FARM OF WILLIAM R. SANFORD, MIDDLETOWN, DELAWARE CO., NY

FARM OF WILLIAM R. SANFORD

Engraving from The Illustrated History of Delaware County, New York 1797-1880 by W.W. Munsell - page 271

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The above illustration I believe to be the farm of William R. Sanford born 1823 who was the son of Ziba Sanford and Hannah (Roberts) Sanford. Ziba Sanford was the son of my 5th Great Grandparents, William Sanford and Huldah (Hull) Sanford.

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The Illustrated History of Delaware County, New York 1797-1880
W.W. MUNSELL 1797-1880

The Town of Middletown

WILLIAM R. SANFORD, SON OF Ziba Sanford, an early settler, was born on the Old Sanford homestead near Clark's Factory, in Middletown, on the 14th of February, 1824. And was the oldest of a family of five children. His education was limited to the common school and the most approved principles of farming which prevailed at the time. Always circumspect, thoughtful and retiring, he early embraced the doctrines of the Old School Baptist church, of which he has been a consistent member since his eighteenth year. In 1845 he married Miss Sarah A. Allaben, sister of Dr. O. M. Allaben, of Middletown, and he has reared a family of eight children, seven of whom are still living, and are an ornament to the society in which they move. He has always been a successful farmer and dairyman, and through industry and economy has accumulated a handsome property, while sustaining a character for integrity and fair dealing which he has ever honored. He has always resided in the same neighborhood, and is the owner of a large farm, which, from a state of extreme insignificance, he has rendered very valuable and productive, by good farming and the addition of good and durable fences, buildings and orchards. He was the first to introduce the modern overshot barn now so common, with its numberless conveniences. Without any pattern to guide him, with the aid of a common mechanic, and with no knowledge that any such barn existed, he erected a large, commodious three-story building, capable of holding the productions of a large farm, which was entered near the top, to save the labor of elevating hay and grain; and in the basement, which was built of imperishable material where exposed to the wet, was placed machinery moved by water power, which runs his grindstone, dairy churn, feed mill, corn sheller, straw and hay cutter, cider mill, thresher and winnower, pitcher and circular and drag saws for sawing wood.

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BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW - 1895
The Leading Citizens of Delaware County, NY

This volume contains Biographical Sketches of The Leading Citizens of Delaware County New York
Boston, Biographical Review Publishing Company 1895

*Under Riley Sanford.. *

William and Phoebe (Hull) Sanford, came to New York from Connecticut in 1790, bringing with them a family of small children. Their journey was through a wilderness, and the only landmarks that the travellers could depend upon in the trackless depths of the northern forests were blazed trees.

The Sanfords were among the very earliest settlers, and lived in great isolation, being two miles distant from the few emigrants who had settled in the neighborhood previously. Some time was spent in selecting a good location for the future home, and a spot was at last chosen which is now known as Hubbell Hill. Here a tract of one hundred and eighty acres was bought, and the sturdy pioneer fell to the task of cutting down trees for the construction of an bumble home. For a week at a time he saw no living things save the wolves and panthers that infested the limitless forest around him and prowled dangerously near the lonely settler's rough fortress of defense. As the sons grew up, they were each one taught the use of axe and spade; and before long the beautiful timber was cut down and burned, in order to clear a space where grain could be raised. Just as he had begun to enjoy the fruition of his labors, he died, at the age of eighty years, leaving a wife and eleven children--Charles C., William, Ziba, John, Mrs. Bennam, Mrs. Reed, Ruanna, Lucy, Marauca, Betsey, and Amy.

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