JEFFERSON COUNTY, NEW YORK

TOWN OF LORRAINE

A detailed 1864 town MAP showing residents.
An 1864 map of The Hamlet of Lorraine
1918 TOWN OF LORRAINE FARM MAP

1810 Census - Town of Lorraine

1820 Census - Town of Lorraine

Family sketches from CHILD'S GAZETTEER for the town of Lorraine.
Child's Business Directory for the Town of Lorraine.
Haddock's Family Sketches - Town of Lorraine

Civil War Soldiers Buried in the Town of Lorraine
Town of Lorraine Civil War Enlistments

1863 Civil war draft and exemption list

LORRAINE

Jefferson County maintains Town contact information on their site

Historical Association of South Jefferson

Contact person:
Debbie Quick

History of the Town of Lorraine linked from Shirley Farone's Home Page taken from CHILD'S GAZETTEER OF JEFFERSON COUNTY by HAMILTON CHILDS, published in 1890, transcribed by Shirley Farone.

History of the Town of Lorraine,taken from A HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK by FRANKLIN B. HOUGH, A. M., M.D., linked from Shirley Farone's Home Page.

History of the Town of Lorraine, from Durant and Peirce's History of Jefferson County, 1878.

A List of People who contributed information concerning the Town of Lorraine in 1878 to Durant and Peirce's History of Jefferson County

The Town of Lorraine, the middle of the three southernmost towns of Jefferson County, is about six miles square. Oswego County forms its southern border. On the west is Ellisburgh, north are Adams and Rodman, west is Worth, which was part of Lorraine until 1848. Settlement began in Lorraine while it was still part of the town of Mexico, Oneida County. On March 24, 1804, the legislature created several towns, of which Malta was one, but since Saratoga County already had a Town of Malta, the name soon changed to the present Lorraine. Lorraine was noted for its many gorges, and the elevation as well as the cheaper land prices brought many settlers within its borders.

Settlement in the Town of Lorraine began in November 1802. The first permanent settlers were Elijah Fox, James McKee and his wife, Sabra (Fox) McKee who came from the vicinity of Rome by way of Redfield, travelling on foot. They immediately set about building a log cabin on the 50-acre plot they had selected along what later became the state road, about one mile south of the present village of Lorraine. In the spring, Elijah Fox sold his interest to McKee and returned to Rome where he married Sally Barnham of Oneida County. The young couple purchased another 50-acre plot and returned to Lorraine.

In 1803 several families settled in Lorraine, including Peter and Ephraim Chaffin, Comfort Stancliff, Benjamin Gates, Seth Cutler, John Alger, Clark Allen and Allen Pitkin. In 1804 the William and Isaac Lanfear, Asa and Aaron Brown, and Jonathan Remington families arrived. Mr. Frost built the first saw mill and Seth Cutler built the first grist mill in 1804. The first town meeting was held on the 5 May 1805 at the house of John Alger in Lorraine village. Officers elected were supervisor: Asa Brown; clerk: William Hosford; assessors: Clark Allen, Ormond Baker, and Warren Flowers; constable: O. Butler; poormasters: William Hunter and Clark Allen; commissioners of highways: William Hosford, Michael Frost, and Asa Sweet; Fenceviewers: William Lanfear, Joseph Case and Elijah Fox; Poundmasters: James McKee and John Griswold. In 1806 the town had 128 families, and by the next year 161 voters had the necessary property qualifications. James McKee and Elijah Fox kept the first inn.

Communities:

The village of Lorraine is located at the confluence of Deer and Hull Creeks. John Alger built the first house and the first hotel in Lorraine Village in 1803. The first death was that of A.W. Childs who was killed by a falling tree in 1805. Thomas Stancliff built a sawmill on Hull Creek in 1805. In 1806 or 1807, he was killed by a falling tree and the mill passed to Comfort Stancliff.

In 1806 the first postoffice was opened with Benjamin Gates, Postmaster. Dr. Isaac Weston was the first physician. In 1807 Aaron Brown built the first sawmill in the village. In 1808 Mr Brown built a grist mill and a distillery and in 1809 he built a store in the village. By the census of 1850 Lorraine held 1,511 people.

Winona was a community located in the southern part of the town and at one time had a sawmill, a school, a store, and a post office from 1891 to 1902. The Living Vine Grange was also located in Winona, as well as a tavern.

Allendale, originally Caulkins Mills, was a small hamlet in the northwestern part of the town on the Sandy Creek, about two miles south of Adams Village. It was named after the early settler, Clark Allen, who was Colonel of the 55th Regiment of New York Volunteer Militia from Jefferson County in the War of 1812.

French Settlement was located in the northeast part of the town. It was named after the French families that settled there: LaFevre, St. John, Marquette, Pronto, Revoir and Lermot.

Waterville was a small hamlet of a dozen houses in the eastern part of the town on Hull Creek. It was located just north of French Settlement and two or three miles east of Lorraine village.

Totman's Gulf and Mooney Gulf were named for the early settlers Calvin Totman and John Mooney.

Churches:

The first church in Lorraine was the Lorraine Baptist Church, formed in 1806. Its first pastor was Rev. Amos Lamson. The church discontinued services in 1917.

The Methodist Episcopal Church began in 1853 with Rev. Isaac Hall. The church burnt to the ground on 16 June 1939 when it was struck by lightning. A new building was erected on the same site. The church is still operating today as the United Methodist Church.

Schools:

There were thirteen school districts in Lorraine.

District # 1 Allendale District, corner of Rt 11 and Washington Park Roads.

District # 2 Gould Corners District, two or three miles up the Washington Park Road.

District # 3 Lorraine village. The first school in the village was held in the blacksmith shop in the winter of 1805/6. The teacher was Deacon Goulding Bumpus. In the summer of 1806, Miss Betsey Burpee came to Lorraine to teach.

District # 4 Lyman District, west of the junction of the Lorraine- Pierrepont Manor Road, Brown Road, and Marsh Road.

District # 5 Mooney Gulf District, on the Mooney Gulf Road near the end of the Comstock Road.

District # 6 Allen District, on the corner of Dixon and Lorraine Street Roads.

District # 7 Brown Corners District, on the corer of Lorraine Street Road and the State Road.

District # 8 Waterville District

District # 9 Gardner District in Winona

District # 10 Haights Corners District, on the Lorraine-Pierrepont Manor Road near Dixon Road.

District # 11 Maple Grove District, on the corner of County Route 189 and Overton Road.

District # 12 Pitkin District, on the State Road between Sharp and Diamond Roads.

District # 13 O'Neil District, on the Diamond Road between French Settlement Road and the Town Line Road.

Veterans buried in Town of Lorraine

Revolutionary War:

Ebenezer Brown
Ebenezer Burpee
Benjamin Fletcher
Elijah Fox Sr
Calvin Gilman
Henry W. Hunt
M. McBride
Lemuel Wheeler

War of 1812:

Walter Brown, Salmon Gilman, Allen Pitkin, Henry T. Gardner, George Bailey, Nathaniel P. Clark, Aaron Brown, Chester C. Gilman, Jude Lamson, Daniel Caulkins, Rev. Luther Bishop, Elihu Cutler.

Civil War:

Lamont M. Baker, Luther L. Bateman, Samuel W. Becker, Alfred N. Bissell, William H. Chaffin, Joseph Chapman, Waren D. Copeland, Charles H. Davis, Henry C. Day, George S. Gardner, H.R. Garner, Eli S. Gillette (KIA), Almon Harrington, Levi Kenyon, Abraham Lyon, Morgan L. McCoon, Daniel H. Mooney, John Mooney, John H. Nichols, John Shelmidine, Walter Smith, George H. Stevens, Benjamin Van Brocklin, Samuel Wheeler, C.S. Wilcox, Eli Wilcox.

World War I:

Orville H. Moore, Sr.

World War II:

Basil E. Beckstead, Harold J. Gregory, Leon B. McConnell, John A. Moore, Sr., Clarence A. Piddock, Lester B. Shelmidine.

From the 1864 Jefferson County Atlas: a summary of statistics for Lorraine

Copyright 2016 Jefferson County NYGenWeb — a member of the NYGenWeb Project

If you have any questions or comments about this page, please contact,
County Coordinator Bruce Coyne.

Return to Jefferson County Genweb Page