Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Livingston and Wyoming counties, N.Y, Part 14

Author:
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Boston : Biographical Review
Number of Pages: 1256

USA > New York > Wyoming County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Livingston and Wyoming counties, N.Y > Part 14
USA > New York > Livingston County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Livingston and Wyoming counties, N.Y > Part 14

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Charles J. Benedict, besides buying the home farm, has bought and sold several other pieces of land, has remodelled the house and barns, building a new wagon house adjacent to the homestead, and owns several fine tene- ment houses. His finely cultivated farm in- cludes about eight acres of orchard land, upon which he has set out three hundred trees. In addition to these trees is an apple orchard, consisting of trees raised from seeds which were planted by his father.

Mr. Benedict was Highway Commissioner for three years, and in politics is a Republi- can. During the Rebellion, being unable to leave home, he furnished a substitute for the army. His wife was a member of the Con- gregational church. She died in 1886, when but fifty-seven years of age. Mr. Benedict

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has by his energy and industry greatly im- proved his farm and buildings, and enjoys well-deserved prosperity.

EORGE W. CLAPP, one of the prominent residents of the town of York, Livingston County, N. Y., is of New England stock, having been born in Windham County, Connecticut, September 4, 1814. His father, whose name was Nathan B. Clapp, was also a native of that State. He came to Livingston County in 1820 with wife and six children and all his worldly effects in a wagon. Planning to create a home for them all in time, though aware that a great deal had to be done first, he took up about fifty acres of land, which was at that time a wilder- ness; and by degrees he cleared it of the forest growth, drained the moist land, divided the fields, and planted the virgin soil with grain and vegetables. Thus going on by steady, untiring effort, he increased his estate so that at the time of his death he was the owner of a farm of one hundred acres. He lived to be eighty-two years old.

Nathan B. Clapp married Miss Eunice Durfee; and they raised a family of nine chil- dren, named respectively Charles, Erastus, Lucy, Emily, Carrie, George W., James D., Thomas B., and Lowell H. The mother of this large family deserves special mention, so much was in reality owing to her prudence and thrift, and the patient courage with which she met the numberless privations and hardships incident to the first settling in the country, the care and training of the children also largely depending on her. She died at an advanced age. George W., the sixth child and fourth son of Nathan and Eunice Clapp, was about six years old when his father emigrated from Connecticut to Living- ston County, New York; and he became a student first at the public school and later at the Wyoming Academy. Being an apt scholar, he was proficient in his studies when he left the pupil's desk, and was able to take the important position of training the young. This he continued till he had taught as many as fifty-two terms, all in the town of York,

where it is evident his abilities as an in- structor of youth were appreciated. In con- nection with his brother James, he owned a farm, on which in the intervals of the school terms he occupied his time. In 1884 he gave up school-keeping altogether, selling the farm or his part interest in it.

Mr. George W. Clapp was married August 21, 1844, to Sarah M. Wells, the daughter of Joseph and Harriet Wells, of Connecticut. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Clapp are three daughters - Arabelle E., Auzella C., and Frances A. Arabelle E. married James A. Dow, a war veteran residing in York; and their one child is a daughter named M. Estelle, who is a teacher in Wyoming County. Auzella is the wife of Mr. H. Walker, a Supervisor of the town of York. Frances married Mr. Fred Robinson, of the town of Media, Delaware County, Pa. They have one child, Edna M.

Mr. Clapp has been a superintendent of the commom schools of the town, and has served as Justice of the Peace eight years. HIe has also been part of the time these later years an Assessor. In politics Mr. Clapp has been a member of the Republican party since its formation. His first Presidential vote was cast for that great statesman, Daniel Webster, in 1836.

REDERIC DAVIDSON, a prosperous merchant in the town of Nunda, has been actively engaged in business here for the past forty years, and by his honorable and upright methods of dealing has won the regard and confidence of the entire com- munity. He comes of stanch New England ancest y, and was himself a native of the Granite State, June 21, 1816, being the date of his birth.

His father, James E. Davidson, was also born in New Hampshire, where he lived for upward of threescore years. He was a cabinet manufacturer by trade, and was also engaged in mercantile pursuits for many years in Hillsboro County. In 1854 he sold out his business there, and came to Livingston County, settling in the town of Nunda, which

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was then an enterprising village, having fully as large a population as at the present time. HIe had been a prominent man in the place of his nativity, having served as Selectman for several years. He died on October 29, 1882, having then almost reached the ninety-third anniversary of his birth. His wife, Jane Emerson, daughter of Stephen Emerson, of New Hampshire, passed to the life eternal July 11, 1871, at the age of seventy-eight years. Of the three sons born to them, James S., George R., and Frederic, the latter is the only one now living. (For further parental history, see genealogy of the David- son family. )

Frederic Davidson was reared amid the rugged hills of his native State, and after pursuing his studies in the district schools and the Hillsboro Academy entered upon a mercantile career, entering first the store of his father in Concord, N.H., where for about five years he made himself useful, and gained at the same time a knowledge of the details of the business. Mr. Davidson then spent a year in the city of Boston, going thence to the city of New York, where he was employed for six years as a book-keeper in a Broadway establishment. In 1847 he came to Nunda, where he opened a store for general merchan- dise, and also became a partner in the foundry which was then established. He has since then been continuously engaged in his pres- ent business, being one of the oldest and foremost merchants in this vicinity, the store having been first established in 1855.

Mr. Davidson was married in 1839 to Miss Charlotte M. Hurd, of Rochester, N.H .; and their union has been blessed by the birth of two children, one of whom, Charles F., the first-born, passed to the higher existence at the early age of twenty years. The other child, Francis U. Davidson, is now in busi- ness with his father. Politically, Mr. David- son was in the earlier years of his life a stanch member of the old Whig party, but is now closely identified with the Democratic party. His first Presidential vote was cast for William Henry Harrison in 1840. He has never been an aspirant for official honors, but allowed his name to be used as a candidate

for the State legislature in 1860, and has also been a candidate for supervisor.

APTAIN JACOB A. SCHLICK, a veteran of the Grand Army of the Republic, born in the village of Dansville, Livingston County, April 1, 1839, has been prominently con- nected with the agricultural interests of Wy- oming County for many years. He is a well-known resident of Bennington, where he owns a fine farm of one hundred and sixty- two acres, which is now managed by his eldest son, Frank A. Schlick, who carries on general farming and dairying.

Nicholas Schlick, the Captain's father, was born in Prussia in February, 1809, and came to America in 1833 with a party of Ger- man emigrants, who settled in Dansville at a time when the country thereabout was com- paratively new, Geneseo, eighteen miles dis- tant, being their nearest market and milling- point. In this company of colonists were Francis Gunther and his wife Catherine, whose daughter, also named Catherine, Mr. Schlick married the following year. Nicho- las Schlick was a tailor, and followed his trade some forty years. To him and his wife twelve children were born, ten of them being sons, four of whom served bravely in the late Civil War.

Jacob was reared to manhood in the place of his nativity, and until eighteen years old worked on a farm. He then served a three years' apprenticeship to the blacksmith's trade; and subsequently, thinking a change of climate might prove beneficial to his health, he removed to Wisconsin. On the 19th of April, 1861, responding to the first call for volu. teers, he enlisted at Baraboo, Wis., in a company which was quickly and rapidly filled in the expectation of joining the First Wisconsin Regiment; but, there being fifty companies ahead of it, the Baraboo company was assigned to the Sixth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry as Company A. Its com- mander, Captain Malloy, was promoted through the various ranks to that of Briga- dier-general. Mr. Schlick entered the com-

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pany as a private, was promoted to be First Sergeant, and on the reorganization of the company in 1862 was made Second Lieu- tenant in the Twenty-third Wisconsin Volun- teer Infantry. In August of that year he was again promoted, becoming Captain of Com- pany F. His military record was one of which he may well be proud, and covered a period of more than four years. He was in- jured at the close of the war by a drunken soldier in New Orleans, and now receives a small pension.

On October 23, 1866, Jacob A. Schlick was united in marriage with Florence E. Day, a native of Bennington, N. Y., and the daughter of Volney and Electa (Gratton) Day, the former of whom was born in Con- necticut and the latter in Oneida County in this State. The Day family originated in Wales, its first representative on American soil being Robert Day, who arrived in Bos- ton, Mass., in 1634, living there until 1639, when he removed to Hartford, Conn. The grandparents of Mrs. Schlick, Linus and Lydia (Holcomb) Day, were early pioneer settlers of Bennington, coming here from their Connecticut home in 1813, journeying through the trackless woods with ox teams, and out of their scanty hoard of money buying fifty acres of wild land, from which they im- proved a farm.

The pleasant wedded life of Captain and Mrs. Schlick has been blest by the birth of three children, all of whom live at home, their names being as follows: Frank A., Volney D., and Agnes E. In politics Mr. Schlick is a straight Republican and an earnest advocate of the principles of that party. He was reared to the Catholic faith, but he has not adhered to the doctrines of that church.

ACOB MOYER HAGEY, M.D., a gentleman of high social and profes- sional standing, is one of the most eminent physicians of this section of Livingston County, and has a large and lucra- tive practice in Mount Morris, where he has resided since 1881. He was born in the town of Line Lexington, Montgomery County, Pa.

The Hagey family, whose name was origi- nally spelled Haguy, had its origin in the province of Alsace-Lorraine, and was first represented on American soil by three brothers of that name, all of whom emigrated to the United States in Colonial days. One brother, it is said, was a member of General Lafayette's staff, and after the Revolution settled in the South. One brother located near St. Louis; and the other, the great- grandfather of the Doctor, became a resident of Eastern Pennsylvania, where he followed the trade of a watch and clock maker as long as he lived. Jacob Hagey, the Doctor's grandfather, was born in Lower Salford, Pa., and, having learned the trade of his father, carried it on for some years in the town of his nativity. Removing to Hilltown, Bucks County, he there bought a farm, which he superintended, at the same time pursuing his former occupation until the time of his decease. He married Sally Gerhart, a native of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, and the descendant of a well-known German family.

George Hagey, son of Jacob, was born dur- ing the residence of his parents in Lower Salford, and, having become proficient in the trade by which his immediate ancestors had acquired a livelihood, removed to the village of Trappe, Montgomery County, where he engaged in watch and clock making until the year 1849. Then, buying the homestead property of his parents, he engaged in general farming in Bucks County for six years. Selling his farm, he removed to Sterling, Whiteside County, Ill., where he carried on a successful jewelry business until his death, at the advanced age of eighty years. His wife, whose maiden name was Sarah Moyer, was a rative of Upper Salford and of German ancestry, her parents having been Jacob and Sarah (Detwiler) Moyer, natives of Pennsyl- vania.

Jacob M. Hagey, son of George and Sarah (Moyer) Hagey, completed his academical education at Washington Hall Academy in the village of Trappe, and at the age of seven- teen years commenced teaching, which he followed till he was twenty-one, when he

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began the study of medicine with Drs. Keeler and Groff, of Harleysville, Pa. He after- ward studied for a few months under the tutelage of his uncle, Dr. Joseph Moyer, of Norristown. In 1855 he removed to Ster- ling, Ill., going by railway as far as Dixon, which was then the terminus of the railway, thence by stage to Sterling. He engaged in teaching in that vicinity, and when not so employed was associated with his father in the jewelry business. In 1857 he resumed his medical studies with Dr. Hudson, a leading physician of Sterling, and subse- quently attended lectures at Rush Medical College in Chicago, being graduated from that institution in February, 1862. Com- mencing the practice of his profession in Sterling, Dr. Hagey remained there until 1865, when he removed to Peoria, where he practised for six months. Returning to Ster- ling, he continued his practice for four years, and in 1869 returned East, locating his office in East Gainesville, Wyoming County, N.Y .; and there he had a successful professional career until 1881, when he came to Mount Morris.

The nuptial ceremony uniting the lives of Dr. Hagey and Saphina Calysa Briggs, a na- tive of Castile, N. Y., was celebrated in 1865. Into this happy home circle three children have been born - Maude, Blanche, and John Briggs. Among his professional brethren Dr. Hagey occupies a prominent place. He is a member of the Livingston County Medical Society, of which he has been President, a member of the Central New York Medical Association, and also of the American Medical Association. He likewise belongs to the American Public Health Society, having been made a member of that body at a meeting held in the city of Mexico in 1892. Dr. Hagey is an influential member of the Genesee Valley Lodge, An- cient Order United Workmen, and of the Royal Legion of Select Knights. He is also prominent in the Masonic fraternity, be- longing to Mount Morris Lodge, No. 122, A. F. & A. M., and is a member of Mount Morris Chapter, No. 137, R. A. M., in which he is High Priest. He is also a member of

Cyrene Commandery, No. 39, K. T., Roches- ter, N. Y. The Doctor is also a member of Fraternal Union, A. H. P., of the State of New York.

D ELOS PAINE, who is a native and to the manner born, his birth having occurred in the town of Nunda, April 2, 1840, is thoroughly identified with the agricultural and industrial interests of this section of Livingston County, as one of its thrifty and prosperous farmers and dealers in lumber. He is a son of Carlos G. Paine, a brother of the father of William H. Paine, a sketch of whose life may be found on another page of this work.

Carlos G. Paine came to Nunda when there were but few settlers in the place, and, buying a tract of land, improved a good farm. He erected a frame house, which is still standing and in a comparatively good condition. In addition to farming, he built the brick hotel known as the Nunda House, where he enter- tained the travelling public for several years, winning quite a reputation as a pleasant and accommodating host. Endowed by nature with a fine physique, being tall and well pro- portioned, he seemed peculiarly adapted for the position of Constable of the town and of Dep- uty Sheriff of the county, an office which he filled at a time when this town was included within the limits of Allegany County. This section was then troubled by timber thieves, who stole shingles, lumber, etc., at every op- portunity. Many times he made arrests, and was obliged to take his prisoners to Angelica for trial. The maiden name of his first wife, the mother of him of whom we write, was Je- rusha Swift. She was a native of Herkimer County, and to them three children were born, namely : Delos; Fanny A., who married the Rev. A. M. Town, of Nunda; and Harriet J., the wife of Henry Starrett, of Michigan. The mother died in 1854; and Mr. Paine subse- quently married Nancy Burdick, who bore him one son, Nathan A.

Delos Paine obtained his education in the place of his nativity, attending the district schools and the Nunda Academy, and during

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the days of his boyhood and youth received a practical training in the labors of the farm, which has been very beneficial to him in his career as a farmer and stock-grower. In the prosecution of his chosen calling he has exer- cised a sound judgment and a careful manage- ment that have been rewarded with excellent success, and have given him a fine position among the agriculturists of influence and afflu- ence. He is a man of strong and earnest convictions, very popular with his fellow- townsmen; and his life record is without re- proach. He uniformly casts his vote with the Republican party, and is an ardent advocate of its principles. In local affairs he upholds all enterprises tending toward the improvement of the social, educational, or moral status of the town, being one of its most faithful and loyal citizens. He is a member of the Masonic fra- ternity, and has also served for many terms as Assessor of his district.

Mr. Paine was united in marriage in 1866 to Miss Harriet M. Lowell, a daughter of Eben and Hancy (Bowen) Lowell; and their union has been blessed by the birth of two chil- dren, a son and a daughter - Welcome L., a prosperous farmer; and Grace J., who is an excellent and successful teacher of Nunda.

RED NORRIS, editor and proprietor of the Castilian, occupies a prominent place among the newspaper men of Wyoming County. He was born in Canastota, Madison County, N. Y., October 8, 1862, son of Archibald R. and Helen M. (Shipman) Norris, and grandson, on the paternal side, of Nathaniel and Lucy (Belding) Norris. Na- thaniel Norris was born in Connecticut, Oc- tober 5, 1785, and removed thence to Broadal- bin, Fulton County, N. Y., where he died April 30, 1871, having been a prosperous farmer and a much respected citizen. His wife, Lucy Belding, to whom he was married October 2, 1808, was born January 15, 1791, and died December 3, 1870. They were members of the Baptist church. Their thirteen children were : Ruth A., Chauncy, Lucinda, Elizabeth, Samuel, Ephraim, Nathaniel, Lucy, Archibald R., Alexander, James, Mary M., and George.

Archibald R. Norris was born in Broadal- bin, and learned the carpenter's trade in his native town. In those days money was scarce ; and his first earnings were obtained by turning a wheel to spin tow, for which he received the value of sixpence a day in linen cloth, which at that time was fourpence a yard. At the age of thirteen he entered a sash and blind factory at Troy, and after working there some time he went to New York City as agent for the com- pany. During the construction of the New York Central Railroad he was employed as overseer of the grading and bridge-building. He now resides at Canaseraga, Allegany County, where he owns a large farm. He married in 1852 Helen M. Shipman, daughter of David Shipman, a farmer, who was the manager of the noted Temperance Hotel of Gerrit Smith in Madison County. Mr. and Mrs. Archibald R. Norris became the parents of six children, as follows: Eugene F., who resides at home; Charles, who died at the age of seven years; Lucy, living with her brother Frank at Attica, N. Y. ; Fred, who is the sub- ject of this biography; Frank, who is in the newspaper business at Attica; and Nina, who died at an early age.

Fred Norris, after graduating from the high school at Canaseraga, learned the printer's trade with F. S. Mills, of the Canaseraga Times. In 1888 Mr. Norris, in company with his brother Frank, came to Castile and bought out the interests of Mr. A. Gaines, the editor of the Castilian, a bright and newsy weekly paper, which is foremost in advocating needed reforms. In May, 1884, Mr. Norris bought out his brother's interest in the paper, and now conducts the business alone.

On July 12, 1893, Mr. Norris was joined in marriage to Julia A. Pickett, daughter of Dan- iel S. and Eliza (Graves) Pickett. Daniel Pickett, the father, was born in the town of Castile, August 30, 1827, and was the son of James K. and Elizabeth (Havens) Pickett. James K., the grandfather of Mrs. Norris, was born January 26, 1786, in Washington County, New York, and at the age of thirteen was bound out to service; but, finding restraint irksome, he ran away from his master and went to sea. For seven years he followed a seafar-

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ing life. In 1808 he was taken from his ship with a comrade, and impressed into the British service, where he remained for three years. He was present at the battle of Flushing. When war was declared between the United States and England, they refused to serve longer, and demanded that they be treated as prisoners of war. Their demands were acceded to, and they were confined in a prison ship. Mr. Pickett was exchanged about six months after. Returning home, he married Elizabeth Havens and about 1818 came to Castile, Wy- oming County, where he bought fifty acres of land near Silver Lake. This part of the coun- try being at that time a complete wilderness, thickly wooded, he cleared the land, built a log house, and here passed the remainder of his life, dying August 8, 1857. He and his wife had seven children -- Ephraim, Joseph, Goodman H., Sarah, Daniel S., William E., and Elizabeth.

The marriage of Daniel S. Pickett to Eliza Graves occurred in 1854. She was born De- cember 22, 1833, and was a daughter of Joseph and Mary ( Ridsdale) Graves, both of whom came to America from Yorkshire, England, about 1827, and settled in Castile, where they resided during the remainder of their lives. Daniel S. Pickett soon after his marriage set- tled in Castile, where he bought land and has since done a large business as a dealer in agri- cultural implements. He and his wife have three children. Mary E., born January 15, 1856, married C. J. Smith, and resides in Fresno, Cal. Agnes, born January 1, 1860, married Fred Smith, and lives in Omaha, Neb. Julia, born December 8, 1863, is the wife of Mr. Norris, of this sketch.

Mr. Norris has an interest in the Elitsac Manufacturing Company, but is best known · through his connection with journalism. He supports the Democratic party, and conducts his paper with marked ability, meeting with a well-merited success.

EORGE T. EWART, ex-member of the County Board of Supervisors, and a member of the Supervisors' Associ- ation of Livingston County, was born in Grove-

land in 1860, where his father, Harvey Ewart, was also born, March 15, 1810. His grand- father, George Ewart, was a native of County Armagh, Ireland, and of Scotch ancestry. So far as known, the latter and his brother John were the only members of the family who came to America.

The grandfather was reared and married in his native land, and about the year 1807 came to America, accompanied by his wife and seven children. They crossed the ocean in a sailing-vessel, and, landing in Philadelphia, proceeded to Harrisburg, Pa., and from there to Geneseo in New York State, where he became a pioneer. After remaining in that town one year he moved to Groveland, pur- chasing a tract of land upon which was a log house and a few farming utensils. With these, which constituted his only possessions in life, he began his career as an American farmer. At this time there were no railroads or canals, and the farmers were obliged to take their surplus produce by team to Rochester for a market. The people lived chiefly upon the products of the land, and Mr. Ewart's wife clothed her family in homespun of her own spinning and weaving. He made steady im- provement in spite of the many hardships of pioneering, and became a successful farmer. He died at Groveland at the age of eighty-four years. The maiden name of his wife was Sarah Smith. She is a native of the same county as her husband ; and she died at the age of eighty-one, after having reared ten children, whose names were as follows: Nancy, Sally, Mary, Maria, Harvey, Samuel, William, James, Jane, and John. George Ewart and his wife were members of the Presbyterian church, of which he was an Elder for many years.

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Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Livingston and Wyoming counties, N.Y, Part 14

Author: Publication date: 1895 Publisher: Boston : Biographical Review Number of Pages: 1256

Author:
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Boston : Biographical Review
Number of Pages: 1256