History of Ontario county, New York : with illustrations and family sketches of some of the prominent men and families, Part 50

Author: Aldrich, Lewis Cass, comp; Conover, George S. (George Stillwell), b. 1824, ed
Publication date: 1893
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., D. Mason & Co.
Number of Pages: 1002

USA > New York > Ontario County > History of Ontario county, New York : with illustrations and family sketches of some of the prominent men and families > Part 50

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FAMILY SKETCHES.

supervisor in 1886-87, being a Democrat in politics. The children of Joseph and Char- lotte Adams are : Hester Ann Spaulding, who lives in Michigan ; Margaret Snook, who lives in California ; and Alvira, wife of Mr. Burch.

Birdseye, Joseph, was born in Hopewell, August 29, 1833, on the farm he now owns. His father was Ezekiel, son of Joseph, a native of Connecticut, who came to Hopewell in 1798, and there died in 1805. Ezekiel was born in Hopewell in 1800, on the old homestead. He taught school for some time, but afterwards followed farming. His first wife was Lydia Cone, by whom he had three children. She died, and he then married Martha Kelly, a native of Honeoye, and to them were born four sons and one daughter. Mr. Birdseye died in 1875, and his wife in 1872. Joseph was educated in the public schools, and his life has been spent in farming. He owns 130 acres of the old Birdseye homestead, and is one of the leading farmers of the town. In 1872 he married Candis (), daughter of George Brundage, whose father was one of the first settlers of Hopewell, and they have had two children: Sarah C. and one who died in infancy. Mr. Birdseye is a Republican in politics, and he and wife are Presbyterians.

Beam, D. Willard, Canadice, was born in Canadice, November 13, 1838. At the age of eighteen years he began the carpenter's trade, and became a contractor and builder quite extensively for twenty-three years. In 1873 he bought the farm known as the Heazlett farm, containing 120 acres. In 1880 he bought the farm known as the Thomas Doolittle farm, containing sixty acres. He makes specialties of hops and hay, having been engaged extensively in buying and shipping of hay to the New York and New England markets. He has a wife and two daughters: E. Allene and Georgia Lillian, and Berintha, his wife, all members of the Methodist Church. In politics he is a Dem- ocrat, and has been assessor and supervisor of the town in which he lives.

Babbitt, Charles, Gorhan:, was born in Gorham, October 23, 1841, a son of Avijah, a son of Enos, who was a native of Massachusetts. The latter was a sailor, and when a young man came and settled in Scipio. He married Margaret Mosher and had seven sons and one daughter. In 1817 he settled upon a farm in Gorham, where he died in 1855. Mrs. Babbitt died in 1830. Avijah was born in Scipio in 1814, and married Louisa Calf, by whom he had one child, Charles. The latter was educated in the common schools, and May 25, 1870, he married Hannah Francisco, a native of Canada, born March 31, 1850. Her parents were Henry and Mary (Miller) Francisco, who had five sons and three daughters. Mr. Francisco was a native of Amsterdam, and died in Gorham in 1871. His wife died in 1865. The father of Henry was John Francisco, an early settler of Middlesex, Yates county. Subject and wife have had three children : C. Allen, who married Mand Cook, of Gorham, and resides on the old homestead ; Henry A., and Annie. Mr. Babbitt is a Republican, and he and his family are mem- bers of the Presbyterian church.

Buell, Augustus, East Bloomfield, was born January 31, 1824, a son of Timothy, who was also a son of Timothy, a Revolutionary soldier from Goshen, Conn., who was twice married. In 1792 he came to East Bloomfield, and was an organizer and deacon

HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY.

of the Congregational church. He reared six children : Jonathan, Timothy, Theron, Eben, Euniee and Lucy. He died in 1849, aged ninety-three years. His son Timothy was born in Connecticut in 1790, and came with his parents in 1792 to East Bloom- field, where he owned a homestead. He served as assemblyman in 1845, and as super- visor many years. He was also captain of militia, and died aged eighty-three. He married Lucy, daughter of Daniel and Aurelia (Dowd) Rice, and had eight children, four sons and four daughters. His wife died twelve days after her husband, at the age of seventy-nine years. Augustus was reared on a farm and received a district and academical education, at the age of twenty-one beginning for himself. In 1850 he bought his present residenee, together with his brother, and later bought out the latter's share. He is a Republican in politics. He has been three times married. His first wife was Electa Gauss, by whom he had six children, two surviving to adult age : Timothy, who died aged twenty-seven, and Arthur. His wife died in 1872, and he married second, Mary, daughter of William Conklin, by whom he had three children : William C., Luey R. and Caroline L. His second wife died in 1885, and he married, third, Mary H., daughter of Henry Shaw. Subjeet has been connected for forty-two years with the Congregational church.

Berry, Joseph J., Farmington, was born in Canandaigua, November 14, 1846. He was educated in the public schools and Canandaigua Academy, and follows farming. January 13, 1886, he married Jennie B., daughter of David and Elizabeth Loring, of Scandia, Kans. They have two children : Vernie E., and Merle. Mr. Berry's father, Richardson, was born in Ireland, and came to the United States in 1842, locating near Canandaigua. He married, previous to his arrival here, Eliza Johnson, of his native place, and they afterwards bought a farm near the town line of Farmington. They had nine children, six survived : Esther (now Mrs. Mowry Power, of Farmington) ; John C., Thomas J., William H., Joseph J., Anne E., who married Erastus Hiseoek, of Canandaigua. Mrs. Berry's father, David Loring, was born in the town of Canan- daigua, February 1, 1816, and married Elizabeth Nichol, formerly of Washington, Pa.

Beach, Arnold W., Bristol, was born in Walworth, Wayne county, August 24, 1831, a son of Amos and Eleanor (Arnold) Beach, who reared four sons and five daughters. Mr. Beach and wife went to Richmond, where he died in 1835. Mrs. Beach then married Leonard Howard and removed to MeComb county. Mieh., where she died in 1873. Arnold W. Beach was reared by Dr. Daniel Durgan, and received a common school education. February 22, 1855, he married Adeliza M. Codding, a native of Bristol, born December 17, 1832. She is a daughter of Deacon Stephen A. Codding, a son of Faunce and Sallie (Andrews) Codding, early settlers of Bristol. Mr. and Mrs. Codding had four sons and a daughter. IIe died in Bristol in 1810 at the age of forty, and his wife in Lockport, Ill., at the age of eighty years. Mr. Beach and wife have had three children : Emma C., who died at the age of three years; Hattie M., born July 28, 1865, wife of Luther J. Howe, of Shortsville, and Stephen H., born August 14, 1874. Mr. Beach is a farmer, is a Republican, and has been overseer of the poor six years. He and wife are members of the Congregational ehureh, of which Mr. Beach has been a deaeon six years.

FAMILY SKETCHES.

Bush, l'eter L., Geneva, was born in Bergen county, N. J., May 22, 1794, and his wife, Eleaner Visher Denniston, was born on Long Island, October 29, 1811. Peter L. Bushı came to Seneca county at an early day, where his first wife died, and thereafter, March 22, 1838, he married Eleaner V. Denniston, as is above stated. The children of the second marriage were : Alexander H., who was a soldier in the One Hundred and Twenty-sixth N. Y. Vols., and who was taken prisoner in July, 1862, but after being exchanged he died November 6, 1862, at Camp Douglass, Chicago, Ill. ; Hannah Louisa, who married first. Dr. Andrew Alleman, and second, Martin R. Romaine; and Carrie E, who became the wife of Ashland C. Wheeler. Peter L. Bush was a substantial and successful farmer. He went to Geneva in the spring of 1863, where he afterward lived a retired life to the time of his death, June 2, 1878. His wife died March 7, 1890. Captain Ashland C. Wheeler enlisted in August, 1861; was sergeant in Com- pany E, Ninety-seventh Vols., but for meritorious services was appoined second lieuten- ant August 20, 1863, and thenee to captain of Company B, December 1, 1864. He was discharged July 18, 1865. He was a successful merchant for nine years. He married Carrie E. Wheeler April 16, 1873, and died January 24, 1884.

Bliss, Philenzo P., Bristol, was born in Kankakee county, Ill., June 16, 1839. He is a son of Philenzo P. Bliss, whose father was James Bliss, of Genesee county, N. Y., where he spent most of his life. He died in Illinois in 1839. Philenzo P. Bliss, father of subject, was born in Genesee county, October 22, 1813, and died in Kankakee county, Ill., August 30, 1839. He went to Illinois when a young man, and married Caroline A. Gooding, who was born October 10, 1816, in Bristol, a daughter of James Gooding, who was born in Bristol, July 6, 1791. He was the third male white child born in the town of Bristol; his father was James Gooding, one of the pioneers of the eounty. The subject of this sketch was reared on a farm, and educated in Rockford Academy. He married Catherine L. Totman, of Bristol, born in Jefferson county, N. Y., September 21, 1839. Her father, Ward Totman, removed from Jefferson county to Bristol in 1840. Mr. Bliss and wife have had the following children: Irene C., Winifred K., Henry W., Mabel J., Edith S., Aliee C., Lester P., Gooding H., and . Esther (deceased). He removed to Bristol in 1876, and in 1882 he purehasad the farm on which he now resides. He is a Republican, and is a member of the Farmer's Alliance of Bristol. He and wife are members of the Congregational church of that place.

Bacon, Orrin Stebbins, Canandaigua, was born at Academy (town of Canandaigua), March 29, 1837, a son of Hiram Bacon, a Free Will Baptist minister, and a native of Pennsylvania born in 1809. He had five children all now living : Rev. John S. Bacon, of Corning ; Roxina L., widow of John Beardsley, of Schuyler county ; Eliza D., wife of Spencer Horton, of Penn Yan ; Daniel R., a farmer of Pulteney, Steuben ecunty ; and Orrin S. Hiram Bacon eame to this seetion in 1828 and followed his profession until his death November 13, 1886. Mrs. Bacon died in Gorham aged eighty-eight years. When Orrin S. was very young his parents moved to Potter, Yates county, where he lived about eleven years and then went to Gorham. Orrin S. was educated in the common schools and spent three winters at Dundee Academy. From there, at the

HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY.

age of seventeen he taught school one winter in Jerusalem, Yates county. In 1855 he went to Victor where he followed farming one year, and then worked at the carpenter and joiner's trade one year. For twenty-three years he conducted a meat market, also dealt in real estate, etc. During the most of this time he held many of the minor town offices, and in 1879 he was nominated on the Republican ticket for sheriff and elected by a majority of 866 over Milton Stafford, of Victor. At the expiration of his term in 1883 he was appointed deputy revenue collector under Henry S. Pierce, and held this office four years. April, 1887, he was employed by McKechnie & Co as finan- cial manager, in their bank in Canandaigua, an office which he has ever since held. He is one of the directors for the Canandaigua Lake Steamboat Co., and a member of Victor Lodge, F. & A. M He married, September 14, 1850, Harriet E. Simmons, of Vietor, and they have had five children : Lillian M., wife of George M. Dunlop, a silk manufacturer of Spring Valley, Rockland county ; Orrin S. Bacon, jr., connected in busi- ness with his father; Albert S., a Presbyterian minister of Niagara Falls; Lizzie, wife of Edward W. Simmons, of Canandaigua ; and Jennie O.

Beard, Maximillian C., Canandaigua, was born in Biloxi, Miss., November 27, 1864, and was educated in the University of Louisiana and at Stevens Institute of Technology at Hoboken, N. J., where he graduated in the class of 1887 with the degree of Mechanical Engineer. Previous to entering the institute he acquired some practical knowledge of machinery, especially in the Bethlehem Iron Company shops at South Bethlehem, Pa., spending two years there and in other shops, gaining his practical education. After leaving college he had charge of the Philadelphia office of the Welsbach Incandescent Gaslight Co. as engineer. After leaving them he joined as partner in the business now engaged in. He married, in 1888, Gertrude T., daughter of H. M. Finley, of Canan- daigna, and they have one daughter, Philadelphia I. Mr. and Mrs. Beard are attendants of St. Joseph's Episcopal church, of which Mr. Beard is a vestryman. He holds the office of trustee of the Ontario Orphan Asylum.

Benson, Ichabod, Victor, was born in Mendon, Monroe county, December 19, 1823, was educated in the common schools, worked at carpenter's trade several years, and in January, 1852, went to the gold fields of California; returning in 1856, he has since followed farming. June 4, 1857, he married Mary J., daughter of Anson and Huldah (Simonds) Lord, and they had four children: Alonzo L., who married Sarah Caroline Tufford, of Canada, and has one child, Harvey L .; Cora J., who died at the age of eleven ; Clara E., who married Charles K. Spellman, of Pittsford; and James II., who resides at home with his parents. Mrs. Benson's father, Anson Lord, was born in Sara- toga county, September 10, 1810, and married Huldah Simonds, of Henrietta, who was born February 27, 1813, and they have seven children : Mary JJ., William J., James H., Matthias L., Clara B., Daniel A., and Eliza A. Mrs. Benson's brother, Matthias L., was taken prisoner at the battle of Gettysburg.

Birdseye, Gould, Gorham, was born in Hopewell in 1837, a son of Ezekiel. Subject was reared on a farm, and educated in Macedon Academy. He has always followed farming and at present owns 190 acres of land in Gorham. In 1866 he married Eme- line Wynkoop, a native of Gorham, and born on the farm now owned by Mr. Birdseye,

FAMILY SKETCHES.

which was formerly known as the Wynkoop homestead. She is a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Spaun) Wynkoop, he a native of Flint Creek, and she of Albany county. They had four daughters and three sons, and four of the children are still living. Mr. Wynkoop died in 1866, and his wife in 1878. The father of John Wynkoop was Peter, who came from the east and settled at Flint Creek, where he kept a hotel, and there lived and died, and lies buried in the Sandhill cemetery. Subject and wife have had one son, John W., born September, 1868. He was educated in Canandaigua Academy; and is now engaged in the berry and fruit culture. Mr. Birdseye and wife are mem- bers of the M. E. Church at Emery Chapel, Hopewell, N. Y.

Becker, Marion J., Canadice, son of John F., was born in Richmond, January 24. 1854. He was educated at the district schools and taught during fourteen winters. In 1874 he married Emma Tague, daughter of Joseph Tague, the present postmaster of Canadice, who, when a boy, came with James B. Sayre to this town, as an adopted son of the latter. They have three children : Mand L., born October 9, 1880; Spedee M., born January 19, 1884, and Spencer Dayton, born September 12, 1889. Mr. Becker owns twenty acres at the homestead, and a half interest in another farm of ninety acres and also in one of 109 acres. He buys and sells sheep, and usually keeps on hand about 100 head. He is a Republican, and he and his wife are Methodists. Mrs. Becker's father married Barbara Ann Struble, and had three children. He has been a black- smith at Canadice forty years.

Brown, Andrew, Canadice, was born in Springwater, Livingston county, September 26, 1839. His father, Thomas Brown, a native of Niagara county, settled in Spring- water early in 1836, and was a farmer in that town. He married Sylvia Bates, who was born in Lima. Orlando, only brother of Andrew, was born in 1836. Andrew was educated at the district schools and has always been a farmer. He married in 1877 Janette, daughter of Luke Johnson, of Canadice, and they have two children living : Sylvia C., born in 1878, and Martha Ann, born 1889. Mr. Brown has 200 acres in his home farm on Ball Hill, and is a Democrat in politics. Luke Johnson married Martha Ann Grant, a native of Springwater, and his children were : Benjamin Franklin of Springwater ; Janette (Brown) ; Homer Luke, a farmer in this town ; and Brad- ley M.

Bement, John B., Victor, father of George S., was born in Victor, September 7, 1821. He ran the first threshing machine that separated the grain from the straw in Ontario county, and has followed it continuously for fifty-three years. He married three times ; first, June 7, 1845, Margaret Sever, and they had one son, George S. ; both mother and son are deceased. January 14, 1852, he married second Sarah E. Webster, of Panna, N. Y .; she died December 15, 1860. He married third Mrs. Jennett (Camp) Benson, and they have one son, George S., born September 30, 1862. He was educated in the public schools and is a steam thresher by occupation. December 24, 1883, he married Ida M., daughter of Ransom I. and Merilla Hill, of Penn Yan, Yates county. John B. Bement's father, Harry, was born in the State of Massachusetts in 1793, and came with his parents to this State when he was three years old. He married Nancy Web- ster, formerly of Massachusetts, and they had nine children: Susan, Morgan, Maria,

HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY.

Jonn B., Amanda, William, Emily, Ashel, and Henry. His grandfather, Ebenezer Bement, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. Mrs. Bement's father, George S. Benson, was born in Dutchess county in 1815, and married Naomi Wardwell, of Cayuga county. They had seven children : Jennett M., Eliza J., David T., Charles H., Caroline E., Sarah M., and Julia A. George S. is a member of Milnor Lodge No. 139 F. & A. M. He is also highway commissioner of the town. Mrs. Bement's brother, David T., was a soldier in the late war.

Burnett, Jean La Rue, was born January 10, 1871, in Canandaigua where he has since resided. He began his education in the Union School of that village, supplementing it with a course in the Canandaigua Academy where he prepared for college, graduating from the institution in 1889. He commenced the study of law and afterwards entered the law department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, by which institution he was graduated in 1892 with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He early displayed journalistic and literary genius, and for several years has been a versatile contributor of both verse and prose to periodicals in every section of the United States, having been actively connected with numerous prominent journals in the capacity of general staff correspondent. Mr. Burnett has always been an enthusiastic Republican in politics and was one of the five originators of the scheme for the organization of the American Col- legiate Republican League, with a membership of over 60,000, which gained national reputation for its influence exerted in the presidential campaign of 1892. He received the honor of being selected by the organization to act as toast master upon the occasion of its first annual banpuet held at Ann Arbor on May 17, 1892, in honor of many dis- tinguished guests among whom were General Russell A. Alger, of Michigan; Hon. J. Sloat Fassett, of New York; Hon. William McKinley, of Ohio; Hon. John M. Thurs- ton, of Nerbaska ; Hon. William E. Mason, of Illinois, and many others. It was upon this occasion that his eloquent introductory address and felicitous remarks in presenting the speakers brought him conspicuously to the notice of General Alger and Governor McKinley, and when the national campaign opened, upon the recommendation of these gentlemen, the State Committee of New York appointed the subject of this sketch one of its regular speakers, and during the canvass he delivered addresses in various parts of the State, gaining a name as an orator of marked ability. He was the youngest speaker upon the stump in New York during this campaign. He was examined before the Supreme Court of Michigan and admitted to practice January 15, 1892. He was adlınitted to the bar of New York March 30, 1893.

Benson, Alonzo, the late, was born in Mendon, Monroe county, May 2, 1826, was educated in the district schools and was always a farmer. March 17, 1852, he married Rhoda Eaton, of Monroe county, and they had six children : Abbie, resides at home; Clara T., who died when a child; Sarah I., who married John Reche, of Hamilton, Canada, where they reside; Suaan C., who married Noah A. Baker; Orson J., who is at home; and Eunice, who died young. Mr. Benson died November 16, 1876. His father, Alonzo, sr., was born in Greenfield, Saratoga county, January 6, 1797. Feb- ruary 10, 1820, he married Abigail Johnston, formerly of Berlin, Vt. They had twelve children : Eliza J., Alma C., Lyman W., Ichabod, Alonzo, jr., a son who died in infancy,

FAMILY SKETCHES.

Harvey J., Gaylord S., Abigail I., Levantia, Orson, and Mary L. Mrs. Benson's father, Joel Eaton, was born in Massachusetts February 2, 1800, and came with his parents to Washington county, when he was three years old; when ten years of age he came to Brighton, Monroe county. He married Permelia Colwell, and they had three children. Her people came from Scotland as early as 1620. She died, and Mr. Eaton then married Sarah Sibley for his second wife and by her had eleven children, making in all fourteen children. Mrs. Benson's great-grandfather Ebenezer Eaton, was in the Revo- lutionary War, and her three brothers were in the Civil War.

Brown, Rev. Silas Clark, West Bloomfield, was born in Northampton, Mass., in 1797. He settled in Steuben county, where he taught school several years. He grad- uated from Union College in 1826 and was at Auburn Theological Seminary in 1827. He came to West Bloomfield about 1828 and married in 1830, Mary Cleveland of Livonia, who was born in Brookline, Conn., in 1800. Their children were: Lucia, Mary, wife of Rev. H. H. Reid of New York; Sarah Louisa, now residing in her pleasant home in this town; Henry Clark, also of this place ; and Augustus Cleveland, a lawyer in New York. Mr. Brown became a Congregational clergyman, and began his first pastorate here, April 23, 1828. IIe preached also in Batavia, York and other places, and died here in 1876, after several years of retirement. His son, Henry C., born in 1841, was educated in Hopkins Grammer School, New Haven, at Watertown Academy and at the East Bloomfield Academy. He married in 1866 Amanda G. Sears of East Bloomfield, and has three sons : Henry Sears, Albert Reid and Augustus Cleveland.

Briggs, John C., Richmond, was born September 21, 1853. His father, Cyrus, was born in 1820 in the house now occupied by his son, which was built by the father of Cyrus, Artemas, in 1817. The latter was born in 1786 in Dighton, Mass., and came on foot to Bristol, Ontario county, in 1806. In 1809 he married in Bristol, Fanny Gregg, born in 1789. His father, Jedediah, was born in 1738. He had thirteen children, sev- eral of whom came to this county. Artemas traded his farm in Bristol for one here, whither he removed in 1814. He served in the War of 1812, and fought in several of the battles on the Niagara frontier. He settled on the west side of Honeoye Lake, and owned the land south of Main street in Honeoye. He and his son Jedediah each gave half the land for the original cemetery and he gave the land for the First Methodist church. He was one of the founders of the church here. The edifice stood on the site of Mrs. Phillips's house on Lake street. His children were: John G., born in 1811; Jedediah, born in 1815; Fanny, born in 1818; Cyrus, born in 1820, and Mary, born in 1823. Cyrus was educated at East Bloomfield Academy, and was a farmer. He mar- ried first Emeline M. Michael, daughter of Thomas M. Michael, a tanner here, and they had two sons : Zachary J., born in 1849, and John C. Ile married second Cynthia E. Hadley, by whom he had no children. He died in 1888. John C. married in 1878 Minnie A., daughter of John Van Buren. She was born November 8, 1857. They have had two children : Fred J., born in 1885, died in 1889, and Hattie F., b rn May 26, 1889. Mr. Briggs farms the old original homestead first taken up by Abel Short and later owned by Artemas Briggs. Jedediah, brother of Artemas Briggs, was born in 1779 and was a sea eaptain. During the War of 1812 he was captured by the Eng-

HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY.

lish and taken to England, returning after the war. Enoch, the oldest brother, born in 1770, came after Artemas, and settled in Bristol, where his descendants may be found at the present time. The ancestry of the family dates back to Sir Robert Briggs of England, who lived about thirteen generations back.

Burrell, T. J. and George, proprietors of Shepherd's Mill at East Bloomfield, came from near Toronto, Canada. In 1870 they purchased the property where they now live, and have since carried on a very successful business. They use the roller process, and the capacity of the mill is forty barrels a day. They do a large business in ex- change and feed grinding. George Burrell was born in Canada, and after coming to East Bloomfield married Lydia Dibble, a native of that place and daughter of Alanson Dibble. To Mr. Burrell and wife were born one son and one daughter: George A. and Marcia A. The latter died at the age of four years. George A. is at present attending the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary. Mrs. Burrell and son are members of the M. E. church. Mr. Burrell enlisted in One Hundred and Eighth New York Volunteers in 1862, and after serving about two years received his discharge on account of dis- ability. He and his brother T. J. are Republicans.

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History of Ontario county, New York : with illustrations and family sketches of some of the prominent men and families, Part 50

Author: Aldrich, Lewis Cass, comp; Conover, George S. (George Stillwell), b. 1824, ed Publication date: 1893 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., D. Mason & Co. Number of Pages: 1002

Author: Aldrich, Lewis Cass, comp; Conover, George S. (George Stillwell), b. 1824, ed
Publication date: 1893
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., D. Mason & Co.
Number of Pages: 1002