Comstock's History Page Thirteen

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 being 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 Thirteen

---Illegible---- the place recently owned by the late Dr. B. K. Hoxie, and built the house and a very good blacksmith shop, and carried on the business for several years; then sold the place to Abner Briggs.

Briggs carried on some time and was succeeded by Silas Dodge who sold to Moses T. Fell in 1835 who conducted the business for two years with journeymen mechanics. Then he rented the shop to James Davis who was succeeded by George Owen in 1837. Lonna White then purchased the place and George Owen bought the shop, and, apparently, moved it to a spot on the northwest corner of Isabel Howland’s lawn. This shop Owen later traded for the old plow factory, and was for many years used as a wool house. The writer has spent many happy hours there when wool was being sacked, and some not so happy. Owen used the old plow factory as a blacksmith shop until his death in 1870. This building was then torn down and Polhumus Smith, having purchased the property, built a house. This was later owned and occupied by Alice Searing. Her son Adolphus studied law and for some years was County Judge of this county, and his son Leonard H. is now (1939) Assistant Surrogate.

David L. Holly in 1853 bought the Pierce property on which stood a slaughter house, which he moved to a spot just north of Isabel Howland’s land and used it for some time as a wagon shop; later this was used as a blacksmith shop for many years. The last occupant was F. B. DeFreeze who, having purchased the Owen place, built over the barn for a blacksmith shop. This shop appears to be the last of his kind of business so far as Sherwood is concerned, the auto and tractor seem to have sounded the death knell for both blacksmiths and harness makers.

In 1796 James Wood built a log house on the farm known as the John Sherman place. This house stood where the present Frank Fowler house now stands. In 1805 Wood built the large frame house about ½ mile farther west.

After Wood’s death in 1832, this farm was sold to John Winslow of Hoosick, NY who occupied it until his death in 1842, when it went to his son William who occupied it till 1870 when he retired to Union Springs, NY.

John N. Sherman then came into possession of the place by his daughter Hannah Manchester.

At a very early day, James Wood built a sawmill which was much used during wet periods until 1844, when it was allowed to decay.

Howard Smith bought a farm off the east side of the original Woods farm in 1859, and it is now owned by Frank Fowler.

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