History of Lewis County, New York; with...biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 31

Author: Hough, Franklin Benjamin, 1822-1885
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Syracuse, New York : Mason
Number of Pages: 712

USA > New York > Lewis County > History of Lewis County, New York; with...biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 31

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HISTORY OF LEWIS COUNTY.

years, at a yearly rental of $4,000, to George F. Paddock, a banker at Water- town, and under the management of Lott Frost, father-in-law of Paddock, exten- sive repairs were made, and costly im- provements provided. In connection with this lease, Mr. Paddock had also secured various mineral interests in Ant- werp and Rossie, for the double purpose of supplying the Alpina furnace, and selling and shipping ore to distant estab- lishments. Two short blasts were made by Paddock, and the mines were opened and connected with the Rome, Water- town & Ogdensburgh Railroad, by branch lines; but the management of this large interest was so wanting in ex- perience that ruin soon followed, con- tributing largely to the failure of Pad- dock's bank at Watertown, in 1874, in. volving ruin to many persons.

The Hematite mine, known as the Dixon bed, in Antwerp, and opened by Mr. Frost, has since proved very valu- able. Both bed and branch road were purchased by Mr. E. Bulkley, in 1877, and are at present operated by him.

The Alpina furnace was also operated in 1880-'81, by Dr. Longnecker of Phil- adelphia, and Colonel Biddell, of New York, but from want of experience and capital, the venture proved a sore thing to both the operators and their creditors. In this age of stacks of huge dimen- sions and vast capacities, the small Diana furnaces can make no headway, and have not, so far, proved a remunerative in- vestment.

In 1852, Prince Louis Sulkowski, of Bielitz, a political exile from Polish Aus. tria, became a resident of Harrisville. His uncle had been a General under Na- poleon, and fell in the battle of the Pyr- amids. The subject of this notice, in the revolutions of 1848, became obnoxious to the government, but managed to reach America with his family, and to secure a small stipend from a once large

estate. He removed to this section from the opportunities it offered in the pur- suit of his favorite diversion, that of hunting, and perhaps from the number of families that could speak his native language.

The cultivated French society at Cape Vincent, of which he had heard in New York, is said to have directed him towards this region, and meeting the late Colonel Goldsmead, of Watertown, on the cars, he learned from him the op- portunities for hunting, which this par- ticular region afforded, which definitely fixed his destination. Settling near Har- risville, he lived four years, and then re- moved to Dayanville. He not long afterwards returned to Europe, where he was restored to his hereditary titles and vast estates in Poland.

But little has been heard from the Prince since he returned to Europe. His son, only child of first marriage, and heir to enormous wealth from maternal parent, has, from time to time, been noticed by the press of both countries, for his great eccentricities and reckless expenditures,-last, on a journey to Swe- den and Norway, with a large retinue of servants, hunters, dogs and wild beasts. Lavishness, bravery and tragical ends, seem to have been the characteristics of this noted Polish family.

RURAL CEMETERY.

The "Harrisville Cemetery Associa- tion" was incorporated June 30, 1877, under the general act, with Austin Harris, Oliver D. Collins, Dexter D. Waggoner, Nathaniel R. Carley, Eli R. Paul and George Hughes, as first trus- tees.

RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES.

The Congregational Church of Harris- ville was incorporated September 26, 1865, Silas Bacon, Albert C. Morgan and Stephen Seabury being the first trustees.

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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF DIANA.

The Church of Christ, Disciples or Christians, of Pitcairn and Diana, Feb. 5, 1873, elected the following as their first trustees : F. A. Van Patten, one year ; Stephen Ackerman and A. P. Minick, two years; George Miller, and William Siver, three years.

The First Methodist Episcopal Church of Harrisville, was incorporated Novem-

ber 19, 1877, with John Weeks, Vincent Lanpher, Daniel Sawyer, Orville Harris, Leonard Peabody, Nelson Mantle, Chas. Mantle, Thomas Bradway and William' Palmer, as trustees.

The St. Francis Solanus Church at Har- risville, (R. C.) was acknowledged June 7, 1879, with Mathew Managhen, and Michael Fallon as two trustees.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

HON. JOSEPH PAHUD.

Joseph Pahud the subject of the ac- companying portrait, was born on the 5th of January, 1824, at Yverdon, Switz- erland. His ancestors were Huguenots, who found refuge in that country at the time of the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. He was educated at National schools and at the Pestalozzy College, at that time an institution of great repute. He emigrated to America in 1847, when twenty-three years of age, and located at Alpine, in the town of Diana, where a company of his countrymen had erected mills and a charcoal furnace in connec- tion with a purchase of 17,000 acres of timber land. During his management of this property, Mr. Pahud disposed of some 8,000 acres to actual settlers, and in

1853, sold the remainder, including fur- nace, mills and appurtenances, to Colonel Z. H. Benton, and associates. The fol- lowing year he removed to Harrisville, then a small hamlet located on the Os- wegatchie river, and at present a pros- perous village. In 1857, he built a large grist and flouring mill and a saw-mill, followed by the erection of a large sole- leather tannery and other establish- ments.

Mr. Pahud has been for many years, and is yet, the agent, co-owner and mana- ger of large landed interests in the town of Diana, once the property of Joseph Bonaparte, ex-king of Naples and Spain. His intercourse with settlers was always kind and humane, and it is said that he never ejected a tenant holding land from under him. He has taken an active part

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HISTORY OF LEWIS COUNTY.

in most of the improvements made in his town, and has been of late years en- gaged in the investigation and opening of valuable veins of Bessemer Magnetic Iron Ore, found in this locality, which at present promise important results and

retained the social courtesy and refine- ment of his early training. Always a friend to progress and freedom, he has remained an earnest and devoted fol- lower of the Republican party from the earliest day of its formation. For sev-

R.LITTLE

[HON JOSEPH PAHUD. |

will lead at an early day to the construc- tion of a railroad connecting these mines with the Utica and Black River railroad and the Black River canal, thus open- ing an outlet to the vast forest yet cov- ering a part of the town of Diana, and adjacent townships in St. Lawrence and Herkimer counties. Although spending most of his life in contact with pioneers and rude workers of the forest, he has

eral years he was supervisor of the town, elected to that position without a dis- senting vote and was a Member of As- sembly from the county of Lewis in 1871. Mr. Pahud was married in 1853. His wife Mary and daughter Annette, are yet spared to him. Although never con- nected with any denomination, he holds Christianity in reverence, and continues in the faith of his forefathers.

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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF DIANA.

[WILLIAM PALMER.]

WILLIAM PALMER.

William Palmer was born in the town of Midfield, Otsego county, N. Y., on the 13th day of January, 1826. His an- cestors came from England to Columbia county, N. Y., in the middle of the last century. His grandfather was a Revo- lutionary soldier. His father, James Palmer, and family, removed from Otse- go county to the town of LeRay, Jeffer- William. son county, in 1828, thence to the town of Diana, Lewis county, in 1830. The town was then a wilderness-he located in that part of it known as the Oswe- gatchie Settlement, purchasing land Minnesota.

from Joseph Bonaparte, ex-King of Spain and Naples,-and died in 1853, when sixty-eight years of age. His wife, Olive, mother of William Palmer, died in 1862, at the age of seventy-four. Their surviving children were as fol- lows :-

David, now living in Jefferson county. James.

Maria, wife of Horace Clarke.

Harriett, wife of Heman Roberts, still residing in the town of Diana.

Peter, who resides in the State of

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HISTORY OF LEWIS COUNTY.

Albert, who resides in the State of Minnesota.

Sylva, wife of Benjamin Shultz, who died in the year 1879.

James Palmer has buried two of his children-Richard, in 1830, who was accidentally shot by his brother David ; and daughter Electa, in 1831.

In the year 1852, William Palmer mar- ried Delia Humes, daughter of Nahum Humes, a hunter of fame. Six children were given to them as follows :-

Ella Emilia, wife of Myron Dobson. Emma E., who died in June, 1878. Willie E.

Ida L., wife of Sidney Kearns. Etta L., wife of Elmer Lake.

Freddie E.

He has been a life-long Democrat, and became, in 1868, a member of the Methodist Episcopal church of which he is at present a trustee, and has held several town offices, such as com- missioner of highways, assessor, etc. Although his educational opportunities had been limited to the inferior common school teaching of his early days, his native intelligence, energy, untiring in- dustry, steadfastness to principles, com- bined with kindness and modesty, have raised him to an enviable and well-earned position. From humble beginnings in a locality remote, offering few oppor- tunities of acquiring wealth, he is to-day the owner of about 800 acres of land, the most of which is well improved and stocked. He is also interested in a cheese factory and various other matters. Of his wealth he makes a generous use, assisting his children as they start in life. William Palmer resides at present in the

village of Harrisville, in the fine dwell- ing erected by him in 1877, and con- tinues the general supervision of his large farming interest.

HEMAN ROBERTS.

Heman Roberts was born on the 4th day of November, 1816, in the town of Cherry Valley, Otsego county, New York, where his parents, formerly from Columbia county, had moved the previ- ous year. His ancestors came to this country from Wales in the middle of the last century, and his grandfather and great-uncle served under General Wash- ington during the Revolutionary war. His father, Daniel Roberts and family, in the year 1830, removed from Otsego county to the town of Diana, then a part of the great wilderness of north- ern New York, locating in the central part of the town, known as the Oswe- gatchie Settlement. In the year 1843, he married Harriett Elizabeth Palmer, yet his living consort. No children were given to them. Heman Roberts has been a life-long Democrat. Enjoy- ing to a remarkable degree the good will and confidence of his fellow towns- men, he has held for 25 years, and yet retains the position of poor-master. Has been also commissioner of highway, collector, etc. In 1861, he became a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and has been ever since a faith- ful adherent of this religious denomina- tion. He has been eminently an upright and just man, and as a farmer, intelli- gent, industrious and successful. Deeply

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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF DIANA.

attached to each other, the old couple are at present resting from the labor of a long and useful life, surrounded by pub- lic esteem and the kind wishes of a large circle of friends. His father, Daniel Roberts, died in 1845, and his mother,

Sally. Erastus.

Three of these, besides the subject of this notice, are yet living-John, Rich- ard and Sally, now residing in the State of Minnesota.

[HEMAN ROBERTS. ]

Sally, in 1840, leaving eight children as follows :-

Rachel.

Heman. Theresa.

Minerva.

John.

Richard.

Rachel, then wife of Horace Clarke, died in 1843.

Theresa died in 1837.

Minerva died in 1837. Erastus died in 1851. Another child, Drusilla, met previ- ously with accidental death, in 1821, when five years of age.

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HISTORY OF LEWIS COUNTY.

HARRIET E. ROBERTS.

Harriet Elizabeth Roberts was born in the town of Medfield, Otsego county, June 8, 1818. Her ancestors came from England to Columbia county, New York,

In the year 1843, she was married to Heman Roberts. In 1860, she became a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Her father died in 1853, and her mother, Olive, in 1862. Their family consisted of ten children -

[HARRIET E, ROBERTS.]

in the middle of the last century. Her grandfather was a Revolutionary soldier. Her father, James Palmer, and family removed from Otsego county in the year 1828, to the town of LeRay, Jeffer- son county, thence in 1830, to the town of Diana, Lewis county, then a vast wil- derness.

six sons and four daughters-Richard, David, Peter, James, William and Albert, Sylva, Harriet Elizabeth, Maria and Electa. Of these, the following are living :-

David, in Jefferson county. James. William.

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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF DIANA.

Harriet Elizabeth.

Maria, wife of Horace Clark, in the town of Diana.

Peter and Albert, in the State of Minnesota.

Richard died in 1830, meeting with a tragical end at the hand of his brother David. The two brothers had gone deer hunting on grounds adjacent to Lake Bonaparte, a few miles from their home. After parting for a while on game tracks, they soon, unaware, came again close to each other, when David, getting a glimpse of Richard's garment through the thicket, and mistaking it for the skin of a deer, took aim and the fatal bullet went crashing through the poor boy's heart.

Electa died in 1831, and Sylva, then widow of Benjamin Shultz, in 1879.

LEVI C. LAKE.

The great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, Garrett Lake, was a resident of the town of Jackson, Washington county, New York, and was a farmer by occupa- tion. He had three sons and one daugh- ter-James, Abraham, John and Catha- rine, all of whom married and had fami- lies, and lived to good and useful old age. Abraham and Catharine after marriage went to Canada and settled on the Reade river, at a place called Merrick's Falls, where they remained until they died. John L. moved from Washington county and settled in the town of Alex- ander, Jefferson county, where he lived

and raised a large family, the most of whom moved to Michigan about the year 1802.

It is believed that the family is of German descent. James, the oldest son of Garrett Lake, grandfather to the sub- ject of this sketch, was born in the town of Jackson, August 9, 1765, and died in the town of Gouverneur, March 7, 1841. His wife was Hannah Jackson, who was of Irish descent, and who was born in the same town and county in which he was born, July 15, 1767. They were married September 9, 1790, and moved soon after to the town of Naples, On- tario county, New York. There they settled on a farm and lived until they had five children, four sons and one daughter-Thomas, Jesse, Stuart, Abra- ham and Catharine.

Jesse, father to Levi C., was born in the town of Naples, May, 2, 1795, and died in the town of DeKalb, St. Law- rence county, January 7, 1865. About the year 1810, he moved with his par- ents from Naples and settled in Canada on Reade river, at Merrick's Falls. Here two more children were born, John and Henry. Sometime during the War of 1812, James, the father, was requested to take an oath of allegiance to England. This he refused to do, and in consequence was obliged to leave his home in order to escape bearing arms against his native country. Soon after the close of the war he returned with his family, except Jesse and his brother Thomas, who had come before to New York State, and settled in the town of, Gouverneur, where he lived until his death.

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HISTORY OF LEWIS COUNTY.

During the War of 1812, when the British were trying to take Ogdens- burg, Jesse, although a young boy, to- gether with his brother Thomas, older, was pressed into the British service and ordered to be present to guard that place. Not liking the idea of fighting against their own flag, they, together

Lovina Cook, who was of English parent- age, and who was born in the town of Plainfield, Hampshire county, Mass., November 16, 1799, and died in the town of Gouverneur, St. Lawrence county, June 4, 1882. This acquaintance led to their marriage in Perrinton, October 3, 1816, where they lived about one

BLITT

Levi 6 Laks

with their cousin, crossed the St. Law- rence river upon the ice, at a place about five miles above Prunet, and land- ed at Ministua. From thence they went to Ogdensburgh, and reported to the commander, who gave them a pass to go where they chose.

From Ogdensburgh, Jesse went to the town of Perrinton, Monroe county, N. Y. Here he became acquainted with

year, when they went to Gouverneur and settled on a piece of wild land, in the northwestern part of the town, about five miles from the present village of Gouverneur.

While living there they had four chil- dren :-

Thomas, born December 27, 1818, now (1883) in Michigan.

Laura, born August 5, 1821, married

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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF DIANA.

John Cooper,-by whom she had three children,-died February 18, 1866.

Catharine, born December 20, 1822, married Elecum Hunt, by whom she has three children.

Garrett, born August 28, 1824, died February 26, 1848.

In 1825, the family moved back to the town of Perrinton, and settled on a farm near to the spot where the father and mother were married.

There they had two daughters as fol- lows: Hannah, born June 6, 1826, and Orrissa Jane, born August 10, 1828,-the latter of whom married Morris G. Smith.

From here they moved and located on a farm in the town of Macedon, Wayne county, where three sons were born :-

Joseph, January 3, 1832.

Levi C.

Christopher, born May 8, 1838.

In the winter of 1838, at the request of his father, Jesse returned with his family to Gouverneur to take care of his parents, who had returned from Canada shortly after the War of 1812, and had taken up a farm in the northeastern part of that town. Here Jesse had born another son,-making ten children in all,-Ed- win, August 14, 1840, who died January 10, 1873.

Upon this farm and in this neighbor- hood the children were brought up and schooled, all of them receiving a limited common school education.

Levi C. Lake was born in the town of Macedon, Wayne county, N. Y., No- vember 26, 1835. He remained at home until the age of twenty, and the spring following, his father gave him his time and he apprenticed himself to Charles

Fisk, to learn the trade of carpenter and joiner.

Charles Fisk was a contractor and builder in Ogdensburgh, who, some eight months after Levi's engagement, be- came involved in business difficulties and left the country. The young ap- prentice then returned to Gouverneur, and entered the employ of C. A. & S. B. VanDuyn, to work at the same trade, serving with that firm six years.

On the 13th of October, 1859, he was married to Louisa A. Blood, youngest daughter of Israel P., and Esther Blood, of Diana, Lewis county, who was born in the town of Scriba, Oswego county, N. Y., May 15, 1839. Mr. Lake con- tinued in the employment of C. A. & S. B. VanDuyn, until April 12, 1861, when he moved to the village of Harrisville, where from that date to May 1, 1875, he was engaged in mechanical business.

In May of that year, he entered into a co-partnership with C. N. Blood, his brother-in-law, in mercantile business, under the firm name of Lake & Blood, in which he still continues. They also built, and are now (1883), the proprietors of the Adirondack House in that village. Mr. Lake has been supervisor of his town two terms, and may be counted among the enterprising and useful men of the county.

He has three children-two sons and one daughter :-

Elmer P., born in Harrisville, Sep- tember 29, 1863.

Charles E., born in Harrisville, Feb- ruary 8, 1868.

Maude M., born in Harrisville, Jan- uary 24, 1873.

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HISTORY OF LEWIS COUNTY.

371-179

[CHARLES N. BLOOD. ]

CHAPTER XXIII.

HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF GREIG.

HIS town was formed from Watson under the name of Brantingham,*

March 1, 1828, and changed to its present name, February 20, 1832, and reduced to its present boundaries by the erection of Lyonsdale from its southern part, in 1873. It is named from John Greig, who was born in Moffat, Dumfrieshire, Scotland, August 6, 1779. His father was a lawyer, the factor of the Earl of Hopeton, and a landholder who ranked among

*Named from Thomas Hopper Brantingham of Phila- delphia, in whom the title of a large portion was, for a short time, vested. He is understood to have been an unsuccessful merchant. The letters of contemporaries, allude to him as unworthy of trust and destitute of honor.

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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF GREIG.

the better class of Scotch farmers. He was educated in his native parish and at the high school in Edinburgh, and at the age of eighteen emigrated to America with John Johnstone, a Scotch gentleman who had previously been concerned in Mr. Williamson's settlements in Western New York. After spending a short time in New York and Albany he went to Canandaigua in April, 1800, and became a law student at the office of Nathaniel W. Howell. In 1804, he was admitted to the Bar, and becoming a partner with Judge Howell, continued in the practice of his profession until the death of the latter in 1820. In 1806, upon the death of Mr. Johnstone, he succeeded him as the agent of the Hornby and Colquhoun estate, and continued in that relation till his death. He was relieved of a portion of the duties of this trust, at his own re- quest, in August, 1852, by the appoint- ment of William Jeffrey as associate agent. In 1820, he became president of the Ontario Bank, and held this office until the expiration of its charter in 1856. In 1841, he was elected to Con- gress, but resigned at the end of the first session, and during several of his later years he was one of the managers of the Western House of Refuge at Rochester. In 1825, he was chosen a Regent of the University, and in 1851, he became Vice- Chancellor of that Board. He held many years the office of President of the On- tario County Agricultural Society, and was one of the founders and corporators of the Ontario Female Seminary. His death occurred at Canandaigua, April 9, 1858.

Through a long and active life, he dis- charged the duties entrusted to him with an industry, method and success, which earned him the implicit confidence of his employers, while his indulgent kindness towards those who settled un- der him, is remembered with gratitude by hundreds of the pioneer families. Of

his private life, the village paper, in an obituary notice, remarks :-

" Mr. Greig, though sometimes drawn from home by necessary business rela- tions and interests, was eminently do- mestic in his habits and predilections. His chosen enjoyment was found in the indulgence, amidst the treasures of his select and ample library, of a refined lit- erary taste-in the cultivation and adorn- ment of the grounds about his stately mansion-in the society of a numerous circle of personal friends, and in the dis- pensation of a generous and tasteful, though unostentatious hospitality. AI- most to the close of his life, nearly every stranger of distinction that visited the place, found a welcome and a home at his hospitable dwelling. Indeed, our beautiful village, owes much of its repu- tation abroad, for social courtesy and refinement, and for a frank and liberal hospitality, to him and his generous hearted and worthy lady."

The first town meeting in this town (then including the present town of Ly- onsdale, and at a time when the present town of Greig was almost uninhabited,) was held at the house of Dr. Simon Goodell, at which Mr. Goodell was chosen Supervisor ; Joshua Harris, Clerk; Jedediah Plumb, George Pinney and Henry Harris, Assessors ; Gilbert Ford and Ezbon Pringle, Overseers of Poor; Johannes Saut, Simeon N. Gar- ratt and Otis Munn, Commissioners of Highways; Henry Harris, Collector ; Henry Harris and Daniel T. Sears, Constables; William Parkes, Jedediah S. Plumb and John R. Myers, Commis- sioners of Schools; S. Goodell, E. Prin- gle and G. Pinney, School Inspectors ; John Fisher, D. T. Sears and Milo Clark, Fence Viewers; John W. Southwick, Chancey Carroll and Judah Barnes, Pound Masters.

Supervisors .- 1828, Simon Goodell ; 1829-'33, Joshua Harris; 1834-'36, Will- iam Dominick ;* 1837-'39, Aaron Per- kins; 1840-'43, Francis Seger; 1844, * Mr. Dominick died in Greig, April 15, 1861, aged 63 years.

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HISTORY OF LEWIS COUNTY.

William Dominick ; 1845, John I. Domi- nick ; 1846, Dean S. Howard ; 1847-'48, David Higby; 1849-'50, Lyman R. Lyon ; 1851, Aaron Perkins; 1852, J. I. Dominick ; 1853-'54, Adam Deitz; 1855 -'56, Thomas Rogers ; 1857-'59, Henry S. Shedd ; 1865, Francis Seger ; 1866, Lyman R. Lyon; 1867-'71, F. Seger; 1872, Seymour Benedict ; 1873-'76, Wal- ter B. Foster ; 1877-'78, John F. Domin- ick; 1879-'80, Luther C. Burdick; 1881, Jacob Van Woert; 1882, James Casler.

Clerks .- 1828, Joshua Harris ; 1829-'33, Henry Harris; 1834, Joseph Atkins; 1835, George W. Sharpe; 1836-'38, Adam Deitz; 1839 -- '40, H. Harris; 1841 -'44, J. Harris; 1845-'47, A. Deitz ; 1848 -'49, H. Harris; 1850, Aaron Perkins ; 1851, Adam Shell; 1852, Asa Beals; 1853-'54, Chauncey Munson ; 1855-'56, Seymour Benedict; 1857-'58, James Springsteed, Jr. ; 1859-'61, Emmet Har- ris ; 1862-'65, Aaron Perkins ; 1866-'67, Joseph F. Jones ; 1868, Francis S. Budd ; 1869, Peter Conway ; 1870-'71, Walter B. Foster ; 1872, Luther C. Burdick ; 1873, Colonel C. Van Woert; 1874, James Calhoun; 1875, John Foley; 1876, Chester A. Lonas ; 1877-'78, Charles F. Stephens; 1879, Jonathan Palon ; 1880, C. A. Lonas ; 1881, J. Calhoun; 1882, William H. Manzer.

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History of Lewis County, New York; with...biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 31

Author: Hough, Franklin Benjamin, 1822-1885 Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Syracuse, New York : Mason Number of Pages: 712

Author: Hough, Franklin Benjamin, 1822-1885
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Syracuse, New York : Mason
Number of Pages: 712