USA > New York > Delaware County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Delaware County, New York > Part 58
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It is fitting that here should be given some idea of the family to which Mrs. Lasher be- longs. Dr. W. H. Crawford was born in Delhi, N. Y., on New Year's Day, 1829. His wife, Margaret Amos, was born a year earlier, August 24, 1828. The Doctor's par- ents were John and Mary Ann (Shaw) Crawford. The grandparents were Robert Crawford and Jeannette Forsyth, and came from Scotland, after they were married, to Schoharie County, where Robert followed his trade as a miller, but died young, having three children - John, William, and Jean- nette Crawford. The widow then married James Brown, of Bovina, and at her death, in 1833, left three children by this second mar- riage -- Andrew, Thomas, and Isabelle Brown. John Crawford, the Doctor's father, worked on the farm and attended school, like other boys. Starting at last for himself, he went to live in Bovina. He had four children - William Henry, Isabella, Robert, Jeannette. John Crawford died young, only thirty-three ; but his widow, Mary A. Crawford, lived to be seventy-four. Like their forefathers, they were Presbyterians in religion. William H. Crawford was only eleven when his father died, and had to begin self-support very young; but he worked hard summers, and went to the Delhi Academy in the winter, and was finally able to graduate at the New York College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1854. After a brief practice in Meredith he came to Griffin's Corners, where he obtained a large patronage during eight years. Thence he went to Andes, where he labored to great advantage for thirty-two years - in fact, until his death, at the age of sixty-five. The Doc- tor was Democratic in politics, and spent a year as Army Surgeon during the Rebellion. His wife died at the age of sixty, leaving three children : Margaret Anna, now Mrs. Lasher; and Mary and Jane, both living in the dear Andes home. The Crawfords, like their family predecessors, belonged to the Presbyterian church; and in this respect Mrs. Lasher is in sympathy with her sisters.
To both the special subject of this sketch and to his father-in-law might be applied the words of that distinguished literary son of New York, Washington Irving, --
" It is interesting to notice how some minds seem almost to create themselves, springing up under every disadvantage, and working their solitary but irresistible way through a thousand obstacles."
UGH ADAIR, a member of the School Commission for the Second District of Delaware County, New York, was born in Kortright, De- cember 22, 1864, a son of William M. and Eliza (Black) Adair. His paternal grand- father, James Adair, was a native of Scotland, where he spent his early years, afterward going to Ireland, and thence to America. He was by trade a shoemaker, but upon his arrival in this country followed agricultural pursuits. He located in the town of Kort- right, and was a resident here until his death. He reared the following family: William M., Robert, James, Margaret, Nancy, Eliza, Mary, and Belle.
William M. Adair was educated at the dis- trict schools, and made his home with his father until he was twenty-nine, when he purchased a farm of his own adjoining the old homestead, and resided there until 1892, then removed to Davenport, where he now lives, retired from active pursuits. His wife was the daughter of William Black, and was born in Ireland. Her parents had the following- named children: William, Robert, Hugh, Mary Jane, Eliza, and Margaret. The chil- dren of Mr. and Mrs. Adair are as follows : James; Elizabeth, the wife of J. L. Clark, of New York City; Margaret, the wife of James Henderson; William; Robert; Hugh; Ana- belle; John; and Leonard.
Hugh Adair was educated in the district schools and Delaware Academy. He taught in the Bloomville village school for three years, and afterward took a course in Cole- man's Business College. Upon leaving col- lege he kept books for Mr. Cooper for about four months, and then returned to Davenport. He was elected School Commissioner in Sep- tember, 1893, for a three years term. He conducts the examination of applicants, and has the appointment of about two hundred and twenty-five teachers in Delaware County, and
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is eminently fitted for the position, being an able, courteous, and efficient officer. He is a member of the Republican party, and also of the Presbyterian church at Kortright.
DWIN H. BEERS, a well-known citi- zen and retired business man of Han- cock, was born in Walton, N. Y., June 20, 1826. His grandfather, Ephraim Beers, came from England previous to the Revolutionary War, and settled in Fairfield, Conn., where the family lived at the time the town was burned by the British. After the war, in 1789, he moved to the section of Delaware County now occupied by the town of Walton. They were accompanied by three other families, and niade the journey with ox teams, the path being marked by blazed trees. They settled on a tract of land extending from one branch of the Delaware River to the other; and here they erected log cabins. Game and fish were abundant, and fur- nished the greater part of the food of those early pioneers, the nearest market being at Easton, Pa.
Hezekiah Beers, son of Ephraim, was born in Fairfield, Conn., and removed with his par- ents to Walton when but nine years of age. He early began to work on the farm, and, as soon as he was old enough, also engaged in lumbering, helping to run one of the first rafts ever sent from Walton to Philadelphia. The return journey was made on foot with their purchases strapped to their backs, and occupied three or four days. Hezekiah Beers married Cynthia Goodrich, daughter of Michael Goodrich, of Walton, and, disposing of his property near the river, purchased a farm on Dunk Hill in North Walton, where he resided for a time, and then sold out, and removed to Otego, Otsego County. He died there at the age of eighty-six years, having been a Democrat throughout his life. His wife passed away one year later, leaving nine children: Eleanor, wife of Morris Gould, a farmer of Bridgeport, Conn .; Clarissa, who married Caleb Gosper, a farmer of Southport, N. Y .; Wakeman, a farmer in Bolivar, Alle- gany County; Philo F., a resident of Hancock until his death; Almeda, wife of Darius
Dann, a farmer of Walton; Nelson, a farmer in Deposit; Edwin H., subject of this sketch ; Polly, who married Peter Barlow, a farmer in Walton; and George, who was a civil engi- neer of St. Louis, and was with General Fre- mont for a time. He enlisted in the Union army from Illinois, and was Captain of a com- pany, being shot through the heart while leading his men against the rebels during Sherman's march to the sea.
Edwin H. Beers attended the district school in his boyhood, and was- of much help to his father at home. Having grown to manhood, he worked at farming in Otego, moving to Hancock in February, 1861. For seven years he was night agent at the railway station there, after which he was employed in various pursuits. He later started a wagon-hub fac- tory, which he continued for a number of years, and was very successful. He is now living practically retired from active busi- ness, and enjoying the fruits of his earlier labors and the esteem of the community.
January 20, 1853, he married Betsey Smith, daughter of Ephraim and Betsey (Kim- bell) Smith, of Unadilla, Otsego County, N. Y .; and they have had three children : Emily, who died in infancy; George E .; and Nettie L. George E., who was born in Otego, July 4, 1860, and educated in Hancock Academy, learned the printer's trade, but en- tered the furniture business in June, 1890, in which he is still engaged. August 3, 1892, he married Lillian C. Barlow, daughter of Peter and Abigail J. (Beers) Barlow, of Beer- ston, in the town of Walton. Mr. and Mrs. George E. Beers have one daughter, Ruth G. Beers, born June 2, 1893. Mrs. George E. Beers graduated from the State normal school in Oswego, N.Y., and taught one year in Kansas and later in the East and in Hancock. She is a member of the Baptist and her hus- band of the Methodist church. He is a Mas- ter Mason, A. F. & A. M., No. 52, of Han- cock, and is a Republican in politics. Net- tie L. Beers was born July 2, 1863, was edu- cated in Hancock Academy, and lived with her parents until her marriage, November 28, 1883, to H. W. Wagner, editor of the Han- cock Herald. She is a member of the Metho- dist church.
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ORACE H. CRARY, of Binghamton, Broome County, N.Y., was born August 29, 1824, in the town of Liberty, Sullivan County, N. Y. On the paternal side he is of Scotch descent, his ancestor, Peter Crary, having come from Scotland in 1685, and settled in Groton, Conn., at the head of the Mystic River. Peter Crary's son Peter was born at Groton in 1690; and his grandson, Nathan Crary, was born October 13, 1717, and married Dorothy Wheeler, November 2, 1742. Their son Thomas was born October 1, 1744, and mar- ried Mehitable Mason, January 9, 1772. Both the Wheelers and the Masons are well- known families in Connecticut ; and many of their descendants, as well as the descendants of the Crary family, are still residents of that State, some of them being located near the old homestead, some at the village of Mystic, and others in different parts of the State.
Thomas Crary, H. H. Crary's grandfather, was born January II, 1775. In 1797 he mar- ried Polly Holmes, and about that time migrated to Albany County, New York, and from there to Chenango County. In 1800 he settled near the village of Liberty, in what was then the town of Lumberland, in the county of Ulster, but is now in the town of Liberty, in the county of Sullivan. Soon afterward he leased, and subsequently bought, the farm about two miles from the village of Liberty, upon which some members of the family have ever since continued to reside, and which is now occupied by Mr. Crary's brother George. Thomas Crary represented Sullivan County in the State legislature in the year 1826, and was at one time chosen one of the Associate Judges of his county.
Calvert Crary, Horace Crary's father, was born August II, 1798, and spent his life, which was not in a public way an eventful one, on the homestead near Liberty. A pros- perous farmer, the head of a large family, his business and his family fully occupied his time and attention. In March, 1823, he mar- ried Eliza Hill. He died at the age of eighty years; and his wife Eliza is still liv- ing, at the age of ninety. Six sons and two daughters survive him: Horace H .; J. M. Crary, of Jersey City; Thomas Crary, of
Hancock, N.Y .; Mary A., wife of J. N. Young, of Liberty, N.Y .; Denison Crary, of Vestal, N. Y .; George Crary, of Liberty, N.Y .; Jerry Crary, of Sheffield, Pa .; and Mrs. Sarah A. Fisk, of Hancock. The aver- age weight of the six brothers is two hundred and twenty-four pounds, and their average height six feet and one and one-half inches.
The early opportunities of Horace were not great, Sullivan County being yet largely in the backwoods, with only small settlements scattered here and there within its borders. Liberty was a thriving little village. Monti- cello was twelve miles distant from Mr. Crary's home; and the nearest point of any importance was Newburg, more than fifty miles away. Horace attended the district school quite regularly from the time he was five until he became fifteen years of age, and from that time until he was twenty attended the district school in the winter, when there was nothing else with which to busy himself. He had a genius for figures, and early became master of all the intricacies of "Daboll's Arithmetic." As a trophy of his school-days, he still has a book in which all the examples in the arithmetic are worked out in full. He was standing authority on these questions in the school, and was always referred to when the teacher lacked time or inclination to ex- plain. Sullivan County at that time abounded in game of all kinds. Wolves and bears were common through the town of Liberty, and deer plentiful. Wolves came out sometimes at night, and killed whole flocks of sheep. Foxes were also numerous; and one winter Mr. Crary broke the monotony of school life by catching twenty-three of them, and a large number of rabbits, trapping in the cold sea- son being both sport and business. He was a fleet-footed lad, and often recalls one fox- chase, after a light snow, when he succeeded in running Reynard down and capturing him.
In the summer time he varied working on the farm with cattle droving, speculating, and selling goods by auction at the general train- ings. Sometimes in the winter he sold game and poultry in the markets of New York City. At that time he could obtain the privilege of standing in Washington Market during the day and selling his goods, on the payment of
HH. Gary
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a sixpence for his stand. At night he could nail his produce up in a box, and leave it with a watchman, who took charge of it with- out extra expense. His business of huckster- ing at the trainings commenced when he was twelve or fourteen years old. One of his early speculations, which is remembered for its disappointment rather than for its profit, was the purchase of a quantity of maple sugar in small cakes in the spring, to be sold at the general trainings in the fall. He purchased eight dollars' worth, at an expense of two cents per cake. This, he estimated, would be worth in the fall four cents a cake; and his profit would thus be eight dollars. One day in summer he pried the cover from the box to taste the sugar; and the result was that before training-time the sugar was all gone, and the expected profit of eight dollars re- sulted in a net loss of eight dollars, or, rather, in an investment of eight dollars for the benefit of his sugar tooth. These sales at general trainings he was accustomed to follow up from day to day, sometimes driving twenty miles after the close of one day's work to be ready to open up business the next day.
In 1846 the general trainings ceased; and from that time until 1850 he was engaged in the butcher business and in droving, buying cattle and sheep in Central New York, and driving them to Sullivan County, and buying horses in Ohio and Canada, and bringing them East, and selling them. In his business transactions he early learned to rely upon him- self. His father's name was good in the sur- rounding country for a considerable amount, and this credit was loaned to Horace by in- dorsement and otherwise; but the paper was always taken care of by Horace as faithfully as if it were the indorsement of a stranger. Further than these good offices, he never had any assistance from home or elsewhere. In 1847, in Chenango, Cortland, and some other counties, the farmers, finding no market for their sheep, killed a great many of them for their hide and tallow. The pelt was worth about forty cents, the tallow was tried ont, the rounds were salted for use, and the rest fed to the hogs. Thousands were disposed of in this way. About that time Mr. Crary pur- chased four hundred sheep a few miles from
Oxford, at seventy-five cents per head, and was allowed to take his pick of that number from a flock of seven hundred sheep. This incident shows that the change in the times and the additional means of communication have not been altogether to the disadvantage of the Central New York farmer. Another incident related by Mr. Crary gives a good idea of the varying value or purchasing power of money. On returning from Ohio with a drove of horses, he went ahead to find enter- tainment for the night. He stopped at a good hotel; and the landlord told him he would charge twelve and a half cents each for horses and men, and, as there were twenty-two horses and three boys, he would throw off a shil- ling, and keep the whole of them, giving the horses hay and oats and the boys supper, lodging, and breakfast, for three dollars.
In 1850 Mr. Crary was elected Supervisor of the town of Liberty, and performed the duties of the office for the year. In that year, 1850, he went to Hancock, and, together with Edson Gregory, John Davidge, Alva Gregory, and L. H. Allison, under the firm name of Allison, Gregory & Co., built a tannery on Sand's Creek, about two miles above Hancock village, afterward known as the Allisonville tannery. Soon after the commencement of the enterprise Edson Gregory died, Alva Gregory sold out, and the firm name was changed to Allison, Davidge & Co. The Erie Railway had just been completed, and had opened up the Delaware Valley to the out- side world. Crary was now about twenty-six years of age. He felt that the business of his life had opened before him, and took hold of it with a pluck and energy that never flagged or wavered until many years afterward, when the partial loss of his sight called for a halt in the more active efforts of his life. In the woods where the bark was peeled, about the tannery, and everywhere else where the busi- ness interests of his firm called him, the effect of his industry, energy, and push was felt; and the business of the firm prospered.
In October, 1853, Mr. Crary was married to Polly Burr, of Liberty. Dame Fortune smiled on Horace Crary at various times dur- ing his business life and in many ways, but never brighter or more propitiously than in
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the selection of his companion for life. For whatever of success afterward came to him, either in his business life or in his home - and great success did indeed come - his com- panion is certainly entitled to her fair share of the credit. The home built by Mr. Crary, then at Allisonville, was occupied by him until October, 1885.
In October, 1856, John Davidge sold his interest in the firm to Walter Horton; and the firm was then reorganized, under the name of Allison, Crary & Co., with Mr. Horton as junior partner. Davidge went to Lake Como, Wayne County, Pa., and, together with the new firm of Allison, Crary & Co., built a tan- nery there, a half-interest in which was owned by the firm at Allisonville. Next year came the panic of 1857. Few men who had any- thing to do with business matters at that time will ever forget it; and this firm, just begin- ning to realize from the work of the past five years, without sufficient capital to be inde- pendent, and with its indebtedness largely increased by reason of the building of the new tannery at Como, felt the full force of the storm. But these were men to bow before the blast, not break. They were just the men to make the utmost possible out of the means at their command. Despite the shrinkage in values and the general commercial distrust throughout the country, they continued to work on, accomplishing what they could, and hoping for better times in the near future. As if to try their mettle to the utmost, May 10, 1862, just at the beginning of the war, when the business promise of the country was anything but bright, the tannery, together with a large stock of leather and bark, caught from a woods' fire, and was totally destroyed, the insurance covering only about one-third of the loss. To add to the discouragement and further embarrassment of the affairs of the partnership, about this time L. H. Allison became incapacitated for doing business by reason of an attack of some nervous disease, of which he shortly afterward died. But the insurance money was paid, the leather in the vats had been uninjured, some stock left in the out-buildings had been saved, the reputa- tion earned by the firm in the years that were past, their unquestioned integrity, business
ability, and perseverance, which had become widely known, won for them friends; and, with the considerate and generous aid of Bul- lard & Co., of New York, they were enabled to go on with their business. The rapid ad- vance in prices in 1863, growing out of the inflation caused by the war and the war methods of raising money, found them with their tannery full, their business pressed to its utmost capacity, and everything in hand to reap the largest advantage from the propitious change in the financial condition of the coun- try. They were thoroughly prepared for the change in the tide, and were carried by the flood to a financial success which, so far as Mr. Crary is concerned, has never since been weakened.
In 1864 Mr. Horton sold his interest in the firm to George H. Allison, and the business was then continued under the firm name of Allison & Crary. Walter Horton, when he left the firm at Hancock, after looking about for some time, accompanied his uncle, Webb Horton, of Orange County, New York, to Sheffield, Warren County, Pa., and purchased several thousand acres of real estate in War- ren, Forest, and Mckean Counties. In 1866 Mr. Crary purchased a one-third interest in these lands; and on November 1, 1866, the firm of Horton, Crary & Co, was organized, to do business at Sheffield, Warren County, Pa. Next year they built the Sheffield tannery, and were actively at work. This venture proved the beginning of a very extensive and successful business, which has since grown to be one of the most prosperous in the State. Mr. Crary's youngest brother Jerry, who had been seriously wounded at the battle of Re- saca, Ga., in 1864, and who was now so far recovered as to be able to do some work, was soon afterward admitted into the partnership. He at once took a responsible part in the management of the growing business interest of the firm, and continued to be one of its most active and trusted members.
Horton, Crary & Co. bought a controlling interest in the sole-leather tannery founded at Sheffield by J. F. Schoellkopf, of Buffalo. With this gentleman they formed an indepen- dent partnership, under the firm name of Schoellkopf, Horton & Co. Soon after Hor-
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ton, Crary & Co. associated themselves with John McNair and C. W. R. Radiker, and built what was called the Tionesta tannery. They also bought the Brookston tannery, sit- uated eight miles from Sheffield, and started under the firm name of the Forest Tanning Company. Later they purchased the Arroyo tannery, at Arroyo, on the Clarion River, Elk County, Pennsylvania. The firm built the Tionesta Valley Railroad, which opened up connection with the Pittsburg & Western Railroad. Later the firm bought the Cherry Grove & Garfield Railroad, and controlled and operated about seventy-five miles of roads and switches, of special service to its own busi- ness in moving lumber and bark, and of great value to the region through which it runs for transporting passengers as well as freight. In 1875, upon the death of Mr. McNair, his interest in the business was sold to Messrs. Isaac Horton, George Horton, and George Dickenson. In 1886 Mr. Dickenson sold out his interest to James H. Horton and Lane B. Schofield.
In 1875 H. H. Crary, William H. Garrett, James Horton, and Edson Davidge, under the firm name of Crary, Garrett, Horton & Co., built a tannery at Westfield, Tioga County, Pa. William H. Garrett died in November, 1876. The firm was soon after reorganized under the firm name of H. H. Crary & Co., Walter Horton, of Sheffield, taking an inter- est. In 1881 H. H. Crary & Co., associated with Messrs. W. G. Garrett and L. R. John- son, built the Harrison Valley tannery at Harrison Valley, Pa., taking the firm name of Walter Horton & Co. Horton, Crary & Co. started a leather exporting house at 78 Gold Street, New York City; and afterward Hor- ton, Crary & Co., H. H. Crary & Co., and Walter Horton & Co., under the firm name of Walter Horton & Co., opened a leather house at 107 South Street, Boston, Mass. In 1888 Mr. Crary, in connection with Walter Hor- ton, James Horton, Walter G. Garrett, E. G. Davidge, and L. R. Johnson, purchased the tannery at Salamanca, N.Y., and organized under the firm name of James Horton & Co. To add to the business interests at Sheffield, about 1875 petroleum was found in large quantities upon the premises; and the oil
interest became one of the business matters of the firms. About the time of the discovery of oil, natural gas was found in abundance; and all the light and heat necessary for do- mestic and mechanical purposes about Shef- field and its vicinity have since been furnished by the gas wells located upon the premises. Both oil and gas have added largely to the financial success of the business at Sheffield.
In 1873 .H. H. Crary, with his brother, Denison Crary, and Amos L. Hall, built the Hancock mills, near Hancock village, Dela- ware County, N. Y., and run them under the firm name of Crary, Hall & Co. Hall after- ward sold out to the other partners, and the firm name then became Denison Crary & Co. In April, 1881, Denison Crary sold out to Denison Fisk, his brother-in-law; and the firm name was changed to Fisk & Crary.
Various changes have occurred in the firm at Allisonville. Thomas Crary purchased an interest some years since; and then William A. Hall and W. F. Stimpson became mem- bers of the firm. Later Roscoe Crary, Thomas Crary's son, purchased the interest of Denison Crary. The firm subsequently be- came the owners of the grist-mills at Hancock village, which now for some years have been run by the same men who operated the tan- nery, but under the name of Crary, Hall & Co. The business at Allisonville has been for some time conducted under the firm name of Crary Brothers, H. H. Crary retaining an interest in the business through all its changes.
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