Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Livingston and Wyoming counties, N.Y, Part 60

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 60
USA > New York > Livingston County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Livingston and Wyoming counties, N.Y > Part 60

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Charles B. McNair, the subject of this per- sonal narrative, received a substantial educa- tion in the district school; and this was advanced by attendance at Canandaigua Acad- emy. He remained an inmate of the parental family until 1850, and then went to Fond du Lac, Wis., going via the Lakes, which was then the most convenient and expeditious route. After remaining there one season,

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Mr. McNair returned to the home of his youth, and finally settled on the farm which he now owns and occupies, and which he has since managed with profitable results.

On the 19th of October, 1853, he was united in marriage with Miss Henrietta P. McNair, a native of Groveland, Livingston County, and a daughter of William and Sarah (Pierpont) McNair; and their union was blessed by the birth of the following children : Marion became the wife of the Rev. F. P. Gil- man, and accompanying him as a missionary to Hainan, South China, was the first white woman to visit the interior of that country ; Flora A. is the wife of Professor J. A. Rock- fellow, of Cedar Rapids, la .; Henrietta P. is the wife of the Rev. F. E. Bancroft, pastor of the First and Second Presbyterian Churches of Sparta; Sarah L. is at home; Jean A. is the wife of Professor C. W. Taylor, of Northamp- ton, Mass .; Caroline W. is at home; Charles H. died in September, 1893, aged twenty- three years; William W. died in 1863, at the age of four years.

The father of Mrs. McNair was born in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, and was the son of Hugh McNair and the grandson of one William McNair. He was but six years old when he came with his parents to this county, and having been reared to farming pursuits was engaged as a tiller of the soil through life. He purchased land from his father, and buying other land as his means permitted became the possessor of about three hundred acres of choice land, the improve- ments being the best in the locality. He married Sarah Pierpont, a native of Litchfield County, Connecticut. She is of distinguished English ancestry and a lineal descendant of John Pierpont, who emigrated from England to America in 1640, and settled in Roxbury, Mass. The next in line of descent was the Rev. James Pierpont, a Congregational min- ister of Roxbury, and later of New Haven, Conn., where his last years were passed. He was one of the founders of Yale College. His son James was a life-long resident of Con- necticut ; and his son, William Pierpont, the maternal grandfather of Mrs. McNair, was a prominent woollen manufacturer of Plymouth,

Conn., where he resided until his decease. The maiden name of his wife was Huldah Ensign. She was a native of Connecticut and a life-long resident of that State. Their daughter, Sarah (Pierpont) McNair, now an aged woman, resides on the homestead, where she is tenderly cared for by her two daughters, and is surrounded by all that makes life desirable and pleasant.

T HOMAS BRODIE, of Caledonia, was born in Henley-on-Thames, February 16, 1827, son of William Brodie, who was born in Perthshire, Scotland, September II, 1790. Leaving his native heathery moors at the age of twenty-one, William Brodie, who was a skilled botanist, and had taken up the profession of scientific gardening, went to the quaint old town, Henley-on-Thames, so picturesquely described in the article entitled, "In the Footsteps of Dickens," in the Cos- mopolitan for May, 1893. Here at Fawley Court he began his favorite employment, being put in charge of the landscape garden- ing of a gentleman of rank, who had an impos- ing mansion and extensive domain lying along the banks of the Thames. With a large force of men, some seventy in number, and all necessary means for carrying on his work, the beautiful grounds, with their patches of wood- land and sea-gravelled carriage drives, sloping down to the river's edge or winding off to some old castle hard by, were soon trans- formed under his skilful and artistic hand. A collection of ancient maps and plans in ink and water-colors, drawn by himself with the utmost precision and accuracy, showing the location of the various greenhouses, foun- tains, miniature lakes, rustic bridges, flower plots, serpentine walks, clumps of shrubbery, and deer park, are still in possession of the family.

After eleven years' residence in England Mr. Brodie was married to Miss Elizabeth Avery; and to them were born six children, four sons and two daughters; namely, Will- iam, Jr., Charles, Thomas, Mary, John, Frances. The schools of Scotland being thought superior to those of England, Will-

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iam, Jr., at the age of six and Charles at four were sent there to be cared for; and there, separated from father and mother for four years, they were kept in school until their parents were ready to sail for America in the summer of 1833. They all embarked at Lon- don; and, after six weeks' battling with wind and wave, the good old ship "Hannibal " brought them safely into port. During the passage a violent storm raged for many hours, at which time every passenger was confined within the hold of the vessel save Mr. Brodie, who was permitted to remain on deck with the captain, his good judgment and self-pos- session giving confidence, and being rather reassuring than otherwise. Ten days after reaching New York they proceeded up the Hudson on a steamboat to Albany. Here they were transferred to a canal boat upon the Eric Canal, where for one week they slowly crept along toward their destination. On their way a little incident occurred which seems noteworthy. The family had come to some distance west of Albany without Mr. Brodie, he having tarried behind in New York to look after some missing baggage, intend- ing to take a packet, which made much better time than the ordinary boats, and overtake his family before they would reach Rochester. One night as Mrs. Brodie was anxiously watching amid the darkness packets shooting past, as they had frequently done before, she said to a neighbor, who had ac- companied them across the ocean, as an ap- proaching packet drew near, "Brodie is on that boat, and I shall shout." The reply was, "You might as well shout to the man in the moon." Nothing daunted, she shouted at the top of her voice, "Brodie! " and the response came back, "Aye, aye!" and soon to their great joy he was with them. Was this a psy- chological phenomenon or a special interposi- tion of Providence to relieve a burdened soul?

Arriving at Rochester, which was then only a village, a temporary home was sought and the older children immediately placed in school, while the father went out to prospect for the future home. This he found in the town of Riga, Monroe County, where he purchased a farm of one hundred and twenty-nine acres,

well watered by the murky stream known as Black Creek, and which bore but faint re- semblance to the noble Thames. To this place he brought his family, and in time a beautiful and tasteful country home was created. Choice shrubs and fragrant flowers adorned the lawn, fruit-trees yielded their abundance of every variety, and productive fields rewarded the toils of the pioneer and his family. They spun yarn for stockings and for the making of the homespun fabrics which everybody wore in those days; and they made their own clothes, raised their own food, and depended on merchants for nothing ex- cepting such articles as they could not pos- sibly furnish for themselves. Three years after this home was established in the new country, the fifth son and youngest child was born, Wilson being the name, given in honor of a particular friend of his father, Dr. John Wilson, a Scotch physician of the old school. As the years went on in this Scotch-American home, the children grew up to fill useful and honorable places in society. The eldest son, William, Jr., taking high rank as a physician and being so widely known, it may not be out of place to give an extract which appeared in the Therapeutic Gasette, published at De- troit, Mich., September, 1890, upon the occa- sion of his death, which occurred July 30 previous : -

"Dr. William Brodie was born at Fawley Court, Buckinghamshire, England, July 28, 1823, and at the time of his decease had just entered upon his sixty-eighth year. In 1833 he emigrated with his parents to America, settling on a farm near Rochester, N. Y. Later on he entered and mainly through his own efforts maintained himself at Brockport College. Here he remained three years, graduating with honors. In 1847 he removed to Michigan, where in the office of Dr. Wil- son, of Pontiac, he began the study of medi- cine. He soon afterward returned to the East, and entered Berkshire Medical College. Later he entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, from which he graduated in 1850. Returning to Michigan, he settled at Detroit, and at once obtained the position of House Surgeon at St. Mary's Hos-

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pital. He was also Examining Physician for St. Andrew's and St. George's Societies. In 1855 and 1856 he was Secretary of the Ameri- can Medical Association. At this period he edited the Peninsular Journal of Medicine. At the outbreak of the late Civil War he was appointed Surgeon to the First Regiment, Michigan Volunteer Infantry. Subsequently he was appointed Brigade Surgeon. Return- ing to Detroit, Dr. Brodie was for many years an efficient member of the Board of Health. From 1873 until the time of his death he acted as Surgeon to the Fire Department. In 1885 he was chosen a Trustee of the Detroit Medical College, also filling the chair of emeritus professor of the principles and prac- tice of medicine and clinical medicine. He was at different periods the presiding officer of the Michigan State Medical and Wayne County Medical Societies. In 1887 he was President of the American Medical Associa- tion and the same year first Vice-President of the Ninth International Medical Congress." From the Medical Age, also published in De- troit, we extract the following: "Dr. William Brodie was a gentleman well and widely known among the profession, and universally honored by all. He was exceptionally promi- nent and a conspicuous figure in medical so- cieties and in all measures of reform. He was likewise a profound political factor in his adopted city and State; and, though perhaps unswerving in matters of national concern, in those of local import he was guided entirely by the needs of the community, and sought only the results best suited to the welfare of the public. Possessed of all the pertinacity inherent to Scottish blood, he was stern and uncompromising in matters of right. Beneath an apparently brusque exterior Dr. Brodie pos- sessed a warm and kindly heart. His friend- ships were ardent and strong. He lived to see his adopted city grow from a mere village to a wealthy, prosperous corporation of more than a quarter of a million of inhabitants; and to that prosperity he contributed in no small degree. He also aided in lifting medi- cal progress and medical education to their present standard not only in Michigan but in the whole United States. He was a life-long

member and generous supporter of the Episco- pal church. He left a wife, one daughter, and two sons, one of whom, Dr. Benjamin P. Brodie, of Detroit, will worthily wear the mantle of his father."

Of the remaining brothers, Charles, John, and Wilson, it may truthfully be recorded they have brought no blot upon the family es- cutcheon, but are men of sterling integrity and genuine worth, highly esteemed in their respective localities, each pursuing the avoca- tion of their father upon a farm of his own, their respective homes being in the States of Missouri, Michigan, and Nebraska. The sisters, Mary and Frances, were married, the former to Edgar Hale, of Titusville, Pa., lum- ber and coal merchant, the latter to Robert E. McMath, civil engineer, and a graduate of Williams College, who for many years was in the government employ, but subsequently opened an office for himself and sons at 1015 Chestnut Street, St. Louis, Mo., known as the R. E. McMath Surveying Company, Sur- veyors and Engineers. At present he is the President of the Board of Public Improve- ments of that city. Mrs. McMath and Mrs. Hale have both been dead for some years.

Thomas, the third son, has been already named as the principal subject of this sketch. Although an Englishman by birth, he is cer- tainly an American by everything else; for he is a firm believer in and an earnest advocate of that true freedom and that perfect equality before the law which it is the aim of Republi- can institutions to secure, and is an American "citizen " in the true sense of a very much misused word. He was educated at the dis- trict school and at the Riga Academy, living and working with his father at the homestead until the death of the latter, which occurred August 11, 1854. In 1851 he was married to Miss Mary Orcutt, of Riga, with whom five happy years were passed, when her death from typhoid fever cast a shadow upon his newly made home. In 1859 he was again married, to Miss Emily Orcutt, who survived but two years, leaving him once more alone. Two years thereafter, March 18, 1863, he was united in marriage to Miss Martha Jane Han- nah, eldest daughter of Thomas and Agnes

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(Kirk) Hannah, of Chili, Monroe County, which union has continued until the present, they having just celebrated their thirty-second anniversary. For nine years they lived upon their farm in Riga; and in this home were born three children - Mary Agnes, Thomas HI., and Frances B. The parents of Mrs. Brodie, whose home had been in Caledonia,

were now removed by death; and to this place they came for a second home in the spring of 1872, hoping thereby to secure better advan- tages for their children. Scarcely three weeks had passed after making the change, when their little ones were stricken with spinal meningitis, which fatal malady was prevalent as an epidemic, and from which the two younger died after a few hours' illness. The eldest child recovered after a long and painful attack of the same disease. Two other children were born to them - Avery Kirk and Emile Augustine. Agnes was mar- ried in 1889 to Harvey F. Remington, at- torney and counsellor-at-law, of Rochester. Avery K. is a pharmacist, doing business in the same city. Emile resides in Caledonia with his parents, and is still in attendance at school.

Their mother was educated at the district school in her native town and at the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, Lima, N.Y. She has one brother, John W. Hannah, who resides at Caledonia, and who is engaged in active busi- ness for the firm of Cordley & Hays, New York. Her sister Elizabeth was one of the first to enter the school of trained nurses opened in connection with Bellevue Hospital nearly a quarter of a century ago. She took a special course at the Bethany Institute, New York, also at the Brooklyn Maternity. She graduated from the Women's Hospital Train- ing School, Philadelphia, in 1882. With the utmost devotion to her calling as a surgical nurse, she has continued her arduous labors until recently. Mrs. Brodie's father, Thomas Hannah, was born near Londonderry, and her mother not far from the city of Belfast, both in the northern part of Ireland, whither their ancestors had fled from Scotland during the bitter persecutions of the Covenanters in the seventeenth century. Mrs. Hannah's father,

James Kirk, was born in 1750, and was mar- ried to Jane Dinwiddy in 1775. In 1819 they emigrated to Montreal, Canada, where Agnes, the youngest child, lived until her marriage to Mr. Hannah in 1833.

Mrs. Brodie's paternal grandparents were Alexander and Martha (Scott) Hannah, who came to Chili, Monroe County, where were already located their four sons; namely, John, Thomas, Andrew, and Alexander. Their re- moval by death occurred in 1840. John and Thomas emigrated from their native land in 1826, the former stopping at Montreal, while the latter came to Western New York. He was young in years, being but twenty-two, friendless and without means; but with a resolute will, keen perceptions, frugal and industrious habits, and faith in God he was bound to succeed, and he did. His first work was the threshing of a quantity of grain with the primitive implement called a "Hail." All of his surplus earnings was invested in the purchase of land; in this way he soon be- came the owner of a good farm, and at the expiration of seven years found himself so well equipped for the carrying out of his plans that nothing was needed save the helpmeet. With no facilities for travelling except what he could furnish for himself, Thomas Hannah started in February with his own team to drive to Montreal, be married, and to bring home his wife. The marriage was solemnized on March 9 at the residence of Mr. William Kirk, a brother of the bride, which was pret- tily situated at the foot of Montreal Moun- tain. The homeward journey was begun the next day; and for six days over ice and snow they made their way, stopping at night to rest at some country inn or hospitable farm-house. Upon reaching the Genesee River, they found at the place of crossing a fissure in the ice, several feet in width, with a rushing current underneath. What was to be done? Their home was on the other side, and night was approaching. Every moment of delay only added to their peril. With the promptness and assurance of a courage that knows no de- feat, the word of command was given, accom- panied by a sharp crack of the whip, and the obedient steeds with one fearful leap brought

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sleigh and occupants safely over; and the prayer that trembled in the heart of the bride was answered. The home was reached that night; and there, amid the rude surround- ings, the old story of pioneer life, with its joys and sorrows, its successes and failures, was begun. The forests were felled, and the new ground was tilled. There was no end to the chopping and hauling of wood, some of which found its way to the market, and some of which had to be converted into charcoal fires; while the ample hearth of the settler's home called for a perpetual supply of "back logs."

All this meant work, early and late, with unabated rigor, as the years went on. Farms were bought and sold, and speculations entered upon, which generally proved advantageous, until the old proverb was again verified : "The hand of the diligent maketh rich." Through all his life Thomas Hannah was a liberal supporter of the church and school, and a zealous friend of every species of reform, a great reader and keen observer of everything pertaining to governmental and national affairs. In politics he was Republican. At an early day he identified himself with the Methodist Episcopal church, its aggressive spirit and unconventional forms being in keep- ing with his taste. He retired from active life in the spring of 1867, removing to Rochester, but soon after purchased a house and lot in Caledonia, and came here with his family in the month of November the same year. On March 4, 1868, he passed from his earthly to his heavenly home. The devoted, faithful Christian wife and mother survived him three and a half years, passing to her reward September 19, 1871, at which time the Caledonia homestead became the property of Mrs. Brodie. Here the Brodie family now reside.

Thomas Brodie and his wife are both mem- bers of the United Presbyterian church of Caledonia, and have long been hearty sup- porters of church work.

Mr. Brodie has always been a retiring man ; that is to say, he has shunned notoriety, and has had no desire to hold public office. It is true that he has served on the excise board;

but he accepted that position from a sense of duty, not from any liking for the place, for he has decided convictions on the subject of the sale and use of intoxicating liquors, as is in- dicated by the fact that he finally has joined the Prohibition party, after having been iden- tified with the Republican party for many years. He cast his first Presidential vote in 1848 in favor of Zachary Taylor.

m RS. CORA A. MORGAN, a resi- dent of Silver Springs, town of Gainesville, widow of the late William A. Morgan, was born at Syracuse, N. Y., and is the daughter of Hiram Britton, of that city. At the breaking out of the Civil War Mr. Britton enlisted as a pri- vate in the One Hundred and Twenty-second Regiment, New York Volunteers, and was pro- moted to be First Lieutenant, and later Cap- tain. He served through the entire war, was in many of the severe battles, and was slightly wounded. At the close of the struggle he re- turned to Syracuse, where he still resides in retirement. His wife, Rachel Van Valken- burgh, daughter of James Van Valkenburgh, a salt-mill owner in Syracuse, was born in Ful- ton, Oswego County. They had but one child, Cora A., Mrs. Morgan. Mrs. Rachel Britton died at the age of thirty-one years.

Cora A. Britton was educated in the public schools of Syracuse, was graduated at the high school in that city, and afterward taught three years in the Townsend School. On December 28, 1876, she was married to William A. Morgan, son of Andrew J. and Fanny (Dun- can) Morgan. Andrew J. Morgan was of Eng- lish descent. He died in Albany at the carly age of twenty-seven. His wife, Fanny Dun can, who was born in Scotland, reared but one son who attained his majority, William A. She died in Binghamton. She was twice mar- ried. Her second husband was Joseph Cam- eron, of Binghamton, by whom she had one daughter, Mary, who married Professor N. II. Lewis, principal of the school at Silver Springs.

William A. Morgan was born in Syracuse, and educated in the public schools of that city

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and Binghamton. He learned the trade of a wood-turner, which he followed in Syracuse for some time. He afterward was a shipping clerk in the employ of the Onondaga Salt Company at Syracuse and later at Warsaw. Then, removing to Silver Springs, in company with his uncle, Mr. J. M. Duncan, who is a very prominent man in that locality, he formed the Duncan Salt Company, buying the plant of the then Silver Springs Company. Mr. Mor-

gan assumed the position of book-keeper and treasurer of the new concern, with whom he re- mained until his decease, which occurred July 21, 1891, at the age of thirty-seven years. He was a Republican in politics, and held the office of School Trustee. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and super- intendent of its Sabbath-school, also secretary of the Church Board.

Mrs. Cora A. Britton Morgan has two chil- dren - Van Valkenburgh and Fannie Duncan. She, like her late husband, is a devoted mem- ber of the Methodist church, in which she maintains an active interest, and is also a teacher in the Sabbath-school. Mrs. Morgan is a descendant of highly respectable families. Her ancestors, who were prominent in the early settlement of the State, on her father's side were Dutch and English, one line tracing back to Sir Francis Drake, and on her mother's side, "Mohawk Dutch " and "down- east Yankee."

NELSON SHATTUCK, an able busi- ness man and highly respected resident

· of the town of York, Wyoming County, N. Y., is a native of Pepperell, Middlesex County, Mass., where his family has resided for three generations. He was born on the 28th of November, 1846, being a son of Tim- othy R. and grandson of David Shattuck. The grandfather lived and died in Pepperell, the town of his birth, with the sweet and pleasant associations of his childhood close about him in his last years.

Timothy R. Shattuck was a shoemaker, and like his father passed his life in his native town. He married Miss Mary E. Kendall, of the neighboring town of Dunstable, a daugh-

ter of Timothy Kendall and a niece of Amos Kendall, who was Postmaster General of the United States in President Jackson's adminis- tration, and managed the affairs of that im- portant department of the civil service with signal ability. To Timothy R. and Mary (Kendall) Shattuck six children were born - T. Nelson; D. Herbert; Alden K., living in Pepperell; George H., of the same village; Anna C., also of Pepperell; and Carlton F., who is dead.

Mr. T. Nelson Shattuck was educated in the common schools and academy of his native village. His father, who felt the great im- portance of each man's having some sure and certain means of support, had him taught the shoemaker's trade, by which he earned his living until 1868, when he came to York on a visit to his maternal grandfather. This visit resulted in the formation of a partnership between old Mr. Kendall and his grandson, a business connection which must have been of much advantage to the younger and doubtless a particularly happy one to the older man. It continued until the death of Timothy Ken- dall in 1888. The control of the entire busi- ness was now assumed by the grandson. During the period of his residence with Mr. Kendall, in the year of 1875 and the twen- tieth day of October, Mr. Shattuck was mar- ried to Miss Evvie A. Kennedy, of York. Of this union a daughter, Maud E., has been born.

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Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Livingston and Wyoming counties, N.Y, Part 60

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

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