Town of Sangerfield History - Durant, 1878

The following information is from a History of Oneida County,
New York by Samuel W. Durant and published in 1878.

SANGERFIELD

Sangerfield is the westernmost of the southern tier of towns in the county of Oneida, and has an area of 19,188 acres. It includes the greater part of township No. 20, of the Chenango "Twenty Towns," and is watered by the east branch of the Oriskany and the west branch of the Chenango Creeks. Its surface is an upland, from 700 to 800 feet higher than the Mohawk at Utica, and considerably hilly. Along the west branch of the Chenango is what is known as the Great Swamp, extending from near Waterville to the southern border of the town, and averaging a mile in width. It was originally covered with a heavy growth of pine and cedar. The soil in the valleys is a rich alluvium, and that on the hills a gravelly loam. The great industry of this town is the culture of hops, which in most years has been a source of large profit to the inhabitants. Stock-raising is also extensively engaged in, and considerable grain is produced. Bailey's Pond, in the southern part of town, covers about 10 acres, and lies 200 feet above the Great Swamp. It has been sounded to the depth of 120 feet without touching bottom.
Under a law passed in February 1789, this town was surveyed in the summer of that year. In 1790 and 1791 it was purchased of the State upon speculation, chiefly by Michael Myers, Jedediah Sanger, and John J. Morgan, and a considerable portion of it was subsequently leased in perpetuity. The following is a copy of the record of this case, subsequent to the application of the above-named gentlemen:

"The application of Michael Myers, Jedediah Sanger, and John J. Morgan for the purchase of Townships No. 18 and 20, and the parts unsold by the Surveyor-General of Township No. 19, being three of the Twenty Townships surveyed by the Surveyor-General pursuant to an act passed the 25th day of February, 1789. The two first townships, to wit, Nos. 18 and 20, at the rate of 3 shillings and 3 pence per acre, and parts of No. 19 unsold, as above mentioned, at the rate of 3 shillings and 1 penney per acre; one-sixth part thereof to be paid on the 1st day of October next, and the residue in two equal payments, the one-half on the 1st of April, 1792, and the remaining half on the 1st of January, 1793, being read and duly considered. (Accepted.)
"Acres, 67,130 - 10,908 pounds and 15 shillings."

The "Great Swamp" has been drained and converted into valuable meadow-lands, and most of its timber has been cleared away. The town was named from Colonel Jedediah Sanger, one of its original proprietors, and the pioneer of New Hartford. It was formed from Paris, March 5, 1795, and included what is now Bridgewater; and latter was taken off in 1797. From March 15, 1798, to April 4, 1804, the town of Sangerfield was included in Chenango County, but at the latter date an act was passed annexing it to Oneida.

"FIRST TOWN-MEETING, ETC."


"Sangerfield, April 7, 1795.

"Agreeable to a law in that case made and provided, the Freeholders and Inhabitants (qualified to vote for Town Officers) of Sanger met at the house of Zerah Phelps. After the meeting was opened voted to adjourn to the barn.
"2. Made choice of Thomas Brown, Esq., Town Clerk.
"3. Chosen David Norton Supervisor."

The remaining officers chosen were as follows, viz.: Assessor, Joseph Farwell, Daniel Brown, and Ezra Parker; Constables and Collectors, Jonathan Porter and David Chapin; Overseers of the poor, Oliver Norton and Thomas Converse; Commissioners of Highways, Timothy White, Saul Smith, and Oliver Norton; Pathmasters, Jonathan Palmer, Eldad Corbet, John W. Brown, James Kenny, Eri Brooks, Philip King, Asahel Hunt, Jesse Ives, Roger W. Steele, John Phillips, Thomas Stephens, Oliver Eagur, Zerah Phelps, Joel Blair, Solomon Williams, Benjamin White, John Stone, Joseph Putney, Moses Bush, Elias Montgomery, and Thomas Hale; Fence-Viewers, Ezra Parker, Joel Blair, Nathan Gurney, Uri Brooks, and David Norton, Esq.
"Voted to build two pounds: one at or near the house of Ebenezer Moody, and the other near the house of Ebenezer Hale." These two gentlemen were chosen poundmasters.
"Voted to hold the next town-meeting at Timothy White's dwelling-house."

The Supervisor of Sangerfield in 1796 was David Norton; for the four years from 1797 to 1800 inclusive the record is incomplete; those since 1801 have been the following: 1801, Amos Muzzy; 1802, Oliver Norton; 1803-4 Justus Tower; 1805, Benjamin White; 1806-9, Oliver C. Seabury; 1810, John Williams; 1811, O.C. Seabury; 1812, Josiah Bacon; 1813, O.C. Seabury; 1814-20 Josiah Bacon; 1821-23, Reuben Bacon; 1824-27, Samuel M. Mott; 1828, Josiah Bacon; 1829-31, Samuel M. Mott; 1832, Reuben Bacon; 1833, John Mott, Jr.; 1834, Erastus Jeffers; 1835, Levi D. Carpenter; 1836, Erastus Jeffers; 1837-40, Horace Bigelow; 1841-42, Julius Tower; 1843, Horace Bigelow; 1841-42, Julius Tower; 1843, Horace Bigelow; 1844, Otis Webster; 1845, Amos O. Osborn; 1846, Erastus A. Walter; 1847-48, De Witt C. Tower; 1849, John W. Stafford; 1850-51, George W. Cleveland; 1852-54, James M. Tower; 1855, Edwin H. Lamb; 1856, Hull Page; 1857-62, Platt Camp; 1863-76, James G. Preston; 1877-78, Marion B. Crossett. The remaining officers for 1878 are the following: Town Clerk, E.H. Mott, who has held the office continuously since 1852, with the exception of the four years from 1860 to 1863 inclusive; Assessor, William S. Smith; Overseer of the Poor, Delos C. Terry; Collector, Marion J. West; Constables, M.J. West, Isaac H. Benedict, William H. Randell, James D. Terry, William Bardin; Inspectors of Election, District No. 1, Hermon Clark, C.M. Felton, John B. Jones; District No. 2, W.F. Bayless, A.G. Haven, Frank B. Demming; Town Collector, Morris Terry, George Beach, Francis H. Terry; Excise Commissioner, G.N. Lock; Justices of the Peace, George H. Church, L.G. Williams, George W. Cleveland, Orlando Stetson.


EARLY SETTLEMENT.


The article relating to this town which was published in Judge Jones' history of the county was prepared for him by Amos O. Osborn, of Waterville, and from it we make liberal extracts.
In the fall of 1791, Zerah Phelps, who had previously purchased lot No. 42 in this town, sent his hired man to build a log house upon it. This building stood about a mile southeast of Sangerfield Centre, and was the first tenement erected for a settler in the town. Mr. Phelps was then a resident of the "Green Woods," in Massachusetts.

"About the first of March, 1792, Minierva Hale and wife, and Nathan Gurney and wife and infant, moved into the town from New Hartford, where they had previously resided one or two years. The first day of their journey they reached the house of Simon Hubbard, in the town of Marshall, where they remained overnight. Their conveyances were ox-teams and sleds. On the next morning, the snow being very deep, they made short yokes for their oxen, and using their bed-cords for traces, they drove them tandem, and thus plowed their way to their new farms. The distance from Mr. Hubbard's was but about four miles, but such was the almost impassable state of their route (for road they had none) over hills and logs, across and through creeks, swamps, and thickets, overlaid with at least four feet of snow, that it was quite night before they reached its termination. Mr. Hale had purchased land adjoining the lot of Mr. Phelps, and Mr. Gurney had purchased lot No. 40, now in the village of Waterville, and a part of which was afterwards owned by Aaron Stafford, Esq., whose father, Ichabod Stafford, noticed as among the earliest settlers of Augusta, purchased of Gurney. They both, however, proceeded to the house of Mr. Phelps, who had moved into it only two or three days previously, and here they remained until they built houses for themselves. The three men, their wives, and Gurney's child all occupied the same room, and for the best of reasons, - it was the only one in the house or in the town. In the month of April, when the heavy body of snow on the ground began to melt, their proximity to the creek became a source of considerable annoyance. After a very warm day and night, for the season, upon awaking in the morning, they found a portion of the creek had formed a current directly through the house. A sort of cellar had been dug, large enough for present purposes, under the floor in the centre of the room, of which the water had taken possession, and the pork-barrel was merrily waltzing in the eddy. The women remained in bed while the men waded out and cut large logs, on which to make afire. During the remainder of the day, and until the water subsided, the women performed all their housework while upon their beds. Mr. Gurney immediately went to work upon his land, and was the first settler in Waterville."

In the month of April following Benjamin White came and settled on a farm included in lots Nos. 39 and 40, the same afterwards occupied by Amos Osborn. The same year witnessed a number of new arrivals. Phineas Owen and the father of Nathan Gurney settled on lot No. 40; and in April and May there arrived Sylvanus Dyer, Asahel Bellows, Nathaniel Ford, Henry Knowlton, Jonathan Straton, and a Mr. Clark. These were all the families in town in 1792. Nathaniel Ford was really the first one of the actual settlers that visited the town, as he had helped survey it in 1789, and located upon the lot then selected.
Early in the fall of 1792 a serious frost occurred, which utterly destroyed the corn crop, and frightened away emigrants until 1794; even those already here thought seriously of removing if the next year should prove as unfortunate.
In May, 1792, Mr. Clark has his leg badly crushed by a falling tree, the accident happening on Saturday afternoon. He was taken at once to the house of Mr. Hale, but newly erected, and made as comfortable as circumstances would permit. A surgeon's presence was necessary, and Mr. Hale, mounting the only horse in town, started in quest of one, carrying a torch to light his way, and being guided only by the moss on the north sides of the trees. He arrived early Sunday morning at Whitestown, but finding no physician there who dared to perform amputation, he proceeded to Fort Schuyler, where he found Dr. Guiteau, who returned with him. The doctor examined the man's leg, but did not wish to operate without the aid and counsel of an older practitioner, and Dr. Petrie, of Herkimer, was accordingly sent for. Upon his arrival, on Tuesday, the two, with the assistance of Dr. Elmer, of Paris, amputated the limb.
The first white child born in the town was a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Zerah Phelps, whose birth occurred in July, 1792. The family afterwards removed to Batavia, Genesee Co., where another daughter was the first white child born in that town. Mr. Phelps was a member of the first grand jury ever impaneled west of the Genesee River. The first white male child born in Sangerfield was Seneca Hale, son of Mr. and Mrs. Minierva Hale, the date of his birth being Jan. 20 1793.
Several false alarms from Indians occurred during the year 1792, and the settlers prudently made friends of the red denizens of the forest rather than in in any manner to incur their displeasure. The Indian trail -"Oneida Path"- entered the town about two and a half miles east of its northwest corner, and left it but a few rods west of the southeast corner, and sometimes the Indians were seen along it in considerable numbers while on their fishing and hunting expeditions from Oneida to the Unadilla.

"One afternoon, in the early part of October, all the men in the town, eight in number, were collected together, constructing a bridge over the Oriskany Creek, near the subsequent site of the woolen-factory. While thus engaged they heard the hum of many voices, and a scout who was dispatched soon reported that about 150 Indians, of all sizes, were passing on their path to the Unadilla, about 200 rods from where the men were. Mr. Hale, knowing that if nothing worse happened his wife would be sadly frightened, started for his home, but did not arrive as soon as the Indians. Mrs. Phelps, who had just finished baking when she first saw the Indians, left all but her infant and ran to Mr. Hale's, and, on her arrival, Mrs. Hale, who was equally frightened, proposed to run to the men. Mrs. Phelps, however, objected to this, on account of her being burdened with her infant, and at that moment they saw through the window a single Indian approaching the house. Mrs. Hale concluded that the two could conquer him, and, if not, they would meet the worst as they best could. The Indian, who from his appearance she supposed to be the son of a chief, addressed her in the Indian dialect, which of course was not understood. Mrs. Hale, in haste to see the end of the matter, pale and frightened as she was, assumed an air of unconcern, and said, 'If you want anything, use plain language and say what it is; if I have it, you shall have it.' He immediately responded, 'Bread', and was almost as soon supplied with all she had. The Indian took out of his belt of wampum a silver broach, of the value perhaps of a shilling, and offered to pay for the bread, but this was refused, and he was told it was given him. He left with a smile upon his face, and was soon with his comrades, who were in full possession of Mrs. Phelps' house, and a shout of laughter, which made many broad acres of the forest ring, announced his arrival. Mrs. Hale said she presumed the merriment was caused by his description to the Indians of the ridiculous figure she made when, pale and trembling with fear, she assumed so bold an air while addressing him. Mrs. Phelps, to her astonishment, upon returning to her house found her own bread untouched, and everything precisely as she had left it, as if no one had been there." (Jones)

February 9, 1793, Colonel David Norton and his family moved into town from Arlington, Bennington Co., Vt. The colonel kept a diary on his journey the previous year to the western country, on a tour of exploration, from which the following are extracts:

"May 28, 1792.-Set out from Arlington to view the western country.
"June 1.-Rode to Whitestown, thirteen miles from German Flats, to James Ferguson's from thence to Colonel Sanger's, four miles; from thence to Samuel Ferguson's, two miles. Whitestown is mostly level; the soil rich, but poorly watered. The timber is maple, beech, elm, bass, hemlock, and butternut.
"Monday, June 4.- West to Clinton, and thence through the Indian lands, the soil of which is excellent, the ground being covered with nettles and other herbage, four miles; from thence to the twentieth township, which is thirteen miles from Colonel Sanger's, by way of Clinton, and lodged at Stratton's.
"Thursday, June 7.-A rainy day; viewed in other parts of the town. Land rich, hilly, and well watered. Lodged at Dyer's.
"Friday, June 8.-Went to view lots No. 41, 38, and 27. Level; timber mostly maple, with some bass, elm, beech, butternut, cherry, and two cedar swamps, with pine and hemlock; a branch of the Arisca (Oriskany) running through 38, and a small pond on 27. Lodged at Stratton's
"Saturday, June 9.- Returned to Colonel Sanger's by Colonel Tuttle's (Paris Hill), and bought of Colonel Sanger lots Nos. 38 and 27, and tarried at Samuel Ferguson's"

Colonel Norton became one of the most prominent men in the settlement. He was the first justice of the peace, the first supervisor, the first captain and first colonel in the militia, and the first postmaster after the post-office was removed to the centre. His name appears almost uniformly foremost in all the early enterprises of the town, be they religious, civil, political, or social. The first wedding in town was that of his eldest daughter, Hannah Norton, and Sylvanus Dyer, whose marriage took place Oct. 30, 1793, the ceremony being performed by Esquire Tuttle, as his first attempt in that line. Every person in the town was invited, and not one failed to be present.
As previously stated, the season of 1792 was disastrous to the crops of the settlers, and matters appeared gloomy enough. However, in 1793 affairs brightened, corn and all other kinds of grain which had been sown ripened to the greatest perfection, and the hearts of the pioneers were made glad and their granaries overflowed with the plenitude of the harvest, and the following year, 1794, witnessed the arrival in the town, during the spring and summer, of about forty families. Among there were Daniel Brown, Saul Smith, Thomas King, Daniel King, Solomon Williams, Samuel Williams, Justus and Ebenezer Hale, and Benjamin Dewey. The latter purchased a lot of Colonel Sanger. It is said he was the creditor of a person for whom, by an arrangement, the colonel was to pay the debt in land. The latter accompanied Mr. Dewey to point out to him his land, and took his first to lot No. 44, then bearing a most gloomy and uninviting aspect, but since having become very productive. Dewey, after viewing it to his satisfaction "felt indignant, and considered it an insult that the colonel should seek to pay an honest debt with such a tangled solitary waste, and turning to the colonel, he impatiently exclaimed, 'Well, colonel, if you have got any more land just show it, for I'll not take this bear's hole anyway!'"
The first framed house in town was built by Zerah Phelps, and the second by Ebenezer Hale. In those days bricks were exceedingly scarce, and none could be procured with which to build ovens. Mrs. Minierva Hale was the fortunate possessor of a bake-kettle, which, being the only one in the settlement, was consequently in great demand, and hardly had time to cool. Mrs. Ebenezer Hale said she baked in it altogether the flour and meal of forty-two bushels of grain, mostly by the fire of burning log-heaps in the clearings. This is two bushels ahead of Mrs. Samuel Royce, the wife of one of the first settlers of Camden, who, during the first summer that she lived in that town, baked eight barrels of flour in her bake-kettle. That convenient utensil, in Mrs. Hale's case, was finally allowed to rest, as Mr. Hale secured some bricks in the fall and built a bake-oven, when his wife in turn dispensed its benefits to the neighborhood.
In this year (1794) Justus and Ebenezer Hale opened at their dwelling-house the first store in town, and also furnished accommodations to travelers.
During the same summer the first school was taught by Polly Dyer, in the house of Colonel Norton.
The first death - that of Sibyl Knowlton, daughter of Henry Knowlton - occurred the same season, and her mother died about a month afterwards. They were buried near the residence of Nathaniel Ford.
In consideration for naming this town Sangerfield, Colonel Sanger agreed to present a cask of rum at the first town-meeting, and fifty acres of land to the church of any religious denomination which should build the first house for public worship.

"Many of the first settlers had selected New Lisbon as the name for their new town, and their disappointment and chagrin were manifested by giving that name to the Congregational society which was formed soon afterwards, and thus they made the society with the rejected name the recipient of Colonel Sanger's bounty. It does not appear that the colonel was at all chargeable with the 'unfair means' which were attributed by those displeased with the name to those who had been instrumental in procuring it. His promise was honorably fulfilled by furnishing a cask of choice run for the first town-meeting, and by conveying twenty-five acres of land to the Congregational society and twenty-five acres to the Baptists, the former being the first religious society and the latter erecting the first church edifice. The two twenty-five acre lots were parts of lot No. 45.

The number of taxable inhabitants in what is now Sangerfield, in 1796, was 85; the total assessment of real and personal property was $4475, and tax upon it, including collector's fees ($5.35), was $108.56. The highest individual tax was that of Benjamin White, who paid the sum of $5.04.
In September, 1795, Dr. Stephen Preston became a resident of the town, and was the first physician who settled within its limits. For over thirty years he enjoyed an extensive practice, and was also for many years a justice of the peace.
Daniel Eels, Sr., settled in that part of Sangerfield afterwards included in Bridgewater in 1796, but in 1797 removed to New Hartford, where he died. He was a native of Connecticut, and a veteran of the Revolution, being one of the number who aided in throwing up the earthwork at Bunker Hill on the night of June 16, 1775.


SCHOOLS.


The first school in the town of Sangerfield has been mentioned. From the town records it appears that the proportion of school moneys appropriated for the town of Sangerfield in 1795, by the Board of Supervisors of Herkimer County, was 46 pounds. The Supervisors at that time were James Dean, Roswell Fellows, Ludwick Campbell, David Norton, Joshua Remington, Joseph Jennings, Isaac Brayton, Stephen Hoxie.
Schools were established as they became necessary in various parts of the town, and from the first have been well sustained, even when only lines of blazed trees showed the children the way to the primitive log buildings in which they received the rudiments of an education. The schools at present in existence in the town are in a flourishing condition. Select schools have in several instances existed for longer or shorter periods.
The present union school building in Waterville was erected in 1872, at a cost of $20,000. The school has four departments, - academic, grammar, primary and sub-primary. The annex, used for the sub-primary department, is a two-story frame building, standing thirty feet north of the main structure, and was purchased in the spring of 1878; it was formerly used as a dwelling. Nine teachers are employed, the principal for 1878 being George R. Cutting. The school is regularly graded, and has the entire attendance of the village, averaging from 350 to 400. The total value of the school property, exclusive of furniture, is about $25,000. The Board of Education consists of the following persons, viz.: G.H. Church, President; H.P. Bigelow, Secretary; C.B. Terry, W.B. Candee, F.H. Terry, M.P. Cady, J.J. Bennett, H.J. Coggeshall, W.B. Goodwin.


RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES.


Congregational Church, Sangerfield Centre.- On the 5th day of January, 1794, a subscription paper was circulated to raise funds to pay for preaching. On the 14th of the same month a meeting was held to appoint a committee to carry into effect the wishes of the settlers. David Norton was chairman, and Nathan Gurney clerk. The members of the committee were Nathaniel Ford, Ebenezer Tenney, and Justus Hale. The last vote passed at this meeting was, "that the above committee-men shall hire a minister four Sundays on probation." This was the first organized effort to secure preaching, and the germ of the First Congregational Society. Religious services were usually held on Sunday, from January, 1785, to March, 1797, with occasional preaching by the Rev. Mr. Steele, Rev. Aaron Bogue, Rev. Mr. Minor, Rev. Mr. Mozier, and Rev. Mr. Crane. Regular meetings were held at Colonel Norton's, at the centre at the house of Giles Mix, who lived at the east end of the settlement; and at the house of Ebenezer Tenney, in the west part of town. Late in 1795, or early in 1796, the First Congregational Society was formed, known as the "Society of Lisbon, in Sangerfield." The style of the society was variously written as the "Trustees of Lisbon Society," "Trustees of the Lisbon Congregational Society," and "The First Congregational Society of Sangerfield." The church was formally organized as an independent body March 15, 1797, with eighteen members, - eleven males and seven females. The first settled pastor was Rev. James Thompson, who labored here from 1800 to 1806. Among the early pastors were Revs. Samuel Rich, from 1806 to 1816, Evans Beardsley, 1816 to 1823; John D. Pierce, 1825 to 1830; J.J. Lombard, 1831-32; F.H. Ayers, 1834-35; John B. Fish, 1838-44; E.S. Barrows,
Mr. Beecher, Mr. Butts, and Mr. Wilkins. A house of worship was erected by the society in 1804 on the village green at the centre. This green is eighteen rods wide and forty long, and was conveyed to the society for that purpose, Oct. 17, 1796, by David Norton, Ebenezer Hale, Justus Hale, and Oliver Norton. In 1823 about half the congregation withdrew, and formed the first Presbyterian Church and Society. They removed their house of worship in 1824 to a lot a short distance north, on the road to Waterville. It was taken down in 1846, and the present one erected.
The Congregationalists at the centre now attend services at Waterville, and the church at the former place is occupied by an Episcopal mission, services being held every Sunday by Rev. William L. Mott, who preaches also at "CongarTown", or Stockwell Settlement, at Oriskany Falls and at Augusta Centre. The membership of the mission at Sangerfield Centre is made up of communicants of Grace Church at Waterville, and the number is small. The Congregationalists do not hold meetings at the centre, owing to the proximity of a larger church and society at Waterville.
Baptist Church, Waterville.- Previous to the 14th of April, 1798, the Baptists had met with the Congregationalists, but finally, wishing to hold meetings according to their own faith, they resolved to form a society. Accordingly, on the above date, eight persons met at the house of White Osborn, and formed themselves into a society for worship, which they held as regularly as possible until the 19th of the following December, when they met at Benjamin White's, in Waterville, and were received into the fellowship of the neighboring associate churches. The first clergyman who preached to them was Elder Peter P. Roots, and their first settled pastor Elder Joe Butler, who commenced his labors early in 1799. In 1800 a house of worship was erected on the "Green," as the entire triangular plat now in the centre of the village was then called. This land had been granted them by Benjamin White for that and other church purposes. This church was taken down in 1833, and the present brick one erected on its site the same year. The "Green" is now all inclosed and built over.
Elder Butler remained here about five years. Elder Joy Handy preached a short time in the early part of 1806, and Elder Hezekiah Eastman preached occasionally, as the people desired. From 1807 to 1814 the church barely existed, and had but occasional preaching. In June of the latter year Rev. John Upfold became pastor, and remained three years, and among his successors were Revs. Joel Clark, 1817 to 1823; Daniel Putnam, 1824-32; Chancellor Hartshorn, 1833-37; Warham Walker, 1838-41 David Wright, 1841-43; John N. Murdock, 1843-46; George W. Davis, 1846-47; Mr. Pierce, 1847-48; and L.H. Hayhurst, 1849. The present pastor is Rev. G.J. Travis, and the membership (June 7, 1878) 125. In June, 1877, repairs were completed upon the church amounting to $5000, and the present value of the church property is estimated at $10,000, besides a parsonage worth $1800. In the tower of the church is the town-clock. A Sabbath-school is sustained with a membership of 120, and an average attendance of about 70. It possesses a library of 150 volumes; the pastor is the Superintendent.
First Presbyterian Church, Waterville.- This church was organized May 19, 1823, by twenty persons, who presented letters of dismission from the Congregational Church in Sangerfield. Rev. Evans Beardsley became the first stated supply, and retained the position until April 27, 1824. During the latter year Rev. Daniel C. Hopkins was installed pastor, and remained until 1828. Rev. John R. Adams was stated supply in 1829 and was succeeded by Rev. E.S. Barrows, who was installed pastor, and remained until 1833. Succeeding him some of the pastors have been, - Revs. Aaron Garrison, 1833, until February, 1836; Salmon Strong, stated supply; Joseph Myers, Oct 5, 1836, to June, 1839; John Frost, who died in 1843; Samuel W. Whelpley, pastor a short time; E.S. Barrows, stated supply till April, 1845; and A.D. Gridley, who began his labors in May, 1845, and was installed pastor Feb. 22, 1847. Mr. Gridley held the position for a long term. He was the author of the excellent "History of Kirkland," published in 1874, and is since deceased. He was deservedly popular, and a man of large attainments, fine social abilities, and all the qualities of a true gentleman.
This society erected its first house of worship in the summer of 1823, on the "Green," purchased and prepared for that purpose, in the west part of the village. In 1844 this building was sold to the Methodists, and a new frame structure erected on the site of the present elegant brick edifice, in the central part of the village. The latter was built in 1872, and, including the lot, cost $37,000. It is the finest house of public worship in the village, and has a seating capacity of about 600. It occupies, aside from the lot on which the former church stood, and adjoining lot, previously the site of a dwelling. In the tower of the church is an 1800-pound bell, manufactured by Meneeley & Kimberly, of Troy, N.Y. The present pastor is Rev. Albert H. Corliss, whose brother, George H. Corliss, was the inventor of the famous stationary steam-engine at the Philadelphia Exposition of 1876. The membership in June, 1878, was 190. The Sabbath-school has an average attendance of about 135, and possesses a library
of 350 volumes. Its superintendent is C. Wilson, M.D.
Grace Church (Episcopal), Waterville. - Rev. Fortune C. Brown was the first rector of this church, which was organized in 1840, and he continued until 1845. In 1842 the society organized as "The Wardens and Vestrymen of Grace Church, Waterville," and erected the church now owned by the Welsh Congregationalists. Among other early rectors were Revs. David M. Fackler, William A. Matson, and J.H. Benedict. The present rector is the Rev. Thomas Bell, who is also Superintendent of the Sabbath-school. The present frame church was built in 1854, and consecrated June 15 of that year, by Rt. Rev. William H. DeLancey, Rev. William T. Gibson being rector at the time. The present value of the church property, aside from the rectory, is $12,000, and that of the latter $3500. The communicants in June, 1878, numbered 93. The attendance at Sunday-school averages 75 or 80. The school has a library of 100 volumes.
In 1843 the "Congar Settlement" society of the Methodist Episcopal Church was formed, and the old Presbyterian Church edifice in Waterville purchased. It was sold in the winter of 1848-49. In April, 1847, the second Methodist Episcopal Church was organized, and a neat house of worship built at "Congar Settlement," or more properly Stockwell Settlement.
Methodist Episcopal Church, Waterville. - Previous to 1857 Waterville had been in a circuit with other places, Deansville (town of Marshall), etc. In 1857 it was organized as a separate society, and was one of three appointments - Waterville, Sangerfield Centre, and "Congar Town" - then under the pastoral care of Rev. F.W. Tooke, brother of the present pastor. The frame church owned by the society in Waterville was erected in 1860, at a cost of about $5000. It is at present valued at $9000, and the parsonage at $3500. In 1857 the members in the charge (three stations) numbered 97. The society at Waterville now has a membership of 112, with 31 probationers (June, 1878). The Sabbath-school has a membership of 133, and is superintended by the pastor. Its library contains 175 volumes. The following is a list of the pastors of this church since 1857: Revs. F.W. Tooke, R.S. Southworth, Loren Eastwood, O.H. Warren, G.C. Elliott, Charles Morgan, I.D. Peaslee, A.L. York, J.C. Darling, C.W. Brooks, the the present incumbent, Rev. W.F. Tooke.
St. Bernard's Catholic Church, Waterville - We are unable to give a history of this church, from the failure of its pastor, Rev. Father T.W. Reilly, to send us the desired information as promised. It has been in existence probably about thirty years, and has a considerable membership.
The Welsh Congregational Church, Waterville, was organized in 1852. The building used by the society is the one formerly occupied by the Episcopalians, and has been to some extent repaired. The subject of building a new church is agitated. The pastors of this church have been Revs. Edward Davies, now of the village, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Owen, and Benjamin Williams, - the latter still in charge. The membership in June, 1878, was about 100, made up mostly of people living in the adjoining town of Marshall. Isaac Jones is Superintendent of the Sabbath-school.


MILITARY.


A number of the pioneers of this town were veterans of the great struggle for independence, and their sons performed valiant duty during the second war with the subjects of the British crown; and when volunteers were called to suppress a rebellion in the home-country, hundreds sprang to arms, and the vacant places in various home-circles and the grassy graves on the sanguinary fields of the South tell the sad tale that not all returned. The following is a list of those who volunteered from this town, compiled from the records in the town clerk's office:
Company I, 26th Infantry. - Henry J. Flint, Lieutenant; William P. Gifford, Third Lieutenant; Alonzo Thompson, Second Corporal; George M. Hotchkins, Fourth Corporal. Privates: Oscar M. Atwell, died of wounds; J.E. Montgomery, John Garvey, Richard Fenn, Stanton Park, Jr., J.T. Burroughs, Charles P. Williams, A.B. Cleveland, Peter Bardun, James Cox, Owen Graham, Henry A. Webster, William Plunkett, Stephen Duffy, George W. Ritter, Eugene R. Wood, John Leavins, Seymour Hayes, Oscar Burdic.
81st Infantry. - Walter C. Newbury, Captain; Lewis B. Chase, Corporal; William H. McKee, Corporal. Privates: Erastus Bugbee, Alfred Bugbee, Henry Ellis, Eager Gilbert, John Jones, William Kent, Llewellyn King, Peter Lord, John Livermore, John Myers, John J. Owens, Pulaski Rhodes, William Shaw, Thomas Westnage, James K. Walters, Joseph Witsenbarger, Calvin Wheat, William Bridon, Ezra S. Beebe, David W. Davis, Sables W. Davis, Albert Johnson, Julius Clarke, Henry Clarke, Samuel Oliver, Leroy Palmer, Daniel Patterson, Charles Davis, Rufus K. Cheadell, Lewis Williams, C.E. Green, James Burney, Joseph Petrie, John Scott, Edward Jones, Alonzo O. Main, Henry Button, John Jones (re-enlisted), A. Gilbert, Albert Johnson, William Kemp, Joseph Witsenbarger, Pulaski Rhodes, L.B. Chase, Erastus Bugbee, Frank Post, Captain William Breden.
117th Infantry. - Edwin Risley, Lieutenant. Privates: George Dearflinger, Myron Wait, Charles W. Vibbard, William T. Kelly, William H. Carpenter, John Jones, Andrew F. Childs, C.A. Munger, George B. Day, Andrew F. Rowell (killed), Jerome Burdick, Ira Spencer, William Jordan, Albert Beebe, Sylvanus D. Brown, Henry S. Rowell, Cornelius A. Nolan, Henry Baldwin, Elias A. Brown, Samuel Shipman, John Reed, George R. Russell, Rowland E. Jones, James Jones, John H. Jones, Michael Cary, Benjamin Judd, John Davis, James B. Cox, Charles H. Malone, Thomas Keen, Michael Dowd, Charles Edsell, John Whalen.
3d Artillery.- A.M. Lewis, Levi Hubbard, Patrick Mahony, George P. Hotchkins, Joseph Wicks.
97th Infantry. - William Shepherd, James E. Johnson.
146th Infantry. - Privates: John Owens, David B. Lack (killed in service), David Edwards, Joseph Whalen, Addison Cheesbrough (wounded at Petersburg died), James Gibson (died of wounds), Chester E. Burgett, John Burnham (died in service), Lucien S.Tooley (wounded at Wilderness, Va.; died), John Reckhard, Charles L. King, Joseph Penner (died of wounds in rebel prison), William R. Hopkins, Edward Morris (died in rebel prison), Charles Risley (died of wounds), George W. Wright (severely wounded), Henry Penner, Rensselaer Wright; A.J. Wilson, lieutenant.
14th Heavy Artillery. - Byron H. Reynolds, Sidny Smith (died in service), William S. Cheesebrough (died in service), Volney D. Carter, John H. Padley, Albert A. Mack, Francis D. Young, Henry A. Champlain, George Denn, John Lovell, Andrew C. Nelson (wounded in shoulder), Henry A. Rhodes, Scott Hayes, P.F. Avery, George Jackson, John Stoner.
Scott's Nine Hundred. - James H. Young (died in service), Dennis Cain, George Russell.
10th Cavalry. - H.A. Webster
15th Cavalry. - Isaiah Bellfield
20th Cavalry. - John E. Wheaton.
24th Cavalry. - M.Y. Hill, John E. Walker.
25th Cavalry. - Abram Beeker.
133d Infantry. - John Regan.
157th Infantry. - George G. Clark, Fred. C. Hall, J.F. Martin.
101st Infantry. - Peter Nolan, Rowland Roberts, Thomas Murphy, Lyman VanAllen, Darwin Dennison, Stafford Williams, Spencer Allen.
51st Infantry. - James Butler.
91st Infantry.- Charles E. Norton, Amos Drake.
184th Infantry. - George H. Williams, James Brady.
192d Infantry. - Joseph McCarthy, Thomas Howard, Francis Gilchrist, James Robinson, William Ward, Patrick Reilly, Joseph Barton, Thomas Goff, Frank LaBare, Thomas Moore, James Rankin, William Smith, John Smith, William Shanger, Thomas Davidson, Michael Reilly, Patrick McCarthy, Charles Stanton, John Cooney.
Navy. - P.R. Huggins, John La M. Russell, Albert Cheesebrough.


SANGERFIELD CENTRE.


This place lies a mile and a quarter south of Waterville, and now contains a post-office, a store, two hotels, three blacksmith-shops, two wagon-shops, and a shoe-shop. It was once the village of the town, but it was in time forced to give way to Waterville. The post-office here is called Sangerfield, and was removed from Waterville in 1808, at which time Colonel David Norton was appointed first postmaster. He held the office until his death, which occurred in 1829, and he was universally mourned by all his acquaintances. His son-in-law, Daniel North, was appointed in his place, and held the office until subsequent to 1850. The present incumbent is E.H. Mott, who is also town clerk, and proprietor of the only store in the place.