USA > New York > Saratoga County > History of Saratoga County, New York : with historical notes on its various towns > Part 29
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inent and influential man; served as major of a militia regiment, and was a trusted friend of Edwin D. Morgan, Thurlow Weed, Horace Greeley, and President Arthur. He was a liberal republican in 1872. Was once promi- nently mentioned for superintendent of public works, and served for several years as super- intendent of the Champlain canal. He mar- ried Lorinda Cary, the fruit of this union being Mrs. Lucinda Salisbury.
George R. F. Salisbury was reared at Schuy- lerville, and after graduating from the high school at this place in the class of '82, he en- tered Union college, which he was compelled to leave in 1884 on account of impaired health. Having read law for some time previous to entering college under the instruction of Hon. D. S. Potter, and when his health compelled him to relinquish his collegiate course, he registered as a law student with the legal firm of U. G. and C. R. Paris. of Sandy Hill, New York. He continued his studies with this firm until May 10, 1886, when he was ad- mitted to practice in the several courts of this State. He at once opened an office in the village of Schuylerville, and has since contin- ued to practice his profession at that place. He has an excellent practice and is considered one of the best young jury lawyers of that section. He is a republican in politics and always yields his party a warm and cordial support. In 1893 he was elected supervisor of the town of Saratoga, which office he at present holds. Mr. Salisbury is quite promi- nent in masonic circles; he is senior warden of Schuyler Lodge, No. 676, Free and Ac- cepted Masons, and sachem of the Ca-lio-ta- te-a Tribe, No. 143, Improved Order of Red Men, both organizations being located at Schuylerville.
Mr. Salisbury, on March 23, 1887, was united in marriage with Emma H. Ingalls, daughter of Charles M. Ingalls, formerly of Glenco, Minnesota, but now of Victory Mills. Their union has been blessed with one child, a daughter, named Lorinda Ocella.
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J ESSE BILLINGS, a lineal descend- ant of the well known Roger Billings, of Colonial times, is the second son of Dr. Jesse and Mary (Thompson) Billings, and was born May 7, 1828, in the town of Northumberland, Saratoga county, New York. The ancestors of the family were of Netherland Dutch ex- traction, and its earliest members, about which there is any definite information, were natives of Massachusetts. From that State came Jesse Billings, great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, about 1750, and located in the town of Moreau, this county, where he was engaged in farming during the remainder of his life. One of the family which he reared here was Jesse Billings (grandfather), who was a farmer and lumberman of this county, and did an extensive business for many years, dying about 1840. Politically he was a whig and in religion a member of the Baptist church. He married Phebe Smith and reared a family of ten children, four sons and six daughters : Sallie Dunham, Jesse (fatlier), Almira Cole, Betsy Wehn, Phoebe Thorn, John, James,. Billy J., Emma Bates and Mary Thorn.
Jesse Billings (father) grew to manhood on the paternal acres in this county, received a good education in the common schools, and afterward studied medicine, being graduated from the Albany Medical college in 1824. Soon after graduation he opened an office in the village of Northumberland, where he re- mained in continuous practice all his life, dy- ing in December, 1870, at the advanced age of eighty-six years. In addition to the prac- tice of medicine he was also engaged for many years in farming and lumbering, owning two valuable farms in this county at the time of his death. He was a whig in political affilia- tions, and at one time and another held nearly all the offices of his town. In 1825 he married Mary Thompson, a daughter of Hugh Thomp- scn, of Northumberland, and to them was born a family of five children, two sons and three daughters : Hugh, deceased at the age of sev- enteen; Jesse R., subject of this sketch; Mary
A., unmarried ; Frank, married John L. Cramer, a farmer of the town of Saratoga, this county; and Ellen S., who became the wife of James H. Deyoe, of Northumberland.
Jesse R. Billings was reared in the village of Northumberland, where he received an academic education, and being an industrious student and great reader he has added to the knowldge thus acquired until he may be said to be in a great measure self-educated. Leav- ing school at the age of eighteen, he became purchasing agent for Saratoga and Rensselaer grain companies, and later traveled in Ohio for a health and life association, handling the lightning rod business at the same time. In 1848 he purchased a farm in the town of North- umberland, this county, and in connection with farming began operating in lumber. Later he was extensively engaged in shipping grain from Canada to the New York and New England markets, which business he has con- tinued to some extent until the present time. About 1860 he started an extensive boat build- ing business at Northumberland, and was at one time the largest boat manufacturer in the State. For thirty years he has been engaged in the produce and potato shipping business, and in 1893 shipped ten thousand barrels of potatoes to the New York markets. From 1873 to 1883 he conducted a large mercantile business at Northumberland. In April of the latter year his storehouse and contents were consumed by fire, entailing a loss of forty-five or fifty thousand dollars. Mr. Billings now owns two thousand and five hundred acres of land, comprising twenty-two improved farms lying adjacent to the Hudson river, in the fin- est sections of Waslington and Saratoga counties. Mr. Billings' business interests are extensive and varied, but in order of magni- tude may be classified as -first, boat building ; second, money interests and mortgages ; and third, his real estate and farming interests. He keeps his own books and remains general manager of his entire business. In his polit- ical affiliations he is a democrat. His business
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enterprises have given employment and furn- ished comfortable homes for a large number of families, and he has always been the friend of his employees, between whom and himself the best of relations have always existed. His» wealth is estimated at more than two hundred thousand dollars.
C APT. CYRUS W. REXFORD, senior member of the old mercantile firm of Rex- ford & Son, and the largest landed proprietor of the village of Rexford Flats, this county, is the eldest son of Eleazar and Jemima (Cran- dall) Rexford, and was born at Rexford Flats, in the town of Clifton Park, Saratoga county, New York, December 28, 1819. The founder of the Rexford family in America was Edward Rexford, paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, who was born and reared in England, but while yet a young man, about 1760, crossed the Atlantic, and settled in the colony of New York, at what is now known as Burnt Hill, Saratoga county. Later he re- moved to what is now Rexford Flats, where he purchased a large tract of land, including the farm now owned by his grandson, Cyrus W. Rexford. He was a very strict man in every relation of life, particularly in business and religion, and became widely known and quite prosperous, dying here at an advanced age. One of his sons was Eleazar Rexford (father), who was born at Rexford Flats, De- cember 17, 1787, was reared on the farm, ed- ucated in the common schools of Clifton Park, and devoted most of his life to agricultural pursuits. He was the founder of the village of Rexford Flats, situated on the bank of the beautiful Mohawk river, in the town of Clifton Park, where he owned a farm containing three hundred acres of the best land in this vicinity. In addition to this lie also owned lands in the town of Glenville, Schenectady county, and other property of various kinds. He built and for many years conducted the well known Rexford Flats hotel, and was remarkable for
his energy, enterprise, and sound business methods. Politically he was a democrat, and held a number of the local offices of his town. He died December 19, 1829, at the early age of forty-two years. In February, 1818, he wedded Jemima Crandall, a daughter of Gid- eon and Dorcas Crandall, of Glenville, Schen- ectady county, and they had a family of three sons : Cyrus W., the subject of this sketch ; Alonzo L., and Eleazar. Mrs. Jemima Rex- ford was born July 28, 1800, and died April II, 1883, having survived her husband for more than half a century.
Cyrus W. Rexford was reared partly on the farm and partly in the hotel at Rexford Flats, receiving a good English education in the pub- lic schools of Clifton Park. After quitting school he engaged in farming, and has been connected with agricultural pursuits more or less all his life, in addition to the management of various other enterprises. He now owns a large farm adjoining the village, and a half interest in the general mercantile business of Rexford & Son, beside being the owner of the Rexford hotel and more than half the tene- ment houses in the village of Rexford Flats. He began his mercantile career at the age of twenty-two, in the city of Schenectady, this State, where he remained in business until 1848, and during two years of that time he owned and operated a line of boats running between Schenectady and New York city, on the old Erie canal, and engaged in carrying the grain and produce which he handled in con- nection with his store. In 1848, on account of failing health, he retired from the mercan- tile business, and returned to his farm in Clif- ton Park, where he remained for a period of six years. At the end of that time, having re- gained his usual health and strength, he en- gaged in merchandising at Rexford Flats, with which enterprise he has ever since been con- nected, doing a safe, conservative business. which averages about thirty thousand dollars a year. Inheriting a fine executive ability and a restless energy, he has led an active and
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successful life, accomplishing more than most men, and seems to be happy only when ac- tively engaged in some worthy enterprise.
On December 4, 1841, Captain Rexford was married to Hannah H. Haliston, a daughter of William Haliston, a prominent farmer of the town of Clifton Park, and to that union was born a family of five children, three sons and two daughters: Oscar, deceased ; Jen- nie A., who became the wife of Dr. W. S. Baker, a practicing physician of Newark, New Jersey ; Cyrus H., deceased ; LeGrand, who is his father's partner in business, and half owner and general manager of the store at Rexford Flats ; and Fannie, who married William A. Graves, now residing in the city of Denver, Colorado. Mrs. Rexford was born in January, 1822, in Saratoga county.
Captain Rexford was a democrat in politics until the formation of the Republican party, when he became an adherent of that political organization, and has been one of the most zealous leaders in this section. He was made supervisor of his town six times in succession, and two years afterward was again elected to the same position. In 1870 he was elected justice of the peace, and held that important office for a period of six years. During the troublous times of the great civil war he took an active part in enlisting soldiers and filling the quota required from this State, having charge of recruiting offices at Schenectady, New York city, Buffalo and Cairo, and an- other at Hilton Head. For a number of years he was connected with the State militia of New York, and served as captain of a company in the 18th regiment, his commission being is- sued in April, 1839. Captain Rexford owns a controlling interest in Rexford Flats Bridge Company, which built and controls the bridge crossing the Mohawk river at that place. He has been largely instrumental in the develop- ment and growth of the village, and is regarded as among the most enterprising and useful cit- izens of this old and important county of the . great Empire State.
H EROLD J. WERNER, manager of
the celebrated Werner malt medicines, and an energetic and successful business man of Clifton Park, is a son of Reinshold A. and Mary (Kaesinger,) Werner, and a native of the town of Half Moon, Saratoga county, New York, where he was born January 20, 1865. Reinshold A. Werner (father) was a native of Gulmuthansen, Bavaria, Germany, where he was born June 23, 1826. In 1847 he emigrated to America, settling first in New York city, where he worked at the coopering business for one year, and then removed to Albany, this State, where he followed cooper- ing and brewing until 1856. In that year he came to Saratoga county, locating at Half Moon, where he engaged in farming and working at his trade of cooper for a time. About 1858 he commenced business as a brewer in that town and continued that occu- pation up to the time of his death, December 27, 1887. In 1881 his son, Henry A., became associated with him in the brewery, under the firm name of R. Werner & Son. (See his sketch in this volume.) In 1849 Reinshold Werner married Mary, daughter of Henry Kaesinger, of Zimmersrhoden, Hesse, Ger- many, and by that union had a family of three children, two sons and a daughter : Amelia, who married Lewis F. Smith, of Half Moon ; Henry A., and Herold J.
Herold J. Werner was principally reared at Half Moon, and obtained his education in the common schools there and at Clifton Park seminary. After leaving school he learned the brewing business with his father, and was engaged in that line until 1888. In the latter year he engaged in the manufacture of the now well-known Werner malt medicines, and has given his time uninterruptedly to this business ever since.
On October 23, 1889, Mr. Werner was united in marriage with Daisy R. Dyer, a daughter of Thomas R. Dyer, of West Troy, this State. To Mr. and Mrs. Werner has been born one child, a son, named Armine R.
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In politics Mr. Werner is strictly inde- pendent, supporting the men and measures that in his opinion are best calculated to sub- serve the public interests. In addition to his business as manufacturer of malt medicines, he is interested with his brother in the manu- facture of beer and in farming and saw-mill- ing. Mr. Werner is an energetic business man, and has been very successful in all his enterprises.
H ON. ISAAC C. ORMSBY, a distin- guished member of the Saratoga county bar, and a man whose character was above the breath of suspicion, was a son of Ira Ormsby, and was born in the town of Greenfield, Sara- toga county, New York, April 24, 1820. He received his education in the district schools. of his native town, Judge Augustus Bockes being his last teacher. Leaving school he taught for several winters, and then, in 1845, became a law student in the office of Ellis & Bullard at Waterford. He made rapid prog- ress in his legal studies, being admitted to the common pleas bar in December, 1846, and to that of the supreme court of the State in June of the following year. After admission to the bar he opened an office at Waterford and se- cured a large and successful practice, which he held until his death. He was elected dis- trict attorney of Saratoga county in 1862, and reelected in 1865. At the end of his second term, in 1868, he was not a candidate, but in 1871 he was again elected to the office, and also in 1874 and in 1877, closing his fifteen years of faithful service as district attorney in 1880. He was fearless, upright and honest as a public officer, and was a man whom it was ·impossible to approach with a bribe, or to de- ter from his path of duty by any threat. He was one of the most successful prosecutors Saratoga county has ever known, yet never wantonly wounded the feelings of those whom it was his duty to prosecute. In addition to lofty courage and sterling integrity, Mr. Ormsby
possessed unusual ability, and became noted as a criminal lawyer by his masterly prosecu- tion of the Billings murder case, in which he was opposed by very able counsel. He also prosecuted the Waterford bank robbers, a case which excited great interest.
On October 9, 1847, Mr. Ormsby married Laura Porter Cramer, who is a daughter of Mr. Cramer, of Waterford. To their union was born one child, Charles C., now a suc- cessful lawyer.
Isaac C. Ormsby was an exemplary member of the Waterford Presbyterian church. He was a friend to the young, always relieved the wants of the needy, and discouraged litigation whenever he could consistently do so. His summons to lay down the cares of this life came on April 17, 1892, when his spirit passed from time to eternity. Acute rheumatism of several years' standing resulted in an attack of palsy, and at last he was stricken down by a stroke of paralysis. His remains are entombed in a beautiful lot in the cemetery, but his mem- ory will be long cherished in his native county. Appropriate notices of his death were pub- lished in the county and State press. The Daily Saratogian said: " Mr. Ormsby was known among his associates of the bar as a brilliant and earnest lawyer and an able ora- tor." The Troy Daily Press, after speaking at length of his ability as a lawyer, said of him that " A good citizen, a devoted husband and father, and a righteous man has finished his earthly course and gone to receive the reward of a faith that showed itself abundant in work." The supreme court, in session at Ballston Spa at the time of Mr. Ormsby's death, passed the following resolutions:
"WHEREAS, Intelligence of the death of Hon. Isaac C. Ormsby, of Waterford, New York, has come to the supreme court, now in session at the county seat, where so large a portion of Mr. Ormsby's life was passed in the honorable practice of his profession and the peaceful discharge of his official duties as dis- trict attorney of Saratoga county:
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" Resolved, That it is with deep sorrow that the members of the bar of Saratoga county learn of the passing away of a professional brother whose character stood so high for honor and integrity, and with whom we have been so pleasantly associated for so many years.
" Resolved, That the bar of Saratoga county desire to convey to Mr. Ormsby's family their profound sympathy in their bereavement.
" Resolved, That the court be requested to direct the clerk to enter these resolutions on the minutes."
HARLES C. ORMSBY, a well estab- lished and successful member of the Sar- atoga county bar, is a son of Hon. Isaac C. and Laura Porter (Cramer) Ormsby, and was born at Waterford, in the town of Waterford, February 15, 1857. Hon. Isaac C. Ormsby, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this vol- ume, ranked as one of the able lawyers of Sar- atoga county.
Charles C. Ormsby was reared at Water- ford, and received his education at Rensselaer Polytechnic institute of Troy, New York. He read law with his father, was admitted to the Saratoga county bar in 1880, and has been en- gaged ever since in the active practice of his chosen profession at Waterford. He occu- pies his father's old law office, has a first-class practice, and so conducts his cases as to com- mand the respect of his professional brethren and win the confidence of the public. Mr. Ormsby is a courteous and pleasant gentle- man. He is a republican in politics, and a member of Clinton Lodge, No. 140, Free and Accepted Masons.
C HARLES W. SPAULDING, a lead- ing lumberman and merchant of Green- field Centre, who has served as superintendent of the county poor for four years, and occu- pied many other positions of trust and re-
sponsibility in Saratoga county, is a son of Alvah and Lydia (Taylor) Spaulding, and was born at Underhill, Vermont, April 11, 1838. The family is of English extraction, and were settled in the colony of Massachusetts Bay prior to the Revolutionary war. There Jona- than Spaulding, paternal grandfather of Charles W. Spaulding, was born and reared. He was a farmer by occupation, and served in the Continental army during the Revolution. He married Milly Bennett, and removed to Ver- mont, and one of his children was Alvah Spaulding (father), who was born June II, 1798, and grew to manhood in Vermont, where he engaged in lumbering for a time. About 1841 he removed to New York, locating at Luzerne, Warren county, where he was also connected with the lumber business, and owned and operated a pail manufactory for a number of years. He was a man of great energy and fine executive ability and did a large business, accumulating considerable property. In poli- tics he was a Jacksonian democrat, and in 1818 he married Lydia Taylor, a daughter of James Taylor, of Massachusetts, by whom he had a family of nine children, six sons and three daughters: Austin, deceased; Sewell, also dead; George, likewise deceased; Melvin ; Gilman; Charles W., the subject of this sketch; Harriet, now the widow of Charles Day, of Illinois; Abigail, wife of James Taylor, of the town of Greenfield; and Mary, who married David Ives, of Philipsburg, Kansas. Mrs. Lydia Spaulding died in 1868, aged seventy- two years.
Charles W. Spaulding was reared princpally at Luzerne, Warren county, this State, where he was educated in the public schools. He early engaged in the lumber business, and has been handling lumber extensively all his life. During the last twenty years he has also been engaged in the mercantile business at Green- field Center, having a large and prosperous trade. He handles all kinds of general mer. chandise, and his patronage comes from all parts of the surrounding country.
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OF SARATOGA COUNTY.
On November 29, 1859, Mr. Spaulding was married to Caroline Shurman, whose father was James Shurman, of Galway, this county. To Mr. and Mrs. Spaulding was born a family of seven children, one son and six daughters: Carrie, who married Dr. Fred Carr, of Sara- toga Springs; Minnie, wife of Newton Scott, a partner in his father-in-law's store at Green- field Center; Nellie, wedded Dor Mason, a resident of Johnstown, Fulton county, this State; Lulu, who became the wife of William Adams, also of Johnstown; Elsie, engaged in dressmaking at the same place; Lizzie and Charles, the two latter living at home with their parents.
A stanch republican in political sentiment, Charles W. Spaulding has taken an active part in sustaining his party in this county, and has been frequently honored by election to official position. He was road commissioner six years, supervisor of the town a like period, served as superintendent of the poor for four years, and has occupied other positions of honor and trust. In religion Mr. Spaulding is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he has served as class leader for twenty years, and been a trustee and steward during most of that time. He is also a mem- ber of St. John Lodge, No. 22, Free and Ac- cepted Masons; St. John Chapter, No. 103, Royal Arch Masons; a past grand of Green- field Lodge, No. 308, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and a member of Jackson Lodge, No. 168, Ancient Order of United Workmen of Greenfield Centre, being also deputy grand master workman of his district.
HON. ON. JOHN K. PORTER, deceased, was one of the sons of Saratoga county who have won National eminence and dis- tinction as lawyers and jurists. He was born at Waterford, Saratoga county, January 12, 1819. He was a son of Dr. Elijah Porter and a grandson of Moses Porter, a revolutionary officer who won. distinction at the battle of
Bemus Heights. John K. Porter was gradu- ated in 1837 from Union college, with the highest honors of that institution. He read law, was admitted to the bar of the supreme court in 1840, and immediately took rank with the leading lawyers of the county. In 1848 he removed to Albany, where lie was engaged in important cases until 1864, when he was appointed to fill out the unexpired time of Hon. Henry R. Selden as a judge of the court of appeals. In the fall of that year he was elected to the full term, but resigned in 1868 to remove to New York city, where he made for himself a National reputation in many famous cases, in which he was at different times the opposing or the associate counsel of William M. Evarts and Charles O'Connor.
IRAM TOMPKINS, one of the pro- prietors of the United States hotel of Sar- atoga, and a relative of the distinguished statesman, Daniel D. Tompkins, who was vice president of this country from 1817 to 1825, is a son of Caleb and Elizabeth (Green) Tomp- kins, and was born in the town of Mount Pleasant, Westchester county, New York, Sep- tember 7, 1824. The Tompkins are of En- glish descent, and Caleb Tompkins was a mem- ber of the same branch of the Tompkins fam- ily as was the celebrated Daniel Tompkins, who served two terms as governor of New York, and was afterward vice president of the United States for eight years. Caleb Tomp- kins was a native of Westchester county, and in 1835 came to the the town of Galway, where he purchased a farm upon which he resided until his death on January 12, 1886, at the ripe old age of ninety years. He was a democrat, and married Elizabeth Green. Mrs. Tompkins was born December 6, 1798, and passed away on August 12, 1841, when well advanced in the forty-third year of her age.
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