History of Edmeston, New York/1870s

Edmeston
History

The history of Edmeston, New York: 1870 through 1879

1870

Now I have undertook
To give a true relation
Of all the business men
In this corporation.

And as I have leisure
And plenty of time,
It may appear better
To tell you in rhyme.

Our Pastor elder Flint
Will do what good he can,
Though his name sound hard,
He is a very nice man.

We have another priest;
His name is William Hiller,
And in the next house east,
Lives a retired Miller.

We have another clergyman
Who has come here of late,
Last Saturday was admitted
To the matrimonial state.

And there is Yankee Bootman,
Employing two new Hands,
Who are working in his basement,
Making ladies' fans.

And Hadams, the tailor,
'As 'ouses to 'ire.
He has rented his Hinn
To sell liquid fire.

The back of his store,
Is rented to Ray
But his other tenant
Has Galuped away.

And there is Dr. Spencer,
To whom we owe our lives,
Perhaps, too, our children,
And also our wives.

And there is Dr. Chambers,
Prescribes for every ill,
If you should have occasion,
Suppose you try his skill.

E. Bootman, the merchant
Is selling as low
As the make of the ground
Will allow him to go.

G. M. Pitts, the grocer,
Can with him compete,
For his store is on the lowest
Side of the street.

And Mr. E.Chamberlain
Has rented a store,
And is enabled to sell
About forty feet lower.

And the Bilyea Brothers,
Have another firm,
Foster has taken a partner,
And now its Homer’s turn.

The blacksmith at the west,
His name is Levi Brown.
Can shoe a horse the best
Of any man in town.

Can tell the best stories
Of any man his heft,
We have not had his equal
Since Peter Parker left.

And now at the east
Is C. L. Smith, the tinner,
He always likes a call
If it is not late to dinner.

And Hopkins and Son
Make the Wagons in town,
They are ironed by Ford
And painted by Brown.

They are fashioned in style,
And easy to draw,
for the extra touches
Are put on by T. Shaw.

G. Arnold is selling
New stoves that are good
For cash or old iron,
For watches or wood.

And if you want teaming done,
Apply to Pope's express,
He'll do it cheap as any one,
And perhaps a little less.

A market over the way,
Fresh meat and maybe sausage,
The stage runs every day
If you want a passage.

St.John is our esquire,
And Solomon surveyor,
We have a graded school,
And ought to have a mayor.

There is Ed Wales, the Miller,
I have nearly missed,
As clever a fellow
As ever ground a grist.

A rhyme for Dr. Palmer,
If I can begin it,
"To and from the fair ground
Every fifteen minutes."

H. Talbot, the cooper,
Makes firkins for sale,
And E.G.Waldo
Is selling stock ale.

We have an iron bridge,
And sidewalks in good style,
Where one can walk abreast,
I call it Indian file.

A good mechanic
Is Lewis Green,
Is the best we have
On a mowing machine.

And Ackerman and son
Are builders by trade,
Have a Sash and Blind shop
Where materials are made.

Mr. Douglas is a poet,
And also a tanner,
Can lecture on temperance
In a comical manner.

The tannery was owned
By Mr. D. T. Ross,
But he sold it to Spencer
Who now will be "boss".

Mr. William Joslyn
Is best boot maker,
And D. B. Reed
Is our village undertaker.

And A. J. Hecox
Makes shoes and boots,
Would like a young wife
If he could find one that suits.

Our sidewalks are noted,
I mean for their holes,
I think it should be voted
To make them of poles. — G. W. Arnold

All these brave, hardy, adventurous, fearless, industrious pioneers endured many hardships and sacrifices while clearing the land and paving the way for our comfortable homes today. For a long time I have felt there is one important thing that should be done. The least we might do would we to see that all the old cemeteries where these brave pioneers ar buried, are put, and keep, in good order. That project has been carried through by many Women's Clubs. They deserve at least that memorial. "Royal blood is an inheritance. Noble blood, if it begets noble deed, is a blessing. But above and beyond all, is the inheritance of a pious, God-fearing, God serving ancestry." — Myrta Kelsey

1877

Post office established at North Edmeston (11/30/1877); discontinued 2/15/1905. — Dorothy Scott Fielder

North Edmeston postmasters:

(discontinued in 1905) — Flora Underwood

1879

According to old records in and old account book of Thomas A. Page who resided in the Goodrich district, Edmeston, H.W. Stowe was making boots in New Berlin on December 16, 1879, for Mr. Page. For one pair of boots Mr. Page delivered 115 lbs. of beef and .40 cents in cash. The boots were valued at $5.00.

On November 24, 1879, Mr. Page bought of Adicus Ellis, Number 1 double harness and 2 halters for $30 for which he paid cash. On April 28, 1879 Mr. Page sold S.E. Olin 20 qts. of top onion sets for 60 cents net. Granville G. Beers was proprietor of the Central Hotel in New Berlin on January 7, 1878, for Mr. Page sold him 113 pounds of beef at 5 cents per pound. On September 11, 1880, Mr. Page took home from the shops of Hiram C. Hooker in South Edmeston, one carriage, for which he paid $160, and on September 8, 1880, he purchased of William Humphrey in Edmeston one single Harness for $25 which must have been worn by "old dobbin" to draw the new carriage.

On a balance sheet of January 1,1875, he lists as assets $900 value in M.R.R. bonds; (this must have been the old Midland [Railroad], before it became the N.Y.O.&W.R.R. [New York Ontario and Western]) My grandmother, Mrs. Samuel P. Pope, held $4000 value of these "gold bearing bonds" which returned to her just the memory of their purchase. I wonder if Mr. Page got out from under them before the bankruptcy sale of the Midland.

April 13, 1874, William Dupee sold Mr. Page one butter tub for 60 cents. William Dupee lived on the road from South Edmeston to Edmeston, near where you turned off to go to the Goodrich schoolhouse.

On April 16, 1874, Mr. Page entered a charge against Reubin Hinds for sharpening 1547 hop poles at ½ cent each; total $7.74. Do you want a job like that boys?

The prices Mr. Page received for milk taken to a cheese factory in 1878 are as follows; May, .65; June .62 ½ ; July, .61 7/8 ; August, . .67 ½ ; September, .76 ¼ per cwt. And that year his farm paid him a good net profit. But on the other hand, while he worked early and late, and enjoyed the best the land offered of food and happiness with his growing family, he bought no auto, tractor, gasoline, tires, driver or car license, or insurance, nor paid any hospital bills to have some of his family patched up, or morticians expense, to bury some of his loved ones destroyed by such conveyances. He lived on a back dirt road, he traveled a dirt road and paid no tax to lay concrete highways for pleasure to pursue, or commerce to use to usurp the carriers who had paid to maintain their own right-of-way and road beds and also contributed taxes to the communities which they served. There was no appeal to Washington for relief or bonus of any kind. Us children whom he taught in the several “little red school houses” have come as near filling our niches in life with success and happiness and will revere his life and efforts with as much sincerity, as will the pupils of the large school edifices now being erected. It is not how much you have but how you enjoy what you get. — THINK-UM BOBS by Spencer Pope, Morris Chronicle Jan 15, 1937