USA > Vermont > Rutland County > Pittsford > History of the town of Pittsford, Vt., with biographical sketches and family records > Part 5
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Samuel Daniels was from Upton, Mass. He purchased two rights of land in Pittsford of which Amasa Bowers and Joshua Hutchins were the original grantees. No copy of the deed of this purchase can be found ; consequently we are unable to fix the date of it. These rights were located east of Otter Creek and between William Cox's land and Caleb Hendee's. The probability is that he purchased this land of Isaac Rood, as it was the land formerly owned by him, and it is known that he lost his health about this time and died soon after at Caleb Hendee's. Mr. Daniels with his family, consisting of a wife and four children, Betsey, Polly, George and Dan, located here and occupied the Rood house. On the 28th of June, 1776, he sold his real estate in Pittsford to Benjamin Wrisley of Coventry, Conn., and removed to Salisbury. We shall hereafter find that he was killed by the Indians.
Peter Whelan was from Connecticut but we know nothing of his ancestry. He married Ruth in 1774, and located in a small house which he had built a few rods north of the residence of Caleb Hendee.
Silas Mosher is supposed to have come from Dutchess county, N. Y., but the exact place of his birth is not known to us. He made the first improvements on the farm now owned by Richard and Charles Burditt, and built a house a few rods 5
50
HISTORY OF PITTSFORD.
north of the Burditts' north barn. A road was cleared by his house which, leading north, entered the Crown Point road near the residence of Benjamin Stevens.
John Hall was a native of Connecticut. He married, and had one son, John, grown to manhood, when he located in this town in 1774. This family resided on the west side of the Creek, though the exact lot occupied cannot be determined. They removed to Sudbury about the year 1780.
Gideon Sheldon, from Dover, Dutchess County, New York, located here in the fall of this year. He purchased of Samuel Waters* a lot of land which included the farm now owned by Byron Morgan in Whipple Hollow. His first clearing was made and his house built about one hundred rods west of the present residence of Mr. Morgan. The cellar is all that now marks the spot.
Isaac Matson was the son of Matson who married Amy Holida and resided some time in or near Windsor, Conn. Two children were the result of this marriage, viz .: Isaac and Amy. Isaac married Martha, daughter of Jonathan Hendee, in 1767, and seven children were the result of this marriage, viz. : Isaac, Joshua, James, Martha, Nancy, Polly and Sally. This family came to Pittsford, in 1774, and resided for a short time on the west side of the Creek; afterwards Mr. Matson bought of Samuel Ellsworth what is now the north part of the farm owned by Isaac C. Wheaton, then known as the Ward place. Mr. Matson moved his family into the house formerly occupied by William Ward. He was a large man with black eyes, and somewhat loquacious ; his wife was a weakly woman and died some years before her husband, of consumption.t
Samuel Montague was a descendant of Richard who came from England and settled in Wethersfield, Conn., in 1627. The following is his lineage : Samuel Montague, son of Samuel
* Mr. Sheldon had married Sarah, sister of Samuel Waters. + Hendee's MS.
51
SAMUEL MONTAGUE.
and Elizabeth (White) Montague, of Sunderland, Mass., son of John and Hannah (Smith) Montague, of Hadley, son of Richard and Abigail (Downing) Montague, of Wethersfield and Hadley, was born at Sunderland,* June 30, 1720. He married Eliza- beth Montague, probably,t early in 1742, and settled in Sun- derland where he followed the occupation of weaving. He was of a religious turn of mind, united with the Sunderland church and was very strict in the observance of all his religious obliga- tions. But certain troubles which had sprung up in the church, began about this time to assume a serious aspect. Some mem- bers of the original church believed that it had departed from its original faith and order, and on that account refused to commune with it and established a separate church. The old church excommunicated these separating members, and refused to recognize the new organization as a church of Christ. Samuel Montague was one of these separating members or "new lights." The religious troubles in that town caused him with several of his associates to remove to Bennington in 1761 .. He was moderator of the first town meeting held there in 1762, and a member of the first church, at the time of its organization there the same year. We are unable to learn when he purchased an interest in the township of Pittsford, but it appears from the records that he bought the right of John Loomis, one of the original proprietors and pitched fifty-five acres of the same in the north part of the township. This included what is now the north part of the farm owned by Roswell Wood- cock. He built a house on the high ground, about one-fourth of a míle north of the site of Mr. Woodcock's house, and some vestiges of the same may still be seen, on the east side of the old road leading to Seth Hewitt's. His house having been completed, he removed his family from Bennington to Pittsford in the summer of 1774.
* The homestead on which he was born has ever been owned by the Montague family.
t The records do not make this certain.
52
HISTORY OF PITTSFORD.
But one family is known to have located in Pittsford in 1775. Amos Fassett whose ancestors have already been men- tioned, was born in Hardwick, Mass., in June, 1752, moved to Bennington with his father's family in 1761 and married, in 1773, Anna Lawrence of Norwich, Conn., who was born Dec. 22, 1755. In the fall of 1774, Mr. Fassett came to Pittsford and built a house on the old Crown Point road, about thirty rods west of the site of the present Village, and on land now owned by E. B. Rand. The following spring he removed here with his family consisting of a wife and one child Samuel, born November 21, 1774. In the records he is called Dr. Fassett, but we learn from one of his sons that he was not a doctor by profession. His older brother, Nathan, received a medical education, and it is possible that Amos, learning something of the healing art from his brother, made some pretentions to a knowledge of medicine and thereby got the title of doctor ; but it is quite certain that he did not make the practice of med- icine a business.
·With one exception we have mentioned all the families that were located in the town at the commencement of the Revo- lutionary war. John Marshall and wife and perhaps several children were living here, but we neither know the time when they came nor their place* of residence. Our oldest inhabit- ants know nothing of them and the existing town records make no allusion to them. Some years later, reference is made to " a lot of land owned by William Marshall," who might have been a son of the aforesaid John.
At a meeting held at the house of Ebenezer Hopkins, Sept. 14, 1773, the Proprietors "voted to lay out one hundred and ten acres of land in the Second Division to Every Right; Then voted that every lot should be laid out together in the Second Division ; Then voted that fifty-five acres in the Second Divi-
* We should infer from Hendee's manuscript that this family was located some- where near the residence of Benjamin Stevens.
53
EXTRACT FROM RECORDS.
sion should not exceed half a mile in length, as the whole hundred and ten ; Then voted that the Clerk should set up notification in three towns at Public houses to notify the pro- prietors of Pittsford to come in by the foreteenth of October next to make their first piches. Then voted to adjourn sd meeting to the fourteenth of October next at the house of Moses Olmstead.
PITTSFORD, October 14, 1773.
Then met on sd Tuesday and opened said meeting and voted for the Second Division Piches to be drawn and number the same.
Voted that the meeting be adjourned until the 3 Day of January 1774.
PITTSFORD January 3, 1774.
Then met on said Monday and opened said meeting and voted to have Ebenezer Lyman P. Clerk in said town.
. Then past to vote at Proprietors' Meeting that Every Person that has Land laid out they shall pay their Equal Proportion of 32 pounds New York Money and the Interest.
Voted that Samuel Ellsworth, Stephen Mead and Benjamin Cooley be sessors, Benjamin Cooley, Collector."
At an adjourned meeting December 19, 1774, the Proprie- tors "voted Ebenezer Lyman Collector to collect the cost of laying out the township of Pittsford. Voted 6 shillings on a Right to lay out town and Public lots and Pine lots and town Plot."
PITTSFORD March 8, 1774.
Then met on said Tuesday at the house of Ebenezer Hop- kins and opened said meeting.
Firstly, voted that Jonathan Fassett should be a committee to lay out the land and 2 that Peleg Sunderland should be another, and 3 Ebenezer Lyman should be another, 4th that
54
HISTORY OF PITTSFORD.
Aaron - be another, 5 and Lastly to adjourn said meet- ing to the 4th day of July at the house of Ebenezer Hopkins." PITTSFORD July ye 4th 1774.
Then met and opened said meeting on said Monday at the house of Ebenezer Hopkins and voted to lay out the pine lots, that all the pine lots should have the privilege of a two Rod Road between every other lot, meaning that each lot should have its timber on the Road and that each lot contain three acres. Then voted Ichabod Parker and Isaac Rood shall draw the Pine Lots and number the same.
Then voted that Stephen Mead may lay out fifty acres of his Second Division south of Penny's first lot.
Then voted that Reuben Cooley should be one of the com- mittee and also John Ewers another of the committee to lay out land."
" PITTSFORD November ye 13th 1775.
Then met and opened said Meeting.
Firstly, Voted to chose a Proprietors' Clerk.
2d Voted that Samuel Ellsworth be the Clerk.
3d Voted to choose a Committee.
4th Chose Gideon Cooley William Cox and Amos Fassett committee men to lay out land.
5th Chose Samuel Waters, Samuel Ellsworth, Joshua Woodward and Gideon Sheldon, Committee men for the same purpose.
6th Voted to draw for the third Division on the first Mon- day of June next at one o'clock afternoon."
" PITTSFORD March ye 12th 1776, then met according to adjourn- ment and opened said Meeting.
1. Chose Ebenezer Hopkins, Moderator, Chose Nathan Fassett Clerk for said Proprietors, voted to adjourn this Meet-
55
EXTRACT FROM RECORDS.
ing to John Barnes untill the first monday of June next at one o'clock afternoon.
PITTSFORD June 3d 1776.
Then met according to adjournment in order to draw for our third Division Lots.
The meeting being opened,
1. Chose Ebenezer Hopkins, Moderator.
2d Chose Jona. Fassett Clerk, Pro. Tem. for said Meeting.
3d Voted to lay out one hundred acres for each lot with the addition of ten acres for roads.
4th Voted to begin the first Monday of October next to Pitch the third Division Lots.
5th Voted to lay out two Lots in a Day or to Pitch the same untill the whole is Pitched or laid out.
6th Voted that any man having a Piece of land adjoining to his land under fifteen acres shall have a right to take up said strip of land with a third Division lot.
7th Voted that any man having half a Pitch of Land may lay it by itself.
8th Voted that the lot joining Aaron Parsons on the East be for the first settled minister.
9th Voted that the lot laid out on the south side of Reuben Cooley's, be for a ministerial Lot.
10th Voted that the Church of England lot shall not lay south of the Ministerial or Gleeb Lot.
11th Voted that Moses Olmstead, Benjamin Cooley, Ebe- nezer Lyman be a committee to lay out the public lots.
12th Voted that the Lot south of the Ministerial lot be sold as a priviledge to the town to the highest bider, and they or he to lay a pitch on said Land, and the pay to go to the men that have expended cash for the town.
13th Voted that the man that bids of said land, if he Doth not pay for said land in one month from this date, the com-
-
56
HISTORY OF PITTSFORD.
mittee of Safety shall have a right to seize his Estate and make sale of the same for Payment.
Benjamin Cooley being the highest bider, said lot was struck of to him at twenty one pounds New York money; and the committee at the same time Pitched the first lot for the Church of England, on the south side of a large Pond on the east side of said town.
Voted that Ebenezer Hopkins and Jonathan Fassett be a committee to receive the money from Benjamin Cooley and pay the Publick Debts which are behind and keep the rest until called for.
Voted that no committee lay out any land for any man that will not Pay the Money due for England money, so called, on account of cost by sending their agent."
The lots in each division were drawn in conformity to the vote of the Proprietors; and the following . table will show the number of the lot in each division drawn by each Proprietor:
NAMES.
1st Div. 2d Div. 3d Div.
NAMES.
1st Div. 2d Div. 3d Div.
Ephraim Doolittle,
10
11
29
Nathan Moore,
22
38
11
Wm. Nutting,
9
64
63
Robert Crofford,
23
51
33
Sam'l Bowers,
7
7
35
Edward Flint,
25
44 37
Joshua Hutchins,
6
58
50
Daniel McFarling,
24
33
31
Abraham Morton,
2
14
34
George Robins,
27
19
43
John Hubbard,
5
48
19
Phineas Haywood,
2
59
61
Alexander Scott,
11
8
32
Ezra Sanger,
26
62
59
Andrew Powers,
15
22
18
John Oaks,
30
45
10
Lucius Doolittle,
14
26
9
John Jenks,
18
31
12
Ebenezer Harvey,
20
65
42
John Benham,
28
61
30
Joseph Burt,
12
23
4
Daniel Thomas,
29
27
13
Aaron Burt,
16
36
44
Ashbel Stiles,
31
42
24
Aaron Deniho,
17
53
22
Elisha Hall,
33
4
25
David Field,
19
34
48
Sam'l Mansfield,
32
9
8
John Armes,
21
3
26
John Hall the 5th,
40
12
53
Lieut. Merriman,
48
57
62
Phineas Newton,
Elisha Hall, Jr.,
38
46
39
Elisha Fuller,
Chas. Whittlesey,
34
60
68
Samuel Fuller,
David Oaks,
37
43
57
Samuel Fuller, Jr.,
Elisha Whittlesey,
37
35
23
Elkanah Fox,
Natha'l Cheney,
39
66
17
Elisha Harvey,
57
DIVISION OF LOTS.
NAMES.
1st Div. 2d Div. 3d Div.
NAMES.
Ist Div. 2d Div. 3d Div.
Lucius Hall,
42
15
6
Daniel Lord,
Sam'l Whittlesey,
41
63
21
William Howard, John Loomis,
Chancey Whittlesey,
50
*
Jedediah Winslow,
54
Daniel Warner,
Timothy Patterson,
1
Richard Wibert,
David Parpaw,
52
Daniel Boyden,
Nathan Jewett,
58
Theo. Atkinson,
Benja. Huntley,
53
Peter Johnson,
Daniel Dreggs
56
Amos Jones,
51
Samuel Johnson, Jacob Hemenway,
Minister's Lot,
24
54
Samuel Brewer,
School Lot,
61
54
67 Joseph Arms,
Society Lot,
64
10
52
Gleeb Lot.
The following table shows the number of the Pine Lot drawn to each proprietor's name:
NAMES.
No.
NAMES.
No.
Timothy Patterson,
66
Daniel Warner,
49
David Parpaw,
65
Ebenezer Harvey,
42
Josiah Armes,
28
Joseph Burt,
4
Amos Jones,
56
Phineas Haywood,
61
William Nutting,
63
David Oaks,
57
Priest Lot,
67
Samuel Johnson,
7
Abraham Merton,
34
Theodore Atkinson,
20
Leut Meriman,
62
Nathan Jewett,
64
Elisha Hall, Jr.,
39
Alexander Scott,
32
George Whittlesey,
68
Nathaniel Cheney,
17
Samuel Fuller,
51
Aaron Deniho,
22
Daniel Thomas,
13
Daniel Boyden,
30
Samuel Whittlesey,
21
Elisha Whittlesey,
24
Edward Flint,
37
Ashbel Stiles,
9
Elisha Fuller,
47
John Hall, the 5th,
53
William Howard,
38
Aaron Burt,
44
Ephraim Doolittle,
29
Samuel Brewer,
14
Benjamin Huntley,
45
Joshua Johnson,
15
Society Lot,
54
Elisha Harvey,
1
Peter Johnson,
60
Joshua Hutchinson,
50
John Oaks,
10
Richard Wibert,
58
John Jenks,
12
John Benham,
36
Samuel Mansfield,
8
Gleeb Lot,
27
Daniel Lord,
55
Elisha Hall,
25
Lucius Hall,
6
Daniel MeFarling,
31
John Hubbard,
19
Jacob Hemenway,
16
* This table is a copy of the one in the Proprietors' records, but as will be seen it is not full.
58
HISTORY OF PITTSFORD.
NAMES.
No.
NAMES.
No.
Samuel Brewer,
35
Charles Whittlesey,
69
George Robins,
43
Lucius Doolittle,
23
Nathaniel More,
11
Jedediah Winslow,
41
Elkanah Fox,
2
Ezra Sanger,
59
School Lot,
52
Daniel Dreggs,
46
Phineas Nutting,
5
Chancey Whittlesey,
3
Robert Crawford,
33
David Field,
48
Andrew Powers,
18
John Loomis,
40
John Armes,
26
The commencement of the revolutionary struggle on the 19th of April, 1775, checked the tide of immigration which had so auspiciously commenced, so that during the next five years, the population of the township was but little increased by the arrival of new families. It is not known that more than two families moved into the town in 1776. These were - the Drury and Sweet families. John Barnes commenced to make his home here, and Darius Crippen married and located here this year.
The most of the Drury families in New England have probably descended from Hugh Drury, of Boston, who was made freeman in 1640, constable in 1654, and a member of the artillery company in 1655. He died in 1659, and was interred in Kings Chapel Cemetery. He had two sons, John and Thomas, one of whom was the father of Daniel who was born April 25, 1709. He married Sarah - -, who was born May 11, 1703. The former died June 9, 1786, the latter Nov. 30, 1775. Ebenezer, son of the above was born in Shrews- bury, Mass., Jan. 17, 1734, O. S., and in 1762 married Hannah Keys, who was born April 17, 1742. They first located in Shrewsbury, but moved to Temple and again back to Shrews- bury. In the spring of 1776, Mr. Drury came to Pittsford and bought of Benjamin Cooley one hundred acres of land which included, with other land, the farm now owned by the heirs of the late Austin Andrews. The deed of this purchase was dated April 10, 1776, and was in consideration of £100. He made his first clearing and built a small house in what is
1
59
JONATHAN SWEET-JOHN BARNES.
now a pasture, nearly two hundred rods west of the site of the present house. There are some vestiges of this building still in existence. It is evident that Mr. Drury removed his family here in the fall of this year.
Jonathan Sweet, quite likely a son of Samuel, of Benning- ton, located here this year. He bought one right of land (of which Andrew Powers was the original proprietor) and pitched two hundred and twenty acres of it November 23, 1774. This pitch included the farm now owned by Allen Mills. After making a clearing he built a log house which stood just south of the west road, near its junction with the north-and-south road, or some distance east of the present residence of Mr. Mills. He married and located here in 1776. He brought with him nine sheep, the first ever brought into Whipple Hollow, but the wolves destroyed all except one the first year.
John Barnes, son of John, was born in New Fairfield, Conn., March 13, 1756. His mother's maiden name was Waters, and she was sister of Samuel Waters before mentioned. When quite young, in company with his grandfather whose name was also John, he came to Pittsford on a tour of observ- ation. In 1775, his father entered the army and died soon after in the service of his country. In the spring of 1776, he came to Pittsford and bought, quite likely of James Hopkins, a small lot of land which now forms a part of the farm owned by A. N. Loveland. He commenced at once to clear the land and build a house, and the work upon the latter was carried forward so rapidly that a Proprietors' meeting was held in it on the third day of June that year. This house stood about twelve rods north of the house now occupied by Mr. Love- land. Young Barnes continued to reside here a large part of the time alone until the 21st day of September, 1785, when he married Saloma Harwood* who was born in Bennington, March 5, 1768.
* Daughter of Rev. Eleazer Harwood.
60
HISTORY OF PITTSFORD.
Darius Crippen, son of David, married Abigail, daughter of Roger Stevens, and located on the home farm with his parents. How long the latter lived after this period we have no means of knowing, but it would appear that Darius bought his brother David's interest in the homestead in 1783, and quite likely the latter soon after left the town. Darius resided here till 1794, when he sold his farm to Elias Williams of Rutland. The deed was dated January 4th and was in consideration of £120. Crippen then moved to Bastard, Lower Canada, where he was afterwards drowned. Mrs. Crippen, after the death of her husband, went to live with her son in the western part of New York where she died.
Two families named the May and Ewings families, located here in 1777.
John May was born in England about the year 1746, and came to America when he was a young man. He purchased of Stephen Mead one hundred acres of land in Pittsford, the deed being dated "Jan. 16, 1777, and in the 15th year of his Majes- ty's reign." This included most of the farm now owned by Lewis White. The following spring he built a house a little south- west of the residence of Roger Stevens, the cellar of which may still be seen, about one-fourth of a mile south of the present residence of Mr. White, and near a large boulder on the east side of the road leading south to Sutherland Falls. He married and resided in this house several years. We cannot learn the maiden name of his wife.
James Ewings was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1749. Alexander Ewings, his father, was a Scotchman by birth, and a graduate of the University of Edinburgh. He entered the British army soon after his graduation and received an adju- tant's commission in one of the regiments which was stationed at Cork, Ireland. There he married a Miss Sullivan and remained at that post with his regiment some years, and there a number of his children were born, including James and
-
61
JAMES EWINGS.
Alexander. Early in 1755, his regiment was ordered to America under the command of the noted General Braddock. Adjutant Ewings accompanied his regiment,* taking his family with him, and on arriving in America he left them upon the coast and proceeded with his regiment to Fort Cumberland. He shared in the hardships of the unfortunate expedition against Fort du Quesne. On the retreat after the disaster of the 9th of July, a trivial circumstance occurred which changed the whole course of his life. At a safe point where the army had halted to gather up its scattered fragments, and care for the wounded that had been brought along, the Adjutant was approached by certain ones in authority and asked to act as chaplain-performing the burial service over the dead bodies of some officers. He took off his sword and performed the service, but he declared that he could never put it on again. Soon afterwards he and his brother, a captain in the same regiment, procured their discharge from the army. The Cap- tain settled in Philadelphia as a lawyer; the Adjutant in Massachusetts, where he became a Baptist clergyman. Rev. Alexander Ewings was the father of a large family-seven sons and one daughter-though the names of only three are now remembered by our informant-James and Alexander, Jr., already mentioned, and John, who settled in the northern part of the State of Vermont. .
James was six years of age at the time he was embarked with his father's family on board a vessel bound for America. They landed in Boston, and after the father obtained his discharge from the army, they resided some years in Greenwich, Mass. James married Naomi, daughter of Benjamin Cooley of that town, in 1775. Their eldest son, Benjamin, was born in May, 1776. The following year Mr. Ewings came to Pittsford and bought of Darius Crippen fifty acres of land,t lying south of said
* Two regiments were sent out at this time under Braddock.
t This was a part of the first division of the right of John Oaks.
62
HISTORY OF PITTSFORD.
Crippen's home farm, and with some additions afterwards pur- chased, it included the farm now owned by Artemas C. Powers He made the first clearing on that farm and built a house on the west side of the road exactly opposite the present house. He removed his family here in the fall of that year.
Joshua June, Nehemiah Hopkins, Timothy Barker and Abel Stevens located here in 1778.
The ancestors of Joshua June resided in Stamford, Conn., where, it is supposed, he was born about the year 1756. Soon after coming to this town he married Sarah, eldest daughter of William Cox, who gave him one hundred and ten acres of land from the north part of his home farm, the deed being dated March 23, 1779. Mr. June built a house about one-half a mile northeast of the residence of Mr. Cox, the location of which may still be seen in the field, about one hundred rods north of the stone house owned by Junia Sargent, and about three rods from, and on the west side of, the present highway leading to Brandon ; a pile of stones now occupies the place of the cellar. The house was completed and occupied early in the summer of that year.
Nehemiah Hopkins was the second son of Ebenezer- before mentioned-and was, probably, born in Harwinton, Conn., where he spent his childhood. He married Tryphene Smith and settled in Stockbridge, .Mass., where were born to them five sons, Ebenezer, Nehemiah, Ashbel, Martin and Matthew ; and four daughters, Jemima, Tryphene, Rachel and Sylvia. He came to Pittsford in 1778, and purchased the tract of land upon which Mill Village is now located. He made a clearing and built a log house which stood about ten rods west of the present residence of John Stevens, and here he removed his family in the fall of that year.
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