John Dwight

John Dwight Family

John Dwight's Farm in 1844

John Dwight's Farm in about 1870

Connection to Mattydale

John Dwight bought 195 acres of land, in 1844, on Lot 3 in the town of Salina, from Joseph and Joanne West. Although he later sold this farm, which has been referred to as Spring Farm (for reasons that have not yet been uncovered), he remained in the area and lived with his daughter and son-in-law, Charles Bailey. That was where he was living at the time of his death on January 7, 1892.

Family History

Where did they originally come from

John Dwight was the son of Oliver and Eunice Dwight and was born in 1803 in Springfield, MA. His wife, Angeline Pratt, was the daughter of N. Pratt and Marilda Blodgett and was born in December 1809 in East Longmeadow, Hampden County, MA.

Where did they initially settle

John Dwight's name first shows up in the Onondaga County Land Records in the town of Fabius. In 1833 he purchased land from D. Webster on Fabius Lot 24. In 1844 he moved to the town of Salina.

Family connections

The Charles Bailey family is connected to the John Dwight family. Charles Bailey's 2nd (Emily Amelia Dwight, m. 1861) and 3rd (Angelina Mary Dwight, m. 1871) wives were daughters of John Dwight.

Property History

John Dwight sold his farm to Benjamin and Cynthia Baum in the early 1870s. The Baum's tried to rent and then sell the property but were unsuccessful. The Baums finally lost the land to a mortgage foreclosure in 1880 and the property was purchased by George N. Crouse. Crouse died in 1899 along with his wife, later in that same year. George N. Crouse Jr. and his sister were finally able to rent the farm to Frank Matty in about 1901. Frank was using the farm to house a portion of his large herd of hogs that were being fed free city garbage. When that gravy train ended Frank sold the property to Peter Michels in 1905. It changed hands several more times and it has been said that the Kirsch family and Dr. Wester (Veterinarian) both owned the property at one time. Today it is the location of the Orchard Estate Apartments, the K-Mart Shopping Plaza and the southern portion of the Northern Lights Traffic Circle.