Church Histories and Church Records
Chemung County NY
Autobiography of Rev. Thomas S. Sheardown
Home Page
County Townships
An Auto-Biography
By Thomas S. Sheardown

Published 1865

Original Book Submitted to
Tri-Counties Site
by Roland Elliott,
a Tri-County Guest from its beginning

Our Sincere Gratitude to
Barbara COMSTOCK Coy
Who Typed the WHOLE BOOK for
inclusion on our site.

This Book in Included in its Entirety on this site
Tri-Counties Genealogy & History by
Joyce M. Tice
This book is well worth reading for the glimpse it gives us of life and people in the very earliest days of white settlement in our Tri-County area. It is full of hellfire and brimstone in Rev. Sheardown's most dramatic style, but do not let yourself be put off by that so that you miss all the history it can tell us of our area. Just as we want to know the names and dates of our ancestors, we want to know their world and events and the social pressures and attitudes they dealt with. Rev. Sheardown's early presence in this area included contacts in all three of our counties. Take a trip back 200 years, and if nothing else, it may help you appreciate some of our advantages a little better. We are very grateful for the glimpse Rev. Sheardown has preserved for us. JMT


Title Page


Publisher's Notice 3


Prefatory Remarks 11
Chapter I 1791 - 1814 Early Life in England 21
Chapter II 1814 - 1821 Removals - Settle in America 47
Chapter III 1820 - 1826 Life in Seneca County 71
Chapter IV 1826 - 1830 Pioneer Joys and Sorrows 85
Chapter V 1829 - 1836 Labors in Pennsylvania 127
Chapter VI 1830 - 1860 Evangelizing - Revival Incidents 187
Chapter VII 1844 - 1852 Reading and Jefferson Fields 261
Chapter VII 1852 - 1865 Hornellsville - Southport - Troy 287

Appendix Answers to Inquiries 317

Appendix Dates in the Life 319

Appendix Tribute to Mrs. Esther G. Sheardown 321

Appendix From Rev. Benj. R. Swick 324

Appendix Sketches of Sermons 326

Appendix A Fugitive Epistle 329

Appendix Mrs. Esther G. Sheardown 337

Appendix From Eben B. Campbell, Esq. 339

Appendix History of the Troy Church 347

Appendix The Chemung Association 351

Appendix Corrections 361

Published On Site 02/06/2000
By Joyce M. Tice