USA > New York > Delaware County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Delaware County, New York > Part 96
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JOHN Mc GIBBON.
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an Elder, and both being prominently con- nected with the Sunday-school.
Young Edward was reared and educated in Stamford, whither his parents removed about four years after his birth. From the district school he proceeded to Stamford Seminary, where he took a full course of study, after his graduation being employed for two years as a teacher in the public schools. In 1880 Mr. Metcalf removed to Meredith, where he rented a farm for eight years. Removing then to Oneonta, he assisted his brother-in-law in the milk business for a year. Desirous of becom- ing a land-owner, Mr. Metcalf then came to Davenport and hired the farm where he now lives, and which he purchased at the end of the year. It contains one hundred and seventy- two acres of choice land. He has been prin- cipally engaged in dairying and general farming, keeping graded Jerseys and raising some stock. Mr. Metcalf's career as a farmer and dairyman has been characterized by shrewd common sense and good business habits. In politics he is a strong Republican, actively advocating the principles of that party.
In 1876, the centennial year, Mr. Metcalf was united in marriage with Emma T. Good- rich, the daughter of Ira Goodrich, a thriving farmer of Davenport. Two children have been born of this union, one of whom, Lennie, is now living. Mr. and Mrs. Metcalf occupy a good position among the intelligent and thrifty inhabitants of the community, and during their residence here have made many warm friends. They are both esteemed mem- bers of the Methodist church at West Daven- port, and are active workers in the Sunday- school, he being superintendent, and his wife one of its most faithful teachers.
AVID L. WIGHT, County Superin- tendent of the Poor, and an active, wide-awake agriculturist of the town of Delhi, is a native of this county, having opened his eyes to the light October 6, 1856, in the town of Bovina. Like some other of Delhi's most thrifty and intelligent citizens, Mr. Wight is. of Scotch extraction, being the son of William Wight, a native of Scotland.
Thomas Wight, the father of William, lived among the banks and braes of the land of Scott and Burns for many years before he sought the shores of America, bringing with him his family, and settling in Bovina, near Lake Delaware. He took up a timbered tract, from which he improved a homestead, where he and his faithful helpmate, who performed her full share of pioneer labor, resided until called to the life immortal. They were people of great moral worth, and members of the Presbyte- rian church, in which he served as Deacon for many years. Their family contained the following children: John, James, William, Thomas, Nancy, Margaret, and Betsy.
William Wight was the third son born to his parents, and was quite young when he came with them to this country. He was reared to the occupation of a farmer; and after the death of his father he assumed the manage- ment of the old homestead, where he and his good wife, Isabella Laidlaw, a native of Scot- land, resided until a few years since, when they both came to the home of our subject. They are held in high respect throughout the community, and are worthy members of the Presbyterian church. Four of their five chil- dren grew to maturity, as follows: David L. ; Jennie, who married Elmer Hall, the son of Richard Hall, of Delhi; Thomas G. ; and Nellie.
David L. Wight was educated in the dis- trict school and Delaware Academy, and acquired a practical knowledge of farming in all of its branches on the paternal homestead. He was subsequently engaged in contracting for several years, and, having accumulated some money, invested it in the farm of over one hundred acres which he now owns and occupies. In addition to general farming, he keeps a large dairy of graded Jerseys, selling the milk to the creamery.
On February 23, 1887, Mr. Wight was united in marriage to Carrie Coc, a daughter of Charles W. and Elizabeth Coe, and a grand- daughter of Elihu Coe, who was the son of Cyrus Coe, a life-long resident of Connecticut. Elihu Coe was born and reared to manhood in that State, but after marriage removed to Hamden, N. Y., where he cleared a tract of wild land, which after his death came into
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the possession of his son Charles, the father of Mrs. Wight, who resided there until his death, at the age of sixty-five years. Mrs. Eliza- beth Coe is still living, making her home in Walton, but managing the farm. She and her husband had five children, as follows : Emma, who is the widow of Milton Wilson; Olive, deceased, who married a farmer of Delhi; Wilbur; Carrie, Mrs. Wight; and Melissa, who married Malcolm Launt.
Mr. and Mrs. Wight are the parents of three children - Bessie Coe, Isabella, and Charles David. Mr. Wight is a member of the Grange, and belongs to Delhi Lodge, No. 439, A. F. & A. M. He is a stanch adherent of the Republican party, and has served as High- way and Street Commissioner. In 1890 he was elected County Superintendent of the Poor for a term of three years, performing the duties of the office so satisfactorily that in 1893 he was re-elected to this position. He and his good wife are valued members of the Presbyterian church, in which all of his chil- dren have received the rite of baptism.
ILLIAM EDWARD JENNER, M. D., physician and surgeon, one of the leading practitioners of Wal- ton, Delaware County, comes of distinguished stock, and is a native of Sandgate, County Kent, England, born on the eighth day of De- cember, 1857. He is a descendant of the world-renowned Dr. Edward Jenner, discoverer of vaccination, who was born May 17, 1749, at Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England.
Richard B. Jenner, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born and educated in Wilt- shire, England, and in early life was married to Sarah Pierce, a native of Hastings, their nuptials being solemnized in the town of Sandgate, where they settled. He embarked in the drug trade, in which he met with excel- lent success, carrying it on for some years. He possessed good financial ability, and, sub- sequently engaging in the banking business, accumulated a valuable property. He re- mained in Sandgate, numbered among its valued and respected citizens, until his death, in 1889. Mrs. Jenner is still living in Eng- land, a member of the Anglican church. Of
the eleven children born to them, we record the following : Agnes, an unmarried lady, who lives at Sandgate; Alice, who is the wife of Richard Fynnemore, and resides in Sandgate ; Mary, who is the wife of James Kennett, and resides at Folkestone, England; Harry, who lives in Springfield, Mo. ; William Edward, the subject of this sketch; Bessie, who is a resident of Toronto, Canada, a certified nurse, and a graduate of Charing Cross Hospital, London, England, of Crumpsall Infirmary, Manchester, England, and of Victoria Hospi- tal, Folkestone, England; Herbert, who is Cashier in a bank, and a resident of Sandgate ; Edith, the wife of William Fanclough, who lives in Toronto, Canada; Beatrice, who is engaged in teaching in Bonn on the Rhine, in Germany; Dorothea, who lives in Sandgate ; and John, the owner of a ranch in New Mexico.
William E. Jenner was educated in the city of London, and after leaving school was em- ployed in the drug store of his father for five years. He was subsequently graduated from the school of pharmacy in London. In 1885 he came to America, and spent the first year in Austin, Tex., engaged as a druggist. He followed the same business in San Antonio another year, and then continued it in Brook- lyn, N. Y. He next entered the office of Dr. Hutchinson, of Brooklyn, and in the mean time attended medical lectures at Long Island Hospital, from which he was graduated in the class of 1889. After practising for a year in Brooklyn, Dr. Jenner visited the scenes of his early life, spending some time with his rela- tives and friends across the water. In the autumn of 1893 he settled in the village of Walton, opening a drug store and engaging in general practice, and is meeting with good success in both. He is a man of superior mental culture, capable in business, and has already won the confidence of the people to a large extent. Socially, he is a member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Walton Lodge, No. 559, and is likewise a member of the Brooklyn Medical Association.
In the month of February, 1892, Dr. Jenner was united in marriage with Ella (Chrisman) Raymond. Mrs. Jenner is the daughter of Abraham Chrisman, who was a prominent
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farmer and stock-raiser of Delaware County. She had been previously married, her first husband having been Howard Raymond, a conductor on the Ontario & Western Railway, who was accidentally killed on the road. Of her union with Mr. Raymond one child was born, a fine boy, named Floyd Raymond.
EORGE GANOUNG, an enterprising business man of Roxbury, was born in this town in 1846, and has lived an honorable and useful life in the community in which his lot has been cast. He comes of French descent through the paternal linc, being a great-grandson of John Ganoung, who came from France, and who received his grant of land in Putnam County directly from King George, gold and silver being reserved, as in all the Colonial patents, to the crown. John, the emigrant ancestor, was married twice. His second wife was Abigail, widow of a Mr. Sloat ; and of this marriage eight children were born - Devoe, Sniffin, Harry, Horace, John, Hannah, Sarah, and Ebenezer.
Devoe was born in Putnam County on February 1I, 1788, and came with his father to Delaware County when six years old. His life was passed in this locality, where he raised a family of eight children - John, Sally, Hannah, Jane, Julia, Thomas, Sniffin, and Edward. Devoe Ganoung may be called a pioneer farmer, since his land was cleared from the primeval forest growth. This estate is now owned by Eber Cartwright, and is one of the finest farms in the valley. The sturdy, energetic farmer, whose toilsome tilling of the virgin soil was crowned by well-deserved suc- cess, lived to the advanced age of ninety years. His wife, Sarah (Gregory) Ganoung, lived also to a green old age.
Sniffin, the father of the Roxbury manufact- urer whose name forms the initial word of this sketch, was born at Batavia Kill. At the age of six years he went to live with his uncle Sniffin. When he grew up, he bought out his uncle's estate in the town of Roxbury, now belonging to J. W. Scudder. Besides follow- ing other avocations, he was a successful horse dealer, travelling back and forth across the country as far west as the Niagara River on
horseback. In 1869 he took up his residence near the Roxbury depot, and opened a store. He married Electra, the daughter of Hiram and Sally (Berden) Kelly.
George Ganoung lived with his great-uncle when a small boy, and was educated at the Roxbury Academy. He showed in early life an aptitude for the use of tools, and, after working for a time as a clerk, naturally drifted from the counter to the mechanic's bench. He was employed as foreman in a sash and blind factory, where business detail as well as mechanical proficiency was thoroughly mas- tered, laying the foundation of the prosperous business in which he afterward embarked. Coming into possession of the property once owned by his uncle, he built a large mill in 1870, which has since been enlarged, and es- tablished a sash, blind, and door factory, and a saw and planing mill. In 1869 he married Josephine Aiken, a daughter of Benjamin H. and Pauline (Mead) Aiken. A daughter, Ora, blessed this marriage in 1879. Mr. Ganoung has the best wishes of all those who rejoice in seeing the reward of effort bestowed upon him who justly deserves it.
RS. CATHERINE J. WEIR, of Sidney, is the daughter of Ezra and Mary (Foote) Clark, and the widow of the late William Jones Weir, who was for many years a respected member of the agricultural community, and a worthy citizen of the town. Mr. Weir was born December 30, 1816, and died on the farm now owned and occupied by his widow, in De- cember, 1876. His father, William C. Weir, was a native of Chemung County, having been born and reared in the town of Southport ; and in that place he departed this life, dying of old age at the home of John Brown. He mar- ried Miss Jones, a sister of the Rev. Simcon Jones.
William Weir was twice married, his first wife, to whom he was wedded in 1842, was Susan Clark, a sister of the present Mrs. Weir. She died February 24, 1855, at the age of forty-four years, leaving one daughter, Kate Ellen Weir, who died in Chicago, Ill., in January, 1890, aged forty-three years. Miss
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Weir was a highly educated and intelligent woman, and, notwithstanding her frail physical organization, was a very successful teacher. In January, 1856, Mr. Weir and Catherine J. Clark were united in marriage; and their pleasant pathway was brightened by the birth of three children, who are now the comfort and solace of their widowed mother's life. The eldest child, Alice, married J. A. Priestly, M. D., of Chicago; and they have two children, a son and a daughter. The sons, William B. and Alfred C., the latter being familiarly known as Fred, are wide- awake, active young men, and enterprising members of the industrial community of Sid- ney, where they are established as printers and publishers of two papers, one of them being the Sidney Despatch. Fred is married, and the happy father of two little girls.
Ezra Clark, the father of Mrs. Weir, had two wives, the first being Polly Banks, of West- chester County. She bore him two sons and two daughters, all of whom grew to maturity ; and of these four children the youngest, and the last surviving member, died quite recently in Morris, N. Y. Of his union with Mary Foote three girls and two boys were born, none of whom are now living excepting Mrs. Weir and one of her brothers, a retired lawyer, residing in Bainbridge, Chenango County. He is a graduate of Hamilton College, and during his professional life had an extensive and lucrative practice. The farm which Mrs. Weir now owns was settled upon her by her father in 1811, and at the time of his purchase contained one hundred and nineteen acres. Mr. Clark being unable to pay fully for the land in hard cash, made part payment in cattle. He began life with limited means, but by industrious labor and economy he became successful and prosperous. The Clarks were a numerous family, and had lived in Bedford, Westchester County, for many generations, coming to Delaware County from there. They were not of aristocratic ancestry, but were earnest workers, and accounted good and loyal citizens.
On the maternal side of the house, however, Mrs. Weir is descended from a noble family of England, who in years gone by were accus- tomed to dine in state, and were waited upon
by a retinue of servants. Joseph Foote, the grandfather of Mrs. Weir, was a commissioned officer in the Revolutionary army; and his daughter Mary used to delight in telling her children how she used to sit upon General Washington's knee. Mrs. Weir is a well- known and highly esteemed lady, possessing a great deal of intelligence and energy.
ALSEY DEAN, a respected citizen of Delhi, is familiarly known through- out this part of the county, where he has resided, man and boy, for threescore years. On the farm which he has ably managed for a long period of time he drew the first breath of life, on July 29, 1835. His father, William Dean, a native of Con- necticut, a cooper by trade, was one of the earlier settlers of Delhi. He took up a tract of timber, and in the log house which he reared he and his wife began their pioneer work. He labored with a sturdy determina- tion, and in the years that followed put his place in good order and erected good frame buildings. On the homestead which he im- proved he spent his remaining years, living until 1884. His wife, Hannah Gates, of Connecticut, died at the home of our subject, when seventy-eight years old. Both of these worthy people were faithful members of the Congregational church. They reared a family of seven children - Lucinda, Adaline, Julius, Hiram, Maria, Warner, and Halsey. A brother of his wife came to Delhi at the same time that he did, and was for many years suc- cessfully engaged in the lumber business, and also improved a good farm.
Halsey Dean early became practically acquainted with the art of tilling the soil. After the death of his father he and a brother- in-law assumed the management of the home- stead, and for twelve years they worked that and the adjoining farm in partnership. Mr. Dean has since continued the cultivation and improvement of the homestead alone. He has constantly added to the improvements already instituted ; and since his residence here he has erected the fine dwelling-house, convenient barn, and other out-buildings. Besides mixed husbandry, he pays a good deal of attention to
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dairying, finding it a very profitable branch of the business.
The union of Mr. Dean with Margaret Bogart, of Colchester, took place in 1854. Of the three children born to them, two are now living - Adaline and Lewis A. The former, who married John Myers, has one child, Halsey Carleton. Lewis A., a farmer, resid- ing on a farm adjoining his father's, married Anna Fisher; and they have two children - Laura and B. Margaret. Mr. Dean is a stanch supporter of the principles of the Republican party, and both he and his excellent wife are members of the Methodist church.
SCAR F. HARPER is a retired resi- dent of the village of Sidney, where he has lived for the past twenty-six years. He is of old Scotch-Irish an- cestry, and a great-grandson of Colonel John Harper, who came from Connecticut to the State of New York before the Revolution. He had five sons - William, James, John, Joseph, and Alexander. They were the pos- sessors of twenty-two thousand acres of land, including what is now Harpersfield, Delaware County, the title for which they had received from King George, it being a patent dated December 8, 1769, bearing a seal the size of a sauce-plate. This document was handed down from generation to generation; and, when Oscar was a boy, it was still a family heirloom, in the possession of Judge Hotchkiss in West Harpersfield, where it was destroyed by fire with his dwelling and all his house- hold effects in 1861. Judge Hotchkiss married Margaret, daughter of Colonel John Harper, at Lake Delaware, the bridal pair standing in Delaware County, and the minister in Scho- harie County. He was a man of marked abil- ity, and was widely known for his almost perfect handwriting, as plain and uniform as printed matter. He was prominent in public life for many years, being Postmaster at West Harpersfield for forty years, and died about 1847, on the old home farm, which is now occupied by his grandson, Daniel N. Gaylord.
John Harper, Sr., was a Colonel in the French and Indian War, and narrowly escaped capture by the Indians while saving the fam-
ily of the Rev. William Johnson, one of the original settlers of Sidney. His son, Will- iam Harper, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, married Hannah Hotchkiss; and they became the parents of nine children, five sons and four daughters. All lived to grow up and have children of their own, except one son, Roswell Harper, who was a volunteer in the War of 1812, when but sixteen years of age, and died while in service. These chil- dren have all passed away, the last of them, George Harper, the youngest of the family, having died in the winter of 1892, near Waterbury, Conn., aged eighty-two years.
Oscar F. Harper was born in Davenport, Delaware County, May 5, 1818. January 25, 1844, he married Miss Lydia Hotchkiss, of Harpersfield, who died November 23, 1879, in Sidney, leaving five sons and one daughter, namely: Joseph H., a civil engineer in Butte City, Mont .; Linus P. and George H., of Lincoln, Neb .; Ella G., wife of Leonard Kellogg, also of Lincoln; Porter, who mar- ried Miss Kittie Bradford, of Sidney, and has one daughter, Ella, a miss of fourteen years ; William R., a railroad engineer at Green Island near Troy, who has one daughter, Maud. Mrs. Kellogg has one son, Orville, a student in the University at Lincoln, Neb.
Mr. Harper is universally respected in the town where he has been so long a resident, numbering among his friends the most cult- ured and prominent people of Sidney and the surrounding towns.
OHN AND LEWIS ROSE are well- known wagon-makers in the village of Hamden, where they have a firmly es- tablished trade. John Rose, the senior member of the firm, was born in 1859, in Sul- livan County, New York; and Lewis Rose, the junior member, is a native of the same place. Their father, Austin Rose, who is now living in the town of Hamden, retired from agricultural pursuits, was born in Greene County, New York, in 1815, and, although never possessing very vigorous bodily health, still retains the full use of his mental powers, being a bright and active man of nearly four- score years. He has been twice married.
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His first wife, Harriet Carley, bore him one child, Edwin L. Rose, who, when a boy of sixteen years, enlisted in the Fifty-sixth New York Volunteer Infantry, and after the close of the war joined the band of adventurous and enterprising young men who sought their fort- unes in the Black Hills. The father was also a soldier in the late Rebellion, having enlisted October 16, 1862, but, after serving a little more than a year, was discharged, coming home in December, 1863, physically disabled. The maiden name of his second wife, to whom he was married in 1857, was Harriet Haines. She was one of four chil- dren, two daughters and two sons, born to her parents, Lewis and Lucy (Congdon) Haines, neither of whom is now living. By this marriage the two sons of whom we write were the only children. In politics the father has been a life-long Democrat, and, although not in sympathy with the methods of the Prohibi- tionists, has never used intoxicating drinks. His wife is a consistent member of the Meth- odist church.
Tobias Rose, the father of Austin Rose, was for many years engaged in farming in Ulster County, removing from there to Greene County in 1819, bringing with him his wife and six children. Two more children were added to their household, and of these eight children three sons are now living. The par- ents subsequently returned to Ulster County, where both lived until far advanced in years.
The life records of John and Lewis Rose have been very similar, both having left school at an early age to earn something toward their own support, entering the em- ployment of J. B. Gardner at Fallsburg. Lewis began to sandpaper woodwork at the age of eight years, and to do odd chores about the shop. Two years later he was doing me- chanical work, receiving twenty cents a day, and boarding at home, his brother John, who was then eleven years of age, getting twenty- five cents a day. After remaining thus em- ployed for five years, they started out as jour- neymen ; and from that time until the present day these sterling mechanics have worked continuously at their trade. They have been obliged to rely solely upon their own efforts, their father coming out of the army poor, not
only in health, but in purse; and the self-reli- ance thus early necessitated has contributed largely to their success in life. In February, 1885, Messrs. Rose bought out the business of E. B. Buckingham, and have since carried on a substantial trade in this village. They have without doubt had a wider experience in wagon-making than any other one of their years in Delaware County.
John Rose entered the matrimonial estate October 9, 1883, being then wedded to Geor- giana Greff, of Delhi. Three children have been born to them, namely: Paul, who was taken away when only three months old; Ger- trude E., born April 8, 1892; and Helen, born March. 24, 1894. Socially, Mr. John Rose is a Knight Templar, belonging to the Norwich Commandery. He is a sincere wor- shipper at the Methodist church, and is super- intendent of the Sunday-school. Politically, both he and his brother are stanch members of the Republican party. On November 10, 1887, Lewis Rose was married to Gertrude, daughter of John Griffin. Her father came to this country from Germany when a young man, and was here wed to Elizabeth Face, who is now a widow, and resides in Delhi.
9 ZRA OSTERHOUT, a venerable citi- zen of Meredith, occupying a farm at Meredith Hollow, may well be called a pioneer of this section of the county, having lived here for nearly fourscore years. He was born in Albany County, February 7, 1817, and was brought to Meredith an infant in his mother's arms, his father having taken up a tract of wild land in this town.
Mr. Osterhout is of Dutch descent. His father was Henry, third son of George Oster- hout. Henry Osterhout was born in Bethle- hem, Albany County, and was reared to agricultural pursuits. After becoming his own master, he rented a farm on shares for a time, then came to this county, settling in Meredith on the Ist of April, 1817. He took up one hundred acres of land in the midst of a deep forest, and soon the ringing strokes of his axe were heard as he levelled the huge trees to make a place for the log cabin which was to shelter himself and family. He suc-
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