Timeline Stories
Devonian Period - The oldest evidence of life in our town
380 million years ago, the area we call our town was at the bottom of a shallow ocean. The evidence of life that existed then can be seen almost anywhere in the bedrock. Just walk along Flint Creek, the Canandaigua Outlet, or Swale Brook and the earliest life will be more than evident. Horn coral (rugose coral), sea lilies (crinoids), trilobites, clams (brachiopods), snails (gastropod), mollusks (ammonoidea) and bryozoan (small sea animals that lived in colonies) are abundant in the fossil record of your own back yard.
(“Common Fossils of Central New York” Paleontological Research Institution – Museum of the Earth, Ithaca, New York)
380 million years ago, the area we call our town was at the bottom of a shallow ocean. The evidence of life that existed then can be seen almost anywhere in the bedrock. Just walk along Flint Creek, the Canandaigua Outlet, or Swale Brook and the earliest life will be more than evident. Horn coral (rugose coral), sea lilies (crinoids), trilobites, clams (brachiopods), snails (gastropod), mollusks (ammonoidea) and bryozoan (small sea animals that lived in colonies) are abundant in the fossil record of your own back yard.
(“Common Fossils of Central New York” Paleontological Research Institution – Museum of the Earth, Ithaca, New York)
That Horn Coral (heliophyllum halli) from your backyard
Dr. Ronald R. Grube
In my backyard, and probably yours too, can be found hundreds of fossils. They are a part of Phelps’ history. These fossils are from the Devonian Period (about 420 to 360 million years ago). Phelps, then, wasn’t where is it today. Back then, we were part of a continent which today we call Euramerica. Our part of Euramerica was roughly at or below the equator. This was about 100 million years before the continent you might know as Pangaea. Pangaea, by the way, was the continent that broke apart to create our present configuration (due to continental drift).
I thought I might show a common fossil that I find around here. It is called heliophyllum halli or horn coral. During the Devonian Period, we were located at the bottom of a shallow sea found upon the Euramerican continent. The area west of the Appalachian Mountains and reaching out to Ohio (called the Appalachian Basin) was a shallow sea. Our fossils confirm that. All of our fossils are those of sea life. Heliophyllum halli was a coral. Its pointed end was fixed by roots to the bottom of that body of water – you know, my back yard – and yours. Like modern coral, heliophyllum halli grew in stages. The lowest stages died and calcified. The upper stage, newest stage, was alive with tentacles that would bring the food it caught into a mouth and then to a stomach. The bottom of the lively part of the coral was a basal plate made up of the dead and calcified parts of the coral separating the dead from the living. This is the part that became fossilized.
This specimen on the left below that my grandson Robin found in the yard is about six inches long. Some horn coral grew to thirty inches. This coral was generally solitary and usually not colonial. Obviously, we do not know what colors the tentacles were as they would not be a part of the fossilization. Heliophyllum halli could look something like the drawing on the right.
Dr. Ronald R. Grube
In my backyard, and probably yours too, can be found hundreds of fossils. They are a part of Phelps’ history. These fossils are from the Devonian Period (about 420 to 360 million years ago). Phelps, then, wasn’t where is it today. Back then, we were part of a continent which today we call Euramerica. Our part of Euramerica was roughly at or below the equator. This was about 100 million years before the continent you might know as Pangaea. Pangaea, by the way, was the continent that broke apart to create our present configuration (due to continental drift).
I thought I might show a common fossil that I find around here. It is called heliophyllum halli or horn coral. During the Devonian Period, we were located at the bottom of a shallow sea found upon the Euramerican continent. The area west of the Appalachian Mountains and reaching out to Ohio (called the Appalachian Basin) was a shallow sea. Our fossils confirm that. All of our fossils are those of sea life. Heliophyllum halli was a coral. Its pointed end was fixed by roots to the bottom of that body of water – you know, my back yard – and yours. Like modern coral, heliophyllum halli grew in stages. The lowest stages died and calcified. The upper stage, newest stage, was alive with tentacles that would bring the food it caught into a mouth and then to a stomach. The bottom of the lively part of the coral was a basal plate made up of the dead and calcified parts of the coral separating the dead from the living. This is the part that became fossilized.
This specimen on the left below that my grandson Robin found in the yard is about six inches long. Some horn coral grew to thirty inches. This coral was generally solitary and usually not colonial. Obviously, we do not know what colors the tentacles were as they would not be a part of the fossilization. Heliophyllum halli could look something like the drawing on the right.
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The vertical lines shown on the fossil on the left above were on the inside of the animal. They are called Septa and carinae. These can be seen on the second specimen pictured below. The septa and carine carried the food to the mouth.
Below are two pictures of another Horn Coral, also found in the creek I refer to as Vienna Brook, which crosses under South Wayne Street. What you are seeing is a cross section of the coral. Around the external edge of the animal is where the tentacles were located and in the center of the animal is where the digestive process would occur.
Below are two pictures of another Horn Coral, also found in the creek I refer to as Vienna Brook, which crosses under South Wayne Street. What you are seeing is a cross section of the coral. Around the external edge of the animal is where the tentacles were located and in the center of the animal is where the digestive process would occur.
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Heliophyllum halli was a carnivorous animal. The living polyp was found at the top of the animal, and it consisted of tentacles that grew out of the outer edge of the coral. The tentacles would sting and hook its prey as the plankton and fish floated by. From there, the prey would be carried to the mouth in the center or calice (shown above as those lines traveling from the exterior to the center).
An outer layer of horizontal wrinkles (see below) would be the part that you would see below the living part (polyp). These wrinkles develop daily as the coral grew – perhaps as many as 400 a year.
An outer layer of horizontal wrinkles (see below) would be the part that you would see below the living part (polyp). These wrinkles develop daily as the coral grew – perhaps as many as 400 a year.
Our back yards would likely have been very colorful 350 million years ago. When you can, see if you can find a heliophyllum fossil in your yard – Phelps is full of them.
The three fossils photographed by the author and displayed in this article were identified by the author using Karl A. Wilson’s “Field Guide to the Devonian Fossils of New York (Paleontological Research Institution 2014, pages 30 and 31).
The watercolor was painted by the author to illustrate what a heliophyllum may have looked like. Soft tissue of the heliophyllum did not survive the fossilization process. Modern coral gives us a clue of what the tentacles and the color might have looked like.
The following resources were used in this article.
Heliophyllum A Study in Survival, by the Buffalo Geoolgical Society
https://bgsny.files.wordpress.com/2020/02/heliophyllum-final-2020.pdf
JAMES E. SORAUF "EXTERNAL MORPHOLOGY AND PALEOBIOLOGY OF HELIOPHYLLUM HALLI (ZOANTHARIA, RUGOSA), FROM THE MIDDLE DEVONIAN HAMILTON GROUP OF NEW YORK STATE," Journal of Paleontology, 75(1), 24-33, (1 January 2001)
There are numerous articles describing heliophyllum halli.
The three fossils photographed by the author and displayed in this article were identified by the author using Karl A. Wilson’s “Field Guide to the Devonian Fossils of New York (Paleontological Research Institution 2014, pages 30 and 31).
The watercolor was painted by the author to illustrate what a heliophyllum may have looked like. Soft tissue of the heliophyllum did not survive the fossilization process. Modern coral gives us a clue of what the tentacles and the color might have looked like.
The following resources were used in this article.
Heliophyllum A Study in Survival, by the Buffalo Geoolgical Society
https://bgsny.files.wordpress.com/2020/02/heliophyllum-final-2020.pdf
JAMES E. SORAUF "EXTERNAL MORPHOLOGY AND PALEOBIOLOGY OF HELIOPHYLLUM HALLI (ZOANTHARIA, RUGOSA), FROM THE MIDDLE DEVONIAN HAMILTON GROUP OF NEW YORK STATE," Journal of Paleontology, 75(1), 24-33, (1 January 2001)
There are numerous articles describing heliophyllum halli.
Pleistocene
For the past 2 and a half million years (minus that past 12 thousand years) a series of glacial events occurred in our area. The last glacial occurrence is called the Laurentide Ice Sheet and it covered this area with ice nearly two miles thick. As it receded it formed the Finger Lakes and witnessed a mammal population that included the American mastodon, the Woolly mammoth, Caribou, giant ground sloths, giant beavers and moose.
(New York State Museum Education Leaflet 37. “Ice Age Mammals Colonize New York: A STEM lab derived from collections-based research at the New York State Museum” Robert S. Feranec, Ph.D. and Andrew L. Kozlowski, Ph.D., 2017)
For the past 2 and a half million years (minus that past 12 thousand years) a series of glacial events occurred in our area. The last glacial occurrence is called the Laurentide Ice Sheet and it covered this area with ice nearly two miles thick. As it receded it formed the Finger Lakes and witnessed a mammal population that included the American mastodon, the Woolly mammoth, Caribou, giant ground sloths, giant beavers and moose.
(New York State Museum Education Leaflet 37. “Ice Age Mammals Colonize New York: A STEM lab derived from collections-based research at the New York State Museum” Robert S. Feranec, Ph.D. and Andrew L. Kozlowski, Ph.D., 2017)
First residents of Phelps
Long before John Decker Robison and family settled the area we know as Phelps, there were people living here. Researchers (see credits) have found evidence that the earliest inhabitants of the area trace back to the late Pleistocene era (often referred to as the Ice Age). These people are known as Paleoindians and they moved into the area about 13,000 years ago as the last glacier was disappearing. If you can image it, they lived here along side of caribou, mammoths and mastodons. Indeed, they likely hunted them over a period of two to three thousand years – maybe over the very place where your house now stands. Like many of earth’s stone age people, the Paleoindians were nomadic. They followed the animals they used for food, tools, and clothing. They were also in search of better quarries for manufacturing their stone tools. Our museum has a display of some of the scrapers and projectile points found around Phelps. Some of the fluted projectile point (they are actually not arrowheads since they predate the use of bows and arrows) in our collection are several thousand years old.
(“Glacial Geology of Cayuga County of the Eastern Finger Lakes: Lakes, Lore and Landforms” 77th Annual Reunion of the Northeastern Friends of the Pleistocene Field Conference, June 7-8, 2014, Auburn, New York (pp. 90-101. The New York State Geological Survey, New York State Museum and New York State Education Department, Albany. Authors: Jonathan C. Lothrop, James, W. Bradley, Susan Winchell-Sweeney, and Meredith H Younge)
Long before John Decker Robison and family settled the area we know as Phelps, there were people living here. Researchers (see credits) have found evidence that the earliest inhabitants of the area trace back to the late Pleistocene era (often referred to as the Ice Age). These people are known as Paleoindians and they moved into the area about 13,000 years ago as the last glacier was disappearing. If you can image it, they lived here along side of caribou, mammoths and mastodons. Indeed, they likely hunted them over a period of two to three thousand years – maybe over the very place where your house now stands. Like many of earth’s stone age people, the Paleoindians were nomadic. They followed the animals they used for food, tools, and clothing. They were also in search of better quarries for manufacturing their stone tools. Our museum has a display of some of the scrapers and projectile points found around Phelps. Some of the fluted projectile point (they are actually not arrowheads since they predate the use of bows and arrows) in our collection are several thousand years old.
(“Glacial Geology of Cayuga County of the Eastern Finger Lakes: Lakes, Lore and Landforms” 77th Annual Reunion of the Northeastern Friends of the Pleistocene Field Conference, June 7-8, 2014, Auburn, New York (pp. 90-101. The New York State Geological Survey, New York State Museum and New York State Education Department, Albany. Authors: Jonathan C. Lothrop, James, W. Bradley, Susan Winchell-Sweeney, and Meredith H Younge)
Archaic Period
About 9000 years ago and for the following 6000 years the natives of Central New York began to settle down. This was the Archaic Period. Archaeological evidence shows that long before the great pyramids were constructed in Egypt, natives lived in communities near present day Geneva, Hammondsport, Lake Lomoka, and Scottsville. The Clovis culture was the first group evident to the post-glacial era. This group was followed by the Lamokas 3500 to 2500 years ago, then the Hopewell mound builders to about 1700 years ago. Dating stone tools found throughout Central New York help us locate settlements. For example, discoveries in the early 20th century suggest that people were living in communities along the Canandaigua Outlet and Flint Creek in the town of Phelps during this Archaic Period. A great deal of archeology must take place in Phelps to get a more accurate story.
About 9000 years ago and for the following 6000 years the natives of Central New York began to settle down. This was the Archaic Period. Archaeological evidence shows that long before the great pyramids were constructed in Egypt, natives lived in communities near present day Geneva, Hammondsport, Lake Lomoka, and Scottsville. The Clovis culture was the first group evident to the post-glacial era. This group was followed by the Lamokas 3500 to 2500 years ago, then the Hopewell mound builders to about 1700 years ago. Dating stone tools found throughout Central New York help us locate settlements. For example, discoveries in the early 20th century suggest that people were living in communities along the Canandaigua Outlet and Flint Creek in the town of Phelps during this Archaic Period. A great deal of archeology must take place in Phelps to get a more accurate story.
Woodland Period
The Woodland Period followed the Archaic Period. This began around a thousand years ago when an Iroquoian people began to arrive. Among these were the Owasco people who were the first known people the northeast to practice agriculture. This gave birth to more sedimentary life and the development of villages as large as 400 people. These most recent native inhabitants to this area go by several names today: The Six Nations, the Haudenosaunee, the People of the Long House or the Iroquois. Much is known about these people since they still exist today. The earliest European travelers and colonists observed and interacted with them and give us a view of them through their European perspectives. Those who lived here in Phelps were part of the Seneca Nation, “Keepers of the Western Door” of the once Five (now Six) Nation Confederacy. According to Helen Ridley in her book “When Phelps was Young” some of the Haudenosaunee still lived in Phelps when the first Euro-American settlers moved here in the late 18th century.
The relationship between the Haudenosaunee and neighboring Iroquoian relatives flared up in the area in the mid-1600s. When these Beaver Wars were concluded the Haudenosaunee stood alone as power brokers to the only area with easy access to the American west. Since the British and French wanted this area, the Haudenosaunee became a major impediment to their desire to control America. Wars were fought across the Finger Lakes during the 18th century, including the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. Those people living in our town would have been soldiers of the Seneca Nation against the French and British – AND the Americans.
The Woodland Period followed the Archaic Period. This began around a thousand years ago when an Iroquoian people began to arrive. Among these were the Owasco people who were the first known people the northeast to practice agriculture. This gave birth to more sedimentary life and the development of villages as large as 400 people. These most recent native inhabitants to this area go by several names today: The Six Nations, the Haudenosaunee, the People of the Long House or the Iroquois. Much is known about these people since they still exist today. The earliest European travelers and colonists observed and interacted with them and give us a view of them through their European perspectives. Those who lived here in Phelps were part of the Seneca Nation, “Keepers of the Western Door” of the once Five (now Six) Nation Confederacy. According to Helen Ridley in her book “When Phelps was Young” some of the Haudenosaunee still lived in Phelps when the first Euro-American settlers moved here in the late 18th century.
The relationship between the Haudenosaunee and neighboring Iroquoian relatives flared up in the area in the mid-1600s. When these Beaver Wars were concluded the Haudenosaunee stood alone as power brokers to the only area with easy access to the American west. Since the British and French wanted this area, the Haudenosaunee became a major impediment to their desire to control America. Wars were fought across the Finger Lakes during the 18th century, including the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. Those people living in our town would have been soldiers of the Seneca Nation against the French and British – AND the Americans.
The Pre-Emption Line
The 1783 Treaty of Paris that brought an end to the war for United States independence from Great Britain did not consider the natives who fought on either side. The Fort Stanwix Treaty of 1784 finally settled the waring relationships between the natives and the United States. It was controversial and did not settle the ownership of much of what was to become New York. The treaty failed to be respected and the United States under its new Constitution sought to finally resolve the potentially dangerous situation. In Canandaigua a treaty was authorized by the United States Senate and President George Washington. The Canandaigua Treaty or Pickering Treaty is to this moment the oldest treaty between the United States and a foreign nation. Article 3 of the treaty defined the Seneca Nation from the Phelps Line (basically running north and south from Lake Ontario through Seneca Lake to Pennsylvania) to Lake Erie. According to the treaty “Now, the United States acknowledge all the land within the aforementioned boundaries, to be the property of the Seneca Nation; and the United States will never claim the same, nor disturb the Seneca Nation, nor any of the Six Nations, or of their Indian friends residing thereon, and united with them, in the free use and enjoyment thereof; but it shall remain theirs, until they choose to sell the same, to the people of the United States, who have the right to purchase.”
The issue was and is title of ownership. Nevertheless, the Euro Americans were committed to obtaining the property upon which we live today. Here is where the story gets interesting. Setting aside the issue of clear title. The question rose as to “if the title is cleared who really owns the land?” The State of Massachusetts claimed that the land west of the Pre-Emption line was given to them by King Charles I in 1629. The State of New York claimed that the land was given to us by King Charles II in 1664. The disagreement over who had the right of pre-emption was resolved in Hartford, Connecticut. It was agreed that if the title could be cleared the land belonged to Massachusetts. Massachusetts could then sell the land and keep the profit. However, once the land was sold, so the agreement stated, the land would become part of New York State.
The 1783 Treaty of Paris that brought an end to the war for United States independence from Great Britain did not consider the natives who fought on either side. The Fort Stanwix Treaty of 1784 finally settled the waring relationships between the natives and the United States. It was controversial and did not settle the ownership of much of what was to become New York. The treaty failed to be respected and the United States under its new Constitution sought to finally resolve the potentially dangerous situation. In Canandaigua a treaty was authorized by the United States Senate and President George Washington. The Canandaigua Treaty or Pickering Treaty is to this moment the oldest treaty between the United States and a foreign nation. Article 3 of the treaty defined the Seneca Nation from the Phelps Line (basically running north and south from Lake Ontario through Seneca Lake to Pennsylvania) to Lake Erie. According to the treaty “Now, the United States acknowledge all the land within the aforementioned boundaries, to be the property of the Seneca Nation; and the United States will never claim the same, nor disturb the Seneca Nation, nor any of the Six Nations, or of their Indian friends residing thereon, and united with them, in the free use and enjoyment thereof; but it shall remain theirs, until they choose to sell the same, to the people of the United States, who have the right to purchase.”
The issue was and is title of ownership. Nevertheless, the Euro Americans were committed to obtaining the property upon which we live today. Here is where the story gets interesting. Setting aside the issue of clear title. The question rose as to “if the title is cleared who really owns the land?” The State of Massachusetts claimed that the land west of the Pre-Emption line was given to them by King Charles I in 1629. The State of New York claimed that the land was given to us by King Charles II in 1664. The disagreement over who had the right of pre-emption was resolved in Hartford, Connecticut. It was agreed that if the title could be cleared the land belonged to Massachusetts. Massachusetts could then sell the land and keep the profit. However, once the land was sold, so the agreement stated, the land would become part of New York State.
Oliver Phelps and Nathanial Gorham
Our town, then, was briefly Massachusetts until it and all the rest of Western New York were sold. Two land speculators, Oliver Phelps and ex-U.S. president (1786 to 1787) Nathanial Gorham purchased all 6,000,000 acres for $175,000 and set about the process of separating the parcels for individual purchase. The township was open for settlement in 1789 and the first settlers came that same year. A complication that still festers today is that Phelps, Gorham and subsequent owners of the land never secured legal title to the property. It is an issue yet to be resolved.
Our town, then, was briefly Massachusetts until it and all the rest of Western New York were sold. Two land speculators, Oliver Phelps and ex-U.S. president (1786 to 1787) Nathanial Gorham purchased all 6,000,000 acres for $175,000 and set about the process of separating the parcels for individual purchase. The township was open for settlement in 1789 and the first settlers came that same year. A complication that still festers today is that Phelps, Gorham and subsequent owners of the land never secured legal title to the property. It is an issue yet to be resolved.
Dr. Joel Prescott and Namesakes Diane Goodman, PCHS Director, June 2020
Among the first Town of Phelps settlers was a physician, Dr. Joel Prescott. Born in Groton, Massachusetts in 1759, he was too young, only 16, to join the army with his brothers and fight in the Revolutionary War, so he stayed at home to help his father. He continued to study medicine and after completing all the education possible at that time, he moved on to the new lands of Western New York.
He was in the District of Sullivan ( later called Vienna, and eventually Phelps) as early as 1790, and his Diploma of Medicine is recorded in the first volume of Miscellaneous Records at the Canandaigua County Clerk’s office.
The practice of his profession was laborious and extensive as he was the only doctor for miles around. All of his patients were visited on foot or by horse-back, with his medicines in saddlebags or upon his own back. He wore long stockings and short breeches patched with deerskin for longer wear in the saddle. His life was rich with experiences, treating every case with crude skill and intelligent application of such healing agents as were known to the profession, and performing feats of surgery that now would claim the attention of specialists. Fevers swept the settlements and agues attacked the young and the old. Accidents were numerous. Through these years he became well versed in human philosophy . He was the advisor in every problem of life. Dr. Prescott traveled the old roads and new trails for twenty years, beloved by all for his wonderful self-sacrificing life.
The doctor had practiced medicine in the little village of Geneva since 1788 before purchasing his Oaks Corners farm in 1796 for the sum of $100. The 100 acre farm was located on Lester Road, one mile west of Oaks Corners where he lived. His wife Lucy Reed was the daughter of Seth Reed. They had seven children of whom five lived to adult age. One of their daughters was Mrs. Owen Edmonston, one was Mrs. James Darrow of Seneca County. One son was killed by the Indians, another lived in Geneva and a third, Wright Prescott, lived in Phelps.
At the first town meeting Dr. Prescott was elected to the office of Assessor, and also School Commissioner. He served as Supervisor from 1797 to 1806 and was several times Chairman of the Board.
He must have been a truly dedicated man. According to various history books, Dr. Prescott was forbidden in 1792 by a Canandaigua court to inoculate people against smallpox, and the doctor traveled to New York to protest the ruling. At that time, willing people were inoculated with real smallpox to prevent further attacks; Edward Jenner’s new vaccine lymph method came into general use six years later.
Dr. Prescott became suddenly ill with an unknown disease, and died after a few days of great suffering on October 5, 1811 at the age of 52. He was buried in the Joslyn Cemetery (County Road 23, east of Lester Road) but a short distance from his home, and it is related that 1200 persons were in attendance at the funeral. The roads were lined with horses and wagons for a great distance in all directions as the whole countryside paid their respects to their beloved friend.
The successor to Dr. Joel Prescott’s practice was his nephew (son of brother Ezra) of the same name. In 1807 he had come to read and study with his uncle. Although in his early twenties, he had marked talent for the profession and proceeded with caution under the guidance of Dr. James Carter of Geneva with whom he continued his studies. He continued to practice medicine in the township until 1839 when he moved to Wayne County, first to Macedon then Newark
Dr. Joel Prescott, 2nd, was very active in the cause of education and was one of the founders of the Oaks Corners Academy. In this institution many young men profited by the thorough course of instruction given in the College Preparatory work. The classes were housed in a fine brick building near the church. This burned down at the same time the church burned in 1915.
In 1810 he married Clarissa Stearns, daughter of Mr. Joel Stearns who was one of the first settlers on the present site of the village of Phelps. They had five children: sons Joel Hayden and George Stearns Prescott, daughters Mrs. W. Clark Crosby (Sarah) , Clarissa (who died at the age of 21) and Mrs. Joseph Rice (Elizabeth).
While Joel Hayden Prescott (great nephew to our first Dr. Prescott) did not pursue a career in medicine, he did share his father’s interest in education. He was educated in the common and select schools, and completed a course preparatory to entering the academy at Oak’s Corners. He taught district school for several years and was an assistant teacher in the Seneca Falls Academy. In 1835 he became clerk for John R. Green of Phelps where he remained until 1837. During the next three years he was in business with the late Cornelius Horton.
In 1840 he moved to Lyons and in 1844 went to Newark where he conducted a general store until 1854. He then accepted a position as secretary of the Wayne County Mutual Insurance Company and held that position until 1869 when it discontinued business. Since that time he had made insurance and real estate his business. He served as president and trustee of the village of Newark for 10 years. He had held the position of postmaster nearly eight years, it being the first presidential appointment in the village.
In 1851 he became one of the founders of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church and served as vestryman and warden.
At the time of his death in 1902, Newark, NY, he was survived by his children; two daughters, Mrs. Henry Pierson and Clara Prescott, and two sons Joel H. Jr. and T. Davis Prescott.
Dr. Joel David Prescott, son of Imley Prescott and maria Cross, and grandson of our first Dr. Joel , was born on July 21, 1821 in Phelps, NY. He had been a fireman and was a machinist for the Silsby pump and fire engine manufacturing firm in Seneca Falls, NY. Prescott accompanied Horace Silsby in delivering Chicago’s first steam fire engine in 1858. Following the city’s performance testing of the engine, Prescott remained in Chicago as engineer on the “Long John” and was the first paid, full - time fireman on the Chicago Fire Department. He was a founder in 1863 and served many years as treasurer for the Benevolent Association of the Paid (Chicago) Fire Department. His relationship with the association and Chicago’s fire fighters continued the remainder of his life.
After nearly seven years with the fire department he left to attend Rush Medical College (Chicago), graduating as a physician in the class of 1867/1868. For a number of years he operated medical baths, first on Madison and later on South Desplaines Streets in Chicago. On he night of July 9, 1882, he was brutally murdered during an apparent robbery attempt at the baths. According to an inquest, the cause of death was “shock and hemorrhage caused by a blow with some heavy and round instrument upon the head causing fracture of the skull and disconnection of a large portion of the brain…” The murder and investigation was heavily covered in the Chicago newspapers and was also reported in numerous newspapers across the country. Although a suspect was identified, arrested, and was believed to have committed the crime, no trial was held and the crime remains unsolved.
Dr. Joel David Prescott married Rachel Dunham Prescott in 1843. Between 1844 and 1863 they had seven children; three daughters, and four sons, one of who was named Joel Dunham Prescott, who died at the age of 44 having never married.
A Chicago Tribune report of his funeral said, “ Dr. Prescott was one of the founders, and it is believed the oldest member of the Benevolent Association of the Paid Fire Department, and the tribute sent by officers and Board of Directors of this association was a most magnificent one.
Sources: Mabel Oaks articles, findagrave.com, PCHS archives
Among the first Town of Phelps settlers was a physician, Dr. Joel Prescott. Born in Groton, Massachusetts in 1759, he was too young, only 16, to join the army with his brothers and fight in the Revolutionary War, so he stayed at home to help his father. He continued to study medicine and after completing all the education possible at that time, he moved on to the new lands of Western New York.
He was in the District of Sullivan ( later called Vienna, and eventually Phelps) as early as 1790, and his Diploma of Medicine is recorded in the first volume of Miscellaneous Records at the Canandaigua County Clerk’s office.
The practice of his profession was laborious and extensive as he was the only doctor for miles around. All of his patients were visited on foot or by horse-back, with his medicines in saddlebags or upon his own back. He wore long stockings and short breeches patched with deerskin for longer wear in the saddle. His life was rich with experiences, treating every case with crude skill and intelligent application of such healing agents as were known to the profession, and performing feats of surgery that now would claim the attention of specialists. Fevers swept the settlements and agues attacked the young and the old. Accidents were numerous. Through these years he became well versed in human philosophy . He was the advisor in every problem of life. Dr. Prescott traveled the old roads and new trails for twenty years, beloved by all for his wonderful self-sacrificing life.
The doctor had practiced medicine in the little village of Geneva since 1788 before purchasing his Oaks Corners farm in 1796 for the sum of $100. The 100 acre farm was located on Lester Road, one mile west of Oaks Corners where he lived. His wife Lucy Reed was the daughter of Seth Reed. They had seven children of whom five lived to adult age. One of their daughters was Mrs. Owen Edmonston, one was Mrs. James Darrow of Seneca County. One son was killed by the Indians, another lived in Geneva and a third, Wright Prescott, lived in Phelps.
At the first town meeting Dr. Prescott was elected to the office of Assessor, and also School Commissioner. He served as Supervisor from 1797 to 1806 and was several times Chairman of the Board.
He must have been a truly dedicated man. According to various history books, Dr. Prescott was forbidden in 1792 by a Canandaigua court to inoculate people against smallpox, and the doctor traveled to New York to protest the ruling. At that time, willing people were inoculated with real smallpox to prevent further attacks; Edward Jenner’s new vaccine lymph method came into general use six years later.
Dr. Prescott became suddenly ill with an unknown disease, and died after a few days of great suffering on October 5, 1811 at the age of 52. He was buried in the Joslyn Cemetery (County Road 23, east of Lester Road) but a short distance from his home, and it is related that 1200 persons were in attendance at the funeral. The roads were lined with horses and wagons for a great distance in all directions as the whole countryside paid their respects to their beloved friend.
The successor to Dr. Joel Prescott’s practice was his nephew (son of brother Ezra) of the same name. In 1807 he had come to read and study with his uncle. Although in his early twenties, he had marked talent for the profession and proceeded with caution under the guidance of Dr. James Carter of Geneva with whom he continued his studies. He continued to practice medicine in the township until 1839 when he moved to Wayne County, first to Macedon then Newark
Dr. Joel Prescott, 2nd, was very active in the cause of education and was one of the founders of the Oaks Corners Academy. In this institution many young men profited by the thorough course of instruction given in the College Preparatory work. The classes were housed in a fine brick building near the church. This burned down at the same time the church burned in 1915.
In 1810 he married Clarissa Stearns, daughter of Mr. Joel Stearns who was one of the first settlers on the present site of the village of Phelps. They had five children: sons Joel Hayden and George Stearns Prescott, daughters Mrs. W. Clark Crosby (Sarah) , Clarissa (who died at the age of 21) and Mrs. Joseph Rice (Elizabeth).
While Joel Hayden Prescott (great nephew to our first Dr. Prescott) did not pursue a career in medicine, he did share his father’s interest in education. He was educated in the common and select schools, and completed a course preparatory to entering the academy at Oak’s Corners. He taught district school for several years and was an assistant teacher in the Seneca Falls Academy. In 1835 he became clerk for John R. Green of Phelps where he remained until 1837. During the next three years he was in business with the late Cornelius Horton.
In 1840 he moved to Lyons and in 1844 went to Newark where he conducted a general store until 1854. He then accepted a position as secretary of the Wayne County Mutual Insurance Company and held that position until 1869 when it discontinued business. Since that time he had made insurance and real estate his business. He served as president and trustee of the village of Newark for 10 years. He had held the position of postmaster nearly eight years, it being the first presidential appointment in the village.
In 1851 he became one of the founders of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church and served as vestryman and warden.
At the time of his death in 1902, Newark, NY, he was survived by his children; two daughters, Mrs. Henry Pierson and Clara Prescott, and two sons Joel H. Jr. and T. Davis Prescott.
Dr. Joel David Prescott, son of Imley Prescott and maria Cross, and grandson of our first Dr. Joel , was born on July 21, 1821 in Phelps, NY. He had been a fireman and was a machinist for the Silsby pump and fire engine manufacturing firm in Seneca Falls, NY. Prescott accompanied Horace Silsby in delivering Chicago’s first steam fire engine in 1858. Following the city’s performance testing of the engine, Prescott remained in Chicago as engineer on the “Long John” and was the first paid, full - time fireman on the Chicago Fire Department. He was a founder in 1863 and served many years as treasurer for the Benevolent Association of the Paid (Chicago) Fire Department. His relationship with the association and Chicago’s fire fighters continued the remainder of his life.
After nearly seven years with the fire department he left to attend Rush Medical College (Chicago), graduating as a physician in the class of 1867/1868. For a number of years he operated medical baths, first on Madison and later on South Desplaines Streets in Chicago. On he night of July 9, 1882, he was brutally murdered during an apparent robbery attempt at the baths. According to an inquest, the cause of death was “shock and hemorrhage caused by a blow with some heavy and round instrument upon the head causing fracture of the skull and disconnection of a large portion of the brain…” The murder and investigation was heavily covered in the Chicago newspapers and was also reported in numerous newspapers across the country. Although a suspect was identified, arrested, and was believed to have committed the crime, no trial was held and the crime remains unsolved.
Dr. Joel David Prescott married Rachel Dunham Prescott in 1843. Between 1844 and 1863 they had seven children; three daughters, and four sons, one of who was named Joel Dunham Prescott, who died at the age of 44 having never married.
A Chicago Tribune report of his funeral said, “ Dr. Prescott was one of the founders, and it is believed the oldest member of the Benevolent Association of the Paid Fire Department, and the tribute sent by officers and Board of Directors of this association was a most magnificent one.
Sources: Mabel Oaks articles, findagrave.com, PCHS archives
First Town Meeting
1796 - First Town Meeting appointed officers for: Supervisor, Clerk, Assessors, Collector, Overseers of the Poor, Commissioners of Highways, Overseers of the Highways
1796 - First Town Meeting appointed officers for: Supervisor, Clerk, Assessors, Collector, Overseers of the Poor, Commissioners of Highways, Overseers of the Highways
1845 - First Baptist Church of Phelps constructed
Wikipedia has a nice article on the history of the First Baptist Church of Phelps.
Wikipedia has a nice article on the history of the First Baptist Church of Phelps.
