USA > New York > Oswego County > Landmarks of Oswego County, New York > Part 53
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The town officers for 1894-5 were as follows :
Joshua W. Rigley, supervisor; Michael L. Murphy, town clerk; Willard Stewart, Henry Rockwood, and Keyes Pierce, assessors; F. L. Stewart, collector; A. A. Luken- telly, Fred Marsh, John Somerville, E. A. Cronyn, justices of the peace; John Frawley, overseer of poor; H. H. Merriam, highway commissioner; James Greenwood, Charles Hickey, and Lyman Wilcox, excise commissioners.
The lands of the Military Tract, of which Granby forms a part, were originally drawn as bounties by soldiers of the Revolution, whose titles often changed hands several times before actual settlement, or who sometimes sold their claims many times over. In this way great con- fusion arose respecting the ownership of military land, and sometimes the settler abandoned his improvements and moved elsewhere.
In the spring of 1792 Major Lawrence Van Valkenburgh, Capt. Henry Bush, and a Mr. Lay came from Stillwater, Saratoga county, to Granby, and made clearings at and below the falls. The last named had become the owner of lot 4, in Lysander, which was originally drawn by Seth Jones; Captain Bush had purchased of Gen. Peter Gansevoort his title to lot 74 ; and the major supposed he had acquired an interest in lot 75. The latter came with a yoke of oxen and had in his employ two white men, Schermerhorn and Valentine, and a negro slave boy called " Har." By some this relation between the boy and the major has been disputed, but it was generally believed that the former was a slave. Captain Bush began clearing near the west end of the present lower dam ; Lay commenced work on lot 4; and the major set his men at work at a spring a little below the falls. On or near Van Valkenburgh's location,
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THE TOWN OF GRANBY.
in the present village of Oswego Falls, was an ancient mound about seven feet high and eighty feet in diameter at the base, on the top of which stood two chestnut trees, each more than two feet thick, which were felled this year along with other trees covering the spot, and which indicated a " growth of more than 250 years "1 In 1826 Peter Schenck, Dr. Carey, and others made a partial excavation of this mound and discovered what appeared to be a vast mass of human bones, some of them almost perfect.
The three pioneers, Van Valkenburg, Bush and Lay, soon had log houses, built, that of Captain Bush being quite a good one. Shortly afterward a Mr. Olcott arrived from New York and commenced trading with the Indians in a tent near the falls. Having started their im - povements, the three adventurers returned to Stillwater to their fami- lies, the major leaving Schermerhorn, Valentine and the colored boy in charge of his interests. Soon after their departure Schermerhorn was seized with a violent illness and died. His companions, Olcott, Valen- tine, and Har, wrapped the body in a blanket, encased the whole with green bark, and buried it, probably near the major's house. Another event shortly occurred which in its nature was even more tragic than the death of Schermerhorn, and which resuled in scattering for a time the infant settlement. The Indians still frequented the place to hunt and fish, and on one occasion Valentine, who has been described as a mischievous, evil-disposed person, offended one of their number, a chief, who was accompanied by his squaw. An affray ensued, the chief was killed, and it is said that another Indian was wounded. The In- dians became excited and vowed vengeance, and the three inhabitants fled, Valentine going to Oswego, where he related to the commander of the fort what had happened, and crossed thence to Canada. It has also been stated that he took the major's oxen and gun with him and sold them to the British. Olcott and Har fled in the opposite direction and met Major Van Valkenburg, on his return, at Three River Point. The latter continued his journey, taking Har with him, and in an inter- view immediately had with the Indians, succeeded in pacifying them, convincing them that the governor would inquire into the matter. Ol- cott never returned. Governor Clinton offered a reward for Valentine,
1 Amos G. Hull's History of Fulton and Oswego Falls, 1862.
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and the latter, confident of acquittal, conspired with another person, and voluntarily surrendered himself. He was tried for homicide and acquitted ; his associate received the reward, but decamped without dividing the spoils.
Major Van Valkenburgh went back to Stillwater in the fall, as did also the others if they came a second time that year, leaving Oswego Falls without an inhabitant. In the spring of 1793 all three returned with their families and occupied their respective log houses. The major came with his wife, his youngest son James, his son Abraham with his newly-wedded bride Zilpha, and his negro boy Har. Mr. Lay and his wife both died that season, and their premises were afterward occupied by a Mr. Penoyer. Captain Bush erected a very pretentious barn for those times ; it was thirty feet long, twenty feet wide, and twelve feet high, the logs being more than a foot thick. In November, 1793, Mrs. Zilpha Van Valkenburgh gave birth to a son, Lawrence, named from his grandfather, the major, which was the first white birth in the pres- ent town of Granby and the second in Oswego county outside the mili- tary posts, the first being that of Camille, daughter of the Frenchman, Desvatines, the pioneer settler of Frenchman's Island in Constantia, in 1791 or 1792.
The little colony remained in their homes at the falls during the win- ter of 1793-94, but during the next they all repaired to the fort at Os- wego. In the spring of 1795 the major purchased Clute's location at Orchard Lock on the east side of the river, where he lived until his death, about 1828. He abandoned his improvements at the Oswego Falls, probably because of a defective title. These three or four families appear to have been the sole inhabitants of Granby prior to 1796.
John Van Buren, jr., of Kinderhook, N. Y., accompanied by his sons Peter, John, Jacob, and Volkert settled at Indian Point at the foot of the rapids in this town about 1796. In 1798 they removed to the premises then recently vacated by Captain Bush and his family, on lot 74, where David Van Buren was born in October of that year. Shortly afterward the Van Burens settled on the east side of the river in Vol- ney, leaving Granby without an inhabitant, unless, perhaps, Penoyer. Such was the condition of the town at the close of the last century.
About 1800 a mulatto, Henry Bakeman, from New Jersey, purchased
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THE TOWN OF GRANBY.
the improvements of Lay and Penoyer on lot 4 and became a perma- nent resident there. Daniel Webster about 1802 settled on the river bank a little below the outlet of Lake Neatahwanta on lot 56, and remained three or four years. Luke Montague, the father of Orrin, Julius, Adonijah and Erastus lived with him. In 1803 Peter Hugunin came and occupied the premises previously owned by Captain Bush on lot 74. His son, James Hugunin, soon afterward bought the north half of that lot and settled upon it permanently. Down to this time no road, save a short thoroughfare along the rapids, had been opened in the town, and not a clearing had been made away from the river bank.
In 1805 Barnet Mooney and Abraham Barnes came in and became permanent settlers. Barnes originally owned lot 75, where the Van Valkenburghs located, and apparently intended to revive his title. Barnet Mooney was long the leading man of the town. In 1809 he was elected to the Assembly from Onondaga county, being the first person sent to that body from what is now the county of Oswego, and being chosen to the same position in 1810, 1812, and 1814. In 1816 he was appointed the first judge in Oswego county, a position he held several years. In the same year he built a saw mill on the outlet of Neatahwanta Lake. His sons were Barnet, jr., and Charles.
A marriage in Granby occurred in 1805, the contracting parties be- ing John Waterhouse, aged nineteen, and Polly Hugunin aged sixteen. The ceremony was performed by Ebenezer Wright, a justice of the peace residing on the east side, and two of the witnesses were Martin Van Buren, afterward president of the United States, and John T. Hudson, subsequently canal commissioner of this State. These two young men were on their way to Oswego, and stopping for the night with Ebenezer Wright, were invited by the latter to attend the wed- ding. This is regarded as being the first marriage solemnized in the town.
In 1806 Barnet Miller settled near Judge Mooney and soon after- ward Cornelius H. Miller moved over from the east side.
In 1807 John I. Walradt purchased a part of lot 74, from James Hu- gunin and took up his residence near the falls. Born in Canajoharie, N. Y., August 26, 1782, he learned the trades of tanning, currying, and harness-making of his father, and arriving here erected a small frame
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house, which was probably the first of the kind in town. On its site he built in 185 1 a large frame dwelling. His farm now comprises a part of the village of Oswego Falls. In his barn the first Sunday school in town was organized. He was a lieutenant and captain in the War of 1812, and died here November 18, 1858. He married the eldest daughter of Daniel Hugunin, and had three daughters, Gertrude, Mary and Ellen E. He opened the first tavern in Granby in 1807 near the west end of the lower bridge which was long quite an active center.
Jacob Schenck visited this locality in 1808, purchased a tract on lot 74, but did not come to reside here until 1811. In 1810 Truman Bron- son occupied the house erected by Captain Bush. The next year Moses Ives located on the same lot, and Elijah Mann settled on lot 55 at Bradstreet's rift.
In 1808 John Hutchins moved upon a farm at what is now Bowen's Corners, being without doubt the first settler in Granby away from the river front. He purchased 200 acres of lot II, removed to the town of Oswego in 1818, and finally went to Ohio, where he died. He had fifteen children, of whom David, the second, was born in Winchester, Mass., October 9, 1792, served in the war of 1812, settled on lot 16, and died November 25, 1873. He had three children, Almira, Lewis H, and Mrs. Chauncey B. Hannum. Lewis H. Hutchins succeeded to the homestead, and married a daughter of John H. Harris.
Immediately preceding the war of 1812 a number of settlers arrived. In that year Jacob Schenck and his family, among whom was his son William, took up their residence at the falls. Another son, Peter, came in 1816. These, together with John Schenck, still another son of Jacob, were for many years prominent and influential residents of the town, and descendants of the family still live here. In March, 1812, William Wilson and Zadock Allen settled near Bowen's Corners ; the former was the father of Charles and William Wilson, jr. Jesse Green and his son Amos located in their neighborhood in the summer follow- ing, and about the same time William Dewey became a resident there, while Cyril Wilson moved on to the place subsequently occupied by Isaac Pierce. A Mr. Hale, a brother-in-law of Wilson, also lived there then and was a noted wolf hunter. Other settlers of this period were Abraham Shepherd, John Miller, Samuel Colby, and John and Daniel
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THE TOWN OF GRANBY.
Cody, the last two being the pioneers of the southeast part of the town. Immigration received a sudden check in the breaking out of the war of 1812. Through that conflict the river teemed with business mainly of a military nature. The sound of cannon at Oswego, and other war- like incidents often disturbed the peaceful inhabitants. Many of the men were absent on duty, while the women supported their house- holds.
In 1814 Jacob Schenck, in company with Cyril Wilson, erected a saw mill just below the west end of the lower bridge, which was the first mill of any description in town.
The cold season of 1816 retarded active settlement and caused con- siderable suffering, but from its depressing effects the sturdy pioneers quickly recovered. Thenceforward settlers arrived in constantly in- creasing numbers and it is practicable to mention only the more prominent and influential.
About 1817 Benjah Bowen bought out John Hutchins and since then the locality has generally been known as Bowen's Corners. In 1818 Seth Williams settled at " Williams Corners " (a name subsequently displaced by Granby Center), where he became the first permanent resident. Two or three years earlier a man named Fenton had located there and cleared a small plot of ground, but had moved away. Mr. Williams was the father of Amasa Williams, who subsequently resided at Oswego Falls.
About 1819 Seth Camp, and a few years later a Mr. Fairbanks, settled at what is now West Granby, then "Camp's Mills," and for a time called "Niggerville." Other early settlers there were George Ockabock, Martin Kelsey, John Bullen, William Draper, Alexander Sprague, and Jacob Bakeman, a son of Henry Bakeman.
In 1820 the town contained 555 inhabitants. In this year Benjamin B. Pierce settled on lot 73 about half a mile south of Williams Corners, on the farm previously owned by Cyril Wilson. He was born in Orange, N. Y., August 13, 1785, and died January 10, 1875. His wife's death occurred in 1869. They were the parents of five children, Philander, Lucy, Jonathan, Isaac F., and Sylvester, of whom Isaac F. succeeded to the homestead, and Philander died in town in 1877. In 1821 Calvin French and wife, his brother Isaac, and their mother, Mrs. 66
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Asher French, settled on the same lot. Mrs. Calvin French died in 1877 and her husband, who was born in Norwich, N. Y., in 1800, is still living in town. They were the parents of Mrs. Cyrus S. Hall and Erastus D. and Asher D. French.
About 1820 Nehemiah B. Northrop built a nail factory at the falls which was subsequently converted into a saw mill. In 1826 he erected a grist mill at this point, which was the first of the kind along the west side of the river between Three River Point and Oswego. About this time a saw mill was built on the Oswego River a mile above the mouth of Ox Creek and for several years was operated by Geer & Paine. It was finally abandoned.
Two settlers of 1827 were Benjamin Wells and Ephraim Whitcomb. Mr. Wells was born in Northfield, Mass., November 17, 1802, and located first on lot I and in 1846 on lot 2. Both himself and his wife were active members of the first temperance society organized in Granby. They were the parents of Oscar and Chester Wells, Mrs. Chauncey B. Hancock, Mrs. T. B. Reynolds, and Mrs. John S. George. Mr. Whitcomb was the son of Elisha Whitcomb, a colonel in the war of 1812, and located on lot 22. He was killed at the raising of a barn in 1836. His son, Jasper H., born in Vermont in March, 1822, suc- ceeded his father on the homestead and became one of the leading busi- ness men of South Granby.
In 1828 the Oswego Canal was completed along the east side of the river and gave a new impetus to the growth and development of Granby.
Among other settlers of the town prior to 1830 were Rodman Dexter, Jesse Reynolds, John Allen, L. L. Curtiss, Milo Austin, Phares Cook, Joel Crosby, A. Q. Hugunin, H. B. Lewis, C. J. Miller, James Parker, T. G. Somers, and John Summerville. Mr. Dexter settled at what is now Dexterville in 1829, at which time a man named Welch was living there. Jesse Reynolds also came in 1829, locating on 200 acres of lot 33. He was born in Greene county January 24, 1813, and emigrated here with his father, Richard Reynolds, and his eleven other children. Richard died in 1856 and was succeeded on the homestead by Jesse, who married Lucy, a daughter of Thomas Vickery, one of the early settlers of Schroeppel.
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THE TOWN OF GRANBY.
Aaron Stranahan, who was born in Chatham, N. Y., October 18, 1807, came to Granby in 1830, and at various times was extensively engaged in lumbering. He was the father of Adaline J., Luvilla (Mrs. Cooper), Smith N., and Gipson Stranahan, Seth Paine became a resi- dent of Granby in 1831. He was born in 1797, engaged in boating on the Oswego Canal, and located on 182 acres on lot 24. He served in the war of 1812, was promoted to captain, held several town offices, was a good biblical scholar and an able writer, and with William S. Geer, his brother in-law, built a saw mill at what was called the " Horseshoe dam " in Granby. He died October 30, 1860. His chil- dren were Mrs. Marshall Hale, Mrs. Charles S. Fuller, and Oliver Paine, of whom the last named succeeded his father 'on the homestead.
In 1834 David Willcox settled on 400 acres of land in this town where he ever afterward resided. He was born in Ashford, Conn., October 20, 1797, and died in 1894. He had ten children, Milo, George, William, Emmet, Stephen, James, Cyrus C., David, jr., and two daughters who died in infancy.
In 1835 Jackson . Reynolds and William H. Tompkins came into the town. Mr. Reynolds, born April 10, 1816, engaged in boating on the Oswego Canal for Bronson & Crocker of Oswego, and later on his own account. He settled in Granby with his father, Eli Reynolds, on lot 45, where the latter died in 1844 and his wife in 1864. Mr. Tomp- kins was born in Saratoga county in January, 1823, and came from Onondaga county with his father, Benjamin, two brothers, Israel and Charles, and a sister, Phebe, settling on lot 17 adjoining the river. The father died in 1858.
William B. Gaylord, born in 1814, came to Granby with his father's family from Lafayette, Onondaga county, in 1836, and located on lot 21. Morgan Blakeman settled on lot 30 in 1837 and subsequently removed to lot 29 He was born in Berne, N. Y., in 1813, and had nine chil- dren who attained maturity.
Among other settlers during this decade (1830-1840) were C. P. Dutcher, C. S. Fuller, John W. Fuller, Abel Palmer, Henry Rockwood, Morris Richards (died in 1882), and Orson H. Dutton (died in April, 1884).
In " Historical Collections of the State of New York," published in 1846, the town is thus described :
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LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY.
Granby, taken from Hannibal in 1818 ; from Albany W. 158, centrally distant from Oswego S. 12 miles. Pop. 2,386. Phillips village is a small settlement on the Oswego River at the Oswego Falls, which are 800 feet in width, and can be made to furnish great hydraulic power. Six-Mile Creek is a post-office.
Between 1840 and 1850 the following took up their homes in Granby : Liberty Arnold, John Palmer, John C. Wells, E. D. Chapman, J. A. Edgarton, Marcus J. Greer, John W. Gale, J. C. Harrington (died in 1888), William Monroe, William W. Palmer, Alvin Smith, A. M. Thomson, and others. John C. Wells, born in Trenton, N. Y., in 1821, settled on lot 65 in 1845, and held a number of town offices, and was also loan commissioner for the county. John Palmer arrived in 1849. He was born in 1782, was a blacksmith with his father, served in the war of 1812, and located. on lot 38, where he died in 1857, being fol- lowed on the homestead by his son William W.
An item worthy of mention is the fact that no less than three cente- narians have died in town since 1876, viz .: Mrs. Submit Cathcart, died July 17, 1876, aged 100 years, five months, seventeen days; Nicholas Fitzgerald, died December 14, 1877, aged 103 years; and Mrs. Mary Blair, died December 4, 1891, aged 100 years. Mrs. Vanderlinder is living in the town (January I, 1895) at the age of 102.
A few other prominent men remain to be mentioned. Emery L. Howe, born in Massachusetts in 1821, came here with his parents at an early day, and in 1866 removed to Fulton. He was a surveyor and for several years a merchant, and died in March, 1884. Alanson Dodge served as supervisor many terms, four years as superintendent of the Oswego Canal, and died in November, 1887, aged nearly eighty. He was one of the prominent Democrats of the town and county. H. H. Merriam was born in Cicero, N. Y., April 25, 1832, and settled on lots 8 and 9 in Granby in 1865. Two of his sons, William and Harvey, were drowned in Lake Neatahwanta on December , 17, 1870. Mr. Merriam has been president of the Oswego Falls Agricultural Society for many years and is one of the leading farmers of the county. Asa Phillips, Erastus Kellogg, and others are noticed in Part III of this volume.
The population of Granby at various periods has been as follows: In 1830, 1,423; 1835, 2,049; 1840, 2,386; 1845, 2,741; 1850, 3,368; 1855, 3,747; 1860, 4,057; 1865, 3,956 ; 1870, 3,972; 1875, 4,166; 1880, 4,514; 1890, 4,138.
In the war of the Rebellion the town contributed nearly 400 of her
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THE TOWN OF GRANBY.
patriotic citizens to the Union army and navy ; many of them were killed or died of wounds, disease, or starvation and a number received merited promotion. Among the latter were Daniel F. Schenck, Francis M. Woodruff, Joseph Stratton, George W. Allen, Samuel B. Alger, William H. Stebbins, William P. Schenck, Lansing Bristol, Alexander King, James H. Lasher, Cheever P. Strong, and Adelbert Warren.
The proximity of this town and especially of the village of Oswego Falls to the village of Fulton on the east side of the river has had a somewhat deteriorating effect upon the establishment of advanced edu- cational institutions within the territory under consideration. Owing largely to this fact there have never been any but the common district schools in Granby. The first school house in town was a log structure built near the main river road in the north part of the corporate limits of Oswego Falls in 1812, the school in which was first taught by Benjamin Robinson. About 1828 a frame school building was erected on the high
Each of these were finally superseded by two- ground west of the falls.
story brick structures. The town now has nineteen school districts with a school house in each, which were taught in 1892-3 by twenty-six teachers and attended by 912 scholars. The school buildings and sites are valued at $15,700; assessed valuation of districts in 1893, $1,632,- 990; public money received from the State, $3,370.75 ; raised by local tax, $4,043 94. The districts are locally designated as follows: No. I, Cody ; 2, Lower Oswego Falls; 3, Merriam; 4, South Granby ; 5, Bowen's; 6, Merritt; 7, Granby Center ; 8, Hinsdale ; 9, Dexterville ; 10, Eight Notes; II, Palmer; 12, West Granby ; 13, Lewis; 14, Gil- bert; 15, Upper Oswego Falls; 16, Hinmanville; 17, Reynolds; 18, Joint ; 19, Pember's, Many of the districts employ the graded system.
Supervisors' statistics of 1894 : Assessed valuation of real estate, $1,559,920, equalized, $1,451,975; personal property, $21,200; railroads, 12.95 miles, $150,000; town tax, $5,472.51 ; county tax, $8,249.78; total tax levy, $16,795.46; ratio of tax on $100, $1.06; dog tax, $100. The town has four election districts and in November, 1894, polled 1,012 votes.
Oswego Falls Village .- Although this was the first place settled in town, it was backward in development, and it was not until about 1830 or 1835 that it actually assumed the appearance of a village. Prior to this, however, a number of small manufacturing establishments had sprung up along the river bank, many of which have already been
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LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY
noticed. The immense water power here was not as accessible as on the opposite side of the river, owing to the high abrupt banks, and mill- ing industries consequently went to Fulton. The building of the Syra . cuse and Oswego (now the D., L. & W) Railroad in 1848 gave the place an impetus and began an era of prosperity.
The real founder of Oswego Falls was Asa Phillips, from whom the village was long known as "Phillipsville." Mr. Phillips was born in Ashford, Conn., January 12, 1794, came in his mother's arms to Mar- cellus, Onondaga county, and succeeded to his father's estate upon the latter's death in 1813. In 1816 he engaged in shipping salt, and in 1824 removed to the site of this village, where he bought a square mile of land. He immediately built several saw mills, a shingle mill, black- smith shop, and dwellings for his men. In 1828 he erected a large hotel, which was destroyed by fire in 1868. In 1830 he placed packet boats on the canal and carried on a large trade for several years. He finally sold his property here; purchased and sold off in building lots a large tract in Fulton village; engaged in banking and speculation in New York, which proved unprofitable, and returned to Fulton in 1844, where he again accumulated a competeney, and where he died in 1865. He built the first frame school house in Oswego Falls and employed a teacher at his own expense, and during his business career here was the principal man of the place. In 1850 the Messrs. Willard were doing a large business in manufacturing bedsteads for the New York market. Among the other establishments then in operation were two or three grist mills, George Salmon's large tannery, and a hotel kept by Asa Phillips.
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