Volume 8, Number 2
Spring 1987

Table of Contents

1. President's Message
2. Questions and Answers
3. Marriage Records
4. Black Hawk War
5. Pioneer Associatiom Member List
6. Programs Recap (Jan, Feb, March, 1987)
7. Queries

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Helen Berkeley

From time to time, someone contacts the RGS with an idea that could be of help to many of our members. Such was the case recently when Mary Jackson telephoned me with the thought that members of our Society might be interested in joining members of other clubs in an information exchange program which she is developing. She is calling it the Family Group Sheet Exchange Program. This could be a wonderful opportunity for individuals to exchange surname information. In brief, this program is a computerized data base made up of the family group sheets submitted by members of several local genealogy clubs. There is no charge for submitting names, and only a small one to cover costs for the surname searches. This is a non-profit project, and Mrs. Jackson, who is now retired, is donating her time. For further information, contact Mrs. Mary Jackson, 5135 Maxwell Road, Macedon, New York 14502. (315) 986-4238.

By the time this HEAR YE reaches you, we will be approaching our Annual Meeting, and the last formal meeting of the year. It will also end my three years as President of the RGS. My fellow board and committee members have been very supportive, and I am most grateful. I have enjoyed my tenure as President enormously. I have learned so much from our mini-workshops and speakers, and have come to appreciate the depth of knowledge that exists within our members. Thank you for this opportunity, and for the opportunity of getting to know so many of you.

QUESTIONS and ANSWERS
Dick Halsey

QUESTION: I would like very much to locate the records of St. Mark's Episcopal Church which was located at Hunt's Hollow during the mid 1800s.

F. Smith, Sacramento, CA

ANSWER: Hunt's Hollow is in the Town of Portage, Livingston Co., NY. It was never a big settlement, but when the Erie Railroad went through (in the 1870s) a new settlement, called Hunts, was started around the railroad station, only about a half mile distance. Slowly most of the families moved out of Hunt's Hollow. By 1880 St. Mark's Church had no pastor and only 25 members. A short time after the turn of the century St. Mark's was closed. The original records of St. Mark's are in the Episcopal Diocese of Rochester, 935 East Ave., Rochester, NY. These records are not in the best of order and some baptisms and deaths are recorded as much as a month after the event.

Do you have a question related to the Genesee Valley region? Send your question to Dick Halsey at Rochester Genealogical Society, P0 Box 92533, Rochester, NY 14692.

Editor's Note: Those of you looking for Frog Hollow will find it south of Flint, NY (Ontario County) about a mile and a half. When I was a boy it consisted of Flint Creek, one house, one original log cabin, a barn and a dead horse. The horse was of great interest. Up the creek a bit is the place where it is said the great General Sullivan and his army crossed with his army in 1779 (Sep. 9^th). The ramp which was cut in the steep East bank to get down to the creek can still be seen. He camped on a nearby hill just a short distance away from where I lived long ago. Further up the creek, a few hundred yards, there used to be a grist mill. With our buckboard wagon, With the spring seat, we would take our grain to be ground for feed for the

Jim Roome

MARRIAGE RECORDS
Charlene Bean Guyer

Marriage records of Rev. L. Merrill Miller, D.D., 1844-1866, Ogdensburg, NY

• 1853, Feb. 15: Tues, PM, at the American Hotel, Ogdensburg. Mr. James Coligan of Alfred, Canada to Miss Isabella Coder of Rochester, NY.
• 1861, Apr. 11: at 7 PM at Smith Page's, Ogdensburg. Mr. Francis A. Christian of Canandaigua to Miss Eliza J. Hutchins of Ogdensburg. Dan S. Giffin, Alida J. Page, Alfred A. Page, witnesses.
• 1862, Jul. 17: at 9 PM at Mr. L.N. Chaney's, Ogdensburg. Mr. Charles W. Woodward of Rochester to Miss Charlotte M. Lyman of Ogdensburg. L.N. Chaney and wife, Julia Chaney, witnesses.
• 1863, Dec. 10: at 8 ½ AM at my house, Ogdensburg. Mr. Mitchell Haynes of Rochester, NY, to Miss Mary A. Combs of Geneva, NY. Mrs. Miller, L.R. Miller, witnesses.

BLACK HAWK WAR
Bob Gustafson

Echoes of a long-forgotten Indian uprising that swept the entire United States from one end to the other were aroused by the discovery by Theodore C. Cassau of a small burlal ground opposite the entrance to Sea Breeze Park.

On Bradstreet Farm

This burial ground is on the Bradstreet farm on Woodman Road and in it lies the body of Samuel Waldo Bradstreet, who was one of the commissioned officers of a company of more than 100 men who enlisted as volunteers in the 1830's to battle with Black Hawk, the great chief of the Sac and Fox Indians, who went on a rampage to issert the right of his people to lead lives along the eastern bank of the Mississippi River.

Samuel W. Bradstreet was the descendant of a family which came early into Irondequoit, hailing from Topsfield, Mass., where he was born. He arrived in Irondequoit in the 1830's and shortly afterwards bought 212 acres of land from Humphrey Woodman which is now the Sea Breeze District of the Town of Irondequoit. He built himself a brlck house on the farm into which he moved October 17,1856, and where he spent the remainder of his life. The brick for the house was drawn from the Brighton Brick Yard by ox team and it took a day to get a load from the yard to the site of the house. Mr. Bradstreet set out trees on both sides of what is now Culver Road, the depth of his farm site from the lake.

Mrs. Woodman, wife of the original owner of the farm, had died before its purchase by Mr. Bradstreet and had been buried a few rods north of the house. Because of this Mr. Bradstreet set aside a little plot surrounding her grave to be used as a burying ground. In time Mr. Woodman was buried in the plot as were also Mr. and Mrs. Bradstreet.

Mr. Bradstreet served the town as a justice of the peace and as supervisor. He was lieutenant in the 17^th Regiment and became a captain in the same regiment on Feb. 13, 1836.

When the Black Hawk alarm sounded there seemed to be a need for immediate action. Samuel W. Bradstreet was instrumental in quickly organizing a company of soldiers from Rochester. This company was diligent in its preparation for campaigning against the Indians, and 7:30 o'clock each morning found it lined up on Whitney's parade ground on Lyell Avenue, Gates, for action, inspection and review. Amos Sawyer was colonel of the regiment and William E. Lathrop, brigadier general. Mr. Bradstreet received his discharge in March 1840. He died in March, 1880, as a result of injuries when a pair of colts ran away with him at the railroad crossing at Portland Avenue and North Street.

With pioneer conditions almost a hundred years behind in point of time and the prospect of Indian raids about as remote as any human occurrences can be, it is difficult today to realize the terror that the names of Black Hawk or Tecumseh or anu of the other great chiefs could conjure even by the rudest suggestion of going on the warpath. But for a considerable period of years almost to the very eve of the Civi War, this Indian terror was an ever present one, and it continued sporadically west of the Mississippi far well into the 1880's.

Black Hawk and his followers felt, and perhaps, with considerable justice, that they had been tricked out of their ancient right and they set out to retrieve the inheritance by the right of the tommyhawk and the war club, by fire and torture and every other means of which they could avail themselves.

The land involved was a strip about 700 miles long along the Mississippi - some of the best and most fertile land in the whole valley and from St. Louis, Mo., to Prairie du Chien, Wis., and further north there was desultory warfare through many years, becoming so acute at times that communities became wrought up to the extent of preparing to send contingents to the aid of the government forces attempting to hold the Indians in check. The culmination came in 1831, when Gen. Winfield Scott marched against the Indians. Black Hawk and seven other warriors were captured and held as hostages, the Indians were removed west of the river and peace settled down. Black Hawk was not only deposed, but he was humiliated by being exhibited in the principal eastern cities as a hostage of war. He was confined for a time at Fortress Monroe, but later returned to his people, and died in his camp near Keokuk, Iowa.

Black Hawk was a Pottawatamie Indian, but became chief of the Sac and Foxes, succeeding his father who had been killed by a Cherokee. By the time he was 13 years old Black Hawk had earned a reputation as a brave and already was looked upon as a successful leader. So whether considered from the white man's angle, or that of the Indian's, he was a personage to reckon with and there was little wonder that in the first third of the 19^th century he kept white settlers everywhere on edge.

The Rochester men who were enrolled for the Black Hawk War were furnished by the present Samuel W. Bradstreet, son of the captain of the Black Hawk war group, there are no records at present available to tell more about these men than their names tell. Mr. Cassau is hoping that relatives of most of these men, at least, will come forth and provide as much information as they possess, including his place of burial. Here are the names:

From: LOCATION AND MILITARY RECORD - SOLDIERS, SAILORS, MARINES AND NURSES - CEMETERIES - TOWN OF IRONDEQUOIT - FLOWER COMMITTEE - GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC, pages entitled "Enlistments - Black Hawk War - 1832 - Irondequoit," all person listed were privates except as noted.)

(continued in v8-#3)

PIONEER ASSOCIATION MEMBER LIST (continued from v8-#1)
Julie Steitz

• Mrs. Luthur KELLEY, died 1865. Aged 78.
• John KELLY, born Mass. Came to western NY 1775, died 1860. Aged 85.
• Moses KING, born Conn. Came to Rochester 1815.
• Bradford KING, born Conn. Came to Rochester 1812.
• George KING, born Mass. Came to western NY 1792, died 1859. Aged 73.
• Robert KING, born Mass. Came to Rochester 1818, died 1857. Aged 60.
• Jonathan KING, born Mass. Came to Rochester 1818.
• Horace KING, born southern NY. Came to Rochester 1824.
• Paul KNOWLES.
• Frances LATTA.
• G. C. LATTA, born southern NY. Came to Rochester 1811.
• John T. LACY, born southern NY. Came to western NY 1816.
• Fayette LAPHAM. Came to western NY 1806.
• William LAMBERT.
• Wilson LAMBERT, born N. J.
• Ira LAPHAM, born Mass. Came to western NY 1792.
• Elon LEE, born Conn. Came to western NY 1816.
• Samuel W. LEE, born Conn. Came to Rochester 1816, died 1861. Aged 66.
• Jacob LEE, died in Brighton.
• Mehetable LEE.
• Zacharoiah LEWIS, born Conn. Came to western NY 1812.
• Ichabod LEONARD, born Mass. Came to Rochester 1816.
• Armour W. LOYD, born S. N. Y. Came to western NY 1803, died 1865. Aged 85.
• J. G. LONGFELLOW, born Maine. Came to western NY 1813.
• Daniel LOOMIS, born Mass. Dead. Un.
• Rochester K. LOTHRIDGE, born S. N. Y. Came to R. 1817, died 1861. Aged 52.
• Mitchell LODER, born southern NY. Came to Rochester 1817.
• Charles C. LUNT, born southern NY. Came to Rochester 1819, died 1848. Aged 80.
• Stephen LUSK, died 1860. Aged 85.
• L. B. LANGWORTHY, born southern NY. Came to Rochester 1825.
• Aaron LIPPINCOTT, born N. J.
• Lewis MANN.
• Ezra MASON, born Mass. Came to western NY 1801. Dead.
• Jane A. MAY.
• Mrs. Charles MAGNE.
• Sarah MORGAN, died 1861. Aged 91.
• Mathew MEAD, born southern NY. Came to Rochester 1813.
• Salmon MILLER, born in Conn.
• Silas MILLER.
• Sarah MILLER.
• Abigail MILLER.
• Adams MILLER.
• Ebenezer MIX.
• Benjamin MINER, born Conn. Came to Rochester 1813. Un.
• Elisha MOSES, born Conn. Came to western NY 1810, died 1847. Aged 86.
• Schuyler MOSES, born Conn. Came to Rochester 1817.
• Harvey MONTGOMERY, born Pa. Came to Rochester 1816.
• Ephraim MOORE, born N. H. Came to Rochester 1817, died 1857.
• Perley MUNGER, born southern NY.
• William W. MUMFORD, born southern NY. Came to R. 1818, died 1848. Aged 52.
• Mrs. Alexander MILLENER, died 1862. Aged 81.
• Alexander MILLENER, died at Adams Basin, March 13, 1865. Aged 105.
• W. J. McCRAKEN, born southern NY. Came to Rochester 1815.

Continued in v8-#3

PROGRAMS RECAP
Judy Markham

January - "A VARIETY OF APPROACHES TO GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH" - Dr. Joel Nitzkin

Dr. Nitzkin's genealogical quest is doubly unique. First, he is dealing with Jewish families in eastern Europe during the past 50 years with the difficult problems of undocumented emigration, involuntary conscription and the holocaust. But also, he is seeking not so much the dead as the living.

Inspired in the task by his father, Nitzkin assembled his first family tree as a high school biology project and discovered it to be "much wiped out." Since then he has tried to find and reunite living family members.

Since those who left Europe between 1880 and the 1940's knew little about how the others survived, he has resorted to searching phone books and even comparing physical features.

Nitzkin, Monroe County, NY, Health Director, uses a computer in his work, selecting the Personal Ancestral File for his PC-3.

Febuary - "THE SAGA OF SIX SETTLEMENTS" - Bill Davis

Bill Davis' passion is the history of a patch of land two blocks wide and eight miles long that straddles the Genesee River south of Lake Ontario. The past president of the Charlotte-Genesee Lighthouse Historical Society presented a slide show that examined the areas geological formation and early history and settlements:

1. Charlotte with its 1822 lighthouse and where Jonathan Child began as a merchant.
2. King's Landing at the lower falls, the first settlement where sailing ships were built in 1798.
3. Carthage, across the gorge, where an arching bridge (a marvel of the time) was built in 1819 only to collapse 15 months later. Its successor was washed away after seven months.
4. McCrakensville, near the lower falls, founded by pioneer brothers from Batavia.
5. Frankfort, near Kodak Office, where Brown's race operated mills and Gideon Cobb began the area's first public transportation.
6. Castle Town, near Brooks Avenue, where Isaac Castle operated a tavern until the Erie Canal caused its demise.

March - "ORAL HISTORY" - Preston Pierce

Oral history or "significant reminiscences" has its advantages, says the Ontario County historian. It can preserve family tradition and culture in an era of scattered families; indicate passions; and obtain information from those who wouldn't write it down. The process, however, is not easily edited, may contain salty language and "unusual" opinions; can be a difficult technology; and may cause the subject to be reluctant to perform. Pierce suggests:

• Put the subject at ease by playing with the recorder a bit.
• Know enough about the subject to talk about their likes and dislikes.
• Ask open-ended questions and have lots of tape.
• Avoid questions that can be answered "yes" or "no."
• Develop a sense of when to cut things off and when to say nothing.
• Have good equipment and know how to operate it.
• Be honest enough to tell people that they are being recorded.
• Consider having a legal release agreed to and signed.

QUERIES and other things:

BURR ... A combined effort of many people Is underway to update Charles Burr Todds 4th Edition of THE BURR FAMILY. Rochester Genealogical Society members, and others, with additions or corrections please send a SASE to me for further details. All Burrs including female lines are welcome. (Jean our past Vice President and Program Chairperson says that Island living and retirement are great!) Jean H. Burr, P0 Box 128, St. James City, Florida 33956.

DICKINSON ... PALMER ... My grandmother, Nellie Angelina Dickinson, was born July 6, 1838, probably in Mendon, New York. She married my grandfather Hiram Fellows Palmer, October 11, 1864 in Rochester. He was born March 24, 1829 in Honeoye Falls. Nellie's father was Sanford E(zra?) Dickinson, probably of Victor. Her Mother was Angelina Harris Dickinson. I would like to find out all I can about Nellie's parents (and about Nellie, too, for that matter). Erwin Palmer, 20 Gregory Street, Oswego, New York