USA > New York > Schoharie County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Schenectady, Schoharie and Green counties, New York > Part 37
USA > New York > Schenectady County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Schenectady, Schoharie and Green counties, New York > Part 37
USA > New York > Greene County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Schenectady, Schoharie and Green counties, New York > Part 37
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OIIN II. BURTIS, JR.,* proprietor of the Hotel St. Charles, Hunter, N. Y., was born in Brooklyn, Long Island, October 24, 1869, son of John H. and Mary (Thompson) Burtis. His father is a native of Washington County, New York, and his mother was born in Nantucket, Mass. His immigrant ancestor came from Florence, Italy ; and his great-grandfather Burtis and his grand- father, whose name was John, were natives of Washington County, this State.
John Burtis was a carpenter and builder and a manufacturer of sieves. In his latter years he removed to Hunter, where he carried on a large sieve factory until his death, which oc- curred in 1890. He was a Justice of the
Peace many years, was familiarly known as Squire Burtis, and he enjoyed the esteem of all who knew him. In his religious belief he was a Presbyterian. Ile married for his first wife Eliza Lee, a native of Washington County, and had a large family of children, of whom the only one living is John H., Sr. The grandmother's death occurred many years prior to that of her husband.
John 11. Burtis, Sr., was reared in Wash- ington County. In 1845 he came to Hunter, and purchased a tract of land comprising three hundred and fifty acres, mostly covered with timber, which he at first used for sporting pur- poses, and later cleared for cultivation. For several years he conducted the stove and tin- ware business in New York City. After that he engaged in the dried fruit trade and still later in the wholesale drug and patent medi- cine business. At the present time he is a prosperous real estate dealer in Brooklyn, where he resides winters, his summers being spent in Hunter. His original residence here, which he built shortly after purchasing his property, he afterward enlarged for the accom- modation of summer boarders; and it was con- ducted by his half-brother until 1882, when it was destroyed by fire. In 1883 the present large hotel was erected. For three years it was in charge of S. P. Van Loan, later in that of Mr. Scripture, and in 1893 John II. Burtis, Jr., became its manager.
John 11. Burtis, Sr., is a Republican in pol- ities. He was in the Assembly in 1875 and 1876, and is quite active in the public affairs of Brooklyn. In Masonry he has advanced to
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JOHN H. BURTIS.
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the thirty-second degree. He has served as Deputy Grand Master, and belongs to the Mys- tic Shrine; is vice-president of the Union League Club, Brooklyn; and president of Aurora Grata Club.
His wife, Mary, is a daughter of James B. and Mary (Gardner) Thompson. Her father was a graduate of Yale and a well-known mathematician. He was the author of Thomp- son's Arithmetics, and has written over forty different volumes, known as Thompson's Mathematical Series, including arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and trigonometry. He was at one time principal of an academy in Nan- tucket, Mass. During the latter part of his life he made his home in New York, where he died at the age of eighty years. His wife, Mary Gardner Thompson, who is still living, is now seventy-five years old. Mrs. Mary Thompson Burtis was educated in Brooklyn and at a young ladies' seminary in New Haven, Conn. She is president of Memorial Hospital, Brooklyn, and is prominent in char- itable work. She has had seven children, three of whom are living: Mary L., John H., Jr., and Grace L. Burtis. Charles Burtis, M. D., was graduated from the New York Homoeopathic College, and at the time of his death was practising his profession in Atlanta, Ga. Grace L. is a student at Vassar College, Poughkeepsie. The parents are members of the Congregational church.
John H. Burtis, Jr., began his education in the common schools of Brooklyn, and fitted for college at the Latin school. He was graduated from Columbia College in 1894, with the de-
gree of Bachelor of Arts, and subsequently studied law. During the summer of 1893 he managed the Hotel St. Charles in Hunter, and since 1894 he has resided here permanently. This hotel, which is situated upon the highest elevation in the Catskill region, occupies a de- sirable location on what is known as Breeze Lawn Farm. The building is seventy-five feet front, one hundred and sixty-three feet deep, and four stories high. It has broad piazzas on three sides, and is equipped with all modern improvements, including passenger elevator and telegraph office. With the annex it has accommodations for two hundred guests. The table is supplied with fresh cream, butter, eggs, and vegetables from the farm connected with the house; and the service is of the best. Aside from the hotel Mr. Burtis manages Breeze Lawn, consisting of three hundred and fifty acres. He carries on a dairy, and sends his surplus products to market.
On October 9, 1895, Mr. Burtis married Zaidee I. Scribner, a native of Hunter, daugh- ter of Peter H. and Agnes (Merwin) Scribner. Her father, who at one time was engaged in mercantile business in Catskill, is at present residing in Palenville, where he accommodates summer boarders.
Mr. Scribner originally came from Connect- icut. He has had four children : Zaidee I., now Mrs. Burtis; George H .; Bertha; and Merwin. Mr. and Mrs. Burtis are the parents of two children - Thompson H. and Grace Agnes.
Mr. Burtis is a Republican in politics, and
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has been quite prominent in public affairs. He belongs to the Masonic Order, being a member of Mount Tabor Lodge and the chap- ter in Windham. Hle attends the Methodist Episcopal church.
MORY STEVENS, of Conesville, an ex- member of the State legislature, was born in this town, September 24, 1839, son of Levi F. and Thirza (Sage) Stevens. His grandfather, Peter S., and his great-grand- father, Gershom Stevens, both came here from Fairfield, Conn., in 1805, Peter S. being then a young man.
Gershom Stevens became the second owner of the first grist-mill in this region, and he operated it for a number of years. Ilis chil- dren were: Levi, Gershom, Peter S., Ozias, and two daughters. Some years after his death his son Peter S. remodelled the mill into a tannery. This was afterward destroyed by fire, and two other buildings erected upon the site were also burned.
Peter S. Stevens was the father of ten chil- dren ; namely, Levi F., Walter, Alfred, Nel- son, Tompkins, Thalia A., Sally, John F., Ozias D., and another son who died in in- fancy. The only one now living is Tomp- kins, who is a well-known dealer in hides in New York City. Thalia A. married Andrew Rickey, and Sally married Charles Sturgis. John F., who became a physician, was for five years president of a medical school in St. Louis, Mo., and afterward practised in Brook- lyn, N. Y. Nelson died in Conesville, aged
twenty-four years. Tompkins, Alfred, and Walter went to Sullivan County, and were instrumental in building up the town of Stev- ensville, where they operated tanneries for many years, being also engaged in lumbering and farming. The Stevens brothers built a hotel in Conesville, which was first opened by Gershom.
Levi F. Stevens, father of Emory, was in his younger days interested in the tannery at Conesville, and for a while he kept a store. He succeeded to the ownership of the home- stead property, which was in his day a part of the original tract one mile square acquired by his grandfather. He was an able, energetic, and successful farmer, and favorably known through this section of the county. Politi- cally he was a Democrat, and held some of the town offices. IIe was an active member and a prominent official of the Methodist Epis- copal church, whose house of worship was built principally through the instrumentality of his father and David Sage. Levi F. Stevens died March 28, 1890, aged eighty years.
His wife, Thirza, was a daughter of David Sage, who removed with his family to Conesville from Connecticut. He was a de- scendant of David Sage, first, who was born in Wales in 1639, and coming to America was one of the earliest settlers in Middletown, Conn. The immigrant was also the ancestor of Russell Sage, the well-known financier. The Sage family, we are told, dates its origin from the time of the Norman conquest, its founder having fought on the winning side at
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the battle of Hastings. Mrs. Stevens's father, who was born in Connecticut, settled upon a tract of two hundred acres in that part of Broome which is now Conesville, and became a successful farmer. He was one of the founders of the Methodist Episcopal church at Strykersville. His children were: Daniel, Abiel, Simeon, Levi, Thirza (Mrs. Stevens), Polly, and Lucena. Abiel, twin brother to Thirza, died in Ashland, Greene County, N. Y. ; Daniel died in Conesville; Levi died while young; and Simeon, who amassed a for- tune in business in New York City, died in Windham.
Levi F. and Thirza (Sage) Stevens had seven children ; namely, Diantha M., David S., Delphus T., Thalia A., Emory, Ozro, and Daniel T. Stevens. Diantha M. died at the age of fifteen years; David S., who resided in Gilboa, was for twenty years a Methodist preacher ; Delphus T., who died at the age of twenty-eight, was a promising young lawyer in Oak Hill, N. Y .; Thalia A. died at sixteen ; Ozro died at eighteen; and Daniel T. died at twenty-three years. The mother died in Au- gust, 1890, aged eighty-five years.
Emory Stevens completed his education at the Charlotteville Academy. He taught school for some time, and afterward he was employed as a clerk in mercantile business at Conesville and Gilboa. He then went to Iowa, where for the next few years he was en- gaged in various kinds of business, including mercantile. For some time he kept a sale stable in Des Moines, and while in that city he also speculated rather extensively in real es-
tate. Since his return home he has devoted some of his time to educational work.
In politics he is a Democrat, and while re- siding in Iowa was chosen a delegate to repre- sent Harrison County in the State Convention. He has served as a Supervisor in Conesville for three years. He also served as chairman of the County Canvassers' Committee, as fore- man of the Grand Jury, and during his term in the Assembly he was a member of several im- portant committees. Mr. Stevens is a member of the Methodist church, and was for a number of years superintendent of the Sunday-school.
Mr. Stevens married Emma Miller, daugh- ter of William Miller, of Conesville. They have six children; namely, Ward E., Walter A., Linnie D., Ralph F., Levi F., and Susie E. Ward E. was graduated from the New York Dental College in 1897. Walter A. is a member of the police force.
OHN WESLEY GAYLORD, a repre- sentative citizen of Conesville, N. Y., was born in this town on April 4, 1840, son of George and Fannie (Humphrey) Gaylord. On the paternal side he is of Hu- guenot descent. His emigrant ancestors on leaving France settled first in England, whence some of the family found their way to this country. His great-grandfather Gaylord served as an Ensign in the Continental army during the Revolutionary War. He was a man of considerable property.
John Gaylord, son of Ensign Gaylord, was but a young boy at the time his father died;
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and he was bound out to a Captain Langdon, of Litchfield, Conn. He ran away, however, at about the age of eighteen, having received none of his inheritance, and with one Allen Griffin came to Conesville, journeying by way of Catskill, guided by marked trees. He set- tled on the Sotts patent, now known as the Van Dyke farm, and built a log house to live in. After remaining there a few years, he re- moved to a farm on the stage road between Gilboa and Cairo, in Manor Kill village. Subsequently he settled on the farm where his grandson, John Wesley Gaylord, now resides. He became the largest land-owner of his time, owning from four to five hundred acres. When he arrived here he had only fifty dollars in his pocket. He married Sabrina Atwood, re- turning to Connecticut for that purpose. She bore him three sons - lliram, Henry, and George. To each of these he gave a handsome property upon his coming of age. He then himself started afresh, and in time accumu- lated as much as he had at first, so that during his life he owned between eight hundred and a thousand acres. Politically, he was a Dem- ocrat, and the leading member of his party hereabouts. In religions faith he was a Meth- odist. Ile helped to build the Methodist church here, and was always one of its most liberal supporters. He died at the age of seventy-eight, and his wife died later, at about the same age. His son Hiram became a wealthy merchant of New York City. Henry, who removed to Catskill in 1868, became a wealthy dealer in live stock and wool, and later in real estate. He died at Catskill in Janu-
ary, 1898, in the eighty-eighth year of his age. Ile had travelled extensively. The fine bell on the church at Manor Kill was presented by him some four years ago at a cost of four hun- dred dollars.
George Gaylord, father of John W., was born on April 28, 1815, in Conesville, and re- sided here all his life, dying in 1878. He kept a hostelry for drovers, the largest in the State, furnishing accommodations one night for fifteen hundred cattle. Drovers came here from different States, and it is said that one paid him ninety dollars for three tons of hay to feed his drove for a single night. He was famed far and wide for his hospitality and for his sunny and genial temper. Himself an ex- pert judge of cattle, he bought and sold many head. He owned a farm of six hundred acres, upon which he raised annually from fifty to seventy-five tons of hay. During war time he kept three hundred sheep, and forty or fifty head of cattle. Like his father, he was a strong Democrat ; but he was no office-seeker. He was married on December 31, 1838. Both he and his wife were active and devoted mem- bers of the Methodist church, and gave it gen- erous financial support. The latter, who was born on August 21, 1818, died in 1868. She was the mother of four children, namely : John W. ; Woodford, who was born on January 2, 1842; George E., who was born on June 9, 1846; and Ogden, who was born on June 13, 1849. George E., who was for many years engaged in the cattle business, is one of the largest land-owners here. He is an influential man, a political leader, and has twice been
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Supervisor of the town. Ogden is in the meat business at Gilboa. Woodford is the well known ex-Sheriff.
John Wesley Gaylord was educated in the district schools, at Chartlotteville High School and Ashland Academy, being a stu- dent in the last-named institution in 1860, when it was burned. After his marriage he settled on a farm of his own, where he lived for ten years. He then came back to take charge of the homestead farm. Here he now owns some five hundred acres. He was for- merly engaged to some extent in dairying and in growing hay. From youth also he has been interested in buying and selling cattle, being an expert judge of stock. In 1868 he went on the road in this business, but after some years gave it up, only to start again in 1880 in com- pany with his brother George. The latter re- tired from the partnership in 1891, and Mr. J. W. Gaylord has since continued alone. In his early life he taught school for a time, but finally decided that business was much more congenial to him. As a cattle dealer, he has travelled into Canada and throughout this State, principally in Dutchess, Columbia, Green, Schoharie, Otsego, Montgomery, Jef- ferson, and Delaware Counties. He also went into Connecticut on some of his trips. He was usually absent from home three or four weeks at a time. Like his father, he is noted among all who know him for his genial hospi- tality. He is popular in his own town; and it is said that, if he takes a subscription paper among the people for any purpose whatever, he is sure to fill it with names. No family in
the community has done more for the church of the town than the Gaylord family. Mr. John W. Gaylord in this respect has not been behind his father and grandfather in generosity and in the support of every good movement. In politics he is a Democrat.
At twenty-three Mr. Gaylord was united in marriage with Mary K. Porter, daughter of a Scotch family. Mrs. Gaylord died on De- cember 17, 1897, having been the mother of three children. Of these, John H. died in in- fancy ; and George Porter died on December 14, 1889, at the age of twenty-three. Fannie M., the only daughter, resides with her father. She attended the Albany Normal School, and subsequently taught school until her marriage with Coral E. Rictchmyer. She has one child, Mabel G. George Porter Gaylord was a young man of great promise. In his youth he attended a select school in Broome Centre, and then took a course in the Albany Busi- ness College. He was nearly qualified to take his degree of Doctor of Medicine at the Uni- versity of the City of New York when he be- came ill. He was naturally a devoted student, and his close confinement to his books had un- dermined his health. He was a Mason of Gil- boa Lodge, and remarkably well informed on Masonic history for one of his age.
GARDINER COFFIN, cashier of the Catskill National Bank of Cats- kill and Supervisor of the town of Catskill, is a native of this village, and was born on August 10, 1859, his parents
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being Uriah H. and Elizabeth J. (Surfleet) Coffin.
The family of which he is a representative has existed for many generations in England. Tristram Coffin, the founder of the American branch, was the son of Peter and Joan (Them- ber or Thumber) Coffin, of Brixton, Devon- shire, and a grandson of Nicholas Coffin of that place, who died in 1613. Tristram Coffin, born probably at Brixton, about 1605, married Dionis Stevens. He came to New England with his widowed mother and his family in 1642. After residing successively in Haverhill, Newbury, and Salisbury, he finally, about 1660, settled at Nantucket, where he died in 1681, and where some of his descendants live at this day. Mr. Coffin has in his possession a copy of the commission, dated June 29, 1671, granted by Francis Lovelace, Governor of New York, to Tristram Coffin to be chief magistrate over the islands of Nantucket and Tuckernuck.
Mr. Coffin's grandfather, Peter G. Coffin, was born in Hudson, N. Y., on July 30, 1794. For many years he owned and ran boats be- tween Catskill and Albany. He died on De- cember 5, 1858. He was three times mar- ried. His second wife, the grandmother of P. Gardiner Coffin, was before her marriage Lucy O. Green. She was born in Athens, N. Y., on November 1, 1793, and died there on February 7, 1834, having been the mother of only one child, Uriah H. Both she and her husband were Episcopalians.
Uriah H. Coffin was born on May 30, 1831. He was brought up in Athens, Greene County,
N. Y., removed to Catskill, and engaged in grocery business there. He was captain for a time of the "P. G. Coffin" that ran be- tween Albany and Catskill, and later he ran on the boats plying between New York and Catskill. After being engaged in the boating business for some years, he removed to White- hall, N. Y. He enlisted during the Civil War, was commissioned as Captain of a com- pany in the One Hundred and Twentieth Regi- ment, and remained in the service until the close of the war, being Quartermaster of the regiment, on the staff of Colonel George H. Sharp. Some time after being mustered out, he received an appointment in the post-office in New York City, and is now in charge of the record department of the registration office. In politics he is a Republican. His first wife, the mother of P. Gardiner Coffin, died at the age of thirty-five, having borne him three children. Of these the living are : Charles G., who is in the insurance business in this town; and P. Gardiner. The second wife was before her marriage Emma Johnson. She was born in Whitehall, N. Y. She is the mother of two sons now living - Arthur and Robert Coffin.
P. Gardiner Coffin lost his mother when he was an infant. He was born and brought up in Catskill, and has been a resident of this village all his life. In 1876 he was appointed Deputy Postmaster of the town; and, after filling that office in a most creditable manner for six years, he entered the Catskill National Bank as a general clerk. In a short time he was appointed teller, in 1889 he was made
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assistant cashier, and in 1896 was promoted to his present position of cashier, being also a member of the board of directors. This bank was organized in 1812, and is one of the old- est banks, not only in the State, but in the United States, and has a proud history. A sketch of Mr. Coffin appears on page 552, and his portrait on page 191, of the work recently issued, entitled "Prominent Bankers of America."
From 1885 to 1891 Mr. Coffin was inter- ested with his brother in conducting a large general insurance business. In 1888 he helped to organize the Catskill Building and Loan Association, and he has since been its treasurer and one of its directors. For twelve years he was treasurer of Catskill village. In politics he is a Republican. He was elected Supervisor of the town in 1896, and again in 1898 to serve one year; but by a change in the law he will continue in office until 1900. In 1898 he served as chairman of the board. For many years he was a leading member of the Republican county committee, and he was its chairman for a year. His activity in pro- moting the best interests of the village has been unceasing, and his townsmen award him due credit for his disinterested efforts. He is well known in both town and county, and highly respected.
Mr. Coffin was married on November 9, 1887, to Ida Brown, who was born in Peta- luma, Cal. Her father, Captain John Brown, formerly interested in the boating business on the Hudson and a resident of Catskill, now resides in California. He removed to that
State in 1849, and was for many years with the Southern Pacific Railroad Company as master mariner in their steamboat service be- tween San Francisco and Oakland. He has now retired from business. Mrs. Coffin fre- quently visits her family in California. She has made the overland journey eight times, Mr. Coffin accompanying her once. In 1883 she and her mother were in the railway dis- aster at Tehachepi, Southern California, where eleven out of twenty-three persons in one car were killed. In this accident Mrs. Coffin sustained injuries which kept her in the hos- pital for several months, and the injuries of her mother were of such a serious character that she never fully recovered from their effects. Mrs. Brown is now deceased. She was a woman of unusual literary attainments, and was the author of a work on botany. It was through her efforts that the library in Alameda, Cal., was established. Her maiden name was Helen Walter. She was born in Catskill, daughter of William Walter, for many years a leading merchant here. For a time she lived in the family of Captain Hugh Taylor. Mrs. Coffin is the only daughter in a family of four children. Her eldest brother Thomas is manager of the Western Union Telegraph at Reno, Nev. William Brown, second brother, is travelling freight and pas- senger agent of the Great Northern Railroad Company of California. George W. Brown, another brother, is in the Wells & Fargo Ex- press Company
Mr. and Mrs. Coffin have three children - Charles G., Robert E., and Helen M. Mr.
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Coffin is a member of Catskill lodge of Masons, and chairman of Finance Committee. He has held membership in the Dutch Re- formed church for many years.
RANKLIN CLAPPER, the well-known merchant of Mackey's Corners, Gilboa, N. Y., is a native of this town. He was born on May 4, 1863, and is the only son of Philip and Betsy (Robinson) Clapper. The family is known to be of German descent, and it is believed that Mr. Clapper's great-great-grand- father was its first representative in America.
His great-grandfather, Henry P. Clapper, came to Gilboa from Coeymans, this State, about 1815, and settled in the north part of the town, then in Broome. He took up a tract of about a hundred and forty acres of wild land, and built first a log cabin and later a frame house. He felled the first trees, and did all the clearing. This farm is still owned by one of the family, a grandson of the pioneer. Henry P. Clapper died on the farm in 1849, at the age of eighty. His wife, whom he had married in Coeymans, died some years before he did. They had three sons - Sylvester, Silas, and George; and four daughters - Sarah, Peggy, Polly, and Harriet. George resided at the homestead. Silas settled in another part of the town.
Sylvester Clapper, grandfather of Franklin, was born in Coeymans in 1802, and died in September, 1884. He came to Gilboa with his parents when about thirteen years of age, and in time settled upon a portion of the home-
stead farm, where he spent the remainder of his life. He acquired some two hundred acres of land. In religion he was a Baptist of the old school. Politically, he was a strong Dem- ocrat, and a leader in his party in this vicin- ity, though he never sought office for himself. As a business man, he was shrewd and far-see- ing. Ilis judgment was much deferred to by his fellow-citizens. His wife, whose maiden name was Louisa Ryder, was born in 1807, and died in 1891. Iler ancestors were of Ger- man descent, and came here from Columbia County. The children of Sylvester Clapper were: Philip, Henry, John, and George M. John, who remained on the homestead farm, died in 1885. George M went to Michigan in 1883. Henry B. is a very prosperous farmer in Albany County. He is married, and has four children. Sylvester Clapper was interested in the turnpike road between North Blenheim and Potter's Hollow, and together with Mr. Tibbits was instrumental in securing the legislation under which it was built.
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