USA > New York > Steuben County > A history of Steuben County, New York, and its people, Vol. II > Part 41
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In 1882, Mr. Baldwin married Adelaide F. Birdsall, daughter of Henry H. and Rachel Birdsall, at Afton, Chenango county, New York, the Rev. Dr. Parke, of Binghamton, New York, performing their wedding ceremony. Mr. Baldwin was a member and three times commander of the Grand Army Post, No. 373, of Addison. He was a communicant of the Presbyterian church. In all his rela- tions with his fellow citizens he demonstrated that he possessed such public spirit as makes for the advancement and improvement of all local conditions. There is no movement proposed for the public good that did not have his active and liberal support. A resident of Old Steuben during all his active life, he won a per- sonal reputation that is the best monument to his patriotism and the most conspicuous mark of his success. He died suddenly No- vember 23, 1910.
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DAVID H. TRAVIS, president and general manager of the J. H. Strait Milling Company, of Canisteo, is by every argument to be accounted among the representative and influential citizens of that particularly favored portion of our great commonwealth-Steuben county. As the head of one of Canisteo's large industries, he con- tributes by his public spirited conduct of its affairs to the material prosperity of the whole community. He is also interested in Steu- ben county's agricultural welfare, having for twenty years-from 1884 to 1903-stood as one of the most successful and enlightened of the agriculturists of this district. He is a stanch American in all that the term implies-ancestry, independent ideals and fine achievements, and in an uncompromising loyalty to "the land of the free and the home of the brave." For nearly one hundred and fifty years the Travis family has flourished upon American soil and has figured in some of the most stirring events of national history.
The founder of the Travis family in America was Amasa Travis, who was born in Dutchess county, New York, September 29, 1770, and died in 1859. He was a farmer and a stanch Protestant and it was his distinction to be the second settler in the town of Howard, this county. He was a soldier in the War of 1812, being well on toward middle life at the time of that British- American conflict. He took as his wife Phoebe Baker, who was like- wise a native of Dutchess county, where her eyes had first opened to the light of day, December 25, 1783. Also like her husband she was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. It was her por- tion to live far beyond the usual length of life, and when summoned to the life eternal she was one hundred and four years of age, this being in the year 1887. More wonderful still she retained her mental faculties until within a year of her death, at which time they began to weaken somewhat. During her long life this intelligent woman witnessed most amazing progress in the section in which her life was passed and where no one was better known than she. Among the children born to Amasa and Phoebe Travis was Charles B., grandfather of him whose name initiates this review, who was born March 22, 1805, in Sheshequin, Pennsylvania. In 1834 he married Sylvia Crosby and they came to Steuben county and set- tled on the creek now known as Travis Creek. The present site of Canisteo and the county roundabout was then an unbroken wilder- ness, but about the stream upon whose banks they built their home and reared their children many other pioneer families came to live, and the subsequent flourishing settlement bore their name on ac- count of the leading part they played in the community. Their son, Amasa Travis, was born on the first day of the year 1837, and died August 2, 1894. This highly respected and well remembered gentleman was born in the town of Canisteo on Travis creek and he followed the example of his honored and useful ancestors when it came to choosing a vocation in life. At the time of the Civil war he enlisted in the militia, but was never called upon to serve. He was a loyal adherent of the Republican party and his religious con-
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viction was that of the Methodist Episcopal church. He was united in marriage with Sarah J. France, who, like her husband, was a native of the Empire state, the scenes upon which she first opened her eyes having heen those of Stark, Montgomery county. The date of her birth was November 6, 1841, and she survives, making her home at Jasper, New York. Her father, David H. France, was a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal church, having preached for forty-five years, and her mother, whose maiden name was Eliza Farquharson, could trace her lineage to the land of the thistle.
David H. Travis, named for his maternal grandfather, was born in Canisteo, February 3, 1863, was reared upon his father's farm and passed his youth amid wholesome rural surroundings. After attending the district schools he entered Canisteo Academy and was graduated from that excellent institution in 1883. After finishing his education he adopted the vocation of his forebears as his own, practical experience having made him familiar with scien- tific agriculture in all of its details, his land, consisting of three farms, 160 acres being situated in Woodhull, where he resided until the spring of 1896, when he moved to Greenwood and there pur- chased two farms containing 356 acres; living there until 1905, he then moved to Canisteo and has since sold the three farms and in- vested in the milling business. During this period of time he was engaged in general farming and dairying and the breeding of thor- oughbred Holstein cattle, being a member of the Holstein Fresian Association. The possessor of splendid executive gifts it was but natural that he should be inclined to an occupation which put these gifts into full play and in 1903 he purchased stock in that very important concern, the J. H. Strait Milling Company, and in a short time he assumed the position of president and general man- ager. This company was incorporated in 1902 and has a capacity of about 225 barrels of flour per day. It handles about 100 cars of grain per year, doing $150,000 worth of business each year. In short, he has won the success which always crowns well-directed labor, sound judgment and untiring perseverance, and at the same time has concerned himself with the affairs of his native county in a loyal public-spirited way. In his political proclivities Mr. Travis pays fealty to the principles and policies of the Republican party, in whose wisdom he reposes much confidence, having served the town of Greenwood as justice of peace. He is a member of the First Methodist Episcopal church of Canisteo, as was Mrs. Travis until her death, March 17, 1910.
Mr. Travis established a happy life companionship by his mar- riage, which was celebrated July 1, 1884, in the town of Green- wood, New York, Anna E. Miller, daughter of William and Ruth Miller, becoming his bride. Though Mrs. William Miller's maiden name was Ruth Miller, she was no relative of her husband. The occupation of William Miller was farming and he was a well- known citizen of his locality. The union of the subject and his wife has been blessed by the birth of the following children, con-
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cerning whose lives it is possible to give the ensuing data. The eldest son, Miller Amasa Travis, was born at Woodhull, New York, July 12, 1885. After graduating from the high school of Green- wood, he took a four-year course in agriculture in Cornell Univer- sity, where he earned the degree of Bachelor of the Science of Agriculture. He has made excellent use of his thorough prepara- tion and now holds the position of superintendent of the celebrated Rockroane Dairy at Irvington, New York. He was married in June, 1910, the young woman to become his wife being Miss Margaret Kiernan, of Irvington, New York. The second son, Glenn D. Travis, was born in Greenwood, New York, August 8, 1887, and died November 12, 1888. Lynn France Travis was born in Jasper, New York, April 15, 1889. He is a graduate of the Canisteo high school and Hornell Business College and is now employed by the J. H. Strait Milling Company. Andrew David Travis was born at Woodhull, New York, November 20, 1891. He is a graduate of Canisteo high school and is now preparing for a course in Cornell University. The youngest child is a daughter, Mary Anna Travis, born February 5, 1896, in Woodhull, New York, and now in attend- ance at Canisteo high school. The Travis home is one of the hospit- able and attractive abodes of the community.
HENRY W. BOWES .- In the thriving little city of Bath Henry W. Bowes is successfully established in the produce and coal busi- ness, and he is numbered among the representative business men of his native place, where he has a secure hold upon popular confi- dence and esteem. He was born at Bath on the 22nd of De- cember, 1859, and is the son of Martin and Mary (McMahon) Bowes, both of whom were born in Ireland, the former on the 15th of June, 1836, and the latter in the year 1831, their marriage having been solemnized in Steuben county, in 1856. Martin Bowes was about twelve years of age at the time of his parents' immigration to America, and the family home was established in Steuben county in 1848. Here he was reared to years of maturity and in 1857, about the time of attaining to his legal majority, he pur- chased a farm in Bath township, where he continued to be identified with agricultural pursuits until 1859, when he established his home in the village of Bath, where he engaged in business in the trans- portation of passengers and freight, building up a successful dray- age and omnibus line. In 1870 he turned his attention to the retail coal business and he also became a successful dealer in grain and other produce. He is now virtually retired from active business and is enjoying the just rewards of former years of earnest toil and endeavor. He is held in high esteem in the village that has so long represented his home and he served six years as a member of the board of trustees of the village of Bath. He is a stanch Democrat in his political proclivities and both he and his wife are zealous communicants of the Catholic church. Of their five chil- dren Henry W., of this review, is the eldest; Thomas F., is living
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in Boston, Massachusetts; Ambrose is engaged in business at Bath ; Mary is the wife of Warren W. Faulkner, of Bath; and Katherine remains at the parental home.
Henry W. Bowes, whose name initiates this article, was reared to maturity in his native village of Bath, which has been his home during the intervening years, and here he has found ample scope for the utilization of his energies and ability along normal lines of productive enterprise, through association with which he has gained prestige as one of the substantial business men of his native county. He gained his early educational discipline in the public schools and supplemented this by a course in Buffalo and at Haverling Acad- emy, in Bath, an institution which figures as the alma mater of many of the representative citizens of Steuben county. He early became associated with his father's business affairs and for the past ten years he has been successfully established in business on his own responsibility, as a dealer in coal and farm produce. His political support is given to the Democratic party and he shows a lively interest in all that touches the welfare of his home town. He was reared in the faith of the Catholic church, in which he is a communicant, and as a citizen he is essentially loyal and public- spirited, the while he has not been denied the respect and esteem of the people of the community which has ever been his home.
In 1901 Mr. Bowes was married to Clara G., daughter of David M. and Sarah (Gaston) McMaster, of Bath. They have had three children. Sarah A., and David M., living, and Virginia, de- ceased. He served his native village four years as trustee, and one year as president. For twelve years he was a member of the Board of Health acting as its president most of that time. At present he is serving his third term as a member of the Board of Education. He was one of the founders of the prosperous Bath Savings and Loan Association, and for a long time its treasurer. He has been an active fireman thirty-five years, during which time he has served in nearly every official capacity in the department. He is a mem- ber of the Board of Trade, treasurer of the Steuben Club, and a charter member of Elmira Council, Knights of Columbus. In 1910 he was appointed one of the Commissioners for the Hudson-Fulton Celebration by Mayor Mcclellan, of New York City.
WILLIAM G. DEAN .- The Dean family of Steuben county, and for that matter very largely throughout central and western New York, claim descent from Walter Deane, who with his brother John came from South Chard, near Taunton, Somersetshire, England, and settled at Taunton, Massachusetts, in 1638. Without tracing the intermediate generations it is sufficient for the purposes of this article to say that William Dean and Hannah, his wife, in 1762, were occupying four hundred and seventy-seven acres of the "Phil- lipse Patent" near Carmel in Dutchess county, New York, that tract having been opened up to settlers shortly before. Among his children was John, who had been born in Connecticut in 1740, became a sol-
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dier in the French and Indian war and was one of the army with Wolfe at Quebec. He also served in the Continental army in the War of the Revolution. He came with his son, Dr. William N., to the town of Pulteney, in Steuben county, in 1815, having previously made a tour of inspection by horseback, and he died there at a ven- erable age. He was three times married, though only one wife, Mary Niles, bore him children. They were among the early settlers of the town. Dr. William N. Dean was born at Carmel, New York, in 1795, married to Polly Terry in 1815 at Red Mills, in Dutchess county, and spent his life from young manhood on in the town of Pulteney. He was a man of strong mind and purpose, keen, active, and as a physician took high rank in his profession. He left five children, the youngest of whom, George R., was born in 1832. He became interested in the reports of the discovery of gold in Cali- fornia and shortly before reaching his legal majority joined the hegira of gold-seekers to California, making the long trip by way of the Isthmus of Panama. He remained in California and Nevada for thirteen years, engaged in mining or other business, holding office, fighting Indians, and playing his full part in maintaining law and order in the wild life of the frontier. He returned to Pulteney in 1866 and was married to Jennie M., daughter of Harry and Theresa (Weed) Godfrey in 1867. The Godfrey family also were early settlers in the town, having settled there about the same time that Dr. Dean came. Their former home was South East in Putnam county, New York. Harry Godfrey was supervisor of the town for a number of terms, justice of the peace and a successful farmer, lawyer and financier. His keen insight and wisdom in choosing investments enabled him to amass a fortune that was in those early days considered large. Soon after the marriage of his daughter Jennie M. to George R. Dean he left the farm to them and removed to Prattsburgh, where he died in 1887. To George R. Dean and wife were born five children, as follows: William G., March 1, 1868; Minnie G., a graduate of Elmira College and now of the Department of Education at Albany, New York, July 11, 1870; Alice, now Mrs. Dr. William W. Bachman, of Prattsburgh, July 2, 1872; Stella, still living at home with her mother, October 13, 1875; and Harry G., who owns and occupies the old farm, June 25, 1878. George R. Dean spent most of his life after his return from the west in farming. In 1887 he removed to Prattsburgh, where he lived till his death in 1904. Mrs. Dean still lives at Prattsburgh.
The subject of this sketch lived at home until fourteen years of age, when he came to Prattsburgh as a student at Franklin Acad- emy, from which institution he graduated in the classical course in 1887. Before leaving school he had been called upon by his grand- father, Harry Godfrey, to assist him in the management of his affairs and at his death the settlement was left largely in his hands. This work, which occupied his mind for a number of years, com-
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pelled him to abandon his plans for college and to be content with the education already obtained.
In 1904 he, with Dr. Robert J. Scott and others, organized the Prattsburgh State Bank and bought from W. Frank McLean the banking business which had been conducted by him as a private bank. The bank was organized with a capital of $25,000 and its record has been one of uninterrupted success and progress. It has paid dividends almost from its organization and has amassed a sur- plus now nearly as large as its capital. Mr. Dean and Dr. Scott . for over six years had equal voice in its management, the former holding the office of president, the latter that of cashier. Recently Dr. Scott retired from active participation in the affairs of the bank and Mr. Dean increased his holdings of stock in the bank and correspondingly his voice in its management. It is worthy of note that since the organization of the bank its losses have been less than one per cent per annum of the aggregate amount of loans. Mr. Dean has other real estate interests to which he devotes sonie time. He was for twenty years a member of the Board of Educa- tion of Franklin Academy and its president for a number of years. He is a member and one of the trustees of the Presbyterian church, and holds membership in the Masonic and Oddfellow bodies.
In 1894 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Dean to Miss Grace Conine, of Bath, this county. She was the daughter of Lorenzo and Abigail Townsend Conine, the former a well-known business man and representative citizen of Bath. The death of Mrs. Dean occurred September 13, 1910, and, beloved by all who knew her, it may well be said of her in the words of the poet,
"To live in hearts we leave behind Is not to die."
Her parents removed from Pittsburgh, Green county, to Bath, about fifty years ago, and there she was born, May 9, 1871. Her education was obtained in Haverling Academy, from which institu- tion she was graduated with the class of 1889. For a short time previous to her marriage she was a clerk in the village postoffice under the administration of her brother, Gamaliel T. Conine, and in this capacity won many friends by her prompt and efficient serv- ice and her obliging and cheerful manner. An appreciation of the life and character of this admirable lady was given in a local pub- lication at the time of her demise and from this extracts are taken, with some slight paraphrase.
After her marriage on August 8, 1894, Mrs. Dean gave her- self to the establishing of a home of culture and refinement. Soon, however, tubercular trouble came to cast its shadow over her life and she was obliged to spend some time in the Adirondacks, where she did in large measure regain her strength, until two years ago, when the trouble was renewed, gradually increasing in intensity until the close. At the early age of nine years she united in mem-
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bership with the Methodist church, and transferred her fellowship to the Presbyterian church when she came here to live. As all so well know, she was most devoted to her home and could not think of remaining long away from it, although absence might mean the regaining of her powers; other places and other scenes could not compensate for the home joys. Mrs. Dean loved the best books and the great authors became her personal friends. She delighted her- self not with the ephemeral books of the day, but with the tried - and true works of past years. Emerson, Scott, Cooper, Dickens, Hugo, Eliot, and Whittier were her delight, as well as the better class of writers of our own time. Reading was the pleasure of her last years when sickness had compelled her to withdraw from social life and duties in which formerly she had found pleasure.
Perhaps that which touched all hearts most deeply was the silent and heroic struggle with disease, to which a weaker will would have succumbed long before. In our intercourse with people we occasionally meet with those who seem to bring out the best in our nature; we are loathe to speak the unworthy thought in their presence, and there was this about Mrs. Dean's personality ; she had the faculty of drawing out the best in the lives of those who came in touch with her own. Such personalities are rare and when one passes out we truly mourn the loss, yet the influence, the sweet perfume of the life still remains.
Besides her husband, Mrs. Dean was survived by four brothers, G. La Valle, Frank B., David E., and Clinton F., and also by a sis- ter, Mrs. W. A. SinClair, all of Bath.
CLARENCE H. FAY .- A native son of Steuben county, who has gained success and prestige as a member of the bar of New York City, is Clarence H. Fay. He was born in Steuben county, on the 4th of August, 1877, and is a son of Henry C. and Mary Ostrander, both of whom were likewise born and reared in Steuben county, where the respective families were founded many years ago. His paternal grandfather, Lewis Fay, was numbered among the pio- neers of Steuben county, where he was identified with the operation of a stage line in the early days and where he also engaged in the express business. He was one of the first conductors on the Erie Railroad and was well known throughout the section of the state which represented is home for so many years. His maternal grand- father, John Ostrander, likewise was numbered among the pioneers of Steuben county.
Clarence H. Fay, the only son in a family of three children, was reared to adult age in Steuben county and completed the cur- riculum of the public schools, including the high school at Bath. He thereafter became a student in Cornell University, at Ithaca, this state, from which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1901 and from which he received his degree of Bachelor of Arts. In 1903 he received the degree of Bachelor of Laws from the New York Law School. In the same year he was admitted to the bar
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of New York city and here he has since been engaged in the active practice of his profession. He manifests his continued interest in his native county by his membership in the Steuben County Society of New York city and in politics he gives his allegiance to the Republican party.
JAMES E. JONES .- As president of the Steuben County Society of New York City Colonel James E. Jones keeps in close touch with the affairs of Steuben county, where he was born and reared and where much of his life has been passed. Although Colonel Jones has reached the venerable age of eighty-one years (in 1911) he is still most active and retains in much of their pristine vigor the splendid mental and physical powers of his youth. His business offices in New York city are maintained at No. 143 Wadsworth avenue.
Colonel James E. Jones was born at Cameron, Steuben county, New York, on the 27th of July, 1829, and is a son of James E. and Sally (Orcutt) Jones, both of whom are now deceased, the former having been born on Duncans Island, Pennsylvania, and the latter at Chemung, Chemung county, New York. Mr. and Mrs. Jones became the parents of five children and of the number two are now living, the Colonel having been the last in order of birth. After due preliminary training in the public schools of Steuben county, Colonel Jones attended and was graduated in the Addison Select School, conducted by the renowned Professor Lockwood, as a member of the class of 1849. In 1852 he was elected town clerk of Cameron and in the following year was made under sheriff, by G. T. Harrower, and resided at Bath, the judicial center of the county, for two years. In 1857 Colonel Jones decided to seek his fortunes in the west and accordingly journeyed to Fort Scott, Kan- sas, where he edited and published the Fort Scott Democrat, a free state journal. Because of his opposition to the "Jan Hawkin" faction he was ordered by old John Brown to leave the territory. We quote his own words in this connection: "I did not obey him and when I subsequently heard that he was justly executed at Charleston, Virginia, I shed no tears." He continued to reside in Kansas until 1861.
At the time when the dark cloud of Civil war obscured the national horizon Colonel Jones tendered his services in defense of the cause of the Union. He entered the army on the 15th of April, 1861, as a private in the Frontier Guards of Kansas, and soon after being mustered into service he was appointed, by President Lincoln, a captain and assistant quartermaster and assigned to the Army of the Potomac. He continued as a valiant and faithful soldier until the close of the war, being three times brevetted for gallant and meritorious service upon the recommendation of General Grant. He participated in many important conflicts marking the progress of the war and after General Lee's surrender he was ordered to Albany, New York, in which connection his duties as a soldier
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