Our county and its people. A descriptive work on Jefferson County, New York, Part 50

Author: Emerson, Edgar C., ed
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: [Boston] Boston History Co.
Number of Pages: 1368

USA > New York > Jefferson County > Our county and its people. A descriptive work on Jefferson County, New York > Part 50

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The Ox Bow Presbyterian society of Rossie and Antwerp was formed May 15, 1820, followed soon afterward by the organization of the

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

church. Early meetings were held in the building erected by Mr. Cooper. The first pastor was Rev. James Sanford. In May, 1832, the church changed its name to " The Associate Reformed church of Ant- werp and Rossie." At about the same time a virtual reorganization was effected, but later on a reunion with the Presbyterian general assembly was accomplished. In 1839 the stone edifice was erected, and was materially enlarged in 1861. This is one of the strong churches of the town, numbering about 120 members. The pastor is Rev. Mr. McIntosh.

The first Methodist Episcopal church of Ox Bow was organized in 1872, with 12 members, but since that time the number has increased to 62, with three probationers. The house of worship was built for other purposes, but in 18:3 was remodeled for occupancy by the society. It is a stone building and presents a comfortable appearance. The present pastor is Rev. C. A. Miller.

Sterlingburgh .- In the day of its greatest prosperity, the population of this hamlet was not more than an hundred inhabitants, nor was there more than twenty dwellings within its limits, yet it was an important and historic locality in the history of the town. The water power here was much better than that at Antwerp, therefore in 1816 David Parish began the work of constructing a dam and building a forge. The latter was in use about four years, and was abandoned in 1820. In 1824 William McAllaster, agent for Parish, erected the famous distillery / from which it is said 15, 700 barrels of proof whiskey were manufactured, and more than 1.000 head of cattle were fattened froin the refuse of the stills, during the thirteen years of its operation. In 1834 a grist mill was built near the distillery, both taking power from the dam. This industry has ever since been maintained, and with extensive saw mills, is now operated by Alexander Copley. In 1846 the water privilege, mill and distillery buildings were sold to James Sterling, for whom the settlement was named. He built and operated the furnace and found- ery, and it was not until 1858 that this industry was abandoned. Later on the old "still house" was occupied as a cheese factory. In 1859 all this property passed into the ownership of Alexander Copley, sr., who established the permanent and important milling industry afterwards carried on by his sons, Alexander and Eugene Copley. The F. S. Paddock excelsior mill (above the Copley inills) is a more recent enter- prise. All these industries are in a measure adjuncts of Antwerp vil- lage, although outside the corporation limits. About a mile above

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THE TOWN OF ANTWERP.

Sterlingburgh, on the site of the old Hoard saw mill, A. P. Sterling and Edgar Peckham built a forge and furnace in 1870. The entire plant cost about $20,000, and for several years an extensive business was carried on, furnishing employment to about one hundred men. However, the enterprise failed and the property passed into the hands of A. & E. Copley, proprietors, of Sterlingburgh.

Spragueville, or as formerly known, Sprague's Corners, is a post ham- let located chiefly on the St. Lawrence county side, buit extending into Antwerp. The place was named from Isaac Sprague, one of the earliest settlers in the vicinity. The first settlers (on the Antwerp side) were Moses and Robert Parkinson and William Vebber, who came from Massachusetts. The hamlet is a convenient trading point for a pro- ductive farming region, and in its gradual building up the church edi- fices, district school and Carpenter's store were erected. Keene's sta- tion, about half a mile west of the settlement, is the nearest railroad point.

The Methodist Episcopal Church at Spragueville was formed January 12, 1831, and in that year the society purchased from Moses Burge a building site on the Antwerp side. A meeting house was then built, which was occupied until replaced by a more substantial structure in 1843. The society is small and forms a joint charge with Summerville, under the pastoral care of Rev. T. II. MeClenthen.

The Free Will Baptist Church of Sprague's Corners was formed about 1870, by a union of members of the Antwerp and Fowler Baptist societies, with members of a former Wesleyan Methodist society of the same locality. The Antwerp and Fowler society dated its organization to the year 1838, soon after which time a house of worship was built at Steele's Corners, near the county line. The Wesleyan society was or- ganized September 1, 1815, by certain dissenting Methodists of the vicinity. Their meeting house was ereeted on the Antwerp road on lands donated by Allen Woodward, and was the same afterward occu- pied by the united societies. The Free Will Baptist organization has been continuously maintained, though the membership is small, and drawn chiefly from the St. Lawrence county side.

At the place called Steele's Corners, mentioned in the preceding paragraph, a hotel was built many years ago, and also a store, the own- ers being Ebenezer Gillet and William Skinner. However, all evi- denees of the little cross-roads settlement have now disappeared. Its location was about one mile southeast of Spragueville.

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

Nauvoo is a small hamlet of half a dozen dwellings on Indian river, in the southeast part of the town, in the locality where formerly stood a saw and shingle mill. These industries are now gone. The Metho- dist Protestants of this part of the town hold their occasional meetings in the Nauvoo distriet sehool.

Supervisors. - Dauiel Heald, 1811-17; Silvius Hoard, 1818-19; John Howe, 1820- 22; Silvius Hoard, 1823-24; John Howe, 1825-26; Joseph H. Bagg, 1897: Ralph Rogers, 1828; Wm. Skinner, 1829; Rufus H. King, 1830-32; David MeAllaster, 1833- 31; Rufus H. King, 1835; Edward Fowler, 1836; Tilley R. Pratt, 1837-98; Rufus II. King, 1839; Wm. McAllaster, 1840; James White, 1841-42; Alanson Drake, 1843; Alden Adams, 1844-49; Joseph H. White, 1850-51; Josiah S. Conkey, 1852; John 11. Conklin, 1853; Robert Ormiston, 1854; John H. Conklin, 1855-64; Levi Miller, 1865- 66; Elijah Fulton, 1867; Levi Miller, 1868; Hiram B. Keene, 1869; John 1). Ellis, 1870, Hiram B. Keene, 1871-72; Elijah Fulton, 1873-74; Alonzo Chapin, 1875-76; George I). McAllaster, 1877-78; H. H. Bent, 1879-83; D. W. Sprague, 1884; Edward B. Bulkley, 1885; Leonard A. Bacou, 1886-89; Dr. Gary Il. Wood, 1890-99.

CHAPTER XXIV.

THE TOWN OF BROWNVILLE.1

In 1997, when the town of Leyden was created from Steuben, there was not, so far as known now, a single white inhabitant in what afterward became Jefferson county north of Black river; nor was there a single inhabitant of the same region previous to the settlement made at the mouth of Philomel creek in the year 1799 by Jacob Brown and the companions of his voyage down the river that spring. This worthy pioneer and developer must have been made of the "sterner stuff" of man's composition to attempt settlement in a country almost unknown

I Among the objects of antiquarian interest and prehistoric occupancy which have been dis- covered in the county, may be mentioned the bone-pits, or deposit of human bones, One of these pits was formed near the village of Brownville, on the bank of Black river, and was 10 or 12 feet square, and about 4 feet deep. In it was found promiscuously heaped together a large number of human skeletons. These accumulations owe their origin to a remarkable custom common to the Indian tribes which occupied this section of the country of holding what was called the " feast of the dead," when the bones of their dead were exhumed and collected to- gether, and with weird rites and ceremonies deposited in a common grave. The bonepit re- ferred to was on the north bank of Black river, below Brownville, and a little below and on the opposite side of the road from the present village cemetery near where a small ravine crosses the highway.

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THE TOWN OF BROWNVILLE.

and unheard of, or to leave the pleasures and opportunities of life in New York city for the dangers and uncertainties to be met on the frontier of civilization. But adversity was always a hard master. Jacob Brown's early life was spent among scenes of wealth and pas- times, for his father was a man of position, means and influence, and educated his sons for high places in professional and business life; but disaster befell him, and Jacob was obliged to leave his studies and seek a means of livelihood. He cast about for a time, went to Ohio while the region was a territory, with a view to settlement, then returned east and began teaching school in New York. Here he met Rodolph Tillier, agent for the Chassanis lands, and was induced by his repre- sentations to explore them and make a settlement in the locality that best pleased him. It was this errand that brought Jacob Brown to the high falls in the late winter of 1798-99, from whence in March follow- ing he started down the river with several companions and helpers, with supplies and provisions for the journey. At the long falls, where was a little French settlement, the party left the boats and followed the old French road leading to the bend and thence to Clayton. Hav- ing traveled a considerable distance along the road, they struck off to- ward the river and reached the north bank less than two miles below Brownville, where the sound of a waterfall attracted attention. He followed up the river a short distance to the mouth of a small creek, where the pioneer saw a considerable volume of spring water discharg- ing into the river, just below the falls. This place the party believed to be the head of navigation on the river, and the creek promised an abundant water power, therefore they stopped and made a camp.

After making a survey of the locality, Mr. Brown decided to make this his future home, and to that end built a log house and cleared a small tract of land, which was planted. Thus was made the pioneer settlement in what afterward became Jefferson county north of Black river. To the stream flowing from the north the pioneer gave the name Philomel creek, from the fact of his hearing a nightingale sing- ing among the trees along its banks. (The nightingale was otherwise known as "Philomela.") However, the course of the creek near its mouth was afterward changed by the settlers, who dug for it a channel more direct to the river.

Having completed the cabin and cleared some land, the pioneer sent to his parents and family in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, the news that all was ready for their coming; and on May 27, 1799, they came, by

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

way of the Mohawk, Oneida lake and Lake Ontario, all mueh fatigued by their long and tedious journey by land and water, but rejoiced at last to reach " home," though but few of their former comforts of life surrounded them in this vast, unbroken wilderness. The good old Quaker mother is said not to have smiled until more than six months after her arrival, but she never otherwise showed any feeling of dis- couragement, and did not complain regarding the family misfortune.

The companions of the pioneer on his first journey to the settlement were two men named Chambers and Ward, and he was also accom- panied by several employees as boatmen or guides, who were not re- called as settlers. In the Brown family who came in May were Samuel Brown and his wife, parents of the pioneer, also Christopher, John (afterward judge), Joseph, Mary (Mrs. Newland), Benjamin (the pio- neer of Le Ray), Samuel (Major Brown), Hannah (Mrs. Skinner), William (who was drowned in Lake Erie during the war of 1812) and Abi (Mrs. Evans). Also one of the party was George Brown, a kins- man, and his sons Henry and Thomas Brown. In addition were the boatmen and servants, in all numbering about twenty persons.

This settlement was made on the site of the present village of Brownville, on the Chassanis tract, for the sale of lands of which, and as well of the great lot number four of the Macomb purchase, Jacob Brown became the agent, this being a part of his agreement with Till- ier. Mr. Le Ray found the pioneer to be an earnest developer and made him his agent to a certain extent. He was also a land surveyor and was frequently employed by the proprietors and settlers in locating lot lines.

Jacob Brown was one of the most prominent characters in early Jefferson county history. His efforts in settling the Chassanis and Le Ray lands proved him to be one of the most successful colonizers in northern New York, and his earnest and unselfish share in every im- portant measure looking to the ultimate welfare of the county at large showed him to possess publie spiritedness equal to if not beyond any of his cotemporaries. He earnestly advocated the claims of Brownville to the county buildings, but failing to secure for the hamlet the coveted designation, he was nevertheless a prominent factor in establishing the new county on a secure and permanent basis. In Brownville he was the controlling spirit of affairs until his death in 1828. During the war of 1812-15 he was the most patriotic and courageous officer in the army in New York, and it was his power and influence which organized and

THE TOWN OF BROWNVILLE.

held together the militia forces of Jefferson, St. Lawrence and Lewis counties, constituting them a formidable body of soldiers and a terror to the British along the Canadian border. His title of "General" was honestly earned during the war, and no act of his ever brought dis- credit to him or his descendants. In a brief biography Lossing, the historian, said of him :

"Jacob Brown was born in Pennsylvania in May, 1775, of Quaker parentage. He lied in the city of Washington, in February, 1828. He was first a school teacher, then a land surveyor, and finally became a lawyer. While General Hamilton was acting chief commander of the army intended to fight the French in 1798, Brown was his secretary. He settled upon lands he had purchased upon the Black river, and was the founder of Brownville. He became a county judge, a militia general, and was placed in command of the northern frontier in 1812. He performed emi- nent service during the war and received the thanks of congress and a gold medal. Ile was made general-in-chief of the army in 1821. At his death his remains were buried in the Congressional burying ground."

General Brown's wife was Pamela Williams, daughter of Captain Williams, of Williamstown, and sister to Judge Nathan Williams of Utica. In 1800 General Brown brought his young wife to the settle- ment at Brownville. She died April 14, 1828.

A log house about twenty feet square served as a home for the Brown family during the first year of their residence in the town, and also served the purpose of a tavern, for the settlers who came into the region in that year were furnished food and shelter within that humble abode. During the year a new and larger log house was begun, but was not finished until 1801. This was a two-story building and was used as a store by the pioneer and his father.' Richardson Avery, John W. Col- lins, Nathan Parish and Horace Mathers also came to the town in 1999 and made settlements. The lands along Perch river were regarded as the most desirable then offered to settlers, all of whom in their " arti- cles" of purchase agreed to clear a certain amount of land annually, and also erect a log house. This was not a condition single to the town, but was the custom of the period, especially among settlers who had not sufficient means to pay for their lands at the time of purchase. Although this year witnessed the arrival of many prosperous settlers, the number who remained and purchased lands was quite few, confined

) Later on General Brown erected a substantial 1wo-story stone mansion on Main street in the village, where was entertained Presidents Madison and Monroe during their terms of office. The grounds were surrounded with a strong, well built fence, and the posts at the gateway were capped with cannon balls. After General Brown's death the mansion passed into the hands of his son-in-law, Col. Edmund Kirby, and is now owned by Mrs. A. A. Clarke.

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

to hardly more than half a dozen, so far as exists any present means of determining.

In 1800 Jacob Brown held out unusual inducements to settlers by erecting a saw mill at the mouth of Philomel creek, thus furnishing the means of building houses; and in the fall he also built a grist mill on the same stream, that wheat, corn and grain might be resolved into condition for family use without the tedious and uncertain process of grinding or pounding in the traditional hollow stump. General Brown's mill obviated the necessity of this element of pioneership in the town. In this year many settlers came to the locality, and such as did come must have located in the town as now constituted, as it was not until the next year that Benjamin Brown left the family home and made an im- provement in what is now Le Ray. The desirable points of settlement appear to have been the valley of Perch river and the point of land be- tween Black river bay and Guffen's bay, commonly known as Pillar Point. Perch river valley extended from Perch lake to Black river, a distance of about fifteen miles, while Pillar Point was bounded on three sides by estuaries of the lake. Charles Welch and Otis Britton in 1800 began entting a road from Brownville to the ferry at Chaumont, but winter compelled them to abandon the work. They also assisted Samuel Britton to build a house on the afterward known Crouch farm. In the fall of 1801 Charles Welch returned to the town with his young bride, and was accompanied by Nathan Welch and Calvin (afterward general) Britton. Charles made a settlement near where the Parish family lived. His wife was Ennice Cole, and their son, also named Charles, was the first white child born north of Black river. Other settlers of this year were William Dillon, Capt. William Cole, Jonathan Webb and Stephen Gould.

Ilowever, from records extant and the uncertain memory of man, the greatest difficulty has attended every effort to ascertain the names and date of settlement of the first families in this town. Brownville when created in 1802 was an immense territory, and the town records, so far as they throw any light on the subject, mention names of settlers only as they were connected with town history, and without regard to year or the portion of the jurisdiction in which the settlement was made. The memory of old residents is equally unreliable, and few indeed of the descendants of pioneers now in the town can recall the year of set- tlement by their ancestor. Yet, having recourse to various records and papers, we may recall in a general way the names of nearly all who

THE TOWN OF BROWNVILLE.

were in the town previous to the closing years of the war of 1812 15. Subsequent to that time carly settlement was at an end and last in the general development of the region.

Deacon Oliver Bartholmew came to the Brown settlement in 1801, and was employed in building the bridge over the river which was com- pleted in the next year. But the worthy deacon was a pioneer of Watertown, to which town he came in 1800. In 1802, or about that year, the settlers were Wm. Webb, father of Jonathan, William, Silas and Lewis Webb; also Leonard Wilson, John Cole, John Baxter (who took up 600 acres of land on both sides of Perch river), Isaac and Mel- vin Moffatt, Abner Wilson, Frederick Avery and Stephen Stanley, all in the river valley and near the Brown settlement.

In the Pillar Point locality, to which reference has been made, the first settlers were Peter and Solomon Ingalls, Horatio Sprague, Eleazer Ball, Eliphalet Peck, Mr. Sherwin, Isaac Luther, Mr. Burlingame, Daniel Ackerman, Jeremiah Carpenter, Jesse Stone, George Rounds, James Douglass, Samuel Reed, Henry Adams, Luther Reed, Mr. Fol- som, Henry Ward, and others whose names are now lost.

In 1813 and '11, several years after Le Ray had been set off, the of- ficers of the town divided the territory of Brownville into school dis- tricts, and in several cases mentioned the families residing in and con- stituting the district. By the record thus made we are able to furnish the names of many carly settlers which otherwise might be omitted. However, the reader will understand that at that time the town included all now Brownville, and as well Pamelia, on the east, and Lyme, Cape Vineent, Clayton, Orleans and a part of Alexandria, on the west and north.

In district No. 1, then created, the settlers were Luther Stevens, Barnabas Eaton. Josiah Bonney, Eber Palmer, Gage Meacham, Caleb J. Bates, John Parish, Samuel Hopper, Elijah Ainsworth, John Gonld, David Augsbury, Soloman Makepeace, Eliot Makepeace, Abner Wood, William Moss, David Youngs, Stephen Gonld and Joel Meacham.

In district No. 12, which lay well to the north, were Levi Wheelock, John Folts, Eliot Alton. David Dillaback, Lewis Gould, Jeremiah Phelps, Joshua, Elisha and John Gustin, Elisha Gustin, jr., Erastus Cornwall, Peter Paddock, Nathaniel Whit- ney, W. A. Silsby, Thomas Pudney, Orvin Davis. In district No. 3, in the north- cast corner of the town, the settlers were Henry Thomas, George and Cornelius Salisbury, Isaac Cornwall, Nathan Cole, John Stewart, John Shellmer, Daniel Corn- wall, Curtis Golden, Samuel Ray, Henry Baker, Stephen Farr, Obadiah Rhodes, Benjamin Cole, Daniel Deming, Arnold Miller, Warren Steward, Samuel Cronkhite. William Stewart, Ephraim Strong, Jeremiah Cheeseman, Noah Lyman, Aaron

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

Dresser, John Dighton, Barnabas Dighton and M. L. Booth. In 1814 the families in district No. 2 were those of Anthony Graves, Josiah Dean, Ottis Britton, Moses Cole, Samuel Knapp, Thomas Nelson, Thomas Nelson, jr., Charles Welch, William Cole, George lloffman, Titus Gould, Ebenezer N. Britton and John Allen. In dis- trict No. 5 in 1814 there lived Auhelus Doxey, Abner Brown, John Paddock, B. Dillaback, William Dillen, Edward Hawkins, Henry Brown, Thomas Brown, Ilenry Ilentze, Joseph, Daniel and Isaac Pettit, Mr. Cleveland, William Maffle, Peter Acker, Daniel and Jacob Woodward and James Wright.

Other early settlers, but at a date which cannot now be determined, were Captain William Knox, Robert Smith, Eliphalet Peek, Samuel Peck, Nathaniel Peek, Jacob Kilborn, Joseph Rhodes, James Pride, Henry Ward, Alexander Moffatt (who settled on the site of Limerick about 1805, and whose sons were Aquilla, Jonathan, Hosea, Alexander and Hinman), and the Emerson brothers, Jonathan, Elijah and Dustili, who with their father settled in the town as early as 1805, and possibly in 1804. In the same neighborhood and about the same time settled Samuel Shelly, also Mr. Smith, the father of Hugh, Ely and Elias Smith. Isaae Day also lived here, and one Nelson, who built a mill at Limerick. On the site of Dexter, the early settlers were David Lyttle, Jeremiah Phelps and Solon Stone; and after them came Jeremiah WVinegar, Kendall Hursley, Joshua Eaton, Jesse Babcock, Sylvanus Pool, John T. Wood, James A. Bell, Solomon Moyer, John P. Shelley and others until all the lands in the vicinity were taken and the hamlet established.

From what has been stated in an informal way (for the absence of trustworthy records makes it impossible to assert definitely) it will be seen that the settlement in Brownville was rapid even from the time Jacob Brown and his party came here in the spring of 1799. Indeed, it could not well be otherwise, for the proprietors extended to the set. tlers every accommodation to enable them to make a good beginning, and under the assurances of agent Brown and Mr. Le Ray, together with the miils and stores started by each of them, it was then plain to be seen that this region was destined to become one of the most desir- able parts of the entire northern country. The most fertile lands were naturally settled first, but the pioneers bought according to their means, and developed according to their energy. The valley of Perch river offered the best advantages, so far as the proximity of a water course was concerned, but those who settled on Pillar Point found there the most productive lands both in the early and more recent his- tory of the town.

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THE TOWN OF BROWNVILLE.

Jacob Brown's party, with those who came later in the same year, gave the town a population of about 10 persons in 1799, while the suceced- ing three years increased the number to probably 200 inhabitants. Even then the subject of a new county was under discussion in the re- gion, and with an eye to the future of his hamlet the pioncer deter- mined upon a new town in this part of Oneida county, to place his settlement on an equal footing with the recently created town of Watertown, and the little hamlet five miles up the river, which event- ually became the county seat. To accomplish this, the settlers had recourse to the legislature, and on April 1, 1802, an act was passed creating the town of Brownville, and including within its boundaries all that part of Leyden which lay north of Black river " from a line run- ning from the northwest corner of Champion, north 45 degrees east to the southwesterly bounds of St. Lawrence county." The town thus created included all that part of the Chassanis traet within this county, except a portion of Wilna, and all of great lot No. 1 in the county ex- cept a part of Wilna and Antwerp.

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Our county and its people. A descriptive work on Jefferson County, New York, Part 50

Author: Emerson, Edgar C., ed Publication date: 1898 Publisher: [Boston] Boston History Co. Number of Pages: 1368

Author: Emerson, Edgar C., ed
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: [Boston] Boston History Co.
Number of Pages: 1368