Landmarks of Orleans County, New York, Part 86

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

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Potter, Albert, was born at Stephentown, January 6, 1815. His father, Seeley Potter, was born at Lindsbury, Mass., September 14, 1790, and in 1814 married Phoebe Hopkins of Adams, Mass. In 1815 they came to western New York and settled at Red- mond's Corners, Monroe county, where they remained until the fall of that year, when

FAMILY SKETCHES.

they moved to the southeast corner of the town of Murray. Mr. Potter purchased fifty acres of land from Ezekiel Allen and built a log house, and here they resided several years. Mr. Potter purchased 150 acres more and by great energy and untiring industry soon became one of the most prosperous farmers in the town. In 1832 he built the large stone house where he resided the remainder of his life. His death occured in 1878. The children of Seeley and Phoebe Potter were these: Albert, Eliza, Peleg, who settled in Michigan and died in 1893; Jannette, who married Henry Clark and resides in Murray; William, who resides in Niagara county ; Phoebe, Maria, Seeley, Julia, Caroline, who married Avery Richardson and resides in Bergen, Genesee county ; George of Clarendon. Albert Potter has always been a farmer and resides on the old farm. He was captain in the state militia four years. Mr. Potter has been thrice married, first to Sylvia Cummings in 1849, by wnom he had two children. Mrs. Potter died in 1859 and in 1861 he married Charlotte Miller, who died in 1874. In 1877 Mr. Potter married for the third time, his wife being Janette B. Swift, widow of G. W. Swift of Murray. One daughter, Al. Bertha Potter, was born of this union. Mr. Pot- ter is a member of the Baptist Church at Holley.

Pettengill, Walter T., was born in Clarendon, Orleans county, in 1849, is a son of David N., whose father, Benjamin G. Pettengill, was among the early settlers of Clarendon, he being the first of the family to settle in Orleans county. Benjamin G. Pettengill came from Lewiston, Me., and became a prosperous farmer. He was a prominent member of the Universalist Church, and in politics was an active Republican, being at one time supervisor of the town. He married Hannah Pettengill, and their children were : David N., Phoebe, Amos, and True. David N. Pettengill was a gradu- ate of the Albany Normal School, being one of the first normal graduates in the State. He taught school for ten years, and later became a member of the firm of Copeland, Pettengill & Martin, in the milling business at Clarendon. This firm soon dissolved. For thirty years he was interested in the milling business at Clarendon. He was an active member of the Universalist Church and a prominent member of the Republican party. For thirty years he was justice of the peace transacting a largeamount of busi- ness, administering estates, etc., and was supervisor of Clarendon in 1869 and 1870. He married Eliza D., daughter of Chauncy Robinson, one of the pioneers of Clarendon. Chauncy Robinson came to Orleans county, town of Clarendon, July 25, 1813, there being at that time only one house in the place. He settled about four miles south of the village and became a farmer. He was a strong temperance man, a pronounced Abolitionist, and something of a literary character. In 1829 he was supervisor of the town. He married Anna, daughter of Ebenezer Lewis, whose son. William Lewis was the first sheriff of Orleans county. The children of David and Eliza Pettengill were, Walter T. and Beatrice. Beatrice Pettengill married David N. Salisbury of Rochester. Walter T. Pettengill engaged in the manufacture of carriages at Clarendon in 1871 with Ogden S. Miller. Two years later they purchased the old Farewell Mills and en- gaged in the milling business and the manufacture of vinegar and evaporated apples. They built up a large and prosperous business, erecting the extensive plant in Holley in 1886 and becoming the largest producers of cider vinegar in the world. In 1891 the Genesee Fruit Company was incorporated. Mr. Pettengill is manager of the Holley

LANDMARKS OF ORLEANS COUNTY.

and Clarendon mills and vice-president of the company. In 1866 Mr. Pettengill be- came a resident of Holley, and is one of the enterprising and public spirited men of the village. In 1872 he married Jennie V., daughter of Alexander Miller of Clarendon, and their children are, Agnes E. and Ben M.

Perry, Frederick, was born October 24, 1858, and has followed farming. In 1883 he married Frances E., daughter of H. H. Blakely. Mr. Perry's father is Russell M. Perry, and his mother was Mary (Fenton) Perry.

Blakely, H. H., was born January 20, 1822, in Erie county. He came to his present farm thirty-one years ago. In 1848 he married Laura M. Needham, and they have three children : Howard, Mrs. Fred Perry, and Elsie. Mr. Blakely's father was Joseph Blakely, a native of Connecticut. His mother was Sally Williams of Rocky Hill, Conn., a sister of the Rev Comfort Williams who was the first Protestant minister of the vil- lage of Rochester, N. Y. sent by the Connecticut Home Mission Society to labor in that vicinty. He acquired a good sized farm, lying where now is the business portion of the city. The property reverted to descendants at his death in 1825.

Pullman, George Mortimer, was born in Brockton, Chautauqua county, N. Y., March 3, 1831, and is a son of James Lewis Pullman, who was born in Rhode Island, July 26, 1800. The parents of James L., soon after his birth, removed to a farm in Onon- daga county. N. Y., where he spent his early youth in the quiet routine of agricultural pursuits. Becoming restless and longing for more stirring scenes, he determined to start out into the world, and with the parental blessing he left home and friends for the then thriving village of Auburn. There he established a successful business, and on September 4, 1825, was married to Emily Caroline Minton, who was born in that place August 14, 1808. This union was an exceedingly happy one. To them were born ten children, six of whom are now living. After the birth of the second son the family removed to the town of Portland, Chautauqua county, where seventeen event- ful years were spent. There, four sons and two daughters were born. During this period Mr. Pullman became deeply impressed with the truths of the gospel. He was a diligent student of the Bible, and aided by his clear perceptions and logical mind, advanced steadily to find the doctrines of the Universalist Church distinctly revealed in it. He united with the First Universalist Church of Portland. In 1846 the family removed to Albion, where two more children were born, and where Mr. Pullman pur- sued the trade of a carpenter and the vocation of a mover of buildings. In this latter occupation he was frequently assisted by his sons, whom he had trained to habits of industry, thrift and frugality. Here he passed the remainder of his life, taking a deep interest in political affairs and the reforms of the times, exhibiting a christian spirit in all relations of life. He was an honored member af the I. O. O. F, and of Renovation Lodge A. F. and A. M. In December, 1852, he was taken ill and died November 1, 1853. His widow survived until May 21, 1892, when she died at her residence, 611 Fifth avenue, New York city. Both were buried in Mt. Albion cemetery. Their children were: Royal H., a noted clergyman of the Universalist Church of Baltimore, Md .; Albert B., a former officer of the Pullman Company, who died in Chicago in 1893; George M., of Chicago; Frances Caroline, who died aged two years; James M.,

FAMILY SKETCHES.

D. D., a distinguished clergyman of Lynn, Mass .; William Eaton, who died aged about one and one-half years; Charles L., an officer of the Pullman Company ; Helen, wife of George West, of New York city; and Frank W., for two years assistant United States district attorney in New York, who died aged thirty years.

To George M. Pullman, the third child of this family, belongs the honor of making the family name known throughout the world. To him is due the lasting gratitude of the traveling public of two hemispheres. He inherited keen intelligence, great force of character, unbending integrity, and marked individuality. All these qualities were called into action upon the death of his father, when the support of the mother and four young children devolved upon him. He began as a clerk in a village store, at the age of fourteen, receiving a salary of forty dollars per year. Afterwards he worked at cabinetmaking with his brother in Albion. At the time the enlargement of the Erie Canal was in progress he succeeded in securing contracts with the State of New York for the removal of buildings along the route, from which he realized several thousand dollars. With this capital he went to Chicago and engaged extensively in raising buildings. He raised entire blocks of brick and stone buildings, an undertaking en- tirely novel thirty years ago. It was about this time that his attention was drawn to the discomforts of long railway journeys, and he determined, if possible, to improve the methods of traveling. In 1859 he remodeled two old day coaches belonging to the Chicago & Alton road, changing them into sleeping cars. They found favor at once, and created a demand for improved traveling accommodation. In 1863 he began at Chicago the construction of a sleeping car upon the now well-known model which has inseparably associated his name with railway equipment. It was named the " Pioneer " and cost about $18,000. It formed part of the train which carried the remains of the martyred Lincoln from Chicago to Springfield in 1865. Soon after it conveyed General Grant, then in the first flush of his great fame, to his old Galena home. From this small beginning has sprung the vast system of Pullman cars which are known and used all over the world. Pullman's Palace Car Company, organized in 1867, soon be- came a prominent factor in the equipment of railroads. Its fleet has grown from thirty-seven cars to 2,500; its working force from half a hundred to 15,000. Its cars are operated over nearly a hundred roads, and over a mileage equivalent to five times the circumference of the globe. From the first year of its existence it has paid its quarterly dividends with the regularity of a government loan, and its $36,000,000 of capital has a market value of $60,000,000, while its stock is so largely sought as a security for the investment of the funds of educational and charitable institutions, of women and of trust estates, that out of its 3,246 stockholders, 1,800 are of this class, and 1,494 of these 1,800 are women. It was in 1880 that the town of Pullman was founded in obedience to the imperative demands of the Pullman Company's business for increased shop facilities. It was purely a business enterprise, but a business enterprise projected upon a broad and generous scale, and conducted according to principles recog- nizing the mutuality of interest of capital and labor as the best and most enduring form of practical philanthropy. The town now has a population of 12,000. Over this vast business Mr. Pullman has always had the presidency and a manager's directing eye, for to him alone is due its wonderful development. Another enterprise of magnitude and

LANDMARKS OF ORLEANS COUNTY.

of great importance, in which Mr. Pullman has been prominently engaged, was the building in 1875-77 of the Sixth Avenue and Second Avenue Elevated Railroads, in the city of New York, he having been the organizer and president of the New York Loan and Improvement Company which undertook and carried forward to completion the construction of these roads. This undertaking, which at the time of its projection and during construction was bitterly opposed by many property owners and surface railway companies, has resulted in a public convenience and a development of the upper part of Manhattan Island far beyond any estimates or expectations of that time.

But it is as a public benefactor that we should view him in connection with a history of Orleans county, at the county seat of which he spent his young manhood. As a business man Mr. Pullman is especially active, but he is as well a thorough gentleman, endowed with a remarkable personality. He is dignified and erect in bearing and pos- sesses a keen yet kindly eye. In action he is at once masterful and sympathetic. In 1888 he built on one of the Thousand Islands in the St. Lawrence River a summer home for his mother, called "Castle Rest." In Chicago, on the site of the memorable massacre of 1812, he caused to be erected a bronze memorial group, which was unveiled and formally presented to the Chicago Historical Society on June 22, 1893. The cere- monies were held near the " Massacre Tree," which was blown down during the storm of May 17-18, 1894. But perhaps the most touching-certainly the most enduring- monument yet attempted is the handsome Memorial Universalist Church edifice, which Mr. Pullman is now (1894) erecting in Albion, and which is described in another page of this volume. The idea of this occurred to him in 1890, but it was not until 1893 that his plans assumed tangible form. Not only does he erect this church as a memorial to his parents, but also as a fitting memorial to the deep interest they manifested in the progress of Universalism. Moved by the sacred influence of his father's life he builds this beautiful edifice as a lasting tribute to the honor of a respected and revered family name.

Parsons, Catherine M., was born in 1813, and was nearly three years of age when her father, Austin Day, came from Vermont to this county. She was educated at Wilkesbarre Seminary. On November 12, 1839, she married Elijah Freeman, a resi- dent of Rochester, N. Y., he being one of the owners of a popular line of packets on the Erie canal. He died August 6, 1842. On October 7, 1844, Mrs. Catherine Free- man married William C. Parsons, a native of Litchfield, Conn., a son of a prominent physician of that place. Mr. Parsons was born May 16, 1808, and came to New York State at an early age. He was educated at Geneva College, studied law and became a successful practitioner and lecturer of note on educational, political economy and tem- perance questions. A man of strong individuality and moulder of public opinion, he became one of the founders of a society, the outgrowth of which was the Republican party. His close identity with this great movement brought him into personal contact with John C. Fremont and later with Abraham Lincoln, with whom he was on the most intimate and friendly terms, and through his personal friendship the destiny of this great nation was materially effected. Prior to the breaking out of the war Mr. Parsons located at Washington, D. C., where his family expected soon to follow and there make their permanent home. On February 23, 1861, Mr. Lincoln arrived at

FAMILY SKETCHES.

Washington, and during the journey to the capital great care was exercised to prevent any designs upon the president's life. Mr. Parsons having in charge one of the depart- ments of the Secret Service, with headquarters at Washington, was a valuable assist- ant to the government authorities, and through his shrewdness the life of President Lincoln was undoubtedly saved, for Mr. Parsons discovered a deep laid scheme, which had it been consummated would have resulted in the president's death, and through his agents he discovered and thwarted a plot to burn the city of Washington. Mr. Parsons learned that they had fixed upon the southeast angle on the north wing of the capitol as the most favorable spot from which to accomplish their object. With a number of Union friends Mr. Parsons came early on the morning of that day and occupied the place. Not long after the conspirators also arrived, and looked their rage and disap- pointment at finding their vantage ground preoccupied. The rebels had proposed before the attack on Sumter to destroy Washington with fire and pillage, under the direction of the Knights of the Golden Circle. A strong force was to come up from Richmond and sack the city on the morning of April 14, 1861, and set it afire. Just before the Sumter affair the rowdies of Washington suddenly disappeared, and it is now thought they had gone to j.in the marauders from Richmond. About the same time the rebel mayor of the city had ordered all the fire hose destroyed, as being useless from long wear. He evidently was in the secret and wished to cripple the fire department. And this is the ruse by which Mr. Parsons defeated the iniquitous scheme : With his seques- trated knowledge he was able to assume membership in the Knights. The postmaster of Richmond, as he knew, was a member of the order. To him Mr. Parsons addressed a letter, bearing the marks of the utmost haste, to this effect : "We do not think it best under present circumstances to attack Washington to-morrow. There are 60,000 men within a few hours march of the city. It will be madness to undertake it with the handful of men we have." The letter was addressed "My Dear Brother of the K. G. C." and signed with the cipher of the order, as nearly correct as the writer could make it, trusting that the evident haste would appear to account for its lack of correctness. It was sent to Richmond on the 13th of April. This letter, Mr. Parsons learned through his agent, was received at night, read before the Knights, and caused them to postpone their attack until a more convenient season. Mr. Parsons also industriously circulated among the Virginians he met reports that nearly every public building in Washington was swarming with armed men concealed ready for action. These reports had the effect to frighten the plotters, and history remains as it is known. At the opening of hostilities, Mr. Parsons, with many other citizens, served for a time in the defense of Washington under Cassius M. Clay, as a soldier, and was honorably discharged. He refused the appointment of a consulship under Mr. Lincoln, thinking he could better serve his country at home. Mr. Parsons died April 6, 1862. The children of Cather- ine M. and W. C. Parsons were as follows: Mary D (deceased) ; Minerva, wife of George W. Barrell, of Albion; Catherine, wife of C. C. Carpenter, of Rochester ; Wil- liam A., of Buffalo ; Francis, deceased, and Cora E., of Albion, N. Y.

Parker, Thomas, was a native of Conway, Mass., and at an early day settled in Phelps, Ontario county, where he followed the occupation of farming. In that town he married Mary Berry, and in 1823 came to Orleans county and took a farm in the

LANDMARKS OF ORLEANS COUNTY.

western part of the town of Barre, now Albion. He died on the old farm March 25, 1860, and his wife August 31, 1865. The children of these pioneer parents were as follows: E'mina, who married Franklin Gates; Lucy P., who married Paul Pratt ; Thomas, of Albion ; Stephen, who died in Chicago, and Potter, who died an infant. Richard Parker was a farmer, whose business life was rewarded. with success. On February 16, 1848, he married Angeline Loveland, of Albion, but had no children. He died January 27, 1894. Thomas Parker was born January 8, 1825, and was brought up on the farm. He lived at home until his marriage in 1848, and then began for himself, pursuing farming generally, but also dealing extensively in stock. He has taken a lively interest in local politics, being a strong Democrat. He was sheriff of the county from 1875 to 1878; was postmaster at Albion under Mr. Cleveland's first term. On March 30, 1848, Thomas Parker married Mary A., daughter of William and Sally (Paine) Flint, of Albion. Mrs. Parker died in August, 1863. On October 5, 1865, he married Mary A., daughter of Job and Amelia (Ford) Potter, of Albion.

Phipps, Joseph, and Mary Eames his wife, were natives of Massachusetts, and early settled in Lee, Oneida county, N. Y., and their children were afterward identified with the interests of Orleans county. Some of them were intimately connected with the once famous Phipps Union Seminary at Albion. The children were Nancy, who lived in the Seminary, and who died unmarried at Eagle Harbor; Zerrah, who died young; Mary, who managed the boarding department, and, in fact, was the financier of the Phipps Seminary and who died in Michigan ; Zerrah, second, who married Eber In- glesby and died in Onondaga county ; Sarah, who married Macy Pratt ; Aaron, Joseph, who died young; Mahala, who married Samuel Anderson and moved to Michigan ; Caroline, the founder, in fact, of the Seminary, and who married Henry L. Achilles and died in the Seminary building January 10, 1881; Sophronia, a teacher in the Seminary, and who married Rev. James L. Hodge and now lives in Brooklyn, N. Y. ; and William, a Kentucky farmer and formerly contractor and mail carrier during the late war. Aaron Phipps was born March 10, 1803, in Oneida county. He married Judith Pratt and brought her to his new home near Eagle Harcor. He was a strong Abo- litionist and temperance man, and one of the founders of the Wesleyan Methodist Church at Eagle Harbor. The children of Aaron and Judith were: Hobert Edgerton, Mary A., Frances M., Joseph, George W., William H. and William Wallace. Hobert E. was born August 20, 1832, and was educated in the Albion Academy. April 7, 1856, he married Hannah M., daughter of Hiram and Jane Pratt, and they had four children : Charles A., now a missionary in the State of Washington ; Helen J., George H., who died at eleven years ; and Arthur J. of Albion. Hobert was an active Republican until 1884, when he became a Prohibitionist. He is a prominent worker in Eagle Harbor Lodge of Good Templars.

Potter, Russell, was born in New York city. His father, who was a sea captain, and a man of considerable means, gave his sons a good start in business, but Russell lost his property by fire. He married Ann Butts, and with the Butts family came to Orleans county in 1832. He lived in Albion, and later in Carlton as a farmer. His children were: William of Carlton ; Sarah, who married Alexander Carry ; Stephen, a resident of California ; George W., of Albion; Eliza, wife of Amos Wood ; Russell, who was a

FAMILY SKETCHES.

veteran of the late war, a survivor of Libby Prison, and was afterward lost at sea. The youngest child died in infancy. Russell married, second, Emeline Grover, and had six children. The family afterward moved to Barre county, Mich. George W. Potter was born March 4, 1835, in Rensselaer county. His mother died when George was four years old, and he was brought up in the family of his uncle, Washington Butts, late of Carlton. At sixteen George W. began work for himself as a farm hand in the employ of Walter E. Dye. During winters he attended district school, and at the age of eighteen entered the old Albion Academy, intending to become a teacher, but had to provide the means for his own maintenance. He taught in Canada and other places, but soon returned to the farm and worked at the carpenter's trade, continuing, however, to teach during winters until he was twenty-five years of age, since which he has been a farmer and dealer in produce. He has also dealt extensively in real estate. He founded East Carlton Station, donating land for the same, and was post- master of that place. He was also a merchant in Albion. Mr. Potter has been a suc- cessful business man, and is now the owner of four excellent farms in Niagara county, a first- class home in Albion, where he now resides. In 1860 he married Janette Liddle, and has had three children : Jennie, wife of D. W. Blood ; Georgia, wife of Edward E. Mix, and Clark L. Potter, his son.

Perry, Williams, was a native of Pelham, Mass., and on arriving at manhood he re- moved to Canada, where for several years he was in the lumber business. He then re- moved to Malone and for a time kept hotel at French's Mills. In 1814 he came to Or- leans county and settled near Sandy Creek, where he engaged in farming. A few years later he moved to the town of Clarendon, and finally came to Holley and settled. He married Miriam Barnard of Milton, Vt., and to them these children were born: Joseph N., of Alexander, Genesee county ; Nathaniel W .; Horace B .; Mary, who mar- ried Warner Comstock and settled in Michigan, her daughter being the wife of Senator Chaffer, whose daughter became the wife of U. S. Grant, jr. ; Harry and Asa, both of whom settled in Illinois. William Perry died in 1853. Nathaniel and Horace Perry settled in Murray, and were prominent and influential men in town. They engaged in the hotel business succeeding Reuben D. Jones, in the building which occupied the site of the present Downs House. They conducted this establishment for many years. Nathaniel W. Perry was the first justice of the peace of the town and held that office for many years. He was a Democrat and was active in politics. He married Rachael L. Ferguson of Murray, and they were the parents of the following children : Mary J., who married David N. Hatch of Murray; Horace W., who settled in Iowa and died there ; Edward N., who lives in Iowa; Sophia, who married Charles Moulton and settled in Dakota, and Henry D., who died in Iowa in 1892. Nathaniel W. Perry re- moved to Illinois in 1845, and died there in 1874. His wife survives him and is nine- ty-one years of age. Horace B. Perry was born in 1803. From 1842 to 1845 he re- sided at Albion and then returned to Holley and kept a hotel until 1858. Horace B. Perry was twice married. His first wife was Almira Bogue, and they were the parents of five children, three of whom died in infancy, and one son, Virgil, and a daughter, Marion, grew to manhood and womanhood; the first died in 1892, and the latter in 1858. In 1844 Mr. Perry married Mrs. Sarah A. Stewart, and they had these k

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Landmarks of Orleans County, New York, Part 86

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