk company, was officered by Patrick Barrett, captain; William Toomey, first lieutenant; G. W. Wal- lace, second lieutenant.
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Company G was a Westfield organization. Of this company Harmon J. Bliss was captain; G. W. Bliss, first lieutenant; J. A. Smith, second lieutenant.
Company H contained men from Dunkirk and the towns of Charlotte and Stockton. S. M. Doyle was captain; L. Marcus and D. Loeb, lieutenants.
The regiment arrived at Washington on July 26, 1861, com- manded by Colonel Nelson Taylor, and was assigned to the Army of the Potomac, where it served until the end of the war. It was in many engagements, including the battles of McClellan's Penin- sular campaign of 1862, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor and the siege of Petersburg. It lost 13 officers and 257 enlisted men while in service.
Forty-ninth Infantry: Although bearing a smaller number than the Sixty-eighth, this regiment was not mustered in until September 18, 1861, under command of Colonel Daniel D. Bidwell, of Buffalo. Four companies were raised in Chautauqua County. Company A was officered by Henry W. Marsh, captain; Philip S. Cottle, first lieutenant; T. T. Cluney, second lieutenant. Com- pany C, J. C. Drake, captain; P. Stevens, first lieutenant; Justin G. Thompson, second lieutenant. Company I, Rasselas Dicken- son, captain; E. D. Holt, first lieutenant; J. A. Boyd, second lieu- tenant. Company K, A. J. Marsh, captain; A. J. Bowen, first lieutenant; E. F. Carpenter, second lieutenant. The regiment left Buffalo September 16, 1861, and took part in most of the se- vere struggles of the Army of the Potomac, especially in the Shenandoah Valley, the campaign against Richmond in 1864 and the siege of Petersburg. It was present at Lee's surrender at Appomattox, April 9, 1865, and soon afterward was mustered out.
One Hundred and Twelfth Infantry: This was the next regi- ment in which Chautauqua County was represented by company organization, though a considerable number of men enlisted in the One Hundredth Infantry, which was mustered in late in the year 1861. The One Hundred and Twelfth was raised in Chau- tauqua and Cattaraugus counties and was mustered at James- town September 11, 1862, with Jeremiah Drake as colonel. The commissioned officers of the companies were as follows: Company A-J. F. Smith, captain; A. Dunham, first lieutenant; H. R.
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Barrows, second lieutenant. Company B-W. H. Chaddock, cap- tain; J. H. Maynard, first lieutenant; J. C. Ross, second lieuten- ant. Company C-N. S. Scott, captain; G. L. Pierce, first lieu- tenant; G. S. Talcott, second lieutenant. Company D-E. A. Curtis, captain; R. A. L. Corbett, first lieutenant; A. M. Thayer, second lieutenant. Company E-Frank Waters, captain; S. N. Myrick, first lieutenant ; N. Randall, second lieutenant. Company F-J. H. Mathews, captain; L. Andrews, first lieutenant; C. V. Hoyt, second lieutenant. Company G-P. Stevens, captain; G. W. Barber, first lieutenant; G. W. Fox, second lieutenant. Com- pany H-J. H. Palmeter, captain; L. T. Damon, first lieutenant; E. F. Smith, second lieutenant. Company I-C. H. Only, cap- tain ; L. J. Parker, first lieutenant ; C. A. Crane, second lieutenant. Company K-E. A. Ludwick, captain; George F. Mount, first lieutenant; George Colville, second lieutenant. The regiment served in Virginia until about the beginning of the year 1865, when it was transferred to North Carolina. It was mustered out at Raleigh, North Carolina, June 13, 1865. The total loss during its term of service was 324 officers and enlisted men.
Ninth Cavalry : This regiment was recruited in the late sum- mer and fall of 1861 and was mustered in at Westfield. Six com- panies were raised in Chautauqua, to wit: Company C, Captain J. R. Dinnin; Company D, Captain J. G. Weld; Company E, Cap- tain B. F. Chamberlain (succeeded by Captain B. J. Coffin in July, 1862) ; Company F, Captain William B. Martin ; Company I, Captain H. J. Cowden; Company K, Captain T. W. Glisson. The regiment left the state for Washington November 26, 1861, but was not mounted until late in June, 1862. It took part in the Peninsular campaign, in the spring and summer of 1862, and after being mounted it was one of the busiest cavalry regiments in the Army of the Potomac. Altogether it was in nearly one hundred and fifty engagements. The regiment lost while in serv- ice 13 officers and 211 enlisted men. Four officers and 139 men were captured by the enemy and 16 died while held as prisoners of war. The Ninth was mustered out on July 17, 1865, at Cloud's Mills, Virginia.
Chautauqua County furnished two companies for the One Hundred and Fifty-fourth Infantry. Company E was officered by Joseph B. Fay, captain; Isaac T. Jenkins, first lieutenant;
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Alexander McDade, second lieutenant. The commissioned officers of Company F were: Thomas Donnelly, captain; John C. Gris- wold, first lieutenant; Dana P. Horton, second lieutenant. This regiment served in Virginia until about the close of 1863, when it was sent south. It took part in the Atlanta campaign of 1864, Sherman's "march to the sea" and the campaign through the Carolinas. It was mustered out at Bladensburg, Maryland, June 11, 1865.
The county was represented in the regiment known as the Ellsworth Avengers; the Seventh Sharpshooters, to which one company was furnished with Joseph S. Arnold, captain ; C. J. Hall and Clinton Perry, lieutenants; the Ninetieth Regular Infantry, known as the Hancock Guards; the Twenty-second New York Cavalry; the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Artillery, and at least half a dozen other regiments. Altogether the county furnished about four thousand men.
On March 28, 1917, before the United States entered the World War, the war department called the National Guard or- ganizations into service. In Chautauqua County Company E, Seventy-fourth Regiment, Captain Charles A. Sandburg, was mustered in at Jamestown. This company had seen service on the Mexican border the previous year. It was assigned to the duty of guarding important railroad bridges in the county. Late in the year it was ordered with the regiment to Camp Wads- worth, Spartanburg, South Carolina, where it was mustered in as the One Hundred and Eighth Infantry. It was assigned to the Twenty-seventh Division, which, in May, 1918, sailed for France. On February 19, 1919, the division sailed for home and on April 1st Company E arrived at Jamestown.
In addition to this regiment, there were Chautauqua County men in the One Hundred and Twenty-second, the Three Hundred and Seventh, the Three Hundred and Forty-sixth Infantry, the Three Hundred and Seventh Field Artillery, the Three Hundred and Sixth Machine Gun Battalion and the Marine Corps. The Dunkirk Naval Militia, organized on June 1, 1912, was sixty-four strong when war was declared, under command of Lieutenants Harry B. Lyon and Louis Heyl. These men were called into serv- ice and rendered a good account of themselves on various cruisers and submarine destroyers.
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Mark M. Potter, a veteran of the Spanish-American War, en- listed in the American Legion in Canada in January, 1915. After his arrival in France he was transferred to the Canadian Expedi- tion and was killed at the battle of Vimy Ridge on November 7, 1917. His home was in Jamestown and he was the first Chau- tauqua County man to be killed in action in France. The first to lose his life after the United States entered the war was Cor- poral Ira L. Spring, of the Forty-fifth Company of Marines, which was the first unit of the famous Marine Corps to plant the Stars and Stripes on the firing line. He was killed on June 14, 1918, and was not quite twenty-one years old at the time of his death. The Jamestown Post of the American Legion bears his name.
Several Chautauqua women went overseas as nurses. As early as July 1, 1917, Miss Harriet L. Leete, of Jamestown, was chief assistant Red Cross nurse in a base hospital "somewhere in France." In the spring of 1918 Miss Virginia Nowak, of Ark- wright, and Miss Imogene Crane, of Falconer, joined the Red Cross forces overseas. Miss Anna Williams, of Fredonia, a nurse with Base Hospital No. 19, died in France.
In the work at home the Chautauqua County people "did their bit" in subscriptions to the various liberty loans, planting war gardens, supplying bandages and medicines to the hospitals and in many other ways. In the first liberty loan Falconer was the banner town of the county. Its quota was $61,500 and the sub- scriptions reached $124,000. The Rotary Club of Jamestown erected a memorial honor roll tablet bearing the names of eighty- eight soldiers from that city who died while in service in France, many of them killed in action.
In 1806, James Prendergast, while looking for stray horses, discovered the outlet of Chautauqua Lake, noted the fine growth of pine timber, and selected a site for a sawmill. Two years later he purchased 1,000 acres for $2,000 and, in the fall of 1809, took the first steps to utilize the water power of the outlet. John Blowers, to whom Prendergast outlined his plan, built a small log cabin in 1810, which was the first house within the present limits of the city of Jamestown. Then followed a dam and a sawmill. A grist mill was erected a little later. Prendergast built the second log house, which was occupied by William Forbes in December, 1812. John Blowers built the first frame house in
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1813. It was used as a tavern under the name of the Blowers House. Owing to the burning and rebuilding of the mills and the War of 1812, the settlement was slow for a few years.
The first lots were sold in the spring of 1815, the ruling price being $50 per lot. In November of that year, there were thirteen families and a few single men living in the settlement, then known as "Prendergast's Mills" or "The Rapids." Among those who came in 1814-1815 were: Augustus, Dascum and Horace Allen, Henry Baker, Samuel Barrett, Samuel Brown, Woodley W. Chandler, Adolphus Fletcher, Dr. E. T. Foote, William Hall, Charles R. and Thomas W. Harvey, Abner, Daniel and Laban Hazeltine, Alexander and Solomon Jones, Royal Keyes, George W. and William H. Tew, Silas Tiffany and John W. Winsor. When the postoffice was established it was given the name of Jamestown.
By the act of March 6, 1827, the village of Jamestown was incorporated and the first election was held soon afterward at the house of Solomon Jones. Samuel Barrett, J. E. Budlong, Thomas W. Harvey, Daniel Hazeltine, Jr., and Alvin Plumb were chosen trustees. On March 31, 1886, Gov. David B. Hill approved an act of the legislature granting a charter to the "City of Jamestown." The total number of votes cast at the first city election on April 13, 1886, was 1,950. Oscar F. Price was elected mayor. In the spring of 1925 Jamestown had been a city for thirty-nine years, and during that period only five men have held the office of mayor. Oscar F. Price was succeeded in 1894 by Eleazer Green; Mr. Price was again elected in 1896; Henry H. Cooper, in 1898; J. Emil Johnson, in 1900, and Samuel A. Carl- son, in 1908. On April 6, 1924, Mayor Carlson entered upon his ninth consecutive term.
On April 18, 1831, a charter was granted to the Chautauqua County Bank, with an authorized capital of $100,000. Dr. Elial T. Foote was the first president and Arad Joy, the first cashier. In October, 1865, it was reorganized as the National Bank of Chautauqua County. In June, 1896, it absorbed the City Na- tional Bank and the name was changed to the Chautauqua County Trust Company. In July, 1899, the Jamestown National was merged with this bank, the capital was increased, and the name of National Chautauqua County Bank was adopted. This is the
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oldest bank in the county. The American National Bank was organized in 1910; the Bank of Jamestown was chartered May 1, 1903; the Farmers and Mechanics was opened for business in February, 1891; the First National was organized in 1851 as the Jamestown Bank, and became the First National on April 5, 1864; the Liberty National, the youngest bank in the city, began business in June, 1910; the Union Trust Company was chartered on January 12, 1894.
The first Jamestown factory-if it could be so dignified- was the little cabinet shop of Royal Keyes, established in 1815. In 1821, he formed a partnership with John C. and William Breed, and built the first furniture factory. A larger factory, in which the machinery was propelled by water power, was erected in 1837. Daniel Hazeltine established a cloth dressing factory in 1816. Robert Falconer became a partner in 1823, and about five years later their output was 20,000 yards. Other factories were started and later consolidated with the Hazeltine & Falconer plant. William Broadhead began the manufacture of worsted goods at an early date. In 1873, the Jamestown Alpaca Mills (now Jamestown Worsted Mills) were established by Hall, Broadhead & Tanner. In 1888, the Fenton Metallic Company was incorporated, with R. E. Fenton as president, for the manufacture of metal furniture. Mr. Fenton soon after- ward died and in 1890 several companies were consolidated as the Art Metal Construction Company. It is claimed that the first steel office furniture was made in Jamestown.
The first school in Jamestown was taught by Rev. Amasa West in 1814, in one room of the Blowers House. For several years James Prendergast, the founder of the village, provided schools for the children of the settlement at his own expense. Abner Hazeltine came to Jamestown in 1815, fresh from college, and was employed for some time by Mr. Prendergast as a teacher. Of the private or select schools, the most noted were the Quaker School, which was for several years a flourishing boarding school for young women, and the Jamestown Academy, chartered by the legislature in 1836, with Lysander Farrar as principal.
Under the state laws providing for free schools, elementary district schools were established. These were united in the union
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free school district in 1863. Three years later the Jamestown Academy was turned over to the board of education and became the Jamestown high school, of which Samuel G. Love was the first principal. Manual training was introduced in 1879; the free text book system was adopted in 1892; kindergartens were established in 1893; the training school was opened in 1895; the first night schools were started in 1905; vocational classes were formed in 1911; a school park of fifty acres, bought and paid for by the joint efforts of pupils, teachers and citizens, was opened in 1914, and part time schools began in 1920.
In 1826, Adolphus Fletcher established the Jamestown Jour- nal, now the second oldest newspaper in Chautauqua County, and issued thrice weekly. A daily edition was started in 1870. The Chautauqua Democrat, a weekly, was established in 1911; the Chautauqua County Farm Bureau was founded in 1917, and is published monthly; the Jamestown Evening News, a daily, was established in 1910; The Morning Post was established in 1901; Scandia is a Swedish weekly established in 1901; Vart Land, established in 1872, is published in both the English and Swedish languages; the Furniture Index, devoted to the inter- ests of the furniture trade, was established in 1900.
Although the county seat is located at Mayville and the prin- cipal courts are held there, more than half the lawyers in Chau- tauqua County have their offices in Jamestown. At a special meeting of the board of supervisors held August 8, 1893, two petitions were presented; one asking for the removal of the county seat to Jamestown and the other for its removal to Dun- kirk. The board adopted a resolution to remove the county seat to Jamestown, provided such resolution was sustained by a ma- jority of the votes cast at the next general election. At the election 13,715 voters expressed their views on the subject. Of these 6,645 favored the removal and 7,070 were opposed. In the city of Jamestown 282 votes were cast against the proposi- tion. Had only one-half of these been cast on the other side, Jamestown would have become the county seat.
One of the best known of the early lawyers of the present city was Abner Hazeltine, who came to Jamestown in 1815 and taught school while preparing himself for the practice of law. He was one of the committee of five to draft the village constitu-
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tion and by-laws in 1827; was one of the organizers of the Chau- tauqua County Bank in 1831; served some time as district attor- ney, and was otherwise active in local affairs.
Samuel A. Brown, the first village treasurer, was one of the pioneer lawyers and for several years held the office of justice of the peace.
Arthur C. Wade, for years one of the leaders of the James- town bar, was also active in politics. Eleazer Green, who was elected mayor of the city in 1894, by an almost unanimous vote, had then been engaged for some time in the practice of law. At the election in the fall of 1895 he was elected district attor- ney. Egburt E. Woodbury was elected attorney-general of the state in 1914, and other Jamestown lawyers have been elected to positions of trust and responsibility. The Jamestown Bar Association was organized on May 22, 1886.
It is believed that Dr. Laban Hazeltine was the first James- town physician. In 1814 he bought the frame house built by John Blowers the year before and occupied it as a residence and office for about forty years. Dr. Elial T. Foote came soon after Doc- tor Hazeltine and was prominent in county and village affairs for many years. He was the first president of the Chautauqua County Medical Society when it was organized in 1818; was elected first judge of the court of common pleas in 1824; was one of the committee to draft the village ordinances in 1827, and was a member of the first board of directors of the Chautauqua County Bank when it was organized in 1831. The name of Bemus has been closely linked with the practice of medicine in Jamestown and vicinity for three generations. Dr. Daniel Bemus was a division surgeon in the War of 1812. His son, Wil- liam P. Bemus, a graduate of the Berkshire Medical College, practiced in Jamestown and the surrounding country for many years. He was an able physician and a skillful surgeon. Mar- vin Bemus was a regimental surgeon in the Civil War, and Dr. William M. Bemus was a regimental surgeon in the Spanish- American War.
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