Family:Spring, Amos (1779-1850)

Capt. Amos Spring, II (Amos, Abigail Chadwick, Sarah⁴ Whitney, Nathaniel³, John², John¹, Thomas^A, Robert^B), son of Amos and Rebecca (Judd) Spring, was born 15 December 1779, Otis, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, and died 15 May 1850, Attica, Wyoming County, New York.

He married 6 October 1801, Granville (Toland), Hampden County, Massachusetts, Reliance Snow, daughter of Capt. Ephraim and Martha (Patty) (Rogers) Snow. She was born 10 July 1780, Orleans, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, and died 3 December 1874, Warsaw, Wyoming County, New York.

Capt. Amos Spring II migrated from Otis, Massachusetts in 1811 to Genesee County, New York. The Spring family spread out rhough the New England states from Watertown, Mass., which had been the home of the Spring family since John and Eleanor Spring arrived there in 1634 on the Elizabeth from Ipswich, County Suffolk, England under the patronage of his cousin Sir William Spring of Pakenham Hall. Amos' family along with his brother Darius, his wife and some of their relatives headed for what was then a frontier in a large covered wagon drawn by a "yankee team" (a yoke of oxen with a horse in the lead). It took 20 days to reach the Village of LeRoy, Genesee County, New York. Their first home was a one room log cabin with a bark roof and oiled paper windows. They lived of the wild game that was plentiful back then and traded with local Seneca Indians. Amos Spring enlisted as a private in Lt. Norton E. Davis' company of Col. Davies regiment, New York Militia. He was promoted to second corporal and fought in the Sortie at Fort Erie, Canada - during which his brother Darius Spring was scalped by Indians in the employ of the British. Amos brought his brother preserved in a pickel barrel of brine back to the farm in Genesee County where he was burried still in the barrel.

In 1819 a commission of Captain was issued to him in the 77th Regiment of Infantry by DeWitt Clinton, Governor of New York. Many years later Amos donated the family cemetery to the township before selling off his farms.

In 1840, Capt. Spring disposed of the property near LeRoy and removed to Attica, Wyoming County, New York. He purchased a farm 1/4 miles from the village with a house on East Main Street, corner of Gulf Road, leading to Attica Center. The land is now part of the Attica Prison Farm.

Capt. Spring's wife Reliance Snow was a descendant of three Mayflower Pilgrims viz. - Elder William Brewster, Gent., Thomas Rogers and Mr. Stephen Hopkins. She was also descended from Thomas Prince, Esq., Governor of Plymouth Colony.

Children of Capt. Amos and Reliance (Snow) Spring, II:

i.	Erastus Spring, b. 20 August 1804, Otis, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, d. 19 July 1896, Middlebury, Wyoming County, New York.

References

• Adrian Benjamin Burke, "Grave marking by descendents of Brewster, Rogers and Hopkins," The Mayflower Quarterly, Vol. 68 No. 1 (March 2002).

• Gazetteer - Biographical Record Directory of over 10,500 Names, Occupations - Genesee County, New York. 1788-1890. Edited by F. W. Beers.

• Vital Records of Otis, Massachusetts.

• DAR Lineage #17022.

• The Attica News, 13 May 1943.

• US Census 1860, Wyoming County, New York.

• US Census 1850, Wyoming County, New York.

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Copyright © 2006, Adrian Benjamin Burke, Esq. and the Whitney Research Group.]]]