Place:Afton (town), Chenango, New York, United States

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source: Family History Library Catalog

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Afton is a town in Chenango County, New York, United States. The population was 2,851 at the 2010 census. Afton is situated in the southeast corner of the county and lies wholly within the original Township of Clinton. It was formed from the town of Bainbridge on November 18, 1857, and derives its name from Afton Water, a small river in the parish of New Cumnock, Ayrshire, Scotland, immortalized by the poet Robert Burns. It is bounded on the north by Bainbridge and Coventry, on the east by Delaware County, and on the west and south by Broome County.

The town of Afton contains a village, also called Afton. The town is at the southeastern corner of the county and is northeast of Binghamton.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

The area of Afton was first settled around 1786. The town of Afton was founded from part of the town of Bainbridge in 1857.

Bainbridge and Afton were once combined as one town called Jericho. A particularly severe winter storm left residents starving or freezing to death from lack of supplies in the area which is now known as Afton. The cold and snow had been so severe, the townspeople of what is now Bainbridge refused to help. When spring came, hard feelings were had by the rural residents, and the town of Jericho split into two. Afton was named from a line in a poem cherished by the town, and also named with an "A" because it came first alphabetically, so that it came before "Bainbridge" on state registers. Afton was once called "Clinton" after General George Clinton, and was jokingly called "Jockey Port" due to the horse raceway in Afton.

It was also previously known as "South Bainbridge" as it was created from the southern part of the town of Bainbridge.

Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was married to Emma Hale in Afton. The marriage took place at the site of what is now the Afton Fairgrounds and Raceway.

Afton was a stop on the Underground Railroad for slaves escaping from the South. Some houses in Afton are found to have secret rooms and staircases, as in a house on Pleasant Avenue.

Research Tips

External Links

• Outstanding guide to Afton family history and genealogy resources (FamilySearch Research Wiki). Birth, marriage, and death records, town histories, cemeteries, churches, newspapers, libraries, and genealogical societies.