USA > New York > Jefferson County > Genealogical and family history of the county of Jefferson, New York, Volume I > Part 42
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44. 1786, and ten children were born to them, namely: Albey, born in 1808: James, in 1810; Elvira, in 1812; Ilamilton, in 1816; Sarah, in 1818: Joseph, January 24, 1820, mentioned hereinafter; Hiram, in 1822; Harrison, in 1824; Martha, in 1830, and Mary, in 1833. Roswell Houghton died in 1868, survived by his wife, who passed away January 29. 1875, aged ninety-one years.
Joseph Houghton ( father ) was born in Fairlee, Orange county, Ver- mont, January>24. 1820. He was reared and attended the common schools of that neighborhood until he attained the age of eleven years, when his parents removed to Watertown, New York, and two years later located in the town of Orleans, same state. About the year 1835 Joseph Houghton with his father settled in Alexandria, which was then in a primitive state, there being but few roads in the town. Here his father took up a section of land consisting of about four hundred and fifty acres, and this he assisted in cultivating and improving to a high state of perfection, and after his father's death resided thereon for the remainder of his life. On January 1, 1846, Mr. Houghton was married to Jane Clark, born May 26, 1828, daughter of Daniel Clark, a native of Thetford, Orange county, Vermont. Mr. Clark was the father of seven children, five of whom are living at the present time ( 1904) : Sarah, wife of Stephen Foster, of Lewis county, New York; Jane, widow of Joseph Houghton, and mother of Almon H. Houghton: Esther, wife of Henry Humbert, of Lewis county, New York ; Emily, wife of a Mr. Wilson, of Philadelphia, New York, and Dolly, who resides in Oswego county, New York.
Nine children were born to Joseph and Jane (Clark) Houghton, five of who attained adult age, namely, Martha, born in 1847, deceased; Almon H., mentioned hereinafter; Jennett S., born April 14, 1855, died August 29, --; Albert D., born August, 1863, reared in Alexandria Bay and educated in its common schools. He is a marine engineer by profession, and is at present engaged in river business. For many years he served as an engineer on the steamboats of the Great Lakes, and is well known in this connection. He has resided in the town of Alexandria the greater part of his life. He married Bertha Brown. Elvia C., born July 15, 1871, became the wite of Charles N. Haas, an undertaker and furniture dealer of Alexandria, New York.
AAlmon H. Houghton received his educational advantages in the common schools of Alexandria. For a number of years he assisted his father on the farm, and subsequently became the owner of two hundred
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acres of the original homestead tract, residing thereon until 1886, when he located in Alexandria Bay. He built a fine house near the present one, but later disposed of this and then built the present house. He engaged in mercantile business, and in addition looked after the affairs of the farm, but later sold his store and now devotes his entire time to the management of his farm. He resides in the village. Throughout his life he has been a progressive and public-spirited citizen, and as an evi- dence of the appreciation in which he is held by his townsmen he was elected to the office of justice of the peace, in which capacity he served for a period of eleven years, when he resigned. He has been a member of the board of education for many years, and for the past three years has served as president of the same. When twenty-two years of age Mr. Houghton became a member of Alexandria Lodge No. 297, Free and Accepted Masons, and during his connection with this order, which ex- tends over a period of more than a quarter of a century, has been one of its most active and exemplary members. For five years he served as wor- shipful master of his lodge. He is also affiliated with Theresa Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Watertown Commandery, K. T., and Media Tem- ple of the Mystic Shrine. In all of these various bodies he has been a charter member. He was the first master of the court.
Mr. Houghton married in 1872 Candace Raught, born in Pamelia, New York, daughter of Abram and Matilda ( Walroth) Raught, of Or- leans. Abram Raught was born in St. Lawrence, New York, later went west and engaged in the hotel business, and his death occurred in Chi- cago, Illinois, in 1891. Matilda (Walroth) Raught was born in Herk- imer county, New York, and was the mother of four children, two of whom attained years of maturity. namely. Mrs. Houghton and Raught, who resides near her sister. Mr. and Mrs. Houghton were the parents of four children, three of whom survive, namely: 1. Norris A .. who is engaged in the furniture and undertaking business in Alexandria Bay in company with his uncle, Charles N. Haas, under the firm name of Haas & Houghton : he married Louise Watson, daughter of Dr. and Elizabeth (Campbell) Watson. 2. Lillian J., who is a graduate nurse with headquarters in New York city. She was educated in the common schools of Alexandria Bay and Ilion Academy. She then entered the training school in Syracuse, New York, and received practical training in the hospitais there. She then took a post-graduate course in New York city, where she has since been located, and met with success. She ranks very high in her profession. 3. Linnie M., who was educated in
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the Potsdam Normal School and Albany Business College. The children are above the average in intelligence and, like their father, are determined to make a name for themselves. The family are members of the Dutch Reformed church, in which Mr. Houghton has been deacon and treasurer many years, and Mrs. Houghton and her daughters have taught in the Sunday school. The family is highly respected in the community and enjoy the advantages to be derived from a wide circle of friends.
GORDON CLARK BRADLEY, deceased, for half a century a resident of Watertown, was a man of sterling character, and commanded the respect and esteem of all with whom he was brought in contact, either in business or social life. He was devoted to the interests of his family, his town, county and state and the world at large. His ancestry included some of the noblest of American pioneers, and he illustrated in his life and works the sturdy virtues that distinguished the Puritan fore- fathers.
The name of Bradley is of Anglo-Saxon origin, compounded of brad (broad) and lea (a field or meadow ), and this was easily and quickly converted to its present form.
About the beginning of the seventeenth century William Bradley was born in the market town of Bingley, in the West Riding of York- shire, England. His mother died at or soon after his birth, and by a sec- ond marriage of his father ( whose name does not appear) there were born a daughter and four sons-Ellen, Daniel, Joshua, Nathan and Stephen Their names are preserved through the fact that the elder half- brother sent for them and their mother ( whose name was not preserved) after the death of the father, and they came and lived under William's care until the younger ones were able to care for themselves. Daniel was drowned in December, 1658. No record of Joshua is found after 1665, when he had a son born. In 1658, when Nathan was twenty years old and Stephen sixteen, they were residents of Guilford, Connecticut, where they passed their lives and were prominent citizens. Their mother inarried again, and died in Guilford, January, 1683.
(I.) William Bradley came from England in 1643-4 and settled in the New Haven colony. He was married February 18, 1645, to Alice Prichard, probably a daughter of Roger Prichard, who was early in the New Haven and Connecticut colonies. Four sons and four daughters were born to William Bradley and wife.
(II.) Isaac Bradley appears at Branford, Connecticut, in 1667; is
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first on Branford records in 1674, at which time he is noticed as a "so- journer at New Haven," and the town granted him a home lot of two acres at Canoe brook. He removed to East Haven in 1683. The Chris- tian name of his wife was Elizabeth, and their children were: Isaac, William, Samuel, Daniel, Sarah and Elizabethi.
(III. ) Samuel, third son and child of Isaac and Elizabeth Bradley, was married January 7. 1715, to Sarah Robinson, and their children were: Zebulon, Isaac, Daniel, Levi, Sarah, Simeon, Azariah and Gor- den.
(IV.) Zebulon, eldest child of Samuel and Elizabeth Bradley, was born October 6, 1715. and was married July 10, 1740, to Elizabeth Hem- ingway. Their children were: Abraham, Josiah, Asa, Jared, Jared (2), Abigail, Zebulon, Elizabeth and Elijalı.
(V.) Asa, third son and child of Zebulon and Elizabeth Bradley, was born May 9. 1746, and was married in 1768, to Amy Morris, of East Haven, where they lived. Her ancestral home still stands in East Haven, at Morris Cove. He was numbered among the heroes who gave their lives for their country and their fellows in the struggle for Ameri- can independence. He died in 1779 on board the English prison ship "Jersey," in New York harbor. One of his brothers shared this fate, while a third escaped death, though brought near to it, in that terrible means employed by an inhuman enemy to diminish the strength of those who defended their homes and liberties. Asa Bradley's children were: Amos, born September 9. 1768; Jerusha, November 22, 1771, married Benjamin Hutchins; Abigail, July 31, 1773: Gurdon, November 10, 1775 ; Elijalı, 1777, died 1807, in Augusta, Georgia:
(VI.) Gurdon, third son and fourth child of Asa Bradley, was born in East Haven, Connecticut, and settled in Fairfield, Herkimer county, New York, where he established a furniture factory and built up an ex- tensive business, having offices in Utica and Herkimer. He was upright in his dealings with men, by which he gained business standing and the respect of the world and, through unremitting toil, he developed a profit- able business. His last twelve years were passed in Watertown, where he died June 24. 1865. His wife, Phebe Smith, died June 17, 1854, in Fair- field, aged sixty-eight years. Their children were born as follows: Eliza Ann, April 4. 1808: Amos A., March 4, 1810; Pauline, June 30, 1812; Gurdon C., July 19. 1814: Emily, June 4, 1816; Willett, July 17, 1818; Newton, July 17. 1821 : Catherine Phebe. September, 1823. and Amy Jane, December 27. 1826. The only male descendants of Gurdon Brad-
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ley bearing the name are Gurdon Bradley, of San Francisco, California, and his ten-year-old son.
.(VII.) Gordon Clark Bradley, second son and fourth child of Gurdon and Phebe (Smith) Bradley, was born July 19, 1814, in Fair- field, this state, where he was reared and received a practical education. His business career began in his father's office at Utica. In 1840 he came to Watertown and purchased twenty acres of land, to which he added from time to time, until his possessions included one hundred and twenty acres. This he cultivated and improved until his farm was one of the finest in the city limits. He built a number of commodious buildings thereon, including a handsome residence in which his widow now resides, and the remainder of his life was devoted to agricultural pursuits. In addition to this he imported Ayrshire cattle very extensively, which he exhibited at various fairs and associations and which usually took the prizes offered for that breed. Mr. Bradley took an active interest in Agricultural Associations, and was instrumental in the formation of several. He was also active in local affairs, serving in the capacity of supervisor and alderman, having been elected to those offices on the Dem- ocratic ticket. He held membership in Trinity Episcopal Church, and for many years served as vestryman of the same. He passed away at his home in Watertown, May 29, 1890, and his departure was mourned by a large circle of friends and acquaintances.
Mr. Bradley was twice married. In 1876 he married for his second wife Charlotte F. Page, who was born in Weathersfield Springs, Wyo- ming county, New York, daughter of William and Ruth ( Mead ) Page. Mrs. Bradley is the sole survivor of four children. William Page was born August 19. 1784, near Greenwich, Connecticut, and was a shoe- maker by trade, which occupation he followed in New York city during the early years of his life. Later he removed to Wyoming county, New York, where he purchased a farm, and the remainder of his life was de- voted to its cultivation. He died November 15, 1871, at the age of eighty- seven years. His wife, Ruth (Mead) Page, was born March 2, 1785. in Greenwich, Connecticut, a daughter of Jonathan and Elizabeth (Brown) Mead. Jonathan Mead went to Schroon Lake, New York, as a pioneer, and later accompanied the Doolittle family to the western portion of the state, settling on the Holland Land Purchase, where he resided up to the time of his death at the age of over eighty years. Elizabeth Brown was a de- scendant of a French ancestry who came to America in order to escape the religious persecutions of their own country. The parents of Mrs. Bradley
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were consistent members of the Episcopal church. Mrs. Page passed away March 10, 1863. at the age of seventy-eight years.
At one time during the revolutionary war the American and British armies were encamped on opposite sides of the home of Jotham Mead, in the town of Greenwich, Connecticut. The ceiling of the principal room of his house was frequently pierced by bayonets in hands of sol- (liers of either army, and has been left undisturbed to the present time. as a souvenir of that desperate struggle. His live stock and other mov- able articles were not safe at any time, and he succeeded in keeping a cow for the use of his family only by making and concealing a stable under ground. Truly, those were "the times that tried men's souls," whether soldier or civilian.
ARTHUR. This name was brought from Lewis county to the town of Champion, and was brought to the "Black River Country" from Mas- sachusetts. Its representatives in Jefferson county have been recognized as substantial and honorable business men, and now fill a creditable position in the social, political and material affairs of their respective localities. They bear in their veins the blood of several worthy Revolu- tionary soldiers.
( I.) Richard Arthur is shown in the records to have been active and useful in the prosecution of the struggle for American independence. He was a private in Captain Ralph Stoddard's Company, Eighth Regi- ment of Connecticut Militia, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Oliver Smith, in 1776. In 1778 he was a private in Captain Thomas Wheeler's company. Colonel Samuel Chapman's regiment. Connecticut Militia, and served from August 3. 1778. to September 12, of the same year. He was born in 1745. in Massachusetts, and died in the same state in 1791, in the neighborhood of forty-six years of age. From the fact that Captain Ralph Stoddard lived in Groton, Connecticut, it is inferred that Mr. Arthur went some distance from home to enlist. It is quite possible that he then lived in Connecticut, as he was thirty-one years old at the time of his first enlistment.
( II.) Russell Arthur, son of Richard, was born May 15, 1783. in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and came to northern New York as a young man, and here married Elizabeth, daughter of Lester Wadley. The last-named was a son of Joseph Wadley, who was born in 1740, in New Hampshire, served as captain in the Revolutionary war. and died in 1824. in the town of Rodman, this county. The "History of Exeter,
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New Hampshire," gives the names of several Wadleighs who served in the Revolution and war of 1812. In 1681 Robert Wadleigh was an inhabitant and commissioner, to whom and others was granted two hundred acres of land on Lamprey river, in the town of Exeter. He was one of the provincial councillors at Exeter in 1684. His son, Joseph Wadleigh, born April 7, 1711, married ( January 5, 1737-8) Ann Swaine. Joseph Wadleigh was a land-owner and farmer, and was a deacon in and a prominent member of the Congregational church. He died at Great Hill, in Brentwood, New Hampshire, January 23, 1792. His children were: Hannah, born Angust 1, 1739; Sarah, November 29, 1741 ; Joseph, November 3, 1743; Anna, January 17, 1745-6; and Rachel, February 3. 1747. Dole Wadley, son of the last-above-named Joseph and Elizabeth Dole, wife of the latter, born October 19, 1782, at Great Hill, in Brentwood, New Hampshire, is spoken of as the only one to change the spelling of the name to Wadley. He was a captain in the war of 1812, and died June 6, 1826, in Nashua, New Hampshire. There was a Thomas Wadleigh, of Hempstead, New Hampshire, who was out in the French and Indian war, and settled in Sutton, New Hampshire. He had a son Joseph, born in 1753, who married Betty Ingalls, had a large family, and moved to New York. There is record in Exeter of Henry Wadleigh, who married (December 3, 1693) Eliza- beth Ladd. Their children were: Sarah, Abigail, Joseph, Martha and Benjamin. It is quite possible that the Joseph last mentioned was the father of Captain Joseph Wadley, who died in Rodman in 1824.
Russell Arthur's wife, Elizabeth Wadley, was born in May, 1787, and came with her parents to Watertown among the earliest pioneers. (III.) John Wadley Arthur, son of Russell Arthur, was born April 20, 1819, in Martinsburg. Lewis county, New York, which shows that his parents were early residents of that region. He grew up in Lewis county, and lived there until March, 1857, when he purchased one hundred and twenty-two acres of land in Champion, and moved upon it. This farm is now occupied by his son, and lies in the valley of Black river, on what is known as Martin street, the direct road from West Carthage to Great Bend. John W. Arthur continued to live upon and till this farm until the spring of 1885, when he rented it and moved to the city of Watertown, where he died on June 10 of that year. Both he and his wife were communicants of the Methodist Church of Carth- age, and Mr. Arthur was a member of Carthage Grange. He was a steadfast Republican in political principle, but never accepted any office.
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John W. Arthur was married February 16, 1842, to Jane Ann Smith, who was born in Montgomery county, this state, January 5, 1816, and now resides on the Champion homestead, in her eighty-ninth year. She is a daughter of Theophilus and Hannah (Allen ) Smith, the former a native of Worcester, Massachusetts, and the latter of Hudson, New York. Hannah Allen was a daughter of Daniel Allen, a Revolu- tionary soldier, who was born April 15, 1757, in Sandwich, Massachu- setts, and died February 3. 1811, in Johnstown, New York. He was one of the defenders of Concord against the British soldiers, April 19, 1775. Theophilus Smith was a son of Moses Smith, who was born October 15. 1756. in Rowley, Essex county. Massachusetts, and died June 19, 1846, at Barre. Orleans county, this state, in his ninetieth year. He was a private on the Lexington Alarm roll of Captain Edward Pay- son's regiment, credited to the town of Rowley. In the return of Lieu- tenant Moses Bradstreet's detachment, dated November 15, 1775, he is credited with fourteen days' service in the defence of Gloucester Har- hor. In December following he again rendered three days' service in same defence. He is described in the list of men enrolled from Essex county in the Continental Army, as follows: "Age, 23 years : stature, 5 ft .. 10 in .: complexion, light: belonging to Rowley." He entered service July 28. 1799. in Captain Blanchard's company, and was dis- charged April 28. 1780. He arrived at Springfield, July 10. 1780, marched to camp the following day for six months' service, under com- mand of Captain George Webb, and was discharged January 10, 1781. He lost his left hand and received a wound in the thigh at the battle of Bennington. He was brought up in Boston, where he was apprenticed to a shoemaker. His wife's name was Lucy.
The children of John W. Arthur are noted, as follows: Helen S., married John I. Woolworth, of Champion; died in Watertown, March, 1903. aged fifty-nine years. Mary J., married Elijah M. Woolworth. of Champion, now living in West Carthage. Herbert M., the immediate subject of this sketch. Hiram Smith, residing in Watertown.
(IV.) Herbert Melville Arthur, eldest son and third child of John W. and Jane Ann (Smith) Arthur, was born April 27. 1849, in Low- ville, Lewis county, New York, and was near the close of his eighth year when his parents moved to Champion, in this county. He attended the district schools until he was eighteen years old. utilizing vacation periods and the summers of the later years as an assistant to his father and brothers in the labors and duties of the farin. After spending four
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seasons as a farm laborer he became associated with his brother-in-law, John I. Woolworth, in butchering and supplying meat to farmers, chiefly in his home town. He was next employed two years by Mr. Woolworth to assist him in pressing hay for the market, or for farmers of the vicinity. He began his career as an independent farmer upon rented lands, and in March, 1888. purchased the homestead from his father's heirs, and has since continued to reside upon and till it. His dairy includes about twenty choice cows, and he is regarded as an intelligent and successful farmer. By industrious application and prudent man- agement he has justified this reputation, and occupies an influential position in the town and county because of his upright and straight- forward methods. He is not only a leading farmer, but is respected and honored in the social and political affairs of his home county.
Mr. Arthur has served two terms as master of the Great Bend Grange, was nine years commissioner of highways of the town of Cham- pion, and is now (1904) serving his fourth consecutive term as super- visor of the town. He is respected and recognized as an influential member of the county board, and is influential in the councils of the Republican party, to whose principles he gives unswerving allegiance and earnest support. He attends the Congregational Church of West Carthage, with his family.
Mr. Arthur was married March 2, 1875, to Miss Alphredien, daughter of James and Nancy (Tripp) Gouldthrite, natives respectively of Rutland and Champion, and representatives of pioneer families of those towns. Mrs. Arthur was born September 7, 1852, in Champion. Two of the four sons of Mr. and Mrs. H. M. Arthur are living, and are valuable assistants of their father on the home farm. Hiram Dwight, the first, died when a baby. Herbert Benton, second, is a graduate of the Carthage high school and now in the class of 1905 in Rochester University, and Joseph Floyd, fourth child, are living. John Wool- worth. the third, died at the age of sixteen years.
ROBERT HITCHCOCK, whose inventive genius made his name well known not only in New York, but throughout the entire country, was born on Wolf Island on the 20th of October. 1832, and died April 19, 1900, at the age of sixty-seven years. His father, Archibald Hitch- cock, was a native of England and on emigrating to America settled on Wolf's Island on the Canadian side of the St. Lawrence river. He was one of the early residents of that part of the country and became a lum-
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berman of note. He wedded Mary Hinkley, who was born, reared and educated in Oneida county, New York, and died at the advanced age of eighty years. In the family were four sons : Hiram and John, who have passed away : Oliver, who is living in Muskegon, Michigan : and Robert.
Robert Hitchcock spent his early boyhood days in the home in which he was born, an old stone house which is pointed out to tourists as the boats ply the St. Lawrence river. There he continued until sixteen years of age. when he entered upon his business career. Necessity, which often proves the avenue to great usefulness and success, was the spur of his ambition. Making his way to Watertown, he sought employment and, believing that the jeweler's trade would prove a congenial occupation, entered upon an apprenticeship in the store of W. H. Sigourney. where his adaptability and capacity soon won him promotion and after two years he became a partner in the enterprise. Subsequently by the pur- chase of Mr. Sigourney's interest he became sole proprietor, conducting the store alone until 1859. when Hon. Roswell P. Flower, later governor of New York, was admitted to an interest in the business. This relation was maintained for four years, on the expiration of which period Mr. Hitchcock removed to Boston. There he became associated with E. Howard in the manufacture of the Howard watch and subsequently he went to Bristol, Connecticut, where he was placed in charge of the erec- tion and equipment of a building to be used in the manufacture of fine machinery and clock works. When the factory was completed Mr. Hitch- cock became a partner in the enterprise in connection with George A. Jones, of New York, under the firm name of Jones & Hitchcock. manu- facturers of clock works, lamps and electrical machinery. His labors in this direction prompted him to study and experiment, that eventually led to the invention of the famous Hitchcock lamp. He perfected this during his residence in Bristol and at once placed it on the market. Soon it sprang into general favor and became a marketable commodity through- out the civilized world.
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