USA > New York > Jefferson County > Genealogical and family history of the county of Jefferson, New York, Volume I > Part 38
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Brief mention of his children follows: Lydia, the eldest, died unmarried. Hiram was a farmer, and died near Sackets Harbor. Levi was a farmer in Adams, where he died. Elvira and Elmira were twins. The former married John Cowles Cooper, who receives further men- tion elsewhere in this work. Electa was the wife of Captain John Q. Adams, a soldier of the war of 1812, and resided on a farm between Adams and Watertown.
JACOB SHOECRAFT. Throughout the length and breadth of Jefferson county no name is more highly respected than that of Jacob Shoecraft, who has been for more than half a century one of the leading farmers and citizens of Ellisburgh. The Shoecraft family is of German origin, and was founded in America by Peter Shoecraft, who emigrated from the Fatherland many years prior to the revolution and settled in Ulster county, New York. From him are descended all who bear the name of Shoecraft in America. Just before leaving his native land, or immediately after his arrival in New York, he married Elizabeth -, the only issue of the marriage being two sons, John and Jacob, both mentioned at length hereinafter. These two brothers, between whom all their lives a warm attachment existed, both served in the Revolutionary army, and both received pensions from the government in recognition of their service.
John Shoecraft, elder son of Peter and Elizabeth Shoecraft, was
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born December 13, 1755, in Ulster county, New York, and in June, 1807, moved with his family to Penfield, Monroe county, New York, where he passed the remainder of his life. He married in Cambridge, Washington county, New York, Elizabeth McKee, who was born in Scotland in 1755. They were the parents of the following children : William, born December 25, 1786, married Roxana -, had no children, and died in 1865 in Norwich, Connecticut : Sally, born October 29, 1788, married William Harris, and died Angust 9, 1846; James, born December 13, 1790: John, born November 15, 1792, married Laura -; Mary Ann, born July 19, 1795, married Lyman Fox; George, born August 25, 1797. died in 1798; and Peter, born June I, 1799, died December 3, 1874. The death of John Shoecraft, the father of this family, occurred April 14, 1833, in Penfield, Monroe county, New York, and his wife expired in the same place December 19, 1842.
Jacob Shoecraft, younger son of Peter and Elizabeth Shoecraft, was born May 10, 1759, in Ulster county, New York, and married Caro- line Sammon, who was born February 9, 1755. She was cousin of Jacob and Frederick Sammon, whose tragic history may be found in the second volume of Stone's "Life of Joseph Brant." Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Shoecraft: Joseph, born May 19, 1787, married Sarah Calkins, born October 16, 1796, and died February 3, 1866, his wife passing away April 25, 1876; Polly, who married David Pryne, consin of Sarah Calkins, mentioned above, whose mother's maiden name had been Pryne; Rachel, who became the wife of Francis Pryne, brother of David Pryne; Sally, who married George Hufstater; Sarah, who became the wife of Abram Snyder; and Matthew, men- tioned at length hereinafter. Mr. and Mrs. Shoecraft, the parents of these children, having resided first in Dutchess county, New York, and afterward in Herkimer county, in the same state, finally went in 1823 to the northern part of Oswego county, New York, where they passed their last years in the home of their son Joseph. Mrs. Shoecraft died January 19. 1834. and her husband passed away February 27. 1836, having survived her but two years.
Matthew Shoecraft, youngest child of Jacob and Caroline ( Sam- mon) Shoecraft, was born May 30, 1795, and in 1823 moved with his wife and children to Boylston (then Orwell), Oswego county. Late in life he went to Ellisburgh, this county. He married Hannah Dillenbeck, who was born August 1, 1797, and they were the parents of a son Jacob,
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mentioned at length hereinafter. Mr. Shoecraft and his brother Joseph, mentioned above, were both soldiers in the war of 1812 and saw service at Sacketts Harbor. The death of Mrs. Shoecraft, who was a woman of the most estimable Christian character, occurred November 20, 1874, and her husband survived her less than a year, passing away August 25, 1875.
Jacob Shoecraft, son of Matthew and Hannah (Dillenbeck) Shoe- craft. was born February 14, 1819, in the village of Herkimer, New York, and at the age of four years was brought by his parents to Os- wego county. He remained at home until twenty-five years old, was later employed in a distillery at Woodville, and subsequently engaged in business in Boylston, and the hired a farm which he conducted for about six years. In 1854 he purchased the farm which has since been his home, a fine estate of about one hundred acres, well stocked, highly cultivated and provided with well constructed and commodious build- ings. To this have been added nearly two hundred acres by the sons. Mr. Shoecraft is a Democrat in politics. From childhood he has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, to the support of which he has liberally contributed, and has in all his dealings been animated by a spirit of benevolence.
Mr. Shoecraft married, October 5, 1844, Deborah Dingman, who was born in 1826 at Boylston, Oswego county, and they have three children : Martha L., who is the widow of Leonard Howe, and resides with her father; Jacob E., who lives on the home farm, married Eugenia Hitchcock, and has two children, Jacob Eaton and Maud, the latter being a teacher ; and Arthur, who is unmarried and resides at home.
ALEXANDER LARMON. Among the farmers of Jefferson county, Alexander Larmon of Mannsville holds the place of a recog- nized leader. On the paternal side he comes of sturdy Scottish lineage, while through his mother he is collaterally descended from one of the heroes of English history.
Hugh Larmonth (as the name was then spelled, the original orthog- raphy having been Learmounthe) was born in Scotland in 1737, and was by trade a blacksmith. In early manhood he emigrated to America and settled at Cambridge, Washington county, New York, where he purchased two hundred and ten acres of wild land, at $2.50 per acre. This land he cleared and converted into a farm and one hundred and ten acres of it still remain in the family. His son, Alexander Larmon,
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was born May 19, 1803, at Cambridge, Washington county. New York, and on reaching manhood became in his turn a farmer. He was for many years a Methodist class leader, and was a man of influence in his town. He married, November 23, 1826, Ruth S. Corey, whose genealogy is traced through the following generations :
Thomas Drake (1) was the youngest brother of Sir Francis Drake, the greatest all the great navigators who helped to make famous the reign of Elizabeth. This Thomas Drake married Elizabeth Aregare, and they had one son, Francis Drake (2), who was created a baronet and married Jane Bampflyde, but had no issue. After the death of his wife he married Joanna Strand, and they became the parents of five sons. Their third child, John Drake (3), was born July 28, 1610, married, and became the father of six children. He died in England. His first child, John Drake (4), was born in England in 1657, and was evidently the founder of the family in America, for he there married, November 30, 1692, Hannah Moore, and they had five children, of whom the first, John Drake (5) was born September 15, 1694, in Wind- sor, Connecticut. He married, April 14, 1722 or 1723, Esther Bissel, and two children were born to them, of whom the younger, Francis, died unmarried and without issue. The elder, Elizabeth Drake (6) was born March 5, 1724, and married, April 3, 1742, William, son of John Corey, of North Kingston, New York. They had two sons, and in 1746 William Corey died. February 15, 1748, his widow married Thomas Corey, brother of her first husband, and by this marriage be- came the mother of four children. Of these the youngest, William Corey (7) was born May 16, 1760, married February 25, 1789, Free- love Almy, and became the father of eight children. He died August 21, 1831, at Cambridge, Washington county, New York. Ruth S. Corey (8), eighth child of William and Freelove (Almy) Corey, was born August 18, 1805, and married Alexander Larmon, as mentioned above.
Mr. and Mrs. Larmon were the parents of thirteen children, of whom the twelfth was Alexander, mentioned at length hereinafter. The death of Mrs. Larmon occurred January 6, 1846, at Cambridge, Wash- ington county, New York, and her husband did not long survive her, passing away in 1847.
Alexander Larmon, twelfth child of Alexander and Ruth S. (Corey ) Larmon, was born April 22, 1842, at Cambridge, Washington county, New York. He was reared on a farm, and was early initiated
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in a practical knowledge of the different branches of agriculture. In 1868 he moved to Jefferson county and purchased the farm which is now his home, an estate of eighty-seven and one-half acres situated on the ridge road south of Mannsville, where he conducts a flourishing dairy farm. He is an active member of Mannsville Grange, No. 16, of which he has been several terms master, and is now chaplain. He accepts thie Methodist faith and is a stanch Republican.
Mr. Larmon married, October 24, 1866, at Hoosick, Rensselaer county, New York. Thayce E., born April 5. 1846, in West Troy, New York, daughter of Rowland E. and Susan ( Brickell) Spalding. The former, who was a woolen cloth manufacturer at North Hoosick, New York, died in 1899 at the age of seventy-three. Mr. and Mrs. Larmon have four children: Frank S., who is employed in the cement works at Hudson: Corey M., who is the wife of John H. Howe, a farmer of East Haven, Connecticut; Alexander, who resides at home; and Susie, who is the wife of Charles Parks, a farmer of Memphis, Onon- daga county. New York.
EDWIN LESTER, who was numbered until his death among the most respected citizens of Mannsville, was of English ancestry, tracing his descent from James Lester, whose forefathers had emigrated to the American colonies, and who was born in 1732 in Columbia county, New York. In 1826 he moved with his son James to Sandy Creek, Oswego county, where they led the life of pioneers. This migration resulted in a tragedy, James Lester the elder being burned to death in his cabin. in December, 1827, when he had reached the venerable age of ninety- five years. The son James married Rebecca Kline and they were the parents of six sons and four daughters.
Henry Lester, son of James and Rebecca (Kline) Lester. was horn December 10, 1787, and all his life followed agricultural pursuits. About 1819 he moved to Oswego county. August 25. 1810, he married Saralı, daughter of Calvin Moulton, and ten children were born to them : Robert D., Adelia .A., James N., William H., Amanda: Edwin, men- tioned at length hereinafter: John W., Charles, Harriet A., and Samuel N. The death of Mrs. Lester, the mother of the family, occurred Oc- tober 6, 1854, in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.
Edwin Lester, son of Henry and Sarah ( Moulton) Lester, was born October 15. 1817. in Columbia county, New York, and was brought up on a farm. As a youth he worked on the farm of Levi P. Hughson,
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near Pulaski. A flourishing dairy was attached to the estate, and Edwin assisted in the making of the large cheese which was presented to General Jackson on his election to the presidency. At the age of nineteen Mr. Lester began to learn the trade of wheelwright, at which he worked in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and North Carolina, remaining eight years in the last-named state, from the age of thirty-five years. In 1859 he settled in Mannsville, where he en- gaged in the furniture and undertaking business, which he conducted during the remainder of his life. He was much respected by his neigh- bors, and for many years held the office of school trustee. He was a member and also a trustee of the Baptist church.
Mr. Lester was married August 12, 1858, to Laura (Owen) Eaton, a native of Chepachet, Rhode Island, daughter of Arnold Owen, and widow of Samuel Eaton. Mrs. Lester has a daughter, Mary Enns- worth Eaton, who became the wife of Nathaniel Wood, of Woodville. (See Wood.) Edwin Lester and wife became the parents of three daughters : Saralı M., who was for fifteen years engaged in teaching. but since the death of her father has conducted the undertaking business, being a graduate of the Renouard Embalming School of New York city; Annie L., who became the wife of Dr. Homer Halyerd Hitchcock, a physician on the Isthmus of Panama, who died in April, 1901, after which she married the Rev. David B. McMurdy, a Scotch Presbyterian clergyman, of New Bedford, Massachusetts; and Cora B., who gradu- ated from the Mannsville High School and the Oswego Normal School, for some years was a teacher in the Sandy Creek Academy, and died November 4, 1899, at the age of thirty-three. The death of Mr. Lester, which occurred March 3, 1897, was lamented by all who knew him, as that of an upright business man, a kind neighbor and a good citizen.
FREDERICK KELLER. an esteemed and enterprising business man of Mannsville, Jefferson county, New York, where he has been suc- cessfully engaged in the occupation of milling since 1889, was born in Beidelsbach, Wurtemberg, Germany, September 27, 1835, a son of Frederick and Fredericka (Depew) Keller, the former named having been a miller by occupation, and a soldier in the German army.
Frederick Keller was reared in his native country, educated in the schools adjacent to his home, and served an apprenticeship at the trade of miller. Having decided to test the opportunities of the new world, he emigrated thither in 1866, and at once secured employment
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in a mill at Mexico, New York, where he remained for four years. He then located in Oswego, same state, and for a period of time was em- ployed in the mill of Jenkins & Huber, going from thence to West Am- boy, same state, where he hired a mill and conducted the same for eleven years. In 1889 he took up his residence in Mannsville, pur- chased a grist mill there, and from that date to the present time, a period of fifteen years, he has been successful in the management thereof. Po- litically Mr. Keller is a Democrat, and fraternally is a member of the Masonic order, being affiliated with Amboy Lodge, No. 650.
On March 24, 1874, Mr. Keller was united in marriage to Wilhel- mina Strobach, who was born in Berlin, Germany, in 1840, a daughter of William and Carolina Strobach. The former was a railroad employee in Germany, and is now deceased. By adoption Mr. Keller has two sons, as follows: I. Paul Keller, of Williamstown, New York, a miller by occupation : he married Rose Balch, of Mannsville, New York, a daughter of Orrin H. Balch, a blacksmith. Paul Keller is a member of Amboy Lodge, No. 650, Free and Accepted Masons, and a Republican in politics. He was elected to serve as a delegate to the Oswego county convention in 1904. 2. Charles A. Keller, who is employed in the mill with his father. He married Irma Sterling, of Mannsville, New York, daughter of Hiram Sterling, and they are the parents of two children, Carl and Laurine Keller. Charles A. Keller is a member of Mannsville Lodge, No. 175, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Mannsville, and of the Mexico Encampment of Richland. He is a Democrat in politics.
MILES COOPER, a pioneer settler of Jefferson county, was born May 27, 1769, in Haddam, Connecticut, where his wife, Arsenath Cowles, was born March 20. 1771. They were married there and in 1793 settled in the adjoining town of Durham, where four of their children were baptized. In 1803 they came to Adams, this county. where they passed the balance of their lives. Mr. Cooper built the first frame house in the village of Adams, in ISII. Their children were born as follows: Rodema, November 6. 1793; Ira, January 30, 1795; Polly, March 22, 1798; John Cowles, April 12, 1800: Sarah, May 2. 1804: Nancy, August 10. 1806 (died young) ; Eliza, December 25, 1808; George. April 3, 18II : and Nancy, June 1, 1813. Miles Cooper had brothers. Abner and George. The latter served on board a man-
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of-war in the Revolution, and in an engagement was wounded in the thigh by a splinter from the rail.
John Cowles Cooper, born April 12, 1800, as above recorded, was an infant when his parents brought him to this county. Here he grew up and became one of the leading citizens of the county, prominent in social, religious and political life. He was married September 15. 1824, to Elvira, daughter of Daniel Fox, a pioneer settler of Adams (see Fox, V). He died January 26, 1877. In 1831 he experienced religion and joined the Methodist church, of which he continued to be a faithful and valued member during life. He served many years as trustee of the Adams society, to whom he donated the bell of the first church, and also land for the enlargement of the building, when the growth of the society made expansion necessary. In 1875 he was lay delegate to the general conference of the church.
Mr. Cooper was an energetic and successful business man. operat- ing in Canada, as well as his home state. He was among the organizers of the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg Railroad Company, of which he was long a director, and was ever ready to promote any plan for the advancement of his community and of mankind in general. In 1855 he was elected president of the Agricultural Insurance Company, of Watertown, and continued to act in that capacity until his death. He was for several years supervisor of the town of Adams, and was every- where known for his fair and honorable principles and correct dealing, either in his private capacity or as a town or corporate official. He was among the promoters of the Thousand Island Park, a resort chiefly owned and enjoyed by Jefferson county people, in the St. Lawrence river, his cottage there being the oldest now standing. Mr. Cooper had two sons and three daughters. Levi P. Cooper, the son, died in Adams. unmarried. DeAlton. a soldier of the Civil war, enlisted before eighteen years old, was lieutenant in the Tenth New York Heavy Artillery, and died August 5. 1864. The eldest daughter, Geraldine, became the wife of General Bradley Winslow, of Watertown. and is now deceased. The second, Melissa, married U. S. Gilbert, and lives in Watertown. The youngest, Adelaide C., is the widow of Jean R. Stebbins, and resides in Watertown (see Stebbins).
HENRY BAILEY, deceased, for many years actively and promi- nently identified with the agricultural interests of Jefferson county, con- ducting extensive operations on a one hundred acre farin on the Adams
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road, in close vieinity to the Allendale schoolhouse, upon which he erected a handsome and commodious residence in which he lived up to the time of his decease, was born on a farm in the town of Lorraine, New York, June 5. 1821. His parents were George and Olive (Kasson) Bailey, who resided in Broadalbin, Fulton county, New York, from whenee about the year 1806 they removed to Lorraine, among the pio- neer settlers, taking up a piece of wild land which they cleared off and cultivated, and on which they resided up to the time of their demise about the year 1838. Mr. Bailey was a worthy descendant of Scotch, English and Puritan stock.
Henry Bailey acquired his preliminary education in the schools of Watertown, and this knowledge was supplemented by a course at Hamilton Preparatory Academy of Hamilton College. From his well- directed efforts on the farm he gained a comfortable livelihood, and was also enabled to lay aside a competence for his declining years. For several years he served as state loan commissioner. He possessed rare and excellent qualities of character, and was highly respected and es- teemed by all who came in contact with him. He strictly adhered to the tenets of the Baptist church, was a member of Adams Grange, and was a stanch supporter of the principles of the Republican party. For over twenty years he was clerk of the Adams Baptist Society.
In 1844 Mr. Bailey was united in marriage to Emily D. Penney, who was born January 6, 1822, a daughter of John and Polly (Brown) Penney, who were the parents of the following named children: I. George W .. a merchant and farmer, lived and died at Newark, Ohio. 2. Celestine, born in 1818, wife of Albert Washburn, of Adams, a farmer. 3. Grove J., born in 1820, a business man of Cincinnati, Ohio. 4. Emily D., aforementioned as the wife of Henry Bailey. John Pen- ney, father of Mrs. Bailey, was a farmer and owned the property adjoining the Bailey farm. He enlisted as a private in the war of 1812 and served at Saekett's Harbor. His wife, Polly ( Brown) Penney, was a daughter of Asa Brown, one of the pioneers of the town of Lor- raine, and its first supervisor. The parents of John Penney were Ammial and Hannah (Haviland) Penney, who came to this section of the state from Dutchess county about 1804, becoming one of the pioneer settlers of Jefferson county. Ammial Penney was a soldier of the Revolutionary war, and thus his granddaughter, Mrs. Bailey, is one of the members of the Daughters of the American Revolution. The grandparents of John Penney were George and Deborah (Wieks)
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Penney, the latter named having been a daughter of George Wicks, a Presbyterian minister, who came as a missionary from England to the Indians in America prior to the Revolutionary war.
Mr. and Mrs. Bailey were the parents of seven children : Celestine is the wife of James P. Farmer, of Sherburne, Minnesota; Olive J. married James McComber, a farmer, and resides in Henderson, this county ; John D. is a farmer, residing on the Penney homestead; Newell K. is a bookkeeper, residing in Watertown; Frank H. cultivates the paternal farm: Emma C. died in 1892, unmarried; Jesse L. died at the age of fifteen years.
WILLIAM THOMAS, deceased, for many years a well known and public-spirited citizen of Jefferson county, was born in Halifax, Ver- mont, about the middle of the eighteenth century, a descendant of a Welsh ancestry. He was a representative of that class of men known as pioneer settlers, who by their industry, thrift and perseverance, and by suffering many hardships and privations, made this country what it is to-day, the best in the world, and they deserve a just recognition at our hands.
In 1800 William Thomas, accompanied by his sons, Benjamin and Ira, and the former's wife, came to Jefferson county, New York, by way of Rome and Redfield to Watertown, then a small hamlet containing three houses, with an ox team and guided by means of blazed trees. For a short period of time they remained in Watertown, where they were engaged in chopping wood, and subsequently they came through an almost trackless wilderness by way of the Beaver Meadows to the vicinity of the south line of Adams, where William Thomas took up a tract of land comprising about eight hundred acres and erected thereon a log house. Shortly afterward he returned to his former home and in March, 1801, brought his family, which consisted of his wife and seven sons and two daughters, namely: Benjamin, above referred to as having come with his father to Jefferson county, who died in Kendall, Orleans county, where most of his life was passed; Ira A., mentioned hereinafter ; William, James, Joel, Ezra, Elihu, Lucinda, who became the wife of Samuel Hibbard; and Polly, who became the wife of Elihu Putnam, a descendant of General Putnam. All the members of this family settled in the vicinity of Adams, became farmers, and that section received the name of the Thomas settlement. William Thomas was an active member of the Methodist church, and was instrumental in the
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organization of a class near his home, later affiliating with the Adams society. He served as assessor of the town, and was an influential member of the community.
Ira A. Thomas, second son of William Thomas, was born in Ben- pington, Vermont, August 17. 1779. He was united in marriage, May 2. 1799. to Lucy Allen, who was born in Brattleboro, Vermont, April 8, 1781. a daughter of Deacon Ezra Allen of the Baptist church there. She was one of the most industrious women in the country, performing her own knitting, spinning and weaving, and with the proceeds from her labor she purchased a part of the material that built the first frame building in this vicinity, which is now a part of the house owned by her grandson, William H. S. Thomas. Ira A. Thomas and his brother Joel were noted as drummers, and were accompanied by their brother Ezra 01, the fife, furnishing martial music for general trainings. Ira and Joel were soldiers in the war of 1812. Ira was a farmer and car- penter, and was known as an expert in hewing timbers. With his son and namesake. he contracted for and furnished the timbers for the first railroad station at AAdams. He served long as trustee, and was class leader of the Methodist church, and was a Whig in politics. He served as assessor, but did not seek political honors. He died in 1858, and his wife in March, 1864. They were the parents of the following named children: Eunice. born August 3, 1800, who became the wife of the Rev. David Walker, a preacher of the Methodist Episcopal church; Lois, born July 20, 1802, who became the wife of Ezra Put- nam, a farmer of Adams; Ruth, born July 22, 1804, died at the age of forty years, unmarried; Lucy, born November 30, 1806, became the second wife of the Rev. David Walker, who married for his first wife her sister Eunice; Ira, Jr., born March 10, 1812, a farmer, died in Adams; and Lewis N., born May 26, 1818. mentioned at length in the following paragraph.
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