USA > New York > Schoharie County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Schenectady, Schoharie and Green counties, New York > Part 30
USA > New York > Schenectady County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Schenectady, Schoharie and Green counties, New York > Part 30
USA > New York > Greene County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Schenectady, Schoharie and Green counties, New York > Part 30
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HRISTIAN RECTOR, who owns a good farm in Glenville, N. Y., on the banks of the Mohawk River, was born where he now resides on October 16, 1836, son of William and Susan (Haverley) Rector.
William Rector was a native of this State. Settling when a young man upon the farm his son now owns, he successfully followed agri- cultural pursuits for the rest of his active period. He took a leading part in public affairs, holding various town offices, and in politics he was a Democrat. He was a Dea- con and Elder of the Reformed church. His wife, Susan, was born in the house which her son Christian now occupies. She was the daughter of Christian Haverley, who built the house with brick made upon the farm. She became the mother of three children, namely : Anna M., wife of James T. Wyatt, of Glen- ville; Christian, the subject of this sketch; and Susan Rosa, who is no longer living. William Rector lived to be nearly eighty-five years old, and his wife died at eighty-three.
Christian Rector was reared and educated in Glenville. From his youth upward he has been engaged in tilling the soil, and, succeed- ing to the ownership of the homestead property of two hundred and seventy acres, he has real- ized excellent returns as a general farmer. His success is the result of practical knowl- edge, diligent effort, and sound judgment.
On October 10, 1866, Mr. Rector married Emma Vedder, who was born in Schenectady, June 4, 1845, daughter of Peter and Prudence (Gates) Vedder. Her father was born in Nis-
kayuna, N. Y., and her mother was a native of Schenectady. Peter Vedder was a carpenter and lumber dealer in Schenectady for many years, and the business is now carried on by his sons. He served as Supervisor and Alder- man, to which offices he was elected by the Republican party ; and as a generous, public- spirited citizen he was accorded the esteem and good will of his fellow-townsmen. In his religious belief he was a Baptist. Peter Ved- der lived to be seventy-six years old. His wife died at thirty-nine. He was the father of eight children, namely : Mary C., who is now Mrs. Van Dyke; Emma, who is now Mrs. Rector; Theresa, who is now Mrs. Gilbert ; Daniel G., Sharratt G., Albert, William, of Pasadena, Cal. ; and Prudence G., who is now Mrs. Betts. Mr. and Mrs. Rector have three children, namely: William, a druggist in Schenectady; Susan R., who married George Koonz, of Glenville, and has two daughters - Mabel and Berdena; and Prudence, who re- sides at home.
Mr. and Mrs. Rector are members of the Reformed church. Politically, Mr. Rector acts with the Democratic party.
LARENCE M. BOORN, station agent, telegraph operator, freight agent, and passenger agent at Seward station, Schoharie County, is a capable, pleasant, ac- commodating official, well adapted for the responsible position that he holds. He was born September 6, 1863, in Decatur, Otsego County, N. Y., the town in which both his
CHRISTIAN RECTOR.
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father, Nathan Boorn, and his grandfather, whose name was Amos, first drew the breath of life. Amos Boorn was the son of one of the earliest settlers of Decatur, and was born and reared in a log cabin. A man of industri- ous habits, energetic and ambitious, he cleared the timber from a large tract of land, and thus reclaimed from the wilderness a fine farm. He lived to the age of seventy years.
Nathan Boorn was born in the log house in which his parents began housekeeping. In the days of his boyhood and youth he greatly as- sisted his father in felling the giant trees of the forest and in tilling the soil. He after- ward learned the blacksmith's trade, and for many years followed it in his native town. Subsequently removing to the near-by town of East Worcester, he there set up his smithy, and now, though he is seventy years of age, he is still active.
" Week in, week out, from morn till night, You can hear his bellows blow."
He married Catherine Brazie, one of the thirteen children of Francis Brazie, of Coopers- town, N. Y. Four children were born of their union, and three are living, as follows : Clar- ence M. ; Ortentia, wife of Alfred R. Robbins; and Friend. Both parents are consistent mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics the father is an uncompromising Re- publican, and, though never an office-seeker, has served two terms as Town Clerk.
Clarence M. Boorn was educated in the pub- lic schools, and at the age of seventeen he left home in order to study telegraphy. As soon
as he had acquired a sufficient knowledge of the art, he was appointed night operator at one of the stations on the Delaware & Hudson River Railroad, and he has since, for a period of seventeen years, been in the employ of the same company. For some time he had charge of the telegraph office at Unadilla, whence he was transferred as agent to Schen- evus, also in Otsego County, and in 1896 came to Seward. Here he has faithfully and satis- factorily performed the duties pertaining to his office, and in every way has proved himself worthy of the confidence reposed in him. Po- litically, he is a supporter of the principles of the Republican party.
On March 19, 1890, Mr. Boorn married Miss Edna M. Winegard, who was born in Seward, one of the two children of Mr. and Mrs. Abram Winegard, well-to-do and promi- nent members of the farming community of this town, and pillars of the Methodist Episco- pal church. Mr. and Mrs. Boorn have one child, Carl W. Mr. Boorn attends the Meth- odist Episcopal church, of which Mrs. Boorn is an active member.
ILLIAM B. KNISKERN, an ener- getic farmer and one of the most popular young men of Blenheim, N. Y., was born in Fulton, this State, September 6, 1868. He is the son of Rufus and Helen M. (Best) Kniskern, and is of the fifth generation in descent from Johannis Kniskern, his pioneer ancestor, who was the original owner (as early as 1775) of the farm on which he resides with
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his father and mother. This is the line: Johannis,' Joseph,2 Christopher, 3 Rufus, 4 William B. 5
The grandfather, Christopher Kniskern, son of Joseph, succeeded to the ownership of the homestead, and was an industrious farmer. He married Olive Dornburgh. Their children were: Hamilton, who resides in Blenheim, and is a cooper by trade; Angeline, wife of Joseph Fink; Adeline, who married S. L. Perry; Mary, who married William S. Hager; Eliza- beth, who is unmarried; Rufus, the father of William B. ; Caroline, who married Jeremiah Zeh; and Martha, who married a Mr. Shaffer.
Rufus Kniskern was reared on the ancestral farm, which he inherited in turn, and here he continues to make his home. Devoting him- self to its cultivation during the active period of his life, he gave particular attention to carrying on a dairy and raising hops, making the most of his opportunities for success. He married Helen M. Best, daughter of William and Nancy (Hagadorn) Best, of Fulton. Rufus Kniskern is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and his wife is a Lutheran.
William B. Kniskern acquired a public-school education. From his youth he has worked upon the homestead farm, which for some time he cultivated jointly with his father. He now crops about twenty-five acres, has fifty acres of excellent pasture land, and keeps from twelve to fifteen cows. He has relinquished the growing of hops, preferring to devote his en- ergy to general farming and dairying.
Mr. Kniskern married Mary C. Hanes, daughter of John Hanes, of Fulton. They
have one son, Harold. Politically, he is a Democrat. Although frequently solicited to accept nominations to town offices, he has generally declined, but has rendered valuable service to the party as a member of the town and county committees, and was a candidate for Supervisor in 1898. He attends the Meth- odist Episcopal church.
OREN P. COLE, attorney-at-law and farmer of Conesville, N. Y., was born in this town, May 31, 1852, son of Elder Loren P. and Charlotte (Weed) Cole. He is a grandson of Avery Cole, who moved with his family from Vermont to that part of Blenheim which is now Gilboa, Schoharie County, and was engaged in farming for the rest of his life, his death occurring at the age of seventy years.
Avery Cole was an active member of the Baptist church. He was a Whig in politics, and held some of the town offices. The maiden name of his wife was Polly Blair, and their children were: Suel, Ambrose, Loren P., Anson, Barnard, Ahaz, Rosetta, Mary, and Esther. Of these Ambrose, who resided in Indiana, and Rosetta, who married Patrick Van Dyke, are the only survivors. Mary married Warren W. Parsons; Esther married Daniel C. Leonard; Suel and Barnard died in Gilboa; Anson died in Western New York; and Ahaz died in Windham, this State. All except Suel lived to be sixty-three years old.
Elder Loren P. Cole, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Vermont in 1808,
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and came to Schoharie County when he was four years old. HIe resided in Gilboa until 1845, when he came to Conesville and became an extensive farmer, owning some three hun- dred acres of land. He was an ordained min- ister of the Baptist denomination. He sup- plied pulpits in this section for many years, and also taught school. He served as Super- visor for the years 1853-59, 1864, and 1879, being in the latter year the oldest man on the board. He also served as Highway Commis- sioner, Superintendent of Schools, and Gen- eral Inspector. Elder Cole died in 1886. He was twice married. His first wife, Phoebe M. Pierce, died two years after marriage, leaving one daughter, Phœbe Ann, who married E. G. Case. For his second wife he married Char- lotte Weed, whose ancestors came from Con- necticut. Seven children were born of this union, namely: Alzina, who married W. H. Braman; Pluma, who married Bartholomew Becker; Julia E., wife of James A. Bouck ; Ianthe, wife of George W. Gurnsey; Char- lotte, who married Giles P. Guernsey; Lean- der, a farmer of Conesville; and Loren P., the subject of this sketch. The mother's death occurred a few weeks prior to that of her hus- band.
Loren P. Cole was given the advantages of a good education, and after the completion of his studies he taught seven terms of school in winter, and worked summers on a farm of his father's. Purchasing the home farm in 1876, he carried it on until 1889, when he sold the property to his brother Leander, and bought a residence in the village. His law studies
were pursued in the office of Le Grand Van Tyle, now District Attorney; and since estab- lishing himself in practice he has built up a large business both in Conesville and Gilboa. In public affairs he has rendered able services to the town and county as Supervisor for eight years, acting as chairman of some of the most important committees. In politics he is a Democrat.
Mr. Cole married in 1873 Martha Leonard, daughter of Peter H. Leonard, formerly of Prattsville, and now of Bainbridge, N. Y. Mr. and Mrs. Cole have no children. They attend the Methodist Episcopal church.
AVID T. SLATER, general mer- chant of Hensonville, in the town of Windham, Greene County, N. Y., was born in Jewett, July 24, 1839, son of Hugh and Sally (Woodworth) Slater. His parents were natives of Greene County, his father having been born in Cairo, and his mother in Hunter.
His paternal grandfather, Elihu Slater, who was born in Connecticut, came to Cairo as a pioneer, built a log cabin, cleared a farm, and tilled the soil during his active period. Grandfather Slater died at the age of seventy- three; and his wife, Sally Beach Slater, who was the mother of a large family, died at seventy-two years of age. They were mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Hugh Slater, father of David T., was reared on a farm in Cairo, and resided there until twenty-one years old, He then went to Jew-
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ett, where he followed the occupation of a farmer until his death, which occurred at seventy-two years of age. In politics he was a Democrat until 1856, when he became a Re- publican, his views having changed on the slavery question. He held several town offices. His wife, Sally, was a daughter of Lemuel Woodworth, a prosperous farmer of this section. Four of the five children born to them are living, namely: David T., the sub- ject of this sketch; Mary, who married Henry Whitcomb; Lydia, who became the wife of Anson R. Mott; and Dayton, who is a drug- gist in Hunter. The mother, Mrs. Sally Woodworth Slater, died at seventy-one.
David T. Slater began his education in Jew- ett, and completed his studies at Ashland Seminary. At the age of twenty-six he went to Cairo, where he followed farming and ran a saw-mill for six years, at the end of which time he sold his property and came to Henson- ville. Purchasing an interest in a general store, he was a partner in the concern for twenty-two years, then becoming sole proprie- tor of the establishment. He conducts a thriving business here, carrying a large stock of dry goods, groceries, clothing, boots and shoes, patent medicine, hats, caps, and other wares.
In 1864 Mr. Slater was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Winter, daughter of Har- rison Winter, of Jewett. They have had eight children, four of whom survive - Jonathan, Lilian, Dayton, and Eva. Jonathan married Laura Sherer. He is a minister of the gospel in Brooklyn, N. Y. Lilian is a pupil at a
seminary in New York City, and the others are also attending school.
Since 1884 Mr. Slater has acted with the Prohibition party, and has been Inspector of Elections. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, has been class leader, and also superintendent of the Sunday-school.
UNCAN M. LEONARD, M.D., of Broome Centre, Schoharie County, was born in Roxbury, Delaware County, N. Y., August 27, 1837, son of Henry and Huldah (Hull) Leonard. His grand- father, John Leonard, was a native of Ger- many, being the son of an Englishman who settled in that country and married there. John Leonard, on coming to America, first set- tled at Black River, Vt., but later removed to Delaware County, New York, and was one of the first to make a clearing in Roxbury. He died in that town, August 23, 1826. He was an active member of the Baptist church. His wife, whose maiden name was Ruth Olmstead, died March 19, 1842. They had but one son, Henry, Dr. Leonard's father.
Henry Leonard was born in Roxbury, July 4, 1789. Succeeding to the ownership of the homestead, he gave his principal attention to dairy farming and stock raising, and through energy and thrift he realized good financial results. In politics he was a Whig. Henry Leonard died December 20, 1871. His wife, Huldah, who was born June 20, 1799, was a daughter of Seth Hull, of Hartford, Conn. She died September 10, 1864. They were the
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parents of twelve children, namely : Salina J., born October 5, 1820; John, born June 6, 1822; Peter H., born May 21, 1824; George H., born January 1I, 1826; Daniel C., born September 16, 1827, died in July, 1897; Asa D., born September 4, 1829; Lucy, born March 13, 1832, who married John Weckle; Samuel W., born December 8, 1833; William H., born June 27, 1835; Duncan M., the sub- ject of this sketch; Mary E., born April 25, 1839; and Charles K., born May 20, 1842. George H., who practised medicine, served in the Civil War, and died in Brooklyn, N. Y. ; John, who became a surgeon of repute, served three years in the army, and owing to ill- health he subsequently engaged in farming; Peter H., Daniel C., and Asa D. were farmers; Samuel W. remained upon the home- stead; and Mary E. married Christian Ender- lin, of Roxbury. Charles K., while pursuing his medical studies, received injuries which later resulted in his death. Several of the sons taught school in their younger days. The father was a Baptist and a prominent church member.
Duncan M. Leonard completed his early ed- ucation at the Roxbury Academy, and having begun his medical studies under the direction of his brother George, he attended the Univer- sity Medical College, Castleton, Vt., from which he was graduated in 1857. Locating at Broome Centre on January I of the following year, he has resided here ever since, and al- though he has practised his profession steadily for a period of over forty years he still retains much of the vigor and activity which charac-
terized his youth, and attends regularly to his every-day duties. As a physician he stands high in the community, his professional skill and reputation for promptitude enabling him to maintain among the well-to-do residents of this vicinity a practice sufficient to keep him constantly busy; yet he has never been known to refuse when called to attend the poor, from whom he could expect little or no compensa- tion, and he has never instigated a law suit for the collection of fees. Prompted by the be- lief that good physicians are an urgent neces- sity to the welfare of mankind, he has not only directed the preparation of several students and provided for their personal wants during their preliminary studies, but has also assisted them in securing an adequate college training.
On January 1, 1860, Dr. Leonard married for his first wife Vashtie McHench, who died June 4, 1877; and on January 1, 1879, he wedded her sister, Emma J. Their father was William McHench, the son of John, who came from the north of Ireland, and was a pioneer farmer in this section. The family is of Scotch origin.
John McHench had a family of four chil- dren; namely, Submit, William, Catherine, and John. Submit married Benjamin Thorn- ington. Catherine married John Goodfellow. William remained on the homestead, and John settled in another part of the town. William McHench, who was a prosperous farmer, took an active part in public affairs, and held some of the important offices in this town. In early life he was interested in military affairs, and acquired the title of
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Captain. He was one of the leading members of the Christian church. He died at the age of seventy-seven years. William McHench married Ann Ferguson, and was the father of nine children, namely: Willard, deceased; James R., deceased, who settled in Minnesota, and became wealthy; Nancy, deceased, who married Elder Brown, and had four children ; Vashtie, Dr. Leonard's first wife; William and Wilson, twins; Andrew and Francis, also twins; and Emma J., Dr. Leonard's second wife. Of these, William, Andrew, and Emma J. are still living. William McIlench, second, was graduated from the medical department of the University of Michigan, and is now prac- tising his profession in Brighton, that State.
Dr. Leonard is the father of four children, all by his first marriage, namely : Emma R., born October 19, 1860; Frances A., born Sep- tember 12, 1863; Ursula J., born April 16, 1866; and Rutson R., born June 3, 1868. Emma R., who is a graduate of the State Normal School, Albany, is a successful school teacher. Frances is the wife of F. B. Mackey. Ursula J. married C. S. Best, M.D., who is practising in Middleburg, N. Y. Rutson R. Leonard, M. D., who is now located in Bloomville, Delaware County, New York, began his preparation under his father's direction, and pursued his advanced studies in the universities of Vermont, New York City, and Michigan.
Dr. Duncan M. Leonard cultivates a good farm, and is quite an extensive real estate holder, owning about seven hundred acres in all. Hle formerly acted with the Republican
party in politics, but now votes independently. He belongs to the County Medical Society, and was at one time its president. For years he has devoted his leisure to reading, and has studied the natural sciences, including astron- omy. In his religious belief he is a Baptist, and for many years has been prominently iden- tified with that church.
LI ROSE, former superintendent of the Howe's Cave Lime and Cement Company and proprietor of a general mer- chandise store, is now retired from business and residing at Central Bridge, N. Y. He was born in Maryland, Otsego County, N. Y., on February 20, 1840, son of Nathan and Deborah (Morehouse) Rose. He comes of English stock.
His paternal grandfather, Nathaniel Rose, probably a native of Massachusetts, said to have been the descendant of one of the early settlers of that State (whether of Thomas Rose, who was an inhabitant of Scituate, Plymouth County, before 1660, or of another emigrant, the present writer is unable to say), came to Columbia County, New York, in young man- hood. From Columbia County Nathaniel Rose removed to Warren, Herkimer County, N. Y., and finally to Maryland, N. Y., where he spent the last years of his life. He started as a poor boy, but before he died he accumu- lated a large property, chiefly comprised in land. He was able to give to each of his six sons a fine farm, and then had some three hun- dred acres left for himself. Each son also re-
ELI ROSE.
MRS. ELI ROSE.
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ceived a pair of horses, farm stock, and grain for planting. Nathaniel Rose was a Captain in the State militia. He died at the age of seventy-six years. His wife, who died at the age of seventy-five, was before her marriage Lovina Spencer. Her family were people of importance in Columbia County. She was the mother of eight children, all of whom married and had families. Both she and her husband were members of the Baptist church, and were active and liberal in their support of all church matters. So interested were they that they were instrumental in building a house of wor- ship almost without assistance from others.
Nathan Rose, son of Nathaniel and father of Eli Rose, was born in Columbia County, New York, and was educated in the common schools there. Shortly after his marriage he settled upon the farm given him by his father, and there engaged in farming with great suc- cess. In time he developed dairying to some extent and also lumbering, carrying on in the last-named industry a very large business. He was active in town affairs and a liberal sup- porter of the Baptist church. He died at the age of sixty-nine. His wife, Deborah, who died at the age of eighty-one, was a daughter of James Morehouse, a farmer on an extensive scale, residing at Maryland, N. Y. Her grand- father, who lived to be eighty-five years of age, was one of the early pioneers of that place. Her father was killed when only thirty- four years old by being thrown from a horse. Her mother, whose maiden name was Jane Burn- side, was born in Maryland and died at the age of sixty. She was twice married, and had five
children by her first marriage and three by the second. All of them grew to maturity, but all are now deceased save one. Nathan and Deb- orah Rose were the parents of five children, namely : John J., of Maryland, N. Y. ; Betsey, who is the wife of Harvey Baker, of Oneonta; Mary, who married Amos Graves, of Glens Falls, now deceased; Lovina, who is the widow of Nelson Goodrich, of Oneonta; and Eli, the special subject of this sketch.
Eli Rose received a public-school education, and subsequently assisted his father on the farm until about twenty-seven years of age. He also taught school for two terms. In 1867 he entered the employ of the Howe's Cave Lime and Cement Company, which had just been formed, as book-keeper. The following year he purchased an interest in the business, and he was afterward promoted through the po- sition of foreman to general manager and treas- urer. He had sometimes as many as eighty men under his charge; and, besides managing the lime and cement business, he operated a general merchandise store, which he started in 1868 and which is now one of the oldest in the county. In February, 1898, Mr. Rose sold all his interests at Howe's Cave to a wealthy syndicate, and removed to Central Bridge, N. Y., where he is now living.
A word in regard to the cement company with which he was so long connected may be interesting to the reader. This company was incorporated under the laws of the State of New York in 1867 by Hon. John Westover, of Richmondville, N. Y., Jared Goodyear, of Colliers, N. Y., and E. R. Ford and Harvey
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Barker, of Oneonta, N. Y., as charter members and owners. The seventy or more acres of land owned by the company were rude and rugged in the extreme, and no appliances were at hand. But generous ledges of limestone gave promise of rich reward to those who should quarry it. Houses for the employees, barns for the work horses, shops, kilns, and mills were erected; and derricks, engines, and other appliances were brought here. Fortu- nately for the company, the line of the Albany & Susquehanna, now a part of the D. & H. C. Company, ran near - so near, in fact, that often in blasting large pieces of rock were thrown on the track. The ledge nearest the railroad, which is of dark blue limestone, is forty-four feet thick, and is composed, of course, of comparatively thin and light rock. Next above this is a ridge of gray limestone in massive blocks and of excellent quality and soundness, such as are eminently suitable for the construction of piers, abutments, canal locks, retaining walls, and all kinds of massive masonry. The lime produced in the kilns is very strong, adhesive, and of great durability. Its lasting virtue is well shown in the stone fort at Schoharie Court House, which was built more than a hundred years ago, and as yet presents no imperfection of either stone or mortar. Among the important structures in which this cement has been employed are the following: the new capitol at Albany; Hol- land House, New York City; the Scranton Steel Works; Troy Steel and Iron Works; and the reservoir at Fair Haven, Vt. As all the process of manufacture and the disposal of the
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