Landmarks of Oswego County, New York, Part 132

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

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Tuttle, Daniel H., was born in 1844 in Amboy on the farm where his father, Will- iam Tuttle, and his grandfather, Septimus, settled among the early settlers of Am- boy. Mr. Tuttle entered the army of 1861 in Co. E, 32d N. Y. Vols., as a musician. He returned to Amboy, and after spending some years in Michigan and Wisconsin, returned in 1885 and repurchased the old homestead in Amboy, where he has since resided.

Turner, George L., was born in Oswego December 9, 1833. He first sailed on the lakes and commanded the Gypsy, Selkirk and Sanderson. He left the lakes in 1870, and opened the Empire House, which he still conducts. The house is located on the bank of the Oswego River. It is patronized principally by sailors. In 1893 he built a hotel at Baldwin's Bay, Lake Ontario, about a mile and a half from the center of the city. It is a fine modern hotel and is making a reputation as a first class summer resort.

Thompson, Albert S., was born in Buffalo November 11, 1856, a son of John and Mary C. (Goodwin) Thompson. The father was born in Norway, and is still living at the age of seventy-one, and the mother, who is also living, was born in Sweden. Albert was educated in Buffalo and in Oswego. After completing his studies he first engaged at work on a tug in Oswego harbor, of which he was captain before he was eighteen. In 1879 he became custodian of the lighthouse supplies for the United States government, with which he was engaged three years, then took a railroad tug from Buffalo, following this occupation for two years. During the next five years he

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sold groceries on the road for T. Kingsford, after which he traveled, selling tobacco for four years. In 1894 he bought the store at 192 West First street, where he now carries a full line of tobacco, domestic, Key West, and imported cigars, and all kinds of smoker's articles, and also handles the largest stock of papers (including the New York and other dailies) in the county. In 1882 he married Mary, daughter of Henry W. and Nancy J. (Murray) Seeber, and their children are Bessie L., born November 21, 1882; Fannie S, born November 1, 1884; and Albert S., jr., born October 15, 1890. Mr. Thompson is a Mason and was also a member of the Volunteer Fire De- partment.

Upton, Daniel, was born in Sandy Creek September 29, 1829, the only son of James and Eunice (Knowlton) Upton; he a native of Connecticut and she of New Hamp- shire. They came to Sandy Creek in a very early day. Mr. Upton was in the war of 1812. He was a farmer and lived and died on the farm now owned by our subject. The father of James Upton was one of the first settlers of this town. Our subject was reared on a farm and educated in the common schools. He has always been a farmer, owns 200 acres, and follows general farming and dairying. Mr. Upton mar- ried in 1857 Lavina Widrig, a native of Herkimer county, and came to Sandy Creek when five years old. Subject and wife have two children, W. D. and Lydia, who died aged sixteen.

Valentine, Isaac W., was born in Mount Clemens, Mich., in January, 1836, son of William, born in Poughkeepsie, whose father was Isaac Valentine, a merchant of the same place. William was a tanner and conducted the tannery in Durhamville, where he was scalded to death in 1848. His wife was Rachel, daughter of Joseplı and Lu- cretia Wyckoff of Catskill, and their children were Isaac W., Charles D., Margaret A., Frances M and Agnes. Subject has cared for himself since he was twelve years of age. When fourteen he engaged in a glass factory as window glass blower, which trade he has since followed. He came to Constantia in 1860, and in 1873 purchased the farm of forty-eight acres where he moved in 1880 and has since resided. In 1860 he married Mary Ann, daughter of Michael and Elizabeth Kelley of Cleveland, born in Goldburn, Canada, and their children are William Isaac and James Martin. Will- iam has two children, Vera and Lester B. Mr. Valentine is a member of the A. O. U. W., the Odd Fellows and Masonic lodges, in the latter of which he has passed all the chairs. He is a member of the Window Glass Labor Assembly.

Varney, George L., of French ancestry, was born in Troy, November 22, 1851, a grandson of William Varney, who was a native of France and died in Vermont; and a son of William of this State, who is still living aged eighty-two, The latter mar- ried Hannah M. - , and their children are George L., Laura M., Mary J., Hattie G., all living. The father was a soldier in the Rebellion. George L. was educated in Troy and this county in the common schools and first engaged in tanning, which he followed until 1885, when he opened a general store and harness shop at Holmes- ville. which he still conducts. December 20, 1893 he was appointed postmaster. He married, February 19, 1871, Rory Briggs of Oswego county, a daughter of J. L. and Charlotte (Towsley) Briggs, and they have one child, Maud M., born January 28, 1872, a graduate of Sandy Creek High School, and a fine musician. She is a teacher in this county.

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FAMILY SKETCHES.

Vorce, Albert J., was born in Mexico in 1843 and married Nellie McComber in 1869, who died in 1881, leaving one child, Burton A. Winfred A., the other child, is de- ceased. Mr. Vorce afterward married Julia Bath. His parents, Joseph C. and Clarissa (Douglass) Vorce, died in 1876 and 1878 respectively. Their children are Harriet, now Mrs. Smith Vickery of Palermo; Allen S., killed at the battle of the Wilderness in Co. B, 147th Regiment; Albert J. ; Henry H., of Mexico.

Utz, Alois, was born in Germany January 13, 1838, son of Joseph and Catharine Utz. He came to this country in 1865 and bought a farm in Parish in 1878. His farm contains over 300 acres, consisting of two farms, one of them under a good state of cultivation and the other partially cultivated. He married Mrs. Frederica Genler, and has four children, Alois, Joe, Will and Allie.

Van Buren, John, a sturdy representative of an old and important family, was born in Volney in 1816. For forty years he was a boatman, carrying flour, lumber and grain from Oswego to New York and other points. He is now retired and lives on a pleasant farm near his birthplace. Peter Van Buren, his father, came here in 1800 from Kinderhook, N. Y., and became a boat pilot between Fulton and Oswego. His wife was Betsey Althouse, who died in 1888 at the age of ninety-two years, leaving nine children. In 1836 John Van Buren married Lucretia, daughter of Elisha Bundy. Their children were Asa, Celia, Hamilton, Carrie, and Amanda, all deceased except the latter, who married Charles Thompson, a soldier of the late war, who now man- ages the home farm.

Watkins, Delos, was born September 17, 1844, a son of Philo B., who was born in Massachusetts and died in Sandy Creek, and of Sallie Lindsey, his wife. Our sub- ject was educated in Oswego county, and first learned cabinetmaking. In June, 1861, he enlisted in the 24th N. Y. Vol. Inft., serving in the Army of the Potomac. He was honorably discharged in June, 1863. He was corporal, and served in the following engagements: Second Bull Run, Fredericksburg, South Mountain, Chan- cellorsville, and Antietam, where he was wounded. He was seven months orderly for General Hatch. He was on the first boat to cross after the capture of Fredericks- burg, four men being shot in the boat. In 1863 Mr. Watkins opened a furniture, undertaking, and a livery business, which he still continues. In 1884 he became proprietor of the Watkins House, which is one of the finest hotels in the town.

Woodard, Simon H., was born in Sandy Creek June 7, 1838, a son of Levi and Betsey (Hadley) Woodard, he a native of Hoosick and she of Sandy Creek. The father of Levi was Charles Woodard, who came to Sandy Creek in 1822 where he died. The father of Mrs. Woodard was Simon Hadley, one of the early settlers of Sandy Creek. Father of subject was a cooper by trade, and also followed farming. He died in June, 1894, aged eighty-five years, and his wife died in 1844. By a second mar- riage to Ann Fitch he had one son. Our subject was reared on a farm and educated in the common schools. He has always followed farming, owns 100 acres and follows dairying, keeping about twelve cows. Mr. Woodard married in February, 1865, Lydia Cartwright, a native of Ellisburg, Jefferson county, and daughter of Frederick and Emily Cartwright. Her father died in Sandy Creek where her mother now re- sides. Mr. Woodard and wife had three children : Udora, wife of Fred Lillis of Sandy Creek; Estella, a graduate of Sandy Creek High School, who is now engaged in farm-

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ing; and Dexter, attending school at home. The grandparents on both sides were among the very first settlers of Sandy Creek. The wife of Charles Woodard was Chloe, daughter of Clarence Lasure, who also came to Sandy Creek in a very early day, where he died.

Waters, George, was born in Williamstown in 1867 and is a son of William, who came from Kent, England, in 1853 and to the farm where George now lives in 1860 where he was a farmer until 1891. He then sold his farm to his two sons, George and William E., who are both farmers. George married Cora Blunt and lives on the south half of the farm. William E. married Addie Baker of Nebraska, where he spent ten years prior to 1891, when he bought part of the Waters homstead and is now a far- mer.

Wolven, George A., was born in Fulton in 1866, educated at the Hannibal Union School, and Fulton Union School and Academy. He went into mercantile business at South Hannibal in 1891, which he still continues. He married Bertha Lawrence of Fulton, a daughter of Milo Lawrence, formerly a merchant of Fulton for many years, and afterward a commercial traveler.

Wiltse, Frederick, was born in Hannibal in 1827 on the farm he now owns of 130 acres. He was a son of Cornelius Wiltse who was a native of Duanesburg, but set- tled on this farm in 1815. He and his family lived in his wagon while he built his house. He came through the woods from Hannibal village to his farm, there being no road cut at that time. He was a son of Henry Wiltse, who with his brother Ben- jamin, took up 640 acres of the wilderness, and the two brothers cut the first timber and commenced the clearing of their farm. Frederick Wiltse married Emma A. Copland of Hannibal, and they have four children: Mrs. Ella Lund, wife of W. H. Lund; Orville, Sheridan and Floyd. One son, Maurice, died in August, 1865, aged four years. He has held the office of commissioner of highways of this town two years. Cornelius Wiltse died in 1867, aged eighty-three years.

Wilder, B. K. was born December 3, 1823, son of Benjamin and Nabby (McIntosh) Wilder, who were born in Hampshire county, Mass. The father came to Richfield Springs about fifty-eight years ago, where they resided until his death, the mother surviving him about eight years. They had nine children, of whom B. K. and George survive. For three years B. K. drove a stage line to and from Little Falls, since which time he has been a farmer. He was educated in Richfield Springs, and in 1845 married Lucy, daughter of Henry Freeman of Richfield Springs. They are the parents of four children, Alfred, deceased; Hiram; John B .; and Mary. John B. is the proprietor of a cheese factory .. B. K. is a member of Masonic lodge No. 415.

Wiltsie, W. D., was born in Hannibal October 1, 1835, was educated in the public schools, and enlisted in Co. E. 23d Michigan Vols., serving throughout the war. His brother, James A., was killed during the war at Jackson, Miss. His father, James Wiltsie, was born March 9, 1803, and married in October, 1823, Rachel Dorn, and settled in Hannibal. They resided there until 1836, then removed to the town of Os- wego, where Mr. Wiltsie died July 15, 1893, and his wife in May, 1891.

Davis, William Henry, of New Hampshire ancestry, was born in Oswego county April 18, 1859, son ef John B., born in New Hampshire, who died in Oswego county

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aged seventy-three. His wife was Caroline H. Kelley, born in Pulaski, and their children were Robert W., William H., Henry Clay, John B., jr., Carrie, Fannie L., and Dudley P., all of whom are living. The father was a commercial traveler and a Mason. The great-grandfather was a soldier in the war of 1812. The grandfather, Pitman, was born in New Hampshire, where he died aged sixty. Subject was edu- cated in Oswego county, began as a farmer, then started the mercantile business and has conducted the only store in Union Square twelve years. He does a general mer- chandise business, handling country produce of all kinds, and is one of the largest shippers from this station. He is an Episcopalian. He married, September 2, 1879, Emma L. Hartson of Oswego county, daughter of Byron and Diana (Randall) Hart- son. Their children are Bessie, Robert B. and Winifred, all of whom are living at home. Mr. Davis has been postmaster ten years, which office he still holds.

Yale, Albert A., was born in Vernon Centre, Oneida county, in September, 1834, son of Joseph Yale of Connecticut, one of three children of Joseph Yale of Connec- ticut, who was a carpenter and joiner by trade. Joseph, the father of our subject, was a carpenter and millwright, and spent his last days in Michigan. His wife was Parney M., daughter of Daniel and Eliza Pettibone, who came to Cleveland in 1840. Daniel was a farmer and contracter, and with Sidras Ward built the first glass factory in the county in 1841 on the present site of the Crawford Getman glass factory. He was a prominent man in this section, was one of the first five who organized the first abolition party in this town. They had three children, Henry S., Phidelia A. and Albert A. He died in 1888 aged seventy-nine, and his wife still resides on the home- stead in the village of Cleveland aged eighty-four. Our subject began for himself as a farmer, to which vocation he has devoted most of his attention. From 1854 to 1857 he engaged in the wagonmaking business in Cleveland. In 1857 he married Hannah B. Willis of Cleveland. Mr. Yale has been prominently identified with the political affairs of his town, and filled the office of poormaster five years and assessor eight years. He now owns and operates fifty acres of the homestead.

Whitford, George A., was born in Scriba December 29, 1853. At fifteen years of age he went to Chicago and was engaged in the restaurant business for thirteen years, part of which time he was also engaged in the bakery business. In 1889 he opened a general store in Minetto, which he has since conducted successfully. In 1885 he married Frances Peterson. They have one son, Claude. Mr. Whitford is a Mason. His parents were G. W. Whitford and Dolly A. (Parkhurst) Whitford.

White, John, jr., is the son of John White of Fulton, who for many years manu- factured illuminating gas here, before the introduction of electric lights in 1887. The elder White was born in Ireland in 1820, and in 1845 came to America and settled in Auburn, N. Y. In 1858 he come to Fulton and took charge of the gas works. He was married to Margaret O'Neill, who became the mother of eight children. He has filled various offices of trust in the village of his adoption. The death of his wife occurred in 1894. John White, jr., established in 1890 a tinsmithing business in Fulton and is already doing a large business in that line, also handles stoves, furnaces, etc. He married Mary, daughter of Peter Feeley of Auburn, N. Y., by whom he has two children, Eilen and Kittie, aged respectively fourteen and eleven years.

Wiegand, Louis, was born in Germany, and in 1879 organized the Oswego German

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Brewing Co. at 195 East First street. In 1882 Mr. Wiegand bought the other part- ner's interest, since which he has conducted the business alone. He manufactures and exports porter, stock, pale and cream ales, etc., and is assisted by his son, Louis E., who is the active manager. The annual output is from 3,000 to 4,000 barrels, and the Canadian barley is used for malt, besides extra choice hops. Each brand of their goods is sold in barrels, half-barrels and quarter-barrels, they have the latest improved machinery, and use steam power. Our subject was born August 24, 1840, and came to America in 1867, and settled in Oswego. He first worked in a malt house and acquired a knowledge of the brewing business, later drifting into the meat trade, at which he continued twenty-two years. He then organized his brewing busi- ness there, where the knowledge previously acquired became of the greatest impor- tance and benefit to him. In 1871 he married Augusta Rupert of New York, and they have had two children, Louis E., born July 20, 1872, who is in business with his father ; and Bertha, who is deceased. Our subject is president of St. Peter's German Ceme- tery Association, and was for twelve years president of St. Joseph's Society. He was also president of the Liederkranz four years, of which he also acted as treasurer.

Wells, George P., Fulton, superintendent of the Oswego Falls Pulp & Paper Co., was born in Pompey, Onondaga county, November 22, 1849. He first entered the Tremain paper mill, and later formed a co-partnership with W. W. Candee, purchas- the Tremain plant and operating it three years as Wells & Candee. In 1881 Mr. Wells removed to Fulton and became associated with F. G. Weeks, assuming practical control of the construction of the present plant, for which he had himself drawn the plans. This industry employs thirty-five people and produces twenty tons of dry pulp per day. Prior to his present association Mr. Wells was superintendent of the Vic- toria Mills at Fulton, and has occupied a prominent position in the business and social affairs of Fulton. In the Masonic fraternity he holds a high rank, and has been a trustee of the village. Our subject enjoys large personal popularity. He was edu- cated at Manlius Academy, and married Mary A. Smith of Manlius. Their only child, a daughter, died in 1881.

Whitaker, George G., M. D. His parents, James and Lucretia (Halbrook) Whit- aker, came from New Hampshire in 1817. The house now standing at the intersec- tion of Seneca and Second streets, Fulton, was built by James Whitaker in 1820. He was originally a wagonmaker and became a prominent merchant at Fulton, con- ducting a general store for twenty-five years on the site of the Patterson block, having there erected the first brick building in Fulton. He died in 1876 aged seventy-five, leaving nine children. After leaving Falley in 1862 George attended a course of medical lectures at Burlington, Vt., afterward prosecuting his studies at Albany, whence he graduated in 1865, locating first at New Haven, Oswego county, where he practiced until 1880, when he removed to Rodman, Jefferson county, and four years later opened a retail drug business at Oswego Falls, which he conducted six years, resuming medical practice in 1891 at Bowen's Corners. In 1867 Dr. Whitaker mar- ried Ella M. Barker of New Haven, who died in 1880. Their only child, Fordyce, died in 1876 aged eight years. The present Mrs. Whitaker was Louise A. Dean of Rodman, whom he married in 1884, and they have two children: Fordyce E., born March 4, 1887, and Frances Gertrude, born September 15, 1890. An infant daughter, Ella L., died July 6, 1891, aged three years.

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FAMILY SKETCHES.

Watson, Jesse, one of the prominent men of Fulton, was born June 23, 1814, in Schoharie county. His father, Reuben Watson, removed to Lenox, Madison county, among the pioneers of 1816. In early youth he began the study of medicine and in 1838 received a diploma from the Eclectic College of Syracuse. Four years later he established himself in Madison county, where his success in the treatment of malig- nant erysipelas earned widespread eminence. The disease was then epidemic at and about Cazenovia, and the old antiphlogistic treatment was of no avail. It is a recorded fact that no less than seventeen cases were within a few days, at this time, placed in the hands of Dr. Watson and that every one made a recovery; and that he has been no less successful in treatment of sporadic cases. In 1838 Dr. Watson mar- ried Louise Lansing, and their children are Eva and William J., the latter now a dispensing druggist, doing a large and lucrative business in Fulton.

Judson, John Work, 1 who was prominent in the early history of Oswego, was born at Ashford, Conn., on December 29, 1810, graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in the class of 1836, and was appointed a lieutenant in the 2nd U. S. Artillery, which he declined, to take the position of Principal Assist- ant Engineer of the Great Western Railway of Canada in 1837. From this he was promoted to be Chief Engineer of the Penobscot River Railroad in Maine during 1837 and 1838, and in October, 1838, came to the village of Oswego, N. Y., as the United States civil engineer in local charge of government harbor works at Oswego and in its vicinity. Mr. Judson's ancestors were among the original Puritan settlers of Connecticut, the first one in America coming from Lancaster, England, in 1634; his son being an ensign in the colonial Indian wars and a member of the first General Court of Connecticut, and a signer of its "fundamental law," while his direct descendants were lawyers and ministers of the church. Mr. Judson's great- grandfather was a captain in the Revolutionary war. In 1840 he married Emily Pierson of Le Roy, N. Y., and for many years the family home was the farm on the hill-top next west of Oswego between the present Fair Grounds and the lake. When Mr. Judson came to Oswego in 1838, it was to take charge of the construc- tion' in cut-stone masonry of the west breakwater, the remains of which at the foot of West Third street are now known as the "old stone pier." During the next twenty years Mr. Judson had charge of most of the government work for Oswego harbor improvement, as described in its history elsewhere, and in the intervals of these operations he acted as the city surveyor and engineer of Oswego. His peculiarly accu- rate and reliable surveys for the preservation of original landmarks and for the estab- lishment of property lines have furnished accepted standards and reference points for all subsequent city surveys, and have prevented much litigation over disputed bound- aries. During this period he was the captain of the Oswego Guards, and later lieu- tenant-colonel of the 48th Regiment of New York State Militia; military organiza- tions to which his West Point training enabled him to give a degree of drill and disci- pline which fitted many of their members to be the officers of the local regiments of volunteers during the war of the Rebellion. In 1861, being one of the comparatively few educated military engineers who were available, he was engaged with the U. S. Engineer Department during the first years of the war upon the construction of

1 This and the subjoined sketch of W lliam Pierson Judson were prepared by W. S. Childs.

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fortifications at Sandy Hook for the defence of New York harbor, and in 1863 he was sent back to his home at Oswego in charge, as the U. S. engineer, of the rebuilding of Fort Ontario as a casemated work of permanent masonry, Fort Ontario being then considered a point of primary importance for the defence of the northern. frontier in case Great Britain should again attack the United States from Canada, as had been done in 1814, and as then seemed to be probable. He continued in charge of the fort until near the close of the war in 1865, when he was relieved by Capt. Jared A. Smith, Corps of Engineers, and was then again engaged upon general engineering, including government harbor works at Ogdensburg, New York, and at Green Bay, Wis., and as city engineer of Oswego, until his death, at his home in Oswego, in 1878. His eldest son, Capt. John Andrew Judson, went to the front in 1861 as captain and assistant adjutant-general, and continued in active service until after the close of the war, when he was the assistant adjutant-general of the Depart- ment of North Carolina.

Judson, William Pierson, is selected as being the representative civil engineer of Oswego, where he has, since 1869, been engaged as United States civil engineer upon rivers, harbors, forts and ship-canal surveys, acting as civil assistant to the various officers of the Corps of Engineers of the U. S. army who have successively made Oswego the headquarters of all government works for the improvement and defence of this region. He was born at Oswego, N. Y., on May 20, 1849, and at- tended the public schools of Oswego from the primary grade to the High School dur- ing the period from 1856 to 1865, being the first of the name for many generations who did not have the advantage of a college course. In October, 1888, Mr. Judson imarried Mrs. Anna L. McWhorter, daughter of the late Richard L. Thompson, M. D., who was a prominent physician of Albany, N. Y., who was later the health offi_ cer of the Port of New York from 1854 to 1862, and who died in 1864. Mr. Judson is the second son of the late John Work Judson (whose biography is given above), and Emily Pierson Judson, who married in Oswego in 1840, and made it their home. until their deaths in 1878 and 1888 respectively. Each came, on both sides of their families, from English ancestors, who, seven and eight generations before, were the earliest Puritan settlers of Massachusetts and Connecticut; the different families coming to Boston between 1630 and 1639, and those in the direct line appearing upon the colonial records thereafter as taking prominent parts in the making of New Eng- land, and, many generations later, in the settling and development of Western New York. The Judson ancestors are previously referred to. The Piersons and the Buells on the mother's side were among the pioneers of New York State and settled in the wilderness of the Genesee Valley at Le Roy in 1805 and 1806, coming there through the Indian country, in wagons, from Connecticut, where their families had lived since 1633 and 1639. The Rev. Abraham Pierson, the first of the name in America, was a minister of the Church of England, and the founder of Newark, N. J., which took its name from his parish in England, while his son was the first president of Yale College. His direct descendants were successively a colonial magistrate, a private soldier through the war of the Revolution, and a lieutenant of New York Dragoons in the war of 1812. Of the Buells, the first came to Boston in 1630 and in 1633 was one of the small party who built and fortified the first house in Connecticut. His son was the colonial magistrate of the town of Killingworth, while

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Landmarks of Oswego County, New York, Part 132

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