Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Delaware County, New York, Part 39

Author: Biographical Review Publishing Company, Boston, pub
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Boston : Biographical Review Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 744

USA > New York > Delaware County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Delaware County, New York > Part 39

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Isabella Hotchkiss was a daughter of Ros- well and Margaret (Harper) Hotchkiss, whose marriage took place May 16, 1786, soon after the Revolution. Mr. Hotchkiss built a dis- tillery, and a factory where nails were made by hand, near West Harpersfield. On the brook he put up mills, where he did all the sawing for the people in that region; and he also had a turning-lathe. He bought and cleared land for a farm, erected buildings on it, was an active, enterprising man, and lived to the age of eighty-three years and five months, dying December 28, 1845. His wife was seventy-nine at the time of her death, January 22, 1845. Their children were: John Hotchkiss, born July 10, 1788; Joseph Hotchkiss, April 14, 1790; Roswell Hotch- kiss, Jr., April 4, 1792; Isabella Hotchkiss, August 6, 1795; Russell Hotchkiss, July 12, 1797; Margaret Hotchkiss, March 4, 1800; Mary Ann Hotchkiss, January 14, 1804; and Sally Hotchkiss, January 7, 1806; besides two who died in infancy.

Margaret Harper, wife of Roswell Hotch- kiss, was a daughter of John and Abigail (Montgomery) Harper, and a grand-daughter of James and Jeanette (Lues) Harper, who were born in Ireland, though their families are traced to Germany and France. James

Harper sailed with his family from Derry, Ireland, and landed at Casco Bay, on the coast of Maine, in October, 1720. Here they set- tled; but when war broke out with the Ind- ians they moved, with the exception of one son, John, to Boston, and thenceforth all traces of them disappear. John remained in Maine, serving in the army three years. Then he went to Boston, and thence to Hop- kinton, Mass., where he married Abigail Montgomery, November 8, 1728. After a time he moved to Noddle's Island, now East Boston, Mass., thence to Windsor, Conn., and thence in 1754 to Cherry Valley, Albany County, now Otsego County, New York. Here he bought a tract of land, and began to clear and cultivate it; but after a few years he pulled up stakes, and came to Harpersfield, where his death occurred April 20, 1785. His children were: William, James, Mary, Colonel John, Margaret, Joseph, Alexander, and Abigail Harper.

John Harper, Jr., their third son, was the chief founder of Harpersfield. He attended school at Lebanon, and there became ac- quainted with a young Indian, who was after- ward the celebrated chief, Joseph Brant. From him young Harper learned much con- cerning the ways of the red man, which was of service to him in after years, when he was a soldier in the War of the Revolution, and served with honor and distinction, gaining the rank of Colonel by his bravery and sagac- ity. Often, when coming in contact with the Indians, his cool courage, combined with an unusual knowledge of their language and habits, was the means of saving himself and others from destruction. Colonel John Har- per married Marion Tompson, and four chil- dren were the result of this union. They were John, Archibald, Margaret, and Ruth Harper. John Harper, the third, born July 10, 1774, enjoyed the distinction of being the first white child born in Delaware County.

Prior to the Revolution the Harpers, find- ing that the Indians possessed territory which they were willing to sell between the Dela- ware and Charlotte Rivers, determined to buy, and to found a settlement of their own; but, before they could complete the purchase, they were obliged to have a license from the

GEORGE F. POST.

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government. This they procured, and they bought twenty-two thousand acres. The pat- ent running to them was from King George III. as a lease, which stipulated that a yearly tax be paid of two shillings and sixpence a hundred acres for the use of the ground, not going over onc foot deep; but a release from this obligation was given by the State of New York, after independence was declared. In- cluded in this grant were the names of John Harper, Sr., William Harper, John Harper, Jr., Joscph Harper, and Alexander Harper. After the war Colonel John Harper did much toward founding the permanent settlement at Harpersfield, building mills and stores. He died November 20, 1811, his wife having been dcad since 1778.

Daniel N. Gaylord, Jr., son of Daniel N. and Isabella (Hotchkiss) Gaylord, was born near where he now lives, in Harpersfield, and was educated at the district school. He be- came a partner in the firm of Peck & Harper, but soon bought them out, and managed the store alone for several years. Then he gave up mercantile life for agricultural, buying one farm after another until he was the owner of four hundred acres. He married for his first wife Mary Stevens, a daughter of Seely Ste- vens, who was one of the earliest hotel-keepers in Delaware County. Mr. Stevens was the owner and manager of the hotel at Stamford, built in 1807, which has since been converted into a dwelling-house, and is now owned by S. B. Champion. The children of Mr. Gay- lord's first marriage were: Edward, Sarah, and John Gaylord, all of whom dicd young; and Harper B. Gaylord, whose name heads the present sketch. Mrs. Mary Stevens Gay- lord died at the age of fifty-three; and Mr. D. N. Gaylord has since married Rose Vroo- man, a daughter of Cornelius Vrooman, of Blenheim, by whom he has one child, Edward Gaylord, born February 15, 1882. Mr. Gay- lord stocked his storc, and therc established his son Harper.

On account of poor health, Harper B. Gay- lord, like his father before him, cxchanged the life of the store for the freer range of the farm, settling on the old homestead. On March 15, 1880, he married Hattie, daughter of Bennett Graff, who came from Leipsic, Ger-

many, to New York City, where he residcd some time. From there he moved to Hobart, Delaware County, and thence to Kortright, where he is a painter and cabinet-maker. Hc married Mary J. Tinker, daughter of Stephen Tinker, and had two children - Hattie and Wesley, the latter of whom died when a child. His first wife dying at the age of twenty-eight years, Mr. Graff married for his second wife Hattie Keeler, of Kortright, by whom he has one son, Edmund L. Graff.

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Harper B. Gay- lord is blessed with two children: Roswell Hotchkiss Gaylord, born January 22, 1881 ; and Alice Mary Gaylord, born November 16, 1889. Their father and his father are both Republicans, and both families are connected with the United Presbyterian church. Mr. Gaylord is a worthy descendant of his pioneer and Revolutionary ancestry, and is highly es- teemed in the town which his family founded.

R EV. GEORGE F. POST, a retired Baptist minister, living at Meredith, Delaware County, N. Y., was born at Bozrah, Conn., September 24, 1813. His father, Stephen Post, Jr., a native of the same town, camc to Meredith in 1818, and, taking up a tract of timbcred land, cleared it, and got it into a state of cultiva- tion. A few years later he sold this prop- erty and moved to West Meredith, living there for some time, afterward returning to Connecticut, dying there, aged sixty-three. Mrs. Post, who was a Miss Amanda M. Burchard before marriage, was the mother of five children: George F .; Ira Hill; Charles B., a missionary in California; Samuel A., deceased, who graduated from Yale College, afterward engaging in teaching; and Harriet Amanda, wife of Nathan Ayer, a graduate of Troy, and teacher in a female college in North Carolina.

George F. Post spent his early years in Mercdith, and at the carly age of thirteen worked on a farm by the month, continuing at this labor until he was twenty-one. His schooling was obtained during the winter months. He prepared himself for college, entering Hamilton, graduating from there

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after a four years' course. He was ordained in Westford, Otsego County, in 1838, his first charge being at Leesville, near Sharon Springs, where he preached for about six years. His next charge was at New Berlin, where he remained for six years, and was then called to the home of his childhood. He re- mained in Meredith about three years, was at Franklin two years, and again returned to Meredith for another three years. His next charge was at Jersey City; and he went from there to East Lyme, Conn., where he re- mained four years. He was once more re- called to Meredith, and preached here until 1882, when he retired, and has since made his home with Mr. Ayer, of Camden, N.J.

The Rev. Mr. Post was married in 1838 to Miss Mercy Galloup, a daughter of Thomas Galloup, a well-known farmer of Cassville, Oneida County. Mr. Galloup and his wife were originally from Connecticut, but for many years had been residents of Cassville. They were the parents of seven children. Elder Post has always been an earnest worker in the temperance movement, and early joined the ranks of the Abolitionists. During his long and active course, which in every sense has been that of a noble and Christian man, he has ever lived up to the principles he preached. Always first and foremost in every good and noble work, he is revered and re- spected throughout the length and breadth of the county, the serene content of his old age being the result of a godly, useful, and unself- ish life.

Probably few portraits within these covers will be more welcome to a larger circle of friends than the accompanying likeness of this faithful preacher of the gospel of peace.

ILLIAM G. SMITH, M.D., of the firm of Smith Brothers of Walton, N. Y., the partners of the firm being William G. and John D. Smith, is a graduate of Bellevue Medical College, of New York City, and a young man of good mental powers, well educated, and well equipped for the battle of life, having before him the pros- pect of a useful and honored career. He was born in Walton on the homestead where he

now resides, on October 11, 1866. Mr. Smith is of Scotch antecedents, his great-grand- father, John Smith, having emigrated from Scotland with his family in 1818, becoming one of the early settlers of Delhi. Buying a tract of land, which was mostly covered with timber, he cleared a small farm, and made that his permanent home. This farm is now owned by the Howland brothers, and adjoins the farm of the Smith brothers.

Robert Smith, son of John the emigrant, was about eighteen years of age when he left his home in Scotland; and after his arrival in this country he assisted his father in clearing land and in establishing a home in the wilderness, remaining at home until his marriage with Christina McFarlane. He then purchased a farm on Scotch Mountain, Delhi, where he lived and reared a family of ten children, who may be thus briefly designated : Jane married Alexander Shaw, of Delhi. Nancy married Robert Sloan, of Walton. John W. was the father of the subject of the present sketch. Catherine married Robert Wight. Robert was the fifth child. Chris- tian married John Armstrong, of Salinas, Cal. Janet married James Miller, of Fresno, Cal. Daniel was the eighth, and Alexander E. the ninth child. Margaret, the youngest, married Alexander Tweedy, of Walton village. The parents of this large family spent the years of their wedded life on their homestead in Delhi, the mother passing away at the age of forty-two years, ere reaching the meridian of life. Her husband survived her, living to the advanced age of seventy-seven years.

John W. Smith was born and bred in the town of Delhi, attending first the district schools, and later the high school, and, after completing his education, was engaged in teaching school in the winter season, and working on a farm in the summer. In 1854 he came to Walton, and, purchasing the prop- erty where his sons now reside, began the improvement of a farm. He placed the land under good cultivation, erected commodious buildings, and successfully conducted the business, farming until the time of his death, which occurred in August, 1882, when fifty- four years of age. He married Jane Wight, daughter of George and Jane (Little) Wight,

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farmers of Delhi, where they spent their last years. Mr. and Mrs. Wight were the parents of ten children; namely, John, Betsey, Rob- ert, Ellen, William, Margaret Ann, Isabella, Jane, George, and Thomas.

John W. Smith and his wife Jane reared seven children, five sons and two daughters; namely, Robert, Jane E., George W., John D., William G., Emma C., and Alexander E., of whom only three are now living; namely, John D., William G., and Emma C. Robert, the eldest, died at the age of twenty- three, at the close of his Junior year in Ham- ilton College. The remaining three died in childhood. John D. married Mary Petrie, the daughter of John and Margaret (Elliott) Petrie, of New Kingston, Delaware County; and their union has been blessed by the birth of two children - Margaret E. and John W.

William G. Smith, being a studious, ambi- tious youth, received excellent educational advantages, and, after leaving the district school, pursued a course of study at the Wal- ton Academy, and later took a business course at the Albany Commercial College, alter- nately working on the farm and attending school. He subsequently entered Bellevue Medical College, from which he was grad- uated in 1894, and expects in the near future to sever his connections with the farm and practise medicine in his native town. In their political affiliations both brothers are inflexible adherents to the principles of the Republican party, and John is serving his fellow-townsmen as Excise Commissioner. Both are members of the United Presbyte- rian church, of which their father was one of the founders, and in which he served with fidelity for many years as an Elder.

ELIX SEARLES, a successful mer- chant tailor of Hancock, N. Y., was born in Withiel, Cornwall, England, May 7, 1837. His father, who was born in the same town, was William Scarles, a black- smith by trade, who there followed his occu- pation until 1848. He then came to America, sailing from Padstow, Cornwall, in the ship "Belle," and after a stormy voyage of six weeks and three days landed at Que-

bec. Going from there to Bethany, Wayne County, Pa., he remained about a year; and then, moving to Cherry Ridge, Pa., he en- gaged in the blacksmith business.

Being moderately successful, he lived in that place until his death at the age of seventy-five years. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Cherry Ridge, and with his wife, who was Mary Blake, of Withiel, Cornwall, and survived her husband about one year, is buried at Cherry Ridge.

They had a family of nine children, namely : Reuben, who was a miller by trade, and passed his days in his native town; Jane, who after her marriage to Philip Williams, a wheelwright, went to Sydney, New South Wales, about 1845, and died in 1860; Caro- line, who went to Australia with her sister, Mrs. Williams, and, having married, made that place her home; Belinda, who died at Cherry Ridge when about seventeen years of age; William, a farmer, who with his wife, Sarah (Gregory) Searles, and a family of seven children, lives at Seelyville, Wayne County, Pa. ; Mary Ann, who married a shoe- maker of Portland, Conn .; Henry Dickerson, who died in 1882; Felix, the subject of this sketch; Thirza, who married William Ham, a carpenter of Honesdale, Pa. ; and Andrew, a farmer near Windsor, Broome County, N. Y., who married Jane Bond, of Honesdale.

Felix at the age of fourteen began to learn the tailor's trade in the employ of William Parmenter, of Honesdale, Pa., where he re- mained for three years. He there worked for Benjamin Sherwood nine years, and, going from there to Hawley, Pa., started in business for himself. After eight years he left Haw- ley, and in 1864 came to the thriving town of Hancock, where he has since been engaged in the clothing business. He carries a large stock of gentlemen's furnishing goods and ready-made clothing in connection with his merchant tailoring, and counts among his cus- tomers the best people in this section.

On October 25, 1869, he married Mary A. Tarbox, daughter of Silas and Ann (Mat- thews) Tarbox, of Honesdale, whose ancestors were soldiers in the patriot army in the Revo- lutionary War. The Tarbox family came originally from France, and were among the

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early colonists of the United States. Mr. and Mrs. Searles have two children: Minnie A., who was born May 23, 1871, obtained her education at the Hancock Academy, and now lives at home with her parents; Clarence Howard, who was born November 2, 1886, now attends the academy in Hancock.

Mr. Searles was one of the charter members of the Knights of Honor in Hancock. He is a well-known and popular citizen; and, being upright in all his dealings, he has gained much respect among his friends and patrons.

ARVEY B. CRONK is one of the most extensive agriculturists at Grand Gorge, in the town of Rox- bury, Delaware County, N. Y., where he was born on July 8, 1832. The great-grandfather, Lawrence Cronk, came from Germany. He was a private in the Revolu- tion, and died of small-pox, leaving only one child, named after himself. Lawrence Cronk, Jr., was born in Tarrytown, on the Hudson River, and when he grew up learned the car- penter's trade. After attaining his majority, he removed to Delaware County, where he at first went to work for Captain Hardenburgh in Roxbury. Then he bought a log house on the turnpike, and kept a tavern there for a couple of years, also working more or less at his trade. Later he bought a small farm. He lived to be ninety-three years old. In politics he was an old-time Whig. His wife, whose maiden name was Nancy Creary, also lived to a good old age; and they brought into the world ten children - John, Nathan, Sally, Nathaniel, Polly, Hannah, Betsey, Phoebe, Edward, and Rosetta Cronk.

Nathaniel Cronk, second son and fourth child of Lawrence, Jr., was born on the farm in Roxbury, where he worked many years. His wife was Abigail, the widow of Charles Harley. They bought of John Powell the farm of two hundred acres on which Nathaniel had been employed, and remained there till 1840, when they bought another place, of a hundred and fifty acres, on the Delaware River, where they built a barn and a large addition to the house. In 1845 they sold this estate to Mr. Cronk's brother John, and

moved back to Ferris Hill, where they lived some years. In their declining days they found a home with their son Harvey, and died in the Methodist faith in which they had lived, he at the age of sixty-seven, and she at eighty-two. In politics Nathaniel Cronk was a Whig till the formation of the Republican party, which he at once joined. Nathaniel and Abigail Cronk had seven children, of whom the eldest is Harvey B. The others were: Volney, Laura, Lyman, Alva, Debois, and Martha Cronk.

Harvey B. Cronk went to the district school, and worked on the home farm till he was twenty-two, when he bought three hun- dred and sixty-five acres, one for every day in the year, which had been settled by the Rev. James Russell; and thereon he erected the present commodious buildings. The next year, 1855, at the age of twenty-three, he married Amanda Moffatt, of whose family an account may be found in another sketch. She died in 1893, aged sixty; but Mr. Cronk is still an active man, enjoying the confidence of his fellow-men. Like his father, he be- longs to the Methodist church; but, unlike his father, he is a Democrat, not a Republi- can. He has held the office of Town Com- missioner over twenty years. His farm now numbers three hundred and fifty acres, and supports nearly sixty cows.

His daughter Mattie was born on September II, 1857. On March 19, 1876, at the age of nineteen, she became the wife of Everett Desilva. He was born in Schoharie County, near the town of Gilboa, on January 24, 1856, and was the son of Ira and Sarah (Thomas) Desilva, and a grandson of Abner Desilva, who was born in France. When not yet ten years old, Abner Desilva was kid- napped while playing on a wharf, and brought to America. He was kindly cared for, however, and lived for a time in Gilboa, but later went West. His children were John, Issachar, Hiram, and Ira Desilva. Ira Desilva was born in Gilboa. In due time he bought a farm of two hundred acres, and then another farm adjoining of a hundred and fifty acres, putting up new buildings, and also a woollen-mill, and becoming a very prosperous manufacturer. His wife was Sarah Thomas,

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a daughter of Martin Van Buren Thomas, a Gilboa lawyer. Ira and Sarah Desilva had a large family of children: Frances Desilva, the wife of Edward Carpenter; Electa Desilva, who lives at Cohoes; Laura, who married W. H. Becker; Josephine, who married Will- iam Dudley, and is no longer living: Rosa, the wife of Frank Simmons; Andrew, de- ceased; Homer, who married Anna Ellen Searls; Henry, who married Emeline Myres; Smith, now living at the West; John, Stephen, and Judson, all deceased; and finally Everett Desilva. Ira Desilva lived to be sixty-eight and his wife seventy-four years. Both were members of the Methodist Epis- copal church, and he was a Democrat in pol- itics.

Everett Desilva attended the public schools in different places till he was fourteen years old, and then worked on a farm until he married Mattie Cronk. Two of their children died young, but they have two living. Leo Harvey Desilva was born March 30, 1880, and Iva Alva on November 4, 1882. Everett Desilva worked for his father-in-law two years after marriage, and then bought a farm near by of a hundred and thirty acres, which he carried on in partnership with Mr. Cronk till 1888. Then the younger gentleman bought the Moore farm, of three hundred and sixty acres, whereon he has built a fine house, measuring forty-two by seventy-four fect, and supplied with all modern improvements. He has also put up a large barn, affording room for sixty head of cattle and four horses. Not only does he raise milk for the New York market, but colts also; and there are about a hundred and fifty sheep on the place. The family attend the Methodist church, and Mr. Desilva is a strong Prohibitionist. Their place is only a mile and a half from Grand Gorge.

AMUEL MEIN is the owner of a valuable estate, consisting of one hundred and sixty acres of well- cultivated land, with good buildings thereon, in the town of Hamden. He is a native of Scotland, and was born in Kirkcud- bright, July 9, 1819.

His parents, Robert and Euphemia (Thomp- son ) Mein, were life-long residents of Scot- land, the father dying there in 1843, aged sixty-two years, and the mother in 1845. Of the six sons and three daughters born to them four sons and one daughter came to America. James Mein, the eldest son, crossed the ocean in 1831 ; and two years later his brother Rob- ert joined him in New York City. They followed their trade of stone-cutting there for eight years before coming to Delaware County. Putting their earnings together, they bought a farm in Delhi, which they car- ried on jointly for a few years; and then each purchased a homestead. Another brother and a sister came from Scotland to this part of New York in 1839; and in 1841 their brother Samuel, of whom we write, came alone, taking passage in a sailing-vessel, and being on the water thirty-two days.

Samuel Mein had learned the shoemaker's trade in his native land; and at this occupa- tion he worked quite a long while after com- ing here, being employed the first winter in the town of Andes, the following six years in Bovina, and the next three years in Hamden. In 1851 Mr. Mein, desirous of seeing more of his adopted country, made a trip to Vir- ginia, sojourning for a short time in one of its quaint towns, and there working at his trade. He subsequently explored a large part of that State, returning to Delhi in October. After his marriage he bought a farm in the town of Delhi, and lived on it seven years, exchanging it then for another in the same town, which he occupied for five years. In 1863 Mr. Mein bought his present farm, which then contained one hundred and ninety-seven acres, for the moneyed considera- tion of three thousand three hundred dollars, his purchase including the stock on the farm. Small parcels of this land he has sold to the villagers, and his homestead property now contains one hundred and sixty acres. He keeps twenty-nine choice milch cows, some of them being grade Jerseys; and from this val- uable dairy he gets three hundred quarts of rich milk twice a day. In its appointments and improvements the farm of Mr. Mein ranks with the best in the locality, being a credit to his industry and good management. He re-

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cently lost a good barn and wagon-house by fire; and the substantial barn which he is now erecting in place of the old one, at a cost of nearly two thousand, is very commodious and conveniently arranged, and one of the finest structures of its kind in the vicinity. The stone basement is nine feet high, with twenty- two-feet posts above; and the timbers are of hemlock. There are two floors above the main floor, the driveway for the hay being on the upper floor; and the hay is thrown down into two immense bays. The second, or mid- dle, floor contains the threshing-room, and also the grain and feed bins. In the basement are accommodations for forty-five head of cattle and from five to seven horses, and one very important feature in connection with this fine building is its excellent system of ventilation.

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Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Delaware County, New York, Part 39

Author: Biographical Review Publishing Company, Boston, pub Publication date: 1895 Publisher: Boston : Biographical Review Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 744

Author: Biographical Review Publishing Company, Boston, pub
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Boston : Biographical Review Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 744