F 129 1 .S61 S7 Copy 1 PUBLICATIONS OF THE SCOTTSVILLB LITERARY SOCIETY. No. 3. THE FIRST HOUSES IN SCOTTSVILLE. BY aSORaS E. SLOCUM. SCOTTBVILLE, N. Y. Isaac Van Hoosbr. Priktbr. 1904. PUBLICATIONS SCOTTSVILLE LITERAEY SOCIETY. No. 3. THE FIRST HOUSES IN SCOTTSVILLE. BY GEOEGE E. SLOCUM. SCOTTSVILLE, N. Y. Isaac Van Hooser. Pr:nter. 1904. Edition Limited to 100 Copies. This copy is Ao. .^^<..•• ERRATA. Page 5. Filth line from battom, 1867 should be 1851. ' ';/! Page 7. Second line from 'toji. Jack should be Jacob. Page 11. I-'ifth line from toj), avacations .should be avocations. Gift Publislier THE FIRST HOUSES IN SCOTTSVILLE THE BUILDERS AND THEIR FAMILIES. BY George E. Slocum. Read before the Scottsville Literary Society, Dec. 1, 1902. The first human habitation erected by a white man, in this vicinity, was the cabin of Ebenezer Allan; or as he was better known by his sobricjuet " Indian Allan." It was located on the flats, between the village and the river, up- on a slight rise of ground some twenty rods north of the Oatka, and about one hundred west of the Genesee. It was built in 1786; and with the exception of a log fort erected by the French at the mouth of the Niagara, and a rude strtictvire at the same place to shelter the Jesuit Mis- sionaries of France, it was the tirst dwelling between the Genesee and Niagara rivers. Upon the arrival of the Sheffer family in the fall of 1789, they found this cabin occupied by Allan, his Indian wife Sally, two half breed daughters, Mary and Chloe, and a white woman known as Lucy Chapman, whom Allan had induced to take a half interest in his marital affairs. His sister, the wife of Christopher Dugan, a lady ofculture and refinement, having availed herself of the educational ad- vantages of her New jersey liome, was also, temporarily, a member of his household. .\llan was a tory refugee of the American revolution, a man of fort3' five or more years of age; tall and erect; alert, and energetic in action. He was at times locpiacious, at others, morose and uncomnuinicative; a man of strong passions, and when angry was vindictive and cruel. He seemed possessed of an insane ])assion for matrimony, and instead of adopting the more discreet policy of (lisi)()sing of number one Ijcfore installing number two, he had the temerity of domiciling beneath his roof, three wives of as many dift'erent races, at the same ])eriod of time. If the object of marriage be a life of |)cace, then his ex])erinKin nnisl be recorded a faihu'e. Allan was engaged in agriculture, in stock raising, and as an Indian trader. The Sheffers were seeking a location for a home; were ])leased with the exhibition of the jirod- ucts of .Mian's farm, and with the tine a])pcarance of his herd of cattle. .Mian was willing to sell. .\ bargain was ipiickly consumated, and the property ot .\llan, real and person.al, was transferred to Shefl'er. The two families jointly, occnjjied the cabin during tlu- winter of 1 7Si); and in the spring of 1790, .Mian removed to the falls of Gene- see, where he erected a rude saw. and grist mill, that have since become famous in the annals of Rochester. Remain- ing at the Falls two or three years he returned to Mount Alorris; duringthe closing years of the eighteenth centur\', he removed to Canada West, and died there in 1814. The Sheffer family were from eastern Pennsylvania, and consisted of but three members; an aged father, long pass- ed the period alloted as the life of man; and two sons, Peter Jr., aged twenty eight years, and his brother Jacob, four 3^ears \'Ottnger. In the spring of 1 790 the younger Peter Sheffer made the acquaintance of Miss Elizabeth Schoonover, whose father had just settled at Dugan's Creek, and before the summer passed he had induced Miss Schoonover to become Mrs. Peter Sheffer, Jr., and she was duly installed as mistress of the Allan cabin. Peter Sheffer, Jr., occupied this dwelling for nearly ten years; during which time his father and his brother Jacob died; and during this time four of his family of eleven chil- dren were born. In the spring of 1799 Sheffer had the tim- ber prepared, and the frame raised that form a portion of the residence now occvipied by Mrs. Thomas Brown. This was the tirst frame dwelling west of the Genesee. Sheffer resided in this house inore than half a centurv, passing away in ISSff aged eighty nine3^ears. He has left numerous decendents of the third and fourth generation in Wheat- land and Chili. He was a man of integrity, and was kind hearted. Possessing more than an ordinary share of this worlds goods, he was enabled to assist those less favored, in getting a start in tlieir new homes. Sheft'er was of German descent, inheriting the })eenliarities charac- teristic of that race. He was no Genins, the blood coursed sluggishly through his veins. Patient, jxTsistent, plod- ding, he accomplished as much; and was better fitted for the sphere in life he was called to till, than would have been a man of more brilliant parts, or of a liiglur nervous temperament. It has ])een said thai the .\nieriean jjcople are a migra- tory race, without an abiding home, ever on the move, but in the Shcffer house we have a dwelling the age of which dates back more than a century that has never shel- tered but two families. This long continued occu])ancy of a home, uncommon as it is, yet is exceeded in the case ol the Edson homestead; and in that of our townsman Dan- iel E. Rogers, who at the age of ninety two years, is still living U])on the farm on which he was born, and u])on which he has ever resided. The fu'st dwelling erected in the village pro])er was l)uilt in 1791 by Isaac Scott from whom the villagederives its name. It was situated on the south sideof Main street upon the site now occupied by the SalVerds l)loek. .\t first this house was not of the dimensions it afterward at- tained, but was added to as occasion called for moreroom. .\t one time Cyrus Douglass lived in a ])art of the liou.se, and had charge of his father-in-laws" estate, .\bout the the year ISOl , this dwelling was ()])ened as a house of ]jublic' entertainment; kept at lirsL liv Seott, and afterward b^^ his son JaelSU>. The following discription has hecii L;iven of the " Scott Hotel:" viewed from the north, it a])peared as a dou])le, one and a half story log house; on the first floor were two large square rooms, with sleeping lofts above; the base- ment, which was lighted from the east and south sides contained the kitchen and dining room. Scott, at the time of his settlement liere was past middle age, with a family of grown children; two of his daughters married brothers b\^ the name of Douglass, one married Jesse Beach, a prominent resident of the village; another married Mr. Davis a hotel-keej^er on the State road, one mile east of Leroy. Davis was murdered in his own house 1)3' James Gray, who was intoxicated. Gray was convicted and executed at Batavia in 1S27. Scott died in the village in l.SlS. his wife survived him fourteen years. Hinds Chamberlain, a brother of Mrs. Scott, and the Beaches i^emoved to Leroy, Genesee County; and the Douglasses to the new state of Indiana. The first frame house erected in the village is still in ex- istence, and still used as a dwelling. It originally stood upon the brow.of the hill, in the rear of the lot now owned and occupied by Mrs. Martha Woodgate. It was a one and a half story frame, built by Dr. .\ugustus Bristol in 1812, over ninety \'ears ago. Tliis house was occui)ied by the doctor for many years, and afterward l)y various fam- ilies, down to ISGO, when llie ])roi)erty eanie into the pos- session of Alexander Paul who bnilt the block now on the front of the lot, and removed the Bristol house to the rear of the new, and it now forms the kitchen part of Mrs. Woodgate's residence. Dr. Bristol and his wife were from Connecticut, coming here in the prime of life, in l.sll. They had but two chil- dren, a son, Ives; and a daughter Paulina, who became the wife Henry Vosburg. The doctor dietl in l.StJL'. His wife, a most iimiable wo- man, retained her cheerful disposition, her kindness of heart, her interest in young ])eople; and her industrious habits to the very latest; ])assing away in IST'J. in ihc ninety fourth year of her age. The oldest frame house in the village, thjit has not l)een changed past all recognition, is the small house next west of the Cargill Hotel. This has been remodeled internally; but its outward a])])earanee remains ]3ractically unchaug- ed. It was built bv Abram Ilantord in 1S14, and occui)ied - A ' l)\- him as a family residence for some years. In the early twenties he built the two story frame house on the south side of Main Street, now used by L. M. Slocum as a \vare- house. Mr. llanlord occupied his new dwelling lur nearly a score of years, after which it was used ;is the i)arsonage of the Presbyterian Church, and as such was occupied by Rev. L. W. Billington, and Rev. Milton Butolph; since then the use to which this building has been converted, are many and various. Mr. Hanford had a family of six children, one son and five daughters. In 1820 his boy, a little fellow of four \'ears, fell from the bridge then in process of erection over Oatka creek and was drowned; one daughter died in child- hood, the others became the wives of William Wisner; Freeman Edson; Osb^rn Filer; and Ira Carpenter. Mr. Hanford was the first person engaged in selling goods in the village; opening a store for that purpose in 1813 upon the site now occupied by the Keys Brothers, he was after- ward engaged in millmg; and in several other branches of trade. He died while upon a business trip to Michigan in 1845. Dr. Freeman Edson came to the village a single man. After he had decided to make this his future home, he made preparations for the construction of a dwelling house, and in 1816 he erected the present frame, with its present di- mensions, upon the lot, so long and so familiarly known. Upon its completion, he journeyed to his native state, and upon his return brought Miss Judith Mason, as a bride, to share with him his new house and home. As first constructed the outward dress of this hou.se, was a plainer garb than the one that now adorns it. In the early forties the cornice, the casings, the corner boards 10 and the front entrance were made to conform to the style of building then in vogue; since which time, a period of sixty years, its outward appearance has remained iinchang- ed. The doctor was thrice married; his second wife was a daughter of Abram Hanford, and his last was Mrs. Lewis Goodrich. Of his four children, Mrs. Finnej^ of Kansas, and Dr. Hanford A. Edson of our village, are the only survivors. The doctor after an vininterrupted practice of his profes- sion for more than three score 3'-ears, passed to his final rest in June, 1883, in the ninety second year of his age. In the presence of those who knew him as well as did all the older members of this Society, it seems unnecessary to speak of his character or career. Of him suffice it to say, that the cavise of religion, of education, of emancipation, of temperance, and ever^^ effort, the tendency of which was to elevate and improve the condition of man, found in the Doctor an earnest and zealous advocate. Wm. Havnes Hanford like his brother Abram, was an A energetic builder, not only of dwellings, but of business blocks. Of the latter, was the front half of the Williams and Dunn's store; and the south east part of the Garbutt block, now occupied by Joseph Brown. In 1817 he erected, and for six or more years occuj^ed the frame house that was demolished ten years ago to make room for Windoni Hall. In the twenties, he liuilt 11 the brick house west of the Catholic Church, later known as the Starke_v House. This was his family residence for some 3^ears. Mr. Hanford was himself a carpenter and worked at house building. He was also a merchant, and among his other avfications was that of farming. He withdrew from active pursuits a few years before his death, which occurred in 1875, in the eighty second year of his age. Mr. Hanford had a family of three children, Wm. H. Jr., of Olean, Joseph who died many years ago, and a daughter, who became the wife of Judge David K. Cartter of Wash- ington, D. C. Judge Powel Carpenter come from Westchester Co. in in 1804, and located upon the farm now occupied liy Elon L. Galusha. He at first built a log house, and after a few years a larger frame one, a portion of that now on the place. In 1820 he built the south east corner of what is now the Cargill House. This was a two story structure 20 X 40 feet, occupying about one fourth of the space now covered by the hotel. Carpenter kept this house a few years, and was succeeded by his son Ezra. Before Carpen- ter left the hotel an addition of the same dimensions was added on the north, thus making a building fort}^ feet square. The large addition upon the west was built by E. T. Miller in 1851. When the premises came into the posses- sion of the present proprietor a story was added to the 12 corner lilock, inakin.!^ it n three story structure. In 1.S30 Mr. Carjx-nter ])uill llie hriek mill, tliat was destroyed by Hre in 1S7S. When CarjK'iiter removed from the hotel he took i)os- session of the Hanford house where Windom Hall now stands, and this was his family residence until his death in 1853. His wife survived him five years. They had a family often children, all sons; two of whom died in child- hood, the others reached maturity; some of them to old age. Judge Carjjcntcr was a generous, jniblic s])irited man. He enjoyed and deservedly so, the confidence and res])eet of his fcllowinen. The cobble stone dwelling recently remodeled by Mr. Horton, and the cobble stone store now occuiiied l)y Keys Brothers were built by Osburn Filer, who succeeded his father-in-law, Abram Hanford, in the sale of merchan- dise. The early brick dwellings in the village; as well as many of the brick farm houses in the eastern i)art ot" the town, were built in the decade from 1S22 to 1832, with bricks that were manufactured in the village. These houses were of similar design, all built with I)attlements at the end. These, in ihc process of time, have been removed and cornices put in their ])lacc, thus modernizing their ai)pcar- anee to some e.\tent. The m;inncr in which the walls of these houses have resisted the ravages of time, show 13 that the material and workmanship alike were good. The cement that joined the brick has become almost as hard and impenetrable as the brick itself. The mason who laid the walls of most of the early brick hovises was Ed- ward Collins. Daniel P. Hammond was master mechanic in the same line, at a later period. The last specimen of Hammond's handicraft in the village being the Parsonage of the Presbyterian church, erected in 1854. LIBRfiRY OF CONGRESS , iiiiilliillliliilllilliillllilillilllilllillli 014 224 519 P ^