Articles

Kinzua means “fish on a spear” in the Seneca-Iroquois language.  The Cornplanter band of Seneca held great annual fish drives on the Allegheny River.  In the summer, men built a V-shaped fence, or weir, across the river. They forced the fish into the weir with a giant rake, which was pulled toward the weir by horses on opposite shores. Waiting fishermen speared the trapped fish, perhaps the reasoning behind the naming of "Kinzua" Lake.

Folklore: Machias

Theodore Nicholas killed his uncle retired doctor, Andrew Mead in Allegany, NY in December 1869.

In his eight decades of life, Andrew Mead proved himself a remarkable individual -- saw-mill builder, doctor, jurist, town supervisor, church leader, fraternal lodge founder, and storekeeper. The Hornelville Tribune of Dec. 24, 1869 (as quoted by the New York Times on Christmas Day, 1869) described him as "a resident of the county for the last fifty years, a very respectable and influential citizen."

    This gentleman is the oldest son in a family of three sons and two daughters of James and Rebecca (Chrisman) Caskey.  He was born in Worcester, Wayne Co., O., Nov.

Mr. John Napier, resident of the town of Machias, NY and a well-known local stone cutter was hired in 1868 to build the County's new building. Prior to this project Mr. Napier had gained skill working on such national projects as the dam across the Merrimac River in Lawrence, Massachusetts, the aqueduct across the Genesee River at Portageville, the bridge spanning the Mississippi River at St. Paul, Minnesota, and the Old State Capital building at Springfield, Ill.

1st Photo:  Philo A. Markham enlisted in Dayton, NY

2nd Photo: Leonard Hunt enlisted in Perrysburg, NY

In 1915 the Daughters of the Amercian Revolution were making preparations to place a bronze tablet at the grave of Daniel Frederick Bakeman.  He was the last soldier of the American Revolution which made him quite a distinquished character.  He died in April 1869 at the age of 109.  During the later years of his life he received a pension of $500 from the government.  He was buried in the Sandusky Cemetery.  Originally only a small white marker without any inscription marked his final resting place.

Submitted by Maggie Frederickson

I am William McNall, son of John and Mellison Washburn McNall.  I was born February 23, 1806 in Stafford Springs, Connecticut.  When I was 10 years old my family decided to make the 30 day journey and settle in Cadiz, New York.  I traveled most of the way by foot with a goad in my hand to guide the ox-drawn cart with our household effects.

Living in the wilderness I only managed to obtain a common school education.  But by perseverance and natural talent, I became a farmer, carpetner, joiner, mason, wheelwright, millwright or blacksmith depending on what was needed.