USA > New York > Broome County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Broome County, New York. > Part 14
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At the present time the business done amounts to about eighteen thousand dollars per year, and furnishes employment to about fifteen hands. It is one of the sound and substantial business enterprises of Deposit, and has done much to advance the prosperity and enhance the progress of the village. Mr. Minor is also closely connected with other flourishing business enterprises. Among them he owns, in company with his brother, A. P. Minor, the Deposit Marble Works, which they pur- chased together in 1884. He also owns two farms, which come under his management, and is besides the administrator of quite a large estate. IIe is also a stockholder and present Treasurer of the Deposit Water- works, and takes an active interest in most of the matters that concern the welfare of the village and the surrounding country.
Mr. James S. Minor married Miss Mary E. Burrows, daughter of Henry Burrows, whose father was Hubbard Burrows, a native of Con- necticut and a pioneer of Delaware County. Henry Burrows was a lifelong resident of Deposit. The maiden name of his wife, mother of Mrs. Minor, was Cynthia Smith. She was a daughter of James Smith, and was born in April, Ist, in Cortland County, New York. Mr. and Mrs. Minor are the parents of eight children now living, namely : George H., a graduate of Hamilton College at Clinton, N. Y., and now Assistant Professor of Mathematics in the North-western Uni- versity at Evanston, Ill .; William B., a grad- uate of the Philadelphia Dental College, practising in Deposit : Henrietta J., a gradu-
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ate of the Normal School at New Paltz, N. Y., and now a teacher in Deposit; James A., a Senior at Hamilton College; Harriet M., now in her second year at Smith College, North- ampton, Mass. ; Ralph, a graduate of Deposit Union School, who will enter college in the fall of 1894; Clark and Edith, now attending the Deposit Union School. Mr. Minor takes a deep interest in educational matters, and, as will be seen, is taking pains to secure to his children that advanced cultivation of the in- tellectual faculties that will place them in a position to grasp the best of life's opportuni- ties, and fit them for taking a part and per- forming good service in the highest spheres of human activity. He has been largely instru- mental in raising the standard of the schools in Deposit and in the establishment of the present admirable system.
Politically, Mr. Minor is a Republican, and indorses the national platform of that party. In religion he is a Presbyterian of broad and liberal views. He is one of the most influential members of that church in Deposit, is very active in church work, and is at present Deacon and Treasurer in the church of his choice, toward the building of which he contributed- liberally of his means. lle has also assisted in the construction and establishment of other Protestant churches, and has not been found wanting when called upon to give both moral and financial aid to benevolent and Christian enterprises of vari- ous kinds. His life has been one of industry and active exertion; and all his labors have been directed by a high moral sense of re-
sponsibility to himself, to humanity, and to God. He has ever borne the Golden Rule in mind in his dealings with his fellow-men, and has so won their confidence and esteem. The publishers take much satisfaction in present- ing with this brief narrative of Mr. Minor's career a more graphic representation of his personality as depicted in the accompanying portrait, feeling sure that it will be appreci- ated by the readers of this volume.
AFAYETTE BILBY, an enterprising agriculturist of the town of Sanford, Broome County, N. Y., was born on April 27, 1856, in a humble log cabin about one mile from where his present handsome dwelling stands. His parents, Gaius Halsey and Miranda (Van Horn) Bilby, were natives of Delaware County. His paternal grand- father, Joseph Bilby, was also a native of that county, being by occupation a farmer, and dying there at an advanced age. Gaius Bilby, after reaching the age of manhood, removed to Broome County, and worked out for four dollars a month in the town of San- ford. He was economical and industrious, ; and saved enough from his wages to purchase . ninety-six acres of land, for which he paid three dollars per acre. In addition to farm- ing, which he carried on all his life, owning about five hundred and fifty acres of land at one time, he dealt also in lumber. He has divided his farms among his sons, and now, at the age of sixty-seven years, lives, retired from business, at North Sanford. Mr. Bilby
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was twice married; and six children were born to him, namely: Mrs. Laura Baskerville, of Delaware County; Charles, of Deposit, N.Y .; Lafayette, of Sanford; Dewitt, of Masonville, Delaware County; Emmerson and Ernest, also of Sanford. The father is a Re- publican in his politics.
Lafayette Bilby grew to manhood in the town of Sanford, and was educated in the dis- triet schools of this place. He early turned his attention to farming, and assisted in clearing much of his father's land, and was also engaged in the lumber business, running his rafts down the Delaware to Philadelphia, where they were sold. He resides on the old Samuel Bilby farm, which now consists of two hundred and fifty acres, he having just dis- posed of one hundred and seventy acres. On this place he conducts a good dairy farm, keeping from thirty to forty head of Holstein cattle; and the average product per day is about two hundred quarts of milk, which he sells. Mr. Bilby has a herd of some thirty head of sheep, which he finds a paying in- vestment. He is a progressive and enterpris- ing farmer, and everything about his place is neat and substantial. In 1885 he built his present comfortable residenct, in which he and his wife enjoy the comforts of modern life and dispense a cordial hospitality to a numerous circle of pleasant friends and neighbors.
Mr. Bilby was married December 22, 1875, to Miss Martha Smith, whose parents, Louis and Hannah (Tarbox) Smith, resided in Iowa. Iler father was a farmer, and died at the age
of forty-five years. Her mother passed the last years of her life in the home of Mrs. Bilby, dying here when she was seventy-seven years old. Mr. and Mrs. Bilby are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at North Sanford, of which they are liberal and earnest supporters and active in its charitable works. Mr. Bilby is one of the most extensive farmers in this vicinity, is energetic and industrious ; and his successful career makes him an authority in all matters pertaining to agriculture. He is a member of the Farmers' Grange at Deposit, and is connected with the Republican party in politics.
REMONT L. WIIITAKER, an industri- ous and enterprising young farmer of the town of Binghamton, N. Y., was born in the town of Jessup, Susquehanna County, Pa., November 18, 1863. 1Ic is a grandson of the late Clark H. Whitaker, a sturdy citi- zen of Vermont, who removed from the Green Mountain State to Pennsylvania, taking up a tract of land in Bradford County, and there carrying on farming, besides his trade of car- penter. Later .in life he removed to New York State, where he died at the age of eighty-seven.
Sylvester S. Whitaker; son of Clark, and the father of Fremont, was born in Pennsyl- vania, and received his education in the dis- trict schools. Ile resided with his father, assisting him in the care of the farm, and removed with him to the State of New York. In 1893 Sylvester S. Whitaker bought a farm
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in Port Crane, N. Y., where he still resides. llis wife before marriage was Miss Osee Me- Kecby; and four children were born to them, namely: Fremont L .; Adelbert; Susy, who died at the age of twenty-two; and Matthew. The mother died on February 19, 1887, aged fifty-two years. Having finished his educa- tion in the public schools, Fremont L. Whit- aker chose farming for his life occupation. He first worked for his father for two years.
In 1886 he was married to Miss Clara Powers, daughter of F. W. Powers, of the town of Worcester, Otsego County, N. Y., and went to the farm of his father-in-law, where he remained two years more. He then accepted a position on the large farm in Broome County of Henry A. Sheldon, a resi- dent of Binghamton, N. Y., and remained there for three years. In 1892 he purchased his present farm, where he carries on a pro- ductive and paying business. In their beau- tiful home Mr. and Mrs. Whitaker have their domestic life made doubly happy by the pres- ence of two lovely children, Everett and Irving.
Although but thirty years of age, Mr. Whitaker has already illustrated in his life the results of ambitious and energetic indus- try. From his earliest years he has not been afraid of work; and his consequent prosperity has been, under Providence, the result of his steady application. He and his wife are con- sistent, faithful members of the Methodist church. Mr. Whitaker's first vote was cast in the ranks of the Republican party, and he has since advocated its interests and its prin-
ciples on every occasion offered. Most espe- cially does he prove his loyalty to his party in doing his duty as a citizen at the polls. In his married life, his wife being a lady of pleasing qualities of mind and character, and blessed with a happy disposition, Mr. Whit- aker has been especially fortunate; and to her interest and help in his affairs he owes much of his present prosperity.
A® RTHUR H. DOOLITTLE, A.B., ar- chitect, contractor, and builder, was born in Ouaquaga, Broome County, N. Y., August 23, 1853, son of Warren and Lucinda (Wooster) Doolittle .. His great- great-grandfather came to this county from Connecticut, and was one of the most enter- prising and intelligent of the pioneers who settled in these parts. Warren Doolittle and his father were farmers and lumbermen, being particularly successful in the latter business, and were well-to-do men of their town. Mrs. 'Lucinda W. Doolittle was a native of Broome County, and she and her husband still live on the home farm. Their son Arthur received his elementary education in the common schools of the neighborhood, going later to Oberlin College, where he was graduated as A.B. in 1872. He came to Binghamton, N.Y., and engaged in carpentering, taking a position as foreman with A. W. Reynolds, as he desired to learn the practical part of contracting and building. This was about 1878, as he had remained on the farm for a few years after finishing school before decid-
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ing on his line of work. He remained with Mr. Reynolds for seven years, and in 1885 began business for himself as a contractor and builder.
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He erected many of the prominent build- ings in Binghamton, N. Y., and its vicinity, and early in 1892 opened an office as archi- tect. During the busy season he employs from fifteen to twenty skilled workmen. By his own energy and ability Mr. Doolittle has become one of the solid, successful business men of Binghamton, a citizen who stands high in the favor of all with whom he has dealings, being thoroughly upright and hon- est. He is a member of the Improved Order of Red Men. Mr. Doolittle's office is Room 26, Ross Block. He and his wife, who was Miss Fronia Mayo, of Ouaquaga, are active and devoted members of the First Presbyte- rian Church.
AJOR FREDERICK M. HAL- LOCK, who received his title for gallant and meritorious services on the field of battle in the nation's hour of peril, is now, after having been for some years actively engaged in business in differ- ent places, residing in Binghamton, N. Y., at No. 3 River Terrace. He was born in Col- linsville, Lewis County, N. Y., November 2, 1840, a son of George and Cynthia (Carter) Hallock. His paternal grandfather, Rufus Hallock, was one of the pioneer farmers of Lewis County, and a man of excellent educa- tion, having been graduated at Yale College. lle was an uncle of Major-General Hallock,
of the United States Army. He had consider- able influence in the country, . and assisted materially in its social and political devel- opment. The family trace their ancestry to Peter Hallock, who appears to have cast his lot with the American colonists as early as 1640, IIallock's Neck, L.I., being named after him. Peter Hallock, who was in his day a wealthy man, loaned the government money, and received a deed for a large tract of land on Long Island.
George Hallock, son of Rufus, was a prom- inent contractor and builder. He removed to Little Lakes, N. Y., where he lived twelve years, and while there served as County Clerk of Herkimer County. He died at his home in Lewis County, while his son Frederick was yet in school. The youth received a fair edu- cation at Lowville, Lewis County, N.Y .; but, unfortunately, the death of his father interfered to some extent with his opportuni- ties for study. In 1859 he came to Bingham- ton, and engaged as clerk for Kelley, Ilallock & Cook, who were in the dry-goods trade, remaining thus employed until the breaking out of the Civil War, when he assisted in recruiting Company A, One Hundred and Thirty-seventh Regiment, New York Volun- teer Infantry, going into the service as Sec- ond Lieutenant. They started out in the spring of 1862, and were a part of the Army of the Potomac. He saw hard service and a good deal of it, participating in many battles, among them the following: Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, White Oak Church, Mine Run, Wilderness, Gettysburg, and Bcaleton
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Station. He was promoted to the position of First Lieutenant of Company E, One Hun- dred and Thirty-seventh Regiment, acting as Adjutant during the battle of Chancellors- ville. He was appointed to a position on the staff of General Robinson, and was with him during the war, being in the service three years and three months. He was offered by Governor Seymour, during a flag presentation at Albany, the Colonelcy of the Seventeenth Cavalry. At Gettysburg he was captured by the Confederates, but succeeded in making his escape. At the close of the war he was brevetted Major, and returned to his home, having taken part in one of the greatest con- flicts the world has ever known.
Upon his return from the army Major Hal- lock first engaged in business at Saginaw, Mich., where he remained three years, then, returning to Binghamton, took up the cloth- ing trade, which he continued for thirteen years. When oil was discovered at Bradford, l'a., he became largely interested there, and was the first man who struck a paying well at Olean, N. Y. He continued actively and ex- tensively engaged in the oil business for sev- eral years, and still retains some interest and owns some land in the oil districts. He made money, and has travelled extensively, both in this country and abroad. He was at the Sandwich Islands when "my Commis- sioner Blount " pulled down the American flag without being shot on the spot. During the last year he has been a Trustee of the Binghamton Board of Trade and a Director in the North Side Elmira Street Railroad. Ile
was married January 15, 1868, to Josephine Eaton, of Detroit, Mich. They have one daughter, Helen Eaton Hallock.
A LEXANDER McDOWELL, Eso., a retired attorney of Whitney's Point, N. Y., was born in Otsego County, at Huntsville, now Otsego, November 29, 1820. llis paternal grandfather, who was. born in Scotland, emigrated to America dur- ing the French war, when a young man, and became the father of a very large family. His son Robert, the father of our subject, was born in Albany County, 1773, and died in the town of Lisle, Broome County, in 1852, aged seventy-nine.
Robert MeDowell married Margaret Wiles, who was born on the Mohawk in 1780. The family moved to Lisle in 1838. She died that year, leaving five children, of whom four were sons, Alexander being the youngest child, and now the only survivor of the fam- ily. The first to answer the summons of death was Henry, a farmer of Cicero, Onon- daga County, who died when past middle life, leaving a widow and one daughter. George McDowell died in Marathon, at fifty-two years, leaving a widow and five children, . three of whom were sons. Christopher John McDowell was a lawyer of ability, who died at Liberty, Steuben County, in August, 1877, at sixty-six, leaving a valuable estate to his widow, three sons, and two daughters. He was a Republican after its birth from the Whig party, and held the office of District
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Attorney several terms. Eliza, the only daughter, widow of Henry Glower, died in Minnesota in the winter of 1891, leaving eight children, all in comfortable circum- stances. Her husband died in Troupsburg.
The early life of Alexander McDowell was one of constant labor and continual hardship. He attended the district school in his boyhood, and was a good student. Soon after his mother's death he left home, and worked at farming by the month. He had inherited much of the spirit and self-reliance of his sturdy Scotch ancestry; and, as hope and ambition spurred him on through difficulties that would seem insurmountable to the aver- age youth, he felt that there was no such word as "fail." He was first employed on the farm of Pardon Howland at ten dollars per month. The whole year around he was kept hauling lumber. His day's work began at four in the morning, and was seldom over before nine in the evening. IIe saw no fire in the daytime, except on Sundays; and his feet were frozen several times that winter. He was given no dinner; but, through cold and dreariness and hunger, he struggled on, determined to con- quer his hard fortune. Ile next worked for II. McCall at farm labor for thirteen dollars per month. He remained with Mr. McCall four years, and found him a kind employer; and, from the length of his stay, it is to be concluded that Mr. McCall was well satisfied with his work.
While working there, young McDowell bor- rowed a law book of a Justice of the Peace, and became deeply interested in the study of
law. Ile bought the borrowed book for seventy-five cents, and soon afterward bought three more law books, and improved every spare moment, night and day, in applying himself to the study of his small but precious library. His first case was July 7, 1843, in the Justice Court, while he was yet a farm laborer -a civil suit, in which he was for the plaintiff, and obtained a verdict of twenty-four dollars and fifty cents. But few knew that he was studying law up to this time, and this success gave him a reputation at once. The next year he was examined at Binghamton by Judge Griswold and Osborne Birdsall and a third lawyer, and was admitted to the Broome County courts. September 5, 1848, he was examined under the new law, and was ad- mitted to every court in the State. All of this time he was his own teacher. From that time up to 1883, a period of forty years, Mr. McDowell was in constant practice. About the latter date he closed up the cases he had on hand, and has taken no cases since, being satisfied to retire after so long a service. ITe was in the Democratic ranks up to 1885, and since then he has been identified with the Prohibitionists. He has generally escaped office, and has the honor of being on the Pro- hibition ticket for the Assembly.
Mr. McDowell was married March 9, 1843, to Miss Susan Howell, of Delaware County. She died December 1, 1882, at seventy-three, without issue. Ile was again married Sep- tember, 1883, to Miss Mary E. Burt, of Lisle, only child of Jairus and Miriam (Ogden) Burt. Her father died in 1847.
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Iler mother remained a widow. She still survives, though quite feeble, at seventy-eight years of age, and resides with her daughter. Nine years ago Mr. McDowell purchased of Mrs. Seymour the fine home which the family now occupy. He has owned many different farms in this vicinity, and has a good one in Nanticoke.
Mr. McDowell has never used tobacco or strong drink in any form. He belongs to no society, and has subscribed to no creed; and, though he started out without any cash capi- tal, and at seventeen years of age even pur- chased his time of his father, for which he paid two hundred and fifty dollars, he has been variously estimated to be worth from thirty thousand to forty thousand dollars. He is considered a thoroughly conscientious and upright man in public and private life, as well as one of the most wealthy men of this place. 'Having retired from active business after a long, useful, and honorable career, he is now, in his seventy-fourth year, in the perfect enjoyment of all his faculties, and of an enviable reputation. Ile is a gentle- man of stately presence and manners, at once dignified and pleasing. By the assiduities of his estimable wife, the home is made attrac- tive and life cheerful.
LARENCE M. BLOOMER, a promi- nent dry-goods dealer of Binghamton, doing business at 140 Washington Street, was born April 1, 1862. His father, Alva Bloomer, was born near Carmel Village,
Putnam County, N. Y., April 18, 1827, and was a son of Coles Bloomer, who was born in North Salem, Westchester County, N. Y., March 2, 1795. Coles Bloomer married Louise Ferris, whose birth occurred in Patter- son, Putnam County, N. Y., August 18, 1802. They removed from Westchester to Putnam County, and from there to Broome County in the winter of 1836, making the journey over- land with teams. Mr. Bloomer purchased a farm near the present site of Lester Shire, and resided there many years, later removing to Binghamton, where he died at the age of fifty-nine, highly respected by a large circle of friends. His wife's death occurred Sep- tember 20, 1881. They reared twelve chil- dren, who became useful and active members of the community.
Alva Bloomer received his education in the common schools, and at the old Binghamton Academy, and in 1847 commenced the work of life by engaging as a clerk in the employ of B. F. Sisson & Co., dry-goods dealers. Ile remained in this establishment four years, after which he went into business for himself, opening in 1851 a general store at No. 62-64 Court Street, Binghamton. In 1856 he sold out the business, and started for California via the isthmus. He engaged in mining, and was the Postmaster at Marysville, Cal., for - two years. After four years of successful en- terprise and industry at that place he returned to Binghamton, and once more engaged in the dry-goods business, which he continued until the autumn of 1868, when he retired for a while from active affairs. In 1870 Mr.
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Bloomer again engaged in the dry-goods busi- ness, conducting it on the retail plan until 1883, when he commenced a wholesale trade, which soon assumed considerable dimensions, giving employment to several commercial travellers and being extended throughout Southern New York and Northern Penn- sylvania.
On July 14, 1861, Mr. Alva Bloomer mar- ried Miss Julia Munsell, daughter of George Munsell, who was a native of New London, Conn., and was a pioneer of Binghamton, at one time owning a large tract of land now included within the city limits. He built the first frame house in the city, its site being where the Hotel Bennett is now lo- cated; and also the second, which was erected on the spot that afterward became the site of the old Opera House. He died in April, 1863. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary Curtis, was born in Oblong, N. Y .; and her death occurred in May, 1862. Alva Bloomer was a quiet and unassuming man, of simple tastes, attentive to business, and care- ful in the performance of his duties as a man and citizen. He served the city as a member of the Board of Health; and his death, which took place November 24, 1891, caused sorrow in many hearts. Ile and his wife were the parents of but one child, whose name heads the present sketch.
Clarence M. Bloomer received his educa- tion in the public schools of Binghamton, and after his studies were completed went into business with his father, after his father's death taking charge of the business as heir
and administrator. The establishment of which he is the head occupies two floors one hundred feet deep, and gives employment to ten clerks, being one of the most substantial business firms of its kind in the city. Mr. Bloomer is an energetic and popular young man, who is making his mark in business circles, and has an extended acquaintance among the best young men of his city. He is a member of Alert Hose Company, No. 2, of which he has been Treasurer for a number of years, and, having served the allotted term, is now exempt from active duty. He resides with his mother in a handsome home at No. 87 Front Street, the spot being one of the most desirable residence locations in the city. Mrs. Bloomer is a refined and cultured lady, of high standing in social circles, and is an active member of Christ Episcopal Church. Both she and her son take a keen interest in all that concerns the physical and moral wel- fare of the community, and are numbered among Binghamton's most esteemed residents.
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