USA > New York > Oswego County > Landmarks of Oswego County, New York > Part 66
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Among the few who came in during the war of 1812 was Elder Asaph Graves, the father of Alanson and Cyrus Graves, and a Ver- monter by birth, who arrived in 1813 and located about a mile east of Palermo Center on what is familiarly known as the old Lewis Johnson farm. He was an ordained preacher of the Baptist church and the first settled minister in town. John Trim took up a farm just east of Palermo Center in 1814 and died near there at the age of eighty-three. When he was sixteen his father, mother, two sisters, and a brother were massacred by the Indians near Schenectady, and himself and a younger brother were taken captives. The latter, being unable to en- dure the hardships of a long march, was shot. John was taken to Canada and after two years escaped. During his life he killed eight Indians and one squaw. In 1816 Barzil Candee came into the town and in 1837 re- moved to the farm in Schroeppel subsequently occupied by his son, C. W. Other settlers prior to 1820 were Lester W. Babcock and D. B. Coe.
In 1820 Josiah Chaffee and Capt. Ephraim McQueen settled in town.
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THE TOWN OF PALERMO.
The former was from Connecticut, was the father of Dea. Josiah Chaffee, of Schroeppel, and settled near the Volney line, while the latter settled near Flint's Corners on the farm now occupied by his sons. Ezra Ure was born in Palermo in 1823 and was a life-long resi- dent of the town. In 1870 he purchased the store and grist mill at Vermilion, and died March 5, 1890. Among other comers during the decade of 1820-30 were Ashley K. Ball, A. G. Clark, Harry Clark, O. P. Jennings, John Jackson, Sheldon Remington, Leander Scudder, jr., Samuel R. Smith (long supervisor and a merchant at East Palermo), Gamaliel Perkins, and Peter Tooley and his sons George M. and James A. The families of Perkins and Tooley came in 1828. Mr. Perkins died at Mexico Point in 1884. Peter Tooley located on lot 52. He came from Oneida county and served his town as justice of the peace.
Isaac N. Lansing, born in Hoosac, N. Y., in 1796, came from Madison county to Palermo in November, 1830, and settled on the farm now occupied by his son, J Fitch Lansing. His children were Joseph Fitch, born in 1831 ; William S., born in 1840; Sarah E. (Mrs. Ben- jamin G. Eaton) ; and Eunice L. and Erastus W. His wife's father, Frederick Wilcox, came from Connecticut the same year and settled on the farm now owned by J. Fitch Lansing. Other settlers of 1830 were Elder Hills (near Palermo Center, where his son John now resides), Leman Austin (from Oneida county, the father of Mrs. Sarah Wright), and Harvey Whitmore (where George Babcock now lives). In 1832 D. C. Burritt and George W. Hicks became residents of the town, the latter on lot 72. In 1834 George Tinker arrived from Marshall, Oneida county, and settled on the farm (lot 63) now occupied by Willis A. Jennings. In 1836 Robert Flint and his father came to Palermo and opened a blacksmith shop at Flint's Corners. Robert was born in Otsego county July 18, 1818, was class leader of the M. E. church thirty-one years, and died April 14, 1880. Harvey Whitmore was town clerk several years and George Tinker served as justice of the peace. John Hills held both offices some time. Other settlers prior to 1840 were :
A. W. Allen, W. M. Bartlett, A. K. Beckwith, L. G. Burrows, Nelson Cross, Orson and H. Davis, Asahel and Timothy Dolbear, Elijah Dickinson, David Gardner, Ezra Green, Reuben T. Hanchett, W. H. Hannan, Lovwell Johnson, Andrew Keller, A. E.
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LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY
Noble, Alvin Osborn, E. O. Parsons, J. H. Snyder, David H. Trimble (born here) and William F. Shepard.
A. E. Noble was the first town clerk, Alvin Osborn held the same office and was also a justice of the peace, A. K. Beckwith served as town clerk, and Elijah Dickinson, Reuben T. Hanchett, and Ezra Green were justices of the peace. Lovwell Johnson, who is noticed in the Bench and Bar chapter in this volume, was one of the first justices and was also the first postmaster in town, holding the latter office until 1839, when he moved to Fulton, where he died in 1859.
Among the settlers between 1840 and 1850 were W. N. Collins, F. C. Church, Alexander Flint, Charles Gero, G. M. Hanchett, and Israel Rigley. Other prominent settlers were :
E. B. Bartlett, a well known meteorologist ; David L. Brown, born near Utica, N.Y., in 1827, came to Volney in 1855, and located near Palermo in 1859; and James Atkin- son, N. B. and William B. Ellsworth, J. H. Knowlton, J. W. K. Loomis, Uriah John- son (who died in March, 1895), Almon Mason (born in Fairfield, N. J., May 11, 1795, served in the war of 1812 and settled in Richland in 1825, in Granby in 1828, and in Palermo in 1851), James Pitcher, Conrad Snyder, Nathan J. Wilcox, Edwin Easton, Alanson B. Ingersoll, Hezekiah Lee, Phineas Converse, Charles Conklin, Martin B. Campbell, Joseph Harding, William B. Forsyth, Ansel Goodwin, Lorenzo W. Robinson, Julius Hall, C. B. Ashley, Henry Goodwin, Horace Decker, Jonah H. Snyder, and others mentioned further on and in Part III of this volume.
The growth of the town is best shown by its population at various periods, as fol- lows: In 1835, 1,655; 1840, 1,928; 1845, 1,906; 1850, 2,053; 1855, 2,023; 1860, 2,088; 1865, 2,219; 1870, 2,052; 1875, 2,044 ; 1880, 1,996; 1890, 1,607.
During the civil war from 1861 to 1865 the town sent 149 of her sons to the defense of the country. Among them the following re- ceived deserved promotion :
Charles E. Beers, Amasa Hall, Seymour Smith, Judson B. Wyant, Bradley S. Joice, William A. Smith, Eli Cobb, Eli D. Babcock, Edgar F. Morris, Harvey O. Flint, Alvin B. Flint, Ransom G. Ball, Willard Ure, Albert Ure, Walford Sweetland, James Sweet- ley, Charles Brownell, Harvey Powers, Eugene Cole, Jonathan D. Hungerford, Cor- nelius L. Woolsey, Jarvis Dryer, William P. Derry, Joseph Dolbear, Martin Bates, Pelson D. Bates, Lafayette 'Hanchett, Gilbert B. Mace, William Edmonds, and Levi L. Gillman.
The first school house in town was built about 1820 at what is now Palermo Center. It was a small log structure and answered the pur- pose for several years. The first school, however, had been taught in 1812, in a private house by Harriet Easton. The town now has thirteen
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THE TOWN OF PALERMO.
school districts with a school house in each, the schools in which in 1892-3 employed thirteen teachers and were attended by 333 children. The school buildings and sites are valued at $5,700 and the assessed valua- tion of the districts is $461,355 ; public money received from the State, $1,542.45 ; raised by local tax, $982 74. The various districts are locally designated as follows: No, I, Palermo Center ; 2, Moss Cor- ners ; 3, Grout; 4, Hanchett; 5, Upson's Corners ; 6, Paradise ; 7, Peat's Corners ; 8, Thomas' Corners ; 9, Munger ; 10, Beals; II, Clif- ford; 12, Island ; 13, Sayles Corners.
Supervisors' statistics of 1894 : Assessed valuation of real estate, $478,700, equalized $529,315; personal property, $12,820; town tax, $2,199.65; county tax, $3,035.96; total tax levy, $6,366.56; dog tax, $66; ratio of tax on $100, $1.30. The town has two election districts and in November, 1894, polled 400 votes.
The town now has two cheese factories, one at Peat's Corners and another at Palermo Center, and also the following mills: A saw mill at Vermilion, formerly owned by Aaron Gardner, now run by Frank Mack; a saw mill at Palermo Center operated by John Trimble; a stave, heading, and saw mill one and one-half miles west of Clifford, formerly owned by John Keller, now operated by his son, William Keller ; a saw mill a mile and a half south of Palermo Center, formerly the old Chaffee mill, now run by J. E. Stewart ; the heading mill and cheese box factory of J. D. Trimble; two saw mills belonging to Jonathan Seymour; the old Jennings saw mill one mile north of Flint's Corners owned by Mr. Russ ; the saw and stave mill of Sanford ยท Willis, formerly owned by N. B. Ellsworth ; and the grist mill formerly operated by Ezra Ure, now run by Howard Cusack. The first cheese factory in the town was built at Vermilion in 1864.
Palermo, familiarly known as Palermo Center and in earlier days as Jennings Corners, is a post village situated a little west of the center of the town. The first settler was Stephen Blake, sr., in 1812, who built the first log house in the town in 1813, and in it opened the first tavern in the town in 1816. The first frame dwelling in the village was erected by Enoch Hyde, and the first store was built and opened by Bush & Babbott in 1817. The latter stood on the site of the present Palermo Center Hotel. This firm finally failed and the store remained vacant for a time. It was reopened by William T.
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LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY.
Shepard, who continued business until about 1830, when he sold out to Amasa Botchford, who eventually failed. The building was converted into a dwelling house, afterward turned into a tavern, and in February, 1862, was burned. Mr. Blake's inn was the only public house in the vicinity until about 1825, when David and Alvin Jennings erected a frame tavern, which is now a part of the dwelling and store of Frank H. Jennings, a son of Willis A. and grandson of Alva Jennings. David Jennings was an early merchant where D. H. Trimble's store now is. About 1857 he was succeeded by Freeman Waugh, who sold out in 1870 to H. H. Ross & Co. In 1871 David H. Trimble purchased the store and has continued in business ever since. Frank H. Jennings started a grocery in 1892. Among other early settlers in the place were Turner and O. P. Jennings, Alvin Walker, Alvin Osborn, Dr. A. E. Noble, Truxton Seeley, William N. Burt, Humphrey Dolbear, and Sylvanus Hopkins. Among the postmasters have been O P. Jennings, Freeman Waugh, H. H. Ross, David H. Trimble, Frank H. Jennings, D. H. Trimble, again, and Frank H. Jennings, again, incumbent since October, 1893. The village contains about 150 inhabitants.
Vermilion is a postal hamlet on Catfish Creek in the north part of the town. Settlement was commenced as early as 1816, and among the pioneers were Elijah Dickenson, Ebenezer Wallace, Samuel Perkins, John Scott, Rev. Asel Harrington, Benjamin Spencer, James Walworth, Moses Gaines, Candlipp Pitcher, and John Sayles, sr. A grist mill was built here at an early day, of which Ezra Ure became proprietor in 1870; it is now conducted by Howard Cusack. Ingersoll & Hill also had a pump factory, and for a time a tannery was in active operation. The postmaster is W. H. Belchamber, who succeeded Franklin J. Mack. Dr. Forsythe held the office at one time. The place has about 150 in- habitants.
Clifford is a post- office one mile north of Palermo. It was established about 1882 with Allen Merriam, postmaster. His successors have been Charles Davis, Frank Young, and C. E. Trask, incumbent. Frank Young is the present merchant. The place was formerly known as Denton's Corners, from Robert Denton, a hatter, who settled on the northwest corner of the cross-roads about 1823 and there followed his trade. The first settler was a Mr. Spencer in 1816.
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THE TOWN OF PALERMO.
East Palermo is a postal hamlet one mile north of Peat's Corners. It is more familiarly known as Flint's Corners, and among the first settlers were Jacob Flint and William and Timothy Phelps, who came there as early as 1830. Samuel R. Smith was the postmaster and a merchant here for many years; the present merchant and postmaster is Henry Bourlier.
Peat's Corners is a small hamlet in the eastern part of the town one mile south of East Palermo. It was first settled by Peter Howe and Jesse Holbrook in 1813. Among others who came to the vicinity prior to 1820 were Charles Peat, Leander Scudder, sr., Elijah Munger, Alpheus Wheeler, Elon Thomas, Nathan Miller, Daniel and Nathaniel Rowls, and Stephen Clark. The present merchant is Mr. Johnson.
Sayles Corners is a small settlement situated about one mile north of Denton's Corners.
Catfish is a post-office on the creek of the same name, and N. W. Wright is the postmaster.
Churches .- The first Sunday school in town was organized by Sey- mour Coe, superintendent, at his log house in 1816. The first minister of the gospel was Rev. Asaph Graves, a Baptist and a Vermonter, pre- viously mentioned.
The First Baptist church of Palermo was organized with Rev. Enoch Ferris as pastor in 1817, and with the following constituent members : Asaph Graves, Phineas Chapin, Rachel Chapin, Henry Chapin, Harriet Chapin, Hannah Williams, Jonathan Munger, and Rachel Munger. Meetings were held in private dwellings and in the school house near Palermo Center, and the early ministers were Revs. John Evans, George Hills, and Asaph Graves. In 1835 the society was legally incorporated, and in 1836 their frame edifice at Palermo Center was completed. The first deacon was Rev. Asaph Graves. The society has become extinct and the building is now used by all denominations.
As early as 1819 a branch of the First Congregational Church of Volney was established at Jennings Corners (Palermo Center), and August 3, 1823, Seymour Coe and Stephen Blake were chosen ruling elders. The first members were Stephen and Charity Blake, Miles and Triphosa Dunbar, Seymour and Phoebe Coe, Zenas and Lydia Dunbar, Silas Bellows, Hannah Gaines, Obadiah Albee, Mary Coe, Laura Blake, 83
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LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY.
and Hannah Jennings. Oliver Leavitt was the first pastor and Seymour Coe and Miles Blake were the first ruling elders. Upon the organiza- tion of the Congregational Union church at Denton's Corners this church voted to disband and unite with that society. Among the early pastors at the latter place, where a frame church edifice was built in 1838, were Revs. A. C. Lord, Norris Day, David Davis, George Blos- som, Olney Place, and others. The church building has been closed several years and is now used as a storehouse.
The Methodist Episcopal church of Vermilion was organized about 1840, and among the first members were Rev. Asel Harrington, Benja- min Spencer, D. C. Coe, Burt and James Harrington, Ezekiel Lewis, and Martin Campbell. A house of worship was erected a few years later. The church is supplied by Rev. S. D. Robinson.
The Methodist Episcopal church of Denton's Corners was formed as a class at a very early day. A site for a church edifice was purchased in 1858 and the society was incorporated as the Anti-Slavery M. E. church in 1860. The first trustees were Freeman Waugh, Alexander Flint, and David L. Brown, and among the early members were David Andrews and wife, Alexander Flint and wife, Harry Lansing and wife, Charles Conkling and wife, Father Morris and wife, David L. Brown and wife, E. L. Wallace and wife, Stephen Melvin and wife, and Henry Cole and wife. The edifice was built and dedicated in 1860, and is still in use.
The Methodist Episcopal church of Peat's Corners was organized in 1861 with Gilson Goodwin, Job Bradford, A. Scudder, S. D. Coon, and F. Richardson as trustees, and the same year a house of worship was erected. Among the early members were Nathan Miller and wife, Rev. Elijah Munger and wife, Joseph Ure and wife, L. Scudder, sr., and wife, Andrew Parsons, L. Goodwin and wife, Elon Thomas and wife, and Peter Howe and wife.
The Roosevelt M. E. church was built in the southeast part of the town in 1864, at which time Lyman Treadwell, A. G. Clark, and R. T. Harris were trustees of the society, which was organized about the same year. Among the first members were A. G. Clark and wife, L. D. Harris and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Sherman, Chauncey Hamilton and wife, Rufus Harris, and others.
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THE TOWN OF PARISH.
The Methodist Protestant church of Upson's Corners was erected in 1 880. It is a frame structure and was dedicated May 18 of that year, under the pastorate of Rev. G. P. York.
CHAPTER XXX.
THE TOWN OF PARISH.
Parish, so named by legislative enactment in honor of David Parish, is an inland town lying immediately east or southeast of the center of Oswego county. It was set off from Mexico on the 20th of March, 1828, and comprises an area of 25,321 acres. It is survey township number 23 of Scriba's patent and was called Strasburg by that proprie- tor from the capital of Alsace-Lorraine. George Scriba sold the survey township to David Parish, who disposed of it in parcels. The Stocton tract, lying in the north and northwest parts of the town, and the Bloomfield tract, occupying the northeast part, were divided into large lots, while the southern half of the town was surveyed into small lots. A tract known as the " Reservation " lies just north of Parish village.
The town of Parish, on an average, lies about 260 feet above Lake Ontario, and was originally covered with a thick growth of heavy tim- ber, consisting mainly of beech, birch, hemlock, and sugar inaple. A few swamps of pine and cedar exist, and in the eastern part is St. Mary's Lake, which contains about 40 acres. Ample drainage is afforded by several small streams, the largest of which is the north branch of Sal- mon Creek. The surface is undulating, broken considerably by ravines, and in places rough and stony.
Down to 1860 less than half the town was under cultivation, At that time there were twelve saw mills, four shingle mills, and other wood man- ufacturing establishments in operation, lumbering being the principal industry. A decade or so afterward agriculture had superseded other interests, and since then farming has been the chief occupation of the inhabitants. About 1865 dairying began to receive attention, and so steadily has it developed that it now holds the leading place in the busi-
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LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY.
ness of the town. At present there are two cheese factories in the town, both being operated by incorporated companies. Apples and pears are raised to a limited extent, and potatoes are grown and shipped in large quantities. Many other products, notably grain and hay are profitably cultivated.
In early days, when lumbering was at its height, the manufacture of barrels for the Syracuse salt and Oswego flour trades was extensively carried on and brought considerable revenue to the town.
The first thoroughfare in Parish was the Rotterdam road leading from what is now Constantia village to Vera Cruz (Mexico Point). This was laid out and opened by George Scriba in 1794. About 1803 a road was surveyed through the town from the last named point to Camden. In 1828 twenty- three road districts were formed and an overseer was chosen for each. Many of the roads had been previously surveyed, and a number were laid out afterward. In 1840 the town had fifty road districts. In March, 1850, at a special meeting, the citi- zens resolved to aid in constructing a plank road through Parish from' Constantia to Sand Bank. In 1870-71 the Syracuse Northern (now the R., W. & O.) Railroad was built and opened, the first train being run over it November 14, 1871. To aid this work the town was bonded for $35,000, the most of which remains unpaid. The town now has fifty-nine road districts. Daily stages run from Parish via Colosse to Mexico and from Parish to Amboy.
The first town meeting was held in the " Parishville school house," near the residence of Simeon Adams, on the first Tuesday in May, 1828, and the following officers were chosen :
Paul Allen, supervisor ; John Becker, town clerk; Thomas Nutting, Stutely Palmer, and Marks Edick, assessors; Isam Simons, collector ; Benajah Whitney, Jacob J. Miller, and Denison B. Palmer, highway commissioners; William Wightman and Will- iam D. Wightman, poormasters; Erastus Tyler, Samuel Barber and Richard Cleveland, commissioners of common schools; Isaac B. Mead, Denison B. Palmer and Charles Gardner, inspectors of common schools; Peter Edick, George Earles, Squire Palmer, and Chauncey Whitney, constables; Joseph Maybee, Jacob J. Mead and Benajah Whitney, poundmasters; John Becker, sealer of weights and measures. In the follow- ing fall Marks Edick, Luny Thayer, Paul Perry and Jacob Slingerland were elected justices of the peace.
The supervisors of the town have been as follows :
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THE TOWN OF PARISH.
Paul Allen, 1828-32; Alfred Phelps, 1833-40; Ephraim E. Ford, 1841-43; Luny Thayer, 1844; John Clapsaddle, 1845 ; Harvey Palmer, 1846; Luny Thayer, 1847-50; Joseph Osborn, 1851-53; Paul W. Allen, 1854; Harvey Palmer, 1855; John C. Warn, 1856; Austin White, 1857; Andrew Ashton, 1858-59; John Becker, 1860-61; Jona- than Irish, 1862; James David, 1863-64 ; Jonathan Irish, 1865-66 ; Frank H. Argen- singer, 1867-69 ; Jonathan Irish, 1870; Romayne C. Robertson, 1871; Jerry Foley, 1872; Daniel Edick, 1873 ; Jerry Foley, 1874-75; Romayne C. Robertson, 1876 ; Jud- son J. Taylor, 1877 ; John W. Northrop, 1878-79 ; Cornelius Edick, 1880; C. F. Trow- bridge, 1881; Dr. I. J. Green, 1882; Lewis David, 1883-85 ; Fowler H. Berry, 1886-88; James David, 1889; Fowler H. Berry, 1890-91 : Melvin Alsover, 1892; Fowler H. Berry, 1893 : Willard C. Richards, 1894.
The town officers for 1894-95 were :
Willard C. Richards, supervisor ; Frank B. Warn, town clerk; W. George Baxter, Cheney D. Barney, S. H. Crosby and Martin De Garmo, justices of the peace; Horace J. Roode, Albert H. Coan and Hosea Pickens, assessors ; B. C. Purington, highway commissioner ; George Thayer, overseer of the poor ; Lewis D. Rulison, collector.
Settlement was commenced in Parish by Rev. Gamaliel Barnes and his son-in-law, Stephen D. Morse, in 1803. They came from Otsego county by way of Camden and Amboy and settled in the extreme west part of the town on small lot 60, their guides being blazed trees and Indian trails. Rev. Mr. Barnes had prospected here in 1802, but Mr. Morse was really the pioneer in felling the first timber and clearing the first land, and during his life doubtless did more of that work than any other settler the town ever had. Elder Barnes was a Baptist preacher, and built the first log house, the first barn, and the first frame dwelling in Parish. He was born in Connecticut, served in the Revolution, learned the trades of tanner and shoemaker, and became a minister of the Baptist Church, but he supported himself chiefly by manual labor. He was forty-six years of age when he settled in Oswego county, where he was, it is believed, the second actual preacher of the gospel. He ministered to the pioneers, in barns, houses, and the open air, per- formed marriage ceremonies for miles around, carried on his trades in a small way, and died at the great age of ninety-six, loved and revered by a wide circle of acquaintances. His daughter Hannah married William Huntley and died May 20, 1814. She was buried on her fath- er's farm. Subsequently her remains were disinterred and removed to Colosse.
Other settlers of 1803 were Thomas Nutting, Elvider Orton, Amos
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LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY.
Williams and Jonathan Bedell. Mr. Nutting, then twenty-three years of age, came from Otsego county and located on small lot 6. He was a soldier of the War of 1812 and held several town offices. Surviving all the other early settlers, he died in 1873, and his wife's death occurred one day later. He was the grandfather of Judge Newton W. Nutting, deceased, and of Harmon D. Nutting, now a lawyer in Parish. Mr. Orton settled on small lot 5. The birth of his son Ransom in 1805 was the first in town. Jonathan Bedell was killed by the falling of a tree on small lot 4 about 1806, which was the first death of a white person in Parish. He was buried on the Charles Ford farm. His widow mar- ried Nathan Parkhurst, which was the first marriage. Amos Williams died April 19, 1813, and was buried on the Genney farm.
In 1804 Paul Allen, a native of Berkshire county, Mass., came from Otsego county, N. Y., and located on small lot 2. He became a lieu- tenant in the war of 1812 and was elected the first supervisor of Parish, an office he held five consecutive years. He was a leading and an in- fluential man, a substantial farmer, and a prominent member of the Baptist Church and died in 1849.
In 1805 William Wightman, William D. Wightman and Stutely Palmer, jr., became settlers, all coming from Herkimer county. Will- iam D. Wightman settled on small lot 3, the others on lot 61. A few years afterward Dennison B. Palmer located on small lot 60 and sub- sequently became the first justice of the peace in Parish. Harvey Palmer was born here September 8, 1816, became a colonel and in- spector-general of militia, supervisor, assessor, farmer, merchant, justice of the peace, and served as assemblyman in 1863 and 1864.
Several other settlers arrived prior to the war of 1812, mainly from the counties of Herkimer and Otsego. Among them was the Hatch family, of whom Jarvis Hatch, born in 1806, subsequently resided in Mexico. The exact date of the coming of many others cannot be de- termined. The war and the celebrated " cold season " of 1816, mate- rially checked immigration and caused much suffering, while the miasma arising from the marshes added to the general discomfort. Those who had arrived, however, braved the privations of frontier life with fortitude. Among the settlers during this period and down to the year 1825 were Jacob J. Miller, Luman Brockway, Benjamin Whitney
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