If early settlers in the town of Parma were as substantial as the homes they built they must have been a hardy lot. It is no uncommon practice for the living kin of those sturdy pioneers, chiefly city folks, to hop into their automobiles on a pleasant Sunday after noon and hie them selves out to their old family homesteads. Many of these still stand without evidence, outwardly at least, of any alterations having been made.
What a thrill they get out of it! Their chests swell up to quite abnormal proportions as they stand and view the handiwork of their ancestors. And who is there who will deny they have a perfect right to do so? One of these homes which never fail to attract is the old Chase homestead in Manitou Road, a place once famous in the pre-Civil War days as an "under ground railroad" station, located on the Manitou Road and now occupied by A. W. Flack.
Little did Capt. Isaac Chase, that seafaring Quaker of English origin, dream as he piloted his staunch craft around Taunton Point and out into the wide open spaces of the Atlantic back in the latter part of the 18th and early part of the 19th centuries that he was soon to forsake the call of the briny deep. Little did he vision that his sons and daughters would prefer the more peaceful pursuits of agricultural life to the on certainties of a maritime existence. That they would lead him shortly into a land of promise, as the western portion of Monroe County was looked upon after the Erie Canal was opened to navigation.
But that Is exactly what happened. A bright sun shone down on the Taunton River one day in the early 1800's when Capt. Isaac Chase boarded his craft with his family. He unfurled the ship's sails to a gentle breeze. All hands then went aft and looked back on the wharves of Somerset, Mass, which the captain Was to view for the last time as a mariner. He was under sail for Albany, N.Y., via the Hudson River.
Journeyed by Oxcart
Reaching Albany, this study seaman led his family to the vicinity of Saratoga where they expected to make a livelihood at farming. The journey from Albany was made by ox-cart. Now Saratoga and the surrounding country may have been an ideal location for a battlefield in those days of flint locks. When it came to the production of the staff [of] life, commonly known as wheat, and other grains, however, well, Plymouth Rock might have proven fully as prolific. At least the Chases didn't thrive there.
Just about that time stories began to circulate through the eastern portion of the state of an El Dorado, situated near the mouth of a certain Genesee River. It came to the ears of the former ship master from a traveler who was his guest while the Chase family and the visitor were partaking of griddle cakes one morning. The traveler had recently passed through this section of the state and his tales of the richness of the soil were being received by eager ears.
That was inn 1825. Simultaneously. Gov. De Witt Clinton was anticipating the day that his pet project, sometimes referred to as "Clinton's big ditch" but officially recorded as the Erie Canal, would be opened for navigation.
A history of the state canal system informs that the canal was thrown open to traffic in October, 1825, and the Chase family, history also relates, made
the journey" from Albany to Parma in that year via the Erie Canal. It must follow, therefore, that the Chases were among the very first families to wend their way westward over the new waterway.
As near as can be gathered, there were five members of the Chase family in that party, consisting of Capt. and Mrs. Isaac Chase: Isaac Chase Jr. and his wife and another son, James Chase. Others of the kin, two brothers and two sisters, were left behind at that time until homes on this new wild country could be built.
And when we say wild country, we mean just that. To view the gentle rolling country in that vicinity today, one can hardly vision that back a short century
ago that the beautiful concrete highway which now leads to Manitou Beach was a narrow trail, flanked on either side by thick forests.
Had to Clear Land
Just imagine, if you can, a modern home seeker buying a piece of property he had never seen, leading his family to the spot and discovering upon arrival that the land on which he had planned to raise wheat, corn, potatoes and other staple foods was occupied by a dense forest and the ground over-run by underbrush. He probably would cry "swindle."
But not so the Chases. In the richness of that soil they visioned towering crops of golden grain, heavy bearing fruit trees and everything that tends to create wealth. It is written in the history of the Chases family that when the men leveled the first tree in that wooded section that the men took off their hats, swung them high over their heads and made the forest fairly echo with their shouts of joy.
James Chase married shortly after his arrival here and two of his children still make their homes in Burritt Road, a short distance west of Parma Center. They are James Darwin Chase and his sister, Mrs. Anna Burritt, mother of Public Service Commissioner Maurice Burritt. James Darwin will be 90 years old this coming summer and his sister is two years his junior. They both like to relate of the early days in that vicinity and each is proud to say they were born in a little log house near the intersection of Burritt and Manitou roads. To keep their crops through the winter, James Chase built a log cellar.
One of the favorite stories that James Darwin Chase tells is bow he came to be named. It seems that James Chase Sr. wanted his son named after him. Mrs, Chase liked James well enough to marry him but had great fears the boys would call her son "Jim." She wanted a handle which the boys couldn't find a nickname for and her choice was Darwin. They had many a debate over this subject but finally compromised on the name James Darwin with the understanding that he was to be called Darwin.
That went in the Chase family but boys were boys in those days much as they are today. When he became old enough to play with "Fritz," "Jack" and "Hank" his companions saw a joker in that name Darwin and in some unknown way learned his full name. Immediately he became "Jim" his parents not withstanding.
A man of very keen mind despite his advanced years, James Darwin Chase told of his own experiences and those related by his father in those early days.
Built First Church
"I remember hearing father tell," he said, "of how they all pitched in when they arrived here and felled the logs with which they were to build temporary homes. I was born in one of them. And they were very religious. After providing themselves with shelter, their first objective was to erect a church. Uncle Isaac, I have heard father tell, gave the land, but all the boys worked on it.
"That church stood on the site of the present Christian Church in Manitou Road. Latta Road ends at its front door. The building that stands there now is much larger than the first structure, of course, but you will still find the old carriage steps there. I can remember the annual donation days for the pastor when we all brought portions of our crops to help the minister through the winter. There was lots of fun at those parties.
"We used to get most of our amusement at home. Father used to tell us how he and his brothers were bothered considerably by wild animals. The land was wonderful, produced great crops and it still does, but in those early days bear, deer and other wild game must have been glad to see our folks around by the way they went after our grains and fruits. They seldom had to go to market for meat, as frequently deer mingled with our cows which was a fatal mistake. All the boys were good with the gun.
"There were Indians about, too, not bad Indians but quite friendly, Father used to relate of giving them food sometimes when the seasons had been bad for the native crops. They spent most of their time hunting fur-bearing animals even on our property, but there was no restriction against hunting in those days as now. Aside from such trespassing, they never bothered.
"The lake was only a few miles away, but we never dared go there alone when we were young because smugglers were known to be in the neighborhood of Braddock's Bay and our parents always carried their guns when they went that way. We used to have to cross a corduroy bridge to get to the lake. You know what a corduroy bridge is, of course, a bridge made of logs fastened together.
"And I can remember, too (and here a twinkle came in to the eye of the narrator) of being punished at various times by my mother for some thing or another I had done that had met with her disfavor. No, father didn't take me to the woodshed. Mother had a way all her own of warming me, one that was quite as effective as the woodshed system. We had an old-fashioned stove with an elevated oven in the kitchen. Under that oven with my stomach on the floor I went whenever I was a bad boy."
Got Stone from Lake
Now old Captain Chase had a staunch vessel when he was sailing the high seas end his boys built homes in a like manner. Their homes were their castles. The original log houses were all right for the emergency in the Settling period, but it was not long before each in turn built homes that were the envy of their neighbors.
The permanent home of Isaac Chase Jr. still stands, an old structure in years, but quite modern in its richness. By some, the age of this house is placed at 100 years or more. James Darwin Chase, the nephew of Isaac, however, says it is probably little more than 80 years old.
He will be 90 years old next summer and he says he can remember when he was a little boy Uncle Isaac building that new cobblestone house. He said his uncle may have spent years gathering the stones which he picked up along the lakeshore, seven miles away, being careful of his selection of the water-washed stones to obtain a uniform size. These he carried back to his home by horse and wagon. They are in their places today with few exceptions just as Isaac Chaise set them, proving that he was something of a master mason.
When Mr.Flack, the present owner, took over the premises some time ago, a small portion of the cobblestone work was threatened with decay, that is the mortar work began to crack in spots. He attempted to have the stones reset just as the others were. But such masonry is a, lost art, according to Mr. Flack, who said he could find no one who could put the finishing touches to the work as its builder had, although the stones probably would remain in their reset positions as long as under the old method.
Isaac Chase Jr. having been the oldest son of the mariner had been given more schooling than his brothers and sisters, as was the custom in the olden days, and this training stood the family in good stead, for the first three winters they were here he taught school. From 1825 to 1828 he was said to have been a successful teacher in the school at Castle's Corners.
Here he made contacts that were destined to make him a power in politics in later years. Despite the fact that he disliked to hold public office, he served the town as supervisor for nine terms and they were not successive terms either. If the opposition was strong, Isaac Chase Jr. was always there to carry the party to victory. He held various other offices on the town board also.
Aided Fleeing Slaves
A staunch Republican from the beginning, Isaac Chase Jr. was an uncompromising foe to slavery. He followed the national issues closely in that period prior to the Civil War and studied the celebrated debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas. Lincoln's appeal to abolish slavery struck deep in his heart and he determined to do what he could do to assist the runaway slaves.
It was just before the outbreak of the titanic struggle between the North and the South that Mr. Chase became what was known as a "conductor" of the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad was an organized group of Abolitionists who aided slaves to escape to Canada and the person moving the slave was known as a "conductor.“
In those days to aid a runaway slave meant the violation of the Fugitive Slave Law which was about as effective as the Dry Laws of the present time in enforcing Prohibition. The over whelming sentiment against slavery made it most difficult to convict and occasional punishments meted out failed seriously to cripple the mechanism any more effectively than spasmodic raids of today shut off liquor supplies. The chief historical importance attached to this railroad was its manifestation of popular sentiment, the historian Rhodes tells us.
But Mr Chase was more than a "conductor." He actually opened up his palatial home and gave the fleeing slaves shelter and food until they were moved to the next "station." James Darwin Chase, going back to his early boyhood days, recalls of his uncle having made several nocturnal trips with loads of hay in which were safely concealed one or two negro boys. He firmly believed the cause of the slaves to be a righteous one.
An ocean of water has gone over the old mill dam since the Chase family cleared that property in the town of Parma. Their descendents, now numbering approximately 400 and scattered in three groups in New England, New York and Michigan, gather annually for the family reunion, usually at Manitou Beach, a spot that never failed to hold enchantment to the early settlers of the family.
At the last reunion, James Darwin Chase of Hilton was named honorary president. Dr. T. C. Edington of Rockville Center was elected president, Ruth H. Lloyd of Rochester secretary-treasurer and Mrs. Marie C. Waters of Vernon, historian.
Editor's Note: This document is a transcript of the original newspaper article.
