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Issue No. 43
Offer expires 11-30-2018
www.westsidenewsny.com
NORTH EDITION
Distributed
to
Hilton-Parma
Parma’s first settlers - 1796 in “The North Woods,” as all land north of Ridge Road was then called. While the area was thickly wooded and Parma was an untouched wilderness quite overcast, the soil was rich and not prior to 1796. True Native Americans too hilly, and while the area was dark with hunted on Parma lands prior to that date, the thick canopy of the great first growth and perhaps a few white men tracked trees, and there were undrained swamps through the area to see what was here that bred disease, the Atchinson’s decided and possibly to do surveying, but on record to stay and make a go of it. The Atchinson to date, no one had stopped to say this Cemetery nestled on the bend of Parma’s is where I am going to live prior to the Hill Road today marks the location of this family’s settlement. Their first homes were above date. From the well settled and picturesque across from the cemetery near a small county of Tolland, Connecticut, the Atchin- creek. They blazed a trail from the Genesee son family set out for New York state in the fall of 1795 in search of a new life for River after crossing it while it was frozen themselves and their six children. They over, and were guided to their new home on today’s Hill Road arrived first in by a grizzly old Canandaigua, scout named John considered the Parks. Braving hub of western life in the wilderNew York state ness at that time at that time. The was not for the father Bezaleel, “faint of heart.” his wife Mary, There were no and the six chilmodern convedren along with niences such as Bezaleel’s two grocery stores or brothers, Stedoctors. Transphen and John, portation was by arrived at the foot or, if you were Canandaigua lucky, a horse. farm of anHistory tells us other brother, that the pioneers Dr. Sylvester had to be aware Atchinson, that of wild animals autumn. such as bears, I cannot begin rattlesnakes, to imagine what wolves and other their 21 day predators. Buildtrip by ox cart ing a suitable log from Tolland to cabin, and clearCanandaigua ing the land with was like. After only an ax and a few months an ox were other living in Canandaunting chaldaigua, they lenges. By sheer found the land Austin Atchinson at age 100. force of will, the not to their liking. Food was scarce, and their two oldest Atchinsons prevailed in those grim early children died during the winter. It was days and lived to see the Town of Parma eventually prosper. then that they decided to move on. During the following decades there According to Elizabeth Keller, Hilton historian in her 1959 book on the His- were several Atchinson families who were tory of the Town, she states that, “Mr. succeeding in clearing the land, raising Williamson, the Phelps and Gorham Co. large families, and taking leadership roles land agent, having just opened the Parma in the growing Parma community; other area for sale, held out some inducements members of the family, however, left for to Bezaleel, urging him to commence a Michigan. Bezaleel and Mary’s two sons, settlement at “Braddock’s Bay Township,” Roswell and Austin, founded Parma Center. as it was then known. Records show that Austin’s home was on the north east corner in 1796, 217 acres were deeded to Stephen where today there is a transmission shop. for 216 pounds ($1,051.92 or $4.84 per His home, built in 1812, was considered acre). Bezaleel had previously received Parma’s earliest frame house. It was torn title to 167 acres, and John, 130 acres down in 1959 to make way for a new gas by David Crumb Hilton-Parma Historian
Atchinson Cemetery, Hill Road, Parma. First grave to left is that of Bezaleel Atchinson, Parma’s first settler. Provided photo. station. Roswell’s home still stands on the west side of Route 259 about one-half mile south from the intersection of Parma Center Road just across from the first entrance to the Parma Town Hall. The date of its erection is uncertain. Roswell became one of Parma’s leading politicians and Austin faithfully served his church and was an active Mason. Austin Atchinson lived a long life. A clipping in an old scrapbook recently came to light. He was born in Tolland, Connecticut in 1790. At age 22, he served from Parma in the War of 1812 from which he received a pension. In later life, after being active as a leading resident of Parma Center, he moved south. South in those days was Spencerport. When he reached the age of 70 in 1860, he became ill. Anticipating that he only had a few years to live, he deeded his assets worth about $30,000 to the new university in Syracuse with an agreed upon annual interest of 7 percent or $2,100 for as long as he lived. The trustees of the college were only too pleased to get this trust until Austin was in his eighties, and then they asked, could the interest please be reduced by a few percentage points. Austin thought that one percent would be okay, the parties agreed on six percent and Austin continued on living. By early 1892, Austin had reached the unprecedented age of 102 and was considered the oldest man in Monroe County and the oldest Mason in New York state. U.S. President Benjamin Harrison was
due in Rochester for some campaigning that year, and arrangements were made for “Father Atchinson” to meet him at the Powers Hotel. There the two men shook hands which culminated a century of progress. Austin was nine years old when George Washington died, and he was greeting the 23rd President of the United States. On his 102nd birthday he celebrated, according to the clipping, by building and painting a fence in his backyard. He died a few months later, lacking one month of reaching 103. When his executor tallied up his annuity it turned out that he had received another $32,400 from the college over his life. Not a bad payback for the old gentleman by 1892 standards. He and his wife left no living children. His estate was divided among nieces, nephews, friends, the Methodist Church and of course, his surviving second wife, Catherine. Today there are no known descendants of this first pioneer Parma family in the area. Several years ago the historian’s office had correspondence with a lady from California who had claimed to be a descendant of the Parma Atchinsons but her correspondence ended suddenly. Should any reader have additional information on this first Parma family they would be willing to share, it would be greatly appreciated by the Village of Hilton historian’s office.