USA > Pennsylvania > Potter County > Genesee > Genesee echoes : the upper gorge and falls area from the early days of the pioneers > Part 8
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DISCHARGED: Frederick E. Howard, George Johnson, Robert Meade, Castile; Albert Gage, Eagle; Lester Blackman, Marcellus B. Card, Gainesville; George W. Clute, Moscow; George W. Fisher, Frank Robinson, Pike; Eli C. Bishop, Perry; E. M. Jennings, Portage; Jered M. Bills, Wyoming; Merrick Weaver, Rock Stream.
TRANSFERRED: Martin Gitchell, Philip M. Payne, Castile; Hiram B. Covell, Daniel McGuire, Gainesville.
DECEASED: Dan B. Waller, Arcade; E. M. Carpenter, Willard Green, Edwin M. Slocum, Castile; Job S. Hicks, Clarkson Helmer, Eagle; Orville Hinman, East Pike; William B. Wallace, Gainesville; Stephen M. Skiff, Hume; Robert H. Sears, Moscow; John Hare, Perry Center; L. B. Leddick, James E. Rood, Perry; William E. Pattridge, Moses Griffith, Cullin B. Halsted, Charles H. Leach, Edward Wickson, Pike; Sidney Graves, Plattsburg; John Parkins, War- saw; Isaac M. Allen, George M. Gearhart, John Keghan, Nelson Rolph, P. E. Simmons, Charles M. Wood, Oliver Washburn, Portage; Lyman R. Hanks. West Almond; Charles H. Sterling, Van Buren, Mich.
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GENESEE ECHOES
COMPANY C
OFFICERS: Rowley P. Taylor, captain, followed by Wyman H. A. Godfrey; Oscar R. Cook, William H. Emmons, first lieutenants; S. Upham Waldo, Joel B. Slater, Joseph N. Flint, Andrew J. Lorish, second lieutenants; Francis E. Godfrey, Lewis Page, Douglas R. Phelps, Henry E. Thompson, William H. Fairfield, Peter Ruth, Henry Matterson, sergeants; James W. Harden, William Sanderson, Joseph B. Fellows, William Griswold, Samuel S. Barnes, corporals; Hiram Henshaw, blacksmith; Evan G. Griffith, farrier; Orange Gardner, wagoner; Edson S. Barber, saddler; Sidney J. Richardson, Peter Gilley, buglers.
PRIVATES: LeRoy Lowe, Angelica; Ferdinand Button, William Langbush, Jr., Darwin Nichols, Willis Parker, George Button, William Langbush, Charles A. Maxon, Attica; Azern Bowen, Albert G. Burke, Alfred R. Calkins, William McKerrow, Leverett H. Waldo, Thomas H. Grand, Arcade; Martin Tuohey, Avon; Dewitt Page, Belfast; Lorenzo Burdick, Wilfred I. Eastwood, George Suitor, Samuel T. Williams, Barmenius W. Simpson, Andrew A. Williams, Bennington; Gardner Pratt, Buffalo.
Loomis D. Hall, George W. Jones, G. Wallace Jones, William H. Marston, Gaius B. Parker, John Parker, China; Amos Hopkins, George H. Kemball, John Moores, Randall Taylor, Richard Vename, Wilber S. Wight, Centreville; John F. Cole, Hiram T. Merville, Herbert W. Cheeny, George W. Dutton, Madison Merville, Sperry A. Merville, George H. Smith, Eagle; Frank M. Smith, Friend- ship; Eugene A. Vanderwalker, Gainesville; James W. Randall, Joseph Romlair, Artemus H. Jackson, Java.
Charles Fairnier, New York City; Henry Kelly, Oramel; William H. Hedger, Eugene Griswold, Matthias Rafter, James C. Seely, John M. White, Portage; Austin M. Drock, David D. Chandler, Portageville; Henry F. Chase, George H. Clark, Rochester; Julius R. Ford, Nathan E. Heald, Anson F. Law- ton, Velorous Swift, Dwight Scott, Warren D. Withey, Elijah Bishop, Rush- ford; George W. Haynes, Scio; Sidney Case, Daniel Fish, Jr., Joseph Button, Sheldon; William Avery, Tarrytown; Richard Hall, Ward; Hector A. Arnold, West Almond; Calvin Shurtleff, West Sparta; Simon Burbee, John M. Vander- walker, Wethersfield; Daniel Bowen, Yorkshire.
DISCHARGED: Charles J. Gardner, John T. Knox, John H. Bradway, Leverett Peck, Attica; Lester T. Farrand, Arcade; Horace Nichols, China; Oliver W. Atwood, Horatio T. Austin, Cowlesville; Dwight Abrams, Eagle; Warren M. Reed, Java.
TRANSFERRED: Charles Melvin, Attica; Walter A. Jackson, China; Benjamin F. Fairchild, Portage.
DECEASED: Irving Pratt, Monroe A. Terry, Julius R. Fillmore, Benjamin F. Atwood, Harvey F. Guile, Humphrey M. Jones, Frederick W. Knox, Jacob Sundmaker, Robert W. Van Valkenburg, Attica; Lyman Mead, Seymour L. Robinson, Bennington; Abel Clough, Nelson W. Skinner, Newton Wells, China; Leman E. Allen, Cowlesville; Silas Armstrong, Albert W. Hooper, Charles Wolf, Portage; Michael Redding, Wethersfield.
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THE FALLS AREA IN THE CIVIL WAR
COMPANY D
OFFICERS: Jacob W. Knapp, captain; Leonard Wilkins, James R. De Wolf, first lieutenants; Jared M. Bills, William C. Morey, A. Hammond Hicks, Charles B. Annabal, second lieutenants; Eton D. Humphrey, Paul P. Draper, Harry Hibbard, William H. Clark, Joel Cronkite, Randolph Robinson, Walter Curtis, sergeants; Hiram L. Birdsall, Sullivan Gibson, James E. Bishop, Edwin F. Newcomb, John Jones, corporals; Andrew Calvin, blacksmith; Orrin Gill, farrier; Charles Crocker, saddler; Amos W. Austin, Henry Hollenbeck, buglers.
PRIVATES: Clarence Clough, Almond; Arnold DeGuile, Auburn; Charles O. Willard, Canadice; Edward Gilman, Anson J. Soules, Dale; James M. Dubois, Thomas McReese, William McPecker, Thomas Mullen, George E. Reese, James O. Slayton, Frederick Foyle, Dansville; Joel N. Austin, Job S. Austin, John A. Cross, Ambrose Spencer, William Redding, Eagle; S. M. Murphy, William Baker, Geneseo; Peter Welch, Java; Lyman Parshall, LeRoy; Charles Hyde, John McGinty, Levi Rouse, Lima; Henry Lyon, LaGrange; Elijah Wilson, New Market.
J. N. Graham, Mark Hughes, Henry O. Miller, New York City; Jerome Kim- ball, North Collins; George G. Eastland, Oswego; John Herman, George Snyde, Orangeville; James M. Barber, Otto; Emory F. Crocker, Peoria; Chauncey W. Bussree, Edwin P. Fanning, Charles O. Law, William Reynolds, Charles G. Westlake, Perry; Thomas Howard, Mount Morris; Edwin L. Chandler, William Hawley, Marcellus J. Peck, Corwin J. Thomas, Pike; James R. Hitchkock, Rushford.
Alexander Granger, Marquis F. Holton, Homer O. Holley, Charles Holley, Lawrence Mix, George H. Root, Augustus F. Steele, Anson J. Smith, James D. Bishop, Mills Marchant, Robert Barnett, Warsaw; Edwin Bryant, Melancthon Mc Withey, Wethersfield; Charles D. Mosher, Rivington; Rozelle Rose, Roch- ester; Thomas McMann, George F. Robinson, Wirt; Smith Dole, James Dole, George W. Smith, Wiscoy; Elijah Briggs, George W. Bradley, Milo Pixley, Olin S. Perkins, Henry W. Blenker, Theodore F. Chapin, George Reynick, Wyo- ming; Merritt Raymond, Varysburg; Lawrence G. Russel, York Center.
DISCHARGED: Charles B. Annabel, Bethany Center; Arthur H. Smith, Fow- lerville; David S. Jenks, Orangeville; Benjamin J. Thompson, Perry; Frank Flint, Pike; William W. Gray, Portage; Norton C. Bradish, William M. Bart- lett, William F. Graves, Andrew Gliss, Porter B. Munger, Arthur L. Spooner, Hopkins Salisbury, Allin M. Stark, Warsaw; A. Hall Clarkson, Jeremiah G. Morgan, Chauncey Osborne, Wethersfield.
TRANSFERRED: Patrick Clifford, Dale; Jonas Beardsley, Springwater; Samuel M. Fisher, Mace C. Lewis, George F. Scribner, Henry A. Tousley, William Thompson, Arthur H. Watts, Warsaw.
DECEASED: Albion J. Bentley, Covington; Corydon C. Weaver, Castile; Alon- zo Hodge, Sylvester Wilday, Genesee Falls; Charles H. Austin, James B. Si- mons, Jared Seymour, Perry; Henry M. Gay, Pavilion; Bush Adams, Pike; Carlos Evans, Portage; Charles B. Darling, L. C. Crittenden, Ennis Barnes, Stephen A. Hood, Timothy Peaseley, Judson A. Spencer, Warsaw; Tunis Smith, Wyoming; Charles Day, Henry Spencer, Wethersfield.
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GENESEE ECHOES
136TH N.Y.S. VOLUNTEERS
Another regiment, the 136th New York State Volunteer In- fantry, was formed during August, 1862, from Livingston, Wyoming, and Allegany counties. Three full companies were filled in Wyoming County-Company D under Captain Au- gustus Harrington, Company E under Captain Henry B. Jenks, Company H under Captain E. H. Jeffres. Companies A and K were recruited in Allegany County and B, C, F, G, and I in Livingston County. Captain Harrington reported at Portage with the first company for the regiment August 29, 1862, hav- ing recruited it in eleven days. Within a month the entire regi- ment was in camp at Portage. It was organized September 25. The officers were as follows:
Colonel, James Wood, Jr .; Lieutenant-Colonel, Lester B. Faulkner; Major, David C. Hartshorn; Adjutant, Campbell H. Young; Quartermaster, John T. Wright; Surgeon, B. L. Hovey; First Assistant Surgeon, Edwin Amsden; Sec- ond Assistant Surgeon, Charles F. Warner; Quartermaster Sergeant, Richard W. Barney; Commissary Sergeant, J. S. Galentine; Chaplain, Alvin T. Cole.
Company A: Captain, A. T. Cole; First Lieutenant, M. M. Loyden; Second Lieutenant, Emerson J. Hoyt.
Company B: Captain, Edward H. Pratt; First Lieutenant, John J. Bailey; Second Lieutenant, Nicholas V. Mundy.
Company C: Captain, A. A. Hoyt; First Lieutenant, Wells Hendershott; Second Lieutenant, Emerson J. Hoyt.
Company D: Captain, Augustus Harrington; First Lieutenant, Myron E. Bartlett; Second Lieutenant, Russell G. Dudley.
Company E: Captain, Henry B. Jenks; First Lieutenant, James G. Cameron; Second Lieutenant, Seth P. Buell.
Company F: Captain, J. H. Burgess; First Lieutenant, John Galbraith; Sec- ond Lieutenant, Charles H. Wisner.
Company G: Captain, Sidney Ward; First Lieutenant, Orange Sackett, Jr .; Second Lieutenant, Kidder M. Scott.
Company H: Captain, E. H. Jeffres; First Lieutenant, Edward Madden; Second Lieutenant, Anson B. Hall.
Company I: Captain, H. L. Arnold; First Lieutenant, Frank Collins; Second Lieutenant, George M. Reed.
Company K: Captain, A. F. Davis; First Lieutenant, George H. Eldredge; Second Lieutenant, George Y. Boss.
The regiment left Camp Williams at Portage October 2, 1862, received arms and equipment at Elmira and by mid-October were attached to the second brigade at Fairfax Court House, Va.
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THE FALLS AREA IN THE CIVIL WAR
Their service ended with the surrender of Johnston after Sher- man's march. They were with Sherman in his march to the sea; with Howard at Gettysburg, as a part of the heroic host that held the stone wall at the crest of Cemetery Hill when Pickett made his tremendous onslaught through the wheat field; they were among the intrepid forces that stormed Lookout Moun- tain and fought the "Battle above the Clouds," planting the Stars and Stripes above the mists and far above the army in the valley; they were also at Atlanta, and marched to the relief of Burnside at the siege of Knoxville, many of the men walking in their bare feet over frozen ground. At the battle of Peach-Tree Creek the regiment three times recaptured a battle flag after fighting of the most desperate character. (Allegany History.) They were mustered out January 13, 1865.
The town of Portage furnished 152 men in all regiments. Those who entered the 136th Regiment were: Thomas F. Carroll, Otis L. Crosier, Levi Guernsey, Norman A. Hamilton, William C. Hall, Henry S. Lyon, George H. Mosier, John McDonald, Felix Managhan, Patrick Ryan, Alterva Smith, Jackson L. Wallace.
Men who served in other companies from Portage were: Lyman B. Gallup, John Quinn, John H. Parks, James B. Randall, John Simpson, Augustus Beardsley, George W. Bingham, Rufus Chandler, W. H. Havey, Matthew Lake, Michael Loughlon, Robert R. Parks, Rowland Ward, E. Adelbert Nash, Charles H. Rowell, Michael Welch, William Riley, Marion Mosher, Isaac L. Holley, George F. Rogers, John Slater, James Moore, Charles Calahan, William D. Lake, Theodore Elliot.
From the town of Nunda were: Kelsey Bergen, David Close, William El- wood, Robert H. Gordon, Robert W. Green, Edwin M. Hamilton, Henry W. Hand, John W. Hand, William Q. Huggins, Peter Nettler, Frank A. North- way, Philip Bertram, Henry S. Lyon, Henry R. Havens, John Ryan, William S. Knappenberger, Davis C. Wade, Charles F. Warner, James Welstead, George W. Wescott, Russell P. Wescott, Lycurgus C. Twining, Ambrose Yencer, Rich- ard Youells, Oscar D. Willett, Jacob Steele, George H. Mosier, William Close, Daniel L. Confer.
Also from the town of Nunda were Otis L. Crosier, Elisha D. Herdendorf, Joseph B. Herdendorf, Harrison L. Clemmons, Jacob Dieter, Martin S. Ham- sher, William D. Herrington, David B. Price, Henry R. Price, Henry Wells Spear, Parker Brooks, Milton Burnap, Jr., Harlem Chamberlain, Charles Wheeler Ogden, Augustus W. Palmer, Jacob Post, William Palmer, Romulus Swift, Luther Whitenack, Samuel Young, Emery Cheasbro, Jerome Cheasbro, William C. Hall, Levi Guernsey, Alturna Smith, Benjamin Wampole, Chester Gould.
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The following men also served in a regiment of mounted rifles known as the "Governor's Guard": Albert G. Borden, George Babcock, Hiram E. Booth, John Fingal, Andrew Frayer, Thomas Gibbons, Nicholas and Thomas Hannah, Frank Higgins, Francis Hardin, Jonathan Johnson, John Lee, Alexander Mead, Edwin Mosier, P. McMarriman, Ezra Patterson, George P. Pierce, Castile; Abram A. Howell, Genesee Falls.
After the war was over in 1865, the Dragoons were sent back to Rochester, arriving June 28 to encamp on the fairgrounds until they were paid off and discharged. This was accomplished by July 18, and they were free to return home.
The first reunion of the regiment was held at Portage Bridge, September 19, 1870, five years after the war had ended. It was decided that year to hold it annually, as between eight and ten thousand people had gathered to see old friends once more. A few times it was held at Silver Lake but Portage Bridge was the home area.
In 1903, a Soldiers' Monument was unveiled and dedicated at Portage Bridge, in honor of the gallant men who gave their lives. The monument was built by popular subscription, costing about $3,000.
"Soldiers' Picnic" was a gala day for the whole community. The grove area below the hotel was filled with people. A large dance hall was erected which was usually overflowing. Hot dog, lunch, and souvenir stands were plentiful. The Erie Railroad ran excursions, and horse-drawn vehicles were lined up along the highways and fields, as well as in the woods area across the bridge. It was a day of reminiscing for the boys of the old regi- ment who saw each other only once a year.
The monument was moved to Letchworth Park about 1920. The reunion was held there in 1925. Later, the few remaining survivors met at the Parade Grounds picnic area, where in 1940 the seventieth and final meeting was held. Since the last member, Lieutenant Charles Peck, had died in 1939, what had been a re- union in other years was turned into a memorial service for him and for the regiment once known as the First New York Dra- goons.
CHAPTER XV
TWO FAMOUS PIONEERS-
MICAH BROOKS AND GEORGE WILLIAMS
MICAH BROOKS was born May 14, 1775, in Cheshire, Conn., son of the Rev. David Brooks. The family had come to America from Cheshire, England. His mother was Elizabeth Doolittle from Wallingford, Conn. Her family also had come from Eng- land. Micah was the oldest of his father's family, which consisted of Micah, David, Elizabeth, Benedict, Laura, Charity, Polly, and Patty. David died when six years old.
Micah was to become a noted figure in Genesee history. Schools were scarce when he was a boy, but family discipline and study helped him in later years. In 1796 he set out on foot for Western New York to look over the country. He found that most of the scattered pioneers were soldiers of the Revolution who were seek- ing fertile soil and generous rewards for the privations they had suffered. A hearty welcome awaited him in the isolated homes. After his exploration he returned to Whitestown but visited the country again in the fall of 1797. He stopped at Bloomfield where he became a schoolteacher, helping to build his own log schoolhouse. He again returned to his home and spent part of a summer studying surveying. Coming again to Western New York in 1798 and extending his travels to the Niagara River and Falls, he found only a few homes on the site of Buffalo. After adding to his stock of bread and cheese, he took the old Indian trail into the wilderness, slept one night at a surveyor's camp, got lost in the woods where Batavia now is, and finally found the transit line where Mr. Ellicott's men were building their log storehouse.
Micah resumed his schoolteaching in 1799 at Bloomfield, pur- chased a farm home, and resided there for many years. In 1801 he brought two sisters as housekeepers but they soon married.
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In 1802, Micah married Mary Hall, daughter of Deacon Abel Hall, of Lyme, Conn. He was a public-spirited citizen, serving in many judicial offices. In 1800, he was commissioned with Hugh McNair and Mathew Warner to lay out a road from Canandaigua to Olean, and another from Hornellsville to the mouth of the Genesee River.
In the War of 1812, he served with the rank of lieutenant colonel. In the militia he rose to major general.
In 1823, with Jellis Clute and Henry B. Gibson, he purchased most of the land in the Gardeau Reservation from Mary Jemison, selecting as his portion a large tract on the road from Mount Morris to Nunda which has since been known as "Brooks Grove."
On land later owned by James McHerron, a little to the north, and nearly opposite the home of Mary Jemison, General Brooks had Moses Marvin build a sawmill in 1827. The machinery and irons were brought from Utica by wagon. The settlers, interested in having a sawmill in operation, voluntarily aided in digging the race. The side hill was soon covered with logs waiting to be sawed. People assembled for a gala day when the mill was ready. The water was let into the race, and cheers arose as it flowed along. It reached the ponderous wheel, which turned halfway round and stool still. There was not enough descent to carry the wheel. It was a day of disappointment to the whole community. Never again could General Brooks be induced to build a sawmill. On the same land was the sawmill referred to by Harry P. Kel- logg in Chapter IX.
Micah Brooks was elected to Congress in 1814 and was a sup- porter of the Erie Canal and later of the Erie Railway. He gave land freely for school and church sites and found use for his knowledge of surveying in running lines and laying out roads on his many acres of wild land in both Livingston and Allegany counties.
Mary Hall Brooks died leaving two sons, Lorenzo H. and Micah Wooster, and five daughters, Marcia (O'Reilly), Clarissa (Hall), Laura, Cornelia (Ellwanger), and Catharine, who was a highly educated mute. In 1833, General Brooks married Eliza- beth Chattim, of Salem, N.Y.
About 1851 General Brooks induced some German families of
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TWO FAMOUS PIONEERS
Rochester to settle upon his lands near Caneadea, which he sold at reasonable prices on easy terms of payment. So successful was their venture, they were soon joined by friends from Germany, some of whom had barely enough funds for first payments and the building of rude mud-thatched cabins. Living on plain fare, they cleared land and made a living. Some of the family names were Achilles, Buckhister, Johannes, Zollman, Zorn, Brandes, Mineke, Reutch, and Behrms. General Brooks built a church for them and there was a small cemetery beside it.
General Brooks died July 7, 1857, while sitting in his chair as he leaned back to rest. His widow died in 1863.
GEORGE WILLIAMS
George Williams was born in Hatfield, Mass., May 26, 1793, and was educated at Canandaigua Academy in New York State. His father, Dr. William Williams, was a prominent pioneer on the Phelps and Gorham Purchase. At nineteen he enlisted and became a member of General Peter B. Porter's staff. At the close of the War of 1812 he commenced the study of law in the office of John Greig. Mr. Greig was the agent and later the partner of John Hornby of Scotland, in the survey and sale of the Cot- tringer Tract of 50,000 acres which included the town of Por- tage.
In the spring of 1816, Mr. Greig sent Mr. Williams to act as resident agent for sale and settlement of the tract. He established his land office at Oak Hill, a little south of the Deep Cut. It was a pleasant location, centrally situated among the settlements, and soon became the principal seat of town business where trainings, elections, and town meetings were usually held. At his home- stead, a half mile north, he opened a large farm. Clearing and cultivating his farm, conducting extensive milling and lumber operations, carrying on the business of the land agency, together with service in civil and military offices, made his life a busy one. A powerfully built man, of genial, social temperament, he be- came a leader among the settlers. He was known as a kind and understanding land agent, and no buyer who labored faithfully was ever ejected for nonpayment.
In 1822 the Nunda post office was removed from Oak Hill to
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GENESEE ECHOES
Hunt's Hollow. Williams secured a post office for Oakland, situ- ated at his residence, and he was postmaster for about ten years. About the same time a militia regiment was organized and he was made its colonel.
Mr. Williams served as town clerk and supervisor, and in 1826 was elected to the Legislature. When he reached Albany he went over to the opposite party. Among politicians of the time, that was the unpardonable sin.
Once on a lonely road east of Portageville, he met a Dr. Parmalee and a lively discussion followed. Wit against sarcasm led to a rough-and-tumble wrestle of which neither ever gave particulars. Afterwards, they both worked together as Whigs but Colonel Williams never again aspired to office.
About the time he opened his agency, Hubbard, Mumford, Mckay, and Smith, a company of enterprising men, undertook to develop the immense water power at Portageville, but with indifferent success. They built mills and laid out the village, but weary of their work, they sold their interests at different times, till finally Colonel Williams became sole proprietor. The pur- chase did not prove a wise one, for he, too, failed to make it a paying investment. He would neither improve the property him- self nor allow others to develop it. It estranged him from his fellowmen but his kindness to the needy always continued. Im- pulsive and impatient, he preferred to act by himeslf.
The first bridge across the Genesee at Portage was built under an act authorizing a toll bridge, but some believe it to have been used without gates for about two years after it was opened. After Colonel Williams bought an interest, gates were put up. This action was obnoxious to the public, and it was difficult to find anyone to collect the toll. One gentleman advised abandon- ing the idea of collecting toll, but Colonel Williams insisted that it should be done. He hired as gatekeeper a strapping, bold fel- low from Massachusetts-said to be a boxer-who came along this way. A group came one cold night prepared to pay toll, but not in money. When the keeper, rising from his cot, opened the tollhouse door, each visitor dashed a pail of cold water on him. The men put a pole across the door and fastened him in. De- liberately they took the mill bar and sledge, smashed the gate and threw the pieces into the river. They also split up the signboard
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TWO FAMOUS PIONEERS
of rates. No attempt was made to keep the tollgate after that. It was never kept but a few minutes altogether.
Colonel Williams took a leading part in promoting the con- struction of the Genesee Valley Canal, and when it was built across his property he gave the land. He was a large stockholder in the Attica and Hornellsville Railroad until it became a part of the Erie Railway system.
Vigorous even in old age, he remained so until severely in- jured when thrown from a buggy soon after his eightieth birth- day. A similar accident in September, 1873, was the cause of his death the following May 11. Before his death he wrote out in- structions for his burial. His body was to be carried to the pri- vate graveyard by his span of gray horses. For pallbearers he re- quested a group of friends, all of whom, or their fathers, had been settlers on the land he sold.
Colonel Williams married Miss Alma Devoe on August 30, 1843. She was a sister of Isaac, Henry, and Colonel Jacob Devoe who were among the first settlers of the town. The children were: George W., who was proprietor of the Cascade House at Portage; Julia, who married Willis H. Fuller of Portageville and who, widowed, now lives in California; Henry, who died in Montana; and Charlotte, who married Edwin Pattison of Buffalo (she was later proprietress of the Cascade House) .
Charles Williams, brother of Colonel Williams, was a noted teacher and lived near him. He married Miss Mary Hunt, daugh- ter of Sanford Hunt, and for his second wife, Miss Maria Tay- lor. He died September 24, 1871. His children were: Mary H., wife of Chapin C. Williams; Delia, wife of Morris Ayrault; Charles L., who died in December, 1871; C. Anna, who was a distinguished teacher and elocutionist; and Ella Williams.
An amusing incident is told of Colonel Williams' adventure with a she-bear which he encountered among the hazel bushes on the flats near the Lower Falls, where he had gone on a Sunday to fish for brook trout. When he returned, he fell upon the floor, exhausted from fright. He said that so long as God let him live he would never again go fishing on Sunday. He hunted a great deal, usually on horseback, but never killed anything because he was too nervous.
A graduate of Yale, the Colonel was a fine reader. During
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