By C. Kihm Richardson Walking from Strykersville ... - Fulton History

APRIL 1978
Supplement to the Original Merle-Marley
Family History (continued)
It seems to be characteristic of the Merles and
Marleys to stick pretty closely together. Take for
example, the Exchange Street Road. From Peter
Merle's home to the Village of Attica, a distance
of 4 1/2 miles, there are thirteen families, who
are either Merles or Marleys now, or were before
their marriages.
At the present time there are 28 direct descendants
of John Henry and Anna Merle in the third
generation living. Of these 23 are now living in or
near Attica; while the fourth generation have 53
members of the family, in the firect line, living
in this locality. In the fifth there are about 23 and
in the sicth, there are two - Beverly Ann Brei
and Judy Gay Clor.
The committee on historical data of the Attica
Historical Society has prepared a chart showing
our family through the fourth generation.
As prepared by:
Frances Merle Dresser - March 1940
QUERIES
Livingston County American Legion is searching
for the grave of William E. Hart, d. Nov. 1874,
Civil War Medal of Honor winner who was born
in Rushville, N.Y. He married Irena Flint, sister
of George Flint, both of Gainesville. Irena Hart's
death reported in the WESTERN NEW YORKER
under Gainesville News Jan. 23, 1913, but place
of burial not given.
Descendants of John Maxon, veteran of War of
1812, would like to know his relationship to Joel,
(d. April 26, 1833) and Lucretia Maxon, (d. Mar.
16, 1825). They are listed in Maxon Cemetery,
Attica. Joel was a Revolutionary War soldier
from R.I. The story goes that John was commissioned
by his dying "buddy" on the battlefield,
to deliver a ring to his wife. John later
married the widow, Lydia Sweet.
Information requested concerning Lewis Vosburgh.
He was thought to be either a Baptist or
Methodist minister living in or near Warsaw
in 1913. Help would be appreciated in order to
trace the family. His first wife was Katherine
Christman.
An Alden resident would like information regarding
Horace Kyser. It is believed that he was
born in Pike, N.Y. May 18, 1824. He died April
10, 1880 and is buried in Elma, N.Y. Can anyone
furnish the names of his parents.
PAGE 105
A Warsaw correspondent requests help with
research on the Barber family, who lived in Allegany
and Wyoming Counties. Her great-great
grandfather John had seven children: Sarah Louise,
born April 1864- m. Charles Waterman; William,
born 1865- m. Nettie Belle Colley; Julia Ann, b.
1853- m. Fred Howard; Frances, m. Joseph
Meyers; and John, Emma and Frank. Any information
regarding the above will be appreciated.
EARLY LETTERS FROM JAVA
The two following letters, written in 1833 and
1835, contain some of the earliest known descriptions
of life in Java, and are contributed by Harry
S. Douglass. They were written by Jacob Morse,
to his friend, Capt. Artemus Stevens, who was the
Great Grandfather of Mr. Douglass. Apparently
Jacob was a shoemaker and did farming to supplement
his living. Morse was a former neighbor
of Capt. Stevens in Massachusetts. Capt. Stevens
came to Java in 1835, and resided there until his
death in 1877. Isaac Friend was a boyhood friend
of Capt. Stevens in Dracut, Mass. The former
came to Java in 1821, and was a very successful
farmer, owning at one time 1000 acres in the
area. (The spelling has been modernized and
corrected and punctuation added.)
JACOB MORSE, JAVA, JULY 6th, 1833, TO CAPT.
ARTEMUS STEVENS, SUNCOOK, NEW HAMP-
SHIRE.
Dear Friend,
JAVA, July 6th, 1833
I now take my pen in hand to write a few lines
which I ought to have written to you before to you
as I promised to do. But I hope you will receive
these few lines in friendship and forgive me in my
neglect in not writing before.
My family is all well at present and been ever
since I have been here and I hope these few lines
will find you and family enjoying the same blessing.
I am myself rather lame but still on the gaining
hand. You wrote I should write to you what the
prospects would be here for you; for my own
part I think if you can get here with 200 hundred
dollars that you will be better off than you are now.
Mr. Friend thinks you will do well to come here as
farming can be run with one half of the Labor than
you can with where you are as they do any of their
plowing with one yoke of oxen and their plows is
heavier than yours are. It is more work to clear
the land here than it is with you as we have all our
brush to pile before we can burn it up, but a man
can chop 1 acre in a week and chop it up in one
(continued on page 106)