The History of Cayuga County 1789-1879 page 295
Village of Cato

Taylor and wife, Barber Allen and wife, Lucius M. Hollister, Abraham Kells, Nancy A. Bradt, Eliza Jenkins, Sophronia Furman, Miranda Palmeter and Daniel C. Mc Clenten and wife. It is an emanation from the Church at Ira, (which was organized July 8th, 1807, by Rev. Francis Pomeroy,) and Rev. Wm. U. Benedict, who was then the pastor of that Church, acted as a supply for this for three years. January 5th, 1839, Henry Boyington became a permanent supply, with a salary of $400, and remained three years. January 1st, 1842, James T. Hough, M.D., became the permanent supply and remained four and a half years. In August,1847, Wm. G. Hubbard, a licentiate, became a supply, under the patronage of the Presbytery, and remained one and a half years.

He was succeeded in March, 1849, by Simon S. Goss, the first pastor, who was ordained and installed February 19th, 1850, with a salary of $500, which was increased two years after by the use of a parsonage. He was dismissed May 7th, 1862, on account of ill health.

The second pastor was Samuel B. Sherrill, who commenced his labors in the summer of 1862, and was ordained and installed pastor February 14th, 1863, with a salary of $600 and parsonage. He was dismissed February 3d, 1868. He was succeeded by Wallace B. Lucas, the present pastor, who commenced his labors in the spring of 1869, and was ordained and installed pastor September 26th, 1869, with a salary of $900 and parsonage.

For the first four years they worshiped in the village school-house. In the summer of 1839, the present fine, substantial brick structure was erected at a cost of $3685.60, the site having been given by Judge Hollister. It was dedicated in December of that year. In the summer of 1854, it was enlarged and a tower erected at a cost of $2,000. In 1872-'3, it was repaired, enlarged, a session room built over the vestibule, a new tower erected on the corner, and the inside entirely remodeled, at a cost of $6,690.32. Since then the pastor's study, a dining room and library have been fitted up at various times. In June, 1876, a $1,000 pipe organ was put in.

The Church has enjoyed several interesting revivals. In 1840, 26 were added; 24 in 1844; 38, in 1857; 29, in 1859; 12, in 1866; 26, in 1872; 14, in 1874; and 23, in 1878. The present membership is 188; the attendance at Sabbath school, about 150.

SOCIETIES.--Meridian Lodge No. 142 of the Ancient Order of the United Workingmen was organized with twenty members, the present number, March 26th, 1878. The first and present officers are D. L. Spoor, P. M. W.; G. O. Burk, M. W.; O. S. Dudley, G. F.; James Tackney, O.; C. L. Hickok, Rdr.; F. M. Hunting, F.; C. A. Bloomfield, R.; Jno. Bell, G.; W. S. Cornell, I. W.; Jacob Strickland, O. W. Meetings are held on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at their rooms in the Lawrence Block. It is the second lodge of the kind in the County, the first being at Union Springs. The chief object of the society is to secure to its membership the benefits of life insurance at the minimum cost. It has also charitable and social aims.

CATO

Cato is an enterprising village of five hundred inhabitants, situated in the north-west part, lying party in this town and partly in Ira. It is on the S. C. R. R., eight miles north of Weedsport, and is the natural center for shipments on that road of a large section of fertile country, abounding in fruit, grain and other products. The business at this station is said to exceed that at Weedsport on the same road. There is a sharp competition among its merchants for a village of its size, and it exhibits corresponding activity. It has many of the elements of an attractive village. It contains three churches, (Reformed, Campbellite and R. C.,) a union school, four stores, three cigar shops, a steam saw and grist-mill combined, a foundry and machine shop, two cabinet shops, of which D. J. Acker & Son and Joseph Girard are proprietors, two shoe shops, of which J. R. Allen and Wm. C. Rose are proprietors, two carriage shops, kept by Frank Brown and Wm. Devoe, three blacksmith shops, kept by Harvey Root, P. P. Brown and Frederick Kitner, two milliner shops, kept by Mrs. Margaret Dutton and Mrs. Nettie Morey, two hotels, and two barber shops, kept by A. J. Munroe and David Vine.

Settlement at Cato was commenced in 1805, by Platt Titus, who remained only two or three years. The first permanent settler was Dr. John Jakway, who came from Vermont, in com-

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