Landmarks of Niagara County, New York, Part 60

Author: Pool, William, 1825-1912, ed
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: [Syracuse] : D. Mason & Co.
Number of Pages: 820

USA > New York > Niagara County > Landmarks of Niagara County, New York > Part 60

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Wilson, Frank E., was born at Lockport, N. Y., June 23, 1863, a son of Richard Wilson, a millwright and machinist, now deceased. Frank E. Wilson was educated in the public schools of his native town, and at the age of eighteen removed to Ober- lin, Ohio, where he learned telegraphy. Later he entered the employ of the New York Central Railroad Company at Sanborn, N. Y., as telegraph operator, and re- mained there for five years, when he was transferred to La Salle, as station agent for the same company. In 1892 he resigned his position and established himself in business at La Salle and has continued there ever since. On October 16, 1893, he was appointed postmaster at that place and is still an incumbent of that office. Sep- tember 29, 1886, he married Esther G. Riegle of Sanborn, N. Y., and they have five children. Mr. Wilson is a trusted officer and highly respected citizen.

Scovell, Oliver P., son of Josiah and Anna Saxe Scovell, was born at Orwell, Ad- dison county, Vt., March 24, 1820, removed with his parents in October, 1836, to Cambria, Niagara county. He was educated at Castleton Seminary, Vermont, and Lewiston Seminary. On arriving at age he spent the years 1841 and 1842 in clearing up a new farm in the woods of Eaton county, Mich. In 1843 and 1844 he was in a store and post-office at Yates Center, Orleans county, N. Y. In the spring of 1845

130

he went to New York city as agent of the old Clinton Line of boats on the Erie Canal, where he remained for six years. In 1851 he went to Boston as freight and ticket agent of the Fitchburg, Cheshire, Rutland and Burlington, and Ogdensburg Rail- roads, and Crawford & Chamberlin's line of propellers on the lakes, with office at 100 State street, for two years. The summer of 1853 he acted as traveling agent for the Albany & Rutland Railroad, while building at Lewiston preparatory to house- keeping that fall. In 1846 he was married at Lewiston to Elizabeth E. Shepard, only daughter of Leonard and Nancy A. Shepard. She died in 1854, and in 1855 he was married to Elizabeth E., oldest daughter of Philo and Eliza Jewett of Middle- bury, Addison county, Vt. In 1860 he was elected to the Legislature, and in April, 1861, voted for the first men and money from this State in the war of the Rebellion. He was enrolling officer for Lewiston and deputy provost marshal for the county during the drafts, going to Elmira twice a week with enlisted and drafted men. He was deputy collector of customs at Lewiston under Franklin Spalding and again under · Hon. T. E. Ellsworth; president of Lewiston village at different times; director and vice-president of the Lake Ontario Shore (now R. W. & O.) Railroad Co .; railroad commissioner of Lewiston for the issuing of bonds of said town in aid of the con- struction of the above road; for twenty-five years chairman of the School Board of Lewiston village; for forty-three years an elder, treasurer and clerk of session of the Presbyterian church of Lewiston, and for many years has been and now is a notary public, insurance agent and general conveyancer. He has two sons, Philo Jewett and Josiah Boardman-Jewett, a professor of music, and Josiah an attorney at law.

Bradley, Daniel, was born in Canada, August 22, 1819, a son of William and De- bora (Trip) Bradley, both born in Onondaga county, N. Y., and went to Canada in an early day, where he died in 1861, and his widow in 1870. Daniel Bradley was reared on a farm and educated in the common schools. He is a farmer and butcher and came to Wilson in 1850 and bought a farm; he has owned a number of farms in Porter and at present has 165 acres where he resides. In 1840 he married Almena Winter of Canada, and they had seven children: Smith, one of the leading farmers of Porter; Truman H., of Sterling, Can. ; Mathew D., a farmer of Porter; Wesley J .; Fannie Chipman of Texas; Willie W., M. D., of South Dakota, and Lewis H., of Memphis, Mich. His wife died in 1874, and in 1875 he married Mrs. Clarissa Hubble of Canada.

Dudley, Frank Alonzo, is descended from John Dudley (1), who settled in Guil- ford, Conn., in 1673. The line from John (1) is Ebenezer (2), Nathaniel (3), Phineas (4), a soldier from Connecticut in the Revolution, who was born in Guilford, and married Ruth Dowd, who had two brothers who were killed in the war for Independ- ence; Phineas (5), who was born in Killingworth, Conn., and married Elizabeth Graves, a great-granddaughter of Governor Webster of Connecticut; and John A. (6). A number of Mr. Dudley's ancestors served in the Colonial and Revolutionary wars, and many of them won distinction in civil life. John A. Dudley, father of Frank A., was born in Guilford Conn., May 4, 1829, came to Western New York when a young man, and on December 20, 1854, married Henrietta, daughter of Ithureal and Candace (Gaskill) Wright, who was born in Lockport, N. Y., December 20, 1832. He first settled on a farm in Wilson, Niagara county, where Frank A. was born Jan- uary 30, 1864, being the third of five children. Soon afterward the family moved to

131

Wisconsin and settled at Whitewater, where Mr. Dudley still lives, and where his wife died January 16, 1887. He spent his active life as a farmer and real estate dealer. Frank A. Dudley was educated at the Wisconsin State Normal School in Whitewater, and when eighteen returned East, locating in Lockport, where he read law with Hon. Joshua Gaskill. He was admitted to the bar in 1886, and in 1887 settled permanently in Niagara Falls, where, in 1888, he formed a copartnership with Hon. W. Caryl Ely, under the firm name of Ely & Dudley, which still contin- ues as Ely, Dudley & Cohn. Mr. Dudley rapidly rose to a front rank at the bar, and for several years has enjoyed an extensive law business. He is an able lawyer, a man of great energy and perseverance, and has been eminently successful. He is a stockholder and an officer in a number of important business and commercial enter- prises of Niagara Falls, including the Electric City Bank, of which he is vice- president; he was early connected with the power development at Niagara, and was one of the incorporators and organizers of the Buffalo and Niagara Falls Electric Railway. In politics he is an active and prominent Republican, and in 1895 and 1896 was elected to the Assembly, where he introduced and championed several bills which became laws. He introduced and had made the law giving the Niagara Falls Hydraulic Manufacturing Company the permanent right to use from the waters of Niagara River sufficient to develop 100,000 horse power; he also introduced and secured the passage of the graduated inheritance tax bill, designed to equalize the burden of taxation throughout the State. This bill is what is known as the "Dud- ley tax bill," and was vetoed by Governor Black. He is a Knight Templar Mason, holding membership in Niagara Frontier Lodge, No. 132, F. & A. M., a member of the order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and is also a member of the Sons of the American Revolution. December 17, 1890, he married Etta, daughter of Wes- ley Payne and Harriet Ann (Sackett) Brown, of Niagara Falls. Mrs. Dudley is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution through three great-grand- fathers, Elijah Gilbert, Stephen Pain, and Rufus Butts.

Campbell, Nathan, was born in the town of Cambria, March 28, 1845. His father, William Campbell, was also born in Cambria in 1818, where his father, Joshua Camp- bell, settled in 1816, the family being among the prominent people of that town. William Campbell married Alida, daughter of Thorret Rose; they moved to the town of Royalton in 1852, where he died in 1859. Nathan Campbell was educated in the common schools and in 1870 married Sarah, daughter of Henry Ernest. Mr. Campbell has served as highway commissioner and collector and was appointed town agent of the Erie and Niagara County Farmers' Insurance Association and is recog- nized as a man of sterling integrity, whose judgment is sought and respected by all who know him.

Moore, Allen N., M. D., is of Canadian birth and has been a resident of Niagara county since 1878. He was educated in the public schools and was graduated from the medical department of the Michigan University in 1878. He at this date re- moved to Rapids, Niagara county, N. Y., and began the practice of his profession. In 1893 he removed to Lockport and resumed his practice, where he has since resided. Dr. Moore is a member of the New York State Medical Association and a member of the Masonic order in all its branches. In October, 1881, he married Jennie Dever- eaux of Canada.

132

Wakeman, Edward A., was born in Lockport July 4, 1810. His father, Sillamon Wakeman, came to Lockport from Seneca county, N. Y., in 1809, purchasing a tract of Woodland from the Holland Land Company. He began clearing away the forests and with his wife, Susanna W. Wakeman, were among the pioneers of Niagara county. He died in 1818. Edward A. Wakeman attended the first school established in Lockport in 1818. After his twelfth year he worked on the farm. In 1834 he married Cynthia Howe, who died in 1834, and after her death he married Eliza- beth B. Jones. Mr. Wakeman is one of the conservative men of Lockport, where he has spent his life of eighty seven years, engaging in many business enterprises and filling various positions of honor and trust, and has ever received and merited the respect of his associates.

Mesler, Capt. Charles V., who served with distinction in the late Civil war and is now one of the leading business men of Gasport and a prominent and influential citi- zen of Niagara county, is a son of Absalom and Sallie M. (Wyman) Mesler, and was born in the town of Barrie, Orleans county, N, Y., October 12, 1836. His great- grandfather, Abraham Mesler, was a native of Holland and settled first on Manhat- tan Island and later removed to Morris county, N. J., where he died. He married Miss Covert, by whom he had a large family, one of whom was Bergen Mesler (grandfather), who was born on Staten Island January 4, 1759, moved with his father to New Jersey, and in 1822 returned to New York, locating in Seneca county. In the following year he removed to the town of Hartland, Niagara county, where he died July 15, 1824. He was a farmer and carpenter, an old-line Whig in politics and a member of the Baptist church; he was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, serving directly under General Washington, and also served for a time in the war of 1812. He married Mary Cooper, by whom he had thirteen children, ten sons and three daughters. Absalom Mesler (father) was born in the town of Chester, Morris county, N. J., October 3, 1812, snd came to Niagara county with his parents. He moved to the then village of Lockport in 1825, and entered the employ of Eli Bruce, then deputy sheriff and afterward elected sheriff, being the second man to occupy that office after the formation of Niagara county. In the spring of 1826 Mr. Mesler re- moved to the town of Cambria, where he engaged in farming for two years and then went to St. Catherine's, Can., and from there came to where the Catholic College now stands, between Lewiston and Niagara Falls. He lived at a number of other places during the next seventeen years, after which he resided near Royalton Center for twenty years. In 1868 he removed to Gasport, where he is still living at an ad- vanced age. Here, in partnership with his son, Charles V., he engaged in the com mission business, handling all kinds of produce and agricultural machinery. In 1887 Mr. Mesler practically retired from business and his son, Merrill A., assumed control and has since successfully conducted the enterprise. Mr. Mesler is a Republican in politics and married Sallie M., daughter of Samuel Wyman, August 22, 1833, by whom he had a family of eight children; Candis R., married Nelson Thompson (de- ceased); Charles V. (the subject); William M., married Lizzie Miller, resides in Michi- gan; Augusta, married Oliver J. Brunson, a farmer in Hartland; Samuel, married Helen Babcock, a commission merchant at Gasport; Sarah, married John Jenkins of Middleport (deceased), and Merrill, married and in business at Gasport. Capt. Charles V. Mesler was educated principally by his own efforts; he improved every

I33

opportunity that came within his reach and applied himself diligently to such books as he could procure. He attended Leoni College in Michigan for two terms, and at Adrian College three terms, but at the breaking out of the Civil war laid down his books and enlisted, April 19, 1861 as a private in Co. K, 1st Michigan Infantry, for three months. While in camp at Sooter's Hill, Va., in the latter part of June, 1861, he was attacked by typhoid pneumonia and sent first to the City Infirmary at Wash- ington, and from there to the General Hospital at Annapolis, Md. After regaining his health be joined his company, but was soon poisoned by eating cake bought of a female huckster, and only saved by the prompt and energetic efforts of the surgeon in charge. He was mustered out at Ft. Wayne, Detroit, Mich., August 7, 1861, but immediately returned to Niagara county and re-enlisted at Lockport in Co. B, 105th N. Y. Inf. At Front Royal, Va., he again suffered from typhoid pneumonia and was placed in the General Hospital at Alexandria, and as soon as able he reported to headquarters for duty. In the second battle of Bull Run, August 30, 1861, he was wounded by a ball in the ankle and was also injured at South Mountain and at Get- tysburg ; later he was again wounded in front of Petersburg, but in a few days joined his company and on the Weldon Railroad was taken prisoner and sent to Danville, where he remained in captivity for six months, during that time being prostrated with rheumatism. He was appointed orderly sergeant of his company February 10, 1862, and commissioned second lieutenant September 30, following ; he was promoted to be first lieutenant November 25, 1863, and received a captain's commission Janu- ary 1, 1865; later was brevetted colonel by the governor of the State and mustered out at Albany, N. Y., July 28, 1865. When the war was over Captain Mesler re- turned to Gasport and engaged in the commission business for some years with his father; later he became a dealer in coal, lumber and phosphate at Gasport, which business he has since conducted very successfully. In 1867 Captain Mesler married Hattie E., daughter of Caleb Drake of Gasport, and to them have been born three children: Frank M., May H. and Mattie D. In politics Captain Mesler is an ardent Republican, giving his party an active, energetic and influential support. In 1867 he was appointed postmaster of Gasport, which office he held for nineteen consecu- tive years; he is now, and has been for sixteen years, a notary public. He is a mem- ber of Cataract Lodge No. 94, Ancient Order of United Workmen, at Gasport, and has held all the offices in the lodge, and is a charter member of Lodge No. 787, F. & A. M., at Gasport. In April, 1864, in accordance with General Order No. 49, Adju- tant-General's office, Captain Mesler, then lieutenant, was given a thirty-five days' furlough to enlist veterans for the war-a lucky prize granted to but few.

Eshelman, Samuel B., was born at Clarence Center, Erie county, July 6, 1839, a son of the late John Eshelman, a prosperous farmer of that section. Samuel Eshel- man was educated in the public schools of his native town and in Cary Collegiate Seminary, and was graduated from that institution in 1855. He immediateiy en- tered the general store of his brother, John Eshelman, jr., as clerk, where he re- mained seven years, and then removed to Buffalo, where he was engaged as a clerk in a large dry goods establishment; in 1863 he removed to Niagara Falls, where he was placed in charge of the large flour and feed store of Witner Bros. and remained in that position nineteen years, when he established himself in the same line of busi- ness and in which he successfully operated until 1885, when he was elected justice of

134

the peace and retained that office for eight years. He represented the town of Niagara in the Board of Supervisors for four years, being chairman of the board in 1881 and 1882. Among the public offices filled by him were those of village treasurer for four years, village trustee, member of the Board of Education and of the Board of Water Commissioners, and others. In 1896 he was appointed attendance officer of the city of Niagara Falls, which office he still holds. July 23, 1872, he married Har- riet Metz of Niagara Falls, and they had six children.

Hopkins, S. Silas, was born in the town of Lewiston, Niagara county, March 29, 1852, and has been engaged in farming and fruit growing all his life. He has fifty acres of apple orchard, fifteen acres of pears, and ten acres of plums on the home- stead. On the farm situated on the Niagara River Road below Lewiston he has twenty-five acres of quinces, twenty acres of pears and plums and other fruits. He is a member of the Niagara County Farmers' Club and has been its president for two years. In 1875 he married E Amanda Young of Cambria, and they have two children, Edna Young and Arline Douglass. Mr. Hopkins's parents were Silas S and Abigail H. Hopkins. After the Revolutionary war his great-grandfather immigrated to Canada from New Jersey and settled near Hamilton, Ontario, but his two sons, Silas and Benjamin, not liking the country, Silas came to Lewiston, and later Benjamin settled in Michigan. His son Silas was the first judge of Niagara county and was grandfather of the subject of this sketch. Mr. Hopkins's father made a valuable permanent improvement in the town of Lewiston by draining the great cranberry marsh opposite his farm and reclaiming a valuable tract of land which is still in possession of the family. He died June 20, 1871, while his widow is still living at the age of eighty years. Mrs. Hopkins's family, the Youngs, came from Pennsyl- vania about 1810, traveling in wagons and unloaded near Niagara Falls by an old oak tree, the site of which is to-day marked by some willows; there they took up land and settled. These were her great grandfather, John, her grandfather, Samuel, and his brothers, John, Christian and Jacob. They were driven from their homes three times by the Indians during the war of 1812. Mrs. Hopkins's grandparents on the mother's side, the Hittles, came from Pennsylvania in 1828; her great-grand- father served through the Revolutionary war as an officer.

Miller, John C., was born in Wilson, N. Y., December 25, 1856, a son of John H. and Sophia (Beeman) Miller, natives of Germany, who came to America in 1856, living in Wilson and Newfane until 1876, when John H. bought the farm the subject now owns. He was killed in June, 1892, and his widow lives with John C. John C. was educated in the common schools and is at present carrying on the homestead farm of fifty acres. In 1880 he married Maria Bendt and they have four children: B. Frank, C. Howard, Grace E. and John C.

Root, Thomas, was born at South Onondaga, Onondaga county, N. Y., October 14, 1817, the oldest son of Elias and Anna (Belding) Root, and is descended from Thomas Root, who came from Badby, England, and settled at Hartford, Conn., in 1637. Thomas Root was married to Martha B., daughter of Dr. Myron Orton of Cambria, in 1847. They have five children : Elias, a lawyer at North Tonawanda ; Mary A., wife of Gilbert M. Duncan, a farmer of Newfane; Emma M. Root of North Tonawanda; Minnie C., wife of W. Irving Burns, a physician at North Tonawanda;

I35

and Frank M. Root, living on the home farm. Thomas Root has resided at Pekin, Niagara county, since 1818. He has represented his town (Cambria) as supervisor twice, and has held the office of justice of the peace for over forty years, the longest continuous service in that capacity of any one in the county. He has always taken an active interest in public affairs. He was one of the original Abolitionists in his town, where only one or two other voters co-operated with him, and his place was a station on the underground railroad. He actively supported the Republican party from its organization until a few years since, when he identified himself with the Prohibition party. He and his family are Methodists. He still, at the age of eighty years, resides on his farm near the village of Pekin, a hale, hearty old gen- tleman, influential in neighborhood affairs, and whose judgment and advice are much regarded.

McCollum, Abram M., was born in Porter, October 29, 1842, a son of Abram Howe and Susanah (Zittle) McCollum. His father was born in Tuscarora Valley in 1820, son of Joseph McCollum, born in Pennsylvania in 1775, and in 1820 came to Porter, settling on a farm where he lived and died in 1853. The maternal grandfather, Conrad Zittle, was born in Germany in 1765, and came to the United States with his mother in 1774, who died in Pennsylvania. Mr. Zittle came to Porter about 1809 or 1810 and settled on the farm at Tower's Corners by the Four-mile Creek ; he sold to Peter Tower and settled at Zittle's Corners about 1816 or 1817, where he lived and died April 11, 1850. Abram M. McCollum was reared on a farm, and educated in the common schools. He is a farmer and owns 120 acres of land and works about 200 acres. In 1869 he married Almyra S. Sanborn, daughter of Israel Sanborn of Orleans county, and niece of Hon. L. R. Sanborn of Sanborn, Niagara county. Mr. and Mrs. McCollum had seven children: Anna W., May (who died at four years of age), Evangeline, Abram D., Israel L., Lulu and Grant. Mr. McCollum is a Re- publican in politics, and in 1863 enlisted in Co. F, 8th N. Y. Heavy Artillery, serv- ing under Col. Peter A. Porter until the battle of Cold Harbor, Va., June 3, 1864, where he was disabled by a bullet striking the shoulder and lodging in the left side of his head, which caused him to lay on the field unconscious for ten or twelve hours ; after coming to he had lost so much blood from the shattered arm, that he was una- ble to help himself, and as no flag of truce was accepted from either side, was left laying on the field for two days, and then taken to Fairfax Seminary, Va., from which he was honorably discharged October 10, 1864. He is a member of Melville C. McCollum Post of Ransomville, N. Y., and its present commander, said post be- ing named in honor of a brother. Mr. McCollum's father was a lifelong Whig and Republican ; he was a leader in his town and county and served for a time in the regular army. He enlisted in the volunteers, serving for a time in a light battery, when he received an honorable discharge from the governor of his State, telling him he could do more good recruiting. He spent hundreds of dollars for the benefit of the government during the Civil war for recruiting, and in the Christian and Sani- tary Commission for the benefit of wounded soldiers and their families that were left at home. Any one coming for aid was never turned away. Patriotic to a fault was the father of Abram M. McCollum.

Freer, George S., was born in Cambria, N. Y., in April, 1833, a son of Solomon and Mary Ann (Snyder) Freer. The grandfather, Amos Freer, was a merchant in

I36

Albany, and the paternal grandfather, Henry Snyder, was an early settler of Cam- bria. Solomon Freer came to Cambria in 1826, where he lived until his death. He was a millwright by trade, but spent his last days at farming. George S. Freer was reared on a farm, and has always followed farming with the exception of four years spent in the custom house under Cutler as deputy collector. In 1855 he married Caroline Madison, adopted daughter of Roswell Hart of Rochester. Mr. and Mrs. Freer are the parents of four sons and one daughter: Milton S., miller; Roswell H., (deceased), G. Frank, farmer; Charles S., farmer on homestead, and Minnie, wife of William Walaba. Mr. Freer is a Democrat and has served as assessor and super- visor. He is a member of Frazier Lodge No. 375, F. & A. M., also of the Good Templars.

McCollum, James A., is a son of Peter and Abigail McCollum, who came through the dense wilderness from Schenectady county in 1819, moving in a lumber wagon and settling in what is now Newfane in 1820. Their worldly possessions at that time were a team, wagon, and a sharp axe to clear up the homestead where James A. now resides. They raised to maturity a family of four children: John, Abigail, Charles S. and James A .- the latter the youngest and only surviving son. Peter McCollum died in 1862, and his widow survived till 1872. They had seen the town grow from a wilderness to a high state of cultivation and civilization-from the time when its post-office was a knot hole in a sycamore tree a few rods south of the village of New- fane. The second frame school house in town was built on his farm, in a community of intelligent and enterprising people, enjoying the benefits of hard and well earned properties. It is worthy of record that he and his three sons represented at different times the town of Newfane in the Board of Supervisors, each for several terms-a veritable family of supervisors - James A. serving for five years and chair- man of the board for two years; also served as its clerk. At the pres- ent time he is vice-president of the Erie and Niagara Co. Farmers' Insurance Association, and for many years has been a director of the Niagara County Agricul- tural Society, and has always been a resident of the town, with the exception of a few years spent in teaching in Kentucky and Tennessee in his younger days. The whole McCollum family have been intimately connected with the progress and pros- perity of the town of Newfane, and in all the relations of life-business, social and educational-have proved trustworthy, liberal and enterprising, commanding the re- spect and esteem of not only their immediate neighbors, but of the citizens of the whole county.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Landmarks of Niagara County, New York, Part 60

Author: Pool, William, 1825-1912, ed Publication date: 1897 Publisher: [Syracuse] : D. Mason & Co. Number of Pages: 820

Author: Pool, William, 1825-1912, ed
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: [Syracuse] : D. Mason & Co.
Number of Pages: 820