USA > New York > Wayne County > Landmarks of Wayne County, New York, Pt. 1 > Part 40
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The alumni since 1854 aggregates 160 graduates. When the present school building was completed a debt of about $6,000 hung over it; a proposition was made by the trustees of the institute which gave to the church that would voluntarily assume the indebtedness the sectarian control of the institution forever. The Baptist Church of Marion came forward, raised the necessary money, and has since had the spiritual di- rection and fostering care.
The town has thirteen school districts with school houses, which are taught by fourteen teachers and attended by about 550 pupils. In 1892-93, the school buildings and sites were valued at $11,050; assessed valuations of districts, $1,349,000; money received from the State, $1,747.03; raised by local tax, $3,697.70.
In 1858 there were in Marion 14,362 acres improved land; real estate valued at $488,585, and personal property, $71,012; 985 male and 952 female inhabitants; 382 dwellings; 419 families; 366 freeholders; thir- teen school districts and 756 school children; 846 horses; 1,084 oxen and calves; 974 cows; 3,763 sheep; and 1,632 swine. That year there were produced 12, 473 bushels winter and 108, 745 bushels spring wheat ; 2,684 tons hay; 15, 740 bushels potatoes; 34,035 bushels apples; 96,550 pounds butter; 18,763 pounds cheese; and 592 yards domestic cloth.
In 1890 the town had a population of 2, 144, or 44 more than in 1880. In 1893, its 17,801 acres of land were assessed at $809,024 (equalized . $681,587); village and mill property, $169,500 (equalized $135, 743); personal property, $314, 228. Schedule of taxes 1893: Contingent fund, $663.55; town poor fund, $150; roads and bridges, $250; schools, $1,035.29; county tax, $2,477.05; Statetax, $1,364.99; State insane tax, $352.14; dog tax, $86. Total tax, $6,615. 19; rate per cent., .00511713. The town has two election districts, and in 1893 polled 416 votes.
MARION VILLAGE. -- This is the only village in the town of Marion, It is situated south of the center of the town, on the west side of Red
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Creek and contains two "centers, " locally known as the upper and lower corners. Prior to 1810 the upper corners attained the greater impor- tance of the two localities, and for several years thereafter it maintained an equal competition. At the lower corners the first landed proprietors were Daniel Lovell and Timothy Smith, whose successor in 1817 was James Galloway. Timothy Smith erected the original of the present hotel, one of whose long-time landlords was Samuel Todd, a major in the War of 1812. Harris Cooley bought forty acres of land on the west side of Main street and cleared it, and in front of the M. E. church he stuck for a fence stake the huge willow tree which was cut down in 1880. As early as 1800 a widow, Mrs. Styles, opened the first tavern in the town and village on the lot owned by Amasa Stanton. It furnished whisky to the early settlers; in this connection it is worth while to note the fact that no licenses have been granted in the town for nearly fifty years. Mrs. Styles was also a doctress and practiced the primitive healing art along with her hotel business. The first grist mill, operated by water power and having one run of stone, was erected by Isaac Phillips in 1807 near the site of the present flouring mill. Rufus Amsden carly had a carding mill where the canning factory now stands. Harkness Gifford carried on blacksmithing where Charles Jagger now resides, and Judge Marvin Rich had a cabinet shop on the site of the dwelling that was formerly used by Samuel Smith, blacksmith. The first store was opened on the Isaac Morrison place by Enoch Turner, who also had a tavern. A tavern and a distillery were conducted by James Huggins where John Van Hee now lives. These various industries flourished around the lower corners at a very early day and constitute the foundation of the present thriving village.
In 1825 there were in operation here a grist mill, saw mill, distillery, an ashery, blacksmith shop, post-office, the tavern of Daniel Wilcox, a store kept by Archer Galloway, and a school; there were four houses on the west and seven on the east side of Main street.
The upper corners comprised a blacksmith shop, the cabinet shop of Richard Bourne, the office of Dr. Seth Tucker, and about ten houses. In 1831 a saw mill was built by James Wright and a Mr. Wing. It was called an "ox-mill" from the fact that its power was obtained from a treadwheel driven by oxen; it stood on the site of the present ruins of the old Cogswell saw mill.
Marion village now has two general stores, two hardware stores, two drug stores, two groceries, two jewelry stores, two millinery shops, two
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meatmarkets, one lawyer, three physicians, a newspaper and printing office, one veterinary surgeon, a bakery, four wagon and blacksmith shops, one hotel, five churches, the Marion Collegiate Institute, a fine public school building, a grist mill, the foundry and machine shop of Lewis Smith, a canning factory, a ladder and fruit evaporator manu- factory, two undertakers, a mint stiil, and about 900 inhabitants. The postmaster is J. E. Richmond. The grist mill was built by James Ran- dall, who sold it to the present proprietor. The canning factory was started in the old Curtis foundry and fanning mill manufactory in 1893 by the Wayne County Canning Company. H. K. White is the general manager.
HIALL. CENTER, in the northwest part of the town, formerly had a post-office, but it was discontinued several years ago. It is now merely a pleasant rural hamlet. The place took its name from Joel Hall and his son Joel, jr., and Amasa, who settled there in 1810.
CHURCHES .- The earliest religious services in town were held by Rev. John Case, a Methodist. Elder Fairbanks, a Baptist, was proba- bly the first of his denomination to preach here. Rev. Seba Norton began preaching in Marion in 1802, coming from Sodus every two weeks.
The first Baptist Church of Marion was organized as the First Baptist Church of Williamson, February 29, 1804, by Rev. Seba Norton, with the following constituent members: Reuben and Anna Adams, Luke and Elizabeth Phelps, Micajah Harding, Robert and Rebecca Springer, Betsey Sherman, Sally Teal, Elder Seba Norton and wife Margaret, David and Abby Harding, Ezra and Phebe Phelps, Sally Harding, Betsey Adams, David Foster, and Mchitable Adams. The first Lord's Supper was celebrated March 10, 1804, by fifteen communicants, and until 1829 meetings were held in the Mason school house. In that year the society erected the first church edifice in town. It was of wood. with galleries on three sides, and stood on the site of the present cast street about twenty-five rods from the corner. In 1850 it was trans- formed into a store and is still used and known as the Clark building. In 1850 the present church was erected and dedicated November 25. This was repaired and remodeled in 1864 and rededicated November 15, by Rev. T. S. Harrison. The society bought a parsonage at an early day which they subsequently sold to Mrs. Case (whose daughter, Mrs. Seeley, now owns it), when the present one was built. The pas- tor is Rev. J. D. Merrill and the membership of the church is about
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170. The Sunday school of the church has an average attendance of 115 pupils with H. M. Winslow, superintendent. The property of the church is valued at about $12,000.
The Presbyterian Church of Marion was organized as the Congrega- tional Church of Williamson in November, 1808, by Revs. James Hotchkiss and Oliver Ayer. In 1825, at the organization of the town, the name was changed to the Congregational Church of Marion. Subse- quently it adopted the Presbyterian form of government and its pres- ent designation. The names of the eight original members are Luke Phelps, Timothy and Ruth Smith, David Swezey, Zadoc and Thankful Huggins, and Samuel and Sarah Waters. Luke Phelps was the first deacon. Their first house of worship, a frame structure, was erected and dedicated in 1831, was repaired in 1850 and again in 1866, and is still in use. The first regular pastor was Rev. H. R. Powell in 1820; the present incumbent is Rev. Charles Ray. The whole number of members since the organization is about 600; the present number is seventy-one. Willard Pullman is superintendent of the Sunday school, which was organized about 1827; its attendance now is from fifty to seventy-five.
The Christian Church of Marion was organized November 1, 1820, as the Church of God, by Rev. David Millard and Joseph Badger, with forty-one members. In 1832 the first edifice, of stone, 36 by 40 feet, was erected at the upper corners, and the first services were held in it by Rev. Mr. Farley, September 16. Their present frame church, 40 by 60 feet, with a stone basement, was built in 1856 and dedicated in 1857 by Rev. John Ross. The value of the church property is $5,500. The first pastor was Oliver True, who officiated until 1828; following him have been Revs. Benjamin Farley, Joseph Bailey, E. M. Galloway, W. T. Caton, Stephen Mosher, Amasa Stanton (from 1848 to 1866), Irving Bullock (till 1879) Mr. Hammond, J. W. Lawton, J. W. Wilson, and E. M. Harris since May, 1893. The society has 180 members. Their pres- ent parsonage was built in 1892. The Sunday school has about 100 pupils under Richard B. McOmber, superintendent.
The First Methodist Episcopal Church of Marion was organized in 1845 by Rev. Porter McKinster, with twelve members, but the society had no pastor or place of worship until 1854. In that year Rev. John Dennis reorganized the church. Their frame edifice, 28 by 40 feet, was erected in 1855 and dedicated in December; in 1878 it underwent ex- tensive repairs, and the property, including a parsonage, is now valued
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at about $4,500. The society has 100 members under the pastoral care of Rev. E. H. King. The Sunday school, organized in 1854, has an average attendance of sixty-five scholars.
The Reformed Church of Marion was formed in 1860 and legally organ- ized with fifty-six members in 1870 by Rev. J. W. Warnshuis. In 1872 the present frame edifice, 40 by 72 feet, was built and dedicated. In 1871 Rev. J. W. Warnshuis was installed pastor and remained until October, 1876. The present pastor is Rev. Peter Ihrman, who is also superintendent of the Sunday school. The church has now about 300 members. Their frame parsonage was purchased of Charles L. Tassell at a cost of $1,8,00.
CHAPTER XXVI.
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF WALWORTHI.
Walworth, lying in the middle of the towns which form the extreme west border of Wayne county, was organized from Ontario on April 20, 1829. It is bounded on the north by Ontario, on the cast by Marion, on the south by Macedon, and on the west by Monroe county, and com- prises an area of 20,425 acres. It received its name in honor of Gen. Chancellor Walworth. With a surface of high, rolling upland, whose ridges run almost parallel north and south, it isone of the most elevated and picturesque parts of the county; from several points magnificent scenery is visible in all the panoramic splendor of Mother Nature. The deep valleys and lofty hills, composed of a rich sandy loam, are very fertile and easily cultivated, and to the industrious husbandman yield abundant crops of grain, hay, potatoes, fruit, etc. There are a number of large orchards which, in favorable seasons, produce enormous revenue. Drainage is afforded by several rivulets on the north and by tributaries of Red Creek on the south. There is no water power in this town.
The land was originally covered with a dense growth of timber con- sisting principally of beech, maple, hemlock, ash, and basswood, all of which has fallen before the pioneer's axe, and been superseded by broad fields of civilized industry. The wild game of early times long ago dis-
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appeared, and the pretty homes of the present generation are surrounded only by domestic animals. Instead of the rude log cabins of our fore- fathers now stand the handsome residences made possible by their early toil and frugality; the malarial fever and ague which afflicted them so terribly, disappeared with the changing conditions of man and climate.
The town of Walworth has never enjoyed the commercial advantages granted to nearly all her sister towns in Wayne county; yet it has ever maintained a degree of prominence that speaks well for the industry and enterprise of the inhabitants, and which has placed it in the front rank of the minor civil divisions of this State. Lacking the rapid ship- ping facilities afforded by rail and water, its rich soil and industrious population tend to offset the absent means of transportation. Its near- est railroad stations are Walworth and Macedon on the New York Central on the south, and Ontario and Lakeside on R. W. & O. on the north, all distant from three to four miles from the bounds of the town.
It has been impossible to obtain much accurate information concern- ing the early town meetings and officers. Many of the names of supervisors are noted a little further on, and many others are omitted because of the incompleteness of the records.
The settlement of Walworth began in the southeast part of the town at or near what is now Walworth village, and the first settlers were Andrew, John, Samuel, and Daniel Millett, brothers, who came hither with their families in 1799. Andrew became insane it is said from brooding over the belief that the world would soon be without wood and hung himself. Daniel subsequently removed to Ohio, where he was mistaken for a bear one evening, and shot. The other two brothers lived in Walworth until their death. A younger brother, Alexander, came in soon after his brothers and settled near them.
Stephen and Daniel Douglass came from Connecticut in 1811 and located at the four corners at Walworth, and from them the place was known as "Douglass Corners" until 1825. Stephen erected the first frame building in the town in 1805, on the end of a log dwelling, and opened it as the pioneer tavern. Five years later the log part was torn down and the frame part removed, and on the site he built a larger hotel, which he conducted until his death in 1812. The structure is now (1894) used by Frederick C. Robie as a barn, its occupation as a hotel terminating in 1826. . Stephen Douglass, in 1807, also erected the first frame barn in town. He was finally drowned in the canal. His daughter, Mrs. James Finley, is a resident of Walworth.
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Capt. Gilbert Ilinekley, a Rhode Islander, settled in the eastern part of the town in 1803, and in 1836 removed to Ohio. In 1804 Dea. Gideon Hackett and Jonathan and James Hill became settlers, as did also John, David, and Jerry Chamberlain, from Connecticut. The next year Luther Fillmore located at Walworth village and subsequently was elected to the Assembly; he died here in 1838.
Other settlers of this period was Joseph Howe, the first shoemaker, and Nathaniel Holmes and Ira Howard, the pioneer carpenters. In 1806 the settlement was increased by the arrival of Jonathan Miller, his wife, daughter, and three sons, and his aged father; and about this time Sylvester and Harvey Lee settled at West Walworth.
Among other carly settlers were John, Nathan, and Enos Palmer, brothers, who became wealthy; Jonathan Boynton, from Berkshire, Mass., subsequently a member of the Legislature; and Stephen Chase, Ebenezer Trask, Abner Rawson, Joseph Randolph, Isaac Dawley, Simeon Stebbins, Joseph Day, and William Childs, all of whom settled in the southern part of the town. Thomas Carpenter, Levi Salisbury, David Upton, a Mr. Hurley, Moses Padley, and Daniel Gould (a Canadian) located in the central part of Walworth; and John, Asa, William, and James Scott, brothers, and Peter Grover, in the western part.
In February, 1807, Charles Finley came in from Connecticut with a large family, of whom a child died on the way and a son, Reuben, died here some years since. Another son, Lewis, resides in town. The latter married May E. Quinby, and their son, Dr. Frank Finley, born here in 1859, died in Macedon May 6, 1893, after practicing medicine there about three years.
Samuel Strickland, who died in the town some years ago, was born in Connecticut in 1790. In 1798 his father removed to Redfield, Oswego county, where he was the first settler, and built a saw and grist mill on the Salmon River. Samuel came to Walworth in August, 1807, with his mother, and died here in 1845. He was a member of the Free Will Baptist Church and served in the war of 1812 at Sodus and on the Niagara frontier. He settled near the center of the town as did also Samuel and Jedediah Smith, brothers. Samuel Smith opened the first blacksmith shop in Walworth on land now owned by Patrick Crowley's two sons, and finally went to Ontario, where he manufactured iron from native ore.
Rowland Sackett, David Tiffany, David Foskett, and James Arnold
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came into this town in 1808, and Joseph Strickland, a brother of Samuel, became a settler in 1809. Capt. N. F. Strickland died in April, 1885.
About the year 1809 Thomas Kempshall removed hither from Roch- ester and in 1815 erected, on the northeast corner at Walworth, the first mercantile establishment in the town and village. Six years after- ward he returned to Rochester and became a prominent miller.
James Benton, an idle, worthless fellow, presented himself to the settlement about this time and followed the precarious life of a wander- ing hunter. In the fall of 1809 he maliciously set fire to the wigwams of the Indian village at Ridge.
Dr. Hurlburt Crittenden came here in 1804 and was the first physi- cian in town, Gilmer Chase was a life-long resident of the town, and con- spicuous in the Baptist Church. He died January 10, 1892. John Craggs, whose widow owns the grist mill south of Walworth, just over the line in Macedon, came here early in life and became the owner of that mill about 1862. He was a mason and an active member of the Baptist Church, died here August 1, 1889. Jacob and Asil Hossilton settled in the western part of Walworth in 1812, and William Wylie lo- cated at the east village in 1817. Jermain Andrew and J. Jay White each served several years as supervisor. Daniel M. Smith, son of George, was born in Farmington, N. Y., in 1803, married Elizabeth Herendeen in 1824, and settled in Walworth in 1825. They were Quakers, and had born to them six children.
The first death in the town was that of a man named Hopkins in 1806; soon afterward a Mr. Green was killed by a falling tree.
It is, of course, impracticable to note the arrival of all the settlers of this town, but the foregoing covers most of those of early years who were prominently instrumental in subduing the wilderness and laying the foundations of present prosperity. Among the later generation, many of whom are descendants of the sturdy pioneers, may be mentioned the names of Hon. T. G. Yeomans (ex-member of Assembly), Daniel Hoyt, Albert Yeomans, Lewis and Julian Finley, Orvis Potter (son of Horace), Jerome Lawrence, C. P. Patterson, John Baker (a long-time postmaster at Walworth), James W. Benton and his son (merchants), Hon. Lucien T. Yeomans (member of Assembly in 1873), Frederick C. Robie (town clerk), Richard Allison (the present supervisor), George L. Lee (merchant), Frank Stoddard, Henry Dean (harness maker), John Bennett (long a justice of the peace), and Peter Arnold. Nu- merous others who are equally deserving of special mention are noticed a little further on and also in Part II of this work.
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In 1858 the town of Walworth had 15,859 acres of land improved: real estate valued at $578, 470; and a population of 991 males and 973 females. There were 390 dwellings and 347 freeholders. In 1890 its population numbered 2, 195, a decrease since 1880 of 143. In 1893 the real estate was assessed at $861, 239 (equalized $765,522); personal property $109,600; village and mill property $109, 715 (equalized $121-, 234). Total valuation $1,080,554 (equalized $996,356); rate per cent. .038646. The town has two election districts and in 1893 polled 346 votes.
During the war of the Rebellion the town responded nobly and promptly to the various calls for troops, and sent to the front a total of 134 volunteers to fight the nation's battles. Of this number John Mur- ray Hoag and Nelson F. Strickland, both of whom enlisted in Co. B, 9th Artillery, were promoted captains.
The first school house in town was built near the site of the pres- ent public school building in Walworth village in 1804. It was of logs and was replaced in 1812 by the pioneer frame school house, in which Louis McLouth was the first and only teacher, for it burned before the first term was concluded. The next school house was a brick struct- ure erected in 1815, half a mile north of the village, which was soon afterward torn down and a frame building was put up west of Wal- worth. The Walworth Academy was legally incorporated May 21, 1841, and a stone building was erected at a cost of $4,000. The first principal was Prof. E. B. Walsworth, who opened the school in the fall of that year. A new brick structure (the present school house) was . built in 1857 at an expense of $8,000. It is three stories high and with slight repairs is still used for the academy. The old building was con- verted into a dwelling and later into a hall, aud is now the meeting place of the local grange. The academy employs two teachers and is comparatively well patronized. The present trustees are Hon. T. G. Yeomans, Lucien T. Yeomans, Elon Yeomans, Warren Hall, Albert Yeomans, Alonzo Crane, Lewis Finley, Jerome Lawrence, and Orvis Potter.
The town now has eleven school districts, taught by as many teach- ers, and attended during the school year of 1892-93 by 477 scholars. The value of school buildings and sites is $6,950; assessed valuation of the districts $1, 132, 000; public money received from the State $1, 424.95; amount raised by local tax $1, 688.91.
Nathan Palmer erected and operated the first saw mill in town about
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1810. . It was situated on the little stream southwest of West Wal- worth, and the dam which supplied the power caused such an overflow on adjacent lands that the inhabitants, considering themselves wronged, assembled one night and tore it down and burned the mill. Mr. Palmer began a litigation and recovered damages and costs.
As early as 1803 the first burying ground was laid out a quarter of a mile south of Walworth village on the present Stephen A. Tabor farm. A second burial plat was selected in 1816, near the center of the town, and is known as the Baker cemetery. To this nearly all the remains originally interred in the pioneer graveyard were ultimately removed. Another pretty cemetery is located on elevated ground a little south- west from Walworth village.
WALWORTH VILLAGE .- Until 1825 this place was known as "Doug- lass Corners," from the Douglass brothers, Stephen and Andrew, who were among its first settlers. The former built here the first hotel and Thomas Kempshall the pioneer store in town, which were the substan- tial beginnings of the present pretty village. Two other carly settlers here were Andrew Millett and Luther Fillmore, the latter of whom be- came prominent in public affairs. The post-office was established in 1823, with Henry Moore, postmaster; the present incumbent is Cope- land Morse.
Among the various merchants who have carried on trade in the vil- lage were Theron and Veniah Yeomans, on the site of F. C. Robie's store, in an old building recently burned; Lewis Eddy, where is now the Masonic hall; and Tucker & Sweeting, Benjamin Billings, Nathan Lusk, Uriah Hoyt, a Mr. Richmond, Philip Lawrence, John Sebring, and Edward Kent. The present hotel was erected by Hon. T. G. Yco- mans. Among the landlords was John Sweeney, whom many will re- call with interesting recollections. The village now contains three general stores, a jewelry store, hotel and livery, a millinery store, one harness shop, a shoe store, a tin shop, two cooperages, two physicians, an academy and public school, two churches, and a population of about 450.
WEST WALWORTH. -- The site of this village was originally settled and : improved by Joseph Howe in 1805, and from a few log houses and a blacksmith shop it has steadily grown into a thriving rural hamlet The first store was opened in 1835 by William Freeland in a building subsequently occupied by S. L. Miller. The Johnson Brothers began the manufacture of grain threshers here in 1838, but the business
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proved unprofitable and it was soon abandoned. The post-office was established and William D. Wylie was appointed postmaster in 1840. The present occupant of the office is Thomas Payne. The village now comprises two general stores, a hardware store, two blacksmith shops, wagon shop, dry house and evaporator, a millinery store, two churches, and about 150 inhabitants. Lee and Harvey Miller, brothers, were prominent and long-time merchants, as also was Nathan Reed. West Walworth in late years has been an important center for handling dried fruit, which has proved a profitable business.
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