Town of East Bloomfield

Early Settlers of Ontario Co.,

excerpted from the HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY; compiled by Lewis Cass Aldrich; edited by George S. Conover; 1893;

The pioneer settlement of East Bloomfield was begun in 1789. Earliest settler was Deacon John Adams and his sons: John, William, Abner, Jonathan, and Joseph; his sons-in-law Epraim Rew and Loren Hull. Other early pioneers included Elijah Rose, Moses Gunn, Lot Rew, John Barnes, Roger Sprague and Asa Hickox.

Lot Rew died in 1793; Laura Adams opened a school in 1792; General Fellows and Judge Porter built a saw-mill on Mud Creek in 1790; Benjamin Goss married the daughter of George Codding about 1790. Nathaniel operated a distillery; Anson Munson opened a tannery; each before 1800. Other early settlers were Nathaniel and Ezra Norton, Benjamin Goss, John Keyes, Joel Steele and Thaddeus Steele.

In the east part of the town dwelt Oliver Chapin who built a grist-mill on Fish Creek and was one of the settlers of 1789. Dr. Daniel Chapin and Aaron Taylor came in 1790; Heman Chapin and Roswell Humphrey in 1795, Cyprain and Tyrannus Collins in 1800, Nathaniel Baldwin, Philo Norton (son of Aaron Norton), Zebediah Fox, Chauncey Beach, John Doud, Jonathan Humphrey, Asa Johnson. Early settlers also included Joel Steele and Capt. Nathan Waldron, Timothy Buell, Joab Loomis, Benjamin Wheeler, Joel Parks, Benjamin Chapman, Ashbel Beach, Israel Beach, George Lee.

The Goss/Gauss family came in 1789; Aaron Collins, a minister in 1795; Amos Bronson 1794 and Moses Gunn, Gideon King, Daniel Bronson, Joel Kellogg, Joseph Parker, the Lamberton, Winslow and Tainter families came early.

Moses Sperry settled in the south part of the town along with Pitt Hopkins, Erastus Rowe and Ebenezer Spring.

The west and southwest portion of the town was settled by Silas Sprague and his sons: Silas, Roger, Asahel, and Thomas. Also in this area came Lot Rew, Elijah Hamlin, William and John Adams, Jonathan Adams, Nathan Wilcox, Christopher Parks, Henry Lake, Asa Doolittle, Asher Saxton, Enoch Wilcox, Ransom Spurr, James McMann and Israel Reed.

In the northwest part of the town the early settlers were Moses and Flavel Gaylord, Silas Harris, Ebenezer French, Joseph Dibble, Alexander Emmons, Ransom Sage, John Benjamin, Archibald Ransford, Luther Millard and Silas Eggleston.

Dr. Daniel Chapin made a pioneer settlement in the central portion - a pretty little village called East Bloomfield. Dr. Ralph Wilcox succeeded him in practice and soon afterwards was followed by Dr. Henry Wilcox. Other early settlers in this central portion were: John Fairchilds, Silas Eggleston, Abraham Dudley, John Keyes, Benjamin Keyes, Deacon Hopkins, Elisha Hopkins, Abner and Gaius Adams, Asa Hayward, Elijah Rose, Isaac Stone and Ephraim Turner. Benjamin Keyes generously donated the land for the village park. Ephraim Turner established the first tavern. Elisha Beach was the first postmaster.

Peter Holloway was the village blacksmith as early as 1804, but being ambitious, became a landlord and built a hotel. Jared Boughton, of Victor, also built a hotel in 1812 which was run by his son, Frederick. Zadock Bailey, a shoemaker, settled in 1798.

These first settlers were mainly New Englanders -- Yankees -- and imbued with truly patriotic and generous sentiments. They were a hardy, industrious and progressive body of Yankees, and their coming to the region had the effect of inducing settlement in the town and vicinity by other New Englanders.

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