Landmarks of Steuben County, New York, Part 56

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 56

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Stephens, Hiram A., was born in the town of Canisteo, November 28, 1839, son of J. H. M. Stephens, who was born in the town of Addison, November 13, 1806, and moved with his parents to Canisteo when eight years old. He was a farmer, also carpenter by trade. He married Ermina, daughter of Benjamin and Susanna Bennett of Howard. They were the parents of nine children: Susanna, Frazier, Hiram A., Henry M., Rachel E. (deceased), Ellen, Mandane, Bruce (deceased), and C. B. Stephens, M.D. His parents both died at the old homestead, his father on April 6, 1883, and his mother May 25, 1883; they were buried in the cemetery near by where many by the name of Stephens are interred. A suitable monument has been erected to mark their last resting place. Hiram A. was educated in the district school in the town of Canisteo, attended school during winter terms, and assisted on the farm the remainder of the year, until he reached the age of twenty-one, after which he attended school at Rogersville and Prattsburg Academies. He taught thirteen terms, in which profession he met with good success. He went to Michigan in 1866 and spent five years in the lumber business. He married Mrs. Mary E. O'Hara of Wallace, July 17, 1881. He has kept a general store at Wallace for fifteen years; in this vocation he has been successful, having built up a large trade. Mr. Stephens has been a member of the Masonic fraternity for over thirty years; he was made a Mason in Canisteo Morning Star Lodge No. 65, and is now a member of Avoca Lodge, No. 673.

Stratton, George W., one of nine children of Thomas and Clarissa Stratton, of whom seven are now living, was born at Fallsburgh, Sullivan county, in 1840. Until eighteen years of age his boyhood days were spent in assisting his father on the farm, and in attending the common school of Fallsburgh, where, as a village stu- dent, he acquired his education. He then entered a store in Tioga, Pa., as a clerk, and his work there promised the active business life which has followed. At twenty- one years of age he enlised in Co. K, 23d Regt. N. Y. Vols., and after serving three months with that regiment he was discharged for disability and came home. Hav- ing recovered his health a year later, his desire to serve his country led him to enlist in Co. A, 143d Regt., with which he remained until the close of the war, when he engaged in the tanning business here. He has been a faithful worker, and for fifteen years was proprietor of the Goodhull Tannery, and at present is not engaged in any mercantile business, but is devoting his attention to his farm interests. Mr. Strat- ton is a solid substantial citizen, and a Republican, but not a seeker for political preferment. In 1871 he married Julia, daughter of Frederick Thurber. She is a descendant of Dr. Sidney Powers of Lawrenceville, a widely known practitioner. She is also a member of the Presbyterian Church. They have two daughters to help disburse the hospitalities of the handsome, modern residence, erected in 1891 on Front street.

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Smith, Edward H., was born in Warren county, N. Y., son of Ezra B. and Laura Smith. He married Ellen B., a daughter of Erastus Bronson, and settled at Painted Post in 1857. Have had two children, Carrie, wife of Fred Kingsbury of Corning, both now deceased, and Carl B. Smith, M.D., of Binghamton, N. Y. Ed- ward H. was with Fox, Weston & Co., for twenty-five years. He is at present post- master at Painted Post. Has been commissioner of highways of the town of Erwin eight years; member of the Board of Education twenty-one years; trustee of the Presbyterian church twenty years, and is at present an elder of the same.

Stevens, Ralph, was born in the town of Campbell, October 5, 1838. He is the son of Jonas Stevens, who was born in the town of Sangerfield, Oneida county, March 13, 1803, and came to the town of Campbell in 1806, where he resided up to his death, which occurred September 25, 1887. He married Eliza- beth, daughter of Jedediah Miller of Ulysses, N. Y., by whom he had five children: George, Hannah, Harmon, Ralph, and Jane. Ralph Stevens was educated in Campbell, and afterward engaged in farming and lumbering. In 1862 he enlisted in the 107th N. Y. Vols., and served about three years. He was wounded in the battle of Dallas, where he lost his right leg, and returned home in March, 1865, and since then has devoted his time to farming. He married Margaret Gilmore of Tioga county, Pa., by whom he had six children: Jennie M., William B., Sherman M., Benjamin J., Adaline R., and Edward R. For his second wife he married Miss Jane Jacobus of Urbana. Mr. Stevens has filled the minor offices of the town, is a mem- ber of Knox Post, No. 549, Mason Lodge, No. 755, and K. of H. No. 372. In poli- tics he is a Republican.

Scribner, L. D., was born in Andover, April 20, 1840, son of Daniel Scribner, a native of Connecticut, and one of the leading farmers of Andover. He spent his last days in Greenwood, where he died in 1895, aged eighty years. He married Augusta Ellis, a native of Massachusetts, by whom he had four children. L. D. Scribner set- tled in Greenwood in 1865, where he has since been engaged in farming. In 1864 he married Lucretia, daughter of William Young of Greenwood, by whom he had seven children: Fred M., who died March 27, 1874, aged eight years; Willis S., furniture dealer of Greewood; Hattie F., wife of A. L. Rogers, farmer; Sidney A., harness maker of Greenwood; Dow L., Clayton and Ray. Mr. and Mrs. Scribner are mem- bers of the M. E. church.

Smith, Andy L., was born in Cazenovia, Madison county, N. Y., July 19, 1818. The father of Andy, and also Andy L. Smith, was a native of Vermont, born in Montpelier in 1789. He was a tanner and shoemaker by trade, and went to Madison county when a young man, working at his trade, and in 1820 came to Hornellsville where shortly after he built what is now known as the O'Connor tannery, which he conducted for a number of years and then sold. In connection with the tannery he established a shoe business which the son (Andy) took up after his death. Andy L. Smith died in 1852. He was the father of four children, of which Andy was the fourth child. He was given a good common school education, and his occupation was in the shoe factory of his father, to which he added the dealing in dry goods, and the first store was on Main street near his present residence, and later in com- pany with Edward T. Young, built the store now occupied by Stephen Hollands.

LANDMARKS OF STEUBEN COUNTY.

Later he bought the partner's interest and conducted it until 1883, when he retired' from business. Mr. Smith is one of the oldest representatives of the mercantile- trade of this city. He was married in 1839 to Sarah M. Young, daughter of George- Young, a tailor by trade of the village of Painted Post. She bore him three chil- dren, only one of whom is now living, Carrie, the wife of Arthur C. Van Scooter, a. portrait painter. Mrs. Smith died September 23, 1839, and he took for his second wife Mrs. R. M. Traver, sister of his first wife. They have no children.

Strack, Charles F., was born in Wurtemburg, Germany, February 11, 1847. Jacob Strack, the father of the subject, came to this country, bringing his wife and five children, in 1853. He located in Buffalo, N.Y., and it was there that Charles F. was reared. His mother died in 1858. He was the youngest of the family and was. educated in Buffalo. June 28, 1864, he went to Batavia, N.Y., as an apprentice to the baker's trade. He spent two years in that town and then returned to Buffalo, where he was employed in different bakeries until 1869. He spent about a year in Penn- , sylvania, and February 22, 1871, located in Hornellsville, where he bought a small place on Loder street, and by close attention laid a good foundation for an extensive business. November, 1873, he removed to 60 Canisteo street, where he increased his facilities and made many additions to his establishment. He is one of the directors of the Citizens' National Bank, and is also a member of the Masonic fraternity, Hornellsville Lodge No. 331. He is one of the officers of the German Lutheran church and was the leading spirit in its foundation. He has been its treasurer and a trustee since it was erected in 1886. In politics Mr. Strack has generally supported the Republican ticket, but is not a politician or seeker for office. He employs three hands and one team on the road. April 12, 1871, he married Katherine Elsheimer, of Suspension Bridge, N. Y., by whom he has four children: Lily, who died June 5, 1877; Carrie, Amelia and Charles F., jr., the last two students of the city schools, while Carrie is at home.

Shepard, William H., was born in Albany, March 16, 1839. William S. Shepard, his father, was also a native of Albany, and the family were of Welsh descent and early settlers in New Hampshire. William S. married Sallie, daughter of Otis. Everett, was identified in early life with the clothing and hardware business in Albany, and died at Bath in 1894, in his seventy-ninth year. William H. was educated in preparatory schools, graduating in 1861 from Williams College, also from Albany Law School in 1863, and in the same year came to Bath and formed the partnership of Rumsey, Jones & Shepard. In 1865 he returned to Albany and en- gaged in business. In 1869 he returned to Bath and engaged in the hardware busi- ness, and in 1884 established his present business of fire, life and accident insurance. In 1865 he married Adelaide, daughter of L. V. Church, by whom he had six chil- . dren, four of whom are now living: Edith, William S., Rachel A. and Frederick H .. Mrs. Shepard died in 1882.

Smith, Enos, was born in the town of Greenwood, Steuben county, January 30, 1845. Jesse B., his father, was born in Tompkins county, N. Y., March 11, 1811, and came to the town of Greenwood in 1829, where he with his father, Enos Smith, took up sixty acres. He married Polly, daughter of Allen Miner, who was one of the. oldest settlers in that county, by whom he had nine children: Augustus, Leroy,

FAMILY SKETCHES.

Merritt, Avery, Enos, William J., Anna, Charley and Floyd. Enos was educated in the district schools of Canisteo, and now owns a farm of 290 acres, two-thirds of which is under cultivation. February 10, 1870, he married Fanny, daughter of Richard Coleman, of England, by whom he had six children: Grace M., Lucy E., Blanche L., Anna Mabel, Harry C., and Fred T.

Stephens, Walter A., was born in the town of Hornellsville, March 6, 1853. He was educated in the city schools and engaged in farming as an occupation In 1878, in company with his brother, Christopher B., he started a market in the city of Hornellsville, which is still known as the Stephens market, being now conducted by the father, Alanson Stephens, and his brother-in-law, Mr. Bennett, Walter withdraw- ing from the firm in October, 1894, as he had become deeply interested in real estate transactions in the south part of the city. In 1891 he bought a part of the old Van Scotee farm, which he has laid out in lots and made many valuable improvements and erected nine of the most beautiful cottages of the city. On this same property there is now being erected the South Side M. E. church at an expense of $10,000. Mr. Stephens is a member of this church and chairman of the board of trustees. He is a member of Hornellsville Lodge No. 331, F. and A. M., Steuben Chapter, the Council, Commandery and Consistory. He was married in 1878 to Miss Dora M. Carroll, of Hornellsville.

Stanton, Jerome I., was born at Great Bend, Susquehanna county, Pa., on Novem- ber 18, 1841. It may truthfully be said of him, "He bore the yoke in his youth." Shortly after the removal of his parents to Wyoming county in 1854 he was necessi- tated to begin his intimacy with hard work, which brought with it the scanty wages of six dollars per month. He continued at work in country stores until 1862, when he enlisted in the 17th Pa. Vol. Cavalry. He bravely remained at his post through nineteen engagements, and with the added experience of prison life in the winter of 1864-5. On returning to his regiment he was promoted to the rank of sergeant- major, and only doffed his uniform for a more peaceful vocation when the war had closed. After his return home he engaged as traveling salesman for a large firm, and in 1871 succeeded his employers in the business, with headquarters at Painted Post, N.Y. In 1879 he sold out to Fish & Holmes, who removed the business to Elmira, N. Y., after which he purchased the planing mill property at Painted Post and en- gaged in the lumber business, which he has developed to large dimensions, and in the same year his conversion took place under the pastorate of Rev. James Moss. In 1888 he was elected as a lay delegate to General Conference, and was one of the organizers of the Prohibition party in New York State, and is an earnest worker in the cause. A career so heavily handicapped and in its outgrowth rising to such achievements, combined as it is with simplicity and piety, deserves genuine ad- miration.

Spencer, Hon. George T., was born in Saybrook, Conn., November 6, 1814, and was educated at Lee's Academy, Madison, Conn., and at Amherst and West- field Academies in Massachusetts, and graduated from Yale in 1837. He studied law with Governor Ellsworth at Hartford, Conn., and John G. Forbes, of Syracuse, and admitted to the bar in 1841, and has since been practicing his profession in Corning. In 1857 he was a member of the Legislature, and in 1867 a member of the j

LANDMARKS OF STEUBEN COUNTY.

State Constitutional Convention, and from 1872 to 1878 county judge and surrogate of Steuben county.

Sly, Robert O., was born in the place where he now lives in 1846, son of George and Lovina Irvin Sly, natives of Corning and Watkins. The grandparents came from Richmond, Va., and Connecticut, paternal and maternal respectively. Mr. Sly has always resided on the old home place consisting of 250 acres of the original 370 acres. In 1872 he married Sarah Cutler, a native of Corning, and their children are as fol- lows; George Elliot, Mary Lovina, Idalia, Aletha.

Sharp, John G., was born in Coxsackie, July 30, 1825, son of Lawrence I. Sharp, of whom an account will be found in this volume. He came to his present residence when nine years of age. The homestead consists of 147 acres of land. He was educated in the academy in Howard, and has since devoted his time to farming. He married Harriet, daughter of Lott Forrister, one of the first settlers of the town, formerly of Connecticut. They had two children, Floyd L. and Ettie M. He mar- ried the second time, Juliet, daughter of Russell Boughten, and they were also from Connecticut. Mr. Sharp held the offices of assessor six years, commissioner of high- ways six years, and supervisor two years. He has been salesman for the cheese fac- tories twenty-seven years. He is a member of the Masons, Lewis Lodge No. 104. In politics he is a Democrat.

Symonds, J. H., was born in Oxford, Chenango county, N. Y., April 19, 1841, and is the second of eight children born to George and Sarah (Wilson) Symonds, both natives of Chenango county. The grandparents, John and Lucy Ann (Chesbro) Symonds, came from Hartford, Conn., to Chenango county when the country was new, where they engaged in farming. He died September 30, 1872, and she De- cember 17, 1865. George Symonds was a stonecutter and jobber in Chenango county, and died April 22, 1892, and she in January, 1875. The maternal grand- father, Daniel Wilson, came from West Chester to Chenango county, where he died in 1864. He was a carpenter by trade, and a soldier in the war of 1812. J. H. Symonds began farming when eighteen years of age, which business he has always followed. In 1866 he bought a farm in Chenango county, which he sold, and in 1871 came to Troupsburg, where he now owns 120 acres of land and makes a specialty of dairy farming. In 1864 he married Julia A., daughter of John M. and Mary (Holmes) Wilcox, of Chenango county, by whom he had these children: Elmer G., born in 1864, a farmer of Troupsburg; Martin J., born February 26, 1868, who died in 1878; Lida May, who died in February, 1893, aged seventeen years; John Ray, who died September 21, 1880, aged three months; Archie W., born September 15, 1882; John E., born January 20, 1884; Clifford E., born August 28, 1890. Mr. Symonds has been highway commissioner, and in 1892 was appointed postmaster at East Troupsburg.

Stroud, Jacob P., was born in Sussex county, N. J., April 15, 1824, a son of Jacob and Mary (Probasco) Stroud, of Stroudsburg, Pa., the former being named after Colonel Stroud, a brother of the grandfather of the subject, Samuel Stroud, who came from England and finally settled in Woodhull in 1826, where he died. The father of the subject died in 1877, and the mother in 1852. Jacob P. was educated in the pub- lic schools, and followed lumbering and farming. In 1868 he engaged in the mer-

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cantile business, which he continued till 1871, when he returned to farming. A year later he rebuilt the store, and engaged again in business until he was burned out, then sold monuments for Field & Alden, of Hornellsville until they went to Roches- ter; he has been for fifteen years agent for the Osborne Company, manufacturers of agricultural implements. Mr. Stroud served as justice of the peace for several years. In 1848 he married Sarah J., daughter of William and Sarah (Cole) Chase, of Addi- son, N. Y., and their children are: Willis W., born October 5, 1850; Sarah A., born November 17, 1851; Martin M., born October 13, 1853; J. Frank, born January 25, 1855; and Emma born March 19, 1859.

Spoor, Fred C., was born in Luzerne county, now Scranton, Pa., December 10, 1860, and a son of Leman L. and Abigail Robinson Spoor, who came from Pennsylvania and settled in the town of Bath in 1875. He then moved to Campbell and afterward to the town of Erwin in 1890. They were the parents of seven children: Henry W., Fred C., Carrie, wife of Frank Thompson, William L., Lila, wife of Frank Wilder, Annie and Mattie. Leman L. is a painter by trade. Fred C. married Ida T., a daughter of David and Mary Van Etten Dykeman, who settled in the town of Corn- ing in 1853, and they have three children ; Bernice, Gertrude May and Dorothy. Mr. Spoor has been connected with the Erie Railroad for the past fifteen years, twelve years in the capacity of conductor. He is a member of Montour Lodge, F. & A. M. No. 168, also I. O O. F., No. 613, and of the I. O. R. M., Al-wa-hee Tribe, No. 284. He was a charter member of the I. O. R. M. and I. O. O. F. He and his family are members of the Methodist church.

Sherwood, Micajah V., was born in Cameron, this county, June 8, 1843, a son of James, who came to Cameron from Pulteney when a young man. The latter was a member of the Freewill Baptist church, and of his ten children six reached maturity, of whom our subject was the youngest son. He was given a good education, and his first work was at farming. The death of his father occurred in 1853, and he contin- ued on the farm till the age of seventeen, when he entered the employ of his brother, Franklin D., in the general store, remaining till the outbreak of the war. August 21, 1862, he enlisted in Co. F, 141st N. Y. Vols., and served during the war, serving at the siege of Suffolk, Baltimore Cross Roads, Lookout Mountain, Wauhatchie Valley, Resaca, and many other important and decisive battles; he was promoted to first lieutenant and commanded his company from Atlanta to the end of the war and mustered them out. He received an honorable discharge at Elmira, June 8, 1865. Returning to Hornellsville he was for a short time in the store, and was in 1869 ap- pointed to the railway mail service, which position he held till December 29, 1893, when he was injured in an accident at Dunkirk. and has since resided in this city. In 1894 he was elected city chamberlain, and he is a Mason of prominence in his lodge. His wife was Ada Virginia Kassick, of Michigan, and they have one child, Walter V.

Sims, William H., was born in Tamaqua, Schuylkill county, Pa., June 25, 1853, the second son of a family of six children of John Sims, a painter, who died Novem . ber 10, 1861. William was educated in the common schools, and at fifteen years of age he began an apprenticeship at the machinist's trade in the P. & R. shops, which he spent four years at and then six months was in a shop at Williamsport, and from

LANDMARKS OF STEUBEN COUNTY.

there went to Delano where he was foreman of a department for seven years. In May, 1882, he came to Hornellsville and entered the employ of the Erie R. R. Com- pany, at first as regular machinist and now occupies the position of assistant foreman. Mr. Sims was married in 1875 to Miss Angelina Jeffery of Delano, Pa. They have been the parents of five children, One died in infancy. Harry W. is an apprentice at the Times office. George J. is a clerk in Epstein's clothing store. Charles J. was drowned in Canisteo river, March 11, 1887, four years and seven months old. Alice E., the only daughter, was born February 17, 1892. Mr. Sim's mother is still living, now in her eighty-first year, and has been blind for forty-five years, and resides with William H.

Smith, Dr. Lyman B., was born in Masonville, Delaware county, N. Y., May 24, 1852, the youngest of a family of five children of Stillman Smith, deceased, a farmer of that county; he was educated in the common schools of his native county and Chic- opee Falls High School of Massachusetts. At twenty years of age he took up the study of medicine with Dr. Baker when he was in Delaware county, and entered the medical department of the University of New York in September, 1872, and gradu- ated in February, 1875. He first took up the practice of the profession until October, 1875, in his native town. He then located in Woodstock, Ulster county, where he was engaged for fifteen years. He sold out in the spring of 1890, and in the fall entered the Polyclinic Post-Graduate school in New York city, where he attended lectures until January, 1891. He then located in Hornellsville in partnership with Dr. M. J. Baker, which existed until Baker's death in December, 1892, since which time he has been alone. In politics the doctor is a Republican, and was supervisor of Woodstock in 1880. He is the president of Hornellsville Medical and Surgical Association. He is one of the house staff of St. Mary's Hospital. Heis also a mem- ber of the Masonic fraternity and a Knight Templar. September 15, 1875, he mar- ried Estella S. Brown of Masonville, Delaware county, by whom he had three chil- dren: Milton Baker, a member of the graduating class and president of the class of of Hornellsville Academy; Lizzie, and Edith Sarah.

Sanderson, Rev. Benjamin Smith, was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., September 2, 1858. Sidney Sanderson, his father, was a native of'Middlebury, Vt., but in boyhood moved to New York city, where for nearly sixty years he was actively engaged in mercantile pursuits, having been one of the original members of the Produce Exchange. He married Mary Ann, daughter of Capt. Benjamin Smith of the mercantile marine service. The subject of this sketch is their youngest son. Receiving his preparatory training at the Brooklyn Polytechnic (graduating in 1875), he received the degree of B. A. from Amherst College in 1879. His theological studies were pursued at the General Theological Seminary (Protestant Episcopal), New York city, from which he was graduated in 1882, receiving from this institution two years later (1884) the de- gree of Bachelor of Sacred Theology for special excellence in his studies. In his senior year he also won the Seymour Prize for extemporaneous speaking. Ordained deacon, June, 1882, and priest May, 1883, he was from 1882 to 1885 assistant minister in St. John's, Boston, Mass., rector of Trinity church, Wethersfield, Conn., 1885-1886; rector of St. Stephen's, New Hartford, N. Y., 1886-90, during which time he was instrumental in having built in a distant part of his cure, the handsome St. George's Chapel, a memorial of the late Hon. Geo. W. Chadwick. May 1, 1890, he assumed

FAMILY SKETCHES.

his present charge of St. Thomas' church in Bath, a strong and influential parish. He is also a member of the standing committee of the diocese. In 1887 he married Agnes, eldest daughter of Wilson and Ellen Dibblee of Boston, Mass., by whom he has four sons.

Sutton, Dr. Orlando W., was born in Waverly, N. Y., December 25, 1849. Edwin W. Sutton, his father, was a native of New Jersey, and was of English descent, who married Huldah Hopkins, and was engaged in merchant tailoring; he died in 1887 in his sixty-fourth year; his wife and four sons survive him, of which Dr. Sutton is the eldest. He began the study of medicine in 1865 after serving eight years as deputy postmaster at Bath and for two years in the railway mail service. He completed his studies and graduated at the Eclectic Medical College in the city of New York. He is one of the leading Republicans of the county, and is secretary of the Republican County Committee, one of the trustees of the village of Bath, and a member of the State Board of Medical Examiners; also secretary and treasurer of the Southern Tier Medical Society. He is serving his third term as coroner of Steuben county; he is a member of the Odd Fellows and the Maccabees organization. In 1877 Dr. Sutton married Susan, daughter of Daniel W. Coss, by whom he has one child, Frederic C. He is one of the enterprising men in his profession, and during his practice has been very skillful and successful.

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Landmarks of Steuben County, New York, Part 56

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