Landmarks of Orleans County, New York, Part 56

Author: Signor, Isaac S., ed
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Syracuse : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 1084

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The first mill erected here was a saw mill built in 1812. In 1813 a grist mill was erected. Both were on the east side of the creek, and were built by Joseph Ellicott, under the supervision of Col. Andrew A.

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Ellicott. For the convenience of the settlers and to promote settlement and the sale of land a road was opened from these mills east, reaching the Oak Orchard road about half a mile south of Albion. These mills were small and clumsily constructed, and the wants of the rapidly increasing population soon far exceeded their capacity. In 1819 a second and larger mill was built by Col. Ellicott. This was afterward burned. It had a large floor which the young people utilized at times for dancing. On the completion of the mill the first ball in this part of the town was held there. The musician was a fiddler named Hackett. The young people here in those times were fond of saltatory exercise and it was said that when better music could not be had at their parties they danced to the inspiring strains of a jewsharp. In 1840 L. A. G. B. Grant built a stone flouring mill on the west side of the creek. It had five runs of stones and was conducted by him ten years. He sold it to Charles A. Lowber. In 1852 Calvin Hall became the owner and two years later Hiram Smith purchased it. In 1853 Milford Har- mon bought it of Mr. Smith, and ran it till 1870, when it was sold to Quail & Cornell and in the spring of that year it was burned. It has never been rebuilt. In 1849 Mr. Grant erected, near the stone flouring mill, a building intended for a woolen factory. It was never used as such ; but in 1850 it was purchased by Charles A. Lowber and fitted up for a custom grist mill with three runs of stones. In 1852 it was sold to Calvin Hall, in 1853 to Milford Harmon, and in 1876 to Charles Chamberlain, the present owner. It is conducted by H. S. Olmsted. The saw mill on the east side of the creek is owned by Clinton Sander- son. That on the west side was built later. Fifty years ago this mill was owned by L. A. G. B. Grant. It was sold by him to Cyrus Allen

and by him to Volney A. Acer, the present owner Farther down the stream a paper mill was built by Philip Winegar & Son some forty years since. It was sold to L. D. Gifford who owned it with partners till his death, in 1890. It was then owned by Isaac Sonn & Co., and was used mainly for the manufacture of straw paper. It was burned in the spring of 1894. In early times a fulling mill stood near where the custom grist mill now is. After the burning of the flouring mills this was moved to near the bare walls, and machinery was put into it for the manufacture of leading. The water wheel of the old flouring

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mill is used. The establishment is owned by Charles Chamberlain. A stave factory formerly stood on the east side of the creek. It was burned some years since. Mr. Burns now owns and conducts a cider and vinegar manufactory here.

The early name of Shelby Center was Barnegat, a designation which still clings to it to some extent, but why it was ever so called cannot be determined. Daniel Timmerman established the first tavern in the town at Barnegat in 1816. Christian Groff was the first merchant. He opened his store in 1818 in a log building on the east side of the creek. Christopher Whaley was the first physician. In 1821 or 1822 John Van Brocklin established here an iron foundry, said to be the first in Orleans county. At about the same time a tannery was built by Justus Inger- soli. Near to this tannery, on the east side of Oak Orchard Creek, stood the first framed house erected in the town. To the energy, ac- tivity, and business talent of Lathrop A. G. B. Grant the village was largely indebted for its early prosperity. He came here in 1824, and engaged in mercantile business, and soon became one of the largest dealers in produce in Western New York. Notwithstanding its loss of prestige by the building of the canal and the springing up and growth of the village of Medina, Shelby Center has steadily grown and increased in wealth. It has now two churches, two physicians, two general stores, a baker, & blacksmith shop, a flouring mill, two heading factories, two saw mills, two cider mills, an evaporator and nearly 300 inhabitants. The post-office here was the first one in town and the fourth established in the county, and the earliest mails were received from Ridgeway. The first postmaster was Col. Andrew A. Ellicott, and the office was long officially known as Shelby Center. The present postmaster is R. W. Warmouth. The cemetery here is the oldest in town. In it William Bennett was buried in 1812 and Mrs. Sarah Ellicott in 1821.

MILVILLE .- The village is located at the corners of lots 7, 8, 14 and 15, in the northeast corner of the town. The first purchasers of land in these lots were: In number seven, Cyrus Johnson and Samuel Wyman in 1815, and James Mason in 1817 ; lot 8, Abel Sheldon and Oliver B. Bennett in 1814; lot 15, Abel Sheldon in 1814 and Thomas Hill in 1815; lot 16, Orange Wells and Champion Wells in 1814, and Abel Sheldon in 1815. Probably not all these parties settled and made

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improvements on their lands in the year of their purchases. It is known that in the spring of 1815 Orange Wells and Samuel Wyman came with their familes, built rude cabins, cleared ground, and sowed wheat in the fall. Others came in the spring of 1816, and all experienced the hardships and privations of that celebrated "cold season." Settlers came in more rapidly afterward, and gradually the place came to be a point of considerable importance. And even with their primitive sur- roundings the pioneers were not without social amusements and public gatherings. One of the earliest of these, and one which was long re- membered, was a ball at Millville on the Fourth of July. 1819. Of this the late William E. Tanner gave the following account :

There were no carriages and but few horses in the country. Young men would bring their girls behind them, both riding on the same horse, Others would be in waiting to take the horse aud go after their girls, and so on till the company had assem- bled. The same course was pursued on their return home. We met in the upper room of a new building made for a store. The floor was good, but the ceiling overhead was low at the sides where the seats were placed, and it caused much polite bowing to pre- vent our heads from coming into contact with the rafters. Our table was spread in the street in front of the store, and it was well equipped with substantial fare. We had a fine social time.

" Perhaps this was the first ball ever held in this county," Mr. Tan - ner writes, but it has been learned that on the same day there was a ball at the log tavern of Abram Mattison, two miles south from the present village of Albion.

Two streams unite here to form an affluent of Oak Orchard Creek. Before the forest was cut away the supply of water in these streams was more abundant and permanent than it now is, and the wants of the early inhabitants led to the establishment of mills here, hence the name of the place. There were at one time two or three saw mills and a grist mill, and one or two turning mills. A tannery and a foundry were also in operation, but they have been discontinued. In 1817 a log school house was built and the first term of school was begun in it in June by Caroline Fuller. The following winter the teacher was Jew- ett N. Frost. For a time this school house was also occupied as a place of worship by the Presbyterians and Methodists, and after it was replaced by a more commodious structure the new building was used until 1832 for the same purpose.

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In 1839 a substantial stone building was erected for the Millville Academy, which was incorporated the next year. For a time, under the efficient administration of the first faculty, which consisted of Pro- fessors James F. Cogswell, Charles G. Hazeltine, and Miss Clara S. Montague, the school was exceedingly popular, and the increase in the number of students necessitated the erection of another building. Af- terward other academies sprang up in larger and more accessible places, and this declined. Its charter finally lapsed, and the building came to be utilized for common school purposes.

The village now has three churches and the necessary mechanical and commercial establishments to maintain its importance as a prosper- ous and pleasant rural hamlet. The present postmaster is T. O. Castle.

WEST SHELBY .- The first purchaser of land at West Shelby was Joshua Park, in the summer of 1810. In the autumn of that year David Demara located on lot 34, and became a permanent settler. His first residence was a log house fourteen by sixteen feet, covered with bark, without floor, door, or window, with no neighbors nearer than two miles. The next year Joshua and Samuel Carpenter and Samuel Bellinger located here, and eight years later David, Jacob and Thomas Weatherwax purchased some of the lands that had been taken up here, and from them the place was long known as Weatherwax Corners. West Shelby post- office was established in 1854, with M. A. Post as post- master. The present incumbent is Frank Humshery. The place has a store, the usual mechanic shops, and two churches.

EAST SHELBY is a hamlet located on lots 4 and 12 of range 3. The first purchases here were made in the spring of 1817. Though the name of the post-office is East Shelby, the place has been known as West Jackson's Corners ; West Barre bearing the name of Jackson's Corners. P. B. Jackson was the first postmaster here in 1850. There are two churches, a store, and the usual complement of mechanic shops. The present postmaster is H. E. Kilner. Many years since a steam saw mill was built here by a Mr. Peckham. After a few years he sold it to Gardner Berry, and it was burned while he owned it. It 1853 it was rebuilt by Peter Grinell, and some five years later it was purchased by Pope & Brownell, who sold it to J. F. Kilner in 1848. It gradually fell into disuse, and it is rapidly going to decay. Mr. Kilner built a

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steam saw mill at East Shelby soon after Mr. Peckham's mill was erected. It was built on leased ground, and on the expiration of the lease it was taken down.

SHELBY BASIN is a postal hamlet on the Erie Canal two miles west from Medina. At the opening of the canal it was a somewhat im- portant point for the sale and shipment of produce, but Medina on the east and Middleport on the west soon overshadowed it, and it has had little or no growth.

MEDINA .- The history of this village, which lies partly within the limits of the town of Shelby, on the northern edge, is included wholly in the chapter devoted to Ridgeway.

The First Baptist Church of Shelby. Center .- On the 25th of July; 1818, a meeting for the organization of this church was held at the house of Joseph Hagaman. The society was organized on the 28th by Rev. Simeon Dutcher, of Gaines, and during fifteen years the congre- gation worshiped in school houses, private dwellings, and barns; but in 1833 a house of worship was erected. It covered an area of 40x50 feet, and had galleries on the sides, as was then the fashion. Its cost was about $1,000. It was located a mile south from Shelby Center. A new church edifice was erected by the society in 1862, and dedicated in February, 1863. The site was donated by V. A. Acer, and the cost of the church was $2,250. A parsonage was purchased in 1865. In 1822 several members were dismissed to unite with a society in Royal- ton, and in 1829 others took letters to unite in the organization of the Baptist church at Medina. About 1843 the pastor, Rev. A. Draper, and several members of the church withdrew and formed the Free Will Baptist church in Shelby Center. During fifteen years Elder James Carpenter, one of the original members of the church, was its pastor. He was ordained May 15, 1819. He was a pioneer, lived in his log cabin, and supported his family mainly by his own labor, receiving only slight compensation for his pastoral srevices. Mr. Carpenter was said to be a man of great earnestness and energy, and of superior native talent, though not highly educated. His sermons often occupied three hours in their delivery. It is related of him in Turner's History of the Holland Purchase that he once, with a single blow of his axe, killed a large bear that was making off with one of his pigs. It is also said

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of him that once, about 1823, as he was on his way with an ox team to market at Gaines he was recognized and asked to officiate at a funeral where they had failed to procure the services of a clergyman. He at once chained his oxen to a tree, laid off his hat and apron, and pro- claimed to the assembly the consolations of the Gospel adapted to the sorrowing and bereaved. After commending them in prayer to Him who " does not willingly afflict " he closed the services, resumed his working dress, and pursued his journey. The pastors who succeeded him were in order : Revs. S. Gilbert, A Draper, S. M. Stimson, L. H. Gibbs, William Branch, G. G. Hatch, William Putnam, H. Pettit, J. M. Forbes, E. Edwards, D. Donovan, Sears, Bailey, Hartigan, Smith, and Harrington. The Sunday-school connected with this church was first organized in 1833.

The Free Will Baptist Church of Shelby Center .- Rev. A. Draper, who had been pastor of the First Baptist Church and George W. See- ley, Joseph McCargar, John Bentley, jr., Caleb Stillwell, Adam Liddle, Sarah C. McCargar, Laura Draper, Anna McCargar, Marsylva Bentley, Ruth Perry, Harriet Perry, and Melinda M. Liddle, many of whom had been members of the First Baptist Church Society, organized themselves into the Freewill Baptist Church in Shelby, which, on the 16th of Janu- ary, 1845, was recognized by a council as a regular organization. At first the society met for worship in the school house at Shelby Center, but in 1849 a church building was erected at a cost of $1,400. The pastors have been Revs. Henry Blackman, Alanson Draper, William Clark, P. S. Barker, Charles Cook, H. Perry, S. Bathrick, William Young, A. Z. Mitchell, D. J. Whiting, M. Blackman, W. H. Peck, Moon, Butterfield, Cook, Kittle, Baker and Kerningham. The Sunday school was organized in 1850 with George W. Seely as superintendent.

The people of Millville and the country around it enjoyed religious privileges at a very early day. Revs. R. K. Gregory and Mr. Lock were local preachers of the M. E. Church and labored here, and a cir- cuit preacher, Rev. Daniel Shepherdson, held services in the autumn of 1816, and occasionally afterward. By 1820 the Methodists, Presby - terians and Congregationalists had organized societies and all wor- shiped in the log school house that had been built in the spring of 1817, the different denominations alternating with each other, and all

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attending the services of each. Thus they worshiped till 1832, a more commodious school house having meantime been built.

The Congregational Church of Millville .- On the 15th of November, 1820, Rev. Alanson Darwin organized a nominal Presbyterian Church at Millville, which was received under the care of the Presbytery of Rochester on April 17, 1821, and assigned to the Presbytery of Niagara on the organization of that body. The constituent members were Nathan Sherwood, Joseph Wyman, Chester Frost, Orange Wells, Leon- ard Dresser, John Burns, Joshua Church, Betsey Wyman, Elsy Frost, Lucy Sherwood, Zivia Foote, Sally Elwell, Jane Burns, Timothy John- son, Harvey Elwell, Benjamin Darling, and Esther Darling. These members and others who soon united with them were mostly immigrants from New England and felt a strong preference for the Congregational form of church government, to which they had been accustomed. After a few years they adopted that form, to which they afterward adhered, though for most of the time they had a connection with the Niagara Presbytery under the accommodation plan. This society worshiped alternately with the Methodists in the school house till 1832. About that time a grant of fifty acres of land was received from the Holland Land Company, and in 1832 their first house of worship was erected on the north side of the road, sixty or seventy rods west from the cen- ter of the village. In 1848 it was sold to T. O. Castle and removed, and a larger and better church edifice was built on the site of the pres- ent one, at a cost of about $2,000. July 9, 1870, this building was des- troyed by fire. Measures were at once taken for the erection of a new one, and J. L. Root, W. L'Hommedieu and D. W. Linsley, trustees of the society, were appointed a building committee. The new edifice was completed and furnished at a cost of $7,000, and on the 25th of Janu- ary, 1871, was dedicated, free from debt. In 1875 J. L Root donated to the society a church bell, the cost of which was $350, an organ was purchased for the church and sheds were erected in the same year, the total cost being $700. In 1884 the auditorium was repainted and fres- coed. The following clergymen have ministered to this society : Revs. E. Fairbanks, J. Winchester, A. Rawson, W. P. Kendrick, E. Ray- mond, R. Dunning, Mr. Chapin, S. A. Rawson, E. B. Benedict, E. W. Kellogg, D. J. B. Hoyt, E. Colton, N. Y. Yoemans, L. S. Atkins, W.

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G. Hubbard, L. B. Rogers, W. Glover, Calvin S. Shattuck, W. Tyler, Charles Drake, W. H. Yarrow, and G. W. Grush. The Sunday school connected with this church was organized as early as 1825 and is said to be the oldest in town.

The Presbyterian Church of Millville, as it now stands, was formed in 1874 with nineteen members who withdrew in April of that year from the Congregational Society. The constituent members were Matthew Gregory and wife, Mr. Scoville and wife, Myron Sherwood and wife, Heman Coan and wife, Lucy J. Coan, Mrs. Coan, Mr. Chapin and wife, Noble Potter and wife, Giles Pruden, Asher Pruden, Charles Hayman, Electa Dresser, and Elva Wyman. The organizer was Rev. D. Weisner, of Lockport, a member of the Niagara Presbytery. The society purchased the meeting house that has been built by the Quakers, and remodeled and furnished it at a total expense of $1,000, thus converting it into a very commodious and pleasant place of wor- ship. In 1884 the house was sold again to the Quakers, who have since occupied it.

The Methodist Episcopal Church of Millville .- The first Methodist class in Millville was organized in 1820 by Rev. Richard Wright. The first class reader was Roswell Benton, and the first local preacher was Ralph K. Gregory. The society worshiped in the school house many years, but in 1834 a church edifice was built. It was repaired, reseated, and refitted in 1890. The following clergyman have served this society : Revs. Daniel Shepherdson, P. Buel, Z. Paddock, J. Hall, R. Wright, J. Summerville, E. Boardman, J. Atwood, Isaac Puffer, W. Fowler, J. Brownson, John Copeland, Hiram May, P. Woodworth, M. Harker, O. Abbott, J. Brakeman. J. W. Nevins, G. Hines, E. O'Flyng, A. M. Fillmore, J. B. Lankton, D. D. Buck, Deforest Parsons, S. C. Smith, P. Powers, J. Timmerman, D. Nichols, J. W. Vaughn, J. Latham, J. F. Derr J. B. Smith, S. H. Baker, D. J. B. Hoyt, J. McClelland, R. C. Brownlee, P. W. Gould, C. P. Clark, J. G. Tate, J. E. Wallace, J. Hagar, John H. Freeland, W. L. Warner, C. A. Woodworth, Richard Wrench, A. H. Mason, Walter Dynes, T. N. Williams and G. H. Pat- terson. The society has about sixty-five members. In 1893-94 a parsonage was added to their property.

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The Methodist Society at Fletcher Chapel .- At a very early date several families from Schoharie county, N. Y., settled on the road be- tween East and West Shelby. Their names were Moyer, Becker, Briggs, Bailey, Vroman, Vanderkar, Worthington, Eckerson, Manning and others. These were Lutherans, and they formed a society of that denomination. A house of worship was erected in this vicinity, about two and one-half miles west from East Shelby, and worship was main- tained there for many years. Deaths and removals weakened the society till finally it became extinct. During some years preaching was only occasionally had by ministers who happened in the vicinity, but about 1855 services began to be regularly held by the Methodists. Without any formal acquisition of the property it came to be the house of wor- ship of a Methodist society, and it has for some thirty-five years been a regular charge of the Millville M. E. Church. It is not known how it acquired the name of Fletcher Church. The membership of this society is about thirty-five.

The Society of Friends of Millville .- In 1818 a " Meeting" of Friends existed in Millville, and as time went on the society prospered. In 1841 they erected a stone church building, and continued their quiet worship there till 1870. By that time the society had become so much weak- ened by deaths and removals that they relinquished their organization and a few years later their meeting house was sold to the Presbyterians. Reuben Haines and Mary Thistletwaite were preachers in this Meeting. In 1884 the church (as they now term it) was reorganized and the house of worship was repurchased and in 1887 was repaired and refitted. Worship was conducted from 1884 till 1893, during most of which time Mrs. E. G. Underhill was the preacher. She was succeeded by George Hull. No services have been held since 1893. The society numbers about fifteen.

Christian Church of West Shelby .- March 21, 1834, Rev. Aaron Cor- nish organized the Second Christian church in Royalton at a school house in joint School District No. 4, near West Shelby. The constituent members were: Lewis Fohett, Eliza Fohett, William Roberts, Daniel Childs, Maria Childs, James Freeman, Sally Freeman, Abigail Cook, Mary Ann Lowell. Daniel O. Lee, Sally Lee, Sally Osburn, Anna Valentine, Mrs. Chase, J. D. Childs, Samuel Gould, Amasa Stone, Nancy Stone,

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and Mary Ann Shelp. March 5, 1841, the society resolved to build a meeting house, and decided that the site should be on the farm of Abiel Bowen, in Shelby, near the burying ground. A wooden church edifice was erected the same year under the superintendence of Abiel Bowen, John Shelp, and Simon Letts, trustees. June 3, 1843, the name was changed to the First Christian Church of Shelby. January 20, 1869, this building was burned and measures were at once taken for the erection of another. The trustees of the society at that time were: Giles Phelps, W. O. Holdridge, Daniel Childs, and Alonzo Evans. They were empowered to exercise their judgment in the erection of a church building, and in the autumn of that year a brick edifice was completed at a cost of $3,200. As nearly as can be learned the pastors of this church have been : Revs. Aaron Cornish, Amos Freeman, Sylvester Pervier, Chester Covill, Asa Morrison, James Knight, J. D. Childs, John H. Currier, J. F. Wade, Jotham Morse, J. W. Lawton, Ansel Bourne, H. Rhodes, W. Vreeland, F. R. Wade, Frank Wing, Mr. Somers, D. W. Moore, and Elias Jones. Of these Rev. J. D. Childs was pastor during twenty years.

The M. E. Church at West Shelby .- At an early date a Methodist class was formed at West Shelby, and for many years they worshiped in the school house at that place. In 1843 this class and another a mile and a half west united and erected a house of worship at the latter point, opposite the Demara residence. In this they worshiped more than forty years, then removed it to its present location in the village and built an addition, making it a very commodious and tasteful church. This society is served by the pastor at Middleport. It has at different times been a portion of the Alabama, Millville, Royalton, and Middle- port circuits.

The M. E. Church at East Shelby was organized in 1839, with fifteen constituent members. The society had a slow growth, and its place of worship was the district school house till 1854. In that year the present church edifice was erected at a cost of $3,500. Among the clergymen who have ministered to this society the names are remembered of Revs. Pearson, Baker, Lawton, Thorpe, J. McEwen, J. B. Lanckton, John Timmerman, William Scism, J. G. Hammond, R. N. Leake, J. O. Willsea, P. W. Gould, J. G. Hammond, William Magovern, Daniel

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Clark, E. Wildman, A. H. Maryott, D. D. Cook, Joseph Morrow, and P. P. Sowers. The house of worship was repaired and remodeled in 1882 at an expense of $1,600. This has always been a part of the West Barre charge. Its Sunday-school was originally organized in 1840.

The First Advent Church at East Shelby was organized with the following constituent members : Jerra Crane, Franklin Carpenter, Jeanette G. Carpenter, Paul Grinell, Sarah Grinell, Edward Sanderson, Eliza J. Nowlin, Laura A. Whitmore, James H. Whitmore, Laura A. Hale, Samuel Reed, Samuel W. Smith, Anna Smith, Perry M. Grinell, Henry Hoy, Mary Hoy, Laurin Grinell, Marilla Grinell, Lucretia Grinell, Ann Posel, James G. Grice, Ursula Grice, Jesse H. Pratt, Alden S. Barber, Thomas Rollings, Ann Rollings, Samuel Whitmore, Horace Grinell, James B. Wyman, Mary E. Wyman. Lewis Sohn, and Burton F. Jackson. In 1870 a church edifice was erected, at a cost of $3,000. The following have been pastors of the society : Revs. War ren Vreeland, B. P. Stevens, J. H. Whitmore, and Mr. Sweet.

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Landmarks of Orleans County, New York, Part 56

Author: Signor, Isaac S., ed Publication date: 1894 Publisher: Syracuse : D. Mason Number of Pages: 1084

Author: Signor, Isaac S., ed
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Syracuse : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 1084