Clarence Historical Society 2012 Spring Newsletter

Spring 2012

Editor – Julianna Fiddler Woite

May 8th 2012 – This month’s meeting will be held at the Clarence Nature Center on Sheridan Drive where Jim Marshall and Ken Schnobrich will be presenting July 10th 2012 – The History of Steel Plants in WNY - presented by Michael Malyak August 2nd 2012 - Annual summer picnic, 6pm - 10pm Sept 11th 2012 - Denise Reichard, a local actress will be playing a historical figure Nov 13th 2012 - David Ruch & Canal Street String Band will provide “Music from the War of 1812”

$QQRXQFHPHQWV $QQRXQFHPHQWV Conestoga Wagon Project: Any members wishing to help place the canvas top on the Conestoga Wagon should come to the Museum on Saturday, May 5, at 10 AM. This should take no more than one hour to two hours. No special equipment is needed.

Mark Your Calendars: The Historical Society's annual Summer picnic will be held at Glenwood Park, 8355 Greiner Road on Thursday, August 2nd, between 6 and 10 p.m. [Contact Donna Wanamaker at 741-9726 for details and to register to attend]. There is no fee.

Genealogy Services: We have Genealogy services at the Gerber Library in the Hollow. The former library is open on Wednesdays from 10-2 pm. Contact Mae Coppola at the Center for details.

Reminiscence of an Old Settler -As appeared in an early issue of the Clarence Bee According to the best of my knowledge and belief, I first saw daylight in the nineteenth century, in the month of December, 1813, in the central part of New York.

In the early spring of 1818, I emigrated with my parents to the Holland Land Purchase which was at the time considered way out west. We first stopped where the village of Lancaster is now located and remained there for one year.

In the meantime, father purchased a piece of wild land in the Town of Clarence (now the Town of Lancaster) where he cleared a small piece and put up a small house into which we moved in the spring of 1819, right in the woods.

Western New York was at the time (with few exceptions) one unbroken wilderness, covered with a heavy growth of forest trees and inhabited by Indians, bears, wolves, deer, wild cats, foxes, porcupines and various other animals.

The timber was principally oak, hickory, white wood or poplar ash, had and soft maple, birch, beech, pine, What a typical cabin would have looked like in early pioneer days in Clarence.

hemlock, etc.

A few people had preceded us

and had made small clearings. Soon after our arrival, families from different parts came and settled not far from us so we had neighbors within half a mile. Well do I remember hearing wolves howling around our house in their nightly visits while seeking something to devour.

Men, and sometimes women, in attempting to go from one settlement to another would get bewildered, lose their way and have to stay in the woods all night with the wild beast as company.

The hardy husbandman had to clear his lands of the heavy timber with which they were all covered before they could raise anything on-which to live.

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After they would get a few acres of the timber cut down and cut into suitable lengths, they would make a logging bee, invite their scattered neighbors, and when they had drawn the logs into suitable places with oxen, they would roll them into huge heaps to be burned. Thus there have been millions of cords of good timber and wood burned simply to get it off the land.

During the log-rolling hours, there was plenty of good whiskey and at the close of the day a sumptuous supper was spread consisting of roast pig, pumpkin pie, and other necessary viands.

Actually these logging bees were a luxury to those people who had so few community pleasures.

In those days common schools in this country were few and far between. My first schooling I remember was acquired in a barn. School teachers in those days earned the small pittance which was paid them. Male teachers would get from twelve to fifteen dollars per month of twenty four days of school and board around with those who sent children to school. Females would get from one dollar to one dollar and a quarter per week and get their board paid for in the same way.

Lady

teachers were required to

understand

the

marking of the letters of the alphabet and figures on canvas with a kind of thread known as floss.

Many of the larger girls would go to school armed with a piece of canvas and spend a part of their time learning the art of marking. Them too, teachers were compelled to write all the copies for those who wrote, and make or mend quill pens until about 1840 or 1845 when metal pens became general.

In those days, boys and girls were required on meeting and elderly person on their way to or from school, an obeisance, but now out young ladies and gentlemen are not required to reverence anybody, not even their parents.

Buffalo in those early days was only a small hamlet having been burned by the British and Indians in 1813 who only left a house or two standing. 席

&ODUHQFH +LVWRULF +RPHV 6HULHV **As part of a new series, The Ransom Note will highlight one of Clarence’s historically designated homes in each edition. Currently there are 16 homes that have received this prestigious designation – so that should keep us buy for a while!**

The Landow Log Cabin Presently located on the property of the Clarence Historical Society, the Landow Log Cabin enjoys a rich and prestigious history.

Originally located on Goodrich Road, this circa 1825 cabin was constructed by Levi Goodrich who was born in Massachusetts in 1774.

The Goodrich family settled in Clarence in 1815 and remained in the area for over 20 years. While in Clarence, Levi worked as a land surveyor, laying out many of Clarence's most traveled roads, including the one that bears his name.

The cabin's name derives from its last residents, Mr. & Mrs. Gustave Landow. The Landow family were prominent members of the German settlement in North Clarence and incorporated this cabin into their large family farm. The Landow cabin proudly remained on the east side of Goodrich Road, north of Lapp Road for 165 years. In 1990 the cabin was relocated to its present site and restored to original form.

(OHFWLRQ &DNH (OHFWLRQ &DNH 10 pounds of flour 8 pounds of butter 4 pounds of sugar 29 eggs 3 pints of yeast 1 1/2 pints of new milk cinnamon, nutmeg and a few cloves YIELDS 40-50 servings!!

NOTE: Early recipes only listed ingredients, not directions. The cook was supposed to know what to do!

Taken from a 1795 manuscript by Mrs. Dalrymple of Salem Massachutes Provided by POLITICS & POTROAST

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Picturing History

Out for a walk: Look at how empty Main Street was in 1917! Jewett Hoffman (left) and Charles Landel (right) were able to pose with Dorothy Landel (back), Eunice Landel and Howard Hoffman (in wagon) right in the center of the road. It seems like this stretch of Main Street was light on houses and traffic!

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7DNHQ )URP WKH +HDGOLQHV 7DNHQ )URP WKH +HDGOLQHV October 8th, 1878 While Buell Utley was driving into the Huntâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Corners Churchyard last Sunday, his horses suddenly took fright and ran down the road in front of Norton Huntâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s residence where they ran against a stone hitching post, broke the tongue and whiffletrees, and then ran down Salt Road to Grarret Bratt Huntâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s house. Here they turned into the barnyard and were caught. Mr. Utley and daughter were thrown out when the vehicle collided with the hitching post. Mr. Utley was bruised very badly and his daughter broke one wrist and dislocated the other. Dr. Lapp of Clarence was summoned immediately and took care of the injured.