Jerusalem Biographies
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History& Directory of Yates Co., Vol 1, Pub 1873, by Stafford C. Cleveland
Kindlytranscribed by Dianne Thomas & Donna Judge
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ALMYFamily - James T. ALMY andhis family moved into Benton in 1817, and settled on lot 19, of the Green Tract,near the POTTER line, in 1823, buying their land of Abraham WAGENER. There JamesT. ALMY died in 1869, at the age of 78. His wife survives at the age ofseventy-six. His mother resided in his family from his first settlement in thiscounty, and died in 1853 at the wonderful age of 103 years; her mind remaininggood till the last year of her life. Abigail, a sister of James T. ALMY, livesnow on the old place with her nephew, Charles W. ALMY, at the age of 88. Thechildren of James T. ALMY were John S., Elisha O., Perlona A., Clarinda A.,Charles W., and Hannah Maria. John S. married Sarah Ann TRASK, and lived inPotter, moving after some years to Canadice where he died in 1867 at the age offifty-three. His family now reside in Starkey. Their children are Hannah R., andJames E.
ElishaO. married Nancy TRASK, sister of Sarah Ann. They reside in Starkey, and theirchildren are Esther P., James, John W., George, Clarinda, Jane, and Stephen.Perlona A. married Bartholomew CONLEY. Clarinda A. married George W. FITZWATER,and died early. Charles W. married Amanda, daughter of Orren STEBBINS, ofMiddlesex. They reside on the ALMY homestead, and their children are Orpha J.,and Willie C. Hannah Maria married Jacob J. SMITH, of Jerusalem. They have twochildren, Clarinda J., and James T.
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TheANDERSON Family - AlexanderANDERSON was a native of Scotland, and a Revolutionary soldier. His wife,Elizabeth HOLMES, was from Westchester Co. They settled on Bluff Point in 1813,and moved after a few years to Kinney�s Corners, and later still to theBenedict neighborhood where he died in 1835, at seventy, and his wife a fewyears earlier. Their children were Beecher, Rachel, Sarah, Hixon, John, Nancy,Augustine, Mary Ann, Dow F., and Susan. Beecher died in 1840 at the age offifty. He married first Rebecca VOSBURG, and second Hannah BUTLER. Isaacand Hixon F. were born of the first marriage. Hixon F. married Patty HOLLOWELL,and resides at Milo Centre. The children of the second marriage were Orcela,Albert, William, and Sophronia. Albert was a soldier of the recent war and hiswidow lives in Steuben Co. Orcela married Mr. SLINGERLAND, in Jerusalem, andlives in Michigan. William lives in Mich., and Sophronia married Amos RANDALLand lives in Milo.
HixonANDERSON, born in 1794, lived at an early period in Rochester and helped tobuild the famous Carthage Bridge. In 1828 he came toJerusalem and started a store at Kinney�s Corners. He has since owned severalfarms in that vicinity, and now lives at the corners. He married first, RebeccaGRAHAM, and has a second wife, Eleanor CARTER. The children of the firstmarriage were Dow F., William W., Anjanette, and Martha E. Dow F. died early.William W. resides at Rochester. Anjanette married William T. MOORE. Martha E.married Alfred DICKINSON, and both reside at Rochester. By the second marriagethe surviving children are Sarah, Rosolpha, and Alvin W. Sarah married John G.Graham. They reside with her father, and have two children, Caroline and Nellie.Rosolpha married her cousin, William ANDERSON. Alvin W. married Hattie HAYES.They also live with the father, and have one child, William. Another daughtermarried Charles CARNES, and died at twenty, leaving a daughter, Mary Ellen, nowseventeen.
JohnANDERSON married Sylvia KINGSLEY, resides in Penn Yan, and has a number ofchildren. Augustine was a Methodist clergyman, formerly resident in Jerusalem.
MaryAnn married Joshua SIMMONS, of Jerusalem. He still lives. Their children arescattered. Susan married Worthy PAYNE. They also had several children, and nowreside at Phelps.
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ANDRUSSFamily - Benajah ANDRUSS was born in 1770, and married Abigail NASH, ofOtsego Co., six years younger. In 1813 they settled on Bluff Point, on lot 5, ofHight�s Survey, and land now owned and occupied by John C. FITZWATER, thenentirely new. But one or two other families then lived on the Point. Here theyresided till they died, he suddenly in his wagon while returning from a visit tohis son, Zabina C., in 1838, at the age of sixty-eight, and she a few monthslater at the age of sixty-two. Their children were James, Zabina C., Orra,Jason, Henry G., Rosson, Esther, Nancy, Emily, and Almira.
Jamesand his wife, Sally, after living some time in Hornby, Steuben C., moved toAmboy, Lee Co., Ill. They had three children, Abigail, Sarah, and Jay.
ZabinaC., born in 1794, married Almira GARLICK, of Norwich, N.Y., in 1818. Theysettled on a farm adjoining the homestead on Bluff Point, and afterwards movedto Kinney�s Corners, on a farm which included the tavern which he kept two orthree years and lived on the farm about fifteen years. In 1841 he removed toCanadice and died there in 1868. His wife died in 1866. During his residence inYates County he was a prominent citizen, and at one time Associate Judge of theCounty. Their children were Miles B., John P., George, and Charles Y. Miles B.married Mary A., daughter of Erastus COLE, senior. They reside at Branchport,and their children are Zabina C., Thera L., and Loretta J. Zabina C. marriedAmanda ARMSTRONG, of Pultney, and lives at Irvington, Iowa. John P. ANDRUSS, sonof the elder Zabina C., married Thersa MILLS, of Canadice. George married SarahT. BUSH, of Canadice, and died recently on the homestead in that town, holdingthe office of Supervisor. Charles Y. married first Ann Louisa BRIZEE, a widow,and daughter of M. BILLS, of Rochester. She died leaving a child, Ann Louisa. Hesubsequently married Lavina C., daughter of Dr. John B. NORTON, of Springwater.They have two daughters, Jane A., and Hattie A. The oldest daughter, Ann Louisa,married John HOLT, of Livonia. Charles Y. ANDRUSS is a druggist and grocer atLivonia.
JasonANDRUSS, born in 1804, was twelve years old when his father came to Bluff Point.He became a teacher and a surveyor, and taught schools in Jerusalem, Middlesex,and Penn Yan. He was a law student with OLIVER & WISNER, cotemporary withNathan B. KIDDER, Levi LYMAN, Patrick QUINN, and Ray G. WAITE. He abandoned lawand practiced surveying with Jabez FRENCH. In 1826 he married Lydia, daughter ofJoseph HERRICK, and remained till 1833 on Bluff Point, when he purchased fivethousand acres entirely wild in Elk, Warren Co., Pa. The land had been purchasedby William M. OLIVER, at a tax sale, for nineteen dollars. On this tract he hassince remained, a surveyor, speculator in lands, and a public character ofprominence. His wife died in 1862. Their children were Dwight, Nancy, George W.,Lydia A., and Abigail. The daughters are married residing at Pine Grove, Pa.George W. died in 1867, leaving a widow and two sons. Dwight, the oldest, bornon Bluff Point, married and emigrated to Woodstock, Ill. He served four years inthe war of the Rebellion, in the 95th Illinois Volunteers, and wasnoted as a remarkable sharp shooter, whose bullets were always fatal. Heparticipated in many battles and in the siege of Vicksburg. His comrades allegedthat �Dwight ANDRUSS never missed his mark.� His Colonel, Thomas W.HUMPHREY, one of the bravest men in the service, killed by a rebel bullet, was anative of New York and once lived on Bluff Point, and served as a constable inJerusalem. Jason ANDRUSS married a second wife, Jane WILLIAMS, widow, of Warren,Pa., in 1865, and still retains seven hundred acres for a homestead. It isrelated of his school teaching days that when he was seventeen his father hiredhim out for a winter term for twelve dollars, the amount of public money, andten bushels of wheat per month. The wheat sold in the spring for twenty-fourcents a bushel.
Orramarried Betsey DAVIDSON, of Jerusalem, and finally died at St. Louis. They hadsix children. Perceival, Charles, James, John, Elizabeth, and Sarah.
HenryG. married Pamelia WEED, and lived near Branchport on land now owned by CharlesH. VAIL, where his wife died leaving two sons, William B., and Henry G. With asecond wife, Polly WILLIAMS, he moved to Pittsford, N.Y., and there died.William B. married Dolly BELL, of Gorham, and resides at Amboy, Lee Co., Ill.,an enterprising and prominent citizen. They have a son, Virgil. Henry G., jr.,married Margaret WILLIAMS, of Pultney, and moved to Battle Creek, Mich. He was amerchant.
Rossonmarried Pamela, daughter of John TOWNSEND, and emigrated to Wisconsin. Theirchildren were Esther, George, and two others. Esther married Joseph SUMMERS, ofButternutts, N.Y. They died there leaving three children, Emily, Melissa, andGeorge.
Nancymarried Jonathan OSMAN, of Jerusalem, and died at Ogden, N.Y. Their childrenwere Edwin, Alonzo, and Melinda.
Emilymarried John GLOAD, who was an early mechanic and house and bridge builder inJerusalem. He built a number of the first framed houses on Bluff Point, and thefirst frame bridge across the inlet at Branchport. They finally settled inPultney and gave the name to Gload�s Corners, where he still lives. Theirchildren were Eliza, Almira, Sarah Ann, Emily, John, James, and Frank. Two ofthe daughters, Almira, and Sarah Ann, married sons of Dr. Elisha DOUBLEDAY, andEliza married Augustus PADDOCK, of Italy.
AlmiraB. married Alfred BROWN, brother of Asa BROWN, of Bluff Point, and moved toMichigan.
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JohnBEDDOE. - Capt. John BEDDOE was born inWest Wales in 1763, and there married Catharine JAMES. Soon after their marriagein 1798 they emigrated direct from Wales to Jerusalem. In May they landed in NewYork. He there bought a little three ton boat which he brought all the way withhim by way of Albany, Geneva, and Seneca and Keuka Lakes to his destination,having it carried over places where navigation was impossible. This boat was anobject of note and curiosity for years. Capt. BEDDOE left his family at Genevaand procured five young men to begin clearing and preparing a home on his tractin South Jerusalem. They landed their little boat on the east shore of the westbranch of Keuka Lake in a beautiful cove, where the fine residence of R. SheldenROSE now stands. Depositing their effects in the hollow of a large sycamore,they proceeded to erect a camp and commence a clearing. On this well chosenground Capt. BEDDOE fixed the site for his buildings, marked reserves of finetrees and laid out a garden, giving the place the appearance of an Englishcountry seat. Henry BARNES, whose memory of the place goes back to 1802, statesthat they first had a framed house; that Capt. BEDDOE erected a house of hewedlogs in 1807, and that he and his brother Julius attended the raising, hehelping to cut the notches to fit the ends of the logs. This house was built byBenjamin DURHAM, and the logs were so nicely squared that no chinking wasrequired.
Capt. BEDDOE cleared forty acres and had itsowed with wheat the first season, besides finishing his house for the receptionof this family. It was a wild home for a family accustomed to the betterconditions of English country life. In later years they erected a framed housewhich is still standing, some distance further back from the Lake. There was afine grove of chestnut trees which he left standing on the bank by the Lake.They were very productive, and Capt. BEDDOE cut them all down, in vexation atthe pilferers who carried off the fruit of his beautiful group of trees. Achestnut grove still adorns the same ground, sprouts from the original trees.Mrs. BEDDOE died in 1815 where they first settled, and her husband in 1835 atthe residence of his son, west of the Lake, at the precise age of seventy-two.Their children were John Stone, Charlotte H., and Lynham J. John Stone diedsingle on the west side homestead.
Charlotte H. married George STAFFORD, ofGeneva, where she died leaving one child, John B., who resides with his uncle atBranchport, unmarried.
Lynham J. BEDDOE, born in 1807, marriedEleanor, daughter of Col. Elias COST, of Phelps, who was born in 1811. Theysettled on the homestead, west side, and subsequently moved to a residence inBranchport, built by George BROWN, as his farm house. He is a hardware merchant.They have four children, James C., William C. J., Mary Cammann and EleanorCuyler.
At an early day Capt. BEDDOE sold one milesquare of his land to George BROWN, a part of which reverted to him. This tractwas west and north of the head of the west branch. Ten hundred and fifty acreslying east of the Lake was afterwards sold to John N. ROSE.
David MORSE accompanied Capt. BEDDOE in hisfirst settlement in Jerusalem and remained with him several years. Hesubsequently married a daughter of Hugh BOYD and settled on a farm in that town.He and his wife both died there. Their childrenwere John, Joshua, David, Joseph and Mary. David, who remains in the County,married a daughter of William CULVER, of Bluff Point, and resides nearKinney�s Corners.
JamesSHERRATT, was hired by Capt. BEDDOE in New York, and came with him to Jerusalem.He was a noted carpenter and builder, and the original settler on the farm ofDaniel SPRAGUE, in Benton, on lot 87. His grand-daughter is the wife of PerryDAINS, of Penn Yan.
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TheBENEDICTS - Wallace, Daniel, and Thomas were sons of Daniel and Mary BENEDICT,of Warwick, Orange Co. They were originally from Connecticut, and she was MaryWOOD, of Limestone, Ct. These sons came to this County in 1816, and settled withtheir families on lot 56, of the first seventh. The farm consisted of threehundred acres, entirely new, which they divided, each working his own land.After a few years of hard labor they found their title was so much encumbered byjudgments against the original owner that they decided to give it up and abidethe loss of all they had paid and their improvements. In 1822 Daniel and Thomasbought the place known as the Elder MUGG farm and some land adjoining, fromwhich each carved homesteads for themselves, on lot 41, a short distance west ofPenn Yan. Wallace, the older brother, born in 1776, married Rachel DEPEW, inOrange Co., and after losing their place in Jerusalem, removed to Wheeler,Steuben Co., and afterwards to Indiana. Their children were Mary, Peter, Sarah,David, Ruth and Rachel.
Daniel,born in 1783, married Mary MEAD, of Bergen, N.J. She died soon after they cameto Jerusalem, leaving one child, Zilla, afterward the wife of Lewis SAYRE, whomoved to Vernon, Mich. The second wife of Daniel BENEDICT was Emma, daughter ofSamuel and sister of Ezekiel CLARK. Their children were Sarah, Daniel W., Mary,Ezekiel C., Deborah A., Emeline, and Caroline. Sarah married Ephraim WHEELER, ofFremont, Steuben Co., where they reside. Daniel W. married Olive, daughter ofJames PECKENS, of Jerusalem, and resides in Steuben Co. Mary married JonathanPIERCE, of Jerusalem, and resides there. Ezekiel C. married Martha J., daughterof Thomas C. SUTTON. Deborah A. is single, and Emeline married Lewis, son ofThomas C. SUTTON. Caroline married Andrew, son of Martin BROWN, jr., of Benton,and resides in Jerusalem.
ThomasBENEDICT, born in 1785, married Lydia MEAD, of Bergen, N.J., five years younger.She died in 1852 at the age of sixty-two. Their children were James B.,Mehetabel, Sally A., and Hannah, two of whom were born in this County, and theoldest, James, never resided here, but married and settled at Warwick. Mehetabelmarried John DAVIDSON, of Jerusalem. He died in 1847 leaving three children,Hannah, Francis, and Lydia. Hannah DAVIDSON married William BLONIN, a Frenchmanof Canada, and died in Jerusalem. Frances DAVIDSON married Elizabeth BURTCH, ofJerusalem, where she died. He resides in Michigan. Lydia DAVIDSON married GeorgeSMITH, of Jerusalem, and moved to Holland, Mich. He was a soldier of the SecondMich. Cavalry, and was killed in battle in Kentucky. He left two children,Hannah and Ann. His widow married John WEEDMAN, of Mich., also a soldier andresides there. They have two children.
Hannah,daughter of Thomas BENEDICT, married James MILLER, of Urbana, N.Y. They resideon the BENEDICT homestead, and her father resides with them. Mr. MILLER is agood farmer, and supplies Penn Yan with milk. Their children are: Thomas B.,Andrew C., and Susie A. Thomas B. married Mary E. SPRAGUE, of Urbana. They liveon the Daniel BENEDICT homestead and have two children, Thomas E., and ElizabethH.
Thomas BENEDICT, the grandfather, at the age ofeighty-five retains his faculties well, enjoys life and awaits the future with aserenity that bespeaks a clear mind and a brighter hope. He relates that when heand his brother were negotiating for the MUGG farm, they found it needful toobtain some money of their friends east. He made the journey to Orange Co., andback on foot, carrying his provisions in his knapsack. His lodging cost sixpence per night. His drink was water taken from a cup at the brooks and springsby the way, and his total expenses for the entire trip including ferriage andtoll gates, was four and six pence each way. He returned with just enough moneyto secure the land, which has since been home.
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BENEDICT Family - Nathan G.BENEDICT, now eighty-one years old, was from Saratoga County, and married PollyTOWNER, of Seneca, in 1812. She died at the age of seventy, in 1867. Theysettled first in Reading, and lived eleven years in Troupsburg, Steuben Co. In1826 they bought out Jonathan WELDON, on lot 24, of the Green Tract, where thefamily still resides. Their children have been Anna Maria, Ezra, Florence,William N., Lucy P., Harriet A., Laurana, Nathan G., and Catharine E.
AnnaMaria married Ira C. WILLIAMS. She died leaving several children, Francis A.,Ezra B., Mary I., Forrest H.
Amanda,Theordore, Ira, and Charles. Francis A. married Jennie CLARK, and lives nearHammondsport. They have three children. Forrest H. married Lucy BABCOCK, ofPrattsburgh. They have one child, Anna Maria.
Amandamarried Edward VAN HOUSEN, of Prattsburgh. Their children are Malcomb and Maude.
EzraBENEDICT was a school teacher of much distinction. His first school was taughtin Yates County at the age of sixteen. He taught six years in Alexander, GeneseeCounty, and afterwards twenty-one years in the public schools of Buffalo, wherehe was very highly esteemed. His death was very sincerely mourned. He marriedOlive LOOMIS, and their children were Mary T., Sarah, Florence, and Charles.Florence married Frederick PAINE, of Buffalo, and Charles married MarthaBERNARD, of Le Roy. Mary died soon after her father.
WilliamN. BENEDICT married Huldah, daughter of Clark GREEN, is a blacksmith and residesin Jerusalem. Their children are Clark, Abigail, Warren, Frank, Willie, andEdward. Abigail died at twenty-one, and Clark at sixteen.
LucyP. married Daniel C. CRANE. They reside in Michigan.
Harrietmarried Asher T. STEVENS, who died in Kentucky during the Rebellion, a soldierof a Michigan regiment. He left four children, Helen E., Nathan D., Harriet L.,and Richard.
NathanG. BENEDICT Jr., is also a teacher of high worth, and has been thirteen years atthe head of one of the city schools of Buffalo, equally esteemed with hisdeceased brother. He married Gracia SMITH, a teacher of Buffalo, and they haveone child, Nathan L.
Lauranaand Catharine are unmarried and reside at the homestead with their father. Hisplace at one time included 300 acres. Mr. BENEDICT has been a firm advocate ofTemperance and Anti-Slavery sentiment, which he supported when they were notpopular doctrines.
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BITLEYFamily - Henry BITLEY and his wife Elizabeth DONALDSON, were natives ofMoreau, Saratoga Co., and their son Peter H. BITLEY, was born in 1801. They wereboth of Dutch descent, except that the grandmother on the father�s side wasIrish. Peter H. BITLEY came to this County early in 1833, employed by Paddock& Nichols, of Yonkers, N.Y., in the lumber business, on lands they hadbought on the Beddoe Tract. He soon commenced furnishing them square timber andspars by contract, delivering the timber at their docks at Yonkers. After 1842he operated independently, buying timber in Yates and Steuben and otherlocalities, and buying timber ready for transport by way of the Erie Canal tothe eastern markets; also dealing in all varieties of lumber and operatinglargely till 1867. He sent to market in a single year three hundred thousandcubic feet of hewn timber, and averaged for many years two hundred and fiftythousand cubic feet, or two and one half million feet of board measure. Thisbusiness has required large outlays of money and labor, and Mr. BITLEY by care,prudence and economy has accumulated a substantial fortune. He has five hundredacres of land in Jerusalem, and still more in various portions of Stueben Co.,from which he has taken the most valuable timber. He also owns the homesteadfarm of his father in Saratoga Co., (100 acres) which he prizes for its earlyassociations. His business cares near home, at Branchport, require now the mostof his attention. His excellent physical organization bespeak for him many yearsof life and vigor. He married in 1839, Mary J., daughter of Benjamin LAIRD, andsister of John LAIRD, of Branchport, who came to this County from Onondaga, N.Y.They had a daughter, Mary E., an amiable and accomplished young woman, whomarried in 1868, Henry B. HOWELL, of Niagara Co., N.Y. She died in 1870. Anadopted daughter, and niece, Ella ROZELL, married in 1870, Frank L. B. KIDDER,son of Almon S. KIDDER, of Jerusalem.
ThomasS., a bachelor brother of Peter H. BITLEY, came about the same time with him toJerusalem, and has always lived in his family.
Mary,a sister, married Nathaniel G. HIBBARD. They reside in Jerusalem, on lot 27, ofthe Beddoe Tract. Their children are Caspar, Henry, William, Peter H., Sarah,Hiram, George P., Harvey, and Eveline. Caspar married Rosetta LENT, and died inJerusalem in 1862, leaving one child, Lizzie. Henry was a ship carpenter andlived several years on the Island of St. Helena, where he married his wifeLouisa. He returned in 1865 after a nine year�s absence, a part of the time inthe British service in India. His children are Charles L. and Elizabeth. Williammarried Lucy WOODHULL, of Chemung. They reside at Addison, N.Y., and have fourchildren. Peter H. is single. Sarah married John BELL, of Italy, a native ofScotland and a mason. They live at Branchport and their children are Ella,Charles, Lida, and one other. Hiram married Ellen OWEN, and lives at Muskegon,Mich. George is a Universalist clergyman at Hornellsville, N.Y., and is single.Harvey and Eveline are single.
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TheBOYD Family - Robert M.BOYD, was a native of Lancaster County, Pa., born in 1772, and was a blacksmith.He came to Bath in 1799 by way of the Susquehanna, Chemung, and Conhoctonrivers, bringing his kit of tools with him. He worked at Geneva one year andthen moved to Hopeton, where he married Rebecca, daughter of Tompkins WOODHULL,one of the earliest settlers of East Benton. She was born in 1783 and they weremarried in 1804. They lived in Hopeton till 1824. Both their house and shop wereon the north-east Corner, at the road crossing in Hopeton. The school houseremembered by the sons of Robert M. BOYD, was on the south-east Corner of thePublic Square and was a log house. John L. LEWIS, the old teacher, lived on thenorth-east Corner. Mr. BOYD pursued his trade at Hopeton, except during twoyears he lived at Newark, N.Y., where he sharpened tools at his forge forworkmen on the Erie Canal then in process of construction. He owned twelve acresof land at Hopeton, and seventy-five where Anthony RYAL now lives, about a milewest of Hopeton. In 1824 they moved to Jerusalem, near the present residence ofEzekiel CLARK, on lot 54, of the first seventh. Robert M. BOYD died on thisplace in 1839 at the age of sixty-seven. His wife survived dying at the age ofseventy-one. She resided with her son, Tompkins W., in her later years. Theirchildren were Alexander M., Tompkins W., Margaret, Robert McDowell, Martha R.,Arabella R. M., and Mary E. Alexander M., born in 1806, married Rachel daughterof Samuel FITZWATER, of Jerusalem, in 1836. They resided in Penn Yan till 1850,when they moved to Livingston County, Mich. Their children are Margaret andStewart.
TompkinsW., born in 1807, married Rebecca, daughter of Timothy VAN SCOY, in 1835. He hadearly bought twenty-five acres of land in Jerusalem, of Daniel HUSTED. Theyresided in Penn Yan at first and in 1839 moved to Harmonyville, in Pultney,where he kept a public house twenty years and was a prominent and influentialcitizen. His wife died there in 1866. Their children are Elizabeth, Robert,Elmira, Theodore P., Timothy V., George B., and Harrison V. Elizabeth is thewife of James L. TAYLOR, a lawyer of Branchport. Robert married Kitty, daughterof Spencer S. BOOTH, of Branchport, and resides a merchant at East Saginaw,Mich. The others are single.
MargaretBOYD died single at the age of twenty-three, in 1832. Martha R., born in 1816,became the second wife of Louis V. DURAND, a native of France and a physician ofability at Rochester. They were married in 1834. He died in 1857 and she stillresides at Rochester. Their children were Adolphus, George and Robert. Adolphusdied a soldier in the army during the war of the Rebellion. George is marriedand resides at Buffalo.
RobertMcDowell BOYD, born in 1814, married Mary H., daughter of Elisha LUTHER, in1840, and resides on the Friend�s Tract, lot 44, Guernsey�s Survey, inJerusalem, on land once owned by the Luther family, and is a farmer. His wifedied in 1866, at the age of forty-five. Their children are Sidney, Barrett A.,Martha, Tompkins W., Charles, Albert, Ellen M., and Fred. Sidney married JohnWATEROUS, jr., of Pultney, and died in that town in 1866. Barrett A. marriedJane, daughter of Joseph BRIGGS, of Potter, and lives in that town. The restreside with the father, single.
ArabellaR. M. BOYD, born in 1819, married Thomas B. V. DURAND, a son of Louis V. DURAND,by his first marriage. They were married in 1839. He is a superior physician,and they reside at Fairport, Monroe Co., N.Y. Their children are Susan Ann,Louis, and Rebecca.
MaryElizabeth BOYD, born in 1825, married Levi DILDINE, of Pultney, and moved toWayland, N.Y., where he died in 1854 leaving three children. She afterwardsmarried Sampson DILDINE, brother of her first husband, and died in 1864, leavinga son Frederick, by the second marriage.
RobertM. BOYD was in the war of 1812, going as a minute man to Buffalo. He was alsodrafted and hired a substitute.
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Daniel BROWNFamily - DanielBROWN and Anna YORK, were descendents of early English Colonists, and were bornnear Stonington, Connecticut, where they were married. They were early membersof the Friend�s Society, and with their sons, Daniel, George, and Russel wereamong the earliest residents of the New Jerusalem. Later in life they did notremain members of the Society, but held the Friend in high respect and continuedto cherish the most friendly relations with her and her disciples.
By the appearance of the land still more bya remarkably clear and cold spring of water, he was attracted to the spot wherehe settled in the midst of the wilderness, erecting first a log house on lot 5,where De Witt C. COLE now resides. Here they made an opening in the woods, oneof the earliest in Jerusalem if not the first permanent settlement. This wasthence-forward their home through life, and they made it one of the most notedand hospitable resorts of the early days. The wild animals beset them verysorely, often carrying off their sheep and pigs, sometimes before their eyes.The Indians, too, were numerous and sometimes mischievous. On one occasion thesenior BROWN had reason to believe the salvation of his life was due to hisability to speak in some degree the Indian dialect. He discovered an Indianwatching him with an evident evil purpose and boldly approaching the red manaddressed him as a brother. In this way he disarmed the hostile feeling of thesavage.
It was long a lonely place in the woodswhere they settled. In one direction they could reach the Friend�s house andJudge Arnold POTTER�s, a distance of two to three miles away, and eastwardRobert CHISSOM and Lawrence TOWNSEND were on the road to Benedict ROBINSON�sand the Friend�s Settlement. These were their neighbors as were the GILBERTsat Rushville, and John PIERCE on West River. Their roads were Indian trails.Sometimes the underbrush would be cut away and an occasional tree to allow asled drawn by oxen to pass. The BROWNs held on and conquered the obstacles ofthe wilderness. They cleared an excellent farm of four hundred acres and enjoyedits benefits; and here the parents died well advanced in years. Susannah BROWN,the wife of Benedict ROBINSON, Lucy BROWN, a leading member of the Friend�sSociety, and Temperance BROWN, were sisters of Daniel BROWN, senior. Russel, hisyoungest son, died early.
DanielBROWN Jr., born in Stonington,Connecticut, in 1773, was sixteen years old when the family came to this County.In 1797 he returned to Stonington and married Lucretia COATES, who was one yearhis junior. They first settled where Hiram COLE resides, on lot 5, and a part ofthe paternal homestead. They sometimes resided at this place and sometimes atthe residence of his father, known to his children as the
Grandfather house.� Daniel BROWN, jr. died at the age of fifty two at his ownhouse, and his wife at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Gideon WOLCOTT, inJerusalem, at the age of seventy. Daniel BROWN, jr., was an energetic man andthorough in labor and business. He kept a tavern at the �Grandfather house�several years which was for some time the only inn on the road to Prattsburghafter leaving TOWNSEND�s or CHISSOM�s He also established a distillery andmade additions to the homestead extending to the road west of the creek, andsouth including the site on which his brother George had built a saw mill andgrist mill, long known as Brown�s Mills and now owned by George ADAMS, on lot18. The war of 1812 embarrassed his expanding operations and somewhat depressedhis fortunes. He was the first Justice of the Peace in Jerusalem, as noworganized, and held the office as long as it was filled by appointment. Having afine physical form, he was noted for strength and activity and was conceded thebest man of his time as a wrestler, especially at a side hold. His wife was awoman of warm attachments in social life and full of resources as a pioneer wifeand mother. Their children were Alfred, Anna, and Mary.
Alfred BROWN, born in Jerusalem in 1798, wasin his active years a man of nerve and energy. He was a surveyor and a noteddeer hunter, as well as an efficient business man. He was elected Sheriff ofYates County in 1831, and was the first citizen born within the precincts of theCounty, elected one of its officials. He still lives at Penn Yan, a bachelor.
Anna, born in 1805, was the wife of GideonWOLCOTT. Their only daughter Mary, born in 1827, married in 1858, Charles L.KILBOURN, a graduate of West Point, and an officer in the U.S. Army. He is anative of Tioga County, Pennsylvania, born in 1819, served with credit andefficiency under General Zachary TAYLOR in the Mexican War; was brevetted FirstLieutenant at Monterey, and a Captain at Buena Vista for meritorious conduct.Captain BRAGG�s famous battery, to which he belonged was entitled by GeneralTAYLOR to the credit of saving the day at Monterey. He was in all the battles ofTAYLOR�s campaign. Afterwards he was appointed a commissary of subsistence andserved in a Florida campaign against the Indians. In the great war of theRebellion he was most of the time stationed at Cincinnati where he disbursedthirty millions of dollars for army supplies, without the discrepance of adollar in his accounts. He has since been established in New York andPhiladelphia and stands only third in rank in the commissary department of theregular army. General KILBOURN is the only surviving officer of the Battery towhich he belonged, and excepting General William T. SHERMAN, the only officerremaining on duty that belonged to the batteries of General TAYLOR�s MexicanArmy.
Mary, daughter of Daniel BROWN, jr., born in1818, married Mordecai OGDEN, of PennYan. They subsequently moved to Elmira werehe was largely interested in real estate, and where he died. Their children wereAlfred B., J. Lorimer, and Louise. Mrs. OGDEN resides with her brother AlfredBROWN, at Penn Yan. Alfred B. married Sarah CARPENTER, of Missouri, and residesin the city of New York. J. Lorimer married Josephine GOUNDRY, of Dresden, andresides at Penn Yan. They have a daughter Mary. Louise married Smith H. MALLORY,son of Smith L. MALLORY, former Sheriff of Yates County. They reside atChariton, Iowa, and have one daughter, Jessie.
George,brother of Daniel BROWN, jr., married Sarah, daughter of Judge William POTTER.They bought six hundred and forty acres of the Beddoe Tract west of the Lake,including the site of Branchport, where they settled, and where he died in 1820.His widow died in 1840, in Milo, now Torrey. George BROWN was renowned for hisphysical power and prowess. He was many years Supervisor of Jerusalem. Theirchildren were Theda, Harriet, and John R. Theda married Jonathan PERRY, and theysettled on the Esther BRIGGS� farm at Norris� Landing. Here he died leavingseveral children. John R. married Jane, daughter of Isaac BOGERT, of Dresden. Helived some years in Jerusalem, and afterwards moved to Chemung County, where hedied. Their children were Sarah, Martha, and Isaac. Sarah is single. Martha isthe wife of Wilson RICKEY, of Horseheads. Isaac is married and resides inChemung County.
Pg529 - 531
BUSHFamily - Dr. Wynans BUSH was born in Florida, N.Y., in 1799. His fatherwas William T. BUSH. The family was from Holland, with the original name ofTERBOSS. The grandfather, William BUSH, was an Adjutant in the Revolutionaryarmy. Wynans BUSH graduated a physician at the Medical College in Barclaystreet, New York. In 1824 he married Ann LOOMIS, of Coventry, Conn. Her motherwho was a daughter of Martin DENSLOW, a Revolutionary Captain, of Windsor,Conn., lived with Mrs. BUSH at Branchport, and died there in 1869, at the age ofeighty-seven. In 1825 they moved to Vienna, now Phelps, where Dr. BUSH began hispractice as a physician. In 1832 they moved to Branchport, a village justmerging from the wilderness, and there they still reside, the Doctor continuinghis practice to the present time, with active powers of body and mind. Theirchildren are Elliott N., Henry M., Irene, Caroline, Ellen, Harlem P., Frances,Robert P., and Julia G.
ElliottN., born in 1826, married Sarah LINDLEY. They moved to Belvidere, Ill., in 1854.He was a soldier of the 95th Illinois Infantry, and Captain ofCompany G. He served at the siege of Vicksburg, under Banks on the Red Riverexpedition, and fell at the battle of Germantown, Miss., June 10, 1864. Hischildren are Clark J., Carrie, and Elliott N.
HenryM., born in 1829, married Mary VAN BENTHUYSEN, dopted daughter of Joshua HALL,of Pultney. They also settled at Belvidere. He was a teacher, and a volunteer inthe 95th Illinois, serving as First Lieutenant under his brother, theCompany having been chiefly enlisted by them. He also served as an Engineer, andbecame Captain on the death of his brother. He aided in the pursuit of the rebelGeneral HOOD, and the capture of Mobile. He settled near Montgomery, Alabama,where his wife died in 1866. He has since married Charlotte H. FOLLENSBEE, ofMontgomery.
Irene,born in 1831, married Stephen W. CLARK, of Naples, brother of Gov. Myron H.CLARK, a teacher, and author of a text book of Grammar. They reside at Parma,Monroe Co. He is now a farmer and fruit culturist. Their children are Clara B.,Anna B., and Ralph E.
Caroline,born in 1833, married in 1857, Henry H. JESSUP, missionary in Syria. She died onshipboard in 1864, near Alexandria embarked for a return voyage, and was buriedthere in the Missionary burying ground. Her children were Anna H., William, andHenry W., all born at Beyrout, in Syria.
Ellen,born in 1835, married Ralph W. HOPKINS, a miller of Prattsburgh, who with hisbrother Henry, owns the mill one mile below that village. Their children areArthur W., Nellie I., and Ralph H.
HarlemP., born in 1837, married Semantha L. INGRAHAM, in 1863, and resides inJerusalem. He was a soldier in the 15th N.Y. Engineers and was at thesurrender of LEE. Their children are Fred W., and Warner C.
Frances,born in 1840, is single.
RobertP., born in 1842, is a teacher and a physician. While a student at the CortlandAcademy in 1861, he enlisted in the 12th N.Y. Regiment, and servedtwo years. He returned to the Academy one year and re-enlisted in the 185th,for which he raised Company E, and was commissioned Captain. He was soon after,in December 1864, promoted to the office of Major. He was in numerous battles,finally a prisoner at Richmond and exchanged at the close of the war.
JuliaG., born in 1845, married in 1864, Samuel C. BRADLEY, of Kings Ferry, N.Y., anephew of Henry BRADLEY. He was a private soldier of the 111th N.Y.V.,finally promoted to the position of First Lieutenant of Company I. He waswounded at Gettysburg and Petersburg and finally discharged for disability. Theyreside at Mandeville, Carrol Co., Missouri, and their children are Dora, Wynans,and Edward G.
- C -
Pg541 - 542
CARVEYFamily - William CARVEY was fromGoshen, Orange County. His wife was Elizabeth HAWLEY. They settled in 1825 onthe Green Tract, making their home on lot 18, where he died in 1848, at the ageof 70 years. His wife died the previous year at the age of 68. Their childrenwere Hiley, Ellen, John, Jane, William, Isaac, Samuel P., and Francis. Ellenmarried Charles BELL. Both died in Jerusalem leaving five children. William C.BELL, on of their sons, married Sarah CHAMPLIN, and lives at Himrods. CharlesBELL, another son, married a daughter of William S. GREEN, of Italy, and residesat Rushville.
Janemarried Isaiah, son of Jared COHOON, and died in Jerusalem. Her children wereWilliam, Jared, Charles, and Mary. William married Mary SPANGLER, and lives inJerusalem. Jared married a daughter of John G. LOWN.
WilliamCARVEY married Eunice THOMAS, and moved west. Isaac married and is dead.
SamuelP. CARVEY married first, Hannah ROBINSON, of Springport, N.Y., and has a secondwife, Phebe, daughter of AbrahamYOUNGS. He is a very industrious, enterprising,and thrifty farmer, owning three hundred acres under excellent culture, withgood buildings, located on lot 20, of the Green Tract. The surviving children byhis first marriage are Emily, and Lewis: by the second marriage, John, Judson,and Alice. Mr. CARVEY commenced first on the north verge of the Green Tract, andlived 14 years where he now resides. He has gained his estate by energeticindustry and economy.
Pg539 - 541
CHAMPLINFamily - Rowland CHAMPLINwas a native of Rhode Island, where he married Susannah, daughter of Jonathan J.HAZARD, and sister of Griffin B. HAZARD. They emigrated to Vermont, and fromthence to this County in 1810, settling on the place where Abner GARDNER nowresides, on lot 22, in Milo, where he became the owner of three hundred acres,much of which he afterwards parted with, leaving finally but seventy-five acres.One hundred acres was sold to Jeffrey CHAMPLIN, his brother. He died in 1848 atthe age of seventy-four, and was buried at City Hill. His first wife died manyyears earlier. Their children were Patience, Mary, Rowland, Jonathan J., andMariam. Patience married Eli CRANE. They kept a public house in Bath, where hedied. She afterwards lived in Italy, and died in Michigan. Their children wereDaniel C., and a daughter who married a Mr. VOSBINDER. Daniel C. married LucyP., daughter of Nathan G. BENEDICT. They live in Michigan and their children areGeorge, Eugene W., Susan P., and Ely. Mary married Abner GARDNER.
RowlandCHAMPLIN, jr., married Mary, daughter of Eleazer INGRAHAM Jr. They livedthirty-six years in Jerusalem, on lot 10, of the Green Tract, where he died in1868, upwards of seventy. His wife survives at the age of sixty-eight. Theirchildren were Jonathan J., George W., Abner G., Mary S., Susannah, and Elisha.Jonathan J. married Julia Ann BROWN, and resides on part of the homestead.George W. married Araminta HENDERSON, and resides on part of the homestead.Their children are William, Rowland and Melvin. Abner G. married Semantha,daughter of Amos PERRY, and resides on the homestead in the house erected by hisfather, on lot 10, of the Green Tract. Mary S. married Robert COLEGROVE, andlives in Wheeler. Susannah married Charles, son of William W. WYMAN, and diedleaving no children. Elisha married Sarah, daughter of William SISSON, andresides on a portion of the homestead.
JonathanJ. CHAMPLIN died at Natchez, Mississippi, many years ago, unmarried.
Mariammarried Isaac OWEN, of Jerusalem. Their children were Mary S., Sarah, Helen, andIra. Mary S. married Isaac Wilcox, of Italy, where she died leaving sixchildren. Helen and Ira are single.
Pg560 - 561
CHASEFamily - Judah CHASE was a native of Saratoga and came to Bluff Point in1820, buying a considerable tract of land where George HECK now resides on lot64 of the first seventh. His wife was Hannah BAKER. He was a leading andimportant citizen in the town and resided many years on the Point. Afterwards hemoved to west Jerusalem, where he died about 1850, at the age of eighty-seven,having enjoyed almost perfect health to day of his death. The children of thisfamily were John, William, Judah, Ira, Christopher C., Elias, Levi, Hannah andJane. John, William and Ira were all ministers of the Baptist Church. Ira isstill living in Urbana, N.Y. Levi was a teacher of note in Jerusalem and Pultney,and died while yet a young man. Christopher C. married Phebe, daughter of JohnTOWNSEND, and is a farmer in Jerusalem. Elias married Rebecca, daughter ofSamuel DAVIS, and is a farmer in Jerusalem. Their children are Melissa, Emeline,Levi, Morrison L. and Melinda. Melissa married Daniel SHERWOOD. They reside inJerusalem. Emeline was the second wife of Henry W. HARRIS, whom she surviveswith one son, Eddie. Levi is a Methodist minister of the East GeneseeConference. He married Emily, only daughter of Judge LA RUE of Hammondsport.Morrison L. is a carpenter. He married Mary E. daughter of James A. BELKNAPP.Melinda married Elwyn, son of Ezra HAIR, and they reside in Jerusalem.
Jane,daughter of Judah CHASE, married Daniel SHERWOOD, senior, father of DanielSHERWOOD, the present Class Leader in the Methodist Church at Branchport. Hannahmarried an army captain who was killed in the war of 1812.
Pg481 - 483
DavidCLARK Family - Samuel and David CLARK were sons of David and Abigail CLARK, ofWalkill, Orange County. Samuel married Sarah NEWMAN, of Saratoga, and moved tothe locality since known as Penn Yan, in 1799. They finally settled on lot 56,of the first seventh, or township seven of the first range, on the farm nowowned by Daniel B. STEVENSON, where he built the first framed house in the town.He purchased the land of Levi BENTON, senior, and after twenty years residencethereon, lost it from defective title after a bitter litigation with Herman H.BOGERT, who claimed by a deed from John LIVINGSTON all lands not conveyed byLIVINGSTON and his associate LESSEES previous to 1815. In many cases whereparties had been negligent or ill informed in regard to the preservation oftheir titles, their lands were wrested from them by BOGERT. Mr. CLARK then movedon the farm since known as the BENEDICT place, about a mile west of Penn Yan, onlot 41 of the first seventh, where they continued through life. He was acarpenter and millwright and aided in the construction of Melchoir WAGENER�sGrist Mill where the Jillett Mill now stands in Penn Yan, also the mills builtby Arnold POTTER and various others. He aided in the erection of the first millat Niagara Falls, for one Judge ANNING. He with Nathan WARNER, of Potter, werethe builders of the Potter mansion under Robert JORDAN, an architect broughtfrom Rhode Island by Judge Arnold POTTER for that purpose.
BothSamuel CLARK and his wife were brave and sterling people meeting the hardshipsof the new country with industry and fortitude. They cleared two farms, and shewhile her husband was absent, as he was much of the time in the pursuit of histrade, was the sole director of home affairs at a time when Indians, wolves,bears and rattlesnakes were plentiful objects of terror to the pioneers; andnone could have acquitted themselves better. Their children were Emma, Abigail,Laura, Ezekiel, Aurilla, and Sally. Emma, born in 1794, married Daniel BENEDICT,of Jerusalem, and lived on the CLARK homestead. Abigail, born in 1797, was thewife of Amos PERRY, whom she survives.
Lauramarried Garret MARTIN, of Jerusalem, and settled where they now reside on lot44, Guernsey�s Survey, and their locality is known as the MARTIN neighborhood.Their children are Joel D., George W., Margaret, Melvin, Laura, Sarah, Caroline,Henrietta, and Mary. Joel D. married Caroline STILES, of Potter, and emigratedto California and thence to Australia. George W. married Emilla, daughter ofOrrin STEBBINS, of Middlesex, and resides on the homestead. Margaret marriedElisha BRIGGS, of Jerusalem and lives in Rock County, Wisconsin. Melvin marriedMary, daughter of John A. GALLETT, of Jerusalem, and emigrated to Rock County,Wis. Laura married Abraham MOSHIER, of Jerusalem, and emigrated to Wisconsin.Sarah is single, and Caroline married William WHEELER, of Jerusalem, where theyreside. Henrietta married Charles E. EVANS, of Jerusalem, and moved toWisconsin. Mary married A. FISHER, of Prattsburgh, and moved to Dundas, CanadaWest.
EzekielCLARK, born in 1802, married Mary, daughter of Russel YOUNGS, of Benton, andsettled on the Boyd Tract in Jerusalem, a new farm which he cleared andimproved, but has ever since resided on the Dorman Tract, lot 54, of the firstseventh. He has led a life of industry and gained a handsome competency. Forwardand efficient in good works, he has the character of a good citizen and has beenoften charged with public responsibilities denoting the confidence of his fellowcitizens.
Aurilla,born in 1805, married Raphael GUERNSEY, of Gorham. They had two children, andafter his death she married William PERRY, of Jerusalem, and emigrated toIllinois, where both died leaving two children.
Sallymarried Aaron SCOFIELD, of Benton, and resides in Jerusalem. Their children areLorenzo, Emma, Phebe, Newman, George, Perlina, Henry, and Sarah. Lorenzo marriedMartha WALKER, of Jerusalem. Emma married Stewart WILCOX, of Jerusalem. Phebemarried John SINCLAIR, of Potter. George was a soldier in the war of therebellion three years was severely wounded and in several battles. He marriedIsabella, daughter of John DAINS, of Jerusalem, and resides in that town.Perlina married Robert N. COONS, of Jerusalem, and resides in Penn Yan. Henrywas an early volunteer in the war, and served to the end; was in many battlesthrough the wilderness campaign with GRANT and at the surrender LEE. Bulletsoften rent his clothes, but he escaped with no serious injury. Newman and Sarahare single.
David CLARK, Jr., born in Orange Co., marriedMilly LIGHT, of Shawangunk. They settled on lands of his brother Samuel, inJerusalem, where he died. Their children were Stephen, Jeremiah, Keziah, Betsey,David, Milly, Samuel, and Rebecca. David married Ann PECKENS, and resides inJerusalem. Jeremiah married Catharine CRANK, of Benton. Rebecca married B.Franklin ENOS, of Jerusalem. The others are not citizens of Yates County.
Pg495 - 496
SanfordCOATES - Sanford COATES was born at Stonington, Connecticut, in 1799, andmarried Jerusha MINER, of the same place. They emigrated to Brookfield, MadisonCounty, N.Y. and from thence to the town of Jerusalem in 1817, with their familyof five children, which was increased to nine who reached adult age, Gilbert,Anner, Sidney, William S., Susan A., Lucretia, John L, Russel, and Minor.
Gilbertdied single at Vicksburg, Miss Anner married Pratt BARNEY of Wheeler, SteubenCounty, and settled there. They have two daughters, Candace and Ella B.
Sidneymarried Sarah DECKER, of Milo, and died in Penn Yan.
WilliamS. married Matilda B. WYMAN, of Potter, and resides in Jerusalem.
SusanA. married Anson WYMAN, of Richfield, Otsego County. They settled at Penn Yan,where he died leaving one child, Mary F. Mrs. WYMAN married a second husbandHenry LARZELERE, of Jerusalem.
Lucretiamarried Albert LARROWE of Wheeler, Steuben Co., where they now reside. They havefive children, Janette, Robert, John, Frederick, and George. Russel marriedTheodora BOWMAN, of Rochester, where they now reside. John died single atCoventry, N.Y.
Minormarried Eliza DAVIS, of Rochester. They reside on the homestead, lot 6,Guernsey�s Survey, and have three children , Russ R., Jessie L., and Guy.
Sanford COATES was a second cousin of Mrs. DanielBROWN, Jr. She was Lucretia COATES, of Connecticut.
Pg496 - 497
MatthewCOLE and Family - Timothy Tyler, Calvin, Erastus, Ezra M., and Milo COLE, weresons of Matthew COLE, of Sharon, Ct. He was a commissary in the Revolutionaryarmy, and afterwards moved with his family to the vicinity of Unadilla, N.Y. Heand his son Erastus came to this County in 1817, and his other sons atsubsequent periods. He died here at the age of seventy-three and was buried onthe James PECKENS farm, then known as Sabintown. His wife died in ChenangoCounty. Timothy T., born in Connecticut, married Hannah STEWART, for a secondwife, They settled near Branchport and shortly after moved to Steuben County,where he died. Among their children were Thankful, Lois, John, Erastus, Lydia,and Sutton.
CalvinCOLE married Miss WHITTLESEY, of Broome Co., and settled near Painesville, Ohio,where she died. He returned and died in Italy. His daughter, Eliza, is the widowof Deacon Joshua TITUS, of Milo.
Erastus COLE, born in Connecticut, married LoisDICKINSON, of Chenango County, and settling first in Cayuga County, moved thenceto Jerusalem in 1817, and located in Sabintown, on what is known as the LUTHERfarm. He was a contractor in the construction of the Erie Canal and a man ofenergy occupying official stations in his town. He died in 1860 at the age ofsixty-seven, and his wife in 1865. Their children were Hiram, Wolcott,Elizabeth, Cordelia, Mary A., Erastus, and Harris.
HiramCOLE, born in 1808, and now a prominent citizen of Jerusalem, married Sarah,daughter of Joseph COLE, of Jerusalem and resides on the old Daniel BROWN farm.His house is the frame erected by Daniel BROWN, senior. Their children are AllenN., Edwin A., Hiram, and Sarah J. Allen N., born in 1833, is a druggist atVirginia City, Nevada. Edwin A., born in 1835, married Susanna SPANGLER, ofJerusalem, and resides on the homestead. They have one child, Mary. The othersare single. Hiram COLE, jr., was born in 1845, and Sarah Jane in 1848.
WolcottCOLE married Elizabeth, daughter of Benjamin DURHAM, and died leaving adaughter, Rebecca Ann, now the wife of Chauncey MILLSPAUGH. Elizabeth is thewife of Alanson S. DUNNING, who resides on Bluff Point.
Cordeliais the wife of George A. PARKER, of Jerusalem, residing on lot 67, of the firstseventh, in Jerusalem. Their children are George and Hattie.
ErastusCOLE Jr., married Sarah, daughter of Henry LARZELERE. They also reside on lot67, near Kinney�s Corners, and their children are Sarah L., George, and Ward.
MaryA. is the wife of Miles B. ANDRUSS.
HarrisCOLE married Mary DUNNING, of Steuben Co., and resides on lot 9, Guerney�sSurvey. His wife died leaving four children, Henry, Emma, Fanny, and Frederick.
Ezra M. COLE married a Miss COLE, of ChenangoCo., and settled near Benton Centre. Their children are Maria, Ursula, George,Rhoda, Polly, Israel, Charles, Amarilla, Julia, and Caroline. Maria marriedIsrael CRITTENDEN, of Ontario Co., and Ursula married John WHEAT, of Benton.Both are now dead. George is married and resides in Ontario Co. Rhoda marriedJoseph C. GUTHRIE, of Benton. Charles married Semantha TUBBS, of Benton. Theyresided at Kinney�s Corners. He was killed by the caving of a gravel bank.Their children were Ezra, Charlotte, and George. Ezra married a widow RAPLEE, ofMilo, and emigrated to Michigan. Charlotte married a Mr. DREW, and resides inSteuben Co. George resides with his mother near Branchport.
pg 498 -499
JosephCOLE and Family - JosephCOLE and his wife, Hannah WHITAKER, natives of Rhode Island, settled for a timenear Rome, in the vicinity of Oneida, where the first earth was removed at thecommencement of the Erie Canal. From thence they moved and settled in Jerusalemon the Benedict ROBINSON Tract, which included a large portion of lots 8, 17,and 32 of Daniel Guernsey�s Survey. Mrs. COLE died before they went on theirnew homestead at the house of Castle DAINS, in 1819, at the age of forty-four.He survived till 1860, dying at the age of ninety. Their children were Allen,John, Laura, Lydia, Simeon, Maria, Peleg, Sarah, Thomas, and James.
Allendied a bachelor in 1829, at the age of thirty-four. He was an active, efficientman in his day, a captain in the militia, and a prominent citizen. He owned thesaw-mill now belonging To Simeon COLE.
John,born in 1797, married Rebecca MULTER, of Herkimer Co., and settled on lands ofJacob WAGENER, in Jerusalem. He died in 1862, leaving two children of his firstwife, Elisha and Mary, and two of his second (Jane GILMORE), named Wolcott andWilliam. The widow still survives in Jerusalem. Elisha married Maria LEWIS. Marymarried William CARNES, and both reside in Michigan. Wolcott married Emma SMITH,of Seneca County, and William is single.
Laura,born in 1802, married Mr. HARVEY, of Chautauque Co. Lydia, born in 1800, marriedAaron W. SHATTUCK, of Jerusalem, and moved to Chautauque Co., where both diedleaving one child, Margaret.
SimeonCOLE, born in 1804, married Jane ALBRO, of Jerusalem. He owns a saw mill inLarzelere�s Hollow, and a farm adjoining. He has been two terms CountySuperintendent of the Poor, and is a man widely and favorably known. Theirchildren are De WITT C., Hannah, Edward, Delia, James A., Gilbert, David andFrank. De Witt C. married Harriet WHEELER, daughter of Nathan G. WHEELER, ofJerusalem. They reside on the old Daniel BROWN farm, more lately known as the GOULD farm. Their children are Adelaide, Walter, and Ralph. Hannahmarried Noah DAVIS, son of Thomas R. DAVIS, of Jerusalem, and emigrated toGeneseo, Illinois. Edward married Mercy M., daughter of Willis PIERCE, andresides near Kinney�s Corners. He was a soldier in the 148thRegiment, and became a captain, serving till the close of the Rebellion. Deliamarried John SPANGLER, who resides on the CRONK farm in Jerusalem. James A.married in 1867, Bethany, daughter of David SISSON, and is now a merchant inChico, California. The others reside with their parents.
Maria,born in 1806, is the wife of Joseph GARDINER, a clergyman at Joliet, Illinois.They have four children.
Peleg,born in 1808, married Louisa, daughter of Russel BROWN, of Benton, and lived inPenn Yan, where she died leaving three children, Albert, Harvey, and Sarah. Hemarried a second wife and for some time conducted a newspaper at Warren, Pa.
Sarah,born in 1810, is the wife of Hiram COLE, of Jerusalem. Thomas, born in 1812,went west, married and died in Missouri.
JamesH. COLE, born in 1817, emigrated to Missouri, married a daughter of JudgeTHURMAN, and soon after lost his wife and only child. He then went toCalifornia, returned to Missouri, married again and with his wife and a drove ofcattle crossed the plains and mountains to Chico, Butte Co., Cal., where he andhis nephew, James A. COLE, are in business together.
pg 460 - 462
TheCOMSTOCKS. - Achilles, son of SamuelCOMSTOCK, was born in Connecticut in 1757. He was a soldier of the Revolutionand one of the rangers employed in the irregular warfare of the border, whichwas fraught with thrilling excitements. The Tories and refugees were accustomedto drive away the cows and other stock and this property was carefully watchedto save it from pillaging bands. To thwart the cowboys led to many daringadventures and narrow escapes, in which Mr. COMSTOCK was a participant.
After the close of the war Achilles COMSTOCKmarried Sarah, daughter of Elnathan BOTSFORD, senior. They had one son, Israel,and two daughters, Apphi and Martha. The family came to the New Jerusalem in1797. After abandoning an attempt made in company with his brothers-in-law, theBOTSFORDS, to make a settlement near Dundee, they made a purchase in 1799 offour hundred acres on the north side of the Friend�s estate in Jerusalem,which was a strip of land two miles long and one hundred rods wide. Their titleto this land was involved in the long litigation which commenced in 1811 andended in 1828, which caused them much trouble and cost and kept them in a longand wearying suspense.
Achilles COMSTOCK was a prominent citizenand most of the time in the early years from 1803 to 1815 held some town office,usually Commissioner of Highways. He was an early adherent of the Methodists andhis wife was firmly attached to the Friend and her Society. The wife had hersabbath on Saturday and the husband on Sunday, a circumstance which neverproduced the least inharmonious result in the family. He died in 1832 at the ageof 75, a much respected citizen. His wife died in 1845 at the age of 79. Theirdaughters belonged to the sisterhood of the Friend�s Society.
IsraelCOMSTOCK, born in Connecticut in 1794, was like his father a very worthy andexemplary citizen. He was eight years a Justice of the Peace, and held many townoffices; was always a liberal and progressive man, and at the time of his deathwas President of the Yates County Historical Society. He was deeply interestedin the objects of that organization, and resolutions expressive of high respectfor his memory were published by the Society. For thirty-four years he was aconsistent member of the Methodist Church, and most of the time an official andleading member. He married in 1821 Jane, daughter of Thomas SUTTON, ofJerusalem. Their children were Botsford Achilles, John J., and Sarah L. Botsford A. born in 1823, is unmarried and occupies the homestead on whichAchilles COMSTOCK settled in 1799, on lot 25. He is a worthy scion of the oldstock, representing his ancestry with credit in the church and in civil society.Sarah Letetia, born in 1831, is unmarried. John J. married Mary, daughter ofRobert MILLER, of Pultney, and grand-daughter of Melchoir WAGENER. They occupy aportion of the original homestead. Their children are Robert Israel, JohnAchilles, George Botsford, and Wilbur. Israel COMSTOCK died in 1866 at the ageof 71, and his widow survives at the age of 71, sprightly and active to aremarkable degree for her years.
Pg491 - 495
JacobCONKLIN - About twenty years later than John RACE, came Jacob CONKLIN to thesame locality; and Jacob was also a character. He and his wife Catharine BRAZIEwere also reared under the life lease system of the Livingston Manor, of anancestry moulded by generations inured to that condition of social existence.They were natives of the Copake Pond or Lake vicinity, and near the LivingstonManor seat. �Uncle Jake� was a favorite with his Manor Lord, receivingspecial favor and liberal bounties for obsequious compliance with his demandsand attention to his wants. He made frequent visits to the Manor house withgenerous contributions of game and fish which his cunning craft procured fromthe surrounding hills and mountains and the prolific waters of the Lake; andoften accompanied the younger members of the family as guide and director intheir hunting and fishing excursions. He was therefore quite a lion among theCOPAKERS, and thus being in the good graces of both the landlord and tenantry, it seemed that he might be most contentof all his associates, but such was not the fact. Like NORVAL in the play whohad heard of wars, he had heard of the country of �the Lakes� and longed tobreathe their free air and angle in their limpid waters, and own free fromlandlord�s claim for rent the soil on which his domicil might stand and hischildren should sow and rap their daily bread.
Thetitle to their Copake home was fast running to its end in the uncertain lives oftwo old people just ready to step into the grave, and he and his good wife :Catarene�held frequent and deeply interesting consultations upon the subject of leavingtheir early and long cherished home and friends to seek their heart�s desirein that �far distant west� among the Lakes of New York.
Theirfirst born son, �Cornalus,� as the father always called him, had alreadyaccompanied some to their adventurous neighbors to that country and sent backglowing accounts of its rich soil, beautiful waters and game-stocked hillsides.They pondered well and long, and finally determined to cast their fortunes intothe scale and try what emigration would do for them. Hence the homestead farmbordering the famed �Copake Pond,� and within view of the rugged sides andtops of old �Tagconic,� was offered for sale and brought the full sum offive hundred dollars for their right and title to one hundred acres of �LeaseLand,� with the improvements of a hundred years. This point reached and thecrises passed of selling and starting, they soon wended their way by the Eriecanal and partly by wagon, with their family of eight children, to this country.Stopping for a short season on Ketchem�s Point on the Keuka Lake, they soonpurchased what was known as the �Father TOWNSEND farm,� on the Lake road,just two and a half miles south of Penn Yan, on lot 50, then pretty wellcleared, with a double log house, orchard in bearing, with a narrow front ofsome fourteen rods on the Lake, and extending west to the next road, with awidth to contain 114 acres, for the sum of one thousand dollars. This was 1828.Since, 25 acres has been sold and the balance is still retained in the family,and by will belongs to the oldest son of his son Peter, he being a namesake ofthe grandfather. Thus did he practice the odious system of entail, a part andparcel of the tenantry system, that he so hated as to flee from at the sacrificeof early home and life long associates. And here did this old couple with theiroffspring plant themselves and long rejoice in their escape from the thraldom oflease land tenantry.
UncleJacob was never suspected of having an undue attachment to the labors of thefarm, and therefore contented himself to wear out the debt which he had incurredin its purchase by the annual wages on hire, of his son Peter, while he and theyounger members endeavored to feed and clothe the family from the products ofthe farm and what could be gleaned from his fishing and hunting recreations. Hislove for those sports clung to him through life, and nothing suited him betterthan to share them with his many friends. He therefore spent much time with hisgun and skiff; and the old homestead shows to this day the influence of earlyand long established habits, descending from father to son, in its dilapidatedand antiquated appearance, and it must await the promised energies andmodernized views of the grandson when he shall come into possession to redeem itfrom the VAN WINKLEISM of the tenantry system.
UncleJacob was a man over six feet in his stockings, broad-shouldered and rather bonythan muscular in his build; his gait was that of a man never in a hurry, and inhis hunting excursions he preferred to watch the runway rather than follow thetrack of the game. On the Lake he rejoiced in still fishing rather than trollingand well did he know the bedding places of the salmon trout and the white fishthat so richly abound in the waters of the Keuka. Most heartily did he curse thesplashing paddle-wheels of the first steamer that disturbed her placid bosom,for in that, to his prophetic mind, was foreshadowed the dispersing of the bestschools of his finny pets that he had long fed and bated in certain localitiesknown only to himself, and from which he could promise with great certainty asplendid fry to his special friends on short notice. Penn Yan was a favoriteresort and often during the week he could be found of an afternoon seated in abar room or on the more cheery front steps of some social resort, surrounded byeager listeners as he recounted in his good-natured and rollicking style theadventures of the past, with his predictions of the future, in which would belost as he verily believed and taught, much of the valuable knowledge of his dayand generation.
ButJacob CONKLIN�s was not a murmering spirit�far from it�for he and his goodwife Catharine always seemed to think that their lives were cast in happy timesand pleasant places, and that they were specially favored. They were thereforealways thankful, and their anxieties for those who were to follow them weretinged rather with apprehension than envy. It was here that the mother diedleaving eight children, Cornelius, Mary, Peter, John, Hannah, Elias, James, andHelen.
UncleJacob married a second wife, Hannah ANDERSON, widow of Beecher ANDERSON, ofJerusalem. She died some five years previous to his death, and he died in 1853,aged 78 years, and with his wives lies buried in the cemetery at Penn Yan.
Corneliusmarried Ann BEVINS, at Copake, and preceded his father to this County, stoppingin Potter for a time but finally settling near his father in Jerusalem, where hedied leaving six children, Isaac, James, Jacob, Catharine, Cornelia, and John,most of whom reside out of the County. Catharine married Osborne MOORE, andresides at Kinney�s Corners, in Jerusalem. They have two children, Orman andFrederick. John married Jane STEVENS, of Milo, and resides there. They haveseveral children.
Marymarried John BENJAMIN, of Copake, N.Y., and settled for a time in this County,but emigrated to Illinois with their family of nine children, Sally, Porter,George, Emily, Catharine, Helen, Adelaide, and Mary J.
Petermarried Lavina SHRINER, of Penn Yan. They reside on and have a life interest inthe homestead, and have eight children, Jacob, Henry, John, William, Charles,Catharine, Emma, and Mary. Jacob, the oldest son, is sole heir by will to thehomestead from the grandfather.
Johndied single. Hannah married Jeremiah CONKLIN, and went to Flint, Michigan, wherethey now reside and have three children, Walter, Elias, and George H.
Eliasmarried Lydia FINGER, of Penn Yan, and both are dead, leaving two children,James and Frank.
Jamesmarried Lydia CARR, of Jerusalem, and resides in Penn Yan. They have two sonsCharles O. and William H.
Charlesmarried Mary MANTEL, of Milo, and resides there They have one child.
Helen married John WHITBECK, of Copake. He diedin the hospital in the Federal army in Virginia, and she has since died leavingtwo children, Foster and Conklin.
Pg556 - 558
CORWINFamily - Stephen CORWIN wasborn near Newark, New Jersey, in the year 1764. He married Betsey DREW, of NewJersey, and their children were John, Noah, Isaac, Nathan, Anna, Polly, andAbigail. He enlisted at the age of fourteen, in the Revolutionary army, and didgood service. He died in 1849, at the age of eighty-five. Anna moved toPennsylvania where she resides and has several descendants. Isaac lives inMichigan. Nathan lives in Chautauqua County. Noah, who many years ago lived inJerusalem, is now living at Townsend Settlement, Schuyler County.
JohnCorwin, born in New Jersey, in 1786, remained there till the year 1814, when, atthe age of twenty-eight, he came to Starkey. He married Elizabeth FRENCH, in1808. He lived in Starkey from 1814 to 1826, during which time he pursued histrade�that of a carpenter�and in 1826 came to Jerusalem and settled on lot27, of the Beddoe Tract, now owned by Peter H. BITLEY and occupied by NathanielG. HIBBARD. His wife, Elizabeth FRENCH, born in New Jersey, 1791, married at theage of seventeen, and died in Jerusalem in 1847.
JohnCORWIN first bought a farm consisting of 118 acres, a large part of which hecleared and put under a good state of cultivation; but being of a restlessdisposition, sold out at a loss of several hundred dollars and moved on a farmon lot 41, Guernsey�s Survey, which he again cleared and upon which he hasever since resided. Most of his elder children, including Rachel, now living inJerusalem, and one or two other of the girls, assisted in the arduous labor ofclearing the lands. The children of John and Elizabeth CORWIN were Ezra, Sarah,Rachel, Phebe, Noah, Miranda, Polly, Harvey, William, Amos, Lyman, Harriet, Johnand Lucelia.
Ezramarried Jane WYCOFF, and their children were Almina, Lucretia, Delila,Elizabeth, and Theresa. He moved to Michigan where his wife died, then marriedJane GORDON, and they have children. Sarah married, first, John ROUSE, of BluffPoint, who died, and she married Jacob HERRICK, of Bluff Point, then moved toElkhorn, Walworth Co., Wisconsin, where he died and she subsequently marriedAaron EELBECK, of Wisconsin. Rachel married Joseph N. DAVIS, and resides inJerusalem. Phebe married Godfrey CHASE, of Penn., and their children arePermelia A., Cordelia L., Fidela J., Mary J., and Almeda. Noah married ElizaJane BUCK, of Dix, Schuyler County, and their children are Delila Epitome, John,and Gideon. They reside in Tioga County, Pennsylvania. Miranda married ElijahDEAN, and resides in Newfield, Tompkins County. Polly married Jesse H. DAVIS,and resides in Jerusalem. Harvey married Amanda BARRETT, and is a shoemaker inPenn Yan. William went to Michigan and married there. Amos married Eliza J.CHASE, of Jerusalem, where they lived many years; afterward moved to Tioga Co.,Pa., where they reside. Their children were Perry W., (who died while in serviceof the Union army,) Charles, Henry, and Mary. Lyman married Adaline DRAKE, andmoved to Elmira, where he died. His wife married again. Harriet died young. Johnmarried Olive TINNEY, of Jerusalem, and their children are Flora, Libbie, andEbenezer. They live in Ontario Co. Lucelia married Hiram TINNEY, of Jerusalem,and their children are Rose, Archibald, Herbert, and Charles. Each of the threebrothers of John CORWIN, learned the trade of carpenter with him, he being theeldest. He has been a hard-working mechanic and a thorough farmer.
Pg549 - 552
TheBeddoe Tract.- COWING Family - James COWING born in 1740, in Old Rochester, county ofPlymouth, Mass., was the father of 21 children, of whom Albert R. COWING was the20th. He learned the trade of shoemaker, but followed the ocean as a whaler anumber of years, after which he married a Miss (Mary) COTTLE and followed histrade. During the Revolution he was largely employed in making shoes for thesoldiers and took his pay in continental money. The Government not redeeming itspaper he lost all; but he was content as the cause of liberty triumphed. Hisfirst wife and the mother of 7 of his children died and he married a secondwife, Sarah RANDALL, with whom he moved to Saratoga county, where they purchaseda farm and improved it. He was again reduced to bankruptcy by becoming securityfor a merchant. In the fall of 1803, with his son Caleb and his nephew JacobHACKETT, he traveled on foot to Canandaigua, a distance of more than 200 miles.They located on a farm five miles west of Geneva, where he brought his familythe next spring. In 1807 his wife died of typhus fever, a fatal disease for manythat year. The children by the first marriage were David, Oliver, James, Hannah,Eunice, and Mary; by the second, Phebe, Celinda, Caleb, Ruby, Sally, Asenath,Permelia, Betsey, Cynthia, Sophia, Marshall J., Sophronia, Albert R. and John P.James first settled in Oneida county, and had a family of 11 children. He movedto this county in 1830, and died in 1840 at the age of 72 years. Mary, in 1822in middle life, married John AYRES of Phelps,a Catholic and a farmer, owning one hundred acres. The marriage was unhappy andhe willed his property to the Catholic Church in Geneva. She, disgusted with theunequal laws in regard to woman, as early as 1830 circulated a petition to theLegislature for a grant of equal property rights. The petition was twelve tofourteen feet long, and was signed by many influential citizens. It was at thattime made a subject of laughter and honored with an adverse report. But Mrs.AYRES was a pioneer in a just cause, which has since gained the triumph she didnot live to see.
Phebethe oldest of the children by the second marriage, married Luke WHITMORE anddied at the age of eighty in Michigan, the mother of five children.
Celindamarried Gen. Parkhust WHITNEY. They commenced in 1814 keeping the Cataract Houseat Niagara Falls, and continued there many years, when it passed into the handsof their children. She died in 1860 nearly 78 years.
CalebCOWING, now living in Starkey, is 85 years old and it is believed has choppedover and cleared more new land than any man now living in this State. He was 19years old when the family arrived at their new home in the woods, and sooncommenced chopping by the job. The year he was 21 years old he cleared off 36acres of land, heavily timbered, and fitted it for the harrow. He has frequentlycut and put up six cords of wood in a day. He married Rhoda ROYCE of Reading,two years his senior, and settled and improved two farms in that town, nowStarkey. He sold out and returned to Seneca where he improved two other farmsand built a large brick house. Twenty-one years later he moved back and stilllives in Starkey.
Foursons of Sophronia, who married Enos CLARK and moved to Michigan, were soldiers,three with SHEARMAN and one in the Army of the Potomac. She had 10 children.Cynthia married Asher TORRANCE, and died at 58 in Lockport, the mother of fivechildren. John P. COWING, the youngest of the family, married Elizabeth MALLORYand is an extensive manufacturer of Fire Engines, Pumps, &c., at SenecaFalls. No others except Albert settled in this county.
AlbertR. COWING born in 1804, married in 1825, Sally, daughter of E. B. TORRANCE, andin the fall of that year moved to Jerusalem, where he became the first permanentsettler on The Beddoe Tract, or the 5000 acres separately surveyed by JabezFRENCH and advertised by John BEDDOE. The tract was then a dense wilderness ofpine and oak timber, as good as the State could afford, with a mixture of othertimber. A man by the name of BURCHARD had squatted on lot 13, built a log houseand sowed a little wheat, which the deer gnawed so close that it never amountedto anything, and he soon left the town. The principal product for a number ofyears was pine shingles styled by the people north and east �JerusalemCurrency.� The mints for the manufacture of this currency were common in thewoods, and sturdy workmen applied themselves late and early in producing it, theshavings serving for fire and light. The outfit for one of these mints was anaxe, a cross-cut saw, shaving knife and froe, and a wood horse. The shinglemaker could take them all on his shoulder and establish himself in businessanywhere in the woods. He had no license to pay and his shingles sold for onedollar per thousand�an article now worth six dollars. For some years the bestmarkets were Seneca and Phelps, until the Keuka Lake canal was opened. Thenlumbermen from the east bought timbered land, standing trees and lumber, andpaid the people currency they could carry in their pockets. This soon destroyedthe shingle currency, and the once beautiful pine forests shortly became uglylooking clearings.
Mr.COWING never engaged in the shingle business farther than to peddle the currencyin his native town, but applied himself to chopping, and clearing his farm, anderecting buildings. In 1831 he built a barn 34 by 50 feet in size. James S.ROYCE was the Carpenter, and it was the first building raised in the countywithout spirituous liquor. Some came with a jug, but Mr. COWING ordered themaway. They left taking others with them, and played ball at a neighbor�s nearby, while a small and determined band of Temperance men, working with a will putup the frame of heavy timber. Refreshments were served more expensive thanwhisky, and the fashion afterwards prevailed throughout the country. Since thenhe has had seven raisings, and at each one a supper but no liquor. Theirchildren have been Maria, Sophronia, Rhoda, Sarah, Eliza, Caroline, Mary, AlbertA., Helen, and Celinda. Maria married Alfred BALDWIN and has one child, OrenR. Sophronia married Charles BELLIS, had two children, Cornelia S., andAlbert C., and died at 21 years. Rhoda married Granger GATESand has two children, Mary S., and Grove C. They reside in Illinois. Sarahmarried Dr. Philo K. STODDARD of Prattsburg. Eliza died single at23. Albert A. married Alice, daughter of Luther MYERS of Watkins. They areliving in Omaha and have one child, Fred M. Helen married Abram N. SLAGHT ofLodi, and is living on the old homestead. The others are single.
AlbertR. COWING has led an active and laborious life, and his activity has been mentalas well as muscular. At the age of twenty-six he united with the MethodistChurch of which he was a leading member upwards of 12 years, much of the time aclass leader and steward. Afterward, having Anti Slavery views and regarding theBible as an authority for slavery, he gradually became a Free Thinker, andrepudiated the Bible as a Divine Revelation. He has since been as zealous in hisopposition to theological opinions as he was before in his support of orthodoxsentiments. He has frequently wielded his pen in support of his views onreligious subjects and other topics, and many of his articles have been printedin the newspapers.
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Pg 467 - 472
The DAVIS Families - JonathanDAVIS, who died nearly ninety-three years old, in 1870, came to this County in1792, at the age of fifteen, along with David WAGENER and a company of eight tojoin the Friend�s Settlement. After remaining a few years he went back to hisnative abode, about fifteen miles from Philadelphia, and there married RachelUPDEGRAFF in 1801. After a short residence in South Milo they moved to Jerusalemand settled about half a mile west of Larzelere�s Hollow, where they remained.Mrs. DAVIS died in 1858 in her eighty-first year. They bought their land ofJacob WAGENER, who owned lots 29, 30, 31, and 42, in all over twelve hundredacres. Jonathan DAVIS was a peaceable, quiet citizen, whose old age was green,and blessed with a vivid memory of the early years of the Settlement. He adheredto the Friends for many years and afterwards inclined toward a sect known asMichaelites. He originally belonged to the Quakers. The children of this familywere Mary, Isaiah, Leah, and Lydia. Mary married Joseph COGSWELL and theyresided in Jerusalem, where she died in 1869, aged sixty-eight. Her husbandsurvives her.
Lydia married John BROCKWAY. They lived inAllegany County, and their children were Hannah and Isaiah D. Hannah marriedAbraham V. DEAN, of Dansville, a son of Alexander V. DEAN, of Jerusalem. IsaiahD. was a soldier of Company L, 14th N.Y. Heavy Artillery, and died inthe service. He was a good soldier and a worthy young man. His funeral discoursewas preached at Branchport by Rev. Frederick STARR, Jr., in August 1864.
Leah and Isaiah DAVIS are unmarried andreside on the homestead. John DAVIS, the father of Jonathan DAVIS, died inJerusalem at the age of ninety-two. His wife was Leah ROGERS. The grandfather ofJonathan DAVIS, also John DAVIS, emigrated from Wales, and he and his son Johnwere each respectively the only sons of families to which they belonged. Thefamily of Jonathan DAVIS consisted of himself and his sisters Sinah, Anna, andLydia. Sinah married Stewart COHOON, brother of Jared, and Lydia died single.
Anna, sister of Jonathan DAVIS, was the wifeof Jared COHOON, who was one of the earliest pioneers and who still lives withhis son Charles in Michigan, at the age of ninety-two. He came with his father,Nathaniel COHOON, when but few of the early settlers had arrived. He was thefirst settler on the place now owned by Thomas C. SUTTON, of Jerusalem. Heremembers the Indians well and says he killed hundreds of rattlesnakes in Milo.The only live wolf he ever saw was in the path directly before him, where Mainstreet now runs in Penn Yan. He was a hard-working man, laboring by the day andmaking shingles for a livelihood. He states that he worked many a day for AnnaWAGENER, and at the Friend�s. His physical power was such that on one occasionhe carried three and one half bushels of wheat on his back across the Big Gully,a great feat of strength. His sister, Jerusha COHOON, was the wife of DennisDEAN, one of the early school teachers.
Malachi DAVIS, a native of Wales, was asettler about 1720, some fifteen miles from Philadelphia, where he owned andoccupied a mile square of land till his death. His son Malachi was born there in1745, and married Catharine GILKERSON, eight years younger. He was a Quaker insentiment and did not take part as a soldier in the war of the Revolution. In1798 he moved with his family to Milo, then Jerusalem, with a train of fortyimmigrants with four-horse teams, a journey of one month, by way of Capt.WILLIAMSON�s road. He settled on the Gore north of the south line of Torrey,where he bought his land of Charles WILLIAMSON and resided till his death in1832, at the age of eighty-seven. The children of this family were Tacey, Mary,Jonathan, Eleanor, Hannah, Samuel, Rachel, Malachi, Jesse, John, and Nathaniel.Tacey and Mary died in Philadelphia, quite wealthy, both upwards of seventy.Mary was unmarried and Tacey was the wife of Jacob STOUT.
Samuel was the only one that moved toJerusalem. He was born in 1784, and in 1805 married Menty, daughter of EleazerINGRAHAM. They settled the same year on the east part of lot 42, and some yearslater moved to the west part of the same lot where he still resides on a farm ofthirty acres. His wife died in 1863 in her seventy-eighth year. She was a womanof remarkable industry and great benevolence. Samuel DAVIS has been an expertshingle-maker, and his shingles were eagerly sought for as being of superiorquality. He has had the full experience of the pioneers with the wilderness andthe early settlement. To keep the wolves from devouring his sheep and the bearthe swine, was sometimes more than could be accomplished. He has his share ofincidents that he relates in this connection. He is a hale, robust, largechested man of rotund figure, enjoying with zest, the comforts of life, at theage of eighty-six. The children of this pair are Rachel, Rebecca, Joseph N.,Jesse H., Eliza, George W., and Lydia Ann. Rachel, born in 1806, married GeorgeSHATTUCK, of Jerusalem. Rebecca, born in 1808, married Elias CHASE. They residewhere Samuel DAVIS first settled. Their children are Melissa, Levi D., Emeline,Morrison L., and Melinda. Melissa married Daniel SHERWOOD of Jerusalem. Levi D.married the only daughter of Judge Jacob LA RUE, of Hammondsport, and is aminister of the Methodist Church. They have a daughter. Emeline became thesecond wife of Henry W. HARRIS, of Jerusalem, deceased. She has one son Eddie.Morrison L. married Mary E., daughter of James A. BELKNAP. Melinda married ElwynHAIRE, son of Ezra HAIRE, of Jerusalem.
Joseph N., born in 1809, is a localpreacher, of the Methodist faith, and resides near his father. He married RachelCORWIN, and their children are Edgar E., Harriet J., (deceased,) Miles A.,Melvin J., and George. Melvin J. married Adaline, daughter of James A. BELKNAP.The others are single. Edgar E. owns and occupies a handsome farm of about sixtyacres on lot 31. Miles A., is a printer and a contributor to the press, forwhich he writes with ease, taste, and ability.
Jesse H., born in 1810, married PollyCORWIN, sister of Joseph�s wife. They reside in the same vicinity. Theirchildren are Joel L., Emergene, and Ann Janette. Joel L. married Sarah CRANE, ofWellsville, N.Y., and resides at Blossburg, Pa. Emergene married Joseph LEWIS, of Prattsburgh, and resides there. Theirchildren are Franklin L., William, and Jennie.
Eliza, born in 1816, married Henry LEWIS, asurveyor, of Prattsburgh. She died in 1866. They had one son, Joseph, whomarried his cousin Emergene.
George W., born in 1821, married LorettaROSE, of Jerusalem, where they reside on lot 42. Their children are MargeryAlbina, Charles E., and Margaret Adellie.
Lydia Ann, born in 1827, married SamuelSTRYKER, of Jerusalem. They reside in Larzelere�s Hollow, and have one son,Henry.
William DAVIS, brother of Malachi DAVIS,jr., born in 1748, married Nancy DAVIS, (not a relative) in Montgomery Co., Pa.They moved to the New Jerusalem in 1792. His name was on the first tax roll. Hedied in 1818 and his children were Israel, Nathan, Jesse, Lydia, Anna, andWilliam. Israel, born in 1772, was a Baptist preacher and a man of excellentcharacter. His wife was Nancy GOULD. He died in Indiana at the age ofninety-two. Nathan, born in 1774, died in Rochester at the age of seventy-seven.He was a carpenter and his wife was Martha GREY. He was the builder of many ofthe early schoolhouses, and of the third house erected in the city of Rochester.Lydia, born in 1780, married James ANWAY, and died in Ohio, at the age offifty-nine. Anna, born in 1786, is still living in Jerusalem. She was the wifeof John CRITISON, who died in 1866, upwards of seventy.
William DAVIS, Jr., born in 1782, marriedSarah TOLBERT, of Milo, and resided in Jerusalem, where he died at the age ofthirty-nine. He was a farmer, and on the day of his death went to Penn Yan witha load of ashes, and on his return, about two miles beyond Larzelere�s Hollow,his sled caught fast between two trees in the woods. Being unable to extricateit without an ax, he unhitched his oxen and let them proceed homeward while hefollowed on foot. Benumbed with cold, in sight of his house, he crawled on hishands and knees across the field, eager to reach once more his own fireside, butfinally sank down unable to move but crying out to his wife, who heard his voiceand went out to the barn. Not finding the oxen, which had strayed away to aneighbor�s barn, she concluded the noise she had heard was that of wolves, andreturned to the house and retired for the night. The morning revealed thelifeless body of her husband a few rods from his own door. William�s onlychild was Sarah Ann, who married William CAREY, of Jerusalem, and died inMichigan.
Jesse DAVIS, born in 1778, married firstRebecca YATES, of Montgomery Co., Pa., who died in 1826. and in 1827 he marrieda second wife, Huldah, daughter of Elizur BARNES. He came to the Genesee countryin 1791, with the family of David WAGENER. He and Abraham WAGENER werecompanions in eating, sleeping, and labor three years before he was eighteen. Atthat age he assisted Joseph JONES in a township survey where the village ofDansville now stands, and no settlement was yet begun there except two houses.Panthers screamed on their track, and the wolves were so voracious that onenight they barely kept them at bay by beating them off with firebrands.
Jesse DAVIS was a Quaker in sentiment and ajust and upright man. He settled in Jerusalem on a place adjoining that ofJonathan DAVIS, in 1815, where he was the first settler, and died there in 1862in his eighty-fourth year. The children of his second marriage were William,Nathan, Charles, Sophia, and Joanna.
William married Mary, daughter of JohnDORMAN, of Jerusalem; and resides on the old homestead. They have threechildren, Bertha F., William S. and Morris W.
Nathan married Amanda HOSE, of Torrey, andresides in Iowa. Their children are Charles, William, and Nora E.
Charles married Elizabeth THORN, ofRochester, and resides in Iowa. Their children are Franklin, Ella, and Alice.
Sophia married Riley WELLS, son of GeorgeWELLS, of Potter. They reside in California. Their children are William,Charles, and George.
Joannamarried Oscar STEVER, son of Peter STEVER, of Jerusalem. They reside inCalifornia, and have one child, Geneva.
Pg 472 - 476
Benjamin DURHAM - Among the most noted ofthe early settlers of Jerusalem, was Benjamin DURHAM, an excellent millwright.His ancestors were English, and early settlers on Long Island. He was quiteearly a resident of the Friend�s Settlement, coming with Richard HENERSON, ofwhom he learned his trade. He was never of the Friend�s Society, having earlyunited with the Methodists and remaining through life a devout, consistent andearnest believer. In 1798 at the age of twenty-three, he married Elizabeth,daughter of Castle DAINS, who was two years younger. The marriage ceremony wasperformed by Benedict ROBINSON. In 1799 he purchased land of Mr. ROBINSON aboutone mile north of what is now Branchport, where William H. DECKER now resides,on lot 17. There they at once made their home in the woods and erected a loghouse, which was their abode upwards of twenty years. In the absence of churchesand the scarcity of school-houses, their house was long a place for Methodistpreaching and always the cordial home of the itinerant ministers. When meetingswere not held at their own house they did not hesitate to go a long distance toattend religious service. Mr. DURHAM and his wife would frequently go on foot toArnold�s Hollow, (now Yatesville) a distance of five miles, to attend prayermeeting. They also frequently went to Nettle Valley, in Potter, with an ox teamto attend preaching. The religious enthusiasm of these days would hardly inducesuch efforts to reach the ministrations of the Gospel.
For some time after they settled on theirplace, the Indians, who held the occupation of the valley for a long time, hadwigwams on their premises and sometimes were quite annoying. Their trusty dog,understanding the opinions of the household concerning the red-skins, was veryadroit in driving them off and keeping them at bay. He did not hesitate to layhold of them, and they finally regarded the courageous mastiff with mortal fear,a circumstance which had a notable effect in the improvement of their manners.The faithful dog had other and more ferocious enemies to ward off, in themultitude of wolves that roamed through the dense surrounding forests and madethe nights terrific with their discordant howls. If no more than a small companyof three or four made their appearance, the old dog would drive them off, butsome nights they would come in such numbers as to compel him to take refuge inan out-door oven, from the mouth of which he defied their assaults andadmonished them with his best tones. It was impossible to keep sheep for someyears, and finally when they begun to do so, they were very carefully penned atnight. With all their care, however, the wolves intruded into the fold over aformidable enclosure, and killed upwards of forty, nearly the whole flock, atone time.
Mr. DURHAM wrought at his trade, a goodshare of the time away from home, and built mills at Batavia, Niagara Falls, andother places. He paid for his land and finally owned about two hundred acres.His first wife bore him nine children, and he married in 1818, a second wife,Mary K. BATES, of Potter. By the second marriage there were five. Those of thefirst marriage were Ann, Rebecca, George, John James, Joanna, Abel, Albert, andElizabeth. Of the second, Lucy C., Myron H., Benjamin, Mary C., and Charles M.Ann born in 1799, married Samuel GRISWOLD; they still reside in Jerusalem.Rebecca, born in 1800, was the first wife of Henry LARZELERE, and died in 1860.George, born in 1803, died single in 1829.
John, born in 1804, married ElizabethHUNGERFORD, and was drowned in the Hudson River, near Troy. He left fourchildren, James H., Mary M., Delia A. and John A. His widow has since married aMr. JOHNSON, and resides in Ontario County.
James, born in 1809, married Alma HAMILTON,and resides in Norwich, Chenango County. They have had five children, Dwight,Cyrus, Helen M., George, and Emma A. The sons are all dead.
Joanna died young, and Abel, born in 1812,went to New Orleans in 1833, and has not since been heard from.
Albert, born in 1814, married Lucinda M.SCIPLES, and resides in Jerusalem. They have six children, Elizabeth A., HenryL, John W., James H., Harriet L., and George A. Elizabeth A. married John A.MILLER, of Branchport, and they have had five children, Henry L., John W., JamesH., Harriet R. and George A. Henry L. died young. John W. married Emma LOUNSBURY,and resides in Italy. They have one child. He served in the army, first a fullenlistment in the 33d Regiment, N.Y.V., re-enlisted in the 178th, andwas wounded at Petersburg. A ball striking his right breast passed to his spinalcolumn, and the wound has caused his right arm to wither and become useless. Hisbrother James H. was a soldier in the 50th Regiment of Engineers, anddied at Alexandria, Va.
Elizabeth DURHAM, born in 1816, marriedfirst Wolcott COLE. They had one daughter, Rebecca Ann, who became the wife ofChauncey MILLSPAUGH, and is the mother of three children, Edward, Emma, and oneother.
Mrs. COLE married a second husband, LinusDICKINSON, of Jerusalem. They have two children, Dwight W. and Mariette, bothsingle, residing with their parents.
Lucy C., the oldest of Benjamin DURHAM�schildren by the second marriage, was born in 1819, and married William H.DECKER, of Jerusalem, in 1838. They retain the old DURHAM homestead and resideon it, having remodeled the old farm house built by Benjamin DURHAM in 1820.They have had three children, George H., Anna E., and Charles D. George H. is agraduate of Hamilton College, and late Principal of the public schools atMiddletown, Orange County, now a student at law. He has a high reputation as ateacher. Anna E. died in 1865, and Charles D. resides with his parents.
Myron H. DURHAM, born in 1821, married ChloeM., daughter of David DAINS, and resides in Jerusalem. Their children are HenryC., Mary C., Annette, and Sarah R. The oldest two died young. Annette marriedHenry L. GRISWOLD, and resides at Naples, N.Y. The remaining daughter resideswith her parents.
Benjamin, born in 1823, married and residesin Michigan. He has one child. Mary C., born in 1826, died in 1845.
Charles M., born in 1830, married HelenCAMERON, and resides at Independence, Iowa. Their children are Maude A andCharles H.
Benjamin DURHAM, senior, died in 1832; hisfirst wife, Elizabeth, in 1817, and his second wife, Mary K., in 1845, at theage of 46. Benjamin DURHAM had a brother John who resided in ChemungCounty. Unlike Benjamin, he was a Presbyterian, but his son James became a notedminister of the Methodist church and a presiding elder. He was bred a printer,and at an early period was editor of the Elmira Whig. He passed the later yearsof his life at Benton Centre, where he served as Justice of the Peace, and diedin 1861, aged sixty-one, and his wife, (Sophia DE LABARR,) two years later, atfifty-six. Of their ten children, four survive. Thomas formerly a sailor and nowa farmer, moved recently from Benton to Seneca Falls, where Elizabeth, hissister, also resides. Mary is the wife of Alfred CROSBY, of Benton, and Ella isa Milliner in Penn Yan.
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Pg528 - 529
GAMBYFamily - Anna GAMBY was the wife of Hugh GAMBY, of Dutchess Co. He diedthere in 1812. Mrs. GAMBY, with several members of her family, came to thisCounty in 1817, and resided for a time in the Lawrence TOWNSEND House on theroad leading from Penn Yan to Dresden, and on the corner where the buryingground now is. She was a VAN LOUVEN. Their children were Betsey, Sally, Harriet,Laura, James H., Seth, and Isaac, that came to this County, Betsey marriedSolomon D. WEAVER. Sally married William B. LUCAS. She still resides in Benton,on the WEED farm. Harriet married William A. WEED, and resides on the WEED farmon Flat street. Laura married Daniel S. LEE, son of James LEE, and went toMichigan. James H. married Elizabeth FRENCH, of Jerusalem, and resides atBranchport. He is a drug and grocery merchant; was associated with John H.LAPHAM in the drug business at Penn Yan, many years since. They have one child,James. Seth resides in Steuben County.
Isaacwas the oldest of the brothers mentioned. He married Mary SEARS, of Connecticut,and came to this County about the time of the mother or soon after. He was ablacksmith and tool maker. Having learned his trade in Connecticut in one of theshops of the once celebrated Seth HARRIS & Sons, scythe manufacturers, ofPine Plains, in Dutchess County, and also at Salisbury, Conn. He in connectionwith John DURFEE, who came from Connecticut with him, established a ScytheFactory on the outlet below Penn Yan, and near the old �Factory Mill,� sinceknown as the Davison Moshier Mill. Their establishment was on the east side ofthe stream, and the remains are still visible. Here they conducted that businessfrom 1818 to 1822; sold and removed to Sodus, where Mr. GAMBY died, leaving hiswidow and two children, Emily and Mary. The Scythe works passed through severalhands, and finally were conducted by one HENDRICKS, and attained considerablecelebrity for the quality of the scythes. It was continued to about the year1832 or �33, when it was finally abandoned. The last man who conducted it wasone ASHLEY. Mr. GAMBY was in those days celebrated as an ax-maker, and it issaid made in one day sixteen axes with the help of one man with the ordinaryfire and tools of a blacksmith, and his partner made the same number at anotherfire.
Mrs.GAMBY, the mother, married a second husband, John WEED, of Benton, and residedon Flat street until they died.
GREENFamily and the Green Tract - Capt. HenryGREEN, who with Orrin GREEN, was the purchaser of the Green Tract and otherlands in Jerusalem, was an early settler in Gorham near Rushville, and he diedthere in 1849 at the age of eighty-six. His children were William, John, Clark,Bingham, Hezekiah, Henry, and Erastus, besides three daughters, Esther, Jerusha,and Sally. John, Clark, and Henry were early settlers on the Green Tract, nearBenjamin STODDARD, Ira GREEN, son of Hezekiah, (brother of Captain Henry,) alsosettled early in the same locality. Clark GREEN settled on lot 25, near thecorners known as the locality of the �Green School House.� His widow, nowMrs. PETTEBONE, still resides there at the age of seventy-six, with hergrand-daughter, Mrs. M. L. CHASE. Ira GREEN kept a tavern about twenty years where Thomas SANDERS now lives, on lot 11. John GREENsettled on the farm next south of Ira GREEN, where George W. CHAMPLIN now lives,on lot 9. John GREEN married Anna, daughter of Henry Hutchins, a Revolutionarysoldier. Of his family there are five surviving children, Harvey, Alvira,Hannah, Hezekiah, and Asahel H. Harvey married Sarah TEACHOUT, of Italy. Theylive in Italy and have one child William A. Alvira married Alanson L. PARSONS,son of Thaddeus PARSONS, of Italy Hollow, and resides in Middlesex. They havefour children, John H., Anna S., Sabin A., and Wellington.
Hannahmarried Erastus G. CLARK, son of William CLARK, of Italy. Their children areHelen, Emma, John W., and Mary.
Hezekiahmarried Betsey Ann GEROULD. They reside in Vine Valley, in Middlesex, on thefarm lately owned by Roswell M. LORD, engaged in grape growing and farming. Theyhave one daughter, Alice V., who married William R. PERRY.
Asahelmarried Mary E. BENNETT, and resides in Vine Valley Middlesex. They have twochildren, Eva O., and Herbert.
ClarkGREEN married Abigail, daughter of Joseph H. WILLIAMS, of Rushville. He died atthe homestead in 1834. They have four children, Esther, Submit, Huldah, andJames S.
Esthermarried Rev. Abel HASKELL, of Canandaigua, and they settled in Penfield, whereshe now resides a widow, with her family. They have four children, Sarah, Mary,James, and Franklin.
Submitmarried James A. BELKNAP, of Benton. Their daughter, Mary E., married MorrisonL. CHASE, and resides on the grandmother GREEN farm. They have one child, MittyR.
Huldahmarried William N. BENEDICT.
JamesS. married Helen SMITH, of Angelica, and resides there. He is a lawyer. Theyhave one child, Mary C.
Mrs.Clark GREEN married for her second husband, Dr. Harvey PETTEBONE, of Naples.
HenryGREEN, jr., married Betsey, daughter of Elisha KELLEY, an early settler of thetown of Potter. They settled on the farm now owned by Walter HENDERSON, on the�Green Tract,� but removed to No. 9, town of Canandaigua, Ontario County,where he died in 1835, leaving seven children. His widow died in 1869. Theirchildren were Lydia, Erastus, Eliza, Kelley, Miles and Henry, (twins,) and Mary.
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Pg542 - 544
HARRISFamily - The originalsettler on lot 10, of the Green Tract, where Rowland CHAMPLIN Jr., afterwardslived, was Nathan HARRIS. He and his wife, Hancey BENTON, were natives ofConnecticut and were married at Wethersfield. In 1819 they made their home inthe woods on the Green Tract. In their later years they made their home withtheir son, John B. HARRIS, where the father died in 1860, at the age ofeighty-two, and the mother in 1864, at the age of 78 years. Their children wereJohn B., Henry, Marcia, Otis, Sally, Nathan, Maria, James K., Jane, andCharlotte. Henry married in Oneida Co., and lives in Minnesota. Marcia marriedStephen I. TORREY, of Italy. She lives in Potter, a widow, and her children areAlson D., Addison, Violette, and Nathan.
Otismarried Rhoda, daughter of Eleazer INGRAHAM Jr., and lives on the INGRAHAMhomestead in Pultney. Sally died single.
Nathanmarried Phila, daughter of Henderson COLE, and died at St. Joseph, Indiana,leaving two sons, Dwight and Charles. Maria married William SUTTON, and afterhis death became the second wife of Michael GAGE, of Middlesex. James K. marriedNancy IRWIN, lives in Pennsylvania and has four children. Jane married AlfredBROWN. Charlotte died at sixteen.
JohnB. HARRIS, the oldest of the children, born in Oswego Co., in 1801, marriedAbigail, daughter of Asa BROWN. They first kept a tavern at Italy Hill, wherethey had been preceded by Elisha PIERCE, Philip COOL, and Seth BAKER. After twoyears he started a store and kept a tavern, a short distance beyond RowlandCHAMPLIN�s on the road to Italy Hill, and there remained three years. Theyafterwards lived on the Friend�s Tract, and now reside on lot 28, Guernsey�sSurvey. Their children have been Nancy S., Amanda M., Jane M., Rebecca, HarrietM., Charles B., and James K. Nancy S. married first, David BAKER, who diedleaving one child, William E. She married next, James CROUCH, who was a soldierin Company of Capt. Martin S. HICKS, 148th Regiment. He was woundedat Cold HARBOR, and died soon after. Their children were Charles A., Emily A.,and John J. Nancy is also dead. Amanda married George M. BAKER. They reside inWoodhull, and their children are Ida May, Irene Hattie, Floyd, and Francis. Janemarried George T. STEVENS, son of Oliver STEVENS, of Penn Yan. They have onechild, Fred. Rebecca married John V. BROWN, and has two children, Minnie, andCharles. He was a soldier in a Pennsylvania Regiment of Bucktails and servedthrough the entire war of the Rebellion. Harriet married Horace R. WHEELER, andhas one child, Perley. James K. married Mary, daughter of Moses HARTWELL. Theyhave one child, Olive G.
AsaBROWN, the father of Mrs. John B. HARRIS, was a son of Micajah BROWN, whoformerly lived near Dresden, moved West a few years ago and died at a veryadvanced age. Micajah BROWN was a son of Benjamin BROWN, senior, of theFriend�s Society. Asa BROWN, still living in Pultney at the age of about 90,married Patience, daughter of Eleazer INGRAHAM, senior. Their children wereAbigail, Rachel W., Chester, Alfred, John, Rebeca, and Ann. Robert W. marriedJemima MAIDEN, resided in Jerusalem many years and finally moved to Michigan.Chester S. married Julia Ann SAGE, lived many years in Jerusalem, and died inPenn Yan several years ago. Alfred married Jane, a sister of John B. HARRIS, andlived in Jerusalem till quite recently. His daughter Phida married MarshallBABCOCK and lives in Middlesex. Rebecca BROWN is single, and Ann is dead.
pg504 - 505
HARTSHORNFamily - Samuel HARTSHORN, born inAmherst, Mass., in 1772, was a blacksmith. About 1800 he married at Exeter,Otsego County, Sarah GENUNG, of Newark, N.J. In 1817 they moved to Barringtonand five years later to Jerusalem, settling on lot 68, of the first seventh,where Charles W. TAYLOR now resides and where they lived mostly thereafter.Samuel HARTSHORN died at the age of eighty-two, in 1854, and his wife nine yearslater, at the same age. Their children were Hiley, Betsey, Abigail, William W.,Isaac W., and James H. Hiley married Hosea WILLIAMS, of Exeter. They settled inJerusalem where he died in 1857, leaving three children who arrived at adultage, James, Sherman, and Abby. Sherman married Salena, only daughter of JosephABBOTT, of Jerusalem, and resides near the homestead.
Betseymarried Robert BROWN, son of Russel BROWN, of Torrey, and after living some timein Jerusalem they moved to Dresden where he died. She now resides in Penn Yan.
Abigailmarried Azor BARRETT, of Jerusalem, and they resided in Jerusalem till 1869,when they moved to Penn Yan.
WilliamW. HARTSHORN, married Mary, daughter of Abiel THOMAS, of Potter. They emigratedto Flint, Mich., where he died in 1868, leaving one son, William G.
IsaacW. HARTSHORN, born in 1810, married first Sarah, daughter of Ashbel BEERS, whodied leaving no children. He married a second wife, Sarah, daughter of AmziBRUEN. They reside on his homestead in Jerusalem, where he has a large estate inland on lot 68, of the first seventh. They have one child, Wendell Phillips.
JamesH. married Emily WILLIAMS, of Jerusalem, where they lived and where both died.
Pg479 - 481
HARTWELLFamily - Samuel HARTWELL was a native of Connecticut, and married ElizabethWILKINSON, a sister of the Universal Friend. They came very early to theFriend�s Settlement, lived in the HENDERSON neighborhood north of SilasSPINK�s and about 1800 moved to No. 8, just south of Havens� Corners, wherethey erected a log house. From there they moved to Canada and when the war of1812 broke out were driven away, by an act of the British Parliament, allowingnone to remain who were not loyal to the Crown. They came back and lived someyears in Jerusalem and moved thence to Conhocton, where Samuel HARTWELL died atthe age of ninety-one and his wife at about the same age. Their children wereSamuel, Elizabeth, Amy, Stephen, Joseph, Elijah, Mercy, Moses, and Aaron. Samuelwas supposed to have been drowned in Niagara River. He and his brother Stephenwere taken prisoners at Hull�s Surrender of Detroit, and tried for hightreason as British subjects. They were condemned to be hung, but during arespite of the sentence, each separately escaped, and endured great hardshipsand suffering in getting back to the protection of their country�s flag. Themother made the most heroic efforts to save her sons from the hard fate whichseemed to await them, but did not succeed in getting a reprieve for them. Samuelbroke jail at Kingston, Stephen passed his guards at another point, and both hadnoteworthy adventures in eluding a recapture.
ElizabethHARTWELL married Abel LENT and lived on Lent�s Hill in Conhocton. They hadseveral children. Rachel LENT, one of the daughters, married William RYNDERS,now a citizen of Branchport. Rosetta, her sister, was the wife of the lateCaspar HIBBARD, of Jerusalem. Another sister, Maria, who was a school teacher,married John ATWELL and resides near Blood�s Corners. After the death of hiswife Elizabeth, Mr. LENT married Abigail WILKINSON, a daughter of JephthahWILKINSON, and sister of Mrs. John POTTER, thus a cousin of his first wife.
AmyHARTWELL was the mother of Samuel STREET, jr., long a resident of Jerusalem. Shedied in Jerusalem at an advanced age. Her son Samuel married Charity BAKER, andthey have three children, Mary, Emma, and Samuel. Mary is the wife of FrederickP. GILDERSLEEVE. Emma married William WOLVERTON, and they reside in Missouriwith her parents. Samuel married a Miss MATTICE, and is a carpenter at Liberty,Steuben County.
StephenHARTWELL married Catharine LAMBERT, in Canada. They lived many years atBlood�s Corners, had a large family, and are now at the West.
Josephmarried Polly, daughter of David KIDDER, and moved West where it was reported hebecame wealthy.
Elijahmarried Triphena BRAMBLE at Conhocton and died there leaving a number ofchildren. His daughter Deborah married Elijah, son of Raphael GUERNSEY, nowliving in Jerusalem. Elijah HARTWELL, while a young man, resident in Jerusalem,was a very prominent and active citizen.
Mercymarried John LAMBERT, a cousin of Stephen�s wife, in Canada. She died nearRochester many years ago, leaving three children, now residents of Canada.
MosesHARTWELL, born in 1798, married Honor, daughter of Stephen GERMAN, of Jerusalem,and resides on land of the Friend�s tract, on lot 1, Guernsey�s Survey,formerly owned by Elijah MALIN. Samuel STREET had fifty acres that belonged toDeborah MALIN, another sister of the Friend. The children of Moses HARTWELL havebeen Mary and Olive. The latter died in her sixteenth year, and Mary is the wifeof James K. HARRIS.
Aaron HARTWELL, born in 1800, married AlmiraFOWLER, of Blood�s Corners, and after some years moved to Michigan, where hissons and daughters are married and living near him.
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Pg479
Elizabeth KINNEY - One of the Friends who camefrom Connecticut, was Elizabeth KINNEY, a widow who was one of the earliestimmigrants to the New Jerusalem and lived at first in the Friend�s Settlement,afterwards moving to Jerusalem. Her children were Samuel, Isaac, Ephraim,Statira, and Mary, Samuel married and made a clearing where the County Poorhouse now stands and built a log house there. He moved from there toLarzelere�s Hollow, where he had the care of the saw mill of Daniel BROWN,jr., for some years and then moved from the County. Isaac married Mercy,daughter of George BATES. He was a miller and attended the mill where that ofGeorge ADAMS now stands for several years, afterwards moving to Ohio. He was aleading Methodist and a Class Leader. Ephraim married Mary, daughter of JonathanDAINS, senior, and settled in Potter, afterwards moving West. Statira lived withher sister Mary and died unmarried. Mary married a Mr. BUTLER and settled inPotter where they reared a family.
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pg 476 - 477
HENRYLARZELERE. - Daniel Larzelere,born in 1757, married in 1786, Elizabeth BRAZIER, nine years younger. They movedfrom New Jersey in 1796, and settled near the Hopeton Mills. Their children wereAbraham, Jacob, Sally, William, Julia Ann and Henry. The mother died in 1799 andwas buried at City Hill. The father was a merchant at Hopeton, and soon afterthe death of his wife, moved to Geneva and thence to Detroit where he continueda merchant some years; returned to Seneca Falls, and again went to Michigan withhis son William and died there in 1842 at the age of eighty-five. He married asecond wife at Seneca Falls, Mrs. PALMER, and they had two sons Hiram andDaniel, both now residents of Michigan. Abraham, the oldest son, married andlived in Buffalo, a jeweller. Jacob married and lived in Geneva, a tailor, fiftyyears and then moved to Ypsilanti, Michigan. Sally married Thomas MOSHIER, ofSeneca Falls, where both died leaving five children. William married MahalaBURRAS, of Seneca Falls, whence they emigrated to Michigan. Julia Ann marriedWilliam DOBBINS, of Geneva. They resided in Waterloo where both died leavingseven children.
Henry LARZELERE, the youngest son of thisfamily, was born in 1798, at Hopeton. Upon the death of his mother he wasadopted into the family of Elijah BOTSFORD, and he still resides near theBOTSFORD homestead. At the age of twenty-three he married Rebecca, daughter ofBenjamin DURHAM. In 1826 he commenced keeping a public house at the Corners inthe Valley where he still resides, since known as Larzelere�s Hollow. He kepta popular house on the principal road leading to Prattsburgh and westward fromPenn Yan, at a time when it was a much traveled route. The town meetings wereheld there several years and were finally voted to Branchport after a very hardstruggle. They had two children, Sarah A. and William B. Sarah A. is the wife ofErastus COLE, now residing near Kinney�s Corners. William B. married Sarah A.SHEPHERD, of Italy, and resides in Gorham, near Rushville. Their children areHelen M., Florence A., Herbert and Herman, twins, and Adelia May.
HenryLARZELERE has a second wife, Susan A., widow of Anson WYMAN, and daughter ofSanford COATES. He still enjoys health and strength, the fruit of an industriousand temperate life.
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Pg503 - 504
MERRITTFamily - John Merritt, born in 1771, in Amenia, N.Y., marriedElizabeth HILL, fourteen years younger. Most of their children were born atAmenia. They came to this County in 1827, and both died in Jerusalem, he in 1850and she in 1857. Their children were Chauncey, Sarah A., Eliza, Emma J.,Rensselaer, John, Alanson, and La Fayette. Chauncey married Sarah WESTCOTT, ofDundee, and resides at Prattsburgh. Their children are Birney, Marietta, Daniel,and William.
SarahA. married Thomas BLANSETT, and died leaving six children, Eliza, Triphena,Emma, Mary, Isabella, and John. Eliza is the wife of Ira O. SPRAGUE, of PennYan. They have a son Oliver. Triphena married Willis BARTHOLEMEW, of Sheffield,Massachusetts, where they reside. They have two children. Emma married JohnWHEELER, of Jerusalem. Mary married J. Wesley SHEPHERD, of Jerusalem. Johnmarried Adele COOPER, of Trumansburg, and Isabella is single.
ElizaMERRITT married D. Y. TEETS. They reside at Naples and have two sons, Volney,and William S. Emma J. married first Capt. William H. STEWART, and has a secondhusband, James T. DAVIS. Rensselaer married Julia PERRY, of Potter. They residein Kansas and have four children. John married Jane OSGOOD, of Penn Yan, andsettled in Barrington, where she died leaving one child, Josephine. He married asecond
wife,Phebe DEAN of Barrington, and now resides on the BEAL farm on Bluff Point.Alanson married Susan, daughter of William C. KEECH, of Italy, and lived on theARNOLD place on the Garter in Milo, where he died in 1870 leaving one son,William. La Fayette MERRITT married Hannah, daughter of Thomas BENNETT, of Milo.He owns and resides on the Capt. STEWART homestead, of Jerusalem.
Pg517 - 518
MOOREFamily - John MOORE, born in Schoharie in 1795, came to this County in1815, and in the following November, married Sabra, daughter of John BEAL. Theysettled on one hundred acres of land now owned by Eli STEVER, east of what wasknown as the �Red School House,� and about four miles from Kinney�sCorners. They subsequently bought the BEAL homestead and made that their home aslong as they resided on the Point. They afterwards lived some years at Warsaw inBarrington. Mrs. MOORE died at Penn Yan, in 1863. Deacon MOORE is a prominentand active member of the Baptist Church at Penn Yan. They had eight children,all born on the Point, Mary Ann, Phebe A., Beal, Lydia, Obera, Jane E., SabraG., and George D. Deacon MOORE married a second wife, Margaret M. DOW, widow, ofSt. Anthony, Minnesota. She was originally from Calais, Maine, and her maidenname was Margaret DYER.
MaryA. married Richard B. SHEPHERD, of Jerusalem, and settled in Rathbun, SteubenCo., where he died. His widow now resides at Bethel, Ontario County.
PhebeA. married Oren CURTIS, of Bloomington, Ill., where they settled, but removed toSt. Paul, Minnesota, where he died in 1869, leaving his widow and theirchildren, Aggie, Henry, Carrie, Charles, and William.
Bealdied single at the age of thirty-four, at New Orleans.
Oberamarried Charles COHOON, and resides at Lake City, Iowa. They have six children,Emma, John, Ida, George, Henry, and Abbie.
JaneE. married Daniel ROUSE, of Jerusalem, and emigrated to Hart, Oceana Co., Mich.They have five children.
Sabramarried John ROGERS. She died leaving four children at St. Cloud, Minn.,Clayton, Eddie, Minnie, Charles.
SabraGenette married John ROGERS, of Bluff Point, as his second wife. They reside atSt. Cloud, Minn., and have one child, Nellie.
GeorgeD. married Abbie D. DOW, of Little Falls, Minn., daughter of his father�ssecond wife. They resided till recently on a part of the old homestead farm onBluff Point, and have three children, William, John, and Frank.
Lydiamarried John SUMMERS, of Illinois, and settled at Washington, in that State,where she died.
DeaconMOORE says that when he came to Bluff Point in the spring of 1815, there weremore settlers on the Point than now. Many were squatted on small farms whichwere subsequently bought up by their more thriving neighbors, until those leftwere landholders of considerable extent.
Otherprominent early settlers on the Point were Anthony ROUSE in 1813, and TimothyROUSE in 1816. Rev. Elnathan FINCH moved there as early as 1812. He was aBaptist preacher and held the first religious meetings on the Point. A logschoolhouse was built near the present residence of Freeman FITZWATER, and aBaptist church was then organized, which is now merged in the Church atBranchport.
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pg 665 - 667
Eliphalet NORRIS - One of the noted men of the early settlement was Eliphalet NORRIS, who was born near Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in
1763. He was a merchant, and resolved to try his fortune in the Genesee Country. Starting with a small stock of goods, he reached Fort Stanwix, and found his purse exhausted. Here he was overtaken by Charles WILLIAMSON, who, ascertaining his destination, with characteristic generosity, loaned him money to proceed. This must have been in 1792, the year that Mr. WILLIAMSON first visited the country. Mr. NORRIS came on with his little store by means of batteaux, and finally landed at the point thereafter known as the Norris Landing, where he opened his store in a log
structure of primitive character. His trade was largely with the Indians, of whom he bought furs, giving them powder, lead, clothing and "fire water" in exchange. His trade was profitable, and he soon paid the loan of Mr. WILLIAMSON, who was his warm friend. It is related that the Friend, who was doubtless incensed by the bad influence of his whisky on the Indians, sent some members of her Society to remonstrate with him. The story goes that he very adroitly avoided the subject, knowing their errand, and setting before them some of his best spirits, they were so much mellowed as to forget their mission and he escaped the threatened wrath.
In 1793 Eliphalet NORRIS married Mary, daughter of Thomas HATHAWAY, senior, a beautiful young woman of 23. He continued prosperous many years, and was a leading man, becoming an extensive landholder. He was one of the early Supervisors of Jerusalem, and was a very active businessman. But owing to bad luck in trade and habits that blighted him, like many others, he finally failed and moved to Maryland, living first at Havre de Grace and afterwards in Baltimore County, where he died in 1821. The next year Mrs. NORRIS returned with her four surviving sons and settled on 200 acres left her by her father, on the Friend's Tract, about two miles north of Himrods. There she died in 1847, at the age of 76. Their
children were Thomas H., Benjamin G., George W., James H. and Joshua F.
Thomas H., born in 1795, married Electa, daughter of Thomas RAPLEE. They settled on the mother's homestead, and now own his and two other shares of that estate. Before dividing with his sons he had 300 acres, mostly adjoining. Their children are John W., Thomas R., Mary Ann, Myron, Helen and Caroline. John W., born in 1830, married Sarah, daughter of George W. Hazard. They reside on a part of the homestead. Thomas R., born in 1835, married Sarah, daughter of Abraham W. SHEARMAN. They live near and north of Thomas R. Mary Ann, born in 1833, is the second wife of Griffin B. Hazard of Torrey. Myron, born in 1839, is unmarried and resides with his father, as do Helen and Caroline.
Benjamin E., born in 1797, married Orilla, daughter of Ezra RAPLEE. They resided in Milo till 1850, when they moved to Hayward Co., Maryland. All their children married and settled there except Oliver, the youngest son, who returned with his parents to Milo in 1868. Their children are George R., Charles W., Amarillis, Ann, Almira, Mary J., Susan M. and Oliver G. George R. married Eliza A. ALER, and they have three children. Charles W. married Elizabeth A. MUNGER, and they have two children. Amarillis married George CRESSWELL, and they have four children. Ann married John J. BROWN, and they have three children. Almira married John T. SMITH, and they have three children. Mary J. married Washington GORSUCH. Susan M. died single, and Oliver G. is unmarried.
George W. died single in Maryland.
James H., born in 1801, married a daughter of William BASKIN of Starkey. He settled in that town, and died there in 1819. They had one daughter who was the first wife of Adam HUNT, and died early.
Joshua F., born in 1808, married Semantha KRESS of Starkey. They reside in Barrington, and their children are Nelson, John, James, Mary and Susan. John is married and resides in Barrington. The others are single.
Elizabeth, another daughter of Thomas HATHAWAY, senior, and sister of Mrs. Eliphalet NORRIS, married Judge Joshua FERRIS of Tioga County, a man of note and high public consideration.
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AmosPERRY - Amos PERRY was a native ofMassachusetts, and came to this County at the age of 13 years. He married in1823, Abigail, sister of Ezekiel CLARK, and they settled in 1830 where they havesince resided through life, north of the farm of Ezekiel CLARK, on lot 55. Mr.PERRY was a wagon-maker, and made the first one-horse wagon ever used in YatesCounty. He followed that trade in Potter (then Middlesex) a number of years;built a saw-mill in Allegany County, and afterwards was a farmer. He was a justand upright man, and in all respects was a good citizen�was inclined to theQuakers in religious faith. Their children are Samuel, Alma, Semantha, MaryJane, Ezekiel C., and Elizabeth. Samuel married Mary, daughter of Peter J.DINEHART, and resides on a farm adjoining the homestead. Alma is the wife ofGeorge T. MILLSPAUGH, of Jerusalem. Semantha is the wife of Abner GardnerCHAMPLIN, of West Jerusalem. Mary Jane is the wife of Cyrenus TOWNSEND, of WestJerusalem. Ezekiel C. married Sarah Ann, daughter of Isaac ADAMS of Jerusalem.They have one child, Anna Bell. Elizabeth is the wife of Daniel PLAYSTED, ofMilo. They have three children, Daniel, Frederick, and Eva. Amos PERRY died in1870, aged 70, his wife surviving at the age of 73 years.
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ThePURDY Family - John PURDY was born inPhilipstown, now Putnam County, in 1765, and married Esther BARTON, one yearyounger, of the same place. They resided in Fishkill, N.Y., where their tenchildren grew up. They were Abijah, Mary, Elizabeth, Isaac S., Joshua, Ann,Francis, Hannah, Abigail, and Miriam, most of whom came to Western New York, andsome to Yates County. The father with his son Francis, and Daughter Mary, andtheir families, settled on the Green Tract on the south-west corner at what wasdesignated Lightning Corners. He afterwards moved to East Bloomfield and thenceto Sand Lake, Mich., where he and his wife died in 1846, upwards of eighty.
Abijahmarried Mary CHATTERSON, of Fishkill. They settled in 1834 on the HART farm, onlot 67, first seventh, formerly known as the MOORE farm, where his son Isaac nowlives. He died there in 1856, and his wife still survives. They had threechildren, Cornelia J., Isaac, and John P. Cornelia J. married Hiram DEPEW, of Connecticut,and now resides in Geneva. They have four surviving children, Isaac P., Mary A.,Abijah, and Julia.
IsaacPURDY, born in 1814, married Sarah, daughter of Capt. William H. STEWART. He hasbeen an active and prominent citizen of Jerusalem. They reside on the paternalhomestead, and own it. Their children are Isaac C., Francis H., Stephen C.,Georgiana, Stewart A., and George D. Isaac C. married Amelia ST. JOHN, ofPultney, and resides on a part of the Capt. STEWART farm in Jerusalem. Theirchildren are Harvey and Frederic. Francis H. married Emma, daughter of HenryHUSTED, of Potter, and resides near Kinney�s Corners. Stephen C. marriedPaulina RAY, and resides in the city of New York. They have one child, Vinton.Georgiana married Oliver DICKINSON, of Rochester, in 1869. John P. PURDY residesa bachelor with his brother Isaac.
Mary,daughter of John PURDY, married Henry MILLS, of Dutchess County, and settled onthe Green Tract, afterwards moving to Bolivar, Ohio, where he died. She nowresides at Saginaw, Mich., with a son. Their children, mostly born on the GreenTract, were Elizabeth, John, Esther, Ann, Sarah, Isaac, William, Francis, andKilbourn.
Elizabethmarried Samuel WYCKOFF, of Hopewell, Ontario County, and resides there. Theirchildren are Joseph, Samuel, John P., and Isabel J.
IsaacS. PURDY, born in 1793, married Ann, daughter of Thomas OWEN, of Bedford,Westchester County, in 1817, she being nearly three years the older. Theysettled in 1827 on the farm now occupied by Reuben TURNER, on the Green Tract.
Theyremoved from there in 1833 to the old homestead farm of John RACE, buying firstsixty-two acres to which fifty acres have since been added. Their children areThomas O., Sarah A., and Joseph. Thomas O. married Biancy A., daughter of ThomasBENNETT, of Benton. They reside on lot 50, on the HILL farm and Lake road, andtheir children are Sarah A., and Alice F. Sarah A., daughter of Isaac S. PURDY,is the wife of Samuel T. LAZEAR, of Barrington. Joseph PURDY, born in 1825,married Elizabeth LAZEAR, of Barrington, now deceased. His second wife wasMargaret E. BENNETT, sister of his brother�s wife. They reside on thehomestead and their children are Ella E., John, Ida G., Mary C., and George O.
Joshuamarried and lived at Cold Spring, N.Y. Ann married Robert WHITAKER, of Hopewell.Upon his death, she married a second husband, James WASHBURN, and moved toJackson, Mich.
Francismarried Ann GRIFFITH, of Connecticutt, settling first on the Green Tract, theymoved from there in 1833, to Sand Lake, Mich., where he and both his parents andwife all died within eighteen months after they settled. Their children wereLucinda, Hannah, Arametha, Mary A., and William F. Lucinda married WilliamWRIGHT, of Middlesex. Hannah was the first wife of Samuel WYCKOFF, of Hopewell,and her sister, Elizabeth, the second. Abigail married Lemuel WAGER, of Gorham.They settled on the Green tract and afterwards moved to Constantine, Mich.,where both died. Their children were John, Esther, Cornelia, Ephraim, Francis,Joshua, Stephen, Abijah, and Elizabeth A. Mariam PURDY died single.
JohnPURDY, the head of this family, was a soldier of the Revolution, though but alad, and his sons, Abijah, Isaac S., and Joshua, were soldiers in the war of1812, stationed at Harlem Hights, near New York, for some time. John PURDY wasone of the first two white children born in Westchester County, the other beingThomas LYON. Both were born in one night.
AnIndian chief had promised a tract of land to the first child, and the LYONfamily received it, theirs being a few hours the oldest baby.
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JohnRACE - A character akin to that of Cooper�s Leather Stocking, was that of JohnRACE, who was a native of Columbia County and the LIVINGSTON Manor; and born ofancestors who lived under the �One or more life system� of that feudalfamily. He was subject to duty during the Revolution as a minute man though buta lad when it commenced. He married in 1795, at the age of thirty-six, EleanorCORNICK, then but eighteen. Her ancestors belonged on the lands of the patroonof Rensselaerwyick where lenses held �while grass grew and water run,�subject to a specific annual rent payable in kind with forfeiture. Thus thispair were educated under the tenant system which they decided to leave, and in1807 emigrated to the free and inviting country of the Lakes, locating on thebank of the Keuka about two miles from Penn Yan, where Isaac S. PURDY nowresides, on lot 50. Here they erected their domicile of logs, the premisesentirely wild, and for years lived and enjoyed the fruits of their labors andthe bounties of the Lake and forest. In front of their happy home, lay thecrystal waters of the Keuka, and back upon the hillsides and tops stretchedextensive forests, the former inviting the angler with his hook and line to lollon its bosom in easy waiting for the nibble and bite, or the more active trollerwith his sweeping oar to skim its surface with dangling line, concealed hook andtreacherous bait floating astern or swept over the waters by the strong arm ofthe oarsman. The forest teemed with the deer, wolf, and bear, and the stealthyIndian, all loving the vicinity of the Lake, as affording extra charms over themore remote and only wooded districts; thus doubly securing to John RACE thejoys and profits of the trap, the hook and the chase. Dearly did he love andappreciate the haven of his anchorage. Indeed he was a happy man, for he lovedthe sports of the line and the spear, and dwelt with ecstatic pleasure in thescenes of promise and participation that the placid Lake held out to him; whilein the chase he never tired and always seemed ready for and equal to its toilsand dangers without regarding them else than the charms of life.
JohnRACE was more than an expert in both of these life duties of these days, andrare indeed did the finny aquatic nibble at his hook or glide along the pebblybottom under the blaze of his torch-light within the range of his spear, andescape capture; nor could the lithe deer, wily wolf, or cunning fox venturewithin the range of his vision without detection by his keen, far-seeing eye andstill finer sense of hearing. The sure aim of his unerring rifle never allowedthem to escape the mark of his bullet. So perfect was his marksmanship that atthe age of seventy-five he could center a twenty-five cent piece at a distanceof thirteen rods, three times out of five, and often better, with his favoriterifle which he had purchased of Aaron REMER, and was reputed the �crack gun�of the County, while it was also the pride of �Uncle John.�
Graduallythey cleared abut seventy acres and tasted the fruits of their own planting. Thecountry merged slowly from the wilderness state and became a rich agriculturalregion. Penn Yan became a place of business and note. The steamboat puffed andpaddled through the Lake to the terror of the trout and white fish, to theannoyance and disgust of John RACE and those of his ilk who had so long enjoyedits tranquil waters. Men of new and more efficient views of agriculture invadedthe land, and in the whirl of the tide John RACE was induced or necessitated topart with portions of his two hundred acre homestead till it all passed into thehands of strangers. He removed farther up the hillside though not beyond thesight of his beloved Lake, to a small farm once owned by Elder STEAD, a FreeWill Baptist preacher, and now included in the farms of John DORMAN and thatrecently owned by Gideon WOLCOTT. Here where his son Henry now lives, he died in1849, at the age of 90. His wife, a most sympathetic companion, for 54 yearssurvived him till 1861, when she died at the same humble homestead at the age of84. Both retained their vigor and enjoyment of life without sensible dementationfrom age.
JohnRACE had a strong, well-knit frame, with a uniform weight of about one hundredand sixty pounds. He was tall and muscular, with a very straight spinal column,rather flat than full abdominally, broad and deep in the chest, limbs rathershort and light than large, yet sinewy and obedient to the will with a quicknessand elasticity in his step that made him the observed of all who knew him. Hecould lay himself on his back on the ground and no man was strong enough toraise his head from its rest by taking a strong hold of his ears and liftingwith all his power. He would permit the effort with seeming impunity as to painor inconvenience, so strong was his muscular power and so perfect his control ofboth his nervous and muscular systems. His skin was as smooth as that of achild, and old age scarcely wrinkled it. He loved society, and like most men ofhis day, frequented public gatherings, and occasionally participated in thecustom of the times by way of spiritual indulgence, but rarely to intoxication;nor did he use tobacco until he was an old man. In his home habits he wasindustrious, frugal and kind to a fault, to his family and neighbors; indeed,this together with his love of nature�s sports and scenes, was the prime causeof his never growing rich, for both he and his companionable wife wereindustrious and reasonably economical,--and a kindly and loving spirit pervadedthe household of John and Eleanor RACE. In short, they were each of thattemperament and organism fitted to float through this life bearing itsvicissitudes with equanimity and enjoying its joys and comforts with a zestlittle known to fashion enslaved moderns. They both had received the advantagesof the common schools of their time and were therefore enabled to enjoy thereading of the news of their day without worrying their minds and hearts withmodern sensations or �Ledger stories.� She wore no high-heeled shoes,trailed dresses dragging in the mud, nor dead women�s hair in�waterfalls.� And he delighted in the simplest garb that furnished coveringand comfort, and never indulged even in the luxury of a shirt collar or neck-tieto suppress the glorious inhalation of the free pure air.
JohnRACE was a perfect type of the earlier races of the Hudson and the pioneer ofthe Lake country, and justly denominated the �Leather Stocking� of his dayand locality, for he was intimately acquainted with every avenue and recess ofhis section and was always ready to devote himself to the aid of any or all whoneeded and appreciated his services. Whether to his profit or loss, pecuniarily,it mattered not, so that it tended to the pleasure and gratification of those hecalled friends. His spirit knew no narrow self, nor conventional formality. Hiswife was a consistent Methodist from her early womanhood�and John leaned inthat direction in his religious preferences, doubtless through the force of herexample; but upon religious subjects he was never regarded especially orthodox,in the broadest interpretation of the term, and indeed, it was even believed bysome and currently reported by the many, that John RACE�like theChinese�deemed it quite important to conciliate the �evil one� aspossessing powers not reached, or if so, not peremptorily stayed by the betterGod whom they worship. He, therefore, stood in great superstitious awe of hisSatanic majesty, from, as they assert, having on a certain occasion entered intoa league and agreement with him to save his life.
Asthe story runs, he was attacked most violently with some disease by which he wasgreatly distressed for breath, and very naturally reasoned that no reallymerciful power would thus afflict him, and came to the grave conclusion that the�subtle enemy� had a special design upon him. He imagined that Satan was inperson setting on his breast and closely buttoning around his neck his shirtcollar, thus agonizing him in a most effective and distressing manner. He,therefore, besought his potency to show a little mercy in relieving him just forthat time, by tearing off the button and departing, pledging himself toacknowledge his right and supremacy over him forever as soon as he should fullyrecover and resume his collar and button. Thus did many credulous people assumeto account for John RACE�s persistent opposition ever afterward to anythingresembling a shirt button or collar�and certain it was that no winter�sblast or summer�s sun made any change in his fixed custom for all of his afterdays�and it was thus he died, without subjecting himself to the claim of hissoul�s adversary, and to his own great joy, for his only hope of happiness inthe �life to come� centered, as they believed, in his successfully cheatingthe devil by this strictly legal quirk. So reasoned these garrulous judges ofJohn RACE�s soul vision of the future, while it is well attested by a largecircle who knew him in his last moments, that a most peaceful and benignantsmile encircled his countenance, and no pang of dread or resistance escaped himwhen he was authoritatively summoned to the spirit land.
Politically,he was reared in the Jeffersonian school, and later in life served with theJACKSON Democracy, and it is well-known that all GOLCONDA could not havepurchased his vote. Yates County had but one John RACE, therefore may there bepeace evermore to his ashes, while his memory and this imperfect pen portraitureof our �Leather Stocking� can only remain to us.
Theirfamily of seven children were William, Jonathan, Joseph, Catharine, John Henry,Phebe, and Andrew Jackson.
Williammarried Mary, daughter of Elder Samuel WIRE, an early Free Will Baptistpreacher. They emigrated to Ohio, where he died leaving five children, Esther,Susan, Emily, Philander, and William.
Jonathanmarried Jane, daughter of Caleb TYLER, of Potter, and father of the lateBenjamin and Henry TYLER, of Penn Yan. They resided in Woodhull, Steuben County,and had two children, Amanda and Alonzo.
Josephmarried Almira GERMAN, of Jerusalem, and resides there. They have four children,George N., Charles, Levi, and Henrietta.
Catharinemarried Joseph BARNHART, of Jerusalem, and removed to Pultney, where she diedleaving one son, William.
Phebemarried Joseph LONG, of Benton. She died leaving several children. He with hisfamily went west.
JohnHenry married Susan HISCOCK, of Jerusalem. They live on the last homestead ofhis father and have seven children, Helen A., William, Julia J., Georgiana,Henrietta, Charles and Ida May.
Andrew J. married Sarah M. MITCHELL, of Milo, andresides in Penn Yan. They have two children, Henry H. and William.
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ROSEFamily - Robert Selden ROSE, who married Jane, daughter of Gavin LAWSON,in Virginia, emigrated from Stafford County, in that State, to Ontario Co. in1804, and settled on eleven hundred and twenty-six acres of land opposite thevillage of Geneva, on the east side of Seneca Lake. The family were accustomedto the easy methods of plantation life in Virginia, and learned through somehardships the more rigorous exactions of a northern climate and northern modesof life. Their homestead soon became celebrated as a seat of genuine hospitalityand refinement, and Mr. ROSE was a prominent and leading man of his time. Herepresented Seneca County in the Assembly in 1811, 1820, and 1821. He was alsosent to Congress in 1823, 1825, and 1829. He died very suddenly in 1835, whileattending Court at Waterloo, at the age of sixty-three. Mrs. ROSE survived himtill 1849. Their farm has since been apportioned among noted men, including JohnDELAFIELD, Mr. SWAN, son-in-law of John JOHNSON, James G. STACEY, and theMAXWELLS, of Geneva, all more or less famous agriculturists, or nurserymen.Their children were Gavin Lawson, John Nicholas, Henry, Robert L., Charles A.,Mary S., and Susan A. John N. and Henry ROSE became citizens of Yates County,and in more recent years Robert Selden ROSE, a son of Robert L. ROSE, purchaseda part of the farm of John N. ROSE, and resides thereon.
JohnN. ROSE, born in Virginia in 1799, married in 1829, Jane E. MACOMB, of the cityof New York, niece of General Alexander MACOMB. They made their home where hehad previously purchased of John BEDDOE, and lived since 1823. His estate was somuch of the Beddoe purchase as lies east of the west branch of Keuka Lake,including ten hundred fifty-eight acres. Then the Beddoe Tract west of the Lakewas a wilderness, and Branchport was in the future. Mr. ROSE paid eight dollarsan acre for his land. His title to 250 acres on lot 9, of Guernsey�s Survey,was found invalid by a trial at law, and the rest he retained. He has been afarmer of enterprise and taste, and a citizen of the highest personal worth. In1838 he erected his fine stone mansion over-looking the Lake. Of the land hesold three hundred and sixty-two acres to his nephew, Robert S. ROSE, from thesouthside of the place; and he has since given one hundred and eighty-five acresto his wife�s nephew, John N. MACOMB Jr., who has been from infancy an inmateof their family, and is now the chief director of affairs on the premises. Theold home of John BEDDOE is on his land. Another hundred acres is deeded to O. J.Camman ROSE, the oldest son of R. Selden ROSE, leaving but one hundred andninety-five acres of the old homestead. John N. MACOMB, jr., is a grandson ofGen. Alexander MACOMB, who commanded the United States troops at Plattsburg inthe War of 1812, co-operating with the fleet on Lake Champlain. His father isnow a Colonel in the regular army.
HenryROSE was born in Virginia in 1802, and married in 1832, Sarah L., sister of Mrs.John N. ROSE. She was born in the city of New York in 1801. They took up theirresidence in Jerusalem in 1836, on lands (500 acres) adjoining those of John N.ROSE on the east. He purchased several smaller farms originally owned by Israel,Jacob, and Nathan HERRICK, and Ezra WITTER, whose place included the location ofthe mansion of Dr. Henry ROSE. He sold to Jasper TRAVER 60 acres including thetavern property at Kinney�s Corners. Henry ROSE was educated a physician buthas been a good farmer instead, a successful wool-grower and fruit culturist.Both John N. and Henry ROSE have been men of retiring and modest character whohave aimed to discharge well their duties in society and in home life. They haveeschewed ambitious participation in politics and preferred the quiet enjoymentof a refined social life. In their advanced years they have the undividedrespect of all who share their acquaintance.
RobertS. ROSE, son of Robert L. ROSE, was born in 1827 at Allen�s Hill, in Richmond,Ontario Co. His mother was a daughter of Nathaniel ALLEN, one of the earlySheriffs of Ontario County. His father was two terms a Member of Congress,elected first in 1847. He purchased of his uncle John N. ROSE, 362 acresof his original homestead, closely adjoining the beautiful spot where JohnBEDDOE first settled. It is a fine location fronting on a picturesque landscapeof Lake and hills beyond, with Branchport at the right on the corner of theLake. He married Frances T., daughter of Oswald J. CAMMANN, who was born in thecity of New York in 1830. Their children are O. J. CAMMANN: Robert L.,Edward N., Frederick D., George S., Catharine N. M., John Henry.
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SHATTUCKFamily - Ebenezer SHATTUCK was a son of Jonathan SHATTUCK and wasborn in Pepperell, Mass., in 1760. In 1784 he married Lucy WOODS, daughter ofAaron and Rebecca WOODS, of Pepperell. He was a farmer in his native town, movedto Mason, New Hampshire, in 1788, and to Jerusalem in 1816, where he was anoriginal settler on lot 56 of Gurnsey�s survey, buying his land of the GREENS.Here he died in 1840 at the age of 79, and his wife in 1844 aged seventy-eight.Their children were Ebenezer, Sewall, Lucy, Mahala, Hepzibah, Aaron W. andGeorge WHEELER, (twins,) Rebecca, and Clarissa.
Ebenezerborn in 1785 came with his father to Jerusalem. He was a mason and marriedCynthia SWEETLAND of Oneida Co. He died in Mendon, Monroe Co., in 1840. Three ofhis children are residents of Chicago.
SewallSHATTUCK born in 1787, was a blacksmith. He married in 1820, Rebecca, daughterof Jacob UPDEGRAFF; four years his junior. She was a native of Berks county,Pa., and with her sister Eleanor came in a gig, by way of Captain WILLIAMSON�sroad, to Jerusalem, a very few years later than her sisters Rachael, the wife ofJonathan DAVIS, and Nancy, the wife of John INGRAHAM who came with the Friends.Her father was buried very early in the Friend�s burying ground in Jerusalem.Sewall SHATTUCK remained on the land bought by his father in Jerusalem and diedthere in 1866 at the age of seventy-nine. His wife survived till 1870, dying atthe age of seventy-eight. Their children were Darwin, Sewall, Emerson and SarahMahala. Darwin born in 1822 married in 1847 Christiana, daughter of JamesHENDERSON. She was born in 1827. They reside on the land originally owned by hisgrandfather, Ebenezer SHATTUCK. Their children have been Charles Emerson, SarahAbigail and Mary Isabella, (twins), Lucy, and Hattie A. Mary died young. SewallE. SHATTUCK born in 1825 is, a prosperous physician at Hornellsville, N.Y. Hemarried in 1850 Harriet J. HINMAN. They have two surviving children. SarahMahala born in 1827, is the wife of John TOWNSEND of Jerusalem.
Lucy,daughter of Ebenezer SHATTUCK, born in 1789, married Joseph BAKER, a farmer ofPompey, Onondaga county.
MahalaSHATTUCK born in 1792, married Nathan BAKER, brother of Joseph. Both hadconsiderable families.
HepzibahSHATTUCK born in 1794, married first her cousin, David SHATTUCK. He died ofconsumption in Jerusalem in 1820 at the ageof twenty-six, leaving two children. She next married Thomas PHINNEY in 1823 atRushville. They moved from Jerusalem to Bedford, Michigan.
AaronWoods SHATTUCK, born in 1799, married in 1824 Lydia, daughter of Joseph COLE ofJerusalem. They moved to Jamestown, N.Y.
GeorgeWheeler SHATTUCK, twin brother of Aaron W., married in 1824, Rachel, daughter ofSamuel DAVIS of Jerusalem. He was a farmer and bricklayer. They moved in 1843 toFarmington, Michigan, and thence to Muskegon where they now reside. Theirchildren are George K., Orin B., Joel D., Harrison W., Guy A., Caroline A.,Angeline C., and William.
RebeccaSHATTUCK born in 1802, married first, Zadock BASS, an original settler on landsof Albert R. COWING on the Green Tract. Her second husband was Calvin COLE,brother of Erastus COLE, senior. She died at Porto Rico in the West Indies,leaving a daughter, Anna by her first husband who married a Spanish gentleman inNew York.
ClarrissaSHATTUCK born in 1804, married Joseph FITCH of Fayetteville, Onondaga county,and was the mother of six children.
WhenEbenezer SHATTUCK settled in Jerusalem he purchased 100 acres of land off theeast end of lot 56, and his son Aaron 40 acres of the same lot, for which theypaid six dollars an acre.
TheSHATTUCK family is an extensive one, and Lemuel SHATTUCK, one of the mosteminent of its members, published in 1855 a well-prepared book of memorials ofthe family, embracing, very full and valuable genealogical tables tracing theirdescent from William SHATTUCK of England, who settled early in the Colony ofMassachusetts; and including the subsequent generations to the date ofpublication. The author belonged to various historical, antiquarian, statisticaland genealogical societies and was well qualified for his work. He quotes thesentiment of BURKE, that �Those only deserve to be remembered by posterity whotreasure up the history of their ancestors.� He adds, �A knowledge of thosewho gave us form, brought us into existence and made us what we are, seemsrequired to satisfy the promptings of our nature.� He also quotes DanielWEBSTER as follows: �There is a mortal and philosophical respect for ourancestors, which elevates the character and improves the heart. Next to thesense of religious duty and moral feeling, I hardly know what should bear withstronger obligation on a liberal and enlightened mind than a consciousness of analliance with excellence that is departed.�
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BartlesonSHEARMAN - Among the Rhode Island adherents of theFriend was Ezekiel SHEARMAN, brother of the first wife of James PARKER. In 1786at the age of twenty-six he came alone to the Genesee Country to look out aplace for a new home for the Friend�s people, and afterwards was one of thefirst company that come to stay. He married in 1790, Mary, sister of JohnSUPPLEE, and widow of John BARTLESON, who came to the New Jerusalem with thefirst company of Friends from Pennsylvania, where her first husband and theirtwo children were buried. They settled on fifty acres in the Friend�sSettlement and lived there four years. Finding that the Society were not to havethe anticipated advantages of the original purchase near Seneca Lake, theyremoved in 1794 with the Friend to Jerusalem. There, for eighty dollars insilver, that Mary BARTLESON had advanced to aid in moving the Friend�s effectsto the new settlement, she received from Rachel MALIN, on behalf of the Friend adeed for one hundred and sixty acres of land, the north half of lot 47. DavidWAGENER also deeded to Ezekiel SHEARMAN one hundred and fifty acres on lot 48,of which one hundred was a payment for his early explorations for the Societyand fifty for the improvements made, ($150 in value,) on their first purchase inthe Friend�s Settlement. This land is still owned by Bartleson SHEARMAN and ahundred acres more adjoining. A cluster of apple-trees, still thrifty andvigorous, stands near his house, planted there in 1794, before the surroundingforest had been cut down. The seed from which they grew was brought by MaryBARTLESON from Pennsylvania. She explored the land herself and selected theirJerusalem location, making a beautiful and advantageous choice, in which she wasparticularly attracted by a most excellent spring, which is one of the finestfeatures of this old homestead. Ezekiel SHEARMAN died in 1824 at the age ofsixty, and his wife in 1843 at the age of eighty-three. Their children wereIsaac, John, who died young, and Bartleson.
Isaac born in 1792 married Susan, daughterof Thomas PRENTISS, and lived in Jerusalem till 1866, when he moved to Michigan,where he resides with his son George I. SHEARMAN. His wife died in 1861 at theage of sixty-two. Their children were John, Mary, George I., Rachel, Sarah,Elizabeth, and another daughter. John married in Michigan and died leaving twochildren. Mary married James LYNN, of Jerusalem, and moved to Michigan, wherethey have a family. George I. married Mary, sister of John UNDERWOOD. They havea daughter. Rachel married Martin HENSHAW. They live on the Isaac SHEARMANhomestead in Jerusalem, on lots 51 and 52. They have a daughter Elizabeth, and ason. Elizabeth HENSHAW married George HORTON and has two children. SarahSHEARMAN married Jesse HOWARD, and her second husband is Mason WHEELER, ofPotter, where they reside. Elizabeth SHEARMAN married Mr. WETHERBY, in Michigan,and died leaving one child. The youngest daughter of Isaac SHEARMAN married abrother of Elizabeth�s husband and lives in Michigan.
Bartleson SHEARMAN, born in 1797, married atthe age of 48, Hannah POTTER, grand-daughter of Elder John POTTER, a minister ofthe Christian faith. They have two surviving children, Uriel and Mary. Urielmarried Francis, daughter of Abraham WATKINS. Bartleson SHEARMAN has led a lifeof activity and is still at the age of seventy-three, blessed with a vigorousconstitution. He attended Courts at Canandaigua both as a petit and grand jurorbefore Yates County was erected. His recollection of early events is remarkablyclear and accurate. He has held various town offices and the office of Justiceof the Peace nine years. He says the first military training he attended was atKinney�s Corners in 1815, and that Peter ALTHISER then kept a tavern at thatplace. He finally became a Second Lieutenant under Capt. Allen COLE, in the 103dRegiment, Col. AVERY.
He relates that the Friends when theystarted in Jerusalem cut hay on an open swamp in the southwest part of the townnear the present residence of Albert R. COWING. This coarse hay by the aid ofbrowse kept their cattle alive during the winter. The POTTERs also resorted tothe same swamp for hay; and the Friends during their first years near SenecaLake cut hay on the marsh at the head of the Lake which they brought down inboats to subsist their cattle. Of the extreme wilderness of the country withinhis recollection, Mr. SHEARMAN says the wolves were very numerous in theirvicinity. He remembers on many occasions listening to their discordant choruswhen in every direction one or more wolves was making night hideous withfrightful howls. Sheep could only be kept when carefully penned. One Sunday whenthey returned from meeting the sheep were let out of the pen, and shortly an oldbrown wolf, which he knew as well as their dog, then absent, seized one of thesheep and disemboweled it within a few feet of the house door. With thefire-poker Mrs. SHEARMAN made such an attack on the ravenous beast as to drivehim off. The brown wolves were deemed more ferocious than the black ones. In1801 Jacob ARNOLD was attacked by wolves near the Old Fort early one evening.Ezekiel SHEARMAN and others ran to his relief, knowing from his cries and thenoise made by the wolves what was going on. A large number were pressing uponhim and he was backing away, when the new comers frightened them off. The wolveskilled many cattle and sheep and were troublesome many years.
The bears were very numerous and quitetroublesome too. One day the hogs ran home from the woods in great fright,closely followed by a bear, which killed one of them. He seized the dead hog andwas making off with it, using his hind legs for locomotion while he carried hisbooty in the embrace of his fore paws. Mr. SHEARMAN pursued him with his ax, andmade Bruin abandon his porker. A man by the name of CLARK, the first settlernear the present residence of Hiram KEENEY, heard his only hog squeal in thenight, and knowing what was up, ran out in his shirt, seized his ax, followed upthe bear, and buried the ax in his skull, thus saving his hog.
John HOLTON finding that the bears made verydestructive ravages in his corn, made a scaffold in the edge of his field, andlaid down on it with his gun one night to watch for the bears. Being very tiredhe fell asleep, and during the night was aroused by a noise. Looking about heespied a bear close by him tearing away in the corn. He almost reached him withthe muzzle of his gun, and banged away. The bear seized the post at one cornerof the platform, and down it tumbled, directly on the back of Bruin himself, whowas a very large member of the bear family. HOLTON was greatly frightened,picked himself up, and without thinking of his gun, made for home as fast as hecould, expecting the bear to follow in hot pursuit. When daylight appeared hewent back to the scene of the night�s performance, and found that the bear wasdead and had never stirred after pulling down his scaffold. Bears were verydestructive in cornfields, and were very plenty till 1812, some remaining till1820.
Deer were also exceedingly plenty, and werekilled in great numbers by the wolves, as well as by the inhabitants. BartlesonSHEARMAN says he has seen 27 deer come into a field of wheat at one time. Theynever troubled a wheat field except in the fall. They frequently had tame deer,on which they put bells. These deer would go and come at their pleasure, andwhen in the woods mingled with the other deer, and were a great assistance inhunting, the sound of the bell showing where the herd might be found. These tamedeer were very familiar where they were wonted, but would not be teased ortrifled with. They would eat up all the tobacco they could get access to,--andthis refutes a statement often made that no animal has a relish for or will eattobacco.
Squirrels were for many years very numerousand destructive to wheat and cornfields. Mr. SHEARMAN recollects shooting 103squirrels, five hawks and six woodpeckers in one day, at a squirrel hunt in1811. The captain of his party was William POTTER, son of Arnold POTTER, andAlexander SOUTHERLAND was the captain of the other side. The POTTER side beat by1,500.
In 1815 there was a grand squirrel hunt, inwhich the town of Jerusalem hunted against the town of Middlesex, then embracingPOTTER. A Mr. BASSETT was captain of the Middlesex party, and a Mr. FOX, atKinney�s Corners, was captain of the Jerusalem party, and all the people ofeach town belonged to the respective sides. They hunted for a week, and thewoods roared incessantly during that week with the sound of fire-arms. Thesquirrels had been very troublesome, and the people were thoroughly enlisted.They were notified by the handbills circulated through all parts of the country,and met at Rushville at the end of the week, and such a crowd of people hasseldom been seen in any rural hamlet. They must have numbered several thousands.The hunters carried nothing but the heads of their game to the place ofrendezvous. There were so many of these they did not attempt to count them, butmeasured them in large baskets. Jerusalem beat Middlesex about four or fivebaskets of heads. Rushville had made great preparations to feed the multitude,but was eaten to a perfect famine by the immense crowd that came together tocelebrate the conclusion of the great hunt.
After this the squirrels were never verytroublesome. The wolves were driven off by a great hunt, in which a line of menposted at about five rods distance from each other, extending from Penn Yan adistance of eighteen miles, reaching into Steuben, drove the vagabonds beforethem far into Ontario. Very little was ever heard of the wolves after that. Thiswolf hunt was in 1811.
A still lower branch of the animal kingdomalso furnished a dangerous foe to the early settlers, in the rattlesnakes, whichwere very numerous; and but for the hogs, Mr. SHEARMAN thinks the earlysettlement of the country would have been difficult if not impossible, onaccount of those venomous serpents. He has known a half dozen or more to bekilled in a day. Persons were frequently bitten as were the cattle. Castle DAINSperformed many remarkable and effective cures of these bites, by means of a weedin the woods with which he was acquainted. If called in season, he would effecta cure in an hour. Old hogs would eat these snakes and track them as well as adog would a fox, and the virus of the snake had no effect on the hog. By the aidof the swine the snakes were kept down and finally exterminated.
Bartleson SHEARMAN relates that the firstschool he attended was taught by Nathan KIDDER, an excellent teacher, whoseschool was in a log house near the residence of Walter P. HOBART, about twomiles west of Yatesville. Among the pupils who attended this school wereWilliam, Arnold, and Penelope, children of Judge Arnold POTTER, Israel COMSTOCK,Polly and Betsey HOLSINGER, Joseph CHAMBERS, Stephen WYMAN, Joseph, Baxter,Hannah, Walter P., and Israel HOBART, Jacob, Joseph, John, Isaac, Abraham, andRachel LANE. Another school he attended was at Larzelere�s Hollow in 1808,taught by James JACKSON who was also a good teacher, and afterwards taught inPenn Yan. JACKSON was a stammering man. At the school at Larzelere�s, IsraelCOMSTOCK also attended, also Peleg LUTHER, Henry LARZELERE, Alfred BROWN,Stephen LUTHER, Rebecca and Ann DURHAM, Ann BROWN, afterwards Mrs. GideonWOLCOTT, Ann and Susan INGRAHAM, and others. He attended a school taught byIsrael ARNOLD, near where Jareb D. BORDWELL now lives, and another taught byWilliam GUERNSEY, a Methodist Class Leader, near Nettle Valley, in 1813. Hisschool education was finished at a school taught in a log school house justabove Simeon COLE�s residence, in the woods, four and a half miles distantfrom his home. The school was taught by David BAILEY, an accomplished teacher,and a relative of Rev. Mr. FARLEY. The BROWNs and LUTHERs and Henry LARZELEREattended this school. Mr. SHEARMAN boarded with Beloved LUTHER, and chopped woodfor three large fires, and paid $1.25 a week besides for his board. Two nightsin a week they had writing school, and improved very rapidly.
The Friend was the religious teacher ofthose days, and the SHEARMANs attended her meetings regularly. Mrs. SHEARMAN wasa devout believer in the Friend�s doctrine all her days, and never fell awayfrom the Society or the observance of their worship. Her husband dropped awaywhen Elnathan BOTSFORD was alienated by the unhappy litigation which involvedthe Friend and her Society for so long a period.
Bartleson SHEARMAN has on his farm thefinest grove of sugar maples in the county, and manufactures every year a largeamount of excellent sugar on his own grounds. Hishouse is one of the finest and best built residences in the County and cost$11,000 to erect it in 1859.
pg505
SISSONFamily - Jonathan SISSON was one of the sons of George SISSON, of theFriend�s Society. He was a cavalry soldier under Aaron REMER in the war of1812, for which he received a warrant for one hundred and sixty acres of land.He married Catharine VOSBINDER, of Milo, and they settled first near City Hill,where most of their children were born. In 1827 they moved to Jerusalem andsettled on lot 4, Guernsey�s Survey, where both died in 1857, he at the age ofseventy-three and she at seventy. Their children were William, George, Joshua,David, Harrison, and Bethany.
Williammarried Melissa, daughter of William GENUNG. They settled in Italy about onemile west of Italy Hill, and have two surviving children, Sarah M., and EstherJ. Sarah M. married Elisha CHAMPLIN.
GeorgeSISSON is a resident of Addison, N.Y. Joshua died in 1867, unmarried, atforty-six.
Davidmarried Charlotte, daughter of Zachariah COONS, of Jerusalem. He died inCalifornia in 1850, leaving a daughter, Bethany, now the wife of James A. COLE.His widow became the wife of his brother Harrison.
HarrisonSISSON, born in 1829, married in 1852, Charlotte, widow of his brother David.They have a son David H. Harrison SISSON resides on a portion of the paternalhomestead and is a tidy and prosperous farmer.
Bethanywas the oldest of the family. She married William GENUNG, jr. They reside inItaly and have three surviving children, Sarah M., Esther A., and Carrie. SarahM. is the wife of Allen B. CHASE, of Italy. Esther A. is the wife of MajorGeorge W. WADDEL, of Penn Yan. They have two children. Carrie married a son ofWilliam SISSON.
Pg520 - 521
SMITHFamily - Ira SMITH was abrother of the late Eben SMITH, of Penn Yan. His wife was Betsey RICE, ofSaratoga Co., from whence they came in 1834. Their farm was near and south ofthe Heck School House, where he died in 1867, and she in 1859. Their childrenwere Morgan, Rosalinda, Mary, Jane M., Eben S., William H., Eleanor, and Martha.Morgan married Anice JOHNSON, of Potter, and resides in Jerusalem. They havethree children, Ira, Ebrel E., and Josephine. Rosalinda married RichardHENDERSON, jr., of Milo. Mary married Howland HEMPHILL, of Saratoga County. JaneM. married Elias F. CHASE, son of Rev. Abner CHASE.
DoctorEben S. SMITH, married Mary, daughter of Henry HUNT, of Milo. They reside inTorrey. He is a farmer and physician, and represented this County in theLegislature in the sessions of 1865 and 1866. They have four children, Frank H.,Charles, Mary, and George. Frank H. married Mary Emma PETERSON, of Wilmington,Delaware, and is a physician in Penn Yan.
WilliamH. married Jane HEMMINGWAY, of Buffalo, and resides on the homestead farm onBluff Point. Their children are Morgan, Dewitt, Willie, Emma, Newel, Herman,Alta, and Allen. Morgan married Anna SPANGLER, of Branchport and resides in thatvillage.
Eleanormarried John SHEPHERD, jr., of Jerusalem, and resided on Bluff Point where hedied in 1866, leaving his widow and four children, Rosalinda, Jane, Lucy A., andEllen.
Marthamarried Almon BEAL, and resides in Milo.
Amongother early residents of Bluff Point were Reuben CORNWELL, John HOSMER, EnochCHAPMAN, Bela RICHARDSON, now at Naples, Mr. CLOUGH, a Dutchman, SamuelKINGSLEY, father of John KINGSLEY, of Penn Yan, who was on the farm afterwardsowned by Capt. James HARRIS; a Mr. BOYD who lived at what was called the BlockHouse, on lands afterwards owned by David THOMAS, next by Mr. MILLS, and then byMr. HASTINGS. Judah CHASE was another citizen of the Point, some of whosedescendents are now residents of West Jerusalem. Leman DUNNING, father of LeviO. and Alanson S. DUNNING, was an early resident on the Point. So was DavidMORSE, who came with Capt. John BEDDOE, and Rouse LAMB, who lived on the HAIGHTplace. On the east road were Elisha PHELPS, Daniel EARL, Melchoir SNAPP, and aMr. ROSS. On the west, John SHOUL, Nathan COTHERN, who was a Justice of thePeace and a leading citizen; a Mr. WEED, and Nicholas BENNETT, who was a farmerand a school teacher. Some of his pupils it is said came barefooted to schooleven in winter.
JohnMCDOWELL grandfather of William MCDOWELL, the president Supervisor ofBarrington, settled in 1795, on the west branch of Keuka Lake, buying his landof John GREIG, agent of the HORNBY estate. When a new line was surveyed for theboundary of Steuben County, which then included Bluff Point, it was found thatthe township line established by Hugh MAXWELL, where it crossed the Lake, wasinaccurate. This threw a large part of Mr. MCDOWELL�s land into Ontario,instead of Steuben, where he had supposed it to belong, and his title did notcover it. His loss was not made good to him and he left there in 1803. Somegraves of the family are still to be recognized in the woods on the land of R.Selden ROSE.
Pg546
ThomasB. SMITH was a native of the town of Seneca. His father was Rufus SMITH,who married Milly, sister of Otis and George BARDEN. He married Betsey MARKS ofSeneca. They settled in 1826 on the Green Tract, where he owned 300 acres, andin 1833 built a commodious framed house, one of the earliest and best on theTract, on lot 4. In 1844 he moved back to Seneca, and ten years later returned;but died in Seneca in 1868 at the age of 63. Their children are Milly J., RufusA., Jacob J., Thomas W., and Lewis M. Milly J. married James WINDNAGLE ofGorham. They reside in Prattsburg and have five sons. Rufus A. married Estherdaughter of E. Otis ALMY. They live in Potter and have two children.
JacobJ. married Hannah, daughter of James D. ALMY. They live in Italy Hollow and havetwo children. Thomas W. born in 1834 married Emily, daughter of Samuel P. CARVEY.He was a prosperous farmer in Jerusalem, a Justice of the Peace, and resides nowin Penn Yan. Their children are Charles, Jasper, Ella, Willie, and Lewis. LewisM. married Janette HAWLEY of Middlesex and resides in Canandaigua. They have twochildren.
Pg558 - 559
STEVERFamily - Peter D. STEVER wasborn in 1802, in Columbia County, N.Y., came into this County in 1830 andsettled on the Beddoe Tract. He had at that time about four hundred dollars andstruggled alone for two years when his brother James and family moved in andthey worked in partnership for five or six years, in the meantime purchasing thefarm where James now lives.
In1837 he married Ann BAKER, and dividing the property each took his share, hetaking the farm where he now resides. Peter D. STEVER was one of the first whopulled stumps by machinery. He has a farm of 140 acres mostly fenced withstumps, and is one of the best farmers in the town. He has a great abundance offruit, plenty of good buildings, and much to make him comfortable in hisdeclining years. He and his wife have had nine children, Hannah, Ruth, Franklin,Hester, Oscar, David, Cecelia, Annette, and Rupert. Hannah, Ruth and Ceceliadied single. Franklin married Lydia, daughter of Meli TODD, and resides nearBranchport. They have one child, Llewellyn. Oscar married Joanna, daughter ofJesse DAVIS, and moved to California. Hester married Russell CARR, and livesnear her father. They have one child. Annette married William LACY and lives inPotter. The others are single.
JamesSTEVER married Desire GOODSELL and like his brother Peter is a first classfarmer, independent in means. He started with a small capital and has now acompetency. They have 6 children. Leonard, Peter, Elizabeth, George, Joseph, andJennie. Leonard married Susan, daughter of Robert MILLER of Pultney and lives inJerusalem Hollow. They have three children, Lora, Elbert and Frederick. Petermarried Jane Ann, daughter of James PARIS, and resides in Branchport. They havefour children, Celista, Arthur, and another besides an infant. Elizabeth marriedRobert MILLER Jr., of Pultney, andlives on the Beddoe Tract. They have one child. George married Olive, daughterof Howland HEMPHILL, and lives in Branchport. Joseph and Jennie are unmarried.
EliR. STEVER, born in Columbia county in 1812, married in 1840 Louisa GOODSELL, aniece of James STEVER�s wife. They lived seven years in Chautauqua county,from whence they moved to Bluff Point, and have since resided there. Mr. STEVERhas about 500 acres of the land formerly the property of Capt. James HARRIS. Heis a thrifty farmer, and a successful stock and grain-grower. He has now on hispremises a promising young vineyard of 52 acres, the largest on the borders ofKeuka Lake. Mr. William H. OLIN is his partner in the grape culture. George andJames STEVER were the only children of Eli and Louisa STEVER. George marriedElizabeth, daughter of Gilbert T. STEWART, and died in 1869.
GeorgeW. STEVER who married Susan M., daughter of David TURNER, first settled on theBeddoe Tract, but has recently moved into Pultney. The STEVERs are remarkablefor their peaceful disposition and industrious habits. They were sons of DavidP. STEVER of Columbia county.
pg 502 -503
STEWARTFamily - Captain William Henry STEWART, bornin Inverness, Scotland, in 1780, followed a sea-faring life over twenty yearsand navigated most of the seas and oceans of the globe. For some years he was acaptain in the packet service between Liverpool and New York, and in one of histrips occurred a romantic adventure. George RAGG, a wealthy merchant of NewYork, commissioned the captain to bring from England a daughter he had leftthere. During the passage she was washed overboard by a wave dashing across thedeck. Captain STEWART bravely rescued her by plunging into the perilous deep,and she repaid him with gratitude that ripened into love which became areciprocal passion. They were married in New York in 1817, and soon after in thesame year settled on lot 50, near Keuka Lake, about three miles from Penn Yan,on land given them by Mrs. STEWART�s father. They purchased an additional lotof Thirty-one acres to reach the Lake and erected a house where La FayetteMERRITT has just finished an elegant mansion, taking the place of the oldstructure. They received an annual allowance from the estate of George RAGG andcontinued to reside there while they lived. She died in 1835. Their childrenwere Ann E., Sarah W., Hannah, Abbie, Bethulia, Rachel, and Charlotte. Anne E.married Francis B. SHEARMAN, of Penn Yan. Sarah married Isaac PURDY, ofJerusalem. Hannah is single, residing at Prattsburgh. Abbie is the wife ofDeloss PORTER, of Canandaigua. Bethulia married Dr. Jacob RUNNER. They reside inWayne, Steuben Co., and their children are Olive F., and Hattie E. Rachelmarried Addison CHAPIN, of Prattsburgh. Their children are Bell, Stewart,Freddy, Eddie, and Nellie M. Charlotte married John WALDO, of Prattsburgh. Theyemigrated to Quincy, Ill., and their children are Charles, Lottie, Lucius, andHarvey.
CaptainSTEWART married a second wife, Emma J., daughter of John MERRITT, of Jerusalem.He died at the age of seventy-two, in 1852. Their children were John W., Eliza,William H., George B., Bell, and Saunders C. Though married young the motherproved a capable woman and guided the affairs of her farm and family withability and discretion. She is now the wife of James T. DAVIS. Her son John W.married Helen, daughter of Caleb HAZEN. He is a teacher in the Penn Yan Academyand makes a special study of Botany. They have a son, Willie. Eliza is the wifeof Joseph N. KENYON, residing on the farm lately owned by William S. HUDSON, onlot 82, in Benton. Their children are Herbert, Sarah, and Freddy and Eddy,twins. William H. died at twenty-two. George resides single at Pittsburg, Pa.Saunders C. resides single in Penn Yan. Bell is the wife of Edward HOPKINS,jeweler, of Penn Yan. They have one child, Freddie.
Pg534 - 537
BenjaminSTODDARD - The first settler on lot 12, of the Green Tract, in Jerusalem,was Benjamin STODDARD; and he and Daniel TURNER are all that remain of theoriginal settlers on that entire Tract. He was born in 1796, in Cherry Valley,Otsego County. Henry and Oren GREEN had the Tract re-surveyed by Jabez FRENCHinto lots of 154 acres, or half a mile from north to south and 154 rods fromeast to west. Benjamin STODDARD, and his brother Cyrenus, took lot 12, thelatter living there 20 years when he moved to Michigan. It was then a completewilderness, and Mr. STODDARD paid six dollars an acre for his land. He was then21 years old, had pretty good clothes, an ax, a gun, a watch, and six dollars inmoney. Armed with youthful courage and a strong constitution, he entered uponthe work of subduing the wilderness and earning on his land the wherewithal topay for its title. His first crop of wheat, gathered in 1818, he sold for fiveshillings per bushel and his second crop for two and six-pence. He built thefirst frame barn on the Green Tract, in 1818, trading away his gun to getlumber. That barn still stands, as good as ever, with a new roof. He built firsta log house, and married Hannah KELLY, in 1818. She also was from Otsego County,and few women have been a better support to a husband than she in the arduouslabors of pioneer life and the care of a large family. In her advanced age of71, she is still a vigorous woman, intent on the industries of a thrifty home.They have been an industrious couple, and their labors have been reasonablyrewarded. Mr. STODDARD has been a useful and prominent citizen. He held aCaptain�s commission in the 103d Regiment of Infantry, granted by Gov. Enos T.THROOP, in 1828, and a Lieutenant�s commission previously given by Gov. YATES.He also held various town offices. At the age of 74, he is still a man of strongand robust habit. Their surviving children are Chester, Survina, Charles, PhiloK., Susan Ann, and Thomas.
Chestermarried Catharine, daughter of Abraham VAN TUYL. Their children are Alice andAnn. Alice married first James MILLER, of Italy, and after his death, Ebrel E.SMITH, son of Morgan SMITH, of Jerusalem. She has two children, Alida MILLER,and Chester SMITH. Ann married William ANSLEY, of Jerusalem. Their children areClarence, Alice, and Lansing.
Survinamarried Thomas VAN TUYL, son of Abraham VAN TUYL. Their children are Benjamin,John, Eva, Ella, Ernest, and Mary. Benjamin married Kate CHEENEY, of Prattsburgh.
Charlesmarried Diana COOKINGHAM. They had a daughter, Hannah, who married James WRIGHT,and lives in Jerusalem. Charles married a second wife, resides west and has twochildren by the second marriage, Ida, and Charles.
PhiloK. married first, Sarah LEWIS, of Prattsburgh. They had one son, Lewis. Hissecond wife was Sarah, daughter of Albert R. COWING. He is a popular physicianat Prattsburgh.
SusanAnn married Richard LEWIS, of Prattsburgh. Their children are Mary, Esther,William, and Jennie.
Esthermarried Vroman B. LEWIS. They live in Wheeler, and their children are Charles,Benjamin, Clara, and Chester.
Thomasmarried Frances, only daughter of Daniel JOHNSON. They reside on the STODDARDhomestead, and have one child, Kate.
Althoughthe wolves had left before Mr. STODDARD settled in Jerusalem, other wild animalsstill roamed about. The deer were very plenty, and Mrs. STODDARD relates thatone actually entered her house on one occasion. It had been tired in the chase,and she opened the gate to let it in. An occasional panther would stroll intothe neighborhood, and one came almost to the house of Aaron CRAFT. Mr. STODDARDstates that he followed one as far as Daniel BALDWIN�s, in Italy, as late as1820. He was led on by the cry of a voice which he supposed was that of a womanthat had left his house shortly before.When he reached Mr. BALDWIN�s he foundthat the lady had reached there before nightfall, and the cry then recognized asthat of a panther, had passed still further on.
In1817 there was no direct road from the head of the west branch of Keuka Lake toItaly Hill and Prattsburgh. The road passed around by Larzelere�s Hollow. In1817 the people of Prattsburgh expended $300 in building log bridges on the roadfrom Italy Hill to Shearman�s Hollow.
Theyhad no schools in Mr. STODDARD�s neighborhood till 1820, when a school housewas built nearly on the same ground where the present one stands. The firstschool teacher was Sophia PARKMAN, from near Rushville. She afterwards marriedStaats GREEN. The next was Alice WHITMAN, and the next Polly WILLIAMS.
Anearly preacher at the school house was John POTTER, a Christian, and grandfatherof Mrs. Bartleson SHEARMAN. One of the earliest Methodist preachers there wasGideon LANNING.
CyrenusSTODDARD, the father of Benjamin STODDARD, settled in the edge of Potter, nextto the Green Tract in 1816, where he died at the age of seventy. Philo, abrother of Benjamin STODDARD, settled near his father and afterwards moved toOhio.
HenryB. STODDARD, (not a relative,) married Orra, sister of Benjamin STODDARD. He wasa mason, and his death was caused by a fall from a building in Rochester. He wasburied in the private cemetery of Benjamin STODDARD, where the father and motherof the latter are also buried.
BenjaminSTODDARD belonged to the first Grand Jury called in the County of Yates. Hisneighbor, Jonathan WELDON, the first settler where Nathan G. BENEDICT resides,was another. Jonathan WELDON was an important citizen and the brother-in-law ofSamuel BLACKMAN, the first settler on the Amsey HORTON place.
pg507 - 508
SUTTONFamily - Thomas SUTTON was a native of Eavesham, Burlington Co., NewJersey. He married Letetia HAINES, of New Jersey, and they settled in 1805 inUlysses, N.Y., near Taghkanic Falls. He was a farmer for some time and a part ofthe time in business as a hatter. In 1816 they moved to Jerusalem and settled onlot 56 of township seven, first range, where John I. DURRY now resides, buyingthe land of Samuel SEELEY, a merchant of Penn Yan. Here they resided throughlife. Their children were Jane, Daniel, John, Thomas C., Lewis, William, Reuben,Albert, Hannah, Ann, and Emeline. Jane, born in 1799, was the wife of IsraelCOMSTOCK, and survives with well-preserved faculties and powers.
Daniel,born in 1801, married first, Ann, oldest daughter of Elnathan BOTSFORD, jr.Their children were Almon S., Aurelia Jane, and Lucy Amaretta. He married asecond wife, Menty PIERCE. They reside in Benton. Almon S. SUTTON marriedJuliette MATHER, of Benton. He died leaving two children, Almeda A., and Daniel.Aurilla Jane married Oliver PERRY, of Potter, and died leaving a son Daniel.Lucy Amaretta married John DINEHART, and resides near Sparta, Wisconsin. JohnSUTTON died single at twenty-three.
ThomasC. SUTTON married Betsey BARRETT, resides on a part of the paternal homestead,and is a thrifty farmer and a good citizen. Their children are Lewis, MarthaJane, Thomas C., and Frank. Lewis married Emma BENEDICT. They have two children,Daniel C., and Emma E. Martha Jane married Ezekiel C. BENEDICT. They have a sonFred. Thomas C. SUTTON, jr., married Ellen COONS. They have one child.
LewisSUTTON studied medicine with Doctors HERMANS, OLIVER, and SPENCE, and diedsuddenly in 1828.
WilliamS. married Maria, sister of John B. HARRIS, and died in 1854 at the age offorty.
ReubenSUTTON was a young man of much ability and promise. He studied law at Kalamazoo,Michigan, with Charles E. STUART, afterwards U. S. Senator from that State. Hedied at the age of twenty-two. Albert, also a law student, died while attendingthe Seminary at Lima, N.Y., at the age of twenty-one. The others died young.
Pg559 - 560
TAYLORFamily - James TAYLOR bornin 1798 in Ireland, married there Rebecca TAYLOR, (not a relative) born in 1801.They settled in Starkey in 1827, and two years latter on the Beddoe Tract, wherethey lived till 1850, when they bought the Beddoe homestead in Branchport wherehe died in 1869 at the age of seventy-one. His wife died in 1856 agedfifty-five. They belonged to the Episcopal Church. Their children who becameadults were Mary, John, William D., James L., Thomas, Charles, Susanah andEleanor E. Mary, Eleanor E., John and Charles are single residing at thehomestead. William D. is a Methodist clergyman of the East Genesee Conference, agraduate of Union College, and formerly a teacher of eminence. He marriedHarriet, daughter of Dr. Chauncey HAYES of Prattsburg, and they have a sonCharles.
JamesL. is a successful lawyer residing at Branchport, and one of the LoanCommissioners of Yates county. He married Elizabeth V., daughter of Tompkins W.BOYD of Pultney.
Thomasis a farmer, owning the farm purchased by his father on the Beddoe Tract. Hemarried Caroline, daughter of John DORMAN of Jerusalem. Their children are Luna,Alice, Jennie, Minnie and Dora. Susanah married Loren B. SMITH. They reside atLawrenceville, Pa., and have two children, Edward and Frederick.
Pg 519 - 520
THOMAS Family - David THOMAS came to BluffPoint from Cayuga County, settled on the farm now known as the VALENTINE farm,and removed to near Shearman�s Hollow. Their children were Frank, Eliza,Emily, Mary Ann, Sarah, David, and Loren. Frank married Lucinda, daughter ofWilliam L. HOBART. Eliza married John F. HOBART, son of William L. HOBART. Emilymarried Rev. Valorous BEEBE. They reside in Pennsylvania. David married Hannah,daughter of Samuel WYMAN. Loren married a sister of Mrs. Bartleson SHEARMAN, andresides in Jerusalem. Mary Ann married Mr. DECKER, and resides in Pennsylvania.Sarah became the second wife of John F. HOBART.
Pg508 - 510
ElijahTOWNSEND Family - Thefirst settlers at what is now known as Kinney�s Corners, were the family ofElijah TOWNSEND, who made a beginning there in 1793. Elijah TOWNSEND was ablacksmith and made cow-bells for the early settlers. He was from Susquehannah,Pa., and his children were Uriah, Hezekiah, Mary, Henry, Isaac, Phebe, Martha,Sarah, and Lydia. Hezekiah was the first blacksmith in Yates County, and has arecord in the history of Milo. Mary married John COLE, and moved to Angelica.Henry died single. Isaac married Lucinda SLATER, lived near the Corners, andafterwards moved west. Phebe married Clement EARL and had four children; afterhis death she married Gilbert SUTPHEN, and other children were born of thesecond marriage. Sarah married Timothy PLYMPTON, who owned at one time lot 32,in Milo (276 acres) on which all the eastern part of Penn Yan is located. Hedied poor and his descendants are scattered. Lydia married Stephen BAGLEY. Theylived at Kinney�s Corners and had five children.
UriahTOWNSEND married Dolly FOX, one of a family of fifteen children of Randolph FOX.His family escaped from the Wyoming Massacre in 1778, and Dolly was at that timeeleven years old. They afterwards returned to the scene of the massacre andfound their house burned and the place desolated. Uriah and Dolly had fivechildren when they settled at Kinney�s Corners and five more were born intotheir family thereafter. A part of the farm of Uriah TOWNSEND is now theproperty of Mrs. James CARR, and the orchard on that place was planted by UriahTOWNSEND. Their children were Isaac, Elizabeth, Mary, John, Phebe, Daniel,Dolly, Catharine, Uriah P., and Henry M. Isaac married Pamelia Guernsey, andmoved to Ohio. Mary married Whipple STREETER, and had three children. She had asecond husband, Squier DRIGGS. They had two children and resided in Benton. Johnmarried Celesta FERRIS and moved to Ohio. Phebe died at 15 years. Daniel marriedHannah OWEN, Dolly married Henry FERRIS, and Henry married Eliza TRUE, and allthree moved to Ohio. Catharine married Terry ARNOTT, and Uriah married MissBEAL, of Bluff Point. Martha married Simeon SPENCER, who died a few monthslater. His posthumous daughter Lydia married in Westchester Co.,
andher mother became the second wife of Abraham PROSSER. Elizabeth married AshbelBEERS, who was born at Long Hill, Conn., in 1783, and came to this County in1809. They were married in 1812, he 29 and she 19 years. For seven years theylived about three miles below Penn Yan, where he wrought at wool-carding insummer and at his trade as a tailor in winter. They afterwards lived three yearson the farm of Uriah TOWNSEND near Kinney�s Corners, five years near the footof the Lake in Milo, and thereafter on the farm in Jerusalem where he died andthe family still reside on lot 2, of Grernsey�s Survey. Ashbel BEERS died in1865, aged 81 years. His wife survives at the age of seventy-seven. He wasfifty-one years an irreproachable member of the Methodist Church, and his wifehas been 63 years an acceptable member. Their children were Harmon L., GeorgeT., James M., Benjamin F., Major A., Joel D., Elizabeth J., Sarah A., and MaryS. Harmon L. died single. George F. married Mchetabel MINOR, and has a secondwife Mary GRAINARD. They live on the ADSIT farm two and one half milessouth-west of Branchport. There were four children by the first marriage. Jamesmarried Emma BARNES. They had one child and he died about one year after hismarriage. Benjamin F. married Louisa HART, in Florida, where he went to improvehis health. She died leaving one child, and he died in 1870. Major A. marriedRachel QUICK, and has a second wife, Mariette GRAINARD. They reside on thehomestead. Joel D. died single in Florida. Elizabeth married Rodney TAYLOR, anddied in 1847, leaving one child. Sarah A. was the first wife of Isaac W.HARTSHORN. Mary S. married Rodney TAYLOR, the husband of her deceased sister,Elizabeth, and died leaving one child.
Pg538
DavidTURNER, born in 1792, in Greenbush, Rensselaer County, married in 1812,Margaret PASSAGE, a native of the same place, born in 1798. They moved to Bentonin 1815, and in 1818 took up their residence on lot 14, of the Green Tract,where they lived over half a century and where Mrs. TURNER died in 1870. Theywon their livelihood in this locality by unremitting industry and mostself-denying economy, and their lives have been upright and blameless. Theirchildren were Reuben, Maria, Hannah, Catharine, Susan M., Sarah Ann, and DavidH. Reuben, who resides near the homestead, married Esther Jane DRAKE, and theirchildren are Hannah, Margaret, Maria, and Catharine.
Mariamarried Levi C. KNAPP, son of Matthew KNAPP, of Barrington, and they have twosurviving children. Hannah married Joseph KEECH. They live west and have twochildren, David and Daniel. Catharine married Daniel ALBEE. They live at Addisonand their children are Eva, and Henry. Susan M. married George W. STEVER, anddied in 1858. David H. married Diana, daughter of Abraham L. ROBINSON, andresides on the SMITH place on lot 4. Sarah Ann is single.
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Pg518 - 519
BenjaminWAITE - This family was fromSaratoga County, and settled on the Point in 1816, on lot 75, of the firstsixth, where Green KENYON afterwards lived. There both parents died. Theirchildren were Polly, Ray G., Alfred, Albert, William, Stephen, Eliza, and Mercy.Ray G. is connected with the REMER family history. Eliza married a Mr. HOWE.Stephen lives in Kentucky. William, Mercy, Sarah, Polly, Alfred, and Albert diedsingle. The WAITE family were excellent citizens, and much respected.
WilliamCULVER and family were prominent among the early inhabitants of thePoint. They settled on the east branch, east of the Lake road. Frank CULVER, ason of William CULVER, married a daughter of Daniel MORSE, and resides on lot63, of the first seventh. Their children are Amanda, Harriet, Julia, John, andFranklin.
JohnDYKEMAN resides on lot 64, of the first seventh, where he and his fathersettled early. He has one daughter, Nancy, who married Mr. CASTALINE, andresides on the homestead. They have one child.
HowlandHEMPHILL was an early settler and resides near his first location on lot4, Hight�s Survey. His first wife was Mariette, daughter of Ira SMITH. Theyhave two daughters, Lois, and Alice. Lois is the wife of Edward G. HOPKINS, ofPenn Yan. They have two children, Ella G., and Bertha L. Alice married GeorgeSTEVER, of Branchport.
TheHERRICK families were early residents and sold to Dr. Henry ROSE. Jacobmoved to Wisconsin, and Nathan to Ontario Co. His son Cyrus E. HERRICK, marriedMary HAIGHT, of Bluff Point, and now resides on lot 73, of the first sixth. Theyhave two children, Isaac, and Chloe. Isaac married Mary COHOON, and resides onthe HAIGHT farm. They have one child.
GeorgeHECK was an early settler and has been a most industrious and prosperousfarmer. His wife was Hannah HOFFSTRATER, of Fayette, Seneca Co. They residewhere they first settled, on lot 64, of the first seventh, at the forks of theroads leading on the Point, and the place known as Heck�s School House. Theirchildren are William, John, Aaron, Henry, George, and Stephen. William and Johnare married and settled in Michigan. Aaron married Ellen HUNT, of Branchport,and resides near the father.
pg 643 - 644
Joshua WAY - A native of Pennsylvania, Joshua WAY came to the county with Joseph JONES as soon as 1800. He established himself in the business of wool carding and cloth dressing near the Friend�s Mill, owned by Richard SMITH. The place became known as Way and Andrews� Hollow. The business was profitable and Joshua WAY became a prosperous citizen. He married Reliance, daughter of John LAWRENCE Sr.. She died leaving four children, Anna, Mary, William L. and Eliza.
Anna married Benjamin BROWN of Milo, and emigrated to McHenry Co., Ill., where she died. Their children were Henry, William, Horace, Reliance, Susan and Mary E. He died in 1868, at the residence of his daughter, Reliance, in Missouri.
Mary WAY was the wife of Dr. Jeremiah B. ANDREWS.
William L. WAY married Rebecca, daughter of Jesse and Mary ALFORD, and went with his brother in law, Benjamin BROWN to McHenry Co., Ill. He died there before moving his family. His widow died soon after. Their children were Helen and Mary, twins, and Alford. Helen married David B. ASPELL of Milo. Mary is the wife of Chester M. BRIDGEMAN of Jackson, Michigan. Alfred is single, residing in Illinois, near St. Louis.
Joshua WAY married a second wife, Sarah, daughter of Amos P. CHASE, a Baptist clergyman. He died on his homestead in 1831. The children of the second marriage were Joshua, Caroline, Jane, Sarah, Joseph, Spencer, and one more. Joshua WAY Jr. is a popular physician at Naples, NY where he married a Miss CLEVELAND. They have one daughter.
Pg526 - 528
WEAVERFamily - Josiah WEAVER and his sonJames moved from Saratoga to Dryden, N.Y., and thence in 1823 to Reading, now inSchuyler Co., each with their families, and both died there, the father at theage of eighty-eight, in 1832, and the son at the age of ninety-two, in 1864. Thechildren of James WEAVER were Solomon D., James, Elizabeth, Hugh, Ransom, Nancy,Josiah, Davis, Moses, Lydia and Orville, (twins), and Alonzo. Solomon D. aloneof this family became a resident of Yates County. He was born at Saratoga, nearthe Springs, in 1797. While yet young and previous to his marriage he worked forWay & Brown at cloth-dressing in Penn Yan, near Head street, the works beinglocated on Jacob�s Brook. Afterwards he took charge of what was known as theFactory Mill, owned by John LAWRENCE, Benjamin SHAW, Aaron REMER, AbnerWOODWORTH, Dr. Joshua LEE, and others, at whose solicitation he took charge ofthe business. This Mill was located where the Mill now owned by R. S. HALSEY isnow. Mr. WEAVER took charge of it, leasing the concern and run it one year as hefound it, with a complete loss of his time. He was encouraged to proceed by themen above named, on his own account. He made a large outlay for improvements andmade it pay. To the unfaltering friendship of the men who then aided him heattributes his success in life. He married in 1820, Elizabeth GAMBY, born atWhite Plains, Dutchess Co., in 1800. She was the daughter of widow GAMBY,afterwards Mrs. John WEED, of Benton. In partnership with George SHEARMAN hepurchased one hundred acres of land of John HALL, embracing a fine water poweron Keuka Lake outlet, some distance above the Factory Mill, for which they gavesixteen dollars per acre. They erected two saw mills and one grist mill, withthree run of stone, long known as the Shearman and Weaver Mill, located wherethe Paper Mill of William H. FOX now stands. They moved on successfully two orthree years when they added two distilleries, and soon commenced to recede inprosperity, reaching the verge of bankruptcy in about six years.
In1832 he moved to Branchport and engaged in the timber business, buying land onthe Beddoe Tract, shipping away the timber and selling the land. He engagedlargely in the timber business for many years with successful results, leavinghim a good competency in his old age, after a life of hard labor and anxiousresponsibility in business. His first wife died in 1862. Their children wereMyron H., Llewellyn J., Sherrel S., George S., and Helen E.
MyronH. married Mary E. BRIGGS, of Prattsburgh, and lived for several years amerchant at Branchport. He resides now at Havana, Schuyler Co., where he is alsoa merchant. They have three children, George, Dwight, and Durham. He was one ofthe Presidential Electors of 1864.
LlewellynJ. married Almeda, daughter of James P. BARDEN. They resided in Brooklyn wherehe engaged in the lumber business and died there in 1861.
SherrelS. and his wife Viola, settled in Saginaw, Mich., when he removed to Kansas,where they reside.
GeorgeS. married first Eliza LANSING, of Greenbush, N.Y. She died leaving twochildren, Catharine, and Elizabeth. His second wife was Annetta THATCHER, ofBrockport. They now reside at Albany, and have two children, George, and Corey.
HelenE. married Rev. George N. CHEENEY, in 1854, an Episcopal clergyman of worth andpromise. Both are dead and also their two children.
SolomonD. WEAVER married a second wife, Mrs. Julia L. RIGHTER, of Lakeville, Conn., whodied in 1870.
Pg537 - 538
WRIGHTFamily - Joseph WRIGHT and his wife, Lucy WOODS, were natives ofMassachusetts. She was a daughter of a Revolutionary General whose brotherboarded the ship and threw overboard the tea in Boston harbor when the quarrelwith England begun. They settled in West Bloomfield in 1808, and in 1817 movedwhere Jewett MARINER now resides, on lot 27, of the Green Tract. He died inMiddlesex at the age of seventy-three. Their children were Lucretia, Lucy,Jackson, Joseph W., William, and Catharine. Lucretia married William B. CULVER,of Reading, and died in that town. Lucy was the first wife of Michael GAGE, ofMiddlesex. They had twelve children, of whom four survive, Myron, Loraine,Lucretia, and Henry H.
JacksonWRIGHT married Maria BABCOCK, of Jerusalem, and resides there. Their childrenare Maria A., Lucy L., Phebe F., Adaline C., William and Lyman S. Maria A.married Chester FRENCH, and becoming a widow married a second husband, Thomas J.WHITE, the present owner and occupant of the Friend�s place in Jerusalem. LucyL. married William CULVER of Reading. They have two children, Chester, andAlice. Adaline C. married S. Martin FRENCH, of Jerusalem.
JosephW. married Adaline SECOR, of Benton, and lived most of his life in Jerusalem,but now resides in Benton. He has two surviving sons, James B., and Philetus.James B. married Hannah, daughter of Charles STODDARD.
Williammarried Lucinda, daughter of Francis PURDY. They resided in Middlesex tillrecently, and now live at Canandaigua. Of their children, Edward, Mary, andFrank, Edward only survives. Catharine died single at 21 years.
Pg561 - 563
SamuelHart WRIGHT, M.D., A.M.
Dr.Samuel H. WRIGHT, born in 1825, now a citizen of Jerusalem, is a native ofPeekskill, N.Y. His father is a minister of distinction in the Methodist Church.His mother was Zillah HART, and died at Geneva in 1865. He followed farming tillhe was twenty-five years old, and in his boyhood had no educational aspirations,learning but little at the district schools. At twenty he was electrified by twocarpenters who at the end of a day�s work took from their tool chest books onmathematics and philosophy for study and discussion. This lighted up a newambition; he resolved to be his own educator, and made rapid advancement in themost solid acquirements. While plowing he carried on his studies, stoppingoccasionally to draw a diagram on the fresh upturned soil. He declined hisfather�s offer of academical opportunities, which he said would be soon enoughsought when he found a science too difficult to master without aid. In 1845 hemarried Joana, daughter of William MC LEAN. In 1848, the third year of hisstudy, he made his first set of astronomical calculations, which he sold inRochester for fifteen dollars, getting cheated out of his pay, a loss whichafterwards deemed a profitable one, because it gave him an idea that businesshad its importance as well as theoretical knowledge. In 1849 he made a set ofastronomical tables for the four principal latitudes of the United States. Inattempting to sell them in the city of New York, he was repulsed anddisheartened till he applied at the Tribune Office, where he sold hismanuscript. Ever since that time the Whig and Tribune Almanacs have made use ofhis calculations.
In1850 he moved to Dundee and assisted Richard TAYLOR one term as teacher in theDundee Academy. The next winter he taught a district school at Big Stream. DavidYOUNG who had long been almost the sole collector for almanacs in this county,died in 1822, and thenceforth Samuel H. WRIGHT took his place, and has done muchof the same work for Cuba, Canada, Mexico, the countries of South America,China, Persia and Australia. He bids fair to hold a profitable business throughlife in working calendars alone. Speaking of his work he says:
�Thegreat solar eclipse of May 26, 1854, afforded me the first opportunity oftesting and witnessing the confirmation of my calculation of solar eclipses,which is conceded to be a problem of no easy dimensions. It was watched withanxiety and palpitation, as my reputation and possibly my fortune depended uponthe result. The great solar eclipse of 1869 gave me no such feelings; myreputation was established, and had it failed it would have done me littledamage, as ten thousand men would have sought some reason to excuse the blunderin me, but would instantly consign to obscurity a novice who might make such amistake. So unfair is mankind.�
Hecommenced the study of Medicine in 1854 with Dr. Henry SPENCE, attended a courseof lectures in New York and in 1865 received from the Geneva Medical College thedegree of Doctor of Medicine by diploma. He has practiced in this profession tosome extent. In May 1855 his wife died leaving three children Sarah Janett,Berlin Hart and Delia Bloomer.
SarahJanette is the wife of Ezra TINKER, A.B., B.D., a Methodist preacher of the NewYork Conference. Their other children reside with their father. Dr. WRIGHT inNovember 1855, married Mary Jane, daughter of Jeremiah S. BURTCH, of Jerusalem.They have a daughter Florence.
In1856 Dr. WRIGHT engaged in the study of Botany and in three years collected anherbarium of over three thousand specimens, added to which sixteen hundredspecies from Europe, and others from the South and West, gathered by exchange,constitute a collection of nearly six thousand plants valued at twelve thousanddollars. This has been the cause of an extensive correspondence with all thenative botanists of the country. In 1866, Williams College conferred on Dr.WRIGHT the degree of Master of Arts. In April, 1865, he was drafted, andpromptly informed the Provost Marshal he was ready; but as the war soon closed,the conscripts of that draft were not ordered forward. In 1866 he sold his homein Dundee, and has since resided at the home of his father-in-law in Jerusalem.Among his pursuits is that of land surveying. He has an admirable zeal as astudent of nature and science, and has collected a fine scientific library.
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