Landmarks of Oswego County, New York, Part 65

Author: Churchill, John Charles, 1821-1905; Smith, H. P. (Henry Perry), 1839-1925; Child, W. Stanley
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 1410


USA > New York > Oswego County > Landmarks of Oswego County, New York > Part 65


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LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY.


died here September 10, 1885. He was a member of Capt. Stephen Brace's company in the War of 1812, one of the original vestry of Christ's Church, Oswego, and served as constable, justice of the peace, and sheriff of the county. His brother, Samuel Farnham, preceded him as a settler, and in 1813 built on Rice Creek at Union Village, the first grist mill in the county of Oswego. It was known as the old red mill, was soon sold to Matthew McNair, and was burned in 1869. Daniel Pease married Miriam, a daughter of Asa Rice, and had four sons and three daughters, of whom Levi, born in 1816, was the oldest. The latter married Mrs. Mary B. Rhoades, a daughter of Sylvanus Bishop. Elihu W. Gifford, from 1813 until his death, conducted the mill erected by Silas Crandall.


After the war ceased settlers came in increasing numbers, and hereafter space permits the mention only of those more prominently identified with the life and growth of the town. In 1816 came Abram M. and Selden P. Clark, from Connecticut, who located on lot 3, which was then worth $10 per acre. John Griffin arrived about the same year and settled on lot 24, where he built the first log house in that vicinity. As early as 1817 the following settlers came in: Cephas Weed and Justin and Jonathan Eastman, on lot 84; Messrs. Godby, Godfrey and Oswell on lot 76; and Rudolph Dutcher, on lot 17. The latter was a millwright and assisted in erecting the first mill in Oswego. In 1818 William J. Forbes located on lot 22. In 1819 Schuyler Wor- den came from Cayuga county and settled on lot 29, the site of the present village of Minetto. A Mr. Collins purchased lot 31, which was drawn by Joshua Foreman, a Revolutionary soldier. After owning it many years he deeded it to his son, Lee Collins. In 1820 the town contained 992 inhabitants.


Other early settlers, the date of whose coming cannot now be ascer- tained, were Joseph Rice on lot 36 ("State's hundred "); Francis Lent on lot 36; a Mr. Foster on lot 26; David D. Gray on lot 21 ; Job and Ebenezer Perkins, Anson Taylor, Jason Peck, Samuel Sanders, James Gillis, Heman Rice and a Mr. Chambers on lot 78, where W. H. John- son afterward became an owner; Erastus Todd on lot 13, now Oswego Center ; and Henry Everts, the pioneer of Scriba.


In 1821 Stephen Tilden arrived from Vermont and settled on lot 9.


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THE TOWN OF OSWEGO.


His lands finally passed into possession of B. P. Dutcher and Vincent Sabin and son. In 1822 Nathan Lewis, who was born October 27, 1797, and had moved with his parents to Madison county in 1805, came to this town where he spent the remainder of his life. About the same year James Stevenson purchased 108 acres of lot 17, and a Mr. Brown settled on lot 14. The latter sold his improvements to Jesse Gray in 1826. In 1824 Silas Green, who was born in Coventry, R. I., and had served in the Revolutionary war, located on the northwest corner of lot (38). His farm for about forty-four years was owned by his son Norman and finally passed into possession of Garrett Loomis. In 1825 John Dunsmore came from Massachusetts and purchased 130 acres of lot 24, which was first owned by the Bleekers, land speculators, of London. He came from Otsego, N. Y., with ox-teams; was seven days on the way ; and sold one yoke of oxen upon his arrival for $55. Among others who became settlers prior to 1830 were:


B. P. Bradway, Le Roy Burt, Madison J. Blodgett, C. W. Bronson, George Blossom, Lyman Coats (one of the projectors of the Oswego County Pioneer Association), War- ren Coats, Seymour Coe, jr., Daniel R. Green, Alfred H. Greenwood, R. F. Harding (for several years superintendent of the Oswego City almshouse), Nathan Lewis, John Ostrander, Lewis Stevens, Philo Stone, Willett R. Worden and James Wiltse.


Samuel Furniss purchased a part of lot 26 in 1832 and John Parkin- son, from England, settled here in 1833. About 1832 Seymour Coe, sr., who had come from Massachusetts to Onondaga county and thence in 1818 to Palermo, located on lot 12 and died in 1877, aged nearly ninety years In 1838 Abel Wilder came from Madison county and purchased of Ansel Frost 437 acres on lots 31 and 32. To 100 acres of this his son Eli succeeded. On Eight-Mile Creek on this farm William Lewis, at a very early date, erected a saw mill, which was rebuilt by Eli Wilder in 1838. Abel Wilder died in 1852, aged sixty-seven. Eli, the eldest of three sons and two daughters, was born December 18, 1816. During this decade-1830-40-the following also became settlers ;


James W. Brown, Eugene M. Blodgett, T. S. Brigham, Richard Carrier, G. J. Cor- nish, John Carpenter, Benjamin P. Dutcher, John S. Furniss, Henry P. Fitch (long a justice of the peace), William Gray, Dr. Ira L. Jones, Capt. James Jenkins (master of a vessel out of Oswego for twenty-three years), C. G. Park, Walter R. Perry, H. M. Potter, John Place, Hamilton L. Stearns and Vincent Sabin.


Among those who came during the years from 1840 to 1850 were


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LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY.


H. A. Cornish, Simeon Lewis, James Martin, Chester M. Randall, Frank Smith and Albert A. Sabin.


In " Historical Collections of the State of New York," published in 1846, two years before Oswego was incorporated as a city, appears the following brief description of this town :


Oswego was taken from Hannibal in 1818. It has a level surface and a soil of sandy loam. Pop. 4,673. Oswego village, post and half-shire town, port of entry and de- livery for Oswego district, is 45 miles W. from Sackett's Harbor, 60 from Kingston, Upper Canada, 60 from the mouth of Genesee River, 140 from the mouth of Niagara River, 150 from Toronto in a straight line, and 38 from Syracuse on the Erie Canal.


The water power afforded by the canal and river is very extensive, and upon them are many large manufacturing establishments.


In October, 1848, the Oswego and Syracuse Railroad (now the Del- aware, Lackawana and Western Railroad), was completed and opened through the town, with a station at Minetto and the terminus at Os- wego, and thus afforded a new avenue of transportation and travel. This was followed about twenty-five years later by the Lake Ontario Shore (now the R.W. & O.) Railroad southwestward from Oswego, to aid in the construction of which the town was bonded for $30,000, of which $3,000 remained unpaid January 1, 1895. J. A. Perkins is railroad commissioner. There are two stations, Wheeler's and Furniss, in the town of Oswego.


Prominent among other residents of the town may be mentioned the the names of William Adams, Lewis A. Cole, Silas Cushman, James A. Griffin, Stanton S. Gillett, D. D. and E. B. Colby, William Howell, Le Roy Pease, E. C. Pasco, Schuyler L. Parsons, Waterman T. Parsons, Horace W. Todd, N. K. Hammond and others noticed further on and in Parts II and III of this volume.


As instances of longevity it is interesting to add the names of three centenarians whose death occurred in this town, viz., Abram Emelow, died in May, 1877, aged 102 years; Mrs. W. Clark. May 13, 1880, aged I 13 years, 9 months and 23 days ; and Nathaniel Laird, April 16, 1894, aged about 109.


The population of the town at the periods indicated has been as follows : In 1830, 2,703; 1835, 4,902; 1840, 4,673; 1845, 6,048; 1850,1 2,445; 1855, 2,760; 1860, 3,181; 1865, 2,913 ; 1870, 3,043 ; 1875, 2,977; 1880, 3,022; 1890, 2,772.


1 The figures given prior to 1850 include the inhabitants in Oswego village on the west side of the river; those for 1850 and afterward indicate the population of the town outside the corporate limits of the city.


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THE TOWN OF OSWEGO.


From the fall of Sumter in 1861 to the end of the Rebellion in 1865, the town of Oswego responded promptly to the calls for troops, send- ing in all nearly 275 of her citizens. A number fell in battle ; a few died in Southern prisons ; some succumbed to wounds and the ravages of disease ; and the remainder returned home to receive the welcome and applause of a grateful people. Among those who attained merited promotion were Capt. E. F. Barstow, Lieut. Smith McCoy, Lieut. Charles A. Phillips, Capt. Volney T. Pierce, Capt. James V. Pierce, Col. William C. Raulston (8Ist Regt., prisoner, killed), Col. John Raulston, Capt. George F. Raulston, Capt. John Stevenson and Sergt. Richard A. Shoemaker.


The first school in town was kept in a log cabin just south of the four corners at Union Village in 1813; the teacher was Susan Newell. The first regular school house was a frame structure, which was erected in 1816 on the site of the present cobblestone school building at Union Village. The town now contains fifteen school districts with a school house in each, schools in which were taught in 1892-3 by seventeen teachers and attended by 563 pupils. The school buildings and sites are valued at $11,200 ; assessed valuation of the districts, $890,563 ; money received from the State, $2,093.95 ; raised by local tax, $2,301.82. The districts are locally designated as follows; No. I, California ; 2, Fruit Valley ; 3, Minetto ; 4, Number Nine; 5, Worden ; 6, Fair Ground ; 7. Stephens; 8, Tallman ; 9, Burt; 10, Oswego Center ; II, Thompson ; 12. Southwest Oswego; 13, Ball ; 14, Hall; 15, Bunker Hill.


Supervisors' statistics of 1894 : Assessed valuation of real estate, $892,882, equal- ized, $1,098,329 ; personal property, $25,950; value of railroads, $14.14 miles, $129,054 ; total valuation of town, $1, 124,279 ; town tax, $2,539.51; county tax, $6,295.96; total tax levy, $11,180.81 ; dog tax, $84; ratio of tax on $100, $1.22. The town has two election districts, in which 573 votes were cast in November, 1894.


Minetto is a post village on the Oswego River and a station on the D., L. & W. Railroad about four miles above Oswego city. It is pleas- antly situated in the midst of picturesque scenery, and has acquired some prominence as a local summer resort. It occupies lot 29 The first tavern was opened in the place as early as 1820 by Mrs. Betsey Pease, and among the early settlers on the site were Messrs. Pease, Forbes, and Everts. About 1832 Samuel Taggart built a grist mill


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LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY.


here, which was long since discontinued. Among the old-time mer- chants were Henry Fitchard and A. Oot. At one time a large saw mill was operated here. It stood on the site of the shade cloth factory and had a capacity of 20,000 feet of lumber every twenty-four hours. The postmaster is John R. Chase, who succeeded Dr. Ira L. Jones in April, 1894. The chief industry of the village now is that of the Minetto Shade Cloth Company, which was started in the fall of 1879 by the present proprietors, A. S. Page, C. B. Benson, and Charles Tremain. From 250 to 350 operatives are employed, and window shades and shade rollers are manufactured. The village contains two hotels and about 300 inhabitants.


Fruit Valley, formerly and still locally known as Union Village, a name given it by Asa Rice, the first settler of the town, is a postal hamlet on lot 2, near the lake shore, and was the scene of many of the first happenings in Oswego, as already narrated. A small tannery was built and operated there by a Mr. Nelson at a very early day, and about 1825 Willet R. Willis erected a cloth-dressing establishment on the same lot. The first merchant was a Mrs. Neland, from Massachusetts, and the first tavern was opened in a log house by Lemuel Austin about 1810. He was succeeded by William Lewis, and the latter about 1813 by Jacob Raynor. The first carpenter was Chester Brace, and the first blacksmith was Arthur Brace. The first physician was Dr. Coe, and the first mail carrier was Mills Brace, the post-office at that time and for many years afterward bearing the name of Union Village. B B. Brad- way was a long time merchant and also had a cider mill. The present postmaster is E. Newell, who succeeded Louisa E. Bradway.


South West Oswego is a postal village in the southwestern part of the town. The first house, a log structure, was built there in 1820; the first blacksmith shop was opened by Stephen Cobb about 1833; and the first store was kept by Asa Watson about 1844. The present postmaster is Charles M. Barstow. The place contains two churches, the usual complement of stores and shops, and about 300 inhabitants.


Oswego Center is a postal hamlet situated north of the R., W. & O. Railroad near the center of the town. It is located on lot 13 and for many years was familiarly known as Fitch's Corners. The present merchant and postmaster is Charles A. Fish, who has held the office


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THE TOWN OF OSWEGO.


several years. A former postmaster and merchant was William C. Marsh. Frank Smith formerly had a tavern there. About half a mile northwest of the place is the cider refinery of James A. Griffin, who started it as a cider mill in 1862.


Burt's Point, owned by George N. Burt, of Oswego, is an attractive summer resort on the lake shore about three miles west of Oswego city, with which it is connected by an electric street railroad. The hotel there was burned August 10, 1894, and is being rebuilt. The place contains a number of summer cottages.


Churches .- From 1811 to 1813 two sermons were preached at Union Village, one by Rev. Roswell Beckwith, a Baptist and an uncle of Mrs. Jesse Gray, and one by a Methodist itinerant named Gillett. Subse- quently classes were formed and occasional services held in convenient places, but during the earlier years the inhabitants worshiped in Oswego village and city and in Fulton


The Methodist Episcopal church of Minetto was organized as the First Society of the M. E. church of the town of Oswego at the Dennis school house on November 15, 1848, with Daniel Scott, Abraham Fort, Mynard Grooesbeck, Le Roy Burt, and Robert Fulford as trustees. Rev. M. H. Gaylord and Samuel L. Lent presided, and among the con- stituent members were:


Mynard and Phoebe Grooesbeck, George and Betsey Burch, Samuel and Catherine Lent, Perry and Myra Chase, John and Eleanor Myers, Robert and Sarah Fulford, Caroline Armstrong, Miss Everts, Sally Dennis, Caroline Brown, Dibby Rheubottom, and Harry Miller and wife.


Mr. Miller was the first class-leader in this vicinity. In 1849 a church edifice was erected at a cost of $700, and dedicated in the fall of that year by Rev. Hiram Mattison. In 1892 this building was re- placed by the present neat frame structure, which cost about $3,000 and was dedicated early in 1893, being built during the pastorate of Rev. Mr. Culligan. The society also owns a frame parsonage, which was purchased in the fall of 1894 for $1,500. There are about ninety members under the pastoral charge of Rev. Jesse F. Rathbun. The first superintendent of the Sunday school was Jonathan Buel; the pres- ent incumbent is Frank Parkhurst. The entire church property is valued at $8,000.


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LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY.


The Baptist church of South West Oswego was formed in 1839, among the earlier members being C. G. Park, William Curtis, Stephen Cagg, Mrs. C. Dunsmore, Mrs. Newell, and a Mr. Merwin. The first stationed pastor was Rev. Edward Lawton, and the early services were held in a wooden building fitted up for the purpose. In 1854 a frame church edifice was built, and two years later the first Sunday school was organized with John B. McLean as superintendent, who was suc- ceeded by John D. Andrews. Among the early pastors were Revs. H. Powers, Isaac Butterfield, Morley, Parkhurst, William C. Corbin, and W. C. Johnson. The present pastor is Rev. A. H. Sutphin. Miss Mattie Pasko is superintendent of the Sunday school, which has about 100 officers and scholars. The society has some eighty-five members and property valued at $4,000.


The First Methodist Episcopal church of South West Oswego was organized from the Oswego Center circuit on December 9, 1872, with the following trustees: Vincent Sabin, James Wiltse, John A. Taylor, E. A. Carnrite, Benjamin P. Dutcher, O. Barstow, and William E. Stevens. The Oswego Center circuit was set off in 1859 and meetings were held at Oswego Center and Minetto. Among the early ministers in charge were Revs. R. L. Frazier, George Plank, A. Shaw, D. Furge- son, A. J. Cotrell, F. A. O'Farrell, George C. Wood, Charles E. Beebe, W. F. Purrington, and others. A brick church was erected in 1873 under the supervision of P. M. Schoonmaker, and cost complete $3,600. It was dedicated February 4, 1874, by Rev. B. F. Barker, P. E. In the latter year a Sunday school was organized with O. Barstow as superintendent. In 1892 a frame church was built at Oswego Center at a cost of about $2,300, including lot and furnishings, and dedicated in December of that year. The society also owns a frame parson- age. There is also an M. E. church, a frame structure, located at what is known as Town Line. All three are in the Oswego Center charge, un- der the pastoral care of Rev. George F. Shepherd, and have a com- bined membership of about 140 and property valued at $10,000.


Services of the Methodist Protestant denomination are held at the Thompson school house, the pastor being Rev. Charles Hessler.


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THE TOWN OF PALERMO.


CHAPTER XXIX.


THE TOWN OF PALERMO.


Palermo 1 was formed from Volney on the 4th of April, 1832, and comprises an area of 24,582 acres, of which 1,004 are owned by non- residents. It constitutes survey township 14, originally called Brugen, and a small part of township 15, called Mentz, of Scriba's patent. These towns were surveyed by Elijah Blake and Ebenezer Wright in 1796. The territory was finally parcelled out in small tracts, some of which, in township 14, took the names of their owners, as follows : Fish's tract, in the southeast corner of the town; Nelson tract, in the south part; Henderson tract, near the center ; and Curtenius tract, in the northeast corner. Topographically it is nearly square and lies in the interior of the county a little southwest from the center. The sur- face is undulating and often quite hilly. Drainage is afforded by Fish, Catfish, Scott's and other creeks. In the eastern part of the town is what is locally known as "Big Swamp," which lies fifty- seven feet above Oneida Lake, and around which a rich alluvial deposit exists. Considerable land bordering this swamp has been reclaimed, but no systematic effort has been made to effectually drain it.


The soil is generally a sandy Joam and only moderately fertile. In some parts, however, abundant crops of grain, hay, corn, and fruit, are grown. A heavy growth of timber originally covered the entire surface, and for many years furnished constant employment to numerous wood- working establishments. As late as 1860 there were eight saw mills, three shingle and stave factories, and two tanneries in active operation. At the present time there are nine saw mills and kindred concerns in the town. Most of the forests have disappeared and instead appear well-cultivated fields and comfortable homes. Agriculture is the chief


+


" Why and how the name Palermo was given this town is not definitely known. Its namesake is the capital of the province of Palermo, Sicily, and a seaport situated_on the Bay of Palermo in the Mediterranean Sea ; the ancient Panormus.


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LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY.


industry while lumbering constitutes the principal manufacturing in- terest.


Contemporaneous with the settlement of the town was the surveying and opening of passable roads, and one of the earliest highways was the road leading from Fulton, through Jenning's Corners (Palermo Center), to Mexico. The Oswego and Hastings Center plank road passed through a portion of this town and for a time was a busy thoroughfare. The opening of the Oswego Canal in 1828 and the completion, later, of the railway lines through Fulton, Hastings, and Mexico, aided in the development of the town. The railroad most convenient to the larger portion of the town is the New York, Ontario, and Western (Midland) Railroad, which passes through the north part of Schroeppel, and which was opened in October, 1869.


The first town meeting was held at the home of Alva Jennings March 4, 1833, eleven months after the town was formed, and the first officers elected were as follows :


William F. Shepard, supervisor ; A. E. Noble, town clerk ; Lovwell Johnson, Ethan Bur- dick, and Ansel Goodwin, assessors; William K. Burt and Azariah Parmelee, overseers of the poor; Phineas Converse, Alva Jennings, and Alexander McQueen, highway commissioners; Ansel Goodwin, Barzil Candee, and Leman Austin, commissioners of common schools; Leman Austin, Asahel Dolbear, and Alanson Graves, inspectors of common schools ; Lovwell Johnson, Matthew V. D. Backus, Harlow Merrill. and Peter Tooley, justices of the peace ; Thomas Burdick, collector; Thomas Burdick, Asahel Dolbear, Alvin Cass, and Theodore Humphrey, constables. The following pathmasters were also chosen : District No. 1, Jeremiah Hull; No. 2, David Gardner ; No. 3, N. C. Munger; No. 4, Henry Chapin ; No. 5, Lewis Babbitt; No. 6, David Thurston; No. 7, William Beels; No. 8. Ethan Burdick; No. 9, Alvin Lord; No. 10, Henry Cole; No. 11, John Sails; No. 12, Chauncey Jerome; No. 13, Daniel Eastwood ; No. 14, Ebene- zer Pierce; No. 15, Obed Gulis; No. 16, John Pettis; No. 17, Joseph Ure ; No. 18, John Hanson ; No. 19, Amon Wood; No. 20, Alvin Cass; No. 21, Gamaliel Olmstead ; No. 22, Levi Phillips; No. 23, Alpheus C. Wheeler; No. 24, --; No. 25, Lester Goodrich ; No. 26, G. Goodwin; No. 27, Benjamin Dennis; No. 28, Oliver Chaffee ; No. 29, Thomas I. Cattington.


The supervisors have been :


William F. Shepard, 1833; Jeremiah Hull, 1834; Lovwell Johnson, 1835 ; Elijah Dickinson, 1836-38; John Bostwick, 1839; George Blossom, 1840-43 ; Elijah Dickin- son, 1844-45; David Jennings, 1846-47; Abner Chaffee, 1848-49; David Jennings, 1850-51; Abner Chaffee, 1852-53; Leman Austin, 1854; David Jennings, 1855; Abner Chaffee, 1856; David Jennings, 1857; Sherman L. Decker, 1858-59 ; George


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THE TOWN OF PALERMO.


Tinker, 1860-61; Joseph Harding, 1862-63; Guy P. Loomis, 1864; Abner Chaffee, 1865; Jay L. Johnson, 1866-69; David L. Brown, 1870-71; Samuel R. Smith, 1872-73; Henry F. Parsons, 1874 ; George M. Hanchett, 1875 ; Samuel R. Smith, 1876; David H. Trimble, 1877-78; Samuel R. Smith, 1879-81; Henry F. Parsons, 1882; David H. Trimble, 1883-88 ; Henry F. Parsons, 1889-90; D. W. Hart, 1891; Henry F. Parsons, 1892-93; Minott F. Tooley, 1894-95.


The town officers for 1895 were :


Minott F. Tooley, supervisor ; G. D. Trimble, town clerk; Amos Wood, George W. Dennis, Ellis O. Parsons, and Herbert Gulliver, justices of the peace; John Bradford, Frank Parsons, and John Knowlton, assessors; D. W. Hart, highway commissioner ; A. B. Flint, collector ; D. H. Trimble, overseer of the poor.


In 1800 Phineas Chapin and Lemuel Shepard (father of Norman Shepard) came from Sauquoit, Oneida county, to Three River Point with a team and thence on foot to what was afterward Chapin's Mill, where each purchased a farm lot. It was not until 1807 or 1808, how- ever, that they began to clear their land. In the latter year a son of Mr. Chapin was accidentally killed, which was the first death in town.


The first permanent settler in the present town of Palermo was David Jennings, who removed from Paris, Oneida county, in the spring of 1806, and located in township 14, on what was long known as the old Shepard farm. Later he moved to the place now occupied by Timothy Dolbear and in 1852 to the farm owned by his son, E. L. Jennings, where he died July 1, 1869. He was born March 2, 1791, married Lois Hartson, March 26, 1809, and had ten children, of whom only one (E. L.), survives. He was a Whig in politics and held several town offices, supervisor, justice of the peace, etc. During the first years of his pioneer life Mr. Jennings returned to Oneida county to spend the winters, but in June, 1810, he brought his young wife hither and they began housekeeping. At that time two or three other families had be- come residents. He cleared the first land and built the first log house in the town, and a number of his descendants are now living in that vicinity. Eliphalet Jennings (who uses the initials E. L. as there are others here who bear the initial E.) was born in this town Oct- ober 5, 1822, has been married three times, and has one daughter, Ida C. (Mrs. Arthur Loomis). The family have always been prominent in the community and have the respect of all who know them. The first marriage in Palermo was that of Joseph Jennings and Sally Chapin.


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LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY.


In 1809 Simeon Crandall and Sylvanus Hopkins settled in Palermo and about this time or soon afterward Enoch Hyde, Zadock Hopkins, Alvin Walker, sr., and perhaps a few others became permanent resi- dents. Phineas Chapin erected on Kilby Creek, in 1812, the first saw mill in town; it was long known as the Chapin mill and was subse- quently owned by Martin Chaffee. Lemuel Shepard with his son, Albert Shepard, built the first frame house in the fall of 1812. It was torn down in May, 1880, by John Albee, a native of the town. Enoch Hyde erected another frame house near Jennings's Corners (Palermo Center), about the same time. Zadock Hopkins was killed in 1811 while digging a well, his being the second death in the town. The first birth was that of Alvin Walker, jr., in September, 181I. Stephen Blake sr., arrived in 1812 and purchased about 100 acres of land where the village of Palermo Center now stands, and in 1816 built the first tavern in Palermo. It was a log structure and stood in the center of the road just south of the village. In 1816 he sold a little more than half an acre of land for a burial place; this has since been enlarged and is still used as a cemetery, being the oldest one in town. Mr. Blake was the second town clerk and held that office about eight years. .




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