TOWN OF BERGEN
Bergen is the most northeasterly town in Genesee county. It is bounded
on the north by Clarendon. Orleans county, and Sweden, Monroe county;
on the east by Riga, Monroe county; on the south by Le Roy, and on the
west by Byron. The town contains an area of 17,289 acres. It is a portion
of the triangular tract sold to Le Roy and others from the Morris Reserve;
and it also contains two tiers of lots from the Connecticut tract. The
latter are in the western part of the town.
The surface of the town is gently undulating, with a slight inclination toward the north, but in most portions is very nearly level. The soil is a fertile and productive clayey loam. Black creek flows in an easterly direction through the town, north of the centre. The main line of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad passes through in a northeasterly and southwesterly direction, south of the centre.
Bergen was first settled in 1801 by Samuel Lincoln. In the same year George Letson, William Letson, Benajah Worden, Richard Abbey, Solomon Levi, Jesse Leach, James Letson, Gideon Elliott and David Scott settled in town. The first church organization was established in December, 1807. The Congregational church was founded January 25, 1808. Harry Kelsey, a graduate of Yale college, taught the first school. The first frame house in the town was erected by Dr. Levi Ward, the pioneer physician. Jared Merritt built the first saw mill. Dr. Ward was also proprietor of the first store, in 1808. The first inn was opened in 1809 by Samuel Butler. Colonel W. H. Ward was the first postmaster.
The town
of Bergen was erected from Batavia, June 8, 1812.. The town of Byron was
set off in 1820. Prior to the erection of Bergen the town formed a part
of the great original town of Northampton. In the existing records in
the office of the town clerk the name of Justin Worthington appears as
town clerk for Northampton in 1808 and 1809. Unfortunately the records
do not give an account of the first town meet. ing. The list of supervisors
begins with the year 1831 and is as follows:
1831-1833, Rufus Hubbard; 1834-1835, Samuel Richmond; 1836, Franklin D.
Kingman; 1837, Joseph Chipman, Jr.; 1838-1840, Samuel Richmond; 1841,
Franklin D. Kingman; 1842-1844, Joseph Chipman; 1845, Franklin D. Kingman;
1846, Martin C. Ward; 1847, Luther Crosby; 1848, Martin C. Ward; 1849,
Joseph Chipman; 1850- 1851, Abner Hull, Jr.; 1852, Luther Crosby; 1853.
Franklin D. Kingman; 1854, Daniel F. Merritt; 1855, Elisha H. Parish;
1856, Samuel Richmond; 1857, Elisha H. Parish; 1858, Ebenezer Scofield;
1859-1861, Josiah Pierson; 1862, David Hooper; 1863-1867, Edward H. Parmelee;
1868-1869, Andrew J. Gleason; 1870-1872, Elisha H. Parish; 1873-1874,
Chas. N. Reed; 1875, John H. Ward; 1876, James D. Doolittle; 1877, Henry
S. Andrews; 1878-1879, Henry S. Andrews; 1880, Alonzo L. Greene; 1881-1882,
Myron H. Parmelee; 1883. Morris W. Townsend; 1884. Philip Snyder; 1885,
Morris W. Townsend; 1886, Myron H. Parmelee; 1887, Philip Snyder; 1888-1889,
Samuel E. Bower; 1890, Morris W. Townsend; 1891, Benjamin N. Walker; 1892,
Morris W. Townsend; 1893. Benjamin N. Walker; 1894-1898, Eugene D. Hull.
The names
of the town clerks appearing upon the records are as follows:
1815-1816, Josiah Pierson; 1817-1821, Samuel Taggart; 1823-1824, James
Munger; 1825, David Evarts; 1826-1828, D. G. Evarts; 1829, John Cushing;
1830-1832, Theodore Cushing; 1833-1834, Samuel Richmond; 1835-1836, James
Gibson; 1837, Nathan B. Griffin; 1838-1839. James Gibson; 1839, Franklin
D. Kingman; 1840-1843, Moses S. Gibson; 1844-1846, Francis T. Moseley;
1847, J. B. Hatch; 1848, Lansing W. Hoyt; 1849, John M. Gillette; 1850-1852,
James D. Doolittle; 1854, Ezra T. Merrill; 1855, Henry M. Ward; 1856,
Andrew Southworth; 1857-1858, Francis T. Moseley; 1859-1860, Chapin Hall;
1861, John H. Parish; 1862, J. H Moore; 1863-1865, Chauncey D. Graves;
1866, Samuel K. Green; 1867-1868, Elias P. Green; 1869-1870, Thomas J.
Tone; 1871, C. T. Moseley; 1872-1874, T. J. Tone; 1875, Peter S. Harkness;
1876-1878, Delos Murdock; 1879-1880, J. W. Stratton; 1881, D. H. Murdock;
1882, George C. Wolcott; 1883-1884, E L. Fisher; 1885-1887, Daniel J.
McPherson; 1888-1893, E. L. Fisher; 1894-1898, Will E. Gillette.
The following
are recorded as having been elected to the office of justice of the peace
in Bergen in the years designated:
1832, Hart Spafford; 1834, Jonah Guthrie, Abner Hull; 1835, Oren Bliss;
1836, Hart Spafford; 1837, Luther Crosby; 1838. Abner Hull; 1839, Shubael
Reed; 1840. Samuel Richmond; 1841. Ebenezer Schofield; 1843. William L.
Lewis; 1844, Abner Hull; 1845, Samuel Richmond (l. t.), Stephen Putnam
(s t); 1846. Luther Crosby; 1847, Stephen Putnam (l. t.), Erasmus C. Dibble
(s. t.); 1848, Abner Hull; 1849, Alonzo E. Richmond (l. t.), Johnson N.
Tower (s. t.); 1851, D. T. Merrill (l. t.), W. P. Munger, Samuel Richmond
(S. t.); 1852, Abner Hull; 1854, Luther Crosby; 1855, Daniel T. Merrill;
1856. Edward Parmalee; 1857, Stephen F. Curtiss; 1858, Luther Crosby;
1859, D. T. Merrill; 1860, E. H. Parmalee; 1861, Stephen F. Curtiss; 1862,
Samuel Church; 1863, David R. Fuller; 1864, Horace M. Ward; 1865, Sebastian
R. Moore (1. t.) Henry B. Bowman (s. t.); 1866, William P. Munger(l. t.),
David Fancher (S. t.); 1867, Horace M. Ward (1. t.), Lawrence L. Crosby
(s. t.); 1868. H. M. Ward (l. t.), L. L. Crosby (s. t.); 1869, Porter
Davis (l. t.), 'William Phillips (s. t.); 1870, D. F. Merrill, D. C. Rumsey,
1. t., N. J. Munger, s. t; 1871, Harlan Fordham, Thomas J. Dean; 1872,
T. J. Dean. J. R. McKenzie, Myron Lewellyn; 1873, George H. Church, full
term, Jerome T. Feezlear, l. t., A. A. Arnold, s. t.; 1874, Francis E.
Terry; 1875, Silas C. Pratt; 1876, J. M. Templeton, Jerome T. Feezlear;
1877, A. T. Southworth, l. t., M. M. Conklin, s. t.; 1878, B F. Henderson;
1879, Silas C. Pratt. 1. t., Frank S. Weeks, S. t.; 1880, H. W. Arnold,
Alexander Campbell; 1881, J. M. Templeton; 1882, S. E. Parker, 1. t.,
J. W. Stratton, s. t.; 1883, John D. Gifford; 1884, Cyrus Beswick; 1885.
Jay W. Stratton; 1886, S. E. Parker; 1887, H. F. Fordham, Thomas J. Deane;
1888, E. H. Parmalee; 1889, Jay W. Stratton; 1890, George W. Emerson;
1891, T. J. Dean: 1892, Thomas J. Bissell, 1. t., James A. Growney, S.
t.; 1893, James A. Growney; 1894, B. H. Parmalee; 1895, Daniel J. McPherson,
Frederick H. Sizer; 1896, James A. Bissell; 1897, Frank S. Weeks; 1898,
Daniel J. McPherson.
The principal
village in the town is Bergen, located near the centre of the eastern
boundary line, on the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad. It has
a population of about one thousand. It contains four churches, two hotels,
a bank, a union free school, a cigar
factory employing over thirty hands, a machine shop, an elevator for grain,
two feed mills, a saw mill, and a number of smaller manufactories. It
also has an excellent fire department. One weekly newspaper is published.
The village is incorporated.
North Bergen is a post-office in the northwest part of the town. It contains a church, a store, one or two small manufactories and about one hundred and fifty inhabitants.
West Bergen is a hamlet, with post-office, in the western part, on the line of the railroad. It has a store, a hotel and some minor manufactures.
Stone Church, in the southeastern part of the town, contains one church and store. It is a small hamlet.
FROM OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE, A DESCRIPTIVE AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF GENESEE COUNTY NEW YORK, EDITED BY SAFFORF E. NORTH THE BOSTON HISTORY COMPANY, PUBLISHERS 1899