USA > New York > Saratoga County > History of Saratoga County, New York : with historical notes on its various towns > Part 44
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William S. Balch remained in his native village of Plattsburg until his thirteenth year, attending the common schools, and making good progress in his studies. He then went to Williamstown, Massachusetts, to live with his uncles, Dr. John and Timothy Whitman, and became a clerk in their store at that place. For a period of five years he remained with them, and then went into the dry goods busi- ness on his own account until his removal to Saratoga Springs, during which time he pursued a wide course of reading, and em- braced every opportunity to increase his stock of knowledge and perfect his education. In 1842 he removed to Saratoga Springs, New York, where he has resided ever since. Soon after coming here he took charge of the Col- umbian hotel of this city, and successfully conducted the hostelry for a period of nearly twenty years, and until it was destroyed by fire . in 1860.
In 1861 Mr. Balch entered the employ of the Delaware & Hudson River Railroad Com- pany, and for twenty years was a conductor on their road, running an average of forty-six thousand nine hundred and fifty miles every
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year, which makes a grand total of nine hundred and thirty-nine thousand miles, equal to nearly thirty-eight trips around the entire globe. In all this distance he never met with an accident or received an injury. He resigned his po- sition in 1881, after twenty years' consecutive service, and since that time has been engaged in running a select family boarding house at Saratoga Springs, known as the Balch house. It is situated on Broadway, and deservedly ranks as one of the finest boarding houses in the city, being first-class in all its appoint- mnents and abreast of the times in every par- ticular. Here Mr. Balch has won a reputa- tion as a pleasant and accomodating host which is as high, if not so extended, as that he acquired by his urbanity and watchfulness as a railway conductor.
On September 24, 1834, Mr. Balch was first wedded to Caroline Brown, adopted daughter of Manning Brown, of Williamstown, Massa- chusetts. She died in January, 1858, leaving two sons : Manning B., now a presiding elder in the West Wisconsin conference of the Methodist Episcopal church, with residence at Madison, Wisconsin ; and Edward N., who enlisted in the 22d Wisconsin infantry during the civil war, and died January 1, 1863, at the hospital at Lexington, Kentucky, aged twenty- one years. In 1859 Mr. Balch was again mar- ried, wedding for his second wife Vesta Childs, of Saratoga Springs. By this union he had two daughters : Carrie V., now the wife of George D. Harvey, a dry goods merchant of Boston, Massachusetts : and Helen W., living at home with her parents.
Since 1827 Mr. Balch has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, to which his wife also belongs, and has served as an officer in his church for forty-four years. Politically he was for many years a stanch re- publican, but has latterly become a prohi- bitionist, having always entertained strong temperance ideas. He was elected and served five years as town clerk, and has also been a trustee of the village for five years. Socially
he is a very genial and affable gentleman, and holds the highest esteem of all who know him. He has been honored as an official member in the Methodist Episcopal church for over sixty- two years, and was the leader of the first class ever organized in the Methodist Episco- pal church in Williamstown, Massachusetts, in 1828.
JOHN PERSON, district attorney of Sar-
atoga county, and who ranks as one of the ablest criminal lawyers of the Upper Hud- son valley, is a son of Hiram and Emily J. (Noyes) Person, and was born at Batcheller- ville, in the town of Edinburg, Saratoga county, New York, July 16, 1862. He was reared on the farm, and after completing his academic course in 1882, at Troy Conference academy, of Poultney, Vermont, he entered Williams college, of Williamstown, Massa- chusetts, from which excellent institution of learning he was graduated in the class of 1886. Immediately after graduation he became a law student in the office of Judge L'Amoreux, of Ballston Spa, and at the close of his re- quired course of reading was admitted to the bar at the general term, in Albany, in May, 1888. After his admission to the bar he re- mained in Judge L'Amoreux's office until Jan- uary, 1891, when he became a member of the present prosperous law firm of Burke & Per- son. His partner is John H. Burke, a former college friend, and a fellow law student in Judge L'Amoreux's office. This firm owns a very fine law library, has built up an exten- sive and lucrative practice and is favorably known throughout the county. Mr. Person while giving attention to the general practice of his firm, yet has made a specialty of crim- . inal law, and has been unusually successful in a large number of criminal cases in which he has been engaged during the last three years. Besides his home practice lie is often employed as counsel in cases in other counties and at a distance. He was one of the counsel for
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Hon. C. R. Sheffer before the assembly when Mr. Sheffer's seat was contested by Robert O. Davis, and served as associate counsel for Hon. H. J. Donaldson when his seat was con- tested in the State senate by Hoyt. Mr. Per- son is a stanch republican in politics. He was twice chosen as clerk of the board of super- visors, and in 1889 was elected as a justice of the peace in the town of Milton, by the largest majority given any candidate upon the ticket at that election. He served as justice of the peace until 1892, when he was nominated by the republicans for district attorney. He was elected by a good majority, and on January I, 1893, entered upon the duties of that office, which he has discharged very satisfactorily ever since. He is a regular attendant of the Presbyterian church, and a member and sen- ior warden of Franklin Lodge, No. 90, Free and Accepted Masons, and a member of War- ren Chapter, No. 23, Royal Arch Masons. He is a self-made man, working his way through college and supporting himself while studying law.
On September 4, 1888, Mr. Person was united in marriage with Kate Wells, daughter of George Wells, of the town of Edinburg, and their union has been blessed with one child, a son, named Hiram Wells, who was born November 18, 1891.
The Person family is one of the many Ver- mont families of Puritan stock that settled in New York, and Benjamin Person, the pater- nal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was an early settler in the town of Edinburg, where he followed farming and lumber deal- ing. He married Theoda Wight, and his son, Hiram Person (father), was born and reared in Edinburg, where he has always been engaged in farming. He has also been in the lumber business for some years. He is a. member of the Presbyterian church, and an active worker in the Republican party, and married Emily J. Noyes, a daughter of Isaac Noyes, whose immigrant ancestor was one of the Puritan Fathers of New England.
E LISHA ISBELL, who served as deputy sheriff of Saratoga county from 1865 to 1874, and who has been successfully engaged in the livery business at Saratoga Springs for over twenty-five years, is a son of Hiram and Maria (Smith) Isbell, and was born in the town of Mil- ton, Saratoga county, New York, January 28, 1831. He was reared on a farm and received his education in the public schools. At thirteen years of age he went to work on a neighbor- ing farm, and in a few years became a hand in a paper mill, which he left in 1848 to learn the trades of stonemason and bricklayer, at Ballston Spa. After completing his trades he came in 1850 to Saratoga Springs, where he worked for Isaac L. Smith until 1865. In that year he was appointed deputy sheriff, under Sheriff Joseph Baucus, and served as such for nine years under him and his suc- cessors, Dr. Tabor B. Reynolds and Thomas Noxon. During a part of the time that he was deputy sheriff, he was also serving as constable and superintendent of village. Since 1868 Mr. Isbell has given his entire attention to his present livery stable, which he estab- lished in 1865. He has a carefully selected assortment of carriages and buggies and a large stock of harness horses. He gives care- ful attention to his livery business and enjoy's a large patronage.
On September 13, 1854, Mr. Isbell married Mary Jane Whitman, daughter of Henry Whit- man, of Rock City Falls, Saratoga county. They had two children : Minnie M. and Sarah H.
In politics Mr. Isbell was formerly a demo- crat, but since the beginning of the late war has supported the Republican party. He is a member of Rising Sun Lodge, No. 103, Free and Accepted Masons ; and Washington Commandery, No. 33, Knights Templar. Mr. Isbell owns valuable property at Saratoga Springs, and during the exposition year he and his wife spent several months in Europe.
Elisha Isbell is of Scotch descent, and his paternal grandfather settled in the town of Charlton, where he died. His son, Hiram
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Isbell (father), was born in Charlton in 1806, and died in the town of Galway in 1860. He was a farmer, a Baptist and a whig. He mar- ried Maria Smith, who died August 6, 1884, aged seventy-four years. Mrs. Isbell was of German descent, and her father, Levi Smith (maternal grandfather), was a native of Rhode Island, and settled on a farm in the town of Milton, where he died in 1848, at seventy-five years of age. He was a deacon in the Baptist church for over fifty years, and carried on farming and tanning for many years.
H OOPER C. HEDDEN, who has been actively and successfully engaged in ag- ricultural pursuits for several years, and who owns a good farm in the southern part of the town of Charlton, is a son of George W. and Elsie (Ward) Hedden, and was born in the town of Glenville, Schenectady county, New York, January 12, 1835. His paternal grand- father, Job Hedden, was a native of New Jersey, and in early life came to New York city, where he was residing when the mo- mentous struggle began for colonial rights that soon became a supreme effort for National liberty and independence. A patriot, he es- poused the American cause, and was enrolled in the Continental army, but being an excel- lent shoemaker, he was employed at making shoes for the army instead of carrying a mus- ket. After the Revolutionary war he came to what is now known as Jersey Hill, in the town of Galway, which he left in 1803, to settle in the town of Glenville, Schenectady county, where he died. He married Phoebe Ogden, of New Jersey, and their children were : Sam- uel O., Fanny, Archibald, Betsey, Phoebe, Joseph, Ann, Letitia, Samantha, and George W., the father of the subject of this sketch. George W. Hedden was born on May 3, 1800, in the town of Galway, this county, received a common school education, and was engaged in farming until his death, which occurred March 6, 1844. A democrat in politics and a
Presbyterian in religion, he was alike prom- inent and useful in his party and his church, serving as a school commissioner of his town and as a trustee of his congregation. On February 5, 1829, Mr. Hedden married Elsie Ward, who was a daughter of Jonathan Ward, of the town of Charlton, and who died July 4, 1877, at seventy-five years of age. To their union were born five sons and two daughters : Phoebe M., wife of Aaron R. Stevens, of the town of Rotterdam, Schenectady county ; Jonathan W., now dead; Job, deceased ; Hooper C. (subject) ; Joseph, dead ; David, dead, and Georgiana.
Hooper C. Hedden was reared in his native town, where he received excellent training in everything relating to the cultivation and man- agement of a farm. He received a good En- glish education in the common schools, and in 1861 came to his present farm in the south- ern part of the town of Charlton, where he has been active and successful in farming and stock raising ever since. Hisfarm of seventy- five acres of good farming land is situated in a fine community, and about one and one- half miles from Charlton village.
In politics Mr. Hedden is a democrat, like his worthy fathers before him, and has never failed to support his party, which can ever claim unquestioned allegiance from him. He has never aspired to office or sought political preferment, being always too busy with his farming operations to concern himself about holding any position in civil affairs. He is a steady and industrious man, a successful and prosperous farmer, and a reliable and well- respected citizen.
C EORGE E. SETTLE, whose residence is at Ballston Spa, but who is proprietor of the celebrated Geyser spring at Saratoga Springs, is another gentleman whose success- ful career illustrates what may be accom- plished in this country by well directed efforts of hand and head. He is a son of Eli and
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Harriet E. (Benedict) Settle, and was born January 17, 1843, in Albany county, New York. When thirteen years of age he came to Ballston Spa with his parents, and re- mained here until he had attained his majority. He received an academic education and learned the milling business with his father. At the age of twenty-one he went to Albany, becom- ing a book-keeper and salesman in large whole- sale mercantile houses in that city. He re- mained in Albany for a period of eight years. In the spring of 1873 he went to Watertown, Jefferson county, and in partnership with his father was engaged for three years in running a merchant flouring mill at that place. At the end of that time, in 1876, Mr. Settle returned to Ballston Spa and embarked in the manu- facture of paper, continuing to run his paper mill here until 1881. In the meantime, in 1879, he had purchased the famous Geyser spring at Saratoga Springs, and in 1881 he abandoned the manufacture of paper to devote his entire time to the management of the rap- idly increasing business of his celebrated spouting spring.
On August 29, 1871, Mr. Settle was mar- ried to Anna M. Jones, a daughter of Hiro Jones, of Ballston Spa, and to them were born two children : Grace S. and Hiro J. Mrs. Settle died April 18, 1882.
Politically Mr. Settle is an ardent republican, having been treasurer of the republican county committee for several years, and takes an ac- tive part in local politics. It has been re- marked that "his party and his spring" can at all times command his best efforts for their success. He served as a member of the school board for a number of years, and has also held the position of village trustee. In Masonic circles Mr. Settle is also quite prominent, be- ing a member of Franklin Lodge, No. 90, Free and Accepted Masons ; Warren Chapter, No. 23, Royal Arch Masons; Washington Commandery, No. 33, Knights Templar, at Saratoga Springs ; and the Oriental Temple at Troy. He resides at his beautiful home on
Pleasant street, in the village of Ballston Spa where he has lived since 1876, surrounded by all the comforts and luxuries of life.
The family to which Mr. Settle belongs is of German extraction. His paternal grand- father, Paul Settle, was a native of Albany county, this State, and died at Ballston Spa in 1873, aged eighty years. He was a farmer and miller by occupation, but accumulated a competency and retired many years previous to his death. In religion he was a member of the Presbyterian church, and in politics a whig and republican. He was elected to the State assembly from Albany county, and acceptably served one term in that honorable body. His son, Eli Settle (father), was born in Albany county in 1816, and lived in that county until 1856, when he came to Saratoga county and settled at Ballston Spa. He is a miller by oc- cupation, and for a number of years ran the flouring mill in this village known as the " Blue mill." He now resides at Shirley, Massachu- setts, being well advanced in the seventy- seventh year of his age. Politically he is a republican, and has for many years been an active member of the Presbyterian church. In 1841 he married Harriet E. Benedict, a daughter of Zadock Benedict, of the county of Albany, and they were the parents of four children, two sons and two daughters.
Mrs. Harriet E. Settle was born in Albany county, this State, in 1824, was a devoted member of the Presbyterian church nearly all her life, and died in the spring of 1892, aged sixty-eight years. Her remains rest in Water- town cemetery, New York.
JOHN H. B. MASSEY, proprietor of the Herbert house, at Ballston Spa, and a descendant of an old English family, is a son of Samuel and Harriet (Hodges) Massey, and was born at Mechanicville, Saratoga county, New York, June 11, 1858. His grandfather, John Massey, was a native of Worcestershire, England, and came to the United States in
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1856, locating at Mechanicville, this county, where he remained until 1858, when he re- moved to Ballston Spa, and resided here until his death in 1880, at the advanced age of sixty-nine years. He was a merchant tailor, and a member of the Episcopal church. One of his sons was Samuel Massey (father), who was born in Worcestershire, England, and reared and educated in that country. In 1856 he came to America with his father, and having learned the trade of tailor, worked at that business in Mechanicville, this county, for nearly three years, and then in 1859, removed to Fish House, Fulton county, where he suc- cessfully conducted the merchant tailoring business until 1862. In that year he enlisted in Co. D, 4th New York heavy artillery, and served with that military organization until March, 1863, when he was discharged on ac- count of disability. He then located in the village of Ballston Spa, and engaged in the hotel business, which he has successfully con- ducted ever since. He married Harriet Hodges, and to them was born a family of ten children, seven sons and three daughters, of whom the subject of this sketch is the eldest.
John H. B. Massey was reared principally in the village of Ballston Spa, and received his education in the public schools here. He remained with his father, as an assistant in the latter's hotel business, until he had attained his twenty-third year, and in November, 1880, purchased the large brick hotel known as the Herbert house, and engaged in the hotel business on his own account. He has been very successful, and in addition to his fine hotel, owns other valuable property in the village of Ballston Spa.
Politically Mr. Massey is a republican, but inclined toward independence in local politics, voting for such men and measures as in his opinion are best calculated to advance the public welfare .. He is what might be justly termed a self-made man, having commenced life as a poor boy and succeeded in accumu- lating a handsome competency.
JUDGE WILLIAM A. PIERSON,
lawyer, police justice, educator and poli- tician, is a gentleman of fine mental qualities and many diversified acquirements. He has been a member of the bar since 1883, has held a number of important positions, and acquit- ted himself with honor in every relation of life. He is a son of Thomas and Amanda (Ainsworth) Pierson, and was born July 20, 1859, in the village of Saratoga Springs, New York. The Piersons are of English extraction, and trace their American ancestry back to Stephen Pierson, who came over with the pil- grims in 1620 and settled in Connecticut. From that State the family spread into various parts of New England, and in later years its members may be found in several of the mid- dle and western States. Jeremiah Pierson, great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was one of the earliest settlers of Saratoga county, taking up a farm on the court house hill at Ballston Spa long before that village became the county seat. His son, Jeremiah Pierson (grandfather), inherited the old home- stead on court house hill, and passed his life there, engaged in agricultural pursuits. He married Elizabeth Gilbert and reared a large family, one of his sons being Thomas Pierson (father), who was born in this county in 1823, and resides at Saratoga Springs, having re- tired from active business several years ago and being now well advanced in his seventieth year. He was reared and educated in the town of Ballston, this county, and after attain- ing manhood engaged in contracting and build- ing, which business he successfully conducted until his retirement about 1883. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and politically a stanch republican. In 1854 he married Amanda Ainsworth, a daughter of Samuel Ainsworth, of Vermont, by whom he had a family of seven children, three sons and four daughters : William A., Laura E. Camp, Geanie L. Thayer, Elmer E. Pierson, Pearl L. Pierson, Ella M. Barrett and Lulu Groff. Mrs. Pierson is a member of the Methodist
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Episcopal church, and was born in Vermont in 1833. She is one of twelve children, all of whom were living up to 1889, when one of the brothers, Seymour Ainsworth, died in this city, where he had settled when Saratoga Springs was yet a small village. Of the others, ten are still living.
William A. Pierson was reared in his native village, but educated principally in Vermont. He first attended a preparatory school at Mor- risville, that State, and then entered N. V. M. college at Burlington. Immediately after graduation he was tendered the principalship of the school at Elmore, Vermont, and taught in that State for two years. In the spring of 1879 he returned to Saratoga Springs, and entering the office of Pond, French & Brack- ett, began the study of law, which he after- ward continued in the office of John R. Put- nam, since an associate justice on the supreme bench of New York. He passed the usual examination and was duly admitted to the bar of Saratoga county on May 4, 1883, and since then has been continuously engaged in the active practice of his profession, in which he met with most gratifying success from the very beginning of his legal career. About the time of his admission to the bar, Mr. Pierson was elected justice of the peace, which office he held for a period of four years, when he was elected peace justice of Saratoga Springs and discharged the responsible duties of that position one term. He owns considerable real estate in the village, and ranks with the most substantial citizens of the county.
On September 17, 1889, Judge Pierson was united in marriage to Nellie Folwell, daughter of George Folwell, of Meadville, Pennsylvania. She is a cultured lady of refined taste, and is very popular in social circles. Politically the Judge is an ardent republican, and one of the most prominent local leaders in his party. He has served as a member of the board of education, is president of the Saratoga Re- publican club, and chairman of the village Republican committee. For a number of
years Judge Pierson has also been prominent in secret society circles, being a member and for several years secretary of Rising Sun Lodge, No. 103, Free and Accepted Masons, and a member of Rising Sun Chapter, No. 131, Royal Arch Masons; Washington Com- mandery, No. 33, Knights Templar ; the Ori- ental Temple at Troy ; Hathorn Lodge, No. 241, Independent Order of Odd Fellows ; and of High Rock Council, No. 652, Royal Ar- canum. In religious faith and church mem- bership Judge Pierson is a Presbyterian. A biographical writer thus speaks of him in the Saratoga Union : "Since his advent into pub- lic life, Judge Pierson has been one of the foremost in the work of the Republican party, in whose interest his voice is often heard. He is an active and loyal member of the Lincoln club, and has been since its organization in November, 1883. The office of secretary of the club was given to him in 1887, which he held until he was elected president November 19, 1889. Judge Pierson's active work in the Republican party so attracted the attention of the State league that he was elected, Sep- tember 24, 1889, as secretary of that body, which position he now holds. His law prac- tice is also quite extensive, and it is plain that he is fast making for himself a distin- guished record in our nineteenth century life."
G EORGE F. COMSTOCK, M. D., a graduate of the well-known college of physicians and surgeons of New York city, and a member and the secretary of the pension examining board of this district, is a physician who has rapidly attained distinction within the sphere of his chosen profession. He is a son of George W. and Harriet O. (Carr) Com- stock, and was born in the town of Moreau, Saratoga county, New York, January 1, 1861. The Comstock family is one of the old fami- lies of Rhode Island, and its trans-Atlantic an- cestor was a native of England. Of the num- erous members of this family that were in
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Rhode Island in a century after its founder had settled there, one was Nathaniel Com- stock, the paternal grandfather of Dr. Com- stock. Nathaniel Comstock became one of the early settlers of the town of Greenfield, this county, where he was engaged in agricul- tural pursuits until his death in 1846, at the age of sixty-four years. His son, George W. Comstock (father), was born June 17, 1815, and resided in his native town of Greenfield until 1886, when he came to Saratoga Springs, where he died December 30, 1889, in the sev- enty-fourth year of his age. He was a pros- perous farmer and a useful citizen. In religious faith he was a Quaker, while in political mat- ters he affiliated with no party, but cast his ballot for the men whom he considered the best qualified to make honest and efficient public officials. He married Harriet O. Carr, who was a native of this county, and died June 23, 1886, aged fifty-eight years. Mrs. Coni- stock was a daughter of Capt. William Carr, who was a life-long resident of the town of Moreau, and died March 21st, 1877, at sev- enty-seven years of age. Captain Carr was a successful farmer, and had been a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church for many years before his death. He was of English descent, and served for several years as a captain in the New York militia.
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