USA > New York > Madison County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Madison County, New York > Part 34
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Leander W. Burroughs received his early education in the district schools, and after- ward attended Hamilton union schools three years. Having reached his majority, he bought one hundred and thirty-five acres of land in the town of Smithfield, and engaged in general farming and in the culture of hops.
Being successful in both lines, he at different times bought other lands, until at one time he owned over three hundred acres. Remain- ing on his farm, engaged as stated, until De- cember, 1882, he then removed to the village of Morrisville, where he has since resided, owning eight acres in the village and fifty acres one mile to the south. November 6, 1867, he married Emogene Adams, who was born in Sullivan, Madison County. Her father, the late George Adams, was a native of Herkimer County and a son of Dudley Adams. George Adams was well educated in his youth, and for some years taught school, but during a great part of his life was chiefly engaged in agricultural pursuits. He died in Cazenovia in December, 1882, three months after the death of his wife, in Septem- ber of the same year. The maiden name of Mrs. Adams was Mary Forbes.
Mrs. Burroughs is a member of the Metho- dist Episcopal church. In politics Mr. Bur- roughs is a Republican. He has been hon- ored by his fellow-citizens by election to various offices, having represented the town of Smithfield on the County Board of Super- visors three terms, and having served as Sheriff of Madison County one full term, from 1888 to 1891. Fraternally, Mr. Bur- roughs is a Mason, holding membership in Morrisville Lodge, No. -. He has been frequently called upon to represent his party in county, Congressional, and State conven- tions. He takes an active interest in local public affairs, always contributing liberally to the support of enterprises wisely planned to
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promote the common weal. He has been for about eight years a working member of the Madison County Hop-growers' Association, being a leader in all matters pertaining to this great local industry, the culture of hops.
OHN T. WHITNEY, a representa- tive citizen of Madison County and a descendant of one of the pioneer fam- ilies, was born August 1, 1815, in the town of Madison. The genius of the Whitney family is in the line of business rather than in that of agriculture or the professions, and its members have long been known as strictly honorable men and successful merchants. Mr. John T. Whitney is a son of Edward and Mary (Furness) Whitney, the first mentioned of whom was born in Northampton, Mass., August 1, 1788, and the second near Worces- ter, Mass., August 15, 1793. They were married November 22, 1814, in the town of Madison, Madison County, N. Y.
Edward Whitney was a son of Nathan and Hannah Whitney. His father was born in Connecticut, June 2, 1762, and was a shoe- maker in his early days; and his mother was born in the same State, November 7, 1765. She died February 7, and her husband June 7, 1860. They were the parents of eight chil- dren, and were members of the Episcopal church. In politics he was a Democrat.
Edward Whitney came to the State of New York when a young man; and, having re- ceived a good education in his native State, he followed book-keeping and teaching for a
number of years in New York, exercising the latter profession in Madison County, and was afterward engaged in the mercantile business until his death, which occurred December 9, 1863. He and his wife reared two children, John T. and Maria, the last-named of whom was born in 1817, married William Manches- ter, and died October 10, 1848. Mrs. Whit- ney, the mother of these two children, died April 27, 1865. She was a member of the Episcopal church.
John T. Whitney received his education in the district schools, and at the early age of eleven years began life for himself, entering the employ of a mercantile house in New York City, staying there three years, and then go- ing to Steuben County, New York. At seven- teen years of age he removed to the village of Eaton, worked for a time in the general store of Ellis Coman, saved his money, and at length purchased an interest in the business. Remaining thus engaged in business for himself for some time, he at length sold his interest, and took charge of the store of Mr. A. Morse, remaining in this responsible posi- tion twenty-six years, at the same time acting as clerk and book-keeper for Mr. Morse's woollen factory. Mr. Whitney is a Democrat in politics, and has taken a prominent part in public affairs. He was Postmaster nine and a half years, and had charge of the post-office twenty-one and a half years. He also served for three years as Superintendent of the Poor, and as Town Clerk for some seven years.
Mr. Whitney was married March 16, 1869, to Mary Groves, who was born June 15, 1819,
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in the town of Lebanon. She was first mar- ried, at the age of twenty-eight years, to Samuel Sherman, a native of New England, a farmer, the latter part of whose life was spent in the town of Eaton, N. Y., and whose death was on March 11, 1854. Mrs. Whit- ney's parents, John and Persis Groves, were natives of Brimfield, Mass., whence they emi- grated to Madison County in 1862. Her father, a successful farmer, died at the age of sixty-two years, her mother having passed away a few years previously.
Mrs. Whitney holds in her own right a farm in Madison County, and also some prop- erty in the village of Eaton. Mr. and Mrs. Whitney are now among the oldest inhabi- tants of the village of Eaton. They are people of intelligence and of influence in society, and have the good will and esteem of a large circle of friends and acquaintances.
PRANK H. MAYER, of Oneida, dealer in coal, feed, hay, and straw, is one of the successful men of the village, having built up a prosperous business, and is now enjoying a good trade and possessing the confidence of the people to an unusual extent, notwithstanding there are other firms which are older in the business than he. He is a kind-hearted and accommodating man, has an excellent coal-yard, and fills orders promptly and in a satisfactory manner.
Augustus H. Mayer, the father of the sub- ject of this sketch, was born in Germany, and came to the United States in 1853. He at
first worked in the Allen House in the village of Oneida, and afterward was employed at Durhamville. He married Caroline Beck, Frank H., the subject of this sketch, being their only child. He was a bright and intel- ligent boy, and had good opportunities for securing an education in school. His sound, practical knowledge of his own business, and his acquaintance with the history of his coun- try, have been obtained by his own endeavors and by his own accurate observation.
When only nine years old, Frank H. Mayer began to drive a team on the tow-path of the canal, and was thus employed until he was fourteen, when he was promoted to steering the boat. He worked continuously on the canal for twenty-two years. He then bought a half-interest with Clark & Harvey, coal- dealers in Durhamville, soon mastering the details of the business, and two years later bought out his partners. In this business he continued four years alone, and then sold a half-interest. Leaving his partner in Dur- hamville to manage the business there, he himself removed to Oneida, and established the yard and business in which he is now engaged, being in Oneida the sole proprietor of his business, and still retaining the one- half interest in the business at Durhamville. At the time of his removal to Oneida, in 1892, he was thirty-four years old; and in this comparatively short period of time he has made a remarkable record as a business man. He married Helen Sipp, by whom he has three children; namely, Lucile, Frank, and August Harold. Politically, Mr. Mayer is
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a Republican and a careful observer of the tendency of political thought and movement. His business now being established on a firm basis, he intends to make the pleasant village of Oneida a permanent home. Besides estab- lishing his business on a solid foundation, he has also established his own character and reputation as an honest, straightforward busi- ness man, and has the pleasure and satisfac- tion of living in a community in which he has the confidence of all.
ILLIAM SMITH is an old and highly respected resident of Hamil- ton, and one of its thrifty, prosperous farmers. The fine and well-improved farm that he lives upon, and of which he is now the sole owner, has been his home from his birth, which occurred September 15, 1830. He comes of good Revolutionary stock, his grand- father having fought in the great war that freed this country from English dominion.
Nehemiah Smith, a pioneer of this region, father of William, was born in Colchester, Conn. After attaining manhood, he came to New York with some of his neighbors, jour- neying hither with an ox-team through the wilderness, where they had to find their way a part of the time by means of blazed trees. Mr. Smith bought a tract of timbered land in Hamilton, which he afterward developed into a good farm, the same that our subject lives upon. Six acres of the land were cleared when it came into his possession, and a part of a house stood on the clearing. He had
learned the trade of carpenter, and was profit- ably employed at that for several years. Both he and his wife died on the old homestead. She was a daughter of a Revo- lutionary soldier, Hubbard by name The following are the names of her seven chil- dren : Tryon, the eldest; Emeline; Elijah; Sarah; Elmira; Gates; and William.
The youngest son, whose name stands at the head of this sketch, attended the public schools in his boyhood; and his education was further supplemented by a thorough train- ing in all that goes to make a good farmer. He inherited a part of the old homestead ; and, ambitious to own the whole of it, he worked hard until he had the wherewithal to buy the remainder of the other heirs. His pleasant, well-kept place shows everywhere the marks of industry, thrift, and good man- agement. Mr. Smith has not been without the assistance of an able helpmate through the years of toil that have passed, as by his mar- riage in 1860 with Miss Amanda C., daugh- ter of Richard and Anna Estes, he secured an inestimable wife, who has faithfully co-opcr- ated with him in his work. They have one daughter, who married her cousin, Richard Estes, and is the mother of three children : Willie L., the eldest; Annie; and Marion. The mother of the wife of our subject was a daughter of Stephen and Molly Austin. She was born in New Hampshire, and came with her people at an early day to Jefferson County in this State. She lived to be ninety-four years old.
Mr. Smith has been ever mindful of his
D. A. WILLCOX.
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duties as a husband, father, neighbor, and citizen, and has always led an upright life. Both he and his wife are esteemed members of the Baptist church, and contribute cheer- fully to its support. He was formerly identi- fied with the Order of Odd Fellows. Politi- cally, he is with the Republicans.
E FOREST A. WILLCOX, an en- terprising business man, and a member of the County Board of Supervisors, representing the town of Lebanon, was born in Smyrna, Chenango County, De- cember 4, 1837. His father, Alfred Willcox, a natural mechanic, working at saw and grist mills, came, when young, to New York from Massachusetts, his native State, with other members of his family, going first to Leb- anon, then to Smyrna, afterward moving to Earlville, where he died at fifty-eight years of age. He married Louisa Brown, daughter of Peleg Brown, who died at the home of the subject of this sketch at the advanced age of seventy-eight years, having reared to maturity seven of her eight children - A. Devalson, A. Delina, De Forest A., Delora, Derius, Delphurna, and Delano.
De Forest A. Willcox received his early education, his instruction in book learning, in the public schools of Smyrna. At four- teen years of age he adopted the calling of a miller. Thoroughly mastering the trade, he followed it - a first-class miller - for many years, the latter part of the time being propri- etor of a mill at Earlville. In 1887 he be-
came associated with J. R. Parsons in the manufacture of the now famous low-down milk and general delivery wagon. The firm began business in a small way, erecting a building twenty by twenty-four feet, three stories in height, and employing three men. Success did not immediately follow the new enter- prise. The wagon, not being perfected, proved less serviceable than it had promised to be, and failed to find favor with the public; and the business was run at a loss for two years. It was then that Mr. Willcox set his wits at work to improve upon Mr. Parsons's invention. As a result, the wagon which the company is now turning out is in large and constantly increasing demand. Additions have been made to the original building, which is now forty by one hundred and four feet, three stories in height, with a two- storied wing, twenty by thirty feet. Besides this, the old mill has been turned into a workshop; and the company have in their employ from eighty to one hundred men. In 1891 an electric dynamo was put in, to light the buildings by electricity, Mr. Will- cox's son, Walter D., taking full charge of this department. In the fall of 1892, it being found that increased facilities for light- ing were needed, the plant then in use was sold to St. Johnsville parties, and the present plant put in its place. Walter Willcox con- tinues its successful manager, supplying with light many of the citizens of the village as well as the corporation.
Mr. Willcox married in 1860 Sylvia T. Scarrett, daughter of James and Polly (Wool-
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bridge) Scarrett, who was born in Smyrna, Chenango County. They have one child liv- ing, Walter D., who was born June 23, 1869, and married January 1, 1890, to Nellie A. Booth. She was born in South Hamilton, N. Y., daughter of J. F. and Hannah F. Booth. The only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Willcox, ·Mattie D., died at the age of thirteen years. Mr. Willcox is Republican in politics. He was chosen Supervisor in 1888, and has been elected his own successor every year since. He has served on various committees, and has been the efficient chairman of some of the most important of them. He is a member of Earlville Lodge of the Ancient Order of United Workmen.
The excellent portrait of Mr. Willcox which accompanies this biographical sketch is espe- cially noteworthy from the fact that it pre- sents the features of a representative business man, who is, in addition, a practical and skilled mechanic of inventive ingenuity, and who by his past record has won the respect and confidence of his fellow-citizens, as mani- fested by his repeated election to the public offices above mentioned. That he may long enjoy the high position he holds in his com- munity will be the sincere wish of his many friends and admirers.
HILO WALDEN, a successful busi- ness man of the village of West Eaton and a representative of one of the pioneer families of the county, was born April 14, 1833, in the town of Otego, Otsego
County. He is a son of John and Roxie (Pane) Walden, the former of whom was born in Vermont in 1798, and the latter in Massa- chusetts. They were married in 1816 in Vermont, and came to the State of New York soon afterward, settling in the town of Otego. There the father selected and cleared a piece of timber land, and spent most of his life on this farm. He was a typical pioneer, sturdy, industrious, and honest, and lived to the great age of eighty-eight. He died at West Eaton, at the home of his daughters, his wife having died on the home farm in the town of Otego, at the age of seventy-six. They were both members of the Baptist church, and in poli- tics he was a Democrat. Their family con- sisted of sixteen children, fourteen of whom grew to mature years, and four of whom are still living, namely: Roxanna, wife of Stephen Westcott, residing in Oswego County ; Sophronia, wife of Frank Westcott, residing in the town of Eaton; Philo, the subject of this sketch; and Deloss, residing in the town of Eaton. John Walden, the grandfather of our subject, was a native of Vermont, and in middle life left home and never returned. He had started on a journey to New York City, but it was reported that he was robbed and killed.
Philo Walden was reared and partly edu- cated in Otsego County, attending the district school as long as he could learn anything there, and then a select school for three months. At the age of seventeen he started out in life on his own account, walking the entire distance from his home in Otsego
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County to the town of Eaton, Madison County, through the deep mud of March. At first he worked in West Eaton at fourteen dollars per month, continuing thus engaged for one year, and then began to learn the trade of carpentry. This trade he industri- ously followed two years, and then went to the northern part of Wisconsin, where he engaged in fur-trading with the Shawnees, Chippewas, and Oneidas. Returning to Madi- son County in 1858, he remained one summer in the town of Eaton, and in 1859 went to Kentucky, where he busied himself in putting up stemmeries for curing and drying tobacco. In the winter of 1859-60 he went to Canada, and again engaged in the fur-trade, remaining there until March of the latter year, then, in partnership with his father-in-law, engaged in the hotel business in West Eaton; but on account of the almost immediate death of the latter, which occurred March 28, 1860, he abandoned the hotel, and went to the oil regions of Pennsylvania, remaining there until 1861. Then, again returning to the town of Eaton, he engaged in selling goods and in buying wool for the firm of J. E. Dar- row & Co., continuing in their employ two years, when he bought an interest in the firm. Since then he has been engaged in various kinds of business, and is also quite an exten- sive dealer in real estate in Brooklyn, N. Y. Mr. Walden has been an extensive traveller in the interests of his business, and has thus broadened his experience and widened the circle of his acquaintances. He has several times journeyed over the Northern, Eastern,
Central, and Southern States. He is well informed on current events, and keeps pace with the progress of the times.
Mr. Walden was married in 1854 to Mary Ann Wellington, daughter of Calvin and Jane Wellington. She died in 1862; and in 1869 Mr. Walden married Ann Wellington, a sis- ter of his first wife. She died March 5, 1885. She was a member of the Methodist Eiscopal church, a good wife, and a worthy woman. In politics Mr. Walden is a Demo- crat, but is not an office-seeker. He is a most successful business man, and one of the leading citizens of the county. From this brief narrative of his career it is evident that he is self-made, in the best sense of the word, as he has accumulated a handsome property by his own good management and unaided exertions, and has established a reputation for probity and honor second to none.
OHN MORRIS was born December 22, 1846, on the farm which he now owns and occupies. The Morris name is one closely identified with the fortunes of the Revolution, a distinguished ancestor of our subject, one Robert Morris, who was the wealthiest man in the colonies, being re- nowned in history as having furnished one million rations to the patriot army during the terrible campaign of the winter at Valley Forge. The "ingratitude of republics " is a proverb well illustrated in his case; for this noble benefactor died some years afterward in jail, in New York, for a small debt he could
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not pay. The family were originally from England; and at the present time there is a litigation of seven million dollars still unset- tled, awaiting an established claim.
The grandfather, Isaac Morris, was born in Dutchess County, New York, in 1781, and died at the home of his son, John Morris, Sr., December 9, 1856. He was a soldier in the War of 1812. Hs wife was Miss Hannah Williams, daughter of Aaron Williams, born in 1776, and died in 1857. John Morris, Sr., the father of our subject, was born in Dutchess County, New York, in 1803, and married Miss Nancy Able, February 27, 1839. They had five children, namely : Hannah, who married John Main, of Clockville; Mary, wife of M. D. Root, a farmer of the same county ; Lyman, who was killed by the cars in Chi- cago, Ill., in 1872, leaving a wife and one son ; John, Jr .; and Laura, wife of William Cramer, of Oneida.
John Morris, the subject of our sketch, received an excellent education in the high school and seminary of Oneida, and has been engaged in farming for many years on the place left to him by his father. He was mar- ried October 30, 1867, to Alice P. Cole, the only child of Americus Cole, of Oneida County, who died in Allegany County, aged sixty-five years. Mr. and Mrs. Morris are blessed with two children: Lulu, who is now at home; and a son, Myrtal, who is now about seventeen years old, and is a student in the Oneida Seminary.
The patriotic spirit of the Morris family has shown itself in their descendants. One
of them, Ira Morris, uncle of our subject, was a volunteer soldier in the Civil War, and laid down his life on the battlefield at Antietam, September 17, 1862, in defence of the Union. Politically, Mr. Morris is a voter in the Re- publican ranks, standing by its candidates faithfully and unswervingly. Fraternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The only public office he has held is that of Town Collector, which position he holds at present.
Mr. Morris is a most successful farmer, having twelve acres of hops and two of aspara- gus, both excellent paying crops. He has also a fine flock of one hundred pure-blooded Southdown sheep, and they are a source of great pride and profit to him. His home, which was rebuilt in 1884 on the site where the old dwelling stood, is handsome and ele- gantly appointed; and here, with his family, he enjoys every comfort and felicity.
EWELL M. CHAFFEE, a prominent and successful farmer, now living on his two-hundred-and-fourteen-acre farm in District No. 6 in the town of Lenox, was born in the town of Smithfield, two and one-half miles from his present resi- dence, in 1820. He is of French descent, his ancestors having emigrated from France at an early date, and located in New England. His grandfather, Captain Ezra Chaffee, was born in Connecticut in 1742. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary army, and died in Vermont in 1815, aged seventy-three years.
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Ezra Chaffee, Jr., the father of our subject, was born in Connecticut in 1777, and was reared from his sixth to his twenty-first year in Vermont. At the end of this period, or in 1798, he removed to New York, to make it his future home. He bought a tract of land on the Mile Strip in the town of Smithfield, and was among the earliest settlers of that town, and one of its most valuable citizens. He married Miss Fannie Shipman, who was born in Newark, N.J., and died on her hus- band's farm in Smithfield. She was a daugh- ter of David and Lydia (Combs) Shipman, and a niece of Moses N. Combs, a prominent citizen of Newark, N.J. Mr. Shipman was. a soldier of the Revolution, a prosperous man, and died at the ripe old age of eighty-eight years. Ezra Chaffee, Jr., and his wife began life on a portion of the old homestead in Smithfield, where they resided for many years. They were the parents of ten chil- dren, five sons and five daughters, one son dying in infancy. The family afterward removed to Peterboro, where two of the daughters continued to reside after the death of their parents. All the children are now deceased except the subject of this sketch. Their mother died August 26, 1860, and their father in Peterboro in the year 1862. They were regular attendants at and supporters of the Presbyterian church at Peterboro, and both are now sleeping in the cemetery at that place.
Newell M. Chaffee was reared a farmer-boy when the facilities for a liberal education were not what they are at the present time;
but he received the education that the best common schools afforded in those days, which, with his reading and observation, made him a man of excellent judgment. He remained at home, taking charge of his father's farm, until he was married, in 1851. His wife was, previous to her marriage, Miss Catherine MacGregor, a daughter of Colonel Alexander and Margaret (MacIntyre) Mac- Gregor, the former of whom came from Scot- land at the age of four years, and the latter (whose ancestors were Scotch) was born in Montgomery County, New York. Soon after marriage Mr. Chaffee bought a farm opposite his father's old homestead. The farm upon which he now resides he purchased in 1854. It was then under a fair state of cultivation, but has since been much improved, the build- ings having been also remodelled and rebuilt. The large barns have been moved to the east - ward, so that they are not now an obstruction to the fine view of Oneida Lake and of the enchanting scenery along its shores. Rome, eighteen miles away to the north-east, can be seen with the naked eye; and Oneida, seven miles distant, can also be plainly seen from Mr. Chaffee's residence. Taken all in all, the view from this point vies with and rivals, if it does not surpass, the far-famed scenery of Italy and the Orient. Mr. Chaffee's home is beautifully embowered by many sugar-maples, planted by his own hands thirty-eight years ago. These trees are now large, stately, and beautiful, no other shade-tree surpassing the maple in beauty, and none in stateliness ex- cept the elm, of which there are also several
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