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 37
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The jury came to the conclusion that the man came to his death by some unknown person. On his body were found some papers that indicated that his name was Jones, and that he was from some town in the eastern part of the state. I do not remember the name of the place.
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"They took the body as best they could, and putting it in a rough box, at about midnight buried it in the cemetery, a little north of the village, the same ground in which our grandparents lie, I think. Father wrote to the authorities of the town where it was supposed that the man had lived, asking if such a man had ever lived there, narrating the circumstances of his death as best he could. The answer was that such a man had lived there, and that he was one who liked to have people think him wealthy. Very likely this trait was the cause of his death. I do not remember that his body was ever claimed. Of course, there was a great deal of talk about the matter and some claimed that Phelps was the murderer, or knowing to it. But he had been a prominent member of the Baptist Church, to which mother and grandmother belonged, and he had always been thought very highly of. Mother expressed herself very indignantly against any one intimating such a thing.
I shall remember to the day of my death the night of Jones' burial, as there was a terrific thunder-storm while they were burying him. Nor shall I forget how afraid I was to go along the road after that, as I had been told that "old Jones" might come out after me. Not long after this, it was discovered that the Phelps family had gone, bag and baggage. No one knew when nor where. Some months passed, when, just as suddenly, the family was at home again, claiming that they had been away working on some canal; for they were accustomed to taking contracts for that kind of labor. Soon after their return, mother went down there to make a visit. Just as she was leaving for home, Mrs. Phelps burst out crying. On being asked what was the matter, she said to mother : "You know what the stories are ?" Mother was so dumbfounded that she could say nothing, not even to ask what stories, but immediately left for home. Not long after this, Mr. Phelps was taken very ill, and was not expected to live. Mother, with some others, went to watch with him one night, and when she came home in the morning, she declared that she now believed that "old Phelps" was the murderer. "For," said she, "while he seemed about dying, he would spring up in bed and utter the most unearthly screams, and his looks were such as I never want to see again." However, he got well, but no one seemed to wish to take the matter up, and as soon as he was able to be about, he, his wife and two grown-up sons disappeared again, just as suddenly as before, and I think that no one in Rose ever knew where they went.
Years rolled on. We came to Michigan. Some time about 1841, I was teaching a district school in a town eight miles from home, and, as teachers then did, I boarded around. One evening, I was staying at the house of a Mr. Moore. This gentleman was acquainted with my father and mother, when young people, in New York. In the course of the evening, the name of Phelps was mentioned as being that of one of the
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neighbors. I said : "Phelps ! Phelps ! where did he come from ?" Mr. Moore said : "Why, he came from about where you did, in Wayne county." I was thunderstruck. I said: "Is it possible that that old murderer is alive and so near me ? " They asked me what I meant, and I told them the story. It created quite an excitement, and in a few days the Phelps family was missed from that neighborhood, no one knowing where they had gone. One year after that, I was sent as a constable to arrest a man in Shiawasee county. Father went with me, and we were obliged to go to the man's house before daylight in order to catch him. He lived in a lone house in the woods. We arrived at the house just at daybreak, but, to our surprise, the man was just coming home. He saw us and ran into the woods. We went back to the tavern and father and the landlord made up a plan whereby father, who was not an officer, and the man could meet. They met, and the man agreed to go with us, father promising to help him as much as he could consistently. On our return, he told us that he had been watching that night with an old man by the name of Phelps, who, he said, was very ill, but it seemed as though he could not die. He said it was terrible to see the man. We learned a few days after that he was at last dead. So ends the story, as nearly as I can recollect it. The saying that " murder will out," failed in this case.
Chas. Sherman Woodard.
A little more than half the distance between Barnes' and the farm house of Frank H. Closs, long stood the toll house, or gate, an accompaniment of the plank road once existing between Rose and Clyde. On the expira- tion of the road's charter, the house was sold, and is now a dwelling house, on Lyons street, in the village. The plank road charter existed thirty years, and expired in 1878.
The spacious and inviting buildings of the Closs place follow. The owner and family once residing here, will be met in the Valley. The ear- lier citizens of Rose knew this as George Mirick's place. He was the builder of the house and barns. He came into possession after the death of his father-in-law, Charles Thomas. The farm in part goes back to John Covey, who sold in 1826 to Charles Thomas. Of the Coveys I know only that John's wife bore the name of Betsey, and that his father, Amos, lived in Fenner, Madison Co. The contract with Nicholas was made by Amos Covey, in 1815, the southeastern part of the Nicholas purchase. George Mirick married Elsie, a daughter of Charles Thomas. They were long prominent in all Rose matters. Their children, also, were all exceedingly bright, active young people. The family, young and old, went to Adrian, Michigan, where Mr. Mirick died, July 31st, 1887. His widow lives in Adrian, with Leander and her younger sons. Sophia Mirick married
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Cassius R. Kellogg, and died in February, 1876; Charles married Hannah Foist, of Ferguson's corners, and is in Adrian; Eugenia married Calvin H. Crane, and died November 30, 1871; Mr. C.'s second wife is Emma (Livermore) Kellogg ; Leander ("Stubb") married Sarah Alexander, now dead, their only son being William ; the three younger sons are George R., Frank and Edward. Few families, in removing, ever took more life and activity from Rose.
The old house in the field north of this place was built by a Walmsley, and is included in the Covey or Captain John Sherman purchase.
Benjamin Genung and his family found a pleasant home in the house a. trifle north of opposite, from 1847 to the date of his death, viz., March 23d, 1888. Deacon Genung was born in Fishkill, Dutchess county, and there married Jane Ann Darland. He came to Galen in 1839, and thence to Rose. The place of sixty-four acres was bought of Enoch Knight. Two children were buried in Dutchess county, and the others were: Caroline, who married, first, Walter Wilson, of the Valley, and second, Smith D. German, is a widow, and lives in Clyde; Hannah, Mrs. Marriott, who lives next door north ; William D., of the 111th New York, was wounded at the Wilderness, and died in Fredericksburg; Joseph married Julia Wood, of Clyde, and is in the iron business in Chattanooga, Tenn .; Susan, the first wife of Nelson Graham, of North Rose; Mary D., who married Marcus Baker, and Charlotte, who became Mrs. Jessie Heit of Galen, since deceased. Mrs. Genung retains her residence here, though she passes much of her time among her children. Her husband, as man and Christian, left an excellent record. There was once a Devereaux on the farm.
John Marriott (called Merritt), whose house follows, is a native of Eng- land. His first wife was Hannah Crandall, of District No. 8. They had children : B. Nelson, who is principal of the South side school, in Clyde; J. Darwin, of Rochester, employed as fireman on the Western New York & Pennsylvania R. R .; S. Lizzie, a teacher, and Jennie, who is attending the Clyde high school. Mr. Marriott bought fourteen acres of Benjamin Genung and built the house. His second wife was Hannah Genung. (Lizzie Marriott was recently married to William A. Bryar, of Fairville. )
Valorous Ellinwood, whose place follows, was born in District No. 6, the last house on the west. Some data omitted then might be given now. Valorous Ellinwood, first, a brother of George W. and Orlando, was twice married. First, to Sarah M. Turner. By this marriage he had Alexander, who married Susan Ellsworth, of Sodus, and lives in Grand Rapids, Mich. His second wife was Amy Smith, from Ontario county, a sister of the wife of Jester L. Holbrook. Her children were: Valorous, 2d, and George R. The latter married Jennie Greaves, of Clyde, and lives in Adrian, Mich .; his wife is dead, and his little girl has recently found a home with his-
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cousin, Mrs. Adele (Holbrook) Osborn. Valorous Ellinwood, 1st, died in 1853; his widow was married again; this time to Samuel Garlic, and died in 1856. The present Valorous has been town clerk eight years. His wife is Elnora, the youngest daughter of Delos Seelye. Their children are : H. Guy; Raymond S .; Amy B. ("Kittie "), deceased ; Mary A. V., Benjamin, and Ruth E.
This farm is the one so long identified with the Hickok name. William, the father, we met in the North Rose district. To him and his wife, Sophia Gunn, were born: Ann Maria, who was the wife of Dr. Richard Valentine ; Sophronia died unmarried ; William Felton we have already met, and Eu- gene, to be encountered west of the Valley. After long and valuable lives, the parents now sleep in the Valley cemetery. Part of the farm was bought from the Genung place and part from that of Willis G. Wade. The name of Hendrick is also connected with the farm, and Isaac Tucker built part of the house.
Crossing the street, we find the home of Orlando Ellinwood, a brother of George W., a native of Oneida county. He learned the locksmith's trade early in life, but in Rose he has been a farmer. He has been twice married; first in Oneida county, to Phobe Ann Cook, who died in Little Falls, and second, to Emeline Munsell, of Rose. They have one son, Edson M., of Clyde, who married Susan Wells, of Springville, N. Y., and has five children, viz .: Hattie Bianca, Lena, H. Ross, Anna Louise and Aurora Blanche ; he has been for several years superintendent of the Clyde water works. Orlando and wife have lost two children. This place dates back to Ephraim Wight, of Troy, who, it is said, being alarmed at the undue moisture upon his acres, made haste to sell out. It is also, I think, to some extent mixed up with the Shermans, whose possessions joined. Mrs. Ellinwood suggests that there was a Harvey, whose wife was an in- heritor from the Wights, and that he, too, had rights here. At any rate, the old house which Mr. Ellinwood found here, still stands back of the new one, built by Mr. E. It was forty-three years since that he came upon this place of fifty-one acres. A lane leading down to the back portion of his farm has long been thought by many a proper beginning of a road to lead over the hill into the Town district. When the family came to Rose, Mr. E. was for two years on the Hoffman or Brainard farm. Then he was for three years at his trade in Utica. Since then he has been permanently placed in Rose. Returning to the subject of the lane, it should be stated that, years ago, James Cleveland lived at the end of it, at the foot of the ridge. Mr. C. was from Fairhaven, Rutland Co., Vermont. His wife was Sybil (Gibbs) Maynard, whose son by her first husband was also a dweller in another log house here. Only a well marks the old location. The Cleveland children were James, long residing in Butler, whose daughter, Paulina, is Mrs. Newton Moore, of Clyde; Nelson, Charity, Tabitha and
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Polly. Nelson married Sally Merrill, and long lived north of Whisky Hill; a son, Jason is now in the Town district. The elder Cleveland died with Nelson. The latter now resides in Wolcott. James was twice married, first to Nancy Wescott, sister of Mrs. John Kellogg, and second, to Miranda Kelly, near Baldwinsville; he is now dead. Charity Cleveland married David Crossman, of Lynn, Mass .; Tabitha, Charles Churchill, and Polly, Lewis Wadsworth.
A deal of history attaches to the next house, where the village begins, found on the west side of the way. Recently it was the home of the widow of Dr. Lewis Koon. A native of Columbia county, he received his medical degree from Albany, and came to Rose in 1865. His wife's maiden name was Lucy A. Carrigan. She was born in Saratoga county. Before coming to this farm, the family lived in various places, among others the old C. B. Collins house. They came to this place in 1878, and here, in 1884, Dr. K. died. The children are: Helen A., who married Dewey C. Putnam, of Wayne Centre; Lewis D. married and lives at Rochester; Cora B. married Charles H. Metts, of Sodus, and Clara W., at home. Before Dr. Koon was Louis Viele, who was from the Hudson river region. He had a numerous family, as follows: Margaret, Betsey, Rachel, Jacob, John, Cornelius, Peter and Stephen. Louis Viele died in Huron. The widow of Dr. Koon has recently moved away. The doctor was well esteemed as one of the long line of physicians who have aimed to keep in order the bodies of Rose dwellers. (Now the home and property of James Coffee who, a native of county Waterford, Ireland, married Anne Cullen and has children, Delia, Nellie, John, William, Mary, Anne and Josie; he was formerly the blacksmith just to the north. He moved here in May, 1891.)
Henry Van Tassel preceded Viele. Mr. V. ran the store in Eron Thomas' building. He came to Rose from Butler, having married a Hibbard, from that town. Hence, he went to Clyde and died there. A daughter, Loretta, became Mrs. William Burnett ; and Adelbert L., who married Hettie Ryerson, was a schoolmate of mine, in Fulton. Warren Osborn lived here first. He afterward died in Rochester, from cholera, in 1857 or 1858. Willis G. Wade left his impress on the place in renewing and grouping the barns. Mr. Wade was member of Assembly from this district in 1854. As a pension agent, Mr. Wade was very successful, but death carried him off in 1854, at the early age of thirty-four years. His wife was Juliette, a daughter of John Closs. Their only son died in infancy. Mr. Wade was a son of John Wade, one of the town's first settlers.
The next house is on the east side. It is now the property of Edson M. Ellinwood, but for a long time, his grandmother, Jerusha Munsell, owned and occupied it. She was the wife of Dorman, one of the first settlers in the northeastern part of the town. Before the Munsell occupancy this was the Presbyterian parsonage.
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In the next house formerly dwelt Lafayette Legg and family. He married Huldah Drown. They have only one son, Irving. Mr. L. is a stone mason by trade, but latterly has managed a portable saw mill. They now live in Huron. Before Mr. Legg was Mrs. Elizabeth (Parker) Livermore, who afterward married E. G. Smith, of District No. 9. Philip Tindall resided here once, and here his wife died. The house goes back to Eron N. Thomas as original owner.
Another Mr. Legg was formerly found in the next house, Lyman, the father of Lafayette. I can trace the house back to Judd Lackey, who as an employee of Thomas, in his mill, may have bought the lot and put up the house. William Harmon bought from him, and in his name the house now stands. Of Mr. Harmon and family, extended mention was made as we went down Dix street. Mr. Legg was born in Tioga county, and there married Sarah B. Blinn, a distant relative of the family in the Jeffers neighborhood. They came to Rose in the fifties and lived in the village a long time. Their oldest son, Austin, died in the army, a member of Co. C, 111th . N. Y. Volunteers ; Mary married William Harmon ; Lafayette we have just met; Edward, living in District No. 8; Harvey died in infancy ; De Lancey married Fanny Ferguson, as was noticed above. Lyman Legg died July 30th, 1892, aged seventy-seven years. (Mrs. L. died August 14, 1893, aged seventy-three years. )
The next house is the home of Henry P. Howard, who was in war times a well-known member of the Ninth Heavy Artillery. For a considerable part of his service, he was regimental postmaster. He came from Man- chester, Conn., to Rose, in 1849. For a time he was on the street west of Ephraim Wilson's. His wife was Elizabeth Green, of Windsor, Conn. The house was built by him in 1870. We shall get a better notion of the place and its surroundings by going back to the beginning. The blacksmith and wagon shop so long a feature of this lot, antedate the memory of the most of the people who travel this road. It was in 1854 or 1855 that the old store of Eron Thomas, once on the corner of Main and Lyons streets, was moved down here and placed almost over the creek. The gable end of the store remains as it was, and the hook for the raising of goods, placed there fifty years ago, is still hanging. "Parm " Tindall was the projector of the scheme, and the shop was in his care, along with " Bill " Colborn, whom he later took into partnership. They sold out to Samuel Otto, who sold to Howard. Tindall and Mr. Colborn ran the shop until 1871, when it was rented to James Coffee, who managed it for two years, and then built the shop opposite. Then came Charles Vanderpool for two or three years, and finally Irving Austin. Since his day, Mr. Howard has main- tained a wagon repair shop. During all these years, as a workman in the shop, a notable figure was that of James Donahue, or, as he was called later, Dunham. He was born in Cattaraugus county, and married Olive
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Morey, of Orleans county. Their children were : Andrew, now in Clyde, who married Frank Vanderpool for his first wife. Andrew, better known as "Drew," was one of the most famous members of Company H, Ninth Heavy Artillery. Till we went to the front he was one of the teamsters, and what he doesn't know about mules is not worth knowing. Olivia Dunham married Henry Knapp, and lives west of the Valley; Jerome is in Canada ; Ida is Mrs. James Porter, of Wolcott, and Frank married Mary Wetherby, once in the toll gate by the Valley. The Dunham home was in an old house formerly standing just south of the shop. Mr. D., from Rose, went to Hunt's shop in the northeast part of Galen, and finally removed to Clyde, where he died, in December, 1886. His employer, Mr. Tindall, was long a member of his family, his wife, who was widow Nancy Whitmore, having died many years before. She had two grandchildren- Philip and Nancy-who were reared as Tindalls. The former became a second lieutenant in Company H, of the Ninth Heavy Artillery. Mrs. T. was a relative of Aaron Griswold, of Clyde. This same old house in which the Dunhams lived was moved by Mr. Howard back of the shop, into the lane leading to the old saw-mill. This was for some years the home of William H. Allen, whose first wife was Charlotte Austin, and second, Mary Barnes. He was a tanner and worked for the Thomases. He removed to Coldwater, Michigan. Following the Howard possessions around into the lane, we find the small building just described. It is occupied by Daniel Harper, who married John Crisler's daughter, Cora. They have one child, Ruth. Back of this house is the site of the first steam saw-mill erected in Rose. Willis G. Wade was the builder, in 1848. In this mill were sawed the planks for the road from the Valley to Clyde. It was sold to E. N. Thomas, and was burned in 1873. Rebuilt, it was run for a time, but, with the disappearance of timber, its usefulness was ended and it went into desuetude.
Returning to the Main street and opposite Mr. Howard's, we find the steam saw-mill of William A. Mix. Just south of it, in former years, was the home of Winthrop Allen. His wife was Mercy Hall, a sister of Samuel Hoffman's first wife. His children were: Ovid and Oscar, both in the west ; William H., just mentioned as a dweller opposite, and Amanda, who went west also. The parents are buried in the Rose cemetery. Dr. Van Ostrand owned the place afterward, and he had an office near, in which, in later times, the Rose Brass Band met for practice. Elijah Osborn lived here eleven years. It finally passed to Mr. Mix, and was consumed in the conflagration which destroyed the first mill. There a saw and grist- mill was erected in 1866, the first steam grist-mill in town. After the burning, Mr. Mix rebuilt, but now runs only a saw-mill.
Across the creek is the shop where James Coffee, who came here from Clyde, worked for many a year. The upper story was used for his residence. The
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site is that of a house owned by widow Austin, and this was burned in the fire: which destroyed the mill. The shop is now maintained by Mr. Conklin ..
A building belonging to Charles S. Wright follows. In former years it was associated with the name of Smithfield Beaden, a carpenter and general utility man, who was also a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church, till certain home difficulties brought about the withdrawal of fellowship. In later days he would be called a crank. He didn't like to have his wife drink tea, nor his family eat certain kinds of vegetables, as green corn. His overbearing nature in his family was the cause of his church trial. The name Smithfield is strange enough to arouse inquiry as to how he came by it. Possibly his parents had read up in Fox's Book of Martyrs, and so wished to prolong the name of this burning place in London. If so, their son displayed very little of the martyr spirit, and their naming was quite in vain. He was a wagon maker and commissioner of deeds. He and his family went to Michigan early in the fifties. Eli Knapp, a native of Galen, is the present occupant. His wife, who was Sarah J. Weeks,. died in 1883. Their children are Cora L., Charlotte E. and Florence E. The first two are successful school teachers.
Crossing to the east side, beyond the lane leading east from the old shop,. is the home of Mrs. Lovina Van Antwerp. We made her acquaintance in the series on the Stewart district. The first James Colborn, after leaving his farm, lived and died here. His brother, Jonathan, the manufacturer of staves, was here before James.
The next house is that of William Niles, from Chenango county, town of German, who holds some of the late E. N. Thomas' possessions. His wife. was Caroline Briggs, a daughter of the late Jonathan B., of District No. 2. Their children are Florence and William. Florence was recently married to George W. Wilson, of Butler. The house was once a familiar figure, on the site of the present Frank H. Closs house. When that man- sion was projected, this was moved hither and has been the home of numerous occupants ; among others of Lucius Ellinwood and L. H. Dudley, now of Rochester, but who kept a hardware store where George Collier is at present. (Mr. Dudley died Oct. 7, 1893.)
The elegant mansion of Charles S. Wright is just across the road. This stands where was the former home of Almira and Rhoda Gillett. They bought of Mr. Bemis, who, as a house carpenter, is met in other places in the village. Mr. W. built the house in 1855 and 1856, living in the Eb. Rising house at the time. With its appointments and surroundings, this is one of the most desirable homes in the village. Mr. Wright, a second cousin of E. N. Thomas, came to Rose from Pompey, Onondaga county, in 1846. He was for a time in Mr. Thomas' employ, and then began business for himself, in 1848, in the present Valentine store, continuing there till he had erected the building on the corner near. Always active and energetic,
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Mr. Wright's enterprise covered many miles of the adjoining territory. In 1883 he sold out his business, and since then has had no occupation to take him away from his home. He was supervisor in 1874-5, and was one of the most liberal givers toward the new Methodist Church, of which he had long been a member. A stroke of paralysis, several years since, has incapacitated him for active business. His wife's maiden name was Laurinda E. Lee, a daughter of Joel N. Lee, long a resident north of the Valley. Their children are Irving L., now in the west, and F. Eva, at home. In building his house and store, Mr. Wright removed several buildings, one standing on the corner, which had been used for various kinds of mercantile pursuits, as well as for a wagon shop at one time. Here Benjamin Hendricks kept the post office for a short period. The selection of this site was an indication of Mr. Wright's judgment, and for thirty years, or from 1853, the year of his building, he was vigilant in his affairs. He also had the post office for a time. William Matthews was the successor of Mr. Wright in the store, and, after a couple of years, came the Fredendalls, who are still in the business. Barney M. once ran the grist- mill standing on the site of the old Presbyterian Church, owning also the old stone school-house, where he lived. He has gone back to the Hudson river region. His wife, Sarah H. A., died and was buried in Rose. His second wife was the widow of Mark Gillett. Henry Fredendall married Kate Armstrong, of the western part of the town, and lives over the store. He now manages the business alone. James F. married Mary Relyea, of Albany county, and now keeps a store in the old brick building near the Baptist Church. He formerly lived in the little building west of the corner store, but his home is now on Wolcott street, nearly opposite the Baptist Church. A sister, Anna L., is the wife of John Osborn, who lives west of the village.
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