USA > New York > Broome County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Broome County, New York. > Part 25
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On' leaving that, he succeeded the Rev. William H. Olin, D.D., as presiding elder of the Wyoming District, the most important one of the conference, as it includes from forty-four to forty-six charges,. among them the cities of Wilkesbarre and Scranton, Pa. His duties being to hold quarterly services in each church, he ordinarily held three quar- terly meetings every Sunday. Among other good results of his leadership were the in- crease of ministers' salaries, the enlargement of benevolent and church work, new and im- proved churches and parsonages. This term of service was for four years; and he retained his home in West Pittston, giving him a resi- dence of seven years in that delightful town. At the close of his term in the district he went to Kingston, the seat of the conference seminary. He was there only two years, when an imperative call from the Central Church at Wilkesbarre came for him. The "Kingston people protested strongly against his removal, his relations with them and the faculty of the seminary being so cordial and pleasant and to himself so enjoyable; but the Bishop, feeling that he was needed at Wilkesbarre, appointed him to that charge. lle remained there for four years, and was then, in April, 1891, unexpectedly appointed to the Tabernacle Church of Binghamton, N.Y., to which charge he was returned in ... 1893. The accessions to the church have been remarkable by conversions of over one hundred and forty persons. The pastor takes
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great interest in the Sunday-school, in which he teaches the Bible class. Mr. Griffin rep- resented the Wyoming Conference at the General Conference held in 1884 at Philadel- phia, and at Omaha in 1892. He was for a number of years a Trustee of Wyoming Conference Seminary, and for several years has been a member of the Board of Confer- ence Trustees and its Secretary. He has worked for thirty-three years in the confer- ences consecutively, has answered to his
name at the roll-call of each, has never taken a vacation to exceed two consecutive Sab- baths, and has not been a Sunday away from his congregations in thirty-three years, except when attending General Conference. He has received a number of invitations to transfer his services to other conferences, but has re- solved to finish his work where he has labored for so many years.
The following "Retrospect," from the pen of the Rev. HI. R. Clarke, D. D., of Bingham- ton, will be of interest in this connection : "In the fall and- winter of 1872-73 a few of the members of the Centenary Church started a prayer-meeting on the west side of the Chenango River, in what was then known as Miss Ingall's School-room .on Front Street, a few doors north of Main. The interest of these meetings increased, and thus became a nucleus for the Methodists in the western part of the city. This movement soon ri- pened into an organization of the Second Methodist Episcopal Church in Binghamton. Around what spot the projected organization should gather and locate was a matter of con-
siderable interest. A providential opening was obtained of a lot on the south side of Main Street and east of Arthur Street. The lot is one hundred and thirty-seven feet on Main Street and two hundred and twelve feet on Arthur Street. The price paid was twelve thousand dollars. There was a small house on the south end of the lot, since enlarged and adapted to the immediate needs of the parsonage. In the spring of 1873 application to the Annual Conference held in Waverly, N. Y., Bishop Ames presiding, for a distinct church appointment, though against' strong remonstrances, was successfully made; and the Rev. A. D. Alexander was appointed the first pastor of the Main Street Church. A tempo- rary structure called the Tabernacle was erected. It was eighty by thirty feet and twelve feet high. It was placed on the ex- treme east side of the lot, so as not to inter- fere with the erection of a more permanent structure at a future time on the central por- tion of the same. Six hundred chairs were provided. The Tabernacle was the scene of great harmony and zeal, and many were here added to the church. The charge began with about forty members, but at the end of the first year there were two hundred and twenty- nine members and one hundred and sixty-five on probation. The prosperity of the church financially has been more than satisfactory : it has been phenomenal. The church property has risen from thirteen thousand five hundred in 18So to seventy thousand in 1892. The indebtedness is less now than when the church was first organized. The membership of the
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church, including probationers, during the twelve years has risen from two hundred and fifty-six to seven hundred and forty-five, be- sides about one hundred removed to Clinton Street and Lester Shire. To be more particu- lar, during the three years' incumbency of the Rev. A. D. Alexander the number reported rose from nothing in 1873 to three hundred and eighty in 1876. During the three years of the Rev. Thomas Harroun they fell to two hundred and seventy-seven in 1879. During the three years of the Rev. J. B. Sumner they rose to three hundred and sixty-two in 1882. During the two years of the Rev. E. Caswell they rose to four hundred and sixty-seven in 1884. During the two years of the Rev. A. L. Smalley they rose to five hundred and fifteen in 1886. During the five years of the Rev. G. M. Colville they rose to six hundred and seventy-nine in 1891. During the one year of the Rev. Austin Griffin they rose to seven hundred and forty-one in 1892, besides the transfer of one hundred or more to Clin- ton Street and Lester Shire during the year 1891. Great hopes are now indulged by the members and friends of the Tabernacle Church from the promise of help by the Ep- worth League in promoting the spirituality and increasing the interest and the member- ship of the church. May God bless the Tab- ernacle Church, and increase her piety and numbers ! "
The Rev. Austin Griffin was married Feb- ruary 1, 1857, to Miss Rosalie O. La Moure, of East Worcester, Otsego County, N. Y., daughter of Isaac L. and Orillie La Moure.
The La Moure family, as the name indicates, were of French origin. The father was a prominent man in Worcester, being Super- visor for a number of years of his town, and previous to the time of his residence in Worcester was a merchant in Albany, N.Y. He afterward returned to Worcester, where he retired from business, remaining there until his death. Mr. and Mrs. Griffin have one son, A. La Moure, living in Binghamton. He was educated in the Wyoming Seminary. The Rev. Austin Griffin is a man of more than ordinary ability in his chosen field; a devoted pastor, beloved by his congregations ; a gentleman of cultivation and refinement, esteemed by his brother ministers and re- spected by his fellow-citizens.
Since the foregoing sketch was written the Rev. Mr. Griffin has accepted the position of Agent of the Preachers' Aid Society of the Wyoming Conference, to which, at the ear- nest request of the conference at its recent' meeting, early in the present year, 1894, he was appointed by Bishop Hurst. The pur- pose is to raise a fund of one hundred thou- sand dollars to be permanently invested for the benefit of worn-out preachers and the widows and orphans of deceased preachers. The movement is strongly indorsed and sus -. tained by the Hon. William Connell, of Scranton, Pa., and other wealthy Methodists of the conference. It was the general con- viction that no other man in the conference ... was so well qualified to have charge of this work as Mr. Griffin, who was one of the founders of the society and. has its interests
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very much at heart, and who is acquainted with the entire conference. He will continue to reside in Binghamton.
AMES W. LYON, who has been for many years connected with the Fire Department of Binghamton, N. Y., be- ing now a member of the Board of Commis- sioners, was born on Asylum Hill, September 5, 1838, a son of Isaac D. and Ruth Lyon. His father came many years ago from Putnam County to that place, where he purchased a tract of heavily timbered land, cleared up a farm, and established a home. lle subse- quently sold his property to the Inebriate Asylum, and a portion of the old farm now forms part of the site of the State Hospital. Mr. Lyon was a young man when he came to Binghamton, and took an active part in the development of the city. Ile witnessed its rapid growth, and took an interest in all movements for the public good. He died in 1870, having reared a family of nine children.
His son, James W., the subject of this sketch, received his education in the public schools and at the old Binghamton Academy, which then stood on the present site of the court-house. After leaving school, he found employment' as a clerk for his brother; but, this sphere of action being too circumscribed, he awaited his opportunity for making a change. Having his attention called to the attractions of the Pacific slope - the salubrity of the climate, rich mineral resources, and wide area of unexplored territory -he em-
barked in February, 1862, at New York, and, making the journey by way of the Isthmus of Panama, arrived in San Francisco in twenty- four days. He remained in that vicinity until the following spring, then went to l'ort- land, Ore., thence to Bannock City, Idaho, where there were some new camps, and then to Placerville. Here he found things suffi- ciently wild to suit his taste, and went to work at mining. After accumulating some money, he put his belongings on two pack animals and returned to Portland, where he engaged in the hotel business until 1865. Having had enough of frontier life, and feel- ing a longing for home, he returned to New York State, and engaged in the wholesale liquor business in Binghamton, the style of the firm being Lyon & Brother. He also went into the manufacture of the "Great Sanpurgat Bitters," placing the goods on the market without having secured a patent, and relying on their superior quality for increas- ing his sales. Ile still continues in this business, and has met with a large and grow- ing demand for his product throughout the State and elsewhere. Remaining in the wholesale liquor business until July, 1892, having for some time been exclusive proprie- tor and manager, he has since continued in the retail trade at that place.
From 1874 to 1876 Mr. Lyon was Assistant Engineer of the Fire Department, and in 1876 was elected Chief. Ile has also been President of the Exempt Firemen's Associa- tion, and was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Board of Fire Commissioners in July,
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1889, which position he still retains, having been reappointed in February, 1893. In social matters he is a member of the Anawam Tribe of Red Men. He married Miss Mary Kernan, daughter of Patrick Kernan, of Owego; and they are the parents of one child, Beulah R. Mr. Lyon is very well and favor- ably known in Binghamton, and is a man who lives up to his sense of duty in his relations with his fellow-men.
B RYAN O'LOUGHLIN was born in the city of Limerick, Ireland, 1835, son of Patrick and Ann (O'Connol!) O'Loughlin, of the same place. The father was a real estate owner, and derived his liv- ing from his rentals. In 1850 he came to America, and bought the farm now owned by his son Bryan in the town of Kirkwood, N. Y. The country was so wild and unsettled that, after purchasing his property, he had to set to work cutting down trees to make a road to his contemplated farm. The log house which he built then for his first home is still stand. ing, and is one of the antiquities of the town. Two years after he came to America his wife and son Bryan, whom he had sent for, arrived in Philadelphia on the vessel "Constitution," having been a month and one day making the voyage. They came immediately to the home Mr. O'Loughlin had prepared for them; and, as he was an aged man then, Bryan, having reached his fifteenth year, was compelled to assist in clearing the land and tilling the farm. As there was plenty of wild game at
this time in these forests, their table was royally supplied with venison and wild tur- keys; and, as long as their rifles obeyed their accurate aim, there was no danger of suffering from hunger. There were eight children born to Mr. and Mrs. O'Loughlin, three of whom are now living, namely : Mary, widow of Pat- rick Quirk, residing in Binghamton; Bryan; and John, living at Kirkwood. The father and mother lived to advanced old age, and died on the home farm, cared for and tended with filial love and devotion by their son Bryan. They were strict members of the Catholic church, and their home was often visited by the mission priest from Binghamton. Bryan O'Loughlin received a fair education in Ire- land, and, when he came to this country, was old enough to be of special assistance to his father in the management of the farm. Afterward he worked out by the month, re- ceiving only eight dollars per month for his labor. ITis first purchase of land was in part-' nership with his brother Patrick, and con- sisted of sixty acres. He and the heirs of this brother still own this tract, a separate one from the old home farm he had bought from his father, and on which he now resides. He has been a hard-working man, and now owns one hundred and fifteen acres, on which he- has put all the modern improvements; and, besides, cultivating his land, he manages a dairy of fine Holstein cattle.
When he was about thirty-five years of age,. .. Mr. Bryan O'Loughlin was married to Miss Ann McCabe, who was born in Ireland. Of the five children born to them, four are now
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living, namely: James, at present attending school in Niagara, N. Y .; Bernard, living in Owego, N. Y .; Mary, in Binghamton; and Anna, at home. The mother died in 1884, aged fifty-two years, serenely entering into rest fortified with all the graces and sacra- ments of the Catholic church, of which the family are devoted members.
Mr. O'Loughlin is politically a Democrat, and has been Assessor in his town for nine years. He is a man entirely devoid of osten- tation, although he has won success in all his undertakings. Industrious, economical, and of good judgment, he has prominently identi- fied himself with the growth of his town. His hospitality, with his genial and courteous manner, is proverbial; and in every respect he is considered a foremost and valuable citizen.
NDREW J. BUTLER, M.D., a promi- nent physician and surgeon of the town of Colesville, was born in Roxbury, Delaware County, N. Y., April 7, 1832. His parents were the Rev. Stephen W. and Mary (Nesbit) Butler. The father was born on Long Island, and the mother in England. The Doctor's paternal grandfather, John Butler, who was a resident of Long Island, removed to Delaware County among the carly settlers of that place, and there car- ried on general farming until his death, at the age of sixty-five years.
Of his five children, four are still living, and all of them over eighty years of age. They are: Stephen W .; Charles, living in
Fulton County, New York; Timothy, in Illi- nois; and William, in Schenevus, Otsego County, N. Y. The Rev. Stephen W. Butler has been a clergyman of the liberal Christian type for many years, and has been engaged in his profession in New York City for a time, and also in the southern tier of counties in New York State. He was born on November 5, 1804, and his wife in 1806. She died in 1889, aged eighty-three years. They moved to Ouaquaga about the year 1867, where Mr. Butler has resided ever since. Their family of four children grew to maturity, but only two are living at present: Dr. Andrew J. ; and Stephen W., Jr., a clergyman of the Congregational church and a resident of Omaha, Neb.
Our subject was educated in the seminary at Roxbury, his native town, and was a schoolmate of the late Jay Gould. After leaving school, he entered the office of Dr. Dexter, of Utica, N. Y., for the purpose of studying medicine. He was with this gentle- man for three years, and then attended the old Berkshire Medical College, from which he graduated. Besides the diploma of that insti- tution, he has three or four from other medical societies. When he left college; he located his office first at Chatham Four Corners, Columbia County, N. Y., where he remained three years. In December, 1864, he removed to West Colesville, Broome County, and was there for two years. Having received flat- tering calls to come to Ouaquaga, March 15, 1866, Dr. Butler opened an office here, and immediately entered into successful practice.
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He is now the senior physician in this vicin- ity, and his professional services extend over a large area of territory. He is a universal favorite, and his ministrations are sought for far and near; and his reputation as a reliable and careful practitioner is second to none in the county. Dr. Butler was married in 1853 to Miss Amanda Starks. She died in 1856, leaving one daughter, Addie, wife of William M. Francis. The Doctor was again married in 1865, his second wife being Miss Mary Jane Booth, who was born in Dutchess County, a daughter of Sylvester and Maria (Dutcher) Booth. Their union has been blessed with five children, three sons and two daughters, namely: Andrew J., living at Wells' Bridge, Otsego County, a successful physician of that place; Charles, a student of medicine in Albany College, New York State; Wright, a pupil in Windsor Academy; Carrie, Mrs. llerbert Cole, of Jersey City ; and Maud, at home. Mrs. Butler is Methodist Episcopal in her religious belief; while the Doctor is liberal in his views, and is not con- nected with any particular sect. Politically, Dr. Butler is strongly anchored in the Repub- lican party. He is a member of Ouaquaga Tribe, No. 94, Improved Order of Red Men, and also of the Broome County Medical Society.
HARLES E. SMITII, a useful and esteemed citizen of Binghamton, N.Y., comes from a long line of American patriots. It would seem from the family records that they were original settlers
in Long Island, and of German descent. The first authentic history shows that John Smith, the great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was a soldier of the Revolution, and that the grandfather, John Smith, Jr., served in the War of 1812, and, being captured by the British, was kept prisoner for some time. When peace was declared and he had returned to his home, he moved from Long Island to Pennsylvania, into a portion of the country which was an almost unbroken wilderness. lle went there with teams, and with his axe cut his way through the woods to make a road. He followed the trade of house carpenter, but found it exceedingly difficult to succeed, as there was but very little call for his services in that section; and he often had to travel ten and fifteen miles to find employment. He had sold his farm on Long Island, hoping to better his condition by going into the new country of Pennsylvania. He died at the age of eighty-seven. Ilis father, the Revolution- ary hero, died at the age of ninety-three.
John H. Smith, son of John Smith, Jr., the father of our subject, was born in Wayne County, Pennsylvania, April 19, 1829, and became one of the prominent men of the town of Sherman. lle was for ten years Tax Col- lector of the place, and has filled different local offices. Ile served his country faith- fully in the late Civil War. Ile married Miss Sarah Travis, who was born at Hale's Eddy, Delaware County, N. Y., and - died when her son Charles E. was five months old. ller father, Gilbert Travis, was a pioneer on the banks of the Delaware River in New York
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State, and lived in the troublous times when they had to keep watch at night against the wolves and the equally dangerous Indian, who haunted their settlements. His wife was Miss Katherine Whittaker, of an old and well-known family of the State of New York.
Charles E., son of John HI. and Sarah (Travis) Smith, was born at Sherman, Wayne County, Pa., May 12, 1857, and received his elementary education in the district school of his county, and later attended the academy at Deposit, N.Y. Leaving school, he engaged as clerk in a store at Starrucca, Pa. He sub- sequently received the appointment of Post- master at Sherman, Pa., and held the office during the four years' administration of Presi- dent Hayes. He came to the city of Bing- hamton, N.Y., in the year 1881, and entered with C. D. Middlebrook as salesman in the wholesale and retail lumber yard, where for the past three years he has been foreman, with a force of twelve men under him. Since residing in Binghamton, Mr. Smith has twice held the office of official Inspector of Elec- tions, and was elected Alderman for the years of 1892-93, to represent the First Ward, by the largest majority ever polled in that ward. He served on the Committees of Ordinance, Printing, and Fire. While he was a resident of Sherman, he was Treasurer of the town, resigning that position when he removed to Binghamton.
On April 10, 1878, Mr. Smith married Miss Della Greenmun, daughter of Charles Greenmun, of Sherman, l'a., for many years Justice of the Peace, and now Postmaster of
that place. Her family have been identified with that town for over eighty years. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have had four children born to them, of whom only two survive; namely, May E. and Frederick Arthur. Mr. Smith built for himself in 1887 a handsome resi- dence, No. 35 Prospect Street. Politically, he is a Democrat, earnestly believing in the principles and traditions of the party, which he is ever ready faithfully to defend and to uphold. In his religious opinions he follows the faith of the Baptist church. In the fraternal orders Mr. Smith is a member of Thompson Lodge, No. 866, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Thompson, Pa., and of Wamsutta Tribe, No. 37, Improved Order of Red Men in Binghamton. Since his resi- dence in Binghamton Mr. Smith has proved himself a worthy and upright citizen, and both in the civic and business interests of the city has shown commendable activity and energy.
ENERAL JOSHUA WHITNEY, the enterprising and efficient agent of Mr. William Bingham, to whom the city of Binghamton owes its origin, was born in the town of Hillsdale, Columbia County, N.Y., August 24, 1773, son of Judge Joshua and Hannah (Greene) Whitney, and grandson of Thomas Whitney, who died in 1776. The emigrant ancestors of the family were John and Eleanor Whitney, who came from Eng- land to Massachusetts in the early half of the seventeenth century. Judge Whitney was born November 27, 1748, and died September
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26, 1793. His wife Hannah was born Sep- tember 14, 1748, and died August 17, 1793.
In 1787 Judge Joshua Whitney and his uncle, General William Whitney, with their families and their friend, Henry Green, lo- cated themselves on the west bank of the Chenango River, about two miles above its junction with the Susquehanna River, on what was afterward called Whitney's Flats. When they came from Hillsdale, the journey was made by wagons through a country where they found small settlements from three and four to thirty-five miles apart, and the roads only Indian trails, where they had to cut away the trees to allow their conveyances to pass. Where they settled, they were completely iso- lated, as their nearest neighbors were about forty miles distant, at Tioga Point.
In the year 1791 young Joshua was sent by his father to Philadelphia with a drove of cattle. The journey was made almost through a pathless wilderness, the difficulties being inereased by the straying away of his cattle from the places where they browsed at night. But he was fortunate in losing none; and after many weary weeks he reached his des- tination, and disposed of his stock. It was while in Philadelphia at this time that he became acquainted with Mr. Bingham, for whom he afterward became the agent of his large patent in Broome County. Two years later his father, on returning from Philadel- phia, where he had been to purchase goods, was stricken with yellow fever in a public house at a place called the Wind Gap. Word was immediately sent to Joshua, who arrived
just in time to close the eyes of his dying father, although the landlord and family strongly importuned him to avoid the risk of infection. The contagious nature of the dis- ease had frightened the inmates of the house to such an extent that the afflicted son was obliged to bury his father, with the aid of two negroes, at midnight of the same day. The children of Judge Whitney were as fol- Jows: Joshua; Sarah, Mrs. William Guthrie; Thomas, whose wife was Polly Gilbert ; John, who married Polly Bortles; Hannah, Mrs. Samuel Stowe; Lucy, Mrs. Franklin Morse; Olive, Mrs. Christopher Eldridge; Eben, who married Sally Greene; and William, whose wife was Charlotte Park.
l'rior to the year 1799 the village of Bing- hamton was not on the site where the city now stands. A small place called Chenango Village, about one mile above on the west side of the Chenango River, at the foot of l'rospect Hill, had made some progress ; but, when General Whitney became in the year 1800 the agent for Mr. Bingham, who owned the Bingham Patent, he concluded that the location now occupied by the city of Bing- hamton was a more advantageous one than that. The place he chose was more desirable because it was situated at the confluence of the two rivers, Chenango and Susquehanna, and was on the line of the great Western road which was just then opened; and, moreover, this was included in the Bingham Patent, as the former was not. He therefore did every- thing possible to divert the attention of set- tlers toward what he called the "rising
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