Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Livingston and Wyoming counties, N.Y, Part 24

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 24
USA > New York > Livingston County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Livingston and Wyoming counties, N.Y > Part 24

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

ville. (See description in sketch of Mr. Duncan.) Later Mr. Ribaud had charge of the machinery in other departments of their works, setting up new machines and main- taining a general oversight. Mr. Ribaud was empowered by the company to purchase the first engine they had; and now he has charge of the whole mechanical department, which is said to be the largest in the world.

Mr. Ribaud was married in 1881 to Miss Harriet Maynard, daughter of Francis May- nard, of Fonda, Montgomery County, N. Y., where her father was a miller by trade. Later he moved to Syracuse, and continued in the same business till his death in 1883. Her mother is still living. Mr. and Mrs. George Ribaud are the parents of three chil- dren - Marie Isabella; Eva Amelia; Louis William. Mr. Ribaud stands very high among the members of the corporation at the Duncan Salt Works, not only for his intelli- gence and skill in handling machinery, but for his other estimable qualities of refinement and cheerful courtesy; while among his fel- low-workmen, neighbors, and acquaintances generally he is highly appreciated for uniform kindness and genial comradeship. In poli- tics Mr. Ribaud is nominally a Democrat, though never bound to the party's candidate, but feeling free to vote for the "best man," however he may be. Both Mr. and Mrs. Ribaud are members of the Catholic Benefit Society, and both belong to the Catholic church in Gainesville.

ILLIAM H. DE FOREST, a well- known resident of Leicester, Liv- ingston County, N. Y., was born in Leicester on May 30, 1840. His great- grandfather, who was a native of France, came to America, and fought in the Revolu- tionary War, when France so warmly espoused the cause of Colonial independence. After the war he married Laura Sterling, and set- tled in Windham County, Connecticut. Their son, Ira De Forest, having grown to manhood in Connecticut, came to Owego, Tioga County, N. Y., at which place he mar-

to abort blo alf of s.

innych darnell & waneq assem golf odi mi gainage na banot mmol to abren I trow on sauberid Do Themdeildens gritosq

bus Hoot aid of dubbioso ist wonil boldoeib

lo abient flex odf pi sodiow o adland : dqua

176

BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

ried, and engaged in lumbering and hotel- keeping. He died in 1815 at Baltimore, while there on business.

William De Forest, son of Ira, and the youngest of three children, was born in Owego. He was left fatherless when only three years old, and was sent to live with his great-uncle, Major Sterling, who resided near Wilkesbarre, Pa. At the age of eleven years he came to Moscow to live with his uncle, Hezekiah Ripley, one of the earliest settlers of Livingston County, and publisher of the first newspaper in the county, the Livingston Gasette. Here William De Forest grew to manhood, learning the trades of tanner, cur- rier, and shoemaker, which he followed until 1839, when on account of failing health he. engaged in farming, buying in 1859 the farm on which he died at the age of seventy- five.

He married Jane A. Reynolds, born in Avon, Livingston County, August 26, 1818, the daughter of Jason Reynolds, a native of Horse Neck, Vt. Her grandfather was Shu- bael Reynolds, a native of Massachusetts, who fought in the Revolution, and soon after its close removed to Vermont, and devoted him- self to opening up that new country. Shubael Reynolds was both a farmer and carpenter. After a few years he left Vermont, and went to Schenectady, N. Y., and thence came to Livingston County, where he bought a farm, upon which he remained for some years. Then his roving disposition again asserted it- self, and he went to Ohio, where he died in Lorain County, in his eighty-ninth year. He was a Deacon in the Baptist church for many years. His wife was Mercy Lounsbury, of Massachusetts. Their son, Jason Reynolds, the father of Mrs. Jane A. De Forest, fought in the War of 1812 under two different cap- tains, the last being Captain Asahel Smith, of Onondaga County. Jason Reynolds mar- ried in Saratoga County before the war began, but came to Avon soon after it was over, as a pioneer farmer and a manufacturer of pearlash. Later he removed to York, and worked a part of his father's farm. Thence he went to Cattaraugus County, and purchased a tract of land, where a log house had already sprung

out of the earth in a small clearing. He finished the home and improved the land; but at the end of six years he became restless, sold out, and returned to Leicester, where he bought a tract of timber land, whereon he built the usual log house. Then he cleared away the lumber, and planted an orchard. Owing to exposure and overexertion in the famous floo:l of 1835, he caught a cold, from which he never recovered, dying at the age of fifty-one, in 1836. His wife was Esther Mc- Millan, of Galway, Saratoga County, daughter of Joseph and Avis Bowen McMillan. Mr. McMillan was from Aberdeen, Scotland; and his wife, Avis, belonged in Providence, R.I. Mrs. Jason Reynolds outlived her husband, and died at the house of a daughter in Milan, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. William De Forest reared five children - William H .; Ellen; Jennie, Mrs. Albert Bendrow, who has one daughter, Jessie B. (Mrs. E. J. Howe); Charles; and Mary, Mrs. Charles Welton, who has three children. The mother, Mrs. Jane A. De Forest, is still living.

William H. De Forest was educated in the public schools of his native town, and stayed with his parents, William and Jane A. ( Rey- nolds) De Forest, till he was twenty-one. Then on November 2, 1861, he enlisted in Company G, One Hundred and Fourth Regi- ment of New York Volunteers, and served three years in the Army of the Potomac, fight- ing in the second battle of Bull Run, at An- tietam, at Gettysburg, and at Petersburg. At Gettysburg he was captured and taken to Belle Island, where he was kept three months, suf- fering all sorts of privations and hardships. He rejoined his regiment on June 6, 1864, and was mustered out on November 2, 1864. After a year on the home farm he went to Saginaw, Mich., where he was in a hardware store eight years, and then went to Cleveland, Ohio, where he stayed two years. In 1876 he came back to Leicester, and still re- mains here on the old farm. He belongs to Tilton Post, No. 660, of the Grand Army. He also belongs to the Masonic body and the Knights Templars. In 1893 he was chosen Supervisor, and in 1894 re-elected to that office.

177

BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

ENRY N. JEROME, a contented and well-to-do agriculturalist, residing on his eighty-two-acre farm in the town of Livonia, is a man whose word carries weight with his fellow-towns- men. He was born in Richmond, Ontario County, N. Y., November 2, 1830, son of John and Sarah (Aiken ) Jerome.

The father was born in Pompey, Cayuga County, and went to Richmond on attaining his majority, buying there a small farm, which he cultivated with assiduity until 1836, when he removed to Geneseo, and invested there in a farm of eighty acres, upon which he remained four years. He then sold the property, and came to Livonia, purchasing the farm now owned by his son, Henry N. Jerome. Here he died at the age of sixty- five, after a life of active toil, leaving behind him a worthy record of daily duties well per- formed. His wife, formerly Sarah Aiken, was a daughter of David Aiken, of Saratoga County, and was a woman of true domestic virtues and a worthy helpmeet to her hus- band. Nine children grew up around their hearth, whose names we record, as follows : Myron D .; Hannah M .; John A .; Susan A .; William S. ; Mary J. ; Henry N., the subject of this biographical outline; and Sarah Adelia and Clara Amelia, twins. The hand of the silent reaper has been busy among these brothers and sisters; for all have been gar- nered into sheaves for the eternal harvest except Hannah M. and Henry N., whose name prefaces this sketch.

The latter was brought up in Genesco, and there acquired sufficient book knowledge to enable him worthily to perform his duties as a good citizen and intelligent member of the community. After the death of his father he took the farm, bought out the other heirs, and paid off in course of time the debt by which it was encumbered. Hle now has a good farm, well cultivated, which he is constantly trying to improve, its thriving condition attesting the watchful care and perpetual industry of its owner. That Mr. Jerome is regarded by his neighbors and fellow-townsmen as a capable and trustworthy man may be learned from the fact that he has served the town of Livonia as

Assessor for the last ten years. He bas al- ways given his allegiance to the Republican party since its organization ; but, voting for the first time for President at the age of twenty- two, his vote helped to elect Franklin Pierce to the place of honor at the head of the nation.

Mr. Jerome has been twice married, his first wife being Mary E. Locke, daughter of John Locke, of Livonia Station. She died, leaving one son, John F., and a daughter, Lillian E., now deceased. John F. married Alice Hayward, daughter of Hiram Hayward ; and they have one son, Byron N. Mr. Jerome chose for his second wife Miss Annie Harder, daughter of William and Catherine (Jones) Harder, of Saratoga and Livingston Counties respectively. Of this marriage were born one son, William G., and a daughter, Nellie. William G. Jerome married Miss Mary Weaver, and engaged in the practice of law in Rochester, N. Y. He was a promising young man of twenty-seven years when he was called from earth on January 4, 1895. Nellie A. Jerome died at the tender age of four years and three months. Both Mr. and Mrs. Je- rome are members of the Presbyterian church of Livonia, and are people who have a wide circle of acquaintance, and whose work and example are of value in the community.

OHN H. WEMPLE, a farmer residing in the town of Leicester, in Living- ston County, N. Y., was born in Johns- town, Fulton County, March 11, 1833. His father, Barney Wemple, was born in the same town, April 8, 1800.

The Wemple family were pioneers in the Mohawk valley, where they resided during the period of the Revolutionary War, suffer- ing the hardships and privations incident to that period. Their remote ancestors lived in Holland, whence some of them came to this country early in the Colonial period. Barney Wemple, Sr., the paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was a life-long resident of New York State. His son Barney learned the trade of tailor when a young man; and, as was then the custom, he went from house to house, making in each the clothing for the

178

BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

family. He married Hannah Whitmore, who was born in Johnstown, and was the daughter of Peter and Margaret Whitmore, natives of Pennsylvania. During the Revolutionary War Peter Whitmore was captured by the Indians and taken to Canada; but he suc- ceeded in making his escape, and, later set- tling in New York State, he spent his last years in Fulton County. After his marriage Barney Wemple, Jr., purchased a farm in Johnstown, where, when not engaged in tai- loring, he carried on quite an extensive farm- ing business. In 1849 he went to Leicester, and bought a farm of seventy-five acres, sit- uated in the Genesee valley. Here he re- sided until his death, devoting his entire time to his place, carrying on general husbandry. Mr. Wemple died when seventy-nine years of age, and his wife at the age of fifty-four.

John H. Wemple was reared to agricultural pursuits, attending schools such as were af- forded in his youthful days, and when not thus engaged assisting his father on the farm. He was sixteen years old when he removed with the family to Leicester; and he con- tinued to make his home under the parental roof until his marriage, when he was forty years of age. Ile then took up his abode on the farm he now owns and occupies, which is well improved, containing thirty-six acres, situated in the Genesee valley, about four miles from Geneseo and an equal distance from Mount Morris.

In 1874 he married Sarah Marsh, who was born in the town of Leicester, and was the daughter of Malachi and Mary (Lane) Marsh. Mrs. Wemple passed from earth May 2, 1889, leaving three children - Alton J., Alice, and Sarah. Mr. Wemple is a Democrat, and is interested in all the undertakings of that party. He is broad-minded and liberal in his conceptions of religious doctrine and duty, and lives an upright and honorable life.

J AMES II. CROUSE, a large land-owner and farmer in Lima, Livingston County, N. Y., was born here February 9, 1834. George Crouse, his grand- father, was a native of Fort Plain, Montgom-

ery County. Farmers in the pioneer times worked under great difficulties, being obliged to carry their grain to mills as far away as Albany, a distance of about sixty miles. George Crouse came to Avon, Livingston County, at an early day; and he bought and cleared a hundred and twenty acres of land, building a log house, which remained stand- ing until a few years ago. Later in life he bought land in Michigan, and died there at the age of seventy-four. Grandfather Crouse left a family of nine children, most of whom lived to a good old age.

His son, George G. Crouse, father of James, was born in Avon, and educated in its district schools. He worked on the home farm until he was twenty-one, and in fact con- tinued farming all his life, working by the month and on shares until he bought a farm for himself in Lima, to which he subsequently added so much that at his death it covered a hundred and eighty-three acres. At the age of twenty-seven Mr. Crouse married Mary N. Hovey, daughter of James and Esther Hovey, of Lima, who also came there at an early day. Mr. Crouse died in the seventy-ninth year of his age, leaving three children - Sarah Jane, Eliza Ann, and James H. Crouse. Sarah J. Crouse married Oliver B. Flansburg, is now a widow, and lives with her daughter, Lucy Flansburg, the wife of Edwin Lee. Eliza A. Crouse married Wilkinson Carey, of Lima, and has two children - Mary Eliza, now Mrs. Ira Newman, and Georgiana Carey.

James H. Crouse was educated at the dis- trict school and in the seminary in Lima, and then began farming in Avon at the old home- stead of his grandfather Crouse, where he remained ten years. This place he afterward sold, buying the Lima place of his father and living there ten years also. His affection for the old homestead at Avon, it may here be said, led him to buy it back again some years later. Selling the Lima estate back to his father, Mr. Crouse went to Michigan, whence he returned, at the expiration of three years, to the parental roof at Lima, where he lived until his father died, in 1884. The farm was under his charge until the next year, when he bought a fine residence in the village of Lima,

[ Affim of aigre fiordi vri05 0) to

. ri

vomet ad sorw att at197 dostate con Oll

rhosted js asos per ar mon

JAMES H. CROUSE.

181

BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

where he now lives. He also owns a fine cot- tage at Hemlock Lake. The first wife of James H. Crouse was Frances A. Carey, of Lima, who became the mother of two chil- dren - Mary and Frances N. Crouse. Mary Crouse married Clarence V. Tenney, of Mich- igan; and they reside on one of the Lima farms. Frances N. Crouse married Melvin R. Hamilton, of Avon. Mr. James H. Crouse's second wife was Lucia Chapman, of Lima. The three children of this marriage are: George G., who died at the age of five years and nine months; James S. ; and Henry P. Crouse. The parents are members of the Baptist church.

That Mr. Crouse is a live business man is shown by the large amount of property which he now owns - a hundred and eighty-three acres on the homestead, a hundred and forty acres in the Warner farm, a hundred and forty-four and a half acres in the Rogers farm, a hundred and forty-five acres in the Metcalf farm, all situated in Lima. In Avon he has a hundred and thirty-four and a half acres in the Torrance farm, two hundred and fifty-six acres in the Fred Pearson farm, two hundred acres in the Hamlin farm, a hundred and sixty-six acres in the Hendrick farm, ninety- five acres in the Marshall farm, the Harris farm of one hundred and twenty-seven acres, besides his village residence and a cottage at Lake Hemlock. Besides a total of nearly two thousand acres in New York State, he has property in Michigan. He has always been a Democrat, and cast his first Presidential vote for James Buchanan in 1856. He has served the town of Lima as Assessor.

The annexed portrait of Mr. Crouse shows a man who has not found his account in stand- ing still, waiting for occasion to tell him what to do. And, "after all," one would not be surprised to hear him testify, "the joy of success does not equal that which attends patient working."

HARLES HI. TOAN, one of the larg- est farmers and a highly respected citizen of Perry, was born Septem- ber 4, 1857. He is the son of Austin W. and Elizabeth (Compton) Toan

and grandson of Thomas and Betsey (Harvey) Toan. His grandfather was born in New Jersey, January 16, 1793, and married Betsey Harvey in 1820, she having been also born in New Jersey, July 9, 1797. They came to Scipio, Cayuga County, in a covered wagon, and about 1826 moved to the town of Perry, Wyoming County, where Thomas Toan pur- chased one hundred and forty acres of land, forty acres of which came to him as a grant for services as a soldier in the War of 1812. He cleared and improved his farm, the same now owned by Thomas Norton, erected sub- stantial buildings, and resided there until his death, which occurred in 1862, his wife dying in 1871. Both were members of the Metho- dist church. The following were their chil- dren: Austin W., born March 29, 1822; Lydia, born September 29, 1825; Marilla, who was born April 7, 1829, and married W. Palmer (see sketch elsewhere in this work); Matilda, who was born April 7, 1829, and married C. H. Sailor; and one child who died young.

Austin W. Toan was about three years of age when his father moved to Perry. He was educated in the district schools, and resided at home until the age of thirty-three years. In 1854 he married Elizabeth Compton, born at Ithaca, N. Y., September 3, 1829, daughter of Reuben and Sarah (Stout) Compton, na- tives of New Jersey. Her father was a hatter and a hotel-keeper in New Jersey, but in the latter part of his life was a farmer in Perry. He died at an advanced age, having reared five children - Sarah, Mary, Charles, Eliza- beth, and Emeline. Mr. Austin W. Toan bought a farm of fifty-five acres, improved the land, and remodelled the buildings. By good management of his affairs he became well- to-do in the world. He died at sixty-nine years of age, leaving a widow and one son, the subject of the present sketch.

Charles H. Toan was educated at the Perry Academy, and at the age of eighteen began his career as a farmer. In 1885 he was united in marriage to Stella Wylie, of Perry, born in Milltown, Pa., December 26, 1864. Her parents, James and Mary (Thompson) Wylie, were born near Paisley, Scotland.

ni estor lind & bas mpol-vitol

screedhe bus borbaud owy amual constrof 9d3 berörunt out jimet noetest bon't sit ni aston

short A .brto souof text basfliv aid abbiasid 118

182

BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

After emigrating to America her father worked in the woollen mills at Waterloo and Milltown. He is now a commercial traveller, and resides on Lake Street in Perry. The following are his children: Agnes, wife of Charles Andrus, who has one child, and re- sides in Saginaw, Mich .; James Wylie, who married Agnes Batchelor, a resident of the same place; Stella, Mrs. Toan; Mary Wylic, who resides at home; Lizzie Wylie, a teacher at Saginaw: and Jessie Wylie, also residing at home.

Mr. Toan after his marriage purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land, one mile from the village, and besides repairing and altering the house erected a large and well- appointed barn. He lived upon this farm until 1893, when he and his family, including his mother, moved into his newly constructed, three-story, modern-built house, which is sit- uated on Main Street in Perry, one of the finest residences in town. He owns the place that was his father's, and carries on his two farms himself, employing experienced farm hands, and wintering as many as nine hundred sheep. He raises some fine horses, of which he makes a special feature.

Mr. Toan is a Democrat in politics, and was Supervisor in 1890 and 1891. He is a member of Consolation Lodge, No. 404, A. F. & A. M., at Perry, and also of the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows. He is one of the most successful men of the town. Mr. and Mrs. Toan have four children - Lewis Austin, born October 3, 1886; Carl James, born July 5, 1888; Thomas Leon, born June 17, 1890; and Mary Elizabeth, born Novem- ber 13, 1892.

OLONEL HENRY L. ARNOLD, of Geneseo, is favorably known through- out Livingston County as well fitted by birth, native ability, and educa- tion for the prominent position he has always occupied among the foremost men of the county. He is a native of the Empire State, and first drew the breath of life June 4, 1828, in the town of Conesus, Livingston County. His grandfather, Gamaliel Arnold, who was of

English birth, emigrated to America when a young man, and assisted the colonists in their struggle for independence. He spent some time in Massachusetts, but afterward removed to the Green Mountain State, where he de- parted this life.

Andrew Arnold, the Colonel's father, was born in Massachusetts, and while a resident of that State enlisted in the War of 1812, in which he served as Captain of the Thirty-first U.S. Infantry. He subsequently removed to Livingston County, New York, and, settling in the town of Conesus, established a general store, an ashery, a saw-mill, and a shoe-shop, and was for many years thereafter an impor- tant factor in the mercantile and the manu- facturing interests of the vicinity. The latter part of his life he spent with his children, dying in Geneseo at the ripe old age of ninety-four years. His wife, Anne Hender- son, was one of a large family born to James Henderson, who removed from his Pennsyl- vania home to this county, and settled at the head of Conesus Lake. Of the five children born to Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Arnold, three grew to adult life, as follows : Henry L., the subject of this brief narrative; Emily, the wife of Allan P. Millar, of Chicago; and Adeline, who died in 1848, aged sixteen years. The mother died while a resident of Conesus, when but forty-one years of age.

Colonel Arnold was educated in the schools of the county, completing his studies in the Geneseo Academy and Lima Seminary. He subsequently taught school for a time, and continued working on the farm with his father until 1862, when he organized a com- pany of soldiers from the towns of Conesus, Sparta, and Springwater, and went to the front during the late Rebellion as Captain of Company I, One Hundred and Thirty-sixth New York Volunteer Infantry. With his regiment he was engaged in the battle of Chancellorsville in May, 1863, and in that of Gettysburg the following July, when he was promoted to the rank of Major. The reg- iment was afterward assigned to General Hooker's command, and after the battles of Wauhatchie, Lookout Mountain, and Mis- sionary Ridge, was made a part of the Twen-

VIdoro bin. bosbrand 2.6.8

mit & before moved 013 anivast

ـسعر

183

BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

tieth Corps, going from Chattanooga to At- lanta, thence with Sherman on his famous march to the sea, serving in all of the im- portant engagements of that remarkable cam- paign. During the time Major Arnold was again promoted, being made Lieutenant Colo- nel, and commanded his regiment in Sher- man's campaign through the Carolinas. At the battle of Bentonville, N.C., he was wounded in the groin and in the hand, and at the close of the campaign was brevetted Colonel for "meritorious services during the campaign in Georgia and the Carolinas." He was discharged with his regiment at Roches- ter in June, 1865.

Resuming his duties as a private citizen in Geneseo, Colonel Arnold was elected Sheriff in 1870, and served with satisfaction three years. He had previously served his fellow- townsmen in official life, having been Super- visor in Conesus during 1857 and 1858. For seven years he was State agent for discharged convicts, being one of the most efficient of State officers. The three years from 1891 until the 17th of June, 1894, the Colonel was United States Consul to Clifton, Canada, serving with credit to himself and honor to the government which appointed him to the position.

In 1853 Colonel Arnold was united in mar- riage to Helen M. Bissell, who is one of the four children born to the late Dr. Daniel H. Bissell. Dr. Bissell was one of the best- known practising physicians of the county, and was at one time Resident Physician at the Quarantine in New York City. Colonel and Mrs. Arnold have five children now living: George B. is manager of a large paper establishment in Chicago. Alice G. is the wife of John C. Cone, a farmer residing in Geneseo. Henry L. is with his elder brother in Chicago, in charge of a department in the same establishment. Lucy G. is a graduate of the normal school. Allan M., the youngest son, is book-keeper in a mercantile house in Chicago. The eldest daughter, Mrs. Cone, who was graduated from the normal school, is at present travelling in Europe in charge of a party of tourists. In politics Colo- nel Arnold is a zealous advocate of the prin-

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Livingston and Wyoming counties, N.Y, Part 24

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

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