USA > New York > Madison County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Madison County, New York > Part 22
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There were six children born to the mar- riage of Mr. Loring Munroe and his wife,- three girls, Jane, Marietta, and Ella, who are dead, and three boys: George Loring, a farmer in the town of Verona, Oneida County, married Miss Clara Hess, and has five chil- dren, Jennie, Daisy, Ella May, Cora, and Pearl; Charles I., living in Oneida, married Miss Barbary Miller, and has two children,
Loring and Frederick; Anthony B., living in Oneida, married Miss Louise Walrath, and has two children, Marjorie and Stewart. Anthony B. Munroe is now a director in the Farmers' and Merchants' State Bank. Mr. Munroe at present is not actively engaged in any particular business, having the various duties in connection with his large property and investments to occupy his time. He is a self-made man, - one who started without a dollar, - and a striking example to this gen- eration of what industry, pluck, and per- severance, together with good habits, can accomplish.
It is a pleasure to the publishers to print in connection with this memoir a steel portrait of this gentleman, whose public labors in Oneida will long be remembered after he has bidden farewell to all that is earthly.
G ILTON JENNINGS, of the firm of Jennings Brothers, farmers of the town of Lenox, - the firm con- sisting of two brothers besides himself, Will- iam and Charles, - is a son of William A. and Harriet La Suer Jennings, the former of whom was born in the town of Lenox, and the latter in the town of De Ruyter, Madison County. William Jennings, father of Will- iam A. Jeninngs, and grandfather of the above-named brothers, who are carrying on general farming upon the farm upon which they were born and reared, was a successful merchant at Quality Hill, and was among the first settlers there. He and his wife both
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died in the prime of life at that place, leaving either two or three children, one of whom was a daughter, Louisa. She died, unmarried, in middle life. William A. Jennings died De- cember 6, 1863, at the age of forty-nine, and his wife May 20, 1865, at the age of forty- four. They reared a family of four sons and three daughters. The daughters are all de- ceased, one of them dying young. Eva L. married Nelson Beebee, and died in 1871, at the age of twenty-five, leaving one daughter. Hattie married Charles Taber, and died in April, 1887, aged twenty-nine. Frank Jen- nings is an architect, and resides in Denver. He married Hattie Dewey, of Sullivan, Mad- ison County, by whom he has one daughter. They went West in 1888. Charles, the young- est of the sons, married Louisa Prior, of Con- stantia, Oswego County, December 9, 1880.
The brothers who constitute the firm of Jennings Brothers have eighty-six acres in the home farm, which was left them by their father. They also own forty-five acres in Onionville, on which they raise onions and celery. On the farm upon which they live they have a fine orchard of apples, pears, and plums, the trees having been planted since their father's death. In politics they are Republicans, as was their father before them. Their parents, though not members of any church, were people of excellent moral charac- ter, and good citizens in every respect. They attended the Congregational church at Quality Hill, which is probably the oldest church in the town of Lenox. The brothers who are the subjects of this sketch were all well edu-
cated in the district schools, and two of them attended Cazenovia Seminary; but all prefer farming to a professional career, because of the independence that calling confers on its devotees. They are reading, thinking men, and firmly believe in the principles of the party which they support. The products of their farms they send to the markets of New York and other cities, shipping almost the entire crops of onions, celery, and hay. Their home is a most attractive one, sur- rounded as it is by fruit and shade trees, the latter being mostly maples, and is extremely inviting to the passer - by. Within the stranger meets with the most cordial recep- tion, Mrs. Charles Jennings being a lady of rare intelligence, culture, and charm. Will- iam and Milton still remain unmarried, be- lieving, it may be, in the maxim of Saint Paul, that he who marries does well, but he who marries not does better.
LOYD C. BUELL, an active, prosper- ous, wide-awake merchant of Hamil- ton, and a leading factor in the mercantile interests of this busy village, is a native of Madison County, born in Lebanon, September 4, 1858. His father, Philander C. Buell, was also born in Lebanon, being a son of Chauncy Buell. The father grew to manhood on the home farm, receiving his early education in the public schools, and afterward was gradu- ated from Cazenovia College. He was reared to agricultural pursuits, and made farming his chief occupation during his life, his death
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occurring in Lebanon when he was a compar- atively young man. He married Ann Clark, who bore him four children, - Ellen M., Annett J., Floyd C., and Mary E.
The subject of this sketch was but seven years of age when his father died, and the fol- lowing seven ycars made his home with his grandfather Clark in Earlville, where he attended the district school, gleaning a good common-school education, and later attended school at Cazenovia for two years. He was energetic, ambitious, and anxious to earn money for himself, and, desiring to see more of the world, made a trip West, remaining a year and a half, but, not finding any better advantages for business there than here, re- turned to Madison County, and entered the drug store of Mr. Douglass in Earlville, where he remained as a clerk for three years. He then bought a house in the village, and for five years was engaged in buying and sell- ing agricultural implements, wagons, etc. At the expiration of that time he purchased an interest in the drug store of his former em- ployer, and the succeeding three years re- mained a partner therein. Then, selling out his interest to Mr. Douglass, he opened his present place of business, as a dealer in flour and feed, and dealt successfully in grain, carrying on a large and lucrative business, until November, 1893, when he sold the flour and feed business, and put in a stock of hard- ware. Mr. Buell is a man of excellent abil- ity, possesses sound judgment, is quick and alert, and bids fair to take a foremost place among the prominent merchants of the county.
In 1881 Mr. Buell was united in marriage to Nellie L. Douglass, daughter of Dr. Andrew S. and Hannah Douglass. Their union has been blessed by the birth of four children, - Harold D., Ellen L., Floyd C., Jr., and Marjorey A. Mr. and Mrs. Buell are attendants at the Methodist church, are active in all good work, and held in high esteem by their large circle of friends. Politically, Mr. Buell affiliates with the Republican party. Socially, he belongs to Earlville Lodge, No. 124, Knights of Pythias.
HARLES McCONNELL, M.D., who has been a successful practitioner of medicine at Clockville for the past sixteen years, was born on his father's farm in the town of Hull, near Aylmer, Ontario, Canada. Richard McConnell, the Doctor's father, is now living, in his eighty-second year. He was married twice, his first wife, Emily Parker, dying when her son Charles was eight months old, and leaving also a daughter, Harriet, who became the wife of Essex Worril, now deceased. By his second wife Mr. McConnell had fourteen children, all of whom still survive but two. Their mother is yet living, active and healthful, at the age of seventy-six years.
James McConnell, the father of Richard, was born in Scotland in 1764, and died at or near Aylmer, Canada, in 1856, aged ninety- two years. Upon the day prior to his death he walked six miles, and, lying down in the evening, went to sleep and peacefully passed
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away. He was one of the first three settlers at Aylmer, and received from the government twelve hundred acres of land in consideration of that fact. Physically, he was a most re- markable man, a noted athlete, able to jump twelve feet and to vault over anything as high as his head. He and his wife reared a family of six sons and two daughters, all of whom are dead but the one above named.
Charles McConnell is a well-educated man. In his youth he attended school at Ottawa City, Canada, at the Model, Gouverneur, St. Lawrence County, at Cazenovia, where he studied with T. F. Ham, and at Fort Plain. Matriculating at the Metropolitan Medical College, New York City, he attended lectures there and also clinics at the Bellevue and Ward's Island Hospitals. He was twenty- one years of age when he began practice at Cazenovia. Two years later, on October 26, 1859, he married Mary Jane Caswell, of Caze- novia, daughter of Daniel and Julia (Brown) Caswell. After several years of professional activity Dr. McConnell removed with his family to Ottawa City, Canada, where he con- tinued in practice for a time. Returning thence to New York State, he opened his office in Clockville. On June 14, 1876, he presented himself before the Central New York Eclectic Medical Society for examina- tion, passing which, he became a permanent member of the organization, entitled to all its immunities and privileges. Afterward by unanimous vote he became President of the society. He is also a permanent member of the State Eclectic Medical Society, which he
joined October 17, 1878. Doctor and Mrs. McConnell have three children, namely : Charles F., a druggist of Canastota, who mar- ried Florence Cady, of Clockville, and has one son; Morley C., of Oneida, a mechanic, engaged with the Oneida Casket Company, who married Miss Effie Clow; and Minnie Maud, a young lady of seventeen, at home.
Doctor McConnell belongs to no church and professes no creed. While he always votes the Republican ticket, yet he has never been an office-seeker or office-holder. His medical practice is sufficient to engage his attention, is quite large, and is steadily in- creasing ; and he has driven over the hills and through the valleys in this region of the coun- try for many years, at all hours of the day and night, without reference to the weather. He is a physician by nature, having that keen, intuitive perception necessary to the quick and successful diagnosis of disease. That his practice should not only be main- tained, but that it should be steadily in- creased, is simply the natural result of his devotion to his profession and skill in the treatment of disease. Besides being an excel- lent physician, Dr. McConnell is a most genial and pleasant gentleman to meet so- cially, and is as highly regarded as a man as he is as a physician.
EVI KEITH, a worthy octogenarian of Madison County, far from being super- annuated at eighty-four, was born September 7, 1809, in the town of Nelson, his present place of residence, and the home of
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his family for two preceding generations. He was a son of Lincoln and Submit (Doolittle) Keith. His father was born in Massachu- setts, his mother in Connecticut. His pater- nal grandfather, Luther Keith, originally from New England, was one of the first settlers in the town of Nelson, and died there at an ad- vanced age. The maternal grandfather, Doo- little, was also among the first settlers in Madison County. After several years' resi- dence in the town of Nelson he moved to Illinois, where he spent his last years. He had a large family of children.
Lincoln Keith, son of Luther and father of Levi, was one of the early farmers of the town of Nelson, having gone to that place when it was sparsely settled and very little of the land had been cleared. He took an active part in the construction of the Erie Canal, the great watercourse which has so materially promoted the prosperity of the Empire State. His family consisted of seven children, of whom four are now living: Levi, the eldest ; Mrs. Bennett, of Ontario County; Mrs. Church, of Cazenovia; Watson, of Cazenovia Village. Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln Keith were members of the Baptist church. They died at about the same age, nearly sixty years. Levi Keith grew up and was educated in his native town of Nelson, the father paying for the tuition of each of his children at the district school.
He early turned his attention to farming, assisting until his twenty-fifth year. He bought his first piece of land when he was but twenty-four years of age. It was situated in the town of Nelson, and consisted of one hun-
dred and twenty-one acres. He sold this farm, and in 1853 moved to the one of one hundred and ninety-five acres which he now resides on. He has been one of the leading farmers of his town, and a considerable dealer in live stock. His farm is one of the finest in the vicinity, yielding well-paying crops of grain and hay. He owns also other land in the town, besides large tracts in Kansas.
On June 22, 1834, Mr. Levi Keith married Miss Persis Payne, of Richland, Oswego County, N. Y., fourth daughter of James and Mercy (Goddard) Payne. She was born in Eaton, Madison County, April 20, 1810, and died December 6, 1890. They had one daughter, Jennie, who was born August 3, 1846, was married to D. W. Jones October 10, 1876, and died November 22, 1886, leav- ing one son, Keith Walton, born October 25, 1886. Mr. Keith married again September 15, 1891, shortly after passing the eighty- second anniversary of his birth. His bride was Mary A. Scarth, who was born July 29, 1838, a daughter of John and Mary Scarth, both natives of England. Mr. Scarth was one of the early settlers in the town of Fenner. He died at the age of eighty-one years. Mr. and Mrs. Scarth had two sons and one daugh- ter, Mrs. Keith being now the only surviving one of the family.
Mr. Keith has been Assessor for a number of years, and has also held other minor offices in the town. He is liberal and independent in his religious views, and in politics is a sturdy Republican. He lives in a pleasant home, and is extremely fortunate in possess-
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ing a good wife, who cares for him with true womanly devotion, and assists him in the management of his affairs. With her husband she displays a parental affection for his only grandchild, who resides with them, a lovely, promising boy of seven years. Being one of the oldest and most enterprising residents of Nelson, our subject has done much toward the prosperity of the town. He has witnessed many changes during his long life, none greater than the transition of a thinly popu- lated tract of forest and field into the seat of thriving towns and villages.
WILLIAMS BULL, an intelligent and thriving agriculturist of the town ยท of Sullivan, was born May 25, 1849, in the village of Manlius, Onondaga County, N. Y., a son of Edwin and Sarah Jane (Williams) Bull. His grandfather, Luman Bull, a native of Connecticut, moved to New York State early in the century, being among the first to settle in the town of Lenox. He was a tanner and currier, and followed this occu- pation through life. He had seven sons, of whom all but one grew to manhood; but none are living now. They were as follows: Franklin, born March 22, 1812, died April 30, 1879; George, born March 28, 1814, died December 15, 1879; Horace, born April 9, 1816, died January 16, 1885; Edwin, born April 27, 1818, died February 7, 1889; Mar- vin, born March 16, 1821, died December 14, 1829; Virgil, born July 9, 1823, died October 27, 1892; Linus H., born June 15, 1825,
died July 20, 1874. The grandmother before marriage was Miss Lucy Hall. She was born May 15, 1783, and died in the town of Sulli- van, August 13, 1843. The grandfather was born April 25, 1786, and died in the town of Manlius, September 2, 1858. He served with distinction as a Lieutenant in the War of 1812, was a Democrat in politics, and was a member of the Presbyterian church.
Edwin, the father of our subject, was brought up in Madison County. When a young man, he hired himself out to work on a farm for twelve dollars per month. His next step onward was renting land and cultivating it on shares. The first farm owned by him was one hundred acres in the town of Sulli- van. After occupying this for a time, he sold it, and bought what was known as the old Cady farm, comprising two hundred and sixty- six acres, to which he added very materially. He moved to this place in 1863, and resided here until his death, at the age of seventy-two years, in 1889. Mrs. Sarah Jane Bull, his wife, died at the age of sixty-eight years, in 1887. The subject of this sketch was their only child. Mrs. Bull was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics her husband was a Republican.
Besides attending district schools in his boyhood, V. Williams Bull spent about three years in the city of Buffalo, 1860-62, and during the terms of 1866 and 1867 attended Cazenovia Seminary. Having grown to man- hood, he early turned his attention to farming and stock-raising. He possesses one of the largest herds of sheep in the county, and has
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dealt largely in Durham cattle. On the farm of four hundred and twenty - five acres on which he lives, and which he owns, he raises small grain and hay, the fertile and well- tilled soil producing large and excellent crops. He was married February 4, 1875, to Miss Carrie Brown, who was born in Cana- seraga, N. Y., daughter of Hiram and Ange- line (Beech) Brown. (For history of Mrs. Bull's parents see sketch of Hiram Brown.) Mr. and Mrs. Bull have an interesting family of five children: Clara L., born November 30, 1875; Edwin H., born December 25, 1879; Charles W., born September 18, 1881 ; Virgil L., born May 13, 1885; Fred E., born October 2, 1887. Mr. Bull is a member of the Farmers' Grange, and is a Republican in politics. Whatever he has gained in this world's goods as the result of continued labor has been turned to good account through the sympathy and co-operation of his wife, by whom his efforts have been ably seconded.
MOS BRIDGE, deceased, was one of the most notable men among the early settlers of Oneida, Madison County. His father, after whom he was named, came front New England, and was one of the first settlers of Stockbridge Hill: he may have been the very first. At that time the entire country was covered with woods, and the only road in that part of the county was the Peterboro Turnpike. Upon arriving, Mr. Bridge, Sr., secured one hundred and fifty-five acres of land, erected a log house,
and began pioncer life in earnest, with the view of making this new country his perma- nent home. Though markets were few and far between, and though the price of ali farm products was low, the pioneers managed to make a good living and to enjoy their lives, perhaps as much as people do at the present day, or even more, notwithstanding the many modern improvements in every department of industrial activity and of art. Improving his farm and educating his family were his chief interests, and he found his time fully occu- pied in these ways. The frame house erected by him was the first built at that place, and is still standing. Mr. Bridge having an unusu- ally sound judgment, his advice was sought by many people from far and near. The people of his entire vicinity always had full confidence in him; and, as a consequence, his influence was more extensive than falls to the lot of the average man. His useful life was extended to eighty years, or some time beyond that of his wife, who had died, well stricken in age, while they were on their old farm. Her maiden name was Mary Sloan. She bore him eleven children, namely: George, Orange, William, Mary, Emily, all deceased ; Sally, wife of Sanford Coe, living in Cali- fornia; Amos, the subject of this sketch; Abigail, deceased; Lewis, of Los Angeles, Cal .; Ira, now deceased.
Amos Bridge was born at Stockbridge, March 31, 1815, was brought up on his father's farm, and there remained till he bought the adjoining farm, to which he re- moved. Working for his father until he was
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of age, he afterward managed the home farm, in conjunction with his brothers, having dur- ing his minority secured a good, practical, common-school education. Inheriting a good share of his father's natural ability, he had a sound judgment, and was successful in life. HIe married in 1838 Delia A. Harvey, who died in 1851. In the following year, 1852, he married Hannah K. Day, daughter of Sel- don and Clarissa (Baker) Day, who had re- moved from Otsego County to Stockbridge when she was about six years old. Her father, who was a blacksmith by trade, and was also engaged in farming, was an early settler in this State, and was a very useful man. He died when sixty-five years old. His wife lived to the age of more than fourscore years. To Mr. and Mrs. Day had been born eight chil- dren, namely: Lovisa, wife of Abel Scribner; Hannah, widow of the subject of this sketch ; Alvin, living in Kansas; Daniel, of Stock- bridge; George, of Whiteside County, Illi- nois; and three who died.
In 1861 Mr. Bridge bought a farm at Oneida Castle, and erected the house in which the widow now lives. The farm he originally owned has been reduced in size until it now contains only thirty acres. Here Mr. Bridge died at the early age of fifty-one years, December 19, 1866. Of his children by his first wife, only one is now living; namely, Mary E., wife of Monroe Dodge, of Stock- bridge, who has three children, - namely, Forbes M., William, and Ina. By his second wife Mr. Bridge had four children, namely : Delia, wife of Charles Lamb, of Stockbridge
Hill; Ada, wife of J. A. Butler; Selden D., of the town of Lenox, who married Zoa J. Lyman; and Jay L., deceased. Delia A. is the mother of four children; namely, Fred, Edith, Beulah, and Wesley. Selden D. has one son, Jay L. In politics Mr. Bridge was a Republican, and in religion both he and his wife were Baptists. Mrs. Bridge is one of the excellent women of Madison County, and, though now in her old age, is yet active phys- ically and mentally, and is passing her years in comfort and peace.
AMUEL S. SPAULDING. Among the prominent agriculturists and ex- tensive land-owners of Stockbridge there is no one who is held in greater respect or is more widely and favorably known than the gentleman whose name appears at the head of this article. He is a native of Madison County, having been born in the town of De Ruyter, October 9, 1822, a son of John and Margaret (Peterson) Spaulding. (For history of parents and grandparents see the sketch of Ira Spaulding, which appears in another part of this volume.)
As a lad, Samuel S. Spaulding attended the district school of his native town. He remained at home until twenty years of age. Learning the cooper's trade when a young man, he followed that occupation for four or five years. He then began working on a farm, receiving thirteen dollars a month for the first season's work. Having providently accumulated a sum of money, Mr. Spaulding
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invested it in real estate, his first purchase being thirty acres in the town of Stockbridge. He owned this but a short time before he dis- posed of it; and for some years thereafter he and his brother Philander, having formed a partnership, bought land and worked together. The firm dissolving partnership, our subject continued to deal in real estate to a certain extent, buying and selling several different farms. In 1870 he purchased the farm where he now lives, consisting of upward of two hundred acres of rich and productive land, on which he does a lucrative business as general farmer and stock-raiser. About twenty-five acres of this he devotes to the raising of hops, an important crop in this section of the country. He also has a large dairy, compris- ing fifty head of cattle, Durham and Ayrshire crossed being his favorite grade. Since it has been in his possession the homestead has been improved until now it is considered in every respect one of the best in this vicinity. His fine residence and commodious farm buildings, with the most improved machinery for carrying on his work, are indicative of the thorough and progressive farmer. Besides the home farm, our subject is the owner of other farms in the county, much of his prop- erty being in real estate.
He is a man of untiring energy, possessed of excellent judgment and good financial abil- ity; and the high position he occupies among the wealthy farmers of Madison County is due to his own unaided efforts, as he has been the architect of his own fortune. Beginning life as a poor boy, working for every penny, he
has earned, saved, made judicious invest- ments; and, without being at all miserly in any way, but, on the contrary, being liberal and generous in his dealings with his fellow- men, Mr. Spaulding holds high rank among the prosperous men of the county, and is num- bered among the prominent and solid men of the town. During his life he has crossed the ocean twenty-six times, going either for busi- ness or pleasure, and has become very familiar with the larger part of Scotland and England. Politically, he is a stanch Democrat. In re- ligion he is broad and liberal in his views.
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