USA > New York > Delaware County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Delaware County, New York > Part 22
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York, but later became a Coventry farmer, on land won by his military services, where he died. His son, Albert Edgerton, is now a lawyer in St. Paul, Minn., and was one of the veteran's two sons to be present at the family reunion, recently held in the metropolis.
Grandfather Nathan Edgerton had a son Nathan, the third to bear this name He was born in Franklin in 1795, and died in Walton in 1856. His wife was Emily Howell, of Franklin, the daughter of Simeon Howell. Their only son was Edward, though he has had three sisters, of whom one survives, Maria, the widow of W. T. Dart, of Des Moines, Iowa. One sister, Sally Ann, died in the prime of life, unmarried; and the other sister, Harriet, died in Walton in 1857, the wife of Andrew Steele, leaving three sons and three daughters. Mrs. Emily Howell Edger- ton died in 1851.
Till he was sixteen Edward Edgerton stayed at home, going to school, and working on the farm. He then went to work with his uncle, John Edgerton, a prominent store- keeper in Franklin, who was also in public life as Supervisor and Sheriff. Six years later, in 1851, at the age of twenty-two, Ed- ward took to himself a wife on Christmas Day. She was Lucy Mellor, of Middlefield, Otsego County, a daughter of John Mellor and his wife, Ann Barnett, both of whom came from Derbyshire, England, in 1830, though the father crossed the seas in advance of his wife, in order to have a home ready when the mother came over with her three boys and five girls. She died in 1867, aged seventy-seven, and he in 1875, ten years older; and they both now rest in Ouleout Valley cemetery, he being the first person interred in that beau- tiful spot. A cousin of our subject, Erastus S. Edgerton, the son of Erastus Edgerton, did much for this cemetery. He was a banker in St. Paul, Minn., was interested in several other banks in different States, and was one of the few business men able to withstand the financial panic of 1857. At one time he was Deputy Sheriff, and in this capacity was ac- tive in suppressing the anti-rent riots, and barely escaped with his life, having a horse shot under him and a bullet passing through his hat. At the same time the Under-sheriff,
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Mr. Steele, was killed. Erastus S. Edgerton left provision in his will for a family monu- ment to be erected in the Ouleout Valley cemetery, which provision has been fully car- ried out, the monument costing ten thousand dollars.
Mr. and Mrs. Edward Edgerton have lived in Franklin since their marriage, and from 1853 to 1857 kept the hotel, but have now been farming for nearly forty years, except during two years, when Mr. Edgerton was engaged in lumbering. They have lost two children. Agnes married Isaac Birdsall, and died in April, 1877, just as she reached the age of twenty-one, leaving an infant son, Ed- ward Ira Birdsall, who has been adopted by his grandparents, and received the patro- nymic, Edgerton. He is a young man of great promise, having been graduated with honors from the Delaware Institute in the class of 1894, at the age of seventeen, receiving a gold medal for declamation. Edward F. Ed- gerton was graduated from the medical depart- ment of the University of New York, and also from the Homoeopathic College in the same city. He was enjoying a successful practice wlien his death occurred, at the age of thirty- one, in Chicago, at the Lincoln Park Sanita- rium, November 21, 1893, just at the close of the Columbian Fair. The eldest son is George H. Edgerton, who has a wife and five children. Samuel Lloyd Edgerton, a twin brother of Dr. Edward, is married, and resides at Unadilla, being connected with the Han- ford Wagon Company.
Mrs. Edgerton is an Episcopalian. Mr Edgerton is a Mason and a Democrat, though not an office-holder. The records of such families as the Edgertons suggest such praise as James Russell Lowell bestowed on Presi- dent Garfield, "The soil out of which such men as he are made is good to be born on, good to live on, good to die for, and to be buried in."
OBERT NESBITT, a prominent and wealthy citizen and farmer of Stam- ford, was born on St. Valentine's Day, 1826, in the same town. His grandfather, William Nesbitt, was an Eng-
lishman, coming to Stamford as an early set- tler as far back as 1795, and bringing with him his wife and children. Speedily he built a log house, and owned two hundred acres, which he cleared by hard work. This home- stead, thus won from the wilderness, became very dear to him; and there he died at the age of eighty, after a prosperous agricultural career, still maintaining his faith in the Epis- copal church, wherein he had been reared. He was a Federalist, or Whig, and attributed the ills of the nation to the misrule of the opposition party when in power. It was no easy task for a farmer in Delaware County a century ago, when every bushel of meal had to be ground in Schoharie County, where stood the nearest mill; but game and fish were plentiful. Grandfather Nesbitt had three sons and two daughters - George, Will- iam, Robert, Nancy, and Mary, all of whom grew up and married, but have passed into "that undiscovered country, fromn whose bourne no traveller returns."
George Nesbitt was born in the English home about the year 1777, while the colonies were fighting for their independence, and came over at the age of eighteen, with his parents, younger brothers, and sisters. He married Elizabeth Maynard, a native of Bo- vina. More about the Maynards may be found in the sketch under that name. George Nesbitt was a good farmer, and his fertile fields laughed out with plenty. Such a man could not be otherwise than prominent in local affairs. When the anti-rent contest arose, he sided very strongly with the efforts of the common people to resist aristocratic land-monopoly; and he also served as Super- visor and School Commissioner in Bovina, where his farm was located. With his youth- ful training in Great Britain, it was but nat- ural for him to follow the religious example of his father, and be an Episcopalian ; but his wife was a Methodist. He was also like his father in being a Whig; but, when this party disappeared in 1856, he joined the Demo- cratic ranks. His last years were spent in Stamford, he dying on the parental farm, which had come into his possession. There, also, his wife died, at the great age of eighty- five. Of their eight children six grew to
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adult age, and three still survive. William Nesbitt lives a retired life in Stamford, and George is in De Kalb County, Ill.
The youngest of these sons, Robert, is the special subject of this sketch, and was named after an uncle. He grew up like other lads of the neighborhood, working on the home farm and attending the district school. A year after he came of age he learned carpentry under Hector Cowan, and in 1849 began for himself the business which for fifteen years he carried on uninterruptedly. His first pay was at the rate of ten dollars per month, from Charles Higby, who paid him, not in the ex- pected cash, but with a promissory note. Frugal in disposition, he at last accumulated fifteen hundred dollars, wherewith he bought part of the old homestead. In September, 1868, he married. The bride was Jane Whip- ple, a daughter of Daniel and Maria (Cham- berlain) Whipple. Daniel Whipple was born in the Green Mountain State, and his wife in Roxbury, Delaware County. Not only was he a successful farmer, but a tanner also, a trade much in demand in a new country. His declining years were spent in Kortright, where he died at the age of eighty-seven, his wife passing away at the age of sixty-six. They had ten children, of whom eight sur- vive; and the family belonged to the Meth- odist body. Mr. Whipple was a Republican in politics.
Mr. Nesbitt from time to time increased the old farm, till it included over five hundred acres; but in 1868, at the time of his mar- riage, he sold out, in order to buy another farm, where he still resides, and which was at one time only one hundred acres smaller than the old one; but he has parted with portions of it, till now he carries on a little less than three hundred and fifty acres, which are in first-rate condition, affording pasturage for sixty cows, besides other stock. What he has he has earned by hard labor, and thriftily cares for. Land and buildings are in fine condition, and one can read prosperity in barn and meadow. Mr. Nesbitt has been chosen a director of the new creamery in process of erection in South Kortright. Though he has been a Stamford Assessor, he has not cared to mix very much in political life. The family
belong to the Presbyterian society in Almeda. Only two children have blessed the home, and one of these has been already called to higher spheres. Sherman S. Nesbitt was born Feb- ruary 17, 1875. In the same year, on No- vember 14, in Schoharie County, was born his wife, Hattie Hilts, a daughter of Jay and Lydia (Boyington) Hilts, farm-owners. The deceased brother was the older of the two, and born July 12, 1872. He bore the family names, Robert Whipple Nesbitt, and passed away July 17, 1891, in the very bloom of his youth, his twentieth year only five days begun.
Mr. Nesbitt may well look with pride upon lowland and upland, as well as upon the cat- tle so well cared for, not only by himself, but by his enterprising son, who, with his young wife beside him, is not only the pride of his father's heart, but bids fair to share his agri- cultural laurels .. Well did the late President Garfield say: "If wrinkles must be written upon our brows, let them not be written upon the heart. The spirit should not grow old." With equal truth was it said by an older thinker and scholar, Josiah Quincy, “An agricultural life is one eminently calculated for human happiness and human virtue."
APTAIN JULIUS W. ST. JOHN. In the annals of Delaware County no name stands forth more promi- nently, or adds a brighter lustre to its records, than that of the gentleman whose name heads this sketch. For many years he has been an important factor in the mercan- tile circles of the town of Walton, having been senior partner in the firm of St. John, Eells & Reynolds, dealers in hardware. He is one of Walton's favored sons, his birth occurring within its limits, March 29, 1855. His father, William S. St. John, was born in Walton, about half a mile from the village, on the East Brook Road, April 13, 1822. He was a son of Thaddeus Seymour St. John, who was also a native of Walton, where he spent his entire life. In his early days he was engaged in farming, but relinquished that occupation, and for several years managed the only hotel in town. He subsequently opened a store for the sale of general mer-
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chandise, and carried on an extensive busi- ness, being one of the most prominent merchants in this vicinity, and remaining actively engaged in business until the time of his death. He married Hannah Gray Eells.
The father of the subject of this sketch was but six years of age when his parents removed from their farm to the hotel, which was lo- cated three miles up the river from the vil- lage of Walton. There he resided until ten years old, and during the last three years of his residence there carried the mail from Wal- ton to Downsville, a distance of twelve miles, on horseback, being, without doubt, the youngest mail-carrier in existence. At the expiration of that time his father entered upon his mercantile career in the village of Wal- ton ; and he pursued his studies in the village school, and afterward attended the academy at Delhi one winter, remaining with his parents until twenty-one years old. He then assumed the responsibilities of married life, support- ing himself and wife by clerking in his father's store. He later entered the business as a partner, continuing for a short timc, when the goods were sold out and the firm dis- solved. He then went to Ohio, where he dealt in sheep and cattle, buying there and selling to the New York market. Returning to Walton, he again entered the mercantile business, forming a partnership with S. North, and continuing with him a few years, when he bought out the interest of his part- ner, and ran the business alone for a time. He subsequently took in H. E. St. John, and carried on business with him for a time, then bought him out, and made his son, Charles B., a partner; and the firm continued thus for a few years. He afterward removed to Nor- wich, where he was employed some years in the shops of the Ontario & Western Railway Company, then, returning to Walton, was for a time in the coal office of Pond & Fancher. Later he went to Sing-Sing, and worked for a time on the New York Central Railway, then came back to the place of his nativity, where he has since lived retired.
He has been twice married. When he was twenty-one years of age, his union with Juli- ette Bristol, the daughter of John and Pris-
cilla Bristol, of Walton, was celebrated. She died, leaving four children, as follows : George, an engineer, who was killed on the railway at Liberty, was married, and left one son, who is now running an engine on the fast express from Middletown to New York, and is considered one of the best engineers in the employ of the Ontario & Western Railway Company ; Charles B. ; Edward S. ; and Flor- ence, who died when young. In 1850 Mr. St. John was again married, taking for a wife Mrs. Betsey Ann (Hanford) Waring, a daugh- ter of Seth Hanford, a native of Walton, but of New England origin. Of this union two children (twins) have been born: Julius W., the subject of this sketch; and Julia B., the wife of Charles S. Waters, of Norwich, N. Y. In politics Mr. St. John uniformly supports the Republican ticket, and has served as Col- lector of Taxes and as Trustee of the school district. His wife is an active worker in the Congregational church, of which she has been a member for years.
The subject of this sketch spent the days of his boyhood and youth with his father, obtain- ing his preliminary education in the village school, and completing it in the Walton Academy. On October 20, 1873, he began to learn the tinsmith's trade with S. B. Fitch, and also assisted in clerking in his large hard- ware store. In 1877 he was taken into part- nership, buying a one-third interest, and so continued, the firm being known as S. B. Fitch & Co., for two years. Then, selling out to his partners, Mr. St. John went on the road, selling stoves for Russell, Wheeler, Son & Co., of Utica, N. Y., and remained in their employ until February 14, 1885. He then established the present hardware business here, from which he has just retired, succeed- ing Eells & Wood, under the firm name of L. S. & J. W. St. John, and having a store at the corner of North and Delaware Streets, the old Eells store. This firm continued until June 20, 1889, when L. S. St. John sold out his interest to J. P. White, the firm name being changed to St. John & White; and on November 14, 1890, the present magnificent store, which had been erected and completed under the supervision of our subject, was opened. This is conceded to be one of the
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finest hardware stores in the State of New York; and in it the firm continued to do business until January 1, 1891, when Mr. White retired, Mr. St. John buying his inter- est. On February I of the same year Messrs. Eells and Reynolds, whose sketches appear elsewhere in this volume, were taken into partnership; and the firm name changed to St. John, Eells & Reynolds, continuing to read thus until May 1, 1894, when Mr. St. John practically retired from the business, although remaining with and assisting Messrs. Eells and Reynolds in the management of the same.
The stock of goods carried by this firm is the largest in any town in the State of New York; and the store is one of the largest, fin- est, and best-arranged in the State, its stock of goods being one of the most complete to be found in the country. The business, which was established by Henry Eells, the father of the present partner, nearly half a century ago, has been successfully conducted from that time to the present, and more particularly so dur- ing the past ten years, under the able man- agement of Mr. St. John. His excellent reputation throughout the surrounding coun- try, his pleasant, agreeable manners, and his frank, open, and straightforward business methods have won for him a large circle of friends, and have materially increased the profits of the business. September 15, 1894, he purchased the interest of E. W. Pond, of the firm of Pond & North, in the insurance business, which business will be continued under the firm name of North & St. John.
In all social matters, and, in fact, in all matters connected with the advancement of the village of Walton, the Captain has always taken a very warm interest. On May 29, 1879, he joined the Thirty-third Separate Company of Walton, under the command of Captain M. W. Marvin, a sketch of whom appears upon another page of this volume. On account of being compelled to travel in the interests of his business, the name of Mr. St. John was dropped from the rolls of the company on April 21, 1880; but on May 5, 1887, he re-enlisted, and on April 6, 1888, was elected to the position of Second Lieu- tenant from the ranks, passing all interme- diate offices of positions, showing his immense
popularity with the members of the company. This rank he retained until March 29, 1890, when he was promoted to First Lieutenant, and continued in this position until July 5, 1892, when he was made Captain of the com- pany, which at this time consisted of seventy- six men, not more than half of whom were located within the corporation limits. The company has now the names of ninety-four men upon its rolls, nine-tenths of whom are within the corporation limits, and in point of discipline and execution has few superiors in the State. Through the influence of Captain St. John and his friends a bill has been passed, and signed by the Governor, for a magnificent new armory, which will be com- pleted in about a year, and will be one of the finest armories of a separate company in the State. In all martial circles the name of Captain St. John is held in high respect, and in all martial matters his opinions are eagerly sought for.
The Captain is also a member of Walton Lodge, No. 559, A. F. & A. M., of which he is Senior Warden. He is a Royal Arch Mason, and Treasurer of the chapter to which he belongs. He is a member of the Lodge of Perfection, Scottish Rite, of Utica, an ex- member of the Red Men, and a charter mem- ber of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, of which he is now Master Workman. Mr. St. John was also a charter member, and the first torch boy of the Alert Hose Company ; and, when he left in 1880, he had risen to the position of foreman of the company, of which he had been secretary for many years. He likewise belonged to the band and orches- tra for many years, and has been an official member in every secret society organized in the village of Walton within the past twenty years.
On September 26, 1876, Mr. St. John was united in marriage with Miss Hattie Ada J. Chrisman, one of three children born to James D. and Julia A. (Bassett) Chrisman, a sketch of whose lives may be found elsewhere in this work. The pleasant household thus formed has been brightened and enlivened by the advent of three children; namely, Earl Shef- field, Frank Chrisman, and Howard Raymond. Mr. St. John and his family are members of
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the Episcopal church of Walton, and for twenty years he has sung in its choir. He is also an officer of the church, having been elected Vestryman in 1888, and is now serv- ing as Junior Warden. Politically, he is a Republican, and is now a Trustee of the School Board. He was a member of the Building Committee when the present mag- nificent Union School building was erected.
OHN JAY ANDREWS, a prominent resident of Kortright, was born in the same town on the last day of January, 1840. His mother, Nancy Mace, was born in Kortright, with the nineteenth cen- tury, November 10, 1800. His father, for whom he was named, John Andrews, was born in Stamford on May II; 1798. The grandfather, Samuel Wakeman Andrews, was a farmer, who on horseback came from Con- necticut to Delaware County, and settled in Stamford, where he bought a tract of wild land, and built a log cabin. This was in 1790, while Washington was in the midst of his first administration. Catskill was the nearest market. Game was very abundant. Success meant hard labor; but in this respect Samuel Andrews was fully up to the mark, taking the lead among the agriculturists of his day. At his death, at the age of sixty- five, he was the proud possessor of four hun- dred valuable acres, and left his family the equal heritage of a good name. He was a Democrat (Republican, the party was early called), and perhaps not particularly well pleased when, not long before his son John's birth, the Federalists elected John Adams, in opposition to that deep thinker and steadfast patriot, Thomas Jefferson. Mr. Andrews be- longed to the Baptist church; but his wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Meriam, was a Methodist. They had ten sons and two daughters, all but one of whom lived to the age of about fourscore, and one was living in 1894 - Benjamin Andrews, of New York City.
Among these children, as already sug- gested, was John, the father of the subject of this sketch. He grew up on the farm in Stamford, but added to farming a skilful
knowledge of carpentry. His first land pur- chase was in another part of Delaware County, the town of Hamden, where he also found plenty to do as a builder. His next business venture was in Kortright, where he added wagon-making to his former trade, and also bought a second farm, on which he labored till the last part of his life. He passed from earth in 1881, while living in his son John's home, at the good old age of eighty-three. His wife died in the same filial home, at the age of eighty-five. Both were stanch adher- ents of the United Presbyterian church. Politically, he followed his father in being a Democrat ; and he had nearly the same num- ber of children, ten in all, of whom six sur- vive. Samuel, named for his grandfather, is a citizen of the metropolis, and so are his brothers, Charles and Benjamin Clark. Their sister Elizabeth has a home with her brother John J. Mrs. Mary D. Bush, another sister, lives in the village of Hobart. Simcon Mace Andrews died at the age of sixty-six. Charles Clark, Cordelia, and Hannah Andrews died in early life. It is a religious as well as a patri- otic satisfaction to the Andrews family that they are able to trace their lineage directly back to an ancestor bearing the same name, who crossed the seas in the "Mayflower, " and landed where "the breaking waves dashed high, on a stern and rockbound coast."
J. J. Andrews was like his father in grow- ing to manhood on the paternal acres, though in a different district. What schooling was possible he obtained in his native place. Even after he began to support himself he still lived under the parental roof-tree, and cared for his father and mother in their feebler years. He was not married till the second day of October, 1878. The bride was born in Hobart, April 24, 1859. Her name was Mary Emma Kniskern, and at the time of her marriage she was only nineteen. Her mother, Jane Eleanor Story, was born in Schoharie County, December 17, 1828; and her father, John F. Kniskern, an industrious cabinet- maker and builder, was born in the same county, February 7, 1822. Their home was, and still is, in Hobart, where they are active workers in the Methodist church. A Repub- lican in politics, Mr. Kniskern has always
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been interested in everything that affects the welfare of the community. To the Kniskerns were born ten children, as also to the parents of Mr. Andrews. Walter J. is a house- painter in Hobart. Aldamont is a book- keeper in Baltimore. Mrs. Maud Chapman resides in New York City. Claude is a resi- dent of Hobart. Mary is the wife of Mr. Andrews. Mrs. Cora L. P. Lyon resides in the metropolis. Herman and John B. are both painters in the village of Hobart, like their brother Walter. Elloy and Jennie both died when only eighteen months old.
The productive farm where Mr. Andrews and his family reside was bought in 1865, just at the close of the Civil War. To the original two hundred and eighteen acres he added one hundred and twenty-six more two years later, so that he now owns three hun- dred and forty-four acres, one of the largest farms in this section. Like his neighbors, he turns his attention mainly to dairy products, having seventy-five milch cows, and selling ten cans of milk daily, the year round. He also deals in fine horses, and keeps his barns and stables in excellent condition.
Three children have blessed the home. Maud Elizabeth was born November 23, 1879, and still graces the homestead. John Sim- eon, named for grandfathers and an uncle, was born May 15, 1884, and has not yet left home; and the same is naturally true of his younger brother, Benjamin Clark, born March 22, 1887. These children are growing up an honor to their parents. Mrs. Andrews is Presbyterian in faith. Her husband, how- ever, is a liberal in his religious views. In politics he is a Democrat, like the two gener- ations preceding him. The home is located in the beautiful valley of the Delaware River, and surrounded by the hills and mountains forming part of the famous Catskill range.
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