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Abner Buckland Jr.
Being
the oldest son at the time of his fathers death Abner was selected to
lead and support his family. The first choice seems to have been acquiring
cash and making a down-payment on land in Brighton. He purchased land
that was along Winton Road near Westfall Road, somewhat away from the
expensive lands along the Erie Canal or near a main highway, but land
that was good for farming and also containing an underlay of clay for
brickmaking, several miles south of the City of Rochester.
Historical
Record:
"Abner
Buckland was a son of Captain Abner Buckland and grandson of David Buckland
of early memory. He was born in Burlington Vermont October 19, 1797.
When three years old his father removed the family to Phelps, Ontario
County, NY, where he purchased a farm of 50 acres, upon which he lived
until 1815. In the fall of the same year 1815 he moved to Brighton and
bought the farm afterwards owned by Mr. Schank, then a dense forest,
cleared one acre, and built a log house. Being unsuccessful in business
he was unable to meet his payments and lost all his property. Hard labor
and the privations of a new country brought on a disease soon after,
from which he died, leaving his eldest son Abner, then eighteen years
old, penniless, to care for his widowed mother, five brothers and a
sister. He went to work with uncommon energy and enterprise, and found,
after six years of untiring industry, that besides supporting the family,
he was in possession of $150 in money. With this, after carefully looking
over the country, he purchased fifty acres of wild woodland, located
about one and one-half miles from Brighton Village. He immediately erected
a log house on the place, and after clearing a small piece, commenced
the manufacture of brick, which he carried on extensively, in connection
with farming, over thirty years. Many of the finest structures in Rochester
were built of brick made under his supervision. In 1830 he built the
brick house which he occupied until his death, May 16, 1865 at the age
of sixty-eight years. He married, February 5, 1824, a young lady of
Stafford, Genesee county, by whom he had eight children, five sons and
three daughters, only two of whom survived him. His wife Fanny, died
November 28, 1861, aged about sixty years."
Reference: Book:...History of Monroe County, 1788-1877 by Prof. W.
H. McIntosh..page 242
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Interpretation
of Record:
Abner, born in 1797 was 17 years old in arriving
in Brighton.
Abner was 23 when his father died in 1919 and he assumed leadership
of family. (not 18 as stated above)
1919 + ("6
years of untiring industry")
= 1925...when Abner purchased land & started a Brick Business.
May 5, 1827 Nathaniel Gorham Est. sold 50 acres to Abner Buckland, Lot
#30 (Earliest land record I found)
The Buckland Brickyard shown on 1852 Map is on Lot #31?
So I lack the land records to prove when the Lot 31 Brickyard was established.
All
census records of Abner list his occupation as a Farmer.
He never listed "Brickmaker" as his
main occupation, yet the notice above says."he manufactured
bricks for over thirty years"..........but there is no record of
his brick business that I coudl find.
My
guess is that Abner purchased land @ the Twelve Corners and @ the corner
of Westfal and Winton Road. He built a log house at the Twelve Corners
and a Brickyard at Westfall Road.The Twelvw Corners log house was converted
to a brick home about 1830. Leonard ( @ age 19 in 1930) may have taken
over the operation of the Westfall Brickyard and moved in he Westfall
brick home.
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1882
Remembrance of Amos B. Buckland:
Some
Early Recollections: An Old Citizen Interviewed:
- Old Times Brought Vividly to View in Rochester Union Advertiser
: June 16, 1882
"Observing our aged citizen, Amos B. Buckland,
gazing thoughtfully at the site of the National Hotel and the ruins
of the old Daily Union building, a reporter inquisitively accosted
him."
"You
seem to be deeply interested in this work of demolition, Mr. Buckland!"
"Yes it makes me think of the long ago when I stood here a small
boy and saw these lots auctioned off at $60 an acre." "
Tell me about this Mr. Buckland, and let us have a little of your
early history."
'Well" said Mr. B., "my father was Capt. Abner Buckland,
who came from Connecticut to settle in Western New York. I was born
in Phelps, Ontario county, in 1804. In 1814 my father moved to Brighton
and located on the tract of land which is now known as the Schenck
farm and lying within the city limits. He paid $7 an acre for this
land, which was little better than a wilderness. Trees had to be cut
down to make a roadway for carts, oxen being the only roadsters we
had in those days. My father was the seventh family to locate in the
town of Brighton.. The Village of Rochester had then commenced to
settle, there being about two hundred inhabitants in the place. There
was no bridge across the Genesee .(see note) Though a boy of but 10
or 11 years, I frequently went down to the Village. In 1815 there
stood a little Tavern where the Powers Building now is, built partly
of logs and partly of boards. As I was passing by this in the year
mentioned I saw a sign "Auction" posted up on the Tavern,
and curiosity prompted me to stop and see what was going on. I found
that they were selling village lots, - and speaking of the National
Hotel and the other buildings before us, partly torn down to give
place to more magnificent structures, I saw an acre of ground where
these buildings stand sold by auction for $60. It was bid off by a
man named Jerry Hoyt, who built a cooper shop there. Another acre
where that block (Baker's) on the other corner stands, was sold at
the same price and was bid off by Jacob Howe, father of Jacob Howe
Sr., who carried on a bakery there."
"You are pretty intimately connected with
the early newspaper business of Rochester were you not, Mr. Buckland."
"I should say so. While I was a clerk in
the first store on the East Side of the river, kept by a man named
Joseph Lambert , in 1823 or 24, Mr Everard Peck came from Connecticut
with a little printing machine. He proposed to get up a quarter sheet..Note
#1 newspaper, and engaged me to work up sufficient circulation on
the East Side to warrent the undertaking while he worked up the West
Side. He inked the roller and I turned the
crank to strike off the first sheet. We then sat down to read the
proof and had a hearty laugh over it. This was in 1825. The paper
was issued at two shillings a quarter, for the first six months. It
was named the Monroe Republican, and continued to bear that name until
the kidnapping of Morgan, when it became an anti-Masonic Sheet. Subsequently
the old name was reconsidered and the paper passed from time to time,
as you know,
into the hands of such men as Dawson, Tucker, Strong, Porter and others.
Note #1.... Everard Peck, Village Trustee 1817,
Established Roch. Telegraph, Book seller / 1827 City Directory
........"I also helped build the first
bridge across the river and drew the first brick across it with cattle
and cart from the brick yard at Clover Street. I drew 16,000 for a
man named Jackson who put up the small building which still stands
at the corner of Ford Street and Buffalo as it then was called."
Note #2:...Bridge over Genesee River built in 1812, /p66, Vol.
I , 1922 Rochester Historical Society ?
Amos
must have meant another Bridge for he was not in the City in 1812.
Note #3:...Joseph Jackson, a Mason @ Buffalo St. (West of the Canal)
/ 1827 & 1834 City Directory
& 1830 US Census.
'"What was your experience with the first
steamboats and railroads, Mr. Buckland ?"
................ " Well I left here for
New York City in 1828, and went down river from Albany in the Steamboat
"Fulton" , the first steamboat made by Fulton which was
propelled by a single beam. We left Albany at 5 PM and steamed all
that night and the next day arriving at New York at 11 PM the next
night. Fulton was acting as Captain in command of the boat.. Since
then I have traveled the same waters in seven hours. I have had the
pleasure of riding with the old Commodore Vanderbilt when he was Captain
of a river boat. Speaking of railroads, when I was to New York in
1829 or 1831 I saw advertised in a paper a model of a railroad which
was on exhibition at the American Institute, and I went to see it.
It was built around the half of the Institute - a building some two
or three hundred feet long, the wooden rails being aligned to the
floor. The car was an open box on four wheels fifteen inches in diameter.
The wheels were made of wood with a flange cut on to keep them on
track. We got on and propelled the contraption by pushing it along
with a cane. In 1830 the Legislature authorized the construction of
a road from Albany to Saratoga, a distance of sixteen miles, if the
right away could be procured from the farmers free. This was secured
and a wooden track was laid. It was completed in the spring of 1831
and the Legislature being about to adjourn it was arranged to have
an official excursion over the road. A large delegation of state officials
and legislators made up the party and by invitation I happened to
be with them. The cars were simple stage coaches on wheels, drawn
by horse, with a relay at halfway point. Subsequently the Albany-Schenectady
road was built and run at first by horse power.
Turning around toward the Court House Mr. Buckland remarked
.......... "This is a building I helped
build. When the subject was first broached two plans were drawn -
one providing for a brick structure and one for stone. Neither of
them was adopted. The Common Council concluded to take the brick plan
and the job was let to Baker and Cobb, who got some materials and
commenced work.
Stillwell was Mayor at the time and I talked with him about the matter.
He was of the same opinion as myself that it would be too small a
building. Plans were then laid to break up the project. A public meeting
on the subject was held back of the Arcade. Then the Supervisors were
called together and they decided to join with the city, and build
an imposing structure. The city to pay $30,000 and the county the
balance which made the cities share almost one third and the county's
two thirds. The city was to have preemption right to use one half
of the building until the county wanted it for purposes of its own,
which the county was to pay back the $30,000 with out interest. Twenty
years after the county called for the building and had through some
chicanery, of which it is not necessary to speak, to pay not only
the $30,000 but $25,000 additional. I could tell you a long story
about this transaction, and other old time reminisces if you had the
time to listen..
.............................................But enough for the present.
Hope we should meet again soon, Good-bye"
Note 4: Amos died two years after the above interview:
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The
above article states: " I drew the
first brick...from the brick yard at Clover Street. I drew 16,000
brick..."
What year did this take place? Who was Amos working for? Where was
this Brickyard located ? Clover Street? Did his brother Abner have
a Brickyard on Clover Street?
I have never found a Clover St. map location for a Brickyard. Isaac
Moore lived on Clover St. but he did not come to Brighton till the
year 1824. Isaac Moore was a Brickmaker but probably not till 1829
when he purchased 71 acres, on Clover Street, from Oliver Culver.
Amos
B. Buckland Summary:
Amos B. Buckland, born 1804..........was
15 when his father died in 1819.
Buckland, Amos B. Clerk Clerk, Boards Plerson Rochester/ 1827
City Directory
Amos B. was a Rochester City Merchant (Dry-Goods) and most often refereed
to himself as a Merchant
..........his store was located @
53 Main Street & faced North Saint Paul Street also.
Amos B. Buckland appointed Inspector of Common Schools, in Rochester's
5th Ward 1834
Amos B. Buckland, Dry Goods Store,,,,,,/ Rochester City Directory
1835.....
Amos B. purchased lots in Brighton, 1835: 52 acres /Lot # 31,
1839: 112 acres / lot # 39
Amos B. owned and sold farm property in several sections of Brighton
but also maintained a city residence.
Amos B. was married in 1841...moved to Brighton 1845?
Amos B. Buckland was elected Inspector of Elections in the Fifth Ward
of Rochester 1842
Amos Buckland of Brighton was impaneled on the US District Court as
a Grand Juror..May 20 1846
Amos B. Buckland shot while hunting in Henrietta, September 1,1846
Amos B. Buckland seriously wounded when shot as gun discharges August
28, 1848
Amos B. occupation: Brickmaker, prop value $15,000, 1850 US
Census, Town Brighton:
twelve
(12) Irish laborers were living @ same address.
1850 was the one & only listing of Amos B, as a Brickmaker.
The loss of his wife Sarah in 1858, leaving him with five young
children to raise, may have changed his way of life. Children ages
1858: Mary Ann 15, Elizabeth 12, Julia 9, Alma 6 & Amos
B. Jr. 3, a similar situation as Jonathan Town...but Amos was surrounded
by Buckland's in the area to help out, Jonathan was not.
Cattle stolen from A. B. Buckland, of Brighton, March 18, 1859.
His residence in the City of Rochester, 48 Pearl Street in 1860
and he also maintained a Brighton farm residence or property.
Buckland, Amos B. home 48 Pearl Street 1863/1864 Rochester
Directory :
Buckland, Amos B.....48 Pearl Street...1870 Rochester Directory
Buckland, Amos/ age 65 / occupation: farmer, 1870 US Census.
Monroe Co., Town of Brighton:
Amos B. Buckland home Brighton., Occupation: Farmer...1880
US Census
Amos B. Buckland home @ Pinnacle Ave. near Field St., occupation:
Farmer 1880-1881
Amos B. Buckland died @ the residence of his son-in-law, 68 South
Goodman St. June 24, 1884
Amos
B. Buckland Summary:
I have found
only two references to connect Amos to the Buckland Brick Business.
The first was his remembrance of transporting brick in the 1820's and
the second was the 1850 US Census listing him as a Brickmaker and having
12 laborers. He, Amos, was listed as a Farmer or Merchant in most listings
of the directory......the title "Brickmaker" only appeared
once. Amos lived on Westfall road only a short distance from the 1852
map identified location of the Buckland Brickyard on Winton Road. But
Leonard was living in the house next to the Brickyard on Winton Road..........I
always thought he was in charge of that yard. So I have some unresolved
questions and an unclear history. Amos seems to have maintained his
City connections more than Abner. We
know that Amos was involved in the business but not to what extent.
Death of A. B. Buckland
"Yesterday afternoon occurred the death of another of the pioneer
settlers of Monroe County in the decease of A. B. Buckland at the
advanced age of 80 years. Mr. Buckland came to Rochester a mere boy,
in 1814, when nearly all the territory east of the river was covered
with primeval forest. He assisted in clearing away the timber and
helped construct the corduroy road along what is now Main Street.
When a young man he went into business as a merchant and opened a
store on the present site of Burke, FitzSimons, Hone & Co. and
continued in business there until 1845. At that time he purchased
a farm in Brighton and soon afterwards moved out there, which was
his home until the last few years, when he took up residence with
his son-in-law, Albert Ades, 68 South Goodman street, where he died.
Of the five brothers of the deceased, all of whom lived to an advanced
age, only one, Leonard Buckland of Brighton survives. The deceased
also leaves one son, A. B. Buckland Jr., of this city, his wife having
died a number of years ago. Mr. Buckland had lived to see a city spring
from a wilderness and was one of the vice presidents at the semi-centennial
celebration of the existence as a city. During his long residence
in Monroe County the deceased had built up a most enviable reputation
for integrity and probity of character which surrounded him with a
large circle oa admiring friends during his entire life."
"Some Early Recollections: An Old Citizen Interviewed -
Old Times Brought Vividly to View"
Story in Rochester Union Advertiser : June 16, 1882
Leonard
Buckland:
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Article
in Rochester Daily Democrat at Thursday, September 22, 1853:
"Mr. Leonard Buckland, of Brighton, has
erected a noble, substantial brick block on the east side of
South Saint Paul Street, between the blocks owned by Mrs. West
and Mr. McMinimy. It has a front of 50 feet, runs back 80 feet,
and rises four stories. This makes a complete pile of brick
stores from Main to Ely Street and closes a gap which has long
remained open"
Note: Leonard was 42 years old in 1853.......and evidently very
rich.!!
1855
NYS Industrial Statistics:....list the following:
Leonard Buckland, Brick Manufacture, Real Estate Value $4,000,
Tools & Machinery Value $2,000
From
1895 Book:...
"Buckland, Leonard, than whom no man living in the Town
of Brighton can claim a longer residence, was born at Phelps,
NY in 1811, his parents removing to Brighton three years later.
His father was Abner Buckland from Hebron, Conn. who settled
at Phelps in 1804. Of six sons and one daughter, Leonard is
the sole survivor. For forty years he was a brick manufacturer,
besides having large farming interests and being a contracting
builder in Rochester. Always a Republican, his life was too
busy for political affairs. Mr. Buckland was first married in
1834, and his three daughters, Almira, Edna and Harriet, are
married and residents of Brighton. He has also one son, Warren
C. He has lived for sixty years on the same farm, and his personal
reminiscences are naturally interesting. He distinctly recollects
Sam Patch's acrobatic feats of 1825." page 184........
Ref. Book: _Landmarks of Monroe County NY________________by
Peck, William Farley, 1895
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Buckland,
John, age 35 male, occupation: Farmer, prop value $10,000...1850
US Census, Town of Brighton,
1863/1864
Rochester Directory @ Rochester Public Library:
Buckland, Leonard, Brickmaker: home 26 Marshall
Data
from Brighton Business Directory, Monroe County 1869-1870:
Buckland, Leonard (Rochester P.O. ) (Buckland & Son)
Data
from Brighton Business Directory, Monroe County 1869-1870:
Buckland, Leonard (Rochester P.O. ) (Buckland & Son)
Buckland & Son (Rochester P.O.) Leonard & Warren L.
Lot 31
Props of Brick & Tile Yard & Farmers 128 Acres
Data
from 1875 NYS Census, Monroe County, Town of Brighton:
Leonard Buckland, age 63, born in Ontario, County NYS, occupation:
Farmer
Lavinia Buckland, age 45, Wife
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