USA > New York > Genealogical and Family History of Western New York, Volume I > Part 78
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He married, in England, about 1615, Eliza- beth, sister of John Deming, one of the first settlers of Wethersfield, Connecticut, for many years one of the magistrates of the colony of Connecticut, and one of the patentees named in its charter. His widow married (second), about 1646, "Mr. Thomas Welles, Magis- trate," afterward governor of the colony. whom she also survived, dying July 28, 1683, aged eighty-eight years. Children : Nathaniel of whom further; Robert, Elizabeth, Mary, Frances, Sarah, Rebecca.
(II) Nathaniel (2), eldest son of Nathaniel (1) and Elizabeth (Deming) Foote, was born about 1620 in England, died in Wethersfield. Connecticut, 1655. He married, in 1646, Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel Smith, of Weth- ersfield, Connecticut, and Hadley, Massachu- setts, who survived him and married (sec- ond) William Gull, who died in 1701. Chil- dren : Nathaniel, born January 10, 1647; Sam- uel. May 1, 1649; Daniel, of whom further ; Elizabeth, born 1654.
(III) Daniel, son of Nathaniel (2) and Elizabeth (Smith) Foote, was born in Weth- ersfield, 1652. He settled in Stratford, Con- necticut. He married (first) Sarah (second ) Mary Children : John. born June 17, 1680, married Sarah Prindle; Daniel, January 10, 1682, married (first) Dorothy Blakeman, (second) Mrs. Abigail (Allen) Shepard ; Hannah, February 13, 1684, married
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Jone A. Foote Alvin W. Foote
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Richard Beach; Jehiel, of whom further; Peter, 1697, died unmarried, 1753; Sarah (old account book) ; Solomon (old account book).
(IV) Jehiel, third son of Daniel Foote, was born in Stratford, Connecticut, March 17, 1687, died September, 1740. He married, 1712, Susannah Children : Joseph, of whom further; Daniel, born July 25, 1717, married Sarah Whitney; Jehiel, died in child- hood; George, born November 4, 1721, mar- ried Hannah Hurd; Jehiel, February 29, 1724; Sarah, August 17, 1726, married Daniel Mun- roe; Susannah, baptized December 13, 1729, married John Beers; Hannah, baptized De- cember 9, 1733.
(V) Joseph, eldest son of Jehiel and Susan- nah Foote, was born in Stratford, Connecticut, December 17, 1714, died there March 14, 1791. He married, November 24, 1737, Sarah Blake- man. Children: Isaac, born September 13, 1738; Martha, February 7, 1741, married John Fairchild; Rachel, July 8, 1744, died unmar- ried; Hannah, December 26, 1746, married a Mr. Brace: Joseph, December 6, 1748, married Hepzibah Sherman ; Sarah, February 27, 1750; Jehiel, of whom further; Polly, no further record.
(VI) Jehiel (2), seventh child of Joseph and Sarah (Blakeman) Foote, was born in Stratford, Connecticut, February 15, 1756, died June 24, 1798. He lived at Newtown, Connecticut, and Greenwich, New York. He married (first), January 1, 1781,
Blakeman, died 1783. He married (second), August, 1784, Abigail Shepard, born April 16, 1759, died August 18, 1836, daughter of John Shepard, of Newtown. Children of first wife: Joseph, died at the age of twelve years ; James, died in infancy. Children of second wife: Stephen, married (first) Elizabeth Wood, (second) Dorcas Barr ; Lemuel, of whom fur- ther; Sarah Ann, born November 7, 1792, married (first) William Garnsey, of Barker, New York, (second) Obadiah Stephens, of the same town; Philo, born April 30, 1795, died 1796; Hiram, born April 4, 1797, married (first) Amanda Dunham, (second) Azubah Boardman.
(VII) Lemuel, son of Jehiel (2) and Abi- gail (Shepard) Foote, was born in Green- wich, New York, 1790, died 1855. He was a farmer, owning one hundred and twenty-five acres of choice land. He was a devoted Chris- tion and one of the founders of the Methodist
Episcopal church in his section. He served in the war of 1812 and received a land warrant calling for one hundred and sixty acres for his services. He married (first)
He married (second) Lucy Clark. Children : Reuben C., Hiram, Betsey, Amanda, Seneca, Lucy, John, Lemuel.
(VIII) Rev. Reuben C. Foote, eldest son of Lemuel and Lucy (Clark) Foote, was born in Greenwich, New York, December 28, 1812, died in Pendleton Center, Niagara county, New York, March 8, 1898. He was educated in the public school of Greenwich and grew up on the farm. He later prepared for the ministry, was ordained and devoted his entire life to preaching the gospel. He held pastor- ates over Methodist Episcopal churches in Genesee, Monroe and Niagara counties, New York. He was an earnest, faithful pastor, and a preacher of great force and power. After a life of great usefulness in the ministry he retired to his farm at Pendleton Center, where he died. He also owned a farm in Hartland, Niagara county. In politics he was a Repub- lican.
He married Electa Taylor, of Windsor, Ver- mont, born in 1810, died at Pendleton Cen- ter, New York, May 31, 1891. Their chil- dren were: I. Reuben C., born in Royalton, December 6, 1834; married Louisa Ames, March 6, 1855. 2. Oliver T., born in Royal- ton, January 28, 1836; married Amelia Whip- ple, January 6, 1861 ; died in Hartland, May IO, 1889. 3. Alvin W., of whom further. 4. Sarah, born 1841; married Charles McNall; resides in Royalton, New York. 5. Mary E., born 1843; married G. W. Bennett, who died August 27, 1905; resides in Middleford, New York. 6. Amanda E., born 1848; married Luther Davis; she died May 18, 1875; re- sided in Fairbury, Nebraska. 7. Hiram E., born May 8, 1861 ; married Hattie Dixon ; died May 8, 1890; resided in Pendleton Center, New York.
(IX) Alvin W., third son of Rev. Reuben C. and Electa (Taylor) Foote, was born August 6, 1839, in Bryon, New York. He re- ceived his education at the Howe Academy at Clarence, Erie county, New York. After he married he moved on the old homestead in Hartland, where he pursued farming for two years; he then bought a farm at Pendleton Center, which he cultivated for several years ; he then sold it and conducted a store and the post office in the town of Hartland for several
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years; then moved on the C. H. Ackley farm near West Somerset, which he still owns, be- sides a fruit farm near Lake Ontario, town of Somerset, which he owns with his son, Loren Foote. He has now retired from farming, and resides in the village of Barker, Niagara county, New York, where he has held several public offices.
He married Jane Ackley, October 6, 1864; she died March 9, 1908. Children : Loren, of Somerset, New York; Reuben C., of Wilson, New York; George W., of Somerset, New York.
WIARD The name is an infrequent one, and it may be that it is the same as Weir or Ware. In Connecti- cut records it is found as both Wiard and Wyard. The earliest mention of the name Wiard is in connection with Robert Wiard (the emigrant), of Boston, who removed to Hartford, Connecticut, in 1666, where he died September 11, 1682. His wife was named Mary. He had a son John. From a Bible in possession of the Wiard family, printed in London, dated 1707, the following record of him is taken: "John Wiard and Sarah, daugh- ter of Thomas Standish, were married April. 7, 1681." Their children: "Louis Wiard was born August 2, 1682." "John Wiard was born July 15th, 1684." "Thomas Wiard was born November 14th, 1686." "Eunice Wiard was born January 12, 1688." "Jonathan Wiard was born September 29, 1690." It is from this fam- ily that the Wiards of Connecticut and New York state descend. The records of Wethers- field, Connecticut, state that John Wiard, who married Sarah Standish, was thirty-four years old in 1688, and was constable in that year ; tythingman, 1692; drew lands in 1694, and many sundry purchases of property prior to 1713. The early records of Wolcott, Connecti- cut, where the family settled, have frequent mention of the name, and there can be little question that Thomas Wiard, born 1769, was a lineal descendant of Robert, the emigrant, through John and Sarah (Standish) Wiard, of Wethersfield, Connecticut. In an item con- cerning slavery it is stated that John Wiard sold his negro Anthony his freedom in 1711. While the records are very meagre concerning the Wiards as a family, the inference is strong that Thomas was the son of Seth, born 1748, son of John (3), born 1720, son of John (2),
born 1684, son of John (1), born 1654, son of Robert, the emigrant. Seth, John and Thomas are persistent names in the family, and Wol- cott, Connecticut, was the family seat of an important branch of the earlier Wethersfield family. Thomas married in Wolcott a daugh- ter of the Hall family, also prominent in that town.
(VI) Thomas Wiard was born in Connecti- cut in 1769. He was a finished blacksmith and an expert worker in metal. He possessed a mechanical mind and made by hand a great deal of the machinery used in his day. He be- gan the making of plow points of wrought iron, laying the cutting parts with steel for farmers who made the balance of the plow of wood at their homes. In 1801 or 1802 he removed from Connecticut to Geneseo, Living- ston county, New York, where he bought a farm and built a blacksmith shop, where he did all kinds of job work and made plow points in addition to cultivating his farm. In 1804 he removed to Avon, in the same county, where he bought a large farm, built a shop and began making the entire plow, covering the face of the mold board with thin strips of iron. As early as 1814 he bought castings of Jethro Wood, of Cayuga county, for his then famous cast iron plow, and finished them ready for use. In 1817 he built a foundry, one horse furnishing the power, and made an improved pattern for a cast-iron plow, which he contin- ued to manufacture for several years, when his buildings were destroyed by fire. They were at once rebuilt on a much larger scale, having a four horse-power engine with cast-iron boiler, both upright, and there he continued to make plows of various sizes until his death in 1837. He was the pioneer metal plowmaker and the founder of the great industry that bears his name in Batavia, New York. At the celebration in commemoration of the one hun- dredth anniversary of the manufacture of the first Wiard plow the old original Wiard plow made by Thomas Wiard in 1804 had a place of honor and was gaily bedecked with flowers. The buildings were partly destroyed by fire in 1857, but were at once rebuilt. The factory was managed at that time by Seth and Henry Wiard. In 1852 Matthew Wiard bought the interest of his brother Seth and two years later Henry retired from the business and bought the farm upon which he lived until his death. Matthew Wiard continued the plow business until 1865, when it passed into the
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hands of the third generation, Thomas Wiard, who, after coming to Livingston county, was very active in politics and public affairs. He took a very active part in the campaign that resulted in the election of John Quincy Adams to the presidency, and was much pleased with the result. He served as justice of the peace for many years and was supervisor nine terms. He was elected to the New York state assem- bly and re-elected to succeed himself.
He married (first), in Wolcott, Susan (Sukey), daughter of Curtiss Hall, and a de- scendant of John Hall, of New Haven and Wallingford, Connecticut (see Hall). Chil- dren : Matthew, Henry, George, Thomas, Wil- liam, Seth, Mary, Margaret, Rachel. All of the sons were plow makers. He married (sec- ond) Nancy Ganson. Children: Elizabeth and Nancy.
(VII) William, son of Thomas and Susan (Hall) Wiard, learned the plowmaking busi- ness for himself, making plows at East Rush, Monroe county, New York. Two years later he removed to Ancaster, Canada, where he continued in the manufacture of plows until his death in 1841. He began plowmaking in Ancaster in 1820 and was the first to make cast-iron plows in that country. He married Lucinda Mclaughlin, who died in 1864. Among their children was George, of whom further.
(VIII) George, son of William and Lu- cinda (McLaughlin) Wiard, was born in An- caster, Ontario, Canada, March 11, 1833. He was educated in the school of Ancaster, Can- ada, and at the age of thirteen years was mold- ing plow points after school hours in his father's foundry. He says of this period : "The cupalo being too small for a man to enter I, with my other brothers according to their size, took turns at cleaning it out, ready for melting the iron. At fourteen years of age I left school and worked at molding plows most of the time, and after two years of stove plate work I was considered a full-fledged molder. At the age of sixteen I went to Buffalo and entered the employ of Jewett & Root, manufacturers of stoves, and remained with them two years. When eighteen I went to Avon, New York, and made what plow castings were needed in the old Wiard Plow Works, and so continued, with brief intervals, until 1862, when I entered the army and served until after the close of the civil war." In November, 1865, George Wiard bought
one-half of the interests of his uncle, Matthew Wiard, in the Wiard Plow Works, at Avon, and became his partner under the firm name of M. & G. Wiard. In April, 1866, the entire plant was again burned, but was rebuilt larger than ever, and the same management continued until 1871, when Captain C. W. Hough, an old army comrade of George Wiard, purchased Matthew Wiard's interest, and the firm became Wiard & Hough. Mr. Wiard says:' "The firm of Wiard and Hough was formed in November, 1871, and by mutual agreement Mr. Hough was to take charge of all office matters and I was to attend to the manufacture of the goods. Mr. Hough was a man of exceptionally good business qualifications, coupled with great en- ergy and perseverance. Under our joint man- agement the trade which had been almost local was widely extended. The old system of send- ing out plows to be sold on commission was entirely replaced by that of straight out sales, and in five years our business had so increased that larger works and better shipping facili- ties became a necessity." It was then decided to locate at Batavia, New York, that village having raised funds, purchased suitable grounds and presented them to the firm of Wiard & Hough as an inducement to locate their plow works there. The work of building was begun June 1, 1876, and continued so rap- idly that iron was melted in the foundry and a heat taken off November I of the same year. Before this time, however, additional capital was needed to properly extend the business, and in September, 1876, the Wiard Plow Com- pany was incorporated under the laws of the state of New York, and succeeded the firm of Wiard & Hough. The officers of the new com- pany were: George Wiard, president and gen- eral superintendent ; C. W. Hough, secretary and treasurer. In December, 1878, J. H. Smith was made secretary, and in 1880 J. I. Washburn succeeded him. The financial and manufacturing details were in the hands of Messrs. Wiard and Hough with most satis- factory results. "This management continued for twenty years until the sudden death of Mr. Hough, May 4, 1900, left his place as director and treasurer vacant, and filled all the hearts of his associates with sorrow." He was suc- ceeded by his son, Arthur G. Hough. Mr. Washburn was made vice-president and John W. Pratt, secretary, which management still continues (1912).
Mr. Wiard has been engaged in active manu-
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1
facturing over sixty-four years, and the capa- ble head of the Wiard Plow Works at Batavia since 1876. The Wiard Plow is known and used in almost every country of the globe. He has the business foresight and financial abil- ity that makes for success, and the happy faculty of inspiring the respect and confidence of his associates and subordinates. His long and busy life has been successful from what- ever point viewed. He has not only borne the banner of commercial supremacy and won the victories of peace, but has behind him a record of valiant service in defense of the banner of his country. When Colonel Peter A. Porter was organizing the One Hundred and Twenty- ninth Regiment of New York Infantry, Mr. Wiard, on August 1, 1862, enlisted as a private and at once threw himself, with all his ardor, into the work of recruiting a company. He spent twenty-two days striving both day and night to fill the ranks. When the regiment was mustered into the United States service he was commissioned second lieutenant of Company H. With his regiment he at once proceeded to Baltimore, where for twenty-one months they were stationed at Forts Federal Hill and McHenry. There were many Confed- erate prisoners confined there, including pri- vates, officers and surgeons. On December 2, 1862, he was promoted first lieutenant of the same company. Soon after the One Hundred and Twenty-ninth was changed to the Eighth New York Heavy Artillery. For eight months Lieutenant Wiard was post-adjutant, and for three months was a member of a court-martial. His regiment joined the Army of the Potomac at the Wilderness and he was engaged in all the battles of that period, including Cold Har- bor and Petersburgh, where on June 17, 1864, he was wounded in the left thigh, the bullet striking on the outside of the leg about twelve inches above the knee, passing down and out- ward, striking the bone five inches lower, and lay near the surface just over the bone. Within an hour the bullet was extracted and he was sent to the Naval Hospital at Annapolis, where he remained until fit for light duty. He was then assigned to duty as instructor of re- cruits at Fort Meigs, defenses of Washington. After a few weeks service there he was or- dered to report to headquarters at Hardin's division, defenses of Washington, where he was appointed inspector of artillery for that division. His duties were to visit thirty-four
forts monthly and to make a report as to the ability of the men to handle the large guns in case of attack, also to report their records at target practice. "During this time I was also acting assistant inspector-general. Later the headquarters of Hardin's division was moved to Fort Alabama, and from that time until I was ordered to report to my regiment I was acting assistant adjutant-general of the division. My time not having expired, I was transferred to the Fourth Regiment New York Heavy Artillery, and with that regiment was ordered to Fort Richardson. I was there ap- pointed ordnance officer, second brigade, De- Russey's division, and officer in charge of dis- mantling the forts south of the Potomac. Later was appointed inspector of artillery, de- fenses of Washington, Brigadier-General Has- kin commanding." About this time he was promoted and commissioned captain of Com- pany K, Fourth Regiment Heavy Artillery. He was honorably discharged, October 20, 1865, and returned to his business in Avon, New York.
Besides his duties as president and head of a great thriving corporation, Mr. Wiard has been interested in other enterprises and has aided in the development of the village with which the name of Wiard has been so long connected. He has served as a member of the board of education and was president of the board four terms. He was one of the organ- izers and for thirty-one years has been presi- dent of the Genesee County Permanent Loan and Building Association, again elected 1912, an institution that has been of untold benefit to the home-builders of that community. He was water commissioner to build the Batavia Water Works, and in his benefactions to churches and benevolences has been most gen- erous. He is a member of the Baptist church, and politically a Republican.
He married (first), November 20, 1856, Em- meline Warren, of East Avon, New York, who died August 7, 1870, daughter of David Warren. He married (second), January 9, 1872, Isabelle Warren, of East Avon, daugh- ter of Peter Warren. She was born in War- saw, Wyoming county, New York, December 18, 1846. Children : May, born November 17, 1872; Louis, October 20, 1877, now (1912) general superintendent of the Wiard Plow Company ; Ernest E., July 11, 1882; Henry L. and Harry G., February 10, 1887.
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(The Hall Line).
John Hall, of England, came to America and settled in Boston, later in New Haven, subsequently in Wallingford, Connecticut. He was freed from training in 1665, being then in his sixtieth year, which would place his birth in 1605. He was most certainly in New Haven as early as 1639, and at Wallingford about 1670. He died early in the year 1676. He married Jane Woolen. Children : John, Sarah, Richard, Samuel, Thomas, Jonathan, David.
(II) John (2), son of John (1) and Jane ( Woolen) Hall, was baptized August 9, 1646, as was his sister Sarah. He settled in Wal- lingford, Connecticut, with the first planters in 1670. He died September 2, 1721. He mar- med, at New Haven, December 6, 1666, Mary. daughter of Edward Parker. She died Sep- tember 22, 1725. Children: Elizabeth, born August 11, 1670; Daniel, Mary, Nathaniel, John, Lydia, Samuel, Esther, Caleb.
(III) Nathaniel, son of John (2) and Mary ( Parker) Hall, was born February 8, 1677, died August 16, 1757. He was a resident of Wallingford, Connecticut. He married (first), May, 1699, Elizabeth Curtiss, died September 30, 1735; married (second), Sep- tember 15, 1736, Lydia Johnson. Children : Amos, born January 24, 1700; Margaretta, Caleb, Moses, Mary, Nathaniel, James, Eliza- beth, Desire, Heman.
(IV) Lieutenant Heman Hall, youngest child of Nathaniel and Elizabeth (Curtiss) Hall, was born in Wallingford, Connecticut, October 17, 1720. He was the first of the Halls to settle in Wolcott, Connecticut, where he died in 1769. The date on his gravestone is the earliest in the Centre graveyard at Wol- cott. He married Elizabeth -, who died in 1804. Children: Curtiss, Heman, Phebe, Elizabeth.
(V) Curtiss, eldest son of Lieutenant He- man and Elizabeth Hall, was born in 1746, and was killed "by falling from a tree that was al- ready down." He married Rachel Beecher, said to have been first cousin to Rev. Lyman Beecher. She survived him and married (second) John Bronson. Children: Moses, baptized November 2, 1788; Richmond, born March 23, 1773; Mary, baptized November 2, 1788, married Reuben Lewis; Anne, bap- tized November 2, 1788, married Luther Hotchkiss ; Leva, baptized November 2, 1788, . & Johnson. He then took a position as travel- married David Frisbee; Amos, baptized No-
vember 2, 1788; Sukey (Susan), baptized No- vember 2, 1788, married Thomas Wiard (see Wiard VI); Rachel, baptized November 2, 1788, died the next day; three next children died in infancy; Sylvia, baptized May 1, 1789; three next died in infancy.
The Jamestown representa- JOHNSON tive of this family, Oscar C. Johnson, is of the second gen- eration in the United States. He is a grand- son of John Christian Waigaard, born in Hjorring, Denmark, a farmer and a member of the Lutheran church. He married, in his native town, Marah Larson. Children: Kris- tiane, Else Johane, Petrine, Jeppe (John W.), Kirsten Marie, Laura Kristine, Else Marie, Hane Marie, Dusine, Lette Martina, Tomerea and Karl (Charles).
(II) Charles Johnson (American name), son of John Christian Waigaard, was born in Hjorring, Denmark, December 2, 1851. . In 1873 he came to the United States, arriving April 15. He settled in Jamestown, New York, where for seventeen years he was a partner in the Johnson Ice Company, from 1876. He then purchased a farm near James- town, on which he resided fourteen years. In 1907 he moved to 823 Washington street, Jamestown, where he has since led a retired life. He is a member of the Lutheran church, and a Republican. He married, February 19, 1879, Mary A. Peterson, born February 13, 1855, in Sweden, came to the United States in August, 1874, daughter of Peter and Jo- hanna Maria (Danielson) Carlson. The name Peterson was taken by children when in America. Children, born in Jamestown : Florence Josephine, January 13, 1880; Cora Martina, July 22, 1882; Oscar Christian, of whom further.
(III) Oscar Christian, only son of Charles Johnson, was born at Clifton, a suburb of Jamestown, New York, September 22, 1884. He was educated in the public schools of Jamestown, and at the age of fourteen years began working in a clothing store in James- town, continuing five years. He then went to Niagara Falls, New York, where for three years he was connected with the clothing firm of Max Amberg Company. He then returned to Jamestown, where for several years he was employed as clothing salesman with Ohlquist
ing salesman with the Clere Clothing Com-
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pany, of Syracuse, New York. In March, 1910, he was appointed manager of the branch store maintained by the Reliance Clothing Syn- dicate, of Buffalo, New York, at 312 Main street, Jamestown, a position he has filled with great acceptability. Mr. Johnson is one of Jamestown's younger business men, but his years of practical experience, coupled with energy and keen business acumen, makes him a most capable manager. He is a Republican in politics and attends the Methodist Episcopal church. His club is the Elks, of Jamestown, and he is interested in other lines of social activity.
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