Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Delaware County, New York, Part 1

Author: Biographical Review Publishing Company, Boston, pub
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Boston : Biographical Review Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 744

USA > New York > Delaware County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Delaware County, New York > Part 1

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REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION

ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01147 7954

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BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

THIS VOLUME CONTAINS BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF

THE LEADING CITIZENS OF DELAWARE COUNTY

NEW YORK

"Biography is the home aspect of history"

BOSTON BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW PUBLISHING COMPANY

1895

1336481 PREFACE.

ONTEMPORARY records may be said to be a debt due from every generation to the future. So much has the writing of annals and placing them in a permanent form been neglected hitherto that an additional burden has fallen on the present, which, besides doing its own work, must needs bravely endeavor to make up for things left undone of old. Hence this volume of Delaware County biographies, which, thanks to the generous co-operation of an appreciative public, we are now enabled to place before our readers, while finding its subjects mostly among the living, men and women faithfully intent on the business of to-day, mentions not a few of their ancestors, near and remote, - emigrants from the Old World, from the banks of the Hudson, and from the wave-washed shores of New England. These pages call to mind the toils and endurance of the pioneers who sturdily hewed their way through the pathless woods, finding sweet pasture on the tufted hillsides and along the water-courses in the valleys for their flocks and herds, and, slowly upturning the sod to the sunshine, made the wilderness to smile with the early harvest. Here, too, are chronicled names and deeds of stanch patriots who fought and bled for the "land of the noble free." Such progenitors may well claim from their descendants what a wise speaker has termed "a moral and philo- sophical respect, which elevates the character and improves the heart." It is the nature of personal memoirs like the present to increase in value as the years go by, wherefore the book should commend itself as of more than passing interest and fleeting worth, -a volume that will be prized by children's children for one generation after another. "The great lesson of biog- raphy," it has been well said, " is to show what man can be and do at his best. A noble life put fairly on record acts like an inspiration."

MARCH, 1895.

BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW PUBLISHING COMPANY.

WILLIAMS MARTIN.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

ENERAL WILLIAMS MAR- TIN, a well-known and widely influential citizen of Delaware County, one of the foremost in works of internal improve- ment, and prominent also in military circles, was born May 3, 1827, in the town of Han- cock. His grandfather, Eben- ezer, was a native of Mans- field, Conn., and was of Eng- lish descent, the family being among the early settlers of New England. Ebenezer was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and, after that struggle was over, gave his attention to farming in Connecticut. On April 3, 1777, he married Lucy Lane, by whom he had three children: Lydia, born March IT, 1778; Lem- uel, born January 21, 1780; Amasa, born September 6, 1782. Amasa was the original settler of Fayetteville, Onondaga County, N. Y., coming there from Connecticut, and clearing the farm where his descendants still live. Lemuel was a pioneer of Parksville, Sullivan County, N.Y., to which place he came in 1811, bringing his young wife (Lory Trowbridge) on an ox team. The second wife of Ebenezer was Joanna Fassett, whom he married March 1, 1785, and by whom he had seven children. The eldest, Ebenezer, born March 30, 1786, was a lawyer by profes- sion, and died of cholera at Harrisonville, Ill., August 27, 1819. Josiah, born April 17, 1788, was father of the subject of this sketch, and died July 27, 1856. Orra, born January 25, 1791, was a Baptist clergyman, and lived to be nearly a hundred years old. John was born April 4, 1793. Lucy was born May 3, 1795. Henry was born July 2, 1799. Charles was born September 14, 1802.

Josiah Martin was educated in his native town of Mansfield, and then studied law, but later took up the profession of surveyor. He was drafted in the War of 1812, and, after getting his discharge, settled in Hancock in 1816, being engaged as teacher in the town school. Previous to this he had taught in Virginia. On February 26, 1817, he married Rachel Williams, who was the daughter of Titus and Phœbe Williams, her father being a local preacher and one of the first settlers of the Delaware Valley. Josiah and Rachel Martin were the parents of nine children, two of whom died in infancy. The following lived to reach maturity: Charles, born No- vember 12, 1818; James, born October 12, 1820; Jane, born November 26, 1822; Levi, born March 24, 1825; Williams, born, as above mentioned, May 3, 1827; Josiah, born September 19, 1829; Rachel, born January 7, 1833. Mrs. Rachel Martin died August 5, 1836; and on March 20, 1842, Josiah Martin married Sally Purdy. They lived upon the home farm the remainder of their lives.

Williams Martin was educated in the dis- trict schools of his native town, after which he followed the river as a lumberman, and also taught school in Delaware and Sullivan Counties. When but eighteen years old he piloted two rafts to Trenton, and was called the youngest steersman on the river. At twenty-one he was elected Superintendent of the common schools of his native town. Much time in his early life he spent with his father as a surveyor; and after a while he adopted that profession, and has followed it for many years, and has been employed by the State engineer and surveyor for the last twenty years in settling many disputed lines between counties and towns. He was one of

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the most active promoters of the Midland Railroad, and was Railroad Commissioner for the town of Hancock during the building of the road. He was also Vice-President and Director of what is now the Scranton Branch of the Ontario & Western Railroad.

On July 27, 1848, General Martin was mar- ried to Polly Landfield, daughter of Clark and Hannah (Thomas) Landfield. Her parents were born in Delaware County, and here spent their entire lives, dying when quite advanced in years. Wherever known, they were loved and respected for their many virtues. A brief account of them and of Mrs. Martin's grandparents is given in the sketch of her brother, the Hon. Jerome B. Landfield, of Binghamton, in the " Biographi- cal Review of Broome County." Clark Land- field, who was a business man of Hancock, was of New England ancestry. His father, Mijah Landfield, a native of Stonington, Conn., born in 1767, was one of the earliest settlers of Delaware County, pushing out into this wild and almost unknown region when but a young man. He made a part of the journey by canoe up the Delaware River, reaching the frontier soon after the last guns of the Revolution had sounded the note of victory over foreign tyranny, and when the Indians had retreated to their hilly fastnesses and surrendered their favorite hunting- grounds. Mr. Landfield was a man of will and energy, and he went to work to clear the forest where now lies the village of Harvard. He was active in advancing the best interests of the settlement, being among the first to lend a helping hand to every new comer, ex- tending hospitality to the stranger who sought a home along the valley of the upper Dela- ware. He married the daughter of a pioneer, Miss Phebe Youmans; and they reared a good family to succeed them in the development of the new country. Having lived useful and happy lives, they died amid the scenes of their long labors, respected and beloved, and leaving to their children the priceless treasure of a good and honored name. Early members of the Landfield family had fought for their country in the Revolution.

Mrs. Martin's mother, a lady of strong character and high mental qualities, was a

daughter of Elijah Thomas, of sturdy New England ancestry, himself a Revolutionary patriot. He entered the army in 1778, and served faithfully till the close of the war, often employed as a bearer of despatches from the commander-in-chief. His discharge bears the signature of the immortal Washington. Having led a life of honorable activity, he died when about fourscore years of age, in Delaware County, whither he had come as a pioneer from his native State. He married Mindwell Baxter, a native of Connecticut, her family being of the early Puritan stock. She was a true wife and mother, and, like her hus- band, a devoted Christian. She died in the village of Harvard, when full of years.

General and Mrs. Martin have had four children, a brief mention of whom is as fol- lows: C. Leslie, born December 1, 1849, Auditor of the Charleston, Sumter & North- ern Railroad; William Jay, born February 8, 1852, General Freight and Passenger Agent of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad; Fletcher W., born June 26, 1853, now at Liv- ingston Manor on the O. & W. Railroad ; Charles Francis, born October 28, 1855, died February 19, 1857.

From his youth General Martin has taken an active interest in the State militia, and at the age of eighteen was elected Second Ser- geant of the company to which he belonged. In 1845 he was elected Orderly Sergeant, two years later received his commission as Cap- tain, and during the war was given by Gov- ernor Seymour the rank of Colonel. He raised and equipped the One Hundredth New York State Volunteers, and had them ready for marching at a moment's notice. He held command of the regiment till June 27, 1867, and then received his commission as Briga- dier - general of the Eighteenth Brigade of the National Guard of the State of New York. He remained in the service until 1873, when he received his discharge, and is still held as a supernumerary. In 1877 the General was associated with a syndicate of New York capi- talists in building the P. N. C. & L. E. Rail- road, and was Secretary and Director of the company for three years, after which he again removed to his native town of Hancock, and has since been actively engaged in super-

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intending and caring for his lumbering and farming interests, being one of the largest real-estate holders in the Delaware Valley. In 1892 he was elected a Director of the "Orange County Trust and Safe Deposit Company, at Middletown, N. Y., one of the largest and most prosperous institutions of the kind in Southern New York."

In politics he is a Democrat, and is one of the leaders of his party. He was Postmaster at Harvard, N. Y., during the Fillmore admin- istration. "The Pines," the comfortable home of the General and Mrs. Martin, is sit- uated on a promontory some fifty feet above, and five hundred feet distant from, the junc- tion of the Beaver Kill and East Branch of the Delaware River, and overlooking the bustling little village of East Branch.

The first portrait in the present volume will be recognized as a likeness of General Will- iams Martin, who is shown by the foregoing sketch to have done good service, and justly to have won an excellent reputation both as a soldier and a civilian. The work in which he has largely been engaged calls to mind the words of Emerson, "Railroad iron is a magi- cian's rod, in its power to evoke the sleeping energies of land and water."

USTUS W. TAYLOR has lived in the village of Hobart but a little short of half a century, and is now the oldest inhabitant. Excepting that he is still active and vigorous, bearing with ease his fourscore years, he might be likened to the sere and yellow leaf, the last on the tree; for it is true that he is the sole survivor of the companions of his early manhood who with him were residents of this part of Stam- ford, when it was but a small hamlet. He was born in the town of Stamford, September 30, 1814, being the son of Baruch and Sarah (Wilcox) Taylor, the former of whom was a native of Danbury, Conn., born on January 7, 1789, and the latter a native of Delaware County, having entered this world May 12, 1792, in the town of Harpersfield.

Baruch Taylor was a son of Andrew and Hannah (Smith) Taylor, both natives of Con- necticut. Andrew Taylor was a weaver and a

tanner by trade, and followed those vocations in the State of his birth. During the Revo- lutionary War he was drafted into the army. He subsequently migrated to Delaware County, becoming among the earliest set- tlers of the town of Harpersfield, where he bought a tract of unimproved land from one of the members of the original Harper family. After clearing many acres of that purchase, he removed to another farm in the same town, where he continued his pioneer labor until death closed his earthly career at the age of seventy years. He was one of the most suc- cessful farmers of the vicinity, being enabled to spend his last years free from active labor. At the time of his settlement Catskill was the nearest market, and the nearest mill was in Schoharie, whither the grist had to be taken on horseback. He was a stanch Demo- crat in his political views, and both he and his good wife were members of the Episcopal church. She lived to the venerable age of ninety-four years. They reared three chil- dren - Baruch, Andrew, and Laura, all of whom lived to a good old age, and each reared large families.

Baruch, the eldest son, was reared on the farm, and during the earlier years of his ma- ture life was engaged in teaching in the district schools. He was also a pioneer sing- ing-school master, being engaged in that ca- pacity for nearly forty years. He succeeded to the ownership of the parental homestead in the town of Stamford, the part then known as Harpersfield. He was a very useful and a thoroughly respected citizen, being a man whose word was as good as his bond. His wife, who was a sincere and worthy member of the Baptist church, of which he was an attendant, departed this life on December 9, 1850. Baruch Taylor was a prominent mem- ber of the Democratic party, serving as Su- pervisor, Justice of the Peace, and in various other offices. He spent his last years at the home of the subject of this sketch, dying Feb- ruary 15, 1873. Eight children were born to him and his wife, seven of whom grew to maturity, and two are now living, as follows : Justus W .; Andrew, born July 29, 1827, a lawyer in Hancock. Edmund B., born Feb- ruary 20, 1822, died May 31, 1831; Deloss

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Lafayette, born September 14, 1824, died November 1, 1887; Celia J. Dickson, born January 11, 1816, died March 13, 1869; Laura L. Taylor, born February 8, 1818, died October 4, 1846; and Sarah H., born January 30, 1820, died February 2, 1870.

Justus W. Taylor was given the advantages of a good education, his first steps in the path of knowledge being trod in the schools of the district; and the instruction there obtained was further advanced in a select school and at Jefferson Academy. Mr. Taylor was sub- sequently engaged for twelve winter seasons as a teacher in the day schools, and, inherit- ing his father's musical talent, had also large classes in singing for many winters. He is one of the oldest teachers of Delaware County now living. Mr. Taylor has owned and occu- pied his farm of fifty acres in the village of Hobart since the day of his marriage, and in its management has met with great success. He is a farmer of excellent judgment, and a keen, capable business man, deservedly held in much respect as a citizen and neighbor.

Mr. Taylor was married June 17, 1845, to Thirza M. Booth, a native of Harpersfield, where she was born November 25, 1825, being a daughter of John and Maria (Smith) Booth. Mr. Booth was one of the early settlers of this section of Delaware County, and in his capac- ity of carpenter and builder did much toward advancing the growth of the place. He died while yet a comparatively young man, at the age of forty years. His widow lived to cele- brate her eighty-third birthday. Both were active members of the Methodist church, and in politics he was a Whig. Of their eight children three are now living, namely : Mrs. Lydia Humphrey, of Harpersfield; Mrs. Thirza Taylor; and Mrs. Ruth Humphrey, of Harpersfield.

The union of Mr. and Mrs. Taylor has been blessed by the birth of two children. Eliza- beth, born October 12, 1849, is the wife of Jabez H. Barlow, a painter residing in Ho- bart; and John B., born May 3, 1852, a farmer, is married, and also lives in Hobart. Mrs. Taylor is a woman of far more than aver- age ability and energy, both mental and phys- ical. Since the age of sixteen years she has been engaged in the millinery business in the

village, and may rightly be entitled the "pio- neer milliner." She has the largest and most stylish stock of millinery goods to be found in the vicinity, making two trips to New York City each year to buy her goods and secure the fashions.

In his political views Mr. Taylor is identi- fied with the Democratic party, of which he is a faithful adherent. He has ever taken an ac- tive part in local matters, and has served for four years as Justice of the Peace, besides holding various other offices. Both he and his wife are active members of the Methodist church, in which he has served as Trustee and is now a Steward.

YRON L. BEACH is one of the practical and prosperous farmers of his native town of Masonville, and one of the representative men of these parts. He is the owner of a val- uable, highly cultivated farm of two hundred acres; and here he carries on general farming and dairying, besides devoting a good deal of attention to the business of his saw-mill. He first opened his eyes to the light of this world on September 17, 1829, being a son of Chester and Eliza Ann (Root) Beach. His father was born in Litchfield County, Conn., and his mother in Dutchess County, New York.

Among the early settlers of the town of Masonville were several families from Con- necticut, who removed from their native State in 1824, and, establishing themselves in this part of Delaware County, became largely in- strumental in developing its resources and advancing its growth. Prominent among this number was Joshua Beach, the paternal grand- father of the subject of this sketch, who, with four of his sons, settled within the limits of the town of Masonville, each buying a tract of wild land. Joshua Beach purchased about two hundred acres, on which a small place had been cleared and a log house erected. The forests still contained deer, bears, wolves, and other wild animals, which roamed unrestrained over the beautiful valleys and hillsides where sleek herds of cattle may now be seen peacefully grazing. By dint of labo-

BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

rious industry the elder Beach improved a fine homestead, and remained a respected resident of the town until his deccase at the age of sixty-five years. In politics he was a Whig, and in religious matters was a sound Presby- terian. Hc married Lois Loomis, who sur- vived him, living to the ripe old age of fourscore years. They reared a family of eight children, six sons and two daughters, none of whom are now living.

Chester Beach was one of the four sons who came to Masonville when his father did, bringing with him his wife and family. He bought one hundred acres of unimproved land, on which he built a block-house; and into this he moved with his family. He clearcd quite a tract of his land, and, buying more, became the owner of a farm of one hundred and ninety-four and three-quarters acres. His death occurred when he was about sixty-five years old. His wife died long afterward, on the old homestead, at the advanced age of eighty years. In politics he was a Whig until the disbandment of that party, when he became identified with the Democratic party.

Of the four children of Mr. and Mrs. Chcs- ter Beach, Myron L. is the only one now liv- ing. Phobe Ann, a single lady, died at the age of sixty-six years. Electa M., who be- came the wife of Erastus Mills, died when only twenty-five years old. Lucius H. passed away at the age of fifty-three years.

Myron L. Beach grew to man's estate on the homestcad, receiving his mental training in the district school, and on the farm acquir- ing a practical knowledge of agriculture. At the age of twenty-two years he began the battle of life on his own account, buying fifty acres of land, not very far from the parental homestead. He prospercd in his labors, and through his habits of industry and thrift was enabled to add to his possessions, buying land adjoining the old homestead, so that he is now the possessor of two hundred valuable acres. In 1864 Mr. Beach moved on to the place adjoining the old home, where he has since resided, carrying on his farming operations in such an intelligent and judicious manner as to reap the best possible results.

Mr. Beach was first marricd on the 11th of February, 1852, to Maria H. Green, who was

born in Harpersfield, Delaware County, De- cember 16, 1833, and who died November 6, 1853, leaving no children. On October 8, 1854, he married Phœbe Ann Wilson, a na- tive of Otsego County, born in South Worcester, February 20, 1827. She was the daughter of Joseph and Jane (Wilsey ) Wilson, neither of whom is living. Of this union were born six children, whose record is as fol- lows: Lewis R., born April 4, 1856, died October 27, 1869. Lydia M., born April 8, 1858, became the wife of Simeon Pond, and died May 29, 1883. Henry Edson Beach, born May 15, 1860, a single man, living at home, assists in the management of the home farm. Ida Ellen, born October 31, 1862, died March 4, 1863. Orrin Arthur, born August 1, 1864, is.a farmer, residing in Ox- ford, and is married, and has five children. Electa M., born September 1, 1867, married Emory Bartholomew, and died May 25, 1887. Mrs. Phoebe A. Beach, the mother of this family of children, passed on to the higher life October 4, 1891; and Mr. Beach was united in marriage on February 14, 1893, to Lucy Ann Wilson, a sister of his second wife, and the widow of the late Reuben Jump. She was born in South Worcester on February 6, 1834.

Mr. and Mrs. Beach are liberal in their re- ligious beliefs; and he, politically, is a firm supporter of the principles of the Republican party. Hc has served as Justice of the Peace cight years, and has held many of the minor offices of the town.

AMES HOLLEY, a successful agri- culturist of Walton, owns and occupies a comfortable homcstcad on the river road, about two miles from the village. He comcs of patriotic Puritan stock, his grandfather Holley having been a life-long resident of Connecticut and a veteran of the Revolutionary War.

Mr. Hollcy was born December 23, 1826, in the town of Delhi in this county, being a son of William Holley, a native of Fairfield County, Connecticut. William Hollcy re- mained with his parents until seventeen years old, when he went to Troy, N. Y., where he

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learned the trade of shoemaking from a worthy Crispin who afterward became his brother-in- law. In 1818 he came to Delaware County, becoming one of the early pioneers of Delhi, where he worked at his trade for many years. He finally removed to Hamden, and there passed his remaining days, he living to cel- ebrate his eighty-second birthday. The maiden name of his wife, who was of Irish descent, the daughter of George Stewart, of Schenectady, was Ann Stewart. They reared a family of seven children; namely, John S., George, Stephen, Eliza Ann, James, Mar- garet, and Matilda. Mrs. Ann Holley was a member of the Baptist church, in which she did active work. She survived her husband, and died in Walton at the home of her son James, after a long and useful life of seventy- eight years.

James Holley was the fifth child born into this household; and, being very young when his parents moved to Hamden, he there spent the days of his youth, receiving as good an education as the public schools of the locality afforded, and worked with his father until seventeen years old. He then began working out by the month at lumbering and farming, continuing thus employed for eight years. Having saved enough money to warrant him in establishing a household, he married, and, removing to Sullivan County, there rented a farm, which he carried on for one year. Mr. Holley then returned to Delaware County, and, purchasing a farm in Colchester, was for some time engaged in its management. He subsequently worked at the carpenter's trade for about seven years in Sullivan County. In 1865 Mr. Holley bought the seventy-acre farm where lie now resides, and has since dili- gently worked at its cultivation. In addition to general husbandry, he makes a good profit on his dairy, keeping about fourteen cows, and selling his milk at the creamery.

The first marriage of James Holley was celebrated in 1850, when Lois H. Lindsley, a daughter of David Lindsley, an early pio- neer of Sullivan County, became his wife. She was a most amiable woman, and a devoted member of the Baptist church. She died in 1854, leaving two children -a son named William and a daughter Matilda. William,

who is a farmer in Tompkins, married Jane Hull. Matilda married William H. Wilson, a farmer in Colchester, the son of Ephraim Wilson, of that town; and they are the par- ents of six promising sons: Frank; Walter; James ; Earl; and Sherman and Herman, twins. Mr. Holley subsequently married Elizabeth S. Moore, a native of Hilton, and a daughter of James and Betsey (Armstrong) Moore, who removed to Hamden from Hilton. Two children were born of this union, namely: Marshall, who assists his father on the farm; and Mary, who died at the age of thirteen months. In October, 1892, Death, who loves a shining mark, again crossed the threshold, bearing away the affectionate wife and tender mother. She was a sincere Chris- tian woman, and a valued member of the Methodist church.

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Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Delaware County, New York, Part 1

Author: Biographical Review Publishing Company, Boston, pub Publication date: 1895 Publisher: Boston : Biographical Review Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 744

Author: Biographical Review Publishing Company, Boston, pub
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Boston : Biographical Review Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 744