USA > New York > Otsego County > History of Otsego County, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 26
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98
Her parents were natives of Scotland, and emigrated to America in 1833, and settled in Burlington, Otsego Co., N. Y. They had eight children,-Jane, Margaret, Ellen, Janette, Andrew, Elizabeth, Robert, and George. Andrew was a soldier in the Rebellion, in the 121st Reg. N. Y. Vol., and lost his life by sickness ; the rest survive. Mrs. Chis- holu died in October, 1870. Mr. Orange Gardner lived with his parents till their death, and has since continued to reside on the " Old Homestead" where he was born, and where his two sons Sewell and Andrew were born, the for- mer July 22, 1869, and the latter June 28, 1871. A view of' his residence, with portraits above of himself and wife, may be seen elsewhere. Mr. Gardner is one of the substan- tial farmers of Burlington. He owns some 275 acres. In polities, a Republican. Ile has never sought any political positions, preferring the quiet of home. He is now in the prime of life, surrounded by all the comforts of a happy home.
ANDREW A. MATHER,
son of Dan and Susannah Mather, was born in this town and county, Oct. 17, 1812. His father was a lineal de- scendant of Richard Mather, of English origin, who came from Warrington, England, landing at Boston, Aug. 17, 1635, and settled in Dorchester, Mass. He was a clergy- mau of marked ability. He left England from his unwil- lingness to conform to the rules of the established church. He founded a Presbyterian church at Dorchester, Mass., Ang. 23, 1636, and remained pastor of the same until his death, which occurred April 16, 1669.
From him have descended a numerous race, all of whom have been noted for their great energy and indomitable per- severance. Dan, the father of Andrew A. Mather, Was born in Lyme, Conn., Oet. 1, 1774. He was a tanner and currier by occupation, which business he followed sever.il years after settling in the town of Burlington. He married. for his second wife, Miss Susannah Onderdonk, a resident of Manhasset, Long Island. She was born Dec. 12, 1775. By this union three sons were born : Andrew A., Ezra, and Dan. Ezra died at the age of fifty-seven. Mr. Dan Ma- ther settled in the south part of the town of Burlington, Otsego Co., N. Y., in the Butternut creek valley, in IS19, on the farm where he died Sept. 1, 1856, and which is now owned and occupied by his son, Andrew A. Mather. Mrs. Mather, wife of Dan Mather, died Mareh 9, 1853. Dan Mather was one of the most respected citizens of the town ; he held various positions of trust and honor, and by indus- try and frugality he gained a competency. He was strictly honest in all his dealings, and lived respected and died lamented. His son, Andrew A., was reared on the farm. receiving a good common-school education. He taught school five terms in winter, commencing at the age of ser- enteen, and working on the farm in summer. At the age of twenty-two he married Teresa D. Cummings, a daughter of Elias and Lucinda Cummings, of New Lisbon, Sept. . , 1834. By this marriage seven children were born, namely. Adrian O., Andrew E., A. Dan, Elias C., and Kate MI., who are living, and two died in infancy. Adrian O., An- drew E., and A. Dan live in Albany, N. Y .; are whole- sale grocers, known as the firm of " Mather Brothers." Elias C. is a farmer in Burlington, living adjoining the old homestead, and Kate M., living now in Albany with her brothers.
Mrs. Mather, wife of Andrew A. Mather, died Jan. 27. 1860.
Mr. Mather married Miss Addie J. Birdsall, of Otero. Jan. 6, 1862. She was born June 5, 1834; her parents were of New England parentage, and were born in Otsego County. By this alliance two daughters were born : Clara L. aud Jennie A., aged twelve and fourteen respectively.
Mr. Andrew A. Mather has always been engaged in agricultural pursuits, and is closely allied with the best interests of his town and county. He is now living at the same old homestead where he first saw the light of do. Mr. Mather is the grower of some fine Jersey stock ami Leicester sheep. He is a man that thinks for himself atal aets from his own convictions of right and wrong; abwas. ready to engage in any reform that has for its aim the amelioration of mankind. Ile allied himself with the .
108
HISTORY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
Washingtonian movement in 1841, and has ever since that time been identified with all the temperance reforms of the day. In politics he was a Democrat, and voted the Demo- eratie ticket down to the time Lewis Cass wrote his Nichol- son letter, taking the ground that congress had no power to keep slavery out of the territories ; and when Cass and Taylor rau for president in 184S, he voted for Van Buren to beat Cass, and ever since has voted with the anti-slavery party, voting the Republican ticket. In 1872 he thought Horace Greeley the best man, and voted for him. After the defeat of Horace Greeley, not being satisfied which party was the safest to carry on the government in 1876, he voted the temperance ticket. Ile has held various po- sitions of trust and honor in town, and was elected super- visor in 1846. In 1853 he was elected by the temperance party to the legislature as a " Maine Law" man, and in the fall of 1860 Mr. Mather was elected sheriff of Otsego County, which office he held three years, and at the ex- piration of his term returned to his farm in the Butternut creek valley, where he now resides.
Andrew E. Mather was mustered in as first lieutenant of K Company, 121st New York Volunteers, August, 1862. Promoted to captain January, 1863 ; to major June, 1863; was appointed lieutenant-colonel in January, 1864, and transferred to the 20th United States Colored Infantry, and served until the close of the war. Was wounded in the shoulder at Salem Heights, May 3, 1863.
Elias C. Mather was mustered in as private of K Company, 121st New York Volunteers, in August, 1862. Was ap- pointed first lieutenant and adjutant of the 20th United States Colored Infantry in September, 1864, and served until the close of the war. Was wounded in the arm at Fredericksburg May 3, 1863, and at Petersburg June 14, 1864.
THE BOLTON AND BRIGGS FAMILIES.
Lemuel Bolton was born in New London, Conn., May 4, 1778, and settled in Burlington as early as 1795. He married Miss Ruth Briggs, a lineal descendant of Noah Briggs, of Bristol Co., Mass., in the year 1800.
Lemuel's father was a sea-captain, and was killed in a New London fort. The Boltons are of English origin, and were among the early settlers in New England. Lemnel purchased the farin now owned by his sou, Maurice W., in 1801. Ile had ten children, namely, Isaac, Ezra, Mau- rice, Perez, Elizabeth, Esther, Ruth A., Susannah, Olive, and Hannah. Isaac, Ezra, and Hannah are dead. In polities, a Democrat. Ile was the owner of some 680 acres of land in Burlington at one time. All that he had to commenee life with was a few carpenter's tools and five dollars in money. Besides following farming, he was a carpenter and joiner. Ruth Bolton died May 30, 1843, and Lemuel Bolton died March 12, 1844.
Maurice Bolton was born Oct. 19, 1804. Ile was reared on the farm, and this has been his life's work. He lived with his parents till their death, when he came in possession of the " homestead." He is the grower of some fine stock, being the owner of the finest pair of matched oxen we have ever seen. Hle is a farmer of 200 acres.
Olive married the Ilon. Elihu C. Wright, a native of Rhode Island. He was a prominent man in the town of Mil- ford, being justice of the peace, and member of the legis- lature in 1855. He died April 17, 1858. Hannah married Judson G. Fanlkner, of Middlefield Centre, Jan. 28, 1847. He was a farmer by occupation. He died Nov. 17, 1862, leaving one son, Arthur.
THE BRIGGS FAMILY.
Noah Briggs, of Bristol Co., Mass., moved to Volun- town, Conn., about 1745. He married Elizabeth Trumbull, of Taunton, Mass., where he resided for several years. Eleven children were born to them, namely, Elkanah, Zephaniah, Perez, William, Isaac, John, James, Betsey, Freclove, Sarah, and Susan.
Zephaniah married and lived in Sherman, Conn., and died in 1838 or 1839, aged one hundred and two years. Perez married Elizabeth Smith, and lived in Burlington, Otsego Co., N. Y. He settled in 1789, in Burlington. William married a Gallup, and resided in Sterling, Conn., and died at the age of ninety-three. Isaae was not mar- ried, and died a soldier in Washington's army. John mar- ried a Hall, and moved to Skaneateles, N. Y., and died in 1838, aged eighty-eight, leaving several children. John was a Revolutionary soldier. William and James were soldiers also. James married Phebe Bowen, of Rhode Island, and had twelve children.
This is all we have at our command of this pioneer family of Otsego County.
DAVID G. PARKER.
Among the early pioneers of this town may be mentioned the Parker family. Alexander Parker was of English origin ; his grandfather was from England, and settled in the New England States. Alexander was a native of Rhode Island. and was born Jan. 8, 1768. His father's name was Elisha Parker, and was born Aug. 6, 1746, in Rhode Island ; his mother's maiden name was Miss Maria Ellsworth, and was born near Plymouth, Mass. They had eleven children, all born in the New England States.
Capt. Elisha Parker served as a captain during the Rev- olutionary war. Soon after the year 1800 he and his wife and balance of family settled in Burlington on a part of the farm now owned by their grandson, David G. ; here they continued to reside till their death. Mrs. Elisha Parker died Sept. 24, 1828, and he died March 19, 1813. Alexander was reared a farmer, and when a boy he worked out by the month to aid in the support of his father's large family. Thus he worked till he was of age, and for one year there- after he continued to work by the month in order to get a little money to begin life. In 1790 he settled on the farm now owned by his son, David G., at West Burlington. While still a small boy he was a waiter in the Revolutionary war. He married Miss Joanna Gardner, a daughter of Abram Gardner, of Pownell, Vt., Feb. 17, 1793. She was born Aug. 28, 1777, in Pownell. Vt. By this union nine children were born, -- Abram, Polly, Elisha, Ira. Bet- sey, Mehitable, Alexander, Jr., Sarah, and David G .; tour are dead. Alexander Parker, Sr., was at one time a very
Photos. by W. G. Smith, Cooperstown.
ROSWELL KELSEY.
MRS. ROSWELL KELSEY.
ROSWELL KELSEY.
Roswell Kelsey, of Burlington, son of Solomon and Anna Kelsey, was born in Edmeston, Otsego Co., N. Y., July 13, 1797.
Solomon was a native of Washington Co., N. Y., and was born Sept. 10, 1767, and married Anna Brown, a native of the same county, by whom twelve children were borne; two only are now living, but all lived to be men and women. Solomon was married before 1789, and removed to this county about that time, and settled in Edmeston, where he continued to reside until his death, which occurred in June, 1815, and his wife died some three weeks afterwards.
He was a farmer by occupation, and reared his children to industry and economy. Roswell was thus reared, and in 1820 he and his brother Silas purchased the old home, and continued to reside there till about 1840, when he sold out his interest to his brother, and removed on the farm in Burlington, where he has continued to live ever since. He now owns some 200 acres of good land near West Burlington.
He married Miss Rhoda Dye, a native of Madison Co., N. Y., May 27, 1820. By this union nine children have been born, namely : Sarah, Solomon, Rachel, Daniel, Jerusha, Mary, William, Celia, and Martha. Jerusha, Celia, and Martha are dead.
Mrs. Roswell Kelsey was connected with the Friends, and after more than fifty years of married life she was the first of this large family to pass away. She died May 29, 1871, and was buried in Burlington.
Mr. Kelsey has always been either a Whig or Repub- lican in politics. Mr. Kelsey has always been a farmer, and to-day, while he is an old gentleman of more than eighty-one years, he has the satisfaction of knowing that he has done some good in his day and generation. Ilis daughter, Mrs. Sarah Lines, is living with him, and has the care of him in his old age.
Sarah married Julius Lines, a native of Susquehanna Co., Pa., Nov. 17, 1840, by whom one daughter, Laura, was borne. Mr. Lines died Feb. 4, 1874, and Mrs. Lines came to live with her father the next May.
109
HISTORY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
large landholder, and gave each of his sons one hundred acres of land, besides the necessaries, tools, and stock to commence farming. In politics, a Democrat. He and his wife were members of the Baptist church for more than fifty years. Mr. Alexander Parker's first wife was a sister to his second wife; her name was Sarah Gardner, and they were married about Jan. 1, 1791, by whom one boy, David, was born Oct. 29, 1791. He died March 7, 1793. Mrs. Sarah Parker died May 27, 1792; Mr. A. Parker died Feb. 27, 1845; Mrs. A. Parker died June 22, 1860.
David G. Parker was born on his present farm at West Burlington, Nov. 29, 1822. He received a common-school education. He lived with his parents till their death. He married Miss Susannah Bolton, May 27, 1852. She is the daughter of Lemuel and Ruth Bolton, and was born in Burlington, Otsego Co., N. Y., July 14, 1817 ; her parents came from Pownell, Vt.
By the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. David G. Parker five children were born, namely, Ella M., born Sept. 16, 1853, and came to her death June 15, 1859, by being canght in the bars while climbing through them, which caused her neck to be broken ; her mother was the first to see her little daughter and resene her lifeless formn; Isaae B., Dexter A., Otis M., and Ruth J. H., all are living and at home. Mr. Parker is a farmer by occupation, and one of the leading stock-growers and dealers in the county. He is the owner of more than 330 acres of good land, besides property in the sonth. Mr. Parker is one of the most en- terprising citizens of the town. Ile began life poor, but by industry and frugality he has to-day a pleasant home, and is surrounded by four intelligent children. In politics he is a Demoerat ; he never desired any political office, but pre- ferred the quiet of home. He has made all the improve- ments on his fiue farm, a view of which may be seen else- where.
CHAPTER XXXII. TOWN OF BUTTERNUTS.
Organization -Geographical - Topographical - First Settlers and their Locations - Initial Events - Incidents -The First Town- Meeting-Officers Elected-Supervisors and Town Clerks from 1796 to 1878-Present Town Officials-Agricultural and General Statistics-Arca-Equalized and Assessed Valuation-Population from 1800 to 1875.
BUTTERNUTS was formed from Otsego, April 10, 1792. At retained its original dimensions until 1797, when Pitts- field was set off, and it was again reduced in area by the organization of Edmeston, in 1808.
It is an interior town lying in the southwestern part of the county, and is bounded as follows, viz., on the north by Morris, on the east by Laurens and Otego, on the sonth by Unadilla, and on the west by the Unadilla river, which separates it from Chenango county. Its surface is a hilly upland. The bluffs along the Unadilla river rise to the height of from five hundred to six hundred feet. The principal stream is Butternut creek, which flows southwest through the centre of the town.
The first settlement was made in Butternuts in 1786, it
being at that time embraced in old Tryon county, which Was set off from Albany county in 1772. This was one of the first settled towns in the county, which was probably due to its location on the Unadilla, as both the Unadilla and Susquehanna were at that time navigable.
Among the first of the honored pioneers who sought a home in the western wilds was Abijah Gilbert, of honored memory. Ile emigrated from Warwickshire, England, to this country in about the year 1787, and soon after joined an expedition to this locality under General Morris, who had accepted the agency of the Morris patent, and was to receive for his compensation the first choice of 1000 aeres of land, leaving the second choice to Mr. Gilbert, who, in consequence of his superior knowledge of soils, notwith- standing his disadvantage of choice, secured much the better traet of land, purchasing 1000 aeres for $1000.
Joseph Cox, also from Warwickshire, England, who had accompanied Mr. Gilbert to New Jersey, after remaining there one year joined him in the new settlement, and Mr. Gilbert, assisted by Mr. Cox, cleared a small piece of land and built a log house near the present residence of J. R. Blackman, Esq., in the village of Gilbertsville. He sub- sequently erected a comfortable bloek house on what is now known as the Lee Hulbert farm.
Having secured a home in the western wilderness, in the year 1796 Mr. Gilbert returned to England, and emigrated with his family to this country. They eame by way of Springfield in a large wagon, stopping the first night at the spring on Deacon Jackson's farm, near Morris. The men stood around, keeping at bay the wolves, which treated the party to a most vociferous and discordant eoneert, at inter- vals, all the night long.
The wolves and other animals were not the only denizens of the forest in those days. The entire region was originally a part of the hunting ground of the Oneida Indians, who were here in large numbers when the first settlers came. Small bands of them returned for many years, camping in the winter on the high ground back of the farm-house of' Austin Turney, Esq.
Mr. Gilbert raised the first field of grain, which was watched with the greatest interest by the pioneers, as they were dependent on it for seed in the coming year. After passing an active life he died in 1811, leaving a family of six children, viz., Elizabeth married Lewis Lee Morris : Lucy married Samuel Cotton ; Mary because the second wife of Samuel Cotton ; Harriet Catherine married John Bryant ; John T. married Lydia Smith ; Joseph T. married for his first wife Hannah Thorp, and reared a family of fifteen children, ten of whom are living, and his second wife was Caroline Chapman, by whom he had three chil- dren, two of whom are living. Samuel C., Catherine W., Chester, George Y., John HI., James L., and Edward re- side in and near the village. Abijah is a resident of St. Augustine, Fla., and has represented that commonwealth in the United States senate. He married Anna W. G .- bert, of New York, and has two children, -- Maria L. and Joshua W. Charles T. resides in New York city. Joseph T., Jr., married Lucy Allis, of Oxford, N. Y., and resides in Milwaukee; they have two children,-Joseph T. and Samuel C.,-both of whom are at Harvard college. i ... .
110
HISTORY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
beth married Nelson .C. Chapman, and died in St. Louis in 1876; they had three children, viz., Florence married Henry Alcock, of Staffordshire, England, and Joseph G. and Charles reside in St. Louis. Hannah married Dr. James W. Cox, and resides in Albany ; they have four children,-Caroline, James W., Frederick, and Edward. Samuel C. married Elizabeth A., daughter of Benajah Davis, of the village of Morris, and their family consists of three daughters, viz., Elizabeth A. became the wife of Judge J. D. Colt, of Pittsfield, Mass. Catherine W. mar- ried Francis M. Rotch, of Morris, and a son, Francis, lives in Boston ; she subsequently married Thos. Riggs, of Bal- timore, Md. Martha D. married Chas. A. Butler, of Utica, N. Y. Catherine W. married for her first husband Jabez S. Fitch, and for her second, Elisha W. Chester, of New York; two granddaughters reside here. Geo. Y. married Mary S. Fitch, of Marshall, Mich .; their family consists of two children, viz., Fitch Gilbert lives in Eau Claire, Wis .; Marion beeamne the wife of James Murray, of Lon- don, England. John H. married Elizabeth Lathrop, and has five children, viz., Helen L. married Rev. James Ecob, of Augusta, Me., and Frances, Caroline, Catherine, and J. Henry reside with their parents. James L. Gilbert mar- ried Jane Blackman, and has two sons, viz., J. B. Gilbert, M.D., and Robert W., both residents of New York city. Edward resides on the homestead. Chas. T. married Charlotte Disoosway, and resides in New York ; they have two children,-Anita and Frances. Benjamin C. married Anna Taylor, of Albany, and resides there.
Joseph Cox, mentioned above, a worthy pioneer, pur- chased lands of Mr. Gilbert above the village, and his mar- riage with Elizabeth Nichols was the first in the new set- tlement. This family consisted of six sons and one daughter. Two sons, Richard and Isane, reside in the town, the former above the village, and the latter at MIt. Upton.
John Marsh was also an early settler at Gilbertsville. He came with Abijah Gilbert upon the latter's return from England in 1796.
William and Richard Musson, from England, were pioneers. The former opened the first store in town, about one mile below the village; the latter settled in the south- east part of the town on the hill. He was a deaeon in the Baptist church, and took an active interest in organizing the society. He reared a large family of sons and daugh- ters, who are esteemed in the community. Some of the descendants of William Musson are also residents of the town. Upon the death of William Musson he was sue- eeeded by Samuel Cotton and James T. Gilbert, under the firm-name of Cotton & Gilbert, who removed to the village in 1810, and continued the business until 1821. About this time Abijah and Samuel C. Gilbert commenced the mercantile business. In about the year 1812, Nathaniel B. Bennett built and opened a store, located above the village near the grist-mill. He also operated a woolen-factory at the same place.
A pioneer tavern above the village was kept by John March. Across the brook from the tavern Willard Cose owned and operated a tamary. He was a prominent man, and was member of assembly in 1820.
The Luce brothers, Toney P. and Lovel B., were mer-
chants in the village from 1825 to 1845. William C. Bent- ley was in trade a few years. Gilbert & Halbert were in business from 1845 to 1849.
The first tavern in the village was kept by John T. Gil- bert, a portion of which is still standing, and used for a tavern.
The first buildings in the village were a blacksmith-shop and dwelling owned by John Eddy, and a school-house.
Levi and Thomas Halbert were pioneers who came from Chesterfield, Mass., in about the year 1790, and settled on lands about two miles west of what is now the village of Gilbertsville. After clearing and improving the land the brothers separated, Levi purchasing a farm nearer the vil- lage. Levi married Deborah Smith and had a family of ten children, only one of whom, E. S. Halbert, resides in the town. Mr. Halbert is a leading eitizen, and has been supervisor of the town six terms; has held the office of justice of the peace over twenty years; was a member of assembly from Cortland county in 1832 and 1833, and was sheriff of Chenango county.
Asa, Asel, and Emmett, sons of Thomas Halbert, are residents of the town, and the former occupies the old homestead.
The first school in the town was taught by Levi Halbert.
Mr. Enos Smith, a pioneer from Massachusetts, eame with his wife and family in 1790, and located immediately south of the Halbert brothers, and died a few years after- wards. Captain Daniel Sinith, a son, settled about one mile west of the village, and married Roxa, daughter of Timothy Donaldson, and in about 1810 changed his loca- tion to what is now the town of Morris, one mile below the village, and opened a publie-house, which he kept for a number of years. Of his descendants, the only one liv- ing in the county is a daughter, Mrs. Peck, of Noblesville, New Lisbon.
Soldiers of the Revolution were Timothy and Calvin Donaldson, who located here in about the year 1790. Chester, a son of Calvin, resides on a portion of the old homestead. Timothy Donaldson was secretary of the meeting in 1797, at which the Presbyterian church at Gil- bertsville was organized. He was in the battle of Bunker Hill, and during the conflict his gun was disabled by the enemy's bullets, and a part of it shot away. They both served gallantly during the ardnous struggle for independ- ence, and Calvin crossed the Delaware with Washington, and participated in the capture of the Hessian troops at Trenton. Lothario, a brother of Calvin and Timothy, a surgeon in the Revolutionary war, came into this town in about 1796, but soon returned to Roxbury, Mass. Still another brother, Atlamont, was a pioneer in Butternuts, who subsequently removed to Michigan, where he died.
Nathaniel Donaldson was a pioneer who also came from Massachusetts, in about the year 1792, and settled about one mile cast of the village, across Butternut creek. He married Miss Candace Sykes, of Springfield, and their family consisted of ten children. Lewis, now aged seventy- six, lives on a portion of the old homestead with his son, Nathaniel S. Dwight resides in Cleveland, and another son, Nathaniel S., in Milwaukee.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.