Burns
Burns was formed from Ossian, Livingston county on March 17, 1836. It was name after the Scottish poet Robert Burns. It is located on the east border of the county, north of center.
The first settlement was at Whitney Valley in 1805, by Moses and Jeremiah Gregory, John Gaddis and Samuel Rodman. William CarrollL and William Hopkins settled at South Valley. Elijah and Daniel Abbott, Elias Van Scoter, and Thomas Quck, all from Pennsylvania, settled at De Witts Valley. Samuel Boylan settled at Whitney Valley in 1806. The first child born was Lewis W. Carroll on Aug. 1, 1807. The first marriage was John Gregory and Betsey Doty. The first deaths were Jeremiah Gregory, who was killed by the fall of a tree on April 4, 1812, and his twin brother, killed in the same manner on Sept. 17 of the same year. The first school was taught at Canaseraga by William Crooks in 1810. S. DeWitt Brown kept the first inn at "De Witts Valley," (now Burns Village) in 1826. Isaac N. Town kept the first store at Canaseraga in 1828. Daniel Schull erected the first gristmill, in 1810. &nbps;David McCardy built the first sawmill in 1813. The first religious meeting (Methodist Episcopal) was held at the house of Moses Gregory by Robert Parker, in 1806. The first church (Baptist) was formed at Whitney Valley by Rev. Jesse Braman in 1817. [Source: J.H.French, Gazetteer of State of New York, 1860, p.168]
Hamilton Child's 1875 Gazetteer - Grove
Cities, Villages and Hamlets
Canaseraga - formerly called Whitney Valley in honor of Ezra Whitney who settled there in 1817.
Burns - hamlet located at the eastern town line; formerly known as DeWittsville
Burns Station - a former community
Mastin Corners - located near the western town line
Gas Spring - located near the western town line
Garwood Station - hamlet in the northwest corner of the town; named after James Garwood, an Englishman, who in partnership with Nelson Bailey, purchased large tracts of timber and operated a large timber business. A settlement rose and it was made a station on the railway. A post office was established and known as Whitney's Crossing.
PO Box 15 Canaseraga, NY 14822 Telphone: 607-545-6204 | Mary Duthoy PO Box 222 Canaseraga, NY 14822 Telephone: 607-545-6509 |
Marcia J. Bird PO Box 235 Canaseraga, NY 14822 Telephone: 585-567-2222 |
Churches
 |
|
Cemeteries
*code #s refer to the Allegany County Cemetery Index card file at the Allegany County Historical Society and FHL/FHC microfilm. See WNYGS Journal, Vol. II, No. 1 |
Allegany County, New York GenWeb
 |
 |
 |