USA > New York > Wayne County > Rose > Rose neightborhood sketches, Wayne County, New York; with glimpses of the adjacent towns: Butler, Wolcott, Huron, Sodus, Lyons and Savannah > Part 26
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various and usual vicissitudes of childhood, he became a citizen of Lock Berlin, whence he came to his present home in 1857. He bought of one. of the Van Amburgs, back of whom was a Brink. The farm now held is- not quite the same that he originally purchased. The part opposite, all save the carriage house, was first sold to Elijah Barnes, from whom it passed to a Bishop, whose widow., living just over the line, still owns. Her large barn is on the Rose side of the road. Much of the Levanway place lies in Galen, but there are still about 100 acres in Rose. It extends well back and once touched the next road east. On the extreme eastern part of the farm, Mr. L. is now arranging sheds or barns for hay. Mr. L. cultivates extensively the osier willows used in basket making. All the buildings on the place, he either built or considerably repaired. The barns- when he came, were of log, and the house was very old. His wife is Cyn- thia, née Curtis, of Galen, but born in Columbia county. They have had only two children, Alanson, who died in 1857, aged three years, and Edra, who- is Mrs. R. R. Barnes of Clyde-the clothier whose extensive advertisments are seen all about this section. Mr. Levanway was one of thirteen children, nine boys and four girls, all of whom grew up. It may be safely said that here is another of the self-made men for whom this town is noted.
Only a few steps south of the Levanway home, is found the road run- ning west. It is the very first, thus far encountered, which forms a part of the town line, this time between Rose and Galen. Turning around the fine barn of Mrs. Bishop, we ride with one wheel in Rose and one in Galen. The Winchells once dwelt in these parts, and in the olden times there were- log houses hereabouts. To-day there is no house on the Rose side of the street, but on the Galen side, at the corner, farther west, is one of the houses belonging to Herman Grenell. Mr. G. was born in Galen, a mem- ber of that family formerly so prominent in that town, but now found only in the burial ground or in the West. He married Marian Greiner of Galen, and their children are: Eugene, living just north; Lydia, the wife of Edward Luffman, who is at the old home, and Ada, also at home. Mr: G. bought of Harvey Warren, thiry-seven years ago, though the place was. once in the possession of John Barnes, the early comer, and Franklin Finch was also here very long ago. There are in the Barnes place 100. acres. The buildings are of Mr Grenell's erecting. Just north of the west side is a tenant house belonging to Mr. G. It should be stated that the. home of the family is on the east side of the road, just after turning north.
Going north, we shall find on the west side the 100 acre farm, once belonging to William Osborn, but now in the hands of Herman Grenell. His son, Eugene, who married Ida Glover, resides here. (They have one child, Florence. ) Mr. William Osborn is a brother of James and Francis O., living northwest of the Valley, in the Covell district. He married Ruth Ann Foist of Galen, to whose father the place formerly belonged. After leaving this, he was in the Valley for a time, then went to the town.
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of Lyons, where he now lives, about two miles west of the village. He has but two children : Ida, who is Mrs. Vern Wilson of the Valley district, and Leona, at home. Mr. O. has long been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
The next stop is on the east side of the road, at the home of George H. Green, who was born in Onondaga county. His home for many years was in Wayne Centre. He came to this place in 1879. He married Eliza A. Turner, a daughter of Royal, who formerly lived here. Their children are : Lorani, who married Jacob Barkley of Sodus ; Francis, at home ; Sarah, married John McMillan of Lyons ; Charles, at home ; Ada, married J. W. McRorie of Wayne Centre. Mr. Green has been a cooper, also a carpenter and joiner. He repaired the house in which he lives. In the farm there are 34 acres. Royal Turner, whose home was here for many years, came from Vermont, where he married Betsey Cooper. Some of their children were grown up before his coming hither. He lived here about forty years, dying thirteen years since. Mrs. Turner, only recently deceased, lived to be nearly ninety years old. Of their eight children, in addition to Mrs. Green, there were Mrs. S. D. Wilson of Boston, Mass., C. Clark, Elias K., in New York, and Marcus in Rahway, N. J. Mr. Turner bought of one Hoag, and he of Daniel Jeffers. James Colborn, first, many years ago, erected a stave cutting factory on this place, probably the first one in the town. Among so many possessors it is nearly impossible to name all, and equally difficult to preserve the proper order.
William H. Espenscheid is our next resident, and his home is on the west side. Though born in Huron, he is of German extraction, the first of this nationality to be encountered in this western part of Rose, but by no means the last. His father was from Hesse-Darmstadt and has children John, Helen, Derrick and William, whose wife is Mary A., daughter of Henry Steitler of the Wayne Centre district. There are ninety acres in the farm, and Mr. E's. father bought of Philander Mitchell, 2d, who took from Avery Marsh, now south of Clyde, and he purchased from a Foist. Though the Espenscheids have no children, they have most beautiful flowers, on the principle, I suppose, that one must love something. The useful blends with the ornamental in the garden, as beets and onions are crowded by double poppies and sweat peas. All the colors of the rainbow are found in this cheerful corner, just south of the house. This building must date from some one of the earlier occupants. The farm buildings are opposite.
There is no tax on the admirable views that the hill-top affords, and the passing farmer may get what pleasure he can from the same, for air and views are about all he can now get free.
A turn to the west leads down towards Lyons, and on the north side is the place where Joseph C. Crandall has lived for forty-four years. He
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was born in Dutchess county, but his parents moved when he was small to Chenango county. Thence he came to these parts. His wife was Sarah Brown of Ferguson's corners, who died in 1887. Their children were : Hannah, now dead, who married John Marriott of the Valley ; Byron, who married Katie Stack, and holds the old place; Sarah, Mrs. Thomas Helfer of Newark ; three others died in one week in childhood from scarlet fever. A stone in the burial ground at Ferguson's tells the sad story. When Mr. Crandall came hither, his log house was located quite a distance north of the place where he subsequently erected his dwelling. He bought of John Wejgel, who had purchased of John Miller. He had taken from one Shad, or Chad, who bought of John Clapper, who must have bought from the office. There are fifty-six acres in the farm. Though eighty-two years old, I found Mr. C. at work in the wheat harvest, and ready to proclaim his unfaltering Democracy. Byron C., who is now at the head of affairs, and his wife have only one son, Frank.
Henry Lincks dwells nearly opposite. He is Brooklyn, N. Y., born, though his parents came from Alsace. His father, Henry, a furrier by trade, married Mary Simon, and they are now residents of Lyons. Henry L., Jr., who married Carrie Fox, a daughter of the man who long owned the place, came here in 1881. He has greatly improved the plant, having erected one of the best barns in town. Better times will be followed by a new house. (1893-The house is built. ) The site of the old building is readily discovered through the rank character of the grain growing over it. Louis Philip Fox lived here for many years, and here reared a family of six boys and six girls. His wife was Lena Horn and both were of German birth. In German the name is Fuchs. Both the parents lie in the Fergu- son's ground. The oldest son, George, died in California ; Lena married Cornelius Barton, now in Lyons ; Fred is in Wolcott ; Louis is in Lyons ; Siloma married Ovid Jeffers of Galen; Carrie married Henry Licks ; Louisa is Mrs. William Goetzman of Galen; Charles married Mary Lincks ; Jennie is Mrs. John W. Stewart of Lyons; William died at the age of nineteen years, and Charlotte died in childhood. The house antedates the Fox family. The farm has eighty-two and a half acres.
On the same side of the street, but a few rods further west, is the holding of William Loryman, a native of Yorkshire, England. He once lived on the Knapp place, north of Philander Mitchell's, but has been here many years. His parents, William and Anna E., came to this country and died with him. William has never known the pleasures nor the vexations of matrimony, his sister Susan having been his housekeeper. He has thirty acres, which he bought of James Wraight, and the latter took from Samuel Wessels. An old log house back of Loryman's abode indicates an era much older than Mr. L.'s days.
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Nearly opposite lives Charles Fox, and his residence marks the western limit of the district. As already seen, he married Mary Lincks and they have a numerous progeny growing up. Their names are : Nelson C., Albert H., Mary E. and Godfrey E. There are fifty acres in the place. As owners or occupants before Mr. Fox, were Lampman, Fred Fox, George Fry, Jake Garvey and Henry Wirt.
Returning to the north and south road, we shall soon reach the old home of the Havilands on the west side. As the place has for some years borne the name of Foster, it is necessary to state that Cornelius R. Foster married the widow Haviland and paid off the heirs of the estate. Mr. Foster is a native of Vermont and many years since married Harriet, a daughter of Jacob Clapper. In the sketch of the Jeffers neighborhood, he was found on the old Clapper site, now the home of Derrick Hamelink. His children were : Daniel, who married Jane, a daughter of Nathan Jeffers, and Annabel, who became Mrs. Fred Fox, and is now dead. Daniel's home is just below this place and he works the farm. His children are Chauncey, and Lydia, who is now the wife of Louis E. Stopfel of the "Covell " district. (Chauncey married September 27, 1893, Miss Mollie Ferguson. ) An aged man, Mr. C. R. Foster, still is active and alert. Henry Haviland was a native of Dutchess county, but with his family went to Waterloo many years since. He there wedded Jerusha Pierson, of a family that had migrated from Long Island to that point. They came to Rose sixty-four years since. Their first log house was considerably further north, and in the growing corn it is easy to distinguish the old site through the luxuriance of the stalks. The deeper green of the field tells how nature reciprocates the gifts of other days. The family came with oxen and a team of horses, and experienced all the discomforts of the early pioneers. It is said that Mrs. H. once walked to Waterloo where her husband was at work, she being thoroughly homesick. The Havilands built all the buildings. To them were born six sons and as many daughters. Many of them, however, died very young, and on one stone in Ferguson's I read the name of seven children, ranging from the infant to a daughter of twelve years. The death of the latter, Katherine, was particularly distress- ing, since it was occasioned by the use of an opiate, she being ignorant of its effects. Those who survived were Daniel, who married Charity Dubois and went to Michigan. He there enlisted and died at Memphis during the War. He left three children, of whom Mary is the wife of Henry Jeffers ; Burton, who works for William H. Vandercook (he has since married Mary Paine.of Huron); and Sarah, who became the wife of Louis Mar- steiner of Lock Berlin. Louis will be remembered as the little boy, once living in Stewart's district. The second son, Peleg, though he has been much from home, is now there helping to care for his mother. (D. February 19, 1893.) Sarah is Mrs. George Duell of Marengo ; Harriet,
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deceased, was Mrs. William Mix of the Valley ; Jane, also dead, was the first wife of Charles Covell, and thereby the mother of Rose, wife of Frank Kellogg. Mr. Haviland died in 1857, and with him now are all his children, save two. Mrs. Haviland Foster is quite feeble from successive attacks of la grippe. (Mrs. F. died January 2d, 1891, aged about 86 years.)
The road soon takes an abrupt turn to the east and stretches away towards Mitchell's hill. Originally it ran crookedly through the low land, past the old Haviland house, and thence easterly to the brow of the hill. Just before reaching the foot of the hill, we encounter the State road, com- ing down from the old Jeffers haunts, and we shall have to climb it a little way, till we find away back from the street the house now owned by John Smart, but which has had a great variety of possessors. Taking them in order, it is pretty safe to claim this as the original Ackerman home, for here David A. and his wife lived until his death, about 1821. The Ackermans were from Saratoga, county. Mrs. A. was Margaret, daughter of Henry Clapper, and thereby sister of John and Jacob. Their children were : Lucinda, wife of Russell Winchell ; Louis, who lived in Victory ; Henry C., who married D. A. Collins, a daughter of Stephen of District No. 10, and is in Huron ; Helon B., who married Lovina Winchell, and Cyrus, who wedded Mary Loughton and is in California. Mrs. A. afterward married John Winchell, and bore Sarah Jane, who became Mrs. James Van Amburg, and Lovina, who was twice married, first to Isaac O. Brewster, and second to Philo Miner. Mrs. Ackerman-Winchell died with her son Henry in 1876. The place was sold to Daniel Ackley, who built the house and who went west. To him succeeded the Englishman, William Loryman. A pine tree standing near serves as a landmark to the second William L., who lives in the western confines of the district. After him came Hiram Knapp, who was born in Sodus and married Sarah, a daughter of the first Philander Mitchell. The place of twenty-five acres passed from him to Mr. Smart.
Retracing our steps to the east and west road, the hill is climbed, and we look out over the prospect that it has been the lot of the Mitchells to view for many a long year. No name in Rose annals has a more de- servedly conspicuous place than that of "'Squire " Mitchell. For many years he was the justice of the peace who adjudicated for this section. Absolutely honest and trustworthy himself, his word was his bond, and his judgment was held in the highest esteem. He was born in Bridge- water, Vermont, and married first, Betsey Ann Andrews. They had four children : Mary Ann, who married, first, John Ferguson of Galen, and second, Nelson Griswold of this same district ; Leonard, the oldest son, lived along a mile east on the valley road ; William married Jane Grenell of Galen ; they now live in Lyons ; Barnard married Sally Ann West-
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OLD RESIDENTS.
JOIIN BARNES.
PHILANDER MITCHELL.
JOEL N. LEE.
SOLOMON ALLEN.
ELIAS SHERMAN.
WM. HICKOK.
ALPHEUS COLLINS.
CHARLES SHERMAN
DUDLEY WADE.
JAMES WEEKS.
LYMAN LEE.
CHESTER ELLINWOOD.
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brook, and is a resident of North Rose. The first Mrs. Mitchell died and was buried in the long-neglected Jeffers burial ground. His second wife was Sally Winchell of the numerous family described in the Covell district. Born in Egremont, Mass., May 3d, 1800, she was twenty years old when she came to Rose, or Galen. Her first son was Philander, Jr., who, having married Margaret Barnes, retains the old homestead. The second son, John N., was a victim of one of the rural sports long so popular in this town. He was in his seventeenth year, when September 1, 1849, he left his home for a night of cooning, and was brought home a corpse-a terrible blow to the fond mother. A log was to be rolled down a hill, all for fun, and the boy was caught by it and crushed. The first daughter, and Mrs. M.'s eldest child, Lucinda, is still at home, and was the careful attendant of her aged mother until her death, which occurred Monday morning, Decem- ber 29, 1890, at the age of 90 years, seven months and twenty-six days. Sarah married Hiram Knapp; Lovina is Mrs. Fred Ream of "Covell's " district, " 'Squire " Mitchell took up his eighty acres at the Geneva Land office, and he repeatedly walked to that place to pay his interest. He taught school in the Valley, and daily walked backward and forth, attend- ing to home duties as well as to those of the school. The century was well in its teens when Mr. M. became a dweller in these parts. Orrin Lackey and his young family came with him. His first log house was considerably further north than the site of the present structure. As in other cases, there is no trouble in locating the old house, for grass and grain here grow stoutest. His first framed structure was burned, and then came the brick house, so long a landmark from this hill-top. It was in 1870 that, caring for a young horse, he was kicked, aud so killed, at the age of seventy-seven years. The Mitchells have long since been devoted members of the Rose Methodist Church.
Philander Mitchell, second, who now maintains the credit of the name, has two children-Darwin P. and Franklin. The former went to South Butler some years ago as the principal of the public school. Afterwards he bought an interest in a store, and has since then conducted a mercantile business in that place. He married Miss Jessie Clapp of South Butler. For a long time he has been the interesting correspondent from that place of the Clyde Times. The younger son, Frank, is a valuable adjunct to his father in the management of the farm. (In 1893 on the Milo Lyman farm. )
It is necessary now to descend one steep hill and to climb another, when we stand at the corners where the school-house is located, and on whose southwest angle is the house built by the first dweller from whom the dis- trict is called. The first William Griswold was a native of Saratoga county, but the name certainly betrays a Connecticut origin. He came hither directly from Victory. His wife was Rebecca Barnes, and, like him, was a native of Saratoga county. He here hewed out his home from
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the wilderness. The usual succession of log and framed houses followed' and in them was reared his numerous family. His children were Nelson, whose home was just east of his father, on the Valley road ; next was- Lewis, who passed his life in Lyons, and was a wire weaver ; Charles- Wesley married Lydia Colborn, a neighbor's daughter, and is a farmer in Palmyra; William succeeded his father on the homestead, and his wife- was Sarah Colborn (died in Starkville, Col., April 10, 1891), another daughter of the neighbor, and he finally went to Missouri. His children were Albert, William, Frank, Nelson, Mary and Anna. There were four daughters in the first Griswold group. Of these Emily became the wife of Harmon Van Amburg ; Lydia married Jacob Norris, of Marion ; Ange- line, now dead, married Byron Bissell, of Syracuse ; Melissa married first, Elisha Parsons, of Clifton Springs, and second, Smith Sweezey, of Marion. The Griswolds were God-fearing people and worthy members of the Rose. Methodist Church. The second William Griswold sold to Robert N. Jeffers, who passed the place along to another William Griswold, a son of Lorenzo, of the Jeffers district, and from him the farm passed into the possession of the James Deady family. James' second son, George, now lives here-he and his wife and one child, Eva, to carry the name along.
Immediately opposite, on the northwest angle, is the school-house. It is the third in order. The first was built of logs ; then came the old stone edifice, long noted in these parts, which, in turn, gave way to the present structure. The corners have been the scene of many excellent meetings.
There is but one home north of the school-house, and this we shall find on the east side of the road. To this point, or near it, Orrin Lackey and Sarah, his wife, came from Vermont, fellow travelers of Philander Mitchell, in the small years of the century. His son-in-law, Amos S. Wyckoff, was subsequently near. Their children were Susan, who became Mrs. Wyckoff, to be met in the Valley district ; Lucy Ann, deceased ; Judd B., who mar- ried Martha Hurlbut, and who was mentioned in the Jeffers series ; Sanford married Sarah Ann Wiley, of Rose, and is now in Michigan ; Joseph, a soldier in the Mexican War, now dead ; Orrin W., who lives in Baltimore, and married there. The senior Lackey died in 1831, at the early age of forty years. His widow became the second wife of Jesse Lyman, who for some time resided on the place, which passed eventually to Franklin Finch. The latter was born in Westchester county, and had married Matilda Harding, a native of Massachusetts, before he came to this town. His advent was in 1830, when he located on the Grenell place, in the south part of the town. He brought the Lyman and Wyckoff houses together and built the house now standing. He had four children, all of whom, except Selah, the youngest, were born in Fishkill, on the Hudson. New- man and John will be found in the Wayne Centre district; Sarah is the wife of Alvin Barnes, of this district, and Selah lives south of the Valley.
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Though there is no evidence to substantiate the theory, there can be no doubt that this family is related to that east of the Clyde road. They came from the same portion of the state, and there is a marked family resemblance. The family has been connected with the Rose Methodist Episcopal Church for many years. The property is now in the hands of Alvin Barnes, and he has erected a very large and handsome barn across the road from the house. As his residence is further south, he has had tenants in this the old Finch homestead.
Coming back to the corners, we shall find on the south side of the road leading east, a tenant house, standing on the Deady estate. Just over the ridge of the hill is the long-time home of Nelson Griswold. This was a part of the original Griswold property, and here Nelson built his house and barns, and here he died in 1859. His wife was Mary Ann, daughter of Philander Mitchell, and he was her second husband. Their children were Fanny, who married James Barnes, now of Huron. Salinda, the next daughter of Nelson, is Mrs. Edgar C. Crane, of Eola, Ill .; Edgar lives just east ; Philander married Sophia Soper, of Rose, and lives in Galen ; John W. married Della Cole, of Lyons, and is with his mother on the farm. He has two children-Nellie and Ray.
Again we must go up and down the hills, and descending a steep incline, we cross a fertile valley, and on the north side of the way, just at the foot of the next hill, Edgar Griswold has erected his home. Like many of the people in this vicinity, he keeps bees, and the air is full of busy hummers. His wife was Anna Hersey before marriage, and their children are Julia and Bessie.
The next hill is very steep, one of the worst in the town. Beyond its summit, on the north side of the road, the relict of Leonard Mitchell has lived in widowhood for many a long year. Leonard, a son of the first Philander, married Mariette, a daughter of Michael Vandercook, and located here on a part of her father's farm. At one time there were 140 acres in it, but now the number is ninety-five. He first built a framed house and then followed it with the commodious brick edifice still standing. Leonard Mitchell was one of the noteworthy Methodists of his day ; no one was more zealous than he. Even a short time before his death he had expressed to his wife his conviction that it was his duty to go west and preach. He died in 1865, after an illness of only four days : brain fever induced by a sudden cold. His children were Eliza, who is Mrs. George Jeffers, of District No. 11; Phoebe, who is the wife of Henry Tyndal, now at Iron Mountain, Mich. (a Presbyterian minister reared in Huron), and William A., who lives with his mother on the farm. Two children died unmarried, Frank in 1887, aged 30 years, and Sarah in 1886, aged 25 years. William Mitchell, who now runs the farm, married Eliza York, of
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Huron, and has one boy, Willie. (Wm. M. died April 22, 1893, aged 40 years.)
Down and up we go again, and at the right is a house fast being dis- mantled. It is the old home of the Vandercooks. Michael, the first of the name hereabouts, came from the eastern part of the state to Lyons first. He next went to Canandaigua, and thence came to Rose to the farm now held by John Finch, east of Wayne Centre. That place he traded with Samuel Bockoven, of Lock Berlin, for this location on the hill. His family was reared mainly on the Finch place. His wife was Mary Jeffers, a sister of Robert, the first, and Nathan. The Vandercooks and Jeffers were singularly intermarried. Of six Vandercook brothers, three mar- ried Jefferses, and one sister became the first wife of Nathan J. Their children were Sally, who was Mrs. Peleg Randall, of Lyons; Lydia was Mrs. David McDonell ; Cornelius, who died at the age of thirteen ; Eliza- beth was Mrs. Adam Fisher, of Clyde, whose only daughter, Sarah, after graduation at Lima (Genesee College), married George Barton, a dis- tinguished teacher of New Jersey ; John, whom we have encountered on the present Deady place ; Marietta has just been passed as Mrs. Leonard Mitchell ; Phobe, the wife of Constantine Worden, is only recently deceased ; William Henry was found in the earlier description of the dis- trict. The elder Vandercooks died here and the place now belongs to their youngest son, William H., who began his housekeeping here many years since. Long used as a tenant house, the structure shows the result of neglect, though the brick filling back of the clapboards indicates a dis- position once to make the house comfortable and enduring. The barns have gone and nothing works in good shape except the fine smoke house, apparently of recent making. It would seem that Samuel Bockoven was one of the first if not the very first owner of this property. At sundry times Robert and Isaac Vandercook resided in Rose. They were sons of Henry V., who also had married a Jeffers. They went west long ago.
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