USA > New York > Erie County > Our county and its people : a descriptive work on Erie County, New York, Volume I > Part 56
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Peters's Corners is a settlement half way between Crittenden and Mill Grove. Among the pioneers in that section were Parker Marshall, B. Barnes, E. B. Banks, Robert Dickinson, Harry Chesebrough, John Stonebraker, Rufus Blodgett and William Cockerell. Many Germans located there between 1830 and 1840. A hotel was built in 1860 by Peter Trusinski, but there are no business interests at the present time.
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Town Line, a hamlet on the line between Alden and Lancaster on the main road. Most of the inhabitants in the vicinity are Germans. Small business interests have for many years been in existence there. George King formerly kept one of the hotels and James Willis had a grocery. The place now has 1 store, 1 hotel, 1 harness shop, 1 wagon shop, 2 blacksmiths.
Wende .- This is a station on the New York Central Railroad a little south of the village of Mill Grove. Henry Gehmn settled there in 1848 and H. A. Wende in 1849; the latter built a saw mill on Eleven-Mile Creek in 1850 which was operated to about 1876. A store was built in 1857 by Michael Killinger, who was succeeded by his brother Matthias. There is no business carried on there at the present time.
There is a railroad station on the Erie line in this town, with the name Marilla, where a small settlement has come into existence within the past ten years. The business interests are a flour store, two livery stables and two saloons.
On July 17, 1813, the Presbyterians and Congregationalists of this town met and subscribed to a declaration of religious faith, and in May, 1817, a church was organized. The existing house of worship was erected about 1830, but has since been much improved.
In March, 1833, thirteen persons professing the Baptist faith met and formed a conference, and on the 5th of December following a church was organized. They had no house of worship until 1852, in which year the church at Alden village was erected. A parsonage was built in 1870.
The Methodist church at Alden village was organized April 17, 1881, and the house of worship was erected in 1885.
The Methodist church at West Alden was organized in 1850 and the edifice was erected in the following year. The organization is sub- stantially given up.
At Town Line is an Evangelical Lutheran church which was organ- ized in 1853; a brick church was built in the same year, and the edifice in present use was erected in 1875. St. Paul's United Evangelical church at the same place was organized in 1875 and a house of worship erected the same year. There is also a Free Methodist society there.
In the year 1867 a Lutheran church was built at Mill Grove, services having long been held prior to that in the school house. The society continues its active existence.
The first Roman Catholic services were held at Alden Center about
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1847, and they have been continued regularly since. A church edifice was erected in 1850, and a new one in 1861. A school was built in connection with the church in 1852 and a larger building in 1883. The Roman Catholics at Crittenden built their church in 1860, and a mis- sion was maintained until 1883, when a settled pastor was sent there.
Alden was erected from Clarence on the 27th of March, 1823. The first town meeting was held at the house of Washburn Parker, where the following officers were elected :
Edmond Badger, supervisor; Homer Hendee, town clerk; William H. Dayton and Jonathan Larkin, assessors; Thomas Durkee, collector; Thomas Farnsworth and John Van Wey, overseers of the poor; Nathan Willis, James C. Thompson and Jesse Gressman, commissioners of highways; Samuel Slade, Silas Snow and Thomas Gregg, commissioners of schools; Homer Hendee, Paul White and Joseph Perry, inspectors of schools; Thomas Durkee and Simon Hill, constables.
The following is a list of the supervisors of the town of Alden from the time of its organization, with their years of service:
Edmond Badger, 1823-24; Moses Case, 1825-32; Jonathan Larkin, 1833-34; Moses Case, 1835-37; Joshua Fullerton, 1838-40; Dexter Ewell, 1841-42; John D. Howe, 1843-46; Alexander Kellogg, 1847-48; Nathan Willis, 1849; Ziba Durkee, 1850; Asa Munn, 1851; Nathan Willis, 1852-53; John B. Pride, 1854; Lester Gary, 1855; Her- bert Dayton, 1856; Nathan Willis, 1857; Festus Tenney, 1858-59; Herbert Dayton, 1860; Andrew P. Vandervoort, 1861; John C. Baker, 1862; Herman A. Wende, 1863- 64; William Slade, 1865; Bradley Goodyear, 1866; E. R. Hall, 1867; E. H. Ewell, 1868; Spencer Stone, 1869-74; Bernhard A. Wende, 1875; L. W. Cornwell, 1876; B. A. Wende, 1877-78; Joseph E. Ewell, 1879-80; George T. Patterson, 1881-83; H. K. Fullerton, 1884; George T. Patterson, 1885-87; Emile Yund, 1888; Frederic S. Ewell, 1889; Emile Yund, 1890-92; George T. Patterson, 1893-94; Otto H. Wende, 1895-97.
TOWN OF AMHERST.
The town of Amherst was formed from the town of Buffalo (now ex- tinct) on the 10th day of April, 1818, and included what is now the town of Cheektowaga, which was set off March 22, 1839. Amherst is situated on the northern boundary of the county, with Clarence on the east, Tonawanda on the west, Cheektowaga on the south, and Niagara county on the north. It comprises township 12, range 7, of the Hol- land Company's survey, excepting about 120 acres included in Buffalo, and all that part of township 13 lying south of Tonawanda Creek, and a strip about three-eighths of a mile wide at the east end and five-eighths at the west end reaching nearly across township 11. The total area of the town is about fifty-three square miles, or 33,608 acres. The town is watered by Ransom and Eleven-mile Creeks, and by Tonawanda
-
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Creek on its northern boundary. The surface is generally level Through the south part extends a ledge from which limestone is quar- ried, and beneath this is a layer of hydraulic limestone, which is exten- sively quarried at and near Williamsville and burned to produce water lime. Large quantities of quick lime are manufactured by the Will- iamsville Quick Lime Company. The soil is sandy and clayey loam and quite productive. The principal industry of the farmers is truck gardening, general farming, raising fruits, etc. The soil furnishes good pasturage, and in late years dairying has assumed considerable impor- tance.
The settlement of the territory of Amherst began with the purchase, in 1799 by Benjamin Ellicott and John Thompson, of 300 acres of land from the Holland Company, which included the mill privilege at Will- iamsville; they paid $2 an acre. During that summer Thompson got out timber for a saw mill, but did not build it until 1801. In 1803 land contracts were made by Samuel Kelsy, Henry Lake, Benjamin Gardner and William Lewis, most of whom, probably, became settlers. In 1804 William Maltby occupied Thompson's log house which he had built in 1799. Gen. Timothy S. Hopkins, Samuel McConnell, Caleb Rogers, Stephen Colvin, Jacob Vanatta and Joel Chamberlain were additions to the settlement in 1804. At about the same time Jonas Williams and David E. Evans bought the mill property, and in 1805 Elias Ransom opened the first tavern. From Mr. Williams the place became known as Williams's Mills, and so continued until after the war. James Her- shey bought land in 1806, and in 1807 John J. Drake, Samuel Fackler and Gamaliel St. John were settlers. In 1808 James S. Youngs, John Long and John Frick came in. From that time to the war the follow- ing settlers came in: Isaac F. Bowman (who was the first merchant), Adam Vollner, John Bieser (who also kept a store), John Reid, Jacob Hershey, Thomas Coe, Darius Ayers, John Reist, John Fogelsonger, Daniel Fry and Dr. David S. Conkey. Jonas Williams built a grist mill in 1810-11. For a few years after the war Juba Storrs & Co. were the leading merchants; but they failed before 1820, and Mr. Storrs re- moved to Buffalo, where he became a prominent early business man. Among other citizens of the town were:
Hon. Jasper B. Youngs, Harry Foster Bigelow, Hon. Timothy A. Hopkins, Albert D. Ayres, Charles C. and Austin Ayer, Valentine Bruner, John G. Bush and sons Stephen and Ira M., George Burgasser, Henry B. Campbell. George Cretsenger and son George, George Fiegel and son John B., Christian Frick, Jacob Graf, C. C. Grover, John Grover, Isaac Hershey, George W. Hoover, Henry S. Hoover, Joseph
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Leffler, sr., and son Joseph, John Lutes, Christian Long, David Long, John D. Long, John M. Magoffin, Christian Michael and son Philip, Emanuel D. Miller, Lewis D. Miller, Abram Metz, Christian C. Metz, Jacob Metz, George Peters, Adam Rinewalt and son Adam L., Miranda Root, Jacob Schenck, Michael Schenck, John Schoelles, David Sheesley, Isaac Shisler and son Jacob, Abraham Snyder and son Michael, Louis Snyder and son Philip J., Tobias Witmer, George Wolf, sr., Jacob and George J. Wolf, James F. Youngs.
The first town meeting for Amherst was held in the spring of 1819, when the following officers were chosen :
Supervisor, Timothy S. Hopkins; town clerk, John Grove; assessors, William A. Carpenter, Christian Hershey and James S. Youngs; commissioners of highways, Alexander Hitchcock, Abram Long and Abraham Miller; collector, Joseph Hershey ; overseers of the poor, Peter Hershey and John Fogelsonger; commissioners of schools, Nathaniel Henshaw, Alexander Hitchcock and Christian Hershey; inspec- tors of schools, William A. Carpenter, Foster Youngs, Benjamin E. Congdon, Lucius Storrs and Abraham Miller; constables, Palmer Cleveland and Joseph Hershey.
Following are the names of the supervisors of the town of Amherst from its organization to the present time :
Timothy S. Hopkins, 1819; Oziel Smith, 1820-24; Job Bestow, 1825-26; Timothy S. Hopkins, 1827-30; Jacob Hershey, 1831-32; John Hutchinson, 1833-37; Jacob Hershey, 1838-39; Timothy A. Hopkins, 1840-43; John Hershey, 1844-46; Jasper B. Youngs, 1847-49; Emanuel Herr, 1850-52; Christian Z. Frick, 1853; Peter Grove, 1854; Samuel L. Bestow, 1855; Peter Grove, 1856; Miranda Root, 1857-58; Charles C. Grove, 1859-63; Benjamin Miller, 1864-67; Leonard Dodge, 1868-70; Michael Snyder, 1871-72; Demeter Wehrle, 1873; John Schoelles, 1874-76; Edward B. Miller, 1877; Aaron W. Eggert, 1878-80; John B. Fiegle, 1881-84; George J. Wolf, 1885-97.
Williamsville .- This is the most important village in the town, and a place around which centered the deepest interest in early times, and especially immediately after the burning of Buffalo. The village was incorporated November 4, 1850, with the following officers: Benjamin Miller, president; John S. King, Henry B. Evans, Philip J. Zent and John Hershey trustees; Dr. William Van Pelt, clerk. The first post- master was Jonas Williams, from whom the village took its name.
A considerable mercantile and manufacturing interest has always existed in Williamsville, owing largely to the water power on Ellicott Creek at that point. Among the merchants in the village in past years were Eli Hart, Juba Storrs & Co., Henry Lehn, Abram M. Dann, Emanuel & Henry Herr, Benjamin Miller, Alexander Gotwalt, Will- iam Nolte, John W. Van Peyma and John Hoffman; later merchants are Snyder & Helfter, John P. Snyder, John H. Kline, S. H. Smith, John T. Hoffman, Milton J. Hoffman, Stephen A. Westland and Charles L. Haupt. Demeter Wehrle engaged in the manufacture of
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furniture in 1850, and since 1874 has carried on a large retail establish- ment. John Lehn is another long-time business man.
The water lime works, which were established before 1825, soon passed to Oziel Smith. Later they were carried on by the firm of King & Co., who continued the manufacture until 1844, when they were sold to Timothy A. Hopkins. They were afterward operated by Benjamin Miller and his heirs until the supply of stone was exhausted. A large stone building was erected many years ago for a paper mill, but the business did not succeed and the machinery was removed to Niagara Falls. The building was afterwards used for a broom factory, and now as the power plant of the Buffalo and Williamsville Electric Railway. The old grist mill of Jonas Williams was successively operated by Juba Storrs & Co., Oziel Smith, J. Wayne Dodge, and others; it was burned in 1895, Henry W. Dodge losing his life in the fire. About 1812 Jonas Williams also built a tannery, which was afterwards conducted by John Hutchinson for fifty years or more; it was burned in 1872. In early days the village was an important point on the great stage route be- tween Albany and Buffalo. In 1832 Oziel Smith built the Eagle House, which was burned before completion and immediately rebuilt. As early as 1840 John Reist erected a second grist mill, which passed to his sons, Daniel, Elias and Jacob Reist, and later to Joseph Coon, by whose heirs it is now owned. Prior to 1850 Urban & Blocher estab- lished a brewery, which they sold in 1856 to J. Batt & Co .; it was later owned by Mrs. John Nehrboss and now by Jacob Fisher & Son (Will- iam J.) Burnett & Graybiel operated a forge for several years during and after the Civil war. In 1872 Kline Brothers erected a hub and spoke factory, which John Grove finally converted into a planing mill. The gelatine factory was started in 1872 by James Chalmers and is now owned by James Chalmers's son (James).
The Amherst Bee, a weekly newspaper, was established March 27, 1879, by Adam L. Rinewalt, who still conducts it. Aaron W. Eggert settled in the village as a lawyer in 1868, and after 1881 removed to Michigan. Dr. David S. Conkey was the first physician in the village and town; other practitioners were Dr. Peter Hershey, Dr. Spaulding, Dr. William Van Pelt and Dr. H. P. Trull (in practice). Caleb Rogers built the first school house in Williamsville in 1812, and a Mr. Johnson was the first teacher. The old stone school house was erected in 1840. The Williamsville Academy was built in 1853, the following persons being the first trustees: David Graybiel, John Frick, Isaac Hershey,
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George Cross, Christian Rutt, John Hershey, Timothy A. Hopkins, Samuel L. Bestow, Benjamin Miller, John Witmer, John D. Campbell and James W. Stevens. The building is now used by the Union High school. Union free school district No. 3 was organized May 7, 1892, the first Board of Education being Henry W. Dodge (president), Adam L. Rinewalt, James Chalmers, Demeter Wehrle, Philip J. Snyder and John Hoffman. The principals have been George E. Smith, W. M. Pierce and D. B. Albert, who has five assistants.
Among the postmasters of Williamsville were Jonas Williams, Jo- seph Hutchinson, Philip J. Zent, Loren Pond, John Ordner, S. L. Bestow, Edward D. Smith, Eugene B. Rogers, Adam L. Rinewalt, John Grove and Charles L. Haupt. A water system, owned by the . village, was established in 1895, bonds being issued for $28,000. A fire department, consisting of one hose company, was formed about the same time. The Buffalo & Williamsville Electric Railway Com- pany was incorporated July 27, 1891, with a capital of $50,000, since increased to $75,000, and the road from the village to the Buffalo city line, four and one-half miles, was opened April 5, 1893. A branch of the Lehigh Valley Railroad was built through the place from Depew to Tonawanda in 1895-96.
The churches of Williamsville are the Methodist Episcopal, organ- ized soon after the war of 1812, received a gospel lot of forty acres from the Holland Land Company, and built an edifice in 1844; the Christian, organized as early as 1834, erected a church which they sold to the Lutherans in 1871, and then built their present brick structure; the Roman Catholic, the Rev. John Neuman first priest, built in 1836, re- built of stone in 1862 under Rev. Alexander Pax; the Baptist, organ- ized about 1834, edifice dedicated in 1843; the Reformed Mennonite, organized in 1834 by John Herr and his cousin, John Herr, sr., with John Reist, first minister, built of stone in 1834, rebuilt in 1880; and the German Lutheran, which purchased the old Christian church in 1871.
The village of Williamsville now contains 5 general stores, 2 hard- ware stores, 2 shoe stores, a drug store, 1 jewelry store, a furniture and undertaking establishment, a weekly newspaper and printing of- fice, 2 hotels, a large gelatine manufactory, 1 flouring mill, a feed mill, 1 brewery, a tinsmith, 1 harness shop and feed store, 2 meat markets, 3 shoe shops, 4 blacksmith shops, a Union High school, and 6 churches. The population is about 800.
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The hamlet of Eggertsville is on the Buffalo road, west of Williams- ville, and derives its name from the Eggert family, well known in Erie county. St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran church, which was organ- ized in 1838 and had received fifty acres of land from the Holland Land Company, was composed of a congregation wholly from Alsace and Lorraine. They erected a church in 1838 which was torn down in 1874 and rebuilt at a cost of $11,000. This was burned in 1878 and a new edifice built in 1880. In August, 1882, a post-office was established with Henry Wingert as postmaster; he was also a general merchant, and is still the postmaster and has the only store in the place. There is also a cider mill there. The village is connected with Williamsville "and Buffalo by the electric railway opened in 1893.
Getzville is a station and post-office on the Niagara Falls branch of the Central Railroad in the central part of the town. Joseph Getz in early years had a cooperage business there. George J. Wolf now has a grist and cider mill there. The place also has a creamery and one store. The German Methodists hold services in a Union church just east of the station.
Transit Station, on the boundary of the town east of Getzville, was formerly known as East Amherst. A post-office was established there about fifteen years ago. It is now kept at Swormville, a mile north, where there is a small hamlet lying partly in Clarence. There is a creamery at Transit Station.
Snyderville is a small hamlet on the Buffalo road east of Eggertsville, and takes its name from Michael Snyder, a long time merchant and formerly postmaster. The first house was built by John Schenck, who also built the first store in 1837. L. F. Crout opened a hotel in 1883. The place now has one hotel and a store, the latter conducted by Jacob C. Fruehauf.
West Wood is a small rural hamlet in the northwest corner of the town, near the Erie Canal.
TOWN OF AURORA.
Aurora was one of the three towns-Aurora, Holland and Wales-into which the remainder of the old town of Willink was divided on the 15th of April, 1818. On December 4, 1857, a tract was set off to form a part of Elma. The town is about six miles square and contains an area of 23,600 acres. It comprises township 6, range 6, of the Holland Company's survey, which was surveyed into lots in 1802. The town is
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situated near the center of the county, east of the West Transit, and is bounded on the north by Elma, on the east by Wales, on the south by Colden and on the west by East Hamburg. The principal stream is Cazenove Creek, which flows northwesterly, the east branch passing through East Aurora village. The surface is high upland and some- what hilly, and the soil is clay and gravel and very fertile. Dairying, general farming and fruit growing are among the leading industries.
The records of Willink and Aurora were burned in 1831, and it is impossible to give a complete list of the early supervisors. Among them were Peter Vandeventer, Elias Osborne, Asa Ransom, Joseph Yaw and Isaac Phelps, jr., all of the town of Willink. The supervisors of Aurora, so far as can be ascertained, are as follows:
John C. Fuller, 1825-26; Thomas Thurston, 1827-28; Jonathan Hoyt, 1830-34; John C. Pratt, 1835; Lawrence J. Woodruff, 1836-37; Joseph S. Bartlett, 1838; Thomas Thurston, 1839-42; Jonathan Hoyt, 1843; Thomas Thurston, 1844; Heze- kiah Moshier, 1845-46; Hiram Harris, 1847-48; William Boies, 1849; Hiram Harris, 1850; Daniel D. Stiles, 1851-52; George W. Bennett, 1853-55; Hiram Harris, 1856; Edward Paine, 1857-58; William N. Bennett, 1859-60; Seth Fenner, 1861-62; Dorr Spooner, 1863-65; De Witt C. Corbin, 1866; Pliny A. Haynes, 1867-68; Henry Z. Persons, 1869-70; Christopher Peek, 1871-73; John P. Bartlett, 1874-75; Lyman Cornwall, 1876-78; Henry B. Millar, 1879-80; Lyman Cornwall, 1881-82; James D. Yeomans, 1883; Henry H. Persons, 1884-86; Frank R. Whaley, 1887-88; Henry H. Persons, 1889-94; Byron D. Gibson, 1895-97.
In June, 1803, Jabez Warren surveyed and opened "Big Tree Road," and on April 14, 1804, he contracted for 1,443 acres of land on lots 16, 24, 31 and 32, being the site of a large part of East Aurora and vicin- ity; he paid $2 per acre. The same day Henry Godfrey, Joel Adams, Nathaniel Emerson, John Adams and Nathaniel Walker took contracts for land covering the valley of Cazenove Creek for three miles above Warren's, the price being $1.50 per acre, which was the cheapest that any land was sold for in Erie county. Mr. Warren built the first house in town and moved his family into it in March, 1805. The first resi- dent family was Taber Earl and his wife, who arrived in 1804, settling on lot 15. In 1804 Joel Adams also came in with his family. Among the settlers in 1804 were Henry Godfrey, Nathaniel Emerson, Hum- phrey Smith and Gen. William Warren ; in 1806 Timothy Paine, Phineas Stephens, Solomon Hall, Oliver Pattengill, Jonathan Hussey, James Henshaw and others arrived. Mr. Stephens built the first saw mill, at East Aurora; in 1807 he erected the first grist mill, and for several years the place was known as Stephens's Mills. In 1807 Gen. William Warren opened the first tavern . that summer Mary Eddy taught a
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school in his old cabin, and the next winter he was the teacher. Eph- raim Woodruff began blacksmithing in 1807, and became the owner of a large tract of land in the heart of East Aurora village. About this time Abram Smith purchased the mill sites at Griffin's Mills and West Falls.
Among other very early settlers were Enos, Luther and Erasmus Adams, Ira and Walter Paine, David Rowley, Samuel Calkins, Oren and Timothy Treat, Judge Isaac Phelps, jr., Chester Darby, Jonathan Bowen, the Stafford family, Moses Thompson, Russell Darling, and Amos Underhill, all before 1812. In 1808 a frame school house was built in East Aurora, and in 1809-10 Humphrey Smith erected a grist mill at Griffin's Mills.
Other early settlers were Judge Elias Osborne, Micah B. Crook, Is- rael Reed, Josiah Emory, sr., Levi Blake, Daniel Thurston, jr., Joseph M. Henshaw, Ira G. Watson, Daniel Haskell, James M. Stephens, and Sumner and Asa Warren. Dr. John Watson was the first physician. Probably the first death was that of a daughter of Humphrey Smith. The first store was opened in a log cabin at Blakeley's Corners by John Adams and Daniel Haskell; there a post-office called Willink was es- tablished in 1814, with Simon Crook as postmaster. In 1815 Robert Persons opened the first permanent store in the town, at East Aurora, and soon afterward the post-office was moved to that locality. In 1816 Gen. William Warren erected a frame tavern there, which was soon purchased by Col. Calvin Fillmore, uncle of Millard Fillmore. Of the settlers prior to 1825 there were:
Abijah Paul, Jedediah and John C. Darby, William Boies (father of Joel, Warren, Wilder, Eber, Jarvis, William and Watson Boies), Thomas Thurston, John Hamble- ton, Hawxhurst and Isaac Addington, Henry P. Van Vliet, Enos Adams and son Ira S., James Brookins, Elijah Darrow and son Edward S., Josiah Emory, jr., Moses Haynes and son Pliny A., David Paul and son James W., Gen. Aaron Riley, James W. Stiles. Cyrus Underhill, Rev. James P. Underhill, Henry Van Vliet, Samuel Wolcott.
About 1820 Lemuel Spooner built a grist mill in the southeast part of the town which was replaced in 1850 by another erected by Lyman Corn- wall; David Nichols built a carding and fulling mill a mile and a half above the mouth of the west branch of Cazenove Creek; and about 1822 Sylvester Mckay erected an oil mill on the same dam, Benjamin Enos built a tannery a little farther up that stream, and Joseph S. Bartlett put up a fulling and carding establishment near the Stephens mill. Another tannery was placed in operation east of East Aurora
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and a third near South Wales. There were at one time upwards of twenty saw mills in the town. On the oil mill site E. S. Taylor built a pail factory in 1840; it was sold to Henry Van Vliet in 1844 and to William H. Davis in 1847, and was burned about 1849. In 1843 Aaron Rumsey erected a large tannery near Griffin's Mills which he carried on about twenty years. The first railroad proiected in Erie county was incorporated in 1830 by Joseph Howard, jr., Edward Paine, Aaron and Joseph Riley, Robert Persons, Calvin Fillmore and Deloss Warren, all residents of Aurora. It was styled the Buffalo and Aurora Rail- road Company. The road was surveyed by William Wallace, but was never constructed. The following also became active citizens of the town :
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