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Ch. 1 -- BACKGROUND
In May of 1833 Polly's parents, Schubel and Eliza
Franklin, moved the family from Fort Ann in Washington
County, NY to the town of Alabama. Schubel purchased a
one quarter acre of land for $60, one and a half miles east
of Alabama Center. Eight year old Polly and her siblings,
Jane age twelve, Frederick who was ten, William age three,
and Emily who was born two years later, stayed here until
Schubel purchased the farm in Alabama. . . .
In October of 1840 Schubel decided to go into farming, and bought 159 acres of land two miles northwest of Alabama Center on what is now called Casey Road. Here he built a barn and a small house. . . .
In 1849 the Franklins bought the property in
Alabama Center which was to be their main residence. The Franklin house was built near the southwest corner of Alabama Center. Right next to the house, on the west side, Schubel built a smaller structure to locate his business. Schubel was a blacksmith by trade.
FRANKLIN HOUSE, Alabama center, NY. (Extensively remodeled.) Currently owned by Richard Robinson. Photo by C. Amrhein |
In 1849 the Alabama was formed on April 17, 1826 and originally called Gerrysville. It was formed from part of the town of Pembroke, which lies to the south; and part of the town of Shelby, which is to the north of Alabama in
Orleans County. In 1828 the town's name was changed to Alabama meaning, "here we rest."
Alabama has four Hamlets:
- Alabama Center, on
corner where Lewiston and Allegliany Road (then called
the
State Road) intersect;
- South Alabama (also known as Smithville) which lies southeast of the Center;
- Wheatville, located two and a half miles east of the Center on Lewiston Road; and
- Basom. which wasn't formed until 1889, south of Alabama Center on Alleghany Road . . . .
Henry Hoag purchased his first parcel of land in Alabama in 1844 from his Uncle James Filkins, brother of Henry's mother, Hannah Filkins Hoag. Henry built their home near the southeast comer of Alabama Center on Lewiston Road. He was a shoemaker by trade, and held his shop a short distance from their house. Henry had hought other pieces of land at the Center but soon resold them.
After the Hoag's first child Albert was born in November of 1846; Polly became pregnant with her first daughter, Roselphe A., who was born in August the following year. Polly immediately became pregnant again and gave birth to Leonard in May of 1848. Neither Roselphe nor Leonard would live very long. On July 29, at only nine weeks old, Leonard J. Hoag would die. In less then three weeks time, on August 16, Roselphe would die as well. They are buried in the same grave together in the Alabama Cemetery, north of the Center.
In March of 1849, Henry Hoag purchased the property directly west of the house they were presently living in. On July 23, Polly gave birth to her fourth child. The Hoags named her Rosalie. In the early part of 1850 the new Hoag home was completed. Henry and Polly sold the other house, and moved their family next door.
That same year, on the 21 st of September, Polly, bore a child again. She would be named Frances. Viola, her sixth child, would be born in May of 1852; alas, her life too would be short lived. Viola died in six months on the 8th of November. . . . Unfortunately, not much is known about the deaths of the first few children. . . .
By autumn of 1855 Polly and Henry had three children, and one on the way with a due date in January. Henry still had his shoe business, and working with him, an apprentice named Matthew Bardwell. Matthew lived in the same house as the Hoags and was treated as one of the family. . . .
HOAG HOUSE, Alabama center, NY. Currently owned by Mark Alexander. Photo by C. Amrhein |
Oddly enough, Henry would become very sick that winter and was diagnosed by Dr. Townsend, from Alabama Center, as having a disease called Cholera Morbus from eating a bad piece of mincemeat pie. . . . . There is no information on Henry's first sickness that winter of 1855. We have no way of knowing what his symptoms were or how he was treated for his illness.
Henry and his family were still living in Alabama Center in November of that year, making the doctors easily
accessible. Dr. Townsend and Dr. Bateman were on the west side of State Road a short distance south of the Center. Dr. Nelson Homing lived east in the hamlet of Smithville, now called South Alabama.
Exactly on the southwest comer of Alabama Center was the general store; first know as Warren & Farley and later, Warren & Norton. General stores at this time carried a variety of goods for every aspect of life. Inside the general store was the post office. Selah Vosburg was the postmaster and also a real estate assessor. The deputy postmaster, who ran the office a good deal of the time, was the co-owner of the store, Ruben Warren.
To the west of the store lived the Potter Family; west of them, Polly's parents the Franklins and Julia, Polly's sister. The rest of Polly's siblings were now married and living on there own. Elizabeth had recently married for a second time to George Lester. Lester had moved to Alabama from Wyoming County, New York.
Traveling west on the other side of the road from the Franklin house lived the now widowed Abigail Filkins and her children. One of Abigail's sons, Stanley, had studied law in Austinburg, Ohio. He returned to Genesee County after graduating and held a position with the legal team of Brown & Glowacki in Batavia.
In 1857, twenty-one year old Stanley would be admitted to the Bar. As it would turn out, Stanley would be the one to force the investigation of Polly and the murders. After all, he was Henry's cousin, so it is only natural that he would do what he could to make sure that justice was served and Polly was punished.
Schubel Franklin's sister Sarah, and her husband Henry Noble, lived north of the Center; Selah Vosburg north of the Nobles. Down the road to the east of the Hoag's resided ElL Bickford. Eli was also a shoemaker by trade. Directly across the road from Eli lived Mrs. Eliza Barber, a widow, and a friend of the Hoag family. . . .
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