USA > New York > Madison County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Madison County, New York > Part 55
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73
Dr. Crandall stands very high in the medi- cal profession in his county, in skill and experience unrivalled in his town, having a most extensive practice, and looked upon as a Nestor among the people - a wise counsel- lor. Kind, cautious, and considerate, his visits are a blessing to his patients. He has been in active practice for over fifty-three years, is now in his seventy-fifth year, and has always lived a temperate, even life. Dr. H. S. Crandall belongs to the Medical Soci- ety of Madison County, the American Medi- cal Association, and to the State Medical Society of New York. Of this latter he has been a member twenty-six years, and since
523
BIOGRAPHICAL KEVIEW
1854 has never missel a meeting of the society. He has been always an attendant of the Seventh-day Baptist church, and in his politics was at first an old-line Whig, casting his maiden vote for William Henry Harrison in 18440, and is now a strong advocate of the principles of the Republican party.
ARLIN LYON, a thriving agri- culturist, who has continued to reside in Madison County since his birth here on November 3, 1826, is of the third generation in direct descent from Ebenezer lyon, who settled in Nelson about one hundred years ago, several years before the town was incorporated and received its name from the great English naval com- mander, being one of the first to explore its wilderness and make the foundation of a family home. As was common in those days, this homestead consisted of a few acres of cleared land and a humble house of rough- hewn logs, which poorly served to shelter them from the rigors of the climate. The grandfather from time to time increased the area of his farm, until he had about one hun- dred and seventy acres of land. He was an able and influential man of his time, hold- ing the office of County Judge and of Super- visor several years. By his wife, Chloe Jack- son, whom he married in New England, he had twelve children. He died on his farm in Nelson, at the age of sixty years; and his widow lived to be about ninety years old.
The parents of our subject were John and
Ruth (Card) Lyon, who were both born in the town of Nelson, and were there married. John Lyon carried on general farming all his life. He died at the home of our subject, who was his eldest child, at the age of eighty- five years, his wife having died at forty-two years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Lyon were mem- bers of the Baptist church ; and, politically, he was a Democrat. They had one son and three daughters, namely: Marlin; Emeline, Mrs. Thomas Morey, of the town of Nelson; Betsey, Mrs. William Judd, of Mason City, Ia .; and Caroline, Mrs. William Morey, who died at the age of twenty-six years.
Marlin Lyon had but limited opportunities for schooling, the circumstances of the family being such that he was led to start out for himself at the age of eleven, doing farm work, receiving the meagre sum of twenty-four dol- lars for the first six months' labor. He con- tinued working out by the month until he was thirty years of age. In May of 1865 he mar- ried Miss Electa Hyatt, who was born in Connecticut. (For family history of Mrs. Lyon, see sketch of Hon. F. A. Hyatt.) In the same year that he married he bought eighty-five acres of the farm which he now occupies, having increased it by later pur- chases to one hundred and seventy acres. It is fine, productive land, yielding good crops of hay, oats, wheat, and other grains. Mr. Lyon also here carries on a dairy of twenty cows. Mr. and Mrs. Lyon have three children, as follows: Frank HI., residing in the town of Fenner; Rev. Walter S., a min- ister of the Methodist Episcopal church,
524
BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW
having a charge in the town of Fenncr; and Henry H., who lives at home.
Mr. Marlin Lyon has toilcd carly and late to acquire the possessions he now cnjoys, and no one has been more deserving of success.
As to his political views, having scen and deplored the evils caused by intempcrance, he believes that in prohibition the only salvation of the country is to be found, and therefore votes with that party. He has been Assessor for three years, and has held other local offices of trust. The family are all devoted members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and it is a great satisfaction to Mr. Lyon that he has a son devoted to the ministry of this church. Mr. Lyon is an intelligent and genial gentleman, and is justly considercd a man of good judgment, faithful to his convic- tions of duty, and an influential and worthy citizen.
AJOR AUGUSTUS P. CLARKE, A.M., civil engineer, who has wrought efficiently in many of the country's works of internal improvement, was born in the town of Cazenovia, of which he is a resident, July 23, 1835. His grand- father, Joseph Colville Clarke, a native of England, was born in 1768, was married December 9, 1790, to Elizabeth Clark, and died July 16, 1799. His widow was married December 25, 1808, to Benjamin Withenbury.
Benjamin Tarbox Clarke, son of Joseph and father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Middletown, Conn., February 21, 1797, and was but two years old when his
father died. He continued to live with his mother, and came to Madison County with her and other members of the family, making the journcy by team to Schenectady, and thence by flat-boat on the Mohawk River. - He was with the troops sent to the defence of Sackett's Harbor in the War of 1812, and for service there rendered was a pensioner during his later years. Learning the trade of cabi- net-maker, for a number of years he dealt in furniture, building up a flourishing business, accumulating a handsome property, including the business block erected by him on the south-east corner of Lincklaen and Albany Streets. His long and honorable life was terminated by an accident August 14, 1875.
The maiden name of the wife of Benjamin T. Clarke was Harriet Kingsbury; and she was a member of the seventh generation in a direct line from Henry Kingsbury, Sr., of England. She was born in Cazenovia, Sep- tember 26, 1800. Her father was Lemuel Kingsbury, who was born in Andover, Tol- land County, Conn., a son of Dennison Kingsbury, a native of the same town. Cap- tain Nathaniel Kingsbury, father of Denni- son, was born in Haverhill, Mass., August 23, 1684. He was a son of Lieutenant Joseph Kingsbury, who was born in Ipswich, Mass., about the year 1656, and grandson of Henry Kingsbury, Jr., who, from the best information at hand, was born in England in 1615. Henry Kingsbury, Sr., father of Henry, Jr., was born in England. He came to America in the same fleet with his friend Governor Winthrop, landing at Salem, July
525
BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW
30, 1630. Both he an! his wife, Margaret, joined the first church in Boston, being the twenty-fifth and the twenty-sixth members on the list. Later they settled in Ipswich, Mass. Their son, Henry, Jr., removed from Ipswich to Haverhill, Mass., where he died October 1, 1687. His wife died February 21, 1678. Their son, Lieutenant Joseph Kingsbury, removed from Haverhill to Nor- wich, Conn., in June, 1708, and died there in 1741. He married in 1679 Lois Ayres. Their son, Captain Nathaniel Kingsbury, after his marriage went to Windham, now Hampton, Conn., and in 1731 or 1732 moved to Coventry, now Andover, in the same State, where he died in 1750.
An old letter preserved in the State House in Boston, by permission given here in full, is interesting as containing the earliest known references to the ancestors of the American Kingsburys. Edward Flint, Esq., of New York City, is authority for the state- ment that it was written from Groton Manor, Suffolk, England, in November, 1629, to "the right worshipful John Winthrop, Es- quire," newly elected Governor of the colony of Massachusetts Bay : -
My deare Husband
Ireioyce in thy welfare and in the expecta- cion of thy presence wch I hope shortly to enioy. I send up my daughter M. somewhat the soner by reson of Mr. P. cominge up and would pray thee to send word this weeke when I shall send up thy horsses. I pray make what hast you can for the hart of your good ser- vant is fallen so loe that she sayth if you do not com home presently you will never lift it up agayne. But I think hir desyre is that she may confir with you about
Mr. P., whome I think she will scarce have power to deny. Ile preached with us the last Lord's day and did very well. He seemeth to be a very godly wise man, but I am sure my sister will not make any promise till she hath confired with thyselfe and the rest of hir frends. Coles Kinsman shall come up next weeke. Kingesbery will goe for N. E., his wife and two children. You must pardon me that I am so short in righting to you, for my affections are longe enough if I had time to expresse them. But I must leave thee for this time, beinge in hast. Desyringe the good Lord to prosper all thy businesse and affayres and send us a comfortable meetinge, I commend my best love to thee, and commit you to the Lord and rest Your faythfull and obedient wife,
MARGARET WINTHROPE.
Mr. Flint also gives the following addi- tional particulars: "Governor Winthrop was at the time sitting in Parliament, and selling his property preparatory to leaving England. The Kingesbery mentioned is the first Henry, who came to this country in 1630. As a neighbor of the Winthrops, our ancestor came from Suffolk, Groton Manor House being about fifteen miles north-east of London. In April, 1630, four ships of the fleet anchored in the Solent, off Cowes in the Isle of Wight. The 'Arbella' contained the governor and sons, Deputy Governor and Madame Dudley, the Lady Arbella, daughter of the late pious Theophilus, Earl of Lincoln, and other leaders. The Kingsbury family were on board the 'Talbot.' In this month Governor Winthrop wrote to his wife, who was still at the Manor House (she joining him at Boston the next year): 'Henry Kingesbery hath a child or two on the "Talbot," sick with measles; but I hear they are apt to do well.'
526
BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW
The children recovered, one of them being the second Henry from whom we descend. A storm separated the vessels, and small-pox broke out in the 'Talbot.' But the Kings- burys were spared, and in June, 1630, landed at Salem, Mass."
In politics Benjamin T. Clarke was a Whig. Intelligent and well informed, he took a lively interest in all matters pertain- ing to the public good. He served a term as Postmaster in Cazenovia, and fifteen years as a Justice of the Peace.
After a preparatory course of study at Caze- novia Academy, in 1851 Augustus P. Clarke entered Union College at Schenectady, where he was graduated in 1855, having taken the scientific and engineering course, with the degree of C.E., later receiving the degree of A.M. in course. Leaving college, he went to Wisconsin, and assisted in the survey of the Fox River Valley and of the Milwaukee & Beloit Railroads. The panic of 1857 practi- cally putting a stop to railroad building, he engaged in teaching in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, and later was employed in intro- ducing text-books into the schools of that part of the country. Returning East in 1860, he enlisted, August 9, 1862, in Com- pany K, One Hundred and Fourteenth New York Volunteer Infantry. Mustered in as a private, he was promoted to the post of Quartermaster Sergeant, and from that to the adjutancy of the regiment. Before receiving his commission as such, he was transferred to the engineer corps, and joined the Depart- ment of the Gulf. He was made Captain of
Engineers, and later Major, and had charge of the construction of various important works, including the fort at Brazos Island near the mouth of the Rio Grande, in sight of the first two battle-grounds of the Mexican War - Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma - and the works at Port Hudson, a completely bastioned fortress. He was with General Banks at the Red River expedition. He was taken sick while in charge of the works at Mobile, in April, 1865, and was honorably discharged from Le Vert Hospital May 12, 1865, his health being very much impaired.
After the war Major Clarke was stationed for a brief period at Toledo, as Trainmaster of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Rail- road. Resigning that position on account of continuing ill-health, he afterward went to Kansas, and assisted in locating the surveys for the central branch of the Union Pacific Railroad. A few months later he entered the employ of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, in the engineer department, and made surveys for the bridges at Burlington and Quincy, and also had charge of the build- ing of many other bridges and culverts. The year 1868 found him working for the Illinois Central Railroad, with headquarters at Du- buque, Ia. The following year he formed a partnership with L. C. Mitchell to carry on the book and stationery business in Chicago. Selling out this business after a short time, he moved to Red Wing, Minn., and was en- gaged in surveying a route from Wabasha, via Lake City and Red Wing, to Hastings, and later on the Hastings and Dakota road. In
BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW
1871 he came back to his native village. When the company was organized for build- ing the West Shore Railroad, he entered its service and did important work, to him being assigned the construction of some of the most difficult parts of the road. His efforts did much toward securing the right of way through Syracuse.
Major Clarke married in 1866 Frances S. Groff, who was born, reared, and educated in Cazenovia, and who has been a devoted wife and mother. They have four children living - Harriet Elizabeth, Theodore Paul, Sophia Brightman, and Robert Augustus. Major and Mrs. Clarke are members of the Presbyterian church at Cazenovia. He is a member of Knowlton Post, No. 160, Grand Army of the Republic, and of Sullivan Lodge, No. 148, A. F. & A. M. Politically, he is a Republi- can. In his busy life, much of which has been spent away from his early home, he has found some time to devote to the public affairs of his native town. He has for six- teen years served as Trustee and Treasurer of Cazenovia Seminary.
ON. NORMAN A. CRUMB, a young and promising attorney - at - law, resident in Brookfield, Madison County, was born here January 15, 1866. Daniel Crumb, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, came from Rhode Island to Brookfield among the pioneer settlers, cleared a few acres of the thickly timbered land, and built his log house. He was a farmer,
and also followed the trade of cooper. He died in the town of Brookfield at an advanced age. James Crumb, son of Daniel, having been educated in the public schools and trained to agricultural pursuits, as soon as he gained his majority purchased the farm of his late father, and paid the other heirs their portion. He married Eunice Collins, daughter of Hoxie and Silvia (Teft) Col- lins, and lived in the original log house of his parents. His wife's father was a Quaker preacher, and she was brought up in that faith. Her mother was of an old family that came from Rhode Island, and were carly settlers of Brookfield. There were four chil- dren born to Mr. and Mrs. James Crumb; namely, Francis, Marion, Hoxie J., and Nor- man. The father still lives on the farm; and his son, Hoxie J., resides with him. The mother died in the town of Brookfield, Feb- ruary 2, 1892, at the age of sixty-three years. A highly respected lady, her loss was sincerely mourned by a large circle of friends.
Norman A. Crumb remained upon the home farm until he was seventeen years of age, in the mean time attending the district school, and later pursuing a course of study at the Brookfield Academy, from which institution he was graduated in 1884. He then taught school for a few terms; and afterward, by way of preparation for the study of law, he took a short course in the Cazenovia Seminary. In March of 1886 he entered the law office of Senator John E. Smith at Morrisville, N. Y., where he studied for two years, and then went
BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW
as managing clerk into the office of A. O. Briggs. Esq., of Canastota. N. Y .. where he remained until his admission to the bar, May 3. 1889. at the general term at Syracuse. N. Y. On September 3. 1891. he married Miss Carrie E. Lamb. daughter of Charles and Helen Lamb.
He cast his first vote in the ranks of the Republican party. and has since been a strong and faithful adherent to that organization. Mr. Crumb is an active and influential mem- ber of Brookfield Lodge. No. 632. Indepen- dent Order of Odd Fellows.
While yet young, Mr. Crumb has evinced a high order of talent, and has shown himself possessed of a fund of legal lore and a capac- ity for work that would do credit to a much older member of the profession. so that he already takes a front rank. being considered among the most judicious lawyers of the county. He is essentially a man of peace, and. instead of advising clients to "go to law." is ever ready to adjust differences and settle disputes amicably. He is a man who has risen by his own efforts. always preferring self-reliance, to any outside assistance; and his achievements are the results ci his own perseverance. push. and pluck. Straighticz- ward and courteous. he has from a very small beginning built up a large practice. and made for himself an extensive circle of friends. who have the utmost confidence in his integrity and skill. Having a high social position and a pleasant home. he enjoys a well-earned prosperity. and may be trusted to merit and to win still greater successes in the future.
RS. AMELIA L. BROWN was born in the town of Lenox, January 23. 1829. and is a daughter of Edwin 10 and Laura (Douglass) Lewis. the former of whom was born in Whitesboro, Oneida County. N.Y., in 1799, and the latter in ISor on the farm. in the town of Sullivan. where Mrs. Brown now resides. Colonel Zebulon Douglass. the maternal grandfather of our subject, was the original settler of this farm. He and his wife. Mary Noyes, were born in Columbia County. New York, and were married in the fall of 1,96. The fol- lowing spring Mr. Douglass came to West- moreland. Oneida County, and worked land, raising crops to supply his need, when he should have taken possession of lands bought of the State in what is now known as the town of Sullivan. During the summer he made a small clearing. and built a log cabin on the new tract; and in February, 1798. he brought his wife and infant child to the new home. making the journey by ox - team. Blazed trees were their only guide from Whitesboro. There were but few white set- :lers at that time, but plenty of Indians, who were, as a rule, friendly to the whites. By untiring industry and hard labor Mr. Doug- lass made his farm of three hundred and Afty acres one of the most productive and beauti- ful in the county. The County Agricultural Society in 1819 awarded him a silver cup for having the best cultivated farm in the county. He was also one of the pioneer tavern- keepers. During the War of 1812 his beauti- ful meadows, fronting his home. were the
529
BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW
camping - ground for a short time of a large force of troops on their way to the scene of action. Mr. Douglass was a public-spirited man, interested in all improvements, and assisted materially in having the Erie Canal pushed through to completion. He was Colo- nel of a regiment of State militia, and was an old-line Whig in politics, and was elected Member of Assembly in 1811. He died in the village of Canastota in 1849, at the age of eighty years; and his wife, a noble woman, died in 1835, at the age of sixty-four. They were Presbyterians in religious faith. They were the parents of eight children, seven daughters and one son, all of whom are now deceased.
The paternal grandfather of Mrs. Brown, Deacon Edward Lewis, was a prominent man among the early settlers of the town of Lenox. He was born in Guilford, Conn., in 1766, and came in early life to Whitesboro, where he taught school, edited a paper, etc., being a man of scholarly tastes and habits. In the early years of the present century he moved to Quality Hill in the town of Lenox, where he made farming his business. He was for a time a Justice of the Peace, and was always deeply interested in the educational, moral, and religious interests of the community in which he lived. He was an active member and Deacon of the Presbyterian church of Quality Hill, and an earnest anti-slavery and temperance man. He died at Quality Hill in 1840, aged seventy-four years. His wife. Olive Barnard, an estimable Christian woman, was a native of Connecticut. She died quite
young. They were the parents of ten chil- dren, five sons and five daughters, who grew to manhood and womanhood in the town of Lenox. They were all men and women of ability, intelligence, and high Christian char- acter, and became earnest promoters of all that was highest and best in the communities in which they made their respective homes.
Mrs. Brown's father, Edwin Lewis, came to the town of Lenox when but a boy. He gained his education in the district schools, and for some time followed the occupation of a teacher. But soon after, and in early man- hood, he gave his attention to farming, and made it his business for life. In 1843 he sold his lands in the town of Lenox, and moved to the town of Sullivan, buying a part of the land then owned by his father-in-law, Zebulon Douglass. Here Mr. Lewis ended his days, dying May 15, 1850, at the age of fifty-one years. His wife, Laura Douglass, reached the age of eighty-two, dying January 27, 1883, on the farm where she was born. They were both members of the Presbyterian church, and were earnest friends to every righteous cause. Of their four children, only Mrs. Brown, our subject, survives. The two younger daughters died in childhood; and the only son, Edwin D. Lewis, who was a useful and respected citizen, a successful business man, and a Christian, died at the old homestead in 1889, at the age of fifty-seven, leaving a wife and one daughter.
The subject of this biographical notice came to womanhood in this vicinity, and gained lier education at the district schools of
530
BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW
the town and at De Ruyter Seminary. . She was married in January, 1849, to Josiah P. Brown, a native of Massachusetts. She has one son, Edwin L., who was born November 21, 1849. He came to manhood in the town of Sullivan, being educated at the Chitte- nango High School and Oneida Seminary. In 1878 he had the great misfortune to lose his sight, as the result of sunstroke while working in the harvest field. For long years he has walked in perfect darkness, but has bravely and cheerfully borne the affliction. He resides with his mother on the home farm, which he manages with good judgment. Mrs. Brown and her son are both members of the Methodist church, stanch Prohibitionists, and deeply interested in all that pertains to the progress of the age.
ILLIAM H. PATTEN, of Canas- tota, a leading member of the firm of Patten & Stafford, manufacturers of the. New York Champion Wheel Rakes, is a worthy representative of a large and important industry. The manufacturing industries of a country may always be ranked as among its greatest blessings, the benefits resulting therefrom extending to all classes, every in- dustry, art, and science being under obliga- tions to the skill of the manufacturer and mechanic as well as to the genius of the inventor, the latter being stimulated to the highest exercise of his faculties by the oppor- tunities afforded by the former.
Mr. Patten was born in Westmoreland,
Oneida County, N. Y., February 17, 1837, and is a son of Osmond Patten, who was born on the same farm in 1802, the father of the latter and grandfather of our subject, William Patten, having settled thereon toward the close of the last century. William Patten married a Miss Phelps, who lived to be over ninety years of age, and died at Vernon, Oneida County, in 1847. He was one of three young men who settled in an early day in Westmoreland, the other two being a Mr. Cone and a Mr. Bowen. At the time all were young and vigorous, and ambitious to carve out for themselves a home and a fortune. They jointly selected and took up a tract of one hundred and eighty acres of land, divid- ing it into three equal parts, Mr. Bowen, who was a manufacturer of potash, giving a potash kettle to the others for the first choice of the divisions. William Patten and his wife were the parents of five sons, namely: Alton, who died, unmarried, in early life; William, who owned a carding and fulling mill, and died in old age, leaving a son and daughter; Osmond, the father of the subject of this sketch; Silas, a farmer of Walworth County, Wisconsin, who died in his eightieth year about 1883, leaving a family of four sons and two daughters; and George, a man of frail health, who was a book-keeper and accountant, and who died at the home of our subject in middle life. Os- mond Patten married Betsy Bradford, who was born near Westerly, Conn., and was a daugh- ter of William Bradford and his wife, the latter, previous to her marriage, having been a Miss Dickens. They had but one son, the
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.