USA > New York > Ontario County > A history of Ontario County, New York and its people, Volume II > Part 1
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REYNOTA : ISTORIC GENEALOGY COLLEC110
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01147 8697
Gc 974.701 On8mi v.2 1537228
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/historyofontario00mill_0
A HISTORY
-- OF
Ontario County, New York and Its People
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL
ILLUSTRATED
VOLUME II
NEW YORK LEWIS HISTORICAL PUBLISHING CO
1911
COPYRIGHT LEWIS HISTORICAL PUBLISHING CO. 1911
1537228
INTRODUCTORY
The first volume of this work, "The History of Ontario County, New York, and Its People," is an admirable record of the progress of this region up to the close of the first decade of the twentieth century. It is at once accurate and interesting, including the story of the honorable part which the county has had in the history of the State and Union. To its author, Mr. Charles F. Milliken, the publishers express a gratitude which undoubtedly will meet with a hearty response on the part of its readers.
The amplification necessary to complete the picture of the county, old and nowaday, is supplied in this volume of genealogical and family history. In it are contained chronicles of the people who have made Ontario County what it is. These records are presented in a series of independent narratives relating to lineal family heads, and the most con- spicuous representatives down to the present generation, giving it a distinct personal interest. In every case the narrative has been submitted to the immediate subject or to his proper representative for correction and revision. If in any case the matter is incomplete or faulty, it is ascribable to the paucity of data, many families being unable to supply exact infor- mation at some point in their ancestral line. It is believed the work will prove a substantial addition to the mass of material relating to people of the region under consideration, and that without it much valuable information would be irretrievably lost, owing to the passing away of many custodians of family records and disappearance of material which has been utilized in the preparation of this work.
THE PUBLISHERS.
let Richardson.
ONTARIO COUNTY
RICHARDSON.
Major Charles A. Richardson, son of Curtis Richardson, who was a farmer in Freetown, Cortland county, New York, has been conspicuously in the public eye, not only as a soldier, but as a lawyer and statesman as well. He was born in Cortland county, New York, August 14, 1829.
He became a student at Cortland Academy in Homer, New York, from which institution he was graduated. He commenced the study of the legal profession in Canandaigua, Ontario county, New York, and was admitted to the bar in 1856. After spending four years in traveling throughout the west, he returned to Canandaigua in 1860 and opened offices for the practice of his chosen profession. In 1862 he gave up his law practice and entered the service of his country, being active in recruit- ing Company D, One Hundred and Twenty-sixth New York Volunteers. He was commissioned first lieutenant of that company, and in the same year received his commission as captain with rank from November, 1862. At the battle of Gettysburg, July 2, 1863, he was wounded and given a leave of absence and returned to duty in September following. In the early part of 1864 Captain Richardson was commissioned major, and at the battle of Petersburg, Virginia, June 16, 1864, was severely wounded and permanently disabled by a rifle ball which passed through his face. He subsequently was re-mustered into the service, with the rank of major dating from June 16, 1864, and on September 3, 1864, received his hon- orable discharge from the army on account of the wounds received. He again returned to Canandaigua and resumed his interrupted practice of the law, continuing along that line until 1895. The Republicans of Ontario county nominated him by acclamation for the office of treasurer of the county in 1864; he was elected and held the office for six years, his administration being noted for efficiency, and he was elected to the office of surrogate in 1873, serving in that capacity for a similar period of time. In 1886 he was appointed one of five commissioners to determine the position and movements of the troops of the state of New York who had been engaged in the battle at Gettysburg, and he is still the incumbent of that office. In 1895 he was appointed by the secretary of war as one of
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ONTARIO COUNTY.
the commissioners of the Gettysburg National Park Commission, their duty being to mark by monuments the positions and movements of all troops, both Union and Confederate, engaged on that historic field ; also to determine and mark the lines of battle : construct and maintain avenues and restore and retain the topographical features of the battle field. This position he still holds at the present time ( 1910). Major Richardson took an active interest in establishing and developing Woodland Ceme- tery in Canandaigua, which is now one of the most beautiful in the state, and he has served as trustee and treasurer since the organization of the association. He has also served as trustee and secretary of the Ontario Orphan Asylum for many years, and in various ways has con- tributed to the welfare and advancement of the community in which he resides. Scrupulously honorable in all his dealings with mankind. he bears a reputation for integrity and fidelity. and being sociable and genial in disposition has won and retained a wide circle of friends.
Major Richardson never married.
HAYES.
The surname Hayes is the plural form of an ancient word, Hay, or Haw, which means a fence, a hedge or a boundary, also a space enclosed. as a park or field. Its derivation can be traced to many European lan- guages wherein both the primitive and secondary meanings are precisely the same. From this simple root have sprung the names of Hay. Hayes, Haywood or Heywood. Hayland. Greenhays and many others of a simi- lar character. The name of Hayes is to be found both in England and Scotland. but is far more common in the former than it is in the latter country. The New England colonial records of the seventeenth century contain the names of four immigrants of this name: Thomas Hayes. of Milford. Connecticut ( 1645). descendants of whom removed to New- ark, New Jersey; Nathaniel. who was of Norwalk. Connecticut (1651) ; John, of Dover, New Hampshire, who came from Scotland in 1680; and George, of Windsor. Connecticut, who, tradition asserts, was a brother of the preceding John. The Hayes of Canandaigua. New York. who form the principal subject of this article. are descended from the Windsor settler.
(I) George Hayes, who arrived in New England about the year 1680, and probably was about twenty-five years old at the time of his
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ONTARIO COUNTY.
immigration, first settled in Windsor, Connecticut, whence he removed in 1698 to that part of Simsbury, Connecticut, which is now Granby. In a manuscript record written or dictated by his grandson, Ezekiel Hayes. of New Haven, he is referred to as follows: "Went from Scotland to Derbyshire, England, and lived with his uncle. He was anxious to see London, whither he went. Having received some account of America, he took passage for this country." George Hayes' residence in Sims- bury was in the locality known as Salmon Brook, and he died there. September 2, 1725. Although he was not active in public affairs his name frequently appears in the early town records of Simsbury in con- nection with land transactions, assessments, "minister's rates," etc., and from these it may be inferred that he was pious, thrifty and in every way a worthy citizen. His first wife. whose Christian name was Sarah and whose surname is illegible on the Windsor records, died early in 1683. and the children of this union died young. At Windsor, August 29, 1683. he married (second) Abigail Dibble, only daughter of Samuel, granddaughter of Thomas, and great-granddaughter of Robert Dibble. who arrived from England in 1635. settling in Dorchester, Massachu- setts. Children, born in Windsor: I. Abigail. August 31. 1684: mar- ried Paul Tompkins. 2. Daniel, born April 26, 1686. 3. Sarah, January 22. 1687-8; married John. Gosard (or Gozzard), son of Nicholas and Elizabeth Gozzard. of Windsor. 4. Mary, born January 6. 1689-90: married, August 28, 1712, William Rice. 5. Joanna, born October 2. 1692 : died after 1780; married James Hillyer. of Simsbury. 6. George, born March 9, 1695. 7. William, born June 13. 1697, in Simsbury. 8. Samuel. mentioned below. 9. Thankful, born 1700-01 ; married, October 9, 1717, Nathaniel Holcombe. 10. Benjamin, born 1702-03. II. Doro- thy, 1706: married Abraham Dibble. her first cousin.
(II) Samuel, son of George and Abigail ( Dibble) Hayes, was born in Simsbury. 1699. He was granted sixty acres of land in Sims- bury. 1723; was on church covenant with wife in 1739. and served as tythingman in 1751. He must have lived to an unusually advanced age, as there is on record at Granby a deed. executed March 7. 1787, in which he conveys property to his son Silas. He married. in Simsbury, July 16. 1719. Elizabeth Willcockson ( Wilcox). probably a daughter of Samuel Willcockson, of Meadow Plain. Simsbury, granddaughter of Sergeant Samuel Willcockson and great-granddaughter of William Willcockson. of St. Albans. Hertfordshire. England, who arrived at Boston in the "Planter." 1635. Children of Samuel and Elizabeth Hayes : 1. Lydia. born January 18. 1720. 2. Elizabeth. October 17. 1721 : married. March 20. 1710.
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ONTARIO COUNTY.
Joseph Gillett, of Simsbury. 3. Abigail, born November 3, 1723; mar- ried, May 13, 1742, Daniel Hayes, her cousin. 4. Dorcas, born March 15, 1727; married Ephraim, son of Nathaniel and Thankful ( Hayes) Holcombe. 5. Samuel, born March 26, 1730. 6. Ashael, born June 3, 1732. 7. Susanna, November 26, 1735; married Reuben Holcombe. 8. Andrew, born May 29, 1737. 9. Silas, February 28, 1740.
(III) Captain Samuel (2), son of Samuel (I) and Elizabeth (Willcockson) Hayes, was born in Simsbury, March 26, 1730, died in Granby, December 25, 1801. In the Simsbury records he is designated captain. In 1753 he erected a substantial dwelling-house at Bushy Hill, two miles west of Salmon Brook, which he and his descendants occupied for nearly a century. He was a selectman of Simsbury, 1774, and of Granby at its organization, 1786; represented Simsbury in the general assembly, 1778; served as deacon of the church at Salmon Brook from 1786 to 1801. He possessed superior physical strength, excelled in all athletic sports and was one of the most prominent and highly respected citizens of his day. In 1750 he married Rosanna, eldest daughter of Judah and Hannah ( Buttolph) Holcombe, of Simsbury, and a descend- ant in the fifth generation of Thomas Buttolph, who landed in Boston from the "Abigail," 1635. Rosanna was born in Simsbury, June 24, 1732, and died in Granby, November 8, 1814. Children: I. Rosanna, born March 6, 1751 ; died in 1770; married Benjamin Hayes, her cousin. 2. Seth, born June 2, 1753. 3. Theodosia, April 16, 1757; died at Dela- ware, Ohio, 1834; married, at Granby, General Chauncey Pettibone, son of Colonel Ozias Pettibone. 4. Samuel, born May 20, 1759. 5. Temper- ance, December 14, 1761 ; died in Connecticut, 1787; married Luther Foote. 6. Levi, born April 1, 1763. 7. Pliny, June 6, 1766. 8. Simeon, mentioned below. 9. Joseph, August 31, 1771. 10. Martin, March 31, 1776.
(IV) Simeon, son of Captain Samuel (2) and Rosanna (Hol- combe ) Hayes, was born in Simsbury, February 17, 1768, or January 17, 1769, and died in Plattsburgh, New York, August 18, 1841. In 1806 he removed from his native state to Plattsburgh, where he engaged in farming and also turned his attention to mechanical pursuits. He was a mechanical genius and an inventor, and at different times worked at wagon-making, shoemaking and coopering. Above all he was a man of unsullied integrity and deep religious principle. He married (first), March 22, 1790, Elizabeth, daughter of Rev. Israel Holly, a Congrega- tional minister at Granby. He married (second) at Granby, December 3, 1801, Elizabeth, born in that town, March 20, 1781, daughter of Icha-
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ONTARIO COUNTY.
bod and Lucretia (Cossit) Gilbert. She died in Buffalo, New York, June 14, 1870. Children of Simeon Hayes by first marriage: I. Child, born 1791 ; died in infancy. 2. Betsey Maria, born in Granby, August 9, 1793 ; died in Plattsburg, November 20, 1863 ; married at Canandaigua, New York, October 6, 1812, Israel Skinner. 3. Emily, born in Granby, December 24, 1795; died in Plattsburgh, October 16, 1843; married, in Bristol, New York, January 23, 1817, Orlando Prentice Fay. 4. Child. born 1797; died in infancy. 5. Child, born 1799; died in infancy. 6. Simeon, born January 23, 1801. Children of second marriage: 7. George, born November 6, died December 18, 1803. 8. George Edward, born November 7, 1804. 9. Willis Gilbert, July 13, 1807. 10. Joseph Byron, mentioned below. II. Henry Osmond, born January 31, 1815.
(V) Joseph Byron, son of Simeon and Elizabeth (Gilbert) Hayes, was born in Plattsburgh, June 8, 1809, and died in Canandaigua, New York, October 6, 1841. He was known by his second name, Byron. Succeeding his brother George Edward as a pupil of Dr. Pliny Hayes, he became an apothecary in Canandaigua. He was a man of lofty principle, excellent in every relation and duty of life, and his early death was sin- cerely mourned by the entire community. He married in Canandaigua, December 20, 1832, Sarah Antis, born in that town, February 21, 1815. daughter of William and Mary ( Barlow) Antis. William Antis was son of a noted gunsmith of the same name who was for many years employed by the United States government. Mary Barlow was a descendant of Deacon Abner Barlow, of Canandaigua, who sowed the first bushel of wheat in western New York. Children of Joseph Byron Hayes: I. Joseph Byron, of whom further. 2. Edward Antis, born November 20, 1835; died May 24, 1862 ; a young man of excellent character and prom- ise. 3. Mary Antis, born March 18, 1838; died in Kewanee, Illinois, April 4, 1877; married, at Canandaigua, March 30, 1876 (as second wife), Robert Otley, of Kewanee, son of John and Jane (Chapman) Otley, of Winchester, Illinois, came from Yorkshire, England, in 1840, born in Weston, Yorkshire, England, June 13, 1831 ; she had one son, Robert Hayes Otley, born February 23, died August 16, 1877. 4. Abner Antis, born May 29, 1840; died September 28, 1841.
(VI) Dr. Joseph Byron (2) Hayes, son of Joseph Byron ( I) and Sarah (Antis) Hayes, was born in Canandaigua, May 11, 1834. He prepared for college at Canandaigua Academy, from which he entered Williams College, graduating with the class of 1854, and his profes- sional studies were completed in the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was graduated a doctor of medicine in 1860.
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ONTARIO COUNTY.
His life was spent in Canandaigua, in the practice of his profession. He was an active member of the county and village medical societies and was a deacon of the Congregational Church from early manhood until his death, which occurred July 17, 1890. On September 24, 1861, he married, in Canandaigua, Louise Anne Coleman, born in Frederick, Maryland, September 24, 1833, died in Canandaigua, March 22, 1884, daughter of Chester and Eliza (Graham) Coleman, of Canandaigua. Children, all born in Canandaigua : Edward Graham, mentioned below ; George Byron, born July 20, 1865; Chester Coleman, July 31, 1867; Harriet Louisa, May 16, 1871, died April 21, 1875.
(VII) Edward Graham Hayes, son of Dr. Joseph Byron (2) Hayes, was born July 12, 1862. He was a student in the old Canandai- gua Academy, the Pennsylvania Military Academy, Chester, Pennsylva- nia, and Union College (class of 1886), Schenectady, New York. He is a member of the Kappa Alpha Fraternity.
After leaving college he spent a number of years in Colorado in the cattle business, and then spent some time abroad. In 1900 he married Elizabeth McGill, of Jamestown, New York, and in 1903 returned to Canandaigua, where he has since made his home. Mr. Hayes was occu- pied in private business affairs and in the supervision of Sonnenberg, the estate of Mrs. Frederick F. Thompson, until 1901, when he purchased the private banking business of Williams & Barnes. This business was in May, 1902, merged with McKechnie Bank, a state bank, Mr. Hayes becoming vice-president and manager. In January, 1909, he was elected president, and continued to hold that office ( 1910). In politics Mr. Hayes has been an independent Republican, and has never sought public office. He served as secretary and treasurer of the board of water com- missioners during the construction of the Canandaigua water works, and recently completed ten years' service as police commissioner of the village of Canandaigua. He is connected with many of the charitable and civic organizations of the village and has taken an active part in the work for the improvement and upbuilding of Canandaigua. Children : George McGill, born 1893; Elizabeth, 1898.
HARRIS.
John Harris, immigrant ancestor, was of Scotch-Irish descent, it is said, but was born in Yorkshire, England. He came to this country as early as 1682 and engaged in trade with the Indians at the suggestion of
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ONTARIO COUNTY.
his friend, Edward Shippen. In January, 1705, he received a license from the colonial government allowing him to locate on the Susquehanna river and erect such buildings as are necessary for his trade and to enclose such quantities of land as he shall think fit. During one of his expedi- tions as a licensed Indian trader he beheld the beauties and advantages of Paxtang. It was the best fording place on the Susquehanna river. As the land had not been purchased from the Indians at that time neither John Harris or others could locate on the tract lying between Conewago and Lechay hills and Kittatinny mountains, except as in his capacity as licensed trade or by the simple process of "Squatter Sovereignty." About 1718 a band of drunken Indians set out to burn John Harris at the stake and at last accounts the tree to which he was bound was still standing. He providentially escaped and at his own request was buried at the foot of this tree in Harris Park in 1748. The grave is opposite the Simon Cameron residence in Harrisburg.
By virtue of a warrant from the Proprietors of Pennsylvania, bear- ing date January 1, 1725-26, five hundred acres of land were granted to John Harris and subsequently, December 17, 1733, a patent granted three hundred acres of allowance land upon which he commenced a set- tlement on the site of the city of Harrisburg. His son John is known as the founder of Harrisburg.
In Watson's "Annals of Pennsylvania" it is stated he was one of the first emigrants with William Penn. He first settled in Philadelphia, and according to a writer in "Hazzard's Register," "The nucleus of his future wealth was formed from a profitable contract he obtained from the authorities for removing stumps and opening streets in that city."
"Mr. Harris was on intimate terms with Edward Shippen, Esq., the first mayor of Philadelphia. It was in this gentleman's family that he first saw and became acquainted with Esther Say, also a native of York- shire, who is recorded to have been a lady of superior intelligence and extraordinary energy." "Annals of Harrisburg," page 7.
Children of John and Esther (Say) Harris: Daughter, married Senator McClay; Daughter, married Dr. William McClay; John Jr., founded the city of Harrisburg, laying it out in lots and selling a large part of the original grant in town lots; Esther, mentioned below.
(II) Esther, daughter of John Harris, married Dr. William Plunk- ett, who was born in Ireland of noble family. In personal appearance he is described as of large stature, great muscular development and strength, while an imperious disposition was among his distinguishing mental traits. This is attested by several occurrences in his career which yet
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ONTARIO COUNTY.
retain a place in the traditions of the locality in which he afterward lived in Pennsylvania. On one occasion with several boon companions, he was engaged in some hilarious proceedings at an Irish inn. The adjoin- ing room was occupied by an English nobleman, who had a curious and valuable watch, which he sent to Plunkett with a wager that he could not tell the time by it. Dr. Plunkett put the watch in his pocket and sent a message to the Englishman that he should call upon him in person if he wished to know the time, but the Englishman never called and it is said that Plunkett kept the watch to the end of his life. Afterward he became involved in an assault on an English officer who was seriously injured and he was smuggled on board a vessel in a barrel or hogshead and thus came to America. He located at Carlisle, Cumberland county, Pennsyl- vania, then on the western frontier, and he lived there during the French and Indian war, in which he was commissioned a lieutenant of the Fort Augusta Regiment of Northumberland county, and for his services received a grant of several hundred acres of land on the west branch of the Susquehanna river. To his property he gave the name of Soldiers' Retreat. It was situated along the river above the Chillisquaque creek and he was living there as early as 1772, as shown by the fact that his improvements are mentioned in the return of a road in that year.
He was the first resident physician at Sunbury, Pennsylvania. He was commissioned a justice for Northumberland county, March 24, 1772, and officiated as presiding justice throughout the colonial period. In January, 1775, he was a representative from Northumberland county to the provincial congress at Philadelphia, and in December of that year led an expedition to Wyoming Valley against Brant and Butler. But during the remainder of the revolution, he remained neutral, for fear of forfeiting the title to his ancestral estates in Ireland, and he was not active in public affairs afterward. Dr. Plunkett resided some years in the McClay house, Sunbury, where, after the death of his wife, Betty Wiley was his housekeeper. His office was subsequently occupied by E. W. Greenhough, and David Rockefeller occupied the site of the E. W. Greenhough residence on Front street, Sunbury. During the last years of his life, Dr. Plunkett was totally blind and a rope was stretched from his house to his office, so that he could guide himself back and forth. His will was dated January 3, 1791, and proved May 25, 1791. He died in the spring of 1791 and is buried in an unmarked grave in the Sunbury cemetery. Although a physician by training he was the only one of the twelve judges, commissioned March 24, 1772, having a knowledge of the procedure of the English courts and for that reason was chosen presiding
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ONTARIO COUNTY.
justice. One of his medical books, "Synopsis of Medicines, or a Summary View of the Whole Practice of Physick," by John Allen, M. D., F. R. S., printed in London, 1749, was owned by Dr. R. H. Awl, who died in Sun- bury in 1905. (See Bell's "History of Northumberland County" (1891) ; Egle's "History of Pennsylvania," pages 639, 640 and 1000 (1885) ; Lynn's "Annals of Buffalo Valley, Pennsylvania.") Dr. Plunk- ett and wife had children: Margaret, mentioned below, and three other daughters.
(III) Margaret, daughter of Dr. William Plunkett, married Isaac Richardson, who removed from Sunbury, Pennsylvania, to Wayne county, New York, and became a very prominent citizen. Among their children was Isabella, mentioned below.
(IV) Isabella, daughter of Isaac Richardson, married Dr. Daniel Arnold Robinson, son of Benedict Robinson, of Jerusalem, Yates county, New York, and a descendant of Rowland Robinson, of Rhode Island. Benedict Robinson and a Quaker named Hathaway purchased township No. 7, second range, of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase in 1790. Of his 14,000 acres he gave a thousand to Jemima Wilkinson, a prominent Quakeress, with whom he came to Yates county. He married Susan Brown in 1795. Children of Dr. Daniel Arnold and Isabella Robinson : Susanna Brown, married Robert Howland, of New Bedford; Dr. Bene- dict, of Union Springs; Joseph ; Baxter, mentioned below.
(V) Baxter Robinson, son of Dr. Daniel Arnold Robinson, was born 1824. He married Martha Smith. Her father, Jacob Smith, resided in Ontario county, New York, original settler of District No. 13. Lot 41, of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase. With other Friends he came from Massachusetts to the town of Farmington and he built the first grist mill in this section in the year 1793, and two years later he built the first saw mill in that region. This grist mill was in use until 1839 and the saw mill until 1841. ("History of Ontario county," p. 190.)
(VI) Robert H. Robinson, eldest son of Baxter Robinson, was born December 15, 1855, in Farmington township. Ontario county, New York. He was educated in the public schools and at Union Springs Academy. In his youth he was an expert oarsman, winning several cups and other valuable prizes in single-scull contests and he was the recipient of a medal for his oarsmanship at the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia in 1876. In double scull races Courtney and Robinson won numerous prizes and banners. He removed to Ontario county in 1901 and bought the Castle Mill of the Castle Milling Company and has devoted himself since then to the mill business.
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