USA > New York > Steuben County > A history of Steuben County, New York, and its people, Vol. II > Part 22
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Mr. English is a veteran of the Civil war. When an answer to the importunate inquiry, "Shall the nation live ?" could no longer he denied, Mr. English enlisted in the Twenty-third Regi- ment of New York Volunteer Infantry, the date of this event being October 14, 1861. His service to the Union was of about a year's duration for he was disabled by the breaking down of his health and was discharged from the hospital on November 11, 1862.
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Mr. English, in testimony of the confidence in which he was held by his fellow citizens, was made supervisor of the town of Caton in 1873-4. Since the year 1874 he has been an active cham- pion of the cause of the Prohibition party, and on its ticket he was nominated for justice of the supreme court of New York state also for attorney general. He is, indeed, one who may be depended upon to give his heart and hand to all good causes and for forty- six years he has been a consistent member of the Methodist Epis- copal church.
The foundation of a pleasant life companionship was laid in May, 1866, when Mr. English was united in marriage to Frances P. Gulliver. They have no children. Mr. English is very promi- nent in lodge circles and derives no small amount of pleasure from his association with his fellow men. He is a thirty-second degree Mason, a Knight of Honor, and belongs to several other fraternal 'organizations, in all except the Masonic order having occupied the highest chair.
VAN BUREN MCCORN .- Numbered among the progressive rep- resentatives of viticulture and wine-producing in Steuben county is Mr. McCorn, who is one of the substantial business men and public-spirited citizens of Hammondsport and who is well en- titled to consideration in this publication. Mr. McCorn, whose line- age is traced back to stanch Scotch origin, was born in Newfield township, Tompkins county, New York, on the 1st of November, 1861, and is a sou of John Wesley McCorn, who was born in Orange county, this state, and who devoted the greater portion of his active career to the lumber business. He died at the age of seventy-seven years. He was a son of Moses McCorn, who was born and reared in Scotland and who came with his family to America on a sailing vessel, which in due time arrived in the port of New York city. He settled in Orange county, New York, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits, and he later removed to Tomp- kins county, where he passed the residue of his life and where he died at the age of eighty-eight years. John W. McCorn, father of him whose name initiates this review, was prominently identified with the lumbering industry in Tompkins county, where he built the first large sawmill, from which was furnished the greater por- tion of the lumber utilized in the erection of the earlier buildings of Cornell University, in the city of Ithaca. He controlled six hundred acres of timber land and was a man of much pragmatic ability and of sterling integrity of purpose, so that he ever com- manded the unqualified confidence and esteem of his fellow citi- zens. He continued to reside in Tompkins county until his death. He was a stanch Republican in his political proclivities, having united with the party at the time of its organization and having heen a zealous worker in behalf of its cause. He was called upon to serve in various local offices of trust and was progressive in his civic attitude. Both he and his wife were devout members of the
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Presbyterian church. John W. McCorn married Miss Mary Cutter, who was born and reared in Tompkins county, this state, and who was a daughter of Nirum and Rebecca (Dennis) Cutter. Concern- ing the children of John W. and Mary (Cutter) McCorn brief rec -: ord is here entered. Nirum is an expert gun-lock maker and is employed in the Remington Gun Works, and Leroy is associated with his brother, Van Buren, in the grape and wine business at Hammondsport.
Van Buren McCorn, to whom this article is dedicated, was. reared on the old homestead farm, to whose work he carly began to contribute his quota, and in the meantime he continued to attend . the common schools of his native county. He was identified with agricultural pursuits until 1890, when he came to Hammondsport,; Steuben county, and associated himself with his brother, Leroy, in the grape and wine business, in which their success has been of unequivocal order. Their vineyards are in excellent condition and produce the finest quality of grapes, from which they manufacture ' all kinds of fine dry wines. Their wine products are shipped to all . parts of the Union and as excellent export trade is also controlled, the same showing a constantly cumulative tendency. On other pages. of this work is entered a brief review of the career of Leroy Mc- . Corn, who is senior member of the concern.
Though Mr. McCorn has never sought or desired public office he is loyal to all duties of citizenship and takes a lively interest in local affairs. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party and he is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, in which he holds membership in the lodge at Hammondsport, and the chapter of Royal Arch Masons at Bath. Both he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church and are actively identified with the various departments of its work.
In the year 1897 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. McCorn to Miss Elizabeth David, who was born near the city of Berlin, Germany, and who was a child at the time of her parents' emigra- tion to America. She is a daughter of Carl David and the maiden name of her mother was Hoffman. Her father is a tanner by trade and during his earlier years of residence in America he followed this vocation. Both he and his wife now reside in Elmira, this state, where he is engaged in the hide and fur business and where he is held in high regard as a man of sterling character. Mr. and Mrs. McCorn have one daughter Ruth, who was born in 1899. Mrs. McCorn has one sister and one brother, and the latter is a pros- perous merchant in the city of Elmira; he served during the Span- ish-American war and later was with the United States troops in China at the time of the Boxer uprising.
THOMAS F. ROGERS .- Ranking high among the ablest lawyers of Steuben county is Thomas F. Rogers, of Corning, who has met with distinguished success in the practice of his profession, to which he is devoted. Thorough and methodical in the preparation of his cases and skilled and judicious in their management, he is always
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true to his client, to the court and to himself in the conduct of the numerous criminal cases with which he has been associated, having successfully won the attention of the court, the jury and the bar, and almost invariably gained his case. A native of Pennsylvania, he was born June 26, 1879, in Wellsboro, Tioga county, of Irish ancestry.
Edward Rogers, his father, was born and educated in Ireland. In early manhood, about 1850, he emigrated to the United States, tocating at Cooperstown, where he followed his trade of a tanner for a few years. Subsequently removing to Wellsboro, Pennsyl- vania, he was there assistant superintendent or foreman in a tan- nery for a long time. In 1896 he settled in Corning, New York, and has since been here a resident. He married in Elmira, New York, Margaret Cullinan, who was born in Ireland and came with her parents to Elmira, New York, in 1855. Of the children born of their union nine grew to years of maturity, namely : James, who died in Corning in 1906; Mary, who married Patrick McManus, of Rochester, died in 1897, leaving two children; Daniel C., of Corn- ing, an engineer on the New York Central Railway, who mar- ried Elizabeth Haischer and lives in Corning; Edward R., of New York city, in the employ of the New York Central Railway Com- pany as yard superintendent of engines; Ella M. is the wife of Thomas J. Curtin, clerk at the St. James Hotel in Corning; Rose M. is the wife of Dr. J. L. Ronan, of Corning; Emma C. is living with her parents; John J., of Corning, is the proprietor of St. James Hotel; and Thomas F.
Obtaining his first knowledge of books as a boy in Wellsboro, Thomas F. Rogers continued his studies in the public schools of Corning, subsequently attending the Niagara University. He then entered the law department of Columbia University, from which he was graduated with the class of 1901. Coming immediately to Steuben county, Mr. Rogers opened a law office in Addison, from there coming in a short time to Corning, for three years thereafter being junior member of the law firm of Sebring, Cheney & Rogers. He was afterwards engaged in the practice of his profession alone until February, 1909, when he formed a partnership with W. W. Willard, the firm name having since been Willard & Rogers. Mr. Rogers is especially well known as a criminal lawyer of ability, being thoroughly informed on that special branch of law, in the fourteen homicide cases in which he has been retained as counsel having won his cause.
Mr. Rogers possesses excellent business judgment and has large financial interests, being president of the Corning Motor Car Com- pany and also president of the Wright Motor Car Company of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, a part owner of the St. James Hotel, and a stockholder in the National Hotel and in the Haischer Brew- ing Company of Corning. Politically he is actively identified with the Democratic party, and has served his fellow citizens as city recorder. Fraternally he is a member of the Knights of Columbus,
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which he served as grand knight two terms, and of the Corning Lodge, No. 1071, B. P. O. E. Mr. Rogers has never married, his business, mayhap, claiming his attention in the exclusion of matri- monial affairs.
HARRY M. BENNER, artist and photographer, Hammondsport, Steuben county, New York, was born May 10, 1875, a son of Wil- liam Benner, from Tralee, Ireland, who came when young with his parents to Hammondsport, and is now living there in retirement from active life. He was fifteen when they came in 1855, and he is seventy now. His father, Timothy Benner, had come a little earlier and sent back for his household. He was a wagonmaker by trade. Many of the wagons and buggies used by the farmers and lumbermen of a bygone generation were of his handiwork. It was but natural that his son William should have taken to some branch of his industry. Colors appealed to him and he became an expert carriage painter and worked at his trade till 1895, when he retired. He is a Republican and a man of influence in his party, but has never wanted office for himself. He married Cath- arine Damoth, a native of the town of Bradford and a daughter of Dennis Damoth. She died in 1899, aged fifty years. They had two children, the immediate subject of this sketch, and a daughter, May Benner, employed in a manufacturing concern and a member of her father's household.
After leaving school Harry M. Benner was employed at Ham- mondsport five years as a laborer and later he was in the laundry business for a time at Newton, New Jersey, and at Buffalo, New York. He had early developed an interest in photography and had come to be quite proficient in all branches of the art. In 1903 he went to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as photographer for an electric railway company, and in that position gained further val- uable experience. In 1906 he returned to his old home and en- gaged in photography and grape-growing and is achieving a satis- factory business success.
Mr. Benner is a Democrat, alive to all local and national is- sues, but too busy to be a politician for the sake of office. He is a communicant of the Protestant Episcopal church and a member of the order of Modern Woodmen of America. In August, 1899, he married Grace H. Culver, born at Seneca, New York, in 1878, daughter of John and Mary (Cummings) Culver. Mrs. Benner bore her husband a daughter, Myrtle K. Benner, now seven years old. After leaving school Mrs. Benner was a clerk in a mercantile establishment till marriage. She died June 14, 1910, after a year's illness, and is mourned as a devoted wife and mother. She was a member of the Protestant Episcopal church of Hammondsport. She left, besides her husband and their child, brothers named Fred. Frank and James Culver. The latter married Miss J. Baker, of Geneva, New York.
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JOSEPH FRANKLIN BROWN, a farmer of Wheeler township, Steuben county, New York, was born September 13, 1839, in the log cabin on his father's farm near Mitchellville, this county. His father, John Brown, son of Jacob Brown, came from Orange coun- ty, New Jersey, to this place in 1826, and settled on a tract of fifty acres, which he cleared and improved. In connection with his farming here in the early days he taught school and also worked at the trade of chairmaker. A stanch Methodist, he was for years an active worker in the church. He died in 1877, at the age of seventy-nine years ; his widow survived him until 1884, when her death occurred at the age of eighty-one. She was before mar- riage Miss Ann Thresher, daughter of Asol and Eva (Churchill) Thresher. Of their children three are now living, the subject of this sketch and a widowed sister, and brother, the latter a veteran of the Civil war and a Methodist minister.
Joseph F. Brown was reared at the old home place and edu- cated in the school near by, chiefly under his father's instructions, and remained with his parents and cared for them while they lived. Farming has been his life-long occupation.
He married Miss Sarah J. Garnell, who was born February 1, 1841, daughter of William and Amy (Somer) Garnell, and one of three children. They came to New York from New Jersey. Mr. and Mrs. Brown have three children: William G., who married Miss Mary Townsend; Elizabeth N., a stenographer at the Soldiers' Home; and Jenny M., wife of G. Depew, a farmer of Steuben county.
Mr. Brown and his wife, like the other members of his family, are identified with the Methodist church and are active church workers, Mrs. Brown being president of the Ladies' Society. Mr. Brown's connection with the Methodist church at Mitchellville dates back to its organization, his name being among its charter members. For some years this church was on a circuit, and the circuit rider held services here only once in four weeks. The circuit riders and the subsequent pastors have always found a cordial welcome at Mr. Brown's, and his support has always been a substantial aid to the church. Politically Mr. Brown has always been a Republican, having cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln for president.
COLONEL PARNACH D. HARADON. - The substantial and well-to- do citizens of Corning, Steuben county, have no more worthy rep- resentative that Colonel Parnach D. Haradon, who has here been prosperously engaged in the real estate and loan business for fully twenty-five years, at the present time, in 1910, being at the head of the enterprising and well-known firm of Haradon & Pease. A native of this county, he was born June 17, 1828, in Hornby, where his father, the late Parnach Haradon, was a pioneer settler.
Of English descent, Parnach Haradon was born in Massa- chusetts during the closing years of the eighteenth century, and was there brought up and educated. He served as a soldier in the
P. D. Haradou.
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war of 1812, after which he migrated to the state of New York, settling in Steuben county in pioneer days. A carpenter by occu- pation, he did much of the building done in this part of the coun- try in early times, and was also engaged to some extent in agri- cultural pursuits, clearing and improving a good farm. He was active in public affairs, for over a score of years rendering ex- cellent service as a justice of the peace. He attained the venerable age of eighty-seven years, dying an honored and respected man. He was for a number of years a captain in the State Militia. He married Delena Clark, who was born in Massachusetts, but was reared and educated in Hornby, New York, whither her parents settled when she was about two years of age. Six children were born of their union, five sons and one daughter, all of whom grew to years of maturity, Parnach D. being the third child in succes- sion of birth.
Leaving Hornby, his native town, in 1853, Parnach D. Hara- don followed the trend of civilization westward to Illinois, locat- ing in Dixon, Lee county, where he embarked in the real estate business. Subsequently buying three acres of land he laid it out in town lots and erected about thirty houses, which he sold at an advantage. During the progress of the Civil war he enlisted in Company D, Fifteenth Illinois Infantry, and served in 1863 and 1864 in Arkansas with the Illinois Militia. He was subsequently transferred to the quartermaster's department, in which he served with the rank of captain until the close of the war.
Returning then to Steuben county, Mr. Haradon established himself as a contractor and builder in Corning, and while follow- ing his trade erected a number of buildings, including two brick blocks on Market street and several fine buildings on Bridge and Hugel streets, for fifteen years being a leader in his line of in- dustry. He subsequently established the first real estate office opened in Corning, and has since been successfully engaged in the real estate and loan business, for several years being a member of the firm of Haradon & Nichols. After the death of Mr. Nichols he continued alone for a time, and then formed a partnership with Frank L. Pease, under its present firm name of Haradon & Pease, and has since carried on an extensive and profitable business, with offices at No. 110 Bridge street.
Politically Mr. Haradon is a stanch and loyal citizen, and for twelve years served faithfully as assessor of Corning, his election having been brought about through the combined efforts of the leading members of all parties, these loyal citizens appreciating the high principles and sterling characteristics that distinguished Mr. Haradon above the typical officeseeker. On retiring from the as- sessorship Mr. Haradon thought to give up all offices of a public nature, but his fellow citizens without solicitation on his part urged him to become the nominee for the position of supervisor, and his name was placed upon the Democratic ticket to represent the Third district on the county board of supervisors.
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One of the more prominent members of the J. B. Rathburn Post, No. 277, G. A. R., of Corning, he has served as its commander at different periods for seven years, and it was largely through his activity that the J. B. Rathburn Women's Relief Corps was estab- lished. He has been present at many state and national gatherings of the Grand Army of the Republic, often in an official capacity, having served as aide-de-camp on General Sherman's staff at Chi- cago, holding the rank of colonel; with General Burton at the National Encampment; and on the staff of General Tanner at Minneapolis.
Mr. Haradon married, May 7, 1855, Augusta Wheat, who was born in Steuben county, New York, and prior to her marriage taught school several terms. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Haradon, namely: George, who has been a mail carrier in Corning for twenty years; Charles, deceased; William, living at home; Frederick, of Corning; and Frank, deceased.
GEORGE RUDOLPH, farmer, lumberman and man of business, was born in Westphalen, Germany, April 2, 1887, a son of Fred- erick and Martha (Miller) Rudolph. The elder Rudolph came to America with his family in 1894, and settled at Germania, Penn- sylvania, where he lumbered successfully till February 12, 1908, when he was killed in trailing logs, aged forty-five years. He was a progressive man, a friend to public education and a member of the German Lutheran church and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Martha Miller, who became his wife, was a daughter of Conrad and Catharine Miller. For information concerning her family the reader is referred to a sketch of H. Miller, which appears in this work. George Rudolph has three brothers and one sister living : William Rudolph of Hammondsport; Charles of Galeton, Pennsylvania; Walter, who lives on the Rudolph home- stead; and Elizabeth, who is Mrs. George Deisroth, of Germania, Pennsylvania.
After leaving school Mr. Rudolph lived for a time with his parents, helping them in farming and lumbering. Later he was employed by the Schwarzenbach Brewing Company as a solicitor. After working as a clerk in a hotel at Galeton, he came to Ham- mondsport, where he is farming and giving attention to various interests. He is a young man of good business ability and of public spirit. His friends predict that he will achieve noteworthy suc- cess. He is a member of the Lutheran church of Hammondsport.
J. TOWNER HAYT .- Energetic and enterprising, possessing fine business and executive ability, J. Towner Hayt is actively identified with the advancement of the industrial prosperity of Steuben coun- ty and is numbered among the useful and valued citizens of Corn- ing, where he is favorably known as the manager of the Southern Tier Roller Mills. A son of the late Hon. Stephen Thurston Hayt, he was born October 28, 1870, in Corning, coming from honored stock on both sides of the house.
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John C. Hayt, his grandfather, came from Patterson, New York, to Corning in 1833. He was educated for a physician and for a number of years was actively engaged in the practice of his' profession. Being compelled by ill health to retire from practice he subsequently engaged in the lumber business in Corning, con- tinuing until his death in 1854, and is doubtless well remembered by many of the older residents of this part of the county. 'The maiden name of his wife was Martha Towner.
Stephen Thurston Hayt was born June 5, 1823, in Patterson, Putnam county, New York, where he spent the first ten years of his life. He was educated in the Knoxville schools, and at the age of seventeen years went to Elmira, where for three years he was employed as clerk in a general store. Returning then to Corning he embarked in mercantile pursuits on his own account before attaining his majority, for seven years conducting a store of gen- eral merchandise. He then changed his occupation, becoming junior member of the lumber firm of Towner & Hayt, which con- tinued until 1868, when it was dissolved by mutual consent. The same year, in partnership with Mr. Olcott, he built the Southern Tier Roller Mills at Corning, and the following year became sole proprietor of the plant, which he conducted during the next ten years, manufacturing flour by the old process. The buildings were destroyed by fire in 1879, but were replaced the same year with large brick buildings. These were equipped with the latest ap- proved modern machinery, the plant having a capacity of two hundred barrels a day. This the original owner managed suc- cessfully until his death, which occurred August 31, 1907. Stephen T. Hayt was one of the leading members of the Steuben county Republicans. He cast his first presidential vote, in 1844, for James K. Polk, in 1872, however, voting for and supporting Horace Greeley. He was a delegate to the convention in 1860 that nomi- nated Abraham Lincoln for president; also to the convention that in 1868 nominated U. S. Grant; and to the one that in 1884 made James G. Blaine a presidential candidate; and to the one that nom- inated Benjamin Harrison in 1888. In 1863 and 1865 he was nominated and elected to the state senate. In 1866 he resigned his position in the senate and was elected canal commissioner for the state and served for three years. In local affairs he was always greatly interested, holding many public offices. He married, No- vember 19, 1856, Margaret C. Townsend, and they became the par- ents of eleven children.
Completing his early education in the Corning High School J. Towner Hayt began when young to assist his father in the mill, hustling as a boy at any work assigned to him. He became thor- oughly familiar with every department, and is now carrying on an extensive and substantial business as manager of the milling property, keeping ten men busily employed. The mill has been enlarged, having now a capacity of two hundred and fifty barrels of wheat flour daily, and seventy-five barrels of wheat, which he
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sells at both retail and wholesale. He has spent his entire life in Corning, for twenty-three years having been engaged in milling. He is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons and of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
EDGAR BAGGERLY, proprietor of a hotel at Kanona, New York, was born April 2, 1847, in Ontario county, New York, a son of Cranson and Sarah Elizabeth (Derr) Baggerly, the latter of whom died when her son Edgar was but four years old. The father, also a native of Ontario county, has followed the trade of a carpenter all his life and is now living in Rochester, New York, having reached the age of eighty-seven years.
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