Comstock's History Page Seventeen

SOME OF THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SCIPIO

CAYUGA COUNTY NEW YORK by Austin B. Comstock

I will be posting each page of this history separately. The index, posted on June 24, 2014 in 4 parts, provides the page numbers; you can also search the blog for a particular name appearing anywhere within it. 

The index is also published at  http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nycayuga/ and will eventually have a link back to this blog.

I hope you find something new!

Page Seventeen

He stayed one year and then moved away.

The next Irish family came in 1846, whose family name was Daily, and worked for Augustus Howland, who was followed by his brother Timothy.

Of the schools there is no written record previous to 1814, but traditions assert that there was, at an early date, a log schoolhouse on grounds now occupied by George Powers’

house. This was taken down and replaced by the old “Qaudrilateral.” This moved prior to 1814 to the place where Blaine Baker’s house stands.

We have the clerk’s records since 1814. This building was used until 1851 when the schoolhouse, recently abandoned, was built at a cost of$675. The old house seems to have had a rather transitory existence. It having been moved once already and after the new schoolhouse was built it was sold to Leda Watkins and moved to Scipioville. It was then sold to Wheeler Powell for a storehouse. Powell then sold it to a colored man who again moved it, this time to Poplar Ridge where it was used as a dwelling house.

In 1841, a debating society was formed by Leonard Searing, Josiah Letchworth, D.C. Gould, Ethan Clark and others, which continued two years and disbanded.

Another was established in 1846, which has continued for over 30 years, and many of our prominent lawyers of a few years ago probably got much of their early training in oratory at their meetings. In 1848, chiefly through the efforts of Alonzo Comstock, a division of the Sons of Temperance was formed but it was discontinued in 1855 to be succeeded by the Good Templars which and a short run and disbanded. In 1868 another Lodge of Good Templars was organized and lasted until about 1907. This lodge had over 300 members at the height of its prosperity and did a great amount of good.

Colonel Lyon bought the first threshing machine in 1828. It was a four horse stationary machine. Previous to that date the grain was pounded out with flails or trodden out by horses. The first horse rake was introduced at about this time, but the mowing machine did not come until 1846, and was followed in about 10 years by the sewing machine (sowing machine?). The first carriage with steel springs came in 1834, owned by John Seeley. The iron plow came by Jethro Wood’s invention in 1818.

As stated earlier, Enoch Honeywell built a chair factory in 1818 and did business until 1834 when he sold out to Alonzo Comstock and John Lapham who continued the business until 1838 when the building was cut in two and moved away to make the two present houses of Frank DeFreeze and Willie Neville. Josiah Letchworth came from New Jersey in 1833 and bought of Moses T. Fell the place we now know as the Dr. Hoxie place, where he established the business of harness making with William F. Bancroft as assistant.

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