USA > New York > Ontario County > A history of Ontario County, New York and its people, Volume II > Part 46
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BURRELL.
The late Dr. Dwight R. Burrell, for nearly thirty-five years a prominent and honored citizen of Canandaigua, New York, actively identified with its social and business life, enlisting in every movement that was made for the progress and prosperity of the community, was born at Sheffield, Loraine county, Ohio, March 1, 1843, at the home- stead which his grandfather had built nearly a quarter of a century before and which today remains in possession of the fifth generation of the Burrell family.
After spending his boyhood on the farm and gaining his prepara- tory education in the common schools of the neighborhood, he took a course of study at Oberlin College, graduating from that institutior. in 1866. He subsequently took the medical course at the Michigan University, Ann Arbor, and upon its completion first engaged in the practice of his profession as an assistant physician in the New York City Asylum for the Insane on Blackwell's Island. After a year's service there, Dr. Burrell took a similar position in the Bloomingdale Asylum in New York City, where he remained for about seven years. In 1876 he received a call from Canandaigua, New York, to take the position of resident physician at Brigham Hall, which had been made vacant in June of that year by the tragic death of its founder, Dr. George Cook. Dr. Burrell then entered upon the management of an institution which had already gained wide reputation of its success in treating nervous disorders and which had been named in honor of his own uncle. Dr. Amariah Brigham, eminent for many years as the superintendent of the State Hospital at Utica. That Dr. Burrell maintained the reputa- tion of Brigham Hall on the high plane upon which it had been estab- lished and developed its work in a way that won it recognition as a model among private institutions of its character, is a sufficient eulogium upon his ability as an alienist and upon the character of his service to suffering humanity.
By his active participation in public affairs, Dr. Burrell soon became
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recognized as one of the leading and public-spirited citizens of Canan- daigua. Although not a politician in the true sense of the word, he was keenly interested in the success of the Republican party in his adopted city and state, also in the nation. In 1895 he was nominated and elected on its ticket to the office of village trustee from the fourth ward, and so efficient were his services in that capacity that he became the candidate of his party in January, 1897, for the office of village presi- dent. He was defeated at the succeeding election and the cause of vil- lage progress was temporarily checked, but he lived to see the village accept with practical unanimity the ideas which he had advanced, and to be accorded popular recognition for the part which he had taken in the inception of the movement for an approved and thorough system of street improvement. He was appointed president of the Canandaigua Association upon its organization in 1902 and held that position to the time of his death. His interest in preserving the trees of the village and in forwarding every step that made for the beauty of its streets and parks never slept. He was one of the organizers of the Canan- daigua Cemetery Association and served as a member of its board of trustees.
He also took great interest in everything that pertained to the history of the region of the state in which he resided, and in public addresses, in the erection of boulder memorials, and in his service as an officer of the County Historical Society, he was instrumental in foster- ing public pride in the events through which Western New York was opened to settlement and brought into vital relations with the life of the Nation. Dr. Burrell displayed his patriotism to his country by enlisting, while yet a student at Oberlin, as a private in Company K, One Hun- dred and Fiftieth Ohio Volunteers.
Dr. Burrell was ever a friend of the needy and suffering, and mani- fested that friendship in numerous unostentatious ways. He was a member of the board of managers of the Clark Manor House and until his last illness acted as its president. He was also one of the incorpora- tors of the Frederick Ferris Thompson Memorial Hospital and acted for several years as a member of the executive committee in charge of that institution. He was a member of St. John's church and for years held the office of senior warden.
Dr. Burrell married, March 20, 1890, Clara Kent, of Kentland, Indiana, who survives him. Dr. Burrell died June 22, 1910, and his demise was the occasion of sincere sorrow in the community where he had lived so long and worked so unselfishly.
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GRIFFITH.
John Griffith, a native of Ireland and probably of the ancient Welsh family of this name, came to this country when a young man and settled in the town of Phelps, Ontario county, New York, where he followed farming. He became a representative and successful citizen. He married Polly Hobbs. In religion he was a Methodist, in politics a Republican. Children: Eveline, Lizzie Ann, Jane, Eliza, Joseph, John Watson, Jane, Louise.
(II) John Watson, son of John Griffith, was born in Phelps, died there in 1897. He married Charlotte Malette, who died in 1894, daughter of Isaac Malette. He was also a farmer in Phelps. Children. born in Phelps: Hon. Frederick W., resides at Palmyra, New York, a state senator from his district; John C .; James M .; Willie W .; Mary E., married Carlton T. Chapman ; Helena May, married Harry Wing, of Palmyra ; Frank Allyn, mentioned below.
(III) Frank Allyn, son of John Watson Griffith, was born in Phelps, August 17. 1873. and was educated in the public schools of his native town and of Clifton Springs, New York. He commenced his business career as shipping clerk in the office of the Clifton Springs Manufacturing Company. After two years he returned, in 1893, to his native town and since then has followed farming there. In politics he is Republican, in religion a Methodist.
He married, January 16, 1894, Christine Bennckenstein, born in New York City, daughter of Edward Bennckenstein, of New York City. Children: Charlotte, born March 12, 1895; Allyn Edward. born Jan- uary 1. 1898: Mary Elizabeth, born July 31, 1900.
BROWN.
The earliest representative of the branch of the Brown family here under consideration, of whom we have definite information, was Jesse Brown, a resident of New York state, who married Roxanna Grant, a cousin of the father of ex-President Ulysses S. Grant.
(II) John N., son of Jesse and Roxanna (Grant) Brown, was born in Milford, Otsego county, New York, August 10, 1818, died August 4, 1895. After pursuing a classical and theological course, he became a minister of the Methodist denomination and held the following charges : Big Flats, Hector, Mecklenburg, Lodi, Dundee, Palmyra, Rochester, Phelps and Clyde, in all of which his services were highly
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appreciated and were instrumental in the saving of many souls. He also served for three years as private and chaplain in the One Hundred and Eleventh New York Volunteer Regiment during the civil war, and after the cessation of hostilities was appointed presiding elder of the Hornellsville, Western New York Conference. He was one of the com- mittee of five to revise the Methodist Hymn Book at the conference held at Baltimore, New York, in 1874. He married Eliza Graham, who is living at the present time ( 1911). Among their children was Charles L., see forward.
(III) Charles L., son of John N. and Eliza (Graham) Brown, was born in Lodi, New York, March 25, 1852. He attended the public and high schools of Rochester, and the knowledge thus acquired was supplemented by attendance at the Rochester Business University. He followed commercial pursuits for a long period of time, these proving highly remunerative, and in 1890 engaged in the drug business in Victor, New York, continuing in the same up to the present time, achieving a large degree of success. In addition to his business career, he has been active in the political life of his adopted city, serving in the capacity of clerk of the town one term, member of the board of inspectors of elec- tions about fifteen years, elected town clerk in 1891, holding that office continuously to the present time with the exception of two years, treasurer of the village corporation for about seven years, also instituted the form of keeping books now used in the treasurer's office. His religious affilia- tion is with the Methodist church, and his political with the Republican party. He is a member of Mystic Circle and a charter member of the Order of Turkeys. This brief resume of Mr. Brown's many spheres of activity proves the broadness of his mental vision, and whether con- sidered as merchant, employer, churchman, politician or clubman, he has always been found true to himself and true to his fellows.
Mr. Brown married, January 27, 1880, Mary E., daughter of Montgomery and Joanna ( Reeve) Camp. Children: Vera H., born 1882: Tuttle G., 1884. Mrs. Brown has been organist of the Presby- terian, Methodist and Universalist churches of Victor for a period of twenty-three years.
PRICHARD.
James Prichard, the first of the line here under consideration of whom we have definite information, was a native of London, England, where he was reared and educated, and from whence he emigrated to this
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country, settling at Poughkeepsie, New York, prior to the revolutionary war. He was a silversmith by trade, which line of work he followed throughout his active career. He married, and among his children was Benjamin, of whom further.
(II) Benjamin, son of James Prichard, was born at Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1804. He was reared and educated there, and upon arriv- ing at a suitable age engaged in agriculture, from which he derived a comfortable livelihood, and became an affluent land holder. He lived eighty-three years. He married Jane Ann Stoughtenburg, who bore him six children, among whom was George C., see forward.
(III) Dr. George C. Prichard, son of Benjamin and Jane Ann (Stoughtenburg ) Prichard, was born February 1, 1839, at Phelps, New York. He acquired his education at Phelps Union Classical School and Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, and later matriculated at Hahnemann Homoeopathic Medical College at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, graduat- ing from that institution in 1869, and since then has been engaged con- tinuously in the practice of his profession at Phelps, gaining for him- self an enviable reputation among his professional brethren, and the esteem and regard of his numerous patrons. In the year 1883 he pro- moted the organization of the Crown Manufacturing Company of Phelps. New York, incorporated under the laws of the state of New York, capitalized at $100,000. They are manufacturers of the Crown Grain and Fertilizer Drill and the Crown Wheelbarrow Grass-Seeder, and other implements. Each machine is warranted to be well made, of good material, and capable of doing as good work and as much, as any ma- chine in the market, under like circumstances. For two years Dr. Prichard served as president, and for twenty-four years as vice-presi- dent and treasurer. The plant flourished for twenty-eight years and was destroyed by fire in June, 1909. It was then purchased by E. F. Need- ham, who is now ( 19II) serving as president.
In 1862, during the progress of the civil war, Dr. Prichard dis- played his love of country by enlisting in the One Hundred and Forty- eighth New York Regiment. He was promoted to the rank of captain and assistant quartermaster, serving three and a half years, being on the staffs of Brigadier-General A. D. Draper, Major-General Giles A. Smith, and of Major-General Godfrey Weitzel, until mustered out of service. Brigadier-General A. D. Draper with his staff, on the day of General Lee's surrender, rode into Richmond, participating in the release of our imprisoned boys from famous old Libby prison. Abraham Lincoln, at his visit to the Confederate Capitol at that period, allowed an impromptu
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reception while he for the hour occupied the Jefferson Davis White House. He sat in the vacated chair of the collapsed Confederacy. The privilege of a life time was the hand-grasp of the Greatest Man Living, who four days later was assassinated.
Dr. Prichard is a member of the First Presbyterian Church, in which he has served for thirty-five years as elder, as clerk of the session, and for forty-five years as superintendent of the Sunday school. At the twenty-fifth silver anniversary of service in the year 1891, July, Rev. J. J. Porter, D. D., pastor, in behalf of the Sunday school, presented the doctor with a beautiful steel engraving of the rich young man men- tioned in the Gospel, which was resting upon a large nickel plated easel. This was a complete surprise. At the second anniversary of twenty- eight years, July, 1894, a second surprise-flowers beautifully arranged to represent the date were displayed as decorations of the day, had been properly placed in the Sunday school room. An original poem by Mrs. Carrie Starr Prichard, a sister-in-law, was read :
Eight and twenty years of service, Loving, willing service too, Calls for glad recognition From thy fellow workers true.
So today we bring the lilies, Fragrant, spotless, pure and fair, God's sweet messengers of love, His own smile on labors rare.
Dr. Prichard was very pleasantly surprised on July 2. 1911. The patriotic program arranged for the first half-hour of the Sunday school took a turn which he did not anticipate. After the singing of a national song and a recitation by Miss Hazel Mott, Mrs. W. D. Norton, who was to have given a patriotic address, gave instead a reminiscent talk. She told of the circumstances under which Dr. Prichard, a young man of excep- tional ability, became superintendent of the Sunday school forty-five years ago, which position he has occupied ever since in a most loyal and acceptable manner. When Mrs. Norton finished her talk, which was beautiful and impressive, Rev. C. C. MacLean, pastor, in behalf of the Sunday school, presented Dr. Prichard with a handsome electric table lamp. In his presentation remarks he said that it was merely a simple expression of the Sunday school's appreciation of the loyal, faithful and efficient service rendered by Dr. Prichard as superintendent for the long period of nearly half a hundred years. Dr. Prichard responded briefly,
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but with very appropriate words. The church was very beautifully decorated with flags and flowers, and the attendance was large. The service will long be remembered by the Sunday school. This brief resumé of Dr. Prichard's many spheres of activity proves the broadness of his mental vision, and whether considered as a professional man, business man, soldier or churchman, he has been found to be a man true to himself and true to his fellows.
Dr. Prichard married (first) January 25, 1865. Imogene, born at Phelps, New York, July 25, 1839, daughter of Colonel William and Polly (Sutherland) Post, of Phelps. She died March 29, 1893. Chil- dren : Linda Sutherland, born May 28, 1870; Stewart D. C., born April 2, 1873. He married ( second ) April 10, 1900, Harriet Amelia, daugh- ter of Mr. and Mrs. Isaac L. Huff. of Waterloo, New York.
An original poem at the sixtieth birthday, 1899. by Mrs. Carrie Starr Prichard : ·
Three score years have passed away, Time's hand has sprinkled threads of gray, And traced fine lines of care ; There's been time to work, and time to weep,
Of sorrow's cup I've drank, full deep, In the loss of a jewel rare.
The promised span of life is past, On the down hill side I'm walking fast ;
Of years that none can recall,
There are clouds that float in clearest sky,
But the blue is there when they've pass'd by, And the sun shines over all.
So let me take in coming years More of life's courage and less of fears, As I journey down the slope. The crumbs that on life's waters I've cast
Be freighted, if returned to me at last, With love and immortal hope.
Still I must up and labor on, The night's not yet, the work's not done- But the twilight comes apace- What so bright as the sunset hour,
It's gold and crimson, like the cardinal flower- "Tis then we shall see His face.
At the present age of seventy-two, February 1. 1911, Dr. Prichard retains full mental and bodily vigor, and conducts a large medical prac- tice.
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PARMELEE.
The Parmelee surname is variously spelled Parmly, Parmely, Par- mele and in many other ways. It is thought to be of Huguenot origin, though the American immigrant came to this country from England and more than one generation may have lived in England. Genealogists have traced the Parmelee ancestry as far back as 836 through the Counts de Sens, de Joinville and de Joigny, the surname being traced to Francis von Parmelee, who was living in 1467.
It may be said, also, that one authority states that Maurice de Parmelie, a reformer of the sixteenth century, went in 1567 to Holland from France to escape the persecution of the Duke of Alva. A younger branch appears by the muniments at the Hague to have had a grant of territory of New Batavia on the Hudson.
(I) John Parmelee, immigrant ancestor, was one of the first set- tlers of Guilford, Connecicut, and one of the twenty-five signers of the Plantation Covenant, June 1, 1639. He died in New Haven, Novem- ber 8. 1659, leaving property inventoried at seventy-eight pounds, thir- teen shillings. His will was probated January 3, 1659-60. His home lot in Guilford was on the site of the present Congregational church and contained two and a half acres. He married (first) Hannah -: (second) Widow Elizabeth Bradley, who died in New Haven, January, 1683. After his death she married, May 27, 1663, John Evarts, of Guilford. Children : John, born about 1620, mentioned below ; Hannah, about 1625; Mary, married, September 16, 1660, Dennis Crampton, of Guilford.
(II) John (2), son of John (1) Parmelee, was born about 1620. He was a drummer in the train band and was sworn as freeman, Feb- ruary 14, 1649. He was sexton for many years, and "warned" the in- habitants to town meetings. He married (first) Rebecca , who died September 24, 1651; (second) Anna, widow of William Plaine, who died March 30, 1658: (third) February, 1659, Hannah
Through his second wife, he obtained Plaine home lot of four and a half acres of marsh land. . Child of first wife: Nathaniel, born 1645, killed in King Philip's war, 1676; children of third wife: John, born Novem- ber 25, 1659: Joshua, 1661, mentioned below ; Caleb, 1663 ; Isaac, Novem- ber 21, 1665 ; Hannah, November 8, 1667: Stephen. December 6, 1669: Priscilla. May 8, 1672 ; Job, July 31, 1675 : Joel, 1677.
(III) Joshua, son of John (2) Parmelee, was born in Guilford, in 1661, died in June, 1729. He was a farmer of Guilford, and was a tax- payer of considerable estate in 1716. He married (first) July 10, 1690,
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Else Edwards, of East Hampton, Long Island, and she died July 10, 1714; (second) in 1716, Hannah, widow of Benjamin Stone, of East Guilford. She afterward married Benjamin Hart, of Wallingford. Children of first wife: Daniel, born June 28, 1691 ; Susannah, June 19. 1693 ; Timothy, August 20, 1695; Ann, May 8, 1696; Samuel, March 31, 1698; David, July 31, 1699; Jonathan, mentioned below ; Jeanne, September 20, 1704. Children of second wife: Jehiel, June 13, 1718; Hannah, January 29, 1720; Charles, July 3, 1723; Lucy, August 19, 1725 ; Sibylla, March 29, 1727.
(IV) Jonathan, son of Joshua Parmelee, was born June 21, 1701. He resided at Branford and Chatham, Connecticut. He married Sarah Taylor. Children: Bryan, born 1733; Oliver, 1735; Ann, September. 1737; Sarah, November 1, 1739: Jonathan, October 7, 1743; Asaph, mentioned below ; Jared, August 1, 1748; Lucy, January 15, 1752.
(V) Asaph, son of Jonathan Parmelee, was born at Branford or Chatham, April 2, 1746. He was a soldier in the revolution, a sergeant in August and September, 1776, in Captain Elias Dunning's company of Connecticut, and served in New York. He married Sarah Everett and they lived in Bethlehem and other towns in Connecticut. Among their children was Asaph, mentioned below.
(VI) Asaph (2), son of Asaph ( 1) Parmelee, was born January 6, 1778. He married Hannah Hall and settled in Bristol, Vermont. Children : Anson Hall, mentioned below ; nine others.
(VII) Anson, son of Asaph (2) Parmelee, was born September 14, 1810, in Bristol, Vermont. He studied for the ministry and was graduated from Burr Seminary, Middlebury College and Andover Theo- logical Seminary. In 1843 he went as superintendent of the American Bible Society to Charleston, South Carolina, and spent four years in mission work in the south. He was then called as pastor of the Presby- terian church at Addison, New York. After a successful pastorate of fourteen years at Addison, he accepted a call to the Presbyterian church of Livonia, New York, where he preached for sixteen years. In 1868 he removed to Geneva, New York, where he resided for two years and was occupied in supplying the pulpit at Seneca Castle. At the end of two years he took up his residence in a new parsonage that had been built for him at Seneca Castle and continued to preach in that town until 1874, when he retired from the ministry. During the last twenty years of his life he lived on his farm and in the home of his son, George H .. in the village of Phelps. He died in 1894 at the advanced age of eighty-four years.
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He married (first) Mary E. Whiting; (second ) Lycintha Martin, of Rochester, New York. Children by first wife: Harriet Lamar, Mary Jane, James Adger, George Herbert, mentioned below. Child by second wife : Louis Chapin.
(VIII) George Herbert, son of Rev. Anson Parmelee, was born at Addison, Steuben county, New York, July 27, 1854. He attended the public schools and worked on his father's farm during his boyhood. In partnership with his wife's father, George Pond, in 1889, he bought the business of L. P. Thompson & Company, manufacturers of plows and other agricultural implements. His partner died soon afterward and he continued in business alone with much success. He sold the busi- ness in 1902 and was one of the organizers of the Lawrence Bostwick Manufacturing Company, of which he was elected president. He has continued at the head of this corporation to the present time. In addi- tion to his manufacturing business he has continued to own and operate several farms in New York state and Minnesota, devoting them mainly to fruit culture and dairying. In the affairs of the town he has always taken a lively interest and performed his duty as a citizen faithfully. He has served as trustee and president of the incorporated village of Phelps. He was on the first board of water commissioners and held the office for several years, and for the past fifteen years he has been a school trustee. In politics he is a Republican.
He married, November 23, 1881, Lillian May Pond, of Phelps, born May 18, 1860, in Truxton, New York. Children, born in Phelps : I. George Pond, November 5, 1882, married Fredericka Venable, of Louisville, Kentucky, and they have one child, Fredericka Venable; George Pond is now a mechanical engineer living in Geneva, New York. 2. John Barnes, November 5, 1884, a lawyer of Rochester. 3. Grace Lycintha, November 5, 1885. 4. Louis Whiting, March 10, 1891, died April 2, 1894. 5. Richard Hall, born January 28, 1894, resides with his parents in Phelps.
(THE POND LINE).
According to tradition running through all the Pond families, they were descended from three brothers who came to America from Eng- land. The earliest Pond from whose line George C. Pond may be traced directly is Samuel Pond. The date of his arrival in America as well as the time of his coming to Connecticut is unknown, but he married in Windsor, Connecticut, November 4, 1642.
The Pond family seems to have produced a great many fighting men. There is scarcely a generation that had not its men of valor,
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beginning with Indian fights in 1675. Records show that Munson Pond had his head cut off by a British woodsman in 1776. It is said that he had killed seven of the enemy, but as the tide of battle turned in favor of the British, while the Americans were on the retreat, the enemy's light horse encountered them, and in that onslaught he was beheaded. Another Pond was recognized by General Lafayette. After the war Lafayette was passing through the streets of Milford, and amid the shouts of thousands his keen military eye caught the figure of Captain Charles Pond; he rose in his carriage and pointing to the captain called out, "Major Pond." They met with hearty embrace, in true French style, while tears of joy of the two veterans mingled as they coursed down their cheeks. A similar meeting took place when Lafayette met Barnabas Pond, of Clinton, New York, at the great oration at Utica in 1825. Barnabas Pond was an uncle of George C. Pond.
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