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STEUBEN COUNTY. 629
WAYNE1—named in honor of Gen. Anthony W.ayne—was formed, as “Frederickstowii,” March
18, 1796. Its name was changed April 6, 1808. Reading (Schuyler co.) was taken off in 1806,
Orange (Schuyler co.) in 1813, and Barrington (Yates co.) and Tyrone (Schuyler co.) in 1822. A
part was annexed to Tyrone April 17, 1854. It is situated upon Crooked Lake, on the e. border
of the co. Its surface is a rolling upland,. 400 to 600 feet high, descending abruptly to the lake.
Little Lake is a beautiful sheet of water lying along the e. border. The soil is a gravelly and slaty
loam underlaid by hardpan. Wayne,2*(p.v.,) on the line of Tyrone, (Schuyler co.,) contains 3
churches and 40 houses. Wayne Four Corners is a p. o. Kenka is a steamboat landing
in the sr. part. Zephaniah Hoff, Henry Mapes, Widow Jennings, and Solomon Wixson settled in
town in 1791.3 Rev. Ephraim Sanford (Bap.) was one of tbe first settlers, and for many years
the only clergyman in town. There are two churches in town; M. E. and Union.
WEST UNION—was formed from Greenwood, April 25, 1845. It is the s. w, corner town
of the co. Its surface is a broken and billy upland, the highest summits being 2,000 to 2,400 feet
above tide. A large part of the town is yet covered with forests. . Bennetts Creek is the principal
stream. The soil is a heavy, slaty loam. Lumbering is extensively pursued. Rexvilie (p.o.)
and Wileysville (p.o.) are hamlets. West Union is a p. o. The first settler was Abraham
Y. Olmsted, who located at Rexvilie in 1822.4 The first church (M. E.) was formed at Rexvilie in
1831. There are 2 churches in town; Bap. and M. E.
WHEELER 5—was formed from Bath and Prattsburgh, Feb. 25, 1820, A part of Avoca
was taken off in 1843, and a part of Urbana in 1839. It is an interior town, lying n.e. of the
center of the co. Its surface is a high, rolling upland, broken by the valleys of Five Mile and Ten
Mile Creeks and of several small lateral streams. Tbe soil is a shaly and clayey loam, well
adapted to both grazing and tillage. Mitchell ville (p. v.) contains 20 houses; and Wheeler
Center (Wheeler p.o.) 1 church and 15 houses. The first settlement was made in 1799, by
Capt. Silas Wheeler, from Albany co.6 Rev. Ephraim Eggleston (Bap.) conducted the first reli¬
gious services, in 1802. There are 2 churches in town; Presb. and M. E. ■ *
Wm>I>IEUEE 5—was formed from Troupsburgh and Addison, Feb. 18, 1828. A part of
Rathbone was taken off in 1856. It is the central town upon the s. border of the co. Its surface
is a hilly upland, a considerable portion of which is yet covered with forests. Tuscarora Creek,
flowing e. through the northerly part of the town, is the principal stream. The soil is a clayey and
gravelly loam. Lumbering is carried on to some extent. New ville, (Woodhull p.o.,) on Tus¬
carora Creek, contains 3 churches and several manufacturing establishments. Pop. 215. Hedges-
Ville contains 10 hquses. The first settlement was made in 1805, by Stephen Dolson, Daniel
Johnson, Patrick Breakhill, Bethuel Tubbs, and Samuel B. Rice.6 The first church (Presb.) was
organized in 1830; and the Rev. Mr. Pomeroy was the first pastor. There are 4 churches in town.7
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the first marriage. Capt. Wheeler built the first sawmill, in 1802;
and Geo. W. Taylor the first gristmill, in 1803-04. John Beals
kept the first inn, in 1820; and Cornelius Younglove, the first
store, iu 1835. The first school was taught by Uriel Chapin.
“Capt. Wheeler’s first trip to mill is worthy of record. • There
were, at the time when he had occasion to ‘ go to mill,’ three
institutions in the neighborhood where grinding was done,—at
the Friends’ settlement, at Bath, and at Naples. The millstones-
of Bath had suspended operations,—there being nothing there
to grind, as was reported. Capt. Wheeler made a cart, of which
the wheels were sawn from the end of a log of curly maple: the
box was of corresponding architecture. He started for Naples
with two oxen attached to this vehicle. Two young men went
before the oxen with axes and chopped a road, and the clumsy
chariot came floundering through the bushes behind, bouncing
over the logs and snubbiDg the stumps, like a ship whrking
through an ice field. The first day they reached a point a little
beyoDd the present village of Prattsburgh, a distance of six
miles from their starting point, and the second moored triumph¬
antly at the mill at Naples.”—McMasters’s Hist* Steuben Co., pp.
195-196.
7 Named in honor of Gen. Nathaniel Woodhull, of the Revolu
tion.
8 Caleb Smith settled in the town in 1808. The first birth
was that of Polly Smith: the first marriage, that of Levi Rice
and Cynthia Tubbs; and the first death, that of Benj. Tubbs.
Caleb Smith built the first gristmill, in 1805; Ichabod S. Leach
kept the first inn, and Josiah Tubbs the first store. The first
school was taught by Abner Thomas.
8 2 Bap., Presb., aud K. C. |
1
Its former name was from Frederick Bartles.—McMasters’s
Hist. Steuben Co., p. 181.
2
Locally known as “ Wayne Hotel.”
3
Enos, Joseph, and James Silsbee, Abraham Hendricks,
Joshua Smith, John Holdridge, Elijah Reynolds, and Ephraim
Tyler were among the early settlers. The first birth was that
of Elizabeth Wixson, Nov. 6,1793; and the first marriage, that
of Ephraim Sanford, jr. and Julia Hoff. Jas. Silsbee kept the
first store, and Enos Silsbee the first inn. The first school was
taught by Nathaniel Frisbee, in 1797.
4
The late settlement of this town was owing to the fact that
a large share of the land was owned in England and b*y heirs
under age. Among the first settlers were Fred. Ilauber, Wm.
Burger, and Wm. Bray, from Delaware CO., who came in 1823
and located near Rexvilie. John Wiley, Wm. Fisher, and Benj.
Wilks settled at Wileysville in 1849. Uriah Stevens taught the
first school; Chas. Rexford kept the first inn, and W'alter B.
Olmsted the first store, at Rexvilie. John Wiley built the first
5
He was 4 times taken prisoner during the war. He died in
1828, at the age of 78.
6
6 Nathan Rose. Wm. Holmes, and Turner Gardner settled in
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town in 1799; Col. Jonathan Barney and Thos. Aulls in 1800;
Fhilip Murtle in 1802; and Otto F. Marshall, and others, named
Real', Ferval, and Rifle, in 1803. 'William, son of Jonathan Bar¬
ney, was born Nov. 1,1801, and died Dec. 1,1802,-—the first birth
anil death in town. Hon. Grattan II. Wheeler was a party to
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