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HISTORIAN’S CORNER
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From "200 Years of the Town of Phelps"
PHELPS HISTORY
From Life of the Phelps Pioneers
By John Parmelee
Chapter Five - Well Known People in Phelps
Carl Sandburg has been quoted as saying "What is history but a few big names plus people". We don't have many big names but we do have some people to write about.
Dr. Joel Prescott was the first doctor in the Town of Phelps. He came in 1790 and lived one mile west of Oaks Corners, where Leeswood horse farm is now. Early doctors were high school educated and learned their practice by being apprentices and assisting experienced doctors. About 1830-40 medical schools were established in colleges and later graduation from such a school became a requirement to practice. In pioneer days, the doctor had no office except his own home, but went to the patient in his home. He went out on calls day and night, riding his horse through the woods often in deep mud and snow. His saddlebags were filled with pills and medicinal herbs. There were no hospitals and family members were the nurses. A doctor's income was small, so he had to augment his income by being a farmer or businessman. By 1860 Phelps had twelve doctors, but the pioneers had only two or three in town. Among the first settlers ague (malaria), bilious attacks (disordered liver function), and fevers usually prevailed because of poor housing, such as cold, drafty log cabins.
Smoking was common. Men smoked cigars or corncob pipes and chewed tobacco. Some women smoked clay or corncob pipes. Snuff was used by both men and women pioneers for medicinal purposes. It was used for various ailments, such as toothaches, hiccups, nausea, poor eyesight, and clogged sinuses. Cuspidors, or wooden spit boxes, were common in all public places, stores, etc., and even in homes.
Bathing is a modern custom and was not accepted until about 1870. In the 17th and 18th centuries people, including our pioneers, never bathed, never immersed completely. This is understandable considering the long winters and poorly heated homes. The earliest bathtubs in America were hollowed out logs. Ben Franklin designed his own and at times received visitors while seated in his tub. There were even laws against women taking baths, because it was believed that bathing weakened a person. Doctors advised people not to take baths. However, the pioneers did wash their hands and faces. On Saturday night, work ceased and you reflected on the week past, caught your breath, and planned for the week ahead. You would change from your work clothes, clean up, and put on better clothes if you had any. On Saturdays people also went to town by buy necessities, meet friends, and maybe attend an entertainment. It was a time to prepare for Sunday, a day of rest and devotion.
Luther Root came to Phelps in 1790. He returned to Conway, Mass., a few years later to marry Sally. They rode back to Phelps on horseback through the wilderness. The ride took more than a month to accomplish. What a way to spend your honeymoon! They built their home and tavern where Covert's garage is now, and raised and educated seven children.
One of the first marriages in Ontario County was between Joseph Annin and Miss Reed. Joseph was from Geneva, connected with the Pulteney estate. With Benjamin Barton, Annin laid out the city of Geneva for Capt. Charles Wilkinson. He later became known as Judge Annin, the first sheriff of Cayuga County and State Senator between 1803 and 1807. Joseph wanted to marry Miss Reed, daughter of Seth Reed who lived on McIvor Rd. Seth did not like Joseph and refused to let him come to the Reed house. One evening Annin, accompanied by Thomas Session, one of the first justices of the peace in Phelps, was passing the house, and Miss Reed was milking the family cow along the road. They stopped, held the ceremony, and proceeded on their way home. Mrs. Annin went back to milking the cow. The Reed parents eventually became reconciled to he marriage.
Slavery came to Phelps when several families from Maryland brought their slaves here in the 1790's and early 1800's. John Sarsnett was an outstanding negro in Phelps. He was the son of an African brought to the United States on a slave ship, on which slaves were chained and stacked in the hold like boxes. He was the property of the Bennetts. In 1826, when the State of New York declared slavery illegal, he came to the village and built a house at 91 Clifton St., now the home of Dale Day. The family had six children and all were intelligent and good citizens. Two sons built houses on the Sarsnett property and one, Marcus, had a dry goods store in the village. They were good members of the Methodist Church. In the early years, the church had a section reserved for the black people in the back corner of the sanctuary. John and another black, John Countree, dug almost all the graves in the Pioneer Cemetery. Graves of the black people are located in the southwest corner of the cemetery. They were not allowed to have tombstones except for small stones with initials on them.
There were other black cemeteries that we know of besides the section in the Pioneer Cemetery. One was on the Rockefeller farm at the south end of Vienna Rd., and the other in the field across the Thruway (I-90) from the Junius Ponds Rest Stop in a large high mound behind the Maynard family house on Rte. 318. In 1809, 100 slaves a week were passing through Geneva. Later, several Phelps families supported the Underground Railroad before the Civil War. They hid Negro families traveling through here on their way to safety in Canada. This was against the law, and the local people could be fined or jailed if caught. The pioneer blacks would attend and work at corn husking bees and sing negro melodies, much to the pleasure of the farmers.
Civilization was slow in coming to the "Pines" in the Rt. 14 area. The people in the area were considered "heathen" by the town folks, in spite of three Pines churches. The original word "heath" (open country) meant that the peasants were ignorant of both city ways and religion (as considered in England). The present connotation of being uncivilized and irreligious may have been true to a certain extent, although many successful people lived or were brought up in the Pines. It was recorded in Canandaigua that one man had a contract to sell his wife for $1. We understand that this happened in the early days even without a contract.
Mabel Oaks tells of two young women who stopped at the toll booth in the Pines on the Lyons Plank Road and inquired of the fee. They wee told it was 50 cents for a man and a horse. One woman spoke up, "Well, get out of the way. We are two girls and a mare. Giddap, Jenny." The gate keeper stood empty handed as the women drove off. Women's lib was active even then.
In 1786, at our first town meeting, Oliver Humphrey and Patrick Burnett were elected Overseers of the Poor. All residents were required to notify them of any persons in town who might be unable to support themselves or might be "on the town". They set up a vendue (public sale by auction) by which the highest bidder for room, board, and clothing secured the services of "bound" people. The bidders looked over the men, women, or children to determine their health and work potential. We understand that one bound boy became a successful doctor in Phelps and a half-dozen others grew up to be respected citizens. Dr. Bannister was paid $25 per year for doctoring the poor. By 1826 the county built the "poor house" in Canandaigua to handle the poor. In 1796 the sum of 20 pounds was raised by the town to support the poor. We have been taxed ever since to take care of the poor.
In 1823, expenses for the burial of a pauper were $5.21, including a sheet or shroud and handkerchief (to cover the face) for $1.98. There was no funeral director and no embalming done until 1880. Some friend or neighbor laid out the corpse on a cooling board and placed it in the coolest room of the house. Pennies were laid on the eyes to keep them closed and a cloth frequently wet with saltpeter water covered the face to keep it from turning dark. On funeral day, the undertaker brought a plain coffin and buried the person. Digging a grave cost $1. In old burial grounds, the dead lie facing east so that the rising sun of the resurrection morn would shine in their sleeping faces.
In 1839, President Martin VanBuren visited Phelps. He came from Clifton Springs on his way to Geneva. A mile-long procession of carriages, wagons, and horsemen accompanied the President. They arrived at the Vienna House (Globe Hotel), where the President was saluted by the firing of a canon. He was welcomed by Thomas Smith, Esq., and was introduced to several Revolutionary War veterans. He remained here for an hour before a very large crowed of citizens, then went on to Geneva.
In 1826 a worker chopped wood for 39 cents a cord (a full cord, not the half-cord we have today). The woodcutter average 4 ½ cords a day, so he received about $1.75 per day. Farm workers received $8.00 per month plus room and washing. A maid was paid 75 cents a week. Meals were usually furnished by the employer as part of a worker's pay.
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