Genealogical and Family History of Western New York, Volume I, Part 47

Author: Cutter, William Richard, 1847-1918
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: New York : Lewis Historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 680

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He married, December 11, 1763, Lucy Church, born February 14, 1748, died at Poultney, Ver- mont, January 6, 1846, at the great and unusual age of ninety-eight years; daughter of Noah Church, of Marlboro, Massachusetts. Chil- dren: 1. Bernard, born November 4, 1764; married Rachel Strong. 2. Lucy, April 14, 1768; married Philip Brookins. 3. Dexter, May 28, 1770; married Hannah Stevens. 4. Louisa, June 25, 1772; married Major Asahel Pond. 5. Abigail, July 26, 1774; married Will- iam Cilley. 6. William, February 28, 1778; . married Anna Spencer. 7. Elisha, July 30, 1780; married Zelina Denzilo. 8. Almira, De- cember 13, 1782, died aged four years. 9. Lorenzo, July 11, 1785; married Nabby Cleve- land. 10. Orlando, June 24, 1787; married Phoebe Wood. 11. Sidna, May 20, 1789; mar- ried Eliot Porter. 12. Charles, of further men- tion.

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(VI) Charles, youngest child of Judge Will- iam (4) and Lucy (Church) Ward, was born at Poultney, Vermont, January 3, 1792. He grew to manhood in Vermont. He married, September 11, 1814, Lydia King, born at Mid- dleton, Vermont, December 12, 1791, died at Rochester, Wisconsin, August 26, 1847, daugh- ter of Theodore King, of Connecticut, early settler in Vermont, married Lydia Smith. In 1820 Charles Ward, wife and two children left Vermont and went to Steuben county, New York, thence, in 1821, to Great Valley, Catta- raugus county. Here he purchased a tract of one hundred acres of the Holland Land Com- pany, on which he resided until 1845, when he removed to Rochester, Wisconsin. The death of his wife and two promising sons in early manhood, all within one year, at Rochester, where they lie buried side by side, so disheart- ened him that in 1849 he returned to Great Valley, where he died. Children: I. Verres, born August 21, 1816; married Jennet Roy, a native of Scotland. 2. Pherson, born Novem- ber 8, 1817; married Emily A. Cox. 3. Aru- nah, of further mention. 4. Steena, born May 4, 1825, died at Rochester, Wisconsin, unmar- ried, October 2, 1846. 5. Loyal, born June 4, 1827. 6. King, born July 8, 1828, died at Ro- chester, Wisconsin, August 1, 1847. 7. Theresa, born August 14, 1831.

(VII) Arunah, son of Charles and Lydia (King) Ward, was born on the journey his parents were making from their old home in Vermont to their intended location in Western New York, September 30, 1820, died July 16, 1899. He was educated in the public schools and at Springville Academy, and began life with a well stored mind. He was a farmer in early life, at the same time studied and pre- pared for the profession of law. He disposed of his farm and in 1863 was admitted to the New York bar and began the practice of law. In 1865 he was elected surrogate of Catta- raugus county and always filled an important place in county affairs. During the war he was enrolling officer and rendered good and efficient service. For many years he was jus- tice of the peace, served as superintendent of the poor, assessor and examiner on the board of education. He was always deeply interested in the cause of education and the new school building in Great Valley was erected through his personal efforts and influence, there being strong opposition in the town. He was a dea- con of the Baptist church, a conscientious, high

principled and upright man. Politically he was a Republican and an effective party worker.

He married, September 15, 1852, Jane Ann Palmer, born April 28, 1833, died August 13, 1906, of Burton, now Allegany, New York, where she came with her parents at the age of three years. Children : I. Alice, born June 21, 1853. 2. Frank Palmer, died at the age of three years. 3. Katherine Lydia, born Sep- tember 8, 1857; married William B. Johnson; children : Cornelia Ward and Sydney Baldwin. 4. John King, of further mention. 5. Charles Wilkes, born September 16, 1861; married, May, 1893, Persis Nelson, born June, 1873; children : Ralph, died in infancy, and Charles W., born May, 1905. 6. Ralph, January 29, 1865, died September 19, 1898. 7. George Spencer, of further mention.

(VIII) John King, son of Arunah and Jane Ann (Palmer) Ward, was born in Great Val- ley, Cattaraugus county, New York, Novem- ber 20, 1859. His early education was obtain- ed in the public school, after which he enter- ed Chamberlain Institute, from whence he was graduated, class of 1882. He decided upon the profession of law and prepared under the pre- ceptorship of his father. He was admitted to the bar in June, 1887. These years of legal study were also devoted to other work. He was appointed by Judge Cary D. Davie, in- heritance tax transfer appraiser. Following that he was appointed and served four years as general counsel to the forest, fish and game commission. He taught school one year at Machias, three years at Randolph and one year was spent in the west. He was engaged in private practice at Ellicottville for many years until 1905, when he was appointed by Gov- ernor Higgins, deputy attorney general of the state of New York, and took up his residence in Albany. He continued in this important position two years, filling the same with honor and efficiency. After his years of public serv- ice Mr. Ward returned to Ellicottville where he resumed private practice and is still located there (1911). He was president of the village two terms; has served for six years on the board of education and is now president of the board. His services to his village in these years have been invaluable, and the present effi- ciency of the schools of his district may be directly traced to his untiring efforts. For twelve years he served as justice of the peace, and has always been foremost in advancing the interests of his town. In politics he has al-

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ways adhered strictly to the tenets of the Re- publican party. He is past master of Ellicott- ville Lodge, No. 307, Free and Accepted Masons, by virtue of three elections to that honorable office; member of Salamanca Chap- ter, No. 266, Royal Arch Masons; Salamanca Commandery, No. 62, Knights Templar, a Noble of the Mystic Shrine, Ismailia Temple, Buffalo, and for twenty-five years has been affiliated with the Knights of the Maccabees. He is a member of the State and County Bar associations, having always been an active worker in both. He was for many years a vestryman of the Protestant Episcopal church and interested in all good works.

He married, June 12, 1888, Mary Sophia Merrick, born October 9, 1863, daughter of John A. and Julia (Baker) Merrick. Chil- dren of Mr. and Mrs. Merrick: Frank, mar- ried Grace Gorsline, and has Ward S .; Mary Sophia ; Florence, married Frank Scudder, and has Frances. Child of John King and Mary Sophia (Merrick) Ward: Frank Ralph, born April 14, 1892.

(VIII) George Spencer, youngest child of Arunah and Jane Ann (Palmer) Ward, was born at Ellicottville, Cattaraugus county, New York, September 9, 1875. He was educated in the grammar and high schools of the town, beginning business life as a clerk in Walrath's store, at Ellicottville. After three and one- half years spent there he removed to West Salamanca where he purchased the general store of Watson B. Eddy, which he has oper- ated very successfully until the present. Sep- tember 10, 1900, he was appointed postmaster, and still holds that office. He is a Republican in politics, and a member of the Protestant Episcopal church.

He married, August 27, 1907, Alice Eliza- beth Beardsley, born May 9, 1876, eldest child of William Anson and Viletta Lucretia (Cook) Beardsley. She has two sisters: Lucy Irene, married Fred C. Beals, and Eliza L., married Melvin Wiltsie, a farmer near Jamestown, New York; their children : Claude, Mary, Reu- ben, Mabel and William. Child of George S. and Alice E. Ward : Lucy Irene, born Decem- her 21, 1908.

Many families of this name set- CLARKE tled at an early date in New England, some in Massachu- setts, some in Rhode Island and still others in Connecticut. These families spread over

the entire country until there is hardly a ham- let without its Clarke or Clark. The Connecti- cut family, with its multiplicity of Georges and other similar names, has been and is yet a source of endless discussion among genealo- gists.

(I) George Clarke, of Milford, Connecticut, was born in England, died in Milford, 1690. He came from England in 1637 with Rev. John Davenport's company, from Kent and Surrey, near London, landed at Boston, and about a year later removed to New Haven, Connecti- cut, March 30, 1638. He later in the year moved to Milford, Connecticut, where he was one of the organizers of the church, August 2, 1639. He was a wealthy planter and a man of influence, serving many terms deputy to the general court. He married Sarah -, who died July 19, 1689.

(II) George (2), son of George (1) Clarke, of Milford, was baptized in Milford, Connecti- cut, April 30, 1648, died there July 19, 1734; deacon and several times deputy; married Deborah Gold.

(III) George (3), son of George (2) Clarke, was born in Milford, April 3, 1682, died there August 21, 1762. He married Mary Coley.

(IV) David, son of George (3) Clarke, was born in Milford, Connecticut, July 31, 1713; moved to Woodbridge, Connecticut, where he united with the Congregational church, De- cember 25, 1742. He married, January 15, 1742, Hannah Peck, a descendant of Joseph Peck, an early settler of Milford.

(V) Lazarus, son of David Clarke, was born in Woodbridge, Connecticut, December 23, 1745, died there August 19, 1818. He was a large land owner, and also owned slaves. He was noted for his regular performance of church duty. He married, October 18, 1771, Dennis Bradley, daughter of Andrew, and a descendant of several early Connecticut fam- ilies.

(VI) David William, son of Lazarus Clarke, was born in Connecticut, in the clos- ing decade of the eighteenth century. He lived in Oxford, Connecticut. He was a farmer, and was a member of the Connecticut legis- lature. He married . Chil- dren: Charles, at Stratford, Connecticut ; David William (2), Henry ; resided at Bridge- port, Connecticut, now all deceased ; Ann, mar- ried John P. Paixtree, of Watertown, Connec- ticut, and living.

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(VII) David William (2), son of David William (1) Clarke, was born at Oxford, Con- necticut, in 1828, died April 19, 1889. He set- tled in Tidioute, Pennsylvania, where he was a producer of crude petroleum and claimed to have been one of the very first to ship this product to the seaboard. He dealt in timber lands and manufactured lumber, and held a prominent position in business circles and in the community. He was a member and senior warden of the Episcopal church at Tidioute, Pennsylvania, for nearly twenty years, and was one of its greatest contributors and deeply religious supporters. He was a Democrat in politics. He was never an office seeker, only accepting such offices as member of the vil- lage school board, which he served as presi- dent, being actively interested in educational matters. He married Louisa, born at or near Bridgeport, Connecticut, about 1832, daughter of Victory Curtis, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, whose children were: Major Ellicott M., of General B. F. Butler's staff (1861) ; Frederic, a veteran of the civil war under Custer; John C., also a veteran soldier, officer in quartermas- ter's department ; Cornelius, Victory B., Susan, Sarah and Louisa. Children of David William (2) and Louisa Curtis: David William (3), Frank Curtis, Howard Marcus, of further mention ; Harriet Beech, Louise Curtis, Maria, Susan Anna, Julia McClintock, Ellen Eunice, Henry Elliott and Florence.

(VIII) Howard Marcus, son of David Wil- lian (2) and Louisa (Curtis) Clarke, was born at Main and Arch streets, Bridgeport, Con- necticut, August 5, 1858, in the homestead now occupied by Frederick Curtis. He was edu- cated in the union school of Tidioute, Penn- sylvania, and began business life as bookkeeper in the private bank of Grandin Brothers, at Tidioute, continuing from 1872 to 1880. He later became manager of Grandin Brothers' lumber plant at Tidioute, remaining until 1884, also filling the position of cashier of the Tidi- oute & Titusville Pipe Line Company. In 1884 he engaged in manufacturing, as secretary, treasurer and general manager of the Tidi- oute Chair Company, continuing until 1899, when he removed to Fredonia, New York. He devoted himself to the larger interests of Fre- donia, and occupies a commanding position in the business world. Since 1905 he has been president and general manager of the M. M. Fenner Company ; in 1905-06 was secretary, treasurer and manager of the Dunkirk & Fre-

donia Railroad Company, and in 1906 was elected president; in 1905-06 was secretary and treasurer of the Fredonia Natural Gas Light Company, and in the latter year was chosen president; also was secretary, treas- urer and general superintendent of the Chau- tauqua County Agricultural Corporation, of Dunkirk, 1901-09. In all these corporations his wise executive ability and skillful finan- ciering has contributed in a large degree to their present satisfactory condition.

Mr. Clarke is not alone a man of business, but has a deep concern in institutions educa- tional, philanthropic and charitable. He is trustee of the Western New York Society for the Protection of Homeless and Dependent Children ; member of the local board of mana- gers of the State Normal School at Fredonia, also secretary and treasurer of the same since 1908. He is a member of the Protestant Epis- copal church; served as senior warden of Christ Church, Tidioute, Pennsylvania, 1889- 99, and as vestryman of Trinity Church, Fre- donia, 1900-09, and warden of same, 1911. He is a Republican in politics, and in 1908 was president of the Taft, Sherman and Hughes Club, and an alternate delegate to the Repub- lican national convention at Chicago. His clubs are: The Monday Literary, of which he was vice-president, 1903-04, and president, 1905; Dunkirk-Fredonia Country (director ) ; the Cit- izens, of which he has been president since 1907, and is a non-resident member of the Elli- cott, of Buffalo.

He married, June 16, 1880, at Tidioute, Pennsylvania, Amni Brown, of that city. Chil- dren : 1. Marianne, born December 10, 1882; educated at Fredonia State Normal School; now a student of music in New York City. 2. Howard Marcus (2), born April 9, 1884: graduate of Purdue University, Lafayette, In- diana ; now a mechanical engineer, of Ra- cine, Wisconsin. 3. Elizabeth, born August 26, 1897.

The following interesting items of family history and recollections are from the pen of Sarah Curtis, sister of Mrs. Louise (Curtis) Clarke, and aunt of Howard Marcus Clarke. We publish them in full :

Deacon John Birdseye was born in 1616. He died in 1690, aged seventy-four years. He came from Reading, in Berkshire, England, emigrated to Amer- ica in 1636, came to New Haven, thence to New Milford, 1639. and thence to Stratford. He was one of the first deacons in the Congregational church there. He married Phillipe, daughter of Rev. Henry

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Smith, of Wethersfield, Connecticut. He became a man of eminence both in the town and church.

From Bridgeport Farmer, Wednesday, February 14, 1818: "Died in Stratford, Connecticut, January 28, 1818, Rev. Nathan Birdseye, aged one hundred and three years five months and nine days. The whole number of his descendants is two hundred and fifty-eight, two hundred and five of whom are now living (1818). He had twelve children, seventy-six grandchildren, one hundred and sixty-three great- grandchildren, and seven great-great-grandchildren. Of his twelve children, six were sons and six were daughters. A son was born, then a daughter, and so on alternately. Nine of them are living, whose ages added together amount to five hundred and' eighty-two years. The other three died at ninety- seven, sixty-three and seventy-seven years of age. He married but once, and lived sixty-five years with his wife, who died at the age of eighty-eight. It is a fact that of all the branches of this numerous family not one of them has been reduced to want; most of them are in prosperous, and all of them in comfort- able, circumstances. His funeral was attended on Friday, last, by a large concourse of people, among whom were about one hundred of his posterity. A solemn and appropriate sermon was delivered, on the 'occasion, by Rev. Stephen W. Stebbins, from the text, "And all the days of Methusaleh were nine hun- dred and sixty-nine, and he died."

The Rev. Nathan Birdseye was born August 19, 1714. He took his degree at Yale, in 1736. He was set- tled, as minister in the Presbyterian church, at New Haven, in 1743, and remained in that situation six- teen years, and then removed to his patrimonial estate at Oronoque, in the town of Stratford, where he resided until the close of his long and useful life. After he left New Haven he continued to preach for many years. When one hundred years of age he ascended the pulpit, and, blind and tottering as he was, preached an acceptable sermon at the ordination of his grandson to the ministry, and offered prayer with his old time fervor. At one hundred and three, a short time before his death, the venerable preacher again prayed in the church. He retained his mental faculties, in a remarkable manner, to the day of his death, and, although during the latter part of his life he was nearly blind and deaf, yet from his accurate knowledge of ancient facts and anecdotes, and his natural cheerfulness and good sense, he was able to make his conversation agreeable and enter- taining to the many friends and strangers who had the curiosity to visit him. Nature had given him a retentive memory, a sound judgment, and a good heart, which qualities were improved by much read- ing and reflection. He was a man of deep piety and of great faith, and a firm believer in the efficacy of prayer. It is said of him that at the time of a pro- longed drought he was praying in his garden earnest- ly for rain. In the fervor and vehemence of his peti- tion he struck the ground violently with his staff, and, as though in answer to his prayer, a spring of water disclosed itself. It may be said of him, per- haps with as much propriety as of any other person, that he was an honest man and a real Christian. Venerable for his virtues as well as years, he died as he had lived, without an enemy, and in the hope of a blessed immortality. About one hundred of his own descendants attended his obsequies. Seven of the fifth generation had been born at the time of his

decease. He was the great-grandson of Deacon John Birdseye, who was born in 1616, and came from Reading, in Berkshire, England, to America, in 1636. He came first to New Haven, thence to New Milford, and thence to Stratford, and was made one of the first deacons in the church there. In those days the deaconate was an institution of great power and dignity, a conspicuous person, second only to the parish minister of the established church. The Birdseye family is one of the oldest and most honor- able in the list of noble families. Its numerical strength is equalled only by the generally high char- acter of the family name. The descendants are now found in most of the states and territories of the Union.

His first grandson, Abel, son of John Birdseye (2), located near Middletown. He dropped the final "e" of the name, but Joseph, who remained in Strat- ford, retained the name in its original form. In the "Register of the Book of Heraldry of the English Nobility" the following account of the origin of the name is given: "Utopia, a maid of honor to the Queen, during the reign of one of the Edwards, was hunting with her hawk. The bird was disappointed in its prey, and, in a rage, directed its maddening flight toward its mistress, for the purpose of injuring her. On the spur of the moment one of the attendant cavaliers, Eldred, fired an arrow from his bow, strik- ing the bird in its head and piercing its eyes, thus saving its mistress from harm. For this service and his great skill in archery he was then knighted by the Queen, and given the name of Sir Birdseye. The coat-of-arms he assumed was a hawk with an arrow piercing its head through its eye. The motto on his shield was "Vine ave avie vedi," that is "By force I hold the bird by sight."

A writer of an article, published in Lippincott's Magazine, July, 1879, says, "The Birdseye pedigree is the central stem of all Stratford genealogies."

Among my earliest recollections is a visit to an old, old house, in the town of Stratford, Connecticut, built in colonial period. It was the ancestral home of my great-grandfather, Agur Curtis, a revolution- ary soldier, from whom I claim my eligibility to become a Daughter of the Revolution. How well I remember his wife, my great-grandmother, as she sat by the huge fireplace, in the large old sitting room, having for a guest another great-grandmother. Both of these old ladies were widows, past ninety years of age, and both were drawing pensions for services of their husbands during the revolutionary war. The picture that was stamped upon my mem- ory of the quaint old firedogs, the old oaken floor, the high chest of drawers, the spinning wheel, the old grandfather's clock, the dresser, with its rows of shining pewter (for they were the household treasures) ; these, together with the ancient well sweep, with the old oaken bucket; the slanting moss- covered roof, will never be forgotten. Agur Curtis died in 1838. His brothers, Ezekiel and Robert Cur- tis, and his sister, Charity, wife of Colonel Philo Lewis, of the Continental army, were the children of Joseph Curtis (3), who was appointed on a com- mittee to furnish clothing and whatever was re- quired for the soldiers through the war, and the great-grandchildren of Joseph Curtis (1), of the colonial times, who was town clerk for fifty years, and was elected assistant (which was the same as state senator). He was elected first in May, 1668,

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after that twenty-two successive years, making twenty-three in all. He was, for several years, judge of the county court, and was appointed, with Hon. Nathan Gold and a committee of New York state, to settle the boundary line between the states, in 1700. In 1727 he declined to serve, and soon after died. For many years his descendants gloried in the titled applied to him while living, "the Worshipped Joseph Curtis." He was the son of the first John, and grandson of William, who came over in the ship "Lion," in 1632, first to Roxbury, Massachusetts, then came to Stratford, with his family. My great- grandfather, Agur Curtis, died in 1838. His wife, Mercy Blakeman Curtis, was the daughter of Ezaca- riah Blakeman and Esther Hull Blakeman, his wife. He was private in Captain James Berths' mounted company, "Larm Lists," when they turned out to repel the invasion of the British, under General Tryon, at New Haven and Fairfield, when the British burned the town, the 8th or 9th of July, and died the 11th. He said, as he started, that he was going to bring down a redcoat, but, instead, was shot by one of the enemy's sentinels, as he was taking aim. His body was brought back to Stratford, and buried from the meeting house on Watch Hill, his remains having laid in state on the village green, under the buttonwood trees. He was the great-grandson of the Rev. Adam Blakeman, the leader of the seven- teen first settlers and founders of Stratford. He was educated, ordained and preached in England, and, it is said, was followed to this country by many of the faithful of his parish, to whom he was so dear that they said unto him, in the language of Ruth, "En- treat me not to leave thee."

I am also the great-granddaughter of Josiah Peck and Helen Birdseye Peck, his wife. Josiah served in the revolution. He was born in Stratford, in 1751, and died in 1831. He was the son of Nathan and Tabitha Beer Peck. Nathan was born in Mil- ford, January 27, 1727, came to Stratford and built a house just north of the Methodist church, on Main street. It is still standing, but has been repaired and remodeled, from time to time, until it has lost most of its remote antiquity. He served as private in Captain James' "Larm Lists," when they assisted in repeling the British, under General Tryon, in the New Haven alarm. He was the grandson of Joseph and Mary Camp Peck, who came to New Haven, in 1643, and settled in Milford, in 1649. My great- grandmother, Helen Birdseye Peck, was the daughter of Rev. Nathan Birdseye, who lived to be one hun- dred and four years old, and often officiated in the pulpit after he was one hundred years old. He had twelve children, seventy-six grandchildren, one hun- dred and sixty-three great-grandchildren, and seven of the fifth generation. His home was the old colonial house in Oronoke, the last in Stratford, near the boundary line of Huntington. An old lady, now living in Stratford, who is quite familiar with inci- dents of the revolution, says it was told her that on one occasion of alarm by the British troops that an old slave in Josiah Peck's family ( Phylis) took one child belonging to Josiah and another belonging to Nathan and toted them to the Birdseye home for safety, to get away from the British. While there the conflagration of Fairfield could be plainly seen from the heights, where the house was situated. My great-grandmother, Helen Birdseye Peck, was also the great-granddaughter of Lieutenant-Governor Na-

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Genealogical and Family History of Western New York, Volume I, Part 47

Author: Cutter, William Richard, 1847-1918 Publication date: 1912 Publisher: New York : Lewis Historical Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 680

Author: Cutter, William Richard, 1847-1918
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: New York : Lewis Historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 680