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In 1808, Josiah Bean and his wife Dolly Dearborn came to the newly formed Cortland County from Candia, New Hampshire and settled in Solon. They located to land on what is now Syrian Hill Road. When the Bean family migrated to Solon, they had seven children in tow. Son Jeremiah (child number eight) is listed as being born in Candia on September 30, 1808, so they must have arrived sometime after that. Traveling hundreds of miles over primitive roads (probably by oxcart) with many children, including their newborn, in the late fall or early winter would not have been an easy journey. Was there someRead More →

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Since October of 1850, within the old stone walls of the peaceful Conable Cemetery, a soldier of the American Revolution lies at rest on land that was once his. Mead Merrill was born on August 22, 1762, in Goshen, Litchfield County, Connecticut, to David Merrill and Esther Howe. Little is known about Mead Merrill’s life before he came to Cortland County, however, we do know that he enlisted on February 2, 1777, in the 6th regiment of the Connecticut Line and served for four years. He was 14 years old at the time of his enlistment. He later married Anne Hotchkiss, and by 1794, theyRead More →

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One name that comes up over and over again in Homer history resources is Dr. George W. Bradford, and for good reason—he was an important part of the lives of Homer citizens, and he deserves to be remembered. Dr. Bradford was born on May 9, 1796 in the town of Otsego. His parents were Eseck Bradford and Hulda Skinner, and George Washington Bradford was the first son in their family of ten children. George was a direct descendant of William Bradford, the second governor of the Plymouth Colony. The family lived near Cooperstown, and Bradford was a contemporary of American writer James Fenimore Cooper. InRead More →

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On May 19, 1845, in the small town of Pharsalia, in nearby Chenango County, Morell M. Newton was born to Miles and Louise Crumb Newton. The Newton family had four children, and Morell would receive his education at the common schools of Pharsalia and at the Norwich Academy. Upon the completion of his education, Newton taught school in both Pitcher and Otselic for a few years, after which time he became employed at the woolen mill of George L. Crandall in Pitcher. After two years of saving his money and building his experience in the woolen goods manufacturing business, he became a partner, and theRead More →

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On December 18, 1823, on a farm in Onondaga County, a son was born to Waterman Phillips and Rachel Kinney. This child was the youngest in a family of ten children, and his legacy to Homer would be one of significant importance and have a lasting impact far beyond his own lifetime. Waterman and Rachel Phillips both hailed from Connecticut, and they moved to Cortland County sometime before 1800. They initially settled near today’s Blodgett Mills, but they moved around within the county before deciding to move on to Onondaga County, where they would stay for the next 25 years. This is where George W.Read More →

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There is a collection of well-worn binders in the vault at the Cortland County Historical Society that is part of the life’s work of Lisle Cottrell. The binders mostly cover the town of Scott, but there is also information about Cincinnatus, Homer, Cottrell genealogy, and more. These handwritten documents provide great insight into the settlement of Cortland County and are just one piece of Lisle Cottrell’s legacy. Lisle Cottrell was born in Scott on July 13, 1899, to William J. Cottrell and Lizzie J. Lee. William was educated at the Homer Academy and taught at the East River School for two years before collaborating withRead More →

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Joseph Clayton Atwater was born in Scott on March 8, 1837, the second child of Joseph Atwater and Lucy Brown. He is referred to as J. Clayton in most materials referenced, though he may have been called Clayton to distinguish him from his father. For clarity, we will use Clayton when referring to him. Two Atwater brothers came to the American colonies from England in the 1600s and settled in Connecticut. One brother’s family line died out, but the other had numerous descendants, of which J. Clayton Atwater was one. Clayton’s grandfather was Joshua Atwater, who settled in Homer in the late 1790s. He wasRead More →

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Revolutionary War soldier Asa Bennett had two sons travel to Homer from Connecticut to settle, Deacon Asa Bennett and Reverend Alfred Bennett. Over the last two columns, we’ve learned more about some of Deacon Asa Bennett’s descendants in Homer, including Augustus H. Bennett, the father of Lester Pratt Bennett. Lester P. Bennett was born in 1870 to Augustus H. Bennett and Emma Gertrude Pratt. Lester was the second of five children born to Augustus and Emma, and he was their first son. Lester was named after his mother’s father, Lester Marcus Pratt. Lester Bennett received his education at the public schools in Homer and atRead More →

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In the last installment of “Slumbering Souls,” we learned about Dr. Lester Pratt and how he retired to Homer to live with his daughter Emma and her husband Augustus for the remainder of his life. It’s time to look at Emma and Augustus to learn more about their lives. Augustus H. Bennett was born at his father’s farm in Homer on April 14, 1840. His parents were Lorenzo Bennett and Almira Stone, and he was one of four children in their family. Lorenzo’s father was Deacon Asa Bennett who came to Homer with his brother, Reverend Alfred Bennett, from Mansfield, Connecticut. Their father, Asa Bennett,Read More →

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This new series will be focusing on people you may not have heard of, but they are at eternal rest in the cemeteries of Cortland County. We’ll be exploring their contributions and stories in Slumbering Souls. This installment features a gentleman who truthfully did not live in Cortland County until his retirement, so why would we want to learn more about Dr. Lester M. Pratt? Although interred at Glenwood Cemetery, Pratt appears to have simply retired to Homer. He did not live here as a child, did not attend school here, did not practice here. Let’s explore what brought him to Homer for his goldenRead More →