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 61
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In the town of Italy settlement was begun in West River
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Hollow as early as 1790; there was very little increase during the following twenty years. Italy was originally a part of the town of Naples, which was organized in 1789 as Middletown, and changed to Naples in 1808. In 1815 Italy was set off. The first survey of the town was made in 1793 by Alexander Slot. John Mower was one of the first settlers, in 1790, and he erected the first frame building in the town. William Dunton settled in 1793. William Clark, Edward Low, Fisher Whitney and Jabez Metcalf were other early arrivals. A person named Flint was the first settler in Italy Hollow; a creek was named for him. Archibald Armstrong settled here in 1794, and was followed dur- ing the next few years by Alexander Porter, John Armstrong, Stephen and Isaiah Post, Sylvanus Hastings, John Morris, John Card Knowles and a Mr. Van Ness.
The town of Italy was erected February 15, 1815 from Naples. Asahel Stone, Jr., was the first supervisor.
When Jerusalem was organized in 1789 it comprised all of the present Jerusalem, Benton, Milo and Torrey. The name was given in recognition of the Friend and her followers. In 1803 a town was erected and retained the original name. Eliphalet Norris was the first supervisor of the town in 1799.
The town of Middlesex was created as Augusta in 1797; the name was changed in 1808 to Middlesex. It was commonly known, also, as Potterstown in the early days, in honor of Arnold Potter, one of its distinguished citizens. David Southerland was super- visor in 1797. The first settlers of the town were Michael Pierce in 1791 and John Blair, Chester Adams, Thomas Allen, Joshua Allen, James Westbrook, Solomon Lewis, John C. Knowles, John McNair, Cornelius Sawyer, Benjamin Loomis, Daniel Lindsley, N. Weston, Nathan Smith, John Walford, Davis and Warham Williams in later years.
The town of Milo was formed in 1818 by a division of Benton. John Lawrence, Joshua Way, Thomas Lee, Joshua Lee, the Bird- salls and Adam Hunt were prominent settlers. Avery Smith was the first supervisor.
CHAPTER LVI
THE COUNTY OF CHEMUNG
At the beginning of the Revolutionary War the territory now within the borders of Chemung County had never had a white settlement. In fact, no definite record exists that white men ever penetrated the wilderness. Certain topographical indications of ancient aboriginal settlement existed, and as the home of the Seneca it formed a part of the great territory of western New York-the domain of Red Jacket, Cornplanter and their fellow sachems and tribesmen. The Indian history of this county, the Sullivan expedition, the battle of Newtown and other incidents of that period are noted in other chapters of this work.
Towner states that the name Chemung "has a well-ascer- tained meaning, standing, in the language of the Senecas, for 'Big Horn,' and indicating the fact that in the banks of the river had been found an object resembling an immense horn, or per- haps rather a tusk, belonging to some animal of great size who roamed the locality in the ages of the Megatherium or the Mas- todon. Two of these horns were found, one by the Indians, which gave the name to the river and which is now in Quebec, Canada, and another by the earliest settlers, who, however, valued it so lightly that it disappeared from the blacksmith's shop where it had been left to have an iron band put around its larger end to preserve it."
The soldiers of Sullivan's expedition carried back to the east- ern settlements wonderful tales of the Genesee Country, of the fertile valleys and the beauty of landscape. Many of them returned to live in the regions which they had crossed when seek- ing to destroy the Indian villages and harvest fields. Not many months passed after 1779 before the tide of immigration began to flow into the Chemung Valley, slowly at first, it is true, but with gradual increase. In 1784 permanent settlers came into
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the valley, and included such men as William Wynkoop, Isaac McBride, Elijah Buck, Daniel McDowel, Charles Emmit, Israel Parsloe (Parshall), Uzual Bates, Solomon Bennett, Elijah Gris- sel, Gideon Grissel, Roger Conant, John Spaulding, Thomas Baldwin, Uriah Stevens, John Stevens, Joel Thomas, Anthony Rummerfield, Nathan Van Auken, Isaac Terwilliger, Josiah Green, Abijah Batterson, John Squires, Ebenezer Green, Green Bentley, Abner Wells, Isaac Baldwin, Abner Kelsey, Elisha Brown, William Wilder, Stephen Kent, John Suffern, Stephen Gardner, Solomon Lane, Lebeus Hammond, Abraham Miller, Samuel Tubbs, Benjamin Clark, Jabez Culver, Jared Stull, George Hall, William Jenkins, Cornelius Westfall, Walter Waters, John Jay Achmuty, Jonas Bellow, John Handy, Thomas Hendy, Christian Mynier, Tunis Dolson, John Morris, John Wil- liams, John Miller.1
Of the men mentioned above, quite a number became prom- inent in the affairs of the county. Major William Wynkoop, who lived in the county until his death in 1827 at the age of seventy- four, constructed the first frame house in Chemung, erected the first grist mill and conducted the first tavern.
The first settler in the city of Elmira was Colonel John Hendy (or Handy as it was occasionally spelled). He is generally cred- ited with having been the first here, although the name of John Konkle has been advanced as meriting at least a share of the honor given to Hendy. The latter, who was born in Wyoming September 3, 1757, served in the War of the Revolution, and in 1788 settled on the banks of the Chemung River in the immediate vicinity of the present city of Elmira. He became a well known citizen, and was a surveyor and civil engineer by occupation, and entered with spirit into all public affairs dur- ing his life, which ended in 1840. For many years his home, built in 1796, was standing. Colonel Hendy was given a military funeral and buried in the old Main Street Cemetery, where Wis- ner Park was afterward located.
John Konkle was born at Philadelphia June 3, 1757, and came to Elmira in 1788. He was the first postmaster when the local office was established January 1, 1801.
1 The list is from Towner's History of Chemung County.
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In the year 1786, a commission, consisting of General James Clinton, General John Hathorn and John Cantine, was named by the State of New York to survey the lands in the Chemung Val- ley. It is a singular fact that the north and south line which these commissioners laid out was exactly the 77th degree of longi- tude west, which is the line dividing the counties of Chemung and Steuben. In the latter part of 1788 the commissioners made their report, stating that they had surveyed 207,656 acres, and of this number 28,300 were military locations, 159,186 were given to settlers, and 20,170 were unoccupied.
It is interesting to note that during the period of early settle- ment, Elmira had a sort of affinity with Wilkesbarre. The first stage route in the county ran between these two points, and prac- tically all of the settlers in the southern part of Chemung came from the vicinity of the Pennsylvania village. River travel formed the first means of reaching the Chemung Valley, and then came the roads. Progress was very difficult by both routes and the pioneers were compelled to face conditions which severely tested their hardihood and courage. Towner states:
"At night the boat was tied to the shore, cloth tents spread, and the meals prepared. One incident of the early time may go for all. John Breese, who settled in Horseheads in the autumn of 1787, being the first permanent settler in that locality, came originally from Somerset County in New Jersey. His wife was born Hannah Guildersleeve, and they were the parents of eight children. They came up the river from Wyoming. They found along the Chemung the settlers already named, and in one of their halts for the night selected a spot on the lands of Samuel Tubbs. Mr. Tubbs' family came down to have a look at the emi- grants, and in the course of the visit it was ascertained that Mrs. Breese possessed what in that day was almost worth its weight in gold in that locality, a good supply of tea. The matter was speedily arranged, and there, with the family chest as a table, was set out without much doubt the first tea party ever given in the valley. It is also related that Mr. Breese had in his pos- session twelve three-pint bottles of rum that he had brought with him from New Jersey. He was not exactly contented that his wife, with her tea, should have all the honors of the occasion, and brought out his liquor with which to keep up his end of the
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family." (John Breese died March 24, 1829, at the age of ninety.)
The town of Chemung was erected in the year 1788, and the boundaries were the same as those of the later county, with the exception of a portion of the town of Cayuta, Schuyler County. The first supervisor elected was Abner Kelsey. The original vil- lage was laid out on land granted to Jeffrey Wisner.
The possibilities of Elmira were early recognized by a num- ber of men in the early days. One of these may be mentioned as Matthias Hollenback, a resident of Wilkesbarre, and who never lived in Chemung County, but he performed the same work of promotion as, for instance, Colonel Charles Williamson of Bath and other counties of the Genesee Country. Judge Hollen- back was a merchant and operated stores along the entire dis- tance from Wilkesbarre to southern New York. One of the larg- est ones of these stores was opened at the mouth of Newtown Creek in 1790. Hollenback did everything in his power to encour- age immigration to this country and threw every inducement in the way of prospective settlers. Among those who came here at his behest or in his employ were many sterling citizens who remained in the county all of their lives. Among them were: Captain Daniel McDowell, John Morris, Matthew McReynolds (who built the first brick house in the county on West Water Street a short distance west of Main), Guy Maxwell, Thomas Perry, Stephen Tuttle, John Cherry, Archibald Campbell, George Dennison and Bela M. Hyde. In 1790, Henry Wisner laid out the village of Newtown. Towner says: "This laying out of the village was not in that magnificent style since adopted with regard to towns in the far West. Sullivan Street, which at that early date was so called in honor of the general, was marked out as the central highway toward the lake region; and what is now Tuttle Avenue, the thoroughfare east of Newton Creek just under the hill, was also designated; but for the rest, besides Water Street, there was only what is now Church Street connecting the two avenues named, and one or two little lanes nameless then, nameless now, running from Water Street toward the river and to the northward as well. * Henry Wisner also very soon after laid out another little village or plat, its center being where Main Street is now and its eastern side being at Baldwin
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Street. It did not reach north of Gray Street, Water Street and that being connected by what is now Railroad Avenue and Main Street. The first of these villages claimed the name of Newtown and the second one was called Wisnerburg. We have also seen that the Indian name of the first locality was Canaweola. It had, however, a more ancient designation in the same tongue, Shine- dowa, or 'At the Great Plains.' "
Tioga County was organized February 16, 1791, and New- town became a half-shire town in the new county, along with Chenango Point, now Binghamton. Newtown was also the scene of the great Indian council held in July, 1791, between Colonel Timothy Pickering and the Senecas, including the intelligent Red Jacket. "The exact spot where was held the council that framed the treaty of 1791 has long been a matter of dispute, some contending that it was near Newtown Creek, and not far from its mouth, others claiming that it was farther west, in the neighbor- hood of what is now Market Street and Madison Street. A tree in the latter named locality was long held in more or less rever- ence by the lovers of local antiquities as the exact spot where the treatymakers sat, smoked their pipes, and made their speeches. The advocates of the claims of these two places were each warm and earnest, and full of evidence as to the exactness of their assertions. They were both right. The meetings were at first held at the Market Street location and were concluded on the land near Newtown Creek."2
In the vicinity of the foot of Lake Street in Elmira there was a third village laid out by Guy Maxwell, and was named Dewittsburg in honor of Moses Dewitt, a surveyor of Ithaca who laid out the original map of this region. However, the three vil- lage sites centering within the present area of Elmira came to be known as one community-Newtown.
In the biographical volumes of this work much more detailed information will be found concerning some of the first families to settle in Elmira.
On April 10, 1792, the town of Newtown was officially erected from that of Chemung, and then was composed of what are now the towns of Southport, Elmira, Catlin, Veteran, Big Flats, Horseheads and a part of Ashland in Chemung County, and
2Towner.
49-Vol. 2
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Catherine, Montour and Dix in Schuyler County. At the tavern of William Dunn in Newtown the first town meeting was held in May of the year of erection. This tavern was then called the Kline House, and was located at the corner of East Water and Fox, opposite the ferry and ford.
One of the principal early settlers of the county was Jacob Lowman, the progenitor of the large Lowman family of Che- mung County, members of which are mentioned elsewhere in this work. He settled on the river in 1792, at a point called the "lower narrows." Andrew Gregg was a settler of Newtown in 1795. A native of Ireland, he came to this county from Pennsylvania. John Sly settled here in 1788. It is said that he bought 600 acres in what is now Southport for ten shillings an acre. John Suffern was a settler in the year 1792, although he had acquired lands four years previously. North of Newtown, Asa Guildersleeve, John Winkler, David Powers, Jonathan S. Conkling, James and Ebenezer Sayre were first comers, their homes having been in the vicinity of Horseheads.
The little village of Newtown was the place selected as the county seat of Tioga and a county building was erected on Sulli- van Street. It was built of logs, two and a half stories in height; the upper floor was used as a court room and for religious meet- ings, while the lower floor housed the jail and jailer's quarters. It was erected in 1796, several years after Newtown became a half-shire town, which has indicated to some students that some sort of contest was waged for the location of the county seat.
The building of a mill in the early days was an event of great importance to the settlers. Tioga Point was the destination of those who wished their grist ground until the latter years of the nineteenth century, when a mill was erected at the mouth of Newtown Creek. These few years before the dawn of a new cen- tury also witnessed a new influx of settlers, among whom may be mentioned John, Abram, Daniel and Comfort Bennett and Wil- liam Hoffman.
The name of the village of Newtown was not changed to Elmira until April 21, 1828, but the name of the township was changed from Newtown to Elmira April 6, 1808. The village had been incorporated in March, 1815. The change of the name of the township in 1808 was made by Judge Emanuel Coryell
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then a member of the assembly. Coryell, who resided between Athens and Oswego, was a relative by marriage to Nathan Teall, a Newtown tavern keeper, and in honor of Teall's daughter he suggested the name. It is undoubtedly true that during his frequent stops at the Teall Tavern he became very fond of the little daughter of his host, which naturally led him to think of her when naming the town in the assembly.
Many of the real beginnings, or at least the first rapid strides forward, in the city of Elmira occurred in the first half of the last century. There is a record of a very pretentious com- pany formed in 1828, entitled the Tioga Coal, Iron, Mining and Manufacturing Company, of which Towner says, "The incor- porators named were John H. Knapp, Grant B. Baldwin, Henry W. Swan, Samuel H. Maxwell, and Levi J. Cooley, and the incor- poration was for the purpose of 'digging and vending coal, manu- facturing iron, mining and working ores, manufacturing glass,' etc., and it was empowered to improve the Chemung River, build towpaths, locks, culverts, and dams for the purpose of making it more navigable." A few years later the company was em- powered to build a railroad to the Pennsylvania line. Another ambitious compaany organized about the same time was called the Chemung County Mutual Insurance Company, promoted by John Arnot, Robert Covell, William Maxwell, Stephen Tuttle, William Jenkins, Simeon Benjamin, Samuel Partridge, Theodore North and William Foster. Another early company of the day which indicates the progressive spirit of the people was the Chemung and Ithaca Railroad Company of 1837, in which such men as William Guthrie, Asahel Buck, Dexter Newell, John C. Clark, Levi Bigelow and J. B. Clark were interested.
Such things as mail communication, road building and gener- al improvement of intercourse with the outside world were con- stant matters of concern with the citizens of the village of New- town. In 1817 the first movements were made for a bridge across the river to take the place of the ferry. Several attempts were made in succeeding years, but the first bridge was not con- structed until 1824, crossing the river at Lake Street, which was the first of a series of bridges here, one having been a cov- ered bridge. Business in the village was growing apace at the end of the year 1820, the principal merchants being John Arnot,
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Egbert Egberts, Tuttle & Covell, Miles Covell, Lyman Covell, John H. Knapp, Isaac Reynolds and Isaac Baldwin. The nearest bank at this time was at Ithaca. The building of dams in the river was another prominent activity of the decade between 1820 and 1830.
Then, in 1825, the people had their first vision of a canal when the legislature of that year appointed canal commissioners to determine the best route from Seneca Lake to the Chemung River. The building of the Erie Canal that year had stimulated the hopes of the people. Four years passed. On April 15, 1829, the legislature appropriated $300,000 for the construction of the Chemung Canal and feeder. The question of a route through the village was not ascertained without much trouble, as every- one was desirous of having his land utilized, but eventually the so-called "Baldwin" interests won out, the line of the canal decided for "State Street," and in the spring of 1830 construc- tion was begun. Colonel John Hendy turned the first earth, and other ceremonies of fitting nature attended the event. The canal was completed in 1832. The feeder from Corning connected with the main canal at Horseheads, which village became quite a "port." Boat building, trade and the general commercial pros- perity of this county advanced immeasurably as a result of this transportation feature, although in some respects the canal was a disappointment.
From 1820 to 1850 there was developed the stage coach busi- ness which added to the transportation facilities of the county. Mails before that time were carried on horseback. John Davis of the "Black Horse" Tavern, operated the first stage to Cath- erine's Landing, now Watkins. Others who participated in the business during these years were: J. Davis Baldwin, Sly & McGrath, General Whitney Gates, and Cooley & Maxwell. The last-named was the largest in the business; "their names were on the panels of the doors of the numerous Concord coaches that made good time all through the valley, and the firm's initials were on the blinders of hundreds and hundreds of four-horse team harnesses." The headquarters of the firm were in the Eagle Tavern (the predecessor of the Rathbun House), which was built in 1833 by Abram Riker for a stock company. The story of the taverns and hotels of early Elmira, while too much in detail for the scope of this sketch, merits a separate volume.
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Associated with this story would be much of the romance and charm of Elmira's history.
In 1849 the Erie Railroad was completed to Elmira, and sup- plementing this was the line to Watkins constructed by a local company, which provided an outlet for Elmira. From Watkins. a steamboat carried passengers to Geneva, where further rail- road connections could be made.
The lumber business was another industry which grew up and was associated intimately with the Chemung Canal. Many of the most important of Elmira's business men were those who made their beginnings in this industry. The line of the Canal (State Street) from Market to Second was piled high on both sides of the waterway with lumber, shingle, etc., awaiting trans- portation. Woolen mills were also developed during this period.
It has been noted that the name of the village of Newtown was changed to Elmira in 1828. The first officers of the village after the change were: Stephen Tuttle, president of the board; Hiram Gray, clerk; Charles Orwan, Lyman Covell, and Theo- dore North, trustees. Elmira was incorporated as a city April 7, 1864. John Arnot, Jr., was the first mayor, and among the names of prominent men of the last century who also served as executive chief of the city may be found those of John I. Nicks, Eaton N. Frisbie, Stephen McDonald, Patrick H. Flood, Luther Caldwell, Howard M. Smith, Robert T. Turner, Granville D. Parsons, Alexander Diven and David B. Hill, John B. Stanch- field and Henry Flood.
The first common council of Elmira met in the city hall April 19, 1864. Besides the mayor, and the clerk, Michael Feeney, there were: William P. Yates and George Congdon, first ward; Lasky S. Post and Ira B. Guernsey, second ward; Samuel Hall and Henry S. Gilbert, third ward; Henry C. Covell and Adam Berner, fourth ward; Samuel G. Stryker and William R. Loomis, fifth ward. Rufus King was the first city recorder, Robert Stephens first city attorney and D. B. Brown first city marshal.
The first banking institution in the valley was the Chemung- Canal Bank, whose charter was obtained April 9, 1833. Stock subscriptions were solicited and in the following July the follow- ing directors were elected : John G. McDowell, William Maxwell, Lyman Covell, Horace Mack of Ithaca, E. H. Goodwin, Levi J.
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Cooley, Jacob Westlake of Horseheads, John Jackson of Horse- heads, Miles Covell, A. S. Lawrence, John Arnot, Matthew McReynolds and Hiram Gray. John G. McDowell was elected president and William Maxwell cashier. In 1842 John Arnot, Sr., became president of this bank and served until 1873, when Matthias H. Arnot became president and continued until 1910. Ray Tompkins then became executive officer until 1918. From 1918 to 1919 James B. Rathbone was president. Edward J. Dunn became president in the latter year and served until his resignation July 1, 1925, when he was succeeded by Frederick W. Swan. In 1902 the Chemung Canal Bank consolidated with the Elmira Trust Company and became the Chemung Canal Trust Company.
The second bank of Elmira was the Bank of Chemung, organ- ized in 1849 with Simeon Benjamin as the first president. This bank closed its business March 23, 1878.
The third bank was the Elmira Bank, established in 1853. David H. Tuthill was the first president and Anson C. Ely cashier. It suspended in 1863. However, this bank was the forerunner of the Second National Bank, which was organized December 14, 1863. The first officers of the latter institution were: Henry M. Partridge, president; Daniel R. Pratt, vice president; William F. Corey, cashier. Prominent men associ- ated with this bank as stockholders were: Edwin Eldridge, Christopher Preswick, William S. Hatch, Robert Covell, Henry W. Rathbone, David H. Tuthill, Ransom Pratt, and William T. Post. In 1889 the business of this bank was sold to a new list of stockholders, including Seymour Dexter, J. Sloat Fassett, J. Monroe Shoemaker, W. N. Easterbrook, Francis E. Fitch, Henry L. Armstrong, John C. Seeley, John E. Larkin, Robert T. Turner, Dr. Theron A. Wales and W. E. Sheives. Samuel G. H. Turner became president in December, 1913. E. B. Crocker is vice presi- dent, and M. Y. Smith, cashier.
The Merchants National Bank, organized in 1892, is officered by H. H. Griswold, president; Arthur Clinton and Arthur W. Booth, vice presidents; and George W. Brooks, cashier.
The first street railway of Elmira was that of the Elmira & Horseheads Street Railway Company in 1872, perfected largely through the efforts of George M. Diven. The contract for put-
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