USA > New York > Genealogical and family history of western New York; a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the building of a nation, Volume III > Part 12
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92
(VIII) Dr. Clarence A. Potter, son of Al- bert J. Potter, was born October 11, 1874, at Orwell, New York. He attended the pub- lic schools of his native town and the Pulaski high school and academy. He studied his pro- fession in the New York Homoeopathic Medi- cal College, from which he was graduated in 1897 with the degree of doctor of medicine. He made a specialty of mental and nervous diseases, and after graduation became an in- terne in the insane hospital at Middletown, under Selden H. Talcott, the well known and famous expert. In February. 1899, he was appointed assistant physician of the State Asylum for the Insane at Gowanda, New
York, and in 1904 was promoted to assistant superintendent, and he has filled that position with skill and ability to the present time. He is a member of the homoeopathic county, state and national medical organizations. He is a prominent Free Mason, and at the present time is master of the Phoenix Lodge, No. 262, of Gowanda, which is building a temple for its future home. He is also a member of Go- wanda Chapter, No. 36, Royal Arch Masons ; of Salamanca Commandery, No. 62, Knights Templar ; and of Ismailia Temple, Mystic Shrine, of Buffalo, New York; of the Go- wanda Club, and other organizations. In poli- tics he is a Republican. He is a vestryman of the Protestant Episcopal Church of Go- wanda. Dr. Potter is well known in business and social life, and popular with all classes in the community.
He married, October 9. 1902. Caroline, daughter of Charles B. and Mary (Hill) Hibbard, of Sandy Creek, New York. She had one sister, Cornelia. Dr. and Mrs. Pot- ter have no children.
Claude Edgar Strong, an en- STRONG terprising and influential citi- zen of Jamestown. is a repre- sentative of a family that has long made its home in New York state, active and promi- nent in the affairs of the communities wherein the different members resided, gaining and retaining the respect and confidence of the people by their upright characters and consci- entious methods of performing the tasks al- lotted to them.
( 1) Gilbert Strong, the first of the family of whom we have definite information, was born about 1769, in Chenango county, New York, from whence he removed in 1818, settling upon the highway between Sinclairville and Gerry, where he resided many years. He mar- ried, and among his children was Horace, see forward.
(II) Horace, son of Gilbert Strong. was born December 6, 1791. in Connecticut. lle attended the district school. In 1820, accom- panied by his wife, he removed to Gerry, Chautauqua county, New York, the journey being made with an ox team, which was a tedious proceeding. they being three weeks on the way. He married, December 24, 1817, at Columbus, Chenango county, New York, Polly Carter, and among their children was John, see forward.
1062
NEW YORK.
( III ) John, son of Horace Strong, was born in Gerry, Chautauqua county, New York, March 1, 1825. He was reared and educated there, and his entire life was spent there. The principal manufacturing establishment in Gerry is the Strong Veneer Company, which was organized by John Strong and his son, Bur- dette Edgar, and which is still in successful op- eration. Many years ago large tracts of land in the vicinity of Gerry and Charlotte were covered with timber suitable for veneer pur- poses, but this has been all used up and it now has to be shipped in from Canada, Michi- gan, Tennessee, Pennsylvania and also from other states.
The Strongs, father and son, used the first machine made for the purpose of manufactur- ing veneer : this machine was driven by two horses hitched to a sweep, going round and round. In those days veneers brought a good price, certain kinds as high as ten, twelve and fourteen cents per foot. In 1893 a new and modern factory was erected, and the same year destroyed by fire, but was rebuilt at once. In the old days two logs cut in the forenoon and as many in the afternoon was a big day's work, but with the advent of steam power and modern machinery this was increased to seventy-five or eighty logs, a vast difference. For some years past the Strong Veneer Com- pany has made a specialty of birdseye maple veneer, but this is now becoming very scarce. and there are few veneer companies that pro- duce this particular wood satisfactorily, but having been in the business for so many years. this company has the respect and confidence of the trade in general, and produce birdseye ve- neer whiter and put up in better shape than any other concern in the country. Mr. Strong was a Methodist in his religious belief, and a Republican in politics.
Mr. Strong married Emily A. Wilson, who bore him two children: Burdette Edgar, see forward: Nellie A., married George Griffith, of Jamestown, New York. Mrs. Strong was a granddaughter of the Rev. Jonathan Wilson. who was born at Colerain, Massachusetts, April 12. 1777, came to Chautauqua county. New York, as a missionary in 1818 from Shaftsbury, Vermont : he organized a number of churches, among which were the first Bap- tist churches of Sinclairville and Mayville. He was a minister for fifty-eight years, bap- tized by immersion thirteen hundred and nine- ty-two persons, preached about nine thousand
sermons, in ten different states, and traveled seventy-five thousand miles.
(IV) Burdette Edgar, son of John Strong, was born in Gerry, Chautauqua county, New York, March 16, 1852. He was reared and educated in his native city, and upon attaining suitable age engaged in business with his father, continuing until the death of his father, since which time he has managed the business alone, retaining the high reputation established so many years ago (see paragraph of father for particulars of business). Mr. Strong is scrupulously honorable in all his dealings, and is an honor to the great commercial world, as well as a credit to the mercantile community in which he resides. He is public-spirited and progressive, and is ever forward in encourag- ing enterprises which can in any way advance the interests of Gerry. He is a member of the Methodist church, and his allegiance is given to the Republican party.
Mr. Strong married, September 26, 1874, Mary Selina Gardner, born June 3. 1854, at Gerry, New York, died November 10, 1891, daughter of John and Selina ( Pratt ) Gard- ner, the former of whom was a minister of the Methodist denomination, and a Republican in politics ; he was twice married, having five children by his first wife, namely: George, John, Reuben, Elizabeth and Sarah, and by his second wife. Selina (Pratt ) Gardner, two children: Mary Selina, above mentioned, and Jessie Rice Palmeter. Children of Mr. and Mrs. Strong : 1. Bertice Floyd, born July 20, 1875 : married Hettie Fisk. 2. Claude Edgar, see forward. 3. Mabel Selina, born February 28, 1879 : married Harry Clemenger. 4. Ethel Mae, born August 3, 1882 ; married Ora Cad- well. 5. Horace John, born August 23, 1884, died December 10, 1904. 6. and 7. Benton Wilson and Beulah Pratt, twins, born April 2, 1891, died in infancy. 8. Clarence Burdette, born January 16, 1893. 9. Philip Gardner, born September 13, 1901.
(\) Claude Edgar, son of Burdette Edgar Strong, was born in Gerry. Chautauqua coun- ty, New York, April 20. 1877. He obtained an excellent education by attendance at Gerry high school, A. M. Chesbrough Seminary, North Chili, New York, Jamestown high school. and Fredonia Normal, Fredonia, New York, graduating from the last named with class of 1898. During his business career he has served in the capacity of instructor in in- strumental music ; bookkeeper for the Strong
1063
NEW YORK.
Veneer Company, Gerry; stockkeeper for Jamestown Panel & Veneer Company, James- town; bookkeeper for National Furniture Company, Jamestown, and at the present time (1912) bookkeeper for the Pearl City Veneer Company. Mr. Strong is a member of Mt. Moriah Lodge, No. 145, Free and Accepted Masons, Jamestown, and Tent No. 45, of the Maccabees, Gerry. He adheres to the princi- ples of the Republican party.
Mr. Strong married, June 8, 1899, at Fre- donia, New York, Lina Mae Hickey, born Au- gust 2, 1880, at Brandt, Erie county, New York, the ceremony being performed by the Rev. E. P. Cleveland, pastor of the First Pres- byterian Church, Fredonia, where they were both members of the church choir. Mrs. Strong is a daughter of John and Ann Maria ( Ham- mond) Hickey, who are the parents of two other children. as follows: Franklin Hickey. married Belle Sherer, and Harry B., married Matie Roberts. John Hickey was born in Dublin, Ireland : he is a retired farmer ; he served as a soldier in the civil war, Company B, Sixty-fourth Regiment, New York Volun- teers ; served as a private three years, and was wounded at Fair Oaks and Fredericksburg. His wife, Ann Maria (Hammond) Hickey. was born in Brandt, Erie county, New York. and is a descendant of Paul Hammond, a sol- dier of the revolution. Mr. and Mrs. Strong reside in Jamestown, where they enjoy the acquaintance of a wide circle of friends.
The name Davis, which is of DAVIS Welsh origin, is derived from Davy, a variation of David. In the formation of the patronymic, Davidson became in many cases Davison, or simply Davis.
(I) The American ancestor of this branch of the family is Dolor Davis, one of the promi- nent pioneers of New England. He married, in county Kent, England, March 29, 1624, Margery, daughter of Richard Willard, yeo- man, of that county. She was baptized at Horsemonden. Kent, November 7, 1602, and died before 1667. Accompanied by his wife, three children, and Simon Willard, his wife's brother, Dolor Davis came to New England and settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts, prior to August 4. 1634. Simon Willard became one of the founders of Lancaster, Massachu- setts ; was captain of foot in 1646, major in 1654, and at his death in 1673 "the colony lost
one of its most distinguished members." Do- lor Davis was a carpenter and master builder. He received his first grant of land in Cam- bridge, June 4, 1635, and others later. He removed to Duxbury, August 5, 1638-39 ; was made a freeman and granted land there in 1640. He was in Barnstable in 1643, and ad- mitted a freeman there June 2, 1646. He held several public offices in Barnstable, in- cluding surveyor of highways and constable. He and his wife were dismissed from the Duxbury to the Barnstable church, August 27, 1648. In 1656 he left Plymouth colony, and returned to Massachusetts bay, purchasing in Concord one hundred and fifty acres of land, with a house thereon. In 1666 he returned to Barnstable, where he died June, 1676. His will was proved July 2, 1673. It inentions sons, Simon and Samuel, as already having their portions; his eldest son, John; son-in- law Lewis, and Mary, his wife; daughter, Ruth Hall. Children, first three born in Eng- land: John, who received the Concord home- stead by his father's will: Mary. Elizabeth, Lieutenant Simon, Samuel, Ruth.
(II) Samuel, son of Dolor Davis, was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1635. He was admitted a freeman, March 21, 1689-90, and settled in that part of Concord that became Bedford, his farm lying on the back road from Concord to Bedford. He divided his real es- tate among his sons before his death, deeding to each his share. He married (first), at Lynn, January 11, 1666, Mary Meadowes, who died at Concord, October 3, 1710. He mar- ried (second), October 18, 1711, Ruth Taylor, who died August 6, 1720. Children: Mercy, Samuel, of whom further : Daniel, Mary, Elea- zer, Lieutenant Simon, Stephen.
(III) Samuel (2), son of Samuel (1) Da- vis, was born at Concord, Massachusetts, June 21, 1669. He resided at Bedford and Chelms- ford, being also one of the early proprietors of Townsend. He married (first), March 2, 1697, Abigail Read, who died January 13. I709. He married (second ). about 1710, Mary Law. Children of first wife: Abigail, Mary, Samuel, of whom further; Jacob, Ste- phen, John. Children of second wife: Lydia, Martha, Deliverance.
(IV) Samuel (3). son of Samuel (2) Davis, was born at Bedford, Massachusetts, October 3, 1703. He settled at Lunenburg, where he was fence viewer, 1731-36, and hog reeve, 1733. By trade he was a carpenter. He mar-
1064
NEW YORK.
ried (first), Sarah - ; (second) January 13, 1746-47, at Lunenburg, Rebecca Larkin, of Groton. He died in 1775, leaving a widow Margaret. Children: Samuel, died young ; Sarah, Samuel, Joseph, of whom further ; Sub- mit, Hannah.
(V) Joseph, son of Samuel (3) Davis, was born at Lunenburg, May 20, 1738. He was a soldier in the revolution, in Captain Samuel Stone's company of minute-men, Colonel Wil- liam Prescott's regiment, at Lexington, April, 1775, and he was in the Ashby company in 1776, serving in New York state. He settled in Townsend, in the part set off as Ashby, and head of a family, reported in the census of Ashby. He was the only Davis in Ashby, the head af a family, reported in the census of 1790, when he had three sons under sixteen and five females in his family. Some of his sons may have left town before that date. He was probably the Joseph whose intentions of marriage were published with Elizabeth Fos- ter at Lunenburg. October 22, 1757, and mar- ried, November 8, 1757. He married (sec- ond), at Ashby, by Samuel Dix, Sarah Camp- bell, of Townsend, on February 14, 1769. The names of all his children are not known. He removed to Maine and spent his last years on a farm there. Children: David, of whom further; Daniel, recorded at Ashby, 1782; Reuben, at Ashby. December 23, 1783; Bet- sey, September 22, 1786; Rebecca, June 2, 1789 ; Polly, September 9, 1791.
(VI) David, son of Joseph Davis, was born about 1760, at Townsend or vicinity. Al- though some of his children are said to have been born at Ashby, his name does not appear on the records. He went to Vermont, prob- ably before 1790. Children: Reuben, Polly, Heald, born in Ashby, 1792, died in 1860, in Lubec, Maine, settled in Lubec, in 1818, and served in the war of 1812, married Mary Barnes : Suel, of whom further; Hiram; Da- vid ; Abner, a soldier in the war of 1812, re- moved after the war to western Illinois.
(VII) Suel, son of David Davis, was born April 13. 1798, died in Somerset, Niagara county, New York, September 28, 1872. He resided in Vermont, where he learned the blacksmiths' trade, and later settled at Pom- pey Hill, Onondaga county, New York, where he had a shop and followed his trade. He was next in Richville, New York, where he went with his brother Hiram, and between 1830 and 1835 removed to Niagara county,
settling at Reynales Basin, near Gasport. He continued there for many years, spending his last years with his son in Somerset. He mar- ried, October 29, 1821, Lucy Wheeler, born October 5, 1792, died March 27, 1860, at Reynales Basin. Children: Charles C., of whom further ; Edwin, born 1824, deceased.
(VIII) Charles C., eldest son of Suel and Lucy (Wheeler) Davis, was born November 6, 1822, at Pompey Hill, Onondaga county, New York. He attended the Pompey schools until he was ten years of age, when his par- ents removed to Reynales Basin, Niagara county. He finished his school years there, and became his father's assistant in the black- smith shop, continuing until 1871. He was a most excellent smith, and well known among the farmers. In 1871 he purchased the old Morgan Van Wagoner farm of two hundred and fifty acres, lying on the Lake road in the town of Somerset, where he lived until his death, April 4, 1903. He was an attendant of the Presbyterian church, and a Republican in politics. He married, August 19, 1852, Sarah Brooks, of Albany county, New York, died February 22, 1879. Children: S. Delos, of whom further ; John E., born May 3, 1860, at Reynales Basin, died August 22, 1872, at Somerset, New York.
(IX) S. Delos, eldest son of Charles C. and Sarah (Brooks) Davis, was born at Reynales Basin, Niagara county, New York, May 9. 1853. He was educated in the public schools of his district and Lockport union school. Af- ter finishing his studies he became his father's farm assistant, and on the death of the latter came into possession of the home farm of two hundred and fifty acres. Mr. Davis devotes ninety acres of this to fruit, having fifty acres of apple and forty acres of peach trees, all in fine bearing condition. He is a prosperous modern farmer, and has an estate that speaks the quality of its owner. He is a Republican, and in 1902 was appointed postmaster of Bar- ker by President Roosevelt for a four years' term. He is an active party worker, and fre- quently represents his town in state and county conventions. He is a member of Somerset Lodge, No. 696, Free and Accepted Masons, and actively interested in all that pertains to the welfare of his community.
He married (first). September 6, 1881, Helen, born November 14. 1853. died April 4, 1902, daughter of Stephen and Phoebe (Prime) Mead. He married (second), June
1065
NEW YORK.
8, 1904, Catherine Weaver, of Lockport, born March 1, 1870, daughter of George and Mary (Williams) Weaver. and granddaughter of John Weaver. of Lockport and Rochester, New York. She is a descendant of Baron Von Sitler, of eastern Prussia, Germany, whose son Dietrich settled in Pennsylvania, and was the founder of the German Lutheran church of that state.
BREWER Many settlers of this name ar- rived in New England prior to I700. There is nothing yet found that connects this branch of the Brew- ers with the early immigration. The family has been eminent in the United States in law, business and medicine. The earliest record of this line is of Ebenezer Brewer, of New Hampshire, who was believed to have been a son of Thomas Brewer, a ship builder and ship chandler of Boston.
(II) Ebenezer Brewer was an officer of the New Hampshire militia. Pay roll of field and staff officers of Colonel Wait's battalion in service to November 30, 1781: "Ebenezer Brewer, sergeant major" received pay for 272 days' service, May 3-November 30 ( see Vermont Rolls, p. 522). "Mason's History of Windsor County, Vermont," says: "During the remainder of the war the militia of Wind- sor were perpetually on the alert and were fre- quently called into service, under Captain (also Colonel) Wait ; they were of the troops that beat back the British and Indians from the northern frontier, etc." He remained loyal to his king and early in the revolutionary struggle moved with other loyalists to Sidney, Cape Breton, where he remained until after 1787.
It is said that he returned to the Uni- ted States where he died before 1800. Family tradition invests him with the military title of colonel of the New Hampshire militia, and a portrait of him preserved in the family shows him in military garb. There was a Colonel Brewer, of New Hampshire, who fought with the colonists. Ebenezer Brewer must have been a very young man at the breaking out of the revolutionary war and the probability seems strong that his military service was of short duration, and his title gained in the service of his king prior to the revolution, and his rank may have been lower than col- onel. Many officers of the colonial army would not fight against their king nor against
their neighbors and became voluntary exiles, as did Ebenezer Brewer.
He married Mary, born between 1772 and 1775, third daughter and child of Colonel Jon- athan and Thankful (Sherman) Chase, par- ents of five children : Prudence, married Na- thaniel Hall; Elizabeth, married Dr. Nathan Smith ; Mary, married Ebenezer Brewer ; two sons, died in infancy. The town of Cornish, New Hampshire, was settled by two brothers, Moses and Samuel Chase, and Dyer Spalding, in 1767. Colonel Jonathan Chase, son of Sam- uel Chase, no doubt, settled there at about the same time. He died in Cornish, January 14, 1800, and is no doubt buried there. He was appointed colonel by the fourth provincial congress (Vermont), August 30, 1775, and was holding that rank at Burgoyne's surren- der. Mary (Chase) Brewer was a descendant of Aquilla Chase, from whom comes the illus- trious Chase family, of New England, the best known member of which perhaps was Salmon P. Chase, chief justice of the supreme court of the United States. A portrait of Mary (Chase) Brewer, by Stuart, shows a stately figure with the air and dress of an American lady of the revolutionary period.
(III) Ebenezer (2), son of Ebenezer (I) Brewer, was born at Sidney, Cape Breton, 1789. His parents dying when he was quite young, he was reared in the home of a rela- tive of his mother, in Henniker, New Ilamp- shire, where he remained until his fourteenth year. He was then entered as an apprentice with a shipping house in Boston, Massa- chusetts, engaged in the grocery trade. Here he remained until attaining his ma- jority. He developed good business ca- pacity in his mercantile life, which was closed by his enlistment during the war of 1812 in a regiment of light infantry with marching orders for the Lake Champlain re- gion. His life as a soldier was uneventful, though its close was signalized by a duel at Burlington, Vermont, bloodless in its result, and had no more result than hastening his departure over the mountains to New Hamp- shire. He settled at Keene, where with sev- eral others he established a glass works, a business that soon went to wreck. While in Keene he was captain of the "Ashuelot Cav- alry" and was often thereafter known as "Cap- tain Brewer." During this period of his life he married and moved later with his family to McIndoe's Falls, a small hamlet in Vermont
IO66
NEW YORK.
on the Connecticut river. Here he began work in earnest. kept a public house, made potash, ran a small store, taking contracts for carrying the mails and finally engaged ex- tensivelv in lumbering, which afterward be- came his sole business. He was senior part- ner of Brewer, Gilchrist & Company, cutting and manufacturing lumber, taking it to the headwaters of the Connecticut and McIndoe's Falls and then floating it to Hartford, Con- necticut, for a market. He acquired consid- erable wealth, becoming president of the Wells River Bank and participating in all matters of public interest. About 1838 Brewer, Gil- christ & Company purchased a tract of sev- eral thousand acres of timber lands near Ti- tusville, Crawford county, Pennsylvania, with the purpose of manufacturing lumber for the Pittsburgh market. The death of one of the firm rendered it expedient for one of the part- ners to be on the ground, and about 1840 he removed with his family to Titusville, taking personal charge of the Pennsylvania business. The timber lands on the Connecticut becoming exhausted, the whole business of the firm was soon after moved to Titusville and the Oil Creek valley, where the new firm, Brewer, Watson & Company, established a large and successful business in lumber and merchan- dise. Though there were repeated changes in the firm Mr. Brewer always remained the sen- ior partner. He remained at Titusville about ten years, then established a lumber yard at Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, now a part of Pittsburgh and known as the "North Side." The Titusville plant and business was sold about 1860 and he never afterward engaged in any business requiring his personal atten- tion. He profited greatly by the discovery of petroleum which added largely to his for- tune. He removed, later in life, to Haysville (Sewickly ), where he died October 18, 1870.
During his residence in Allegheny City he was constantly in the public view. When Pittsburgh was threatened by a raid in 1864 he was prominent in raising means for the protection of the city, and one of the forts constructed was called "Fort Brewer," in rec- ognition of his patriotic service. It was dur- ing this period that St. Andrew's Episcopal Church was erected, in order, as Mr. Brewer expressed it, "that Pittsburgh should have a church large enough and broad enough for the expression of sympathy for the Union." He headed the subscription list with a gift
of twenty thousand dollars and the building hastened to completion. Volumes could be written concerning the wonderful character and personality of Mr. Brewer. He grew from a rather reckless youth to a man whose well balanced character was the admiration of all. He was to Pittsburgh what Mr. Peabody was to London and no man within the city did more for the relief of the poor. After providing for his own his large fortune was divided among religious, charitable and phil- anthropic institutions. St. Andrew's Church, of which he was senior warden, was especially remembered.
He married, in Windsor. Vermont, January 22, 1817, Julia Emerson, born there April I, 1794, daughter of William Emerson. She was a loving, guiding influence in his life and contributed a great deal to the upbuilding of his naturally strong character. Children: I. Mary Elizabeth, born 1818, died 1851 ; mar- ried Rev. John Mattocks, a minister of the Presbyterian church. 2. Francis Beattie, of whom further. 3. Julia Frances, born 1824, died 1855 ; married Benjamin Palmer, M. D. 4. Helen Malonia, born 1825, died 1828. 5. George Emerson, 1829, died 1880. 6. William Emerson, born 1837, died 1842.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.