USA > New York > Delaware County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Delaware County, New York > Part 91
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Mr. Lakin has been prominent in town
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affairs, and has been Collector of Taxes and Constable, which latter position he still holds. He is a Free Mason in the seventh degree, a member of the Hancock Lodge, No. 552, A. F. & A. M., and of the Royal Arch Chap- ter. He is a Democrat in politics, and is un- married. Mr. Lakin has a good reputation for honesty and integrity, and is highly esteemed by his townsmen.
MOS C. PECK, the popular editor of the Downsville News, was born June 21, 1839, son of Orin and Lucinda (Goslee) Peck. Orin Peck was born February 4, 1802, and was the son of Amos Peck, who came to Greene County about the beginning of the century, and pur- chased two hundred acres of land. He and his wife raised a family of seven children; namely, Orin, Levi, Charles, Munson, Mary, Jane, and Lydia, all of whom are now dead but Lydia, who lives in Connecticut, and is the widow of Alfred Peck.
Orin Peck grew to manhood on the farm, and was educated in the county schools, work- ing on the farm during his youth. When twenty-four years old, he married Lucinda Goslee; and they had the following children : Pamelia and Delia, who are now dead; New- ton G., who is a farmer in Schoharie County ; Amanda, wife of A. Rathbone, of Davenport, Delaware County; and Amos C., the subject of this sketch. Orin Peck had a farm of two hundred acres in Greene County, and lived there until 1848, when he sold out, and re- moved to Delaware County, buying a farm of one hundred acres at Harpersfield. Here he dwelt for twenty years, at the end of which time he disposed of his Harpersfield property. He then purchased a home in Stamford, where he spent his old age, and died at the age of seventy-five years. His wife passed away December 12, 1863.
Amos Peck was born in Greene County, and grew to manhood at his father's home, receiving his education at the district schools. After five years spent in agricultural pursuits at the old homestead, he bought a farm of one hundred acres in his native town, where he spent the next five years of his life. He then
sold his farm, and started with A. W. Clark the newspaper called the Jefferson Weekly. In 1875, having disposed of his interest in that enterprise, coming to Downsville, he started the Downsville News. This paper is one of the most interesting local sheets in the vicinity, has a large circulation, and is highly spoken of by all its subscribers and readers.
Mr. Peck married Kate, daughter of Edward and Mary Ann (Beard) Young. Edward Young was born in 1809, on Long Island, and came to Schoharie County when he was yet a young man. He was a carpenter and farmer, and was the father of seven children - Polly, Elizabeth, Kate, Cynthia, Sarah, Lydia, Hat- tie. Sarah is the wife of James H. Hubbard, Lydia wife of Stephen Dayton, and Hattie the wife of Stephen Matice, all of Jefferson. Mr. and Mrs. Amos Peck have two children: Ed- ward, born December 23, 1867; and George, born October 1, 1870, both living in Downs- ville.
Mr. Peck is a Democrat, and a member of the Baptist church, while his wife is an ad- herent to the faith of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a man widely known through the pages of his excellent paper, and enjoys the acquaintance and esteem of a large circle of his fellow-citizens.
ANIEL S. DIBBLE was born in Dav- enport Centre, Delaware County, on September 6, 1862. The grand- parents of Mr. Dibble were from Schoharic County, and the grandfather was a large land-owner in that section. He was a Republican, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and lived to be quite old. He left four sons and one daughter - Lewis, Daniel, Bruce, Simon, and Anna Liza.
Simon Dibble was born in Schoharie, Sep- tember 16, 1815. He left home when a lad of fifteen years, and at nineteen bought a hotel in Blenheim, which he kept for several years. Selling out his Blenheim property, he engaged in farming in Meredith. He now rents this place, and lives a quite restful life. He is a Republican, and has been Supervisor and Town Clerk for a good many years. He married Miss Anna Davis, a daughter of Ne-
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hemiah and Charlotte Davis, and one of a family of five children - Anna, Fred, John, Joel, and Mary. Nehemiah Davis served in the war of the Revolution, and lived to be seventy-eight years old. His wife almost completed a century, dying in her ninety- third year. Simon Dibble was the father of a dozen sons and daughters, namely: Mary, the widow of William Smith, now living in Davenport Centre with her two children; Catherine O., who lives at home; Bartley H., who married Helen Kenyon, a farmer of Meredith; Roderick, a farmer of Meredith, who married Miss Nellie Gregory, and has two children; Frederick, a merchant in On- tario, who married and has one child; Fannie, the wife of John Gregory, of Bloomville; Car- rie, who married Mr. Winfield Sheldon, a farmer of Meredith, and has four children; Charles, a policeman, who married Miss Cath- erine Simion ; Daniel, of whom this is a per- sonal record; Jennie, who married Mr. Hasted Moore, a merchant in Oneonta, and has two children; Olive, the wife of Hiram Frisbee, a farmer of Bloomville; John, also a farmer of Bloomville, who married Miss Mary Jerow.
Daniel S. Dibble began early in life to earn a support for himself, delivering milk on board the Schuyler steamers on the Hudson, when a little boy of thirteen. When he grew older, he superintended a farm at Walford for four years, after which he bought a farm of two hundred acres of land near Meredith, where he kept a dairy. Eight years ago he canie to Griffin's Corners, and here estab- lished a general grocery store and a livery stable. In 1887 he was married to Miss Fan- nie J. Payne, a daughter of John H. and Julia (Shafer) Payne. Mr. and Mrs. Payne had two other children, namely: Minnie, now Mrs. Abraham Quick; and George, who died in his youth. Mr. and Mrs. Dibble have one child, who was born on the 8th of August, 1892. Mr. Dibble is a Republican in political con- viction, and is a man of liberal religious views.
EORGE A. EVANS, innkeeper, owner of the Bloomville Hotel, was born May 26, 1853, in the village of Sidney Centre, and is the son of Oscar and
Jane M. (Brown) Evans. He is a great- grandson of Levi Evans, who was among the first settlers of Unadilla, Otsego County, and was a soldier in the War of 1812.
Orrin Evans, son of Levi, spent the greater part of his time in the town of Sidney, and was a hard worker. He owned a good farm of about one hundred and seventy-five acres, and he had but one child, Oscar. Orrin Evans and his wife died in the town of Masonville, at George Evans's home, he at eighty-seven years of age, and she at seventy-eight. Orrin was a liberal in his religious views, and politi- cally a Democrat.
Oscar Evans, son of Orrin, owned a farm of two hundred acres in the town of Sidney, where he carried on quite extensively general farming and dairying. He is now a retired farmer, living in the village of Sidney Centre. His wife died November 12, 1893, at the age of sixty-four. She was a member of the . Methodist Episcopal church, while he is a liberal in, religion, and in politics a Demo- crat. They had two children: George A., of whom this sketch is written; and a daughter, Della, who is the wife of Edward Harris, and resides in Binghamton.
George A. Evans. was educated in the dis- trict schools. He gave his attention to farming, and lived at home until he was twenty-one years of age, when he bought a farm of one hundred acres in the town of Masonville. Here he lived for six years, then sold it and bought a more extensive farm of two hundred and forty acres, where he re- sided for six years, carrying on general farm- ing and dairying. In 1887 he sold out again, and engaged in the livery business at One- onta, and also ran a stage for four years from Grand Gorge to Catskill. In January, 1889, he gave up the livery business, and came to Bloomville, buying the Bloomville Hotel, which he has successfully managed. It is an exceptionally good public house, well heated by furnaces and stoves, with accommodations for fifty guests. He has remodelled and im- proved it, and does a flourishing business, keeping in connection therewith an excellent livery stable.
November 3, 1875, he was married to Han- nah Goodrich, who was born in the town of
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Davenport, daughter of C. W. Goodrich, a farmer and blacksmith. Both of her parents have passed away. Mr. and Mrs. Evans have had five children, but four of whom are now living; namely, Olive W., Minnie, Frank, and Hazel, who are all at home. One son, Walter, died at the age of eight years.
George A. Evans is liberal in his religious views, and his wife is a member of the Meth- odist Episcopal church at Bloomville. He supports the Democratic party, and is a mem- ber of Delaware Valley Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, No. 612. He is an honored citizen of the town of Masonville, and has held various public offices, serving one term as Collector, and has gained the respect of his fellow-citizens.
HENRY DURFEE, the energetic and popular proprietor of the Can- nonsville House, Cannonsville, N. Y., was born in this village, and has re- sided here all his life, being of the fourth generation of Durfees, who have niade their home in these parts. His great-grandfather, Thomas Durfee, was a native of Connecticut and an early settler of Delaware County. Tradition does not disclose the location of his first settlement here; but after his marriage to his second wife, a daughter of Squire Can- non, he occupied a portion of the Cannon es- tate, residing thereon until his death.
His son, also named Thomas, was born in Cannonsville, and learned the trade of a blacksmith, but later became a Baptist preacher and removed to Philadelphia, where he was engaged in church work for several years. He then returned to Cannonsville, where he died at the age of eighty years. His wife, Elsie Randall, died here at the age of ninety years. Stephen, son of Thomas Durfee, Jr., like his father, learned the black- smith's trade, which, however, he did not fol- low long, but during the war was a sutler and Provost Marshal. He afterward kept a pub- lic house in Cannonsville, where he died in 1867, at the age of fifty-four years. His wife was Antoinette Smith, who was born in Can- nonsville, a daughter of Abner Smith, a native of the same village.
Abner Smith's father, Caleb Smith, was born in the western part of Rhode Island, and resided in that vicinity till 1799, when, ac- companied by his wife and child, he immi- grated to Delaware County. He purchased a tract of timber land now included in the vil- lage of Cannonsville, and, improving the water-power, erected a saw and grist mill, en- gaging extensively in lumbering and farming. Here he lived until his death at the age of eighty-seven years. He married Huldah Cot- trell, who was born in Connecticut, near the Rhode Island line, and lived to be eighty-five years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Caleb Smith reared a large family, their first child being born in 1798, and now resides in Madison, Wis., in her ninety-sixth year. Their son Abner, the father of Mrs. Stephen Durfee, spent his entire life in Cannonsville, where he was engaged in farming and lumbering for many years, and later was employed at the shoemaker's trade, dying at the age of fifty years. His wife was Marian Kelsey, daugh- ter of James Kelsey, who was a native of Massachusetts. When quite young, James Kelsey, accompanied by Martin Lane, started for the Far West, as New York was considered at that time, with a pair of oxen and a cart ; and here he purchased a tract of timber land two miles below the village of Cannonsville, employing himself in farming and lumbering. His wife was Avis Hoag, who died at the age of forty-six years.
ILLIAM G. McNEE, an important factor in the industrial interests of the town of Bovina, has a pleasant residence in Bovina Centre, where, in follow- ing his trade of plasterer and mason, he has assisted in building some of the finest resi- dences and business houses. He first opened his eyes to the beauties of this world in the town of Hamden, March 5, 1853. His father, William McNee, was born in Schenectady, Albany County, and married Jane Arbuckle, a Scotch lassie, who emigrated from her na- tive country with her parents. His first pur- chase of land in this county was in the town of Hamden, where he successfully farmed for many years. He subsequently removed to
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Delhi, and there died when sixty-three years old. His widow, surviving him, lived to the age of threescore and four years. They were persons of great moral worth, and devout members of the United Presyterian Church of Delhi. In politics he affiliated with the Re- publican party. They reared six children, namely : R. A. S. McNee, a farmer of Delhi ; J. Frederic; William G .; Daniel A. and Maggie J., of Delhi ; and Elizabeth, who died in 1867.
The subject of this sketch was educated in the schools of Hamden and Delhi, and re- mained with his parents until about fourteen years old, when he went to live with his aunt Agnes Holmes, in the town of Delhi. He began his life as a wage-earner by working as a farm laborer at four dollars a month, and continued thus employed some ten years, his wages being increased as the years passed by. Being industrious and economical, he accumu- lated quite a sum of money, and was then enabled to buy a farm, selecting one in the town of Delhi, on which he pursued general farming for seven years. In 1876 Mr. McNee sold that property; and four years later he moved to Bovina Centre, taking up his trade as a mason and a plasterer.
The union of Mr. McNee with Miss Eu- phemia F. Doig, a native of Bovina, and the descendant of one of its most respected fam- ilies, being a daughter of William and Jane (Forest ) Doig, was solemnized February 25, 1875. Her father, the son of Walter Doig, was born in Scotland in 1808, and died in the village of Bovina, April 7, 1871; and her mother, who was born in 1811, died February 28, 1864. Both were connected with the Presbyterian church, in which he faithfully served as Elder for many years. They reared a family of nine children, of whom Mrs. James William Coulter and Mrs. McNee are the only ones now living. The deceased are as follows: Jane, born January 26, 1836, died July 29, 1855. Walter, born March 26, 1837, died January 9, 1894. William F., born November 28, 1840, studied for the min- istry, but died before completing his theolog- ical course. Margaret, born February IO, 1843, died March IO, 1847. Mary S., born July 4, 1845, died March 30, 1847. Mary J., born March, 1847, and Andrew, born June 4,
1849, are deceased. Mrs. Coulter was the third child in order of birth, and Mrs. McNee was the youngest member of the parental household.
The family circle of Mr. and Mrs. McNee has been completed by the birth of four chil- dren; namely, William F., Nellie J., Celora L., and James L. The family are regular attendants of the United Presbyterian church, of which Mrs. McNee has been a member for the past twenty years. Politically, our sub- ject sustains the principles of the good old Republican party, and has served his fellow- townsmen as Collector two years, and is now serving his fourth year as Constable.
AMES A. SHAW was born in the town of Hamden, May 17, 1864. His grandfather, William Shaw, came to this country from Scotland, and es- established himself in Terry Clove. He and his wife, Margaret McDonald, and their children - Jane, Alexander, William, Don- ald, Sarah, Catherine, and June - are all now deceased. William and Margaret Shaw were remarkably pious people, and reared their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, and within the fold of the Presbyterian church, to which they both belonged.
James H. Shaw, the father of James A., whose name heads this memoir, was born at Terry Clove, where he grew up and was edu- cated. At an unusually early age he started out in business for himself, and bought land at different times until he was possessor of one hundred and sixty acres. This was sold, and the money invested in a place in Ham- den, whither he now moved, and where he re- mained during the remainder of his life. His wife, Adelia C. Conklin, belonged to one of the oldest families in Coles Clove, where her parents, Ambrose and Phœbe Conklin, were large landed proprietors. There were six children in the Conklin family: Adelia; William; John R .; Jane; James E., a farmer in Colchester; and Ansel, who lives at home. Mrs. Conklin still lives at the old homestead; and, though past the limit of fourscore years, she retains her faculties and her health to a remarkable degree.
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James A. Shaw passed the college course successfully at Hamden, and at twenty-two years of age took employment with Beard Brothers, railroad bridge builders, with whom he remained for five years, soon becoming foreman and taking contracts for work on some of the largest draw-bridges in the United States, including the bridge over the Thames at New London, Conn., one in Wheeling, W. Va., one in St. Louis, and one in Louisville, Ky. Returning to Delaware County, he bought a house and lot in Downsville; and, building an addition to the dwelling, he opened a furniture store and undertaker's establishment. A steam-engine is used in connection with his planing and lumber matching, in which he is extensively engaged.
On March 22, 1893, he was married to Miss Eva M. Lindsley, a daughter of Ira D. and Jerusha (Wilson) Lindsley. The young wife's father was born April 30, 1828, and is a farmer in Downsville, where he has held the office of Justice of the Peace. He is a Re- publican. James and Eva Shaw have one child, born April 23, 1894. Mr. Shaw is a Republican, and belongs to the Masonic Order, being a member of Poughkeepsie Lodge, No. 266.
AMES A. POMEROY is extensively engaged in general farming and dairy- ing in the town of Sidney, where he was born October 3, 1837. His par- ents were Abner and Hester A. (Rogers) Pomeroy.
Abner Pomeroy was the son of Joseph Pom- eroy, a farmer, and a soldier in the War of 1812, who spent his entire life in the old Bay State, dying there at eighty years of age. He and his wife had a large family of children, Abner being among the older ones. He, being of an adventurous turn of mind and desirous of acquiring landed property, re -. moved to Delaware County, bringing his wife and family. He settled at first in the town of Franklin, but a few years later, in 1818, came to Sidney, and bought one hundred and ten acres of wild and heavily timbered land. He built a log house, which the family occupied for several years, and with the assistance of
his sons redeemed a goodly share of his land from the wilderness. He subsequently sold that farm, and bought a smaller one in the same town; and on this he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives, she dying at the age of seventy-two years, while he lived to the age of eighty. He reared a fam- ily of seventeen children, four by his first marriage, and thirteen by his second. In politics he was a stanch Democrat, and served as Highway Commissioner and as Assessor. He was liberal in his religious views, and his wife was a Baptist.
James A. Pomeroy, the eldest child of his father's second marriage, obtained his educa- tion in the district schools, and remained an inmate of the parental household until twenty- three years of age. When beginning life for himself, he worked by the month for a short time, then, buying sixty acres of land, com- menced farming, and in course of time added forty more acres to his original purchase. He finally sold that place at an advantage, and in 1873 bought the farm where he now resides. It consists of one hundred and seventy acres, which he has placed in a good state of cult- ure, and further improved by the erection of commodious farm buildings, his barn, which was erected in 1885, being eighty feet long by fifty feet wide, and capable of accommodat- ing seventy or eighty head of cattle. Mr. Pomeroy makes a specialty of stock-raising, and has one of the finest herds of cattle in the county, consisting of about sixty head of full- blooded and recorded cattle, his favorite breed being the Devons. His sales of milk, from about thirty-five cows, average one hundred and twenty-five dollars a month. Mr. Pom- eroy is giving his close attention to his farm- ing interests, and has but little time to devote to political matters, but uniformly supports the Democratic party. He takes an intelli- gent interest in local affairs, and has served as Assessor three years.
The union of Mr. Pomeroy with Miss Sarah Palmer was solemnized November 21, 1860. Mrs. Pomeroy was born in Franklin, August 20, 1835, being a daughter of George and Me- lissa (Hoyt) Palmer, neither of whom is now living. Mr. Palmer was a successful farmer of Franklin, and he and his wife were num-
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bered among its most respected citizens. The following are the three children of Mr. and Mrs. Pomeroy : Irving L., a farmer, married, and residing in the town of Sidney; Minnie M., the wife of Alfred Reynolds, of Coopers- town; Amasa J., a farmer, residing at home. Mr. Pomeroy and his excellent wife are faith- ful and valued members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
EORGE E. SCOTT, a highly re- spected farmer and a resident of his native town of Kortright, was born August 28, 1835. His parents, George L. and Eleanor (Hendrickson) Scott, were both natives of this State, his father having been born in Westchester County, and his mother in Long Island. His paternal grandfather, Elijah Scott, came to Kortright about the year 1788. As soon as he had cleared an opening, he erected a log cabin, which was for many years the family dwelling. He im- proved a homestead, on which he lived until gathered to his long rest, after a long life full of usefulness and activity.
The father of our subject was the only son of his parents that grew to maturity. He was a young boy when he came to Kortright, where he afterward resided, succeeding his father in the ownership of the farm. He was a successful and well-to-do farmer, at the time of his decease, August 16, 1866, owning one hundred and sixty-four acres of good land. His wife outlived him many years, passing away April 13, 1890, in the eighty-third year of her age. Neither was connected with any church by membership; but he was a firm be- liever in the Universalist faith, and her relig- ious views coincided with the doctrines of the Methodist Episcopal church. They were the parents of six children, three of whom died when young, two dying in infancy, and Mary when thirteen years old. Three are now liv- ing, namely: Elizabeth, the wife of James Dougherty, of Oneonta; George E .; and Charles W., a farmer, residing on the old homestead.
George E. Scott has spent his entire life amid the scenes in which he was reared, ob- taining a good common-school education and
a thorough drilling in agricultural work. He remained a member of the parental household many years, assisting in the management of the home farm, and looking after the welfare of his parents when the burden of years began to bear upon them. He is now the owner of an excellent farm of seventy-five well-im- proved acres, amply supplied with a shapely and substantial set of farm buildings.
To Mr. Scott and his wife two children have been born, namely: Fanny, who died at the early age of nine years; and Marshall, a stenographer, residing in Mauch Chunk, Pa. From his early boyhood Mr. Scott has been reared to habits of industry and economy, and he has all his life pursued a course in accord- ance with his early teachings. He has thus become a good citizen, promptly meeting his various obligations, and taking an interest in the welfare of the community. Politically, he is a sound Democrat; and, religiously, both he and his wife are liberal Christians.
IRAM A. ALLEN, Deputy Sheriff of Delaware County, is numbered among the most trustworthy and es- teemed citizens of the town of Han- cock, in which he resides. He was born and reared a farmer's son, his birth occurring in the town of Hancock in the year 1861, his parents being Myron W. and Mary E. (Fel . ton) Allen, both natives of Schoharie County. Mr. Allen is of English extraction, his great- grandfather on the paternal side having mi- grated from England with his wife and seven sons, and settled in the town of Summit, Schoharie County. One of his sons, Ezra, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was but a boy when he came to this country with his parents. On reaching years of maturity, he married a Miss Mitchell, of Schoharie County; and of the children born to them is given the following record: Edwin and Eras- tus were among the band of enterprising and venturesome men who sought the gold fields of California in 1849; but, unlike the major- ity, they were successful in their ventures, the latter remaining there, successfully en- gaged until his death in 1865, while Edwin removed from that State to New Mexico,
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