USA > New York > Madison County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Madison County, New York > Part 44
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OHN J. INGRAHAM, one of the prom- inent and successful business men of Canastota, has been identified with the mercantile interests of that place for the past twenty-one years. Mr. Ingraham was born in Ulster County, New York, January 23, 1844, and is a son of O. N. Ingraham, also a native of Ulster County, who removed to Herkimer County about 1847. O. N. Ingraham was a son of Amasa Ingraham, a
farmer, who died in Ulster County. He and his wife reared a large family of sons and daughters, and lived to a great age.
O. N. Ingraham married Barbara McMul- len, of Ulster County, about 1842, and by this marriage had four sons and three daugh- ters, all of whom are living, and of whom John J., the subject of this sketch, is the eldest. The father of these seven children died in 1881. His widow, now sixty-five years of age, is living in Herkimer County with a daughter. By trade O. N. Ingraham was a tanner, and was at the head of a large establishment. He was unusually successful in business, and at his death left a good name as a worthy member of society.
John J. Ingraham was reared at home, and was educated in the district schools of the neighborhood until he attained his fourteenth year, and then became a clerk in a large gen- eral store, remaining thus engaged until August 8, 1862, when his love for his coun- try led him to enlist as a private in Company D, One Hundred and Twenty-first New York Volunteer Infantry, in which he served until June 25, 1865, being then honorably dis- charged. During the entire period of his en- listment - nearly three years - he was con- tinuously on duty with his regiment, with the exception of two months, when he was sick in the regimental hospital. Considering the hardships of the war, the dangers and the exposures, Mr. Ingraham returned to his home in 1865 in fair health and strength, and might feel proud of his patriotic record; for, if ever there has been a service rendered to
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a country by its citizen soldiery, it was by the Union soldiers of 1861-65, saving the nation, as they did, from disruption and ruin by armed rebellion.
Mr. Ingraham was married in 1868 to Mary L. Green, of Herkimer County, a daughter of Thomas and Rebecca (Larned) Green, and almost immediately afterward opened a boot and shoe store in Munnsville, Jefferson County, in company with his wife's brother, this partnership lasting about two years, when it was by mutual consent dis- solved. In 1871 Mr. Ingraham removed to Canastota, which village has ever since been his home and the scene of his active labors. From 1871 to 1877 he was a clerk for Brown & Co., and subsequently for nine years for J. M. Parker; and at the end of this period he purchased an interest in the business, which was then conducted from 1886 to 1890 under the firm name of J. J. Ingraham & Co. In the latter year Mr. Ingraham pur- chased the interest of his partner, and has since then been conducting a general mercan- tile business alone, carrying a large stock of dry-goods, boots and shoes, wall-paper, etc. Mr. Ingraham has had large experience in business, and through strictly honorable methods and close attention to the wants of the community has built up a trade that is creditable to his ability and sagacity, and which constitutes a fair share of that which naturally comes to the pleasant and thriving village of Canastota.
In politics Mr. Ingraham is a Republican, but takes only a moderate interest in public
matters. However, he served one term as Village Corporation Treasurer to the satis- faction of all concerned. Mr. and Mrs. Ingraham have had five children, two of them, sons, dying in infancy, and three still living, namely : Bessie, a young lady of seventeen, in school at Canastota; John J., Jr., fifteen years of age, employed in the First National Bank of Canastota; and Grace, thirteen years of age. Mr. Ingraham is a Master Mason, being a member of Canastota Lodge, No. 231. He is also a working member of the Grand Army of the Republic order of this place, known as Reese Post, No. 149, being inter- ested in all matters concerning past achieve- ments and present welfare of the brave boys who defended the stars and stripes in their hour of peril. Mrs. Ingraham, a well-edu- cated and cultured lady, taught school some time previous to her marriage. She is an active member of the Presbyterian church. The eldest daughter, in addition to her regu- lar studies in the school, is pursuing a course in instrumental music. Of Mr. Ingraham it is but proper to remark that he is truly the architect of his own fortune, having been and being still one of the most successful merchants in Canastota, enjoying not only a prosperous, but an increasing trade, the con- fidence of the people being his to an unusual degree. In contemplating such a life as his, one is reminded of the fact that the business interests of a place are always the first to attract attention, and are of the utmost impor- tance in relation to the general prosperity. They are not only of prime necessity to the
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people everywhere, but their condition is indicative of the general condition of the country, the varied business interests of dif- ferent parts of the country being so inter- woven and so dependent that, when one suffers or prospers, others sympathize there- with, to a greater or less extent.
EORGE FEARON, deceased, one of the early pioneers of the town of
Eaton, who aided largely in clearing and improving the country, and was an indus- trious, honest, and good citizen, is eminently worthy of honorable mention in this " Bio- graphical Review " of Madison County. He was born in Ireland in 1781, and was a son of Robert Fearon, a prosperous farmer, who on February 17, 1779, had married Amelia Gaven. Robert and Amelia Fearon were the parents of two children, namely: Catharine, born January 23, 1780, and died April 13, 1799; and George, the subject of this sketch. The daughter's death, which was a sad blow to the family, was caused by a fever which she took from her brother, and which he had contracted in the army, while serving in the Irish Rebellion. George himself was seri- ously ill for three months, a part of the time delirious. Robert Fearon's farm was known as Bally Rush farm, was situated three miles from Arklow, county of Wicklow, and thirty miles from Dublin. Mr. Fearon was acci- dentally drowned, while crossing a river, about the year 1782 or 1783. His son George grew up a farmer, and remained at
home until 1811, when with his wife, three children, and his mother, he emigrated to the United States, his voyage across the sea to Boston consuming seven weeks. From Boston the faniily moved to Attica, N. Y., and thence to the town of Eaton, making the jour- ney by means of hired ox-teams, and became pioneers in that town. There he purchased a farm, which was at the time partly im- proved, and on which was a log house. In this log cabin Mr. Fearon lived for a short time, and then erected a more substantial frame house, the farm being in possession of his younger son, James T. During the first years of his residence in this county the woods abounded in various kinds of wild beasts and game, bear and deer being espe- cially plentiful. The Stockbridge Indians also resided in the vicinity, but they were usually peaceful and friendly.
Mr. Fearon was a most industrious and thoroughly honest man, and well known to the entire community as possessing the noble qualities most to be desired, as marking a good citizen of a free country. He was suc- cessful as a farmer and a business man; and at the time of his death on his old farm, March 4, 1863, though not what would now be considered wealthy, he was the possessor of a goodly amount of property. He and his wife, Lydia, were the parents of eight chil- dren, namely: Robert and Elizabeth Bailey, deceased; Catharine, born October 18, 1810; Amelia Burns, deceased; George, born Janu- ary 10, 1816, and living in Oneida; Susanna, deceased; Lydia Jane, born January 5, 1824,
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living with her elder sister; James T., born October 28, 1829, and living at Morrisville. George and Lydia Fearon were members of and active workers in the Methodist Epis- copal church, of which he has been a Trustee and was at one time a class leader. The mother of George Fearon died at the old homestead in Eaton in 1824, at the age of sixty-six years. His wife died December 16, 1838, aged fifty-two years.
The sisters, Catharine and Lydia Jane, maiden ladies, have lived at Pratt's Hollow about thirty years, their comfortable and beautifully furnished home being on their one-hundred-acre farm, which they lease, and which has been in the family upward of fifty years. They also own the store building in the village, and are in comfortable circum- stances. Both are religiously inclined, and for more than sixty years have been active workers in the Methodist Episcopal church at Pratt's Hollow, to which their father gave the land on which the building stands, and which he aided largely in many other ways. Both of the sisters were well educated in their youth, at first attending the district school, and later Cazenovia Seminary, from which the younger was graduated, July 16, 1846. Lydia has been Superintendent of the Sunday- school for several years. Catharine is the oldest church member in Pratt's Hollow, and one of the most aged inhabitants of the place. She well remembers the friendly Stockbridge tribe of Indians, and the murderous chief Antoine, his trial, and his execution, which took place when she was in her girlhood and,
naturally, made a deep and dreadful impres- sion on her young mind. Her memory is a well-filled storehouse of the past, in which, safe to say, pleasant, cheerful recollections predominate. No doubt the early training and the continued activity of mind of these sisters, together with the sustaining and quickening power of their religious faith, have largely contributed to the preservation of their physical soundness and vigor. As with sweet inward peace and dignity of soul they tread the downward path leading to the sunset land, they have the warm regards of many friends to whom the world is brightened by their presence and influence.
DWIN WHITFORD, born in the town of Brookfield, N. Y., December 29, 1825. Long before the Declaration of Inde- pendence was signed, and while yet the col- onies were loyal to the mother country, the great-grandfather of our subject, Joshua Whit- ford, went from Connecticut into the wild and uncultivated region of Rensselaer County, and settled at a place then called Petersburg, but which is now known as Berlin. There the grandfather, who was also named Joshua, was born in 1755, and in 1794 took up a tract of timber land lying between Leonardsville and Brookfield, being one of the earliest recorded settlers of the place. This very farm is now owned by the great-grandchildren of the fam- ily. The grandfather lived on this place until his death, and is buried in the plot of ground on the farm which was laid out for
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a burial-site. William Whitford, father of Edwin, remained at the homestead for many ycars, living for a short time on an adjacent farm, but returning to the old home, and re- siding here until his death, in the year 1850. He married Miss Hannah Clark; and there were four children born to them: Clark M .; Silas, deceased 1892; Calvin; and Edwin, our subject. The mother died in 1860, at the age of seventy-four.
Edwin Whitford received a fine education in the district school and in the Brookfield Academy, and until twenty-one years old remained at home on the farm. When he became of age, he commenced teaching school, following this occupation in the winter and running his farm in the summer. . For two years he was a preceptor in the Brookfield Academy, and then for eight years taught in the district schools near by. He then purchased a farm, and went in strongly for agriculture. In 1871 he purchased a grist-mill in Lconardsville, which he man- agcd for eight years, but still attended to his farm, and had his present beautiful home built. When he disposed of the mill, he bought thirty acres of land between Leonards- ville and Brookfield, and began the culture of fruit, to which he still gives a great deal of attention. In the year 1849 he married Miss Ruth J. Crandell, daughter of Kilburn and Ruth Crandell. They have two children, Abert and Allie A. The son, Abert, married Ella J. Edwards in 1872. They have four children - Ernest C., O. Benjamin, Edwin, Jr., and Paul A. The daughter, Allie A.,
was married to W. E. Phillips in 1883. Two children have been born to them - Ruth L. and Kent Whitford. These families reside in Leonardsville. Mr. Whitford is the propri- etor of the lumber-yard and saw-mill. Mr. Phillips is the Superintendent and Treasurer of the Leonardsville Canning Company.
The whole family are Seventh-day Baptists, Mr. Whitford's father having been a Deacon in that church for many years. The subject of our sketch has been a member of the church for more than a half-century, and superintendent of the Sabbath-school and chorister for twenty years. He still con- tinues to hold, as he has held for a number of years, the office of Church Clerk. While Mr. Whitford cast his first vote for John C. Fremont, and has always been a firm believer in the principles of the Republican party, seeing the evils that unlimited license in the liquor traffic has done to the youth of this country, he is an active worker in the temper- ance cause, and leans very strongly toward the Prohibitionists.
ULIUS A. TITUS. The Titus family originally came from Long Island, the father of our subject, Henry Titus, having been born there, but came with his wife to Herkimer County, New York, settling on a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, all dense woods with the exception of about five acres of cleared land. They brought up a family of two sons and two daughters, as fol- lows: Laura, wife of Henry Snyder, died in Pennsylvania when past middle life; Martha,
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wife of Francis Symonds, died in Whitesboro, at the age of fifty; Jarvis, a grocer at Whites- boro, died at the age of forty-six; Julius, born in Litchfield, Herkimer County, January 17, 1810. The mother died on the old home- stead in 1843, and the father when eighty- nine years of age. He left quite a large property.
Julius A. Titus was reared at home on the farm. The only advantages for an education which he received were the limited chances afforded by the old log school-house, with its rough slab benches, the ill-constructed house, allowing the cold wintry air to have full sweep to nip the fingers of the little ones wrestling with their infantile attempts at "pot hooks " and sums; and he can tell many interesting stories to his grandchildren of the discomforts and inconveniences of his school- days as compared with the modern elegances of public schools. He remained with his parents on the home farm until the age of thirty-one years, when he married Miss De- light Coolidge, of Herkimer County, and bought a farm there, which they lived on for about ten years, then sold, and removed to the present home in the town of Lenox, which now consists of some seventy acres, he hav- ing sold a great portion of the original tract to the railroad. The only child is Henry W. Titus, who is about fifty-one years of age, and has always lived at home.
This son has been twice married, first in 1870 to Miss Emma Davis, who bore him four children, one of them a son, who died while an infant, and three daughters, who are
still living, as follows: Carrie, wife of Frank G. Terrell, a farmer, living in the town of Lenox; Nellie Ruth, aged thirteen; and Mary Gertrude, eight years of age. Their mother died in 1890; and the father married for his second wife Emma Fitzgerald, daugh- ter of Daniel and Rose (McGinnis) Fitzger- ald, their marriage taking place in November, I891.
For forty years Julius A. Titus has been a thorough and earnest Republican, and, while not seeking any political favors, has always been keenly alive to the interests of his party. In his religious faith he is a Pres- byterian. He cherishes with a tender and chastened sorrow the memory of his devoted Christian wife, with whom he shared his joys and troubles for over fifty years, and with a calm tranquillity and hopefulness awaits the hour when he shall join her in the home of eternal happiness, where all tears shall be wiped away. Through a long life spent in this section Mr. Titus has established an unblemished reputation as an upright and worthy citizen, and in his venerable age is accorded the highest meed of reverence and respect.
LBERT L. CAMERON, an enterpris- ing agriculturist, is a gentleman in the prime of life, active, energetic, possessing excellent judgment, and has for many years been closely identified with the industrial interests of this section of Madison County. He was born in Smithfield, on the farm which he now owns and occupies, Sep-
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tember 2, 1847, being a son of Daniel and Lucina (Rich) Cameron. His grandfather, James Cameron, was a native of Scotland, where he grew to manhood and married. About the year 1800, accompanied by his family, he crossed the Atlantic, and, landing in New York, made his way to this county, and settled in the town of Cazenovia, now Fenner, being among the original settlers of that place. He bought a tract of land, and began the improvement of a farm. The region was little more than a pathless wilder- ness, lighted only by the camp-fires of the native Indians, and through which wolves, bears, and deer roamed. The nearest markets were many miles away; and Mr. Cameron had to carry his grain to mill on horseback, fol- lowing a path marked by blazed trees. He spent the remainder of his life on this home- stead, where he died in middle age. His widow, surviving him, died in Onondaga County, at the venerable age of eighty years. Both she and her husband were devout mem- bers of the Presbyterian church. They reared a family of nine children, only one of whom is now living, Margret, widow of Calhoun Grant, and a resident of the State of Michigan.
Daniel Cameron, son of James, was born on the old homestead in Fenner, and grew to manhood in his native town. By the early death of his father being thrown mostly on his own resources, he began life by working by the month. Active, industrious, and eco- nomical, he accumulated enough in a few years to buy a small tract of land and estab-
lish himself in life by marrying. He labored perseveringly, and, as time went on, added to his first purchase of fifty-four acres, until he had two hundred acres of rich and arable land, well improved, on which he did good business in general farming. In politics he was a firm supporter of the principles of the Republican party. His wife was a worthy member of the Presbyterian church. Both spent their last years on the old homestead, where she died when seventy years old, while he rounded out a period of fourscore and three years. They reared four sons and one daughter: Delos W., residing in Cazenovia; Ann M., residing in the village of Peterboro; Charles E., propri- etor of the Cameron Hotel at Peterboro; John T., residing in Kansas City, Mo .; Albert L., residing on the home farm.
The subject of our sketch was educated in the public schools of his native town, and assisted his father in the labors of the farm, obtaining an excellent knowledge of agricult- ure in all its branches; and, as his parents approached the sunset of life, he took upon himself the burden of care, and had charge of the homestead. In 1881 he purchased the home farm, which he has since managed with unqualified success, carrying on an extensive business in general farming and stock-raising, and in addition thereto has a fine dairy, con- sisting of twenty head of cattle of mixed breed. He has an excellent farm, everything about the place giving indication of the owner's skill as a progressive modern farmer.
Mr. Cameron has been twice married. His first wife, to whom he was united in 1878,
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was Miss Ida Hadden, a native of this town. Their pleasant wedded life was of short dura- tion, her death befalling in January, 1882. For his second wife Mr. Cameron married Miss Calpurnia Black, the wedding taking place in December, 1885. She is also a native of this town, and a daughter of Lot and Lucinda Black, residents of Stockbridge, where Mr. Black is engaged in agricultural pursuits. To our subject and his wife have been born three children - Robert, Margery, and Florence. Mr. and Mrs. Cameron are genial, hospitable people, with a large circle of friends, who are ever made welcome in their pleasant home. In politics he is a stanch Republican, and ever willing to work for the interests of his town. He served as Supervisor in 1892, and was re-elected the following spring. Mrs. Cameron is an es- teemed member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
ORMAN STAFFORD, of the well- known firm of Patten & Stafford of Canastota, was born in the town of Fenner, Madison County, N. Y., in 1840. This gentleman can truly boast of an ancestry intimately connected with the early settling of New York State. His great-great-grand- father was John Stafford, of England, who came over about the middle of the eighteenth century, and settled in one of the New Eng- land colonies. He was a miller by trade, and no doubt ground the first wheat used in Massachusetts. He had a large family; and his son David, the great-grandfather of Nor-
man Stafford, was a farmer in Connecticut, who removed to Pennsylvania, and later to the town of Fenner. Ilis wife was Sally Shuts. They had four daughters and five sons, all of whom had families. David Stafford survived his wife six years, and died, at the age of ninety-four, in Fenner. He was a strong, active man until about two years before his death. His wife was an exceedingly bright and intelligent woman, and her children inherited much of their brilliant talents from this source. Their names were David, Amos, John, Joseph, Harry, Sally, Betsey, Anna, and Mary. David is a manufacturer of threshing machines, and resides in Syracuse, N. Y.
Joseph Stafford, the grandfather of Norman, for many years a farmer of Fenner, later moved to Ontario County, New York, where he died at West Bloomfield, October 18, 1870, aged seventy-two. His wife, who was Miss Polly Jones, died the same year. Six sons and three daughters were born to them, all of whom, with the exception of one, grew to maturity. Those living are: Polly, the wife of Royal Mowrey, of Ontario County ; George, of Wauwatosa, Wis .; Mary, widow of Lorenzo Gordon, of Ontario County; and Henry. of the same county. The father of our subject was Joseph Stafford, Jr., born in the town of Fenner, August 18, 1818. He died in Oneida in 1876. His wife was Miss Cornelia Hill. She is still living, and re- sides with her son Francis in Oneida. She has two grandchildren, aged respectively three and five years.
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Norman Stafford was reared at home, and received a liberal education at the schools of Peterboro and Cazenovia. At the age of twenty-one he was engaged in building the stone road between Peterboro and Canastota, at which he was employed about two years, when he returned home, and assisted his father in farming for ten years. In 1873 he married Miss Nettie Smith, daughter of Will- iam Smith, an octogenarian farmer, who is a fine and venerable old gentleman, still residing at Westmoreland, N.Y. Mrs. Staf- ford died in March, 1878, at the age of thirty-six years, leaving no children. The second wife of our subject was Miss Jennie S. Bull, daughter of George Bull. Her mother was Miss Elizabeth Sanford, daughter of Rob- ert and Rachel (Marsh) Sanford, of Kent, England. They came from Liverpool to New York State in 1830, the voyage across the Atlantic lasting six weeks. Mrs. Stafford has one sister, Mrs. Theodore G. Moot, for- merly of Canastota. The mother lives with her daughters, and is seventy-five years old, and is still active. Her husband died De- cember 15, 1879, at the age of sixty-five years, at his farm in the town of Sullivan, and is buried in the Lenox Rural Cemetery. Of this family a more detailed sketch will be found in the memoir of Edgar Bull.
Mr. Stafford entered into partnership with William H. Patten in their present business of manufacturing wheel rakes, known as the New York Champion, in the year 1873. This concern has the reputation of making the best article of the kind in the market, and
has been exceedingly prosperous. The first eight years our subject travelled on the road, and also worked in the office. Their plant occupies about three acres of ground, being situated near the tracks of the West Shore, New York Central, and Elmira, Cortland & Northern Railways, giving them the best facilities for shipping by these roads and the Erie Canal. The main building is three hundred and twenty-five by forty feet, three stories in height. In this the foundry, workshops, and offices are located. They employ from twenty to seventy-five hands, and have six agents travelling for them, covering the most of the United States.
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