History And Profile of the Hamlet Of
NORTHVILLE
Town of Genoa
Cayuga County, NY
History of Churches in the Hamlet of Northville (Town of Genoa) | |
Rural Life Museum & Genoa Historical Society |
The text information displayed on this site was acquired from the book:
HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY, NY 1789 -1879, BY ELLIOT G.
STORKE
Thanks to Ronnie Aungst for typing the information on this page into
a digital format.
PROFILE
Northville, (Kings Ferry p.o.) is situated on a beautiful plateau,
in the north-west part of the town, and is distant eight miles south-east
of Aurora, two miles east of Kings Ferry station, and about three miles west
of Genoa. It contains three churches, (Presbyterian, Episcopal, and Catholic)
a district school, two general stores, one drug store, one shoe shop (kept
by O. F. Kendall), a harness shop (kept by James Detrich), a hardware store
and tin shop, a blacksmith (kept by Ossian King), one hotel (kept by R. J.
Drake, and built in 1849 by Captain David Ogden and D. Adams & Son, on
the site of one built by Samuel Chadwick in 1814, and burned May 30, 1844),
and a population of about 300.
MERCHANTS.--
Capt. David Ogden was probably the first merchant in the town. His business
was conducted for a time in a block house a little south of Alanson Brown's
and was subsequently moved to a wing on the north side of the Jump house.
He commenced business soon after coming into town, (about 1797)
and continued a great many years, as previously mentioned in connection with
his settlement here. The next appear to have been Knapp&Rice, who had
a store near Joseph Fenner's but were unfortunate. Samuel Adams, Niram Wildman
and Stephen bassett commenced business under the name of Adams, Wildman &
Co., in 1802, and continued till 1806, when they dissolved and Adams&
Wildman went to Genoa village and engaged in mercantile and other business
there. They were succeeded at Northville by Reuben Pomeroy, who occupied
the store they vacated, which stood on the site of the building built for
a steam mill, and continued till his death in 1812. From August 1809, to
the summer of 1810, Darius Adams then bought him out and in December of that
yearentered in copartnership with Henry Bradley, under the name of Adams
& Bradley. They built in 1819 the store now occupied by Dr. Ball, and
continued business till April 1823, whrn Mr. Bradley sold his interest. He
subsequently moved to Penn Yan and was a leading merchart there for many
years. Mr. Adams continued the business till 1846, when he retired, having
been associated in the summer of 1831 with S. G. Pomeroy, when the firm name
was Adams & Pomeroy; from 1837-40, with Samuel C. Lyon, under the name
of Adams & Lyon; and from 1840-46, with his son Samuel, when the firm
was known as D. Adams & Son. In 1835 he built the store now occupied
by Adams & Ogden. From 1846-51, Samuel Adams was associated with his
brother Darius W. Adams, under the name of S. & D.W. Adams. After 1851
Samuel Adams conducted the business alone until April 1, 1857, when Newell
Lyons became his partner, and the firm became S. Adams & Co. February
10, 18644, Mr. Adams bought his partner's interest and in April 1867, he
sold to Darius W. Adams and Weston A. Ogden, who hae since carried on the
business under the name of Adams& Ogden.
During these years many other persons have been engaged in mercantile business for short periods with vried success. Among them were Jesse Atwater, Samuel and Ansel Chadwick, Gay & King, Harvey Andrews & Horace Atwater, Sidney Avery & Theron Seymour, Wail H. Davis & Theron Seymour, Richard Brownell, seneca G. Pomeroy & Walter G. Bradley, titus,Greenfield & Co., Lewis Seymour, Pierce & Co., Sauel & Lewis Atwater, Andrew Thorp, Union Store, Allen C. Purdy & Son and James C. King.
Philo Clark, druggist, commenced business in 1865, and still continues it. L. B. King, general merchant, commenced business in 1866, in company with B. F. Coleman, with whom he did business about a year. In 1874, James A. Greenfield became his partner and continued with him one year. King bought out Ansel Chadwick in 1866. G. W. Crocker commenced the hardware business in 1866, in company with Thomas Underhill and W. A. Purdy, whose interests he bought at the expiration of two years. In 1870, he was associated with S. C. Bradley, under the name of Crocker & Bradley. In 1871, Bradley sold to John Starner, who after two years, bought Crocker's interest and continued in company, a part of the time, with Edwin Perry, until March 1877, when he sold to Crocker & Peckham, who still carry on the business.
King's Ferry post-office was established at Ogdens Corners, in 1807, with Capt. David Ogden, Sr. as postmaster. The office was kept in a wing on the north side of his house, one mile west of Northville, until 1822, when it was moved to Northville. In the first year sixty-two letters were received, of which three were paid, thirty-nine unpaid and twenty free. The gross amount received during the first year for letters and papers was $18.99 1/2, of which the government received $12.63 1/2. Mr Ogden was succeeded by Henry Bradley, who was appointed January 1, 1823. Daruis Adams received the appointment in December 1823, and held the office as late as 1842. G. W. Gunn, Lewis Seymour, (who held the office in 1846), Darius Adams, Lewis Seymour, Samuel Atwater, (who held it in 1851) and Walter G. Bradley succeeded each other at short intervals. Bradley held the office as early as 1854 and as late as 1859. He was succeeded by Allen C. Purdy, B. F. Coleman and Samuel Adams, the latter whom was appointed in 1869, and still holds the office.
Prior to the settlement of any physician at Northville, Drs. Thomas Lyon , who was the first physician in the section, and was located at Five Corners, Nathaniel Aspinwall, who came in 1803, and settled three miles south of Northville, where J. F. Baker resides, and Consider King, who settled at Capens Corners, (Ledyard) in 1805, extended their practice to this locality. Aspinwall was one of the original members of the County Medical Society, and he and King were intelligent and conscientious men. Dennison R. Pearl, a native of Oneida county, commenced practice here in May, 1828, and continued six years. He resumed practice in 1843, at Sherwood, where he now resides. Samuel Milliken, who commenced practice in Brockport, came here about 1828, May 1st of which year, while a resident of Genoa, he joined the County Medical Society. Ansel Chadwick, who had been away some years, returned here in 1832, and practiced until his death in 1867. Philo Clark, who was born in Massachusetts February 9, 1807, and was educated at Fairfield and Geneva Medical Colleges, from the latter of which he graduated in the spring of 1834, commenced practice at Borodino in 1835, abd after one year removed to Northville, where he has since practiced. He joined the County Medical Society June 2, 1836. B. F. Coleman, who was born in Goshen, May 23, 1823, and educated at the Albany Medical College and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York, from the latter of which he graduated in 1845, commenced practice at Northville in 1852. He removed to Seneca county in 1870, and returned here June 3, 1878. Frederick A. Dudley was born in Madison, Conn., Jan. 6, 1842, and educated at Yale Medical College, where he graduated in 1862. He commenced practice as surgeon of the 14th Connecticut Infantry and after the war practiced about two years at Beaufort, S.C. He removed thence in 1868 to Northville, where he has since practiced.
Though Northville is not the theater of any manufacturing industry, it has not been utterly destitute of an effort to make it such. In 1836, some public-spirited citizens formed a stock company and built a steam flouring-mill. Jonathan Borden was the chief stockholder and was made president. Darius Adams was treasure. It was in operation several years, but did not pay, and is now used as a store-house.
GENOA LODGE NO. 213, F. & A. M. was organized August 11, 1813, at the house of Simeon P. Strong, in Teetertown (Lansingville). William Miner, Lemuel Powers, John Bowker, Samuel Knapp, Darius Adams, Curtis Galpin, Simeon P. Strong, Belding Kellogg, Martin Kellogg, Ithmar Kellogg, Levi Roath, H. West, Abner Brannis and Samuel R. Wilson, who were members of Sylvan Lodge, Massachusetts, Eagle Lodge, Seneca county, and Scipio Lodge, Aurora, were the charter members. This was the fourth lodge in the County, the first having been organized in Aurora, March 22, 1797, the second at Moravia, in 1810 and the third, (Morning Star Lodge, now dead) near Bolt's Corners, in the present town of Scipio, in 1811. It died during the anti-masonic times, and was reorganized as No. 421, January 29, 1857. The charter members then were J. M. White, Geo. Fritts, J. H. Pickard, G. W. Gunn, Darius Adams, David Ogden, and B. A. Shepard. The lodge now numbers about ninety members. Since the reorganization meetings have been held in the rooms formerly occupied by the Odd Fellows, in the steam mill building.
The NORTHVILLE TEMPERANCE SOCIETY was formed in August 1828, in which year, in the west half of Genoa, there were two distilleries, four licensed hotels and four stores, selling about 250 barrels of ardent spirits. Only eighteen individuals in the town could be induced to sign the pledge, and notwithstanding the Society first met with violent opposition, in the fifth year after its organization not a license was granted in the town. The old Society died years ago but the work has been continued and today there are in West Genoa two Good Templar Lodges and two Rechabite Tents.
The text information displayed on this site was acquired from the book:
HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY, NY 1789 -1879, BY ELLIOT G.
STORKE
Thanks to Ronnie Aungst for typing the information on this page into
a digital format.
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