Landmarks of Orleans County, New York, Part 70

Author: Signor, Isaac S., ed
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Syracuse : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 1084

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The Methodist Protestant Church of Kendall Mills .- A class was formed at a school house on Norway street in the spring of 1844, with William Burbick as class leader. Among the twenty-five members of this class were William Thomas, James Johnson, and John Cary. Rev. Mr. Payne was pastor for a year or more, followed by Rev. Isaac Fisher, who preached to the society several years in the school house where it was formed. He organized a class at Kendall Mills, with John Bovee as the first class leaders and meetings were afterward held at that place. The society was regularly organized at Kendall Mills February 18, 1868, and G. C. Bridgeman, Matthias Ladue, Robert McCreary, Martin Webster, Alexander Cary, Chandler Manley, Philander Buckley, William T. Brooks, and Simon Van Geisen were chosen trustees. Clinton Perry donated a site for a church building, and in 1869 the society erected one at a cost of $3,650. This house was repaired and remodeled in 1878. The society also owns a parsonage. The pastors have been :

Revs. Seymour D. Kingsley, Austin O. Hutchinson, Chester K. Akeley, W. H. Farn- ham, Bert Partridge, William Richards, H. L. Bowen, A. L. Bloomfield, Chester K. Akeley again, S. A. Baker, D. L. Vaughan, F. G. Grafton, A. M. Woodward and W. M. Kel- logg. It is now without a pastor.

The Free Methodist Society of Kendall Mills aided in the erection of the church and occupied it a portion of the time. This society was or- ganized in 1860 with William Nichols class leader, and Samuel Ladue, steward. It is a part of the West Kendall Church, and is served by the same pastors. In 1882 the society erected a church edifice on the Monroe county side at a cost of about $1,600.

The Free Methodist Church of West Kendall was organized in 1860,

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ORLEANS COUNTY.

by Rev. Loren Stiles, at a meeting held in the M. E. Church at West Kendall. The first class leaders were Stephen Jenks, G. W. Thomas, J. H. Burt, and G. W. Holmes, and the first stewards were Jesse Foun- tain, N. S. Bennett and G. W. Holmes. At the end of the first year the church had nearly 100 members. October 18, 1866, the society was incorporated, and Nelson Coe, G. W. Thomas and N. S. Bennett were chosen trustees In 1867 a parsonage was purchased at a cost, with an adjoining lot of two and one half acres, of more than $1,000. In 1876 this parsonage was repaired and enlarged at at expense of $750. In 1869 Rev. John W. Reddy, then pastor, donated to the society a site, and a substantial framed church building was erected thereon at a cost, including furniture and church sheds, of $3,700. The following, in the order named, have been pastors of this church :

Revs. Moses W. Downing, Albert G. Terry, Henry Hornsby, George W. Coleman, Cornelius D. Brooks, Henry Hornsby, Ichabod C. White, John W. Reddy, George W. Marcellus, William Manning, Otis O. Bacon, M. D. McDougal, C. C. Eggleston, William Ingleby, John O'Regan, William Manning, A. A. Burgess, W. W. Brown, L. D. Per- kins, and W. W. Manning.

The two societies have a total membership of about fifty-five.

David Jones Post, No. 298, G. A. R., of Kendall village was organ- ized October 10, 1882, with nineteen charter members, and with Philip R. Woodcock as commander, the subsequent commanders being Charles E. Spring, Henry E. Snyder, and Morrill W. Kidder. It was named in honor of David Jones, a soldier of the war of 1812, and an early settler of this town. It present membership is twenty-one.

Kendall Lodge, No. 538, I. O. G. T., was organized February 12, 1868, and now has ninety-five members. The present lodge deputy is Harry E. Wellman. They occupy the old Presbyterian Church, and have always held regular meetings.

Golden Harvest Lodge, Nov. 573, I. O. G. T., was organized in the spring of 1889, and at one time had 120 members, the present number being sixty - five.

West Kendall Cemetery Association was incorporated May 10, 1890, with Rev. Henry Hornsby, W. O. Hardenbrook, G. W. Bird, Levi Bar- rows, J. A. Higley, and Alonzo Smith, trustees. The first officers were W. O. Hardenbrook, president ; G. W. Bird, vice-president ; and Rev.

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Henry Hornsby, secretary and treasurer. By common consent the old cemetery was placed in possession of the association, more land was added, and the grounds now present a very attractive appearance. The officers for 1893 are J. A. Higley, president ; G. W. Bird, vice-presi- dent; Rev. Henry Hornsby, secretary and treasurer. This is the only cemetery organization in town.

PART II.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

ENOS THROOP SIMPSON.

ENOS THROOP SIMPSON Was born at Two Bridges in the town of Carlton on June 20, 1830, and died there January 27, 1892. He was a son of Asa Simpson, who was born in Cayuga county, and came thence to the county of Orleans in 1822. Mr. Simpson was an extensive farmer, and with his brother carried on a large forwarding trade for upwards of twenty years. He bought quantities of grain, wool, apples, and beans, shipping them to Oswego, Boston, New York, and other points. He was collector of customs at Oak Orchard Harbor under Johnson's administration, and also held the office of town clerk for several years. In these various capacities, and in all the relations of life, in public and in private, he was ever held in high esteem, and always exerted a marked influence on the social, moral, and intellectual development of the community. Born in the town while it was yet a wilderness he lived to see it transformed into one of the most productive districts of the State, and during his long and active business career he accumulated a handsome competency and left an attractive home, now occupied by his widow.

March 12, 1861, Mr. Simpson was married to Miss Emeline, a daughter of Joseph Park Drake, and a granddaughter of Henry Drake. They had two children : Lettie M., born June 1, 1862, died March 15, 1878; and George D., born February 21, 1865. George D. Simpson married Eveline McCord Browne, daughter of Rev. N. Foster Browne, a native of New Jersey, and a Presbyterian minister, now residing at Two Bridges. Mrs. Eveline Simpson was born in Atlanta, Ga., August 6, 1861. They were married September 12, 1888, and have had one child, Helen, born December 9, 1889.

Henry Drake, the grandfather of Mrs. Emeline Simpson, was born in New Jersey on April 6, 1770, and settled at East Gaines in 1811. He was an extensive landholder and died there at a ripe old age. His son, Joseph Park Drake, was born in Ovid, Seneca county, February 9, 1806, and married, February 11, 1835, Zibeah Ruggles, who was born in Antwerp, Jefferson county, July 30, 1812. They settled in Carlton in the month following their marriage and both lived and died here-he October 3, 1881, and she September 16, 1862. They had ten children, of whom three died in infancy. The others were as follows: Charles H., born February 11, 1836, died August 8, 1837 ; Oscar, born March 12, 1838, died June 20, 1838 ; Emeline (Mrs. Enos Throop Simpson), born June 9, 1841; Harriet, born February 25, 1844, died March 20, 1844 ; George W., born June 10, 1845, died June 8, 1861; Warren P., born July 3, 1856, died May 31, 1861; and Ella C., born January 10, 1859, died May 24, 1861.

LANDMARKS OF ORLEANS COUNTY.

JOHN HULL WHITE.

PROMINENT among the senior members of the bar of Orleans county is John Hull White, a native of Dutchess county, N. Y., where he was born in the town of Stanford on the 29th of February, 1820. He was the third of seven children of Walter and Mary (Avery) White. Walter White was a respected farmer, and gave his son oppor- tunity to secure a good edu- cation. After spending his youth on the home farm, the son went to New York city and served as a clerk three years, the family meanwhile removing to Mendon, Monroe county, N. Y. When the young man returned home he attended the academies in Macedon and Waterloo, hav- ing already decided to make the profession of law his life work. He studied in the offices of Denton G. Shuart, at Honeoye Falls; A. P. Kimball, at Penfield, and fin- ished with Houghton & Sprague in Buffalo. Mr. White was admitted to prac- tice July 2, 1848, and soon afterward settled in Albion, where he has ever since re- mained. During short periods of his professional life he was associated with Reu- ben Bryant, and with Hiram S. Goff, but during a large part of the time he has been alone. While his practice has been of a general character, as is the rule in country districts, Mr. White has gained especial prominence as a trial lawyer, and has been entrusted with many important cases in Central and Western New York, especially in railroad litigation. He is well known as a careful, industrious, and well read attorney, who devotes his best energies to the interests of his clients.

In politics Mr. White is a conservative Democrat and has received honorable evidence from his party of their confidence and esteem. He has been their candidate for the offices of district attorney, county judge, and member of Congress; but majorities

BIOGRAPHICAL.

against the Democratic candidates are always large in Orleans county, and while Mr. White has been defeated with the rest of the ticket, he has always been given a vote that was a source of gratification to himself and his friends. His immediate fellow citizens have chosen him for president of Albion village, and his intelligent interest in educational affairs has kept him in the Board of Education as a member sixteen years, and as president thirteen years.

Mr. White became a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in 1848, and ever since has been conspicuous in the order; at the present time no person in the United States occupies a higher position. He has advanced through all the various lodge and encampment degrees to the position of grand master of the State, and in 1887 was elevated to the high station of grand sire of the order-the greatest honor conferred in the order. He has also been a member of the Sovereign Grand Lodge since 1865. He is the author of a valuable digest pertaining to Odd Fellowship, a work that has attracted much attention throughout the country ; he has also been a contributor to other works on the same subject.

Mr. White was married on January 19, 1850, to Temperance, daughter of Matthias B. Miller, of Dutchess county. After her death he married Mrs. Mary A. Miller, widow of Capt. John B. Miller. She died in 1891, and in June, 1892, he married Frances M. Noble, of Albion.

MYRON L PARKER.

MYRON L. PARKER was born September 6, 1837, being the eldest of two sons of Livonia and Sophronia (Barrett) Parker, his brother Chauncey N., of Lyndonville, be- ing five years his junior. Livonia Parker, oldest son of Asel and Nancy Parker, was born March 22, 1801, and moved with his father's family to the north part of the town of Ridgeway in July, 1816. January 18, 1829, he was married to Jane, daughter of Will- iam Cochran, who died November 6, 1830. In 1832 he married Sophronia, only daugh- ter of Amos Barrett, by whom he had two sons above mentioned, and took up his resi- dence on what is now called Spring Brook farm, on the southern boundary of the town of Yates. In the autumn of 1861 he removed to the village of Medina, but two years later returned to Yates and settled in Lyndonville, where he died November 15, 1875. Sophronia, his wife, survived her husband eleven years, dying November 12, 1886. Mr. Parker was a substantial citizen, honest, influential and respected, endowed with sterling traits of character, and possessed of indomitable energy and marked personality.

Myron L. Parker enjoyed only the advantages of the district school in winter and three terms at the old Yates Academy, and at the age of nineteen commenced teaching school, enduring the martyrdom of boarding 'round and warming spare beds. After spending two winters at this occupation he entered upon the active management of Spring Brook farm, from which his father then retired, and which has ever since been his home. In 1861 he united in marriage with Miss Annie E., daughter of Martin T. and Annie (Whitmarsh) Rowley. Mrs. Parker, a most estimable wonan, was born on the farm now owned by her brother George, which adjoins the one where she has spent

LANDMARKS OF ORLEANS COUNTY.

the whole of her married life. Mr. Parker has always taken an active interest in local affairs, and in both town and county has attained distinction. He was one of the first board of directors of the Orleans County Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company, and for the last two years has served as its vice-president. In politics he has always been a staunch Republican, and in 1892 and again in 1893 was elected supervisor of the town of Yates. At the 29th District Republican Senatorial Convention held in Rochester on October 5, 1893, he was nominated as one of the district delegates to the convention which assembled at Albany in May, 1894, to revise the State Constitution. He was duly elected, his majority in the district over the Democratic nominee from Orleans county being 6.453. During the session of that able body he served with marked dis- tinction and fidelity to his constituents.

Mr. Parker takes great pride in his calling, that of an agriculturist, and aspires to nothing higher in a worldly way than to be worthy the name of an intelligent Ameri- can farmer, such an one as is able to organize and direct the latest and best methods of rendering the farms our fathers wrested from the virgin forest both profitable and pleasant homes for ourselves and our posterity.

DAVID S. FRASER, M D.

DAVID S. FRASER, M.D., was born in Canada October 31, 1847. Educated in the Dundas Grammar School and Toronto University he entered the Bellevue Medical Col- lege Hospital in New York city, and was graduated as an M.D. in 1868, and the next year began the practice of his profession in Lyndonville, where he has since resided. Hugh Fraser, his father, was born in Biggar, Scotland, and died in Canada March 17, 1882. April 25, 1877, Dr. Fraser married Jessie N., daughter of Morris and Mary Colt, of Yates, and his children are: Hugh, David E., Kenneth D., Keith and Donald M. He has held the medical offices of the town and is an active member of the Orleans County Medical Society. In addition to his practice he conducts a drug store in a building erected by the Free Methodists for a church edifice. He is prominently identi- fied with local affairs, is a member of the Board of Education, and in politics is an active Democrat.

W. WARD MILES.

W. WARD MILES was born in Carlton, October 23, 1843, and died there December 27, 1893. His father was Henry O. Miles, a native of Stockbridge, Mass., born October 31, 1811, who married Hannah Clark, of Palmyra, N. Y., who was born February 14, 1812, and died January 18, 1892. Their children were : H. Page, born September 30. 1837 ; W. Ward; and Sarah R., born December 15, 1854. W. Ward Miles was a farmer and prominently identified with the interests of Carlton for many years, having served as assessor and supervisor. March 19, 1874, he married Sarah E. Wilson, who was born

O.S France M.@.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

in Carlton, August 31, 1853, and survives him with their four children : Henry W., born February 13, 1877 ; Clark S., born January 11, 1883; Armina L., born April 16, 1887; and Sanford, born September 26, 1888. Henry Wilson, father of Mrs. Miles, was born in Dover, Dutchess county, August 5, 1807, and died in Carlton, June 24, 1871. His wife was Catharine Shear, who was born in Dutchess county August 6, 1808, and who died here December 24, 1884. Their children were: Mary, born March 5, 1829 ; Benjamin S., born May 10, 1831; John C., born December 11, 1832; Cynthia, born February 17, 1836; George H., born August 31, 1838; Ellen, born August 15, 1840; Margaret, born January 4, 1843; Wilbor F., born April 23, 1845; H. Seaver, born January 19, 1847 ; Louise, born January 13, 1849; Philo B., born January 29, 1851; Sarah E., born August 31, 1853; and Clark G., born March 3, 1855.

LEWIS ROGERS.

LEWIS ROGERS is a son of Jeremiah and a grandson of George M. Rogers, and was born in Brandon, Rutland connty, Vt., March 10, 1842. George M. Rogers, a native of Rhode Island, died in Windsor county, Vt., in 1866, aged seventy years. His wife was Mary Stoodley, who died in 1864 at the age of sixty-eight. Their children were Jeremiah, Lois, William, Nancy, and Thomas. Jeremiah Rogers, born in Vermont in 1820, married Lucy Goodnow, who was born in the same State in 1819, Their children were Lestina, Julia, Sarah, Lewis, Frank, and one who died in infancy. They are both living and reside in Brattleboro, Vt.

Lewis Rogers was reared on a farm and obtained his education in the common schools of Brandon, Vt. At the age of sixteen he went to Bloomington, Ill., and en- gaged as clerk for the American Express Company, but at the end of one year, in 1867. he returned to Vermont and became clerk and manager of the Eagle Hotel at Wood- stock, where he remained ten years He then purchased a half interest in a grocery store in that village, but two years later sold out and removed to Batavia, N. Y., where he was proprietor of the Central House for one year. In 1882 Mr. Rogers bought the Point Breeze Hotel at Oak Orchard Harbor in the town of Carlton, where he has ever since remained. He has made it one of the best hotels in the county, Situated on the lake shore at the month of Oak Orchard Creek, it is unexcelled as a summer residence, and maintains an enviable reputation far and near. It affords the best of service with reasonable rates, and connected is a fine boat livery, which is at the disposal of regular boarders without charge.

Mr. Rogers is an active member of Woodstock (Vt.) Lodge, No. 31, F. and A. M., which he joined about 1868. September 9, 1869, he was married at Bridgewater, Vt., to Miss Emma N. Chamberlin, who was born August 14, 1843. She was a daughter of Sylvanus Chamberlin, who was born in 1813 and now resides in Sherburne, Vt. They have an adopted daughter, Louie Marian, the daughter of a deceased sister (Sarah) of Mr. Rogers.

LANDMARKS OF ORLEANS COUNTY.

H. AUGUSTUS ACER,

THE son of Volney A. and Charlotte (Peck) Acer, was born in the town of Shelby, Orleans county, on June 19, 1858. His father is one of the best known men of the county.

In February, 1882, H. A. Acer formed a copartnership under the firm name of Whedon & Acer, with Mr. Oscar Whedon, who had been engaged in the hardware trade in Medina nearly thirty years. After the death of Mr. Whedon in August, 1886, Mr. Acer assumed the entire business and has since carried it forward under the style of H. A. Acer, keeping a general line of shelf and builders' hardware, cutlery, stoves, ranges, paints and oils, agricultural implements, carriages and wagons, with special departments devoted to plumbing, hot water and steam heating, located at No. 48 Main street, Medina. On Decem- SAPIENS VIGILA ber 28, 1881, he was married to Miss Ella W., the daughter of Oscar and Julia (Winchester) Whedon, of Medina, and they have three sons, viz .: Oscar Whedon, Herbert Peck, and Donald Winchester. Mr. Acer is recognized as an enterprising and honorable business man, and takes a prominent part in the affairs of the day, political and otherwise.

OGDEN S. MILLER.

ONE of the early settlers of the town of Byron, Genesee county, N. Y., was Caleb Miller, grandfather of the subject of this sketch. He removed from that town and settled in Barre, Orleans county, at an early date, and engaged in farming. His wife was Rhoda Loomis and they had three sons-Caleb, Alvin (who died young), and Alexander. Caleb Miller died in 1819. His sons, Caleb, jr., and Alexander, learned the blacksmith trade, and after working for a time in Byron they located in Clarendon village, Orleans county, where they extended their business to the manufacture of plows and carried on a foundry. The stone shop which is still used in that place was built by Caleb Miller, jr. He sold out after a few years to his brother and removed to Michigan, where he carried on a farm and later a foundry. Alexander Miller was one of the foremost men of Clarendon ; built many dwellings there and labored for the promotion and welfare of the place. His wife was Lois, danghter of Elias Willard, of Monroe county, and they were married in 1844 In 1871 he sold his interest in the Clarendon business to W. T. Pettengill, and in 1874 engaged in farming in Bergen. In 1878 he removed to Caledonia, where he with his son, Fred W., again established a manufactory of agricultural implements. He died in 1886, leaving his son to continue the business The children of Alexander Miller were : Ogden S. (the subject) ; Jennie V., who married Walter T. Pettengill; Fred W., and Nellie L., who married William A. Bissell.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

Ogden S. Miller was born in Barre, December 3, 1846, and received his education in the schools of his native town and in the Lockport Union School, and at Bryant & Stratton's Business College in Buffalo. In 1866, when he was twenty years old, he became associated as partner with his father in the manufacture of carriages and agri- cultural implements. In 1871 his father sold out his interest to W. T. Pettengill, and the firm of Miller & Pettengill continued two years in their original business. In 1873 they purchased the cider and grist mill property at Clarendon and soon became extensive makers of cider vinegar. In 1886 they extended the business to Holley, where they built a large evaporator, and they soon occupied the position of the largest manufacturers of cider vinegar in the world. In 1891 the business was incorporated under the name of " The Genesee Fruit Company," Mr. Miller being the vice-president and general manager. He took up his residence in Holley in 1886, and was soon acknowledged as in every sense a leading and public spirited citizen. He was one of the organizers of the Holley Electric Light Company, and of the Holley water works. He served as presi- dent of the village several years, and during his comparatively brief residence in the village was always conspicuous for his energy, activity, and unselfish service of the community at large. Mr. Miller was a liberal Democrat in politics, but never sought political preferment of any kind. He took a deep interest in educational affairs and labored assiduously for the promotion of the village schools. He was a regular attendant of the Baptist church and liberal in support of religious institutions. Mr. Miller joined the Holley Lodge No. 42, I. O. O. F., August 20, 1871; also joined the Holley Lodge of Masons, May 25, 1881.

Mr. Miller married in 1872 Rosetta G., daughter of William Gliddon, of Clarendon. Mr. Gliddon was a native of Lower Canada, and married Lucinda Cox, of Vermont, in 1832. They were parents of eleven children. Ogden S. Miller died in Holley, May 20, 1893, his widow surviving.

COL. JOHN BERRY.

THE ancestry of Col. John Berry is traceable back to about fifty years after the landing of the Mayflower, and the family has had connections of more than ordinary note. On the paternal side the ancestors were of the sturdy and faithful Rhode Island Quakers, while on the maternal side Colonel Berry had among his ancestry Gen. Nathaniel Green, one of the Revolutionary heroes. His grandfather was Elisha Berry, who was born in Rhode Island in 1731, and died March 11, 1803. His wife was Phoebe Clark, born in 1739, and died in 1820.

Clark Berry, son of Elisha and father of the subject, was born in Berlin, Rensselaer county, N. Y., whither the family had removed in 1783, and died at Pompey, Onondaga county, N. Y., in 1844. He married Sarah Whitney, who was born in 1787 mn Hancock, Mass., and died in 1852 in Ira, Cayuga county, N. Y., while on a visit to one of her children. Clark Berry was a man of generally broad intelligence, well educated for his time and liberal as far as his ability went in giving to his children educational ad- vantages. The children of Clark and Sarah (Whitney) Berry were as follows : Clark (jr.),

LANDMARKS OF ORLEANS COUNTY,

born at Berlin in 1807, died October 13, 1882 at Lysander, Onondaga county, N. Y., married first Avis Deering, and second Cordelia Butts; they had four children. Second, Sylvester Berry, born at Berlin May 24, 1809, died in Albion May 28, 1879, while on a visit east from his home in Michigan ; married Mary Gould; three children. Third, the subject (see further on). Fourth, Matthias, born at Berlin in 1815, and now living in Pompey, married Sylvia Osborn ; eight children. Fifth, Sarah, born in Pompey in 1818, living in Wisconsin. Sixth, Phoebe, born in Pompey in 1821, died in 1845 in Granby, Oswego county. Seventh, Laura, born in Pompey in 1823, died in 1857 at Watertown, Wis. Eighth, Daniel, born in Pompey in 1825, died in 1890 in California, married in 1851 at Holley, to Marcia Elliott. Ninth, Mary Ann, born in Pompey in 1828, died at Parsons, Kas., in 1889.

John Berry, the third child of Clark Berry, was born at Berlin, Rensselaer county, N. Y., October 11, 1812, and died in Holley, Orleans county, November 7, 1892. His youth did not materially differ from that of other American boys of that time; but he found opportunity to obtain a fair English education, which in later years he broadened by extensive reading and clear judgment of current reading during his long life. In 1834, when he was twenty-two years old, he removed to Albion and was employed by General Lee in the produce business. Three years later he removed to Holley, where he passed the remainder of his life in the same business-an honorable business career of more than fifty years. He became widely known in this connection throughout Western New York, and for years was one of the largest buyers in this section and one who was implicitly trusted by all with whom he had business relations. In 1852 he took the stone mill property with L. D. Hurd and Eldredge Farwell and continued the connection several years. In 1861 he formed the firm of Partridge & Berry in the produce business, associating with himself his son in-law, D. H. Partridge.

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Landmarks of Orleans County, New York, Part 70

Author: Signor, Isaac S., ed Publication date: 1894 Publisher: Syracuse : D. Mason Number of Pages: 1084

Author: Signor, Isaac S., ed
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Syracuse : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 1084