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Before the First White man the Iroquois ruled the Land for 10,000 Years

IroquoisGathering

History of Oswego, NY
FROM LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY
EDITED BY: JOHN C. CHURCHILL
ASSISTED BY H. PERRY SMITH AND W. STANLEY CHILD
PUBLISHED BY D. MASON & CO. PUBLISHERS, SYRACUSE, NY 1895

 

Finding Ancestors wherever their trails led

Oswego County
New York
Genealogy and History


Early Settlers of Oswego

Finding Ancestors wherever their trails led

Oswego County
New York
Genealogy and History


Early Settlers of Oswego

This town was formed from Hannibal April 20, 1818.  A part of Granby was annexed May 20, 1836.  It lies upon the shore of Lake Ontario, upon the west side of Oswego River.  Its surface is generally rolling ending in a bluff shore upon the lake.  The streams are Eight Mile, Rice, Snake and Minetto creeks.  A fall in Oswego river within the limits of this town, affords an abundance of water power.  The underlying rock is principally red sandstone.  the soil is a gravelly loam.  Boulders and water worn pebbles are scattered over its surface, making it very stony in places.  There are sixteen school districts in the town.

The first settlement was made by Asa Rice, from Connecticut in 1797, who came down the Oswego river and along the beach to Lot No. 2, where he landed with his family and erected a log or pole shanty just high enough to stand up in.  Two or three families came in with Mr. Rice, but none of them remained during the winter, he, Mr. Rice  being the only permanent settler.  Upon the completion of his shanty, which his friends assisted in building, he produced a small bottle of wine that had been well cared for, and proposed that the new home in the forest have its name, which was given and christened, “Union Village,” which name it still retains.  Mr. Rice found many hardships and privations to endure, it being late in the fall; and winter setting in earlier than he expected they found themselves short of provisions and an infant child of theirs actually starved to death.

In 1800 came Reuben Pixley, who purchased of Mr. Rice about fifty acres of land, remained a few years, and finally sold to a Mr. Brace.  Mr. Pixleys family suffered greatly for want of provisions, and he was obliged to hire a blacksmith from Oswego to hunt game for him to keep his family from starving, which was easily supplied, there being plenty of deer and some bears in the vicinity.  Daniel Burt settled in 1802; Nathan Nelson was an early settler, and a Mr. Beckwith settled in 1804; Elizer Perry in 1805; Jonathan Buell (Lot 29) and Jacobe Thorpe in 1806; and Daniel Robinson in 1809.  Nathan Drury, from Massachusetts, settled on Lot 30 about 1810, and it said that Mr. Drury in order to raise a crop of corn, was obliged to keep watch and drive the bears from his fields.  Erastus Todd was one of the early settlers, and was the first on lot 13-Oswego Centre, or mor familiarly known as Fitch’s Corners.  Chauncy Coats, from Massachusetts,settled on lot 12 in 1814, and first lived in a log house covered with ash bark.

Mr. Coats was a very athletic man, being six feet two and three quarters inches in height, and was at that time considered the strongest man in Oswego County, once lifting an iron press, is Oswego Village, weighing one thousand pounds, after all other had failed.  Nathan Farnham, from Bennington, Vermont, settled on lot 2 in 1813, on the farm now owned by Mr. McCracken.  Mr. Farnham made a purchase on lot No. 3 in 1816, where he now resides, and is eighty four years old, born December 24, 1792.

Abram M. Clark, from Connecticut, settled on lot no. 3 in 1816, purchasing from time to time until his farm comprised three hundred and thirty seven acres.  Land at that time was worth ten dollars per acre.  Mr. Clark now resides on said lot, and is seventy seven years of age.  Selden P. Clark also settled on the same lot at the same time, where he now resides and is seventy four years of age.  Daniel R. Green is now a resident of the southeast corner of lot 3.  Daniel Pease, from Massachusetts, settled on lot 11 in 1813 or 1814.  Levi and Alfred, sons of Daniel Pease and grandsons of Asa Rice, now reside on lot 11.  Later, on lot 11, came C.G. Park, about 1850, where he now resides.  Sylvanus Bishop, from Onondaga county, on lot 4 in 1813.

Lot 24 was settled in 1815 or 1816 by Mr. John Griffin, who erected the first log house in this vicinity, which stood just north of where William Stephenson now resides.  John Dunsmore, from Massachesetts, made a purchase of one hundred and thirty acres on the same lot in 1825, lot first owned by the Bleekers, of London (land speculators).  Mr. Dunsmore was seven days coming from Ostego to this place, a distance of one hundred miles, making the journey with ox teams and sold one yoke upon his arrival for fifty five dollars.  Seymour Coe, Sr. from Massachusetts, later from Onondaga County settled in Palermo in 1818, and removed to Oswego town in 1831 or 1832 on lot 12.  Since the above facts were collected Mr. Coe has passed away, in the ninetieth year of his age.

Schuyler Worden, from Cayuga county, was a pioneer on lot 29 (Minetto) about 1819.  Mr. Worden states that it was all a wilderness at that time, there being no roads laid out except the fifth street and river road.  Mr. Worden is yet living on said lot, and is seventy years old.

Wm J. Forbes was the first settler on lot 22, in 1818.  Joseph Rice was a pioneer on lot 36 (State’s hundred).  No farm in this locality was settled earlier.  He and Arvin Rice cut the road through from Fulton, coming with a yoke of cattle, on the farm now owned by Edwin W. Huntington.  Lot 36 was first owned by Francis Lent.  Stephen Tilden, from Vermont, settled on lot 9, in 1821, on lands now owned by Vincent Sabin and son and B.P.Dutcher.  A Mr. Foster was a pioneer on lot 26, on lands now owned by John. S. Furniss.  Samuel Furniss made a purchase on said lot in 1832.  John Ostrander settled in Oswego village, in 1828, near the first dam.  At that time there were only a few families in what now comprised the populous city of Oswego, though many emigrants came in at this time.

Ruloff Dutcher, from Dover, Skaneateles county, was millwright and assisted in the building of the first mills at Oswego.  Lot 31 was drawn from Joshua Foreman for services rendered in the Revolutionary War (as were nearly all the lots westward from the Osego river by other soldiers), and subsequently purchased by a Mr. Collins, who owned it for many years, and finally gave it to his son, Lee Collins.  Abel Wilder, from Madison county, purchased four hundred and fifty seven acres on lots 31 and 32, of Ansel Frost, in 1838.  Mr. Eli Wilder a son of Abel, now owns one hundred acres of the original purchase.  On this lot, on Eight Mile creek, was erected, in the very early day, a saw mil by William Lewis, which was rebuilt in 1838 by Eli Wilder, and subsequently by other parties; but, with decreasing interest in the milling business, it failed to be cared for, and has long since gone down.

David Gray from Saratoga county, settled on lot 21 in 1812.  Wm. Moore and Paul Whittemore, from Onondaga valley, came at the same time.  The first clearings and improvements in this locality were made by them.  There were no roads nor even marked trees to the village of Oswego.

Silas Green, a Revolutionary soldier, and a native of Coventry, Rhode Island, settled on lot 38- the northwest lot of the township- in 1824.  It was later owned by Norman Green (son), who remained on said farm about forty four years, and is now owned by Garrett Louis.

On lot 84, among the early settlers, as early as 1817, were Cephas Weed, Jonathan and Justine Eastman.  Lot 78, on lands now owned by W.H. Johnson, was settled by Job Perkins, Mr. Chambers, Ebenezer Perkins, Samuel Sanders, Anson Taylor, James Gillis, Jason Peck, and Heman Rice.

On Lot 76 were Mr. Godfrey, Godby and Oswell as early as 1817.  Elihu W. Gifford, from Washington county, New York, settled on lot 92 in 1812, and subsequently on lot 91, where he died in 1848, on lands now owned by his heirs.  Mr. Elihu Gifford ran and kept the mill built by Silas Crandall from 1813 to the time of his death.

John Parkinson, from England, settled in Oswego town, on present farm of W.R. Worden, in 1833, clearing said farm.  David D. Gray cleared a portion of lot 21, where Mr. Parkinson now resides.  Lot 17 was undoubtedly settled by Rudolph Dutcher and a Mr. Tilden, in about 1817 or 18.  Mr. Nathan Lewis states that these gentlemen were here when he came, which was in 1822, and had been for years.  There was but little land cleared at that time.  James Stevenson was owner of one hundred and eight acres on the northwest corner of said lot as early as 1822.  The first house built at Southwest Oswego was a log one in 1820.  The first blacksmith was Stephen Cobb, about 1833 or 1834.  the first store was kept by Asa Watson, in 1844 or 1845.

The first frame house in Oswego town was built by Asa Rice, on lot 2, about 1810, and a portion of this house, known as the Carson house, is still standing.  Mr. R. also built the first frame barn.

The first brick house erected was by Daniel Robinson, about 1830 or 1835, on lot 9.  Mr. R. hadonhis farm a clay bed, and manufactured bricks for sale.  Oswego town contains a number of clay beds of considerable size, some of which are turned to practical account in the manufacture of bricks, there being some five or six yards in different parts of the town, all doing a good business; for instance, the Fitch yard, at Oswego Center, which manufactures five hundred thousand to one million bricks annually.

Mr. Asa Rice sowed first wheat, cleared first ground, planted first crops and set out first orchard, on lot 2 getting some trees in the vicinity of the fort, and bringing some down river from Onondaga county.

The first road in town was the river road from Oswego through to Minetto and Fulton, and surveyed in 1810 or 1811.

Wm. Moore was the first surveyor, and laid out the Fifth street road in 1813.  Mr. Jesse Gray informs us that it was a terrrible road, and though the distance was only three miles, the time he attempted to go to Oswego he got lost and was obliged to stay in the woods overnight.  Mr. G. settled on lot 1 in 1826, the pioneer of the lot being a Mr. Brown, about 1822.  Mr. G is now seventy four years old.

The Hannibal road was very heavily timered, and when it was surveyed the trees were felled either way from the centre of the road, and the settlers had to travel around the stumps to get along.  The bridges were made of logs.

The first birth was Thomas Jefferson Rice, in 1801.The first marriage was Augustus Ford and Miss Rice, in 1800.  The first death was an infant child of Asa Rice in 1798.  A later marriage was that of Montgomery Perry and Mehetabel Rice about 1812.  A later death was that of David Gray, June 6, 1813.
[Source:Excerpts from:  History of Oswego County, by Crisfield Johnson, 1877]

 

 

      THE TOWN OF OSWEGO  {The First Settlers}

The town of Oswego, situated in the northwest corner of the county and lying wholly within the old Military Tract, was erected from Hannibal the 20th of April, r8r8. May 20, 1836, a triangular tract bordering the river at Minetto was annexed from Granby. March 24, 1848, that part of Oswego city lying west of the river was taken from the town, thus leaving the town its present area of 20,536 acres. It is bounded on the east by Oswego city and Scriba, on the south by Granby and Hannibal, on the west by Sterling, Cayuga county and Lake Ontario, and on the north by the lake and Oswego city.The surface is gently rolling and in some places quite broken, the whole having a northerly or northeasterly inclination. Abrupt bluffs border the lake and river and afford considerable picturesque scenery. The soil is a productive gravelly loam under-laid with a red sandstone of the Medina formation, which frequently appears in boulders and water-worm pebbles. The principal streams are Eight-Mile, Nine-Mile, Snake, Rice, and Minetto Creeks, which afford excellent drainage and some valuable mill privileges. At Minetto the river furnishes an immense water-power.The town of Oswego was originally covered with a dense growth of heavy timber, which long furnished employment to numerous saw mills and to scores of lumbermen, for whose product a ready market was found at the mouth of the river. But the primitive forests have long since disappeared, and in their place are seen fertile fields and comfortable homes.Soon after the pioneers threaded the wilderness, roads were cut through the forests to what is now Oswego city, but several years elapsed before passable thoroughfares were surveyed and opened. The first highway in town was the road leading from Oswego up the river through Minetto to Oswego Falls, which was surveyed and opened in 1810 or 1811. The Fifth street road, now a popular thoroughfare, was laid out by William Moore, the first surveyor, in 1813. The early bridges were made of. logs.April 17, 1816, Jacob L. Lazalere, James Geddes, and John McFadden were authorized by the Legislature to lay out a State road four rods wide, “beginning at the ferry on the west side of the river in the village of Oswego, and thence by the most eligible route through the towns of Hannibal, Sterling, and Galen (now Clyde), to the bridge over the Canandaigua outlet at the block—house in the town of Galen.” This was the old Hannibal road. On the same day the Legislature authorized Seth Cushman, of Lysander, and Edmund Hawks and William Moore, of Hannibal, to lay out a road four rods wide from “Snow’s bridge in Syracuse and thence through the towns of Lysander and Hannibal to Oswego.” The Oswego and Sodas Branch Turnpike Company was incorporated March 28, 1817, with a capital stock of $2,500, for the purpose of constructing a road from a point on the Owasco Creek in Mentz through Cato, Sterling, and Hannibal to Oswego. All these thoroughfares passed through the town of Oswego and materially aided its settlement. Over them stage lines were maintained, making them scenes of considerable activity. About 1846—7 plank roads came into existence. In 1850 one was completed from Oswego to Sterling Center, but with the decline of these highways it was abandoned. Other roads were surveyed and opened to accommodate the increasing settlements, and at the present time the town has sixty—four road districts.Excepting in the village of Minetto the inhabitants of the town are principally engaged in agricultural pursuits. In former years large quantities of wheat were raised, but that was long ago superseded by diversified farming. Fruit, comprising many varieties, is profitably grown, as are also the grains, hay, corn, potatoes arid vegetables. Perhaps no town in the county has devoted more systematic efforts toward the development of agriculture than Oswego. March 13, 1869, the Union Village Farmers’ Club was organized, with Thomas G Thompson as president, and in 1870 it was chartered as the Oswego Town Agricultural and Horticultural Society. A fine hail was erected on the farm of Mr. Thompson, at a cost of $2,000, and dedicated June 23, 1870. Exhibitions were held for several years. Brick has been extensively manufactured, there being at one time five or six yards in active operation in different parts of the town.The first town meeting was held at the school house in Oswego village Tuesday, May 5, 1818, and the following officers were chosen:

Eleazer Perry, supervisor; William Dalloway, town clerk; Henry Eagle, Henry Everts, Eleazer Perry, jr. assessors; Matthew McNair, William Fay, jr., Erastus Todd, commissioners of highways; Matthew McNair and Eleazer Perry, Jr., overseers of the poor; Asa Dudley, collector; Asa Dudley and John S. Newton, constables; Alvin Bronson, Samuel B. Beach, John Moore, Jr., commissioners of common schools; Walter Colton, George Fisher, and William Moore, school inspectors; Alvin Bronscn and Samuel B. Beach, commissioners of gospel lots.

The supervisors have been:

 

Eleazer Perry, 1818; Jonathan Deming, 1819—20; Matthew McNair, 1821 ; Alvin Bronson, 1822—24; Matthew McNair, 1825—30; George Fisher, 1831; Joel Turrill, 1832; David P. Brewster, 1833; Jacob N. Bonesteel, 1834—35; W. F. Allen, 1830—37; Patrick H. Hard, 183S; Walter W. White, 1839; Matthew McNair, 1840; W. W. White, 1841; Daniel H. Marsh, 1842; Joel Turrill, 1843; James Platt, 1844; Luther Wright, 1845; Leander Babcock, 1846-47; D. H. Campbell, 1848—49; Lewis A. Cole, 1850—51; Silas Cushman, 1852—54; John Carpenter, 1855—56; Stanton S. Gillett, 1857—58; John H. Mann, 1859; Simon G. Place, 1860; John H. Mann, 1861—62; John S. Furniss, 1863—65; John H. Mann, 1806—69; William J. Stark, 1870—71; Thomas G. Thompson, 1872; John G. Warner, 1873; Ira L. Jones, 1874; Lyman Coats, 1875; T. S. Brigham, 1876—77; Lewis H. Ottman, 1878; M. C. Simmons, 1879; Albert F. Allen, 1880; Riley I. Harding, 1881; Albert F. Allen, 1882—83; Ira L. Jones, 1884-85; James R. Ottman, 1886; Lewis P. Taylor, 1887; John A. Perkins, 1888; Frank A. Pease, 1889—91; John A. Perkins, 1892; Robert Lippincott, 1893; Lewis P. Taylor, 1894—95.

The town officers for 1895 were:
Lewis P. Taylor, supervisor: S. E. Metcalf, town clerk; John F. Brown, John Bishop, Milton S. Coe, and Albert A. Sabin, justices of the peace; Robert Lippincott, William Taggert and Lester C. Wright, assessors; Frank Doyle, highway commissioner; William Powell, colleetor; William Leadley. overseer of the poor; T. G. Thompson, J. A. Perkins, and Maxon Lewis, auditors.

The first settler in the town of Oswego was Asa Rice, who came from Connecticut, down the Oswego River, and settled on lot 2 October 6, 1797. For a time he lived in a tent at the mouth of Three-Mile Creek, and when his log shanty was erected he moved into that. This latter habitation stood on the site of Union Village (Fruit Valley) post office and was the first building of any kind in the territory under consideration. Upon its completion Mr. Rice formally christened the place with a bottle of wine, giving it the name, “Union Village,” which it has ever since borne. With him came two or three other families, but all removed before winter set in, leaving Mr. Rice as the first and only permanent settler. His son Arvin, who accompanied the little band of pioneers, was then eleven years of age. In 1809 he settled near Hannibal village Asa died there in 1878. His son Arvin, now a lawyer in Fulton, was born there in 1845. Asa Rice made the first clearing, planted and raised the first crops, and set out the first orchard—all on lot 2. He passed through many hardships and privations, and during the winter after his arrival his infant child actually died of starvation, which was the first death in town. The first birth was that of Thomas Jefferson Rice in 1801. The first marriage occurred in 1800, the contracting parties being Augustus Ford and Miss Rice. Mrs. Rice and her daughter did the weaving for their neighbors. There being no distilleries in the vicinity, Mr. Rice made from honey a fermented drink called “rnetheglin,” which was sweet and pleasant, but somewhat intoxicating. He built the first frame house about 1810 and also the first frame barn in the town. About the same time, with a Mr. Brace, he erected on Rice Creek the first saw mill at Union Village.

Mr. Rice apparently was the only permanent settler of the town until 1800, when Reuben Pixley came in and purchased fifty acres of him, which he sold a few years later to a Mr. Brace. Daniel Burt arrived in 1802 and a Mr. Beckwith in 1804. Eleazer Perry, the first supervisor, came in 1805, while Jacob Thorpe and Jonathan Buell were settlers in 1806, the latter locating on lot 29. Montgomery Perry and Mehetabel Rice were married about 1812. Daniel Robinson came in 1809 and Nathan Drury about 1810. The latter was from Massachusetts and located on lot 30, and in order to raise a crop of corn was obliged to watch his field and drive away the bears. Mr. Robinson had a clay bed on his farm and manufactured bricks. Soon after 1830 he erected on lot 9 the first brick house in the town.

Settlement progressed very slowly until after the war of 1812. The close proximity to the warlike scenes at Oswego had a marked influence not only upon immigrants seeking homes in the then “Far West,” but upon the safety and peace of those who had already settled in the wilderness. Several of the pioneers joined the American forces, while their families guarded the little clearings and met with fortitude the privations of frontier life. A few settlers came in during those years. Among them were David Gray, who migrated from Saratoga county in 1812, located on lot 21, and died June 6, 1813 ; William Moore, the first surveyor, and Paul Whittemore, who also arrived in 1812; Elihu W. Gifford, who came from Washington county in 1812, settled first on lot 92 and later on lot 91, and died there in 1848 ; Nathan Farnham, from Bennington, Vt., who located on lot 2 in 1813 and on lot 3 in 1816; Sylvanus Bishop, who took up his residence on lot 4 in 1813; Chauncey Coats, an athletic man and probably the strongest man in the county, who came from Massachusetts in 1814 and settled on lot 12, living first in a log cabin covered with ash bark; and Daniel Pease, who came from the same State about the same time and located on lot 11, where his sons Alfred and Levi, grandsons of Asa Rice, have since resided. Nathan Farnham was born in Bennington, Vt., December 24, 1792, and died here September 10, 1885. He was a member of Capt. Stephen Brace’s company in the War of 1812, one of the original vestry of Christ’s Church, Oswego, and served as constable, justice of the peace, and sheriff of the county. His brother, Samuel Farnham, preceded him as a settler, and in 1813 built on Rice Creek at Union Village, the first grist mill in the county of Oswego. It was known as the old red mill, was soon sold to Matthew McNair, and was burned in 1869/ Daniel Pease married Miriam, a daughter of Asa Rice, and had four sons and three daughters, of whom Levi, born in 1816, was the oldest. The latter married Mrs. Mary B. Rhoades, a daughter of Sylvanus Bishop. Elihu W. Gifford, from 1813 until his death, conducted the mill erected by Silas Crandall.

After the war ceased settlers came in increasing numbers, and hereafter space permits the mention only of those more prominently identified with the life and growth of the town. In 1816 came Abram M. and Selden P. Clark, from Connecticut, who located on lot 3, which was then worth $10 per acre. John Griffin arrived about the same year and settled on lot 24, where he built the first log house in that vicinity. As early as 1817 the following settlers came in: Cephas Weed and Justin and Jonathan Eastman, on lot 84; Messrs. Godby, Godfrey and Oswell on lot 76; and Rudolph Dutcher, on lot 17. The latter was a millwright and assisted in erecting the first mill in Oswego. In 1818 William J. Forbes located on lot 22. In 1819 Schuyler Worden came from Cayuga county and settled on lot 29, the site of the present village of Minetto. A Mr. Collins purchased lot 31, which was drawn by Joshua Foreman, a Revolutionary soldier. After owning it many years he deeded it to his son, Lee Collins. In 1820 the town contained 992 inhabitants.


Other early settlers, the date of whose coming cannot now be ascertained, were Joseph Rice on lot 36 (“ State’s hundred”); Francis Lent on lot 36; a Mr. Foster on lot 26; David D. Gray on lot 21; Job and Ebenezer Perkins, Anson Taylor, Jason Peck, Samuel Sanders, James Gillis, Heman Rice and a Mr. Chambers on lot 78, where W. H. Johnson afterward became an owner; Erastus Todd on lot 13, now Oswego Center; and Henry Everts, the pioneer of Scriba.

In 1821 Stephen Tilden arrived from Vermont and settled on lot 9. His lands finally passed into possession of B. P. Dutcher and Vincent Sabin and son. In 1822 Nathan Lewis, who was born October 27, 1797, and had moved with his parents to Madison county in 1805, came to this town where he spent the remainder of his life. About the same year James Stevenson purchased 108 acres of lot 17, and a Mr. Brown settled on lot 14. The latter sold his improvements to Jesse Gray in 1826. In 1824 Silas Green, who was born in Coventry, R. I., and had served in the Revolutionary war, located on the northwest corner of lot (38). His farm for about forty-four years was owned by his son Norman and finally passed into possession of Garrett Loomis. In 1825 John Dunsmore came from Massachusetts and purchased 130 acres of lot 24, which was first owned by the Bleekers, land speculators, of London. He came from Otsego, N. Y., with ox-teams; was seven days on the way; and sold one yoke of oxen upon his arrival for $55.

Among others who became settlers prior to 1830 were:
B. P. Bradway, Le Roy Burt, Madison J. Blodgett, C. W. Bronson, George Blossom, Lyman Coats (one of the projectors of the Oswego County Pioneer Association), Warren Coats, Seymour Coe, jr., Daniel R. Green, Alfred H. Greenwood, R. F. Harding (for several years superintendent of the Oswego City almshonse), Nathan Lewis. John Ostrancler, Lewis Stevens, Philo Stone, Willett R. Worden and James Wiltse.

Samuel Furniss purchased a part of lot 26 in 1832 and John Parkinson, from England, settled here in 1833. About 1832 Seymour Coe, Sr., who had come from Massachusetts to Onondaga county and thence in 1818 to Palermo, located on lot 12 and died in 1877, aged nearly ninety years In 1838 Abel Wilder came from Madison county and purchased of Ansel Frost 437 acres on lots 31 and 32. To 100 acres of this his son Eli succeeded. On Eight-Mile Creek on this farm William Lewis, at a very early date, erected a saw mill, which was rebuilt by Eli Wilder in 1838. Abel Wilder died in 1852, aged sixty-seven. Eli, the eldest of three sons and two daughters, was born December 18, 1816. During this decade—1830–40—the following also became settlers:

James W. Brown, Eugene M. Blodgett, T. S. Brigham, Richard Carrier, C-. J. Cornish, John Carpenter, Benjamin P. Dutcher, John S. Furniss, 1-lenry P. Fitch (long a justice of the peace), William Gray, Dr. Ira L. Jones, Capt. James Jenkins (master of a vessel out of Oswego for twenty-three years), C. G. Park, Walter R. Perry, H. M. Potter, John Place, Hamilton L. Stearns and Vincent Sabin.

Among those who came during the years from 1840 to 1850 were
H. A. Cornish, Simeon Lewis, James Martin, Chester M. Randall, Frank Smith and Albert A. Sabin.

In “ Historical Collections of the State of New York,” published in 1846, two years before Oswego was incorporated as a city, appears the following brief description of this town

Oswego was taken from Hannibal in 1818. It has a level surface and a soil of sandy ham. Pop. 4,673. Oswego village, post and half-shire town, port of entry and delivery for Oswego district, is 45 miles W. from Sackett’s Harbor, 60 from Kingston, Upper Canada, 60 from the mouth of Genesee River, 140 from the mouth of Niagara River, 150 from Toronto in a straight line, and 38 from Syracuse on the Erie Canal.

The water power afforded by the canal and river is very extensive, and upon them are many large manufacturing establishments.

In October, 1848, the Oswego and Syracuse Railroad (now the Delaware, Lackawana and Western Railroad), was completed and opened through the town, with a station at Minetto and the terminus at Oswego, and thus afforded a new avenue of transportation and travel. This was followed about twenty-five years later by the Lake Ontario Shore (now the R.W. & 0.) Railroad southwestward from Oswego, to aid in the construction of which the town was bonded for $30,000, of which $3,000 remained unpaid January 1, 1895. J. A. Perkins is railroad commissioner. There are two stations, Wheeler’s and Furniss, in the town of Oswego.

Prominent among other residents of the town may be mentioned the the names of William Adams, Lewis A. Cole, Silas Cushman, James A. Griffin, Stanton S. Gillett, D. D. and E. B. Colby, William Howell, Le Roy Pease, E. C. Pasco, Schuyler L. Parsons, Waterman T. Parsons, Horace W. Todd, N. K. Hammond and others noticed further on and in Parts II and III of this volume.

As instances of longevity it is interesting to add the names of three centenarians whose death occurred in this town, viz., Abram Emelow, died in May, 1877, aged 102 years; Mrs. W. Clark. May 13, 1880, aged 113 years, 9 months and 23 days; and Nathaniel Laird, April 16, 1894, aged about 109.

 

The population of the town at the periods indicated has been as follows In 1830, 2,703; 1835, 4,902; 1840, 4,673; 1845, 6,048; 1850, 2,445; 1855, 2,760; 1860, 3,181; 1865, 2,913; 1870, 3,043; 1875, 2,977; 1880, 3,022; 1890, 2,772.The figures given prior to 1850 include the inhabitants in ( Oswego village on the west side of the river; those for 1850 and afterward indicate the population of the town outside the corporate limits of the city.

From the fall of Sumter in 1861 to the end of the Rebellion in 1865, the town of Oswego responded promptly to the calls for troops, sending in all nearly 275 of her citizens. A number fell in battle ; a few died in Southern prisons; some succumbed to wounds and the ravages of disease; and the remainder returned home to receive the welcome and applause of a grateful people. Among those who attained merited promotion were Capt. E. F. Barstow, Lieut. Smith McCoy. Lieut. Charles A. Phillips, Capt. Volney T. Pierce, Capt. James V. Pierce, Col. William C. Raulston (81st Regt., prisoner, killed), Col. John Raulston, Capt. George F. Raulston, Capt. John Stevenson and Sergt. Richard A. Shoemaker.

FIRST NAME

LAST NAME

 

The first school in town was kept in a log cabin just south of the four corners at Union Village in 1813; the teacher was Susan Newell. The first regular school house was a frame structure, which was erected in 1816 on the site of the present cobblestone school building at Union Village. The town now contains fifteen school districts with a school house in each, schools in which were taught in 1892—3 by seventeen teachers and attended by 563 pupils. The school buildings and sites are valued at $11,200; assessed valuation of the districts, $890,563; money received from the State, $2,093.95 ; raised by local tax, $2,30182. The districts are locally designated as follows; No. 1, California; 2, Fruit Valley; 3, Minetto; 4, Number Nine; 5, Worden; 6, Fair Ground; 7. Stephens; 8, Tallman; 9, Burt; 10, Oswego Center; 11, Thompson; 12, Southwest Oswego; 13, Ball; 14, Hall; 15, Bunker Hill.

Supervisors’ statistics of 1894: Assessed valuation of real estate, $892,882. equalized, $1,098,329; personal property, $25,950; value of railroads, $14.14 miles, $129,054; total valuation of town, $1, 124,279; town tax, $2,539.51; county tax, $6,295.96; total tax levy, $11,180.81 ; dog tax, $84; ratio of tax on $100, $1.22. The town has two election districts, in which 573 votes were cast in November, 1894.

Minetto is a post village on the Oswego River and a station on the D., L. & W. Railroad about four miles above Oswego city. It is pleasantly situated in the midst of picturesque scenery, and has acquired some prominence as a local summer resort. It occupies lot 29 The first tavern was opened in the place as early as 1820 by Mrs. Betsey Pease, and among the early settlers on the site were Messrs. Pease, Forbes, and Everts. About 1832 Samuel Taggart built a grist mill here, which was long since discontinued. Among the old-time merchants were Henry Fitchard and A. Oot. At one time a large saw mill was operated here. It stood on the site of the shade cloth factory and had a capacity of 20,000 feet of lumber every twenty-four hours. The postmaster is John R. Chase, who succeeded Dr. Ira L. Jones in April, 1894. The chief industry of the village now is that of the Minetto Shade Cloth Company, which was started in the fall of 1879 by the present proprietors, A. S. Page, C. B. Benson, and Charles Tremain. From 250 to 350 operatives are employed, and window shades and shade rollers are manufactured. The village contains two hotels and about 300 inhabitants.

Fruit Valley, formerly and still locally known as Union Village, a name given it by Asa Rice, the first settler of the town, is a postal hamlet on lot 2, near the lake shore, and was the scene of many of the first happenings in Oswego, as already narrated. A small tannery was built and operated there by a Mr. Nelson at a very early day, and about 1825 Wiliet R. Willis erected a cloth-dressing establishment on the same lot. The first merchant was a Mrs. Neland, from Massachusetts, and the first tavern was opened in a log house by Lemuel Austin about 1810. He was succeeded by William Lewis, and the latter about 1813 by Jacob Raynor. The first carpenter was Chester Brace, and the first blacksmith was Arthur Brace. The first physician was Dr. Coe, and the first mail carrier was Mills Brace, the post-office at that time and for many years afterward bearing the name of Union Village. B B. Bradway was a long-time merchant and also had a cider mill. The present postmaster is E. Newell, who succeeded Louisa E. Bradway.

South West Oswego is a postal village in the southwestern part of the town. The first house, a log structure, was built there in 1820; the first blacksmith shop was opened by Stephen Cobb about 1833; and the first store was kept by Asa Watson about 1844. The present postmaster is Charles M. Barstow. The place contains two churches, the usual complement of stores and shops, and about 300 inhabitants.

Oswego Center is a postal hamlet situated north of the R., W. & 0. Railroad near the center of the town. It is located on lot 13 and for many years was familiarly, known as Fitch’s Corners. The present merchant and postmaster is Charles A. Fish, who has held the office
several years. A former postmaster and merchant was William C. Marsh. Frank Smith formerly had a tavern there. About half a mile northwest of the place is the cider refinery of James A. Griffin, who started it as a cider mill in 1862.

Burt’s Point, owned by George N. Burt, of Oswego, is an attractive summer resort on the lake shore about three miles west of Oswego city, with which it is connected by an electric street railroad. The hotel there was burned August JO, 1894, and is being rebuilt. The place contains a number of summer cottages.

Churches.— From 1811 to 1813 two sermons were preached at Union Village, one by Rev. Roswell Beckwith, a Baptist and an uncle of Mrs. Jesse Gray, and one by a Methodist itinerant named Gillett. Subsequently classes were formed and occasional services held in convenient places, but during the earlier years the inhabitants worshiped in Oswego village and city and in Fulton

The Methodist Episcopal church of Minetto was organized as the First Society of the M. E. church of the town of Oswego at the Dennis school house on November 15, 1848, with Daniel Scott, Abraham Fort, Mynard Grooesbeck, Le Roy Burt, and Robert Fulford as trustees. Rev. M. H. Gaylord and Samuel L. Lent presided, and among the constituent members were:

Mynard and Phoebe Grooesbeck, George and Betsey Burch, Samuel and Catherine Lent, Perry and Myra Chase, John and Eleanor Myers, Robert and Sarah Fulford, Caroline Armstrong, Miss Everts, Sally Dennis, Caroline Brown, Dibby Rheubottom, and Harry Miller and wife.

Mr. Miller was the first class-leader in this vicinity. In 1849 a church edifice was erected at a cost of $700, and dedicated inthe fall of that year by Rev. Hiram Mattison. In 1892 this building was replaced by the present neat frame structure, which cost about $3,000 and was dedicated early in 1893, being built during the pastorate of Rev. Mr. CulHgan. The society also owns a frame parsonage, which was purchased in the fall of 1894 for $1,500. There are about ninety members under the pastoral charge of Rev. Jesse F. Rathbun. The first superintendent of the Sunday school was Jonathan Buel; the present incumbent is Frank Parkhurst. The entire church property is valued at $8,000.

The Baptist church of South West Oswego was formed in 1839, among the earlier members being C. G. Park, William Curtis, Stephen Cagg, Mrs. C. Dunsmore, Mrs. Newell, and a Mr. Merwin. The first stationed pastor was Rev. Edward Lawton and the early services were held in a wooden building fitted up for the purpose. In 1854 a frame church edifice was built, and two years later the first Sunday school was organized with John B. McLean as superintendent, who was succeeded by John D. Andrews. Among the early pastors were Revs. H. Powers, Isaac Butterfield, Morley, Parkhurst, William C. Corbin, and W. C. Johnson. The present pastor is Rev. A. H. Sutphin. Miss Mattie Pasko is superintendent of the Sunday school, which has about 100 officers and scholars. The society has some eighty-five members and property valued at $4,000.

The First Methodist Episcopal church of South West Oswego was organized from the Oswego Center circuit on December 9, 1872, with the following trustees: Vincent Sabin, James Wiltse, John A. Taylor, E. A. Carnrite, Benjamin P. Dutcher, 0. Barstow, and William E. Stevens. The Oswego Center circuit was set off in 1859 and meetings were held at Oswego Center and Minetto. Among the early ministers in charge were Revs. R. L. Frazier, George Plank, A. Shaw, D. Furgeson, A. J. Cotrell, F. A. O’Farrell, George C. Wood, Charles E. Beebe, W. F. Purrington, and others. A brick church was erected in 1873 under the supervision of P. M Schoonmaker, and cost complete $3,600. It was dedicated February 4, 1874, by Rev. B. F. Barker, P. E. In the latter year a Sunday school was organized with 0. Barstow as superintendent. In 1892 a frame church was built at Oswego Center at a cost of about $2,300, including lot and furnishings, and dedicated in December of that year. The society also owns a frame parsonage. There is also an M. E. church, a frame structure, located at what is known as Town Line. All three are in the Oswego Center charge, under the pastoral care of Rev. George F. Shepherd, and have a combined membership of about 140 and property valued at $10,000.

Services of the Methodist Protestant denomination are held at the Thompson school house, the pastor being Rev. Charles Hessler.

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