Our county and its people : a descriptive and biographical record of Madison County, New York, Part 6

Author: Smith, John E., 1843- ed
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: [Boston, Mass.] : Boston History Company
Number of Pages: 960

USA > New York > Madison County > Our county and its people : a descriptive and biographical record of Madison County, New York > Part 6

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

near Pool's Brook, near the Manlius line. In that locality John and Peter Christman, George Chawgo, and the Herrings, all Dutchmen from the Mohawk country, also settled early, and the region became known as Kinderhook.

These pioneers were soon joined by many others, among whom were John G. Moyer, Capt. Timothy Brown, Col. Zebulon Douglass, John Matthews, Philip Daharsh, Peter Dygart, Timothy Freeman, Martin Vrooman, Capt. Rosel Barnes, a Mr. Rector, Robert Carter, Mr. Owens, Joseph and Benjamin Hosley, Jacob Patrick, Judge John Knowles, John Adams, Robert Riddell, John Smith, John Walrath, the Beebe families, John Lower, Peter Ehle, David Burton, William Miles, John Keller, Ovid Weldon, Nicholas Pickard, John Owen French, Rev. Aus- tin Briggs, and Reuben Haight. Descendants of many of these are now residents of the town.

The pioneers needed mills early and John G. Moyer built both grist and saw mills on the site of the paper mill a mile and a half above Chit- tenango. These were the first in the town; the grist mill was con- verted into a plaster mill as early as 1814, and later was in part fitted up for cloth works by John Knowles, jr. ; it was burned about 1826 and rebuilt by Mr. Knowles as a cloth and clothing works.

The parents of Capt. Timothy Brown, who were on their way farther west, left him with a family who had settled in Sullivan. In 1819 he purchased the farm at Canaseraga subsequently owned by his grand- sons, Timothy S., John, Barton and Albert Brown. At the time of the purchase the farm was owned by Albert Queenall, a Hollander from the Mohawk country. Captain Brown became a leading citizen; was a stockholder in the Seneca Turnpike, a contractor on the Erie Canal, and a prominent farmer, becoming before his death a large landowner.

Col. Zebulon Douglass settled in 1796, on the turnpike two and a half miles east of Chittenango, where his grandson, Douglass Lewis, subsequently lived. He brought in his family in 1797 and became a well known and respected citizen. His later purchases made him a large land owner. A sketch of his life is given in Part II.

John Matthews came from Massachusetts, settled half a mile south of Bolivar, and about 1810 purchased the grist and saw mills long known as Matthews's Mills, a little north of the center of the town; he sold them about 1822 to his brother Samuel; they were subsequently burned and not rebuilt. He had six children by his first wife and one, Joseph, by his second; they married and settled in that vicinity.

SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS.

Philip Daharsh settled at Bolivar and there died. He had a large family, but all left the town. Peter Dygart settled in the same local- ity with Jacob Schuyler and married his daughter; some members of this family left this vicinity and others are dead. Timothy Freeman and Martin Vrooman, settled on the turnpike, Freeman two miles southwest of Chittenango, and Vrooman between two and three miles east of that village. Bradford and Charles Freeman were sons of Timothy.

Capt. Rosel Barnes was the first settler near Bridgeport and built the first frame house there, having previously kept a tavern in a log building; he subsequently removed to Illinois. The homestead passed to Leverett Barnes, his son, who also removed west. Other early set- tlers in that locality were a Captain Rector, a militia officer, who re- sided at Bridgeport until his death; Robert Carter and his sons, Robert and John; Joseph and Benjamin Hosley, brothers, and others.

Gideon Owens was the pioneer on the point of the lake shore a little east of Bridgeport, which perpetuates his name. Jacob Patrick settled before 1800 on the turnpike three-fourths of a mile east of Chittenango, on what was long known as the Patrick farm; it was there that the first gypsum was found in the county. John Knowles came from Troy in 1805 and settled on the plains two miles north of Bridgeport. He be- came a prominent citizen, holding the offices of associate judge, mem- ber of assembly, etc. John Adams was also from Troy, coming a little earlier than Judge Knowles, and settled two miles south of Bridgeport, and later resided at Matthews's Mills, where he died. He was one of the early surveyors of this region.

John Smith came from Massachusetts and settled at Chittenango about 1800, where he kept a tavern on the turnpike, just south of the creek. The tavern stood a little in rear of the site of the house occu- pied in recent years by George Walrath, and is still in existence, but unoccupied. Mr. Smith first took up the 200 acres in Chittenango vil- lage, which included the water power which ultimately operated the grist mill and cotton factory. About 1812 he arranged with Judge Jedediah Sanger and Judge Youngs, of Oneida county, to give them one-half of this land upon their paying for the whole. Smith was bankrupt and the deed was made in the name of his brother Jonathan, of New Woodstock. Soon after this arrangement was carried out the mills were built.

Reuben Haight settled a mile north of Chittenango about 1800; later

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

he removed to Michigan. Robert Riddell, from Sherburne, Mass., set- tled on the Chittenango about a mile below Bolivar, in 1805, and died there in 1808. There was a large family, who remained on the home stead until 1811, when they separated, the sons, Robert and David, remaining here; they were many years engaged in tanning and curry- ing, as noticed further on. Thompson, another son, died in this town.

John Owen French, from Williamsburg, Mass., settled in 1805 · between Canaseraga and Chittenango, and there died in 1808, leaving sons Horatio, Jairus, Samuel and Thomas, all born in Williamsburg, and all becoming prominent citizens; they had farms near the homestead, and Samuel was elected sheriff in 1843. David Burton settled in Can- aseraga in 1806.

John H. Walrath was a native of Minden, Montgomery county, and came to this town in 1808 from Rome, having a contract to construct a section of the Seneca Turnpike. In the following spring he settled on a farm on the west bank of Chittenango Creek, on the site of the foun- dry and machine shop, and there resided until his death, September 16, 1816. He was only forty seven years old at the time, but had already attained a prominent place in the community, and his family have always been conspicuous for their good citizenship. His sons were Henry I., John I., Abraham, and Daniel; the latter was father of Peter Walrath, now of Chittenango.

David and Joseph Beebe settled at Canaseraga and the family became prominent in that locality. John Lower settled about a mile west of Chittenango and died there at an early day. His son Richard was the first blacksmith at Chittenango, where he was succeeded by his son, Jacob.

Peter Ehle was a Revolutionary soldier from Montgomery county, and settled in the southwest part of the town, where his great-grandson lived in late years. He died on that farm and was succeeded by his son Henry, born April 13, 1787, and afterwards removed to Chittenango and died there in 1870. Oliver Ehle, son of Henry, succeeded to the farm and died there in 1862. John P., eldest son of Peter Ehle, settled and died on a farm adjoining his father's, and Peter P., another son, settled in that locality, but later removed to Fenner, where he died in 1847. George, another son, long kept the Dixon House in Chittenango, and removed later to Cazenovia, where he kept the Lincklaen House.

Rev. Austin Briggs, a Methodist preacher from Connecticut, settled at about the beginning of the war of 1812, on a soldier's right in Man-

SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS.

lius, but his title was not good and he soon removed to the lake shore in this town. Other families among early settlers were named White, Eastwood, Crownhart, Dunham, and others.

These and other settlers in Sullivan mentioned in Part II and else where in these pages, devoted their energies to the development of the town and the establishment of its institutions. Religious services in the Presbyterian faith were held here at about the beginning of the century and on the 11th of September, 1802, records show that the Bethzura Presbyterian Society met. at the " house or barn " of Conrad Lower in Canaseraga, pursuant to a call of "Phineas Cadwell, a member of the Presbyterian congregation on the Genesee road (there being no minis- ter, elders, deacons, church warden or vestrymen belonging to the said society or congregation "), made August 21, 1802, and there elected Ebenezer Caulking and Oliver Clark, returning officers, and Walter Brasher, Oliver Clark, Phineas Cadwell, Harmanus Van Antwerp, Eb- enezer Caulking, and William Sternbergh, trustees. The first pastor of this church, as far as records show, was Rev. Ira M. Olds, who was ordained as minister over this society and also the church of Lenox, where he continued his labor until 1832. The remnant of this church residing in this locality formed the nucleus of a new society, which was organized soon afterward, and after a few years of feeble existence sub- stantially lost its identity by a partial union with the Reformed Dutch. Other early pastors of the church were Rev. Mr. Adams, who removed from the lake shore to the village about 1818; Charles Johnson and Revs. Huntington and Gazelee. The meetings were held in the so- called " Bethel," which was built about 1816 and used for both religious and school purposes and occupied a small park in Chittenango village. At a later date services were held on the second floor of the woolen mill, where Rev. Dr. Yates of the Polytechny, fitted up an apartment. This arrangement continued until the erection of the stone Dutch Re- formed church in 1828, which is still in use. The Dutch Reformed organization was effected January 12, 1828, the Presbyterians uniting, as before stated, for the building of an edifice. Baptists, Methodists, and Universalists also held meetings in the "Bethel" a number of years. Rev. Hutchins Taylor was employed for about a year after the organization, when he was succeeded by Rev. Dr. Andrew Yates; other early pastors were Revs. William H. Campbell, John C. F. Hoes, James Able, S. P. M. Hastings, James R. Talmadge and C. O. Thatcher. The Presbyterians withdrew from the Reformed church soon after its organ-

OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

ization and about 1831 built the church in the village that was subse- quently sold to the Baptist society and later to the Catholics; it was finally burned. This society had dissension with the Presbytery and in 1836 was struck from the roll, services were intermittent and the organ- ization passed out of existence.

In the very early years of the century Canaseraga was the most im- portant point in town. In 1805 two stores were maintained there, one kept by Reuben Hawley (the latter the father of Gen. J. Dean Hawley, long a prominent merchant in Syracuse and now employed in the post- office in that city), and the other by William Malcolm; they were probably the first merchants in that place. At Chittenango there were only two taverns, one kept by John Smith, and the other, which be- came the Yates House, by Ball & Cary, with two or three dwellings. There was not a store in that village until 1812. The mills at Cana- seraga were built previous to 1805 in their original form; the present mills were not erected until 1855. All this indicates that the principal village growth in the town of Sullivan did not take place until after the organization of the county and, therefore, will be taken up in later chapters.

CHAPTER V.

FURTHER TOWN SETTLEMENT AND IMPROVEMENT.

The territory of the town of Stockbridge was first settled by white men almost simultaneously with that of the two towns described in the preceding chapter, or about ten years before the opening of the present century. The town itself was not erected until May 20, 1836, when it was constituted of parts of Vernon and Augusta in Oneida county, and Smithfield and Lenox in Madison county. Its name perpetuates that of the Stockbridge Indians who formerly occupied its territory. The town is situated on the eastern border of the county just north of the center and is bounded on the north by Lenox and Vernon, on the east by Vernon and Augusta, on the south by Eaton and Madison, and on the west by Lenox and Smithfield. Its surface is a rolling upland, through which extends the deep, fertile and picturesque valley of

SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS.

Oneida Creek, extending north and south. The creek is bordered by two ranges of hills which rise from 500 to 800 feet above the stream, which have gradual slopes and are tillable to their summits. The course of the valley through this town has an average width of nearly a mile, but expands in the north part into the broad plain extending away to the north section of Lenox. Oneida Creek has its rise in the town of Smithfield, flows across that town from northwest to southeast and enters Stockbridge in the southwest part, joining the other branch of the creek south of the center of the town. The main branch is characterized by a succession of rapids and falls and furnishes numer- ous mill sites, as well as contributing to create scenery that is unsur- passed for quiet beauty.

This town has extensive deposits of limestone and gypsum, both of which are quarried and burned or used in building. The gypsum is situated in the eastern hill range in the north part of the town, in the vicinity of Valley Mills, while the limestene is found in both hill ranges in the central and southern parts. The limestone rock contains a num- ber of somewhat remarkable caves, some of which have not been fully explored. Many statements have been published regarding the dis- covery of footprints of men and animals in the rock which forms the bed of a small stream which finds its way down the east hill a little way northeast of Munnsville. They are in fact due to the action of water, according to excellent authority, as proven by the existence near by of some of the characteristic fossils of the limestone formation.

The soil of Stockbridge is generally a gravelly and clayey loam, well adapted to hop-growing and mixed crops, and to grazing. The tract of land which constituted the home of the Stockbridge Indians was six miles square and lay partly in this town and partly in Vernon; it was purchased by them in 1784 and subsequently passed in parcels to the State. The last of these Indians left here in 1824, previous to which time they had adopted many civilized customs, both in their material and social practices. They learned enough of agriculture to success- fully till the ground, so that although most of the town was not open to settlement until a comparatively late date, much of it had been re- claimed from its primeval condition. The work of Rev. John Sergeant among these Indians was prolific of good, and as early as 1800 he had established and built a church which stood at Valley Mills for nearly a century. Many relics of the three Indian nations who inhabited this region, the Oneidas, the Tuscaroras, and the Stockbridges, have been

OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

found in this vicinity, some of which are of deep interest through the probability that they belonged to a race that preceded the Indians. The remains of what was supposed to have been a fort were early found on the west hill in the southwest part of the town, and several supposed Indian burial grounds have been discovered, all of which were once rich in relics.

The whole of this town, excepting a strip about a mile wide on the south side, was included in the original Indian Reservation, and the first permanent white settlements were confined to lots in this strip and east of Oneida Creek. The remainder of the town was not settled until a much later date and the lots in the reservation were first occu- pied under leases from the Indians.

The first settlement was made in 1791 and is credited to Nathan Edson, who came from New Hampshire with his sons, John, Barney and Calvin, and daughters Nancy, Sarah, Polly and Olive, the first named daughter being the wife of Robert Seaver, who also came in at that time. Nathan Edson took up the lot next north of the south- east corner lot of the town. In 1820 he removed to a small farm which he leased from the Indians in the north part and there re- sided until his death. All of his children married and settled on the lot first taken up by him; John in the northeast corner, and in 1806 removed to near Batavia, whither he was soon followed by Barney. Alford, another son of Nathan's, came in soon after his father and located on the same lot, subsequently removing to the south part of the town and still later to another farm which he leased from the Indians; this was the former homestead of John True. Robert Seaver removed to Genesee county. Sarah married William Divine, and Polly married his brother John. William Divine kept a tavern a short time on that lot, and afterwards moved to the western part of the State. John Divine, whose marriage was the first one in the town, died a few years later of consumption; his widow married Daniel Thurston who succeeded to the same farm. Olive Edson married Zenas Cole who bought Calvin Edson's farm, and afterwards removed to Cincinnati. Willard Edson, a resident of Munnsville in recent years was a son of Alford and the last one of the family left in the town.

Oliver Stewart moved into Stockbridge about 1796 and settled on the lot west of Edson, where William Howard lived in recent years, and resided there until his death. His daughter Lydia married as the sec- ond wife of Alford Edson, and he had sons, Charles, Samuel, Ezra J.,

SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS.

Enos, and four daughters besides Lydia. All of the children first settled in this town, but none of the family is now left. The home- stead passed to a daughter of Charles Stewart who married William Babcock. Charles Stewart held several town offices.

Jonathan Snow was a pioneer from the same neighborhood as Edson and came in soon after him, settling on the southeast corner lot of the town. His children were Oliver, and a daughter who married her cousin, Seth Snow, and lived near the homestead. None of the family remains in this vicinity.

William Sloan, George Bridge and James Taft were from Washing- ton county, this State. Sloan located on the south part of the Edson lot, which he purchased from a Mr. Gillett who bought it of Edson; it was occupied in recent years by Andrew Hollenbeck. Sloan subse- quently went to live with his son Lyman in the edge of Smithfield and there died. His son William was a prominent citizen of Smithfield and held a number of town offices. Other children of the elder William Sloan were Josephus, the eldest, Abigail, Olive, John, Orange and Betsey. Abigail married Amos Bridge and Olive married William Farrington.

George Bridge bought of Daniel Dickey the farm of Alford Edson, who had sold it to Dickey about 1797. Bridge resided there until his death and had five sons and two daughters. Two of his sons, Amos and Jonas, settled early in the north part of Eaton, and Jesse succeeded to the homestead, but subsequently removed to Bouckville. William Bridge remained a resident of Stockbridge and died January 27, 1877.

James Taft purchased a small farm of Oliver Stewart, but soon left the town.

Benjamin House was a pioneer from Connecticut and settled in the south part of the town where James Marshall subsequently lived. He was succeeded there by his son, Almyron. His daughter, Temperance, married Joseph Crosby, son of Stephen Crosby, and they resided on a part of the Crosby farm. None of the family remains in the town.

Matthew Rankin settled early on a part of the Jonathan Snow lot, before mentioned, and there died. His sons, Aaron and Jairus, settled on the same lot west of Snow. Aaron subsequently went west. Jairus was a physician and the first to settle permanently in the town. He practiced in his profession at Munnsville until his death, which took place November 2, 1832, at the age of fifty years. He was a skillful phy- sician and much respected in every way. He also built the first saw mill at Munnsville in 1824 ..

OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

Among other early settlers, the date of whose arrival is not at hand, were Benjamin House, John Gasten, Waterman Simonds, Austin Car- ver, David Wood, on West Hill; James Cook at Knoxville; Anson Stone, William Powers, Philander Powers, Chauncey Beach, Isaac Richmond, Thaddeus and Lebbeus Camp, Philip Freeman, and others. Owing to causes before mentioned a large part of this town was not permanently settled until after the erection of the county, and will, therefore, be left for notice in a later chapter.

The first town meeting was held at Munnsville, June 7, 1836, and the following officers elected: Henry T. Sumner, supervisor; Hiram Whe- don, clerk; Orin Wright, justice; Elisha A. Clark, William Page and James Cowen, assessors; John Hadcock and Thomas Wilson, poormas- ters; Jesse Bridge, Luther Hathaway and John Potter, commissioners of highways; Orange R. Cook, Danforth Armour and Albert G. Bar- tholomew, school commissioners; William Temple, collector; William Temple, Levi Johnson and Jonathan Carter, constables; Aaron Rankin, Ores Ranney and Ephraim C. Brown, school inspectors; Clark Buck, sealer of weights and measures.

Next in the order of settlement of the towns that were in existence at the date of the formation of Madison county was Hamilton, which was elected from Paris March 5, 1795, and named in honor of Alexan- der Hamilton, the distinguished statesman. The town originally in- cluded what are now the towns of Eaton, Lebanon and Madison, or their equivalent, lots Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the Twenty Townships. It was reduced to its present area in February, 1807, by the formation of the three towns above named. It is situated on the southern boundary of the county, east of the center. Its surface is a rolling upland, broken by the valleys of the Chenango River and its eastern branch. The former flows southerly near the west boundary of the town, and the latter crosses the town from northeast to southwest and unites with the main stream at Earlville. Numerous small tributaries of these streams water and drain the town. The existence throughout this town of the Hamilton group of rocks has been elsewhere described. This stone has been extensively quarried in the past years, and nearly all of the University buildings and many other structures in Hamilton village were erected from it. The soil of the town is rich and produc- tive in the valleys, and composed of sandy and gravelly loam; on the hills a clayey loam prevails which is admirably adapted for grazing and the production of hay.

SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS.

The Oneida and Stockbridge Indians found the territory of this town a favorite resort and regularly visited it as late as the close of the war of 1812, their southern trail extending through the western part. Many interesting and valuable Indian relics have been found in the town.

Hamilton was one of the six townships patented to Col. William S. Smith, as described in an earlier chapter, on April 16, 1794. Town- ships 2, 3, 4 and 5 which formed the original great town of Hamilton, were soon transferred to Sir William Pultney, from whom Dominick Lynch, a New York merchant, who became a large land owner in and around Rome village, purchased the greater part of the 4th township, which included the territory of the present town of Hamilton, and it was surveyed for purchasers.

The first settlement in this town was made in the spring of 1792, on the east branch of the Chenango, near the site of Earlville, by John Wells, Abner Nash, Patrick W. Shields and John Muir, who came to- gether from Paris, Oneida county, driving a yoke of oxen, two cows and two hogs. Wells and Nash had made a snow-shoe trip to that lo- cality earlier in the year, selected a location and built a log cabin. These two were originally from Amherst, Mass., while Shields and Muir were native Scotchmen. Mr. Wells brought in his wife and in- fant son and their route was defined only by marked trees. The cross- ing of the stream was made at the site of Hubbardsville with great difficulty, as it was swollen with recent rains. Mr. Wells settled on the east side of the river about midway between the sites of Poolville and Earlville. He immediately began keeping a tavern for the accommo- dation of the numerous persons who were passing by in quest of new homes; it was on his land also that the first store was kept by Israel Church, Mr. Wells died on his farm December 26, 1831. Their son William, the infant brought in with them, died in September, 1830. Henry, another son, was the first white child born in town-1793-and died in 1837. The other children were Jerry, Daniel, Alonzo, Horatio, Betsey and Caroline.

Abner Nash, who with Shields and Muir, settled on farms near that of Mr. Wells, died in Earlville in 1837. His son, Horace, born in Hamilton in 1794, was the second white child born in the town. Shields was a British soldier in the Revolutionary war. Muir died in Hamil- ton in 1823, and had children, James, father of Harriet and John; and David, father of Mrs. Albert Plumb.

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Our county and its people : a descriptive and biographical record of Madison County, New York, Part 6

Author: Smith, John E., 1843- ed Publication date: 1899 Publisher: [Boston, Mass.] : Boston History Company Number of Pages: 960

Author: Smith, John E., 1843- ed
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: [Boston, Mass.] : Boston History Company
Number of Pages: 960