Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Livingston and Wyoming counties, N.Y, Part 32

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 32
USA > New York > Livingston County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Livingston and Wyoming counties, N.Y > Part 32

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His second son, Samuel, was trained as a farmer; and the boy continued to live at home until he was of age, meanwhile attending the pioneer school. When he first came to the present home of his son Frank, which was on December 11, 1813, it was then a mass of un- cultivated land. The first wife of Samuel Bonner, son of the elder Samuel, was Nellie Covert, daughter of Peter Covert. She reared

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seven children - William; Samuel, deceased ; Marietta; James; Frederick ; Nathaniel; and Rose. Mr. Bonner cleared the land, built a part of the present buildings, and spent the rest of his life there, dying August 10, 1879, at eighty-five years of age. His second wife was Maria Knapp, daughter of Joel Knapp, of Con- necticut, where she was born October 18, 1808. Joel Knapp's family came to Ossian among the early settlers. Mrs. Maria Knapp Bonner reared three children - Alice, Celia, and Frank J. Bonner. The mother still lives, making her home with her son, Frank J., our subject. Although eighty six years of age, she is hale and hearty, and a member of the Presbyterian church, where her husband served as Deacon for many years.

Mr. Frank J. Bonner spent his early life on the farm. He was educated at Dansville Sem- inary, after which he assisted his father up to the time of the old gentleman's death. His mother, two sisters, and himself live happily at the old homestead. The brother and sisters evidently prefer single blessedness, neither having married. The fine farm upon which they live contains four hundred and forty acres, and is practically three farms. Mr. Bonner is diligent in business, overseeing all this valuable land. He is also interested in Buffalo real estate. Mr. Bonner has been a successful office-holder, serving as Supervisor three years, 1883, 1884, and 1889. He is a stanch supporter of the Republican party, and has always taken an active interest in political measures. The family attend the Presbyterian church, of which they are all members. Mr. Bonner is not only a man of means, but a man of resources, and is regarded as the leading man in the town of Ossian. He is universally respected - is, in fact, an excellent pattern for the rising generation.

EORGE TOMLINSON, an esteemed resident of Perry, who is extensively engaged in operating mills, and is noted for both business ability and literary attainments, was born at LeRoy, Genesee County, August 15, 1822, being the second son of John and Hepsibah (Ransford) Tomlin-

son, and grandson of David and Polly (Hull) Tomlinson. David Tomlinson was a native of Derby, Conn., and a blacksmith whose spe- cialty was the production of scythes and hand- made axes. He died in Newtown, Conn., at about the age of seventy-five years, and his wife at about fifty-five. They reared a family of eleven children, namely : Hull; Zerry; Austin; John; Russell; Lucy Ann Lewis; Anna Peck; Sally Everetts; Betsey Sherman ; Polly Douglass; and Laura, a maiden lady.

John Tomlinson was born in Newtown, Conn., and, having been bound out to a farmer when a small child, ran away on account of ill usage at the age of fourteen, and engaged himself to a carpenter in Massa- chusetts, where he acquired the trade of a car- penter, joiner, and millwright, becoming an expert workman. In 1815 he moved to LeRoy, N. Y., where he became a building con- tractor. His first millwright work was on the Tufts mill in LeRoy. He built a mill at South Warsaw, one in Warsaw village, the Judge Sprague mill on Pearl Creek, the James Sprague mill in Covington, the Allen mill at Roanoke, the Bailey mill, now in Pavil- ion, the Haskins mill and the lower mill in LeRoy. He also built a mill at Morganville, two on Genesee River, one at York, and one at Geneseo, and the Bailey mill in Perry. He erected a large number of saw-mills, dwell- ing-houses, and the Presbyterian church in LeRoy.

Subsequently he purchased the Tufts mill in LeRoy, which he took down, and built a new mill on the same site, which he successfully operated for thirty years. In 1870 he retired to a small farm in the vicinity, where he died at the age of seventy-six years. He married Hepsibah Ransford, whose parents resided in Oneida County, and were farmers. She was an expert spinner and weaver, and not only spun both flax and wool, but wove her linen and her cloth, and, dyeing and bleaching them herself, made her full wedding outfit. A homely, but certainly honorable, trousseau ! She died at the age of thirty-four years, and was a member of the Episcopal church. Five children survived her - Julius, George, Eliza, Susan, and Caroline. John Tomlinson mar-

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ried for his second wife Doritha Hitchcock, who died at the age of sixty years, leaving two children -- Ogden and Jane. Mr. Tomlinson was an anti-Mason, a Whig and Republican in politics, and held the office of Supervisor for fifteen years. He was Commissioner to build the court-house in Genesee County.

George Tomlinson commenced his education in the district schools, and later attended the Wyoming Academy and a select school at LeRoy. At the age of eighteen he began work- ing on farms during the summer, at eleven dollars per month, and taught school during the winter, which he continued to do for five years, when he married Marion B. Sprague, daughter of James and Martha (Keath) Sprague. Her father was the proprietor of a large card- ing and cloth manufactory at Covington, Wy- oming County, and was also a farmer. Both parents lived to an advanced age. Mrs. Tom- linson was their only child to reach maturity, one other having died young. Mr. and Mrs. Tomlinson have two children, a son and a daughter. J. Frank Tomlinson married Hattie Root, and is a partner with his father in the fouring-mills. He has three children - Irene A., Agnes M., and Charles S. Helen Eliza married Walter Gillett, of Perry, and has one child, Ruth N. Gillett. After his marriage Mr. Tomlinson went to Pavilion, and con- tinued to teach school two years. He then learned the business and trade of a clothier, and, leasing the establishment, carried on the manufacturing of cloth. After six years had elapsed, he opened a general store, which he conducted for six years more, and was then burned out. He purchased a farm of one hun- dred acres, which he conducted until 1870. In 1863 he purchased of George Taylor Nobles & Co. a third interest in the flouring-mills at Perry, the firm name then becoming Nobles, Tomlinson & Co .; and in 1870 he moved to Perry, where he became an active member of that firm. He subsequently built a vinegar and spoke factory, which he sold in 1878, tak- ing in exchange the Silver Lake Mills, which he has since continued to operate, carrying on a general merchant milling business.

Mr. Tomlinson is Vice-President of the Cit- izen's Bank, and ex-president of the knitting-

mills, of which he was one of the founders. He is a stanch Republican, was a Justice of the Peace eighteen years, and Superintendent of Schools at Pavilion, and has also been Su- pervisor at Perry. He was one of the organ- izers of the Historical Society, of which he was President for nine years. He has deliv- ered several lectures and published consider- able literary work of more than ordinary merit, among which may be mentioned "From Youth to Seventy, and What I saw by the Way, " "Democracy," "The Crusade, " and "The Anglo-Saxon Race." He has also given ser- eral addresses before the Teachers' Association and the Wyoming Pioneer Historical Society.

AMES STANLEY ORTON, late Pres- ident of the Genesee Valley Bank, whose portrait accompanies these brief memoirs, was for many years an influ- ential and highly respected citizen of Geneseo, Livingston County, N. Y., where his death occurred on July 4, 1892, in the seventy-sixth year of his age. Mr. Orton was born in Woodbury, Conn., on November 26, 1816, son of Truman and Martha Maria (Curtis) Orton. Truman Orton was a life-long resident of Woodbury, and died at ninety-seven years of age, in 1881, in the same house in which he was born, and where he had always made his home. His widow in her eighty-sixth year came to Western New York, and spent her re- maining days, residing alternately, till her death at the age of ninety-five, with her son James in Geneseo and her daughter, Mrs. Sam- uel Vance, in Groveland.

James S. Orton in his youth received an education fitting him for mercantile life, and later was known as a sagacious and prudent financier, a good manager in business matters, and was called to fill positions of trust and responsibility. He took up his residence in Geneseo in 1844, and entered the office of the County Clerk, served as Deputy till 1852. when he was elected County Clerk for the term of three years. He was next engaged with Mr. William H. Walker in a private banking business, but withdrew from that in December, 1857, when he was chosen Cashier of the Gen-

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esee Valley Bank. After thirty years of faith- ful service in that capacity he was elected President of the bank, which position he con- tinued to hold to the time of his death. Mr. Orton was for many years a Trustee of the Wadsworth Library, and he was one of the executors of the will of the late General Wadsworth. He was a Republican from the beginning of that party. He was a consistent and earnest member of the Presbyterian church, in which he was an Elder, and a Trus- tee of the society for more than thirty years. A man of strict integrity, he was of a genial and kindly disposition, exemplary in social and domestic relations, and interested in the pub- lic good. He is survived by his wife, a sister, and a brother.

The marriage of Mr. James S. Orton and Miss Emily Stillman Stanley took place in Dansville, N. Y., on May 22, 1843. Mrs. Orton was born at Mount Morris, May 23, 1819, the day before the birth of Queen Vic- toria, and was one of the ten children of Luman and Martha M. (Hinman) Stanley. She attended school in Mount Morris, and afterward enjoyed the advantages of a higher course of study at the seminary in Rochester. Endowed with pleasing social qualities, admi- rably fitted for the position she has been called to fill, Mrs. Orton has shown herself a cheerful companion, a gracious hostess, and a kind neighbor. She is a member of the Presbyte- rian church, a cordial helper in its activities, and is known as a woman of character and influence. She has one brother now living, Elihu Stanley.

Luman Stanley, Mrs. Orton's father, was a descendant in the seventh generation from John Stanley, who was born in England, and who embarked for America in 1635, with his brothers and three children, and died on the passage. This is the lineage: John, son of John Stanley, Sr., born in England in 1624, came to America in 1635, moved with his uncle, Thomas Stanley, to Hartford, Conn., and there married Sarah Scott. Their son John, born in 1647, married Esther Newell. Nathaniel, son of Deacon John and Esther (Newell) Stanley, married Sarah Smith, and died in 1770, aged ninety-one. William,

their seventh child, born at Farmington, Conn., in 1729, married Amy Baldwin. Jesse Stanley, second son of William and Amy, born at Goshen, Conn., in 1757, married Eunice Bailey, and in 18H moved to Mount Morris, N. Y., where he bought ninety-eight acres of flats at twenty dollars per acre, and afterward sold twenty acres at one hundred dollars per acre. He also bought a hundred acres of heavily timbered land. The first frame house in the village was built by him. Mr. Jesse Stanley reared a family of four children ---- Oliver, Luman, Elmira, and Roxa. He died on June 24, 1845, in the eighty-eighth year of his age. Luman Stanley was born in Goshen, Conn., November 15, 1779, married Martha, daughter of John Hinman, of a well-known Connecticut family, and died in Dansville, N. Y., on October 14, 1839.

John Stanley, the second of the name, was a Lieutenant and then a Captain in King Philip's War. He was a Deputy to the General Court of Connecticut almost continuously for thirty- seven years, 1659 to 1696. He died in 1706. For further records see Stanley genealogy.

G EORGE S. SKIFF, M. D., a highly esteemed and skilful physician of Gainesville, Wyoming County, was born in Hume, N. Y., January 24, 1865, son of Edmund and Fanny (Goodrich) Skiff, also of Hume. The paternal grandfather was Myron Skiff, a native of Otsego County, New York, and a farmer by occupation, having been born on a farm which his father had cleared and improved. Edmund Skiff was early reared to agricultural pursuits, and on the death of his father came into possession of the old homestead, on which he resided until 1872. He is now retired from active life, and re- sides in the village of Pike, being in his sixty- sixth year at the present writing. He is a sturdy Democrat in his political faith, and is a loyal and much respected citizen. His wife died when about thirty-three years of age, leaving an only child, George S., whose name appears at the head of this sketch.

George S. Skiff passed his early boyhood in Pike, to which place he moved with his father

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at the early age of six years. After some preliminary schooling he attended Pike Sem- inary, from which institution he was graduated in 1882. Hle then passed two years at Cornell University, and later studied at Buffalo Uni- versity, being graduated from the medical department of that institution in 1887. After his graduation he commenced the practice of medicine in Fillmore, remaining there about eighteen months; but in 1889 he re- moved to Gainesville, where he has since resided, and where he has already built up a lucrative practice. Dr. Skiff is a gentleman well versed in a knowledge of his profession. He has already gained a good reputation as a skilful physician and surgeon, and is regarded in many homes as a competent and trustworthy medical adviser. He has successfully treated many difficult cases; and, as he is still a young man, his prospects for the future are exceptionally good. He is a member of both the State and County Medical Societies, and of the New York State Society of Railway Surgeons. In fraternal affiliations he is a member of Oriona Lodge, No. 229, A. F. & A. M., of Fillmore, and of the Knights of the Maccabees. Like his father, he is a Democrat in politics, but is quick to appreciate the good in all parties.

In 1887 Dr. Skiff was united in marriage to Miss Hattie E. Barker, daughter of Professor S. Barker, of Buffalo, N. Y., who is the prin- cipal of public school No. 18, in that city, and a gentleman who stands high in educa- tional circles. Mrs. Skiff is a graduate of the Buffalo High School, and is a lady of high in- telligence and many accomplishments. She is the mother of three children - Fanny, Laura, and George. As a useful and loyal citizen, accomplished in his profession and clean in his private life, Dr. Skiff's value to the com- munity is too well known to need further attesting.

AVID B. MORGAN, a thriving farmer of Lima, Livingston County, N. Y., descendant of an early pio- neer, was born on April 4, 1838, in the house he now occupies. His great-grand-

father, Captain John Morgan, was a soldier of the Revolution. He came from Massachusetts to Lima, and settled on the old Buffalo and Albany State Road, where he built a log house, and spent his last days, dying in 1791. His wife also remained there until she died, July 3, 1810.

His son, John Morgan, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was a native of Spring- field, Mass., having been born there October 3, 1762, near the close of the French and Indian wars. His journey from the East in an ox wagon, with a family of two and all their worldly goods, required six weeks, to say nothing of its constant discomforts. At that time, the land being wild, there were no roads; so the party were forced to follow Indian trails and marked trees, until they reached their destination. The younger Mor- gans settled on a farm adjoining Captain John Morgan's in Lima. Like other pioneers, they burned many acres of valuable timber in clearing the land. John Morgan, Jr., built a brick house in 1815, the year when Jackson fought the famous battle of New Orleans. This house is still standing, being occupied by the builder's grandson, David B. Morgan. The old log tavern, on the Albany and Buffalo Road, where the stage-coaches made their daily change of horses, was kept by John Mor- gan for many years - in fact, until his death in 1836. Grandfather John was evidently an advocate of matrimony, having been married three times. Ilis first wife was Alice D. Shaw. His second wife, Mary Pierce, was the mother of Shepard Morgan, the father of the subject of this brief record. Alma Ash- man was Mr. Morgan's last wife.

Shepard Morgan was educated in the public schools of Lima, and always engaged in agri- cultural pursuits on the homestead. His wife was Marietta H. Ashman, who was born in Lakeville, November 12, 1816. They had four children - David B., Mary P., John S., and Alma M. Morgan. Besides paying at- tention to his farming interests, Shepard Mor- gan served his town as Supervisor, holding the office longer than any other man except one in the history of the town.

David B. Morgan was educated at the dis-

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trict schools and in Wesleyan Seminary. With this mental outfit, well adapted for prac- tical purposes, he entered upon the work of farming, in which he has since been success- fully engaged. His wife, whom he married December 19, 1867, was Melissa M., daughter of Anson and Elizabeth (Dann) Angle, of Lima. Her father also was a Supervisor of Lima for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Morgan have five children - Mary Elizabeth, Anson A., John S., Melissa, and Annie Morgan -- all of whom, with the exception of John S., are living at home. In politics Mr. Morgan has always been a Republican ; and his first Presi- dential vote was cast for Abraham Lincoln, in 1 860.

ENRY WIARD, a prosperous farmer, formerly engaged in the manufacture of ploughs, is one of the oldest citi- zens of Avon, N. Y., he having been born here July 14, 1815 ; and, as he has been a constant resident of the town from his birth, it is but natural that he should be very widely known in this section, although he has always shunned notoriety.

Thomas Wiard, his father, was born in the "Land of Steady Habits" (Connecticut), but was one of the early settlers in Livingston County, New York. He first took up his abode at Geneseo, where he lived for twelve years. He was a blacksmith by trade, and was also one of those "all round mechanics" for which this country was once famous. An illustration of his skill and of his putting it to practical use is afforded by the vehicle he built to carry him to Connecticut, where he went on a visit a few years after he had removed from that State. It was made from a crockery crate, and the shafts were pine poles. Con- sidering the roughness of the roads in those days, that wagon must have been subjected to many severe strains on its journey to Connect- icut and return; but it stood the test all right, and was in good working trim when the trip was finished.

Thomas Wiard finally removed from Geneseo to Avon, where he bought a farm and built a frame house. But farming was merely a "side

issue " with him, for blacksmithing was his occupation. He married Miss Susan Hall, of Connecticut, and by her had nine children, of whom the first six were boys and the last three girls, as follows: Matthew, Henry, George, Thomas, William, Seth, Mary A., Margaret, and Rachel, the subject of this sketch being next to the first-born. The mother, Mrs. Susan Wiard, died; and after some years the father married again, his second wife being Miss Nancy Ganson. Two children were born to them -- Elizabeth and Nancy. Thomas Wiard was a prominent member of the commu- nity. He held a commission as Justice of the Peace, acted as Supervisor of the town for sev- eral years, and had a more than local reputa- tion for skill as a mechanic. Some of his sons inherited his ingenuity in that line; and one of them, Thomas, was the originator of the famous Wiard plough.

Henry Wiard was educated in the Avon dis- trict schools, and worked on the farm for his father, also doing some work in the black- smith-shop. He was identified with the man- ufacture of ploughs for about thirty years, but finally purchased a hundred-acre farm, and has since given exclusive attention to tilling the soil. His close devotion to his personal affairs and his objection to anything approach- ing unnecessary publicity have restrained him from assuming a foremost place in the govern- ment of the community; but his skill as a mechanic and his experience as a business man and as a farmer have made him too valuable a citizen to be allowed to entirely escape pub- lic office, and he has served for twelve years as Commissioner of Highways.

Mr. Wiard has been married twice, and by his first wife, Miss Caroline Palmer, daughter of David H. Palmer, of Avon, has two children - Fred H. and Julia D. Fred married Adele Spencer, and has three children - Fannie, Maud, and Robert Wiard. Julia married Lo- renzo Wilbur, and has one child, Harold Wil- bur. Mr. Wiard married for his second wife Miss Amanda Landon, daughter of Luther Landon, of Avon.

As we have before intimated, the subject of this biographical sketch has led a quiet life, being averse to notoriety, and finding his chief

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enjoyments in home labors and comforts. Hence he is not of the "hail-fellow-well- met " type : his friends are many, but he does not make friends in a day, and neither would he desert one in time of need.

Henry Wiard cast his first Presidential vote for Daniel Webster in 1836. He joined the Republican party when that party came into existence, and has always been consistent in the expression of his political principles.

OLOMON G. WOODRUFF was born in Livonia, March 8, 1827. His grandfather, Solomon Woodruff, was a native of Litchfield, Conn., and was the first settler in the town of Li- vonia, where he lived on what was known at that time as the "Big Tree Road, " about a mile from what is now called Livonia Centre. After buying some land and building a log house, he returned to Connecticut for his wife and child. He came with them as far as Bris- tol in an ox team, and there, leaving his wife and son, went on ahead to prepare a welcome for them in their new home. The pleasant anticipation of the father and husband were rudely broken as he neared the clearing in the forest where he had lately been busy, and found the little cabin in ashes, the Indians having set fire to it during his absence. With an undaunted courage, however, he went to work to rebuild the house, and before long the young couple took possession of their new abode. Their isolation may be realized when one considers that Albany was the nearest market for their grain. The nearest grist-mill was at Chapinville, Ontario County; and their closest neighbors were at Honeoye. The first son who was here born to the lonely pair was the first white child born in the town. The wife's maiden name was also Woodruff; and she reared six children, one of whom was Jeremiah.

The father of Solomon G. Woodruff, of whom this is a memoir, Jeremiah Woodruff, received such an education as the district schools of that time and section offered. He married Almira Dunks, a daughter of Joel Dunks, of Connecticut. Their ten children were Laura

A., Solomon G., Susan A., Frederick D., Charles E., Mary J., Elizabeth, Alton, Frances, and Sarah. Six of this family are still living.

Solomon G. Woodruff was educated in the district schools and at the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary of Lima. In his boyhood he went with his parents to Michigan, where his father tried several different localities, but found none that suited him for a permanent home. They returned to Livonia when young Solomon was a lad of fourteen years. When he grew old enough to take the responsibilities of life upon himself, he became a cattle drover and dealer. Later he went to New York City, and was there successfully engaged for ten years in selling cattle. After the expiration of this period he returned to Livonia, where he bought a farm and erected a residence in Li- vonia Centre. So successful has Mr. Wood- ruff been in his business that he owns three farms, including about eight hundred acres in New York State and one in Michigan. His banking enterprise has been a source of con- stant revenue for the past twenty-five years, and he has shown much financial acumen in the disposition of his affairs.

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Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Livingston and Wyoming counties, N.Y, Part 32

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

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