USA > New York > Jefferson County > Genealogical and family history of the county of Jefferson, New York, Volume I > Part 23
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During his boyhood he assisted his father in the meat business, and while thus employed became thoroughly familiar with the details of that line of occupation, in which he has ever since been more or less closely engaged. During his lifetime he has witnessed wonderful changes at the Thousand Islands. He distinctly recalls the time when the summer cottagers could be counted on the fingers of one hand; now they are al- most innumerable. He has taken an active part in the improvement of Alexandria Bay, developing various pieces of property, in and thereabout. He enjoys the acquaintance of a large number of the wealthy class of summer residents who yearly journey to Alexandria Bay.
June 25, 1896, Mr. Miller married Elizabeth Cross-Wren, a lineal descendant of Sir Christopher Wren, born at Dromovane House, Bandon, Ireland. Their children are: Eileen Elizabeth, born November 26, 1897; Christopher Wren, born August 13, 1899, and Mae Patricia, born May 15. 1903.
THE CLEVELAND FAMILY. Three volumes of genealogy of the Cleveland family have been published and a fourth is now being pre- pared, in which the family is traced back to Theorkil De Cleveland, of Cleveland, North Riding. Yorkshire, England, 1066, and from this point tradition traces the name back through various lines to Julius Caesar, B. C. 35, in a remarkably interesting manner, and connects the different branches of the family with some of the most important events that transpired during this one thousand years of history. It is needless to add that the family has a fine coat-of-arms, an accurate description of which is found in the first volume of the work. Years of labor and
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thousands of dollars have been spent to compile this Genealogy, which contains the history in brief of a large number of men who have been prominent in civil, political, military and commercial circles throughout the United States for nearly two hundred years, including Grover Cleve- land, who served eight years as President of this great nation.
(I) Moses Cleveland, the common ancestor of the Cleveland fam- ily in America, came from Ipswich, Suffolk county, England, in 1635, when only a youth, with John A. Smith, and landed at Plymouth, Mas- sachusetts. He was a native of Ipswich, Suffolk county, England, born in the year 1624. He married at Woburn, Massachusetts, September 26, 1648, Ann Winne, who was born in either Wales or England, in 1626. Moses Cleveland died at Woburn. Massachusetts, January 9. 1701.
(II) Edward Cleveland, son of Moses Cleveland, the pioneer an- cestor, was born in Woburn, Massachusetts, May 20, 1664. He married (first) in 1684, in Washington, Rhode Island, Deliverance Palmer, daughter of Benjamin Palmer. He married (second) Zerinah Church. His death occurred in Pomfret, Connecticut. August 26, 1746.
(III) Isaac Cleveland, son of Edward Cleveland, was born in North Kingston, Rhode Island, about the year 1697. He married in Canterbury, Connecticut, November 20. 1719. Susanna Johnson, daughter of William and Mary Johnson.
(IV) Isaac Cleveland (2), son of Isaac Cleveland ( I), was born in Canterbury, Connecticut, May 13. 1735. He was an active partici- pant in the Revolutionary war. He married (first) in March, 1754, Sarah De Castro, and for his second wife he married Mary Rich. His death occurred March 19, 1819. at the advanced age of eighty-four years.
(\') Isaac Cleveland (3), son of Isaac Cleveland (2), was born January 22, 1755, in Connecticut. He enlisted and served during the Revolutionary war. He was among the first settlers in Jefferson county, New York, locating in Rutland, where he died on May 14. 1838. His wife. Mamie (Matthews) Cleveland, whom he married in 1779, was boin June 4, 1760, and died in Rutland, New York, July 3, 18.45.
(VI) Harvey Cleveland, son of Isaac Cleveland (3), was born August 20, 1782, in New Hampshire or Connecticut. He was one of the early settlers of Jefferson county, New York, residing in the town of Rutland until the year 1833, at which time he removed to Hounds- field. where he resided until his death on December 24. 1862. He de- veloped the first water power on the Black River and built the first dam
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at what is now the village of Black River. He participated in the war of 1812, was faithful in the performance of his duties, and during the entire perior of his service displayed both courage and bravery. At the battle of Sackets Harbor he lost an arm, for which he drew a pension un- til his death. When the Thirty-fifth and Ninety-fourth Regiments were mustered into service in the Civil war, Mr. Cleveland was an infirm and aged man, but the fire of patriotism still burned brightly. He was as- sisted by his son, Philander B. Cleveland, to the porch of his house, and as the troops marched by he cheered them with all his strength and waved his stub of an arm. He was united in marriage to Relief Cross, who was born October 5, 1791. in Bennington, Vermont, and died May 20, 1885. She was the daughter of Abel and Desire ( Palmer) Cross, and by her marriage became the mother of the following named children : Vacah, Decastro, Isaac, Philander B., Jane S., Flora, Betsy, Isaac H., and Christina Cleveland.
(VII) Philander B. Cleveland, son of Harvey Cleveland, was born August 29, 1823, in Rutland, Jefferson county, New York. In 1833, when ten years of age, he came with his parents to East Houndsfield, where he received a common school education. Later he became one of the most successful and prosperous farmers of the town, as well as one of the most highly respected residents. On October 2, 1848, he married Mercy Richardson, who was born March 1I, 1831, in Stowell Corners, Houndsfield, New York, daughter of Stephen Richardson, who was born in New Hampshire, April 15, 1795, and came to New York state at the age of nineteen years. Later he was a pioneer settler of Houndsfield, where he successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits. He served in the war of 1812. He married Lydia Benjamin, daughter of Jonas Ben- jamin, who was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and they were the parents of the following named children: Edmund, Jonas, Nancy, Dor- othy, Lucy, Mercy, aforementioned as the wife of Philander B. Cleve- land; and Alvira Richardson. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Cleveland, four of whom are now living: Merritt A., a resident of Brockport, New York; Milo L., Stephen R., of Watertown, New York; and Flora, who now resides on the old homestead in Houndsfield, New York. Philander B. Cleveland died February 24, 1895, in the seventy- third year of his age, and his wife, Mercy (Richardson) Cleveland, passed away August 31. 1899, at the home now occupied by her daugh- ter. Their remains are interred in the Brookside Cemetery, Water- . town, New York. Mrs. Cleveland was a woman of most exemplary
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character, and her death was sincerely mourned by her children, seven grandchildren, relatives, and by a large circle of friends and neighbors.
STEPHEN R. CLEVELAND, the well known contractor, of Wa- tertown, New York, who has won an honorable and prominent position in business circles, was born in East Houndsfield, Jefferson county, New York, May 29. 1854, a son of Philander B. and Mercy ( Richardson) Cleveland.
The carly years of his life were spent in his native town, and his educational advantages were obtained in the public schools of that town and in Watertown. After laying aside his school books he entered the employ of Hunter, Murray & Cleveland, in 1877, the latter named part- ner being his eldest brother, Merritt A. Cleveland, who had some years before formed a partnership for conducting contracting business upon a gigantic scale, principally the construction of canals and railroads. At the time when Stephen R. became an employe of the firm the Welland Canal was being enlarged, and he was given the position of paymaster, at the same time familiarizing himself with the details of the work, and remaining there until the completion of the contract. a period of five years. He then went to Ohio, where the firm was constructing the Pitts- burg, Cleveland & Toledo Railroad, where he acted as paymaster for eighteen months, and at the expiration of this period of time returned to the Welland canal, where he occupied the same position for two years, since which time he has been associated with his brothers in the same position. During this time he has acted as paymaster on the St. Law- rence Canal, and the improvement on the St. Lawrence River, this being his portion of the work of the firm. They are probably the largest con- tractors in canal and railroad work in the United States or Canada, giv- ing employment at times to one thousand men. In 1884. upon his return to Watertown, Mr. Cleveland purchased land on Ten Eyke street and built his beautiful home, one of the most cheerful in the city, where the stranger is always cordially welcomed, and here the family reside during the winter, but their summers are spent in Prescott, Canada, near the plant. Mr. Cleveland is a director in the Eager Electric Company, of Watertown, and in addition to his other enterprises is the owner of a fine stock farm of three hundred acres, where he makes a specialty of breeding short horned cattle, and in which he takes a great interest. He is a member of McNabb Lodge. Free and Accepted Masons, of Port Col- burn, Canada, in which he is past master ; he is also connected with Chap- ter No. 59. R. A. M., the Council, Commandery No. 11. R. T., of Wa -.
ML. Cleveland,
S. P. Cleveland
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tertown, the Lodge of Perfection and Scottish Rite bodies up to the thirty-second degree, all of Watertown, New York : Media Temple, Mys- tic Shrine; and is a member of the Union Club and Lincoln League of Watertown. He is a staunch Republican in his political views, and while not aspiring for office is now serving as water commissioner.
On May 26, 1881, Mr. Cleveland married Emma C. Baker, born in Watertown, New York, daughter of E. Collins and Sarah (Barlow) Baker, and two children have been born of this marriage: Korleen, who graduated from the Watertown High School, and is now a student in the National Park Seminary at Washington, D. C., class of 1905. Lou Baker, also a graduate from the Watertown High School and now a student in Cornell University, pursuing a course in civil engineering, class of 1907.
Mrs. Cleveland's family, like that of her husband, have occupied a place of honor in the history of the country, her great-grandfather hav- ing participated in the Revolutionary war, her grandfather served in the war of 1812, and she is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, in which society she has taken an active part. Her father, E. Collins Baker, now deceased, was a prosperous farmer of Watertown, and he and his wife, Sarah ( Barlow) Baker, who was born in Water- town, New York, were the parents of three children: Mrs. C. G. Bald- win, of Watertown, whose husband, now deceased, was for many years connected with the Watertown Times; Mrs. Cleveland, wife of Stephen R. Cleveland; and Mrs. C. G. Comstock, a resident of Watertown, with whom Mrs. Baker makes her home. Mr. Cleveland and his family are members of the Universalist church, he being also one of the mem- bers of the board of trustees.
MILO L. CLEVELAND, the well known contractor, and one of the most valued citizens of Watertown, New York, was born in East Houndsfield, Jefferson county, New York, July 4, 1851, a son of Phil- ander B. and Mercy (Richardson) Cleveland.
He obtained his education in the schools of Watertown, and at the age of eighteen began learning the trade of carpenter, teaching school during the winter months. In 1871 he engaged with the engineer corps on the Carthage, Watertown & Sackets Harbor Railroad. In 1872 he took a position with the engineer corps on the Kingston & Pembroke Railroad, and remained one year, when he became sub-contractor on this road, which position he occupied until the fall of 1874. In 1875 he was a contractor on the Lake Ontario Shore Railroad, where he built four-
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teen miles of road. In 1876 and 1877 he was on the Kingston & Pem- broke Railroad as a contractor; in 1878 and 1879 at Port Colburn, on the Welland Canal. In 1880 he built a branch railroad from Lewiston Junction to Suspension Bridge, New York, and did a great deal of con- tract work for private corporations in and about Watertown, New York, in the building of bulkheads and repairing the same. He also built a stone arch bridge at Antwerp, New York, also the C. R. Remington pa- per mill at Watertown, New York. In 1881 he built the Watertown waterworks. In 1882 he did some very fine work in the building of two stone arch bridges-one at Madrid, St. Lawrence county, New York, and the other at Louisville, St. Lawrence county, New York.
In 1883 he went to Youngstown, Ohio, and in connection with his brother, Merritt A. Cleveland, built one hundred miles of the Pittsburg, Cleveland & Toledo Railroad, and during the years 1884 to 1887 was engaged in contract work in the city of Watertown and along Block River in building bridges, stone buildings and similar work. In 1887 he went to Port Dalhousie, Canada, where he was engaged on canal work. In 1888 he returned to Watertown and laid the foundation and built the large mills of the Ontario Paper Company ; also piers and abut- nients for some of the finest bridges in northern New York. In 1890 and 1891 he superintended the building of the Watertown postoffice for the United States government. In 1892 he spent the year in California on business for a number of eastern parties. In 1893 he built the High Falls pulp mill, four arch bridges in the towns of Limerick and Water- town, and in 1894 built the large stone bulkhead and flume for Taggart Bros.' paper mill. In 1894 and 1895 he built the sulphite mill at Dexter, New York, and did a large amount of other contracting. In the latter part of 1897 he began work on the North Channel with his brother, Mer- ritt A. Cleveland and S. R. Cleveland for the Canadian government. They are by far the largest contractors for government work in the coun- try, employing at times as many as one thousand skilled mechanics and laborers. Mr. Cleveland has been engaged in contracting since attain- ing the age of twenty-three years, and is now the senior member of the firm of Cleveland & Ogsbury, dealers in coal, wood and cement, Water- town. New York.
Milo L. Cleveland married, December 4, 1874, Lucy D. Warren, born in East Houndsfield, New York, daughter of Charles and Lydia ( Holloway ) Warren. Her father was a foreman on public works, and
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followed that work until his death. She was one of three children, of whom Fred and George are deceased.
Mr. and Mrs. Milo Cleveland are the parents of one child, Caroline Mercy, born July 15, 1877, who married in June, 1898, Arthur Ives, proprietor of the Watertown Business College. Mr. and Mrs. Ives are the parents of one child, Merle G., born August II, 1902.
In politics Mr. Cleveland affiliates with the Republicans, and that he possesses in a high degree the esteem and confidence of his towns- men is evidenced by the fact that he held the office of highway commis- sioner of Watertown for three years, 1893 to 1895, and was later elected supervisor of the town for two years, 1896-1897. He has taken an active part and interest in the Masonic bodies, having been a member of Brown- ville Lodge No. 53, in which he filled all the chairs and was master for several years, also a member of Watertown Chapter No. 59, R. A. M., Watertown Commandery No. 11, Knights Templar, the Lodge of Perfec- tion and Media Temple of the Mystic Shrine.
JOHN T. DELANY, attorney and counselor at law in Alexandria Bay, New York, was born on the Atlantic ocean, August 11, 1849. His father, Marcus Delany, and Mary (Dunn), his wife, were natives of Queens county, Ireland, and the subject of this sketch was born during a protracted voyage of his parents from their native home to America in a sailing ship.
Marcus Delany, who had been educated in private schools in Ireland, and who in early manhood had learned the trade of mason and plasterer, selected for his home in the new world Clayton, Jefferson county, New York. There he worked at his trade and as day laborer. He soon pur- chased a tract of land at that time covered with a dense growth of timber. His family consisted of seven children-James and Marcus, now pros- perous farmers in Clayton: Mary, now in business in Rochester, New York; John T., the subject of this sketch; and William, Patrick and Anne, now deceased. With hard labor at his trade and on his farm, and with the assistance of his wife and children, Marcus Delany converted his one hundred acres of wilderness into a productive farm, giving his chil- dren in the meantime such education as the common schools of his local- ity afforded. He was a man of broad sympathies, a good education, a Catholic in religion, and a Democrat in politics. Both himself and wife lived past the age of eighty years, and in their declining years had the happiness of seeing their life work successful.
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Jolin T. Delany was educated in the common schools of his home district, and later at the high school in Clayton, at Union Academy, Bell- ville. New York, and at Watertown High School where he enjoyed the instruction of Professor Horace Otis in mathematics and sciences, and of the late Hannibal Smith in languages, history, civics and law. He is also a graduate of the Rochester Business University. He began his life work as a teacher in the fall of 1867, continued for a time to teach in the rural districts, and later was principal of the village schools at Depau- ville. Philadelphia, Three Mile Bay, Chaumont, and Redwood, doing his last teaching in the city of Watertown. Mr. Delany was a well known and very successful teacher. Perhaps no man in Jefferson county has been so instrumental in starting young men and women as teachers and in other lines of intellectual life work.
In 1897 Mr. Delany closed his career as teacher, and began the study of law. From early manhood it had been his ambition to be a law- yer. Now, having time and ability to pursue his favorite work, he be- gun the study in earnest, at first as a clerk in the law office of his for- mer teacher, Hon. Hannibal Smith, and later with Hon. J. F. LaRue, of Philadelphia, New York. After passing successfully the bar examina- tion at Rochester, New York, he was admitted to the bar in March, 1901. He soon after opened a law office in Alexandria Bay, New York, being the first lawyer to locate permanently in that village.
In politics, Mr. Delany is a Democrat, and a stanch advocate of the principles of his party. When a young man he was a cardidate for the office of school commissioner in the third district of Jefferson county, and, although that county is strongly Republican, he was defeated by a plural- ity of only twenty votes. He was member of the board of supervisors from the town of Lyme, having been elected while teaching at Chatt- mont in the years 1886 and 1888.
In 1880 John T. Delany married Jennie M. White, a daughter of George G. White, of Philadelphia. New York. Two children were born to them-John Emmett, and Henrietta Georgia. the latter of whom only is living, and who is making her way through the schools of her home village, her plan being to get such a comprehensive and practical educa- tion as can be had in the schools of the Empire State.
The subject of this sketch demonstrates to all people ambitious of success in their chosen line of usefulness, that it is never too late to begin, and that with perseverance they are sure to win. The indications now
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are that Mr. Delany will add to a very successful life as teacher, the honor of a very successful business man and lawyer.
HENRY BARNARD LEAK. Every civilized community is largely dependent upon its business men, not only for the influx and continuity of material prosperity, but also for the maintenance of those institutions and the advancement of those projects essential to the well- being of society and the promotion of the general good. A worthy representative of the class of business men who never fail to respond ably and fully to the demands and responsibilities incident to their po- sition is found in Henry B. Leak, of Watertown. Mr. Leak belongs to a Canadian family of English origin, and in this case, as well as in many others of the men that came to this country nearly a century ago, very little can be learned of their antecedents.
John Leak, the grandfather of H. B. Leak, moved from the south of England (or Wales, not certainly known now) and settled in North Dalton, a small town not far from the city of Leeds, in Yorkshire, Eng- land, about the year 1775, and there engaged in market gardening. On the homestead there made, his family of four children was born. There he died September 10, 1856, at the ripe old age of ninety-three years. He was well known and much respected in the community in which he lived. His wife died some years before him.
John Leak, son of John Leak, was born August 29, 1805, on the parental homestead at North Dalton, where he obtained his education and engaged in farming. At the age of thirty years he came to the United States and settled in Genesee county, this state, where he be- came a teamster and farmer. After a time he went to Michigan, and later made his home on a farm near Chatham, Ontario, where he passed the remainder of his life. He possessed the esteem and cordial liking of his neighbors, by whom he was elected to many offices of trust, among them those of assessor and township collector. He was an officer in the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he and his wife were members. The latter was Jane Catton, who was born in 1815, in Yorkshire, England, and was brought by an uncle to this country. Mr. and Mrs. Leak were the parents of the following children: Will- iam, who is a carpenter in Chatham, Canada: Mary, who married Henry Weese, and resides in the same place; Henry B., mentioned at length, hereinafter; James, also a resident of Chatham; Eliza, who became the wife of Andrew Robinson, and now lives in Kalamazoo,
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Michigan: John T. Leak, who conducts a furniture business at Kala- mazoo: and Elizabeth, deceased. The mother of these children died in 1878, on the old homestead near Chatham, where her husband also passed away, at the advanced age of eighty-eight years.
Henry B. Leak, son of John and Jane (Catton) Leak, was born January 19. 1846, on his father's farm in Kent county. Ontario, and received his education in the schools of the neighborhood. In the year 1862, he commenced to learn the blacksmith's trade, which he followed for fifteen years in his native place, and then went to St. Thomas, Can- ada, as foreman in a carriage shop, where he remained three years. He then entered the service of the Canada Carriage Company of To- ronto, holding for two years the position of superintendent. In 1887 he came to Watertown and became foreman in the blacksmith shop of the Watertown Carriage Company, where he remained two years. Upon the organization of the Excelsior Carriage Company, Mr. Leak became a stockholder and superintendent, and all the machinery, which was of the latest and most improved kind, was purchased and put in under his direction. The company was organized with a capital of $50,000, all paid in. Mr. Leak has had the superintendence of the factory since its organization, employing about one hundred men, the factory being one of the largest in the country and one of the most prosperous in Watertown. The company has a very extensive trade with all the New England states, the flourishing condition of the business being largely the result of the muwearied application and able management of Mr. Leak. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, affiliating with Water- town Lodge No. 49, of Watertown. Politically he is a Republican, and takes an active part in the affairs of the organization. He is a member of the Baptist church, in which he has held various offices, among them that of trustee, which he still retains, and is also a mem- ber of numerous committees.
Mr. Leak married December 24. 1868, Jane A. Floeter, a native of AAmherstburg, Canada, of German descent, and they have four chil- dren: 1. George Franklin, who is a dry goods merchant at Gouverneur, and who married Miss Gertrude Carter, of Watertown; 2. Birdie Floe- ter, who resides at home, 50 Academy street; 3. Roy Leighton, who graduated from the Watertown high school, class of '94, studied medi- cine with Dr. F. H. Calkins, of Watertown, and received from Albany Medical College the degree of Doctor of Medicine, in 1898, and soon accepted an appointment to the medical staff of the St. Lawrence State
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