Landmarks of Steuben County, New York, Part 60

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 60

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Baldwin, Horace Dyer, was born at Sherburne, Chenango county, N. Y., June 24, 1838. Horace Baldwin, his father, was a native of Goshen, Conn., and was a suc- cessful teacher during early manhood, and taught at Canandaigua, N. Y., in 1822. Later he engaged in the mercantile business at Norwich, N. Y., and in November, 1840, settled in Woodhull (early called Newville), Steuben county, and was one of the first merchants in the village, where he died in 1854. During his residence in Norwich he married Penelope Allen of North Kingston, Rhode Island, by whom he had two children, Horace Dyer, and Clarendon, who is now in Woodhull and en- gaged in farming. Mrs. Baldwin died in 1879, aged eighty-three years, and was highly respected, being a woman of great nobility of character. Horace Dyer Bald- win graduated from Alfred University in 1863, and began the study of law with Hon. F. C. & Colonel J. W. Dininny of Addison, N. Y., and prior to entering college had taught school for several years, farming on the homestead in the intervals and working out by the day during the season of haying and harvesting, for the neces- sary means to aid in paying his board and tuition while attending school. He en- listed at Addison, N. Y., April 27, 1861, in Capt. Henry Baldwin's Company E, 34th Regiment New York State Infantry Volunteers, and was discharged at Seneca Mills on account of disability incurred in the service.

Blair, William, was born in Greenwood, N. Y., February 5, 1829, son of William M. and Celinda (Wheeler) Blair, natives of New England. The maternal grand- father was at the battle of Bunker Hill. William M. Blair was a farmer and came

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from Tompkins county to Greenwood in the early days. He went to Michigan where he died in 1847. Mrs. Blair lives at Litchfield, Mich., aged ninety-six years. Will- iam Blair was reared on the farm and educated at Knoxville, and in 1849 he located on the farm of 147 acres which he now owns, where he has made a specialty of dairy farming. He is a Republican in politics, and was assessor for three years. In 1857 he married Eliza, daughter of Hiram and Mary (Terpentine) Burger, of Greenwood, by whom he had three children: Elvie, who died at the age of nine years; Carrie E., wife of Monroe Tyler, a farmer of Greenwood; they have one child, Rubie; T. N. Blair, who is a farmer on the homestead.

Stickney, Julius, was born in Shoreham, Vt., in 1828, the eldest of a family of eleven children. His father, Tyler Stickney, was one of the pioneer Spanish Merino sheep breeders of the State, and originated that famous strain of blood known in years after throughout the country as the Rich, Robinson and Stickney blood. In 1855 he attended the first sheep show ever held in the United States at Bath, and was awarded the first premium of $40 on a two year old ram, and at the end of the fair sold the ram for $350 to parties in Livingston county. He subsequently spent some time in introducing the Vermont Merinos throughout the Western States. In 1857 he married Eliza M., daughter of Eph. and Catharine (Myrtle) Aulls, by whom he had these children: Eph. I., Timothy, and E. E., all farmers in Wheeler; Cora Stickney Lewis, of Prattsburg; Julius J., Thomas D., Kate M., Emma A., Sarah and Carrie of Bath. His wife died in 1857, and he married for his second wife Miss Minerva E. Brown, a native of Vermont, by whom they have one son, Howard B. He settled on the farm where he now resides in 1867, and has succeeded by unlim- ited push and perseverance in bringing a wild and unimproved farm of about 450 acres to a high state of cultivation. He has served the town as supervisor three terms, and has held most of the other town offices. Mr. Stickney was the original director and stockholder of Wheeler of the K. and P. Railroad, and served as such until the road went into the hands of a receiver,

Robertson, S. C., was born in Unadilla, Otsego county, N. V., October 18, 1815. His father, Niel Robertson, was a native of Hebron, Conn., coming from that place to Unadilla in 1814. Mr. Robertson spent most of his early life in Unadilla, coming to Corning in 1851, where he conducted a meat market for several years, was also a general merchant a few years, then purchased his farm in what is now called the Fifth ward. After a time he laid out the greater portion of his land in building lots, putting up houses for sale and rent, and contributing much to the improvement of the place. Mr. Robertson has been trustee of the schools in Corning for several years, always being interested in the educational and religious welfare of the city, and every enterprise tending to improve and build up society, and is possessed of strict integrity in all his business relations. For several years he has been chosen supervisor, and has filled various town offices. He has been a member and liberal supporter of the Methodist Episcopal church for many years, and always sustained an official relation to it.

Bellinger, George N., was born in Herkimer county in 1824. Andrew Bellinger, his grandfather, was a native of Montgomery county, and when only six or eight years old, during the Revolutionary war, he and his younger brother were captured

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by the Indians, and the latter was killed by them on account of his crying. He was held a captive for six years, during which time he became a favorite of the chief of the tribe, who gave him a rifle, canoe, and provisions, and with directions what course to pursue, and where to avoid other tribes, bade him good-bye and released him, and he made his way home to his parents, who had mourned him as dead. He became a prosperous farmer, was married three times, and reared five sons and four daughters, and died at the age of eighty years. Andrew, his father, was born in the town of Danube, Herkimer county, and was a farmer by occupation, having pur- chased part of his father's farm, which he lost soon after. He then engaged in teaming, and later spent about three years doing contract work in the construction of the Erie canal, and then returned to farming and removed to Oswego county, where he purchased a farm and resided two years, and not being successful he re- moved to Oneida county, and there rented land for a time, when he migrated to Illi- nois, where he died ten months later. His wife was Catherine House, of Montgomery county, and their children were John, George, Nancy, Catherine, Jeremiah, Mary, Jacob, Amanda, Libby, Philip and Caroline (twins, deceased). His wife remained in Illinois, where she died in 1885. George N. assisted his father until he was twenty- one years of age, when he began working in Herkimer county, in a linseed oil mill for one year, when he rented a dairy farm and manufactured cheese and butter, and after four years he returned to the oil mill. In 1852 he removed to the town of Wheeler, and bought a partially cleared farm, and eight years later sold and removed to the town of Addison and bought seventy acres of timber land with a saw mill and engaged in the manufacture of lumber. In December, 1863, he enlisted in Company A, 8th New York Heavy Artillery, and served until the close of the war, participating in the battles of Spottsylvania, Wilderness, and Cold Harbor, where he received a wound in the foot, and was sent to the Columbia Hospital, at Washington, and was later transferred to the Elmira Hospital, where he received his discharge. In 1866 he removed to the town of Wheeler and purchased his present farm, and has since been successfully engaged in farming. In 1845 he married Margaret, daughter of Christjohn and Catherine Bonsted, and native of Herkimer county, and they have two children: Mrs. Martha Merrills, of Monterey, and George. Mr. Bellinger is a member of the Avoca Grange, the P. of H Lodge, in which he has held several of- fices, and the Marcy G. A. R. Post. He is a member of the Lutheran church, of which he was trustee nine years.

McConnell, Asa, son of Charles McConnell, was born in Orange county, N. Y., in 1801. When he was seven years of age his father " moved west" and settled at Howard Flats, Steuben county, on a farm of 160 acres, then an unbroken forest and the haunts of various wild beasts. He served as soldier in the war of 1812, and was the father of a large family. Asa being the oldest, and final possessor of the farm, now a beautiful stretch of meadow and grain land; the highway which passes through it being bounded by rows of grand old maple trees, marking the spot where this large family was reared, but who wandered away from farm life to the manufacturing in- dustries now so closely associated with their name. Asa McConnell, besides being a farmer, was a politician and a staunch Democrat. He was an old timelawyer, and filled the office of justice of the peace, of supervisor, and in 1844 represented his dis- trict in the State Legislature. He was always interested in public affairs, genial,

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kind-hearted, earnest, industrious, and numbered eighty-seven years. In 1867 Mr. McConnell moved to Hornellsville and, forming a partnership with his sons, bought in 1868 of Morris Smith a small though well-established planing mill, sash and blind factory, the beginning of the present mammoth plant of the McConnell Co. In 1879 Philo F. withdrew from the firm and opened salesrooms in London, England, where he continues a prosperous business. The remaining members of the firm, Benton and Floyd T., continued the business under this name until 1891, when a stock com- pany was formed, and a large number of the employees were given an interest in the now "McConnell Manufacturing Co." They carry from seven to ten millions feet of lumber, employing some two hundred and fifty men, and their trade extends over the United States, England, South America, South Africa and Australia. Equipped, as their factories are, with every conceivable convenience and with machinery of the latest improved patterns, this industry is one in which the community justly takes great pride as one of the largest and most complete of the kind in the world.

Lewis, Christopher E., was born at Newport, R. I., in 1838, son of Christopher D. and Julia A. (Murphey) Lewis, natives of Connecticut and Rhode Island, who, in 1842, came to the present farm. C. D. Lewis, the father of C. E., is now ninety-one years of age. He came here with Father Beriah Lewis in 1825, but did not locate here till 1842. The mother of C. E. Lewis died in 1885. Mr. Lewis married Jane Thurston, daughter of Alfred Thurston, in January, 1862. Mr. Lewis is one of a family of four children, the others being Julius M., a resident of Iowa; Julia E., wife of the late Wm. M. Wolcott; and Harriet L., wife of George Chumard. C. E. Lewis, who occupied the old homestead, makes a specialty of raising sheep. He has shorn and put on the market over 1.000 pounds of wool annually for thirty-five years. He is a well known, influential citizen in the town and county where he lives, has held many important offices, and is well up in Masonry, being a 32d degree member.

Nelson, Edward H., was born in Owego, Tioga county, N. Y., July 31, 1869, son of Charles Nelson, also a native of Tioga county, who acquired a world-wide reputa- tion as a bridge builder. He was the foreman of the work of building the Portage Bridge and the Passaic Draw Bridge, and was also the foreman in charge of the erec- tion of the great iron frames on the Centennial grounds at Philadelphia, in 1876. In 1877 he located in Hornellsville, and dealt in fruit and vegetables, and in 1881 took charge of the Eagle Hotel, which he conducted until the time of his death, which occurred September 20, 1889. His wife, Johanna Whitmire, was a native of Germany, and died March 21, 1890. They were the parents of two sons and two daughters. Edward H. was educated in the city schools, and his first occupation was in the store with his father, and was then with J. J. Simmons for one year, and afterward em- ployed in different stores until 1886, when he went into the Erie machine shop, four years of which time he was traveling advertising agent for the Hornellsville Expo- sition. In the fall of 1890 he established a fruit, confectionery, tobacco, and cigar store at the corner of Franklin and Canisteo streets, which he has since successfully conducted. In the spring of 1893 he established a bottling works on Franklin street, where he manufactures a full line of soft drinks and conducts the bottling of ale and lager, with a yearly output of from six to eight thousand dollars' worth, and is also the agent for the Lang Brewery of Buffalo. In politics he is a Republican, and in the spring of 1895 was elected in the Fourth ward, where the Democratic majority

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is normally about sixty, by a majority of eighty-four. He is also one of the council committee, and is chairman of the police and sewerage committees. He is a mem- ber of the I. O. O. F. In 1892 he married Maud, daughter of J. R. Lamphear.

Covenhoven, Daniel R., son of Peter Covenhoven, was born in Hornby, Steuben county, N. Y., March 28, 1830. His father was born in Root, Montgomery county, N. Y., April 22, 1803; in October, 1823, he settled in Hornby; he married Sarah M. Rooks March 28, 1828; she was born at Northumberland, Saratoga county, N. Y., in 1800. Of this union six children were born, two of whom are now living: Thomas N., and Daniel R., who are farmers in Hornby. Daniel R. Covenhoven married Nancy M. Shults, March 30, 1859; she was born at Palatine, Montgomery county, January 1, 1847. Of this union four children were born, two of whom are now living, Grace and Genoa. In 1884 Daniel R. Covenhoven located on one of his farms, joining the city of Corning on the north. His mother, Sarah M., died May 19, 1863, aged sixty-three; his father, Peter died February 12, 1895, aged ninety-one; his wife, Nancy, died September 16, 1893, aged fifty-two years.

Brown, Charles A., was born in the town of Howard, December 5, 1829, son of Thomas and Lucinda (daughter of Aaron Borden) Brown. Charles A. was one of twelve children: Israel, Levi, Charles A., Aaron, Jane Chisholm, Elizabeth Hunt, McCord, Ezekiel, Phebe Merrill, Electa Ann Conners, Mahala Miller, and Lucinda White. Thomas Brown was a lumberman and farmer and in early life was a school teacher. Charles A. married Matilda, a daughter of Abel White, by whom he has four children: Eva Talbott, Ella Dickenson, Chauncey E., and Sarah Jackson. Mr. Brown is engaged in farming. He is a member of the M. E. church of Talbott Creek. He has held several school offices.

McChesney, Moses, was born in Bath, July 4, 1847. Hugh McChesney, his father, was a native of Ireland and came to the United States in 1841 and settled in Bath, where he has been identified as a farmer for fifty-five years. He married Mary A., daughter of Thomas Davison. Moses McChesney was educated in the common schools, and in 1864 enlisted in Co. A, 189th Regt. N. Y. Vols., and took part in the battles of Hatcher's Run, South Side Railroad, Stony Creek, Weldon Railroad, and was one of the skirmish line to receive the flag of truce at the surrender of General Lee at Appomattox Court House, Va., and he received an honorable discharge in 1865, when he returned to Bath and resumed his business as contractor and builder, the firm of Clough & McChesney having erected several buildings at the Soldier's and Sailor's Home, some of the finest private residences in Bath, and the New York State Fish Hatchery at Cold Spring, N. Y. In 1875 he married Maggie, daughter of James and Mary Kellogg of Howard, by whom he had one daughter, May. Mr. Mc- Chesney is one of the leading men of his town, serving as excise commissioner two terms, trustee two terms, and commander of Custer Post No. 81.

Parkhurst, Hon. John F., was born in Wellsboro, Pa., February 17, 1843, son of Dr. Curtis Parkhurst, who was a native of New Hampshire, and one of the pioneer settlers of Lawrenceville, Pa., a member of the Legislature, and serving as sheriff of his county. He married Jane A., daughter of Ambrose Kasson, of Utica, N. Y. He died in 1872, in his seventy-eighth year. John F. was educated by private tutors, and in 1863 began the study of law at Bath with Guy H. McMaster, was admitted in

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1865, and in 1872 formed the partnership of McMaster & Parkhurst, which continued up to the time of Judge McMaster's death in 1887, since which time he has carried on the practice of the firm, and since the death of Harvey Hull in 1890 has found time to edit the Steuben Courier. He is the vice-president and part owner of the Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank of Bath, and for the past six years has been chairman of the Repub- lican county committee, and for four years a member of the State executive committee. In 1888 he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention held at Chicago, and in 1892 he was chosen by the Republican State Convention alternate delegate-at-large to the Republican National Convention held at Minneapolis, Minn. In 1893 he was elected State delegate-at-large to the Constitutional Convention for 1894, and served as a member of Judiciary and Suffrage committees, and was chairman of the com- mittee on county, town, and village officers. In 1886 he married Alice, daughter of Judge Guy McMaster, and they are the parents of one son, Guy McM. Parkhurst.

Borden, Aaron Porter, was born in Prattsburg, N. Y., in 1836. Porter A. Borden, his father, was born in Cayuga county, in 1802, one of ten children, and came to Prattsburg in 1830 and settled on a farm. He was a member of the State militia, and married Maria Benenway, a native of Dutchess county, by whom he had twelve children. He died in 1887, aged eighty-seven years, and his wife in 1861, aged sixty years. Aaron P. Borden remained with his father until he was twenty-one years of age, when he engaged in teaching school, which he continued for a number of years during the winter, and attending the Franklin Academy during the summer. In 1867 he bought his present farm, which he has since superintended, and in connec- tion with the farm he carries on an extensive fire insurance business. He has been postmaster of Lynn post-office, in the town of Prattsburg since 1882. In 1865 he married Cynthia R. McConnell, who was born in Italy, Yates county, a daughter of Alexander and Rosina (Gillett) McConnell. Mr. Borden is a member of Odd Fellows Lodge No. 538 of Avoca. Mrs. Borden is a member of the M. E. church, Epworth League, and a strong advocate of the temperance cause. Jabez Gillett, Mrs. Bor- den's grandfather, was a pioneer in the town of Prattsburg, coming here in 1817, and was one of the founders of the Franklin Academy in Prattsburg.

Kendall, Dr. A. A., was born at Corning, Steuben county, N. Y., was educated in Corning Academy. In 1879 he graduated from the University of Buffalo, and spent one year in hospital practice in New York city, since which time he has been practic- ing in his profession in Corning. He is a member of the Steuben County Medical Society, and the Corning Academy of Medicine.

Baker, Dr. Milton J., was born in Sidney, Delaware county, N. Y., March 30, 1842. He was the third son of Milton Baker, a farmer and a native of Connecticut. He was educated at Unadilla Academy and at the University of New York, graduating with the degree of C. B. in 1860. He began the study of medicine when nineteen years of age with Dr. Sweet of Unadilla and also with Dr. Beckwith in Connecticut. He entered the medical department of the University of New York in 1861, and while a student he, in 1864, enlisted in the army and was immediately made hospital steward at Hilton Head, South Carolina. At the close of the war he returned to college and finished his studies the following year. He spent three years in the hos- pital service, and began the practice of his profession in Masonville, Delaware

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county, where he was engaged until 1874, when he joined Dr. J. H. Ripley in New York city. After spending two years in the city, in 1876 he located in Hornellsville, when he became one of the most prominent members of the profession. He never married. Dr. Baker died December 21, 1892.

Luther, Byron J., was born in the town of Hartwick, Otsego county, N. Y., June 9, 1838. Joseph B. Luther, the father of Byron, was a native of Connecticut, who came to Otsego county at a very early age. As a young man he was a blacksmith, but on coming to Otsego county he took up farming, which he ever after followed and accumulated an extensive property, owning at the time of his death seven farms. Of his family of ten children, B. J. was the seventh son. Joseph B. Luther died in 1855. The mother of Byron, Betsey Mathewson, was a native of Rhode Island. She died in 1865. B. J. was educated in the common schools and made his home on the farm until eighteen years of age. In 1856 he went into a dry goods and grocery store as clerk, which position he occupied until 1865 He was then in business for five years with Boyce W. Hawver in the same line, and the spring of 1874 he came to Hornellsville and bought out the interest of D. C. Casterline in the drug firm of Casterline & Robertson, and has ever since been engaged in business in this city. The spring of 1876 they located at No. 9 Opera House Block on Broad street, and for nearly twenty years they have been located in this one place. He was married in 1871 to Maria S. Baker of Unadilla, N. Y. They have no children.

Marlatt, Charles, was born in Troupsburg, N. Y., March 3, 1861, and is the oldest of two children born to Henry O. and Eunice Kettle Marlatt. The grandparents were Gideon and Nancy Stephens Marlatt. Gideon came from New Jersey at an early day and settled in Jasper, being one of the pioneers of the town, and from there he removed to Troupsburg, where he spent his last days. He was a carpenter and joiner by trade. The great-grandfather, Gideon, sr., also came from New Jer- sey and settled in Jasper, where he lived and died. He was a shoemaker by trade. Henry O. was reared on a farm, and farming has been his occupation. Charles was educated in the academies of Troupsburg and Woodhull, and commenced his business career as a teacher, and was in the mercantile business for three years. In 1883 he married Jennie L., daughter of F. D. and Hannah Olmsted Wilcox, of Troupsburg, and they have two children: Harry and Cassie. Mr. Marlatt has been town clerk for three years, and supervisor for two years, and in January, 1894, was elected school commissioner of the Third District, Steuben county, which office he now holds. He is a member of the Troupsburg Tent, No. 339, K. O. T. M., and the Mcclellan Lodge, No. 649, F. & A. M., at Troupsburg.

Allen, James, was born in the town of Wheeler, in 1836, and has devoted his life to farming, remaining with his parents until he was twenty-one years of age, when he started for himself, his first purchase being forty acres of land, to which he later added sixty acres from time to time. In 1862 he enlisted in Company E, 141st N. Y. Vols., and served until the close of the war, and was engaged in the battles of Resaca, Dalton, Cassville, Ga., Wahatchie Valley, Tenn., and was with Sherman on his famous march in the Twentieth Corps. He was sick in a hospital at Nashville six months, and upon his return from the war he engaged in clearing his land of the timber and stumps, and otherwise improving his farm, and took his parents to his

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home and cared for them during the last years of their lives. Stephen Allen, his grandfather, was a native of Rhode Island, and lived and died in Montgomery county, where he engaged in farming, and his younger days were spent as a sailor on a coasting vessel. He served a short time in the Revolutionary war in the place of a neighbor who had a leave of absence, he being but a mere boy at the time. He reared eight children. Caleb Allen, father of James, was born in Montgomery county in 1801, and came to Wheeler in 1826, where he settled in the western part of the town, and cleared his farm from the forest. In 1838 he returned to Montgomery county, where he spent five years, after which he returned to Wheeler and spent his remaining days in this town and Avoca. He served as justice of the peace in Wheeler eight years, and four years as justice in Avoca. He married Catherine, daughter of John F. Putman, a pioneer of Steuben county, by whom he had three children: Catherine, James, and William, who died in the army hospital. He had three chil- dren by a former wife: John B., deceased, Jane, and Maria. He died in 1888, and his wife in 1886. James Allen has served his town as assessor three years, commis- sioner of highways one term, and is an active member of the Avoca Grange Lodge, P. of H., of which he has been secretary four years, also master, lecturer, gate- keeper, etc., and is a member of the Marcy G. A. R. Post of Avoca. In 1867 he married Belinda M. Wheeler, a teacher in the town of Wheeler, and daughter of Seth Wheeler, by whom he had children: Huron, Homer G., and Glena. His wife died in January, 1892. She was an active and able worker in the Grange Lodge in Avoca, and filled all the offices attainable by women in that lodge from time to time.

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Landmarks of Steuben County, New York, Part 60

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