USA > New York > Chenango County > Book of biographies : this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Chenango County, New York > Part 6
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BOOK OF BIOGRAPHIES
Mr. Church was a son of Levi and Ella (Works) Church, and was born on the old Church homestead in Afton township, which was formerly a part of Bainbridge, on the western sidc of the Susquehanna River. His death occurred in Afton, January 12, 1894. He grew to a sturdy manhood on the old homestead, and received exceptional educa- tional training, being a graduate of Franklin Institute, and an especially apt scholar in mathematics. He taught school for a time in the town of Bainbridge, but was compelled to bring his labors in the pedagogical line to a close because of failing health. In 1851 he went to Eldorado County, Cal., and still later located in Placer County in the mining dis- trict, where all were occupied in an eager, zealous quest after the yellow metal. Mr. Church engaged in mining for the first time in the " dry diggins" below Auburn, and then went on America River to Rattle Snake Bar, a mining town of 1,000 inhabitants, that had grown in almost a night; there he became a very successful mining operator. He was also interested with Samuel Estabrooks, a blacksmith, and made considerable money in that business, getting large prices for every- thing, for manufactured articles and provis- ions were very costly in the early days of the gold excitement. Unlike many a miner of that day, Mr. Church found his way home again, returning to New York State in 1854. He did not remain at home long, but went to Iowa, where he engaged in civil engineer- ing, locating and pre-empting claims for him- self and others in the newer portions of that state. In 1856 he once more returned to Chenango County ; this time it was to stay,
for he bought a portion of the homestead, and farmed on it until 1866, when he sold out, and moved to the village of Afton, there to enter upon a prosperous career in a larger field of uscfulness. The first business he in- augurated was the lumbering business, in which he engaged with George Landers, under the firm name of Landers & Church ; they put in circular saws in 1867 and made other important improvements that enabled them to do a splendid business until they brought it to a close in 1872. In 1866, Mr. Church purchased a lot of seven acres in Afton village, where in the following year he built a residence for himself, in which he lived until his death, and which his sons now oc- cupy. In 1872, after quitting the lumbering business, he engaged in the manufacture of firkins and butter tubs, continuing to busy himself in that line for two years, with con- siderable profit. The following two ycars found him prosecuting the callings of a civil engineer and surveyor. In 1876, Mr. Church, with E. M. Johnston, organized a private bank in Afton ; it was styled E. M. Johnston & Co., and had as its president Mr. Johnston, and as its cashier Mr. Church. This arrangement continued unchanged until Mr. Church's death in 1894. With James H. Nickerson, under the firm name of Nickerson & Church, our subject in 1880 erected the first creamery and cheese factory in his part of the county ; this concern the partners continued to oper- ate until Mr. Church's decease. In 1885, the subject of this history purchased the Joslin creamery, which he also ran until his death. In 1887 he built the Grove creamery, which he operated for four years, and then sold out.
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In 1882 Mr. Church erected a steam saw-mill in Afton village and made of it a very paying investment, for he was thus able to supply the builders with native lumber at moderate prices. He helped to organize and was one of the first to subscribe for stock in the Afton Driving Park and Agricultural Association, which became an assured reality in 1890.
Mr. Church married Augusta A. Landers, January 19, 1856; two sons, Fred and George L., now survive him. Our subject was always an active and loyal member of the Demo- cratic party. He was supervisor one term, and was a member of the board of school trustees when Afton secured its Union School. Socially, he was a Mason. In all the walks of life he counted his friends by the score, and it is needless to state that his removal from the fields of his diversified labors was the occasion of sincere regret and sorrow to more than one. Afton has cause to remember him as her benefactor, as well as one of the most prominent men that has ever done business within her borders.
The sons of our subject, under the firm name of Church Brothers, operate all their father's interests left in their hands at his death. When Fred and George L. Church succeeded to his interests in the private bank- ing house of E. M. Johnston & Co., that solid financial institution was completely re-organ- ized, Mr. Johnston selling his interests to Mr. M. G. Hill, who was elected president ; George L. Church assumed the place his father had filled so many years, that of cash- ier ; while Fred Church became vice-presi- dent. The bank, through all its history of twenty-two years, has withstood all the pres-
sure of the panics and other monetary mis- fortunes that have menaced its welfare, and is to-day one of the strongest, most solid and successful banking houses of Chenango County. A general banking and exchange business is done all over the country, and col- lections are made in every quarter of the con- tinent. The success with which the private banking house of Church & Hill is meeting is the direct result of careful dealing and equitable treatment of all who come under the title of patron.
Fred Church, the oldest of our subject's sons, was born in Afton, June 23, 1860, and obtained his education in the Union School of that town. Leaving school at the age of twenty, he became associated with his father in business, and assisted him in managing and caring for all his large interests till the death of our subject, when Fred and his brother took charge of the business. In political be- lief he is a Democrat, and in 1898 was elected supervisor of the town of Afton.
George L. Church was born May 4, 1863, in Afton, and attended the Afton Union School. When seventeen years of age he entered the bank, and for eighteen years was in the banking business, fourteen years as as- sistant cashier or cashier. He has ever taken a lively interest in village and town affairs, and has been honored by his fellow-citizens with several offices of trust and responsibil- ity. He has been town clerk, and was ap- pointed by Comptroller Frank Campbell as an examiner of the trust funds of Chenango County in 1893. In 1894 he filled the office of president of the village corporation of Afton. He is a member and past master of
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Afton Lodge No. 360, F. & A. M .; Vallonia Chapter, No. 80, R. A. M. of Afton, N. Y .; Norwich Commandery, No. 46, Knight Templars of Norwich, N. Y .; Otseningo Bodies, Ancient and Accepted Order of Scottish Rite Masons of Binghamton, N. Y .; and Ziyara Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., Utica, N. Y. He is also a member of Calumet Tribe, No. 174, Improved Order of Red Men of Afton, N. Y., of which he is a charter member of first C. of R. Mr. Church was married in 1890 to Charlotte A. McWhorter of Ithaca, N. Y., and has these two children : Helen Landers, born July 20, 1892; and Devillo Corbin, born March 29, 1897.
EORGE W. BROOKS, the genial proprietor of the popular Palmer House, the leading and best patronized hotel of the village of Norwich, was born in the town of his present residence, March 2, 1841, and is a son of Otis R. and Anna (Cady) Brooks.
The father of Otis R. Brooks was of French extraction, and made his living on the high seas as a captain of a sailing-vessel. Nine children comprised the family that his wife brought into the world to him. Otis R. Brooks was born in the State of Rhode Island, where he married his first wife, Miss B. E. Smith, in November, 1831. He came to Norwich, Chenango County, in 1835, and engaged in the grocery business, in which he was identified with considerable profit to himself for five years. He then ran a dray in Norwich for a time, and later moved on a
farm in the same town, where farming con- tinued to be his occupation until he was forced to lay down his labors at the ap- proach of death. His life terminated De- cember 30, 1879. He was originally a Whig and then a Republican in his politics. His first wife bore him one daughter, Louisa, who married Willis Dexter, and died January 18, 1870. On February 5, 1839, several years after locating in Norwich, Mr. Brooks married the lady who became our subject's mother. Three children resulted from this union, as follows: George W., of whom this sketch is written; Betsey, born November 23, 1845, and died September 21, 1849; and Emma P., born February 18, 1851, who married Palmer Edwards, and died in the prime of her young womanhood, November 10, 1879. Our sub- ject's mother completed her life's pilgrimage July 5, 1897, being over eighty years of age. Otis R. Brooks was a good, law-abiding citi- zen, with a liking for the domestic comforts of home, with a deep concern for the mem- bers' welfare, and a regard toward the educa- tion and proper training of the children.
George W. Brooks, after leaving school, learned the carpenter's trade as an appren- tice in the shop of Gurdon Bowers, being with him one year. He then became an em- ployee of the bridge and building depart- ment of the O. & W. R. R., and after being with the company two months he was made a gang foreman, in which position he con- tinued until the expiration of one year's serv- ice, when he was made division foreman. After nine years as division foreman, during which time he had carefully husbanded his means and laid up a considerable competency,
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he rented the Palmer House in Norwich, and after running it with success for three years he bought it outright, and continued to cater to the physical wants of the traveling public until 1892, when he leased it on favorable terms. In 1897, circumstances arose that compelled him to take the caravansary back on his hands. He caused the hotel to be re- fitted and furnished anew throughout, and has built up once more an enviable patron- age, that is flattering alike to the methodical way in which the hotel is run, the neat and tasty appearance of the rooms, both public and private, and the excellent cuisine, for which the Palmer House is noted. Mr. Brooks has also been interested in the show business, and is even now, with his son-in- law, Mr. Curtis, engaged in managing a show that is on the road. In the late war, Mr. Brooks took an honorable part, and fought valiantly for the Union. He enlisted in the army in 1861, soon after the firing on Fort Sumter, and served three years, taking part in many battles, and being wounded once. During all his three years of active service, he was in the hospital but one week.
Mr. Brooks entered the married state on January 9, 1866, the nuptial ceremony being celebrated on that date that bound him and Julia Snow, daughter of John Snow, in the indissoluble bonds of matrimony. Their only daughter, Ada M., married H. A. Curtis. Mr. Brooks has many friends in the town and county, for he has those companionable traits of character that gain for a man the esteem and good-will of his acquaintances. He is an active member of the Republican party, and has been on three different occa-
sions elected to the presidency of the village corporation. He has been an under sheriff of Chenango County for three years. He is a member of the Improved Order of Red Men. He is a Mason of prominence of the thirty- second degree, being a member of Norwich Lodge, No. 302, F. & A. M .; Chapter No. 151, R. A. M .; Commandery No. 46; and Ziyara Temple of the Mystic Shrine of Utica, N. Y.
R EV. CHAUNCEY DARBY, of the village of Greene, has been engaged in the blessed work of the Master since 1839, preaching and ministering a con- siderable portion of this period to the spir- itual needs of his flock in the Baptist Church at Greene, this county, where he now lives in retirement. We take great pleas- ure in presenting the salient points of his life, adding to such an account whatever other facts of interest present themselves to us, which will enlist the attention and consideration of those who chance to read this volume. Rev. Mr. Darby was born in the town of Homer, now Cortland, Cort- land County, N. Y., February 14, 1816, and is a son of Joseph and Asenath (Tylor) Darby, both of whom were born in the State of Connecticut.
Eleazer Darby, the grandfather of our sub- ject, was a native of Connecticut ; attaining his manhood, he moved to the State of New York and located in the town of Homer, where he spent his life, actively engaged in the tilling of the soil. He cleared the timber in the forest, cultivated the land thus im-
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proved, labored there and remained until the time of his death. Religiously, he was an able worker of the Baptist Church.
Joseph Darby, the father of our subject, was one of the older children born to this sturdy and courageous old gentleman and his wife. He was reared in the State of Connecticut, and received a liberal educa- tion for those times. After his marriage to Miss Grow he moved to the town of Homer and became actively engaged in farming, which was his sole occupation throughout his life. His perseverance was remarkable. Amidst a deep forest he planned and de- veloped a fine farm. In politics he was a Whig, and took a prominent part in local affairs, and was elected coroner of Cortland County, the duties of which office were faith- fully and honestly discharged. Mr. Darby was an Anti-Mason man and was opposed to any secret organization. He was twice united in marriage. To his first wife, Miss Grow, three children were reared, namely : Dilly, Lyman and Thomas. After the death of his first wife, he married a Miss Tylor, who was born in Connecticut, and they reared a large family of children, of whom six lived to maturity. They were as follows: Ann ; Joseph ; Lucius; Chauncey, the subject of the sketch; Asenath ; and Edwin. The father of our subject was an active and consistent member of the Baptist Church, and supported the church of that denomination in the vil- lage of Cortland. He passed to the world of rest about 1836, at the age of sixty-two years. Mrs. Darby joined her husband about 1852, aged seventy-two years.
1
Rev. Chauncey Darby received his ele-
mentary training in the schools of Homer and at Homer Academy. He then pursued the theological course, and was graduated from the Hamilton Literary and Theological Institution. In 1839 he was licensed to preach, and was installed as pastor of the Baptist Church at Greene the same year. Later he was called to Binghamton to fill the vacancy in the First Baptist Church and re- mained there five years. Mr. Darby was a very fluent and convincing speaker, and brought home to the hearts of his hearers the blessed truths to be found in the life of Christ, outlining their duty to God forcibly and distinctly. Not alone in the pulpit did his ability show forth in the best light, but also in bringing before each repentant sinner the plan of a personal salvation, free to all who would accept it. He was also interested in home and foreign missionary work, and went to great pains to keep himself and his people well informed as to the needs and the prog- ress in the various fields. Our subject re- turned to the village of Greene, where the services were held in blacksmith shops and in a grocery store until the church was built, which was in 1843. Now they have a con- gregation of over 250 members. Mr. Darby has presided in the pulpits at McGrawville, Cortland and several other villages, where he assisted in the building of a house of worship for each congregation. Later he went to Marion, N. Y., where he remained a short time, when he went to the State of Iowa, where he preached at Fairfield and later at Ottumwa. After spending eleven years preaching in St. Joseph, Mo., he moved to Philadelphia, whence he retired to his
CHARLES HENRY MERRITT.
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former home, Greene, where he now enjoys a well earned rest.
In 1839 Mr. Darby was joined in matri- mony with Miss Mary A. Short, daughter of Hammond Short of Homer. Their family consists of the following children: Charles H. and Edwin T. Charles H. married the widow of Bishop Hawks of St. Joseph, Mo., who was a popular bishop in the Episcopal Church. To Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Darby was born one child, Ada. Edwin T. was joined in marriage with Miss Carrie Thomas, of Galesburg, Ill., and they are the happy parents of four children, namely : George B .; Frances T .; Ethel ; and Marian. Mr. and Mrs. Darby celebrated the fifty-eighth anniver- sary of their marriage in 1897. They show in their daily lives the beauty of the teach- ings of the Gospel. They have, as they de- serve, the good will and cordial friendship of the entire community in which they live, and their record through life is one of which their children may well be proud.
HARLES HENRY MERRITT, deceased, was born on the 11th day of August, 1814, and during his long and useful life knew no other home than Norwich. He was a direct descendant from old Revolutionary stock, the names of both his parents, who came from Eastern New York, being familiar and favored ones in the public affairs of the Hudson River counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, and Westches- ter, from long before the War of the Revolu- tion down to this day. Mr. Merritt was a
son of Stephen S. Merritt and Hannah Purdy, daughter of Abner Purdy. Stephen S. Merritt settled in North Norwich, then a part of the town of Norwich, in the year 1795. Back through these honored ances- tors, the subject of this sketch was able to trace his lineage to the sturdy and heroic settlers of the historic region of the Hudson for more than one hundred years.
Charles H. Merritt was born at a time and in a community that knew few idlers. The children of that day were accustomed to acquire, almost in their infancy the faculty of taking care of themselves. Inheriting a goodly amount of the sterling integrity of his forefathers, Mr. Merritt early assumed large responsibilities, and at the age of twenty one embarked in the mercantile business in his native town. A few years later he engaged himself as collector for a firm at Darien, Georgia, making the trip to that place on horseback, and remaining in the South in the above capacity in the neighborhood of a year. Upon his return to the North, he set- tled in Norwich, and the remainder of his life was spent in that village. In 1862, Mr. Mer- ritt purchased a quarter interest in the David Maydole hammer factory, and thereafter, until his death, he made the extension and success of this business his especial object and care. From the time of his entrance into the concern, the effect of his cautious, far-seeing and honest judgment, acquired through years of careful and extensive busi- ness experience, was felt with advantage and profit. During the twenty-five years that marked his connection with the hammer factory, its products became known and used
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in all portions of the world. Devoting to this industry his whole time, strength and energy, to him much of this marvelous suc- cess was due. On the incorporation of the David Maydole Hammer Company, in Janu- ary, 1890, although in poor health at the time, Mr. Merritt was made its first president. His mind was an eminently practical one, and he retained the direction of the affairs of the company until his death, which came to him October 12, 1890, undesired, yet not un- expected. He spent the last summer of his life in the enjoyment of family and social in- tercourse. The funeral services were held from his palatial home, and were largely attended by the citizens of the village and by sympathizing friends and acquaintances. The business places were closed in his honor, and the members of the Democratic County Committee attended in a body. The opera- tives in the factory turned out, and in one company marched to the house, where for the last time they looked upon the face of their beloved employer. Tears, scarcely restrained, bore eloquent testimony to their love and affection for one with whom they had been associated so long.
Mr. Merritt's known business ability and careful management were rewarded by the accumulation of a considerable fortune. In 1862 he was united in marriage with Cornelia E. Maydole, daughter of David Maydole, and with his wife and two daughters, May and Nettie, he established a beautiful home on North Broad Street, within whose circle his friends were always made heartily welcome. In his home he was always at his best. Shar- ing confidences and business cares with his
wife, whose advice he greatly valued, and always thoughtful of the wishes and feelings of his family, he never was known to address them with an unkind or harsh word. Within the sacred precincts of home he was all kind- ness, generosity and forbearance.
While most men are distinguished by some particular trait of character alone, Mr. Mer- ritt was possessed of many. All were so happily balanced, so harmoniously blended, as to form a combination of virtues, which, coupled with a natural fund and appreciation of humor, made his friendship deemed a privilege and an honor, and his society a pleasure. He was public-spirited to a large degree, and his influence in village and town affairs was great. He was most liberal in his support of all improvements, tending to advance and beautify the village of Norwich, and his advice and counsel were often sought by others than his business associates. He gave liberally to the churches, and was an ardent supporter of the educational institu- tions of the town. Politically, Mr. Merritt was a Democrat, never seeking office, but earnestly and liberally supporting his party's nominees. His was a life of honesty and integrity ; "He was an honest man."
By his employees he was especially belov- ed. To them he was ever obliging, sympa- thetic and generous; always ready to grant a favor, or to assist in time of need. None came to him for assistance but found a friend. These acts of kindness were per- formed, as were his numerous charities, so quietly and unostentatiously that few outside his home knew of them. He was a great favorite with the young people who came his
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way, and an especial one with the children. He was ever thoughtful of the many little pleasantries that win a child's heart, and they all knew him as their friend.
Physically, Mr. Merritt was a noble speci- men of manly strength and vigor. Standing a little over six feet in height, with broad shoulders, a well-proportioned body, digni- fied bearing, and a head and face of striking and benevolent appearance, his was one of the noblest types of manly beauty.
Upon the death of Mr. Merritt, his varied business interests were left in charge of his wife. Mrs. Merritt has since conducted them with an ability and discretion well worthy so able and successful an adviser as her late husband. To every citizen of Che- nango County, and especially to those of Norwich, the portrait of Mr. Merritt, appear- ing on a preceding page in connection with the foregoing life narrative, will prove of great interest.
R EV. GEORGE G. PERRINE, the es- teemed rector of the Christ Church of Guilford, was born at Lyons, Wayne County, N. Y., December 24, 1838. He is a son of William D. and Lucinda S. (Kendig) Perrine, and a grandson of Peter Perrine.
The Perrine, or Perrinn, as it was origin- ally spelled, family is of old French Hugue- not stock. Henry Perrinn and his brother, Daniel, came to America in 1685 to escape the persecution that followed the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, by Louis XIV of
France. Henry, the paternal ancestor of our subject, settled on Staten Island, where he was married and reared four sons, namely : John; Henry; Peter; and Daniel. Peter Perrine, our subject's great-great-grand- father, located in Cranbury, Middlesex County, N. J., and there married Margaret Day, who came from a well known New Jersey family. They reared a family of fif- teen children, the seventh of whom was William, the great-grandfather of our sub- ject. William Perrine was a soldier of the Revolutionary War and served in the 3rd Reg., Middlesex Militia, under his brother, Capt. Peter Perrine.
Peter Perrine, the son of William and Hannah (Mount) Perrine, was one of the pioneer settlers of Lyons, Wayne County, N. Y. His mother was a daughter of Mat- thias Mount, the grandfather of Judge John Bailey Mount of Heightstown, N. J. Peter was a farmer and builder by trade and was well known as a man of great physical strength. He was Ist lieutenant and later captain in Col. Swift's regiment of militia from 1806 to 1814, and took part in the War of 1812. He was united in marriage with Ann Duncan, and they reared seven children.
William D. Perrine was the oldest son born to his parents and first saw the light of day at Lyons, October 20, 1812. He was a jeweler and watchmaker, conducting a store in the village of Lyons, where he was well patronized. He took an active interest in public affairs and did all within his power to promote the condition of the community, socially, morally, and religiously. He was bound in the holy bonds of wedlock with Lu-
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