Landmarks of Steuben County, New York, Part 109

Author: Hakes, Harlo, 1823- ed; Aldrich, Lewis Cass. cn
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason & Co.
Number of Pages: 1180

USA > New York > Steuben County > Landmarks of Steuben County, New York > Part 109

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

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Addie C. H. Hiller, of Chicago, by whom he has three children: Lucy A., Flossie E. and Hazel M.

Travis, Wesley and Nelson .- Charles B. Travis was born March 22, 1805. Amasa Travis, his father, was born in Dutchess county, N. Y., September 20, 1770, and De- cember 14, 1800, he married Phoebe Travis, who was born in Dutchess county, De- cember 25, 1783, and by whom he had twelve children, nine of whom lived to ma- turity. In May, 1801, they moved to Bergen, N. J., where they remained four years, thence to Sheshequin, Pa., where they remained one year, and where Charles B. was born. In 1806 they moved to Howard, coming through Chimney Narrows at Corn- ing, where they were in great peril, their horses losing their footing in the rapid water, which was several feet in depth on the narrow roadway. They were the sec- ond family settling in Howard, where they occupied a place which had been in the possession of a Mr. Hovey. January 28, 1834, Charles B. married Sylvia, daughter of Richard Crosby, by whom he had eight children: Solomon, Amasa, John C., Wes- ley, Cynthia, M. Eleanor, M. Samuel and Nelson C. Wesley Travis was born in Canisteo, March 26, 1842, and was educated in the town and Troupsburg Academy, and at twenty-one years of age enlisted in Co. A, 189th N. Y. Vols, and served until the end of the war, when he returned home and worked at farming until 1886; since then his business has been dealing in stock, cattle, sheep, wool, etc. He owns a farm of 740 acres. September 15, 1869, he married Sarah, daughter of F. S. Dennis, of Jasper, by whom he had three children: Mabel, deceased; Elinor and Vernon. Mr. Travis is a member of Morning Star Lodge of Masons, No. 65. Nelson Travis was born in Canisteo, May 8, 1851, and was educated in the district schools and Canisteo Academy. He began life as a farmer, and later has been buying and shipping wool, and November 7, 1894, he moved from his farm to the village of Canisteo. March 12, 1879, he married Hattie E., daughter of J. B. Foster, by whom he had four chil- dren: Nathan J., Amery E., deceased, Pearl E. and Clarence W. Mr. Travis is a member of the I. O. O. F., Mountain Lodge, No. 503. The grandmother was 104 years and five months old when she died, May 11, 1888.

Tucker, Daniel A., was born in Troupsburg, Steuben county, May 6, 1842. John Tucker, his father, was a native of New York State, where he engaged in farming and lumbering. He came to Troupsburg in about 1833, where he held the office of supervisor, and ( ied in November, 1870, aged seventy-three years. He married Lydia -, of Boston, Mass., who died July, 1894, aged eighty-three years. Dan- iel A. was a farmer up to 1875, and since that time has been speculating in cattle, and at present devotes his attention to the egg market, and owns a farm in Harts- ville, but does not work it. In 1871 he married Jennie, daughter of John Simpson, who was one of the early settlers of Troupsburg, and came there about 1833, by whom he had three children: John S., who is a stenographer and typewriter, a graduate of Canisteo Academy, also of Roberts' Business College; R. B., and Lizzle.

Travis, James, was born in the town of Canisteo, July 25, 1865. Amory Travis, his father, was a well-known farmer of the same town, where he had resided for many years, and by his own hands cleared a farm of 180 acres. He was for a num- ber of years interested in the lumber business. He married Sarah France, of Jas- per, by whom he had four children. James Travis was educated in the district school

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and the academy at Canisteo village, and graduated from Eastman's Business Col lege in 1886. He married Amelia, daughter of M. S. Parkhill, of Canisteo, by whom he had four children: Ella, Emma, Amory and Clinton.

Trant, Eugene J., was born in Prattsburg, July 25, 1866. John J. Trant, his father, was born in County Kerry, Ireland in 1835, and in 1852 came to Holyoke, Mass., three years later removed to Prattsburg, where he engaged in farming. He mar- ried Nora Dean, who died January 30, 1887, by whom he had six children: Mary A., James F., a practicing physician of New York, Thomas D., deceased; Eugene J., Kate A., and John, deceased. Eugene Trant was educated in the Franklin Acad- emy, and since nineteen years of age has been teaching school, and since 1891 teach- ing continuously in the grammar department of the Franklin Academy of Pratts burgh, and during vacations assists his father on the farm.

Simpson, Andrew J., was born in Troupsburg, August 27, 1829, and is a son of John and Fannie Lamb Simpson, the former being a native of Scipio, Cayuga county, N. Y. The maternal grandfather, Amos Lamb, came from Rhode Island to the town of Wayne, now Hammondsport, where he lived and died. The paternal grandparents, Andrew and Rebecca Simpson, came from Aurora, Cayuga county, in 1812, and settled in Jasper, he having been there the previous year, when he cut down the first trees where the village of Jasper now stands. He was in the battle of Bennington, being only sixteen years old. John Simpson was a soldier in the war of 1812, and was taken prisoner in company with Winfield Scott, under General Brock, at Detroit, and held about one year. He was a harnessmaker by trade, and came from Aurora to Jasper, where he married Lucy Reynolds, and two children were born to them. For his second wife he married Fannie Lamb Kent, by whom he had seven children. He sold his property in Jasper and came to Troupsburg, where he died in 1875. Mrs. Simpson died in 1872. Andrew J. was educated at Alfred Academy, and commenced farming in Troupsburg, but in 1877 he went to the oil regions, where he remained ten years, and then went to Canisteo, and three years later came to Troupsburg, where he has since been engaged in farming on a farm of three hundred acres, making a specialty of dairying. In 1852 he married Amenta M. Olmsted, sister of Hiram O., mentioned elsewhere, and they have two children: Hulda D., who was educated at the Boston Conservatory of Music, and is now a teacher of music; and C. E. Simpson, a farmer of Troupsburg, who married Allie Wicoff, of Jasper, and they have three children: Ellsworth, Earl W., and Louise. Mr. Simpson has been a Republican, but of late years has been identified with the Prohibition party. Mr. and Mrs. Simpson are members of the Baptist church.

Sanford, Howard, was born in Addison, N. Y., April 14, 1864, and is the oldest of three children born to Byron and Lucinda Alba Sanford, natives of Troupsburg and Tuscarora, and grandson of Seymour and Elizabeth Rodgers Sanford, who came from Connecticut and settled in Troupsburg when the country was' new. Byron was reared on a farm, and educated at Troupsburg Academy, taught school for a time, and then engaged in farming and dealing in stock, and later engaged in the mercan- tile business in Troupsburg, which he followed until his death, which occurred August 14, 1874. Mrs. Sanford still survives and resides in Troupsburg. Howard was educated in Troupsburg, and has always been engaged in the mercantile business

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and now owns the stock, which consists of a general line of goods, and also keeps a supply of flour and feed. In politics he is a Republican, and has been inspector of election several times, and is now serving his third term as town clerk. He is a member of Troupsburg Tent, No. 339 K. O. T. M. The parents of Mrs. Sanford were Seth and Nancy Mitchell Albee, natives of Rhode Island and of Lawrenceville, Pa. Her grandparents were Eliba and Abigail Chilson, who came from Rhode Island and settled in Tuscarora, where they lived and died.

Tupper, Benjamin S., was born in Corning, in 1870, son of John Tupper, also a native of Corning, who was largely interested in the Bradford oil fields, and died in 1872. He married C. Adelia, daughter of Nelson Cowan, one of the pioneers of Corning. Benjamin S. Tupper married a daughter of George Rose, and a native of Corning.

Schu, Jacob E., was born in Wayland, N. Y., August 1, 1867. Hispaternal grandfather lived and died in Germany. His maternal grandfather, Jacob Hoffman, was born in Germany, emigrated and located in Wayland, where he died. He married - Kusch, and was one of the first settlers of Wayland. Nicholas Schu, father of Jacob E., was born in Germany, in 1833, and emigrated to this county at eighteen years of age. He married Elizabeth Hoffman, born in Germany in 1835, and emigrated to this country at ten years of age. They had five children : Nicholas, jr., Frank N., Maggie, Jacob E., and Lizzie. He has been a section hand and foreman on the Erie railroad for thirty-five years. Jacob E. was educated in the Union School of Wayland, and subsequently attended the Catholic School of Perkinsville, where he learned German. He studied telegra- phy at Wayland under the tutorship of John Kennedy and R. C. Neill in 1885, and has been engaged by the D. L. & W. Railroad Company for nine years. November 1, 1890, he was appointed agent and operator at Perkinsville, which position he still occupies. At Wayland, November 10, 1891, he married Maggie Conrad, born April 8, 1869. August 4, 1891, he organized the Perkinsville Hook & Ladder Company, which is composed of twenty-six members, and of which he is the foreman.

Schu, jr., Nicholas, was born in South Dansville, N. Y., November 18, 1857. His paternal grandfather, Frank Schu, died in Tolia, Germany, April 10, 1871, aged eighty-four years. His maternal grandfather, Jacob Hoffman, was born in Tolia, Germany, emigrated to this country in 1843, settled at Sandy Hill, South Dansville, and purchased a farm, where he died in 1877, aged seventy-six years. Nicholas Schu, father of Nicholas, jr., was born in Tolia, Germany, in 1832, emigrated to this country at twenty-five years of age, and settled in Perkinsville, where he engaged in business with Miller Bros., in manufacturing pump logs, which business he followed for nine years. He is now engaged on the Erie railroad, where he has been for thirty years. He married Elizabeth Hoffman, who was born in Tolia, Germany, and emigrated to this country at eleven years of age, by whom he has these children : Nicholas, jr., born in South Dansville, November 18, 1857; Frank, born in Wayland, in 1859; Margaret, born in Wayland, in 1861; Jacob, born in 1868; and Elizabeth, born in 1873. Nicholas, jr., attended the common schools of Dansville and subse- quently finished his education in the Catholic and Union Schools of Wayland. He has been village clerk for five years, inspector of election nine years, and is treasurer of Champion Hook & Ladder Company of Wayland. At Wayland in 1883, he mar-

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ried Margaret Rauber, born in Wayland in 1859. Mr. Schu is now the proprietor of the Commercial House of Wayland, where he has been for five years. He run the Wayland House for two years, and was also engaged in the same business in Roch- ester, N. Y., for three years.

Thompson, Rev. Jacob W., was born in York county, Pa., in 1867. The family are of English and German descent. His father, Henry Thompson, was born in York county, Pa., in 1835. He married Catherine Weiser, born in York county, Pa., in 1835, by whom he had four children: Jacob, as above; William P., born in 1869; Ellen E. and Eliza S., born in 1872. Mr. Thompson is a retired farmer. Jacob W. was educated in the common schools of his native town, attended a term at the York County Normal School, after which he was at a private academy for one year. He then taught school for two years, when he entered Central Pennsylvania College. In 1889 he entered the ministry, spent one year in Howard, Center county, Pa., and in 1890 removed to Williamsport, Pa., where he was pastor of St. Paul's church for two years. He moved to Grover, Pa., where he was pastor of Grover Mission. In April, 1894, he moved to Wayland, where he circulated a petition, and subsequently built one of the finest churches in the town, at a cost of $3,800. The edifice is of modern architecture. The membership is increasing rapidly and bids fair to be one of the largest congregations in the place. The church is known as the United Evan- gelical church. Mr. Thompson is a member of Amazon Lodge, No. 662, I. O. O. F., of Williamsport, Pa., also a member of Canton Lodge of F. & A. M., No. 415, Can- ton, Pa. March 19, 1891, at Louisville. Ohio, he married Orionto I. Rohland, born at Homeworth, Ohio, in 1872, daughter of Rev. I. A. Rohland, D. D., born at Clear- field, Pa., and died in 1893, aged forty-six years. He married Rebecca C. Stiffer, born in Indiana county, Pa., in 1847. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson had two children : Edna Fern, born at Grover, Pa., January 6, 1893; and Ethel May, born at Wayland, July 8, 1894.

Thorp, Andrew, was born August 4, 1835. His maternal grandfather, Jesse Brown, died in Canadice, Ontario county, aged eighty years. William Thorp, father of Andrew, was born in Delaware, and died in 1865, aged fifty-five years. He married Amanda E. Brown, who was born in Camillus, Onondaga county, and died in Wayland in 1885, aged seventy-two years. They had these children: Wheeler W., born February 15, 1833; Andrew, as above; Lucius, deceased; Philip and Sarah. Andrew Thorp has always followed farming, and now owns the farm which his father purchased in 1838. He is a member of Phoenix Lodge, No. 115, of F. & A. M., of Dansville. At Springwater, N. Y., he married Mary Ingraham, born in 1833, by whom he had these children: Byron A., born September 25, 1866, married Daisy Thomas, and resides in Chicago. He attended school at Lima and was graduated from the Rochester Business University. Oda, born January 13, 1872, and died March 12, 1873; Carl, born July 25, 1875, and died February 25, 1876; and Anna, born March 27, 1878.

Swarthout, D. E., was born in Wayne, Steuben county, N. Y., August 31, 1826, son of Andrew D. and Johanna (French) Swarthout. Andrew Swarthout was born in Seneca, and came with his parents, Anthony and Elizabeth Swarthout, who were among the very first settlers of the town of Wayne. Andrew Swarthout was a very

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active man and followed farming until the time of his death in 1882, at eighty years of age. Mrs. Swarthout died in 1889. He was a Democrat in politics, and for many years was assessor. D. E. Swarthout has always been a farmer and fruit grower. In 1866 he married Ursula Sunderlin, sister of Judge Sunderlin of Watkins. Mr. Swarthout is a Democrat in politics, and has been supervisor two terms, and assessor nine years.

Stratton, Oscar B., was born in Fallsburgh, Sullivan county, N. Y., in 1834, son of the late Thomas Stratton, who was of an old Connecticut family, and an early settler in Sullivan county, where the remainder of his life was spent. His wife, the mother of Oscar B., was Clarissa Smith. Mr. Stratton acquired the basis of his education in the common schools, and remained at home on the farm until twenty-one years of age, then went to Tioga and learned the tanner's trade, which has constituted his chief business since. In 1859 he became foreman of a tannery near Elmira, where he remained four years, at the expiration of which time he purchased the Addison tannery, of which he became sole owner in 1880, and of which he has continued to act as superintendent for the last two years. In politics Mr. Stratton is a Republican, and in 1889 he became sheriff. In 1859 he married Mary, daughter of P. S. Settle, of Tioga, and they have one daughter, Ellen.

Shockey, Charles O., was born in Elmira, in 1841. William Shockey, his father, had been a resident of Addison twenty years prior to his death, which occurred in 1881, aged seventy-four years. He was a carpenter and joiner. Charles Shockey came to Addison in 1863, and opened a livery business, two years later removing to Titusville, Pa., and returning to Addison in 1866. He has also been engaged in the carpenter business, having learned that trade from his father at Elmira. In 1877 he opened a liquor store at his present location, and in 1895 took an agency for the sale of D. M. Osborne & Co.'s agricultural machinery. He has also large farming inter- ests, in 1892 purchasing a farm of 300 acres, which he leases. He was for four years a trustee of the village, and is treasurer of the fire department.

Shaver, M. H., was born in the town of Bath, August 1, 1847, son of Hiram Shaver, who was born in Montgomery county, N. Y., and came to the town of Bath about sixty years ago, where he resided until 1854, at which time he removed to the town of Avoca, where he lived until 1892. He cleared a farm in Avoca of 240 acres. He married Parmelia, daughter of M. Shults, of Montgomery county, who came to Avoca at the same time Mr. Shaver located here. They have five children: M. H., Rose Baldwin, Nancy, now Mrs. Moore, Aaron, and Andrew, deceased. Mr. Shaver was educated in the town of Avoca, and makes a business of farming, now living on the homestead where he was born. He married Phoebe, daughter of Jacob Cook, of Montgomery county, and they have two children: Mertie and Hattie. Mr. Shaver is a member of the I. O. O. F., and also a member of the Grange.

Saltsman, Hiram, was born in Montgomery county, June 20, 1808. George Salts- man, his father, was born in the same county and in the same house. He was a farmer, and married Catherine Copernoll, by whom he had five children: Fannie, Betsey, Benjamin, John, and Hiram. He died in Montgomery county, aged forty- eight years. Hiram Saltsman was educated in Montgomery county, after which he followed farming. In 1854 he came to Avoca and settled on the farm of 250 acres,

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which he now owns and where he resides. He married Mary, daughter of William Nellis of Palatine, by whom he had five children: Laurence, Eli, Elijah, William, and Irving. Three of the sons are at home with their father.

Smith, James A., was born in Middlefield, Otsego county, N.Y., January 25, 1827, and settled in Cameron with his parents in 1836. He is a son of Richard and Sarah (Bristol) Smith and the oldest of eleven children: James A., Ceylon, Margaret, Eliza, Mary, Richard, Marcia, all living, and Hannah, Doane, Amanda, and Jane, deceased. James A. married Maria Hallett in 1851, who died December 12, 1890, leaving five children: Mary Burrett, John R., Rogene, James A., jr., and Frank H. James A. enlisted in the Construction Corps, under E. L. Wintz, in 1864 and went to Chat- tanooga on railroad work. September 19, 1864, he enlisted in Co. F, 189th N. Y. Vols., and was promoted at Washington to regimental quartermaster and served until the end of the war.' He was at Appomattox Court House when Lee surren- dered. Mr. Smith has been justice of sessions for five years, justice of the peace for a number of years, deputy sheriff, collector, and constable. He is the oldest Mason in the town and belongs to Cameron Mills F. & A. M., Lodge No. 542, and has held every office in the lodge except master.

Selleck, Zeno C., is a son of Zeno C. Selleck, who came to this county in 1822 and married Weltha, a daughter of Capt. Samuel Baker, who settled in Howard in 1812. Capt. Samuel Baker was in the war of 1812 and also in the Revolutionary war and was taken prisoner and carried to Montreal, where he was exchanged. He had a family of six children: Daniel, Arbane, Phebe, Travis, Weltha Selleck, Cynthia Mc- Duffy, and Eveline Miles. Mr. and Mrs. Selleck, sr., had twelve children: Noah, Phebe, Cole, Samuel D., Margaret Loid, Cynthia, Weltha, Zeno C., John, Weltha Jane, Pembleton, Milton, and another. Zeno C. married Marinda, daughter of Willard and Elizabeth (Eddy) Bailey, by whom he had four children: Edwin, Aurilla Harrison, Zeno, and Emma J. Rowen. He is a farmer and owns a farm of 157 acres. Mr. Selleck and family are members of the Baptist church. He is a Mason and belongs to Cameron Mills Lodge No. 547.

Smith, Warden, was born in Campbell, August 17, 1838. Avra Smith, his father, was a native of Chenango county, and came to the town of Campbell in 1825, and settled near what is known as Cooper's Plains. He married Clarice White of Chenango county, N. Y., by whom he had eight children: Amos, Austin, Lucinda, Jane, Warden, Isaiah, who was killed in the late war; Clarice, Almetia. Warden Smith is a manutacturer of chairs, and makes a specialty of office and hotel chairs, and also conducts a farm of seventy-one acres. He married Jennie, daughter of Mary Richards, by whom he had two children: Freddie and Chester, who are at home with their parents. He is a member of the K. of H., also a member of the Baptist church, and in politics is a Democrat.

Switzer, Mary A .- Jacob Switzer was born in the town of Bradford, January 16, 1820, son of William Switzer, who was a farmer. Jacob Switzer was also a farmer, and in 1847 he settled on a farm now occupied by his widow, Mary Switzer. He died October 25, 1874, aged fifty-four years. He married Mary A., daughter of Daniel Clark of Campbell, by whom he had six children: Byron, Wallace, Melvin, Ella, Clara, and Emma. In politics Mr. Switzer was a Republican.

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Smith, Fremont C .. was born on his present home farm in Caton, in 1858, son of Emory O. and Sarah Ann (Sawyer) Smith. Deacon Titus Smith, the grandfather of Fremont C., was born in Chenango county in 1801, and located in Caton in 1822 or '23. Emory O. was the oldest of the family and lived here all his life. He died in 1893, aged sixty-seven years. The mother is still living. He has part of the old homestead of fifty-three acres, and follows general farming.

Tobey, Christopher, of Caton, was born in Susquehanna county, Pa., in 1836, and when eleven years old came to Caton with his parents, Amaziah Tobey 2d and Nancy Read Tobey, natives of Otsego county, N. Y., and Susquehanna county, Pa. Mr. Tobey is the oldest of a family of nine children raised to maturity. In 1863 he married Mary P. Seyter, a native of Germany. He has followed farming all his life and is considered one among the most successful farmers of the county. His farm consists of 240 acres, and he makes a specialty of stock raising and dairying. He has two sons: George N., and Charles L. Dr. Christopher Tobey, the grand- father, formerly from Otsego county, died in Caton.

Tobias, James S., was born in the town of Urbana, February 10, 1832, educated in the public schools and Bradford Academy, read law with Clark Bell, of Hammonds- port, was admitted to the bar December 5, 1861, commenced practicing in Bradford, and settled at Painted Post April 1, 1867, where he has a successful business. Mr. Tobias has held the office of justice thirty-four years, twenty-eight in this town, and six in the town of Bradford.

Shepard, George W., was born in October 26, 1823. His grandfather, Jacob Shepard, was born in England in 1742. He followed coopering on the sea, and was at New Haven at the time it was burned by the English. He came to Greenwood. Steuben county, N. Y., where he died. Obed Shepard, father of George W., was born in New Haven, Conn., August 24, 1786. He was a farmer and came to Tomp- kins county, thence to Greenwood, Steuben county, and from there to Wisconsin, where he died at seventy-one years of age. He married Lucilva, daughter of Will- iam Spaulding, who was born January 3, 1791, and died March 30, 1862, by whom he he had seven children: William D., Bradley, Sally M., Susan M., George W., as above, Calvin, and Harriett Jane. George W. has a good common school education, and has been a blacksmith in Hornellsville for about thirty-five years. He is now located on a farm of 160 acres, on Big Creek, five miles from Hornellsville. He mar- ried Rebecca, daughter of Philo Walbridge of Hornellsviille, by whom he had four children: Lida L., born June 10, 1849, and died at eleven years of age; Jane L., born April 10, 1851, and died at nine years of age; Mary Jane, born. April 21, 1855, and married Hiram Spaulding, and they have one child, George H. ; and George H., born March 30, 1862, and who married Alice Donum, and works his father's farm.

Smith, Dr. Clarence F., was born in Friendship, Allegany county, N. Y., Decem- ber 16, 1855, son of George W. Smith, a native of Bath, Steuben county, who mar- ried Ellen Howe of Cortland county, N. Y., by whom he had nine children. The maternal grandparents, Albert and Eliza Howe, were pioneers of Cortland, and large land owners, and he was a soldier in the war of 1812. George W. Smith is a manufacturer and dealer in boots and shoes at Friendship, N. Y., and in politics is a Prohibitionist. He has been twice supervisor of the town and fifteen or twenty years

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justice of the peace. Clarence F. Smith graduated from Friendship Academy and received his medical education in New York City University, graduating in 1880, and commenced practice and the drug business in Olean, where he burned out in 1885. He removed to Allentown, Allegany county, and from thence to Greenwood in 1894, where he has established a lucrative practice. In 18.8 he married Addie J., daugh- ter of James and Helen (Corbin) Stout of Amity, N. Y. In politics he is a Repub- can, and was coroner and health officer in Allegany county, and is a member of the Allegany County Medical Association.

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Landmarks of Steuben County, New York, Part 109

Author: Hakes, Harlo, 1823- ed; Aldrich, Lewis Cass. cn Publication date: 1896 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason & Co. Number of Pages: 1180

Author: Hakes, Harlo, 1823- ed; Aldrich, Lewis Cass. cn
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason & Co.
Number of Pages: 1180