USA > New York > Chautauqua County > History of Chautauqua County, New York, and its people, Volume III > Part 78
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Mr. Chace married, Feb, 22, 1899, Grace Roberts, of Ripley, and they are the parents of three children: I. Ernest, a student in the high school of Ripley; he lost two school years by leaving his studies in order to learn a trade, but eventually decided to return to school and prepare for a university course, hence the seeming incongruity of a younger brother preceding him to college. 2. Clyde, a graduate of the Sherman High School, now a student in the University of Pennsyl- vania. 3. Ruth, a student in the district school.
MORRIS P. CHENEY-Prominent among the suc- cessful and prosperous farmers of Bemus Point, Chau- tauqua county, N. Y., where he has been engaged in ex- tensive agricultural operations for a considerable period of years, is Morris P. Cheney, who today is one of the respected and influential members of his community. Mr. Cheney is a member of a family that has resided for a number of generations in this neighborhood, and a son of Asa and Catherine (Griffith) Cheney, both of whom were born in Ellery township. The elder Mr. Cheney was a farmer by occupation.
It was upon the old homestead that Morris P. Cheney was horn March 14, 1858. There also his childhood
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was spent in the wholesome occupations of assisting with the lighter farm labors and simple sports of country lads, with intervals during the winter months of at- tending the district schools. Upon the completion of his studies. Mr. Cheney took up farming more con- sistently, at first as an aid to his father and later on his own account. Eventually he became the owner of a fine farm at Bemus Point, which remains in his pos- session up to the present time and which he has ever since operated with a high degree of success, his hard work and progressive methods having rewarded him with the finest type of farm products. Mr. Cheney is a Republican in politics and has always taken a keen interest in the questions and issues of the day, local and general, although the amount of time and energy he has necessarily spent upon his farm has made it !11- possible for him to take much part in public affairs. He is a member of Union Grange of Jamestown, N. Y.
Morris P. Cheney was united in marriage, Oct. 26, 1887. in Ellery township, with Anna Weaver, like him- seli a native of that place, her birth occurring Sept. 25, 1861. a daughter of Samuel and Eveline ( Lazell) Weaver. Mr. and Mrs. Cheney are the parents of three children, as follows: 1. Gerald G., born May 3. 1893; enlisted in the National army, July 24, 1917, and after seeing nearly two years of service was discharged March 31, 1919: married Berenice Hoyt, July 24, 1920. 2. Ruth L., born July 29, 1895, married, Sept. 15, 1019, F. W. Skillman, of Ellery. 3. Hazel E., born May 2, 1 808.
ALEXANDER HUDSON BROWN-The Browns of this review have long been settled in the village of Fluvanna. Chautauqua county, N. Y., Alexander H .. and his father, Alexander Sherman Brown, both being born there. Farming was his family occupation, and there was little of excitement or novelty in his life until the great World War elaimed Clifford R., son of Alexander H. Brown, and landed him on foreign soil with the ;7th Division. American Expeditionary Forces. The world has read of how Col. Charles W. Whittlesey and his "Lost Battalion" fought for five days in the forest of Benarville northwest of Verdun while the Germans were all about them. The tale of the deliverance of this battalion after it had lost half of its seven hundred men and had suffered tortures from hunger and thirst, is one of the thrilling stories of the war. It is mentioned here because Clifford R. Brown, the Chautauqua soldier, was one of the two men who got through the German line and brought news to the Americans of their beleaguered Comrades.
Alexander Hudson Brown, son of Alexander Sher- man and Sarah Melvina ( Hudson) Brown, was horn in Fluvanna, Chautauqua county, N. Y., Jan. 5, 1871. He attended the public schools of the district and of James- town, beginning his active life as a farmer while yet a school boy. He has followed that occupation all his life, but is now living at his home in the town of Har- mony. Mr. Brown is a Republican in politics, a member of the Patrons of Husbandry, and of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Mr. Brown married, in Jamestown, Dec. 27, 1803, Eva A. Rhodes, born in the town of Ellery, March 28, 18-4, daughter of Ambrose and Jennie (Robins)
Rhodes, her father born in Saratoga county, her mother in Steuben county, N. Y. Mr. and Mrs. Brown are the parents of five children: 1, Alexander M., born July 6, 1894. 2. Clifford R., born Jan. 9, 1896; entered the army under the selective tests, Feb. 20, 1918, was assigned to Company C. 308th Regiment of Infantry, reported at New York, April 6, was sent overseas, was in the trenches June 20, and later distinguished him- self by bringing messages of the "Lost Battalion" through the German line; he returned to his home safely. 3. Willis E., born March 17, 1897. 4. Mabel E., born May 28, 1002. 5. Mand E., born Dec. 30, 1907.
AZRO C. BUSH, one of the leading farmers of the Conewango Valley district of Chautauqua county, N. Y., and a man of commendable record in both private and business life, is a native of the county, and has farmed within a short distance of his birthplace throughout practically the whole of his years of manhood. And he has risen to substantial means mainly by his own con- sistent and persistent efforts.
He was born in Ellington, Chautauqua county, N. Y., in November, 1853. the son of Lyman and Eliza A. (Crofoot) Bush, and in the public schools of that place he passed his early years of schooling. When his school days ended, indeed in all probability much before then, he applied himself energetically to farm work upon his father's farm. Ultimately, he took a farm for himself, married, and steadily prospered. Politically a Republican, he has not taken much part in political movements, that is, those that had no direet bearing upon local conditions, but he has always taken a keen interest in the public movements in his own distriet, and in those at times took active part. Had he wished, he might have held public office in the local administration. Such, however, was not his inelination, although he was ever ready to give aid, personal or finaneial, to any worthy local project. He and his wife in their younger days took appreciable part in the church and social functions of the community.
Mr. Bush is a member of the local Grange, and by religious conviction is a Methodist, as such, during the long period of his membership, he has been of appre- ciable aid in its functioning and maintenance. And during the recent war, he proved himself to be a whole- hearted patriot in more ways than one; he was a sub- stantial subscriber to the several funds raised for the prosecution of the war, and in matters of production upon his own farm he aided the government to the limit of his strength in its endeavor to bring all land into profitable bearing, if that were possible, and so create a substantial surplus of foodstuffs over our needs to aid in the sustenance of the famishing peoples of Eu- rope, whose lands had been impoverished and whose Inan-power had been depleted by the years of devastat- ing strife. In preventing waste, and seeking to increase yields upon their own individual farms, the American farmers accomplished much; in fact, the aggregate American harvests of 1917 and 1918 had much to do with the final victorious outcome of the war, and al- though the part of the individual farmer might to him have appeared insignificant in so great a struggle, he was forced to change his mind when he saw what, in
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the aggregate, the agricultural effort of America ac- complished.
Mr. Bush followed the progress of the war from day to day with the whole-hearted interest of a true patriot, and was glad to have had some, even if only a minor part in the great national effort. Had he been younger, his part would necessarily have been a more prominent one, but not so far as interest and desire went.
Mr. Bush married, Sept. 19, 1878, in Ellington, Chau- tauqua county, N. Y., Ida, daughter of Lorenzo M. and Caroline M. (Hoag) Day. She was born in Ellington, April 19, 1859, and came of an old Chautauqua county family. To Azro C. and Ida (Day) Bush were born two children : Carrie E., born Nov. 23, 1884; Bert D., born April 14, 1892. Their daughter, Carrie E., mar- ried Irvin Cross, and became the mother of Ida C. Cross, born Sept. 2, 1905.
In stability of character and resolute application to honest labor, which in his younger days was harder and accompanied by the discouragements of money scarcity, Mr. Bush has an estimable record ; in Christian endeavor and neighborly interest, his years have been well spent, and have brought good return in Christian strength and strong friendships; and in wholesomeness of pri- vate life his record is enviable.
CHARLES D. CLEMENT-Fifty-three years ago George W. Clement, father of Charles D. Clement, bought a farm of 132 acres on lot 8, town of Villenova, Chautauqua county, N. Y., upon which his son resides, although its acres have now increased to 164. Mr. Clement is of Scotch ancestry, son of George W. and Alceste (Day) Clement, and maternal grandson of Horace Day, born in West Springfield, Mass.
Charles D. Clement was born in the town of Stockton, Chautauqua county, N. Y., Sept. 29, 1860, but in 1867 his father bought a farm of 132 acres in Villenova, and there the life of Charles D. Clement has been largely passed. His father died when he was thirteen years old and until he was twenty-one he assisted his mother on the farm and then bought it. He has largely added to its area and greatly improved it. Mr. Clement is a Republican in politics, a member of Hanover Lodge, No. 152, Free and Accepted Masons. In 1912-13-14-15- 16-17, Mr. Clement represented Villenova on the Chau- tauqua County Board of Supervisors. In 1918-19 he was out of office, but is now (1920) serving the fourth term, a record length of service for Villenova.
Mr. Clement married in Hamlet, town of Villenova, Nov. 20, 1892, Frantcelia Wood, born Oct. 28, 1871, in Leon, Cattaraugus county, N. Y., daughter of Joseph F. Wood, born in Collins, Erie county, N. Y., and his wife, Margaret (Warner) Wood, born in East Bern, Albany county, N. Y. Mr. and Mrs. Clement are the parents of four children : Lilan M., born Dec. 11, 1894; George W., born Jan. 19, 1896; Lucy, born Oct. 1, 1898; and Gif- ford D., born Sept. 24, 1903.
ERIE RAY CRANDALL, who gives promise of becoming a successful agriculturist, and has done well during the last five or six years in the cultivation of a farming property he owns in Kennedy, Chautauqua
county, N. Y., is a native of the county, and has set- tled down early in life to the resolute task of strong, independent, self-reliant manhood. He has manifested much of the stalwart traits of his forbears; he has taken to agricultural occupations not of necessity but from choice; he was the head of a family when only twenty- three years old; and thus early in life he took upon himself the responsibilities of independent farming. And the consistent steadiness and energy with which he has applied. himself to farming operations since his marriage have stamped him as a man who will gain a worthy reputation for integrity, material and moral, and who will in due time take his place among the representative and successful farm owners of Chau- tauqua county, N. Y.
Erie Ray Crandall was born in Kennedy, Chautau- qua county, N. Y., April 27, 1892, the son of Ray G. and Bertha R. (Cornall) Crandall. His father is well known among agriculturists, being an extensive cattle buyer, and also a man of some prominence in the public affairs of the Kennedy district of Chautauqua county. As a boy Erie R. Crandall attended the public schools of his native place, and afterwards entered the James- town High School, from which he creditably graduated with the class of 1911. After leaving school, he took to agricultural tasks with energetic intelligence, and has become well versed in modern methods, some of which he has introduced into his own farm management. He is an active member of the Grange, but up to the pres- ent has not manifested a definite inclination to enter keenly into political activities. By religious conviction he is a Methodist, and has given indication that he pos- sesses a consistent earnestness in matters pertaining to the church.
Mr. Crandall married, Jan. 22, 1914, Mildred Rea Williams, who was born in Kennedy, May 20, 1894, and comes of a family long resident in Chautauqua county ; in fact, both of her parents, Stanley A. and Gertrude (Harris) Williams, were also born in Kennedy. Mr. and Mrs. Crandall are the parents of two children : Robert S., born Dec. 31, 1915; Philip Stanley, born Aug. 31, 1918. Both were born in Kennedy, with which place the family has so many associations. Mr. and Mrs. Crandall enter heartily into the activities, social and religious, of the community, and are generally popular, being useful, substantial, and entertaining members of the community, hospitably inclined.
BENJAMIN BREADS-The farmers of Chautau- qua county have played a very important part in the development of this region, and this is especially true in the case of Benjamin Breads, who holds a high place in the esteem of his fellowmen hereabouts. Benjamin Breads was born in the town of Marcy, Oneida county, N. Y., Aug. 19, 1845, a son of William and Sarah (Simms) Breads.
He received his education in the district schools of his native place, and assisted his father during his spare time with the work upon the farm. The elder man was the owner of 200 acres of excellent farm property and in addition to the cultivation of this place Mr. Breads was also engaged in the cutting and selling of timber. He remained with his father for some little
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time, and in ISoo, in partnership with his brothers, Wil- liam and Joseph Breads, built a saw mill which they operated until 18;8 with considerable success. In the latter year they sold the saw mill and Mr. Breads en- gaged on his own account in business as a blacksmith and wagon builder. being successful from the outset in this enterprise. Mr. Breads. up to the present, still retains a fond affection for farming and is the owner of a splendid farm, consisting of thirty acres, and has bui't a charming residence on this property, where he now resides.
Benjamin Breads is very prominent in the social and club life of Westfield, and is a member of Sherman Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and of the local Grange. of which he is past master. In politics he is a Republican and ardently supports the principles and policies of this party. Mr. Breads has served as a justice of the peace here since 1883, a period of more than twenty-five years. He has one brother living. Jo- seph, who is a twin brother of Mr. Breads, and is men- tioned elsewhere in this work.
Benjamin Breads married ( first) Dec. 14, 1871, at Rouseville, Pa., Ada Madden, a resident of Cleveland. and to them one child was born, Bert Breads, who is now a farmer at Ripley. After the death of his first wife. Mr. Breads married ( second) Aug. 18, 1886, Polly Fox, a native of Westfield. She was a daughter of Francis and Eleanor ( Payne) Fox, old and highly respected residents of this place. Of this second mar- riage one son was born. Fred, who is engaged in farm- ing a: Mayville. and married Grace Pasker.
WILLIAM WARD CRICK-In the town of Kian- tune. in the southern part of Chautauqua county, N. Y., the Crick family first made their home on coming to the county, and there Adelbert Crick was born and spent his life, a farmer. He married Margaret Seekings, born in England, and among their children was a son, William W. Crick, horn in Kiantone, May 9, 1884, and there educated in the public schools. He was reared on the farm, but later moved to Jamestown, where he holds a good position, his home in Busti, where he owns a good property, well improved with buildings and orchards. He is a member of the school board of his district, and takes a lively interest in community affairs. FI- is a Republican in politics, and a member of the Pr vestant Episcopal church.
Mr Crick married. in Jamestown, July 1, 1008, Ada Crossley, forn in Bradford, England, daughter of Wil- ham and Margaret ( Robinson ) Crossley. Mr. and Mrs. Crick are the parents of three children : Luther William, børn Feb ;. 1910: Puth Alice, born Oct. 22, 1912; Clyde Adelbert, born March 31. 1915, died Dec. 8, 1920.
ERNEST PALMER CROSS, who resides on his i-rm ' a' d abent three-quarters of a mile from the village of Nahe and who i owe of the substantial men of hi section of Chanzugna county, is a son of Am- . sto la. beri a jistier of the peace for rearh thirt; year and who i living in Panama. Chau- Laura count :. N. Y. at the present time ( 1920).
Ernest Palmer Cree wa born on the home farm in the we wn of Harmony, Chautauqua county, N. Y .. April
16, 1868. He was educated in the district school, and early became his father's farm assistant. After coming to man's estate, he adopted agriculture as his life work and is the owner of a fine farm near the village of Niobe, upon which, in 1915, he built his present residence and the same year erected a barn, these improvements greatly enhancing the appearance and value of the property. Mr. Cross is a Republican in politics, and at the present time is serving in the capacity of superin- tendent of roads. He is a member of the Patrons of Husbandry and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Mr. Cross married, at Niobe, N. Y., Oct. 14, 1891, Lena Gertrude Daniels, born Feb. 10, 1871, daughter of John M. and Martha Lucinda (Ayling) Daniels.
FRANK A. CHASE, who follows general farming on section 23, Charlotte township, has a rich and arable tract of land of 139 acres, which is well improved and valuable, and is engaged thereon in stock raising and dairying. He thoroughly understands his work in every department, and so directs his energies by sound judg- ment that his efforts are being attended with very credi- table success. Mr. Chase was born in Cherry Creek township, May 8, 1867, a son of Charles P, and Ellen (Barnum) Chase.
Stephen Chase, great-grandfather of Frank A. Chase, was the first of the name in Chautauqua county, N. Y. He married Bertha Mathewson, and they had issue.
George Chase, son of Stephen and Bertha ( Mathew- son ) Chase, was born Aug. 9, 1799. He was a farmer in Villenova township, and spent his entire life here. He married Abigail Smith and they had issue.
Charles P. Chase, son of George and Abigail (Smith) Chase, was born in the town of Villenova, Jan. 31, 1832, and there grew to manhood. He assisted his father upon the farm until he moved to Cherry Creek township, where he spent the remainder of his life on his farm. He died July 24. 1870, and is buried in the Villenova Cemetery, at Villenova, Chautauqua county, Politically he was a Republican, and was a member of that party since casting his first presidential vote. He married, Dec. 25, 1860, at Cherry Creek, Ellen Barnum, born July 5. 1845, died Feb. 6, 1892, a daughter of Azor and Abagail ( Warner ) Barnum. To this union were born six children, as follows: 1. George E., born Oct. 31, 1862, who is a musician and makes violins; he resides at Celoron, N. Y .; he married Laura Culver. 2. Martha A., born June 28, 1865, married Aaron Essex; she is now a widow residing at Hanover. 3. Frank A., see forward. 4. Lillie E., born July 20, 1869, died Feb. o, 1871. 5. Charles A., born April 20, 1872; married Maud Town ; resides in Dunkirk, N. Y. 6. Rose E., born Sept. 12, 1876, died April 17, 1919; married (first) Charles Brown, (second ) George Ilill.
Frank A. Chase, whose name is the caption of this article, received his carly education in the district schools of Cherry Creek township, where he grew to manhood. After completing his course of study, he as- sisted his father in his agricultural business until he removed to Charlotte township and engaged in business for himself. He purchased the old Garrett Wheeler farm of about ninety-five acres, where he now resides, and some time later purchased the adjoining farm of about forty-four acres, which makes about 139 acres,
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which represents one of the best farms of Charlotte township, and which is operated by Mr. Chase.
Mr. Chase married, Feb. 24, 1800, Gertrude F. Chase, daughter of Frank M. and Mary R. (Harvey) Chase, and the niece of Albert N. Chase, whose biography ap- pears upon other pages of these volumes. To this union have been born two children: 1. Berle H., born May 4, 1891, married Ada L. Christie. 2. Child, born May 19, 1899, died at birth. Mr. and Mrs. Chase are members of the Charlotte Center Grange, No. 669. Politically Mr. Chase is a staunch Democrat, and is an ardent up- holder of that party's principles.
Mr. Chase has long been a resident of Charlotte town- ship, witnessing much of its growth and progress as the years have gone by, and he belongs to that class of sub- stantial citizens who are active in promoting material progress and upholding the intellectual and moral status of the community.
JAMES CULVER, for many years one of the prom- inent figures in the general life of Bemus Point, Chan- tauqua county, N. Y., where he is engaged in business as a blacksmith and dealer in farming implements, is a native of the township of Ellery, where his birth oc- curred Oct. 23, 1865. He is a son of James Culver, Sr., a native of Warren county, N. Y., and of Hannah ( Win- chester) Culver, who was born in Ellery township. James Culver, Sr., was for many years a blacksmith here and did a large trade in the neighborhood, making himself one of the substantial citizens of the place. Mr. Culver's paternal grandfather was also a resident of the region, and was well known in his day.
James Culver passed his childhood at his father's home in Ellery township, and attended the common schools there for his education. Upon completing his studies the young man, following in his father's foot- steps, took up the trade of blacksmith, and eventually succeeded to the place held by the latter for so many years. As time went on, Mr. Culver began the sale of agricultural implements, at first on a small scale, but later, as his reputation became larger and the com- munity grew in size, he devoted much of his time and attention to this side of the business. He has been ex- ceedingly successful in this enterprise and his success has been due entirely to his own indefatigable and intel- ligent industry and to the knowledge, shared by all his fellow townsmen, of his absolute integrity and fair dealing. Mr. Culver is a conspicuous figure in the social and fraternal life of the town, and is a member of Peacock Lodge, No. 696, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of Mayville, which he joined in the year 1911. In politics he is a Democrat and strongly supports his party in this region, although his business activities have prevented him from taking so active a part in public affairs as his talents and grasp of practical affairs well fit him for. He is a Methodist in his religious belief and attends the Methodist Episcopal church at Bemus Point.
James Culver was united in marriage. Dec. 9, 1891, at Jamestown, N. Y., with Grace A. Hays, a native of El- lery township, born Aug. 22, 1871, a daughter of John B. and Laura A. (Hull) Hays, the former a native of Connecticut and the latter of New York City. To Mr.
and Mrs. Culver two children have been born, as fol- lows: Clayburn J., born April 6, 1893; and Clara H., born Aug. 5, 1898.
LUTHER LAKE CROSS, JR .- The farming and dairying interests of Charlotte township have a worthy representative in Luther Lake Cross, Jr., who is the owner of a fine farm on section 45. It is a well im- proved place. Luther Lake Cross, Jr., was born on the homestead farm where he now resides, July 9, 1881, a son of Luther Lake Cross, Sr., and Fanna Amelia ( Tar- lox ) Cross.
Alonzo Cross (grandfather), the pioneer in Char- lotte township, came from Hamilton county, N. Y., to Chautauqua county, N. Y., and settled in Charlotte township. Here he purchased a tract of land on section 45 and engaged in the farming and stock raising busi- ness. He continued in this occupation for some time and then accepted a position as mail carrier from Char- lotte Center to Sinclairville, in which position he re- mained until his demise. Alonzo Cross married Amelia Lake, who was born in Charlotte township, a daughter of Luther Lake, pioneer settler of Chautauqua county. To this union were born five children: Luther Lake, of whom further; Delvina, married Walkins, and resided in Michigan; Helen, married William Moore, and resided in Michigan; Sylvester, who resided in Sinclairville; Emma, who married Homer Tarbox, and resided in Rochester, N. Y .; Corwin, who resided in Sinclairville and Philadelphia, and now lives in Jamestown, N. Y.
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