y o m i n q by Harry S. Douglass - Old Fulton History

Page 68 April 1954
CURRIERS THROUGH THE YEARS (cont.)
A sawmill was erected in the vicinity in 1831 by Blake Howard
and subsequently owned and worked by Gordon Fox, son of Charles; and
afterward, by Dan Dickerson. It was eventually destroyed by fire and
rebuilt by Dickerson, but finally abandoned as unprofitable. This
mill may have been on several sites including one on the creek back
of the present Woodworth farm, where one is shown on an 1853 map.
By 182+1, according to gazetteers, the settlement had fifteen dwellings,
a store, tavern, ashery and sawmill.
The pioneer settlers west of Curriers were Moses and Allen
Twiss,brothers from Charlton, Worcester Co,, Mass., 2i+ and 22 years
respectively, who in the spring of 1817 came on foot to Strykersviile,arriving
May 11,having been on the road 17 days. They articled
land on Lot 17, R. 2+, the present Gerald Keem farm. That fall they
constructed a log cabin and began to clear away the forest,the nearest
habitation being that of John Brown at Curriers, while to the
north of their shanty for miles lay the virgin forest. For the first
few months they were obliged to go to Strykersville six miles away
for their baking. Moses,at least, returned to Massachusetts for his
family, and he continued to reside on the original purchase until
October, 1836, when he bought the present Lynn S. Holmes farm, north
of Curriers, where he remained until his death in 1868. Allen Twiss
remained on the old homestead until the end of his days in 1882.
Moses Twiss Sr. was one of the town's successful men for many
years. He held the post of Town Clerk from 1821-26 and in 1832, was
sealer of weights and measures in I83O.Prominent in the organization
of the town in March 1833* he was selected first Supervisor, an
office he held until 1838. Again, from 182+0-2+3 and in 182+6, he was
clerk. Mr. Twiss married Louisa Woodworth of Rutland Co., Vt. in
1810,and they reared ten children,many of whom lived in the vicinity
and whose descendants reside there to this day. The brother, Allen,
married twice, first to Jennet Russell of Arcade. He was assessor
for thirty years, served as constable. A son, Daniel, and his
descendants continued on the original purchase until recent years.
Other Pioneer Families
Another pioneer neighbor of the Twiss brothers was Henry Woolsey
from Columbia Co., N. Y., who settled on the present Orville Bush
farm in 1819, continuing there until his decease in I87O. He had
numerous descendants. John Eddy, progenitor of many of the older
Curriers families, was the first settler between Java Village and
Curriers. In the spring of l8l8, he settled on the west side of the
road at the "Hog Back," about two miles north of Curriers, the point
being about opposite the present Weidig farm. A native of Rhode
Island, he came to Sheldon in 1815, where he married Caroline Ward
and thereupon took up his claim. The couple continued to live on the
old homestead until 1881, when both died, he at 8£, she at 82, said
to have been the last of the original pioneer couples of the region.
Of their children, Col. J. W. Eddy, became famous as the builder of
the Los Angeles, Calif., "Angel's Flight." What is said to be the
shortest railway in the world and one of the cheapest to ride, Col.
Eddy in 1901 built a line on a 33-degree hill between two street
(continued on page 69)