USA > New York > Chautauqua County > Ellicott > The early history of the town of Ellicott, Chautauqua County, N.Y. > Part 28
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The honest, hard-working man, overtaken by misfortune, never went empty-handed from his office. We have in mind the case of a farmer and a superior mechanic in danger of losing all from endorsing the paper of a neighbor, but a scoundrel, who had procured his signature by false representations. He was owing Tew (with whom he had a business acquaintance only) and several others considerable amounts which he desired to pay before making an assignment, and sent a man from Busti to Jamestown with the money. Tew had heard of the man's misfortune, and made fur- ther inquiries of the messenger, as to the state of af- fairs. Instead of taking the money, he harnessed his horse and went to Busti in the midst of a fearful snow storm, to aid a man whom he deemed worthy but un- fortunate. Tew was full of these tricks of generous benevolent feeling, so much so, that it was said of him " Tew's stubbornness is only equalled by his kind- ness." He always visited the sick and afflicted, and may this pencil drop from a palzied hand if we ever forget his kindness when the great misfortune of our life overtook us in 1860. He was the first to call and
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mingle his tears with mine and to offer all the con- solation in his power.
He relieved the wants of the poor and needy, but in some cases it aroused his ire to know that the food he had sent to a starving wife and children, was shared and monopolized by a lazy, shiftless, drunken husband. It was well for such that Wm. H. Tew could not exer- cise the power of the Sultan of Morrocco; if he could have done so, mutes and bow-strings would have found employment in Jamestown, He was generous to the sick the needy and the unfortunate; his heart melted before the needs of even the unworthy for he could not see distress without alleviating it-yet his hatred of the idle, the drunken and the profligate knew no other bounds.
Mr. Tew was born in Rensslearville, Albany County, N. Y., in 1808; two years afterwards his par- ents removed to Otsego county. At an early age he evinced a genuis for mechanics which became so con- spicuous in after life. His education was that of our common schools and of the newspaper. As a boy he worked at cloth dressing, and afterwards as an assis- tant to his father who was a carpenter. His brother, George W. Tew, came to Jamestown in 1825 and es- tablished a tin and sheet iron factory. The following year William, then 18 years old, came to Jamestown and labored as a common workman in his brother's factory. We remember him very distinctly; his ap- pearance at that time; and how he was lauded for his correct habits and dilligence in business. He was a great favorite not only among the young people of that day, but of the older ones also. He was constant- ly spoked of as one of the most industrious young men in the village, and as opposed to drinking, a habit to
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which too many of the young men of those days were addicted, and also as strongly opposed to slavery. Wm. H. Tew brought his temperance and his anti-slav- ery opinions with him when he came to the town in 1826, and he never abandoned them up to the day of his death. A strong temperance man, he bitterly op- posed the organization of the first temperance society attempted in Jamestown, because their pledge permit- ted the use of hard cider, ale and wines. He declared in the open assembly that their use was more baneful then the rum and whiskey against which they pro- posed to combine their influence. Young Tew said, there was but one kind of temperance society he would ever join, and that should prohibit everything that would intoxicate or even stimulate. He did not be- lieve in cutting off Carpenter's whiskey,and permitting judges, doctors, lawyers and even ministers, to drink cider and wine. Perhaps he was drunk once, and that was after drinking what they called Muscat wine. He well knew that he was sick for two days, and that he had a headache and was dizzy for nearly a week. Drinks that produce such effects should be pro- hibited. A prominent leader in all good works in those days answered Tew-said he believed he intend- ed to be personal in his remarks, and scolded him for expressing his opinions so freely at that time, and re- marked that in such matters boys should be seen and not heard; that it was the business of older people to direct. The young man replied that he was not as old either in good works or in iniquity, as some of them, nevertheless he had opinions and he should not give them up as long as he believed them right. Silas Shearman sprang to his feet and said, "Tew you are right, and I go with you and when I join a temper-
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ance society it shall be a total abstinence one." The leader declared there was no such society in the Unit- ed States. Tew replied it was high time there was one. The reply was, you and Shearman are Extremists. Yes extremely right, replied Shearman. When the call for names to the pledge was made Dr. Hazeltine and three others replied, that they sympathized with Tew and Shearman and would wait for future develope- ments. The meeting adjourned without effecting an organization, a short time after an organization was ef- fected but it never amounted to anything. A year or more later a society was formed nearly on the plan proposed by Tew and Shearman, as spoken of by Elijah Bishop. Coming home from the first temperance meeting S. A. Brown, Esq. met Joseph Waite, Esq., " Well and then, Squire Waite, how did you like the meetin?" "A pretty question to ask-Sile Shearman is always putting in his gab when it is not wanted, and that young Tew bids fair to be worse than Shearman." " A very promisin young man Squire Waite, and would make a fine appearin capting in our militia. By the way Squire Waite, Mr. George Tew is about commenc- ing the readin of law in my offis." "Success to him, but do you not think the young Abolitionist is a little too fast? You and me and our chairman, and many of our best citizens drink wine and cider and it never made me drunk." " Well and then Squire Waite I must confess I have had a headache, and sometimes all of the symptoms spoken of by Mr. Tew. You say he is but a boy and I should not call him Mr .- Waite, some men arrive at maturity quite young-if I re- member correctly you commenced the study of law when you were 36."
When he became of age in 1829 his brother took
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him into partnership; and in the spring of that year he married Rhoda Burnham, a prominent young lady of Jamestown, and who was previously of the town of Pomfret. In the fall of that year the brothers erected the large two-storied building on the southeast corner of Main and Fourth streets, and removed their factory from "Noah's Ark" to it, and added stoves to their stock in trade. In 1835 Geo. W. Tew became County Clerk and removed to Mayville and Wm. H. Tew con- tinued the business alone. He afterwards bought a lot on the southeast corner of Main and Second streets (a portion of the old Disher tavern property) and in 1847 erected thereon a large brick block, the second of importance in the town. At this time his brother-in- law Rufus Jones became his partner, and they added a full assortment of hardware to the stock previously kept. After a few years Mr. Jones retired and went into business by himself; Mr. Tew continued business at the old stand up to 1867, with either his eldest son Harvey, or his son-in-law Wm. H. Sprague as part- ners. He gave his entire attention to this business for over 40 years, and retired from it with a fortune. At the time of his retirement from the hardware busi- ness, himself and his brother, Geo. W. Tew of Silver Creek, were the principal stockholders in the City Na- tional Bank of Jamestown, and he became the Presi- dent, but not long after his health began to fail and in 1880 he was compelled to withdraw from all business. His enforced idleness, and confinement to the house were irksome and he became hypochondriacal. His mind soon began to brood over fancied ills, in sym- pathy with his physical ailments, and finally his mind became partially unhinged. Society, even of his most intimate friends, became distasteful to him, and he
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confined himself to the house and the companionship of his children. During the last years of his life the writer occasionally visited him partly professionally, and partly socially. He suffered severely both physic- ally and mentally, and he was constantly looking anx- iously for the time to come when he should be relieved from his suffering and at rest.
In all his intense suffering Tew had one great consolation, and he appreciated it, it was his remain- ing source of happiness. During his long, painful illness of years, his children were most faithful and de- voted, and watched over him with a constant and most tender solicitude; every, and the least want, if possible was anticipated. Such an example of filial affection we never expected to behold, and shall never see again. Those children who so tenderly and so long, watched with affectionate care over a stricken father, found a streak of silver lining to the cloud of their grief when he departed ;- and the remembrance of duty then faithfully performed, will not only line with silver certain clouds which must arise in the future-but will also place a golden crown upon each.
To Wm. H. and Rhoda (Burnham) Tew were born five children; all now living, except the eldest daugh- ter-Mrs. Julia Sprague.
In the fall of 1870 Mr. Tew married Mrs. Mary G. Smith, the widow of Harvey Smith, spoken of in the chapter on Newspapers. Mrs. Tew died about five years before her husband.
One of the most prominent characteristics of Wm. H. Tew's character was his sense of justice. He never failed to stand by the side of the weak against the strong, if he found their cause just, no matter what their character or standing might be otherwise. Is it right?
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-was the question he always asked himself before em- barking upon any important undertaking. But after his mind was once made up, his tenacity of purpose and of opinion was so great, that he was seldom swerved from his original purpose. He adhered to his opinions upon all subjects with a tenacity which is rightly termed stubbornness ;- so much so that it be- came a mode of expression in Jamestown, when a per- son would not yield to what were considered reasona- ble arguments, to say to him-" You are as stubborn as- Wm. H. Tew." Mr. Tew was a stubborn man in the fullest sense of the word, but his stubbornness was al- ways founded upon what he considered right and just, and in the end it was rarely found-never in things of importance-that he was wrong. It is a great pity we have not many more stubborn men like Wm. H. Tew. He formed his own opinions, and when formed, he- firmly, stubbornly if you will, held to them. Wm. H. Tew worshipped at the shrine of the Just and the- True, and we are quite willing to write him down
THE STUBBORN MAN OF JAMESTOWN.
CHAPTER XV.
OTHER EARLY SETTLERS OF ELLICOTT, CARROLL, KI- ANTONE, POLAND AND BUSTI.
CAPT. WILLIAM FORBES .- We have not been able to obtain much information about this important early settler at the rapids. To that which we have, dates for the most part are wanting. If he did not come with Judge Prendergast, he certainly came soon after, and during the same year. We believe we are correct when we say, that Prendergast, previous to his com- mencement of operations at the rapids, had employed William Forbes and Horatio Dix to come and erect his mills for him. Bethis as it may, it is certain that both of these persons assisted in erecting the first saw mill and were present when his log house burned.
When the company was raised in the south por- tion of the county in 1812, John Silsbee, a son-in-law of Wm. Bemus, was made Captain, Wm. Forbes Lieu- tenant, and Elijah Akins, Ensign. Silsbee was wounded at the battle of Black Rock, and the command de- volved on Forbes, who soon was made Captain. Akins had the honor of bringing home the intelligence of the disaster at the Rock in advance of all others.
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Forbes, previous to entering the army, lived in a plank house on the east side of Cherry street, below Sec- ond street ; from this he removed to the mill house, built as a home for the sawyers. Mrs. Forbes desiring a more quiet residence, he built a small plank house near a spring which was on the back part of the lot on which the store now occupied by Whitley stands; it was not much more than a shanty, and he made im- mediate arrangements for erecting a larger house, which was also of planks, about fifty feet above and on the line of the street. After residing there a year or more he removed to the Disher house, which was no longer used as a tavern, and there resided as long as he remained in Jamestown. During his residence here he was constantly employed by Judge Prendergast to superintend his mills. In 1828 Forbes & Runyan rented the mills in Kennedyville and removed there. Two or three years later he emigrated to the west, we believe to Illinois. After Forbesremoved to the Disher house, the plank house vacated was occupied by Wm. Clark, and afterward was known as the Clark house. This house, which was one of the land marks, was de- stroyed by the fire of 1837.
GEN. HORACE ALLEN, came to the rapids in 1815 in a wagon drawn by oxen from Otsego county. He was originally from New Hampshire. His wife, who came into the county with him, carrying in her arms an infant child-the late Dana Allen-was Fannie, the daughter of the late Col. Nathaniel Fenton of Revo- lutionary memory-whose bravery and deeds of valor as a scout at the age of eighteen were nursery tales in the early days of Ellicott. After a long and most wear- isome journey they arrived at therapids, and for a time lived in the plank house on Cherry street, built after
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the burning of the log house, as the residence of Judge Prendergast and William Forbes. Wm. Forbes, a few days before, took possession of a frame house (the sec- ond erected at the rapids) which had been built as a home for the superintendent of the mills and as a home for the sawyers. This house if now standing would be north of the east half of the N. Y. P. & O. passenger station. Allen immediately hired out to Forbes as a sawyer on the gang. To run the gang for twenty-four hours required four gang sawyers and two slabbers. Allen worked on the gang for nearly a year; his companions were Nicholas Dolloff, Jesse Smith and William Clark, all of whom afterwards became promi- nent men in the country. Sawyers in those days worked for twelve hours and something more ; their tours were from 12 o'clock to 12 o'clock ; and as one sett went " off tour" the other were required to be on hand to go "on tour;" the mills were not permitted to shut down, Mr. Allen writes, many years ago, "The entire business of the place at the time of my moving into the country was the cutting of about three million feet of boards a year, which was mostly run down the river, and the major part of the provisions and grocer- ies used by the people were brought from Pittsburg in keel boats." The Durham boats which were constantly plying to and fro on the Allegheny river, and up the Conewango to Mayville, brought up to the rapids most miscellaneous cargoes of flour and pork, dried fruits, potatoes, codfish, tobacco, whiskey, nails, glass, castings, mill gearing, etc., etc.
After Dr. Foote purchased the reserved lot east of Judge Prendergast, Allen built a single saw mill, and built what is now known as the lower or Piousville dam, and a house near by, in which he lived for seve-
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ral years. A mill as then located has been continued up to the present time, and is now owned by John T. Wilson.
Many years ago he sold this mill, and purchased what was then known as the Merrills farm on the south side of the outlet, and on which he afterwards resided up to the time of his death. He laid out several streets and sold a number of village lots on land which was not then in, but was contiguous to the village. This entire farm is now cut up into village lots. and a large portion covered with residences. The first house built on the Merrill purchase was Mr. Allen's home. It was a long, one-story house, south of what is now Allen street, and east of a small creek which runs through the land. He afterwards built a large wooden man- sion on ground now occupied by the large brick resi- dence owned by Mr. Kimball. This he afterwards sold to a Dr. Wellington, a Spiritualist, for a school; it soon after became a Water and Electric cure establishment, and finally burned up. To General Allen is due the credit, more than to any other man, of building up the town on the south side of the outlet. In 1843 he bought twelve acres owned by Dr. Laban Hazeltine, between Allen, Warren and Mechanic street, cut it up into village lots, and speedily had it covered with resi- dences. Although there was at this time a number of scattered residences on the south side of the outlet, and especially on Quaker and on Allen streets, it is from the period when these lands were cut up into village lots that active building on the south side commenced. From about that time the building up of the town in all directions has become rapid. It was not a decade previous to that time, when the general opinion was that the south side would be but little used for residen-
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ces, but the result forced a change in opinion. A de- cade after that time, if any business man in Jamestown should have expressed the opinion, that the fringe of swamp on both sides of the outlet from the steamboat landing to Piousville would be covered with immense factories and fine residences he would have been con- sidered a fit candidate for a Lunatic Asylum. But all of this and more has already transpired. We have a large swamp territory still remaining; we hope no one will propose sending us to Tinkertown, because we now express the opinion that fifty years from now, a person visiting Jamestown would not have the least suspicion that there was ever an acre of swamp land between Prendergast Park at the foot of the lake and Falconer.
Horace Allen was one of our noted military men. In 1820 he was made a Captain of Infantry in the 162d Reg., and his commission was signed by De Witt Clin- ton. In 1823 he became the Colonel of that regiment, and his commission was again signed by De Witt Clinton. In 1826 he was appointed General of the 43d Brigade, and his commission bore the signature of Governor Joseph C. Yates. In 1829 he became Maj. General of the 26th Division of N. Y. State Infantry, his commission coming from Gov. E. T. Troup. In
1832 he received his discharge, which was signed by Adjt. Gen. John A. Dix. General Allen was once, per- haps twice, Supervisor of the town. He was for several years a worthy member of the Congregational church; when the church was divided in 1834 he went with the Presbyterian portion, and was an active and prominent member of that church as long as he lived. General Allen died at his residence in Jamestown October 3, 1863, aged 73 years; his wife Fannie (Fenton) Allen, survived him, and died in January, 1873, at the age of
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81. There were born to Horace and Fannie (Fenton) Allen three sons. Dana H. Allen died a few years ago at his residence in Jamestown. Dwight, the second son, if we remember correctly, emigrated to California. Albert, the youngest, emigrated to the west several years ago, and is now a merchant in the city of Du- buque, Iowa. The family have now all disappeared from our midst. General Horace Allen was among the most important of our early settlers.
JESSE SMITH was among the earliest comers to the hamlet at the rapids in 1814. He was one of the first sawyers in the mills, and in company with Capt. Dix built the first building erected here. Not long after his coming he married Emily, the eldest daughter of Capt. Dix, by whom he had six children. The eldest of these was Gilbert Dolloff Smith, spoken of in Chap. X. His eldest daughter became the wife of Geo. W. Parker, the second principal of Jamestown Academy. Parker read law in S. A. Brown's office, and not long after removed to New York, where he still resides if living ; we believe his wife died several years ago. Clement, the second son, is a merchant in Riceville, Pa. The younger children we do not justly remem- ber. One of the daughters married Mr. Winsor. Jesse Smith moved from Jamestown to Riceville and then to Panama many years ago. There is no one of the early settlers we more thoroughly remember than Jesse Smith, but our material on hand from which to write the history of him and his family is strangely meager, and it is now too late to gather it from members of his family yet living. All we can say is this: Jesse Smith as long as we knew him was a hard-working man, and a temperance man, when it was not easy to be such. Many years ago, long before he went to Riceville, he
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removed to Panama. He may have resided at Rice- ville a short time, if so he again returned to Panama. Smith and his wife both died at Panama at an ad- vanced age, but we are not able to give the dates of their death.
PHINEAS PALMITER, SEN. AND JR .- Phineas Pal- miter so frequently spoken of in this volume was Phineas Palmiter, Jr. The elder Phineas Palmiter was a Revolutionary soldier and came in with his brother- in-law, Cyrus Fish, in 1814. He took up land on the east side of the road opposite to where Whitman Pal- mer has so long resided. Phineas Palmiter, Jr., came in after his father, but during the same year. The half block, bounded by Third street on the north, Spring street on the west, and Second street on the south, was first taken up by Nicholas Dolloff, and he built a plank house near the spring, which was prom- inent in early days, and gave name to the adjoining street. This property afterwards became Palmiter's homestead. Jason, the eldest son of Phineas Palmi- ter, Jr., still lives at the corner of Spring and Second streets, on the ground once occupied by (. R. Harvey's blacksmith shop. Phineas Palmiter, Jr., had four children, who lived to adult age. Amanda, Sevila, Jason and Jane. Jane became the wife of Wm. Lan- don, who died about forty yearsago; Sevila became the wife of Stephen H. Crissey. Both died many years ago. Amanda was the wife of R. D. Warner, and had a large family of children. Several years ago the family emigrated to Missouri, where those now living still reside. Amanda died during the past year ; she was the first girl born in Jamestown. Several years ago Phineas Palmiter, Jr., during a visit to his son-in- law Warner, who was keeping a hotel in Pittsfield, Pa.,
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was thrown from a buggy and so injured that he soon after died. Phineas Palmiter, Sen., died at least fifty years ago. Abraham Staples, who died at a great age two or three years ago at Dexterville, was a brother-in- law of Phineas, Jr., they having married sisters by the name of Morgan. Staples was a carpenter and one of Ellicott's early settlers.
CYRUS FISH
With a large family, came into the country in 1814 with Phineas Palmiter, Sen. and Stephen Wilcox and their families. Fish was originally from Stoning- ton, Ct. He enlisted when he was eighteen and served through the Revolutionary war. He married Bridget Jones in Groton, Ct .; she was ten years old when the battle of Lexington was fought, and went into the field and caught her father's horse while he prepared his gun and accoutrements to go to this first battle of the Revolution. They afterwards removed to Hill bar- racks (now Albany) and afterwards to Unadilla Forks. Wilcox took up the farm on which Wm. Root now re- sides, and Fish settled on the lower side of the road be- tween Root's and Henry Baker's. (The road formerly made a bend to the south around the hill.) Near Fish's house was one of the early grave yards of the country-whether its location has been preserved, we are not informed. Fish during the war took a severe cold, which affected his lungs and from which he never recovered. He died and was buried on his wilderness farm in 1817; his wife died in 1820 and was also buried there. They had a large family of children, all now dead we believe excepting Mrs. Henry Baker. His eldest son, Cyrus, built a mill on a small stream empty- ing into the Cassadaga, known years ago as the Clove run, and there set up the first shingle machine in the
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country. Many years ago he emigrated to Iowa, and there died in 1871. His only son was a victim of the war of the Rebellion, two of his daughters returned to Ellicott ; Maria became the second wife of the late Daniel Williams of Ashville, and Susan, the second wife of Dr. G. W. Hazeltine, of Jamestown. Sheldon, who studied law in the office of Joseph Waite, died in Wisconsin; and Artemas, the youngest son, in James- town. Grace became the wife of Elijah Akins, and Harriet became the wife of Jesse Landon, who was the son of Reuben Landon, who built the first bridge across the outlet at the rapids in 1814. Jesse and Harriet
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