TOWN OF GREENWOOD. 



307 



of the one hundred and fifty acres of land received fi"om 

 his father, and made the first chopping in the town of 

 Greenwood, and continued in the milling business until the 

 sale of the mill, in 1863. He also erected the first framed 

 house built in the town. 



Mr. Stephens, in middle life, was a quite active exponent 

 of the principles of the Democratic party, and for seven 

 years represented his town on the Board of Supervisors, 

 and held various other town ofiices, and in 1848 repre- 

 sented his Assembly district in the Legislature of the State. 



During that year, while at Albany, being handed a copy 

 of "Noah's Weekly Messenger," he subscribed for it, and 

 has read it for thirty years past. He and his wife were 



among the organizers of the Universalist Church at Green- 

 wood, and were members of the same until her death, Sept. 

 9, 1866. The former is still an attendant upon its service. 

 Mr. Stephens has lived to see fine edifices supplant the 

 log cabin, villages grace the valleys of the county, and the 

 original forest give place to fine agricultural fields. He is 

 a man of sterling qualities, and endowed with the charac- 

 teristics of perseverance, independence of thought and ac- 

 tion, promptness in all business matters, prudence, and good 

 judgment. Their children are Redmond D., of Iowa, Mrs. 

 Joseph B. Woodbury, Mrs. William G. Porter, of Green- 

 wood (living), and Mrs. Amos W. Crandall, and Merritt A. 

 (deceased). 



ASA II. STEPHENS 

 was born in the town of Canisteo, March 14, 1820. He 

 was the son of Ezra Stephens and grandson of Col. John 

 Stephens, who was the son of Uriah Stephens, the first 

 settler of the Canisteo Valley, — 1789. He spent his mi- 

 nority on the farm at home, in the town of Greenwood, 

 where his father settled when it was a wilderness tract of 

 land, the same farm now being in possession of the family. 

 In 1844, July 31, he married Charlotte, daughter of 



■^ty)^\j 



Randall and Nancy Pease, of Greenwood. Her parents 

 removed from Dryden, Tompkins Co., in June, 1826, and 

 settled in the town of Greenwood, where she was born, in 

 August following ; and hence the Pease family were among 

 the earliest settlers of the town. His father, Ezra Ste- 

 phens, died in Canisteo, about 1851, and his mother died 

 about 1845, in Greenwood. 



After his marriage, Mr. Stephens settled on the home- 

 stead, a part of which he had purchased from his brother, 



