USA > New York > Niagara County > Biographical and portrait cyclopedia of Niagara County, New York > Part 61
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OF NIAGARA COUNTY.
The maternal grandfather of O. W. Cut- ler was Nathaniel Knowlton, a native of New London, New Hampshire, in which State he resided until his death, in 1855, at the age of sixty-five years. He was an ex- tensive farmer, and a Jacksonian democrat, active and influential in local politics. He was a member of the Universalist church, and married Martha Witherspoon, to which union was born a family of seven children, most of whom lived to reach manhood and womanhood, and take active and important parts in the great drama of life.
O. W. Cutler received his education at Colby academy, in the State of New Hamp- shire, from which institution he was gradu- ated in the class of 1864. After leaving school, he accepted a position as clerk and traveling salesman for the firm of Jordan, Trask, Presby & Co., of Boston, Massachu- setts, and continued in their employ for two years. At the expiration of that time he began business on his own account, engag- ing in the manufacture of woolen goods at Hartland, Vermont, which industry he con- ducted for one year. In 1867, taking the oft-quoted advice of Horace Greeley, he started to "go west" in search of his for- tune, but missing his train, was compelled to stop over at Suspension Bridge, where he inet a friend who introduced him to Dr. Wallace, the druggist. The result of this accidental meeting with the doctor was that Mr. Cutler became the purchaser of the drug store owned by the former, and settled down to business in Suspension Bridge, abandoning his chances for a fortune in the far west. He conducted the drug business successfully for ten years, and then became agent for the Holly Steam Heating Com- pany, of Lockport, this county. During his connection with this company he negotiated
some very important sales of the right to use their system of steam heating. Among the many large cities with which he nego- tiated successfully was the city of New York, which was probably the largest deal of the kind ever made in this country. In 1880, Mr. Cutler purchased the publishing house of the Union Printing and Publishing Company, from John Hodge, James Jack- son, Jr., and F. R. Delano; and later pur- chased the interest of William Farnell in the business, and is now sole owner and proprietor of the establishment.
On June 1, 1866, Mr. Cutler was united in marriage with Mary A. Tallant, daugh- ter of John L. and Sarah Tallant, of East Concord, New Hampshire, and to this union were born two children: John, who is as- sistant manager of the Lockport Union newspaper; and Nellie J., residing with her parents at their elegant home at Suspension Bridge.
In politics O. W. Cutler has always been a stanch democrat, and has acquired an in- fluence in his party which has long ago made him a leading figure in the politics of his county. He has held the offices of trustce, treasurer, and member of the board of education in Suspension Bridge, and has also been president of the village, and presi- dent of the board of water commissioners. It was he who agitated the question and was largely instrumental in securing water works for the villages of Suspension Bridge and Niagara Falls. He was appointed col- lector of customs of Niagara district, at Suspension Bridge, by President Cleveland, and served during his administration. Hc has represented his people many times in democratic State conventions, and in 1880 was a delegate to the National convention at Cincinnati, which nominated General
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Hancock for the presidency. Mr. Cutler is also prominent in Masonic circles, being a member of Niagara River Lodge, No. 758, Free and Accepted Masons, of which he is past master; and of Genesee Commandery, No. 10, Knights Templar, of which he is past commander. His energy, activity, in- telligence and usefulness have won for him a position of commanding influence in this section of the State, and he is recognized as a leader in the various circles in which he moves.
H ENRY PUTMAN, of Wilson, is truly a self-made man, who has built ships and navigated the waters all his life, until, within the last few years, he has been en- gaged in the manufacture of woodenware. He is a son of Daniel and Sarah ( Renshaw ) Putman, and was born in 1838 at Somerset, Niagara county, New York. Daniel Put- man (father) was born in the town of Schenectady, Schenectady county, this State, in 1795, and died February 17, 1878, in the town of Wilson, in the eighty-third year of his age. He was a cooper by trade, and followed that occupation all his life. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, and saw something of pioneer life and the red men. Upon returning from hunting they either wanted his ammunition or what game he had, and he generally gave them the game, as powder was scarce, and without it there was little security. He was an old-line whig, but on the formation of the Republi- can party he became a democrat. He mar- ried Sarah Renshaw, a native of England, who was brought by her parents to this country when but five months old. To them were born twelve children, eight of whom are living: Elizabeth, the eldest, married Laman Clark, and lives in Mich-
igan ; Hannah, married Samuel Robinson, of Illinois; Charlotte, married Abram Lake; Clariasa, married Richard Mc- Cracken; Sarah, married Steven Judd; Benjamin, married Arnettie Worden, and resides at Wilson ; Jane, and Henry. Mrs. Putman died on August 8, 1891, in the eighty-sixth year of her age.
Henry Putman came to the town of Wil- son when a mere boy, where he received a very limited education. At the early age of seventeen years he went to navigating, which he followed until 1885. He built three vessels, being captain of one of them for five years, and afterward built onc with- out any assistance, of which he was captain for one year. After leaving the water, in 1885, he erected his present manufacturing establishment. He manufactures bushel measures, pickets for fencing, and headings for barrels. He employs several hands, and does a large business.
In politics Henry Putman is an aggres- sive democrat, who believes in no half-way political measures, and who has always been an active worker for the success of demo- cratic principles. He is a member of Lodge No. 331, Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, and is one of the energetic and suc- cessful business men of his community.
W ILLIAM JESSE BYAM, a promi- nent citizen of Niagara Falls, who has won distinction as a publisher and at the bar, was born at Melville, Ontario, Canada, January 21, 1847. His parents were Rev. George F. and Maria A. (Pike) Byam. Rev. George F. Byam has for many years been an active minister of the Methodist Episcopal church. His father, Rev. John W. Byam (grandfather), was of English-
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William Jo Byana -
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OF NIAGARA COUNTY.
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Welsh descent, and was born in Vermont. The family is related to the Buckners, of the southern States. At the early age of fifteen William J. Byam was employed as assistant master of mathematics in the Pie- ton high school, of which school he became principal when only nineteen years of age, having in the meantime taken a two years' course of instruction in Upper Canada col- lege, at Toronto, Ontario. At the age of twenty-three he graduated from the Cana- (lian Military academy at Toronto, taking first place in the artillery and cavalry de- partments and second place in the depart- ment of infantry. In 1872 he began the study of law with Charles Francis, of Tren- ton, Ontario, where he remained some four months, and then entered the office of Hon. John Hilliard Cameron, of Toronto, where he applied himself to study for more than a year. In June, 1874, he became a student in the office of William F. Cogswell, in the city of Rochester, New York, and was ad- mitted to practice in October, 1877. Hc went to Caledonia, Livingston county, in 1878, where he continued to practice until 1884. In September of the latter year he went to London, England, to superintend the publication of the celebrated poetic romance, "Onnalinda," written by John H. McNaughton, "the bard of Caledonia," and the father-in-law of Mr. Byanı. The book was produced by Kegan Paul Trench & Com- pany, the great London publishers. Mr. Byam remained in England until the sun- mer of 1885, engaged in placing, by sub- scription, five hundred copies of this work in the hands of the British nobility at a guinea a copy. Having secured the sub- scriptions of three hundred and forty-one out of the five hundred and nine peers of that realm, he issued a prospectus contain-
ing fac similes of all these signatures, and placed it in the hands of twenty-seven can- vassers, who, during five weeks of the Lon- don season, in May and June, 1885, sold an edition of four thousand copies at a guinea each. After this the book was placed on the market in the regular way, and Mr. Byam returned to this country. The poem makes a book of two hundred and sixty-six pages, seven by eleven inches, and has had a larger sale in Europe than in this country. In 1886 he arranged for the production in the United States of an edition de lux of the same work. William T. Smedley was the artist who made the drawings, and Frank French did the engraving. The book was printed by the well known firni of Theodore L. De Vinne & Company. An artist's proof edition, limited to one hun- dred and eleven copies, was issued and sold to the elite of New York, Boston, and Philadelphia at one hundred dollars a copy, all the orders for this edition being taken by Mr. Byam. Among the names of pat- rons on this special list are those of Mrs. Grover Cleveland, Amelie' Rives, the As- tors, and many others of national reputa- tion. When about ready to issue a popular edition of the book in this country, his partner in the publishing business failed for . a large amount, from which Mr. Byam lost so heavily that he was forced to retire from the publishing business and resume the practice of law. He began practice in the city of Chicago, Illinois, but in June, 1891, came to Niagara Falls and associated him- self with Charles H. Piper, Sr., under the firm name of Piper & Byam, attorneys and counsellors at law.
In politics Mr. Byam has always been identified with the Democratic party, and is a great friend and admirer of ex-President
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BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
Cleveland. In Canada he was a member of No. 9 Company, Queen's Own Rifles, and served during the border troubles connected with the Fenian raid of 1866. He has crossed the ocean eight times, six times on business connected with the publication in Europe of Mr. McNaughton's great poem, "Onnalinda."
On October 1, 1879, Mr. Byam was united in marriage to Dora M., daughter of John H. McNaughton, the distinguished poet and literatus, of Caledonia, Livingston county, New York. To this union two sons and a daughter have been born: John Hugh, George Lytton, and Helen Katharine.
John H. McNaughton, the father of Mrs. Byam, was of Scottish parentage. His father and mother came from Perthshire, Scotland, and settled at Caledonia, Living- ston county, New York, and there the poet was born, July 1, 1829, and resided all his life. "Babble Brook," his home, in the beautiful Genesee valley, was secluded in a grove of maples and evergreens, and therc, with his family and occasional literary vis- itors, he wrote and lived, serene and con- tent. His first published work was a scien- tific treatise on music, a subject to which he had devoted much attention, and upon which he wrote a number of valuable papers for foreign and American journals. He soon drifted into song-writing, and some of his songs became suddenly popular. Mr. Sheppard, the veteran music publisher, relates this incident :
"One morning I was sitting in the back part of my store, wondering at the sudden influx of music buyers calling for a certain song sung at a concert the previous evening. I noticed a stranger, quite a tall, slim young man, pacing back and forth with folded arms, between the files of music buyers, and
casting furtive glances at the busy clerks. Presently he walked up to me, his steel blue eyes glittering, and said :
"' Will the proprietor tell me what he pays for the MS. of such a song as that those people are buying?'
"' A good deal,' said I, 'for a song that will make an audience cry as that did; but let me tell you, young man, not one song writer in a hundred makes such a hit.'
"' Ah, indeed?' That was all he said, and passed out of the store. A few days after I received a MS. song, the hand- writing of which I recognized, and with it this laconic note : 'That other song of mine I gave you. If you want this one the price is marked in the corner. Yours, etc., J. H. McNaughton.'
"The price," continued Mr. Sheppard, "was outrageous, but I paid it, and never regretted it."
The first volume of poems written by Mr. McNaughton, "Babble Brook Songs," was published in 1864. Many of his songs in sheet music form have won a phenomenal success. Of "Faded Coat of Blue," "Belle Mahone," "Jamie True," and "Love at Home," over one hundred thousand copies each have been sold, and others have proved nearly as popular. But his chief work, that by which he will doubtless be best known, is his rare poetic creation, "Onna- linda," which has won recognition in the highest literary circles in this country and in Europe. After a too short life of sixty- two years, this gifted man laid down to his final sleep on December 22, 1891. His obsequies were attended by friends and admirers from all parts of western New York and the province of Ontario. His death left a gap in literature which will not soon be filled.
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OF NIAGARA COUNTY.
Mr. Byam is proprietor of the British copyright, and still controls the publication of "Onnalinda" abroad. The publication of "Onnalinda" in America was by Mr. Byam and James J. Guthrie, of Caledonia, New York, under the firm name of The . Onnalinda Publishing Company, and the office of publication was at 27 Union Square, New York.
WILLIAM F. EVANS is a son of Thomas and Judith (Fcather) Evans, and was born on May 5, 1823, in Reading, Pennsylvania. John Evans, the grand- father on the paternal side, was a native of Wales, from which country he emigrated to America in 1801, and located in Berks county, Pennsylvania, where he lived and died. He was a farmer by occupation, and married Martha Morris, a Welsh lady, by whom he had two sons and three daughters, all of whom were born in Wales. Thomas Evans (father) was born in Wales in the year 1800, but was reared on the farm in Berks county. He learned the trade of cooper, at which he worked all his active life, and died in Ephrata, Lancaster county, Penn- sylvania, at thirty-one years of age. He married Judith Feather, a daughter of Sanı- uel Feather, one of the early settlers of Berks county, whose ancestors came front Germany many years before. He had four children : William F., Charles, John, and Samuel. Charles lives in the State of Ten- nessee, and served in the Mexican war, en- tering the army of General Scott, from Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania. He served through the Mexican war, and after peace was declared, and we obtained that vast area of country lying between the Mississippi and Rio Grande rivers, the soldiers returned.
He, however, enlisted in the regular army, where he remained two years, when, on the application of his mother, General Scott granted his discharge, and upon the break- ing out of the rebellion, he entered the service in the beginning, and served through the whole war. He was active and efficient in organizing several companies, and after- wards became quartermaster of the 76th Pennsylvania volunteer infantry. John was engaged as a dry goods merchant in Read- ing, Pennsylvania, and died in 1857, aged thirty years. Samuel lives in Reading, Pennsylvania, and is a shoemaker by trade. He entered the civil war, and enlisted in the 46th regiment Pennsylvania volunteers, first as a three months man, and then for three years, and afterwards as a veteran. He served in the famous Ringgold artillery, and entering the war as a private, was mus- tered out as a lieutenant. He and his brother Charles were with General Sher- man on his famous March to the Sea, that broke the backbone of the rebellion. They were never taken prisoners, nor wounded.
William F. Evans was educated in the common schools of Pennsylvania, and after leaving school, he learned the trade of car- riage trimmer and upholsterer, at which he worked for a number of years. He came to Niagara Falls in 1849, where he has re- sided ever since. In 1853 he embarked in the grocery business at the Falls, in which he continued with good success for over twenty years. He was appointed postmas- ter of Niagara Falls by President Lincoln, during his first term. He furnished a rep- resentative in the army to suppress the re- bellion, and served under President Grant as internal revenue assessor for the twenty- ninth (now thirty-third) district of the State of New York, and since his retire-
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BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
ment from this position, has devoted a large share of his time to the settling up of es- tates, in which he has been quite successful, and some of the largest estates in the village have been committed to his charge.
On July 2, 1846, Mr. Evans married Sa- rah A., daughter of David Evans, of Niag- ara county, a pioneer of western New York, by whom he has three children : Helen F., now the wife of Solomon F. Arkush, who is engaged in the city of New York as a designer for the Buttrick Fashion Publish- ing Company ; Mary E., and Willie M., died in early life.
In religion Mr. and Mrs. Evans are mem- bers of the Presbyterian church of Niagara Falls, in which he is an elder and trustee, and of whose Sabbath school he has been superintendent for twenty years. He is an active temperance advocate, and is opposed to the liquor traffic in all its phases, and regards it as one of the strongest foes the Christian church has to fight. He is a re- publican, and is proud of his party's record in the suppression of the rebellion, the abolition of slavery, the restoration of the union, and the progress and develop- ment made since the war. He believes that parties are essential to the administration of this government.
Sarah A. Evans, wife of William F. Ev- ans, died December 26, 1891, aged sixty- seven years, four months and three days. She was helpful in her church relations, charitable and benevolent in character, and devoted to the home and family. In the . days of the war, while Mr. Evans was post- master, Mrs Evans was active, with other good women, in furnishing supplies for sick and wounded soldiers. Her home on Main street was headquarters for collecting and preparing supplies in those busy and anx-
ious days. During a residence here of over forty years, Mrs. Evans had seen the little village grow to its present proportions, and was familiar with many of its pioneer residents.
J AMES Z. ROBERTS, the subject of this sketch, was born in the town of Wheatfield, May 15, 1851. He is the oldest son of Seth F. and Eliza J. Roberts, and is now living upon the old homestead where he was born. February 17, 1875, he married Elnora A. Crosby, youngest daughter of Samuel B. Crosby. The result of this union has been four children: William, Frank, Grover Cleveland, and Viola E. In 1880 he moved with his family to the west, but the climate did not agree with him, and he was obliged to return. After the death of his father, he settled on the farm his father had bought from the Holland Land Company when it was a wilderness, where he now resides. He is a man of broad and liberal views.
Seth Roberts, grandfather of the subject, served as a colonel in the patriot war, in 1838. He commanded a regiment of home guards. He was born in 1783, and in 1823 he removed to Niagara county, where he died in 1869. Thomas Gardiner, his maternal grandfather, was born in Nova Scotia, settled in Canada, and at the time of his death was captain in the regular army. Seth F. Roberts (father) was born in Genesee, Livingston county, December 30, 1809, and came to Niagara county with his father in 1823. IIere he bought a tract of land which at that time was in the forest, and by clearing during the summer, and teaching school in winter, he was soon in possession of a beautiful home which is now owned by the subject of this sketch. When he came to this county he owned nothing, but by
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OF NIAGARA COUNTY.
honest and ambitious endeavors he had acquired about eighteen thousand dollars at the time of his death, February 14, 1880. He was three times supervisor in the town of Wheatfield, and held the office of justice of the peace for twenty-four years. He was a cousin of Hamilton Fish, of whose name he bears a part; was one of the early Masons, and has always voted the democratic ticket. At the age of forty he married Jane E. Gardner, who was born at Fort Niagara, near the Canada line, in 1832. To this union were born two sons and two daughters : Viola A., Alice J., Seth G., and James Z. Viola A. married Dr. W. Q. Huggins, and they have two children. Seth G., a merchant by occupation, married Elma Fuller, and has three children. Alice J. is a professor of music in one of the largest female colleges in the State.
Samuel B. Crosby was born in the town of Andover, New Hampshire, August 31, 1795, and died December 11, 1883. IIe was a man of strong religious convictions and of the strictest type of Puritan orthodoxy. He was an original member of the First Congregational church ; was of a generous disposition, and lived a life of Christian manliness. IIe was a republican, and always known to be true to his party. He first married Louisa Lewis, by whom he had five children : Emily, Carineal, Almira, Mariva, and David. After his first wife died he married Achsah Lewis, who was born October 16, 1808, and is now dead. By this last marriage Mr. Crosby had eight children, three sons and five daughters, two of whom are dead: Augustus S. married Maryett Anderson, resides in Shawnee, and has two children -Nellie and Edward; Augusta, married to A. D. Thompson, and has one child -Belle; Thomas B., who married
Emily Tompkins, and has two children- Walter and Fannie, and resides at Suspension Bridge; Theodocia, married Frank Kime, a farmer in the town of Lockport, and to them have been born one son and two daughters-Everett, Emma, and Mabel ; and Frank P., a traveling salesman, who married Anna Hollet, and resides at Boston, Massa- chusetts.
James Z. Roberts owns a farm of one hundred acres of land, which is in a good state of cultivation. He has nine acres of apple orchards and six and one-half acres of peach orchards, both of which contain many choice fruit-bearing trees. In politics he supports the Democratic party, and is a member of Niagara Lodge, No. 375, Free and Accepted Masons, of Lockport.
H ARMON B. TOWER is a man of unusual scholarly attainments and in- telligence. He was born in the town of Por- ter, Niagara county, New York, August 28, 1838, and is a son of Peter and Olive (Bald- win ) Tower. Peter Tower was born in Covington, Massachusetts, July 10, 1791, and came to the town of Porter, this State, in 1813, seeking a place to permanently locate, and not being satisfied with the territory, went to Palmyra, where he re- mained two years, but returned to this town in 1815 and purchased a farm of one hun- dred acres, on which he spent the remainder of his life. He added to this farm until he had two hundred and fifty acres. He bought and improved other farms and sold them, but the old homestead he never parted with. He was a republican in politics, and a member of the Presbyterian church. IIe was active, energetic, and hospitable. He was called to fill several important town
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offices, and at one time had charge of the government grounds around Fort Niagara. The first town meeting was held in his house, and the first school outside of the village was on his property. He was a car- penter and cabinet maker, and carried on a lucrative trade in these branches of business. He also engaged in merchandising from 1831 to 1862, his store being on his farm, which building he afterwards remodeled for a residence. He was personally acquainted with William Morgan, who so mysteriously disappeared, Morgan having boarded with him. Combined with his extraordinary business qualities, he was a man of generous impulses. He never turned the poor from hiis door, his hospitality being without stint. Ilis last illness was of short duration, and lie passed away on April 1, 1882, surrounded by relatives and friends. His remains were interred in the Tower cemetery, on the place he loved so well, and his funeral was largely attended by many prominent people of the surrounding country. He was mar- ried twice. His first wife was Hannah Bailey, whom he married in 1819, and by whom he had six children, three of whom are now living : Mrs. Lianda Robinson, re- siding in Flint, Michigan ; John E., of Wil- son ; and William, of Charlotte, Michigan. Mrs. Tower died December 27, 1831, and he was married a second time, to Olive (Baldwin) Smith, widow of Hiram Smith, on June 13, 1838, by whom he had seven children, five of whom are living': Luke, George P., Harmon B., Peter S., and Olive A., who was the wife of Lewis Hosmer, de- ceased, of Porter. They are all married, and reside in the town of Porter. Mrs. Tower was born at Dorset, Vermont, May 22, 1803, and came with her parents to Ticonderoga, this State, where her child-
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