USA > New York > Jefferson County > Genealogical and family history of the county of Jefferson, New York, Volume II > Part 52
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He was married April 7, 1874, to Miss Sophia Lewis, who was born December 31, 1847, at North Wilna, a daughter of Sanford Lewis and his wife. The last named was a son of Stephen Lewis ( see Lewis,
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VI). The only child of E. H. and Sophia Ohinstead is William S., of whom extended mention follows :
William S. Olmstead, son of Edwin H. and Emeline S. (Lewis) Olmstead, was born May 1, 1879. in Great Bend, where he received his primary education in the common schools. He afterward attended the Carthage High School and the Clarkson School of Technology. He then accepted the position of timekeeper in a paper-mill at De- feriet. The fact that the establishment employs three hundred men renders the office of Mr. Olmstead an extremely responsible one, and the manner in which he discharges its duties is the best evidence of his capa- bilities, and proves him to possess. among other requisites for the post, that punctuality which has been truly called " the soul of business." He is a member of the I. O. O. F.
ERVIN W. WITT. M. D., widely known in Jefferson county as a representative of the medical profession, maintaining an office at Brown- ville. was born January 1. 1865. in Clayton, this county. His ancestry has been traced to Gott Witt, who was born May 25. 1773. in Massa- chusetts, and died in the town of Brownville, March 25. 1844, in his seventy-first year. He was a faithful member of the Presbyterian church. His wife, Eleanor Fall, said to have been born in Mohawk, this state. survived him many years, dying in Brownville in 1871, aged eighty-one years. Her father, Henry Fall, died in the town of Clayton at the age of ninety-nine years. His wife was Sarah Durham. Gott Witt and wife were the parents of seven sons and five daughters.
John Witt, son of Gott and Eleanor ( Fall) Witt, was born July 4, ISO1, and died April 15. 1809, near the close of his sixty-eighth year. He was a farmer, and a member of the Methodist church; like his father, he was an unflinching Democrat in politics. He was a pioneer settler of Houndsfield, where he took up a tract of land which he cleared and improved, transforming it into a valuable farm. In the carly days of his residence there he lived in a log cabin, and his experiences were those which usually befall the settler upon the frontier. In old age he went to live with his son Eli in Brownville, who with himself was the owner of a farm on which he resided until his death. One day while working in the field he was seized with a spasm of heart-failure which proved fatal, and his body was found some hours later. In early man- hood he married Deborah Livermore, who was born in 1810 in Hounds- field. a daughter of Levi Livermore, a pioneer of that town. Mr. and
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Mrs. Witt had a large family. One son, Dyer Witt, moved to Craw- ford county, Iowa, and assumed the name of DeWitt, which was the original form. Charles L., another son, became a miller at Brownville, where he died in 1893. Eli resides on a farm in Brownville, where his father died. Lois A., the widow of Henry Knight, died at Wadena, Minnesota, in 1903, and left three children: Rev. John Knight, M. D .; Henry, of Wadena, Minnesota; and Amelia, wife of Fred James, of Limerick, town of Brownville, New York.
Levi Livermore Witt, son of John and Deborah ( Livermore ) Witt, was born June 19. 1833, in Clayton, and there spent the days of his boy- hood, pursuing his education in the common schools. In 1867 he settled in the town of Brownville and purchased a fine farm, continuing to make it his home until 1878. when he removed to Houndsfield, where his last days were passed, his death occurring August 6, 1898. In 1857 he married Fanny Zimmerman, who was born in St. Johnsville. Mont- gomery county, this state, June 30. 1835. Her father, Nicholas Zim- merman, was born at the same place. At the age of twelve years Mrs. Witt came with her parents to Reynolds Corners, in the town of Clay- ton. Subsequently Mr. Zimmerman became a resident of Dexter, in the town of Brownville, where he died in 1865. Nicholas Zimmerman's wife, mother of Mrs. Witt, was Christine Ann Thumb, a native of St. Johnsville, and they had a large family, namely: Lyman Joel, late of Brownville: Mary J., wife of George Shill, of Evansville, Indiana ; Eliza, the widow of Nelson Calkins, residing in Camden, New York; Fanny, who became the wife of Levi L. Witt; Magdalene, the deceased wife of Daniel Robbins, of Chaumont, New York; David, who was a soldier in the Civil war, now living in Brownville; Martha, the wife of Luther Sternburg. of Reynolds Corners; and Luther, who was also a soldier in the Union army, and now living in Brownville. Mrs. Chris- tine Ann (Thumb) Zimmerman passed away in 1876. at the age of seventy-five years. Mrs. Witt is the sixth of her children, and is now living in Hounsfield. She is the mother of two sons, the elder of whoin, Byron J. Witt, is a well-known contractor and builder of Brown- ville.
Dr. Ervin W. Witt, youngest son of Levi L. and Fanny Witt, received his primary education in the common schools of his home neighborhood, and for ten years was engaged in teaching in various schools of this county. He regarded this merely as an initial step to other professional labor. In preparation for the practice of medicine he began a course of reading under the preceptorship of Dr. Henry G. P.
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Spencer, of Watertown, who directed his preliminary reading prior to his matriculation in the medical department of the University of Buf- falo. He was there graduated with the class of 1897. and immediately afterward located for practice in Brownville, where in a short time he won a liberal patronage that has made his career a successful one when viewed both from a professional and financial standpoint.
In 1892 Dr. Witt married Miss Jennette E. Grant, daughter of Captain Philander B. Grant, of Watertown, New York. She was the second of three children, her elder sister being Ida, the wife of William H. Mould, while the youngest member of the family is Fred Grant, who is associated in business with his father in Watertown. Dr. Witt and his wife reside in a house which was erected in 1816 by a brother of General Brown, after whom the town of Brownville was named. It is the oldest residence in this place, and in the '50s was used for a school, which was called the Brownville Female Seminary. Dr. Witt is a member of the Jefferson County Medical Society, also of Brownville Lodge No. 53. F. and .\. M., and of the Knights of the Maccabees there, and of the latter he is examining physician. He represents one of the old and prominent families of the county and in his professional career has won a position of prominence as a representative of the med- ical fraternity.
CHRISTOPHER C. LAKE. Among the leading manufacturers of Jefferson county there is none whose career affords a better example of the ultimate triumph of persevering industry and energy than does that of Christopher C. Lake, of Natural Bridge. The family to which he belongs is believed to be of German origin. The period at which it was planted in America cannot be ascertained with accuracy, but it is certain that the Lakes have been residents of New York state for more than a century.
James Lake was born probably in Otsego county, whence he moved to Canada, and settled on the banks of the Reto river, where he owned a farm of five hundred acres. During the war of 1812 he was required to take the oath of allegiance to the British government, and on his re- fusal to do so his land was confiscated. He was then obliged to leave Merrick Falls, which was the name of the town where he had settled, and returned to the United States. He went to St. Lawrence county and settled on a farm of one hundred and fifty acres, where he passed the remainder of his life. He married. September 9. 1790. Hannah
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Jackson, a native of Ontario county and a distant relative of Andrew Jackson, seventh President of the United States. The family was of Irish origin. Their children were: Thomas; Jesse, mentioned at length hereinafter; Abraham, Catherine, John and Henry. Mr. Lake, the father, after his many hardships and adventures, spent his last years peacefully and died on his farm in St. Lawrence county March 7, 1841, being then more than eighty years of age.
Jesse Lake, son of James and Hannah ( Jackson) Lake, was born in 1795 in Alexandria, Jefferson county, and when living as a youth in St. Lawrence county was pressed into the service of the British to de- fend Prescott. Crossing on the ice he went to Ogdensburg, reported to General Forsythe, and received from him a pass under the protection of which he went to Monroe county, where he settled on a farm and re- mained some time. He then took up his abode four miles from the vil- lage of Gouverneur, in what was then the wilderness. He was a staunch Democrat, and always took a great interest in public affairs. In relig- jous belief he was a Universalist, and hore an active part in the trans- actions of the church to which he belonged. He married Lavinia Cook, a native of Plainfield, Massachusetts, and one of a family of two child- ren, both of whom are now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Lake were the parents of ten children, three of whom are living: Hannah, who re- sides in Gouverneur; Levi, who lives at Harrisonville, Lewis county, and Christopher C., mentioned at length hereinafter. The death of Mr. Lake, who was universally respected both as a man and a citizen, oc- curred in 1864, when he had reached the age of sixty-nine. His wife passed away at eighty-five. She also was an active and esteemed men- ber of the Universalist church.
Christopher C. Lake, son of Jesse and Lavinia ( Cook) Lake, was born May 8, 1838, near Rochester, in Genesee county, New York, where his boyhood was spent. During the day he was employed in the labors of the farm, the evenings as well as Sundays being devoted to study. . At fourteen he went to learn the carpenter's and joiner's trade, which he followed for a time, and in 1861 went to Harrisonville with his brother Levi, with whom he was associated in business until the following year, when he returned to the practice of his trade. This he succeeded in making very lucrative, but nevertheless felt it his duty to abandon the prospect of pecuniary gain and enrolled himself in the ranks of his country's defenders. August 17, 1864, he enlisted in Company A, One Hundred and Eighty-sixth Regiment New York Volunteer In-
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fantry, commanded by Colonel Winslow, of Watertown, a brave soldier and able officer. The regiment participated in a number of engagements, the most important of which was the great battle of Petersburg, and witnessed the surrender at Appomattox. They were mustered out at Alexandria and then proceeded to Sackets Harbor. where they were paid and discharged.
On becoming once more a citizen, Mr. Lake returned to Natural Bridge, which had been his home before he entered the army, and there resumed the practice of his trade. After a time he became a mill-owner and manufacturer, and seemed on the high road to affluence. when his prosperity was cut short by a disastrous fire which completely destroyed his buildings, the loss being total, inasmuch as there was no insurance. With indomitable perseverance and energy Mr. Lake rebuilt the mills, improving the equipment, and has since conducted the business in such a manner as to place himself in the front rank of the manufacturers of the county. Until 1903 he had as an associate his son, who in that year moved to Utica.
Mr. Lake has always taken an active interest in public affairs, and has been intrusted by his townsmen with various offices of responsibil- ity. For twenty years he has held the position of justice of the peace, and has twice served as supervisor of the town of Dean. Lewis county, New York. He has been excise commissioner for this town and likewise for Wilna, and for many years has filled the office of town auditor. Since 1866 he has belonged to the Masonic order and is one of the oldest members of Carthage Lodge. He was formerly a mem- ber of the Grand Army of the Republic, and has served as commander of General William T. Sherman Post. He was also at one time a member of the Grange, and held the office of master many years. He attends the Universalist church.
Mr. Lake married in 1862. Fidelia, born in Otsego county, daugh- ter of Gains Pyne, who belonged to a Huguenot family, and they have had three children, two of whom are living, a son and daughter. The former, who is named Frederick. was educated in his native town and in the Correspondence Schools of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He was for many years associated with his father in business, and now holds a position on the staff of the Utica " Globe." He married Jennie Dick- inson, daughter of a pumpmaker of Denmark, and they have one adopted child. May P. Mr. Lake's daughter, whose name is Laura, resides with
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her parents, and was at one time engaged in teaching, but is now de- voting her attention to professional dressmaking.
One secret of Mr. Lake's unquestioned popularity may be found in the fact that in politics he is entirely non-partisan and thoroughly independent. As a business man and a citizen he possesses the respect and confidence of all. He is entitled to the distinction of being the old- est manufacturer on the banks of the Indian river.
GEORGE VERNON EGGLESTON. a native of this county, has long been identified with its commercial interests. His grandfather, Asa Eggleston, was a native of New England, a mason by trade, and passed his latest years in this state.
David, son of Asa Eggleston, was a native of this state, born August 4, 1812, and settled in Antwerp, this county, when a young man. He cleared up a farm of over one hundred and sixty acres, four miles west of the present village of Antwerp, and lived there until his death, in 1895. He was an industrious and successful farmer, upright in character, of temperate habits and cheerful disposition. While not a communicant of any church organization he was a liberal contributor in support of all churches, and usually attended the worship of the Presbyterian denomination. In politics he was a Republican, but never sought or accepted official position.
Mr. Eggleston was first married to Miss Snell, who died, leaving one child, William, now probate judge of Steele county, Minnesota.
In 1853 he was married to Miss Elizabeth, sister of the late Mar- tin Rugg, whose parentage is given on another page. Seven children were the fruit of this marriage. of whom five are now living. Ambrose, the eldest. resides on the parental homestead in Antwerp. Ellen died while the wife of James Dickson, of that town. Jane is the second wife of James Dickson, junior, of Antwerp, a nephew of her elder sis- ter's husband. George V. is mentioned below. Nina married Frank Hull, of Hailesboro, New York. Harriet died while the wife of James Dickson, junior. Nettie is the wife of William Dickson, of Antwerp.
George V. Eggleston was born July 5. 1861. in Antwerp, and grew up on the farm there. After the usual course at the local school he spent five terms at Ives Seminary, in his native town, a well known educational institution. In the meantime he had become inured to muscular effort while attending to such duties as fall to a boy and young man on the farm. On reaching his majority young Eggleston
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went to Carthage and began his commercial career as clerk in the gro- cerv store of L. D. Thompson, where he continued two and one-half years. For a period of five years subsequently he conducted a grocery store, in partnership with Charles Dealing, under the title of Eggleston & Dealing. Becoming convinced that some other line of trade would be more congenial and profitable, he engaged as clerk in the drug store of C. L. Fredericks, becoming familiar with the materia medica and the trade, and subsequently conducted a drug store two and one-half years. For four years he represented Samuel Felt, a wholesale druggist of Watertown, as salesman to the trade, and during the last two years he has visited physicians in the interest of the H. K. Mulford Company, large manufacturing chemists, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is one of a staff of more than one hundred salesmen employed by this house.
Mr. Eggleston has always been active in the affairs of Carthage, socially and morally. He is a member of the local lodge and chapter of the Masonic fraternity, and a deacon of the First Presbyterian church. He was two years superintendent of the Sunday school, and resigned this position at the end of that time. He has served as secretary of the volunteer fire department, and is an earnest supporter of the Repub- lican party. He is a member of the Commercial Travelers' Associa- tion of Utica, and the Commercial Travelers' Club of Watertown.
Mr. Eggleston was married in 1888 to Miss Viola Baxter, who was born near Gouverneur, St. Lawrence county, this state, a daughter of John and Amelia (Odell) Baxter, the latter a relative of the last ex- governor of the state. Mr. and Mrs. Eggleston have a son, Walter, now thirteen years old : and a daughter. Florence, aged eleven.
MANUEL JEFFREY, a resident of Sackets Harbor. Jefferson county, New York, since 1855. a period of almost half a century, dur- ing which time he has been engaged in various pursuits, was born in England. March 14. 1837. a son of Robert and Jane ( Lane) Jeffrey. Robert Jeffrey ( father) died in England, and when Manuel Jeffrey was six years of age (in 1843). his mother, accompanied by four of her five children ( the other child came a year later). emigrated to the United States and settled in Jefferson county, New York, near the home of her father. Thomas Lane, who was the father of five sons and four daugh- ters, all of whom are now deceased. The children of Thomas and Jane ( Lane) Jeffrey are as follows: Sylvanus, who married in England;
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John, who has not been heard from since the year 1865; he served in the navy during the war of the rebellion, and in the aforesaid year sent a telegram from New York city for Manuel Jeffrey, his brother. to meet him at the railroad station, but he never came: Thomas, who married Julia Cunningham and resides at Mexico, Oswego county, New York: Elizabeth, widow of Seth Larkins; and Matilda, widow of John Reader, a resident of Sackets Harbor. Elizabeth and Matilda are both living.
The first occupation to which Manuel Jeffrey turned his attention after completing a common school education was driving a team for Mr. Eveleigh, with whom he remained for six years. In 1865 he established a livery and stage line at Sackets Harbor, but later disposed of this and engaged in the mercantile business, which he followed for a period of ten years, and in which he achieved a fair degree of financial success. For the last quarter of a century he has served in the capacity of janitor of the Presbyterian church of Sackets Harbor, of which he is a trustee.
Mr. Jeffrey was married twice. His first wife was Ida ( Palmer) Jeffrey, daughter of David and Fanny (Livermore) Palmer, the cere- mony being performed in the year 1876. No children were born of this union. Mrs. Jeffrey died in 1898. His second wife, whose maiden name was Laura Roe, is a native of Kingston, Ontario, Canada, where her parents now reside. She is a member of the Methodist church.
SLATER. This is among the early names of New England and the pioneer names of Jefferson county. It had several spellings in the New England annals, such as Slafter and Slaughter, and its represen- tatives were noted as upright and pious men, who lived long in the land which they reclaimed from the wilderness.
(I) John Slater, the immigrant ancestor, came to this country from Great Britain, a vague tradition says from Wales, about 1680. He appears to have settled in Lynn, Massachusetts, and to have reared a family of ten children. His name has not been found in the records of Lynn, but his residence there is a matter of direct tradition from his grandchildren, who were born before his death. This is corroborated by the record of the marriages of several of his children in that town.
As early as 1716, he removed to Connecticut, and in that year pur- chased one hundred acres of land on the Willimantic river. in the town of
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Mansfield. Two years later he united, with others, in the joint purchase of land in the northern part of the same town. This was sold four years later, and May 2, 1721, he made another joint purchase on the same stream, about a mile and a quarter beyond the northern limits of Mansfield, supposed to be in the old town of Windham, where the record of the deed is found. The general court refused to set off this tract, together with a part of Ashford, as a new town, and in 1727, another petition was preferred on which appear the names of John Slater and his sons, Moses and Benjamin. The main ground of the petition was the distance of the residents from a place of public worship. and as a result the town of Willington was incorporated. Mr. Slater received a deed immediately following the incorporation of the town and seems to have lived upon this estate during the balance of his life. The farm is located on the eastern bank of the Willimantic river, and his mansion stood on an elevation in a sunny and protected spot, overlooking the nimble waters of the river on its way to the sea.
At the organization of the town of Willington, in 1727, John Slater was appointed its first grand juror, to which office he was re-elected several years in succession. He was also elected tithing man, and he was active in securing the settlement of a permanent pastor for the town. In 1739 he transferred his estate, in equal parts, to his sons, Moses and Benjamin, the former receiving the part including the mansion. The sons exchanged their portions in 1748 and, next year, Moses sold his portion and moved to Ellington.
In person, John Slater is said to have been of medium height, with broad shoulders and strong muscular power. On one occasion he found use for both physical strength and personal courage. Returning to his home after a short absence, while a resident in Massachusetts, he found two athletic savages whose insolent threats and gestures had intimidated his household. Upon their refusal to obey his order to leave, he stretched one of them prostrate by one blow of his clenched fist, and their bravado immediately disappeared, and they left the premises never to re- turn. As his son Benjamin sold. in 1754, the estate which he had re- ceived from his father, it is presumed that the latter was deceased at that time. No record is found of his wife, and the order of their children, as here following, is not established, as the dates of birth of only two are found. The names were: Mary, born November, 1688: Anthony, Elizabeth, Samuel (born August, 1696), Joseph, Sarah, Moses, Abigail and Benjamin.
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( II) Joseph, son of John Slater, is supposed to have been born about 1698, and died about 1787. His wife's name was Esther, but no record of his marriage is found. The earliest notice of him is found in 1718, when he was one of twenty-five to subscribe to a document sent to the general assembly relating to Coventry lands. After this he re- sided some time in Willington, and was a signer of a petition for the incorporation of that town May 14. 1724. The birth of his daughter Esther, is recorded in Willington, as occurring September 24. 1724. He purchased a tract of land in Mansfield, adjoining Samuel Slater's land on the west and lying on both sides of the great cedar swamp brook. Two years after he sold this property and moved to Killingly, Connecticut. where he purchased land in 1735. adjoining land which he already owned. Additions were made in 1742 and 1745. On a deed of land in Tolland sold by him in 1764, his name is signed "Joseph Slatter." His heirs signed acquittance of title in his real estate June 16, 1788, and it is probable that this occurred very soon after his death. His farm in Killingly was near the line of what is now Foster, Rhode Island, and then part of Scituate. His children were: Joseph. Esther. John and Abraham.
(III) Abraham, youngest child of Joseph and Esther Slater, was born October 7. 1731. probably in Killingly, and died prior to 1795. in which year his estate was settled. He married Hannah Adams, and their children were: Jeremiah, Stephen. Abigail, Mercy. Samuel. Esther. Amy and Abraham.
(IV) Stephen, second son and child of Abraham and Hannah ( Adams) Slater, was born August 1, 1752, and died September, 1821. He married his counsin. Hannah Slater, and lived in Halifax and Ply- mouth, Vermont, passing his last days in Vermont. His children were : Silas, Hannah, Phobe, Stephen, Sarah, Abial, Sarah ( 2), Belinda, Lois and Joseph.
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