USA > New York > Wayne County > Landmarks of Wayne County, New York, Pt. 1 > Part 18
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Palmyra). Mr. Jenkins at once began the survey of farm lots along the Ganargwa (Mud Creek); he built a cabin about two miles below Palmyra village, which sheltered his surveying party, consisting of Solo- mon Earle, Alpheus Harris, Daniel Ranson, and a Mr. Barker. Early one morning, while asleep, they were attacked by a party of Tuscarora Indians, who fired through the unchinked logs of their cabin. Barker was killed and Earle was wounded; the others put the assailants to flight, and at daylight buried Barker. They immediately went to Geneva, gave the alarm, pursued the savages, and captured two on the Chemung; one was executed under " committee law " with a hatchet, but the other escaped. Earle recovered and became the pioneer ferry- man on the Seneca outlet.
This incident caused the abandonment of the Pennsylvania move- ment. John Swift went to New England, where he labored to induce emigration, and in September, 1790, established his family in a bark- covered log house just north of the lower end of Main street in Palmyra village. This was the first permanent white settlement in the present town, and his location was long known as Swift's landing. His wife was a typical pioneer woman, and had more than one encounter with the dusky Indians. He was a very prominent man in the pioneer set- tlement, being supervisor in all eight years, and holding several other positions of trust. In 1810 he built the first grist mill in town opposite the old Harrison mill, and at his cabin, as captain, held the first militia training; there also the first church in Palmyra and the third west of Onondaga county was organized. He also gave lots for the first school house, the first burial place, and the first church in Palmyra village. His son, Asa Swift, was the first white male child born in town. Mr. Swift became brevet general in the war of 1812, and at Queenston Heights led a force against Fort George, where he captured a picket- post and about sixty men. "An oversight permitted the prisoners to retain their arms," and one of them asking, " Who is General Swift?" he replied: "I am General Swift!" Instantly a fatal shot mortally wounded the gallant man; he was taken to the nearest house and died, and was buried July 12, 1814. Afterwards the citizens of Palmyra re- moved his remains to the old cemetery, and the Legislature, as an ac- knowledgment of his patriotism and services, presented a sword to his eldest son, and ordered a full length portrait of the general hung in the City Hall in New York.
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Webb Harwood, who came from Adams, Mass., with his wife, in the fall of 1789, settled just over the line in Macedon; with him came Jona- than Warner, Noah Porter, and Bennett Bates, three single men. David White moved in with his family in 1790; he died soon afterward, and his was the first funeral in this town. Of those who settled soon after were James Galloway, sr., John Hurlburt, Nathan Parshall, William Jackway, Barney Horton, Jonathan Millett, and Mrs. Tiffany. Lemuel Spear had purchased land of Isaac Hathaway, a mile west of Palmyra village, for twenty-five cents an acre, and moved his family of eleven children hither in February, 1791, bringing two yoke of oxen, some cows, and a few sheep. He was a Revolutionary soldier, and came from Massachusetts. He died in 1809, and his last surviving children were Ebenezer, Abraham, and Stephen. Ebenezer Spear burned for Gen. Othniel Taylor, of Canandaigua, the first limekiln west of Seneca Lake. The first corn carried to mill from this town was by Noah Por- ter in 1790, who made the trip to Jerusalem, Yates county. Mr. Por- ter erected the first frame barn in Palmyra, and Lemuel Spear the second.
In 1790 Gideon and Edward Durfee came on foot from Tiverton, R. I., to the Genesee country and purchased 1, 600 acres of John Swift, paying for the same in coin. Swift had been unable to meet his payments to Phelps and Gorham, but this deal enabled him to secure a warranty deed of the town. Gideon Durfee moved the entire family to Palmyra in 1791, and settled on their tract, long known as Durfee street, below the village. With them came Isaac Springer, and the three men built a log house and planted six acres of corn; they also planted apple seeds, from which grew the old Durfee orchard -- the first cultivated apples raised in Palmyra. Pardon Durfee subsequently planted some pear seeds, which produced a seedling that he gave to his brother-in-law, Weaver Osband; the latter brought it into bearing, and in this way originated the famous Osband pear. Pardon, Stephen, and Job Durfee were brothers of Gideon, and became settlers soon after 1791, as did also the father, Gideon, sr., and a sister, Ruth. The latter married Captain William Wilcox, which was the first marriage in the town; she died November 13, 1858. Lemuel Durfee came here in 1794. Gideon Durfee, jr., had eleven children and numerous grandchildren. Stephen Durfee, in raising his frame house in 1811, inaugurated the first prac- tical temperance movement in Palmyra.
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Gideon Durfee opened as a tavern his log house, which stood on the site of the subsequent residence of George II. Townsend, and Louis Philippe, afterwards king of France, is said to have stopped with him while on a visit to this country in 1796. Pardon Durfee established a rope-walk, and continued it until his death, April 28, 1828. Job Durfee purchased 375 acres of land, March 2, 1792, and died in town in 1813. Ilis son, Job, built a stone house on his farm on the Marion road about 1860, and died soon afterward.
In 1794 a block house was erected to protect the settlers in case of hostilities with the Indians; in stood under the brow of "Wintergreen hill."
Following the Durfees from Rhode Island came Weaver Osband, William, James, and Thomas Rogers, Zebulon Williams, Isaac and Festus Goldsmith, and Humphrey Sherman. The Rogers brothers came in 1792. William was a judge of Ontario county, a magistrate, and a member of the Legislature. Himself a widower, he married the widow of his brother James, and died in 1836. A daughter became the wife of Noah Porter. A son, William, was an early packetmaster on the Erie Canal. Thomas Rogers, son of James and the father of David, assisted in surveying the town.
David Wilcox, from Rhode Island, came with his wife and two chil- dren in April, 1791; his daughter, Mary (Mrs. Alvah Hendee), born June 29, 1791, was the first white child born in Palmyra. Nathan Harris, father of Martin Harris, the Mormon, was a noted hunter and fisherman. His wife was Rhoda, and in 1793 they moved from Rhode Island to this town. February 3, 1794, he purchased of John Swift 600 acres of land at fifty cents an acre. He was familiarly known as " Trout Harris."
Humphrey Sherman married Mary, eldest daughter of Gideon Durfee, sr., December 2, 1761. He purchased of John Swift for eighteen cents per acre a tract of 1,000 acres, lying south of the creek and bordering Arcadia. With his brother David Mr. Sherman began clearing, and in 1793 built a log house and sowed ten acres of wheat. In September, 1794, the family, consisting of eight children (including Alexander, the father of Durfee A. Sherman), moved to their new home. Humphrey Sherman built a blacksmith shop, and an ashery in 1794, a distillery in 1795, and a large brick building in 1801, which he opened as a tavern. His wife died in 1794, and her burial was the first at East Palmyra. The Sherman tract was sold in various parcels,
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about as follows: Gideon Durfce, 200 acres, who sold to Israel Perry; James Finney, 100 acres; Ashur Doolittle, a tract on the northwest; Luke Mason, south of Doolittle; and the remainder was divided between the sons Gideon, Stephen, Alexander, Samuel, and Jacob. Ashur Doolittle built and operated quite a large tannery for that period.
On lot 71 a Mr. Seeley had a small distillery; the land passed to P. D. Fellows. Lot 70 was occupied by Joshua Zeny, then by B. J. Jordan, and later by Peter Whitbeck; on lot 65, afterward the Hudson farm, lived John Patrick; George P. Stever owned lot 69, and sold to P. D. Zeller, who was succeeded by his son. Other residents in the neighbor- hood were: Alexander Foreett, Charles Curtis, B. Franklin, and Thomas and A. T. Goldsmith. James Galloway, sr., purchased 100 acres south of the creek, paying for the same with a sow and litter of pigs; this tract passed to his son, James, jr. A large tract in the south part of the town was owned by the Rogers family, and west of them lived E. Cornell and Thomas Galloway.
The Long Island colony was perhaps the most important body of settlers to take up their residence in Palmyra. A company consisting of eleven persons was formed at Southampton, L. I., in 1788, and in the spring of 1790 they sent their agents, Elias Reeves and Joel Foster, to purchase a suitable location. These men visited Pittsburg, Pa., where they were joined by Luke Foster, and the three went on to Fort Wash- ington (now Cincinnati, (.). There they bought land on the Turkey bottoms, and leaving Luke Foster to build a log house returned to re- port their success. Arriving home they found William Hopkins (uncle to Elias Reeves and a son of Hon. Stephen Hopkins, a signer of the Declaration of Independence) and Abraham Foster on a visit from New Jersey. William Hopkins, who had been informed of the Genesee country, induced the colony to relinquish their Ohio lands and seek a location in Ontario county.
Accordingly Reeves and Hopkins were sent to Western New York, and Joel and Abraham Foster and Luther Sanford were detailed to ex- plore Northern Pennsylvania. The former left Long Island on the 20th of August, 1791, and arriving in what is now Palmyra cut their names upon some trees as a pre-emption mark. They soon joined the other party at Lindleytown (now Corning), where the following compact was drawn and signed :
This instrument of writing witnesseth, that William Hopkins, of the State of New Jersey, Elias Reeves, Joel Foster, Abraham Foster, and Luther Sanford, all of the
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State of New York, do agree and bind themselves severally, each to the other, under the penalty of fifty pounds, to abide by and make good any purchase of land, which Elias Reeves and Abraham Foster shall make of Oliver Phelps, esq., or any other person, within twenty days from the date hereof. The proportion of the land which each of us shall have is to be concluded among ourselves hereafter. In witness of all of which we have hereunto set our hands and seals, in Ontario county, State of New York, this ninth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hun- dred and ninety-one.
WILLIAM HOPKINS, ELIAS REEVES, JOEL FOSTER, ABRAHAM FOSTER, LUTHER SANFORD.
A contract was made with Oliver Phelps in September, 1791, for 5, 500 acres for 1, 100 pounds New York currency ; 100 pounds were paid down. John Swift was unable to meet his payments, the title was in doubt, and the purchase was made directly of Phelps & Gorham; Durfee's arrival, previously noted, enabled Swift to pay for his tract, and in 1792 the Long Island company took their deed from him. This is the second recorded deed of East Palmyra land, the first being that for the 600 acres south of the creek, sold and deeded to Gideon Durfee, May 19, 1791, by John Swift.
The colony, consisting of ten families, started from Long Island on Monday morning, April 4, 1792, on a sail boat, built by Joel Foster, and arrived at the mouth of Mill brook on May 2, following. Mrs. Joel Foster brought in her arms her eldest son, Harvey, then eleven months old. Among the pioneers were the Clarks, Posts, Howells, Jaggers, Culvers, Jessups; Calvin, Charles, and Luther, sons of Col. John Bradish; Joseph Colt, Asa Lilly, Enoch Sanders, and Silas Stod- dard. "Their boat that brought them here was finally used on Seneca Lake as a pleasure craft.
. The lands comprising the present town of Palmyra were surveyed into lots, save the Long Island farm of 5, 500 acres, which was divided, by those of the company present, into lots, and drawn by them as shares. Each man of the Long Island colony owned from the creek to the Marion town line. The lands along the creek were first settled. Among the original owners were Zebulon Williams, 100 acres; Abraham Gallop; John Russell, 200 acres; Isaac Arnold; Isaac Thayer, 200 acres (including the present depot site); Job, Edward, and Pardon Durfee; Weaver Osband; William Wilcox; Robert Hinds; Howell Post, father of S. G .; Joel and David H. Foster; James and Elias Reeves, 400 acres;
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Jedediah Hopkins and Reuben Stark, 175 acres each; John Hopkins, 360 acres; and Seth Howell, Oliver Clark, Moses Culver, and Luther Sanford, whose combined purchases aggregated 450 acres.
Luther Sanford married Jennie Robinson; he was a carpenter and built the first frame barn in town. Joel Foster was a shoemaker, Paul Reeves a millwright, Oliver Clark a tailor as late as 1824, Elias Reeves a weaver, Joseph Burnett a hatter, and Seth Howell a roughhewer. Isaac, Jonah, and Gilbert Howell placed a saw and grist mill in opera- tion on the creek, a half-mile east of Palmyra village, in September, 1793. The first wedding in the settlement was that of Charles Reeves and Eunice Howell, the ceremony being performed by Rev. Ira Condit, October 27, 1793. Stephen Cook, a member of the colony, landed at East Palmyra with $4,000 in coin. Mr. and Mrs. William Hopkins reached the house of John Hopkins on July 9, 1793; both died on the 17th, eight days later.
Joel and Abraham Foster erected the first saw mill, and Jedediah Foster built in 1803 the first two-story house in town. The latter's great-granddaughter became the wife of J. W. Hardy. The first build- ing in the vicinity of the Central Railroad depot at Palmyra village was erected by Zebulon Williams, the pioneer merchant, who occupied it as a store and dwelling; it stood near the east water-house. About 1805 Williams returned to Seneca county, whence he had come, and the building was converted into a cooper shop by William Cook. Subse- quently it became Gregg & Chase's furnace, which burned, and the site was afterward occupied by Mrs. Sarah Grinnell's orchard and garden.
C'apt. James Galloway was a surveyor of the Phelps and Gorham pur- chase. He came from Newton, where he had witnessed the Indians transfer their lands by treaty, and April 27, 1791, purchased of Swift a farm, on which he settled, and which in time passed to his son James, jr., whose brick house stands near the site of the family's original log cabin. Captain Galloway constructed the first mill dam across the Ganargwa, where now stands the old Harrison mill; he was obliged to cut a passageway for boats when the creek was declared a navigable stream. On the south bank he built a primitive saw mill, of which Paul Reeves was the millwright; it was burned two years later and at once rebuilt.
Hiram Foster, a brother of Abraham, was born here November 8, 1794, and at his death was the oldest native of the town. He married Nancy, daughter of James Reeves in 1819. He was long a Sabbath
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school superintendent, a school teacher, and prominent in the Presby- terian Church.
John Swift, the Durfees, and others, engaged in clearing Ganargwa. Creek of old logs. Regarding the creek as a permanent highway, they cut through the wood-riffs to Lyons. Spring freshets swept off the logs and left the channel free. Swift claimed the stream through Palmyra as individual property. At his death Joel McCollum, holding a judg- ment against his estate, levied on the creek, intending to exact tribute from the millers or a removal of their dams. The mills had been erected by special legislative grants and deeds from John Swift, so McCollum failed in his purpose. Swift's landing, near the Palmyra Central depot, was the head of navigation for seventeen years. Paul Reeves built a mill in Arcadia, and constructed a plank-lock, but the freshet washed it away. He circulated a petition in 1807, making the center of township twelve, first and second ranges, the head of naviga- tion.
Col. Ambrose Salisbury, born in Conway, Mass., in 1792, removed to Phelps, N. Y., with his father's family in 1801, and in the war of 1812 went to the Niagara frontier as orderly sergeant in Capt. Selma Stan- ley's rifle company of the 31st Regiment. Returning home in June, 1813, he again went out, as substitute for his unele, John Salisbury, in Capt. Aaron Reamer's company of dragoons from Geneva. Crossing to Canada in pursuit of the enemy, he particpated in several skirmishes, and coming to this town he purchased, with Caleb Beals, lots 7, 20, and 21, at East Palmyra; these contained 540 acres, and were bought of Elisha Satterlee in the fall of 1814 for $1,402. Colonel Salisbury held several town offices, being a justice of the peace thirty years, and of- ficiating at mere than forty weddings. He was elected to the State Legislature in 1832, 1833, and 1839, and was appointed canal appraiser May 11, 1843. The same year he contracted to build the M. E. Church at East Palmyra. In 1822 he became an ensign in the 39th Regiment N. Y. State militia, and rising to the grade of colonel resigned in 1834. Ile died July 21, 1864; his wife, Anna (Vandermark), died October 6, 1848. Of their two children only the daughter attained maturity.
Maltby Clark was a son of Oliver and a grandson of Samuel Clark, and was born at East Palmyra, March 31, 1798. Samuel's children were: Benjamin, Samuel, jr., Oliver, Mrs. Luther Sanford, Mrs. Sam- uel Soverhill, and Mrs. Gabriel Rogers. Oliver's children were : Maltby, Dennis, Jerry, Nelson, Mrs. J. M. Grow, Mrs. Henry O. Miles, Hiram,
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and Matilda. He died in 1843. Maltby Clark married Maria M. Ma- son, who died, and he married Jerusha Jagger. He was early elected school inspector, assessor, and justice of the peace, and from 1837 was county coroner six years. In 1847 he was elected county superintend- ent of the poor, holding the office two terms, and being re-elected in 1855. He died June 4, 1875. He had seven children, of whom the sons were Henry M., Lucius HI., and Oliver M. Henry M. Clark was member of assembly in 1843; he was born in East Palmyra, March 6, 1826.
Gen. Thomas Rogers, born in Richmond, R. I., February 13, 1790, came to Palmyra with his parents when a child, and died here October 5, 1853; his wife, Harriet Holmes, died May 10, 1872. Their only child was the late Carlton Holmes Rogers.
Col. George Beckwith, a native of Connecticut, born October 16, 1790, came to Palmyra while a young man and entered into a mercantile part- nership with a brother under the name of N. H. & G. Beckwith; he afterward conducted business alone and amassed a fortune. In the days of general trainings he organized an " independent " company, and rose to a colonel's commission. For many years he was an elder in the Pres- byterian Church; he died in 1867.
Daniel Chapman served about three years and was wounded in the war of 1812. Hle settled two miles north of East Palmyra, and died there November 9, 1872.
Col. Frederick Morley, who died in Detroit, Mich., in February, 1889, was born in England in 1821, and was a son of Rev. Luke Morley, for several years pastor of the Baptist Church in Clyde. . He established the Palmyra Courier in 1838, and was also appointed collector of tolls on the canal. He was afterward connected successively with the Detroit Enquirer, the Advertiser, and the Post and Tribune. During the war he was an adjutant-general and in 1881-82 was immigration commis- sioner of Michigan.
Col. Joseph W. Corning, a native of Nova Scotia, settled on a farm in Ontario in 1838, and in 1841 was appointed a postmaster there. Re- moving to Palmyra in 1847 he was admitted to the bar in 1855, and in 1860 be became a member of the Legislature. In 1864 he raised a com . pany for the war, and rose to the position of lieutenant-colonel of the 33d N. Y. Vols. and afterwards became colonel of the 194th Regiment. He was mustered out February 3, 1865, and returning to Palmyra en- gaged in the grocery business. In 1881 he was appointed to a position
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in the New York custom house and in 1889 became postmaster at Pal- myra; he died June 29, 1890, and was succeeded in the latter office by his widow.
Morris Puxley drove the first 'bus to the first train in Palmyra village, and continued in that occupation until his death in October, 1889, aged seventy years.
Hon. George W. Cuyler was a prominent Democrat, and was appointed by Governor Hoffman one of the committee to consider State taxation. He was candidate for State senator in 1873, and was several times del- egate to State and National conventions. He died here July 20, 1876.
The first burial place in the town was on the original Durfee home- stead, subsequently the Lakey farm, and the first interment therein was a child of Gideon Durfee; soon afterward James Rogers, the first adult, was laid to rest there. In that plat lie the remains of many of the first settlers. . The present beautiful cemetery in Palmyra village was estab- lished in 1844; in 1846 a public vault was erected. The Rogers Me- morial Chapel was built in 1886; it is of stone, and owes its erection to a fund of $4,000 left for the purpose by Carlton H. Rogers. George WV. Wheeler has been superintendent since 1858. The cemetery is owned by the village and is governed by a committee appointed by the trustees of the corporation.
In 1793 two log school houses were erected, one on the site given by John Swift in Palmyra village, the other, known as the Hopkins school house, in East Palmyra. In a part of D. H. Foster's house Abigail Fos- ter, his daughter, carly taught a school of fifteen pupils; she afterward married Benjamin Davis and died in Sodus, February 12, 1872. Two frame school buildings were erected in Palmyra village designated re- spectively " Federal" and " Democratic." "So strong was political feeling that the partisans of each party sent only to their own school." Early teachers in them were Ira Selby and a Mr. Blackman. A two- story brick school house having four departments was built on the site of the Catholic church, and on it was placed the first bell brought to the town; this is now in use on the engine house. Chapman Jackson, Lemuel Parkhurst, James S. Douglass, and Alexander Plumley were among its earlier teachers. The institution was incorporated as a high school, of which James F. Cogswell, Alexander Forbes, C. Giles, and others were principals. The district was divided into three in 1835, and a stone school house built in each.
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The Palmyra Classical Union School had its inception in the consol- idation of the above three school districts into "Union School, No. 1, of Palmyra," in the winter of 1846-47. March 19, 1847, an act author- ized a levy for the purchase of grounds and erection of a building. April 11 the institution was incorporated. The first trustees were A. P. Crandall, T. R. Strong, and Pliny Sexton; R. G. Pardee was clerk. A lot was secured from the heirs of Samuel Beckwith for $2,500 and the erection of a school house commenced. A. P. Crandall was the finan- cial trustee and Elihu Hinman the contractor. It was of brick, three stories above the basement, cost $11,000, and was completed May 1, 1848. It contained eleven rooms. In 1889 this building was torn down, and on the same lot the present handsome brick structure was built at a cost of about $30,000. Joseph Blaby was the architect and George C. Williams the contractor. It is three stories high, including base- ment, and contains in all sixteen rooms. February 14, 1848, four de- partments were organized, twelve teachers employed, and $800 raised for the purchase of a bell, library and apparatus; that year the total attendance was 697. The first faculty consisted of Justus W. French, A. M., principal; William M. Crosby, A. M., Miss Sarah D. Hance, Charles D. Foster, Miss Clarissa Northrup, Miss Harriet E. Walker, Edward W. French, Miss Melinda C. Jones, Miss A. Maria West, E. Lush, C. D. Foster, J. C. French, De Witt MeIntyre.
In 1857 the Palmyra Classical Union School was incorporated, and on the 8th of April, under this act, Stephen Hyde was elected president, Joseph W. Corning, secretary, and Joseph C. Lovett, treasurer; the board consisted of nine trustees. April 18th an academical department was organized. The following have served as principals: Professor Baldwin, 1857; C. M. Hutchins, 1854-62; John Dunlap, 1862-66; Wil- liam H. Fitts, 1866-68; C. M. Hutchins, again, 1868-75; Henry F. Curt, 1875-82; E. B. Fancher, 1882-86; A. S. Downing, 1886 to Jan- uary, 1887; H. G. Clark, 1887-90; George W. Pye, 1890 to August, 1894. The present incumbent is Professor S. D. Arms. The average yearly cost of maintaining the school is about $7,300. The library, which in 1848 numbered 600 volumes, now contains 2,350, and is valued at $2,400; the chemical apparatus is worth $500. The school building and site are valued at $40,000. In 1893-94 the average enrollment was 575 scholars, and the officers of the board for that school year were: H. R. Durfee, president; F. E. Converse, secretary; Henry P. Knowles, treasurer; H. M. Wood, collector; G. S. Tinklepaugh, clerk.
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