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Joseph Smith: (Illustrations & Photos) | Joseph's New York (Maps & Images) | Great Bend links BROOME & CHENANGO COUNTIES: 1800-1999
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From: Gazetter and Business Directory of Chenango County, N.Y.
This County was formed from Herkimer and Tioga, March 15, 1798. Sangerfield (Oneida Co.) was taken off in 1804, and Madison County in 1806. It is situated in the interior, a little south-east of the center of the State, and is centrally distant ninety-four miles from Albany, and contains 898 square miles. The surface is a hilly upland, broken by the deep ravines of the streams. Two ridges of highlands extend through the County from north-east to south-west, the first lying between Unadilla and Chenango Rivers and the second between the Chenango and Otselic. These main ridges are subdivided by numerous parallel and lateral valleys, whose declivities are often too steep for profitable cultivation. The summits are broad and rolling, and present a fine plateau of nearly uniform elevation throughout the County, The highest points are from 600 to 800 feet above the principal valleys. Susquehanna River flows south-west through the south-east corner, receiving as tributaries Unadilla River and numerous other smaller streams. The Unadilla forms the principal part of the eastern boundary of the County; its tributaries are Beaver Creek, Shawler, Great and Kent Brooks. Chenango River flows in a southerly direction, from the north border to near the center, and thence south-westerly to the south-west corner. From the east its tributaries are Handsome Eddy, Padgets and Pages Brooks, and from the west, Canasawacta, Fly Meadow, Ludlow and Genegantslet Creeks, and Pleasant, Fly, Cold and Mill Brooks. Otselic River flows through the north-west corner in a south-west direction, receiving from the east, Middletown Brook and Brackel Creek, and from the west, Manus, Buck and Ashbel Brooks and Mud Creek. Numerous ponds are interspersed among the hills, in basins, far above the valleys of the streams. The valleys of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers are among the finest in the State. They consist of fine intervales, about a mile in width, highly cultivated 64 CHENANGO COUNTY. and bordered for the most part with finely wooded hillsides. The valleys of the County appear to have been formed by the action of large currents of water, which have plowed deep furrows in the gently rolling region which probably once formed the general face of the County. The following description of the County is taken from the Oxford Gazette of 1823, furnished by H. R. Mygatt, Esq,: "The principal part of the County lies in the region of what is called the Grand Alleghany Ridge of Mountains; its surface is therefore elevated and hilly; the hills run generally in a northeasterly and south-westerly direction, and are separated by valleys of moderate width. The Susquehanna River runs across the south-east corner of the County and opens a wide and beautiful valley of intervale land of superior quality, extending from the south-east line of the County to the mouth of the Unadilla River, winding a distance of about fourteen miles. The hills on the sides of the river are precipitous and lofty, approaching almost the character of mountains, and formerly were thickly covered with the towering and majestic white-pine, so justly styled the pride of the American forest. This valley, with a slight interruption, continues up the Unadilla River to the north line of the County, presenting a tract of uncommonly fine and fertile land, particularly adapted to the cultivation of grain. It is of various width, expanding towards the west as you proceed up the river. CHENANGO COUNTY. 65 Broome County; Greene, Oxford, Norwich and Sherburne, in Chenango County, and Hamilton, in Madison County. Beyond this valley, to the westward, commences another and yet higher range of most excellent farming lands. No better grazing lands can be found in any region in the same latitude than are found in the towns of Smithville, Preston, Plymouth, Smyrna, McDonough and Pharsalia. This is abundantly proved by the numerous herds of fine cattle and the flocks of sheep that are every year driven from these towns to our different markets. The degrees of comfort, independence and wealth which are hence derived to the farmers of these towns, are facts that speak for themselves, and are the best evidences of industry and the excellence of the soil. The forest trees of this range are similar to those east of the valley of the Chenango, on the Guilford range. The towns of Pharsalia, Otselic and German, are principally watered by the Otselic and its numerous branches. This stream runs through the north-west corner of the County and falls into the Tioughnioga, in the town of Lisle, Broome County, The lands on the Oiselic and its branches are of a superior quality, better adapted to the cultivation of grain than the Preston range. The whole surface of Chenango is beautified and enriched with innumerable springs, brooks and rivulets of the purest water, affording desirable sites for mills of almost any power or description ; and the saw mills have heretofore produced immense quantities of lumber for Baltimore, Philadelphia and other Southern markets." The lowest rocks of the County belong to the Hamilton group, which appear along the north border. Above these, the Tully limestone, Genesee slate, the Portage, Chemung and Catskill groups appear successively towards the south part of the County. The sandstone of the Portage group furnishes a good material for building and for flagging purposes. Several quarries have been opened along the valley of Chenango, betw^een Greene and Oxford. A little below Oxford is a quarry from which grindstones and whetstones are obtained. The summits of the hills in the south part are crowned with the red sandstone of the Chemung group. The soil of the various parts of the County is composed almost wholly of the disintegrated rocks in the vicinity. In a few localities drift is found to a limited extent. Upon the hills the soil is chiefly a shaly loam, and in the valleys a fine quality of alluvium, very productive. The County is engaged chiefly in agriculture. Dairying is the leading department, and is gradually increasing and gaining upon all other branches. Stock and wool are raised to some extent, and grain is also produced, but is subordinate to the dairy, and the quantity raised is not sufiwient to supply the wants of the people. Hops are cultivated along the river valleys. 66 CHENANGO COUNTY. The County Seat is located at Norwich. The Court House is a fine stone building, located near the center of the village and fronting on the Public Square. It is built in the Grecian style of architecture, with a colonade in front. The Jail is a stone building contiguous to the Court House, and the Clerk's Office is a fire-proof brick building on the same Jot. The courts were at first held at Hamilton (now Madison Co.) and at Oxford. From the formation of Madison County in 1806 until 1809, the courts were held alternately at Oxford and North Norwich. March 6, 1807, an act was passed locating the County Seat at Norwich. This act authorized the Supervisors of the County to select a permanent site for a Court House and Jail within one mile of the residence of Stephen Steere, Esq., in the village of Norwich. Mr. Steere then resided where the Hughson House now stands. To defray the expense of buildings and site the Supervisors were authorized to levy a tax, not to exceed five thousand dollars, upon the free holders of the County, one-half of which was to be collected the first year and the remainder the second year. While the subject was under consideration, Peter B. Garnsey, Esq., gave to the Commissioners about one and a half acres of land upon which to erect the County buildings. This land was the same as that upon which the present Court House stands, and includes the spacious green in front, upon the west side of Main street. About the time Mr. Garnsey made the donation of land just mentioned, Stephen Steere, Esq., made a similar donation to the village, of the spacious green cast of Main street. Those who contracted to build the Court House claimed to have lost money in the operation, and the Legislature to relieve them, authorized a further tax of $1,500 to be raised in the County and paid to them as an indemity for their loss, making, the whole cost of the building $6,500. The Court House was built and first occupied in 1809. The present Court House was built in 1837, under the direction of William Randall, William Knowlton and Erastus Lathrop, Commissioners. The present Jail was erected in 1830, at a cost of $2,000. It is a two story building, containing cells for the prisoners and a house for the Jailor. The first county officers were Isaac Foot, First Judge; Joab Enos and Joshua Leland. Judges; Oliver Norton and Elisha Payne, Assistant Justices; Uri Tracy, Sheriff; Sidney S. Breese, Clerk, and John L. Mercereau, Surrogate. The County Poor House is situated upon a farm in the town of Preston, about six miles west of Norwich. The whole number of paupers relieved or supported at the Poor House for the year ending November 2d, 1868, was 128, of whom 83 were town paupers and 45 County paupers. The whole amount of expenditures for the support of the poor for the year was $5,138.77. The cost per week of supporting each county pauper, exclusive of clothing CHENANGO COUNTY. 67 and transportation, was $1.13, The cost of supporting each town pauper per week was $.653. The first Court of Common Pleas held in Chenango County was convened at the school house in Hamilton, in June, 1798. The first business transacted was the admission of Thomas R. Gold, Joseph Kirkland, Nathan Williams, Stephen O. Runyon, Nathaniel King, Arthur Breese, Peter B. Garnsey and Medad Curtis, to practice as attorneys and counselors in this Court. The second term was held in Oxford, in October, 1798; and after this the Courts were held alternately at Oxford and Hamilton, until the formation of Madison County. The Court met three times a year to transact county business. The Judges were authorized to open the Court on Tuesday, but not to hold beyond Saturday of the same week. The first Circuit Court was held July 10, 1798, at which Justice Kent, afterwards Chancellor, presided. One of the most remarkable trials that has ever taken place in this County was in 1812. General David Thomas was indicted for an attempt to bribe a member of the State Senate from this County. Great interest was manifest in the trial and a very large number of citizens assembled to witness the proceedings. Judge William P. Van Ness, presided. Thomas Addis Emmet, the Attorney General, conducted the prosecution in behalf of the State. Some of the most eminent counsel in the State were arrayed in this trial. Many witnesses wore examined and numerous documents read in evidence. The trial occupied about fifty hours and resulted in the acquittal of the accused. The public works of the County are the Chenango Canal, extending along the valley of Chenango River, through Sherburne, North Norwich, Norwich, Oxford and Greene, connecting Utica and Binghamton; the Albany and Susquehanna Railroad extending through Bainbridge and Afton, in the south-east corner, and connecting Albany and Binghamton; and the Utica, Chenango & Susquehanna Valley Railroad extending through Sherburne and North Norwich to Norwich, and connecting the last named place with Utica. The New York, Oswego and Midland Railroad, now in process of construction, is located through Sherburne, Norwich and Guilford, and is designed to open a direct communication between Oswego and New York. A railroad has also been surveyed from Norwich to DeRuyter, and thence to Auburn, and another is in prospect from Cortlandville to Norwich. The Chenango Canal crosses the river below Earlville, below Sherburne and below Greene, on wood aqueducts, supported by stone piers. The Chenango Canal is so important a work, and so large a part of it is in this County, a sketch of its history will not be oui of place in a work like this. As early as 1834: the inhabitants of the Chenango Valley petitioned the Legislature for a survey of a canal 68 CHENANGO COUNTY. connecting this valley with the Erie Canal. The Canal Committee reported favorably, but the report was not acted upon, as the session was drawing to a close. In 1825 a law was passed authorizing a survey; and in 182G a petition was presented fur its construction, and the Canal Committee of the Assembly made a favorable report, but the House, thinking the survey had not been sufficiently minute and accurate, rejected the bill. During the summer of 1826 the inabitants procured another survey of the summit level, and at the session of 1827 a bill for the construction of a canal passed the Assembly but was rejected in the Senate. In 1827 the citizens procured another survey of the whole line. Mr. Roberts, an able engineer, was employed, and he came to the conclusion that a sufficient supply of water could be procured, and that the work could be constructed for less than one million of dollars. This opinion was concurred in by several other eminent engineers. In 1828 a bill for its construction again passed the Assembly and was again rejected by the Senate. The application was renewed in 1829, but the objection was made that the State could not safely proceed under a survey that was not authorized by the Legislature, and a bill was passed authorizing its construction if it could be done for one million dollars, if there was sufficient water and if it would yield, when constructed, a revenue for ten years, including the increase of tolls on the Erie Canal, equal to the cost of repairs and the interest of the cost of construction. The Commissioners reported that the canal would cost more than a million of dollars, and the enterprise was again supposed to be killed. In the meantime the population was increasing, villages were springing up and the products of the soil were becoming more abundant. Another effort was made, and on the 23d of February, 1833, an act was passed to construct a canal from Utica to Binghamton, ninety-seven miles. The work was commenced in 1833 and completed in 1837, at a cost of one million, seven hundred and thirty-seven thousand, seven hundred and three dollars. It was constructed with one hundred and fourteen lift locks, two of which were of stone, the others were of wood and stone, culled composite. From Utica to the summit it rises 706 feet, by 70 locks, and from this to Binghamton it descends 303 feet, by 38 locks. The canal is supplied by the Chenango Eiver and six reservoirs, all of which are in the south part of Madison County. There was great rejoicing along the valley when the bill authorizing the canal became a law. Among the early and efficient friends of this measure were John F. Hubbard, William H. Maynard and Henry A. Foster, for many years State Senators; John Tracy, of this County, and Reuben Tower, Moses Maynard and many others. Mr. E. B. McCall, of Oxford, a surveyor and civil engineer, was an early and active participant in the construction of the canal. It is said that he once CHENANGO COUNTY. 69 made a survey of the M'hole line of the present canal and that the levels were proved to be correct when the canal was completed. There are seven weekly papers published in this County. The first paper published in the County was The Western Oracle, by Abraham Romeyn, at the Four Corners, in Saerburne, in 1803. It was a single octavo sheet, containing very few advertisements and but little news. Its pages were chiefly occupied by public documents relating to our affairs with France. It was discontinued in 1808 or 1809. The Olive Branch was started at Sherburne in May, 1806, by Phinney & Fairchild. In 1808 John F. Fairchild became sole proprietor. _____ Miller, Lot Clark and John B. Johnson were successively interested in its publication until 1812 or 1813, when Mr. Johnson changed its name to The Volunteer. In 1816 John F. Hubbard purchased the press and commenced the publication of The Norwich Journal. In 1844 it passed into the hands of LaFayette Leal and J. H. Sinclair, who merged it into the Oxford Republican in October, 1847, and changed the name to THE CHENANGO UNION. January 1st, 1854, Leal sold his interest to Harvey Hubbard, and the paper was published by Hubbard & Sinclair until September, 1859, when Sinclair sold to Hubbard, who continued its publication until his death in 1862. June 1, 1863, John F. Hubbard, Jr., became proprietor, and continued its publication until July 1, 1868, when he sold to G. H. Manning, the present publisher. The Chenango Patriot was commenced at Oxford, in 1807, by John B. Johnson, and its publication continued three or four years. The President was published in 1808, by Theophilus Eaton. The Republican Messenger was started at Sherburne in 1810, by Pettit & Percival. The Oxford Gazette was started in 1814, by Chauncey Morgan, who published it several years, when it was sold to George Hunt and subsequently to Hunt & Noyes. In 1826 Mr. Noyes again became proprietor, and after a few years the paper was discontinued. The People's Advocate was started at Norwich, in 1824, by H. P. W. Brainard. It subsequently passed into the hands of William G. Hyer, and was discontinued after a short time. The Republican Agriculturalist was started December 10, 1818, by Thurlow Weed. It soon after passed into the hands of Curtis, who continued it for a short time, when it was discontinued. The Chenango Republican was started at Oxford, in 1826, by Benjamin Corey. In 1828 it was purchased by Mack & Chapman, and March 3, 1831, William E. Chapman & T. T. Flagler commenced a new series and soon after changed its name to 70 CHENANGO COUNTY. The Oxford Republican. In 1838 Mr. Chapman became sole proprietor. During the next few years it was successively published by J. Taylor Bradt, Benjamin Welch, Jr., R. A. Leal, C. E. Chamberlin and LaFayette Leal. In 1847 it was merged with the Norwich Journal and published as the Chenango Union. The Anti-Masonic Telegraph was commenced at Norwich, in November, 1829, by E. P. Pellet. In 1831 B. T. Cook becamee associated in its publication, and its name was subsequently changed to The Chenango Telegraph. In 1840, on the death of E. P. Pellet, it passed into the hands of his brother, Nelson Pellet; and upon his death, in 1851, it was conducted for the estate by E. Max Leal and F. P. Fisher. In September, 1855, it was purchased by Rice & Martin, by whom it was continued until November 10, 1805, when it was united with The Chenango Chronicle, started August 19, 1864, by Rice & Prindle, and the united papers were published as the TELEGRAPH AND CHRONICLE. Berry & Kingsley are the present proprietors. The Chenango Patriot was commenced at Greene, in 1830, by Nathan Randall. It subsequently passed into the hands of Joseph M. Farr, who changed its name to The Chenango Democrat, and in a short time it was discontinued. The New Berlin Herald was commenced in 1831, by Samuel L. Hatch, in 1834 it was published by Randall & Hatch. Soon after it passed into the hands of Isaac C. Sheldon, and afterwards into the hands of Hiram Ostrander, who changed its name to The New Berlin Sentinel. It was discontinued about 1840. The Chenango Whig was published at Oxford a short time, in 1835. The Miniature, a small monthly, was issued from the same office. The Sherburne Palladium was commenced in 1836, by J. Worden Marble. In 1839 it was removed to Binghamton. THE OXFORD TIMES was commenced in 1836, by a joint stock company. It was for some time conducted by H. H. Cook. In 1841 it passed into the hands of E. H. Purdy & C. D. Brigham. In 1844 it was published by Waldo M. Potter; in 1845 by Potter & Galpin; and in 1848 J. B. Galpin became sole proprietor and has continued its publication to the present time. The Bainbridge Eagle was started in 1843, by J. Hunt, Jr. In 1846 its name was changed to The Bainbridge Freeman ; and in 1849 it was merged in The Chenango Free Democrat, which was commenced at Norwich, January 1, 1840, by Alfred G. Lawyer. J. D. Lawyer soon CHENANGO COUNTY. 71 after became associated in its publication, and it was in a short time removed to Cobleskill, Schoharie County. The New Berlin Gazette was commenced in 1849, by Joseph H. Fox and M. E. Dunham, and was published about one year. The Chenango News was commenced at Greene in 1850, by A. T. Boynton. J. M. Haight soon after became associated in its publication, and subsequently became sole proprietor. He removed the press to Norwich and, in connection with A. P. Nixon, commenced the publication of The Temperance Advocate, in 1855, and published it one year, when it was discontinued. The Saturday Visitor was commenced in 1852, by Joseph K. Fox, and its name was soon after changed to The Social Visitor, after which it was published about five years. The Spirit of the Age was commenced at New Berlin in 1852, by J. K. Fox; J. D. Lawyer, editor. It was published only a short time. The Oxford Transcript was commenced in 1853, by G. N. Carhart, and was published about six months. The Sherburne Transcript was commenced in 1855, by James M. Scarritt, and was published about two years. THE CHENANGO AMERICAN was commenced at Greene, September 20, 1855, by Demison & Fisher. Denison & Roberts are the present publishers. The Daily Reporter was commenced at Norwich in 1857, by G. H. Smith. In 1858 it was purchased by Rice & Martin, and was soon after discontinued. The Literary Independent was commenced at Norwich in 1858, by a company of gentlemen connected with the Academy, and was published about four months. THE NEW BERLIN PIONEER was commenced February 19, 1859, by Squires & Fox. THE BAINBRIDGE LEDGER was started in 1866. The present publisher is G. A. Dodge. THE CHENANGO DEMOCRAT is published at Oxford, by E. J. Watson. The territory embraced in this County includes eleven of the "Chenango Twenty Towns," or "Governor's Purchase," the "Gore," lying between these and the Military Tract, a part of the "Chenango Triangle Tract" and several smaller tracts which will be described hereafter. The "Twenty Towns" were ceded by the Oneida Indians to the State in a treaty made by Governor George Clinton, at Fort Schuyler, September 22, 1788. At the organization of the County it included all of the Twenty Towns, but in 1806, on the organization of Madison County, two tiers of townships upon the north were included in that County. These townships 72 CHENANGO COUNTY. ships were originally numbered from one to twenty, and were laid out about six miles square, or more accurately, five hundred chains, or as near to that as circumstances vyould admit. Those numbered from seven to seventeen are now in this County. Otselic comprises the seventh township, Smyrna the eighth, Sherburne the ninth, North Norwich part of the tenth, Plymouth the eleventh, Pharsalia the twelfth, McDonough the thirteenth, Preston the fourteenth, Norwich parts of the fourteenth and fifteenth, New Berlin the sixteenth and parts of the tenth and fifteenth, and Columbus the seventeenth. Owing to the sinuosities of the Unadilla River, several gores were left along its banks. Between these townships and the Military Tract on the west, was a Gore, purchased by the Holland Land Company, and including the towns of Lincklaen, Pitcher and German in this County. The Surveyor General was instructed to erect a monument at the termination of the outlines of each township, and also at the termination of every fifty chains between them. Each township was divided into four equal parts, as near square as possible, and afterwards into lots of 250 acres each, the lines dividing the lots passing through the monuments already mentioned. A copy of the map and the field book, containing a description of the soil, timber, creeks, &c., in the respective towns were ordered to be placed on file in the Secretary of State's office for public inspection. On the map of every township one lot "was to be designated " Gospel " and another "School," these two lots to be located as near the center of the township as convenient and to be reserved for religious and educational purposes respectively. The act authorizing the survey of this territory required the (Commissioners, assisted by the Surveyor General, to select five townships of choice lands to be sold only for gold or silver, or to redeem a certain stock which the State had issued in the form of bills of credit. The price at which the land was to be sold was to be such as to insure a ready sale and secure the greatest revenue to the State, but no portion of this tract was to be sold for less than three shillings per acre. The land was advertised for sale in the public prints of the cities of New York and Albany, three months previous to the sale. Owing to the tardy circulation of the notice and the great distance that people of the frontier must travel, over bad roads, to reach the place of sale, New York City, the land fell into the hands of speculators who compelled the actual settlers, in many instances, to pay twenty shillings per acre instead of three or four, which they themselves had paid. In addition to the advance in the price of the land sold, the original purchasers could select for themselves the most valuable portions, and in a few years become very wealthy. The terms upon which purchases were made of the State were one-fourth of the price down and the remainder in six months, but by reference to the bids sent CHENANGO COUNTY. 73 in and accepted by the Commissioners we learn that these terms were not invariable. When an application for a town was accepted the applicant received from the Surveyor General a certificate of purchase, which entitled him to a patent under the great seal of the State, when all payments were adjusted. In addition to the price paid for the land purchased of the State, the purchaser was required by law to pay the State officers certain fees, in conformity to the following scale: To the Commissioners of the Land Office, for patenting a township, the purchaser paid three pounds ; for patenting half a township or any number of acres exceeding a half and less than the whole, two pounds; for a tract less than half a township, one pound was paid, and for a single lot of 250 acres, eight shillings were paid the Commissioners. The Secretary of State was allowed the same fees as the Commissioners. The first patent granted was dated December 2d, 1792, and was made to Leonard M. Cutting, and covered the fifteenth township, or parts of Norwich and New Berlin. The certificate of purchase was dated the 2d of November of the same year. The second certificate was dated November 3d of the same year, and covered the fourteenth township and was granted to Melancthon Smith and Marinus Willett, and included 7,049 acres. Mr. Cutting also purchased the eleventh township, and Robert C. Livingston the seventh, in 1793. William S. Smith purchased the eighth and ninth townships, April Gth, 1793, and received his patent April 16th, 1794. The tenth was purchased by James Talmadge and Ezra Thompson, and the thirteenth by Thomas Ludlow and Josiah Shippey, in 1793. The sixteenth and the seventeenth townships were purchased by John Taylor, Feb. 2d, 1793, and patent issued February 14, 1797. That part of the town of Oxford lying west of the Chenango River was called the Gore, and was originally purchased by Melancthon Smith and Marinus Willett, and subsequently divided into sixty-nine lots of about one hundred acres each. Guilford, that part of Oxford lying east of the river, and a small part of the northeastern portion of Coventry, was included in " Fayette Township," a part of the purchase made of the Indians in 1785. This township was originally divided into 100 lots of 640 acres each, and patented to various individuals. South of the tract last mentioned was " Clinton Township," originally divided into 100 lots of 640 acres each. A tract of 16,000 acres was granted to Robert Harper, Jan. 4, 1787, and by him sold to various persons, and is known as the Harper Patent, and now constitutes the east part of the town of Coventry. The remainder is included in the towns of Bainbridge and Afton, a part of which was included in the Vermont Sufferers' Tract. This was granted to relieve those persons who had purchased lands of the State of New York, within the present limits of Vermont. This territory was claimed by New York and New 74 CHENANGO COUNTY. Hampshire, and after a long and angry discussion, New York surrendered her claim and Vermont became an independent State. The "Township of Greene" embraced the oast part of the present town of Greene and the west part of the town of Coventry, and was divided into lots of G40 acres each, 16,138 acres of which were granted to Walter Livingston in 1788. The remainder, embracing 15,835 acres, was granted to Malachi Treat and William W. Morris, in 1787 or 1788, and was called the "French Tract." The remaining part of the County was included in what was called the "Chenango Triangle," which included the town of Smithville and a part of the town of Greene. This tract was granted to William Hornby, of England, and was managed by his agents. The settlements of this County commenced about the year 1786, by immigrants from the New England States, but the settlements were few and small for a number of years. The want of roads was a source of great embarrassment to the pioneers of this as well as of other portions of the newly settled territory. Those who came from the borders of Pennsylvania often followed up the Susquehanna and the Chenango in canoes, while those whq came from New England and the eastern part of this State, came by land, often following the Indian trails through the almost impenetrable forests. The scarcity of food was sometimes a source of great distress to the settlers before they had sufficient land under cultivation to supply their ever increasing demands. In 1792 a colony of French, from France and St. Domingo, seeking a refuge from the horrors of the French Revolution, settled in the town of Greene. They purchased a tract of 15,000 acres of land, on the east side of Chenango River, of William W. Morris and Malachi Treat, but their leader having been drowned and the colonists fixiling to pay for their land, it reverted to the original owners, and the colony dispersed, all except Captain Juliand leaving for other parts. The Chenango County Agricultural Society was organized in 1846 and its first Fair was held at Norwich in October of the same year. The fairs of the next two years were also held at Norwich, and the following ones at Oxford and Sherburne respectively. In the summer of 1851 the Society resolved to have a permanent place for holding their fairs, and for this purpose leased for a term of years a lot of five acres in the village of Norwich, upon which they erected a Floral Hall, and around which a track, about onethird of a mile in extent, was laid. From this time until 1864, inclusive, the fairs were held on these grounds. In 1865 the managers changed the site to another part of the village and secured a lot of fourteen acres, upon which is an excellent trotting course of half a mile in extent. Old Floral Hall was taken down and reconstructed and enlarged, making it one hundred and six feet in length. The first fair upon the new grounds was held in the fall of 1865 CHENANGO COUNTY. 75 and was a decided success. After paying all expenses of removing Floral Hall and erecting new pens, the balance in the treasury of the Society amounted to $550.00. In June, 1866, a fair was held for the purpose of exhibiting horses. This was an experiment but a successful one. The ferniers exhibited some very fine horses and the receipts of the Society were over 11,000. The fair of 1860 continued five days, on account of the rain, which came down almost unceasingly from Monday noon until Friday night. The receipts were much less than usual, but considering the weather the result was as good as could well be expected. In several localities in this County artificial mounds of great antiquity have been discovered, indicating that at some remote period this region was inhabited by a race of beings who were subsequently dispossessed of their territory by the Oneidas and Tuscaroras. One of the most remarkable of these ancient remains of a departed race was found in Oxford. The following account is condensed from a paper written by DeWitt Clinton in 1817: On the east side of the Chenango River, in the center of the village of Oxfird, there is a piece of land containing two or three acres which is about thirty feet higher than the adjoining flat land around it. This rise of land lies along the river banks, and upon the southwest portion there appeared an ancient fort, containing about threefourths of an acre. The fort was semi-circular in fjrm, nearly straight along the river. The curve was a ditch regularly dug, excepting two spaces of about ten feet each at each extremity, which were probably left for ingress and egress. Although the ground upon which this fort was situated was as heavily timbered as any in the vicinity, the line of the ditch could be distinctly traced when the town was first settled by the whites. The distance from the bottom of the ditch to the top of the embankment was about four feet. The antiquity of this fort is further indicated by the fact that the dead trunk of a pine tree, fifty or sixty feet in height, stood upon the embankment, and on being cut, one hundred and ninety-six concentric circles or grains could be distinctly counted, though the sap wood was too far gone to admit of the grains being counted. This tree stood upon the top of the embankment and its roots conformed to its outline and that of the ditch, showing conclusively that it must have grown up after the ditch was dug. The tree must have been two hundred years in growing, and it might have stood another hundred after its growth ceased. The situation was a very eligible one for a fortress, being on high ground and commanding a view of the river for a considerable distance north and south. Bones and some implements of rude pottery have been found in the vicinity of the fort. Oxford was a favorite resting place for the Indians, and there was another some miles south. The favorite resort of the Indians of this region was the Indian 76 CHENANGO COUNTY. fields, about a mile below the creek bridge in Norwich. The plain occupied by the village of Norwich was also a favorite resort. It was dry and interspersed with numerous springs. In this vicinity the natives had cleared the land and had also cut clearings on the Unadilla River. The Indians have a tradition that a powerful chief once took possession of the fort at Oxford and for many years held possession in spite of the Oneidas. At length the Oneidas managed to get between him and the fort, when he ran down the river about six miles, to Warner's Pond, where he concealed himself but was at length killed. This chief was called Thick Keck, and the notorious Abrani Antone is said to have descended from him. Flint arrow heads of very large size have been found in the vicinity of Norwich, and hatchets carved out of stone have been discovered upon the banks of the Unadilla. In the town of New Berlin, adjacent to the Indian fields of Otsego County, gun barrels, stone tomahawks, arrow heads and human skeletons have been plowed up, indicating that a severe battle had been fought there. At Padgets Brook, about four miles below Oxford, were breastworks which appeared to be Indian fortifications. They are circular and consist of about twenty-five different embankments running into each other. A few years ago many Indian graves were broken in upon in the village of Oxford, while laying pump logs. The beds of the graves were lined with cobble stone, resembling in many respects the pavements in our city streets. About two miles south of the village of Greene there was a remarkable mound at the time of the first settlement of this region. Before the mound was dug down or plowed over, it was about six feet above the surfiice of the ground and forty feet in diameter, being nearly circular. There was also a large pine tree standing in the center, which although dead when cut down, showed 180 years growth. In 1829 an excavation was made into the mound and a large number of human bones were found, and lower down, bones that appeared to have been burned. There were also found about 300 arrow heads lying in a heap, cut after the usual form, and all either of yellow or black flint. As there is no rock of this kind in this part of the State, these arrow heads must have been brought from a distance. In another part of the mound there were found about sixty, made of the same form as those just mentioned. A silver band or ring was also found, about two inches in diameter, very thin and wide, the remains of what appeared to be a reed pipe lying within it, leading some to suppose that it was the remains of some kind of a musical instrument. Stone chisels of various shapes were also found, apparently fitted for different kinds of work. During the later years of the residence of the Oneidas in this County, a tragical scene was enacted a short distance below Norwich. A young Oneida had paid his addresses to a beautiful CHENANGO COUNTY. 77 squaw of the same tribe, and had gained the consent of the parents, who were accustomed to decide such things, though the fair one's affections were bestowed upon another. He succeeded in carrying the maiden to his wigwam, but she soon escaped with her more cherished lover. The husband pursued them, and while they were hacked in the embrace of sleep, entered their apartment, took the life of his rival and inflicted severe wounds upon his fugitive wife. For this he was tried by a council of his tribe and acquitted without even entering the plea of insanity, as would have been done in our more enlightened and christian age.... (under construction)
GAZETTEER OF TOWNS.
81
AFTON was formed from Bainbridge, November 18, 1857. It is the south-east corner town of the County. The surface is a rolling upland, separated into two nearly equal parts by the broad valley of the Susquehanna. The highest summits are from 300 to 500 feet above the valleys, and the gradually sloping hill sides are very productive. The Susquehanna flows through the town, near the center, in a south-west course. Its valley is broad and beautiful, and among the most productive in the State, Kelsey's and Harper's Brooks are the principal tributaries from the north. Pratt's Pond is a beautiful sheet of water containing an area of about forty acres, and situated about one mile north-east of the village. It is twenty-five feet above the surface of the river and has no visible outlet. The soil upon the hills is a shaly loam, and in the valleys a clayey loam and alluvium. Afton, (p. v.) situated upon the Susquehanna River, near the center of the town, is a station on the Albany and Susquehanna Railroad, and is distant from Albany 114 miles and from Binghamton 28. It contains four churches, viz., Methodist, Baptist, Episcopal and Universalist; two district schools, three hotels, half a dozen stores, two furniture and cabinet shops, a tub factory, a spoke factory, a sash and blind factory, two wagon shops, several other mechanic shops of various kinds, and about 400 inhabitants. Bettsburg, situated in the south part of the town, contains a store, a hotel, a blacksmith shop, a wagon shop, a gristmill and about a dozen dwellings. Elnathan Bush and his family commenced a settlement on the 82 CHENANGO COUNTY. Susquehanna River, below the village of Afton, in 1786; here he remained until 1790, when he removed to Bainbridge, where he died. This was probably the first settlement within the present limits of Afton. They were originally from Connecticut, but had previously located in Otsego County. They removed from Cooperstown down the river in canoes. Among the other early settlers were Seth Stone, Nathaniel Benton, Isaac Miner, Hezekiah Stowell and sons, Orlando Bridgman and sons, and Ebenezer Church and sons, from Vermont. The last three families were "Vermont Sufferers," or persons who had purchased land in Vermont under titles from New York, which were subsequently declared invalid. This land was appropriated to them instead of that from which they had been driven. The first child born was William Bush, in 1786, and the first death that of _____ Polly. Nathaniel Church taught the first school in 1790, and Asa Stowell kept the first inn, in 1788. The first store was kept by Peter Betts in 1805, and the first saw mill was built on Kelsey's Brook by David Cooper and Isaac Miner. The first church was organized in 1802, by Rev. Daniel Buck. Joe Smith, the founder of Mormonism, operated quite extensively in this town and vicinity during the early years of his career as a prophet. Smith was born in Sharon, Windsor Co., Vermont, December 23d, 1805. When about ten years of age he removed with his parents to Palmyra, Wayne County, N. Y. The reputation of the family was very bad and Joe was considered the worst of the whole. Somewhere about 1828 or 1829, Smith made his appearance in Afton and attended school in District No. 9. Here his supernatural powers manifested themselves by telling fortunes or "foretelling futurity." This was done by placing a stone in his hat and then looking into it drawn over his face so as to exclude the light. He first organized a society at the house of Joe Knight, on the south side of the river, near the Lobdell House, in Broome County. Excavations were made in various places for treasnres, and rocks containing iron pyrites were drilled for gold. Previous to digging in any place a sheep was killed and the blood sprinkled upon the spot. Lot 62 was the seat of one of these mining operations. To convince the unbelievers that he did possess supernatural powers he announced that he would walk upon the water. The performance was to take place in the evening, and to the astonishment of unbelievers, he did walk upon the water where it was known to be several feet deep, only sinking a few inches below the surface. This proving, a success, a second trial was announced which bid fair to be as successful as the first, but when he had proceeded some distance into the river he suddenly went down, greatly to the disgust of himself and proselytes, but to the great amusement of the unbelievers. It appeared on examination that plank CHENANGO COUNTY. 83 were laid in the river a few inches below the surface, and some wicked boys had removed a plank which caused the prophet to go down like any other mortal. After pretending to heal the sick, cast out devils, &c., he gained quite a number of followers, but at length came to grief by being prosecuted as an impostor. He was tried before Joseph P. Chamberlain, a Justice of the Peace. Two pettifoggers by the name of John S. Reed and James Davison volunteered to defend him. Three witnesses were examined on the occasion, all of whom testified that they had seen him cast out devils. They saw "a devil as large as a woodchuck leave the manand run across the floor." One of them saw a devil leave the man and "run off like a yellow dog." These witnesses were Mr. Knight and son, and Mr. Stowell, all of whom subsequently went west with Smith. Preston T. Wilkins, of Ashtabula County, Ohio, lived in Broome County, near the line of Afton, at the time of the Mormon excitement, and while on a visit to a Mormon family learned that there was a chest of Mormon Bibles in the barn, that it was guarded by an angel, and that it would be utterly impossible for any one to steal one of them. Mr. W. prepared a key that would unlock the chest, and taking one of their Bibles carried it home in the evening and placed it over the front door, so that it would fall into the house on opening the door. The result was what he anticipated and the Mormons declared that an angel had brought the book and of course Mr. W. and his wife would become converts at once. The Mormons had been laboring for some time to convert Mrs. W. and had caused her much anxiety and her husband considerable trouble, which he wished to end. They would never acknowledge that one of their books was missing. Some time afterwards Mr. W. explained the miracle of the Bible and informed the Mormons that they must keep away from his house as he would no longer listen to their impositions. About 1831 most of them went west where the saints had been commanded to assemble. The Suspension Bridge across the Susquehanna River at the village of Afton is one of the finest structures in the State. The length of the span is 362 feet and it is supported by six cables, 558 feet in length, each composed of 132 wires. The height of the towers is 36 feet and the arch of the bridge four feet. On the east side is an approach bridge 70 feet in length. The suspending rods are five-eighths of an inch in diameter, attached to needle beams four feet a part. The weight of the bridge is 100 tons; the carrying weight is 240 tons. The roadway is sixteen feet wide, and a railing four and a half feet high extends the whole length. The cables were manufiictured at Trenton, N. J. The contractors of the bridge were G. W. & J. V. V. Fishler, of Wellsburgh, Chemung County, N, Y. ; James Crowell, master builder. It is double... (under construction) |
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From: History of Chenango and Madison Counties by James Smith
Afton is situated on the south-east corner of the county and lies wholly within the original township of Clinton. It was formed from Bainbridge November 18, 1857, and derives its name from Afton Water, a small river in Ayrshire, England, immortalized by the Scottish poet Burns. * It is bounded on the north by Bainbridge and Coventry, on the east by Delaware county, on the west and south by Broome county. The surface is a rolling upland, separated into two nearly equal parts by the broad, beautiful and fertile valley of the Susquehanna, which crosses the town diagonally from north-east to south-west, and is one of the most productive in the State. The hills rise by long and gradual ascent to the height of 300 to 500 feet above the valleys. They are very productive and generally susceptible of cultivation to their summits. The principal streams other than the Susquehanna are Kelsey Creek and Harper Brook, which flow through the central part and empty into the Susquehanna on the north, and Bennett Brook, which flows through the north-east part and empties into the Susquehanna on the east, near the north line of the town. Pratt's Pond, situated about a mile north-east of the village of Afton, is a beautiful sheet of water. It is about a mile in circumference, elevated twentyfive feet above the surface of the river, and has no visible inlet nor outlet; yet its waters are pure and fresh, as if constantly changing. It "lies like a mirror, with its frame of sloping banks, grassy and clean on the south and west, while at the north-east there spreads out in beautiful undulations of surface a grove of second-growth chestnut, oak and pine." The town is underlaid by the rocks of the Catskill group in which on the farm of Perry and Enos Ellis, about four miles east of Afton, a quarry was opened some five or six years ago from which good building and flagging stone is obtained. Another quarry on the Robert Corbin farm, also in the east part of the town, was opened some ten years ago. The soil is a sandy loam and alluvion in the valleys, with some clay on the valley ridges; and a gravelly loam upon the hills. The soil in the river bottoms is very fertile, well adapted to corn, tobacco and hops. It is a dairy town, nearly every farmer keeping as many cows as his land will subsist. Dairying is carried on very largely in a private way. The Albany and Susquehanna Railroad traverses the town in the valley and to the west of the Susquehanna. The population of the town in 1875 was 2,237; of whom 2,193 were native, 44 foreign, 2,230 white, 7 colored; 1,140 males and 1,097 females. Its area was 28,369 acres; of which 17,582 were improved, 9,160 woodland, and 1,627 otherwise unimproved. The cash value of farms was $1,216,740; of farm buildings other than dwellings, $138,065; of stock, __________ * A somewhat bitter feud was engendered by the division of the town of Bainbridge and the discussions preceding it, and to give Afton a precedence over its rival, a name with an initial preceding the letter B was selected. From Rev. E. T. Jacobs' article on The Rise and Present of Afton.
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... SETTLEMENTS. -- The first settlement in Afton was made in July, 1786, by Elnathan Bush, who came in from Sheffield, Mass., with his family, then consisting of his wife and four children. They came as far as Cooperstown on horseback, and thence by canoe down the Susquehanna, leaving Cooperstown May 2, 1786. He settled on the west side of the river, opposite the forty acre island, known as Stowel's Island, about two miles below Afton. This island and another near it, one of which contains ten and the other forty acres, had been cleared and cultivated by the Indians, and derive their name from Hezekiah Stowel, who subsequently owned them. Mr. Bush had visited this locality with a view to settlement before the Revolutionary war, in company with two others who were relatives. The Dominie Johnston (Col. Witter Johnston,) was then living at Sidney Plains, where he settled in 1772. He left his improvements during the war and returned to them at its close, having rendered service therein as Colonel. He (Johnston,) continued his residence there till his death October 4, 1839, aged 86. Lois, his wife, died there July 27, 1787, aged 22; and Jane, his second wife, Sept. 26, 1817, aged 47. January 30, 1790, Mr. Bush exchanged his property here with Hezekiah Stowel for a piece of land on lot 74 in Bainbridge, nominally containing 81, but actually 100 acres, which Stowel had taken up the previous year, the consideration being 80 œ, to which he removed. It is the farm on which his grandson, Joseph Bush, now resides, and there he resided till his death, May 15, 1791. Joseph Bush, just referred to, says he very well recollects hearing his father say there were no other settlers in the old town of Jericho when Elnathan came in. The Kirbys came next, a year or two after, and the Bixbys soon after. * Hezekiah Stowel, to whom reference has been made, was a Vermont sufferer, and came in from Guilford in that State in 1786, and settled at Bettsburgh, on 220 acres on lot 63, on the east side of the river, and was the pioneer settler on the site of that village. He subsequently removed to the west side of the river, where he is buried, probably at the time he made the exchange with Elnathan Bush. He lived and died in the locality. It is not known that he lived on the place exchanged with Bush in Bainbridge. His children were:--Asa, who settled at Bettsburgh, on the place now owned and occupied by Enos M. Johnston, where, in 1788, he kept the first inn, in a log building ** which stood on the river bank, opposite the residence of Mr. Johnston and who married Hannah, daughter of Samuel Bixby, of Guilford, Vt. and died there November 3, 1826, aged 66, and his wife September 18, 1850, aged 88; Elijah, who settled on the west side of the river, on the farm now occupied by _____ Chamberlain, and who died childless, in advanced years, while on a visit to a relative in Pennsylvania, and whose wife, Rebecca, died here February __________ * It has been generally supposed, and is so stated in French's Gazetteer of the State of New York, and subsequent publications copied therefrom, that William Bush, a grandson of Elnathan Bush, was the first child born in the town, in 1786. The fact is, the William Bush referred to was born in Sheffield, Berkshire county, Massachusetts, April 15, 1785, and was brought to the present town of Afton, then a part of Jericho, the following July. He died November 15, 1858, aged 73, having been honored with three wives, Esther, who died November 5, 1813, aged 27, Sally, who died December 29, 1828, aged 33, and Maria, who, we believe, is still living. ** This building afterwards gave place to a frame one, which stood a little nearer the highway; and this in turn to a third, also a frame building, which stood on the site of Johnston's residence, for which it gave way in the summer of 1876, when it was moved just across the road, and a little lower down, and has since been converted by Mr. Johnston into a cheese factory, for which purpose it is now used by him. Stowel kept tavern in each of these, and till his death. There has not been a tavern kept there since. Lepha, daughter of Asa Stowel, who married Dr. Boynton, was, it was said, the prettiest woman who has lived in Afton.
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HISTORY OF CHENANGO COUNTY.
25, 1837, aged 70; Betsey, who married Daniel Dickinson, who settled in Guilford and afterwards at Seneca Falls; Isabel, who married Elisha Stowel, who settled at the ferry about two miles below Bettsburgh; Polly, who married Calvin Stowel, who settled on a farm adjoining Asa Stowel's on the south; Levi, who settled on the homestead on the west side of the river, and afterwards, in advanced life, moved to the east side, to the farm now occupied by James Pool, and died at Seneca Falls while visiting relatives there; and Sally, who married Charles Grinnells, and settled on the homestead farm on the west side of the river, where she died. His only grandchild living in the county is Gratia Ann, wife of Gustavus Greene, in Afton, daughter of Levi. Four great-grandchildren are living in the county, Abel, Nathan and Jenette, wife of Henry Jones, in Afton, and Hannah, wife of Charles Bixby, in Bainbridge. Ebenezer, John, Isaiah and Joseph Landers, brothers, the former of whom had served two or three years in the army during the war of the Revolution, came in from Lenox, Mass., in March, 1787. They started when the ground was covered with snow, with ox sleds, with which they arrived at Unadilla. There they built canoes to carry their families and goods down the river when the ice gave way; but becoming impatient of waiting they proceeded on foot, on the crust of the snow, Ebenezer carrying a feather bed on his back, and his wife, her youngest child, Stephen, in her arms. They reached their destination the last of March. Ebenezer afterwards brought in the goods by the river, making several trips for that purpose. Ebenezer and Joseph had been in the previous year and made some preparation for their settlement. They had made a small clearing, built a log cabin, and planted some corn on Stowel's Island. Ebenezer, who brought his wife, Olive Osborn, of Massachusetts, and three children, settled near Afton, on the east side of the river, on the farm now occupied by his grandson, Charles Landers. He took up 100 acres when he first came in, about forty rods above the place on which he subsequently settled, lying on both sides of the river, but his title proved defective and he had to relinquish it. His second selection was 50 acres on lot 58, to which he subsequently added by purchase. He was a carpenter and worked at his trade for several years. He died where he settled February 14, 1846, aged 87, and his wife, August 27, 1850, aged 93. The children who came in with him were Polly, Thomas and Stephen, the latter of whom was then two years old. Polly was born July 6, 1781, and married David Pollard and settled on the farm now occupied by Hiram Landers, where she died. Thomas was born November 2, 1782. He married Esther, daughter of Moses Hinman, and after living at home several years, took up the farm now owned by _____ Hard, where he died June 8, 1862, and his wife March 26, 1830, aged 46. Stephen was born August 10, 1785. He married Polly, daughter of Matthew Long, and settled one and one-half miles north of Afton, on the farm now owned by his son Thomas, where he died July 19, 1870, aged 84, and his wife, October 13, 1850, aged 60. Stephen was a millwright and put a great many buildings in the town. Ebenezer's children born after he came here were Joseph, who was born July 6, 1790, and married Jerusha, daughter of Lemuel Warner; Nancy, who was born March 17, 1795, married Billings Church, and died December 25, 1841, aged 48, and her husband, January 7, 1871, aged 82; Hiram, who was born December 31, 1796, and married Sophia, daughter of Jonathan Hammond; Solomon, who was born December 10, 1798, who married Mary, daughter of Benjamin Carpenter, and after her death, January 16, 1829, aged 26, her sister, Elizabeth A., (who died April 27, 1845 aged 45,) and died December 24, 1876, aged 78; and Isaiah, who was born in March, 1801, and died young. Hiram is the only one now living. John Landers, brother of Ebenezer, settled in Lisle; Isaiah, another brother, in Afton, where he died August 31, 1844, aged 75, and Thirza, his wife, April 8, 1836, aged 69. Joseph, the other brother settled nearly a mile up Kelsey Creek, on the place now occupied by Luman Pollard. He afterwards removed to Lisle. Jehiel Landers, who lives on the east side of the river, about two miles above Afton, is a son of Isaiah's, and the only one of his children living. Isaiah Landers, Jr., died March 8, 1839, aged 35. Henry Pearsall came from Long Island about 1787 and settled in the north-east part of Afton, one-half mile west of what was known as the Middle Bridge, which went off in a freshet a number of years ago and was not rebuilt. Having built a small house in the woods, he brought in his family, consisting of his wife, Anna Simmons, and one or two children. The house thus erected answered the double purpose of a dwelling and shop, for he followed his trade till his death. About 1809 he removed to the north line of the town of Bainbridge, about three miles north of Bainbridge village, and took up 88 acres, on which he resided till his death, about 1840. His children were: Amos, who married Clarissa, daughter of John Nichols, an early settler in the north part of Bainbridge, and settled in the locality of his father in Bainbridge, where he died February 18, 1864, aged 72, and his wife July 4, 1878, aged 83; Ann, who married Alson Searles, a resident of Bainbridge, and is now living at Unadilla, her husband having died June 26, 1871; Smith, who married Polly, sister of Alson Searles, and settled
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near his father, where he died in 1874; Samuel, who married Sally, daughter of Henry Thompson, of Bainbridge, and settled and died in the same locality; Abigail, who married Ansel Phinney, a blacksmith, with whom she removed to Bainbridge village, where she died; Henry, who married Samantha Norton, of Guilford, and succeeded his father on the homestead farm, where he died December 23, 1871, aged 70, and his wife August 28, 1871, aged 68; and Polly, who married Leonard Norton, of Guilford, where they settled. He died October 23, 1870. She is still living, in Coventry, with her niece, Mrs. Chester Benedict. His grandchildren living in the county are Charles and Reuben, sons of Amos, in Coventry, where the former has been Justice of the Peace for twenty years, was Supervisor in 1856 and '57, and a Member of Assembly from this county in 1869; William and Hiram, sons of Smith, on the homestead of their father in Bainbridge; Frank, Charles, Emma and Sarah Phinney, children of Abigail, all in Bainbridge; James and Polly, wife of Melvin Yale, in Bainbridge, Amanda, wife of Hiram Landers, in Afton, and Matilda, wife of Chester Benedict, in Coventry, all children of Samuel; and Sherman Pearsall and Ada, wife of Jerome Wescott, in Bainbridge, and Lewis Pearsall, in Guilford. Richard Church came in from Brattleboro, Vt., in the fall of 1788, and settled on the east side of the river, one-half mile below Afton, on the place now owned by the heirs of Levi Church and Andrew Johnston and Joseph Angell, the latter a son-in-law of Billings Church. He was a son of Col. Timothy Church, a Vermont sufferer, who did not settle here, but acquired land as such, on 300 acres of which Richard settled, and which, after the latter's death, in the spring of 1813, was divided between two of his sons, Billings and Levi, Billings' portion being that now occupied by Andrew J. Johnston and Joseph Angell, and Levi's that occupied by his heirs. Richard brought with him his family, consisting of his wife Polly, daughter of David Pollard, and one child, Billings, then an infant. Billings married Nancy, daughter of Ebenezer Landers, and settled on the homestead, where he lived till advanced in years, when, in the spring of 1857, he sold his place to his nephew, Devillo C. Church, and went to live with his daughter Frances, wife of Enos M. Johnston, with whom he died January 7, 1871, aged 82. Richard's children, who were born after he came here, were: Col. Ira, who married Angelia Atherton, sister of Cornelius Atherton, and settled about a half mile above Afton, on the east side of the river, on the farm, a portion of which is owned by Stanton T. Donaghe, afterwards purchasing the Peck farm, about a mile below Afton, on the east side, now owned by Ransom Merrill, and subsequently the farm which forms a part of the Ives farm, which he subsequently turned over to his sons, and removed to Morris, where he resided till his death, March 12, 1861, aged 70, his wife having died July 15, 1847, aged 56; Rufus, who married Phebe Turner and settled in Afton, and afterwards removed to Orleans County and died there; Polly, who married Dr. Gaius Halsey, of Kortright, Delaware county, where she lived and died; Warren, who married Saloma C. Hall, who died May 2, 1849, aged 37, who was of a roving disposition, and moved and died out of the county, December 24, 1857, aged 57, and Esther, his second wife, April 1, 1858, aged 39; Levi, who married Elathea, daughter of Joseph Works, and settled and died on the homestead; Permelia, who married Ezra Corbin, and is still living in Bainbridge; Rhoda, a maiden lady, who died in the town April 2, 1866, aged 66; Richard, who died, young and unmarried, of small-pox, June 2, 1828, aged 20; and Wilson, who married Eliza Ann Jones and settled in Afton, on the east side of the river, where he now resides, with his second wife, Fanny Nevins. Numerous descendants are living, ten in this county, viz: Devillo C. Church, a banker, Richard, Rush, Clara, wife of James Corbin, Frances, wife of Enos M. Johnston, and Polly, wife of A. E. Estabrooks, in Afton; George Corbin, Eunice, wife of Charles J. Humphrey, and William Corbin, in Bainbridge; and C. A. Church, in New Berlin. Dr. Gaius L. Halsey, a prominent physician in Unadilla; Dr. Richard Halsey, a prominent physician at White Haven, Pa.; Frank Church, Road Agent for the U. S. Express Co. at McGregor, Iowa; Alonzo S. Church, formerly Cashier of J. M. Little's Bank of Mason City, Iowa; Lafayette Church, who keeps a livery at McGregor, Iowa; Gaius H. Church, a prominent farmer at Cresco, Iowa; and George M. Church, a speculator at McGregor, Iowa, are grandchildren of Richard Church's. Other settlers about this period were Seth Stone, Nathaniel Benton, Isaac Miner and Orlando Bridgeman, all from Vermont. Seth Stone settled in Afton village, on the east side of the river, nearly opposite the Universalist church, where he died April 22, 1826, aged 65; and Eunice, his wife, July 12, 1815, aged 54. His son Horace married Rebecca Johnston and l ived on the homestead farm. He built a tavern about 1825, the first in the village, on the east side of the river, which he kept a good many years. It stood where Noble Buck now lives. He and his wife both died there, the former December 2, 1845, aged 60, and the latter July 5, 1874, aged 83. Seth had two daughters, Rachel, and Irene, the latter of whom married Jesse Easton, both of whom lived and died in that locality. Nathaniel Benton settled on the east side of the river, three miles above
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HISTORY OF CHENANGO COUNTY.
Afton, at what was known as the Middle Bridge, which was built about 1825 or'6, and swept away by a freshet some thirty years ago. The Benton's were considered wealthy, and formed the nucleus for quite a settlement in that locality. A hotel was built there about forty years ago by a man named Stevens. It is now occupied as a dwelling. A grist and saw-mill were built there some sixty years ago. They have since been rebuilt and are still in operation. The Corbins, who also settled in that locality, were interested in the construction of the mills there. Quite a little business centered there at an early day in opposition to Afton. The Benton family mostly died in that locality, Nathaniel May 8, 1845, aged 84, and his wife Hannah, March 11, 1839, aged 71. His children were Belah who was a bachelor and lived and died at home, February 17, 1830, aged 40; Nathaniel, who removed to Ohio at an early day; Col. Ansel, who married Cornelia, daughter of Samuel weeks, and settled where William B. Grover now lives, near the homestead farm, and died a year or two after his marriage, September 6, 1845, aged 48, leaving one child, Albert Hyde, a druggist in Afton; Eunice, who married Hiram Ramsey and is now living in Ohio, well advanced in years; William, who accompanied Nathaniel to Ohio; Jared, a bachelor, who died there June 30, 1835, aged 35; Julius and Isaac, both bachelors, and both of whom died there, the former March 10, 1837, aged 35; and Orrin, who married a daughter of James V. Humphrey. Orlando Bridgeman settled one and one-half miles below Bettsburgh, on the farm now occupied by John Pool, where he died a good many years ago. Reuben and Abner Bridgeman were sons of his. Abner married Temperance Johnston, and, after living for a number of years below Bettsburgh, removed to Elmira, where he died. Reuben settled in the same locality. David Pollard came in from Norwich, Conn., in 1790, and settled on the east side of the river, one mile below Afton, on the place now occupied by William Landers. He made a small clearing and built a log cabin and then sent for his family, consisting of his wife Polly, and six children. He died here December 30, 1830, aged 85, and his wife June 9, 1821, aged 69. His children were Polly, who married Richard Church, Lucy, who married William Olden, Cynthia, who married Heman Kelsey, Thomas, who moved to Seneca Falls some fifty years ago and died there, David, who married Polly Landers and lived and died on the homestead, Joseph, who married Polly Pool, and settled about a mile west of Afton, on the north end of the farm now owned by his son Luman C. Pollard, and after becoming too feeble to work it sold it to his son Jeremiah, (who is now living in California, to which State he removed in 1849,) and removed to the village, on the east side of the river, where he died March 13, 1859. Only two grandchildren are living in the county, Luman C. and Lysander Pollard, both in Afton. In this year (1790) the first school-house in Afton was built. It was a log structure and stood at the forks of the river and bridge roads on the east side of the river, in the village of Afton, a little north of the water tank in that locality. The first teacher was Nathaniel Church. In this school-house the first church in the town was organized twelve years later. Settlements were made as early as 1795, probably earlier, by Abijah Stevens, Abraham Benton, and Heth Kelsey, and as early as 1796 by Thomas and Capt. Enos Cornwell. Abijah Stevens came in from Connecticut, and settled on the east side of the river, about one and one-half miles above Afton, on the farm now occupied by the widow of John Carr, where both he and his second wife, Esther, died, the former May 9, 1844, aged 87, and the latter January 1, 1832, aged 76. His children were John, who married Clara Landers and settled where Jonathan Farnsworth now lives, and died there, he and his wife, the former March 9, 1861, aged 73, and the latter November 11, 1877, aged 84; and Harvey, who removed to Ohio, children by his second wife. He had one child by his first wife, Lydia, who died September 1, 1822, aged 76, viz.: Sally, who married Samuel Hinman and died on the homestead. Abraham Benton, settled on the site of Afton, on the west side of the river, on a portion of the farm now occupied by Luman C. Pollard. His house stood just east of the railroad track. He was the first settler on the site of the village, on the west side. He died here August 3, 1816, aged 53, and Desire, his wife, who afterwards married William Beardsley, January 24, 1858, aged 85. Heth Kelsey, a Revolutionary soldier, settled in the upper part of the village, near the mouth of the creek which bears his name, where he kept a tavern. He afterwards removed to Coventry and lived with his daughter and died there February 5, 1850, aged 94, and Rhoda, his wife, November 26, 1838, aged 80. His children were Russell, who married Fanny Mersereau, of Otego, and settled on the homestead farm, afterwards removing to Bainbridge, subsequently to the locality of Elmira, and finally dying in a poor-house; Heman, who married Cynthia, daughter of David Pollard, and settled on one-half the homestead farm of 396 acres (Russell taking the other half,) and afterwards removed to the Chemung River and died there; Lois, who married Clark Smith, of Coventry, where both she and her husband died, the latter, in a fit, October 8, 1864, aged 82; Lodema, a maiden lady, who died in Afton; Rhoda, who married Alpheus Wright, who, in 1823, in company with his brother Josiah, built the
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Sullivan House in Afton, and kept it 15 to 20 years. Rhoda died in Afton. Her husband afterwards removed with his brother Josiah to the Chemung River and died there. * Thomas and Enos Cornwell were brothers. They settled on some 300 acres about one and one-half miles below Afton, on the east side of the river, which has since been cut up into several farms and divided among Thomas' heirs. Abel Cornwell, son of Thomas, is living on a part of the farm, and is the only one of his children living there. Thomas died on the place February 12, 1841, aged 71; and Anna, his wife, who was born February 3, 1783, died February 27, 1860. Enos was a bachelor. He deeded his farm to Samuel, Thomas' eldest son, to take care of him in his old age. He died July 27, 1843, aged 76. Samuel removed to Elmira several years ago. Joab, Abner and Daniel Buck, brothers, came from England before the war of the Revolution. Joab settled at Canton, St. Lawrence county; Abner, in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, to which county he gave his name; and Daniel, settled first in Danbury, Connecticut, and a few years previous to 1800 removed to Afton, and settled on the farm now occupied one-half of it by Robert Clark, and the other half by William Ives. Daniel was a Presbyterian minister and organized in 1802 the first church in the town. Daniel S. Buck, his son, came in with him, but afterwards removed to Sheshequin, Pennsylvania, where he died February 8, 1870, aged 87, but was brought here for interment. Anna, his first wife, died July 25th, 1835, aged 57, and Eunice, his second wife, October 9, 1851, aged 61. Three sons of Daniel S. are living, Noble, in Afton; Daniel S. H., in Greene; and Lyman, in Hooper, below Binghamton. Daniel S. Buck was a noted hunter. He took 300 acres of land for which he paid with the bounties received for the destruction of wild animals, $60 for each wolf and $75 for each panther, of the latter of which he killed eleven in one year. He made hunting his business while game lasted and some seasons made more than his neighbors did at lumbering. While in Afton we spent an evening very pleasantly with his genial son Noble, who is now well advanced in years, listening to the recital of his father's adventures while on hunting expeditions; but two must suffice to illustrate his prowess. At one time, about 1811 or '12, he, in company with Robert Church, followed a panther to its lair, which was in a ledge of rocks, about five miles south of the village of Afton, in the town of Sanford, in Broome county. The passageway to the den was about three feet high and two feet wide, and terminated at the distance of 24 feet in a cave about 20 by 30 feet and 11 feet high. His dog led the way into the den, and soon returned very weak from the loss of blood from a severe wound in the throat. Buck took from his neck a handkerchief and tied it around his dog's throat, and having stationed Church at the entrance of the cave with an ax in hand to assail the panther if it followed him out, he proceeded into the den himself with his rifle. He threaded the narrow passageway on his hands and knees. At its terminus there was a descent of some two feet to the floor of the cave, which was covered with leaves. There he halted, and on peering through the darkness discovered at the further side of the den the glaring eye-balls of the panther. He aimed between these orbs and fired, observing at the instant he did so a slight change in their position. After delivering his fire he backed out closely followed by the panther, which forced its head into his face, but owing to the closeness of the quarters was unable to hurt him. On reaching the outer terminus he discovered Church retreating in the distance, notwithstanding his cries to him to be prepared to assist him should the panther emerge from the opening. Having prevailed on Church to resume his post he reentered the den, again took deliberate aim at the glaring eye-balls, and was again followed in his retreat by the infuriated beast. He entered the third time and noticed but one orb, the second shot having taken effect in the other. He aimed at the remaining one, fired and again backed out, this time without being pursued. His dog, though weak, was then sent into the cavern, and was followed by Buck, who, on reaching the further extremity of the entrance way, heard it lapping blood. He proceeded into the den on his hands and knees and had not proceeded far when his hand came in contact with the animal's head. This sent a cold shudder through him, but the panther was dead and was dragged from its den. At another time, about 1815, while proceeding toward a deer he had chased through a thick brush, about two miles south of Afton, and shot, he discovered a huge panther standing upon the body of the prostrate deer, from the side of which he had torn a fragment of flesh. Without an instant's warning, the panther, as soon as it discovered him, leaped toward and within thirty feet of him. Quick almost as lightning, Buck raised his rifle, took aim between the eyes, and fired, and so nearly was the animal upon the point of making a second spring, that it half spanned the intervening distance, and, changing ends, fell dead. It measured eleven feet from the end of its nose to the tip of its tail, and was spotted with jet black spots __________ * We think it probable that Heth Kelsey, who died in Afton, July 3, 1846, aged 63, and whose wife Clarissa died January 20, 1852, at the same age, was a son of the one who died in Coventry, though none of the authorities consulted mention him in connection with the latter's children. He is probably the Heth Kelsey who kept tavern in the yellow building now occupied as a residence by Silas Fairchild in the village of Afton.
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as large as a silver dollar, in this respect differing from the ordinary panther. Daniel Hyde came in from Claverack, Columbia county, in 1801, and settled two and one-half miles north of Afton, at what is known as Ayrshire or North Afton, on the farm now occupied by Edward Wilkinson, where he died. His children were: Edward, who married Lydia, daughter of Nathan Bateman, and settled in the same locality, and who afterwards removed to Masonville and died there; Daniel, who married a woman named Graham, and settled in Ashtabula county, Ohio, where he died; Chauncey G., who married Lucretia, daughter of Amasa Newton, and settled and died near the old homestead; Elijah, who married Jemima, daughter of Amasa Newton, and also settled and died near the homestead; Sophia, who married a man named Martin, and removed with him to Paris, Canada, and died there; Polly, who married Leighton Joyce, and settled in Greene county, and died in Brooklyn; Cynthia, who married Dr. Archibald Welch, and settled and died in New Haven, Conn.; and Olive, who married Wells Newton, and settled in Bainbridge and died there. The grandchildren living in the county are: A. C. Hyde, only child of Chauncey G., a druggist in Afton; and Daniel A., Rosanna, wife of Jas. M. Olendorf, William E., Lodosca, wife of George Knight, Chauncey G., and Harriet, wife of Justus Carr, children of Elijah, also in Afton. Judge Peter Betts came in as early as 1803 and settled at Bettsburgh, to which place he gave his name. He was a large land-holder, and opened there in 1805 the first store in the town, which he kept till his removal to Bainbridge, about 1820-'25, where he was also engaged in mercantile business. He represented this county in the Assembly in 1804-'5, again in 1808, and again in 1811. He was born in Norwalk, Conn., January 17, 1772, and died in Bainbridge, June 19, 1849. Eliza, his wife, died February 9, 1819, aged 40. His children were: Peter, Sally, who married a man named Kassam, Pamelia, who married Robert Harper, Eliza, who married a man named Rathbun, all of whom are dead. Cornelius Atherton came in from Pennsylvania in 1803 or '4. He was born in Cambridge, Mass., in 1736, and was the fourth in descent from Gen. Humphrey Atherton of Boston, from whom all the Athertons in America are descended. He married Mary Delano and with her removed to Amenia, Dutchess Co., N. Y., in 1763. He was a blacksmith by trade, and having discovered the process of converting iron into American steel, in 1772 he entered into a contract with the Messrs. Reed, merchants of that place, to superintend the erection of steel works, to be constructed by them, and to instruct their workmen in the art. The works were erected and were in successful operation during the war of the Revolution. From Amenia he returned to Cambridge, where he superintended an armory belonging to John and Samuel Adams and John Hancock, which was burned by the British soldiers during the Revolutionary war. Thence, in 1775 or '6, he removed to Plymouth, Luzerne Co., Pa., where he worked at his trade. He was drafted at the time of the Wyoming massacre, but his place was filled by his eldest son, Jabez, who volunteered to become his substitute, and was accepted and mustered in. The youthful patriot fell in that sanguinary engagement and his name heads the list on the Wyoming monument. Atherton's wife, by whom he had seven children, died soon after the Wyoming massacre. He afterwards re-married and had seven children by his second wife. After his removal to Afton he continued to work at his trade till his death, December 4, 1809. Humphrey, his oldest son by his second wife, was a miller. He married a widow lady named Wicks, but had no children, and died in Afton, December 11, 1849, aged 62. Charles, his second son, was a blacksmith. He married a lady named Bramhall, with whom, a few years after, he removed to Friendship, Allegany Co., where he worked at his trade several years, till the death of his wife, when he sold his property and went with a friend to Emporium, Cameron Co., Pa., where he died May 13, 1869, aged 76. He had no children. Hiram, the third son, married Miss Lovina Sisson, of Plymouth, and followed his trade of wagon-maker a few years in Afton and subsequently for several years in Norwich, from whence he removed to Greene, and engaged in the cabinet business, which he pursued till his death, March 19, 1870, aged 73. They had five children, all of whom are dead, except one daughter, who is living with her mother in Norwich. William, the fourth son, was a shoemaker. He married Miss Jane E. Hamlin, by whom he had two children, both of whom died in infancy. They finally removed to Paterson, N. J., where both died, he August 2, 1879, aged 77. Cornelius, the youngest son, is still living in Afton. He has one son who is a telegraph operator on the Baltimore & Ohio R. R. William Johnston, a Revolutionary soldier, came in from Hartwick, Otsego county, in 1807, and settled a half mile south of Bettsburgh, on the farm now occupied by Devillo Dutton. He took up 50 acres in Broome county, on the line of Afton, and bought about one and one-half acres in Afton, the title to which proved defective. He subsequently purchased it of Asa Stowel. He afterwards removed to the town of Sanford, in Broome county, where he died February 10, 1843, aged 91, and Deborah, his wife, April 14, 1843, aged 81. He had six children, only one of whom is now living, Levi, in Afton, aged 77.
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John Johnston, brother of William, also a Revolutionary soldier, came in from Montgomery county two or three years later, and settled about half a mile south of Bettsburgh, on the place now occupied by Ira Woodruff, where he and his son Samuel started a tannery and carried on the shoe business, and where he died. His children were: John S., William, Nathaniel, Nancy, Persis, Henry and Betsey, all of whom came in with him, and all of whom are dead. Nancy married Joshua Crosby, and Betsey, Whittington Sayre. Enos M. Johnston, a banker and merchant in Afton, but a resident of Bettsburgh, is a grandson of John and son of Henry Johnston, the latter of whom was a lumber dealer, speculator and oil stock dealer, and acquired considerable wealth. Andrew Johnston, a farmer in Afton, is also a son of Henry's, and these are the only two of his children living in the town. Several of William's grandchildren are living in the town, among them Lydia, wife of Jonathan Farnsworth. Samuel Johnston, brother of William and John, also from Montgomery county, came in a few years later, and has numerous descendants living in the town. He died December 1, 1830, aged 68. Nathaniel, a bachelor brother, and Mary and Christiana, maiden sisters of William Johnston, came in with him and lived with him till their death. Oliver Easton came in from Wilmington, Vt., in 1809, and settled on Long Hill, where Matthew Long, from Vermont, with a large family of grown-up children, was the first settler at an early day. Easton settled on the farm now occupied by his grandson, Henry Devillo Easton, about three miles north-west of-Afton. He leased 60 acres of gospel lands, which he occupied till his death December 11, 1839, aged 74. Delight, his wife, died January 5, 1860, aged 86. He carried on farming and lumbering, mostly the latter. His children were eleven in number: Chauncey, who married Lucinda, daughter of Taft Pollard, (an early settler from Vermont, on the farm now occupied by Hiram Landers,) and settled and died at Ayrshire; Ebenezer N., who studied for the ministry and removed to Andover, Mass., where he married when well advanced in years and died; Jesse C., who married Irene, daughter of Seth Stone, and settled in the village of Afton, on the east side of the river, where Fayette Benton now lives, and who afterwards removed to Wellsville, N. Y., where he now resides, aged 80; Louisa, who married Stephen Williams, and settled in the south-west part of the town, and afterwards removed to Coventry, where she died; Lester, who married Asenath, daughter of Luke Nichols, and settled and died on the homestead, where Devillo Easton now lives; Lucretia, who married Heman B. Smith, for several years a merchant in Afton village, where she still resides; Rufus, who married Prudence DeWolf, and settled in Windom, Pa., and died in Afton while on a visit, September 10, 1845, aged 37; Riley, who was born in 1809, married Betsey, daughter of Nathan Bateman, who settled in Windom, Pa., and after fifteen years returned to Afton, where he and his wife still reside; Abby Ann, who married S. C. Bump, and settled in Afton, about two miles north-west of the village, and afterwards removed to the edge of the village, where, about 1846, her husband rebuilt the grist-mill erected several years previously by his father, and where she died, her husband subsequently remarrying and is now living in Baltimore; Elijah, who married Jerusha, widow of James Nichols, settled in Wisconsin, and is now postmaster at Winona, Minn.; Cynthia M., who married J. C. Flagg, a wagon-maker in Afton village, where she died. Other early settlers were William Bateman, Aaron Slade, Joseph Peck, Levi Pratt, Silas Wright and Moses Hinman. William Bateman came from the New England States and settled at Ayrshire, on the farm until recently occupied by his grandson Henry Bateman, where he died. He was an Irishman and a Revolutionary soldier in the American army. His sons were Nathan, who married Dolly, daughter of Samuel Nichols, who settled at Ayrshire, opposite his father, and died there; and David, who married Margaret Campbell and settled in Bainbridge. After the death of his wife he went to live with his daughter in Masonville. He died June 7, 1866, aged 89, and his wife, September 5, 1862, aged 75. Aaron Slade was from Vermont. He too settled at Ayrshire and died there. Among his children was Aaron, who went to Buffalo with the Mormons when en route for Nauvoo, but returned and settled on the Chemung. He had a grandson also named Aaron. Joseph Peck settled about a mile below Afton, on the east side of the river, where Hezekiah Medbury now lives, and died there. His children were Joseph, who lived and died at Ayrshire; John, who lived in the south part of the town, where Abel Stowel now lives, and afterwards removed to Lisle; Ezekiel, who married Electa Buck, and after living some years in the town joined the Mormons; Noah, who was a bachelor; and Benjamin, who married Phebe Crosby, and lived and died on the homestead farm April 30th, 1829, aged 41. Levi Pratt came in from the New England States and settled near the Pond which bears his name, on the farm now owned by Joshua Hallett, where he died March 3, 1846, aged 81, and his wife, Sarah, August 11, 1858, aged 92. Silas Wright came in from Vermont and settled on the site of the village of Afton. He bought of David Church, who came in shortly previous and was dissatisfied with the quality of the land, a plank house which the latter had erected on the site of Dr.
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James B. Cook's residence, and lived there till his death, May 27, 1827, aged 75. He was a farmer and lumberman. His sons were Alpheus and Josiah, the former of whom married Sophia Mersereau of Otego, and the latter Rhoda, daughter of Heth Kelsey, and who jointly built and kept for several years the Sullivan House in the village of Afton. Both subsequently removed to the Chemung River country and died there. He had one daughter, who married a man named Kelley, who is also dead. Moses Hinman settled about one and one-half miles above Afton, on the east side of the river, on the farm known as the Carpenter farm. He was a wheelwright and worked at his trade. He died July 22, 1872, aged 81. None of his children are living. Harvey, John, Seth and Pliny, who live in the south part of the town are grandsons of his.... AFTON VILLAGE Afton is situated on the Susquehanna River, near the center of the town, and on the Albany & Susquehanna R. R., by which it is distant 28 miles from Binghamton and 114 from Albany. It lies mostly upon the west side of the river, and principally along the street running parallel with it. The hills which bound the valley upon the east side are somewhat precipitous and largely covered with primitive forest or secondgrowth timber; while upon the west they are more rolling and susceptible of cultivation.It contains five churches, (Baptist, Episcopal, M. E., Universalist and Presbyterian,) a Union school, with academic department, three hotels, a newspaper office, (Afton Home Sentinel, John F. Seaman, publisher,) a private bank (Enos M. Johnston & Co.,) a flouring and grist-mill, a saw-mill, a sash and blind factory, two wagon shops (kept by L. E. Jackson and W. E. Fleming,) three blacksmith shops (kept by H. M. Swift, O. E. Sackett, Jr., and Wm. R. Herkimer and Allen Estabrooks,) four shoe shops (kept by W. A. Piper, J. R. Brown, ____ Randall and Eli Christian,) two manufactories of butter tubs and firkins, one harness shop (kept by R. E. Smith,) thirteen stores of various kinds, and a population of 700. The village is growing very rapidly. The Susquehanna is spanned in the upper part of the village by a suspension bridge, which is one of the finest structures of its kind in the State, and is at once an ornament to the village and a credit to the enterprise of the people. The bridge has a main span of 362 feet and an approach span upon the east side of 74 feet. It is supported by six cables 558 feet in length, each composed of 132 wires. They are double anchored, and were manufactured at Trenton, N. J. The height of the towers is 36 feet, and the arch of the bridge 4 feet. The suspending rods are five-eighths of an inch in diameter, attached to needle beams four feet apart. The roadway is 16 feet wide,
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and a railing four and one-half feet high, extends the whole length. The weight of the bridge is 100 tons, and the supporting weight 240 tons. It was built in 1868, at a cost of $15,000. The contractors were G. W. & J. V. V. Fishler, of Wellsburgh, Chemung county, N. Y., and James Crowell, the master-builder. A meeting was held on the evening of April 1st, 1868, in the village of Afton, and a bill authorized to be drawn for a charter for its construction, and A. C. Hyde, Thomas Landers and H. R. Caswell were appointed a commission to supervise the work. To pay for the bridge the town issued its bonds for $12,000, $2,000 of which was to be paid in February, 1869, and the remainder in annual installments of $2,000 each. Soon after the close of the war a beautiful covered bridge which spanned the Susquehanna within this village was lifted from its piers and dashed to pieces by a fearful tornado, leaving the town with nothing but a scow to cross the stream. The bridge company by duplicating their stock, erected another in its place, quite inferior and unsafe from the first. After standing about 18 months, "a reproach to the builder and a disappointment to the company, as well as constantly threatening peril to the public," it was carried off by an ice floe. The bridge company then proposed to surrender their franchise to the town, on condition that a good, substantial, free bridge be erected, and this action resulted in the present noble structure. * MERCHANTS. -- The first merchants in Afton were probably Sayres Burgess and Isaac Miner, who did business during the war of 1812 and a few years afterwards in a frame building which stood on the site of the store now occupied by Harris Briggs. Burgess lived and died in the town. His death occurred January 7, 1832, aged 35. Miner, in company with David Cooper built on Kelsey Creek, about 1809, the first saw-mill in the town. There has been a mill there ever since. The old mud-sills are still in use. The mill is about one-fourth mile above the village and some seventy rods above the mouth of the creek. The water is conducted from the creek to the mill by means of a race about forty rods long. Albert Neely did business some three or four years and left the town at an early day. Hiram Long, a native and resident of the town till his death, February 9, 1844, at the age of 45, did business some six or seven years from about 1825. He afterwards, about forty years ago, built the Musson House, which was kept by his brother Lewis some ten years. Heman B. Smith, who was born September 11, 1803, and died August 28, 1858, came from Delaware county and opened a store about 1828 or '9, and kept it some eight or ten years, when he failed. He was succeeded by David Loveland, who continued about two years, and died here August 20, 1842, aged 63. Murrin Jackson came from Butternuts, Otsego county, soon after Loveland failed, and was the principal merchant here for a good many years. He sold to J. B. Chaffee about the opening of the war of the Rebellion and removed to Binghamton, where he died. Chaffee did business some six or seven years and failed, when he removed to Binghamton where he now resides. Whittington Sayre and _____ Goodsell commenced business on the east side of the river about 1815 or '16 and continued some two years. Goodsell came from Cooperstown and returned there. Sayre removed to Elmira and engaged in the lumber business. Their store stood a little above where Stanton Donaghe now lives. They are the only merchants who have done business on the east side of the river. Following is an account of the present merchants and those who have been associated with them: -- Daniel A. Carpenter, general merchant, commenced business here in 1854, in company with his brother-in-law, Daniel Carpenter, to whom he sold his interest in 1857. In 1859, he and Eli M. Shay bought out Daniel Carpenter, to whom they sold again at the expiration of five years. The latter continued about three years, a part of the time in company with his son-in-law, James Collins, with whom two or three years later he removed to Bath and afterwards to Addison, where they now reside. Daniel A. Carpenter recommenced business in the fall of 1869, and has since continued it. He is a native of Afton, where he was born August 13, 1820. He is a son of Benjamin S. Carpenter, an early settler and prominent man in Bainbridge. He was elected Sheriff in 1864, and served one term. Eli M. Shay subsequently engaged in the sale of groceries and clothing, which business he still continues, having been associated from 1876 to February 1878, with Norval W. Fletcher. Mr. Shay came from Colesville, in Broome county. George B. Hickox, hardware dealer, a native of Gilbertsville, Otsego county, came in from Sherburne and commenced business in the spring of 1865. After one year he was associated about two years with Robert Paddock, who sold his interest to B. Frank Williams. The latter remained a like period and sold to Charles Fisher, who sold his interest to Mr. Hickox, April 1, 1879. Harris Briggs, grocer, came in from Coventry, where he had carried on mercantile business six years, and commenced business here April 1, 1866. He was associated as partner with H. S. Chamberlin three years, and with C. L. Seeley about one and one-half years. R. N. Gallup, came from Walton, Delaware county, __________ * From Rev. E. T. Jacob's article on "The Rise and Present of Afton."
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in the spring of 1866, and commenced the hardware business. In March, 1877, he sold to his son, Russell Gallup, who still carries on the business, having been associated the first six months with Robert Beach, the second six months with Porter G. Northrup, and the succeeding two years with Robert Yale. Charles Hill, grocer, came from Meredith, Delaware county, and commenced business in December, 1868. Albert C. Hyde, druggist, who is a native of Afton, commenced business in the early part of 1869, in company with Joseph Angell, under the name of Angell & Hyde, and bought his partner's interest at the expiration of five years. Martin D. Howard, furniture dealer and undertaker, commenced business December 29, 1869. He came from Hartford, Conn., where he was engaged in the manufacture of locks. Enos M. Johnston & Sons. In the spring of 1875, Enos M. Johnston, Hiram Cornell and H. B. Johnston, commenced a general merchandise business, under the name of Johnston, Cornell & Co. In the spring of 1878, E. M. Johnston bought Cornell's interest and admitted to partnership another son. E. C. Johnston, and the business has since been conducted under the name of Enos M. Johnston & Sons. Joseph A. Decker, grocer, commenced business in August, 1877. He is a native of the town. Henry G. Carr, druggist, commenced business in October, 1877. He is a native of the town. He bought out T. L. Willey, who had done business some three years. H. J. Fox, general merchant, commenced business April 1, 1878. He came from Binghamton, where he had done business nearly four years. Mrs. A. L. Welch, milliner and fancy goods dealer, came from Worcester, Otsego county, and commenced business in March, 1879. POSTMASTERS. -- Previous to the division of the town of Bainbridge, the village and post-office at Afton were known as South Bainbridge. The first postmaster was probably Albert Neely or Joseph P. Chamberlin, at least fifty years ago. Josiah Wright succeeded Chamberlin about 1830. Next was Zaccheus Smith, who came here from Delaware county and kept hotel in the Sullivan House. He held the office till about 1840, and was succeeded by Murlin Jackson. Cornelius Atherton was appointed about 1855 or '6, and was followed in 1861 by Lewis Post, who held it till his death February 12, 1863, aged 54, when Daniel A. Carpenter was appointed. Carpenter was succeeded in a short time by E. M. Shay, who held the office till June 23, 1877, when Theodore L. Willey, the present incumbent, was appointed. * PHYSICIANS. -- William Knapp, who lives at Bainbridge, is believed to have been the first physician who practiced in this locality. He removed to Elmira. Dr. Nathan Boynton, who was located at Bettsburgh, and Drs. Starkey and Root, who studied with Boynton, and the latter of whom practiced in company with him at Bettsburgh, practiced here at an early day. They all removed to Elmira. Abraham Benton, brother of Orange Benton, studied medicine with Dr. Boynton at Bettsburgh and settled in the village on the east side of the river, where he practiced several years nearly fifty years ago. He was a noted temperance man. He sold out in 1837 to Elam Bartlett and removed to Illinois. Dr. Bartlett practiced some ten years, when he bought a small farm in the town of Colesville, on which he died, January 9, 1862, aged 53. Herschel D. Spencer, M. D., came in from Lisle, his native place, and bought out Dr. Bartlett. He practiced here till his death July 27, 1857, aged 33. Dr. Koon, who came from Mt. Upton, succeeded Spencer, and remained about three years. The present physicians are James B. Cook, Philetus A. Hayes and George Bissell. James B. Cook, was born in Harwinton, Litchfield Co., Conn., July 20, 1817, and studied medicine in Oswego, N. Y., with Drs. Gardner and Brown, with whom he remained a little over two years. He next pursued his studies for one year with Dr. Frank Hine, in Franklin, Delaware county. He attended courses of lectures at the Fairfield Medical School in 1838 and '9, and in 1840 he attended a course of lectures at the Albany Medical Institute, where he was graduated in Feb'y, 1841. He commenced practice the latter year in Hobart, Delaware county, and removed thence in January, 1842, to Afton, where he is still practicing. Philetus A. Hayes was born in Castle Creek, Broome county, September 10, 1848. He commenced the study of medicine in his native place with Dr. S. P. Allen, with whom he remained two years, one year before entering college and one between terms. He entered Geneva Medical College in the fall of 1868, and was graduated January 27, 1870. He commenced practice at Killawog, Broome county, immediately after graduating, and a year afterwards he removed to Afton, where he has since practiced. George Bissell came from Valcour Island, Clinton county, N. Y., in the spring of 1877, and practiced a few months, till about the 1st of December, when he returned to Clinton county. He again came in the fall of 1878 and has since practiced here. LAWYERS. -- The first lawyer in Afton was probably George Smith, who was here in 1830. He came in a young, single man and married a daughter of Henry Olendorf. He practiced here several years and removed __________ * We have been utterly unable to procure a satisfactory list of the postmasters at Afton. The above is as complete and accurate as the best available authorities could make it.
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(pages 145-152 under construction)
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... MORMONISM. -- It is a fact worthy of note that a portion of the early career of Joseph Smith, Jr., the author of Mormonism, was spent in Afton, and that here were enacted some of the incidents which were precursors of his subsequent notoriety. Joseph Smith, Jr., was born in Sharon, Windsor Co., Vt., Dec. 23, 1805, and in 1815 or '16 removed with his father, Joseph Sr., and his family, to Palmyra, and soon after just across the line of that town into Manchester, some two miles south-west of Palmyra village. Previous to the Mormon dispensation Joseph Smith, the father of the "prophet," supported himself and family by digging and peddling "rutes and yarbs," selling cakes, beer, etc. When a mere lad, as appears from evidence elicited in his examination before a court of justice in Afton, in 1826, Joseph Jr., became acquainted with a girl in the neighborhood of his home who was reputed to be able to see in a glass things which were hidden from others. He had frequent opportunity to look into this mystical glass, which always revealed to him a small luminous stone, situated, apparently, beneath the root of a tree, standing near a small stream which empties into Lake Erie not far from the New York and Pennsylvania line. This singular circumstance occupied his mind for some years, and he subsequently made a journey to the locality indicated and procured the treasure thus revealed to him. The stone in question was exhibited on his examination and is described as being "about the size of a small hen's egg, in the shape of a high-instepped shoe." It was composed of layers of different colors passing diagonally through, and was very hard and smooth. * By means of this stone, placed in his hat so as to exclude the light, he claimed to be able to see whatever he wished, even in the depths of the earth, and there were not wanting those whose testimony corroborated this affirmation. In 1819 or '20 the Smiths commenced digging for money and other hidden treasure for a subsistence. Their vocation was noised around among the community, and not a few were credulous enough to believe that they were within reach of a "chest of gold," "which had repeatedly eluded their grasp," and contributed money to enable them to continue their excavations. The Smiths, it is said, used the money thus obtained for the support of the family, and in the meantime kept their friends in a feverish state of excitement and expectancy while treasure hunting. Invocations, the blood of sheep slaughtered for the purpose, sprinkled upon the earth, and other mystical rites, were employed in the presumed effort to propitiate the angry demon who was supposed to guard the coveted treasure. During the progress of these events in the obscure town of Manchester, Isaiah Stowel, a Vermont sufferer, and an early settler on the Susquehanna in this town, about two miles below Afton; a deacon in the First Presbyterian church of Afton, educated in the spirit of orthodox puritanism; a man of much force of character, possessing an indomitable will; a very industrious and exemplary man, who, by severe labor and frugality, had acquired property which "excited the envy of many of his less fortunate neighbors;" and who at this time had "grown up sons and daughters to share his prosperity and the honors of his name," became infatuated with the idea that he must go in search of hidden treasures, which he believed were buried in the earth. With hired help and provisions he repaired to the vicinity of Lanesboro, in Northern Pennsylvania, where for weeks at a time he encamped on the bleak hills of that region and prosecuted his search for hidden treasure, heedless of the admonition of his neighbors, the members of the church, and the importunities of his family. Rumors of the success of the Smiths in discovering concealed treasure reached __________ * Dr. W. D. Purple's Historical Reminiscences of the town of Afton, 1877.
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HISTORY OF CHENANGO COUNTY.
his ears and fanned into a blaze his cherished hallucination. With his wagon filled with provisions he started in search of the youth, whose mysterious powers would, he fully believed, make him the possessor of untold wealth. He arrived in due time at the rude log cabin of the Smiths, who were living in squalor and poverty, and the object of his search, with his mystic stone, was soon transferred to his more pretentious mansion. Mr. Stowel with his ward and two hired men, who were, or professed to be, believers, spent much time in excavating near the State line on the Susquehanna and many other places, among them his own farm. Rocks containing iron pyrites were drilled for gold. In February, 1826, the sons of Mr. Stowel then residing with their father, seeing that the latter was squandering his property in search for hidden wealth under the direction of the youthful seer, caused the arrest of Smith, who was tried in that month before Albert Neeley, Esq., father of Bishop Neeley, of Maine. The trial was largely attended and the proceedings attracted much attention, though they elicited little but his history from his early boyhood. The witnesses examined besides Smith, were his father, Deacon Isaiah Stowel, and a Mr. Thompson, an employ‚ of Stowel's who always attended the deacon and Smith in their nocturnal labors. Smith, while here, attended school in District No. 9. He gathered around him a few who were profoundly impressed with the reality of his supernatural powers, and these, (some of whom afterwards joined him in the west, Stowel among the number,) he formed into a society at the house of "Joe Knight," on the south side of the river, near the Lobdell House in Broome county. It is related that in order to convince unbelievers that he possessed supernatural powers, he announced that he would walk upon the water. The performance took place in the evening, and to the astonishment of many, he did walk upon the water, where it was known to be several feet deep, sinking only a few inches below the surface. This proving a success, a second trial was made which bid fair to be as successful as the first; but when he had proceeded some distance into the river, he suddenly sank, much to the chagrin of himself and proselytes, but to the great amusement of the unbelievers. It appeared on examination that planks were laid a few inches below the surface of the water, and that some wicked boys, being actuated by a greater desire for fun than to promote the prophet's fame, had removed one of them. Smith also pretended to heal the sick, cast out devils, etc., but his career here was terminated by his prosecution as an imposter before Joseph P. Chamberlain, Esq. Two pettifoggers named John S. Reed and James Davison volunteered to defend him, and three witnesses, Mr. Knight and his son and Mr. Stowel, testified that they had seen him cast out devils. It may be well to relate here an incident replete with interest from its intimate connection with the rise and progress of Mormonism. In 1809, Rev. Solomon Spaulding, then residing in Conneaut, Ohio, formed the basis of a romance purporting to give the history of a lost race of people, the idea being suggested by the numerous mounds and relics of dilapidated fortifications in that vicinity. The original design of this literary production, which was entitled Manuscript Found, was merely to amuse himself and friends by an imaginary history. It claimed to have been written by one of the lost nations, and recovered from one of the mounds. After its completion it was left for perusal with a Mr. Patterson, publisher of a newspaper there; but as it possessed no real merit, Mr. Patterson refused to publish it. Spaulding neglected to call for the manuscript, and it was finally thrown among the waste paper, where it came under the observation of Sydney Rigdon, who was at that time connected with the office, and who took a copy of it. Rigdon, upon hearing of the doings of the Smith family in Palmyra, conceived an idea which resulted in the printing of the Mormon Bible. He at once proceeded to Palmyra, and had long and frequent private interviews with Joseph Smith, Jr. At this time, it is supposed, they formed the plan of a new religious dispensation. From this romantic legend the Book of Mormon was paraphrased. Smith repaired at night to a cave in the hillside, and dictated to his amanuensis, Oliver Cowdery, what he "mysteriously translated from golden plates," which he pretended to have found while digging for money in September, 1823, by the aid of spirit revelation, but was not permitted to take them from the earth until 1827, about the time the Bible was commenced. The greatest secrecy was observed during these pretended revelations, which were only given in the cave at night, without any light, no one else but he being able to read the inscription on the plates. When it was completed, they were in a quandary as to how to get it printed. This obstacle was soon removed, however, by Martin Harris, a convert, mortgaging his farm to defray the expenses, ruining himself in doing so. Application was made about June, 1829, to Mr. Egbert B. Grandin, the publisher of the Wayne Sentinel at Palmyra, for the printing of the book. Grandin at once advised them against the folly of the enterprise. All importunity, however, was resisted by Harris, and resented with assumed pious indignation by Smith. Upon the refusal of Grandin, application was made the same year to Mr. Weed, of the Anti-Masonic Inquirer, at Rochester, who likewise refused. They again applied to Grandin, who, seeing their determination,
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consented to print it, stipulating to print 5,000 copies of the book for a compensation of $3,000. From such insignificant seed sprang the giant evil, which for fifty years, on the soil of a distant Territory, has subverted all principles of law and order, built a mighty hierarchy of falsehood and licentiousness, and has thus far thwarted nearly every effort made to suppress it.
CHAPTER XVII.
It is wholly underlaid by the rocks of the Catskill group, in which quarries of good building and flagging stone have been opened, two near the north line of the town, on the farms of Richard Bush and M. Frank, and a third just east of the village, on the east side of the river, on the farm of Jehiel Evans. From the Bush quarry excellent, massive blocks for underpinning and building purposes are obtained; while that obtained from the Frank quarry, on an adjoining farm, is only suitable for flagging, the layers being thinner. From the Evans farm quarry, good massive building stone is obtained, but the superincumbent mass to be removed makes it too expensive to be profitably worked. It supplied the stone used in the abutments of the bridge crossing the river in the village of Bainbridge. The soil upon the hills is a gravelly and shaly loam, and in the valleys a fine fertile clay loam and alluvium. Dairying forms the chief, and almost exclusive branch of agriculture. The dairies are all private ones, the largest being that of Jerome B. Sands, who milks some fifty cows. There is not a factory in the town, nor has there been. The butter product is marketed in New York. In 1875 the town had a population of 1,928; of whom 1,857 were natives, 71 foreigners, 1,917 white, and 11 colored. Its area was 20,982 acres; of which 14,446 were improved, 5,852 woodland, and 684 otherwise unimproved. The Albany and Susquehanna Railroad crosses the town along the valley of the Susquehanna, which river it crosses near the east line.... |
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From: Story of Afton: A New York Town on the Susquehanna
No other church buildings were erected prior to Afton's separation from Bainbridge in 1857, In 1840 and again in 1842 the Rt. Rev, W. N. DeLancy, first Episcopal Bishop of Western New York, visited South Bainbridge and conducted afternoon services for his few co-religionists here, the first time in the Baptist Church, and the second time in the Universalist. An attempt at holding regular Episcopal services was made by the Rector of St. Peter's (in Bainbrido village) from 1810 to 1852 in the west-side schoolhouse of South Bainbridge. In view of the use of public schools for starting and housing most of Afton's early churches -- Presbyterian, Universalist, Methodist, and Episcopalian -- it appears that there was then less rigidity than now about separation of church and state. Despite considerable local opposition to Freemasonry in the wake of the national Anti-Masonic movement of the 1830's, and despite an outright ban by some of the churches, a number of South Bainbridge residents joined the lodge F. and A. M. which was chartered at Nineveh in January 1855, and also the chapter of Royal Arch Masons which was established at Vallonia Springs in December 1856. Both were moved shortly afterwards to Afton. Honorable mention should here be made of certain families that followed the very first settlers (named above) and, with them, contributed in no small way to the upbuilding and welfare of South Bainbridge and early Afton. Elder among them were the Medburys, the Corbins, the Pollards, the Farnsworths, the Barrs, the Carpenters, the Carrs, the Caswells, the Chamberlains, the Fishers, the Hinmans, the Hydes, the Johnstons, the Partridges, the Pecks, the Pooles, the Seelys, the Tarbells, the Wicks. A bit Later came the Mudges, the Bresees, the Doolittles, the Duttons, the Guys, the Halls, the LeSuers, the Loomises, the Lords, the Morgans, etc. Among these I am proud to include my own family, which descends on both sides from 17th-century Connecticut ancestors through Revolutionary veterans who "went west" in the 1790's, the one to the Greene section of Jericho, the other to the "military tract" of adjacent Cortland County. My parents settled in Afton nearly a century ago, and I was born here seventy-nine years ago.
Afton forefathers of the 1820's had a real celebrity in their midst, though at the time they didn't recognize him as such. Indeed, one of the most curious episodes of Afton's history in the period of its being South Bainbridge (1814-18P7) was its connection with Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon "Church of Latter-Day Saints." This has given rise to many stories and a vast deal of local folk-lore. The facts in the matter can be briefly summarized. In the late summer of 1825, Josiah Stowell, a prosperous elderly farmer of the pioneer family living two miles below the village, journeyed to Palymra, New York, to visit a cousin (Simpson Stowell). Through the latter, Josiah met a tall, strapping 19-year-old youth named Joseph Smith, Junior, and became fascinated by his stories about a "seer stone" with which he could detect buried treasure. Josiah was quite sure that money must be hidden in hills along the Susquehanna -- he had been told that great quantities of it had been buried there by fleeing "Spaniards" -- and young Joseph seemed to be just the person to spot it. So in November 1825 Josiah took Junior back home with him, and the Senior Joe Smith, a roving character, went along for the ride. They travelled a little out of their way in order that Stowell might exhibit his promising Smiths to his good friend, Isaac Hale, who lived at Harmony (present Oakland) just over the Pennsylvania border. After trying out Junior, with no financial success, Hale became suspicious and contemptuous of him. On the other hand, Junior was quite smitten by Hale's 21-year old daughter, Emma. He must have felt he had found an authentic treasure in her. While the elder Smith returned to Palmyra, the younger, retaining the confidence of Stowell, went on with him to his home in South Bainbridge. Here during the winter of 1825-26, Joe did farm chores for a monthly wage of $14 with room and board. He attended district school and spent leisure time digging for treasure in hill and gully and riding down the Susquehanna to see Emma Hale. In March 1826 Peter Bridgman, a neighbor of Stowell's, member of another pioneer family, and stern PresbyLLerian, swore out a warrant for the arrest of young Smith for being "a disorderly person and an imposter." The trial was held at South Bainbridge
Junior was then 21 years old, and, being unwelcome at his father-in-law's, he left with his wife for Palmyra. There, through divine revelation, according to his later account, he dug out of the "Hill Cumorah" an ancient book of golden plates, together with special eyeglasses ("Urim and Thummin") to enable him to decipher and translate the strange writing on the plates. Then, becoming partly reconciled with his father-in-law, and obtaining the use of a tenant house of Isaac Hale's at Harmony, he brought hither his wife and a box containing what he claimed were the golden plates. He worked on the farm, but most of the time he spent in the house dictating from behind a curtain to a scribe outside a supposed translation of the plates. It turned out to be the elaborate Book of Mormon, which was completed in July 1829, when Joseph Smith was twenty-three, and which was published the next year at Palmyra thanks to an advance of $3,000 by an enchanted farmer by the name of Martin Harris. Already in 1829 Joseph Smith was preaching the new Mormon gospel and working dubious miracles in Harpursville and South Bainbridge. One was his feat of walking on the river, which, story has it, was abruptly terminated when a group of skeptical jokestors removed the boardwalk that he had built a foot or so below the surface. Nevertheless, he did win some converts hereabouts, including Joseph and Newell Knight, Reed Peck, Edward Partridge, and his old patron the over trustful Josiah Stowell. Against the "prophet," however, there was strong opposition led by Dr. Boynton of Bettsburg and two associates, Benton and McMaster by name. In June 1830 he was arrested and tried for the serene time in South Bainbridge, This time the trial was before Justice Joseph P. Chamberlain, with the Knights and Stowell testifying they had seen young Smith "cast out devils," and it resulted in his acquittal. Whereupon he was promptly rearrested, retried,
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