History of Ontario county, New York : with illustrations and family sketches of some of the prominent men and families, Part 52

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 52


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


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HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY.


special assistant engineer on the New Croton Aqueduct. Then he was appointed secretary and treasurer of the People's Rapid Transit Railroad Compary of New York. Since 1891 he has been engaged as general consulting engineer, but has been making a specialty of gold placer mining. He is a member of the American Society of Mining Engineers and of the Engineer's Club of Philadelphia.


The Father of W. S. and John B. John B. Church, senior, was the son of Judge Philip Church, of Belvidere, the first settler and a large landed proprietor of Allegany county. Jno. B. Church, senior, entered Hobart College, leaving it in his second year and entering the sophmore class at Yale College, where he was graduated. He then entered the Yale Law School and was admitted to the bar. He married Maria Trum- bull, eldest daughter of Prof. Benjamin Silliman, senior, and abandoned the law to de- vote himself to the management of his landed property in Allegany county. They had nine children, viz. : Walter S. and J. B. (above mentioned); Colonel Benjamin S; Mary Trumbull, who died in 1860 ; Anna M., wife of Sidney E. Morse, of New York; Harriet T. ; Philip S .; Eugene, who died in 186]; and Alice, widow of Julian R. Coffin, of Charleston, S. C. Colonel Benjamin S. Church is a veteran of the late war. For over twenty-five years he was resident engineer in charge of the Old Croton Aqueduct. He also designed the New Croton Aqueduct and was its chief engineer and constructor. The direct ancestors of this family of Churches embraces some of the most distinguished names in the early history of the country, such as Philip Schuyler, Jonathan Trumbull, the Livingstons, Van Rensselaers, Van Cortlandts, etc.


Bement, George D., Victor, was born in Victor, August 24, 1829, and went with his parents to Orleans county at the age of ten years. He was educated in the public schools and Albion Academy, and by occupation was a joiner and builder. March 2, 1889, he married Mary D. Brown of Hopewell. Mr. Bement has done business in several States in the Union. His father, Heman D, was born in Stockbridge, Mass., March 18, 1799, and in 1811 joined his father in Tioga county, residing there until nineteen, when he came to Victor. He was a farmer and miller. November 13, 1826, he married Selecta Dryer of Victor (whose family were of Holland descent, and whose mother, Lydia Cobb, was of Welsh ancestry), and they had five children : Phoebe M., George D., Mary A., Helen L. and John D. They moved to Gaines, Or- leans county, in 1839, returning to Victor in 1865. His father died December 7, 1876, and his mother March 28, 1893, at the age of eighty-eight years. His grandfather, John Bement, was born in Stockbridge, Mass., September 3, 1776, and married Amy Dewey in 1797. She was born March 23, 1778, of English descent, and they had twelve children. He was appointed justice of the peace by Gov. De Witt Clinton in 1817. The great-grandfather, Asa Bement, was born in Wethersfield, Conn., and in 1761 married Ruth O'Neil, who was born on the water coming from Ireland, May 11, 1738. They had eight children. He represented Berkshire county in the Massachu- setts Legislature in 1806. Mr. Bement's great-great-grandfather, William Bement, married Phoebe Markum, and had four sons. Ile was a soldier in the Revolution from 1775 to 1789. Mr. Bement's ancestry comprises English, French-Huguenot, Welsh, Holland and Irish.


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FAMILY SKETCHES.


Chase, Roscoe G., Geneva, was born in the town of Buckfield, Oxford county, Me., November 3, 1837, and was the second child and eldest son of Thomas and Esther Chase. His early life was spent on his father's farm, but in November, 1862, he en- listed as private in a regiment of Mame infantry and served about seven months. He then went to California, where he taught school, but after some time returned home, and engaged in farming and growing and dealing in nursery stock. The latter em- ployment occasioned frequent visits to the famous nursery regions of Ontario county, and induced him in 1872 to move to this locality. He began active business with about seventy-five acres of nursery land, but has increased his productions to 150 acres at the present time. Mr. Chase is regarded as one of the progressive, successful busi- ness men of the county, and one interested in public as well as private enterprises. During the summer of 1892 he caused to be drilled a mineral well, whose valuable water is free to all who desire it for drinking purposes. Mr. Chase is also interested in various other business enterprises, all of which are beneficial to Geneva village and the locality. In 1864 Mr. Chase was married to Eliza E. Gerrish, by whom he has had two children, only one of whom is living.


Chase, William D., Geneva, was born in Buckfield, Oxford county, Me., August 6, 1852, and was the youngest but one of the children of Thomas and Esther Chase. He came to Geneva in 1882, and became manager of the retail nursery business of R. G. Chase & Co., at which he continued until 1887, when he engaged in the insurance busi- ness, of which he had made special study, and in which he took great interest. In the same year, associated with D. J. Van Auken, he founded the Manufacturers' Accident Indemnity Company, starting practically with nothing but energy and determination, and eventually building up one of the most reliable and substantial mutual accident associations in the country, a more full account of which will be found in the history of Geneva, in this work. To the management of this company Mr. Chase devotes his entire time, and its success is largely due to the efforts of himself and those immedi- ately associated with him. In August, 1877, Mr. Chase married Elizabeth Withington, who bore him three children. His wife died in September, 1890.


Castle, Seth G., East Bloomfield, a rative of Canandaigua, was born December 8, 1820, a son of Dyer Castle, whose parents were Lemuel and Marion, natives of Dutchess county. In 1787 Lemuel and wife settled in Canandaigua, and there spent the re- mainder of their days. Dyer Castle was a native of Canandaigua, and married Mar- garet Jones, by whom he had three sons and six daughters. The father of Mrs. Castle was Jolin Jones, a native of Wales and a sea captain, who early settled in Canandaigua. Mr. Castle was a teamster in the War of 1812, and was once overseer of the poor. He died in Canandaigua. Seth G. Castle was educated in Canandaigua Academy. Feb- rnary 29, 1844, he married Phoebe J. Gillett, born April 8, 1822, a daughter of Milton and Phoebe (Salisbury) Gillett, the former a native of Massachusetts, and the latter of Vermont. Mr. Gillett served in the War of 1812. Mr. Castle and wife have one child, Margaret, wife of Henry Sutherland of Canandaigua, and they had one child, Cora E., wife of Wayland F. Hopkins of Canandaigua. To them have been born two children, Margareta and Melford. Mr. Castle until 1849 resided in Canandaigua. He


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HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY.


then came to East Bloomfield and purchased eighty-five acres of land, on which he has made many improvements. In politics he is a Republican, but has always declined office. He and family attend and support the Universalist church.


Collier, Dr. Peter, director of the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station near Geneva, was elected to his present office in 1887, and it is of undoubted interest to the farmers of Ontario county to know something of the person who occupies this highly responsible position. Peter Collier was born at Chittenango, Madison county, August 17, 1835, and was the son of Jacob and Elizabeth Mary Collier, his father, grand and great- grandfather being practical farmers of New York State. He therefore early became familiar with farm work, and was educated in the common schools and the academic institution of his native home called the "Polytechny." From this school he graduated, and afteward entered Yale College, from which he graduated in 1861. After gradua- tion he entered the Sheffield Scientific School at Yale College where he remained as a private student for six years, and at the same time had charge of certain classes in this school as instructor. In 1867 he became professor of chemistry in the University of Vermont, at Burlington, and later was chosen dean of the medical faculty of this university. In 1872 he was appointed secretary of the newly created Board of Agri- cultural and Mining at Vermont, and in connection with the work of this board, Dr. Collier established the first series of Farmers' Institutes ever held in the United States. In 1873 he was appointed by President Grant as one of the six scientific commissioners to represent the United States at the World's Exposition at Vienna, and upon his re- turn reported upon the subject of commercial fertilizers as shown at this exposition. In 1877 Dr. Collier left Vermont and went into the agricultural department at Wash- ington, D. C., having charge of the chemical division. He continued there until 1877, when he was elected to succeed Dr. Sturtevant as director of the Experiment Station near the village of Geneva.


Chew, Alexander L., Geneva, was born at New Orleans October 4, 1824, the seventh child of Beverly and Maria Theodora Chew. In 1840 he entered Hobart College to take the preparatory course, and in 1841 entered on the full course, leaving college in 1843 and returning home, where he did business until 1848. In 1849 he came here and entered into the hardware business with Phineas Pronty, which continued thirteen years He then sold his interest in the concern and kept a private bank for two or three years. In 1864, in company with Mr. Prouty and Corydon Wheat, he bought the entire inter- est of the First National Bank and became its president, with Thomas Raines as cashier. The capital was then $50,000, but has now increased to $100,000, with a surplus of about $50,000. In 1849 Mr. Chew married Sarah A. Prouty, and they have seven children : four sons and three daughters.


Collins, George S., Victor, was born in Mendon, Monroe county, February 26, 1821. He was educated in the district school of that place, and came with his parents to Victor in the year of 1853, and has always been a farmer. November 20, 1856, he married Mariette, danghter of Jesse and Abigal Richards, of Newark, Wayne county, and they have four children: Nellie L., who married Eugene L. Thompson, station agent at


39


FAMILY SKETCHES.


Fishers; Adelbert S., Arthur E. and A. May ; Carrie B. Collins, deceased. The sons run the home farm, and the youngest daughter is at school. Mr. Collins's father, John, was born at Rutland, Vt., in the year of 1791, and came with his parents to this State when a boy. January 6, 1811, he married Cynthia Chubb, who was born at Hempstead, Conn., October 10, 1793, and they had five children : Merlin, John, Chloe, George S., and Thomas B. His grandfather, John Collins, was in the battle of Bennington in the Revolutionary War. Mrs. Collins's father, Jesse Richards, was born in Hillsdale Colum- bia county, and married Abigal Sheldon, of Albany county, and they had nine children : German, John S., Edward, George H. and Warren (a half brother), Paulina, Caroline, Elvira, Catherine and Mariette. Mr. Colline's father was in the War of 1812. The family are members of the Universalist church of Victor.


Cole, D. Merritt, Gorham, was born in Gorham January 3, 1843, a son of George W., a son of Willard, who was a native of Massachusetts, and in 1820 came to Gorham. George W. was born in Massachusetts in 1814 and when a boy came to Gorham. His wife was Sarah Ann White, also a native of Massachusetts, and they had two sons and one daughter, Geo. W., jr., D. Merritt and Mary A., all living. G. W. Cole purchased the farm of 106 acres which D. Merritt now owns. George W. died February 1, 1892, and his wife May 1, 1886. D. Merritt was educated in the common schools and in Palmyra Academy. January 15, 1868, he married Rachel E. Robinson, a native of Phelps, born January 19, 1849, a daughter of Asa H., and Alvina (Doane) Robinson, early settlers in Phelps. In 1870 they moved to Michigan where Mrs. Robinson died May 8, 1881. Mr. Robinson still resides there. Subject and wife have six children : Robinson A., Miner G., Henry T., Ernest M., Bertha A. and Mary E., all living. Mr. Cole is a Republican.


Cummings, George S., Geneva, was born in Plymouth, N. H., January 4, 1829, was educated in the common schools of his day, and in early life was a cabinet-maker. This he had to give up on account of failing health, and he was a conductor on the Lehigh Valley Railway, one year as freight conductor, and eight as passenger conductor, and five as car agent. September 30, 1854, he married Sarah A. Emery of Maltborough, and they had three children : Arthur E., died aged four; Carrie L. and Amy E., who lives at home. Mr. Cummings has resided in Geneva since 1874. He is preparing a shop with fine machinery for all kinds of wood and job work. His great-great-grand- father, Jonathan G. Cummings, was one of the first settlers in Plymouth, N. H.


Coe, Schuyler P., Geneva, son of John D. and Sophia (Stone) Coe, was born October 2, 1832, in Romulus. He received a common school education and in 1852 went to Chicago as salesman in a wholesale house, remaining nine years. September 17, 1861, he enlisted in Battery B, First Illinois Artillery, in which he was corporal. July 12, 1864, Battery B was consolidated with Battery A, in which he acted as lieutenant ten days. He was in Andersonville prison sixty days. After the war he bought a farm in Seneca county and engaged in farming. He was salesman for R. G. Chase & Co. in 1871, and had an office in Baltimore one year, and Toledo, O., five years. In 1879 he began dealing in scrap iron, which he has since carried on. During the war he was in many battles and several skirmishes, among them being Belmont, November


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HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY.


7, 1861; Fort Donelson, February 13-15, 1862; Shiloh, April 6-7; Siege of Corinth, Arkansaw Post, January 17, 1863; Champion Hills, May 16; Siege of Vicksburg, May and June ; Chattanooga, November 24-25; Resaca, May 13-15, 1864; Dallas, May 26- 31; Kenesaw Mountain, June, 1864; Peach Tree Creek, July 20; Bald Hill, July 22, and was captured there and held prisoner until September 19, 1864. His father was Judge John D. Coe, who was treasurer of the Seneca County Agricultural Society forty years.


Conover, John, Victor, was born in Victor, April 20, 1817, was educated in the dis- trict schools and has always been a farmer. January 9, 1858, he married Elizabeth, daughter of William and Ruth Tucker, of Penn Yan, but when married of Akron, O. They have had four children : Theodore, who married Clara Mink of Rochester, and has two children, John and Irma; Anneth, who died at the age of nine years; Mabel and Libbie M., both reside at home with their parents. Mr. Conover's father came from the town of Mohawk, Montgomery county. He married Margaret Bowers and had nine children ; two were born there. the others in Monroe and Ontario counties: Vincent, Catherine, Benjamin, Betsey, William, Mary J. and Angeline (twins), John and Han- nah. Mr. Conover died about the year 1838. Mrs. Conover's father, William Tucker, was born in Plaistow, N. H., and married Ruth Cameron of the town of Perrinton, Monroe county. They had four children : Elizabeth, Elisha, George and Junietta. The family moved to Yates county, and afterwards to Ohio In the year of 1860 Mr. Conover planted an orchard of apple trees, several acres in extent, which at this writ- ing is much admired, and is profitable to its owner.


Cost, Thomas H., Canandaigua, was born in Manchester, Ontario county, November 21, 1831. Jacob, the grandfather, was a native of Maryland, born in Frederick county, May 17, 1773, and married May 20, 1802, Mary Con. They came to Ontario county and settled in Manchester, where they had six children, Elizabeth, Mary, Lucretia, wife of Richard Sheckel of Hopewell; Henry, a resident of Rochester ; and John, a retired farmer of Clifton Springs. Jacob died September 30, 1843. Jesse, the oldest son, father of our subject, was born in Manchester November 23, 1805. He was a Whig until the division of the Whig party, then became a Democrat. In 1854 he was elected assemblyman to represent the eastern district, and served as a member of several important committees. In 1869 he moved to Canandaigua, where he died February 27, 1888. He married April 2, 1829, Cynthia Orme Baggerly of Manchester, and they had two children : Addie Cordelia, wife of William Cassort, a farmer of Canandaigua, and Thomas H. The early I'fe of the latter was spent in Hopewell. He was educated in Canandaigua Academy and at Lima Seminary, and followed farming in Hopewell until 1865, when he spent a year in Clifton Springs, two years traveling, and settled on his present farm in 1868. This is a farm of 190 acres on lot 104, where Mr. Cost has erected a beautiful residence and made many improvements. He is a Democrat, and in 1881 was elected supervisor. He has also been assessor three years. He was for many years a director of the Ontario County National Bank, until they closed business, and has for fourteen years been a trustee of the Presbyterian church. He married, Febru- ary 18, 1858, Mary J., daughter of Gerrit Debow, of Farmington. They have an adopted daughter, Ida H., who is now attending school.


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FAMILY SKETCHES.


Crane, Oscar N., Canandaigua, was born in Canandaigua in 1836, a son of John, who was born in this village in 1792. His father, Elam, was ore of the old pioneer school teachers of this State; he was a native of Connecticut. He located in Canandaigua one of the earliest settlers, and made his home in the later years of his life in the south- ern part of this town, where he died in 1845 leaving eight children, of whom John was the oldest. He always made this town his home, and the greater part of his life was spent on the farm. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, and an influential man in his town. He died in this village in 1872, leaving three children of a family of six: Sid- ney, of Detroit, Mich .; Mary A., wife of D. C. Benham, of Hopewell; and Oscar N. With the exception of one year spent in Buffalo the latter has always lived in this county. He was educated at Canandaigua Academy, and after leaving school followed farming summers, and taught in the winter. In 1865 he established an office as a funeral director and dealer in burial goods in Canandaigua, which he still conducts. Hle is assisted by William C. Ball, a professional embalmer. Mr. Crane married in 1850 Mary J., daughter of Thomas Benham of Hopewell, and they have three chil- dren : Ella E., a teacher of mathematics in the public school; Oscar Benham and Carrie C. Mr. Crane was for twenty-one years in active service in the Canandaigua fire de- partment, and for fifteen consecutive years was chief of the department. He has been president of the Canandaigua Cemetery Association since its organization in 1884, and is also a member of the Board of Education. He is president of the Protective Life Insurance Association of Rochester, a Mason, and an elder of the First Presbyterian Church, of which his family are members.


Cassort, William, Canandaigua, was born on a farm in Canandaigua July 22, 1834. The Cassort family in this country are of French extraction. The grandfather, James, was a native of New Jersey, where David, the father of the subject, was born Feb- ruary 22, 1789. His boyhood was spent at his birthplace. He was educated in the common schools, and took up the occupation of farming. When he was eighteen years of age he came to Ontario county, and four years later bought a farm of fifty acres, where he spent the balance of his days. He afterward added fifty acres to this. He took an active interest in politics, but was never an office seeker. He was a great reader and profound thinker, and always took an interest in church and all charitable work. He married in 1811 Sarah, daughter of Nathan Phelps of this town, and they had seven children, four of whom are living: James, a farmer of Hopewell ; Charles, Frank and William, farmers of Canandaigua. Mrs. Cassort died August 10, 1834, and David married second Emily Chapman, a widow, and they had one daughter, Mrs. Enos Booth, who died in 1890. Mrs. Emily Cassort died seven years after marriage in 1855, and he married Lucy Smith, who died in February, 1861. David Cassort died April 20, 1861 The whole life of our subject has been spent in this town. He was educated in the common schools and Canandaigua .Academy, and followed farming. He made his home with his father until his death, and succeeded to the old homestead. He added to that property 100 acres on the opposite side of the road, making 200 acres, which he still owns, and in 1876 he bought thirteen acres on lot 18, where he has built a beautiful residence, new buildings, etc. Mr. Cassort has never taken any active in-


f


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HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY.


terest in public affairs, but has devoted his whole life to the interests of his home and business. His ambition has been to become a successful farmer and an upright citizen. He married March 31, 1864, Addie, daughter of Hon. Jesse Cost, a farmer of the town of Hopewell.


Cribb, Ira P., Canandaigua, was born in South Bristol, February 21, 1851, a son of Joseph P. Cribb, a native of Onondaga county, born in Tully, April 28, 1816, who came with his father to Ontario county when a boy. He has always been a farmer, and for the last twenty years has lived in Naples. He married Elenor J., daughter of Richard Francis, a native of Wales. They were the parents of seven children, five of whom are living : Mrs. Nancy E. Parsons, of Providence, R. I .; F. R. Cribb of Naples, superin- tendent of pleasure resorts at Silver Lake and Lake Erie, formerly an undertaker of Naples; C. A. Cribb, a lumber manufacturer of Smyrna, Mich .; Mrs. E. H. Johnson of Naples; and Ira P. The early life of the latter was spent in South Bristol. He was educated in the common schools and at Naples Academy. In 1872 he came to Canan- daigua, where he has since resided. For the last three years he has been in the employ of the town in the making of stone roads, and has been one of the board of commis- sioners in the town since 1890, and has built about twelve miles of road. Mr. Cribb has always taken an interest in the success of the Republican party, and is an active inember of the Methodist Church, in which he has held numerous offices, how being trustee. He married in 1872 Emily A., daughter of Jonas Wolverton, who died less than three years later. He married second Stella F., daughter of Samuel Douglass, of Canandaigua, and they have one child, Fred D., now in his thirteenth year.


Crittenden, A. R., Phelps, was born in Phelps, December 17, 1824, one of four chil- dren of Osee and Rachael (Glover) Crittenden. The grandfather, Osee Crittenden, was born in Conway, Mass., of English descent, and came to Phelps with his family during the boyhood of his son. The ancestors of Rachael Glover were also Massachusetts people of English deseent. A. R. Crittenden married, December 19, 1846, N. A. Stew- art, daughter of Daniel and Ann (Peck) Stewart. Daniel Stewart, the father, was born in Deerfield, Oneida county, April 28, 1797. Jabez, Daniel's father, was of Scotch descent; his father, Daniel, emigrated from Scotland about the year 1760, and finally settled in Brattlebro, Vt., afterward removing to Deerfield, Oneida county. A. R. Crit- tenden has one son, De Laney S. Crittenden, now of Buffalo. De Laney S. Crittenden married Lillian S. Fitch, of Wolcott, March 13, 1881, having issue one son, Percy A. Crittenden, born in Phelps, October 26, 1888. 1


Case, Noadiah S., Bristol, was born January 25, 1826, in Bristol. Ilis father was Noadiah W., a son of James, of Dighton, Mass., who came to Bristol with his brother, Jonathan J., in 1800. He married Betsey Hicks and had seventeen children. James Case and wife died in Bristol. Noadiah W. was born in Dighton, Mass., in 1794, and came to Bristol with his parents. Ile married in Hudson, N. Y., Hannah Davis, a native of that town, by whom he had a son and a daughter. When subject was about two years of age his father moved on the farm. He was captain in the State militia, and died in 1838, and his wife October 23, 1857, aged seventy-five years. Noadiah S. was educated in the common schools. Ile engaged in farming and has since followed that occupa-


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FAMILY SKETCHES.


tion. July 4, 1842, he married Caroline A. Hutchens, a native of Jerusalem, Yates county, and a daughter of John Hutchens. They had four children : Adelphia (de- ceased), John W., Charles E., and Christiana (deceased). Mr. Case owns 200 acres of land, and follows general farming and hop raising. He is a Republican and attends and supports the Universalist Church of Bristol.


('ronk, Rev. Lewis W., Victor, was born in Victor, May 24, 1819, and was educated in the common and private schools of his native town. While attending the M. E. Church meetings in 1843 he was converted, and was soon after licensed to exhort, and afterwards a local preacher until 1873, when he changed his church relationship, cast- ing his lot with the Free Methodists, joining their conference and church at the above date, and is at present an ordained elder in that church organization. July 4, 1843, he married Angeline, daughter of Jonathan and Catherine Benson, of Pekin, Niagara county. They have one adopted daughter, Ida Benson, who married Philetus Skuse, who was in the late war in Company C, 111th Regiment N. Y. S. Infantry, and they have two daughters, who are married. Mr. Cronk's father, Jeremiah, was born near Cooperstown, Otsego county, in 1787, and married Philena Lewis of his native place, formerly of Massachusetts. They had eight children: William, Daniel, Elizabeth, Mi- randa, Lewis W., Emily, Nancy J., and Mary. Mrs. Cronk's father, Jonathan Benson, was born in Springfield, Otsego county, March 24, 1799, and married Catherine Ander- son of his native place, and moved with his wife and two children to Niagara county in 1823. They had six children : Angeline, John, Elijah A., Isaac, Mary M., and Sarah A. Mr. Benson was a preacher of the gospel from the age of maturity until his death, No- vember 20, 1884. Mrs. Cronk's brother Isaac was the father of their adopted daughter and also was a soldier in the late war, in the band of the One Hundred and Forty-eighth Regiment New York Volunteers, where he lost his life. Mr. Cronk's brother Daniel had three sons and a son-in-law in the late war.




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