Landmarks of Oswego County, New York, Part 67

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 67

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663

THE TOWN OF PARISH.

Joseph Maybee, William Avery, J. W. Scriber, Simeon Adams, John Miller, Joseph Edick, Abram Hoose, Erastus Fyler, Milo M. and Asahel Coan, James David, C. Edick, Daniel Edick, J. H. Miller, G. Rider, and J. Sampson. Asahel Coan died here January 1, 1895, being at the time of his death the oldest correspondent of the Parish Mirror and one of the oldest citizens of the town. Milo M. Coan died in October, 1891. Jacob J. Miller furnished the first accommodations to travelers, though he did not keep a regular tavern. Joseph Storer was the first black- smith as early as 1815 ; he remained until 1822, when he moved away. Abram Hoose died in Mexico, August 14, 1889. Simeon Adams died January 29 and his wife February 25, 1817, in a log house which stood about on the site of the store of H. F. Graves in Parish village. Promi- nent among those who were born in the county prior to 1825 and be- came honored residents of Parish were M. Avery, R. Burnham, A. M. Gillespie, George W. Moore, Edwin Palmer and J. R. Smith. The Edick family has been prominently identified with the town from an early day and many of its members are still respected residents and act- ive business men.

Of the settlers prior to 1830 were Joseph Brown, John Becker, Ephraim E Ford, Paul W. Allen, Isam Simons, James A. Burnett, John De Garmo, R. H. Orton, and Luny Thayer. Mr. Thayer was a member of assembly in 1845. Mr. Ford opend the first store in Par- ish in 1829, and Mr. Simons built the first regular tavern the same year.

Between 1830 and 1840 the following came in : John Simplot, Alfred Phelps, John C. Warn, Dr. Austin White, H. M. Bliss, C. Cummins, William O. Comstock, C. H. Edick, C. H. Ford, J. W. Harter, Leon- ard House, Jonathan Irish, Ransom H. Orton, Melzar Richards, A. Smith, C. and F. Tisdale, and Dr. Judson J. Taylor. Dr. White settled in town in 1832 and remained until his death in 1876. He was the first physician in Parish. Melzar Richards was born in Steuben county, N. Y., Christmas day, 1822. At the breaking out of the Re- bellion he organized Co. D, 24th N. Y. Vols., and went out as captain. In 1863 he was commissioned major, and on April 5, 1865, at Amelia Springs, while pressing Lee's retreating army, he was mortally wounded and soon after died. He was buried with Masonic and military honors

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LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY.

on the 25th of that month. Some of those mentioned were natives of the county.

Prominent among the settlers from 1840 to 1850 were John Clap- saddle, Dr. Tobias J. Green, Archibald N. Ludington, E. C. Buell, C. Baldwin, W. G. Baxter, P. Finster, H. E. Holden, H. Jones, G. B. Mosier, W. B. Parkhurst, and F. Simmons. Dr. Green was born in Rensselaer county, was graduated from the medical department of the University of New York, settled in Parish in 1847, and a few years ago removed to Mexico, where he now resides. He was a director and vice-president of the Syracuse Northern Railroad Company prior to its incorporation with the R. W. & O. corporation.

Among other prominent residents of the town may be mentioned S. T. Parsons (a lawyer), Dr. Cornelius S. House (deceased), J. H. Hoose (born here and subsequently the principal of the State Normal School at Cortland), Romain C. Robertson, Hon. Newton W. Nutting, a brother of Harmon D. Nutting, both lawyers, the latter still in practice here, Edwin G. Lynch (a practicing attorney in Parish), John Osborn, An- drew Ashton, Dr. C. D. Barney (dentist), J. W. Bliss (died March II, 1895), William Carley, Jerry Foley, W. T. Seymour, L. D. Snell, Daniel White, Charles Le Clair (died in November, 1894), George R. and Hamilton A. Mosher (brothers), Rev. A. P. Phinney, Fowler H. Berry, C. Sayles Talcott (prominent in Masonry), George Luddington, and Melzar H. Thayer (brother of Luna). The latter died October 10, 1894. William Edick owns a grist mill on Little Salmon Creek about one mile east of Parish village. Two centenarians at least have died in the town, viz .: Mrs. Sarah Herrick in September, 1877, aged 100 years and four months, and James Pete October 5, 1893, at the age of 103 years, five months and five days. Other prominent settlers and resi- dents of Parish are noticed more fully in Part III of this volume.

The population of Parish at different periods has been as follows: In 1830, 868; 1835, 1,295; 1840, 1,543; 1845, 1,456; 1850, 1,799; 1855, 1,675; 1860, 2,027; 1865, 1,814; 1870, 1,929; 1875, 2,058; 1880, 1,817; 1890, 1,770.

During the war of the Rebellion the town contributed nearly 100 of her citizens to the Union forces and raised about $9,000 for bounties to volunteers. Among those who received merited promotions in the service were Lt .- Col, Melzar Richards, Capt. R. W. Slayton, Chaplain

663

THE TOWN OF PARISH.

A. R. Wells, Capt. S Beaulin, Surgeon T. J. Green, and Regimental® Postmaster C. H. Edick. The survivors now residents of the town are fraternally banded together in the G. W. Simons Post, No. 599, G. A. R., of which Truman Redington is the present commander.

The first school house in town was a small log structure which cost only $15, and which stood on the site of the present town hall in Parish village. Samuel Phileo was the first teacher, and one of his successors was Joseph Torrey, subsequently surrogate of the county. This primi- tive building was erected in 1808 and served its purpose until 1816, when it was replaced by a frame structure. The first frame school house was built on small lot 60 in 1814. It cost $150 and was situated in what was called district No. I of Mexico. In 1828 the town was divided into five whole and four joint school districts, and since then local educational movements have kept pace with the excellent school system of the State. May 15, 1883, the Parish Union Free School

and Academy was organized with James S. Luddington, Hosea Pickens, C. S. Tallcott, Hamilton A. Mosher, and Edwin Palmer as members of the first Board of Education. The site upon which the school house stands had been purchased in 1878 at a cost of $100, and a frame school building erected thereon during the same year for $2,400. The struc- ture has since been enlarged at an expense of about $1,000. The Board of Education for 1894-5 consists of C. D. Barney, president ; W. B. Harter, clerk; H. M. Mosher, P. D. Edick, and Dr. J. B. Todd. The principal is Prof. W. F. Canough.

The town now has thirteen school districts with a school house in each, in which schools were taught in 1892-3 by seventeen teachers and attended by 477 scholars. The school buildings and sites are valued at $11,085 ; assessed valuation of districts, $380,212; public money received from the State, $2,076.55 ; raised by local tax, $1,824.04. The districts are designated : No. I, Parish ; 2, Fritts ; 3, Churchill ; 4. Searls; 5, Bidwell ; 6, Laing ; 7, Getman ; 8, Jennings ; 9, Old Dutch Hill; 10, Devendorf ; II, Miller ; 12, Red Mills; 13, New Dutch Hill.

Pleasant Lawn Cemetery, situated near the village of Parish, had its origin in a half acre of ground which was set aside for burial purposes by Rev. Gamaliel Barnes soon after the death of his daughter Hannah (Mrs. William Huntley), which occurred May 20, 1814. This plot com-

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LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY.

prised a part of Elder Barnes's farm, and Mrs. Huntley was the first person interred therein. Her remains were subsequently removed to Colosse. The second burial in the Parish graveyard was that of Allen Mead and the third that of an infant grandchild of Elder Barnes. The oldest tombstone marks the grave of Uriah Tracy Orton, who died July 15, 1825. The cemetery was enlarged to accommodate the increasing number of burials, and in 1890 it was incorporated under its present name.

Supervisors' statistics for 1894 : assessed valuation of real estate, $329,593, equalized, $405,121 ; personal property, $18,450; railroads, 2.69 miles, $27,500; town tax, $3,412 .- 48; county tax, $2,372 ; ratio of tax on $100, $1.92; total tax levy, $6,668.09; dog tax, $108.50. The town has two election districts and in November, 1894, polled 398 votes.

Parish village was for many years called Parishville, but as a post- office and railroad station it has always borne its present designation, derived from the name of the town It commenced with the rude log school house of 1808. As early as 1815 Joseph Storer established a blacksmith shop inside what are now the corporate limits and remained about seven years. In 1828 Joseph Brown set up his anvil and forge, and during the same year Paul Allen and John Becker erected a grist mill with three runs of stone on the north branch of Salmon Creek. This was the first mill of the kind in town. It was subsequently re- modeled by Almeron Thomas, of Mexico, and January 26, 1872, it was burned, causing a loss of about $8,000. On the site the present structure was erected the same year by Jesse A. Slawson and Romaine C. Robertson at a cost of $18,000, and named " Ceresco Mill " by Edwin Palmer. It is now owned by Romaine C. Robertson and man- aged by J. W. Bliss. The first store was built and opened by Ephraim E. Ford in 1829, who kept it until 1856. For a time Mr. Ford was in partnership with Paul W. Allen. The building was eventually enlarged and occupied by the Mosher Brothers. Isam Simons erected the first regular tavern in 1829 and kept it until 1857. . It was burned in 1871, and on the site the Ludington block was erected, burned, and rebuilt. In 1830 a tannery, the first regular establishment of the kind in town, was built near the grist mill by a Frenchman named John Simplot. John C. Warn became proprietor about 1833 and in 1859 it was burned. Mr. Warn rebuilt it and in 1865 sold the plant to Robertson & Co. It

667

THE TOWN OF PARISH.

was materially enlarged and for a time employed a capital of about $150,000. A few years ago it was torn down and on the site the Cran- dall typewriter factory, now vacant, was erected.

In 1832 Dr. Austin White, the first physician in town, became a resident, and the same year a post route was established from Camden to Colosse, passing through Parish. Mail was carried each way once a week, the carriers being Cyrus H. Harvey and Dexter Howard. Ephraim E. Ford was appointed the first postmaster and held the office until his removal in 1856. Among his successors were Charles H. Edick, Charles F. Trowbridge, W. H. Baker, E. D. Edick, William B. Harter, and Burr J. Morgan. incumbent. The first lawyer, Archibald N. Ludington, settled in Parish in 1848 and remained three years. Among the old- time merchants were the Mosher Brothers, G. W. Ludington, William Carley (still in business and the oldest dealer in town), C. D. Edick & Co., G. G. Houghton, Ludington & Brown, B. C. Purrington & Son, Slayton, Slawson & Le Clair, Lewis Rider, E. E. Blinn, George Pad- dock, Charles Casler, Wightman Brothers, J. J. Taylor, J. W. Harter (furniture and undertaking), Philip Fellows (shoes, succeeded by Willis Fellows, where Jocelyn & Owen now are), and Hathaway & Vroman (cabinet makers). C. D. Barney, dentist, and C. C. Barrett, shoemaker, have been in business here many years. There are now about sixteen stores in the village, besides a meat market, and harness shops. The merchants now are Jocelyn & Owen, Frank Butler, W. H. Baker, William Carley, George J. Pitcher, and Albert Alger (at the depot), general stores; Edick & Edick, and Dayton R. Fritts, hardware ; R E. Borst and Forest Houghton, groceries ; Herbert F. Graves, jewelry ; C. S. Tallcott & Sons, liquors ; W. B. Harter, furniture ; Burr J. Morgan and Emmett Lewis, drugs and notions. There are two hotels: The Snell House, L. D. Snell, proprietor, and the Commercial House, kept by the Ackley Brothers. Twenty years or more ago the former was known as the Boyd House from its landlord, D. Boyd, The present owner, Mr. Snell, has long been in charge and is one of the oldest and best known hotel-keepers in the county. There are also two public houses at the depot, one of which, the Railroad House, was built by William Pickens in 1873, over a well dug by the pioneer, Paul Allen. The village also contains four blacksmith shops ; the town hall, which was purchased in

668

LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY.

1857 ; a Masonic lodge organized May 14, 1874, with Samuel Porter (first master) Avery Skinner, Hiram Walker, John B. Ackley, and Samuel T. Parsons as charter members ; two saw mills, one of which is owned by L. C. Brockway ; the Parish Exchange Bank, Potter & Marsden, proprietors; and a large canning factory near the depot owned by Louis Windholz, of Syracuse.

May 14, 1874, John W. Northrop issued the first number of the Parish Mirror. He continued as editor and proprietor for several years. Among his successors were Galen Oderkirk, Arthur White, Prof. J. M. Moore, Burton M. Hicks, and since March, 1894, Fred H. Gee. Mr. Gee was born in Cortland county March 8, 1854, and has been engaged in the printing business since he attained the age of fifteen.

The village of Parish was incorporated in 1883 and the first meeting of the trustees occurred October 5 of that year. The corporation com - prises a square mile. The first officers were George R. Mosher, presi- dent ; William H. Baker, Lester D. Pickens, and Lorenzo D. Snell, trustees ; J. S. Ludington, clerk. The presidents have been as follows :

G. R. Mosher, 1883-4; C. S. Tallcott, 1885-6; Dr. John B. Todd, 1887; C. D. Bar- ney, 1888-9; G. D. Houghton, 1890-91; George R. Mosher, 1892 ; L. D. Pickens, 1893; H. A. Mosher, 1894; L. D. Pickens, 1895.

The village officers for 1894-5 were :

I. B. Niles, P. P. Ford, A. A. Davey, trustees ; W. G. Baxter, clerk ; George Gray, A. M. Seley, police constables; W. E. McAllister, collector ; B. J. Morgan, treasurer ; Henry A. Davey, street commissioner.

The village has been visited by several serious conflagrations, among the number not already noticed being those of May 1, 1886, loss $25,000 ; August, 1887, loss $6,000; September 30 and October I, 1888, loss about $10,000 each time. With commendable energy it has in every instance quickly recovered, and now presents the appearance of a healthy, thrifty village of about 540 people.

East Parish was formerly a post-office, and at one time about 1852, Guy C. Comstock was postmaster there. It is now merely a rural settlement.

Wrightson is a post-office three miles east of Parish village. It con- tains a scattered collection of houses and one saw mill. The postmaster is Richard Hakes, who succeeded John Stagner, jr.

669

THE TOWN OF PARISH.

Churches .- As early as 1815 a class of the M. E. church was formed at the school house in what was then district No. I, Mexico, with Richard Ford as leader. Several other classes were afterward organ- ized in the town. all of which have long since ceased to exist. During the winter of 1840-41 a revival occurred, which resulted in the erection of a frame church edifice in Parish the following summer at a cost of $1,800, the site being donated by John Becker. It was called Congre- gational, but its supporters were Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Baptists, and Lutherans, all of whom, except the Baptists, united in the Congregational discipline and selected Rev. S. W. Champlin (Lutheran) as pastor. John Wright and Nicholas Oxner were elected deacons. This form of worship continued about five years. The church, how- ever, was occupied by the Baptists almost alone for several years, yet other denominations were free to use it. The edifice was dedicated in October, 1841, by Rev. Ralph Robinson (Congregationalist) and Rev. Mr. Van Alstyne (Lutheran). Down to 1869 it was used alternately by the various religious organizations and classes of the town ; since then it has been occupied by the Methodists. This latter society was formed as a class in 1855 with Archibald C. Garrison as leader. In 1869 the edifice was purchased by the M. E. Society, who repaired, refurnished, and rededicated it December 8 of that year, at which time Rev. A. J. Cowles was their pastor. The cost of remodeling the structure was about $1,800. It was again enlarged and repaired and rededicated on October 24, 1888, the expense being $3,200; it is now valued, includ- ing a parsonage, at about $5 800. The society has 115 members with Rev. G. W. Gardner as pastor. The first Sunday school in town was organized about 1830 and one of the earliest superintendents was John Becker, who held the position most of the time until his death in 1862. The society now maintains two Sabbath schools in Parish whose combined membership is about 275.

A Freewill Baptist Society was organized with some twenty members in school district No. 2 about 1858 and another was formed with twenty three members in district No. 6 March 14, 1869. Of the latter Rev Albert P. Phinney was the first pastor and George C. Brown and Austin Smith were the first deacons. Neither society ever erected a house of worship. In the eastern part of the town two or three Methodist Protestant classes are maintained and supplied from Dugway.

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LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY

The First Presbyterian church of Parish was organized in August, 1889. The first trustees were J. L. Davis, Hosea Pickens, L. S. Cran- dall, J. W. Harter, Frank Mills, and Arthur White. The earlier meet- ings were held in the town hall. The church society was legally organized March 28, 1893, with eleven members, to take charge of the frame church edifice that had been erected in 1892 and dedicated No- vember 22 of that year by Rev. A. H Fahnestock, of Syracuse. The structure cost about $2,000. Rev. E. W. Twichell, who is still in charge, became the first settled pastor May 1, 1893. He is also superintendent of the Sunday school, which has an average attendance of seventy pupils. The society has about twenty members.

CHAPTER XXXI.

THE TOWN OF REDFIELD.

Though now one of the minor towns of Oswego county in population and business, the history of Redfield goes back into the past century, and on its territory was once one of the most flourishing early settlements. Its formation as a town took place on the 14th of March, 1800, when it was taken from the great town of Mexico, then a part of Oneida county, and was the second town in chronological order formed in what later became Oswego county. It is situated in the northeastern corner of the county and a considerable portion of it is still covered by the origi- nal forest. Hilly in the southern part, its surface spreads out in the northern part, a high rolling plateau. Salmon River runs nearly east and west across the southern part, and a branch extends northward across the town in that direction, giving excellent drainage. Along this stream extends a wide intervale, the soil of which is a deep sandy loam ; elsewhere the underlying rock is limestone and the soil above it is generally thin and fairly fertile. The town comprises townships 7 and 12 of the Boylston tract. No. 7, the northern half, was originally called "Arcadia," while No. 12, as a survey-township, received the name of Redfield, in honor of Mr. Frederick Redfield, who bought a

671

THE TOWN OF REDFIELD.

large tract of land here in early years. Arcadia was annexed to Red- field February 20, 1807, but it contained no inhabitants at that time and hence merely extended the territory of this town. After that part of the town became settled, its inhabitants thought they were entitled to town representation, and on February 21, 1843, Arcadia was erected into a town and called " Greenboro," and a post office of that name was established on the State road near the Boylston line. But the new town had not sufficient population to properly support an organization, which condition was further complicated by difficulties in assessing and col- lecting the taxes on its non-resident lands, and therefore, on the Ist of March, 1848, " Greenboro " was reannexed to Redfield. Its present area is 55,618 acres.

Although this town is now less thickly settled than other sections of Oswego county, its pioneers came in earlier than the first settlers in most other towns. Just who was the first to arrive is not positively known ; but between 1795 and 1798 several adventurous spirits perma - nently located in the town. Prominent among these was Capt Nathan Sage, a former Connecticut sea captain, who, with a few Connecticut companions, settled on or near the site of Redfield Square between the spring of 1795 and the fall of 1797. Captain Sage became a leading citizen of the town and in 1802 judge of the Common Pleas for the county. In 1811 he removed to Oswego.

A little four-year-old girl, who became the wife of Ashbel Porter (a resident of Orwell), related before her death that her father, Eli Strong, of Connecticut, came to Redfield in March, 1798, and took herself and a still younger brother down the Salmon River on the ice from Captain Sage's house to the point selected for their home. The two children were carried, one by Captain Sage's black servant and the other by his white hired man

Among others who came in previous to 1798, besides those just men- tioned, were Deacon Amos Kent, James Drake, Benjamin Thrall, Josiah Lyon, Samuel Brooks, Eliakim Simons, and Isham Simons. Tradi- tion credits the latter two with building the first barn in the town. Samuel Brooks was unmarried when he arrived in 1797 and was twenty- eight years old. He married in 1801 a daughter of Eli Strong ; the first marriage in the town. Mrs. Sarah Mckinney, who married

672

LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY.

George Mckinney, is a daughter of Samuel Brooks, and is still living at the age of eighty years.

The first settlers in Redfield sent back to their eastern friends glowing accounts of the fertile soil, pure water, and valuable timber they had found, and in the spring of 1798 a considerable number of immigrants arrived. The assessment roll for 1798 of the great town of Mexico contains the names of the following persons assessed in " No. 12 " in that year :

Samuel Brooks, Phineas Corey, Nathan Cook, Ebenezer Chamberlain, Joseph Clark Taylor Chapman, Roger Cooke, James Drake, John Edwards, Nathaniel Eels, Titus Meacham, Amos Kent, Joseph Overton, Joel Overton, Silas Phelps, John Pruyn, Nathan Sage, Eli Strong, Jedediah Smith, Obadiah Smith, Samuel Smith, 'Joshua Tryon, Joseph Strickland, George Seymour, Benjamin Thrall, Jonathan Worth, Joseph Wickham, Thomas Wells, Luke Winchell, Charles Webster, Daniel Wilcox, and Jona- than Waldo-thirty-two in all. There were only twenty-six assessed in all the rest of Oswego county east of the Oswego River.

A few of these had merely acquired title to their lands and had not settled in 1798. One of these was Phineas Corey, who came, accord- ing to statements by his son, John H., in 1796, and bought and paid for a tract of land, returned East, and did not permanently settle here until 1800, when John was three years old. The latter lived to be one of the oldest citizens of the town and died only a few years ago on the well known Corey homestead.

Erastus Hoskins, Benjamin Austin, Elihu Ingraham, and David and Jonathon Harmon came in either before, during, or very soon after 1798. Captain Sage, who was agent for the proprietors, treated the settlers fairly, and farms along the river, on and near the site of Red- field Square, were rapidly taken up and improved. Most, if not all, of the pioneers came in over the route from Rome through what is now Florence in Oneida county ; it was merely a wagon way cut through the forest and was often almost impassable. What became known as the State road was laid out in the period under consideration, but was not opened until a few years later. It started from Rome and ran through Redfield and the northeast part of Boylston to Sackett's Har- bor; it was used for the passage of troops in the war of 1812. But in spite of all the obstacles to settlement in this wilderness hardy pio- neers continued to push onward, passing what are now' more favored localities to reach the region so much praised by those who had pre .

673

THE TOWN OF REDFIELD.

ceded them. It has been related that Eli Strong and others could have bought land in the Mohawk Valley, near Utica, as cheaply as in Red- field ; but they did not like the water and the low lands, and pressed on northward. Their hardships were many and discouraging, but were endured with characteristic fortitude. Provisions had to be transported from Rome over the road that for many months of the year was blocked with deep snow, and at other times was nearly impassable from other causes. This Salmon River settlement was composed largely of Connec- ticut people, and was almost wholly isolated from other communities that soon sprang up in other parts of the great town of Mexico ; but it may be inferred that they found elements of contentment and of happiness in their wilderness homes.

On the first day of April, 1800, the voters of the new town met at the house of Josiah Tryon (son-in-law of Captain Sage), and elected the following as the first officers :

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Landmarks of Oswego County, New York, Part 67

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

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