USA > New York > Saratoga County > History of Saratoga County, New York : with historical notes on its various towns > Part 31
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On November 3, 1846, Mr. Mancius married Elizabeth Jenison, daughter of William and Oria Jenison. Mrs. Mancius was born in 1826, and died April 14, 1891, when well advanced in the sixty-fourth year of her age.
The Mancius family is of distinguished Ger- man lineage, and over two centuries ago held high rank in one of the provinces of Germany. The founder of the American branch of the family was Dr. George W. Mancius, who was
a graduate of the famous university of Heidel- berg, where he took full medical and theolog- ical courses in addition to his literary studies. He came to America as chaplain and surgeon of a Hessian regiment, and was so favorably impressed with this country that he settled in New Jersey, where he practiced medicine to some extent and served as a minister of the old Dutch Reformed church. He was a man of intellectual ability and fine education, and married Cornelia Keirsted, of Kingston, New York, by whom he had three children: Dr. Wilhelmus, Casper, a farmer; and Caroline, wife of a Mr. Hardenburg, of Soapus, New York. Dr. Wilhelmus Mancius (grandfather) was born in 1739, became a physician and set- tled at Albany, this State, where he practiced until his death in 1808. He was active in po- litical affairs, acting with that element that finally became known by the name of old-line whig. He was a prominent member of the Dutch Reformed church, and was mainly in- strumental in organizing the Albany Medical society. He wedded Anna Ten Eyck, of Al- bany, and to their union were born three sons and one daughter : George W., who died De- cember 1, 1823, at fifty-five years of age. Anna, who never married, and died December 25, 1855, aged seventy-nine years ; Capt. Jacob, father of the subject of this sketch ; and John, who was engaged for many years in the drug business at Albany. Capt. Jacob Mancius (father), received his education at the Albany academy, and was a man of far more than or- dinary ability. He was engaged in the mer- cantile business at 61 State street, Albany, until 1830, when he retired from active life. He served as a lieutenant in the United States army during 1798 and 1799, and helped organ- ize several companies in view of the threatened trouble with France. He was also a leader of the whig party, and served one term as sheriff of Albany county, during which time he super- intended the execution at Albany of John Burns, for the murder of Captain Birdsell, of the United States army. Captain Mancius
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died in 1833, at fifty-five years of age. He wedded Jane Ann Barber, who died in 1834, when in the forty-fifth year of year age. She was a daughter of Col. William Barber, of Hyde Park, New York. To Captain and Mrs. Mancius were born four children, one son and three daughters: Anna, wife of Dr. Edward McComb, who had charge successively of Cedar Keys hospital, on an island in the Gulf of Mexico, and Fortress Monroe hospital in Virginia; Cornelia, who married George Clin- ton Beekman, a celebrated lawyer and the ma- ternal grandfather of Governor Clinton, of New York ; Margaret, wife of Richard Yates, who was cashier of the old New York State bank of Albany ; and George W., whose name ap- pears at the head of this sketch, is now in his seventy-first year and the last of his name.
W ILLIAM H. GRANGER, the pro- prietor of the Saratoga Baggage Ex- press Company, and a man of energy and activity, is a son of James A. and Charlotte ( Bullard ) Granger, and was born at Saratoga Springs, Saratoga county, New York, Septem- ber 5, 1840. His father was a native of Sandy Hill, Washington county, New York, but came to Saratoga Springs when he was a small boy, and remained there until his death, which occurred February 7, 1889, when he was in the seventy-fifth year of his age. He was by trade a harness maker, but was en- gaged nearly all of his life in the meat trade. He was a Free Mason, and in politics always supported the Democratic party. He served one term as constable of his town. He was a man of enterprise, and greatly esteemed by all who were acquainted with him. His wife, Charlotte ( Bullard ) Granger, was of English descent, and was born at Saratoga Springs. In her religious faith she was Presbyterian. She died September 25, 1863, at the age of forty-seven years. Her father, Dr. Charles Bullard, was a practicing physician of Sara- toga Springs. To James A. and Charlotte
Granger were born four sons and two daugh- ters. James A. Granger, a son of Roswell Granger (grandfather), who was born in Mas- sachusetts. He and his brother, Harvey Gran- ger, settled at Grangerville, Saratoga county, and they carried on a general store and grist mill. They were also interested in lumber- ing. They once owned the ground on which now stands the Grand Union and Congress Hall hotels of Saratoga Springs, which was then forest, and off of which they cut the tim- ber, sending it to New York city for ship masts. This was before the time of railroads, and they shipped their lumber by the river from Keysville to Troy. Having founded the village of Grangerville, it still retains their name. When they came to its site it was for- est, now it is a thriving village and a part of the town of Northumberland. Roswell Gran- ger was also proprietor of a hotel at Sandy Hill for a time, and during that time Gen. William Henry Harrison came through the village from Plattsburg, and as there was an in- fant boy in the Granger family at the time, it was naturally named William Harrison. This child, when he grew up, in turn transferred his name to his nephew, the subject of this sketch. The Grangers are of English descent, and the first of them who came to the United States was Launcelot Granger, who settled in Massachusetts prior to 1640. In 1653 he married Joanna Adams, daughter of Robert Adams, of Newbury, Massachusetts. They removed to Suffield, Connecticut, on Septem- ber 4, 1674, and there Launcelot Granger died in September, 1689. They reared a family of eleven children. All the Grangers native to this country come of this fine old English fam- ily, transplanted to New England by Launce- lot Granger.
William H. Granger was reared in the town of his nativity, and there received his educa- tion in the public schools. Leaving school he learned harness making, at which he worked but a short time, when he engaged in farming, which he followed until 1869. In that year
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he connected himself with the Saratoga Bag- gage Express Company, of which he became proprietor the next year. His is a large busi- ness concern, and during the summer he works thirteen horses and employs a great many men.
In 1865 Mr. Granger was united in marriage with Ermina White, daughter of Charles F. White, of Corinth, this county. They had one child, a son, who was born August 13, 1869, and died February 26, 1890. Mr. and Mrs. Granger are members of the Baptist church of Saratoga Springs.
William H. Granger is a member of Rising Sun Lodge, No. 103, Free and Accepted Ma- sons. In his political faith he has always been democratic, and at the present time is fire commissioner of his village. Mr. Granger gives that care and attention to his business, which he has largely built up, that has secured him not only success but has also won him recognition as a useful factor in the commer- cial progress of Saratoga Springs.
JAMES W. BROOKS traces his an- cestry from two old and well known fam- ilies of England, many of whose members were among the foremost manufacturers of the British empire. His career has been one of enduring and honorable success, and he is recognized as one of the prominent and in- fluential citizens of his village and county. He is a son of Benjamin and Mary (Walker) Brooks, and was born in the great manufac- turing city of Manchester, England, October 10, 1824. Benjamin Brooks was a descendant of the old and well known Brooks family of Yorkshire, England, and left his native city of Manchester in 1832 to settle at Waterford, this county, where he resided until his death, which occurred in 1851, when he had reached the fifty-fifth year of his age. Shortly after coming to Waterford he engaged in the man- ufacture of wrought iron nuts, washers and bolts, which business he conducted very suc- cessfully as long as he lived. He was a re-
1
liable business man and an excellent citizen, and had a host of friends. Mr. Brooks was a democrat in politics and an Episcopalian in religious belief and church membership. He wedded Mary Walker, a daughter of William Walker, a large manufacturer of cotton goods at Brussels, Belgium, who was a member of the large and wealthy Walker family of En- gland, whose ancestry can be traced back for nearly five centuries in the history of that mighty country. Mrs. Brooks was a devout member of the Episcopal church, and passed from time to eternity when in the fifty-seventh year of her age.
James W. Brooks was brought, at eight years of age, by his parents to Waterford, where he grew to manhood and has resided during the greater part of his life. After his father's death, in 1851, he and his brother, Thomas, succeeded to the nut, washer and bolt manufacturing business, which they con- ducted until 1857, when they dissolved part- nership. Mr. Brooks then went to Cohoes, this State, where at different times he served as superintendent of three of the largest knit- ting mills of that place. From Cohoes he went to Canada, where he was enabled by his years of practical experience and business suc- cess to successfully manage a large stock com- pany which manufactured quantities of first- class and fast selling knit goods. He left Canada in 1881, on account of ill health, and returned to Waterford, which has been his home ever since. In politics Mr. Brooks is a democrat, and at the present time is serving on his third term as president of his village, beside holding the office of assessor of his town.
In the business world Mr. Brooks found early in life ample 'scope for his ability and that spirit of intelligent enterprise with which he is gifted, and it was not long until his in- itial venture in the nut business became a suc- cess. At Cohoes increased activity and suc- cess marked his efforts, and when he went to Canada he found a wide field for a wealth-pro-
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ducing industry, which he managed and which felt the quickening effects of his superior man- · agement in every department during the many years that he remained at its head. Mr. Brooks is a Christian man and a member of Waterford Chapter, No. 169, Royal Arch Ma- sons. He has won honorably the competency which he has acquired. No man is more ready to aid his friend or neighbor than James Brooks, and none take more pleasure in doing so than he. Mr. Brooks has one of the finest and most attractives homes in a pleasant part of the village, where he and his most estima- ble wife, by their cheerfulness and proverbial hospitality, make the many friends who visit them full welcome and happy. His residence is a large, handsome two-story brick building on Broad street, between First and Second streets, with a beautiful lawn around it. It was built over eighty years ago, but it is as firm and substantial as in the year it was erec- ted. It is specially characterized by the ample hall with high ceiling of colonial times, which distinguished all the fashionable residences during the revolutionary period.
Mr. Brooks married Mary C. Curtis, of Wat- erford, and to their union were born two chil- dren : Mary L. and Josephine B. Mary L. Brooks died at nineteen years of age. Jose- phine B. Brooks married Gad H. Lee, and after his death she wedded Frank F. Follett, a member of the banking firm of S. C. Bull & Co., who is an active and successful busi- ness man of Waterford, and a member of the Baptist church, and is now serving as treas- urer of the Baptist church, school board and Young Men's Christian Association of the vil- lage. Mrs. Follett is an amiable and intelli- gent woman, and her first husband, Gad H. Lee, was one of the ablest lawyers in Saratoga county. He was born at Bristol, Connecticut, was graduated at the Albany law school when but twenty-one years of age, and then came to Waterford, where he practiced successfully until his death, in 1884. In that year he and his wife attended the reunion of the Lee family
held at Hartford, Connecticut. He was not feeling well, and they went from Hartford to his old home at Bristol, that State, where he died, after an illness of only four days, on August 12, 1884. His funeral was one of the largest ever held at Waterford, the leading lawyers and ablest judges of the county be- ing pall-bearers. At the time of his death Mr. Lee was serving his fourth term as president of the village, at times being its attorney and justice of the peace. He was a self-made man, one of great natural ability, a fine speaker, and of strict integrity, and was always a friend to the poor. He was a Royal Arch Mason, and he and his wife were members of the Presbyterian church. Prominent in politics, he was a strong democrat, and had great po- litical influence at his village and in the county. Gad H. Lee was a personal friend of Gover- nor Flower, with whom he was in correspond- ence for several years. Governor Flower, in a letter of condolence to his widow, said he felt it an honor to call Gad H. Lee his friend, and told others that he considered Mr. Lee as one of the truest friends he ever had in the great Empire state.
G EORGE H. DAWSON, a Union sol- dier of the late civil war, and the energetic proprietor of the well-known Dawson flouring mill of near Charlton, is a son of John and Samantha (Peek) Dawson, and was born at Glenville, Schenectady county, New York, January 14, 1843. His paternal grandfather, John Dawson, was a life-long resident and prosperous farmer of Glenville. He married Jemima Groat, and to their union was born six sons and one daughter : Simon, Cornelius, Isaac, John, William, Peter and Jane. The youngest son, John Dawson (father), was born in 1812, and lived to reach his seventy-sixtlı year, dying April 20, 1890. He was a farmer by occupation and owned and operated a grist and saw mill. He was a whig and republican in politics, and wedded Samantha Peek, who
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was a daughter of Albert Peek, and passed away January 30, 1890, at seventy-nine years of age. They reared a family of seven chil- dren, four sons and three daughters: Simon, Charlotte, Cornelius, George H., Isaac, Mary J., Charles G. and Estella. Of these children, Charlotte and Cornelius are now dead, while Mary J. married Charles Hadsall, and Estella is the wife of Henry Vosburg.
George H. Dawson was reared on his fath- er's farm, received his education in the com- mon schools, and then learned the trade of mil- ler, which he followed until 1864. On the 10th of September of that year he enlisted in Co. F, 13th New York heavy artillery, and served nine months, being honorably discharged from the Federal service at Norfolk, Virginia, on the 2Ist of June, 1865. Returning from the army he engaged in farming and milling, which he has pursued successfully up to the present time. Mr. Dawson is a member of Post No. 46, Grand Army of the Republic, at Ballston. In politics he is a republican, and while not unduly prominent in political affairs or seek- ing for office, yet served one term as collector of his native town in Schenectady county. He is practically a business man who gives his at- tention mainly to his agricultural and milling operations.
On January 7, 1875, Mr. Dawson was united in marriage with Ida Main, daughter of Simon P. Main, of Glenville, Schenectady county. Their union has been blessed with five chil- dren : Bertie, Alexander, Hiram, John and Nelson.
C HARLES F. WAIT, a Union soldier of the late civil war, and a former resident of the Pacific slope, who has been successfully engaged in farming in his native town of Gal- way for several years, is a son of Reuben and Ruby (Coffin) Wait, and was born in the town of Galway, Saratoga county, New York, Feb- ruary 5, 1841. He received his education in the common schools of the town of Galway. On August 9, 1862, he enlisted in Co. I, 115th
New York infantry, for three years or during the war, and served nearly that length of time, being honorably discharged on June 17, 1865, at Raleigh, North Carolina, on account of the war being over. He was one of the eleven thousand men surrendered at Harper's Ferry by General Miles. He was paroled, and, after being exchanged, served on detached duty in the medical purveyor's office until he was discharged. Returning from the army to Saratoga county he did not engage in any line of regular business, but soon left for San Francisco, California, where he was an opera- tor in a telegraph office for six years. At the end of that time his health became impaired by the close confinement of his work, and he re- turned to Galway, where he purchased his present farm, which contains one hundred and twenty-two acres, and lies three miles from the village of Galway. The outdoor exercise in connection with the management of his farm has improved his health to some extent, and he has made a success of farming, being now one of the prosperous and leading farm- ers of the section in which he resides. Mr. Wait is a past commander and the present ad- jutant of William B. Carpenter Post, No. 634, Grand Army of the Republic; and is a past grand and present officer of Chuctanunda Lodge, No. 263, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a republican in politics, and ranks high in business and Grand Army and Odd Fellow circles.
On August 15, 1865, Mr. Wait was united in marriage with Alice H. Loomis, of Galway, and to their union have been born three chil- dren, of whom but one is living, a daughter, named Alice D. Mrs. Wait is a granddaughter of Solomon Loomis, who was a carpenter by trade, and her parents, Gilbert and Alice H. Loomis, were both descendants of families that came over in the Mayflower.
Charles F. Wait is of German descent, and his grandfather, Reuben Wait, sr., came, prior to 1793, to the town of Galway, where liis son, Reuben Wait (father), was born March 24,
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OF SARATOGA COUNTY.
1798. Reuben Wait owned and cultivated a small but productive farm, and was an exten- sive manufacturer of wooden ware, especially in the line of churns and washing tubs. He was a steady and industrious man, a good citi- zen and a kind friend. He was a member of the Christian church, of which he was an un- ostentatious but exceedingly useful member. Mr. Wait died in February, 1872, and his re- mains were interred in Barkerville cemetery. He married Ruby Coffin, a daughter of Latham Coffin, of Providence. Mrs. Wait died in March, 1881, aged seventy-eight years. Mr. and Mrs. Wait had two children : Elmina, wife of Samuel Mosher ; and Charles F., the subject of this sketch.
JOHN F. BELL, a useful citizen and a successful business man of the town of Charlton, is a son of James and Annie ( Fer- geson) Bell, and was born at West Charlton, in the town of Charlton, Saratoga county, New York, October 10, 1820. He received his ed- ucation in the district schools of his day, and then engaged in farming and stock-raising, which he has followed successfully ever since. He now owns the farm on which his grand- father, James Bell, settled in 1783. This farm is fertile and well watered, contains one hun- dred and thirty-two acres of land, and lies five miles from the village of Charlton, and Mr. Bell has given such considerate attention to its improvement that it ranks to-day as one of the best farms in the town. Mr. Bell is a stanch republican in politics. He is a strict member of the United Presbyterian church, with which he united over thirty years ago. While not seeking for large gains in specula- tive enterprises he has carefully and honorably conducted his business so as to insure safe re- turns, and thus has acquired a competency. All of his investments have been judiciously made and have been attended with successful results.
John F. Bell, on December 31, 1857, mar-
ried Mary A. Donnan, daughter of Alexander Donnan, of Charlton.
In nationality Mr. Bell is Scotch. His grandfather, James Bell, sr., was a native of Scotland, and in 1770 came to New York, where he settled some distance below the present city of Albany. - He served for seven years in the revolutionary war, being a team- ster in the commissary department, and serv- ing under the immediate command of Capt. Morgan Lewis. After the close of the war he came to what is now the town of Charl- ton, this county, where he purchased and set- tled on the farm now owned by the subject of this sketch. He died in 1806. He married, and one of his children was James Bell (father), who was born near Albany, this State, Jan- uary 27, 1778, and came with his parents to the town of Charlton, where he was principally reared, and where he passed his life as a farmer. He was a whig in political opinion, served for many years as an elder in the United Presbyterian church, and was a leading and influential man in his community. He lived honorably and uprightly, and passed from time to eternity on November 22d, 1839, when in the sixty-first year of his age. On Novem- ber 18, 1806, Mr. Bell married Annie Ferge- son, and to their union were born nine chil- dren, seven sons and two daughters: James, a farmer living in Galway ; Mary, wife of Alex- ander Gilchrist ; Alexander F., a lawyer living in Ionia, Michigan ; John and Robert ( both died young) ; Margaret, wife of Robert M. Brown, of Schenectady, this State; John F. (subject) ; Colin F., a grain and stock dealer in McGregor, Iowa; and Joseph N. (died young). Mrs. Bell, who was an amiable wo- man, and died June 8, 1830, at Charlton, was a daughter of Colin Fergeson, a well-to-do farmer and highly respected citizen of the county.
E. PORTER SCOTT, one of the most respected citizens of Waterford, is a native of that village, having been born there
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December 23, 1828, of William and Laura (Porter) Scott.
The Scotts have been residents of Waterford for more than a century. Ira Scott (grand- father) was a native of Vermont, but coming to the State of New York, he became one of the earliest settlers of the village above men- tioned. Born in 1762, and died there in 1814.
William Scott, son of Ira, and father of the subject of our sketch, was a life-long resident of Waterford, where he was born February 10, 1794, and died June 28, 1886. He was a general merchant, dealing in groceries, dry goods and grains, from 1816 until 1853, and was very successful in his business. He was a very active, enterprising man up to his death. He was president, until its close, of the old Saratoga bank in Waterford. He took the greatest interest in everything that tended to advance the welfare of his native place, and like all men of his energy and strong personality, had many devoted friends. He was a regular attendant of the Presby- terian church. In politics he affiliated with the democrats and had served as supervisor of his town.
The Scotts are of Scotch-Irish descent. Mr. Scott's mother was also a native of Water- ford, where she died in 1879, in her seventy- sixth year. She was in her religious faith a Presbyterian. The Porters are a prominent and much respected family. The maternal grandfather of the subject of our sketch, Elisha Porter, came from Vermont to Water- ford, and there remained until his death. He was a physician in active practice. He died in 1840, at the age of sixty-seven years.
E. Porter Scott grew up in his native village, where he also passed the years of his early manhood, receiving his education in the com- mon schools of that town. After leaving school he entered his father's store, where he continued until 1864, part of the time being in the business alone. In the autumn of 1864 he went to the oil region of Pennsylvania and was engaged in putting in wells for oil
operators. In 1868 he went to Chicago, where, for eleven years, he was engaged as a clerk, and at Racine and Rock Island. In 1879 he returned to Waterford, and there he continued to reside, retired from active business.
Mr. Scott was married in 1857 to Miss Annie Sims, of Newark, New Jersey. He is a dem- ocrat, and a member of Clinton Lodge, No. 140, Free and Accepted Masons. He lives in a handsome home on Broad street, which is also the home of Miss Mary S. Scott, his only sister, who is unmarried.
Mr. Scott has one brother, Ira Scott, who is a lawyer, residing in Lansing, Michigan. He was born December 25, 1826, and married Miss Esther Kennedy, of Saratoga county, by whom he has two daughters: Sophia, now married to James M. Turner, of Lansing, Michigan, and Abbie Kennedy, the wife of Dr. Howard W. Longgear, of Detroit, Michigan, who is a prominent physician of that city. Ira Scott was a practicing lawyer of Chicago for twenty-eight years, in partnership with William H. King, who originally belonged to Saratoga county. In 1881 Mr. Ira Scott re- moved to Lansing, where he still lives, a wealthy man, retired from business.
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