USA > New York > Madison County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Madison County, New York > Part 31
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ILBER M. HENDERSON, a resi- dent of Morrisville and a gentle- man well known throughout Madison County, though a young man, has had much experi- ence in various fields of activity, and pos- sesses great versatility of genius. He has been a successful farmer and business man, and has spent many years of his life in pub- lic service, commencing to hold office by the suffrages of his fellow-citizens when but twenty-one years of age. Mr. Henderson was
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born in the town of Madison, November 18, 1848, and is a son of Solomon Henderson, who was born in Warren County, New York, came to Madison County in 1843, and for a number of years had charge of the repairs on the Cherry Valley turnpike, which was then a toll road. Purchasing a farm in the town of Madison, he has since that time been engaged in agricultural pursuits. His wife, whose maiden name was Emily A. White, was born in the town of Madison, and was a daughter of Alexander White, who belonged to one of the pioneer families of that town. She died at her home in the town of Madison, aged sixty-nine years. She and her husband reared four children, namely: Wilber M., the sub- ject of this sketch; John A .; Ada G .; and Lizzie E.
Wilber M. Henderson was educated first in the district schools, and later attended Goodenough's Business College at Hamilton. While quite young, he began to assist his father on the farm, and remained at home until he was twenty-four years of age. Three years previously he was elected Constable of his town, and soon afterward was elected Col- lector and appointed Deputy Sheriff. In 1875, having been elected Sheriff, he removed to Morrisville, the county seat, and has ever since that time made Morrisville his home. Since the expiration of his term as Sheriff, in which he rendered general satisfaction in the performance of his duties, he has been en- gaged in the loan and insurance business, and has at the same time continued to keep up his interest in agricultural pursuits. His farm,
which is located in the town of Madison, is worked on shares. In 1889 he was appointed Postmaster of Morrisville, and held the office four years, giving general satisfaction in this position, as he had done in the office of Sheriff of the county.
Mr. Henderson is a sound Republican in politics, and fraternally is a member of Ham- ilton Lodge, No. 120, A. F. & A. M .; of Cyrus Chapter, No. 50, R. A. M .; and of Norwich Commandery, No. 46, K. T. He was for a number of years Vice-President of the Madison County Hop-growers' Associa- tion, and in this, as in all other positions which he has held, manifested the same zeal and efficiency in the performance of his offi- cial duties. At the last meeting of the Hop-growers' Association he was elected its President.
OHN E. LEWIS, a prominent manu- facturer of West Eaton, has met with such success in business that a brief narration of the chief events of his life is eminently worthy of place in a work of this kind. He is a manufacturer of woollen goods, an industry that is indispensable to the comfort of the human race. His education he acquired mostly in Wales, from which country have come many skilled workmen who have found in the United States more profitable employment than in their native land, and who are among our most useful and most valuable citizens.
John E. Lewis was born in Wales, Decem- ber 25, 1841, and is a son of Edward and
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Mary Lewis, also natives of that country. Edward Lewis was a carder by trade: hence it was perfectly natural for his sons to fall into the lines they are following. Mr. Edward Lewis emigrated from Wales to the United States in 1853, his family coming the follow- ing year. Settling in West Eaton, he worked in factories for some years, and then went to live on a farm which he bought in the town of Eaton. He spent his last years in the village of West Eaton, dying when sixty years of age. His widow is still living with her daughter, Mrs. Elias Thomas, in the village of West Eaton. Mr. Lewis was a Republican in politics, and was, as his widow is, a mem- ber of the Congregational church of this place.
John E. Lewis has lived in the town of Eaton ever since 1854. His early schooling in Wales was supplemented by one year's study in the United States. In 1855, when fourteen years of age, he began to learn his trade, that of loon-repairing and designing. Remaining at home until he was twenty-five years old, he then took an extended trip through the Western States, spending three years in Peru, Ind. In 1880 the company of Barnes, Jones & Lewis was formed for the purpose of manufacturing woollen goods. The style of the firm was in 1882 changed to Jones, Lewis & Thomas, so remaining until 1887, when Mr. Jones sold his interest. Since that time the firm has been Lewis & Thomas, Mr. Lewis being the senior member. Elias J. Thomas, the junior member, who was born in 1844 in Wales and removed to Eaton
in 1851, is an equal partner in the firm and superintendent of the factory. This company has been very prosperous. It employs about sixty hands, and runs the year round. At the present time they have fifteen looms, but con- template an increase to twenty-one. They manufacture about one hundred thousand dol- lars' worth of goods per year. When their mill is increased in capacity, its output will be correspondingly increased. Their product is sold direct from the factory in all parts of the United States. The factory as it now stands is comparatively new, having been erected in 1886, and is completely fitted up with modern machinery. It takes the place of the old mill which was destroyed by fire November 17, 1885, the new one having been put in operation in July, 1886.
Mr. Lewis married in 1868 Mary E. Thomas, who was born in 1849, near Utica, N. Y., and whose parents are both deceased. Mr. and Mrs. John E. Lewis have had three children, namely: Mary, born in 1870, died when ten months old; Charles, born July 3, 1873; and Walter, born July 5, 1879. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church; and, politically, Mr. Lewis is a Republican. In West Eaton he has about thirty-three acres of land and a very neat and comfortable home.
L. W. Lewis, brother of John E., was born in Wales, October 3, 1849. He also came to the United States with the family, and at fourteen years of age began working in a mill for Alpheus Morse, continuing thus employed one year. He then went to work in the pres-
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cnt cstablishment of Lewis & Thomas, re- maining thus engaged until 1872. For the twelve succeeding ycars he was employed in various mills, returning in 1884 to what was then the firm of Jones, Lewis & Thomas. Having been an industrious man and strictly attentive to his duties, he has been advanced from the very lowest round of the ladder to his present responsible position of overseer of the mill. Mr. Lewis was married in 1871 to Sarah Green, who was born in Rhode Island on September 17, 1847, and is a daughter of Albert Green. He and his wife are members of the Church of Christ of Au- burn, N. Y. ; and in politics Mr. L. W. Lewis is a Republican, able to give good reasons for the principles that he professcs. He owns a comfortable home in the village of West Eaton, and with his wife is highly re- spected.
Mr. Albert A. Green was born in Woon- socket, R.I., October 29, 1824. His father, John Green, was also of Rhode Island birth. His grandfather, Job Green, a native of Cov- entry, Conn., a farmer, moved to Rhode Isl- and after his marriage, and died there, in the village of Franklin, when about eighty-seven years of age. He and his wife were Quakers. John Green was one of a family of three sons and two daughters, the others being Job, Jr., Daniel, Margaret, and Maria, the last-named a Quaker preacher. He was a farmer, and spent his entire life in his native State, dying in Smithfield, at about the age of forty-four years. A Quaker by birth and breeding, in mature life he dissentcd from the faith of his
parents. He married Miss Sarah A. Tink- ham, who is thought to have been born and reared in Rhode Island. After her husband's death Mrs. Grecn moved, with her children, to Millville, on the Blackstone River, in Mas- sachusetts. In religion she was a devoted Methodist. Two of her seven children are yet living; namely, Albert and J. Charles, the first-named being a resident of West Eaton, a finisher in woollen mills, his brother following the same trade in Killingly, Conn. Albert Green learned his trade in Millville, and there married Susan M. Fisher, of Wren- tham, Mass. Mrs. Green died in West Eaton in 1870, aged forty-four years, leaving three children: Mrs. L. W. Lewis; Emma, wife of Richard Vickers, a farmer at Reedsburg, Wis. ; and Allie M., wife of Edward Vaytte, who runs a hoop factory in Reedsburg, Wis.
RA LUCE, deceased, formerly a prom- inent resident of Oneida and a man of excellent business qualifications, was born in the town of Richfield, Otsego County, July 14, 1814. His education was secured in the common schools of that county, and was of a practical character. He was always interested in local political and business matters, and for some time was Deputy and Under Sheriff of Otsego County. In 1864 he located in Oneida, and for some time was engaged in speculation, buying hops, and being interested in various enter- prises, making money and accumulating a competence by fair and honest dealing with
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his fellow-men. He was thus engaged until his death, which occurred April 13, 1888.
He was married to Amanda Robinson, a native of Richfield Springs, Otsego County, born October 14, 1814, and a daughter of Cyrus and Nancy (Duensmore) Robinson, the former of whom was from Massachusetts, set- tled in Richfield Springs when the county was yet new and wild, and was the first merchant of that village. After a prosperous career, in which he made for himself an enviable reputa- tion as a straightforward and honorable busi- ness man, he died, at the age of seventy years.
To the marriage of Ira Luce and Amanda Robinson there was born one child, Alfred, now living in New York City, and a success- ful hop-dealer. Ira Luce was a Democrat in politics, and fraternally an Odd Fellow. His widow now lives in Oneida, comfortably situ- ated and surrounded, in the home her de- ceased husband prepared for his and her declining years. She is a member of the Episcopal church, a most excellent woman, and highly esteemed by all who know her.
BRAHAM A. WEMPLE belongs to a family originally from Holland, who were settled in the eastern part of this State at an early period of its history, in which they figured prominently, the name in the oldest records appearing as Wemp. His immediate progenitors lived in Canajoharie, N. Y., where he was born, February 12, 1814. A remote ancestor, Jan Barentse Wemp, is registered in Munsell's "American Ances-
try " as "born in Dort, Lower Netherlands, Holland, in 1620, came to America about 1640, and settled at Esopus, now Kingston, N. Y., about 1643-45." In the History of Troy, N. Y., the same individual is said to have purchased from the Indians, in 1659, the "Great Meadows," the present site of that city. He is elsewhere spoken of as one of the original proprietors of Schenectady. He married Maritie Myndertsee, and died in 1662, leaving a widow and six children. One of his three sons was named Myndert, and another Barent.
The children of Abraham A. Wemple's grandparents were Roger, John, Myndert M. R., Abraham, and Deborah. Of the direct issue of Roger and Myndert none are now living. Of the children of John two or three are living, of the children of Abraham one, and of Deborah, wife of Philip Van Ant- werp, both deceased, one son is living, John Van Antwerp, of Niskayuna, Schenectady County, N. Y.
Abraham Wemple, father of Abraham A., was born in Montgomery County, June 6, 1776, just before the Declaration of Inde- pendence. He married Maria Loucks, of Palatine, Montgomery County, about the year 1806. He was a merchant in that village, and was Captain of a military company. Having in some way over-exerted himself at a training, he was taken suddenly ill on his return home, and died soon after, leaving a good property by will to his widow and four children - John Barent, Henry M., Walter Y., and Abraham A .; but the trustees ap-
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pointed, although they were near relatives, were not true to their trust, fell short of their duty to the widow and orphans. Our subject was but six weeks old when his father died; and the mother, taking the little family, moved to Schenectady, N.Y., where she reared this youngest son at home and placed the three elder ones at trades. She died in Troy, N. Y., at the home of her son Abraham, in 1848, when she was nearly sixty years of age. Her children were: John B., a cabinet- maker and farmer, who died in 1892, at the age of eighty-three; Henry Myndert, who was born in Canajoharie, October 22, 1800, and died in Mexico, Oswego County, in 1887; Walter Yates, who was born in Canajoharie, November 9, 1811, died at Schenectady, at the age of twenty-two, leaving a widow and one daughter, Sarah M. Ormsby, who is now liv- ing in Michigan.
Abraham A. Wemple received a good com- mon-school education, and at sixteen years of age became a clerk. He was one of those fortunate ones whom the situation sought instead of his seeking the situation. He went to Troy in September, 1835, staying there until 1849, was afterward interested in the agency of the Troy & Schenectady Rail- road in Schenectady. In the winter of 1853, when the four railroads were consoli- dated, he became the freight agent at Troy, and in 1855 removed to Albany, and had charge of the freight department of the New York Central Railroad, coming thence, in 1867, to his present place of residence, hav- ing bought the farm of forty acres left by
John Avery, his wife's father. He married January 15, 1835, Mary S. Avery, of Schen- ectady, N. Y., daughter of John and Penelope (Nichols) Avery, formerly of Massachusetts. Mr. Avery was superintendent of a cotton manufactory at Schenectady. He went to the town of Lenox about 1845, and built a good home on this forty -acre farm mentioned above, near the village. He died there in 1855, aged sixty-seven years. Mr. and Mrs. Avery had two sons and five daughters, none of whom survive but Mrs. Wemple and her sister, Harriet, the wife of John P. Shaffer, of Canastota, N.Y. The mother resided with Mrs. Wemple until her death. Mr. Avery left property to the value of about fourteen thousand dollars. He was a good business man, straightforward in all his dealings with his fellow-men.
In this new home bought by Mr. Abraham A. Wemple the family did not long remain, but went to Troy, where they resided for several years, he being there employed as freight agent for the New York Central Railroad. For nearly twenty years Mr. Abraham Wemple has now been living, retired, at Wampsville, in infirm health. He and his wife have buried four children - one daughter at two and one-half years, a son of four years, a young babe, and a daughter Har- riet, who died in the prime of life, leaving two sons, George A. Lindsay by her first husband, Willianı A. Lindsay, and Willis I. Tuttle by her second husband, Irving Tuttle. The living children of Mr. and Mrs. Wemple are: Mary, wife of Palmer Egleston, who has
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one son, H. Allen Egleston, and one daugh- ter, Ida M. Coburn, wife of Frank D. Co- burn, all of Baltimore, Md .; Nelson Millard, a railroad employee of Albany, N. Y., who has a wife, one son, and four daughters; and Lyman A., a merchant and Postmaster of Wampsville, living with his wife - who was Alvina Pendorf, daughter of Paul Pendorf, of Oneida County, New York - at home with his parents.
Mr. and Mrs. Wemple are earnest and ener- getic members of the Baptist church, with which they have been connected more than forty years, ever ready to co-operate in all its good work. Politically, Mr. Wemple is a stanch Republican. He has the highest esteem and respect of the community, and even in his retired life has not ceased to give interested attention to the stirring events of the day.
ENRY O. TURNER was born June 17, 1847, in the town of Fenner, on the farm he now owns and occu- pies. He is of English descent. His grand- father, having been born in Yorkshire, Eng- land, emigrated to this country in 1799, where he settled first in the town of Cazenovia, re- maining but three years there, then moved to the town of Fenner, journeying with ox-teams. He was one of the very first to make his home here. The first mill in this place was called the "Waterville Mill," and was situated on the Chittenango Creek. In this unsettled country Mr. Turner cleared a farm of two hundred acres. He died at the age of fifty-
five years. His wife survived him many years, dying at the age of eighty. They reared a family of three sons and one daugh- ter, who have all passed away.
Robert, one of the sons of the emigrant, and his wife, Jane (Parkin) Turner, were the parents of our subject. The father was born in the town of Fenner, and in his boyhood attended the district schools. He settled on the ancestral farm in this town about 1831, where he remained until his death, in 1882, at the age of seventy-six years. He was one of the men who built the turnpike from Caze- novia to Chittenango. On his faim of eighty acres he raised grain and fruits, and also dealt largely in fine stock. His wife was born in England, and was but an infant when her parents came to America. She died in 1891, at eighty-two years of age. To herself and husband were born five sons and one daughter, of whom only three are now living: William, a farmer in Minnesota; DeWitt, living at Baldwinsville, N. Y. ; and our subject, Henry O. The others were: John, a farmer in Min- nesota, who died ,at the age of fifty-six ; Myron, at the age of twenty-five; and Mar- garet, at sixteen years.
Henry O. Turner was educated in the town of Fenner, with the exception of a short time of attendance at Cazenovia Seminary. He remained at home until about nineteen years of age, afterward taught school for one winter, and then for a few years worked at various callings. He went to Minnesota, but re- mained there only a short time, when he returned to the State of New York and rented
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land. In 1883 Mr. Turner moved to the old home farm, where be carries on general farm- ing, making hay the main crop. He also manages a dairy of Guernsey cattle. He has a fine, productive farm, on which he has made many improvements, thus placing himself in the first rank of successful agriculturists in the town. In February of 1870 he married Miss Ellen R. Canfield, of Cazenovia Village, daughter of Professor A. B. and Jeannette (Ives) Canfield, both now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Turner have been blessed with two chil- dren: Minnie R., born in 1872; and Robert B., born in 1883. The family attend the Methodist Episcopal church.
In the fraternal orders Mr. Turner is con- nected with Farmers' Grange, and is a charter member of Cazenovia Grange, No. 601. He is also Inspector of Elections. In politics he is a Democrat. As an honorable, upright citizen, having many noble qualities of mind and character, he is accorded an unstinted measure of respect. His fireside is always a hospitable gathering - place for his many friends and acquaintances.
ILBERT O. SAWDEY, an ener- getic and progressive young farmer of Hamilton, was born in this town, Jan- uary 25, 1854. It is supposed that Hamilton was also the birthplace of his father, Calvin Sawdey. His grandfather, supposed to have been a native of Rhode Island, came to this State at an early day in its settlement, and bought a tract of woodland in Hamilton. A
hard-working man, he wielded the axe and guided the plough to good purpose. A log cabin, which was for some years the family domicile, was at length replaced by a more commodious frame dwelling. He closed a busy life at a ripe age, amid the scene of his pioneer labors.
Calvin Sawdey, being one of several chil- dren of this pioneer household, began life on his own account at an early age, working out on a neighboring farm by the month. Dili- gent and frugal, he saved enough of his earn- ings in the course of a few years to buy a farm in Lebanon. Subsequently selling this land, he bought another farm in Hamilton, where he spent the remainder of his days. He married Betsey Pierce, by whom he had seven children - Alfred, Emily, Leroy, El- dora, Gilbert O., Fred, and Myrtie, Burdette, his eldest born, being a child by his first wife, Emily Shattuck.
Attending first the district school of the neighborhood, advancing from that to the Lowell Commercial School at Binghamton, the subject of this biography received an edu- cation sufficiently practical to prepare him well for life. His home training familiarized him betimes with the details of farm manage- ment, practice in which has made him a profi- cient. Not being of a roving disposition, he has remained on the old homestead; and by dint of unwearied toil, by prudence and good calculation, he has been enabled to buy the farm of his father-in-law, Orrumel Hutchins, just over the town line in Sherburne. Here he is engaged in breeding and raising the
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celebrated Holstein Friesian cattle, of which he has one of the finest herds in the Chenango Valley. He takes much pride in showing them to visitors, who are always welcome. He labors not less diligently in improving the estate by planting and by erecting convenient and tasteful buildings than he did in acquir- ing possession.
Here, as elsewhere, his wife, whom he mar- ried in 1874, is his zealous and able co- adjutor. Her maiden name was Romelia Hutchins, and she is a daughter of Orrumel and Angeline Hutchins. The religious con- nections of Mr. and Mrs. Sawdey are with the Methodist Episcopal church, and they are regular attendants on divine worship. Mr. Sawdey does not allow the care of his farm to engross his entire time and energy. but saves some for social recreation and self-improve- ment, being a member of the society of Grangers and of Earlville Lodge, No. 622, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Politi- cally, he is a Republican.
ILLIAM EUGENE LADD. The Ladd family was one of the earli- est to settle in America. Three brothers of this name came from England on board the "John and Ann" or the "Mayflower," and settled in Haverhill, Mass., in 1633. One of these brothers was Daniel Ladd. Ezekiel Ladd, born September 16, 1654, supposed to be a son of Daniel, married Mary Folsom, of Exeter, N.H. They had four children. Nathaniel Ladd, the youngest son, was born
November 12, 1695. Ezekiel Ladd, the sec- ond, supposed to have been the son of Nathaniel Ladd above named, was a member of Captain Charles Morris's company raised for the reduction of Canada in 1747, and served in General Waldo's regiment, and is said to have been poisoned. He had an only son, William Ladd, who was a pilot in the Revolutionary War, and was on Commodore De Grasse's ship in the battle between Rod- ney and De Grasse. He afterward followed whaling, until he came to Duanesburgh, Schenectady County, N. Y. - a town owned by Mr. Duane, an Englishman, from whom it received its name. William Ladd's was the fourth family that settled in the town. He married Elizabeth Vining, of Abington, Mass., November 4, 1766. They had eleven children, five boys and six girls. The eighth child, Lemuel Ladd, grandfather of William Eugene Ladd, was born in Duanesburgh, March 6, 1778. Owning several farms, he spent his life there. He married Phebe Her- rick, and had a family of twelve children, all of whom grew up, and all, with the exception of two, lived to be over sixty years of age. The grandfather and his wife were over seventy years of age at their death. In relig- ious belief they were members of the Baptist church, and in politics he was a Democrat.
The parents of our subject were William and Nancy (Koons) Ladd, who were both born in Duanesburgh. Their family con- sisted of two sons. Gilbert W., the elder son, was born June 9, 1840. He married Margaret E. Rogers, of Danube, Herkimer
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County, N. Y., on March 11, 1863. They had two children, Izora M. Ladd and A. Eugene Ladd. He moved to Manlius, Onon- daga County, N. Y., in 1867, and was acci- dentally killed December II, 1871. He and his wife were members of the Baptist church. The father owned a farm of one hundred and ten acres in his native town, and was what might be termed a general farmer. He died about the age of sixty years, April 5, 1869; and his wife, mother of our subject, died at the home of her younger son, December II, 1890. They were consistent members of the Baptist church. While the father was a stanch Republican and an active worker in that party, he would never accept office.
William Eugene Ladd was born in Duanes- burgh, Schenectady County, N. Y., April 22, 1846. As educational advantages had become vastly improved since -the days of his father, he laid the foundation of a good education in the district schools of his native town, going from them to the excellent Normal School at Albany, N. Y., with the intention of follow- ing the vocation of a teacher; but the death of his father unexpectedly changed his plans, and he was obliged to return to his home and take charge of the farm. In 1871 he sold the place, and moved to the town of Manlius, where he resided with his brother for one year, and then went to Chittenango Village, where he remained another year. In 1873 he married Miss Sarah J. Button. (For sketch of her family see history of Charles P. Button.)
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