USA > New York > Madison County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Madison County, New York > Part 64
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Nathan S. Cady was a cousin of Eliza- beth Cady Stanton. He married Louisa M. Beecher, a relative of the famous Henry Ward Beecher. The first Supervisor of the town of Lenox, Madison County, was Sylves- ter Beecher, the maternal grandfather of George B. Cady. Nathan S. Cady also served as Supervisor, and was Justice of the Peace at Clockville; and his son, George B., though a Republican, has served two terms as Supervisor in a Democratic town. George B. Cady was educated at the academies at Chittenango and Cazenovia, standing un- usually high in his studies. His life-work . has been that of a manufacturer of woollen cloth at Hoboken, and during the war he ran his factory to its full capacity in the old buildings of the Lenox Iron Company. Mr. Cady was married first, when about twenty- two years of age, to Nancy M. Way, born in 1840, who bore him three daughters and one son, all of whom grew to maturity and mar- ried. After the death of his first wife Mr. Cady married Adelia Brewer, by whom he has
no children. Mr. Cady is a Knight Templar Mason, and is now practically retired from active business, living on his little farm of twenty-two acres. For many years he was the leading business spirit of Hoboken and Clockville. He has been a very active and successful man.
Charles N. Cady remained at home on his father's farm until he was twenty-two years old; and after the spring crops were all in, in 1878, he told his father that he had ploughed his last furrow and was through with farming. When asked what he was going to do, he said he did not know, but that he was going away to seek his fortune. His father predicted that he would fail and desire soon to return to the farm, kindly promising to send him some money in that case to pay his way back. The young man, however, was not discouraged by his father's gloomy prediction, and was away from home for two years, and then, re- turning, was at home only a short time. He has manifested a spirit of self-reliance which, together with natural intelligence and ability, has enabled him to make a success of his life, notwithstanding the fact that, on account of being an invalid from his fifth to his four- teenth year, he was unable to secure the edu- cation that other boys of his age obtained.
The three sisters of Mr. Cady are: Louise M., wife of William H. Patten, of Canastota; Grace I., wife of Duane Clock, of Clockville, who has three children, one son and two daughters; and Florence M., wife of Charles F. McConnell, a druggist of Canastota, who has one son.
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Mr. Cady was married, when twenty-one years of age, to Flora L. Baldwin, of Massa- chusetts, who bore him one daughter and one son, George B., and died in 1883, the daugh- ter having previously died at eighteen months of age. Mr. Cady was married again in Jan- uary, 1886, to Minnie A. Anson, daughter of James Anson, who was born near Taberg, Oneida County, and by whom he has one son, Charles Patten, a precocious little fellow, four years old.
ARON D. DUNBAR, an honored resident of Hamilton, where he is living retired from a long and suc- cessful business career, was born in Charlton, Worcester County, Mass., November 24, 1813. His grandfather, David Dunbar, was, judging from the best information at hand, born in Needham, Mass., of Scotch parentage. Ile married Hannah Hammond, also a native of Massachusetts, and, removing to Charlton in that State, purchased a farm, where they spent the remainder of their lives.
John Dunbar, son of David and Hannah, was born in CharIton, Mass .; and there he grew to manhood, and married. Soon after the latter event the young couple migrated to Madison County, New York, where they re- mained two years, and then returned to Charl- ton to take charge of the old farm. Succeed- ing his father in its ownership, he lived on the old homestead until 1837. In that year, accompanied by his family, he again bent his steps westward, travelling with team across the country to Oneida County. He bought a
tract of land in the town of Marshall, where he engaged in farming till 1852, with most excellent results. The last years of his life he spent retired in Hubbardsville, dying there at the ripe old age of eighty-four years. The maiden name of his wife was Eunice Fitts. She was also a native of the old Bay State, born in Charlton, being a daughter of John and Rebecca (Dresser) Fitts. She survived her husband, and, spending the last years of her life with her children, died at the ad- vanced age of fourscore years. To her and her husband were born five children - Ade- line, Pascal, Aaron D., Lovisa, and Hannah. Adeline and Aaron D. are the only ones now living.
The subject of this biography was reared to man's estate in his native town, obtaining the rudiments of his education in the excel- lent public schools of Massachusetts. On the home farm he received a practical training in agriculture ; and, when his parents came to Madison County, he accompanied them, and assisted his father in clearing the land, fell- ing trees, uprooting stumps, and breaking the sod, and remained on the old homestead till 1852. That year his marriage with Eveline Sheldon, a native of Lebanon, was solem- nized. Removing to Hubbardsville, he bought a grist and saw mill, and the fol- lowing six years carried on an extensive mill- ing business in that place. Disposing of the mill. Mr. Dunbar came to Hamilton, where he saw a hne opening for a man of enterprise and activity. At that time there were no railroads traversing this section of the coun-
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try, the Chenango Canal being the great highway of commerce. So, purchasing a warehouse and a number of boats, he carried on a thriving business in forwarding goods, continuing thus employed until the comple- tion of the railway. Then, selling out his property in Hamilton, he established a bank in Clinton, which he managed profitably until 1876. Subsequently, becoming interested in the subject of mines and mining, he went to Colorado to make a personal investigation of their operations; and, investing money in different localities in that State, he settled in Denver, and continued to reside there until 1888.
Though pleased with the beautiful "City of the Plains," Mr. Dunbar longed once more for the familiar home scenes, and accordingly returned to Hamilton, where he is now liv- ing, surrounded by all the comforts of life, enjoying the fruits of the labor of earlier years, the society of old friends, and the respect of the entire community. In politics Mr. Dunbar is an active supporter of the Republican party, ever exerting his influence in upholding its principles.
RS. CLIMENA E. ELMORE, of Cazenovia, a kindly matron, se- renely enjoying the ripe autumn of her years, was born in 1811, the eldest of the six daughters of James and Almena (Smith) Thrasher, of this town. The mother was a native of Connecticut. But two of Mrs. El- more's sisters survive at the present day,
namely : Sarah, wife of David Eigabroadt, of Cazenovia; and Mary, wife of Henry White, of Syracuse. George Thrasher, the grand- father of Mrs. Elmore, was from New Eng- land, and was one of the first twelve who settled in Cazenovia. On the night of their arrival they slept in the open air, near the site of the present Carpenter residence. He reared four sons and two daughters, and died full of years on his farm, half a mile west of Mrs. Elmore's present home.
Mrs. Elmore is the widow of Madison El- more, who was born on the spot where she now resides May 2, 1811, and died here on the 13th of January, 1885, when nearing the seventy-fourth anniversary of his birth, leav- ing an enviable reputation as a man and citizen. Eliphalet Elmore, the father of Madison, was a native of Connecticut, where he was born in 1778. He died in the town of Cazenovia in 1850, when in his seventy-third year. His wife, whose maiden name was Mabel Pitkin, was also born in Connecticut, the date of her birth being 1777. They came to Madison County with but small means, and purchased of a Mr. Webster one hundred and sixty acres of land, which form a part of the present homestead of one hundred and ninety acres. To them were born four sons and five daughters, their son Madison being the fifth child and third son. The names of their children are as follows: Horace, born in 1804, married Adeline Mitchell; Selah Pit- kin, born in 1810, died June 19, 1892, married Maria Wallace; Madison; Elisha, born in 1819, and married Eliza Dodge;
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Emily, born in 1805; Diana, in 1807; Jane, 111 1813; Harriet, in 1817; and Mabel, in 1821 The mother of these children died September 20, 1821, when her daughter Mabel was but an infant. Mr. Elmore was married for the second time to Mrs. Latin, a widow, who bore him one son, Sidney, who married Jane Thompson; and a daughter, Eliza, now the widow of George Peake, of Delphi. Of the eleven children born to Eliphalet Elmore, but three now survive - Elisha, Mabel, and Eliza.
With the exception of the first few years of her wedded life, Mrs. Elmore has resided at her present home since her marriage, which occurred February 25, 1836. She and her husband became the parents of one son, James, who was reared on the home farm and received a liberal education at the Woodstock and Cazenovia schools. September 27, 1871, he married Amelia Ainsworth. daughter of Leroy and Mary (Carpenter) Ainsworth, both of the town of Cazenovia. Mrs. Ainsworth died in 1883, when sixty-nine years of age. and her husband in 1890, at the age of seventy-eight. They left five children, all of whom are still living. James Elmore and wife have become the parents of five children, two of whom, both sons, died in infancy. The others are: Climena, a young lady of sixteen ; Mary, a miss of thirteen years; and Mabel, ten years old. This son and family all reside with his mother on the fine large farm left to her by her husband. He is engaged in its management, and, like his father, has been most successful. He makes
a specialty of dairying, keeping a large herd of good grade cattle and a few good horses, and is also engaged in general farming.
When thirty-three years of age, Madison Elmore united with the Baptist church, of which he remained a consistent member, and in which he was an active worker to the close of his life. He was earnest in the advance- ment of all true Christian and moral reforms, and a strong advocate of the cause of temper- ance. In politics he was a Republican, had an intelligent understanding of the principles and policy of his chosen party, and always cast his vote with a view to the advancement of the public good and the best interests of the community in which he lived. He was an affectionate husband and kind father; and his loss was a severe bereavement to his family, and was mourned by the entire com- munity. He sleeps in peace in the beautiful Evergreen Cemetery at Cazenovia.
We quote from the obituary of Mr. Elmore the following tribute to his worth: "We are again called upon to mourn the loss of one of our honored citizens, who has moved in our midst nearly three-fourths of a century, hav- ing been born on the farm where he has toiled and died, and where by' honest toil and econ- omy he had accumulated a large fortune. None were sent from his door empty-handed, he being always ready to lend a helping hand to the needy and to speak words of cheer and kindness to those in trouble and sympathize with the distressed." Solaced by the loving care of her son and daughter-in-law, and happy in the society of her grandchildren,
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Mrs. Elmore passes her declining years in peace, knowing that he who for a short time has left her side has but gone before, and that she may again meet him in that Beautiful City where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest.
MBROSE E. SAWYER, of the Rath- bun-Sawyer Company, a prominent business man of Oneida, local man- ager and part owner of the Oneida Flouring Mills, is a son of the Rev. Elisha Sawyer, a Baptist clergyman, and his wife, Clarissa Baker, both of Jefferson County. Elisha Sawyer and his wife were the parents of eight children, namely: Albert, now living in Michigan; Anna, wife of the Rev. E. P. Weed, a Baptist clergyman; Ellen A., for- merly wife of Horace Hooker, of Carthage, N. Y., but now deceased; Ambrose E., the subject of this sketch; Clarissa D., wife of J. T. Gorsline, of Rochester; William, de- ceased; Mary E., wife of L. V. Rathbun, of Rochester; and Alonzo, deceased.
He of whom we write was born in Water- town, N.Y., August 16, 1838, and when young attended the district schools. Later removing to Parma, N.Y., he pursued a course of study at the Parma Institute. After this he was for some years occupied as a teacher, and subsequently became engaged in business in both Eastern and Western New York. In 1875 he was elected School Com- missioner of Jefferson County, which office he held for six years, during this time devoting
himself entirely to educational interests. He brought about many reforms in the schools, and made suggestions and recommendations to the department at Albany the value of which was recognized, as evinced by their speedy adoption. In 1879 he formed one of a syndicate of five in purchasing Round Island in the St. Lawrence River, and in forming what is known as Round Island Park. This company was incorporated with a capital of fifty thousand dollars; and Mr. Sawyer became its Secretary, continuing active in the business of the company until 1888, when he and the other stockholders sold their holdings to New York capitalists.
In the same year, 1888, he and his brother- in-law, Mr. L. V. Rathbun, purchased the Oneida Flouring Mills, then in a very poor condition, the equipment being antiquated and practically useless. They at once intro- duced the most modern machinery, and made other improvements in the property, the result being that the mill is now one of the most elaborate and best fitted out in Central New York, and probably the most profitable. It is operated by water power obtained from Oneida Creek, and utilized up to one hundred horse power, a steam-engine of sixty-five horse power being used as auxiliary. There are in the mill two run of stones and eighteen pairs of rollers, of which twelve pairs are used in the manufacture of flour, the rest con- stituting a fine and complete roller buckwheat plant. The entire capacity of the mill is . twenty-five hundred bushels of grain per day. Mr. Sawyer is the local manager of the enter-
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prise, and devotes his entire time to the busi- pocos of the company, the latter having been incorporated in March, 1893, with a capital stock of eighty thousand dollars, he being made Vice-President and Treasurer.
At a convenient time for settling in life Ambrose E. Sawyer married Frances E. Cox, a native of Byron, Genesee County, by whom he has had two children, namely: Rose, who died at the age of eight months; and Charles E., who died when seventeen years of age. Politically, Mr. Sawyer is a Republican, and in religion a member of the Baptist church, of which he has been a Deacon for a number of years. He has always taken a deep inter- est in church and Sunday-school work, believ- ing true religion to be the basis of sound morality and good citizenship. He is a mem- ber of the Grand Army of the Republic. having been a soldier in the war for the pres- ervation of the Union. He served two years in the Thirteenth New York Volunteer Infan- try, and on account of the hardships and exposure incident to active military life was taken sick in Virginia and sent to the hos- pital, where he suffered a severe attack of typhoid fever. Mr. Sawyer is well known, and is one of the most highly respected citi- zens of Madison County, having an excellent reputation as a sagacious man of business and a man of unimpeachable integrity. Few, if any, of his fellow-citizens manifest a stronger desire to be of service to the community ; and he has taken an active part in many use- ful and benevolent undertakings having for their object the promotion of the public good.
A LANSON DUNHAM, deceased, for many years an extensive farmer in Lebanon, was born in the town of Franklin, Delaware County, N. Y. His father, Elijah Dunham, was a native of New England, but removed from there to New York when young, and resided for a time in the town of Franklin, going thence to Leba- non. A few years later he moved to Pennsyl- vania, and settled in Bradford County, where he spent the remaining years of his life. The subject of this brief biographical sketch was educated in the public schools, and dur- ing the early part of his life worked with his father at the carpenter's trade, making that his chief occupation for several years. He was always interested in agriculture, and, having a fine opportunity, purchased the farm which is now the home of his family, thence- forward being engaged in farming until his death. Feb. 8, 1887, at Lebanon, N.Y. Mr. Dunham was an energetic, industrious man, possessing sound judgment, and managed his business in such a manner that during his life he acquired a handsome competency. Very domestic in his tastes, he found pleasure in making a happy home for his wife and chil- dren, and lived honored and respected throughout the community. In politics he was a Democrat, though not aggressive in his opinions.
Mr. Dunham was united in marriage Sep- tember 20, 1849, with Delia A. Ballard, who was born in the town of Lebanon. April 10, 1828. She is of New England ances- try, her paternal grandfather, Dane Ballard,
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having been a native of Massachusetts. Emi- grating from there to New York, he became a pioneer of Madison, Madison County, largely assisting its industrial development A few years later he removed to Lebanon, where he purchased land and erected a saw-mill, the first in the locality, remaining there until his death. The maiden name of his wife was Anna Millin. Their son, Elmer Ballard, father of Mrs. Dunham, was born in the town of Madison, November 12, 1802, and was a young lad when his parents moved to Leba- non, where he was reared to manhood. Marrying in the twenty-second year of his age, he bought a tract of land near the village of Lebanon, a few acres only of which were cleared, and on which had been erected a barn and a plank house. By dint of industry and steady perseverance he improved the re- mainder of the land and bought adjacent prop- erty, until at the time of his death he had a fine farm of more than three hundred acres, all under excellent cultivation and well sup- plied with good buildings. The maiden name of his wife was Lydia Utter, who was born in the town of Eaton, Madison County, August 20, 1806.
Elijah Utter, Mrs. Dunham's maternal grandfather, it is thought, was born in the eastern part of the State of New York, of Welsh ancestry. He became a pioneer of Madison County, coming here at an early date with his wife and three children. His first stopping-place was Hamilton, where he pitched a tent in which he left his family . while he went prospecting for lime rock, as
he was a lime-burner by trade, and was look- ing for a place to locate himself where he could easily find materials to supply him with work. Finding a large body of the rock near Eaton, he settled in that place with his fam- ily, and followed his occupation there for a number of years. Later he removed to Georgetown, where he and his wife spent their last years. He married Annie Carhart, a native of Long Island; and to them were born ten children. The parents of Mrs. Dun- ham reared five children, namely: Chandler Ballard, Delia A., Ladurna, Amelia, and Ophelia.
The union of Mr. and Mrs. Dunham was blessed by the birth of two children, one of whoni, the only daughter, Elma, passed on to the new and better life when only eighteen years of age. Their son, Carleton, married Miss Lena Upham, and resides on the home farm, faithfully carrying on the work begun by his father. Mrs. Dunham is a woman of much ability, highly esteemed by her friends and neighbors, and a valued member of the Congregational church.
OHN WESLEY COE. This gentle- man, an exceedingly popular and prominent farmer, residing near Wampsville, Madison County, N.Y., was born in Smithfield, this county, May 20, 1828. His grandfather, David Coe, of Mid- dletown, Conn., went to Kirkland, Oneida County, in 1796, taking with him his son, also David Coe, who was born in Middletown,
JOHN W. COE.
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Conn., in 1784, and was then but twelve years of age. The family, consisting of the parents and four children, travelled, as had all the other pioneers of that region, with an ox-team and large covered wagon, in which they lived until the timber was cut out of the dense for- ests and the log cabin with its earthen floor constructed, to shelter them and make their first home in the wilderness. This was in the region near where the beautiful city of Utica, N. Y., now stands; and one lonely log house occupied the site where Bagg's Hotel now opens its hospitable doors to the weary trav- eller. At that time even the turnpike from Albany to Buffalo, which is ninety years old, was not even projected. In 1806 the father of our subject was married to Orra Ellen- wood, daughter of Reuben Ellenwood, who came from Brimfield, Hampden County, Mass., about 1797. He became a wealthy farmer of Smithfield; in fact, the wealthiest in Madison County.
Our subject's parents went to Peterboro when there was but one white family (the Greggs) within ten miles east of where they located. Mr. Coe made a permanent home in this place, buying one hundred and fifty-six acres in the midst of heavy forest land, hav- ing many large trees of white pine and hard wood. He built a saw-mill, and turned out quantities of lumber, becoming, as the town increased, a prominent factor, loaning money to the settlers, from whom he would only take the legal interest. He was a leading man also in the county, holding several offices. He was not a church member, but was upright
in all things, taking the Golden Rule as his guide. His wife was a consistent and true believer in the Baptist faith. They reared six sons and three daughters, of whom John Wesley was the sixth son and eighth child.
All arrived at adult age, the first to die being the youngest daughter, Henrietta, a lovely girl of twenty-one years. Of that large family, only three sons and one daughter are now living, namely: Eli A., a farmer residing at Kirkville, Onondaga County, aged seventy-three years; Mary C., widow of Seth Roberts, living at Oneida, aged seventy years; George Whitfield, a retired farmer of Peterboro, sixty-eight years old; and John W.
John W. Coe received his education at the Clinton Liberal Institute at Clinton, Oneida County, from which he was graduated at the age of nineteen. He began his mercantile life as a clerk in Oneida with S. H. Goodwin & Co., at a salary of fifty dollars per year and board in the family of his employer; and that year he considered the best in his life, be- cause of the good precepts and example given him by Mr. Goodwin. He then embarked in trade for himself, starting in Stockbridge, N. Y., where he remained for four years. In 1860 he went to Hiram, Portage County, Ohio, where for one year he conducted a dry- goods store, and was an intimate and cherished companion of the late President James A. Garfield, with whom he was for a time partner in oil-well enterprises. He next went to Tidioute, Pa., where he engaged in the oil business and also dealt in hardware, having a large trade and being very successful in
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both branches. In March, 1875, he moved to his present home near Wampsville, retaining his interest in the oil lands at Tidioute.
Mr. Coe was married to his first wife July 2, 1852. She was Miss Charlotte R. North- rup, of Clinton, N.Y. Of this union there were three children, namely: John W., Jr., born in 1855, now of Chicago, Ill., a manu- facturer of electric dynamos ; Charlotte Alice, unmarried, and residing at home; and George Monroe, born in 1860, living on a farm near the old homestead, and a natural and ingeni- ous mechanic. The mother died March 5, 1860, at the age of thirty-three years. Four years later Mr. Coe contracted a second alli- ance, marrying Miss Albertina W. Coleman, of New Bedford, Mass. There were five sons born to this marriage; but all died young, none of them reaching their third year.
Mr. Coe is an unflinching and active mem- ber of the Republican party; was a delegate at the first Republican State Convention in New York, in 1856, and has always been prominent in campaigns, having voted in three different States - New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Fraternally, he is a Master Mason. Time seems to have dealt kindly with Mr. Coe, as he is still a fresh and vigor- ous gentleman, enjoying ease and comfort in the fine property which he has acquired mainly by his own efforts and sagacious spec- ulations, one of these being the purchase of thirty-three thousand five hundred and fifty- six acres of mineral and timber land in Virginia. Altogether his landed property embraces forty thousand acres. He is to be
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