Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Delaware County, New York, Part 83

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 83

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R ANSOM R. HAWK, one of the best- known citizens of East Branch, Han- cock, belongs to a family that is one of the oldest in the country, the branch in Delaware County being de-

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scended, it is supposed, from Adam Hawkes, who early settled in Saugus, near Lynnfield, Mass., where some of his descendants still reside.

John Hawk, the grandfather of Ransom, was born near Easton, Pa., and was a child at the time of the Revolutionary War. His family lived on the outskirts of the town, and were obliged to leave all their effects behind them, and drive their stock to the block-house in the village to escape from the Indians and Tories, who were leaving devastation and death in their path. John Hawk remembered many thrilling tales of those exciting times, having been well acquainted with Tom Quick, the noted Indian slayer, from whose lips he heard many stories of adventure, and having also known Kanope and Ben Shank, two fa- mous Indians, the former of whom fell before the rifle of Quick, while the latter escaped and fled the country. John Hawk married Jane Ross, a native of Cochecton; and they had the following children: John, Nathaniel, George, Rosanna, Polly, and Sally, and one child who died in infancy. The parents of these children were highly respected, and both lived to be over eighty years of age.

George Hawk was born at the foot of Hawk's Mountain, which was named for his family. He was educated in his native town of Hancock, and followed the occupations of farming and lumbering throughout his life. He married Susan Dennis, a daughter of a soldier of the War of 1812, who died at Sack- ett's Harbor. She was a descendant of the Dennis family of Andes, some of the members of which settled in Tompkins. Mr. and Mrs. Hawk had seven children: Maria, who was born January 18, 1833, and married George W. Houston; Ransom R .; Jeremiah D, born June 12, 1837: Henry J., born July 30, 1839; James B., born June 24, 1844: John B., born December 6, 1847; and Sally A., born April 22, 1850.

Ransom R. Hawk, eldest son of George, was born in Hancock, November 12, 1834, was educated in his native town, and learned the carpenter's trade. In 1872 he erected the store now occupied by Mr. Mellory, and car- ried on a general merchandise business for a number of years. In August, 1864, he en-

listed in Company C, New York Engineer Corps, of which company W. M. Brown, of Cohoes, was Captain, and from which he re- ceived his discharge July 4, 1865, at Hilton Head, S.C. June 28, 1866, he married Miss Ellen M. Miller, daughter of James and Annie M. (Williams) Miller, of Hancock. The Miller family is one of the oldest in this section of the country, to which they immi- grated from Connecticut, as did also the Will- iams family. Nathan Williams, grandfather of Mrs. Hawk, was a soldier of the War of 1812, and for his services at that time drew a pension from the government.

Mr. and Mrs. Hawk have two children, Susa M. and. Philip B., both of whom reside with their parents. The family attend the Methodist Episcopal church at East Branch, of which they are valued members. Mr. Hawk has been Justice of the Peace for two terms, also Assessor and Inspector of Elec- tions. He is a Republican in politics, a member of Shehawken Lodge of Free Masons, and of the Hancock Chapter of Royal Arch Masons; and the esteem with which he is re- garded by all testifies to his worth as a citi- zen and a friend.

UGUSTUS H. TODD, a more than ordinarily successful mechanic and plumber of Delaware County, was born on the 11th of April, 1863. His great-grandfather, the first of this family in America, had an interesting and romantic history. The ship which brought him and his parents to these shores was wrecked off the Connecticut coast; and the little boy of three years old was the only one of the entire family who was saved, no trace of the others ever being discovered. Upon being ques- tioned, the little fellow said his name was "Sammie Todd"; and by this name he was called. A compassionate man took the child, raised and educated him. At eighteen he entered the American army, and served through the Revolutionary War. When he had married and was about to seek a new home, he received from his foster-father two oxen, a horse, and a cart. With this limited capital Samuel Todd settled on a hundred

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acres of land in Middletown, Delaware County, and began to earn a support for him- self and his brave young wife, who dared to sharc his hard fortune. Eight children were born to the stout-hearted settler. Samuel Todd lived to the remarkable age of one hun - dred and two years.

Isaac, their youngest son, lived on the place settled by his father, and married Miss Fanny Bouton, of the same county. He bought a farm of one hundred and thirty-six acres at the upper end of Dry Brook, and later one hundred and sixty more at Clovesville. In the early days of these settlements the pioneer farmers lived for the most part on the deer which abounded here, selling the skins and purchasing their other supplies. A family. of seven children were reared by Isaac and Fanny Todd. It fell to the lot of the eldest son, Burr, to stay and work on the farm, so he missed the meagre chance of an education that the country schools afforded at that time. But, being naturally quick and intelligent, he learned to read and write, and became an ex- tremely enterprising and successful business man.

Burr Todd came into possession of his father's farm, but enlarged his business by carrying the neighboring farmers' produce to Kingston in his line of wagons, and fetching back groceries and family supplies. So en- tirely trustworthy was he that he established quite a business by this simple arrangement. At thirty-eight years of age he bought the hardware store of W. D. Doolittle, and was cqually successful as he had been in other lines of business. In 1856, at Griffin's Cor- ners, where he established himself in mercan- tile life, he married Miss Susan Stone. Miss Stone was born December 5, 1835, and was a daughter of Robert and Caroline (Griffin) Stone. Robert, her father, was born in Clovesville, and was the son of Russell Stone, an early settler and a man of progressive ideas. Ten children were reared by the par- ents of Mrs. Todd: Hannah; Augustus; Susan L. ; John F .; Mary; George; William H .; Josephine; and Rutson and Judson, who were twins.

Burr Todd and his wife were the parents of three children. The eldest, Carrie T., born

July 27, 1858, married Allen Doolittle, of Griffin's Corners, and has one child, Roy C. Lilian, the other daughter, born February 21, 1873, married Charles V. Spriggs, and lives in Arkville. Burr Todd was a stanch Republican and a zealous worker in the Meth- odist Episcopal church, of which he was a member. He helped to build the old church, and was one of the first subscribers to the new one built in 1885; but he only lived to see the corner-stone laid, being called to that "mansion not made with hands, eternal in the skies."

Augustus H., the only son of Burr and Susan (Stone) Todd, received his early educa- tion in the school in Griffin's Corners, at fourteen spent three months in Eastman's Business College at Poughkeepsie, and at twenty went into partnership with his father in the hardware store. Six years after the death of his father he sold out to Mr. J. M. Hicks. In 1883 he began to work as a plumber. A shop was built across the creek on Main Street in the fall of 1893, for plumb- ing and other work; and here a large business is done, a four-horse-power water-motor being employed in the establishment, where general repairing of machinery is a specialty. He has also a turning-lathe, and employs an ex- pert to take charge of this branch of the busi- ness. Mountain staffs, souvenirs, and various small fancy articles are made here from the woods of the Catskills and find a ready sale and large market over the United States. Mr. Todd is superintendent and a heavy stockholder of the water works of this place, and has put in the water works of Roxbury and Griffin's Corners.

Mr. Augustus H. Todd wooed and won Miss Sarah Beardsley, a daughter of Nelson and Melissa Beardsley. Nelson Beardsley lives at Kelly's Corners, and has three daugh- ters and one son - Sarah, Nettie, Addie, and Earl C. Two children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Augustus H. Todd: Otis H. and Marea H.

The political influence of Mr. Todd has always been used in disseminating the princi- ples of the Republican party, of which he is a strong advocate. In religious views he is strong, liberal, and charitable, and bears in

L. P. MAY.

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all the relations of life the impress and influ- ence of judgment and sagacity.

PHILETUS MAY, a well-known and highly respected farmer of the town of Masonville, Delaware County, N. Y., was born in Coventry, Che- nango County, November 28, 1827, son of Willard and Lucy (Kenyon) May. His father was born in Massachusetts in 1794, and his mother in Rhode Island about 1790. His grandfather, Samuel May, who was a Massa- chusetts man, moved from that State to New York with an ox team, and settled at Bain- bridge, Chenango County, about the year 1810, being among the first settlers there. In the course of time he was the owner of a fine farm, of which he had cleared a good part and brought into a good state of cultiva- tion. The latter part of his life was spent in the town of Colesville, Broomne County, where he died, aged about eighty. He was twice married, his second wife being Patty Hudson. He had a large family of children, only one of whom is alive at the present day, Will- iam S. May, of Harpursville.

Willard May grew to manhood and received his education in Massachusetts and Vermont. Shortly after coming to this State with his father, he enlisted in the American army, and was in active service in the War of 1812-14. He was by trade a carpenter, an occupation he followed in conjunction with farming. He resided in Coventry until after the death of his first wife, when he moved to Afton vil- lage; but he spent his declining years with his son, Jabez May, at Penn Yan, Yates County, where he died aged eighty-four. In politics he was a Whig, and afterward a Re- publican, and in religious matters was a mem- ber of the Baptist church. Mr. May's second marriage was to Eunice Metcalf, widow of Seth Seeley. He was the father of seven children, three of whom are living: Sally, widow of Isaac Randall, of Masonville; Jabez May, of Penn Yan; and L. Philetus, the sub- ject of this sketch. Warren died aged twenty years, Mary Ann aged twenty-four, Laura aged sixty-two years, and Willard, Jr., aged five years.

L. Philetus May was educated in the town of Coventry. He gave his attention to farm- ing and carpentering, learning the latter trade under his father and following it as a business for several years. In 1859 he came to Mason- ville, and bought the farm upon which he now resides, the land then being uncultivated and with no improvements. He speedily set about clearing the land, and erecting fine and substantial buildings. The farm consists of one hundred and thirty-three acres of good land; and he conducts a fine dairy, keeping about twenty-two head of cattle. Mr. May has always been a hard-working man, and has gained his present competency by industry and good management. He is a member of the Baptist church of Masonville, and is now one of its Trustees. In politics he is a Re- publican.

Mr. May was married by Elder A. St. John, September 25, 1862, to Emily M. Beach, who was born September 10, 1832, a daughter of Lumon and Maria (Brainerd ) Beach, of Ma- sonville. Mrs. May died December 31, 1888, leaving no children.

Mr. May is one of the few old settlers of Masonville now living. He has never taken an active part in politics, but has always been ready to devote his time and influence to the best interests of the town, rendering substan- tial aid in works of improvement and progress.

As a scion of good old New England stock, a thriving member of the farming community, and a public-spirited citizen of Delaware County, Mr. May is especially deserving of portraiture in thi's "Biographical Review." His likeness on an adjoining page will be readily recognized by friends and acquaint- ances.

ILLIAM R. WRIGHT was born in Downsville, Delaware County, on October 14, 1859. His father, Philander Wright, was a native of Otsego County, but moved to Delaware, in which county he has followed farming and other occu- pations, and where he is now living. He mar- ried Miss Frances Williams. Their son, William R., whose name heads this biography, grew up and was educated in his native town,

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where he learned the cigar-maker's trade, and where he established a cigar factory. His patronage, which was small at first, and only warranted the employment of three workmen, was gradually enlarged, as the fame of his brand of the "Golden Gem" was noised abroad ; and Mr. Wright found it expedient to enlarge his factory and increase the number of his employees. In a few years he opened a general grocery-store, which has also proved a financial success.

In 1879 Mr. Wright married Miss Lydia Thompson, a daughter of Andrew and Margaret (Oliver) Thompson. The father is a success- ful farmer in Hamden, and bears a record worthy of mention. He is of Scottish parent- age, being a son of Andrew Thompson, Sr., who came to America in 1800, and settled in Bovina, there living to be a very old man, com- pleting his ninetieth year. Andrew Thompson enlisted in 1864 in Company K, One Hundred and Forty-fourth New York Volunteers ; but, finding the ranks filled when he arrived at Port Royal, S.C., he was transferred to Company A, New York Engineer Corps. His coura- geous bearing and unflinching adherence to duty while under fire at Morris Island won for him the highest commendation from the com- mander in charge, Captain Brown. He be- longs to England Post, Grand Army of the Republic.

Mr. and Mrs. Wright have one little son, Harry, born January 28, 1890. The strict probity and keen sense of honor which char- acterize Mr. Wright's dealings with the public have won for him universal respect; and this has been, perhaps, one of the chief reasons for that success which has attended him as a mer- chant and manufacturer. He is an adherent of the Republican party, to which he has always been loyal.

HARLES S. WOODRUFF. The subject of this sketch spent the early years of his life in the village wherein he was born, and in the district schools laid a substantial foundation for his education, which was completed in the Delaware Academy in Delhi, and from which he was graduated with an honorable record.

Before his graduation he had spent some time as a clerk in his father's store, and he afterward gave his entire attention to mercantile pursuits. In 1880 he bought an interest in the store, and has continued in active business since. This is one of the most wide-awake and enterprising firms in this section of the county, carrying an extensive line of dry goods, boots, shoes, and ready-made clothing, besides being largely en- gaged in buying and selling butter throughout this State and Pennsylvania.

Mr. Woodruff has ever taken an active in- terest in the prosperity of his native town and county, aiding all beneficial schemes tending to develop its business resources or improve its moral, educational, or social status, and has filled many of the offices of the town. He served as treasurer of the fire department three years, was Treasurer of the village three years, and for a long time did efficient service as Secretary and Treasurer of the Board of Trade. For two years he was President of the Dela- ware County Agricultural Society, and has been instrumental in raising it to its present prosperous condition. He was Secretary of the Republican County Committee for many years, and in 1893 was nominated by acclama- tion to the office of County Treasurer.

RUMAN LEWIS, Assistant Postmaster at Sidney, N. Y., was born in the town of Sidney, Delaware County, March 1843, son of Reuben Lewis, who was born in Greene County in 1802. Reuben Lewis was a farmer, and for sixteen years occupied the position of Justice of the Peace of Sidney. In 1842 he married Miss Eliza Olmstead, of Greene County, who became the mother of six children, five of whom lived to reach maturity, although but three are still living, namely: the subject of this sketch ; Hiram, a farmer, who is married, and has a family in Ashtabula County, Ohio; Reuben, a railroad engineer in Scranton, Pa., where he has a wife and family. Their only daughter, Maria, died at the age of twenty-five years. Mrs. Lewis lived to be eighty-five years of age, retaining her faculties in a remarkable manner until her sudden death, January 21, 1893, of apoplexy.

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Truman Lewis lived on the farm with his parents until 1859, when he moved with them to the village. He attended the district school in his boyhood, but, when eighteen, learned the blacksmith's trade, at which he was em- ployed for twenty years, or until 1881. In 1849 he married Miss Hattie Cannon, of Sidney, who was a native of Cannonsville, a daughter of Elisha Cannon. On September 9, 1892, Mrs. Lewis passed away; and her husband was left a childless widower. Like his father, Mr. Lewis is a Democrat. He was Road Commissioner in 1884, and is now serv- ing in his fourth year as Justice of the Peace. For the last nine years he has been employed as clerk in the post-office, which is recorded as a third-class one, although handling more mail than many offices of higher rank. He now occupies the position of Assistant Postmaster under Charles A. Wood, and, being thoroughly acquainted with all the departments of the office, as well as entirely trustworthy and atten- tive to his duties, is often left in full charge. As a gentleman of correct morals and sound judgment, he is held in high regard by his friends and fellow-workers.

DWIN W. POND, general insurance agent, residing in the village of Wal- ton, has been identified with the business circles of this part of Delaware County for several years, and is regarded as one of its most enterprising and able citizens. He is of New England birth and ancestry, hav- ing been born in New Hartford, Conn., in 1853. His father, J. R. Pond, was a native of the same town, and there reared to maturity. He was a farmer and dairyman in the earlier years of his life, and later became one of the earliest manufacturers of condensed milk. In 1880 he came to Walton and established the plant known as the Granulated Milk Factory, which is still in successful operation. He subsequently removed to Oregon, and died near Portland, in 1890, at the age of seventy. He was twice married. His first wife, Martha A. Watson, was the daughter of Harvey and Sally (Wells) Watson, esteemed residents of New Hartford, Conn. She died in the village of Walton, in 1884, at the age of sixty-three

years, leaving, besides the subject of this sketch, who was her only son, an adopted daughter, Cora L., the wife of Edward Brisack, of Union City, N. J. Mr. Pond married for his second wife Mary Sophia Sherwood, who sur- vives him, and is now a resident of Walton.

Edwin W. Pond was reared as a farmer's son, acquiring his rudimentary education in the public schools, and afterward pursuing a full academical course. He worked with his father in the milk factory until 1879, when he removed to Fort Plain, Montgomery County, to take charge of the manufactory of the Orange County Milk Association, remaining there two years. Receiving a flattering offer to assume the management of the Heidelberg Cheese and Condensed Milk Company at Yarra Flats, near Melbourne, Australia, he went there, and continued in charge three years. After travelling around the world, Mr. Pond came to Walton in 1884; and three years later he established himself in the insurance business, in which he displays more than ordi- nary ability and tact. He now represents seventeen strong and trustworthy insurance companies, and is recognized as a straight- forward, thorough-going business man, merit- ing the confidence of his fellow-citizens. On February 11, 1886, Mr. Pond was married to Miss Florence St. John, a native of New York City. Mrs. Pond's parents were S. Henry and Emily (Leavens) St. John, the latter of whom was born in 1815 in New York City, and died in Walton in 1878. Mr. St. John was a native of Walton, and in early life went to New York City as a clerk in a dry-goods store, in which business he remained some time. He after- wards entered into copartnership with his brother, George St. John, as merchant tailors and general clothiers, under the firm name of Geo. & S. H. St. John. Having secured a competency, he retired from active business, and, coming to Walton, built a fine residence near the present home of Mr. and Mrs. Pond, and thereafter lived retired, dying in 1893. when seventy-nine years old. He reared three children, as follows: Sarah, the wife of A. L. Hyde, lives in New York City. Emma, the wife of the Rev. Reeve Hobbie, resides in Newark, N. J. Mr. S. H. St. John had the following brothers and sisters who reached the

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age of maturity : Martha St. John Bassett, who lived at Independence, N. Y. ; Maria, the wife of Joseph E. Sheffield, of New Haven, Conn. ; Thomas and Erastus, who lived at Mobile, Ala. ; and George, who resided at Walton. Mr. S. H. St. John at the time of his death was the only remaining child of Colonel John Trowbridge and Mary St. John, who were among the early settlers of this section, com- ing to Walton from Connecticut.

Of the four children born to Mr. and Mrs. Pond, two little daughters died in infancy, and two are now living, namely : Sarah E. Pond, born April 2, 1889; and Samuel Henry St. John Pond, born August 24, 1891. Politi- cally, Mr. Pond is a steadfast Democrat, and has served as village Trustee. He is a promi- nent member of the Masonic fraternity, belong- ing to the Walton Lodge, A. F. & A. M., where he has taken the thirty-second degree, and in which he is now serving as Senior War- den. Religiously, he is a Vestryman of the Christ Episcopal Church, of which both him- self and wife are communicants, and toward the support of which they cheerfully contribute.

R ANSOM PALMATEER, a householder and dairy farmer of Andes, N. Y., was born in New Kingston, Middle- town, on May 7, 1854. His grand- father, John Palmateer, was of Dutch extrac- tion, being son of a Hollander, but was himself American born, a native of Dutchess County, where he lived and reared a family of nine children: John, William, Abraham, Cyrus, Lucinda, Jessie, Owen, Sylvester, and Mary. In the latter part of his life John Pal- mateer moved to Saginaw County, Michigan, and sojourned there until the day of his death, which occurred in his ninety-fifth year. His wife, Elizabeth (Warner) Palmateer, also lived to be very old. She was a member of the Baptist church.

William, the second son of John, was born. December 14, 1814. He began to work out on a farm when a boy of twelve years of age, and, when twenty-six, married Mary A., daughter of Cornelius and Mary (Yeaples) Demond. Mary Palmateer was a grand-daugh- ter of Christian and Anna Yeaples, who lived

at Kingston, Ulster County. This village was burned during the Revolutionary War, in which Christian served; and the family moved to New Kingston Valley, Delaware County, and bought a farm, upon which their grand- daughter, Mrs. Mary Palmateer, now lives. Christian Yeaples built the first log house there. The flat surface of the land selected for a habitation to be erected upon was covered with a growth of pine-trees, which were rare in this locality ; and many stumps still remain to attest the industrious hand of the ancestor who felled their trunks so long ago. Bear and wolf, elk and deer, disappeared gradually from their native haunts, as the white man's foot in- vaded year by year their wild domains; and it was not long before smoke curled up from many a settler's cabin chimney, and the soli- tude of the forest rang with the stroke of the axe and blow of hammer. Mr. Yeaples was the father of these children: Jacob; John ; David; Henry; Christian; Cornelius B. ; May; Catharine; Rachel; Nellie; and Mary, Mrs. Palmateer.

William Palmateer did a great deal toward the improvement of this estate. He built a large frame house and farm buildings. To William Palmateer and his wife the number of offspring of the Yeaples family was repeated. Of their twelve children, eight are now living, and may be thus mentioned: Phœbe, who married John V. Simmons, a farmer located near Roxbury, and is the mother of two chil- dren; Sylvester, who married Estella Sanford, and lives in Andes with their two children; Harriett, who married first Edward Taylor, by whom she had one child, and secondly P. Kaughman; Ransom, the original of this pen sketch; Emily, who married John Rhoter- mond, has one child, and lives in California ; Rhoda and Etta, who live at home; Mary, nów Mrs. George Hewitt, of Margarettville, who has one child. William Palmateer died in 1877, at sixty-two years of age. His widow is still living. Both were members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

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Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Delaware County, New York, Part 83

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