USA > New York > Chenango County > Smyrna > Early years in Smyrna and our first Old home week > Part 8
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his life was in the latter state and in Michigan, extensively en- gaged in the building and lumber business, where he died Octo- ber 5, 1903.
The one especially known and remembered in this vicinity, was Benjamin Barber, Jr., who, about the year 1850, began clerking in the drug store of Trowbridge Shepard in this village, and later in a book store in Watertown. He will be best re- membered by his connection with the old book store on South Broad street, at Norwich, now conducted by E. L. Nash. Like his father, a devoted Christian man, he was greatly missed and mourned by all who knew him, when his death occurred in 1886. The daughters, Mary, (who has recently passed away,) and Agnes, were the stay of their parents in their declining years, filling their lives with usefulness along various lines of benevo- lent and religious work, which most surely has entitled them to the respect and commendation of all. It is said that when the Baptist Church was moved from the hill northeast of the village, Benjamin Barber, Sr., who was an excellent carpenter, had the contract for the work and also for the re-modeling and improv- ing of the building which was done at that time. Mr. Barber was also successor to Gardner & Talcott in one of the most im- portant industries of Smyrna, seventy years ago, the manufac- ture of Linseed oil, a business involving extensive travel with a team to collect the flax for the production of the genuine article which painters in our day would be very glad to obtain. After a few years the mill was burned causing a very heavy loss to the owner, who re-built the same, and not many years later sold the plant to William Faucett, returning to the mercantile business which he followed till the year 1853, when he moved to a farm in Norwich. The site of the old mill was that of the old cheese box factory on the present Widger place.
Another Barber family, a complete sketch of which we very much regret we are unable to obtain, was that of Joshua, who married Isabel Sprague, whose sons, Horace and Sprague were well-to-do and respected by all, the former marrying Cynthia Sutliff and living all his life in Smyrna, and the latter marrying
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AUGUSTIN PIER.
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and locating in Otselic, where his death took place not many years ago. Julius S., the son of Horace was born in Smyrna, and married Delphernia, a daughter of the late Alfred Willcox, and there were born to them a son and a daughter, Jesse D., who married Nellie, the oldest daughter of Wellington A. Gra- ham, and Cora, who is now the wife of Gardner N. Willcox, as has been before stated.
AUGUSTIN PIER was born in Otego, Otsego County, N. Y., February 8, 1820, coming to Smyrna when but sixteen years of age, where he afterwards resided excepting four or five years spent in Auburn, this state. His father was Heman Pier, born at Great Barrington, Mass., and his grandparents John and Phoebe Pier, the latter a daughter of Joseph and Betsey Tobey, who were the second family in Smyrna. His first wife was Olive, a daughter of the late Cyrus Simons, by whom one daughter was born, Millie, the esteemed wife of Horace Sexton, now of Sherburne. His second wife was Sarah Rusk, of Au- burn, N. Y., and to them a daughter came, but was taken from them at the age of seven years, in the winter of 1865, an event which saddened the lives of this worthy couple for many years. Mr. Pier's death occurred on March 19, 1898, at his home in this village, his wife still surviving him, a most estimable woman, making her home with Mrs. Sexton.
Augustin Pier was an honest and an upright citizen, a plain, painstaking man, doing his best at whatever he undertook. He was always an ardent Republican, holding for many years the office of Justice of the Peace besides many minor offices. In the village he was many times elected trustee, and was several times its honored president. He was also for many years a re- spected member of the school board, always taking a deep inter- est in the success of the school, and usually did what lie thought best for the interest of the taxpayers of the district. His busi- ness was formerly farming, but in later years he was a prosper- ous boot and shoe maker at the village. His remains were buried in the East Burial Ground in this village.
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Early Years in Smyrna and
THE DIXON FAMILY-One of the best known families in their day in the town, was the Dixon family; of Scotch-Irish de- scent, who moved here from Sherburne in the spring of 1837, the grandfather moving to the house now occupied by William L. Chapman; the father purchasing the house and lot so long afterwards known as the Dixon homestead, now the property of our genial postmaster, Jonathan W.'Boynton. The grandfather, Major Joseph Dixon, was born in Rutland, Vt., in 1754, becom- ing an officer in the Revolutionary Army, taking part in the bat- tle of Bunker Hill and also at Yorktown, when Lord Cornwallis surrendered. At the close of the war he married Mercy Ray- mond, and moved to Manchester, and later to Sherburne, where he was said to have accumulated a considerable fortune. Their home was for many years that of the late Levi N. Smith, on West Hill, one of the finest farms in the vicinity, which still fur- nishes many attractions in summer for the Dixon family, most favorite of all perhaps might be mentioned Buttermilk Falls. Mr. Dixon died at his home on the 18th of May, 1839, in his 85th year and sleeps his last sleep in the old part of the burial ground at Sherburne West Hill. His third son, John Milton Dixon, was born in Sherburne in 1801, becoming a farmer and an extensive dealer in live stock, and was said to have been well- to-do. He married Mary A. Sutphen, of Cherry Valley, and the following children were born to them: Charles G. married Per- sis, a daughter of Solomon S. Hall. At sixteen years of age went to New York city and entered the mercantile business, re- maining there twelve years, thence going to Detroit for one year, thence a year at Chicago, three years following at St. Louis, thence returning east becoming a member of the firm of Dixon Brothers, which partnership lasted three years, and after that re- maining in the employ of the firm until October, 1872, when he again became a member of the firm, with which he continued till his death March 18, 1882. Mr. Dixon was a member of Sherburne Lodge, No. 444, F. & A. M., Chenango Chapter, No. 253, R. A. M., and Norwich Commandery, No. 46, K. T. Through all his life he was held in the highest esteem by all who
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HERBERT M. DIXON.
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knew him. Mary J., the oldest daughter, in early years a school teacher, was a most estimable woman, those qualities which made the children love and cling to her extending to her whole life. A most faithful member of the Congregational Church she was always much interested in that church and its work. She married George Hunt, a son of Lucius Hunt, and to them were born five children, all prospering, retaining many of the ex- cellent qualities of their parents. Flora, the oldest, married Oscar G. Bell, now of Norwich; Charles H. married Jessie, a daughter of Francis G. Stanton, and there is one son, Howard; Merton L. and J. Williston are both married and in business at Norwich, and Maud, the youngest daughter, a graduate of the Norwich High School, is married and resides in Minneapolis, Minn. Rexie V., like her sister Mrs. Hunt, spent the most of her life in Smyrna, in her early life a school teacher, invariably giving the best of satisfaction, becoming also a most faithful member of the Congregational Church, and a teacher in the Sunday School, for many years having in her charge a class of young boys, who were closely drawn into her confidence and esteem. In character she was modest and retiring to a fault; yet always studying to relieve the wants of those around her, and make others happy, as was fully shown in her many years' care of her aged and respected mother. Her death occurred Feb- ruary 28, 1868.
Carrie Dixon Copeland was born April 13, 1841. Her girl- hood was spent in and around Smyrna. She graduated from Temple Grove Institute, Saratoga, N. Y., in June, 1862, adopted teaching as her life-work, being Preceptress of Montrose Semi- nary, Pennsylvania, a number of years, also teaching in the Pub- lic Schools of Rosemond, Ill. Miss Dixon was married to Mal- colm H. Copeland in Smyrna, December 10, 1866, moved to Illinois, and from thence to Arkansas a few years later, where she and her husband taught together, finally founding Siloam Academy, at Siloam Springs, Ark. The family moved to Col- orado in 1888, where Mrs. Copeland passed away in 1896, after
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Early Years in Smyrna and
a life spent in doing good deeds and cheering lonely lives. Mrs. Copeland was very active in church work, singing in the choir at different times, teaching Sunday School classes, not only in her own denomination, but also in Mission Sunday Schools. Her classes were generally in the primary department or young men, in both of which departments she was most successful. She devoted much time to temperance work in the W. C. T. U., organized Loyal Legions and conducted several Demorest Medal contests. She was one of the Charter members of the Woman's Relief Corps, being instrumental in its organization at Durango, Col. Mrs. Copeland was a woman of wonderful adaptability, gaining the sympathy and love of all with whom she came in contact, high or low, rich or poor.
Herbert M. Dixon, best known of all this famous family, was born in the house known as the Russell Harrington house on Sherburne West Hill, on August 7, 1836. At ten years of age he began working on a farm and when he was fifteen, en- tered the store of Loren Kenyon at Smyrna village, as clerk, re- maining there a few years when he entered the employ of C. H. and N. P. Wheeler, of Norwich. He returned to Smyrna in 1858, opening a branch store in the interest of the above firm. In 1860, Mr. Dixon in company with John S. Blackman bought out the Wheeler interest, and were in business one year under the name of Dixon & Blackman, when the latter's interest was purchased, and in the spring of 1866 his brothers Charles G. and M. C. became his partners under the firm name of Dixon Brothers, the same lasting three years under a limitation of co-partnership. In the spring of 1872 Charles G. again became a partner, continuing until the death of the latter in the spring of 1882, after which he continued in business under the same name, alone, until he sold out to E. L. Whitney in the spring of 1896. This country store in a farming community in its palmy days did an enormous business, excelling many larger stores in much larger towns, and its annual sales some years reached one hundred thousand dollars. The business was affected by the hard times in the early nineties and this was the
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reason of its sale to Mr. Whitney as above stated. Mr. Dixon married Janet A., daughter of Deacon L. B. Collins of singing fame, and the estimable wife and two grown up sons are doing active christian work, following closely in the footsteps of the revered husband and father. At sixteen years of age, Herbert M. Dixon united with the Congregational Church in Smyrna. He was an active worker in the church and Sunday School until his death, serving as clerk and trustee, and for twenty years Superintendent of the Sunday School. For forty-two years he was Superintendent of the Mission Sunday School at Upperville. He was deeply interested in all christian work, and was a mem- ber of the County Bible Society, District Sunday School Associa- tion and of both the State and National Congregational Home Missionary Societies.
At his decease the following resolutions were adopted by the Congregational Sunday School, which were voiced by the en- tire community :
WHEREAS, Our all wise Heavenly Father has called our brother, Herbert M. Dixon, after more than forty years of service in the church militant, to enter the rest of the church triumphant. Therefore,
Resolved. That we bear willing testimony to his earnestness in striving to extend the Lord's work by every effort in his power and in his conduct before the world ; by the untiring zeal with which he gave himself to the work of Christ in the Church and Sunday School, having served the school more than a score of years as superintendent, and as a faithful teacher and ever faithful helper
Resolved, That words fail to express the loss to us of his leader- ship in song, of the cheerful words, the helping hand, the watchfulness toward every good word and work, which marked all his life with us.
Resolved, That to his family we extend our most loving and tender sympathy, and commend them to the Father of all, praying that they may be upheld by the same faith and trust that were so long the stay and support of our beloved brother.
Resolved, That these resolutions be placed on the minutes of the Sunday School, and that the same be furnished the papers for publica- tion.
Joseph W. Dixon was born November 17, 1833, and came with his parents to Smyrna in the spring of 1837 and, as he ad-
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Early Years in Smyrna and
vanced in years attended the village school, then so-called "Acad- emv." In later years he engaged in a store at Earlville, where he staid until he was twenty-one years of age, when he went to St. Louis and entered the dry goods establishment of B. L. Hard- ing & Co., then a prosperous firm in that city. Remaining there twenty-one years he became well versed in the dry goods business, and returned to Smyrna, where he engaged with the firm of Dixon Brothers, continuing in their employ until the business was sold to E. L. Whitney, as before stated. Mr. Dixon afterwards lived a retired life, but always kept up a great interest in the welfare of the town, always remembering old friends and faces whom he was glad to meet. At his decease in the sum- mer of 1903, a familiar and pleasant face was missed from among us.
Almenzo K. Dixon was born at Smyrna, September 20, 1838, and attended the village school until he reached the age of fif- teen years, when he went to learn the tinner's trade of Denison A Kelsey, in the building now used by Edwin S. Billings as a residence. He was later in the employ of Horace T. Nearing, commencing in the building now used hy the Smyrna Press, and later in the Sutliff and Dimmick stores. He started in business in his own name in the spring of 1866, in the store occupied by him so long, a business which was most successful, and which showed the ability of Mr. Dixon as a business man. He was clerk of the town for many years, always obliging, but never seemed to aspire to a higher office. Mr. Dixon married Corne- lia, a daughter of Benjamin Lyon, of Sherburne, and there were two children, Herbert S., now a successful physician in Brook- lyn, N. Y., and Mary, wife of Clarence C. Riggs, of Walling- ford, Ct., with whom he has a pleasant home, surrounded by a group of happy grandchildren. Mr. Dixon sold his business in the fall of 1890, to William W. Lyon and Cortland L. Fer- ris, the former a long time faithful employe. The business is now conducted by Lyon & Son. The delay in our publication enables us to chronicle the re-marriage of Mr. Dixon to Mrs. Kate Hudson Barber, the oldest daughter of our former citizen,
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ALMENZO K. DIXON.
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Joel L. Jaynes, which occurred at East Syracuse on the 25th of July, a matter of congratulation from all old Smyrnaites.
Mortimer C. Dixon was born November 18, 1843, and as a boy also attended the village school, in his seventeenth year en- tering the academy at Homer, N. Y., which he attended two years, returning to his home in 1862. Not many months later he enlisted in the 157th Regiment, N. Y. S. V., serving till the close of the war. In the service he was on the staff of Brig. Gen. Schinnelfenny, in Virginia, and Gen. Stewart L. Wood- ford, and others in the department of the South. After his re- turn home he again entered the employ of his brother, Her- bert M. Dixon, and in 1866 became a member of the firm of Dixon Brothers, with his brothers C. G. and H. M., which co- partnership closed in the spring of 1869. After that he contin- ued in the employ of the firm, with the exception of a few months, until the business was sold to Mr. Whitney. Mr. Dixon's first wife was Ellen C., a daughter of William and Nancy Sprague, of Smyrna, by whom one daughter was born, Elizabeth, now the wife of William J., a son of Abel Comstock, with whom he makes his home. He was one of the organizers and a charter member of Stephen Weaver Post, G. A. R., and also its first Adjutant. His second wife was Anne Meyers, by whom they have one son, Harry M., a "chip of the old block," who is now married and lives in Buffalo, N. Y., and is Assistant Engineer of the Frontier Telephone Company of that city.
Sarah S. Dixon, the youngest of the family spent her early days at home, and also became a school teacher, winning many friends among her pupils, who still remember her with pleasure. She too, was a consistent member of the Congregational Church, and also a faithful teacher in the Sunday School. She retains a great interest in the town of her birth and its people, and is al- ways welcome at her old home town. In the summer of 1876, she married Erastus C. Billings, and they have two sons, John and Walter, both graduates of Colgate University. The present home of the family is at Syracuse.
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The Dixon family was an exceptional family, not only much interested in church work, but also most excellent citizens and kindly neighbors, their kindness reaching out to the whole town- ship where any deed of love could be extended. They were ex- cellent singers, and there is scarcely a home in the town where their sweet musical voices have not helped to soften the pangs of mourning, and given hope to the aching heart. Not one of this most excellent family remain at present in the town.
WILLIAM V. BRAND was born at Brand's Corners, near Stonington, Ct., and married Huldah Tefft of that vicinity. William V., Jr., so long a resident of our town was born at the same place, June 22, 1811, and came to Lisbon, Otsego County, when he was ten years of age, and was there bound out until he was sixteen. He then went to Brookfield, Madison County, and there learned the blacksmith trade, remaining there till he was of age, and then in 1839 moving to Smyrna, where he remained a few years in the Rexford district, then moving to Smyrna vil- lage where he conducted the same business, soon after moving to the present Weaver place, and then to the farm now owned by his grandson, Benjamin C. Brand, where he lived the remain- der of his life. His wife was Mary Sherman, by whom two sons were born, both life-long residents of the town. Daniel C., the oldest, now deceased, married Calpherna, a daughter of Ben- jamin Card, to whom were born two sons, Benjamin C., now living at the farm, and Daniel E., an exceedingly bright young man, a successful school teacher, highly esteemed by all who knew him. He married Elizabeth, a daughter of Solon Hum- phrey, his death occurring December 30, 1896, leaving the young wife and a host of friends to mourn his untimely death. N. Jerome Brand married Adaline, also a daughter of Benjamin Card, and they have one son, now a resident of Sherburne. Mr. Brand has held various offices to the satisfaction of his constitu- ents, and is one of the leading farmers of that part of the town.
HENRY KELLER, of Dutch descent, came from Root, Mont- gomery County, in 1839, a section of the state replete with sto-
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ries of ghosts and goblins, firmly believed by the people of those days, and Mr. Keller was no exception to the list. He was a most excellent man, honest, frugal and industrious, and his friends were numerous. He married Mary Lasher, of that vicin- ity, by whom were six children, all surviving except Lydia, the youngest daughter, recently deceased, who married Alton D. Root, now of Dayton, Ohio. Those remaining are Peter, re- siding at Afton, N. Y .; Mary, the wife of the late Henry Mead, of Scranton, Pa .; Jane A., the wife of Rev. Alfred Eastman, of Lestershire, N. Y .; George, now residing at Sherburne Four Cor- ners, known for a kindly heart, and as a goodly neighbor, and Margaret, the much esteemed wife of the late Arial Fowler, a man well known, honored and respected by all. He was an earnest member of the Methodist Church, one of its best class leaders and church workers, whose death was sincerely mourned by all when he passed away in the winter of 1901. One son, Frank W., the idol of his parents and a boon to his companions, passed away in his early manhood in his nineteenth year on the 15th of April, 1876, while a student at Colgate Academy, a thor- ough scholar and a young man bidding excellent promise for the future. Mr. Keller and his wife and Mr. Fowler and son Frank, are laid at rest in the East Burial Ground in this village.
JOHN M. PRESTON was born in the town of Preston, this county, on the 22d day of September, 1810, being the youngest of ten children. At the age of eighteen he enlisted in the Home Guards of Chenango County, and was one of the detailed guards at the execution of Dennison at Norwich in the year 1833. In 1839 he married Julia F. Latimer, of Smyrna, at her home near the town line between Smyrna and Plymouth, the officiating clergyman being Rev. D. A. Shepard, then of the Methodist Church of this village. After their marriage they moved to Ox- ford, remaining there till the year 1846, when they returned to Smyrna where they afterwards resided, in the same house into which they first moved. There were born to them three children, Mary H., recently deceased; Henry J., who served in Company F, 157th Regiment, N. Y. S. V., in the Civil war and was killed
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at the battle of Chancellorsville, in May, 1863, and J. Orville who still survives, occupying the same house in which he was born. John M. Preston became one of the early members of Smyrna Lodge, No. 239, I. O. G. T., organized in the fall of 1867, and throughout its existence was one of its leading and most active members, and was Lodge Deputy of the county for many years, and intimately associated with many of the temper- ance reformers of his day, among them John B. Finch, G. D. Scrambling of the Living Issue, and many others. He was the first man to cast a Prohibition vote in the town of Smyrna, be- ing obliged to cut the ballot from a newspaper, as at that time there were no ballots printed for that party. His death occurred in 1893 at the age of 83 years, and he was buried in the family lot in the East Burial Ground; the oldest son, Henry, resting on the battle field at Chancellorsville.
Another Wilber family in our town, though not related to the Thompson Wilber family, was that of Benjamin, who mar- ried Laura, a daughter of Joseph Hunt, among whose children were Isaac, so many years a resident of the town, whose wife was Eliza Stone, by whom were two children, a son and daugh- ter, who still reside here. Clifford B., with his family, are at Upperville; and Augusta became the wife of Henry Crouch, a prosperous farmer of Smyrna Hill, where they now reside with a large and interesting family, several grown to manhood and womanhood.
Still another Wilber family, was that of which Samuel was the head, whose son, Benjamin, was once a respected resident but now deceased. His daughter was the wife of the late Mar- sena Stebbins, and his sons were Emmons L., now a hotel man, a resident of Kentucky, and Charles, now a resident of Norwich. A daughter of Samuel, named Hannah, was born in Smyrna, and still resides here, living at present with Mrs. William L. Chapman.
. JOHN SPRAGUE and Fannie West, his wife, whose grand- father was a native of Connecticut, came to Smyrna in the early
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forties, settling in the Northup district. They were a well-to-do, industrious and respectable family, who always had a high stand- ing in the community. Of their family were Peter, who mar- ried Electa, a sister of the late Benjamin Conkey, by whom were several children. Among them were Thomas, now of Sidney, N. Y., whose wife was Rachel Messenger; William, now of Ith- aca, whose wife was Mary Ellsworth; Cynthia, who married Isaac Collier, a soldier of the Rebellion, and John and Hannah who reside in town. Ervin H. married Martha Champlin, and was in later years an honored deacon of the Congregational Church of which his wife and family were faithful members. Their only son, Hiram, died in his sixteenth year; Mary, who married Robert Vanderhoof, and her young sister, Katherine, now reside in Ithaca. Two other brothers were Warren and Hiram, and the three other sisters were Sabra, Fanny and Mar- cia, the latter the only remaining member of the family is now over eighty years of age, beloved and respected by all who know her.
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