Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Delaware County, New York, Part 47

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 47

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Her father, Hector Cowan, was also born in Stamford; but her mother, whose maiden name was Esther Nesbitt, was born in Bovina. Mr. Cowan was a mechanic, and died before he had completed his half-century, while his widow lived to be seventy years old. Both were earnest Presbyterian church members at South Kortright; and they had seven chil- dren, five now living. Mary Cowan married John N. McCracken, of Oneonta, Otsego County. Jennie Cowan is the wife of Mr. Maynard, and her likeness accompanies that of her husband. William H. Cowan lives in Montgomery, Orange County; he married Miss Mary Keesler, of Orange County, New York. Nancy Cowan is the wife of William R. Brock, of Stamford. George N. Cowan resides in the same town; his wife was Jessie B. Gillespie, now deceased.

The Maynard estate is in the prime of cul- tivation. Its owner maintains that every farm should produce enough feed for its live stock. Therefore he does not buy grain, like many other milk farmers, and prefers to have the creatures at pasture in the summer. Never- theless, his is the model farm, his nineteen Jersey cows and heifers yielding in 1893 about four thousand one hundred pounds of golden butter, besides what was used in the family, the dairy being run only through the summer season.

The farm buildings are in the finest order. The family residence, built in 1887, is both beautiful and costly, and is provided with every modern conven- ience. Like the mansion, the grounds are elaborately arranged and decorated. To every detail of the farm work the owner gives his personal attention. In every local enterprise he is thoroughly interested, like his progeni- tors. Like his father and grandfather, Mr. Maynard is a Democrat, and has been four years Justice of Peace. The family attend the United Presbyterian church at Bovina Centre. There is one son only, William H. Maynard, born June 6, 1876, in the centen- nial year. In the class of 1894 he graduated honorably at the Delaware Academy in Delhi. He is now attending Westminster College, New Wilmington, Pa.

As the reader turns to view the portrait of Mr. Archibald F. Maynard on a neighboring

page, opposite that of Mrs. Maynard, he may well call to mind the words of that enlight- ened Democratic philosopher and president, Thomas Jefferson, "Let the farmer forever- more be honored in his calling, for they who labor in the earth are the chosen people of God."

AMES R. HONEYWELL, County Treasurer, became the incumbent of this responsible office in the year 1886, and since that period has faithfully and efficiently discharged the duties connected with it. He is known as a man of intelli- gence, honesty, and ability, and is regarded as a good authority on questions of finance. Having by close attention to business accumu- lated, while yet in the prime of life, a fair competence, he is now enabled to devote his entire time to the large interests intrusted to his care. Among the solid and substantial citizens of Delhi he holds an honored posi- tion and one which he has well earned.

Mr. Honeywell is a native of Delaware County, having been born December 1, 1842, in the town of Walton, which was also the birthplace of his parents, Alfred and Mar- garet (Russell) Honeywell, the latter being of Scotch parentage. He is of pioneer ancestry, his great-grandfather, Matthias Honeywell, a Revolutionary soldier, having been an early settler of Walton, where he cleared and im- proved a good homestead. The grandfather, William Honeywell, was a soldier in the War of 1812, and after its close carried on his trade of miller in the town of Walton, re- maining there until his decease.

Mr. Honeywell grew to man's estate in the place of his nativity, receiving the common- school advantages to which every child was entitled. Possessing excellent business tact and shrewdness, he early turned his attention toward mercantile pursuits, and in 1865 be- came a resident of Delhi, entering the em- ploy of Henry England as a clerk in his store. In this capacity he proved himself eminently trustworthy, and in the course of a few years became thoroughly conversant with the mer- cantile business, and found it so congenial to his tastes that in 1872 he bought out the

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interest of Mr. England in the store, and was for several years one of the leading merchants of Delhi. During his residence here he has acquired a reputation for financial sagacity and executive ability, and has been elected to various offices of trust. He is at present one of the trustees of the Delaware Academy, and is a director of the Delaware Loan & Trust Company. Politically, Mr. Honeywell is an uncompromising Republican, and frater- nally is prominent in masonic circles, being Trustee of Delhi Lodge, King of Delhi Chap- ter, and belonging to Norwich Commandery.

The union of Mr. Honeywell and Miss Mary Walsworth, of Sing-Sing, N. Y., was solemnized some ten years since; and two children, Warren and Marguerite, have come to gladden their hearts and brighten their fireside. They have an attractive and cosey residence on High Street, where they dis- pense a generous hospitality to their numerous friends and acquaintances. Both Mr. and Mrs. Honeywell are communicants of the Methodist Episcopal church and active workers in the Sunday-school.

BADIAH M. NEFF, a well-known farmer and dairyman of Deposit, was born in Lawrence, Otsego County, July 13, 1822, son of Jacob B. and Nancy (Thayer) Neff. The father of Jacob B. Neff was a pioneer settler in the eastern part of New York, and died in carly manhood, leaving his widow and children to the care of his son, who was born and educated in Am- sterdam, Montgomery County, and there learned the trade of a cooper. When quite young, Jacob moved with the family to Law- rence, where he purchased a tract of land, and made a home for his widowed mother and his brothers and sisters. He clearcd the land, erected a log cabin, and worked both at farm- ing and at his trade of cooper. His mother carded, wove, and spun all the flax and wool used for the clothes of her family, proving herself an exceptionally capable and industri- ous woman.

When nineteen years of age, Jacob B. Neff married Nancy Thayer, of Otsego County, a daughter of Asa and Lydia Thayer. In 1839

he disposed of his property in Lawrence, and moved to Tompkins, Delaware County, in the section now known as Deposit. He pur- chased two hundred acres of partially cleared land in Barbourville, and followed the occu- pations of a farmer and a cooper, at which he was employed until his death at eighty years, his wife having died a short time previous. They had eight children; namely, Obadiah, Martha, Asa, Nancy, Lucy, Rebecca, Will- iam, and Esther. Mr. Neff was a Democrat, and both he and his wife were life-long mem- bers of the Christian church.

Obadiah M. Neff was educated in Law- rence, and learned the cooper's trade. Going to work by the month when seventeen, he was employed in that way until he started out for himself at the age of twenty-four. He bought a tract of timbered land in Tompkins, built him a frame house, and engaged in lumbering and farming. On February 18, 1840, he mar- ried Miss Mary Ann Culver, daughter of Joshua and Parlina (Mills) Culver, of Mason- ville.

Ichabod Culver, the father of Joshua, came from Dutchess to Delaware County before the Revolutionary War, when the country around there was a desolate wilderness; and he was killed at the raising of a mill building. In those days the settlers were obliged to take their live stock into the house to protect them from the wild animals, which were exceed- ingly abundant. The grandmother of Mrs. Neff was once followed by a panther, and was obliged to gallop for many miles before she finally reached shelter and escaped the fero- cious beast. Joshua Culver was a farmer and lumberman, clearing a large tract of land in Barbourville; and his wife manufactured all the cloth used for the family. Six of their children lived to reach maturity; namely, Thomas, Mary Ann, Hannah, Elvira, Ange- line, and Cynthia. Thrce died within three weeks of one another - Betsey Jane, Alice, and Henrietta.

Mr. and Mrs. Obadiah Neff have five chil- dren now living, namely: Walter, who mar- ried Violetta Knapp, and has two children : Alice, the wife of Valdermar Mayo, of De- posit, and the mother of five children ; Ernest, who married Nettie Miles, of Deposit,

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and has one child; William; and Edmund. Three of their children, Amelia, Alonzo, and Joshua, died when quite young. Mr. Neff and his son Walter are engaged in farming on the old homestead, and in dairying, in which they are very successful. Mr. Neff is as strong and active as in former years, and his genial countenance is welcome wherever it is seen.

HARLES SMITH ALLABEN, M.D., a prominent medical practi- tioner of Margarettville, in Middle- town, Delaware County, N. Y., was born in Delhi on January 27, 1855. His father, James R. Allaben, was a son of John Allaben, and a grandson of Jonathan Allaben. Jonathan Allaben was born in Connecticut, but went to Long Island, and was drowned in Long Island Sound not many years after the Revolution. His son, John Allaben, was born on Long Island, and married Fezon McIntyre. He removed to Delhi, and next to Roxbury, where he bought a farm, and remained until death, at sixty-four years of age. He had several children, seven of whom grew up. Orson M. Allaben, M.D., married Thankful Dimmick, and had two children, both dying young. Wilson Allaben, M.D., by his wife Nancy was the father of six children. Jona- than C. Allaben, M.D., married Angeline Decker, and is now dead. His widow sur- vives. They were the parents of seven chil- dren, four of whom still live. The Rev. William N. Allaben, of Margarettville, is the only one of the family now living. He is in his seventy-ninth year, and has been married three times. He had five children by his first wife and two by the second, but has only one now living. Abigail Allaben married. She and her husband are both deceased. James R. Allaben is the subject of further mention below. Sarah Antoinette Allaben married William R. Sanford, and died, leaving six children, having had ten or twelve.

James R. Allaben was born in Roxbury, October 20, 1823, and was educated in the district school and at Delaware Academy. He was admitted to the bar in 1848, being one of the first lawyers to study with Judge

Wheeler, and in 1860 served as one of the Presidential electors who recorded the vote of the people for Abraham Lincoln. In Jan- uary, 1853, he married Ellen P. Smith, of Delhi, a daughter of James and Eliza M. Smith. James Smith was born in Andes, but came to Delhi, where he was known as a reli- able merchant. His children were: Amasa J. Smith, who married Eusebia Faulkner; Charles B. Smith, who died at the age of eighteen or nineteen; Eliza M., who became the wife of Henry R. Washbon; and Ellen P. Smith, Mrs. Allaben, who died April 15, 1874. Her husband, James R. Allaben, was appointed United States Storekeeper in 1861, and went to Brooklyn, where, with the excep- tion of three years, he remained until death, on September 14, 1893. They had seven

children. William H. Allaben married in Brooklyn. Charles S. Allaben is the Mar- garettville Doctor. Eliza M. Allaben mar- ried George T. Moore, and lives in Brooklyn. Orson M. Allaben, second, died young. James R. Allaben, Jr., married Anna Mc- Nitt, and died February 15, 1889, leaving one child, Nelson James Allaben. Two other children, John and Ellen C. Allaben, did not live to grow up.

Charles S. Allaben was educated in the Brooklyn public schools and the Delaware Academy, and was graduated from the New York College of Physicians and Surgeons on May 16, 1882. He commenced practising in Brooklyn, and remained there a year. Then he went to Otsego County, where during seven years of successful practice he met and mar- ried on March 28, 1883, Mary Electa Moore, a daughter of Albert G. and Elizabeth A. (Beardsley) Moore. Mr. Moore was a banker, and had a family of three children: Mary E. Moore, born July 9, 1862; and Anna E. and Jessie B. Moore, both dead. Mr. Moore died in his forty-third year; but his widow is liv- ing now, makes her home in Morris, Otsego County, and is sixty-one years old. Dr. Allaben has one son, Charles Moore Allaben, born October 15, 1885. The Doctor is one of the village Trustees. He has lived on Wal- nut Street since 1890, and, being a kinsman of the late noted Dr. Orson M. Allaben, is rapidly gaining the implicit confidence of that

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gentleman's friends. Margarettville is in- deed fortunate in securing such a citizen to help humanity.

" Enjoy the golden moments as they pass,

And gain new strength for days that are to come."

RS. LAURA GILLETT, one of the most estimable and highly re- spected women of the town of Franklin, where she has long been a prominent resident, is the widow of the late Jacob Gillett, who died in this town on the farm where he was born, January I, 1893. The Gilletts were among the pioneer settlers of Delaware County. Joel Gillett, the father of Jacob, was born at Hebron, Conn., February 7, 1773, a son of Ezekiel Gillett, a well-to-do farmer, a soldier of the Revolution, who died in Connecticut in 1819, at seventy-six years of age. Joel Gillett served in the War of 1812. He married Cla- rissa Carrier, of Connecticut; and she in 1802 joined her husband in Franklin, he having come here the year before with oxen and cart to make a new home for himself and family. It was a dense wilderness that this energetic couple were obliged to penetrate, and in the midst of which they made a clearing and built their house, having purchased the land from George Gillett, a brother of Joel, who had come in 1800, and bought one hundred and eighty-seven acres.

Here Mr. and Mrs. Joel Gillett reared their large family of thirteen children, all of whom, with the exception of one son, lived to reach maturity with families of their own. But three of these children still survive, namely : Joel, Jr., who resides in Afton at the ad- vanced age of eighty-seven years; Warren, in Oneonta, aged seventy-seven; Almira, widow of Reuben Stilson. Joel Gillett died in his eightieth year, April 23, 1853, in the liome which he had built, his wife living to be eighty-five years old. Both were members of the Congregational church, in which faith they died; and they now sleep in the Ouleout ceme- tery. Their son Jacob was born in 1820, and on October 21, 1847, married the subject of this sketch, who was then Miss Laura Cleveland.

Mrs. Laura Gillett was born in Kortright,

Deceniber 4, 1823. Her parents, Levi and Rebecca (Dibble) Cleveland, were both of Kortright, where they were married in 1820. They reared a family of eight children. One son, Curtis Cleveland, died in Tioga County, Pennsylvania, where he was engaged in farm- ing, and left three sons and one daughter. A daughter, Polly Cleveland, wife of David Fitch, passed away in Sidney in 1872, being fifty-one years of age. The six children now living are: Mrs. Gillett; Sarah, widow of Seth Bartlett, in Sidney; Amelia Ann, widow of McNight Birdsall, near Unadilla; Chester, in Sidney; Noah, who resides in Crooker- ville; and David, in Unadilla.

Mrs. Gillett has been called upon to part with two sons: David, who died in March, 1863, in his fifteenth year; and Joel, a rail- road employee, who passed away January 21, 1883, being twenty-eight years old. On Jan- uary 1, 1893, her beloved husband was taken away; and she and her children were left to mourn the loss of one who had been the tender, faithful head of the happy household. Jacob Gillett was an intelligent, high-minded, genial man, uniformly courteous and kind, widely known and highly respected in his na- tive town; and by his death an irreparable loss was sustained by the whole community as well as the bereaved family. He died in the house where he had been born, and in which the family at present reside, it still being a well-preserved dwelling of modern appearance, though built seventy-five years ago, having been at all times kept in excellent repair. The fine barn was built by Mr. Gil- lett in 1880.

Mrs. Gillett has four children now living, namely: Urania, wife of Charles Wheaton, who resides near the old home, and has one daughter; Emeline, wife of Manning Fleming, a farmer in Franklin, with two daughters; Flora, wife of George Stewart, a farmer of Bainbridge; and Levi, who married Miss Carrie Judd, daughter of Ira Judd, and lives at home, assisting his mother in the care of the farm. He and his wife have one son, an interesting lad of nine years. In politics Mr. Gillett was a stanch Republican. Mrs. Gil- lett is a warm-hearted, religious woman, a faithful member of the Congregational church.

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AVID MUIR, an industrious and prosperous dairyman and farmer of Andes, Delaware County, N. Y., was born at the homestead where he now resides, December 25, 1845. His grand- father, James Muir, was a native of Fifeshire, Scotland, where he followed the occupation of a shepherd, and lived to a good old age. A son of James, David Muir, Sr., the father of the present David Muir, of Andes, was born in Dundee, and, while still a young man, came to America, landing in New York City. He lived there for seven years, being mostly em- ployed at his trade of stone-cutter. He then married Miss Charlotte Turnbull, who was also a native of Scotland, and, removing to Andes, bought the farm which his son now occupies. It was partially improved; and a mill, one of the first in this part of the coun- try, was situated on the land.

David Muir operated the mill in connection with his farm for many years, living in a log house. His first purchase of land included two hundred acres, to which he added from time to time until at the period of his death, at seventy-eight years of age, he was the possessor of three hundred and fifty acres of land. A hard worker, efficient manager, and liberal-minded man, he succeeded in accumu- lating a comfortable fortune, and, what is far more important, in winning for himself an enviable position in the hearts of his towns- people. He was a Republican in his later years, although a Jackson Democrat in former times. His wife died when seventy-two years of age, the mother of eight children, namely : James, a jeweller and lumberman in Andes; Thomas, who died when fifty years of age; Alexander, a resident of Bradford County, Pennsylvania; Margaret, wife of Alfred Glen- denning, of Andes; Mary, who lives at the old home; David, of whom this biography is written; Henry D., of Bradford County, Pa .; and John, a carpenter at Stamford.

David Muir resided with his parents and grew to manhood in Andes, attending the dis- trict schools and later the academy of the town. Wisely deciding to devote himself to agriculture as his life work, he at length pur- chased the old homestead of three hundred and fifty acres, and is now the owner of one of

the largest farms in this neighborhood. Mr. Muir operates a large dairy, keeping seventy Jersey cows and dealing in blooded stock. He has given great attention to this industry, and owns a superior herd of cattle, his cows producing an average of two hundred and fifty pounds of butter per head in the year 1892 and 1893. The buildings on his farm have been recently remodelled; and his spacious barn, which was erected in 1884, can accommodate seventy-two head of cattle.

On January 14, 1885, Mr. Muir married Miss Mary Hyzer, a native of Andes, and daughter of Ira W. and Margaret Hyzer. Her father was an early settler of Andes, and died in July, 1893, being survived by his wife. Mr. and Mrs. Muir are the parents of two children: Myrtle M., born July 4, 1887; and David Leslie, born June 9, 1889. Mr. Muir is a Republican; and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Andes, where they are highly respected. He is a practical, industrious man, who has given his undivided attention to the best methods of farming and dairying, and has been deservedly successful in his various undertakings.

R ICHARD A. ROGERS, who is now living in the town of Walton, retired from the active pursuits of life, has spent more than fourscore years within its limits, and has been an iniportant factor in promoting its growth from a small hamlet, surrounded with a thick forest, to its present flourishing and populous condition. He comes of substantial New England stock, but is a native of this State, having been born in the town of Tompkins, May 6, 1810. His parents, Asa and Catherine (Hamilton) Rogers, were of New England birth, his father having been born in Massachusetts in 1770, and his mother in Connecticut in 1775.

In 1798 Asa Rogers and his wife migrated to this State, bringing with them one child, and settling in Delaware County, on the banks of the Susquehanna River, where he carried on his trade of a miller for a time. Two years later Mr. Rogers moved to Tomp- kins, where he engaged in the lumber busi-

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ness with one John Carpenter, remaining in partnership with him until 1812, when he returned to Walton. Here he bought one hundred and eight acres of wooded land, mostly hemlock and hard timber, and, erect- ing a log cabin, began the improvement of a farm. By his skilful management and ener- getic toil he cleared and improved a good homestead; and before his death, which occurred in 1842, he had erected a substantial frame house and the necessary barn and farm buildings, and had increased the acreage to one hundred and twenty acres. His wife out- lived him several years, dying in 1865. They reared a family of three children, namely : Fanny; William; and Richard A., the sub- ject of this sketch. Fanny married Jared Marvin, and became the mother of five sons and three daughters, all of whom, with the exception of one son, grew to maturity, four sons and one daughter being yet alive. Mrs. Marvin died in 1873, being then seventy-five years old. William, who succeeded his father in the ownership of the old homestead, died He there in 1870, aged sixty-seven years. married Betsey Felton, of Hamden; and they became the parents of three sons and five daughters, of whom Edward, who lives in Michigan, and Harriet, a resident of Scran- ton, Pa., are the only ones now living.

Richard A., the youngest son, was but two years old when his parents settled on their farm in this town, and he was there reared to manhood. Being a very good student, he ac- quired as good an education as the schools of the town afforded, and was employed two win- ters as a teacher in the district school. He next began life as a farmer and lumberman, and for ten years carried on general farming on the mountain, and was afterward for a space of thirty years employed in the manu- facture of lumber. Mr. Rogers was also for many years a prominent carpenter and joiner, taking contracts for several substantial build- ings. In his varied occupations he has been remarkably successful, gaining substantial pecuniary rewards.

On the 22d of November, 1832, he was united in marriage to Harriet Hanford, a na- tive of Walton, born November 27, 1814, being a daughter of Stephen and Mary (Hoyt)

Hanford. Two sons were born to Mr. and Mrs. Rogers, the elder of whom, Charles B., born February 16, 1838, died November 27, 1853. The younger, William H., who was born in 1840, died in 1880, leaving a widow, formerly Mary L. Crawley, the daughter of Abner and Eliza (Barstow) Crawley, and two children: Anna E., a young lady living at home; and Charles A., a clerk and sales- man for George O. Mead. These two chil- dren with their widowed mother are beloved and welcome inmates of the home of Mr. Rogers; and since the death of his estimable wife, which occurred in September, 1884, after fifty-two years of happy wedded life, they have largely contributed to his domestic comfort and enjoyment. Politically, Mr. Rogers is a strong Republican, and in the years of his activity took a warm interest in local and public affairs. For many years he was Captain of an independent rifle company in Walton, and quite familiar with military tactics. Religiously, he is a valued member of the Congregational church, in which he has served with fidelity as Deacon for twenty-four years.

IMON BOLIVAR CHAMPION is among the influential inhabitants of the town of Stamford, where he is publisher of the leading Democratic paper of the county. He is probably one of the oldest editors in the Empire State: for he established the Mirror in Bloomville, Dela- ware County, in 1851. The Champions arc of old Connecticut stock, the first emigrant having settled in. Saybrook in 1647, though later one branch of the family removed to Ot- sego County. Henry Champion, who came from England in 1645, was born in 1620; and succeeding Champions, through whom his blood reaches our subject, were born respec- tively in 1654, 1684, 1729, 1769. They were all able and enlightened men. One Henry Champion, born in 1729, was within five years of his half-century when the Revolution broke out; but he joined the army in May, 1776, and was rapidly promoted from office to office, till he became Captain. He was also connected with the engineering and commis-

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Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Delaware County, New York, Part 47

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