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Subject: Friendship NY Scrapbook Smalley farm family 100th year lots of surnames
Date: Fri, 22 Oct 2004 01:16:15 EDT
Farm in family celebrated this unusual centenary Tuesday
The Smalley Family reunion was held at the pleasant home of Mr. and Mrs.
Lloyd Smalley in the town of Wirt July 7th. There were 61 present. This farm has
been in possession of the family 100 years. 1825 to 1925 so this reunion was
more in the form of a celebration and was of special interest to both old and
young.
There were members present from Meadville,Rochester,Cuba and Belmont. The
following history was read Isaac Sears Smalley son of Abner and Mary Smalley was
born in New Jersey 3 May 1802. He married Cornelia Parrott daughter of Samuel
and Mary Parrott in 1822. In the fall of 1824 they came to New York State.
They went first to Senaca Co. then Ovid and visited his parents who had gone
there from New Jersey some time before. Then they journeyed on to Belvidere
where a Mr. McCoy lived who had come from New Jersey. They rented a house back of
where the Eire station now stands and near an old sawmill. The next year 1825
late in the summerthey moved on to this farm They had to move with oxen and
sled because there were so many stumps and logs in the road. Instead of
following the present road they turned to the right just below the Shawmut culvert
above Nile and went near the old house and barn on the Voorhies farm and above
the Voorhies orchard and then on to the present road It was a forest all the
way except a few cleared spots. There was a hotel on Sam Strahan farm and one
on the corner where Orrin Cleveland lived. All the chopping and clearing there
was done on the farm was around the loghouse.This house stood down near the
road. They cleared a spot across the creek from the house and sowed grain but
the deer ate it. During the first winter all the yoke of oxen had to eat was
browse and their shelter was a log shed with a brush roof. During the first
winters he would shave pine shingles and take them to Genesco and traded them
for corn.
There was a grist mill on the land now owned by Mr. Quick of Pennsylvania
Ave. He would often get up before daylight take a bag of corn on his back walk
to the grist mill have it ground and return home to have Johnny Cake for
breakfast. After Abner the eldest son was old enough to do the chores and split the
wood Mr. Smalley drew lumber to Hinsdale and Olean during the winters.
He did not have good luck raising grain on account of the wild animals so he
bought cows and made butter. They built a stone milk house over the spring
and set the milk in wooden bowls.
He added to the original farm 50 acres until he owned 260 acres at the time
of his death in 1880. After a few comfortable and what was then considered
quite a fine frame house on the site of the present house. During the 100 years
the farm has been owned by three members of the family Sears,Abner and Frank.
Frank tore down all the old buildings and built the present ones about 40
years ago. In 1905 oil was discovered on the farm and at the present time there
are 17 producing wells.
The children of Sears and Cornelia Smalley were Phoebe,Mrs.H.B.Newton who
was born in New Jersey, Abner who was born at Belvidere, Fanny, Mrs.Leonard
Farr, and Eveline,Mrs Adam Van Allen, who was born in the log house, Andrew Squire
Charles and Mary Ann,Mrs. WD Hicks who were all born in the frame house.
The surviving member of the family is Mrs. Hicks, the youngest daughter.
There is one daughter in law Mrs. Andrew Smalley.
There are 19 grandchildren, 31 great grandchildren, and 37 great great
grandchildren.
Samuel Parrott and his wife Mary father and mother of Mrs. Sears Smalley came
from New Jersey earlier than the Smalley family settled on the Thomas Compton
farm
Sad to say I found a teeny x which means it was probably posted and if so
sorry for repeat. Mrs. Hess used similar marks when she pasted
Elaine
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