Town of Galen, Wayne County, NY

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Glass Factory, Clyde, N.Y.

The Glass Factory in Clyde

Welcome to the Galen township page. My name is Patti Norton and I am the Township Coordinator for Galen. I would like to hear ideas and requests for information that you would like to see here. If any one has information about Galen and her inhabitants that would help fellow researchers, I would be happy to transcribe it.

I started researching my family about four years ago and was thrilled to find that one of my family lines first settled in Wayne County, only about an hour from where I live in Central New York. My maternal Grandmother, Helen Roy is descended from Coll Roy and wife Elizabeth (Mc Ara) from Perthshire, Scotland. They settled with their children (in the part of Wayne that was originally Phelps, Ontario County) in time to appear in the 1800 census. Coll had a son and a daughter that settled in Galen. James lived on a farm near Creagher's Bridge "two miles east of Lyons on the right bank of the river". Janet married Isaac Mills, who was an early settler of Galen from Orange County, but I know little more of her. James followed his sons to LaGrange County, Indiana about 1842. One of Coll's grandsons, Israel (son of John), settled in Galen near Lock Berlin. His descendants were in Galen until the early 1900s.

PROFILE OF GALEN, WAYNE COUNTY, NEW YORK From the 1860 Gazetteer of the State of New York, by J. H. French

GALEN - was formed from Junius (Seneca co.) Feb. 14, 1812. Savannah was taken off in 1824. It lies on the S. border of the co., E. of the center. Its surface is hilly in the E., but more level in the W. In the S. W. is a large tract of swamp land. Clyde River (1) flows through the town from W. to E. in a circuitous course. The soil is a rich, sandy and gravelly loam. Clyde, (2) (p.v.) near the center, on Clyde River, was incorp. May 2, 1835. The canal passes through the village; it is also a station on the N. Y. C. R. R. It contains 6 churches, a high school (3), 2 banks, a newspaper office, a glass factory, and several other manufactories. (4) Pop. 1,856. Marengo, (p.v.) in the S. part, contains a church and 20 houses; Lock Berlin (p.v.) in the W. part, on the canal, a church and 30 houses. Angells Corners, in the S. E., and Meadville, in the E., are hamlets. The first settlement was commenced by Loammi Bedell, in 1800. (5) The first church (Presb.) was organized July 8, 1814. (6) Borings for salt water in the vicinity of Clyde have been made, but without success. One of the wells emitted inflammable gas; the well was soon filled up.

Footnotes:

This was Township No. 27 of the Military Tract, and received its name from having been appropriated to the Medical Department.
Named by Wm. McNab, agent of the Hornby Estate, Geneva.
This location was originally called "Block House", from a blockhouse built here by Indian traders at an early day. It was used during the Revolution by tories as a "station" in smuggling goods from Canada via Sodus Bay. It was burned previous to 1800. The village was first called "Lauraville" from Henrietta Laura, Countess of Bath, daughter and heiress of Sir. Wm. Pulteney. Its name was changed to Clyde in 1818.
It is a union school, formed from Districts 14 and 17. Incorp. April 24, 1834, with special privileges. This was one of the earliest union schools in Western New York. The school employs 6 teachers.
2 large distilleries, 2 steam flouring mills, 2 steam sawmills, 2 furnaces and shops for manufacturing agricultural implements, a large cooperage, 1 brewery, 2 malt houses, and a tannery.
Among the other early settlers were Nicholas King, David Godfrey, and Isaac Mills, with their families, from Orange co., N.Y., on Lot 70, in the S.W. part of the town, in 1801; __ Creagher, from Md., Elias Austin, ___ Payne, and Capt. John Sherman, in 1804. The first birth was that of Isaac Godfrey, in Feb. 1802; the first death, that of David Godfrey, accidentally killed, Oct. 13, 1801. The first marriage was that of Jabez Reynolds and Polly Mills in 1805. James B. West kept the first store; Maj. Fred A. De Zenz built the first saw and grist mill, in 1818.
There are 9 churches in town; 2 M. E., 2 Bap., Presb., Prot. E., Germ. Meth., Friends, and R. C.

PROFILE OF GALEN, WAYNE COUNTY, NEW YORK From the 1824 Gazetteer of the State of New York, by Horatio Gates Spafford

GALEN, a Post-Township of Seneca County, 12 miles N. of Waterloo, bounded N. by Wolcott, E. by Cayuga County, S. by Junius, W. by Ontario County. Its extent is about 14 miles E. and W., and 8 N. and S., being the Military Township of the same name, erected into a separate town, from Junius, in 1812, containing about 70000 acres. The surface is undulated, approaching a hilly character, by ridges running in a N. and S. direction. The soil for the most part good, except about 4000 acres of Marsh, part of the great Cayuga Marshes. The outlet of Canandaigua Lake, after receiving Mud Creek, in Lyons, turns eastward, enters this town near its SW corner, bears NE. to the Village of Clyde, (formerly the Block House), and thence SE and across the NE corner of Junius, where it enters the Seneca River. The name of Clyde has lately been applied to this stream, from its junction with Mud Creek to its mouth. The Erie Canal passes through the whole extent of this town, along the Clyde, a name that stream may well take, shorter than the old, a phrase for a name. There is a Salt Spring on the eastern margin, capable of supplying any quantity of water of good quality. Extensive works were erected for the manufacture of salt, some years since, but from some cause the operations have been discontinued. There are 2 villages in this Town, each of which has a Post-Office and a weekly mail. Clyde V., on the Clyde River, has about 20 buildings, with some mills, and has also the Erie Canal, and the Galen Post-Office. The Post-Village of Marengo, has a small collection of houses. The Seneca River, issuing northward from the Cayuga Lake, runs 9 miles along the E. boundary, receiving a small stream from Wolcott across the NE corner, but with all these streams, Galen is very indifferently supplied with mill seats. Population, 2979: 666 farmers, 118 mechanics, 7 traders; 7 foreigners not naturalized; 16 free blacks, 1 slave; taxable property, $429149; 21 schools, 7 months in 12; $106.90; 678; 718; 608 electors; 5994 acres of improved land; 2395 cattle, 370 horses, 3837 sheep; 18099 yards of cloth; 1 grist mill, 4 saw mills, 1 fulling mill, 1 carding machine, 1 distillery, 10 asheries.

"GRIP'S" HISTORICAL SOUVENIR OF CLYDE - 1905

POSTOFFICE - In 1817 a postoffice was established at Lauraville called Galen. James Humeston was appointed postmaster and the office was located in Humeston's tavern. In 1826 through the influence of Congressman Robert Rose and Wm. S. Stow the name of the postoffice was changed to Clyde and the office was located on the north side of the river. Dr. Wells was the first postmaster Sylvester Clark followed Dr. Wells. Dr. James Dickson, a physician and merchant, who died from cholera in 1832, was the third postmaster. James Humeston, the fourth, Aaron Griswold, the fifth, Col. P.V.N. Smith, the sixth, appointed by President Harrison, August Kellog, the seventh postmaster, appointed by President Tyler, Joseph D. Stone, the eighth, appointed during President Tyler's administration, Jacob T. VanBuskirk, the ninth, appointed by President Taylor, and James Chapman, the tenth, appointed by the succeeding national administration, served until 1862. Samuel S. Morley, in 1862 was appointed postmaster by President Lincoln.

Current Place Names in the Town of Galen:

Angells Corner, Clyde, Fergusons Corners, Hunt Corners, Lock Berlin, Lockpit, Marengo, Noble Corner, Shepards Corner, White Schoolhouse Corners.

Galen Resources on this site:

1867 Directory of Galen

1869-1870 Clyde Business Directory

1886 -1887 Directory of Clyde, Surnames "A" through "I"

1886 - 1887 Directory of Clyde, Surnames "J" through "R"

1886 - 1887 Directory of Clyde, Surnames "S" through "Z"

1891 Directory of Clyde

Property Owners of the Town of Galen, 1891

1914 Farm Directory of Galen

History of the Town of Galen, Part 1