USA > New York > Madison County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Madison County, New York > Part 5
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The father of Mrs. Martha Tift, the mother of our subject, was also a native of Connecti- cut, and removed thence to Oneida County, this State, in an early day, there being then no other white man within many miles. By trade he was a cabinet-maker, but was also a farmer. Settling in the woods, he cleared his land, improved a farm, and died thereon when sixty-five years of age. He and his wife reared a family of six children, five being girls, one of whom, Phebe, is now liv- ing in Saginaw, Mich. The rest have all passed away.
William A. Tift has resided upon his pres-
ent farm ever since being brought to it by his parents. He possesses the genius of many of his ancestors, being a farmer, wagon- maker, carpenter, and jeweller. In politics he is a Republican, but not an officc-seeker, nor even radical in his views, holding to the opinion that, no matter what may be the poli- cies and principles of other parties, those policies and principles are in many cases cn- tertained and maintained by honest, patriotic men. Upon his farm he has good buildings, and the farm itself is in a high state of culti- vation. The jewelry business he has carried on for some twenty years, and is exceedingly handy and skilful in the use of tools. Mr. Tift has never married, preferring the state of single blessedness. He is a man not only of genius, but also of high character, and is highly esteemed and has many friends.
ORMAN B. HILL. This memoir of one of the most prominent and re- spected citizens of Perryville has been furnished by his devoted wife. Mr. Hill was born January 11, 1839, on the home farm in Perryville, N. Y., where he resided until his death, January 8, 1889, aged fifty years.
His grandfather, Daniel Hill, was a Revo- lutionary soldier; and his son, John Hill, the father of our subject, was born in New Hart- ford, Oneida County, N.Y., in 1800. He was married in 1824 to Miss Isyphena Annas, who was a native of the town of Nelson, born June 30, 1806. He died September 23, 1879,
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and she October 27, 1887. He held many offices of trust, as Supervisor, Justice of the Peace, and Loan Commissioner. He was a general farmer, and moved to Perryville in 1837, where he farmed about three hundred acres of land. Mr. Hill was one of the fore- most men of the village, and took an active interest in local politics and affairs. He was a Republican, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. His family consisted of ten children, of whom six are now living: John W., residing in McPherson, Kan. ; Mason, living in Wisconsin; Flavilla, widow of Captain Charles P. Morey, residing in Buffalo; Isyphena, Mrs. John Haywood, of the town of Sullivan; Webster, living in the town of Fenner; and Nellie, Mrs. M. N. Moot, of Clockville, N. Y. The children who died were: Mary, wife of Q. A. Ballou, at the age of thirty-two years; Nancy, at the age of thirty-eight, wife of H. G. Morey, of Buf- falo, N.Y .; Rosa, wife of Oran F. Britt, thirty-four years of age at her death; and Norman B., our subject, whose death we have mentioned above.
Norman B. Hill was educated in the dis- trict schools, and remained with and cared for his parents in their last days. He bought the homestead, and carried on general farming in the town of Fenner until his death. He made hop-growing a staple crop, and managed his farm with excellent judgment and success, looking after the field, orchard, buildings, and cattle with watchful perseverance, and keeping the whole place in prime condition. Fortunate in his financial experiments, he was
still more so in the blessing of a good and faithful wife. She was Miss Mary Keyes, daughter of Smith and Laney (Doxtater) Keyes, and was born in the town of Mannheim, Herkimer County, N. Y., September 6, 1839, her marriage to Mr. Hill taking place Febru- ary 7, 1860. Her father, Smith Keyes, was born in Salisbury, Herkimer County, N. Y., in 1818, and her mother in 1820. Of their two children, Mrs. Hill is the only one liv- ing, her brother, Marks L., having died Au- gust 2, 1878, aged thirty-eight years. Her father and mother are members of the Univer- salist church, and the former is a Democrat.
The subject of this sketch filled the office of Supervisor for three years, and that of Justice of the Peace for sixteen years. He was one of the most active men in his locality, taking a strong personal interest in the affairs of his town. A deeply religious man, his life was a testimonial of the true Christian believer. He was a Methodist, and at one time super- intendent of the Sunday-school. Like his father, he was a lifelong Republican, and advocated the principles of his party, both in public and private. He was a Mason in good standing, being a member of Sullivan Lodge, No. 148, A. F. & A. M.
The Hill family stand among the first in the vicinity in ancestry, respectability, and prominence; and our subject maintained through all his life the prestige of his hon- orable descent. His death was the cause of great sorrow in his village; and it was hard to believe that, having just attained his half- century, he should be called away in the
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midst of his usefulness. But his friends and family do not forget his deeds of kindness and unselfish life; and, though they mourn their loss, they fecl and can say that
" Lives nobly ended make the twilight's long, And keep in tune God's nightingales of song."
Mr. Hill's wife and three children survive him. John, residing with his mother on the old farm, and carrying it on in the same prac- tical and progressive manner as did his father, following in the footsteps of that loved pa- rent both in religion and politics, deservedly stands high in the estimation of his fellow-citi- zens. He married Miss Inez Hall, March 2, 1887. She was born in the town of Sullivan. They have one child, Grace Irma, born Feb- ruary 16, 1893. The second son, Fred C. Hill, born in 1863, married Miss Grace Hib- bard, and is a practising lawyer in Owego, Tioga County, N. Y. His politics are Repub- lican, and he is a Baptist in religion. Carrie, the third child, was born in 1864, and was married to Elmer E. Shaut, June 23, 1885. She has one child, Norma Hill Shaut, born January 22, 1889. Mr. Shaut died August 20, 1889, aged twenty-seven years. He was a merchant at Little Falls, N.Y. Mrs. Shaut is a member of the Universalist church. Her husband was a Republican in politics.
Mrs. Hill resides on the farm where her husband was born and died, and in the society of her children and grandchildren bears with calm and hopeful resignation the bitter blow she endured in the loss of her husband. Her
religion and her faith in Christ make her "still adore the Hand that gave the blow"; and her days are not spent in vain retrospec- tion, but in active good for her home and friends.
RS. JENNETTE A. ROBERTS, widow of the late James Roberts, who was born in 1819, and died on his farm March 10, 1891, was born at Ridgeville in the town of Sullivan, Madi- son County, in 1822. She is highly con- nected, and is descended from pioneer and patriotic ancestry. Her father, Frederick M. Adams, who was known as Captain Adams, was drafted during the War of 1812-15. Her mother was Persis Bush, a daughter of Deacon Jonathan Bush of New England, who removed to the State of New York at a very early day, and was one of the first settlers in the woods in Sangerfield, Oneida County. This was in 1790. He lived temporarily in a rude log hut until he could find time to erect a stone and frame house a few rods south-east of the present home of the subject of this sketch, which is still standing, and occupied by George Hood. It is on the only rise of ground in the vicinity, and was erected in that place in order that it might be high and ciry, and above the wet, swampy land surround- ing it in that early day, but which is now the best land in the county, having been drained by the digging of the eight-mile ditch. Dea- con Jonathan Bush married Persis Terry, of Tarrytown, N. Y., and late in life removed to within two miles of what is now Toledo,
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Ohio, selling the farm on which Mrs. Roberts now lives to her father. He spent the re- mainder of his life on his farm near Toledo.
Captain Frederick M. Adams was born in Connecticut in 1794, and came from the same place as the ancestors of the late ex-Presi- dent Rutherford B. Hayes, of whom Captain Adams was a cousin. Captain Adams was related also to President John Quincy Adams. Mrs. Roberts is the only surviving member of her father's family of three children, the eld- est of whom, Mary, married Hamilton Cotton, and died in the town of Sullivan, August 22, 1884, when upward of sixty years of age; and the youngest, Byron, died in 1854, aged twenty-seven, - a single man and a farmer. The father of these children died in 1855, aged sixty, his widow surviving him some thirteen years, and dying in 1868, aged seventy-three. He was a farmer, settled in the woods in an early day, and cut down the first tree that was felled in the town in which he located. His brother, J. W. Adams, was the first Presbyterian preacher who settled in Syracuse, there being then but twelve houses in the place. His church was torn down in order to permit the erection of the present fine stone Presbyterian church in that place; and the last timber of the old church was drawn away on the very day that the remains of Rev. J. W. Adams were laid to rest.
Mrs. Roberts was married in 1852, when thirty years of age. Previous to this event she had been a most successful teacher in sev- eral schools, the last year in the seminary at Onondaga Valley, having taught ten years in
all. During her last year she took the place of a former male teacher in mathematics, astronomy, etc., being a very fine mathematical scholar, notwithstanding she was self-taught in this most important branch of learning. That she was much better qualified than is the ordinary teacher is evident from the fact that she has a State certificate, given ber by Judge Barlow. Mrs. Roberts has buried one son, who died in infancy, and has two daugh- ters living, namely: Jennie M., wife of Charles Foland; and Nellie, wife of Peter Standt, at home on the farm, which Mr. Standt is managing and working. Both the daughters are intelligent and well-educated ladies, and are worthy of their mother. Mrs. Roberts, though now seventy-one years old, is healthy and well preserved, both physically and mentally, and has always been a woman of character and of much more than ordinary ability. The life narrative of such a woman is eminently worthy of a place in a work of this kind.
ANIEL H. FULLER. Among those who have been long and prom- inently identified with the business and agricultural interests of Madison County is Daniel H. Fuller, the subject of this sketch.
He was born in Springfield, Mass., Febru- ary 2, 1828, and is a son of Daniel and Lovisa (Hatch) Fuller, the former of whom was born in Massachusetts, and was among the early settlers of the town of Eaton. There he owned one hundred and nine acres,
H. W. CARPENTER.
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and carried on general farming. He and his wife rearcd a family of six children, three of whom are still living, namely: Daniel H., the subject of this sketch; Helen, who re- sides in the village of Eaton ; and John, who resides in Chicago. Daniel Fuller was a Republican in politics, and he and his wife were members of the Baptist church. He dicd on his farm at the age of seventy-eight, and she at the age of seventy-one. Daniel Hatch, the father of Mrs. Lovisa Fuller, was also one of the early settlers of the town of Eaton.
Daniel H. Fuller was educated at the dis- trict schools, and also at the High School at Eaton. He was brought up on the farm, re- mained with his parents until their death, and now owns the old homestead, upon which he has lived since he was eight years old. He is one of the enterprising farmers of his town, and also one of the most successful. Mr. Fuller was married, in Galesburg, Ill., to Emily Watkins, who was born in the State of New York, and who died January 28, 1888, leaving two sons, - Daniel W., born in 1877, and Albert G., in 1883. Mrs. Fuller was a member of the Congregational church. Mr. Fuller is a member of the. Baptist church. In politics he is a Republican, knowing well the history of his party, and believing strongly in its principles and policies, espe- cially in its policy of protection. In his dealings with his fellow-men he has always followed the rules of honesty and integrity. He has always been in favor of all enterprises and movements calculated to promote the
progress of mankind, especially their intel- lectual and moral progress, knowing well that in this country the perpetuity of the republic depends upon the character and education of the people. In the more intimate relations of private life he is kind-hearted and bencvo- lent, charitable and patient with the erring, always hoping for and expecting better things. Mr. Fuller is an honorable and upright mem- ber of the community, and is widely and fa- vorably known.
D R. HENRY W. CARPENTER. This well-known and popular gen- tleman is one of the oldest practi- tioners of medicine in Madison County. He was born in Marcy, Oneida County, June 26, 1834, and, like most of the young men there, was brought up to agricultural pursuits. He received his early education at the common schools, alternating his studies with assisting in the work on the farm.
The great-grandfather of Dr. Carpenter was Deacon Stephen Carpenter, a Revolutionary soldier of English parentage. He was born in Cheshire, Mass., and died there in 1827. He had taken a prominent part in the struggle of the colonies against the tyranny of Great Britain, and fought bravely under the banner of liberty. The following item, taken from the "History of Cheshire, Mass.," illustrates in part his experiences: "Lieutenant Amos Prindle of Captain Brown's company stood side by side with Deacon Stephen Carpenter of New Providence, when the latter saw a
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man behind the Tory breastworks raise his gun, take aim, and fire at Prindle, who fell dead at the feet of Carpenter. The next in- stant Carpenter had sent a shot crashing through the brain of the Tory, and saw him fall. Then the battle swept on, hiding the enemy from view. On going over the field next day, Carpenter found, as he expected, the next-door neighbor of Prindle, an avowed Tory, stretched in death on the field with the slain. His retribution had been swift and sure, and he must have met his victim ere he left the battlefield."
George W. Carpenter, son of Deacon Stephen and grandfather of our subject, was born in Cheshire, Mass., June 8, 1780. He grew up a farmer, and married in Massachu- sctts Miss Mary Horton, who was a native of Scituate, R.I. After their marriage, and in an early day, George W. Carpenter, with his young bride, emigrated to the Empire State, and settled in Marcy, Oneida County, where he died at about the age of thirty. His widow was afterward married to Asa Crane, with whom she lived happily for many years, Mr. Crane dying at the age of ninety-four, and Mrs. Crane when ninety-three. They were much respected, and had many friends in Oneida County.
Albert Carpenter, the father of Dr. Car- penter, was born and reared on a farm in Oneida County near Whitesboro, and died in middle life, at forty-eight years of age. His wife, the mother of our subject, was of Scotch parentage, and lived to the age of sixty-five years. They had four children, namely:
George W., a banker in Fargo, Dak .; Henry W .; Deloss A., who resides in Rome, N.Y .; and Amy J., Mrs. Kirkland, living in Forest Port, N. Y.
At the age of seventeen Henry W. Car- penter began to teach school, and during his third term, while in Rome, entered upon the study of medicine with Dr. Sturdevant of that place. From there he went, in the fall of 1856, to Ann Arbor, Mich., where he at- tended a course of lectures, and in the follow- ing spring went to Holland Patent, in which place he continued his medical studies with Dr. Crane, later taking a course of medicine at Albany. In 1857-58 he attended the Uni- versity of the City of New York, where he was graduated with the class of 1858, and soon after entered upon the practice of his profes- sion, forming a partnership, July 24, 1858, with Dr. Crane that lasted four years. Dur- ing the Civil War he served as Assistant Surgeon of the One Hundred and Seventeenth New York Infantry, and later received his commission as Surgeon from Governor Sey- mour. He also served as Acting Brigade Surgeon, and was President of a Medical Examining Board. When peace was declared, he returned home, and settled in Oneida in March, 1865, since which time he has built up a large and lucrative practice, extending over a considerable amount of territory.
It is as an expert in cases of surgery that the Doctor has achieved his greatest reputa- tion, being often called in consultation in difficult cases from far distant points in the State. He is a member of the County, State,
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and National and International Medical So- cieties, and has served as President and Vice- President of the County Society. For six years he was Coroner of the county, and in 1874 was elected Member of the Assembly. Hle stands high in the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Doric Chapter of Oneida and Commandery No. 45 of Rome, N. Y. He has also been Village Trustee and President. He is active in Grand Army affairs, is deeply interested in the welfare of the veterans, and was on the staff of State Commander General Harrison Clark, and in 1890 was elected Medical Director of the State.
Dr. Carpenter first married Miss Augusta L. Rollo, who died, leaving one daughter, Mrs. Frederick Cheney, of Oneida. About two years after the death of his first wife he married her sister, Miss Emma L. Rollo. Mrs. Carpenter is a lady of true womanly qualities and social virtues, and shares largely her husband's popularity, having many friends throughout the county. Dr. Carpenter has attained his present position solely by his own natural ability, persevering application, and earnest, conscientious work. He is an expert in his profession, and a most genial gentleman personally, his social quali- ties having procured for him hosts of friends in all parts of the county and elsewhere. He is, besides, a public-spirited man, who has done his share toward the building up and prosperity of his village, having erected two substantial business blocks in addition to the handsome residence in which he resides. In every position of trust this gentleman has
held his integrity has been unquestioned and his success assured. Owing to his kind heart and genial qualities, he is a favorite in the sick-room. Sympathizing with his patients, they feel his presence a healing balm, and long remember his gentle ministrations and the skill that, with God's blessing, raised them from a bed of sickness and pain to a life of healthful activity. The fine portrait of Dr. Carpenter which is presented in connec- tion with this sketch will be appreciated by all with whom he has come into contact, and forms a valuable addition to this work as a graphic representation of one of the leading members of the learned professions in Madi- son County.
AVID R. WARREN, a well-known farmer, residing on his farm in School District No. 12, town of De Ruyter, was born in this town, December 1, 1831. His father was Isaac Warren, a native of the State of Connecticut, where he was born January 22, 1793. The father of Isaac Warren, also named Isaac, was a prominent and well-to-do Connecticut farmer, and a pub- lic man, holding the office of County Treas- urer. He came to the town of De Ruyter about 1810, and had a family of six sons and two daughters, all now deceased. The last ' survivor was Eunice, widow of a Mr. Thomp- son. She was a resident of the New England States, and died in 1891, when about ninety- seven years of age, retaining great mental activity to the last. Eli died at Shedd's
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Corners about 1889, and when about seventy- eight years old. The name of the other daughter was Roxie, and the names of the sons besides Eli were: Benjamin; Oliver; Isaac, the father of our subject; George; and Dura. The father of these children was twice married. Although at one time well-to-do, he lost heavily through acting as bondsman for friends, and at his death left but a small estate. He lies at rest at Shedd's Corners.
His son, Isaac, was reared to farm life, and married Phebe Ring, daughter of David Ring, of Nantucket, where her mother, Ruth Bunker, was born, being the first white child born on the island. David Ring was born June 22, 1769, and died in De Ruyter in May, 1850, his wife having preceded him to the "silent land " six weeks earlier, at the age of eighty-two, her death occurring in the same town. Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Warren lost one daughter, who died at the age of five, and reared three sons and four daughters, of whom the subject of this sketch was the sixth child and youngest son. All but three are now living. Charles died at Syracuse in 1883, in his sixty-third year. Phebe Ann, wife of Lorenzo Wilson, died in Iowa, when past seventy. . Job A. is a farmer in this vicinity, married, and has a large family. Two sisters are residing in Pennsylvania, and one in Michigan.
David R. Warren was reared to farm life and agricultural pursuits, and accustomed to hard labor from his boyhood. He attended school on Quaker Hill during the winters, and acquired a fair common-school education.
He remained at home until the age of twenty- five, at which time he was married, August 3, 1856, to Esther A. Breed, daughter of Aurelius Breed. She bore her husband two sons. Almond Deforest is a farmer on his three-hundred-and-forty-acre farm, and a Jus- tice of the Peace. He was born in 1857, and married in 1879 to Alice L. Maxson, daughter of Franklin Maxson. They have two sons and one daughter, namely: David Almond, born in May, 1883; Bertha A., in February, 1885; and Ora M., in July, 1893. Henry G. Warren, the second son, is a farmer near this place, and has a wife and three sons, -- Levi E., David H., and Claud. Mrs. Warren died in her fiftieth year, in March, 1887. She was a true and faithful wife, a loving companion to her husband and a good mother to her children.
Our subject served in the Civil War, en- listing in 1864 in the Ninety-seventh Penn- sylvania Infantry. He was in the service a little less than a year; but the hardship and exposure, forced marches, and an attack of chills and fever had a very injurious effect upon his health, and he left the army in very poor physical condition. He now receives a pension of twelve dollars per month. Mr. Warren comes of good pioneer stock, both his father and grandfather having cleared farms, and is industrious and persevering by nature. He stands high in the estimation of his fellow-men for his true worth of character, and belongs to that class of citizens that are both a help and honor to their own commu- nities and the glory of our common country.
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RVILLE J. TUCKER, a successful manufacturer of cheese at Mile Strip in the town of Lenox, is descended from pioneer ancestry, and is a worthy repre- sentative of those who have preceded him. He was born within one mile of his present home, in 1840, and, though fifty-three years of age, is yet comparatively young, and a hard-working, honest man.
His father, Lester Tucker, was born at the same place, May 22, 1806, and died in March, 1888. He was a son of James Tucker, of Massachusetts, who settled in 1802 on the farm upon which the subject of this sketch was born, and died about 1850, aged eighty-four. He married Tabitha Haven, of Massachu- setts, who taught the first school in Smithfield, when she was sixteen years old, and mar- ried James Tucker the same year, he being at the time thirty-two. They reared seven sons and two daughters, of whom Lester, the father of our subject, was the third child. All of them lived to old age but one, Sylvester, who enlisted early during the late Civil War to defend the flag of his country, and after a service of about two years was probably killed at the second battle of Bull Run, as he was never heard of afterward.
Lester Tucker married Mary Ward, who was born March 11, 1809, their marriage tak- ing place about 1832. They immediately settled on the old homestead, and lived there until her death, which occurred in the spring of 1841, when she was thirty-two years old, and when the subject of this sketch was an infant. She left four children, namely: Fi-
delia, wife of Samuel Curtis, a farmer of Ohio; Harriet, wife of Albert Freeman, also a farmer of Ohio .; Jeanette, wife of Ford Potter, living in Onondaga; and Orville J., the subject of this sketch. Lester Tucker was afterward married to Lucy Cranson, who bore him two children, namely: Flavelle, wife of Myron Allen, of Onondaga County; and Edgar, a cheese manufacturer of Ohio.
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