01/29/2026
The first settler of Spafford was Gilbert Palmer, a Revolutionary soldier, who came from the southeastern part of the state in the fall of 1794 and located on lot 76, township 9, Marcellus, where he died about 1839.
Shortly thereafter Gilbert and his son, a youth of some sixteen years of age, went into the woods for the purpose of making a clearing. They cut down a tree which swung around as it hit the ground and caught the young man under it. The father cut at the log, rolled it over, and liberated his son. Upon examination one of his lower limbs was found to be badly crushed and mangled. Gilbert carried the youth to his log hut and sought help from his nearest neighbors who lived three to four miles away. He asked the neighbors to go help his son while he got help from a Dr. White who lived in Williamstown (approximately 60 miles away).
The neighbors set out to try and assist the young man but due to the density of the forest and the dark night they could not find the cabin. So unfortunately, they went home. The next morning, they tried again and found the young man in extreme pain from his injured leg and extremely cold. They made a fire and tried to keep him comfortable.
Gilbert found D. White and enlisted a native American from the Oneida nation to find them a more efficient route home. The Oneida said he would bring them to a certain log which lay across the outlet at the foot of Otisco Lake. It took them 48 hours to get back to that exact log.
From there Gilbert knew the way home and returned to the cabin where his son was still in extreme pain. Dr. White amputated the leg and the young man recovered, living many years afterwards.
Credit: Vol. I of Onondaga's Centennial, edited by Dwight H. Bruce and published by Boston History Co., 1896
