USA > New York > Chautauqua County > History of Chautauqua County, New York, and its people, Volume III > Part 81
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John Oakes was united in marriage, Dec. 19, 1900, at Westfield, with Grace Franklin, a daughter of James and Mary (Baker ) Franklin, old and highly respected residents of this place. To Mr. and Mrs. Oakes the following children have been born: Ralph, a bridge carpenter on the Nickelplate Railroad; Gerald, who is employed as cook on the Nickelplate Railroad; Hugh, a student in Westfield High School; Murray and Marion, the latter two being students at the present time in the local school.
Mr. Oakes has for a long time taken a lively interest in the general affairs of the community. He is a mem- ber of the Republican party, has held the office of county committeeman for about six years and is now serving his second term in that position. He is a member of the local Grange and the Dairymen's League.
WALTER E. PERSONS, one of the prominent farmers of Westfield, Chautauqua county, N. Y., and a highly respected citizen of the community, is a mem- ber of a family which has resided in this region for many years and has always occupied a high place in the esteem of their fellow-citizens. The farm upon which Mr. Per- sons resides was purchased about 1818 by his grand- father from John McMahon, who in turn secured it from the Holland Land Company in 1801. Five generations of the Persons family have resided here, including the present Mr. Persons, his children and grandchildren. Mr. Persons is a son of Orris and Melva ( Shaw) Persons, old and highly respected residents of this region, where the former followed the occupation of farming during his entire life.
Walter E. Persons was born on the old family home- stead situated on the lake road in Westfield township, Feb. 22, 1851, and during his childhood was a pupil in the local district schools. Later he attended the West- field Academy in the village of Westfield, and upon com-
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pleting his studies at the last named institution became his father's assistant in the work on his farm. The oc- cupation which he thus was introduced to has remained his calling up to the present time, and he is now re- garded as one of the most progressive and practical agriculturists in the neighborhood. After assisting his father for some time, Mr. Persons became the owner of a twenty-five aere vineyard, which, however, he has since reduced to eight acres, devoting the remaining sixty-eight acres of the farm to dairy purposes, orchards and general farming. He now maintains seventeen head of fine cattle and one hundred chickens, and makes use of six horses in the farm work. At one time he was interested in the raising of pigs, of which he fed about eighty, but has since given up this line. Mr. Persons is well known in the community for the lively interest which he takes in public affairs, and he has held a num- ber of public offices in the gift of the township. He is a Republican in politics and has always been devoted to the interests of his party here. In his religious belief, Mr. Persons is a Methodist and attends the Methodist Episcopal church at Westfield.
Walter E. Persons was united in marriage, July 7, 1872, with Caroline Stockley, of Westfield, a daughter of Charles and Betsy ( Shoff ) Stockley, old and highly respected residents of this place. Mr. and Mrs. Per- sons are the parents of six children, as follows : I. Minnie, who was educated in the Westfield public schools, graduating from the high school here, and afterwards took a course in music at the Crane Musie Institute at Potsdam, N. Y .; she is now supervisor of musical in- struction in the public schools of Olean, N. Y. 2. Charles, who was educated in the Westfield public schools and graduated from the high school here with the class of 1894, followed by a course in Jamestown Business College ; at an early age he became interested in the subject of botany and studied it with much coneen- tration for a number of years independently; he also worked for a considerable period in the local greenhouses, and thus gained a wide practical experience in his chosen subject: Mr. Persons has made horticulture his profes- sion and is now engaged in business as a landscape gar- dener and tree specialist at Cincinnati, Ohio; he mar- ried Pearl Bemis, a member of an old Chautauqua fam- ily, and they are the parents of five children, as follows : Dorothy. Howard, Barbara, Walter and Willis. 3. Jay, who was educated in the grammar and high schools of Westfield, and now owns and resides on the farm ad- joining that of his father ; he married Loula Morse, and they are the parent, of three children, as follows: Ruth, Paul and Edward. 4. Grace, who was educated in the grammar and high school of Westfield, and became the wife of Donald Shearer, to whom she bore one child, Caroline Grace, died Jan. 25, 1920. 5. Harold, who was educated in the public schools of Westfield, and, like his brother Charles, made a pecial independent study of the subject of botany and horticulture ; he is now engaged in b" 1" with the latter in Cincinnati; he married Anne Treen., ( f that city, by whom he has had two children, a. folk . Margaret and Robert. 6. Mary, who gradu- ated from V .. Ffield High School and later entered the Nere ' Training School at Clifton Springs Sanitarium ; cherry redde at he me with her parents.
OTTO PETERSON-Among the Swedes who first came to Jamestown in July, 1850, was Otto Peterson, who after more than half a century of life in his adopted city was gathered to his fathers in 1903. But prior to his eoming or to the coming of any permanent Swede settler to Jamestown two young Swedish women, Jo- hanna Charlotta Johnson and Lisa Lena Anderson, came to Jamestown during the month of August, 1848, and they are Jamestown's first actual Swedish settlers. Lisa Lena Anderson, born in Smaland, Sweden, July 30, 1833, married Otto Peterson in 1851, and together they spent more than half a century of wedded life. Then in 1903 the strong arm of the husband was withdrawn, and now (1920) the widow still survives, residing in Jamestown, aged eighty-seven, her home, No. 296 Harrison street. Johanna Charlotta Johnson, who came to Jamestown with Lisa Lena Anderson in the summer of 1848, is also living, her home in Falconer, she the widow of Frank Peterson.
Otto Peterson was born in Wimmerby, Sweden, March 3, 1829, settled in Jamestown, N. Y., in 1850, and there died Nov. 24, 1903. He was educated in Swedish schools and spent the first nineteen years of his life in his native land. After coming to the United States he settled in Jamestown, N. Y., and in that section of Chautauqua county spent his after life, a farmer and tanner. He was a member of the Swedish Lutheran church, and in his political faith a Democrat. Mr. Peterson was an honor- able, industrious man, and reared his large family to habits of industry and thrift. He was highly esteemed in his circle of friends, and passed away deeply regretted.
Mr. Peterson married, in Sugar Grove, Pa., June 28, 1851, the Rev. O. G. Hedstrom officiating, Lisa Lena Anderson, born in Sweden, July 30, 1833, who survives him, aged eighty-seven years, a daughter of Andrew An- derson. Twelve children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Otto Peterson, seven of whom are living. The children are: Mary, born April 26, 1852, died Nov. 20, 1853; Mary Ann, born Jan. 15, 1854; Emma, born May 30, 1856; Amelia Lena, born Feb. 18, 1858; Otto Frederic, born May 25, 1860, died Jan. 8, 1920; Ellen Christina, born May 7, 1862; Matilda Jane, born April 26, 1864; Nils Albert, born May 15, 1866, died April 15, 1868; Florence Lilly, born June 28, 1868, died March 24, 1890; Dora Detta, born April 15, 1870, died Aug. 31, 1871; Alvin Edward, born Feb. 26, 1873; Bertha Elizabeth, born Aug. 14, 1876.
Mrs. Lisa Lena Peterson is one of the charter mem- bers of the First Lutheran Church of Jamestown, and is yet a loved and honored member of that congregation. Her years, eighty-seven, do not prevent her from taking a deep interest in the church of which she has been a member since its organization, and at one of the great special meetings held in the church during the summer of 1920 she was an honored guest.
CHARLES MILO ROBBINS, respected and pros- perious farmer of Gerry, Chautauqua county, N. Y., where he has lived throughout practically the whole of his useful life of sixty-five years, has been a justice of the peace of that place for many years. He comes of an old Colonial Vermont family, but his father came to Chautauqua county, N. Y., to live before he was born,
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for he is a native of Gerry, born July 7, 1854. His par- ents were Joel and Elizabeth ( Matthews) Robbins, his mother having been born in the city of Albany, N. Y. Joel Robbins, father of Charles M. Robbins, was a farmer, and had a property in the Gerry district. Charles M. Robbins was reared on the Gerry farm, attending the Gerry public school as a youth, and as a young man ap- plying himself industriously to the accomplishment of agricultural tasks upon his father's farm. Eventually he became the head of a family, and the owner of a good farming property, which he farmed to good profit. He has always been of industrious disposition, and has proved himself to be a good farmer, and in his associ- ation with the people of the district, and the farmers of the county in general, he has shown himself by his actions to be a man of good honest purpose and of earnest, unselfish disposition. He has always had more than a passing interest in the general affairs of the com- munity in which he has spent his entire life, and has more than once shown how useful a member of the com- munity he is. Throughout his life he has been willing to take his share of the public responsibilities which fall to unselfish workers in every community, and in the administration of justice has proved himself to be a man of honest, impartial, judicial mind. As a neighbor he is kindly and helpful, and in his church support has been substantial and consistent.
During the war recently ended his record was worthy; he subscribed unstintedly of his means to the several loans and funds raised for the many purposes of the nation, and upon this farm he did the part that so many loyal American farmers did, he cooperated with the De- partment of Agriculture, and the expressed wish of President Wilson, in the great endeavor to secure from American agricultural land such an increase in food- stuffs that famishing Europe might be fed with our sur- plus yield. The surprising result, which is now national history, came through the self-denying endeavors of American farmers of good heart and patriotic soul, who during the years of stress held closely to their farms, prevented waste and wherever possible tilled every acre. It is a creditable page in national history, and should have place in local individual histories, for it is only in that way that loyal Americans who had part in the effort can be given what is their due, individual recognition.
Mr. Robbins has been twice married ; his first wife was Nettie Dunham, who was born April 14, 1868, to Jesse and Harriet (Faser) Dunham. Charles Milo Robbins and Nettie Dunham were married April 14, 1886, and eventually three children were born to the marriage. These children by name, and in the order of their coming, are: Leva Viola, born Oct. 18, 1892; Clare Rolend, born Feb. 4, 1898; Jesse Joel, born Sept. 13, 1899. Mrs. Nettie (Dunham) Robbins died Sept. 24, 1899, and Mr. Robbins remained a widower until Aug. 22, 1906, when he mar- ried Nora May, daughter of Byron and Rosalind (Rob- bins) Baldwin.
As a Christian, as a church and public worker, and as a farmer, the record of Charles Milo Robbins is good, and has brought him a world of respect in his own com- munity.
GRACE (MATTOCKS) SCHERMERHORN- The honor of operating the most successful farms of Chautauqua county, N. Y., is not by any means confined
to the male population of this region, there being many capable farmers among the women also. One of these is Mrs. Grace ( Mattocks) Schermerhorn, of Kennedy, Chautauqua county, N. Y., who was born in the town of Ellington, N. Y., Aug. 27, 1878. Mrs. Schermerhorn is a daughter of John B. and Augusta (Hotchkiss) Mat- tocks, old and highly respected residents of that place, where the former was also engaged in agricultural pur- suits for many years. As a girl Mrs. Schermerhorn at- tended the public schools of her native town, teaching for a number of years in the common schools. Later, at the death of her husband, she became the owner of her present fine farming property near the village of Ken- nedy, which she has quite ably managed for the past fourteen years, keeping a small dairy and raising some fine poultry. Mrs. Schermerhorn attends the Methodist Episcopal church at Kennedy.
Mrs. Schermerhorn was united in marriage, March 18, 1903, with Frank S. Schermerhorn, a native of Herkimer county, N. Y., where his birth occurred Dec. 3, 1862, a son of William and Susan ( Foster ) Schermerhorn. Mr. Schermerhorn died Nov. 1, 1906, leaving one child, Ruth Augusta Schermerhorn, born June 15, 1905, who now makes her home with her mother.
DANIEL SHAW, of Ripley, Chautauqua county, N. Y., was for many years a conspicuous figure in the agricultural life of the community, and was the owner of a fine farm in this region, which he brought to a high state of cultivation. Mr. Shaw is one of seven children born to John and Mary (Casey) Shaw, of Jamestown, N. Y. He was born in that city, Jan. 15, 1858. The Shaw family originally resided at Randolph, N. Y., in the vil- lage of Strambury, and removed from there to a farm at Ripley.
The present Mr. Shaw received his education in the public schools of Ripley, and during his spare time was employed on his father's farm. Upon completing his studies he purchased a farm of fifty acres for himself which, however, he disposed of five years later. He then bought the old Hitchcock homestead, consisting of ninety acres of excellent farm land, and here made his home for many years. He conducted his place as a dairy farm and devoted three and a half acres to grapes, being very successful in these operations. He remodeled the old dwelling house situated there; also the barn and other outbuildings, all of which were modern in all their equipment. He is a member of the local Grange and the Dairymen's League. In politics he is a Republican and at present (1920) holds the office of school collector, the responsible duties of which he has discharged with great efficiency. He attends the Methodist Episcopal church at Ripley.
Daniel Shaw was united in marriage, Nov. 22, 1907, with Alice Palmer Sawin, widow of H. E. Sawin, and a daughter of Isaac and Laura Ann Gay.
GEORGE WALTER SHEPARDSON, one of the most progressive and successful farmers of Ellery town- ship, Chautauqua county, N. Y., where he has been engaged in agricultural operations for nearly three decades, is a native of the town of Gerry, N. Y., his birth having occurred Jan. 19, 1861. He is a son of Walter
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and Camilla ( Partridge) Shepardson, the former a well known farmer of Gerry township for many years.
The childhood of George W Shepardson was passed on the old family property, where he was taught the rudiments of farming by his father. He also attended the local common schools during the summer months and it was at these institutions that he received his education. Upon completing his studies, the young man assisted his father on the home place for several years, and in 1891. came to Ellery township, where he purchased his present valuable property and began its cultivation. For t venty-nine years Mr. Shepardson has continued on the same place and has during that time brought it to a very high state of productivity and made it one of the model farms of the neighborhood. He is an active member of the Grange, and interests himself in the development of the agricultural resources of the region. In his re- ligious beliei, Mr. Shepardson is a Methodist and at- tends the church of that denomination at Ellery.
George Walter Shepardson was united in marriage, March 12, 1800, at Gerry, N. Y., with Emma Jenette Johnson, a native of Ellery, born Oct. 5, 1803, a daughter of Benona and Maria ( Miller) Johnson, the former a farmer in this district. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Shepardson, as follows: Pearl M., born June 8. 1899. died May 7, 1901; George Emerson, born Feb. 3. 190t : Lesley H., born Aug. 31, 1903; Earl B., born Sept. 17. 1906.
FRED E. SCHERMERHORN-Among the farm- ers whose activities have played so important a part in the development of Poland, Chautauqua county, N. Y., none is better known or more successful than Fred E. Schermerhorn, who has been engaged actively in daity- ing in this region for many years.
Mr. Schermerhorn was born in Herkimer county, N. Y., July 29, 1866. As a lad he attended the local public schools where he received his education. His advantages in this line were somewhat meagre, but Mr. Schermer- horn was one of those men who learns easily and natur- ally in whatever environment they might find themselves, and his education has really been more actually derived from the great school of experience than from any lesser institution. While not busy in his lessons he, as a lad, assisted his father with the work upon the latter's place and there gained the wide knowledge of agricultural method, which he now applies with such success upon his own account. It was in the year 1897 that Mr Scher- merhorn came into the possession of his present property and since that time he has with indefatigable industry developed it to the highest point of cultivation, so that today it may justly be considered one of the model farins of the neighborhood. Mr. Schermerhorn has not by any mean, confined his activities, however, to his farming intere t, but has taken a prominent part in local public affair and has served the community as a member of the chool board here for several years. He has been a con- picuous figure in ocial and fraternal circles here and is affiliated with a number of important organizations, in- cluding Kennedy Lodge, No. 522, Independent Order of Odd Fellow-, while both he and his wife are members of the Order of Rebekahs.
Fred E. Schermerhorn was united in marriage, June I, 1892, at Kennedy, N. Y., with Myra L. Hitchcock, a native of that place, her birth occurring May 18, 1872, a daughter of George W. and Sarah ( Mattocks) Hitch- cock, old and highly respected residents there. Mr. and Mrs. Schermerhorn are the parents of the following children : Irene G., born Aug. 4, 1893, served as a nurse in the Debarkation Hospital at Hampton, Va.,; Joseph F., born Sept. 13, 1899, joined the United States Navy, Nov. 8, 1917, and served until July 11, 1919, served as a bomber in France, when he was honorably discharged ; Winnifred, born Aug. 7, 1905; and Wilma M., born Oct. 6, 1909.
DELOS LODELL STAGE, who has been a re- sponsible and successful farmer in Chautauqua county, N. Y., and is well known and well respected in the neigh- borhood of Sherinan, that county, has had a busy life of sixty-six years, nearly the whole of which, with the exception of his schooling years, have been spent in farm- ing, approximately half a century.
He was born in Collins, Erie county, N. Y., Oct. 23, 1853, the son of Henry and Martha Sophia (Crandall) Stage. When he was still an infant, the family removed to Wisconsin and in a small district school of that State the boy received his first tuition. The education was not of particularly high standard, and it cost him much effort to obtain it, for his home was about five miles from the school, and that distance it was necessary for him to walk. However, the family eventually returned East, and settled in New York State, where the boy was able to finish his schooling in greater comfort. After attending district school, he took to farming operations, assisting neighbors in the cultivation and work of their farms. With the exception of a short while spent in the axe factory at Dunkirk and Gowanda, Delos L. Stage has followed farming consistently and steadily since he left school. Politically, Mr. Stage gives allegiance to the Republican party, but beyond that he has not en- tered into public affairs. He has, of course, always been interested in local movements, and has ever heen ready to support any project he has considered to be worthy, but he has never felt any inclination to enter into com- petition for public office. Fraternally, he belongs to the Maccahees, and by religious persuasion he is a Presby- terian.
On Oct. 5, 1886, Mr. Stage married Lillie Curtis, of Collins, Erie county, N. Y. They have children, as fol- lows: I. Ella, who married Theodore Miskie, and is the mother of two children, Ralph and Martha. 2. Clayton, whose wife Edith died Oct. 11, 1918. 3. John, who mar- ried Gladys Schutt; they have two children, Winifred and Henry. 4. Otto, at home. 5. Olive, resides with her parents.
Delos Lodell Stage has had a commendable carcer of useful activity within the county, and has a definite place in this volume. His labor has been all directed to produc- tion, his enterprise has been good, and his dealings have been so conducted as to bring him the confidence of men. Ile has sought to live honorably, and so has made many sincere friends, who have liked him for his stalwart qualities and frank manner. During the World War he manifested a fully patriotic spirit.
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ALVIN STRUNK-Prominent among the many successful farmers of Ellicott township, Chautauqua county, N. Y., one of the richest agricultural regions of the country, is Alvin Strunk, a man whose entire success has been due to his own efforts, his indefatigable indus- try and intelligence. Mr. Strunk is a native of this county, having been born in Ellicott township, Oct. 27, 1836, a son of William H. Strunk, one of the old farm- ers of the region, and of Jane Ann (Van Vleck) Strunk, his wife.
His childhood and early youth were passed on the old family homestead, where he learned farming methods in the great school of experience and under the capable direction of his father, and attended the local public schools. Later he became the owner of his present farm property, which is located two and one-half miles north of Jamestown, which he has kept in the highest state of cultivation ever since and where he has met with notable success in his operations. Mr. Strunk is a Re- publican in politics, and was assessor in Ellicott township for twenty-two years; has always maintained a strong and intelligent interest in the general situation and given much attention to the issues of the time. He is a member of Union Grange. Jamestown, N. Y., and has been active in his membership in doing his share in promoting the general agricultural welfare of the com- munity of which he is so highly valued a member.
Alvin Strunk was united in marriage, April 2, 1864, at Randolph, N. Y., with Maria Putnam, a native of Chautauqua county, having been born in Stockton town- ship, N. Y., where her birth occurred Sept. 24, 1843, a daughter of Rev. Oren Putnam, born in Brookfield, Madison county, N. Y., and Alvira (Scofield) Putnam, of Saratoga county, N. Y., his wife. Mr. and Mrs. Strunk are the parents of one child, Bert C., born June 8, 1867, who married Myrtie Brunson, Sept. 1, 1892, who was born at South Stockton, Chautauqua county, N. Y., Sept. 29, 1870. Bert C. Strunk has always lived on the farm with his father; is a Free and Accepted Mason; Royal Arch Mason ; Knights Templar of Jamestown, N. Y .; thirty-second degree Mason, and Mystic Shriner of Buffalo, N. Y.
EDWARD WILLIAM WALKER-When a man has lived as many years in any community as Mr. Wal- ker has lived in Westfield, he is so thoroughly known to his townsmen as to render it impossible for the biogra- pher to give them any information regarding him. But for that very reason the main facts of his career are always interesting, for they show that he is one of the men who count as Mr. Walker certainly does, both as farmer and former public official. Edward William Walker was born July 12, 1853, in Westfield township, and is a son of Thomas and Charlotte (Garrett) Walker, who came from England. Mr. Walker was a mason, or bricklayer, and later became a farmer.
The education of Edward William Walker was re- ceived in District School No. 1, in Westfield, and his first employment was assisting his father at the latter's trade. Later he learned the trade and for some years followed it. His father died at the age of seventy and some years before his decease had become the owner of two small farms. In 1902, Mr. Walker took up his abode on his present farm of 60 87-100 acres and has materially
improved it. He has nine cows, four horses and seventy- five chickens, and carries on a prosperous dairy and general farming business. About 1911 he engaged in the bee industry and now has a thriving apiary of fourteen stands. This last branch of industry was originated by his son, who has the entire management of it. In the sphere of politics, Mr. Walker is an independent voter, always taking an active interest in community affairs and holding himself in readiness to do his part toward their improvement. For three terms he served as school trus- tee. His wife belongs to the Grange and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
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