USA > New York > Schoharie County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Schenectady, Schoharie and Green counties, New York > Part 35
USA > New York > Schenectady County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Schenectady, Schoharie and Green counties, New York > Part 35
USA > New York > Greene County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Schenectady, Schoharie and Green counties, New York > Part 35
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Like his father, Dr. Lomax is interested in masonry. He is now serving his second term as Master of Social Friendship Lodge, No. 741, of New Baltimore, and has held various other offices in the lodge, among them that of Senior Deacon. In politics he is a Republi- can. For the last four years he has been one of the health officers of the town. He is a Deacon in the Dutch Reformed church, of which both he and his wife are members, and Mrs. Lomax has played the organ for both church and Sunday-school.
The Doctor's marriage took place in Sep- tember, 1897. Mrs Lomax is the daughter of Newton Sweet, a leading citizen of New Balti- more. Her grandfather, Joshua Sweet, who was born in Chesterville, Albany County, was a carpenter by trade. He worked on the old Catskill Mountain House, and later came to New Baltimore and engaged in contracting and building until his death, at the age of sixty- eight. His wife, Laura Baker, died at the age of seventy-four. She was one of the eight children of an Englishman who came with his family from England to Philadelphia, from there by stage to New York, thence up the Hudson to Albany, and thence by stage to Coeymans. He engaged in mercantile life in
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New York City, and there fell a victim to small-pox. Joshua and Laura Sweet were the parents of three children : Frank ; Newton ; and Laura, who married Watson Ham.
Newton Sweet was born in this town on De- cember 16, 1848. After attending Coeymans Academy for four years, he began teaching school winters and working at carpentering summers. This he continued till twenty-four years of age, when he left off his trade and thenceforward kept at his professional work all the year. lle taught successively in the graded school at the Iron Works, Troy, where he remained five years; in the graded school in Coeymans; in New Baltimore for a year ; and then, in the year 1893-94, in West Coxsackie. While at New Baltimore he was elected Super- visor for 1887 on the Republican ticket. The following year he was elected School Commissioner from the Second District of Greene County, which included the towns of New Baltimore, Coxsackie, Greenville, Dur- ham, Ashland, Windham, and Prattsville. He had eighty schools to look after and a hundred teachers to examine, and must visit each school twice a year. After serving three years he was re-elected for a second term, at the close of which he began teaching in West Coxsackie. At the end of a year there he was secured for the New Baltimore school, but while attending a teachers' institute in Cairo, where the Republican convention was in ses- sion, he was nominated for the Assembly. He was triumphantly elected by a majority of four hundred, going ninety ballots ahead of the ticket in this town, and being the third Super-
visor ever elected on the Republican ticket in this Democratic stronghold. He voted for the Raines Bill, and in 1897 was re-elected by a majority of five hundred and fifty. During his two terms he rendered his constituents valuable service. He introduced a bill to pro- hibit vivisection in the public schools, and served on various educational committees.
Mr. Sweet has resided in New Baltimore village for the last eighteen years. Ile is prominent in Masonic circles and in the Knights of Pythias. His wife, Adelaide, was born in Coeymans, the daughter of Philip and Jane (Van Allen) Winne. Mr. and Mrs. Sweet have five children --- Frank, Jane (Mrs. Lamox), Laura, Isaac, and Arba. Frank is the foreman of Cushman's bakery in New York City. Ile married Marietta Vanderpool, daughter of Dr. A. V. S. Vanderpool, of this town. Isaac has been for the last three years quartermaster on the "Dean Richmond." Arba is preparing to be a locomotive engineer.
Mrs. Lomax taught school in New Baltimore with most flattering success for some time before her marriage. She is a fine musician. The Doctor and his wife have one son, Ed- mund W. Lomax.
ILLIAM E. THORPE, of Catskill, N. Y., member of the firm of Mal- colm & Co., was born in Conesville, Schoharie County, on November 15, 1869, his parents being Douglass and Catherine H. (Ingraham) Thorpe. Ilis paternal grandfather, Amos Thorpe, was born in the town of Broome,
WILLIAM E. THORPE.
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Schoharie County. He was a blacksmith by trade, and worked at that occupation all his life. He also did some farming. The death of Amos Thorpe took place in Conesville.
Douglass Thorpe was born in Conesville on March 9, 1832. He worked somewhat in the smithy with his father, but when about nine- teen years of age began learning the carpen- ter's trade. Subsequently he went to Dy- berry Falls, Pa., to assist in putting up a tannery, and after it was completed he re- turned to Conesville and settled on a farm. While there he was twice Supervisor of the town. In 1881 he came to Catskill, and for the two succeeding years was in the grocery business in company with a Mr. Bassett, under the firm name of Bassett & Thorpe. Upon his retirement from business he was made Superintendent of Streets, which office he filled for two years. More recently he has been in poor health. He is a trustee of the Methodist church, and both he and his wife are members of it.
Mrs. Catherine H. Thorpe was born in Dur- ham, and spent her life there until she was eighteen, when she removed to Conesville. She taught school from the time she was fif- teen years old until she was married, at twenty-two. She has been the mother of two children - William E. and George N., the last-named of whom resides on a farm in Conesville. Mrs. Thorpe's father was Ezra Ingraham, son of William and Hester (Doty) Ingraham. Her mother was Charlotte Newell, daughter of Seth Newell, a soldier of the War of 1812, who contracted disease while in the
service and died from its effects. William Ingraham, her grandfather, was born in Say- brook, Conn. He came to Durham among the early settlers, and had a grant of a small farm, but worked most of the time at his trade, which was that of a cooper. He died at the age of eighty. His wife, Hester, who was born in Saybrook, Conn., died at fifty-five. William and Hester (Doty) Ingraham had ten children, all of whom are now deceased. Their son Ezra was born in Durham. He was a shoemaker by trade, but much of his life was spent on a farm in Conesville, where he died at the age of fifty-six. His wife, who died at the age of eighty-two, bore him three children, of whom only Catherine (Mrs. Thorpe) is living.
William E. Thorpe attended school in Conesville until he was about twelve years old, when the family removed to Catskill. Here he entered the high school. At seven- teen he had finished his studies, and entered the employ of Smith & Forshew, dry goods merchants, with whom he remained for a year. At the end of that time he took a position as book-keeper with Van Brocklin & Co. in the Catskill Knitting Mill. When, nine years later, Mr. Van Brocklin retired and the Mal- colm Company was formed, Mr. Thorpe took an interest in the business, this being in Jan- uary, 1897. The annual output of this mill is valued at between two hundred and fifty thou- sand and three hundred thousand dollars. Woollen underwear is manufactured, also men's dress shirts. This firm is one of the pioneer concerns in the making of fleece-lined goods. That its product bears a solid reputa-
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tion in the market may be gathered from the fact that during all the recent business depres- sion the mill has been running steadily and often over hours. Sales are made through the company's agents direct to the jobbing trade, and there is not a State in the Union that does not purchase goods of Malcolm & Co. One noticeable thing in the history of this business has been the cordial feeling between the em- ployers and the workmen. Mr. Thorpe began work in the office at six dollars a week, and had his salary increased from time to time until it reached twenty-four dollars a week. Hle forms a striking example of what can be accomplished by faithfulness and application.
In March, 1898, Mr. Thorpe was chosen Trustee of Catskill and after one year l'resi- dent of the village. Ilis politics are Republi- can. Ile is a member of Catskill Lodge of Masons, No. 468, and its organist ; a charter member of the Catskill Royal Arch Chapter ; member of the Order of Odd Fellows, Lodge No. 189, in which he has occupied the Noble Grand's chair; and also a member of the Rip Van Winkle Club. For two years he was a choir leader in the Methodist church, but he now holds membership in the Reformed church. For five years he was a member of the Sixteenth Separate Company, N. G. S. N. Y., and for two years, or until his discharge, a member of the First Ambulance Corps. He has always shown a warm interest in the fire department, and is at the present time president of Wiley Ilose Company and vice-president of the Hudson River Volunteer Firemen's Asso- ciation. He is a singer of unusual merit, and
has sung on many public occasions. While in the employ of Mr. Van Brocklin, Mr. Thorpe was the recipient of many handsome presents, being remembered most generously on each recurring Christmas.
B ENJAMIN F. AND WILLIAM C. PLATNER, of Prattsville, N. Y., are sons of Cornelius and Laura (Parmentier) Platner. Their paternal grand- father was a native and lifelong resident of Hudson, N. Y.
Cornelius Platner was born in Prattsville in February, 1821. He learned the trade of hatter, which he followed here for many years, first as a journeyman and later in com- pany with Theodore Rudolph, as a member of the firm of Platner & Rudolph. Their shop was at one time destroyed by a flood, but they rebuilt it, and subsequently continued the business. Their partnership being finally dissolved, Mr. Platner opened a restaurant in the building now occupied by his sons, and carried it on for some time. He held quite a prominent position in the community, took an active interest in town affairs, and served sev- cral years as Deputy Sheriff. He was also active in military matters, and was connected with the militia in the carly training days. In politics he was a Democrat.
His wife, Laura, was a native of Tanners- ville, N. Y., and a daughter of Winthrop Par- mentier. Their family consisted of ten chil- dren, of whom six are now living, five being residents of Prattsville; namely, Charles II.,
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Chester A., Joseph E., Benjamin F., and William C. Charles H. Platner is the pro- prietor of a general store in Prattsville. Chester A. is engaged in the feed business, and has also a large interest in the Stanley Hall farm of five hundred acres. He keeps one hundred cows, and deals largely in cattle, besides having other extensive business in- terests. Joseph E. is a druggist in Pratts- ville. Gustavus A. is a farmer residing near Ashland. Mrs. Laura Parmentier Platner died in 1895, at the age of seventy years.
Benjamin F. and William C. Platner were educated in the public schools of the village, and have always resided here. They formed their copartnership February 1, 1885, both having had some previous experience as clerks. They have since conducted a very thriving general mercantile business. Their store, of which they are the owners, stands on what was formerly the old Platner homestead, and measures fifty by fifty feet, exclusive of the house and store-rooms: They carry the largest stock of general goods in this section, their boot and shoe department being the largest between Kingston and Catskill. They have been very successful, and their business is continually on the increase. Quiet, unassuming gentlemen, they enjoy a wide popularity.
Mr. William C. Platner married on June 5, 1895, Miss Marion Becker, of Grand Gorge, an estimable lady, the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Wyckoff) Becker, then of that place, but now of Stamford village. He is a Democrat politically, but hitherto has de-
clined office, preferring to give his undivided attention to his business. He was formerly interested in the then proposed Kingston & Utica Railway, being secretary of the com- pany. He is a member of Oasis Lodge, No. 119, F. & A. M., which he joined in 1888, and in which he has filled some of the chairs, being now Senior Warden. He and his wife belong to the Reformed church, which they attend and help support.
RTHUR HENRY FARQUHER, late a well-known furniture manufacturer and dealer of Schoharie, N. Y., was born in the town of Berne, in Albany County, this State, on October 27, 1840, and died at his home in Schoharie, a few weeks since, August 9, 1899. He was a son of James and Margaret (Clark) Farquher. His paternal grandfather, John Farquher, was a butcher by trade, and was engaged for a time in the market business in Ireland. In 1830 Grand- father Farquher came to America and settled in Berne, N. Y., where his son James had pre- ceded him.
James Farquher was born in Ireland, and remained in that country until after his mar- riage. He was educated in the public schools there, and subsequently engaged in the market business until he purchased a farm. Believing that the New World offered great opportunities to the industrious and enterpris- ing, he came over to this country with his wife and one child, and eventually met with the success he had hoped for. At first, how-
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ever, it was an uphill road to climb. When he arrived in Albany he found that his money had given out, and he was obliged to walk from that city to Rensselaerville. After prosperity came to him, he bought a farm, and there lived until his death, at the age of eighty-two. He made many friends in his adopted country, being highly respected by his fellows on account of his industry and hon- esty. He was at first a Whig and later a Re- publican ; and he was warmly interested in the Presbyterian church, of which his wife was a member. Mrs. Margaret Farquher was born in Ireland, being the daughter of a farmer and one of a family of five children. She lived to be seventy-six years of age. She was the mother of thirteen children, of whom nine grew to maturity, namely : John; William; Joseph; Jane, who is the widow of Daniel Carey ; Elizabeth; Arthur H .; Thomas; Mary, who is the wife of Rensselaer Taylor; and Francis.
Arthur H. Farquher spent his boyhood years in Berne, attending the public schools, and during vacation time assisting his father on the farm. In 1857, at the age of seven- teen, he left home and went to Gilboa, where he served three years' apprenticeship at the cabinet-maker's trade, and subsequently re- mained a year as journeyman.
On September 25, 1861, Mr. Farquher en- listed in the military service of his country, and on the first day of the succeeding October was assigned to the United States Lancers. On November 2 of the same year he was transferred to Company B of the Fourth New
York Heavy Artillery, and while a member of that company saw some of the hardest fighting that occurred in the whole course of the Civil War. The following are among the engage- ments in which he took part: battle of the Wilderness, on May 6, 1864; Todd's Tavern, on May 8; Hart's Farm, May 9; Spottsylvania Court House, May 12; North Anna River, on May 23; Sheldon Farm, on May 30; Cold Harbor, on June 3, 1864; Petersburg, on June 18 and July 30, 1864; Deep Bottom, on August 14; Ream's Station, on August 25; Mile Run, on December 9, 1864; Hatcher's Run, on February 5, 1865; assault on the lines, on March 25; opening the campaign, on March 28, 29, and 30; South Side Road, on April 2. He was at Appomattox at the time of the surrender of Lee, April 9, 1865. Mr. Farquher went into the service as a pri- vate, and came out of it as a Sergeant. The Colonel of his regiment was Colonel John C. Tiddball, and the Lieutenant Colonel, Thomas Alcott. D. F. Hamlin was the Major. The detachment of which Mr. Farquher's company formed a part left Washington for the front with twenty-two hundred men, and in five months' fighting, from March 23 to August 25, lost eighteen hundred. In one engage- ment of an hour's duration sixty men of his own company fell. Mr. Farquher was one of those who escaped unhurt. He seemed to bear a charmed life, and was not even wounded. The terrible slaughter at l'eters- burg he never forgot. It stood out among many other scenes of horror as the most direful of all.
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Returning to Gilboa, after being discharged in October, 1865, Mr. Farquher worked for his old employer until the fall of 1866, when he came to Schoharie, and began working for a man who was located in the same building in which he, Mr. Farquher, subsequently car- ried on business. In 1874 he became a part- ner, and a year later the firm changed and became Farquher & Settle, which was in busi- ness for two years and a half. Mr. Farquher then took his first partner, who remained with him for some seven years. At the end of that time Mr. Farquher became full proprietor of the business, and henceforth he continued it alone. Occupying the four floors of his large building, he carried a very large stock of fur- niture, and had an extensive trade. After 1893 his manufacturing of furniture was con- fined mostly to custom work of the highest grade. The business has been established here for over fifty years, and has always merited the full confidence of the public. As a consequence its fair reputation has spread, and its patrons have come from long dis- tances. The undertaking department has also been long established here, and is the only one in town.
Mr. Farquher was married to his first wife in 1865. She was Maria C. Benjamin, daughter of Ebenezer Benjamin, a farmer of Gilboa. In religious faith she was a Meth- odist. She died at the age of thirty-one, having been the mother of three children; namely, Fred R., Minnie E., and Benjamin J. Fred R., who married Mary R. Larkins, is a furniture dealer and undertaker at Central
Bridge. Minnie married Robert A. Dewey, cashier in one of the Schoharic banks, and she is the mother of one son, Arthur. Benja- min J. was his father's assistant. He is an enterprising and able young man, and bids fair to equal his father in business ability. Mr. Arthur H. Farquher married for his sec- ond wife Ida M. Schoolcraft, who was born in the town of Wright, being one of a family of five children of Peter P. Schoolcraft, a farmer. She died at the age of thirty. She was a member of the Lutheran church. The pres- ent Mrs. Farquher was before her marriage Amanda Wright. She is a daughter of Ezra Wright and a native of Albany County.
In politics Mr. Farquher was a Republican. He was a trustee of the village for eight years, and at the time of his death was still serving as president, having held the office for four years. This is a strongly Democratic town. Mr. Farquher usually refused public office, but at one time, in order to gratify the wishes of the party leaders, he permitted his name to be used on the Republican ticket for Supervisor, and thereby reduced the Demo- cratic majority from three hundred and six- teen to thirty-five. He was a member and for three years was treasurer of Schoharie Valley Lodge of Masons, No. 491, having held also numerous other offices in the lodge. For twenty-nine years he was a member of the fire department, and much of the time either fore- man of the company or chief engineer of the department. He took an active part in all movements affecting the interests of the town and was one of those foremost in securing the
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incorporation of the village. He was a mem- ber and had been Commander of Hoosick Mix Post, No. 134, G. A. R .; also a member for many years of the Schoharie County Histori- cal Society. He was an attendant of the Lutheran church of this place, and his son is Deacon of the church.
ILLIAM JAMES SMEALLIE, a thrifty farmer of Princetown, Scho- harie County, N. Y., was born in this town, May 10, 1852, son of John and Jane (Milmine) Smcallie. His father was born here March 3, 1816, and his mother was born in Florida, N. Y., March 26, 1816. His paternal grand- father, James Smeallie, was born in Linlith- gowshire, Scotland, April 18, 1786, and came to America in 1811. James Smeallie settled upon a farm in the northerly part of Prince- town, where he resided the rest of his life. He was quite prominent in public affairs, serving as Supervisor and School Commissioner, and he was one of the founders of the United Presbyterian Church of Florida, N. Y. He married his cousin, Mary Smeallie. She was the daughter of his uncle, John Smeallie, first, a native of Scotland, who came to this country and served as a soldier in the Revolutionary War.
John Smeallie, second, son of James and Mary, was a prosperous farmer and lifelong resident of Princetown. Being a man of pro- gressive tendencies, he made good use of his resources, and realized excellent results as a general farmer. In politics he was originally
a Whig and later a Republican. He was a member of the Scotch church. Jane Milmine Smeallie, his wife, became the mother of three children, namely : Mary E., wife of John M. Conover; William J., the subject of this sketch; and Agnes Smeallie, of Princetown. John Smeallie, second, lived to be seventy-five years old, but Mrs. Smeallie died at thirty- eight.
William James Smeallie was educated in the district schools. He resided in Duanesburg for ten years, but with that exception has been engaged in general farming in Princetown ever since reaching manhood. He is now the owner of one hundred acres of fertile land, compris- ing one of the best farms in town. He makes a specialty of breeding Jersey cattle and fancy poultry, owning at the present time some fine specimens of each, and his buildings are well adapted for these purposes.
Mr. Smeallie has served with ability as Ex- cise Commissioner twelve years, and is now holding the office of Overseer of the Poor. In politics he acts with the Republican party. The family has long enjoyed local distinction for thrift and prosperity, and the subject of this sketch has fully demonstrated his ability to maintain this reputation. Mr. Smeallie is unmarried. He attends the United Presby- terian church, of which he was elected Elder in 1883.
B ENJAMIN H. AVERY,* an enter- prising merchant of Jefferson, Schoharie County, and an ex-mem- ber of the New York State legislature, was
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born in Jefferson, December 29, 1852, son of Beriah and Lydia (Buckingham) Avery. His immigrant progenitor, Christopher Avery, came over from England early in the Colonial period, lived for some years at Gloucester, Mass., and was Selectman there in 1646, 1652, and 1654. In March, 1658-9, Christo- pher Avery bought land and one-half of a house in Boston, situated where the pcst-office now stands. This property he sold in 1663, and in 1665 he bought a house and lot in New London, Conn., his son James having moved to that colony some years before.
From Christopher the line is traced through James, Thomas, Abraham, William, Ben- jamin, John, and Beriah to Benjamin H., the subject of this sketch. The original dwell- ing-house, built by Captain James Avery in 1656 in what was formerly New London and afterward Groton, Conn., was burned in July, 1894. Some of the Avery ancestors fought in the Revolutionary War, and a monument to their memory has been erected by John D. Rockefeller, the Standard Oil magnate, who is related to the family.
John Avery, the grandfather, who was a tanner, served in the Assembly in 1850, and held other offices. Beriah Avery, Benjamin Avery's father, was engaged in mercantile business in Jefferson for a number of years, and was quite active in public affairs, serving as Supervisor with marked ability. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. His wife, Lydia, who was a daughter of Will- iam Buckingham, of Harpersfield, became the mother of four children - William, Benjamin,
Mary, and Edward. William, who succeeded to his father's business, died in 1876, aged about twenty-six years ; and Mary and Edward died in early childhood. Beriah Avery died in 1891, at the age of sixty-seven years, his wife having died one week previous.
Benjamin Avery attended school in Char- lotteville for a time, and completed his studies at the Stamford Seminary. Going to River Falls, Wis., he was employed there as a clerk until 1876, when he returned to Jefferson, and purchased the business left by his brother William. He has one of the largest and old- est established general stores in town, and ranks among the substantial merchants in this part of the county. As a member of the Board of Supervisors he was active in forward- ing the interests of the town. In the legis- lature he introduced no less than twenty-four bills, fourteen of which became laws. He was assigned to the Committees on Internal Affairs, Villages, Fish and Game, and Agri- culture, being chairman of the first-named body; and his work in the committee-room and upon the floor was heartily commended by the majority of voters, irrespective of party. Politically, he is a Democrat. He has been treasurer of the water company since its organization, having been instrumental in securing the construction of the works, and he was a director of the old railroad line.
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