Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Livingston and Wyoming counties, N.Y, Part 40

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 40
USA > New York > Livingston County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Livingston and Wyoming counties, N.Y > Part 40

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).

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Her grandfather, Dr. Daniel Howard, of Ben- son, Rutland County, Vt., had a large fam- ily. We sailed from Boston, March 7, 1836, in the brig .Robert ' for Santa Marta; and there I went into partnership with the house in which I was employed in 1834. On March 26, 1837, Harriet E., our eldest daughter, was born. Signs of revolution, together with existing English blockade, led to our return to Boston in June, 1837.

"In November, 1838, we arrived in this town (Springwater), meeting uncles Edward With- ington and Parker H. Pierce (whose wife was Mr. Withington's sister Hannah), who with their families were settled on large farms in this valley, having come in from Massachu- setts a few years previous. In December I bought a farm of one hundred acres, and settled thereon in March, 1839. We had six children - Harriet E., Mary Elizabeth, Samuel W., Jonathan, Jacob, and Martha L., two of whom are now living. Harriet E. was married to A. B. Purdy, a highly respected flour merchant of New York City, September 2, 1867. They left soon after for their home in New York. He died in 1873, and was brought to this place for burial. Mary E. married Professor Ballard, of Poultney, Vt., July 21, 1861. She died May 9, 1864. Samuel W. died Febru- ary 27, 1868, aged twenty-five years. He had a graded-school education, was a church mem- ber, and always full of zeal for his own and others' good. Jonathan married an accom- plished young lady of excellent family, Sabra, daughter of Daniel Wilcox, of this town, De- cember 21, 1871. She died August 21, 1875, leaving a son, Albert W. Martha L. married Horace Knowles, of Canadice, December 7, 1875. Horace died June 20, 1879. Martha L. died July 31, 1881, leaving one daughter, Hattie Emma, who was born May 11, 1878. Jacob died May 27, 1865, aged sixteen years. My wife died October 26, 1891. She was a devoted Christian, a faithful witness for her Saviour for sixty-two years of her life."

Since 1870 Mr. Howe has been one of the Elders and Trustees of the Presbyterian church. Through his influence and that of other friends of temperance, for the last twenty years Springwater has been a no-license town.

On his partially improved farm Mr. Howe worked with the same vim that had charac- terized his previous labors, carrying on general farming until his retirement from active busi- ness in 1889. He placed his farm in a tillable and good yielding condition, rendering it one of the finest and best-equipped properties in the locality. It is now under the capable supervision of his son Jonathan, who possesses the same qualities of sterling manhood that characterized the elder son. The estimable Mrs. Purdy ably presides over the household affairs. The three families --- Howe, With- ington, and Nichols -above named may be said to have each belonged to a hardy, diligent, religious, intelligent, liberal-minded, and brave race. All were good citizens, mostly church members, and promoters of the best interests of society, the present representatives being no exception.

ORACE C. GILBERT, bank President of Lima, Livingston County, was born in Richmond, Ontario County, N. Y., July 6, 1838, a point of time which will be remembered by some of the older generation now living as just before the banks of the country resumed specie payment. Elias Gilbert, grandfather of our subject, was a native of Connecticut, but came to Rich- mond, N. Y., among the first settlers in 1799. He carried on a successful business there many years, being a farmer, tanner, and shoemaker, dying at the advanced age of ninety-six, prov- ing that the secret of a happy old age is in not allowing one's faculties to stagnate.

His son, Horace Gilbert, the first of the family to receive this classic name, was born at Richmond, Ontario County, in 1802. He bought a farm about a mile from the old homestead, upon which he did a great deal of hard work, as the land was uncleared. The lady whose hand he successfully sought in mar- riage, Ann Eliza Carpenter, daughter of Na- thaniel Carpenter, was a native of Herkimer County, New York, born in 1810. Mr. and Mrs. Horace Gilbert had a family of six chil- dren -- Mary, deceased; Nathaniel; Curtis, de- ceased; Horace C .; Elon, deceased; and

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Elizabeth. The family moved to Lima in 1857, and remained there until 1859, when they returned to the farm, where the father died in 1862. His daughter, Mary Gilbert, married Randolph Hopkins, and resided at Livonia Station. Her daughter, Ella Hop- kins, is the wife of Clarence Alvord, of Livonia, and has one son.

Gilbert Hopkins, Mrs. Randolph Hopkins's son, lives in Rochester. Nathaniel Gilbert married Francelia Amsden, of Geneseo, Ill. ; and they have three children - May, Mark, and Lora. Curtis Gilbert married Florinda Beach, and has three children living - Elon B., Horace S., and Laura. Elizabeth Gilbert married Gilbert W. Peck, and resides at Rich- mond with three children - Onnolee, Horace G., and George D. The mother, Mrs. Ann E. Carpenter Gilbert, aged eighty-four, is still living at the home of her daughter Elizabeth.

Horace C. was educated at Richmond and at Lima Seminary, after which he taught one term, and then returned to the home farm, which he bought of the other heirs after his father's death. He remained on the place, occupied with its management, until 1875. Selling the property, he then came to Lima, where he has since resided. He has always been prominent in town affairs, serving as vil- lage Trustee, Treasurer, and Supervisor, and has now been President of the bank for ten years. He married, in 1861, Annette Briggs, who died in 1863. His second wife was Franc E. Longyor, the daughter of Henry Longyor, of Richmond. Mr. Gilbert has always been a Republican, and he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church.

A" LBERT A. ALLEN, who is extensively . engaged in the lumber business at Mount Morris, is a wide-awake and enterprising representative of the industrial interests of this section of Living- ston County, of which he is a native, Geneseo being the place of his birth, which occurred January 22, 1855. His father, William P. Allen, a son of Daniel Allen, was born and reared to manhood in Saratoga County. In 1843 he removed to Livingston County, set-

tling in the town of Portage, where he lived for five years. Going thence to Geneseo, he embarked in the lumber business there, build- ing a saw-mill, where he did custom work for some thirteen years. He then formed a co- partnership with a Mr. Kindall; and, removing to Piffard, in the same county, they there erected a saw-mill, operating it for four years. Coming then to Mount Morris, Mr. Allen built the mill now owned by his son Albert, and, buying a share in the power, carried on a large and prosperous business until the time of his decease, in 1889, at the age of sixty-eight years. His wife was Harriet Jones, a daugh- ter of Reuben and Sarah A. (Taylor) Jones, of Cayuga County. Two children were born of their marriage - Oscar and Albert A. The former married Miss Ella Williams; and they are the parents of three children - Arthur, Burton, and Cora.

Albert A. Allen completed his education in the schools of Mount Morris, and subsequently entered the employment of his father, from whom he acquired a practical knowledge of the details of the lumber business, and from whom he inherited in a marked degree the business ability and tact that have been such potent fac- tors in placing him in his present prosperous financial condition. On the death of his father, Mr. Allen was made executor, and at the final settlement of the estate bought out the interest of the other heirs in the mill property, and has since carried it on with most excellent results. He is recognized as being among the most active, intelligent, and clear-headed business men of the town, and takes a deep interest in local affairs.

Politically, Mr. Allen is a man of decided opinions, and casts his vote for the man he deems best fitted for the office, irrespective of party. His first Presidential vote, cast in 1876, was for Samuel J. Tilden. Socially, he is a member of the Co-operative Insurance Company. The pleasant wedded life of Mr. Allen and Miss Ella S. Wisner, the daughter of Stephen and Hannah (Dalrymple) Wisner, began in 1878, and has been blessed by the birth of one daughter, Ada. Mrs. Allen is a conscientious member of and active worker in the Methodist church.

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ENRY P. GARDNER, Postmaster of Attica, Wyoming County, N. Y., was born in Middlebury, in the same county, August 15, 1851, and is of patriotic New England ancestry, his great- grandfather, Major Gardner, having been an officer in the Revolutionary War. He was a man of substance as well as a man of marked intelligence and great strength of character. About the year 1808 Major Gardner, who was a farmer in good circumstances in that day, removed from Massachusetts to Western New York, and became a sturdy pioneer in Attica. He was accompanied by his wife and their son Asher and family. Major Gardner died at the home of his grandson, Patrick R. Gardner, in 1840, having passed his ninetieth year.

Asher Gardner was born in Brimfield, Mass., in 1780. Having made the journey to Attica, transporting his effects by ox team, he settled in what was then a wilderness; and here his wife, whose maiden name was Patrick, gave birth to the very first white child born in this section, whom they named Patrick R. Although at first much care and watchfulness were necessary, as the woods abounded with wild animals, bears and wolves being particu- larly numerous and bold, Mr. Gardner suffer- ing the loss of a pig which Bruin carried away from its pen, in time he became a pros- perous farmer. Asher Gardner's brothers, of whom there were three, all settled in Attica, where they raised families and passed the re- mainder of their days. They were : Adolphus, a farmer; Roswell, one of the early Sheriffs of the county ; and Parley, also a farmer.

Patrick R. Gardner, who was born in Attica in 1811, married Janette E. Munger, daughter of Hiram and Elsie (Ballou) Munger, who came to this region from New England, and were among the early settlers. Mrs. Janette E. Gardner became the mother of eight chil- dren, of whom three sons and three daughters are still living, namely : Philinda, widow of Charles Kriegelstein, of Attica; Charles Gard- ner, of Warsaw, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work; George M. Gardner, now a mining superintendent of Great Falls, Mont. ; Ellen, wife of Eugene Hart, a farmer of Attica; Henry P., the subject of this

sketch ; and Mary, who married Ward Griffith, of Middlebury. Two daughters died while young. The father, Patrick R. Gardner, died June 15, 1870. He was a Justice of the Peace for many years, and a Republican in politics, who never sought for political honors, although they were often placed before him. He and his wife were members of the Baptist church, and were sturdy Christian people. She died in June, 1894, in her seventy-fifth year. Their graves are in Brainard Cemetery, in the east part of Attica.

Henry P. Gardner received but a limited education, owing to the meagre school facili- ties in the neighborhood of the place of his birth. He commenced to assist his father in farm work at a very early age; and at his father's death, he being then but seventeen years of age, he assumed full charge of the one hundred and forty acres which comprised the farm. At the age of twenty-one he mar- ried Miss Cora Perry, of the town of Bethany, Genesee County, the ceremony taking place on December 4, 1872. Mrs. Gardner's parents were A. G. and Alice ( Wait) Perry, her father being a very prominent citizen of that county, who died in 1893, at the age of eighty-one years, leaving a widow and three children. Her brothers, George and Milford Perry, are millers in the hamlet of Linden.

Mr. Gardner at twenty-three years of age relinquished farm labor and came to Attica village, where he served as Deputy Sheriff for six years. He then entered the railway postal service, running from Syracuse to New York City, and later from Cleveland, Ohio, to Syra- cuse, continuing in this branch of service for ten years. He was appointed Postmaster of Attica, April 11, 1891, and is now serving his fourth year. Attica being a junction, and the distributing point of a large amount of mail, the office here is one requiring a good deal of business ability ; and Mr. Gardner has met its demands in every particular, having become an expert through long experience, proving to be the right man in the right place. Personally, he is exceedingly popular with all classes. He is a Master Mason, and a Past Grand of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows. Both himself and wife attend the

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Presbyterian church, Mrs. Gardner being an intellectual and cultivated lady, and high- ly esteemed. They reside in a very com- fortable home on Main Street, having no children.

6 ATHANIEL HI. FOWLER, a retired farmer and much respected citizen of Livonia, is a native of that place, his birth occurring April 23, 1814. ITis father, Stephen Fowler, came from Massa- chusetts to Livonia, which at that time was known as Pittstown, in 1800, riding all the way on horseback. He bought one hundred and forty acres of land, which he cleared, and upon which he built a log house. Even to the latter part of his life this remained an isolated section, the nearest market at that date being Rochester. He married Miss Altie Harmon, a daughter of Nathaniel Harmon; and eight children were born of their union; namely, William F., Rhoda, Altie H., Sally H., Meigs C., Nathaniel H., Julia A., and Stephen B. The last named resides in Lima, and is the only other surviving member of the family.

Nathaniel II. Fowler, of whom this sketch is written, received a preliminary education in the district schools, after which he was a stu- dent at Middlebury, Wyoming County, and at the Lima Academy. He devoted himself to agricultural pursuits, and has been a farmer all of his life, passing seventy three years on the old homestead. In 1887 he sold the farm upon which so many years of his life had been spent, and moved into the village, where he now resides, retired from the active duties of life. His marriage to Mrs. Clarissa ( Paddock) Dix- son, daughter of Jacob and Clarissa (Priest) Paddock, of Frankfort, Herkimer County, was solemnized May 6, 1847.

Mr. Fowler has always been an advocate of temperance and sobriety, and throws his entire influence in support of the Prohibition party. He cast his first Presidential vote for the Whig candidate in 1836. Both he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church of Livonia Centre, and are among the most honored resi- dents of their locality.

ARED ) DANIEL TURREL, a late well-known resident of Attica, N. Y., was born in the town of Mendon, Mon- roe County, July 18, 1810. His father served as a soldier in the War of 1812 under General Winfield Scott, but died of fever con- tracted during the service, leaving a wife with a large family to care for, Jared then being but two years old. The boy was thus born to ad- versity, and early became inured to the hard- ships of life. He was placed under the care of an uncle in childhood, and remained under his roof till the age of fourteen, working most of the time, and getting but few school advan- tages. In his fourteenth year he was taken as clerk in a store at Castile, in the northern part of the same county, Wyoming, and also served at Perry in the same capacity, getting his meagre board and the miserly remuneration of one dollar and fifty cents a month. But dur- ing the five years of this kind of discipline he was able to attend school in connection with his duties, and used every opportunity to ac- quire book knowledge which came in his way.

When he was twenty-four years of age, he married Miss Jane Schuyler, who was a daugh- ter of John B. and Eliza (Turner) Schuyler, and was born and grew up in Baltimore, Md. Her grandfather was the Rev. Thomas Turner, a Baptist preacher, formerly of England. Mrs. Turrel's father, who was a farmer, was a na- tive of Burlington, N. J., and a relative of General Schuyler. He and his wife brought up a family of ten children, five sons and five daughters, briefly mentioned below : Josephus Schuyler, a farmer in Castile, and in Seneca County, Ohio, died in California at the age of eighty-two. Marcus, now nearly eighty-five, resides in Mercer County, Ohio, and is still active in the practice of his profession of sur- veying. Mary R., widow of William Hoyt, of Cayuga County, New York, resides in Iowa, and is still active, at the age of eighty-two. Jane S. is the widow of Jared D. Turrel, of this sketch. Eliza, wife of David Searles, re- sides at Monmouth, Ill., and is now seventy- seven years of age. Sarah A., wife of Abel Vannetta, resides near Tiffin, Ohio. Susan is the widow of the Rev. Manna Thompson. John Fletcher Schuyler died in his forty-fifth

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year. Dr. Aaron Schuyler, Professor of Math- ematics, and a long successful teacher, is now President of the university at Salina, Kan. Dr. P. L. Schuyler is the tenth child. It will be seen that Mrs. Turrel belongs to a long- lived race.

The parents of Mrs. Turrel moved to Seneca County, Ohio; and Mrs. Turrel went with them while her newly married husband went on to New York to purchase merchandise for the store they soon after opened, and over which they had their residence. At the end of a year, however, they came back to Perry in New York State. This was in 1835. Mr. Turrel then engaged in a commercial enter- prise with Judge Smith, in which he continued for twenty-six years. During this period he became identified with the State militia, and was made a Major. His health was, however, affected by the close application his work in- volved; and, being obliged to make a change, he accepted the position of conductor on the Western Division of the New York Central Railroad, and after four years he succeeded to the superintendency of the Attica Branch, which position he held for thirty-seven years. His whole service on the road covered a period of forty-two years. Mr. and Mrs. Turrel had four children. A son, Rufus J., died in in- fancy. Jared Henry, who at the early age of nineteen years began his career as second con- ductor on the Buffalo Branch of the Erie Rail- road, died in Hannibal, Mo., in 1879, at forty- two years of age, leaving three children. John L., the second child, is a lawyer by profes- sion, and also an artist and engraver, highly esteemed for his attainments in superior work. He studied at the Michigan University, is a man of culture, and an able lawyer. He has been living in Chicago for the past seven years. He has a wife and daughter and son. Eliza J. Turrel is the wife of Frederick Wil- kie, a farmer near Attica. They have three sons, one of whom is a lawyer in Buffalo, and one daughter.

Jared D. Turrel, the chief character of this sketch, belonged to a long-lived family. His age at the time of his death, July 28, 1894, was eighty-four years. His mother lived to be over one hundred years old, his maternal

grandfather to one hundred and one, and his great-grandfather to the age of one hundred and four years.

Mr. Turrel's duties brought him in daily contact with people living in that section of the country, and his kind and courteous bear- ing toward all made him numerous friends. He was a charter member of the Masonic Order, a man popular among his neighbors and townsmen, a friend with ready sympathy to those who were in need of a helping hand or words of encouragement. Such a personality is not soon forgotten in any community.

Mr. Turrel was a Democrat in his political preferences, and served for seven successive years as Supervisor of the town. No youth need despair at the limitations of life with the example of Mr. Turrel to imitate, who, mak- ing the most of his few advantages, was able to spend a useful and respected life in the community, and to set forward a large family of children in careers of advantage and honor. Mr. Turrel followed the creed of the "Sermon on the Mount," believing in the revelation of Jesus Christ, and trusting in the love and ac- ceptance of the heavenly Father, so finishing his long career in the confidence of a simple, child-like hope. Mrs. Turrel continues to occupy the pleasant residence on Main Street, the home where they spent about thirty-seven of their sixty years of married life, solaced by pleasant memories and the attentions of children and grandchildren.

ENRY H. LORD, who by energetic industry, shrewd foresight, and saga- cious wisdom in the management of his financial affairs, has gained a competence, and is now spending the sunset of his life in retirement and pleasure in his beau- tiful home in Geneseo, is well known through- out this section of Livingston County as a successful business man and a valued citizen.

Mr. Lord is of New England birth and breeding, and first opened his eyes to the light April 30, 1820, in the town of Bloom- field, Conn. His father, James L. Lord, was also born in Connecticut, his native town being Torringford. The grandfather, Elisha

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Lord, was a life-long resident of the same State. James L. Lord was a blacksmith by trade, and followed that occupation in the place of his nativity until his death, which occurred at the early age of thirty-five years. He married Rhoda Loomis, a native of Wind- sor, Conn. She spent her declining years in this county, dying at the advanced age of eighty-four years. She reared seven children ; namely, Julia, Fanny, Eliza, Haynes, Henry II., Susan, and Erasmus.

Henry H. Lord, to whom we refer in this brief personal history, was educated in New England, attending first the district school and then the village academy of his native town. He was but seven years old when he was left fatherless; and as soon as he was able he began to assist his mother, working by the day until of age. He early learned the trade of blacksmithing, and, thinking to find better wages for his work in a newer country, came to this State, and followed his trade for two years in Canandaigua. Returning to Connect- icut, Mr. Lord remained with his mother and friends a year, and then resumed blacksmith- ing in Canandaigua. Two years later he set- tled in Cuylerville, Livingston County, and, opening a blacksmith-shop, carried on a large and profitable business, to which he subse .. quently added that of a carriage and wagon maker, continuing it for nearly fifteen years. Then, selling his shop and business, Mr. Lord rented a hotel property in Cuylerville, and for a year kept a public house. He then engaged in a commission business, buying and shipping fruit to New York City, gradually enlarging and extending his operations until he had one of the largest and most lucrative trades of the county. Since retiring from active life, he has made his home in Geneseo, where he is the owner of a fine residence, and is numbered among the influential and esteemed citizens of the village.

In 1845 Mr. Lord was united in marriage with Miss Fanny Buell, a native of Manches- ter, Conn., and a daughter of Frederick Buell. Of this union there were two children, one of whom, a son, died in infancy. A daughter, Augusta S., is the wife of William Coverdale, who was formerly engaged in agricultural pur-

suits in Geneseo, and also carried on a lucra- tive meat business in the village. In 1887 the pleasant household circle was broken, the devoted and faithful wife passing to the better land, at the age of threescore years. This severe affliction was a great blow to Mr. Lord, and is ever remembered by him with grief.

AMES G. MORRIS, a well-known mer- chant of the town of Springwater, is a native of this town, where his birth took place on the 9th of February, 1831. His grandfather, Samuel Morris, moved from Rochester, N. Y., to Cazenovia, Madison County, where he carried on a farm during the remainder of his life. He and his wife Sally were blessed with a large family, Lyman, the father of James G., being the fourth in order of birth.

Lyman Morris was born in Cazenovia, and grew up on his father's farm, attending the district school, and growing up with a knowl- edge of agricultural matters of all kinds. He also learned something of the machinist's trade, and worked at this in connection with farm work. In 1833 he commenced business for himself in Springwater, and took some farm lands there, which he cleared, making a home, and therein establishing his family. There he passed the remainder of his days, departing this life at the age of sixty-three years. It is interesting to notice how the greater enterprises of the present time owe their beginnings to smaller ones incepted by early residents of a town. They endured the first hardships connected with the settling of a community, and to them is due the honor which belongs to the foundation builder. Lyman Morris was one of these, and his name will ever bring with it a tribute of respect. His wife, mother of James G., was before marriage Miss Anna Millett. She was a daughter of Samuel Millett, an early settler of Wayne County. The children in the pa- rental home were ten in number, of whom the following-named are still living : Charles A. ; James G. ; Harriet A., Mrs. John Warner; Emma N. ; Benjamin F. ; and John J. The

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Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Livingston and Wyoming counties, N.Y, Part 40

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

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