USA > New York > Madison County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Madison County, New York > Part 40
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The Faulkner family attend the Baptist church, and may be relied upon to do their part in its religious, beneficent, and social work. Mr. Charles Faulkner was eminently worthy of the respect and esteem in which he was held. He was of a high type of manly character; and his death a little more than
two years ago, the close of an upright and Christian life, was deeply mourned by his wife and children, and regretted throughout the community. Mrs. Faulkner is a lady whose kindly disposition and many virtues have gained for her the sympathy and affec- tion of a large circle of friends, and whose pleasant home is an attractive social centre.
RS. CLARISSA C. COOPER, widow of the late Charles Cooper, who died September 26, 1892, at the age of sixty-four, is a daughter of Willard and Eliza (Hall) Cotton, the former of whom came from Vermont, and the latter from Massachusetts. The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Cooper, Justus Hall, came to Madison County in 1807, and settled in the town of Lenox, when his daughter Eliza was seven years old. Her grandfather Cotton came to Madison County from Vermont about 1805, when his son Willard was a small boy. He was a farmer in easy circumstances, and with the help of his good wife reared a family of eleven children, of whom four sons and four daughters grew to mature years, all now having passed away. Owen, the eldest of their sons, died at Attica, Wyoming County, N. Y., when upward of ninety years of age.
Willard and Eliza Cotton were the parents of seven children, four sons and three daughters, three of whom are still living, namely: Ham- ilton, a farmer, near by; Ann, wife of Abner Snell, of Canastota; and Clarissa. Mrs. Cooper is a well-educated lady, having spent
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three years in the boarding-schools of Clinton and Chittenango. She was married first February 7, 1854, when she was twenty years of age, to Elijah French, of Maine, who was a watch-maker and jeweller, and who died on the farm upon which the subject now lives in 18So, at the age of sixty years, leaving no children. Mrs. French was married in De- cember, 1884, to Charles C. Cooper, who died, as stated in the beginning of this memoir, leaving two sons and one daughter by a former marriage; namely, Edwin M., Clinton H., and Maria, the latter of whom was graduated from the Canastota Academy in IS91, when seventeen years of age, and is now a teacher in the public schools. The three children are all at home with Mrs. Cooper, who has given them a mother's tender care, and whom they regard with filial affec- tion. Mrs. Cooper's farm contains one hun- dred and nine acres, seventy acres of which were taken up by Justus Hall nearly ninety years ago, when the land was new to cultiva- tion. when this immediate part of the county of Madison was appropriately designated "oak openings." Upon this farm Mr. Hall died suddenly of winter cholera, about 1830, when sixty-four years of age. His widow died in June, 1849, aged seventy-three.
Mr. Cooper was a valued citizen of his town, often elected to offices of honor and trust. At one time he was well-to-do in the world; but through misfortune he lost a por- tion of his property, which depressing experi- ence doubtless hastened his death. As he was a Mason and an Odd Fellow, these fra-
ternities were very attentive to him during his last illness, and superintended his funeral. Mrs. Cooper, since her husband's death, has successfully managed her place, carrying on general farming, keeping a small dairy, and having a hop-yard of from five to ten acres. Now living in the prime of mature woman- hood, she may be spoken of as well preserved, her appearance indicating excellent health and an active and contented mind.
LIJAH W. BROWN was born on July 8, 1822, in Georgetown, Madison County, N. Y., where he remains to this day, a public-spirited citizen, immensely pop- ular in his town and county, and a thor- oughly representative man of the Republican party. Captain Samuel Brown, the grand- father of this gentleman, earned his honorable title by three years of arduous service on the battlefields of the Revolutionary War. He was born in Connecticut, and was one of the sturdy men of the colonies who left the plough standing in the furrow, the wife and babe hastily kissed, and, grasping the old flint-lock musket, hurried to the defence of the imperilled nation. After independence was gained, he returned to the peaceful pur- suits of a farmer's life, which he followed until his death. He lived to a good old age, and, after the removal of his son Elijah to New York State, made long and tedious trips every other year to visit him.
The five children of Captain Samuel Brown and his wife, who was a Miss Day, were
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Alanson, Elijah, Alfred, Erastus, and Lydia. All are now deceased. Elijah, the second son, who was born in New London, Conn., came to Georgetown, Madison County, N. Y., and on April 1, 1813, bought a tract of land, a dozen acres of which were cleared, and on which was the only frame house on the high- road. He carried on farming, and soon cleared off the timber on the remaining por- tion of his farm. Here he raised wheat, corn, and oats, and for a good many years kept sheep as his principal live stock. His farm products he sold to people who supplied the markets in Albany, N. Y. One of the main sources of revenue in those days, when timber was so plentiful, was potash, which was made from the immense amount of wood cut down to make clearings. This, and the black salt from which pearlash is made, found a ready market in the capital, and, as money was scarce in those days, served as barter for home necessities. The family linen was woven from flax raised on the farm, and the mother fashioned the garments which the household wore; and they were substantial and well made, if not of the city's prevailing mode.
Mr. Brown was early attracted by the charms of Miss Margaret Williams. A mut- ual attachment ensued; and the romance of their lives, which may be said to have begun when they were pupils in the same district school, happily resulted in their marriage in their native town in Connecticut, and to- gether they braved the hardships of the jour- ney to their habitation in New York State,
where her cheerful endurance and housewifely thrift made their home in the wilderness a veritable garden of Eden. Their family con- sisted of six children, as follows: Lydia, La- vinia, Harriet, Elijah W., Loren W., and Julia A., whose pathetic death occurred when she had reached the budding age of sixteen years. They are now all deceased except Elijah W. Lydia married Alanson Niles, of Hamilton N.Y .; and one child was born to them, a daughter, Francelia, who married Erasmus Higgins. Mr. and Mrs. Higgins re- side in Kansas, and have one child. George. Lavinia, Mrs. L. E. Swan, lived in Cazeno- via; and her children are Edwin, Levi, George, Flora, Maggie, and Mary. Edwin is married, and lives in Flint, Mich. He has two children. Levi married a Miss Gridley, and lives in Fayetteville, N.Y. The wife of George was a Miss Lawton; and their home is in Binghamton, N. Y. Flora is Mrs. Faulk- ner, of Nelson, N. Y. Mary is Mrs. Charles Niles, of Cazenovia, N.Y. And Maggie is unmarried, and lives in Cazenovia. Harriet, the third daughter, married Lyman Bonney, of Georgetown, N.Y., and has one child, Loren. The second son and fifth child of Mr. and Mrs. Elijah Brown was Loren W., who married Miss Elcena Prentice. Their four children, married, are as follows: Her- man N., to Miss Upham, of Georgetown, and has one child, Frank; Morel, to Miss Blan- chard, of Manlius, N. Y .; Emma is Mrs. Gil- bert Tripp, of Manlius, and has two chlidren; and Herbert married a Miss Riggall.
Elijah W., the eldest son and fourth child
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of Mr. and Mrs. Elijah Brown, grew up on his father's farm, and with his brothers and sisters attended the schools of the village. At this time the land had been pretty well cleared of the timber. and the farm had become productive and profitable. Arrived at a suitable age, and being conveniently circumstanced to take to himself a wife, he married Miss Ruth T. Robie, daughter of Jonathan Robie, of Georgetown. Four children have been born of this marriage. Amorette, the eldest, is the wife of Henry Hammond, of Syracuse, and has two children, Fred W. and George B. Ada, the next daughter, is Mrs. Chester J. Parker, of Lake- port, N. Y. ; and her one child is Chester J. Parker, Jr. George, the eldest son, married Miss Libbie Austin, of Georgetown ; and they have two children, Mabel and Ruth M. Ed- ward, the youngest, lives at home with his parents, the location of their dwelling being the same as that in which they fixed their residence twenty-seven years ago, and which they have since continued to occupy.
Mr. Elijah W. Brown is a stanch adherent of the Republican party, a veteran worker in its ranks. He has been a delegate to the county conventions for the last forty years, also has attended the Senatorial and Congres- sional and State conventions. He was a member of the first Republican convention held in Madison County. For eleven years he has served as Supervisor, and, besides being an Assessor for nine years, has been Highway Commissioner, and for a certain part of his time has been Trustee of his school
district. For several years he was Bank Ap- praiser for Madison County. In his religious opinions he is a Methodist, and with his family assists greatly in the good work of that church. Mr. Brown has ever been a devoted husband, a loving father, and a generous and patriotic citizen. He fully deserves all the eulogiums he receives.
E. FOOTE was born March 11, 1840, in the town of Brookfield, N. Y. on the farm he now owns and occupies, and on which his father Rufus was also born. The Foote family came to this State from Colchester, Conn., and were persons of con- siderable education and research, as was evi- denced by the classical name of Epaphroditus given to the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, who came first to Brookfield, and set- tled on the above-named farm.
Rufus Foote, son of the immigrant, was reared and educated in his native town, and there remained, engaged in active pursuits, until 1875, when he removed to Bridgewater, where he still lives, a hale and hearty man of seventy-six years. He did not need to go to a strange country or even to a neighboring village to seek a wife. He married Miss Emily Hall, who, like himself, was a native of the town of Brookfield.
W. E. Foote was the only child of Rufus and Emily Hall Foote. He was educated in the public schools of Brookfield and at West Winfield Academy, and remained at home with his parents until he was twenty-two
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years of age. He was twice married. After his first marriage he resided at the old home- stead for five years, and then removed to Bridgewater, having bought an interest in a hotel previously kept by Mr. Mason. Here he did a most successful business for five years, selling out at the end of that time, with the intention of returning to the farm. Since coming to Bridgewater, he had been elected Supervisor of the town, and, when he disposed of his interest in the hotel, had only partially served his term of office; but, being a man who always considered duty paramount to everything else, he remained in the town to finish his term, although not engaged in business. After this he went back for a short time to the old homestead. The year 1881 found him again in Bridgewater, where he en- tered the store of W. C. Marsh, staying there three years. He returned once more, and for good, to the old home farm in 1885.
His first wife was Miss Josephine Otterbin, daughter of John and Catherine Otterbin. She was born in Cedarville, Herkimer County, N. Y., her parents being pioneers of the town. Two years previous to his leaving Bridgewater his wife died; and in 1874 he married Miss Emily Hall, daughter of Samuel and Nancy Hall. They have one child, Anna Josephine. Following the example of his father, Mr. Foote is a supporter and worker in the Universalist church, the grandfather having been a prominent member and strong supporter of said church.
In the fraternal orders Mr. Foote is a mem- ber of Western Star Lodge, No. 15, of
Bridgewater, one of the oldest in the State of New York. Socially, Mr. Foote and fam- ily hold a fine position, and have many true and warm friends in the community. Their home is noticeable at once as the abode of culture and intelligence, where the visitor is always sure of a pleasant, hospitable wel- come. In every department of life Mr. Foote has ably and worthily filled the station in which he has been placed, and is regarded by his townspeople as a thoroughly consistent and honorable gentleman.
R EV. LEWIS HYDE STANLEY, a venerated minister of the Methodist Episcopal church, now retired from active service, was born in Cazenovia, N.Y., February 12, 1812. His father, Lewis Stanley, a native of Hartford, Conn., who was a farmer, came to Cazenovia when he ·was but sixteen years of age. He lived for a time at Lisle, in Broome County, with his brother-in-law, Calvin Hyde, with whom he came to New York State from Connecticut.
The father of Lewis Stanley was James Stanley, a mechanic, who also was a native of Hartford, Conn. His children were: Alexander; James; Lewis; Samantha, wife of Captain Hyde; and Mrs. Freeman, whose husband was a Methodist minister. Their father lived to a good old age, and their mother to a still older one, dying at the home of her son James, in the town of Pompey, Onondaga County, N.Y. Lewis Stanley mar- ried Miss Betsey Smith, of Johnstown, who
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died in Cazenovia, in middle life, leaving eight children, the ninth one having been, at the age of three years, accidentally scalded to death. Mr. Stanley married again.
The education of Lewis Hyde Stanley was begun in his early childhood in the rude log school-house of the district, and continued later in the Cazenovia Seminary. When a young man, he went to Genesee County, and taught school for some time. Having de- cided on the ministry for his profession, he entered the regular work in the Methodist Episcopal church at the age of twenty-three, and for forty years was in the itinerancy, in what is now the Central New York Confer- ence, but was then the Oneida Conference. He was married at Cazenovia, December 15, 1835, to Miss Nancy A. Parsons. She is now eighty-four years old, remarkably hale and hearty, as is her husband, who has reached his. eighty-second year. He and his wife have buried two daughters: Eliza Jane, who died in Chenango County, at nine years of age; and Josephine Louisa, who was skilled in music, and taught the art for sev- eral years. Her death on February 14, 1891, in their present home, at the age of forty-eight years, was a great sorrow to her parents. The living children are: Lewis McKendree, unmarried, and living at home, has taught school for some years, but con- ducts the farm now; and a daughter, Helen Marie, wife of Frank C. Jarvis, of Canas- tota, N.Y.
Rev. Mr. Stanley was long an ardent Re- publican, but has now become a stanch Prohi-
bitionist. For eighteen years he has been retired from active work in the ministry. He has labored hard in the vineyard of the Lord, and his years of ministration have brought forth good fruits. Many and severe were the reverses and trials he underwent in his jour- neys through the country. His strong phys- ical organization had much to endure; but, no matter how great his fatigue, his zeal was always fresh to move the sinner's heart, his voice clear and strong to lead the glorious hymns of his church. He bought his present homestead of sixty acres in the town of Lenox in the spring of 1866, paying four thousand one hundred dollars for the place, including house, barns, stock, and tools, and immedi- ately moved on to it with his family. He carries on general farming, raising the ce- reals and keeping a small dairy. Together this aged couple enjoy in peace and pleasant surroundings their last years, serene in the knowledge of well-spent lives, and assured of being welcomed in the realms above as good and faithful servants, having done their Mas- ter's will on earth.
ILLIAM H. CHAMBERLIN, M.D., one of the most active and suc- cessful practitioners of medicine of Madison County, now a resident of Oneida, is a son of Isaac Chamberlin, of Oneida County. The father of Isaac Chamberlin was Lowell Chamberlin, of Vermont, who came to the State of New York at an early day, and was one of the pioneers of Oneida County, where
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he engaged in farming, working hard, and per- forming his full share toward the improve- ment and development of this then new country. He was of the hardy stock produced by the climate of New England, and lived to the good old age of eighty years, his wife living to be eighty-six. They were the parents of nine children, two of whom died in early life, one in middle life, and the rest in old age. Isaac Chamberlin, the third child, was reared on the home farm, and followed agricultural occupations all his life. When twenty-four years of age, he married Eliza- beth Hinman, who came from Troy, N. Y., and died here in 1881, leaving two children : William H., the subject of this sketch; and Charles, now living on the old homestead. Isaac Chamberlin died in 1885, having been a straightforward, honorable man and a highly respected citizen.
William H. Chamberlin was born at his father's home in Oneida County, October 5, 1850, and worked hard on the farm when a boy and young man. While attending the district school, his ambition was to study for some profession; but in this ambition he re- received but little encouragement from his parents. Leaving the common school when fourteen years of age, he thereafter attended the village high school until he was eighteen years old, and then went to Illinois, where he found employment as a school-teacher in the city of Jacksonville, Morgan County. After a time spent in Illinois in this most honorable and useful occupation, he returned to this State, and was here similarly engaged
for three years more. Though he liked the profession of teaching and was successful therein, yet he desired something that would furnish him a larger income, and something that would be permanent and at the same time useful, and therefore decided on the pro- fession of medicine. Being able now to support himself by means of the money he had saved from his wages as teacher, he began his studies in Michigan University at Ann Arbor, and completed them in the Medical Department of the University of the City of New York, graduating there in 1876. Soon afterward he engaged in medical practice at Vernon, Oneida County, remaining there two years, and then going to Delavan, Wis., where he was in practice four years. Since then he has been continuously engaged in his profes- sion in Oneida, has built up a large practice, and is frequently called in important cases.
Dr. Chamberlin was married, when twenty- eight years old, to Clara Allen, of Verona, a daughter of James and Martha Allen. By this marriage he has two children, Wilfred and Whitney. Politically, the Doctor is a Republican; and both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Dr. Chamberlin is a physician who is widely and favorably known. He has made many friends, both in his professional capacity and as a private citizen. There are few fields, if any, in which a man who is well qualified for his duties can exert a better influence, can do more good work for wayward and suffering humanity, than in that of the practice of medicine, which fact is fully appreciated by
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Dr. Chamberlin. The profession is one in which the unfit man is soon discovered and rebuked, and in which the honorable and skilful practitioner is sure of success and its rewards, moral and pecuniary. Dr. Chamber- lin enjoys the satisfaction which comes from the consciousness of living a life of useful- ness, being of true service to his fellow- beings, and also of possessing in large measure the confidence of the community, which brings him an extended practice, and assures the substantial pecuniary compensa- tion without which no physician could live by his profession.
RS. J. H. HAWLEY. The sketch of this estimable lady is of more than ordinary interest, as all branches of her family are intimately con- nected with the history of Madison County. She was born June 20, 1832, in East Hamil- ton, N. Y., where she now occupies the old homestead. Her father was Cyrus R. Ackley, a native of the same town, a son of Calvin Ackley, who came here from Colchester, Conn., and in connection with a brother, bought a large tract of timbered land. As the first thing necessary for the pioneers to do, they erected a log cabin on this tract for their temporary dwelling, and then set to work to fell trees and clear the land for their farm. Their purchase was situated about four and one-half miles from the village of Hamil- ton; and, as even the primitive "loco-foco " matches were not then known, the first fire in
their new home was started from live coals brought in a teakettle from the village.
Cyrus R. Ackley lived with his father on this farm, and was reared to agricultural pursuits. He died in June, 1892, at the age of eighty-six years. His two children were Mrs. Hawley and Ellen F. (deceased). The wife of Cyrus R. Ackley was a Miss Abbey A. Carrier, a member of a well-known pio- neer family of the town, and one of ten children born to her parents. The eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ackley married Mr. John H. Hawley, of Brant, Erie County, N. Y. For fifteen years Mrs. Hawley and her husband resided in Erie County, where he carried on his father's farm, which was one of the finest in the county. So productive in one line of gardening alone - the culture of small fruits - was this place that three hun- dred and fifty bushels of berries were gathered in the last year of her residence on the farm, while other crops were correspondingly large.
Thirteen years ago Mr. Hawley died, to the great sorrow of his wife and family. Shortly after the death of her husband Mrs. Hawley returned to the old home of the Ackley family in Hamilton, where she still resides, and has conducted the farm herself since her father's demise, a year and a half ago. The dwelling- house was built by her grandfather, Calvin Ackley, in 1819, and still stands in a perfect state of preservation. The children of our subject are Mrs. Grace H. Underdown and Abbie G. and Annie M. Hawley. Intelli- gent and sensible, these young ladies are also possessed of literary and other talents, one of
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them being an artist of much ability, as is shown by the admirable specimens of her work which adorn the walls of their ancestral home.
With good judgment and with tact, Mrs. Hawley manages her large farm; and its affairs are as thoroughly directed as if a man, instead of a woman, had the control. The strength of her character was shown when she suffered the loss of her husband. Instead of nursing her sorrow and sitting down help- lessly, she summoned up her energy to do double duty in the care of her children and of her aged father-a work in which she could not fail to find great peace of mind.
Mrs. Hawley is a cousin of the well-known Supervisor of the town of Hamilton, H. Clay Ackley, one of the most popular and truly representative men of the town and county. She and her daughters are devoted members of the Methodist church, contributing freely of their time, influence, and means to the interests of religion.
RS. ELIZABETH W. CLIMEN- SON, widow of the late James C. Climenson, was born in Eng- land. Her parents, John and Elizabeth (Sanger) Young, came to the United States when she was but a little child, making the voyage across the Atlantic in a large sailing- vessel, and reaching New York after a pas- sage of somewhat more than five weeks. Both were well educated in their native country; and Mr. Young was there a prosperous busi-
ness man, but left England on account of ill- health. He was for some time in the drug business in England, having served a seven years' apprenticeship, and being a registered pharmacist. He sold out his business before coming to the United States.
At the time of their emigration from Eng- land Mr. Young and his wife had two chil- dren, namely : Elizabeth W., the subject of this sketch; and Marianne, who married Or- lando Ames, and died in 1886 in Boston, Mass. After arriving in the United States, Mr. and Mrs. Young had five children born to them, all of whom are now deceased. Fran- cis Joseph Young, a brother of Mrs. Climen- son - a noble, Christian young man - was a soldier in the ranks of the One Hundred and Twenty-fourth New York Volunteer Infantry, and died at Harrison's Landing after a short period of service in the Union army, when but twenty-one years of age. Mr. John Young opened a drug store in Canastota in 1849, and continued in business there, a por- tion of the time on North Canal Street, and later on the spot where the Bruce Opera House now stands, until 1861, in March of which year, on account of ill-health, he sold his store. He was a Methodist preacher, and travelled in the Oneida Conference twelve years. His death took place in 1867, when he was sixty-three years of age. His widow married again, and survived her second hus- band; and she herself died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Climenson, May 12, 1892, well advanced in her eighty-fifth year.
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