OLD SETTLERS MEETING
August 25th, 1915
Transcribed from the Steuben Republican Newspaper
Submitted by: Sean Walker
swalker65@yahoo.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BIG OLD SETTLERS' DAY
GOOD CROWD PRESENT -- FINE PROGRAM -- ATTRACTIONS
James E. Watson Makes Fine Speech -- Interesting Incidents Told by
Old People of the County
The forty-fifth old settlers' meeting in Angola last Thursday
was a splendid success from every standpoint. Although the
season has been extremely rainy, the weather man smiled on that day,
and the sun shone the whole day long. The crowd was very
large, though probably not so large as in some previous years, as
the fair weather invited every farmer and his force to stay at home
and help with the belated work. In the later hours of the day,
however, the crowd probably equaled that of previous years.
The exercises at the church were quite well attended and were
very interesting. Mayor Creel gave the address of welcome, and
told of some of his early experiences as a farmer, and of his
pleasure and that of the entire community, in having the pioneers
meet in Angola at these annual gatherings. W. H. Keyes, of
Hamilton, whose parents were early settlers of Richland township,
responded to the Mayor's address in his characteristic manner, and
told of many incidents he could well remember of the trials and joys
of pioneer days. Miss Anna Wambaugh, in her pleasing manner,
favored the audience with a solo appropriate for the occasion.
W. K. Sheffer had prepared the list of old settlers who had died
during the past year, but owing to lack of time, the names were not
read, but may be found else where in this paper.
When Angola was settled, the Baptist people were about the
first to hold religious services in the village, meeting in the
courthouse. Hannah Harper played upon perhaps the first
musical instrument brought to Steuben county, and this small lap
organ, now in the possession of her granddaughter, Mrs. R. E.
Willis, was held up by the chairman before the audience. Then
to show the contrast between the then and now, Miss Joyce Creel
rendered several pieces of music upon the pipe organ. This
exercise was followed by a paper written and read by Mrs. Jane
Powers Stayner and it proved to be the best history of Jackson
township that has ever been written. This paper is published
elsewhere in the Republican. Reminiseem talks were then given
by John Dygert, D. B. Teeters, C. R. Powers and Giles T.
Abbey. From the information the secretary was able to obtain,
he concluded the Silver Loving Cup should go to Mrs. Ja???? ???? as
the one present who had lived longest in the county.
At the business session, Maurice McClue was elected president
for next year, and W. K. Sheffer was re-elected secretary.
The program in the afternoon was carried out as advertised,
without a hitch. After a band concert in the court house yard,
and an illustrated song by Fred Frisbie, Prof. L. W. Fairfield, the
president of the afternoon meeting, introduced Congressman Cline,
who gave a cordial address of welcome. Hon. Otis L.
Ballou, of LaGrange, then gave a very thoughtful address on some of
the needs of the present hour in state and national
legislation. After Frank L. Adams made a short talk, the Hon.
James E. Watson, of Rushville, Ind., delivered the address of the
day. Mr. Watson did not disappoint his hearers in the claims
that had preceded him of his great ability as an orator, and he held
the attention of his audience, after a somewhat lengthy program, for
over an hour with the richest oratorical treat that has been given
here for many a year. He dwelt somewhat upon the sturdy
character of the old settlers, and paid high tribute to them as the
substantial foundation upon which this state and nation has achieved
success. They laid, he said, a foundation upon sound
principles in every sphere of life -- in religion, in society and in
politics. The people of the present age can well look to them
and learn from them lessons which will help our government to
continue upon this same wise course.
After Mr. Watson's address, John Oram, of the Oram Tent &
Awning Co., presented a Gold Medal camp chair of elegant pattern to
John Dygert, of Scott, for being the oldest man present.
Probably the most attractive feature of the day was the
automobile parade which followed the afternoon program, in which
there was a score of as handsomely decorated machines as one could
see anywhere, interspersed with several machines less highly
ornamented. The parade would have done credit to a larger
city. The prizes of $25, $??, and $10 respectively, were
awarded to Charlotte Stiefel, Irvin Metzgar and Dr. S. C.
Wolfe. The Stiefel car was luxuriously decorated in Japanese
Wisteria with the blossoms trailing about the sides. It
carried a bevy of handsome young ladies, and on the front of the
hood was a heart pierced with a cupid's dart, and a small image of
the cupid was suspended from an arch over the body of the car.
These were connected with ribbons to the occupants of the car.
The Metzgar car was designed as a baby cradle, and contained a dozen
small children, while the chauffeur was dressed as a doctor, and a
trained nurse occupied each front fender, watching with anxious eye
the occupants of the cradle. On the front was a stork bearing
the image of a small babe, as if bringing another treasure to the
group. Dr. Wolfe's car contained a dozen youthful sailors with
one at the rear on a high platform steering the car with a boat
wheel. Ribbons connected with an anchor on the hold bearing
the slogan, "Anchor in Angola." The judges, Harvey Lewis, of
LaGrange, Glen VanAuken, of Auburn, and Mrs. D. M. Link, of Auburn,
had a difficult task in selecting the winners, but they acted
according to their best judgment without doubt. Many people
regretted that the float prepared by Lewis Parsell and Donald
Sheldon, which contained a real log cabin and surroundings,
including the old open well, the kettle in the open air, and even
the coon skin over the door, and from the chimney of the cabin real
smoke rolled, while no driver was visible, would have received a
prize as it was especially appropriate for the day. Others who
had decorated cars in the parade were Miss Joyce Creel, S???? Club,
G. A. Hendry, F. M. Starr, R. E. Willis, Erwin Mast, Austin Parsell,
L. N. Klink, Brusso's Ice Cream Store, Daisy Mallory, and Thomas
Owens, while the parade was lead by the band on the decorated
truck from Owen's Packing house.
In the pie eating contest, in which a dozen boys participated,
Clarence Opdyke won first place, and was given the watch.
The fire works in the evening were fine, many saying they were
the best ever. They were thrown into the air by being fired
from a mortar, scattering many bright colored designs over the
heavens. The display concluded with a set piece which outlined
the slogan, "Anchor in Angola."
NOTES
In 1838, a child was born to Henry Burdick and wife and it was
the first white child born in Jamestown township. It ended
when six months old, and was buried in the woods, now a field, just
east of Spring Bank village on Lake George.
A. W. Long, in his tribute to the Pottawatamies as the real
pioneers, said when a monument is built in memory of the pioneers of
Steuben county, he hopes that the base of the monument will be
dedicated to the memory of the Pottawatomie Indians.
The prize of a silver loving cup to the oldest settler present
was awarded to Mrs. Jane Stayner, of Jackson township, who came to
Steuben county in 1837. Mrs. Stayner's excellent paper on the
early settlement of the township appears in this issue of the
Republican in full.
In his address at the Methodist church, Prof. A. W. Long told
of a fish caught in one of our lakes when he was a boy, that was
near six feet long. John Dygert, who followed in a talk, began
to tell of one eight feet long, but for lack of time and courage, he
did not finish his story.
John Dygert says when he was a young man he always had an
ambition to kill a deer, but was never able to do so although he had
shot at them time and again, often at only a short distance.
Says he could shoot the head off a squirrel or kill a wild turkey as
well as the average hunter, but when he tried to kill a deer he got
the "buck fever," a complaint that was rightly named and quite
common in the early days.
G. T. Abbey, at the meeting in the church, was asked to talk
and gave the following original poem:
Thank God for old Steuben,
Settled by brave women and men, the pioneers.
Onward through swamp and swale;
They followed the trail and built for future years.
Braving the dangers of the trackless wilds,
Although suffering great, they endured it then
Until Steuben became a prominent factor in the state.
Thank God for old Steuben.
Let us lovingly toast a land whose home is high enthroned;
A county of the highest boast;
But not of deed of the distant past,
Of riches or great fame,
But that happiness, like sunshine, falls
On all its homes the same.
Thank God for old Steuben,
Hers is no blood-bought down from another age;
But hers is the glory the pioneers won
For the happiness of men,
Of cities built, of harvests reaped,
Where once were but bogs and fen.
Thank God for old Steuben,
Wherever the flag has gone,
Into roaring hell of shot and shell,
The soldiers have followed on.
But still there shines from sea to sea,
The blazing star of victory,
From North to South, from West to Maine,
The old flag flies and rules again.
Thank God for old Steuben.
It had no cites great.
Want and poverty now past
And suffering turned to hate.
But hers is a county of bright skies,
Of kindly heart and hand.
Where God's rich blessings fall
On old Steuben, the promised land.
Thank God for old Steuben.
Keep her in happy state.
Teach her sons of the years to come
The spirit that made her great.
Deep and serene as her forests seen,
And strong as her mighty trees.
Such was the pioneers.
Oh give us more women and men like these.
Thank God for old Steuben.
We see on every hand
Her wealth exceeds her great demand.
But the march of time of eighty years
Has depleted the ranks of the pioneers.
The pioneers were heroes then;
But Oh, thank God, thank God for old Steuben.
DEATH ROLL -- 1914-1915
Vella Gale, daughter of Daniel and Rachel Gale, and widow of
Newell Lewis, was born in Steuben county, July 8, 1851; died in
Angola, Aug. 31, 1914; aged 63 years, 12 days.
Bradford Wheaton, born in Ontario county N. Y., Oct. 31, 1837;
came to Steuben county in 1852; died in Plainfield, Mich., Sept.
2nd, 1914, aged 74 years, 11 months and 1 day.
Mary Elizabeth Williams, born in Alliance, Ohio; came to
Steuben county in 1851; died Sept. 15, 1914; aged 75 years, 8
months, 10 days.
Adelbert F. Day. born in Huron county, Ohio Jan. 4, 1845; came
in childhood to Steuben county; died Sept. 24, 1914; aged 69 years,
8 months, 20 days.
Chauncey Wilcox, born in Coldwater, Mich., June 7, 1838; came
to Steuben county early in life; died in Angola, Sept. 11, 1914;
aged 76 years, 3 months, 14 days.
Daniel C. Hall, born in Steuben county, July 10, 1854;
died in Hamilton, Sept. 27, 1914; aged 60 years, 2 months, 17
days.
Hulda Brown, wife of Samuel Brooks, born in Steuben county,
Feb. 21, 1861; died Oct 27, 1914; aged 52 years, 8 months, 6 days.
Smith VanEtta, born in Morrow county, Ohio, Jan. 1, 1842; came
to Steuben county in 1865; died in Orland, Oct. 27, 1914; aged 72
years, 9 months, 25 days.
Susan Stetler, born in Erie county, Ohio, March 4, 1838; came
to Steuben county in 1854; died Oct. 2, 1914; aged 76 years, 7
months, 26 days.
Leon Daniel Stetler, born in Pleasant Lake, Feb. 12, 1862;
died Oct. 22, 1914; aged 52 years, 8 months, 10 days.
Mary Farnham, wife of Charles McClue, born in Fremont, April
3, 1846; died Nov. 13, 1914; aged 68 years, 7 months, 10 days.
Lucretia J., Moody, widow of Thomas Lahuray, born in
Columbiana county, Ohio, Feb. 29, 1826; died in Angola, Oct. 29,
1914; aged 88 years, 8 months, 8 days.
Henry Dahuff, born in Steuben county, Sept, 30, 1855; died
Nov. 4, 1914; aged 59 years, 1 month and 4 days.
Henry P. Hathaway, born in Washington county, Pa., Nov. 25,
1821; came to Steuben county in 1849; died in Angola, Nov. 12, 1914;
aged 93 years.
Volney Powers, born in Steuben county, N. Y., May 17, 1838;
died in Montpelier, Ohio, Nov. 15, 1914; aged 76 years, 7 months, 29
days.
Emerett Hayden, wife of E. W. Pocock, born in Steuben county,
November 2, 1863; died Nov. 11, 1914, aged 51 years.
Peter Richardson, born in Steuben county, in 1854; died at
Crooked lake, Dec. 16, 1914, aged 60 years.
William H. Lemmon, born in Sandusky county, Ohio, Nov. 26,
1837; came to Steuben county in 1866; died in Fremont, Dec. 4, 1914,
aged 59 years, 8 months and 5 days.
William C. Hubbard, born Dec. 12, 1826; died in Angola, Dec.
26, 1914, aged 88 years, 15 days.
Mary Louisa Williams, widow of Dr. Thos. B. Williams, born in
Angola, May 7, 1847; died Dec. 29, 1914; aged 67 years, 7 months and
8 days.
Mrs. Charles H. Hall, born near Metz, Jan. 14, 1852; died Dec.
21, 1914; aged 62 years, 11 months and 7 days.
Amoretta J. Storrs, widow of Gilbert Mugg, born in Mentor,
Ohio, June 16, 1835; came to Steuben county in 1836; died in Angola,
January 9, 1915; aged 79 years, 6 months, 23 days.
Mrs. Hanna Coe, born in DeKalb county, Oct. 17, 1846; came to
Steuben county when a child; died Dec. 31, 1914; aged 68 years, 2
months, 13 days.
Mrs. Irving Brown, born at Lake Gage, Dec. 15, 1857; died Jan.
1, 1915; aged 57 years, 15 days.
Emaline A. Harding, born in Rutland county, Vermont, January
12, 1833; came to Steuben county in 1836; died in Orland, Jan. 13,
1915, aged 82 years.
Marian White, widow of Charles White, born in Scotland, Oct.
16, 1822; came to Steuben county in 1860; died near Fremont, Jan.
14, 1915; aged 92 years, 2 months and 18 days.
William Hamilton Hill, born in Richland county, Ohio,
July 9, 1840; came to Steuben county in 1852; died Jan. 11,
1915; aged 74 years, 6 months, 3 days.
Judge Frank M. Powers, son of Calvin and Lucy Powers, born in
Steuben county, April 2, 1860; died in Angola, Feb. 3, 1915; aged 54
years, 10 months.
Charles W. Hart, born in Branch county, Mich., June 1, 1854;
came to Steuben county in 1860; died in Scott township, Feb. 4,
1915; aged 60 years, 1 month, 3 days.
Henry A. Brode, born Sept. 1, 1834; died in Angola, Jan. 31,
1915; aged 80 years, 5 months.
Susan Salisbury, widow of Wm. Turner, born in Steuben county,
March 6, 1839; died Feb. 27, 1915; aged 75 years, 11 months, 21
days.
Henry G. Judson, born in Livingstone county, N. Y., Feb. 22,
1827; came to Steuben county in 1836; died near Montgomery, Mich.,
Feb. 20, 1915; aged 88 years.
William Teeters, born in Sandusky county, Ohio, May 31, 1844;
died Feb. 15, 1915; aged 71 years.
Joseph Bell; born in Trumbull county, Ohio, May 2, 1849; came
to Steuben county in 1854; died in Angola, March 4, 1915; aged 65
years, 10 months, 2 days.
Mrs. Almira Emerson, born in Stark county, Ohio, Oct. 29,
1835; came to Steuben county in early life; died near Metz, Feb. 26,
1915; aged 79 years, 3 months, 27 days.
Lycurgus V. Carris, born in Portage county, Ohio, March 8,
1836; came to Steuben county in 1854; died March 2, 1915; aged 88
years, 9 months, 22 days.
Ruth Robinson, widow of Wm. H. Phelps, born in Waterloo, N.
Y., April 9, 1833; came to Steuben county in 1859; died in Toledo,
O., March 3, 1915; aged 81 years, 10 months, 23 days.
John McMillan, born in Sandusky county, Ohio, May 4, 1842;
came to Steuben county in 1854; died near Angola, March 15, 1915;
aged 72 years, 10 months, 13 days.
George Cline, born in Steuben county, Aug. 18, 1859; died
March 19, 1915; aged 56 years, 7 months.
Francis F. Forward, born in Steuben county, April 25, 1846;
died March 20, 1915; aged 68 years, 10 months, 26 days.
Elizabeth Parsell Emerson, widow of Avery Emerson, born in New
Jersey, July 24, 1833; came to Setuben county in 1838; died in
Angola, April 11, 1915; aged 81 years, 8 months, 17 days.
Catherine Brooks, wife of James Knisely, born in Huron county,
O., Oct. 14, 1854; came to Steuben county in 1862; died in Angola,
April 8, 1915; aged 80 years, 5 months, 14 days.
Mrs. Joseph McGrew, born in Warrenville, Ohio, March, 17,
1838; died in Angola, April 6, 1915, aged 87 years.
Rev. John P. Stealy, son of Jacob Stealy, born in Angola; died
April 1, 1915, aged 55 years.
Mrs. Ora Pierce, born in Erie county, N. Y., Sept. 27, 1836;
came to Steuben county when young; died in Traverse City, Mich.,
April 6th, 1915, aged 78 years, 6 months and 8 days.
Mary Louisa Sage, wife of John Dotts, born in Loraine county,
Ohio, July 12, 1842; came to Steuben county in 1851; died April 23,
1915, aged 72 years, 9 months, 11 days.
William N. Richardson, born in Steuben county, May 7,
1865; died April 23, 1915, aged 50 years.
Thomas D. Butler, born in Erie county, Ohio, Dec. 7, 1838;
died in Clear Lake township, June 11, 1915, aged 76 years, 6 months,
4 days.
Mrs. Susan Sunday, born in Ashtabula county, Ohio, Sept. 11,
1842; died June 8, 1915, aged 72 years, 9 months, 7 days.
Mrs. Abbie Clark, born in Steuben county, Sept. 2, 1850; died
June 20, 1915; aged 64 years, 9 months and 28 days.
David L. Phenicie, born in Steuben county, April 17, 1838;
died in Fremont, July 2, 1915; aged 77 years, 10 months, 15 days.
Martha McNett, wife of Denman Case, born in Steuben county,
April 15, 1854; died July 29, 1915; aged 61 years, 3 months, 6 days.
Andrew Croy, born in Marion, O., Sept. 11, 1826; came to
Steuben county in 1838; died at Frontier, Mich., Aug. 7, 1915; aged
88 years, 10 months, 26 days.
Martha Croxton, widow of Hiram Croxton, born in Beaver, Penn.,
Dec. 27, 1826; came to Steuben county in 1863; died in Portland,
Oregon, May 2, 1915; aged 88 years, 4 months, 5 days.
John Renwick Fulton, born in LaGrange county, Ind., Nov. 11,
1837; died May 8, 1915, aged 77 years, 5 months, 27 days.
Mrs. Horace B. Lyon, born in Steuben county, Nov. 29, 1848;
died in Ray, May 12, 1915; aged 66 years, 5 months, 13 days.
Mary Shumaker, widow of George Shumaker, born in Ashland
county, Ohio, Dec. 11, 1841; came to Steuben county in childhood;
died in Reading, Mich., May 21, 1915; aged 73 years.
William H. Hicks, born in Steuben county in 1840; died in
Clayton, Mich., May 10, 1915; aged 75 years.
George Frederick Cook, born in Crown Point, Ind., Sept. 26,
1843; died May 24, 1915; aged 52 years.
John Baker, born in Steuben county, April 2, 1865; died May
12, 1915; aged 51 years.
George Riley Wickwire, born in Sandusky county, Ohio, March
17, 1846; came to Angola in boyhood; died June 1, 1915, aged 69
years, 2 months, 14 days.
William Baker, born near Chesterfield, England, Feb. 13, 1837;
came to Steuben county in 1850; died in Orland, June 10, 1915, aged
78 years, 4 months, 7 days.
Adniram Nolan, born in LaGrange county, August 26, 1848; came
to Steuben county at age of 14 years; died in Orland, June 16, 1915;
aged 66 years, 9 months, 22 days.
Francis James Clark, born in Steuben county, March 27, 1861;
died June 5, 1915, aged 54 years, 2 months, 8 days.
George Bennett, born in Seneca county, Ohio, Sept. 20, 1847;
died Aug. 9, 1915; aged 67 years, 10 months, 20 days.
Nancy Stowe Pattee, born in Portage county, Ohio, Sept. 13,
1840; came to Steuben county when a girl, died Aug. 9, 1915, aged 74
years, 10 months, 27 days.
Of the sixty-five old settlers who died during the past year,
twenty-four were born in Steuben county; 22 were past 70 years of
age; 9 past 80, and 5 past 90 years of age.
EARLY HISTORY RECITED
JOHN STAYNER FIRST SETTLER OF STEUBEN COUNTY
Hardships of Early Days Told by Mrs. Jane Stayner--A Hard Trip to
the Mill
Mrs. Jane Powers Stayner, who came to Steuben county in 1837,
being asked by the committee on the program for old settlers' day to
write a paper regarding the early days of Jackson township, Steuben
county, favored the audience at the M. E. church with the following:
I don't think your committee used good judgment in asking me
to talk to you this morning on a subject of which I personally know
so little--the early settlement of Jackson township. The first
settlement was made twenty-three years before I came to Jackson, so
you see my information is all hearsay. I came to Jackson
Prairie sixty-one years ago last spring to make my home with my
husband's people, Father and Mother Stayner. Previous to this
my home had been in the eastern part of Steuben county. The
date of my first arrival in Jackson was in 1854. The old or
first settlers were mostly all here, a fine lot of sturdy,
industrious, temperate, peaceable and well to do citizens, who had
not forgotten the pioneer days, and they talked much of the early
settlement. They seldom talked complainingly or of it as
hardship. They were very sociable and visited one another
often, much oftener than we do now with our telephones, rural
delivery, magazines, dailies, and books. We do not have time
now for neighborhood visiting. I very often heard them tell of
the early days, and I was an attentive listener.
In 1831 three families settled on Jackson Prairie--John
Stayner, Jacob Stayner, and George Wyrick. Father Stayner
settled on the north side and his brother Jacob on the south
side. They arrived May 16, 1831. All came from Richland
county, Ohio. They came with ox teams and big Penn wagons,
John Stayner in the lead, so they called him the "first
settler." They made their stop about ten o'clock in the
forenoon. Father unloaded his plow and put that together; the
girls built a fire and got dinner; Mother Stayner with grub hoe in
hand found a little clump of hazel bushes, which she dug up, found
the ground very mellow, told the children to bring the garden seeds
from the wagon, and she planted radishes, lettuce and cabbage
seed. Then all went to dinner with thankful hearts and good
appetites, and they said, "This is home."
After dinner father started his plow, the little boys
following dropped corn in each third furrow, turning the next furrow
over so as to cover the corn. Corn came up between the furrows
in five days. After plowing as long as he thought it would do
to plant corn, he plowed for buckwheat and potatoes and other
vegetables, planting potatoes as he did the corn. He had
brought a set of drag teath, which were very soon made into a drag
or harrow. They had a late fall, all their crop matured, and
they had plenty from that time on, though no wheat that year.
In September, 1831, they went to the land office in Fort Wayne
and entered their land. Gideon Langdon came soon after the
other, but he made the first entry of land in Steuben county, John
Stayner the second.
The following winter was a cold, hard winter. There was
a deep snow with a hard crust. They had no grist mill
nearer than White Pigeon. They waited a long time for the
weather to moderate and then meanwhile the women were pounding corn
in a home-made mortar. They made it as fine as they could
sifted out the best to make bread, and used the rest for hominy, or
soup. Andrew and Nathaniel Woodard got here late in the fall,
and were living in the house with Father Stayner (I neglected to say
that after the crops were planted they built a house and made it
comfortable for winter.)
There were no signs of a break-up and they started for the
mill. Two men went ahead with big clubs to break the
crust. Father fallowed with two yoke of oxen drawing a big
home made sled and a load of corn and buckwheat, also the feed for
the oxen and themselves. It took two whole days to get there,
and hard trip it was. Then they found the mill frozen up
solid, and all hands went to work chopping the wheel loose.
They said they were glad to see the mill start. Slowly but
anxiously they waited until all was done. They started for
home after lending the miller a little meal and flour, for he had no
corn. They arrived home in the evening of the fifth day and
right glad were the folks at home when they came, for more reasons
than one. This, they said, was the last of the hard times.
The next spring everything was stirring. Settlers came
flocking in: land lookers were on every hand, and every cabin was a
hotel, with floors covered with beds. There was no sawmill
nearer than White Pigeon. They had to rive shakes or
clapboards out of straight grained timber for doors and roofs; they
fastened the roof on with weight poles--hinges and latches were made
of wood. For flooring they split logs in half and then hewed
the flat side with a broad-ax, then laid them on the ground.
In 1833 there was a saw mill built in Flint, also a grist mill at
Mongo, then call Union Mills.
The settlers now felt they had every convenience. They
began to think of schools and an election. I want to say here,
however, that every home was a school and every mother a
teacher. Books were few, and they often taught their children
their letters and to read from the Bible. All children five or
six years old knew their A, B, C's.
Father Stayner had built a small log cabin in their back yard
for a spinning and weave room; also had their spare bed in that
room.
The neighbors, and there were quite a few, thought best to
have an election, also to build a school house. The first
election was held in John Stayner's dooryard. David Sams and
John Kiles acting as judges. I do not remember the date of
this election. At an early date the settlers thought best to
build a school house. They had agreed upon the price to be
paid and also upon location. John Stayner and Adolphus Town
were to be the builders, and were to receive $50 for the job,
including material. This house was built on the north side of
Jackson Prairie, and was of tamarack poles, with one window with six
6x9 class, and one door made of shakes, a puncheon floor, and seats
of home-split planking, smoothed a little with the broad-ax.
This building was standing when I came to Jackson in 1854, and used
for one of the farm buildings by the Town family on the farm
now owned and occupied by Wm. Lincoln. The first teacher was
Hannah Davis. She received $1.25 per week, boarded round and
collected a rate bill. The first postmaster was Adolphus Town,
and letter postage was 25c.
The first store was on the banks of Beaver Dam Run, Mr.
VanEpps proprietor. He also laid out a town there. It
was said they had a bogus mint for making counterfeit money, as dies
were found under a pile of corn. The parties left and the
neighborhood was glad they did. VanVoltenburg was the name
they were known by.
The first blasksmith shop was near the tamarack school house;
some say at Hardytown, on the southwest part of the prairie.
Previous to this time they had to go to Lima for all blacksmith
work.
The first justice of the peace was Israel Stoddard; Adolphus
Town was his opponent. The first mail route through Steuben
county was from Lima (now Howe) to Toledo, Ohio, via Lexington, (now
Brighton, Vermont Settlement, (now Orland.) Jamestown,
Brockville, (now Fremont.) The second route was from Lima via
Lexington, Jackson Prairie. Pleasant Lake and Enterprise to
Defiance.
The first doctor was James McConnell, who located in the log
cabin in Father Stayner's back yard. George W. McConnell, then
a young man, was his student, and both of them boarded in the
family. James McConnell was elected clerk and recorder while
living there, where they remained one year and then moved to
Angola. While living in the log cabin he transacted county
business, married several couples and made deed and settled
disputes. In 1839 or 1840 Jackson township and Steuben county
was thoroughly organized and officered.
The first white child born in Steuben county was Zephaniah
Stayner, born in 1832. The first marriage was James Huntsman
and Hannah Davis, by James McConnell in the little wave room.
The government sent surveyors in 1832. They boarded at
our house. Father Stayner acting as chairman. Then the
settlers knew where their lines were and were better
satisfied. Father had plowed quite a lot across the line, on
land now owned by Wm. Helme. The first death was Mrs. Gideon
Langdon, and her's was the first grave in the now beautiful Jackson
Prairie cemetary.
Game was plentiful--deer and fine wild turkeys and small
animals; for pork they ate bea mreat. There were plenty of
wolves, wildcats and other animals, as they say, "too numerous to
mention."
There are many things which I would like to tell, which time
will not permit. I would like to tell you of the Indians, who
were numerous; yes, and the underground railroad with all the
excitement it occasioned both for and against; the blackleg gangs
and dens, and the regulators, who were obliged to be a law unto
themselves, but some one else can do this better justice than I can.
When gold was discovered there was a rush for
California. Louis Barnard and his son Dudley. James Rodgers,
Adison Benedict, Jonas Twichell, Geo. Norris, Columbus Bennett, Sam
Jackson, some of the Wyrick's, Uncle Jacob Stayner and sons joining
the number. Most of them came home with gold, but all were
just a little too modest to tell just how much, but their farms and
buildings were bettered. Most of them came back broken in
health. It was a hard battle. They went to New York City
to start; doubled Cape Horn--we all know how much easier they could
go now.
When I came those of our nearest neighbors were Mr. Town,
Charles Alcott, Mr. Spangle, Horace Waite, Jessie Stayner, Samuel
Alcott, Mr. Rude, David and Henry Sams, Jonas Twichell Sr., Asher
Benedict, Mr. Holden, the Davis family, (Abner Davis having died a
short time before,) George Hendry, George Wyrick, James Rodgers,
Orin Goodrich, and Benjamin Twichell.
The preacher, the teacher and the gold digger as well as the
farmer, all have helped to make Steuben county one of the best in
this state, for any other state. Of those who were here when I
came, Darius Sams, Charles Alcott and Jonas Twichell are still here
in their old homes, Mr. Sams being in very poor health.
I have taken too much of your time, but it is a big subject
and the half has not been told. I have had to hurry over each
thought, leaving much without notice. I will say good-bye.