History of Livingston County, New York, from its earliest traditions to the present together with early town sketches, Part 113

Author: Doty, Lockwood R., 1858- [from old catalog] ed; Van Deusen, W. J., pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: Jackson, Mich., W. J. Van Deusen
Number of Pages: 1422

USA > New York > Livingston County > History of Livingston County, New York, from its earliest traditions to the present together with early town sketches > Part 113

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BIOGRAPHICAL

with four children: Mary, Ella, Leland S. and Adelbert. Mary married Judge Clyde C. Raynier, of Elkhart, Ind. The ceremony took place Decem- ber 31, 1903, in accordance with the old Scotch custom of selecting the last day of the year for the wedding nuptials. Judge Raynier, a graduate of the law school of Indianapolis, is now the City Judge of Elkhart, having been elected to that office when twenty-six years of age. Mr. Thomson has always been a farmer, not a plodding easygoing farmer, but a man of enterprise and thrift. He now owns two farms, the homestead consisting of one hundred and sixty- five acres and the Jeptha Wilber farm of one hundred and ninety acres on which he now resides. Both of these farms are highly productive and yield a hand- some revenue. He has for many years been an extensive grower of fruit, an occupation he has found both congenial and profitable; and his home farm con- tains an English walnut orchard of twelve acres from which a valuable yield is expected annually. The house and farm buildings are pleasantly situated on an eminence in a grove of maples, the former a substantial frame building of modern architecture is heated and lighted throughout with gas piped from a well recently located on the farm. This well is the largest and most produc- tive of any in the town. The residence is also supplied with both the long dis- tance and the Interocean telephones, has free mail delivery daily, and as a model rural home lacks only the convenience of an electric road. Such a road has been projected and surveyed from Rochester to Elmira to pass through this farm and there is every prospect of its early completion.

JAMES H. MORTON,-Proprietor of the Morton House, at Hemlock, N. Y., was born in the town of Lima, May, 11, 1856. When a boy his parents removed to Hemlock, where he received his education. For a number of years he fol- lowed farming and threshing. In 1891 he purchased the Cora B., a steamboat on Hemlock Lake, which be ran for two years when it burned and he built the J. B. Thurston, which he ran until the city of Rochester took possession of the lake and purchased the boat. In 1901 he built the Morton House at Hemlock village which he is now conducting. Mr. Morton was united in marriage with Lena Bayles, a daughter of Edwin Bayles, a prominent farmer of Conesus. They have one son, James H., Jr. Mr. Morton is a member of Eagle Lodge No. 619, F. & A. M., of Honeoye.

H. ROSS McKAY, -A successful dealer in beans and produce in the village of Caledonia, was born in the Mckay homestead November 17, 1866. John Mckay, the grandfather of Ross, settled in Caledonia in 1803, coming from Pennsylvania. He purchased of the Pulteney estate a tract of land that now lies mostly in the village, on which he erected buildings and established a home. He also built a grist mill, which he conducted in connection with farming. For many years this was the only mill in this section of the country and was

HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY

liberally patronized. He married Louena Smith, a member of a pioneer family in Caledonia, and to them were born eleven children, of whom John, Jr., the father of our subject, was the eighth. Upon the death of his father, John Jr., succeeded to the mill property and conducted it until his death in 1876. He married Mary Shannon and seven children were born to them: John, George married Katherine Smith, Jennie married Dr. W. G. Brownell of Rochester, Edward, H. Ross, Allen married Annie Ripley, and Sarah married Rev, James Sankey of Kingston, N. Y. In 1902 H. Ross and his brother George Mckay erected a bean warehouse on their property and began dealing in that commo- dity. This enterprise has proved a successful one and they now have con- stantly employed from fifteen to twenty hands. In politics, Mr. Mckay is a loyal Democrat and has held various offices within the gift of the people, all of which he has filled in an able manner. For six years he has served as village trustee and is now president of the village, to which office he was elected by a handsome majority in 1902. He is a valued member of the Maccabees, the Red Men and the Mystic Circle,

REV. JOSIAH EDWARDS KITTREDGE, D. D., -Pastor of the Presby- terian church of Geneseu, N. Y. is descended from a long line of worthy ances- tors, who have added lustre to the history of New England. According to the early traditions of the family, John Kittredge, a shipmaster, came to America from Suffolk County, England, and received in 1660 a grant of land in old Bill- erica, Massachusetts. He married Mary Littlefield. A son John, was born in 1666. The next in line was Solomon Kittredge, who lived, first in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, and afterwards at Mount Vernon, New Hampshire. His wife was Tabitha Ingalls. Their son Josiah, married Mary Baker, and there was born to them a son also named Josiah. The last became in his day a promi- nent physician and surgeon, and served as president of the New Hampshire State Medical Society. He practiced medicine from 1817 to 1833 in Pembroke. N. H., from 1833 to 1838 in Boston, Mass., then for a year was located at Con- cord, N. H., and for the seventeen following years at Nashua, N. H. He resided four years in South Hadley, Mass., and eight years in Mont Clair, N. J. In 1869 he made his home with his son in Glastonbury, Conn., where he died in 1872.

His son, the Rev. Josiah E. Kittredge was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on the 12th day of October, 1836. He was the youngest in a family of four children, two daughters and two sons, the brother, Dr. Charles S. Kittredge, a physician still living and practicing his profession at Berkely, Cailfornia. His preparatory studies were pursued at Kimball Union Academy, Meriden, New Hampshire and at Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts. In 1860 he was graduated from Yale College in the same class with Professor O. C. Marsh of Yale, Judge Marcus P. Knowlton of Massachusetts, the Rev. Dr. Charles H. Richards of Philadelphia, the late Hon. William W. Phelps and others equally eminent in their several professions. After teaching for a year

BIOGRAPHICAL

as principal of a classical school for boys, at Mont Clair, New Jersey, he com- menced the study of theology, spending a year in the Union Seminary in New York city, and two years at Andover Massachusetts, where he was graduated in 1864. A third year he remained at Andover as a resident licentiate. He visited Europe in 1866 for the purpose of regaining his health. Two years he traveled and studied. His tour through Egypt and Palestine laid the founda- tion of those archaeological studies, in which he has since taken so deep an interest. Language and philosophy occupied him for a year in Paris and Hei- delburg. He returned to his native land in 1868, and settled at Glastonbury,

Connecticut, as pastor of the Congregational Church of that place. His pastor-

ate continued nearly five years. In 1871 he married Miss Emma McNair, daughter of Robert and Amelia (Warner) McNair of "Elmwood," Groveland. Four children constitute their family, Robert Josiah, Charles Firenze, William McNair and Mary Emma Kittredge. The first named is a graduate of Cornell class of '96 and is instructor in mathematics and physics in Schenectady. The second is also a Cornell graduate, class of '97, and of Auburn Theological sem- inary class of 1900, and is now pastor of the Presbyterian church in Knoxboro, N. Y. The third, a graduate of Williams College, 1901, is at present a stu- dent in Ambrose Theological Seminary. The daughter is a graduate from the Geneseo State Normal School and is now a student in Mount Holyoke College.

On the 18th of April 1877, Dr. Kittredge became pastor of one of the two Presbyterian churches at Geneseo. The old church had become divided in 1858 on the old and the new school lines and two churches were formed. In 1880, after a separation of twenty one years, they were united under the pastor- ate of Dr. Kittredge, and a beautiful new building of brick, with stone trim- mings, was erected at a cost of $40,000 in 1881. Dr. Kittredge has travelled much in the old world and is very familiar with Palestine and the lands of the east. In July, 1873, he went for the second time to Europe remaining three years, having charge of the American Chapel in Berlin, the winter of 1873-4, and for two years was the pastor of the American Union Church in Florence, Italy. On his first visit in 1866 he organized the first Sabbath School in con- nection with the American Chapel in Paris. The second visit to Rome in 1874 was a sharp contrast to that of 1866. On this visit he was able to preach the gospel in that city freely and unmolested, a far different experience from that which was his in the earlier year. He returned to the United States in

1876. A vacation excursion for seventy days in the summer of 1896, conducting a pleasant party of sixteen friends, gave him his latest vision of the scenes of the Old World. His familiarity with Bible lands and his intellectual industry has resulted in his becoming an enthusiastic student of Biblical archaeology, and it is stated that his collection of papers, etc, relating to researches in Egypt and the East is among the finest in any private library in Western New York. He is a member of the London Society of Biblical Archeology, is an associate of the Victoria Institute, and is local secretary of the Egyptian Ex- ploration Fund. He has published a "Year Book of Sermon and Golden Texts" for young people, and is now at work upon a memorial volume of Rev. Dr. James Marshall, late president of Coe College, Iowa, soon to be issued.

HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY

He has delivered many lectures and addresses. In this country he is secretary of the Chautauqua Archaelogical Department, and at the time of its inception delivered an address called "Biblical History, in the Light of Modern Re- search." This effort was pronounced by Amelia B. Edwards, in her Review in the London Academy, to be in "Breadth, brilliancy, accuracy, and incisive brevity," on a par with the lectures of M. Alexander Bertrand, the French Archaeologist. His library numbers about 2,500 volumes, containing books on archaeology, biography, history and literary topics. .

NORMAN C. ARNOLD-In the year 1635, on May 1st, William Arnold left his home in Leamington, England, and sailed for America, arriving at Boston, Mass., June 24, 1635. He was accompanied by his wife, Christiana Peak, and four children, Elizabeth, Benedict, Joanna, and Stephen. A half-brother of William named Thomas also came with the family and settled in Watertown, Mass., where he remained until 1650. William Arnold removed to Providence, R. I., April 30, 1636, and with his friend Roger Williams, settled on the banks of the Pawtucket River. He was one of the fifty-four original proprietors and a one-third owner in the first purchase. William Arnold was credited as being the defender of Soul Liberty and his son, Benedict Arnold, afterward first gov- ernor of the colony under King Charles, drew up and was one of the signers of the first public paper declaring the separation of church and state. Benedict Arnold moved to Newport in 1653, succeeded Roger Williams as President of the Colony and later under the second charter served several terms as Governor. In 1676, he erected the celebrated "stone mill""' at Newport which is still standing. Stephen, the son of William Arnold, married Sarab Smith and had seven children. Israel, the son of Stephen, married Mary Smith and had nine children. Their son Elisha married Harriet Carpenter who bore him ten

children. Elisha's son James married Freelove Burlingame and seventeen

children were born to them. George, the son of James, was born October 12, 1754, married Mary Hopkins, and reared thirteen children. Mary Hopkins was a direct-descendant of Stephen Hopkins, one of the signers of the Declara- tion-of Independence. George Arnold, the grandfather of Norman C., was a patriot soldier in the Revolutionary army and for services rendered as a soldier was granted a tract of land now included within the limits of the town of Ven- ice, Cayuga county, N. Y. They settled on a farm in Rhode Island eight miles from Providence on the Pawtucket river, where they remained nineteen years. In 1800 be removed to Stephentown, Rensselaer county, N. Y., where he pur- chased one hundred and sixty aeres of wild land and remained thereon until his death March 22, 1829. His wife Mary died April 15, 1803. They reared to maturity a family of fourteen children, six sons and eight daughters. Joseph Hopkins Arnold, their fifth son, was born February 17, 1789, in Rhode Island. In 1811 he and his brother Benjamin and wife journeyed westward and settled on eighty acres in Cayuga county deeded to them by their father. They afterward added to their landed possessions until they owned upwards of

BIOGRAPHICAL

three hundred acres of land. Following a call for volunteers in 1812 Joseph Arnold was the first to enlist from the region south of Auburn, and the same summer Benjamin was drafted and sent to Fort Erie. Joseph was stationed at Lewiston under the command of General Vau Rensselaer. On October 13 an attack was ordered on Queenstown and about one thousand men crossed the river on flat boats. John Boles and Joseph Arnold were the only ones able to make a landing from the boat they were on and Joseph received two wounds. In the charge made by the British Joseph was shot in the body and taken pris- oner. The British surgeon who dressed his wounds, being a brother Mason, succeeded in effecting his release and he shortly thereafter made the journey to his home on horseback. Mr. Norman C. Arnold has in his possession the two ounce-balls that wounded his father in this battle and which were the ulti- mate cause of his death while a comparatively young man, on September 16, 1834. His wife, Susanna Gardner, survived him until May 11, 1882. She was a descendant of the Gardners. who came to America with the Arnolds in 1635. Of their family of ten children, Norman C. Arnold was the youngest. He was born April 23, 1832. He married Mary E. Bills November 19, 1857, and two children were born to them. Their first born a daughter, died in infancy. Hattie V. born February 28, 1860, died December 29, 1860. Mrs. Arnold was born September 25, 1837, and died November 5, 1885. Mr. Arnold took for his second wife Carrie F. Noble, a daughter of the late Dr. W. H. Noble, of Mount Morris. She was born February 25, 1845 and died December 3, 1902. He was again married on

of his life was actively engaged in farming. When seventeen years of age he took the management of the home farm and a few years later he and his brother Simon purchased the homestead and for a number of years carried it on in partnership. In December, 1862, Mr. Arnold received the appointment of Deputy Revenne Collector for the South District of Cayuga county. In 1871 he was engaged as agent for the New York, Oswego and Midland Railroad in securing the right of way and purchasing material for the construction of the road. During the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876 Mr. Arnold had charge of the exhibits of the Auburn Manufacturing Company and the Empire Wringer Company. The following winter he went to Kansas and engaged in the sale of the Fort Scott and Gulf Railroad Company's lands and for a number of years thereafter conducted excursions from the east to Kansas, which resulted in many hundreds of families securing homesteads in that state. He came to Mount Morris in 1877 and has since made that place his home. The above article includes but a brief sketch of Mr. Arnold's ancestry, which dates in a direct line through some of America's most prominent men of the pre-Revolutionary period to monarchs of the Old World, and on in a well authenticated line to Adam and Eve, the progenitors of the human race. A copy of the original family record which was brought to this country by William Arnold in 1635, dating back to the year 1100, is one of Mr. Arnold's most highly prized possessions.

October 19, 1903, to Mary M. Harrison. Mr. Arnold during the earlier years

HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY

THE WOODWORTH FAMILY-Probably no family in the lower part of Livingston county are better known or more highly respected than the Wood- worth family of Nunda village. Charles R. Woodworth, the father came to Nunda in 1849 from Georgetown, Madison county, where he was born February 3,1831. His brother, James R., accompanied him and together they established a blacksmith business in the eastern portion of the village. Expert tool mak- ers, they early acquired a reputation for manufacturing cutlery of the finest quality, and while their work was done entirely without the use of machinery their skillfulness enabled them to give to their work a finished appearance which with the extra quality of tempered steel that they always used created a lasting demand for their output. They continued in the manufacture of cut- lery until 1863, when Charles joined the Union army and took up arms in de- fence of his country. He was attached to the 52d New York Infantry. After a service of one year and a day, and while at Spottsylvania during the battle of the Wilderness, he suffered the loss of his left hand which was shot off by a Minnie ball. He then returned home and shortly thereafter removed to Pitcher, N. Y., where he resided ten years, then returned to Nunda in 1878 and again began the manufacture of cutlery, this time in the basement of what is now the casket works. He continued in the business until 1886, when his son Frederick E., who had learned the art of knife making under the able tuition of his father, purchased the establishment and has since conducted it .*

Frederick E. Woodworth was born in Nunda, December 17, 1861. His educa- tion was obtained in the public schools of the village. Having early shown an aptitude for the business in which his father was engaged, he grew up under his training toa knowledge of the work which enabled him later to successfully manage the business. Shortly after his purchase of the concern he secured ground and erected a building in the eastern part of the village which he occupied some two years when the rapidly increasing volume of business neces- sitated the building of the present commodious structure. This building is installed with the latest machinery and equipment for the manufacture of knives. From ten to fifteen hands are employed regularly and from 800 to 1200 knives constitute the output for a day. November 25, 1886, he was united in marriage with Cora Demmon, of New York city, and their family consists of four children : Amy Olga, Minnie May, Clayton D., and Frederick E. Jr. Mr. Woodworth has for many years been a member of the Methodist church choir. He is captain of the Sons of Veterans, a member of the Board of Education, and thoroughly public spirited he takes a leading part in all enter- prises of a public nature.

George C. Woodworth early took up the study of electricity and has become

* Charles R. Woodworth was married September 3, 1849 to Elizabeth II. Bennett of Pitcher, N. Y. who died in 1887. Mr. Woodworth died November 21, 1903.

George R. Woodworth, the father of Charles, came to Madison County, N. Y. from Litchfield Conn., with his parents, when six years of age. Ile married a Miss Howe of Litchfield, the cere- mony being performed by Rev. Lyman Beecher, the father of Henry Ward Beecher. Samuel Wood- worth, a second consin of Charles, was a printer by trade and the author of "The Old Oakeu Bucket." A sister of Charles was an author of note and contributed to the leading journals before and during the war period.

BIOGRAPHICAL

an expert upon all matters pertaining to the appliance of electricity in the many ways which modern ingenuity have invented. He installed the electric plant which now furnishes light and power for the village of Nunda, and he now holds the position of manager for the immense Electiric light and power plant at Henderson, N. C.

Clarence A. Woodworth, the third son, has for the past six years held a posi- tion under the government as first class machinist at the Washington Navy Yards. His position calls for an expert knowledge of the various parts of both large and small guns used in naval and inland warfare.

Clayton J. Woodworth, a normal graduate, for a number of years was con- nected with the Maryland Steel Works at Sparrows Point, Md. as private sec- retary to the president of the company. A man of much natural ability and having executive talents in a high degree he soon made himself invaluable to the company with whom he was connected. In 1895 he received an offer from the officers of the Scranton commercial schools to become their assistant general manager, which he accepted, and in the spring of 1902 he was made manager of the entire establishment.

Albert J. Woodworth as a boy was well known as a fast bicycle rider and had the championship honors for the counties of Livingston, Wyoming and Steuben. For a time he was occupied as telegraph operator for the Pennsylvania Railroad. He then became connected with the Maryland Steel Company in the electrical department where he remained four or five years then entered the electrical engineering business for himself and one year later returned to the Maryland Steel Works as chief electrician of the entire establishment and holds that posi- tion today,

Zula M., the eldest daughter, married Frank Wood, consulting engineer of the Maryland Steel Company. They have three children.

Minnie M., married Frank Davis, inspector of ordnance at the gun works in Germantown, Pa. They have one child. Mrs. Davis was before her mar- riage an accomplished contralto singer and for some years was a member of the choir in one of the leading churches in Rochester, N. Y.

Clara A. lives at the homestead. She has always been prominent in musical circles and plays the organ of the Methodist church of Nunda.

Julia Sylvia, a recent graduate of the State Normal school is an artist of exceptional ability. Her pen drawings have found sale in families of wealth in Buffalo and eastern cities. She is now engaged in teaching in the Long Island schools.

Rose, the youngest, for a season was with the Boston Lyceum Company. As a whistler she has no superior. Her pure, bird-like notes always under thor- ough control elicit the greatest admiration from all who hear her.

FRED D. HOLFORD,-Veterinary surgeon of the village of Avon, is a native of Ithaca, N. Y., where he was born May 3, 1879. He obtained his education in the schools of that city and afterwards entered Cornell University,

HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY

taking a two-year course in agriculture and a three-year course in veterinary surgery, graduating in 1902. He then located in Avon, establishing his office in the building adjoining the postoffice. Although young in practice, Dr. Holford has demonstrated exceptional skill and a perfect knowledge of the duties of his profession, and his services are in constant demand, which bears testimony to his accepted worth as a veterinarian in the community.

CHARLES MEACHAM,-A well known citizen of Livonia, N. Y., and the leading blacksmith and wagon manufacturer of that place, was born in Lake- ville, August 18, 1860. As a boy he attended the district school and early in life began learning the trade of blacksmith, which he followed until 1885, when he opened his present establishment in the village of Livonia. Being an ex- pert workman and a good manager, Mr. Meacham rapidly obtained a large share of the local patronage and soon placed the concern on a sound financial footing. He manfuactures a superior quality of wagons and carriages, in the making of which, none but the best of material is allowed to be placed. His success is merited and is a testimonial to his mechanical skill and keen business judgment. He was joined in marriage with Miss Claudia House, of Allegany county, on March 26, 1882. Five children have been born to them-Arthur Claire, Bessie Claudia, Ralph Clark, Leslie Fred, and Francis B. Clark Meacham, the father of Charles, was a native of Livingston county. He married Laura Phelps and to them were born three sons and four daughters, all of whom are now living. The father died in 1894.

CHARLES H. ROOT, Caledonia-About the year 1807, Israel D. Root, a native of Pittsfield, Mass., accompanied by his seven sons journeyed westward seeking a suitable location for the establishment of a home and the rearing and maintaining of a large family. The western part of New York state was at that period not far from the boundaries of civilization, but the beautiful and productive valley of the Genesee was, even at that early date, beginning to acquire a reputation as a wheat producing section and was proving the Mecca for some of the more enterprising New Englanders who in seeking to better their condition thus laid the foundation for prosperity and contentment which naturally follows upon a life of honest toil in a land of plenty. Near this val- ley, Mr. Root decided to locate, and in what is now the town of York in Living- ston county he acquired from the government a tract of land a square mile in extent. A portion of this original tract is still in the possession of members of the family and the homestead erected by Mr. Root in pioneer days is now in a good state of preservation.

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History of Livingston County, New York, from its earliest traditions to the present together with early town sketches, Part 113

Author: Doty, Lockwood R., 1858- [from old catalog] ed; Van Deusen, W. J., pub. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1905 Publisher: Jackson, Mich., W. J. Van Deusen Number of Pages: 1422

Author: Doty, Lockwood R., 1858- [from old catalog] ed; Van Deusen, W. J., pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: Jackson, Mich., W. J. Van Deusen
Number of Pages: 1422