USA > New York > Chenango County > Book of biographies : this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Chenango County, New York > Part 48
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Harrington Willcox obtained his mental training in the common schools of Smithville.
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His entire life was spent in agricultural pur- suits, and he became one of the successful farmers of the town. He was a very promi- nent man, public-spirited, and one who did much to advance the interests of the com- munity in which he resided. He formed a matrimonial alliance with Polly Decker and four children blessed their home ; they are as follows: Nathan ; Albert ; Henry D., whose name heads these lines ; and Ann. In relig- ious faith and fellowship both he and his wife were members of the Universalist Church. In political belief he was a Democrat, and served for a time as superintendent of the poor, and filled the office to the satisfaction of all.
The Willcox family is one of the oldest and best known in the county, and Henry D. Willcox is worthy of the name of his grand old ancestors. It was in the common schools of Smithville that he received his intellectual equipment for life's duties and responsibili- ties. He subsequently engaged in agricul- tural pursuits, and has continued in that occupation ever since. His farm is situated near the village of South Oxford, and he is one of the good substantial citizens of the community. He has a good farm and con- ducts it strictly by modern and improved methods. Mr. Willcox is also engaged in the grocery business, in connection with farming, a business arrangement that he has continued for the past twenty-five years.
He was united in marriage with Anvernett Buckley, daughter of Jacob Buckley, and she has proven a devoted wife and a true help- meet to him. Religiously, they are members of the Universalist Church. He has never
very actively participated in politics, though he has regularly exercised the right of suf- frage, and usually lent his support to the Democratic ticket.
HARLES HEMENWAY, who made an enviable record in the late Civil War as a soldier in the volunteer ranks, is the popular and well known clerk in the billiard parlor of C. Frazer of the village of Oxford. He was born August 6, 1838, in the village of Norwich, Chenango County, N. Y., and is a son of John and Abagail (Hunt) Hemenway.
The paternal grandfather of our subject was born in the State of Massachusetts, where he followed farming all his life. He was the father of the following children : Joseph ; Ansel; John, our subject's father ; and Betsey, who married John Haight, a native of North Norwich. In religious belief, he was liberal.
John Hemenway was born in the State of Massachusetts, and received his education in the common schools of Salem. He enlisted as a private in the War of 1812, and received injuries for which he drew a pension in after years. After returning from the war he learned the carpenter's and joiner's trade, and followed it all his life. He was a public- spirited man, and was interested in all public movements. By his first wife, Mr. Hemen- way became the father of two children, De Calvas and Cordelia. His second wife's maiden name was Abagail Hunt, and six children blessed their union, namely : John ;
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Charles, deceased ; Delos was a soldier of the 133rd Reg., N. Y. Vol. Inf., and died after two years' service at Bonnet Carre, La .; Charles, the subject of this personal history ; Electa A., deceased; and Mary, who married Edward Tucker of Oxford, and became the parent of two children, Burdett and John. Mrs. Hemenway was previously married to a Mr. Green, by whom she had one child, Henery L. They were liberal in regard to their views on religious subjects. Mrs. Hemenway died in 1880, at the age of eighty years, and her husband survived her two years, dying at the age of eighty-four years.
Charles Hemenway received his education in the district schools of Norwich, after which he learned the carriage ironing trade. A short time after the Civil War commenced, he enlisted in Co. H, 114th Reg., N. Y. Vol. Inf., under the command of Col. Elisha B. Smith of Norwich. The company took part in many important battles, and Mr. Hemen- way participated in all but the last one. He received a severe wound in the battle of Winchester, September 19, 1864, and was in- capacitated for further duty for a time. He served three years, receiving his honorable discharge in 1865. He was a brave soldier, cager in the discharge of his duty, and won favor in the eyes of his superior officers and the members of the company, who fought by his side. Upon returning home he again took up his trade and followed it until 1893. He then assumed the position of clerk of the Hotchkiss House, conducted by M. B. Smith. He remained in that position for about two years, and in 1895 accepted his present position as clerk in C. Frazer's bil-
liard parlor. He has a large number of friends in the village, who are fond of hear- ing him relate his war experiences.
He formed a matrimonial alliance with Caroline Rachel Smith, a daughter of Jeriah Smith of Preston, and one child has blessed their union, Cora, who married Clarence H. Wheeler, has one child, Glenn R., and resides in Binghamton. In local politics Mr. Hemenway is independent, and votes for the man best qualified for the position. He has served as constable and excise commissioner. Socially, he is a mem- ber of the Edward E. Breed Post, No. 196, G. A. R .; also of the Kenotah Tribe, No. 105, I. O. R. M., of Oxford. He has been for many years a member of the Oxford Fire Department, and was chief of the depart- ment two separate terms.
RANK E. COX, proprietor of the largest department store in the north- western part of the county, who keeps a full line of drugs, groceries, dry goods, boots, shoes, clothes, notions, etc., is one of the enterprising and most energetic business men of South Otselic, and is a son of Wil- liam S. and Annis (Tallett) Cox, and was born in the above town, August 9, 1855.
The great-grandfather of our subject, a native of France, upon emigrating to Amer- ica, settled in Boston, Mass., where he spent the greater part of his life.
Samuel Cox, grandfather of our subject, was born in Boston, Mass., where he learned the trade of a cabinet-maker. In 1810, he
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moved west with his family, and located in Plymouth, Chenango County, where he fol- lowed the vocation of an agriculturist. He was joined in wedlock with Abagail Holden, a native of Boston, Mass., and of English origin. To Mr. and Mrs. Cox were born six children, who were as follows: James H., a farmer and stone-mason in the village of Plymouth ; Sidney S., late a farmer and stone-mason of Plymouth ; Abagail, who died in her infancy ; William S., the father of our subject ; Martha Ann, widow of the late Elinas Blair; and Lucy, who died in child- hood. Mr. and Mrs. Cox were both pop- ular members of the Free Will Baptist Church.
William S. Cox was born in the village of Plymouth, September 6, 1820, and was edu- cated in the district schools, after which he learned the trade of a wagonmaker, and fol- lowed that line of business in the village of Plymouth for a few years, when he was obliged to give it up owing to his ill health. He then moved to Otselic, where he pur- chased a small farm and was engaged in the tilling of the soil until 1886, when he retired from business, and is still living in the village of Otselic. In politics Mr. Cox is a firm believer in the principles of the Republican party, which he upholds both by ballot and voice. He was at one time elected overseer of the poor. He is an active member of the Baptist Church. His first wife, Minerva Myres, daughter of James Myres, a farmer of South Otselic, bore him two children, namely: Orville, who died in infancy ; and Minerva, widow of the late Merton Tallett. He chose for his second wife Annis Tallett,
daughter of Henry Tallett, late a farmer in the town of Otselic. As a result of this union four children were born to them, namely : Frank E., subject of this personal history ; Addie, deceased, wife of Thomas Kenyon; Fred E., a clerk in the store owned by our subject ; and Dora L., wife of Charles Bald- win, a successful merchant of Cortland, N. Y.
Frank E. Cox remained under the parental roof through his boyhood days, attending the district school of the neighborhood and assisting his father in his work about the farm. In 1875 he graduated from Eastman's Business College, and in January, 1876, he engaged in the mercantile business in the village of Stanbro; as he was still a minor, the firm was known as W. S. Cox & Son. Our subject eventually sold out, and in Octo- ber, 1878, moved to the village of South Otselic, where he conducts a large mercan- tile store ; owing to his straightforward and honest methods of dealing he built up a large and enviable trade, and in 1890, in order to meet the demands of his customers, he was obliged to build a larger store. He accord- ingly erected a three story block, 30 feet by 120, in which he conducts one of the largest and best department stores in Che- mango County. When he engaged in busi- ness he began with empty pockets, but with a strong will, and being a thrifty, shrewd business man, and by the exercise of econ- omy, he succeeded in accumulating a small fortune. Mr. Cox has a stock that invoices at $20,000.00, while his annual sales amount to about $40,000.00.
Our subject's first wife was Arabella Peck, daughter of Frederick Peck of Otselic, their
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REVEREND GEORGE S. MAHON,
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CHENANGO COUNTY
marriage occurring September 17, 1878. Two children blessed this union: Elora and Camilla. Mrs. Cox passed from this earth July 7, 1892, at the age of thirty-three years. October 17, 1894, our subject was joined in the bonds of matrimony with Mamie Young, daughter of Gardner Young, a prominent citizen of Pharsalia, this county. Socially, Mr. Cox is a member of the Na- tional Protective Legion. He is a stanch Republican, proud of his life-long connection with the Grand Old Party, and has much to say and to do in the guidance of that party in his section.
R EVEREND GEORGE S. MAHON, pastor of St. Joseph's Roman Catho- lic Church of Oxford, Chenango County, N. Y., whose portrait is shown on the opposite page, was born in Syracuse, this state, February 1, 1860. His parents were both born and raised in Ireland, com- ing to America about 1848. His father was Patrick S. Mahon and his mother's maiden name was Catherine Foley. Their first resi- dence in this country was in New York City, where Mr. Mahon was employed as engincer, and later obtained work with the N. Y. C. & H. R. R. R. He remained with this com- pany but a short time, when he purchased a farm, upon which he moved, and by his in- dustry and perseverance soon became known as one of the prosperous and reliable farmers of his district. In 1878 he went to Harney Valley, Oregon, and staked out a claim, being among the first to settle in that dis-
trict when the U. S. Government threw that section of land open to the public for homes. In company with his son James and one, Jacob Groondyke, he purchased and oper- ated a stock ranch, which proved to be a most successful undertaking, and one that brought the owners a neat income. He was quite a prominent man in his locality, and known as an upright, honorable man, who had the good will of all. He was a member of the state militia of New York, and a strong Democrat. His union with Miss Foley resulted in the birth of five children, as follows: John : James ; William ; Katic, deceased ; and George S., the subject of this biography. Mr. Mahon's life work ended February 13, 1893, and his wife's some seventeen months later, July 22, 1894. They were mourned in death, as they were respected in life, by a large circle of friends.
Rev. George S. Mahon was ever a devout Catholic, and in early youth determined to consecrate his life to the church, and to that end received a thorough education. Hc at- tended the academy at Fayetteville, N. Y., graduating in March, 1878, and at once entered Niagara University of Suspension Bridge, N. Y., from which he graduated in 1883, with the degree of A. B. In the fall of the same year he entered St. Joseph's Pro- vincial Seminary of Troy, N. Y., and was or- dained priest in 1886. The year previous to this he was honored by receiving the degree of M. A. from Niagara University. His first charge was as first assistant of St. Mary's Church, Oswego, N. Y. He then was placed in charge at St. Paul's at Whites- boro, this state, his territory including Hol-
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land and New Hartford. His stay there of sixteen months was attended with the most flattering success. He was then given his present charge at Oxford, the outlying dis- tricts of his parish including at least half of Chenango County. He was made pastor of St. Joseph's Church at Oxford in 1889, and during his ministrations has proved a most zealous and wise worker, hesitating at no hardship or privation that may menace him, if good to the church be the result. Several times has his life been imperiled while in the discharge of his duties, but this only added to his enthusiasm for his work. He is a noble, conscientious worker, and has been the means of accomplishing much good, both to the parish and to the town, where he has many admirers among the Protestant population. His mission at Greene, located about fourteen miles from Oxford, is in a most prosperous condition under his minis- trations. He purchased the Episcopal Church property, part of it being kindly donated by that society, and has converted it into use as a church, where regular services are held. His aim is the strengthening of the church and the building up of society, and in this he is warmly seconded by his entire parish.
EORGE WILLIS QUACKEN- BUSH, an enterprising and success- ful business man of Oxford, is the proprietor of a bakery on North Canal Street. He was born in Weedsport, Cayuga County, N. Y.,
February 24, 1876, and is a son of George and Ida (Stivers) Quackenbush.
His grandfather was Abraham Quacken- bush, who was a life-long resident of Savan- nah, N. Y., a prominent man in the town and one of its leading merchants. He was a dealer in meats and vegetables, and became well-to-do. He reared four children, who grew to maturity and became a credit to the various communities in which they lived. Their names arc as follows: Eugene ; Kath- erine; Libbie; and George, the father of our subject. In religious belief, they were Baptists.
George Quackenbush followed closely in the footsteps of his sire, and conducted a meat market at Weedsport, where he was highly esteemed as one of that town's good substantial citizens. His wife was formerly Ida Stivers, a native of New York State, and a daughter of George Stivers of Weedsport. This union was blessed by the birth of threc children, namely : George Willis, the sub- ject of this biography ; Grace J .; and Alfred G. Mrs. Quackenbush survives her husband and still lives at Weedsport, in the midst of a large circle of friends, who know her as a kind and loving woman.
George Willis Quackenbush, at a very early age, became an apprentice to the bak- er's trade, under Charles Remington, a baker of Weedsport. But he took great care not to neglect his education, as he attended school during his spare moments. After re- maining in the bakery there for three years, he went to Jordan, N. Y., whence after two years' work he moved to Syracuse, remaining in that city for two years. He then returned
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to Jordan, but only stayed a short time, going from there to Port Byron. February 24, 1897, he came to Oxford, and has since conducted a bakery on North Canal Street. Being an ambitious and energetic young man, he soon placed his business on a paying basis. In politics he is an active Republican. He is a young man, but a little past twenty-two years of age, and has a bright future before him.
HILIP L. BARTLE, who is engaged in operating a fine farm in Oxford township, was born in Pharsalia, Chenango County, N. Y., May 25, 1831. He is descended from one of the very first pi- oneers of Oxford township, and is a son of Uri and Hannah (Buckley) Bartle.
In or about the year 1791, settlements were made in and around Oxford, Chenango County, by John W. Bartle, Peter Burgot, Benaiah Loomis, John Buckley, and a num- ber of others. John W. and Richard Bartle, brothers, from whom most if not all the Bartles in this country are supposed to have sprung, came from Germany previous to the Revolution, and settled on the Livingstonc Manor, in Columbia County, N. Y. Richard Bartle afterwards removed to the West, where many of his descendants now live. John W. Bartle moved to Oxford with his six sons and one daughter, and, failing by somc wrong-doing of others to secure the land promised, settled on the west side of Chenango River at the month of Bowman's Creek, some four miles below Oxford village,
on the place owned and occupied by his great-grandson, Irwin D. Bartle, until the latter's death; the property has always been retained in the possession of the Bartle family. There the pioneer ancestor kept the first inn in the town, and there he, his son David, his grandson West, and his great grandson Irwin D. Bartle lived and died. John W. Bartle's children were as follows: John; Peter; Hendrick; Philip; Andrew; David; and Elizabeth. The first of these, John, was a harness maker by trade, and lived and plied his vocation in various parts of the town, in which he also died. He married a lady named Duffey, by whom he had ten children, and after her death he joined himself with Lydia Tuttle, who bore him ten more. Nineteen children attended his funeral. Peter, Hend- rick, and Philip Bartle, second, third and fourth sons of the pioneer, settled on Panther Hill, which derived its name from the fact that the last panther that ever lived in this vicinity was killed on it, and which was near the locality of their father's settlement ; Peter Bartle took up his residence where Jacob Buckley afterwards lived ; Hendrick, where Cyrus Crandall now lives ; and Philip, where Lewis Ketchum lives. Peter Bartle, the grandfather of Philip L., our subject, mar- ried twice. His first wife was Tabitha Loomis, daughter of Benaiah Loomis, a pioncer sct- tler of Oxford. This marriage, which took place in May, 1795, was the first one con- tracted in the town. Peter Bartle was a sur- veyor, and ran all the township lines in this part of the State. He was born September 24, 1769, and died in Ohio, March 22, 1831. By his first wife he had four children : Annis ;
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Uri, our subject's father ; Caroline ; and Lot ; all are now deceased. He went west soon after the close of the War of 1812; married a second time and had seven children : Thomp- son C .; Anson C .; George W .; Mary ; Lavina ; Rhoda; and Peter. Hendriek Bartle, third son of the pioneer, married Tabitha White, by whom he had eight children ; both he and his wife continued to remain residents of the homestead they settled until their deaths. Philip Bartle, the fourth son, born in 1772, married Betsey Loomis, who was born in 1770, a daughter of Benaiah Loomis, and with his beloved wife he lived in unbroken har- mony for nearly seventy years, "leaving the legaey of a spotless example." They had no children. Their home on Panther Hill, where they lived a great many years, was known far and wide as a haven of rest for the poor and needy, and of unbounded hospitality. Philip Bartle afterwards bought a farm on the west side of the river, two miles below Oxford village, where he died October I, 1861, aged eighty-nine years and five months, and where his wife also departed mortal seenes July 28, 1864, aged ninety-four years. In their log house on the sand bank, near the Warn burying ground, so known as it was given by Andrew Warn for burial purposes, was taught the first sehool in the town. An- drew Bartle, the fifth son, married and settled where Charles Wileox lived at South Oxford; he afterwards moved with his family to Ju- nius, N. Y., where he and his wife died. The sixth and youngest son, David Bartle, sue- eeeded to the ownership of the homestead, where he and his wife died. He married Rhoda West, by whom he had eight children,
by name: Hannah Maria, who married Ben- ajah Landers, a resident of Oxford, and died in July, 1879, having survived her husband a number of years; Andrew, who lives in Pennsylvania; Newton, a merehant of Una- dilla, N. Y .; Philip, of Union, Broome County; A. Furman, a resident of Oxford; Susan, widow of Nehemiah Smith of Oxford ; Jay, who lives in Pennsylvania ; and Eliza, wife of Captain Squire Morehouse of Deposit, N. Y. Elizabeth, the only daughter of John W. Bartle, married Henry Gordon, a earpenter and joiner and eabinet maker, who settled on the east side of the Chenango River, about a mile below Oxford, on a farm now owned by the Lobdell sisters, daughters of the late Abijah Lobdell, where Mr. Gordon died June 19, 1820, aged forty-nine years. After his death, his widow moved to Oxford village, where she died August 2, 1854, aged eighty- one years.
In French's State Gazetteer it is stated that the first mills in Oxford township were ereeted by Peter Burgot, 11/2 miles west of Oxford village, in 1792. However, this does not agree with the account given by mem- bers of the Bartle family. Uri Bartle, father of our subject, and grandson of John W. Bar- tle, the pioneer, left on record the statement that Burgot built a grist mill in the southern part of Preston township, on the farm owned by Martin Quinn ; it was located on Mill Brook, usually ealled Widger Brook, from the Widger family, who settled upon it. This mill was abandoned by reason of the eom- plaints made by the Widgers, because the water set baek and overflowed lands, which have since been converted into good meadow
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lands. Uri Bartle was also authority for the statement that his father, Peter Bartle, built the first grist mill in Oxford; it was located on Bowman's Creek, about a quarter of a mile below the saw mill on the same stream owned by Jacob Buckley, who finally owned the grist mill too. It was abandoned by Mr. Buckley, because of damages it sustained by the bursting of one of the mill stones, which tore away one side of the mill. It was never repaired.
Peter Bartle married as his first wife Tab- itha Loomis, who was born in Massachusetts, June 13, 1780, and died in Tioga County, Pa., where she was living with her son-in-law, Orson Webb, March 2, 1860, aged seventy- nine years, eight months and nineteen days. Of the children that resulted from this union, Annis, the eldest, was born in Chenango County, N. Y., August 23, 1801, and died in Tioga County, Pa., aged seventy-one years. Her husband, Amos Tyler, born in Chenango County, N. Y., November 17, 1798, died in Cheney, Spokane County, Wash., where he. was living with his son, John, April 24, 1889, aged ninety years, five months and seven days. They lived some twenty years in Che- nango County, N. Y., then moved to Middle Ridge, Tioga County, Pa. They had six children, viz .: Ambrosia, who married Clark L. Willcox, and lived in Tioga County, Pa., where she died some forty years ago; Maryett, now living in Tioga County, Pa., who married Calvin Dibble, and has .one daughter, who married a Mr. Ford ; Diana died young ; Uri married Emeline Bartle, daughter of Andrew Bartle ; Warden married Catherine Orr ; and John, who went west and married in Spokane
County, Wash. A sketch of Uri Bartle, the second child of Peter and Tabitha (Loomis) Bartle, is given elsewhere in this narrative. Caroline, born in Chenango County, N. Y., June 2, 1805, departed this life at the resi- dence of her son-in-law, Daniel Field of Wells- boro, Tioga County, Pa., in January, 1889, aged seventy-three years. In Chenango County, N. Y., October 25, 1823, she was joined in marriage with Orson Webb, who was born in Massachusetts, February 27, 1800, and died at Middle Ridge, Tioga County, Pa., February 18, 1878, aged nearly seventy-eight years. In 1801, James Webb, the father of Orson, with his family moved into Chenango County, N. Y. In 1848, Orson Webb, with his wife and six children, moved from Che- nango County, N. Y., to Tioga County, Pa., locating at Middle Ridge, in Delmar town- ship. In all, Orson Webb and his wife Caro- line had eight children, seven of whom were born in Chenango County. Annis A., the eldest, born December 26, 1824, died in Steu- ben County, N. Y., January 14, 1883, aged fifty-eight years; she married Philip Cook Hoag, a blacksmith and farmer, and had three children,- Elizabeth, Percival, and Chester, all now living in New Jersey, where Chester is a partner in a firm that manufac- tures badges extensively. Warden S, born October 25, 1826, died October 29, 1827. Wellington W., born September 19, 1828, died in Wellsboro, Pa., August 24, 1889, aged almost sixty-one years; he married a Miss Catlin, and practiced medicine, having stud- ied with Dr. Packer. Lovisa P., born Sep- tember 19, 1830, married Daniel Field, has a large family of children, and resides near
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