USA > New York > Columbia County > Hillsdale > A history of Hillsdale, Columbia County, New York : a memorabilia of persons and things of interest, passed and passing > Part 14
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James, born January 16th, 1800. John Francis, born April 30th, 1802. Sarah Amanda, born April 21st, 1804. Jane Miranda, born February 14th, 1807.
Hannah, born December 19th, 1809, Ruth Maria, born March 1st, 1813 ; died May, 1838.
Henry Augustus, born January 6th, 1817.
William Quincy, born November 23d, 1819; died July 30th, 1822.
Clynthia A., born December 10th, 1822 ; died August 5th, 1828.
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HILLSDALE HISTORY.
SOPHIA JOHNSON, daughter of William and Jane Robin- son Johnson, born in Cummington, Mass., January 7th, 1784, and married Elias Ford, son of Andrew and Maria Beal Ford, and settled in Hawley, Mass. She died in 1831. Her children were : Elias, Sophia, Maria, Polly, Sarah, William C., Jane M., and Clynthia.
MELINDA JOHNSON, daughter of William and Jane Rob- inson Johnson, born in Cummington, Mass., December 7th, 1785 ; died March 9th, 1792.
CLYNTHIA JOHNSON, daughter of William and Jane Rob- inson Johnson, born in Cummington, Mass., April 7th, 1788, and married Rev. Harry Truesdell, son of Thomas and Hannah Collin Truesdell, February 9th, 1809, and is now dead. Her children are :
Arnold Fletcher, born January 6th, 1810. Sarah Madaline, born May 12th, 1812. John Quincy, born February 22d, 1825.
QUINCY JOHNSON, son of William and Jane Robinson Johnson, born in Cummington, Mass., April 5th, 1791, and married Abigail Cook, of Otis, Mass., May, 1812. His children were :
Wesley, born February 24th, 1813 ; died July 1st, 1844.
Marvin, born December 16th, 1814 ; died September 20th, 1841.
William Leonard, born September 5th, 1816.
Jane, born April 24th, 1818 ; died November 24th, 1830.
John Quincy, born August 28th, 1820.
Melinda, born December 31st, 1823.
James Leroy, born April 17th, 1822 ; died 1869.
After the death of his wife Abigail, he married Mrs. Eveline, widow of Capt. Isaac Foster, and daughter of
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Lemuel Johnson, late of Hillsdale, deceased. He is now dead.
MELINDA JOHNSON, daughter of William and Jane Rob- inson Johnson, born September 29th, 1801, and married Arnold Truesdell, son of Thomas and Hannah Collin Truesdell, September 10th, 1820. He died at Wilming- ton, Ohio, March 28th, 1835, and she married Rev. Leon- idas L. Hamline, of Cincinnati, Ohio, 1836, and died in 1881. He subsequently became a Bishop of the Metho- dist Episcopal church, and after years devoted to his duties in that capacity, he retired to his estate in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, where he died March 23d, 1865, leaving a large estate to his wife and son. She now resides at Everston, Illinois.
WESLEY JOHNSON, son of Quincy and Abigail Cook Johnson, born in Hillsdale, February 24th, 1813. He spent several years, in Africa, assisting in the foundation of the colony in Liberia. He went as physician to the Governor's family, and subsequently discharged the duties of Governor himself. He was once wounded in repelling an attack of the natives upon the colony. He devoted time and money in the establishment of a college there, and finally fell a victim to the malaria of the clim- ate. After suffering with African fever, he returned to his home in America, ardently desiring a restoration to health that he might complete the enterprises he had commenced for the benefit of the colony. But the seeds of death had been sown, and he died in Hillsdale, July Ist, 1844, universally respected for his talents, scholar- ship, enterprise and amiable characteristics.
MARVIN JOHNSON, son of Quincy and Abigail Cook John- son, born in Hillsdale, December 16th, 1814, and married Miss Park, of Chatham, N. Y. ; died September 2d, 1841. 28
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WILLIAM LEONARD JOHNSON, son of Quincy and Abigail Cook Johnson, born in Hillsdale, September 5th, 1816, and married Emeline Sornborger, September 12th, 1852. Their children were :
Ida, born September 10th, 1853; died April 24th, 1856.
Willie, born September 13tli, 1855 ; died September 25th, 1855. Franklin, born June 2d, 1857.
George Quincy, born December 5th, 1859.
JANE JOHNSON, daughter of Quincy and Abigail Cook Johnson, born in Hillsdale, April 24th, 1818 ; died Nov- ember 24th, 1830.
JOHN QUINCY JOHNSON, son of Quincy and Abigail Cook Johnson, born in Hillsdale, Angust 28th, 1820, and mar- ried Sally Latting, daughter of Richard and Sally Foster Latting, March 24th, 1844. Their children are :
Wesley R., born January 6th, 1845.
Jane M., born February 4th, 1847.
Hiram W., born January 23d, 1849.
Parla, born December 12th, 1850. Lillia E., born August 14th, 1855. Quincy, born July 22d, 1857.
Theophilns, born November 18th, 1859.
JAMES LEROY JOHNSON, son of Quincy and Abigail Cook Johnson, born in Hillsdale, April 17th, 1822 ; died in Missouri, 1869.
MELINDA JOHNSON, daughter of Quincy and Abigail Cook Johnson, born in Hillsdale, December 31st, 1823.
ARTEMAS JOHNSON, son of Lemuel Johnson, born Janu- ary 20th, 1785, and married Susan Sherwood, daughter of Squire and Hannah Collin Sherwood, February 12th,
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1814 ; died December 13th, 1865. Their children were :
Julia, born August 31st, 1815 ; died March 22d, 1859. Mary, born March 21st, 1818 ; died April 18th, 1869. Nancy, born August 31st, 1820 : died September 10th, 1848.
Parker, born June 18th, 1822.
LeRoy, born April 22d, 1824; died September 17th, 1827.
Henry, born May 27th, 1826 ; died August 15th, 1869.
Jane, born April 30th, 1828.
Lee, born July 29th, 1831.
Dwight, born January 31st, 1833.
Artemas, born July 31st, 1836 ; died September 13th, 1841.
Lucy, born October 3d, 1839 ; died September 16th, 1841.
BETTY LATHAM, daughter of James Latham, and grand- daughter of Robert Latham, and great great granddaugh- ter of the famous Mary Chilton, who was the first female to set foot on Plymouth shore, in 1620, and born in Bridgewater, Mass, and married to Judge Daniel John- son, son of Isaac and Abigail Johnson, 1726. Her kins- man, William Latham, born in 1803, and graduated at Brown's University in 1827, and settled in South Bridge- water as an attorney, is a descendant in the fifth degree from Robert and Susan Winslow Latham ; and I am in- debted to his kindness for much information contained in these pages.
CHARLES MEAD, of Dutchess county, N. Y., married Caroline Collin, daughter of James and Lydia Hamblin Collin, April 3d, 1840. Their children were :
Charles Nelson, born April 23d, 1841 ; died July 11th, 1850.
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HILLSDALE HISTORY.
James Arthur, born March 2d, 1843. Caroline E., born March 2d, 1845. Martha, born May 25th, 1847. Clara B., born December 11th, 1849. Ellen, born May 22d, 1852. Robert Collin, born July 28th, 1857. Carl Fremont, born November 5th, 1860.
FREDERICK MESICK, born in Claverack, and married Harriet Collin, daughter of David and Lucy Bingham Collin, March 3d, 1823. She died February 28th, 1826, and he subsequently married Joanna Latting, daughter of Refine Latting, of Hillsdale, by whom he had several children. After the death of his wife Joanna, he married a Mrs. Jarvis, and died in Claverack.
MILES MERWIN, born in England or Wales, in 1623, em- igrated to this country in 1645, and became the owner of a large tract of land situated on Long Island sound, and now known as Pond Point or Merwin's Point. It was mostly situated in the town of Milford, New Haven coun- ty, Conn., but extended easterly across Oyster river into what is now the town of Orange. By Lambert's history of Milford, it appears that he was a tanner and currier, and also engaged in commerce, being part owner of two brigs and a sloop, the latter employed in coasting while the former made voyages to the West Indies. He died April 3d, 1697. By his first wife he had the following children :
Eliza. John, born 1650. Abigail. Thomas. Samuel, born August 21st, 1656. Miles, born December 14th, 1658. Daniel, born 1661.
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His first wife having died, 1664, he married the widow of Thomas Beach, by whom he had the following chil- dren : Martha and Mary, twins, born January 23d, 1666 ; Hannah, born 1667 ; and Deborah, born 1670, at which time his second wife died. His first wife joined the Con- gregational Church June 2d, 1661, and he joined the same church in the November following.
His daughter Eliza married Mr. Canfield. Abigail married Abel Holbrook. (?) €
Deborah married Mr. Burwell.
Daniel died young. Samuel married Sarah Woodin.
Thomas settled in Norwalk. Hammel aber 4
JOHN MERWIN, son of Miles Merwin, by his first mar- riage, was born in Milford, 1650. He settled on the home- stead. His wife's name was Mary. His children were :
John, born 1680. Joseph and Hannah.
John was baptized, 1682, Joseph, in 1686, and Han- nah, in 1690.
JOHN MERWIN, son of John and Mary Merwin, born in Milford, 1680, and settled on the homestead. His wife's name was Hannah. His children were :
John, born 1707. Hannah, born 1708.
Joseph, Sarah and David.
His wife Hannah joined the First Congregational Church of Milford on the 22d of May, 1720, and his five children were baptized on same day.
JOHN MERWIN, son of John and Hannah Merwin, born in Milford, 1707 ; died February 19th, 1792. His child- ren were : Elizabeth, John and Daniel. 2×*
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HILLSDALE HISTORY.
HANNAH MERWIN, daughter of John and Hannah Mer- win, born in Milford, 1708, and married John Collin, an emigrant from France, 1730. Her children were :
John, born 1732. David, born 1734. James, born 1736 ; died in his infancy.
DAVID MERWIN, son of John Merwin, 3d, born in Mil- ford, and married Eunice Perry, by whom he had several children, among whom were John, Isaac, David, Merritt and Mark.
JOHN MERWIN, son of John Merwin 3d, and grandson of John and Hannah Merwin, born in Milford, March, 1735, and married Elizabeth Buckingham, 1755; died, 1826. His children were : John, Elizabeth, Content, Sarah, Samuel, and Daniel.
SAMUEL MERWIN, son of John and Elizabeth Bucking- ham Merwin, born in Milford, 1775, and married Susan Nettleton, 1795, by whom he had a daughter-Sarah. After the death of his wife Susan, he married Mary Welch, September, 1800, by whom he had seven children: Susan, Mary, Caroline, John Welch, Samuel Orange, Homer, and Markus.
SUSAN MARY MERWIN, daughter of Samuel and Mary Welch Merwin, born in Milford, 1801, and married to Sid- ney Buckingham, January, 1825. Their children were :
Lucy Belden, born June 6th, 1832 ; died September, 1833.
Charles Augustus, born June, 1838 : died October, 1849.
She has given important assistance in this compilation.
CAROLINE MERWIN, daughter of Samuel and Mary Welch Merwin, born in Milford, 1803, and married to Charles
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Pond Strong, March, 1825; died, 1836. She had two children :
Charles William, born March, 1833.
Caroline Merwin, born March, 1836.
JOHN WELCH MERWIN, son of Samuel and Mary Welch Merwin, born 1807, and married to Rebecca Louise Hunt- ington, 1840, and had one child, John Huntington, born 1842. After the decease of his wife, Rebecca Louise, he married Maria Gilbert Huntington, by whom he had five children :
Maria Louise, born January, 1847. Edward Gilbert, born November 1848. George Henry, born 1850. Charles Augustus, born 1852. William Albert, born 1856.
SAMUEL ORANGE MERWIN, son of Samuel and Mary Welch Merwin, born March, 1810 and married Susan T. Chapman, of Virginia, 1833; died 1865. His children were : John, Caroline, Virginia, William Frederick, Mary, Charles Buckingham, Samuel, Josephine, and Charlotte.
HOMER MERWIN, son of Samuel and Mary Welch Mer- win, born July, 1812 ; died November, 1840.
CHARLES MERWIN, son of Samuel and Mary Welch Mer- win, born 1805, and married Aurelia C. Platt, January 4th, 1827 ; died December 19th, 1867. His children were :
George Platt, born, October 16th, 1828. Mary Susan, born October 5th, 1830. Samuel Clark, born March 22d, 1833. William Henry, born August 15th, 1835. John Welch, born January 10th, 1838. Caroline Elizabeth, born January 5th, 1841. Charles Homer, born September 30th, 1843.
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HILLSDALE HISTORY.
MILES MERWIN, son of Miles and Mary Briscoe Merwin, and great grandson of John and Mary Merwin, born at the homestead (Merwin's Point), 1750, and married to Abigail Ann Beach, and settled at Merwin's Point; died 1820. His children were :
Miles, born 1774.
Abigail Ann, born 1771. Daniel, born 1779. Samuel, born 1782.
Mary. born 1785. Anson, born 1788.
Nathan, born 1791. Benedict, born 1794.
STEPHEN MERWIN, son of Miles and Mary Briscoe Mer- win, born at Merwin's Point, and settled in Milford, where he married and had three children : David, Stephen and Huldah.
SAMUEL MERWIN, son of Miles and Mary Briscoe Mer- win, born at Merwin's Point, and never married.
MARY MERWIN, daughter of Miles and Mary Briscoe Merwin, born at Merwin's Point, and married Jeremiah Platt, and settled in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
HULDAH MERWIN, daughter of Miles and Mary Briscoe Merwin, born at Merwin's Point, and married Eli Smith, and settled in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
MILES MERWIN, son of Miles and Abigail Ann Beach Merwin, born at Merwin's Point, 1774, and married Julia Carrington, 1800 ; died in Milford, 1846.
ABIGAIL ANN MERWIN, daughter of Miles and Abigail Ann Beach Merwin, born at Merwin's Point, 1771, and married Nat. Hepburn, 1795 ; died in New York city, 1861.
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DANIEL MERWIN, son of Miles and Abigail Ann Beach Merwin, born at Merwin's Point, 1779, and married Mary Tomlinson, 1807 ; died in Milford, 1858.
SAMUEL MERWIN, son of Miles and Abigail Ann Beach Merwin, born at Merwin's Point, 1782, and married Clar- ina B. Taylor, 1807 ; died in New Haven, 1856.
MARY MERWIN, daughter of Miles and Abigail Ann Beach Merwin, born at Merwin's Point, 1785, and married Rev. Charles Atwater, 1809, and settled in North Bran- ford, Conn.
ANSON MERWIN, son of Miles and Abigail Ann Beach Merwin, born at Merwin's Point, 1788, and married Calina Tomlinson, 1812 ; died in Milford, 1868.
NATHAN MERWIN, son of Miles and Abigail Ann Beach Merwin, born at Merwin's Point, 1791, and married Nancy Whiting, 1816.
MARCUS MERWIN, son of Samuel and Mary Welch Mer- win, born January 28th, 1817, and married Abigail Mar- tha Smith, February 3d, 1845; she having been born August 18th, 1830. They settled at Merwin's Point, and have had six children :
Charles Philip, born November 15th, 1845 ; died Feb- ruary 7th, 1846.
Charles Philip, born December 6th, 1846.
Emma Virginia, born February 6th, 1849.
Homer Smith, born February 9th, 1851.
Julia Hudson, born April 30th, 1854; died July 4th, 1859.
Harry Merryman, born March 14th, 1864.
CHARLES PHILIP MERWIN, son of Marcus and Abigail Martha Smith Merwin, born December 6th, 1846, and married Hattie Hitchcock, January, 1871.
29
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HILLSDALE HISTORY.
JOHN WELCH MERWIN, son of Charles and Anna C. Platt Merwin, lives on a part of the Merwin's Point farm. He has no family.
BENEDICT MERWIN, son of Miles and Abigail Ann Beach Merwin, born 1794, and married Polly Isabel, 1818 ; died, 1868. He settled at Merwin's Point, or Pond Point.
JESSE MERWIN, son of Daniel Merwin, born in Milford, Conn., August 25th, 1784, and settled in Kinderhook, N. Y., where he died November 8th, 1852.
Jesse Merwin secured the love and esteem of all who knew him. He married Jane Van Dyck, October 16th, 1808. His children were :
Daniel E., born September 1st, 1812 ; died January 5th, 1865.
Henry, born July 16th, 1814 ; died March 28th, 1866. Catharine, born March 11th, 1816.
Asher, born March 30th, 1818.
Cornelius, born April 30th, 1820 ; died June 30th, 1871.
Albertine, born May 4th, 1822. Jane E., born December 19th, 1824.
Samuel, born December 12th, 1826. David, born May 19th, 1829.
W. J., born May 30th, 1834.
W. J. MERWIN, son of Jesse and Jane Van Dyck Mer- win, born in Kinderhook, May 30th, 1834, and married December 3d, 1856, to Mary Reynolds, who was born De- cember 23d, 1831. His children are :
James R., born September 16th, 1857. Mary A. born August 8th, 1860. Clarence B., born March 21st, 1862. Katie, born June 30th, 1865. Louis, born January 21st, 1868. Ada, born April 21st, 1871.
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The Merwin family having been an important root of the Collin family, has received a somewhat particular at- tention.
Homogeneous and unique, like the people of New Eng- land generally, while participating largely in the great and good characteristics of that people, they have been free from the bigotry and avarice that has characterized too many of them.
One of their interesting characteristics is their attach- ment to their old ancestral home, it having remained in possession of the family two hundred and twenty-seven years.
Their longevity-many of them living from seventy to ninety years-is, no doubt, the result of wise and temper- ate habits.
Their high moral characteristics are evinced in the fact that most of them are members, and some of them are clergymen, of the different religious denominations. And, notwithstanding their numbers extending through cen- turies of the past and over a vast extent of country, all have been characterized for intelligence, integrity, indus- try, enterprise and high social dispositions.
Another branch of the family of Miles Merwin, who was born in Wales, in 1623, is as follows : He had a son Miles, born in Connecticut, 1658, who had a son Daniel born in 1685, who had a son Daniel, born in 1718, who had a son James, born in 1739, who had a son Hemon, born 1767, who had a son James, who was born in 1777, who had a son Alanson, who was born in 1801. Alanson Merwin married Amanda Kemball, January 13th 1825, and on account of the celebration of their golden wedding on the 13th of January 1875, the following pamphlet was published :
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HILLSDALE HISTORY.
GOLDEN WEDDING.
MERWIN-KIMBALL.
1825-1875.
MARRIED. At Leyden, Lewis County, N. Y., on the 13th day of Jan- uary, 1825, by the Rev. Ruel Kimball, ALANSON MERWIN, to AMANDA KIMBALL, both of Leyden.
Now at their Golden Wedding it is deemed appropri- ate to place in form for preservation, some records and facts hastily gathered, concerning the families of MERWIN and KIMBALL, thus united.
MILES MERWIN, the ancestor of the Merwins in Amer- ica, was born about 1623, in the North of Wales, or Eng- land, and in 1645, being then by trade, a tanner, emigrat- ed to New England, and settled in the town of Milford, Connecticut, there becoming the owner of a large tract of land, situated on Long Island Sound, and now known as Pond Point or Merwin's Point. This town was originally called "Wepowage," and its settlement commenced in 1639, the settlers being mostly from the counties of Essex, Hereford and York, in England. Miles died at Milford, April 23, 1697, aged 74. He had a numerous family as follows : Eliza, who married a Mr. Canfield ; John, born in 1650, and who settled at the homestead : Abigail, who married Abel Holbrook); Thomas, who settled at Nor- walk, Connecticut : Samuel, born August 21, 1656, mar- ried Sarah Woodin, and settled at New Haven ; Miles, born December 14, 1658; Daniel, born 1661, and died young ; Martha, Mary, Hannah, and Deborah, who mar- ried a Mr. Burwell .? Miles, the son, was married in Sep- tember, 1681, and had a son Daniel, who was born at
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Milford about 1685. This Daniel moved to Durham, Connecticut, about 1710, and was a proprietor there in 1724. He had a son Daniel, Jr., born about 1716, who married Elizabeth Wells, December 20, 1738. Of this marriage was born James Merwin, on October 19th, 1739. The wife Elizabeth, died October 29, 1739, and the hus- band married again in 1741 and had other children, the descendants of some of whom are now living in the vicin- ity of Kingston and Prescott, in Canada. James Merwin married Martha Smith, who was born in 1736, and died August 2, 1808. They lived in Haddam, Connecticut, where James died, February 13, 1790. Of this marriage, there were born Hemon Merwin, on August 1, 1767, who died January 1, 1844; Elizabeth, born in 1769, and died young ; Rebecca, May 13, 1771, married to Dan Carter about 1803, and died 1849; Anna, in 1773, and died young ; Martha, December 1, 1774. who married James Clark in 1789, and died in 1849 ; James, June 5, 1777, who married Esther Smith, and died at Leyden, New York, February 13, 1865 ; Daniel, December 1, 1779, and died in 1836.
HEMON MERWIN, above named, married Anna Brooks, on May 6, 1790, and had children as follows : David, born August 4, 1791, (settled in Illinois ;) Heman, January 9, 1794 ; Anna, November 19, 1795, (wife of Charles Clark, of Fulton, New York; ) Simon, December 29, 1797, (now of Frankfort Station, Will County, Illinois ;) Dolly B., September 3, 1800, (widow of Robert Graham, deceased, of Haskell Flats, Cattaraugus County, New York ;) Calvin 13., January 10, 1803, (now of Phoenix, Oswego County, New York ;) Smith, February 8, 1805, (a physician in Michigan ;) James, January 14, 1807, (who settled in Illi- nois, and left a son, James Merwin of Waterloo, Iowa.)
DAN and REBECCA CARTER, above named, had children as follows : Worthy, of Turin, New York ; William, of Fox Lake City, Wisconsin, deceased : Salona, of Consta- 7:17.
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HILLSDALE HISTORY.
bleville, Lewis County, deceased ; Rebecca ; Esther Ann, wife of Solomon Reed, of Lowville, New York. Of the third generation of this branch, we are now informed of George Carter, of Turin, New York; Elmer Carter, of Omaha, Nebraska ; Helen A. Gould, of Saginaw, Michi- gan ; Jennie F. Mallory, of Fox Lake City, Wisconsin ; Sophia Ryder, of Seymour, Connecticut ; Norris M. Car- ter, of Iowa; Maria C. Francis, of Carthage, New York ; Sarah A. McNally, of Green Castle, Indiana; Dora A. Mills, of Lowville, New York ; Elizabeth M. Plummer, Clark R. Wallace, Jennie L. Platner and Worthy S. Wallace, of Independence, Iowa ; Eliza E. Andre, of Mechanicsville, Iowa; Albert E. Wallace, of Lowville, New York.
DANIEL, (born as above stated, December 1, 1779,) had sons Benjamin, Hezekiah, Daniel, Timothy and James. Of these, Benjamin had sons, William, of Hastings Cen- tre, and Smith, of Volner, New York.
JAMES, (born as above stated, June 5, 1777,) moved in 1800 with his wife Esther, from Haddam, Connecticut, to Leyden, N. Y., then a wilderness, and settled on the farm he owned and occupied until his death. His wife died April 30, 1865. She was born at Haddam, February 5, 1782, and was the daughter of Lewis Smith and Anne Hubbard his wife. They had two other children, Han- nah, wife of Allen Augur, and Catharine, wife of Joseph Stimpson, both of whom settled early at Leyden. The sole representative of the family of Mrs. Augur, is Lewis Augur, of San Francisco, California. The family of Mrs. Stimpson, were Sydney, (now deceased,) Nelson, Joseph, Catharine, (now deceased,) Lucinda, Sabra, Clinton, Mary Ann, (now deceased,) Sylvester, (now deceased,) and Martin.
The only child of James and Esther Merwin, was Alan- son Merwin, born at Leyden, February 23, 1801.
Before leaving this branchi, may it be permitted to the
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grandchildren of James Merwin, to stop one moment and recall some of the incidents of his life, and some of the traits of his character, as learned from his own lips, or from those who early knew him. Born during the Revo- lution, his childhood was familiar with its trials and suc- cesses. Early left fatherless and poor, his education was barely enough to enable him to read and write, experi- ence must give him whatever else he might need. At about sixteen years of age, he was apprenticed to learn the trade of a blacksmith, and at that school he graduated with a reputation second to none, for industry, knowledge of his trade, and faithfulness to the interest of his em- ployer. With this capital and a good constitution, he started in life, and for several years was engaged at his trade at Haddam, Middletown, and the sea coast, being much employed as a ship blacksmith upon vessels being built on the Connecticut River. But the desire to obtain homes, operated then as ever, and transferred him with others, in the year 1800, to the Black River Valley, whither the tide of emigration from his locality tended. The settlements then in New York State, west of Albany, were few and scattering. Utica was but a hamlet in a swampy valley. Boonville had but two or three houses, and here and there in the woods beyond was a settler, who had built his log honse, and was clearing and burn- ing for cultivation. Travel then was by the ox team or on foot. The bear and the Indian were the neighbors, men then were hardy and industrious, and foremost among them was James Merwin. At first he could buy and pay for but ten acres of land, and his practice was not to run in debt. His log house he built for himself and wife, and commenced to clear and till. During the day he worked on his farm, and at night he was at his forge as work might come in. One fall within a year or two after his arrival, he went on foot back to Connecticut, worked there during the winter at his trade, in ship build-
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ing, and in the spring returned with funds enough to buy him another ten acres. During the war of 1812, he served with the militia, when called out to Sackett's Harbor. After the war he continued his farming, always attending faithfully to his business and performing all his engage- ments, careful in all things, temperate, kind and humane, intellectually strong and sound in judgment, never neg- lecting his duties to his family, to society, or as a citizen, modest in his demeanor, never putting himself forward in the way of others. Firmness and dignity of character, and strict uprightness were among his marked character- istics. In education he was always interested, sending his son to the Lowville Academy, and Clinton Institute. For sixty-five years, he with his faithful, intelligent and capable wife, sharing his labors and burdens and pleas- ures, lived upon the farm, they in their youth selected for a home, and lived to see the wilderness turned into fruit- ful fields, their child and grandchildren grown up and be- come settled in life, and their great grandchildren gather about them, and lisp their names with affection and ven- eration.
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