USA > New York > Jefferson County > Genealogical and family history of the county of Jefferson, New York, Volume I > Part 45
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profitable sales. and thus has gained for himself the success which is the sure reward of earnest and well-directed labor. He gives a stanch support to the Republican party, and for eight successive years served as assessor of the town of Pamelia, filling that position longer than any other member of the board, a fact which indicates the confidence reposed in him by his fellow citizens. He is a member of Pamelia Grange, of which he was treasurer eight years, and supports the Lu- theran church, in which his wife was reared. After living twenty-two years in Jefferson county, Mr. Ganter paid a visit to his native place, where he found that many changes had occurred. He was glad to return, and believes this country the best and greatest on earth.
He was married, October 12. 1871, to Miss Mary Anna Zimmer, who was born in Lafargeville, in the town of Orleans, Jefferson county, October 20, 1848, a daughter of Philip and Katharine ( Poth) Zimmer, both of whom were natives of Germany. Philip Zimmer came to this country in 1843, locating in Lafargeville, where he followed farming and spent his remaining days, passing away at the age of seventy-nine years. His widow is still living, with home in Pamelia. She is a daughter of Bernhardt and Katharine (Myer) Poth, both of whom were natives of Germany, and, on coming to America, in 1832, located in Depauville, New York, where Mr. Poth followed farming. His death occurred at the age of about seventy years. To Philip and Katharine (Poth) Zimmer were born seven children, of whom four are still living, namely: Mrs. Ganter; Elizabeth, wife of Albert Stevens, of Pamelia, and mother of two sons and a daughter; Nettie, wife of William Joy, of Watertown, with no children; and Katharine, widow of Albert Sargent, of Pamelia ; she has three daughters. George, the eldest son, died in Pamelia, leaving four children, one of whom is now deceased; Henry, the second son, died in Fairfield, Nebraska; and Charles, the youngest son, died March 28, 1904, in Orleans, as the result of an accident to a gasoline engine; he left two children. The mother of these children, as aforestated, still survives and resides with her daughter. Mrs. Stevens, in Pamelia.
Mr. and Mrs. Ganter have had four children: Rupert, the eldest, who is engaged in business in Watertown, married Meta Miller, and they are the parents of two sons-Harold and Howard Ganter. George married Kate Ganter, and resides on the home farm. Nellie resides with her parents. Fred died at the age of twenty-seven years. His
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wife, Lydia ( Schaber) Ganter, died four hours before him; a son, Fred- erick Ganter, survives and lives in Watertown with his grandparents.
SAW YER. This name for centuries in the United States has been borne and honored by men who have been successful leaders in nearly all the walks of liie. As governors, congressmen and senators, as lawyers and jurists, as manufacturers and merchants, agriculturists and skilled artisans, as pioneers, they have shown those qualities of character which planted civilization in a land inhabited by savages and under most for- bidding conditions, and three thousand miles from their base of opera- tions. This occurred long years before the introduction of steam in navi- gation, and their hardihood, tempered by Christian fortitude, made them the fit instruments for the advancement of civilization upon the underly- ing foundation principles of "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." As the defenders of these rights, they were ever ready to face death, as the records of the early Indian wars in New England show, as well as those of the Revolution and later periods, when their country required defenders. It is shown that eighteen members of the Sawyer family, from Lancaster, Massachusetts, alone, were in military service at the same time during the Revolution, and one company recruited in that town was officered, from captain down, by Sawyers.
(I) Thomas Sawyer, the American ancestor, son of John Sawyer, of Lincolnshire, was born about 1626, in Lincolnshire, England, came to Massachusetts in 1636, with two elder brothers, and they settled in Row- ley in 1639. Thomas Sawyer was one of the first settlers of Lancaster, Massachusetts, with Prescott, Wilder, Houghton and two other families, in 1644. Jolin Prescott had a daughter, Marie, to whom Thomas Saw- yer was married in 1648. The town was burned by the Indians on the tenth of February, 1676, by King Philip, who had a force of allies. The town then included fifty families, who made heroic resistance, the con- flict costing the lives of fifty white persons and the destruction of all save two houses of the settlement. Twenty were also carried away in captivity. After having been abandoned for four years, the new settle- ment of the town was taken up by the survivors, one of whom was Thomas Sawyer. He was a blacksmith by trade, and after participating most actively in the struggles, terrors and vicissitudes of fifty-three years, died September 12, 1706, at Lancaster, aged eighty years. His wife was of the same blood as Colonel William Prescott, of Bunker Hill fame, and William H. Prescott, the historian, and a family equally
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zealous with the Sawyer family in the cause of independence. Thomas and Marie (Prescott) Sawyer had seven sons and three daughters. The second son, Ephraim, was killed by ·Indians soon after attaining his twenty-fifth year, February 10, 1676.
(II) Thomas, eldest ehild of Thomas (I) and Marie Sawyer, was born May 12, 1649, in Lancaster, and was grown to manhood at the time when the Indian wars began. He was, like his father, contin- uously active in the stinggles, which were almost constant, necessary to the establishment of their homes and the peace, support and welfare of their families and posterity. He was married in early life, according to the universal custom of the time, the Christian name of his first wife being Sarah. She died January 2, 1672, and in September following he again married, the name of his second wife being Hannah. No rec- ord of her death is found. During Queen Anne's war, in October, 1705, a party of Indians from Canada entered the town of Lancaster and took Thomas Sawyer (2) by surprise, with his son Elias, and they were ear- ried in captivity to Montreal. A younger son, Thomas, then fourteen years of age, escaped through a back window of the house, and was the stay and support of the family during his father's captivity. The latter was hastened very rapidly to Montreal and treated with great cruelty on the journey, as he had caused great losses to the Indians in this and previous struggles. He was marked for torture, but through the influ- ence of a priest over the superstitious savages was rescued after having been bound to a stake and the fagots piled about him. This temporary salvation of his life enabled him to put in execution a plan formed by himself to secure full release. He had reported to the French governor, Vaudreuil, that he had observed a fine mill site in his journey, and would build a sawmill, provided the governor would in return secure the release of himself and son. The latter was speedily released upon negotiation with the Indians, but no influence sufficed to free their old and hated enemy until the friar worked upon their fears. Holding forth a key which he declared to be that closing the gate of purgatory, he threatened to send them all headlong to hell unless they should immedi- ately release their prisoner, and carried his point. Mr. Sawyer set to work immediately and at the end of a year's toil had completed the mill. the first one erected in Canada, and was set free. Upon his return to his home in Lancaster he was reecived as one raised from the dead. The peace of Utrecht. in 1713. ended the savage attacks upon Lancaster, and,
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as the records of peace are not so carefully kept as those of war, no fur- ther account of Thomas Sawyer is found.
(III) Elias, son of Thomas Sawyer (2), born 1689, was retained in Canada a year after his father's release, in order that he might teach others how to operate the mill. At the end of that period he was paid for luis services and set free, and immediately made his way back to his native place. Here he died November 20, 1752. He married Beatrice Houghton, daughter of Robert Houghton, and they had two sons and three daughters, namely : Elijah, Elisha, Betsey, Thankful and Pru- dence.
(IV) Elisha, second son and child of Elias and Beatrice (Hough- ton ) Sawyer, was baptized August 17, 1718, died August 25, 1786, at Sterling, Massachusetts. Hc married Mary White, by whom he had three sons and tour daughters, namely : Elias, Elisha, Jotham, Thank- ful, Prudence, Ruth and Grace. By his second marriage, to Susannah Huck, of Bolton, there were five children, namely: Thomas, Beatrice, Susannah, Hannah and Betsey.
(V) Thomas, son of Elias and Susannah (Huck) Sawyer, was born September 7, 1757, in Sterling, and was among those who re- sponded to the Lexington alarm in 1775. He was married, January 12, 1779. to Susannah Wilder, who was born December 3, 1756, in the same town. Immediately thereafter, in 1779. they settled in Plymouth, Vermont, where Mr. Sawyer subdued enough of the forest to enable him to live, and, with the aid of his skill as a carpenter, rear a large family. In 1800 he paid a visit to the "Black River Country," where good lands were said to be cheap. One of his neighbors who came on a similar er- rand the saine year, was Hart Massey, and another was James Parker. On arrival Mr. Sawyer found the Coffeen and Butterfield families here, and used his skill in lewing out from basswood logs floor-planks for their rude cabins. More fortunate or more prudent than others, he had come on horseback, and, after selecting his location in the eastern part of the present town of Watertown, he returned to Vermont for his fam- ily. His friends there declared such removal to be extremely hazardous, a plain case of "tempting Providence," but he had seen the "promised land" and did not heed their warnings. The start was made before the close of winter, in order to be sure of sleighing to complete the journey, and after nineteen days they arrived at Jonah Woodruffs, where the teams were put up, and reached Hart Massey's house (on the present site of the Arcade Building) March 18, 1801, just eleven days after the
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arrival of Massey and his family. Mr. Sawyer began clearing his land at once, and became a successful farmer. He was distinguished by his unobtrusive piety, and his house was ever the home of the missionary and clergyman. He and his wife were among the nine persons who formed the Congregational church at Burr's Mills in 1803, in which he was the first deacon. He died April 23, 1825, aged sixty-eight years, and was survived by his wife until she reached the extreme age of ninety- one years. She was a woman of much energy and excellence of charac- ter. distinguished for kindness and good humor. In the pioneer days she was a physician and friend to many in several towns, and her char- acteristic advice was: "Be a friend to everybody, and you will never want for a friend." At the Lexington Alarm in 1775. Thomas Sawyer was a member of Captain Damel Robbins' Company, Colonel Whit- comb's Regiment from Lancaster. He was a member of the Water- town militia, and participated in the battle of Sacket's Harbor.
(VI) Joseph Wheeler Sawyer, son of Deacon Thomas and Su- sannah (Wilder) Sawyer, was born March 7. 1794, in the town of Plymouth, Vermont, and was seven years of age when he arrived with his parents in Watertown. His education was such as the children of the pioneers received, and he was early engaged in clearing and develop- ing a farm in the wilderness, which has continued to remain in the fam- ily. Here he passed nearly seventy-four years of his life, succeeding to the ownership of the homestead. and successfully engaging in farming.
He was married, October 25, 1818, to Miss Mary, daughter of William Pepper. She was born October 21, 1797, in Otsego county, this state, and came to Jefferson county in 1809. Soon after his mar- riage Mr. Sawyer, with his wife, united with the First Presbyterian church of Watertown. On the organization of the Congregational church at Burrville they united with that, and continued faithful members to the end of their lives. Mrs. Sawyer's life was of the most exemplary character. As a wife and mother she was loving, kind and considerate; as a Christian, devout, charitable, with that abiding faith in God which never wavers ; as a neighbor and friend she was hospitable and indulgent. Her home was the center of attraction to a large circle of friends and relatives. She died in Watertown, April 12, 1873, beloved and honored by all who had the honor of her acquaintance.
Mr. Sawyer was an exemplary Christian, having those strong attach- ments for the word and worship of God. in truth and in spirit, which were characteristic of his Puritan ancestry. He passed away December 3,
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1874. Of his eight children, mention follows herewith : Mary A., born 1819, died in infancy. Elivira M., August 22, 1820, died August 20, 1843. Melissa. August 8, 1822, died July 21, 1851. She was mar- ried in July, 1845, to Dr. William Clark, and lived at Central College, Ohio, where she died. Laurentius Thomas receives extended mention in later paragraphs. Mariette, July 15, 1826, died May 6, 1881. She was married, in February, 1846, to Aaron Orman Sawyer, and they were the parents of nine children. Charlotte M., June 19, 1830, died Novem- ber 10, 1851. Fanny L., November 13, 1832, died January 4, 1883. She was married, September 23, 1858, to George W. Hammond, and they were the parents of three children. Joseph B., June 16, 1838, died when five weeks old.
(VII) Laurentius Thomas Sawyer, fourth child and eldest son of Joseph W. and Mary ( Pepper) Sawyer, was born November 25, 1824, and the homestead which his grandfather located in 1800. He attended the pioneer schools of his native town and Black River Institute at Wa- tertown. His first independent occupation was that of a teacher, and in early manhood he went west and purchased land in Minnesota. He did net retain this long, but sold and returned to his native place and resided on the old homestead and followed farming during the balance of his life. He was one of the most intelligent and progressive agriculturists of his town, and was an early member of Watertown Grange No. 7, of which he was treasurer for many years, and also acted as a director of the Patrons' Fire Relief Association for an extended period. In politics he was Republican, and heki the office of supervisor four terms, a tes- timony to his soundness of judgment and integrity. He was a member of the Congregational church of Burr's Mills, and was its constant at- tendant and supporter throughout his days.
Mr. Sawyer was a man whose character was rounded out by all the essential qualities which go to make up a Christian. an esteemed citizen and efhcient officer, a perfect friend, an upright neighbor, and a true and loving husband and father. His whole heart was in his home, but he always had room in it for all mankind, and the community and the world were better for his having lived. His example is an inspira- tion to his children and worthy of emulation by all men and women. He held a high place in the esteem of his fellows, and his virtues will live in the minds of all who were privileged to know him while their lives shall last. It is the province of this record to continue his commemora-
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L. J. Sawyer
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tion, so that his descendants in remote generations may profit by his life, and point with pride to his stainless record.
Mr. Sawyer was married, December 13, 1855, to Miss Cornelia Abi- gail Tolman, daughter of William and Mary ( Bancroft) Tolman (see Tolman, VI). She was born September 13, 1831, in the town of Wa- tertown, and survives her husband, who passed away December 4, 1886. She was well educated for her day, possesses a bright mind and memory at this date (1905), and was a worthy companion for her noble hus- band, possessed of those Christian virtues which came down to her through a long line of New England ancestry. She resides with her younger sen in one of the two houses which stand side by side on the old homestead. Her family included only two sons, William Herbert and Fred Laurentius.
(VIII) William Herbert Sawyer, elder son of Laurentius T. and Cornelia A. (Tolman) Sawyer, was born October 13, 1863, on the old Sawyer homestead in the town of Watertown. In a competitive exam- ination after he graduated from the Watertown high school, he won a scholarship at Cornell University. In 1884 he entered this institu- tion and graduated in a course of science and letters in 1888. For about a year he was engaged in the grocery business at Elmira, New York, and then returned to the homestead, where he has since been success- fully engaged in agriculture and dairying to the present time. He is a member of Watertown Grange, of which he was master two years, and of Watertown Lodge No. 49, Free and Accepted Masons. He also affiliates with the Burr's Mills Congregational church, and in politics has always advocated and sustained the principles of the Republican or- ganization. He has held the office of justice of the peace since 1898, and his official career has proved satisfactory to his townsmen and con- ferred credit upon himself.
Like his progenitors, Mr. Sawyer is a man of affairs. As a busi- ness man he has the esteem of all who have come in contact with him. As an officer he is respected for his efforts to adjust differences and the rectitude of his decisions, and for his regard for the public interests, as a member of the town board. As a citizen he is ever actuated by a de- sire for the betterment of society. As a son and husband he sustains the character of the Sawyers, and enjoys the affection and confidence of his family.
Mr. Sawyer was married, June 16, 1887, to Miss Lillian Delphine Bowdish, daughter of Philander and Augusta Lucinda (Gorham)
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Bowdish. She was born September 4. 1862. in the town of Sherbin. Chenango county, New York. She is a woman of education and refine- ment, and occasionally prepares articles which are delivered before Wa- tertown Grange, in which she is a valued member. She also contributes to newspapers in description of her travels, which work is appreciated by her many friends. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer is a pleasant one, replete with the comforts of life, and here hospitality is true and sin- cere, entertaining friends with that thoughtful care which is a part of their natures, inherited from worthy ancestors.
(VIII) Fred Laurentius Sawyer, younger son of Laurentius T. and Cornelia A. ( Tolman) Sawyer, was born July 18. 1872, on the Saw- yer homestead. and finished his education at the Watertown high school. His life has been passed on the home farm, where he is engaged in dairy farming. He is a progressive and successful farmer, a member of Watertown Grange, and ever in touch with the best interests of the community. A steadfast Republican in politics, he has the qualities which have made his progenitors honest and honored citizens. A de- voted son, he endeavors to make the declining years of a noble mother as sweet and pleasant as possible, and their home is the abode of peace and cultured refinement.
(VIII) AZARIAH HALL SAWYER, deceased, elder son of Rev. George and Mary Ann (Richardson) Sawyer, one of the most prominent among the active practicing lawyers of Jefferson county, spent all his professional life in Watertown. He began as a general practitioner, but latterly his services were greatly in demand as a cor- poration lawyer. He had a keen, analytic mind that was quick to grasp the vital facts of a situation, and during his ten years' service as county · judge he made and sustained a reputation for probity and fair-minded- ness. Judge Sawyer came of old English stock, through Thomas Saw- yer, who came from England in 1636, and is mentioned at length here- inbefore. This line is taken up at the second generation, which is separate from the one hereinbefore appearing.
(II) Caleb, fifth son and sixth child of Thomas Sawyer, was born February 20, 1659, and was married December 28. 1687, to Sarah. born February 17, 1661, daughter of Ralph and Jane Houghton. She died November 15. 1757, having survived him nearly three years. He passed away February 12. 1755. lacking only eight days of being ninety- six years old. He had five children.
(III) Jonathan. eldest child of Caleb and Sarah (Houghton)
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Sawyer, married Elizabeth Wheelock, and they were the parents of eight children, all born at Lancaster.
(IV) Caleb, third child of Jonathan and Elizabeth (Wheelock) Sawyer, was born about April I. 1720, at Lancaster. He married Lydia (surname unknown) and settled in Leominster previous to December, 1742, residing there until after 1759. He and his wife were admitted to the church there November 15. 1747. They had eight children, the first born in Lancaster and the others in Leominster, as follows: Caleb, January 13, 1741 ; Lydia, December 8, 1742; Abijah, August 14, 1744; Jonathan, December 13, 1747: Betty, October 25, 1750; Sarah, August 25, 1752; Ephraim, September 19, 1756; Manasseh, March 27, 1759.
(V) Manasseh Sawyer enlisted in a company of scouts attached to the American army in July, 1776. He was several times promoted. and served as private and officer until the close of the Revolution. After peace came, he settled at Potsdam. New York, and married Beulah Howe, who bore him several children.
(VI) Manasseh, eldest child of Manasseh ( 1) and Beulah Howe, married Azubah Chamberlain, and had two sons and three daughters. He died at the age of eighty-four years, having lived over seventy years in Potsdam.
(VII) George Sawyer, son of Manasseh and Azubah Sawyer, was born in Potsdam. His wife, Mary Ann Richardson, was a daugh- ter of Major Samuel Richardson, who distinguished himself as an officer of the American army during the war of 1812. Rev. George Sawyer's two sons. Azariah H. and George C., were brought up and educated in the northern counties of the state, as their father was sent from one pastorate to another.
(VIII) Azariah Hall Sawyer was born June 19. 1834. in Pots- dam, attended the Lowville Academy, and studied under private tutors in preparation for college, but he gave up the plan of a college course on account of his health. In 1854 he began the study of law in the office of Amos G. Hull, of Fulton. He was admitted to the bar in 1857, and he made so favorable an impression on the examining com- mittee, that the chairman, the late James F. Starbuck, of Watertown, asked him to become his partner. The offer was gratefully accepted, and in July of that year the firm of Starbuck and Sawyer was formed and continued successfully until Mr. Starbuck's death in 1880. From that time Judge Sawyer was alone in his practice, and reaped the large rewards of an established reputation. The years of close study and
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application on which his reputation rested held their own satisfaction, however, in the pleasure the mind finds in its own activity. His judicial temper and wide legal knowledge made him one of the most trusted lawyers in northern New York. He watched the political movements of the time with the greatest interest, and in many of them he was an active worker and leader. He recognized many dangerous tendencies which can be met and combated only by good and enlightened citizen- ship, and he tried to bring this truth home to the people. He perceived that the battles of the present are no less real than those his ancestors fought, though other weapons have replaced the sword. Judge Sawyer was chairman of the Union and Republican county committees from 1861 until 1867, when he was elected county judge. He served ten years, and his administration won general recognition and esteem.
He was connected with many of the important financial interests of the city and county, and was at one time president of the National Union Bank. In 1898 Judge Sawyer was elected president of the Agri- cultural Insurance Company of Watertown and thereafter devoted him- self to the duties of that office, retiring from the general practice of the law. He was also a director of the National Union Bank of Water- town, of the Watertown Carriage Company, and of the Hungerford- Holbrook Printing Company. For nine years he was a member of the board of education, and for two years was its president. During the war he was president of the Union League of Watertown, and he was always at the front in any movement that appealed to him as making for the betterment of society. Soon after beginning business in Water- town he became a member of Trinity church. He was senior warden for twenty-five years, and at the time of his death, November 1, 1904, was chancellor of the diocese of central New York. In June, 1896, the faculty of Hobart College conferred on Judge Sawyer the degree of LL. D. He was a member of the New York State Bar Association, and president of the Bar Association of Jefferson county. He was also a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, the Founders and Patriots of America, of the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society, and Society for the Protection of the Adirondack Forests, a member of the Jefferson County Historical Society, of the Jefferson County Golf Club, of the Union Club, Lincoln League, and of the Mas- tigouche Fish and Game Club of Montreal.
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