of the old Phelps' mansion at Canandaigua; was at one period Maj. General of the 22d Division of New York Infantry. He died in 1813. His surviving sons are:-Judge Oliver Phelps, of Canandaigua, who resides at the old homestead, a worthy representative of his honored ancestor; William H. Phelps, of Canandaigua; and Francis Phelps, an inmate of the Infirmary at Brattleborough, Vermont. The daughter of Oliver Phelps became the wife of Amasa Jackson, of the city of New York, and is now a resident of Canandaigua. A daughter of hers, is the wife of Gen. John A. Granger; and another, is the wife of Alexander H. Howell, a son of the Hon. N. W. Howell. The wife of Oliver Phelps, who was the daughter of Zachariah Seymour, died in 1826, aged 74 years.

Nathaniel Gorham, the elder, who was the associate of Mr. Phelps, was never a resident upon the Purchase. He resided in Charlestown, Mass. His son, Nathaniel Gorham, jr., his local representative, came to Canandaigua in 1789, and was of course one of the earliest pioneers. He was an early Supervisor of Canandaigua, a Judge of the county courts, and the President of the Ontario Bank, from its first organization, until his death. He died in 1826, aged 62 years. His surviving sons are:- Nathaniel Gorham, merchant, of Canandaigua; William Gorham, of Canandaigua; and David Gorham, of Exeter, New Hampshire. Mrs. Dr. A. G. Bristol, of Rochester, is a daughter; and an unmarried daughter resides at the old homestead at Canandaigua. The mother died in 1848, at the advanced age of 83 years.

And in this connection, lest he should be omitted in a work like this as he should not be some mention should be made of the venerable William Wood, who, if not a pioneer himself, is especially the friend of the pioneers; and among his other good works, takes a lively interest in perpetuating their memories. Mr. Wood is a veteran bachelor, the brother of the late Mrs. Nathaniel Gorham. His native place is Charlestown, Massachusetts. At one period of his life, he was an importing merchant in the city of Boston; after that, a cotton dealer in New Orleans, where he was known for his deeds of philanthropy and benevolence. Becoming a resident of Canandaigua, by quiet unostentatious charities, by

being "present in every good work," he has well entitled himself to be called the Howard of his local region. The public edifices of Canandaigua, the rural church-yard, the streets and side-walks, the public libraries, bear testimonials of his public spirit. If no other good work is in hand, he will carry apples, books, and other acceptable presents, to the inmates of the jail, and cheer them by kind words. In cities and villages of this country and in England, he has established libraries and literary institutions, principally for the benefit of mechanics, apprentices and clerks. Well may it be said, that the world would be better, the picture of humanity would have in it more of lighter coloring, if there were more like William Wood. But, principally, it has been intended to notice him in connection with a Gallery of Portraits-mostly of Pioneers of the Genesee country-that he is collecting and suspending in their well-chosen and appropriate place, the court-house at Canandaigua. It contains already the portraits of

OLIVER PHELPS,
PETER B. PORTER.

PHILIP CHURCH,

WM. WADSWORTH,
MICAH BROOKS,
VINCENT MATHEWS,

ABNER BARLOW,
WALTER HUBBELL,
JOHN C. SPENCER,

MOSES ATWATER,

AUGUSTUS PORTER,
JOHN GREIG,

JAMES WADSWORTH,
RED JACKET,

NATHANIEL ROCHESTER,
JASPER PARRISH,
JUDGE FITZHUGH,

AMBROSE SPENCER,

WILLIAM WILLIAMS,

N. W. HOWELL.

And a correspondent adds:-" WILLIAM WOOD, the noblest Ro

man of them all."

CHAPTER V.

JEMIMA WILKINSON.

THIS eccentric founder of a religious sect, and her followers, having been the Pioneers of the entire Genesee country, preceding even the Indian treaties for acquiring land titles; and having constituted in early days a prominent feature in all this region; some account of them, it may well be supposed, will be looked for in a work of this character.

Jemima Wilkinson, or, as she was called by her followers, "The Friend," or "The Universal Friend," was a daughter of Jeremiah Wilkinson of Cumberland, Rhode Island. She was one of a family of twelve children. The father was a respectable ordinary New England farmer. When Jemima was in her 20th year, the entire family, except her, had a severe attack of fever; and after their recovery, she was attacked, and her sickness was severe and protracted, at times her life being despaired of. In the extremity of her illness, her friends had assembled around her bed side to witness her death, when, as she affirmed, it was suddenly revealed to her that she must "raise her dead body." She arose from her bed, and kneeling by its side, made a fervent prayer, called for her clothing, and announced that her carnal existence had ended; henceforward she was but divine and spiritual; invested with the gift of prophecy.* She soon commenced travelling and exhorting, and with a considerable degree of success; followers multiplied, some of them good New England farmers. They soon furnished all her wants, and would accompany her sometimes to the number of twenty, on her missions. She travelled through New England, Eastern New York, and spent several years in the neighborhood of Philadelphia

*This is briefly, her own account of her sudden transformation, as related to an informant of the author, who knew her well, before and after her advent to this region.

her

and Lancaster, Pennsylvania, accompanied by most of her followers; and she had proselytes wherever she went. Her authority over them was absolute. Upon one occasion, at New Milford, in Connecticut, she proclaimed a fast for thirty days on bread and water. Most of them strictly obeyed; some of them becoming almost what Calvin Edson was in later years. After remaining in New England and Pennsylvania about twenty years, she came to of age. The Western New York; she was then near forty years author has a copy of the "New Haven Gazette and Connecticut Magazine," of date, March 1787, that has a letter in it from a Philadelphia correspondent, written at the time "The Friend," and her followers were in Philadelphia, on their way to this region. Her personal appearance is thus described:-"She is about the middle size of woman, not genteel in her person, rather awkward in her carriage; her complexion good, her eyes remarkably black and brilliant, her hair black and waving with beautiful ringlets upon neck and shoulders; her features are regular, and the whole of her face thought by many to be perfectly beautiful. As she is not to be supposed of either sex, so this neutrality is manifest in her personal appearance: She wears no cap, letting her hair hang down as has been described. She wears her neckcloth like a man; her chemise is buttoned around the neck and wrists. Her outside garment is a robe, under which it is said she wears an expensive dress, the fashion of which is made to correspond neither with that of a man nor woman. Her understanding is not deficient, except touching her religious fanatacism. She is very illiterate, yet her memory is very great; artful in discovering many circumstances which fall out among her disciples. On all occasions she requires the most extraordinary attentions that can be bestowed upon her; one or more of her disciples usually attend upon her, and perform the most menial service. Her pronunciation is after the peculiar dialect of the most illiterate of the country people of New England. Her preaching has very little connexion, and is very lengthy; at times cold and languid, but occasionally lively, zealous and animated."

Enlarging upon the account she first gave of her rising from a bed of sickness dead in the flesh-she assumed that there was once such a person as Jemima Wilkinson, but that "she died and went to heaven; after which the Divine Spirit re-animated that same body, and it arose from the dead; now this divine inhabitant

is Christ Jesus our Lord, the friend to all mankind, and gives his name to the body to which he is united, and therefore, body and spirit conjointly, is the "Universal Friend." She assumed to have two "witnesses," corresponding in all respects to those prophecied in Rev. Chap. xi, from 3d to 13th verse. These were James Parker and Sarah Richards.

But the reader will be principally interested in the advent of this singular personage and her followers to the Genesee country: Previous to 1786, they were living in detached localities. In that year, they met in Connecticut, and resolved upon finding some "fertile unsettled region, far from towns and cities, where the Universal Friend" and her followers, might live undisturbed in peace and plenty, in the enjoyment of their peculiar religion.' They delegated three of their number, Abraham Dayton, Richard Smith and Thomas Hathaway to look for such a location. They went to Philadelphia and traversed on horseback the interior of Pennsylvania. Passing through the valley of Wyoming, they came across a backwoodsman by the name of Spalding, who furnished them with a glimpse of the region around Seneca Lake, and gave them directions how to find it. Following his directions, they went up the river, and falling upon the track of Sullivan's army, reached the foot of Seneca Lake, and from thence proceeded to Cashong creek, where they found two French traders, (De Bartzch and Poudry,) who told them that they had travelled through Canada, and through the Western territory, and had seen no where so fine a country as the one they were in. A few days exploration, satisfied the land look. ers, and they returned by the route they came, to inform the Friend of the result of their travels.

In June 1787, twenty five of the Friends, among whom were

NOTE.- At a time when the Friend and her followers, were likely to loose their first location upon the banks of the Seneca Lake, and were having some difficulty with their neighbors, Abraham Dayton was deputied to go to Canada, and negotiate with Gov. Simcoe, for a grant of land for a new location. Gov. Simcoe acceded, and made a grant in the present township of Burford, C. W. Preparations were made to emigrate, when the Governor annulled his grant. He gave as an excuse that he had supposed them to be Quakers, of whom he had acquired a good opinion in England; but learning that they were a new sect, he did not wish to encourage their emigration. He however made the grant to Col. Dayton individually, upon such terms,-settlement duties &c.-as he was then in the habit of making land grants. Col. Dayton settled upon the land, died in early years, and was succeeded by his son-in-law, Benajah Mallory. The aged widow of Col. Dayton, who became the wife of Col. Joel Stone, the founder of the village of Gananoque, below Kingston, died but a few years

since.