USA > New York > Steuben County > Landmarks of Steuben County, New York > Part 13
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The one great event which above all others contributed to the pro- motion of local interests, was the construction of the New York and Erie railroad. The preliminary surveys were made by De Witt Clin- ton in 1832, and the company was organized in 1833. The first work of construction in this town was done in 1841, though nearly ten years
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elapsed before the road was in operation. On Sunday, September I, 1850, the first train of cars was run into Hornellsville. The road was completed to Dunkirk, May 14, 1851. With this great consummation the prosperity of the town was assured, and later railway interests only added to the general welfare. With soil that yields profitably in return to proper cultivation, it is only in the natural course of events that Hornellsville ranks well among the agricultural towns of the county ; and in the production of potatoes, as a special interest, the locality is unsurpassed.
The military record of the town is one in which the whole people feel just and pardonable pride. With a population of 4,230 in 1860, we find credited to the town during the period of the war a total of almost 425 men in all branches of the service. In a preceding chapter of this volume special reference is made to the various companies and regi- ments to which this town contributed, and the memory of the volun- teers is kept alive in the hearts of every patriotic citizen of the town by the monuments erected in their honor. .
HOWARD .- On the 18th of June, in the year 1812, the towns of Bath and Dansville surrendered portions of their territory to a new formation called Howard. However, it was not long before the new creation was itself called upon to yield a part of its area to still later subdivisions, as it contributed to Avoca in 1843, and to Fremont in 1854. Thus remaining, and as at present constituted, Howard contains 34,900 acres of land, all devoted to the peaceful arts of agriculture and kindred pursuits. It is an interior town, lying west of the shire town, and its surface is chiefly a rolling upland, forming a part of the ridge which divides the Conhocton and Canisteo rivers. The streams are small, and in the northeast part are two small ponds.
The claim has been made by recent and reliable authorities that the first settler in this town was one Hovey, who made a clearing of a few acres and then abandoned the field. His improvement, it is also said, was taken in 1805 by Mr. Travis and his family, and the latter were in fact the pioneers of the town. However, other authorities assert that the pioneer was Abraham Johnson, who located in the vicinity of Towlesville in 1806. Charles McConnell was about the next settler, and located on what afterwards became known as the Alkali Bennett
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farm. At that time Asa McConnell, son of Charles, was only seven years old, and he grew up in the town and afterward rose by his own efforts to a position of importance in Hornellsville and the county ; and his sons are among the foremost business men of that enterprising city.
From this time on settlement increased rapidly, and within the next few years there came and located in various parts of the town Samuel Baker, Reuben and Abram Smith, Joel and Abel Bullard, Daniel N. and Jacob Bennett. Job Rathbun, and his three brothers, all, it is be- lieved, during the year 1809. In 1810 William Allen, John Hoagland, and Daniel Smith joined the settlement, and Israel Baldwin came in 18II. Russell Burlison came in 1812. In this year the town was set off and given a separate organization, at which time pioneership had virtually ceased. Still, among the prominent later comers were Jonas and Seth Rice, Benjamin, Thomas and Isaac Bennett, Jonathan Ketchum Hamilton Parkhill, John Stephenson, David Walker, Andrew Baker, George and James Stewart, Richard Towle, Reuben Hammond, Isaac Brasted, Joseph Lam, Oliver Parkhill, R. F. Ferris, Simeon Baker, David Rathbun, Jabes Beebe, and others perhaps equally worthy of mention, but whose names are lost with the lapse of years.
Jonathan Ketchum built the first framed hotel in the town, and soon afterward put up a small tannery. The first tavern was built of logs, by Isaac Bennett, and the second by Benjamin Bennett. Randall and Calvin Graves built the first store, and this was the only industry of its kind in Howard until Calvin Whitwood settled there, in 1831. He was · succeeded by James and George Alley, and the latter became success- ful merchants and were also owners of a grist mill east of the village. They soon left the town and were succeeded by Aaron McConnell, also a successful merchant.
From what has been noted it will be seen that the lands of Howard were settled at a comparatively early day, and by a class of men who were in every sense thrifty and progressive. In this respect we make no new disclosure, for this town has always been noted for the substan- tial character of its men as well as its institutions. Occupying a some- what remote locality from the established trading centers, and possess- ing no suitable facilities for manufacturing enterprises, the inhabitants of Howard have necessarily been farmers, and to this pursuit have bent
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their untiring energies ; and to-day the result of early thrift and indus- try is apparent, for here are found some of the best farmers in Steuben county.
When set off in 1812 the population of the new district was hardly more than 300, and in 1814 the exact number of inhabitants was 366. In 1820 it was 1, 140, and in 1830 was 2,464. Ten years later the maximum population was reached, being 3,247 in 1840, and 3,244 in 1850. In 1860 the number was 2,746, and 2, 122 in 1870. The num- ber in 1880 was 2, 131, and in 1890 was 1,938. According to the count of 1892, Howard had 1,885 inhabitants.
The first town meeting in Howard was held in April, 1813, at the house of Simeon Bacon, at which time a complete board of officers was elected. However, the records of this town, previous to 1823, have been lost or destroyed, in consequence of which the list of first town officers cannot be furnished. The present officers (1895) are as follows : D. Ray Bennett, supervisor ; Frank H. Sharp, town clerk; Joseph Miller, A. L. Cole and A. H. Baldwin, justices of the peace; L. J. Franklin, Thomas Coots and James Crozier, assessors; A. W. Barton, collector; Calvin Bullock, highway commissioner; John A. Drake, overseer of the poor ; Alexander McChesney, Martin Higgins and J. W. Carr, excise commissioners.
The supervisors of Howard since 1823, have been as follows: Israel Baldwin, 1823 ; Daniel N. Bennett, 1824-25 ; Wm. Goff, 1826-27 ; Green Hern, 1828-29; Daniel N. Bennett, 1830-31 ; H. N. Rathbun, 1832 ; John W. Whiting, 1833-34; William Goff, 1835-36; Issachar Goodrich, 1837 ; C. E. Belden, 1838-39; James Alley, 1840-42 ; Asa McConnell, 1843 ; John Hamilton, 1844-45 ; D. N. Bennett, 1846-47 ; Joseph I. Burnham, 1848; Ira Lane, 1849-50; Ansel House, 1851; Alkali Bennett, 1852-53; Ansel House, 1854; Moses S. Bennett, 1855-56; Alonzo Graves, 1857-58; Ansel House, 1859; Alkali Ben- nett, 1860-61 ; A. T. Parkhill, 1862-63 ; John F. Shaver, 1864; Alkali Bennett, 1865-66; A. M. Cole, 1867; Alkali Bennett, 1868; Aaron McConnell, 1869-71 ; John G. Sharp, 1872-73 ; Josiah House, 1874-75; J. C. Hoagland, 1876-77 ; George Bennett, 1878; William H. Willis, 1879-80; Andrew Sharp, 1881-82; O. F. Bennett, 1883-84; Alonzo Van Wie, 1885-87 ; A. U. Brown, 1888; R. F. Parkhill, 1889-91 ; E, L. Stewart, 1892-93 ; D. Ray Bennett, 1894-95.
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Among the early residents in the east and southeast part of this town was a considerable colony of Irish Presbyterians; good, strong, earnest and active men and women, who have devoted themselves to agricul- tural pursuits, and many of whom have built up fine farms. This town and its people was peculiarly affected by the disturbances of the anti- rent period, and, lying next west of the shire-town of the county, there was perhaps a more active participation in public events than was shown in localities more remote. The delegates from Howard in the Bath convention were Daniel N. Bennett, who at the time was supervisor, Byram L. Harlow, William Goff, John D. Collier and Jacob G. Winne.
During the period of the war of 1861-65, this town raised for bounties, and for the purpose of recruiting troops for the service, a total of $3,021.72; and in addition to this the county raised, upon the credit of the town, the sum of $42,450. So near as can be ascertained the town furnished about 160 men for service during the war.
According to local tradition the first school in the town was opened about the year 1815 in the little log school house standing near the residence of Aaron McConnell. About the same time another school was started at Howard Flats, and still a third in Towlesville. About 1820 the town was first divided into districts and provision made for a school in each. In the principal village an academy was founded and built in 1835. It was an excellent institution, well equipped and sup- plied with an efficient corps of instructors. However worthy may have been this enterprise it finally met the fate that fell upon many similar schools and it was therefore discontinued.
As at present constituted Howard has seventeen school districts, each provided with a comfortable school house. The total value of school property in the town is estimated at $9,420. During the school year 1893-4, the town received of public moneys $2,081, and raised by local tax $1,929.58. Forty-two trees were planted by pupils in 1894. 17
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CHAPTER IX.
THE CIVIL DIVISIONS OF THE COUNTY.
JASPER .- On the 24th of January, 1827, all that part of the towns of Canisteo and Troupsburg which were included in township 2, range 5, of the Phelps and Gorham purchase, were erected into a separate town, and named Jasper, in honorable allusion to Sergeant Jasper, whose courageous conduct at the battle of Fort Moultrie, S. C., June 28, 1776, received public commendation. However, in 1848 a strip of land half a mile in width was taken from this town and annexed to Greenwood.
Geographically, Jasper is located in the southwest part of the county, and contains 31,300 acres of land. The surface is a hilly and broken upland, some of the elevations reaching more than 2,000 feet above tide water. The streams are small brooks, and the soil is slaty, gravelly and clayey loam. From the hills of Jasper, in years past, there has been taken a quality of stone specially adapted to the manufacture of grindstones, but remote from the railroads of the county, and from commercial centers, the natural resources of this town have never been fully developed. Its inhabitants are, and for all time during the period of its history have been farmers ; earnest, honest, steady and hardworking husbandmen, who, notwithstanding the disadvantages of location and the difficulty attending successful cultivation of the land, have succeeded in establishing for themselves a satisfactory and even comfortable con- dition of affairs, and the town to-day ranks well among the best farm- ing sections of the county.
The settlement of Jasper was begun in 1807, while the territory formed a part of the original town of Canisteo. The pioneer seems to have been Nicholas Brotzman, sr., or Prutzman, as once known, who came from Tioga county, Pa., and penetrated the dense forests that bordered on Canisteo River and Tuscarora Creek, until he reached the spot where he afterward lived. This pioneer was a German, and was
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perhaps was one of the most persevering of the early settlers in this whole region. His cabin was built near Marlatt's Corners of later years. Adam Brotzman settled at the Five Corners in 1809, where a man named Morley had made an original clearing. The surname Brotzman is still represented in the town.
Andrew Craig, sr., was a settler in this town as early as 1810, coming from Philadelphia. He was land agent for the proprietary and other- wise influential and prominent in early local history. From him de- scended a large family, some of whom attained positions of trust in the county. Mrs. Craig made the first butter which was marketed from Jasper, but in much later years this town has become noted for the ex- cellence of its dairy product.
Ebenezer Spencer was another pioneer, coming from Cayuga county, though a Connecticut Yankee by birth. He bought 400 acres of tim- bered land in Jasper at fourteen shillings an acre, and eighty-four acres of cleared land at twenty shillings per acre. Mr. Spencer was a man of means and also of prominence in the new community ; was a great hun- ter and trapper, and with his memory are associated many interesting stories.
Uzal McMindes and John Marlatt came to the town in 1810, both from New Jersey, and Gideon Marlatt came one year later. All were prominent in early times, and their names are still preserved in the town. Other early settlers were Andrew Simpson, in 1812; Adam Wass in 1816; Henry Whitman in 1819; Rice Wentworth in 1820; Hial Wood in 1821 ; Elisha Peak, about 1821, also Ezra Banks, who is said to have chopped more than 500 acres of woods in the town, being assisted only by his sons.
In the same connection may be mentioned the family of A. Fuller Whittemore, also John Deck and Solomon Deck, John Moore, Israel S. Osgood, George I. Shawl, Alva June, Moses Dennis, a Revolutionary soldier, Enoch Ordway, John Hadley and his family, Dr. William Hun- ter, the first physician, Samuel Dennis, Earl Stone, Henry Prentice, Deacon Joshua Sargent, Ephraim Lyons, carpenter, David Woodward, Charles Lamson. William Purdy, Peter Drake, Abraham Freeland, Thomas Waight, Christopher Dennis, Harvey Andrews, Daniel Purdy, and some others, all of whom were settlers in the town previous to 1835,
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and are entitled to be named among those who laid the foundation for later successes by their descendants.
In 1830, and about that time, the settlers in Jasper were much dis- turbed over the events of the so-called anti-rent conflict, and as this town had come from the Pulteney or Hornby association, the inhabit- ants felt a direct interest in the result of the measures adopted at the time. The people held meetings and discussed the subject quite freely, and sent delegates to represent the town in the convention at Bath. These delegates were William Hunter, Benjamin Heliker, Ira Smith, Uzal McMynderse (or McMinders), and Hinckley Spencer. However, the events of this period, being general rather than local, are narrated in an earlier chapter.
Referring briefly to the first events of town history, we may note the fact that the first settler was Nicholas Brotzman; the first birth that of Sally Brotzman ; the first marriage that of Samuel Gray and Polly Simp- son ; the first inn or tavern was kept by Nicholas Brotzman, and the first school was taught by Amanda Smith.
However much delayed may have been the early settlement in this part of the county by the hilly and uninviting character of the region, we nevertheless find a population of 500 in township two of the fifth range as early as the year 1825. We may also note the establishment of one small village and at least two minor settlements, for the people of this locality have ever been noted for their independence and self- reliance. Herein lies the great secret of their success in life, in the face of obstacles that would have completely discouraged the pioneers who settled on the rich plain lands of the Genesee country.
As we have stated the town was set off from Canisteo and Troups- burg in 1827, the local population then being nearly 600. The first town meeting was held at the dwelling of Andrew Simpson, on the first Tuesday in March, at which time these persons were elected to fill the several town offices, viz .: Andrew Craig, supervisor; William Hunter, town clerk; Uzal McMindes, Oliver Pease, sr., and Samuel Dennis, assessors ; Jonathan Schenck, collector ; John G. Marlatt, Elijah Peake, and Benjamin Helliker, highway commissioners; Ira Smith and Ste- phen Towsley, overseers of the poor; Henry Phenix, Enoch Ordway, and Joseph Dutton, commissioners of schools; Ira Simpson, Jonathan
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R. Prentice and William Hunter, inspectors of schools. At a general election held in November of the same year, Oliver Pease, Stephen Towsley and Ira Smith were chosen the first justices of the peace in the town.
The succession of supervisors in Jasper has been as follows : Andrew Craig, 1827-32 : Stephen Towsley, 1833-36; William Hunter, 1837- 39 ; J. R. Prentice, 1840; John G. Marlatt, 1841 ; J. R. Prentice, 1842 ; William Hunter, 1843 ; Andrew Craig, 1844-45; William Hunter, 1846; Alvah June, 1847-51 ; Darius Simpson, 1852 ; J. R. Prentice, 1853 ; Jesse L. Bartow, 1854; J. R. Prentice, 1855 ; Jonathan Schenck, 1856-57; Ira D. Hotchkiss, 1858-59; Henry C. Prentice, 1860-62 ; Amos T. Woodbury, 1863-65 ; Willis E. Craig, 1866; Samuel F. Den- nis, 1867-69 ; George D. Woodward, 1870-71; Samuel Dennis, jr., 1872 ; Willis E. Craig, 1873 ; James S. Outman, 1874; W. E. Craig, 1875-76; Asa Spencer, 1877-78; A. A. Van Arsdale, 1879-81 ; J. Sumner Sargent, 1882-87 ; S. B. Hardy, 1888-92; Nathaniel P. Hun- ter, 1893 ; Ezra Chatfield, 1894-95.
The present town officers (1895) are Ezra Chatfield, supervisor ; C. E. Brown, town clerk ; A. A. Van Arsdale, Byron Crosby, J. M. Simpson, Arthur Lamson, justices ; C. G. Hutchinson, Collins Talbot and John T. Dunnigan, assessors; Dennis Williams, highway commissioner ; John Murphy, overseer of the poor ; John E. Schenck, collector ; James Tur- ner, J. B. Sargent and Adelbert Curtiss, excise commissioners.
When first separated from the mother town Jasper had about 600 inhabitants, and in 1830 the number was 657. In 1840 it increased to 1, 187, and in 1850 to 1,749. In 1860 the maximum number was reached, 1,850, but in 1870 had decreased to 1,683. In 1880 the pop- ulation was 1,806, but the next ten years showed a decrease, the census of 1890 giving the number of inhabitants as 1,690.
Notwithstanding these several and somewhat noticeable fluctuations in population, the town of Jasper is as stable and substantial and relia- ble in its productions and institutions as any similarly situated civil division of the county. There is but little of the speculative in the characteristics of the people; everything has been built "from the stump," and there are but few evidences of premature decay.
During the years of early history the pioneers of Jasper were not un
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mindful of the spiritual welfare of their families, and even before the town itself was set off we find three full and complete church societies in existence. They were the Baptist, organized in 1817; the Presby- terian, in 1818, and the Methodist Episcopal, the earliest meetings of which run to about the same time. In later years other societies have been formed and there are now five organizations, the Wesleyan Meth- odist and North Jasper Methodist in addition to those already noted. Also during these years there have been built up several hamlets in the town, though none has attained the corporate character. Jasper village is the chief center of business in the town, and will be found particularly mentioned in the municipal history in this work. The other hamlets are hardly more than cross-road settlements. Half a century ago the named hamlets were Jasper Four Corners, Jasper Five Corners, West Jasper and South Hill. The more recent names of post-offices have been Jasper, North Jasper, West Jasper and Hampshire, the latter so called from the fact that many of the early settlers in the locality of roads 17 and 18 were from New Hampshire; and the average New Englander naturally delights in preserving memories of his native State.
As an agricultural town Jasper has for many years ranked well among the divisions of the county, but in point of manufactures it has gained no special prominence, the disadvantages of location operating adversely· Still, we may recall the once important steam flour mill built away back in 1848 by Nelson Johnson; the Knapp tannery, afterward Au- gustus Van Asrdale's; the Savage tannery, run by Andrew Savage. The Craig mill was built and run by A. B. and W. A. Craig, in 1866. We may also mention the Walrath mills, built in 1881.
LINDLEY .- " Township I, range 2, Phelps and Gorham Purchase." This was a fair description of this town one hundred and five years ago, when Col. Eleazer Lindsley came from New Jersey and made an exten- sive purchase of land in the Genesee country. Still there has ever ex- isted a doubt as to the amount of land actually acquired by Colonel Lindsley from Oliver Phelps in 1790, some authorities asserting that his purchase included the entire township, while others claim that his title covered only the southern half of number one, range two, and that the other proprietors took title directly from the proprietary, John Ryess
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THE CIVIL DIVISIONS OF THE COUNTY.
taking the northwest quarter, and Judge Garrettson the northeast. However, with all respect for the opinions of competent authorities, the present writer is inclined to accept the theory of Colonel Harrower, that the township was purchased from Oliver Phelps by Colonel Lindsley, John Ryess and Judge Garrettson ; that a commission made a fair and equitable division of the territory according to the respective interests of the vendees; and that Colonel Lindsley was awarded the south half and the others the upper quarters as noted above. Other authorities contend that Lindsley bought the town at sixpence per acre, and sold the north half to the persons mentioned at one shilling per acre.
In some respects Lindley differs in physical features from other towns of the county, and while these characteristics are not specially impor- tant, they are at least noteworthy. Extending north and south the en- tire length of the town is the charming and fertile valley of the Tioga, from any point in which the observer is at once attracted by the de- lightful view about him. The river valley averages about a mile in width, while on either side the hills rise to a height varying from five hundred to six hundred feet. When the doughty colonel made his first visit to the region he found evidence of cuitivation along the bottom lands, and the general fertility of the soil was at once apparent. Small wonder, therefore, that he preferred the exhilarating atmosphere of the combined hills and valley rather than hazard the uncertanties of settlement in the lake region farther north in Ontario county. And if we may believe well verified tradition Colonel Lindsley found a clearly marked Indian trail running along the river through the township, indicating that this was a thoroughfare of travel between the Seneca country on the north and the land of the Delawares on the south ; and evidences are not wanting to show that the Moravian missionaries frequented the valley while traveling from their Pennsylvania homes to the villages of the Senecas and the subjugated tribes suffered to dwell within their vast domain. It is also a known fact that the Tioga valley was a favorite fishing and hunting resort of the red men, and that some of the small tribes had villages and cultivated fields scattered along the river. Such was the situation in this region one hundred and more years ago.
Col. Eleazer Lindsley, the proprietor of township one, range two, was a native of Connecticut, born December 7, 1737. During the Revolu-
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tion, he was active in serving on the side of the Americans, and was an officer in the regiment commonly called the "Jersey Blues," for, before the war, he had moved to New Jersey. It is not known why Colonel Lindsley left his comfortable home in New Jersey to brave the trials and hardship of pioneer life in the new country, nor may we properly enquire into the motives which actuated his movements, and it is suffi- cient to say that his coming to the region was fortunate for local inter- ests, as he showed himself to be a worthy citizen, kind and generous in his nature, and public spirited in all measures for the welfare of the val- ley and its people.
In the Lindley colony, as it has been called, were about forty persons, many of them relatives of the proprietor. They left New Jersey in the spring of 1790, making their journey in wagons and on horseback to the Susquehanna River at Wilkesbarre, thence came in boats to the purchase, arriving and landing at the Tioga Flats on the 7th of June. In the party were Colonel Lindsley and two sons, Samuel and Eleazer, also five son-in-laws, Dr. Mulford, Ebenezer Backus, Capt. John Seelye, Dr. Hopkins and David Payne. Nearly all brought families, while in the party were several slaves. This was unquestionably the first introduction of slavery into the south part of Ontario county, a novel though not un- known institution. It is said that Colonel Lindsley gave a slave to each of his children, and further, that only a few years passed before all were set free and provided for, for slavery was soon regarded as inim- ical to our State institutions and also forbidden by law.
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