USA > New York > Jefferson County > Genealogical and family history of the county of Jefferson, New York, Volume I > Part 20
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FRANKLIN ALLEN HINDS, of Watertown, New York, is dis- tinguished in Jefferson and adjoining counties of northern New York as a civil engineer. He is possessed of business as well as professional ability, and has been concerned in many financial enterprises in Water- town, as well as in the construction of railroads and water-works, and in laying out parks and estates throughout that region.
He is of English descent, the founder of the family in America, James Hinds, having come to New England in 1635. His son John, born in 1659, married Mary Butler in 1681, and lived in Lancaster, Mas- sachusetts, where their son John was born in 1683. John married Han- nah ( Whitaker ) Coriis, of Haverhill, Massachusetts, and was the father of thirteen children, of whom Corlis, who lived in Barre, Massachusetts, and operated a mill on the Ware river, married Janet McMaster, Sep- tember 6, 1742. He died in 1821, at the age, it is said, of 105. Of his nine children, Corlis. born in 1748 and who was a soldier in the Revo- lutionary war, married Susanna Henry, daughter of an Englishman who died on a French prison ship, having been captured during the French war at Oswego, New York. Corlis and Susanna ( Henry ) Hinds were the parents of eight children, of whom two, Corlis and Thomas, were pioneers in the Black river country. They married sisters, the daughters of David Bent, of Mt. Holly, Vermont, Polly being the wife of Corlis. He was one of the early settlers of Jefferson county, and the first supervisor of Watertown on its organization as a township.
Thomas Hinds, born in 1780, married Phoebe Bent and opened a mercantile business in Mit. Holly. In the autumn of 1809, however. he,
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View in Watertown Park
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with his family, followed his brother Corlis into northern New York. The way lay through the valleys of the Mohawk and Black rivers, and the journey was a most difficult one. Rivers were to be forded, and stretches of forest passed through. In crossing the West Canada creek the wagon with its occupants and load of household goods was swept down stream and barely rescued. They stopped at Denmark, Lewis county, where they lived for two or three years, afterward moving to Champion, Jefferson county. Here the family settled on a farm between Tylerville and Copenhagen. Thomas Hinds was a soldier in the war of 1812, and took part in the battle of Sackett's Harbor. He had twelve children, of whom Earl Bent became the father of Franklin A. Hinds.
Earl Bent, son of Thomas and Phoebe (Bent) Hinds, was born in Denmark, New York, October 25, 18II. He was a farmer, and lived in the town of Watertown on what is known as Dry Hill. In 1845 the family moved to Pamelia. Earl B. Hinds married Almira Allen, whose Scotch blood had been modified by several generations of residence in New England. Barnabas Allen came from Scotland to Gloucester, Mas- sachusetts, early in the eighteenth century, and his son Barnabas was born in Seekonk, Rhode Island, about 1740. The second Barnabas had a son, Benjamin, who lived in Cheshire, Massachusetts, and was a major in the Revolutionary war. His son Reuben was the father of Almira. who became the wife of Earl Bent Hinds. The two children of this marriage were Franklin Allen and Oscar Earl Hinds.
Franklin Allen Hinds is the eldest son, and was born November 17, 1843. He grew up on his father's farm, and received the elementary education of the public schools. His training as an engineer was begun in practical work in Jefferson county, and at twenty-one he went to Port- land, Oregon, where he studied under the county and city surveyors for two years. He had a year of technical training in the engineering de- partment of Yale College, and then spent a year working under an engineer in New York city, who was a specialist in landscape and drain- age work. Returning to Jefferson county, Mr. Hinds was engaged in the early surveys of the Black River & St. Lawrence Railroad (now the Carthage and Adirondack). After the preliminary surveys of this road were completed, he was made chief engineer of the Carthage, Water- town and Sacketts Harbor Railroad, holding that position until the line was finished. Later he laid out and mapped, as a landscape architect, many of the famous parks in the islands of the St. Lawrence, Thousand Island Park, Westminster Park. Round Island Park, and Central Park
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being among the best known. As an engineer, he superintended the con- struction of the Kingston & Pembroke Railway in Canada, and following that he was for two years in charge of the surveys of the New York and Boston Inland Railway. He was city engineer of Watertown for several terms, and made the survey for the city boundary when it was first incorporated. He has also been engaged in the construc- tion of water works for municipal supply in various localities. He formed a partnership under the firm name of Hinds, Moffett & Com- pany, which carried on that line of business for a number of years, Mr. Hinds selling out his interest to his partners in 1885. At this time he was concerned in the establishment of the Ontario Paper Mills near Brownville, of which company he is now a director. In 1889 he formed a partnership with E. A. Bond for general engineering and waterworks construction. The firm put in water works in the villages of Antwerp, Theresa, Philadelphia, West Carthage and Cape Vincent, in Jefferson county, as well as in several Canadian towns. The partnership was dissolved in 1896, and since that time Mr. Hinds has been engaged in general hydraulic and mechanical engineering, his work for the most part being in the Black river valley. The surveys for Watertown Park were made under his direction, from which the design was drawn by Olmsted Brothers, landscape artists, of Brookline, Massachusetts, and the work of development was carried out by Mr. Hinds. His work has favored the development of a taste for natural science, and he has given much study to local geological formations, and has published the results of his observations. Throughout his business life he has been an in- spiriting example to the younger men who have come under his employ, through his kindly interest in their welfare and his own well-regulated life. He has preserved the simple tastes and temperate habits of his early life, and for more than twenty-five years he has lived on a suburban farm about one and one-half miles from the business center of Watertown. He has been a member of the board of water commissioners of Water- town since 1880, and for the past ten years has been vice-president of the board. He has always given his support to any movement for the business advancement or improvement of the city. He is identified with Trinity church, and has been one of the vestrymen since 1887.
Mr. Ilinds was married December 25. 1867, to Mary R. Thomson of Watertown, formerly of Houseville, Lewis county. Mrs. Hinds' moth- er was of the sixth generation in descent from William Peabody of Plymouth, Massachusetts, whose wife was Elizabeth, daughter of John
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Alden and Priscilla Mullins of Mayflower fame. George Peabody, the philanthropist, was of the same descent. Mrs. Hinds' parents were Wil- liam and Mary (Peabody) Thomson. One son, Earl William, born to Mr. and Mrs. Hinds October 22, 1870, died June 3, 1872.
WILLIAM H. MOORE, a prominent and influential business man of Watertown, New York, also president of the Watertown Savings, Loan and Building Association, was born in Saratoga Springs, New York, August 26, 1841, a son of Hiram and Mary (Selleck) Moore.
Hiram Moore, his father, was a native of Stafford, Vermont, and a member of a family which was actively and prominently identified with religious work, his brother, John Moore, and also his nephew, John Harvey Moore, being prominent ministers of the Universalist denomina- tion. During his entire business career Hiram Moore devoted his atten- tion to railroading, and was in charge of the first engine which made the run north from Saratoga, New York. Later he removed to Watertown and for many years filled the position of superintendent of repairs on the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg Railroad. He was an unpright and honorable man, a public-spirited citizen, and a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Hiram Moore and his wife, daughter of James Selleck of Schenectady, New York, were the parents of five children, one of whom, Elisha M., occupied the position of general freight agent of the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad for many years. Two children died in infancy. Melissa Selleck, a daughter, now resides in Watertown. Hiram Moore died in 1874, and his wife passed away August 29, 1898.
William Harvey Moore acquired a common school education, which thoroughly qualified him for a life of usefulness and activity. At the age of fifteen years he began his business career by taking employment in a dry goods and notion store, operated by Candee & Winslow, in the town of Watertown, and by his industry and close application to busi- ness soon won the confidence and esteem of his employer. In 1865 he was admitted into partnership with his employer, Norris Winslow, the firm being N. Winslow & Company, and from that date conducted an extensive wholesale and retail trade in dry goods and notions until Sep- tember, 1886, and requiring the services of several experienced com- mercial travelers. On September 24, 1878, in order to close out a certain line of notions, they placed a table in the center aisle of the store, had bills printed and distributed throughout this and adjoining towns, and
GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY.
during fair week inaugurated the famous five-cent business, which has attained such a remarkable degree of prosperity during these latter years. The venture was a success from the start, and in 1886 the dry goods stock was closed out, and for a time the firm of Moore & Smith did a large business in supplying country merchants with exclusive five- cent goods ; they sold the first stock to F. W. Woolworth, the proprietor of the Woolworth Syndicate, operating over one hundred five and ten cent stores in the large cities of the United States. They not only furnished his first stock on credit, but subsequently aided him in the same way for a year or two. Since that an exclusive retail business has been carried on by Mr. Moore alone, on the same corner where the five-cent business originated. Nothing over ten cents is asked for any article. In addition to the success- ful management of his extensive business, Mr. Moore is the president of the Watertown Savings, Loan and Building Association, which was or- ganized December 19. 1887, and incorporated January 7, 1888. He is a member of Trinity (Protestant Episcopal) church, serving in the capacity of treasurer and vestryman since September 2, 1868, and is also a Mas- ter Mason. He is a member of the Royal Arcanum and the Independent Order of Foresters, and an exempt fireman. He brought to Watertown the first automobile in the city, and is still an enthusiastic automobilist. He is a member of the Union and Jeffersonian clubs and Crescent Yacht Club of Watertown. Since 1865 he has been continuously in business on his own account in the same store, and is the oldest merchant in point of time engaged in the city. His store is on what is known as "The American Corner," in the American Block.
Mr. Moore was married January 15, 1868, to Etta Gennet, a daugh- ter of Washington Gennet of Watertown, New York, and two chil- dren were the issue of this union-Clara J., now the wife of Charles Learned of Watertown; and Louis W. Moore, a resident of Water- town. Mrs. Moore died August 29. 1899. Mr. Moore has commanded the respect of all with whom he has come in contact, either in a business or private relation, by his sterling integrity and faithfulness to every trust reposed in him.
THE WOOLWORTH FAMILY. This is a name of which northern New York is proud, its native representatives having conferred distinction upon their nativity by their sterling worth and the ability displayed in the establishment and management of large financial insti- tutions and other extensive business interests. It was found staunch
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and loyal in the Revolutionary period and again in the late Civil war, furnishing numerous soldiers in defense of their country.
(I) The first of the name in this country was Richard Wool- worth, who settled at Newbury, Massachusetts, in 1678. On Christ- mas eve of the same year he married Hannah Huggins, of that town. The record of his marriage spells the name Woolery, and other records of the same town spell it Woolworth. He had taken the oath of alle- giance at Ipswich when he arrived at Newbury, and was then thirty years old. In those days it was very difficult to obtain permission to go to New England, and many who intended New England as their destina- tion went first to Virginia, because no obstacles were offered to their emigration to that colony. Among the eighty-four passengers of the " Plain Joan," who landed in Virginia May 15, 1635, was Richard Wooley, born 1600. This vessel sailed from Gravesend, England, and all its passengers had "brought attestations of their conformitie to the order and discipline of the Church of England." As it is known that large numbers found their way to New England by way of Virginia. there is good basis for the supposition that Richard Woolworth of Newbury was a son of Richard of Virginia. Many authorities vouch for the fact that the termination " worth," found in so many names, signi- fies a court, a farm, an island or other place of 'possession, and it is prob- able that Richard Woolworth adopted it upon receiving a grant of land. It is well known to the genealogist that the same name receives various spellings in the records of New England, even when written by its pos- sessor. On August 10, 1680, Richard Woolworth received a grant of land, among one hundred persons, in the southeastern part of Southold, then a part of Massachusetts, now Suffield, Connecticut, and on the record of this grant the name is spelled Wooley. His land adjoined that of John Huggins, a brother of his wife. He took up his residence upon this land at once, and died there December 20, 1696. His wife died October 19, 1691. Three of their daughters died in early child- hood. A daughter and son survived. Hannah, born in 1681, was fif- teen years of age at her father's death, and was allowed to administer the estate. The only further record of her is her marriage to John Gleason in 1704.
(II) Richard. only son of Richard and Hannah Woolworth, was born December 6, 1687, in Suffield, where he passed his life. He was married September 15. 1714, to Elizabeth Hall, of Taunton, Massachit- setts, and they were the parents of eight children. The name of Eliza-
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beth Hall Woolworth is the first on the records of the First Congrega- tion Church of Suffield, with which she united by letter June 1, 1716.
(Ill) Timothy, third son and fifth child of Richard (2) and Elizabeth Woolworth, was born May 17, 1722, in Suffield, where he was married June 3. 1747, to Merey Olds, who was born April 30, 1724. and baptized 1747. They had ten children, of whom three died in in- fancy, all of the survivors being sons.
(IV) Phineas, sixth son of Timothy and Merey Woolworth, was born October 31. 1754. in Suffield, and died in the town of Pinckney, Lewis county, this state. in 1819. He was married in 1781 to Mercy, (laughter of Captain Simeon and Grace ( Phelps) Sheldon, of Suffield. Her paternal grandparents were Thomas and Mary ( Hinsdale) Sheldon, and Thomas was a son of Isaac Sheldon, the first of the name in New England. The last named settled in Windsor, Connecticut, whence he removed to Northampton, Massachusetts, and died in 1708. Phineas and Mercy Woolworth had six sons and three daughters. No record of their births is to be found in Suffield or Granville, Massachusetts. The wife was admitted to the First Baptist Church of Suffield, by con- fession of faith, on the first Sabbath of September, 1802, at the church on what is now called "Hastings Hill." Family tradition says that they left Granville, Massachusetts, in the early part of the year 1806, traveling with oxen and sleds, and leading a cow. They settled in the town of Denmark, near Copenhagen, and later removed to Pinckney, where the father died, as above noted. The mother died in 1831. in the town of Lisbon, St. Lawrence County, and her remains were finally placed beside those of her husband, in Pinckney. She was born Octo- ber 10. 1758. Phineas was a highly successful farmer, and was able to give each of his children seventy acres of land, during his lifetime, reserving one hundred acres for himself. With four of his brothers. Phineas Woolworth participated in the battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill, and otherwise served in the Revolutionary army. After serving in the alarm party, being one of twenty-three men to respond first from Suffield, under command of Captain Nathaniel Hayden, he enlisted May 13 in the Tenth Company and was discharged December 17, 1775. (\') Thaddeus, eldest child of Phineas and Mercy Woolworth, was born in 1782, in Suffield, and came with his father to Lewis county, New York. In February, 1808, he went back after his bride, Miss Han- nah Palmer, of Southwick, Massachusetts ( which town adjoins Suf- field), and they were married in Suffiell on the sixth of that month.
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by Rev. Joseph Hastings. The marriage was solemnized in Suffield to avoid the delay necessitated by the laws of Massachusetts in publishing the banns. Returning to Pinckney, New York, he tilled his farm there and died in March. 1852. aged about seventy years. His widow sur- vived him over twelve years, passing away in July, 1864, aged seventy- five years. They were the parents of five daughters and three sons. Enoch, the second son, died at five years of age. All the others grew to maturity and married.
(VI) Gilbert Enoch, fourth son and seventh child of Thaddeus and Hannah Woolworth, was born March 18. 1821. in Pinckney, and obtained a practical education in the public schools of that town. He was a farmer and dealer in cattle, achieving success, and operated a flour mill at Deer River for several years, moving to Watertown in 1865, where he subsequently dealt largely in grain. During his resi- dence in Lewis county he was honored with several positions of respon- sibility, including the offices of supervisor and sheriff. After the expira- tion of his term in the latter station he refused to be a candidate for further honors, and moved to Deer River, same county. His death occurred very suddenly, while apparently in his usual health, at the Phelps Hotel in Henderson. March 14, 1891. Seized with a severe pain in the temple while in conversation, he immediately became unconscious and expired before his wife and son could reach his side from Water- town.
Mr. Woolworth was twice married. His first wife, Elizabeth Smith, to whom he was married October 29, 1844, passed away in 1854. leaving an only child, Smith T. She was born June 25, 1797, daugh- ter of Pamela ( Waldo) Smith (see Waldo. VI). On August 19. 1856, Gilbert E. Woolworth was married to Mary E. White, of Taberg, Oneida county, daughter of Israel and Abigail F. (Taft) White, of New England ancestry. Mrs. Woolworth was born February 28. 1831, in Annsville, New York. She survives her husband. Her children were: Gilbert White, died at seven years of age; Elizabeth Mary, resid- ing with her mother in Watertown: and Leland Gilbert, a merchant of that place.
(VII) Smith Thaddeus Woolworth, only child of Gilbert E. and Elizabeth Woolworth, was born February 14. 1849, in Pinckney. He is one of the leading and influential citizens of Watertown, has taken an active part in promoting the substantial improvement and material development of the town, has commanded the respect of his fellow
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townsmen by his sterling worth, and his rectitude of character and faithfulness to trust furnish an example well worthy of emulation. He obtained his preliminary education in the common schools adjacent to his home, in Martinsburg and Deer River, and this was supplemented by attendance at the Lowville Academy. From the completion of his school days until 1864 he assisted with the work of the farm and mill operated by his father, and in that year he secured employment in the bank at Carthage, New York. In August, 1865, he located in Water- town, and accepted a position in the bank of C. G. Hargee & Son, where he remained until 1869, when his impaired health compelled him to resign. For a short period of time he was employed in a newspaper office, later was an employee in the bank of George F. Paddock & Co., and in December, 1869, became a teller in the Jefferson County Na- tional Bank, being promoted to the position of cashier a year later, in which capacity he is serving at the present time (1905). For ten years he served as receiver, and during this time closed up the business of the Homestead Fire Insurance Company, of Watertown.
Mr. Woolworth is an honored member of the Universalist Church of Watertown, in which he has served as treasurer and trustee. He is a Democrat in political affiliations, and a prominent Mason in fra- ternal relations, having served as treasurer and recorder of his lodge; also an Odd Fellow and Knight of Pythias. Mr. Woolworth has re- ceived the nomination for mayor, alderman, congressman and county treasurer, but on account of the strong Republican sentiment existing in the town and county he was defeated. He was the first president of the Jeffersonian Club, the leading Democratic organization of the county. the pioneer political organization of Watertown. He has been a member of the local board of education, the board of public safety and at the present time (1905) is serving on the board of public works. He is also a trustee of the City Hospital, and has served as trustee and president of the Union Club of Watertown.
On July 22, 1873, Mr. Woolworth married Anna Wilhelmina Clark, daughter of William H. Clark, of Washington, D. C. Six chil- dren have been born of this union, four of whom are now living: Eliza- beth, Amy, Gilbert and Wilhelmina Woolworth. Mrs. Woolworth is active and prominent in church and philanthropic work, and is a mem- ber of the executive committee of the auxiliary board of the City Hos- pital. She has served as a director and president of the ladies board in charge of the Jefferson County Orphans' Home for several years; and
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is a charter member of " The Greeks." the first ladies' literary or study club organized in Watertown. Her father was a Virginian of Fairfax county, of English descent and related to Sir Robert Peel; and her mother Margaret Ellen Sengstack, was a daughter of Charles Seng- stack, of Washington, whose parents were from Bremen, Germany, to Frederick, Maryland, and who married Catherine Haller, of Cumber- land, Maryland, of an old Holland family.
(V) Chauncey, second son of Phineas and Mercy (Sheldon) Woolworth, was born in 1785, in Suffield, and was about at his majority when he accompanied his father to Lewis county. In common with others of his father's children he received seventy acres of land, and to this he added by his industry and thrift. He continued to till his land until advancing years compelled him to abandon active labor. He died at the home of his daughter in Tylerville, in 1876, aged ninety-one years. In 1807, he married Betsey Granger, who was born in 1786, a daughter of Deacon George Granger, of Southwick, Massachusetts, and his first wife. Lucy Campbell (see Granger). Chauncey Woolworth was a man of fine mind, popular and in advance of his day, being well educated for his time, and served as assessor and town clerk in Pinck- ney. A Methodist in religious faith, he attended the worship of that denomination with his family. He was a Whig, and among the found- ers of the Republican party. His first wife died about 1834, and he mar- ried in 1836 Fanny Stoddard, who was the mother of two of his chil- dren. There were six sons and three daughters. Norman, the fourth son, was killed by lightning at the age of sixteen years ; Eunice, the eld- est daughter, died when four years old; and Levi, the youngest child, reached the age of ten years, only.
(VI) Volney, third son and child of Chauncey and Betsey (Granger) Woolworth, was born June 1, 1812, in Pinckney, where he grew up. On attaining manhood he settled on a farm in Denmark. Lewis county, containing one hundred and sixty acres. This he sold in 1847 and removed to Champion "Huddle," where he purchased one hundred and seventy-four acres, and continued to live upon and till this farm until his death, March 6, 1878. He was an industrious and suc- cessful farmer, fond of good horses and stock of all kinds. He main- tained a dairy of forty cows, and raised the largest steer on record, which he always personally fed and cared for. It was sold for $420 to a New York man, who kept it two years and then dressed over four thousand pounds of beef from it. Mr. Woolworth drove large herds
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