USA > New York > Niagara County > Souvenir history of Niagara County, New York : commemorative of the 25th anniversary of the Pioneer Association of Niagara County > Part 24
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Some of the prominent citizens of the town during the first third of the century were the following : Cyrus Peet, John Calkins, John Cowen, Isaac and Charles Wolson, Abram Bale, Mathias Kline, John Saunders; Ozias Judd, father of Orange Judd, publisher of the American Agricul- turist, and Benjamin Ways.
$30,000 A FORTUNE IN THE EARLY DAYS.
Jonas Harrison was the first lawyer in the town, coming before the War of 1812. Judge William Hotchkiss came in 1810. The life and services of Bates Cooke are referred to elsewhere. His last partner was Judge Horatio J. Stow, who afterward went to Buffalo and became very prominent in his profession in that city. He was at one time Recorder there. He always said that when he became "indecently rich" he would return to the banks of the Niagara River or the shore of Seneca Lake and enjoy his remaining days. Being asked how he would fix the limit, he said that $30,000 was about his figure. He returned to Lewiston and built a beautiful residence in time to die in it of disease of the heart. At the time Judge Stow was praticing law in Lewis- ton Rev. Joshua Cooke, the venerable chronicler of "Rem- iniscences of Lewiston," published in this volume, was a boy in the office copying papers. He preached Judge Stow's funeral sermon in 1859. The fine home, which was named "Ellangowan," by a subsequent owner, a Canadian lady, has since come into the possession of Judge Lewis, of Buffalo, who occupies it as a summer residence. Judge Noah Davis and John C. Saxe, the Poet, were law students at Lewiston at one time.
THE BRIDGE AND RAILROAD.
The Lewiston and Junction Horse Railroad was sur- veyed in 1835 and finished in 1837, to connect with the Lock- port and Niagara Falls Railroad. The Lewiston Railroad Company that operated it was incorporated by Bates Cooke, Jacob Townsend, Oliver Grace, Leonard Shepard, Joshua
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Fairbanks, Calvin Hotchkiss, Amos S. Tryon, Seymour Scovell, Benjamin Barton and Lothrop Cooke. In 1851 the charter was sold to the Buffalo and Niagara Falls Railroad Company.
The original Lewiston suspension bridge was built in 1851 at a cost of $56,000. In 1864 the bridge was blown down in a severe gale. The ruins of the bridge remained for many years, but finally the structure was replaced by a larger one, built of much of the old material composing the former suspension bridge at the Falls.
SANBORN.
The Village of Sanborn, in the southeastern corner of the County, was named for Rev. E. C. Sanborn, who located there as late as 1846. The first settler, however, was Seth Lyon, who took up land in 1826. In 1864 Lee R. Sanborn, son of Rev. E. C. Sanborn, associated himself with Rev. Griffin Smith, and purchased a tract of land on the site of the Village of Sanborn. The purchase included ninety acres, lying on both sides of the railroad. In the following year the tract was divided, Mr. Sanborn taking thirty-five acres, Mr. Smith ten and the remaining property was deeded to Ryan Smith, a brother of Rev. Griffin Smith. Mr. Sanborn laid out his property in village lots and placed them on sale Lee R. Sanborn built a sawmill here, in 1854, which was burned in 1861 and immediately rebuilt. Mr. Sanborn was Member of Assembly in 1870 and 1871.
Dr. W. Q. Huggins settled in Sanborn in 1870 and began the practice of his profession. He is yet a resident of Sanborn and enjoys a practice that extends throughout a large part of the western section of the County. The doc- tor is a prominent thirty-second degree Mason, a Shriner and Past Commander of Genesee Commandery, No. Io, sta- tioned at Lockport. He is also a member of the Grand Commandery of the State of New York. He served in the Army of the Cumberland from 1861 to 1865.
The first postmaster at Sanborn was John Starr. Lee R. Sanborn held that office for a long term of years, from 1861 to 1877. The present postmaster is L. B. Pike, who has conducted a general store there for a number of years, under the style of L. B. Pike & Son, and is one of the lead- ing citizens of Sanborn.
PETER CUSICK'S RELIC.
Mr. Cooke tells in his "Reminiscences" a story of Sol- omon Cusick, a Tuscarora Indian, who was sought out by La Fayette on his visit to America, in 1825. Peter Cusick, a grandson of Solomon Cusick, is now living on the Tusca- rora Reservation and is over eighty years of age. He is now a frequent visitor to Pekin, and is remarkably well pre- served for his years. He tells of his personal recollection of La Fayette, on his visit to Niagara Falls, coming out to the Reservation and seeking out his grandfather. The great Frenchman is said to have remarked, after embracing the faithful Tuscarora, "You have saved my life," and suiting the action to the word he took off a belt he was wearing and said, "Keep this and wear it in remembrance of my regard. and affection for you."
OLDER RESIDENTS IN PEKIN.
Among the older residents in that part of Pekin that is in the Town of Lewiston are James Richardson, Stephen B. Maxon and Alva Brace. Mrs. Alexander Mabon, who died in July of this year, aged eighty-three years, was one of the oldest residents of the town. Robert Kies, Charles Howe and the older members of the Robinson family have all passed away ..
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SOUVENIR HISTORY OF NIAGARA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
On the Cambria side of Pekin Thomas Root and Mat- thew Pletcher are among the oldest residents. Mr. Rcot has twice held the office of Supervisor, and has been Justice of the peace for forty years. He was born in 1817, and is in the enjoyment of excellent health.
Town of Mewtane.
EWFANE was formed from Towns of Wilson, Hartland and Somerset, in 1824, and was named by Mrs. James Van Horn. The first town meet- ing was held at Mr. Van Horn's home on April 6 of that year, and the following officers were elected : Supervisor, James Wisner ; Town Clerk, Jonathan Coomer: Assessors, Cornelius Van Horn, Solomon C.
MRS. HANNAH WISNER OUTWATER.
Wright and Jacob Albright ; Collector, John B. McKnight : Poormasters, Ezra Barnes, Zebulon Coates: Commissioners of Highways, Robert McKnight, Archibald McDonald and Jacob Albright; Commissioners of Common Schools, Alex- ander Butterfield, John P. Warner and Archibald McDon- ald; School Inspectors, Simon Newcomb, Jr., Peter Hess and Heman Pratt ; Constables, John McKnight and George Bennett. It will be observed that several citizens occupied two offices, which was no doubt due to the fact that the avail- able material was somewhat scarce, owing to the sparsely settled country.
LIST OF SUPERVISORS.
The following Supervisors have served since the organ- ization of the town : 1825-27, James Wisner : 1828, Stephen Hays; 1829-31, James Van Horn; 1832, Stephen Hays ; 1833, James Wisner : 1834, Cornelius Van Horn ; 1835, John U. Pease; 1836-40, James Wisner; 1841, David Kemp: 1842-44, Henry A. Reynolds: 1845, James Wisner: 1846, John W. Pulver; 1847, James Van Horn, Jr. ; 1848, John Henning ; 1849-50, Peter McCollum; 1851, John Henning : 1852, Walter Shaw; 1853, John Henning ; 1854, James Van Horn, Jr. ; 1857-60, James Van Horn; 1861-62, John Mc- Collum ; 1863-65, Marcellus Washburn ; 1866-67, Alexander Campbell: 1868-69, Charles S. McCollum ; 1870, Ziba Rich- ardson ; 1871, John McCollum ; 1872, Benjamin S. Laughlin ; 1873-74, Anthony McKie; 1875-77, William V. Corwin : 1878, James A. McCollum ; 1879, William V. Corwin; 1880-
81, Phineas H. Corwin; 1882-83, T. Webster Hoyt ; 1884-86, J. Marville Harwood; 1887, James D. Lockwood; 1888-90, James A. McCollum; 1891-94, William Shaw; 1895-98, George E. Shaw; 1899-1902, William Shaw.
EARLY SETTLERS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS.
William Chambers and John Brewer were the earliest settlers of whom there is any record. They came from Can- ada in 1807. Burgoyne Kemp and Peter Hopkins came in 1808, Francis Albright in 1809, James and William Wisner in 1810, and Levi Lewis in 1811. In 1809 Mr. Hopkins built his log house near the mouth of Hopkins Creek, and about 1811 Benjamin Halstead built at the mouth of Eighteen- Mile Creek. Martin Burch built the first frame house in town, on the Lake Road. Up to 1810 buildings erected by Messrs. Chambers, Kemp and Brewer were the only struc- tures east of the creek. In the same year Francis Albright. the Wisners and others settled on the Lake Road on that side. Mrs. Hannah Wisner Outwater, a daughter of Will- iam and Margaret Wisner, is now living in her eighty- second year, on the farm of which Ontario Outing Park is now a part, where she was born, and where her parents set- tled ten years before.
George Lindsay moved into the town about 1810 and located on the farm adjoining the one on which his son, John M. Lindsay, lived and died. Harman Lindsay, grand- son of George Lindsay, was born in 1834 and still has his residence in Newfane.
In 1812 Asa Douglass opened a small store at the set- tlement, which then went by the name of Kempville. John Eddy succeeded him in 1816. Boyce & Falwell conducted another store in the early days. Archibald McDonald opened a store in 1821, and after the building of the Van Horn Mills he opened another store near by.
Shubal Merritt came to Niagara County in 1812, located on the Lake Road and built a sawmill on Keg Creek, north of the Lake Road, in 1827.
INFLUX AFTER THE WAR.
The War of 1812 affected the Town of Newfane almost as much as the Town of Lewiston, and there was a general exodus of the settlers. At the close of the war many re- turned and others came in as well. Among these were Ben- jamin Coomer, who settled in the western part, where the Coomer Road perpetuates his name. Benjamin Halstead, Benjamin Stout and others settled in the north part. James McClew and the McKie and Patterson families took up land along Eighteen-Mile Creek; Alvin Buck and Solomon C. Wright in the south part ; James Hess and Ira Tompkins in the east.
Among the citizens of those early years were Jonathan Coomer, Elisha and Almeron Newman, Nathaniel Church, James D. Cooper, Stephen Hays, James and Cornelius Van Horn, John Pease, David Kemp, Henry A. Reynolds and Hiram Ferguson. The son of the latter, Fred Ferguson, now owns and resides on the farm on which he was born and which his father purchased in 1835 from the Holland Land Company, the original deed to which is now in pos- session of Fred Ferguson.
THE VAN HORN FAMILY.
The founder of the Van Horn family in the Town of Newfane was James Van Horn, who came from Seneca County before the War of 1812, and built the first brick house in the town. He had two sons and a daughter by his first wife, Daniel, Cornelius and Sallie. By his second wife
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SOUVENIR HISTORY OF NIAGARA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
he had six children, Launey, James, John, Burt, Elizabeth and Caroline, all of them having passed away.
Daniel, the oldest son of James Van Horn, was a Justice of the Peace eight years, and Supervisor for four years, in in the town of Hartland, and for three years was County Judge of Niagara County. He left seven children. Cor- nelius Van Horn moved to Indiana early in life and died in that State. Launey Van Horn lived in the West a num- ber of years, and subsequently returned and died in Newfane.
John Van Horn was the first president of the Pioneer Association. He served as County Clerk and County Treas- urer of Niagara County, and for a number of years was in mercantile business in Lockport.
James Van Horn represented his district in the State Assembly and served as Supervisor from Newfane.
Burt Van Horn served several terms as Member of Con- gress from this Congressional district, and was also Mem- ber of Assembly. He was Internal Revenue Collector for this district for a term, with headquarters at Rochester. Burt Van Horn had two sons by his first wife, Burt and Willis. Burt Van Horn, the younger, was manager of the International Traction Company and its allied branches until his resignation in 1901. Willis Van Horn for a number of years has been in the cold storage business at Niagara Falls.
THE CORWINS.
Phineas H. Corwin came to Niagara County at an early day and engaged in farming on the Hess Road, which at the time was a wilderness, and was also one of the first boat- owners on the Erie Canal. He died at the age of fifty-eight. He had five children, three boys, two of whom, William V. and Phineas H., have grown to manhood and taken promi- nent parts in the business life of the town.
William V. Corwin was born in 1832. He has been Su- pervisor four years and has always taken a deep interest in the welfare of the community. He was one of the earliest and most persistent advocates of the building of the trolley line from Lockport to Olcott, and in April, 1902, he was ap- pointed general freight agent for the line. "Corwins" is a station on the electric road this side of Charlotteville, where William V. and Phineas H. Corwin have two fine farms and residences adjoining.
Phineas H. Corwin has held a number of prominent offices in the town, and served two years as Supervisor. He was director and president of the Niagara County Agricul- tural Society for a term of years, and also a director of the Orleans and Niagara Mutual Fire Insurance Company. He has been a member of the local Masonic lodge for forty years. He was appointed Postmaster at Newfane in Sep- tember, 1897, and still holds that office.
THE M'COLLUM FAMILY.
Peter and Abigail McCollum came from Schenectady County in 1819, moving all their possessions in & lumber wagon and settling on a farm about a mile west of Char- lotteville, on the Ide Road, now occupied by their descend- ants. They raised four children to maturity, John, Abigail, Charles S. and James A., all of whom have passed away, James A., the youngest, having died early in 1902.
The widow of John McCollum is yet living on part of the old farm. She has two daughters living on the Coomer Road.
Abigail, a daughter of the pioneer, married Christopher C. Parker, who now lies on Walnut Street, Lockport, and whose daughter is the wife of Daniel E. Brong, former Dis- trict Attorney of Niagara County.
Charles S. McCollum married Miss Carrie C. Statts,
who has three children living, J. Allen, Grace and Clarence McCollum. She lives on the old homsestead with her daughter, Grace. J. Allen McCollum now operates a large general store in Charlotteville.
James A. McCollum, youngest son of the pioneer, was a bachelor and died last spring, widely lamented. He was a unique character, with many attractive personal character istics and with a wide acquaintance. It is worthy of record that Peter McCollum and his three sons represented the Town of Newfane at different times on the Board of Super- visors. James A. McCollum was president of the Niagara County Agricultural Society when he died, having been elected at the previous annual meeting. He was also vice president for many years of the Niagara and Erie Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company. A short time after he com- pleted his term as Supervisor he was chosen as Clerk of the Board. "Uncle Jim" was mourned by young as well as old, for the love of children was one of his chief characteristics.
HOTELS AND HOTEL KEEPERS.
Benjamin Halstead was the first of the long list of pop- ular landlords who have conducted hostelries at Olcott, from ye old-time tavern to the modern hotels of today. He commenced in a double log house in 1812. He was suc- ceeded by Messrs. Brady, Harris, Nichols and William D. Cooper, the latter of whom built the Cooper House on the same site.
William H. Ten Brook purchased the Cooper House in 1874 and conducted it for several years, after which he ex- changed this property with his father, the late William Ten Brook, for the Grove House and grove at Olcott, the build- ing having been built and occupied years before by J. D. Cooper as a residence. This is the present site of the beau- tiful Olcott Beach park. For many years it went by the name of Ten Brook's grove, and at this place the annal pic- nic of the Pioneer Association has been held for twenty-five years. William Ten Brook continued to conduct the Cooper House up to the time of his death, which occurred on the morning of the day of the Pioneer picnic, 1889.
The "Albright" hotel, now in operation at Olcott, was built in the sixties and was called the Grove House. The names of the landlords were legion, as the place frequently changed hands. Among mine hosts of the Albright were Marshall Martin, William Ten Brook, Thomas N. Ashford and others. About 1890 Contractor William J. Blackley and others secured the property, together with the entire square of land, of which the Albright forms a part. The new owners remodeled the Albright and improved it greatly. The owners ran it on their own account, with a manager in charge, for awhile, and afterward leased it for several sea- sons to various parties, among them William Tompkins. In 1900 the hotel was sold to Charles E. Dickinson, who leased it to Duane S. Dindruff. Within the year Mr. Dickinson sold out to Rochester parties, and the hotel is now managed by Charles F. Rees.
ROADS.
The Coomer Road was laid out at an early date by Ben- jamin Coomer, who died in 1817. The Hess Road was laid out in the fall of 1821 by the Commissioner of Highways and Surveyor, Peter Hess assisting in cutting out the logs and brush. The road derived its name from the Hess brothers, who lived along the line. The Creek Road is one of the old- est thoroughfares in the County, having been laid out as early as 1808 or 1809. The Ewing Road was thus named from families living along it. The Lake Road was one of the first to be built ; it is a little south of the road that Bur-
SOUVENIR HISTORY OF NIAGARA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
17
J. ALLEN M'COLLUM.
HARMON LINDSAY.
O C. BORDWELL.
ALBERT TOMPKINS.
B. C WARREN.
P. H. CORWIN.
EUGENE J. M'CLEW.
8
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SOUVENIR HISTORY OF NIAGARA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
goyne Kemp cut along the lake shore for the Holland Land Company, east of the County line.
OTHER FAMILIES.
Ira Tompkins came to Newfane in the fall of 1817. He settled on the west bank of Eighteen-Mile Creek at Van Horn's. He and James Van Horn took up four three-quar- ter sections at that place from the Holland Land Company. Mr. Tompkins was a millwright, in active business for over half a century. Albert Tompkins, his son, is now living, at the age of eighty-one, near the Tompkins mill that his father operated for a long term of years. He is one of the oldest citizens now living who were born in the town. His younger brother, Enoch, lives on the old homestead, near Burt.
Shubal Merritt came into Niagara County in 1812, set- tling on the Lake Road, three miles east of Olcott. Five brothers and one sister accompanied him, and they all loca- ted in the vicinity. One son of his, Shubal Merritt (who died March 2, 1880), had two daughters, Mrs. Lucius F. Adams, of Lewis street, Lockport, and Mrs. Theodore Van Wagoner, of the Town of Lockport. John Merritt, brother of the first Shubal Merritt, had five sons, George, Harry, Edward, John A. and Willis. John A. Merritt is at present Postmaster at Washington, and former Third Assistant Postmaster General.
Charles McClew came with his parents into the town from Montgomery County when a boy, in 1826. He died on May 9, 1898. His sons, Eugene J. McClew and C. Her- bert McClew, are among the prominent citizens of the town. A daughter, Agnes, lives with her mother in the old home- stead.
O. C. Bordwell is among the older citizens of the Coun- ty who have filled the office of Member of Assembly. He served during the years 1874 and 1875. He was born in Yates County, June 13, 1832, and came to Niagara County with his parents in the spring of 1836, locating in Hartland, where they died at a good old age. O. C. Bordwell came to Newfane in 1867. He has been for a number of years one of the vice presidents of the Pioneer Association.
Barney Warren was one of the early settlers on the Coomer Road, locating there in 1834. His son, Benjamin C. Warren, was born March 19, 1844, on the farm where he now resides.
Abram Staats came to the then Village of Lockport from Monroe County in 1841, and in 1856 the family moved to the Town of Newfane. His daughter, Sarah J., married Ziba Richardson, who superintended the laying of the tracks of the Central Railroad from Albion to Niagara Falls, and afterward bought and occupied a farm in Newfane. Another daughter married Charles S. McCollum. A son, William H. Staats, is a Past Commander of Jacob Brauker Post, No. 547, Grand Army of the Republic; director of the Orleans and Niagara Mutual Fire Insurance Company, and for twenty years has been one of the best known citizens of the town throughout the County as the traveling representative of the Lockport Journal.
NECROLOGY OF THE PAST FEW YEARS.
Among those who lived to a good old age and died during the past few years are D. C. Leonard, C. V. Tomp- kins, John Henning, Charles S. and James A. McCollum, Jeremiah Angevine, John Bracken, Charles and James Mc- Clew, Reeves Corwin, Jacob Bixler, Hiram Ferguson, Wil- liam S. Wright, Alexander Campbell.
EARLY DAYS IN OLCOTT.
The Village of Olcott, at the mouth of Eighteen-Mile
Creek, on Lake Ontario, has an excellent harbor, and for many years has been a port of entry, with a custom house. Two long piers, one on either side of the mouth of the creek, have been built out into the lake 800 feet by the United States Government, and provide safe harbor facilities for large vessels. This work was done between 1870 and 1877, at a cost of about $200,000. James D. Cooper started these improvements, having built a pier and warehouse on the east side of the creek. Mr. Cooper promoted the early settle- ment of Olcott. He surveyed his real estate on the east side of the creek into lots, which were sold at prices that brought in a number of settlers.
Dr. Alexander Butterfield was the first postmaster at Olcott, then called Kempville, and received his appointment December 4, 1820. The early mails were brought from Hartland Corners by anyone who happened to be journey- ing thither. Dr Butterfield's original commission is now in possession of his grandson, M. Brady, of Lockport, and reads as follows :
"Know ye, that confiding in the integrity, ability and punctuality of Alexander Butterfield, Esq., I do appoint him
W. V. CORWIN.
a postmaster and authorize him to execute that office at Kempville, Niagara County, State of New York. * * It was signed by Return J. Meigs, "Junior Postmaster Gen- eral." Two of Dr. Butterfield's daughters married Meth- odist preachers, one of them Rev. Ryan Smith, who preached in Lockport in 1865, and the other Rev. Mr. Sar- gent, of the Methodist Book Concern. Another daughter married the father of Rev. Frank M. Bristol, pastor of the Metropolitan Methodist Church, of Washington, in which President Mckinley was a communicant.
The present postmaster is C. L. Lombard, who is serv- ing his second term. His predecessor was Mortimer C. Swarthout, who was previously Inspector of Harbor Im- provements along the lake front, at Olcott, Wilson and other points.
OPENING OF THE TROLLEY TO OLCOTT.
The most prominent event in recent years in the his- tory of Olcott has been its connection, in 1900, with Lock- port by an electric railroad. This road was opened to the public for the first time on the occasion of the Pioneers' picnic at Olcott, on August 29, 1900, and on that Jate thou- sands of persons were carried to the lakeside resort, which
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SOUVENIR HISTORY OF NIAGARA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
has since been so improved that it is one of the finest sum- mer resorts to be found anywhere in the State.
During the year that the railroad was built between Lockport and Olcott work was begun on the mammoth and finely appointed Olcott Beach hotel. This hotel was built at the west end of the magnificent pine grove, said to be the finest on the south shore of Lake Ontario, and it was not really finished until 1901, although some parts were ready for occupancy the previous year.
IMPROVEMENTS AT THE GROVE.
At the time the hotel was being built the railway com- pany, which had obtained the ownership of the fine grove, began to improve it in many ways, which were calculated to make it what it is today, the finest summer resort in West- ern New York. To this end a handsome trolley railway sta- tion was built at the eastern entrance to the park and a little way within the grove westward from this station building. in
ished, about 300 feet into Lake Ontario. The pier is built is used as an ice cream parlor and restaurant.
is also being constructed a short distance east of the steel pier for the especial accommodation of small boats and bathers.
NEW BUILDINGS IN THE VILLAGE.
In the village proper many improvements have been made in the last two or three years since the railway com- pany began setting an example. The older hotels and stores have taken on a livelier appearance and new buildings have sprung up in different parts of the village.
Among the more prominent of these may be mentioned the village station of the trolley road, the handsome new boathouse, presided over by Ed. Martin, the veteran boat- man of the village, and the casino on the hill close by, which out from the beach below the hotel. A smaller cement pier Among the most notable of the additions to Olcott is
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