USA > New York > Chenango County > Book of biographies : this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Chenango County, New York > Part 24
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A LBERT J. PAYNE, editor and pro- prietor of the South New Berlin Bee is successfully conducting this journal with credit to himself and satisfaction to all concerned. He is a thoroughly edu- cated man, an excellent journalist, and is meeting with success in his present pursuit. Mr. Payne is a son of Charles A. and Eliza J. (Cushman) Payne, and was born in Edmes- ton, Otsego County, N: Y., August 13, 1867.
William Payne, the grandfather of our subject, lived in Edmeston for many years, but previously resided in Morris, N. Y. His occupation was that of a carpenter and builder, but he also manufactured picture frames to some extent. He was a strong Prohibitionist, and never used stimulants in any form. Religiously, he was a devoted member of the Methodist Church, and was superintendent of the Sabbath School for a number of years. He married Mary Acker- man, and they had a family of three children, namely : Mrs. Ada A. McLaughlin of Edmes- ton, N. Y .; Charles A., the father of our subject; and Urban Delos who is a resident of Edmeston, N. Y.
Charles A. Payne received his education in the common schools of Edmeston, his birth place, and lived there until he had attained his majority. In 1877 he went to Garden Prairie, Ill., and journeyed to Los Angeles, Cali- fornia. Prior to this he was a carpenter and shoe maker, and when he went west he fol- lowed his former trade of carpentering, which is his present business. In religious views he has attached himself to the Methodist Church and was a superintendent of the Sabbath School. He was joined in marriage with
Eliza J. Cushman, and one child, our subject, blessed their home.
Albert J. Payne attended the common schools at Edmeston until he was sixteen years of age, and then learned the printer's trade, which he followed in the village of Waterville for four months. He then went to Richfield and worked one month, after which he returned to Edmeston for a short time before leaving for Utica, where he was employed on the Living Issue, a weekly paper. His next position was at Morris, where he worked on the Morris Chronicle for two years. Returning home he attended school for one year and then went to Utica and was employed in a clothing store, where he remained for a short time, when he re- turned to Edmeston, his native place, and purchased a half interest in the Edmeston Local, and after conducting this paper for two years, he went to Greene County and established the Cairo Herald, conducting that paper for seven years, selling out finally to a stock company. In the fall of 1896 he came to South New Berlin and started the South New Berlin Bee, which he now pub- lishes. He is conducting it in an able man- ner ; his subscription list is steadily increasing, and the paper is rapidly growing popular with the people. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church. He is a member of the Yonderbocker Lodge, No. 289, K. of P. of Cairo; and a member of the Winnebago Tribe No. 362, I. O. R. M. He married June 1I, 1890, Gertrude Brooks of Edmeston, and they have one child, Melicent.
Mr. Payne gives most of his leisure time to literary pursuits, for which he has a genu-
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ine love, and in which he takes pride in aiming to excel. He is highly respected in a com- munity of people possessing more than ordinary intelligence.
ILIOT JOSLYN KIDDER, the subject of this sketch, was born in Grafton, Vt., December 6, 1811, and died in Bain- bridge, February 10, 1868. He was a son of John and Dorothy (Joslyn) Kidder, and was reared on a farm in the Green Mountain State. When a young man he moved to Bainbridge, and began his connection with the business interests of this section as a merchant. On December 15, 1845, he mar- ried Adeline Bigelow, daughter of Judge Levi Bigelow, and a few years later he left the mercantile business, and engaged in land speculating and the handling of real estate, and continued to be thus occupied through- out the last twenty years of his life. He was a man of fine business qualities, enterprising, and active in public affairs. Capable, en- getic, and devoted to business pursuits, suc- cess in his ventures was ever assured. He gave freely and liberally to deserving objects of his bounty, regardless of creed, race, and color. The Episcopal Church had in him a faithful friend, and one who was ever ready to co-operate with others in advancing the cause of the church. In politics, he stanchly supported the cause of the Abolition party, which he lived to see triumphantly wave on the banners of the returning victorious soldiers. With the advent of the Republi- can party, he became a warm admirer of the
sainted Lincoln, and supported the party of reform until his death.
Mrs. Eliot Joslyn Kidder (neé Adeline Bigelow) was born Nov. 22, 1819, in Bain- bridge, and died at her home there February 6, 1894. Her father, Judge Levi Bigelow, was born at Guilford, Vermont, February 25, 1785; on February 23, 1814, he married Hannah Goodrich of Westminster, Vermont, and in 1815, moved to Bainbridge, where he began the practice of law, taking up his abode on what is now known as the Col. Juliand place. He later exchanged this property with the late Col. Richard Juliand, and moved into and conducted for a few years the Bainbridge Inn. However, wish- ing to devote himself unreservedly to the practice of his profession, for which he was eminently fitted, he bought the property since occupied by the late Joel Bixby, and lived there until forced by age and failing health to give up active life; he then removed to Tioga, Pa., where he died in 1868, at the advanced age of eighty-three years. Judge Bigelow was largely identi- fied with the early growth and development of Chenango County. He was a lawyer of marked ability; in early life his talents received recognition by his being appointed judge of Chenango County, Pleas and County Court, which position he held for a period of twenty-two years. He also served one term in the State Assembly. In religi- ous belief he was an ardent Episcopalian, and St. Peter's Church in Bainbridge owes its existence in part to his untiring energy and generosity. He was a courtly gentleman of the old school, and traced his lineage back in
JAMES H. WESTCOTT, M. D.
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a direct line to William the Conqueror. Of the family of seven children born to him and his wife, not one is now living.
Our subject was survived at his death by his widow and two daughters, Stella Adeline, and Annah Bigelow, both of whom make their home in Washington, D. C., where Mrs. Kidder passed the winter seasons dur- ing the last sixteen years of her life. Stella Adeline, the widow of John C. Yale, holds a position in the State Department, while her sister, Annah Bigelow, is employed in the Treasury Department. Mr. Kidder was of New England stock, a descendant of James Kidder, who came over from England in 1649, settling in New Ipswich, Mass. The History of New Ipswich in the Congressional Library at Washington traces the family line back to the year 1270.
J AMES H. WESTCOTT, M. D., who has been engaged in the practice of his profession in Norwich for the past twenty-five years, is a practitioner of the Eclectic school, a deep student, and one who has a thorough understanding of the in- tricacies of his calling. He was born June 27, 1850, in the village of Norwich, Che- nango County, N. Y., and is a son of Dr. James J. and Martha M. (IIurlbut) Westcott.
Dr. James J. Westcott was the leading phy- sician and a very prominent man of the village of Norwich. He was born in Eaton, Madison County, N. Y., September 1, 1826, and spent his carly life as a farmer. After moving to Norwich, he began the study of medicine with Dr. Hiram Hurlbut, and in 1857 he
graduated from the Syracuse Medical Col- lege. For the two following years he practiced in Norwich with Dr. Hurlbut, and then began to practice alone. He was a man of considerable force of character, well bred and well informed, an ornament to his profession, an excellent business man, and one whose opinions were respected by his fellow citizens. He was a thoughtful and conservative practitioner, and to his patients he was not only the physician, but the warm friend and adviser. He had a keen sense of professional honor, and was generous and manly with his competitors and associates. He had an extensive practice and accumu- lated considerable property. He built the fine home and office on West Main Street, which his son, James H., now occupies. His wile's maiden name was Martha M. Hurlbut, and she was a daughter of Dr. Hiram Hurlbut, and a great grand-daughter of one of the patriots who participated in the ever memorable Boston Tea Party. The Hurlbut family comes of New England stock ; her grandfather, John Hurlbut, was born in Connecticut, and was a grenadier soldier of the Revolution. After the war he came to New York State and settled in Onondaga County. Dr. Hiram Hurlbut was born in Weatherfield, Conn., and was one of the carliest settlers of Norwich, where he won great distinction as a physician and surgeon. His wife was the first licensed lady phy- sician in Chenango County. She died in 1861, and her husband survived her sixteen years. They reared four children: Martha M. and John E., M. D., of Aurora, Ill., being the only ones now living. Dr. and Mrs.
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Westcott were the parents of five children, namely : James H., the subject of this per- sonal history; George M., who died in infancy ; Flora M., who died at the age of two and a half years; Ella M. died at an early age; and Ella D., who married W. Lee Wightman. Dr. Westcott passed into the unknown beyond March 19, 1894, Ilis wife still survives him, and lives in the old home with her son.
Dr. James H. Westcott, after completing a course of study in Norwich Academy, took up the study of medicine with his father. In 1872 he graduated from the Eclectic Medical College of Pennsylvania, and then began practice with his father. After remaining with him one year, he practiced alone, and acquired a large and lucrative practice, but since his father's death, he has been called to fill his place. He was eminently fitted to assume these duties, as his subsequent career has proven, for he is thoroughly reliable and capable of handling even the most compli- cated of diseases.
He formed a matrimonial alliance with Mary E. Close, a native of Norwich, and a daughter of Col. James T. Close, who formerly lived in Norwich, but later moved to Alexandria, Va., where he owned several large plantations. He raised the first regi- ment in the state to fight for the Union. He was made colonel and served through the entire war, but his health was impaired, and he died shortly after leaving the service. As a result of our subject's union, one son, James H., Jr., was born, November 2, 1883.
Politically, Dr. Westcott is a Republican and votes uniformly and conscientiously with
his party. He is a prominent man among his professional brethren, and an influential member of the Norwich Eclectic Medical Association ; also a member of the Central New York, New York State, and National Medical Associations. Socially, he is a member of the Norwich Lodge, F. & A. M .; Harmony Chapter, R. A. M .; Norwich Com- mandery, K. T .; Chenango Consistory ; and Ziyara Temple, Mystic Shrine, Utica, N. Y. He is also a member of the Iron Hall of Baltimore. He is a man of liberal ideas, temperate in his expression of opinions, and possessing all of those qualities which con- stitute an honest man and a good citizen. We present Dr. Westcott's portrait on a preceding page in connection with the above outline of his life.
TEPHEN K. WILLCOX. Chenan- go County is indeed fortunate in possessing a public officer of such efficiency and general executive ability as Mr. Willcox, who, as county treasurer, has charge of all the various funds, and sees to the collection of the taxes. As a prominent and influential member of the Republican party, he has held the office by suffrage of the citizens of the county since 1893, and has proved himself a thoroughly capable, as well as zealous, public officer. Although his public duties are somewhat onerous and ex- acting in their nature, he yet finds time, by employing dispatch in his labors, to oversee and care for his stock farm in Smyrna town- ship, where his home has always been, and
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where he was born August 10, 1858. Mr. Willcox is a son of Thomas L. and Catherine (Stover) Willcox, grandson of Lillibridge and Annie (Hoxsie) Willcox, and great-grandson of Hopson Willcox.
The ancestors of Hopson Willcox date back to the year 1638 to Edward Willcox of Portsmouth and Kingston, Rhode Island Colony, who had about that time a trading house at Narragansett, which he conducted with Roger Williams, the founder of the col- ony. The names of the men, who span the years from 1638 to about 1739, when Hopson Willcox was born in Exeter, R. I., arc un- fortunately not known to the writer of this biography, but they can be found in the town records of Rhode Island. Hopson Willcox came to Chenango County with his sons in 1795 to locate a home for the family, and chose a river farm in the town of Smyrna ; he purchased a tract of about 100 acres, where Melvin Willcox now lives. The re- mainder of the family, with the exception of two girls, who remained in the state of their birth, came to Chenango County in 1798. There were eight children in the family, and the names of the six who came to Chenango County were, as follows: Robert; Russell ; Lillibridge; John; Hazard; and Betsey. Hopson Willcox lived to be eighty-three years old, dying in 1822.
Lillibridge Willcox was born in Richmond, R. I., and brought his wife to the new home in Chenango County in 1798, settling ou the homestead, where the subject of this personal history now lives. He owned 200 acres of fertile land; the log house, which he built, when he first moved upon the property and
began to clear the land, he replaced in after years, when the country became populated and saw-inills frequent, with a frame struc- ture, which is now, though slightly remodeled and rebuilt, a part of our subject's home. With a view to permanent occupancy of the land, and to the needs of the new country, he brought with him from Rhode Island apple seeds, and raised seedling trees, which he set out in orchards for himself and for his neigh- bors. The family clung to their Quaker customs and beliefs long after coming to this district, but gradually they drifted into other denominations. Hopson Willcox had been in his day quite a preacher in the Quaker Church. Lillibridge Willcox cleared a good farm, and gave every evidence of being a man of progress and advanced ideas on all subjects. He with all his brothers had ample means when he came to Smyrna, and added largely to his possessions. He lived to be eighty years old, dying in 1853, while his wife attained the age of seventy-seven, her death taking place in 1858.
Our subject's father, Thomas L. Willcox, was born September 21, 1803, in a log cabin on the farm in Smyrna, where he always re- sided; he was the second of seven children, and outlived the rest of the family. He in- herited the homestead, and through the results of a life of thrift and enterprise he added to his original possessions until he was the owner of 320 acres of farming land. Ilc signalized his prosperity by building addi- tions to the frame structure constructed by his father, and by erecting large barns to ac- commodate his large agricultural operations. He was one of the prominent men of his
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town, and his death, which occurred January 13, 1884, was mourned by all his fellow-citi- zens. When the old state militia flourished Capt. Willcox was always at his post on "General Training " day. He was a Demo- crat of the old school until the Free Soil movement gained force, when he cast in his fortunes with the Republican party, in whose counsels he rendered valuable service. He held a number of the township offices, being well qualified for public service ; he would have probably been elected to more offices had it not been for the fact that during his younger and more active days the town was wont to give Whig candidates three votes to the Democratic candidates one. The conditions are similar to-day, the town never failing to give an overwhelming majority for the Re- publican ticket. He was liberal in his relig- ious views. Following the example set by his father, he never used tobacco in any form ; the same may also be said of his son, Stephen K., our subject. He was a good man, with a stainless record for just dealing, and was greatly missed in the community where he had lived so long, when he was called to his Heavenly Home. In 1846 he was united in marriage with Catherine Stover, daughter of William and Betsey (Elwood) Stover. William Stover was born in Dutchess County, N. Y., in 1765, and de- parted his life in Smyrna township, this county, in 1841. His first wife, Elizabeth Hollenbeck, bore him these children: Mary ; Adam ; Betsy; Asenath; Samuel ; Hannah ; Jemima ; and William. Two years after his first wife's death, he married, in 1808, Betsey Elwood, and reared these children : Susan,
the wife of Russell Wilcox; Lydia, who married Alfred Seymour; Benjamin; Ruth, who became the helpmeet of Jarvis Pike : John A .; Catherine, our subject's mother ; and Richard Elwood. William Stover pur- chased a tract of land, 400 acres in extent, in the town of Smyrna, then Sherburne, and there took up and followed agricultural pur- suits, with the most flattering results, for he accumulated a good fortune, reared a large family, and was able to attend to many pub- lic and semi-public duties. He belonged at one time to the sect of Reformed Metho- dists, but withdrew from that denomination, and on his own land at his own expense erected a church, where he preached, but where no contributions were taken for any purpose. He was glad to be able to support the church himself, and always welcomed ministers of every denomination to visit him, and to occupy his pulpit when it was not his regular preaching day. Before he built this church, quarterly meetings were frequently held upon his premises in a grove of butter- nut trees; at least one such meeting was held in the church after its erection. A con- ference, which was largely attended, was held there about 1828, and among those present was Brigham Young, later to become the head of the Mormon Church. He was a very well educated man, could speak German fluently, and was looked up to by his neigh- bor settlers as a man of very superior attain- ments. He was a charitable person, a devout Christian, and an eloquent speaker, employ- ing the truly sublime gift of eloquence in winning souls to the Master. He was ex- emplary in his habits, and never used tobacco,
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an example that was closely imitated by all his sons. The following children were born to our subject's parents : Anna E., the es- teemed wife of Benjamin J. Cone of Colum- bus, N. Y .- she died in November, 1882 ; Arthur L., who married Delephine R. Dim- mick, and lives on a farm adjoining our subject's ; Stephen K., the subject of this sketch ; and William R., once principal of the Webster Union Free School, Monroc County, N. Y., and now an attorney-at-law, No. 32 Nassau Street, New York City. Mrs. Catherine (Stover ) Willcox, our subject's mother, resides with him.
Stephen K. Willcox received his education in the district schools and in Eastman's Busi- ness College. At his father's death he inherited the homestead, which he had been managing for a few years, himself, and now owns one of the best dairy farms in the town of Smyrna. For some years he has had it stocked with blooded Devonshire cattle, and milks some twenty-five cows. He has a flock of 100 fine bred sheep. He has also made a specialty of raising single comb White Leg- horns, and has some of the finest poultry in the state, well-housed in commodious and well lighted and ventilated henneries. He has been too active in farming and in politics to get married.
Our subject is a stanch Republican, and has been in office continuously since 1884, when he was elected a justice of the peace. He rapidly rose to prominence in the county, and in 1893 was elected by a large majority as county treasurer. Confidence was re- affirmed in him, and his administration of the office was vindicated by a re-election to the
same office in 1896 for another term of three years. He invariably represents his district in the county conventions. He has been a member of the county committee for the past ten years, serving throughout the first year as chairman, and since as secretary and treas- urer. With a full realization of the trust and confidence reposed in him, and conscientious to the last degree in discharging cach duty that falls to him, he merits the high esteem in which he is held throughout the county.
RIAH LOOMIS. It is always a mat- ter of interest to review the lives of carly settlers, and to note from the study of their careers the progress time made in their surroundings while silvering the hair and implanting furrows of care on the forehead. The gentleman whose name occurs above was born on the old Loomis homestead, in Smithville Flats, May 2, 1844, and is a son of Roman and Christina (Smith) Loomis.
The family is descended from both the Scotch and English races, and the first family of that name to cmigrate to America located in the New England States. The grandfather of our subject, Ephraim Loomis, was one of the early settlers of Connecticut, and followed the vocation of a farmer in Torrington, Litchfield County, all his life.
Roman Loomis was a native of Torring. ton, Conn., and was born September 4, 1800. He left the parental roof at the age of eighteen years, to make his sister, Mrs. Visa Leach, a visit. She had married a Mr. Leach,
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and shortly after the marriage had moved with her husband to Smithville Flats, Che- mango County, N. Y. While Mr. Loomis was making his home with his sister, he met Christina Smith, and before his return home had made her his wife. They then took up their residence in Torrington, Conn., where they remained a few years, when they moved to Smithville, N. Y., and there spent the rest of their lives. He began the tilling of the soil, and bought a small tract of land two miles north of Smithville Flats, and at his death, which occurred in 1880, he owned 189 acres of the best farming land in his section of the county. In religious views, he at- tached himself to the Baptist Church, and was one of the valued workers of that or- ganization. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Loomis consisted of seven children. Lauren, deceased, the eldest, was one of the progres- sive farmers of Minnesota, and during an up- rising of the Indians he was obliged, with his family, to flee for his very life. They rode horseback to a small town called Henderson, where Mr. Loomis died from the effects of a cold he had received in the severe rainstorm that occurred the night of the flight. The remaining members of the family of Roman Loomis were: Ephraim, a prominent farmer in Smithville Flats, and a veteran of the late war; George, also a farmer of Smithville Flats, and a veteran of the late war ; Uriah, subject of this biography ; Oliver, now de- ceased, late a progressive farmer of Austin, Minn .; and Mary, widow of the late H. Skillman, who was a prominent citizen of Smithville.
Uriah Loomis was reared on the old
homestead, and was educated in the common schools of his native town and at Cincinnatus Academy. He remained with his parents until he grew to manhood. and then went to German, this county, and purchased a farm of 218 acres, where he carried on general farming for some years. In 1886 he returned to his native town and bought a farm con- sisting of 223 acres of well improved land. He also owns a part of the old homestead. During the late Rebellion, when the call for troops was made, he left the farm, and Sep- tember 5, 1864, he enlisted in the army, and rendered gallant service throughout the re- mainder of the war. He was assigned to Co. G., 185th Reg., N. Y. Vol. Inf., which regi- ment was given a place in the Army of the Potomac. Among the battles in which he participated were Five Forks and Gravely Run, where he was wounded by a minie ball; he was in the act of firing his gun when the ball struck him in the left wrist, and, passing diagonally through the wrist, took off the second, third and fourth fingers of the right hand. He was sent to the City Point Hospital, where he remained a few weeks, and was then transferred to the Mount Pleasant Hospital at Washington, D. C., and there he remained four weeks. He received an honorable discharge October 26, 1865.
He was united in marriage October 22, 1884, with Emma Harrison, daughter of William Harrison, and granddaughter of Samuel Harrison. Samuel Harrison was a native of Ireland; upon coming to this coun- try, he located in Smithville Flats, where he engaged in farming. He reared four sons
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