USA > New York > Delaware County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Delaware County, New York > Part 79
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rented, while its owners have purchased a residence in the village. John Coulter is a lawyer and ranchman in Georgetown, Col. David Martin Coulter and Dickson Eliot Coulter are both Andes farmers. Edward L. Coulter lives on the homestead.
Though now retired from active life, the father of these boys has been a hard worker. A Republican in politics, he has held many local offices, having been one term Super- visor, three years Justice of Peace, and once a Highway Commissioner. He is respected as one of the original settlers of the town, yet he is still hale, hearty, and jolly. In 1845 he took an active part in the anti-rent war, and was on the spot when Stephens was shot, a fact which connects him closely with local history. He is full of entertaining chat ; for he knows everything about the neighborhood, Coulter Brook having been named for the Coulter family. Well has it been said by Dr. Paley, the great writer on the Evidences of Christianity : -
"Old age brings us to know the value of the blessings which we have enjoyed, and it brings us also to a very thankful perception of those which yet remain. Is a man advanced in life? The ease of a single day, the rest of a single night, are gifts which may be sub- jects of gratitude to God."
J OHN T. LAKIN, a prosperous farmer and lumberman of Hancock, was born in this town, May 28, 1819. He be- longs to an old pioneer family, being a grandson of Joel Lakin, who with his two brothers, Jonathan and Jonas Lakin, came from Vermont in the latter part of the last century, and settled on the banks of the Dela- ware River, where their descendants still live. Joel was a soldier during the last three years of the Revolution. Jonas was the first Super- visor of the town of Hancock, Delaware County, naming the place in honor of his native town in Vermont. The
Lakin brothers, strong and athletic men, engaged in lumbering and rafting, and established their business on Partridge Island in the same vicinity in which the Wheeler family settled. Joel was the first militia Captain of Hancock,
and was always identified with the prosperity and advancement of the county. When he came from Vermont, he brought his wife, Sally Martin Lakin, and his four children --- John, Jonas, Sally, and Betsey - with him. By his second wife, Clementine Sands, he had two children, Mary Ann and Cassandra. He died a number of years before her, and was buried in Hancock, the town for which he had done so much, and whose interests were always foremost in his mind.
Jonas Lakin, son of Joel, the father of John T. Lakin, was born in Hancock in 1794. He had such education as the times afforded, and at an early age began to follow the pursuit of lumberman on the Delaware River. Philadel- phia was their market and depot of supplies; and this noted steersman, with the other laborers, would raft the lumber down the river, and make the return journey of four days on foot. To add to their difficulties, they were obliged to carry their purchases on their backs. Jonas Lakin married Polly Thomas, daughter of Lucy (Jacobs) and John Thomas, a lumberman of Hancock, who is now buried on the point of land at the " Wed- ding of the Waters" of the Delaware River.
Mr. and Mrs. Jonas Lakin had fourteen children, namely: John T .; Joel, a Hancock lumberman and prominent town officer, who married Lastina Studley; Sarah, who married Daniel Thomas, a farmer and lumberman of Hancock; Lucinda, who married James Turner, a lumberman of the same town; Mar- garet, who married Omar Parks, also a lum- berman of Hancock; Susan, who married Henry Salsbury, a millwright at Ashtabula, Ohio; Matilda, who married Charles Doyle, a Hancock farmer; Edwin, a noted steersman in the Delaware River, who married Abigail Doyle; Mary, who married Octave Bonefond, a farmer of Hancock; Edgar, an extensive farmer of Hancock, who married Emma Evans; Moses, a Hancock farmer, who mar- ried Grace Hubbell; Harrison, a farmer of Hancock, who married Harriett Wheeler, of the same place; Ruth, who married Her- man Brush, of Hancock; Harriet, who died in infancy, being the only one of the family who did not grow to maturity. They were a strong, comely race, and the women were con-
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sidered particularly beautiful. Jonas Lakin always followed lumbering as his occupation, at which he was very successful. In his early days game and fish abounded in great plenty, and the family subsisted chiefly on that and the product of their own land. Jonas died in his fifty-sixth year, and was buried at Par- tridge Island, a number of years before the death of his wife, which occurred in 1892, in her eighty-ninth year. She also was buried at Partridge Island, in the family lot.
John T. Lakin attended the district school in his native town, and at the early age of fifteen years began to follow the river as steersman and lumberman; and this occupa- tion, together with farming, which he carried on to some extent, he continued till 1891. For over fifty years of that time he cut and rafted all his own lumber, and sold his own products. July 4, 1854, Mr. Lakin married Hannah Lewis, daughter of Zenas and Mar- garet (Thomas) Lewis, both of old Massachu- setts Puritan stock. To Mr. and Mrs. Lakin were born four children: Emily C., who mar- ried John Thomas, a dairyman and farmer of Hale's Eddy; Fred W., a farmer of Hancock, who married Jessie Leonard; Frank M .; and Lewis N., who was the youngest of the fam- ily. The two sons worked the home farm, consisting of over seventeen hundred acres of land, in company with their father.
John T. Lakin belongs to the Democratic party, having cast his first vote for President in 1840. Although he has never aspired to political honors, yet on account of his great popularity he has held many positions of trust in his own town; among these was that of Highway Commissioner, which he held for nine years. In all his undertakings he has been eminently successful, and has gained for himself great respect and admiration. He has ever the interests of his town at heart, and by his untiring enterprise and good judg- ment has greatly added to its prosperity.
OHN G. RUSSELL, a retired dairy farmer of the town of Bovina, was born on January 16, 1827, and is the grand- son of the progenitor of this branch of the Russell family in America, a doughty
Scotsman, who was one of the early settlers in Bovina. The parents of John G. Russell, James and Margaret (Brice) Russell, were hard-working, sober-minded people, to whom were born twelve children, whose names are recorded in the sketch of Andrew T. Russell in another part of this volume. In the dis- trict schools, to which he was sent in his boy- hood, young John gained what knowledge of text-books he was there able to acquire. He lived beneath the family roof until his mar- riage to Margaret Nicoll, which was solem- nized on November 19, 1857. The bride was a Scotch woman and the daughter of Andrew Nicoll, whose wife, as well as himself, was of Scotch birth. There were four sons and five daughters in the Nicoll family.
John G. Russell became the owner of one of his father's farms, a tract of ninety-three acres, the boundaries of which he afterward very greatly increased by subsequent pur- chases of land. He was most successful in his dairy farming, in which he was engaged until 1894. He now lives in the village of Bovina Centre, where he enjoys in retirement the results of his life's early and prolonged labors. His wife has borne him three daugh- ters : Margaret A., the wife of Mr. Robert Wilson Scott, of Bovina Centre; Alice, a teacher in Bovina; and Christina, Mrs. Thompson, of Walton.
Mr. Russell, like his brother, Andrew T., takes no interest in the political concerns of the country, but has devoted the energies of his years to personal, social, and religious duties. His household is a household of faith, both he and his wife being conscien- tious members of the Reformed Presbyterian church. Mr. Russell's genial manner and kindly heart have won for him the esteem and regard of those who know him best.
HOMAS DELANEY, the genial and hospitable proprietor of Hotel River- side at Walton, has become well and favorably known throughout the surrounding country. He was born in Orange County, New York, in 1835, son of James and Mary (Mills) DeLaney. His mother was a native of Orange County, where she died in 1844,
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leaving four children, two of whom are now living, Thomas and his brother James. The younger James has led a life quite different from that of his early associates. When but thirteen years old, he went to Georgia with Elder Beebe's son; and, when the war broke out, he joined the rebel army and fought bravely for that side, while his brother was as bravely fighting for Northern principles. He was taken prisoner and placed in Point Look- out Prison, but escaped, and after the war went to Orlando, Orange County, Fla., where he is now a wealthy merchant. James De Laney, Sr., who was born in New York City, died when past middle life, in Orange County.
Thomas Delaney learned the blacksmith's trade; and twenty years of his young life were spent in Sullivan County, working at that trade, which is so fascinating to the minds of poets and artists, as typical of human strength, skill, and mastery. In 1862 Mr. DeLaney volunteered in Company G, One Hundred and Forty-third New York Volunteer Infantry, going out as Second Sergeant. He served three years, and saw some of the most exciting work of the war, being with Sherman in his march to the sea, and in other engagements of note. In 1885 he came to Walton, and pur- chased the hotel property then known as the Riverside Hotel, and kept by Green Chase. The location is a charming one; and Hotel Riverside, as it is now called, is a favorite summer resort, Mr. DeLaney having done much to improve it and make it more conven- ient and attractive. It is now a large cot- tage, with additions and improvements on the original house; and it is more than likely that before many years larger accommodations will have to be provided for the many guests who frequent this place during the warm weather.
In 1860 Mr. Delaney married Sarah Palmer, of the neighboring village of Downs- ville, a daughter of Abell and Clarissa Palmer. Her parents, who were natives of this county, died during the war in Oregon, leaving a family of six children. Mr. and Mrs. Delaney have two children : one son, Walter; and a daughter, Grace, who is a young lady of much artistic talent. The walls of her father's house bear witness to her
taste and skill in oil painting. Her work is of the realistic school, which is in these days coming to be very popular.
Mr. DeLaney is a member of the General Marvin Post, No. 209, Grand Army of the Republic, having been transferred from the . Fleming Post of Downsville, in which he had been Quartermaster. He is a firm Republi- can, and served as Deputy Sheriff under Clark and Crawford. Being a Chapter Mason, he filled several chairs while in Sullivan County, and is a highly respected brother in all Ma- sonic circles. Mrs. DeLaney is a member of the Congregational church, and much inter- ested in church work. For some years before her marriage she was a teacher, and she con- tinues much interested in educational matters. Mr. DeLaney is a valued citizen of Walton. The many people with whom he has business and social relations hold him in the highest esteem, and are glad to reckon him among their friends.
HARLES R. HATFIELD, whose death at his home near Griffin's Cor- ners two years ago was a cause of mourning throughout the .commu- nity, was born in New York City, January 17, 1825, and was the son of Charles R. and Mary (McAully) Hatfield. The father was of Eng- lish descent, while the mother was a native of Scotland. They had a large family of chil- dren; namely, Mary, Emily, Elizabeth, Me- lissa, Catherine, Armintha, Christina, Eve- line, James, Maria, Charles R. The last named was brought up in the metropolis, and learned the trade of gilder and frame-maker, being engaged in the manufacture of picture- frames in New York City, until the Civil War. He then enlisted in the One Hundred and Forty-fourth Regiment, and served with credit to the close of that momentous struggle. He selected as his life partner Miss Christina Miller, daughter of Adam and Eliza (Gibson) Miller. Her parents, who were natives of Scotland, came to America in 1830, and set- tled in New York City, where they estab- lished a hair-dressing business, which Mr. Miller continued until his death at the age of thirty-two, his wife preceding him to the
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other shore by five months. They had three children, of whom Mrs. Hatfield is the only one now living.
Mrs. Hatfield's health failing in the city, they came to Delaware County; and, buying the Willoughby farm near Arkville, Mr. Hat- field remodelled the house and adapted it to the wants of summer boarders. This proving a successful venture, he then sold out and bought the old Lee farm, three miles from Griffin's Corners, and here built a large house, which his widow now carries on as a boarding-house and hotel. A family of six children were born to him and his wife, the following being a brief mention thereof : William married Sarah Adams, and lives in Ridgway, Pa. Charles R. took for his wife Alice J. McKillip. Thomas F. lives at home. Elizabeth became the wife of James W. Curtis, of Fleischmanns. John W. mar- ried Maggie A. G. Seacor, making his home in Brooklyn, N. Y. Katie L. is the wife of Philip Schaffer, and lives at Williams Bridge.
Mr. Charles R. Hatfield lived to be sixty- seven years old. He was a Republican, and, while in New York City, was a member of the Broadway Tabernacle Church. After his death his wife enlarged the house, which can accommodate sixty boarders. It is called the Hatfield Mansion, and is a landmark in this part of Delaware County, having an elevation of about twenty-five hundred feet above the level of the sea. The scenery is grand, em- bracing a view of ten different mountain peaks.
Mrs. Hatfield is a business woman, with plenty of friends.
ILLIAM H. BROWN, a well- known citizen of Hancock, Dela- ware County, was born August 25, 1825, in the adjoining town of Walton. His father, William Brown, a native of Rhode Island, came to Walton in the early days of its settlement. He married Sophia Bene- dict, a daughter of Daniel and Lois (McCall) Benedict. The Benedict family originated in Connecticut, and was one of the first to settle in Walton. Mr. and Mrs. William Brown had two children, namely; George A., who
was born June 2, 1823, and, after learning the shoemaker's trade, removed to Glendale, Wis., where he now resides; and William H. The father of these two boys was lost in the river while employed in rafting.
Young William was but nine years of age when he made his home with Mr. Seth Hoyt, with whom he lived until his sixteenth year. In 1850 he removed to Read's Creek, Han- cock. On March 1I, 1852, he married Miss Rachel S. Hood, daughter of William and Nancy (Apley) Hood, of Hancock, and a member of one of the oldest families of that section of the country. Mrs. Brown's great- grandfather came from Holland with his two brothers, and located his home in Colchester, while one of his brothers settled on the Mo- hawk; and the other, supposed to be the an- cestor of General Hood, took up his residence in the South. The Apley family came from Connecticut, and was among the first to settle in the Delaware Valley. Mrs. Brown's par- ents had nine children, three of whom lived to reach maturity: Mrs. Brown, who was the oldest; Clark, who is a prominent lawyer and stock-raiser in La Crosse County, Wisconsin ; and Betsey, who married Mr. Carley, of Deposit.
Mr. Brown enlisted in the Second New York Heavy Artillery in September, 1862, and was mustered into the service at Elmira. He took an active part in the engagements at Spottsylvania Court-house, Hanover Junction, Swift Run, and Cold Harbor, lying at the latter place eleven days under fire and with- out relief. His next engagement was at Petersburg, where his regiment was reduced from seventeen hundred to eleven hundred men. June 16 they charged on the rebels, and Mr. Brown was wounded in the leg. For eleven months he lay in the military hos- pital, where his wound partially healed; but for thirty years it continued to be extremely painful, and in January, 1892, he had the leg amputated. After leaving the army he re- sumed his former occupation of farming and lumbering and working as a steersman on the river.
Mr. and Mrs. Brown are the parents of six children : The eldest, Sophia, was born April 3, 1853, and married H. D, Mills, a stone-
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mason at Fish's Eddy. Louisa was born September 4, 1854, and is the wife of Henry Denio, a farmer of Tompkins. George is a farmer at Read's Creek, born September 12, 1856. Charles was born July 2, 1858, and resides at East Branch. Abram, a farmer and lumberman, was born September 9, 1860. Clarence L., the youngest, was born August 13, 1871, and is employed in the factory on Read's Creek.
Mr. Brown is a Republican in politics, has been Constable, Collector of Taxes for seven years, and has twice taken the census of his town. He is a man of upright character, a worthy citizen of the town where he resides, with the good works of which his name is ever identified.
EORGE W. MARVIN is a highly respected and thriving citizen of Walton, N. Y., owns and occupies a good farm in Marvin Hollow, about two and one-half miles from the railway station. He was born in the town of Walton, November 20, 1817. His grandfather, Matthew Marvin, a native of New Canaan, Conn., came to this State after the Revolution, and first lived for a few years near Hoosick. (For further an- cestral history see sketch of N. C. Marvin. )
Jared Marvin, a son of Matthew and Mary (Weed) Marvin, was born in the town of Hoosick, and was reared on a farm, but later worked at the carpenter's trade, and was also employed in a mill as a cloth-finisher. He afterward adopted the calling of a pilot, and won a wide reputation for skill in guiding rafts down the river. He spent the last years of his life in the town of Walton, and died on the farm adjoining that of his son George, at the age of seventy-six years. He married Fanny Rogers, the daughter of Asa and Cath- erine Rogers, who occupied the farm adjoin- ing his father's. Mr. and Mrs. Rogers removed from Granville, Mass., their native place, to Tompkins, at an early period, and in 1812 or 1814 came to Walton, where, buying a tract of heavily timbered land, they im- proved a farm. Mr. Rogers died when about seventy years of age. His widow, who was one of the old Hamilton stock, and the daugh-
ter of a woman who spent more than a century of years on this sphere, was a remarkably well-preserved old lady, ever active and alert, and after she was eighty years old once walked a distance of four miles, climbing a tremendous mountain on the way. She lived to the advanced age of ninety-two years. To Jared Marvin and his wife were born the fol- lowing children: Catherine, who died at the age of twenty-three years; George W .; Mary, who married Decatur Eells, of Walton; Abi- gail, who married Roswell St. John, and is now dead; Charles, a prominent minister, who resides in the West, where he has organ- ized and built up twelve churches; William; Lewis and John, the latter of whom died when a little lad of four years. The mother, who spent her declining days with her eldest son, lived to the age of fourscore years. Both were members of the Congregational church.
At the age of sixteen years George W. Marvin, the eldest son of Jared, began the pioneer labor of clearing the land, taking a yoke of oxen and doing a man's work. For some time he was engaged in teaching the district school in the winter, and working on the farm during the remainder of the year. He remained with his parents until the home- stead, largely through his efforts, was paid for. He married when twenty-nine years of age, moving then to a farm which he had pre- viously purchased, and of which he had cleared a small portion. Having lived thereon for three years, Mr. Marvin disposed of that property, and with his brother Will- iam purchased three hundred acres of land, which constitutes his present homestead. Very little of this land had been cleared; and, assisted by his brother, he put up a saw- mill, and, cutting down the trees, sawed them into lumber, which he sent to Philadelphia at first, but in later times began supplying the village of Walton. He continued in this business for nearly thirty years, and in the mean time placed his land in a good state of cultivation. He has a fine grass-bearing and dairying farm, raises some grain; and, be- sides the numbers of cattle and horses on his place, he keeps a good many sheep. He has erected excellent farm buildings, and has all the tools and machinery requisite for carrying
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on his business after the most approved methods. He had the misfortune to have one barn destroyed by lightning, but this has been replaced by two very fine ones.
Mr. Marvin was married in 1846 to Hannah Eells, who was one of twelve children born to Mead and Philena (Johnson ) Eells, natives of Walton. Mr. Eells was a dealer in lumber, and an expert in running saw-mills, being able to saw trees thirty-four feet long and four feet thick. Mr. and Mrs. Eells were both members of the Congregational church; and both died at the home of Mr. Marvin, he at the age of eighty years, and she when seventy-five years of age. Mrs. Marvin, who departed this life December 20, 1892, bore her husband three children - Martha, Julia, and George. Martha had great musical tal- ent, received all the advantages afforded at the Providence, R.I., Conservatory, and won a fine reputation as a music-teacher in Provi- dence, having pupils from seven different States. Her death by drowning was a sad blow to her family and to her many friends. Julia, who was also a pupil of the Walton Academy, married William A. Drake, a civil engineer, who has been largely engaged in surveying Western railroads, and is now sur- veying in Arizona. They are now living in Pueblo, and are the parents of three children - Mattie, Nellie, and Dorothy. George mar- ried Lizzie Patterson, the daughter of George Patterson; and they have one child, Martha. He is a farmer by occupation, and assists in the care of the home farm.
. F. ADEE, proprietor and editor of the Delaware Express of Delhi, was born at Davenport Centre, August 22, 1865, and is the son of George T. Adee, a prominent citizen of Delhi. Mr. Adee resided in Davenport Centre until he was ten years of age, when he moved with his parents to this town. His early education was gained at the district school, and was supplemented by a course at the academy, from which he was graduated in 1885. He also spent one year at Cornell University and in 1887 entered the law department at Co- lumbia College, taking his degree in 1889.
Upon the completion of his college course he was admitted to the bar, and returned to Delhi, where he practised law with his father for about two years. Turning his attention to journalism, he purchased the Delaware Express in March, 1891. This paper was established as far back as 1839, and is a bright, interesting newspaper, with a steadily increasing circulation. Mr. Adee has a fine outfit for all kinds of job printing, and does a large amount of business in this line. He was instrumental in starting the present Andes Recorder, and also the Walton Times, both of which papers he subsequently sold, now devoting his whole time and atten- tion to the Delaware Express. Mr. Adee is a Republican in politics, and for the last four years has occupied the responsible position of Justice of the Peace. He has served on the County Republican Committee for one term, and is also a member of the Senatorial Com- mittee of his district. He is a member of Lodge No. 439, A. F. & A. M., and is an attendant and supporter of the Second Presby- terian Church of Delhi.
EORGE S. SEYMOUR is a success- ful farmer in the town of Tompkins, N. Y., where he was born on October 7, 1848. His grandfather was William Sey- mour, who is further mentioned in the biog- raphy of Alonzo Seymour elsewhere in this volume. Charles D. Seymour, the father of George, was born in Tompkins, April 16, 1823, and was brought up a farmer. He mar- ried Phoebe Walker, daughter of John and Betsey Walker, residents of that part of Tompkins now known as Deposit.
George S. Seymour in his childhood was educated at the district school, and worked on his father's farm, a part of which he pur- chased from his father in 1880. On January 19, 1881, he married M. Eliza McDonald, daughter of D. G. and Jane (Chambers) Mc- Donald, of Walton. Mrs. Seymour's paternal grandfather, Archibald McDonald, came to America from Scotland, and settled in North Carolina, where he remained for thirteen years, and then came to Delaware County, New York. He married Jennette Smith,
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