Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Livingston and Wyoming counties, N.Y, Part 63

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 63
USA > New York > Livingston County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Livingston and Wyoming counties, N.Y > Part 63

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R EV. JAMES A. HICKEY, the be- loved pastor of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Geneseo, N. Y., through whose untiring efforts this new and handsome edifice has been completed, was born in Weedsport, Cayuga County, N. Y., August 19, 1859. His early education was obtained in the Weedsport Union School and Academy, from which he was graduated in June, 1876. He entered St. Andrew's preparatory Seminary, Rochester, in Septem- ber, 1877, and St. Joseph's Theological Semi- nary, Troy, N.Y., in 1878. Upon the completion of his course in the latter institu- tion he was ordained, July 10, 1882, in St. Patrick's Cathedral, Rochester, by the Right Rev. B. J. McQuaid. After a short vacation his first appointment to official duty was as Assistant at St. Mary's Church, Auburn, where he remained nearly two years. He was then assigned the pastorate of St. John's

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Church, Spencerport, where he spent four years. His association with St. Mary's Church, Geneseo, began April 2, 1888, at which time he succeeded the Rev. M. D. Mussmacher, St. Mary's first resident pastor. In Father Hickey's general appearance there is much to give assurance of honest frankness and winning sympathy and benevolence. That he is earnest, zealous, and efficient the results of his labor best attest. St. Mary's numbers about seven hundred souls, with the churches of Fowlerville and Piffard making about twelve hundred; and these, with a flour- ishing Sunday-school, superintended directly by Father Hickey, evidence weighty duties, each in turn faithfully and zealously per- formed.

Father Hickey is the son of Patrick Hickey, a native of County Limerick, Ire- land, and his wife, Ann Griffin, daughter of Michael Griffin, of County Clare, Ireland. Patrick Hickey was the son of James and Catherine Hickey, of Ireland. He was one of four or five children, and he reared seven. He came to America in 1847, and settled in Weedsport, Cayuga County, where he fol- lowed the vocation of a maltster, having charge of the extensive malt house of Miller, Kirby & Co. He became a highly respected citizen, and carefully reared his large family, as follows: Catherine, who married, and is now deceased; James A., the subject of this sketch; Mary, who now resides with him; Eleanor, widow of the late James H. Managh, of Adams Basin, N. Y .; Michael J., a clerk in the employ of the New York Central Railroad in New York City; Mary and Lizzie, who died while young.

An upright, broad-minded, kind-hearted Christian gentleman, since assuming his du- ties at St. Mary's Parish, Father Hickey has by his many noble qualities of mind and char- acter not only endeared himself to his congre- gation, but has won the respect and good will. of all classes, irrespective of creed or nation- ality. Many could readily bear witness, were they called upon to do so, to his kindness of heart; but the various acts of quiet charity performed by him are best known to those who have been blessed thereby, and the filial

love and confiding obedience of the people over whom he presides is sufficient testimony to his worth as a faithful pastor and guide.

EORGE W. HUNN, a farmer now living in retirement at Gainesville, N. Y., was born in Ontario County, June 3, 1826, being a son of James G. Hunn and a grandson of the Rev. Zadoc Hunn, both natives of Massachusetts. The grandfather was a graduate of Yale College, and studied for the ministry. He spent his last years in Canandaigua, Ontario County, where he died at about fifty-four years of age. He was the father of six children, all of whom are now deceased.

James G. Hunn came to Ontario County in 1793, at the age of seven years, and was bred to the life of a farmer. On attaining his ma- jority he settled upon part of the tract of land which his father had improved, and resided there until his decease, at the age of seventy- nine. This farm is now owned by a grandson.

James G. Hunn and his wife, whose maiden name was Eliza Gillett, and who was a native of Massachusetts, reared eleven children, all of whom are now deceased except Thomas and George W., the subject of this sketch. Mrs. Eliza Gillett Hunn's mother, whose maiden name was Mary Morton, was cousin of the present Governor of New York State. She was born at Granville, Mass., in 1807, and died at the old homestead in 1876, aged sixty- nine. Mr. Hunn's parents were members of the Presbyterian church, and his father was a Trustee.

George W. Hunn passed his earlier years in Ontario County, and remained there until after his marriage. He was educated in the district schools, and was carefully trained by his father to the labors of husbandry. After attending the Canandaigua Academy two terms he assisted his father in the manage- ment of the farm, and in 1862 purchased for himself a farm in the town of Eagle, where he resided about fourteen years. He then sold his property, and moved to Dakota, where he engaged in farming, having settled upon a tract of six hundred and forty acres of land.

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He first went to that State for the purpose of accepting a position with a land company, and had charge of twenty thousand acres; but after three years he relinquished his position, and for four years more devoted his time and energies to wheat-raising. In this he was remarkably successful, raising and shipping large quantities. He at length sold his prop- erty in the West, and returned to Gainesville, where he purchased a house and lot adjoining the residence of his daughter, the wife of Dr. Frank Dutton, a very prominent physician in this locality.

In 1852 Mr. Hunn was united in marriage to Mary Anson, daughter of Silas Anson, who was a son of Jonathan Anson, of Ontario County. Her parents died in Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. Hunn have two daughters, namely: Fannie Morton, who married Dr. Frank Dutton, as above-mentioned, and has one daughter - Mae Dutton; and Angie, who married John Honeyman, a carpenter and builder, residing in the West, they having four children - Fannie, Arthur, George, and Lewis.

Mr. Hunn is a Republican in politics, and has been Excise Commissioner. He and his wife are Universalists in their religious belief and members of that church in Perry, holding fast the "eternal hope "

"that good shall fall At last, far off. at last, to all, And every winter change to spring."

RS. HARRIET G. FRALEY, su- perintendent of the department of instrumental music at the Gene- seo Normal School, is a daughter of John Angier, of Nunda, Livingston County, N. Y., who was a native of Keene, N. H., where his father, Silas Angier, a farmer, was a life-long resident. Mrs. Fraley's father was educated in the public schools of his native town, and at the age of twenty-seven years went to Nunda, where he purchased a farm, and also established himself in the boot and shoe business, which he conducted in connec- tion with farming, but later disposed of his mercantile interests in order to devote his en-

tire attention to agriculture. Mr. Angier still resides at Nunda upon his farm, a hale, hearty old gentleman, at the age of about eighty years ; he has been a very prominent man in all public affairs of the town.

Mrs. Fraley's mother, whose maiden name was Mary Rockefellow, was a daughter of Samuel Rockefellow, a miller of Delaware. She was one of a large family, and became the mother of six children, of whom these four lived to attain their majority : Althea Angier, who married A. J. Knight, a prominent lawyer of Arcade, Wyoming County, N. Y. ; Ella, wife of O. E. Chittenden, of Batavia; Harriet, the subject of this sketch; and Carrie, who married Frank Carter, of Nunda, and now resides at the old homestead there. Mrs. Angier died at the age of seventy-three years. She was a member of the Baptist church, of which Mr. Angier has been a Deacon and Trustee for thirty years.

Harriet G. Angier, now Mrs. Fraley, re- ceived her general education at the Nunda Academy, where she was graduated. She then took a thorough course at the Musical Acad- emy at Lyons, Wayne County, N. Y., and three years of pianoforte instruction at Roch- ester, at the conclusion of which she entered the Geneseo Normal School as a teacher of instrumental music. After remaining eight years at the school, the board having given her a year's leave of absence, Mrs. Fraley went abroad and pursued a course of advanced musi- cal study in Berlin, Germany. Returning to Geneseo, she resumed her duties as the head of the department of instrumental music in the normal school, a position she has now held for fifteen years, being the originator of the present system of musical training now in vogue. Mrs. Fraley's thorough and progres- sive methods of instruction have raised the musical department of the school to a very high standard, and many who have graduated from her valuable tuition are now holding important positions as teachers.

Mrs. Fraley is director of music at the First Presbyterian Church in Geneseo, and also soprano soloist there, in which capacity she has officiated for fifteen years. In 1876 she taught instrumental music and sang in the

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choir at the Congregational church in Jackson, Mich., for a short time, but returned East to resume her studies. She is now President of the New York State Music Teachers' Associa- tion for Livingston County, which office she has held for three years, having been twice re- elected. She appears at a great many con- certs, both as a vocal and instrumental soloist, being well and favorably known as a musical artist throughout Western New York.

On December 24, 1874, Harriet G. Angier was united in marriage to Mr. Joseph L. Fraley, a native of Holland, N. J., and son of Charles Fraley, who resides at Mount Morris, N. J. Joseph L. Fraley was an only son by his father's first wife, whose maiden name was Anna Lear, and who was a native of Eastern Pennsylvania. Mr. Fraley removed with his father to Mount Morris, when he was eight years of age, and attended school there, after- ward entering the State normal school at Geneseo. He was for some years manager for the Singer Sewing Machine Company, but is now connected with the Comstock Collecting Agency, of Oswego. He was formerly part owner and business manager of the Equity Flouring Mills of Mount Morris.

Mr. and Mrs. Fraley have three children - Charles J., Allen J., and Blanche Louise, all of whom are students at the normal school.

Mr. Fraley was formerly a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, but is now connected with the North-western Mutual Life Insurance Company. Both Mrs. Fraley and her husband are prominent members of the Baptist church, and closely identified with the Sunday-school.

ELSON D. PARSONS, proprietor of a pleasant and well-kept homestead in the town of Bennington, Wyoming County, N. Y., was born upon the farm which he now owns and occupies, Octo- ber 17, 1830, son of Pelatiah Parsons, a native of Windsor, Conn. The father's birth was in May, 1793. He was the son of a Connecticut farmer, who died in middle life, leaving four sons and six daughters.

Pelatiah Parsons moved from his native

State to Wyoming County, New York, in 1819, bringing his wife and two children, with their effects, in an ox wagon, settling in the woods on a small tract of land of about sixty acres, with no neighbors in the immediate vicinity. The family were in humble circum- stances, but energetic and persevering, and eventually cleared and improved a very fine farm, attaining to a comfortable degree of prosperity as a result of their untiring labor, and at one time owned about two hundred acres. The maiden name of Mrs. Pelatiah Parsons was Lemira Higley; and she reared a family of five children, all but one of whom are still living - Edward, a resident of Ober- lin, Ohio; Clarissa, wife of Albert Cooper, residing in Java, Wyoming County; Olive, widow of John Cooper, also residing at Java; and Nelson D., the subject of this sketch. Lorenzo, late of Marengo, Ill., is deceased. Pelatiah Parsons died in 1879, at the age of eighty-five years; and his widow, in 1886, at ninety-three, bright and active for one so far advanced in age. Both were members of the Baptist church. Pelatiah Parsons was a Whig and later a Republican in politics, and was in every way an upright citizen, of much value to the community.

Nelson D. Parsons attended the district school, and assisted his father in his farm work, gaining that practical knowledge of agricult- ure which has served him so well through life. On October 6, 1855, he was united in mar- riage to Frances Sherman, of Bennington, daughter of Albert C. and Mary Ann (Scot- ford) Sherman, the former a native of Connect- icut, and the latter of Utica. Mrs. Parsons's father died in September, 1844, at the age of thirty-one years, leaving a wife and three chil- dren -- Frances; Amanda, wife of Everett Brokaw, a resident of Litchfield, Minn. ; and L. A. Sherman, of Port Huron, Mich., editor and publisher of a Republican journal of that city. He served in the Civil War about one year, enlisting at seventeen, and was in the Chickahominy Swamp under General McClel- lan. He was frail, and on that account was delegated as mail messenger and hospital stew- ard. Mrs. Parsons's mother still survives, at the age of eighty-one years, and has the ap-

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pearance of being much younger, the weight of years seeming to have little effect upon her either mentally or physically. She resides with her daughter at Bennington.

Mr. and Mrs. Parsons have had six children, all of whom are living -Clara, wife of Charles Rudd, of Port Huron, Mich., having one son; Clarence Elmer, a hardware dealer at Ipswich, S. Dak., having a wife, two sons, and one daughter; Bert, a farmer in the vicin- ity of Bennington, who has a wife; Minnie, a young lady of intelligence and much prom- ise; Sherman, a farmer at Marilla, Erie County, who has a wife, two sons, and one daughter ; and Everett, a young man at home. The sons are all Republican in politics, tem- perate, and highly respected.

Mr. Parsons has a farm of one hundred and eighty acres in a high state of cultivation, upon which he carries on agriculture in all its branches, keeping twenty cows, grade Jerseys, and manufacturing butter of a superior quality. His comfortable residence was erected soon after his marriage; and he built his famous barn, the dimensions of which are forty by sixty, with eighteen-feet posts, in 1891. It has a stone basement with cement floor. The neat appearance of his farm and the well-ap- pointed buildings testify to the thoroughness of Mr. Parsons's farming qualifications. His loyalty to Republican principles is always ap- parent, as are also his kindness and generos- ity, judging by his life and the reputation he enjoys among his neighbors; and he believes more in works than in creeds. He and his in- telligent wife are still active in the cares of life, and they are very happily situated in their pleasant home.

ATTHEW MCCARTNEY, a resi- dent of Dansville, was born in Sparta, now North Dansville, on the 18th of October, 1815. His father, William McCartney, left his home, " Barlocco," near Kirkcudbright, in the south of Scotland, at the age of nineteen to accompany Colonel Williamson to this coun- try. Colonel Williamson was, as is well known, a land agent for a company who owned

large tracts of land in Steuben and adjacent counties in New York.

William McCartney's was the first marriage recorded in the south end of the Genesee valley. His wife was a Miss Mary McCurdy, and the marriage took place July 14, 1796. He was one of the few who assisted in the organization of the first Presbyterian church in Western New York, located three miles north of this village, and was one of its Ruling Elders. He held various offices of trust given him by the people irrespective of party. He was a member of the State legislature and for twenty-seven years Supervisor of his town. He died in 1831. His wife lived until the year 1877. They had thirteen children, four of whom still survive, all but one being over eighty years of age. Of his grandmother on his mother's side, Mrs. McCoy, it is said there were few women who could be called her superior. Her ancestors were Scotch ; but she was born in County Antrim, Ireland, in 1782. Her mother's brother was a mem- ber of Parliament for a number of years and a very wealthy man. Many thrilling episodes are related of Mrs. McCoy by the present generation, who honor her memory.

Mr. Matthew McCartney, the subject of this sketch, passed his life as a merchant in Dansville, retiring from active duties about the year 1887. He was married in 1853 to Miss Frances McNair. They reared one daughter, Ellen, who is the wife of Mr. Eu- gene Leon Peltier, a lawyer of Troy, N. Y. Mr. and Mrs. Peltier have one bright little daughter, four years of age, named Margaret Eugenia. Mrs. McCartney was a daughter of Judge James McNair, and grand-daughter of Judge Hugh McNair, of Canandaigua. The latter was Clerk of the county when it em- braced Livingston, Monroe, and Ontario. Later he was appointed Judge of the County Court. Later still he was for five successive years a member of the Assembly.

Judge James McNair, Mrs. McCartney's father, enlisted in his country's service in 1812, and receiving a captain's commission had the command of a company of militia until the end of the war in 1814. He was called a brave officer. When the county of

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Livingston was organized, he was appointed one of the Associate Judges, and continued to hold that office for ten years. Judge Mc- Nair was an Elder in the Presbyterian church and a large landholder at the time of his death, which occurred in his seventy-third year. Mrs. McNair died in her fifty-ninth year.

In a copy of the Kirkcudbrightshire Ad- vertiser, published at Castle Douglas, Scot- land, we find some interesting reminiscences of the McCartneys, Mr. McCartney's ances- tors, who were eminent in carly history. Alexander McCartney, President of the Bible Society, was laird of Barlocco. An uncle of his of the same name bought Barlocco. A nephew of the last-named was grandfather of Sir Samuel Halliday McCartney, the Chinese mandarin, and his brother John, prime minis- ter to an Indian rajah. Earl McCartney was Earl of Auchinleck, which his ancestors ac- quired in 1626, as heir of his great-grand- father, John Stuart, of Auchinleck. In 1688 George McCartney proclaimed King William and Queen Mary at Belfast at the head of a troop of horse, and was attainted in the Dub- lin Parliament of James II. The celebrated Earl McCartney married a daughter of the Earl of Bute.

In Johnson's Universal Cyclopedia, vol. v. p. 137, may be found the life of Earl Mc- Cartney. His memoir, with Journal of the Embassy and other writings, was published by Sir John Barrow in 1807; and the Ameri- can Universal Geography, by Jedidiah Morse, D.D., published in Boston, devotes thirty pages to a highly interesting narrative de- scriptive of Lord McCartney's experiences in China during the years 1792-93-94.

Mr. Matthew McCartney has a document deeding the property Barlocco to the above- named Alexander McCartney, dated 1774, also letters addressed his father from Auchin- leck, bearing the date of 1794.

The summer of 1877 and part of the follow- ing winter Mrs. Peltier passed among her relatives in Scotland, where she was most hospitably entertained by friends of both branches of the family. In London she was the recipient of kind attentions from Sir Hal-

liday McCartney, and in Glasgow from Mr. Gordon Nairne, his nephew, who is at present Deputy Chief Cashier of the Bank of Eng- land, and whose wedding was celebrated a few months since to Miss Narciza da Costa Ricci, fifth daughter of Baron da Costa Ricci, At- taché of the Portuguese Legation.

Mrs. Peltier has in her possession the Mc- Cartney coat of arms, which she received through the courtesy of Sir Halliday Mc- Cartney.

In this connection the following extract from a late copy of the Kirkcudbrightshire Advertiser will prove of interest :

"The Emperor of China has by imperial re- script raised the ancestors for three genera- tions of Sir Halliday McCartney, K.C.M.G., the Secretary to the Chinese Legation in Lon- don, to the highest rank in the Chinese man- darinate. This is in accordance with the curious usage of conferring ranks of nobility on ancestors rather than descendants. It is believed that the only other European on whom this strange honor has been bestowed is Sir Robert Hart, the inspector-general of Chinese maritime customs, whose ancestors were similarly ennobled two years ago. It is remarkable to note that it is exactly one hun- dred years since a member of the same family, Lord McCartney, entered Pekin as British Ambassador of the Emperor of China, and was received by Kien Lung, the greatest sovereign of the Manchu dynasty, with a dis- tinction which has never since been accorded to the representative of any country. Three years ago an article appeared describing a number of curious and valuable presents to Sir Halliday McCartney from the Emperor on the retirement of the predecessor of the pres- ent Chinese Minister to London."

EORGE FRIDD, a highly esteemed and prosperous farmer of the town of Geneseo, Livingston County, N. Y., was born upon a farm at Headcorn, County of Kent, England, March 29, 1823. His ances- tors were all English yeomen as far back as known, his father, William Fridd, having been a follower of agricultural pursuits in the

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above-named county, where he died about the year 1831. After his decease his widow, whose maiden name was Susanna King, mar- ried Robert Hooker, and came to America about the year 1854, settling in the town of Geneseo, where she continued to reside during the remainder of her life. The following are the names of her children: Lucy, John, Will- iam, Mary, Elizabeth, George, Charles, Amy, James, Jabez, and Caleb by her first husband, William Fridd, and Annie and Ellen by her second, Robert Hooker.

George Fridd, who appears sixth in the list above given, resided in his native place until 1841, when he emigrated to America, accom- panied by his brothers, William and John, sailing from Liverpool in the month of November, and arriving in New York after a voyage of six weeks and three days. George came directly to Livingston County, and im- mediately entered school. In the following spring he commenced working upon a farm at a stipulated amount per month, and was thus employed for four years, with the excep- tion of the winter seasons, which were passed in the accumulation of that knowledge which is always an imperative necessity in the real- ization of success in the business world. He began his career as an independent farmer by settling upon about eighty-seven acres of land, which forms a part of the farm he now owns and occupies. From this modest start in life Mr. Fridd has by steady industry and thrift gradually added to his possessions, until at the present time his farm consists of one hundred and forty acres, and is one of the very best-cultivated and most profitable es- tates in the county. It is situated three and one-half miles from Geneseo and five from Avon.

On January 12, 1848, Mr. Fridd married Maria Hubbard, who was born upon the farm where he now resides. Her father, Giles Hubbard, was a native of Connecticut, who removed to New York State, and became one of the carly settlers of the town of Geneseo, where he had acquired a large tract of timber land, upon which he erected a log house. He cleared and cultivated a farm, and continued to reside upon it until he died. Mr. Hub-

bard's wife, whose maiden name was Ruth Carrier, was also a native of Connecticut. She survived her husband, and passed the remainder of her life upon the same farm. Mrs. Fridd died May 3, 1880. Mr. and Mrs. Fridd reared but one child, a daughter named Ruth Amelia, who married Henry Root, of Allegany County, and has two children - Jennie and Mary.

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Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Livingston and Wyoming counties, N.Y, Part 63

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

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