USA > New York > Delaware County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Delaware County, New York > Part 54
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the marked trees, there being no roads in that portion of the country. John McDonald was a liberal-minded man and a Democrat. He accumulated a comfortable property, possess- ing at one time six hundred acres of land. He was the father of seven children, all of whom lived to be over sixty years old. John McDonald, Jr., a son of the emigrant, was born May 23, 1794, on the farm adjoining that on which the subject of this sketch now re- sides. In 1826 he purchased the old home- stead, which contained at that time one hundred and forty-six acres. To this he added fifty acres in 1832 and ten more in 1840. He was energetic and industrious, and died February 16, 1870, having been an at- tendant at the Presbyterian church, of which his wife Jane was a member. She was born in Stamford, December 26, 1794, and died Sep- tember 9, 1887. John McDonald, Jr., was a Democrat, and represented that party in the legislature in 1845, serving one term. He held the office of Supervisor for nearly twenty years, was a Justice of the Peace, Assessor, and Superintendent of the Poor, and also occupied other minor offices. He was pro- foundly respected and honored throughout the town where he resided, and for the welfare of which he was ever ready to lend a helping hand. Of his four children but one is now living, James, the subject of this biography. Isabelle Ann, Mrs. Daniel Andrews, died when forty years of age. John Grant died in New York City at the age of fifty-three, and Alexander T., aged thirty-three years.
James McDonald was born July 24, 1826, grew up to farm life, attending the district school, and later Hobart Academy. After his education was completed, he took up his residence with his parents, for whom he pro- vided in their declining years. He is now the possessor of the old homestead, which he has increased by fifty acres, it now containing two hundred and sixty acres.
September 14, 1857, Mr. McDonald mar- ried Miss Mary E. Howard, a native of Gil- boa, Schoharie County, where she was born April 2, 1835. Her father was David S. Howard, a hotel proprietor and farmer, who married Miss Sally Knapp; and both of her parents are now dead. Mrs. McDonald died
February 3, 1889; and Mr. McDonald was again married March 5, 1890, to Miss Amy E. Wilbur, who was born in Unadilla, Otsego County, a daughter of Marcus and Hannah (Sherwood) Wilbur, both of whom have passed away. Mr. McDonald has two children : John Grant McDonald, born March 23, 1859, is at present an undertaker and furniture dealer of Owego, Tioga County. James How- ard McDonald, who was born August 6, 1868, is unmarried and lives at home.
Mr. McDonald is a member of the Episco- pal church at Hobart, and his wife is a Baptist. Like his father, he supports the Democratic party, and has served as Assessor for several years. He carries on a most pro- ductive farm, keeping forty head of grade cat- tle, disposing of the milk in New York City. His home is a delightful one, and is sought by many who claim his friendship.
The reader will turn with interest to the portrait of Mr. McDonald, who is a true gentleman of the old school, courteous, intel- ligent, and upright, a representative citizen of the town of which he has been a life-long resident, and where he is highly esteemed.
ENRY E. BARTLETT, M.D., was a man of talent and great executive ability, who not only did much to promote the prosperity of the town of Walton, of which he was an adopted citi- zen, but made his influence felt for good throughout the county. By appointment of President Cleveland he held here for some years the position of Medical Examiner. He died on January 3, 1892.
Dr. Bartlett was born at Northampton, Mass., June II, 1806. He took his college course at Amherst, and then pursued his medical studies as he had opportunity, teach- ing school in the mean time to defray his expenses. After receiving his degree in medicine, he was induced by friends to settle in Walton. It is said that he reached this place with a very small sum in his pocket. He was received with the utmost friendliness, and shortly began to identify himself with the interests of the place. The following para- graphs are quoted from a brief sketch of his
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career that appeared some time since in the local press : -
"In five years' time he went again to New York, but returned to Walton in 1849. At that time negotiations were on foot concerning the Erie Railroad, and Dr. Bartlett was in- vited to confer with Governor Fillmore and his staff at Dunkirk in regard to the proposed route. It was decided to put the road through Hancock, and at Dr. Bartlett's suggestion and by his influence a provision was placed in the charter to the effect that all trains should stop at that station. He was clear- sighted enough to foresee the running of fast through expresses, and to his wisdom we owe the conveniences of travel on the Erie which are open to this section of the country.
"The next project of interest in which he engaged was the building of the plank road from Walton to Hancock, thereby making a quick and easy journey to the railroad. Of such importance, and yet of such difficulty, was this project considered that John Alver- son, a resident of Carpenter's Eddy, remarked that he thought he could die in satisfaction if the plank road were a success. Dr. Bartlett was the heart and soul of the movement; and, when the interest of the people began to flag and the plan seemed likely to be abandoned, he conceived the idea of inviting Horace Greeley to make an address on the subject; and at the same time he himself made a speech in which he said, if God would bless him, he would some time get a railroad through Walton. The plank road was a suc- cess, and to Dr. Bartlett is due the credit.
"In 1852 he was elected to the Senate, re- ceiving the entire vote of this town. For some years he had been greatly interested in State railroads, and, while in the Senate, was made Chairman of the Railroad Committee, and was appointed, together with J. W. Mc- Alpine, State Engineer and Surveyor, to examine all the railroads in New York State. Their report was so able and so complete that the London Times made flattering mention of it. In addition to this, it was at the sugges- tion of his committee that the State Board of Railroad Commissioners was created.
"It is said that the busiest people have the most time, and it has certainly been so in
Dr. Bartlett's case. Along with his railroad concerns, he served as one of the committee to locate Central Park in New York, and was appointed by Governor Seymour as Health Officer in that city from 1854 to 1856. Dur- ing these years he had never lost sight of his desire to have a railroad through this town, and he was at the outset one of the organizers of the New York, Ontario & Western. His personal influence and the money he invested were the means of putting the railroad through Walton, necessitating the zigzag, instead of through Delhi, where no such arrangement was needed. Thus by his efforts the town entered upon the most important era in its history. Dr. Bartlett's career was an emi- nently useful and successful one. Not only did he rank high in his profession of medi- cine, but his talents and executive ability placed him at the head of enterprises which many others, as well as the town of Walton, will always hold in grateful acknowledg- ment."
A® LBERT H. SEWELL, the Judge and Surrogate of the County of Delaware, was born in Hamden, on the thir- tieth day of October, 1847. He prepared for college at the Walton Academy, and went to Union in 1867. At the end of his first year he entered Cornell University, and graduated in the class of 1871. In 1873 he graduated at the Albany Law School, was admitted to the bar, and entered upon the practice of his profession at Sidney Centre, N. Y. He continued to be so engaged until 1877, when he was elected member of Assem- bly. At the end of his term he returned to Walton, and devoted himself closely and suc- cessfully to the practice of law until 1889, when he was called to his present sphere of honor and usefulness.
OMER CHANDLER BURGIN is a highly honored citizen of the town of Bovina, Delaware County, N. Y., and one of the few old residents who remain in the town to tell the tale of early privations. He has a beautiful home
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and a fine farm, and is all together a good specimen of manhood. He was born in Andes on the last day of April, 1818, when Monroe's wise Presidency was casting oil upon the troubled waters of political strife. His grandfather Burgin, after having fought in the Revolution, became a pioneer farmer in Delhi, but did not live long to occupy his farm; for he died at the age of fifty.
He had a son named Chandler Burgin, a Massachusetts-born man, who married Pru- dence Hollister, a Connecticut woman, the daughter of David Hollister, who also was a Revolutionary soldier, so that our subject can boast of two grandfathers who took part in the patriotic struggle. The Hollisters came early to Delaware County, settling on the banks of the Little Delaware River. Chandler Burgin was born December 7, 1789, when Washing- ton was beginning his Presidency; and his wife was three years his senior, having been born May 27, 1786, before any President had been elected or the thirteen colonies were fairly organized into a nation. Chandler Burgin came to Delaware County in his young manhood, and all his life followed his trade as a carpenter and wheelwright in Andes; but he also owned a small farm. Though a very industrious man, his health was poor; and he could never acquire riches. He and his wife reared six children, of whom the only one now living is Homer, who is the special sub- ject of this biography. The father died De- cember 17, 1830, aged only forty-one; but the mother outlived him a score of years, not passing away till 1850, October 13, when she was sixty-four. They were liberal in their religious views, sympathizing with free theo- logical thought ; and Mr. Burgin was a Demo- crat. Their children were the following : Bryan Hollister Burgin, who was born June 4, 1811, died in October, 1893, aged eighty- two, and was a carpenter and millwright in Andes, like his father; Mary Ann Burgin, who was born May 21, 1814, married Charles L. Judson, and died March 26, 1883, aged sixty-nine; Laura Olivia Burgin, who was born March 18, 1816, became the wife of Lewis Moore, and died May 22, 1877, aged sixty-one; Homer C. Burgin, who was the fourth child; Charles Marcus Burgin, a car-
penter, who was born August 19, 1820, re- sided in Delhi, and died June 28, 1847, aged only twenty-seven; Emily Maria Burgin, who was born May 5, 1824, and died single, June 22, 1887, aged sixty-three.
Homer C. Burgin grew up, as might be expected from his environment, working hard and attending the district school when he could. He was only fourteen when he began self-support. The first year he earned thirty dollars at farning, but proved to be so capable that the next year he received fifty dollars. Then he went to Delhi, where he learned blacksmithing with Charles L. Judson, with whom he remained a year. By this time he was seventeen, and went to Bovina Centre to work at his trade, remaining there another year, after which he tried farming again. Mr. Burgin had less than ninety acres of land at the outset, but now has a hundred and five, which afford support to sixteen cattle. He can remember the early days, when his father shot three deer in one afternoon, and there was plenty of game to be had; and he can recall the erection of Landon's mill, one of the first in this vicinity. He has lived to see great changes, many the result of his own efforts; for he has greatly improved his place, and can spend his latter days in well-merited retirement.
In 1849, on February 5, when over thirty years old, he was married to Amanda Cornelia Seacord, a native of Bovina, where she was born April 4, 1831. Three years later, in 1852, he bought the estate where he has ever since resided. His wife dying on March 3, 1868, at the age of thirty-seven, Mr. Burgin was again married, in 1872, April IO, to Mary S. Seacord, an aunt by marriage of his first wife; but she only lived in wedlock eleven years, dying March 26, 1883. Further records of the Seacord family may be found under the proper heading in other sketches. Mr. Burgin's children were borne by his first wife. The eldest, Olivia Jane Burgin, born March 20, 1850, is now Mrs. Liddle, and lives in Andes village. Charles Edward Bur- gin, born on the last day of September, 1859, lives on the homestead. Mary Emily Burgin, born August 29, 1862, married Frank Elliott, and lives in the town of Delhi.
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Both Mr. and Mrs. Burgin are members of the Methodist Episcopal church in Bovina Centre, whereof he has been a Trustee and Steward. In politics Mr. Burgin is a decided Republican. He has been three years Asses- sor and three years Highway Commissioner, and for twenty years has held the honorable office of Justice of Peace. In agriculture he has been very successful, especially in his dairy, his cows sometimes averaging three hundred and five pounds of butter per head yearly, besides what is needed for family use. Of his career it may be said in the language of the English poet, Edward Young :-
" The purpose firm is equal to the deed. Who does the best his circumstance allows Does well, acts nobly ; angels could do no more."
ON. WESLEY GOULD, a promi- nent member of the Delaware County bar, a patriotic and influential citi- zen of the town of Hancock, was born here on August 25, 1844, son of John and Mary (Gillard) Gould. John Gould was a native of Devonshire, England, and with his wife and three children came to this coun- try about 1834. He was a stone-mason, and worked at his trade for some time at New- burg on the Hudson, whence, in 1842, he removed to Hancock, having exchanged his Newburg property for a large tract in this new settlement. The journey was made over- land on an ox sled, and the nights were passed in the woods. This was severe experience, especially as he had his family with him, including a three-months-old baby. After reaching his destination, he began his pioneer life by erecting a log cabin, and then pro- ceeded to clear the land. Mr. Gould also found opportunity for the exercise of his trade, being employed on the stone-work of the Erie Railroad bridges, and also at Lacka- waxen. He was killed by a log while at work in a saw-mill, and died January 20, 1852, at the age of forty-eight, when he was just rising into prominence in his business, and had been found to be a most useful man in the community.
The part of the town in which he lived has been always known as the Gould Settle-
ment. He and his wife were among the leading members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mrs. Gould died six years later than her husband, leaving the following family: John W., a farmer and lumberman in Han- cock; George, an extensive lumberman and mill-owner at Long Eddy, Sullivan County; Hannah, wife of Marvin W. Thomas, a farmer of Hancock, who died in 1888; James, a lum- berman, farmer, carpenter, and builder, living now in California; William, a farmer and lum- ber merchant at Gould Settlement; Richard a farmer and lumberman, also at Gould Settle- ment ; Henry, a doctor, who died of apoplexy ; Charles W., a member of Company I, Third Regiment, Sickles's Brigade, who died in the army at Camp Wool, Md., in 1862; and Wes- ley Gould, the subject of this biography.
Wesley in his young days attended the dis- trict school; and after the death of the parents the brothers still lived on in the old home with their sister as housekeeper, the family remaining together until the breaking out of the war. Then all the brothers enlisted ex- cept John, who by mutual consent was ap- pointed to stay at home and attend to the affairs of the place, while the others went forth to fight for their country. At this time Wesley Gould was a youth of seventeen; but he took his place in the ranks of the brave boys in blue, and was engaged in some of the fiercest fighting and suffered some of the worst privations of the four years that followed, try- ing to the utmost the mettle and endurance of mature men.
He enlisted in September, 1861, in Com- pany F, Forty-fifth Pennsylvania Volunteers, at Harrisburg. They were first sent to For- tress Monroe, and then to Otter Island, where they stayed all winter, and in June, 1862, went to James Island, and into the midst of the fighting. Afterward joining the Army of the Potomac, they engaged in the Maryland campaign. At South Mountain Mr. Gould received a gunshot wound in his arm, but con- tinued with his regiment, and with them went into the battle of Antietam, where he was struck by a shell. With admirable fortitude he still bore his wounds without complaint, and engaged with his regiment in the battle at Fredericksburg, December, 1862. They
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were besieged at Knoxville, Tenn., and, after much hard fighting and being nearly starved, repulsed the "rebs," who made a final as- sault on their entrenchments. The brave Union men were at last relieved by Sherman, and went into camp at Blaine's Crossroads, where the regiment re-enlisted, and, as a regi- ment, came home on furlough. They went back into the Virginia campaign under Grant, their rendezvous being at Annapolis, Md., where the regiment was recruited, and went through the campaign, from the Wilder- ness to Petersburg. Mr. Gould worked in the tunnel of the mine in front of Petersburg and helped to lay the powder to blow up the works. The Forty-fifth Regiment was already reduced to about one hundred men; and after the battle, which was a hand-to-hand fight, only thirty-three men were able to report for duty.
In the company to which Mr. Gould be- longed there were nine men who went into the fight in front of Petersburg at the spring- ing of the mine, and all were killed or wounded except two, Mr. Gould being one of those two in condition to go on duty. On September 30, 1864, Mr. Gould was taken prisoner at Poplar Spring Church, and for a short time was confined in Libby Prison, whence he was taken
to Salisbury, N.C., where he was detained till March, 1865. In the prison cell Mr. Gould underwent the harshest treatment, often being three or four days without food or water, and seeing his comrades dying about him, sometimes seventy or eighty in a day; and, as their emaciated forms were carried from the prison, those who were left felt that perhaps the sun, which was now setting, might look to-morrow upon their forms enwrapped in a last sleep. It was truly a dreadful life, and happy were the survivors when paroled and allowed to their respective commands. Mr. Gould was at that time Sec- ond Lieutenant; and his four years of hard service for his country had changed the boy into a man, and a inan of true courage and of a noble character, wrought in the forge of a terrible struggle for liberty.
Mr. Gould's brother Richard was in Com- pany G, One Hundred and Forty-third Regi- ment. James, William, George, and Henry were in Company F, One Hundred and Forty-
fourth Regiment. Shortly after his return from the war Mr. Gould pursued a course of study at Colgate Institute, whence he came back to Hancock, and for a while carried on lumbering and farming. Having decided to adopt the legal profession, he here began to read law, and afterward was graduated from the law department of Union University, and was admitted to the bar in 1884. Since that time he has practised law in Hancock with eminent success. On August 25, 1868, Mr. Gould married Pamelia Brazie, daughter of Abram and Nancy (Livingstone) Brazie, now of Hancock, but formerly of Schoharie County. They have two children: Cora B., now attending Oneonta Normal School; and Flora B., a teacher in Hancock Union School.
Mr. Gould is a stanch Republican, and a man of strong influence in his party. He has been Village Clerk and corporation attorney since 1888, and was elected a member of the Assembly for Delaware County in 1893 by a plurality of one thousand five hundred and twelve, running sixty ahead of his ticket in the county, and over one hundred ahead in his own town. All the family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, as were their parents before them; and they are active in all that concerns the welfare of the parish. Mr. Gould is a man of high moral principle, a well-read lawyer, a citizen of good judg- ment in affairs, well adapted to fill positions of trust and responsibility, as true a patriot now as when in high-hearted youthhood he bravely dared the dangers of battle and camp and weary march, that his native country might be preserved as the
" Land of the noble free."
ENRY H. HUME, a well-known farmer, residing on Scotch Moun- tain, near Delhi, Delaware County, N. Y., was born on the high seas off the coast of Newfoundland, July 24, 1830, and is the son of Adam and Jane (Scott) Hume. The father was a native of Scotland, where he was brought up as a shepherd boy, and came to America with his wife and three children, Henry being born on the voyage
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out. He first settled at Plattekill in Middle- town, where he took up a tract of land, but left this place in a short time for Delhi, where he owned a farm, upon which he lived a number of years, afterward selling it, and retiring to Binghamton, where he died at the age of eighty-six years. Mrs. Hume was distantly related to General Scott. She was the mother of five children, namely: Walter; Agnes, the wife of John Atkin, a farmer of Delhi; Janet, the wife of George Laidlow, also a farmer of Delhi; Henry H .; and Mary. Mrs. Hume resided with her son until her death, which occurred when she was eighty-one years of age.
Henry H. Hume spent his boyhood days in Delhi, where he attended the district schools. He worked on a farm by the month, and at the age of twenty-five hired a farm for three years, afterward purchasing a small farm on the Little Delaware. He remained here for eight years, meeting with great success in his undertaking. At the end of this period he purchased his present place, and has to-day a fine farm of two hundred and sixty acres, and a dairy of some forty cows, besides a large number of sheep. He makes a specialty of the manufacture of fine butter, with which he supplies the New York and local markets, turn- ing out about three hundred pounds per week.
Mr. Hume was married in 1856 to Eliza- beth Ann Douglass, a daughter of William and Margaret (Robson) Douglass. Mr. Doug- lass was a prominent farmer of Meredith, where he resided for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Hume have five children, namely : William D., of Bovina; Henry S., a farmer ; Robert H., a carpenter; Walter A .; and James. Mr. Hume is a member of the Grange at DeLancey. In politics he is a Republican, and cast his first vote for General Scott on the Whig ticket. Both he and his wife have been active members of the Scotch Presbyterian church for many years, he hav- ing been a Trustee of the church, and also one of the Building Committee when it was erected. He is one of the most successful farmers in the county, and is essentially a self-made man, whose earnestness of purpose and strict integrity have placed him in his present position, and gained him the esteem and respect of his associates.
RS. SYLVIA ELIZA FOOTE, of the village of Franklin, N. Y., is the estimable widow of Russell Foote, a prominent gentleman who died in this town, January 26, 1883, at the age of seventy-two. He was born in the same town, and was a son of Elias Foote, who came hither from Connecticut with his bride, Sally Tracey, in 1806, and in company, also, with his brother, Russell Foote. Here was born their son in 1810, and named after his uncle Russell; but, while he was very young, the family removed to the town of Otsego in the county of the same name. They had four sons and two daughters, as follows, the hus- band of the subject of this sketch being the eldest. David Foote lives in Franklin, as does his sister, Esther Foote. Asa Foote is no longer living, but his brother Ezekiel is in North Franklin. Jane Sylvia Foote and her sister, Lois J., who married Jonathan Fitch, are deceased. The father, Elias Foote, died in North Franklin, in 1855, at the ripe age of eighty-eight, a well-preserved and vigorous man : and his disconsolate wife followed him in eighteen months, aged seventy-six. In re- ligion they were consistent Free Will Bap- tists; and they were worthy, steadfast, laborious pioneers in this region, where money was scant, but work plentiful.
The mother's maiden name was Sylvia Eliza Loveland. She was born in 1820, in Franklin, the daughter of Benjamin K. and Clarissa (Mann) Loveland. Mother Loveland was from Connecticut; but Father Loveland was born in Franklin, though his parents also came from Connecticut. The grandfather was Abner Loveland. He was elected one of the town officers at the second town meeting ever held in the place, and died in 1799, about the same time as the Father of his country. His son, Benjamin K., Mrs. Foote's father, was born in 1793, and died in 1831, aged only thirty-eight. His widow outlived him thirty- seven years, dying in 1868, aged seventy-six; and they both rest in the churchyard. They had one son and four daughters, Mrs. Foote being the eldest of the girls. Her sister, Althea Loveland. died in her youth, while at the normal school in Albany. Clarissa was a teacher, and died in 1869, in middle life.
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