History of Chautauqua County, New York : from its first settlement to the present time : with numerous biographical and family sketches, Part 34

Author: Young, Andrew W. (Andrew White), 1802-1877; Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation. fmo; Huntington Free Library. fmo
Publication date: 1875
Publisher: Buffalo, N.Y. : Printing House of Matthews & Warren
Number of Pages: 948

USA > New York > Chautauqua County > History of Chautauqua County, New York : from its first settlement to the present time : with numerous biographical and family sketches > Part 34

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"Given under my hand, MATTHEW PRENDERGAST,

"One of the judges of the court of common pleas of said county.

" Recorded April 29, 1814. J. DEXTER, town clerk."

Supervisors from 1805 to 1875.

John McMahan, 1805-6-7. Arthur Bell, 1808. Thomas Prendergast, 1809, '14. Matthew Prendergast, 1810, 'II. Samuel Ayres, 1812. John Scott, 1813. John E. Marshall, 1814. Martin Prendergast, 1815, '16, 1819 to 1833-17 years, [probably 18 years, the records of 1818 being missing.] John Dexter, 1817. Jabez B. Burrows, 1834 to '36-3 years. Wm. Pren- dergast, 1837 to '39. Alva Cottrell, 1840, '41, '46. Dexter Barnes, 1842. Cyrus Underwood, 1843, '44. Wm. Green, 1845. Willard W. Crafts, 1847, '48, '53. Martin Prendergast, son of Dr. William Prendergast, 1849, and 1861 to '64. Stephen W. Hunt, 1850, '51. Hiram A. Pratt, 1852. David Woods, 1854, '55. John Birdsall, 1856, '57. Wm. Gifford, 1858, '59. Milton G. Freeman, 1860. Daniel H. Hughes, 1865. Wm. P. Whiteside, 1866. Matthew P. Bemus, 1867 to '72-5 years. John Birdsall, 1873, '74. Sidney R. Lawson, 1875.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL.

MATTHEW P. BEMUS, a son of Charles Bemus, was born in Ellery, Jan. 4, 1818. He came to Mayville in 1831, and served as clerk for Morris Birdsall in the mercantile business. In connection with Robertson White- side, he bought out the interest of Birdsall in the business ; and afterwards sold out his interest to Whiteside. At the age of 22, he was appointed, by the board of supervisors, county treasurer, and held the office by reappoint- ment 7 years. In 1845, he was elected county clerk, in which office he served from Jan, 1, 1847, for the term of three years. For five successive years, 1868 to 1872, he was member of assembly. About the year 1852, he and Wm. P. Whiteside built the Chautauqua Mills, now the property of Warren & Hammond. He took an active part in obtaining the grant for the Cross Cut Railroad, and held at different times the offices of treasurer and president of the company. He also built, and for a time kept, the Chau- tanqua House. He was married to Elizabeth M. Walter, who was born April 9, 1822. They have three children : Robertson W., who married Mary Parkhurst ; Helen, wife of Dr. Reynolds Curtis ; Francis R., wife of Silas W. Bond. All reside in Mayville.

JOHN BIRDSALL, son of Morris Birdsall, was born in Chenango Co., N. Y. He studied law with his uncle, James Birdsall, at Norwich, and was, at a very early age, admitted to practice. In 1826, then residing at Lockport,

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he was appointed by Gov. De Witt Clinton circuit judge of the eighth dis- trict. A year or two after, he was married to Ann Whiteside, and became a resident of Mayville. In 1831, he represented this county in the assembly. He represented this district in the senate in 1832 and 1833 ; and in 1834 he resigned the office. His wife died in 1833 ; and in 1836 he was married to Sarah Peacock. In 1837, he went to Texas, and was appointed chief justice of that republic, by its president, Sam Houston, by whom also he was ap- pointed attorney-general of the state, which position he occupied at the time of his death, in 1839. His son John, now residing at Mayville, was born Angust 21, 1828 ; married, in 1855, Emeline P. Cottrell, and had 2 children, William P. and Francis A. He married for his second wife, in 1860, Sarah M. Cottrell, and had, by her, 2 children, Anna W. and John C.

JESSE BROOKS, from Windham Co., Conn., first to Albany, N. Y., and thence to Madison Co., removed to Mayville, in 1824, and commenced the mercantile business, in which he was engaged for several years. He was for 20 years a justice of the peace, and succeeded Jedediah Tracy as postmaster, which office he held, at different times, 20 years. His sons were : Asahel Lyon, in Ill .; Walter Rollin, residence, writer not informed ; Charles, in Can- ada ; Ogden, in Wis .; and Merrett, in Buffalo. He has 2 daughters living · Adalaide, wife of Morse Smith, lawyer, Danbury, Conn. ; and Emeline, wife of Daniel Garnsey, Muskegon, Mich.

WILLIAM GIFFORD, from Washington Co., settled in the south part of Ellery, in 1825, where he was engaged for a few years in farming and in the lumbering business, and then removed to Busti. . A few years after, in 1833, he was appointed keeper of the poor-house, in which office he continued 8 years ; and in 1841 he removed to Mayville, where he now re- sides. His sons are : Edson, who married, first, Martha Wing ; second, Lydia Whipple; third, [name not furnished.] He resides in Illinois. Horace, who married Rhoda A. Stearns, and is the owner of the Gifford House, and a partner in the cane-seat manufacturing business, in Jamestown ; George W., who married C. Maria Farwell, and is a banker, in Mayville; Joseph C., who married Rachel R. Messenger, and is a dentist, in Westfield ; and James, who married Ann M. Preston, and died at Waterford, Erie Co., Pa.

WILLIAM GREEN, a native of Springfield, Otsego Co., came in 1824, to Mayville, where he still resides. He was for many years a clerk in the land- office in this place, and had previously served in that capacity in the land- offices in Batavia and Ellicottville. He was subsequently admitted to the practice of law, and has been a justice of the peace continuously to the present time, during a period of 25 years. He had 8 sons, of whom 5 are living. Franklin and George reside in town ; Jefferson, in California; Otto, in Washington ; and Anson W., in North-east, Pa. . A daughter, Mary Louisa, is the wife of Dr. Wm. Chase.

OMAR FARWELL, son of Samuel Farwell, was born in 1799, at West- minster, Vt., and was married in 1827, to Fanny Shepard, and came to May- ville in 1828, bringing with him a stock of leather which he sold. He

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engaged in the tanning business, having rented a tannery of Adam Campbell, in which he continued the business for two or three years. He soon after erected a tannery for himself, and established a store for the sale of its pro- ducts. He died October 1, 1872. He had 4 children : I. C. Maria, wife of George Gifford, and resides at Mayville. 2. Frances C., who married Charles Underwood, and died in December, 1874. 3. H. Louise, who married Frank Green, and resides at Mayville. 4. Omar S., who married Lizzie Ferguson, and lives at Mayville.

OLIVER HITCHCOCK, from Washington Co., N. Y., came to Ripley in 1814. In 1816 he settled on the west side of the lake, near Fair Point, and resided in the county until his death. He died in Ellicott in 1864. He was for many years a member of the Methodist church, maintaining through- out an exemplary Christian character. He was married to Elvacinda Hunt, daughter of Wm. Hunt. Their children were : I. Eunicy, who died at 7. 2. William, who married Maria Gosline ; resides in Ripley, and has 2 chil- dren, Clementine J. and George W. 3. Emery R., who died at 4, by falling into a cistern. 4. Corydon. [See History of Jamestown.]

WILLIAM T. HOWELL, a native of New Haven, Conn., came from Greene Co., N. Y., to Mayville in 1816, and bought part of lot 41, tp, 4, r. 13, on which he settled, one mile north-east from Mayville, where he resided till his death, Jan., 1872. His ancestors were among the first immigrants from England. They resided for a time on Long Island, but removed to Con- necticut, where Mr. Howell was born, Feb. 11, 1788. He held the office of coroner in this county. He was several times elected county superintendent of the poor. [See Official Register.] He had 9 children, of whom 8 reached mature age. They were: Austin T., Arietta, Ann C., Antoinette C., Angeline M., William T. A., James H., and Mary. All were married except Angeline. Of the three sons, Austin T. resides in Westfield ; Wil- liam and James, on the farm of their father. Of the daughters, Arietta, who was married and is deceased ; Ann, wife of Cyrus Underwood ; Antoi- nette, wife of John S. Bemus ; Mary, wife of James Griffith. The three daughters living reside in Ellery.

WILLIAM HUNT, a native of Dutchess Co., removed from Washington Co. to Chautauqua, and settled on lot 29, tp. 3, contiguous to the lake, where he resided until he died in 1845, aged 77 years. His lands were those now owned and occupied by his sons, Stephen W. and James M. He had 9 children, all of whom attained mature age and had families. 1. Elvacinda, who married Oliver Hitchcock. [See Sketch.] 2. Eunicy, wife of Walter Comnell, both deceased. He had been a member of assembly from Washing- top Co. She died at Mayville, aged 80. 3. Cornelius, who married Maria Smith and had 5 children, of whom two only are living, Cornelius and Catha- rine, both in Michigan. 4. Samuel, who married Mary Prendergast, and died in Ripley ; had 3 children, William, Maria, and Eliza ; both daughters * were successively the wives of Dr. Simeon Collins, of Ripley. William also died there. Eliza only is living. 5. Abigail, who married Anson Hunt,

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Omar Farwell,

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and had a daughter-all deceased. 6. Elzaide, wife of John Scott, a Metho- dist preacher, who finally settled in Gerry, where both died. They had 5 children, of whom three are living, and reside in Gerry. 7. Stephen W., who married Martha Erwin ; their children are : Mary Jane, wife of Sidney R. Lawson, present supervisor of this town ; and William, married, and resides on the farm with his father. 8. Pamelia, who married Walter Loomis, of Ripley. 9. James M., who married Rhoda Ann Hewes, and has two chil- dren, J. Franklin and Antoinette, both at home, unmarried. Mrs. Hunt died in October, 1872. Stephen W. and James M, and their families dwelt with their parents, in the same house; and the sons continued together, enjoying the property in common until 1872, when they amicably divided the estate.

ANSON LEET, a native of Guilford, Conn., was born in 1777, and was a descendant of William Leet, the first governor of the Connecticut colony, commissioned by the king of England. The father of Anson Leet was killed in the Revolutionary war. Anson, after his marriage, removed to Herkimer Co .; thence to Stockton about 1810; and in 1814, he settled permanently on lot 17, tp. 3, r. 13, on the east side of and near the lake, where his son William resides, and where he resided till his death, June 25, 1843. He was married in Conn., in 1799, to Abigail Dudley, who was born in 1780, and is still living at the age of 95. They had ri children : r. Jonathan D., who married Lucy Hanchett, and resides in Westfield. 2 .. Simeon, who married Harriet Weed, and lives in Ellery. 3. Timothy, who married Cynthia Kennedy, and died Dec., 1836; his widow lives at Dewitt- ville. 4. Lewis, who married Mary Thumb, and resides in Ellington. 5. Eliza, wife of Nehemiah Herrick, in Jamestown. 6. Caroline, wife of Wm. Vorce, of Westfield. 7. Maria, wife of John Mason, of Dewittville. 8. Franklin, who married, first, Sally Sumner; second, Louisa Jones ; lives near the homestead, and has been for many years, and is at present, a justice of the peace. 9. William, who resides on the homestead of his father, where he was born June 24, 1818. He was married, first, to Eliza Strang, who had a son, Anson G., who lives in Portland; married, second, Harriet Belden, who has 2 sons and 2 daughters. He was elected county treasurer, in 1859, and served the constitutional term of three years. 10. Mary, who married Henry W. Barnhart, Kalamazoo, Mich. 11. Julia Ann, who died in infancy.

MORROW B. LOWRY was born in Mayville, March 6, 1813. He was a son of Morrow Lowry, whose mother, with her two sons, emigrated to America from the north of Ireland, in 1787. At the age of three, the father of Morrow B. removed to near Meadville, Pa. Here, where the country was then new and educational advantages limited, the son received all the school instruction he ever enjoyed. After the death of his mother, he was put to a trade; but not liking it, he engaged as clerk for his cousin, Hugh W. Lowry, of North-east. A few years after, he went to Buffalo, where, through the kindness of Mr. Rathbun, he obtained employment. At the age of 19, aided by friends whose confidence he had gained, he returned to Crawford Co., 18

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Pa., with a very large stock of goods, and located at Powerstown, [now Con- neantville,] where he laid the foundation of a successful business. Mr. Lowry took a lively interest in political affairs. He represented his county in state conventions. In 1841, he was elected by the democratic party to the legislature; and was elected for a second term. He was active in the effort to settle the still disputed land claims of the early settlers, and in pass- ing a bill to abolish the Nicholson court; also in aiding to secure the com- pletion of the Erie Extension canal, and the payment of the domestic credi- tors of the state. In 1851, he removed to Erie, where he was engaged in active business until the fall of 1859.

Mr. Lowry's antislavery principles made him an early supporter of the "Wilmot proviso;" and his sympathies were naturally awakened in behalf of the cause of freedom in Kansas ; and he went to Virginia to visit his friend John Brown, in prison. In 1861, he was elected to represent Erie and Craw- ford counties in the state senate, and was, by reelections, continued in that office for 9 years. He was a firm supporter of the republican party and of the administration in its efforts to quell the rebellion; though he afterwards differed from most of his coadjutors upon the question of reconstruction, and other measures of the republican party. During the last year of his senatorial term, he was stricken with paralysis, from which he has never fully recovered .: .He was married in Tompkins Co., to Sarah Ann Fletcher, May 12, 1834.

Dr. JOHN ELLIS MARSHALL, the only child of Thomas and Sarah Edgerton Marshall, was born in Norwich, Conn., March 18, 1785. His mother dying in his infancy, he was adopted by Daniel Ellis, of Franklin, Conn., and educated by him as his son. He was lineally descended from Wm. Hyde, John Post, Richard Edgerton, and Francis Griswold, four of the original pro- prietors of Norwich. He was a pupil of the Rev. Samuel Nott, of Franklin, having as fellow-students, Eliphalet Nott, subsequently president of Union College, and John Tracy, afterwards lieut .- governor of this state. At the age of twenty, he commenced the study of medicine with Dr. Philemon Tracy, of Norwich, under whose careful instruction he enjoyed peculiar advantages; and he attributed to Dr. Tracy's assistance and teachings, much of the suc- cess he attained in his profession. According to the testimony of a fellow- student, since a distinguished physician in Ohio, young Marshall was thorough in his medical studies, was gifted with a sound judgment and a discriminating mind; and, by his diligent application to study, he laid broad and deep the foundation for his future eminence. He was licensed to practice by the Connecticut Medical Society the 3d day of August, 1808; and soon after left for the West, and took up his residence in Oxford, N. Y., where he opened his first office. Not satisfied with his location, he removed in October, the next year, to Mayville, where he practiced his profession, for several years, with marked success.

On the 9th of February, 1811, he was commissioned by Gov. Tompkins as clerk of Chautauqua county at the time of its organization. On the 20th of September, 1810, he married Ruth Holmes, daughter of Orsamus Holmes,

John C. Marshall,

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of Sheridan. Mrs. Marshall is still living at the age of 85, and resides with her son, O. H. Marshall, of Buffalo. On the 15th of April, 1812, Dr. Marshall was appointed surgeon to the second regiment of the New York state militia. On the 20th of December, 1813, he was ordered to join his regiment at Buffalo, and served five months on the Niagara frontier, when his regiment was disbanded. He again took the field on the Ist of August, 1814, his regiment being encamped near Buffalo, where he remained during the remainder of the season. The fevers, diarrhoeas, and other diseases which prevailed in the army, crowded the hospitals, and devolved upon Dr. Marshall, as senior surgeon, arduous and responsible duties. His cares, ex- posures, and fatigue, seriously impaired his health, and rendered him an in- valid during the remainder of his life.

After the close of the war, Dr. Marshall continued the practice of his pro- fession, and to discharge the duties of county clerk in Mayville, until March, 1815, when he sought a more promising field for professional labor in the then rising village of Buffalo. He soon took the front rank among his pro- fessional brethren, and acquired a solid reputation as a physician and surgeon. On the 2d of March, 1819, he was commissioned by Gov. Clinton, as clerk of Niagara county, which then embraced the present counties of Erie and Niagara, the duties of which he discharged until February 17, 1821. On the 27th of March, 1819, he was appointed, by Gov. Clinton, assistant hospital surgeon of the 5th brigade of New York state infantry, and reappointed to the same position by the same governor, July 12, 1826. He subsequently received the honorary appointments as a corresponding Fellow of the Medi- cine and Philosophical Society of New York city, and as an honorary mem- ber of the Medical Society of Geneva College. For many years he was a member of the masonic fraternity, and, in 1819, rose to mark master mason.

During the prevalence of the cholera, in 1832, when Buffalo was particu- larly exposed to its invasion, and when little was known of its treatment, Dr. Marshall was appointed health physician by the common council of the city. The duties of this position were of the most arduous and responsible character. No vessels or canal boats were permitted to enter the city, with- out the certificate of the health physician. Those approaching in the night were detained until daylight at the mouth of Buffalo creek, or in Black Rock harbor. This required his attendance at these ports at daybreak. These fatiguing duties were performed with great efficiency, in addition to his large private practice, which left him scarcely an opportunity for rest.

While in the full vigor of his intellect, in the midst of a wide and success- ful practice, Dr. Marshall was attacked with pleurisy, on Saturday, the 22d of December, 1838, and after a severe illness, died on the following Thurs- day. His medical brethren paid a just tribute to his professional talents and worth, and respect for his memory; and the Rev. Dr. Hopkins, pastor of the First Presbyterian church, of which Dr. Marshall had long been a ruling elder, preached to a crowded audience, his funeral sermon, in which his exemplary life and Christian virtues were eloquently portrayed.

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DONALD MCKENZIE was among the most prominent citizens of Chautau- qua county. He became a citizen, not by the " accident of birth," but of his own choice ; renouncing all other allegiance, he made this, Our Country, his ; and on its altars swore fidelity to its constitution and laws, and ever kept that oath inviolate. He was born in Scotland, June 16, 1783, and his ancestry was among the noblest in the kingdom. We have before us his lineage traced back through lairds, sirs, baronets, and earls, for many generations. The tombstone of a remote ancestor is yet standing, bearing an inscription in Gaelic or Irish characters, which, translated into English, is : Here lies Mur- dock Mckenzie, son of the Baron of Kentail, who died on the twelfth of January, MCCCLXXXI, [138r.]

In March, 1801, before he had attained his majority, Donald McKenzie left his Scottish home and went to Canada, where he had relatives living, and was there engaged for eight years in the fur trade with the North-west Fur Company. In 1809, he became one of John Jacob Astor's partners in the fur trade he was then establishing at the mouth of the Columbia river, on the Pacific. Mr. Mckenzie, Wilson P. Hunt and party took the overland route from St. Louis to that point, where Mr. Mckenzie remained until after the war with England in 1812, and the treacherous surrender of the post by McDougall. By his influence everything possible was saved to the Company and converted into money. Having obtained, through his Canadian rela- tives, a pass through the then hostile territory of Canada, he conveyed his treasures safely through the long and savage wilderness, and by way of Canada to New York, and delivered them in person to Mr. Astor. After this he exerted himself to secure for the United States the exclusive trade of Oregon and the territories bordering on the Pacific; but after a long negoti- ation, through Mr. Astor, with Madison, Gallatin, etc., it was abandoned.

In March, 1821, he joined the Hudson's Bay Company, and was appointed one of the council and chief factor, and had his headquarters at Fort Garry, in the Red river settlement. Here, on the 18th of August, 1825, he married Adelgonda Humbert Droz, whose father, Alphonso Humbert Droz, had lately arrived in the settlement with his family, from the canton Berne in Switzer- land, specially commended to the friendly offices of Count Selkirk, the prin- cipal personage of the settlement. Soon after his marriage, Mr. Mckenzie was appointed governor of the Hudson's Bay Company by the British crown, and retained that position until he left Fort Garry in 1832. In 1833, he came to Mayville, where he lived until his death, on the 20th of January, 1851. His widow and a large family of children survive him.

Though revered and honored by all whose esteem was desirable, yet envy, like death, "loves a shining mark ;" and out of the transactions at the mouth of the Columbia, he was assailed by a few who charged him with infidelity to Mr. Astor's interest. But Mr. Astor's letters to him show that he retained Mr. Astor's undiminished confidence. Sir Alexander Ross, in his published works, and also in his private letters to the widow of Mr. Mckenzie, nobly and effectually vindicates his good name, fidelity, and honor. Mr. Mckenzie's

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Jourste J.A. Osborne

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intellect was of a high order, his perception clear, his conclusions just ; and he was seldom mistaken in his judgment of men or things. His life was a continued romance, full of startling adventures, bold deeds, deadly perils, and narrow escapes, the narration of which would fill volumes, and greatly exceed our allotted sphere.

Mr. Mckenzie had 6 sons and 7 daughters, all living, except a daughter, who died in childhood.

WILLIAM A. MAYBORNE, son of William Mayborne, was born in England, Dec. 18, 1812, and emigrated with his father to this country in 1824. He remained in the city of New York, at school, for two years, and then joined his father's family in Sherman, Chautauqua county. He was married, in 1835, to Mary Willing ; and after a year's residence in Mina, he removed to Mayville, where he still resides. He was for years-from 1864 to 1873- county superintendent of the poor, and is at present United States postal agent on the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad. His children were : Helen, who died in 1862, aged 25; Elizabeth A., who died in in- fancy ; and William Henry, who resides near Mayville.

THOMAS A. OSBORNE was born at Hoosick Falls, N. Y., July 1, 1800, and removed in 1821 from Troy to Fredonia; thence, in May, 1822, to Mayville, where he still resides. He was for several years a law partner of Jacob Houghton, at Fredonia and Mayville; and afterward a partner, suc- cessively, of John Birdsall and George A. Green. He was from 1827 to 1830, inclusive, clerk of the board of supervisors ; a member of assembly in 1834 ; and first judge of the court of common pleas in 1843 and 1844. He was deputy collector of customs in New York, under Greene C. Bronson and Heman J. Redfield, successively, during the administration of President Pierce. In 1834, Mr. Osborne, Wm. Smith, and Samuel S. Whallon, estab- lished the Mayville Sentinel. About one year afterward, it was sold to Beman Brockway. Mr. Osborne was its editor from its commencement un- til 1836, after the destruction of the land-office. In 1849, he purchased for his son, an equal interest in the Frontier Express at Fredonia, and furnished the editorial matter of the paper until after his son's death. In 1850, he sold his interest to E. F. Foster, and its name was changed to Chautauqua Union. Mr. Osborne was married, first, in Sheridan, to Mary Walters, of Sangerfield, N. Y., by whom he had 2 children : 1. Gustavus A., born May 25, 182-, and died May 11, 1850. 2. Mary W., born Dec. 30, 1833, and died in Kingsville, S. C., May 5, 184 -. After the death of Mrs. Osborne, he mar- ried, in Chautauqua, Eliza J. Huston, of Greenfield, Saratoga Co., who had no children. And after her decease, he married Mary Derby, of Mayville, widow of - Godard, by whom he had a son, Albert Buel, born April 30, 1866, who is still living.

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