USA > New York > Chenango County > Book of biographies : this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Chenango County, New York > Part 23
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CHARLES H. LATHAM.
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August 15, 1846. He is a son of Michael and Deborah (Newton) Jipson.
Michael Jipson was born in the State of Connecticut, and early in life came to Cort- land County, and followed the occupation of a farmer. He was united in marriage to Miss Deborah Newton, and a large family of chil- dren was born to them, namely: Aurilla ; Daniel; Eliza; Luther, who died when aged about 28 years ; Martha ; Deborah ; Rosina ; John ; and James, the subject of our sketch. Mrs. Jipson died at the age of sixty-five years. Mr. Jipson passed from this life at the advanced age of eighty years.
James A. Jipson, the subject of this sketch, received a good, liberal education, and when he attained his majority, he was engaged in the pursuits of an agriculturist. Finding this business unsuited to his tastes and talents, in 1870 he left the farm and moved to the vil- lage of Sherburne, where he purchased the livery, then owned by James Spencer. In 1880 the Medbury Hotel barns were burned, in which our subject sustained a severe loss. Later the Hotel Daniels with its barns was built on the same spot where the Hotel barns was located. Mr. Jipson at once rent- cd and re-opened a fine livery stable, which contains a fine variety of turnouts. He has served four years as deputy sheriff under Sheriff June, and has served fourteen years as police constable.
Mr. Jipson was wedded to Miss Elizabeth Parslow, a daughter of John S. Parslow of Lincklaen, this county. Our subject is one of the pushing business men of Sherburne, and anything conducive to the public good finds in him a friend and supporter.
HI. LATHAM is the proprietor of the leading hardware establishment of the village of Norwich, and conducts a large business in hardware, stoves, ranges and the like at his store at No. 215 North Broad Street. So far back as forty years ago, the business was first established by our subject's father, Joseph HI. Latham, it being itself a continuation of a business that had prospered for many years previous to the time he took hold of it in 1858. C. H. Latham was born November 13, 1864, in Nor- wich, Chenango County, where his entire life has been spent. The Lathams of this dis- trict originally came from Chesterfield, Mass.
James H. Latham was born in Guilford, Chenango County, and taught school several terms after completing his own common school education. In the spring of 1854, he came to Norwich, and in the following year became identified with the hardware firm of Haynes & Knight as clerk and bookkeeper, remaining in their employ until the death of Mr. Haynes in 1857, when he was still con- tinued in the store by the administrator of the estate until the fall of 1858, when he formed a partnership with D. M. Holmes, thus originating the firm of Latham & Holmes, which bought out the entire busi- ness of Haynes & Knight, even including the real estate. In the spring of 1864, our sub- ject's father purchased his partner's interest and continued the business alone until carly in 1888, when he disposed of it to his son, Charles H. Latham, and H. H. Higley, and retired from active life. Mr. Latham is a Republican, and is always ready to work for the good of the party. He married Frances
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Randall, and rcared a family that was com- posed of two children: Francis ; and Charles H., our subject.
Charles H. Latham early went into his father's store and clerked, continuing to act in that capacity until he and his partner, Mr. Higley, assumed control of the establishment and procecded to build up a large and lucra- tive trade. In March of 1895, the firm of Latham & Higley was dissolved, Mr. Latham buying out his partner, and since conducting the business. He has greatly cnlarged his stock, which consists of every describable class of heavy and shelf hardware, stoves, ranges, carpenters' tools, farming implements, and such house furnishings as are included under the general term of hardware. He also has a plumbing, steam and gas-fitting business, conducted in connection with the hardware business, and in charge of the best and most reliable workmen, who do their work on the most approved sanitary system. As Mr. Latham employs ample capital in his business, he is enabled to buy his goods cheap on a cash basis, and can therefore offer articles at very low prices to his cus- tomers. His ten years' business dealings in Chenango County have but served to deepcn the regard that is entertained for him, for he has those sterling business principles and genial manners, that go so far towards mak- ing a good impression, and holding the good- will of those who desire to do business with him. His signal success is but the well- merited reward of energy, enterprise and perseverance.
In 1885, Mr. Latham formed a matrimonial alliance with Nellie Miller, daughter of T. D.
Miller of Norwich, and they have two chil- dren, namely: Ruth and Gertrude. Our subject is a Republican and has served as a trustee of the village of Norwich. He is a prominent Odd Fellow, affiliating with Lodge No. 205, of Norwich. Mr. Latham is also a director of the Agricultural Association of Chenango County. He has taken an especi- ally deep interest in the fire department of his native village, and was once the assistant chief cngineer; he is a member of the George Rider Hook & Ladder Co., and was foreman of that organization for a matter of three years. Mr. Latham was elected chief engineer of the Norwich Fire Department, January 1, 1898, and through his efforts the city has since adopted the Gamewell Fire Alarm System, and purchased an adequate supply of new hose. His portrait as chief appears on a preceding page.
ARSHALL D. SPENCER, M. D. The Spencer family, which is one of the oldest and best known in Chenango County, is of French origin, and formerly spelled the name La Spincier. The Spencers in the United States are supposed to be descended from three brothers, who came to this country in colonial times, but the first authentic history we have of the branch to which our subject belongs is of Jonathan Spencer. It is thought he was a native of Montgomery County, N. Y., and was born March 17, 1744. In the fall of 1778 or 1779, he, with his oldest son, Orange, the
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grandfather of our subject, removed to Ot- sego County and took up his home in Unadilla, where the two were the first settlers, and ereeted the first cabin on what is now Spen- eer Street. They returned to Montgomery County at the end of the summer, where they remained until after the cold winter months had passed, when they, accompanied by the rest of the family, set out for their new home. They placed their possessions on sledges, which were drawn by oxen from the Mohawk River to Cooperstown, where they stopped long enough to build a bateau, upon which they put their belongings, and floated down the Susquehanna River, until they reached the mouth of the Unadilla River ; they pushed the bateau up that river for about three miles, when they disembarked and took possession of their eabin. There they lived in true primitive style, having no neighbors but the Indians, who were still un- friendly to white men. The family, of course, encountered many hardships, as they were obliged to divide their seanty stoek of pro- visions with the Indians, in order to keep peace ; as a result they brought a famine upon themselves, and for weeks at a time they had no bread on their table, and the children often went to bed hungry. How- ever, after some years spent in hard work and patient toil, better times began to appear ; other settlers eame into the vicinity, and their home, so long one of privation and want, beeame one of plenty and comfort. Jonathan Speneer was a soldier of the Revo- lutionary War. His first wife was formerly Ruth Mudge, who was born in Deeember, 1747, by whom he had four children, namely :
Rev. Orange, born July 3, 1765 ; Amos, No- vember 11, 1767; Jonathan, December 4, 1772; and Micah, February 12, 1780. He was again married July 23, 1781, to Miss Martha Keach, and reared eight ehildren, whose births were as follows: Nathaniel, February 12, 1782; Elisha, May 24, 1784 ; William, July 1, 1787 ; Franeis, November 6, 1789; Merey, April 9, 1796; Barzilla, May 9, 1798; Asher, January 2, 1800; and Solomon, July 11, 1803. Mrs. Speneer was one of the best of wives and mothers, and just the kind of woman needed to struggle through the hardships of the times in which she lived. She was a woman of remarkable bravery, as is shown by the following: When the In- dians, led by the noted Chief Brant, made a raid in the vicinity of the settlement, and the men were away fighting, the frightened women sought refuge in old Fort Plains, and she stood guard. She came from a family well known for their bravery and fighting ability. James Keach, one of her brothers, in a raid on Johnstown, during the Revolu- tion, captured the suit of elothes in which Sir William Johnson was knighted. When a band of Tories made a raid on the home of her sister, Margaret Bureh, in search of Mr. Bureh, the redoubtable pioneer woman met them half way and repulsed them with a red hot poker. Another sister, having been driven from her home in the Wyoming Val- ley, fled across the country on foot, carrying an infant son in her arms.
Rev. Orange Speneer, better known as El- der Spencer, was born in Montgomery County, N. Y., but when he was about four- teen years of age, he moved to Unadilla with
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his father; he remained there until 1840, when he went to Jamestown, where he re- sided the remainder of his life. His life was devoted to the cause of Christianity ; he was a minister, and promulgated the doctrines of the Baptist Church. He founded the Bap- tist Church at Masonville, where he was pas- tor for a number of years. He was a man of many virtues, and did much toward the ad- vancement of the morals of the communities in which he lived. He reared a family of four sons and two daughters, whose records are as follows: Philomelia, who became the wife of John Fry of Unadilla; Gilbert, who lived in North-East township, Erie County, Pa., and followed farming until his death ; Orange B., late a farmer of Oneida County, N. Y. ; Cena, who married Peter Loop, a farmer of North-East township, Erie County, Pa .; and Gaius L., the father of our subject. Mr. Spencer died at the advanced age of seventy-eight years, January 15, 1843.
Dr. Gaius L. Spencer was born in Una- dilla, Otsego County, N. Y., where he re- ceived his primary education. He then began the study of medicine with Dr. Kolby Knapp of Guilford, and was licensed to prac- tice by the Delaware County Medical Asso- ciation in 1817. He immediately began to practice at Triangle, where he remained the rest of his life ; he was the first physician in the town, and soon acquired a large and lu- crative practice ; he was one of the leading physicians of the county, being a member of the Broome County Medical Association. He was bound in wedlock with Miss Lucy Cady, a native of Norfolk, Conn .; she was a daughter of Ami Cady, and was born Janu-
ary 27, 1796. This union resulted in the birth of six children, who are as follows: Caro- line M., who was the wife of John W. Blakeslee, deceased, and later the wife of William Baldwin, also deceased; Erasmus S. D., a farmer of the town of Greene, who died August 13, 1896; Dr. Herschel D., late a physician of Afton, Chenango County, was born August 4, 1823, graduated from the Pittsfield Medical College of Pittsfield, Mass., in 1848, and died July 27, 1857, at South Bain- bridge, where he was practicing for a number of years; Dr. Cyrenius D., born December 4, 1825, was also a graduate of the Pittsfield Medical College, in 1849, and began the prac- tice of medicine in West Cornwall, Litchfield County, Conn., where he remained four years, after which he was located in Gilberts- ville, Otsego County, until 1870, when he moved to Binghamton, where he now re- sides; Lawrence H., born September 20, 1827, died December 5, 1890, was a traveling salesman of Binghamton ; and Marshall D., our subject. Dr. and Mrs. Gaius L. Spencer were faithful members of the Congregational Church. The Doctor was a man whose long residence endeared him to a large circle of friends, and his reputation as a physician, gained by his 35 years' active work in Tri- angle, reached far and near. His aid was ever ready at the first call of distress, and his death, which occurred June 18, 1852, was a cause of universal mourning, and was brought about by an accident, while he was at the zenith of his prosperity. He was performing an autopsy, when in some man- ner he received a wound from the needle, which resulted in blood-poisoning, which ter-
CHENANGO COUNTY.
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minated fatally. The talent for ministering to the sufferings of their fellow-men appears to have been an inherited one, as three out of five sons studied medicine, and gained enviable reputations.
Dr. Marshall D. Spencer, our subject, re- ceived his primary education in the public schools of his native place ; then entered the office of his brother, Dr. C. D. Spencer, studying medicine with him, and with his father, until the death of the latter, when he went to Litchfield, Conn., and studied with Drs. Beckwith and Seymour of that place. Later, in 1854 and 1855 he attended lectures at the University of New York. At this time he was compelled to discontinue his studies, as his health was giving way under the strain. In 1859, the Broome County Medical Society granted him a license, and in the same year he began practicing in the village where he now resides.
On the 12th of August, 1855, Dr. Spencer was united in matrimony with Miss Mary E. Dodge, daughter of Avery Dodge, a manu- facturer of medicine, formerly of Coventry, this county, later of Triangle, Broome County. This union was blessed by the birth of two children: Elwyn L., born Octo- ber 28, 1857, studied medicine with his father, and graduated at the Buffalo Medical Col- lege, in February, 1882, and is now a success- ful practitioner of Windsor, Broome County, N. Y .; May E., born September 27, 1864, died May 8, 1874.
Dr. Spencer is a very successful physician, his income being about $2,500.00 a year. He is especially successful in his treatment of diseases of the lungs, and of pneumonia, in
consequence of which his services are in great demand, particularly in those cases. He still keeps up the reputation his father had before him, of being a physician of su- perior merit, and of one who thinks that every case upon which he is called to attend is well worth his best efforts, and no pains are spared to alleviate the sufferer, be he rich or poor. This characteristic of ever being ready to aid a fellow sufferer has been noted in the Spencer family from the first, for Jona- than Spencer, when he settled in the wilds of Otsego County, divided his frugal fare with unfortunate neighbors. This trait in his great-grandchildren has been the means of binding them closely in the affections of their fellow men, and it is no surprise to find Dr. Spencer's name most prominent in all social circles. He is a member and ex-president of the Chenango County Medical Society, also a member of the State Medical Society. He is a member and ex-secretary of Oxford Lodge, No. 175, F. & A. M .; member and ex- scribe of Oxford Chapter, No. 254; member and medical examiner of the A. O. U. W. of Guilford. He has always been a Republican, having cast his first vote for John C. Fremont, and for each presidential candidate on the Republican ticket since. His time is so fully occupied with his professional duties, that he has had little time to devote to political life. However, his friends prevailed on him to allow his name to be placed on the ticket for coroner, fifteen years ago, when he was elected by an overwhelming majority, and so well did the man suit the office that he was continued in that office for four terms. Both he and his most excellent wife are at-
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tendants of the Congregational Church, of which they are members. Their names have long been identified with all the best interests of the village.
HARLES H. THORNTON, an in- fluential citizen of New Berlin, and one of its progressive business men, conducts a general merchandise store under the firm name of C. H. Thornton & Co. He was born in the town of Norwich, Chenango County, N. Y., February 7, 1842, and was the first child born to David and Abbie Ann (Clark) Thornton, and a grandson of Wil- liam Thornton. His great-grandfather was Jonathan Thornton, a native of Rhode Is- land. In that state, Jonathan Thornton lived for many years, but in 1812 brought his fam- ily to New York State, locating in Norwich, Chenango County. He was a mason by trade, and in connection with farming fol- lowed that trade all his life. After reaching the advanced age of seventy five years, he passed from this life in 1862.
His son, William Thornton, was also born in Rhode Island, where he grew to maturity. After his marriage, he came to this state with his father, and earned a competence by till- ing the soil. He remained at Norwich the rest of his life.
David Thornton was born in Rhode Island in 1806, and was six years of age when his father brought him to Norwich. Here he was reared and spent most of his life. He en- gaged in agricultural pursuits and stock rais- ing. He owned a good farm of 200 acres,
which was supplied with 25 or 30 choice cows, for the purpose of carrying on a dairy. Later in life, he moved to the town of Guil- ford, where he spent the rest of his life, dying in 1885. He was quite a prominent man, and identified himself with his adopted town, and rejoiced in the status she attained among her sister towns. He was joined in wedlock with Abbie Ann Clark, by whom he had the fol- lowing children: Charles H., the subject of these lines; Sarah E., the wife of William H. Sage, and a resident of Holmesville, this county ; Anson, a farmer of Morris, Otsego County ; and Samuel, who is a retired farmer of Mt. Upton.
Charles H. Thornton was reared in Nor- wich, and lived there until his seventeenth year. He then came to New Berlin, and has made it his home since, with the exception of one year spent in Iowa. He spent his sum- mers as a youth in hard labor upon the farm, but in the winters he attended school, and thus fitted himself for his future business career. At the age of twenty, he commenced work in a tannery, and remained there one year. He was adventurous, ambitious, and desirous of going beyond the confines of his own state. He went to Iowa, and there burned lime in the employ of his uncle. Not finding this occupation to his liking, after a stay of one year he returned to New Berlin, and worked on the farm the following two years. He then engaged as a clerk for Wil- liam Lewis of Holmesville, but soon gave up the position to accept a similar one with C. B. & H. Babcock of New Berlin. He rapidly gained in experience, and after re- maining with that firm for seven and a half
JOEL J. BIXBY.
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CHENANGO COUNTY
years, he began business on his own account. He opened a general merchandise store in Holmesville, and conducts it under the firm name, C. H. Thornton & Co. He was shrewd and enterprising, and soon acquired a good, paying business. They carry a fine line of goods, and have the largest sale of any store in the village.
December 30, 1868, Mr. Thornton was united in marriage with Julia E. Gadsby, a daughter of Edward Gadsby of Butternuts, Otsego County. She is a kind and loving wife, and has contributed largely toward her husband's success. Mr. Thornton takes an active interest in politics, and supports the principles promulgated by the Democratic party.
OEL J. BIXBY, a well-known attorney and popular citizen of the village of Norwich, Chenango County, N. Y., whose portrait is shown on the opposite page, was born July 17, 1863, at Bainbridge, N. Y., where his ancestors had resided since Revolutionary days, the family being among the first to settle there.
Mr. Bixby attended the common schools and Bainbridge Academy ; and immediately after the close of his school life began the study of law with the late Hon. Isaac S. Newton, continuing with Judge Albert F. Gladding, and was admitted to the bar April 24, 1885 ; and since has been continuously engaged in the active practice of law at Norwich, where, through his perseverance and integrity, he has become well and favor-
ably known as a leading member of the Chenango County bar ; and has won a host of friends by his kind-hearted, sincere nature.
In 1887 Mr. Bixby was married to Miss M. Louise Newton, daughter of the late Hon. Warren Newton, a prominent business man of Chenango County, and the founder and president of the National Bank of Nor- wich. Mrs. Bixby received a liberal educa- tion in New York and Boston, continuing the study of music and art abroad. Mr. and Mrs. Bixby have one child, Warren New- ton Bixby, born December 31, 1890.
Mr. Bixby is a stanch Republican, and is always actively interested in the welfare of his party. Although not an office seeker, he believes in performing his part when called upon. In 1892 he was made chairman of the Republican County Committee, and for two terms performed the duties of that office to the entire satisfaction of his party. He is a vestryman of the Emmanuel Church, a director of the National Bank of Norwich, and is prominent in social circles ; belongs to several leading fraternities, being a member of Norwich Lodge, No. 302, F. & A. M .; Harmony Chapter, R. A. M .; Norwich Com- mandery, No. 46, K. T .; and Chenango Con- sistory, No. 31.
D R. IRA C. OWEN, deceased, late a resident and medical practitioner of Sherburne, was born in Leb- anon, N. Y .. April 8, 1822. He was a son of Josiah and Sally (Campbell) Owen. Josiah
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES
Owen was a tanner and shoemaker by trade, which occupation he followed the most of his life. His wife bore him a family of eight children : Charles T .; Albert C .; Ira C., sub- ject of this sketch; Mary L .; Henry A .; Sarah A .; Alvah H .; and Phoebe E .; all of whom are highly respected in the localities in which they now reside. Mr. Owen en- tered into rest at the age of seventy-five years. Mrs. Owen passed from this life at the age of seventy-six years.
Dr. Ira C. Owen received his primary ed- ucation in the common schools and Hamil- ton Academy, which was supplemented by a course in the Cleveland Medical University of Homeopathy. In 1845 be came to Sher- burne as the first graduate from that school. He was exceedingly diligent and careful, and, being a man of magnificent presence and fine manners, succeeded in acquiring a very large practice. Dr. Owen was very successful, for he amassed a fortune that was entirely the result of his own unabatable industry and energy. He followed his chosen profession for fifty-one years, when he was obliged to give it up owing to ill health ; even then his counsel was sought. Dr. Owen was a man of generous impulses, strict integrity, and pure moral character, a kind and loving hus- band and father. He died April 15, 1896, and his death was deeply felt and deplored by all who knew him, and indeed by all the citizens of the county. His beautiful home on Summit Street was mostly his creation. The house is large and commodious, elegant- ly furnished, and around nearly two sides are verandas, enclosed in glass, which add the more to its beauty and to the comfort of its
inmates. The lawns and flower gardens sur- rounding the house constituted his paradise in the summer; he also had a large green- house for his private use, which contained a variety of beautiful plants.
Dr. Owen married Miss Jennette P. Buell, in whom he found a worthy companion and wife. She is a daughter of Joseph and Per- melia (Stowell) Buell of Lebanon. Joseph Buell was a son of Thomas Buell, a prom- inent farmer, and was born in Lebanon, N. Y., May 21, 1796, and died May 24, 1837. He married Miss Permelia Stowell, and a family of eight children was reared: Ange- line; Jennette; John: Warren; Thomas ; Leroy; Fayette; and William. Jennette Buell was born May 17, 1823, in Lebanon, N. Y. May 6, 1848, she was united in marriage with Dr. Ira C. Owen, and as a result of this happy union, three children blessed their home: Burritt D., born March 31, 1851, died in his infancy; Ida F., born July 24, 1856, married John H. O'Brian, editor of the Sher- burne News, whose sketch may also be found in this book; Angie N., born June 1, 1865, married Fred R. Nash of Poolville, and is the mother of two children, Alice G., and Edith J. Politically, Dr. Owen was an ar- dent Republican. He was a member of the Sherburne Lodge, F. & A. M., No. 444, and took an active part in the workings, having served as grand master. In his religious views he was a Congregationalist. Mrs. Owen is strong physically and mentally for one of her years. She largely contributed to the success of her husband, and is a kind and generous neighbor and friend, a true and faithful wife and devoted mother.
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