In working backwards on the deed history for this property (which changed hands many, many times in the 1900s), there were several references to this house as the “Simmons Place.” A general internet search turned up an estimated build date of 1845. On the 1881 survey map, the house belonged to George Kendall; on the 1861 survey map, the house belonged to Albion K.P. Moore.

Catherine Allen (Leighton) Moore (1825-1866, daughter of Henry Dyer Leighton) was the wife of A.P.K. Moore (1821-1992). She married Albion in Jan 1844. When she died, the property was in her name. On Nov. 18, 1867 (136:261), through probate guardianship, the property was sold by the “minor heirs of Catherine Moore” to George Kendall. In this deed it is still referred to as the “Simmons Place,” and “being the same premises deeded by C. H. Haskell to said Catherine A. Moore” on November 5, 1865.

This is where the trail goes cold. Charles H. Haskell owned a wide variety of properties and land in the Steuben area (his home was at 14 Townsley Square). I could not find any deed records where he purchased that specific piece of property.

A search of the 1850 census records turned up a George M. Simmons and family in the vicinity of the property. George M. Simmons (1821-1895) married Lydia Smith (1823-1854) in 1842. As of the 1850 census, he was a tailor. Lydia died in 1854, and after Lydia’s death, he moved to Stockton Springs, remarried, and became a farmer. I could not find any deeds associated with George Simmons and this property (although he did purchase a large tract of land near lot 7, north of the town center).

However, given that it was historically called the “Simmons Place,” it would make sense that he bought the property and built the house around 1845 given that he and Lydia married in 1842.