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ERIE COUNTY. 283
1,186. Eggertsville, Getzville, East Anjlserst, and Westwood are p. offices. The
first settlement was made in 1804, by Timothy S. Hopkins and Elias Ransom, from Great Barring¬
ton, Mass.1 There are 9 churches in town.2
AEM.OI8.A—was formed from Batavia, as “ Willink,” April 11, 1804. Its name was changed
April 15,1818. Clarence and Cambria (Niagara co.) were taken off in 1808, Buffalo in 1810, Con¬
cord, Hamburgh, and Eden in 1812, Holland and Wales in 1818, and a part of Elma in 1857. It
occupies nearly a central position in the co. Its surface is rolling in the n. and hilly in the s.
The hills are gradual slopes, and their summits are 150 to 300 feet above the valleys. The
principal streams are Cazenove Creek and its branches. The soil is gravelly loam in the valleys
and clayey among the hills. Willink; (p. v.,) incorp. Dec. 29,1849, is situated on the e. branch
of Cazenove Creek, in the n. part of the town. It contains 2 churches and a woolen factory and
has a pop. of 365. East Aurora^ (p. v.,) about 1 mi. e. of Willink, contains 2 churches, an
academy,3 and several manufacturing establishments. Pop. 360. West Falls, (p.v.,) on the
w. bank of Cazenove Creek, in the s. part of the to An, contains 1 church, 2 sawmills, a gristmill,
and about 30 houses; and Gridins Mills, (p.v.,) on the same stream, near the center of the
town, contains 1 church, a sawmill, a gristmill, and 25 houses. The first settlement was made in
the fall of 1803, by Jabez Warren, Henry Godfrey, and NathT Emerson.4 The evidences of ancient
Indian occupation were plainly visible upon the advent of the whites.4 The first church (Bap.)
was organized with 16 members, in 1810, by Elder Irish. There are 7 churches in town.6 Ex-
Pres. Millard Fillmore and Hon N. K. Hall, Judge of Supreme Court and Ex-P. M. Gen., were
for some years residents of East Aurora.
BOSTOIV—was formed from Eden, April 5, 1817. It is an interior town, lying s. of the
center- of the co. Its surface is a hilly upland, broken by the valley of the n. branch of Eighteen
Mile Creek, which flows n. w. through near the center of the town. The valley of this stream is
about three-fourths of a mile wide. In this valley the soil is a fine, fertile loam, and upon the
hills it is a gravelly and clayey loam. Boston, (p. v.,) on the n. branch of Eighteen Mile
Creek, contains 3 churches, 2 gristmills, 2 sawmills, a tannery, a cow-bell factory, and 40 houses;
Boston Center, (Patchin p. o.,) on the same stream, contains 2 churches, a sawmill, and 20
houses; and North Boston, (p. v.,) 1 church, a gristmill, a sawmill, and 20 houses. The first
settlement was made by Dijlemus Kinney, in 1803.5 The first religious services were conducted
by Rev. John Spencer, in 1810. There are 7 churches in town.6
BRABfDT7—was formed from Collins and Evans, March 25, 1839. It lies upon the shore
of Lake Erie, in the s. w. corner of the co. The surface is generally level, with a gentle inclina¬
tion toward the lake. Cattaraugus Creek forms a part of the s. boundary. The other principal
streams are Big Sister, Delaware, and Muddy Creeks. The soil is generally a gravelly loam
intermixed with clay. Brandt (p. v.) contains 20 houses. Mill Branch (Farnham p.o.)
is the Saw Mill Station on the B. & E. R. R., and contains 30 houses. The first settlement
was made in 1817, by Moses Tucker.8 The first religious services were conducted by Benj. Olm¬
sted, in 1820. A union church is the only one in town.
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in Aurora: the finders, not knowing its value as a specimen of
antiquity, converted it into a dipper and skimmer.—Turner’s
Hoi. Pur., p. 668.
6 2 Presb., Bap., Cong., M. E., Univ., and R. C.
? Oliver and Charles Johnson settled in the town in 1805, and
Richard Cary and Sam! Eaton in 1807. The first birth was that
of Phinney Johnson, in 1806; the first marriage, that of David
Stannard and Esther Yaw, in 1810; and the first death, that of
Joel Beebe, in 1S09. Ethan Howard built the first mill,in 1810,
Job Palmer kept the first inn, in 1811; and Aaron J. Tupper tho
first store, the same year. The first school was taught by Joel
Eddy, in 1810.
8 Bap., Eree Will Bap., Evang. Luth., Eriends, M. E., Meth.
Prot., and Univ.
® Named from Col. Joseph Brant, the Mohawk chief. His
Indian name was “ Tha-yan<la-nee-gah,” said to signify “ wood
partly burned,” or “a brand;” and as the Indians are unable to
distinguish d from t in their pronunciation, it became Brant.—
Asher Wright, Missionary at the Cattaraugus Reservation.
10 John, Robert, and Major Campbell, and John Wrest, settlea
in the town in 1808, and Ansel Smith, Robt. and WTm. Grannis,
and Benj. Olmsted, in 1819. The first birth was that of a son of
John West, in 1818; the first marriage, that of Levi Grannis
and Leah Hallida, in 1819; and the first death, that of Matthew
West, in 1822. The first mill was built by Sam’l Butts, in 1822;
the first inn was kept by Josephus Hubbard, in 1825; and the
first store, by Milton Morse, in 1835. Julia Bradley taught the
i first school, in 1823. |
1
Among the early settlers were Wm. Maltbury, Jonas Wil¬
liams, James Harmon, Horatio Kelsey, Seth Canfield, Enos A.
Armstrong, and Jas. Harris. The first sawmill was built in 1801,
by Thomson; and the first gristmill, by Wm. Maltbury, in
1808. Elias Ransom kept the first inn, in 1805, and Juba Storrs
& Co. the first store, in 1812.
2
Bap., Disciples, M. E., and Germ. Cath. at Williamsville, and
2 Evang. Luth., Eree, Mennonite, and R. C. in other parts of the
town.
3
s The Aurora Manual Labor Seminary was chartered Oct. 18,
1833; and in 1838 its name was changed to the Aurora Academy.
The manual labor department was long since abandoned.
4
and Humphrey Smith, in 1804, and Wm. Warren, Thos. Tracy,
Christopher Stone, and Luther Hibbard, in 1805. The first birth
5
Wm. Warren kept the firet. inn, in 1806, and Adams & Hascall
6
the first store, in 1808. The first school was taught by Mary
Eddy, in 1806.
7
E Two hills, in the N. part of the town, were fortified by cir¬
8
cular breastworks, in many places 6 to 8 ft. high. Human
bones, of almost giant size, have been dug up near the fortifica¬
tions ; and pieces of pottery and iron axes have been found in
the vicinity.—Letter of Rev. Asher Wright. In 1809 an ancient
copper plate, 12 by 16 inches, covered with letters or hiero¬
glyphics, was plowed up upon the land of Ephraim Woodruff,
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