USA > New York > Lewis County > History of Lewis County, New York; with...biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 53
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"Since his connection with the chief financial institution of the country, his reputation and acquaintances have been co-extensive with the country, and in- deed in some of his financial operations he discharged practically some of the duties which but for the enlarged con- fidence reposed in him by the county officials would more properly have de- volved upon the county officers them- selves. His management as a banker was commendable. With a sharp eye to the interests of its owners, it is be- lieved that no undue advantage of ne- cessitous creditors was ever taken by him. We remember no " Dummy " or other devices (which occasionally de- grades the true banker, into the shaver and usurer) on the part of Mr. Leonard as a condition for loans, and his honor- able management in that respect gave a high character to his business opera- tions."
Of the bank of Lowville, in opera- tion as the chief financial institution in Lewis county, since July 1, 1839, Mr. Leonard was teller from June 19, 1844, to April 1, 1846, and cashier from last named date to September 19, 1857. In 1852, he became the purchaser and was interested in stock of the late I. W. Bostwick to the extent of six hundred and twenty-nine shares : and in 1853, to one hundred and eighty-five shares, or about $37,000, and after that period be- came the owner of the entire capital stock of the bank, except in so far as requisite to maintain its organization.
The Valley bank was organized in 1851, with a circulation of $60,287 and the Bank of the People in 1852, with a circu- lation of $40,480, by Mr. Leonard as in- dividual banks at Lowville. The former was disposed of and the latter wound up voluntarily. These banks were all organized under the general State banking laws of New York.
Successful in the rapid accumulation of wealth, he was a leading contributor to almost every subscription paper here circulated. To the religious and educa- tional institutions, like the men of our town preceding him, he was the firm friend, undaunted by opposition, undis- mayed by disaster. Usually placid, he gradually controlled those associated with him without difficulty. Associated and active in almost every enterprise of a public character, his loss even at this time cannot be over-estimated to this county in a business or social point of view. He left no issue. For a brief pe- riod only glided the smooth current of domestic joy. A wedded life of a few months closed by the untimely death of his youthful bride. To his aged mother (now deceased,) and more immediate rel- atives and friends, his constant solicitude and charities were given ending only with existence. Fond of travel, and par- taking largely of the National spirit which carried our country through the crisis of the Rebellion, he was one of the few from this country at the restoration of the flag exercises at Fort Sumter, the review of our armies at Washington at the close of the war, visiting also Rich- mond in its desolation and the unleveled and abandoned defenses about Peters-
.
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HISTORY OF LEWIS COUNTY.
burg. The dangerous financial condi- tion of the country in the winter of 1859 and '60 alone prevented his journeying through the South and to the Isthmus, and he was looking forward to the relief from active business in a brief period, when he might have perhaps indulged his declared wish to travel on the Con- tinent.
James L. Leonard was no common man. This will be more apparent when we consider that he died young. Had he been permitted to go on accumulat- ing his strength for twenty years to come as he had for the last ten, he would have become a power in the land. His will met few obstacles it did not con- quer. He could enjoy the convivialities of social life without becoming degraded by its dissipations. He could devote himself to the duties of religion without being a bigot. He could rapidly accu- mulate wealth and still keep his heart and hand open as day for meeting char- ity. In a word, he could live for himself much and still live for others more. No such life as his is ever lost to the world. When a man dies, some sort of subtle in- fluence seems to follow it which vivifies the coming years with the spirit of prog- ress. Already the citizens of Lowville have taken fresh interest in the improve- ments which he projected, and had near his heart, and seem to accept them as trusts which they must execute in ac- cordance with his wishes. Through many discouragements and trials, he pur- sued his even course along the rugged way which leads from poverty to afflu- ence-unsullied by passion, untarnished by guile-and was stricken down in life's
meridian with his labors seemingly half accomplished ; yet in his two score and seven he accomplished much more than most men do who are blessed with their three score and ten. Mr." Leonard con- ducted his business to the common ad- vancement of his own interests and those of the public generally, and as his means increased his native generosity and pub- lic spirit expanded to meet the growing impulses of a noble soul. The erection of a session room in 1853, and the latter costly renovation of the Presbyterian church of Lowville are largely due to his beneficent aid and early counsels. In 1860, Mr. Leonard took an active part in the enlargement of the building of the Lowville Academy, setting a noble ex- ample by a heavy subscription, lending funds from his ample means sufficient for the occasion, and devoting much time to business details.
The publication of the history of Lewis county by F. B. Hough, in 1860, was almost entirely due to Mr. Leonard, who, with persevering industry, and entirely without expectation of pecuniary reward, secured a subscription sufficient to jus- tify the expense of the undertaking. His mind was admirably fitted to enjoy his- torical inquiries, and he took especial pleasure in the collection and preserva- tion of memorials of the early settlement of the county. His files of county news- papers were almost complete, and his knowledge of the local and personal his- tory of the town and county was exten- sive. The formation of a County His- torical Society was a subject he had much at heart. Plans were often dis- cussed with those of a kindred spirit,
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LOWVILLE.
and there is no occasion to doubt but that a suitable hall for a public library and cabinet, and for the preservation of memorials of the pioneers of our valley, would have been erected within a few years, and mainly at his own expense, had his life been spared. His lamented death before the execution of any part of the plan should impose upon surviv- ing friends a kind remembrance of this intention and lead to its realization at the earliest practicable period. Upon the outbreak of the late war few persons felt a deeper interest in the final triumph of the National arms. He wasan ardent patriot in spirit, and confident in the final issues of the right. His private aid to those enlisting in the services was fre- quently bestowed entirely without os- tentation, and often known to none but those receiving it. He was one of a committee appointed at an early period in the town of Lowville to raise funds for the support of the families of soldiers and he subsequently served on other committees formed to promote the suc- cess of the cause. At an early stage in the conflict he expressed his confidence in the stability of our government by advancing money for its stock when pe- cuniary means were most needed, and the final issue of events most doubtful. The stocks eventually proved to be a highly remunerative investment, but they were taken in the darkest hour of the Republic, when to the common ob- server lowering clouds and thick dark- ness overhung the future and cast a dismal gloom over the present.
Although thus incidentally enriched by the war, he will never be mentioned
with those who watched the tide of events and waited till success was mani- fest and doubts were dissipated. He reasoned correctly that bonds and obli- gations upon property or against indi- viduals were only good so far as govern- ment gave origin and effect to laws for their enforcement, and that whatever tended to weaken or destroy this, aimed at the vital elements of the social com- pact and hastened to aid the speedy and certain overthrow of every institution and of every interest. Mr. Leonard was from the first, an earnest advocate of measures tending to secure the con- struction of a railroad through the val- ley, urging its importance upon every occasion, hiring engineers to run partial lines in search of feasible routes, and lib- erally subscribing for all expenses of preliminary measures. A few months before his death he was appointed in conjunction with Senator O'Donnell and Hon. De Witt C. West as a committee to ascertain the final terms of the Utica and Black River Railroad Company for extending their line to this village, and had his life been spared he would have labored with untiring zeal for the pro- motion of this measure. His death cast a heavy load of responsibility upon his associates and the public. He constantly regarded this road as destined to become a good investment, and had he lived he would probably have proved the sincer- ity of these opinions by a liberal sub- scription to its stock.
In 1865, after fruitless efforts to pro- cure a telegraphic connection with this village, Mr. Leonard, upon his own ac- count, made a contract for the erection
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HISTORY OF LEWIS COUNTY.
of poles between Lowville and Port Ley- den, and was about procuring the wires when the Montreal Telegraph Company, judging from this proof of confidence that the line would be remunerative, as- sumed the contract and completed the communication. He had previously made unsuccessful appeals to the propri- etors of connecting lines, and had it not been for his enterprise Lowville might not yet have realized this great public benefit. For many years he had cher- ished the project of a Rural Cemetery adjacent to our village, and about 1861, he purchased the then only available grounds for this purpose. A few days before his death the measure was again brought forward under his encourag- ing advice. Preliminary meetings were held and the day but one before his death he conversed long and cheerfully with a friend on this subject. An Asso- ciation was finally formed on the evening of the day he died, and it became the sad duty of loving friends, as the first business transaction to pass resolutions of sorrow at the sad bereavement occa- sioned by his death. On opening his will he is found to have bequeathed lands for cemetery purposes, and to have pro- vided that the income arising from the sale of lots should be entirely expended in improving and beautifying the grounds. Mr. Leonard was for many years a mem- ber of the Presbyterian church and soci- ety, and at the time of his death was a trustee in common with his generous and earnest friend, Giles C. Easton, who died on the evening of the same day with Mr. Leonard, and who had been closely associated through life in various social
and business relations. United in life and in death, the names of James L. Leonard and Giles C. Easton will long claim the grateful remembrance of our citizens. Upon the death of Isaac W. Bostwick, in 1857, Mr. Leonard was chosen a trustee of Lowville Academy, and he was one of the most active and laborious members of the Board. Hav- ing repeatedly given for the benefit of the academy, he provided in his will for a further bequest of $10,000, and a resid- uary interest of one-fifth in his estate to aid its endowment. During the last few weeks of his life, Mr. Leonard was ex- cessively burdened with business cares. The completion of a noble block of build- ings at a central point in the village of Lowville, intended in part for his bank, an unexpected complication of business from an endowment for others which he was called upon to meet, and above all, a constant and exhausting solicitude for the health of his aged and feeble mother, with whom he watched with the tender- est devotion, proved altogether too much for a constitution not naturally rugged, and for several days before he gave up business he was a fit subject for a physi- cian's care. On Sunday, the 20th of January, 1867, he was obliged to ac- knowledge himself too sick to leave his room, and his symptoms assumed the form of typhoid fever with congestion. He was still unwilling to take active medicine, and he said he could not afford to be sick least his mother should need his care.
His condition was not considered dan- gerous until Friday, when he became delirious. Diphtheritic symptoms ap-
Rutrong Row
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LOWVILLE.
peared and he rapidly sank until death closed the scene at four o'clock on the afternoon of Saturday, the 26th of Janu- ary, 1867. Mr. Leonard was married on the 25th of January, 1858, to Miss Mary M. Willard, only daughter of General Joseph A. Willard, of Lowville, who died on the 11th of August, following their marriage. Mr. Leonard never again married, and to the last, evinced toward the parents of his loving bride, that tender regard which proved the earnestness of his affection and the per- manent impression which this loss had occasioned. In the spring of 1865, Mr. Leonard made an excursion to Charles- ton, South Carolina, as one of a party on board the steamship Oceanus, to wit- ness the, raising of the American flag upon Fort Sumter. Before leaving home upon this journey, he drew up a will which was found among his papers after his death, and which was to govern the distribution of his estate. Had this in- strument been reviewed a month before his death, his increasing means and more recent events might have led to a some- what different disposition of his estate. As it was,the citizens of his native coun- ty, town and village, had lasting and substantial reasons for cherishing a lively gratitude for his munificence and a ten- der regard for his memory.
RUTSON REA.
"In this world," said a profound thinker, "there are no 'great ' or ' small' events. The smallest in appearance are often the most important." That applies
with force to the lives of all men. Few realize that each well-ordered life is an important link in the chain of our exist- ence, and exerts an influence for good over mankind; and had not that life been lived, the sum total of good would have been reduced to the extent of the influence of that one life, which so many unthinkingly regard as unimportant. Men act their part in the drama of life and die. Some build high the temple of fame in song or story, as soldiers, law- yers, ministers or statesmen, and are not forgotten. Others there are who, as pioneers in a new land, broke down the forests, and created the cultivated farms of the living generation; who developed thrifty villages, formed townships, built school houses and churches, and gave life and vigor to the business interests of their time, and die and are forgotten. The generation that succeeds them and that has been made prosperous by their existence, knows them not. They pass from the memory of even their descend- ants, and fade into oblivion as though they had never been born. Each gener- ation owes to the world the duty of pre- serving for the benefit of the future the names and deeds, humble though they may be, of the men whose energy gave impetus to the industries of their day, and whose honesty gave character to the time in which they lived. To preserve in some slight degree from en- tire oblivion the names and features of the worthy men of the past and present generations, this history of Lewis county is written, and among the names whom it commemorates none are worthier of preservation than the name of the sub-
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HISTORY OF LEWIS COUNTY.
ject of this sketch, whose life has been one of usefulness.
The ancestry can not definitely be traced back farther than the third gen- eration. Hugh Rea, the grandfather, was born in Ireland, November 17, 1741, and came to America in 1764, settling in Duchess county, where he married, March 22, 1767, Margaret Knickerbocker. She was of German parentage, born in Duchess county, March 8, 1747. Shortly after their marriage they engaged in mercantile business near the place now known as Jackson's Corners, and had a large trade with the American army during the war of the Revolution, which proved disastrous to them on ac- count of the depreciation of continental money.
Nine children were born to them, five sons and four daughters-Margery, born October 22, 1775, married Adam Silver- nail and died May 31, 1835; Sarah, born May 22, 1783, married Benjamin Knick- erbocker, died January 9, 1859; Marica, born October 7, 1787, married James Miller, died March 24, 1849; Rachel, born September 8, 1792, married James Coon, date of death unknown, supposed to have been buried in town of Butter- nuts, Otsego county; Hugh, born No- vember 6, 1777, married Catharine Houck, and died March 10, 1849 ; Sam- uel, born May 19, 1781, married Mary Gilchrist, and died May 22, 1812; Will- iam, born May 22, 1785, married Catha- rine Stickele, and died October 1, 1841 ; Philip, born April 11, 1790, married Re- becca Millard, died November 16, 1875. Margery, Sarah, Marica, Hugh, Samuel and William were born and died in
Duchess county. Philip and Peter were born in Duchess county and died in Lewis county.
Peter Rea was the father of the sub- ject of this sketch, and was born in Duchess county, December 25, 1776. He married February 11, 1798, Elizabeth Hoisradt, who was born in Duchess county, March 1, 1781. For ten or twelve years they carried on farming in Duchess county, and then removed to the town of Hillsdale, Columbia county, where he was engaged in farming until the fall of 1823, when they removed to the town of Turin, in this county, settling in that portion now embraced in West Turin. Here they lived respected and useful lives until their death, which occurred, that of Peter July 23, 1862, and that of Elizabeth April 14, 1843. They were buried on the farm on which they set- tled, in the burying-ground on the West road leading from Turin village to Con- stableville. Peter Rea was several times elected Supervisor of his town and served several terms as Assessor and Justice of the Peace. There were born to them fourteen children,-Maria, Eve, Sarah, Margaret, Louisa, Sabrina, Delila, Peter, Parle, Jacob, Rutson, Van Rens- selaer, Robert and Cyrus.
Rutson Rea was born March 17, 1816, in the town of Hillsdale, Columbia coun- ty. He came with his parents to Turin, Lewis county, in the fall of 1823, and with them remained, helping them through the hardships of a new country, until the spring of 1839. He received the education of the common schools, and at the age of twenty-three his father gave him four hundred dollars for his
PETER REA.
RESIDENCE OF MARCELLUS J. WILCOX, LOWVILLE, N. Y.
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LOWVILLE.
services and good behavior up to that time. With that money he bought fifty acres of land in the town of Turin. Here he toiled for a year alone, keeping batch- elor's hall, and then on the 18th of March, 1840, married Clarissa A. Clark, daughter of Newton and Elizabeth Clark, of Turin, who was born February 18, 1818. He carried on farming in the town of Turin till the spring of 1852, when he sold his real estate there and bought the farm known as the John Buck farm, on the West road, in the town of Lowville. He added to his farming labors that spring the business of buying butter and cheese, and remained on the farm three years. He then moved to the village of Low- ville, where he has since resided. He conducted his farming operations in connection with his produce business, in both of which he has been pre-eminently successful, being the owner of some thirty-five hundred acres of improved farming land besides some city and vil- lage property. In all of his dealings, Mr. Rea has been conscientious, and has gained the confidence and respect of his friends and neighbors, to whom he is known as "honest Rutson Rea," and says he envies no man's morals, that pays a just debt by statute of limitation or pleading usury. He has been purely a business man, and concerned in politics only as his fellow citizens have placed him in official positions. These occasions were few, he having served the town only several terms as Assessor, and twice as Supervisor. Mr. Rea's is one of the cordial, genial dispositions with which men, in this life of business austerity and hardships, delight to meet. His father
added to his farming the business of inn keeping, which he continued a number of years. During those years Mr. Rea lived at home, surrounded by tempta- tions that would have led many a youth astray. To his credit it can be said that he never succumbed to the temptation of drink, and never indulged in the hab- its of smoking or chewing. A man of energy and industry, of strict integrity of character, of broad views and genial disposition, he has won his way into the hearts of men within his world, and has lived a useful and honored life.
His married life was blessed with but one child, Frances Amelia, who was born May 13, 1844. She married Amos V. Smiley, the editor and proprietor of the Journal and Republican, May 13, 1863, and died July 20, 1869. Mr. Smiley, was born May 29, 1841, and died April 9, 1878. Two children were born to them, Clara F., January 6, 1868; and Rutson R., July 14, 1869. Left orphans in their very infancy, they have found a home with Mr. Rea, and have found in their grandparents a father's and mother's love and care. The world is peopled with too few of such generous and noble hearts. In this age of greed, even the ties of blood are ignored, and this gen- eration should not permit to pass into oblivion the names of those who have not forgotten their offspring and have remembered their fellow men.
LYMAN AND MARCELLUS J. WILCOX.
The great-grandparents of Lyman and Marcellus Wilcox were Joseph and Re- becca, who were residents of Killing-
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HISTORY OF LEWIS COUNTY.
worth, Middlesex county, Conn. Adam, their son, grandfather of the subjects of this sketch, was born April 1, 1734, and died May 22, 1828. His children were Elisha, Rebecca, Jesse and Roswell.
Roswell, his son, father of Marcellus and Lyman, was born January 22, 1778, and died Oct. 1, 1851. He married Irene
May 10, 1810, died Dec. 4, 1847, married Sophia Leach, of Auburn, N. Y .; Rebec- ca, born Feb. 7, 1813, married Chandler Williams, of Lowville, now (1883) in Waupun, Wis. ; Lydia, born Jan. 1, 1815, married Charles Putterel, of Fulton, N. Y., and died in 1866; Elizabeth, born Dec. 12, 1816, married Harrison Bohall,
[LY MAN WILCOX.]
Nicholson, Feb. 1, 1803, who was born at Martha's Vineyard, Mass., Oct. 15, 1784, and who died Oct. 25, 1848. Their chil- dren were :- Daniel, born Oct. 3, 1803, now (1883) in Ripon, Wis., married Hul- dah Williams, of Lowville, January 27, 1831; Lucy, born March 5, 1805 ; Irene, born Sept. 29, 1806, married Martin Conyne, and died Jan. 10, 1841; Polly, born July 23, 1808, married Ashbel Stev- ens, and died Jan. 7, 1846; Roswell, born
of Lowville, now a widow at Copenha- gen; Harmon, born Oct. 15, 1819, married Martha S. Smith, of Gouverneur, May 30, 1844, died June 22, 1846 ; Moses, born Sept. 18, 1821, was drowned while bath- ing in Mill creek, July 18, 1835; Lyman ; Esther, born Feb. 17, 1826, died May 11, 1845.
Lyman Wilcox was born June 1, 1824, in the town of Lowville, on the old homestead, now owned by his brother,
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LOWVILLE.
409
Marcellus. Here his early life was passed, and here he was educated in the common schools, and in Lowville Academy, un- der the tuition of Professor D. P. May- hew.
His occupation has been that of a farmer and hop raiser, in which he has been successful. He married Martha B.
Marcellus J. Wilcox was born in Low- ville Dec. 3, 1829, on the homestead where he now resides. He, too, was educated in the common schools and Lowville Academy, under Professors Mayhew and B. F. Moore.
He has followed the business of farm- ing, and ranks among the best farmers in
TTLE
[MARCELLUS J, WILCOX.]
Weaver, daughter of Jacob Weaver, of Rutland, Jefferson county, N. Y., Feb. 20, 1849, by whom he has had one child -Ella Lovesa, born March 16,[1855. Mr. Wilcox has been prominent throughout the county as an auctioneer, and his genial manner has won for him a host of friends. He has been an active and liberal mem- ber of the Presbyterian church since the age of eighteen, and politically has been a Republican of conservative tendency.
Lewis county. He has a fine farm and buildings, a view of which may be seen accompanying, and has always taken a lively interest in all agricultural matters.
He has been a leading man in the Lewis County Agricultural Society, and has for years held in that body the posi- tion of director. He married Mary Jane Wilcox, daughter of Elisha Wilcox, of Leyden, March 18, 1852. His only child is Minnie Jane, born February 6, 1864.
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