Landmarks of Tompkins County, New York : including a history of Cornell University, Part 110

Author: Hewett, Waterman Thomas, 1846-1921; Selkreg, John H
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 1194

USA > New York > Tompkins County > Landmarks of Tompkins County, New York : including a history of Cornell University > Part 110

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).

Schutt, Aaron B., was born in Caroline, November 4, 1826, a son of John, born in Dutchess county, who removed at the age of seven years with his parents to Ulster county and there acquired his education, becoming in time a noted school teacher. He followed this ten years, then moved to this town, and with his brother James erected a carding mill at Mott's Corners. Leaving his brother in charge of the mill, he bought a farm of 114 acres in Dryden, which was then a wilderness, and he was compelled to go on foot to this new place. Here he built a log cabin and reared his family of twelve children. Our subject remained with his father until he was twenty-nine years old. He had married at the age of twenty-one Marilla Belknap, daughter of Justin Belknap, (December 24, 1847), and in 1854 they came to their present home in Caroline, where Mr. Schutt has made a specialty of horse raising, having received $2,600 for one team. He is a Republican. though he has never cared for public office. He has had four children : Maud, Katie May, who died aged nine years; Francis G., and Douglass, who lives at home on the farm. Francis is engaged in the gocery business at Hornellsville, Steuben county.

198

LANDMARKS OF TOMPKINS COUNTY.

Stephens, J. L., was born in Ithaca, April 5, 1826. The father, J. L. Stephens, sr., was a native of Connecticut, who moved to Ithaca, where he carried on the cooperage business in connection with his farm. He moved to Caroline in 1840, and in 1848 moved to Dryden, retiring from active work, and there he died in 1856. He married Lydia Reynolds, her parents being natives of Connecticut, and they had seven children, our subject being the sixth. In early life the latter worked at coopering in the town of Dryden. He has worked chiefly, however, at farming, cwning a farm in the town of Dryden, which he sold in 1853. He then moved into Danby, and then sold and moved to his present place in Slaterville Springs. He married in 1853, Katie, daughter of Jacob Hazen of Dryden, and they have two sons and a daughter, who received their education in the district schools, two of them being married and away from home, and one son living at home. They are members of the M. E. Church at Slaterville.

Sellen Family, The .- The surname Sellen stands for pioneership in Groton, and the head of the family seems to have been Samuel Sellen, a native of Massachusetts, whose wife was Maria Pratt. In his native State Samuel was a merchant, but in Groton, where he settled at an early day, he was a successful farmer. In his family were ten children : Maria, who married J. Clement; Orlando, who died in 1893; Susan, who married Leonard Peck; Major, of Groton; John, Martha, wife of Jerome Clement ; Aurilla, who married Henry Van Guilder; Moses and Wesley, both of whom are now dead; and Amanda, who married Truman Clement. John Sellen, a progressive and successful farmer of West Groton, was born November 25, 1820, and has always lived on and devoted his energies to agricultural pursuits. April 19, 1849, he married Saphronia Hayden, by whom he has had six children: Mary, Willis, Hiram, Jennie, Nettie and Allena. Mr. Sellen is a Republican, but not active in political affairs. Both he and his wife are members of the Baptist Church.

Swarthout, Reuben, was born in the town of Danby, March 11, 1826. His early education was obtained in the district schools, which he soon left and learned the blacksmith trade, which he followed up to 1887, in the mean time spending four years in California, taking the trip via the Isthmus of Panama, and making the journey in twenty-eight days. Returning he bought a farm of Luther Wright of 100 acres, which he sold in 1867, and bought the old Mahlon La Rue farm of 150 acres, which he rents. A Democrat in politics, Mr. Swarthout takes an active interest in educational and church matters. He is known in his neighborhood as a conservative man, who has made a success of farming.

Stevens, John, was born in Washington county, N. Y., November 2, 1785, and died April 6, 1866. When a your g man he came to Groton and bought (about 1816) a fifty- · acre tract of land, part of the home farm now owned by his son Nelson, and in a small way the pioneer began his farming career in this county. Later on he added to his farm and became known as one of the most persevering and energetic men of the town. On coming to the tract Mr. Stevens had only one pair of oxen, and his wife owned one cow, and these were fed through the first winter mainly on "browse." John Stevens married, February 13, 1805, Polly Wilson, by whom he had these children : James, Volney, Harriet, Louisa, Amanda and Marilla. Polly Stevens died July 13, 1822, and

199

FAMILY SKETCHES.

all of their children are also now dead. The second wife of John was Mary, widow of Simeon Conger, and of this marriage four children were born : Mary, Laura, John and Nelson. Nelson Stevens was born December 10, 1830, in the house in which he now lives, where his entire life has been spent, although he has somewhat increased the acreage of the farm and enlarged and remodeled the buildings. Nelson Stevens is known as one of the leading men of Groton. In 1859 he was elected justice of the peace, and with the exception of eight years has held that office to the present time. In 1889, and again in 1890, he was elected to the Assembly, and in both sessions he filled the office with credit to himself and his constituency. He was also for five years supervisor of Groton. On November 21, 1856, he married Laura M. Conger, by whom he has had six children : Mary S., wife of Lorenzo Buckley of Columbus, O .; Eveline, who died an infant ; Fred C., who died aged seven ; John, who died at three: Herman C. and Herbert J. (twins), both of Groton.

Stearns, Joseph W., who is well remembered in this vicinity as having been for many years the faithful pastor of the now extinct Christian church near West Groton, was a native of Westhampton, Mass., born February 21, 1808. He was the son of Stockwell and Seviah (Wilcott) Stearns and the second of their nine children. The young life of our subject was passed in his native State, where his father was a shoe- maker, and he learned to work at whatever presented itself for him to do. He educated himself and later on entered the ministry. He came to West Groton at an early day where he took the pastorate of the Christian church, and at the same time interested himself in the welfare of those about him, and was particularly active during the days of the agitation of the abolition of slavery, he being one of the most earnest advocates of that measure. More than this, his house was the refuge of escaping negroes, and no man did more to facilitate the freedom of the refugees than Mr. Stearns. His life was a success from every point of view, and he held the respect and esteem of the entire community. He died in April, 1888, aged eighty years, and a little later (September 14, 1889) his wife followed him to the grave. Joseph W. Stearns married Amanda daughter of pioneer Isaac Allen, and to them were born three children : Joseph W., now a clergyman residing in Huntersland, N. Y .; Alvin Stuart, remembered as a mer- chant and produce dealer, and also postmaster at West Groton, and who died April 18, 1892 ; and Eugene A., the enterprising quarryman and farmer of West Groton. The latter was born May 3, 1847, and now lives on a part of the old home farm of his grandsire, Isaac Allen, the site of the first Allen log cabin being only a few rods distant from Mr. Stearns's house. In 1871 Eugene A. Stearns married Sarah Jane Rockafeller, of Onondaga county. They have one child.

Smith, A. Belmont, was born in Trumansburgh April 15, 1860, and was educated in the Union School and the Academy. He is a coal dealer and insurance agent by occupation. June 22, 1893, he married Fannie Ogden of Covert, Seneca county. Mr. Smith's father, John De Motte Smith, was born in Lodi, Seneca county, December 10, 1832, was educated in Ovid Academy, Rutgers College, and graduated from Hobart Collage, Geneva. He studied law with Smith & Barto and was admitted to the bar. Upon the retirement of Mr. Smith, who went to Syracuse, he became a partner with Judge Henry C. Barto. He was a sound lawyer, an able advocate, and a generous foe,

200

LANDMARKS OF TOMPKINS COUNTY.

and his death created a vacancy in the bar of this county which was hard to fill. He was a Mason, and from early manhood was prominently indentified with its affairs. He was one of the most companionable of men, a good husband and father. May 5, 1857, he married Mary E. Owen of Waterburg, town of Ulysses, and they had two children, Cora O., and A. Belmont. Early in life he took much interest in the State militia and rose through the successive grades to the rank of colonel of the Fiftieth Regiment of the National Guard. During the war he was a Union man, a war Democrat, and was identified with such men as General Dix, Daniel S. Dickenson of New York, and others. He died February 25, 1892, and his wife survives him, residing at his late home on Elm street with his daughter.

Sarsfield, Thomas, was born in Ireland in 1837, and came to the United States in 1848, locating in Trumansburgh. He is a moulder by trade. In 1859 he married Catharine Flynn of Ulysses, by whom he had eight children : Maurice, Julia, Thomas, jr., John, Mary, William, Michael and Catharine. Maurice is a cigar manufacturer, and married Margaret Ward, of Lodi, Seneca county. They had two sons, Maurice L. and Charles L. His wife died January 13, 1892. Julia married John Russell and lives in the West. Mary married George Gregg of Trumansburgh. Thomas Sarsfield was a gallant soldier of the late war, having enlisted August 22, 1861, in Co. A, 89th N. Y. Vols. He participated in eighteen general engagements, beginning at Hatteras, N. C., and ending before Petersburg, Va., where he was wounded in the lower part of his neck, the ball passing through his body. He was honorably discharged for disabil- ity on, account of the above wound, in November, 1864. Mr. Sarsfield is a member of Treman Post No. 572, of Trumansburgh, G. A. R., and has held the office of officer of the day for several years.

Streeter, Nelson R., was born in the town of Pitcher, Chenango county, October 7, 1838, a son of William and Elizabeth Streeter, and the youngest but one of their thirteen children. Nelson was apprenticed to a shoemaker, and in due time becoming a journeyman, but he worked most of his life either as a foreman or proprietor. His old size stick, hammer and pincers are treasured remembrances of his early life and hang, gilded and elegantly framed, in the parlor of their owner. When a child, Mr. Streeter's family and parents removed from Pitcher to Onondaga county and there the greater part of his early life was passed. At the age of eight years, his parents being both deceased, he was practically thrown upon his own resources, and his success in life has been due entirely to his own efforts. In 1869 he came to this town, and was thereafter connected with various partners and firms in the shoe business. While so engaged he invented an attachment to a last, a valuable appliance, but one which lost him his accumulations to develop. In 1876 he engaged in the manufacture of novel- ties under the firm name of N. R. Streeter & Co., and though comparatively unknown outside this village, the firm is one of the largest business houses in the county. The firm deals in useful and valuable novelties of all kinds, many of them being the inven- tion of Mr. Streeter himself; in fact he owns and controls no less than forty different patents. In the prosecutions of his vast interests Mr. Streeter has traveled extensively and has cultivated a wide acquaintance with traveling and business men, being par- ticularly interested in the commercial traveler or "drummer," and possessing literary

201

FAMILY SKETCHES.

tastes, he has compiled a book of choice poems many of which are in circulation under the head of "Gems from an Old Drummer's Grip." In village affairs our subject also takes a deep interest, being a temperance man and a Republican. He has served on the Board of Trustees and also on the Board of Education. In 1860 he married Adelia Randolph of Chenango county, and they have four children.

Shurter, Willis, was born in Ulster county, May 17, 1841, a son of Josiah, also born in Ulster county. At the age of twenty the latter was apprenticed to a wheelwright for three years, and then built a shop in Sampsonville, Ulster county, where he con- ducted a business for eight years. In 1848 he moved to Tompkins county, where he followed his trade until within a few years of his death. He also built several large mills, being a millwright also. In connection with his other enterprises he worked at farming for about fifteen years, and for some years prior to his death was a wagon maker. His death occurred August 5, 1877. His children were : Julia, Willis, Ellen, Harrison, Harriet, Filmore, and Mary Louisa; Julia, Filmore and Mary being deceased. Willis remained at home till July, 1862, when he enlisted in Company A, 109th N. Y. Volunteers. While in service he contracted a cold, which with its attendant evils has followed him ever since, and which entitled him to the pension he receives. After re- turning home he married Jennie, daughter of James Girman of Dryden, after which he started at milling, working for four years, then built a plaster mill, which he is still operating. He is now living with his second wife, Betsey Merald, by whom he has two children, Jennie and Jessie, who are just entering the High School. He is a mem- ber of the G. A. R. and is a Republican.

Scott, Jabez B., deceased, was born in Ithaca, January 27, 1837, was educated in Ithaca, and married Phoebe J., daughter of Orry Ostrander of Danby, by whom he had three children, a son and two daughters. Mr. Scott was at one time proprietor of the Farmer's Hotel, and afterward kept a wholesale and retail meat market in Ithaca. He was a Democrat and took an active interest in educational matters and the general events of the day. He was a well known citizen and a man of high standing in the town, well educated, and a good friend and neighbor. He purchased the Widow Townsend farm of eighty-five acres, lying two miles south of where his son now re- sides. Mr. Scott died June 4, 1875.

Shoemaker, Jacob, one of Lansing's prominent men, was born on the farm he now owns, November 19, 1837, a son of Jacob, also a native of Lansing, born on the same farm, who married Christina, daughter of William Ozmun of Lansing, by whom he reared five children : Anna, deceased wife of Anson Wyckoff, of Moravia; Almira, widow of Oliver Breckinridge, of Slippery Rock, Pa .; Sallie, deceased wife of Dennis Kelley, of Lansing; Jacob; Emma, wife of Randall Smith, of Cato. He died in De- cember, 1890, at the age of ninety years and eight months. His wife died in 1874. Our subject was reared on this farm and attended the commnon schools. At the age of about thirty-four his father gave him the farm of 100 acres on lot eighty-three, where he has since remained. In 1860 he married Louisa, daughter of John and Electa (Searles) Bloom, of Lansing, and they have had two children : one who died in infancy, and Elmer Ellsworth, born January 27, 1862. His wife died March 11, 1877, and he

202

LANDMARKS OF TOMPKINS COUNTY.

married second, Alice, daughter of Ambrose Parsons, of Ithaca, and they have one son, Frank, born April 27, 1879. Mr. Shoemaker was at one time a sergeant in the State militia, serving fourteen years, and received an honorable discharge in 1874.

Smith, James, was born in the town of Franklin, Warren county, May 14, 1832, a son of John, who was a farmer. Our subject was educated in the common schools, after leaving which he served a three years' apprenticeship at carpentry. After ser- ving three years as a journeyman carpenter, he entered the employ of the D. L. & W. R. R. in 1852, and for eighteen years was employed with this company, building bridges and tracks. In 1872 he removed to Ithaca to build the road between Ithaca and Geneva, and after its construction acted as its superintendent until its consolidation with the Lehigh Valley Road. He was then employed as roadmaster on the U. I. & E. R. R. between Elmira and Canastota, holding the position four years. He was then roadmaster and assistant superintendent on the Lehigh Valley Division running into Auburn, then known as the Midland, running ten years as conductor and superintend- ent. He spent three years in the West at the same business, building 150 miles of track in Montana, and was then in Chicago for a year, employed on the Chicago and Northwestern Road. He next came to Elmira for three years, and in 1892, returned to Ithaca. March 23, 1893 he was appointed superintendent of streets for Ithaca. He has been instrumental in constructing one of the best systems of gutters in any city, and is an authority on the sewage question. In 1854 he married Caroline J. Carr, of Wyoming county, Pa., and they have had three children: A. C. Smith, conductor on the D. L. & W. R. R .; Effie, who died June 13, 1892, aged thirty-one years; the other son is a graduate of the medical department of the University of Michigan.

Smith, Charles A., was born in the town of Ithaca, October 9, 1845, a son of Gabriel Smith, who was also a native of this county, born in Dryden February 4, 1818. In early life he followed farming, and later was a drayman of this place. Of his five sons, our subject was the third. Charles was educated in the public schools of this town, and at the age of sixteen went in with his father in the dray business, which he has always followed. He was fourteen years with the latter, and for eight years was a partner with his brother, John Smith, for the past ten years having been alone. He has followed draying for thirty-two years, and has fifteen horses and six men. He is a Democrat and in 1874 was collector for the village of Ithaca. He is a member of Hobasco Lodge F. & A. M., Eagle Chapter, Ithaca Council, St. Augustine Com- mandery, a member of the K. of P. and I. O. R. M. In 1870 he married Sarah E. Nor- ton, daughter of James Norton, a grocer of this city, and they have two children, Ada and Lizzie.

Stephens, Thomas J., was born in Cheltham, England, October 16, 1845, and came across the water when ten years of age. His father, Thomas, located in Quebec for two years, and it was there that our subject's mother died, and October 16, 1857, they removed to Ithaca, where Mr. Stephens established a marble yard on South Tioga street, where Ingersoll's livery now is. Mr. Stephens was first in partnership with his brother John, but in 1859 they dissolved, and Thomas bought the corner where the Bates Block now stands, at the corner of Seneca and Aurora streets, where he con-

203

FAMILY SKETCHES.

tinued in business until his death on November 22, 1869. Mr. Stephens was always a staunch supporter of the Republican party, but never aspired to office. A daughter, Mrs. W. N. Sandborn, is a resident of Ithaca. Thomas J. was educated in the old Lancasterian School, and before he had completed his education the war broke out, and December 20, 1863, he enlisted in the 21st N. Y. Cavalry and was with the Army of the Shenandoah in all of their important engagements. During the latter part of his ser- vice he was acting chief bugler of his regiment. On his return to Ithaca he was em- ployed with his father until the death of the latter, when he took charge of the shop, which in 1872 he removed to another location, and in 1874 he again moved to his pres- ent location on Tioga street, buying two lots. He has acquired a reputation as a granite worker, which has given him a very extensive trade all over the State. He was the contractor for the soldier's monument in Ithaca among others. He is now serving his sixth year as adjutant of Sidney Post G. A. R. He is a member of the R. A., and is secretary and treasurer of the local branch of the Atlantic Savings and Loan Association of Syracuse. In 1869 he married Sarah, daughter of the late James McBride, a grocer of this city, and they have one daughter, Florence Marion, a student at the High School.

Storms, John B., was born in the town of Mentz, Cayuga county, April, 1839, one of five children of George M. Storms, a blacksmith of that county, who came from New York city in 1838. He died November 3, 1854, aged forty-one years. The boyhood of our subject was spent in his native town, and at the time of his father's death he was fourteen years of age, and apprenticed himself to a marble cutter. He was employed in Auburn two years, and April 25, 1859, he came to Ithaca, where he was employed by Beers & Goodrich, whose shop stood where the Cornell Library now stands. For twenty-seven years he was with the above firm, and in 1886 he bought out the former proprietors who had their shops at 21 East Green street. Mr. Storms has worked up an extensive trade in this county, and is prepared to furnish everything needed in the line of fine marble-cutting and monument work. He is a Democrat and a member of Fidelity Lodge F. & A. M., and also of No. 5 Hose Company of the Fire Department. In 1892 he married Kate E. Dilts of Ithaca, and they have one daughter.

Sheffer, Reuben W., was born in the town of Livingston, Columbia county, March 19, 1865, a son of Charles E., who moved into this county in 1871. The latter was master mechanic on the D. L. & W. R. R. from the time of his arrival here till 1888, when he engaged in the mercantile business, and is now conducting a grocery at the corner of Mill and Plain streets. Of his four children, Reuben W. is the only son. He was educated in the Ithaca High School and the Poughkeepsie Business College, and filled the position of book-keeper at the First National Bank for two years. De- cember 1, 1886, he was engaged as book-keeper for the Ithaca Beef Company, which position he filled till November 19, 1891, when he was appointed manager of their business in this city, and April 19, 1893, lie was given the management of the Geneva house in connection with the business at Ithaca. Mr. Sheffer is a director of the Geneva Ice Company also. He is a Republican, and was for three years a mail clerk on the Ithaca & Owego Railroad. In 1889 he married Josephine Little, of Candor.

204

LANDMARKS OF TOMPKINS COUNTY.

Stephens, Henry W., was born in Gloustershire, England, March 24, 1838, and was eleven years of age wlien his parents came to this country. William, the father, was a mason by trade, and located in Auburn for a short time, then moved to Ithaca, where he followed his trade till his death in 1879, aged seventy-two years; his wife died in 1890, aged ninety-three years. Of their six children, Henry W. was next to the youngest. He was educated in the old Lancasterian School and his first occupation was with his father. After a short time he went to learn the printer's trade, which he followed till the breaking out of the war. September 25 1862, he enlisted in the 137th New York Volunteers, and saw service with this regiment till the battle of Gettys- burg, where he was seriously wounded, from the effects of which he lay in hospital until May of the next year, when he was discharged and returned to Ithaca. In 1865 he entered the employ of the D. L. & W. R. R., and for twenty-one years he filled the position of telegraph dispatcher for this company. In 1885 he resigned this position, and the same year bought the general grocery store of T. S. Culver, at the corner of Aurora and Marshall streets, where he has ever since been in business. Mr. Stephens is a member of Hobasco Lodge No. 716, F. & A. M. In February, 1858, he married Julia A. Carey, of Romulus, Seneca county, and they have four children : Henry E., a machinist of Elgin, Ill., Will H., an artist, Mrs. Julia E. Judd, and Clara B.

Sprague Joseph Brittin, deceased, was born in Schenectady, N. Y., September 19, 1826. He came to Tompkins county in 1871, and made his home in Ithaca. His boy- hood was spent in Rochester, where he received his early education, afterward attend- ing the Albany Academy. His father, Asa, was one of the pioneers of railroad con- struction, and was superintendent of one of the divisions of the N. Y. C. R. R. before its consolidation. Our subject was a Democrat and a worker in his party. After his removal to Ithaca he took an active interest in the popularity of the town, holding the office of village president one year. He was a member of the I. O. O. F. His death occurred November 30, 1878, and he left a widow only, who survives him. Mrs. Sprague is a daughter of Benjamin Johnson, one of the early settlers of the town of Ithaca, to which he came about 1816, from New Hampshire. He studied law in Troy. His three sons are still residents of this town, Jesse, Charles, and William. Benjamin Johnson died March 19, 1848. His wife was Jane Dey, a native of New Jersey.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Landmarks of Tompkins County, New York : including a history of Cornell University, Part 110

Author: Hewett, Waterman Thomas, 1846-1921; Selkreg, John H Publication date: 1894 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason Number of Pages: 1194

Author: Hewett, Waterman Thomas, 1846-1921; Selkreg, John H
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 1194