Landmarks of Oswego County, New York, Part 93

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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LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY.

as chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means. He introduced a supply bill which appropriated only $1,497,034, a reduction of $1,299,550 in comparison with the year before. In 1895 he was once more the Republican leader, being chairman of the Committee upon Ways and Means, and a member also of the Committee upon Rules and Codes.

Mr. Ainsworth is at present deputy superintendent of Public Instruction, having been appointed to that position on June 1, 1895.

H. C. DEVENDORF

WAS born in Verona, Oneida county, in June, 1828, and is a son of Peter Devendorf, a native of Herkimer county, one of thirteen children of Rudolph and Barbara (Thumb) Devendorf, natives of Mohawk Valley. Rudolph officiated as judge, as- semblyman, county clerk, and held other offices in Herkimer county. Peter Deven- dorf came to Hastings in 1832, and was elected justice of the peace the following year, which office he held twenty years. His wife was Rhoda A. Sherman, a native of Oneida county. They had five children: Henry C., Rudolph H., Mary, Mrs. Rhoda A. Breed, of Central Square, Mrs. Catherine Beeby, of Central Square.

At the age of sixteen years he began work as clerk in Oswego, N. Y., and later was similarly employed in various places until he was twenty-four years of age, when, in 1853, he purchased of his uncle a general store in Hastings, which he conducted until 1856. He then removed to Central Square, where he engaged in the same business, and where he has since been interested. From 1871 to 1883 he resided in Georgia, where for ten years he served as postmaster of Doctortown post-office. He then returned to Central Square, where he owns and conducts the largest dry goods and grocery store in town. In 1858 he was chosen captain of a company of New York State National Guards, and later was elected lieutenant-colonel. The country's call for aid in her time of trouble. found a ready response from Major Devendorf, and he raised a full company of volunteers which went from Oswego as Company D, in the 110th Regiment, he being chosen captain. The company served with distinction until the close of the war, and in 1864 Mr. Devendorf was promoted major. During the last eighteen months of his term of service he was located at Fort Jefferson, Dry Tortugas, where he commanded the post when the Lincoln conspirators arrived; Colonel Hamilton was in command in Key West. Major Devendorf's wife, and their adopted daughter. Mrs. Emma Dygert Low, were with him during his service in that port.

In 1853 Major Devendorf was married to Armonella, daughter of Lorenzo D. Mar- shall, of Mohawk, N. Y., and granddaughter of John Marshall of Warren, N. Y., who enlisted in Colchester, Conn., as a soldier of the Revolution, and who was supposed to be the last survivor who witnessed the surrender of Cornwallis, a fact creditable to his youth at that time, and his great age at the time of his death. His father was drafted, but was the head of a large family, and his eldest son was accepted in his place, at the age of sixteen years, and was ninety-nine years old at the time of his death. Major Devendorf is a member of the Masonic Fraternity, and of Waterbury Post, G. A. R., of which he was the first commander.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

CHARLES TOLLNER.

THIS enterprising citizen of Pulaski is a native of Westphalia, Prussia, where he came of good ancestry and inherited their best qualities. He was born on January 1, 1824. After attending school in his boyhood he was brought up in the business of his grandfather, but from sixteen to twenty-one years of age served an appren- ticeship in a large exporting house dealing in general hardware and tools. At the age of twenty-three, just before the German revolutionary outbreak, he skipped military duty and came to America, his wife following in another vessel. On his arrival in New York he found it very hard to obtain work, but finally succeeded in getting a place as salesman in a small hardware store at the rate of five dollars per week. After one year's stay he engaged in the wholesale business of W. N. Seymour & Co., in Chatham Square, and in May, 1851, opened a hardware store in his own name, and was very successful; but the losses during the war time were very heavy, and in 1864 he sold out his store and engaged with a man, C. C. F. Otto, of Pulaski, N. Y., in the manufacture of floor tiles. This venture was unprofitable and Mr. Toll- ner soon found himself without means. But his energy and faith in himself had not weakened and he turned his attention for a time to the making of smokers' pipes of a carbon composition. They were a good article and Mr. Tollner sold them himself from place to place. He soon began placing these pipes in pairs in fancy wooden boxes which he made himself, and the work upon them was so fine and their appearance so attractive that orders began to come to him unsolicited and he soon found himself fully occupied. Not only did the pipes sell, but the boxes began to be called for to be used by manufacturers of other goods. The pipe business was abandoned and he gave his entire attention to making boxes and cabinets of various kinds; the de- mand rapidly increased, and from that beginning has been developed one of the largest industries in Northern New York, employing 350 persons, using several million feet of fine lumber annually, and occupying buildings erected for the purpose, which, with dry-houses and lumber yard, cover twelve acres of ground. Most of the fine cabinets for holding thread, ribbons, etc., seen in dry goods stores throughout the country come from this establishment.

Outside of his own business Mr. Tollner is a public spirited citizen. When the natural gas excitement found its way to Pulaski and vicinity, he obtained the fran- chise and laid pipes through the village streets for the expected gas, which had not at that time been discovered, for his use; he simply pinned his faith to the existence of the article, and was determined that the village should have it when it arrived. When the Pulaski Gas and Oil Company was formed he bought up its stock and is now president of the company and substantially its owner. Gas is furnished to con- sumers at twenty-five cents per thousand feet. He also established the local electric light plant, which has been of great benefit to the place and which he recently sold to one of his townsmen. These brief statements indicate to some extent the kind of man Mr. Tollner is, in a business way. Energy, persistence, faith in himself are his chief characteristics; he is looked to in all public improvements to take the lead and any measure that meets his approval finds him enthusiastic in its support. Mr. Tollner is a Republican in politics, but he is too busy a man to give very much at- tention to that field of activity. He has held the offices of president of the Board

LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY.

of Education and president of the village, and could have had further advancement if he would have accepted it. Social and courteous to all, generous with his means, ever ready to exert his influence for the good of the town or for an individual, Mr. Tollner has gained a wide circle of sincere friends and admirers. His family con- sists of his wife, three sons, Charles, Eugene, and Hugo, all living in Brooklyn and well-to-do, and one daughter, Bertha, wife of Chas. F. Howlett, living at Pulaski.

MOSES A. DU MASS.

MOSES A. DU MASS was born in Sterling, Cayuga county, N. Y., May 28, 1836, and came to the town of Hannibal, Oswego county, in April, 1842. He received a limited education in the district school, working on the farm and doing carpenter work with his father during the summer season, lumbering the last few winters before he was twenty-one years of age. He then went to Hillsdale, Mich., and for three years labored on a farm and at his trade.

Mr. Du Mass then returned to Hannibal, and was engaged in carpentering until August 8, 1861, when he enlisted in Company C, 44th Regiment New York Volunteers, which was an independent infantry regiment with headquarters at Albany. This regiment was called the " Ellsworth Avengers," and was organized to avenge the assas- sination of Colonel Ellsworth at Alexandria, Va. The name of the regiment was aftewards changed to Ellsworth's People Regiment and was mostly officered by men who had served in the Ellsworth Zouaves, and the regiment thereby came to be known as the Zouaves. The plan of the organization of the regiment was one un- married man between the ages of eighteen and thirty from each town in the State, and was to be of good moral character and not less than five feet eight inches in height. In October, 1861, the regiment was mustered into the United States service, and left for the seat of war, and spent the winter of 1861-62 near Hall's Hill.

In the spring of 1862 the regiment was removed to Old Point Comfort, and after- ward took part in the siege of Yorktown; on the evacuation of that place the 44th occupied it for a few weeks. During the siege of Yorktown Mr. Du Mass was detached to do carpenter work, and was engaged in building signal towers. The regiment was then ordered to become part of the advance army, and went to Hanover Court House, where in an engagement with the Confederates on May 27, 1862, Mr. Du Mass was wounded in his right leg just above the knee, the ball passing through the limb. He saw that the flow of blood was such that he would soon die, and having no band- ages, he thrust his thumb into the wound, thereby stopping the bleeding, and after a few hours it was hurriedly bandaged. The following day, which was his twenty- sixth birthday, he returned to camp, some sixteen miles in an ambulance, being in a very weak condition. A comrade lay by his side, who was so injured that the shaking of the ambulance caused him much pain, and Mr. Du Mass grasped his arm and steadied him for the whole distance.

During the following week, Mr. Du Mass was returned to Yorktown, and the blood having stagnated below the knee, on account of the wound not being properly dressed (as the Union forces were driven back), an abscess formed, which was lanced and

A. A. DuMass

BIOGRAPHICAL.

with the discharge of pus the flesh sloughed off until the bones were nearly bare. After consultation the medical director told Mr. Du Mass that he could not live over three days, and asked what messages he wanted sent home. Mr. Du Mass asked the director if there was any hopes of life if the limb were amputated, and the reply was, that owing to the great loss of blood, there was only one chance in a thousand of surviving the operation. Mr. Du Mass's answer was that he would rather die at once, and wished to have the leg amputated, and the operation was per- formed. He is unable to tell the exact date, being weak and delirious at the time, but it was about the middle of June. He was cared for like a babe by the nurses, for a number of weeks, and on July 4, 1862, the Yorktown Hospital was evacuated, the Confederates having driven the Union forces back, and he was placed on an ocean steamer and taken to Portsmouth Grove, R. I., where he was discharged Octo- ber 16, and returned home, and after a while was able to walk with the aid of crutches.

A marked characteristic of the Du Mass family is a progressive spirit and an indom- itable courage to carry forth reforms that will better humanity. So, early in the Abolition movement, his father became a member of that party, and his home was the resting place for runaway slaves.

Mr. Du Mass was early taught to be self-reliant, and seeing the evils of intemperance, has given his energies to educating public sentiment on the temperance question ; has allied himself with all temperance movements whenever possible; having his name connected with all temperance societies, and aiding the W. C. T. U. movement; has been an active member of the I. O. G. T. for years, is now in good standing in the subordinate, county, and grand lodges; will soon join the International Supreme Lodge, to which he and the most of his family are eligible; believing that political education, and final success of any principle is the ballot in a republic, and neither of the great political parties daring to combat the evil, he allied himself with the Prohibition party, and has for the last eighteen years voted that ticket, and for ten years has been a prominent worker in their ranks, being a member of the County Committee and has been its secretary and treasurer for most of the time besides holding the position of chairman. He was for two years town collector.

Although Mr. Du Mass is physically disabled and almost sixty years of age, he is ambitious and actively engaged in business, working from early morn till late at night. For the last few years he has carried on a small dairy, using a "Cooley Creamer," making and marketing his own butter.

His grandfather, Peter Du Mass, came from France to this country with La Fay- ette, and was a soldier during the Revolutionary war. He afterwards settled in the town of Sterling, and was one of its earliest settlers. His youngest son, Jasper, was the father of our subject.

Mr. Du Mass married, March 19, 1865, Mary E. Tallman, who was born in the town of Oswego, May 1, 1837, a superior humanitarian. They have three children: Milicent I., born April 23, 1867; Olive R., born April 2, 1870; and Hattie E., born August 4, 1874; also an adopted son, Earl N., born November 1, 1886. Mr. Du Mass believes and thus acts, that Christ's kingdom will be set up, so his work is given to that end, and has always been a prominent Sunday school worker, as opportunity was given : seeing that rural districts are neglected, he has given the most of his attention to that work, having been superintendent in a number of school districts;

LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY

he was converted and baptized in the Baptist church on his eighteenth birthday and became a prominent church member; his Christian zeal has not abated. An inde- pendent thinker, believing the church wrong on communion, he, in August, 1887, joined the Free Will Baptist church at Oswego Falls. Denominational lines are weak 'with him; members of the true church, be they of any name, are his brothers and sisters. Believing God, he daily goes forth relying on his providential dealing. In his regiment he helped to organize and maintain a Christian association of seventy members; he was its secretary and sexton, seeing that the grounds were prepared for religious services, when it was needed having a bright fire in the center, around which they gathered in song and prayer; in camp having a tent arranged with split logs for seats. At Yorktown he saw the only church there was refitted for worship, and the Confederate General John Magruder's alarm bell was placed on the top of the build- ing to ring for service where it remained for a number of years.

LOOMIS FAMILY.

" Faithful and freeborn Englishmen and good Christians, constrained to forsake their dearest home, their friends and kindred; whom nothing but the wide ocean and the savage deserts of America could hide and shelter from the fury of the bishops." JOHN MILTON.

Such the epitaph due the forerunners of the Loomis family in America, illustrated in each succeeding generation, but in no one member more clearly defined than in Alanson (1806-1874) or carrying more fragrant strength than in Abial Theodore (1851-1878)

The first of the family in this country was Joseph Loomis, a Puritan, who, born in 1590, was a woollen draper at Braintree, Essex, England, and through religious per- secutions during the reign of Charles I left his native land, with wife and eight children (five boys), took passage upon the ship "Susan and Ellen " and was landed at Boston on July 17, 1638. The close of that year found the family at Windsor, Conn. The passing years disclosed its members doing their full share of duty in the New World, God-fearing, patriotic, fervent; helpful in church and all good works; participating in the French and Indian wars (Wait Loomis was in the Ohio campaign under General Harmar); in the Revolution (in which Ichabod and Daniel served in Capt. John Hill's company under Gen'l Israel Putnam; and in which at least two members gave up their lives-Elijah and Remembrance, both in Captain Beebe's company of Colonel Bradley's regiment, were captured at Fort Washington and died upon the prison ship); striking stalwart blows in the war of 1812, and again in the Great Rebellion (in which Loyd A. lost his life, and Alanson R. and James H. served until its close).

Before 1770 several scions of the family settled in Litchfield county and became a recognized force in church and town. In 1797 Asher Loomis was a tanner at Win- sted in that county. Captain Abial Loomis followed the same business and shortly after returning from the war of 1812-14 he bought the Dudley tannery at Winsted and removed to the house adjoining, wherein he died in 1818 leaving his widow with five young children, Alanson aged thirteen, the eldest The story of the struggles

BIOGRAPHICAL.

and trials of this young lad and his brothers, and the success which they earned, would be one from which the young men of to-day might well take lessons. Alan- son Loomis continued in business in the town of his birth until 1847, and won for himself not alone a competence but name unsullied, a character untarnished, a repu- tation for generous kindness and Christian sympathy which is still remembered and cherished with tender love though he has not been known as a citizen of that com- munity for nearly half a century. When he removed to Fulton, Oswego county, N. Y., in 1847, he embarked in the tannery business with his brother Lewis E. and Mr. George Salmon. He continued in it either alone or in partnership until near the close of the war when he retired from business, selling out to Mr. George Falley. As was written of him "In every good work he was a fore- most doer. In anti-slavery times, from first to last he was the consistent friend of the down-trodden and oppressed." (Frederick Douglass and Gerrit Smith were his friends). " His hand, and not an empty hand, was always outstretched to aid and assist the needy. In the temperance reform he was prompt and active. Indeed, there was no good work but received his countenance and no deserving enterprise but he extended to it substantial help. Fulton never knew a worthier citizen nor one who has done more for its prosperity." He died at Mattoon, Ill., July 22, 1874, and his remains were brought back to Fulton for interment, being met by a committee of citizens. At a public meeting held on the 24th the following resolutions were unanimously adopted :

Resolved, That we have learned with unfeigned sorrow and regret of the recent sudden demise of Alanson Loomis, for many years and until quite recently, a resident of our village. &

Resolved, That it is due to the sterling qualities of the deceased, his public spirit, his unosten- tatious generosity and his high moral worth, that we, his old neighbors and friends, should pay this last tribute of respect and affection, and hold up his example to the rising generation.

Resolved, That in the decease of Alanson Loomis, the village of Fulton mourns one of her old- est and most respected citizens, the poor an ever generous friend, the cause of temperance, mor- ality and Christianity an ardent supporter, and his family an ever kind and indulgent parent.

Resolved, That in token of our respect and affection for the deceased we attend his funeral in a body.

Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be presented to the family and that the village pa- pers be requested to publish. Signed, M. L. Lee, George M. Case, W. G. Gage. A. Hanna, H. C. Howe.

Mr. Loomis never accepted public office; he did, however, serve as school trustee and was mainly instrumental in the erection of the present academy during his term. He was twice married but survived both companions. His first wife, Polly Richards (1803-1862) of Winsted, Conn., left five children, Calista M. (married Marshall Lewis and bore several children of whom but one, Calista M. now survives); Abial Theo- dore; Alanson R. (married Antoinette Francisco of Cleveland, O., and had two chil- dren, Edward J. and Alanson); Julia Coe (married her cousin William A. Brown and died without living issue); and James Holly. By his second wife, Annette Voris (1832-1872) of Akron, Ohio, he had one child, Myra Belle (now Mrs. Edward Thomas of South Evanston, Ill.)

Abial Theodore Loomis of the eighth generation in the line of Joseph Loomis, was born at Winsted, Conn., December 30, 1831, and there resided until 1847, when he came to Fulton with his father. In boyhood he was an active wide-awake lad and in early manhood a bright and promising scholar. Having completed his studies at

LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY.

Falley Seminary he entered Rensselaer Institute at Troy and began his preparatory course for college, Gen. Albert L. Lee being his room-mate. While there he had the misfortune to shoot away a portion of a finger, which became a painful sore, and, combined with overstudy, threw him into a fever which obliged him to discontinue his college course, and which indeed seems to have been the beginning of his long years of sickness and suffering. Upon recovery from his sickness he in company with Mr. Marshall Lewis opened a leather store at Geneva, N. Y., and was in trade there several years when he sold out and came to Fulton again and became partner with his father in the tannery. In this he retained connection until 1864. For quite a number of years he was interested in various business ventures including a shoe store. a grocery store, bedstead and table factory, with brickyards at Fulton and Norwich, N. Y., but through the great strain of his physical ailments, which fre- quently confined him to his bed for months at a time, he was unable to give enough personal attention to their conduct, with the result that heavy losses ensued. In search of health, nearly always accompanied by his devoted wife, he traveled much and visited many parts of this country and England, but never secured any perma- nent relief from the fell disease which caused his death October 16, 1878.

Mr. Loomis was an ardent admirer of Speculative Masonry and gave much time to the study of its laws and rituals. Oswego county has produced very few men who were better workers in the different grades. He belonged to Hiram Lodge No. 144, F. & A. M., and served as wor. master. He was high priest of Fulton Chapter No. 167, R. A. M. ; T. I. master of Fulton Council of R. & S. M. during its career; and also performed more or less work as a Knight Templar attached to Central City Commandery K. T. of Syracuse.

Of Puritan descent he naturally was attached to the Presbyterian church and asso- ciations, although anything good and true had ever his warmest co-operation and sup- port. He was an earnest Christian gentleman and of him it may be and oft has been said, "the world was better by his having lived in it."

When twenty-three years old he was married to Valonia H. Rosebrook of Oswego county, by whom he had two children, C. Mella (now Mrs. Henry Baldrey and the mother of Lona P., A. A. Loomis, and Haynsworth), and H. May (now Mrs. E. U. Howland and the mother of Mella I.)

PART III.

FAMILY SKETCHES.

Adams, William, was born in Canada in 1845, and when five years old came with his parents, William and Hannah (English) Adams (who were natives of Massachu- setts and England respectively), to Mexico. In 1861 our subject enlisted in Co. B, 81st N. Y. Vols., serving three years. In 1866 he engaged in the manufacture of shingles and heading, which business he learned from his father, and still follows the occupation. In 1865 he married Olive Newell. They have one daughter, Mrs. M. A. Barker, who conducts a book and variety store in Mexico in partnership with her father.

Allen, Cyrus F., of Colosse, was born in the town of Mexico in 1831. On reaching his majority he moved to Chicago, where he resided a couple of years, then pre-emp- ted a quarter section of land near Fort Dodge in Iowa and remained on that two years. He then moved to St. Paul and engaged in railroad engineering several years, and returned to Chicago where he remained till the great fire there in 1871, when he came to Syracuse and lived there three or four years. He then returned to the old home at Colosse, and remained with his aged parents till during the remainder of their lives, where he still resides. He married at Chicago Mrs. Anna E. Hill, born Bleazard, who died in 1874. The parents, Cyrus and Mary (Moorse) Allen, were married in Hastings in 1818, that being the native place of Mrs. Allen and where Mr. Allen had moved from Massachusetts in 1816. They were born in 1796 and 1802, and died in 1889 and 1880 respectively.

Avery, Charles A., was born in Hastings March 27, 1863, son of Russell H., of On- ondaga county, born in 1836, a prominent farmer who came to Hastings about 1845 and died in July, 1889. He was a strong temperance advocate, was of great service to the church in Hastings and donated the site on which it is built, and was master of Hastings Grange at the time of his death. He was a brother of Judge Charles W. Avery of Phoenix. His wife is Louisa, daughter of Lyman Bush of Hastings, and is now residing on the homestead. Their children are Charles A., George H., Clayton D., and Clinton E. At the age of twenty Charles A. engaged as telegraph operator and station agent, and four years later accepted a position as postal clerk on the N. Y. C. R. R., which he filled very creditably four years under President Cleveland's administration. At his father's death he returned home and assumed charge of the farm of 150 acres. Clayton D. Avery is postmaster at Hastings, receiving his com- mission in July, 1893.

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Landmarks of Oswego County, New York, Part 93

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