Hi All,

 

A friend of mine is trying to locate some information regarding:

 

Isaac L. Hoxie who operated a store on "Indian River."

 

He found the following information in Ted Aber's book, "History of Hamilton County." Isaac L. Hoxie, 40, born in Massachusetts, with his wife Minerva, 33, settled near Indian River, (Hamilton County, New York), where they operated a store and small inn around 1860. Their son Howard was born in 1869.

 

 

He is also searching for the location of "Osbern" or "Osborn" or "Osborne" Dam. He has the following information, "October 6, 1870 a new road was surveyed for in the Little Canada area, (This is in Big Brook near Indian Lake, New York.), done by application of Henry Crandall." (Crandall was the land owner and John B. Eldridge was his northern agent.) "A road commencing on the north bank of Center Brook at J. B. Eldridge's farm, ran across the brook by the barn, and continued some three and one half miles to the Osbern (Osborn,) dam."

 

He is also trying to locate property record books that "disappeared" from the office of Finch, Pruyn and Company in Glens Falls. He has the following information regarding the books from the 1914 hearings of the Civil Actions Suits, Settlers of Lot #15 in Indian Lake vs. New York State. "I would like the record show in some of these cases that Finch & Company and John McGinn and the Crandalls kept what they called the Township 15 book, in which they kept an account of land that had sold and amounts paid. That was kept in the offices at Glens Falls, and at the time of the death of George C. Finch, certain papers were removed from the vault, and so far as we can ascertain, that Township 15 book has never been seen since. We have made diligent search at the offices of Finch Pruyn, and the International Paper Company, and have interviewed Mr. Root, who kept the book, and other people who had a right to know, and made demand on Griffin and Ostrander to produce it. We have not been able anywhere to find it or get any trace of it. The book ought to contain a record of all these transactions. It is in the possession of somebody down there and probably very close to the Indian River Company, and we have tried to impress on them that it is their business to produce it. We also investigated Mr. McGinn's, looked through his books and papers, and we were unable to find anything there either. Jerry Finch claimed they took it away. He makes the assertion with some vigor."

 

We SUSPECT that these books may still exist SOMEWHERE. Perhaps they are in someone's cellar, barn, historical society records, etc.

 

 

Les Buell