Historic Sketch of the Settlement of the Town of New Berlin
by John Hyde
New Berlin Gazette, New Berlin, NY, January 18, 1877
Job Vail, a pioneer in the first settlement in the Valley of the Unadilla River, took possession of a lot near the Asa Angell farm and commenced the up-country work of clearing and building a log house to live in with his wife and children. Rumor, with her thousand tongues, proclaimed that during the war of the Revolution, he was a believer in the doctrine that the king could do no wrong, and was not finally convinced of his mistake until the king was compelled to acknowledge the independence of the thirteen old United Colonies. Howsoever what might have been his opinion, during the stormy period of the war struggle he commenced the work of improvement in the new settlement with the energy and emprise of a faithful and diligent citizen.
After he had provided a place for his family, his next undertaking was to build a mill to grind grain and another mill to saw logs into boards, two conveniences greatly needed in the new settlement, and these two mills were the first mills built in the town with the exception of Herrick's mills which were built about the same time. His mills were made profitable to himself and beneficial to his customers who were enabled to make more commodious dwellings for their families and places to thresh out their grain and a mill to grind it of which they had been destitute until the enterprising labor of Mr. Vail furnished the means. He lived to old age and left a valuable property to his children, the descendants of one of them are yet in the ownership of part of the farm. The mills and the residue are owned by Mr. Skinner.
His son Frederick Vail married a daughter of James Smith, who was one of Tarleton's soldiers at the battle of Cowpens and was taken prisoner by Morgan's squadron and brought north and finally became a citizen of New Berlin.
Nathan Taylor owner the lot whereon is now the South New Berlin village. He was an honest, industrious and respectable farmer, and took an active part in the management of town business. He held town office from time to time, was a Justice of the Peace under the old Council of appointment, and sometime a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, also a member of the assembly to revise the laws and it may be declared that he faithfully and honestly discharged his duty in the several offices entrusted to him and sustained the character of a good citizen. He left a goodly heritage to be enjoyed by his children.
Mathew Calkins owned a farm a short distance below Judge Taylor's farm on the river. The Calkins farm is one of the most pleasant and beautiful locations on the river and in value has no superior of the same number of acres. Mr. Calkins understood the art of surveying and in the early settlement of the town, spent much of his time in surveying the different lots in the town which enabled him to become acquainted with their particular value and make his selection understandingly. His choice warranted the goodness of his judgment. He was influential and active in the town business, held the office of Justice of the Peace by commission from the council of appointment of olden times. He was a member of the Methodist church. A Methodist camp meeting was sometimes held in his sugar maple orchard grove, a beautiful place for such meetings and of an evening when all nature seemed hushed in silence, the gentle breeze scarce riffled the green leaves on the overhanging treetops and lights innumerable shining bright from lamps suspended from sides of trees, made visible all the vast multitude within the encampment listening to the words of the speaker, standing on a high raised platform, or to the vocal sounds of praise resounding in harmonious cadence all around, and echoing throughout the woods, presented a scene from which no one could withdraw without being convinced of the reality of religion and the sincerity of its worshipers, whither in the field or in the temple.
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