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 6
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"Records of the Settlement of Newark, New Jersey".
The surname Crane has an CRANE ancient English history dat- ing back to the hundreds rolls of the thirteenth century, and was probably a Norman local name earlier. Its similarity to the name of a bird has caused some of the families to adopt the Crane as a symbol on their coat-of-arms, and indeed some branches of the family may have adopted the emblem before taking the surname. The coat-of-arms of the Crane family of Sui- folk. England, to which some, if not all the American families belong, is: Argent, a fesse between three crosses crosslet fitchee gules. Crest : A crane proper. There have been many distinguished Englishmen of this name from the earliest use of the surname. There were a number of pioneers of this family in Massachusetts before 1650.
(I) Henry Crane, immigrant ancestor. was born about 1635, in England, and came to Massachusetts as early as 1655. Here he was associated with his brother Benja- min as a farmer, a tanner and currier of leather. Soon after 1658 he removed to Guilford, Connecticut, and in 1663 was one of twelve planters to locate at Hammon- nassett, later known as Killingworth, be- tween Guilford and Saybrook. Up to the time of his death, his name appears often in the records of the town, in connection with various public trusts, civil, military. and re- ligious. He was made a freeman, Septem- her 24. 100g: representative to the general court. May. 1675; chosen lieutenant of the Killingworth train band in 1676: was also justice of the peace for the county of New London. 1698-1701-02-03. He was one of the assistants in the upper house of the gen- eral court. October 12, 1665. also in May, 1666. For twenty-seven years he was rep- resentative to the general court of Connecti- cut. As a first settler of Killingworth, he was granted by the town committee sixteen acres of land. He became captain of militia
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and was frequently called to serve on com- mittees and arbitrations involving varied and important questions relating to public and private affairs. He married ( first ) Con- currence, daughter of John Meigs, of Guil- ford, about 1663. She died in Killingworth. October 9, 1708. He married ( second ) De- cember 26, 1709, Deborahı Champion. widow of Henry Champion, of Lyme, Connecticut. He died April 22, 1711. Children, record- ed in Guilford: 1. John, born about 1664. Recorded in Killingworth : 2. Mary, August 22, 1670. 5. Phebe, December 24. 1672. 6. Theophilus, January 5. 1674. 7. Abigail. April 3. 1676. 8. Henry, October 25. 1677. mentioned below. 9. Mercy, June 21. 1680. 10. Nathaniel. August 7. 1682.
(II) Henry (2). son of Henry (I ) Crane, was born October 25, 1677. in Kil- lingworth, Connecticut. He married .\bi- gail, daughter of Robert Flood, of Wethers- field, Connecticut, January 27. 1703. He settled in that part of Killingworth after- wards set off to Durham, of which he was one of the thirty-four original proprietors. From 1718 to 1740 he represented the town in the state legislature, and was justice of the peace for the county of New Haven from 1728 to the time of his death. He died April 11. 1741, leaving a large estate for that time. His widow died .August 31. 1754, aged seventy-eight. Children: 1. Si- las, January 25. 1705. mentioned below. 2. Concurrence, March 25. 1708. 3. Henry. March 20, 1710. 4. Abigail, June 6. 1712.
(III) Silas, son of Henry (2) Crane. was born January 25. 1705. and settled in Durham. Connecticut. He received the military title of sergeant and rendered sery- ice during the French and Indians wars, and was quite prominent in all matters relating to the welfare of the town. serving on the committee to settle the pastor of the church and many other important comnuttees. He resided on a portion of the seven hundred and fifty-acre farm belonging to his father. He died January 15. 1;63. His wife was Mercy Griswold. daughter of Samuel Gris-
wold, whom he married November 27, 1729. She died August 29, 1782. Children: 1. Abigail, born September 10, 1730. 2. Jesse. June 5. 1732. 3. Flood. February 12, 1735. 4. Silas. November 9. 1737. 5. Robert Gris- wold. February 18, 1739. 6. Eli, November 27. 1742. 7. Flood, February 27. 1744. 8. Huldah. April 30, 1747. 9. Ruth, Decem- ber 12, 1749. 10. Frederick, February 24. 1751. mentioned below. 11. Nathan. Sep- tember 18, 1754.
( IV ) Frederick, son of Silas Crane. was born February 24. 1751. He settled in Durham, Connecticut, and there took the oath to the state, December 8. 1778. and the freeman's oath. April 10. 1780. About 1702 he removed with his family to Marcy. Oneida county. New York, where he died. He married. January 1, 1778. Anne Bab- cock. Children: 1. Rebecca, born August 25, 1778. 2. Asa, March 12, 1780 3. Charles, February 1, 1782. 4. Eunice, January 13. 1784. 5. Zina. 6. Emma. 7. Betsy. 8. Sophronia.
(\') Asa, son of Frederick Crane, was born March 12, 1780. He married Polly Horten Carpenter. widow of Car- penter. By her first husband she had three children : Lora Ann. Albert and Rufus. Aft- er his marriage. Asa Crane removed from Cheshire, Massachusetts, to Marcy, Oneida county, New York, and settled on an un- improved tract of land. This he improved and lived upon until his death. In politics he was first a Whig, then a Republican; in religion. a Baptist. He died at the age of nik ty-six years, his wife at the age of nine- ty-two. Children: 1. George C., mentioned below. 2. Isaac. 3. Deloss.
(VI) George C., son of Asa Crane. re- ceived a common school education. He he- came a successful farmer in his native coun- ty and continued to follow farming during his active life. He was a Republican in poli- ttes, and m religion a Baptist. He married Emeline, daughter of William Hill. She was born in 1812, died in 1884. He died in ISSI. Children: 1. Hetta E., married
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Solon Gordon. 2. George Webster, mar- ried Martha Caldwell, and resides in Albion, New York. 3. Frederick A., mentioned be- low. 4. Mary L., married Eldridge Crane, of Whitesboro, New York, and has three sons-Allen, Frederick and Charles. The two eldest reside in Whitesboro. and Charles in Wyoming.
(VII) Dr. Frederick .1. Crane, third child and second son of George C. Crane, was born November 22, 1840. He was edu- cated in the common schools and Whites- boro Seminary. He studied his profession under the preceptorship of his uncle. Dr. Deloss Crane, who practiced medicine at Holland Patent for more than half a cen- tury. Dr. Frederick A. Crane also attended lectures at Bellevue Hospital College. New York City. In 1866 he located in Lowville. where he built up a large practice. and has for many years ranked as one of the lead- ing physicians of northern New York, still enjoying a lucrative practice, and maintain- ing the highest standing as a physician and surgeon. He is house physician at the County Hospital, a position he has held for upwards of thirty years. Though a prac- titioner for more than forty years, he still strives for deeper knowledge and greater achievements in his profession. He is a kind-hearted. sympathetic. liberal gentle- inan, and enjoys the confidence and esteem of his many patients. In politics he is a Re- publican, and has been elected president of the village of Lowville, serving two years. fle is a member of the Lewis County Medi- cal Society and the New York State Medical Society. He is affiliated with Lowville Lodge. No. 134. Free and Accepted Ma- sons; Lowville Chapter. No. 223. Royal Arch Masons: Watertown Commandery. No. II, Knights Templar ; and holds mem- bership in Media Temple, Mystic Shrine, ind Lowville Lodge. No. 59. Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Dr. Crane married. November 18. 1868. Eliza B., born April 27. 1846. daughter of William N. and Huldah Burton Tanner.
Her father was born October 5, 1801, in Newport, Herkimer county, New York, and died August 1, 1872. Her mother was born November 12. 1813. and died March 16, 1893: she was married to Mr. Tanner on January 11, 1837, and their children were: Josephine, born July 27, 1838, married John Hinman, died October 29. 1903; Theodore B., born May 7. 1840, married, November 18, 1868, Clara Burlingame : John R .. born August 2. 1842, married Frances Evans, died October 17, 1881: Nathan B., born May 21, 1844. died September 17, 1847; Eliza B., wife of Dr. Frederick A. Crane. Children of Dr. Frederick A. and Eliza B. (Tanner) Crane: May, died aged nineteen years six months; William G., born March 24. 1879, married Grace, born February 4. 1886. daughter of John L. and Emogene ( Flint) Beach; child, Frederick Beach.
The surname McKee is of
MCKEE Scotch origin and various branches spell the name Mc- Kie and Mackay. The MacKay family was in Scotland before A. D. 1300 and possesses the Lordship of Reay. Among the pre- cincts or baronies set apart for the Scottish undertakers (settlers), for nearly all of which grants were issued in 1610 when King James was encouraging Scotch and English to take possession of the confisca- ted lands in Ulster, north of Ireland, we find Sir Patrick Mackee with a thousand acres in county of Donegal, precinct of Boy- lagh. He lived at Laerg. Minnigaff. Wig- tonshire. Scotland, and was a knight. In 1619 the British commissioners reported that nothing had been done on this grant. and later the grant was held by John Mur- ray. In 1619 we find but one settler of this name in the north of Ireland. John MacKay had a share of one thousand acres granted to William Stewart, Laird of Dun- duff. and was living on it, precinct of Port- lough. county Donegal, Ulster. Whether he was the progenitor of all of the family in the north of Ireland we cannot know.
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Tradition tells us that the progenitor of the family of which we write came among the early Scotch-Presbyterian pioneers, how- ever. The MeKays of Ireland at the pres- ent time are almost all in county Antrim. Of sixty-four births in this family in Ire- land in 1890, fifty-six were in that county. The Mckees are found in Antrim, Down and Armagh. The spelling MeKie is un- common or unknown in Ireland. Tradition among the descendants of this branch of the family tells us that after a short residence at Derry or Antrim they came to the west- ern part of county Down to a place called Tullyguilly, about a mile and a half west of the village of Rothfriland. Subsequently they deemed the location too low and too marshy, and removed about a mile to the westward "up into Granshaw" where they remained for many generations. This loca- tion is about eight miles south of Lough- brickland, where King William assembled his army, previous to the battle of the Boyne, July 12, 1690. They were offered the townland at five shillings per acre, but took, instead, a lease of the half at two shill- ings, sixpence per acre. for three lives or forty years. About that time the Ellison family, mentioned below, took thit other half. The branch of the MeKees with which we are dealing resided on the north side of Knock Hill, while other branches of the family lived on leased lands on the south side, where about 1775 a family of four daugliters married husbands named Nichol. Black. Halliday and Jennings, the latter be- ing parents of Jane Jenings wife of Sam- uel MeKee, mentioned below. Their father gave each daughter twenty-one acres of land. All these families have removed or become extinct. Among the last was Hugh McKee, of Crow Lodge, who died in 1875. leaving no issue, and Robert MeKce, who removed about 1878-79. The MeKce fam- ily is said to have held a very respectable place in society. "Being a tall, athletic race of people they wished to imitate the Irish Squires, for amongst them. they who could
play the best ball or bullet, run the fastest, leap the farthest, keep the best dog, the best gun and the best horse, were always the best men, whilst parties that came into the coun- try long after them, and perhaps settled un- der them, that they looked upon as mush- rooms, were creeping up to surpass them in the journey of life."
(1) James McKee, of the family de- scribed above, lived at Franshow, and was doubtless born there. He was a farmer and sawyer by trade. He and the family were strong in their allegiance to God and the King with characteristic Scotch fixedness, and as far as known were all of the Pres- byterian faith. To some extent the Mc- Kees intermarried, however, with families of the Established Church and the family burying ground was at the old Ballarona Episcopal Churchyard, a very ancient ceme- tery. He married - - Davidson. daugh- ter of a farmer, residing at the Knock Hill, about two miles west of Granshaw. "She had three uncles in the memorable siege of Derry: two of them went out disguised, but were discovered and lost their lives." Chil- dren: Samuel, mentioned below: Jane. Elizabeth. James.
( II) Samuel, son of James McKee, was born at Granshaw, county Down, Ireland. January 5, 1782. He married. in Septem- ber. 1803. Jane Jennings, of Ballynagappog. county Down. She was born in 1783. daughter of Robert Jennings, whose wife was one of the MeKees of Granshaw men- tioned above. Robert Jennings was a farm- er. son of Hlward Jennings, who removed from London, England, to county Down. Ireland, about 1750. and became an exten- sive landowner. The Jennings family at- tended the Ballarona Episcopal church and many of them were buried there. Sammel McKee was a dry goods clerk in his younger days and a farmer afterward on the lands held by his family for generations under lease: was for eighteen years constable and collector : contractor for highway repairs. In Ireland the family of Samuel McKee at-
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tended the Presbyterian church at Rathfri- land. Samuel McKee came to this country in 1843 with his sons James. Samuel and John, and located at Mineville, town of Mo- riah, New York, where he died May I, 1861, and where his wife died March 18, 1869. Both are buried at Mineville. Chil- dren of Samuel McKee : 1. Mary Ann, born June 10, 1805. married Robert Donnell. 2. Robert, August 4, 1807. 3. Jane Eliza, March 20, 1810. 4. Hugh, November 20, 1811. 5. Jane, November 27, 1814. 6. James, mentioned below. 7. John, May 16, 1825.
(III) James (2), son of Samuel McKee, was born November 30, 1817, at Granshaw, county Down, Ireland, and is now living in Moriah, New York ( 1910) at the advanced age of ninety-two years. He was educated in his native place in common and private schools maintained by his father and asso- ciates. He learned the trade of blacksmith ; le came with his parents to this country in 1843, and worked at his trade in the iron ore mines of Witherbee. Sherman & Com- pany, Mineville, New York. About 1869 he retired from working at his trade and de- voted his attention to the farm, on which he lived continuously since 1845 until five years ago. He now resides in village of Moriah Center. In politics he is a Repub- lican, and for many years held the office of school trustee. In religion he is a Presby- terian. The following extract from a letter dated April 10, 1877, to James from his brother Robert will be of interest: "It is "w again July, either of or 97 years since my grandfather went through a sham battle at Belfast among some 16.000 volunteers. I heard him tell that when retreating over a long bridge one of his company set fire to a large stack of furze. which completely -topped the pursuers till the flames subsided. It was applauded as a bit of strategy, and the gentlemen paid the party for the stack. Belfast at that time was little better than a fishing village with almost no shipping to any foreign port." James McKee began to
work in the mines when the industry was in its infancy and he has seen and taken part in the development to its present propor- tions.
He married, July 2, 1857, at Jay, Essex county, New York, Margaret, born at Jay, August 18. 1835, daughter of James and Elizabeth ( Witherspoon ) Mathews. Her father was a farmer living on the road from Jay village to Au Sable Forks. She had sis- ters Phoebe and Eliza, and brothers John and Harvey Mathews. Children of James McKee: 1. Jennie E., born April, 1858; married Rev. C. E. Fay, a Presbyterian minister, now located at Morristown, New York : child. Elsie Fay. 2. William Harvey, June 14, 1859: died December 15, 1886. 3. Martha A .. October 20. 1860: secretary and treasurer of the C. S. Taylor Company, merchants. Keeseville, New York. 4. Mar- garet Belle, September 5, 1863: married E. K. Romeyn, of Keeseville, New York; chil- dren : Mary. James K., Margaret, Barbara and Katherine Romeyn. 5. Samuel James, May 20. 1865 : a wholesale merchant in the millinery trade in New York City and Bing- hamton. New York : married Martha Estelle Brewer. Masonville, New York. 6. Sarah L., February 20, 1867; lives with her par- ents at Moriah Center. 7. Fannie E., March 31. 1870; married Samuel Henry MeLaugh- lin. of Moriah Center: children : Fay and Ralph McLaughlin. 8. John Mathews, De- cember 21. 1872; married Helen M. Cone, of Moriah : children : Margaret. Russell and Hugh. 9. Robert Preston, mentioned below.
( IV ) Robert Preston, sin of James (2) McKee. was born at Moriah Center, New York. July 10, 1878. He was educated in the common schools of Moriah, at the Sher- man Collegiate Institute of Moriah, and at the Binghamton School of Business. He taught school for two years in Minerva. New York, and at Manchester, Vermont. and worked in the newspaper business for three years at Port Henry and Keeseville, New York. During the next four years he was occupied in railroad construction in the
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central states. In March, 1908, he estab- lished the Adirondack Record at Au Sable Forks, New York, and since then has de- voted his attention to that newspaper, which has become a journal of wide influence and circulation. In politics he is a Republican. He is a member of Tahawas Lodge, No. 730, Free and Accepted Masous, of Au Sa- ble Forks : of Cedar Point Chapter. No. 142. Royal Arch Masons, of Fort Henry; of Iron Ore Lodge. No. 583, Odd Fellows, of Moriah Center ; of the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks, No. 295. of Warren, Ohio; of the Knights of Pythias, of Ra- venna, Ohio, and of the Order of Macca- bees of Au Sable Forks. He is unmarried.
McKEE The McKee family of Scot- land is identical with the Me- Kie or Mackay. The Mac- Kay family was located before 1300 in county Sutherland, Scotland. Thence went a branch to Ulster province when the Scotch were granted land there by James I. Among the Scotch undertakers, as the patentees were called, was Sir Patrick McKee. knight. having a thousand acres in the province of Portlaugh, county Donegal. in IOLI. He sold his land before 1630 to John Murray. The family name has generally been spelled McKee in Ireland. There were ninety-six births in the McKee families in Ireland in 1890, all but three being in county Antrim. There were fifty-six births in the MeKay families of county Antrim, where nearly all of this surname in Ireland reside.
(I) Samuel McKee was born in county Antrim. Ireland. 1794, died in Canton, New York, 1869. He came to this country in 1849, and made his home in the town of Canton, New York, where many other Scotch-Irish people settled. He followed farming during his active life. retiring a few years before his death. He was made a Master Mason in Ireland and was a member of the local lodge after coming to New York: also of the Royal Arch Chapter and of the Commandery, Knights Templar.
Children : Samuel. Alexander, James, men- tioned below.
(II) James, son of Samuel McKee, was born in county Antrim, Ireland, 1829, died at Rensselaer Falls, town of Canton. New York, in May, 1907. He was educated in the schools of his native place, and learned the trade of shoemaking in Ireland. He came to this country in 1849 with his ia- ther and was employed at his trade in Rens- selaer Falls. During the civil war he made boots and shoes for the government. He engaged in business as a retail shoe dealer in Canton and continued in active life to the time of his death. In politics he was a Re- publican and he held the offices of overseer of the poor at one time. He was an active member and for a number of years trustee of the Methodist Episcopal church at Rens- sclaer Falls. He married Agnes Forsythe, born in the north of Ireland in 1832, now living at Rensselaer Falls. Children: 1. Mary, born at Heuvelton, married E. J. Stearns, of the Stearns Lumber Company of Hutchinson. Minnesota ; children : Max. Gertrude, Marian Spencer, Lydia Lou and Ward. 2. William F .. born Rensselaer Falls ; a shoemaker at Malone. New York; married .Anna Riley; children: Thomas. Harry and Fred. 3. James E., born July 14, 1862; mentioned below. 4. Luella, born Rensselaer Falls, lives with her mother at Rensselaer Falls. 5. Lida, born Rensselaer Falls, married Edgar F. Sneden. of New York City: children: Agnes, Ethel and Kenneth Sneden.
( III ) James Edgar, son of James McKee. was born at Rensselaer Falls, Canton, New York. July 14. 1862. He received his edu- cation in the public schools of his native town and at Gouverneur Wesleyan Semi- nary, New York. He began his business ca- reer as clerk in the store of Bell Brothers. jewelers. of Ogdensburg. New York. an 1 learned the business thoroughly. After six years with that concern he came to Wad- dington and established himself in the jew- elry business in 1894. He has built up ?
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flourishing business, and is reckoned among the leading merchants of the town. In poli- tics he is a Republican. He has been a jus- tice of the peace and member of the town board ; trustee of the incorporated village of Waddington, and since 1895 has been, by appointment of President Roosevelt, post- master of Waddington. He was formerly a member of Ogdensburg Lodge. No. 128. Free and Accepted Masons, and is now of Waddington Lodge, of which he was master for five years ; also of Ogdensburg Chapter, Royal Arch Masons. He is a trustee of the Presbyterian church at Waddington, and superintendent of the Sunday school. He married, June 29, 1893, Mary E. Porteus. of Waddington, daughter of David M. and Mary E. (Scott ) Porteus. David M. Por- teus was born in Philadelphia, July 23, 1829: married Mary E., born in Wadding- ton, New York, June 2, 1832, daughter of Albert, a native of Waddington, and Caro- line ( Erwin ) Scott. a native of Brandon. Vermont. Moore Lee Porteus. father of David M., was born at Enniskillen, county Fermanagh, Ireland, 1797; came to this country at the age of twenty-one. and died September 6, 1889, aged ninety-two years. Rev. William Porteus, father of Moore Lee Porteus, and also a native of the north of Ireland, was the Episcopalian rector at En- niskillen, Ireland. The Porteus family probably came from Scotland to the north of Ireland. We find the family in Peebles- shire in 1595. It belonged to one of the border clans.
The family of Wallace is WALLACE one of the most ancient and distinguished in Scot- land. It is said to be originally of Norman. probably Celtic, origin. but was established in Ayrshire and Renfrewshire. Scotland. before 1150. Later it was numerous in other Scotch and English counties, and aft- er the Scotch settlement in Ulster was nu- merons in Auburn, Down and Londonderry. Numerons immigrants of this name came to
America with the first English settlers and a century later with the Scotch-Irish. The name was also spelled Wallis and some branches still prefer this way.
( I) John Wallace was born in Alnwyck. England, near Scotland, in April, 1808, and his ancestry was Scotch. He died at Mor- ristown. New York, in February, 1887. When he was but nine years old he was brought to this country by his stepfather and mother, and they settled about three miles from Morristown, New York. He had but little schooling. He was brought up on a farm and following farming for his occupa- tion all his active life. He was originally a Whig. later a Republican in politics. He at- tended the Presbyterian church. He mar- ried, in 1840, Mary, born in Morristown, 1818, died 1879, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Brown ) Cooper, both natives of England and both among the first settlers of Morristown. Mary Cooper was the first white child born in Morristown. Her fa- ther was a carpenter and built the Presbyter- ian church, had the contract for the carpen- ter woodwork in the stone house on the hill. and built many residences and other build- ings in Morristown and vicinity. Children of John and Mary (Cooper ) Wallace: I. George B., farmer in Minnesota; married Rachel Day, of Morristown ; children : Caro- line, deceased. George and John. and an- other child died in infancy. 2. Elizabeth, born Morristown : lives in Hammond : mar- ried John La Freney, deceased, farmer : chil- dren : Alice, deceased, and Clark La Freney. 3. Percival, born Morristown ; dealer in mu- sical instruments in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 4. John Dent. mentioned below.
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