Thus it is seen that the first settlers in this locality came under duress, having been driven from the homes of their birth or adoption to the inhospitable wilds of a country thickly studded with gigantic pines and infested with wild beasts. But even the rigors of a life in such a wilderness, remote from civilization, were gladly accepted in exchange for the comforts and social advantages which they were no longer allowed to enjoy in their former homes, and the persecution and social ostracism to which their fidelity had subjected them. Hither they came with naught save their strong, brawny arms and resolute wills to grapple with the new conditions of life, and well they succeeded in wresting from them the elements of a comfortable and happy existence, as the beautiful homes, thriving industries, and attractive villages, with their educational and religious institutions, and other social advantages, bear abundant testimony; but the hardships and privations they endured as the price of these can be appreciated by but a few of the present generation, who have entered into their labor and enjoy the fruits of their heroic, persistent, intelligent and devoted efforts.

    The first settlement upon the tract granted to the Vermont sufferers, and, so far as our information extends, in the original county of Chenango, was made near Bettsburgh, in the present town of Afton, in 1784, by Elnathan BUSH, who came from Sheffield, Mass., where for eighteen years, he held under the King the office of sheriff, which, his sympathies being with the Americans, he resigned at the opening of the Revolutionary war, in which his son Charles served during the whole period of its continuance.

    Mr. Bush brought in his family, consisting of his wife, Vashti STEBBINS, of Sheffield, and four children, Charles, Japhet, Joseph and Polly. They came as far as Cooperstown on horseback, and thence by canoe down the Susquehanna, leaving Cooperstown on the 2d of May. He first settled on the west side of the river, opposite Stowel's Island, about two miles below Afton. January 30, 1790 he exchanged this property with Hezekiah STOWEL whose grandson, Nathan STOWEL, still occupies it, for 81 acres (really 100 acres though the deed specifies only 81,) on lot 74, in the town of Bainbridge, about a mile above the village, on the west side of the river, which was acquired by Stowel the year previous, and to this he removed the following April. The consideration was 80L. This piece was deeded by Stowel to Japhet and Joseph Bush, sons of Elnathan, and now forms the residence farm of the latter's grandson, Joseph Bush, having remained in the family since 1790. Mr. Joseph Bush has made improvements to the farm, which now embraces 255 acres. Elnathan's log cabin stood about fifteen rods in a south-westerly direction for the present residence of Joseph Bush and was occupied by the family ten years, till 1800, in which year the latter was built. There is no trace left of the old log cabin or its site. The present house which superseded it, was the first frame house in the town of Jericho. It was built by Joseph Bush, father of the present occupant, and although it has been remodeled and modernized, the frame and size and shape of rooms remain as at first. The barn which stands about eight rods from the house, the only one unpainted, is an object of great interest, as it is, perhaps, the oldest relic of those bygone days remaining in the country. It was built by the same individual in 1791, and is still in a remarkable state of preservation. It has only been changed from its original condition by having been re-shingled and ceiled, the changes made being such only as were necessary to preserve it. The marks of the scriber are still clearly discernible on the frame, which is, apparently, as sound as ever.

    Elnathan Bush died on the homestead in Bainbridge, where he and others of his family are buried. The family burying-ground consists of a plot three by four rods, inclosed by a substantial cut-stone wall. This, together with a strip around it two rods wide, was perpetuated in the title April 10, 1879, so that it cannot be alienated from the family. A magnificent dark Quincy granite monument, tastily ornamented, stands in the center of the inclosure. From the base, which is six and one-half feet square, to the top of the shaft, is thirty feet. The dates of death of those interred therein are inscribed thereon, and from it we learn that Elnathan died May 15, 1791, aged 63, and his wife November 8, 1813, aged 81. The death of the former was the first in the town. [See Elnathan Bush under the town of Afton]

    Charles Bush, son of Elnathan, married Joan HARRINGTON in 1794. This was the first marriage contracted in the town. Charles lived with his mother on the homestead until his removal, about 1810, to Vincennes, Ind. He died at Batavia while on his way to Bainbridge on a visit, soon after the close of the War of 1812. None of his children are living. Japhet, the second son, married and lived with his mother. He removed with his brother Charles to Vincennes, Ind., and died there. Joseph, the third son, married, in 1795, Susan WEEKS, whose father was an early settler in the town of Guilford. He settled upon the old homestead, which he occupied until his death, which occurred September 23, 1851, aged 82. His wife died December 29, 1797, aged 22. April 5, 1799, he married Betsey, daughter of Jabin STRONG, of Glastenbury, Conn., who died February 5, 1853, aged 73. He had one child by his first wife, Susan, who married Alanson BURR, of Caneadea, N. Y., and removed with him to that town and died there. His children by his second wife were: Horace, who was born January 29, 1801, and died single on the homestead October 8, 1827; Alvah C., born November 13, 1804, married September 20, 1830, Ellen, daughter of Judge Levi BIGELOW, and removed to Tioga, Penn., whence she returned to Bainbridge, where she died in 1831, at the birth of her first child, Ellen, wife of John A. MATTHEWS, of Winona, Minn., September 21, 1841, Alvah C. married Annah BIGELOW, sister of his first wife, by whom he had no children; Maria, who was born October 3, 1806, married September 3, 1827, Charles A. BAXTER, of Sidney, to which place she removed, and from whence, after the death of her husband, March 9, 1845, she returned to Bainbridge, to live with her father, and died there September 13, 1846, leaving five children, all of whom are living-Mary E., wife of Wm. C. BEATTY, in Bloomfield, N. J., Wm. S. in Highland, Minn., Julia, wife of Edwin R. MEAD, in New York City, Susan E., wife of Thomas A. JOHNSON, in Animas City, Col., and Charles A. in Selma, Minn.; Leapha, who was born September 29, 1808, married September 9, 1829, Wm. S. SAYRE, a lawyer in Bainbridge, and died June 23, 1850, leaving three children, all of whom are living-Horace in Minneapolis, Minn., Susan in Bainbridge and Sarah in Binghamton; Isaac, who was born October 14, 1810, married August 23, 1839, Martha, daughter of Hon. John H. PRENTISS, of Cooperstown, and died on the homestead June 16, 1843, leaving no children; Jabin S., who was born June 16, 1817, married December 31, 1839, Eliza DePUY, and settled at Tioga, Penn., where he now resides; and Joseph, who was born February 23, 1823, and is now living unmarried on the homestead in Bainbridge.

    Polly, the daughter of Elnathan Bush, married Gideon FREEBORN, of Cazenovia, where she resided till after his death, when she went to live with her only son Rodman, in Caneadea, N. Y., where she died. Rodman still resides there.

    Caleb Bennett's children were Anna, who was born February 3, 1783, married Thomas CORNWELL and settled in Afton, where her son, Abel, now lives, where both died, he February 12, 1841, aged 70, and she February 27, 1860, leaving ten children, five sons and five daughters; Phineas, who married Sophia, daughter of Henry CHANDLER, an early settler in Coventry, and settled in Bennettsville, where he built, sixty-five years ago, the house now occupied by the families of George SLATER and Adelbert WINSOR. He died there December 28, 1856, aged 72, and his wife, August 24, 1863, aged 78, leaving ten children, seven of whom are living, five in this town,-Phineas M., Susan, wife of Elder H. ROBERTSON. Clarissa, widow of Pliny KIRBY, Jane E., wife of Porter B . VAN HORNE, and Benjamin,-and Rufus, in Greeley, Col., and Augusta, wife of Samuel CORBIN, in Afton; Abel, twin brother of Phineas, who was born December 25, 1784, married Flavilla HOAG, and settled in Bennettsville, where he died October 23, 1860, leaving three of seven children, who are still living,-Abel and Edward E., at Binghamton, and James, on the homestead; "Naby," who married Jeremiah THURBER, and settled and died in the town April 15, 1811, aged 25 years, leaving one daughter, who is also dead; Hannah, who married Charles S. MERRITT and settled in Bennettsville, where she still resides, and where he died April 12, 1862, aged 73, leaving two children, who are still living,-Eliza, wife of Orville HILL, and Richmond; Eunice, who died in child-hood; Prudence, who married Enos GOODMAN and settled in this town, where both died, the former October 9, 1864, aged 75, and the latter December 2, 1861, aged 78 leaving seven children, only two of whom are living,-Luther and Merritt; Arnold, who married Nancy FORBES, settled in Bennettsville, and afterwards removed to Bainbridge, where he now resides, and three of whose four children are living,-Elizabeth, Leroy and Clarissa; and Hiram, who married Gratie CHANDLER, and settled in Bennettsville, where both died, the former September 4, 1876, aged 73, and the latter, September 21 1873, aged 71. None of their children are living.

    Kirby abandoned his first purchase, and took a part of lot 81, lying on the east side of the river. His first house, which stood near the river and nearly opposite to where Robert CORBIN now lives, was liable to be overflowed when the river was high. He therefore built near the place now occupied by Wm. R. KIRBY, about two miles below the village of Bainbridge. Guthrie settled on the farm now owned by Philo Kirby about the same distance from the village, but on the opposite side of the river. Their first facilities for grinding corn consisted of the primitive mortar and pestle so common to all the new settlements in this section of country. Their first grinding at a regular mill was done at the stone mills in Sidney, on the Ouleout Creek, a tributary of the Susquehanna, about eighteen miles distant; but when the mill at Bennettsville was made accessible by the opening of a road leading thereto that labor was very much lessened. They obtained salt of the Indians, who were numerous in this locality for several years after the first settlements were made.

    Their dusky neighbors, who were generally friendly, would borrow a kettle of them and in a few days return with a supply of the needed article. It was never known to the settlers from whence they obtained it, as they dare not follow them on such occasions. Guthrie kept in 1793, on the place of his settlement, the first tavern in the town, a business in which he was succeeded at his death by his son William. Both Kirby and Guthrie, also their wives, died on their respective homesteads. Kirby's first wife, Anna, daughter of Wm. GUTHRIE died in 1793. The following year he returned to Connecticut, and married Naomi PATTERSON, of Washington, in that State. He came back with a sleigh, drawn by oxen, and crossing the Hudson on the ice at Catskill, proceeded thence by way of Harpersfield, and the mills on the Ouleout, thence down that stream to the place on the river known as "Wattles Ferry," and thence down the river to his home in Bainbridge. His second wife lived to be over 90, and died at the residence of her son Pliny.

    Reuben Kirby's children were Laura, who married Miles HINMAN and settled in Upper Lisle, where both died; Lois, who married Robert Foster, settled in Otego, and subsequently removed to the Wyoming Valley, near Wilkesbarre, where both died; Sally, who married Sylvester SMITH, (who settled at Masonville, after-wards removed to Painted Post, where he became a judge and died,) and who, after his death, returned to Bainbridge, where she still resides (June, 1879,) aged 88 years; all of whom were by his wife. His children by his second wife were Reuben, who was born April 26, 1795, married Patience E., daughter of Sylvester CORBIN, and after her death, Dec. 28, 1834, at the age of 34 years, Louisa D., widow of Levi KNEELAND, with whom he is still living on a part of the homestead farm, aged 84 years; Joseph, who married Sally, daughter of Samuel CORBIN, settled on a part of the homestead farm, and afterwards removed to Bainbridge village, where he died Sept. 12, 1875, aged 77, and where his widow still lives; Philo, who married Susan, daughter of Wm. GUTHRIE, Jr., settled on the homestead farm and subsequently removed to the Guthrie homestead, where he now resides, his wife having died Nov. 15, 1867; and Pliny, who married ----- BENNETT, and settled first on a part of the homestead farm, and afterwards on the place now occupied by his widow, where he died. Numerous grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren of Reuben Kirby's are living in the town. G. F. Kirby, of Chicago, a civil engineer, who was employed in the construction of the Pacific Railroad through Iowa, and the bridge which spans the Mississippi River at Clinton, is a son of Philo Kirby and grandson of Reuben, Sr. The four brothers, sons of the second wife of Reuben Kirby, though farmers, follow lumbering while the pine in this section lasted. It was marketed in Philadelphia.

    Wm. GUTHRIE died in August, 1806, and Susan, his wife, in March, 1813. Their son, William, who was born Dec. 3, 1768, married in 1799, Sarah WHITNEY, of Binghamton, who was born May 8, 1775. He died march 14, 1813. The children of William, Jr., were: William 2d, who was born Aug. 12, 1800, married Sarah RYNDERS, and having followed the lumber business in Chemung county, is now living in Elmira; Gershom, who was born Jan. 15, 1802, married Elizabeth KETCHUM, by whom he had four children, and also followed the lumber business in Chemung county, where he and his wife died, the former March 28, 1855, and the latter Feb. 2, 1853; Sarah, who was born Nov. 25, 1803, married Hezekiah TARBLE, had three children, and died in Bainbridge, Oct. 27, 1833; Susan, who was born Jan. 25, 1805, married Philo KIRBY, had four children, and died in Bainbridge, Nov. 15, 1867; Olive, who was born Aug. 6, 1806, married Allen RANDALL, of Lisle, where he died April 17, 1874, having had eight children; Emeline, who was born Aug. 11, 1808, and married Samuel STOW, of Binghamton, where she died in 1869; George W., who was born Feb. 15, 1810, was for a number of years in the Custom House at Philadelphia, was afterwards in the employ of the Government at Washington, and subsequently in San Francisco, where he married Emma GARSON, by whom he had six children; Orphelia, who was born Aug. 31, 1812, married Washington C. LANE, editor of the Philadelphia Ledger, and died in Philadelphia in 1844, having had one daughter.

    Wm. GUTHRIE, Sr. had six daughters, Anna, who married Reuben KIRBY, Sr., and died in Bainbridge in 1793; Eunice, who married a man named GRAHAM, and had two sons and five daughters; Mima, who married Dr. HYDE, and had two sons, Ira and Charles; Rhoda, who married a KELSEY; Lois, who married Col. Witter JOHNSTON, who came to Sidney Plains in 1772, served in the Revolution, and was afterwards a resident of Sidney Plains till his death, October 4, 1839, aged 86, and where she died July 27, 1787, aged 22; and Ruth, who married ----- COOPER, and lived and died in Bainbridge.

    Samuel, who was a Justice of the Peace in Vermont, was one of the first Assessors in Bainbridge. His children were Priscilla, who married in Vermont and remained there, Hannah, Sibyl, Betsey, Asahel and Samuel. Hannah also married in Vermont, Asa, son of Hezekiah STOWEL, who had previously settled in Afton, where she also settled and died September 18, 1850, aged 88. Her children were Arad, Hannah, who married Isaac MINER, Asa, Elijah, Jemina, who married Wm. LOOP, and Leapha, who married Dr. Nathan BOYNTON. Not one is now living, though all lived to be over eighty, except Asa, who died young. Sibyl was married after removing here to Henry EVANS, Jr., son of the original settler in the town by that name. She died July 29, 1846, aged 80. Her children were Tirzah, who married Manasseh HADLEY, Maria, who married Orrin JACOBS, Sibyl, who married Calvin MORLEY, Henry and Edward, the latter of whom is the only one by her first husband, Henry EVANS. Three are living, Maria, Sibyl and Henry. Betsey married Russell REDFIELD, who came in from Vermont at an early day, and settled, after marrying, on 50 acres of Samuel Bixby's land, given him by the latter, and died March 14, 1853. Her children were Gratia, who married Ansel EVANS, Harvey, Sibyl, who married Lawrence CONKLIN, Hannah, who married Asa WARNER, Clarina, who never married, Betsey, who married Chester BUCK, Powers, Philip, and Luranca, who married Dr. HALL. Five of them are living, but none in this State, Powers, Philip, Sibyl, Betsey and Luranca. Asahel married Clarina, daughter of Deacon Israel SMITH, and settled on the west side of the river, on the farm now owned and occupied by Peter LEONARD, where he died October 5, 1862, aged 92, and his wife May 22, 1847, aged 72. His children were Lois, who married Chauncey AUSTIN, Chandler, who died in Angelica, N. Y., December 30, 1868, aged 72, Rial, who died May 15, 1847, aged 46, Priscilla, who married Robert B. WARNER, Ira and Charles, the latter of whom, the youngest, is the only one living in Bainbridge. Samuel married Lois ATWATER, from Connecticut, and settled on the homestead farm, now occupied by his son Samuel and daughter Dinah, a maiden lady, the only two of his children living in the town, and where he died July 23, 1857, aged 83. His wife died April 2, 1852, aged 75. His other children were Jonas, Mary, who married Elisha SHARP, Titus, Joel, Henry and Asa, of whom only Mary, Joel and Asa are living.

    Major Evans came in with his family, consisting of his wife, Abigail, who died April 12, 1821, aged 77, and two sons and six daughters. He settled on lot 80, which lies upon the east border of the county, and the north-west corner of which centers in the Susquehanna. The homestead farm is now occupied in part by his grandson, Weston Evans, and is situated about two and one-half miles east of Bainbridge village. Stephen STILES had previously settled on this log, under a title received from Robert HARPER, which proved defective. He located nearly a mile from the county line, opposite to where Chapin UNDERWOOD now lives. STILES, after the marriage of his daughter, an only child, to a man named NYE, who lived in Otsego county, went to live with her. He was demented many of the latter years of his life. Lot 73, containing the Bainbridge village plot, was sold by Evans in 1793 to Col. Timothy CHURCH, for eighteen cents an acre. The two remaining lots he retained till his death, at the age of 58 years, and when the youngest of his children became of age, were divided. The death of Major Evans was probably the third one in the town. The stone which marks his grave in the village cemetery at Sidney Plains, bears this quaint add primitive epitaph:- "This man came to this country At an early day, Where nothing dwelt but beasts of prey, Or men as fierce and wild as they."

    His children were: Abigail, who married Elijah CURTIS, who settled in the same locality at an early day; Anna, who married Orcus BRADT, who settled first on the Delaware, and after the division of the Evans lots, removed to this town; Mehitabel, who married Aaron OWENS, who also settled on the Delaware, whence he removed, after the division, to the portion allotted to his wife, where he died, January 13, 1846, aged 69, and his wife, August 5, 1814, aged 34; Lucy, who married John COMPTON, who also settled on the Delaware; Lydia, who married Ezra WHITE, an early settler in Sherburne, where both died; Achsa, who married Parson REDFIELD, who settled early near the east line of the town, and after the division removed to his wife's portion of land, where both died; and Henry and Josiah. Henry, Jr., married in Vermont, Sally, daughter of Josiah RICE, of that State, and had two sons when he moved in, Ansel and Newel. He settled near his father, on a part of the homestead farm, where his wife died. He afterwards removed to Bainbridge village and died there, having previously married Sibyl, widow of Edward DAVIDSON, who (Sibyl) died July 29, 1846, aged 80. Henry, Jr., had four children by his first wife, Ansel, Newel, Jehial and Sally, the latter two of whom were born in Bainbridge. Ansel lived on a farm included in the original patent, and died Feb. 10, 1873, aged 83. Newel married Phebe, daughter of Dr. Benjamin YALE, of Guilford, and settled on the site of Bainbridge village, where his wife died Oct. 27, 1826, aged 30. He afterwards removed to Delaware county and married Harriet WEBB, of Deposit, where she is still living. He died in that county. Jehial, who as born in 1795, is still living in Bainbridge village, to which he removed in 1800. Sally married Benjamin JACOBS, from Vermont, and removed to Canada, where she died. The children of Henry, Jr., by his second wife were: Maria, who married Warren JACOBS, and is living in Bainbridge; Tirzah, who married Manasseh B. HADLEY, now dead; Sibyl, who married Calvin MORLEY, and is now living in Bainbridge; Dinah, who died at the age of about six years; and Henry, who married Betsey, daughter of John PETERS, and is living in Deposit.

    "On another occasion prior to this, he shot a large bear on what is known as Humphrey's hill. So fat and heavy was bruin that he found it necessary to go after his oxen in order to remove the carcass to his hut. But the oxen refused to go near enough to the bear to allow him to hook the log-chain. Bacon finally resorted to the stratagem of covering the bear with leaves; he then carefully backed the oxen up and hitched the chain around bruin's neck. But as soon as the dead bear made his appearance from under the leaves the oxen cast one terrified look behind and away they went through the woods, over knolls and down the steep hill at the top of their speed. Bacon found it no difficult task to track them to his hut by remnants of the bear, which were strewn along the course they had taken; and he never told the story in after years without a sign for the large fat bear, the loss of which as a store for his larder he sorely felt and deeply lamented."

    Benjamin S. CARPENTER came from Orange county and settled in Bainbridge village, and bought the major portion of the lands comprising the village site. He kept a hotel and engaged in the mercantile pursuits, continuing till about 1800 or '12, when becoming pecuniary involved, he removed to the farm in Afton now occupied by Abel BRIGGS, about a mile above Afton village, where he died Dec. 28, 1836, aged 70, and Catharine, his wife, April 27, 1827, aged 50. He had eleven children, only two of whom are living, Daniel A., a merchant in Afton, and Martha A., wife of Daniel CARPENTER, in Addison, Steuben county. In 1802, Benjamin S. Carpenter donated two acres of land which is now occupied by the Presbyterian church and the village green, to encourage the establishment of a church and school, and to provide a parade ground on certain conditions, which he afterwards claimed were not compiled with. He again took possession of it and fenced it. The villagers became incensed at the action and tore down the fence, and such was the opposition manifested that the attempt to reclaim it was practically abandoned.

    Major DEZANG was a Frenchman, and came in from Geneva. He settled to the west side of the river, near the bridge in Bainbridge village. He was one of the proprietors of the turnpike from Esopus to Geneva, and built, in 1805, with his partner, Mr. OLENDORFF, the first bridge across the Susquehanna in Bainbridge. The work of construction was done by Henry EVANS and Luther THURSTON. He was engaged in mercantile business in the locality of his settlement till about the close of the war of 1812. His family was one of considerable prominence and business enterprise in their day. His son Richard, after a good many years of active business life spent here, returned to Geneva. His other sons were Philip, William and Arthur. He had two or three daughters, one of whom was named Amelia. One married Dr. HOUGHTALING, another a man named GRISWOLD, and a third, Richard LAWRENCE, who came here about the same time as the Dezangs, and was engaged in mercantile and milling business, in company with Richard Dezang. Their mills were located at the mouth of the Unadilla, and have gone to decay.

    Reuben BUMP came from the East and settled on the east side of the Susquehanna, in the east part of the town, where Eleazer SPENCER's family now reside. He afterwards removed to Afton and died there July 29, 1868, aged 91. Jerusha, his wife, died March 12, 1855, aged 76. He had two sons and a daughter, Josiah, who moved to the locality of Elmira, Carpenter, who is now living in Baltimore.

    The LYONs were in as early as 1792.

    Lewis NEWELL commenced mercantile business about 1810 and continued till about 1814, when he removed to Oneonta. His store was the building now occupied as a residence by Jehial EVANS. He also carried on blacksmithing very extensively. ----- PARKER succeeded Newell in the same store and did business a good many years.

    William SHAW was granted a license to keep a grocery May 28, 1829; but whether he had previously been engaged in mercantile business, and how long he continued to trade we are not advised. He was a butcher and followed that business a good many years. In 1830 a license was granted to Elisha SHARPE to open a grocery. He traded about three or four years. Sharpe lost an arm the day proceeding Fourth of July celebration in the village in 1828 or '9, by the premature discharge of a cannon, which had then recently been received for the use of the artillery company which had been organized in this vicinity. The discharge forced the ramrod through a part of the body of John REESE, and tore off the right arm of Dr. William KNAPP and the left arm of Elisha Sharpe.

    Moses Gaylord BENJAMIN and Albert NEALLY commenced mercantile business on opposite sides of the street about 1820. Benjamin continued till his death Jan. 18, 1833, the latter part of the time in company with Dexter NEWELL, who continued till his death, June 17, 1850, and a part of the time with Elliott KIDDER. Neally traded some three or four years, in company with Moses BURGESS, who afterwards engaged in the foundry business in Bainbridge, which he carried on till his death Oct. 9, 1865. In 1866, the foundry passed in to the hands of Don A. GILBERT, who was engaged in mercantile business from 1863 to 1866, was burned in 1867, re-built in 1868 and again burned in 1875. The saw-mill attached, now owned by Porter VAN HORNE, was not burned. Neally went west.

    Abraham OWENS, who married a daughter of Dexter NEWELL, commenced trading shortly before the death of the latter and continued till near the opening of the war, when he removed to Unadilla.

    About 1834, Stephen BROWN and Josiah B. NORTHROP commenced the tinsmith business, to which hardware and subsequently dry goods were added. They continued in company till about 1860, having been associated some seven or eight years the latter part of the time with Ozias B. TYLER. Northrop went west; so also did Brown a few years later. Tyler still resides in the village.

    Wallace W. DAVIS and ---- CHAFFEE commenced trading about 1860. After about two years Chaffee withdrew and returned to Unadilla, from when he came. Davis, continued till he was burned out in February, 1878, a part of the time in company with Gilbert SHERWOOD, his brother-in-law.

    Dudley BULLOCK came in from California and commenced trading a few years previous to the war, in which he participated as Captain of a company in the 114th Reg't., raised in this town. He did not again engage in mercantile business. Daniel BULLOCK, his nephew, from Oswego county, in company with Don A. GILBERT, succeeded to Dudley's business. After a year or two Bullock sold to Ransom MITCHELL, who after two or three years sold to Clark BUTTS and James K. WHITMORE from Otsego county. They sold after about three years to ---- CONKLING, who traded about two years.

    Following are the present merchants in Bainbridge: Gaylord S. GRAVES, furniture dealer, who came from Mt. Upton, and has traded here since 1849, for two years in company with Mrs. Harriet SEELY; Mrs. Helen B. CAMPBELL a native of Norwich, dealer in dry goods and millinery goods, who about 1872 succeeded her husband, Theodore R. Campbell, who commenced the dry goods and grocery business about 1870, millinery goods having been substituted for groceries in the spring of 1878; Charles M. FRISBIE, druggist, who came from Delaware county, and has traded since November, 1871; Charles M. PRIEST, general merchant, a native of Bainbridge, who came from Masonville, Delaware county, where he had been engaged in mercantile business in 1872, since which time he had traded here, in company in 1873 and '4 with Bennett P. VAN HORNE; Garvis PRINCE, hardware dealer, who came from New York, and commenced business in 1875, in company with George L. BABCOCK, with whom he was associated one year; Luman B. CLARK, grocer, who has resided in the village since May 17, 1855, and been engaged in mercantile business here since 1876; A. Frank MOSES, druggist, who came from Clymer, Chautauqua county, where he had carried on the same business, and brought out L. A. WRIGHT in 1876; Joseph B. EHRICH, jeweler, a native of Brooklyn, who came here from Oak Hill, Greene county, and succeeded his brother, Samuel S. EHRICH, who commenced the business in December, 1876; Isaac G. HANCOCK, dealer in boots and shoes, who came from Syracuse and commenced business in March, 1877; Mrs. Julia Ann HOLCOMB, milliner, who came from Troy in 1869, in the interest of her sister, Mrs. George R. SALISBURY, who established the business the previous year, and in September, 1877, sold to the present proprietor; John M. ROBERTS, grocer and dealer in lime, plaster and cement, who has also been station agent at Bainbridge since 1870, commenced the dry goods business in 1865, which he continued about two years in company with Ransom MITCHELL, and the grocery business in Dec., 1877; Charles P. PERRY, hardware dealer, who came from Unadilla March 16, 1878, having carried on the same business there some four years, in company with W. H. HESLOP; Henry Walker CURTIS, general merchant, commenced business here April 1, 1878, having previously carried on the same business at Mt. Upton and Sidney Plains, from the latter of which places he came here; Thomas Jefferson LYON, dealer in groceries, boots and shoes, a native of Bainbridge, who commenced business in the spring of 1878, at which time he bought the stock of his brother-in-law, J. R, KELLEY, who had carried on the business some twenty years; Adelbert L. PALMER, general merchant, who commenced business Oct. 1, 1878, having previously resided in the village some thirteen years; T. VAN ALSTINE, confectioner, who came from Philmont, Columbia county, and commenced business in April, 1879; Nathan HOPPE, who came from Elmira, and commenced business May 7, 1879; and Frank W. CRAIN, jeweler, who came from Laurens, Otsego county, in 1876, and commenced business June 1, 1879.

    The first postmaster after the removal of the office to Bainbridge was Hon. John C. CLARK, who held the office till his election to Congress in 1826, when his son-in-law, Col. Moses G. BENJAMIN, was appointed, and held it till his death, Jan. 18, 1833. He was succeeded by Dexter NEWELL, who held it till 1849, when Abram G. OWENS was appointed. Samuel L. BANKS succeeded Owens, and held it till his death, Sept. 22, 1853, when Simeon SHEPARDSON was appointed. He and Col. Hiram SCHROM filled the interval till 1861, when Edward H. VAN HORNE was appointed, and held the office three or four years. He was succeeded by Theron R. HOLLISTER, who held it till his removal to Binghamton. Blin S. SILL next held it till his death in 1873. John W. CUDWORTH next held it till April 1, 1877, when Frederick J. NICHOLS, the present incumbent, was appointed.

    Blin Smith SILL, who was born April 3, 1809, was practicing here as early as 1839, in which year he joined the County Medical Society. He continued practice till his death in 1873. He married Catharine A. LATHROP, who died May 11, 1845, leaving three children, Arabella, Stella and Eratsus L.

    Dr. McLAURY came from Delaware county about ----, and practiced four or five years. He returned to Delaware county.

    J. W. FREIOT, M.D., who was born Nov. 14, 1801, came from Troy about 1843, and resided here till his death, Nov. 14, 1875, though he practiced but little. He was a man of large property. His widow and two children still reside in the village. William PURINTON, came here from Harpersfield, where he had previously practiced, about 1840. and practiced till his death, June 23, 1855, aged 61. Eliza R., his wife, died July 15, 1866, aged 57. Charles A. CLARK was practicing here in 1854, and Cyrus N. BROWN in 1859, in which years they joined the County Medical Society. John YALE, from Guilford, practiced here eight or ten years from about 1861. Drs. WHITNEY and VAN HORNE, the latter from Otsego county, came here some twenty years ago and practiced, the former about seven or eight and the latter about ten years. Isaac D. MEACHAM came from Triangle in 1866, and practice here till 1879.

    The present physicians are Robert D. L. EVANS, Heman D. COPLEY and Orville J. WILSEY.

    Robert D. L. EVANS was born in Bainbridge May 30, 1835. He studied medicine in Pittsfield, Mass., with Dr. A. M. Smith. He entered Berkshire Medical College in Pittsfield in 1855, and was graduated Nov. 22, 1858. He commenced practice the latter year in Lee, Mass., and removed thence in 1862 to Bainbridge, where he has since practiced.

    Heman D. COPLEY was born in Harpersfield, N.Y., Jan. 21, 1851, and studied medicine at Davenport, in his native county, with Dr. J. E. NORWOOD. He entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York in 1871, and was graduated March 3, 1875. He commenced practice in 1875 at Chatham, N.J., and removed thence in 1876 to Bainbridge.

    Orville J. WILSEY was born in Otego, N.Y., Oct. 17, 1854, and commenced the study of medicine, at Unadilla, with Dr. Joseph SWEET. In 1876 he entered the University of the City of New York, where he was graduated Feb. 19, 1878, having during the intermediate year (1877) attended a course of medical lectures in Albany. He commenced practice at West Oneonta and removed thence to Bainbridge May 28, 1879.

    The first resident lawyer was John C. CLARK, who was born in Connecticut, Jan. 14, 1793, and was graduated from Williams College in 1811. He removed from Massachusetts to Hamilton, and from thence, after a brief residence, to Bainbridge, about 1818. He was elected District Attorney of this county in Oct., 1823, and represented it in the Assembly in 1826, and in Congress from 1827 to '29 and again from 1837 to '43. About the close of his last Congressional term he gave up the practice of law and removed to Chemung county, where he engaged in the lumber business. He died there Oct. 25, 1852. He was an eminent lawyer.

    William S. STOW came in about 1820 and practiced till about 1825, when he removed to Wayne county, where he practiced a good many years. John G. McCREA came about 1828, and after practicing a year or two returned to Saratoga county, whence he came, and where he soon after died. Horace DRESSER came in about 1835 or '6 and practiced some three or four years, a part of the time in company with John C. CLARK. He removed to New York and practiced there a number of years. George M. SMITH came from Norwich about 1836-'40, and after practicing three or four years returned and died there. He was elected District Attorney of this county in 1841 and again in 1844.

    Isaac BUSH, son of Joseph and Betsey Bush, of Bainbridge, where he was born, studied law with his brother-in-law, William S. SAYRE, in company with whom, after his admission, about 1836, he practiced some five years. He continued practice here till his death June 16, 1843, aged 32.

    James M. BANKS, a native of Bainbridge, read law in Oxford with James CLAPP, and commenced practice in Bainbridge about 1848, with William S. SAYRE, with whom he continued five or six years, when he removed to Chicago, where he now resides. He was elected District Attorney of this county in June, 1847, holding the office till November, 1850.

    George L. WINSOR, from Guilford, read law with William S. SAYRE and his uncle, George H. Winsor, with whom, after his admission in June, 1854, he practiced till shortly before his death, in 1878.

    John BEVERLY, from Herkimer county, came in 1871 and practiced for awhile with Charles B. SUMNER, and afterwards, for a short time, alone. He went to Grand Rapids, Mich.

    Arba K. MAYNARD came from Sherburne, where he had previously practiced, in 1835, and practiced here three or four years. He was a man of some talent and acquired some notoriety in the county. He removed from here to New York, where he was Judge of the Marine Court some six years. He was subsequently in Minnesota, and was at one time the Democratic candidate for Governor of that State.

    The present attorneys are William S. SAYRE, Henry A. CLARK, George H. WINSOR, Charles B. SUMNER, Leroy BENNETT and Elliott DANFORTH.

    William Strong SAYRE was born in Romulus, N.Y., March 5, 1803. He was graduated from Hamilton in 1824, and read law at Norwich with David BUTTOLPH and Charles A. THORP, and afterwards in Bainbridge with John C. CLARK in company with whom, after his admission in October, 1827, he practiced about four years. He has since practiced here without intermission, having been associated at different times with Isaac BUSH, James M. BANKS, George H. WINSOR and Leroy BENNETT, with the latter of whom he has been in company about two years, under the name of Sayre & Bennett. He was Justice of the Peace form 1833 to '37; Supervisor of Bainbridge in 1840 and '58; and Presidential Elector in 1856. (He died since the above was written, January 20, 1880.)

    Henry A. CLARK was born in Sidney, Delaware county, August 2, 1818, and pursued his legal studies in Buffalo with John L. Talbott, now Judge of the Supreme Court of this State. He was admitted to the bar in 1841, and commenced practice in Bainbridge, where he has since continued. He was a State Senator from the 23d District, embracing this county, in 1862 and '63, and was chairman of the Committee on Internal Affairs.

    George H. WINSOR was born in Guilford, N.Y., March 23, 1815, and read law in Delhi with A. & E. PARKER, and subsequently in Masonville with George KETCHUM. He was admitted in 1854, and commenced practice that year at Masonville. He removed thence November 20, 1855, to Bainbridge, where he has since practiced. He was a Member of Assembly from Delaware county in 1850.

    Charles B. SUMNER was born in New Berlin, N.Y., August 18, 1847, and read law in his native town with Henry BENNETT. He was admitted May 12, 1869, and commenced practice in Bainbridge August 10th of that year, in company with Horatio N. WARNER, who came in with him from Utica, to which city he (Warner,) returned after two months' practice. Mr. Sumner was subsequently in company with Melville KEYES, who came in from Oneonta in October, 1869, and returned there the following spring. Mr. Sumner was Special Judge of this county from January, 1873, to January, 1877.

    Leroy BENNETT was born in Bennettsville in this town September 12, 1837, and pursued legal studies three or four years with Henry A. CLARK, of Bainbridge. He was admitted at the General Term in Binghamton in May, 1877; in February, 1878, he commenced practice with William S. SAYRE, with whom he still continues.

    Elliott DANFORTH was born in Middleburgh, N.Y., March 6, 1850, and read law in the office of his father, Judge Peter S. Danforth, of Middleburgh, where, after his admission at the January General Term at Albany, in 1872, he commenced practice. He removed thence to Bainbridge, August 10, 1878, and formed a law partnership with George H. WINSOR, which still continues. In 1874, Mr. Danforth, by invitation delivered a Fourth of July oration in Bainbridge. He then formed the acquaintance of Miss Ida, daughter and only child of Dr. Garvis PRINCE of that village, and December 17th of that year he was united in marriage with her.

Postmasters:- There is a post-office there, and William WATROUS is the postmaster. The office was established about forty years ago. Thomas NICHOLS as the first postmaster, and held the office twenty-eight years. He was succeeded by Timothy S. LANE, who held it till its discontinuance in 1861. It was subsequently re-established.

End of Bainbridge (stopped with lawyers)