USA > New York > Jefferson County > Genealogical and family history of the county of Jefferson, New York, Volume I > Part 17
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(I) Robert Burdick is of record at Newport, Rhode Island, as early as November 19, 1652, when he was baptized by Rev. Joseph Torrey. He was made a freeman May 22, 1655. He married Novem- ber 2, 1655, Ruth, who was born January 11, 1640, daughter of Samuel and Tacy (Cooper) Hubbard. His name was in a list of inhabitants of Westerly, Rhode Island, May 18, 1669, and he took the oath of alle- giance May 17. 1671. In July, 1675, owing to the war with the Indians, he and his family went to Newport, returning subsequently to Westerly. He was deputy to the general court in 1680, 1683 and 1685. He died in 1692, and his wife passed away in the previous year. Their children were: Robert, (a son. name unknown), Hubbard. Thomas, Naomi, Ruth, Benjamin, Samuel, Tacy and Deborah.
(Il) Hubbard, third son and child of Robert and Ruth Burdick, married Hannah, daughter of John and Mary (Moshier) Maxson, and lived in Westerly and Hopkinton ( the latter town being originally a part of Westerly). He was one of thirty-four who purchased, in 1711, up- wards of five thousand acres of vacant lands, and was a member of
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the town council in 1727. He died in 1758, his wife having passed away in 1752. Their children were: Hubbard, Nathan, Jolin and Ezekiel.
(III) Nathan, second son and child of Hubbard and Hannah Burdick, was born February 19, 1718-9, and was married October 14, 1743, to Goodeth Maxson. She was born June 5, 1726, a daughter of John and Hannah Maxson of Westerly. He resided in Hopkinton, where he died in 1793. Seven of his children are of record there, and the birth of the second is also recorded in Westerly. They are as fol- lows: Tillemus, May 30, 1745; Sylvanus, September 17, 1747; Good- eth, April 17, 1751; Tacy, October 12, 1754; Adam, December 28, 1759; Naaman, July 18, 1762; Sheppard, October 18, 1766.
(IV) Adam, third son and fifth child of Nathan and Goodetli (Maxson) Burdick, was born December 28, 1759, in Hopkinton. He was for a few years a resident of West Winfield, Herkimer county, and was an early settler at Point Peninsula, in the town of Lyme, this county, where he purchased one hundred acres of land, on which a slight improvement had been made, and began clearing and developing a farm. He died there February 20, 1845, from the effects of a kick from a horse in his ninety-sixth year. His wife, Elizabeth Moors, was a native of Herkimer county. They were the parents of four sons. Winslow M., the eldest, died in 1902, in Brooklyn, where he had been engaged in business since 1840. Nelson, the second, receives further mention below. Sheffield resides at Cape Vincent. Wayne died on the homestead at Point Peninsula. Adam Burdick was a lifelong Democrat, and was respected as a citizen in Lyme, where he filled some of the local offices.
(V) Nelson, second son and child of Adam and Elizabeth (Moors) Burdick, was born December 28, 1820, at Point Peninsula, where he attended the common school, subsequently going to the Water- town high school. He was supervisor of the town of Lyme in 1856, and mayor of the city of Watertown in 1882-3. He was also assessor of the city and a member of the board of public works. He was mar- ried March 7, 1844, to Catherine Getman, who died in 1846. He after- ward married Delia Getman, who is still his companion. His eldest child, Catherine Rose, born March 12, 1846, became the wife of William S. Carlisle, as elsewhere related (see Carlisle). The others were : Delia E., Aletta May, Kittie, Wayne W., Jessie D., Alfred M., Dora B. and Rose A. The last named is the wife of John Carey, residing in
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Decatur, Illinois. The sons, Wayne W. and Alfred M. Burdick, are now engaged in the coal business at Watertown.
FRANK ALPHONSO FLETCHER, president of the Watertown Builders' Supply Company and one of the leading men of the city, por- trays in his character and purposes many of the traditions of older New England. Descended from a long line of worthy ancestors, he has sustained the honor and credit of his name, and possesses a conserv- atisin that has kept his operations upon a substantial basis, as opposed to the showy ventures of speculative wealth.
The name Fletcher originated in that part of the Canton Vaud, Switzerland, which was formerly Burgundian, and is of Burgundian French character. It comes from de la Flechière, bender of the bow. It was transported to England in the time of the Norman conquest, and has been honored many times in both England and America.
(I) Robert Fletcher, the first in America, was born in 1592, and settled in Concord, Massachusetts, in 1630, being then thirty-eight years of age and having two sons and a daughter-Luke, William and Cary. He was a wealthy and influential man, and died April 3, 1677, at Con- cord. Sons, Samuel and Francis, appear in the records, and may have been born after his arrival.
(II) William, second son and child of Robert Fletcher, was born (1622) in England, and was eight years old when he came with his father to Concord. October 7, 1645, he married Lydia Bates and set- tled in Chelmsford in 1653. His land embraced what is now the city of Lowell, and part of his farm has been continuously in possession of his descendants, by one of whom it is now occupied. He died November 6, 1677, and his widow passed away October 12, 1704. They had four sons and three daughters.
(III) Joshua, eldest son and second child of William and Lydia Fletcher, was born March 30, 1648, in Concord, and was twice married. The first wife was Grissies Jewell, who was wedded May 4, 1668, and died January 16, 1682. Sarah Willy became his wife July 18, 1682. There were two sons by the first marriage, and five sons and . three daughters by the second.
(IV) John, son of Joshua and Sarah Fletcher, was born May 7. 1687, in Chelmsford. In 1712 he married Hannah Phelps of Lancaster, Massachusetts, where he settled and built a house on George's Hill. This homestead remained in possession of his descendants until 1868.
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His wife died April 10, 1737, aged fifty-one years. Their first four chil- dren were sons and the last three daughters, all born in Lancaster.
(V) Joshua, youngest son of John and Hannah ( Phelps ) Fletcher, was born December 26, 1724, and married Mary, daughter of Ebenezer and Sarah Allen, May 15, 1748. He died November 13, 1814, in the house where he was born and always lived. At the time of the Revo- lution, he was one of the committee of safety. He was a farmer, and left his plow in the furrow and rode to Concord to join the patriots, in the Lexington Alarm. At that time he was over fifty years old. His wife died July 25, 1813. He had eight sons and three daughters.
(VI) Peter, seventh child and sixth son of Joshua and Mary Flet- cher, was born September 5, 1762, in Lancaster, and married Sarah Piper January 28, 1787. He settled in Alstead, New Hampshire, and subse- quently removed to Bennington, same state, where he died November, 1843. His wife survived him over five years, dying December 31, 1848, aged eighty-three years, at the home of her daughter in Lowell, Massa- chusetts. She was a member of the Baptist church, and was the mother of three sons and seven daughters.
(VII) Lewis Allen, ninth child and youngest son of Peter and Sar- ah Fletcher, was born October 10, 1804, in Alstead, New Hampshire, and was married July 7, 1832, to Betsey M. Gregg. As a boy he was con- nected with the paper manufacturing business, and himself manufactured paper at Bennington. He went to Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1849, and operated two mills there. In 1851 he came to this state, and operated mills on the Hudson, one in Ulster county and the other in Dutchess. In 1854 he went to the wilds of western Wisconsin, where he purchased large tracts of land, and died August 10, 1856, in Pierce county, that state. He had three sons and three daughters.
( VIII) Frank A. Fletcher, second son and child of Lewis A. and Betsey Fletcher, was born February 23, 1838, in Bennington, New Hampshire, and early became familiar with the details of his father's business. He inherited his father's business foresight and large grasp of affairs. The Civil war came as an interruption to his business career and he enlisted May 1, 1861, in the Second Regiment, New Hampshire Infantry. Company G. He served more than three years, and was in eighteen engagements, among which were the first and second Bull Run, Yorktown, Malvern Hill, Fredericksburg and Gettysburg, where he was wounded, and proved himself everywhere a brave and ready soldier. On account of his injury he received from Secretary Stanton a pass allow-
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ing him the freedom of the army, and he became a sutler with the Army of the Potomac. He was offered a commission, but declined the honor. In November, 1865, he went to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and engaged in the manufacture of paper. Before the war he had been connected with paper mills at Springfield, Massachusetts, and other places, and in 1868 he assumed the management of a paper mill at Newark, New Jersey. After that he went to Musconeckong, New Jersey, where, in 1873, he built a paper mill for the Warren Manufacturing Company.
In 1874 Mr. Fletcher became a resident of Watertown, and was em- ployed twelve years following as manager of the mill of Knowlton Broth- ers. He then bought the mill at Great Bend, this county, which he sold afterward to Taggart Brothers. In 1901 he bought the business which he has since conducted, being president of the company and owner of the greater part of the stock. The business has been successful under his management and much of the material sold is manufactured by the company. These include hollow concrete building blocks, asbestos boiler covering and wall plaster, fire cement and stove lining. A large variety of the products of other manufacturers is also afforded to its custom- ers.
Mr. Fletcher is prominent in the social and club life of the town, and holds membership in the Union Club and Lincoln League. He identifies himself with all movements conducive to the public welfare, and has long been a valuable friend of the Jefferson County Orphan Asylum, of which he has been a trustee for many years, and also of the Young Men's Christian Association. He is an Episcopalian in religious faith and an earnest supporter of Republican principles.
He was married October 16, 1868, to Miss Ida La Due, of New- burgh, New York, and his family includes four children, namely : Flora D., Antoinette F., Frank H. and Bessie M. The son is his father's as- sistant in business.
SAMUEL FARWELL BAGG, of Watertown, prominent in busi- ness circles, and also well known as a man possessed of wide and varied information, comes of pioneer ancestry. His great grandfather, Moses Bagg, was the first settler of Utica, New York, where for many years he was the proprietor of the well known Bagg Hotel. His son, named Moses, had a son, Moses Mears Bagg, who was born July 13, 1816, in Utica, where he was for a long period known and respected as a skillful and conscientious physician. He was a man of uncommon literary at-
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tainments and was known as the author of two local histories. He married Maria, daughter of Samuel Farwell, of Utica, and they were the parents of six children.
Samuel F. Bagg, son of Moses M. and Maria (Farwell) Bagg, was born September 13, 1848, in Utica. In 1869 he graduated from Hamil- ton College, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts, later Master of Arts. He also attended the Hamilton Law School, from which he grad- uated with the degree of Bachelor of Laws, and later was admitted to the bar in Oneida county. For a few years he was engaged in teaching and subsequently bought a newspaper, which he edited for some time. He then obtained a clerkship in the Oneida County National Bank, at Utica, where he remained for about a year. In 1876 he came to Water- town, in order to become secretary and treasurer of the Watertown Engine Company, which position he still holds. In 1887 he was one of the incorporators of the Tilden Paper Company, which subsequently passed into new ownership, being thenceforth known as the Ontario Paper Company. Mr. Bagg was director and vice-president. He held the same position in the Northern New York Marble Company.
Among the other institutions and organizations with which Mr. Bagg is or was identified may be mentioned the Watertown Street Rail- way Company, the Watertown National Bank, and the Watertown Sav- ings, Loan and Building Association. Of the last-mentioned organiza- tion lie was the first president, while with the other two he was connected in the capacity of director. When the Watertown board of trade was organized Mr. Bagg became one of the vice-presidents. He has served as a trustee of the Flower Memorial Library, and when the cornerstone of the building was laid delivered an address remarkable for erudition.
Mr. Bagg takes an active interest in educational and philanthropic work and has served as a member of the board of education. In 1884 he was president of the Young Men's Christian Association. He belongs to the Masonic order, and is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. In the First Presbyterian church he has held for twenty years the office of elder and is also the teacher of a Bible class.
Mr. Bagg married, September 3, 1874, Mary Louise, daughter of Charles C. Young, of Brooklyn, New York. Their only child is named Eunice. In the community in which he resides Mr. Bagg is regarded as a man whose character presents the rare combination of the executive talents essential to a successful business career and the scholarly instincts
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and attainments rarely to be found except in those whose lives have been devoted to literary pursuits.
JAMES BLACK WISE, ex-mayor of Watertown, and one of the most progressive and energetic of its citizens, is known to his contemporaries as a man who, like the present chief magistrate of the nation. "does things." His reputation is not confined to Water- town, but he is an active and acknowledged contributor to the in- dustrial and social development of northern New York. Mr. Wise comes of sturdy German ancestry, and a fitting notice of his father, who was one of the active factors in developing Watertown's industrial prestige, is herewith given.
Joseph Wise, a son of Joseph Wise, was born December 14. 1831, in Baden-Baden, Germany. The senior Joseph was for many years a highway commissioner in his native land, a position of much responsi- bility, and his last years were passed upon a farm in Formosa, province of Ontario, Canada, where he lived to a great age.
Joseph Wise, junior, when eleven years old, went on an ocean voy- age with an uncle, and continued on the sea until he reached the age of fourteen. Arriving in New York, he was apprenticed to the machinist's trade, which, then as now in his native country, embraced a knowledge in all lines of working the baser metals. He mastered. in the course of seven years' apprenticeship, what is now separated into four trades- tool-maker, locksmith, brass-turner and machinist. With a natural bent for mechanics, and being industrious and painstaking, he became a very efficient worker in all these lines, and was soon called to direct others, as a foreman. After working a short time in New York as a journeyman. he went to Branford. Connecticut, to take charge of the machine depart- ment of the Branford Lock Works. Here he remained in the neighbor- hood of fourteen years.
In December, 1868, Mr. Wise became a citizen of Watertown, being called hither to take charge of a lock factory just established by a man named Wasson, formerly a bookkeeper at the Branford works. Con- tinuing this connection until 1871, he was then employed by the Water- town Steam Engine Company, as machinist, in the plant now occupied and owned by his son. He was subsequently in charge of the press room of the Davis Sewing Machine Company and, later, operated a repair shop on Beebe's Island, in a building now owned and occupied by the New York Air Brake Company. His last machine shop was in the Van
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Namee & Smith Building, on Factory street, afterward occupied by the Hitchcock Lamp Company and now the property of the New York Air Brake Company. Mr. Wise embraced the faith of the Presbyterian church, and was a supporter of Republican principles, in politics, but was in no sense obtrusive of his own personality, loving his home and family, and striving to prepare his children for good citizenship. He died Octo- ber 14, 1886.
Mr. Wise was married, about the time he attained his majority, to Elizabeth Biack, who died March 27, 1886, and they were the parents of seven children. Edward, the first of these, began early to rove, and his whereabouts are now unknown to his relatives. Mary, wife if F. E. Joslin. resides in Watertown. Lois, Mrs. Frank E. Felton, lives in Chicago, Illinois. James B. is further mentioned hereinafter. Anastasia is the wife of Dempster Rockwood, whose history is given on another page. Josephine, Mrs. Edward B. Allen, resides in Elizabeth, New Jer- sey. William H. is in Watertown.
James B. Wise was born December 27, 1858, in Branford, Con- necticut, and was in his eleventh year when he accompanied his parents to Watertown in the spring of 1869. He was an intense and energetic boy, throwing all his strength into anything he undertook, and this characteristic has controlled his whole career. He very early developed a wish to earn something for himself, and began his wage-earning as a newspaper carrier, subsequently acting as a newspaper folder and, later, a newsboy. He finished the course of the grammar schools and was admitted to the high school of Watertown, but his wish to begin business lite led him to leave the high school to take a commercial college course. His first business venture was as owner of the right to sell fruits and newspapers on the trains running out of Watertown. He made a success of this venture from the start, and afterward purchased the same right on trains running west from Oswego, on the Rome, Watertown & Og- densburg Railroad. Being courteous and tactful, as well as energetic, he became a popular and well known salesman, and continued in the business until 1877, when he returned to Watertown and became a partner with his father in the manufacture of hardware specialties. After the death of the father, the son bought the interest of the other heirs and continued the enterprise as sole proprietor. In 1891 he came into pos- session, by purchase, of the factory building on Mill street, north of the river. which he has since occupied. Many articles of light hardware are produced, including some specialties that are well known to the trade
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and much in demand. He has been connected with several other indus- tiies, to all of which his persistent and intelligent application has given impetus. He was president of the Singer Fire Alarm Company, and also of the Watertown Brass & Manufacturing Company, secretary and treasurer of the Ryther Manufacturing Company, and vice president and a director of the Union Carriage & Gear Company.
Mr. Wise is deeply interested in the welfare and progress of his home town, and has contributed no small part to its development in every way. His public spirit has been untiring, and has been recognized by his fellow citizens. He was elected alderman for the second ward in 1888. In 1891 he was the candidate on the Republican ticket for mayor, against W. F. Porter, a popular Democrat, and was defeated by six hundred majority. The following year he was again defeated by F. D. Roth by fifty-eight majority, and was nominated a third time by his party in 1893, but refused to make the race. Being urged to be a candi- date in 1894. he accepted and was elected, being re-elected in the three succeeding years. To this responsible office he brought the same energy and care for details which had made his private business a success. During his administration the handsome city hall was built, under his close and constant supervision, and finished, including all the furnishings, at the remarkably low cost of fifty-seven thousand dollars. The con- tractor who erected the building was a loser in the sum of nearly two thousand dollars, because Mayor Wise was ever vigilant and insisted on having the best of everything put into the building. It is a handsome and most substantial structure, likely to make proud and glad the tax- payers for many long years. Mr. Wise built and rebuilt all of the bridges of the city excepting Cowan creek bridge, and during his admin- istration most of the best streets of the city were constructed, under his ever watchful eye, and the first steam roller was put in operation on the roadways. That the people appreciated his disinterested labors, securing the city's most valuable permanent improvements at the minimum cost, is shown by his repeated re-election, and it is universally admitted that he could be easily elected mayor any time he would consent to be a candidate.
Mr. Wise is considerably interested in athletics and outdoor sports, and feels the same pride in the supremacy of his home city in all contests that actuates him in regard to its material and moral progress. He has been liberal in the expenditure of his means, often carrying the bulk of the burden, in maintaining strong football teams, in order to advertise the city and gratify a taste for real sports in the field.
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In the social life of the town Mr. Wise is as well known as in its business circles. He is a member of Corona Lodge No. 705, Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows, and of the various Masonic bodies subordinate to Media Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of which he is a valued member. He accepts the faith of the Presbyterian church, but is not upon the roll of any religious body. He was married to Miss Hattie C., daughter of George and Sylvia A. Willard of Watertown. Two sons complete the family of Mr. and Mrs. Wise, namely : Charles Ralph and Earl Willard.
TODD. This is one of the oldest names in America, and has been traced some generations in England, previous to the settlement of New England by the Puritans.
(I) William Todd was born in Pontefract, Yorkshire, England, and married Isabel Rogerson, September 24, 1592.
(II) William (2), son of William and Isabel Todd, was baptized June 29, 1593. in Pontefract, and married Katherine Brewster Ward. He was a miller, farmer and baker, and died in 1617.
(III) Christopher, son of William (2) and Katherine B. (Ward) Todd, was baptized January 12, 1617, in Pontefract, and married Grace Middlebrook. He was one of Rev. John Davenport's company, and came to New Haven, Connecticut, in 1639. He died there April 23, 1686.
(IV) Samuel, son of Christopher and Grace ( Middlebrook) Todd, was baptized August 20, 1645, was made a freeman in 1670, and was a landowner in 1685, and died August, 1714. He married Mary Bradley.
(V) Daniel, son of Samuel and Mary (Bradley) Todd, was born March 14. 1686-7, and died July 29, 1724. His wife was Desire Tuttle. (VI) Daniel (2), son of Daniel (I) and Desire (Tuttle) Todd, was born March 5, 1725, and was made a freeman at Derby, Connecti- cut, in 1777. He married Sybil Carrington.
(VII) Daniel (3), son of Daniel (2) and Sybil (Carrington) Todd, was born September 9, 1751. in Derby, and was made a freeman in 1777. He was married March 27, 1775, to Eunice Hitchcock.
(VIII) Daniel (4), son of Daniel (3) and Eunice (Hitchcock) Todd, was born December 24, 1777, in Derby, and moved to Cornwall, thence to Milton, Connecticut, and in 1805, came to Whitesville, in the town of Rodman, this county, where he died March 8, 1867. He was
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married September 1, 1801, to Betsey Peck, and they had three sons, Daniel, David and Enoch L.
(IX) Enoch Lewis, son of Daniel (4) and Betsey ( Peck) Todd, was born December 14. 1816. in Rodman, and died there January 8, 1889. He was a successful farmer and respected citizen. He was married December 12, 1841, to Emmeline Jeannette Smith, daughter of Reuben and Pamela ( Wright) Smith (see Smith), of Rodman.
(X) Lewis E., son of Enoch L. and Emmeline J. (Smith) Todd, was born March 13. 1846, and now resides on the paternal farm in Rodinan. He married Zerviah Buell, and their children are: Clara E., Clarence E., Homer and Ella M.
BYRON B. TAGGART, one of the managers of the extensive mills of the Taggart Brothers Company, paper manufacturers of Water- town, New York, began his business life with the advantages of a well known name and a firmly established business. Fortunately, along with the interests that it has fallen to him to direct, have descended a share of the qualities of mind that in his father gave shape to the enterprise. His comprehensive grasp of affairs and keen judgment equip him admir- ably for the responsibilities of his position.
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