USA > New York > Tioga County > Our county and its people : a memorial history of Tioga County, New York > Part 32
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TOWN OF BARTON.
have been for any combination of forces to have been made be- tween the Five Nations and the Delawares or their ancestors the Lennilenapes. According to well established Indian tradition, the enmity between these great peoples dated back almost to the year 1200, and there was nothing in harmony between them until after the conquest which ended in the final and effectual subjugation of the Delawares and many other nations as well. This old enmity was so fixed that it would have been utterly impossible for the Iroquois and the Delawares to unite against the Spanish gold hunt- ers or against any other strange people, regardless of their mission.
Again, it is now well settled history that the French taught the Indians how to build defences and to construct fortifications, and it is also well known that French explorers, Jesuit Priests, and others of that people were among the Iroquois and had gained a foothold as early as the first quarter of the seventeenth century, and that they were especially strong among the Senecas of west- ern New York. Such fortifications as that on Spanish Hill were frequent in this state, and one of them, quite like that near . Waverly, was found by the pioneers of Yates county, hardly more than fifty miles distant from Spanish Hill, and as we near the line of the old French possessions in America such erections become more frequent. They are no longer a source of wonder and sur- prise, nor of superstition, for they have been reasonably and read- ily accounted for. But, we are not prepared to explain the origin of the name Spanish Hill, with any more satisfaction than can be interpreted the meaning of the name Barton as applied to the town.
PIONEER AND EARLY SETTLEMENT .- So far as we have positive knowledge the first white men to visit this region were the aveng- ing soldiers of Sullivan's army, although the tories and Indians allied to the British made frequent use of both the Susquehanna and Chemung valleys in their marauding expeditions against the frontier American settlements. Many of them came this way to the battle at Wyoming, and this was also the route taken by Brant and his followers to reach the bloody massacre scene at Cherry Valley. Small wonder, therefore, that congress and Gen. Washington sent brave Sullivan and a strong force to visit condign punishment
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upon these merciless savages and their equally inhuman Tory allies. The soldiers in this command not only drove the Indians from the region, but became acquainted with the desirable por- tions of the country through which they passed, and within four years after the close of the war Ebenezer Ellis left old Forty Fort and came up the Susquehanna in a canoe to the present town of Nichols, and thence in 1791 came to Barton and setted on the farm afterward occupied by John Hanna. From this . settlement the stream called Ellis creek derived its name, although pioneer Ellis soon exchanged with Mr. Hanna and obtained land on the creek where the mill was built. Mr. Ellis had a large family of thirteen children, of whom Alexander, the youngest, was the first white male child born in Barton. He married with Betsey Saunders and had a family of twelve children.
Stephen Mills was also a settler in the town, in 1791, and, like pioneer Ellis, came here from Nichols. He was a Connecticut Yankee, an old Revolutionary patriot, and later a pensioner. He had a family but the names of all of them are not known. Mr. Mills was an earnest plodder in early times, but took no active part in affairs of the town. His family name has been preserved in the locality, and frequently appears in the town civil list.
Benjamin Aikens was the third settler and came in 1791. He was the owner of a 900 acre tract of good land, the same after- ward owned by Gilbert Smith, covering the site now occupied in part by the little hamlet called Barton village.
John Hanna came in 1794, and in many respects was one of the most prominent men of the locality for many years. He was a Scotchman by birth and made his way to this country when a boy as servant to the captain of a sailing vessel. He lived for several years in eastern Pennsylvania, and when grown up became a dis- tiller at Nescopeck Falls, Pa. However, the depreciation in value of continental money cost Mr. Hanna his fortune, although he possessed some means when he settled in this town. He also served with credit in the army during the revolution, hence be- longed to that class of pioneers who were generally honored on account of that experience. When arrived in the town, Mr. Hanna first settled on a tract of land at the mouth of the creek,
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TOWN OF BARTON.
but soon changed places with pioneer Ellis. John Hanna built the first barn in the town, and in it were held religious services. His wife was also a native of Scotland, named Margaret McCul- lough, with whom he was married in Pennsylvania. Mr. Hanna also became the owner of a large tract of land in the town by pur- chase from Peter C. Lorillard, of New York, in extent 1,000 acres, and situate in the locality known as Ellistown. He became in- deed one of the foremost men in the vicinity and possessed a large quantity of land. He attained the remarkable age of 102 years and was always respected for his sterling qualities. His home was the general stopping place for itinerant preachers, and public worship was frequently held under his roof. Pioneer Hanna had a family of nine children, viz .: John ; Nancy, who married with John Swartwood, and after his death with John Shoemaker ; Jane, who married with Joseph Swain, of Chemung; William ; Mar- garet, who became the wife of Elisha Hill ; Betsey, who married with Lewis Mills ; George ; Sally, wife of Squire Whittaker ; and Martha, who became the wife of Joseph G. Wilkinson. The sur- name Hanna is still well represented in both the town of Barton and the village of Waverly.
James Swartwood came to the town soon after John Hanna and previous to 1795. He came from Delaware, undoubtedly by way of Wyoming, and was a valuable acquisition to the little settle- ment, as he is remembered as a man much respected in the region. In his family were nine children : Mary, who married with Isaac Shoemaker ; Martha, who became the wife of Benjamin Smith ; Sarah, the wife of Joseph Langford ; Katie, who became the wife of Baskia Jones; and Benjamin, James, Jacob, John and Eben- ezer. This family name is still in Barton, reasonably numerous, and numbers among its representatives some of the most substan- tial farming element of the vicinity.
Luke Saunders was one of the settlers previous to 1795, and came from Connecticut. He, too, was a substantial farmer, whose descendants are still in the town, though not numerous. His children were Sarah, Parish, Jabez, Nathan, Betsey, Christopher, Nancy, and Robert.
Samuel Ellis also came to Barton in 1795. He was a brother to
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Ebenezer Ellis, the pioneer, and came with the record of a soldier of the revolution.
Ezekiel Williams was another settler of about the same time, although data concerning his personal and family record is indeed meagre ; but as one of the pioneers of the town he is entitled to mention in this place.
John Shepard was one of the earliest settlers in the region, hav- ing come into the valley south of Waverly as early as 1790 or '92. He emigrated to Tioga Point, according to Judge Avery, about 1784 or '85, and became acquainted with this particular locality through his business operations as Indian trader. At the place called Milltown Mr. Shepard built a fulling mill, and also a woollen mill. In 1796 he became the owner of a thousand acres of land on the site now of the village of Waverly, having purchased the tract from General Thomas, of Westchester county, for the sum of five dollars an acre. He at once moved here and became prom- inently identified with all subsequent measures of improvement of the new region. Isaac Shepard was the son of John Shepard, and upon him seems to have fallen the duty of carrying out the work begun by the father. During the first half of the present century he was one of the foremost business men in the county, and he, perhaps more than any other single person, contributed toward building up the village in particular and the town in gen- eral. Later generations of the same family have in like manner been important factors in the more recent events of local history, all of which will be further mentioned in the village chapter.
William Bensley was another of the early settlers in the local- ity, but the exact year of his arrival is uncertain. Judge Avery, the earliest writer of contemporary history, gives Mr. Bensley a place among the pioneers, and also, with other writers, says he was an important factor in early events. Pioneer Bensley came from Smithfield, Wayne county (now Pike) about 1803 (in that year according to Mr. Genung's interesting and carefully prepar- ed narrative), and located on the farm more recently owned by John Park, situated about one mile west of Barton village. This farm was in the Bensley family for a period of eighty years. William Bensley married with Mary, the daughter of Isaac Bun-
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TOWN OF BARTON.
nell, and to them were born nine children: Gershom, John, Daniel, Henry, Eleanor, Elizabeth, Anna, Mary A., and Sarah Bensley. Pioneer Bensley was a weaver by trade, hence was a valuable ac- quisition to the settlement, but in connection with that work he was also a lumberman and farmer. His descendants are still in the town, but the pioneer element of the family has passed away.
Charles B. Smith, who is remembered as an early settler, came to the town when a boy, and was one of the Bensley household. He afterward married with Elizabeth Bensley.
Judge Avery, in his sketches of early life in the valley, says that the first settlers on Cayuta creek were Charles Bingham, Layton Newell, Lyon C. Hedges and Philip Crans ; and on the upper waters of the stream Justus Lyons, John Manhart and a fam- ily named Reed were the first comers. Silas Wolcott lived on Ellis creek but afterward moved to Ithaca. Moses and Elisha Leonard were other settlers in this locality.
George W. Buttson was the owner of a saw niill at Barton vil- lage in the early history of the town, and front him the creek on which the mill was built received its name. Among the other early settlers in the vicinity may be mentioned John Hyatt, Eli- phalet Barden, Benjamin and Samuel Mundy, Peter Barnes, Selah Payne, Peter Hoffinan, and others, whose names have been lost with the lapse of time.
Charles Bingham, who was one of the first settlers on Cayuta creek, was a pioneer in the Wyoming Valley but was driven from that region by the Indians. He returned to Wilkesbarre, but after dangerous hostilities had passed came to the vicinity of Spanish Hill, and still later moved to a home about six miles up Shepard's Creek. Mr. Bingham was noted for his maple sugar product : indeed the abundance of sugar maples on the tract was the in- ducement to him to make the purchase. Charles Binghanı, son of the settler, built an early mill on the site now of Bingham Brothers' mill at Lockwood. Charles Bingham the elder, had four sons, John, Ebenezer, Jonathan and Charles, Jr., and three dangh- ters, Anna, Margurite and Sarah.
Thus was the pioneer and early settlement accomplished in this western portion of the old town of Owego. The reader must of
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
course understand that the original town of Owego included all the territory between Owego creek on the east and the Cayuta creek on the west. This name was continued from the time of the erection of the county in 1791 to the time of the general revision of both counties and towns in the state in 1813. Then the town previous- ly known as Tioga took the name of Owego, and Owego thence- forth became known as Tioga. Therefore all settlers in Barton before 1813 were in Owego, and between the year last mentioned and March 23, 1824, all who came to what we now call Barton were settlers in Tioga. However, before proceeding to a discussion of the civil and political history of the town we may with propriety recall the names of other and perhaps later settlers in Barton, but who were in some manner identified with its history. Still, this mention must be brief in view of the fact that in another depart- ment of this work, devoted solely to personal chronology, the reader will find more extended allusion, to pioneers and as well to other substantial families of the town, whether early or more recent settlers.
In the locality known as Tallmadge Hill, Sutherland Tallmadge, from Schoharie county, was an early settler. David Davis was also an early settler, and his son Samuel was a blacksmith as well as farmer and lumberman. Elisha Hill came from Connecticut to Bradford county, Pa., in 1818, but after three years removed into this town. His brother, Caleb Hill, came at the same time. Elisha had been in the service during the war of 1812-15, hence was a man of importance in the town. He married with Margaret, the daughter of Jolin Hanna, and to them were born five children : John G., Philomela, Sarah, Hannah, Elizabeth, and Tabitha J. Hill.
Benjamin Genung was the pioneer of a numerous and afterward well known family in this region. He was of Huguenot descent, a patriot of the revolution, and a pioneer in Dryden, Tompkins county. From him descended the family in this part of the state. He had six children : Barnabas, Aaron, Rachel, Philo, Peroni, and Timothy. Barnabas married with Susan Johnson and raised a family of twelve children. They were Lydia, Nathaniel, Harri- son, Ann, Rebecca, Sally, Enos, George, Marilda, and Barnabas,
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TOWN OF BARTON.
Jr. John Franklin and George Frederick Genung, the well known educators at Amherst college and Benedict (Columbia, S. C.) insti- tute, respectively, were sons of Abram Genung. Enos Genung, also son of Abram, married with Sarepta Earsley, of Caroline, and lived chiefly in Tioga county. Their children were Emma, wife of Fred Morgan ; George D., of the Waverly Free Press ; Dell, wife of George Gardner ; Priscilla, who married with George Stevens ; Luella, who married with Wmn. Ewen, and Reuben E. Genung.
Squire Whitaker, of whom frequent mention is made in this and the village chapter, was born in New Jersey in 1808, and came with his parents to Barton in 1816. He walked and assisted in driving a cow the entire distance. In 1832, Mr. Whitaker married with Sally, the daughter of John Hanna, and soon removed to Tallmadge Hill, where he built a cabin on crotched sticks, and then set about clearing his farm. Misfortunes befell him in his early endeavors, but success came later on, and Squire Whitaker was known as one of the foremost men of the town. He had a family of seven children.
Peter Van DeBogart came from Schenectady county and was a pioneer in Tompkins county. In 1825 he removed to Barton and afterward lived here. His was a large family, and the name is still numerous in the town, though most of its representatives have contracted it to Bogart. In fact this has been done by the family generally in the country.
Salmon Johnson was a Vermont Yankee, and came to Barton from either Chittenden or Franklin county. He located at Ellis- town, as that settlement was known.
John W. VanAtta, whose surname is still preserved in business circles in Waverly, came to Barton from Warren county, N. J., about 1827. In his family were eleven children, fron whom there has grown a large number of descendants, living in this county and elsewhere.
Eliphalet Barden came from Connecticut in 1821, and settled on the Giltner farm, as known in recent years. One story is to the effect that the town was named in allusion to this family name, though slightly modified. However this may be we know not, but the surname is still represented in the town, and by good worthy citizens.
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
John Parker was an early settler at Ellistown, and married with Lizzie Ellis. They had seven children, but the surname is not now numerous in this locality. Shaler Shipman came from Connecticut and settled in Barton in 1829. He was both farmer and lumber- man and built two saw mills. Shipman Hollow was named in al- lusion to this settler and is situated near the centre of the town. Mr. Shipman married twice and had fourteen children, ten by the first and four by the second marriage. James N. Harding was a native of Orange county, and became a resident of Barton in 1833, settling on Tallmadge Hill. He raised a family of five children, and they marrying made the name numerous in the town. Reuben Harding's family came about the same time, and also from Orange county, and, like James, settled on Tallmadge Hill, on the farm more recently occupied by Elliot Harding. James M. Sliter came in 1834, from Albany county, and David B. Cure in 1835, from Hector, in Schuyler county. Daniel J. Lum, a native of New Berlin, N. Y., and John Solomon, formerly of Orange county, became residents of Barton in 1840.
Having in this manner brought to mind the names of as many as possible of the early settlers of Barton, it is proper that there be made a brief allusion to the first events of town history as they have been collated and noted by thoughtful observers. Pioneer Ebenezer Ellis built the first dwelling house, and harvested the first crops raised in the town. Alexander, son of Ebenezer Ellis, was the first white child born in Barton. Factoryville was made a post station in 1812, and Isaac Shepard was the first postmaster. Ephraim Strong taught the first school. Ebenezer and Samuel Ellis built the first saw mill, on Ellis creek. The first grist mill was built in 1800, on Cayuta creek, by George Walker, senior. The old fulling mill on Cayuta creek, near the state line, was built in 1808, by John Shepard and Josiah Crocker. Two years later, in 1810, a woollen mill was built near the saw mill. Dr. Prentice was the first physician, William Giles the first lawyer, and Rev. Valentine Cook the first minister in the town. The Emery M. E. chapel, at Ellistown, was the first church edifice erected. The first brick building was the old church at Factoryville. Elias Walker built the first tavern.
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TOWN OF BARTON.
All these things were accomplished previous to the organization of Barton as a separate town, and previous to the actual founding of the village. From the number of settlers whose names have been noted, it must be seen that this part of the mother town had a considerable population previous to the creation of Barton as a town. Such indeed was the case, and from an old document it is learned that in the year 1800 the territory now comprising the town had a population of 180 persons.
POPULATION .- In 1824 the town was erected and organized, and in the next year the first enumeration of its inhabitants was made. By reference to the census reports there can be obtained a fair idea of subsequent growth, and the fact will be disclosed that there has been a constant increase in population from 1824 to the pres- ent time, and that the number of inhabitants in 1892 was greater than ever before in the history of the town. In 1825 the popula- tion was 585; in 1830,-982 ; 1835,-1,469 ; 1840, -- 2,324 ; 1845,- 2,347 ; 1850,-3,522 ; 1855,-3,842 ; 1860,-4,234; 1865,-4,077 ; 1870,-5,087 ; 1875,-5,937 ; 1880,-5,825 ; 1885, -- no count ; 1890, -6,120 ; 1892,-6,495.
ORGANIZATION AND CIVIL HISTORY .- Town records, generally fruitful sources of information, are always searched by the student of town history, and generally with gratifying results, but in Barton, through some now unknown misfortune, the records are missing and the most patient search fails to discover any trace of their whereabouts. However, it is well known that on March 23, 1824, the legislature passed an act creating the town, and that on April 27 thereafter the electors met in town meeting to complete the organization. The officers elected were as follows : supervisor, Gilbert Smith ; town clerk, John Crotsley ; assessors, Jonathan Barnes, A. H. Schuyler, and William Hanna ; commissioners of highways, William Crans, Frederick Parker, John Giltner ; con- stable and collector, John Parker; overseers of the poor, John Hanna, Jr., Secly Finch ; commissioners of common schools, Gil- bert Smith, Eliphalet Barden, Nathaniel Potter; inspectors of common schools, James Birch, Ely Foster, Joseph Tallmadge, Samuel Mills, Jonathan Barnes ; fence viewers, George W. John- son, Abraham Smith, Joseph Tallmadge ; poundmasters, John Hyatt, Joel Sawyer.
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
Thus was perfected the civil organization of the town called Barton, a jurisdiction which in point of importance ranks almost first in the county, and in some respects stands at the head. The town, with its villages and hamlets, has grown from a beginning as small as in any other of the county's subdivisions, and in the face of obstacles and disadvantages has it been built up to its present position. The first officers at once began the work of dividing the territory into road and school districts, for at that time the existing provisions, established by the mother town Tioga, were indeed limited ; but these things were easily accomplished, and with the old Chemung Turnpike having its course directly through the town, Barton was placed on a substantial footing.
The town began its civil history with a population of nearly 600 inhabitants, and at a time when the arts of peace prevailed throughout the southern tier, but when the settlers in the towns further west were entering that unfortunate period known in history as the anti-rent conflict. But, unlike the inhabitants of the Pulteney lands, the settlers in this region were not so serious- ly distressed by importunate landlords and grasping proprietors as were their western neighbors, and the period passed without in- jury to interests in this immediate locality.
The succeeding score and a half of years was an era of constant progress and prosperity in all that pertained to the welfare of Bar- ton, and one in which the population was increased almost ten fold. In that same period were built up several hamlets, and one incorporated village equal in commercial importance to any muni- cipality in the whole shire. With this growth came strength, and when the north and the south were arrayed against one another in civil war, Barton volunteers were not wanting and the patriotism of the town was fully demonstrated.
Glancing over the military records of the town, it is seen that Barton recruits were in almost every conmand, from the original three-months men to the 179th infantry, but the story is so fully told in another chapter that not more. than an allusion to the sub- ject is necesary in this connection. Gleaning data from all sources, we learn that Barton sent into the service during the war a total of more than 200 men, who were scattered through the several
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TOWN OF BARTON.
regiments recruited in the county, while not a few of Barton's sons enlisted at Elmira, a general headquarters during a portion of the war period.
During the three-quarters of a century of separate history in this town, among the several villages built up only one has attained to the dignity and character of a municipality. Old Factoryville is now wholly lost in the more progressive village of Waverly, and the old-time importance of Barton city is fast fading away. Bingham's Mills, as previously known, but now Lockwood, and Reniff are stations on the Lehigh Valley railroad ; North Barton is in the north part of the town, Halsey Valley in the northeast, Barton Centre in the centre, and the little new postoffice called Glencairn is just north of Waverly village limits. However, each of these settled localities is mentioned in another place, and we may conclude this branch of town history with the civil list.
SUPERVISORS.
1824-25 -- Gilbert Smith. 1846-51 -- Samuel Mills. 1826-John Crotsley. 1852 -- Henry S. Davis. 1827-William Ellis. 1853-55-Samuel Mills.
1873 -- Levi Westfall. 1874-77 -- O. H. P. Kinney.
1878 --- Wm. H. Allen.
1828-John Crotsley.
1856 -- Chas. Shepard.
1879 -- Andrew A. Slawson.
1829-Gilbert Smith.
1857 -- Geo. H. Fairchild.
1880-Benjamin Golden.
1830-William Ellis. 1858 -- J. L. Sawyer.
1881-Leander Walker.
1831-32 -- Frank'n Tallmadge. 1859-61-Silas Fordham.
1882-84-Levi Curtis.
1833 -- Daniel Mills. 1862-64 -- Harden D. V. Pratt. 1885 -- And'w A. Slawson.
1834 -- Alex. H. Schuyler. 1835-37 -- Samuel Mills.
1865-68-John L. Sawyer.
1886 -- J. Theodore Sawyer.
1869 -- J. Theodore Sawyer. 1887-88-Abram I. Decker.
1838-9 -- Washington Smith. 1870 -- Gurdon G. Manning. 1889-91 -- Edward G. Tracy. 1840-41-Samuel Mills. 1871 -- Dewitt C. Atwater.
1892 -- Levi Curtis. 1893-96-Edwin S. Hanford.
1842-45 -- Reuben S. Smith. 1872-Julian F. Dewitt. TOWN CLERKS. 1850-57 -- Silas Fordham.
1824-John Crotsley.
1825 -- Nathaniel Potter
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