USA > New York > Tompkins County > Landmarks of Tompkins County, New York : including a history of Cornell University > Part 31
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SOUTH DANBY .- This is a small hamlet in the southern part of the town, the settlements in which have already been described. A post- office was established here many years ago, and Sarah Jennings is the present incumbent of the office. There is one store and a blacksmith shop here.
CHURCHES .- Religious organization followed very closely the early settlements in this town. The Congregational church at Danby village was first organized as a Presbyterian society in 1807, and continued as such until 1867, when it became Congregational in form and doctrine. The church edifice was built in 1820, but has been at various times im- proved and enlarged. The present pastor is Rev. J. R. Jones.
There was formerly a Baptist church in Danby village, but the build- ing has recently been transformed into a town hall.
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The Methodist church at Danby was organized as a class, with five members, in 1811, and incorporated as a society in 1832, during which year the house of worship was erected; it has been much improved at various times. The first pastor was Rev. Elijah Bachelor, and the present one is Rev. J. R. Allen. The church was rebuilt about ten years ago at a cost of about $3,000.
The Methodist church at West Danby was organized in 1869, but a class had existed there many years earlier. The first pastor was Rev. E. G. W. Hall. The church was built in 1870. The present pastor is Rev. A. G. Bloomfield.
The South Danby Methodist Church was organized as early as 1830, and was formerly a part of the North Danby charge. The church was built in 1836. The charge was separated from the parent church in 1843. In 1871 the church was extensively repaired. The first pastor was Rev. Peter Compton. The present pastor is S. D. Galpin.
The Church of New Jerusalem .- This denomination was organized into a society May 30, 1816, in the old school house, under the name of " New Jerusalem Society of the County of Tioga." There were then sixty-four subscribers. On the 23d of March, 1825, eighteen per- sons formed a society in this faith at Danby, under the pastoral care of Dr. Lewis Beers. In the following April a church was begun on a lot donated by Dr. Beers; it was finished in November. The building has not been regularly used since 1866, and is now a barn. There were no regular services after 1866.
Christ's Protestant Episcopal Church was organized August 12, 1826, in the school house of District No. 2. The first rector was Rev. Lucius Carter: the first wardens, Daniel Williams and Walter Bennett. The church building was erected in 1834 and consecrated in 1836. The church is not now active.
The West Danby Baptist Church was first organized with twenty- seven members dismissed from the Spencer church for that purpose in 1821. This church was afterwards removed to Ithaca. In 1823 the old Spencer church was divided into the First and Second Baptist Churches of Spencer, and the latter subsequently removed to West Danby. There the church building was erected in 1840. The present pastor is Rev. S. S, Vose.
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TOWN OF NEWFIELD.
CHAPTER XVII.
TOWN OF NEWFIELD.
THIS town was formerly a part of Tioga county, and was taken from the town of Spencer in that county on the 22d of February, 1811, and called " Cayuta." The name was changed to Newfield March 29, 1822, it having become a part of Tompkins county when the county was or- ganized in 1817. The town was reduced in area on the 4th of June, 1853, when "all that part of the town lying on the west side of said town, and beginning at the north line of said town, at the northeast corner of lot 4, thence along the east line of lots 4, 8, 12, 19 to 84, 51 and 52, and 9 and 10, shall after January 1, 1856, be annexed to and form a part of Catharines in Chemung (now Schuyler) county."
The records of this town giving the early proceedings of the author- ities were all destroyed in 1875.
Newfield is in the southwest corner of Tompkins county, and contains 34,892 acres, of which about 25,000 are under cultivation. The surface is hilly, much broken in the central part, with ridges rising from 400 to 600 feet above the valleys. The soil is a good gravelly loam. The town is generally well watered by living springs and their outlet streams. Cayuta Creek drains the southern part, and the inlet to Cayuga Lake the northern part. These are the principal streams.
The territory of this town not being within the military tract, and its lands therefore not drawn by soldiers, speculators and settlers did not buy up the lots, nor were the farms occupied until several years after pioneers had made their homes in Ithaca, Dryden, Groton and Lansing. But the time came when the rugged and uninviting aspect of the town could not longer deter the adventurous and hardy pioneer from entering its thick forests to begin the work of civilization. Set- tlement began in the town with the advent of James Thomas, who, about the year 1800, settled on the old Newtown road. None of his descendants lives in the town, and almost nothing is known of where he came from or whither he went. Within a year or two later Joseph
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Chambers settled on the farm occupied in late years by Augustus Brown. In 1804 John White arrived, and about the same time David Linderman came in from Orange county and settled on the farm recently occupied by Curtis Protts. He brought his wife and infant son, the latter being Harvey Linderman, long a well known resident of Newfield village.
Richard Seabring, a Revolutionary soldier, died in Newfield in 1821. His son Cornelius was a very early settler in the the town of Lansing, and in April, 1804, removed to Newfield and located at what became known as "Seabring Settlement." He was an early postmaster, when the mail was carried once a week on horseback between Ithaca and Elmira. He continued until 1824 on the farm first occupied by him, and then sold it to his son Samuel. The latter died in 1871, and the farm passed to Cornelius H., son of Samuel.
In 1805 Barnabas Gibbs settled on what has been called the John P. Hazen farm. He had then lived one year in Dryden. His son, John C. Gibbs, was about three years old when they came to Newfield, and passed his long life in the town. One of his daughters became the wife of J. B. Albright of this town.
Philip Lebar, from Pennsylvania, settled early in Lansing, but came to Newfield in 1806. Jonathan Compton was also a settler in the town in 1806.
From and including the year 1809 settlements were numerous in this town, among them being James Todd, father of John P. and Solomon S. Todd, well known residents of the town, and was conspicuous in the community, and one of the early deacons in the Presbyterian church.
Abraham Brown, father of Alvah, Stephen S., Hiram and Holden T. Brown, arrived in town in 1809 and settled on the farm afterwards. owned by his sons.
In 1810 Isaac L. Smith, who had settled early in Lansing, came to Newfield and located on the farm, where his son, Samuel H., after- wards lived. The several pioneers who came into this town from Lansing were led to adopt that course on account of the comparatively high prices of land in that town.
Deacon Charles Gillett came in at about, the same time with Mr. Smith and settled where Joseph Kellogg lived in recent years. Deacon Gillett had also settled some years earlier in Lansing and married a sister of Mr. Smith.
Solomon Kellogg came in about 1811 and, with others already men- tioned, has descendants in the town.
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Between 1812 and 1815 there was considerable influx of population in the town. Deacon Ebenezer Patchen was one of the early settlers in the so-called "Windfall Settlement." James Murray, father of David Murray, settled where Morgan R. Van Kirk afterwards lived, and Jeremiah and Stephen Green settled in the Seabring neighbor- hood.
Jacob A. and James Trumbull came from New York city and settled at Trumbull's Corners in 1813. Other settlers of this period in that immediate locality are mentioned further on.
William Dudley, from New Jersey, came to Ithaca not far from 1810, and in 1816 removed to Newfield. His son, George Dudley, worked in the store of Luther Gere at Ithaca, where he learned the mercantilc business, and afterwards became the first merchant at Newfield village. His brother, Abram, was associated with him in the business. William Dudley was grandfather of P. S. Dudley.
Noah Beardslee was an early settler in the town of Lansing, remov- ing there from Connecticut in 1806. He was a blacksmith. In 1818 he removed to Newfield, and later in life was engaged in lumbering. He died in 1868. John Beardslee, long a resident of Newfield, was a son of Noah.
The other prominent settlers of the town will be properly mentioned in the succeeding village accounts.
The town of Newfield, although not settled so early as other parts of the county, has kept well to the front in more recent years in its agri- cultural interests. More than two-thirds of the town is under a good state of cultivation, while such mercantile operations and mills are car- ried on as are needed in the community. Churches and schools were early established and have since been liberally supported. In the war of the Rebellion the town sent about ??? of her sons to aid the distressed government, and their patriotic deeds are remembered by their grate- ful townsmen.
Owing to the destruction of the town records only a portion of the town officers can be presented. The supervisor in 1878-89 was Ezra Marion; 1880-87, Randolph Horton; 1888-90, S. A. Seabring; 1891-93, Randolph Horton; 1894, William H. Van Ostrand.
The town officers for 1894 are as follows: Supervisor, William H. Van Ostrand; town clerk, Howard McDaniels; justice of the peace, William Weatherell; assessor, Alonzo Bower; commissioner of high-
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ways, Irving Holman; collector, S. W. Bellis; overseer of the poor, C. M. Beardslee.
STATISTICAL .- The report of the Board of Supervisors for the year 1893 gives the following statistics: Number of acres of land, 36,996; as- sessed value of real estate, including village property and real estate of corporations, $488,670; total assessed value of personal property, $32,- 220; amount of town taxes, $6,212.45; amount of county taxes, $1,534 .- 97; aggregate taxation, $9,285.56; rate of tax on $1 valuation, .0184. Corporations-P. & R. Railroad Co., assessed value of real estate, $20,000; amount of tax, $368; P. & R. Railroad Telegraph, $500; amount of tax, $9.20; N. Y. & P. Telegraph and Telephone Co., $5,000; amount of tax, $92.
The methods of the farmers of this town have undergone considerable change in the past few years, as they have in other towns of the county. While sufficient grain is generally produced for home needs, and in some instances more than this, much attention is now being paid to the production of hay for market. Many acres are thus turned over to grass, and shipments from the town arc large.
NEWFIELD VILLAGE .- This little village is situated near the Cayuga Inlet in the northeast part of the town. Its site is embraced in the Livingston purchase, a part of which passed to Stephen B, Munn, and for which James Pumpelly acted as agent. Through him Eliakim Dean, father of Jefferson Dean, and grandfather of David M. Dean, a prominent attorney of Ithaca, purchased the village site in 1802. Mr. Dean's residence was in Ithaca, but he procecded to improve his pur- chase. In 1809 he built the first saw mill, where the upper mill stands.
In 1811 he erected the first grist mill in the town on the site of the lower mill. This mill was sold a few years later to Gen. J. John Green. Jefferson Dean is now residing in Ithaca at a ripe old age.
In 1815 Samuel R. Rogers established a carding mill and cloth mak- ing factory at the village, which was long ago abandoned. The Perry saw mill stands on the site.
In 1816 William Cox cleared a lot and built the fifth frame house in the village, opposite the hotel on the north side of the creek. There was a post-office at the Seabring neighborhood and about this time was transferred to Newfield village, and Mr. Cox was the first postmaster there; his receipts for the first quarter were $1.50. Mr. Cox was born in Orange county, this State, of strict Presbyterian parents. When
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young he went to Ohio and was converted under the ministrations of Rev. J. B. Finley, and became a Methodist. He afterwards was prom- inent in establishing the first Methodist class in Newfield village.
In 1846 John T. James began manufacturing oil cloth in the south part of the town, and in the following year removed the business to the village. It was long ago given up.
George Dudley kept the first store in the village, beginning about the year 1816. Under the management of himself, his brother Abram, and son, P. S. Dudley, the business continued and prospered. John L. Puff & Sons, Geo. W. Peck, E. Patterson, S. Dudley Cook and Wm. Tanner are now leading merchants.
Jeremiah Hall kept the first tavern in the village in 1810. There are now two hotels, one kept by Robert S. McCorn and the other by Nelson Swan. The McCorn House was formerly the residence of Dr. Cook.
The first log school house was built about 1816, and was succeeded by what was long known as "the Old Yellow School House." This old house is now a store house on the Benjamin Drake farm, and the former school yard forms an extension of the cemetery. The first meeting house was built by the Presbyterians in 1832; before that time religious meetings, as well as those of various other kinds, were held in the old school house.
The little village grew steadily, but its prosperity was seriously checked on the 15th of June, 1875, by a disastrous fire which destroyed a large share of the business part of the place. But this fire was in one respect a blessing, for on the several sites of the ruins more substantial and handsome brick and wood structures arose, giving the village a more modern appearance. The Newfield Flouring Mills were built by Nicholas Luce and Dudley about 1830. Mr. Nicholas soon became sole proprietor and continued to 1842. After several changes the property passed to P. S. Dudley in 1861. The mill is now conducted by Wm. H. Van Ostrand, who changed it to the roller process in 1894.
The Lower Mills were erected in 1850 by John Dean. In 1856 P. S. Dudley purchased an interest in connection with O. C. Puff. Dudley & Puff continued to operate the mills to 1859, when Mr. Dudley became sole proprietor. The mill has since passed to Wm. H. Wetherell, who added a saw mill a few years ago. Below this mill was formerly a cloth factory, and still farther down is the old tannery.
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There have been various saw mills scattered throughout the town, but they are gradually disappearing as the timber becomes more scarce.
TRUMBULL'S CORNERS .- This is a hamlet in the northwest part of the town, and was first settled in 1813 by Jacob A. and James Trumbull, from New York city. They took up land on three of the four corners, which gave the place its name. Herman Parker, James Douglass, J. V. Clark, Joseph Stubbs, Lewis Hughes, Daniel Strang and others settled early in that locality. Shops and stores were established in later years, and about the year 1844 a post-office was opened, with Daniel Strang, jr., postmaster. The present postmaster is Theodore Kresga, who also has a store, and another is conducted by James U. Douglass. There is no manufacturing here other than the saw mill.
EAST NEWFIELD .- This is a station on the .G., I. & S. Branch of the Lehigh Valley Railroad, and a post-office, in which John C. Gibbs was the first official. The present postmaster is H. B. Howell. The name of the post-office has been changed to " Nina."
There were formerly post-offices at "Pony Hollow" and at Strat- ton's, the latter in the eastern part of the town; the former has been closed.
Rural cemetery associations have been formed under the State laws at both Newfield and Trumbull's Corners, the former on the 2d of April, 1868, and the latter on the 1st of May, 1877. The first officers of the Newfield Association were: David Nichols, president; R. H. Estabrook, secretary; B. B. Anderson, treasurer. The grounds have been handsomely improved and contain five acres. The present officers are : President, James F. Linderman ; secretary, Geo. W. Peck ; treasurer, R. Horton; trustees, Geo. W. Peck, James F. Linderman, John L. Puff, A. J. Van Kirk, Morgan P. Van Kirk, Chas. W. McCorn, Jona- than Stamp. The first officers of the Trumbull's Corners Association were Burr Rumsey, president; E. Keene, secretary; J. W. Clark, treasurer.
King Hiram Lodge F. & A. M. was instituted Junc 1, 1880. The present officers are: Master, Wm. Payne; sr. warden, Charles Stringer; jr. warden, Wm. E. Bush; sr. dcaeon, S. D. Cook; jr. deacon, Berkely Simpson ; tyler, De Witt Payne; secretary, Chas. Van Marter; treas- urer, John L. Puff.
RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS .- As early as can be known the Methodist denomination is entitled to the honor of first establishing a class in
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TOWN OF NEWFIELD.
Newfield, in 1818, in the Seabring neighborhood, and another in the village of Newfield a year later. Of course there had been religious meetings at various points, sometimes conducted by itinerant mission- aries and preachers, several years earlier than this date. Jeremiah Green was the first leader at Seabring's, and soon afterward moved to Newfield and occupied the same position there. William Cox was a conspicuous worker in the cause at the village, and first procured the services of Rev. James Kelsey, then holding an appointment at Ithaca. At his residence the class meetings were held during six years after its formation.
The first Methodist society was organized at Newfield in 1834, and Benjamin H. Clark, Israel Mead, H. M. Ferguson, David Murray, N. W. Reynolds, Charles M. Turner, Abram Dudley, Samuel Seabring, and Daniel B. Swartwood were the first trustees. The erection of the meeting house was begun the same year and finished in the next year, . under the pastorate of Rev. Moses Adams, the first pastor. The old church, with various improvements, served the purposes of the society until the present edifice was erected. The present pastor is Henry C. Andrews.
The First Baptist Church of Newfield was organized in 1820 by Elder Oviatt. The first deacons were Elijah B. Georgia and Nathan Stewart. Meetings were held in the school houses until 1842, when the church was erected. The church had a fair degree of prosperity many years, but for some time there has been no resident minister, and no services are held.
The First Presbyterian Church of Newfield was organized with twelve members, under Rev. William Levensworth, about the year 1820, in the Yellow School House. Miller Wood, Charles McCorn, Simeon T. Bush, Hobert Estabrook and Daniel Crowell were chosen trustees. The lot on which the church was built was conveyed to the trustees Febru- ary 10, 1832, and in that year the meeting house was built. In 1848 the church underwent extensive repairs. The present pastor is Rev. Christian W. Winne.
The First Christian Church of Newfield was organized May 20, 1854, in School District No. 12. The first pastor was Rev. Ezra Chase. In 1858 the society built a neat church, which is still standing.
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CHAPTER XVIII.
TOWN OF GROTON.
THE present town of Groton was formed as Division, April 2, 1812, and was taken from the older town of Locke. On March 13, 1818, the name was changed to Groton, so called from the town of Groton, Conn., from which State came many of the early settlers of this locality. Trac- ing briefly the formation of the several towns, of which Groton was once a part, we learn that the original town or provisional district of Milton was organized January 22, 1789, as one of the civil divisions of Montgomery county. In 1791 Herkimer county was set off from Montgomery on the west, while in 1794 Onondaga county was taken from the western part of Herkimer, and still later, 1799, Cayuga was taken from Onondaga. Each successive formation included what is now Groton, although the region was so little settled and improved previous to 1800 as to require no special exercise of authority over its territory other than the record of conveyances. The town or district of Milton became known as Genoa in 1808, but prior to that time, and on February 20, 1802, Locke was formed from Milton and included all that is now Groton. In 1817 Groton, under the original name of Di- vision, was made a separate town of Cayuga county, and ten days later, April 17, 1812, Tompkins county was created, and this town was made one of its original civil divisions.
Groton is located in the northeast part of the county. The land sur- face is rolling and in places moderately hilly. From the valleys the land rises by gradual slopes to heights of from one hundred to three hundred and fifty feet. The principal or central valleys are located in the central and east parts of the town, and each extends in a generally north and south direction, following, respectively, the courses of Owasco Inlet and Fall Creek. These streams are the chief water courses of the town, each furnishing excellent water power privileges, and likewise ample natural drainage system. Owasco Inlet courses across the town from south to north and discharges its waters into Owasco Lake; Fall Creek crosses the town from north to south, thence passes westerly and empties into Cayuga Lake at Ithaca.
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TOWN OF GROTON.
SETTLEMENT .- The pioneer settlement of Groton was made while the territory of the town formed a part of the still older jurisdictions of Locke and Milton. Such publications as have been made relating to early settlement generally accord this honor to Samuel Hogg, at West Groton; Iehabod Bowen (Brown), John Guthrie and John Perrin, at Groton; and J. Williams, J. Houghtailing and W. S. Clark, at East Groton. There may be added to the list of pioneers in East Groton the names of Capt. Jesse Clark and Luther Bliss, each of whom is equally deserving of mention in this connection. Also among the first settlers in the central portion a claim of priority is made in favor of Ephraim Spaulding and Michael Grummon, who are said to have come to the place in June, 1795, and cleared land where the Union School now stands. They also built log houses in the town during the same year. It is also said that Major Benjamin Hicks, a former Revolutionary officer, was the first settler, and that his improvement was made on lot ^5 during the summer of 1797; that John Perrin was in the employ of Major Hicks and made the clearing referred to. These facts, and others of importance, we glean from the address of Professor Baldwin, who made thorough research into the early history of the town, and whose conclusions are undoubtedly reliable. By his consent we make free use of his material for the benefit of the readers of this work. From the same authority it is learned that in October, 1796, three fam- ilies set out from Massachusetts to make future homes in this town. They were John Perrin and wife, Ebenezer Williams, in the first load, and Ezra Carpenter in the second, all bringing furniture and other necessaries. In due time all reached their destination and made settle- ments in the town. Still, the question of priority of settlement has ever been disputed, but whether it was Spaulding and Grummon, the Vermonters, or John Perrin, the Yankee from Massachusetts, is quite immaterial; hence no effort will here be made to settle it.
In the spring of 1798 Lemuel Perrin, father of John, settled in the town, and about the same time came S. Jenks Carpenter. Ezra Loomis settled in 1804, followed in the same year by Samuel Ingalls and Silas Stuart. In 1802 Jonas Williams purchased 106 acres for $320.25, and built on it the first grist mill in Groton. Other settlers of about the same time were Admatha Blodgett, Dr. Nathan Branch (the first phy- sician of the town), Jonathan Bennett, Peleg Hathaway, Abiatha Hath- away and others, whose names are now forgotten. The first justice of the peace was Jonathan Bennett, appointed in 1805 or '6, and he held
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office many years. In 1806, according to Professor Baldwin, David - William, and James Hicks settled in the town, and within two years Benjamin and William Williams also became settlers. The surname Williams afterward became prominent in Groton affairs, and some of its representatives were identified with the best interests of the town.
However, bearing still further on the subject of pioneership in Gro- ton, Nelson Trumble states that his ancestor, Luther Trumble, settled about one mile north of Groton village between 1790 and 1800. Luther Trumble, son of the pioneer just mentioned, was afterward prominently connected with the building up of Groton village and its locality, and other members of the family became well known in the early history of the town. By personal application to representatives of old families we learn that many of the pioneers were here as early as 1805 or '6, and a few as early as 1800. In another department of this work will be found extended reference to these old pioneers and their families; hence in the present connection little else than an allusion to their settlement is- necessary.
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