Early Settlers of St. Helena, New York

St Helena, ghost town of the Genesee, 1797-1954

In 1826, Mr. and Mrs. Parker Nichols emigrated from Vermont and settled in St. Helena, where on September 25, 1827, a daughter, Fanny, was born to them. She could remember seeing Mary Jemison at St. Helena. An abundance of timber and water power for their mills drew the early settlers to the valley. During the early 1800’s, an English surveyor, Stewart by name, laid out the plan for the village. Divided into three sections, residential, business, and manufacturing, the little town began to grow. In 1832, Asa Willey Gifford purchased land there. Asa was born in Vermont in 1798, son … Read more

Mr. Madison’s War

Battle of Fort Oswego

Northern New York in the War of 1812 — the north country not in sympathy with the war — the capture of Ogdensburg — the battle of Sackets Harbor — Wilkinson’s Expedition — the capture of Oswego and the carrying of the cable.

Alexandria New York in the War of 1812

War of 1812 - Dont give up the ship

In Alexandria occurred an engagement during the war of 1812-15 which imparts considerable historic importance to the town. And we may add, en passant, that the British were met with that courage and intrepid gallantry that characterized the Revolutionary struggle about forty years before. Also that, near half a century subsequent to the occurrence of the event about to be recorded, the descend-ants of those old heroes maintained the honor their fore-fathers fought to uphold. We quote from “Hough’s History of Jefferson County:” “On the 14th of July, 1813, the Neptune and the Fox, the former a private armed boat, … Read more

Brownville New York Biographies – Part 6

1864 Map of Brownville New York

The following 10 biographical sketches were extracted from the Geographical gazetteer of Jefferson county, N.Y., 1685-1890: Joseph Knowlton, William Brothers, Solomon Gould, Chauncy H. Fay, Col. Solomon Spafford, Daniel Gould, James Bauter, David Kennedy, John Lynch, and Richard Flansburg, Jr.

Brownville New York Biographies – Part 1

1864 Map of Brownville New York

The following 10 biographical sketches were extracted from the Geographical gazetteer of Jefferson county, N.Y., 1685-1890: Samuel Plumb, John Cole, Jonathan Emerson, Benjamin Prior, Jacob Kilborn, Josiah Bonney, William Stow Ely, Cyrus Allen, Jacob Carpenter, and William Berry.