USA > New York > Chautauqua County > Biographical and portrait cyclopedia of Chautauqua County, New York : with a historical sketch of the county > Part 16
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BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
and in religion a Methodist. He married
and reared children. His father, Andrew Peterson a native of Sweden, was born about 1815. He came to America in 1858, located in Jamestown, but subsequently removed to Sugar Grove, Pa., where he remained one year, and then returned to Jamestown, where he passed the remainder of his life. By trade he was a carpenter and joiner, and was also a contractor and builder. He was a republican in politics, a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and married Anna Thranck, by whom he had nine children : Theodore, enlisted in the Union army, July, 1862, in Co. A, 112th regiment, N. Y. Vols., and served until the close of the war. He was wounded in the arm at the battle of Cold Harbor, but this did not prevent his engaging in several other battles, and died in Jamestown, July 27, 1881 ; Louisa married Peter Morgan, who was drowned in Lake Chau- tauqua, and after his death married John Kofod, of Jamestown ; Matilda, wife of George Howard, of Jamestown ; Christina, married to James Holmes, of Jamestown ; Josephine, wife of Gustavus Carlson, a tailor of Jamestown ; William O., married to Aleoia Tingwall for his first wife and after her death married Dora Fox, and resides in Jamestown ; and Edward A., married to Edith Kirkpatrick, and is a salesman in his brother's store.
A. John Peterson received a common school education in Jamestown, supplemented by a prac- tical business experience and by wide reading and observation. He began life on his own ac- count as a contractor and builder with his father and brother, and after his father's death he formed a partnership with his brother under the firm name of T. & A. J. Peterson, continu- ing therein fifteen years. During the latter part of that period they also engaged in the grocery business at No. 110 Main street, and finally abandoned contracting and building and devoted their attention to the grocery business until 1885, when he sold out, and the following
year purchased the clothing business in which Mr. Peterson still continues, his brother having died. As merchant tailor, clothier, hatter and gentlemen's furnisher, he transacts a large and paying business. He is a republican in politics and has served on the board of aldermen of Jamestown two terms. He enlisted with his brother Theodore in the same company in July, 1862, serving until the close of the war, partici- pating in all the battles in which the Army of the Potomac was engaged and never received a scratch, althoughi at the battle of Chapin Farm, he found seven bullet holes through his clothes at the close of the engagement.
On Aug. 16, 1866, A. J. Peterson united in marriage with Clara Lanson, of Lottsville, Pa., and after her death espoused Sophia Jones, of Jamestown. Their union has been blest with four children, three sons and one daughter : James C., a clerk in his father's store ; Conrad (dead) ; Mabel Jenevieve, and John T.
Loyal to his adopted country and his friends, yet having an affection for his native land, liberal in his ideas and broad in his sympathy, he is an excellent type of an ideal naturalized American.
J OHN M. HARDENBURG is an honest, industrious and hard-working man, who has successfully conducted several farms, mak- ing money out of each, and after a more than average life-time, spent in agricultural pursuits, has, in the sere and yellow leaf of life, turned his attention to horticulture and enjoys it, for it is healthful, keeps one in touch with advancing methods, and is pecuniarily compensating for the time and labor employed. At least four generations of the family of Hardenburg have been Americans by birth, so that the more moderate Teutonic blood neutralizes the swifter and more nervous fluid which pulsates through the veins of an American, whose ancestors peopled Albion or Scotia. The paternal grand- father of John M. Hardenburg was a native of
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OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY.
Ulster county, New York, being born in 1775. He became a farmer and removed to Oneida county, N. Y., locating on a farm there, but not being satisfied with his environments, he went to Tompkins county, where he bought a farm, which he a few years after sold and moved to Chautauqua, this county, where he purchased a farm, which he subsequently sold to his son Volkert, father of John M., about 1835. It is located nearly four miles from Mayville and is now owned by Nelson Crandall. He married Jane Vedder, by whom he had six children : Maria, who married Jacob Mowers ; Betsy, who married Israel Denman ; John; Judith, who married Adam Hoffman; Volkert, father of John M .; Cornelius, whose wife was Adeline Tucker; and James. The father of these chil- dren died in 1840, and the mother in 1858. The maternal grandfather of John M. Harden- burg, John Miller, was a life-long resident of Oneida county, New York. The father of John M. was born in Oneida county, New York, January 25, 1799, and came to this county in 1834. He purchased a fifty acre farm three miles east of Mayville, worked it a short time and selling it, bought the farm of his father above alluded to and lived there two years. Thence he removed to the south-western part of Stockton, this county, where he bought a farm of one hundred and sixty-seven acres and continued investing in land until he became possessed of three hundred acres. He now lives in Portland, Chautauqua county, a hale, hearty and happy nonogenarian. He married, October 4, 1818, Susan Miller, daughter of John Miller, of Oneida county, New York, by whom he had six children, three sons and three daughters, of whom Jane A., the first-born, married George Munger, a blacksmith in Portland, this county ; Jacob is a farmer and dealer in cattle in West- field, and married Antoinette Hassett, Dec. 30, 1851 ; Catharine, now dead, married Thomas Ralph, a farmer in Stockton ; Cornelia, also de- ceased,. married Stephen Reinhart, January 9,
1850. He is a farmer in Stockton, this county ; and Henry, a farmer in Westfield, married Diana Pane. The mother of these children died August 1st, 1868, and was buried at Westfield.
John M. Hardenburg, a son of Volkert and Susan (Miller) Hardenburg, was born in Oneida county, New York, October 4th, 1823, and was educated in the common schools of Stockton, which he continued to attend, but only a few months in each year, until he was twenty-four years old, when he rented a farm in Stockton, where he remained two years and then bought a farm of one hundred acres, which he cultivated a brief time and sold it, only to buy another comprising one hundred and fifteen acres, on which he remained fourteen years. He then disposed of it and removed to Portland, where he purchased a smaller farm, some sixty acres, and lived three years. He bought, occupied and sold these farms success- ively and after the disposal of the third, he re- moved to Westfield, where he conducted a dairy farm for one year. Returning to Portland he purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres and occupied it sixteen years, after which, he sold it and came to Fredonia, where he now owns seven acres in the village on which he raises choice grapes. In religion he is a member of the Baptist church.
John M. Hardenburg was married to Julia A. Denton, September 12, 1848. She was a daughter of Fowler and Sophia (Colwell) Denton (her father being a farmer in Stockton), and by her had two sons and two daughters, of whom Sophia, the eldest, married Homer Burr, a farmer in Portland, the union resulting in eight children ; Medora married A. J. Walker, a grape-grower in Portland, and they have one child; Warren died in infancy ; and Fowler Denton, a grape-grower in Portland, who mar- ried Lizzie Burrows, and they have three children.
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BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
HARLES M. DOUGLASS, a descendant of one of the pioneer families of Chau- tauqua county, is a son of Zattu and Elizabeth (Frazier) Douglass, and was born in the town of Dunkirk, Chautauqua county, N. Y., June 21, 1839. The Douglass family is of Scotch descent, and one of its members, Richard Doug- lass (grandfather), was a native of Connecticut, but removed early in the present century to Chautauqua county, and bought a farm in the town of Dunkirk, which embraced part of the present site of Dunkirk city. He was a prom- inent Freemason, and although his " clearing" did not consist of over fifty acres, yet he was considered one of the rich men of Chautauqua county at that time, for his farm was one of the few to supply provisions to the new settlers until such time as their land would be cleared and become productive. One of his sons, Zattu Douglass (father), was born in the State of Ver- mont, and was engaged in farming during the most of his life. He was a stanch supporter of the Republican party until he died in October, 1862. In 1835 he married Elizabeth Frazier, daughter of Fill Frazier, of Chautauqua county, by whom he had seven children.
Charles M. Douglass was reared on his father's farm, and attended the subscription schools of the town of Dunkirk. He owns a valuable farm, about one-half mile southeast of the city, on which he has resided all his life. In addition to his own farm he cultivates the lands of several of his neighbors.
On April 27, 1867, he married Dinah Harri- son, a native of England. To their union have been born five children : Frederick and Diana, twins, were born January 27, 1868; Charles M., Jr., born March 20, 1869; Clarence E., born July 27, 1872; Arthur, born April 15, 1878; and Walter, born October 7, 1886.
Charles M. Douglass is a republican in poli- tics, and is ranked among the energetic farmers of his town.
ABRAHAM BULL, the sexton at Lake View cemetery, is a son of Benjamin and Ann (Lyons) Bull, and was born in the city of London, England, November 5, 1836. His grandfather, Abraham Bull, was a native of England, but emigrated to America and settled at Jamestown, remaining, however, but a short time, when he returned to his native land and died. He gained a livelihood by following the sea. The maternal grandfather, John Lyons, came from Ireland. When Napoleon was lead- ing his seemingly irresistible forces to victory after victory, until he met with disaster, dis- grace and a banishment to end in death at St. Helena, Mr. Lyons joined the army that defeated him and was never heard of after the battle. Benjamin Bull was born in England in 1812, and came to America, settling at Jamestown about 1849, where he still resides. He married Ann Lyous, who is still living, and by whom he liad ten children, five sons and five daughters. Politically, Mr. Bull affiliates with the Repub- lican party.
Abraham Bull received such education as his own efforts would secure him, and in early life was a day laborer. Mr. Bull is, and since April 19, 1864, has been, the sexton at Lake View cemetery, performing the trying and responsible duties satisfactorily.
On November 30, 1857, he married Lucy Cossart, daughter of Peter and Roxanna Cos- sart, of Jamestown. They have had five chil- dren : Jennie, married Perry Goodwin, a son of Augustus Goodwin, and lives in Jamestown ; Nellie, wife of Darwin Clark, a farmer; Fannie (dead) ; Lucy, wedded Frank Dickerson, a resi- dent of Jamestown ; and Clyda (dead).
Politically, Mr. Bull is a republican, belongs to the Methodist church, and is a member of Jamestown lodge, No. 34, A. O. U. W., and of Chautauqua Lake lodge, No. 46, Knights of Honor. The Jamestown Journal, speaking of the beautiful Lake View cemetery, says : { "Twenty years have elapsed since Abraham
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OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY.
Bull was first appointed sexton of Lake View cemetery, which is nearly ever since it was first used. It is now one of the best kept concerns in the country, nieely laid out in walks and drives. He has always been reliable, and carried out his portion of every contraet to the letter."
A. H. LIBBY, who served for twenty-one years as foreman of the H. G. Brooks Locomotive works, of Dunkirk, was born in the town of Gorham, Cumberland county, Maine, December 20, 1819, and is a son of Daniel and Martha Ann (Morton) Libby. The Libby family is of English deseent and some of its members were among the earliest and fore- most settlers of the province of Maine. In a book compiled and published by Charles T. Libby of Portland, Maine, the history of the Libby family is aeeurately traeed from 1602 to 1881. Simeon Libby, the grandfather of Al- bert H. Libby, was a Maine farmer, born Sep- tember 3, 1755, and served as a soldier in one of the Indian wars of the frontier and in the War of 1812. He died Mareh 11, 1830, when considerably past his four-seore years of age. His son, Daniel Libby (father), was born on the home farm, Mareh 18, 1792, and learned the trade of wheel-wright and carpenter, which he followed for some years before turning his at- tention to farming. He was an attendant of the Methodist Episcopal ehureh, a strong dem- oerat, like his father before him, and died in Gorham, Maine, May 11, 1826, at the early age of thirty-four years. His wife, Martha Ann Morton, was a Methodist and a native of Gorham, where she died in 1821, when but twenty-one years of age.
Albert H. Libby grew to manhood in his native town. As his parents died when he was quite small he was compelled to do for himself at an early age, and thus was able to seeure but a limited edueation. He learned the trade of blaeksmith and upon attaining his majority re-
moved from Gorham to Portland, in the same State, where he was foreman of the Portland Company's locomotive and machine works for twelve years. In 1860 he left his· native State and came to Dunkirk where he became fore- man of the H. G. Brooks Locomotive works, now the largest manufacturing establishment of the eity, which position he held until 1881, when he resigned. Since leaving the loeomo- tive works, Mr. Libby has been engaged to some extent in the real estate business, in which his investments have been reasonably profitable. He now resides with his son, Frank L. Libby.
On the 12th of August, 1845, he married Eliza A. Woodward, a daughter of Samuel Woodward, of Gorham, Maine, and who died in January, 1881, leaving three children, one son and two daughters : Josephine A., wife of Franeis Lake; Clara I., married to Arthur J. Seott ; and Frank L., who married Margaret J. Morris, and resides in Dunkirk. Mr. Lib- by has seven grandehildren : Florenee I., daugh- ter of Mrs. Lake; Emma L., Nettie L., and Gertrude A., daughters of Mrs. Seott; and Mabel S., Aliee Gertrude, and Albert W. H., children of Frank L.
Politieally Mr. Libby is a demoerat like his father and grandfather before him, and has been a member of the common eouneil, besides serving several terms as assessor of Dunkirk City. He is a Knight Templar in Masonry and holds membership in Irondequoit Lodge, No. 301, Free and Accepted Masons, Dunkirk, N. Y., Dunkirk Chapter, No. 191, High Royal Areh Masons and Dunkirk Commandery, No. 40, Knights Templar, and is a past master and a past high priest.
G EORGE B. DOUGLASS, a deseendant of the Scoteh family of Douglass, who were among the earliest settlers of Chautauqua eoun- ty, is a son of Arnold and Naney (Baldwin) Douglass, and was born on the farm on which he now resides, in the town of Dunkirk, Chau-
8
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BIOGRAPHIY AND HISTORY
tauqua county, New York, January 14, 1833. His grandfather, Richard Douglass, the pioneer, was a native of Connecticut and removed with his family, in 1806, to Chautauqua county, this State. He purchased a large tract of land, to which he added from time to time, until he owned 750 acres of the finest farming land in the county. He was a Free Mason, a member of the Baptist church, and died in 1845. His son, Arnold Douglass (father), was born in Connecticut, December 14, 1802, and accom- panied his parents to Chautauqua county in 1806. He was a successful farmer, a supporter of the Democratic party, and died July 6, 1838, when in the thirty-sixth year of his age. He married Nancy Baldwin, daughter of Samuel Baldwin, of Pawlet, Vermont. They had three children : George B., Sarah, wife of Russell Jones, of Dunkirk ; and Betsy, who died at the age of five years.
George B. Douglass was reared on his father's farm, attended the subscription schools of Chau- tauqua county, and learned the trade of carpen- ter. In 1856, he went to Illinois and entered the employ of the Illinois Central Railroad Company, in the capacity of delivery clerk. He remained with them some time and then engaged in farming and afterwards in carpen- tering, until 1861, when he returned to Dun- kirk, where he bought a productive farm of sixty-five acres (the old homestead), on which he has since resided, and has erected a good house, barn, and other necessary out-buildings. He has also a vineyard of four acres.
In 1850 he married Aurelia E. Blakely, daughter of David Blakely, of Springville, Erie county, New York; she was the twelfth child of fifteen children. They have four children : George M., a resident of Dunkirk, in the em- ploy of the American Express Company ; Frank E., who is engaged in farming near his father ; Clarence E., baggage master on the Dunkirk & Warren R. R .; and Lilly V., who died in 1868, at the age of eleven years.
George B. Douglass is a member of the Bap- tist church of Dunkirk, and an active republi- can. He has held several of the most impor- tant of the offices of his town. He is a pros- perous farmer and law-abiding citizen of the town of Dunkirk.
EMERY W. FENTON, the senior member of the well-known firm, Fenton, Robert- son & Co., of Jamestown, is a son of William H. and Hannah (Tracy) Fenton, and was born in the village of Fluvanna, Chautauqua county, New York, March 23, 1836. The family on either side were natives of New England for some generations. The paternal grandfather, Jacob Fenton, came to Jamestown in 1811, and being a potter by trade, he established a kiln and pottery between what is now First and Second Streets, and manufactured all kinds of earthenware. His wife was Lois Hurd, and she bore him nine children. Jacob Fenton died in 1822. Elias Tracy (maternal grandfather) was a native of Vermont, and came to this State, locating on the Conewago flats, in 1814, where he followed farming until he died. William H. Fenton was born in New England in 1796, and came to Jamestown when sixteen years of age, and entered the earthenware. manufacturing house with his father. They worked together until the old gentleman's death in 1822, when William H. Fenton continued the business alone until 1826, and then took Samuel Whittemore as a partner. They moved their business to Fluvanna. This partnership- remained effective until 1839, when they dis- solved, and W. H. Fenton moved back to Jamestown, and shortly after was elected justice of the peace, a position that he held for fifty years. The old gentleman is still living, hale and hearty, and although ninety-five years of age is as enthusiastic a republican as can be found in the county of Chautauqua. Prior to. the inception of this party he was a whig. Mr. Fenton is a member of the Congregational
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OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY.
church, being the oldest member in the State. In 1816 he married Hannah Tracy, who bore him fourteen children, cight of whom are still living : Erasmus D. is living in Minnesota ; Elias J. is a farmer in Iowa; Harriet is the wife of John Harvey, of Iowa ; Carlos lives in Austin, Min .; Merriette is Mrs. Charles Jeffords, and resides in Jamestown ; Dana is engaged in the lumber business here ; and Emily H. married James Smith, and lives in this city.
Emery W. Fenton spent his boyhood days at Fluvanna and Jamestown, and attended the public schools and academy at the latter place. He began to work in a pail factory when about eighteen years of age, and followed that line of business for a number of years, but at present is engaged in the furniture manufacturing, being the senior member of the firm of Fenton, Robertson & Co., of Jamestown. Their factory employs from fifty to seventy-five men, and the output of the factory is about fifty thousand dollars per year. The plant is equipped with all modern improvements, and is one of the , business enterprises to which Jamestown's citizens may point with pride.
In 1861 E. W. Fenton married Louise Myers, a daughter of Peter Myers, of Frewsburg, N. Y., and has two daughters living : Lulu E., born August 10, 1868 ; and Grace J., born May 5, 1871. Both of these young ladies were edu- cated at the Jamestown high-school, and arc charming entertainers.
Emery W. Fenton is a democrat, and belongs to Jamestown lodge, No. 13, A. O. U. W., and to the Equitable Aid Union. He lias been throughout his life a straightforward and thoroughgoing man, and by his earnest will and untiring industry has risen to opulence. He is a good citizen and successful business man.
M ELVIN J. KNOX, who has been a suc- cessful contractor and builder for many years, has erccted many of the fine residences in Silver Creek, and is one of the most enterprising
citizens of that village. He was born near Wattsburg, Erie county, Pennsylvania, March 13, 1853, and is a son of Charles and Ann (Beart) Knox. His grandfather, James Knox, was born in 1794, in Connecticut, and was a soldier in the War of 1812. He resided in Sheridan, this county, several years, and died in 1866, aged seventy-two years. Charles Knox (father) was born in Cortland county, this State, on August 24, 1824. For several years he lived in Erie county, Pa., but removed to this county in 1854, locating in Sheridan, where he remained until 1868, when he came to Silver Creek, where he has since resided. He is a carpenter by trade, but has been a contractor and builder most of his life, and politically is a republican. In 1850 he married Ann Bcart, who was born in England in 1827, and she bore him five chil- dren.
Melvin J. Knox was reared in this county, receiving his education in the common schools, and after leaving school at the age of fourtecn years learned the trade of a carpenter, and has worked at it ever since, although he has largely added to it by taking up contracting and build- ing. He came to Silver Creek in 1868, and worked at his vocation until 1884, when he built the large plant he now owns on Buffalo street, known as the Silver Creek planing-mill, where he manufactures doors, sash, blinds, shutters, mouldings, lumber, lath, shingles and deals largely in builders' hardware and general sup- plies. He is a large contractor and builder, and has built all the way from three to twenty-three houses a year for several years, and generally has a very flourishing and steadily increasing business. Politically he is a republican, and is assistant chief of the fire department.
Melvin J. Knox was married, September 8, 1875, to Lily Holcomb, of Silver Creek. Their marriage has been blest with three children, one son and two daughters: Edith, Porter and Drusilla, aged thirteen, eleven and two years respectively.
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BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
OHN T. GREEN, who has been a leading citizen and merchant of Sherman, this county, for twenty-seven years, was born Janu- uary 31, 1829, in Lineolnshire, a pastoral county on the east coast of England, and is a son of William and Martha (Tomlinson) Green, both natives of the same place. His parents came to America in 1830, locating near Utica, this State, for a short time, thence coming to Chautauqua town, and finally settled in Sher- man, this county, where the father spent the remainder of his life. He was a carpenter and joiner by trade, was supervisor of the town of Sherman from 1856 to 1857, and in 1858, married Martha Tomlinson, by whom he had five children. He died March 25, 1862, at the age of fifty-nine years.
John T. Green was reared on a farm, and re- ceived his education in the common schools. After leaving school he learned the carpenter trade, at which he worked for a short time, when he bought out the firm of Adams & Har- rington, and engaged in the mercantile business, associating with him W. F. Green, now cashier of the bank of Sherman, the firm name being J. T. & W. F. Grecu, which was dissolved in 1886, since which time John T. Green has car- ried on the business alone. He also owns two hundred acres of good land near Sherman, was supervisor of that town from 1870 to 1872, and was again elected in 1874. In politics he is a republican, and when the village of Sherman was formed, he was elected its first president, in October, 1890, and at the spring election in 1891, he was re-elected. This is a distinction of which any man might feel proud.
John T. Green was married January 7, 1851, to Livia P. Hall, a daughter of Ahira Hall, a farmer of Portland, this county. Mr. and Mrs. Green have been blest with three children, two sons and one daughter : William A., the eldest son, is now in Australia, having been sent there by a manufacturing syndicate to represent them ; Frederick R., who is the present cashier of the
Fredonia National Bank, this county ; and Florence, is at home.
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