USA > New York > Chenango County > Book of biographies : this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Chenango County, New York > Part 3
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56
Three children comprised the family of Hon. Hiram E. Storrs, two of whom now survive him. Hiram H., born June 29, 1842, was a soldier in the same regiment as his father, and met his death in 1863. Ida R., born July 10, 1847, married Malcolm G. Dietz, now deceased, who was a member of
the firm of Dietz & Walker, merchants of Sherburne. They had one child, Grace, who is now deceased. Mary E., the third of the children in order of birth, was born Sep- tember 21, 1851. Miss Storrs and her sister, Mrs. Dietz, own and occupy their parent's home, a beautiful modern house, surrounded with wide lawns, well-shaded with magni- ficent trees.
ILLIAM F. JENKS. Social and political position in the United States is not dependent, as in the Old World monarchies, on titles or on long lines of family ancestors, but is rather based on a man's own achievements. A self-made man, one who owes his success in great part to his own individual efforts, is the type of a man of whom we Americans are pardonably proud, perhaps because his struggles against adverse circumstances and a comparatively humble beginning to success and honor so nearly resemble the life of our own nation. Among the number of self-made men of whom Chenango County boasts, we would be extremely unwilling to pass by without due mention the subject of this sketch, Wil- liam F. Jenks, ex-judge of Chenango County. He is a son of Hawkins and Lora (Flint) Jenks, and was born August 29, 1831, in Burlington, Otsego County, N. Y.
Peter Jenks, the grandfather of our sub- ject, was a prominent farmer in the State of . Rhode Island, and came to Burlington about 1794, where he farmed the rest of his active
30
BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES
1
life. He was the father of twelve children, nine sons and three daughters ..
In politics Hawkins Jenks was a Whig, and held important offices in his town. After the disbanding of that party he acted with the Democratic party. Religiously, he and his wife were members of the Universalist Church. He was joined in matrimony with Miss Lora Flint, and they reared two chil- dren, namely : William F., the subject of this personal history, and Sarah, the wife of Charles P. Sprague. Mr. and Mrs. Jenks have both passed from this life.
William F. Jenks attended the district and select schools, and improved every oppor- tunity by which he might add to his stock of knowledge, and so become equipped for life's work. He taught school for some time and then chose law as a profession. After study- ing the fundamental principles of legal pro- cedure and jurisprudence, he was admitted to the bar in 1853, and began to practice in the town of Friendship, Allegany County, N. Y. In 1855 he went to New Berlin and remained there until 1875, when he came to Norwich, where he has since resided. He was elected judge of Chenango County in November, 1877, and was again re-elected in 1883. He also has been supervisor of his native town for one year.
Judge Jenks is a member of Emmanuel Episcopal Church, and senior warden of that church. He is a member of the Masonic Order, Phœbus Lodge, No. 82, of New Berlin, and of the Chapter and Commandery in Norwich. He chose for his life companion Eliza Matterson, daughter of Nathan W. Matterson, and they were married November
10, 1854. They have reared and educated five children, namely : Florence E .; Carrie L. ; Anna B .; Albert W .; and Laura M.
Professionally, the life of Judge Jenks has been marked by a high sense of justice, a keen sympathy for the poor and oppressed suitor and a plainly shown impatience at that public clamor which now and then usurps the place of justice and demands a victim without much heed as to the question of guilt or innocence. On the bench he had a grace- ful, dignified bearing. His rulings and opinions were delivered firmly, dispassion- ately and with evident full intent to treat the case fairly and impartially. He was alike courteous to the youngest attorney and to the oldest member of the bar. As an indi- vidual in the private walks of life, it matters not whether he meets a banker or a laborer, he is sure to give him the same warm grasp and hearty greeting. On a preceding page we take pleasure in presenting a portrait of Judge William F. Jenks.
R. DE WITT CRUMB, who has charge of a large practice in the village of South Otselic, is a veteran of the late Civil War, and has a record for bravery and faithfulness while in the service that is a source of great pride to his family, and will continue to be so for many generations to come. He was born in the town of Preston, Chenango County, and attended the district schools. Upon leaving school he learned the trade of a carpenter
31
CHENANGO COUNTY
and joiner with his father and continued in that line of work until November 23, 1863. He enlisted as private in Co. G, 22nd Reg., N. Y. Vol. Cav., which regiment was at first assigned to the Army of the Potomac under Gen. Wilson, but later on, June 9, 1864, was transferred to the Army of Shen- andoah under Gen. Custer. This company of brave troopers took an important part in some of the fiercest battles fought in that cruel war, and but seventeen of these heroes, who willingly and with light hearts left happy homes to fight for the Union, lived to return to those homes where loving ones awaited them. They were actively engaged in the following battles: Wilderness; Spott- sylvania; Todd's Tavern; Cold Harbor; Paumonkey ; Ream's Station; Wilson and Kautz Raid; Winchester; Cedar Creek ; November 12th on the Back Road; Tom's Creek; Waynesborough ; and twenty-eight other engagements of lesser importance. Our subject received a wound in the leg at Stony Creek, and was also hit in the head by a bullet at Bottom's Bridge, but they were not of enough importance to prevent his participating in further service, although they were very painful for some time. August 1, 1865, he received his honorable discharge and returned to his home at Pres- ton, having previously been promoted to the rank of sergeant.
Dr. Crumb comes of distinguished ances- tors both paternally and maternally. He is a son of Ralph and Laura A. (Clark) Crumb, and a grandson of Phineas Crumb. Phineas Crumb was a native of Scotland, his home being near Edinburgh, where he followed the
occupation of an agriculturist. Upon com- ing to America with his family, he located in the town of Pharsalia, Chenango County, N. Y., at what is now known as the Old Deer Pond. He was one of the pioneer farmers of that time and was a very promi- nent man. He was an earnest worker in church affairs, and was instrumental in the building of the Free Will Baptist Church of Pharsalia, of which he was a member. He reared a remarkable family of seven sons, who were brought up under religious in- fluences, and were never known to take a drink of liquor or use tobacco in any form. The family consisted of seven sons and four daughters, whose records are as follows: Ralza, deceased, was a farmer of the town of
Plymouth and for seven years was county poormaster, and supervisor for a consider- able period ; Ruel followed farming, and died in the town of South Otselic in 1858; Ralph, the father of our subject; Reuben. who died at an early age; Jesse was a far- mer, but is now living in retirement in Steuben County, N. Y .; Samuel, deceased, was a farmer of Canandaigua, Ontario County ; Phineas is a farmer of Pharsalia, who inherited the old homestead; Hannah married Darwin Parks-they were among the earliest settlers of Ashtabula, Ohio, and were the parents of three sons, all of whom lost their lives in the Second Battle of Lookout Mountain ; Rachel, deceased, was united in marriage with William B. Lewis, a late farmer of the town of Preston and a deacon of the church ; Lydia married Lorenzo Bar- low of Plymouth, and both are now deceased; and Louise, who married Miles Newton, and
3
32
BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES
was the mother of Newton Bros., shirt man- ufacturers of Homer, N. Y.
Ralph Crumb, our subject's father, was born near Edinburgh, Scotland, August 10, 1813, and came to America with his father. He was reared on the farm, but after rcach- ing manhood he followed the trade of a car- penter and joiner, being considered a skilled workman. He made his home in the village of Preston, but his reputation as a contractor extended throughout the county, and many of the older buildings in the village of Nor- wich are results of his workmanship. He was a stanch Republican, and was interested in politics to the extent of a very dutiful citizen. Religiously, he was an earnest member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. His companion in life was Miss Laura A. Clark, and they were the parents of four sons and one daughter, namely : Henry A., a well-to-do farmer of Kanona, Steuben County; Lucius, a glove and mitten manufacturer of Norwich; Alson, a farmer of the town of Preston; Dr. De Witt, the subject of this biography ; and Amanda, deceased, who married George Nicholson, and at the time of her death resided on the old Clark home- stead, which has been in the possession of that family since 1802. Mrs. Crumb comes of the purest of Puritan stock and traces her ancestry back to one, William Clark, who came to this country in the Mayflower. William Clark, the great-grandfather of our subject's mother, was a native of Stonington, Conn. He was one of the brave men of the Revolutionary War and served under Gen. Putnam. While storming Stony Point on the Hudson, he lost a leg, for which he after-
wards received a pension, which was thc eighth on the Government's pension list to be granted. In 1802, accompanied by his family, he came to the town of Preston and located on what is now the County Home Farm. His son, Alfred Clark, grandfather of our subject, was a farmer of the town of Preston, and was a soldier in the War of 1812, being one of the defenders of Sackett's Harbor. He was united in marriage with Miss Han- nah Minor, a daughter of William Minor, a Revolutionary soldier who died, after with- standing the vicissitudes of fortune for one- hundred and two years, and now lies buried by the side of William Clark in the cemetery at Preston Corners. Alfred Clark also lived to reach a ripe old age, dying at the age of ninety-one. He was an adherent of the doc- trines of the Universalist Church, and his son, Rev. A. G. Clark, an uncle of our sub- ject, is a minister of that denomination.
Our subject, after returning from the war, entered Haverling Union School of Bath, and graduated in 1868. He then began reading medicine with Dr. Thomas D. Wight of Preston in the fall of 1868, and later entered the University of Buffalo, where he pursued the study of his profession until February 20, 1871, the date of his graduation. After practicing for five and a half years in the County Home, he came to South Otselic, where he has since remained. He has a large general practice and possesses the con- fidence of his patients. Kind and charitable in all his dealings, he is well liked, and can boast of as many friends as can most men in the vicinity.
Dr. Crumb formed a matrimonial alliance
DR. ALVIN C. HAZARD.
35
1474968
CHENANGO COUNTY
May 30, 1871, with Miss Amelia G. Janes, a daughter of Sidney Janes, a late farmer of Preston, and two children have blessed their union, namely : Mary E., who married Dr. J. Perry Horle of Cato, N. Y .; and J. Mott, a medical student at Fairfield Military School. Politically, our subject is a stanch supporter of the principles of the Republican party. He is a member of the New York State Medical Society ; the Central New York Medical Association ; and is a member and past president of the Chenango County Medical Society. Socially, he is a member of the South Otselic Lodge, No. 659, F. & A. M., of which he has been master and secretary since 1878; of the Norwich Com- mandery, No. 46; Lake Ontario Consistory, No. 12, A. A. S. R .; Cascadilla Lodge, No. 478, I. O. O. F., of South Otselic, of which he is past grand master. He belongs to the J. E. Parce Post, No. 456, G. A. R., of South Otselic, and has been commander for the past ten years. He always attends the state and national encampments, and has been sent as delegate to represent the State of New York at the last four national encamp- ments.
LVIN C. HAZARD, M. D., deceased. The history of this eminent physician of New Berlin presents a record of a busy and useful life. He was born at Little Meadows, Pa., June 21, 1838, and was a son of Oliver Perry and Prudence Aruba (Dobson) Hazard. He received a good academic education in his native village,
after which he took up the study of medicine under the tutelage of Dr. E. A. Wilmot of Little Meadows. He studied diligently for three years, and in 1863, as the notes of war were resounding through the land, he prof- fered his services for the preservation of the Union. He enlisted in the United States Railroad Medical Department as assistant surgeon and served in that capacity for two years. He also had charge of the Military Railroad Department at Alexandria, Va., for one year. He served until the close of the war and was always at his post when needed, caring for his patients night and day. After the war was over he moved to South New Ber- lin, Chenango County, in January, 1866, and was licensed by the County Medical Society to practice his profession. There he built up a good practice, but in 1871 removed to New Berlin, which was his home until his death. During the first nine years of his residence, he was associated in the drug business with J. L. Dykes, but the partner- ship was amicably dissolved when Dr. Hazard was elected sheriff. He was a care- ful practitioner and possessed the confidence and esteem of a large patronage. He did not confine his attention to the care of the well-to-do class, as his best efforts were as often put forth without hope of remunera- tion, and there were many poor families to whom he gave free advice, medicines, and other needful articles. The character of Dr. Hazard presented the happy combination of great refinement of mind, and the practical adaptation of the qualities which enabled him to carry on his life pursuits with dignity and honor, and at the same time made him finan-
36
BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES
cially successful and a favorite with the com- mon people. He was never too proud to listen to a tale of distress, and no one turned from him without aid and sympathy. Men- tally, morally and physically he was a model man. He will be affectionately remembered in his community long after those who knew him most intimately have passed away. He was also liberal in the support of everything which tended to ameliorate the condition of mankind.
Dr. Hazard was united in marriage March 10, 1858, with Miss Angeline D. Sage of South New Berlin, and they became the parents of three children, namely: Mrs. Ella M. Pal- mer; Ransom E., deceased ; and Oliver. He was bereaved of his wife's companionship April 11, 1872. He took for his second con- sort Miss Adelaide Briggs of New Berlin, and one son, Harold, blessed their union. Mrs. Hazard was an affectionate wife and mother and still resides in New Berlin. Our subject was an unswerving Republican, and had far-reaching influence in political affairs. He served in official capacity as supervisor in 1869, and was honored by an election to the office of sheriff in 1879. At the time of his death, he was health officer in Pittsfield, Otsego County, and New Berlin, Chenango County, and railroad surgeon on the O. & W. R. R., and also an active and interested member of the board of education of New Berlin. Socially, he was a member of the Chenango County Medical Society, and Phoebus Lodge, No. 82, F. & A. M. In religion, he was an adherent to the faith of the Baptist Church, and liberally supported that organization.
Dr. Hazard passed away at his home in New Berlin, Monday evening, April 19, 1897, and his death was a cause for general mourn- ing and commiseration. The funeral services were held at the church on the Friday fol- lowing his demise, the Rev. E. A. Bacon officiating. The Chenango County Medical Society, the board of education, and the faculty and students of the public schools at- tended in a body, and the members of Phoe- bus Lodge, F. & A. M., acted as escorts. It was the largest and most generally attended funeral ever held in New Berlin. He was regarded as a representative of the best type of a physician and as a very nobleman of his profession, as is shown by the following reso- lutions adopted by the Medical Societies of Chenango, Otsego and Madison Counties, and Phoebus Lodge: "Whereas, Dr. A. C. Hazard's life was a continued record of faithfulness to his chosen profession. His untiring energy, his ready response to all demands, his willing sacrifices, his generos- ity, his loyalty and his keen judgment were specialties that not only made him successful in the highest sense, but brought to him the confidence, respect and friendship of his fel- low-laborers in the 'art of healing'. There- fore, we, representing the Medical Societies of Chenango, Otsego, and Madison Counties, express our great sorrow that death has taken him from a work for which he was so well fitted, depriving a community of his skillful labor and the medical fraternity of his wise counsel and fellowship." Signed by L. J. Brooks for the Chenango County Medi- cal Society ; O. W. Bushyter for the Madi- son County Medical Society; and W. R.
37
CHENANGO COUNTY
Lough for the Otsego County Medical Society. In order to call to mind and keep fresh the memory of Dr. Hazard's nobly lived life, the publishers of this volume present his portrait on a preceding page in connection with this personal history.
ANIEL A. CARPENTER, ex-sheriff of Chenango County, and one of the oldest business men of Afton, who is now leading the life of a private citizen, is a son of Benjamin and Catherine (Salmon) Car- penter, and was born in the village of South Bainbridge, now Afton, August 12, 1820.
The family is of the sturdy English race. The grandfather of our subject was Samuel Carpenter, who lived in Orange County, this state, and was one of the earliest settlers, being successfully engaged in the · cultiva- tion of the soil.
Benjamin Carpenter, the father of our sub- ject, was a native of Orange County and was born in 1765. He was among the first set- tlers to locate in the village of Bainbridge, where he conducted a merchandise store and hotel from 1785 to 1790. Owing to the light travel there was in those days he abandoned his business and purchased a farm of one hun- dred acres, situated one mile from where the village of Afton now stands and along the Susquehanna River ; there he was engaged in the prosecution of the development of the soil until his death, which occurred in 1835. He was originally a tailor, having learned the trade in New York City, and followed this business in connection with farming. He
was a stanch Democrat in politics and took an active part in the political affairs in his community. During the Masonic excite- ment throughout the state he took a decided stand against secret societies, consequently he was an Anti-Mason man. He married Catherine Salmon, and they reared a family of eleven children. Mrs. Carpenter passed to the unknown beyond in 1824, aged fifty-six years.
Daniel A. Carpenter, the subject of this brief narrative, was the youngest of a family of eleven children, and was educated in the common schools and at Oxford Academy. He was compelled to leave school owing to ill health, and at the age of twenty-three years, he went south and taught school one term in the State of Kentucky ; he then went to New Orleans, La., where he remained during the winter of 1845-46. He spent three months working for a commission house, and his health then being greatly improved, he re- turned home. In 1847 he engaged in farm- ing one mile east of Afton, but being dis- satisfied with that occupation, in 1851 he moved to Wyoming County, Pa., and en- gaged in the manufacture of lumber, ship- ping most of it to Port Deposit, which is located at the mouth of the Susquehanna River. In 1854, in partnership with his cousin, Daniel Carpenter, he engaged in the mercantile business in the village of South Bainbridge, now Afton, the firm name being D. & D. A. Carpenter. In 1857 our subject sold his interests to his cousin, and two years later he again embarked in the same business in partnership with Eli M. Shay under the firm name of Carpenter & Shay. In 1857 the
3+
38
BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES
town of Afton was formed from a part of Bainbridge, and in the following year he was elected the first supervisor, and in 1859 he was re-elected to the same office. Mr. Car- penter was a Democrat up to 1856; being opposed to slavery he was forced to join the ranks of the Republicans, and remained identified with that political organization until 1872, since which time he has been a Prohibitionist. In 1864 he was elected sheriff of Chenango County on the Republican ticket for a term of three years, which made it necessary for him to move to the village of Norwich. On January 1, 1868, he re- turned to Afton, built a large brick building and opened a general store, and was actively engaged in mercantile business for twenty-five years. He also built him a handsome home the same year, where he now lives, passing his latter days with ease, having retired from active life in 1894, owing to his ill health. Our subject served as justice of the peace six years prior to being elected as sheriff, and also served as president of the board of education.
Mr. Carpenter and Miss Sarah M. Williams, daughter of Jirah Williams of Richfield Springs, Otsego County, N. Y., formed a matrimonial alliance and were hap- pily wedded June 24, 1847. They are the parents of five children, of whom three are at present living. They are : Daniel Arthur ; Horace Raymond; and Samuel Frank. Daniel A. was born June 11, 1858, and was educated in the Afton Union Schools and Wyoming Seminary and later took a four years' course in Yale College and graduated with the class of '81; two years later he
graduated from the Yale Law School, and returning home, he engaged as clerk in the patent office of Gilbert M. Plymton, patent right attorney in New York City. Five years later he opened an office at No. 15 Wall Street, where he makes a specialty of patent law. Horace Raymond was born Oc- tober 7, 1860, and received his preparatory education in the Afton Union Schools and at Williston Academy at East Hampton, Mass., and entered the Scientific Department of Yale College, from which he graduated in 1883. He then accepted a position as civil engineer with the Union Pacific R. R., and remained with that company for seven years, when he accepted a like position with the Denver & Rio Grande R. R. Later he engaged in mining and speculation at Victor, Col., in the Cripple Creek mining district, and became one of the wealthy and influential citizens of that community. Samuel Frank was born April 13, 1864, and received his primary edu- cation in the Afton schools and Williston Academy. He was joined in marriage with Miss Angie Derby, now deceased, and lives in Carbondale, Pa., and with Frederick Forbes, he is editor and proprietor of the Morning Herald.
ILLIAM W. LYON, one of Smyrna's energetic business men, and a member of the popular firm of Lyon & Ferris, dealers in hardware, was born in the town of Sherburne, this county, December 30, 1849.
Mr. Lyon is a son of Benjamin T. and
FREDERICK E. BARNARD.
41
CHENANGO COUNTY
Mary U. (Rogers) Lyon, and grandson of Benjamin Lyon, who in 1804 came from Rhode Island to the town of Sherburne, and settled on a new and uncultivated tract of land. In the midst of a deep forest he planned and developed a fine farm, built a log cabin, and returned to Rhode Island, whence with his ox team he brought his family to his new home. There they settled and cleared the farm now owned by our sub- ject, the original property being 100 acres of the old Griggs tract. Later he built a frame building on his farm, and there carried on farming operations until 1854, when he died at the age of eighty-seven years. To his first wife, who died in young womanhood, a family of seven children were born: Alden ; Benjamin T .; John; Reuben; Cyrus; Richard ; and Eliza.
Benjamin T. Lyon grew to manhood and bought the old homestead, erecting thereon the buildings that are now standing. He married Mary Comstock, who bore him four children : Lucian ; Arnom; IIannah; and Mary ; all the above are now deceased. His second wife was Mary U. Rogers, daughter of Alva and Desire (Eaton) Rogers ; she died in 1866 at the age of fifty-eight years. Mr. Lyon and his second wife reared and edu- cated a family of ten children, named as fol- lows: Amy; Delia; Roxie; Charles, who died in infancy ; Cornelia; Cynthia; Ellen ; Kate; William W., the subject of this sketch; and Edward P. In connection with farming, Benjamin T. Lyon also ran a shoe shop. In politics he was during his younger years a Whig, but upon the formation of the Repub- lican party, he joined its ranks. Religiously,
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.