Our County and It's People

Chapter 50

Town of Western
 

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      This town is situated north of the center of Oneida county, and contained within its territory a part of the Fonda patent of 40,000 acres, which was purchased of Jelles Fonda, the patentee, by John Lansing, jr., George Clinton, William Floyd, and Stephen Lush, and also part of the Oothoudt, Banyar and Machin patents, as shown on the map in this volume. The town is well watered by the Mohawk, the Lansing Kill, Stinger's Creek Big Brook and other small streams. Aside from the valley of the Mohawk and small tracts on some of the other streams, the surface of the town is very hilly. The soil of the valley is a fertile alluvium, which is very productive, while on the highlands it is loam and very stony in places, but good for grains and grazing.

      The town of Western was settled several years before it was set off from Steuben, and the pioneers were much hampered, as they were in other localities, through their inability to buy and secure permanent titles to the land. The patentees adopted the pernicious plan of leasing the land either in perpetuity of for their lives, receiving certain annual rents.

      Western was erected from Steuben, March 10, 1797. It then included what is now the town of Lee, which was set off in 1811. The first town meeting was held at the house of E. (probably Ezekiel) Sheldon, on the 4th day of April, 1797, and the following officers were elected:

            Supervisor, John H all;
            town clerk, George Brayton;
            assessors, Asa Beckwith, jr., Daniel Spinning, Charles Offord;
            collector, William Satchell;
            poor masters, Joshua Wells, Nathan Barlow;
            commissioners of highways, John West, Daniel Reynolds, Daniel Eames;
      constables, William Satchell, Richard Smith;

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            fence viewers: Lemuel Beckwith, Ezekiel Cleveland, Martin Miller;
            pound master, Jonathan Swan;
      commissioners of schools, Isaac Aldin, Edward S. Salisbury, Jonathan Swan.

      The supervisors of this town since 1798 have been the following persons:

DATE         SUPERVISOR              DATE         SUPERVISOR
1798-99      John Hall                      1872-73     Joseph French
1800-24      Henry Wager, esq.       1874-75     Ephraim Dillenbeck
1825-31      Benjamin Rudd             1876-77     Joseph French
1832-33      Aaron Comstock           1878         J.V. Gue
1834          Hervey Brayton             1879-80     Seymour Jones
1835-39      David Utley                  1881-82     Frank White
1840          Henry Wager, jr.           1883-84     John O. Jones
1841-48      David Utley                  1885         Seth Cornish
1849-51      George Hawkins          1886-87     R.H. Hews
1852-54      Griffith W. Jones          1888-89     W.F. Pillmore
1855-57      John Hawkins              1890         D.E. Dillenbeck
1858-60      Squire Utley                 1891         W.C. Merrick
1861-62      Squire W. Hill              1892         D.E. Dillenbeck
1863-69      Nathaniel D. Bronson   1893         William F. Pillmore
1870          Joseph French             1894-96     Frank Floyd
1871          Nathaniel D. Bronson

      This list contains the names of several pioneers. The first permanent settlers in the town were Asa Beckwith and his four sons, Asa, jr., Reuben, Wolcott and Samuel. They located on the Mohawk River and were the first settlers in this county north of the Mohawk, their nearest neighbors being for some time at Fort Stanwix. But they were not long alone. The fertile lands along the Mohawk were attractive and other settlers came in rapidly. Henry Wager followed closely upon the first settlers and became a prominent citizen; held the office of supervisor twenty four years, and was otherwise honored by his townsmen. George Brayton and Jonathan Swan (the latter an uncle of Gustavus Swan, now of Westernville), settled on the site of the village of Westernville, and opened the first store in town, on the site where mercantile business has been carried on ever since. Mr. Swan afterwards removed to Aurora, N.Y., and the Braytons continued in business, as described further on.

      David Utley was the first permanent settler on the site of North Western (three miles north of Westernville), where he purchased 200 acres of land about 1795. It was the farm afterwards occupied by his son, Squire Utley. (See biography in this volume.) A man named John Clear had squatted on a part of this farm about a year before Mr. Utley came in. He had no title and Mr. Utley permitted him to retain, and remain on, fifty acres of land, so that he might get a start, and at a later date Mr. Utley purchased the land back from him.

      Jonathan Waldo built a saw mill here in 1800 and a little settlement gathered

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      about. One of the earliest settlers in the Hillside section (now Leila post office) was a Mr. Gillett; and David Sweet settled there at an early day, and kept a tavern in 1805-06.

      In the neighborhood known as Frenchville, between Westernville and North Western, the first settlers were Jonah and Hezekiah Wells, father and son, who located prior to 1795. The neighborhood took its name from a family named French who settled there; among them was David French.

      David Hill settled in Western about 1800, bought a farm, and took part in the war of 1812 at Sackett's Harbor. His son, Henry R . Hill, was born in Western, February 11, 1814, and became a prominent citizen, and operated the third cheese factory in Oneida county.

      Levi White, with his son Otis, came into Oneida county from Connecticut in 1795. Moses Y. White, son of Otis, was born in Western in 1796, and passed a long and useful life there; he was a deacon of the Presbyterian church for twenty years.

      The Halleck (formerly Hallock) family has been prominent in the town of Western. The ancestor of the family was Peter Hallock, who emigrated from England to New Haven, Conn., in 1640. Deacon Jabez Halleck (spelled with an "e") was born on Long Island in March, 1761. Through the influence of General Floyd, he settled in Western in 1799. He was one of the founders of the Presbyterian church in Westernville in 1818, and lived to the great age of 102 years, dying September 17, 1863.

      Joseph Halleck was the oldest son of Deacon Jabez, and came to Oneida county with his father. He married Catherine, daughter of Henry Wager, the pioneer, and they had thirteen children. He served as lieutenant in the war of 1812, served as magistrate thirty years, and was member of assembly in 1841. He died June 22, 1857. Among their children was Henry Wager Halleck, the distinguished general in the Civil war, who was born in Western, January 16, 1814. He attended Union College and in 1835 went to West Point Military School, where he graduated in 1839. His later career in the service of the government is familiar. At the out break of the Rebellion he was appointed major general, and placed in command of the Western Department. In July, 1862, he was appointed general in chief of the

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      United States army, succeeding General McClellan. He served in that capacity until March, 1864. In April, 1865, he was placed in command of the Military Department of the James, with headquarters at Richmond. The following August he was transferred to the Pacific coast and in March, 1868, to Louisville, where he died January 9, 1872.

      Gen. William Floyd, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and a large land owner in Western, settled here in 1803. He was born in Long Island, December 17, 1734. He was a member of the Provincial Assembly, and in 1774 he was elected senator. In October, 1778, he was elected member of congress by the State Legislature and reappointed in 1789. The British victory on Long Island caused the family to flee to Connecticut, where they remained nearly seven years. He was of course a conspicuous figure in the early history of the town, and many anecdotes are preserved in the Jones Annals and elsewhere of his career. He died August 24, 1821.

      William Floyd, grandson of the general, was born in New York city and removed to Western in 1816, where he attended to his grandfather's affairs until the death of the latter. He was for a time in a store at Westernville, and passed the remainder of his long life there. General Floyd built a large frame house in extensive grounds, which was completed in 1804, and is still in good condition, and now occupied by Julia Floyd, daughter of the grandson of the general.

      Other early settlers of this town were John Hall, Benjamin Rudd, Arnon Comstock, David Brill, Jepth Brainard, Chester W. and Joel Porter.

      Westernville is the principal village in this town. Mercantile business was carried on here, succeeding the old firm of Brayton & Swan, by H.M. & G. Brayton, sons of the Hon. George Brayton. This was for many years the only store of note between Rome and Boonville. Brayton & Ely were later merchants on that site, the latter of whom (Erastus Ely) is still living. Still later the establishment was conducted as a union store, and is now occupied by Thomas R. Rees. A second store is kept by John O. Jones & Son.

      The hotel at the lower end of the village, on the site of a still earlier one, was rebuilt by George Hawkins, who had then kept it for some years. After his

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      death, it was kept for a time by his widow. It is now in the hands of T.L. Crill. The Westernville Hotel at the upper end of the village has been kept for sixteen years by Charles Bork, who succeeded Charles Wentworth, son of Eliphalet Wentworth, who had also kept it. The post office was established as early as 1812, with George Brayton, post master. He officiated a long time, and his sons, Henry and Milton, were also in charge of the office in later periods.

      The little village of North Western was partially, at least, an out growth of the Black River Canal, although a small hamlet had gathered about the grist mill and saw mill of Jonathan Waldo already described. The present mill is on the site of the former one, and was built about 1840 by Paul Macomber. It is now operated by Thomas Candee. Abram Horton runs a saw mill which is owned by John O. Jones, and another is operated by Jerome V. Gue, who has also manufactured cheese boxes, etc. While the canal was being constructed, one of the Bissells of Rome opened a small store here for the benefit of the laborers. David Brill kept the first store of importance. He settled on a farm in 1831, managed the second cheese dairy in town, the first one having been owned by Robert Michel. Mr. Brill eventually purchased most of the land formerly owned by David Utley (including the village site), moved upon it in 1844, and laid out village streets. He also built the Half Way House about 1850, the first hotel in the village, which was subsequently burned. In the same year Ira Waldo built the Northern Hotel. Charles Wauful is the present landlord, two other small houses are kept here. A tannery was in existence many years ago, but it was abandoned and burned.

      The neighborhood called Frenchville had a shoe peg factory and a saw mill in former years, established by a man named French; but at the present time no business of any kind is carried on here.

      Hillside (now the post office of Leila) is situated on the Mohawk above North Western. The grist mill which has existed here many years is now a part of the estate of Michael Hogan who previously operated it. A store is kept by Walter Cummings. There are two other post offices in the town - Big Brook and Dun Brook.

      What was possibly the first regular school in the town was taught in Westernville at about the beginning of the century. AS early as 1805-06 Amy

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      Williams taught here in a frame school house. A change was made in the district and later school was taught near the residence of Henry Wager. Westernville village is now Union Free School District No. 12, the principal of which is Harmon Van Arman; he has one assistant.

      Among the prominent farmers of this town past and present, may be mentioned: Henry Wager, Francis and Stewart Van Dresar, sons of Ezra Van Dresar, John W. Harris, Samuel Aukin, S.M. Nisbet, son of Robert Nisbet, John Warcup, James Boyd, James Olney, Asa Beckwith, David and Lemuel French, Asa Carmichael and the Wells family. Under the management of the many excellent farmers of this town, the dairying interest has in recent years, become a prominent industry. At the present time there are four cheese factories in operation.

      In the old cemetery in the rear of the Presbyterian church at Westernville, among the many memorials of the dead are those bearing the records of the following:

            William Martindale of Petersham, Mass., came to Oneida County in 1817; died Feb. 12, 1870, aged 92. Lydia, his wife, died Jan. 12, 1851, aged 74.

            Henry Wager, died Aug. 9, 1840, aged 76. "He was one of the first settlers of this county, having lived on the farm where he died over fifty years." Inscription.
            Letitia, his wife, died March 29, 1839, aged 74.

            John Hawkins, died - 1810, aged 40. Bridget, his wife, died March 19, 1853, aged 71.

            Joseph Halleck, Esq., died June 23, 1857, aged 73. "The above Joseph Halleck, son of Jabez Halleck, and grandson of Major Peter Halleck, of Southold,
            Long Island, N.Y., was born at Southold, October 16, 1784, and emigrated to Oneida County, with his father, in the fourteenth year of his age." Inscription.
            Catherine Wager, his wife, died Feb. 20, 1868, aged 73.

            Rev. John Arnold, died April 24, 1872, aged 91.

            Deacon Jabez Halleck, died Sept. 17, 1863, aged 103. Sarah, his wife, died Nov. 29, 1834, aged 72. Rebecca, his wife, died April 10, 1861, aged 89.

            Jabez Halleck, jr., died Aug. 20, 1873, aged 74. Achsa, his wife, died Feb. 21, 1841, aged 42.

            Joseph Parke, died Feb. 6, 1833, aged 87.

            William Cleveland, died July 24, 1833, aged 67. Elizabeth, his wife, died Nov. 8, 1832, aged 61.

            Ezra Clark, died Aug. 21, 1867, aged 84. Lydia Parke, his wife, died Feb. 21, 1862, aged 73.

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            Jacob Wiggins, died Sept. 30, 1839, aged 79. Freelove, his wife, died June 8, 1827, aged 56.

            John Smith, died Sept. 14, 1873, aged 91. Mary, his wife, died Oct. 5, 1849, aged 62.

            David Hill, died July 11, 1856, aged 77. Laura, his wife, died Dec. 30, 1866, aged 78.

            Orange Hayden, died July 31, 1872, aged 79. Polly, his wife, died Aug. 31, 1849, aged 56.

            Ephraim Potter, died Aug. 16, 1832, aged 72. Elizabeth, his wife, died April 29, 1830, aged 66.

            John Paddock, died Dec. 28, 1866, aged 82. Polly, his wife, died April 21, 1840, aged 52.

            David Fanning, died June 17, 1826, aged 49. Elizabeth, his wife, died May 24, 1830, aged 58.

            James Boyd, died Sept. 2, 1870, aged 90. Mahetable, his wife, died March 21, 1833, aged 50.

            John Ely, native of New Jersey, died April 14, 1842, aged 66.

            George Brayton, died march 5, 1837, aged 65. Sarah, his wife, died May 8, 1841, aged 64.

            John Swan, died June 12, 1849, aged 82. Mary, his wife, died Jan. 26, 1859, aged 86.

            John Harris, who was an elder in the Presbyterian church from 1826, died August 10, 1860, aged 75.

            James Olney, died Feb. 22, 1862, aged 78. Lucy, his wife, died June 4, 1876, aged 86.

            William Olney, esq., died Dec. 22, 1846, aged 90. Mary, his wife, died Dec. 13, 1818, aged 57.

            Aaron Ismond, died April 7, 1813, aged 51.

            Nathaniel Turner, died June 8, 1830, aged 84. Mary, his wife, died Sept. 23, 1826, aged 78.

            Seth Church, died Dec. 20, 1852, aged 73. Clarissa, his wife, died Dec. 28, 1850, aged 65.

            Ruth Park, died May 6, 1873, aged 93.

      The first religious organization in the town of Western, was formed in 1798 by the Baptist denomination, with about sixty members. It was in existence many years, but never had a regular pastor, and finally became extinct.

      Succeeding this organization the Methodists formed a society and have established several churches. Two of these were near "Big Brook" post office, each with a small membership. The Methodist Episcopal church at North Western was built about 1839, the organization of the society having taken place at the same time.

      At Westernville a Methodist church was built about 1855, which was extensively

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      improved within a few years past. It has maintained a progress of interest.

      A Welsh Methodist society was formed in the northwestern corner of the town in early years and a frame church was built in 1877.

      The Presbyterian society in Westernville was incorporated in 1818, the organization having been effected on August 15 of that year. The old Union church built in 1817 had then a large debt laying over it, and the property including the old cemetery in the rear was purchased by George Brayton, who deeded it to the society. That church has been in use ever since, but has undergone extensive changes, remodeling and other improvements. The original membership of this society was fifteen. For three quarters of a century past this society has had a prosperous existence.
 
 

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