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 26
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EARLY SETTLERS.
The first settlers of which there is any record are Mar- tin Van Slyke and Jacob Christman, who settled on Tona- wanda Creek, in the western part of the town, in 1808. John and Adam Fulmer settled in the southern part in 1812, hav- ing purchased 252 acres of land of the Holland Land Com- pany. As in other towns, settlement progressed much more rapidly after the war. Hartman Pickard and his son, Law- rence, came in 1816 and were among the leading citizens of the town. Pickard's bridge is named after this family. The latter married a daughter of Philip Woolever, who had a farm three miles from Tonawanda, in 1816, and another on which he settled, a mile west of Pendleton, in 1823. Cun- rod Richard located on Tonawanda Creek in 1816, and Gar- ret Van Slyke settled in the western part of the town in 1822.
BEACH AND BEAR RIDGES.
Asa Andrews purchased a farm on Beach Ridge in 1824, and Luther Leland followed him in 1827. Henry Tripp set- tled in the locality in 1824, and lived in the same place for over eighty years. Alfred Poole came in 1826 and Silas Hall, at the northern limit of Beach Ridge, in May, 1835, when it was yet a wilderness.
Thomas Leonard located on Bear Ridge in 1833, and after living there ten years removed to Mapleton, where he died. Matthew Ten Brook moved to Bear Ridge in the forties, and died on his farm there at the age of eighty-two.
PENDLETON VILLAGE.
After the completion of the canal Pendleton became a good deal of a timber and stave market. Austin Simons was identified with this industry in 1831, and for thirty-five years thereafter. William B. Lewis had a store there in 1834, was Postmaster for sixteen years and Justice of the Peace for over thirty years.
Pendleton Clark, for whom the town was named, erected the first building in the vicinity, a log tavern, in 1821, when the place was a wilderness. The first store was opened by Jerry S. Jenks.
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SOUVENIR HISTORY OF NIAGARA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
THE GERMANS.
Previous records of the town have justly given emi- grants from Germany credit for making the most permanent agricultural improvements in the town. By exercising pa- tience, perseverance, and unflagging industry, they have secured for themselves cultivated farms, comfortable homes and a certain degree of luxury.
The first German settlement was on Tonawanda Creek, west of the village. Philip Woock, an immigrant from Ba- varia, landed there, with his family, in 1832. John A. Koepfinger and his wife and Joseph Schimp located at the same time.
Orrin Fisk, according to the record, located on the east side of the canal in 1844, and John Baker is stated to have been the only other settler in the vicinity at the tinie.
" AS GOES PENDLETON, SO GOES THE STATE."
The foregoing is an old political maxim that has come down to the present generation from the experience of pol- iticians of many a bygone campaign, and it should by no means be overlooked. It has been verified frequently enough to perpetuate the proverb in the minds of the voters of the County.
Town of Somerset. BY MRS. JACOB S. HAIGHT.
HE Town of Somerset, situated in the northeast- ern corner of Niagara County, its northern boundary touching the shore of beautiful Lake Ontario, was once, during the memory of some of its present inhabitants, the home of the In- dian braves and the dusky Hiawathas, the bears, wolves, pan- thers and the fleet-footed deer. The spot where the lovely village of Somerset, proper, now stands was then covered woods and wild berries, and the pathway out from, or into, the humble log cabin of its. few settlers, was marked by blazed trees or the footprints of the stealthy steps of the red man.
The town was formed February 8, 1823, from a portion of the Town of Hartland, on the south, and in the year 1824 a portion of the Town of Newfane was added on the west, to complete its present size. It would be interesting to know who gave the name to the town, but we have not been able to ascertain that fact.
JACOB FITTS THE PIONEER.
In the spring of 1810 Jacob Fitts and family came from New Jersey to make their home in the then almost unknown wilds of Western New York, and located a few rods distant from the banks of Lake Ontario, about a mile and a half north of what is now the village of Somerset (then belong- ing to the Town of Hartland), and became its first settlers. The farm is still in the hands of the Fitts family, being owned by John Fitts, grandson of Jacob Fitts, and son of Loren Fitts. Hardy Fitts, another son of Loren Fitts, and grand- son of Jacob Fitts, owns, and works, a farm, with the as- sistance of his son, Fred, who is great-grandson of Jacob Fitts, a few rods from the "old homestead" and from the banks of the same lake.
OTHER PIONEERS AND THEIR PRIVATIONS,
Five other families, Archibald Whitton, Philip Fitts, Truman and David Mudgett and Zachriah Patterson, soon came in and settled nearby, and these few made up the pop- ulation until after the War of 1812. The trials and suffer- ings pretaining to the bitter experiences of pioneer living were the lot of this little band of "first settlers," who often
had to eat raw pumpkins or go hungry, and at other times there was nothing to eat except leeks, which grew in the woods in abundance, which they would gather and boil or eat raw. Do we, who are living in affluence and ease, and with all the comforts of life around us, honor the memory of these brave and self-sacrificing hearts as we should? Many are the incidents that could be related of adventures with savage beasts, and of the neighborly deer, which came out of the woods to share the fodder given to the cattle, and were killed for food, but the time and space given to this article will not permit.
SETTLERS AFTER THE WAR.
Soon after the close of the war upon the Niagara Fron- tier others began to come into the settlement and locate
MR AND MRS JACOB S. HAIGHT.
near those already there, and among those who first came were James E. Mathews, Isaac Starbuck, David Barker, Adam Pease, Jacob Haight, Sr., Peter Hess, Samuel Cole- man, Dr. Asa B. Brown, Humphrey Sharpsteen, with their families, and a few others, which made more neighbors and helped to render the lonely existence of those already here more endurable. When the cold season of 1816 came wheat was worth twenty shillings per bushel and pork thirty-five dollars per barrel. One settler related that when he got so prosperous that he raised wheat to sell it was worth only twenty-five cents per bushel, and once, when he had a tax of twenty shillings to pay, he carried butter sixty miles and sold it for one shilling per pound to pay that.
David Barker came to Somerset, then a part of Hart- land, November 20, 1815, from Charlotte, Vermont. He resided until his death, at the age of nearly ninety, on the farm on which he originally settled. He was an attendant at the early meetings of the Pioneer Association, and fre- quently related incidents of pioneer days on the occasion of those gatherings. He held various town offices. besides serving four terms as Supervisor. Mr. Barker is known better, perhaps, to the present generation than any of the early settlers. His life was one unusually long and his fac- ulties were well preserved.
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SOUVENIR HISTORY OF NIAGARA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
George H. Bradley was born in Vermont, August 12, 1830. He came with his parents to the Town of Hartland in 1835, and to Somerset in 1866. He was married to Fan- nie Mead, daughter of Lewis Mead, in 1855. George H. Bradley was President of the Niagara and Orleans Mutual Insurance Company, from the time of its organization until his death, February 5, 1902, twenty-four years. He was a successful farmer and fruit grower. He owned a very pro- ductive farm of 220 acres, on the Lake Road, three or four miles west of Somerset Village. He was one of Somerset's most respected and beloved citizens.
FIRST EVENTS.
Joseph S. Bailey opened and kept the first tavern in the town, in 1817, at what has been, and is now, called "Bailey's Corners," one and one-half miles east of Somerset Village. The first wedding, in what is now the Town of Somerset, oc- curred in 1817, when John Sherwood married Miss Rebecca Mead. The first birth in town was that of Delilah Fitts, daughter of Jacob Fitts and wife, in 1821. The first death in town was that of Philip Fitts, who was drafted in 1813, served with his regiment until taken sick; was sent home, and died in 1814, and was buried on his farm, which is now owned by Louis M. Bateman. No other person was buried near his grave as, not long after, a short distance east of Somerset Corners, a plot of ground was laid out for burial purposes. The first person buried there was a Mr. Ams- brey.
JAMES E. MATHEWS THE FIRST POSTMASTER.
About 1820 James E. Mathews, who was a settler pre- vious to that time, put up the first frame building erected in the town, at what is now Somerset Village, and opened a general store, which he continued to operate nearly fifty years, and the building is still on the same spot, but used for other purposes. Previous to 1825 mail was received, if any, by sending for it through some neighbor who was going to Buffalo, Rochester or Batavia, but about that year Mr. Mathews was appointed the first Postmaster in the town, and retained the office for over thirty years. In 1825 Mr. Mathews married Ellen C. Reynolds, daughter of Capt. John Reynolds, a farmer and merchant at Hartland, New York, and bought a lot in the center of what is now the Village of Somerset, and on it builded the first frame dwelling house in the town, and it still remains, with other additions, a por- tion of what is now the "old homestead," and is occupied by the last remaining member of the family living in Somerset. Mrs. Sarah Mathews Haight.
SOME MORE " FIRST THINGS."
The first log house was built by Jacob Fitts, the first set- tler, in June, 1810, on the farm now owned by his grandson, John Fitts.
The first road marked out is the one running east and west through the Village of Somerset.
The first bridge was built, in 1822, across Fish Creek, three-quarters of a mile north of the Corners.
In the fall of 1810 Jacob Fitts sowed three bushels of wheat on a patch of ground he had cleared during the sum- mer, which was the first ground cleared, and first wheat sowed in this town.
On the first day of April, 1823, the first town meeting was held at the house of Silas Mead. The first frame barn in town was built for Silas Mead, in 1819.
The first resident physician was Dr. Asa B. Brown, who settled at the Corners in 1826. Since then many others have come and gone, but at present there are two in town, Dr. John B. Higgs and Dr. W. G. Sprague.
In 1817 the first school was organized, in a small log school house that stood one and a half miles west of the Cor- ners, with Masten Sherwood as teacher.
THE FIRST CHURCH.
About this time the subject of religion began to take hold of the minds of the people to such an extent that there was a desire for the building of a house to hold meetings. The Baptist Church of Somerset was the first known as a Baptist Church on January 23, 1820. It was formally recog- nized by an ecclesiastical council, which was held at the res- idence of James Stevens, of what was then known as Hart- land. For three and a half years after its recognition by the council as a society it met from house to house, fre- quently visited by a Baptist missionary, who preached from place to place. In September, 1823, Elder Jehial Wisner received, and accepted, a call to become pastor, and his la- bors were blessed by many being added to the church.
In 1832 the necessity of a suitable place of worship was felt by the church and community, and the Holland Land Company gave the avails of fifty acres of land, and the rest of the amount was raised by subscription, for the erection of a substantial brick church, and, in 1833, the church was built, and was the first brick building in the town. It became a strong society, ministered to by several talented pastors, but in 1845, owing to another Baptist Church and society being formed at West Somerset and to deaths and removals, after the close of the pastorate of Rev. Samuel Smith, in 1871, the church was closed, and in a few years after was sold, to be used for other purposes.
QUAKER CHURCH ..
The Society of Friends, or Quakers, was organized in this town, in 1821, with twenty members, and for about fif- teen years their meetings were held at private log houses within the bounds of the society. Mrs. Miriam Haight Winslow was the first settled preacher. She died in 1828, and was followed, as preacher, by David Gardner, father of the late Ira Gardner, of Somerset, and grandfather of Fred D. Gardner, a farmer, now living on the "old homestead," and also of Amos H. Gardner, now a resident of Lockport, New York, and Clerk of the Sheriff of this County. David Haight, brother of Jacob S. Haight, of Somerset, followed David Gardner as settled preacher, and was the last one to occupy that position, as he, too, passed on "to the better land." In 1836 the society built a plain, neat, brick church, and continued to worship there for years, but, as one after another laid down their earthly cares and the children joined other denominations, the church doors were closed, and two years ago the building was torn down to give place to other interests.
METHODIST CHURCH.
The first class meeting in connection with the Metho- dist Episcopal Church was formed at the home of Silas Mead, two and one-half miles west of what is now the Village of Somerset, in 1827. For nearly two years the class meet- ings, as was also the public service, were held at Mr. Mead's house, and for about five years following, in the little log school house on Mr. Mead's farm.
Rev. David Sheperdson began his ministrations, as first preacher in this part of what was then a large circuit, in 1817. The first quarterly meeting was held in Silas Mead's barn. in 1818. On July 4, 1831, at a meeting of the male mem- bers, according to notice, trustees were elected, and it was unanimously "resolved to build a meeting house to be thirty- two by forty feet on the ground." A lot for the same was
SOUVENIR HISTORY OF NIAGARA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
GEORGE H. BRADLEY.
GUY C. HUMPHREY.
WM. A. SAWYER.
WILBER T. POOL, LEWISTON.
HOMER D. SHAVER, NEWFANE.
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JOHN SHERWOOD.
JOHN T. TOMPKINS, WHEATFIELD.
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SOUVENIR HISTORY OF NIAGARA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
bought in 1831, and the church was built in 1839, at a cost of $2,000 raised by subscription. In 1870 the sociey built a parsonage on the lot adjoining the church lot, at a cost of $2,800. In 1878 the society sold the old church for $300, and on June 21 of that year, laid the corner stone for a new edifice on the same site, in size forty by sixty-nine feet, at a cost of $4,500, which they still occupy. W. L. Atwater was the architect and builder. On the 10th of November, 1832, a Sabbath School was organized which still exists with a membership of 220.
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
The Presbyterian Church was organized January 26, 1824, at the house of Stephen Sherwood. On February IO, 1834, at a meeting of the then few members held at Dr. A. B. Brown's office, it was, "Resolved, That this Society be known by the title of the First Presbyterian Church and Society of Somerset, N. Y." The preaching, during this time up to 1837, had been by regularly ordained ministers, who occasionally passed through the county as supplies, but on the first Sabbath in July, 1837, Rev. Truman Baldwin be- came settled pastor on a salary of $400 per year, and during his pastorate of four years 131 persons were received into the church as members. Rev. William C. Wisner, of Lock- port, N. Y., a cousin of Mr. Mathews, assisted in revivals held at different times.
January 20, 1838, a Sabbath School was formed witli Orman P. Wright as Superintendent. There were eighty- nine members in the school in 1839, and 131 in 1841, show- ing the increase of population in a few years.
Previous to Mr. Baldwin's coming as pastor the meet- ings had been held in James E. Mathews' store chamber. Afterwards the society worshipped in the "old brick school house," located on the north street. In 1840 a half acre lot was purchased of Isaac Starbuck for $100 and on it was built the Presbyterian Church of today, costing $2,000, raised by subscription, and it was dedicated October 1, 1840. In 1852, a parsonage was bought, costing $750, and in 1871 it was remodeled at a cost of $1,800. The late Mrs. Lucy Thayer bequeathed to the society $1,000 for the erection of a chapel for the church, and in 1878 the society raised another $1,000 for remodeling the church in connection with the chapel and the Presbyterians now have a pleasant, com- modious place of worship.
SOME OF SOMERSET'S OLDEST CITIZENS.
The most of those mentioned in these records, who were the founders and builders of the town of Somerset, have long since gone to make up the inhabitants of that "better country whose maker and builder is God," but they have left behind them, to those who have taken their places, a heritage of noble manhood, and just and right principles in honorable and Christian living among their neighbors and friends.
A few, whose locks are whitened by the flight of years, who were among the early, though not the earliest, settlers still remain, and deserve honorable mention. Among them, Henry M. Frost, who settled here in 1835, and though having passed his eighty-sixth mile stone, and somewhat feeble, his memory is still strong, and his reminiscences of "pioneer days" are interesting and instructive, and he is greatly honored and respected by the many who know him. He has held several official position for a number of years, and still is, in connection with his son, S. W. Frost, the prin- cipal general merchant in town.
Hon. George M. Swain, who settled here in 1843, has served his town four terms as Supervisor and two as member
of Assembly, is still hale and hearty, and as a retired farmer and gentleman of ease is spending his sunset days happily and pleasantly in home-quiet, and social intercourse with his neighbors and friends. Long may he live !
Jacob S. Haight was born in Somerset, October 9, 1825, and though at present in feeble health, he is still active and interested in the affairs of his church and town, and is re- spected and revered by all who know him in his life-long home, and throughout the county.
Guy C. Humphrey, another of the honored men in town, settled here in 1831. His townsmen have also elected him to the office of Supervisor of their town for four terms, and for member of Assembly two terms. Though advanced in years he is still active in his farm life and always to be found on the side of right.
George W. Potter was born in Rensselaer County, N. Y., March 4, 1835, and moved with his parents to Orleans County when he was four years of age. At one time he owned a farm of 400 acres at Kent, formerly East Carlton, but he disposed of all his property in that town and came to Somerset in the spring of 1886 and purchased a large farm. He has been elected twice a member of the board of Super- visors, which office he now holds.
John Sherwood was born in Orleans County, October 27, 1834. He came with his people to Somerset the follow- ing spring, when his father purchased the farm of 164 acres where John Sherwood now resides. Mr. Sherwood was married to Mary E. Hess, November 29, 1865, and four children have been born to them.
Edwin E. Arnold was born in Vermont in 1826 and came with his parents to Niagara County and settled on a farm in the town of Somerset on Independence Day, 1831. He finished his education at Yates Academy, Orleans County, and taught school several terms. He was married in 1854 to Caroline M. Keeler. Mr. Arnold is a farmer by occupation and a zealous supporter of the Christian religion, being in faith a strict Calvinist.
Charles W. Wilcox, born in 1829, settled here in 1837. He is a gentleman of fine literary tastes and the many poetical articles written by him have been listened to, and read, by many with great pleasure and profit. He has for many years been a successful farmer, but on account of poor health sold his farm the present year and has retired to a quiet, village life. Hardy Fitts, a life-long resident, was born May 27, 1837. Gurdon Huntington, born in 1825, settled here in 1834. Lawton Pettit, born in 1816, came to Somerset in 1850.
THE YOUNGER MEN.
Mention should also be made of the younger men of today who are worthy of filling the places of those who so nobly toiled and suffered privations for their wilderness homes. Lewis A. Bradley, son of the late George W. Bradley, is owner of a fine farm on the Lake Road, owns and manages a large cold storage, and is a large handler of fruit at Barker, where he lives. Frank Bradley, brother of Lewis, also a farmer, resides on the "old home farm" on the Lake Road and is an extensive fruit grower and dealer in horses.
George B. Wood, son of the late George K. Wood, who came here from Otsego County in 1837, and grandson of Dr. Asa B. Brown, was born in Somerset in 1850 and has always resided here, an esteemed and respected citizen, and for the past seventeen years has been, and now is, one of the board of Assessors of the town.
Willis T. Mann is one of the most progressive fruit
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SOUVENIR HISTORY OF NIAGARA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
growers of the Town of Somerset or of Niagara County. He was born January 13, 1857, in the Town of Somerset. His grandfather, Thompson Mann, settled in Somerset in 1835. His father, Oscar E. Mann, was prominent in public affairs in the town and Sheriff of the county for one term Willis T. Mann was educated at the Lockport Union School and at Cornell University. He has given special at- tention to the scientific phases of fruit growing and the results of his investigations have been freely imparted to growers generally. He has prepared various papers and addresses, among them being the following: "The cause of the Fruit Failure," July, 1890; "Experiments in Fertiliz- ing Orchards," published in report of Western New York Horticultural Society, 1898; "Report on Fruit Statistics and Marketing," read before the meeting of the New York State Fruit Growers' Association, January, 1902; "The Renova- tion of Barren Apple Orchards," published in "Country Life in America," March, 1902. Mr. Mann is at present vice president of the Niagara County Farmers' Club. member of committee of Plant Diseases of the Western New York Horticultural Society, chairman of committee on Fruit Statistics and Marketing, of New York State Fruit Growers' Association and the New York representatives of the gen- eral fruit committee of the American Pomological Society.
William A. Sawyer was born in Newfane, April 23, .1849. He was employed at the Lockport postoffice six years under Lyman A. Spalding and H. F. Cady. He mar- ried Sarah Curtis, of Somerset, in January, 1873 and has lived in the town since. He is a successful farmer, fruit grower and dealer in live stock.
S. Delos Davis, son of Charles Davis and at present living on the homestead situated on Lake Road, also a farmer, stock raiser, fruit dealer and owner of a fine dairy and now serving as postmaster at Barker.
William L .. Atwater, a buyer of fruit and grain of all kinds, and owner and manager of "Somerset Elevator" at Barker, for a number of years has been "Justice of the Peace" and holds that office at the present time.
John and Michael O'Malley are merchants at Barker. Wallace Coates is owner and manager of a large farm in Somerset, and in the hardware business at Barker. Elgia A. Coates owns a large fruit farm and is a large handler of fruits of all kinds, dealing also in nursery stock, phosphates, etc.
S. W. Frost, of H. H. Frost & Son, general merchants, is esteemed for his business qualities and public spirit. Though still a young man he has served as Town Clerk for twenty-two years, which office he fills today, as well as that of postmaster of Somerset.
WHO WILL WRITE OF THE WIVES?
A whole volume of history might be written of the Town of Somerset, dating from the rising of the smoke from its first log cabin fireside to the present day, and we hope it may some time be done, but more especially do we wish that one, gifted for the work, would write the story of the life, incidents, trials, toils and sufferings of the wives and mothers of the pioneers and early settlers of this town, and every other town in the grand old County of Niagara. The women who fought the battles of the wilderness and con- quered every foe. It would be of priceless worth to child- ren, and children's children, of those heroic women who should not be forgotten, and the story would bring tears to the eyes of those unused to weep. Who will do this work?
Reminesences of an Old Resident.
BY HON. GEORGE M. SWAIN.
[Hon. George M. Swain, upon hearing of the intention to publish this work, sent the following recollections, which will be highly appreciated. ]
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