USA > New York > Jefferson County > Genealogical and family history of the county of Jefferson, New York, Volume II > Part 49
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Erastus Harris grew up on the farm now owned by his brother Guilford, and remained with his father until he attained his majority. He was then employed as a farm laborer some time, and was laid up by illness three years. In 1855 he went to Montgomery county and was employed by his uncle as a stage driver two years. He then pur- chased a farm in Montague. Lewis county, New York, and sold it in. 1862. Returning to Champion he tilled his father's farm, which he subsequently bought, and has remained here since. From fifteen to twenty-five cows are kept on the place, of mingled Holstein and Avr- shire blood. He was a member of an independent cavalry company of this section, of which he was sergeant for seven years: it was formed . prior to the Civil war. He made application to enlist in the United States army, but was refused on account of his teeth. After the dis- bandment of the company above mentioned he joined the Home Guard
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of Watertown. New York, in which he was second sergeant for seven years. Mr. Harris enjoys the distinction of being the oldest member of the order of Free and Accepted Masons in this section of the state. He is a charter member of Champion Grange, in which he has held all the offices, having been master for a number of years, and he has also been steward of the county Grange for a number of years. He joined Carthage Lodge of the Masonic order in 1863. He is a Universalist in religious faith, and attends the Congregational church, of which his wife is a member. In politics he is a Democrat. and has served twenty- one years as clerk of his school district, in which his son has been a trus- tee three years.
Mr. Harris was married January 1. 1857, to Helen Barr, who was born on Martin street. Champion, a daughter of Horace and Almira ( Cleghorn) Barr, of old Champion families. Mrs. Harris was a teacher in early life, and is a lady of intelligence and womanly worth. Her only child, Leonard Erastus Harris, was born September 19. 1861. He assists his father in the care and cultivation of the farm. He married Helen M. Parks, who died April 14. 1893. leaving four children : Daisy Belle, the eldest, is now the main-stay of the household. as housekeeper. Rachel May. Arthur Shirley and Vera Amrette are students of the public school, aged sixteen, thirteen and ten years respectively.
BRAINARD. This is among the conspicuous names in the history of Connecticut, and it has furnished several pioneers in Jefferson county, represented by different lines of descent from the first American ancestor. One line was early planted in the town of Rutland and another in Water- town. The most conspicuous hearer of this name was the late Orville V. Brainard, of whom extended mention is made in its appropriate place in this article. The family patronymic receives various spellings in the New England records (including Brainerd. Braynard. Braynerd, etc.), and is widely used with the letter "e" in the second syllable, as well as in the form adopted by the line of which this notice treats.
(I) Deacon Daniel Brainard was brought from England by the Wyllys family when he was eight years old, and brought up in Hartford, Connecticut, remaining with the people who brought him until of legal age. Ile was among the proprietors and original settlers of Haddam in that colony about 1662, and became one of the prosperous and most influ- entindl members of that settlement. He was deacon of the church, and also served as justice of the peace, and became a large landhokler. In a
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letter received from his mother in England soon after he was located in Haddam, the name was written Brainwood, but it had been universally called Brainerd by people on this side of the water, and he made no ef- fort to change it. Deacon Brainard was twice married. His first wife was Hannah, daughter of Gerrard Spencer, of Lynn, Massachusetts, later of Haddam. Tradition says his second wife's maiden name was identical with that of his first. When he married her she was a widow, bearing the name of Hannah Saxton. The first wife was the mother of his children, namely : Daniel, Hannah, James, Joshua, William, Caleb, Elijah and Hezekiah.
(II) Deacon James Brainard, second son and third child of Deacon Daniel ( I) and Hannah (Spencer) Brainard, was born June 2, 1660, in Haddam, where he was an influential citizen, like his father. The sur- name of his first wife, Deborah, is unknown, but the fact of her death is recorded as taking place July 22. 1709. He was married May 23, III, to Sarah, whose family name is equally uncertain. He was deacon of the first district of Haddam, and died there February 10, 1742. His widow attained the age of about eighty-nine years. His children were: James, Deborah, Gideon, Mary, Hannah, Abijah, Daniel, Mehetable, Sarah, Zachariah, Jephthai, Othniel, Elizabeth and Heber, eight being born of the first wife.
(III) Abijah, third son and sixth child of Deacon James and Deborah Brainard, was born November 26, 1705, in Haddam, and was married December 28, 1727, to Esther Smith of that town. After her death he married Thankful Williams. His children were: Othniel, Simon, Deborah, Esther, Lydia, Zilpah, Abijah, Leah, Cornelius, Rachel, Dorcas. Urijah, Asaph, Shubael, Leah (second), Mary, Thank- ful and Jephtha.
(IV) Simon, second son and child of Abijah and Esther (Smith) Brainard, was born October 7, 1730, in Haddam, and married Hepzi- bah, daughter of Nathaniel Spencer, of the same town. Their chil- dren were: Simon, Jeptha, Jabez. Hepzibah, Tabitha, Lydia, Silas, Lovisa and Asa.
(V) Jeptha, second son and child of Simon and Hepzibah ( Spencer) Brainard, married Abigail Mack, and was among the pio- neer settlers of the state of New York. His last days were spent in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, and little account of him ean be found. He had two sons, Jeptha and Darius.
(VI) Jeptha, elder son of Jeptha and Abigail ( Maek) Brain-
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ard. was married January 10. 1771, to Anna Markham, and resided in Oneida county, New York. Their children were : Anna, Obadiah, Jeptha. Samuel. Isaiah, Daniel, Mary and Timothy.
(VII) Daniel E. Brainard, fifth son and sixth child of Jeptha and Anna ( Markham) Brainard, was born December 29. 1782. and was educated for the practice of medicine in Oneida county, this state. About 1805 he located in Watertown, being the second physician to begin practice there. Death claimed him at the early age of twenty- seven years, and he passed away in January, 1810. He was married in 1806 to Lorrain Hungerford, daughter of Timothy and Hannah ( Heicox) Hungerford (see Hungerford. VI). She was born in 1784. in Bristol, Connecticut, and died May 10. 1835. in Watertown, where she was married. Their children were: Orville V. and Daniel E. The latter was born February 16, 1809. and settled in Iowa, where he became a judge.
(VIII) Orville Valora, elder son of Dr. Daniel E. and Lorrain ( Hungerford) Brainard. was born January 4. 1807. in Watertown, and became one of the most useful and well-known citizens of his native place, where he died January 16, 1876. Being left an orphan at the age of three years, he became a protege of his uncle, Orville Hunger- ford. one of the leading citizens of Watertown. Through this advan- tage and by his own intelligence, ability and application, he became the leading financier of his time in Jefferson county. He was a keen and far-seeing business man and as cashier of the Jefferson County Bank carried that institution through some crises, and it is today a monument to the sound business practices of Mr. Brainard and his associates. He was one of the moving spirits in the construction of the Rome. Watertown & Ogdensburg Railroad, of which he was a director many years. It was natural that such a forceful nature should make a leader, and he was an active participant in the conduct of local affairs, serving as president of the village and in other responsible of- fices. He was a regular attendant and liberal supporter of the First Presbyterian church of Watertown. His wife. Mary Seymour Hooker, was a daughter of Joseph H. Hooker of Hadley. Massachusetts, and a sister of the late General Joseph Hooker, one of the heroes of the Civil war. Two children were born to them, of whom only one sur- vives, namely. Mary Seymour, widow of John Henry Treadwell ( see Treadwell), residing in Watertown.
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WILLIS HENRY GREEN, supervisor of the town of Ellisburg. is a grandson of one of the pioneer settlers of that town, and exempli- fies the characteristics of his New England ancestry.
Colonel Henry Green was born January 28, 1785, in the town'of Halifax. Windham county, Vermont, and was married November 24, 1808, to Hannah Packer, and brought his bride at once to his future farm in Ellisburg. Her father, James Packer, was born August 17. 1760, in Groton, Connecticut, and her mother, Mary, born in 1763. in Leyden, Massachusetts, was a daughter of Rev. Joseph Green, a Baptist clergyman. She died January 10, 1830, in Ellisburg. ( See Packer, in closing paragraphs of this article.)
Colonel Green cleared one hundred and sixty acres of land, and endured many privations and hardships before this was fully accom- plished. In the early days he procured flour by carrying a grist on his back to Adams, a distance of seven miles, bringing back the flour in the same way. In the winter months he made shoes and boots, thus adding to his resources so that he was able to remain on his land and improve it. He commanded a regiment in the war of 1812 and participated in the battles of Sandy Creek and Sackets Harbor. On account of the gallantry displayed in this service he was offered a lieutenant's commission in the regular army, but declined on account of the claims of a young fam- ily. He was a member of the Baptist church of Belleville, and was fre- quently called upon to serve the town in official capacity. . \ good sol- dier and patriotic and public-spirited citizen, he died universally mourned. His eldest child. Eliza, married Walter Warner, of Belleville, where she (lied. Mary, the second, born April 22, 1813, died at the age of four- teen years. Henry, born April 28, 1815, lived and died in the town of Adams. Harriet N., born February 18, 1817. died at Ellisburg, be- ing the wife of Chrispin Bull. Mahalah, born January 30. 1823, died when five years old. Daniel Packer is mentioned at length below. Mary E., born November 18. 1827. married Simeon Mathers and died in Ellisburg.
Daniel Packer Green was born January 31, 1825, on his father's farm in Ellisburg, where he grew up. For nine years after his mar- riage he tilled his father's farm, and then bought the Taggart farm of one hundred and twenty acres, where his widow and son now reside, on which he continued farming until his death, which occurred December 17. 1890. He was a member of the Baptist church, and active in pub- lic affairs, being many years a trustee of Belleville Academy, and was
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a charter member of the local Grange. He was a Democrat throughout his life. He was married January 7, 1846, to Miss Moselle Taggart, who was born on the farm where she now resides, near Belleville. Her father, Thomas Taggart, was born September 25. 1777, in Halifax. Ver- mont, and came to Ellisburg about 1811. Here he cleared up a farm. and died October 22, 1854, aged seventy-seven years. His wife, Phebe. daughter of Samuel Fish, was born in Halifax. December 13, 1779. and they were married September 21, 1802. She survived him until Septem- ber. 1867, reaching the good old age of eighty-eight years. Daniel P. Green and wife were the parents of three children: James E .. Clara E. and Willis H. The elder son is a resident of Watertown, and the daughter of the town of Henderson, being the wife of Adelbert Scott.
Willis H. Green was born June 27. 1862, on the farm where he now resides and which has always been his home. He attended the distriet school, and completed his education at Union Academy, Belle- ville, bidding adieu to the schoolroom as a student when twenty years old. In the meantime he was active in the labors of the home farm, and upon the completion of his majority became a partner with his father in the management of the farm and the stock-shipping business. This he has continued ever since, and now operates a dairy of thirty cows. He buys and ships all kinds of stock used for food, making a shipment to New York every Monday. An industrious and progressive farmer, he enjoys the respect and confidence of the community and reaps the reward of his energy and business ability. Every movement which makes for progress and the advancement of the community finds in him a friend. He is a member of Union Grange No. 7, of Belleville, and a trustee of Union Academy. He has served six years as treasurer of Rising Light Lodge No. 637, of the Masonic order, of Belleville, is a member of Adams Chapter No. 205. Royal .Arch Masons, and Belleville Lodge Knights of the Maccabees. He is a Democrat in politics, and was elected supervisor of the town in February, 1901, though the town has a normal Republican majority of four hundred. In November, 1903. he was re-elected.
Mr. Green was married December 24, 1882, to Miss Nettie Little- field, a native of Ellisburg, daughter of Henry D. and Aurora (Tous- ley ) Littlefield, of that town. Two children have been given to Mr. and Mrs. Green, namely: Gladys Moselle and Daniel Henry.
(I) John Packer, the early settler of Groton, Connecticut. died in 1689. About the year 1655 he fixed his habitation in close proximity
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to the Pequot Indians, who had congregated at Nawagonk (Noank). His children were: John, Samuel and Richard, probably by first wife, Elizabeth; he married (second), June 24, 1676, Rebecca, widow of Thomas Latham, and had a son James, baptized September 11, 1681 ; two other sons, Joseph and Benjamin, and a daughter Rebecca, may also be assigned to this wife, who survived him and afterward mar- ried a Watson, of Kingston, Rhode Island.
(II) John Packer, eldest child of John Packer (1), married Lydia, daughter of Cary Latham, and died in 1701. He inherited from his father a controversy respecting the extent of the lands at Nawagonk. which commenced with the Indians before their removal, and was con- tinued with the town of Groton. In 1735 a compromise was affected by commissioners appointed by the general assembly. This was an occasion of great local interest, and on the fifth of August, when the commissioners ( Major Timothy Pierce, Mr. West, of Lebanon, and Sheriff Huntington, of Windham) left New London on their way to view the contested premises, they were accompanied by forty mounted men from the town, and found their train continually increasing as they proceeded. On the ground a large assembly had convened, and the neighboring farmhouses ( Smith's, Nile's and others) were filled to over- flowing with guests. This is mentioned as exhibiting a characteristic of the times.
(III) Benjamin Packer. having been impressed into the army to fight the French in 1709, made his will, bequeathing his patrimony of sixty acres of land to his brothers, James and Joseph, and sister, Re- becca. He probably never returned from the frontier, as no further rec- ord of him is found. One of these brothers is supposed to have been the father of James Packer, born at Groton, August 17. 1760.
JAMES EDWIN WETHERBEE, superintendent of the West End Paper Mill at Carthage, has spent nearly all his life in the paper- making industry, and is master of its details. He was born August 2, 1869, in Broadalbin, Fulton county. New York. His great-grandfather. Marshall Wetherbee, came from Vermont and settled on a farm in May- field. Fulton county, this state, and died in Broadalbin in 1884. aged eighty years. His wife died in 1890, aged about eighty-four years.
Lorin, only child of Marshall Wetherbee, was born in Vermont and settled on a farm in Mayfield, but subsequently engaged as broker in paper stock, making headquarters for some years at South Bend. In-
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(liana. Returning to New York he began the manufacture of paper at Union Mills, Fulton county, and died in Broadalbin in 1885, aged about sixty years. His wife, who was a Miss Quackenbush, survived him and died at the age of sixty-five years. They were the parents of seven children: of the eldest. Eugene, further mention appears below ; Frank is a citizen of St. Louis, Missouri : Mervin resides at Amsterdam, New York: Orville is a glove-cutter and lives at Mayfield, where Charles is a farmer: Lorin is a manufacturer of gloves in California; Emma, the youngest, married a Mr. Frazier, of Johnstown, where they reside.
Eugene Wetherbee was born November 16. 1848. in Mayfield, and grew up on a farm. On attaining his majority he learned the trade of papermaker, and continued in that occupation until thirty years old. when he engaged in farming in the town of Broadalbin. In 1883 he went to Union Mills and began the operation of the paper mill formerly conducted by his father, in which he continued three and one-half years, returning then to the farm in Broadalbin, where he now resides. He is a member of the Christian church at Union Mills, in which he was some years a deacon. He is affiliated with the Masonic lodge at Broad- albin, and the Odd Fellows' lodge at Galway, same county. He has filled all the chairs of the Masonic lodge except master, which his dis- tance from the meeting place prohibited his accepting. He is an ardent Republican, but has never accepted any office in civil affairs. In 1866 he married Orcelia. daughter of Pardon and Nellie (VanVranken) \1- len, the last named a native of Broadalbin. Eight of their nine chil- (Iren are living, James E. being the eldest. The others, in order of age. are as follows: Irving, a resident of Sandy Hill, New York; Wesley, of Fort Edward, this state; Myron, residing at Charlton, Schoharie county ; Charles and Nellie, of Sandy Hill: Jennie and Mattie, with parents in Broadalbin. One died in infancy.
James E. Wetherbee grew up on the farm in Broadalbin, and at- tended school in district No. 11 until thirteen years old, when he went in- to a woolen mill at Harrower, Montgomery county, and remained two years, gathering much information about the maunfacture of woolen goods. Returning to his native town he was employed two years in cutting shirts in a factory there. This was a responsible position for one of his years, but he had been accustomed to keep his eyes and ears open, and had already established a reputation for stability and industry. For the next three years he worked as a machine tender in a paper mill at Union Falls, and was subsequently engaged in the same capacity at
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Sandy Hill and Glens Falls. From 1894 to 1898 he was machine ten- der at Fort Edward, and was next employed two and one-half years as superintendent of the mills at Sandy Hill. For a time he was assistant superintendent at Millinocket, Maine, and was next night superintend- ent at the St. Regis mills, at Deferiet. On the opening of the West End mill at Carthage; July 1, 1902, Mr. Wetherbee became its superintend- ent, and has so continued since. Through years of industrious and careful attention to details he has made himself valuable in the opera- tion of a paper mill and his services are always in demand. He is a genial and courteous gentleman, and enjoys the friendship of all who know him. He is an active member of the Masonic fraternity, being connected with Lodge No. 372 and Chapter No. 189. at Sandy Hill; Washington Commandery, No. 33. of Saratoga, and Oriental Temple, of Troy, New York. He attends the Baptist church, and is a staunch Republican.
Mr. Wetherbee was married to Miss Jennie Howe, a native of Erie county, New York, daughter of Chester and Polly ( Palmer ) Howe.
LEVI HUBBARD, second son of William Hubbard (6), was born September 2, 1792, in Berlin, Connecticut, and was of the seventh generation in this country, descended from George Hubbard (see F. D. Hubbard). At the age of fourteen years he was apprenticed to a tin- smith and served until he was of age. He was in Champion as early as 1821, and it is quite probable that he came the previous year, imme- diately following his marriage. He purchased land near what is now known as " Champion Huddle." and cleared and tilled it until his death, which occurred October 24, 1878. at the age of eighty-six years. In the pioneer days he was wont to spend considerable time in eastern cities, where he earned money at his trade to assist in supporting his family and paying for his land. After his land was clear he did not leave the vicinity but worked much at his trade in shops at Carthage and other near points. He was married January 30, 1820, to Polly Richmond Clark, who was born February 20, 1799, at Colerain, Massachusetts, and died August 15, 1845. in Champion. They were the parents of seven children : William R., the eldest, born May 20, 1821, lived for some time in Champion and passed his last years on a farm near Farm- ersville. Cattaraugus county, this state; Polly Rosina, born April 3, 1823, married Lewis O. Earl, and died in West Carthage: Mabel Kelsey, born June 23. 1826, married Guy Carleton Earl, mentioned elsewhere,
74
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and now resides in West Carthage: Horace G., born August 17, 1829, learned the tinner's trade, by means of which he earned an education, and became a Baptist preacher and has labored in several communities : Olive Rosetta, born August 12, 1831. became the wife of Wheeler B. Hewitt, and died in Carthage; Levi Clark, born October 5. 1836, died in West Carthage: Alice Maria, February 19, 1839. married Dr. N. M. Carter, of Poughkeepsie, and died in Utica, New York. Mr. Hubbard was a well-read and public-spirited citizen. In religious faith he was a Universalist, and in politics a Democrat. He held several town offices, and was respected and esteemed as a man.
Guy Carleton Earl, born March 5. 1825, in West Carthage, was a son of Loton and Amarilla ( Barto) Earl, who came from Vermont and settled in Champion early in the history of that town. The latter died here September 20. 1864, aged seventy-three years.
Guy C. Earl grew up and passed all his life at West Carthage. When about fourteen years old he went to learn the trade of carpenter and builder. He was quite active in buikling up the village of West Carth- age, and erected a hotel at the corner of Bridge and West Main streets, which he conducted thirty-five years. He also built a distillery which lie operated a short time and then converted into a brewery and operated five years. He erected the brick house now occupied by his widow, on Main street, south of Bridge, and liere lived a few years, retired from active business, and died April 21, 1901, aged seventy-six years. He was married March 5, 1846. to Mabel Kelsey, daughter of Levi Hub- bard, and they lived together fifty-seven years. They were the parents of two daughters: Lotonette, the elder. married James K. Arnold, and died childlless at the age of thirty-four years: Leviette became the wife of Joseph Ash, who was killed by a runaway horse in 1883. She sub- sequently married Thomas Henderson, and died in Watertown in De- cember, 1888. She left two daughters, Maud S. and Eva Warner. The former is the widow of Vernon Beecher, residing in Watertown, and the latter is the wife of Lawrence H. Ladd, and has a daughter Ruth. They reside in West Carthage, and Mr. Ladd is employed in a furniture estab- lishment in Carthage.
Loton and Amarilla Earl were the parents of twelve children. of whom eleven reached adult age. The fifth. Amira, was fatally scalded in infancy. Alzina, the eldest, married Benjamin F. Mallory, and lived and died at Holland Patent. New York. Francis died in 1888 in Cham- pion. Amarilla was the wife of Henry Howard, and died in Watertown.
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Fidelia lived and died in Champion, becoming the wife of James Patter- son. Lorain married Albert Earl ( no relative), and died in Wisconsin. Guy C. was the seventh. Pamelia was the wife of Abel Nutting, and died in West Carthage. Paris married Horace Ball, and died at Harris- ville. this state. Delight was the wife of Hiram Knowles, lived most of her life in Champion and died in the town of Wilna. Harrison died in 1901 at Harrisville. Xenophon moved to Wisconsin, where he died.
EDMUND WALLACE BRANAUGH, one of the group of young men of Carthage who are successfully conducting large business affairs, is a son of one of the successful and honored business men of that place. now deceased.
In 1830. Archibald and Jane ( Anderson) Branaugh left Belfast, Ireland, for the United States, and after living twelve years in Greene county, this state, moved to Theresa. in Jefferson county, whence they subsequently went to Redwood, where Archibald died. His wife sur- vived him two years and died at the home of her son in Carthage. They were of the hardy and intelligent stock known as Scotch-Irish, descend- ants of those stern old Scotchmen who migrated to northern Ireland to obtain the religious freedom denied them in their native land.
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