Notes |
- Bio from: Historical Gazetteer and Biographical Memorial of Cattaraugus Co. NY, ed by William Adams, pub 1893
History of the Town of Hinsdale - Chapter XXXI (31)
Pages: 718 & 719
Surnames: PUTNAM, WALTERS, SCOTT, LEARN
Peter PUTNAM, the first settler of the town of Hinsdale and a cousin of General PUTNAM, of Revolutionary fame, was born in 1776. In 1804 he married Mary WALTERS in Almond, Allegany county. In 1810 he went to Olean, where he made a raft and with his family aboard and his brother for a pilot started down the Allegheny, intending to sell his lumber in Cincinnati and settle there. In that city his family were all ill with fever and ague. With them he returned to Olean with a pan of horses and a wagon loaded with his property. Jan. 1, 1811, he settled in the woods where George SCOTT now lives. His nearest neighbor on the south was at Olean and on the north at Franklinville. He raised a log house with the help of the Indians, who had a camp near by. He was a great hunter, was an industrious pioneer, planted the second orchard in Cattaraugus county, and raised the first frame barn in Hinsdale. He died in Feb., 1844; Mrs. PUTNAM died Dec. 22, 1842.
John PUTNAM, oldest son of Peter, was born in the log cabin on the homestead Aug. 10, 1811, and is distinguished as the first white child born in Hinsdale. Jan. 1, 1839, he married Sarah A. LEARN, and Jan. 5, 1841, their son Joseph M. C. was born. Mrs. PUTNAM died Jan. 15, 1841. May 9, 1843, he married, second, Mary A. LEARN. At his marriage Mr. PUTNAM settled on the homestead; in 1840 he rented that and settled on a farm in Humphrey. His health failed in 1877 and they moved onto the home Mrs. PUTNAM had purchased at Scott's Corners, where they now reside. Mr. PUTNAM was justice of the peace in Humphrey sixteen consecutive years.
---------------
The History of Cattaraugus County, NY,
Published 1879 by Everts, edited by Franklin Ellis
Chapter: Town of Hinsdale,
pages 422-233
Transcribed by: Terry Schliewe
Peter Putnam, who claimed to have been a lineal descendant of Gen. Putnam, of Revolutionary fame, came from the Delaware River country, and settled in Almond, Allegany Co., N. Y., in 1802. His marriage was the first in that township. In 1810 he sold out his improvements, invested his money in a raft, and, leaving his wife at Olean, proceeded down the Allegany and Ohio Rivers to Cincinnati. Having sold his lumber, he bought a wagon and span of horses in Cincinnati, and drive back to Olean. January 1, 1811, he arrived on lot 42, township 3, range 3, --the farm now owned by Hollis Scott';and immediately began cutting logs for a house. When he had the requisite number prepared, the Indians, who were encamped in considerable numbers near by, assisted him to build it. He built the first framed barn in town in 1816. His sons, John Putnam, who was born Aug. 10, 1811, and is believed to have been the first male child born in Hinsdale, still resides here.
|