USA > New York > Chenango County > Oxford > Annals of Oxford, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and early pioneers > Part 32
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Children of Samuel and Alice (Pullman) Cole:
CALVIN, born September 1, 1802, in Sterling, Ct .; died
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May 10, 1882, in Oxford. Married February 24, 1830, Fayette Balcom of Oxford; died April 1, 1879, aged 71, in Oxford. Mr. Cole was a public spirited man, always interesting himself in national, state and home affairs. He served the county in the Legislature, the government in the revenue service and the town in various offices, which duties were faithfully performed. A friend to the cause of education he gave liberally in money and devoted much time to the interests of Oxford Academy, of which for twenty-eight years a trustee, and fourteen a president of the board, he was diligent in the discharge of his duties long after his personal interests in the school had ceased. His active services covered a time when no small amount of labor and personal inconvenience was required, being specially active in the erection of the buildings of the present Academy and the late boarding association. On the evening of July 17, 1884, the Cole fountain on the LaFayette Park, a memorial offering of the sons of Calvin and Fayette Cole, was presented to the town. The presen- tation address was made by Irving J. Cole, son of John C. Cole, of Troy; the acceptance on behalf of the village trustees by Dr. D. M. Lee; the dedicatory by Wm. H. Hyde, Esq., and a poem by Miss L. A. Balcom was read. The park was handsomely illuminated with Chinese lanterns, the hotels and business places brilliantly lighted and dec- orated. A large throng was present to witness the exer- cises, which were of a very interesting order. Three sons were born to them: Augustus, married October 9, 1856, Frances M. Davis of Poughkeepsie; died February 8, 1892, in Oconto, Wis. (Child, Henry, resides in Oconto.) John Calvin, born in 1834; died suddenly March 28, 1888, at Troy, N. Y. Married (1) Lydia Tomlison of Troy; married (2) Emma M. Smiley of Germantown, Pa. He went to Troy in 1854 and engaged in the insurance busi-
THE BAPTIST CHURCH
ERECTED 1834-REMODELED 1879
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ness, continuing until his death. (Child by first wife: Irving T., residence, Seattle, Wash.). Henry C., married October 22, 1873, Fanny O. Stewart of Chicago; died Jan- uary 13, 1895 in Omaha, Neb. (Children: Fayette, Fan- nie, residence, Omaha.)
CHESTER CICERO, Chief Justice Supreme Court of Iowa, born June 4, 1824, in Oxford; married June 25, 1848, Amanda M. Bennett of Oxford. Graduated at Oxford Academy in 1846; studied in Harvard Law School, 1846-8. Engaged in practice August 11, 1848; Judge and Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Iowa, 1864-76, then resigned and returned to practice; Dean of Iowa College of Law since 1892. Editor Western Jurist (legal monthly), 1866- 81; edited annotated edition Iowa Reports (12 vols.). Children : Spencer C., born January 14, 1850; died Au- gust 20, 1851; William W., born August 15, 1852; died November 14, 1894; married Frances Chapin; Alice Ger- trude, born December 7, 1854; married A. E. Atherton; Mary E., born March 6, 1857; married D. C. McMartin; Chester, born July 15, 1859; died August 18, 1862; Frank B., born November 9, 1861; married Ella Jenkins; Carrie S., born February 10, 1864; married J. R. Hurlbut.
PHEBE A., died April 4, 1890, in Sterling, Ill; married Taylor.
WILLIAM H., resided in Baltimore, Md.
Spires whose " silent finger points to heaven." -WORDSWORTH,
Baptist Church.
The first settlers in this town brought with them a religious culture and a love of religious institutions im- bibed in their New England homes; and nearly contem-
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porary with the first labor directed to the subjugation of the wilderness, religious services were held. As early as 1814 there were a number of persons of the Baptist per- suasion in this vicinity who desired to form themselves into a church. On July 14, 1815, " The Oxford Baptist Church of Christ " was organized in what was called the McNeil school house, a half hour walk below the present church edifice. August 17, the council of recognition met in a neighboring grove and recognized sixteen persons,
among whom were Mrs. John McNeil, Nathaniel Havens, Mrs. Clara Havens, Daniel Tracy, Jr., Mrs. Polly Tracy, John Dodge, Mrs. Betsey Gifford, Mrs. Abigail Hackett, John Hull, Mrs. Hannah Hull, John Perry, Mrs. Mary Perry, Hial Tracy and Mrs. Susan Tracy. The organiza- tion grew rapidly and within three years had a member- ship of 103. The congregation worshiped in school-houses or private dwellings till 1833, when a church building was erected and dedicated January 9, 1834. Elder Jabez S. Swan, subsequently pastor, preached the dedication ser- mon. This church has served as a feeder of other Baptist churches. The church was remodeled in 1857, the old- fashioned box seats changed to a more modern style, and the pulpit moved to the opposite end of the church. Again in 1879 the church was more extensively remodeled. The audience room is a model of chaste beauty and its seating capacity is three hundred. The horseshoe gallery will seat one hundred and fifty. The wainscoting is of ash and cherry alternate, and the slips are of ash, trimmed with black walnut. All the wood-work in the rooms mentioned is finished in oil. The windows are of stained glass, taste- fully designed, and the pulpit platform extends into an alcove. Rising above this platform in the rear is an open baptistery, presenting to the eye in raised letters the words: " Buried with Him in baptism." The orchestra is
-
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at the right of the platform. A new pipe organ was in- stalled in November, 1904, at a cost of $12,000.
The following has been the succession of pastors and dates of settlement: Levi Holcomb, 1819; Nathaniel Otis, 1825; Robert Adams, 1832; Washington Kingsley, 1833; J. D. F. Bestor, 1838; Jabez Swan, 1839; Elisha G. Perry, 1842; Geo. W. Stone, 1844; Wm. S. Smith, 1848; Elijah Baldwin, 1851; Nathaniel Ripley, 1853; W. T. Potter, 1857; L. E. Spafford, 1864; A. Reynolds, 1870; John C. Ward, 1873; R. A. Patterson, 1875; W. R. Baldwin, 1877; L. F. Moore, 1882; B. F. Williams, 1886; P. D. Root, 1887; L. T. Giffin, 1889 ; Curtis B. Parsons, 1892, present pastor.
Good actions crown themselves with lasting bays Who deserves well, needs not another's praise. - HEATH.
Thomas G. Newkirk.
In 1814, when 16 years of age, Thomas G. Newkirk came to this village from Kingston, on the Hudson, intending to enter upon the study of law with his cousin, Henry VanDerLyn, Esq., but finally decided to engage in the mercantile business, and commenced as a clerk for Gen. Ransom Rathbone. In the year 1831 he formed a partner- ship with Epaphras Miller, which terminated in 1836, when he formed a partnership with his brother Warden, and traded a few years under the firm name of T. G. New- kirk & Co. He continued in business for a number of years, associated a portion of the time with his son, Fred- erick P., and Ward VanDerLyn. For many years Mr. Newkirk: served St. Paul's parish as vestryman and as
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warden, and gained the utmost respect and confidence of the community. He died March 24, 1875, aged 76. In 1826 Mr. Newkirk married Elizabeth L., daughter of Capt. Frederick Hopkins, who died Sunday evening, October 15, 1899, at the advanced age of 95 years and 6 months. Mrs. Newkirk was born at Derby, Conn., April 22, 1804, and came with her parents to Oxford three years later. At an early age she taught school near the present farm resi- dence of I. P. Fitch, and was paid for her services half in money and half in grain. As was the custom she boarded around the district. She often related one experience where they had potpie for dinner, and which she and the family enjoyed and partook of freely. At the close of the meal she was asked what kind of potpie she had been eating. " Why, veal, of course," she answered. " Oh, no, that's woodchuck," was the reply. Mrs. Newkirk would laughingly say, that she immediately pushed back from the table, stepped into the yard and in a very short time had got rid of " that woodchuck potpie."
Mrs. Newkirk was one of the early students of Oxford Academy, and previous to her death was believed to have been the oldest living student of this institution. She was a devoted wife and mother, a faithful and consistent mem- ber of St. Paul's church, and a friend and neighbor in all that words imply. Children :
FREDERICK P., born April 24, 1827; married December 12, 1855, Phebe Arminda Yale of Guilford, N. Y., a direct descendant of Elihu Yale, founder of Yale University. For twenty years from 1853 he was in the mercantile busi- ness with Ward VanDerLyn and on the dissolution of the firm they purchased the Westover farm. After three years Mr. VanDerLyn sold his interest to his partner, who still owns the property. Mr. Newkirk has served the town as supervisor and for several terms has been a justice of the
CHAS. M. STONE
FREDERICK P. NEWKIRK
B
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peace. In 1905 Mr. and Mrs. Newkirk celebrated their golden wedding at which they received hearty congratu- lations from a host of friends at home and abroad. Nearly 600 guests were present. The reception was from 3 to 9 o'clock, after which Harrington's hall was opened and dancing participated in till a late hour. Children: Peter V., married Ada M. Ransom of Montour Falls, N. Y. Clerk at First National Bank, Oxford. (One daughter, Eliza- beth.) Frank B., married Carrie B. Foote of Oxford. Engineer on Lackawanna railroad, and resides at Cincin- natus. (One son, George Frederick.)
SARAH JANE, born May 12, 1830, died October 29, 1859, greatly mourned by her mother and friends.
Myron Robbins.
Myron Robbins, a worthy colored man, came to Oxford about the year 1840 from Sherburne, where he was born in 1809. He died March 21, 1865. In 1842 he married Maria Randall of Oxford, born November 15, 1819; died July 28, 1879. Their children were born in Oxford, but one of whom survives: THERON H., served in Civil war and died at home within a few months after honorable discharge; FRANCES P., died at Delhi, December 28, 1897; married Marcus Randall, who died in Oxford several years previous ; PETER A., resides at Delhi, unmarried; JANE C., died September 12, 1868, aged 16, in Oxford.
John Randall, better known as "Jack," father of Mrs. Robbins, married Julia A. Crawford. She was a slave in the Jewell family, and their marriage was a runaway match. Mr. Randall worked many years for the Jewells to earn his wife's freedom. ·
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Skill'd in the globe and sphere, he gravely stands, And with his compass, measures seas and lands.
-DRYDEN.
Captain Frederick Hopkins.
Captain Frederick Hopkins of Derby, Conn., accom- panied by Solomon Bundy of Huntington, Conn., came to Oxford in the summer of 1806, both on horseback. In the following spring he brought his wife and infant daugh- ter, Elizabeth, in an old fashioned schooner drawn by a yoke of oxen with a horse in the lead, via Catskill and the old State road. Captain Hopkins, while yet in his teens, served in the Revolutionary war, and was the last pen- sioner of '76 in Chenango county. An elder brother was on General Washington's staff and Mr. Hopkins had the honorable distinction of once dining with the Father of his Country. After the war he became a sea captain and on one of his voyages to the West Indies was captured by the French, losing his vessel and entire cargo. In 1814, when St. Paul's church was established in Oxford, he was elected senior warden and continued for many years faith- fully to discharge the duties of that office. His death occurred June 23, 1855, at the age of 87. Captain Hop- kins married (1) - Pickett; married (2) Susan Smith, who died June 16, 1858, aged 78.
Children by first wife :
ALISON, married January 25, 1820, Polly Dickinson of Oxford. Children : James, Andrew, Charles, Sheldon, Calena, married Jesse H. Gifford.
AUGUSTUS RUFUS, born February 10, 1779, in Derby, Conn .; died June 7, 1870, in Oxford; married Mary Wil-
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son of Oxford, born January 16, 1804, died March 22, 1893. Children: Frederick, born May 15, 1836, married Phœbe Coy (child, George F.) ; Susan C., died in infancy ; James A., born May 22, 1844, married Maria Tucker (chil- dren, George F., died in infancy, Nellie L., Anna M.).
CHARLES E., died January 16, 1864, aged 62; unmarried. Children by second wife :
ELIZABETH L., married Thomas G. Newkirk.
JOHN F., died July 4, 1893, in Oxford, aged 87; married (1) Julia Beard; married (2) Jane E. Lobdell, who died February 22, 1895, in Oxford.
SARAH A., married John Van Wagenen, November 13, 1833, born December 12, 1807, died December 26, 1886. SUSAN, died in early womanhood.
In the long run a man becomes what he purposes, and gains for himself what he really desires. -HAMILTON WRIGHT MABIE.
Solomon Bundy.
Solomon Bundy accompanied Capt. Frederick Hop- kins on horseback to Oxford on that summer's day in 1806, and with him put up at the tavern kept by Erastus Perkins. The following day was Sunday and the travelers were out early viewing the town. Returning to the house they were approached by a guest, who said : " Gentlemen, I see you are strangers in our little hamlet and I would be pleased to have you take a drink with me." They ac- quiesced and the hospitable citizen soon took his departure. The travelers were quite anxious to learn the name of the man who was so considerate of them, and inquired of the .
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landlord : " Who is the gentleman with the black coat and white cravat whom we have had the pleasure of meeting? " " Why, that is our Presbyterian minister," replied Mr. Perkins. "He is doing excellent work in the ministry, and I assure you he would be pleased to have you attend his meeting to-day." They attended. Monday morning the travelers rode over the east hill to look at a farm of 200 acres owned by Gerrit Burghardt, which they pur- chased. The following spring they moved their families on the farm and lived for a year or more in the same dwelling, for many years thereafter known as the Capt. Hopkins' house. When Mr. Bundy and family moved from there, it was into a new house a quarter of a mile nearer the village, the same, with many alterations now occupied by W. J. Redmond. Mr. Bundy died February 24, 1851, while on a visit to his son, Oliver T., at Windsor, N. Y. Jane Fraser, his wife, who was a native of Hunt- ington, Conn., died August 22, 1846, aged 70. Mrs. Bundy was very fond of children and delighted in entertaining them. She had a way of roasting apples and potatoes for them in the ashes covered over with live coals in the kitchen fire-place, and when done they tasted better than any prepared at home. She had a way too of getting the butternut and beechnut meats for them that none ever tasted quite as good elsewhere. Children :
OLIVER T., born January 31, 1801; died January 9, 1874, in Deposit, N. Y. Married Lydia Smith of Wellsboro, Pa. Practiced medicine in Deposit.
RACHEL, born May 14, 1803; died August 15, 1866, in Oxford. Unmarried.
JANE MARIA, born September 17, 1805. Married Rev. James Noble and moved to Iowa, where she died.
NATHAN, born July 22, 1807, in Oxford; died May 3, 1846, in Harford, N. Y. Married Hannah Hawks.
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AMELIA, born August 27, 1811, in Oxford; died October 29, 1851, in Oxford. Unmarried.
PHILO, born February 10, 1814, in Oxford; died June 1, 1901, in Oswego. Married (1) in 1842, Margaret A. Burt, who died in 1868. Married (2) in 1870, Catherine Van- Dyck, who died in 1899. Had five daughters by first wife, and one by second wife. He was educated in Oxford Acad- emy and taught several terms in the common schools. In 1838 went to Oswego and engaged in the grain trade. In 1862 was made a paymaster in the U. S. army with the rank of Major. Was also deputy collector of the Port of Oswego.
SOPHIA LOUISE, born June 30, 1816, in Oxford; mar- ried George Manwaring and moved to Iowa. Died August 20, 1891 in South West City, Mo.
EDWARD AUGUSTUS, born November 6, 1819, in Oxford; died May 13, 1892 in Oxford. Married (1) Esther Shap- ley ; married (2) Eliza Burlison. Resided on the home- stead for many years. Came to the village and for several terms was a civil magistrate.
SOLOMON, born May 22, 1823, in Oxford; died January 13, 1889; married (1) June 28, 1846, Roxanna Hitchcock of Oxford; born December 25, 1821; died July 28, 1848. Married (2) Elizabeth A. McGeorge of Oxford, born Oc- tober 20, 1827. Resides at Grand Rapids, Mich. Mr. Bundy was the first child baptized in the Presbyterian church. His early life was spent in working on the farm during the summer season. He received a common school education, which was liberally supplemented by his private studies and extensive readings. Soon after his second marriage he removed to the village and engaged in the boot and shoe business, and later entered the law office of James W. Glover as a student. While pursuing his studies he held the office of justice of peace and clerk of the Board
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of Supervisors. Admitted to the bar in 1859, he soon formed a law partnership with Horace Packer. In 1862 he was elected District Attorney of Chenango county, and in 1876 was elected to the Forty-fifth Congress.
Child, by first wife: ELIZABETH R., now practicing medicine in Philadelphia.
Children by second wife: NATHAN A., married Ella M. Hull of Oxford. Now resides in Philadelphia. Children : Elizabeth, married Joseph A. Culbert of Philadelphia; Kate, married Daniel Burke, Esq., of Brooklyn; Agnes, married James H. Millhouse of Buffalo, N. Y.
MCGEORGE, married Mary G. Hollister, now practicing law in Grand Rapids, Mich. Children : Nathan Hollister, born May 18, 1886; Harvey Hollister, born March 30, 1888; Frederick McGeorge, born January 4, 1900.
Thy wit is as quick as the greyhound's mouth-it catches.
-SHAKESPEARE.
Isaac Sherwood.
Isaac Sherwood, a native of Connecticut, was born in 1768. At an early age he moved to Oxford and began the practice of law, in which profession he rose rapidly. He held the office of judge of the county, was justice of the peace for a long term of years, and was supervisor of the town for a number of years. Later he embarked in the mercantile tailoring business in this village, and also be- came a large land owner. He married a Miss Smith, a native of Connecticut. Children : Samuel S., and Rebecca.
Samuel S., married Catherine Bessac, a native of
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France. She was descended from a long line of French ancestry, who were known in history for their chivalry and important services rendered the French government. After clerking for some time in his father's store, his father gave him a fine farm, still known as the Sherwood farm above the W. R. C. Home. He immediately moved upon it and followed agricultural pursuits the rest of his life, and through energy and good judgment made a suc- cessful farmer. He died in 1846. Mrs. Sherwood died October 6, 1821, aged 34. Children : John, Mary, Har- riet, Catherine, married James Bennett; Isaac S.
Rebecca, married (1) Charles Denison of Oxford; mar- ried (2) John Judson of Oxford; married (3) Hoxcie.
Isaac S. Sherwood, son of Samuel S. and Catherine (Bessac) Sherwood, born September 18, 1816, in Oxford; died January 13, 1898, in Oxford; married September 12, 1837, Abigail Tiffany of Sherburne, N. Y., born in 1817; died in 1896 in Oxford. Mr. Sherwood was born upon the farm upon which he lived and died. In his early days, being an excellent penman, he accepted a position to copy deeds and legal papers and to settle estates; he also became a prominent figure in the courts, being clerk for different lawyers. For a few years he clerked in a village store, but later devoted his attention to farming. During a long term of years he was a popular auctioneer of farming and household goods, his ready wit and free command of lan- guage making him a successful dealer in that line of trade. He invariably looked upon the humorous side of life, and his reputation as a wit and eccentric character was more than local. He seldom wrote in a serious vein, as was frequently illustrated by advertisements, auction bills, and rhyming notices that were posted at the watering trough near his residence, also the original mottoes that adorned
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the walls of his home. Mr. Sherwood was a true sports- man, expert with gun and rod. During the latter years of his life he devoted much time to the collection of native birds, which he himself skillfully mounted, and to which was added many rare and foreign birds, contributed by friends. In June, 1896, he presented this large and val- uable collection to Oxford Academy. Mr. Sherwood re- ceived his education at Oxford Academy. He was popular in town and county, and was a member of Oxford Lodge, No. 175, F. & A. M. He was elected supervisor of the town and a trustee of Oxford Academy several years. His later days were spent in quiet retirement from active labor, and his passing was felt by the community at large. His burial was beside his wife on a high knoll upon the farm, which commands an extensive and beautiful view up and down the Chenango Valley.
For man to assist man is to be a god; this is the path to eternal glory. -PLINY.
D. M. Lee, M. D.
Dwight Morgan Lee. M. D., was born at Georgetown, Madison county, January 25, 1843. His father, Rev. Hiram W. Lee, D. D., was a Presbyterian clergyman ; and the early education of the son was obtained at Cincinnatus Academy. In 1863 he graduated from Hamilton College, Clinton, from which he received the degree of A. B. He began to read medicine in 1861, at Earlville, under Dr. D. J. Ressegieu; attended two courses of lectures in the Medical Department of the University of New York, and
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at Albany Medical College, graduating from the latter, De- cember 27, 1864. He immediately entered the army as assistant surgeon of the 22d N. Y. V. Cavalry, was pro- moted surgeon by brevet, and remained until mustered out of service in August, 1865. The following month he com- menced the practice of medicine at Smithville Flats, re- maining till March, 1867, when he came to Oxford, continuing his practice successfully till his death, which occurred October 5, 1895.
Dr. Lee was a member of the Chenango County Medical Society; the Medical Association of Central New York, and the Medical Society of the State of New York. Was one of the original pension examiners; president of the corporation, 1881-7 and 1892; past master and past high priest of Masonic lodge and chapter, and a member of the Commandery. In later years he gave special attention to diseases of the eye and ear.
Dr. Lee married in 1866, Elizabeth E., daughter of John R. and Susan S. (Hough) Gleason. Children: Charles D., married Johanna Bayer of Breslau, Germany; Hiram A., died in infancy; Zaida B; and Walter C.
The Town Clock.
In the spring of 1850 a number of enterprising citizens joined in raising a fund for the purchase of a town clock, which, during the month of May was placed in the tower of the old Episcopal church on Fort Hill, by Messrs. Hop- kins & Millard of De Ruyter, at a cost of $265. It re- mained there until 1864, when the church was taken down. In 1867 a tower was built on the Fort Hill block for the
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clock and a fire bell. In 1887 the works became worn and the clock ceased running.
On the evening of August 8, 1902, The Ladies' Village Improvement Society, having procured a new clock at a cost of $650, presented it to the village at a lawn fete held on Fort Hill. The Citizens Band was present and ren- dered some of their most choice music. Nathan P. Stanton, Esq., in behalf of the ladies made the presentation speech, and Hon. S. S. Stafford, in behalf of the village accepted the gift in a few well chosen words. An excellent supper was served and a delightful evening was spent.
By the fireside still the light is shining, The children's arms round the parent's twining ; From love so sweet, O who would roam? Be it ever so homely, home is home. -DINAH MULOCK CRAIK.
Nehemiah Smith.
The most of the old settlers who came here during the early part of the nineteenth century were poor in pocket, but, possessed of an unlimited amount of energy and per- severance, and having faith in the country, " stuck it out," and were successful. Among them were Nehemiah Smith, the third of that name, a native of Lyme, Conn., who set- tled on Fort Hill in this village in 1801. He was a car- penter and cabinet maker, which vocation he pursued till his death in December, 1835. Elizabeth (Gee) Smith, his widow, died in 1858. Children:
ERASTUS, married Sophia McNeil, died in Buffalo, Oc- tober 26, 1847.
SUSAN, developed into a beautiful girl, and while in
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young womanhood started alone on a lengthy journey. She was never again seen by her family, although traced to Utica, nothing definite was ever known in regard to her fate.
SALLY, married (1) - Peabody; married (2) Asa Sheldon. Died in Oxford. Child by first husband : Susan C. Peabody. Married David L. Sherwood of Oxford.
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