USA > New York > Genealogical and family history of northern New York : a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation, Volume II > Part 19
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(V) Robert Fulton, believed to be son of Robert Fulton, of Boston, and brother of John and Samuel, was born about 1715-20. probably in the north of Ireland. He prob- ably came from the north of Ireland with his father and brothers about 1735 and landed in Boston. He came to the Scotch- Irish settlement of Colerain about 1742. Col- erain was a Boston grant bought by Josephi Heath, of Roxbury. Joshua Winslow, of Boston, and Hezekiah Ward, of Southbor- ough and Grafton, Massachusetts. and known first as Boston, No. 2. The name Colerain was used in the town records as early as 1744. The town was organized in 1738 in a way, elected regular officers and kept records after January, 1741-42, but was not incorporated by the general court until 1761. The first record of Fulton at Colerain was the birth of hisdaughter Sarah, September 21. 1,43. He was elected a hay- ward or howard, February II. 1746-47 : hog constable or reeve. February 25. 1749; sur- veyor February 16. 1753: fenceviewer February 14. 1755, and March 1. 1756. He was on a committee to andit the accounts of the town : collector in 1757 and other years : 13. 1808, leaving no sons: married ( first). was highway surveyor 1759 and fenceview-
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er, 1760; surveyor 1763; constable 1765; surveyor 1767; fenceviewer 1768: selectman 1766-69: constable 1770-72-73. His first land was bought September 22, 1748. of the proprietors. Joseph Heath, Joshua Winslow and Hezekiah Ward. lot 54 in the first division, one hundred acres, one- sixtieth part of six thousand acres set off to settlers in the north part of the town- ship. The conditions of the sale were that a settlement should be made on it before September 23 next -- a year-and a dwell- ing house built, eighteen feet square and seven feet stud at least, and five acres fenced in and broken up for ploughing. or cleared and stocked with English grass. He bought also November 21. 1748, another lot in the first division, second range, lot 36, for five pounds of Joseph Heath, Wins- low and Ward. He bought a third lot of the proprietors, November 2, 1748, nity acres, on the North river. adjoining his other land, including a four-rod way on the west side and a three-red way on the west side measured by Gershom Keyes to Han- nah Ketley, May 4. 1,41 : also the right cf one hundred acres of the second division in six thousand acres to sixty settlers. He sold lot 54 in the third range, fifty acres, August 27, 1750, to John Katley or Ketley, of Bus- ton. for twenty pounds: also one hundred acres in common, one-sixtieth. part of the six thousand acres. Robert signed this and other deeds with his mark. bat he signed other deeds without mark and served in town office- that prove he was a man ni some education. Kitles dealed one hun- dred acres of the seen I division to Ful ni. lot 50. November 27. 1751. Fulton height ten acres of lot 35. second range, adjoining his land, of Mary Herry and others. May 8. 1751. Ile also bought le 4. second! range, fifty acres, of Film Powell, of Cile- rain. He bought fifty peres of first division land of John Mills, January 5. 101. sold fifty acres of lot 48, second division ... to John Wallace. March 16, 1771. This deel was witnessed by Theuns Bell. S ... and .. Adondery, New Hampshire, were
Thomas Bell, Jr., but not acknowledge i. In the inferior court of common pleas, Sop .- tember 1, 1793. Thomas Bell. Jr., testify : to the signing. sealing and delivery of t .... deed. Robert Fulton deeded a hundre . acres of second division land to his a . James, adjoining land of John Fulton at. . others, June 4. 1772. Robert bought i. Oakes Angier, of Newton, Massachusetts. all his estate in Bernardston Gore ( north ; Colerain ) two lots and a whole right. In this deed he was called of Bernardston. IIc lived at the extreme north of Colerain and! was claimed by both towns. Robert deedel lot 16, second division, to his son William. and this deed also lacked acknowledgment and was proved like the other deed in court. November, 1780. Robert also deeded fifty acres of lot 36. second division of Colerain. March 29. 1776, to his son. William Fulto: On the same day he deeded five acres of i : 39 to his son Moses and fifty acres of ! : 36, second range, and ten acres of lot 35 t his son William. He died before June 1.4. 1780, leaving a will. but the document is ; : on record at Northampton, where it shout: have been proved. nor anywhere else, so far as can be learned. John, Robert ar ! James were his executors. and they con- veyed by deed as executors to John Mer- ison, of Colerain. the west side of lot 44. second division. June 14. 1780. The deal. proved in court in November, 1780, al- state that Robert was then deceased. C! :- Gren of Robert and Hannah Fulton: William, born about 1740. 2. Sarah, Ser- tember 21. 1743. 3. John. August
1740. 4. James, May 24. 1749. menti below. 5 Robert, as early as 1750. Moses Probably other daughters.
(VI) James, son of Robert Fulton. v. horn May 24. 1740. in Colerain, and d'. there March 20. 183.1. He married II nah, daughter of Richard Ellis. the first ‹ ; tler of Ashfield. Massachu-ett -. Scotch of Worcester, Pelham. Achti. Palmer. Blandford. Massachusetts.
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related and there were many intermar- riages. James was the only son not known to have fought in the war. He bought land of Joseph Stebbins, of Deerfield, fifty acres of lot 47. second division. Colerain. March 9. 1779. He was highway surveyor of Colerain in 1773. He inherited land from his father and sold lot 5. second divi- sion, one hundred acres, March 6, 1792, to James White: and fifty acres of the north end of lot 48, second division, to his son James, Jr., April 28, 1798. James died at Colerain, March 20, 1834 ( private record ). His widow Hannah went to live with her eldest son Robert at Thetford, Vermont. Robert, as administrator, sold the farm of his father at Colerain to Aaron Franklin, Jr., July 8, 1835. ninety-seven acres. Chil- dren: 1. Robert, born May 23. 1773: chil- dren: i. Henry, of Thetford; ii. Stephen, of Thetford; iii. Jesse, of Boston; iv. Eli- jah, of Portland, Maine. 2. James, Jr., of Champion, May 7, 1775: soldier in war of 1812: married Sally Choat: children: i. Samuel. 1801, died 1881 : ii. George. 1803. died 1879: iii. Richard, 1807, died 1871 ; iv. Jesse. of Watertown, New York, 1812. 3. Caleb, May 11. 1777, mentioned below. David, of Jefferson county, New York, De- cember 25. 1779: married Jennie Taggart : children: i. John: ii. David, Jr., of Belle- ville, New York, 1817. died October 9. 1886: married Sarah Ellis: iii. Luke. 5. Daniel. March 21. 1784: settled in Jeffer- son county. New York: died in 1875 in Ohio, wood earder by trade : married Polly Wood: children: i. Hiram, of Champion, New York: died 1876; married Polly Jones : ii. Elijah, of Antwerp, New York. ISTI, clothier : married Betsey Heald: iii. Robert, of Pittsfield. Ohio. married Lois Vaughan: iv. Ruel, soldier in civil war: married Mary Humphrey: v. Gaylord. of Ohio, died about 1885. 6. Elijah, of Jet- fer-on county. New York. February 2. 1788, died about 1820: woolen manufac- turer: married Phebe Bennett : Horatio G. Newcomb was appointed guardian of his
children when his father's estate was set- tled : children : i. Sylvia; ii. Bennett, de- ceased : iii. Harriet, deceased ; iv. John. 7. Nathan. of Iowa, April 25. 1790. died about 1844: woolen manufacturer; married Phi- lena Hastings; son Harry, of Keokuk. Iowa. 8. Jesse, of Colerain, July 25, 1792, died March 12, 1834: farmer : married So phronia Franklin: children (guardian ap pointed for five youngest March 18, 1835) ; Aaron, Jr .. Robert, Eunice, Sophronia, Jesse Leroy.
(VII) Caleb, son of James Fulton, was born May 11. 1777. He went from Coler- ain to Wilna, Jefferson county, New York, in 1810. There he took up fifty acres of land and built a log house on road 62. He was a soldier in the war of 1812. He mar- ried Polly Barnes. Children : Simeon. James, mentioned below: Elisha, Fanny. Mary. Sally, Lydia, Philura, William.
(VIII ) James (2), son of Caleb Fulton. was born April 17. 1816, died June 21. 1868. He married Caroline Nichols in November. 1843. and lived at Wilna, New York. Children: 1. John C., mentioned below. 2. Francis, born February 1, 1846, died December 13. 1886: married and had one child. Lucy. 3. Simeon, June 6, 1848. died September 23. 1864. unmarried. 4 .
Mary, March 8, 1851 ; married a Mr. Wil- kinson: children : Clando, Frank. Larissa and Eva Wilkinson. 5. Larissa, February 15. 1853. died June 9, 1871. unmarried.
(IN) John C., son of James (2) Fulton. was born at Wilna, New York. August 14. 1844. At an early age he evinced a deter- mination to secure an education and become a lawyer. He began to teach school when only sixteen years of age. He attended Lowville Academy and began to study law in the office of Starbuck & Sawyer of Wa- tertown. He was admitted to the bar and began to practice law in Philadelphia, New York, where he met with signal success He married. at Philadelphia. New York Mary Louise Woodward. About a verr after his marriage he removed with his fam-
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ily to Carthage, New York, where he re- sumed the practice of his profession. For a time he was in partnership with Alien E. Kilby, under the firm name of Fulton & Kilby, and the firm took a leading place in the bar of the county. Mr. Fulton became one of the most prominent and successful lawyers of northern New York. He died at Carthage, September 8, 1889. Children : Carrie E., born December 2, 1870; Edwin WV., October 20, 1872; Mabel A., September 29, 1874; Beth W .. October 23, 1880, died August 14. 1889; Herbert F., December 6, 1883, died August 12, 1889.
(X) Edwin W., son of John C. Fulton, was born October 20. 1872, at Carthage, Jefferson county, New York. He attended the public schools and the Carthage high school. At the age of sixteen he was obliged to cut short his schooling on ac- count of the death of his father. He en- tered the employ of Ryther & Pringle, ma- chinists and iron founders, and served an apprenticeship of three years. He remained with the company as a journeyman for four ycars. In 1896 he entered the employ of Bagley & Sewall, manufacturers of paper machines and vises at Watertown, New York, continuing most of the time there until the summer of 1905. when he came to Lowville, New York. and organized the Fulton Machine & Vise Company, buying the machine and foundry business from the late Lafayette Wetmore. The company was organized for the purpose of manufac- turing swivel vises of Mr. Fulton's inven- tion. The entire plant was destroyed by fire. May 19. 1907. causing a loss of $22,000, of which Sio.ooo was not covered by insurance. Arrangements were imme- diately made to rebuild. . \ new two-story modern concrete factory was erected and equipped with the latest machinery and tools, and business resumed in the new plant. October 1. 1907. In June the capi- tal stock of the corporation was increased from $30,000 to $50.000 in order to provide for the new plant and increased volume of
business. The company is now making a large assortment of high-grade vises all pumps, and find a market for the produc. in all parts of the world. To the abili ... energy and enterprise of Mr. Fulton the. success of the concern is due. In politie- Mr. Fulton is a Republican. He is an ac- tive member of the Baptist church, a :: ! takes a keen interest in the work of the so- ciety. He married, at Philadelphia, Jeffer son county, June 30, 1896, Myrtle L., born June 24. 1877, at Philadelphia. Jeffery : county. New York, daughter of George and! Ada ( Massey) Strickland. Her father was a farmer.
Ira Sharp is a descendant any SHARP prominent contemporary rep- presentative of a family. or. rather, coalition of two families. both con- spicuous in the annals of Lewis county since the earliest days of its formation and settlement.
(I) William Sharp, his paternal grand !- father, and the founder of the Sharp fan- ily in Lewis county, was of that sturdy English rural stock, bred close to the sol from which it takes its sustenance, that has ever been the backbone and sinew of the British Empire. He was born in the his- torie little hamlet of Worcester in Worce- tershire. England. in 1790, the beginning of the closing decade of the eighteenth ce". tutry. As required at the time of the a .! !.. sons of the stalwart English yeomanr: young William at the age of eighteen e - tered the British army in which he honor. ably and loyally served out his prescrile 1 time. Soon after the expiration of his teri of service and discharge, and at the out- break of hostilities between England an: the United States in what is known t American history as the war of 1812. he re joined the army as a substitute, and with les regiment crossed the Atlantic to the then New World of the Western hemisphere The contingent of troops of which he was a member was disembarked at Quebec :
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the Province of Canada and there went into garrison. Here, becoming discontented and dissatisfied with the nature of the service exacted of him, young William determined to strike out for himself in this vast, un- charted world. where other enterprising youths like himself had found that pluck and self reliance backed by the grim deter- mination to win were the almost certain foundations of success and plenty.
Arrived at this decision, and incited by his newly acquired and kindred admiration for the struggling but independent nation to the south of the St. Lawrence, that. driven to the last resort, had not only dared to defy, but had proved its ability to success- fully cope with the arrogant might of the most feared and far-reaching empire of the old world, he resolved to cast in his fortunes with the newly fledged United States. Fired with the zeal of his project. he secured a small boat or skiff. and by arduous effort and in constant peril of being discovered or capsized, finally succeeded in effecting a crossing of the St. Lawrence river, a feat requiring no small amount of courage and resource for one man in a light rowboat. further handicapped by the ever present danger of pursuit and recapture, and a safe landing upon the soil of the chosen country of his adoption. Hastening on, he made his way southward through the then scarcely explored and sparsely settled north- ern borderland of New York as far as the town of Denmark, where he arrived after four days of hardship and privation.
In this abundant agricultural region of almost virgin soil he found little difficulty or delay in obtaining work as a farm la- borer, and, being near the end of his re- sources and finding the environment to his liking. he gladly availed himself of the first acceptable berth, and with his inbred and intimate knowledge of agricultural sub- jects and his native acumen. he was not leng in proving himself a valuable hand. Bat though it was mainly by the accident of circumstances that he found himself in this
new country of apparently all but illimit- able opportunity. this recently self-expatri- ated and energetic young Englishman was far from being the man to remain an ob- seure farin laborer in the employment of others when enterprise and well-directe effort were the only essential qualifications to advancement. Impressed with the re- markable natural fertility of the country round about, and its many obvious advan- tages for successful exploitation and culti- vation, it was not a far cry to the resolve to make permanent his sojourn in this locality and settle here in earnest to wrest from its prolific soil the modest fortune he had ad- ventured so perilously to seek.
By industry and prudence he soon got a little money ahead and incidentally gained the respect and confidence of his newly made acquaintances and neighbors. With this modest capital, reinforced by an in- domitable spirit and purpose. he married in 1814, when but twenty-four years of age. Betsey, daughter of John Kitts, one of the pioneers of Lewis county. The ambitious young couple at once began farming on their own account. The husband was ca- pable, thrifty and industrious, while the wife proved a true and willing helpmate. With such qualifications and a goodly por- tion of fat acres upon which to exercise their youthful but prudently directed ener- gies the success of their venture was well assured from the outset and gratifying re- sults almost immediate. In a rich agricul- tural region where farming was as yet the chief industry, and where forehanded and substantial farmers were the rule, William Sharp soon became known as one of the most successful and prosperous of them all.
Nor was he held in less esteem as a man and neighbor than as one markedly success .. ful in his chosen avocation. His clear- headedness. foresight and absolute integrity won him the entire confidence and respect of all who knew him, and at his death. which occurred September 18, 1862. after having passed by a safe margin the biblical
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limit of three score years and ten and well earned his right to that serene, interminable rest, the tranquillity of which is never broken, he occupied a position of much honor and prestige in the adopted country where he had spent the greater part of a useful life, and his loss was keenly felt by the entire community. He was survived for sixteen years by her who had been a loved and loving helpmate and wife during nearly half a century of congenial wedded life, and then, loyal to the end, she em- barked cheerfully and hopefully on that last dark voyage on which he preceded her. trusting to find him awaiting her upon the hither shore.
Of their six children it is the eldest born. James Chauncey Sharp. that is of most in- terest to this narrative. The others were Mary, who married ( first ) Albert Barnum, and (second ) David Gleason, of Denmark ; Aaron: Electa, who died in January. 1863. the wife of George Rogers, of Lowville: Charles, whose death occurred in Novem- ber. 1862, and Maria, who became the wife of Henry Runion, of Lowville.
(II ) James Chauncey Sharp was born in the town of Denmark, July 10, 1815. As the eldest son he quite naturally continued in the avocation in which his father had met with such signal success, and with which he was familiar from his earliest boyhood. When twenty-four years of age he married Nancy Kitts. February 19. 1839. In this important event the young man likewise followed the example of his father. marrying at a cor- responding age, and also choosing his wife from the same family. she being a grand- daughter of that same John Kitts, whose daughter his father married. Nor did pa- ternal emulation cease here. Like his father. he evinced marked aptitude and en- terprise in agricultural affairs and attained early and signal success in his chosen occu- pation. Occupying the broad acres still generally known as the old Sharp place. and which comprises some of the best farm-
ing land along the course of the Black. river, and personally directing its operation .. he lost no opportunity to improve up contemporary methods of farming and in- crease the resources and material produc- tivity of his property. He was widel; known as one of the best, practical and most substantial farmers in Lewis county and as a man of large affairs, clarity and soundness of judgment and unfailing integrity. In his later life, when he had amassed a com- fortable competence and his sons and daughters had grown to manhood and wom- anhood, he retired from active participation in business and removed with his wife and unmarried daughter to the village of Low- ville, his son Ira succeeding him in the per- sonal management and ownership of the farm. He died at his home on the cor- ner of Shady avenue and Sharp street-the latter of which was named for him -- in 1884, at the age of sixty-nine years. Hi- name is still a familiar one in and about his native county, where his life was passed. and is a synonym for those virile virtue. that go to make the forehanded. level- headed. God-fearing. stable agricultura. population of this country the very pillar and support of the whole civic structure, po- litical, social and moral. Though never as- suming an active part in politics, Mr. Sharp was by conviction an uncompromising bu: open-minded and unprejudiced Republican. Both himself and wife were earnest men :- bers of the Baptist church, in which organ- ization be served faithfully for many year- as a deacon. His wife and daughter of tinued to occupy the village home until t's death of the former in 1904. ten years after the decease of her husband whom she never ceased to profoundly regret. Their chit- dren were: Ursula C., William H., Ir. Victoria, William J. and Albert. Of the -? only Albert and Ira are now living. Ur- sula C., born June 20, 1840, married George Merriman, of Lowville, and died June -5. 1860. William H., born May 4, 1842, die : November 9. 1862. Victoria, never miss-
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ried, and whose death occurred a year pre- vious to that of her mother, was born Sep- tember 24, 1853. William J., whose de- cease, like that of his older brother, William H., occurred in early manhood, was born November 26, 1855, died October 28, 1877. The youngest of the family, Albert, was born May 19, 1860.
To his mother's family Ira Sharp is dou- bly akin, his paternal grandmother being of the same house and preceding generation. This family's history in Lewis county has been coincident with that of the county it- self, and its name hardly less well known in the latter's environs. Indeed, by right of priority the honors are with the family. Jolin Kitts, its founder locally, was born December 3. 1758. He migrated to these parts with his family from the Mohawk Valley and vicinity of Schenectady in 1802. three years prior to the act of legislature erecting Lewis and Jefferson counties from Oneida. With such few possessions as he was able to bring with him on the long. arduous overland journey, and with the in- adequate means of transportation then in use. he located upon the site that now com- prises what is known as the Levi Bowen farm in the northwestern portion of the present town of Lowville. This now highly cultivated and productive farming country was then a virtual wilderness, but a com- paratively short time before the hunting ground of painted aboriginal tribesman. and the task of reclaiming any considerable part of it was a stupendous one well calcu- lated to have dismayed a less resolute man at the outset, but this dauntless pioneer was scarcely of the sort t falter at the mere prospect of toil and hardship. He applied himself to the undertaking with the invinc- ible purpose and unwavering perseverance characteristic of the fearless men who laid the firm foundations of this country's great- ness, and rapidly cleared up and made cul- tivatable some six hundred acres of this wild forest land.
.A start once made. he engaged exten-
sively in the business of stock raising in conjunction with that of general farming. and so successfully did he conduct his af- fairs and with such profit that in his later life he was widely known as one of the largest land owners and stock raisers in the county, enjoying a position of distinction and comparative opulence. His family con- sisted, besides his wife, of six children; two sons and four daughters. Of the latter, Eva C., married Ira Bailey ; Betsey, as al- ready noted. became the wife of William Sharp; while Katy married ( first ) Nathan- iel Thompson, and after his death Dennison Vinson; and Cornelia, who likewise sur- vived her first husband, Timothy Thomp- son. later married Joseph Thompson.
Birth, training, predilection and environ- ment all combined to make of Jacob Kitts a signally successful farmer. Born June II, 1784, on one of the largest and most ably conducted agricultural establishments in the country, he early acquired a wide and intimate knowledge of all that appertained to the business. This, together with his keen interest and quick comprehension of details and essentials. soon made him an invaluable assistant to his father, and while yet a young man, he assumed an active and responsible part in their large and growing concerns. He married, in 1812. Ursula Everett. born November 21. 1795. Soon after this event, in response to his country's call of distress, he reluctantly took leave of his seventeen-year-old bride. and, with legions of other patriotic and self-sacrificing men of the soil. he bravely set aside hi's per- sonal concerns and served loyally and faith- fully as a volunteer in the war of 1812. . At the conclusion of this fierce struggle, he im- mediately resumed his chosen business in life, and henceforward devoted himself ex- clusively to agriculture and kindred pur- suits. Of unusual parts and an enterprising and progre -- ive disposition, and recognizing the peculiar advantages of the country for the purpose, he conceived the idea of com- bining dairying on a large scale with his
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