USA > New York > Chautauqua County > Biographical and portrait cyclopedia of Chautauqua County, New York : with a historical sketch of the county > Part 58
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 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92
On June 26th, 1873, Mr. Avery united in marriage with Mary Swift, a daughter of Herman and Betsy (Jackson) Swift of Forest- ville, Chautauqua county, New York. Mr. and Mrs. Avery had four children : Agnes, Bessie, Hascal and Mary Sherman.
A LBERT W. HULL, a prominent member of the Chautauqua county bar, is a son of Sylvester and Selina (Recd) Hull, and was born in Oneida county, New York, on De- cember 10, 1825. His grandfather, Eli Hull, was a native of the eastern part of this State, and was one of the earliest settlers of Oneida county, where he resided until his death, which occurred September 24, 1838. He was of
English extraction. Sylvester Hull (father) was a native of Oneida county and a farmer by occupation. He moved to Chautauqua county in 1837, at the time of the great national ex- citement concerning the United States Bank in Philadelphia, and, purchasing an eighty acre farm in Cherry Creek, cultivated it until his death, which occurred October 29, 1854, at the age of fifty-four years. He was a democrat, and an exceedingly well-posted man, subscrib- ing for and diligently reading several news- papers. February 1, 1824, he married Selina Reed, who was a native of Oneida county, where she spent her entire life. They were the parents of three children. Mrs. Hull died October 21, 1830.
Albert W. Hull was reared on the farm in Cherry Creek and received his education in the common and select schools of that section. He learned the carpenter's trade and followed it for a livelihood in connection with contracting and building until 1868, when he commenced the study of law in the office of John G. Record, of Forestville. He was admitted to practice before the supreme court of the State of New
United States District court. Since his admis- sion to the bar he has built up a fine law prac- tice in this vicinity. He was elected to the office of justice of the sessions for this county in 1885, which he held one year, and has been justice of the peace for eight years. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and of Hanover Lodge, No. 152, F. and A. M., and Forestville Chapter, No. 136, of Royal Arch Masons, and politically is an ac- tive democrat. Mr. Hull is a gentleman of sound judgment and is held in high respect throughout this section.
Albert W. Hull, on January 31, 1885, united in marriage with Lydia F. Webb, daughter of David Webb, of Forestville. They have two children living : Albert W., Jr., who married Grace Thompson, of For- estville, and is in the insurance business in New York city ; and Carrie L., wife of Car- ter Robie, of Batlı, this State, where they now reside.
D ELOS J. RIDER, a resident of the town of Hanover, is a son of Robert D. and Lucy (Spencer) Rider, and was born in Her- kimer county, New York, August 27, 1824. Zadock Rider (grandfather) was a native of Dutchess county, this State, but removed to Herkimer county, where he took up residence and lived until his death. He followed farm- ing for his livelihood and always shaped his life in conformity with the highest principles he knew. His marriage with Naomi Seers resulted in the birth of a family of five chil- dren, three sons and two daughters. The maternal grandfather, Gideon Spencer, was a native of Connecticut, removed to Herkimer county, and finally, in 1833, made his home in the town of Villanova, this county, where he died at the age of 92 years. He united in marriage with Sallie Warner, and reared a family of four children, two sons and two
481
OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY.
daughters. In his religious belief he was a member of the Universalist church, and a firm believer in the moral efficacy of obedience to natural law. His occupation was that of farming. Robert D. Rider (father) was born in Herkimer county, September 8, 1799, and emigrated to this county in 1833. His first place of settlement in the county was in the town of Sheridan, near Silver Creek, where lie purchased sixty acres of land, only two acres of which were then cleared. Here he spent five years of his life, then moved to Arkwright, and died September 19, 1867. He voted with the Whig and Republican parties, under both of which lie was elected to and held town offices. Religiously he be- longed to the Baptist church and held the office of deacon for a number of years. Mr. Rider was married first to Lney Spencer, by whom he had three children : Theron A. (dead) ; Delos J .; and Sarah T., married to Harry S. Faulkner (deceased). His second wife was Almira Rogers.
Delos J. Rider was joined in marital bonds to Esther C. Emmons, a daughter of Summer Emmons of the town of Arkwright, this county. One daughter was the fruit of this marriage, Naomi T., wife of Charles C. Cole, present supervisor of the town of Arkwright. After the death of his first wife he united in marriage with Clarissa S. Skinner, a daughter of Ralph Skinner, by whom he had two chil- dren : Elmer E., at home; and Frank A., married to Hattie Powers, is a farmer living in the town of Hanover.
D. J. Rider was cducated in the common schools and at Fredonia Academy, taught school some sixteen years, and has since that time devoted himself to the care and man- agement of his farm of three hundred and ten acres. Politically he is a republican, and as such has held the office of supervisor for the town of Arkwright and other places of trust. He is also a member of the Grange.
F FREDERICK D. GARDNER, a citizen of
Hanover town, and a farmer of promi- nence, is the son of Edward and Anna (Dixon) Gardner, and was born in Ireland, Mayo coun- ty, December 19, 1824. His entire ancestry has been confined within the borders of the Emerald Isle. His grandfather, Robert Gard- ner, was a farmer and a member of the estab -. lished church of England. He was married and reared a family of four sons and three daughters. Maternal grandfather, John Dixon, was likewise a native of Ireland, a farmer and an Orangeman. He was married to Etta Lang, who bore him a large family of children. Ed- ward Gardner, father of Frederick D., was born in Ireland in 1789, and died in 1846. He was reared upon a farm, but soon relin- quished the occupation of farming, went to the city of Dublin, and became a member of the police force. He was united in marriage to Anna Dixon, who bore him nine children, six sons and three daughters, subject being the only one who emigrated to America. Religiously he joined his interests with those of the Episcopal Church.
Frederick D. Gardner received his education in the common schools of his native country, and at the expiration of his school life, when at the age of seventeen, he received a position on the police force, which he held for ten years in the city of Dublin, Ireland. In 1850 he re- signed the position of police officer, came to America, and located at Bath, Steuben county, New York, where he engaged in farming. Some years later he removed to Smith's Mills, in the town of Hanover, Chautauqua county, and became foreman of a gang of section men for thirty-four years on the Buffalo & South- Western R. R. When somewhat advanced in life he quit railroading and purchased a farm of fifty-nine and three-fourth acres, south of Smith's Mills, town of Hanover. He is a democrat in politics, but has never held any official position.
482
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
On February 6, 1849, Mr. Gardner was first married to Elizabeth Slush, who bore him eight children: Edward D., married to Jennie Her- nandez, now living at Renovo, Penna., and in the employ of the railroad company ; James T., married to Miss Judd, now living in Mich- igan, city of Mackinac, and is general man- ager of the Michigan R. R .; Lizzie N., of Dunkirk, New York ; Frederick, a railroad clerk at Buffalo, New York ; Mary J., living in Buffalo, New York. Subject's second wife was Ann Woods, by whom he had four children, two sons and two daughters : Robert L., mar- ried to Signora Rasmusen, now living in St. Paul, Minnesota, a train dispatcher; Dora, Richard and Effie V.
C OMMANDER WILLIAM BARKER
CUSHING, U.S.N. The three supreme- ly great names in the naval history of the American Republic, are those of John Paul Jones, Oliver Hazard Perry and William Barker Cushing. Cushing is as completely the representative of the highest naval strategy and the type of the greatest individual daring of the Great Rebellion as was Perry of the second war of Independence and Jones of the Revolu- tionary struggle.
William Barker Cushing was born in Wis- consin, November 24, 1842, and was the young- est son of Milton B. and Mary (Smith) Cush- ing. He was descended from an old Puritan family of New England and his paternal grandfather, Judge Zattu Cushing, who was born at Plymouth, Massachusetts, became a pioneer settler of Chautauqua county and over its courts of justice presided from their organi- zation in 1811 until 1824; he was a Baptist, served in the war of 1812, and it is said of him, " That in those qualities which fit a man for his duties, social, civil and religious, he was not excelled by any of his fellow-citizens." His son, Milton B. Cushing, the father of William B. Cushing, married Mary Smith, a near rela-
tive of Rear-Admiral Smith, and removed to Wisconsin where he died and left four sons in their childhood. Mrs. Cushing returned to Fredonia so that her children might enjoy good educational advantages and after the late civil war went back to the west where she died on March 26, 1891.
William Barker Cushing received his early education at Fredonia and in 1857 was appoint- ed to the U. S. Naval academy, at Annapolis, Maryland, but resigned on March 23, 1861. In May of the same year he volunteered and was appointed master's-mate on the U. S. ship Minnesota, and on the day of her arrival at Hampton Roads captured the Delaware Farmer, a tobacco schooner, the first prize of the war. He was attached to the North Atlantic block- ading squadron, during the war, served part of the time on the South Atlantic coast and re- peatedly distinguished himself by acts of bravery.
He was commissioned lieutenant July 16, 1862, and in November of the same year he was ordered to capture Jacksonville, Florida, intercept an important mail and destroy the New Juliet salt works. He captured the mail, took prizes and shelled a Confederate camp, but was unable to cross the bar to Jacksonville. He then served on the Blackwater and in the sounds of North Carolina where he distin- guished himself upon several occasions. Dur- ing 1863, he added to his reputation for daring bravery and good judgment by an expedition up the Cape Fear and Little rivers and his opera- tions on the Nansemond.
It is impossible to give in detail in this sketch all of his brilliant exploits, distinguished services and hair-breadth escapes. His most brilliant exploit and which made world-wide his then, already, national reputation, was the destruction of the Confederate iron-clad ram " Albemarle" on the night of October 27, 1864. This vessel had successfully encountered a strong fleet of Union gun-boats and fought
COMMANDER WILLIAM B. CUSHING
485
OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY.
for several hours without sustaining material damage. There was nothing able to cope with her in the sounds and grave apprehensions were entertained of the Union iron-clads being able to prevent her from sweeping everything before and shelling the principal northern sea- port cities. Cushing volunteered to destroy her and banish the nightmare of terror which her presence cast upon the Union fleets. With a steam lannch and a volunteer crew who fully realized the importance and danger of the mis- sion upon which they were going, he ascended the Roanoke river, towing an armed cutter. The river was lined with Confederate pickets to guard against just such an attack as this ; but Cushing's phenomenal good luck did not desert him, and he was within a few yards of the " Albemarle " before he was discovered. Cast- ing off the boat which he had in tow with orders to attack a picket post near by, he drove the launch straight at the huge bulk of the iron- clad, whose crew rushed to quarters aud at once opened a heavy fire on their advancing foe. The launch replied and effectively with her howitzer for a few moments until Cushing reached a raft of heavy logs which had been built around the ram. Over this the launch was driveu, and by the time she received her death wound from. the " Albemarle's " guns, Cushing had cooly swung the torpedo boom under the great ship's overhang aud exploded the charge. A large hole was blown in the iron-clad's side ; she sank at her moorings and was never raised. Directing his companions to seek their safety, Cushing left his sinking raft aud swam down stream one-half mile where he reached the river bank thoroughly exhausted ; when he re- covered strength he plunged into a dense swamp and after hours of tedious wading, came out on the shore of a creek where he found a Union picket boat. He and only one other of his companions escaped. For the sinking of the " Albemarle" he received the thanks of Con- gress and was shortly afterwards elevated
to the rank of lieutenant-commander, his com- mission being dated October 27, 1864. At Fort Fisher he buoyed out the channel in a small skiff and completed his work iu six hours. In the final assault on its frowning walls he led a force of sailors and marines from the Monticello in au attack on the sea front of the fort and amid an unceasing fire at short range which cut down his men in windrows he crossed one hundred rods of sand, rallied his men and gave such efficient support to the land forces that before midnight the fort was surrendered.
During the war he received five commenda- tory letters from the Secretary of the Navy and at the close of the struggle was appointed to the command of the Lancaster in the Pacific squadron. In 1868 he was placed in command of the Maumee, and for four years was attached to the Atlantic squadron. On the return of the Maumee to the United States, Lieutenant-Com- mander Cushing was advanced to the rank of commander to date from January 1, 1872, and he was the youngest officer of that rank in the navy. He was allowed leave of absence but his health which had been impaired by over- exertion failed completely and he died of brain fever in Washington City, on December 17, 1874.
On February 22, 1870, he united iu mar- riage with Catherine Louise Forbes, daughter of Colonel D. S. Forbes, of Fredouia. To their union were born two children : Mary Louise and Catherine A. Mrs. Cushing is an intellectual woman of taste and refinement, residing now at her pleasant home in Fredonia.
The memory of William B. Cushing has been honored by the various Grand Army Posts in Wisconsin and other states of the Union named after him; while on the water the sea-going torpedo boat Cushing suggests by its character the daring of him for whom it was named. A thousand pens have written of him and his deeds, and among the just and deserved
486
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
tributes recorded in honor of his achievements we select these two :
" A country and the navy may well be proud of this most adventurous of their heroes," and, " Cushing by repeated daring and successful achievements, has rivaled the fame of Paul Jones and Perry, and associated his name with theirs in immortality."
in the year 1805, and is still living. About 1826 he changed his place of residence to the State of New York, locating with his family in the town of Portland, Chautauqua county. While in Massachusetts he was the superintend- ent of a cloth manufactory at Lowell. In earlier life he had learned the trade of a mechanic and, when he came to Chautauqua county, engaged That intense earnestness of purpose, that wonderful spirit of daring and that supreme contempt of death which characterized the heroes of the Great Rebellion as well as the cool and deliberate calculations of its great leaders and master-spirits, were qualities possessed by Cushing in the highest degree ; while in addition to all this he was gifted with a military ability, a fertility of invention and all powerful-will, which places him among the greatest naval heroes of all time. in carpentering. He was a constant reader and a close student of books and general literature, which coupled with his wonderful memory and innate love of study, gave him great mental power and enabled him to acquire a good prac- tical education. In matters of religion he was a man of profound reverence and deep convic- tions, and devoted not a little time to the study of the Bible, church liturgy and ritual and the lives of the church fathers. He was first united in marriage to Miss Olive Persons, by whom No Cleopatra of ease ever lured Cushing from any Actium of life, and no thought of death ever cast a shadow of fear upon any enterprise however dangerous which he had conceived. He was always in the battle where the iron hail fell the thickest and his place in the picture was where the blaze of the cannon was the brightest. he had two children, one of whom is dead. His second marriage was to Eliza J. Ketcham, who became the mother of seven children, five sons and two daughters, three of whom (two sons and one daughter) are yet living. Their child- ren were : Samuel M., entered the Union army at the beginning of the civil war as a volunteer in the 64th regiment, served until wounded, re- enlisted and was killed at the battle of the Wil- G EORGE R. BACON, a public-spirited and enterprising citizen of Ripley, New York, who has been emphatically the architect of his own fortune, is a son of James and Eliza J. (Ketcham) Bacon. He is of New England an- cestry, and was born in the town of Portland, derness ; Jasper M., now living at Silver Creek, New York. He entered the 112th regiment, New York volunteers, as a private at the be- ginning of the war and served until its close ; James F. M., also enlisted at the beginning of the war and served until the battle of Gettys- Chautauqua county, New York, on January 7, burg, when he was taken prisoner, carried to 1834. His grandfather Bacon was a native and ! Andersonville and Libby prisons, in the latter of which he died; Ira J., now living in Cin- cinnati, Ohio, where he is superintendent of the largest sheet-iron mill in the United States ; Louisa died at the age of fifteen years ; Alice D., wife of E. A. Kelsey, of Corry, Pa .; and George R.
a life-long resident of the State of Massachu- setts, and in that early day belonged to the old- line Whig party. He married and reared a large family of children. His maternal grand- parents claimed the State of New York as the place of their birth. James Bacon (father of George R. Bacon) was born in the town of Springfield, Worcester county, Massachusetts,
George R. Bacon acquired his preliminary edu- cation in the common schools, but afterward sup-
487
OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY.
plemented it by continual independent study and reading. He learned the trade of carpenter, became foreman on the old Buffalo and State Line R. R. in 1854, and has been continued in that capacity through all the various changes in the ownership and management of the road ever since. Aside from his main business, Mr. Bacon has dealt somewhat in real estate and devoted his spare time to the care of his five- acre vineyard.
George R. Bacon was married to Miss Mary A. Lay, daughter of William and Elizabeth (Rowe) Lay. Her father was a native of Corn- wall, England, and emigrated to the village of Ripley, Chautauqua county, in the year 1853. He lived in Ripley until his death, March 13th, 1871. Mr. Lay's education was such as is given by the common schools, and his occupa- tion an engineer and a farmer. In politics he was a republican ; religiously a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. His wife bore him six children : William, Jr., of Ripley, a stone-mason by trade ; Thomas H., married and living in the State of Kansas ; John R., of Ripley, a grape-grower; Jane, wife of Hart Endy (dead), of Ripley; Elizabeth, wife of Oliver Stetson, a grape-grower of Ripley ; and Mary A. Having lost two infant children, they in 1874 adopted an infant girl, Bertha Isabel, who is fully adopted and is as such considered one of their natural children.
G. R. Bacon is a supporter of the Republican party and a member of the Royal Arcanum. He is an upright man, straightforward in his business dealings and stands high in the estima- tion of Ripley's best citizens.
ELSON RANDALL, an influential and useful citizen of Ripley and an ex-grand master of the Ancient Order of United Work- men of the jurisdiction of the State of New York, was born at Danby, Vermont, April 11, 1825, and is a son of Caleb and Lydia (Conger) Randall. Hc traces his paternal ancestry back
four generations to William Randall (great- grandfather), a Scotch Quaker, who was one of a party of Quakers who came from Scotland to Massachusetts Colony before the Revolutionary war. William Randall in all probability died in Massachusetts. His son, Snow Randall (grandfather), was born in 1752, in Scotland. Before coming to America he became acquainted with Hannah Sherman, who was born in 1759. After their arrival in Massachusetts they attended quarterly meetings in this State, where they were married and removed a few years later to Danby, Vermont, at which place Mr. Randall followed the clothing business until his death. His children were: Caleb, Lydia, Hannah, Isaac, Stephen and Sadie. Caleb Randall (father) was born in 1781 and was taken by his parents to Danby, where he died in 1857. He was an old-line whig and a Methodist and married Lydia Conger, who was born in 1782 and died in 1871, at Ripley, at the residence of the subject of this sketch. Mr. and Mrs. Randall were the parents of nine children : Dr. Alvey, born in 1800 and died at Cold Water, Mich., where his son Caleb has been president of the First National bank for twenty years ; Enoch, born in 1803 and died at Collins Centre, N. Y., in 1878 ; Maria, born in 1805, married Smith Hill, of Pawlet, Vt., and died in 1881 ; John, a farmer of Collins Centre, who was born in 1808 and married Mary Nichols ; Robert G., a retired farmer of Lansing, Mich., who was born in 1811 ; Maria, born in 1813, married Thomas Griffin, and died at Ripley in 1870; Ellwood, born in 1816 and died in the Union service in 1863 as a soldier from Missouri ; and Galon L., born in 1820 and died in 1863. Mrs. Randall was a daughter of Enoch Conger, a farmer who was born at Danby, Vt., in 1758, married Ruth Irish, who was born in 1759, and had five children : David, Lydia, Frec Love, Nora and Hiram.
Nelson Randall received an academic educa-
488
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
tion at Poultney, Vt., followed farming for some time, was elected first constable of Danby and afterwards served for eleven years as under sheriff of Rutland county, that State. In 1859 he came to the town of Ripley, where he fol- lowed farming until 1863, when he was con- missioned by Gov. Seymour as a recruiting officer and was sent to Vicksburg to muster Southern Union men into the Federal army. He was afterwards captured by Forest near Memphis, Tennessee, but soon escaped and served as a recruiting officer in Chicago until near the close of the war. From 1865 to 1874 he served as deputy sheriff of Chautanqua county, and during that time was appointed deputy United States marshal of the district of northern New York, which office he held for six years, besides holding a position in the secret service under Capt. Wood. At the breaking out of the Fenian war he was sent by the United States government to watch the Fenians and report any information of them and their move- ments that would be useful to the authorities at Washington City. While engaged in the secret service he had some very narrow escapes and interesting experiences. In 1874 he embarked in the mercantile business at Ripley, which he followed until 1889, when he retired from active business life and has since then devoted some of his time to the management of his vineyard and some little general business not yet closed up. He is a member of the Odd Fellows and the Royal Arcanum.
November 28, 1849, Mr. Randall married Priscilla Eddy, who is a daughter of Sandford Eddy, of Vermont, and was born August 12, 1826. Their children are: Maria E., born May 4, 1854, and wife of E. C. Porter, a mer- chant of Ripley ; Frederick N., who was born January 7, 1856, married Hattie Mason and is engaged in the general mercantile business at Ripley ; Edward C., born July 19, 1860, was graduated from Meadville college, read law with Judge Lambert, admitted to the bar in
1881 and is a successful lawyer of the city of Buffalo ; and Hattie S., who was born April 14, 1865, and married Elgin Mifflin, a mer- chant of Lansing, Michigan. Mrs. Randall died April 6, 1873, and on July 27, 1874, Mr. Randall married Eunice E. Beagten.
Nelson Randall is an active republican, al- though no aspirant for office, and has frequently been importuned to run for sheriff. He intro- duced the Ancient Order of United Workmen in New York and was the first grand master of that order in the State. He represented New York for seven years in the Supreme Lodge during the early years of the order and in 1890 was sent as a representative to the Supreme Lodge then meeting at Boston, Massa- chusetts.
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.