USA > New York > Jefferson County > Genealogical and family history of the county of Jefferson, New York, Volume I > Part 41
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Mr. Freeman was married June 28, 1893, in Albany, New York, to Miss Leila M. Miller, a native of Schenectady county, and daughter of Robert G. and Mary Louisa (Eighmey) Miller of that county. She was born October 24, 1863, in the town of Duanesburg. One son was the issue of this marriage, William Roland M., born May 8, 1895. Mrs. Freeman's maternal grandfather, the Rev. Samuel Eighmey, was a native of Dutchess county, New York, was a pioneer Methodist minister of New York and Vermont, and his death occurred on his farm in Schenec- tady county, March 4, 1847, aged fifty-eight years. His health broke down by reason of his arduous labors in the various fields in which he worked so faithfully for the uplifting of the Gospel. Her father, Robert G. Miller, was for many years engaged in agricultural pursuits in Albany county, but is now a resident of Champion ; his wife, who died May 12, 1899, aged fifty-nine years, was the mother of seven children, two of whom died in infancy, and the surviving members of the family are as follows: Mrs. William P. Freeman; Mrs. G. G. Marsh of Rutland, Jefferson county ; Austin E. Miller of New York city ; Mabel E. Miller, trained nurse, of Cortland, New York, and Robert Edward Miller of New York city.
Mrs. Freeman is a graduate of Speir's Albany Institute of Short- hand and Typewriting, where she afterward taught shorthand and type- writing for two years and a half. at the same time being general manager of the institution. For a short time previous to her marriage she occu- pied an office of her own in Albany. Mrs. Freeman is a direct descend- ant of one of the Drapers, who came over in the "Mayflower." She has in her possession the marriage certificate of her grandfather, above men- tioned, dated November 10, 1818, his license as local preacher, deacon and elder in the church, her grandmother's letter to the church of Gran- ville, Connecticut, dated May 5, 1823, and many other choice relics.
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WILLIAM H. DECKER. Both as a business man and a eitizen, William H. Decker of Deferret belongs to the class of men who, by their industry. integrity and enterprise, contribute to the advancement and prosperity of the community. He is a grandson of James Decker, who was born in Holland and emigrated to the United States. He took up a small tract of land in Ancram, New York, where he spent the remainder of his life. He married Hannah Spease, who was also a native of Holland, and they were the parents of seven children : Mary, who married John De Vause, of Great Barrington, Massachusetts: John A., mentioned at length hereinafter: Sarah, who became the wife of Henry Smith, of Holyoke, Massachusetts; Louise, who married John Crippen, and resides in Holyoke, Massachusetts; James, who lives in South Hadley, Massachusetts ; William Henry, deceased; and Josephine, who is the wife of Warren Van Buren, of South Lee, Massachusetts. All the family were members of the Baptist church. Mr. Decker, the father, died at the comparatively early age of forty-five, and his widow survived to old age. Both were estimable and worthy members of society.
Join A. Decker, son of James and Hannah ( Spease) Decker, was born in 1830, in Ancram, New York, where he was educated, and then entered a wrapping-paper mill, where he remained some years. Later he went to Holyoke as foreman in a fine writing-paper mill, and held this position for a number of years. He moved to Lee, Massachusetts, in order to accept the position of general superintendent of a paper company. This responsible position he retained twenty years, and at the end of that time engaged in business for himself in East Lee, where he conducted a paper mill for four years. His next removal was to Westfield, Massachusetts, where for a number of years he had charge of the mill of the Springdale Paper Company, and then spent three years in the mill of the Glen Manufacturing Company, at Berlin Falls, New Hampshire. After remaining two years with the Ivanhoe Paper Company of Paterson, New Jersey, he spent the same length of time in the mills of the Ontario Paper Company in Brownville, and Watertown, New York, and then went to Rumford's Falls, Maine, where for six years he had charge of a mill. At Millinockett, Maine, he was general super- intendent of the Great Northern Paper Company, the largest in the world. After superintending the reconstruction of all the buildings of the plant, he retired from business and is now living in a small village near Rumford's Falls. Maine. He takes an active interest in local
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affairs, and is one of the leading men of the town, having held the offices of first selectman, chief of the fire department and chief of police. He is a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, having passed through all the bodies, and is also a noble of the Mystic Shrine.
Mr. Decker married Sarah Goodrich, who was born in 1835, in Springfield, Massachusetts, and five children were born to them, four of whom are living: Mary, who married Frank Sibley, of Middle- town, Connecticut ; William H., mentioned at length hereinafter ; Stella, who became the wife of William Hebner, of Millinockett, Maine; and Grace, who resides at home. All the family are members of the Con- gregational church. In 1878 Mr. Decker and his children had the great affliction of losing the wife and mother, who died at the com- paratively early age of forty-three, when her son William H. was but ten years old.
William H. Decker, son of John A. and Sarah (Goodrich) Decker, was born May 22. 1868, in Lee, Massachusetts, where he received his education in the common and high schools. Later he took a course in a business college, and upon leaving it kept books for his father for a year in Lee, Massachusetts. He then applied himself to learning paper making, and thoroughly mastered all branches of the business, and be- coming thoroughly proficient. He took his first position of trust with the Taggart Paper Company in the capacity of night superintendent at Felt's Mills, in Jefferson county, Massachusetts. At the end of a year he went to Rumford's Falls, Maine, where he had general charge of a mill under the superintendence of his father. After remaining there six years he came to Deferret, to assume the superintendency of the St. Regis Paper Company. The buildings for this plant had just been completed, and under the supervision of Mr. Decker the machinery was all placed in position in a one-hundred-ton mill, equipped with all the latest improvements, and employing three hundred men. This is the largest mill in this vicinity. In connection with it is a forty-ton sulphite mill and a 150-ton ground wood mill, the entire plant being known as the most completely equipped plant anywhere in this section. if not in the United States. Mr. Decker has full charge of these great works, and also of a large number of houses which are the property of the company, most of them having been erected under his personal supervision. He is probably the youngest man occupying so prominent a position anywhere in this section of the country.
He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, affiliating with Brown-
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ville Lodge No. 53, F. & A. M. ; Watertown Chapter, No. 59, R. A. M., and to the Knights of Pythias, the Order of Red Men and to the Elks. He is a Republican.
Mr. Decker married, in 1892, Stella Johnson, and they are the parents of one child, Carleton W., who was born August 28, 1898. Mrs. Decker is a daughter of John Johnson, a hotel proprietor, who is now deceased. He and his wife were the parents of five children, four of whom are living: Cora, who married Charles Codman, of Brownville; Maggie, who is the wife of Leroy Buchanan; John, who resides in Charlotte, New York; and Stella, who was born in 1870, in Brown- ville, and became the wife of William H. Decker, as mentioned above. Mrs. Johnson, the mother of the family, is still living at Brownville.
CHARLES WATSON SLOAT. Among the leading representa- tives of the manufacturing interests of Jefferson county Charles W. Sloat of Watertown is conspicuous. His grandfather, Henry Sloat, who was born in 1785, of Dutch parentage, came from Orange county, this state, to Jefferson county and was one of the early residents of Brownville, where he purchased a tract of land. After remaining there a few years he went to Orleans, Jefferson county, and settled on a farm near Stone Mills, where he spent the remainder of his life in agricultural pursuits. He served in the war of 1812 with the rank of paymaster, having his headquarters at Sackets Harbor. He was a member of the Presbyterian church. He married Jemima Kane, a native of Henderson, and they were the parents of six sons and two daughters, all of whom reached maturity and were educated in this vicinity. Mrs. Sloat was seventy- five years old at the time of her death and her husband passed away at the age of eighty. Both were esteemed by all as useful and worthy mem- bers of society.
John Sloat, son of Henry and Jemima (Kane) Sloat, was born in 1818, in Brownville, and received his education in his native town and in Orleans. For a time he engaged in farming and later learned the cooper's trade, which he practiced with great success in Watertown, whither he came in 1842. His political affiliations were with the Repub- licans. He married Lydia Doane, one of a family of eleven children, of whom the sole survivor, Levi, now resides in California. Mr. and Mrs. Sloat were the parents of three children: Charles W., mentioned at length hereinafter; Eldred G., who is a resident of Watertown; and Delia L., who is the wife of Henry Ellery, a miner and rancher near
Chase w. Strat
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Santa Barbara, California. Mrs. Sloat, the mother of the family, died at the early age of thirty, when Charles W. was but six years old. Mr. Sloat reached the age of seventy-five years. He was a man whose genial nature won for him a host of friends.
Charles W. Sloat, son of John and Lydia (Doane) Sloat, was born October 10, 1840, in the village of Great Bend, Jefferson county, New York, and acquired a liberal education from the public schools of the towns of Pamelia and Watertown. When in 1861 the call for volunteers was issued, he was among the first to answer and enlisted in Company H, Ninety-fourth New York Volunteers, being shortly made sergeant. After serving his country faithfully for three years he was discharged in 1864, as second lieutenant. He served in the First Army Corps ( later the Fifth), under Hooker and Warren, in the Army of the Potomac, sharing in most of the hardships and battles of that army. He then returned to Watertown and purchased a planing mill which he operated in connection with Philander Budlong for two years, under the name of C. W. Sloat & Co. In 1872 he formed a partnership with Louis C. Greenleaf under the firm name of Sloat & Greenleaf, and has since been engaged with him in the lumber and milling business. The Sloat & Greenleaf Lumber Company, of which Mr. Sloat is president, was incor- porated in 1893. He served on the first board of trustees of the Water- town Manufacturers' Aid Association and is a trustee of the Jefferson County Orphan Asylum. As a citizen Mr. Sloat has received frequent proofs of the regard in which he is held by his townsmen, having been elected one of the supervisors from the fourth ward on the county board, in which capacity he served two terms. For two years he was a member of the board of aldermen, for a time was connected with the board of education, and is now a member of the board of public works. He is a member of Watertown Lodge, No. 49. F. and A. M., and of Joe Spratt Post, No. 323, G. A. R., of which latter organization he is past com- mander. He also belongs to the Lincoln League, a political organization whose principles are Republican.
Mr. Sloat married, in 1868, Ada L. Budlong, of Clinton, New York, and they have three children: Ehzabeth H., who is the wife of Dr. Charles E. Pierce of Watertown (a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work) and has one child, Gerald S .: Wallace, who married Ruby Fisher and resides with his father ; and Helen M., who is now at school.
Mrs. Sloat is a daughter of Philander and Amelia ( Gallup) Bud- long, both natives of Oneida county, of French and Connecticut nativity.
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The former spent his last years in the home of Mr. Sloat. He and his wife were the parents of four children: Ada L., mentioned above as the wife of Charles W. Sloat; Frank D., an Episcopal clergyman, resi- dent of Fairmount, Minnesota ; Willis A., who lives in Camden, New York ; and Belle, who resides in Oneida, New York. It is with the last named daughter that Mrs. Budlong, who is now a widow, makes her home. Mr. Budlong died at the age of seventy. leaving behind him the memory of a good man and a respected citizen.
JOHN H. COPP, M. D. Among the popular and respected physi- cians of Jefferson county, New York, Dr. John H. Copp, of Natural Bridge, occupies an honorable place. He is a grandson of Thomas Copp. who was born in 1766, in London, England, and came to this country on a British man-of-war. He settled near New London, Connecticut. where he engaged for a time in farming, but later came to Mexico, New York, being one of the first settlers of that locality. There he spent the remainder of his life, and was a man much respected by his neighbors. Politically he was a Whig. He married Anna Adams, a cousin of John Adams, second president of the United States, and of the children born to them three arrived at maturity. Both Mr. and Mrs. Copp were remarkable for longevity, the former having died in 1855, at the age of eighty-nine, and the latter having survived to ninety.
Thomas Copp, son of Thomas and Anna (Adams) Copp, was born in Whitesboro, Oneida county, New York, in 1807. Later his parents removed to Connecticut, where they resided for a short time, and upon their return to New York state they took up their residence in the town of Mexico. The common schools adjacent to his home afforded Thomas Copp an excellent education, and he made agriculture the business of his life. He was the owner of a fine farm in Mexico, which he cultivated according to the best methods and made extremely profitable. He mar- ried Ann Springer, who was born in 1819, in the Mohawk Valley, one of the eight children of Charles Springer, who was born in Sweden in 1775. He emigrated to the United States while a child. He engaged in agricultural pursuits in the Mohawk Valley, finally settling in 1823 in Richland, Oswego county, New York, where he died at the age of seventy-five years. Mr. and Mrs. Copp were the parents of four chil- dren, of whoin the only one living is John H. Copp, M. D., mentioned at length hereinafter. Mr. Copp spent his last years in the town of Oswego on a small farm, and his death occurred in the sixty-eighth year
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of his age. He left behind him the memory of a well spent life. Mr. Copp was married twice; his first wife, mother of Dr. John H. Copp, died in the year 1867, aged forty-eight years.
Dr. John H. Copp, son of Thomas and Ann ( Springer ) Copp, was born October 19, 1841, in Mexico, New York. He received his pri- mary education in the common schools, afterward attending Mexico Academy. Choosing the practice of medicine for his life-work, he entered the Metropolitan Medical College of New York city, from which he graduated in 1863 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He at once began practice in Natural Bridge, New York, but in the stirring events of the great struggle between the North and South he felt called upon to abandon his profession for the time being and enter the army. In 1864 he enlisted in the One Hundred and Eighty- sixth Regiment, New York Volunteers, and was honorably discharged from the service on June 13, 1865. The regiment was recruited prin- cipally in Jefferson and Lewis counties, and was mustered into service September 8, 1864. It went out nine hundred and eighty strong, lost one hundred and thirty in battle, one hundred and twenty by disease and discharge, and returned with seven hundred and thirty. It was in the battle of Southside Railroad, October 27, 1864; formed part of Warren's command in his raid to Nottoway, December 10; was in the charge on Fort Mahone, in front of Petersburg, April 2, 1865, and finally joined in the pursuit and capture of General Lee. It was among the first to enter the rebel fortifications at Petersburg, and was highly complimented by its brigade and division commanders for the gallantry shown in its charge on Fort Mahone. It was organized at Sacketts Harbor for the period of one year, and was mustered out in accordance with orders from the War Department, June 2, 1865.
On his return to civil life Dr. Copp resumed the practice of his profession, in which he has since been actively and successfully engaged. In 1884 he opened a fine store fully equipped for the drug business, and which also offers an assortment of wall-papers, paints, oils, etc., and this enterprise has met with a large degree of prosperity. In 1885 he built a fine structure which includes his store and a large hall now occupied by the Natural Bridge Grange. For many years he has held the office of notary public. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, affiliating with Lodge No. 158, of Carthage, New York. Politically he is a Democrat.
Dr. Copp married in 1867. Zelia Hewett, daughter of Isaac and
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Nancy ( Earl) Hewett, who were the parents of fifteen children, two of whom are now living, namely: Mary Ann, who married T. Buck, of Carthage. New York ; and George, who is a physician of West Carthage. Isaac Hewett was a farmer, and died at the age of eighty years; his wife, prior to her marriage with him, was the wite of Jael Mix, to whom she bore five children, one of whom is living at the present time -- Henry Mix, of Antwerp, New York. Mrs. Hewett died in the year 1903, at the advanced age of ninety-seven years. Dr. and Mrs. Copp were the parents of two children: Hona, born May 30, 1871, who be- came the wife of E. B. Crowner, of Watertown, New York; and Guy E., born in Carthage, February 15, 1875, who is a farmer on the old homestead in Denmark. Mrs. Copp died in 1875, and Dr. Copp subse- quently married Charlotte Boyce, a native of Sterlingbush. Both Dr. and Mrs. Copp are very popular socially, and their home is the centre of a large circle of warm friends.
HOWARD S. FOLGER. Among the young representative busi- ness men who fill positions of great responsibility in Jefferson county, New York, should be mentioned the name of Howard S. Folger, general manager of the Thousand Island Steamboat Company, and also the St. Lawrence River Steamboat Company, with offices at Clayton, New York. He was born in Kingston, Ontario, February 10, 1867. He is the son of Henry Folger, who is the president of the above-mentioned companies.
The Folgers trace their ancestry through a long line of seafaring men who have held positions of trust and responsibility for over a cen- tury. They are found in the vicinity of Cape Cod and Massachusetts Bay as early as 1775, where their operations were conducted up to 1835. For nearly three-quarters of a century they have been connected with the interests of Jefferson county, New York.
Henry Folger ( father ) was born in Cape Vincent. New York, and when a young man went to Kingston, Ontario, where he has since taken i very active and prominent part in business affairs. Here he conducts a banking business, is largely interested in real estate, the street railroad, electric light plant, gas company, in mining near Port Arthur, and a large number of other business enterprises. In the early 70's he became interested in the steamboat traffic of the Great Lakes, and with his brother in 1873 purchased the steamers "Pierrepont," "Watertown" and "Maud," which were in use on the ferry line between Kingston and Cape
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Vincent, between Kingston and Wolfe and Garden Islands, and also on the line from Kingston to Gananoque, these three lines known as the St. Lawrence River Steamboat Company. These were purchased from Kinghorn & Hinckley, who organized a company, putting the "Pierre- pont" on the line, and later the "Watertown," Captain Hinckley still retaining an interest. Then the steamers "Maud" and "Geneva" were put on the Kingston-Cape Vincent route, and for more than a quarter of a century the "Maud" was on the line, and so carefully and skillfully has she been handled that she is known as the "Reliable." The first boat to run regularly between Cape Vincent and Clayton was the "Wren," which commenced her daily trips in 1868. In 1870 the "Midge" took her place. adding a daily trip from Clayton to Gananoque. In 1873 the "J. H. Kelley" took the route from Cape Vincent to Alexandria Bay, making two round trips daily, and in 1875 she was succeeded by the propellor "T. S. Fax- ton." About 1872 the Folger Brothers purchased the steamers "John F. Maynard" and the "John Thorn." these two boats being the nucleus of the line between Cape Vincent. Clayton and Alexandria Bay, known as the Thousand Island Steamboat Company. Cape Vincent was the ter- minal point at this time for all the tourists visiting the Thousand Islands, but later the terminal point became Clayton, where the offices were moved. As the region has developed they have built docks and estab- lished stations at various points along the river, purchased and built boats as occasion demanded, and have in every way kept abreast of the times.
The season of the Folger lines begins at the opening of navigation on the St. Lawrence river. The fleet includes the well-known palace steamers "St. Lawrence." "America" and "New York :" the commodious observation steamers "The Islander" and "New Island Wanderer," and a beautiful steel yacht. "Ramona." These boats run at convenient inter- vals, connecting with all trains on the New York Central Railroad con- verging at Clayton, New York, and in addition to conveying passengers to the various stations between Clayton and Alexandria Bay, over which route they carry all the mail, express and baggage, they also run to Gananoque and Kingston, at which points they connect with the Grand Trunk and Canadian Pacific railroads, and at the latter point with Cape Vincent. In addition to these trips a large number are especially arranged for sight-seeing, which are accompanied by guides who point out and explain all points of interest on these famous tours of the islands. These boats not only cover the route during the day, but also in the even- ing, with a searchlight, in order that summer visitors have ample oppor-
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tunity to see a large number of the islands. The steel yacht "Ramona" was especially designed and built to pass through the intricate channels and among the smaller islands where the larger steamers cannot navigate. Not only is their regular business of large proportions, but they also have an enormous excursion business amounting to hundreds of thousands of persons each year, tickets being sold by the New York Central and other roads all over the country on this line of boats. In all the years that Howard S. Folger has managed this enormous business, so careful has been his instructions to the men having the different boats in charge that not a casualty of any kind has ever occurred. This is certainly a record of which any man may well be proud.
Howard S. Folger was reared and educated in Kingston, Ontario, having been a student in Queens College, from which he was graduated in 1889 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He then entered Columbia College in New York city, from which he was graduated after a two years' course with high honors and with the degree of Bachelor of Laws in the spring of 1891, when he assumed his present position.
Mr. Folger married, January 21, 1892, Mary Eloise Price, born in Kingston, Ontario, daughter of Judge C. V. Price, the noted jurist of that city, who for nearly a quarter of a century has occupied a place of prominence upon the bench. Mrs. Folger is the eldest of two children, the other being Ida M. Mr. and Mrs. Folger are the parents of three children. as follows: Howard Price, Gwendolyn Marguerite and Doris Eloise.
ALMON H. HOUGHTON, a leading citizen of Alexandria, New York, where he is an active and influential factor in religious and educa- tional affairs, also in every enterprise which benefits the community or its people, is a native of the town, born June 10, 1849, on the farm which he now owns.
The family trace their ancestry to Samuel B. Houghton, born in 1760, and Peter Houghton, born in 1784. Samuel Houghton (great- grandfather ) was the father of five children : Roswell, Abiathia, Henry, Elizabeth, Elvira. Roswell Houghton (grandfather) was born in 1784. He was a resident of Fairlee, Vermont, from whence he came to Water- town, New York, by means of an ox team. Here he purchased quite a large tract of land about two miles up the river, which he cleared off and cultivated, and he was recognized as one of the successful farmers of that section. He married Percy Parker, who was born in Vermont, January
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