Landmarks of Orleans County, New York, Part 91

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

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Weed, James, was born in Unity, N. H., April 25, 1787, came to Kendall in 1816, removed to Sandy Creek in 1837 and conducted a grist mill several years, and died February 28, 1850. His wife, Hannah Currier, died February 27, 1891. Of their six children only two are living, Susan (Mrs. Cyrenus Wellman), of Kendall, and Harriet (Mrs. Claudius Jones.)

Woolston, Edward F., son of Mark and Rebecca Woolston, was born in England, November 14, 1847, and came to America in 1864. He lived in Brockport one year and since then has resided in Yates. He worked on the farm for Simeon Petrie two years, for Melchert Petrie two years, and for Samuel Fisk one year, taught school six years, and finally became a butcher, which business he has followed eighteen years. He is also a dealer in live stock, and three years ago began farming. Mr. Woolston is one of the town's auctioneers and was president of the last Board of Trustees of the old Yates Academy. He resides at the Center and carries on a meat market there and at Lyndonville.

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Whipple, William, was born in Silver Lake Susquehanna county, Penn., October 6, 1827. He learned the carpenter trade and went to California in 1853. In 1858 he married Catherine, daughter of William H. Watson and Catherine (Barr) Watson, of Albion. They settled on their present home in Ridgeway in 1864. Their children are Watson H. and Francis H. Mr. Whipple has been treasurer of the Niagara Universal- ist Association for many years, and has been treasurer of the Orleans County Insurance Company since its organization.

Wadsworth, Adelbert A., was born in Clarendon, January 6, 1848, the son of Har- mon Wadsworth, who was born in 1811, and the latter was a son of Silas, born in 1770 and died in 1847, who came from Rome, N. Y., in 1825 and took up a farm in Clarendon. In 1798 he married Judith Barrett, and their children were: Alvin, born in 1799; Hannah, born in 180] ; Sally, born in 1804; Electa, born in 1806 ; Benjamin, born in 1809; Harmon, born in 1811; Eliza, born in 1815 ; Betsey, born in 1819, and Harriet, born in 1821. Alvin settled in Sweden, Monroe county, and married Polly Wilder ; Hannah died young ; Sally married Samuel J. Fincher ; Electa married Wil- liam B. Fincher ; Benjamin died unmarried; Eliza died young; Betsey is unmarried ; Harriet married Edwin Hill. Harmon Wadsworth was a farmer and settled on the old homestead. He was a man of quiet tastes, attending strictly to his own affairs. He married Harriet Wilder, of Sweden, and their children were: Sarah J., born in 1834, who married Abner Hopkins, of Clarendon ; Luania, born in 1837, who married William Edmonds of Sweden ; Hiram, born in 1840, died unmarried ; Electa, born in 1843, mar- ried William Edmonds, and Adelbert A. Harmon Wadsworth died in Clarendon, December 27, 1893. Adelbert A. settled in Manistee, Mich., in 1876, where he engaged in milling. In 1885 he returned to Clarendon and settled on the homestead, where he is engaged in farming. In 1876 he married Anna Jesson, and their children are: Lena, born in 1877, died in 1878; Ada, born in 1879; Beulah, born in 1881, and Harmon, born in 1887.

Wickham, Jeremiah, settled on a farm in this town in 1816. Samuel Kenyon, his son, was born in Onondaga county, December 16, 1806, died April 18, 1871. He mar- ried, in 1833, Lucy A. Dewitt, who was born January 5, 1812, and died July 8, 1893. Their children were: Wallace W., who was born November 22, 1835 ; George D., born June 24, 1838 ; Dewitt C., born December 7, 1842; Fernando J., born August 3, 1845. Dewitt C, now a resident of Michigan, enlisted July 21, 1862, in Company A, 8tlı N. Y. H. A., was promoted corporal August 28, 1862, sergeant August 8, 1863, second lieutenant November 26, 1864, first lieutenant December 13, 1864; wounded before Petersburg, June 22, 1864, and discharged June 5, 1865. Fernando J. enlisted in Com- pany A, 8th N. Y. H. A., in November, 1864, was appointed corporal May 7, 1865; was discharged in July, 1865. He married Anna H., daughter of Samuel Gray, March 10, 1874, and has three children : Blanche A., Lillian M. and Wilda. Mr. Wickham is a carpenter by trade, and for three years has been inspector of the government break- water at Buffalo. He resides at Yates Centre, N. Y.

Zimmerman, L. F., was born in Niagara county, March 10, 1842. He was educated in Medina, his parents having moved to this village in 1844. He first worked in a flour

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mill and then at cigar making. In 1862 he enlisted in the 17th N. Y. Light Artillery and served until June, 1865, participating in the engagements about Petersburg and the surrender at Appomattox. Mr. Zimmerman is a member of the G. A. R. Post and is a prohibitionist. In 1866-67 he was in the pension office at Canandaigua. He was then with the Bignall Manufacturing Company one and one-half years, then had charge of a mill at Shelby Centre for a time. For about ten years he was connected with the Union Bank in Medina, and has since that time been engaged in the insurance business. Mr. Zimmerman's father was Rolandes Zimmerman, his mother was Roxanna (Gluck) Zimmerman, both of whom are living. His great-grandfather, Emanuel, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and his grandfather in the war of 1812. In 1867 Mr. Zim- merman marred Mary L. Snyder. They have four children : Edmund F., Erastus R., Mrs. John Le Valley and Mrs. William Hammond.

Young, John, was born in Canajoharie, N. Y., March 25, 1802, and died September 8, 1879. His father, Thomas, came from Germany when a child. When young, John was apprenticed to learn the trade of tanner and currier, but owing to the harshness of his treatment he left his employer and found work in Camillus, Onondaga county N. Y., where he learned the shoemaking trade. In 1824 he came to Gaines and worked at shoemaking. Later he worked in the tannery for James and Elihu Mather. He married Mary Ann Mather, the daughter of Elihu Mather, and still works at his trade. He accumulated enough to buy a small farm. Summers he worked on his farm and winters at his trade until late at night, his estimable wife doing what she could to assist in paying for their home, spinning and making cloth for the family, and other work necessary with a large family in pioneer life. Their children were : Eunice M. (deceased), Emily L., Elihu M. (deceased), Caroline H., Mary A., Martha A., Henry M., Lathrop M. (deceased), Malona S., John H., Ann Eliza, Dwight J. (deceased). They sold their farm, which they still owned, and purchased one hundred acres one and one-half miles north of Albion, which was improved by underdraining and ditching, and building comfortable and commodious buildings; also setting shade trees and orchards of apple and peach trees, which aided him materially in the payment of his new farm. By diligence and prudence he accumulated a competence which left him the comforts of life in his later years. He died in 1879. His widow survived him eleven years. She was born in Brattleborough, Windham county, Vt., January 9, 1808.

Young, Daniel, was the first of the family to settle in Orleans county. He was a native of Herkimer county and his father, Jacob Young, was a native of Germany, and on coming to this country settled in Herkimer county. One of his sons, Jacob Young, jr., served in the war of 1812, in which he was a captain. Daniel Young was also in the service for a short time. He came to Orleans county, arriving in Murray April 20, 1830, and took up a tract of land northwest of Hulburton, cleared it, and became one of the prominent farmers of the town. He married Catherine Caswell, of Herkimer county, and their children were: David, Jacob, who studied law and died shortly after being admitted to the bar; Ebenezer, who was a painter in Rochester and was twice married, his first wife being Elizabeth Young and his second Mary McCall; Nelson, who married Jane Lewis and settled in the west; Charles, who married Phoebe Harris

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and was a farmer in Kendall, Orleans county, during the earlier part of his life, and then settled in Wisconsin; Catharine (deceased). David Young was born in 1816 in Herkimer county and came to Murray with his parents, and on arriving at manhood became a farmer. In 1869 he removed to Albion and engaged in the butcher business, carrying on a market there for a period of four years. Mr. Young is a Democrat and during his residence in Albion served as president of the village. In 1883 he returned to Murray, where he has since resided. He was thrice married, first to Jannette Perry, and they had one son, Daniel P., who settled in Kansas and married a Miss Willett. David Young married for his second wife Abigail Bush, and they had one son, Charles F., born in 1847. His third wife was Julia Ward, and they had two children who died in infancy. Charles F. Young resides in Murray and is a farmer. He is an active mem- ber of the Democratic party, and was elected justice of the peace in 1894. In 1868 he married Mary J. Eggleston, and they have two children. Charlie D. and Lissa B. John W. Young was born in Murray in 1836 and has always lived in the town. Until 1882 he was engaged in farming, but in that year purchased the stone grist mill at Balcon's Mills of William Salisbury, and in 1890 he rebuilt the mill and equipped it with modern machinery. In 1858 Mr. John Young married Clarissa E., daughter of Romaine Ostrander, of Murray, and their children are Grace A. and Charles R.

Ostrander, H. S., was born in Ridgeway, January 3, 1846, and has made farming his chief occupation. In 1874 he married Clarine Devereaux, and they have two chil- dren, Roscoe and Alvin. In 1887 Mr. Ostrander was elected to the position of super- visor, and re-elected in 1888. He was again elected in 1892, and has filled the office up to the present time. His father was Christopher Ostrander and his mother Melissa Slater Ostrander. His father came to Ridgeway in 1836 and bought the farm on which our subject now resides.

Salisbury, Alexander C., was born in Clarendon, August 24, 1844, a son of George S., who was a son of Joseph, the latter's father having been Gideon Salisbury, whose ancestors came from Salisbury Plains, England, and settled in Middlesex, Ontario county. Joseph was born June 1, 1771, and settled in Pennsylvania, where he married Phoebe Westbrook. Later they came to Sweden, Monroe county, N. Y., and about 1819 to Clarendon. They had thirteen children. Their grandchildren numbered eighty- two and their great-grandchildren forty-seven. Their children were: Abraham, Pris- cilla, William S., Amanda, Guy M., George S., Melinda, Royal S., Miranda, Harmon, Samuel, Samson and Phoebe. George S. settled in Clarendon and became a farmer, also a strong anti-slavery advocate. He married Amanda, daughter of Alexander C. Annis, a pioneer of the town, and their children were : Annis A., George S., jr., Pris- cilla O., Stephen V., Harmon L., Mariamne, Juliette and Alexander C. Annis married Henry Spring; George jr., died in early manhood ; Priscilla married Andrew M. Caton; Stephen settled in Clarendon on the homestead and married Morja A. Griffin ; Harmon settled in Virginia. He married first Sarah Danby and second Susan Freeman. Mari- amne died in early womanhood, and Juliette died in infancy. Alexander C. Salisbury has always resided in Clarendon and is a farmer. He is a member of Holley Lodge, I. O. O. F. He married, October 17, 1867, Martha J. Freer, by whom he has three chil- dren : Journal E., Barton C. and George F.

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Root, Elijah, the first of the family to settle in this county, came from Oneida county in 1833, and bought a farm in the northwest part of Clarendon. He was a member of the Clarendon M. E. Church, and married Susan Smith, by whom he had these chil- dren : Elijah, Ezekiel, Datus E., who lives in California; Joseph, Nathan, Harvey, Asbury, Wesley, Mary and Betsey. Elijah settled in Murray ; Ezekiel in Rich's Cor- ners; Nathan in Barre, and later in Illinois; Harvey and Asbury died in early man- hood; Wesley settled in the west ; Mary married Mr. Green ; Betsey married Bela Shearer; Joseph settled on the homestead and married Elvira Thompson, by whom he had these children : Sidney, who died young ; Lucy, who married George Clark ; Euse- bia, who married Chauncey Burnham ; Daniel T., who married Harriet Reynolds and settled in Michigan, and William, a farmer in Clarendon on the homestead. In 1856 he married Mary A., daughter of Rev. William Williams, by whom he had these children : Weldon, who died in infancy ; Elvira A., who married Charles Alderman ; Gertrude J., who married William Kast; Bertha M., who married Alfred Potter; Cora B., who married Bruce Stockham, and Ernest E., who is unmarried and resides on the home- stead, being the fourth generation to occupy it. William Root died in 1879.

Lyman, William, was born in Le Roy, Genesee county, January 9, 1839, a son of Dwight Lyman, who was a native of Vermont, and came with his parents to Genesee county at the age of four. He came to Clarendon in 1876, where he is engaged in farming. In 1876 he married Florence Butterfield, of Clarendon, and they have two children : Carrie I. and Orrie A. Dwight Lyman, father of William, married Mary A. Clapp. Colonel Orson Butterfield (deceased) was born in Rodman, Jefferson county, in 1808, a son of Daniel Butterfield, and came to Clarendon in 1830, settling on 100 acres south of Bennett's Corners. In 1853 he went to California and remained till 1869, then returned to Clarendon, where he died August 11, 1887. He was a member of the old State militia and a prominent man in his locality. He married Lydia Wright, and their children were: Sarah, Myron A., Lauriette, Wolford, Pratt, Alice A., Florence A., Rosella and Ida A. Sarah, Ida and Myron A. all died young.

Pratt, Joseph, was born October 9, 1802, in Hadley, Mass., and soon after the family started for Jefferson connty, N. Y., and the father died on the way. The family settled in Jefferson county, and about 1820 Joseph came to Sweden, Monroe county, and learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed several years. He married Melinda Howard, and about 1830 removed to Clarendon, buying a tract of land on the east side of the town and engaged in farming. He learned surveying, and for many years fol- lowed that business in Clarendon and surrounding towns. He took an active part in the political affairs of his town, being originally a Whig, but later a Republican. He was justice of the peace for many years in Clarendon, and during the war was one of the loan commissioners. He was a man of unblemished character and highly respected by his townsmen. His wife died December 11, 1849, and he married second, November 27, 1851, Mrs. Chloe Hill, of Sweden, N. Y. Mr. Pratt died June 29, 1881.

Palmer, Mortimer C., was born in the town of Nelson, Madison county, in 1833. He is a son of Joshua and Amy (Cook) Palmer. He came to Orleans county in 1865 and settled in Murray, purchasing the Ezekiel Root farm, where he has since resided. In 1862

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Mr. Palmer enlisted in the 1st N. Y. Artillery and served until the close of the war. He married, in 1862, Jennie C., daughter of Ezekiel Root, and they have three sons: Harry, Grant and Coolidge.

Davey, Edward, was born in Somersetshire, England, February 5, 1814, came to America with his parents, two brothers and three sisters in 1830. The following year his father bought a farm and settled in the town of Skaneateles, Onondaga county, N. Y. Here he lived until December, 1832, when he went to Skaneateles village to learn the trade of carriagemaker. After serving an apprenticeship of three years he worked as a journeyman until 1849 at Skaneateles, New Haven, Conn., Penn Yan, Syracuse and Newport, N. Y. (except two years that he carried on the business in Newport), came to Medina, N. Y., and began business as a carriage manufacturer, March 5, 1849, and still continues the business. In 1857 he married Harriet M. Seeley Clark, of Marcellus, N. Y., and has one son, Edward H. Davey, who is now manager of the business. (Although Mr. Davey, sr., is over eighty years of age he is still hale and hearty.) Edward H. Davey was born March 15, 1859, was married to Susan Mae Dods- worth, of Buffalo, N. Y., July 9, 1890. They have a daughter, Margaret Elizabeth, and a son, Edward Howard.

Bidwell, Anna G., is the widow of Chester W. Bidwell, who was born in Connecticut, and died at East Carlton in 1882, aged eighty-four years. He moved with his parents to Sherburne, Chenango county, at the age of five, and came to Orleans county in 1824, making the distance from Chenango county on horseback. He afterward sold the horse to Winslow Pratt, of Gaines. He and his brother Alfred bought the farm where Mrs. Bidwell now lives, which contained 150 acres, and which they later divided, each taking half. The father of Chester W. Bidwell was Ozias, a native of Connecticut, who died in Smyrna, N. Y. He married Mary Weatherly, and had thirteen children : Polly, Chester, Betsey, Alfred, Eleazer and Elizur (twins), David, Hannah, Eunice, Seth, Amanda and John (twins), and George. Seth, the last survivor, died in Brighton, Mich., in 1893. Chester Bidwell was twice supervisor and twice justice of the peace in Carlton, taking a prominent part in the affairs of his locality. He married at Pal- myra Anna G. Barnhart, February 6, 1827, a native of Bloomfield, Ontario county. She was born August 16, 1807, and moved on the farm where she now lives March 5, 1827. Mr. and Mrs. Chester Bidwell had one son, William R., born March 25, 1828, who died April 19, 1852. He married Isabel Allen in 1850. Mrs. Bidwell has in her possession the saddlebags owned by her husband and used by him on the journey to Orleans county. The first labor performed by Mr. Bidwell in Orleans county was chop- ping the wood from twenty acres of land which is now a part of the farm on which the county poorhouse is situated. While performing this labor he boarded at the house of Lucius Street.

Wiedrich, George J., was born in Wyoming county November 16, 1851. He came to Elba, Genesee county, with his parents about 1860. In 1877 he married Julia E. Stang. In 1883 he engaged in the grocery business in Shelby, continuing until 1890, when he sold his stock of groceries and engaged in the grocery business in Medina. In 1892 he was elected supervisor of the town of Shelby and in 1894 justice of the peace.

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Since he came to Shelby he has held the office of town clerk for three terms. His father's name was Peter Wiedrich, who was born in France and came to America when seven years old. His mother was Margaret (Feller) Wiedrich.

Lee, William U., was born in Barre, Orleans county, December 21, 1843. His father was a farmer and Mr. Lee has made that the principal occupation of his life. In 1881 he relinquished active work on account of failing health. In 1883 he settled in Medina and has resided there since. He was one of the organizers of the Medina Savings and Loan Association and has been its president since it was organized May 1, 1888. He is also president of the Board of Trustees of the Presbyterian Church and for six years was a member of the Medina School Board, during four of which he was secretary. He also served as a member of the first Board of Sewer Commissioners of the village of Medina, organized under the act of 1889. In 1867 Mr. Lee married Frances H. Church, and they have one daughter, Mary E. Mr. Lee's father, Charles, who was postmaster at Farmingham for more than twenty years, beside holding other positions of public trust, was a pioneer in the town of Barre, as also was his grandfather, John Lee, who was a judge in the Court of Common Pleas in what was then Genesee county. The Lee family trace their ancestry in this country back to 1634, when John Lee, a merchant of London, came over from England and settled in Agawam, now Ipswich, Mass. The family name at that time was spelled Leigh. Mr. Lee is a member of the seventh gen- eration since the settlement of the family in this cont.try. His father and uncle, Ora Lee, cut the first timber felled between the Oak Orchard road in Barre and the village of Millville in Shelby, on what is now known as Lee street, in the year 1826. Mr. Lee and his cousin, Ora Lee, are now the owners of a large portion of the tract of land taken at that time from the Holland Land Company by their fathers and grandfather.

Marshall, Edward, was born on the farm where he now lives April 3, 1834, and ex- cepting five years in California has always resided here. In 1857 he married Jeannette Britt. He has one son, Frank, who is associated with his father in his business opera- tions. Frank married Rose, daughter of Charles Adriance. Edward Marshall's father was Lewis Marshall, of Dutchess county, who came to Orleans in 1832. His mother was Sarah (Angevine) Marshall, who died in March, 1879. Mrs. Frank Marshall's grandfather, Theodore Adriance, came to Oak Corners in 1855 and died in 1890. His wife died in 1882. The Marshall family is one of the most highly respected in the town.

Swett, Albert L., was born in Medina April 27, 1850, and has resided in this place all his life excepting nine years, when he lived west from the age of six to fifteen. On his return he took a clerkship and attended school a few winter terms. He subse- quently went into the employ of the Bignall Manufacturing Company, and after spend- ing seven years with them began business for himself. The firm at first was Samson & Swett, but after sixteen years Mr. Swett purchased his partner's interest, in 1890, and has since conducted the business alone. He has been in the foundry business for twenty-one years and probably has the best equipped shop in Western New York, em- ploying one hundred and twenty hands. Since he assumed full control of the industry Mr. Swett has spent $30,000 in improvements, $11,000 of which were expended in the

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construction of a fine stone dam, 234 feet long, across the Oak Orchard creek. Mr. Swett has always taken an active part in the public affairs of Medina, and is connected with several organizations here. In 1872 he married Lucinda M. Fuller, and they have two sons, Charles S. and Raymond F. Mr. Swett's father, Joel R. Swett, was one the pioneers of Orleans county, coming here when a boy with his father, Dr. Jonathan Swett. He was born in 1808 and died in 1890. His mother was Minerva F. (Bates) Swett. She is still living.

Stevens, John H., was born September 23, 1839, on the farm where he now resides. He served nearly three years in Company A, 151st N. Y. S. Vol. Infantry. He was wounded at the battle of Mine Run November 27, 1863, transferred to the Veteran Re- serve Corps and detailed as clerk in the provost marshal general's office at Washington. He was discharged May 10, 1865. His first wife was Alice A. Andrews, a native of Ridgeway, who died November 28, 1875, leaving two sons, one, George A., now living at Buffalo, N. Y., the other, Avery T., dying March 22, 1881. His present wife was Mary D. Clapp, also a native of Ridgeway, and they have one daughter, Florence.

Rourke, M., was born in Ireland in 1846, and came to America in 1853. He enlisted in 1863 in the 22d N. Y. Cavalry and served two years and two months, going through the Shenandoah Valley campaign with Sheridan. He was taken prisoner at Port Royal and recaptured by the Michigan brigade. After the war he followed farming until 1886, when he embarked in the hotel business at Knowlesville, in which he is still engaged. In 1869 he married Mary Connelly, and they have one daughter, Anna J.

Le Valley, John, 2d, was born in Ridgeway January 12, 1859, and was educated in the Medina Academy and Lima Seminary. He married, December 23, 1891, Laura Zimmerman, and they have one son, John, 3d. Mr. Le Valley's father was John, born at Paris Hill, Oneida county, May 31, 1810. He came to the present Le Valley home- stead in Ridgeway in 1835. He was one of the three surveyors who surveyed and widened the Ridge road in 1852. He died August 28, 1889. Joseph Davis, the grand- father of our subject, was also a pioneer in Orleans county, and settled on the first farm south of the Ridge road. Mr. Le Valley has taken an active interest in the public affairs of Ridgeway, and is the owner and operator of extensive Medina sandstone quarries at Shelby Basin, N. Y.

Tanner, William, was born in the town of Ridgeway, October 8, 1841. His life occupation has been farming. In 1871 he married Nellie Mudgett and they have one son, Harry F. Mr. Tanner is a leading Democrat in Ridgeway, and has been town assessor for twelve years. He was recently appointed loan commissioner by Governor Flower. Mr. Tanner's father was William C. Tanner and his mother Julia A. Flagler, the former a native of Rutland, Vermont, and the latter of Genesee county.

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Landmarks of Orleans County, New York, Part 91

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