Town of Canadice History
History of Ontario Co, NY Pub 1878
Pg 253 - 258
Kindly transcribed by Deborah Spencer
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TOWN OF CANADICE
(An
abridgement from “Canadice in the Early Days,” by D. Byron Waite, Esq., a
resident of the town.)
“Every age bequeaths the next for
heritage.”
The location of the town is upon the
northern declivities of the central Allegany range; it is divided by Canadice
lake into two mainly parallel ranges, extending north and south.
The west ridge, from its appearance, has been known as “Bald Hill,”
being in early days covered by a diminutive growth of tree and shrub.
It has also been called, “Ball Hill,” from forming a spherical
segment of some 12 or more miles in diameter.
The south part of the east ridge has taken the name Kimball Hill, from
Kimball, its earliest settler. Upon
its eastern boundary for half its extent lies Honeoye lake; on the west for 7/8
of its limits is Hemlock lake; parallel with these, and occupying a position
somewhat west of the centre of this lake town, is the Canadice lake.
A central business point it does not
possess. The majority of its
inhabitants receive their mail from Honeoye, Hemlock lake, or Springwater
post-offices, and its first settlers, save Ebenezer KIMBALL, selected in low
land or valleys from the direction of the points named.
Not the primitive forest, but the unattractive hills and the malaria of
the lakes, caused a late settlement of Canadice.
Beds of tansy flourishing in close proximity to the cabins of early
settlers, and a knowledge that “tansy and whisky” was the general remedy for
fever and ague, the chief disorder of pioneer days, suggests that the settlers
did suffer from the miasmatic vapors of the lakes, and by these agents strove to
mitigate their effects.
It is assumed that SULLIVAN crossed the
northern end of the town when he passed through the Seneca country in 1779.
Historians say that “at Honeoye he left a small force to guard the sick
and provisions, and advanced with the utmost caution to the head of Lake
Conesus.” A day has been allowed for his army to march that distance,
cutting their way through the forest and skirmishing during the afternoon before
going into camp upon the inlet of Conesus lake.
John SALMON, formerly of Groveland, and a soldier in the raid, says,
“From the mouth of Seneca lake we proceed without the occurrence of anything
of importance by the outlets of Canandaigua, Honeoye, and Hemlock lakes to the
head of Conesus lake,” saying nothing of time nor alluding to Canadice Lake;
but the point where it is fairly claimed that SULLIVAN crossed the inlet is a
mile from the foot of the lake. In
STONE’s life of BRANDT, the latter states that it took SULLIVAN’s army two
days to march from the foot of the Honeoye to Conesus inlet.
This position was taken by Rufus GAREY, who accompanied the expedition,
and was a later early settler in the town.
About 1824, Hiram COLGROVE, residing upon a farm at the point claimed,
found a hatchet on his premises which, although badly rusted, was recognized by
GAREY as one used by SULLIVAN’s men. GAREY
visited the place and recognized it as the identical spot where they camped the
first night after leaving the foot of the Honeoye.
He asserted that at the crossing of Canadice outlet a causeway from
felled trees was constructed to cross their few pieces of artillery.
Confirmatory of this, COLGROVE has since plowed up pieces of logs at the
place, whose position suggests such a use.
GAREY gives the route of SULLIVAN as follows: “Passed west up the hill
near the dwelling of David HOPPOUGH, across the farm now owned by Augustus
SHEPARD, to the eastern shore of the lake, about ¾ of a mile above the foot;
thence down the lake to what were subsequently called Short’s Flats.
Here they found fields planted in corn and beans, which they ruined and
then passed on.”
The pioneers of Canadice were of two
classes,--the frontiersman and the settler. The former erected a temporary dwelling, cleared a small
garden patch, and as game grew scarce moved on, always in the van.
The latter engaged with zest in labor, urged by thoughts of a future
comfortable home.
The first settlers within present borders of
Canadice located themselves above the head of Honeoye lake in 1795.
There were then no surveys save those of township lines.
“Claim” lines were run by early comers with the axe, and GUNTER was
to them unknown. There were those
who claimed indefinite area for a time, but ultimately they were content with 40
or 50 acres. Frontier law secured
the first claimant his “betterments.” He
who undermined another made his name odious even to this generation.
It was a law that the cutting and piling of three respectable brush heaps
on a piece of land and a few marked trees for a boundary gave possession, while
the erection of the body of a log house was a security of inheritance.
Aaron J. HUNT, of New Jersey, removed
primarily to the valley of Wyoming, but not to remain.
Early in the spring of 1795, with his family, he set out for the Genesee
country, with part of his household property, upon a sled drawn by oxen.
At Blood’s Corners were the cabins of Richard HOOKER and Joseph BIVIN.
Here the sled was unloaded and returned to Newtown for what had been
left. From this point to Honeoye
lake a trail was to be their road. While
HUNT returned for the goods, the remainder of the party, seven in number, with
what they could carry upon their backs, started for their prospective home, and
those who know the rugged region over which their journey led will not be
surprised to learn that they lost their way, and sought a night’s shelter by
the trunk of a fallen tree. The
howls of the wolves and a sense of loneliness made the occasion memorable to the
youngest and last survivor of that group, Mrs. Sarah LINCOLN, of Hopewell, who
is verging closely upon her centennial birthday.
The next day the “echoing axe was swung” to fell the trees, with
whose trunks a cabin was erected upon what is now lot No. 7, in the extreme
southwest corner of the present town of Richmond.
With this party came the first settler of Canadice, Jacob HOLDREN, an
acknowledged suitor for the hand of HUNT’s daughter, Jane.
He built a cabin on the west side of Honeoye inlet, cleared a few acres,
and exchanged work with HUNT. Preliminary
to building, both apple- and peach-trees had been procured, and an orchard set
out.
A tinge of romance is seen in the planting
of these early fruit-trees. Jennie
held the tree upright while Jacob replaced the soil, and when trees and their
planters had alike grown old, to the latter a pleasing memory was associated
with this early provision for the future. They
were married in 1796, and permanently occupied their new habitation.
No idle life was theirs, nor devoid of trouble.
Squirrels devoured the grain, and deer browsed upon the wheat.
Provisions were exhausted, and green pumpkins and cabbage boiled without
seasoning were an extreme resort. Hopewell
was the nearest grist-mill, and when roads were bad, the aboriginal method of
pounding grain was practiced. An
elm stump, used as a mortar, was preserved as a relic of the past until a few
years ago; it stood upon the premises of Hunt.
“Rice-puddings,” made from “white Jersey rye,” hulled, were
common in those days.
The nearest post-office was Canandaigua, to
which monthly or semi-monthly trips were made.
Jacob HOLDREN was a millwright, and built a number of the first mills put
up in the country. From a poor boy he became the owner of 300 acres of excellent
land; milked from 20-30 cows, and sheared over 500 sheep.
He sold in 1834 to Colonel HENRY, and went to Indiana.
The farm is now owned by several proprietors--George ALGER, J. N.
JENNINGS, and Chester WASHBURN, a grandson of HOLDREN.
The children of HOLDREN were 11 in number.
Samuel was the first child born in town, and was accidentally burned to
death in Frosttown when about three year of age.
Clarissa Ann is the wife of Alvin WASHBURN, and lives in Naples.
Fifty acres of the farm once owned by HOLDREN was purchased by a bachelor
named Meloy, a noted hunter and skillful fisherman.
Upon the lakes in his canoe, or in the woods, he spent his time, and
retired to rest in a small cabin which he had erected upon the land designated.
The traveler passing up the Honeoye sees
above the head of the lake a prominent point jutting from the long, unbroken
ridge on the west side of the valley. This is “Meloy’s Bluff,” and by that name the memory of
the heirless hunter is preserved forever.
Nine years, and the valleys had known no
other occupant than the strolling bands of Senecas and occasional
hunters. The pioneer family had
grown accustomed to their surroundings, and enjoyed their freedom as an
equivalent for their solitude.
Early in the fall of 1804 three men from
Vermont set out on foot, carrying provisions for the journey upon their backs,
to prospect in Ontario County for a home. They
were the brothers Gideon and John WALKER, and Josiah JACKMAN.
Arrived at the foot of Canadice lake, they built a log house on the farm
of Henry McCROSSEN, and put up the bodies of two others--one on the farm now
owned by Hiram COLEGROVE, the other on that of Mansel R. SMITH.
Returning east, it was late in the following winter when, with three
ox-teams, sleds, and what could be conveyed upon them, they began a journey
which in 20 days brought them to their destination.
The three families moved into the finished house while the others were
being finished. The greater part of
log house carpentering being the splitting, preparing, and placing upon the roof
of “shakes” from two to four feet long, laid in courses, with straight poles
at intervals lengthwise to hold them in place, the houses were soon completed.
Gideon took the COLEGROVE farm, JACKMAN the SMITH place, and John
remained in the first-built house. Gideon remained about six years, cleared a
score of acres, built a log barn, and sold to Simon STEVENS, who arrived from
Vermont in the winter of 1811, with sled and a yoke of oxen.
His wife was Katy WILSON, a sister of John WILSON, who came at the same
time, bringing a load of goods for Simon. Simon
sold to his son Willard, who in 1824 disposed of the property to Hiram COLEGROVE,
the present owner. COLEGROVE came
from Oneida county to Richmond in 1817, and to Canadice at the date given, when
he was 26 year of age. He was
constable in Richmond during 1819, and a supervisor in Canadice for 12 years.
His present residence is Livonia.
In the year 1813, John WALKER erected the
first framed house in town. It
stood on the site of the present house, and was torn down by Decker B. HOPPOUGH.
Walker remained eight years, and sold to Warren FREEMAN.
The farm passed afterwards to Sheldon ASHLEY, William DECKER, and then to
D. B HOPPOUGH, who sold to the present owner.
Betsey WALKER, sister to Gideon and John, taught in 1809 the first school
in town. The school-house was of
logs; it was 12 feet square, and had two windows of four panes each.
Its site was on the farm of Isaac STEVENSON, above the road, and near the
elm-tree now standing. The children in attendance belonged to the WALKERS and Josiah
JACKMAN. Warren FREEMAN lived on
WALKER’s place a half-dozen years, and went to Michigan.
His successor, Sheldon ASHLEY, was from Richmond, and stayed but a year.
HOPPOUGH built a good house, improved the farm, and then took up his home
in the “Peninsular State.” Josiah
JACKMAN was living on the north side of the east and west road, and cleared land
on the south side, now owned by William M. STRUBLE.
The first piece of winter wheat raised in
the new settlement was upon land above the road south of SMITH’s house, and
now the site of an orchard. It was
sowed among the stumps, and gave a good yield.
The first crop of corn was from the lands of Struble.
Mucky land and chipmunk depredations made the yield small.
The next crop was very remunerative, and the pumpkins found notice in
eastern prints as one of the wonders of the “Genesee country.”
The orchards on the McCROSSEN and SMITH places were set out in 1809, with
trees from Bristol. Years had passed, and with prosperity had come to the WALKERS
a double wagon and a span of horses. John
WALKER, his wife, and Mrs. JACKMAN set out on a visit to Vermont.
The women rode in a double chair, then a luxury, and, returning, were
presented with a cheese securely wrapped and sewed to the underside of the
chair-bottom; it came safely through, and was the first import to the new
colony. The first grain-cradle seen
by the settlers here was made by Samuel B. SPENCER in 1811, and was held in
contempt by old reapers; yet cumbrous and unwieldy as it was, compared with
later ones, it did very satisfactory work.
After the death of Mr. JACKMAN his farm passed through the hands of
Stephen HIGGINS, Silas REYNOLDS, John McCARRICK, Peter HOPPOUGH, to the present
possessor. We mentioned that
JACKMAN cleared land on the south of his house; when the lots were surveyed, the
line separated most of his clearing from his house.
Amos JONES went to the land-office and took an article for the south part
of JACKMAN’s possessions.’ JACKMAN held possession and worked the land.
JONES instituted summary proceedings to dispossess JACKMAN, and it
resulted in the former gaining possession.
In the year 1807, Ezekiel and Frederick WILSON, Ebenezer KIMBALL, and
their families came into town. The
WILSONS settled in Canadice Hollow, on the farm now owned by Thomas COSTELLO.
A log barn accommodated both brothers.
This was replaced in 1814 by the first framed building in town; it stood
some distance north of the present position, and is the oldest of three barns
now on the farm. The brothers Asa,
Pliny, William, and Zachariah ACKLEY were the carpenters.
The completion of the building was marked by an “all-night
exhibition.” The exercises were
spiced by an occasional jig and a tough story.
It was the first public gathering of all classes in the “hollow,” and
is still remembered by survivors as a “great event.”
The WILSONS cleared all the land above the road, and in the fall of 1811
sold to Ezra SPENCER and went to Livonia. In
1814, he put up part of a framed house. Years after, additions were made to it, and here he died in
1841. The farm, after his demise,
passed through the hands of Robert STEPHENSON, Haskell GILBERT, and David
HOPPOUGH to its present energetic owner. Ebenezer
KIMBALL came from Bristol, and settled on what is now called the PARTRIDGE farm.
No roads then led into town from Pitts’ Flats, and he employed hands to
cut a passage from Honeoye to Kimball Hill or Kimballton.
First a log cabin, then other habitations of more pretentious character,
were built, the last being on the site of William G. ROSS, on the south half of
the lot. The orchard on the land of
Caleb B. HYDE was the first on the hill, and the trees were brought by Kimball
from Bristol and Canandaigua. John
PHILLIPS built a house near the present residence of L. J. PARTRIDGE, in 1816.
In 1825 he was killed. Ira
KIMBALL became its possessor; successively owned by Ebenezer, Jr., Thomas A.
COYKENDALL, William FRANKLIN, each a part of the present owners.
KIMBALL had 10 children, one of whom, Betsey, married N. G. CHESEBRO, a
resident of Canandaigua, and spoken of in country history as concerned with the
abduction of William MORGAN. The
Hon. H. O. CHESEBRO and Caroline CHESEBRO, the authoress, were grandchildren of
KIMBALL.
The first settler in the southwestern part
of the town was David BADGRO. His
father was a French Canadian, and his mother of German parentage.
From Canada BADGRO moved to Bristol in the spring of 1803, and five years
later came with Reuben GILBERT, his brother-in-law, to Livonia, and in canoes up
Hemlock lake. They built a log
house on the farm of Thomas REYNOLDS, in Springwater, across the line, and there
lived till a house was completed on the farm now owned by William JOHNSON, in
Canadice. Fifty acres, from the
south end of lot 14, constituted BADGRO’s first possessions.
Seth KNOWLES, from Massachusetts, had preceded about one year, and took
what is now called the “Gibbs farm.” He
observed that seasons dry in this town and northward were otherwise in the
vicinity of the lakes south of him, and after harvest, he and his son Jared, and
Peter WELCH, took their guns, axes, and necessary provisions and set out on a
prospecting tour to the town of Springwater, then known as Middletown, and there
built a log house, and later became the first settlers in that locality.
Justus GROUT came from Vermont to Livonia in
the spring of 1808, and hired for one year to Samuel PITTS.
During the same part of the year, PITTS and GROUT came to the head of
Canadice Lake to make maple sugar. Their
camp was on the land now owned by Willard D. CASKEY.
After a time PITTS left GROUT at the camp, and went to Livonia for
provisions. GROUT knew that some
hands were at work in the woods some two miles away making shingles, and in
their shanty passed the night. On
April 29, 1810, GROUT married Catharine, the third daughter of David BADGRO.
Esquire STEVENS, of Lima, performed the ceremony, and this was the first
marriage in the present town of Canadice, so far as is known.
In 1816, Mr. GROUT bought out BADGRO, and lived till his death upon the
place. The house standing on the
farm taken up by BADGRO was built by GROUT, and is probably the oldest log or
block house in town. Martha GROUT,
a daughter to Justus, was for seven years a school-teacher, also a tailoress,
thus performing the double task of teaching and tailoring.
In 1808, Butler LEWIS and John LEGGETT built
cabins on the farm now owned by Oscar L. RAY.
The former removed to the farm of Hugh S. SALTER, and erected another
cheap tenement. The latter within a
year or two ago sold to Benjamin GREEN, who in turn sold to Charles ELLIS, and
he in 1836 sold to Dr. Sylvester AUSTIN. Two
brothers, James and Jesse PENFIELD, were early settlers on the south part of the
same lot. Jesse was a noted fiddler, and was possibly the first
musician in that line in town. The
PENFIELDS removed to Chatauqua county in 1835.
The first school-house, on Kimball Hill, was built in 1812; it stood on
the knoll near the pine-tree north of Ray’s residence.
Belinda JACKMAN, Eliza WILDS, and Almira HUBBARD were successively the
first teachers. Dr. AUSTIN was one
of the best physicians of his day. He
was a member of the State Legislature, and died in 1857, aged 75.
The family became prominent: two sons, Nathaniel and Alanson, were
superintendent of schools, supervisor, and the latter served as school
commissioner. The former succeeded
his father on the farm, and sold to Oscar F. RAY, the present esteemed owner. A French Canadian trapper, named Gallieu, built a small
shanty on the beach of Canadice lake. Here
he lived in this hut for three years. Hector
and Homer BLAKE bought the trapper’s claim, and temporarily moved in with
Samuel B. SPENCER while a respectable log house was built.
The BLAKES soon sold out to William GOULD, a Revolutionary pensioner from
Vermont. The highway from the foot
of the Canadice as far south as the residence of Hector was laid out July 12,
1812. GOULD sold in 1818 to Silas
REYNOLDS, Sr. He sold to Jeremiah GREEN, after which the farm passed
through the hands of William SMITH, L. D. BEERS, O. F. SISSON, C. RICHARDSON,
Cyrus SWAN, to the present occupant, Halsey HOPPOUGH. SISSON was a mail-carrier between Canandaigua and Canadice,
and went to Bristol. The first
settler on the W. G. HOPPOUGH farm was Sylvanus STACEY.
His place was taken in a year by his brother Abram.
At the same time James BUTTON settled on the place, where he died before
1811, and was perhaps the first who died in the town.
The farm afterwards belonged to Artemus SEVERANCE, P. HOPPOUGH, and his
sons, W. G. and M. D. F.,--the present owner.
P. HOPPOUGH came from New Jersey in April, 1820, to Hopewell, and in 1821
to Canadice to this farm, where he lived four years.
He had a chopping bee at which 20 acres of heavy timber were leveled in
one day, not to mention seven sheep eaten and 15 gallons of whisky drank on the
occasion.
The first cabin on the farm of W. D. CASKEY
was built in 1808, by Samuel PITTS and Justus GROUT, for a shelter while making
sugar. Ebenezer INGRAHAM and his
sons, Abel and Andrew, lived on the farm owned by Dennison BROWN’s widow, and
used the cabin noticed. John ALGER,
a settler of Bloomfield in 1789-90, built a house and erected a saw-mill on the
stream south of the present residence of W. D. CASKEY.
This was the pioneer mill of the town; its sills can yet be seen in the
bed of the stream just above the bridge. The
flume made to conduct the water was ill constructed, and the mill was a failure.
ALGER sold to E. SPENCER. In
1811, John WILLSON became the owner and occupant of the farm.
He had nine children. One,
William, lives in town, at the age of 80 years.
He walked here from Vermont, and drove a yoke of steers.
Henry WINFIELD, from New Jersey, succeeded the WILLSONS. His children were nine in number. A son, John, remained on the farm a few years, and sale was
made by him to Henry CASKEY, he to F. G. KNOWLES, and he to the present owner in
1875. We have spoken of GROUT’s
visit to the cabin of the shingle-makers when left alone at the sugar camp.
This building was on the premises of Lewis M. JOHNSON; other like cabins
were built upon the farm, and inroads were made upon the beautiful pine timber
that once stood there. The first house occupied by a family was located in a hollow,
near a spring, on the northeast corner of the farm.
“Leather JOHNSON,” the inhabitant, won his appellation by wearing a
suit of buckskin. Pants, shirt, and
moccasins were of the same material; Sunday or week-day, hot or cold, wet or
dry, he was always dressed in the same border costume.
The next house was built by Nicholas MILLIMAN, in 1833.
His brother, James, built a house that stood in front of the present one,
and was torn down a few years ago. The
farm of 160 acres was in a natural state covered by tall pines; acres had been
chopped down, a log or two taken off, and the remainder, which would now be
worth in lumber $20-30 per thousand, was logged and burned.
Large quantities of charcoal were burned on the place in an early day.
The farm occupants were, James HALL, William WISEMAN, Joseph UTTER,
Timothy HUFF, Reuben THOMPSON, Henry JONES, William WESTBROOK, J. W. SPENCER, C.
F. RICHARDS, and the present possessor.
The farm now owned by Seneca SWAN was taken
up in 1808, by Ezra DAVIS. He was a
cabinet-maker by trade, and furnished the coffins in which were buried some of
the early settlers of northern Canadice. DAVIS
sold to James ANDERSON in 1815, and went to Kentucky.
ANDERSON was succeeded by his son, Orrin, who sold to Seneca SHORT, he to
Amos SWAN in 1836, who died upon the place in 1846.
The settlement for the year 1809 begins with Samuel BENTLEY, who began
the first clearing of the GANUNG farm, north of Canadice Corners, and built some
structures in part, and then exchanged with John RICHARDSON for a farm in
Conesus, giving $600 of a bonus. RICHARDSON
became a resident in 1810. He was a
desirable neighbor. He makes yokes,
large spinning-wheels, and other desirable articles.
A son, William, is still living in town in his 71st year.
He became owner of the farm, and sold it to A. SEVERANCE in 1836.
Other owners have been Andrew WARD, John GANUNG, Edward, his son, and
finally his son, Asa C. GANUNG. Part
of the house was erected by RICHARDSON, and the rest in 1831, by SEVERANCE, for
a store. He had a separate shoe-shop.
Freeman WARRICK learned his trade of SEVERANCE, and long worked at
shoemaking in this town. The farms
of Henry C. STEVENS and the widow of Dennison BROWN were settled the same year.
E. INGRAHAM, already mentioned, lived a year on the latter place, and
sold to Emer CHILSON. Ebenezer was
a Methodist minister, and his first sermon in town was preached in the log
school-house earlier mentioned during the summer of 1809.
CHILSON came from Vermont in 1810, remained but a few years, and later
settled in southern Ohio. The farm
of STEVENS was first settled by Cornelius JOHNSON, from Farmington, and
afterwards owned by S. Truman SHORT, of Livonia.
Jesse BALLARD was a man of iron will, and
adapted by constitution for pioneer life. He
took the farm now owned by heirs of the late Lyman NUTT.
In 1812, BALLARD, John RICHARDSON, Cornelius JOHNSON, and Cornelius
HALDEN, erected the first school-house in the northeast part of the town upon
this farm. During the same summer
Abigail ROOT taught the first school there.
BALLARD sold to William WARD, who, after some years, disposed of the farm
to his brother, Andrew, who erected the present house.
Hiram and Samuel HOGANS built a cabin on the farm of Lorenzo INGRAHAM,
and took in most of the STRUBLE farm; they sold the north part in 1817 to M.
CHAMBERLAIN. Afterwards, Johnson
HALL came into possession. He sold
to Alvin WASHBURN in 1825, and he to S. P. BENSON in 1831; thence the property
had several owners. In March, 1825,
Jacob FRANCISCO built a house and blacksmith-shop on the northeast corner of the
farm. Joseph BARNHART afterwards
lived there. A short time before
FRANCISCO built on the farm, Hiram and Samuel HOGANS erected a house on the west
side of the road. In a few years
William THORPE became owner, and then Marvin FRISBIE.
Simeon STRUBLE is the present owner.
Albert FINCH came from Farmington, and settled on the Moses HUFF farm.
In some half-dozen years he died, and was succeeded by Albert, his son,
who in 1823 sold to John HUFF, who died the same year.
Moses succeeded his father on the farm, and lived there some 30 years.
Thomas REED is the present owner. The
farm occupied by the heirs of Isaac STEVENSON was settled in 1809.
Two houses were erected upon it at the same time, one on the south line,
the other north of the present building. Mrs.
Lydia HARVEY occupied the former, and James NOTT the latter.
In 1810, Luther GOULD came on to the farm, and lived in a house south of
the present school-house. Luther’s
eldest son, Allen, married Mrs. HARVEY, and carried on blacksmithing for many
years. GOULD sold to Charles
TRIMMER, for many years a justice. He
sold to Isaac STEVENSON, who died on the place in 1875.
The year 1810 witnessed an influx of
population to Canadice. Nine new
farms were opened up to clearing and building. Moses HARTWELL, from Hunt’s Hollow, took up part of the
Frederick WESTBROOK farm. One
McROBERTS built on the present south line.
Samuel WILLSON built near the outlet, in 1811, and stayed a year. Bartlett CLARK, a Methodist exhorter, lived with him.
Yet one other house was erected on the extreme east end of the farm, into
which Deacon Timothy PARKER moved. A
pile of stones marks the site of the early habitation of Canadice’s first
deacon. In 1820, another house went
up on the west part of the place; it was occupied by HANCOCK and SPENCER.
In the corner of the orchard was the habitation of Nathan BEERS.
Truly, the farm was well built upon in those days.
Within three years McROBERTS vacated, and Harley WHITE moved in.
In 1823, Deacon PARKER sold to Silas REYNOLDS.
HARTWELL sold to Jonathan ROOD, about 1820, and he sold in 1827 to the
present owner. An old poplar-tree
standing near the house was brought by ROOD as a riding-whip from the town of
Lima. In 1827, the titles to the
different portions of the farm were vested in F. WESTBROOK.
The first settler on the Joseph GILBERT farm on the Honeoye lake was
Darius FINCH, and with him lived Tobias, his twin-brother.
Darius bought the north 50 acres, and Richard WALKER, Sr., settled the
south half, during the next year. The
former sold out, in 1817, to Henley THOMPSON, who later sold to L. GILBERT.
WALKER exchanged farms with Francis Le Rue, who soon died.
His widow sold to GILBERT. Seth
KNOWLES, previously mentioned, married Margaret, daughter of Peter WELCH, in
1810, and soon after they settled on the north end of Ball Hill, on the farm of
A. G. SHEPARD, and this was the first family located on that hill.
Then, and five years afterwards, nothing but an Indian trail led over the
hill. This trail, passing near his
cabin, took the highest land southward, and at the bridge near William
JOHNSON’s intersected two other trails,--one from the eastern shore of
Canadice, the other up the Hemlock. The
first road past the house was surveyed May 6, 1815, by Martin BOOTH.
Years later it was closed, and the present one opened.
When he first trod the trail from his father’s place in Springwater to
his own cabin, he invariably carried a firebrand as a defense against wolves.
The pioneer lives in Livonia, at the age of 90 years.
He sold to Wesley NORTHRUP, and various owners preceded the present.
Samuel BENTLEY, while living on the GANUNG farm, built of poplar poles
the body of a cabin on the SWARTS farm. He
left it, and John NORTON took possession. The
half-built cabin was remote from the road, and the new owner built above the
highway. He, in company with his
son William, and later with James SWEAT, his son-in-law, engaged in the
manufacture of potash, and sold, in 1836, to Daniel SWARTS, who died on the farm
December 31, 1859. A pile of ashes
marks the spot, and a mineral spring is near by.
Robert WILLSON, brother of Samuel, settled this year on the farm by
Canadice lake, now owned by Sidney CASKEY.
John WING was his successor within a year, and then various persons held
temporary ownership. James
HOAGLAND’s place was originally owned by John RICHARDSON, who sold 60 acres to
L. G. WORDEN, and soon after disposed of the remainder. John WINCH was the owner in 1829, and it has passed through
many hands till it came to its present worthy possessor. WINCH was the second town clerk; he was supervisor in 1832,
justice in 1850, and lives in town. We
now come to what was called in early days “Frog Point.”
For years this was the only name of the locality.
The first settler was S. B. SPENCER, who built upon the knoll above the
road. William GOULD put up a house in 1813, on the north part.
C. BAILEY, in 1815, lived on the south side of the point, and John
DARLING, in 1818, erected a blacksmith’s shop adjoining the cabin.
Harry ARMSTRONG, a soldier of 1776, and his son Perry, lived there in an
early day. B. BARTRAND built near
the beach of the lake. Silas
REYNOLDS became owner, and sold, in 1831, to Joseph ADAMS and John WESTFALL. The former soon after purchased WESTFALL’s interest.
ADAMS’ widow resides on the place.
A son-in-law, B. H. BURCH, owns the south part.
The SPENCERS were a numerous family.
Eleven of the name came from Spencertown, in
Columbia county, to this locality on May 9, 1810.
Ira SPENCER was the first minister of the Christian order who preached in
the town. He died, aged 85, on
February 5, 1876. Samuel SPENCER
was a rhymer and fond of the bottle. Memories
of him are brightened by reference to the times when at quilting, wedding,
raising, and logging, his happy hits gave enjoyment to the occasion.
Homer BLAKE, in 1811, made the legal improvements
upon the farm now owned by Thomas ELDRIDGE, intending to make there a permanent
residence, but, during the winter, changed his intention, and returned to
Onondaga. John EDGETT, a young man
from Richmond, added to BLAKE’s chopping, built a shingle shanty near the
northwest corner, and sold for $12 cash, in 1813, to Harry JONES, of Richmond.
JONES cleared nearly all the land now cultivated, built a log house and
barn, and when BLAKE returned from Manlius, in 1838, he sought the old place and
became a life-resident. He was a
Protestant Methodist exhorter for many years.
His wife did not long survive him. He
left four children,--one, Camilla, is the wife of Ambrose KINGSLEY, and lives in
the town; a sister, Julia, lives with them.
Thomas ELDRIDGE, the present owner, purchased of the heirs in 1860, and
in 1865 added about 50 acres to the east side of his farm.
William UTLEY, from Richmond, took up the John F. BECKER farm the same
year (1811), and lived there until 1826, when he sold for a yoke of cattle and
$150 to William RICHARDSON, who later made a sale to John MORLEY, now of Lima,
and he to the present occupant. In
the same year Cornelius HOLDEN took up the land owned by John COSTELLO.
In three years he sold to F. La Rue, who exchanged with Richard WALKER,
when it passed through ownership by Edward GANUNG, James B. HOAGLAND, to the
present holder. James HULL settled
on the farm of Mrs. Margaret CASKEY. He
spent little time clearing his farm, getting his living chiefly by teaming; and
his wooden hames, raw-hide tugs, and rope lines are still remembered by the
aged. He sold in 1819 to A.
SEVERANCE, and lived for a while in a shanty, and then went to Michigan.
SEVERANCE, Benjamin FREEMAN, William CHAMERLIN, and Jacob CRATSLEY were
later owners. When CRATSLEY died, his son, Jacob, and his son,
Joseph, were holders of the property prior to the present resident.
William CHAMBERLIN was the first justice in town, and was selected before
the town was set off from Richmond. The
farm of David LAWRENCE, on Ball Hill, was settled by Elisha HEWITT, who sold in
1817 to Luke JOHNSON. Owners of the
place have been Richard KINNEY and his son Alanson, who sold to the present
owner in 1867. The next in order is
the farm now occupied by Alfred THAYER. John
WHEELER was its first settler. After
seven years’ experience, he sold to a dairyman from Long Island, named
VANDEVERE, who wearied of the place, and was succeeded by Preston THAYER in
1820. THAYER removed to Ohio, and left his son Alfred on the place.
Joseph SPENCER settled on that portion of the SLOUT place lately bought
by Henry BRANCH. He lived there
eight years, among the apple-trees near the northwest corner.
The war of 1812 did not stop emigration;
families fleeing in a panic from their homes met emigrants on their way to
locations. When Butler LEWIS left
the RAY farm, he built a cabin on the farm of Hugh S. SATTER.
In the same year James BOUKER, from Cayuga, built upon the south part of
the farm. Norman and David BUTLER
followed BOUKER in 1815. The year
following Norman sold to David, who in two years sold to Isaac SERGEANT, of New
Jersey. He sold to Orlando WETMORE, who disposed of the south part to
Robert ARMSTRONG, and the north 50 acres to Robert’s son Walling, who
succeeded his father in his portion, and in 1874 sold to the present owner.
Robert ARMSTRONG was supervisor of the town in 1841, justice from 1835 to
1843, and died in the town. Walling
was supervisor for six years.
In 1812, Jehial SPICER built a house on the
farm of Oliver C. ARMSTRONG, but in a few weeks sold to Jesse CHATFIELD, and
built again on the farm of Noah TIBBALS. Reuben
COLE built on the knoll north of the old house now standing.
COLE and CHATFIELD sold to Uriel SPENCER, a Methodist preacher, and the
farm has been in the hands of S. HUBBARD, Jr., William, Benjamin C., and Peter
Y. PURSEL, Asa DENNISON, Thomas SAWYER, Cyrus WINSHIP, and N. G. AUSTION, before
the present owner in 1866. The farm
of Benj. PURSEL, south of the one described, was an original part of it.
Upon it resided Reuben HAMILTON and Derby WILDS, pensioners of the
Revolution, in 1819, and S. HUBBARD, Sr., from Vermont, in 1821.
HUBBARD passed his days in the town.
Two farms to the northward were settled at the same time.
Jehiel SPICER’s cabin, on the TIBBALS farm, was of a single-sided roof
pattern, and was soon followed by another somewhat better.
David TIBBALS took the place in 1818, and died thereon.
He was by trade a carpenter, and was thrice married.
Peter and Noah are children living in town. John COLE and Reuben COLE, Jr., settled on the farm occupied
by the heirs of Hiram INGRAHAM. In
1815 they sold to their brother Hezekiah. The
farm has been owned by Silas REYNOLDS, Benjamin GREEN, Orlando WETMORE, Joseph
S. SECOR, and W. COYKENDALL, previous to INGRAHAM, who met an accidental death
in 1874. The farm of C. F. V.
BARBER, on Ball Hill, was first possessed by William BURNS, then by Julius
BIGELOW, Chauncey NORTHRUP, and John C. KINNEY.
About 1825, BIGELOW erected a distillery in the gully where Lyman
HITCHCOCK later had an ashery. William SULLIVAN, reported a distant relative to General
SULLIVAN, came to Canadice in February, 1812, and the farm he occupied is known
by his name. He died in 1843,
leaving 11 children. One only
survives. William, aged 86, and a
resident in town.
Deacon Benoni HOGANS, in 1812, came into
Canadice and built a humble mansion, 10 feet square, in the brush then growing
on the farm now owned by Caleb B. HYDE. Two
sons, Hiram and Samuel, came at the same time.
They sold to Samuel B. FINCH, who in a year sold to William MILLIGAN, who
disposed of the place in February, 1824, to James HYDE, whose first payments on
the land were taken to Geneva on foot, and the last payment was marked by a
ride. He hired of Charles ELLIS, living on the farm of O. F. RAY,
an old mare, the only animal of the horse kind he could procure in the
neighborhood. The vehicle in which
he rode was a “jumper,” made of green poles bent in position, with cabin
traces and rope lines. HYDE’s
cabin was 14 by 16 feet in dimensions, and had no windows.
Four acres were cleared of 135 composing the farm.
When the road was cut through a “bee”
was made, and on that occasion two bear cubs were taken from a hollow tree, the
last bears caught in town.
The farm of widow ANDRUSS was first known as
a home by Amos THORNTON, in 1813. His cabin was burned accidentally, and he sold to William
BROWN, of Phelps. He and his
brother-in-law, Goddard, engaged in the manufacture of potash.
BROWN gained the name of “Thresher Brown” by traveling on foot to the
farm of Shepard MACOMBER, threshing 20 bushels of wheat with a flail, and
reaching home the same day. It was
later occupied by Ira AMBROSE and George C. SPENCER, who sold to Judge ANDRUSS,
by whom it was deeded to his son George, who died, leaving it to its present
owner. The judge was supervisor in
1851, a justice for years, and died in town.
George ANDRUSS was supervisor from 1866 to 1869, and also a justice for a
long period. The first settler
where Isaac P. WRIGHT lives was one Hyller.
A shanty and a patch of ground two to three acres in extent comprised his
improvements for the two years of his sojourn.
In January, 1816, he gave way to Shadrach WARD, who built a double-log
house on the SHANK farm, and in 1819 began to keep tavern, a business followed
by him for 15 years. He ran an
ashery for a time, and sold to his son William.
Owners of the farm were George I. BROWN, John OGDEN, and Henry OGDEN.
Nancy WARD, daughter of Shadrack, married Timothy EATON, who, in 1823,
brought the first spring wagon into town from New Hampshire.
S. B. FINCH and James BEMIS were original settlers on the C. A COYKENDALL
farm. FINCH speedily sold to Justus WALDO. BEMIS was a blacksmith, and had a shop east of the road.
He cleared all the land now cultivated.
He sold in 1833 to H. W. PULVER. Waldo
(an early justice) also sold to PULVER, who died on the place.
Henry ARMSTRONG, a soldier of 1776, lived one year on the farm of George
W. OWEN. John WING followed him and
kept tavern there. M. COYKENDALL,
S. HIGGINS, E. BAILEY, W. WINFIELD, and H. WAITE were his successors.
The old KELLY farm, near the head of Honeoye lake, was first settled by
John KELLY in 1813. He was a
Canadian, but acted with the Americans as their spy.
He went in a farmer’s garb, bridle in hand, but being finally detected
made a hairbreadth escape to our lines, and, coming to Hunt’s Hollow, located
on this farm. He had 12 children.
A daughter Catharine, widow of Gideon SULLIVAN, resides in the town.
Samuel and Dinah STORY were the first
colored persons resident of the town. They settled on the place owned by James KELLY, and remained
a number of years. Daniel KNOWLES,
second son of Springwater’s first settler, took up the farm owned by H. H.
HICKOK, and lived there till his death. His
widow, in 1826, married Abner GOODRICH, who kept tavern for a time, and sold in
1827 to J. WELLS, he to S. MACOMBER, and he to Nancy JOHNSON, who, in 1876,
deeded to the present occupant. Peter
WELCH, in 1813, took up his abode on Ball Hill, and died there. A son, Daniel, is living in the town. Joseph WEMETT, of Canada, in 1821 bought of Peter WELCH, and
his life earned for him a good name. The
pioneers upon the farm of Lorenzo INGRAHAM were Hiram and Samuel HOGANS; a pile
of stones marks the site of their cabin. They
sold to John GREEN, who, with Lamb, his father-in-law, put up the old log house
now standing on the north part of the farm.
They sold to Daniel DRAPER, who, in 1825, sold to Andrew INGRAHAM, who
died in 1855. (Hunt’s Hollow was,
in an early day, a stronghold of Methodism.)
In the year 1813, Reuben MANN, and Humphrey,
George, and James ADAMS, three brothers from Syracuse, came into the valley at
the head of Canadice lake and took up farms.
MANN took up lot 19, on the WAITE farm, H. ADAMS the central portion of
Daniel KNOWLES’ farm, and the other brothers lot 16.
Jonathan CHAPLIN built a log house on the south part of lot 11, and
cleared about 20 acres. He sold, in
1827, to Abram WILEY, who gave it to his daughter, the wife of Josiah JACKMAN.
H. ADAMS sold to S. BASHFORD, who died on
the place. Mrs. BASHFORD and her
sons, John and Samuel, lived there until 1827, when sale was made to Samuel
SKELLENGER, who dying on the place, his heirs disposed of the farm to Thomas
REYNOLDS. The south part of the
farm was selected in an early day by Hiram PITTS for services as a surveyor of
the “Hornby Tract,” and was first occupied by Elijah PARKER.
James ADAMS lived on the south part of the farm until about 1822, when he
sold to Simon PEMBERTON, a mulatto, whose wife was an Indian.
William CLARE bought him out in 1825, and eight years later sold to
Josiah JACKMAN.
Reuben MANN set out a bed of tansy as a
provision for the future, and his forethought was not vainly exercised.
Whisky and tansy were soon in requisition as a remedy for the
“shakes.” He sold, in 1822, to
Jacob CANNON, and went to Indiana. Thomas
PEABODY, in 1818, underbrushed eight acres on the bottom, for Mann, for a
smooth-bore gun. Cannon, in 1823, made the first brick in town.
After making some 15,000 he was taken sick, and hired PEABODY to burn
them. The next season the two ran
an extensive kiln. J. WICKS made
brick at the same place for two years after Cannon had sold out.
B. G. WAITE succeeded CANNON upon the place, whereon he died in 1861.
When he came to town he drove a span of horses, and in his wagon carried
$400 in silver, which lay at the bottom of an old box partially filled with
iron, and without a cover. A son of
Mr. WAITE, Edwin G., lives in California, has been in both houses of that
State’s Legislature, and is now the naval officer at the port of San
Francisco. The eastern half of the
WAITE farm was first taken up by Asa BUSHNELL, in 1815.
Two log houses once stood there, one just south of the gully below the
road, the other north of the woods in the south part of the lot.
Abram M’KEE, Ralph STANWOOD, Robert BALDWIN, and Green WAITE occupied
them at an early date. Mr. WAITE, or “Uncle Green,” brother to Benjamin, had a
large family. It is related that he
bought the company of Wm. S. GILBERT at times when downcast by the thoughts of a
heavy debt and the support of a family, most of whom were girls.
The cloud was lifting, when Gilbert, one day meeting him, remarked,
“Well, uncle, how goes the matter now?”
“Better,” was the reply; “I am getting out of debt, and my girls
are marrying off, besides.” How many have you at home now, uncle?” “Only 14,” was the answer.
During 1814, 11 families were added to the
population. Early in spring
Ebenezer KNAPP settled on the HARRIS farm, and his brother Samuel took the
WHEATLEY place. Heber HARRIS soon
bought out Ebenezer, and dying, was succeeded by Alba HARRIS, his son, who is
the pioneer visitor of the town. The
farm of Amasa T. WINCH was the temporary home of James SEELEY, a man in poor
circumstances. He sold to Robert
SMITH, and returned east. Isaiah
SMITH, father of Robert, lived with him. Humphrey
BUMP, the next owner, sold, in 1836, to John WHITTAKER, who died there.
A. W. AUSTIN and W. MARRETT were other owners.
Upon the non-resident lands of Ray and Peabody, in the southern part of
the town, the first settlers were Jedediah HOWLAND and Eli DARLING.
HOWLAND soon left. He had
two sons, Samuel and Labin; the former was drafted in 1812, and the latter,
taking his place, was killed in battle just three weeks after his departure.
Dr. WILLIAMS and John REEVES were residents of the farm in an early day.
Upon the lands of Peabody Jabez HICKS was an early settler. James BURNETT built a house on the farm of Gabriel ADAMS, on
the shore of Canadice lake. His
wife died, and he sold, in 1815, to Jabez WARD, who bought the Amos DIXON
property, below the lake, and, in 1817, exchanged it for young cattle.
During the following winter he cleared most of the land between ADAMS’
place and the lower road to browse his stock.
He sold to Isaac WESTBROOK, from New Jersey, in 1834.
WESTBROOK died, and his heirs sold to Josiah JACKMAN, and he to the
present owner. Charles HYDE made improvements on the BULLOCK farm, and sold
to Daniel MORLEY, who was killed by the falling of a limb while chopping, 1828.
He sold 60 acres to F. CRATSLEY in 1824.
His widow, in 1834, sold to John MORGAN, who resided there till 1858.
Benjamin CRANE and Patrick COSTELLO are now owners of the farm. Amos
JONES built a saw-mill at the foot of Canadice lake, and westward of the present
mill erected a small cabin, where he boarded the mill hands.
Duncan CHRISTIE bought out JONES, and on the cabin site built a
comfortable house. Owen PEUSEL is
the present owner. John BOWEN built
a house on the farm of A. B. BECKER; sold to Ezra SPENCER, who exchanged with
his brother. He devised to L. D.
BEERS, who exchanged for SPRINGWATER lands.
The farm of A. C. BROWN was first settled by Rufus GAREY.
Daniel HONEYWELL built another house near the road.
Mrs. GAREY was a fortune-teller, and her house was a favorite resort of
the many who resorted to Ball Hill for the huckleberries which abounded there in
that day in their season. On the
farm of Shepard MACOMBER a temporary cabin was built by Alden WHELOCK.
Benjamin JERSEY was an early settler there, but of short sojourn.
Andrew WEMETT lived there in 1821. Schuyler
GRANGER died there. His heirs sold
to Henry W. PULVER.
In 1815, Benjamin, Peter, and Philip SNYDER
came to Ball Hill. The first took
the REMY place, Peter the WHITBECK farm, and Philip the east portion of the
lands of the brothers Orlando G. and Andrew BROWN.
The west part of their farm had been taken the year before by Jonathan
WATERS, from Sheffield, Massachusetts. WATERS,
while living there, lost a son, Willis, by drowning in Hemlock lake, and his
wife, in an insane fit, literally roasted herself in the fare.
WATERS sold to Amos DIXON, and, with his children, went to Michigan.
Philip SNYDER sold to D. ADAMS in 1838, and from him title descended to
Ira MERRILLS and Jairus COLEGROVE, who sold to the brothers named.
Benjamin SNYDER sold to E. MACOMBER and H. GREEN.
J. DAVIDSON, S. PHIPPS, S. R. HICKOK, and J. DEWEY were successive owners
prior to John REMY, the present possessor.
Peter SNYDER and Captain GRANBY, a sea-captain in the war of 1812, were
almost simultaneous settlers on this farm.
The captain soon died. SNYDER
sold to John CHAMBERLIN, he to I. W. MITCHELL, and Hart and Murray, Isaac
GIFFORD, and Jacob WHITBECK; and so has begun a list to be much lengthened ere
1976 has completed another century. Passing
to the northeast portion of the town, we find the farm of D. W. BEAM.
Alvin ANDERSON moved into a log house found untenanted, and laid claim to
the north 50 acres. In 1818, John RAY, Sr., took the south portion of the farm.
RAY sold to ANDERSON, who lived on the farm till 1838, when he sold to
Nathan N. HERRICK, who, in 1844, sold to A. B. HEAZLETT, who disposed of the
property to Levi PERSONS, and he to the present owner.
The FAULKNER farm was settled by Elisha
PRYOR. The next year Silas
REYNOLDS, Sr., became owner, and sold to a man named YOUNGS, who died there.
R. HAMILTON and WILDS were residents upon the place years afterwards.
REYNOLDS was a Methodist minister by profession, a shoemaker by trade,
and knew many temporary homes in the town, wherein he finally died.
In 1815, Eber WEED, from Geneva, purchased and occupied the farm on which
William M. WILSON has lived for many years.
The old barn built by WEED was the second framed one in town.
He sold previous to 1829 to Jonas SKINNER, and he, in 1834, to A. WILEY. The farms of William RICHARDSON, Firman THOMPSON (north
part), and the lot of William WARD once belonged to this farm.
Matthew STANDISH, in 1822, built the present house on the WARD lot, sold
to Deacon Isaac MERWIN in 1824, and he to WILEY in 1834.
Since then Bethuel DAVIS, Sylvester EVENS, and Jonas QUICK were owners;
after them the WARDS became possessors. Abel
EASTMAN, in 1820, built a log house on the RICHARDSON portion.
M. STANDISH sold to WILEY, he to BORDEN, then from WILSON to the present
owner. Abram WILEY sold the WILSON
portion to I. S. BORDEN, and he to William M. WILSON, who deeded to his
daughter, the wife of Chester RICHARDSON. The
first cabin on the lands of Luke JOHNSON was
put up in 1815 by John BADGRO. In
1823, Abram D. PATTERSON, of New Hampshire, built a log house on the farm, and
in 1835 went to Michigan. Daniel
PEABODY, from Manlius, built another on the south line, and went in 1835.
The present possessor came into ownership in 1840 of some 90 acres, and
by purchase has become owner of 250 acres.
In 1815, Joshua HERRICK settled on the farm once owned by B. G. WAITE.
Four years later, he sold his interest to Reuben GILBERT.
David PHILLIPS lived here, and then Ephraim TUCKER.
In 1835 the present house was built, and Levi WALLING was the first
occupant; after him were Nelson WAITE, Samuel DARLING, Thomas WAITE, and lastly,
the TUCKERS.
David BADGRO, on leaving the GROUT place in
1816, built upon the site of the house in which Caroline TUCKER resides.
Jerome TUCKER resided there afterwards.
Elijah GOODRICH in 1828 built on the premises on the HEMLOCK lake road,
and resided there many years. Ephraim
TUCKER had six sons and two daughters. Benjamin
and Minerva are living in town. Ephraim
once bought of a Springwater tanner a pair of cow-hide boots, and took a
mourning walk through a heavy dew to break them.
Thoroughly wet, and travel became difficult.
TUCKER sat down on a log, took off his boots, examined them carefully,
and said, with a sigh, “Green enough to do a good spring’s work.”
In 1816, Robert COLLISTER settled on the north place, belonging to
Charles P. WEMETT. The farm was
obtained by I. CHAMBERLIN, who kept tavern for a time, and then sold to Amos
DIXON, he to Daniel PERRY, and later became the property of the present
incumbent. During the same year
John SIMMONS built on the Joel COYKENDALL farm. In 1824, A. SEVERANCE became owner, then Seth BENSON, and, in
1831, the present owner. The red
house standing west of the road was erected by FORD and SEVERANCE on the corner
of the HOAGLAND farm, and variously moved till reaching its present station.
In this building was kept the first store in town.
Artemus SEVERANCE and John WINCH were at Plattsburg shortly after the
battle there, peddling boots and shoes. One
CHAPMAN was first on the SLOUT farm; T. JONES, of Richmond, next; then Nathan
BEERS and Levi SIMONS, who ran a distillery, and introduced the first
fanning-mill into town. BARNARD and
ROCKAFELLOW made potash here. The
former kept tavern several years at this place.
J. ROBINSON, D. SNOOK, J. S. ALMY, and J. HOWARD were predecessors of
Nancy STOUT upon the place.
Isaiah SMITH and his son Robert built upon
the farm of William GANUNG; here Robert’s father-in-law, BECRAFT, lived till
the place was sold to John SHANK, who sold to BROWN in 1836.
John OGDEN, the next owner, sold a few acres to Asa LUCAS, to enable him
to reach the road, and disposed of the farm to Aiken STARK, and he sold to the
present owner.
The north barn was built by subscription,
for mutual accommodation, by the neighbors.
Joseph LOBDELL and Jesse STUART were original settlers on the farm of
Clark RIX. When Jesse STUART came
to Ball Hill he bought 10 bushels of wheat of Seth KNOWLES, at $2.50 per bushel.
He paid $10 down, worked 10 days in harvesting, and threshed wheat in the
fall for every 10th bushel; earning 12 bushels of wheat, and ¾ of a
bushel of timothy seed, which he paid Seth, and was still a debtor.
The remainder was thrown in. Upon
the farm of John STRUBLE, Thomas JOHNSON was the pioneer settler.
Amos PECK occupied a house for a year or so on the southeast corner of
the farm. In 1833, George STRUBLE
came into possession of the place. William
OSBORN had previously lived upon the farm.
The same year, Jenks BAGLEY, from Phelps, made his home near the south
branch of the gully in the east part of Henry THORPE’s farm. The place was desolate and unfit for habitation, yet B.
ROBINSON, following him, lived there four years.
Henry CARLTON, from Rush, built a house near the present one.
Various persons have owned the place.
In 1827, George ADAMS lived upon what is now
part of this farm. He was followed
after some years by Thomas HALLETT. Maurice BROWN, an owner of the farm, has been a supervisor, a
justice, and is a lawyer resident in Springwater. Jabez NORTHRUP, with a family numbering 13, settled on the
farm now occupied by Stephen MILLER. NORTHRUP
was a carpenter, and erected a frame house; it was better and larger than those
of his neighbors. Here he lived
till 1837, when he died, aged 74 years. Before
his death, his children, once 11 in number, had so settled about him that the
conch-shell could call all the living to their dinner.
The family not only cleared the homestead, but 300 acres in the
neighborhood. Anderson NORTHRUP,
Dr. CAMPBELL, J. HEWETT, McCROSSEN and COLGROVE, were successive owners. Enoch MACUMBER, in 1816, took up a part of the farm sold last
year by his son Cyrus to Joel BAILEY in 1875.
Orange PORTER was the first settler on the Asa DALRYMPLE and Alva CASKEY
farms. After eight years’
experience, he sold and went west.
In 1829, Adam STRUBLE became owner, and so
remained a quarter of a century; then sold to W. G. HOPPOUGH, and he to Zelotus
COYKENDALL. L. G. WORDON settled on
the farm of F. D. HOPPOUGH. After
the lapse of three years, he sold to Jonathan FOX, who ran an ashery for a time,
and then sold to E. A. POND, who was the first town clerk.
P. SPROWLES resided here two years; sold to Chas. HYDE, Sr.
In the year in question, Dr. Joseph SMITH built a cabin on the D. S. BEAM
place. Later owners were James
THATCHER, Palmer ROSEMAN, B. Haines, Halsey WHITTAKER, and J. B. SAYRE.
Jabez DARLING settled the Peter C. SWARTS farm.
At the expiration of a year, Reuben HUFF bought him out.
Then came Silas REYNOLDS, Horace WINFIELD, Albert McINTYRE, Floyd
RICHARDS, and Joseph WINFIELD. The
first school-house in that district was situated on the “Middle road,” near
the north line of the farm. The
south farm was first occupied by a cabin built by David ARMSTRONG; here William
JENKINS afterwards lived. A single
man, named Montgomery, began a chopping on the Asa HARTSON farm; while cutting
down a large oak-tree one day, a knot falling fractured his skull.
He was taken to William BROWN’s on the ANDRUS farm and trepanned, but
died within a few days. Peter
WALLING, town clerk for several years, lived on this farm.
Eber WEED lived on this farm 10 years; then, selling out, went to
Jerusalem. Specifications and
drawings were prepared by Reuben HAMILTON for Eber, and a petition was made to
our Legislature for assistance to enable him to test the practicability of
propelling boats on the Erie canal by steam; he was possibly one of the first to
move in that direction. Superstition
was not extinct, since the wife of Eber was accredited to have supernatural
power. It is said that at the
funeral of Samuel BASHFORD, on the KNOWLES farm, a horse-shoe nailed over the
front door denied her entrance to the house.
In 1815, Ephraim TUCKER and Nathaniel
BEARMORE settled on the farm of Coe H. COYKENDALL.
Justus DAVIS also took up a portion of the farm, the south half of which
is now owned by H. H. HICKOX. Andrew
HAMPTON, in 1819, bought of TUCKER and sold to J. CHAMBERLAIN, and he in 1833 to
Jotham COYKENDALL, and he to the present owner.
The place owned by J. BARNEY was taken by Jonas QUICK.
The first house on the David HOPPOUGH farm was built by SISSON.
Benjamin CONKLIN, son of Abram, built the first house on the Allen HUFF
farm, in 1816. Andrew BECKWORTH, in
1816, was the first owner as settler on the farm of Hiram COLEGROVE.
He sold to Harley WHITE. Daniel
BEARDSLEY, in 1818, was the first settler on the place now owned by Lewis RIX.
The earliest owners of the John PURSEL farm were, in 1816, Abeather
PHILLIPS and Asa FARRER. The farms of A. W. DOOLITTLE were taken up in 1819 by the
brothers James and Henry HEWITT. The
first settler on the east portion of the John F. LUCAS farm was a man named Fero,
and on the west part lived VAN AUTRICK. James
HAMPTON, the first settler on the Henry SLINGERLAND farm, came from Scipio in
1820. A man named Arnold settled,
in 1820, on the farm of Henry DOOLITTLE. About 1837, the FRISBIE brothers built a saw-mill in the
gully; they sold in 1838 to BROWN and MILLS, BROWN to MILLS, MILLS to CLARK, he
to DOOLITTLE, and he to Jonathan FERBUSH. It
burned down, but no insurance was paid. The highway from Springwater town line to the landing at the
head of Hemlock lake was surveyed May 6, 1815, but the fear of miasmatic disease
retarded settlement till 1828. Deacon
ADAMS came from New Hampshire, in 1820, to the farm of Wm. S. DOOLITTLE.
On the morning of August 31, 1829, his house was struck by lightning.
Three daughters occupied the same bed.
One was killed instantly, one lived five days, while the third, lying
between the others, was not injured.
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