USA > New York > Saratoga County > History of Saratoga County, New York : with historical notes on its various towns > Part 33
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On November 1, 1874, in the city of New York, Mr. Swanick was united in marriage with Margaret McQuade, daughter of Patrick McQuade, of Fermanagh, Ireland. They have two children, a son and a daughter : James R. and Mary L.
Robert Swanick is a member of the Catho- lic church, Lodge No. 134, Ancient Order of United Workmen, and the Exempt Firemen's association, having been an active fireman for over twenty-one years in the volunteer de- partment. In his party affiliations he is a democrat.
JOHN M. KELLY, a member of the oldest pioneer family of the town of Gal- way, and a worthy and highly respected citi- zen of the village of Charlton, is a son of Robert and Isabella (McKinley) Kelly, and was born on the Kelly homestead farm in the town of Galway, Saratoga county, New York, April 14, 1824. The first settlement in the
town of Galway was made by William Kelly, the paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch. William Kelly was born and reared in the famous lowlands of Scotland, and in October, 1774, came to what is now the town of Galway, and which then was in the woods. In the unbroken forest he cast about for a shelter, and nothing better offering he stripped the bark from a large fallen tree, and then used it for the roof of a temporary brush and pole structure pitched against one side of the same tree. With the usual prudence and characteristic energy of the Scotch race, hẹ conquered all the trials and difficulties of pio- neer life, and in his declining years enjoyed a comfortable home won by his own industry. William Kelly and his wife, Helen Kelly, were consistent and useful members of the United Presbyterian church. Their children were : Elizabeth, the first white child born in the town of Galway, whose natal day was Novem- ber 1, 1774, and Robert, born May 25, 1786.
Robert Kelly was reared on the farm, and after receiving a practical education in the limited schools of that day, turned his atten- tion to agricultural pursuits, which he followed successfully until his death, which occurred September 2, 1853. A whig in politics and a United Presbyterian in religion, he lived a straightforward life, and at his death was re- spected by all who knew him. He uniformly refused to allow the use of his name in con- nection with the candidacy for any public office, and in his farm affairs found scope for the exercise of his energies. He married Isa- bella McKinley, who was a daughter of John and Ann Mckinley, of Galway, and passed away September 2, 1853, at sixty-seven years of age. Their children were : Ann E., John M., William, and Robert.
John M. Kelly grew to manhood on the farm, received his education in the common schools and Galway academy, and then en- gaged in farming, which he followed until within the last few years, when he retired from active life. He is now a resident of the village
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of Charlton, and still takes his accustomed interest in the political and religious affairs of his town. Mr. Kelly is a republican politi- cally, and has served as excise commissioner. He is a regular attendant of the Presbyterian church, to which he contributes liberally.
On June 1, 1859, Mr. Kelly married Eliza- beth Donnan, daughter of James Donnan, of Galway, and to their union was born one child, a son, Charles L., who died in infancy. Mrs. Kelly died in September, 1864, and on Octo- ber 6, 1869, Mr. Kelly wedded Lydia M. Haynes, widow of Andrew J. Haynes, and a daughter of Zebulon and Margaret Cook, of Charlton.
A LEXANDER S. HAYS, the well- known confectioner of Saratoga Springs, is the oldest merchant in that village, in the sense of having been engaged in business there longer than any other one now in busi- ness. He is a son of Stephen C. and Lydia (Alexander) Hays, and is a native of Galway, Saratoga county, New York, having been born there April 1, 1826. Stephen C. Hays was a life-long resident of Saratoga county. He was born there near the close of the last century, and lived there until his death, which occurred in 1860, when he was sixty-five years of age, and was caused by being kicked by a horse. He followed the occupation of farming in Gal- way, was an elder in the Presbyterian church, and politically was a republican. During his life he filled many of the town offices. James Hays, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, came from New Jersey and settled in Saratoga county, at the village now called Galway, then known as Jersey Hill, as early as 1800, where he was a farmer and a tailor, and died at a very old age. Mrs. Lydia Hays, widow of Stephen C. Hays, is also a native of Saratoga county. She is now in her ninety-first year, resides with her son and is a member of the Presby- terian church at Galway. Her father, John Alexander, was a Scotchman, but came to the
United States when a young man and located in the town of Galway, where he followed the occupation of farming until his death in 1848, at the age of eighty-eight years.
Alexander S. Hays grew up to manhood on his father's farm and received his education in the common schools and in Galway acad- emy. He left home at twenty years of age to work for Joel Root, a baker, of Saratoga Springs, and three years after, in 1849, he be- came a partner in the business, and remained so until 1852, when he bought the entire busi- ness, which he continued for five years. He then began the manufacture of confectionery, a business in which he is still engaged, both as a wholesale and retail dealer. He has been very successful and enjoys a very lucrative trade, which he carries on in the same house in which he began his active career forty-seven years ago. In no sense has Mr. Hays been a " rolling stone ; " his business has always been conducted on strictly conservative principles, and he has reaped the reward of his own in- dustry and strict business integrity, in the re- spect of his fellow townsmen and in the pos- session of some valuable real estate at Saratoga Springs.
Alexander Hays has been twice married. In 1852 he married Maria C. Cook, who was a daughter of Spencer Cook, of Galway, and who died in 1888, leaving two children, a son and a daughter : Lewis H. and Lydia A. On February 19, 1890, Mr. Hays wedded Mrs. Eliza (Cline) Pettit, of Saratoga Springs, a daughter of Hon. John P. Cline, of Oppen- hime, Fulton county, New York.
In political opinion Mr. Hays is a repub- lican, and he has served as assessor of his town. He is a member and trustee of the First Presbyterian church.
H ON. WILLIAM D. SUNDERLIN,
an ex-member of assembly, and the senior member of the Brolytic Gypse Company, of Mechanicville, is a reliable business man of
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the county, who has taken an active part for the last quarter of a century in every move- ment for the restoration of fertility to the im- poverished soil of the State. He is a son of Myron and Eunice A. (Brockway) Sunderlin, and was born at Broadalbin, Fulton county, New York, August 26, 1826. He grew to manhood at Broadalbin, where he received the limited education that was imparted by the early common schools of that day. Leav- ing school he was successively engaged as an employé of a paper manufacturing company, and as a clerk in a country store. After this he went to Iowa where he was a member of an Indian fur trading expedition for two years, and then returned to Troy, New York, to be- come a clerk in the canal collector's office. Three years later he became collector of canal tolls, and in a short time engaged in the lime business at West Troy, Albany county, which he followed successfully for upwards of fifteen years. At the end of this time, in 1876, he went as superintendent to Howe's Corn' rs, Schoharie county, where he was engaged in the lime and cement business for two years. He then returned to Troy, served as superin- tendent of the Champlain canal from. 1880 to 1883, and in the latter year was appointed as superintendent of Division No. 1, Champlain, and Section No. 1, Erie canal, positions of great responsibility and which were never held before or since by the same person. These positions he resigned the ensuing year to en- gage in the lime business at Mechanicville, where two years later, in 1886, he formed the present Brolytic Gypse Company, which im- mediately erected their present plaster and fertilizer works. They employ a regular force of twelve men, manufacture fertilizers and farmers' plaster, and have built up a large and flourishing trade in Saratoga, Rensselaer, Washington, Essex and Albany counties. Mr. Sunderlin patented the Brolytic Gypse plaster and has just received a patent on an orchard pruning implement, which he invented some months ago. He also has patented a clay
dryer, which is highly recommended by those who have tested it.
On September 2, 1856, Mr. Sunderlin mar- ried Sarah R. Clark, daughter of R. P. Clark, of Johnstown, New York.
In politics Mr. Sunderlin supports the prin- ciples of the Republican party, and in 1870-71 represented the Fourth Assemby district of Albany county in the legislature of New York, serving during his term on several important committees. He is a member of Evening Star Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of West Troy, this State, and has labored long and earnestly for the upbuilding and practical im- provement of American agriculture.
The Sunderlin family is of Scottish descent, and was founded in eastern New York in the seventeenth century, during the latter half of which we have mention of Dennis Sunderlin (grandfather), as a native and resident of Duchess county. Dennis Sunderlin removed in early life to Hoosic, Rensselaer county, which he afterward left to become one of the pioneer settlers in the town of Broadalbin, Fulton county. There he built a cabin in the woods and cleared out a farm of two hundred acres. Mr. Sunderlin died December 6, 1846, at seventy-two years of age. He was an ardent whig and a strong anti-Mason, and in religious faith and church membership was a Baptist. He married Molly Converse, and to their union were born a family of six sons and two daugh- ters: Myron, Samuel, Sallie Kasson, Loren, Jacob, Lura, Charles and John. The eldest son, Myron Sunderlin (father), was born at Hoosic, Rensselaer county, January 1, 1800. He received a practical English education, and learned the trade of wheelwright, which he followed for some time. He was a man of great mechanical ability, and gave his atten- tion for many years to railroad building. He superintended the construction of the Schen- ectady & Utica railroad and that part of the Delaware & Hudson railway from Ballston Spa to Saratoga Springs. He also constructed a large forge and dam in Clinton county, and
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built the Amsterdam bridge on the Mohawk river at Amsterdam. He was a whig and a Baptist, and died June 2, 1880, aged eighty years. He married Eunice A. Brockway, who was a daughter of Nathan Brockway, and who died April 5, 1880, when in the seventy-fifth year of her age. They were the parents of two children : Nathan B. and Hon. William D., the subject of this sketch.
F REDERICK TARRANT, one of the active business men and a member of the well known plumbing firm of Tarrant & Co., of Saratoga Springs, is a son of John and Eliza (Silvernail) Tarrant, and was born in Renssel- aer county, New York, February 9, 1834. His paternal grandfather, Anthony Tarrant, came from Derbyshire, England, with his family and located in New York city. There he bought a number of teams of horses and filled in the lake which used to exist on the site of Canal street. He was a manufacturer of epsom and glauber salts, and also carried on a bleachery. He died at Matteawan, near Fishkill Landing, New York, where he had resided for a long time preceding his death. His son, John Tarrant (father), was but eleven years of age when the family came to the United States from Derbyshire, England, where he was born. He was a superintendent of cotton mills in different parts of the State of New York for several years, and in 1854 he came to Ballston, this county, where he resided until his death, which occurred April 24, 1880, when he was in the seventy-eighth year of his age. He was a republican politically and held many of the village offices of Ballston. He married Eliza Silvernail, a daughter of Jonas Silvernail, and a native of Hudson, on the Hudson river. She died in 1881, at the age of seventy-six years.
Frederick Tarrant was reared at Ballston and received his education in the public schools. Leaving school he learned the tin- ner's trade, and then becoming aware that the
plumbing business was a more lucrative one than tinning, he devoted further time to ac- quiring a thorough knowledge of the trade of plumber, before he finally settled down to the activities of life. In September, 1852, he re- moved to Saratoga Springs, and there has re- mained ever since. Upon his arrival at the Springs he accepted a position as foreman for Trim & Waterbury, hardware merchants, which he retained for twenty-nine years, and quit only to engage in business for himself, which he did in 1881. He formed a partnership with William Tarrant and William Ingmire, under the firm name of Tarrant & Co., and their place of business is 79 Putnam avenue. They have a large trade as plumbers, steam and gas fitters, and are well known as thoroughgoing and energetic business men.
On September 28, 1856, Mr. Tarrant was united in marriage with Frances Trim, daugh- ter of Hiram Trim, of Saratoga Springs. They have one child, a son, William P., who is now in business with his father.
Frederick Tarrant is a member of Putnam Lodge, No. 131, Free and Accepted Masons ; and Putnam Lodge, No. 134, Ancient Order of United Workmen. In politics he is a re- publican, and takes an active interest in polit- ical matters, serving for four years as a mem- ber of the board of village trustees.
ESSE S. TOMS, a well known citizen of the village of Stillwater, and a remark- ably successful farmer of this and Cayuga counties, is a son of Benjamin and Polly (Comestock) Toms, and was born in the town of Stillwater, Saratoga county, New York, December 17, 1804. He received his educa- tion in the district schools of the town of Stillwater, and at eighteen years of age be- came an apprentice to William Cronk to learn the trade of wagon maker. After a three years apprenticeship he engaged in the wagon mak- ing business at Myers' Corners, being assisted to some extent by John Myers. He was suc-
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cessful, and years later disposed of his shop and business to purchase a farm in the town of Stillwater, which he increased by subsequent purchases until he owned one hundred and seventy-six acres of land, which he sold in 1860 at quite a profit on his investment. He then went to Cayuga county, where he resided for fourteen years, and during that time pur- chased and tilled three farms of two hundred and fifty, fifty and eighty-one acres respect- ively. From Cayuga county he returned to the town of Stillwater and purchased a farm, on which he resided until 1885, when he re- moved to the village of Stillwater, where he now owns some valuable property. Mr. Toms is a democrat, and has served several terms as a commissioner of the poor of his town. He is a member of the First Baptist church of Stillwater.
In 1825, Mr. Toms married Anna Clemens, who died in 1840 and left five children : Ath- mar, Elizabeth Tompkins, Peter, Francis and Ruth Putnam. In 1842 Mr. Toms wedded Mary A. VanNatten, and by this marriage had two children : Anna and Marvin. His second wife dying, he married Abigail Nilson, who lived but a few years, and in 1851 Mr. Toms wedded Esther P. Rogers.
The Toms family were early settlers in the town of Stillwater. Benjamin Toms lived to be ninety-four years of age. He married Polly Comestock. Their children were: Asenath Foster, Amy Denton, Lucy Koontz, William, Jesse S. (subject) and Henry.
R OBERT McHAFFIE, secretary of the Tivoli Hosiery Mills (Root Manufactur- ing Company) of Cohoes, Albany county, but a resident of Waterford, Saratoga county, since 1882, is a son of John and Mary (Shennan) McHaffie, and was born in the city of Glas- gow, Scotland, September 16, 1833. He re- mained in Glasgow until his nineteenth year, and then, in 1882, accompanied his parents to America and settled with them in the city of
Albany, New York. It was his intention to prepare for the bar, but, after completing his academic education, he received advantageous offers and became connected with the hard- ware and iron trade at Albany, and was en- gaged in that business for a period of twenty years. He then engaged as a professional accountant in that city, in connection with which he also gave some attention to legal business, and was thus employed during an entire decade. In 1882 he became connected with the Tivoli Hosiery Mills (Root Manufac- turing Company), which owns and operates one of the largest of the knitting mills that have rendered the city of Cohoes famous all over this country. Mr. McHaffie is now sec- retary of this company, and since his connec- tion with its business has done his full share toward building up the magnificent trade the es- tablishment now enjoys. The Tivoli mills are noted as among the most successful at Cohoes, which means the most successful in the State of New York, or in America, for nowhere is the manufacture of hosiery conducted so ex- tensively nor better goods produced than at Cohoes, Albany county, this State.
On October 9, 1866, Robert McHaffie was married to Mary I. McKinley, daughter of . Archibald Mckinley, of Hamilton, Ontario, dominion of Canada. To Mr.and Mrs. McHaffie have been born a family of four children, all sons : Charles E., Robert M., Howard K. and Earl G.
In his political affiliations Mr. McHaffie has always been republican, but is very liberal in his opinions and tolerant to the convictions of others. He has all his life been a close stu- dent and deep thinker, and has gathered about him one of the finest private libraries in north- ern New York, consisting of the best scientific and historical works, together with nearly all tlie standard literature of the world. For nearly a decade he has lived in the village or town of Waterford, this county, and now oc- cupies his handsome and elaborately furnished residence, "Sunnyside," on Fourth street, in
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this village. Mr. McHaffie is a member of Temple Lodge, No. 14, Free and Accepted Masons, at Albany, New York, and is genial and pleasant in social life. He is noted for his strict attention to business, in which he has been extremely successful, but his chief pleasure is found in the bosom of his family, where he lays aside the busy cares that per- plex the day and enjoys that domestic felicity which is generally conceded to be the most satisfying phase of human experience. In his leading characteristics he is of the type of men who build cities, develop commerce, create homes and sustain the prosperity of their country.
The McHaffie family is of ancient Scotch lineage, and for eleven generations its members have been noted in their native land for their mathematical gifts and acquirements. John McHaffie, the great-great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was professor of mathe- matics in a leading college of Scotland. His son, John McHaffie (great-grandfather), was born in the south of Scotland, where he be- came a prosperous shawl manufacturer, and died at a great age. One of his sons was David McHaffie (grandfather), who learned the trade of millwright, and was noted for his mechanical genius. He also was a native of the south of Scotland, and to him belongs the distinction of having first applied steam to the running of machinery for cotton manufactur- ing in Scotland. He was also a bench mate of Watts, the inventor of steam, and confi- dently assisted him in making experiments. Previous to his day all fabrics were woven on hand looms in that country. He married Mary Smith, and reared a family of eight children, one of whom was John McHaffie (father), who was born in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, in 1801, and resided there until 1852, when he came to the United States and settled at Al- bany, this State. In early life he learned the trade of machinist, and succeeded his father in building cotton working machinery until he came to this country. After coming to Al-
bany he was not engaged in any business, but continued to reside in that city, giving wise counsel, advice and the benefits of his experi- ence to his sons until his death in 1854, at the age of fifty-three years. He was a man of good education, fine business ability, and, like his ancestors, was noted for his mechanical genius and mathematical talents. In religion he was a Presbyterian, and served as elder in that church for many years. In 1828 he mar- ried Mary Shennan, a native of Scotland, and a member of the Presbyterian church, who died in 1872, at the age of seventy-one years. To them was born a family of seven children, five sons and two daughters: David, John, Robert, William, James, Mary and Elizabeth. The great uncle of Robert McHaffie, Lieut. Gen. Sir Frederick William McHaffie, served with distinction in the British army, and for his eminent services to the crown was created a knight of the Grand Cross of the Bath.
Mr. McHaffie has been twice married ; first to Jane Tate, September 28, 1858, a resident of Albany, New York, by whom he had two sons and one daughter : Frederick William, Mary Tate and Arthur. They all died at an early age. Mrs. McHaffie died April 6, 1865.
H. BURRITT, A. M., one of the pop- ular and successful educators of east- ern New York, and the superintendent and
. principal of the Schuylerville High school, is a son of Rev. M. C. and Miranda (Horton) Burritt, and was born at Ransomville, in the town of Porter, Niagara county, New York, November 9, 1867. His paternal grandfather, Bailey Burritt, was of English-German de- scent, and followed farming in Monroe county, where he died July 9, 1892, at eighty-four years of age. He was a prominent Methodist and an active whig and republican, and mar- ried Deborah Hull, by whom he had five chil- dren : Elizabeth De La Vergne, Esther H. Smith, Rev. M. C., Beverly W., Francis H. and Holden. Rev. M. C. Burritt (father) was
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born at Parma, Monroe county, October II, 1837, received his education at Genesee Wes- leyan seminary, the mother of Syracuse uni- versity. He then, in 1863, entered the min- istry of the Free Methodist church, and for twenty years held important charges at Ran- somville and other places in western New York. He retired from active ministerial la- bors in 1883, and now resides near Rochester, New York. He was a republican until 1880, since which time he has supported the Prohi- bition party. He married Miranda Horton, daughter of Barton and Almira (Flint) Hor- ton. To Rev. and Mrs. Burritt were born seven children : Prof. O. H., William M., M. Emmett, Charles (deceased), Carrie Lou- ella, Bailey B. and Earl H.
O. H. Burritt received his elementary edu- cation under his father and in public schools, pursued his academic studies in Ten Broeck Free academy, Rushford Union school, and Chesbrough seminary, and in 1886 entered the University of Rochester, from which he was graduated in the classical course in the class of 1890. Leaving college, he was engaged in teaching in private and select schools until June, 1892, when he was elected to his present position of superintendent and principal of the Schuylerville High school. Under his admin- istration the school is rapidly gaining a high reputation for excellent discipline and thor- ough work. Professor Burritt possesses fine organizing ability, and is a successful discip- linarian. He is well fitted for the important field in which he is now so successfully labor- ing. His educational methods, while ad- vanced, are yet practical, and are intended to give culture and develop the power of thought. He is a close student, and beside giving special attention to Latin and Greek, has also made some study of the Hebrew, French, German, and Sanscrit languages, and has nearly com- pleted thé necessary studies to take a post- graduate degree at the University of Rochester.
On August 4, 1892, Professor Burritt was united in marriage with Almetta Benton, who
was born June 1, 1869, received an academic education in the Rochester Frec academy, and was the typewriter and stenographer of the Stecher Lithograph Company for three years. Mrs. Burritt is an amiable and intelli- gent woman. Her father, Reuben Benton, a resident of Rochester, New York, was engaged for many years in the oil business at Titusville, Pennsylvania. He married Sarah Chapman, and they had four children : Willis, Frank, Harry, and Mrs. Burritt. Mrs. Sarah Benton, mother of Mrs. Burritt, was a daughter of Thomas Chapman, a native of Vermont, who became a resident of Rochester, this State, when it was only a village. He was one of the first teachers in Rochester, whose educa- tional system was not at that time very well developed. Thomas Chapman wedded Alice Moses, the grandmother of Mrs. Burritt, and their children were: Volney, Charles, Ruth, and Mrs. Sarah Benton.
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