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 35
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" Whence came you, young gentlemen, for you were not here when I took my afternoon walk yesterday? "
" We came last evening, sir," replied Mr. Clapp, with a gracious bow of the head. " This is my partner, Mr. Price, and I am James Clapp. We started from New York several weeks ago in search of a thrifty town in which to locate. We looked over several, but this is the only one that pleased us, and we have unloaded and intend to stay."
" I like this enterprise," replied General Hovey, as he resumed his walk, " and you shall have my law business."
Thus were the young lawyers from the Metropolis intro- duced to the thriving hamlet, and of which one of them remained a resident during life.
William M. Price was a native of England. The first case that he had before a justice of the peace in this village he broke down, but rallied and became a very popular
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and successful lawyer. He did not remain in town many years, but returned to New York city, where he be- came eminent as a criminal lawyer. Better it would have been for him if he had never left the village of his adoption. He was United States attorney for the southern district of New York under the administrations of President Jack- son and VanBuren, until the defalcation of one Samuel Swartwout was discovered. Instead of proceeding against Swartwout according to instructions, he fled to Europe, leaving a resignation behind, and was found to be a de- faulter himself. He remained abroad until the storm of public and political indignation had somewhat abated, then again returned to New York, and claimed that a large sum was due him from the government, but recovered noth- ing. He appeared before the court with much of his former success and endeavored to regain his former standing, but without effect. Finally he became pecuniarily embarrassed with a prospect of coming to poverty and want. His prop- erty was advertised to be sold at sheriff's sale, and had been several times postponed at his request in the hopes that he might by some means get relief, but he was at last informed that the sale must take place, and to advoid the disaster and mortification he put an end to his existence by shoot- ing himself August 11, 1846. His age was 59 years.
James Clapp was born at Hartford, Conn., December 5, 1785. He was a large, firm-looking man, a brilliant lawyer, and fond of the rod and gun; for in those days sporting men were gratified to the extent desired, for all kinds of game were plenty. Mr. Clapp was a student of Aaron Burr's in 1804, at the time of the Burr-Hamilton duel. He came here with a character peculiarly adapted to those early times. He ever declined public honors and office, and few men in private life were more extensively known. Rare conversational powers united with a wide range and
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versatility of knowledge, rendered him ever attractive and entertaining in the social circle. He married Julia Hyde, daughter of Benjamin Butler, who died November 17, 1832, aged 38. Mr. Clapp was found dead January 8, 1854. He, while in a state of unsound mind, like his partner of early days, had put an end to his existence. Children :
MARY B., born October 20, 1816, in Oxford; died Jan- uary 5, 1845, in Oxford; unmarried.
JULIA B., born May 12, 1818, in Oxford; died December 9, 1885, while residing in Paris, France; married Novem- ber 22, 1842, Walter L. Newberry of Chicago. She was an active member of the Episcopal church, and a memorial window to her memory is in the American church in Paris. She was known and respected for her liberality and benev- olence, as well as for her talents and social acquirements. She left a fortune of over $3,000,000. Mr. Newberry died November 6, 1868, at sea en route for Havre to join his family, then in Paris. Naturally austere and taciturn, he repelled all offers of friendship or acquaintance on ship- board, and thus among strangers he sickened and died. He escaped the usual burial of those dying at sea by the inter- ference of a gentleman from Unadilla, N. Y., who knew him and who assured the captain of the vessel that the relatives of the deceased would meet any expense accrued in keep- ing the body. A cask of Medford rum that formed a part of the cargo, it is stated, was brought into requisition. Mr. Newberry's body was placed within it, and when the cargo was discharged the cask was rebilled to Mr. Newberry's friends in Chicago by the Unadilla gentleman, who was ignorant of the fact that Mrs. Newberry was then in Paris. The cask left for America on the next steamer and in due time arrived at Chicago on a freight train. The friends who had been notified of the shipment of the body, it is
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further stated, took charge of the cask, still containing the body, and buried it in Graceland cemetery.
Mr. Newberry received an academic education, was ap- pointed to the West Point United States Military Academy by President Andrew Jackson, but because of ill health, abandoned that career and at sixteen years of age joined his brother, Oliver F., in the dry goods trade in Detroit in 1826. He was successful, and in 1833 joined a syndicate of five, Lewis Cass and William B. Astor being among the number, in a tour of inspection and for investment in the West. They bought land in Green Bay, Milwaukee, Calumet, and Chicago; at the latter place he settled in 1833, making investments there in real estate, which be- came the nucleus of a fortune which was variously esti- mated at the time of his death at from four to ten million of dollars. He figured largely in the city's early history in connection with the establishment of banks, insurance companies, schools, and public improvements generally, and especially as a promoter of railroads. He was a projector and for a time the president of the old Galena and Chicago railroad, the first line of the present great Northwestern system, and lived to see Chicago the greatest railroad center of the world. He was a member of the banking house of Newberry & Burch, twice president of the Chicago School Board, a founder and twice president of the Chicago Historical Society, and by his will he en- dowed a public library, which bears his name, with one- half of his estate. This endowment now, in real estate and securities, is valued at $5,000,000, and is increasing rapidly in value.
Children, all born in Chicago: Walter, 1st, died young; Walter, 2d, died young; Mary Louise, born August 12, 1845; died February 18, 1874; Julia Rose, born December 28, 1853; died April 4, 1876.
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BENJAMIN B., born April 20, 1821, in Oxford; died No- vember 16, 1882, in Utica; married June 1, 1854, Mary Anne Skinner of Albany, and lived at Luzerne, N. Y. By an act of the Legislature, his name was changed from Benjamin Butler Clapp to Benjamin Clapp Butler, to con- form to a provision in his maternal grandfather's will. Two days after Fort Sumter was fired upon in 1861 he offered his services to the country, raised the 93d N. Y. S. V., of which he was colonel, and led with courage and abil- ity during four years of meritorious service. The village of Luzerne owes its favorable reputation to his enterprise and public spirit, and St. Mary's church in that village is mainly the work of his hand. Twice he represented War- ren county in the Legislature.
JAMES, born August 6, 1823, in Oxford; died February 17, 1893, in Cairo, Egypt. Practiced law in Oxford and afterwards in Chicago. Later became a resident of Luzerne, N. Y. Buried in Oxford.
NICHOLAS D., born November 27, 1827, in Oxford; died February 23, 1889, in New York city ; married (1) in 1855 Mary T. McMahon of Unadilla, N. Y., born in 1832; died in 1866, in Chicago, Ill .; married (2) Adele B. Wolfe of New York city. Children by first wife: Minnie, married D. S. Dickinson Mygatt of New York city. Infant daugh- ter. James. Children by second wife: Infant daughter. Edith Devereux, married December 6, 1904, in New York city, Count Rene du Temple de Rougemont of Paris.
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The old familiar faces- How some they have died, and some they have left me, And some are taken from me; all are departed ; All, all are gone, the old familiar faces.
-LAMB.
Gerardus VanDerLyn.
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Gerardus VanDerLyn, accompanied by his mother, came from Kingston, N. Y., in 1812, to live with his brother Henry. Mr. VanDerLyn married June 1, 1822, Mrs. Jane VanGaasbeck of Kingston, N. Y., a daughter of Rev. Peter Lowe of Flatbush, L. I., who died October 12, 1862, in the 72d year of her age. He lived a quiet, unas- suming life, and was a thoughtful observer of passing events, taking a deep interest in all the questions of his time. He died November 9, 1875, aged 88. Children :
MARY, died March 28, 1857; unmarried.
HENRY, studied law with his Uncle Henry and practiced in Oxford; died May 5, 1869, aged 44; married Ursula Sey- mour, whose death occurred October 24, 1902.
PETER G., died November 17, 1854, in Elmira, aged 27; unmarried. Located there in 1849 and had an extensive law practice.
WARD, born July 23, 1829; died May 5, 1906; married March 11, 1858, Helen E. Palmer, born June 16, 1838, in Oriskany Falls, N. Y .; died March 27, 1901, in Oxford. Mr. VanDerLyn for a period of twenty years was in the dry goods business with Frederick P. Newkirk, and on the dissolution of the firm in 1873 they purchased the West- over farm and conducted it jointly three years. He then in partnership with Frederick H. Burchard was for ten years in the hardware business. He closed his mercantile
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career in the Fort Hill block where for nearly five years in connection with his son Frederick, he carried on an ex- tensive clothing business. After that he lived a retired life, cultivating a few acres of land upon his property in the village. Mr. VanDerLyn was for a number of years a trustee of Oxford Academy. He also served several terms on the board of village trustees, and as president of the Oxford Fair Association. Mr. VanDerLyn was of a quiet and unassuming disposition, and in his business dealings, honorable and upright. All of his life had been spent upon the same premises in this village. A singular coincidence in his death was that it occurred on the anni- versary of his brother Henry's, which was in 1869, and also that of Hon. Wm. H. Hyde in 1902, all having lived in the house now occupied by Mrs. Wm. H. Hyde adjoin- ing and formerly a part of the VanDerLyn property. Chil- dren : Mary, married January 6, 1891, Albert S. Burchard; Frederick, died February 13, 1891, aged 27. Unmarried.
He was the friend not of fortune, but of men. --- NEPOS.
Andrew J. Hull.
Andrew J. Hull, born December 4, 1824, in Eaton, N. Y .; died September 20, 1891.
Mr. Hull came to Oxford from Angelica, N. Y., about the year 1838, and attended Oxford Academy until he entered Union College, where he graduated in 1845. He then read law in the office of Henry R. Mygatt and was admitted to the bar in 1847, and the same year was united in marriage with Frances B. Perkins, daughter of Erastus and Agnes
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(Van Wagenen) Perkins. Sometime after he removed to Georgia and engaged in business in that State for a num- ber of years. After the close of the Civil war he became interested in a woolen mill in this village, which was con- ducted but a short time and at a loss. In 1870 he received the appointment of Harbor Master of New York city from Gov. Hoffman, his classmate in college, as also were Bishop Littlejohn and Judge Earl. Children :
AGNES PERKINS, married September 6, 1876, William R. Mygatt and resides in Chicago.
KATHERINE M., unmarried, resides in San Francisco.
GERRIT HENRY, born June 11, 1858, in Walthourville, Ga .; died August 10, 1881, in Denver, Col.
Loathing pretence, he did with cheerful will What others talked of, while their hands were still. -WHITTIER.
Isaac Leonard.
Isaac Leonard, born April 18, 1786, at Hoosic, N. Y .; died March 23, 1877, in Oxford; married June 3, 1814, in Oxford, Naomi Seeley, born February 20, 1795, in Strat- ford, Conn .; died September 8, 1888, in Oxford.
Mr. Leonard was of hardy Welsh stock and served a short term in the war of 1812 as a common soldier without any chance for distinction, and unlike most of his com- rades drew no pension, satisfied with the pay of his time of service. After the war he drifted into Chenango county, then still a wilderness inhabited by wild beasts and Indians, and took up on contract a parcel of land located on the hilly confines of the towns of Oxford and Coventry, built
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himself a log cabin and cleared several acres on it for cultivation. Feeling the need of a helpmate, he courted a comely lass of the neighborhood, Naomi Seeley, and though ten years her senior, won her consent to marry him. By steady industry and economy they succeeded to a farm of 109 acres, though, by a fault of title, not until they had paid for it twice over. Children :
MARY, married Dr. C. Bruchhausen, died August 15, 1883, in Norwich. MATILDA, married Hector Beecher, died March 21, 1904. ABRAHAM, born November 28, 1816; died May -, 1837. ALFRED, born October 21, 1821; died June 17, 1887. JAMES G., born August 11, 1827; still living. CHARLES J., born November 26, 1829; died November 26, 1864. NELSON, born August 1, 1831; deceased. HULDAH, born May 9, 1834; died January 3, 1856; married Edward Porter. SARAH E., born August 20, 1841; died November 5, 1881; married William Leach. RILEY K., twin to Sarah E., died in 1895.
Ambition has but one reward for all ; A little power, a little transient fame, A grave to rest in, and a fading name. -WINTER.
Samuel Guernsey.
Samuel Guernsey, born November 10, 1776; died April 9, 1836, in Oxford; married about 1800, Sarah Bulkley, born July 13, 1775, in Saybrook, Conn .; died September 13, 1850, in Greene.
Mr. Guernsey came from Dutchess county in 1797 while a young man, bought land, worked on it summers, went back and taught school winters. This he did for some five
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years or more, when he married and settled down to farm- ing as his life work. He was a son of Dr. Guernsey, and a brother, Peter, located in Norwich. Mr. Guernsey brought to his work skill, intelligence, unbounded perse- verance, and left nothing unaccomplished that lay within his reach. He was a great help to the new settlers, though some thought him severe and exacting. He began to be a well-to-do farmer when the hills were almost an unbroken wilderness; hence he employed the surplus labor of the hills. This was when a man could be hired for nine dol- lars a month through the long summer days. Fifty cents and board was all that the laborer could command for twelve hours work. A man of integrity and honor, Mr. Guernsey enjoyed the confidence of a large circle of friends. A man of strict morality and virtue, he commanded and enjoyed the respect of all. The Guernsey farm is now the home of the Farrell Brothers. In early days it was the resort of traveling Methodist ministers, and it was also where the pioneers of the town made their applejack. Children :
JULIA, married Allen Wright of Rome, N. Y., and died there in 1883.
JOHN M., of whom further mention is made.
AMANDA, married (1) - Nichols of Greene; married (2) Dr. Rice of Rome, Penn., and died there about 1890.
MARIA, married Charles Stevens of Greene, and died there in 1884.
SARAH A., married Henry D. Mercur of Towanda, Penn., and died February 19, 1874.
John M. Guernsey, born in 1804 in Oxford; died October 2, 1862, in Oxford; married (1) in 1843, Lucena E. Smith, born June 23, 1818; died in June, 1851, in South Oxford; married (2) about 1855, Melinda Hollenbeck Wheeler. Mr. Guernsey received a professional education as a doc-
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tor, but did not practice any length of time and returned to the farm where he spent the remainder of his life. Chil- dren by first wife :
SUSAN M., was severely burned by her clothes taking fire June 11, 1861, and died four days later. Miss Guern- sey was scalding milk pans in the yard near a fire, when by some means the flames were communicated to her dress. She ran towards the house, her screams attracting the at- tention of her father, who endeavored to relieve her from the frightful position in which she was placed, but his efforts were unavailing. Mr. Guernsey received severe burns upon his hands.
WILLIAM J., married May 25, 1881, Harriet Anderson of Rome, N. Y. Superintendent of mails at Albany, N. Y.
ESTHER, married October 8, 1873, David Finn Smith of Greene. Child by second wife :
RACHEL, married Nelson Wessels of Greene, and died in 1877.
He was wont to speak plain and to the purpose, like an honest man and a soldier. SHAKESPEARE.
Hunt Family.
Luther Hunt, an early resident of Oxford, was born November 9, 1761; place of birth now unknown; died Nov- ember 29, 1830, in Oxford. Mr. Hunt was appointed en- sign of a company in a battalion of militia March 10, 1792, and commissioned lieutenant October 5, 1793. Following is a copy of his commission as ensign :
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The People of the State of New York, By the Grace of God, Free and Independent.
To Luther Hunt, Gentleman, Greeting :
We, reposing especial trust and confidence, as well in your patriotism, conduct and loyalty, as in your valour and readiness to do us good and faithful service, Have appointed and constituted, and by these presents, Do appoint and constitute you the said Luther Hunt, Ensign of a Company in the Battallion of Militia in the County of Tioga whereof Benjamin Hovey, Esquire, is Major Commandant. You are, therefore, to take the said Company into your charge and care as Ensign thereof and duly to exercise the Officers and Soldiers of that Company in arms, who are hereby commanded to obey you as the Ensign, and you are also to observe and follow such orders and directions, as you shall from time to time receive from our General and Commander in Chief of the Militia of our said State, or any other your superior Officer, according to the Rules and Discipline of War, in pursuance of the trust reposed in you ; and for so doing, this shall be your commission, for and during our good pleasure, to be signified by our Council of Appointment : In Testimony whereof, we have caused our seal for military commissions to be hereunto affixed. Witness our truly and well-beloved George Clinton, Esquire, Governor of the State of New- York, General and Commander in Chief of all the Militia, and Admiral of the Navy of the same, by and with the advice and consent of our said Council of Appointment, at our City of New York, the third day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety-two, and in the Sixteenth year of our Independence. Passed the Secretary's Office, 10th March, 1792.
ROBT. HABPUR, D. Secretary.
GEO. CLINTON.
Mr. Hunt's son, Charles A., is by some authorities claimed to have been the first white child born in Oxford. Rebecca, his wife, was born in 1760, and died April 3, 1823, in Oxford. Children: Williard, born June 29, 1797; died November 25, 1826; Samuel died in infancy ; Betsey, born May 15, 1791, died July 20, 1828; Charles A., born September 2, 1793; Thomas, born August 31, 1795, moved to Rochester when a young man; Samuel F., born May 26, 1799, died January 29, 1829, in Steuben county ; Clarissa, born April 17, 1801, died August 12, 1831; married December 3, 1820, David St. John.
Charles A. Hunt married Lucy Preston. He occupied many important public stations with honor to himself and to those who placed him there. In 1849 he moved with his family to Preston, where in May of that year while in a fit of despondency he committed suicide. His age was 56
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years. Lucy, his wife, died December 3, 1850, aged 52.
Children :
JULIAN, born August 15, 1818; died June 5, 1886, in Binghamton ; married Freevon S. Young, who was one of the first to enlist in the 114th Regt. during Civil war. Died from wound August 25, 1863.
JANE ELIZA, born July 10, 1820; died March 23, 1895, in Oxford. Unmarried.
CHARLES LUTHER, born January 18, 1822; died Nov- ember 28, 1875, in Oxford; married Mary Root, died Nov- ember 23, 1893.
REBECCA, born January 28, 1824; died April 28, 1889, in Norwich ; married Loren D. Bacon of Norwich.
JAMES HENRY, born February 26, 1826; died February 5, 1897, in Norwich; married Frances Thompson.
CHANDLER P., born August 10, 1827; died October 12, 1903, in Oxford; married Katherine Carpenter, who died November 15, 1890, aged 54.
MARY ADELIA, born November 7, 1830; died July -, 1902; married Joseph L. Smith, died March 19, 1901.
ANDREW J., born November 29, 1834; married May 6, 1858, Mary P. Ransford, died January 20, 1902; resides in Norwich and only survivor of the family.
CLARISSA ELIZABETH, born October 14, 1835; died De- cember 26, 1836.
CLARISSA ELIZABETH, 2d, born March 10, 1838; died November 28, 1843.
WILLARD RUSSELL, born April 30, 1842; died September 11, 1887. Unmarried.
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War, he sung, is toil and trouble, Honour but an empty bubble.
-DRYDEN.
Salmon W. Owen.
Salmon W. Owen, who traced his lineage to ancestors in Wales, was born in 1795, and for a long term of years a resident of Panther Hill in this town, where he died June 6, 1883. His wife was Sally Sherwood, born in 1800, and died December 4, 1879, in Oxford. Mr. Owen was a pilot on the Susquehanna and Chenango rivers in the early days when rafting was carried on extensively. He was among the sturdy men who took part in the war of 1812, by reason of which he afterward received a pension, and was the last pensioner of that war in this town. Children :
MARCUS S., born April 25, 1820, in Oxford; died Septem- ber 18, 1896, at Benton Harbor, Mich. Married (1) Au- gusta I. Beckwith of Coventry, N. Y., who died May 1, 1856, aged 32. Married (2) Adelaide Pope of New Berlin, N. Y. Mr. Owen at the age of twenty years began the study of music and became a skillful violinist. He taught vocal and instrumental music for a number of years.
MARTHA MELISSA, married Charles Henry Beckwith. Children : Franklin H., married Nannie Kerfoot of Chi- cago; Charles L., married Alice Denike of Poughkeepsie; James Carroll, an artist in New York, married June 1, 1887, Bertha Hall of New York.
JANE E., married Smith Steere of Norwich. The only survivor of the family and resides in Benton Harbor, Mich.
DELos, died June 25, 1857, aged 24.
HELEN M., died July 10, 1877, aged 44.
FREDERIC O., died April 5, 1873, in Cleveland, O., aged 37.
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Mine be a cot beside the hill ; A bee hive's hum shall soothe my ear ; A willowly brook, that turns a mill, With many a fall, shall linger near.
-ROGERS.
Stratton Family.
The first Stratton of whom any record has been found in America, came from England in 1628. By 1660 there were seven Strattons settled on this side of the Atlantic; one at James City, Va .; two on Long Island and four in New England. Probably most of the Strattons in the United States may be traced back to one of these seven branches and these are shown to be connected by a search of English records.
Of the Stratton family residing in the town of Oxford, John Stratton was the first, and from him are descended most of the present residents of that name. He was born in New Ipswich, N. H., March 28, 1775, and was one of a family of twelve children, seven girls and five boys. His father was Daniel Stratton, a descendant of Samuel born in England in 1592 and died in Watertown, Mass., in 1672. Daniel Stratton had two brothers, Hezekiah and Nehe- miah, the latter was one of Washington's Life Guards, and a record of him is to be found in a book published in 1905, " The Commander-in-Chief's Guard."
John Stratton, when a youth, was apprenticed to a Dyer and Clothier, but never followed his trade, being of a me- chanical turn of mind, and became a millwright, which occupation he followed for years. He came to Oxford some time prior to 1809 and made a business of buying and selling land. After a short time he removed to Bingham- ton, but returned to South Oxford previous to 1815, where
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he remained until his death, which occurred January 28, 1842. His wife was Charlotte Frink, who was born April 22, 1788, in Connecticut, and died March 27, 1875, in Ox- ford. Children :
ALBERT G., born November 17, 1809, in Binghamton; died July 15, 1890, in Oxford; married November 12, 1835, Caroline Willcox, of Oxford, born February 11, 1815. Children : Adelaide C., married (1) Isaac L. Bronson of Amsterdam, N. Y .; married (2) E. D. Bronson of Amster- dam. John Hovey, born August 26, 1838; died April 13, 1841. Mary C., born June 29, 1840; died April 8, 1841. Mary L., born April 14, 1842; died July 3, 1858. Charles J., married Mary Kinney of Oxford. Sarah DeF., married Henry M. Juliand of Greene. Tracy, born July 19, 1848; died February 16, 1850. Rosella H., married Rector W. Willoughby of Oxford. Melville B., now owns and occu- pies the farm where his father and grandfather lived and died. Married October 24, 1877, Harriet McFarland of Oxford. (Child: Julian Arthur, born May 15, 1882. In- heriting from his ancestors a love for mechanics he grad- uated from Cornell University in 1904 with the degree of M. E. E. E., and is now with the Western Electric Co. of Chicago.) ,
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