USA > New York > Steuben County > A history of Steuben County, New York, and its people, Vol. II > Part 44
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47
After completing his education in the common schools and Charlemont Academy, he was for eleven years a successful teacher in the rural schools of his native state, and in 1852 became assist- ant principal of the public schools at Ithaca, New York. There his abilities found wider scope, and there he remained until 1856, when he was called to the very responsible position of principal of the Corning Free Academy, at a time when it numbered only three hundred and ninety-three pupils and when seven different private and denominational schools were scattered about the city. All of these were consolidated into one school of over thirteen hun- dred pupils during his administration of about ten years. Through individual contact with his students in their sports, as well as in the class-room, and by adherence to the highest ideals of moral and religious principles, Professor Parker won their confidence and inspired in them such a high sense of honor and honesty that dur- ing his last year there the school almost disciplined itself. At a
938
HISTORY OF STEUBEN COUNTY
time when the Board of Education were considering the discon- tinuance of the use of the Bible in the school, he said to them, "If you want the Bible taken out of the school, I will take it under my arm and walk out with it," and this closed the incident. The power of his personality is indicated by the following, written by residents of the Crystal City more than forty years afterwards : "Character building as well as scholarly attainment was his watch- word, and the splendid work he did is still an inspiration to all who were under his instruction."
He took up his residence at his present home in Bath in 1865, on the memorable day that Lincoln was assassinated, and for four years continued his educational work as principal of Haverling High School. From 1870 to 1873 he served the first district of Steuben county as its school commissioner, and about that time established the Parker Insurance Agency, a business he has fol- lowed ever since, with the exception of six years, 1888 to 1893. when he devoted his whole time to the responsible duties of county treasurer with such fidelity that upon his retirement the board of supervisors appropriately expressed its appreciation of his long, honest and efficient service to the county. He cast his first presi- dential vote for John C. Fremont, was a firm believer in the prin- ciples of the Republican party, and was one of its campaign speakers and most earnest workers for many years.
Reared on a farm through which ran a trout stream, he became an ardent sportsman and so continued as long as he could see to bait a hook or load a gun. At the age of eighty-eight he caught two nine-pound trout from Lake Keuka. Some time back in the sixties he killed two deer near Coopers Plains, and the last one seen at Lake Salubria near the village of Bath was a target for his gun, but escaped by swimming the lake and running off over Winegar Hill. As president of the Steuben County Sportsmen's Club he was largely instrumental in securing to Steuben county the New York State Fish Hatchery located at Cold Springs, in the town of Urbana, and his love for outdoor sports may account for his longevity and unusual vigor of mind, which enabled him to produce such lines as the following extracts from his "Birthday Dream," written at the age of ninety-one:
The birthday dream Is here our theme, And echoes through the soul,
As on the tide, We calmly glide Toward man's immortal goal.
Before our prime, In childhood's time, The years too long would last ; But now our days, Like morning rays, Are speeding on too fast.
939
HISTORY OF STEUBEN COUNTY
As eagles fly Athwart the sky, When searching for their prey ; So birthdays flee, With you and me, Whose locks are long and gray.
They bring us near The gladdest year That mortals ever know; When clouds and night, Give place to light, Majestic in its glow.
So what care I How birthdays fly Out toward the Christian's goal; Each passing year Will bring us near The homeland of the soul.
Yes, Ninety-one Its race has run ; It will come back no more, Till we sit down To wear the crown On Canaan's happy shore.
He penned the historical poem for Bath's Centennial Celebra- tion in 1892, and for several years annually reduced to rhyme a resume of the events of the closing year, and so many interesting occasions in the life of the county seat and its people for almost half a century have been put into the rhythm of his verses that they would prove a valuable history for future generations could they be brought together in one volume.
Perhaps one of the best of his shorter poems was the hymn written for the centennial celebration of the Presbyterian church of Bath in January, 1908, the lines of which follow :
O God of peace and battle, O God of time and space, Thou art the King Eternal, Yet no man sees Thy face. Thou art a God of mercy; Thou art a God of power ; We praise Thy matchless glory At this centennial hour.
940
HISTORY OF STEUBEN COUNTY
We thank Thee, O our Father, We bless Thy holy name, That into this loved valley Thy spirit ever came ; That here a church was planted, And here a house was reared, Where Christians met to worship The God they loved and feared.
We bless Thee for the battles Here fought on bended knees, When this church led the conflict Beneath the native trees; For fathers and for mothers, And children yet ungrown, Who bowed in humble worship At altars of their own.
Through Thy abounding goodness, While in Thy house to-day, We make new consecration As here in song we pray. Lead us, O loving Father, From this memorial hour, And Thine shall be the glory, The honor and the power.
The strong religious character of the author predominate: his life and permeates all his writings. Beginning in the first £ day-school ever held in the old town meeting house of his I England home about 1825, he has been a regular attendant at k church and Sunday-school for eighty-five years, serving as an e. in the Presbyterian church ever since 1857, first in Corning for the past forty-five years in the Bath church, where he is 1 the senior elder. He has frequently been its representative Presbytery, and was once delegate to the General Assembly.
But perhaps Professor Parker is best known throughout county at the present time as the president and founder of Steuben County Old Folks' Association; and the increased re ence for age on the part of the young folks and the number blessings that have come to the honored old folks of the cou throught that organization, inspired and perpetuated largely his indefatigable energy during the closing years of his active useful career, will be a lasting memorial to his honored name the capstone of a life lived in the faith of the Son of God spanning almost a century of time.
On January 1, 1852, he was married to Nancy J. Warfi also a native of Franklin county, Massachusetts, born April
941
HISTORY OF STEUBEN COUNTY
1827, who for fifty-eight years was spared to perform the sacred duties of wife and mother and to be the light and joy of a happy Christian household. She passed to her reward on November 6, 1910, leaving behind her entire family, consisting of her aged husband and two sons, George Hamilton and Eugene Fales, both well-known and respected citizens of Bath.
CHARLES L. RINGROSE .- Four miles southwest of the village of Prattsburg, in the township of the same name, is located the finely improved farm of Mr. Ringrose, who is known as one of the rep- resentative agriculturists and stock-growers of his native county, where he has been identified with his present line of enterprise from his youth to the present time. He was born in the township that is now his home and the date of his nativity was April 1, 1869. He is the eldest of the five children born to Thomas B. and Mary (Korn) Ringrose, both of whom continued to reside in this county until their death.
Charles L. Ringrose waxed strong in mental and physical powers through the sturdy discipline involved in the work of the home farm and the privileges granted him in the district schools. It is gratifying to note that he has never wavered in his allegiance to the great basic industry of agriculture and through his inde- pendent indentification with the same he has achieved success worthy of the name. His fine landed estate comprises two hun- dred acres of excellent land and is eligibly located four miles south- west of Prattsburg. Energy and good management have character- ized his work as a farmer and stock-grower and the results are tangible in the unmistakable evidences of thrift and prosperity at his fine homestead. He is loyal to the duties of citizenship and while he has never been ambitious for public office he gives a stanchi support to the cause of the Democratic party. Both he and his wife hold membership in the Presbyterian church.
On the 20th of September, 1892, was solemnized the mar- riage of Mr. Ringrose to Miss Early, who was born and reared in Steuben county and whose father is a prosperous farmer of Pratts- burg township. Mr. and Mrs. Ringrose have one son, Warren T., who was born on the 9th of December, 1896. Mr. Ringrose is a member of Prattsburg Lodge, No. 598, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is also identified with the Prattsburg Tent of the Knights of the Maccabees.
LEON K. WILLIAMSON, who is ably filling the office of super- intendent of the poor Steuben county, New York, maintains his home at Avoca. He was born on the 21st of September, 1853, and is a son of Ezariah Williamson, who is deceased. In 1857, when Leon K. was a child of but four years of age, he came to Avoca, New York, with his parents, and in that vicinity the father turned his attention to agricultural pursuits. After the death of his wife, Ezariah Williamson maintained his home with his daugh-
942
HISTORY OF STEUBEN COUNTY
ter, Mrs. John Waters, of Avoca. He was summoned to the life eternal in 1902 and is survived by four children, namely, Leon K., who is the immediate subject of this review; William, who is a farmer in this county; George, a resident of Rochester, New York; and Lida, who is the wife of John Waters, who is in the employ of the Avoca Supply Company, with business headquarters and resi- dence at Avoca.
After completing the curriculum of the common schools of Avoca Leon K. Williamson became identified with farming, most of his attention being devoted to the egg and provender business. He later engaged in the livery business at Avoca and subsequently he became a public auctioneer. In politics he endorses the cause of the Democratic party and in 1910 he was elected to the office of superintendent of the poor of Steuben county. In connection with the affairs of his office he is acquitting himself most creditably and as a citizen he is widely renowned for his devotion to all matters pertaining to the best interests of the community. Fra- ternally he is connected with several representative organizations of representative character and he supports and attends the Baptist church, of which his wife is a devout member.
In 1908 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Williamson to Miss Fanny Moss, who was born at Bradford, this county, on the 7th of March, 1868. She is a daughter of Philip Moss, who was a soldier in the Civil war, in which he was seriously wounded, be- ing troubled with the injuries so received until the time of his death in 1906, at the age of seventy years. He was an agriculturist by occupation and married Miss Vera Champlain, whose death oc- curred in 1871. They were the parents of six children, two sons and four daughters, of whom three of the sisters are deceased, those living being Mrs. Williamson, Edward and Frank. Mr. and Mrs. Williamson have no children. Mrs. Williamson is a member of the Women's Christian Temperance Union.
JOSEPH STRONG .- This successful and popular representative of the great industry of viticulture in Steuben county is one of the sterling citizens contributed to this county by the fair Emerald Isle, with whose annals the family name has been identified from remote times. He is the owner of a well-improved and most productive vineyard in Urbana township and is prominently iden- tified with the manufacturing of high-grade wines-a line of enter- prise that has given Steuben county wide repute.
Joseph Strong was born in Kings county, Ireland, on the 24th of November, 1849, and is a son of Joseph and Ann Jane (Kelley) Strong, both of whom were likewise born and reared in that same county of the Emerald Isle, where their marriage was solemnized and where they continued to maintain their home until 1852, when they emigrated to America and established their residence in the city of Albany, New York, where the father engaged in the grocery and produce business, with which line of enterprise he had pre-
943
HISTORY OF STEUBEN COUNTY
viously been identified in his native land. Both he and his wife continued to reside in the capital city of the Empire state until their death, and both were well advanced in years when they were summoned to the life eternal. Joseph Strong, Sr., was a son of Joseph Strong, who was a prosperous farmer in the county of Kildare, Ireland, where he served as high sheriff for a period of fifty-four years and where he was a prominent and influential citizen. The business established so many years ago by Joseph Strong (II) in the city of Albany is still conducted by members of the family and represents one of the pioneer enterprises of its kind in the capital city. Joseph and Ann Jane (Kelley) Strong were zealous communicants of Grace church. All of their surviving children with the exception of the subject of this review still reside in Albany, namely : Robert, William, George and Lucy.
Joseph Strong, Jr., whose name initiates this article, was a child of about three years at the time of the family emigration to the United States, and his early educational training was secured in the schools of the city of Albany. As a youth he became a clerk in his father's store, where he continued to be thus here engaged for a period of five years. On the 1st of January, 1870, Mr. Strong came to Steuben county and secured a position in the employ of the Urbana Wine Company, with which he has been connected during the long intervening period of forty years, within which time he has been advanced to a position of executive importance. He is the owner of a well-improved vineyard in Urbana township, and is one of the well-known and successful viticulturists and hon- ored citizens of the county that has so long represented his home. He has been progressive and loyal as a citizen and it should be noted that he was one of the most influential factors in establishing the Wine Cellar road, in 1876, and in securing the establishment of the Soldiers' Home at Bath, this county. He served on the staff of Lieutenant Governor Woodruff for a period of five years, and has long shown marked interest in the affairs of the state militia. He is affiliated with the Knights of Honor and both he and his wife are attendants of the Protestant Episcopal church, in which they hold membership in the parish of St. James' church, at Hammondsport.
In the year 1872 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Strong to Miss Alice Smith, who was born in Urbana township, this county, on the 9th of January, 1849, and who is a daughter of the late Silas and Rebecca (Fairfield) Smith. In the maternal line Mrs. Strong is a great-granddaughter of Judge Baker, a distinguished repre- sentative of one of the old and honored families of the Empire state. He was most probably the first white man that took up his abode in Pleasant valley, and for many years he lived close to an Indian camp. Concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Strong the following brief data are consistently entered for perpetuation in this article: Charles, who is associated with the Urbana Wine Com- pany, married Miss Martha Albright; Emma is the wife of Benjamin Early, of Urbana; and Gertrude is the wife of Jacob Dittiacur, of: Wayne, this county. Mr. and Mrs. Strong have two grandchildren.
944
HISTORY OF STEUBEN COUNTY
LUCIUS N. MANLEY .- One of the prominent lawyers of Queens county is Judge Manley, who has been for many years engaged in the practice of his profession at Long Island City. He now has his office at 103 Third street, Long Island City. Judge Manley was born on a farm in the township of Addison, Steuben county, on the 24th of June, 1843; and is a son of Nehemiah and Jane (Baker) Manley, the former of whom was born at Otsego county, New York, and the latter in Charleston, Pennsylvania. Nehemiah Manley be- came one of the early settlers of Steuben county, where he was prominently identified with the lumbering and agricultural indus- tries for many years. He was supervisor of the town of Tuscarora in 1861, soon after it was set off from the town of Addison. He was born in the year 1800, and his death occurred in 1879. His father, George Manley, was a native of Connecticut and a representative of a family that was founded in New England in the early Colonial days, the same being of English descent. George Manley passed the closing years of his life in Steuben county and his name merits a place on the roster of the honored pioneers of the old Empire state. The mother of Judge Manley was of Scotch-Irish descent and she was born in the year 1811 and died 1890. Of the children of this couple Judge Manley is the only sou that attained to years of maturity.
Lucius N. Manley was reared to the sturdy discipline of the farm and under the direction of his honored father he gained splen- did training in connection with the practical affairs of life. He duly availed himself of the advantages of the common schools of his native county and he continued to be associated in the work of the home farm until he was nineteen years of age, when he entered Alfred University, at Alfred, Allegany county, where he continued his higher academic studies for two years. Thereafter he put his scholastic acquirements to practical test and utilization by teaching in the public schools about four terms. He then began the study of law under effective preceptorship at Addison, Steuben county, and in January, 1872, he proved himself eligible for and was admitted to the bar of Steuben county. In the autumn of the same year he established his home in Long Island City and here the work of his profession has engaged his attention during the long intervening period of more than thirty-eight years. He has been prominent and influential in connection with public affairs of Queens county and has given yeoman service in behalf of the cause of the Republican party, being one of its leading representatives in this county. He has been twice elected to the office of local judge. At one time he was the candidate of his party for the office of mayor of the city, but was unable to overcome the normal Demo- cratic majority. He was a member of the state constitutional con- vention of 1894 and in 1904 he was the candidate of his party for the office of surrogate, and while in this election he received more votes in Long Island City than were accorded to the presidential nominee, Theodore Roosevelt, he was defeated. The judge is a
945
HISTORY OF STEUBEN COUNTY
valued member of the Queens County Bar Association and holds membership in the Steuben Society of New York City, where he also holds membership in the City Club. He is a member of the congregation of All Souls' church (Unitarian), New York city.
Judge Manley has been twice married. In the year 1877 he wedded Miss Olive P. Weatherby, of Addison, Steuben county, who died in 1881, being survived by one son-Edward W., who now re- sides in the city of New York. In 1885 Judge Manley was united in marriage to Miss Elsie H. Hillmann, of New York city, and the four children of this union are Frederick, Martha, Helen and Alice.
ALEXANDER M. STEWART, M. D .- A representative physician and surgeon at Atlanta, Steuben county, New York, Dr. Alexander McClaren Stewart has gained distinctive precedence as one of the ablest medical practitioners in this section of the state and he has maintained his home in Atlanta since 1903. He was born in the province of Quebec, Canada, on the 14th of April, 1872, and is a son of Robert and Janet (Grant) Stewart, the latter of whom is deceased and the former of whom is now living, at the age of eighty-two years, on his fine farm of two hundred and fifty acres in Canada. Robert Stewart was born in the county of Lanark, province of Ontario, Canada, and he was but four years of age at the time of his parents' removal to Quebec, in 1832. He has been engaged in agricultural pursuits throughout, his entire active busi- ness career and in this line of enterprise he has achieved most note- worthy success. He married Janet Grant, a daughter of William Grant, a native of Glasgow, Scotland. Mrs. Stewart was summoned to the life eternal in 1872, shortly after the birth of the Doctor, at which time she was but forty-two years of age. Mr. Robert Stewart is a member of the Presbyterian church, in which he has been an elder for a number of years.
Dr. Stewart is the youngest in a family of seven children and concerning his brothers and sisters the following brief data are here entered : William is engaged in ranching in Montana; Robert is identified with the furniture business in the city of Rochester, New York; George, who is a doctor by profession, resides in the province of Alberta, Canada; Mary is the wife of L. Beal, professor of music at Brockville, Canada; Janet is the wife of D. Chinder- son, a farmer in Alberta, Canada; and Sarah is married, and resides in the city of Buffalo, New York. Dr. Stewart was reared to the sturdy discipline of the home farm and he continued to be asso- ciated with his father in the work and management thereof until he had attained to the age of nineteen years, at which time he went to Rochester, New York, where he secured employment in a carpet and furniture house and where he attended night school, in prep- aration for the Academy of Rochester, which he attended for one year. Thereafter he was a student in the high school at Atlanta for two and a half years, at the expiration of which he spent four years
Vol II-24
946
HISTORY OF STEUBEN COUNTY
in a medical college in Syracuse. After leaving Syracuse he spent some time in Canada, under Dr. McFarland, and in the fall of 1903 he made permanent settlement at Atlanta, where he has since resided. He has built up a large and lucrative practice and is proving most successful in his particular field of endeavor. He is giving most efficient service as medical examiner in the lodge of the Knights of the Maccabees and in a professional way he is affiliated with the Steuben County Medical Society. Fraternally he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and in the time-honored Masonic fraternity he holds membership in Liberty Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, at Cohocton, and with the Royal Arch Masons at Bath. He has ever given freely of his aid and influence in support of all measures projected for the general wel- fare of the community. He and his wife are devout members of the Presbyterian church, in the various departments of whose work they have been most liberal and active factors.
Dr. Stewart married Miss Marie Goundry, a daughter of John and Ella (Clement) Goundry, the former of whom is engaged in agricultural pursuits, and the latter of whom is deceased. Dr. and Mrs. Stewart have no children.
JAMES E. WALKER, M. D .- Other men's services to the people and state can be measured by definite deeds, by dangers averted, by legislation secured, by institutions built, by commerce promoted. The work of a doctor is entirely estranged from these lines of enter- prise, yet without his capable, health-giving assistance all other accomplishments would count for naught. Man's greatest prize on earth is physical health and vigor. Nothing deterioriates mental activity as quickly as prolonged sickness-hence the broad field for human helpfulness afforded in the medical profession. The suc- cessful doctor requires something more than mere technical train- ing-he must be a man of broad human sympathy and genial kindli- ness, capable of inspiring hope and faith in the heart of his patient. Such a man is Dr. James E. Walker, who for the past sixteen years has been superintendent of the Steuben Sanitarium. The years have told the story of a successful career due to the possession of innate talent and acquired ability along the line of one of the most important professions to which man may devote his energies- the alleviation of pain and suffering and the restoration of health.
Dr. Walker was born in Nunda, Livingston county, New York, on the 21st of May, 1854, and he is a son of Henry L. and Susan (Perry) Walker, both of whom are now dead. The seventh in order of birth in a family of nine children, Dr. Walker received his preliminary educational training in the public schools of his native town, this discipline being later supplemented by a course of study in the State Normal School at Geneseo, New York. At sixteen years of age he began teaching school, studying most assiduously during all his leisure time. At eighteen he became a student of medicine and surgery in the office of an able physician, and in 1874
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.