USA > New York > Chenango County > Book of biographies : this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Chenango County, New York > Part 28
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this biographical notice, and whose home is in the village of Norwich. He was born in the town of Plymouth, Chenango County, N. Y., July 31, 1823, and is a son of Darius and Martha (Simons) Adams, and grandson of Darius Adams, Sr.
The great-grandfather of Charles G. Adams was a native and resident of Massachusetts, and was the father of five children-four daughters and one son, Darius, Sr., who was born in the State of Massachusetts. In 1792 our subject's grandfather settled in New York State, first locating in Schoharie County, and later in Genesee County. It was in the latter county that he met with an accident, which cost him his life, being killed by a runaway horse. He was the father of eight children, namely: Lucy : Cynthia ; Anna ; Sally ; Polly ; Amasa; Asa; and Darius.
Darius Adams, the father of Charles G., was born in the State of Massachusetts, January 8, 1774. He came with his father to New York, and in 1803 moved to the town of Plymouth, where he bought a small farm. The country was unimproved, sparsely settled, and contained more Indians than white men ; but undismayed by the prospect, this hardy pioneer settler set about and cleared the farm, which is now one of the finest estates in the vicinity. On March 13. 1798, he married Martha Simons, and they reared a large family of children, who were as follows: Fanny, wife of Henry Marsh ; Walter, who married Ruth Hammond ; Clar- issa, wife of Zara Brewer: Lorenzo married Chloe Dimmick : Darius C. married Lucinda Eggleston ; Martha, wife of Mr. S. Y.
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Hammond ; Mary married Abram Lewis, and after his death became the wife of Henry Van De Mark; Orville died young ; Samantha Emeline, wife of Jacob Van De Mark ; Lodelia died young ; and Charles G., subject of this personal mention. Darius Adams was at first a Whig, but upon the formation of the Republican party, he joined the ranks of the latter organization, and remained identified with that party until the date of his death, which was December 25, 1851. He served at one time as justice of the peace, and was assessor for many years. Mrs. Adams passed away September 4, 1854, at the age of seventy-four years. Darius C. Adams, a member of the family named above, and an older brother of our subject, reared three sons and one daughter; one of his sons, George W. Adams, a resident of Nor- wich, N. Y., had a family of thirteen chil- dren, of whom three were triplets, born June 7, 1878, and named Louis Lorenzo, Leroy Hayes, and Leverne Lincoln, all three being alive at this writing (1898).
Charles G. Adams pursued his educational career in the district schools and in Norwich Academy, remaining closely at home the while throughout his boyhood days, assisting his father about the farm, and thus learning much about agricultural pursuits. When our subject grew to manhood he took charge of the old homestead, and cared for his father and mother in their declining years. In 1856 he sold the farm, and bought a larger property in Otselic township, Chenango County, and now owns a tract of land, con- sisting of 415 acres. It is embellished with an attractive dwelling, good barns and out-
houses, and all the appliances and farm im- plements requisite for the carrying on of agriculture in a proper and systematic man- ner. Later, he moved to Cazenovia, in order that he might give his children an oppor- tunity to secure a good education in the excellent seminary of that village. After his children were all through school, he moved to his farm in Otselic, and carried on general farming until October, 1893, when he moved to the village of Norwich, and bought the Samuel Green residence, No. 64 South Broad Street, where he lives in retirement in his beautiful home.
On January 1, 1850, our subject and Low- enza B. Taylor, daughter of John Taylor of Plymouth, were happily married. Mrs. Adams died February 18, 1853, aged twenty years, leaving one child, Lorenzo G., who died September 3, 1878, at the age of twenty- five years. Mr. Adams contracted his second matrimonial alliance on August 16, 1854, marrying on that date Sophia Foote, daughter of James Foote of Otselic, and they reared the following children : Florence O., born November 17, 1855, married Warren Webb, a prominent farmer, and bore him two children, Herbert and Julia ; Helen J., born September 7, 1857, married Wellington Davis, a well-to-do agriculturist of Plymouth, and they gathered about them these chil- dren, Grove, Erna and Floy ; an infant son, born January 8, 1860 ; Alice S., born October 14, 1861, became the wife of S. Crumb, and their one child, Simeon Aubrey, was born August 1, 1896; Mary E., born June 29, 1864, married Wallace L. Miller, a farmer of Otselic, and has one daughter, Inez L., born
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September 12, 1895; Grant Charles, born September 4, 1868, and died August 30, 1870; and Jesse D., born September 25, 1871, and died June 1, 1886. The mother of these children passed to her reward February 10, 1895, aged sixty-four years. Our subject was for many years a supporter of the Rc- publican party, but is now a Prohibitionist, and a strong advocatc of temperance. Re- ligiously, he is a devoted member of the Methodist Church.
Mr. Adams possesses the force of char- acter, the industry and energy, which were the chief characteristics of his honored father. He has been very successful in his farming ventures, and his love for the beau- tiful lcd him to adorn his home, which every- where gives evidence of his good taste and practical skill. As already stated, he has a wide influence in the community. Strictly upright in all his dealings, and courteous to all, those who know him repose in him un- bounded confidence. It affords us pleasure to add to the interest of the above life record by publishing a portrait of Mr. Adams, which is presented on a page near by.
EORGE A. HAVEN, a prominent attorney who has had charge of a large practice in the village of Afton, since 1878, is one of the heroes of the late Civil War, who left a happy home to do battle for his country. He was but seventeen years of age when he enlisted in Co. A, 52nd Reg., Ill. Vol. Inf., the month of August, 1861 ; he re-en- listed October 25, 1863, in the same company
and regiment, and served until June, 1865, when he received his honorable discharge at Springfield, Ill. He was a corporal of the company, and participated in the following important engagements: Pittsburg Landing, Corinth, Iuka, and many skirmishes. Hc was taken prisoner in the fall of 1863, and was in- carcerated at Atlanta a short time and was then taken to Bell Isle, where he was kept until March, 1864. He was then taken to Andersonville Prison, and later to Charles- ton, where he was paroled in March, 1865, after sixteen months of imprisonment. He was a brave and valiant soldier, always pcr- forming his full duty without complaint, no matter how trying or hard it might be. He was very popular with his fellow members of Co. A, and also held the respect of his super- ior officers.
Mr. Haven is a son of John and Angcline (Kellogg) Haven, and was born in the town of Pitcher, Chenango County, October I, 1843. Asa Haven, the grandfather of our subject, was a farmer by occupation, and set- tled in the town of Guilford when a young man. He followed agricultural pursuits there all his life, and became one of Guilford's good, substantial citizens. He was the pro- genitor of a family of twelve children, six daughters and six sons, one of whom was John, the father of our subject. He passed to the world of rest, in 1855, at the age of seventy years.
John Haven was born and reared in the town of Guilford, where he lived until after attaining his majority, when he moved to Pitcher. There hc operated a large factory, and engaged in cabinet and chair making ; he
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was also an undertaker. He sold out his establishment in 1850, and went to Green- wood, Steuben County, N. Y., where he pur- chased a large farm and followed farming the remainder of his life. He was a Democrat until the agitation of the slavery question, when he became a Republican and a strong Abolitionist. Religiously, he was a con- sistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was a leader in the Sunday School, being superintendent at one time. He was united in the holy bonds of wedlock with Miss Angeline Kellogg, and they were the parents of three children : George A., in whom the interest of this sketch centers: James H., who died in early boyhood ; and Sarah J., who died at the age of sixteen years. After the death of Mrs. Haven, our subject's father was again married, his second union being with Betsey Hakes, who sur- vived him many years.
George A. Haven, at the age of sixteen went to Kaneville, Ill., where he was living at the outbreak of the war. After the war had closed, he again came to New York State and settled at Cincinnatus, Cortland County, where he began his education in earnest. He took a complete course in Cin- cinnatus Academy, and later graduated from Cazenovia Seminary, June 9, 1870. He then began reading law under the preceptorship of Solomon Bundy of Oxford. He read law during the summer and taught school in the winter months. In 1872, he entered the Albany Law School, and was graduated from that institution in June, 1873. His first legal work was performed in the village of Oxford, where he remained for two years, and then
moved to Pitcher, practicing in that village until 1878. He then took up his residence in Afton, where he has since had charge of a large and lucrative practice, numbering among his clients the leading men of the community.
He formed a matrimonial alliance with Addie Perkins, a daughter of Tracy K. Per- kins of South Otselic, September 13, 1876, and their union has been blessed by the birth of two children : Elizabeth, who is attending the college of music at Ann Arbor, Mich .; and S. Ruth, who is now residing at home. Mr. Haven is a firm supporter of the Repub- lican party, and was elected district attorney by that organization in 1883, serving three years. He has been sent by his party as delegate to county, district, and state con- ventions, and has evinced a lively interest in political affairs. In religious belief, he is an adherent to the faith of the Methodist Church. He is a member of the Vander- burg Post, No. 12, G. A. R., of Afton, of which he has been a very prominent member, and served as commander for three years. He has been a delegate to state encampments a number of times. He stands high in the esteem of his fellow men, who respect him as one who has filled all the requirements of a dutiful citizen.
EORGE O. WILLIAMS, M. D., one of the best physicians and surgeons in Central New York, and a respected citi- zen of the village of Greene, Chenango County, N. Y., was born in the village of
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Norwich, Conn., April 14, 1843. He is a son of Rufus O. and Jane (Burr) Williams.
George Williams, the grandfather of our subject, was a descendant of the Marlboro stock of Massachusetts. He was a farmer by choice, and followed that occupation the greater part of his life. He was a very prominent man of his time, and anything conducive toward the welfare of the towns- people found a warm supporter in him. He married Miss Pease, and a large family of children was born to them: Mylano; Rod- ney ; Rufus O .; Lucius L .; Melona; and Sa- phronia. In religious views he was a mem- ber of the Congregational Church.
Rufus O. Williams, the father of our sub- ject, was a Universalist minister, and was also a graduate in the school of medicine, taking his degree in 1857. He followed both professions at different periods of his career with marked success. Later in life he de- voted his entire time to his medical practice. He also was a journalist and writer of con- siderable note. In politics he was an adher- ent of the Democratic party. He held mem- berships in both the Masonic and Odd Fel- low lodges, and was highly regarded in fra- ternal circles. He married Jane Burr, daughter of William G. Burr of Madison County, this state. Four children blessed their happy home, namely : Carrie L., de- ceased, who married Benjamin Gagc; Lou- isa G., who married Henry De Long, a Uni- tarian minister of Medford, Mass., and gave birth to two children, Florence and Harold ; George O., who heads the above lines ; and Jennie H. Our subject's father died in 1889, at the advanced age of eighty-four years.
Mrs. Williams still survives her husband, and has now passed the cighty-third mile stone in the journey of life.
George O. Williams received his educa- . tion in the public schools of Southbridge, Mass., and at Exeter, N. H., Worcester, Mass., and also at the Binghamton Academy, and Cazenovia Seminary, N. Y. He began to read medicine under the able direction of his father, and later with S. H. French of Lisle, N. Y. He then attended lectures at the Albany Medical School of Albany, N. Y , and graduated from that institution in the winter of 1866. He then practiced his chosen profession in the village of Smithville Flats, this county, for six years, with fair success. He came to Greene, N. Y., in March, 1873, where he has since resided ; the results have been most flattering both to his skill and judgment in the diagnoses and treatments of discases, and to his efforts for obtaining fa- vorable notice from the people, for he has built up a very large practice and has fre- quently received pressing requests for his services from points in the surrounding coun- ties, quite distant from his place of residence. He is a member of Eastern Lodge F. & A. M., No. 126, of Greene. In politics he is an unwavering Democrat.
In 1867 Dr. Williams was joined in mar- riage with Julia A. Crandall, daughter of Welch Crandall of Binghamton, N. Y. As a result of this union three children blessed their home, namely : Frank H., who married Jane S. Juliand of Greene ; Mary L., an ar- tist, whose work has been published and re- garded by critics with favor; and Raymond L. Religiously, he is an attendant of the
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Congregational Church. The Doctor is a member of the Chenango County Medical Society; the State Medical Society ; and is an honorary member of the Broome County Medical Society.
ARY A. SHOLES, who has been the efficient preceptress of the Sherburne Union School, and a teacher of English, Mathematics and Draw- ing, since 1895, is a woman of deep learning, broad views and superior executive ability, and has done much in raising the standard of the school, and in bringing it to its present state of efficiency, by following the most approved methods, as laid down by the foremost students of pedagogy. She is a daughter of Andrew and Harriet ( Stanton ) Sholes.
Andrew Sholes was a son of Minor Sholes, and was born November 9, 1832, at West Burlington, Otsego County, N. Y. Andrew Sholes, with his brother, George W., who now resides in the village of Norwich, carried on a general store at Morris. His health failing him, and wishing to lead a life with more out-door employment, he moved to Norwich, and for four years was traveling representative of a confectionery establish- ment. He then tried farming, and as his health gradually improved, he decided to make it his permanent occupation, and bought a farm in the town of Morris, upon which he lived the remainder of his days. He formed a matrimonial alliance with Miss Harriet Stanton, a daughter of Randall and
Sabina ( Brownson ) Stanton. Randall Stan- ton was one of the progressive farmers of the town, but died while in the prime of life. Mrs. Stanton also died young, being only forty-four years of age. They left a family of six children.
Mr. Sholes was taken sick with typhoid pneumonia, and passed to his eternal resting place October 25, 1875. He was survived by his wife and two children: George L .; and Mary A. Mrs. Sholes put forth her greatest efforts to make a noble man and woman of her children, and to give them as good educations as they would have received had their father lived. That few children are blessed by the love of such a mother is fully realized by them, and during her declining years they are her comforters and care- takers. She is now living at Sherburne, with her daughter. George L. Sholes, her son, was born April 14, 1872, at Morris, Otsego County, N. Y. After taking the required course in the Morris Union School, he be- came a clerk in the grocery and drug store conducted by J. H. Shepard & Co. He was polite, pleasing and obliging, and soon be- came very popular with the customers. September 1, 1894, he was taken into partner- ship, and the firm became Shepard & Sholes, and they carry the finest and largest line of goods in their section of the county. Mr. Sholes displays rare good judgment in busi- ness matters, and is quite as successful as a manager as he was a salesman. He was united in marriage with Miss Sara R. Palmer, a daughter of Russel Palmer of Sherburne.
Miss Mary Sholes, in whom the interest of this sketch centers, is a graduate of Morris
JOHN E. MILLER.
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Union School, and also of the Fredonia Normal School, where she pursued her studies until she had completed her educa- tion, and fitted herself for her chosen profes- sion of teaching. After her graduation, in 1889, she taught for four years in the village of Sherburne. She then went to Dover, New Jersey, where she taught for one year. She was then called to her present position as preceptress of the Sherburne Union School. She has not only given entire satis- faction to the trustees, but to the parents of the scholars as well. She is always a friend to her pupils. The educational circles of Sher- burne have no more valued member than Miss Sholes, who devotes her whole time and influence to the advancement of educa- tional interests. She is a member of the Congregational Church, and is an earnest worker in the societies of that organization.
OHN E. MILLER. With scarcely a doubt the best known and most pop- ular citizen of Oxford is the gentleman named above, who is now engaged mainly in agricultural pursuits, after a highly prosper- ous career in business as a quarryman and wholesale dealer in blue stone. He owns considerable property in the vicinity of Oxford village, and does a large real estate business. Mr. Miller was born in the month of August, 1842, and is a son of Henry L. and Elizabeth (Mygatt) Miller.
Epaphras Miller, the grandfather, was born in Glastonbury, Hartford County, Conn., June 2, 1778, and came to Chenango
County in 1800, buying large tracts of land, which he sold piece by piece to the settlers who came to make their homes in the new country. Soon after becoming a resident of Chenango County, this progressive pioneer started a general store, which soon proved to be an excellent investment, and claimed the most of his time. Mr. Miller was one of the most influential and prominent men of Ox- ford, and was a Whig in his political alle- giance. His wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Dr. Samuel Baldwin of Massachusetts, bore him the following children : Robert ; Benjamin ; Henry L .; Elizabeth ; Anna M .; and Benja- min S. All are deceased except Anna M. Cannon. They were members of the Con- gregational Church. Mr. Miller died July 5, 1860, aged eighty-two, and his wife July 14, 1853, aged sixty-six.
Henry L. Miller received his education in the old Oxford Academy and in 1834 left school to enter the mercantile business with his father, which they conducted together until 1841, when the son formed a partner- ship with William Mygatt. The personnel of the firm continued to be Mygatt & Miller for ten years, when another partner was added to the firm in the person of Gerret I1. Perkins; in 1868, the firm was still farther en- larged by the addition of another partner, William M. Miller, our subject's oldest brother, the firm adopting the style of Miller, Perkins & Co. Our subject's father was a man of prominence in Oxford, and highly honored for his irreproachable character. So high was his standing in the community for honesty and integrity, that he was often chosen to settle estates, and was thus en-
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trusted with large amounts of property with scarcely any security whatever. He was always interested in any movements that promised well for the improvement of the village, or the betterment of humanity, and such a cause found in him an indefatigable worker in its behalf. He was president of his native village of Oxford from 1862 to 1866, and for a long term of years held a trusteeship in the old Oxford Academy. For two years, during 1865-67, he occupied the position of cashier of the National Bank of Oxford, and for twelve years he was vice- president of the same institution. He was a consistent and active member of the Con- gregational Church, and a most zealous sup- porter of beneficent evangelical work. He united himself in marriage with Elizabeth Mygatt, a native of New Milford, Litchfield County, Conn., and a daughter of Mr. Miller's partner, William Mygatt, whose personal history appears on another page of this work. This union resulted in the gathering together of the following family: William M., who, in 1879, married Emma M. Pearne of Oxford, N. Y .; John E .; Benjamin S., who married, in 1881, Josephine A. Bowen of Binghamton, N. Y .; and Henry N., deceased. Mr. Miller died at his home in Oxford, the scene of his life work, March 10, 1886, aged seventy-one years. Mrs. Miller survived her husband four years, the call coming to her on February 5, 1890, at the age of seventy-two years. They had both lived to an advanced age, and the end came with the conscious- ness of a well spent life, and a serene trust in a life everlasting beyond the shadow of the grave.
John E. Miller received his primary edu- cation in Oxford Academy, and then attended Yale College, graduating in the class of 1866 with the degree of M. A. After leaving college halls, he was associated in the dry goods business with his father until 1867, when he was tendered a position as teller in the National Bank of Oxford, which he ac- cepted and where he remained until he went to Minnesota to take up the duties of a simi- lar position in the State National Bank of Minneapolis, with which solid financial insti- tution he was connected about one year. After leaving Minneapolis, Oxford once more became our subject's home. He had long thought that very profitable returns should ensue from a business-like operation of stone quarries, and he now set about proving the correctness of his theory. From 1872 to 1886 he was extensively engaged in this work, owning and operating five large quarries, from which vast quantities of the best article of blue stone were taken, with handsome profits as a result. After the business was well developed he took as a partner James J.ยช Treanor of New York City, and the firm then became known as John E. Miller & Co., with offices in Oxford and New York. They sold large quantities of stone, furnishing $30,000.00 worth of blue stone for the Elmira State Penitentiary, and also providing a large amount for the construction of the D. O. Mills Building and Produce Exchange of New York City. The first tomb of Gen. U. S. Grant in Riverside Park was built of stone that came from John E. Miller & Co.'s quar- ries.
Since 1886 our subject has turned his ener-
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gies into pursuits of an agricultural nature, and is the owner of some very fine farm property. His stable of highly-bred horses is a source of pardonable pride to him. The real estate business has many attractions for Mr. Miller, and elaims no small part of his time; he is recognized on every side as one of the most competent judges of the value of realty in the county, and is therefore en- trusted with no small amount of real estate transactions. Mr. Miller is something of a journalist, having been a contributor to the press on different occasions, the artieles in question showing his ability as a writer to be far above the average. Mr. Miller has the finest private library in Chenango County, and spends his leisure moments among his books, renewing old acquaintanceships, and forming new attachments. The collection consists of 1,400 well-ehosen volumes of standard authors, most of which contain nothing but the most solid mental food, 300 volumes being classies. It is needless to state that this library is very highly prized by its owner, and that it is ever his aim to keep the library in excellent working condition by add- ing from time to time new works that appeal to his cultivated tastes as destined to live in literature. The past two years of his time have been much taken up with overseeing the construction and fitting up of his elegant country residence some six miles west of Oxford village, on his farm of 210 acres, where he may spend his summer months, or at Guilford Lake, where he owns a cottage and large pleasure boat. Our subject has never married. He is a staneh Republican, and is intelligently interested in party affairs, but
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