Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Livingston and Wyoming counties, N.Y, Part 65

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 65
USA > New York > Livingston County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Livingston and Wyoming counties, N.Y > Part 65

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RANK SHERMAN PEER, a practical farmer and fruit grower of Leicester, Livingston County, N. Y., is widely known as a speaker at agricultural institutes and as an author and inventor. He was born in the city of Rochester, N. Y., in 1852. His

great-great-grandfather, Thomas Peer, came to this country in Colonial times with two brothers. Thomas settled in New Jersey, where he spent the remainder of his life, and married Eleanor Heller, of New Jersey. John Peer, son of Thomas, made his first appearance in this sublunary sphere in 1764, at Pequanac, N.J. John's son, Abram Peer, was born in Morristown, N.J., in 1797. In the course of time Abram came to New York State, and was a pioneer in William- son, Wayne County, where his son, Dr. George W. Peer, father of our subject, was born in 1820, the year when Monroe was re-elected President, receiving every vote except one in the electoral college.

George W. Peer received his early educa- tion in the district school, but was graduated from Marion Seminary. At the age of twenty-five he turned his attention to the study of medicine, and was in due time grad- uated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, of New York City. Later he formed the acquaintance of Dr. Moore, of East Palmyra, a homeopathist. Deciding to adopt this school of practice, he was sub- sequently graduated from a homeopathic col- lege in Philadelphia. Dr. Peer was a sur- geon during the war, and attached to the Ninth New York Regiment, heavy artillery. It was at his suggestion that the Episcopal church in Washington, D.C., was converted into a hospital, wherein he served a while; and he also had charge of the sick and wounded on the steamer "John Brooke," which plied between Philadelphia and dif- ferent points on the Potomac River. He was on duty at the battles of Antietam, second Bull Run, Malvern Hill, and Gettys- burg. He was with General Hooker at the battle of Lookout Mountain, known to history as the battle which was fought above the clouds. For a year before the close of the war he was in charge of Fairfax Seminary Hospital at Fairfax Court House, near Wash- ington. After the war he returned to Roches- ter, and engaged in medical practice until his death, which took place in 1883.

The Doctor's wife was Emily Sherman, a native of East Palmyra, N. Y., where she was

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born August 17, 1826. She was a graduate of Lima Seminary and a very accomplished lady. She was a descendant of Philip Sherman, who was born in Dedham, Eng- land, in 1610, during the reign of James I., came to America in 1633, and settled at Roxbury, Mass. During the Puritan persecu- tion of the Baptists and Quakers, Philip Sher- man with others went to Rhode Island, and founded the town of Portsmouth. He was prominent in public affairs, serving as Secre- tary of State under Governor Coddington. He married Sarah Odding, and died in 1687. Their son Samuel was born in Rhode Island in 1648. His wife was Martha Tripp, daugh- ter of John and Mary Tripp. Samuel Sherman died in 1717. His son, Ebenezer Sherman, was born in Tiverton, R. I., in 1701. He was a blacksmith by trade, and was noted for great physical strength and endurance. He was a member of the Society of Friends, and reared his children in that faith. All his life Tiver- ton was his home. David Sherman, Ebene- zer's son, born in the same town, December 30, 1733, was a government contractor during the Revolution. He received his pay in conti- nental scrip, which became worthless, so that his expected fortune was not forthcoming. At the close of the war, in 1783, David Sherman emigrated to Washington County, New York, and was a pioneer in the town of Cambridge, where he passed the remainder of his days.

Humphrey Sherman, son of David, was born in Tiverton in 1758, during the old French War. He was a sailor, and became captain of a West Indies trading-vessel. Later during the Revolution he commanded a privateer, and with his crew, falling into the hands of the British, was confined on the prison ship "Jersey" in New York Harbor. Small-pox broke out, and many of the pris- oners died. Captain Sherman, with a com- panion named Terry, escaped by dropping through a porthole into the water and swim- ming ashore. They concealed themselves all day in the marsh, their heads only being out of the water; but at night they found better quarters, and crawled into a warm oven to dry their clothes. At last they made their way back to Tiverton. Captain Sherman was with

Sullivan in his expedition to the Genesee valley, and was much impressed with the beauty and fertility of that region. moved first from Tiverton to Cambridge, N. Y. In 1879, in company with John Swift and John Jenkins, he started for Western New York with a big sled, four oxen, twelve hogs, and a large number of farming utensils. They purchased a thousand acres of land at Mud Creek, now known as East Palmyra. Having no fodder, they chopped down maple trees, and fed their cattle with the leafy tops, while the hogs fed on acorns and nuts. The pioneers erected a log cabin, and commenced clearing the land. In the summer they went to the marsh, where they cut and stacked some hay, afterward building a high fence around it. They turned the oxen into this enclosure for the winter; and, after making arrangements with a neighbor to occasionally visit their stock, they started on foot for home. The next February Captain Sherman moved with his family, his brother Samuel, and his brother-in-law Durfee, to his new home, where, having cleared a large farm and erected buildings, he continued living until his death.

By his second wife, Mary Howell, Captain Sherman had a son, Samuel Sherman, who was born in East Palmyra, N. Y., in February, 1798. He was reared on the farm, and always followed agricultural pursuits, being a life- long resident of his native town. He married Hannah Tinan; and they were the parents of Emily, who became the wife of Dr. George W. Peer and the mother of the subject of this sketch. Grandfather Sherman was formerly a Whig, but later became a Republican, and, like some of his ancestors, was promi- nent in public affairs. His wife, Hannah, was a daughter of Jeremiah and Abigail Moody Tinnan; and her birthplace was Shap- leigh, Me. She was a descendant of the celebrated Handkerchief Moody.

Frank Sherman Peer in his boyhood went first to the public schools in East Palmyra and Rochester, and afterward attended De Graff's Military Institute, where he was First Lieutenant of Company A, and served as mili- tary instructor in the primary department.

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His father owned large tracts of timber land in Clinton County, Michigan; and in 1869, at the early age of seventeen, Frank went there to superintend the cutting of this timber, his home being a log-cabin in the wilderness. Hle became fond of frontier life; and besides superintending the cutting of the timber, he cleared sixty acres of land. He remained there three years, when he returned to New York to take charge of his grandfather Sher- man's farm at East Palmyra. That he was a progressive man is proved by his interest as breeder and importer of live stock. He paid considerable attention to the raising of Jersey cattle and Cotswold sheep. The number of prizes he received at the principal agricultural fairs, where his stock was exhibited, indicates his great success in stock-raising. While re- siding on this farm, he turned his attention to the strict soiling system for cattle, and erected the first silo in the State, when there were only two or three in the United States. By adopting this system he was enabled to keep thirty-five head of full-grown cattle with the produce of thirty acres of land. Mr. Peer was the first farmer in Wayne County to start a creamery and the manufacture of creamery butter from his own herd of Jerseys and for which he received fifty cents per pound. On this farm he remained until 1878, when he entered into a partnership with Colonel Shep- ard of Mount Morris, N. Y., for the breeding of coach and saddle horses, Jersey cattle, and sheep on the Murray Hill farm.

In 1882 Mr. Frank S. Peer published a work on Soiling and Ensilage, and was a pioneer advocate of all that pertained to im- proved agriculture. He is well known throughout the country from his articles on agriculture and farm-stock breeding through the Country Gentleman, Rider and Driver, and other agricultural papers. Outing has several illustrated articles from his pen on travels and cross-country riding and yachting. He was associated with Colonel Shepard until 1886, when he purchased two hundred and twenty acres of land on Squawkie Hill, erected a fine set of buildings, and has since continued to raise fine horses, English hackney and thorough-breds. The greater

portion of his land, however, is devoted to fruit culture. He first introduced into this section of country the custom of raising cucumbers under glass, and does this on a large scale. He invented a hot-water heater for hot-houses which has been generally adopted in this section. In 1876 Mr. Peer married Harriet A. Reeves, daughter of Nel- son and Emeline (Foster) Reeves. Her birthplace was Palmyra. She was a grand- daughter of General Reeves and a descendant of Benjamin Franklin on her mother's side. Mr. and Mrs. Peer have two children - Emily Maud and Samuel Sherman Peer.

Mr. Peer has been employed by the State to visit various institutes and speak on agri- cultural topics. He has also been several times commissioned to visit England and the Isles of Jersey and Guernsey for the purchase of horses and cattle. He is a member of both the Livingston County and New York State Agricultural societies, and President of the Western New York Breeders' Association (1892, 1893), life member of the New York State Dairymen's Association of which he was one of the vice-presidents in 1886; also member of the Western New York Horticultural Society and the Western New York Jersey Cattle Breeder's Association. For some years he was a member of Newark Masonic Lodge, No. 83, and served two terms as Master. He is at the present time a mem- ber of Mount Morris Lodge, No. 122, where he has been one term Master. He is also a Royal Arch Mason of Mount Morris Chap- ter. He is also a member of the Genesce Valley Hunt Club, and is a genuine sports- man. He is moreover an enthusiastic yachts- man, being a member of the Rochester Yacht Club. The versatility of Mr. Peer's genius is a result of the push and enterprise of several generations. "Blood will tell."

UGH MILLER, a prosperous dry- goods merchant of Attica, was born at West Bethany, Genesee County, N. Y., in 1867, and is a son of A. R. Miller, a resident of Attica, now living in retirement, who was born at Wales, Erie

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County, in 1820. Two generations farther back was John Miller, a farmer of Onondaga County, who died an octogenarian, as did also his wife.

Oliver Miller, of Onondaga County, son of John and grandfather of Hugh, settled at Wales, Erie County, about the year 1818; and there he cleared and improved a farm, upon which his family of seven children were born. He and his brothers, Waterbury and John, Jr., settled upon the Holland Purchase, which was then a wilderness, where they first dwelt in log houses, and eventually became possessors of fine farms. Oliver married Eu- nice Holmes, of Saratoga County, daughter of one Trenchard, an Englishman; and their three sons and four daughters became heads of families: Only one son is now living, A. R. Miller, the father of the subject of this sketch. The grandfather died at the age of fifty-six, and the grandmother at seventy-one.

In 1841 A. R. Miller married at Alex- ander, Genesee County, Martha Tracy, daugh- ter of Alanson Tracy, who was born at Pitts- field, Mass., in 1771. He moved in 1791 to Scipio, Cayuga County, where she was born in 1823. They became the parents of eight children, all of whom are still living. Alan- son Tracy was a man of sterling character and radically upright in his business affairs. He became very prosperous, acquiring a hand- some fortune by his thrift and industry in agricultural pursuits, dying at the age of eighty-two in Scipio, he and his wife having reared a family of eleven children, of whom Martha, Mrs. Miller, and her sister Lenora, wife of Robert Masten, now residing in Wellsburg, Ia., are the survivors.

Mr. A. R. Miller was well educated, and taught school before his marriage and the winter following in Alexander Seminary. His parents were prosperous; and, his wife having inherited a considerable sum from her father, they were placed in easy circum- stances. They reared a family of eight chil- dren, five daughters and three sons, as fol- lows: Amelia, wife of J. O. Nesbitt, of Attica; Lucelia, wife of Dr. H. A. Bostwick, of Silver Springs; R. T. Miller, a farmer at Alexander; Ella, who married E. E. Keller,

of Pittsburg, Pa., Vice-President of the West- inghouse Machine Company; Oliver A. Mil- ler, an extensive and prosperous manufacturer of shoe machinery in Boston, his large plant, covering one block, being located at Brockton, Mass. ; Martha T., who has been with Mr. Miller since the opening of his business; Sara, wife of Bernard Himrod, of Danville and Chicago, Ill., President of the Pawnee Company's Coal Mines; and Hugh, the sub- ject of this sketch.

Young Miller attended the academy at At- tica, and at the age of seventeen entered the employ of James G. Doty as a clerk. He later worked for P. F. Shillinglaw and Alex- ander Stewart until 1889, when he went to Chicago, securing a position as salesman in the extensive store of Mandel Brothers, where he remained six months. He then entered the employ of Shepard, Norwell & Co., of Boston, his special line being underwear and hosiery in the wholesale department; and here he procured the experience in trade which now serves him so well in the manage- ment of his present business, which he opened May 4, 1891, with a stock of four thousand dollars. The growth of his business has been steady and rapid. In 1892 he grasped the opportunity of purchasing the old dry-goods location of Leonidus Doty, the banker, who built the store in 1848.

Mr. Miller is now located in the three-story brick block which he erected in 1893 upon the above-named site, No. 14 Market Street, where he first served as clerk. It is with pleasure that we speak of his store. Finished in finely polished quartered oak throughout, an attractive metal ceiling, a large skylight furnishing abundance of light by day, in the evening made brilliant by a great number of electric lights, a large basement, entered by an iron staircase, which is used as the carpet department, across the rear of the store plate glass mirrors, extending nearly to the ceiling, large plate glass show cases -- the general arrangement throughout deeply impressed the writer as a most modern, well-planned, and handsome structure. Mr. Miller now carries a stock of about eighteen thousand dollars, and has stopped the main body of the ebbing

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tide of shoppers flowing to the city. He is a young man of remarkable push and energy, being what the Westerners expressively term a hustler.

Mr. Miller was united in marriage Septem- ber 20, 1893, to Miss Lillian Chase, of At- tica, daughter of J. E. Chase. She is a graduate of the Attica Academy, and pos- sesses many accomplishments, being a soloist at the Presbyterian church.

Mr. Miller is a fine example of a modern business man, and has every reason to look forward to a continuance and increase of prosperity.

J OHN H. NEWMAN, an energetic farmer of Lima, Livingston County, N. Y., was born here, September II, 1819, the year of the birth of the poet Lowell. His father, Joel Newman, was a na- tive of Maryland, but came to Lima in 1808, before the roads were made, and took up a hundred acres of wild land. He found a log cabin on the premises, but soon built a large frame house, and was therefore reputed to be a man of means.

Being very industrious, he cleared most of the land before his death, on May 29, 1849, at the age of seventy-eight, he having been born on August 13, 1771. He married for his first wife a Miss Greathouse; and they had two sons, Ira and Henry Newman. His second wife was Jerusha Jerome. She was born April 22, 1780, and became the mother of five children - James S., who died August II, 1830; Isaac R .; Sarah; John; and Ar- thur Newman, who died in infancy. Isaac R. died September 29, 1885. Sarah married Romeo W. Brown, and has three children - Jane, Vesta, and Hannah.

John H. Newman, the fifth son of Joel Newman, received his education in the dis- trict schools, and has always followed farm- ing. His wife, whom he married in 1846, at the age of twenty-seven, was Rebecca Becker, daughter of John and Lourana Becker, of Richmond, Ontario County. Mr. Newman worked on the homestead until 1850, but bought another farm, which he still occupies,

in 1854, and thereon erected new buildings. His wife died July 20, 1863, leaving no chil- dren. Mr. Newman has served one term as Excise Commissioner. In politics he was a Whig until the formation of the Republican party, which he at once joined; but his first vote was cast for Henry Clay in 1844. Well is it said by Thomas Carlyle: "The latest gospel in the world is, Know thy work and do it." Either this utterance or the equally earnest word of another independent thinker, James Russell Lowell, alluded to above, may well be used to introduce the accompanying portrait of Mr. Newman, as showing some- thing of what his life has stood for: -

.. No man is born into the world whose work Is not born with him ; there is always work, And tools to work withal for those who will, And blessed are the horny hands of toil."

IDEON BENTLEY, an active and in- telligent farmer, residing in the vil- lage of Arcade, Wyoming County, was born at Sand Lake, Albany County, N. Y., December 9, 1828. His father, Noah Bentley, was a son of one of three brothers who emigrated from England, and settled in Vermont. In the course of time Noah Bent- ley came to Onondaga County, New York, where he resided on a farm until his death, which occurred prematurely as the result of an accident. He left four children, two of whom are now living; namely, Gideon, the subject of this article, and Lydia A., widow of Dr. Chase, residing in Sterling, Ill. The mother, whose maiden name was Sarah Tripp, married a second time, and died at the home of her daughter in Illinois.

Gideon Bentley lost his father when but four years of age; and his mother, having a family of four small children, intrusted Gid- eon to the care of a Mr. Orsenus Hills, with whom he remained until his marriage. This person, however, desiring to profit by the lad's capabilities, engrossed his time so com- pletely that Gideon found his opportunities for securing even a rudimentary education ex- tremely limited. He therefore took a decided stand, and told his protector that he must

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have a chance of attending school, or he would seek another home; and, rather than lose his services, Mr. Hills reluctantly con- sented. Young Bentley made good use of his educational privileges, and fitted himself for a teacher. At the age of eighteen he taught his first school in the town of Truxton, Cort- land County, N. Y. His next school was in Truxton village; and after that he taught in "Salt Point," now Syracuse, and other places, his last school being in Jamesville. He then married, and engaged in farming, finding em- ployment on Mr. Hills's farm, where he remained two years. About this time rumors of the gold discoveries in California reached the locality; and Mr. Bentley, sharing the general desire to acquire a sudden fortune, set out for the new El Dorado, which he reached safely, and was engaged in mining in California for two years with varying success. Finding Fortune a fickle goddess, his thoughts turned longingly to the home in New York State; and he returned via the Isthmus of Panama. This was in 1854. Finding his wife's family getting ready to remove to Ar- cade, he accompanied them to the new home, where he has remained ever since.

Mr. Bentley's first wife, to whom he was married in April, 1850, was by maiden name Emma H. McClenthen, and was a daughter of Thomas McClenthen. She was born in Man- lius, Onondaga County, N.Y., and became the mother of four children, namely: Orsa H. Bentley, ex-State Senator, and now a prominent lawyer of Wichita, Kan., his wife being formerly Miss Flora Harris; Morris, who married Helen Sherwood, has one son, Lynn, and resides at the old homestead, which he now owns; J. Clifford Bentley, who mar- ried Alice Thomas, and is also a lawyer in Wichita, Kan., and the father of two sons, Ray and Ralph; Mary A., wife of H. S. Johnson, a farmer of Sardinia, Erie County, N. Y., having one daughter, Nora. The mother of these children died March 2, 1879, at the age of forty-nine years. On March 3, 1881, Mr. Bentley was united in marriage for the second time to Miss Martha Sowerby, whose cheerful temperament makes the home still bright in these his later years. By this mar-

riage there is one child, D. C. Bentley, now a bright boy of twelve years. Mrs. Bentley's parents were Jacob and Jane (Blanchard) Sowerby, the former of whom was a native of Perry, N. Y. They had six children, four girls and two boys.

Mr. Bentley has filled various offices of trust since coming to Arcade. His experi- ence as a practical instructor rendered him peculiarly well fitted for the position of Superintendent of Schools, which he formerly held. He has also been Highway Commis- sioner and Inspector of Elections, and, though not a narrow partisan, usually votes with the Republican party on all matters of vital con- sequence. He is also prominent in various social and fraternal societies, being a member of the Arcade Lodge of A. F. & A. M., in which he was the first person initiated, and in which he has during his membership held all the offices. He also belongs to the Good Templars and to the Sons of Temperance, which latter order he joined May 12, 1857. Mr. Bentley's career well illustrates the fact that will power and perseverance, coupled with cleanness of life and honorable purpose, can raise a man from small beginnings to a place of honor in the community, despite obstacles. As experience has often shown, he that depends upon his innate resources and presses forward with stout heart and firm hand is more likely to achieve success than the hosts of helpless Micawbers, who are always waiting for "something to turn up."

LBERT ELI FARMAN. A Biograph- ical Review of Wyoming County, pur- porting to be made up of life sketches of men of local prominence, would be incomplete without a sketch of Elbert Eli Farman, who has been an active citizen of Warsaw forty years. Mr. Farman was born in New Haven, Oswego County, N. Y., April 23, 1831. His father, Zadok Farman, was a descendant of a family that settled in Mary- land, near Annapolis, in 1674. Martha Dix, his mother, was born in Wethersfield, Conn. She was a descendant of Leonard Dix, who was one of the first settlers of that town, in

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1633. Mr. Farman prepared for college at Genesee Wesleyan Seminary at Lima, N. Y., and entered Genesee College in 1851, where he pursued the classical course until 1853, when he entered Amherst College, where he graduated with honor in 1855. His applica- tion and force of character gave him rank in a class which has furnished an unusual number of men who have become leaders in law, medicine, politics, and affairs. He received the honors of an "oration " at commencement and an election to Phi Beta Kappa. In 1855 he became a law student in the office of F. C. D. McKay, of Warsaw, then District Attorney of Wyoming County. While a law student he attracted attention as a speaker in the Fremont campaign of 1856. He ad- dressed forty political meetings in Northern New York in that memorable canvass.

On his admission to the bar in 1858 Mr. McKay offered him a partnership, and Mr. Farman found himself at once entering upon a desirable practice. His labors, however, were not confined to the growing demands of his profession. From 1859 to 1861 Mr. Far- man and Augustus Harrington were proprie- tors of the Western New Yorker, a newspaper published at Warsaw, Mr. Harrington being its editor. Mr. Farman superintended the business department of the paper, besides at- tending to his law practice. Under this man- agement it quadrupled its circulation, and soon became, as it since has been, the leading Republican journal in its section of the State. Mr. Mckay removed to Iowa in 1860. Dur- ing the next five years Mr. Farman devoted himself to his profession, and extended its prac- tice until it became lucrative and successful.

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Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Livingston and Wyoming counties, N.Y, Part 65

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

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