First European Settlers in the Meridian Vicinity:
1799-1820
1799 - Samson Lawrence (1765-1824)
Samson Lawrence is said to have settled near Meridian in
1800[1],
but there are tax records for him in Aurelius (The northern part of Cayuga
County was then called Aurelius, at that time, of which Cato was a part until
1802) as early as 1799.[2]
He remained in Cato for the US Censuses in 1800, 1810, and 1820. [3],[4],[5]
Those records indicate that he was
married and had at least one daughter.
He was one of several men from the area who served in the
War of 1812. [6]
At the first meeting of the Town of Cato in 1818, when it
was first set off from Aurelius, Samson Lawrence became one of the Town’s two
Fence Viewers.[7]
He died in September 1824, and was buried at Crosman
Cemetery.[8] The cemetery is located on the west side of
Bonta Bridge Road, near the intersection of Jorolemon Road, south of Meridian.
The grave of Patience Lawrence, who died in 1828, is also
at that cemetery, and could have been his wife or his daughter.[9]
No other records of Samson or his family have been found.
1800 – The Stockwell Family
In 1800, Levi Stockwell (1740-1812) and his three sons arrived
in the Town of Cato. Levi was born in Massachusetts, but lived for a while in Whitehall,
Washington County, New York, before moving to the Military Tract.[10]
Levi served in a New York regiment as a First
Lieutenant during the American Revolution, and as a result, was granted five
hundred acres of land in Lysander and another five hundred acres in Fabius.[11]
He sold that land to several buyers in 1807.[12]
It does not appear that he ever settled those tracts. Two of his sons sold land
in Lysander at about the same time, so it seems reasonable to assume that Levi
had given some of it to them at a prior date, although no record of that has
been found. Levi and his wife Sarah settled in what is now the town of Ira,
north of Meridian.
Accompanying Levi were his three sons, David (1764-1841),
Eleazer (1768-1848), and Andrew (1769-1827). All settled in the original Town
of Cato: David and Eleazer in what is now Ira, and Andrew in what is now Cato.
David ran the first inn in Ira, and Eleazer’s daughter
Polly was the first child born in Ira, in 1802.
Andrew settled southeast of Meridian, on the Jordan Road,
on the farm later owned by the Charles Bloomfield, Wilbur Jewell, and Robert Dudley
families. He married Sibyl Root (1784-1867), who was born in Great Barrington,
Massachusetts, in June 1804. Their marriage was the first in the current town
of Cato. Their daughter Alvira (1805-1867) was born the next year in May, and
was the “first white child” born in what is currently the town of Cato.[13]
Andrew and Sibyl had three other children: Chauncey
(1810-1870), Julia Ann (1820-1900), and Rebecca (1822-1902). None of the three
daughters married. Chauncey was married, and he and his wife may have had only
one child, a daughter.
Sibyl Root Stockwell and her family were members of the
Meridian Baptist Church. Chauncey left the residuum of his estate, after his
wife’s death, to that church.[14]
Sibyl
and her daughters all lived at Chauncey’s home for several years after Andrew
died. Chauncey’s home caught fire in 1867, and Alvira and Sibyl died in the
fire. After Chauncey’s death in 1870, Rebecca and Julia remained in the area. Andrew’s
widow and all his children are buried at Meridian. Andrew’s remains are in the
Cato-Meridian (Pioneer) cemetery between the villages of Cato and Meridian in
the Town of Ira. [15]
1800 – Daniel M Bristol (1776-1884)
There were several Bristols, including Daniel, in the
area in the 1800 Census[16]
in Aurelius (Cato was still a part of Aurelius at that time), In 1805 he bought land from Abner Hollister[17],
and by 1806, he had built a log cabin at the southeast corner in the village
(on the site of the current Post Office) and opened a store, Meridian’s first
business (and the first merchant in the Town of Cato).[18]
He was still in the area in 1810,[19]
although Storke says he left the area in 1808 after his business failed.[20]
1802 – Solomon Woodworth (1775-1847)
Woodworth
(1775–1847) was born near Johnstown, New York, the son of Captain Solomon
Woodworth, who was killed by a group of Onondagas fighting on the side of the
British during the Revolutionary war in 1781.[21],[22] He arrived in
Cayuga County by 1802, and established a ferry across the Seneca River to
Jordan from Lot 43, where Quimby’s Bridge is located today. He was one of the
first supervisors of the Town of Cato, serving from 1805-1808[23] and later, like his
father, served as a Captain in a Light Infantry Company during the War of 1812.[24] He left the area for
Allegany County in 1828.[25]
1803 – Ferris Family
Henry
Ferris (1763-1808), accompanied by his sons Thatcher (1787-1864), age 16, and
Augustus (1784-1848), 19, along with Augustus 17-year-old wife, Jane Preston,
walked from Galway in Saratoga County in the spring of 1803. They followed the
Mohawk Trail, and then came through Manlius and Onondaga Hill to a trading post
about half a mile west of the falls at what is now Baldwinsville. The operator
of the trading post was also a land agent, and sold the Ferris family 450 acres
in the Town of Cato (now Ira).
The
Ferris land, in Military Tract Lot 71, spanned the area between the Ferris Road
north of Meridian and Route 176. They settled on the eastern side of the land
and built a shelter and planted crops to get them through the first winter.
Once the crops had been harvested, all three headed east, again on foot. At
Jamesville, they bought provisions. The three younger Ferrises headed back to
the new farm, while Henry walked on back to Saratoga County.
In
the spring of 1804, Henry returned with the rest of his family: his wife
Elizabeth Hays, son Henry, Jr., and
daughters Anstis, Betsy Ann, Zipporah, and Margaret. Henry and Elizabeth had two
more children after their arrival: James Harvey, and Mary, bringing the family
to nine children.
Thatcher
married Betsey Elwell, a daughter of Jesse Elwell, the village’s first
innkeeper.
Anstis
Ferris married Sardis Dudley in 1816. After her death nine years later, her
sister Mary became Sardis’ second wife.
Henry’s
children, a grandchild, and a great-grandchild, were actively involved in the
community.
Thatcher
became the first Supervisor of the Town of Ira at the first town meeting in 1821.
He served as member of the New York State Assembly twice, elected in 1818, and
again in 1826.
Augustus,
who opened a store at what is now Cato village about 1820, was the first
postmaster in the Town of Cato. He was a delegate to the New York Constitutional
Convention in 1821, and also was elected a member of the State Assembly in
1824. At the first town meeting of the newly formed Town of Ira in 1821, he
became a Commissioner of Gospel and School Lands and Pound Keeper.
The
tradition of public service continued with Thatcher’s son Harvey Darius Ferris,
who, in 1880, also became a member of Assembly. Harvey’s son Jesse was for many
years Sheriff of Cayuga County.
1804 - Elihu Peck (1776-1841)
Elihu Peck, born
in Vermont, came with his wife Ruana Farnham and three children from Pompey in
Onondaga County in 1804 and settled on what is now Short Cut Road. There they
had three more children. His farm was on property later owned by the Drew and
Melnick families. His father, Captain Enoch (or Enos) Peck (1752-1835), and his
brother, Peter Peck (1783-1871), came at about the same time and settled on the
northeast corner at Meacham’s Corners, east of the village. Peter later settled
on land north of the village in what became the Town of Ira. The Pecks sold
their property near Meridian to Joel Northrup in 1813 and moved to Camillus.[26],[27]
1804 – George
Loveless (1771-1860)
George and his
wife Ruana Huntley Loveless (1778-1847), came to what is now the south side of
Meridian from the Albany area. Their farm was on the west side of Bonta Bridge
Road, just north of the current Paul Dudley farm.
George Sr. was
born in Putnam County, and Ruana in Dutchess County. They arrived in the Town
of Cato with their first four children: John, Phoebe, George, and Solomon. After
their arrival, they had three more children, Ezra, Ruana, and Esther. Solomon
was an innkeeper in the village, beginning about 1829.
George and Ruana
are buried in the Cato-Meridian (Pioneer) Cemetery in the Town of Ira.[28]
Solomon’s grandson,
Charles Evarit Loveless, eventually moved west to Wisconsin, leaving none of
the pioneer’s direct descendants in Meridian. However, the son of the pioneer George’s
brother Joseph, Jonas Loveless, later came west to Lysander, and his
descendants ended up back in Meridian. Frank Loveless, Joseph’s great-great
grandson (George’s great-great nephew) and his wife Ethel Halstead Loveless
established a farm just north of the village, which was farmed by the family
until their son Donald’s death in 1967.
1804 – Abel Pasko
(1765-1852)
Abel Pasko and Sarah Ferguson Pasko arrived
in the Meridian area in 1804. They settled on the south side of Meridian.[29] The
Pasko farm was on the west side of Bonta Bridge Road, south of the intersection
of Cottrell Road.
Abel was born in Becket, Massachusetts,
and Sarah in Torrington, Connecticut. They were married in Becket in 1792,
where their first three children were born. Sometime between 1796 and 1797,
they moved to Granville, in Washington County, New York, where the next five
children were born.
They were among the families who were the
founders of the Meridian Baptist Church in 1810.[30]
Abel and Sarah’s
daughter Sophrona married John Loveless, son of George Loveless (see above).
Abel Ambrose Pasko (1794-1874), their son, was one of the several local men who
served in the War of 1812. Most of the Pasko family remained near Meridian
until at least 1830.[31] By 1845 many of the
family had moved on to Michigan. Sophrona and John went to Ohio. Sardius was in
Victory as late as 1855,[32] but later moved to Wisconsin.[33] Deacon James Milton Pasko
remained in the area, living between Cato and Meridian on the approximate site
of the current Cato-Meridian High School. He died in 1879, the last of the
local Paskos.
1804 – Ichabod
Squyer (?-1822)
Ichabod Squyer (or
Squires) came to the area about 1804,[34] owning land in Lots 59 (north
of the village and north of the Ferris family) and 70 (northwest of the village).[35]
His son, John W.
Squyers, was the first physician in the area. He practiced medicine for
twenty-five years, moving to Plainville in 1830. He also taught the first
school. He was described as “a natural genius, highly educated, but much
addicted to the use of intoxicants. He was the first physician in the County
north of the river, and had no equal as such in that country. He had a large
and lucrative practice, which, in consequence of his bibitory habits, was
gradually monopolized by others of less ability.” He died in the mid 1840’s.[36]
1805 – Jesse
Elwell (1761-1812)
Elwell settled in
Meridian at the northeast corner of what is now Route 370 and the Ferris Road.
He established the first tavern, and lived there until he died in 1811 or 1812.
A veteran of the
Revolutionary War, and originally from Massachusetts, Jesse Elwell and his wife
Elizabeth came to the area from Vermont, after a brief stay in Manlius,
Onondaga County. In Manlius, the large Elwell family (they had twelve children,
eleven of whom survived infancy) met the family of Connecticut-born Abner
Hollister, Sr. There, Abner Hollister, Jr. married Jesse Elwell’s daughter
Polly in 1804 and the two families came to the Town of Cato in 1805.
Jesse was a member of the first Cato
Masonic lodge, No. 430, F., and A.M.
which was established prior to 1825, and dissolved in 1832 (a second lodge was
founded in 1849.)[37]
Jesse, with the
help of his sons, cleared land and built a tavern of bark-covered logs at what
is now the northeast corner of Meridian’s main intersection. This was the first
tavern north of the Seneca River in Cayuga County. Soon thereafter a road was
built north from the Seneca River (today’s Bonta Bridge Road) that extended
past his tavern to Oswego. That road crossed the Rome-to-Rochester road that is
today’s New York State Route 370 and Meridian’s main street.[38]
The tavern was a
community center and some Town meetings were held there, including the one that
provided for the establishment of the Town of Sterling (until then a part of
the Town of Cato) in 1811.[39]
Jesse and Polly
died within a week of each other in December 1812, perhaps of the epidemic of
probable cholera that was occurring in New York state and New England during
that period.[40] The tavern was then taken over by their son
William Elwell, who operated it until 1818, when he sold it to his
brother-in-law, Abner Hollister. Abner built a frame addition to the log
building.[41]
Jesse’s daughter
Betsy married Thatcher Ferris, a neighbor north of the village, and some of their
descendants still live in the area, bearing surnames such as Hotaling,
Terpening, and Bramley.[42] Although there are records of Elwells in the
area as late as 1830, many of the Elwell family appear to have migrated
westward into Michigan as the 19th century progressed.
1805 – Abner
Hollister, Sr, and Jr.
If
you visit Meridian today, you’ll see a marble monument near the center of the
village where the Presbyterian Church used to stand. It commemorates Abner Hollister, Jr., one of Meridian’s first
settlers, and a man who contributed much to the community in the village’s
early years.
His
father, Abner Hollister, Sr. (1754-1813), of Glastonbury, Connecticut, moved
from New England with his wife, Sarah Betty (or Beatty), and their children to
Manlius, New York. While there, they met
the Elwell family from Rupert,
Vermont. Abner, Jr. (1782-1852) married Polly Elwell
(1785-1836), and in 1805 the Hollisters and Elwells moved to the Town of Cato.
Abner,
Sr. served under Benedict Arnold when the Continental Army invaded Canada,
where they were defeated by General Montgomery’s troops at the Battle of Quebec
in December 1775.[43] When they came to Central New York, Abner,
Sr. and Sarah settled on a farm near the Otter Lake
outlet, close to Parker’s Pond.
Abner,
Jr. and Polly moved south shortly thereafter, where Abner became a plantation
overseer. Abner, Sr. died in 1809 and
Abner, Jr. and Polly moved back to the Town of Cato area the next year,
settling in the southwest corner of what is now the Village of Cato, where they
built Cayuga County’s first frame house north of the Seneca River. That house was located on the southwest
corner of the four corners at Cato village and later became part of the
Railroad Hotel (where VanNorstand Oil now stands).
In
1812, Abner and Polly sold their property to John Jakway and bought land in
what is now the Village of Meridian. In
that same year, Abner enlisted as an Infantry Lieutenant under Captain Solomon
Woodworth and served briefly on the Niagara Frontier.
In
1818, Abner bought the Elwell tavern from his brother-in-law William Elwell,
and built a frame addition to the original log building. [44] In 1830 Abner closed his tavern and lived
there as a private citizen with his family.
His wife Polly died in 1836 and in 1843 he married Mrs. Kirkpatrick of Syracuse. He died in 1852.[45]
When the Town of Cato was established
within its present boundaries, after the splitting off of the Towns of Victory
and Conquest, Abner Hollister’s house was designated as the Town polling place,
and the first meeting of the new Town was held there in April, 1821. At that meeting, Abner was chosen as
Supervisor.[46]
Upon Abner’s death his residence,
the former tavern, was sold to William Smith Ingham. In 1853, Lucius, Abner’s son, rented the
tavern from Ingham and operated it briefly as a temperance house.[47]
The
civic-minded Abner was obviously a respected man in the community: the first
name for the village was “Hollister’s Corners.” [48]
He
served as an Associate Judge in Cayuga County, and was chosen as Commissioner
of Gospel and School lands from 1810 to 1820.
When Ira, Victory and Conquest were separated from the Town of Cato, he was the first
Supervisor of the new Town. He also
served as Commissioner of Common Schools, Justice of the Peace, a delegate to
the State Republican Convention[49] and as Commissioner for a
state road. He was a candidate for the
New York State Assembly, as well.
Abner
was involved in many manufacturing enterprises (boots, shoes, saddlery and
agricultural implements, among others) and bought and sold land in both
Illinois and New York State. [50] In the Town of Cato
alone, he bougth and sold at least 2500 acres of land.[51]
Abner
and Polly had ten children. Many of them
moved west during the nineteenth century, most to Illinois.
Several of them had distinguished careers.
George
Washington Hollister, who was born at Cato Four Corners in 1826, graduated from
Yale in 1847. He later studied law at Syracuse before moving
west. He died in 1855 after being shot
while surveying land to lay out the town of Bellevue,
Nebraska.
Madison
Elwell Hollister, born in 1808, became a lawyer and was as public-spirited as
his father, serving as postmaster of Ottawa, Illinois, a presidential elector
(1848), Supervisor of the Town of Ottawa (1851), Judge in the 9th
Illinois Circuit (1855-1866), consul to Buenos Aires (1866-1869) and Associate
Justice and then Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Idaho (1871-1879).
Lucius
Manlius Hollister, born in 1812, lived in Missouri and Illinois, and at the end
of his life he was Inspector of Street Improvements for the City of Chicago.
Caroline
Amelia Hollister married Peter de Reimer Livingston. Peter was a great-great-great grandson of
Robert Livingston, the first Lord of Livingston Manor, and one of the richest
men in early New York
State history.
Unfortunately for Caroline, Peter Livingston was not descended from Lord
Robert’s oldest son, so he was not a man of wealth. [52]
As can be seen from his children’s
successes, Abner was a strong advocate of education. In 1838, he was a delegate to a County Convention
on Education that issued the following resolution:
Resolved
1st, That the profession of teaching in common schools, considered in reference
to the great purposes it is intended to fulfill, and the influence it must
exert on the minds of children, is second in dignity and importance to no
calling of a secular character, and that all those causes which tend to degrade
it below its legitimate and honorable rank among other employments, such as
inadequacy of support and an indifference to the importance of common school
education, it is our duty to remove.
Resolved
2nd, That as the cause of education is of vital importance to the prosperity of
our free institutions, it is incumbent upon all, especially upon state
legislators, to take more efficient measures for its advancement.
Resolved
3rd, That we rejoice in what has already been done by our past legislatures, in
providing so liberally for the promotion of education and the diffusion of
useful knowledge, and consequently, duty demands of us that we should fully respond
their beneficent acts.
Resolved
4th, That while we acknowledge with gratitude what has been done, yet we
believe that some more efficient measures should be devised, by which all
excuses for not sending to school, whether they arise from poverty or from the
bad character of our schools, may be removed, and where this is done, our
legislature will be justified in making it penal upon parents and guardians for
neglecting to give their children a requisite education for the common business
of life.
Resolved
5th, That in the opinion of this convention, it is highly important that there
should be a uniformity of text books in our schools throughout the state, and
that this convention does respectfully suggest the propriety of memorializing
our legislature to take some measures to bring about so desirable an end.
Resolved
6th, That we approve of the act of our last legislature to aid our districts in
providing themselves with suitable libraries, and do earnestly recommend to all
the districts within this County to avail themselves of the privileges of that
act.
Resolved
7th, That we deem it best to form a county society for the promotion of common
school education and the diffusion of useful knowledge, and will now proceed to
form such society.[53]
Abner’s dedication to the cause of
education led him to donate land for Meridian’s first school, and he was also a
trustee of the Fulton Female Seminary, a private school that was attended by
several Meridian girls during its long history.[54] A founding member of the Presbyterian Church,
Abner also donated the land upon which both the Presbyterian and Baptist
churches were built.
Abner
was a member of the Cato Masonic lodge.
In 1832, his Masonic affiliation was decried by an anti-Masonic advocate
during a political campaign. It was
asserted that Abner and fellow Masons were vying for control of the county’s
Republican Party because of their support of Richard Smith instead of George
Throop as a candidate for the State Assembly.[55]
A
farmer, Abner was a member of the committee from the Town of Cato as part of
the Cayuga County Agricultural Society.[56] In 1841, he was on the committee to judge and
award premiums for Cocoons and Silk at the society’s agricultural fair. [57] In 1813, he wrote an extensive article on
farming in a state agricultural journal. [58]
Thirty years after Abner
Hollister’s death, an amusing article appeared in the Syracuse Sunday Herald
about an Independence Day celebration at Cato Four Corners. The unknown author was lauding the praises of
James Voorhees of Lysander, but Abner got an interesting mention:
While
in attendance at a Fourth of July celebration at Cato, Cayuga county, [James
Voorhees] was toasted by Judge Bigelow of Baldwinsville as “The Tall Pine of
Lysander.” He was a tall man, as symmetrical as one of the noble pines that
towered in majesty on his broad domains, and the allusion to him was therefore
apt and typical, and brought down the house in a storm of applause. Among those
present was Mr. Abner Hollister of Cato, a well-known citizen and a man of fine
physique and noted for his muscular power. No sooner had the applause that
followed the toast of Judge Bigelow subsided, than one of Mr. Hollister's
neighbors rose and proposed the health of “Abner Hollister, the whirlwind of
Cato, able to sweep down the tall pine of Lysander.” This sally, being equally
apt and pointed, also brought down the house in a thunder of cheers, but the
incident created no ill-will between the two gentlemen, who joined heartily in
the merriment.[59]
Abner Hollister’s obituary tells us
much about this generous and intelligent man:
DIED.
At
his residence, in Cato, Cayuga Co[unty]., March 13th., of the bilious typhoid
fever, Hon. Abner Hollister, aged 69.
His
funeral was attended in the Presbyterian church at Cato 4 Corners, on Monday at
10 o'clock. P. M., by a large circle of deeply afflicted relatives, and a vast
concourse of sorrowing people.
Seldom
in the death of one man does a community or a church sustain so great a loss.
The deceased possessed those characteristics of heart and mind, which fitted
him for eminent usefulness. He was one of those men who seem to have been raised
up by God to serve their generation.
During
a residence of nearly a half a century in Cayuga Co[unty], he has ever been a
leading member of society, filling at different times posts of honor and
responsibility. He for several years occupied a seat on the Bench in Cay[uga]
Co[unty], as associate judge. In his judgment all confided.
In
the different relations of life which he sustained, he was highly esteemed and
tenderly beloved. He moved in a large
sphere and he filled it well. His loss will be deeply felt by the community
generally, and especially by the church of which he was a prominent
member. As an “Elder who ruled well,” he
was “worthy of double honor.”
During
one of those powerful revivals, which characterized the year 1832 he became the
subject of divine grace and connected himself with the Presbyterian Church in
Ira. For several years he continued an
active and useful member of that church contributing liberally for the support
of the gospel. In 1836, he united with
about twenty others, who were organized into a church called the First
Presbyterian Church of Cato [the church was located at Cato Four Corners]. Chiefly through his instrumentality the house
of worship which this church now enjoys was erected. The whole period of his connection with the
church has been characterized by acts of Christian benevolence. In becoming a Christian he consecrated his
property to God.
He
bore no ordinary burden and made no ordinary sacrifices to promote the
interests of Christ’s cause. His
influence has long been felt in the Presbytery of Cayuga, whose meetings he
ever delighted to attend. He has been
twice a member of the (N.S.) General Assembly, and at the time of his death
held a commission to meet with that body at its next session in Washington. He has always been for a number of years an
acting trustee of the Theological Seminary at Auburn. He was a liberal contributor to all the
different Benevolent Societies now in the field of Christian enterprise. To him the interests of Christ’s cause were
ever dear. He met death with composure
and resignation to the will of God.
His
only hope of salvation was in Jesus Christ.
Having faithfully “served his own generation by the will of God, he fell
on sleep.”
Our
loss we humbly trust is his gain.[60]
1805 – John Cerrow
(1765-?)
John
Cerrow (possibly born in France) settled “four and half miles south of
Meridian,” on the Bonta Bridge Road.[61] He lived close to the
Ogilsbie family and was still there as late as 1820.[62] His son Joseph
(1794-1867) was married to Rachel Sturgis, possibly the daughter of the
neighbor, Joseph Sturgis, who also appears in the neighborhood in the 1820
Census with John and Joseph. Joseph and Rachel later moved west to Michigan.[63]
1805 – Henry Abrahams
(1763-1825)
Henry Abrams, or Abrahams, settled on the
Seneca River, at the “middle bridge,” i.e., the location of the current Bonta
Bridge at Lot 43. He kept the ferry there.[64] His neighbor was his son John Abrahams
(1787-1838). John and his brothers William and Benajah, moved west to Michigan
by 1850. Henry’s son Isaac remained here until his death in 1870.
1805 – Stephen
Olcott (? – 1805)
Stephen
Olcott arrived and died in the same year. He settled on the Short Cut Road,
just north of the Drew/Melnick farm.[65]
1807 – Heman West
(1777-1826)
Heman
West, born in Lee, Massachusetts[66], arrived from Washington
County and settled on Military Tract Lot 70, near the location of the current
Cato-Meridian High School. He settled on
100 acres[67],
purchasing the land in February of 1807[68]. but sold fifty acres to
Alanson Sheldon in 1808[69] and later, in 1812, sold
fifty acres to Abel Pasko,[70] then moving to Cazenovia,
where he was living in 1810.[71] His son, Abel, later
opened a store on the site of Daniel Bristol’s store in the village.[72]
1808 – Stephen
Dudley (1760-1826)
The
Dudley family, Stephen and Rebecca Minard Dudley, arrived in the new Town of
Cato with their large family: Lydia, Asa, Clarissa, Sardis, Lyman, Mary, James
(all born in Vermont), Ira, Rebecca, Stephen, Isaac, and Electa (all born in
New York state before their arrival in the Town of Cato). Their oldest
daughter, Sarah, with her husband Philip Marble, appears to have arrived soon
afterward with their three oldest children.
Stephen
settled on a “State’s Hundred,” located on the Jordan Road just outside the
current village limits. He is said to have built a log cabin on the south side
of the road, west of the barns currently located there.[73]
The
new Town of Cato was a waypoint along the westward migration to many of the
Dudley family. The children of Stephen
and Rebecca moved to Illinois and Wisconsin. Of those who remained in Central
New York, both Mary and Electa married and moved to Hannibal. Ira and Sardis
also remained, and both married daughters of the pioneer Henry Ferris.
Ira
married Margaret, and they had six children. Two of his daughters married and
moved to Hannibal as did a son who never married. One daughter and two sons
moved west to Colorado
Sardis
married two of Henry’s daughters. His first wife was Anstis Ferris.
Sardis Dudley (1792-1876) the sixth child
of Stephen and Rebecca, made an impact on the region all his life.
Four
years after his arrival, he went off to fight in the War of 1812. In 1816, he married Anstis Ferris, daughter
of Henry Ferris. They had five children. When Anstis died in 1825. The two
younger children died shortly thereafter. Next, Sardis married Anstis’ sister,
Mary Ferris, and they had an additional eleven children. After Mary died in
1863, Sardis married again, this time to Harmony Smith of Middlefield,
Massachusetts. She survived him, dying in 1915, still collecting his military
pension, 103 years after the war of 1912!
84.
Edwin, the son of Sardis and Anstis is the only son with descendants named
Dudley still living in the Meridian area. Many of Sardis’ other children moved
west to Illinois; one went to Nebraska, one to Wisconsin, and another to Missouri.
1808 – The Titus
Family
Born in Saratoga, Platt
Titus (1777-1863) first settled at what is now the village of Cato in 1805, where
he “felled the first tree,” but later
moved to a farm just north of the village of Meridian. Platt’s wife was
Clarissa Northrup (1784-1863), who may possibly have been related to the Joel or Isaac Northrup families
(below), but no information about her family has been found. In 1833, Platt
moved to Hannibal.[74]
His father Silas (1741-1809)
was in the vicinity about the same time. Silas, a veteran of the Revolutionary
War, died in 1809 and is buried in the Pioneer Cemetery.[75] Platt’s brother Jared
(1786-1844) and his wife Eliza March (1793-1874), who also came to the Town of Cato
about the same time, are the ancestors of today’s Titus family in the Town of Cato.
1810 – Joel
Northrup (1771-1820)
Joel Northup (1771–1820)
arrived in the Meridian area by 1810 from his home in Connecticut, when his
family first appeared in the U.S. Census. He married Clarissa Dudley
(1790-1845), daughter of Stephen Dudley. Their four children, Waters, Clarissa,
Peter, and Lydia Emaline, were all born in the Town of Cato, from 1812 to 1818.
Joel is buried in the Cato-Meridian (Pioneer) cemetery, with his
seven-month-old daughter, Clarissa, who died in 1814.[76] Their sons Waters and
Peters later moved west to Illinois.
His brother Isaac
arrived from Connecticut by 1817.[77] He and his wife Urania
Hubbell brought their six children with them. Isaac, Urania, and their son
Peter, are buried in the Pioneer cemetery.[78]
Joel was a wealthy
man who acquired a great deal of land when he arrived, including the land in
lot 71 that he bought from the Pecks[79] and several hundred acres
in lots 84, 99, and 100.[80],[81],[82],[83] He is said to have had the first wagon in
town.[84] He built the floating
bridge across the Seneca River to Jordan around 1816.[85]
After Joel’s
death, his widow Clarissa married the widower of her older sister Sarah, Philip
Marble. They had one daughter, Marian.
1810 – Johnson
Hall (1781-1849)
Hall was born in
Connecticut, and came to the area via Conway, New Hampshire. His farm was south
of the village on the Short Cut Road, north of the Drew farm.[86] He is buried in the
Cato-Meridian (Pioneer) cemetery with his wife, Rosetta, who died in 1841.[87]
1814 – The Ingham
Family
William Ingham
(1781/2-1832) and his son William Smith Ingham (1807-1867) were each a strong
presence in the village.
Samuel Ingham
(1781/2-1833) and his twin brother William (1781/2-1832) were born in Hebron,
Connecticut.[88]
The family moved to Middlefield, Massachusetts two years later, where they grew
up and started their own families.
Samuel came to
Skaneateles in 1806 to work as a clerk, and urged his brother William, newly
married to Betsey Smith in Middlefield, to join him. The couple did move west,
and by 1814 or 1815, the brothers had opened stores of their own in
Skaneateles, Camillus, and Cato Four Corners.
These businesses
hit a rough spot after 1816, “the year without a summer,” when crop failures
caused a serious loss of revenue for William’s customers. William and Samuel couldn’t collect debts
owed to them, or pay what they owed to suppliers, so the business was
disbanded. Samuel sold out completely, but William kept going, despite being
heavily in debt. His role as a land agent for a wealthy businessman added an
income stream, and when the economy had settled at bit, in 1819, William was
appointed as the first postmaster for Cato Four Corners.
In 1821, William’s
firstborn, William Smith Ingham, joined his father’s business. Ten years later,
he took the business over completely. His father died the following year.
Portrait
of William Smith Ingham (1807-1867)
(Photo courtesy of David Dudley)
Portrait
of Huldah Bacon Ingham (1810-1854)
first wife of William Smith Ingham
(Photo courtesy of David Dudley)
In 1832, William
Smith Ingham expanded the store, adding to the goods and services on offer.
Three years after that, he built a large house for his family, just behind the
store. As the economy of both the region and the country boomed, Ingham’s
business boomed.[89]
W Smith Ingham was
active in the Baptist Church in the village, after having been converted at a
revival in 1834. He became a deacon there two years later, and was often
criticized for what might be termed as “holier than thou” behavior. He is said to have sat facing the
congregation, sometimes with his feet on the nearest pew. When money needed to
be raised, he’d tell each church member what that member would contribute.[90]
Ultimately, his
extravagant lifestyle with its accompanying debt was his downfall. As the Panic
of 1857 hit the country, commercial credit vanished, and Ingham was bankrupt.
He left town, leaving his debts unpaid and many of his fellow citizens in
serious financial difficulties as a result.
After his
departure, the village physician, Dr. J.K. Drew, wrote a scathing editorial
that called Ingham “base, subtle, unscrupulous, and shrewd.” Drew stated that
by “borrowing money of every person he could possibly deceive, by ‘robbing
Peter to pay Paul,’ he managed to keep up ten years after he ought to have
failed, and by this system of villainy, has been enabled to spread pecuniary
desolation over this whole community – saying nothing of his immense
indebtedness in New York.” He went on the criticize his “ridiculously
extravagant manner…with the fastest horses, richest carriages, gold headed
whips, gold watches, chains, spectacles.”[91]
Ingham decamped
for Hannibal, Missouri with his second wife and his youngest son, Willie (by
his first wife). By 1865, he had become Mayor of Hannibal.[92]
1815 – Parsons P
Meacham (1795-1887)
Parsons Philip
Meacham arrived in Cato Four Corners from Middlefield, Massachusetts, in 1815,
hired by his brother-in-law William Ingham to be a clerk in his store. Shortly
thereafter, Parsons became Ingham’s partner.
When William Smith
Ingham left town in disgrace in 1847, Parsons Meacham was left with the tasks
of clearing up the financial mess left behind. His detailed business records,
along with family letters and other documents, survive in the collection of the
CIVIC Heritage museum in Cato.
The Meacham family
were stalwarts of the Baptist Church in Meridian. Parsons became a church
trustee in 1823, church clerk in 1831, and deacon in 1863.
Parsons was a
member of the village group that established the Tempest Insurance Company,
which is covered in detail in a subsequent chapter.
By his two wives
(see below) he fathered five children who lived to adulthood. Three
grandchildren resulted. Of those three,
Anna May and Philip, children of Lawrence, remained in Meridian until their
deaths in 1989 and 1988, respectively.
Both were graduates of Syracuse University in 1914, Anna May in
Mathematics, and Philip in Electrical Engineering. They chose to return to Meridian after that,
and farmed on the southeast corner of “Meacham’s Corners,” the intersection of
Routes 370, 176, and the Jordan Road.
Dr. Augustus
Benjamin Chidester, who had been a doctor in the Cato and Auburn area for many
years starting in the 1920’s, once told this writer that in his younger days,
Meacham’s Corners was referred to as “College Corners,” because most of the
residents on those four corners had college degrees.
Anna May Meacham was
a keeper of the family’s and the village’s history. She gave talks and, and wrote
many newspaper articles about the area. She also wrote a detailed and fascinating
history of the Meridian Baptist Church that was completed by William Havens
(her second cousin once removed). It was
published in 2006. [93]
1815 Onward – The Six
Smith Girls of Middlefield, Massachusetts
Calvin Smith, of
Middlefield, Massachusetts, who likely never set foot in Cato Four Corners or
Meridian, left a large number of descendants in the area, thanks to two of his
daughters, and four of his
granddaughters (through his sons Asa and Oliver). All six married Meridianites. The first of
these five women arrived in 1815, and the last one died in 1955.
Calvin’s daughter
Betsey Smith (1786-1826) was the first wife of William Ingham and mother of
seven children, three of whom lived to adulthood.
Calvin’s daughter
Sally Smith (1800-1836) was the first wife of Parsons P. Meacham, and the
mother of four children, one of whom lived to adulthood.
Asa’s daughter
Asenath Smith (1811-1892) was the second wife of Parsons P. Meacham, and the
mother of six children, four of whom lived to adulthood.
Asa’s daughter
Caroline Smith (1822-1894) married Edwin Dudley, son of Sardis Dudley, and
mother of five children, all of whom lived to adulthood.
Asa’s daughter
Harmony Smith (1824-1915) was the third wife Sardis Dudley (his first two wives
were sisters, daughters of Henry Ferris). Sardis and Harmony had no children.
Harmony’s claim to fame is that when she died, she was still receiving Sardis’
army pension, earned during his service in the War of 1812.
Oliver’s daughter,
Minnie Allen Smith (1862-1955), married Lawrence Leland Meacham, the son of
Parsons P Meacham. They were first cousins once removed.
1815 – Michael
Ogilsbie
Ogilsbie (1786-1881),
was another New Jersey transplant. He lived south of the village on the Bonta
Bridge Road, opposite Samson Lawrence’s farm. [94] He is buried with
his wife, Mary Spinning (1791-1852), in the Crosman Cemetery. Three of his
sons, John, Ezra, and Michael (known as Lee), were members of the board of the
second incarnation of Meridian’s Farmer’s Joint Stock Insurance Company. His
descendants continued to live in the area until his great-grandson, Floyd Delos
Ogilsbie, moved to the Jordan-Elbridge area by 1930.
1815 – Eleazer Squires
Eleazer Squires
(1794 – 1879) settled on the Jordan Road, “about a mile north of the Iron
Bridge.”[95] He was born in Vermont or
Connecticut, depending on which Census is consulted. He remained in the area
until sometime after 1840, when he moved north to Watertown. He died in
Oswegatchie and was buried in Heuvelton.[96] It is unknown if there is
any relationship between this family and the family of Ichabod Squyer (see
above). The spellings of these names are often inconsistent.
1815 – Spinning
Family
The Spinnings settled
near the Squires family. Benjamin (1796-1843) appears to have lived next door
to Eleazer Squires[97], according to the 1840
Census. He died at 47, and is buried in the Crosman Cemetery with his wife Mary
(1802-1864) and five children who died young. Another eight Spinnings are in that
cemetery with no date information.[98]
John Spinning
(1763-1849), a carpenter, is buried at Meridian. It is reasonable to assume
that Benjamin was John’s son, but no evidence has been found to prove it. It is
also reasonable to assume that Mary Spinning, wife of Michael Ogilsbie, was
Benjamin’s sister.
Before 1819 - The
Benton Family
Allen Benton, born
in Greene County, arrived in what is now Ira sometime before 1820. Allen H.
Benton told a family story about the arrival of his great-grandfather in
springtime, when the peach trees were in full bloom. The beauty of the blossoms
captured his fancy, so he decided that this was place to settle. The family
homestead still stands at the northwest corner of the intersection of Route 176
and Ira Hill Road.
He met his wife Deborah
after his arrival. Her father, Captain
Abraham Willey, was a veteran of the American Revolution, serving in the
Connecticut Continental Line as a sergeant and ensign, He and his wife Susannah
Beckwith, with six of their eight children, arrived in the Town of Cato (now
Ira) from East Haddam, Connecticut in 1804, settling on Lot 23, north and east
of the current Benton’s Corners, where Allen settled later on.
Allen and Deborah
had five children, Heman, Allen Richardson, Matilda Willey, Chares Darwin, and
James Dana. Except for Allen Richardson Benton, who went west and ended up in
Nebraska, the children remained in the area.
In 1821, Allen was
elected Clerk of the newly formed Town of Ira at its first Town Meeting. His
father-in-law was appointed a Commissioner of Highways at the same meeting.
When John Titus took over the Titus Brothers store in Ira, perhaps around 1830,
he took Dr. Benton as a partner. They built a distillery, which burned shortly
afterward, and the business was dissolved. [99]
Allen studied
medicine with Dr. John Squyer, and served as a doctor in the community for most
of the rest of his life. Dr. Benton was
elected as a member of he Medical Survey Committee for the Town of Ira, along
with John Thompson, who studied medicine with Dr. Benton. Nathan Boyd and
Thomas B. Hoxie served on the committee for the Town of Cato.
Dr. Benton’s son,
James Dana Benton, studied medicine at the Albany Medical College, receiving
his M.D. degree in 1857.[100] Shortly thereafter, he succeeded Dr. W.W.D.
Parsons in his practice in Ira.
In August, 1862,
he left his practice and enlisted in the 111th New York Volunteers,
and was commissioned as an assistant surgeon. He served with the 111th
until March, 1865, when he was commissioned as a surgeon with the 98th
New York Regiment. He was mustered out
in August of that year in Richmond, Virginia, and returned home to Ira. He later practiced medicine in Syracuse, but
eventually returned home to Ira, dying there in 1892 at the age of 54.[101]
Dr.
James Dana Benton
(photos from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/21733259/james-dana-benton
accessed 18 August 2022)
Dr. Allen Benton’s
great-great grandson, Dr. Allen H. Benton, will be featured later in this blog.
1820 – Robert Bloomfield
(1793-1862)
Robert
Bloomfield and his wife Freelove De Camp Bloomfield (1793-1862), were born in
New Jersey and were living in the Meridian area by 1820.[102]
Robert
and Freelove settled on the farm overlooking Cross Lake which was later owned
by the Jewell and Dudley families. They had six children: James D. (1818-1871),
Richard (1826-1866), Margaret (1830-1892), Frances (1832-1907), Charles
(1834-1911), and Robert Emmet (1836-1898).
When
the Town of Cato was divided into the four towns of Victory, Conquest, Ira, and
Cato in 1821, the newer, smaller Cato held its first Town Meeting at Abner
Hollister’s home in Cato Four Corners. At the meeting, Robert Bloomfield was
elected both Collector and Constable.[103] In 1827, he was the
Inspector of Elections for the Town of Cato.[104] Robert served as
Supervisor of the Town of Cato for ten years, 1825-1835, and again in 1837. He
served from 1831 to 1831 as Justice of the Peace. This was the beginning of a
tradition of public service within the Bloomfield family.
Robert
and Freelove’s sons, Richard and Robert, both moved west to Illinois, [105],[106] and Robert finally
moved on to Iowa. [107]
Frances
never married, and was living in St. David’s Rectory in Philadelphia when she
died.[108] Margaret married John A.
Blake of Ira and remained in the vicinity for the rest of her life.[109] Little is known of James
D., beyond cemetery records.[110] There is a record of a
James Bloomfield in Battery B of the 3rd NY Light Artillery,[111] which was composed of
many local soldiers, but since James D. would have been in his 40’s by then,
this may or may not be the same man.
The
fifth child of Robert and Freelove was Charles Addison Bloomfield and he and
his progeny remained in the Meridian area. Charles married Elizabeth Fancher,
whose father, Stephen Fancher, was at one time Sheriff of Cayuga County.
Charles
and Elizabeth were married on October 2, 1860. At their golden wedding
anniversary, the Cato Citizen gave a detailed account of the wedding and
of the anniversary party:
On October 2d,
1860, just fifty years ago this month, in the little village of Meridian, two
weddings took place. The homes of the
brides were side by side and the same pastor, the Rev. Simon Goss, officiated
at both ceremonies. Both couples
celebrated their golden wedding anniversary October 2d.
On that autumn
afternoon, fifty years ago, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Fancher, their
daughter Elizabeth became the bride of Charles A. Bloomfield. The bride, as in olden times, made the
wedding cake, and the event was quaint in its ceremonies. After the wedding the bride and groom left at
8 o’clock for New York city. After this Mr. and Mrs. Bloomfield made their
residence in New York city. About twenty
years ago, however, they returned to Meridian and have since resided there. Their family consists of two sons, Robert
Bloomfield of New York, and James Bloomfield of Meridian, and one daughter,
Mrs. Howard Follett of Weedsport.
The same day at
the old homestead in Meridian, the old couple who are still spry and active,
although Mrs. Bloomfield is 74 and he is 76, celebrated the fiftieth
anniversary of their wedding. The bride
again made the cake, which was similar to that which she made fifty years ago,
and her family joined in the happy reunion.
Another Wedding.
After tying the
knot at the Fancher homestead, the Rev. Simon Goss went to the next house and
arranged for another ceremony. This time
Miss Elma Parker, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Parker and Douglass Calhoun of
Weedsport, son of Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Calhoun, were the contracting parties. After the ceremony a bountiful supper was
serviced. As in the case at Fancher’s
the bride made the cake.
On the following
morning the happy couple left for New York on their wedding tour. After a visit to New York they returned to
Weedsport, where, with the exception of a couple years, they have since
lived. At their home in Centennial
Street they also celebrated their fiftieth anniversary. The bride made a cake similar to that she
made fifty years ago, and being joined by her family talked over the events
that have happened during their wedded life.
Such an event as
two young women living side by side, being married by the same minister, on the
same day, and both living their fiftieth anniversary, is something out of the
orindary [sic]. Both appear as though they
would see several more years of wedded life, and they interest many friends
with their stories of the “olden days.”[112]
The
article concluded with a lengthy poem about the joys of a long marriage.
The
Bloomfield commitment to public service continued with Charles. He regularly attended
First Assembly District Democratic Conventions, representing the Town of Cato. More political stuff needed here.
Charles
and his wife spent ten years in the produce business in New York City, but they
returned to the family farm, of 170 acres, growing grain and tobacco.[113], [114] In addition to farming, Charles
established the hotel down the hill from his farm at Cross Lake as early as
1884.[115]
Charles
and his wife had two sons, Robert (1870-1915), James D. (1877-1937), and a
daughter, Harriet (1868-1941).
Harriet
married Howard Wells Follett of Ira in 1893.
Robert
spent much of his life away from Meridian. By 1893, Robert was in California.[116] In 1898, he married a
California girl, Edna Hardwicke, in Sutter, California.[117] They were living in New
York City by the early 1900’s. Both
Robert, his wife Edna, and their son Burton C. Bloomfield, are all buried in
the cemetery at Meridian.
After
Robert’s death in 1915 in Saranac Lake, New York, Burton lived in Meridian with
his uncle James D and his family. He
died at the age of 24, also in Saranac Lake.
Robert’s
daughter, Frances Hardwicke Bloomfield, became the second wife of Col. Stanley
W. Metcalf of Auburn in January, 1935.[118]
Metcalf’s
family owned the Columbian Rope Company in Auburn and they lived an elegant
lifestyle, living on South Street in Auburn and also at their home in New York
City.
In
the summer of 1961, Frances was a passenger in an air taxi from LaGuardia
airport to East Hampton, on Long Island, on her way to a rented summer cottage.
There was a crash, and Frances, along with two other passengers and the pilot,
were killed. The other passengers were the wife of a Wall Street executive and
the wife of Angier Biddle Duke, a former ambassador to El Salvador, Spain,
Denmark, and Morocco. At the time of the crash, he was the State Department
Chief of Protocol in the Kennedy administration.[119]
During
her lifetime, Frances Bloomfield Metcalf appeared frequently in Meridian notes
in the Cato Citizen, frequently visiting with her father’s brother’s
family in Meridian. She also appeared in the society columns, and was described
as “tall, slim, auburn-haired.”[120]
James
D. remained in Meridian. He lived on his
father’s farm on the Jordan Road until 1908, when he and his wife, the former
Bernice Lockwood, bought Abel West’s store and home in Meridian.[121] The Bloomfield family
remained in the home until 2019.
James
D Bloomfield was active in Democratic politics in Cayuga County for most of his
life. He served as the Democratic member of the County Board of Elections.[122] Prior that, he had
served four terms[123] as the Supervisor of the
Town of Cato, as did his grandfather Robert.[124],[125]
His
involvement in the local schools was perhaps the most influential activity of
his life. He served on the Meridian
Board of Education and was influential in the efforts to centralize the many
local schools into the Cato-Meridian Central School District. Unfortunately, he
didn’t live to see the centralization completed. After his death, a bronze
plaque memorializing his efforts, along with those of Howard Murphy, was placed
at the school. It honored the two men
“whose forethought and tireless effort conceived and largely made possible this
Central School.”[126]
James
D.’s wife, Bernice Lockwood, was also active in public service. She was the
first woman trustee of the Village of Meridian, and was active in county-wide
Democratic politics, serving as a Cayuga County committee woman from the Town
of Cato. She worked by her husband’s side, running their grocery store until
1920, and later ran it alone and then with her son, James L. Bloomfield.
Bernice died in 1956 at the age of 68.[127]
James
L. “Jim” Bloomfield (1920-2001) was the only son of James D. and Bernice. He
attended school in Meridian, and distinguished himself as an athlete. Athletic details needed.
Jim
served in the Army Air Corps during the second World War. Stationed in England,
he married an English girl, Peggy Withers, in Norwich in June 1945. Their three children, James, Thomas, and
Joan, still live in the area.
[1] Storke, Elliot G., History of
Cayuga County, New York, 1789-1879, Syracuse (NY): D. Mason & Co., 1879
[2] "United States Census,
1800," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XH51-MKM:
accessed 1 January 2022), Sampson Lawrence, Aurelius, Cayuga, New York, United
States; citing p. 696, NARA microfilm publication M32, (Washington D.C.:
National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 28; FHL microfilm
193,716.
[3] "United States Census,
1800," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XH51-MKM:
accessed 1 January 2022), Sampson Lawrence, Aurelius, Cayuga, New York, United
States; citing p. 696, NARA microfilm publication M32, (Washington D.C.:
National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 28; FHL microfilm
193,716.
[4] "United States Census,
1810," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XH2V-8RM:
accessed 1 January 2022), Simpson Lawrence, Cato, Cayuga, New York, United
States; citing p. 1163, NARA microfilm publication M252 (Washington D.C.:
National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 31; FHL microfilm
181,385.
[5] "United States Census,
1820," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHGZ-RN2:
accessed 1 January 2022), Sampson Lawrence, Cato, Cayuga, New York, United
States; citing p. , NARA microfilm publication , (Washington D.C.: National
Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll ; FHL microfilm .
[6] "United States Registers of
Enlistments in the U.S. Army, 1798-1914," database with images, FamilySearch
(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJD5-VM3Q: 3 March 2021), Sampson
Lawrence, 15 Sep 1809; citing p. 271, volume 015, , , , United States, NARA
microfilm publication M233 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records
Administration, n.d.), roll 8; FHL microfilm 350,314.
[8] "Find A Grave Index,"
database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVK6-BRV4:
30 May 2020), Samson Lawrence, 1824; Burial, , ; citing record ID , Find a
Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
[9] "Find A Grave Index,"
database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVK6-BRVW:
30 May 2020), Patience Lawrence, 1828; Burial, , ; citing record ID , Find a
Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
[11]The Balloting Book, and Other
Documents Relating to Military Bounty Lands in the State of New-York, Albany (NY): Packard & Van Benthuysen,
1825.
[12] "United States, New York Land
Records, 1630-1975", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:ZXD3-T66Z:
28 October 2020), Levi Stockwell, 1807.
[14] Meacham, Anna May (William H
Havens, editor), The Baptist Church at Meridian New York 1810-to 1988 – The
Survival of a Rural Church, Salem (MA): Higginson Book Company, 2006.
[15] Voorhees, Miss Lesley E.,
“Inscriptions from the Cato-Meridian Cemetery in Cayuga County, New York,” The
New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Volume LXXX, New York: The
New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, 1949.
[16] "United States Census,
1800," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XH51-7WK
: accessed 15 February 2022), Daniel Bristol, Aurelius, Cayuga, New York,
United States; citing p. 690, NARA microfilm publication M32, (Washington D.C.:
National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 28; FHL microfilm
193,716.
[17] "United States, New York Land
Records, 1630-1975", database with images, FamilySearch
(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:CYM8-S3ZM : 3 March 2021), Daniel
M Bristol, 1805.
[18] Meacham, Lawrence, History of
Meridian, Unpublished manuscript, early 20th century.
[19] "United States Census,
1810," database with images, FamilySearch
(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XH2V-8YV : accessed 15 February 2022),
Daniel M Bristol, Cato, Cayuga, New York, United States; citing p. 1164, NARA
microfilm publication M252 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records
Administration, n.d.), roll 31; FHL microfilm 181,385.
[21] Behan, Jeanette Woodworth. The Woodworth Family of
America: Descendants of Walter Woodworth of 1630 Through Six Generations (Jeanette
Woodworth Behan. United States), Copyright 1998, Vol 1, p. 166-167; digital
images, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/woodworthfamilyo01beha/page/n3 :
accessed 31 Mar 2019
[24] United States War of 1812 Index to Service Records,
1812-1815, database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q292-3LY6 :
12 March 2018), Solomon Woodworth, 1812-1815; citing NARA microfilm publication
M602 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.);
roll 232; FHL microfilm 882,750.
[27] "United States, New York Land
Records, 1630-1975", database with images, FamilySearch
(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:8WQJ-PJ6Z : 3 March 2021), Joel
Northrup, 1813.
[30] Meacham, Anna May, Ibid.
[31] "United States Census,
1830," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHP3-4R9:
20 February 2021), Abel Pasco, Ira, Cayuga, New York, United States; citing
448, NARA microfilm publication M19, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and
Records Administration, n.d.), roll 88; FHL microfilm 17,148.
[32]"New York State Census,
1855," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K6SX-ZX2:
3 March 2021), Sardius Pasco in household of Matthias Vanderhyden, Victory,
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[33] "Find A Grave Index,"
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6 March 2021), Sardius Pasco, ; Burial, Beloit, Rock, Wisconsin, United States
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[34] "United States, New York Land
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Ichabod Squyer, 1804.
[35] Probate Records, 1799-1905; Index, 1799-1952; Author: New
York. Surrogate's Court (Cayuga County); Probate Place: Cayuga, New York
[37] “Cato Masons Set for Big Time
Friday Night,” Cato (NY) Citizen, 29
September 1949.
[38] Meacham, Anna, “The First White
Settlers in Cayuga County,” Auburn (NY)
Citizen-Advertiser, 30 August 1974.
[39] Meacham, Anna, Ibid.
[40] Inscriptions. Cato-Meridian
Cemetery
[41] Meacham, Anna, quoted in Murphy,
Betty H. History of Meridian, 1976.
[42] Ferris family genealogy
[43] Meacham, Anna, “The First White
Settlers in Cayuga County,” Auburn (NY)
Citizen-Advertiser, 30 August 1974.
[44] Meacham, Anna, quoted
in Murphy, Betty H. History of Meridian, 1976
[45] Mott, Beulah, “Historical Sketch,”
Cato Citizen, Vol XXVI, No. 31, 1
July 1920
[46] Meacham, Anna, “The First White
Settlers in Cayuga County,” Auburn (NY)
Citizen-Advertiser, 30 August 1974.
[47] Storke, Elliott, History of Cayuga County, New York, Syracuse,
NY: D. Mason & Co., 1879.
[48] Meacham, Leland, History of
Meridian, unpublished manuscript, circa 1900.
[49] “The State Convention,” The New York Spectator, Vol XXXI, 17
June 1828.
[50] Meacham, Anna, Ibid.
[51] United States, New York Land
Records, 1630 - 1975
[52] Case, Lafayette Wallace, M.D., The Hollister Family in America, Chicago,
IL: Fergus Printing Co., 1886.
[53] “Education,” in Auburn Journal and Advertiser, December
26, 1838
[54] “Fulton Female Seminary,”
Advertisement, in Fulton Chronicle, undated
clipping, 1839.
[55] “Who Leads the Party?” in Auburn Republican, September 12, 1832
[56] “Cayuga County Agricultural
Society,” clipping from unknown source, 1818.
[57] Auburn (NY) Journal & Advertiser, 18 August 1841.
[58] Hollister, Abner, Cato Four
Corners, “Agriculture of Cayuga County,”, Transactions
of the New-York
State Agricultural Society…for the year 1842. Vol. II,
Albany, NY: E. Mack, Printer to the Senate, 1842.
[59] “A Veteran Syracusan”, “An
Historical Paper,” The Syracuse (NY) Sunday Herald, 1
October 1882.
[60] Obituary, Religious Recorder, undated clipping
[62] "United States Census,
1820," database with images, FamilySearch
(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHGZ-RJX : accessed 15 February
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[63] "Find A Grave Index,"
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[66] "Massachusetts, Town Clerk,
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[68] "United States, New York Land
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[69] "United States, New York Land
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[70] "United States, New York Land
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[73] Murphy, Betty H., History of
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[77] "United States, New York Land
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[85] Journal of the Senate of the State
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[88] "Connecticut Births and
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[89] Meacham, Anna, quoted in Murphy,
Betty H. History of Meridian, 1976.
[90] Meacham, Lawrence, Ibid.
[91] Drew, J.K., Dr., “Pope Pious the Tenth,” as quoted in quoted
in Murphy, Betty H. History of Meridian, 1976.
[92] "Hannibal Missouri
History," Marion County MOGenWeb;
https://momarion.genealogyvillage.com/history/hannhist.html; accessed 2-17-2022
[93] Havens, William H., “Biographical
Notes,” in Meacham, Anna May (William H Havens, editor), The Baptist Church
at Meridian New York 1810-to 1988 – The Survival of a Rural Church, Salem
(MA): Higginson Book Company, 2006.
[96] "Find A Grave Index,"
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[97] "United States Census,
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30 September 2021), Eleazer Squire, Cato, Cayuga, New York, United States;
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[98] "Find A Grave Index,"
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[100] Benton, James D., The Blood and
Heart, academic dissertation, M.D., Albany Medical College. Albany: 1857.
[101] Loperfido, Christopher E., Death,
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Dorado Hills, CA: Savas Beatie LLL, 2018.
[102] Murphy, Betty H., History of Meridian – A Bicentennial
Product, Meridian, NY: Self-published, 1976.
[103] Meacham, Anna, “Town of
Cato,” Auburn (NY) Citizen-Advertiser, 30 August 1974.
[104] Untitled article, Auburn (NY)
Free Press, undated issue, 1827.
[105] National Archives and Records
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[106] United States Census, Year: 1860;
Census Place: Rockford, Winnebago, Illinois; Page: 166
[107] Iowa Department of Public Health;
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[108] Pennsylvania Historic and Museum
Commission; Harrisburg, PA; Pennsylvania (State). Death Certificates,
1906-1968; Certificate Number Range: 113367.
[109] “Funeral of Mrs. Blake – the Last
Side Rites Over Her Remains at Meridian,” The Auburn (NY) Weekly Auburnian, 4
February 1892.
[111] Hall, Henry and Hall, James, Cayuga in the Field - A
Record of the 19th N.Y. Volunteers, all the batteries of the 3rd
New York Artillery, and 7th New York Volunteers, Auburn, NY:
Self-published, 1873.
[112] “The Bloomfield Anniversary,” The
Cato (NY) Citizen, 15 October 1910.
[113] Murphy, Betty, Ibid.
[114] Melone, Harry R., “James D.
Bloomfield,” in Volume Two of History of Central New York in Three Volumes, Indianapolis
(IN): Historical Publishing Company, 1932.
[115] “Meridian,” The Baldwinsville
(NY) Gazette and Farmers’ Journal, 28 August 1884.
[116] “Meridian,” The Baldwinsville
(NY) Gazette and Farmers’ Journal, 26 October 1893.
[117] "California, County
Marriages, 1850-1952," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XL8Y-8V3
: 9 March 2021), Robert E Bloomfield and Edna
E Hardwicke, 12 Oct 1898; citing Sutter, California, United States, county
courthouses, California; FHL microfilm 1,293,797.
[118] “Stanley W. Metcalf Of Auburn
Marries Frances Bloomfield,” Syracuse (NY) Herald, 20 January 1935.
[119] “Mrs. Angier B. Duke Dies in Plane
Crash in Queens with 2 Other Society Women; Air Taxi Pilot Also Killed in
Plunge Into Garden After Taking Off,” New York Times, 19 July 1961.
[120] “Wish You Were Here,” The
Syracuse (NY) Post-Standard, 3 August 1958.
[121] “Meridian Mention,” Auburn (NY)
Semi-Weekly Journal, 11 August 1908.
[122] “Bloomfield Rites Largely Attended
at Meridian,” The Weedsport (NY) Cayuga Chief, 28 May 1937.
[123] “Friends Mourn Loss of Citizen,” The
Cato (NY) Citizen, 27 May 1937.
[124] Murphy, Betty H., Ibid.
[125] “Supervisors Face Shifts,” The
Auburn (NY) Citizen, 3 October 1927.
[126] “Place Plaque to Memory of 2 Men,”
The Cato (NY) Citizen, 22 January 1942.
[127] “Active Life Ends at 68,” The
Cato (NY) Citizen, 13 September 1956.
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