USA > New York > Madison County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Madison County, New York > Part 16
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York City, graduating from that institution with the class of 1869. Forming a partner- ship with Dr. Mead, he has ever since then been engaged in the active practice of his profession, having, after two years and a half, withdrawn from the partnership. Immedi- ately after his graduation he was appointed Examining Surgeon, and has since held this position through both Republican and Demo- cratic administrations, as a single surgeon till 1889, and since then as a member of the board.
In 1870 Dr. Chase married Harriet A. Babcock, a native of the town of Brookfield, a daughter of Alfred and Lucy (Brownell) Babcock. They have three children living, - namely, Linn, Jerome, and Mabel,-all at home. Linn was graduated from the Union School in Morrisville, took a preparatory course at Olivet, Mich., and was graduated with honors from the Medical Department of the University of New York in 1893, in the twenty-first year of his age. His class was the first sent forth from that institution under the new law providing for a board of exam- iners. A young man of exceptionally good abilities, he has evidently a bright future before him. He now practises with his father.
Dr. D. D. Chase is a member of Morris- ville Lodge, No. 658, A. F. & A. M., and also of Tillinghast Post, No. - , Grand Army of the Republic. From the foregoing brief out- line of the career of Dr. Chase it is apparent that from his services in the army of the Union he is much more than ordinarily deserving of
praise and gratitude. It is not to be won- dered at that he and his wife stand high in the estimation of all good people by whom they are known.
OHN HENRY YORK was born in Edmeston, N. Y., February 25, 1847, son of Oliver B. and Mary (Lines) York. His great - grandfather, John York, was a pioneer of the town of Brookfield, N. Y., going there from Rhode Island, and dying when the grandfather of our subject, also named John, was but sixteen years of age. Oliver B. York, son of John York, Jr., was born in Columbus, Chenango County, N. Y., in 1823. (For further information concern- ing the family, see his sketch elsewhere in this volume.)
John Henry York was the eldest of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. Oliver B. York, and, after finishing his education in the public schools of his town, learned the har- ness-making trade in the town of Brookfield, N. Y., starting at the age of nineteen, and working with an established firm in that place for two years, afterward going into the harness business for himself at Edmeston. He con- tinued at this trade in Edmeston for two years, returning then to Brookfield for one year. Later he worked in various places, among others the Wheeler York farm, where he was employed for eight years, and the Foster farm, on which he labored three years. He has now been for nine years settled on a farm of his own at North Brookfield.
At the age of twenty-two Mr. York married
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Miss Annette Morgan, daughter of John and Rebecca Morgan. She was born in Brook- field, where her family were early settlers. The union of Mr. and Mrs. York has been blessed with three children; namely, Burt, Lulu, and Clay. The eldest, Burt, has been for two years employed in the store of Mr. Squires as clerk. This young man is an ex- ceptionally competent and agreeable person, and is highly spoken of, not only by his em- ployer, but by all who have the pleasure of his acquaintance. The daughter, Lulu, is married to Mr. William Welsh, who assists Mr. York in the management of the farm. The third child, Clay, lives at home, and also is a helper of his father.
Mr. York is the intelligent and industrious owner of a fine place, and is looked upon as a model farmer. As a citizen, he is always wide awake to the best interests of his town, and ever ready to aid in any good work for their advancement. He and his family attend the Baptist church, and by their upright and well-ordered lives illustrate the sincerity of their religious belief. Mr. York is a quiet and unostentatious man, and, while not of a boastful character, takes a proper pride in his ancestry and the founders of his family, who first saw this now flourishing town an un- broken tract of wilderness. In his political faith he is an active Republican, and clings strongly to the principles which the party inculcates. In the fraternal orders he stands in first rank with Sanger Lodge, No. 129, F. & A. M., and also in Brookfield Lodge, No. 623, Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
ALTER R. LOWE first saw the light April 12, 1841, in the town of Buxton, Suffolk County, England. His father, Thomas Lowe, was born there; and from the best authority attainable his family had its origin in that part of England. The father was a shepherd; and in the lonely watches of the night, guarding his flocks, the vision of the far-off, golden land of Amer- ica filled him with a longing to visit its shores. In 1849, accompanied by his wife and seven children, he sailed from Liverpool, landing at Quebec after a long and tedious voyage of six weeks and five days. He came almost immediately to Madison County, and settled near Pratt's Hollow, where he fol- lowed farming and teaming, residing there until his death, in June, 1872. His first wife's name before marriage was Miss Eliza- beth Thaxter. She died in 1845; and his second wife was Miss Sarah Barnes, who died in Oneida in 1890.
Thomas had a brother John, who came to America a few years after he did, and who now lives at Munnsville, N. Y., aged eighty- five years, making his home with a nephew, James Lowe. A sister of Thomas married Charles Nowell, a Scripture reader in the Queen's church at Windsor, England, where they still reside. They have two daughters, who are married and live in London.
Walter R. Lowe was but eight years of age when he arrived in America with his parents. He was brought up and educated in the town of Eaton, and at twenty-one began to learn the trade of carpenter and joiner, serving
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for three years with Charles and William Stringer. He then went to Oneida, and was employed as a journeyman two years. At the end of that time he entered into business for himself as a contractor and builder, which he still continues. When he attained the age of twenty-five, Mr. Lowe, considering himself capable of taking the guardianship of a woman's happiness in his keeping, sought and obtained of Miss Abbie Deette Ranney her consent to become his wife. The happy consummation of his wishes took place Au- gust 9, 1866. Miss Ranney was born at Val- ley Mills, Madison County, N. Y. Her father, Oliver Russell Ranney, was born in Augusta, Oneida County, January 6, 1816. He resided with his parents until his marriage, and then worked with his father in his mill for a while, and for two years conducted the farm on shares, afterward taking up the jewelry trade, also watch and clock repairing at Valley Mills until 1877, when he moved to Oneida, where he has since carried on the same business. He now lives with his daughter, Mrs. Lowe. He was formerly a Whig, and cast his first vote for William Henry Harrison. Since the formation of the Republican party he has been one of its strong supporters. He married in November, 1835, Miss Elizabeth F. Carpen- ter, daughter of Ezekiel and Dorcas (Gardner) Carpenter. She was born in Rhode Island in 1815, and died December 13, 1877.
Rev. Ebenezer Ranney, paternal grand- father of Mrs. Lowe, was born in Blandford, Mass., May 25, 1776, and died April 12, 1860, in his eighty-fourth year. At about
twenty-one years of age he came to Oneida County, and made his home with an elder brother in Sangerfield, and later purchased a tract of land in the town of Augusta. At that time, and for many years after, there
. were no railroads, no canals, nor convenient markets. The country was very sparsely settled, and a log house and a small clearing constituted all the improvements in the lands.
Standing timber had no value; and large logs, that would now bring high prices, were gathered together and burned. The ashes were carefully saved and leached; and the potash obtained was for a time their chief source of r revenue. Mr. Ranney cleared quite a large piece of land, and resided there until 1832, when he sold it, and purchased a saw-mill at Valley Mills. Later he erected a woollen mill, bought other land, and super- intended the mills and farm, residing there until his death. He was converted in his young manhood, and became a preacher in the Baptist church. He assisted in organizing a society of that denomination in Augusta, and at his own expense rebuilt the mission church at Valley Mills, when he moved there, and preached in that place for some years. He married Miss Almeda Bartholemew, who was born in Goshen, Litchfield County, Conn., July 26, 1781. They had five sons and two daughters, - Oris, Dorcas, Hiram, Ebenezer, Anson, Oliver Russell, and Almeda Pamelia, - Oliver Russell being now the only sur- viving member of the family. Oliver Bar- tholemew, father of Mrs. Ebenezer Ranney, was born in Branford, New Haven County,
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Conn. He was one of the pioneers of Oneida County, and spent his last years there. The maiden name of his wife was Anna Lacey.
Mr. and Mrs. Walter R. Lowe have two children, - Russell W. and Agnes Elizabeth. The son, Russell, turned his attention to the profession of medicine. He first studied with Dr. Carpenter, was graduated from the New York Medical College at the age of twenty- one, and is now a practising physician in Ridgefield, Conn. Agnes Elizabeth lives at home with her parents. Mrs. Lowe and her daughter are members of the Baptist church, and illustrate in their lives the beauty and power of their religious faith. Mr. Lowe is a fine example of what may be accomplished by industry and ability, and is spoken of by his fellow-citizens as one of the men most worthy of praise and honor in the community. In politics he uniformly supports the Repub- lican party, which finds in him a hard worker, firm in his adherence to its principles.
LMER D. HARRINGTON was born April 6, 1847, in the town of Stock- bridge, N. Y., son of Nathaniel and Euphemia (Thompson) Harrington, both natives of Stock- bridge.
If in this sketch we have no stirring events, such as the emigrating to a new country, clearing of the land, adventures with the wild Indian, and hardships and privations of pio- neer life, it is because the birth of our subject occurred when fertile fields had replaced the dense forests and the rude implements of
those hardy days had given way to the luxuri- ous appliances of modern life. Were we to write of his grandfather, Joshua Harrington, who was among the early settlers, and who cleared his farm from timber land, we might have many a romantic story to tell; and it is a pity that they have not been preserved. All we know is that the grandparents on both sides came to this county when it was wild and unsettled, and that the family on the Thompson side were of Scottish origin. They lived and died in the vicinity of Stockbridge.
Nathaniel Harrington was a general farmer, owning the place of seventy-five acres which is now the property of his son, Elmer. There were three children in his family, all of whom are now living: H. Niles Harrington, a resi- dent of Peterboro, N. Y. ; Elmer D. ; and Guy E., a farmer in Stockbridge. The first son, Niles, served in the late war in Company B, One Hundred and Fifty-seventh Regiment. The father was a hard-working, industrious man; died on the home farm. He gave his children the best educational advantages he could possibly obtain for them, and was a kind and judicious parent, teaching them how to work and make money, if he had not much to leave them.
The subject of this brief biography, having attended the district school in his boyhood days, remained thereafter in his native vil- lage, working for wages until he was able to buy the home farm, where he has remained ever since. He has done much for the im- provement of the place, by newer methods of
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cultivation making the soil more productive and remunerative than in the time of his father. His specialty is the raising of hops, to which he devotes ten aeres of his land. He also has a well-established dairy of ten eows of fine breed, his preferenee being for Holsteins.
Elmer D. Harrington married Deeember 28, 1875, Miss Hattie Garner, who was born in Cortland County, January 6, 1858. Her parents, Chauney and Marinda (Monroe) Garner, are both living in that eounty. The wedded life of Mr. and Mrs. Harrington has been made happy by the birth of three ehil- dren: Herbert H., born December 14, 1877; Bertha B., June 2, 1879; and Willie W., born February 22, 1884. Their house is a home in the best sense of the word, with gentle dignity presided over by the good wife and mother. Their farm presents an appear- ance of thrift and prosperity, showing that years of honest toil have been repaid an hundred-fold. Politically, Mr. Harrington is a Republican by descent and eonvietion, a stanch supporter of his party.
EWITT C. ROBERTS was born June 8, 1842, son of Hiram and Thankful (Humphrey) Roberts. His grand- father, Amasa Roberts, a native of Bristol, Hartford County, Conn., was born April, 1758. He left Conneetieut with the intention of lo- cating himself in Genesee County, New York, starting with his wife and three children in an ox-cart; but, when he travelled as far as
Fenner, Madison County, his cart was broken so badly that he was obliged to stop there, and on investigation of the country was so well pleased that he coneluded to remain. He bought new land, which was all woods; and his first house was of course the usual log eabin. His handsome frame house, afterward built, was the first of the kind ever seen in the vicinity. He was a very hard-working man, wrestling with every possible obsta- cle in his endeavors to support his family. Through the forest full of wild beasts and treacherous Indians he wended his weary way many miles to the nearest mill, taking a bridle-path, with his saek of wheat strapped on the horse with him, to get flour for daily bread.
His wife, Keturah Lindsley, born February 20, 1768, was a devoted and noble helpmate. Untiring in her loving efforts to sustain and cheer him in his labor, lending her willing hands, not only to cooking and the care of the house, but also to earding, spinning, and weaving every article of clothing worn by the family, there was scant time for reading or gossip, as night after night she went to her eouch with tired feet and aching limbs. It is a matter of wonder how these pioneer women lived to such an age. The grandfather died at the age of fifty-two years, November 14, 1810, and the grandmother in 1830, at the age of sixty-two. Their family consisted of seven children, - Jesse, Alvory, Susanna, Alice, Amasa, Hiram, and Jared. They all grew up, had families of their own, and are now all dead. The grandfather and grandmother were
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DE WITT C. ROBERTS.
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Presbyterian in religious belief, and in poli- tics he was a Whig. In the deaths of this couple two of the oldest pioneers of Madison County passed away.
Hiram Roberts was born August 31, 1798, and grew up in the town of Fenner, a toiling farmer. He owned a part of the old home- stead, consisting of about seventy-five acres of good land, and on it raised the flax and wool which his wife spun and wove into the family clothing. He married Miss Thankful Hum- phrey, a native of Massachusetts, who was born April 13, 1797, a daughter of Elias and Thankful (Sumner) Humphrey. She was a faithful factor in assisting him in his struggle for fortune. They raised a family of seven children, - three girls and four sons, - as fol- - lows: Susanna H., born December 10, 1826, died July 22, 1853; Lucretia L., born June 1, 1829, widow of Stephen L. Smith (Mr. Smith was killed at the siege of Knoxville, in 1863, aged thirty-one years. He was a member of Company G, Eighth Michigan Regiment, under General Burnside); George W., born June 24, 1831, died February 5, 1885; Irving L., born July 27, 1833, now the oldest mer- chant in business in Canastota; Jay H., born June 19, 1836, served in the late war, Com- pany H, Twelfth Regiment New York Vol- unteers, now resides in the village of Oneida; Loraine A., born August 16, 1838, unmarried, and resides with his youngest brother, Dewitt C., who was born June 8, 1842. Elias Humphrey was one of the early settlers of Nelson, and was born February 19, 1774, and died March 27, 1845. His wife, Thankful
Sumner, was born January 23, 1777, and died October 21, 1805. They had a family of six children: Thankful, the mother of our sub- ject, died January 15, 1867; Elias, born in 1799, died in 1836; George, born in 1801, died in 1843; Susanna, born in 1803, died in 1837; and Elijah and Elisha (twins), born in 1805, died infants. The grandfather Hum- phrey was a Baptist, and was a Whig in politics.
Our subject was born on the old home farm where he now resides. He received his edu- cation in the district schools, and for one year attended the Cazenovia Seminary. When a young man, he turned his attention to agri- cultural pursuits, and remained on the farm, where he has always made his home, looking after the work of the place and taking care of his parents in their old age. He has since bought the old homestead, and has added to the farm until he now has about one hundred and fifty acres of land, some of it forest. He raises good crops of grain and hay, and pays great attention to his stock, which consists of fifteen head of full-blooded Durham cattle. He has also some fine horses.
Mr. Roberts erected a beautiful residence in 1887. He has remained single, and, with his two sisters, Loraine and . Mrs. Stephen Smith, maintains a fine and generous hospi- tality. He is classed among the best farmers in his vicinity, and keeps everything on the farm in excellent condition. A Baptist in his religious belief, in politics he casts his vote with the Republican party, being stead- fast in the opinion that its measures are the
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best for the progress of the country. The centennial year, which has set people to thinking of the character and deeds of their ancestors, has been of more than passing in- terest to our subject, as his family have been identified since early in the eighteenth cen- tury with the history and growth of this country .
RS. EMILY OTIS COLEMAN, one of the few residents of De Ruyter who have passed the age of four- score years, feeble in frame, but sound in mind, was born in Truxton, Cortland County, August 26, 1809.
Her father, Jacob Otis, who was born in Colchester, Conn., came with his parents from that State, of which they also are supposed to have been natives, and settled at an early day in Saratoga County, New York. His moth- er's name before marriage was Day.
Mr. Otis followed the trade of clothier a few years in the early part of his life. Com- ing to Saratoga County a young man before marriage, he engaged in mercantile business in the town of Mayfield. From this place he removed to Truxton, being a pioneer in that town. Here, besides dealing in general mer- chandise, he operated a mill for dressing cloth and kept a public house. He was acci- dentally killed in the fifty-fourth year of his age by the falling of a bridge. While in business at Mayfield, he made a trip to Massa- chusetts and brought home a wife, Agnes Austin by name, a native of Sheffield, daugh- ter of Abner and Eleanor (Kellogg) Austin.
Mrs. Coleman was the third of a family of seven children, the others being Austin W., Augusta, Ann Eliza, William H., Charles, and Maria.
She lived with her parents, attending first the district school and later the Cortland Female Academy, until her marriage, at the age of twenty-five years, with Noah T. Cole- man, a native of Otsego County, who was born December 30, 1809. Her husband's father, Noah H. Coleman, came as a pioneer to Otsego County, and later was settled for a time in Cazenovia, where he was a druggist. Returning to Otsego County, both he and his wife spent their last years at Exeter. He married Mary Tunnuliff, daughter of John Tunnuliff, a pioneer settler of Otsego County.
Noah T. Coleman came to De Ruyter to live at the age of thirteen as a clerk in the store of Colonel Jenks, being allowed for a time to attend school a part of every year. Diligent and faithful in the discharge of his duties from the first, he was advanced from one position to another till he was competent to manage the entire business, including the purchase of goods in Albany and their trans- portation by teams, -in itself no slight affair, in those days of no railroads and no canals. Thrifty and economical, he laid up money enough to enable him after marriage to start in business on his own account. A man of enterprise and of excellent capabili- ties, strictly upright and honorable in all transactions, he was for many years a leading merchant of De Ruyter. His death, in 1888, left a void not easy to be filled. Two sons
EMILY OTIS COLEMAN.
NOAH T. COLEMAN.
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and two daughters, all of them now living, were born to Mr. and Mrs. Coleman: Noah Otis, who married Emma Carpenter, and has one son, Frederick A. : Agnes, wife of W. W. Rainey; William H., who married Carrie Murphy, and has one son, Noah T., now in the United States Naval Service; Mary T., wife of D'e Witt De Long, who has two chil- dren, Otis C. and Maud.
Mrs. Coleman is a faithful member of the Presbyterian church. Kind-hearted, liberal- handed, blest with a cheerful temperament, cherishing an unfaltering trust in Divine Providence, tenderly cared for by her nearest of kin, she lives esteemed and beloved by all, her presence in the home circle being felt as a benediction.
Much pleasure is taken in here presenting the portrait of the late Noah T. Coleman, who was for many years a leading business man of De Ruyter, and recognized as such throughout this part of the State. His widow, Mrs. Emily Otis Coleman, who still survives him, will also long be remembered for her many virtues.
AMB BROTHERS, farmers, are well- known hop-growers and stock-raisers of Hamilton. William E., the senior member of the firm, was born in Madison, February 8, 1853. He was the third, and his brother and partner. Amos J., the fourth of the ten children of John and Phebe (Manchester) Lamb. An interesting sketch of the life of their father, - a retired agriculturist, living at Hamilton, - giving the names of the other
children and including some account of their paternal grandfather, Jacob Lamb, may be found on another page of this Review.
The brothers of whom we write received a fair education in the public schools and in the Union School of Hamilton, and were trained to work in various departments of husbandry on the ancestral farm. William E. lived at the old homestead with his parents till his marriage, at the age of twenty-three years, with Miss Ella Burlingame, daughter of Charles and Phebe Burlingame. They have two children, - Charles and George. Amos J., the junior partner of the firm, who was born April 30, 1854, married Miss Etta Bur- lingame, a sister of his brother William's wife. They have one child, Edna.
Both families are regular in their attend- ance at the Methodist church, and contribute liberally to its support. In politics the sons of John Lamb have not departed from the path trodden by their father before them: they give their allegiance to the Democratic party.
Lamb Brothers have been associated to- gether in agricultural operations for eleven years, in which time they have made rapid strides on the road to competency, not to say affluence. Buying one hundred and sixty acres of land to commence with, they now have two hundred and ninety - two acres. Their specialty is hop-raising. Having begun with three acres planted with hop vines, they have increased the acreage year by year, till they have at present eighty acres devoted to this culture, and have become famous as being among the largest hop-growers in the State.
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Three years ago, deciding to pay more par- ticular attention to stock-raising, they began the breeding of Dutch cattle. They now own a fine herd of twenty full-blooded. Holsteins. Their farm is in a state of high cultivation, everywhere bearing the stamp of industry, neatness, and careful, sagacious superintend- ence. Brain-work and muscular toil have combined to produce this happy result. Here are seen the fruits of honest, well-directed labor, not of feverish speculation. The ex- ample of the Lamb Brothers is one to be commended as eminently worthy of emulation, and may be pointed to as illustrating the say- ing of Washingon, that "the life of the hus- bandman, of all others, is the most delightful. It is honorable, it is amusing, and, with judi- cious management, it is profitable."
ORATIO E. CHAPIN, a retired drug- -gist, residing in Morrisville, was one of the patriot soldiers of the War of the Southern Rebellion, and has been since then a successful business man. He was born in the town of Eaton, Madison County, Sep- tember 19, 1833. His father, Anson Chapin, was born in Massachusetts, May 1, 1802. Anson Chapin, coming to the State of New York a young man, found employment on a farm in the town of Eaton, and resided there until 1844, when he removed to Kirkland, Oneida County, living there until his death, July 30, 1847. The maiden name of his wife was Harriet Flower. She was born Decem- ber 1, 1805, and died June 2, 1846. She and
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