Samuel Bevier's Corners (the present site of Owasco Village) was a beehive of activity in the spring of 1812. The Town was relatively young after being taken off from Aurelius 10 years earlier, and named Owasco.

On a small rise on Martin Cuykendall's land in the center of Military Lot 93 the prominent presence of the Dutch Reformed Church was taking shape. The noise and constant activity of the carpenters and laborers was heard by the inhabitants of the surrounding log houses for the five years it took to complete the structure. Wagons and their drivers coming from the lake area carrying lumber for the building donated from the area settlers also made the intersection a noisy place. Oxen coming the other way from Dryden pulling huge timber for the super structure added to the congestion.

Across the street from the building activity, a corner store containing the Post Office, under Post Master Martin Cuykendall helped the village people keep in touch with relatives. New settlers that arrived that year were Daniel Ennis, Samuel Hornbeck, Eliphant Patee and Walter and Timothy Strong.

The ring of the anvil from the blacksmiths shop up the road could be heard adding to the cacophony of noise from the building activity and traffic.

The State Military Road, called Old Chenago passed right in front of the Church and Post Office/store. The stages pulled by four horses traveled up this road now called North Road to another busy settlement called Baptist Corners. The drivers of the stages turned down what is now Melrose Road at Baptist Corners and went into the Village of Auburn renamed eight years previous from Hardenberg's Corners.

North Road was also called the Troop Road. If you looked at a map of Owasco Village, you discover how straight North Road is. For this reason, the road was used to carry the cannon, materials and troops to the Genesee Pike (Route 5 & 20) up to the Niagara Frontier.

If you can picture all of this activity, building of the church, the stage coaches, the troop transport, combined with the noise they created, you can imagine how hectic the atmosphere of Owasco Village that spring and summer of 1812 was.

From the work of Anthony Gero, former historian, is the quote from John I. Brinkerhoff. “I remember that when the war of 1812 broke out, there were two militia companies in this town from which soldiers were drawn to go in the army. Henry Austin was the captain of the one and Henry R. Brinkerhoff captain of the other.”

Gero and Roger Sturcke wrote a 74-page booklet in 2004 called “Cayugans in the Field.” In his booklet, Gero told of the battles men from Owasco were involved in and where.

This booklet is not to be confused with the monumental work by Henry and James Hall published in 1873 called “Cayuga in the Field.” The cover of this book is also royal blue in color and lists all of the men in the Civil War from the 19th New York Volunteers and the Batteries of the 3rd N.Y. Artillery and 75th New York Volunteers containing 269 pages in four font typeset.

My next installment will list the known Civil War Veterans.

In conclusion, from my research and discovery are listed 23 known Veterans of the War of 1812; 21 are buried in Owasco Rural Cemetery.

- Sources: “Storke's History of Cayuga County,” 1879; Owasco Rural Cemetery records, and “Cayuga in the Field,” A. Gero & R. Sturcke, 2004

Laurel Auchampaugh is the Owasco Historian and can be reached at the Owasco Town Hall from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday afternoons or at nowthenwasco@aol.com

Owasco Rural Cemetery

Eli Van Guilder, Capt. Henry Austin, David Parsell, Abram Cortwright, Elkanah Benson, Stephan Benson II, Turban Thare, John Powers, John Chamberlain, Henry Hunsicker, Jeremiah Birch, Anthony Van Etten, Benjamin Westfall, Solomon Cuddyback, Jeremiah Chamberlain, Daniel Prine, Nathan Fay, Jacob Van Etten, Daniel Blanshan, Daniel Broadhead and Stephan Cole

Burial unknown Henry R. Brinkerhoff and Alexander Price (per A. Gero).