USA > New York > Broome County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Broome County, New York. > Part 7
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subsequent meeting of the Board of Directors Mr. James B. Weed, senior partner in the in- fluential firm of James B. Weed & Co., tanners, was elected Vice - President. The Cashier of the bank is Mr. Arthur Griffin, who has honorably filled this position since 1884. The present Board of Directors is considered one of the strongest bodies ever associated together in this State. The com- plete list is as follows: George A. Kent, senior member of the company of that name; Sigmund J. Hirschmann, of the firm of Hirschmann Brothers; Gilman L. Sessions, attorney and counsellor - at - law; Asa R. Tweedy; James B. Weed; Charles M. Stone; William G. Phelps; Norman A. P'helps; Alonzo C. Matthews; Arthur Griffin; James W. Manier; James M. Stonc. The Hon. William B. Edwards, ex-County Judge and Surrogate of Broome County, for some time one of the directors, has very recently died. As already stated, this is a most conservative and yet liberal and progressive institution. It would be impossible to overestimate the value of the work it has been doing during all these years in connection with the business affairs of Binghamton; and there is no doubt, with its present officers and Board of Direc- tors, that it will continue its career of prosperity.
Mr. Manier is a strong Republican, but is by no means an aspirant for office. He is an earnest and devoted Presbyterian in religious faith, and with his estimable wife is closely connected with all good works carried on by the church of which they are members.
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A' PERRY FISH, EsQ., attorney and counsellor - at - law of Binghamton, N. Y., was born in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, April 15, 1856, son of the Rev. A. Il. and Sarah N. (Vance) Fish. The father was a Baptist minister, and was located for many years in Carbondale, Pa.
Dr. Rufus Fish, the grandfather of the sub- ject of the present sketch, settled in 1807 at Great Bend, Pa .; but the family trace their ancestry to the carly settlers of Vermont.
A. Perry Fish received his preparatory edu- cation in the public schools of his town, and at the Keystone Academy and Lake View In- stitute, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, whence he proceeded to Hillsdale College, Michigan, where he was graduated with the degree of A.B. in 1875. He engaged in teaching school until 1880, when he com- menced the study of law with A. D. Wales, Esq., in Binghamton, N. Y. Being admitted to the practice of law at the general term in Albany, N. Y., in November, 1883, he at once formed a partnership with Mr. Wales, which continued until April, 1892, when he opened an office at No. 75 Court Street, soon, however, removing to Nos. 22 and 23 Ross Building, where he has since practised alone.
Mr. Fish is a strong Republican in poli- tics, and is an active and valued worker for his party, having made effective speeches through the country in several campaigns. Having an excellent capacity for business, a vigorous understanding, and quick percep- tions, and being well skilled in parliamentary rules, he has ably served as Chairman of the
city Republican Committee for about eight years. He has a good general practice, has been connected with many prominent cases, and is justly considered one of the rising men of the county in the legal profession.
Among his many accomplishments, his pro- ficiency in music is particularly worthy of mention. Mr. Fish possesses a well-culti- vated bass voice, which has been heard with great pleasure in several of the choirs in Binghamton and in many successful concerts. He is fraternally connected with the Order of Red Men.
ILLIAM COOLEY, one of the prom- inent farmers of Broome County, whose fruitful acres are in Chenango, District No. 3, is a grandson of an Englishman who came to this country during the struggle for independence on the part of the carly colo- nies, and, being pressed into the service of his mother country, took the first opportunity to desert from the ranks and join the patriots, with whom he fought till the close of the war. He then engaged in farming, settling sub- sequently in Bradford County, Pennsylvania. Ile was married to a Connecticut lady, who bore him five children, four sons and one daughter, who grew up, married, bad families, and perpetuated the name in this country. lle was a successful man, active, energetic, secured a competence, and died in middle . life, leaving his widow, who continued here till about eighty-four years old.
The father of William was Daniel Cooley, who was born in Luzerne County, Pennsyl-
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vania, in 1791, and was married in 1817 to Eleanor Overfield, widow of Erastus Bowman, who was born in Luzerne County, Pennsyl- vania, a daughter of Benjamin and Margaret Overfield. Mrs. Cooley, by her former mar- riage, had one son, Erastus Bowman, Jr., who was quite a prominent man, and died in May, 1891, at the age of eighty-three years.
Daniel and Eleanor (Overfield) Cooley had born to them seven children, four sons and three daughters, the subject of this sketch being the second child and son. Paul died when two years old; Rebecca, at four years of age; Caroline, wife of Benjamin Jayne, died when twenty-eight, leaving three sons and one daughter; Mary, wife of James Keeney, died at thirty-six, without issue; John, the eld- est, died in Tioga County, New York, in September, 1891, aged seventy years, leaving a widow and one son, William, now in Bing- hamton. The living children are: William; and Daniel O., who is a farmer in the town of Chenango, county of Broome, and has one son and one daughter The mother of these. children died at the age of sixty-four years; and Mr. Cooley married for his second wife the widow of William Place, who bore no children. Daniel Cooley married for his third wife the widow Barnes, who survived him, and died when eighty years old, he hav- ing died October 17, 1859. 1le left a large farm, consisting of two hundred and thirty- five aeres, and some money, which was divided among the children. He had been connected with the Methodist Episcopal church nearly all his life, and had served effi-
ciently many years as a Justice of the Peace, being a man of strong convictions and tena- cious of what he conceived to be right and true.
William Cooley was born in Auburn, Sus- quehanna County, Pa., in 1819; was brought up on the farm, remaining at the home place with his parents until twenty-one years old, when he started for himself, working for eight months for fifteen dollars per month, and the following eight months at the same place for sixteen dollars per month. He was married August 5, 1841, to Eleanor Bunnell, of Brain- tree, Luzerne County, Pa. They began life together on his father's farm, where they remained six years, and then purchased a farm of one hundred acres near by, living there for ten years. There, on October 5, 1855, his wife died, in her thirty-fourth year, leaving four children, namely : Olive, wife of Gideon Lobdell, who died August 27, 1882, aged thirty-nine years; Aurelia B., who was born in 1845, and died in 1863; Mary Jane, who died in 1856, when six years old; and Lester, born July 7, 1853, who is married, and now living on a farm in South Dakota. Mr. Coo- ley was again married October 30, 1856, at Guilford, Chenango County, to Miss Mary Ann Yale, a daughter of Zebedee Yale, a+ large farmer of that county. They remained one year on his farm in Auburn, selling the same in 1857, and purchasing a large place form his present wife's father, where they lived twelve years, from December, 1857, to April, .1869, when they sold it for fifteen thousand dollars. Mr. Cooley then purchased
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the place where he now lives, three hundred and seventy-eight acres, for fifty dollars per acre, the farm at the present time comprising two hundred and ten acres. He also has an- other farm of one hundred and thirty-five acres, which is utilized for dairying purposes.
The present Mrs. Cooley comes from a long-lived and notable ancestry, possessing more than ordinary intelligence, and is a bright-minded, active woman, endowed with a strong physique and possessing a pleasing combination of domestic and social qualities, making her a congenial companion, good neighbor, and kind friend. Her grandfather, Uriah Yale, was born in Meriden, Conn., in 1762, and lived many years in Dutchess County, New York. He married Eunice Merwin, of Connecticut, who lived to be ninety-eight years old, retaining to a wonder- ful degree her mental and physical faculties, and imparting to her progeny the strength of mind and of body for which the family have been noticeable. The Yale family were con- spicuous for their physical development as well as their mental endowment, Mrs. Cooley's father and four of the children aggregating in weight fourteen hundred and thirty-six pounds. Mrs. Cooley treasures several relics of the olden time which have been handed down in the family, among them a foot-stove of nearly one hundred years ago, made of perforated tin within a wooden frame, in which used to be set a basin of Jive coals ; a communion cup of glass; and a large shell comb, such as were worn a century ago. She evidently believes in gratefully remembering the past, living
cheerfully and actively in the present, and looking hopefully toward the future.
RVING W. BUTLER, a resident of Bing-
T hamton, a veteran of the late war, and a useful and valued citizen, was born on the West Side, April 6, 1843, a son of Nelson and Mariam (Wentz) Butler, both natives of this city. The Butler family came here from New Jersey, John Butler, the father of Nelson, being one of the first settlers of this part of Broome County, which contained but few white people at the time of his arrival. Nelson Butler is still living. He is a blacksmith by trade, but has followed various occupations.
Irving W. Butler obtained his education in the old subscription schools, and then learned the trade of shoemaking, which business he followed till 1883. Ile has belonged to the Fire Department for more than a quarter of a century, having been a member of the Rescue Engine Company in 1860, and being now con- nected with the Alert Hose Company. He has held all of the positions in the depart- ment, from that of torch boy up to Chief Engineer, having been elected to the latter position for the year 1891. lle is now a member of the Exempt Firemen's Associa- tion. He has a good, clean record, and will be remembered as a man of more than ordi- nary judgment and presence of mind under trying circumstances. His clear-headedness and self-possession have enabled him to ac- complish effective work, while others laboring
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under excitement would lose their wits and rush hither and thither to no purpose. IIc has been for some years Sewer Inspector, per- forming the duties of this position, as of every other in which he has been placed, with fidelity, alacrity, and commendable zeal.
Although but eighteen years of age at the time of the attack on Fort Sumter, Mr. Butler was . a true patriot, and bravely bore arms in the Civil War of 1861-65. Enlisting in 1862 in the Sixteenth New York Battery, which was sent to join the Army of the Po- tomac, he took part in many battles and skirmishes - Petersburg, Fair Oaks, Cha- pin's Farm, and others. He was discharged July 6, 1865, and returned home, having seen severe fighting, and having been actively en- gaged in one of the greatest conflicts of this century. He was Commander of Watrous Post, Grand Army of the Republic, for two years, and is now a member of Walton Dwight Post. Mr. Butler married Miss Juliet Crocker, of Union, Broome County, by whom he has had nine children: Minnie, Maud, Madge, Earle, Elsie, Ralph, Nelson, and two deceased. Mrs. Butler's father, Oliver A. Crocker, one of the original set- tlers of Union, lived about three miles from Binghamton. Ile was a man of great deter- mination, and was active in the political and social development of the town in its carly days.
LLIS W. MORSE, an able young finan- cier of Binghamton, N.Y., Treasurer of the Binghamton Wagon Company, was
born at Eaton, Madison County, N. Y., Feb- ruary 27, 1865, son of Walter and Celeste (Davis) Morse. ITis grandfather was Ellis Morse, who was born in Massachusetts and reared in the town of Eaton, N. Y., where he was a farmer and cattle-dealer. The Morse family were originally from England, the ear- liest records of them in America dating back to 1635, in which year four of that name are said to have come to Massachusetts. Joseph, the founder of the family in Madison County, went there in 1796, nearly one hundred years ago, when the county was still untenanted save by the wild game and animals which abounded in the forests, the only inhabitants being the Indians of the Six Nations, who were friendly visitors around the Morse fireside.
Walter Morse was a pioneer in the business of manufacturing engines, and was one of the well-known firm of Wood, Tabor & Morse, having the most extensive trade in that part of the country. He was born at Eaton, Feb- ruary 25, 1835, this town having been founded by his father, who encouraged and started local industries. Mrs. Walter Morse was born at Eaton, a daughter of Richard Davis, who was a millwright and builder at that place. The family were members of the Congregational church. The brothers of Wal- ter Morse have all been distinguished men in their several walks through life. They are: George E., the founder and President of the seminary at Eaton; Gardner, a wealthy and public - spirited man of Eaton - has been Treasurer and Judge of the county; Henry,
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who won his rank of Major-General on the battlefield; Alfred, the brave young soldier whose life was given for his country at Cedar Creek; and Hartwell, a prominent banker of Binghamton, N. Y.
The education of Ellis W. Morse was ob- tained in the schools of Eaton and at the academy at Hamilton, N. Y. When his course of study was finished, he took charge of the correspondence department of his father's office, and remained with him for eight years. Coming to Binghamton in I891, he ably filled the position of book-keeper for the Binghamton Wagon Company, and at the annual meeting in January, 1892, was elected Treasurer. The works are located on Abbott Street, near the Delaware & Hudson Railway, having excellent switching facilities. The company was organized and incorporated in 1888, with a capital stock of fifty thousand dollars. The officers are: George A. Kent, President ; R. D. Woodford, Superintendent and Vice - President; Herbert Longendyke, Secretary ; and Ellis W. Morse, Treasurer. The main building is two hundred by sixty- five feet, five stories high, with basement; middle section, four stories and basement ; and divided into different departments, manu- facturing pleasure vehicles, and also business wagons. A high grade of work is turned out, being entirely completed in the manufactory from the raw material to the finish. The business is wholesaling only, giving em- ployment, on an average, to one hundred and twenty-five skilled workmen. It is one of the most lucrative manufacturing plants in
the city, the works having been run continu- ously since the opening.
On February 13, 1889, Mr. Morse married Miss Eva L., daughter of Benjamin and Martha 1 .. Whipple. Mrs. Morse is a native of Eaton, Madison County, N. Y., and is a most estimable and charming lady. The fam- ily are members of the First Presbyterian Church. Mr. Morse discharges the responsi- ble duties of his position with signal ability, and has won the highest confidence and es- teem of all connected with the company.
LMER A. KING, a farmer and lumber- dealer of the village of Windsor, N. Y., was born July 1, 1844, in Starrucca, Wayne County, Pa., son of Robert K. and Minerva (Tallman) King, both of that county. Ben- jamin C. King, father of Robert K., was a native of Connecticut, a farmer and lumber- man. He removed to Mount Pleasant Town- ship, Wayne County, Pa., in the early years of the settlement, where he carried on these occupations. He was a Democrat of the old . school, and served as Justice of the Peace for many years. His death occurred when he was seventy-six years of age. lle had a family of three sous and five daughters, of whom only two are living: Benjamin C., Jr., residing in Wayne County, Pennsylvania; and Mrs. Pamelia Crator, who lives in Chit- tenango, Madison County, N. Y. Robert K. King was a leading and practical man of Starrucca Borough, and carried on mixed farming and dairying. He owned a good
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piece of land of one hundred and ten acres, upon which he resided many years. He died here in August of 1887, aged seventy-three years. His wife, who survives him, still re- sides at this old home farm in Wayne County, and is about seventy-two years of age. He followed his father's political sentiments in being a Democrat. Of his eleven children, seven are now living, namely: Mrs. Ann Starbrid, wife of Irving Starbrid - they re- side in Preston Township, Wayne County, Pa; Elmer A. ; Ellen, wife of Henry Hill, of Wayne County; Clarence, of Binghamton, N. Y .; Melinda, wife of David H. Cole, re- siding on the old King homestead in Wayne County; Ada, Mrs. Wesley Peck, of Forest City, Lackawanna County, Pa .; Robert B., a lumberman in the village of Windsor.
The subject of this sketch received his edu- cation in the district schools of Wayne County, and at the age of eighteen began lumbering, which has been his business nearly all his life. He is well known along the Delaware River, where for eighteen years he carried on his business. His residence was in Wayne County previous to 1880; and in that year he removed to Brandt, Susque- hanna County, and engaged in the lumber business for six years. In 1886 he came to Windsor, where he is now engaged in farming in connection with his lumber trade. He owns a half-interest in a first-class saw-mill, and is a partner of Mr. Whitmore Dusenbury, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this book. This firm manufacture all kinds of building and railroad lumber, turning out from four
thousand to twelve thousand feet a day, and employ about twenty men the year round.
Mr. Elmer A. King was married in 1868 to Miss Almira La Barre, who was born in Wayne County, Pennsylvania, a daughter of George and Jerusha (Geer) La Barre. Mr. . King and wife have a family of four children, Nellie, Josephine, Minerva, and Benjamin. They have a delightful home, and enjoy the society of hosts of friends. They attend the Presbyterian church; and Mr. King votes in the same party which his father and grand- father indorsed and upheld -- the Democratic. In the Order of Free and Accepted Masons he maintains a good standing, being a member of Windsor Lodge, No. 442. He is also a Knight of Honor. Mr. King has just entered the year which will round his half-century, and is in the prime of life. He has been industrious, and has met with success in his financial ventures, which have been managed with sound judgment ripened by years of experience.
R. JOSIAH CLEVELAND SI- MONS, veterinary surgeon, resid- ing at No. 146 Oak Street, Bing- hamton, N. Y., was born in Trumansburg, Tompkins County, N. Y., January 20, 1828. His parents, Elijah and Rhoda (Williams) Simons, were old settlers of Trumansburg, the family coming from Kinderhook, N. Y., where the father was reared and educated. Among the events of his youth he well remembered a boyish encounter, in which he thrashed his schoolmate, Martin Van Buren, subsequently
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President of the United States. Elijah Si- mons was a veterinary surgeon, and also con- ducted a large draying and teaming business, but gave his time mainly to his profession, and, besides this, was a regular physician, having many patients among his townspeople. He left Trumansburg in 1840, and went to Port Byron, N. Y., where he died.
Having received his principal education in the common schools, Josiah C. Simons, in his sixteenth year, went to live with Judge 1Ial- sey, of Tompkins County. He was made foreman at that place, and had entire manage- ment of his stock, taking the care and treat- ment of them. Ile remained there for two years, and then went to Bellona, Yates County, N. Y., where he learned the trade of miller, and worked there until April, 1853. After this he was for four years engaged as baggage-master at the railway station at Wav- erly, N.Y. In the spring of 1857 he bought a farm in the town of Chemung, Chemung County, N. Y., which he conducted for three years. At the end of that time he sold the farm, and removed to Waverly, going from there in 1860 to Elmira, N. Y., where he took the position of conductor on the Eric Rail- way. Ilis train went through to Canandaigua, and carried many thousand soldiers during his time on the road. In 1862 he resigned his position, and went into the mercantile busi- ness as grocer and provision dealer in the city of Elmira, where he had a heavy trade with the soldiers at Barracks No. 3, and through them had the opportunity of selling veg- ctables to the Confederate prison hospital at
that place. He was very successful finan- cially, and at the close of the war, in 1865, sold out the business. That year he started out as tobacco and cigar salesman for John I. Nicks, of Elmira, travelling in his employ through Western and Central New York and Pennsylvania for five years. He was after- ward employed by D. L. Holden as clerk in his wholesale grocery house in Elmira, and received seventeen hundred dollars per year -- a liberal salary, which showed how valuable were his services.
At the expiration of four years Mr. Simons was unexpectedly solicited by Dr. Sayles and son, of Elmira, to start a wholesale grocery house, which he did, the firm being Simon's, Sayles & Co. He took charge of this in 1876, and managed it in such a manner as to make them the acknowledged leaders of the trade in that part of the country, and, when he retired, left it in an excellent state of efficiency, which it maintains to-day, with a younger brother of his partner as the senior member of the firm. The house is also repre- sented upon the road by experienced travel- ling men; and its trade is large and is influential, both at home and throughout New York and Pennsylvania. When Mr. Simons was connected with the firm, their business amounted to about four hundred thousand per year; and he was the only practical salesman in it. After four years in this firm he was obliged to retire, as he was suffering from physical disability, which at the time it was thought would prove fatal. He was cured when he had almost lost all hope.
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After his recovery from illness Dr. Simons went to Bellona, Yates County, N. Y., the former home of his wife, Harriet Jones, whom he married March 28, 1849. Her father was an old and respected resident of this village, but was originally from Newark, N.J. In Bellona Dr. Simons purchased a country store and a fine residence. In connection with this store he practised his profession of veterinary surgeon through all of that country, having, even when in Elmira, attended cases where occasion seemed to demand his services for 'friends. He remained in Yates County until 1890, when he traded his store for a fine farm of two hundred and eighty acres in the town of Owego, N. Y., and other property. He re- sided in Owego, where he followed his profes- sion for two years; but having the misfortune to lose his wife, who died September 24, 1891, he removed to Binghamton, N.Y., and has since resided here with his only child, Willard Elijah Simons. This gentleman is Manager of the W. E. Simons Manufacturing Company of Binghamton. He was educated in the high schools of Elmira and Geneva, N.Y., and married Miss Mary J. Dorman ; and they have one child, Willard J.
Dr. Josiah C. Simons is a member of Union Lodge, A. F. & A. M., having joined the order in 1872 at Elmira, but changed to the lodge in Owego. He joined the Republi- can party when it was first organized, and voted for John C. Fremont for President, but has never taken any active part in politics, having held but one office, that of Postmaster of Bellona, Yates County, by appointment of
President Garfield. His wife was a lifelong member of the Methodist church, and he now is a regular and devoted adherent of the Tabernacle Methodist Episcopal Church of Binghamton. Dr. Simons has had a varied and interesting career in his life of sixty- six years, and is still an active and hearty man, being one who has always maintained his reputation as an honorable and upright citizen.
OHN M. KERR, a highly esteemed resident of Deposit, Broome County, is now, after many years of faithful, excellent service as a conductor on the Erie Railroad, retired from active business, and is passing his days in comparative quiet and ease. He is of Scotch extraction, and has many of the characteristics of that intelligent and thrifty people; but the record of his an- cestry, unfortunately, was never preserved. His father and mother both died, leaving him a boy of ten years in the great city of New York, thus early in life deprived of that wholesome fatherly advice and that warm affection of a mother which smooths the rough places and makes bright and happy the days of childhood. There were five children in the family, namely: Jane, who was the wife of Thomas Puller, and died without chil- dren; William M., who enlisted in the army, was wounded, and taken to the hospital, which was destroyed by fire - and he is sup- posed to have perished in the flames; John M .; James J., who was a railroad man, and died in Ohio without children; and Maria L.,
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