Oldal 147 [147]
a fishing and hunting expedition, taking among the
provisions a quantity of spirits, to which Beech had
not the slightest dislike, but imbibed very freely.
At night, they built a fire, and camped beside it.
Beech, whose deerskin pants had become soaking
wet, and who himself was not sober, laid down
by the fire, and soon fell asleep. When he awoke,
the buckskin had contracted and dried so tightly
about his legs, that, for the life of him he could not
regain his feet. The only alternative was to cut the
pants off, which was accordingly done, and, as there
was not an extra pair in the camp, the hunter
marched home sazs his breeks.
Chapman Pennock was the first Town Clerk of
South Crosby ; appointed in 1814, he held the office
for about twenty years. When teaching in the
Township, his school was attended by the late
Jesse Delong. Chapman’s family : Samuel, Charles,
Arthur D., Alice, Henry, Prosper, Philomon, Char¬
lotte, John, William, James. Isaac, and Stirling.
THE BISSELL FAMILY.
The founder of this family was David Bissell.
At the close of the war of 1776, Mr. Bissell, with
his worldly all, which consisted principally of a
good wife and sixteen children—eight sons and
eight daughters—started through the wilderness
of Vermont for Canada, They crossed the St.
Lawrence at St. Regis, and wended their way up
to Weatherhead’s Point, where the Village of Mait¬
land now stands. He selected a tract of land almost
directly in the rear of his first resting place, between
the 3rd and 5th Concessions, which, as the reward of
loyalty to his king, was by letters patent conveyed
to him. Here he made his home, with his com¬
patriots around him. His first rude abode lasted
for half a score or more of years. In the year 1801,
he raised the frame of a large, substantial residence.
This has been the home of four generations.
The year 1787 is remembered as the year of direst
famine ever suffered in Canada. He had a good
supply of grain on hand, and he put his family on
short rations, that he might spare the more for his
less favored neighbors. He was offered 400 acres
of land in his Township for twelve bushels of wheat,
but declined the offer, and divided out his surplus
grain among the destitute settlers at the usual price
in plentiful years. He died at the age of 58 years,
possessed of a large body of land, in different loca¬
tions, and an untarnished reputation, leaving six of
his sons honorably settled around him. One he left
at his old home, in Eastern New York. His sons,
Jehial, Friend, David, Edward, Zenas, and John, left
large, respectable families of sons and daughters.
His daughters, six of whom lived to maturity,
married honest,respectable husbands, who became
men of note in their neighborhoods. Among these,
were Joseph Wright, Esq., late of Wright s Corners ;
Asa Landon, father of Wellington Landon, Esq.;
Abraham Clark, and Ethan Crippen.
Zenas, his seventh son, became the owner of the
old homestead. He married Lydia, daughter of his
near neighbor, John White, who was also one of the
old U. E. Loyalists. Twelve children, nine of whom
grew up—four daughters and five sons—resulted
from this union. The youngest daughter remains
unmarried. The eldest married Arza Parish, Esq.,
one of the leading merchants of Farmersville.
Adeline, the second daughter, was married to Kev.
A. W. Cummings, D. D., an account of whom IS
found in this work. The third daughter is the
Alpheus,
the first son of Zenas, married and raised a respect¬
wife of William Bersee, of Brockville.
able family at Merrickville, where, at 70 years of
age, he now resides. Arza, the last son, went West.
homestead, at the death of Zenas, became the pro¬
perty of Artemus, the second, and James, the
third, son of Zenas. Mr. Bissell long served as a
magistrate, and also as a member of the Council of
Augusta, and of the Council of the United Counties
of Leeds and Grenville.
DOCTOR CUMMINGS.
The Reverend Anson W. Cummings, M. A., D. D.,
from three months old to nearly his sixteenth birth¬
day, resided in the Township of Augusta, County of
Grenville. He early developed an especial fondness
for books and study, and, amid great difficulties and
with very limited aids from teachers, he acquired a
good elementary English education.
1833, he resided in Brockville.
From 1830 to
Invited by his uncle, Hiram Cummings, Esq., of
Boonville, Oneida County, New York, he left his
Canadian home to attend a Grammar School near
his uncle’s. He then went to Cazenovia, New York,
and was for some years a student in the Seminary
there.
In 1836, he became Principal of the Collinsville
Professor in the Seminary at Gouverneur, New York,
the associate of Rev. Dr. (now Bishop), J. T. Peck,
D. D., L. L. D., and in 1842 was elected the Principal
of that Institution. From 1846 to 1852, he filled a
at Rogersville in East Tennessee.