Yates County, New York
Early Settlers for the Town of Jerusalem
From the History of Yates County, NY
published 1892, by L.C. Aldrich
pg. 414 - 424
Return to Home Page Return to Town Index
Settlers
of Jerusalem
So far
as they were able and so far as they considered it a prudent measure, the Friend
and her followers settled her lands in the town with none but members of her
society. Still there were
localities, which the Friend did not control, and therefore such sections were
settled by whomsoever saw fit to purchase. And even in the Friend’s society,
after the lapse of not many years, there grew
such differences and dissentions that strangers to her doctrines at last
obtained a foothold within the lands she aimed to control in ownership and
occupancy.
The
first settlers in district No. 1, of the town of Jerusalem, were as follows: The
Friend and her family, consisting of Rachel, Margaret and Eljiah MALIN, Samuel
DOOLITTLE, Solomon INGRAHAM, Mary HOPKINS, Mary BEAN and Chloe, a colored woman;
Elnathan BOTSFORD’s family consited of himself and his children, Lucy, Sarah,
Benajah, Mary, Elnathan Jr., and Ruth; Achilles COMSTOCK, Sarah, his wife and
their children, Alphia, Martha and Israel; Ezekiel SHEARMAN, his wife and
children, Isaac, John and Bartleson; Asahel and Anna STONE and their children,
Aurelia, Mary and Asahel Jr.; Samuel BARNES and wife, and their children, Elizur,
Julius, Samuel and Henry; Parmalee BARNES and wife; Amos GUERNSEY and John, his
son, and Clarrissa, his niece; Castle DAINS and wife and children, Abel, Saloma,
Anna and Simeon; Ephraim DAINS and family; Jonathan DAVIS and family; Benjamin
DURHAM and family; Daniel BROWN , wife and two sons, Daniel and George; Elizur
and Nathaniel INGRAHAM, and their families; Reuben and Mary LUTHER and Susanna
SPENCER, Phebe COGSWELL, Mary HOLMES, Elizabeth KINYON, Lucy BROWN, Martha
REYNOLDS, Hannah BALDWIN, Patience ALLEN, Mary and Sarah BRIGGS, and Ephraim,
Isaac and Elizabeth KINNEY.
One of
the prominent members of the Friend’s society was Ezekiel SHEARMAN, who in his
zeal to serve his leader, acted as one of the committee to visit the Genesee
country in 1786 for the purpose of selecting a site for a home for the society.
Mr. SHEARMAN was a Rhode Islander and was one of the first to come to the
region of the New Jerusalem and there make a home.
Soon after coming, or in 1790, he married the widow of John BARTLESON,
the latter a follower of the Friend from Pennsylvania.
In 1794 Mr. SHEARMAN moved to Jerusalem and located on lot 47.
He lived and died in the town, dying in 1824 and his wife in 1843.
They had three children, Isaac, born in 1792; John who died young and
Bartleson, born in 1797, who became one of the leading men of the town of
Jerusalem, and died at an advanced age.
Daniel
and Anna BROWN, husband and wife, and their sons, Daniel, George and Russell,
were among the pioneers of the Friend’s tract.
But this family became alienated from the Friend not many years
afterward. They settled on lot 5,
then an almost unbroken wilderness, and with no neighbors nearer than two or
three miles. By industry,
perseverance and energy, Daniel BROWN and his sons succeeded in building up one
of the best farms of the town. Daniel
BROWN Jr., married Lucretia COATS. He
too became a prominent man in the town; was justice of the peace for many years.
He kept public house, called “Grandfather’s House”; also he built a
distillery in the town. The children of Daniel Jr. and Lucretia BROWN were Alfred,
Anna and Mary. Alfred was born in
1798 and was sheriff of the county one term; Ann born in 1805 married Gideon
WOLCOTT; Mary born in 1818 became the wife of Mordecai OGDEN.
George
BROWN, son of Daniel the pioneer, became the owner of 600 acres on the east side
of the Beddoe tract, including the site of the village of Branchport.
George BROWN was also prominent in the affairs of Jerusalem; and several
terms its supervisor. His children
were Theda, Harriet and John R. BROWN.
Jonathan
DAVIS came to the New Jerusalem in 1792, and died in the county of Yates in
1870. His first residence was at
the little settlement on Seneca Lake, but after a few years he returned to
Philadelphia, and there married in 1801, Rachel UPDEGRAFF.
They then returned to this region, living near the lake for a short time,
and then locating in Jerusalem, on land purchased from the pioneer, Jacob
WAGENER. Here the parents lived and
died. Their children were Mary,
Isaiah, Leah and Lydia.
Thomas
HATHAWAY, for many years a leading and influential member of the Friend’s
society, and one of the original purchasers of the town of Jerusalem, or
No. 7, range two, was a native of Massachusetts and became a follower of
the Friend in 1784. He brought to
the New Jerusalem four children: Thomas, Mary, Elizabeth and Gilbert.
Thomas HATHAWAY sold a large share of his interest in the town to William
CARTER. He died in 1798, aged 68
years.
Elnathan
BOTSFORD was also one of the more influential of the Friend’s followers.
His wife was Lucy STONE, by whom he had six children: Benajah, Sarah,
Mary, Lucy, Ruth and Elnathan. Elnathan
BOTSFORD, the pioneer, died in Jerusalem at the age of 88.
Many descendants of this respected old family are still residents of the
county.
In 1807
John RACE and his wife left the eastern part of the State and located in
Jerusalem, a few miles up the lake from Penn Yan, on lot 50, now the Purdy
place. John RACE was known
throughout the county as a famous hunter and fisherman; withal he was a good
farmer. He had seven children:
William, Jonathan, Joseph, Catharine, John H., Phebe and Andrew J.
Samuel
DAVIS, son of Malachi DAVID, a pioneer Friend, settled in Jerusalem in 1804 on
lot 42. He was the shingle-maker
for the locality, and laid the foundation of his success in that calling.
His children were Rachel, Rebecca, Joseph, Jesse, Eliza, George W. and
Lydia Ann. The surname DAVIS, has a
number of representatives now in the town.
Benjamin
DURHAM, the millwright, was among the pioneers of Jerusalem. He was married to Elizabeth DAINS, daughter of Castle DAINS,
by Benedict ROBINSON. He bought
land of Mr. ROBINSON on lot 17, and made his home there in 1799.
The children of Benjamin and Elizabeth DURHAM were Ann, Rebecca, George,
John, James, Joanna, Abel, Albert and Elizabeth.
After the death of his wife, Mr. DURHAM in 1818, married Mary BATES of
Potter, by whom these children were born: Lucy C., Myron H., Benjamin, Mary C.,
and Charles M.
Achilles
COMSTOCK and his wife Rachel, the daughter of the senior Elnathan BOTSFORD, with
their three children, Israel, Apphi and Martha, became residents of Jerusalem in
1799, having previously lived at the settlement near Seneca Lake.
The lands bought for them were on the north side of the Friend’s
estate, and embraced 400 acres. Achilles was a Methodist, while his wife was one of the
Friend’s society. He died in 1832
and his wife in 1845.
Henry
LARZELERE was the youngest child of Daniel and Elizabeth LARZELERE, and was born
in 1798 at Hopeton, in the Friend’s settlement.
He became a resident of Jerusalem by being adopted into the family of
Elijah BOTSFORD upon the death of his mother.
He became a hotel or public house keeper in 1826, in the locality in
which he lived for many years thereafter, and known as Larzelere’s Hollow.
His wife was Rebecca DURHAM, whom bore him two children, Sarah A., who
married Erastus COLE and William B., whose wife was Sarah A. SHEPPARD.
Elizabeth
KINNEY was a native of Connecticut. She
was a widow at the time of her coming to New Jerusalem, but her devotion to the
Friend caused her to follow here, bringing her children, who were Samuel, Isaac,
Ephraim, Statira and Mary. They
lived for a time near Seneca Lake, but afterward moved to Jerusalem.
Samuel, the eldest child, made the first clearing on the site of the Poor
House farm.
Samuel
HARTWELL married Elizabeth WILKINSON, sister of the Friend. Their settlement was made first in Benton, from whence they
moved to Canada, but were obliged to leave the province during the second war
(1812) with Great Britain. They
came to Jerusalem and lived for a time, and then left the country.
Samuel
CLARK and wife first settled on lot 56, in what was township 7, first range, but
which became part of Jerusalem. His
title to the land failed, thus losing him his farm, after which the family
located on lot 41. Mr. CLARK
settled in the town in 1799. His
children were: Emma, Abigail, Laura, Ezekiel, Aurilla and Sally.
Descendants of this family still live in the town.
Sanford
COATS and Jerusha (MINER) COATS were natives of Connecticut and came with their
five children to Jerusalem in 1817. This
family name is still well represented in the town. The children of Sanford and Jerusha were Gilbert, Anner,
Sidney, William S., Susan A., Lucretia, John L., Russell and Miner.
Erastus
COLE and family settled in Jerusalem at Sabintown, so called, in 1817.
He died in 1860 and his wife five years afterward.
Their children were Hiram, Wolcott, Elizabeth, Ardelia, Mary, Erasatus
and Harris. Joseph COLE and his
family came to town at an early day, purchasing lands on the Benedict ROBINSON
tract. The children of Joseph and
Hannah COLE were Allen, John, Laura, Lydia, Simeon, Maria, Peleg, Sarah, Thomas
and Jane.
The
surname PURDY stands not only for pioneership, but for high respectability in
Jerusalem. The pioneer of the
family in the town was John PURDY, a native of this State, and his wife was
Esther BARTON. They had a large
family of children before coming to this locality, but not all the children came
to Yates County. John PURDY, his
son, Francis, and daughter Mary, with their families, located in the southwest
part of the town, on the Green tract, at what was called Lightning Corners. The children of John PURDY, from whom have descended the
PURDY family of the town today, were Abijah, Mary, Elizabeth, Isaac, Joshua,
Ann, Francis, Hannah, Abigail and Mariam.John and Elizabeth MERRITT, formerly of
Armenia, Dutchess County, and their children came to Jerusalem in 1827.
He died there in 1850, and his wife seven years later.
Their children were Chauncey, Sarah A., Eliza, Emma J., Rensselaer, John,
Alanson and La Faytette.
William
Henry STEWART, a Scotch sea captain of many years experience, and his wife,
settled in this town in 1817 on lot 50. The
wife died in 1835. Their children
were Ann E., Sarah W., Hannah, Abbie, Bethuliah, Rachel and Charlotte.
For his second wife, Captain MERRITT married Emma J. MERRITT, who bore
him six children: John W., Eliza, William, George B., Belle, and Saunders C.
Samuel
HARTSHORN, who was a native of Amherst, Mass., born in 1772, married Sarah
GENUNG, of Otsego County, NY, but a native of New Jersey.
They came to Yates County in 1817, settling first in Barrington but five
years later, moving to Jerusalem on lot 68.
Samuel, the pioneer died in 1854 and his wife in 1863.
They had six children as follows: Hiley, Betsey, Abigail, William W.,
Isaac W. and James H. Of one of this family of children, Isaac W. HARTSHORN, will
be found an extended mention in the biographical department of this work.
Jonathan
SISSON was the son of George SISSON, the latter a prominent Friend.
Jonathan served in Captain REMER’s Benton company during a part of the
War of 1812-15. In 1827 he and his
family became residents of Jerusalem. His
wife was Catharine VOSBINDER. Their
children were William, George, John, David, Harrison and Bethany.
Robert
M. BOYD was a native of Pennsylvania, and a pioneer in the Genesee country,
having come to Bath in 1799. He was
a blacksmith, and worked at his trade in various places, among them at Hopeton.
Here, he married Rebecca WOODHULL in 1804.
IN 1824 the family moved to Jerusalem, where, in 1839 Mr. BOYD died.
The children of Robert and Rebecca were Alexander M., Tompkins W.,
Margaret, Robert M., Martha R., Arabella R. and Mary E.
In 1816
Thomas SUTTON and family settled in Jerusalem on lot 56. His wife was Letitia HAINES.
Their children were Jane, Daniel, John, Thomas C., Lewis, William,
Reuben, Albert, Hannah, Ann and Emeline.
Elijah
TOWNSEND was a pioneer in Jerusalem, having made his settlement therein as early
as 1793, and in the locality that has for many years been known as Kinney’s
Corners. Mr. TOWNSEND was a
blacksmith by trade, but found profitable employment in making cow bells for
other settlers before line and division fences kept cattle in bounds.
Elijah TOWNSEND had nine children, viz.: Uriah, Hezekiah, Mary, Henry,
Isaac, Phebe, Martha, Sarah and Lydia.
Alexander
ANDERSON was a pioneer on Bluff Point, where he settled in 1813, but later moved
to Kinney’s Corners, originally called Fox’s Corners. He had a large family of children: Beecher, Rachel, Sara,
Hison, John, Nancy, Augustine, Mary Ann, Dow F. and Susan; but he name is not
now a common one in the town.
John
MOORE came to the town in 1815, married the daughter of John BEAL and settled
about four miles from Kinney’s Corners, on Bluff Point.
Eight children were born to them, viz.: Mary Ann, Phebe A., Beal, Lydia,
Obera, Jane E., Sabra B., and George D.
The
family of Benjamin WAITE settled on Bluff Point about 1816 and there both he and
his wife died. Their children were
Polly, Ray, Alfred, Albert, William, Stephen, Eliza and Mercy.
David
THOMAS and family were also early on the Point, but afterward moved to
Shearman’s Hollow. The children
of this family were Frank, Eliza, Emily, Mary Ann, Sarah, David and Loring.
Ira
SMITH was a prominent man in Jerusalem, and reared a somewhat prominent family;
but he was not a pioneer, having come to the town in 1834. His children were Morgan, Rosalinda, Mary, Jane M. Eben S.,
William H., Eleanor and Martha.
Benajah
ANDRUSS was the third settler on Bluff Point, coming there with his family in
1813. His wife was Abigail NASH, by
whom he had ten children: James, Zabina C., Ora, Jason, Henry G. Rossen, Esther,
Nancy, Emily and Almira.
John N.
ROSE was a Virginian born in 1789. He
was the son of Robert Selden and Jane (LAWSON) ROSE, and the second of their
seven children. MR. Rose purchased
1,050 acres of the Beddoe Tract, all that part of it lying east of the west
branch of Lake Keuka, and here he made his home.
His wife, whom he married in 1829, was Jane E. MACOMB, niece of General
MACOMB, the hero of Plattsburg. Mr.
ROSE erected the stone mansion in 1838. Henry
ROSE was a younger brother of John N. ROSE, and his wife was Sarah L. MACOMB.
They were married in 1832 and four years later took up their abode in
Jerusalem.
Robert
S. ROSE was the son of Robert L. ROSE, brother to John N. and Henry.
He purchased land in this town from his uncle, amounting to 362 acres of
the homestead tract. He married Frances T. CAMMANN, of New York City, who bore him
these children: Oswald J., Cammann, Robert L., Edward N., Frederick D., George
S., Catharine N. M. and John Henry.
Solomon
D. WEAVER was a native of Saratoga County, born in 1797.
He came to Penn Yan when a youth and engaged in a mill.
Later he became proprietor of several industries.
In 1832 he bought a part of the Beddoe Tract and moved to Branchport
where he died. His wife was
Elizabeth GAMBY, by whom he had five children: Myron H., Llewellyn J., Sherrel
S., George S. and Helen E. His wife
died in 1862, after which Solomon D. WEAVER married Mrs. Julia L. RIGHTER.
Dr.
Wynans BUSH married Ann LOOMIS in 1824. In
1832 they moved to Branchport form Ontario County.
Their children were Elliot M., Henry M., Irene, Caroline, Ellen, Harlem
P., Frances, Robert P. and Julia G.
Peter
H. BITLEY was one of the most extensive timber and lumber manufacturers that
ever came into Yates County. He
first operated in Jerusalem as early as 1833, then as an employee, and afterward
as proprietor. In 1839 he married
Mary J. LAIRD of Branchport. They
had one child, Mary E. BITLEY, also one by adoption, Ella Rozelle.
The
Green Tract - On one of the earlier
pages of the present chapter mention has been made of the fact that there were
conveyed off the west side of Jerusalem, extending from the Beddoe Tract north
to the north line of town, three tiers of lots, which, with lot 56 of
Guernsey’s survey, were thereafter known as the Green Tract.
This tract comprised over 4,000 acres, and was purchased by Henry and
Oren GREEN for the sum of $12,000. John
Clark and Henry GREEN, sons of Capt. Henry GREEN, one of the proprietors, and
Ira, son of Hezekiah GREEN, the latter a brother of Capt. Henry GREEN, all
became settlers on the tract. Clark
GREEN settled on lot 25. Ira
GREEN kept a tavern on lot 11. John
GREEN settled south of Ira.. Benjamin
STODDARD settled on lot 12 of the Green Tract; was a pioneer thereon in 1818.
Joseph WRIGHT and his wife Lucy (WOODS) WRIGHT, settled on lot 27 of the
tract in 1817. In 1818 David TURNER, wife and family, formerly of Benton,
settled on lot 14. Their children
were Reuben, Maria, Hannah, Catharine, Susan M., Sarah Ann and David H.
In
1826, Jonathan WELDEN, an early settler on the tract, sold his land on lot 24 to
Nathan G. BENEDICT, who with his family became settlers thereon.
In 1832 Rowland CHAMPLIN Jr., located on lot 10 of the Green Tract.
In 1817, John T. ALMY, from Benton, settled on lot 19.
The family of Samuel P. CARVEY located on lot 18 in 1828.
Nathan HARRIS was the original setter on lot 10, the date being 1819/
His wife was Nancy BENTON, by whom he had ten children: John B., Henry,
Marcia, Otis, Sally, Nathan, Maria, James K. and Charlotte.
William THRALL, a captain in the Revolution, was the first settler on lot
7. Silas COOK located on lot 10;
Zadoch BASS on lot 27; Benjamin and William LAFLER on lot 11; Joseph GAY on 8.
In the
same connection there may also be mentioned the names of other settlers on the
same tract, though data concerning some of them are meager and unreliable.
The were Enoch REMINGTON, William SIMMONS, David CONLEY, Seth HANCHETT,
John PURDY, William FOLSOM* **, Henry DENNIS, Ruel ROGERS, Horton ROUNDS, David
PAGE, Lewis CARVEY, Jacob CODDINGTON, Benjamin WASHBURN, Jacob YOUNGS, Edmund
ROBINSON, Samuel WELDON, Platt KINNEY, John BLAKEMAN, Peter SIMMONS, William
PAUL, Thomas B. SMITH, each of whom was a pioneer of more or less prominence,
and each of whom was in some manner identified with the early history of the
town, its growth, development and prosperity.
One of
the early settlers in the town was Ebenzer SHATTUCK, who located on lot 56, of
the Guernsey survey in 1816. His
children were Ebenezer, Sewall, Lucy, Mahala, Hepzibah, Aaron W., George W.,
Rebecca and Clarissa.
The
Beddoe Tract - As has been narrated
in a preceding portion of the current chapter, the district territory in
Jerusalem commonly known as the Beddoe Tract, was so named after its owner and
proprietor, Capt. John BEDDOE. The
tract was purchased by him from John JOHNSON, and Englishman, and was acquired
by the latter from James WADSWORHT, the grantee of Oliver PHELPS.
Seven thousand acres on the lake were taken off, and the remainder was
surveyed into 160 acre lots and numbered consecutively form one to thirty-two.
John
BEDDOE was a Welshman by birth, and came directly to Jerusalem form the old
country in 1798. He left his family
in Geneva and came to the tract with help sufficient to make rapid and
substantial progress in clearing and improving the land and providing a place of
abode for himself and his family. The
wife of Capt. BEDDOE was Catharine JAMES, by whom he had three children: John
S., Charlotte H. and Lynham J. Capt.
BEDDOE died in 1835, his wife in 1815.
Albert
R. COWING is said to have been the first permanent settler on the Beddoe 5,000
acre tract, the date of his location being given as 1825. William RUNNER moved in during the same year and settled on
the south side. John RUNNER, the
father of William, came in 1826. Ezra
LOOMIS moved on the tract in 1826. John
COLEMAN came in from Benton the same year.
Henry NUTT also came in 1826m settling on lot 30.
Benjamin RIBERS, from Seneca and Morris ROSS also settled on the tract in
1826. Meli TODD, from Starkey, who
married the daughter of pioneer William OVENSHIRE, of Barrington, located on the
tract in 1830. Rochester HURD moved
from Starkey to Jerusalem in 1826 and settled on Beddoe Tract.
James ROYCE, from the same town, came one year later.
Rufus HERDERSON, also from Starkey, came in 1827.
Dexter LAMB came from Wayne in 1826.
John CORWIN, a pioneer of Starkey, left that town and settled on the
tract in 1826, on lot 27.
Peter
D. STEVER, the ancestor of a numerous family in the town, was one of the
prominent, though possibly not early pioneers of the Beddoe Tract, his
settlement dated in 1830. Seven
years later he married Ann BAKER. Their
children were Hannah, Ruth, Franklin, Hester, Oscar, David, Cecelia, David,
Annette, and Rupert. James STEVER,
brother to Peter, came in the town in 1832.
His wife was Desire GOODSELL, by whom these children were born: Leonard,
Peter, Elizabeth, George, Joseph and Jennie.
James
TAYLOR and family came to the tract in 1829, and ultimately became owners of the
Beddoe homestead. Among his
children were Mary, John, William D., James L., Thomas, Charles, Susanna and
Eleanor E.
Among
the other early families in the town who may be mentioned without reference to
particular location, was that of Judah CHASE, who came to Bluff Point in 1820.
Later he moved to the west part of town and there died.
His children were John, William, Judah, Ira, Christopher C., Elias, Levi,
Hannah and Jane.
Amos
PERRY was an early comer to the town. He
married here, in 1823 Abigail CLARK, by whom he had six children: Samuel, Alma,
Samantha, Mary J., Ezekiel C. and Elizabeth.
Wallace, Daniel and Thomas BENEDICT came to Jerusalem in 1816 and settled
on lot 56.
Other
than have been mentioned early settlers on Bluff Point were Anthony ROUSE, 1813;
Timothy ROUSE, 1815; Elnathan FINCH, 1812; the DYKEMANS, father and son; Howland
HEMPHILL, Jared and Nathan HERRICK and George HECK.
Sabintown
was the name given a settlement made on lot 58, during or about the year 1798.
The residents here were Asa and Burtch SABIN, and their nephew, Hiram
SABIN, and their families, and from them the locality derived its name.
The pioneers of the families died many years ago, and their descendants
scattered and settled in other communities, with result in the loss of the name
of the town. Among the other early
settlers in the vicinity of Sabintown were Gideon BURTCH, Braman BURTCH and
Hezekiah DAYTON. Zephenia
BRIGGS was the pioneer settler on lot 69, lying next west of 58, and very near
the settlement called Sabintown.
* "William FOLSOM" should read William FOLSTON (Foulstone), of Askham, Westmorland, England, immigrating to America about 1807, married Jerusha Green, daughter of Capt. Henry Green and Submit Clark. ( from Margaret Folston)
** Jerusha GREEN - She
was born February 12, 1793 in Windsor, Brookshire, Mass and died June 8, 1828 in
HTML by Dianne
Thomas
These electronic pages may be printed as a link or for personal use, but is NOT
to be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by ANY
other organization or persons.
Copyright 2004 - 2008
[NY
History and Genealogy]
[AHGP]