USA > New York > Broome County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Broome County, New York. > Part 26
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village "; and not only did he buy a number of buildings from the old village, but bore the expense of their removal to the new loca- tion. This incipient village was called Che- mango Point, but in time was corrupted into "Chenang P'int"; and even to this day the proud city of Binghamton is often jocularly referred to by that humble name. Under the direction of Mr. Bingham, General Whitney had the ground carly laid out into streets and lots. In the year 1801 he cleared a lot and built a handsome residence on Water Street, which stood there for many years. It may be a matter of interest to insert here a letter bearing date of February 21, 1800, of Mr. William Bingham, the owner of the patent, to General Whitney :-
Sir,- In consideration of the proposals you have made to me by which you engage to remove to the new town which I have laid out at the confluence of the rivers Chenango and Susquehanna, and in consideration of your exertions in extending the settlement of the town and your services in superintending and disposing of the land which belongs to me in the neighborhood, I readily accede to the proposition you made, and will convey to you the square on the plot of the town which you have preferred, and will dispose of two others to you on moderate terms for the pur- pose of immediate improvement. The Farm No. 37 in the vicinity of the town which you are desirous .of possessing I will sell you for the very low price of five dollars per acre, and I make this sacrifice as an additional incen- tive to benefit me by your service. I shall forward you a power of attorney to enable you to act for me, and request you to give every
information that can lead me to form a proper opinion on the subject of the property. I shall at the same time fix the compensation that I shall be willing to allow you for your trouble in making the sales of these lands. You must take care to prevent all lumber from being cut that is of a valuable kind.
Wishing you success in all your opera- tions, I am truly yours, etc.
WILLIAM BINGHAM.
TO MR. JOSHUA WHITNEY.
Another letter from Mr. Bingham to the same, dated August 20, 1800, and now in possession of General Whitney's great-grand- daughter, Miss Eliza Cameron Smith, con- tains the following, showing the interest that Mr. Bingham took in the new village: -
"I am happy to find that you are making such progress in procuring settlers, and that you have made such a handsome addition for building a court-house. I much approve of the institution of a library in your projected town, not only as a rational resource to the mind and furnishing agreeable occupation, but as inducing an attention to literary infor- mation and instruction, which is usually at- tended with an attachment to good principles of government. 1 shall either subscribe to this library or make it a present of a number of suitable books.".
For over forty years General Whitney was agent for the Bingham estate, and during all that time he discharged his duties with promptness and fidelity. In whatever posi- tion he was placed, he always proved himself adequate to the responsibility imposed upon him. It may safely be said that no other
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man in the county did so much for its settle- ment and the improvement of Binghamton as he did. He was the first Postmaster, being appointed to that trust by Postmaster-General Ilabersham, of Georgia. He kept the office at his own dwelling at Whitney's Flats, and he had the contract of carrying the mail from Catskill to this place. Ile was for a great many years one of the leading politicians of the State, was a member of Assembly from this county, was one of a committee of three with the late Judge Van Ness and Mr. Em- mett to whom was referred the subject of dissolving the Federal party. For many years his influence in this county was irresistible.
General Joshua Whitney was married twice. His first wife, Miss Rhoda Jewel, was born in 1774, and died January 21, 1823. To this marriage were born twelve children, namely: Pamela, born April 12, 1794; Vir- gil, February 5, 1797; Vincent, May 23, 1799; George, August 12, ISO1; Washington and Franklin, twins, July 22, 1803; Joshua, Jr., December 17, 1806; Rhoda, April 14, 1808; William, September 28, 1810; Mary, October 2, 1812; Charles, April 1, 1815; and Robert, April 21, 1818. In the marriage of Pamela Whitney, the eldest daughter, to Thomas G. Waterman, the union of two of the most prominent families of the village took place. Mr. Waterman was born in Feb- ruary of 1788, and died January 2, 1862. Eight children were born to this marriage, of whom Mrs. Rhoda E. White - who was the wife of Judge White, their home being the
handsome residence on South Front Street, where his sisters conducted a seminary for young ladies which was celebrated all over the United States - is a writer of much celeb- rity, and now resides in New York City. HIer daughter, the late lamented Mrs. Jennie C. (White) Del Bal, who died in New Gra- nada of yellow fever, falling a sacrifice to her humanity in caring for her servants stricken by the disease, was well known for her patri- otic efforts in the cause of the Union By request of President Lincoln, she wrote to him concerning the position of Americans in New Granada at that time; and it was through her efforts that the United States government did not withdraw their protec- tion, as was threatened.
Virgil Whitney married in ISI9 Miss Marcia Doty, a sister of the first wife of the IIon. John A. Collier. Four children were born to them, of whom Mrs. R. A. Ford is now the only survivor. For ninety-four years Virgil Whitney was a resident of Bingham- ton, and during that time, from 1823 to 1836, was Postmaster. Ile was highly re- spected, and was a lifelong Democrat. Vin- cent Whitney married Miss Susan Harper in I823. George married Miss Sophia Evans in 1824. Washington married Miss Caroline Park in 1826. Franklin married Miss Eliza Cameron in 1826. His grand-daughter, Eliza Cameron Smith, who is the twenty-second of the Whitney family, resides in this city: Joshua Whitney, Jr., receiving from his father the land whereon Richfield Springs were discovered, made his home therc, and
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managed the Spring House for twenty-five years. He died May 7, 1891, at the age of eighty-five years. Ilis wife, who was Miss Zarah Evans, survives him, and resides at the family seat known as Whitney Place at Bing- hamton. Rhoda died August 4, 1808.
William Whitney, having been in delicate health, visited the South, and while in Washington, D.C., met the famous Myra Clark, to whom he became engaged; and, in spite of her guardian's opposition, they were married, she having stolen away from her guardian's home, and, accompanied by her faithful servant, ridden forty miles to meet her lover. After his death she married Gen- eral Gaines. The remarkable series of law- suits to establish her claim on the city of New Orleans, commencing in 1826 and, end- ing in 1883, through which was woven a chain of the most romantic and thrilling cir- cumstances, form a part of the civil history of America. For fifty-seven years she made her plucky fight; and it is said that over two thousand lawyers were actively engaged at one time or another in this celebrated case, many fortunes being made of which this was the foundation. She gained her suit, the city of New Orleans being declared her debtor to the amount of two million dollars, with five per cent. interest until paid, with all costs. She died on January 9, 1885. Mary, the third daughter of General Whitney, lived and died unmarried. She resided with her brother, Professor Charles Whitney, the noted Shakspercan reader and elocutionist. Ile married Miss Emily Clark, an English lady ;
and their daughters, Mrs. Lawrence and Miss Jennie Whitney, survive them.
The second wife of General Joshua Whit- ney was Miss Julia Crooker, who was born in Catskill, N. Y., in the year 1790, and died in 1874. Although the extreme difference of twenty-three years existed between their ages, it was a most happy marriage. She was a beautiful woman, and was always the object of great admiration at Saratoga Springs, where she and her husband generally spent their summers. No children were born to this marriage. Nine of his children were liv- . ing at the time of the General's death, with forty grandchildren and eight great-grand- children.
General Whitney was a devoted Episcopa- lian. To his liberality Christ Church of Binghamton is indebted for the handsome lot on which it and the parish house adjoining are built, and for the added gift of six thousand dollars. The General was a man of large physical proportions, weighing in the latter part of his life nearly four hundred pounds, and at that time unable to go to church, as he could not conveniently occupy the family pew. Some of his friends were desirous of building for him a large, square pew, after the fashion of those in the churches of England and in a few Colonial churches still existing in America; but others were opposed to it, on the plea that the Whitneys should not run the church. The controversy, which promised to be quite exciting, was abruptly ended by the death of the General on April 13, 1845.
About the year 1825 Peter Lorillard, the
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wealthy tobacconist of New York City, vis- ited General Whitney, coming in his own conveyance with his servants. Mr. Lorillard was also a very heavy man; and his private carriage, which was built expressly for him, was roomy and comfortable, and hung on very low springs. When Mr. Whitney's guest decided to return to New York, the spring freshet had overflowed the country, and it was found necessary for Mr. Lorillard to avail himself of the plebeian stage-coach; and, not being able to transport his carriage, he sold it to Mr. Whitney, and it was ever known after- ward in Binghamton as the " Lorillard char- iot." A little estimate of the cost of trav- elling from New York City to Chenango Point is shown in a bill found among the family papers, dated January, 1827, showing the General paid thirty-seven dollars and twenty-five cents for a trip from that city to his home.
General Whitney lived to see the hamlet of a few scattered houses grow into an incorpo- rated village in which there was not a public improvement toward which he had not con- tributed advice and pecuniary aid. His memory is still cherished in the city of Bing- hamton, the tradition of his career as a youth- ful pioneer in the beautiful valley of the Chenango being handed down from family to family. He was buried in the shadow of the Episcopal church of which he was such a benefactor, and the universal mourning was attested by the concourse of citizens who at- tended his funeral. His remains were after- ward taken up and interred in the beautiful
lot of the Whitney family in Spring Forest Cemetery.
AMES C. BEAVEN was born May 19, 1854, in the town of Windsor, on the farm where he now resides. ITis father, Thomas Beaven, Jr., was born in Red- norshire, England, March 16, 1816, son of Thomas Beaven, who was a farmer in that country. Thomas Beaven, Jr., married Sarah Davis, a daughter of Edward Davis, of Red- norshirc. Edward Davis married Sarah Lewis; and to himself and wife were born nine children, of whom six are living: David; Mary; Sarah, Mrs. Thomas Beaven; Jane; Stephen; and Esther. Catherine, Edward, and Elizabeth died young. The mother of these children died in England, at the age of seventy - three. The father died there at seventy-six years of age.
Their daughter Sarah was born July 13, 1818; and in July of 1843, some time after her marriage to Mr. Beaven, they emigrated to America, making the journey in the good ship "Siddons," taking five weeks and two days for the voyage. Settling first in Al- bany, N. Y., he lived there for some two or three years, and then removed to the town of Windsor, which was all unimproved and heav- ily timbered land. Here he purchased one hundred and fifty acres, and built a log house, which he resided in until he erected his hand- some frame dwelling in 1861. From time to time Thomas Beaven bought land adjoining his farm, until at the time of his death he was one of the largest land-owners in the
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town, having seven hundred acres, where he conducted general farming with lumber and dairy enterprises. Prominent in the Metho- dist church, of which he was an excellent member, a solid Republican in his politics, and a successful and public-spirited man, he died full of years and honor, at the age of seventy-five, April 28, 1891. Ilis wife still resides on the old home farm, an active lady of seventy-six years. They reared a family of seven children, of whom six are living: Ed- ward D .; Joshua G .; Stephen L., a farmer in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania; James C .; Esther J. ; and Mary A .- all of whom, with the exception of Stephen, reside at Windsor. Thomas, the eldest son of the family, was a member of Company F, One Hundred and Forty-fourth Regiment, New York Volunteers, was taken prisoner, and died in Libby Prison, aged twenty-two years.
James C. Beaven was educated in the dis- trict schools of his native town, and grew to manhood on the home farm, where he has always resided. He now owns this place, which consists of one hundred and fifty acres. He manages a dairy, keeping thirty cows, Holsteins, Durhams, and Jerseys, and is also extensively engaged in sheep-raising, having eighty head.
Mr. Beaven was married on June 13, 1884, to Miss Ada Andrus, who was born in Wind- sor, daughter of Erastus and Sophronia (Smith) Andrus. Erastus Andrus was a licensed minister of the Methodist Church, and was also a farmer. He died at about the age of fifty-two years. Ilis widow, who was
born June 25, 1836, now resides in Windsor Village. The paternal grandfather of Mrs. Beaven was Joseph Andrus, who was a farmer in the town of Windsor, where he died at the age of seventy. His father was Allen An- drus, one of the first settlers of the town of Windsor. To the Rev. Erastus Andrus and his wife were born four girls: Ida E., wife of Varin Townsend, residing in Binghamton; Ada, Mrs. Bcaven; Lucy, Mrs. Robert Saxby; and Bertha G., Mrs. William Pultz, residents of the town of Windsor. Mrs. Beaven's father was born April 16, 1837, and died December 9, 1889.
Mr. and Mrs. Beaven have two children : James Floyd, born July 28, 1889; and Nellie May, born August 14, 1891. The family belong to the Methodist Episcopal church, and Mr. Beaven is a Republican in politics. Mr. Beaven is much respected in his town, by those especially who appreciate his steady in- dustry and uprightness; and he is well known throughout the county as one of its most use- ful citizens.
HERMAN C. PAGE, a farmer in the town of Triangle, Broome County, has lived on his present place, in District No. 4, for sixty-two years. He is particularly a Broome County man, having always lived within its borders, and is well known as a citizen possessing excellent qual- ities of heart and mind. His occupation has always been that of farming, so that he has been free from the annoying, harassing ele- ments of other callings, and, with his mind
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untrammelled by the more perplexing prob- lems of the commercial world, has led a com- paratively peaceful life, thus developing a harmonious character.
He was born near the place where he now lives, February 23, 1830. His father was Rufus Page, who was born in Litchfield, Conn., in 1788, and, when a young man, came to Broome County. He died in 1851 on the farm where Sherman C. now lives. The father of Rufus was years ago a prominent and successful farmer near Binghamton. He and his wife, who twice gave birth to twins, spent many happy days in that part of the county, bringing up twelve children. He was injured by lightning when standing under a large tree, and died from the effects; and all of the immediate family have some time since followed him to the silent land. Nancy Eggleston, formerly of Waterbury, Conn., was married in Broome County to Rufus Page about 1819. "They were lifelong farmers, and reared five children, namely: Sophronia, who was married to Wright Fish, and died at Great Bend, Pa., leaving one daughter ; Jared, who died at the age of twenty-three years, about 1840; Sherman C .; Lavantia, who was married to John Hagerman, and died in 1862, when forty-one years old, leaving four chil- dren; and Mortimer, a grocer and photogra- pher of Lenox, Ta., having a wife and two daughters living. The mother of these chil- dren died in 1867, aged sixty-seven years.
Sherman C. Page was brought up on the farm, and received a fair education in the dis- · trict schools. He was a steady, industrious
boy, and always remained under the parental roof; and, although his mind would some- times wander out into the great, unseen world, he was spared the many temptations that there await the voyager on life's tem- pestuous sea, and grew up amid the sweet in- fluences of a country home, under a mother's loving care. He was married in June, 1854, to Sarah E. Butts, of Connecticut, a daughter of Z. D. and Luthenia (Adams) Butts, her mother being a lincal descendant of John Adams, the second President of the United States, elected in 1797. In 1852 Mr. and Mrs. 'Butts came to Broome County, where she died in 1859, when fifty-four years old, and Mr. Butts in 1874, at the age of seventy- five years. Mrs. Page has two brothers: William, living in Onconta, Otsego County; and Daniel, at Whitney's Point, Broome County. Mr. and Mrs. Page have lost one daughter, Grace E., who was married to Pro- fessor Sheldon, of Colgate University, IIamil- ton, N. Y., and died in October, 1884, at the age of twenty-six years. The living children . are: Florence E., wife of the Rev. D. D. MacLoren, of Detroit, Mich., having .one daughter; and Louie 1., who married Burton B. Swetland, a son of the Rev. D. W. Swet- land. Their home is in Minneapolis, Minn. ; and they have one daughter, Grace, a sweet little girl of seven months.
Socially, Mr. Page is a cordial, pleasant gentleman, free from cant and hypocrisy. . Politically, he has been a Republican, and still believes in many of the principles of that organization; but he is a man having the
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courage of his convictions, and, realizing the immense power of the liquor traffic over all the old parties, has espoused the cause of Pro- hibition, and is able to give a good reason for his action. Religiously, Mr. and Mrs. Page are connected with the Congregational church. They are not bound by any cast-iron creed, but are liberal, high-minded Christians. He is a Deacon in the church, and is not secta- rian or in any sense bigoted. Ile is a Con- gregationalist because that denomination, perhaps nore nearly than any other, has the polity of the early churches of the New Testa- ment, the individual churches being indepen- dent, free from formalism, where one does not lose individuality, but can be a free, honest Christian, and has no high courts of human authority, and recognizes no overseer but Jesus Christ. Thus surrounded, the lot of Mr. Page is cast in pleasant places; and his biography will indicate to many the path of honest endeavor, and his example furnish a stimulus to lead better lives and become true men.
ARWIN FELTER, Superintendent of the Binghamton Water-works, was appointed to that position April 15, 1875. At that time the city water supply was a serious question, the works already con- . structed being inadequate and in bad con- dition, pumping only about four hundred thousand gallons per day, and financially hav- ing an annual deficiency of from three thou- sand to five thousand dollars. Under these circumstances Mr. Felter was called to take
charge, and time has fully demonstrated the wisdom of such selection. Ile speedily placed the works in excellent condition, increasing the supply to three million seven hundred and sixty-five thousand and forty-three gallons per day, having now nearly forty-nine miles of mains, against the twenty-two of former years; and, notwithstanding all this increase of capacity and consequent expense, the man- agement has been such that for the past ten years the works have been self-supporting. The large Gaskell engine, having a capacity for twelve million gallons every twenty-four hours, the Holly quadruplex, which is in- tended for a reserve engine, and many other improvements and additions have all been placed under the immediate supervision of Mr. Felter; and everything works smoothly and perfectly. No water-works in the coun- try, not excepting the large cities, can show a more perfect system in all its details.
Darwin Felter was born in North Blen- heim, Schoharie County, N. Y., September 17, 1828. Hle was educated in the common schools, and learned the trade of millwright after he was eighteen years of age, serving an apprenticeship of four years with John L. Patchen. He was naturally adapted to me- chanical construction, and thoroughly mas- tered this calling. Having confidence in his ability, he started out for himself, working in many different places in New York, Pennsyl- vania, and other States, building mills, tan- neries, and other structures requiring thorough knowledge and skill in the business. Ile made New Milford his home until the time of
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his marriage, December 19, 1853, since which date he has resided in Binghamton, although frequently, in the course of his business, called away to other places. Prominent among those by whom his services were in request were John Anderson and J. B. Weed, who, with others, recognizing his ability, particularly with reference to the management of complicated machinery, recommended him for his present position.
Mr. Felter has been twice married. His first wife, Sarah A. Baird, daughter of Will- iam Baird, of Binghamton, died, leaving two children : Nellie E., wife of the Hon. D. R. Munro, of Shoshone, Idaho; and William D., now in a dry-goods house in Albany, N. Y. Mr. Felter's present wife, with whom he lives at No. 30 Conklin Avenue, was before mar- riage Miss Margaret S. Stannard, of Elmira, N.Y. Mr. Felter is a public-spirited man, and, before entering upon his present duties, held for two terms the office of Supervisor of the Fifth Ward. Since his appointment to the charge of the water-works he has refused to allow his name to be considered in connec- tion with any office. He is a member of Otseningo Lodge and Binghamton Chapter, A. F. & A. M. During all his political life he has been a strong and uncompromising Republican.
The accompanying portrait of Mr. Felter, which his friends will have no difficulty in recognizing, shows a man with a genius for mechanics ; a clear-headed man, observant and calculative, possessed of excellent executive ability and skill in direction, and, at the head
of the water-works, emphatically the right man in the right place.
ON. EDMUND O'CONNOR, the dis- tinguished Senator representing the Twenty-fifth District, composed of 7 the counties of Broome, Chenango, Cortland, Tioga, and Delaware, New York, was born near Mallow, Cork County, Ireland, Novem- ber, 1848. In the early part of the year 1851 his parents emigrated to the United States, and settled at Little Falls, Herkimer County, N.Y. By the death of his father, who was killed by accident in 1862, he was thrown upon his own resources at the age of fourteen years. Previous to this he had profited by the excellent educational facilities afforded in the parochial and public schools of Little Falls; and, having acquired a taste for learn- ing, he worked with a will in the hammer and blacksmith shops of the railroad at Little Falls, and thus managed to secure means enough to attend the Little Falls Academy, going from there to the academy at Delhi, N. Y., where he was graduated with honor in 1868, both of these institutions being in charge of the well-known and highly efficient Professor Miller.
Always ambitious to make a name for him- self, "Excelsior " was his motto; and to this end he burned the midnight oil, and stored his mind with useful knowledge. Having de- cided on law as his profession, he commenced reading in the office of Judge Rollin H. Smith at Little Falls, and was admitted to
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the bar October, 1870, at Oswego, N.Y. In the year 1873 Mr. O'Connor removed to Binghamton, where he opened an office in partnership with William J. Ludden, Esq., now a Judge in Troy, N. Y. The firm con- tinued for a few years, when Mr. O'Connor withdrew, and started practising alone. From his very first case before the courts in Bing- hamton he attracted attention by his clear and forceful manner and his remarkable forensic ability. He was almost instantly successful; and step by step he advanced in his pro- fession, until to-day he stands in the highest rank of Binghamton's foremost lawyers. IIc has been engaged in many cases that have attracted more than local attention, among them being the criminal suit of the People versus Daniel Monaghan, apprehended for murder, whom he defended and the jury ac- quitted. He was also attorney for the re- ceiver of the Iron Hall of the State of New York, where one hundred and eighty thousand dollars were involved, resulting in over one hundred different litigations. Since 1888 he has had associated with him Rollin W. Mecker, Esq. A born lover of politics and naturally a strong partisan, he very soon be- came one of the leaders of the Republican party, and in all campaigns has always been among the speakers relied on for good work by his party.
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