Landmarks of Oswego County, New York, Part 112

Author: Churchill, John Charles, 1821-1905; Smith, H. P. (Henry Perry), 1839-1925; Child, W. Stanley
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 1410

USA > New York > Oswego County > Landmarks of Oswego County, New York > Part 112

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Bilque, Alexander L., was born in Oswego, February 28, 1852, a grandson of Joseph, born in France, who died in this town aged eighty-eight, and a son of Alex- ander, also born in France, who died here aged seventy-six. The latter married Amelia Hurtubese, a native of Canada, who survives him. The grandfather was a soldier under the first Napoleon, and was wounded in the Moscow campaign. Alex- ander L. was educated in Oswego, and is quartermaster-sergeant of the 48th Separ- ate Company, N. Y. S. militia. He worked at his trade fifteen years, then engaged in the shoe business with his father in May, 1887, having now an elegant store at 197 West First street, where they carry a full line of the finest and best in the footwear line and carry one of the largest stocks in the city. In 1878 Mr. Bilque married Pauline, daughter of Justine and Jane Janny, and their children are Paul, born in 1878, George, born in 1883, and Marian, born in 1890.

Allen, John R., was born in Oswego county, May 24, 1848. His father, Martin A., was born in Saratoga county and died in this county aged eighty-four. He married Augusta Greenwood, who died aged thirty, and their children were Byron E., John R., and Augusta, all deceased except subject. The grandfather was Erastus, who died in this county aged eighty. John H. was educated in the common schools and is a member of the Masonic fraternity. He has served as supervisor, also president of the village five years. For sixteen years he followed carriage building, then en- gaged in the dry goods business for three years, and was afterward interested in the manufacture of granite and marble work. He sold his interest in this in 1893, and erected the Allen building, where he engaged in the granite and marble business alone, being interested in a quarry and manufacturing business at Barre, Vt., and using this building as a salesroom. October 27, 1869, he married Ann E., daughter of Mason and Mary (Olmstead) Salisbury. Her grandfather, Reuben Salisbury, was a lieutenant in the war of 1812. The children of our subject are Albert and Edna, the former a student of Rochester Business College.

Ney, Willis, of Fulton. Among the representative families of this village, a promi- nent place must be accorded that of Willis Ney, who was for many years a leading merchant here and who has filled many positions of official trust and responsibility. He was born in Oneida, removing to Fulton at the age of seventeen. His wife is Agnes M., daughter of George and Mary Kenyon, late of Andover, Mass., where she

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was born. Both families are of old New England lineage. Mr. and Mrs. Ney were married in 1854 and have one daughter, Bertha, who married Herbert Rose, of Syra- cuse. Mr. Rose is now manager for the Singer Machine Co., with headquarters at Buffalo. Their children are Howard and Millicent A.

Osborn, Isaac R., of Oswego Falls, is of old English stock, inheriting the sterling qualities of his ancestry. He is the oldest son of Hurum and Olive Osborn, of Ira, Cayuga county, where he was born April 2, 1833. Amos Osborn, the father of Hurum, was one of the first settlers in Cayuga county. Isaac has devoted his atten- tion to farming, with marked success, now owning 200 acres of choice land devoted to dairying and thoroughbred stock. He was for several years assessor of Ira, and has served Granby as overseer of the poor. Both himself and wife are members of the Congregational church of Oswego Falls. Mrs. Osborn's maiden name was Jane M. Henderson of Tully, Onondaga county, where her father, John Henderson, was a pioneer and with his wife, Polly Hunt, accumulated a large property, and reared eight children. Mrs. Henderson was one of the five organizers of the first Presby- terian church established in Onondaga county. Mr. and Mrs. Osborn married Octo- ber 29, 1858, and have two children, Frank H., who married Ruth Chapman of Hoosick Falls and who now conducts the old homestead in Cayuga county, and Hat- tie, wife of Sandford Wells, a traveling salesman, residing in Fulton. A younger son, Hiram, died when less than one year old, in 1864.

Olmstead, Samuel J .- His father, Gilbert O., is a son of Captain O. B. and brother of Arthur E. Olmstead. Samuel was was born in Orwell, June 11, 1872. His mother died very soon after and he was taken to the home of his grandfather, where he has always lived. His grandfather died in 1884, the boy being generously provided for in his will. Samuel was educated at the Orwell public school and Pulaski Academy. Early in 1894 he opened a general store in the village and has every prospect of suc- cess. He has a small dairy farm running up to the village. His home is the home of his grandfather and is kept by his grandmother.

Wells, Willis M., M. D., was born at Newport, Ill., in 1851, the second son of Will- iam W. Wells, a farmer at that place. After attending Falley Seminary, he entered the University of Vermont, pursuing the study of medicine, and received his diploma in 1874. His first medical practice was at Martville, Cayuga county, where he re- mained four years, and came to Oswego Falls in 1879. His wife is Alice B., youngest daughter of John Edwards of Hannibal. They have two children, Floy and Leon. Dr. Wells is highly esteemed, no less for his professional ability, than for intellectual attainments and moral worth.

Wybron, Mrs. Eliza (Incledon), of South Granby, is the widow of the late John T. Wybron. Both she and her husband were born and reared in Devonshire, England, where they were married in 1840, and where two of their children were born. They made a home in Canada for four years, and came to Granby in 1850. Mr. Wybron was a blacksmith by trade. During the last two years of the Civil war he was at the front, receiving an honorable discharge in 1865. He died in 1871, aged fifty-four years, and his widow continues to reside on the farm in Granby, which is operated by her son, John S., whose wife, Mary, died in 1885, leaving one son, Frank A. Mrs. Wybron has been the mother of fifteen children, of whom ten are now living. She

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has twenty-four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Now seventy-three years of age, she is still erect and vivacious with faculties little impaired by time.

Sharp, John N., is the son of John L. Sharp, a boat-builder of Albany, also engaged in the dry goods trade, who came to Fulton in 1841. He died at the age of forty-two. His wife, Adeline Oman Sharp, still lives in Fulton. John N. Sharp is the elder of six children, and one brother and sister now reside here. He married in 1871 Mary Liscom. They have one adopted daughter, Edna. Mr. Sharp has made for himself an honored place among men, and holds at present the responsible position of police judge, to which he was elected in 1889. He has also served as village president, trustee and excise commissioner.

Rumsey, George B .- His father, David Rumsey, was noted as a skilled teacher of vocal and instrumental music in the vicinity of his former residence at Victory, Cayuga county. He came to Granby about 1859. His wife, Maria J. Andrews, was the mother of three sons and three daughters. George, the oldest son was born at Victory, February 4, 1842. His wife is Mary Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Coles of England. Mr. Rumsey is a member of the A. O. U. W., Lodge No. 347. Their children are Guy Louis, Clarence David, Stelle Ceamer, Charlie' Henry, Gertie Jane and Earl Clay. Guy married Cora Palmer and operates a farm at Granby Center; Clarence married Nellie Baker and resides at Lamson's. Stelle's wife is Lydia, daughter of Philo Lampman, and their daughter, Pearl Jane, was born May 2, 1890.

Reeve, Silas A., son of James and Melinda Reeve, was born at Erieville, Madison county, in 1835. In the vicinity of Cazenovia in Madison county, one of the earliest settlers was Silas Reeve, grandfather of our subject. He was in earlier days a resi- dent of Long Island, by trade a cabinet maker, and Mr. Reeve has now in his home an arm chair made by his grandfather during the period of British occupation. It is in good preservation and highly prized by Mr. Reeve. James Reeve also began life as a cabinet maker, but in later time became an extensive farmer in Madison county. He was a prominent advocate of the abolition of slavery, and a leading spirit in the Baptist church. Silas Reeve has for a quarter of a century been an honored resident of Fulton. He still owns a farm in Volney, now operated by his son-in-law, Edward Aylesworth. March 14, 1859, Mr. Reeve married Rebecca, daughter of Samuel Reese of Nelson, and Mrs. Jennie Aylesworth is their only child.

McCarthy, George D., was born in Canada, July 25, 1841, came to Oswego in 1867, and served in the Army of the Tennessee, being honorably discharged in 1865. While in Canada he learned wood working, and on coming to this town he again took up the business, which he still continues. In 1890 he formed a partnership with V. A. Converse at 106 West Second street. In 1869 he married Julia Breen of this town, a daughter of William and Margaret (Hayden) Breen, and they have had two children : Ina, born August 16, 1871, who resides in Albion; and Hallie, born August 24, 1873. The business of McCarthy & Converse, carriage manufacturers, 106 West Second street, was organized in 1890. They manufacture all kinds of carriages, sleighs, wagons, etc., and also are general blacksmiths and wood workers, doing all kinds of special order work, from the finest grade down. They carry a full line of carriage trimmings, doing everything pertaining to the manufacture of carriages. They em- ploy from four to six men, and have one of the largest shops in the county.

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Edwards, James W., was born in Jefferson county in 1844 and settled in this county in 1873, and on this farm in 1884. He is a son of O. A. and Mary (Wilson) Edwards, she a daughter of James Wilson and he a son of Hiram Edwards. The family are of Scotch origin, but the great-grandfather, James Wilson, was one of the first settlers of Jefferson county. James W. Edwards married Alwilda, a daughter of Horatio and Rosanna Fox of Clayton, Jefferson county, and they have one son, James Bert, born in 1878. Subject owns a farm of 150 acres, situated one and one- half miles east of Hannibal.

Fuller, J. M., elder son of Almarin Fuller, was born in Columbia county July 26, 1815, and when fifteen years of age his parents removed to Granby. His education was acquired at the common schools, supplemented by reading and personal research, and for a number of years was engaged in teaching. He began farming where now located in 1842, and a barn upon his premises bears the date of 1844. Mr. Fuller married first in 1842 Phoebe Berry of Lysander, who died in 1845, leaving one son, Willard C. His second wife was Martha Crawford of Granby, who died in 1869, and he married third Lucy Lewis, who died April 20 1887. September 14, 1887, Mr. Fuller married fourth Eliza Morris, who was born in Sussex, England, the daughter of the late Reuben Morris. Willard Fuller became a volunteer soldier in Co. A, 185th New York, and died in the war.

Campbell, John M., of the Fulton Machine Co., manufacturers of the Kendrick ensilage cutter, automatic engines, wood split pulleys, etc., came to America in 1855. He was born in Favelkirk, Scotland, in 1833, and learned the foundry trade in Glas- gow. After two years at Fort Hope, Ontario, he settled at Auburn, remaining there until 1879, when he removed to Fulton, and for seven years was foreman for E. W. Ross. In 1886 he built the Pearman Foundry on First street, operating it three years, when he became stockholder in the Fulton Machine Co. upon its incorpora- tion, and where his practical and thorough knowledge of the business are of great value. In 1858 he married Mary Sinclair of Kingston, Ont., by whom he had four- teen children. Mr. Campbell occupies a high position in the Masonic fraternity, having made his way to the top of the pinnacle of degrees.

Crow, Charles, was born in 1852 at Oriskany Falls. His parents, William and Charlotte (Trafford) Crow, were natives of England and came to this country in 1849. They settled in Oneida county, Mr. Crow working at his trade of wood turner. They came to Redfield in 1865, and for the past twenty-five years Mr. Crow has been an engineer. They reared ten children, of whom five are now living: Mary, Rose, living in Utica; Mrs. William Quigley in Ottawa, Canada; Eva, Mrs. Charles Will- iams in Camden; and George in Redfield. Two sons, George and John, were killed in the army. Charles worked in the tannery for nine years until he was twenty-five, then clerked in the tannery store five years, and in 1884 embarked in the mercantile business with his brother-in-law, C. Williams. He bought out in 1887 and has since carried on a general store. He married in 1885 Jennie, daughter of James Petrie, and has two children: Harry P., born in 1887, and Ellen G., born in 1891. He was elected collector in 1884 for one term, and in 1888 and 1889, town clerk.

Church, Carlon, is remembered as having been for many years one of the success- ful merchants of Fulton. His parents were early residents of the village. While

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Carlon did not inherit his business from his father, he was associated with him for some time. Carlon Church was a self-made man. His first wife was Martha Board- man, whom he married June 3, 1863, by whom he had two children, both dying young. His second wife, to whom he was married January 25, 1876, was Gertrude E., daughter of Samuel F. and Susan M. Merry, of Utica. By this marriage he had two children, Leila A. and Grace. Carlon died July 1, 1884.

Barber, David, was born in Herkimer county, N. Y., April 16, 1822, son of Aaron of Connecticut. Aaron Barber removed to Herkimer county for a time and then to Albion and settled about two miles south of Pineville, which is an old historic spot. Here he conducted a chairmaking industry, some of the chairs being now in the possession of his son, David. Aaron Barber first married Betsey Thorp, of Connec- ticut, mother of David. He was afterwards married to Betsey Cole and Eunice Eblston, respectively. David Barber has devoted his time to various lines, lumber- ing, boating, and at present is a farmer. He was married in 1848 to Harriette L. Kellogg, of Onondaga, Onondaga county. By this marriage they had one daughter, Harriette L. He afterward married Caroline, daughter of Isaac and Deborah George, of Essex county, N. Y., by whom he had two children, Henry D. and Will- iam L., the latter deceased. David Barber has been excise commissioner for twelve years in the town of Albion and in politics is a staunch Democrat.

Brown, John M., son of Philip and Nancy Brown, was born March 16, 1820. This family is one of the old pioneer families of New York State. John M. has spent a life of usefulness as a lawyer. He was admitted to the bar in 1867. He first read law under H. S. Nelson, of Florence, Oneida county. He has also had the degree M. D. conferred upon him. He has also followed this profession for many years. In 1847 he married Jane Coffin, of Oneida county. They were the parents of two children, Libbie, now Mrs. Holland, of Herkimer; and John C., who is in the drug business at Sand Bank. Mr. Brown has been justice of the peace several terms and notary public since 1848, being appointed by Governor Fish; town school superin- tendent from 1850 to 1856, in Oneida county, N. Y.

Beardsley, Almon L .- About 1829 Ephraim Beardsley, who was born in Fairfield county, Conn., and had for a time lived in Oneida county, settled at North Volney, where he engaged in farming. Almon was born June 1, 1833, at the old home near where he now resides. His first wife was Sarah Hubbard, of Volney, who died in 1870, leaving three children, Lawton D., born 1856, now one of the leading farmers of Granby; Emily L., wife of Howard Van Buren, of Volney; and Arthur M., a stenographer in the employ of a mercantile house at Utica. He was married again in 1871 to Mary J. Adams, of Richland. No children have been the result of this marriage.

Benjamin, E. P., was born in Brooklyn, June 6, 1853. At eleven years of age he was a cash boy in a store. In 1873 he entered the employ of a Boston house manu- facturing shade rolls, and represented them in twenty-eight States for eight years and three years in Europe. In 1884 he became connected with the Minetto Shade Cloth Co. The business of this concern has been greatly increased, and with this growth Mr. Benjamin has been closely connected. In 1874 he married Florence I., daughter of E. C. Hume. Mr. Benjamin is a man of superior business ability and is

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very popular with his friends. His parents were Edwin and M. L. (Holcomb) Benja- min. His grandfather, Daniel Benjamin, was State grand master of the Masons in Vermont, who have erected a monument to his memory. He was also a colonel in the State militia.

Whitney, Charles Fred, was born in this county December 17, 1850, a son of Cyrus and Jane E. (Brown) Whitney, the former deceased. The grandfather Brown was in the war of 1812. Charles F. was educated at the Mexico and at the Pennsylvania Military Academies, the latter located at Chester, Pa. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., and read law with his father, who was county judge for ten years. He was admitted to the bar in 1874, practicing in Oswego until 1877, when he went to San Diego, Tex., and to Laredo, being county attorney of Duval county, and acting dis- trict attorney, also attorney for the Mexican National Railway Co. during the entire time. In 1885 he returned to Oswego and engaged in practice with his father, which continued till the death of the latter, when he entered into partnership with Hon. C. N. Bulger, but in 1893 he opened an office in the Arcade building, where he now is. He married Mattie E. Davis of Scriba, daughter of Allen Davis, and they have one child, Jennie. The Davis family is descended from a noble French lineage.

Dilts, Frank, late a prominent iron manufacturer of Fulton, was born near Auburn, N. Y., October 17, 1824. His father was a small farmer and his advantages were limited. Having learned the moulder's trade, he became a foreman for a Fulton foundry and when it was destroyed by fire started one on his own account. During this time he had some experience in the Pennsylvania oil fields and as an army con- tractor. His business was at first a small one, but gradually grew into an important factor in the business interests of Fulton. Twice his plant was destroyed by fire, but was each time replaced on a larger scale. His demise in 1893 at nearly seventy years of age was mourned as a personal grief by the people of Fulton. Mr. Dilts was especially interested in temperance reform, and in his many years of fearless conflict with the liquor cause struck many a telling blow, earning nevertheless the respect of his opponents. He married twice, first in 1855 Charlotte King of Fulton, who died in 1872, and in 1873 Lydia Butler, by whom he has these children: Frank and Lucy.

Burr, 'J. Gilbert, was born in West Monroe December 14, 1856, on the farm where he now resides. He is a son of Freeman Burr, a native of Smithfield, Madison county, born in 1817, and of seven children of Aaron Burr of Massachusetts, of Eng- lish ancestry. Freeman came to West Monroe in 1845, and has resided on his pres- ent farm forty-nine years. His wife was Alice Claxton (whose people were among the first settlers of Amboy, about 1815), by whom he had three children, Isaac A., George F. and J. Gilbert. Mrs. Burr died in February, 1894. From 1873 to 1892 our subject has followed teaching during the winter seasons, the last four years of which he taught in Caughdenoy, Constantia and Bernhard's Bay. In December, 1891, he engaged in the general mercantile and agricultural implement business in the village of West Monroe, which he still conducts. He also supervises the farm on which but- ter making is his specialty, caring also for his aged father. In 1882 he married Christina, daughter of John Feikert of Amboy. Mr. Burr served as justice of the peace eight years. He is a member of the West Monroe Grange.

Fillmore, Asa D., was born in the town of Lee, Oneida county, August 24, 1867, .

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son of Albert D. and Margaret (Treenham) Fillmore, who came from Oneida county and Oswego county respectively. The father spent most of his life farming, except two years in the milling business at Pulaski. He at present resides in Connecticut. They became the parents of three children, Bertha M., Lillie, and. Asa D. The lat- ter has always followed farming up to within the last two years, since which time he has conducted a grist mill at New Centreville. The mill runs by water power en- tirely. February 24, 1891, he married Rose, daughter of Joel M. Stewart, of Rich- land, Oswego county, who is a prominent farmer in that place.

Whitcomb, James D., fourth son of the late Jasper H. Whitcomb, was born on the old Whitcomb homestead at South Granby, March 29, 1863. Jasper Whitcomb, born in Vermont in 1822, of old English descent, came first to Granby in 1827. His wife was Louise Harris of New England birth, and they reared a large family of children. of whom five are still residents of Oswego county. James D. Whitcomb succeeds his father in the management of the homestead farm at South Granby. He was edu- cated at Fulton Union School. His wife is Emma Cook of South Granby, and a daughter of Carlon Cook. Ther have one daughter, Ethel, born May 7, 1891. A son, Jasper, born in 1893, died in infancy.

Husted, Charles, was born July 22, 1843, in Hastings, Oswego county, son of Abram and Betsey Husted. Abram was born in Johnstown July 4, 1809, and came with his parents to Parish at the age of eighteen. He took up a farm in this county and cut the first tree. He went from there to Hastings where he married Betsey Herrick, returned to Parish and settled on the homestead, where he has lived for forty-five years. They had two children, Francilia, who died aged fifteen, and Charles, our subject. He has lived on the homestead since he was five years of age, received his education in the district school at Parish, and helped his father till he was married, December 31, 1867, to Susan Lothridge, by whom he had one son, Harmon. Since Mr. Husted's marriage he has conducted the homestead farm. His father is still liv- ing, aged eighty-five. Subject is a member of the M. E. Church of Parish, of which he is steward and trustee.

Matteson, Judson E., was born in New Haven, Oswego county, February 10, 1846. son of Charles M., born in Herkimer county. The grandfather was Stephen A. Mat- teson of Herkimer county, born in 1790, son of Jesse, a native of Vermont. Charles M., while a young man, taught school, was a prominent man in his town, served in all the highest town offices, was colonel in the N. Y. State militia, and while at Wash- ington on business was a guest of General Scott. He came to Hastings in 1844, but died in Herkimer in 1855. His wife was Clarissa A Loomis, who died in 1887. Their children were Judson E., and Ellen. Subject was educated in Whitestown Seminary, later taught school six years, and from 1869 to 1875 was engaged in the lumber business in Midland, Mich. He returned to Hastings, where he has since been engaged in farming. In 1870 he married Alice, daughter of Derias and Mercy Britton of Caughdenoy, and they have one child, Charles D., born in Midland, Mich., in 1875. Our subject is a member of the Central Square Grange, Masonic Order, Oswego River Chapter, in Phoenix. Mrs. Matteson is a member of the Eastern Star of Syracuse.

Taylor, L. P., was born in Otsego county, April 15, 1841. He studied law in

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Albany and was admitted to the bar in 1862. He practiced in Albany for twelve years, then came to Oswego and engaged in farming. He was elected supervisor of the town of Oswego in 1887, and again in 1894. Mr. Taylor married, in 1863, Mary J. Davy.

Whitcomb, Frank J., was born in South Granby, January 1, 1859. His late father, Jasper H. Whitcomb, who died aged sixty years, was widely known and not less widely regretted as one who contributed a full share towards the growth and pros- perity of the town. Frank Whitcomb in 1888 purchased a farm of 100 acres adjacent to the village of Oswego Falls, devoting his attention to the manufacture of butter and with such marked success, that his product demands a premium above the market price in New York and elsewhere. His chief product, however, is sweet cream, which he markets in Syracuse and New York, buying of others in this county and in Onondaga, to supply his trade. For the separation of cream Mr. Whitcomb employs the famous De Laval centrifugal machine, which may be said to have effected a revo- lution in the dairy business. The introduction of about twenty-five of these separa- tors into Oswego county since 1880 has been largely due to his personal effort. Mr. Whitcomb married Luella, daughter of C. C. Wilcox of Granby, and their children are Bertha M., born December 29, 1889, and Ralph J., born January 9, 1891.

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Landmarks of Oswego County, New York, Part 112

Author: Churchill, John Charles, 1821-1905; Smith, H. P. (Henry Perry), 1839-1925; Child, W. Stanley Publication date: 1895 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason Number of Pages: 1410

Author: Churchill, John Charles, 1821-1905; Smith, H. P. (Henry Perry), 1839-1925; Child, W. Stanley
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 1410