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 76
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1670. Children: Mary, Thomas, George, James, Edward, John, Ephraim, Sarah. Per- haps others. All except the last three were born in England.
( II ) James, third son of George and Sarah (Jenkins) Lewis, was born about 1631, in England, died October 4, 1713. in Barnstable, at the age of eighty-two years. He was eight years old when the family settled in that town. and he became a prominent and useful citi- zen. Of studious nature he made the most of the limited educational opportunities of his time, and was apprenticed to a blacksmith. He toiled early and late and pursued his stud- ies in the winter evenings. Of frugal habits he accumulated a good estate. His house lot of twelve acres was west of Taylor's lane. and in 1678 he owned all the block between that lane and Hyannis road, except a small parcel at the southwest corner. Ilis black- smith shop stood where is now located the custom house. Ile reared his large family well. giving them the best education possible and provided for all in his lifetime. He was made freeman of the colony, June 1, 1658. was often in the public service as juryman and surveyor of highways, and was for many years a lieutenant of the militia. probably participating in King Philip's war, as indi- cated by the fact that his heirs possessed prop- erty granted for such service. Ile joined the Barnstable church, June 18, 1698, served as selectman in 1679-81-80-90. Hle married, Oc- tober 31. 1655. Sarah, born March. 1635. daughter of George and Sarah Lane. Chil- dren : John. Samuel, Sarah, James. Ebenezer, George. Joseph, Susanna, Mary, Anna.
( III) Samuel, second son of James and Sarah ( Lane ) Lewis, was born April 10, 1659. in Barnstable and resided in East Parish of that town, where he died in December, 1726. He owned ten acres which had been the prop- erty of his uncle John, who had no family of his own. Samuel Lewis built the second house on this property and also owned land at South Sea. His estate was valued in the depreciated bills of credit, at that time, at one thousand five hundred and fifty-one pounds. four shillings. He married, in De- cember, 1690, Prudence Leonard, born 1575- 76, died March 31, 1736. Children: Samuel. mentioned below : David and Joseph (twins) : Ebenezer, Thankful and Hannah.
( IV) Samuel ( 2), eldest child of Samuel (I) and Prudence ( Leonard) Lewis, was
born June 22, 1700, in Barnstable. He re- moved to Waterbury, Connecticut, between 1734 and 1737. His wife bore the name of Reliance, and their children born in Barn- stable were: Susanna, January 19, 1722; Ne- hemiah, July 4, 1724; Samuel, mentioned be- low : Leonard, October 25, 1728; Solomon, April 30, 1731 ; Barnabas, April 12, 1734 ; son, born in Waterbury : John, July 26, 1737.
(V) Samuel (3), second son of Samuel (2) and Reliance Lewis, was born April 13, 1726, in Barnstable, and resided in Waterbury, Connecticut. Little further can be learned concerning him. In 1780 the town of Water- town was set off from Waterbury, and Sam- tiel Lewis was among the incorporators of the town. In 1795 this town was divided, most of that portion east of the Naugatuck river being erected as the town of Plymouth. In 1788 Samuel Lewis and his wife were ad- mitted to the Plymouth church by letter.
(VI) Samuel (4), son of Samuel (3) Lewis, was born June 1, 1748, in Waterbury, and resided in what is now the town of Plym- outh, near the meeting house. According to the records of Waterbury, he married Sarah Curtis and had three children born in that town. The family records show that he had a wife, Rebecca Putnam, and the family tra- dition states that she was a sister of General Israel Putnam. The latter had no sister by that name and none who married a Lewis, in fact he had no sister young enough to marry this Lewis.
(VII) Samuel (5). son of Samuel (4) and Rebecca ( Putnam ) Lewis, was born June 4. 1770, in Waterbury, and settled in New York. He married Betsy Lamb.
(VIII) Samuel L., son of Samuel (5) and Betsy ( Lamb) Lewis, was born at Unadilla, New York, 1803. He married Mary A. Cun- ningham, born at Unadilla, March 27, 1833. Solomon Cunningham, father of Mary A. Cunningham, was born in Unadilla in 1802. and married Polly Blakeslee, born at Otego, in 1801. . Polly Blakeslee was a daughter of Abraham Blakeslee, born in Danbury, Con- necticut, in 1763, and Ruth (IIunt) Blakes- lee, born at Roxbury, Connecticut, in 1766. Abraham Blakeslee was for many years a dea- con of the Baptist church, and a justice of the peace. Removed after his marriage to Ben- nington, Vermont, and afterwards, in 1800, to Otego, then Unadilla, later Huntsville. It was then a dense hemlock forest, reached with
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difficulty in the usual conveyance of the New York pioneers, an ox-cart.
The family is of French or GERVAIS Norman origin. The original spelling was Gervais. As early as 1180, at the very beginning of the use of surnames, we find Richard Gervasius (the Latin spelling of the name) and in 1400 Jean Gervais was living at the ancient seat of the family in Bretagne. The variations of spelling from time to time and through the ingenuity of various clerks and recorders are very numerous. They are: Jervis, Jerviss, Jerveys, Jarveis, Gervaise, Gervays, Gerveis, Jarvey (found in Ireland at present ), Jarvice, Gervase, Gervais, Gervasius and Gervys. The most ancient coat-of-arms of this family given in French is thus described : D'or a une pomme de pin placee att canton dextre au chief ; et un chouette placee au canton senes- tre accompagne en pointe d'un crapaud, de tout de sable. This is a very singular device. One can imagine many things to explain the association of a pineapple and a frog on the same shield. Motto: Adversis Major Par Secundis (Strong in Prosperity, Stronger in Adversity). Another coat-of-arms of the Jar- vis family of England: Sable on a chevron engraved on a chief of the second a fleur-de- lis between three escallops of the field. Crest : An unicorn's head gorged with a collar charged with three cinquefoils.
Among the famous men of the name are: Earl St. Vincent, Sir John Jervis, British ad- miral, whose fame, good name and unspotted character gave him a place in Westminster Abbey; John Wesley Jarvis, portrait-painter. born 1780, South Shields on Tyne, England ; died January 12, 1840, nephew of John Wes- ley, and one of the most accomplished artists of his tinie.
Immigrants of this name came to New Eng- land among the earliest settlers. John Jarvis, a merchant in Boston, died September 28, 1648. Captain Nathaniel Jarvis, born in Wales, commanded a ship which went between Bristol, England, and Jamaica, where he mar- ried the widow of a rich planter, and in 1688 settled in Boston and became a prominent merchant. Stephen Jarvis was an early settler at Huntington. Long Island. (Ile is men- tioned below.) From these immigrants de- scended most of the families of the name in New England and New York. During the
revolution a British brig lay off Norwalk, Connecticut, commanded by an officer named Jarvis, who sent word by a merchant who went aboard from shore: "Give my compli- ments to them (the Jarvis family of Norwalk) and tell them their cousin, John Jarvis, would be happy to see them and make their acquain- tance." This John Jarvis subsequently be- came the Earl St. Vincent.
(I) Stephen Jarvis, immigrant ancestor, was born in England, as early as 1630, as his son Stephen was of age as early as 1675. The town records of Huntington mention the house of Stephen Jarvis in the records of a meeting held April 4. 1661. Stephen "Jer- vice" was an attorney for James Chichester in an action in court, October 23, 1662, and he doubtless had some training in the law. In the records he is called Stephen Sr. after 1676. He had a grant of land, January I. 1668, and another grant July I following. His son, Ste- phen Jr., had a grant June 5, 1676, and again in 1679. Stephen Sr. gave land to his son Aaron in 1679. In 1679 Thomas Jarvis, an- other son, owned land in Huntington. Ste- phen deeded land at the Cove, East Neck. He probably died about 1692, as the distinctive "Sr." and "Jr." disappeared in that year, both Stephen Sr. and Jr. being mentioned fre- quently on the records until that time. Ste- phen Sr. had a grant of a hundred acres eastward of the path to East Neck.
Children : I. Stephen had son Stephen, born June 2, 1683, Abraham, April 26, 1685, and doubtless other children. 2. William had William, Samuel, Stephen, Abraham and Mary : will dated November 12, 1737, be- queathing to children, of whom Samttel Will- iam and May Seymour lived in Norwalk, Con- necticut, the others in Huntington. 3. Thom- as was granteee of land in 1679; December 4, 1693, deeded to brother Stephen land received under the will of their father ( this will must have been of about the same date) ; the will of Thomas was dated August 17. 1732, and proved September 14. 1732, bequeathing to wife Millisen (Millicent), to son Thomas two acres near Ground Nut Hollow, to youngest son Timothy land at East Neck and to daugh- ter Eunice Kellogg, of Norwalk, and to son- in-law, Jonathan Whitaker : (his brother Will- iam was an executor. 4. Aaron, probably re- moved from Huntington. Stephen probably had daughters also.
(II) Jonathan, son of Stephen Jarvis, was
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born about 1660. He bought land in 1684 in Huntington. Land was granted to him, April 1, 1690, and January 2, 1692. In an account of the hundreds in the town of Hunt- ington and by whom paid for in the purchase of the New Patten in the year 1694, "includes two hundreds belonging to lot of Thomas Jarvis, paid one quarter of a hundred by Jon- athan Jarvis and one quarter by William Jar- vis; one quarter paid by the widow of Ste- phen Jarvis Jr., one hundred paid by Jonathan Jarvis; another hundred belonging to the lot of William Jarvis." In 1698 Jonathan was granted land on the south side of the island and in the same year he was a purchaser with others of Baiting Place and Squam Pitt. Thomas, William and Stephen were also pur- chasers. He died in 1709. The will of Jona- than Jarvis was dated April 25, 1707, at Huntington, and proved in New York, June 2, 1709 (see Abstracts of Wills, N. Y. Hist. Society, vol. I, p. 23). Jonathan bequeathed to his eldest son William the north half of the home lot, giving his wife the right to use it during her life: to son Philip ten acres adjoining ; to daughters Elizabeth and Susan- nah seven pounds each. As a genealogical proof, this will is very important. It gives the list of children of Jonathan, viz. : William, mentioned below; Philip, Elizabeth and Su- sannah.
(III) William, son of Jonathan Jarvis, was born in Huntington about 1685. He appears to be called William Jr. to distinguish him from his uncle of the same name. He was a trustee of the town. He bought and sold vari- ous lots of land at Huntington. He gave land to his son Henry. He died in 1755 and his sons Benajah and Henry quitclaim rights to the widow. He joined the Presbyterian church, December 2, 1725. He married Me- hitable - Children: Isaiah, born 1705, died 1737: Benajah, 1710, died 1766; William, 1712, died before 1755, when his widow Zer- viah married his brother Benajah, May 7, 1755 : Henry, 1714, died 1774; Jonathan, men- tioned below ; Augustine, 1727; Eliphalet.
(IV) Jonathan (2), son of William Jar- vis, was born in 1718, died July 25, 1795. He deeded land received from his father, by deed dated 1760. He and his brother Henry had grants in the right of their father William. In 1788 he deeded land in the east end of the village to son Isaiah, lands granted to Jona- than Jarvis in 1697-1724 or to his descendants
in those rights. He married (first), January 20, 1746, Annie Brewster. He married (sec- ond), December 1, 1765, Charity White, who died March 17, 1800, aged seventy-four years. Child by first wife: Isaiah, born May 30, 1760. Child by second wife: Timothy, men- tioned below.
(V) Timothy Jervis, son of Jonathan Jar- vis, was born October 22, 1766, at Hunting- ton, died February 3, 1843. Most of his fam- ily, if not all followed the spelling Jervis. He sold his place in Huntington, Long Island, to Dr. Benjamin Kissam in 1797. He married, March 14, 1795, Phebe Bloomfield, of Wood- bridge, New Jersey, born October 23, 1774, died March 14, 1856. In the spring of 1793 John W. Bloomfield, brother of Mrs. Jervis, came from Woodbridge, New Jersey, to Fort Stanwix, New York, to take charge of a tract of 1,600 acres of land in what is now the town of Lee, then owned by Mr. McIlvaine, a relative by marriage. After his removal Bloomfield and others bought 6,000 acres of land, afterward known as the "Six Thousand Acre Tract," in Lee. After an absence of three months in New Jersey, he returned and settled with his wife at Taberg, thereby be- coming the first white settler of what is now the town of Annsville, named for his wife Ann. About 1812 Bloomfield removed to Rome, part of which was afterwards the Jer- vis homestead, and Bloomfield died there in 1849, aged eighty-four. Timothy Jervis in 1798 followed his brother-in-law into the wil- derness. There he spent the remainder of his
life and died at Rome. Children: I. John Bloomfield. mentioned below. 2. Ann Eliza, born at Huntington, December 1I, 1797. died September 26, 1881 : married, September 12, 1843, Robert C. Vail, of Rahway. 3. Susan- nah Maria, born February 18, 1800, in Rome, died May 21, 1828; married, June 24, 1817, Hon. B. J. Beach, of Rome. 4. Elizabeth, born February 22, 1804. died December 31, 1884: married, September 25, 1845, Rev. W. B. Barton, of Woodbridge. 5. Timothy Brew- ster, born February 20, 1809. died August 8, 1887; married (first). May, 1837, ; (second) September 26, 1867. -; resided in Elmira, New York. 6. William, born at Rome, November 24, 1813, died September 7, 1886, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin ; married, June 8, 1841, --: resided in Milwaukee, Wis- consin. 7. Benjamin Franklin, mentioned be- low.
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(VI) John Bloomfield, son of Timothy Jervis, was born at Huntington, Long Island, December 14, 1795. He went to Rome with his parents in early childhood and received his primary education there in the district schools. When work began on the Erie canal at Rome, he found employment as an axman under the engineer, Benjamin Wright. Apt and ambitious to learn, skillful with his ax and other tools, young Jervis soon won pro- motion. He became rodman for the survey on a salary of twelve dollars a month. He studied civil engineering and surveying and within two years was made a resident engi- neer at a salary of $1.25 a day on a section of the canal, seventeen miles long, extending from Madison county to Onondaga, under the supervision of David S. Bates. After filling that position for two years, he was transferred to a place of greater responsibility on the canal near Amsterdam and there he served as resident engineer for two years more. In 1823 he was made superintendent of the work for fifty miles on the canal, employing and discharging all the subordinates. About 1824 Mr. Jervis had control of about a seventh of the entire canal, with more expense than the general average. It required great care, activity and diligence to maintain the canal at the rate of six hundred dollars a mile or $30.000 per annum. Unlimited authority was given him by the canal commissioner, Henry Seymour, who made occasional visits for the purpose of consulting freely on the require- ments of the work. In 1825 the canal was completed. After seven years on the canal work, Mr. Jervis resigned to take up larger duties and received from the canal commis- sioner a kind and commendatory letter. He became assistant engineer to Benjamin Wright, then chief enginer of the Delaware & Hudson canal. The main object of this canal was to facilitate the transportation of coal from the Lackawanna valley to the city of New York and the Hudson river. Mr. Jervis examined the whole route and reported adversely against part of the plan and his mod- ifications were adopted. He also made im- portant improvements, saving expense and avoiding dangers in construction. Late in the year 1827 Mr. Jervis succeeded Mr. Wright as chief engineer and he continued on this work until 1830, when he was appoint- ed chief engineer of the railroad between Al- bany and Schenectady, the first constructed
in the state of New York. He was subse- quently chief engineer of the Schenectady & Saratoga railroad, for which he invented a new style of locomotive, and in some respects his design has been followed ever since for engine trucks.
In 1833 Mr. Jervis was engaged by the canal commissioners as chief engineer of the Chenango canal, ninety-eight miles long, with a hundred locks, and he originated the method of supplying the summit with water from artificial reservoirs. In 1835 the work of en- larging the Erie canal was contemplated and Mr. Jervis was employed to make surveys and estimates on the eastern section. In October, 1836, he accepted the position of chief engi- neer of the Croton Aqueduct for the New York City water supply. This aqueduct was justly ranked as the greatest engineering work of the country at that time, and Mr. Jervis won a world-wide reputation in build- ing it. He was selected as consulting engi- neer by the city of Boston in 1846, when the waterworks were being constructed, and held the office two years. The waterworks at Port Jervis, New York, a town named for him, were constructed under his supervision. The plans of the waterworks of Rome, New York, were submitted to him for approval and revi- sion. In 1847 he was made chief engineer of the Hudson River railroad, and he continued in that office until 1849, when he resigned, re- taining, however, the office of consulting en- gineer until 1850, when he went abroad for several months. On his return he was en- gaged to take charge of the construction of the Michigan Southern & Northern Indiana railroad, two hundred and forty-six miles in length. In 1851 he was engineer of the Chi- cago & Rock Island railroad, and in 1854 was elected its president. He was next engaged in the construction of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad, four hundred and eighty-six miles in length, and he succeeded in bringing the financial condition of the com- pany into a sound and healthy condition. He resigned in 1863 the office of manager of this road, but continued as chief engineer until 1866. He never sought to relax his activity, believing it better for a man to wear out than rust out, and it has been said that he died in the harness. In 1868 he was made one of the first trustees in the organization of the Rome Merchant-Iron Mill Company and continued in this service until he died. About 1872 he
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was elected secretary and he kept closely in touch with the business. He was the author of two books: "Railway Property" and "The Question of Labor and Capital." In 1879 he delivered a lecture on "Industrial Economy" before the Young Men's Christian Associa- tion of Rome, when he was past eighty-three years of age. In 1878 he received the hon- orary degree of Doctor of Laws from Ham- ilton College.
At the time of his death a Rome newspaper said of him:
A good man and a valuable citizen has departed. The important and enduring works in which he has been for a lifetime engaged will live and benefit the human race long after his remains shall crumble to dust and his fame as one of the greatest of American engineers will survive the age in which he lived, while his success in the line of his profession will be recorded in history as among the most notable achievements of the times. His industry, energy and perseverance, by which he overcame all obstacles, and raised himself from the lowliest to the highest eminence in his profession, and, above all, his purity of life, honorable and high-minded spirit and Chris- tian character, ought to serve as an example and an incentive to the young men of America, and to en- courage them to emulate his virtues and to imitate such an example.
He married (first), June 3. 1834, Cynthia Brayton, born 1808, died May 14. 1839. He married (second), June 16. 1840, Eliza R. Coates, born September 14, 1810, died May 14, 1894. An infant daughter, born May 9, 1839, died the same day.
(VI) Benjamin Franklin Jervis, brother of John Bloomfield Jervis, was born July 2, 1816, died March 8, 1909. He attended the Grove Academy at Rome, New York, and at the age of seventeen years entered the employ of James Sayre as clerk in his store at Rome. In 1834 he became clerk in the Rome Bank and two years later in the Albany City Bank. Thence he went to Cazenovia. New York, as teller in the bank, and after engaging in busi- ness as a miller with his brother for a time became cashier of a bank in Cazenovia in 1850 and continued in that office for a period of fifteen years. He resigned to become audi- tor of the Toledo, Ann Arbor & Northern Michigan Railroad Company. After fourteen years he resigned this office on account of ill health. Afterward he was secretary for the company in New York City for two years. In 1891 he retired from active life and spent his last years in Ithaca, New York.
He married (first). August 19, 1840, Louise
M. Chandler, who died July 3, 1879. He married ( second ), November 28, 1882, Mar- tha. daughter of Dr. Richard and Rebecca ( Jacques ) Marsh, of Rahway. New Jersey. Mr. Jervis by his first wife had one child, John Bloomfield, born December 28, 1850, died March 19, 1869.
Even before the revolution the BAKER Baker family was one of the most numerous and widely scattered in New York province. Some of the Baker fam- ilies were of Dutch ancestry, but most of them of English ancestry. According to the first federal census taken in New York state in 1790, there were no less than one hundred and fifty families and doubtless nearly a thousand persons of the name of Baker reported.
(I) Richard Baker, who settled in North- ampton. Fulton county, New York, probably came of a Baker family of Vermont and earlier of Massachusetts, but the records necessary to establish the fact are wanting. He was a farmer. He married -- Downing and had eleven children.
(II) Daniel, son of Richard Baker, was born at Northampton, Fulton county, New York, March 14, 1814, died September 2. 1889, in Dryden, Tompkins county, New York. He received his education in the dis- trict schools. In 1861 he came by rail to Cayuga and thence by team to Dryden, where he made his home and purchased a farm of one hundred acres, which he cultivated suc- cessfully the remainder of his life. In relig- ion he was a Methodist, in politics a Republi- can after that party was organized. He mar- ried. in December. 1845. in Fulton county. New York, Sarah Jane Gifford, born July 26, 1820, died July 5, 1892, daughter of Annias and Polly ( Proper ) Gifford, of Fulton county. Children: I. Charles, born in 1846, died of typhoid fever in the service in 1864, a soldier in a New York regiment. 2. Oscar C., born in 1848, living at Everett, Washington. 3. John, born in 1850, now living in Ithaca. 4. Eugene. mentioned below. 5. Emma, born in 1855, married Ambrose C. Atwater. of Mecklen- burg, Schuyler county, New York. 6. George W., born in 1857, living in Ithaca.
(III) Dr. Eugene Baker. son of Daniel Baker, was born in Northampton, Fulton county. New York. April 16, 1853. At the age of eight years he came with his parents to Tompkins county and attended the public
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schools there, and the old Ithaca Academy, from which he graduated in 1873. lle entered Cornell University and was graduated in the class of 1878 with honor, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Science. He took a post-grad- uate course of one year in chemical and physio- logical work in the laboratories of Cornell. He studied his profession afterward at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, grad- uating in 1882 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He began to practice medicine in association with Dr. Fish at Mecklenburg. New York, and continued there two years. Since September, 1884, he has been in gen- eral practice in Ithaca, New York. Ile has been health officer of the city and a member of its board of aldermen. In politics he is a Republican. He is a member of the Tompkins County Medical Society, the New York State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. He has been president of the county society two years, and was vice-presi- dent in 1894. He was Professor of Obstetrics in the Cornell Medical School. He is a mem- ber of the Phi Kappa Sigma college fraternity and of the Order of Free and Accepted Ma- sons.
He married (first ). September 19, 1889, Mary L. Colling, born in 1850, died July 31, 1897. a daughter of Dr. A. H. and Maria ( Blockett ) Colling. He married ( second ). July 6, 1908, Caroline, daughter of James Austin and Caroline A. (Castner ) Pierce, of Worcester, Massachusetts. By his first wife Dr. Baker has one daughter, Louise E., born July 28, 1894, now a student in the Ithaca high school.
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