USA > New York > Broome County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Broome County, New York. > Part 29
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EORGE W. STONE, a member of the Binghamton Veneer Company, was born in this city, February 23, 1843, son of James and Eliza (Wentz) Stone. His grand- father migrated from Connecticut to Broome County, and engaged in farming, owning a tract of land near the Orphans' Home, which
is now in the city limits. James Stone is now one of the oldest residents of Bingham- ton. He grew to maturity on the home farm, which he afterward bought from his father, and conducted it until he retired from active life. He now resides on Oak Street in Bing- hamton, and, although about eighty years of age, is a hale and hearty man, taking a keen interest in the daily happenings of the times. His wife, the mother of the subject of this sketch, died some years ago, leaving a family of nine children, of whom seven are living, namely: George; William J., of Bingham- ton ; Adelaide, Mrs. Alonzo Nash, of Port Dickinson; Sidney F .; Albert; Ella; and Alice - all of the city of Binghamton. John died in 1876; and Stewart, another son, is also deceased. The father was one of the earliest members of the old Methodist Epis- copal church on Main Street, and now attends the handsome Tabernacle recently erected on the same site.
George W., after having gone through his studies in the common school and the old Binghamton Academy on the court-house square, engaged with the Joost Baking Com- pany, where he remained for twenty-two years. After this he formed a partnership with Messrs. Stoddard Hammond, Jr., A. F .. Mann, and E. S. Evarts in a vencering busi- ness, which was called the Binghamton Ve- neer Company. After some time the firm became Stone & Hammond, the first-named .. assuming the entire management and charge of the business. This company is one of the latest additions to the manufacturing resources
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of Binghamton, and was instituted in May of 1891. It has been conducted with such en- terprise and energy that it has already ac- quired a large and growing trade throughout the United States. The company's facilities for manufacturing embrace the larger part of the building located at No. 38 Commercial Avenue, and is fully equipped with all the necessary tools and appliances, and gives employment to about ten workmen. The products of the company consist of perforated and plain chair seats and backs made from veneers, and all kinds of wood are used. The nearness of the city to the mills of New York State and Pennsylvania, where the veneers are manufactured, enables the company to procure their raw materials advantageously ; and their unexcelled shipping situation gives them ample opportunity to offer their wares at prices difficult to rival elsewhere. The suc- cess of the company has been fully assured and well deserved from the first.
Mr. Stone was married to Miss Lucy Hum- phrey, daughter of John Humphrey, an old and respected citizen of Binghamton, N. Y., still living. To Mr. and Mrs. Stone one son has been born, Benjamin W. The family are members of the First Baptist Church; and Mr. Stone has ever taken an active interest in the affairs of the church, having been a Trus- tee for several years. Ile is an affable, pleas- ant, and courteous gentleman, and has made for himself an excellent record among the citizens of Binghamton. A kindly and generous hospitality is dispensed in his bean- tiful home, No. 126 Murray Street, which
is the centre of a refined and cultured social circle.
ZRA LATHROP, whose memoir is given by his widow, Mrs. Huldah Lathrop, as a tribute to his many virtues, was born in New York State in 1825. He was the son of Horace Lathrop, a well-known carpenter and bridge-builder, who removed from Connecti- cut to this State when a young man, and married Miss Betsey Hartson, a cousin of Alfred Jennings, the father of Mrs. Lathrop.
Ezra Lathrop was reared and educated in his native town of Lisle; and his first wife was Miss Sarah C. (Seymour) of that town. She died in 1881, at the age of fifty-five years. Mr. Lathrop married for his second wife Mrs. Huldah Jennings Spencer, widow of Jirah P. Spencer, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this book. In 1885 Mr. La- throp bought the beautiful home in which his widow now resides. He was a modest, quiet man, having the respect of the people, living without ostentation, and, although a good citizen and patriotic American, persistently refused any post of political honor in the gift of his fellow-citizens. He was an honest, exemplary man, and died universally mourned at sixty-six years of age, December 29, 1891, at his home in the village of Killawog. IIe was largely engaged in dealing in neat stock, buying and selling heavily from the time he was a young man, and was quite successful in his business. The accompanying portrait of Mr. Lathrop will be of interest to many, as of one widely known and equally respected.
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OHN L. VAN ALSTYNE, M.D., has been a resident and prominent physi- cian of Binghamton, N. Y., since July of 1873. He was born in Richmondville, Schoharic County, N. Y., October 8, 1840, son of Dr. Thomas B. and Eliza (Gyle) Van Alstyne. His mother was from Ver- mont. His father was born in Columbia County, N. Y., and, after graduating as a phy- sician, settled in Richmondville in 1825. The ancestral Van Alstynes came from Hol- land. For a number of years the elder Dr. Van Alstyne was a Supervisor, and at one time a nominee for Congress. He retired from practice at the age of fifty-five, and removed to Albany, N. Y., but died at Rich- mondville. The family were all Episco- palians.
The subject of this brief biography received his education in elementary schools in Scho- harie County and at Hartwick Seminary. IIe read medicine first with his brother, Sylvester M., of Richmondville, and then with Dr. Swinburne, of Albany, remaining with him for three years, afterward graduating from the Albany Medical College in 1862. The Civil War was then raging; and, animated with the patriotic spirit which filled the hearts of the young men of that day, he joined the Third New York Cavalry as Assistant Surgeon. It was not long before his superior attainments and skill won him promotion to the post of Surgeon of the regiment. lle was with the regiment in North Carolina, and came back to Virginia, where he soon received the appoint- ment of Brigade Surgeon of the First Brigade,
and from January 1, 1862, until the close of the war, was Surgeon-in-Chief of his district in Eastern Virginia. The First Brigade par- ticipated in all of the engagements around Richmond, and Dr. Van Alstyne witnessed many heart-rending scenes on battlefields and in the hospitals. When peace was de- clared, he returned to Richmondville, and practised there until 1872. He then spent one year in the hospitals and colleges of New York City, finally locating his office in the city of Binghamton, N. Y., in the year 1873. Here he has built up a lucrative practice, and . made hosts of friends.
Dr. Van Alstyne married Miss Carrie A. Shults, of Troy, N. Y .; and two children have been born to them: Bessie, wife of Gilbert E. Rogers, of Binghamton; and T. Butler, the only son. The family reside at No. 100 Hawley Street, in a pleasant and tasteful home.
In the Masonic Order Dr. Van Alstyne is a member of Cobleskill Lodge, A. F. & A. M. He is naturally a great friend of the war vet- eran, and is associated with Watrous Post, No. 30, Grand Army of the Republic, hold- ing the office of Post Surgeon. He' is a member of the Broome County Medical So- : cicty and the Binghamton Academy of Medi- cine, and devotes his whole time to his profession and its interests. Dr. Van Al- styne stands high among the medical practi- tioners of Binghamton, his years of service in,. the war and his experience in the hospitals having been of inestimable value to him. Kind and courteous to all, it is in the sick-
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room that he appears at his best. Sympathiz- ing and gentle to the suffering patient, watch- ful for every change, his presence is a tower of strength and reliance to the anxious rela- tives; and his cool and calm touch soothes the most nervous sufferer.
A" DDISON ROSELLE, a respected citi- zen of the town of Union, N. Y., was born herc, December 19, 1857. His grandfather was one of the pioneers of this portion of Broome County, and settled here when farms could not be bought ready for cultivation, the purchaser having to take land with its virgin growth of timber upon it, and go through all the labor of felling trees and hauling logs before his homestead could be staked out. The elder Roselle was a stone-mason, and followed that trade in con- nection with his farming for many years. Later he removed to Steuben County, where he died. Charles Roselle, a son of the emi- grant, came with him from Dutchess County to Union, and resided there, carrying on farming until his death. He married Miss Olive Burr; and to them were born five chil- dren -- Emeline, Margaret, "Charles, Josiah, and Addison. The mother is still alive, at the age of seventy-eight, and active and ener- getic for her years.
Addison, who was the youngest of the fam- ily, received his education in the fine district schools of his town, and at twenty-one years of age purchased a farm adjoining his father's, where he lived for a while, and later bought
the one which he now occupies. All his life Mr. Roselle has been an industrious and hard- working man; and his present prosperity is owing to his own labor and foresight. In ISSo he married Miss Gertrude Phelps, of Susquehanna County, daughter of Nathaniel and Sarah (Grimes) Phelps. Mr. and Mrs. Roselle have become the parents of four children; namely, Angie, Charlie, Ernest,. and Albert.
Mr. Roselle is a respected member of the Methodist Eiscopal church of his town, taking an earnest and sincere interest in everything pertaining to the moral and spiritual advance- ment of the community. He has in his com- paratively short life seen many changes in his town, school buildings, churches, and thrifty homes having been erected on all sides where once was only a wilderness. No section of the country can boast of finer or more beauti- ful farms than those which, like immense gardens, dot the landscape of Broome County. Among these it needs only a glance at the farm of Mr. Roselle to indicate the industry and perseverance with which he has labored to build up a homestead. The improvements have been effected by his own excellent judg- ment and unwearied labor, and they will long stand as a monument of his ambition and energy He is a man of pleasing social quali- ties, having the esteem and confidence of his friends and neighbors. He is one of the warmest supporters of the Republican party, actively engaging in politics whenever it seems necessary in its interests. It is only right to say that no more honorable or patri-
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otic citizen does his duty at the polls than Mr. Roselle. He has been nobly seconded in his upright and useful life by his estimable wife, the presiding genius of the well-or- dered home.
RRIN D. SHERMAN, of Binghamton, N. Y., extensively engaged in busi- ness as a stone-mason and contractor, is a grandson of Ephraim Sherman, one of the first permanent settlers of Delaware County. He penetrated twelve miles into the wilder- ness, which was a dense tangle of majestic trees, making his road through by marking. them with his keen axe and clearing a tract of land, and there establishing his home. It was a life of hardship and toil that he undertook ; for even the blessed boon of
" Nature's sweet restorer, balmy sleep,"
was often denied him, as he was many times compelled to watch all night to keep the prowling wolves from his sheep-fold. Miles away from any habitation, he and his family had to depend on their own resources and en- ergies; and in sickness the simple pharmacy of their domestic herbs was all they could rely upon for medicine. Here, too, the women of the family, as in the case of all pioneer wives and mothers, had more than their share of the arduous duties incidental to this life; and, besides the ordinary work of the household, the spinning of wool and flax and the fashioning of the clothing of the fam- ily fell to their lot. These garments were made from the raw wool until, in after years,
they were able to send the cloth away to be fulled. The household linen was woven from the flax raised by themselves. Money was exceedingly scarce; but, as they cultivated everything in the way of necessities. of life, they did not require much of that convenient medium of exchange.
Ephraim Sherman came originally from Massachusetts, having a noble New England ancestry ; and he himself was a veteran of the War of 1812, being a pensioner up to the time of his death. After settling in his new home, other families coming there, he built : a grist-mill, a saw-mill, and a water-power flax dressing-mill. All these conveniences contributed toward attracting more settlers; and in a little while a village was formed, of which Ephraim was the wealthiest man and highest in authority. Hc elcared about five hundred acres at that place, paying for the land one shilling an acrc. Among his many benefactions to the new settlement was giving the land, the lumber after it was sawed, and much of the labor for the building of the church, called the "Old Arabian Mect- ing-house," and adding to these generous gifts a large pecuniary support ever after. Lorenzo Dow, the eccentric and well-known Methodist preacher, was a frequent visitor at his home. This prominent and worthy settler was over one hundred years old at the time of his death in 1886, and was in perfect posses- sion of his mental and physical faculties until". the last. He reared a large family of chil- dren, having been married twice.
Ripley Sherman, son of Ephraim, was born
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on his father's farm, and availed himself of the scanty means of education of the "old field " school of that day, but was fortunate in having greater advantages with his father, who, being well educated, assisted him in his studies. Ile lived at home until his marriage with Miss Miranda Olds, whose father was an carly settler in their vicinity. Mr. Olds built a large grist-mill, saw-mill, and wagon- shop at a place which, when more largely populated, was called Beaver Dam. When Ripley Sherman married, he removed to Croton Village, N. Y., where he followed the occupation of freighting and draying, running several teams daily to Catskill to bring in goods to the merchants. He continued this business until the opening of the Erie Rail- road in 1853, when he retired from business, and bought a farm near Unadilla, N. Y, where he remained until 1870. He then purchased another at Nineveh, Broome County, residing there until his death. Nine children were reared by them, as follows: Ephraim, de- ceased; Sarah, Mrs. Robert Spencer, de- ceased; Orrin D .; Eliza, wife of George Harris, of Binghamton, N. Y .; William, of Rochester, N.Y .; Ebenezer, of Binghamton; Adelia, Mrs. Ed. Aldrich, of Norwich, N.Y .; Matilda, Mrs. Charles Krontz, of Ithaca, N. Y .; Maria, wife of Thomas Foulks, of Binghamton, deceased.
Orrin D. Sherman was born at Franklin, Delaware County, N. Y., May 13, 1844, and received a good practical education in the schools of Croton and Unadilla, N. Y. After finishing his studies, he remained with his
father until attaining his twentieth year, when, in September, 1864, hearkening to the call of his country for troops, he enlisted in Company A, First New York Engineer Corps, and was immediately assigned to the Depart- ment of the South. He went into South Car- olina and Georgia, assisting in building all of the pontoon bridges crossed by General Sher- man's army during his wonderful march to the sea. When he left Savannah, he marched' with the company to Richmond, still continu- ing with the army until the close of the war, when he was honorably discharged at Hilton Head, S.C., in the summer of 1865.
Mr. Sherman then returned to Unadilla, and from there went to Mt. Upton, where he worked for five years for Mr. C. W. Rock- well, rebuilding his mills and putting up nearly all the houses of the town. In 1872 he came to Binghamton, and engaged in mason- work, and soon began taking small contracts, which he kept increasing until he has now a large, extensive trade, doing all kinds of flag- ging for sidewalks and also stone-work for buildings, both in Binghamton and other places. The large silk factory at Hawley, Pa., which is four hundred by fifty feet, seven stories high, and all done of blue stone, was built by Mr. Sherman. He owns a fine blue- stone quarry three miles from Binghamton in the town of Vestal, which he opened up him- self, and, besides using the stone for his own contracts, sells a large quantity to other con- tractors. During the season he gives em- ployment to about twenty men. All this he has accomplished by his own prudent, method-
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ical, and strictly honorable dealings, and has made for himself a justly earned competency.
Mr. Sherman has been twice married. His first wife, a Miss Martha Murray, died, leav- ing two children: Albert, a merchant of Catskill; and Stella. His second wife was Miss Josephine Decker, daughter of Leonard Decker, of Deckertown, N.J. To this mar- riage one child, Mabel, has been born. While at Mt. Upton Mr. Sherman was Dep- uty Sheriff and Constable for a number of years, but has been too busy since residing in Binghamton to be an aspirant for office. In the Improved Order of Red Men he belongs to the Ute Tribe, and is also a member of Watrous Post of the Grand Army of the Re- public. He has served his country both in military and civil affairs, and is fully deserv- ing of the high position he holds in the esti- mation of his fellow-townsmen.
HARLES A. JARVIS, contractor and builder in the city of Binghamton, N. Y., was born at Amenia, Dutch- ess County, N. Y., October 13, 1830, son of William A. and Julia (Parsons) Jarvis. His father, who was a native of Danbury, Conn., was a son of Samuel Jarvis, of Redding, Fair- field County, in the same State. The family dated back to French Huguenot ancestry, they having emigrated to America in the early set- tlement of the colonies.
William Jarvis worked at farming near Amenia until the year 1842, when he moved to Binghamton, N. Y., and conducted a farm
on what is now the handsome place of Mr. Sanford Jarvis, in a thickly resident portion of that city. He afterward cultivated a place on the south side of the Susquehanna River, which is now the site of the Susquehanna Valley Home. From there he removed to a farm south of the Home, which he purchased and resided on until 1878, when he came into the city of Binghamton to live with his son,. Charles A. Mr. Jarvis held different local offices in the county, and was a Major in the old State militia. Mr. Jarvis and his wife were attendants of the Presbyterian church. Their family consisted of five children, who grew to maturity, namely: William H., who died at the age of twenty-one; Emeline, de- ceased, who was wife of Mr. Dwight Newton ; Charles A .; Joseph W., of Port Dickinson; and Sarah Jane, widow of Dudley Finch.
Charles A., the second son, was educated in the district schools of Broome County and at Jones's Select School in Binghamton. He' . then learned the trade of carpenter and joiner, and worked for a time as journeyman, but in 1861 commenced taking contracts for himself. This occupation he has pursued since then, and many fine residences and business blocks of Binghamton testify to his skill and ability as a builder. In the busy season he has given . employment to as many as eighteen men, and, being a liberal man to his workmen, has had quite an extensive pay-roll.
On December 24, 1863, he was married to Miss Mary A. Barber, of Milford, Mass., daughter of Hamlet Barber, who was also a native of that place, and was of an old and
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highly respected family. His wife was Miss Mary S. Burbank, of Worcester, Mass. They came from Hartford, Conn., to Binghamton in 1854, where Mr. Barber was foreman in Lester Brothers' Boot and Shoe Factory until he retired from active work. He still lives, at the age of seventy-five. Hle and his wife reared a family of six children, namely: Mrs. Jarvis; Ellen, Mrs. Charles Bronson, of Binghamton; Charles E., of lornellsville, N.Y .; Alice, wife of Dr. George Newman, dentist of Cedar Falls, Ia .; James E., of Towanda, Pa .; and Louis K., of Milford, Mass. Mrs. Barber died in 1890, at the age of seventy years. Mrs. Jarvis was educated in the public schools and the old academy of Binghamton. She and her husband are val- ued members of the Universalist church. Mr. Jarvis has for many years been an active and energetic member of the Fire Department, having served his term of duty zealously and with great bravery on many occasions, and is now honorably retired, and belongs to the Exempt Firemen's Association. He is an old resident of Binghamton; and, having come here at so youthful an age, he may justly consider himself as having grown up with the city .. When his father resided on the place where his cousin, Sanford Jarvis, now lives, Binghamton was a very little ham- let, which had a population of scarcely a thousand; and the changes in forty odd years must indeed seem marvellous to him. He has by his strict attention and untiring indus- try accomplished a great deal of work in his lifetime, and is regarded as an experienced
and able man in his business. So absorbed has he been in his own occupation that he has had but very little time to take any active part in politics or seeking for office, although, as a man and citizen, he votes for what he considers the best interests of his party. He is regarded with great esteem by the people of Binghamton.
RANK W. JEWELL, a general mer- chant at Port Dickinson, N. Y., was born at Chenango Bridge, in the old town of Binghamton, N. Y., July 25, 1861. Ile is descended from one of the carliest settlers of Broome County, his grandfather having come here with General Joshua Whitney, who was his brother-in-law, and the manager of the great Bingham estate on which the city of Binghamton is now situated. Mr. Jewell's family were from New Jersey, and of old Revolutionary stock. llis maternal great- grandfather Lewis attended the chain which was stretched across the Hudson River by the "patriots " to prevent the British vessels as- cending that river; and his great-grandfather Jewell, who was a descendant of the famous Bishop Jewell, of England, was a gallant soldier of the Revolution.
John Jewell, the grandfather of Frank W., settled on Mt. Prospect, Binghamton, N. Y., and conducted a farm at that place during his life. A son of John Jewell, Walton, who was born and educated there, and was also a farmer, married Miss Jane Lewis, and bought a large farm at Chenango Bridge, Broome County. Mrs. Jewell was a daughter of Abi-
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jah Lewis, who was also a pioneer settler in the county. Walton Jewell had one of the finest farms in that part of the county, and remained there until his death in May, 1893, at the age of seventy-four years. Hle and his wife attended the Methodist church. His widow still lives, an active lady of sixty- eight years. They reared a family of five children, namely: Charles H., a resident of Bradford, Pa .; Myra, wife of Horace Tread- well, Conklin Station; Jennie, deceased ; Ella, Mrs. Charles Beckwith, of Port Dickin- son, N. Y. ; and Frank W., above named.
The subject of this sketch was educated in the lower branches of learning in the district schools, and went to the Wyoming Seminary at Kingston, Pa., to finish his studies. After attaining his majority, he remained at home awhile, and in April of 1892 established a general store and grocery business at l'ort Dickinson, N. Y., where he has built up a good trade. The post-office of the village is in his store. In October, 1881, he was mar- ried to Miss Lillian Beckwith, daughter of . Elias Beckwith, of Plymouth, Pa., who has since retired from business, and removed to Binghamton. Mr. and Mrs. Jewell have two children; namely, Merton and Ray. The family are attendants and supporters of the Baptist church of Port Dickinson, but Mrs. Jewell is a member of the Methodist church. The eldest son, Charles, was a minister of the Wyoming Conference, and had charge of the church at Chenango Bridge.
Mr. Jewell was first elected Justice of the Peace for the town of Binghamton in 1888, to
fill a vacancy, and then re-elected for a full term, and, on the formation of the town of Dickinson, held over the office, besides hold- ing that of Supervisor, to which he was elected in February of 1892. Ile served on several committees of miscellaneous county works, and also on towns and villages. He was re-elected Supervisor in February of 1893. Mr. Jewell is President of the Repub- lican Club of Port Dickinson, which position he has filled for three years, and is an active worker in the ranks of his party. In the Masonic fraternity he is a member of Bing- hamton Lodge, No. 177; Binghamton Chap- ter, No. 139, Royal Arch Masons; Malta Commandery, No. 21, Knights Templars; and Otseningo Lodge, A. F. & A. M. He also belongs to the Improved Order of Red Men, in which he is Past Sachem. He is an ener- getic, ambitious man, and has filled the many offices of trust in his village with satisfaction to his constituents, and is in every respect a representative citizen of this progressive suburb of Binghamton.
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