Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Livingston and Wyoming counties, N.Y, Part 35

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 35
USA > New York > Livingston County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Livingston and Wyoming counties, N.Y > Part 35

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covered. It appears that the attending physi- cian manifested more discernment in the selec- tion than courtesy in the treatment of coun- sel. It is fair to infer that he did not report his protest against the treatment which he adopted, as the mother was lavish in praising the skill of the family physician who saved her darling when "old Dr. Palmer said it must die.

In 1859, at Pike, N. Y., where he had then resided four years, Dr. Palmer was married to Hannah Orrilla Wilson. There were two children of this union. A daughter died in infancy; and the son, George Freeman Palmer, M. D., who was already winning his way in his profession, died December 21, 1893, young, promising, and lamented, at the age of twenty- nine, in California, where he had gone for his health. In 1891 Dr. Palmer removed from Pike to Warsaw, N. Y., where he has since made his home. He is a communicant of the Presbyterian church and a member of the Masonic fraternity. He has been Health Officer of Warsaw, and for several years a pen- sion examiner. He was one of the organizers of the Wyoming County Medical Association, of which he is a leading member, an original member of the Medical Association of the State of New York, and an active member of the Central New York Medical Society. He is now a member of the Board of Curators of the Buffalo Medical College.

Dr. Palmer is a respected citizen, open- handed to the needy, interested in whatever concerns the public welfare, without affecta- tion of skill or learning, modest and tolerant of the opinions of others, though firm and sturdy in his own. Patients are apt to confide in such a man while ill, and to respect him afterward. He has not always measured his obligation to others by the strictness of legal rules. Sometimes he has served those near to him by assuming burdens that were not his own. Without giving particulars that might seem indelicate in a public statement, it can- not be amiss to say that he has sometimes gone further with generous help than the recipient asked. As a young man, he voluntarily turned aside from his chosen pursuit and engaged in affairs for a time, that he might lift the bur-

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dens another could not bear alone. When he had earned and used the money for a need which he thought greater than his own - the deed seems to have the flavor of the cup handed by the English knight at Zutphen --- he again bravely pursued the path from which filial duty had turned him. The first money he ever earned was fifty five-franc pieces paid him by Staley N. Clark, then at the head of the Holland Land Company's office at Ellicottsville, N. Y. ; and he gave it to his mother. In the same spirit fifty years later the son used his money freely for that widowed mother, and tenderly smoothed her declining years.

A lamented physician of Buffalo, whose early death prematurely ended a useful career, once said to the writer, when he offered pay- ment after consultation : "Put up your money. It's a luxury occasionally to be able to feel that one has done some good without being paid for it." In the order of modern chivalry, when his shoulder has been touched, the true knight feels the obligation to use the talent given him, as occasion offers, for the relief of disease and suffering and sin, even were there no prospect that it would put money in his purse. The medical practitioner has his share of golden opportunity to minister to the needs of the poor. The volume of unrewarded ser- vice rendered by the subject of this sketch, by contrast, would shame the bounty of some reputed charitable givers. In a world of self- ishness and greed, there is little fear of an overgrowth of such sentiment. Such a life sheds blessing in any community. Its re- moval would be a public loss. His ripened power and his sterling character make George Miles Palmer a useful member of society. It is to be hoped that his active service may round out many additional years of a worthy career.

YLVANUS RICE, one of the exten- sive land owners of the town of York, a highly intelligent, practical farmer, was born in the town of Wallingford, Conn., February 10, 1818. The farm in Connecticut on which his father was

born was in the possession of the family from 1670 until 1868, a period of nearly two hun- dred years.

Mr. Rice's great-great-grandfather was Ne- hemiah Royce, born May 18, 1682, whose wife was Keziah Hall; and his great-great-great- grandfather was Nehemiah Royce, Sr., who was twice married. They were descended from early colonists, who had emigrated from England to Massachusetts, and who removed in 1636 to Connecticut, which was then chiefly tenanted by Indians and wild game. A com- pany of about sixty persons, men, women, and children, made the tedious journey of full four- teen days, over roads which were little else than the narrow Indian trail, sometimes through streams and swamps, over abrupt hills, and chiefly through a continual forest. And, when they arrived, there were terrible hard- ships to be endured from want of the comforts of life. Some became discouraged, and found their way back from the mouth of the river by boat. Those who remained subsisted on acorns, nuts, and game, but were on the borders of starvation through the entire winter. The next June another company came out to join them, about a hundred persons, with more than a hundred head of cattle. So the little colony was soon in a state of prosperity. Cap- tain James Rice, son of the second Nehemiah, was born June 30, 1711, married Miriam Mun- son, and died January 20, 1796. He held a commission from the crown in the French and Indian War, and was in the expedition to Can- ada. His son, James Rice, born December 18, 1748, married Mary Tyler, and died Feb- ruary 7, 1827. His wife died August 6. 1834. Their son James, born August 5, 1785, married Olive Francis, who was born July 7, 1796.

By the time James Rice, the third of the name, had taken his place in the line of de- scendants, traces of those old times had nearly all passed away. As he afterward used to re- late, sometimes when he was a boy Indians used to come along in the fall and stop at his father's cider-mill. Mr. James Rice made his first trip to Western New York in the winter of 1815, coming on horseback to the home of Judge Atwater in Canandaigua, the Judge's

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wife being his cousin. From that place he drove a team for Mr. Andrews, who was mov- ing with his family to Rochester. There were at that time but three frame houses on the east side of the river. Mr. Rice went back to Connecticut ; and in the summer of 1818, in company with Ally Smith, of Berlin, Conn., he made a visit to this place, the part of York that was then Leicester. In the following winter he engaged a man who was coming this way with a team to bring him and his family and their goods from Wallingford. When they arrived at the Hudson River, the weather being mild, the water had begun to run over the ice. They crossed, however, in safety, the father walking on the ice, bringing the infant son in his arms. The next day the ice broke up.

On February 5, 1819, they arrived at their new home in York, a log house on a farm of twenty-five acres. Mr. Rice being both a farmer and a carpenter, he soon improved his land, and erected other and more convenient buildings. Still for a long time everything was in a primitive state; and, when he had a load of wheat to take to Rochester for sale, it had to be drawn with an ox team. But pa- tience and perseverance brought a reward ; and he added more and more to his land till he owned at the time of his death one hundred and fifty acres, most of which was cleared and in good condition. Mr. James Rice died, No- vember 9, 1875, at the age of ninety years, his widow, Mrs. Olive Francis Rice, surviving him two years and six months, dying May 9, 1878, when nearly eighty-two years old. They brought up five children, as follows : Sylvanus ; Francis; Mary, deceased; Sylvester, who lives in the State of lowa; William, who died at the age of twenty.

Sylvanus Rice was educated at the district schools of York and at the Wyoming Academy. After finishing his studies, he was considered competent to take the position of teacher; and he established his reputation in that profession by filling with acceptance the preceptor's desk three several terms in York and in Pavilion. After working for his father by the month for a time, Mr. Rice began farm life for himself, purchasing in 1844 twenty-five acres of land

on the site of his present home. Since then he has added to his possessions, and at present is the owner of two hundred and fifty acres of land. Mr. Rice bought the homestead estate, his father deeding the land, and he giving notes for it, till he was able to pay for the whole; and he has since lived on the old farm. Set- ting fire to stumps and brush heaps, picking up roots, ploughing, threshing, raising cattle, feeding, fattening, and milking them, in a "small farmer way," as he terms it, thus the busy years have passed, bringing Mr. Rice, it is to be trusted, "both health and cash." He is certainly one who has found the right place, and has taken life's labors cheerly.

Mr. Sylvanus Rice was married in 1845 to Miss Jennette Smith, who was born on Sep- tember 15, 1819. They have brought up four children - Belle, James Franklin, Hattie L., and Willie S. Belle has married Mr. George E. Clapp, and they reside at the homestead. James Franklin Rice, born March 4, 1843, married Louise Ressler, and now lives in Iowa. Their children are Olive, Jennett, and Carl. Hattie married Calvin E. Bryant. Their home is in Buffalo; and they have one child named Clarence Bryant. Mr. and Mrs. Rice have been faithful members of the Bap- tist church for fifty-seven years. Mr. Rice has been a Republican since the formation of that political party. His first Presidential vote was cast for William Henry Harrison in 1840.

A F. SKINNER, a retired merchant of Arcade, Wyoming County, N. Y., was born in Farmersville, Cattaraugus County, April 13, 1836. His father, Erastus Skinner, was born February 14, 1797, in the town of Hamilton in Madison County. At twenty-one years of age he moved to Farmersville, when there were but four houses in the settlement, and the smoke from the wigwams on the forest borders proclaimed the dangerous proximity of their aboriginal neighbors. Clearing a tract of land here, he built a log cabin and began housekeeping in a very simple fashion. His wife, who was Miss Eunice Willey before her marriage, and a

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native of the same county in which her hus- band was born, bore him six sons and two daughters - Sarepta, Saxton, Monroe, Nelson, Caroline, Adonijah F., Daniel Webster, and Madison Hamilton. Of these the subject of this memoir, one younger brother, and two daughters are the only survivors. Five of the six brothers served in the ranks of the federal army. One was killed in battle; and one met a more terrible fate in Salisbury Prison, where he was starved to death. Mrs. Skinner spent the last years of her life in Cortland, Cortland County, where she died at the home of one of her daughters in 1875. The date of her birth was the 2d of January, ISO1. Mr. Skinner was a Deacon of the Baptist church for a number of years.

Adonijah F. Skinner, whose name is the initial word of this biography, was a child of five years when his father moved to the farm in Arcade; and in this village he re- ceived such education as the public school afforded. At eighteen he set to work to learn the tinsmith craft, and was an apprentice for three years under John Dillingham, a hardware merchant in the village. After acquiring a thorough knowledge of his trade, he went westward to Missouri, where he followed it until 1861. Answering the call for recruits, he enlisted in that year in Company E, under Captain Frederick Steel, 2d, United States Infantry, as a private. He served three years, during which time he was promoted to be First Sergeant, and was honorably discharged at Brandy Station, Va., in 1864. The latter part of his military service was with the Army of the Potomac, and he was a participant in many of the principal engagements. Being left in the field of battle for dead at Chancel- lorsville, he was taken prisoner and held for ten days before he was paroled. Mr. Skinner received two other wounds during the war, be- sides the more serious one already mentioned. Returning to Arcade after the stars and stripes of the Union floated once more in undisputed sway from the national capitol, Mr. Skinner embarked in the hardware business, in which he continued for twenty-five years, and then sold out to Mr. C. J. White, who now con- ducts the hardware store at the old stand.

In 1864, on the 25th of May, Mr. A. F. Skinner was married to Miss Eunice L. Sprig, a daughter of Leverett Sprig, a lawyer in full practice in Arcade until his death. Mrs. Skinner's mother, whose maiden name was Lucy Upham, is still living. She is seventy- five years of age, and makes her home with her daughter. Mr. Skinner is a zealous Republi- can, and is a man of strong political influence in his county. He has been Postmaster for five years and a half, and has held the offices of Collector and Village Trustee for a number of years. He belongs to the Masonic Order, in which he has held the office of Master of his lodge, and has been Commander of the local Grand Army Post, both of which places of trust he has filled with honorable distinc- tion. Mr. Skinner is in the communion of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is Trustee and Steward.

R. EDWARD CORNELIUS PERRY, of No. 12 Park Street, Avon, N. Y., became a resident of this historic place early in the sum- mer of 1892, and, here continuing the practice of medicine and surgery, rapidly acquired an extensive reputation of skill in his professional work, and soon made a wide circle of friends and acquaintances. The same year he was appointed Surgeon of the Erie Railroad, and, as Health Officer of the village and member of the Fire Board, became interested in matters relating to the public welfare.

He was born in Bridgeport, Conn., Septem- ber 6, 1865. Some years later his father, Rev. T. C. Perry, removed with the family to Montreal, Canada; and it was in the best pri- vate schools of these two cities that Edward received his preparatory education. Return- ing to the United States, he entered Cazenovia Seminary at Cazenovia, N. Y., and was grad- uated in the four years' classical course of that institution. Subsequently, after a four years' medical course, he received his diploma from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City, spending some time afterward in the Roosevelt, New York, and Sloane Ma- ternity Hospitals, and the Vanderbilt Clinic.

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He began the practice of his profession in Nelson, N. Y., and continued it in Cazenovia, N. Y., before removing to Avon.

One can almost believe that Dr. Perry was predestined to be either a physician or clergy- man, for the study of his ancestry reveals the fact that on both his mother's and his father's side of the house these two learned profes- sions are very largely represented. His father, Rev. Talmon Cornelius Perry, is a graduate of the Princeton Theological School, and also of Yale University. He is known as a ripe Latin and Hebrew scholar, and was offered the professorship of Latin and Greek at Yale soon after his graduation. He is a min- ister of the Presbyterian church, of the West- chester Presbytery ; and after a twelve years' pastorate at Windsor, Me., he was variously stationed in Connecticut and New York. Having been twenty-five years in ministerial service, he entered into educational work, being at one time principal of Biddle Insti- tute, at Charlotte, N.C., and later at St. An- drew's Academy in Canada. He now is the United States representative of the Canadian French Evangelical Board. He married Sara Conger Clark, daughter of William and Mary Bogart Clark, of New York City.

This brings us to the Doctor's ancestral tree, which is strikingly eminent. The Perry branch leads back to Commodore Perry, of early American history, and embraces the name of Judge John Perry, of Southport. The Doctor's grandmother on his father's side was Sarah Cornelius Perry, daughter of Dr. Elias Cornelius, of wealthy English descent, who served as surgeon in the Revolutionary War. His son, the Rev. Elias Cornelius, Jr., D. D., was a renowned New England divine, and a member of the celebrated order of the Cincin- nati, to which Washington belonged. His sister, Betsy Cornelius, married Judge Thomp- kins, of Washington, D.C. The Doctor's father possesses a sword given by General Lafayette to his grandfather as a token of his services. The Cornelius branch, through the English peerage, dates back to very remote periods into Roman history. The Doctor's mother is of Knickerbocker stock, the daughter of Mary Bogart Clark, whose father was Abra-

hamus Bogardus. It is through the Bogardus line, and especially Everadus Bogardus, that the family traces its origin through the first settlers of the old Trinity Church farm (in New York City) to Anne Ke Jans, and through her to King William IV. of Holland. With this branch is connected the celebrated Dr. Freeman and Dr. Conger.

The Clark branch of this ancestral tree is of English origin, represented by William Clark, the Doctor's grandfather. He was the son of Samuel Clark, who came from England. This branch includes many illustrious names : Lord Entwizzle; Judge Nelson; Judge Van Harring (and through him is connected N. Hawthorne) ; Dr. Mower, for forty years United States Army Surgeon, and many others familiar to searchers of biography.

The Bogardus records are contained in a finely embossed leather volume in possession of the descendants of Daniel Bogardus, and scattered through the records of the Collegiate Dutch Reformed churches of New York City. Many valuable heirlooms of antiquity are still preserved in the Doctor's family.

The Rev. T. C. and Mrs. Perry have had seven children born to them - Sarah Corne- lius, Mary Clark, Elizabeth Bogart, Emmeline, Charlotte Mandeville, Christine, and William Clark - besides the subject of this sketch. Elizabeth married Dr. Samuel Strock, of Lake Placid, N. Y. ; and Emmeline married the Rev. A. C. Frissell, Secretary American Tract So- ciety of New York City, whose son is now President of Fifth Avenue Bank. Dr. Perry married Miss Eva Adelle Gaige, daughter of George E. Gaige, of Nelson, N. Y. Mr. Gaige was a veteran of the late Rebellion, and met his wife, a Miss Jane E. DeMain, at Alexan- dria, Va., which is the birthplace of Mrs. Perry. Mr. Gaige has devoted his time to legal matters, is prominent in the political affairs of Madison County, and has spent sev- eral years in the Senate and Assembly at Al- bany as Clerk of the General Committee.

Both the Doctor and his wife are active members of the Presbyterian church ; and he is also connected with various scientific, fraternal, and civic organizations, being a member of the Livingston County Medical Society, the Liv-

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ingston County Historical Society, A. F. & A. M. (Avon Lodge, No. 570), the Loyal Templars of Temperance, the Independent Order of Red Men, the Knights of the Mac- cabees, and the Avon Hook and Ladder Com- pany. Reared amid the refinements of a wealthy and cultivated home, the Doctor natu- rally is of a genial disposition, and possesses those qualities so necessary to a good physi- cian.

Although Dr. Perry's residence at Avon has so far extended over a period of but three years, he has been here long enough to show his interest in the welfare of the community ; and, as "like attracts like," the community shows a decided interest in him. Whether acting in a public or private professional capac- ity, Dr. Perry avoids all unnecessary formali- ties, is simple and direct in his methods, and cares more for the attainment of satisfactory results than for the following of certain speci- fied means, one consequence of which is that he is esteemed as a physician and surgeon, as well as popular as a citizen.

TAFFORD WADE, a well-known and influential merchant of the town of Arcade, Wyoming County, N. Y., was born in Stafford, Genesee County, N. Y., November 20, 1820, and re- ceived his name from being the first child born there after its settlement. His father, Jona- than Wade, was a native of New Jersey, and was the son of Jacob Wade, who came to Gen- esee County among the early settlers, and later removed to Cattaraugus County, where he spent the remainder of his life. Jonathan Wade was brought up a farmer, but also learned the trade of tinsmith, which occupa- tion he carried on for many years. He stocked a wagon with tinware of his own manufacture, and travelled through the country, disposing of the products of his industry to the busy house- wives in the remote settlements. Only those who live in such localities can realize the good wife's interest in the tinman's cart and the advantage of having needed supplies brought to the door. These supplies often included other "notions, " with a budget of welcome

news from the outside world. Jonathan Wade travelled not only throughout the length and breadth of New York State, but into Canada as well. His last years were spent in Arcade, in which place he died, at the age of eighty- six. His wife before marriage was Miss Annie Child. Their children were seven in number, three of whom are still living; namely, Jonathan, Oliver, and Stafford. The mother resided in Stafford in her later years.

Stafford Wade remained in the town of his nativity till he was six years old, when he came to Arcade, and, when old enough, ac- quired a knowledge of farming, which he made his occupation in part, but united with it the buying and selling of produce of various kinds. He purchased a farm of two hundred and twenty-six acres, which he now has under suc- cessful cultivation, and which yields a profit- able return for his labors. The mercantile business which he has built up is quite exten- sive, including a heavy line of marketable goods - baled hay, straw, potatoes, etc. He is also agent for Dederick & Co.'s celebrated hay-presses.

In 1845 Mr. Wade was married to Miss Ziba E. Willson; and this union has been blessed by one son, Earle C., who was born in East Arcade, March 31, 1855, and was edu- cated in Arcade Seminary. This son married Miss Carrie O'Neil, daughter of Thomas O'Neil, of Arcade, the O'Neil family having been residents of the town for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Earle C. Wade have two chil- dren -- Pearl and Earle, Jr. Since the mar- riage of his son, Earle C., Mr. Wade has relinquished some of the more active work of the business, and is beginning to rest on the results of past years of toil, his son managing the business in his stead. Mr. Wade is a Democrat in his political leanings, and has been Highway Commissioner the past ten years. He represented the town as Railroad Commissioner on the Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad, and bonded the town for fifty thousand dollars.

Mr. Wade was formerly an Odd Fellow, and belonged to the first lodge in Yorkshire, Cat- taraugus County, which lodge is not now in existence. Both Mr. and Mrs. Wade are

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members of the Baptist church, and take an active interest in its prosperity. Stafford Wade stands high in the town in all commer- cial and social matters. A successful mer- chant and a good neighbor and citizen, he has many warm friends.

ATHAN S. BEARDSLEE, a civil engineer of wide experience and signal ability, well known also as an enter- prising business man of Warsaw, N. Y., was born in New Berlin, Chenango County, October 18, 1848. The first Ameri- can ancestor of this family settled in Stratford, Conn., in 1639. The grandfather of Mr. Nathan S. Beardslee, Jabez Beardslee, was born in Connecticut in 1770, and settled in the town of Pittsfield in Otsego County, just across the river from New Berlin. He and his wife, whose maiden name was Eunice Somers, came to Otsego County in 1797 by team, with their two young children and vari- ous houshold effects. Having means, they were enabled to purchase several hundred acres of land at once. Besides investing largely in lands, Jabez Beardslee was a prom- inent projector of the cotton, woollen, and grist mills of that section. His children, nine sons and one daughter, all grew up and became heads of families, so there are a num- ber of descendants of the name now living. Mrs. Beardslee died in the prime of life. Her husband survived her many years, and was eighty-four years old when he died. Their remains are buried in the New Berlin ceme- tery, surrounded by the graves of most of their children, who have gone to their " long home. "

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Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Livingston and Wyoming counties, N.Y, Part 35

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

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