USA > New York > Chautauqua County > Biographical and portrait cyclopedia of Chautauqua County, New York : with a historical sketch of the county > Part 60
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S TEPHEN CULVER, a citizen of the town of Ellery in good standing, is a son of Asahel and Abigail (Brown) Culver, and was born in the town of Ellery, Chautauqua county, New York, October 6, 1826. The Culvers were originally of English extraction and came to the United States during the period of New England colonization. His paternal grandfather, Jesse Culver, was a native of eastern New York, where he passed his life and
finished his career. He was a farmer by occu- pation and a Quaker in his religious profes- sions. Asahel Culver, father of Stephen, was also a native of eastern New York, but removed at an early period to the town of Ellery, Chau- tauqua county, where he purchased a farmi, im- proved and enltivated it and finally died. The 'date of his death is the year 1842. Simultane- ous with his farm work, he carried on the trade of blacksmithing, which he had learned in early manhood. In politics he was an old-line whig, while in religion he was hereditarily a Quaker. Mr. Culver was twice married, the subject being his son by his last wife. His wife, Abigail Brown, was born in the town of Queensbury, Warren county, New York, and died in the town of Ellery, Chautauqua county, in 1862, at the ripe age of seventy-five. She was a woman possessing many good qualities of mind and heart, of Quaker ancestry and prominently identified with all forms of relig- ious and moral advancement.
Stephen Culver gained his education through the instrumentality of the public schools, learned the trade of blacksmithing and has since devoted himself to the hammer and forge with a marked success. He at present owns where he has a good and increasing trade. He also owns a pleasant home in the village and is surrounded with many of the comforts of life. Mr. Culver throws his support and influence toward the Republican party, in the welfare of which he takes a deep and active interest. His wife, by his first marriage, was Caroline M. Barnes, by whom he had three children : Jamies, Olive, (deceased) and Fred (deceased). His wife by his second marriage was Ida Roman, who bore him one child : H. Leah Culver, now living.
Stephen Culver is a man of moral and relig- ious nature, though not a member of any religious denomination. He belongs to the order of the Equitable Aid Union and is well
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and widely known through his charitable and generous disposition.
A' LEXANDER SIMMONS is a son of Walter and Roxana (Lyons) Simmons, and was born in Jamestown, New York, April 16, 1818. His grandfather, William Simmons, a descend- ant from an old New England family, was a native of Rhode Island, and came to Chautau- qua county while yet full of the ambition and energy of youth. He lived the remainder of his life in the county and now rests in the burial ground at Fluvanna. He learned the trade of carpenter and joiner, which he continued to fol- low through life. His wife was a Miss Swain, who bore him six children-three boys and three girls. When by reason of tyrannous op- pression and most unjust treatment at the hands of British rulers the Colonies were forced to a declaration of war and revolt against the mother eountry, no one was more ready to take up arms for their vindication than William Simmons. He served throughout the entire war with a valor and zeal, upon which any descendant might look back with pride. Grandfather Alexander Lyons was of an old New England stock also, emigrating to Chenango county, New York, in the last decade of the eighteenth cen- tury, where he pursued farming and milling. He chose for his life companion Olive Bergy and reared a family of fourteen children. Father of subject was born in New England, but early removed with his family to Chautauqua county, New York, near Jamestown, where he ran a carding-machine-the first work of the kind done in Jamestown. Two years later he went to Broken Straw, where he engaged iu the same business. Later he retired from the carding business, removed to Jamestown and began dis- tilling, which he followed for many years. Walter Simmons was joined in marriage to Roxana Lyons and was the father of twelve children, eight boys and four girls. He be- longed to the Democratic party.
Alexander Simmons was educated in the dis- trict schools, worked on his father's farm until he reached his majority, then commenced life for himself as a farmer. He has lived on his present farm of one hundred and forty acres for the past eighteen years and has always lived in the county of Chautauqua. Mr. Simmons is a man, who through industry, frugality and careful, economical business liabits, has become possessed of a pleasant home and a comfortable competeucy. He is a man held in respect and esteem by his neighbors, because of his sterling qualities and straightforward conduct in his various relations. The Republicau party claims him as an earnest, hearty supporter of its prin- ciples and a steadfast devotee of its cause.
Alexander Simmons was married to Laura Ann Clark, daughter of Arvin Clark, who was a native of Ontario county, New York, but re- moved to the town of Ellery, Chautauqua county, in 1824. (Mr. Clark is a farmer by occupation, a republican in politics and had four children, three boys and one girl). Mr. and Mrs. Sim- mous have but one child, a daughter Jane, mar- ried to Aarou Haskins, who lives with the sub- ject on the old homestead, and is the happy parent of three children : Hattie, Allie and Bell.
L YMAN BENNETT, justice of the peace and a large hardware dealer of the village of Ripley, is a son of Lyman, Sr. and Chloe (Wood) Bennett, and was born at the village of Ripley, Chautauqua county, New York, Juue 15, 1838. Benjamin Bennett (paternal grand- father) was a native of Connecticut from which he removed to the town of Milton, in Saratoga county, where he remained until 1828, when he came to the town of Ripley in which he died in 1841. He was a blacksmith by trade, served as an orderly sergeant in the Revolutionary war and married Eunice Ferry, by whom he had three children, one of whom, Truman, was killed in the war of 1812. David Wood, (mater- nal grandfather) was a farmer and resided in
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OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY.
Saratoga county where he died. He was a soldier of the war of 1812 and married Drucy Jennings, by whom he had two sons and three daughters. Lyman Bennett, Sr., was born in Saratoga county in 1798 and removed in 1828 to Chau- tauqua county where he died in the town of Rip- ley, April 7, 1855. A carpenter by trade and a farmer by occupation, he was a democrat in politics and a universalist in religion. He held several town offices during his life-time and mar- ried Chloe Wood, who was born in October, 1802. They were the parents of three sons and two daughters. Of the former one died at 10 years of age, the second, David W., is a retired farmer of Ripley, and the other is the subject of this sketch.
Lyman Bennett received his education at the Ripley High school and for several years after leaving school was engaged in teaching during the winter and farming during the summer sea- sons. In 1875 he engaged in the general mer- cantile business which he followed for fourteen years and then established his present hardware store. He carries a first-class stock of everything in his line of trade and enjoys a large patron- age. Mr. Bennett is a democrat and has served as a justice of the peace continuously for the last ten years, besides having held the office of supervisor of his town for four years. He is a member of Summit Lodge, No. 219, Free and Accepted Masons, of Westfield, and ranks high as a successful business man.
On October 1st, 1866, lie united in marriage with Eliza Hall, a daughter of George J. Hall, and to their union were born two children : Bertha E. and George H.
W ILLIAM B. PERRY, one of the old and efficient justices of the peace in the town of Ripley, was born in the town of North East, Dutchess county, New York, September 10, 1821, and is a son of Samuel and Minerva (Mather) Perry. His paternal grandfather, Benjamin Perry, a miller by trade, was born in
Connecticut but died at Kinderhook, Columbia county, this State. He married a widow Spen- eer, of Georgia, by whom he had three sons and four daughters. On the maternal side William B. Perry is descended from the celebrated Cot- ton Mather, the distinguished divine who took so prominent a part in the early history of the New England Colonies. One of his descendants was John Mather who was the father of Charles Mather (grandfather). Samuel Perry (father) was born in Connectieut in 1794, removed to Dutchess county and on June 16th, 1833, came to Chautauqua county where he purchased a farm, lived, and died October 4, 1856. He was a car- penter and joiner by trade, a democrat in poli- tics and a universalist. He belonged to the Masonic fraternity and married Minerva Mather, who was born in Saratoga county, in 1798. Their family consisted of four sons and two daughters ; of the former Charles M., was form- erly a merchant but is now a farmer in Michi- gan ; James H., taught school for some years, now resides in Utica, Winona county, Minne- sota, and is one of the commissioners of the county ; and Lee H., who died in 1860.
William B. Perry received his education in the early common schools of New York, and at Westfield academy. Leaving the fountains of theoretical knowledge lie learned the carpenter's trade at which he worked during the summer seasons for eighteen years and spent the winters in teaching. He then purchased a farm that he sold some time after and then bought the small place upon which he now lives and has cultivated and managed it ever since.
In 1846 he married Martha McHenry, who was a daughter of Alexander McHenry, an carly settler of Ripley, and she bore him five ehildren : Ella S., married Fletcher Dawson and is now dead ; Charles (deceased) ; Florenec is the wife of Clarence Mason, who is engaged in grape culture ; and Ida A., who married G. W. Hitchcock. Mr. Perry then united in mar- riage with Helen J., a daughter of Dr. Shaw,
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of, Kennedy, and by this marriage came one son-William S. William B. Perry married for his third wife Dora M. (Kistead) Whitman, who is yet living and has borne one child- Harley Chapin.
Politically William B. Perry is a democrat. He has held the offices of town clerk and asses- sor, and has served continuously since 1860 as a justice of the peace, excepting one term of four years. He is a member of the Universal- ist church and is a highly esteemed citizen.
TTO L. BLOOMQUIST, a member of the leading furniture manufacturing firm of Kennedy, is a son of Jonas P. and Hattie (Zacharias) Bloomquist, and was born on the Island of Gothland, town of Wisby, August 17, 1864. His paternal grandfather was Herr Vigert, a native of Smäland, Sweden, but de- scended from German ancestors. He lived and died in Sweden. On the mother's side, grand- father Johannes Zacharias was a native of Sweden, where he was born in 1799. By oc- cupation he was a hotel-keeper, living in the province of Smäland, and was at one time a member of the Reichstag, and in maturer life became possessed of large estates. His later years were devoted to the management of his properties and keeping a government hostelry. Mr. Zacharias was a member of the Lutheran church, and his wife bore him six children. Jonas P. Bloomquist was born in his father's native town, about 1820, and in 1854 removed from that province to the Island of Gothland, in the Baltic Sea. He remained there until 1880 and then emigrated to America and set- tled in Jamestown, New York, where he now resides. In 1842 he married Hattie Zacharias and the result of the union has been eleven children, eight of whom still survive, six sons and two daughters. All are married, except two sons, and are residents of the Empire State. Jonas P. Bloomquist is a contractor but originally learned stone-cutting. For many
years he was a Lutheran but is now a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a very energetic man, whose conscience is of the Wesleyan mould and which cannot be contorted to suit occasions. Firm in his convic- tions, he stands steadfast in the right as he sees it and is upright in every line of his character.
Otto L. Bloomquist was in his young man- hood when he left his native land, and acquired the major portion of his education there in the common and high schools, which rank well for excellence and thoroughness. Simultaneously with his book training, lie learned ornamental painting and we find him in Jamestown in 1881. He worked at hardwood finishing and pursued that manual labor until 1886, and then went to Kennedy, where he has resided since and is now a member of "Carlson, Bloomquist & Snow," manufacturers of furniture. Theirs is the leading industry of the village and em- ploys about thirty men. Politically he is a re- publican and is a member of the First Presby- terian church of Jamestown.
H ON. WILLIAM BOOKSTAVER, an ac- tive business man and mayor of Dunkirk city, one of the commercial centers along the great lakes, is a son of Abner and Ann (Shear- er) Bookstaver, and was born at Montgomery, Orange county, New York, December 28, 1833. He is of Dutch lineage on his paternal side, while his mother was of Irish descent. Mayor Bookstaver is a lineal descendant, in the third generation, from Jacob Boochstaber (as spelled in the old church records of the colony of New York), who came from Holland to Orange county, New York, in 1732. He was the first deacon in the German Reformed church in the new world. His son was the grandfather of subject, and married and reared a family of children, one of whom was Abner Book- staver, the father of the subject of this sketch. Abner Bookstaver was born in Orange county, where he followed merchandising at Montgom-
O. L. BLOOMQUIST.
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OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY.
ery for many years. He afterwards removed to Syracuse, and died well advanced in years. He was an elder of the Reformed church, and married Ann Shearer, a native of the north of Ireland.
William Bookstaver received his education at Montgomery academy, from which he was graduated in 1852, and in which he was a teacher during 1853. In April, 1855, he came to Dunkirk and read law with a Mr. Brown and his brother, David Bookstaver, who was formerly mayor of Syracuse, where he now resides. He was admitted to the Chautauqua county bar, in 1858, but afterwards relinquished the practice of his profession to engage in the real estate business. He had faitlı in the de- velopment of Dunkirk as one of the great lake cities, and accordingly invested largely in real estate in different parts of the village. The rapid growth of Dunkirk from a village to a metro- politan city within the last quarter of a century has fully verified Mr. Bookstaver's early ex- pectations of its future importance as a success- ful rival of Toledo and Buffalo as a manufac- turing and commercial centre. He now owns one hundred and fifty acres of land within the city limits which embraccs valuable business blocks and excellent manufacturing locations as well as a large number of houses, and residence and business lots. He also owns his fine resi- dence on Central avenue, is the largest individ- ual tax-payer in the city, and has acquired all of his property by his efforts and judicious investments. He is president of the Dunkirk Savings and Loan association, which erects buildings and sells or advances money to pur- clase buildings, and receives monthly payments which do not exceed one or two dollars more than the rent of these buildings, thus enabling the buyer to sccure a home for a very small sum above what he would pay in rent in six or seven years.
In politics Mr. Bookstaver is a democrat. He served for thirteen years as county super-
visor, and was appointed, in 1887, by Governor David B. Hill, as a member of the prison labor reform committee, of which he served as chair- man. He was elected mayor of Dunkirk, and at the expiration of his term of office was al- most unanimously re-elected for a second term, which he is now serving, with no abatement of the popular favor.
He united in marriage with Mary A. Leonard, of Maine. Their union has been blessed with one child, a daughter, Mabel, who is now in Paris, France, but will spend the most of the following year in Italy.
C HARLES VINCENT BEEBE is a gentle- man in whose veins runs the assertive blood of the sons of Albion, and that of the conservative Teutons, and possessing all the best business qualifications of both races, has, as a matter of course, been a successful business man. He is a son of James and Eva A. (Vincent) Beebe, and was born in Cassadaga, Chautau- qua county, New York, on November 11th, 1837. Charles Vincent was born in Mad- ison county, this State, where he afterward owned six hundred acres of land and several lumber mills, and was one of the wealthiest and most respected citizens of that section, being elected judge of Madison county and justice of the peace. He finally moved to this county and settled at Milford, just west of Fredonia, where he purchased a small piece of land and lived a retired life. Charles Vincent married and had thirteen children, among thiem being Jefferson, Madison, Sallie and Cornelius. James Beebe (father) was born in Buffalo, Eric county, New York, in 1807, and moved to Chautauqua county with his parents in 1810, and worked on his farm, attending the public schools mainly in the winter, and afterward taught school sev- cral terms. For a few years he worked as a clerk in John Dewey's store in Cassadaga, and then established a wagon-manufactory in Fre- donia, employing a half dozen men, which
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business he continued twenty years, when he was succeeded by liis son, F. H. Beebe, who still carries on the business. In 1855 lie built a hotel in Fredonia, which he continued four years in connection with a small farm that he owned, and then sold the hotel to James L. Walters, turning his attention to the growing of small fruits, in which occupation he continued until his death in August, 1888, aged eighty- one years. He was an inveterate reader, his favorite subject being ancient and modern his- tory, in which he was exceedingly well posted, besides being an expert mathematician, having had difficult problems sent him from all parts of the United States and Canada, none of which he failed to solve. In politics he was an uncompromising Jackson democrat, his first vote being cast for Gen. Andrew Jackson. He was highly respected by all who knew him. James Beebe was married in 1834 to Eva A. Vincent, a daughter of Charles Vincent, by whom he had six children, four sons and two daughters : Janies M., a farmer and breeder of Jersey cattle in Cassadaga, tliis county, who married Lucy J. King; Mary E. married George Fisher, who died, and she then married Byron Landers, a manufacturer of fruit baskets, etc. ; Francis H., a wagon-maker in Fredonia, who married Lydia Todd ; Frank W., a basket manufacturer, who married Lydia Fisher; Sarah, who died young; and C. V. Mrs. Beebe died aged forty-eight years.
Charles Vincent Beebe was educated in the common schools of Cassadaga until he attained his majority, when he engaged with his brother, F. H., in wagon making, in which business he remained five years, ill health compelling him to abandon it. When he had somewhat recov- ered his health and strength, he opened a general store in Fredonia, which he conducted for more than a score of years, when he was succeeded by his son, J. W. In 1880 he asso- ciated with himself, his son J. W. and his brother-in-law, Byron Lander, under the firm
name of C. V. Becbe & Co., and started a basket manufactory, which they still operate. He has been very successful in all his business enterprises, and now carries an average of eight thousand dollars worth of stock, transacting a yearly business of sixteen thousand dollars. He is a member of Sylvan Lodge, No. 303, F. and A. M., at Sinclairville; and a charter member of the Canadaga Lake Lodge, No. 28, A. O. U. W.
Charles Vincent Beebe was married November 6, 1859, to Mary A. King, a daughter of Ruggles King, a farmer in Stockton, this county, and has one son, J. Webb, who runs the store.
C ORRINGTON BARKER, one of the most venerable residents as well as the most entertaining old gentlemen in Portland town, is a son of Barilla and Mary (Marsh) Barker, and was born in Fredonia, Chautauqua county, New York, on April 19th, 1809. The family is of English origin, the great-grandfather, Barker, having come from that country. He was a professional surveyor and came to America bearing a commission from King George to run lines in that monarch's unex- plored dominions. Having executed his in- structions he remained here and settled in Rhode Island. He married and had a son, Hezekiah Barker, who was the grandfather of our subject. He served on Washington's staff during the great struggle for independence, engaged principally as a dispatch bearer, re- ceived a pension while he lived, moved to Oneida county in 1800, then to Chautauqua in 1805, and settled in the almost unbroken wilderness, from which the pretty town of Fredonia has sprung. He took up tliree hun- dred acres of land and made one of the most valuable pieces of property in that locality.
Barilla Barker was born in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1784, and moved from there to Oneida county, N. Y. He was a man when he came with his father to Fredonia. He drove
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an ox team through, making slow progress. In 1814, he moved into Portland town, and follow- ed farming until his death in 1858. He was a member of the Baptist church and a republi- can, having filled the office of assessor one term. He married Mary Marsh, a daughter of Sam- uel Marsh, who was born in Vermont in 1795, and died June 7, 1855, leaving seven children.
Corrington Barker was rearcd on the farm and was taught the lessons of the common schools between 1815 and 1820. Work being necessary to clear the farm and prepare it for the crops, he soon had hardened muscles and a vigorous frame and, being of temperate habits, this early labor may have formed the founda- tion of the vigorous constitution which has car- ried him through eighty-two years of life and still kecps him hale and hearty. In 1838, he married Angeline Lathrop, who bore him a son and a daughter: Amelia, now Mrs. O. J. Chamberlain, lives in this town; and Devillo A., also a resident of Portland, where he has a farm. He married Ellen Smith, whose father, Leonard Smith, is a prosperous farmer.
Corrington Barker has been an active mem- ber of the Baptist church for sixty years and has filled the position of deacon for many years. He has always been identified with the Repub- lican party since it came into existence. His locks are gray and scanty and the once erect and vigorous form is bent with the weight of accumulating years but his mind is still as bright as in youth, and his fund of reminiscen- ccs furnish an entertainment seldom found and long remembered. He is a pleasant, agreeable old gentleman whom his acquaintances regard with affection and respect.
JAY E. CRANDALL. Many men become prominent towards the end of a long life, when the sun is setting and the period of use- fulness is about over, but it is something un- usual for one to gain prominence when but thirty years of age. Such a man is Jay E.
Crandall, a son of Hosea B. and Malvina (Kelsey) Crandall, who was born in Brocton, Chautauqua county, New York, September 22, 1860. The Crandalls are of English descent, and Hosea B. Crandall, father of Jay E., was a native of Kinderhook, Columbia county, N. Y. He came to Chautauqua county in 1837, and located at Brocton, where he has since lived, and has now reached the age of sixty- five years. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and a straight republican. Mr. Crandall carly learned the trade of a car- penter, but for the last eighteen years has been engaged in manufacturing grape and berry baskets. In partnership with J. E. Crandall (his son), they have a large factory in Brocton and one at Perrysburg, both of which, in the summer time, employ fifty men. Mr. Cran- dall was the pioneer in the basket business at Brocton. With his son, they have a fine grape orchard at this place. He married Malvina Kelsey. Mrs. Crandall is now fifty-seven years old, and is a member of the M. E. church.
Jay E. Crandall is a stirring, energetic young man. He was reared in Brocton, and got his education in the public schools. After reaching a sufficient size, he helped his father in his basket business, and began to grow grapes on his own account. In April, 1886, his father admitted him as a partner, since which the firm name has been Crandall & Son.
In 1883 Jay E. Crandall was married to Adella, daughter of Martin Cary. of Brocton, and they have two children : Olive M. and Aline L.
J. E. Crandall is an adherent of the Repub- lican party and a member of the Knights of Pythias, in which he takes a leading part. He is an enterprising and pushing man, active and leading in every cause that is for the welfare of Brocton, and is a representative citizen of the new Brocton.
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