HISTORY
OF
CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY
NEW YORK
FROM ITS FIRST SETTLEMENT TO THE PRESENT TIME
WITH NUMEROUS
BIOGRAPHICAL AND FAMILY SKETCHES
By ANDREW W. YOUNG
AUTHOR OF SCIENCE OF GOVERNMENT – AMERICAN STATESMAN – NATIONAL ECONOMY – ETC.
EMBELISHED WITH UPWARDS OR ONE HUNDRED PORTRAITS OF CITIZENS
BUFFALO, N. Y.
PRINTING HOUSE OF MATTEWS & WARREN
1875
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PORTLAND was formed from Chautauqua, April 9, 1813. The bounds, as
described in the act, are precisely those which include the present towns of
Portland, Westfield and Ripley. So rapid was the increase of the population in
this part of the county, that, for the more convenient transaction of business,
division of the town became necessary; and, by an act of the legislature passed
March 1, 1816 the town of Ripley was erected, comprising all territory lying
west of Chautauqua creek. In 1829, the town of Westfield was formed with its
present boundaries, restricting Portland within the east and west lines of range
13, and reducing its area a little below that of an average township.... |
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Original Land Purchases in Portland, Township 5.
1804. May, James Dunn. 25, 30, 31, 34, 35.
1806. June, Benj. Hutchins, 37, 41. July, David Eaton, 37. Nathan
Fay, 25. Elisha Fay, '5. October, Peter Kane, 38.
1806. February, Thomas Klumph, 37, 41.
1809. June, Rufus Perry. 33. July, John Price, 39. Peter Ingersoll, 41.
October, Philo Hopson, 27, 33. November, Jeremiah Klumph, 19. Dec.,
Martin Potter, 12. Robert Sweet, 21.
1810. February, Absalom Harris, 33; [sold to Jeremiah Potter.] Rachel
Perry, 33. March, Daniel Barnes, 3, 4 . June, Nathan Fay, 12.
1911. May, Elijah Fay, 20. July, William Hutchins, 41.
1813. December, Hollis Fay, 13.
32
[page 498]
1814. September, John R. Gibson, 13. November, Roe Goldsmith, 5, 6.
1815. April, Moses Sage. 2, 6, 4, I4, 21. Jethro Gerry, 32.
1816. January, Augustus Soper, I2. February, Wm. Corell, 36. May,
Samuel Geer, 8. July, Wm. Dunham, 27. Calvin Barnes, 32. Isaac Bald-
win, 36. October, Solomon Coney, 42. Lewis Hills, 3. Elijah Fay, 42.
1817. March, Oliver Spafford, 22. Simon Burton, 22. Elijah Fay, 40.
Jacob Houghton, 7. April, Seth Ensign, 32. Gillett Bacon, 40. May.
Isaac Baldwin, 40. June, Martin Smith, 45. July, Asa Brooks, 2. Jewett
Prime, 16. September, Zadoc Martin, 2, 3..........
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The first settler in Portland was James Dunn from near Meadville. The date
of his purchase, as appears from Holland Company's books, is May 31, 1804,
although it is said he did not settle on his land till 1805. Dr. Taylor says, "he
located about eleven hundred acres near the center of the town, in 1804, before
the town was surveyed into lots." From the list of original
[page 499]
purchases, given on a preceding page, it appears that the lots he selected were
25, 30, 31, 34 and 35. As five whole lots would greatly, exceed 1,100 acres, it
is evident that only parts of some of these were taken. ....
It is believed no other person settled in the town before 1806....
[page 501]
Portland, like almost all other towns, has had its cider-mills and distilleries.
Of the former, two are mentioned; the first, built by Calvin Barnes, in 1824 the
second, by Dea. Elijah Fay, at Brocton, in 1830, which is still standing. The
great change in the drinking custom has rendered mills of this class nearly
useless. A single one in each town, confined to its proper use, would hardly be
deemed a nuisance. Three distilleries have been built in the town. The first, by
Ethan A. Owen, in 1817; the second, by Simeon Whitcomb and Orris Perkins,
in 1819; the third, by Silas Houghton, in 1824 or 1825, near the falls in
Slippery Rock creek. It is creditable to the town to state, that all of them were
short lived; and that the first two are represented as "small affairs."...
[page 504]
Portland has attained a high rank among the towns of the county in
fruit-growing and grape culture. Capt. Dunn, David Eaton, the Fays, and other
early settlers, set out orchards as soon as sufficient "clearings" had been made.
In this, however, they did not differ from the settlers in other towns. Hence it
is deemed unnecessary to speak at length of their orchards, though they were
scarcely excelled by any in the county. It is the cultivation of the grape and the
manufacture of wine for which this town has become distinguished.
The grape was introduced in this section by Dea. Elijah Fay as early as
1818. After a trial, for several years, of different varieties without success, he
introduced, in 1824, the Isabella and the Catawba, which proved to be well
adapted to the soil and climate. From his crop of 1830, he made from five to
eight gallons of wine, the first made from the cultivated grape in western or
even central New York. The old stocks of these pioneer vines were healthy
and productive, until the winter of 1872-3. One of them had been trained a
distance of 110 feet, and in 1871 yielded 160 pounds of fruit. The severity of
the winter of 1872-3 materially injured them, and they arc, in part removed.
The family, it is said, have still a few gallons of wine of the vintage of 1847.
For the last four years of his life, Mr. Fay is supposed to have made nearly 300
gallons a year. His cellars contained 1,500 gallons at the time of his death, in
1860.
In 1859, Joseph B. Fay, Garrett E. Ryckman, and Rufus Haywood, built a
wine house on ground obtained of Dea. Fay; and 2,000 gallons were made the
same fall. It was soon found that not only the gravelly soil was adapted
[page 505]
to the culture of the grape; but vineyards were planted in other parts of the
town. The increase of fruit enabled the company to increase their manufacture,
until, in 1865, it reached 16,000 gallons. Fay retired from the firm in 1862.
Ryckman & Haywood continued the business until 1865.
In 1865, Lake Shore Wine Company was formed with a capital of $100,000,
which went into operation in April. Timothy Judson was president of the
company: J. B. Fay, secretary, and Albert Haywood. superintendent. They
bought of Ryckman S Haywood their stock of 17,000 gallons of wine. and their
other wine interest for $38,000. The present wine house of Ryckman,
Day S Co. was built the same season. The enterprise was unsuccessful. The
company became involved; the property was sold to pay their indebtedness;
and was bought by G. E. Ryckman and R. B. Day, who became the owners of
the property in 1868.
Ryckman, Day & Co. commenced business the first of June, 1868. They
purchased at the sale of the Lake Shore Company's property, 24.000 gallons.
The storage capacity, which was 40,000, has been increased to 120,000
gallons. In 1870, about 200 tons of grapes were manufactured, and a like
number in 1871, a large portion of which came from northern Ohio and central
New York. The product in 1870 was 45,000 gallons; in 1871, 42,000. They
had at one time in their cellars, in 1872, 85,000 gallons. The enterprise is said
to be a successful one....
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| BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL |
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DAVID EATON was born in Framingham, Mass., Feb. 2, 1782. He was the
oldest son of Benjamin and Mary Eaton, and the fifth of ten children. His
father was a shoemaker; and David was put upon the bench at the age of nine
years. When eighteen years of age his father died; but he continued the
business and supported the family until he was twenty-two; yet he found time
to store his mind with useful knowledge. In 1805, with Nathan Fay, he visited
the "Purchase," and explored the lake region, and returned. April 20, 1806, he
married Elizabeth Horne; and in May, accompanied by his wife, mother, and
youngest sister, Nathan Fay and family, Elisha and Nathaniel Fay, started for
the West, with a span of horses and a covered wagon. His wife being in feeble
health, they were obliged to stop for rest at New Hartford, where she died.
Leaving his mother and sister there, he came to Portland, and located the land
on which he afterwards settled, and where he lived until his death, nearly 67
years. Having built a log house and cleared two acres of land, in October he
removed his family from New Hartford. The following winter was a very
severe one. The mills at Westfield being frozen fast, he had to prepare his corn
for food with a mortar and pestle. His mother kept house for him until 1811,
when he married Mrs. Mercy Fay, widow of Nathan Fay. His sister, who
taught the first school in town, as elsewhere stated, continued teaching until
1815, when she married and moved to Whitestown. His mother died in Oct.,
1848, aged 95 years and 6 months. His wife died May 12, 1862. Mr. Eaton
died Oct. 7, 1872, aged 90 years and 8 months.
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Mr. Eaton was not only an estimable and highly respected citizen, but
rendered his town and county valuable service. He served his country in the
war of 1812, and was wounded in the battle of Queenston. [See War History.]
He was assessor of the town of Chautauqua in 1809; and clerk of the board of
supervisors from 1820 to '27, and for the years 1831 and '32. He was
supervisor of the town for 6 years, and chairman of the board in 1815; and was
for several years a justice of the peace. He was appointed
[page 507]
superintendent of the poor in 1844, and held the office 6 years. He had 5
children : 1. Edwin, who married Caroline P. Baldridge, of Fredonia, and
resides at Frewsburgh. 2. Emily, wife of Josiah Wheeler, of Frewsburgh; both
deceased. 3. Alfred, who married Hannah C. Clark; settled in Wisconsin, and
now resides on the old homestead, in this town. 4. Oscar, who married Louisa
A. Kennedy, of Steuben county; removed to Michigan, and thence to Forest
Grove, Oregon. 5. Darwin G., who was a graduate of the state normal school
at Albany; subsequently one of its teachers : and thence transferred, nearly
thirty- years ago, to the Packer Institute in Brooklyn, where he is still professor
of mathematics and natural sciences. He was married to Ann J. Collins, of
Steuben county, Oct. 2, 1850.
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FAY FAMILIES.—There were among the early settlers in Portland five
families of this name, whose respective heads were Elijah, Elisha, Nathaniel,
Hollis, and Nathan. All but the last named were brothers, the sons of
Nathaniel Fay, who never came to Chautauqua.
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ELIJAH FAY was born in Southborough, Mass., Sept. 9, 1781, and was
married to Lucy Belknap, of Westborough. They came to Portland in 1811, in
a wagon drawn by a yoke of oxen and a horse, and were forty-one days on the
road. He settled on lot 20, township 5, the whole of which he had previously
located, containing 179 acres, about one-half the area of an ordinary lot. He
occupied his first cabin Jan. 1, 1812. His house needs no other description than
to say, that it was one of the rudest of the rude. Three-legged stools made of
split slabs served for chairs for about three years. A better house was built
about a year after the first, and the first was used for a barn, and the space
between the two closed up for a threshing floor. Three years later, another
house was built, which the family occupied until 1831, when the house now on
the farm was built. Pages might be filled with the relation of a most interesting
pioneer experience of this family, but which we are compelled to omit.
Mr. Fay was regarded as one of the best of the good men who peopled this
town. He was prominent among the founders of the Baptist church, and one of
its early deacons. Deacon Fay died Aug. 23, 1860; Mrs. Fay, Jan. 18, 1872.
They had 3 children : 1. Clinton S., who married Almira A. Clark, and who
resides on a portion of the homestead. He is a deaf mute from disease in early
life. 2. Lydia E., wife of Lawrence F. Ryckman, who died July 22, 1873.
3. Joseph B., who married Maria M., daughter of Isaac Sage, and after her
death, Martha Haywood; now lives in Topeka, Kansas.
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ELISHA FAY, a brother of Elijah, was born in Framingham, Mass., June 1783.
He came to Portland in June, 1806. He came with his brother, Nathaniel, both
unmarried, and Nathan (not a brother) and his family. He settled on lot 25, on
which he has lived 67 years, though for some time since the death of his wife
as a boarder with his sons. He went to Massachusetts in 1807, and returned to
Portland with his wife, Sophia Nichols. A new log house was built, which they
occupied until 1828, when the stone house was built. Mr. Fay served in the
war of 1812, and was in the battle
[page 508]
at Black Rock and Buffalo. He is the oldest actual settler in the town now
living. He was an early member of the Methodist Episcopal church;
afterwards of the division called Wesleyan. Mrs. Fay died in October. 1850.
His children were: 1. Lincoln, who married Sophrona Peck, and lives on the
farm located by Nathan Far in 1806. 2. Eddie who died at 23. 3. Charles, who
married Laura A. Hall, and lives on a part of the old homestead. 4. Otis N.,
who married Emeline Van Tassel, and lives about two miles southeast from
Centerville.
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NATHANIEL FAY came to Portland in 1806, with his brother Elisha. and in
1810 located a part of lot 12, tp. 5; the land now owned by his son Franklin.
He married Lydia, daughter of Calvin Barnes. He was elected supervisor in
1830, and held several other town offices. He served in the war of 1812, and
was at the battle of Black Rock. He died May 15, 1853;
Mrs. Fay, Sept. 4, 1872. Their children were : 1. Mary Ann, wife of Orrin
Brainard, who settled first in Arkwright. and afterward in Pomfret, where she
died in 1854. 2. Franklin, who married Catharine Bowdish, and lives on the
homestead. 3. Nathaniel, who married Nancy Bowdish, and settled in
Stockton, and is now a Methodist minister in Penn. 4. Lucy, who died at 17.
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HOLLIS FAY came to Portland with his brother Elijah in 1811. He first
bought land on which the east part of Brocton stands. This he sold in 1815 to
Moses Sage, and bought part of lot 42, in the north-west corner of the town.
For three years he lived alone in a log cabin. In 1818, he went to
Massachusetts and married Phebe Mixer, and removed west with an ox team
and covered wagon. Their wagon was their sleeping room, and the road side
their kitchen and dining room. They were six weeks on the way. In 1851, they
removed from their farm in Portland to Concord, Erie Co., where Mr. Fay died
in July, 1868, and Mrs. Fay in October following. They were buried in the
Westfield and Portland Union Cemetery. They were members of the Baptist
church. They had 3 children, one only, surviving infancy Roxana E., wife of
Edmund Ellis, who died in 1857. Mrs. Ellis resides in Concord.
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NATHAN FAY, son of Nathan Fay, was born in Southborough, Mass. In
1805, he and David Eaton made a prospecting tour through Portland, on foot,
with knapsacks, returning through the south part of the county. In May, 1806,
he came with his family, David Eaton and others, to this town and settled near
where Lincoln Fay resides. He was married in Massachusetts to Betsey
Clemens, who died in 1807; hers being the first death in Portland. In 1809, he
married Mercy Groves in Oneida Co., and in June, 1810. he died. He had 7
children, of whom the last only was born in Portland. 1. Hattie, wife of
Simeon Guile, who settled in Wisconsin, and died there. 2. John, who married
Nancy McClintock;settled in Westfield, and died in lllinois. 3. Nathan, who
married and died in Michigan. 4. Cutting, who went south. and is supposed to
be dead. 5. Willard, who left home, and has not been heard from. 6. Esther,
who died in Ripley about 1865. 7. Betsey, wife of Samuel Morehouse, and
lives in Missouri.
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