Landmarks of Orleans County, New York, Part 76

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

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Atwell, Eli .- Nelson Culver, son of pioneer Orange Culver, the latter being mentioned elsewhere in these sketches, was born July 25, 1812, He married Ann Alida Hanson, on September 3, 1840, in Cass county, Mich., where he had settled two years previously. He was the first of the children of Orange Culver to leave the old home farm. Nelson's children were Caroline, who married Eli Atwell, September 25, 1866; David W., who died in Barre, May 20, 1867; and Homer H., who is a farmer in Barre. Nelson Culver died in Elkhart county, Ind., December 3, 1851, and his wife February 13, 1857. Levi Atwell was one of the pioneers of western New York, coming from Cayuga county in 1811. Near what is now Eagle Harbor he discovered a valuable spring of water, and there he decided to settle. He took an article for the land, made a clearing, then re- turned east for the winter, but became a permanent resident in 1812. His children were Abbie, Roxie, Mary, Joseph, Martin, and Levi. Joseph married Anna Freeman

LANDMARKS OF ORLEANS COUNTY.

in 1828, and they had these children : James W., who died in Albion January 23, 1892; Freeman J., now a prosperous lawyer in Dowagiac, Mich .; Eli, of Barre, and Lydia, who died November 5, 1887, at her home in Atlanta, Mo. Joseph Atwell died May 4, 1872; his wife died in 1838. Eli Atwell is known as one of the best farmers of Barre. He was born January 17, 1834. At twenty-six he began farming for himself near Barre Center. His first wife was Mary Miller, whom he married October 16, 1861. She lived only about four years, and on September 25, 1866, he married Caroline Culver. They have no own children, but Anna E., wife of Euretus Allis, and Daisy M., are their children by adoption.

Alderman, Horace, was born at Manlius, Onondaga county, in 1829, a son of Zardius and Hannah Alderman. He came to Orleans county in 1849, and settled at Albion, where he engaged in boating until 1863, when he purchased a farm in the southwestern part of Murray, where he has since resided. In 1854 he married Susan Mustill, of Murray. He is a Republican in politics.

Allen, Daniel B., is a grandson of Amasa Allen, who was born in New England, and died in Pavilion, Genesee county, about 1820, aged sixty years. He was a soldier in the Revolution, serving seven years and seven months. Horatio, his son, and father of our subject, was born in 1799, and died in Niagara county in 1839. He married Hannah Tirrill, born in Connecticut in 1804, and died in 1833. They had three children : Albert N., born in 1824, died in 1860; Henry T., born in 1826; Daniel B., our subject, born November 20, 1828, in Niagara county. Mr. Allen married second, Adeline Freeman, by whom he had three children : Matilda, Elizabeth, and Candace, the latter two deceased. Our subject was educated in the common schools, and reared on a farm. At the age of twenty-one he began to learn the painter's trade, which business he followed nine years. In 1861 he bought the farm where he now resides, comprising 160 acres. Mr. Allen has served as trustee and president of the village of Suspension Bridge, Niagara county, N. Y., also justice of the peace of the town of Carlton, Orleans county, N. Y., having served fourteen years. April 16, 1855, he married at Niagara Falls, Caroline Dutcher, who was born in Schoharie county, Decem- ber 5, 1835, and they have had four children : Albert M., born April 21, 1857, married Lucy Boughton, and has one child, Harold B .; Charles D., born November 4, 1860, married Florence Kenner, and has one child, Rollin D .; Luella H., born May 8, 1865; and George D., born October 24, 1867.

Butler, Menzo W., Kendall, is a son of Amos Butler, and was born in Middlefield, Otsego county, November 6, 1827. He was reared in his native town, worked for a year in Massachusetts, and followed rafting on the Susquehanna river much of the time until he attained the age of twenty-seven, when he located permanently in Kendall, where he was a farmer in different parts of the town until 1884. He then moved into the village, where he has since resided, and where he has recently erected one of the best dwellings in this part of the county. Mr. Butler has always evinced a broad public spirit in forwarding all local enterprises, and was especially active in obtaining subscriptions to build the depot at Kendall village. He is pre-eminently a self-made man, and has always regarded his word as good as his bond. He married Sarah T., a daughter of Nathaniel Requa, of Kendall.

FAMILY SKETCHES.

Burrows, Lorenzo, was a native of Groton, Conn., born March 15, 1805, the son of Roswell and Jerusha Burrows, His father was a Baptist clergyman, and Lorenzo was given a good education at Plainfield, Conn., and Westerley, R. I. In 1824 at the age of about twenty, Lorenzo came to Albion, and was for about twelve years associated with his brother in mercantile pursuits. In 1839 the brothers established the Bank of Albion, Lorenzo being for several years cashier, but from that position he resigned and thereafter became an active factor in State and local politics. In 1844 he was nomin- ated by the Henry Clay party to a position on the electoral ticket. In 1845 he was super- visor of Barre, and was also county treasurer. From 1849 to 1853 he was in Congress, and in 1855 he was elected State Comptroller, serving two years. In 1858 he was ap- pointed to the State Board of Regents, continuing to the time of his death. He was among the first to take an active interest in providing the village of Albion with Mount Albion Cemetery and at the erection of the cemetery commission in 1862, he was elected one of the commissioners, which office he held until the time of his death. Originally a Whig, he later in life became a Democrat. With all public enterprises Mr. Burrows was actively identified. He was an early stockholder and director of the Niagara Railway Suspension Bridge Company, and a member of the International Bridge Board. He was also specially interested in education. May 11, 1830, Mr. Burrows married Louisa Lord, by whom he had six children : Emeline of Albion, Louisa, wife of Dr. McGregor; George L., of Saginaw, Mich. ; Lorenzo, jr., of Albion ; Julia A. and Ellen, both died in infancy. Lorenzo Burrows died March 6, 1883, and his wife September 30, 1883. He was an attendant at the Baptist Church, and his wife had an active membership in the society.

Bowman, George N., was born September 12, 1824, in Herkimer county, a son of Frederick Bowman, who married Electa Brown. In 1829 they removed to the town of Yates and engaged in farming. They had five children : George N., L. W., Eliza- beth, Almira and Henry B., two of whom are now living, George N., and Henry B. He resides in Carleton and is engaged in farming. George N., our subject received a common school education and in 1857 with Birdsall J. Perrigo, engaged in the mer- cantile trade at Sandy Creek, and continued in business there until 1867, when he re- moved to Holley, and with C. W. Gibson, established the Exchange Bank of Holley, Mr. Bowman acting as cashier. One year latter Mr. Gibson sold his interest to George W. Stoddard, Mr. Bowman then becoming president. In May, 1871, Mr. Stoddard sold his interest to Luther D. Hurd, who remained a member of the firm until September 1, 1882, at which date he sold his interest to Orange A. Eddy and John Downs, the firm name now becoming Eddy, Downs & Bowman. In 1884 Mr. Eddy died, his interest being transferred to the two remaining partners, who have since conducted a general banking and insurance business, under the firm name of Downs & Bowman. Mr. Bowman has long been one of the substantial men of the village, is a Democrat, has filled the office of village trustee, and was president one year. He was one of the or- ganizers of the Holley Electric Co., of which he is treasurer. In 1856 he was col- lector of Murray and in 1883 was elected supervisor. and re-elected the following year. He is a member of Murray Lodge No. 380 F. & A. M., and is the only charter member now living. Has been an officer in the lodge since its formation, having been

LANDMARKS OF ORLEANS COUNTY.

master ten years, and treasurer and trustee. He is also a member of the Orleans Chapter No. 175 and Monroe Commandery No. 12. Mr. Bowman married in 1850 Mary Jane, daughter of Calvin Church, of Murray. Calvin Church was born in Hamp- shire county, Mass., March 3, 1792. Upon reaching manhood he located in Manchester, Ontario county, pursuing the business of carriage making, when his shop with all its valuable contents was burned, with no insurance. He turned his attention to various other pursuits with the average success of a young man of limited means. In 1822 he married Ruth S. Newell, born in Lenox, Mass., in 1804, and they settled in Black Rock, then a suburb of Buffalo, thence removed to a farm near Moscow, Livingston county. After a time he sold his interest, and going to North Chili engaged in hotel- keeping, which he pursued successfully for many years. Removing to Albion in 1834. he rented the Mansion House and soon after bought the property and made extensive repairs and improvements, his hotel being second to none in that locality and his fame as a host extended far beyond the bounds of the county. In 1844 he sold the hotel, taking in part payment another one in Sandy Creek, where he removed a year later and rebuilding the hotel, which he named the Lafayette House, kept it until 1852, then sold and removed to his farm adjacent where he remained until the death of his wife, February 3, 1870, when he retired from active life, living with his daughter, Mrs. George N. Bowman in Holley until his death, September 1, 1876. at the age of eighty-four years. He left the honorable record of a good citizen, an upright man and a loyal friend. He was a lifelong Democrat and warm personal friend of Lieutenant Governor and Chief Jus- tice Sanford E. Church. Soon after coming to this State he united with the Masonic Fraternity, passing with them through the exciting Anti-Masonic crisis and emerged ready to assist in raising the order to the prestige since attained. He was a member of Renovation Lodge No. 97, and a charter member of Orleans Chapter No. 175. He left three children : William N., who died in 1884; Sarah, who never married and who lives with her sister, and Mary J., the wife of George N. Bowman, banker of Holley, N. Y.

Bordwell, Joseph, was born at Three Rivers, Canada, February 23, 1820, and was the fifth in a family of eight children of Amab and Ursula (Martelle) Bordwell. His mother was a direct descendant of John (or Jean) Martelle, the liberator of France. At the age of twelve Joseph was left an orphan and compelled to make his own way in life. When only seventeen he came to Monroe county, reaching Brockport with but two shillings in his pocket. He could not speak English, and had much difficulty in finding employment, but finally obtained work in a brick yard. In 1843 Mr. Bordwell came to Albion and went to work in the blacksmith shop of Mitchell Gardner, having pre- viously learned the trade in Clarkson. He worked for Mr. Gardner for some time, and in 1846 bought the shop. In 1849 he went to California, sailing from New York city on the steamer Sarah Sands. He reached San Francisco in June, 1850, having stopped at the large ports of South America. He worked in the mines and followed his trade of a blacksmith. In 1851 he returned to New York by way of the Isthmus of Panama. From 1852 until 1865 Mr. Bordwell was a blacksmith in Albion, and by hard work and good management he accumulated a valuable property. In the year last mentioned he disposed of his business to his nephews and devoted his personal attention to the care of his invested interests. In 1861 he built the family residence on South

FAMILY SKETCHES.

Main street. In 1862-3 he erected the present well-known Bordwell block on East Bank street. April 29, 1852, Mr. Bordwell married Althea, daughter of John and Lucy (Barlow) Blodgett, of Clarkson. The children of this marriage were: J. Norman, born June 3, 1854, died March 21, 1893; Mary Althea, born August 16, 1856, died November 17, 1857 ; Addie M., born August 14, 1859, died October 2, 1859 ; John Blodgett, born September 16, 1863, in Albion. Mr. Bordwell died in Albion, June 17, 1877, and in 1882 his widow married George W. Moore, of Medina, Mich.

Blake Edward M .-- Anthony Blake, born in Alsace, France, May 27, 1819, came to America with his parents in 1832. In the spring of 1833 he went to Lima, Livingston county, where he lived several years and where, while attending school, he made the acquaintance of Mary Phillips, whom he married January 1, 1839. They had eight children : Caroline E., Frank B., John W., Mary J., Edward M., Theodore A., Emma A. and George W. Mr. Blake was reared in the Roman Catholic faith, but read and experienced religion in a different light, and in 1838 united with the M. E. church at Lima. Soon after the family moved to a farm in Mendon, Monroe county, whence they came to Kendall in the spring of 1853, settling about two miles north of Kendall Corners. Here both were prominent in the M. E. Church. August 10, 1882, Mrs. Blake died, and in the spring of 1884 Mr. Blake married, and with his wife and two daughters removed to Albion, where he resided until his death, October 13, 1893. Edward Mortimer Blake, the only one of his children living in Orleans county, and who occupies the homestead in Kendall, was born in Mendon, September 18, 1852. Novem- ber 19, 1873, he married Anna C., daughter of Orman Spicer, and has six children : Nellie E., William E., Harry O., Sherman M., Edna and Raye.

Best, John M., was born in Dutchess county, March 25, 1814, and was the son of Jacob Best, a highly respected farmer of the Hudson River Valley. At the age of twenty-six John started out for himself and worked his brother's farm in Columbia county, in which locality he lived five years. While there in 1839 Mr. Best married Harriet Tanner, who died in 1845, and in 1846 he married Caroline Vosburg, and came to Barre and bought of Edmund Harris the ninety-six acre farm, on which he has ever since lived, and is now possessed of a competency. His present attractive dwelling was built in 1856. Mr. Best was originally a Whig, but is now a staunch Republican. He has been a member and for several years a trustee of the Barre Centre Presbyte- rian Church. During his early residence in Dutchess county, Mr. Best was captain of a military company, but his service was limited to the pleasant duties of general train- ing. The children of John M. and Harriet Best were: Julia, Josephine and Harriet (wife of Daniel Sherwood). His children by his second wife were: Frederick, Mary E. and George. Mrs. Caroline Best died in June, 1881.

Batchellor, Anson, was born in Connecticut, February 19, 1792, moved to Mendon, Monroe county, April 15, 1839, and married Theresa Newton, who was born in Pultney, Vt., May 20, 1800. They settled in Barre on a farm now owned by his grandson, John, and there lived and died. In his family were four children, viz: Mary, who married Loren Parsons and died in Barre; Caroline, who married Penfield Cleveland and lives in Rochester; Eliza, who married William March and is now dead, and George. The

LANDMARKS OF ORLEANS COUNTY.

last mentioned, George Batchellor, was born December 6, 1822, and was about sixteen when his father came to Barre. He married Betsy Ann Sears and had two children, Philena, who married Edward F. Delano and died in Michigan, and John S., of South Barre. Soon after his marriage George Batchellor came to the Sears farm, and there lived until his death, December 23, 1882. His wife died December 11, 1892. John S. Batchellor was born January 20, 1850, and has always been a farmer in Barre. He has been, like his father, a successful business man and somewhat active in town affairs, and is now serving his second term as justice of the peace. November 11, 1873, he married Anna E. Waldo, by whom he has two children, George Homer and Charles Crane Batchellor. Ogden Sears was born in Connecticut, August 19, 1798, and died in Barre, February 25, 1883, and his wife, Betsey Harding, was born July 19, 1803, and died May 15, 1883. They were married December 1, 1819, and their children were as follows: Eunice, who married John P. Church and died in Barre; Betsy Ann, who married George Batchellor, and Mary A., who died January 13, 1829. Ogden Sears was a cooper by trade and worked at it some after leaving Connecticut, though in this town he was a farmer. His substantial stone residence was built many years ago, and for it he picked the stone on his own land, burned the lime used in erecting it, made the plaster and mortar and carried it to the workmen in a sap bucket. He was a suc- cessful business man and accumulated a good property.

Baldwin, Benjamin F., is descended from Ziba Baldwin, who was born in North Stonington, Conn., February 16, 1775, and died September 27, 1803. Benjamin's father was Thomas, a descendent of John Baldwin of Buckinghamshire, England, who came America in 1628. He was born in North Stonington, Conn., May 3, 1777, and died July 26, 1843, and his mother was Nancy, daughter of Dr. Asa Spalding of Stoning- ton, Conn., born January 30, 1803, and died December 3, 1887. The children of Thomas and Nancy Baldwin were as follows; Nancy, born January 30 1803, and died in Otsego county ; Thomas J., born February 5, 1805, and died in 1811 ; Almira, born May 24, 1807, and died in Otsego county in 1864; Thomas H .. born April 1, 1812, died February 21, 1894, in Minnesota ; Lucy Ann, born January 6, 1815, and died in Otsego county ; Amanda J., born November 29, 1818, married William H. Dozzonel in 1840, and died in Albion, May, 1860; Asa S., born June 27, 1821, died in 1821 in Connecticut ; Benjamin F., born in North Stonington, New London county, Conn., September 24, 1823. Benjamin F. Baldwin attended the common schools of North Stonington, his native town, and finished his education at the Gilbertsville Academy, Otsego county, N. Y. He taught school iu Otsego, Schoharie and Schenec- tady counties, then moved to the town of Gaines, Orleans county, and taught one term there. In 1850 he bought the farm in Gaines where he now resides, and has since engaged in farming. Mr. Baldwin has served two terms as justice of the peace of Gaines and was elected for a third term in the spring of 1893; has been clerk of Gaines and Murray for many years. In 1848 he married Amy R. Baldwin, who was born in Pitcher, September 28, 1828. Her father was Elisha Baldwin, born August 11, 1786, in North Stonington, Conn., and her mother was Patty Spalding, born in North Stonington. The children of Benjamin and Amy Baldwin were these: Kate, born in Morrio, Otsego county, September 18, 1850, married William Smith (deceased) of Or-

FAMILY SKETCHES.

eans county, by whom she had three children (Nettie M., born in Gaines in 1876; 1Gussie, born in Murray, March 28, 1879, died May 5, 1880; and Grace, born in Murray, April 9, 1881) ; Nettie M., born in Gaines, November 29, 1852, married E. A. Egles- ton ; B. Frank, born in Gaines, September 26, 1859, married Ella Baker ; Jennic M., born in Pitcher, Chenango county, December 3, 1869 married David Ely, and have one child ; Hazel, born September 13, 1892.

Bliss, Edwin, was born in Springfield, Mass., July 13, 1819, and is a son of William C. Bliss, whose father, Moses Bliss, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. William C., with his family consisting of ten sons and two daughters, removed to Orleans county in 1835, and settled in Kendall, purchasing lands and engaging in farming. Edwin Bliss became a carpenter and builder, and in connection with farming was thus engaged until 1867, when he removed from Kendall to Holley andibecame associated with Luther Gordon in the building and lumber business. For many years he was the principal builder in the village, and in 1879 built the brick block opposite the Downs Hotel, which he still owns. In politics he is a Democrat, was supervisor of Murray for three years, and has been trustee of the village several years. He is president of the Cemetery Association, was one of the organizers of the Holley Electric Light Co., and is its president. He is a member of the Episcopal Church, and is senior warden. In 1890, owing to ill health, he retired from business. In 1848 married Mary A. Seymour, and they have two children : Ella S, wife of Captain George W. Ruggles of Charlotte ; and H. Dwight Bliss, M. D., of Brooklyn.

Beck, Richard, of Norfolk, England, was born in 1834. He and his father, who was also named Richard, came to America in 1854, and settled at Hulberton. He afterward removed to Ridge road, west of Sandy Creek, where he resided until his death in 1886. He married in England, Harriet Fairhead, and they were the parents of eight children : Elizabeth, who was twice married, first to William Young and second to William Rice- brook; Sarel, who married William Ricebrook; William settled in Clarendon, married Catherine Gibbons, and is a farmer ; Ann, who married Joseph Lee ; James, a farmer in Kendall, who married Mary Anderson; Emma married Edwin Cutts ; Harriet, mar- ried Norman Boyce ; and Richard. He has always been engaged in farming, and pur- chased a farm of 250 acres on the Ridge road just west of Sandy Creek. Mr. Beck is a staunch Republican, but does not aspire to political honors. He married in 1858, Clara A. Hall. She died in 1862, and in 1864 Mr. Beck married second Almina Tour- telot of Monroe county, and they have four children : Charles R. is a farmer in Barre, and married Nina Smith ; Jacob E. is a farmer in Murray and married Addie High ; Clara B. married Seymour Clark; and Lavina C., who married Lewis H. Smith.

Bullard, Chancy, our subject, was born in Gaines, September 25, 1824. His father, William, and his brother, Brigadier, came into Gaines, Orleans county, N. Y., in February, 1812, from Bennington, Vt., with two pair of oxen hitched to a sled, the snow when they arrived in Gaines was three feet deep on level. My grandfather, David Bullard, was born in Dedham, Mass., in 1761 ; he afterwards moved to Vermont, where he resided until 1816, when he removed to Gaines, N. Y., bringing his family with him; he settled one-half miles west of Gaines on north side of Old Ridge road on b

LANDMARKS OF ORLEANS COUNTY.

a farm which had been taken up by his son William ; after a few years he moved one and a half miles south on a farm owned by his son Brigadier, where he lived till his death in June, 1832. He married Elizabeth Hadley, and their children were : William, who was born in Linesboro, Cheshire county, N. H., April 10, 1789, and died September 26, 1861. He mar- red Nellie Loveland, who was born in Windham county, Vt., June 9, 1794, and died December 9, 1864. Their children were: Albert, born in Gaines, September 15, 1816, and died September 15, 1856; Anson, born February 10, 1820; Olive, born April 1, 1822; Chauncey, born September 25, 1824; William W. Bullard, born May 26, 1828 ; John W., born December 17, 1830, died December 9, 1890; David H., born December 3, 1836. Subject's brothers were all educated in common district schools, their style was work more than books and they are all in comfortable circumstances in their old ages. The brothers own at present over 500 acres of as good land as there is in western New York or any other State. Their land lays joining right along on the Old Ridge road situated one mile west of Gaines. Four of those Bullard brothers ran an orchestra of their own and furnished music for the cotillion in their younger days. They originally were Whigs, but after the Republican monopoly party was organized, they voted with the Democrats, as that party was so nearly alike the old Whig party. Our subject married Lucy Leonard, of Albion, N. Y., April 24, 1867, who died March 31, 1891, aged fifty-four years. [Written by Chaney Bullard].

Billings, Joseph Drake, is the grandson of Joseph, who was born in Somers, Conn., and lived and died in Smyrna, Chenango county, about 1842, aged seventy-six. His son, father of our subject, was born in Smyrna in 1795, and died in Gaines, December 10, 1866. He owned about 500 acres of land and built a saw mill at Marsh creek, which he conducted many years. He was also identified with all the leading events of his town, and was a prominent man in the local politics, as well as being one of the projectors of the Universalist church at Fair Haven. He married Charlotte Drake, born in Ovid in 1800, and died in 1873. Of their eight children six survive: Joseph D., born in Gaines, February 20, 1822; Myron, born March 15, 1824; D. Clinton, born in 1827 ; Clara, born in 1829; Helen, born in 1831; Harlow, born in 1833; Henry, born in 1836, died in 1858; and William, born in Gaines in 1840. Our subject was educated in the district schools, and finished at Gaines Academy. He is a well read man, and owns a valuable library. He has a farm of 155 acres, and has taken a prominent part in local affairs, having served as supervisor four terms, and represented his county in the Assembly at Albany two terms (1877-78), as a Republican, serving on the Com- mittees of Expenditures and Agriculture the first term, and the second on the Committees of Railroad and Agriculture. December 1, 1845, he married Melinda Shaw, who was born September 17, 1821, in Providence, N. Y., a daughter of Stephen Shaw, and they have had three children: George N., born December 7, 1846, who married Grace Bedell, of Albion, and has one child, Harlow. He is now cashier and part proprietor of the Delphos Bank, at Delphos, Kan. Hle enlisted in Company C, of the Eighth Heavy Artillery, in 1862, and served till the close of the war. The second child of our subject was Cora May, born February 12, 1859, who married H. W. Lattin, of Albion, and has one child, Jay D. Mrs. Lattin graduated in April, 1894, from the Buffalo Medical College, and has graduated from Boston School of Oratory. The third

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Landmarks of Orleans County, New York, Part 76

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