USA > New York > Steuben County > A history of Steuben County, New York, and its people, Vol. II > Part 42
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covered the entire state with the exception of New York city. He continued in the volunteer service until May, 1866, at which time he was honorably mustered out. In 1870 he purchased a large tract of land in Addison, which he improved, erecting build- ings and cultivating this extensive farm. At this time he also was a member of the firm of Barber, Palmer and Jones, of Utica, manu- facturers of statistical instruments.
Fraternally, Colonel Jones is affiliated with many important organizations of representative character. He was made a master Mason in 1851 and a Royal Arch Mason, at Addison, in 1869. In 1852 he joined the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Sons of Temperance. He has ever retained a deep and sincere interest in his old comrades in arms and signified the same by membership in Angle Post, Grand Army of the Republic, at Addison, of which he is a charter member. In 1872 he was appointed captain of the Post of New York by Governor Hoffman, and in 1885 was appointed by President Cleveland deputy collector of the port of New York and held the position for six years. Colonel Jones was appointed port warden by Governor Hill and reappointed by Governor Flower, subsequently being made director of the New York Aquarium, which position he has held for six years. At the present time he is a member of the Democratic Club of New York city, where he has resided since 1885. He was particularly active in the organizing of the Steuben County Society of New York City, and of the same has been president. In politics he is aligned as a stalwart in the ranks of the Democratic party and he has been a most potent influence in promoting all measures advanced for the general welfare.
In the year 1868 Colonel Jones was united in marriage to Miss Mary Steele, who was a granddaughter of Judge Steele, an eminent and distinguished citizen of the old town of Painted Post. She was born and reared at Elkland, Pennsylvania, and has now reached the age of sixty years. Mrs. Jones is a woman of rare culture and refinement and she and her husband are devout members of the Episcopal church.
ATOM DI
HENRY C. DUDLEY .- The name of Dudley is one which has figured prominently and admirably in the history of the United States and in the preceding Colonial period. The first Dudley came to the shores of New England but a decade later than the May- flower, and in scarcely less than three centuries the family has given to the nation scores of distinguished men-soldiers, patriots, and statesmen, and men whose honor and integrity has withstood every test. Down through the generations there came in uninter- rupted course the stanch Puritan principles of these illustrious forbears to Henry Clay Dudley, lately deceased, who met the best of them as a peer in the highest capacity granted to mankind-that of a good man and a public-spirited citizen.
Mr. Dudley was born at Bath, New York, December 22, 1837,
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and he lived to pass by a few years the psalmist's allotment, his demise occurring May 8, 1910. As said before, the Dudley family is one of the oldest in America and the founder of the family on these shores was Thomas Dudley, the ship "Arbella," which had carried him and his family across the Atlantic, arriving in 1630 on the coast of Massachusetts. He was the son of Roger Dudley, cap- tain of Queen Elizabeth's army and a Puritan, and he was destined to become a leader in the new world. With fifteen hundred others he settled at Salem, and did a valuable part in the founding of Boston and of Harvard College. He was several times governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, alternating with John Winthrop, and he died after twenty-two years of usefulness at Roxbury, Mas- sachusetts, July 31, 1653. It is probable that Thomas Dudley's wife died before the exodus from England; at any rate, her name and origin are not known. Glancing further, it is found that the next in line with the subject was the Rev. Samuel Dudley, eldest son of the Governor. He was born in England, possibly at Northampton, his father's birthplace, and he was thrice married and became the father of eighteen children. His first wife, to whom he was united two years after coming to America, was Mary, daughter of Governor John Winthrop. The eleventh child, Stephen, the offspring of his third marriage, was the ancestor of him whose name stands at the head of this review. Like his father, he was a citizen of Exeter, New Hampshire, and he thrived, becom- ing a well-to-do yeoman and the father of eleven children. The third of the children born to him was Lieutenant James Dudley, his birthdate being 1690, and that of his death 1746. A cooper by trade, he was also one of the large landowners of New England, much of his property being in the vicinity of the present town of Raymond, New Hampshire. He was a daring soldier and scout, being present at the siege of Louisburg, and he served with dis- tinction as an officer in the third Inter-Colonial war with France in 1744-47. The third of Lieutenant James Dudley's eight children was Lieutenant Samuel Dudley, born in 1720, and died in 1797. Like his father, he was a valiant soldier and side by side with him he displayed his valor in the war above-mentioned, his office at that time being that of a sergeant. At the siege of Louisburg he cap- tured a French captain in the woods. There were several military Dudleys in that day, one of Samuel's uncles being a captain and another a major. Samuel Dudley, soldier, answered to numerous other callings, being a Quaker preacher, a farmer and a lumber- man, and the scene of these diversified labors was Raymond, New Hampshire. Of the seven sons born to his three marriages two died from accident, four were preachers who left illustrious descendants, and one, Jeremiah-in line with the subject-was a Revolutionary soldier.
Jeremiah Dudley, fourth son of Lieutenant Samuel Dudley, was born in Raymond, New Hampshire, in 1753, and had the dis- tinction of serving through the war of the Revolution under a num-
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ber of famous generals-under the great Washington himself, un- der Generals Gates and Sullivan, and at one time Benedict Arnold was his commander. He was one of nineteen Dudleys who were Revolutionary soldiers. In later life Jeremiah became a ship- builder and located in Bangor, Maine, whence he removed in sleighs with his large family to Bath, New York, in 1814. He pur- chased fifteen hundred acres of land south of Bath village, now known as Dudley settlement, and thus in him we see the founder of the family in the Empire state. He was a Republican and a well-informed citizen, and while in Maine held several minor offices. His cousin, Nathaniel Dudley, wrote of him in 1817: "He obtained a better education than his brothers, though it was not extraordinary. He was a man of strong mind, of very indus- trious and prudent habits while living in Maine and had the faculty to keep, as well as to get, property." His life was bounded by the years 1752 and 1838, and through him ten good citizens were given to the state. Moses Dudley, eighth child of the foregoing, was born at East Pittston, Maine, July 13, 1797. He was a pious man and a citizen who enjoyed the popular esteem and he prospered as a farmer. He received a common-school education, but his learning was not measured by the time he had spent behind a desk in the school room. Politically he gave his support to the Republican party. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary Atwood, was born October 14, 1802, at Bangor, Maine. Her mother was a Longfellow and preceded by two generations that noted member of the family, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Mary A. Dudley died February 4, 1898, a woman of very advanced years and generally beloved in the community. She and her husband were the parents of ten sons and daughters.
Henry Clay Dudley was the eighth of the children of Moses and Mary A. Dudley, and his birth occurred upon the ancestral home- stead in Bath township, Steuben county. In this brief review it must be apparent that never American citizen had ancestry more worthy of pride and self-satisfaction. He was, however, one of the most modest and simple of men, content to do his duty in that state to which he had been called; an Abolitionist in his convictions at the time of the nation's disruption; a Republican in politics, though not a rabid one, ever placing the good of the whole social body above mere partisanship; an advocate of Prohibition in his latter days. He was not a church member, but he gave his right hand to all good causes and any measure likely to result in the general wel- fare was sure of his, support.
Mr. Dudley was educated in the public schools and early elected to devote his energies to farming, his property consisting of four hundred acres located in Dudley settlement and possessing com- modious buildings, among them an attractive home of renowned hospitality.
On the 2nd of February, 1869, occurred the marriage of Mr. Dudley to Rhuetta Z. Havens, daughter of Elijah and Susan
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Havens, of Phelps, New York, their union being celebrated at that place. Through her mother Mrs. Dudley is a descendant of the same stock which produced the eminent American clergyman, Ed- ward Everett Hale. Rev. Elijah Havens was a Wesleyan Methodist minister and was burned to death at Bath when Mrs. Dudley was but eight years of age. This marriage was blessed by the birth of six sons and two daughters, of whom the ensuing mention is given.
The eldest son, Plummer A., was born at Bath, October 21, 1869, and died March 17, 1895. Carrie was born July 8, 1871, and at Bath, October 18, 1893, became the wife of George Z. Harder, a farmer. They have one son, Clay. Egbert H. was born August 31, 1873, and was united in marriage to Edith Morrow, November 9, 1898. He received a high school and collegiate education and is successfully engaged as a produce merchant and lumberman at Bath. He and his wife are the parents of five children. Susan P., born January 24, 1879, on February 8, 1899, married Fred L. Robinson, a machinist, and died January 4, 1903, leaving one son, Byrd. George H., born December 7, 1882, received his preliminary education in the high school and is a graduate of Hamilton College. He married Arthella Philo at Washington Mills, New York, June 2, 1908, and has one daughter, Muriel. He is a produce dealer by occupation. Frank E. was born March 13, 1884; was educated in the Bath high school and at Oberlin (Ohio) College, being a grad- uate of the latter institution. He was married in Buffalo, New York, December 8, 1910, Eva Boyle becoming his wife, and he is now occupied as a restaurant kecper at Bath. Clay, born February 5, 1886, received a high school and part college education and was married August 20, 1908, to Katherine Parkhurst, their union being celebrated in Bath. He is a member of the firm of E. H. Dudley & Company, produce dealers. He and his wife have two children- a son, Egbert P., and a daughter, Dorothy. The youngest member of the family, Floyd, was born July 9, 1890, received a good public school education, and married at Bath, November 18, 1909, Alice Orcutt, they being the parents of a daughter, Edith. Floyd Dudley is engaged in farming. Bath is the birthplace of all the children.
The widow of Henry Clay Dudley is a woman who enjoys the respect of the whole community. Of Mr. Dudley it has been said by one who knew him well, "He was provident; a careful farmer ; industrious; of good habits; a Puritan in principle; an accom- modating neighbor; a good man."
Could simpler, sincerer, less bombastic, more desirable tribute be paid ?
SAMUEL B. BALCOM .- He whose name initiates this sketch is one of the substantial and progressive business men contributed to the national metropolis by Steuben county, and for nearly a quarter of a century he has been established as a wholesale dealer in butter, eggs and cheese at 151 Read street, New York city. He has built up a large and appreciative trade within this long interval
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and his definite success has been well justified by his fair and honor- able methods. Mr. Balcom was born at Curtis, Steuben county, on the 15th of September, 1865, and is a son of Benjamin and Melvina E. (Dunkles) Balcom, the former of whom was born May 14, 1830, a son of Benjamin F. Balcom, who took up his residence in Steu- ben county about 1829, becoming one of the successful farmers of that section of the state. Mrs. Melvina E. Balcom was born and reared in Steuben county, where her parents settled in the pioneer days. Benjamin Balcom still resides in the village of Curtis and is one of its venerable and highly honored citizens, being an octo- genarian at the time of this writing. He has witnessed virtually the entire development and upbuilding of that favored section and in a reminiscent way recalls many interesting incidents in connec- tion with the pioneer days in that county, where he made his advent as a lumberman and farmer, and which he has always pursued suc- cessfully. His cherished and devoted wife was summoned to the life eternal in 1900, at the age of sixty-three years. They became the parents of three children, all of whom are living-Uri, who resides at Curtis; Eliza, who is the wife of Guy E. Calkins, of Painted Post, Steuben county; and Samuel B., of this sketch, who is the eldest of the three children.
Samuel B. Balcom was reared to the sturdy discipline of the farm and early commenced to contribute his quota to the various departments of its work. In the meantime he availed himself of the advantages of the district schools, which he attended princi- pally during the winter seasons and in which he laid the founda- tions for the broad and practical knowledge which he has since gained in the school of experience. Upon attaining to his legal majority Mr. Balcom severed his active allegiance with the great basic industry under whose influences he had been reared and re- moved to New York city, determined to gain for himself as great success as he could achieve under metropolitan conditions. He thus took up his residence in New York city in 1886 and in 1888 he began his independent operations as a wholesale dealer in butter, eggs and cheese, with which line of enterprise he has since been actively identified, with headquarters from the beginning at his present favored location on Read street. As may be naturally inferred, he began operations on a modest scale, but by energy and good management, fortified by his thorough knowledge of the hand- ling of farm products, he has built up an extensive and substantial business, in connection with which he gives employment to a large corps of men.
Mr. Balcom has been one of the most appreciative and en- thusiastic members of the Steuben County Society of New York city and had the distinction of serving as its president in 1908. He was one of the organizers of the society and has been zealous in perfecting and cementing its social ties. He has also completed the circle of York Rite Masonry and is identified with the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine and the Benevolent
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& Protective Order of Elks. He is a stanch Democrat in his politi- cal proclivities and is a member of the Machinery Club of New York city.
On the 26th of October, 1887, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Balcom to Miss Sarah M. Haynes, who was likewise born and reared in Steuben county, and who is a daughter of David R. Haynes, one of the representative farmers of that county. Mr. and Mrs. Balcom have two daughters, Louise S. and Helen J.
GLENN HAMMOND CURTISS, of aerial navigation fame, was born at Hammondsport, Steuben county, New York, and part of his name was given him in honor of that village. His father was Frank R. Curtiss, who settled at Hammondsport and was a harness maker there till his death, which occurred in 1880, when he was twenty- eight years old. Leah Andrews became the wife of Frank R. Curtiss and the mother of Glenn H. and Rutha Curtiss. She is living at Buffalo, New York. Miss Rutha Curtiss, who has been deaf since her childhood, is a teacher at the Deaf Institute at Rochester, New York.
After leaving school Glenn H. Curtiss studied photography two years, then engaged in the bicycle business, eventually taking part in national and international tournaments and becoming one of the most noted wheelmen of his time. From the bicycle business. to the motorcycle business was but a natural step, following the development of the bicycle and its evolution to the motor vehicle stage. While winning fame throughout the wide world he still owns his motorcycle enterprise at Hammondsport and it is kept in profitable operation. During the last few years he has devoted himself to invention and adventure in aerial navigation and has become one of the men foremost in this field. The story of his work and of his triumphs would fill a volume. Since he made his first flight in 1908, on the old Stony Brook farm, his achievements have filled large space in the newspaper press of the whole civil- ized world. On March 7, 1898, Mr. Curtiss married Miss Lina Neff, born at Prattsburg, Steuben county, September 14, 1879, a daughter of Guy L. Neff. Mr. Neff came of an old pioneer family. He was born October 13, 1850, prospered as a lumberman and died April 27, 1903. His wife was Jennie Potter, daughter of Seneca and Marion (Chase) Potter, of Yates county, New York. Mrs. Curtiss' mother is living, aged about fifty-three years; her grand- father Potter is also living, aged about eighty-nine. Mrs. Curtiss was the only child of her parents. She is a member of the Epis- copal church.
Hammondsport and Steuben county are proud of Mr. Curtiss and he shows his loyalty to Old Steuben and his love for his birth- place and boyhood home by continuing to live there in these days of his great prosperity, making the little town among the hills and at the foot of the lake the scene of operations which must add lustre to its already world-wide fame gained through the juice of its grapes, the product of its wine presses.
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GEORGE RAY HALL .- Through ambition, energy and persever- ance George Ray Hall, of Hammondsport, has won a high place for himself among the substantial citizens of Steuben county, New York. In addition to his duties as a wine manufacturer he is manager and financial secretary for Glenn H. Curtiss, the eminent exploiter of the aeroplane and promoter of aerial navigation.
Mr. Hall is a native son of this county, his birth having oc- cured at Bath on the 13th of February, 1871. His parents, Alex- ander and Eliza (Waterous) Hall, were likewise born in New York, but both are now deceased. The father was identified with agricultural pursuits during the major portion of his active busi- ness career, and was a son of Reuben and Nancy (Gilmore) Hall, early settlers of Hammondsport and the Lake Keuka region, Mr. Hall traces his family history on his father's side through Lyman Hall, signer of the Declaration of Independence, and on his mother's side through Benjamin Waterous, through the Revolution and ·back to the early history of this country. Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Hall became the parents of ten children, seven of whom are now living and concerning whom the following brief data are here recorded : Emmet resides at Cameron Mills, Steuben county; Ida is the widow of Franklin G. Churchill, and she lives at Lansing, Michigan; Eva is the wife of Moses Davison, of Bath, New York; Elmer maintains his home at Batavia, Genesee county, this state; Lettie is now Mrs. Charles C. Cook, of Lansing, Michigan; William is a citizen of Hornell, this county; and George Ray, the youngest member of this family, is the immediate subject of this review.
After completing the curriculum of the public schools of his native place George Ray Hall continued his studies for two years at Holland, Michigan, residing with his sister, Mrs. F. G. Churchill, and at the expiration of this time he returned to El- mira, New York, and entered the Elmira Business College, from which he was graduated in June, 1888. In January, 1889, he became bookkeeper for the Hammondsport Wine Company, at Hammondsport. In 1892 he accepted a position with the George W. Hallock Bank, Bath, but one year later he returned to the Ham- mondsport Wine Company for one year; then he went to Warsaw, Wyoming county, this state, where he was identified with the Blue Stone industry for about six years, when he again returned to Hammondsport and founded the Crescent Wine Company, of which he has since been secretary, treasurer and general manager. This company was started in 1902 and incorporated under the laws of the state of New York in 1905. It caterers to a large wholesale and retail trade and its general prosperity is constantly on the increase.
In May, 1909, Mr. Hall was appointed manager and financial secretary for Glenn H. Curtiss, the widely renowned aeroplane inventor and operator, whose success in his particular field of endeavor has aroused the admiration and wonder of nations.
In his religious faith Mr. Hall is a devout communicant of the
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Protestant Episcopal church, holding membership in St. James' parish at Hammondsport, in which he is a vestryman. He is an active and zealous factor in church work and liberal contributor to all worthy philanthropical projects. Holding definite views on all political subjects and exerting considerable influence in local affairs, Mr. Hall is not in the ordinary sense an active politician and has resolutely declined all proffered public offices. In politics he is not, strictly speaking, a party man. He exercises his franchise in favor of the party most likely to give clean government with the changing civic conditions, and no measure or enterprise advanced for the general welfare fails of a most hearty and sincere support from him. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with the time-honored Masonic order and he is also a valued and appreciative member of the Knights of Pythias.
In the year 1896 Mr. Hall was united in marriage to Miss Anna Belle Lewis, who was born at Prattsburg, Steuben county, on the 19th of March, 1872. She is the daughter of Jeremiah and Marium (Anderson) Lewis, the latter of whom is a daughter of John and Jane (Wyckoff) Anderson. John Anderson was a son of John and Patience ( Andrews) Anderson, who were early settlers in Steuben county. Jeremiah Lewis, who died at the age of sixty- nine, was a son of Graudus and Cornelia (Swarts) Lewis, de- scendants of the earliest settlers of Prattsburg, Steuben county. The mother of Mrs. Hall is a gracious old lady of seventy-two years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Hall have one child, Wilber Lewis Hall, whose birth occurred on the 5th day of July, 1900.
WILLIAM HENRY CHAMBERLAIN, of Bath township, Steuben county, New York, is one of the prominent citizens of his county and belongs to a family long resident here. He was born August 15, 1866, on the homestead where he now lives, a son of Jesse Mark Chamberlain and wife, Erville, nee Ingham.
Jesse Mark Chamberlain, also a native of the Chamberlain homestead, was born September 27, 1824. His parents were Joseph Chamberlain, born at Wardsboro, Vermont, July 28, 1790, and Esther, daughter of Jeremiah and Mary (Josselyn) Wheeler. It was in 1810 that the Chamberlains came to New York and set- tled near Kanona, in Steuben county, on the land which is still retained by the family, being owned and occupied by William Henry. Joseph Chamberlain was by trade a clothier, but after coming to New York was interested in farming and milling. He dug a mill race and built the first mill at Kanonaville, which he later sold to a man by the name of Otis. On April 26, 1833, he accidently fell from a high beam in his barn and sustained injuries from the effects of which he died June 17, 1834.
Joseph Chamberlain's father, also named Joseph, was born at Charlestown, Massachusetts, December 27, 1762. He married Lucy, daughter of Jesse and Mary (Cheney) Whitney, of Milford, Massachusetts, and removed to a farm in Vermont in 1782, which
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had been given him as bounty for services in the Continental army. His father was Wilson Chamberlain, who married Eliza- betli, daughter of Joseph and Joanna (Call) Austin, of Charles- town. Wilson was born September 24, 1724, and resided at the old home in that town until the spring of 1775. At the time of the burning of Charleston and the battle of Bunker Hill his family fled with other women and children before the invading enemy. Wilson was also a soldier of the Revolution and received partial compensation from the commonwealth for the loss of his house and property, destroyed June 17, 1775. He was a son of John and Thankful (Wilson) Chamberlain, of Charlestown.
The earliest ancestor of the family that settled in this country was probably Henry Chamberlain, who came from Bingham, county Norfolk, England, in the ship Diligent, and settled at Hull, Massa- chusetts, in 1638. He brought with him his wife, mother and two sons, Henry and William, and was admitted freeman March 13, 1639.
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