Landmarks of Steuben County, New York, Part 39

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 39

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In the year 1855 Mr. Hakes married Mary, youngest daughter of J. D. Chandler, of Hornellsville. Their children are M. Evelyn, Hattie V., and Carrie M.

Mr. Hakes was chosen to represent his assembly district in the State Legislature for the year 1856, and served on the judiciary committee during the term. In 1862 he was elected district attorney of the county, which he held for three years. Dur- ing the year 1865 he associated with him in the law business James H. Stevens, jr., a gentleman of fine legal ability. This firm enjoyed a very large law practice in this and surrounding counties during the term of partnership.

In the year 1867 Mr. Hakes was appointed registrar in bankruptcy for the Twenty- ninth Congressional District. He has been somewhat active in political circles, and interested in questions affecting the changes in our nation's history. He was origi- nally a member of the Whig party, and was a delegate to the Baltimore Convention that nominated Bell and Everett for president and vice-president, since which time he has been a supporter of the Republican party, and its representative of the Twenty-ninth Congressional District of New York, as a member of the Cincinnati Convention in 1876 that made Hon. Rutherford B. Hayes the Republican nominee for the presidency of the United States.

In addition to his professional and official duties, he has been thoroughly identified with the growing interests of the city of Hornellsville, and largely interested in real estate. In 1873 he opened " Hakes avenue," connecting Main and Genesee streets, and donated it to the then village, and since that time has purchased and improved that portion of the city known as " Riverside Place," connecting Main with Elm street, where he has built several substantial dwellings.

In 1883 was elected to the office of county judge for Steuben county, for the term of six years, and in 1889 the confidence of the people was again expressed by re- electing him by an emphatic vote to the same office. His keen perception, sound judgment, strict integrity and fair dealing have secured to him a large measure of success and the confidence of the community.

RUSSELL M. TUTTLE.

RUSSELL M. TUTTLE was born in Almond, Allegany county, N. Y., January 12, 1840, and has been a resident of Hornellsville since 1842. He was a son of Rufus Tuttle, who was for more than thirty years a prominent business man and a re- spected citizen of Hornellsville. He was married November 7, 1867. to Ervilla, daughter of the late Dr. Levi S. Goodrich. He received his education at the Hornells- ville public schools, at Alfred Academy, and at the University of Rochester, where he was graduated in 1862.

In August, 1862. he enlisted in the 107th Regiment, New York Volunteers, and

LANDMARKS OF STEUBEN COUNTY

served with the Army of the Potomac, in the Atlanta campaign, and in the "march to the sea." He was promoted to second and first lieutenant, and at the close of the war received an honorary commission as brevet captain United States Volunteers. He was on staff duty nearly two years, as topographical engineer and A. A. A. G., with Generals T. H. Ruger and W. T. Ward, of the Twentieth Army Corps.

Mr. Tuttle was elected president of the village of Hornellsville in 1868, and repre- sented the Second Assembly district of Steuben in the Legislatures of 1880 and 1881. He has taken especial interest in the organization and management of the Hornell Library Association.

His chief interests have been in the newspaper and printing business. He was an editor and proprietor of the Hornellsville Times from its establishment in 1867 to 1879, and again from 1888 to the present time.

CLAIR S. PARKHILL, M. D.

DR. CLAIR S. PARKHILL was born in Howard, Steuben county, N, Y., November 15, 1842. The youngest son of David Parkhill, his boyhood was spenton the homestead farm and in attendance at the district school.

His father, David Parkhill, was born in Minden, Montgomery county, 1804, and came with his parents, Timothy and Anna (Rurey) Parkhill, to the town of Howard in 1818. In 1823 he married Eveline, daughter of Reuben Ferris. Their children were Delia, Willard, Albert (deceased), Dr. Reuben F., Ann and Dr. Clair S.

In 1876, David Parkhill moved to Hornellsville, where he died November 8, 1892.

The Parkhill family traces its ancestry to a French lad taken from the wreck of a vessel in the English Channel. The boy was adopted by an English gentleman, who had a country seat situated in a large park at Torquay, England, known as Park Hill. Being unable to make his name known to his rescuers, the boy was called Parkhill, after the name of this manor, where he was taken to reside. He grew to manhood, married, and lived at Havershaw, England. His two sons joined King William III., Prince of Orange, in the war between Catholics and Protestants in Scot- land and Ireland, 1688-97.

After the war one of these sons remained in Scotland, the other settled in Derry county, Ireland. During the early part of the seventeenth century four brothers of one of these families, of the Scotch branch, landed at Plymouth, Mass., one brother and sister remaining in Ireland. The names of those who immigrated to this country were Nathaniel, the father of Timothy Parkhill; David, James and Hugh. Two brothers and their families remained for some years in Massachusetts, but subse- quently Nathaniel moved to Vermont, thence to Springfield, Otsego county, N. Y. James and Hugh remained in the New England States. Descendants of these four brothers are widely scattered over the United States. Burk's History of Peers puts the Parkhill family down as of Scotch origin.

At the age of fourteen Doctor Parkhill entered Haverling Union School at Bath. From there he returned to the farm and remained there until eighteen years of age. In the fall of 1862 he entered Michigan University, where he studied for two years, and then returned to his native town and entered Albany Medical College, from

CALVIN E. THORP.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

which he was graduated December 24, 1866. He began the practice of the profes- sion with his brother, Reuben F., in the town of Howard, and continued with him for seven years. September, 1873, he came to Hornellsville and took up the prac- tice of the profession in this city, where we now find him, one of the leading physi- cians of this county.

The doctor is a member of the American Medical Association, the New York State Medical Association, the New York State Medical Society, president of the New York State Railway Surgeons' Association, member of the Association of Surgeons of the Erie system, the surgical section of the Medical Legal Society of New York city, the Steuben County Medical Society, and member and ex-president of the Hor- nellsville Medical and Surgical Association. He is also the company's surgeon at Hornellsville for the N. Y., L. E. & W. Railway, and president of the medical and surgical staff of the St. James Mercy Hospital. He is a member of the Masonic Fraternity, Evening Star Lodge, No. 44, and one of the supporters of the R. R. Y. M. C. A., and a member of the Presbyterian church. In 1884 he served as presi- dent of the village and was a member of the Board of Education four years.

March 20, 1867, he married Marjory P., daughter of William Rice of Howard. By this marriage he had four children: Louise, the wife of Blake B. Babcock; Carrie, who died at three years of age; Walter, who died at seventeen years of age; and one who died in infancy.

CALVIN E. THORP.

CALVIN E. THORP was born in Otsego county, N. Y., May 27, 1829, and is a son of Nelson Thorp, who took up a tract of land and settled on Potter Hill, in the town of Cohocton, Steuben county, in 1837. Nelson Thorp was a stirring man of considerable influence, and engaged extensively in lumbering, and later in farming. A Whig in politics, he took an active interest in local affairs, and held several important town offices. His wife was Lucy Snyder, and their children were Calvin E., James N. and George, Mary and Charles, deceased.

Calvin E. Thorp was educated in the district schools of Cohocton, and at the age of twenty-one went out to work by the month. In 1852 he engaged in lumbering on his father's land, having a saw mill, which he successfully carried on for several years prior to leaving home. About 1865 he settled where he now resides, and since then he has been a heavy dealer in live stock, wool, carriages, agricultural implements, etc. He is one of the leading citizens of the town of Cohocton, and has always taken a lively interest in public affairs, and especially in politics. A staunch and unswerving Republican, he has held several town offices, and was first elected super- visor in 1879, and served in all three terms. He was a charter memberof the Cohoc- ton Lodge of Odd Fellows and has been a member of Liberty Lodge, No. 510, F. & A. M., about forty years.

Mr. Thorp was married, first in 1853, to Miss Luna M. Carrington, who died April 3, 1873, leaving five children: Oscar D., of Buffalo; Charles M., a farmer of Cohoc- ton; Walter E., of Hartland, Mich .; Jennie M. (Mrs. Frank M. Larrowe), of Cohoc- ton ; and George A., a general dealer in Cohocton. He married, second, Jennie S. Myers, of Cohocton, in 1874.

LANDMARKS OF STEUBEN COUNTY.

HIRAM W. HATCH.

HrRAM W. HATCH was born in the town of Cohocton, Steuben county, January 9, 1846. His grandfather, Matthew Hatch, a man peculiarly fitted by nature for pio- neer life, left Whitehall, N. Y., in 1812, and settled in Bath, where he resided one year. In 1813 he settled on a farm on Lent Hill in the town of Cohocton, being the third to locate on that elevation, which was named from its first white settler, Abram Lent, whose daughter Matthew Hatch married. Mr. Hatch had five sons and one daughter, viz .: Sylvanus, Philip, Barnabas C., Matthew, jr., Hiram, and Cerisa (Mrs. William Hyatt). Barnabas C. Hatch became a prominent and influential citi zen of Michigan, where he served as county judge, member of assembly, etc. The other sons settled on Lent Hill and were respected and thrifty farmers. Sylvanus Hatch was a captain in the old State militia. a life-long farmer, and a man of ster- ling character, whose aid and advice were often sought upon matters of importance, and who was universally esteemed for his many excellent qualities. He was born in Whitehall, N. Y., June 11, 1802, and died in Cohocton in 1874, and was buried in the Hatch burying ground on Lent Hill. He was married in 1839 to Miss Emily Peck, who survives him and resides in Atlanta. She was born July 11, 1819. Their only son was Hiram W. Hatch, the subject of this sketch.

Hiram W. Hatch inherited all the ennobling and thrifty characteristics of his respected ancestors. Born and reared on the parental farm, where he formed those habits of integrity and practical labor which have marked his life, he early became imbued with the attributes of a successful career and put forth every energy to secure the results of such advantages as his surroundings afforded. He finished his public school education in the old Naples Academy and remained on the homestead assisting his father until 1870, when he settled in the village of Atlanta and engaged in the hardware trade, which he successfully continued till 1881. In 1871 he also engaged in the produce business, dealing in grain, potatoes, wool, etc. In this he became an extensive operator, succeeding beyond the average dealer, and with it he has ever since been prominently identified. He is also extensively engaged in farm- ing, owning several farms in this and adjoining counties. In 1884 his son, Hyatt C. Hatch, became his associate and in 1893 the firm name of H. W. Hatch & Son was adopted. In September, 1895, his son-in-law, C. Gilbert Lyon, and cousin, William E. Otto, were admitted as partners and the firm became Hatch, Otto & Co. Their business extends along the lines of the Erie and D. L. & W. Railroads throughout Western New York and the firm is one of the most extensive operators of the kind in this part of the State. They handle immense quantities of potatoes, grain and wool annually, involving transactions aggregating hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Mr. Hatch commenced a business career before he had reached his majority. While still a farmer with his father he dealt quite heavily in live stock, in which he was remarkably successful. In his commercial life he has followed the strict rules of integrity which underlie all honorable dealing, and has won the respect and good will of every one with whom he has had business relations. His natural business qualifications and the confidence imposed in him by the community have brought him a large measure of success. He is a man of unusual public spirit and his sub- stantial aid and generous support have always been freely given to any public im-

HIRAM W. HATCH.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

provement that merits his sanction. His career, both commercially and socially, has been marked by uninterrupted success. He is honest and truthful, kind, courte- ous, and popular, prudent and sagacious, trustworthy, vigilant, and upright, and his life has been founded upon those principles of integrity and fairness toward his fel- low men which invariably prove responsible for such success as he has attained. His counsel is esteemed by all who care to profit by it in practical affairs. In the several stations of life he has exhibited those sterling qualifications that contribute so much toward his own personal success, and by his genial way has won a warm place in the hearts of his associates that is equally gratifying to them and to himself. He was the first president of the Atlanta and North Cohocton Building and Loan Association, and since its organization has been president of Erie and Niagara Land Company of Bath, which owns valuable real estate in Buffalo. His interest in public affairs has led him to a considerable extent into politics. A Republican of the staunchest char- acter he served as highway commissioner several years, as supervisor two terms, and often as delegate to county, district, and State conventions, and also as a member of the Republican town and county committees many years. Although not a member he was long a trustee of the old Atlanta Baptist church and in 1894 became one of the first board of trustees of the new Presbyterian church, which he joined as a com- municant, and of which he was among the founders. To this worthy cause he has contributed generously and largely made possible the construction of the elegant new edifice, and as a trustee he was a member of the building committee during its erection in 1895. He has always been deeply interested in educational matters and locally he has served as a member of the Board of Education for fifteen years being president of that body most of the time He was largely instrumental in placing the present academical department of the Atlanta Union School under the Regents. In his home Mr. Hatch is especially fortunate. He has practically spent several win- ters in the South, and in travel finds both recreation and knowledge, for he is a shrewd observer as well as a practical man.

In 1866 Mr. Hatch was married to Miss Celestia Bush, daughter of John Bush, of Naples, N. Y. They have three children: Hyatt C., Minnie L. (Mrs. C. Gilbert Lyon), and Mary E., all of Atlanta.

Hyatt C. Hatch was born in the town of Cohocton in 1867, and received his educa- tion in the public schools and in the Atlanta Union School. At the age of seventeen he became associated with his father in business, and shortly afterward entered Eastman's Business College of Poughkeepsie, from which he was graduated, the highest in his class, in April, 1887. He continued his business relations with his father and in 1893 the firm name of H. W. Hatch & Son was adopted. Besides this he has personally carried on various business relations, principally in real estate, in which he has been very successful. He was elected one of the first elders of the At- lanta Presbyterian church in 1894 and has officiated as superintendent of its. Sunday school since its organization. In politics he is a staunch Republican and a member of the Republican town and county committees. He was elected supervisor of Co- hocton in February, 1893, and re-elected in February, 1894, for two years-an office he filled with great satisfaction. He was married August 24, 1893, to Miss F. Edith Armstrong, daughter of Seth W. Armstrong, of Oaks Corners, Ontario county. They have one son, Bernis Warner Hatch, born September 19, 1894.

LANDMARKS OF STEUBEN COUNTY.

LORENZO HULBERT.

MOSES HULBERT, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born in Hampshire county, Mass., August 7, 1770, and was of the fifth generation in direct descent from Sir Justice George Hulbert, who in 1632 was made a knight of the order of the gar- ter for bravery in battle, and who settled in New England early in the seventeenth century. Moses Hulbert, after a brief residence at Fort Ann, Washington county, N. Y., came to the town of Dansville, Steuben county, in 1816, and located on a farm on North Oak Hill, where he lived the remainder of his life, dying about 1846. He followed both farming and coopering. He married, first, Experience Birge, who was born April 25, 1776, and their children were Harriet, born April 8, 1796; Almira, born April 28, 1800; and Cornelius, born March 6, 1802. His second wife was Esther Hannum, who was born January 17, 1775, and their children were Julius, born Octo- ber 26, 1805; Lester, born July 6, 1808; Justus, born November 12, 1810; Elmina, born October 23, 1812; and Joel Coleman, born November 12, 1815. Julius Hulbert, born in Fort Ann, came to Dansville with his parents, and on April 9, 1828, was married to Eliza Brown, who was born in New Hampshire in October, 1804, and died January 22, 1894. Immediately after his marriage he purchased the farm ad- joining his father on the south, upon which Lorenzo Hulbert now resides, and there he lived until his death on Sept. 14, 1874. He first built a log house in the pine forest and finally cleared the entire farm. He was a man of a retiring disposition, prominent in educational matters, for many years a member of the M. E. church, and long a drummer in the old State militia. His children were Velina, born De- cember 16, 1829, married I. R. Trembly August 16, 1848, and died in Washington, D. C., January 4, 1892; Moses, born August 5, 1833, married Laura J. Boylan Sep- tember 10, 1856, enlisted in the 188th N. Y. Vols., and died in Richmond, Va., May 17, 1865; Esther A., born December 11, 1835, married D. V. Sutfin January 1, 1856, and died in Dansville February 5, 1868; and Lorenzo, born February 18, 1843.

Lorenzo Hulbert, the youngest and only surviving member of this pioneer family, was reared upon the parental farm and completed his education at Rogersville Union Seminary, which at that time was a flourishing institution. He succeeded his father upon the homestead and has always resided there. He was largely instrumental in organizing Oak Hill Grange, No. 574, P. of H., and served as its master for five years, declining a re-election, but accepting the office of secretary. He has been sec- retary of the Steuben County Grange for five years and county deputy and inspector for three years. A staunch Republican he was elected supervisor of Dansville in 1892 and again in 1894 for two years-a compliment for both himself and his party in that Democratic stronghold. In November, 1895, at the annual session of the Board of Supervisors, he was the prime mover in organizing the Steuben County Supervisors' Association, of which he was elected president. In all these positions Mr. Hulbert has served with great credit and ability, and with entire satisfaction to his constituents.

September 23, 1869, Mr. Hulbert was married at Haskinsville, N. Y., to Miss Abbie M. Burdett, daughter of P. S. Burdett and Mary Curry his wife. She was born at Rogersville, N. Y., in 1851. Their children are L. Clyde, born November 9, 1875, and Lena M., born June 10, 1883. The family for three generations has manifested musical talent of a high order.

DAVID S. WAITE.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

DAVID S. WAITE.

DUTY WAITE, one of the pioneers of Steuben county, was born in Rhode Island in 1785, and with his wife Hannah and three children moved from Petersburgh, Rens- selaer county, N. Y., in the spring of 1814, into the north part of the town of Cohocton, settling on what was then called the Half way place, between Bath and Dansville, which contained a tavern kept by Arunah Woodard, buildings consisting of an L shaped log house, log barn, and a frame lean-to shed for travelers' horses. The location is about three miles south of the north line of Steuben county, and about two miles south of the great water divide between Lake Ontario on the north and the Chesapeake Bay on the south.

Then there was no nearer route between Bath and Dansville, and shaded, rough and muddy log paths made travel so difficult that the journey could not be made in one day. The tavern shed and signpost are preserved to the present day by David S. Waite, who lives on the place on which his father settled eighty-one years ago. One apple tree, which bore two apples the first year is still bearing fruit, and was the only one on the place at that time; the trunk two feet above the ground is five and a half feet in circumference.

The next farm on the north is supposed to be the first settled place in the town of Cohocton. Richard Hooker, a wealthy Marylander, came on to it, according to the statement of Thomas, a son, in 1792, with eight horses and a half of a bushel of gold and silver, thinking that feed could be bought; but nothing could be obtained for feed nearer than Painted Post, and four of the horses starved to death the first winter. Thomas said that at that time he was five years old, and that an Indian boy came from the woods and played with him. Mrs. Hooker soon died, and the family moved to Naples.

One-half mile south, by the side of a brook, John Kirkwood first made a beginning, but sickness drove him away. The brook took his name. This town and vicinity was then called the Genesee country. There was an abundance of wolves, deer, opossums, hedgehogs, or porcupines, and some Indians. Sheep had to be yarded near the house every night. What little was cleared was brushy, and one could not see a fourth of a mile along this main river road.

Eighty-one years ago was the beginning of highway surveys in Cohocton. The Arunah Woodard hotel was soon turned one part into a pioneer's dwelling, and the other into a neighborhood school room, supported by subscription; there were no school districts then. By a contract made in 1814 between Duty Waite and his neighbors, Mr. Waite agreed to teach the school and board himself for $12 per month. The maximum number of scholars was sixteen. The supporters were Duty Waite, 2; Abel Farrington, 3; Thomas Rogers, 3; Benjamin Rogers, 1; Arunah Woodard, 2; William Woodard, 1; Daniel Raymond, 1; Daniel Raymond, jr., 1; Cornelius Crouch, 1; and Chauncy Atwell, 1. At that time no settlement had been made at what is now called Cohocton, but about five years later it was called " the Four Cor- ners," and in ten years more, Liberty.

Eunice, the oldest child, is still living at South Jackson, Mich. ; William W. became inured to the severities of pioneer life, which developed his powers into a persevering, successful business man as farmer and trader; Wealthy was an accomplished school

LANDMARKS OF STEUBEN COUNTY.

teacher. Two others, Ruth and Eliza, married farmers and spent most of their lives on farms. Sarah now lives in Horton, Mich., as a physician's wife. David S., whose portrait accompanies this narrative, lives on the old homestead where he was born, seventy years ago. An incessant and thorough laborer at farming and surveying, in middle life he devoted much time in teaching and superintending schools. Clark G. has from youth practiced civil engineering, first in building the Erie railroad, then in Pennsylvania, and later in Kansas, going there during the first border troubles, and has there constantly followed his profession as railroad or city engineer to the present time. Phoebe and Murray died while young. Mary resides near Grand Rapids, Mich., as a farmer's wife. A large, industrious, persevering family, acting well their parts in behavior, usefulness and in the responsibilities of pioneer life.

GEORGE GIBSON.

GEORGE GIBSON was born near Ovid, Schuyler county, N. Y., in 1817, and is a son of Ira and Harriet (Coryell) Gibson, who came with their family to Pulteney, Steu- ben county, in 1825. Ira Gibson was born in Schuyler county in 1797, had eleven children, and died in 1886. His wife's death occurred in 1849. Coming to Pulteney he settled on a forest farm in an almost unbroken wilderness, and first erected a rude log cabin. He cleared his purchase, and lived to see the section become one of the most famous and prosperous in Western New York.

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Landmarks of Steuben County, New York, Part 39

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